Light + Dark = Magic (Solangelo Goes to Hogwarts)

SPEW

A/N: Shit, sorry guys I had some technical difficulties but I hope it actually posts this time. 

Hope you enjoy!

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The judges gave their scores and Harry tied for first with Krum.

I also noted that Karkaroff gave him a four, whereas he had given a ten to Krum. A little suspicious, if you ask me.

Everyone walked back to Hogwarts still talking excitedly about the first task.

~*~

Everyone in the Gryffindor common room was bustling around happily, waiting for Harry to return. Apparently they were planning a surprise party, as Fred and George had brought up a lot of food from the kitchens.

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione finally walked through the portrait and into the common room, everyone exploded with loud cheers and clapping, while some fireworks, which had to be a fire hazard, shot up overhead.

Harry set the giant egg down on a nearby table and helped himself to some food.

"Blimey, this is heavy," came the voice of Lee Jordan, who had picked it up. "Open it, Harry, go on! Let's just see what's inside it!"

Will joined in the people convincing Harry to do it, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious. After some debating, Hermione insisting he was supposed to figure out the clue on his own, Harry did as asked. He took the egg in his hands and pried it open.

The ear-splitting scream that came out of it reminded me faintly of the whistle Will made sometimes in battle, only a couple times worse because this lasted longer and sounded like a bunch of people screaming and wailing.

Everyone's hands flew to cover their ears, as Fred yelled, "Shut it!"

Harry slammed it shut, much to everyone's relief, leaving me with a ringing in my ears.

"What was that?" Seamus asked, staring at the egg in disbelief. "Sounded like a banshee... maybe you'll have to get past one of those next, Harry."

If that was true, it would be bad.

"It was someone being tortured!" Neville said, face pale white and the food he'd been holding spilled at his feet. "You're going to have to fight the Cruciartus Curse!"

What kind of horrible things has this boy gone through where he can recognise the sound of someone being tortured to the brink of sanity?

"Don't be a prat, Neville, that's illegal," said George. "They wouldn't use the Cruciatus Curse on the champions. I thought it sounded a bit like Percy singing . . . maybe you've got to attack him while he's in the shower, Harry."

Who the Hades is Percy?

I turned to Will and asked, "Do you know what the hell that could mean?"

Will turned to me with a shrug, "No idea."

Beside us I heard Hermione asking Fred how they got into the kitchen for all the food.

"Easy," he said brightly, "there's a concealed door behind a painting of a bowl of fruit. Just tickle the pear, and it giggles and —" He stopped, furrowing his brows and giving her a suspicious look. "Why?"

"Nothing," she said quickly.

"Going to try and lead the house-elves out on strike now, are you?" said George. "Going to give up all the leaflet stuff and try and stir them up into rebellion?"

"Don't you go upsetting them and telling them they've got to take clothes and salaries!" said Fred warningly "You'll put them off their cooking!"

Suddenly, my attention was brought to Neville who had somehow turned into a large canary.

"Oh — sorry, Neville!" Fred shouted over all the laughter. "I for- got — it was the custard creams we hexed —"

But in less than a minute, he had molted, feathers falling off, and he reappeared as if he hadn't just been a bird. He laughed along with everyone else.

"Canary Creams!" Fred shouted to the excitable crowd. "George and I invented them — seven Sickles each, a bargain!"

I laughed, although I couldn't understand why Neville was laughing as well, since I remembered how unpleasant it had been to be a plant.

I turned to Hermione, curiosity getting the better of me as I asked her, "What's a house elf?"

She looked at me, surprise clear on her face.

"Oh, are they not a common thing in the United States?"

I blinked, "Um, no."

"Well," she started, eyes narrowing in what appeared to be anger, "house-elves are magical beings that are enslaved by rich wizards and cannot disobey their masters." My eyes widened as she continued. "They can only be set free when their master presents them with clothes. They are treated completely unfairly!"

I was silent for a moment. "Why are people allowed to keep slaves?"

She sighed before continuing, "Everyone seems to think it's completely normal and they always say that the house-elves are happy to serve."

Will's voice came up behind me, sounding just as angered as I felt, "How can anyone be happy as a slave?"

"Exactly!" She reached into her robes and pulled out a small badge with the letters S.P.E.W. across it. "I've started an organisation called The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare and I'm trying to get more people to join so we can help free them or at least stop the complete enslavement of the house-elves."

I stared at the badge in her hand for a moment before coming to a conclusion. "How do I join?"

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, I guess she wasn't used to that response from people. "Uh, there's an entrance fee of two Sicles and you get a badge."

"Does it have to be two for each or is it fine for the both of us?" Will asked. "We're a little tight on money."

"I guess it's alright for the both of you," she said, pulling out another two badges.

Where does she even keep those?

"You're the first ones to actually seem interested," she continued. "So far, Harry, Ron, and Neville are in SPEW as well, but they aren't very serious about it."

Will pulled out some silver coins from his pocket and traded them for the badges. We talked for a bit longer before she walked away towards Harry, a bright smile on her face. I barely registered her saying something about how we'd joined her group before

I looked at the ground and whispered, "I can't believe they keep slaves too."

"Gods, I know," he said, dragging a hand down his face with a sigh. "There's terrorists as headmasters, adults that want to put children through near-death experiences, and now slave owners."

"As much as I like magic, I'm starting to hate wizards more and more."

~*~

By the time Will and I went back to our rooms, it was well past midnight.

We changed into our pyjamas, turned off the lights and got under the covers of Will's bed. We had come to an unspoken agreement that we would be sharing from now on.

As I curled up in the warmth of Will's chest, I thought of the day's events.

We should figure out what the next task is, just in case.

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A/N: Ok, so I thought I posted it yesterday, but apparently I just left it as a draft.

My dumbass really needs to check to make sure it actually posts, goddamn.

Sorry about that guys, I hope I remember to actually post it next time.