Everything's Overrated

Three days later, it was finally Christmas Eve. Lydia received a letter from her family demanding she go home for Christmas or else. Vicky received a letter politely suggesting she stay at school just in case her uncle came over for Christmas; her mother did not trust this uncle near her little girl. Priscilla did not receive any letters, just a large box full of chocolate frogs from her father.

Spending a Christmas Eve without Lydia was a first, according to Vicky’s well organized self-recording-agenda. The girls weren’t too thrilled about it; everyone woke up sulking that day.

The day went by uneventfully. Nearly the entire school was gone, and Vicky and Priscilla both spent time in their own common rooms until nearly dinner.

“Can I have one?” Priscilla was busy stuffing her mouth with chocolate frogs to notice a group of first year boys sitting around her, drooling.

She sighed and looked in her box. The box was big. Really big, and she only ate about 18 that morning. Priscilla estimated an approximate 31 frogs left so she passed one to everyone.

She noticed the box was empty, and gasped. "Vicky's going to kill me. These are her favourite and I didn't send her any, oh Merlin."

Chambers came in just as Priscilla was really starting to fret over the wrath of Vicky, "Chocolate Frogs!" he exclaimed, "Got any for me, cutie?"

Priscilla blushed and pulled one from her pocket. It was squashed and was missing a leg. She was saving it for herself but she placed it in Chambers’ outstretched hand.

“Thanks!” He smiled at her and shoved it in his mouth.

Priscilla looked down into her now empty box and frowned to herself.

--

Vicky was sulking all day long. For all she knew, everyone in her dorm was gone except Hermione. This was terrible, now that Hermione was a part of the Golden Trio, Vicky felt as lonely as ever.

Vicky sighed as she made her way down the stairs to the common room. It was half past 2 and she just woke up. To her luck, she only found Harry Potter sitting in the common room.

“Hi,” She said quietly as she whipped out a book from her bag.

Harry looked up from his letter and raised both his eyebrows. “Hi.”

They sat silently reading their own materials for over an hour.

Throughout the time, Vicky couldn’t pay attention to her book at all. She was secretly dying to confront Harry and question his foul attitude.

“GAH! OKAY!” Vicky slammed her book down on her lap. She inhaled and exhaled deeply and looked at the arms-crossed Harry who put his letter down. Harry seemed to have expected this.

“Okay. Harry Potter. I would like to question your motives,” Vicky said faking a composure.

“Yes, go on,” Harry found this very amusing.

“Why,” Vicky paused, “When- No. What- Why do you hate me?”

“I don’t,”

“I know you do.”

“I don’t.”

“Yes, okay Mister.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

And that was the closest they ever got to expressing their true feelings that first year.

--

“OH MY GOSH! OH – MY – GOSH!” Priscilla was saying through breaths.

Vicky and Priscilla ran down a hallway, turning left, right, then right again. It was half past midnight on Christmas eve.

“I-CANNOT-BELIEVE-THIS-IS-HAPPENING,” Vicky said, panting.

Priscilla kept glancing back too see if their oppressors were still following.

The girls sneaked down stairs for a midnight snack when they came face to face with two cloaked beings. If the girls were smart enough, they wouldn’t have mistaken them for dementors; but they weren’t smart enough, so they thought it was two ring-like fiends chasing them.

“This is what happens when we eat all the time,” Vicky breathed.

“I want Daddy!” Priscilla exclaimed as they turned a corner. The hall coming up was dark. All the candle lights were extinguished and only the moonlight provided a pathway for the girls to run on. They ran. Without looking back or to the side. The hall was long and it took them 5 minutes to run to the end.

“Oh!” Vicky exclaimed as she stepped in snow outside, a foot deep. Priscilla soon caught up and did the same, but tripped as well. Vicky didn’t notice this and kept on running, breathing random comments to nobody.

“Priscilla, this was the worst idea you’ve ever had!,” said Vicky, with as much anger as she could, “Just a little piece of pie, no one will notice, come on, I know you want to, it’s so delicious, let’s go get some!” Vicky mimicked.

