*★* WATTPAD FRIENDS AND FAMILY, WATTPAD FEATURED STORY & 2017 WATTYS WINNER!! *★* Preceded by rumors of their prophetic birth, pure-blood twins, Fred and George Weasley, follow in the footsteps of their three older brothers by attending a school for...
"Do you see them, Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked, as she led the headmaster to the stairwell. Millicent Bagnold was at his heels. When she noticed the blank canvases, contempt spewed from her lips.
"Erasing paintings?" she cried. "This breaks Educational Decree Number Seven! The destruction of school artifacts results in expulsion from Hogwarts Castle. Punishment should be severe, Headmaster."
"Hmm..." Dumbledore purred, his lips pressed tightly together. With delicate steps, he surveyed the scene. The decorative gold frames still clung to the wall and the characters from nearby paintings were showing silent concern.
"Could it be that ghost?" the Minister inquired, her eyes darting nervously. "The one who torments the staff?"
"Peeves?" said Dumbledore, in half a voice. "He is a harmless nuisance."
McGonagall looked distressed, her long face in anxious wrinkles. "I'm not sure what to think? I daresay, it couldn't have been a teacher. It was a student, certainly..."
Dumbledore stepped so close to the wall that his long nose nearly touched the canvas of the lowest frame. Nodding, he considered her suggestion. "Feel free to look into the usual wrongdoers. But keep an open mind, Minerva. Much like the paintings themselves, there was a skilled hand at work here."
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The Scythe Ravens were swooping through the students, most of whom didn't know if they should be cheering or screaming. Hagrid, with his face drawn in shock, barely had enough time to warn them.
"Hurry! We've gotta stick t'gether! Otherwise they'll attack!" he shouted, swatting the air as he corralled the class toward him.
Even from afar, the students were able to detect that the small birds were not interested in being an exercise in transfiguration. With sharp sickle beaks and thorny emerald feathers, they were ringing the group in search of prey. After the initial threat had passed, Hagrid stepped into the courtyard and raised his arms to the sky.
"Yer a'right now. Jus' get back in yer cage," he said with a beckoning gesture. If Hagrid was being honest, he was more concerned about McGonagall discovering his mistake than anyone getting hurt. That is, until he noticed one of the students picking flowers near the castle wall.
Angelina was so excited about the four-leaf clovers that she failed to realize that the birds had escaped the cage. She also was unaware of how close they were, and that a number were attacking at that very moment. When the first two made contact, all she could do was cower and scream.
Hagrid moved swiftly. He hobbled forward and broke a limb off the nearest tree. "Stick t'gether!" he repeated, cracking it in half as two more Scythe Ravens pelted Angelina in the back and leg. Gulping a deep breath, Hagrid raised the makeshift club. "Awful sorry 'bout this..." When the first birds were in range, he pummeled them away and prepared for the next surge.
