Melanie Rosen: Year 5 (A Harry Potter Fanfiction)

Chapter 14 Longbottom Vs. Lane

Chapter 14

Longbottom Vs. Lane

For detention, Hagrid had me help write a letter to the Ministry. I sat at his uneven rounded table in a rickety chair. I thought of the last detention I had with Hagrid and felt disappointed. Writing a letter was sure dull compared to exploring the Dark Forest.

"I wan' it ter sound proper," Hagrid explained pacing in front of me.

"Sure," I muttered holding up my quill, "so what are we writing about again?"

"An appeal to da Minister," he said in a gruff, "for da wellbeing of giants. So start by saying... sometin' er... sometin' about... their nature, I guess..."

I lowered my quill, having no clue where he was going with this. I knew Hagrid was a half giant but he always seemed content. Why the sudden change?

"So what exactly is their nature?"

"Well..." Hagrid scratched his chin. "Most think they're dangerous 'cause they're big 'in all, but they're actually quite gentle beings once you get ter know 'em."

I had no idea how to put that on paper.

"You know maybe Hermione would be better with this," I suggested. "She's good at sounding smart... I mean she is smart..."

"Hermione didn' land 'erself in eh bloody detention, der she?" He barked at me.

I huffed and began to put his words into sentences best I could. This seemed to drag on for hours.

"Er... be sure ta mention 'You-know-who' and how we got ta stick together..."

"Should I just put Voldemort since it's just writing?"

"NO! That'll only upset em."

I rolled my eyes when his back turned and continued to scribble down what he was saying, while leaning my head on my other hand. I supposed I should be grateful. At least this detention was not making my hand bleed.

xXx

Dobby found a place for us called the Room of Requirements. Apparently it's a secret room in Hogwarts where all you have to do it walk in front of it and think what you need and it will appear for you. Eventually everyone found it. It was perfect. There were cushions on the floor and a set of shelves with necessary tools for dueling.

We used this room for three weeks without any problems so far. I missed the second lesson due to detention. I had detention this night too with McGonagall but, fortunately, she let me go earlier so I made it for the second half. When I arrived, I saw everyone was teamed up, practicing dueling. I could not help but be annoyed when I saw Morgan and Lenora teamed up. I walked over to them.

"So, how about we switch up partners?" I suggested casually.

Morgan gave me a smile and a wink, while Lenora rolled her eyes.

Lenora then shrugged. "Fine, we can switch." She winked at Morgan. "Thanks for all your help. You really taught me a lot today."

Now, I rolled my eyes. Morgan quickly said, "I didn't really teach her... She did not need much help really..."

"Yeah, I bet," I grumbled.

"Longbottom," Lenora said, walking over to where Neville decided to sit out. "How about you pair with me since the numbers are even again?"

Neville looked hesitant but did not immediately say no. I stepped in to intervene.

"No," I said, stepping between Lenora and Neville. "You can be with Morgan if you want. I'll pair with Neville."