Silence followed her comment. Vicky realized that she could only hear her own breaths and the crunching of her own feet in the snow. She stopped sharply and whipped her head around. She was about 30 meters from the dimly lit exit of the school and no Priscilla was to be found. Anywhere.

“Mrffhmm,” Priscilla struggled to get out of the monster’s grip. Her mouth was shut with a spell and was the worst feeling she had ever experienced.

Her heart was pounding as she was dragged across the floor. It was light in the hall but she still couldn’t make out her tormentor. There was only one now and it wasn’t that strong.

“Erg, you fatty. Why do you have to be so heavy?”

Priscilla’s eyes widened as she heard a female voice coming from under the cloak.

“MRRFHHHMMM!” Priscilla wiggled under the girl’s grip but it was no use. She was attached to the girl’s hand by another spell.

Priscilla was dragged past the great hall, the moving stairs, and into a random deserted hallway that she’s never been to. When they stopped, Priscilla saw a small wooden door opening and found herself being shoved into it.

“MRRRRRFHHHH-YOU HORRIBLE MONSTER!” Priscilla was shocked as she was able to speak again, but it was no use. The door was slammed shut and she found herself surrounded in darkness. “Hellooo!?” She was greeted by her one and only echo.

“Mmrrgghh!” Vicky soon found herself in an identical situation as Priscilla.

“OW!”

Vicky jumped slightly as she felt limbs under her bottom. The door slammed shut once more, enclosing the girls in darkness.

“Priscilla? Oh gosh, please tell me that it’s you I’m sitting on!”

“..Yes!” Priscilla squealed in pain, “Get off!”

Vicky rolled off and reached for her wand. “Lumos!”

A beam of light appeared at the end of Vicky’s wand and the girls took in their new surroundings. It was a class room which looked strangely like their Transfiguration Room.

“Have we just been kidnapped?” Priscilla asked wide eyed.

Vicky began to cry, “All this because we wanted a SNACK!”

Priscilla went over to Vicky and hugged her, “It’s okay. It’s not our fault we’re always hungry and need food every hour.”

The girls got up to walk around the room. There were no desks and no chairs; the board at the front looked as if no one had written anything on it for decades.

“Is this the Transfiguration room?” Vicky asked, touching the board.

From across the room, Priscilla was trying to open the door with simple spells.

“Good idea,” Vicky looked at her, “but it’s doubtful our kidnappers didn’t think about the alohamora spell..”

Priscilla turned around. “Why?!” She threw her arms down exasperated.

“I don’t know. Think back Priscilla. What did we do to piss anyone off?”

“Uhh.. Vicky?” Priscilla stared without blinking, “Together, I think we pissed off plenty of people.” It was the sad truth.

“Well then, we can’t do anything but to wait,” Vicky’s common sense kicked in.

“Alright,” Priscilla sat down, “So, we wait.”

--

Priscilla woke to Vicky’s sleep talking, “Careful!” Priscilla looked around the room and saw the vacant classroom. She was hoping it was all a bad, bad dream.

“Harry! Watch out...”

She looked at Vicky who was sprawled on the floor about a meter away, “Weird,” Priscilla said to herself. She had never heard Vicky sleep talk before. It was usually herself or Lydia who would kindly do the sleep walking and talking.

“Vicky! Wake up!” Priscilla shook her sleeping friend.

“No!” Vicky yelled, shooting straight up, staring at Priscilla, “Oh, hello.”

“Vicky, why were you talking to Harry Portia in your dream?”

“Portia? What?” Vicky ran a hand through her dark brown hair and rubbed eyes.

Just then, the door exploded open with a flash of purple light. Standing on the other side was McGonagall.

“Ladies, follow me,”

The girls followed McGonagall with mixed feelings. They were shocked at the sudden save, happy because they were found, scared because they were going to McGonagall's office, and curious to whom their kidnappers were.

"Professor, what—" Priscilla began.

"Not now, Ms. Beauvais," McGonagall said firmly, continuing to lead briskly to an unknown destination.

