Muggle-Raised Champion

Formal Fashion Fiasco

Disclaimer – I solemnly swear that JKR owns everything Harry Potter. Whether or not I am up to no good with her characters is for you to decide.

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7:20pm

Wednesday, 21 December 1994

Classroom on the first floor, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

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"Harry!" Susan yelled. "Freeze it! Quickly!"

Drawing his wand, Harry attempted to get a bead on the bird zipping around the rafters of the classroom. The thing was fast – damned fast. Instead of his hand moving smoothly as he tracked it, he found that he needed to jerk his wand from one side to the other, attempting to follow its movements.

Suddenly, the lime green and orange ball of fluff spun about on its axis and shot towards the door. Luckily, Susan was there before it, firmly slamming the door in it face. It was just the opportunity that Harry needed. The door brought it up short, pausing it in its flight.

"Immobulus!" he cried, causing a bright blue beam of light to shoot from his wand to strike the bird square on.

"Well done, Harry," Susan panted. "Hold it there."

With a nod, Harry kept his wand trained on the bird, ensuring that it remained frozen in mid-air. This charm that froze living creatures that Professor Flitwick had taught him was prone to allowing gravity or momentum affect the creature that had been immobilised, thus, he'd been taught that it was imperative that he keep focussed, lest the bird in this case, plummet to the floor.

Within seconds, Susan was back with the cage in her hands. Carefully, she plucked the bird out of the air before stuffing it back inside the cage and firmly locking the door.

"I think that we'd better observe the fwooper from inside its cage," she commented dryly.

Harry agreed, giving her a nod combined with a lop-sided grin.

"Well, there you go, Harry," Susan said, placing the cage onto the nearest table. "I'm supposed to be teaching you Care of Magical Creatures and I've already learnt something tonight – fwoopers are incredibly fast."

"I would have thought that it would have made some sort of noise when it slammed head-first into that door," Harry commented.

"Silencing charm," Susan replied, "by law, all fwoopers in captivity have to have a silencing charm applied to them monthly."

Harry cocked his head at her. "Why's that?"

"Because if you hear their call, it can drive you insane," Susan replied simply.

"Good law," Harry said.

Susan grinned at him. "Don't tell my auntie this, but I think that it's actually one of the few laws that actually make sense."

"My lips are sealed," Harry replied, pulling an imaginary zip across his mouth.

"Right then. Fwoopers," Susan said, gesturing to the bird sitting on the cage staring menacingly at the pair of them. "They're a native of Africa and classed as a XXX beast, so not too dangerous since all it takes to ensure that you're safe is knowing how to perform a silencing charm."

"A fourth year charm?" Harry asked.

"Fifth year," Susan corrected.

"Is there anything else special about them apart from their ability to send people insane?" Harry asked.

"Not really," Susan replied. "Their feathers make good quills and their eggs are incredibly pretty. I guess that's about it, really. They're easy to identify, though, which is something. I don't know of any other birds that come in bright pink, lime green, orange and yellow feathers like they do."