✓ Heavenly

018. Halo Model

Part One / Chapter Eighteen

Horrified was an understatement, and Venus didn't know who else to talk to but Tonks. Venus didn't own a owl, and it was hard to ask for one when no one allowed her to use them, and when all the owls in the Owlery refused to take her letter.

"Lend me your bloody owl!" Venus demanded, but Harry refused. It'd been the first words she's said to him in weeks, but she was desperate. "Ron, if you don't lend me you owl, I swear to Merlin I will yank your pumpkin hair out of your scalp!"

Ron whimpered and ran behind Hermione for protection. The three except Constance inching away from the girl. It was like anger was seeping into her veins, she was bright red and heaving as if she'd just been chased by centaurs in the Forbidden Forest.

"Vee! Are you insane?" Constance asked. The other three nervously watched her confront the angry girl, who looked like she would kill anything within a five mile radius. "Can't this wait?"

"No. It can't! I need to speak to her, I need to see her!"

"You never even told us what she said!" argued Constance. "How do you expect us to help if you won't tell us."

"She said— she said—" Venus choked on Umbridge's foul words. "She said she'd figure what my mother was and she'd bleed it out of me."

"You can tell a teacher, she threatened you." Hermione counseled shoving Ron off of her.

"I'm afraid if I do, she'll find a reason to sack them too. I can risk that, we need all the good teachers here," Venus said with a worrying look on her face. The likelihood of Umbridge "bleeding" her out was less likely than Ron sprouting a flower from the top of his head. Venus didn't fret about it for long.

"Hermione?" said Venus, pulling Hermione away from Ron and Harry. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Hey! What about me?" Constance complained. At the mention of Venus saying it would involve reading, she quickly bailed. "Let's get to dinner, Randy and Harold."

"Can't. Umbridge gave me another week of detention," Harry sulked, seemingly unfazed that Constance said his name wrong. He noticed Venus' distressed expression. "You were in McGonagall's office when I happened. I'll be fine, got through it last time, didn't I?"

Soon enough, Constance and Ron retreated into the Great Hall. Harry disappeared around the corner of a corridor, leaving Hermione and Venus alone in the hall.

"What was the favor you were going to ask me?" asked Hermione.

"Can you help me figure out what my Mum was, I know we barely have anything but it's worth a sh—"

"Venus. I'd be happy to help."

Soon enough, 6 pm turned to 9pm which turned to 11pm. Venus and Hermione were surrounded with mountainous stacks of books on Mythical Creatures, Half-Breeds and History of Scotland; in hopes of finding anything peculiar. Venus read so much she could teach the next Care of Magical Creatures lesson.