An American At Hogwarts: Book Three

Chapter Seven

A/N: A few people requested a picture of Sirius' new look, and I love the fancast of Ben Barnes, but I'm not good enough with photoshop to make him blonde 😂😂 The above picture of Chris Pine isn't perfect, but it's pretty close and it's got the right vibes for what Alexa's going for. And for the people asking for Tony Stark's playlist, I'll drop a link in the next chapter when I actually have good enough cell service and internet to do more than the absolute bare minimum on my phone again 😂😂

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"You want to send Percy Weasley a Howler?"

Sirius was staring at me in shock, but I just smiled right back.

"Yup! He's been ignoring my letters all summer, and apparently he slammed the door in his mother's face when she went to visit him. He can't ignore a Howler, no matter what he wants to try. Even if I don't get a response, I'll at least know he heard what I had to say."

Sirius blinked a few times, looking away from me to think things through. I just waited. I knew he'd come to the same conclusion I had: it was a great idea.

"You know, out of all the threats I've heard the Weasleys throwing around this summer... that does sound like the best one."

"Thank you! I think so too. So, what do you say? Wanna help?"

"Why not?" he asked, turning back to me with a smile on his face. "I've certainly done crazier things in my time."

"No kidding. I read so many detention records with you, Lupin, and Harry's dad in them."

Sirius chuckled as he pulled out his wand to conjure a Howler. I paused to think through what I wanted to say, then took a deep breath.

"Ready?" asked Sirius. I nodded once, and with a wave of his wand, a blank Howler appeared, ready to record. "Alright, and... go!"

"Percy Weasley, you have been ignoring my letters all summer you ass!" I yelled, putting all the force and emotion I could into the words. The Howler's magic would amplify everything I put into the letter, but I wasn't about to hold back. "I thought we were friends, but instead you deserted me and the rest of your family! And over what? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! THAT'S WHAT! Nothing but the illusion of power and a bunch of bullshit pride!"

I took a quick breath, trying to calm down a little before launching into the next part. The goal of this Howler was to wake him up and get him thinking, not just yell at him so I felt better. Although, the yelling was definitely a perk.

"Whatever you want to believe, there's a big storm on the horizon, and nobody's going to be able to avoid it. And in times like that, the only thing that gets us through is friends and family. Not prestige, not success in your job, not people who call you Weatherby and ignore you until you become useful to them, none of that. All that matters is the people who'd run into the burning building for you, and people you'd do the same for. Right now, your priorities are completely screwed up, and you need to figure your shit out before it's too late."

I paused, letting my words hang in the air before taking a deep breath for the last part of my message.

"I don't know when you're going to get this letter Perce, but I hope it's in the middle of your office at the Ministry so all your coworkers can hear what a dick you've been to your friend. To somebody who invited you to Friendsgiving and stood up for you against your brothers, my best friends. This is the first of many in a long, long line of coming Howlers, so you better wake up quick Percy, or else you're in for a hell of a time. You know who I am, I'm crazy and persistent normally, but that gets amped up to ten when it comes to keeping people I care about together. Owl me back an apology and go talk to your mother, or I guess you'll hear from me again in a few weeks."