Chloe Cullen 2: A Twilight and Harry Potter Crossover

Chapter 3: Gilderoy Lockhart

I walk down to breakfast the next morning with Hermione. She's still disapproving when Harry and Ron come down to breakfast. Several minutes into breakfast, hundreds of owls come flying into the Great Hall, circling and dropping letters and packages. While they do, I start to compose a letter to my parents.

Dear mom and dad,

I got to Hogwarts okay. Harry and Ron got here in style. For some reason that I have yet to ask, they flew here in a car that Ron's dad enchanted to fly! They flew it into the Whomping Willow, which is a huge tree and if you hit it, it will hit back. Hard. Hermione is not happy with them. I'm not bothered that they got here by car because, apart from getting detention, they didn't get seriously hurt. Although, Ron's wand did get broken - he needs to get that replaced ASAP because a broken wand doesn't do spells right.

I gave Fred my old Nimbus 2000. I suspect that having a third person on our team with a Nimbus broom will make our team a lot better. The captain of our team Oliver Wood was also really happy when I told him what I did with my old broom, and what my new broom was. He's a bit over enthusiastic about Quidditch. He was practically giddy when I told him.

Since it's the first day, not much has gone on yet. I am so not looking forward to Defense Against the Dark Arts. That guy is so full of himself in his books. I'll let you know if anything happens with him. Hope everything is going good with you guys. My diet is going good so far. Dad, say hi to Bella for me!

Love,
Chloe

As soon as I finish my letter, I hear a booming scream coming from Mrs. Weasley. "- STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE-" I have to plug my ears to lower the volume to a dull roar, "- LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD HAVE BOTH DIED - ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED - YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME." I realize that it's an envelope that made all that racket, an envelope that Fred tells me is a howler. When I pull my fingers out of my ears, they're still ringing. They don't stop until our walk down to the Herbology greenhouses.

When we get to the greenhouses, everyone else is standing outside. A second after we approach, we see Professor Sprout striding into view - covered in her usual dirt and other stuff that comes from the ground - accompanied by a spotless Gilderoy Lockhart. "Oh, hello there!" he calls, beaming at us. "Just been showing Professor Sprout the right way to doctor a Whomping Willow! But I don't want you running away with the idea that I'm better at Herbology than she is! I just happen to have met several of these exotic plants on my travels..." "Greenhouse three today, chaps!" says Professor Sprout, who is very understandably angry.

She takes a big key ring and unlocks the door. Harry is following Ron, Hermione, and I in when Lockhart says "Harry! I've been wanting a word - you don't mind if he's a couple of minutes late, do you, Professor Sprout?" Judging by her face, she does mind. Lockhart doesn't care though and pulls Harry out of class. Professor Sprout waits for Harry to join us while she passes out earmuffs. When Harry joins us, she starts. "We'll be repotting Mandrakes today. Now, who can tell me the properties of the Mandrake?" Not surprisingly, Hermione raises her hand.

"Mandrake, or Mandragora, is a powerful restorative. It is used to return people who have been transfigured or cursed to their original state." "Excellent. Ten points to Gryffindor. The Mandrake forms an essential part of most antidotes. It is also, however, dangerous. Who can tell me why?" Professor Sprout asks, and I, along with Hermione, raise our hands. She calls on me. "The cry of the Mandrake is fatal to anyone who hears it," I answer. "Precisely. Take another ten points. Now, the Mandrakes we have here are still very young." She points to a row of deep trays. A hundred or so tufty little plants, purplish green in color, are growing in rows. They look exactly like baby Mandrakes I've seen in books.