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Chapter 108: Love and Hate Can't Compete with a Piece of Paper
2022-07-14 Author: I'm Just a Pigeon
For any Quidditch Team, the weekend was no day for rest.
This was especially true this year. After Slytherin showed off a full team of Nimbus 2001s, every House Team went into a frenzy. If you couldn't beat them in equipment, you had to make up for it with sweat.
As for the Slytherins, they were more than happy to show off the speed of their brand-new broomsticks on the Quidditch Pitch. Even if it didn't deal a devastating blow to their opponents' morale, it was still a joyous affair to flaunt their flying skills in the air on the latest model of broomstick. It doesn't matter if you're bad at the game; what matters is that your gear looks sharp.
As Slytherin's mortal enemy, the Gryffindor House Team was perhaps the most diligent of all. Captain Wood not only dragged everyone out of bed at the crack of dawn but also refused to let them go back for breakfast or lunch.
"A sandwich is enough! Or do you want to lose to that pack of Slytherins?"
That was how he lectured his team members.
So, it was only when the Gryffindor Quidditch Team returned to the Common Room that they discovered they were the last to learn of Filch's mass roundup of students.
"Scrubbing toilets, washing chamber pots, polishing trophies, processing Potion ingredients, fermenting Dragon Dung—we Gryffindors have done all the chores at Hogwarts. I think after graduation, we could apply for a job in the Hogwarts Kitchen."
When the Weasley Twins returned, covered in sweat and dirt, their friend Kevin was complaining to the crowd in the Common Room. Among those listening was their good friend, Lee Jordan.
"Hey, Kevin, Lee, what are you guys up to?"
George fought back the day's exhaustion from training and greeted his friends.
However, for the first time ever, his enthusiastic greeting was ignored. Kevin shot them a glance, but Lee Jordan remained as still as a statue.
"Hey, Lee?"
But Lee Jordan didn't respond. Instead, it was Kevin who yelled at him and Fred.
"Stay away from us! For at least a week, Weasley, stay away!"
"Now I'm just 'Weasley'? What happened, Kevin?"
George asked, his face a picture of astonishment. The only response he received was the icy glare of his friend. As for Lee Jordan, he didn't even lift his head.
Although the twins tried their best to ask questions, they couldn't get any coherent answers.
Their friend Lee Jordan wouldn't even turn his head to speak to them. This frustrated them, and they had no choice but to give up on trying to communicate—their training was over, but they still had detention that evening.
"Alright, Lee, Kevin. We don't know what happened, but we're out of time. I think we need to have a proper talk—when we get back."
The pair bid a hasty farewell and rushed to the showers to prepare for their evening detention.
"They have no idea—are we being too harsh?"
Once the twins had left, the assembled group began to raise questions.
"Not at all. Who knows if this whole thing was a new joke they came up with? Can you guarantee this wasn't a prank they concocted to scare us that got out of control?"
This question had been raised earlier that afternoon, but aside from Lee Jordan, no one could confidently say the two hadn't intended to pull a prank.
From the day the Weasley brothers enrolled, they had been pulling pranks. Although they weren't malicious, they had a solid track record of teasing other students.
An incident like this could very well have been the two of them plotting to have Filch give everyone a scare. If they hadn't been caught going through Filch's office, all the students could have left after Professor McGonagall arrived, just by giving a reasonable excuse—Hogwarts had no school rules against assembly, after all.
"Change Lee's position. If he stays like that, it'll be obvious he's been hit by a Petrification Charm."
As the twins left the Common Room, their friend Lee even began to shake his fist at them in anger, which left the pair heartbroken for quite some time.
---
"George, it looks like we're being treated as traitors."
"Yes, Fred."
George replied listlessly, wondering how on earth those guys had gotten caught.
"But we haven't pulled that kind of low-level prank in ages. And that guy Lee—wait, it's like Lee was being controlled!"
This conclusion cheered the two of them up.
"Let's skip detention. We've never skipped detention before. We can rush back to the Common Room, rescue Lee—we could…"
Inspiration struck them both. Just as they were about to discuss the feasibility of their plan, a Knight on a portrait came charging down the wall, pulling his horse to a stop in the painting nearest them.
The horse came to a perfect halt, snorting and pawing the ground, looking as if it was ready to do it all over again.
"Misters Weasley, I bring Professor William's apologies. The detention location has been changed at the last minute, so you'll have to head to the Defence Against the Dark Arts Classroom."
He gave the two a knightly salute and then stared at them expectantly until they remembered to return the gesture. Only then did he tug satisfyingly on his reins.
"Come find me if you ever need help. A true Knight never refuses a plea from the weak."
The last half of his sentence was carried far away by his galloping horse. The two brothers, now duly notified, wore miserable expressions.
"Well, now we can't use the excuse that we forgot about detention."
"And we can't pretend to be sick, either."
"And it's even less likely we'll be delayed because Filch caught us."
The two looked at each other and abandoned all thought of skipping detention. Without any excuse, it would be no different from waiting to be expelled.
---
"George? Fred? You're here too?"
