The Raven's Call

Confrontation

"Let me introduce you to your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.
Me."

I sit with Alex in this class, as our teacher makes his big entrance.

"Gilderoy Lockhart
Order of Merlin, Third Class. Honorary member of the Dark Force Defence League and five times winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award. But I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at him." He smiles his brightest smile. Alex and I look at each other in confusion.

"Now, be warned. It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizard kind. You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here." He spoke, his tone changing as he walks over to a cage, covered by cloth. "I must ask you not to scream. It might provoke them!" He dramatises, lifting the cover off of the cage to reveal around twenty small blue pixies, all trying to bash their way out.

"Cornish pixies?" Seamus asks with a chuckle.

"Freshly caught Cornish pixies. Laugh if you will, Mr. Finnegan, but pixies can be devilishly tricky little blighters." Gilderoy smirked, placing his hand on the cage door. "Let's see what you make of them.. Now!" He opens the latch, the pixies fly out and immediately begin causing havoc.

"Come on now, round them up. They're only pixies." Gilderoy tells us. "It's kind of hard when they are attacking us!" Asteria yells at him. "Yeah, you're the teacher you're supposed to help!" Draco agrees, as all the students try to get the pixies off them, hitting them away with their books, one grabbed onto one of my curls, and I punch it away. I hear Neville screaming as he gets lifted by his ears. "Peskipiksi Pesternomi!" Professor Lockheart says as he pulls out his wand to try to get rid of the pixies, but before he can finish the spell, a pixie grabs his wand out of his hand and flies away with it. They're destroying the classroom. Most of the students make their escape, aside from myself, Alex, Hermione, Harry and Ron. And of course, Neville, who is now hung by his cloak on the chandelier. "I'll ask you kids to just nip the rest of them back into their cage." Gilderoy calls to us as he hides himself in his office. "What do we do now?" Ron asks, visibly distressed. I watch as Hermione and Alex both pull out their wands, the two of them speaking the incantation, "Immobulus!" Causing the pixies to freeze in the air, seamlessly floating around, out of their own control. I hear Neville sigh softly. "Why is it always me?"

The five of us stay to help Neville down before it's time for dinner.

***

Over the next couple of days were the quidditch try-outs and I made Ravenclaw Seeker! I'm so lucky, I was SO sure Cho was gonna make seeker instead.

 
***

Hermione asked me to study with her outside since it was a nice day, and Ron joined us shortly after. I had found myself interested in the mandrakes, so I was studying more about them when I started to hear a confrontation between the Slytherin and Gryffindor quidditch teams. "Where do you think you're going, Flint?" Oliver Wood, captain of Gryffindor's Quidditch team, asks Markus Flint, captain of Slytherin's. "Quidditch practice." He responds, like the answer wasn't obvious. "I booked the pitch for Gryffindor today." Oliver responds grumpily. "Easy, Wood. I've got a note." Flint responds, handing him a rolled up parchment. "Uh oh.." Ron mumbles as we all close our books. "I smell trouble.." I sigh softly as the three of us head over to listen in. 

"I, Professor Severus Snape, do hereby give the Slytherin team permission to practice today, owing to the need to train their new Seeker and Beater." Wood read aloud. "You've got new members? Who?" He asks. The Slytherins part ways to reveal the Malfoy Twins, brandishing their new brooms. "The Malfoys?" Harry asks, astonished. "That's right." The twins speak with a grin. "And that's not all that's new this year." Draco boasts. "Those are Nimbus 2001s! How did you get those?!" Ron exclaims. "A gift from the twins' father." Flint spoke through his teeth. "You see, Weasley, unlike some, our father can afford the best." Draco brags, rudely. "At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in." Hermione spoke up and I nod in agreeance. "They got in on pure talent." I speak, raising a brow. Draco takes a step towards us, narrowing his own brows. "No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mud bloods." 

Hermione took a step back, her definitely taking it harder than I did, I was about to threaten him with my wand, but Ron beat me to it. "You'll pay for that one, Malfoy. Eat slugs!" He growls, brandishing a taped up, broken wand at him, the spell backfiring, sending him flying back into the grass. Hermione, Alex, Asteria, the Gryffindor team and myself all run over to check on him, Draco and his team laughing to themselves behind us. "You okay, Ron?!" Hermione exclaims, as Ron rolls over from his back onto his hands and knees, his face paler than usual. "Say something!" Asteria pleads. Ron groans softly for a moment before expelling a slug from his mouth, all of us moaning in disgust. 

There was a sudden flash of light as a sandy blonde haired kid had taken a photo. "Wow! Can you turn him around, Harry!" The kid exclaims. "No, Colin, get out of the way!" Harry exclaims back as himself and Hermione help Ron to his feet. "Let's take him to Hagrid's." He says as Ron spits out another slug. "He'll know what to do." The three run-off to Hagrid Hutt, Alex and I close on their tails. Asteria wanted to join us but was stopped by her brother.