"Grandma," Vicky mumbled.

"Excuse me, Ms. Braxton?" McGonagall shrilled, whipping around to glare at Vicky through her tortoiseshell framed glasses.

"Thank you, Minerva, that will be all," the deep voice of Albus Dumbledore rumbled from the shadows in the hall.

McGonagall pursed her lips and stepped aside as Dumbledore came forward.

Priscilla noticed they were all standing in front of two large, stone gargoyles. "Why are we standing in front of these creepy statues?" Priscilla asked out loud. The Gargoyles' eyes shifted and glared menacingly at her, "EEK!" she squealed.

Vicky didn't notice. She was too busy staring at Professor Dumbledore in awe. Was this not Harry Potter's best adult friend? Would he not have insight on the strange workings of that strange boy's mind? Would she, Vicky, not be able to find out—

"Chocolate Frog," Dumbledore said the Gargoyles, as Vicky turned to glare at Priscilla, not having forgotten her little charity incident. The three of them walked up the small winding staircase and Dumbledore opened a wooden door at the top of the stairs, "My office."

"OOOH!" Priscilla said loudly, to appease him. Vicky shook her head as they both sat in chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk. The girls observed that the professor's office was circular, and filled with many ding-a-ling's and doo-dad's. Vicky could see Priscilla was itching to touch everything.

Dumbledore sat and crossed his fingers, resting his chin on his hands. His light blue eyes peered over his half moon spectacles as he observed the two eleven-year old girls before him, "Are the two of you aware that you have committed a serious wrong here at Hogwarts?"

"What?" Vicky exclaimed. Priscilla looked just as shocked. Of all the things that could possibly happen, neither girl expected to be blamed for anything!

"You both have aggravated two of your fellow first year's to such an extent that they are saying they have trouble sleeping at night. Do you know what that's like, do you? Hmm?" Dumbledore demanded.

"Potter!" Vicky hissed, at the same time that Priscilla growled, "Malfoy!"

Dumbledore looked at them curiously, "No, I am not referring to Harry and Draco. I am referring to—"

"Excuse me Professor Sir, but are you aware that a 'serious wrong here at Hogwarts' has been committed against us?" Priscilla interrupted.

"Sorry?" Dumbledore asked, his brow furrowing.

"Vicky and I were kidnapped," Priscilla said dramatically.

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore agreed, faking concern, "And that is why you are here right now. Because you have been kidnapped. Lovely, but I must address—"

"No, sir! Listen to her! We were thrown in an old classroom and it was locked from the outside so we couldn't unlock it!" Vicky protested.

"You expect me to believe that Norma Jean John and Salma Thong, those quiet, lovely young girls, threw you both into a classroom? Preposterous!" Dumbledore grumbled, shaking his head.

"NORMA JEAN JOHN AND SALMA THONG?!" Priscilla and Vicky chorused loudly.

"Yes, and I must remind you that you are both still in a great amount of trouble for terrorizing them, so I advise you to not do anything more, do you understand me?" Dumbledore said sternly.

"Yes, sir," the girls answered as they got up from their chairs.

"Not so fast. You will report to detention tomorrow, on December 26, in Professor Quirrell's Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. You will help him clean the desks and chairs for the start of the new term. Perhaps it will make you rethink what you've done," Dumbledore said, then added, "Come in, Harry."

Vicky and Priscilla whipped around to see Harry run in, "Professor! Something's happened!"

"What is it my dear boy?" said Dumbledore, concerned. He shot Vicky and Priscilla a look that clearly said 'leave'.

"Professor's pet!" Vicky whispered scathingly to Harry on her way out, tossing back her hair. Harry turned to say something resentful as well, but she and Priscilla were already out the door.

--

"I wonder what could have possibly happened..." Priscilla said to herself.

"No time for that! It's almost dinner. We should get to the Great Hall or Dumbledore will think we're terrorizing students again," Vicky said angrily.

"Yeah! Or up to no good!" Priscilla added.

Vicky stopped walking, "That's what I meant..."

"Oh."