𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙨 (𝖽𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗈 𝗆𝖺𝗅𝖿𝗈𝗒 𝗑 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋)

one

I looked around at my fellow students. My two best friends, Fawn and Courtney, were walking next to me. I saw a group of third-years walk past us and I noticed a new height difference. As a new fourth-year, I wasn't used to being taller than people. My friends and I walked into the Great Hall, taking a seat at the Hufflepuff table.

"Courtney," I said, turning to her. "I thought you were hungry?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm not." She scribbled away at her paper. "Besides, this essay is due tomorrow and I've barely even started it." Her red hair was falling in front of her normally bright blue eyes since she had her head down over her paper.

"Oh, okay. Do you want my help? I've already finished it."

"Nope, it's fine . . . Draught of Living Death turns green when the Valerian Sprigs were added at the wrong time, right?"

"That is correct," I said, standing up. "I'm going to go and finish my Transfiguration homework. Professor McGonagall needs me to perfect the animal size-changing thing."

"Okay, we'll talk to you later."

~~~

The Hufflepuff common room was always a quiet and calm place. The yellow walls always gave off a calm and happy aura--they always seemed to brighten one's mood.

The entrance was right next to the kitchen below the Great Hall, so an amazing scent was always wafting through into the common room. Many of us, especially the older kids and prefects, were good friends with the house-elves working there. We would always clean up after ourselves so the house-elves didn't have to do as much work here. The six prefects in Hufflepuff always helped pick up trash and sometimes stayed up to help the elves.

I looked up at the ceiling for the millionth time since becoming a Hufflepuff as a first-year. There were plants hung up in pots, held up by support beams and a bit of magic. The plants were kept alive by the prefects, and I must say that they did a good job. There was a pot of rosemary over the table and the pot had lights in it for the students using the table. There were bushels of mint around the corners of the room, and a rose bush climbing up the wall by the entrance. Lillies, daisies, and petunias were growing around the fireplace, and tons of bright and exotic flowers were blooming in the pots suspended from the ceiling.

I looked back at the entrance from my seat at the table. It was wide and arched, and it always reminded me of the grand doors to a castle, except smaller. From the outside, it looked like another part of the wall.

I looked down at the small porcupine underneath my wand. "Heya, little guy," I said softly, scratching his stomach with my nails. The animal purred and nuzzled me gently.

I didn't want to harm the animal or cause it pain in any way, that's why I couldn't get it right.

"Okay, buddy. This will only hurt a little bit."

I pointed my wand at him and whispered the spell: "Fera Verto Duo."

The porcupine grew one size, now as tall as half of my wand, when it had once been the size of my wand. My eyes grew in surprise; I had never done it correctly before, yet I quickly put the animal back to his normal size.

"Great job, litte buddy."

~~~

"What do you want, L/n?"

"Uh, I--I didn't mean--"

"Buzz off, Malfoy! Y/n did nothing to you," Fawn said, stepping in front of me. Courtney stepped back; she wasn't normally one for confrontation. Fawn, however, would always stand up for herself, her friends, and basically everyone.

"She ran into me!"

"She didn't mean to!"

"And why do I care? She still ran into me. I'm allowed to be upset!"

"Oh, stop whining. You're just a pathetic arse who can't defend himself. You're so weak that you get pissed when someone bumps into you!" Fawn added.

Malfoy gripped his wand and pointed it at Fawn. "My father will hear about this."

"Oh, yes. He'll hear all about how you were so whiny and weak that you got mad at another student—an innocent student, might I remind you—all because she bumped into you."

Malfoy rolled his eyes and climbed into a tree, as there were many in the courtyard.

I saw a group of three walking towards us. Potter stopped when he saw Malfoy in the tree.

"You know, Potter," said Malfoy from the tree, "my father and I have a bet. He says you won't last ten minutes in the tournament. I say you won't last five."

"Listen, Malfoy," Harry said, marching up to him as he jumped from the tree. "I don't give a damn about some bloody bet between you and your father. He's a vile man. You're just pathetic."

Malfoy stood right in front of him, looking down with a smirk on his face.

"Oh, really?" He pulled out his wand.

Then suddenly, he was a white ferret.

I backed up, covering my mouth with one hand. I was shocked. I started giggling.

Ferret-Malfoy scampered around a little, then was lifted into the air by nothing and forced down Goyle's pants. Goyle had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Goyle started freaking out and Crabbe reached his hand down Goyle's pants, trying to get him out.

"He bit my finger!" Crabbe yelled, retracting his hand quickly.

"Get him out!" Goyle screamed.

Ferret-Malfoy ran out of Goyle's pant leg and started going in circles. He suddenly started bouncing up and down in midair.

"Alastor?" said Professor McGonagall, walking up behind us. "What are you doing? Is... is that a student?"

"Technically, it's a ferret." Professor Moody walked out from behind the tree.

Professor McGonagall turned Malfoy back normal again. "Alastor, you of all people should know that transfiguring a student is strictly forbidden! This will not happen again."

Malfoy lay on the ground for a few seconds before getting up quickly, his smirk replaced by one of a tiny bit of fear.

"My father will hear about this!" he said, stepping back.

"Is that a threat?"

Silence.