Astra

LXXX - The Warning of the Sorting Hat

HARRY AND NEVILLE STOWED the three trunks and Hedwig's cage in the luggage rack and sat down. Luna took a seat and quickly brought out her copy of the Quibbler, handing Astra one as well. Ginny took a seat next to Neville, and Astra sent her a small wink of support, making her blush.

The train rattled onwards, speeding them out into open country. It was an odd, unsettled sort of day; one moment the carriage was full of sunlight and the next they were passing beneath ominously grey clouds.

"Guess what I got for my birthday?" said Neville.

"Another Remembrall?" suggested Harry.

"No," said Neville. "I could do with one, though, I lost the old one ages ago..."

"But what's even the point of a remembrall? I mean, it's not like it tells you what you forgot," Astra inputted, and Neville thought for a moment.

"I'm.. not quite sure, but anyways... look at this..."

He dug the hand that was not keeping a firm grip on Trevor into his schoolbag and after a little bit of rummaging pulled out what appeared to be a small grey cactus in a pot, except that it was covered with what looked like boils rather than spines.

"Mimbulus mimbletonia," he said proudly.

Astra stared at the thing. It was pulsating slightly, giving it the rather sinister look of some diseased internal organ.

"It's really, really rare," said Neville, beaming. "I don't know if there's one in the greenhouse at Hogwarts, even. I can't wait to show it to Professor Sprout. My Great Uncle Algie got it for me in Assyria. I'm going to see if I can breed from it."

Astra was very confused, but sent him a small, supportive smile.

"Does it--er--do anything?" asked Harry.

"Loads of stuff!" said Neville proudly. "It's got an amazing defensive mechanism. Here, hold Trevor for me..."

He dumped the toad into Harry's lap and took a quill from his schoolbag. Luna's popping eyes appeared over the top of her upside-down magazine again, watching what Neville was doing. Neville held the Mimbulus mimbletonia up to his eyes, his tongue between his teeth, chose his spot, and gave the plant a sharp prod with the tip of his quill.

Liquid squirted from every boil on the plant; thick, stinking, dark green jets of it. They hit the ceiling, the windows, and spattered the Quibbler that Luna held up in front of her and Astra; Ginny, who had flung her arms up in front of her face just in time, merely looked as though she was wearing a slimy green hat, but Harry, whose hands had been busy preventing Trevor's escape, received a faceful. 

Neville, whose face and torso were also drenched, shook his head to get the worst out of his eyes.

"So sorry," he gasped. "I haven't tried that before... Didn't realise it would be quite so... Don't worry, though, Stinksap's not poisonous," he added nervously, as Harry spat a mouthful onto the floor.

At that precise moment, the door of their compartment slid open.

"Oh... hello, Harry," said a nervous voice. "Um... bad time?"

Astra had to stifle a laugh at Harry's unluckiness, for Cho Chang stood in the doorway. 

"Oh... hi," said Harry blankly.

"Um..." said Cho. "Well... just thought I'd say hello...bye then."

Rather pink in the face, she closed the door and departed. Harry slumped back in his seat and groaned. 

"Well... that could have gone better, couldn't it?" This time, Astra giggled, only making harry flush more.

"Never mind," said Ginny bracingly. "Look, we can easily get rid of all this." She pulled out her wand. "Scourgify!"