Magic? || Years 1-5

Doxies: Year 5/Summer

Amisty was standing with Hermione, Ginny, Fred, and George in the middle of the olive green drawing room, sneezing behind the cloth over her mouth and nose from the ridiculous amount of dust coming from the carpet and dirty tapestries hanging from the wall. The curtains the doxies were hiding in were buzzing ominously, and she adjusted her grip on the spray bottle in her hand, waving as Ron and Harry walked in.

"Cover your faces and take a spray. It's Doxycide. I've never seen an infestation this bad -- what that house-elf's been doing for the last ten years -- " Mrs. Weasley told them, handing them tea towels.

"Kreacher's really old, he probably couldn't manage -- " Hermione started to protest.

"You'd be surprised what Kreacher can manage when he wants to, Hermione," Sirius replied from the doorway, waltzing in with a bloody bag of dead rats. Just a normal day at Grimmauld. "I've just been feeding Buckbeak. I keep him upstairs in my mother's bedroom. Anyway... this writing desk..."

He dropped the bag onto an armchair, kneeling down next to the shaking cabinet.

"Well, Molly, I'm pretty sure this is a boggart, but perhaps we ought to let Mad-Eye have a shifty at it before we let it out -- knowing my mother it could be something much worse," Sirius told her as he was peering through the keyhole.

"Right you are, Sirius," Mrs. Weasley nodded. Amisty winced.

The faux politeness in their tones was uncomfortably obvious.

Thankfully it was soon cut off by the loud clang of the doorbell, and then the loud shrieking of Sirius's mother.

"Stains of dishonor, filthy half-breeds, blood traitors, children of filth..."

"Auuurrghhh," Amisty groaned loudly and very overdramatically, glaring at Sirius in an only half-joking way.

Fred and George snickered.

"I keep telling them not to ring the doorbell!" He sighed, shaking his head as he rushed downstairs.

Soon after, the portrait stopped.

"Close the door, please, Harry," Mrs. Weasley flipped open a book, scanning through the pages.

Harry walked over very slowly and closed the door very slowly as well.

He wasn't very good at subtly and was quick to rejoin them.

"Right, you lot, you need to be careful, because doxies bite and their teeth are poisonous. I've got a bottle of antidote here, but I'd rather nobody need it," Mrs. Weasley told them, standing up and stepping in front of the curtain. "When I say the word, start spraying immediately. They'll come flying out at us, I expect, but it says on the sprays one good squirt will paralyze them. When they're immobilized, just throw them in the bucket."

She stepped forward, adjusting the towel over her nose and mouth, and raised her bottle, "Alright -- squirt!"

It was rather entertaining, watching the four-armed creatures come flying toward them and then falling straight to the ground with loud thunks.

"Fred, what are you doing? Spray that at once and throw it away!" Mrs. Weasley ordered.

Fred was holding a doxy in his hand, smiling as he sprayed it, "Right-o!"

Amisty rolled her eyes, spraying the two ones that were just about to get Hermione from behind.

"Sorry if that got on you!" She called, ducking and spraying another one.

It was almost like a sport.

"Nope! Thanks!" Hermione grinned, collecting the ones Amisty had sprayed down and throwing them into the bucket.