Magic? || Years 5-7

Ron's Temper: Year 6

News about Katie spread quickly throughout the school, though no one knew about the true target of the necklace except for the four of them and poor Leanne. Harry had unhelpfully pointed out that Malfoy knew, too, but his accusation fell on deaf ears.

Eager to hear about Harry's lesson with Professor Dumbledore, especially after a rather draining party meeting Gwenog Jones (the captain of the Holyhead Harpies), Amisty couldn't wait for breakfast to be over. Thankfully, he was quick to fill them in on their trek down to the greenhouses. Despite her worries, the thick fog had returned, successfully making their journey a tad more difficult than it should have been.

"He showed me this memory about meeting Voldemort when he was young, when he was still Tom Riddle. He grew up in an orphanage - " He said, with a very unsubtle glance in Amisty's direction, "and terrorized all the kids there. Took their toys and all. Already crazy about power and everything. . . Dumbledore said he never had a friend and never would. . ."

"Wow, scary thought, the boy You-Know-Who," Ron replied as they took up position around a Snargaluff stump. "But I still don't get why Dumbledore's showing you all this. I mean, it's really interesting and everything, but what's the point?"

"Dunno," Harry said around his gum shield. "But he says it's all important and it'll help me survive."

Amisty twitched, "Is digging around in his past really going to help, though?"

"I think it's fascinating," Hermione piped up, handing Amisty a pair of protective gloves as she fixed her goggles. "It makes absolute sense to know as much about Voldemort as possible. How else will you find out his weaknesses?"

"So how was Slughorn's latest party?" Harry asked.

"Oh, it was quite fun, really," She said, shrugging. "I mean, he drones on about famous ex-pupils a bit, and he absolutely fawns on McLaggen because he's so well-connected, but he gave us some really nice food and he introduced us to Gwenog Jones."

To be perfectly fair, it wasn't completely terrible. It's just that Amisty would much rather prefer to not listen to McLaggen brag about his family name for forty-five minutes straight under the guise of being polite. At least Blaise offered some entertainment, mocking the cocky Gryffindor behind his back with dramatic reinterpretations and wild gestures. Turns out, reenactments are a Slytherin gift.

"Gwenog Jones?" Ron repeated, eyes going very round behind the thick plastic of his goggles. "The Gwenog Jones? Captain of the Holyhead Harpies?"

"That's right," Hermione nodded. "Personally, I thought she was a bit full of herself, but - "

"Quite enough chat over here!" Professor Sprout called, startling Amisty into dropping her goggles. "You're lagging behind, everybody else has started, and Neville's already got his first pod!"

She sheepishly picked up the fallen goggles, looking over her shoulder to spot Neville clutching a pulsing green orb. He looked rough around the edges, with a bloody lip and quite an array of scratches across his face, but he seemed very pleased with himself.

"Okay, Professor, we're starting now!" Ron replied, immediately dropping his volume as soon as Professor Sprout had turned away, "should've used Muffliato, Harry."

"No, we shouldn't!" Hermione protested in an instant. "Well, come on. . . we'd better get going. . ."

Staring down at the stump, Amisty's entire body was screaming at her to not touch the thing that would soon bring upon the same bloody fate as Neville. But, unfortunately, this was a class. They took a deep breath and dived.

Immediately, the dreaded stump came alive. Vines covered in brambles and thorns flew toward them, tangling around their arms and hair. One even snagged on Hermione's hair, which Ron had to fight away with a pair of secateurs. Amisty dove under another, brandishing her own secateurs as Harry tied a pair of them into a knot. A hole opened in the middle, and Hermione shoved her arm inside only for the stupid thing to close around it. They hacked away at the vines until they came free and Hermione went tumbling backward, a pod identical to Neville's clutched to her chest. As soon as they finished, the vines retreated back inside and the stump gave the deceptive appearance of being a piece of wood instead of a murderous plant.