WHERE RED MEETS WHITE

𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻

At breakfast the next day, I saw Harry and Ron and they told me that they received detentions from McGonagall and Snape that would happen soon.

They made sure not to throw me under the bus and they took the blame for everything, which I greatly appreciated.

Ginny sat next to me and told me about all the girls in her dorm. I told her what happened with Harry and Ron and she forgave me for not being at her sorting.

Breakfast carried on normally until the morning post arrived. Errol quickly flew past me and dropped a red letter in front of Ron. My twin and I exchanged a look quickly, we both knew what it was. Mum sent a howler.

"Look everyone," Seamus pointed at my brother. "Weasley's got himself a howler!"

Everyone around us laughed but I gave Ron an anxious look.

"Go on Ron! I ignored one from my gran once. It was horrible," Neville shuddered.

"Neville's right," I nudged his arm. "You need to open it."

"Why didn't you get one too?" Ron narrowed his eyes at me.

"Look," I pointed, "It's addressed to you."

"Fine then," Ron muttered and started to open the wax seal on the back of the howler.

"RONALD WEASLEY!" A booming voice belonging to Mum erupted throughout the hall. "HOW DARE YOU STEAL THAT CAR? I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED! YOUR FATHER'S NOW FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK AND ITS ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT!"

The howler turned to me, "THIS IS YOUR FAULT TOO ABIGAIL. I AM BEYOND DISAPPOINTED IN YOU. YOU KNOW BETTER! IF YOU TWO PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE, WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT HOME!"

Ron and I gulped as the howler took a deep breath. Everyone's eyes were on us. The howler remained in my direction and I braced myself for more yelling from Mum when the howler returned to Mum's normal voice to say, "Oh and Ginny, dear. Congratulations on making Gryffindor. Your father and I are so proud!"

Ginny blushed and lowered her head. The howler then ripped into pieces in front of us. After a moment of silence, everyone returned to their meals but whispers of what had just happened could be heard.

"That was brutal," Scarlett said, popping a grape into her mouth.

"Scarlett," Gia smacked her on her arm and Scarlett shrugged.

I still had no words and continued to eat my breakfast. McGonagall came past to give us our schedules and gave Ron, Harry and I a disapproving look. I took my schedule and looked down to see what my first lesson was. Great, Herbology with the Hufflepuffs.

I grabbed my bag with my books and started to walk out of the Great Hall with Hermione, the girls trailing behind us. We all walked to Greenhouse Three where Professor Sprout was waiting for us. Soon our entire class arrived and the lesson had begun.

"Good morning everyone," Professor Sprout smiled. "Welcome to Greenhouse Three, second years. Gather round everyone!"

Everyone stepped closer to the plants in front of us.

"Today we're going to repot Mandrakes!" Professor Sprout explained as she picked a pot up. "Who here can tell me the properties of Mandrake root?"

Hermione's hand shot up, "Mandrakes or Mangora is a powerful restorative. It is used to turn people who have been transfigured or cursed to their original state. The cry of the Mandrake is fatal to anyone who hears it."

"Excellent!" Sprout exclaimed. "10 points to Gryffindor!"

"Nice Hermione," I whispered.

"Now as our Mandrakes are still only seedlings, their cries wont kill you yet but they could knock you out for several hours. Which is why I've given each of you a pair of earmuffs for auditory protection," Sprout pointed to the earmuffs by the pots and we all proceeded to put them on.