Inglorious Bastards [Theodore Nott]

Chapter Eighteen

Harry was not too pleased with his day the following morning, but Carina found it to be quite interesting as every minute seems to be spontaneous than last year. The first spontaneous event that happened that day was the Howler that came to their table for Ron – and everyone – to hear. It was a quiet morning when it came, Carina and her friends were at the Gryffindor table eating breakfast while reading their schedules. To her surprise, it was a decent one this year, but then she saw the double Defense Against the Dark Arts and remembered who their professor was. It seems to get the ideal schedule was too much to ask, she thought. And while she was in the middle of eating her bacon, an owl suddenly crashed into her plate and slid down the table, taking the other meals with it. In shock, she stopped mid-chew and stared at the familiar shriveled feathers of Errol.

Laughter was heard from the Slytherins, even Roman laughed and was leaning on Blaise for support, and Theodore was snickering. He would never get tired of Errol's comic relief. The owl was frozen for a time on the table, before it jumped up, fluttered its wings, and then flew away.

"Bloody bird's a menace!" Ron said as he picked up the letter from the table but then dropped it again. The envelope was red, and the sight of it had everyone lean back to brace themselves for what was to come, but also trying to stop their laughter. Carina included as she has also gotten a few herself from Charity.

"Oh no!" Ron cried.

"Look everyone! Weasley's got himself a Howler!" Seamus announced to everyone. Now the whole Hall was laughing.

"Go on, Ron, better open it... I tried to ignore it, but it'll only get worse if you don't... my grand sent me one once. It was horrible." Neville advised Ron.

"Better rip off the band-aid, Weasley." Carina chuckled. She took the empty bowl that was full of chips before Errol came and handed it to Ron, which received a confused look from Hermione and Harry. "To hide the shame.

With trembling hands, Ron opened the envelope –

"RONALD WEASLEY!" Mrs. Weasley's voice roared from inside, shaking the walls of the Hall, and was for everyone to hear. The letter floated in the air and formed a face. "HOW DARE YOU STEAL THAT CAR! I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED! YOUR FATHER IS NOW FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK AND IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT! IF YOU PUT A TOE OUT OF LINE, WE WILL BRING YOU STRAIGHT HOME!" Suddenly, the Howler turned to where Ginny sat with Maisie, and with a softer tone it said, "Oh, and Ginny, dear, congratulations on getting Sorted into Gryffindor, your father and I are so proud." The letter then blew a raspberry at Ron before ripping itself to pieces.

Laughter roared in the Hall, and just as Ron's suffering ended, the bell ran, signaling that it was time for the first period. Walking past their table, Roman and Theodore were snickering after the show. They stopped by where Carina and the others sat and tried to stop their laughter.

"Good show, Weasley. Good show." Roman teased.

"Shut up." Scowled Ron.

"Well, we all get one Howler in one lifetime." Roman sighed and patted Ron's shoulder. the Weasley shrugged his hand off, he was not in the mood for Roman's jokes.

"Well, I don't." Theodore mused. "And didn't you get one last year?"

"Aye, and it will forever be the center of my nightmares." Roman sighed. "Come on, Theodore, we got Charms with the Ravenclaws, can't let those snobby-eagles get all the good seats."

"Like you listen to class." Theodore scoffed, his eyes then went to Carina, "Oh, you're welcome for the toffee last night – glad to see that you're bringing down your Gryffindor pride and learning to accept Slytherin help."