CRIMSON CURSES , the wizarding world

ten ▹ a dragon and (a couple of) centaurs

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chapter ten: a dragon and (a couple of) centaurs
word count: 5.5k
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WITH THE ARRIVAL OF SPRING, THE STONE WAS FORGOTTEN, AND EXAMS WERE OVERHEAD.

Teachers had started bombarding them with assignments, revision worksheets, homework, loads and loads of it. They barely had time to breathe, let alone ponder on some silly conquests to stop an evil professor going against their headmaster to gain a stone that could provide him with immortality, at least in principle. 

The more Azalea thought of it to be that way, the more it seemed as a plot of some silly kids' book. 

It was a Saturday afternoon that Azalea and Co. found themselves seated in the Great Hall, catching up on revising, and doing homework, and writing heaps of assignments. Hermione had assigned herself with the task of wondering that if they were so stressed now, what would happen when they appeared for their O.W.Ls and N.E.W.Ts? 

Estrella, Azalea's beloved pet, had fluttered her wings gracefully and landed just between her and Calyspo, nuzzling her face into the latter's palm when she petted her. Azalea smiled, flipping over the page in her Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook, reading up on vampires and werewolves, when she heard Hermione's outraged cry. 

"Look at you! Playing with your cards." Hermione shook her head, tsking, "Pathetic. We've got final exams coming up soon."

"I'm ready," Ron spoke in (over)confidence. "Ask me any question." 

"Okay." Hermione shrugged, humming as she read through her question bank before deciding on one, "What are the three main ingredients of a basic Forgetfulness Potion?" 

Ron looked like a deer caught in headlights, what with his wide eyes and reddening cheeks as he mumbled sheepishly, ". . .I forgot."

Azalea and Castor chortled heartily while Calypso shook her head with a sigh, "Can't believe we're related, Ronniekins."

"Related?" 

"Oh!" Calypso perked up, "All pureblood families are related, somehow. We," Calypso waved a finger between herself and Azalea, "are distant, very distant, cousins. Just like Ron and I, or even you and Ron." 

"But then, how did you not know one another until I introduced you?" Azalea tilted her head innocently. Noticing Ron's flustered state, Calypso pretended to not hear her friend and instead answered Hermione, "Lethe River Water, mistletoe berries, and Valerian sprigs. The three main ingredients in a Forgetfulness Potion." 

"Great! Ronald, what do you plan on doing if this question comes in the exam?"

"Copy off of you?" Ron was back to his sassy self, one-liners ready at the tip of his tongue. 

"No, you wont!" Hermione was offended and outraged. "Besides, according to Professor McGonagall, we're to be given special quills bewitched with an anti-cheating spell."

"That's insulting! It's as if they don't trust us!"

"Wonder why?" Caster whispered under his breath, earning a snort (disguised as a cough) from Azalea, who sat beside him and Calypso across Hermione, diagonal to Ron. 

"Dumbledore again!" Ron exclaimed a few minutes later, throwing his card on the table.

That early evening, to reward themselves for completing one revision test provided courtesy of McGonagall, they found themselves at Hagrid's. The Keeper of Grounds was more than happy to have company, rattling on about this new cookie recipe that Fang had taken a liking to, while Calypso and Ron talked about one thing, Zade and Hermione about another. And so, when evening turned to night, they couldn't realise.