𝐊𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐍 | 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘺

Chapter 14 - The House Cup

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"How Unexpected, indeed."

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"Now remember! These visits to Hogsmeade are a privilege. Should your behaviour make the school look foolish in any way, your privilege should be taken away," Professor McGonagall warned, watching over the students allowed to visit the wizard town of Hogsmeade.

Betelgeuse had dressed to face the bitter cold of early December. She had black corduroy, high-waisted trousers, the green sweater with the letter B from Mrs Weasley and a black wool coat. On her head, she had a green wool hat that complimented her grey eyes.

"Let's go to Zonko's!" Fred shouted, jumping into a carriage and dragging with him Betelgeuse. They sat side by side, George and Lee took a seat across from them with Angelina and Alicia.

"I want to go to Honeydukes," Betelgeuse announced.

"We have to go to The Three Broomsticks. I heard they make a fantastic butterbeer!" Angelina added.

Betelgeuse shared a secretive look with Fred as they began to smile.

The ride to the village was filled with excited chatter, Betelgeuse was curious about the Hog's Head Inn. She and the twins had never visited the dingy pub, but she figured she needed to postpone her visit as Angelina dragged her to the Three Broomsticks.

☆☆☆

The Christmas holidays came and went. Betelgeuse had gone home, where she spent a peaceful and pleasant break. The twins had stayed at the castle since their parents had gone to Romania to visit Charlie. Betelgeuse had received and sent lots of presents and letters.

However, her favourite present was a signet ring with silver and emerald touches she received from him. It was far from the usual gold and crimson colours that she was used to, but she loved it. Soon it was time to head back to Hogwarts, and she could not wait any longer.

It seemed as if the year passed by quickly. The Quidditch team fared tolerably decently under the watchful eye of Wood. Harry Potter revealed himself to be a critical addition to the team.

Betelgeuse had managed to convince Professor McGonagall that her interest in Animagi was purely academic. She had searched tirelessly about the subject, learning that it took skill, practise, and patience to become Animagi. The process of becoming an Animagus was long and arduous and had the potential to backfire and cause the transformation to go horribly wrong.

Betelgeuse did not want to end up with a permanent half-human, half-animal form.

She had to keep a single mandrake leaf in her mouth for an entire month, from full moon to full moon. At the next visible full moon, she would have to spit the foliage in a phial within range of the moon's pure rays. She then would add one of her own hairs, a silver teaspoon of dew that had not seen sunlight or been touched by human feet for seven days, and the chrysalis of a Death's-head Hawk Moth. The mixture had to be put in a quiet, dark place, and could not be in any way disturbed.