HOWLERS AND CORNISH PIXIES!

SEPTEMBER 1992

2nd Year

• • • •

Annabelle let out a laugh from where she was sat next to Hermione at the Gryffindor table in The Great Hall, as they watched Ron attempt to fix his broken wand with sellotape.

"Huhh... Say it, I'm doomed." Ron groaned.

The Potters smirked at each other, "You're doomed."

"Hi, Harry!" A voice called from behind Annabelle and Hermione, followed by a blinding flash, making people turn around to see a short, blonde, smiley first year grinning at the Boy Who Lived, "I'm Colin Creevy! I'm in Gryffindor, too!"

"Oh- Hi, Colin. Nice to meet you." Harry politely said.

The sound of a squawk entered The Great Hall, and Errol flew into the hall.

"Ron? Is that your owl?" Dean asked him, and everyone watched as the owl flew to Ron, crashing into a bowl of crisps, which Colon took a picture of, as everyone laughed.

"Bloody bird's a menace," Ron shook his head, before taking out a red envelope from Errol's beak, eyes widening in realisation, "Oh, no!"

"Look, everyone!" Seamus cried, "Weasley's got himself a Howler!" He announced, making everyone, except his close friends laugh at Ron.

"Go on, Ron. I ignored one from my gran once. It was horrible!" Neville told him.

With shaking hands, Ron reluctantly opened the scarlet red letter, dropping it on the table out of shock as it yelled at him, "RONALD WEASLEY!" Molly Weasley's voice screeched, "HOW DARE YOU STEAL THAT CAR! I AM ABSOLUTLEY DISGUSTED! YOUR FATHER'S NOW FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, AND IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT! IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE, WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT HOME!" The letter spat, making Ron nod, terrified, before the Howler turned to the youngest Weasley, "Oh, and Ginny, dear, congratulations on making Gryffindor. Your father and I are so proud," Molly's voice told her, making Ginny awkwardly look down, embarrassed, and the letter turned back to the redhead, ripping itself apart, leaving a petrified Ron and a silent Great Hall.

***

Annabelle and Hermione chatted excitedly to each other, as they, like the rest of the students in their class, waited for Lockhart to start Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, which was decorated with portraits of the owner himself. The door to Lockhart's office then swung open, and the Professor sauntered out.

"Let me introduce you to your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher: me!" He announced, making the girls, except Cora, all look at him with a sigh, "Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class," He started, walking down the stairs, "Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League, and five-times winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award- but I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at him," The Professor said, then giving the Second Years a smile, chuckling creepily, to which the girls all stared at, whilst the boys and Cora looked at each other with confused grimaces, "Now- be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizard kind. You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here. I must ask you not to scream. It might... provoke them!" He cried, whipping the blanket that was over a cage, revealing little, blue, screaming Cornish pixies.

"Cornish pixies?" Seamus exclaimed.

"Freshly caught Cornish pixies!" Lockhart corrected, making Seamus and the rest of his friends laugh, "Laugh if you will, Mr. Finnigan, but pixies can be devilish tricky little blighters. Let's see what you make of them, ha!" The Professor cried, opening the cage, and the pixies came swarming out, making Annabelle and Hermione knock their books off of their table as they rushed to stand up, trying to rush away from the creatures, "Come on now- round them up, round them up, they're only pixies!"

Annabelle grabbed the sleeve of Cora's robes, dragging both her and Hermione to the front of the classroom in an attempt to evade the pixies' wrath.

The redheaded girl's eyes wandered from the pixies ripping pages out of student's textbooks to Neville, as the pixies held him by his ears, flying up and hooking his robes on the chandelier.

"Ah! Aaah! Aaah! Aah- aah!" The boy cried.

"Neville!" Annabelle yelled up with a gasp.

"Hey, get me down!" Neville shouted to his friends, as all but Harry, Ron, Hermione, Annabelle and Cora ran out of the classroom.

Annabelle looked around for a way to help him, stopping quickly as she felt a pixie tug at her tie, making her grab onto the red and gold material, struggling desperately to make the blue creature let go of her tie.

"Anna!" Cora cried, seeing what was happening, rushing over and helping her friend yank the pixie off of her tie, successfully getting rid of the creature.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Another pixie then grabbed onto Hermione's hair, starting to pull on the girl's brown locks, "Get off me!" She cried.

"Stop! Stop! Hold still!" Harry told her, the girl complying, before the Potter boy hit the pixie away with a text book.

"Peskipiksi pesternomi!" Lockhart cried, failing to do the spell, as a pixie took his wand.

Lockhart watched helplessly as the pixie flew away with his wand, before he ran up the stairs to his office, fighting with another one of blue creatures over a picture of himself. A battle which he lost.

The man then turned to Harry, Ron, Annabelle, Cora and Hermione, "I'll ask you three to just nip the rest of them back into their cage!" He said, before ducking into the safety of his office, making the five scoff at him.

"What do we do now?" Ron asked.

Hermione then pulled out her wand, pointing it at the pixies, "Immobulus!" She cried, making the creatures stop moving.

"Nice." Annabelle complimented her, breathing heavily.

Neville sighed, still hanging from the chandelier, "Why is it always me?"