As the two of them dragged their feet to the classroom, a familiar voice came from inside.
The same accomplices who had been giving them the cold shoulder were now beaming with joy and overflowing with enthusiasm. Apart from the slightly awkward expressions on their faces, they were exactly as they'd been before.
"Man, we actually suspected you were pranking us. This whole thing is just..."
Kevin apologized to the pair, looking embarrassed. The rest of their accomplices also came forward to offer their sincere apologies—nothing dispelled resentment quite like serving detention together.
Naturally, the twins forgave them, just as the others had forgiven the twins' pranks in the past.
They even began to discuss the other unlucky fellows.
"What? Lee is washing chamber pots?"
...
Just as their discussion grew heated, the sound of the door opening filled the room.
"Good evening, students. Come on, everyone grab an exam paper. Finish this first, and then we'll begin today's work. Anyone who doesn't get an acceptable grade can go straight to scrubbing toilets—thanks to Mr. Filch, he's found another lavatory that hasn't been assigned for cleaning."
William offered a rather gentle smile.
"Isn't it supposed to be copying information?"
"Copying information also requires a basic level of competence, otherwise the information you organize will be unusable. So please answer the questions seriously. If your paper is too messy, you'll be marked as unacceptable immediately."
William explained with a smile. There were too many students to manage, so for the sake of convenience, he had specially created an exam paper, taking a page from some notoriously difficult online community quizzes and combining the format with content from Magical History and library management.
"Take it seriously. I put in overtime this afternoon making this exam paper for you."
(end of chapter)
2022-07-14 Author: I'm Just a Pigeon
For any Quidditch Team, the weekend was no day for rest.
This was especially true this year. After Slytherin showed off a full team of Nimbus 2001s, every House Team went into a frenzy. If you couldn't beat them in equipment, you had to make up for it with sweat.
As for the Slytherins, they were more than happy to show off the speed of their brand-new broomsticks on the Quidditch Pitch. Even if it didn't deal a devastating blow to their opponents' morale, it was still a joyous affair to flaunt their flying skills in the air on the latest model of broomstick. It doesn't matter if you're bad at the game; what matters is that your gear looks sharp.
As Slytherin's mortal enemy, the Gryffindor House Team was perhaps the most diligent of all. Captain Wood not only dragged everyone out of bed at the crack of dawn but also refused to let them go back for breakfast or lunch.
"A sandwich is enough! Or do you want to lose to that pack of Slytherins?"
That was how he lectured his team members.
So, it was only when the Gryffindor Quidditch Team returned to the Common Room that they discovered they were the last to learn of Filch's mass roundup of students.
"Scrubbing toilets, washing chamber pots, polishing trophies, processing Potion ingredients, fermenting Dragon Dung—we Gryffindors have done all the chores at Hogwarts. I think after graduation, we could apply for a job in the Hogwarts Kitchen."
When the Weasley Twins returned, covered in sweat and dirt, their friend Kevin was complaining to the crowd in the Common Room. Among those listening was their good friend, Lee Jordan.
"Hey, Kevin, Lee, what are you guys up to?"
George fought back the day's exhaustion from training and greeted his friends.
However, for the first time ever, his enthusiastic greeting was ignored. Kevin shot them a glance, but Lee Jordan remained as still as a statue.
"Hey, Lee?"
But Lee Jordan didn't respond. Instead, it was Kevin who yelled at him and Fred.
"Stay away from us! For at least a week, Weasley, stay away!"
"Now I'm just 'Weasley'? What happened, Kevin?"
George asked, his face a picture of astonishment. The only response he received was the icy glare of his friend. As for Lee Jordan, he didn't even lift his head.
Although the twins tried their best to ask questions, they couldn't get any coherent answers.
Their friend Lee Jordan wouldn't even turn his head to speak to them. This frustrated them, and they had no choice but to give up on trying to communicate—their training was over, but they still had detention that evening.
"Alright, Lee, Kevin. We don't know what happened, but we're out of time. I think we need to have a proper talk—when we get back."
The pair bid a hasty farewell and rushed to the showers to prepare for their evening detention.
"They have no idea—are we being too harsh?"
Once the twins had left, the assembled group began to raise questions.
"Not at all. Who knows if this whole thing was a new joke they came up with? Can you guarantee this wasn't a prank they concocted to scare us that got out of control?"
This question had been raised earlier that afternoon, but aside from Lee Jordan, no one could confidently say the two hadn't intended to pull a prank.
From the day the Weasley brothers enrolled, they had been pulling pranks. Although they weren't malicious, they had a solid track record of teasing other students.
An incident like this could very well have been the two of them plotting to have Filch give everyone a scare. If they hadn't been caught going through Filch's office, all the students could have left after Professor McGonagall arrived, just by giving a reasonable excuse—Hogwarts had no school rules against assembly, after all.
"Change Lee's position. If he stays like that, it'll be obvious he's been hit by a Petrification Charm."
As the twins left the Common Room, their friend Lee even began to shake his fist at them in anger, which left the pair heartbroken for quite some time.
---
"George, it looks like we're being treated as traitors."
"Yes, Fred."
George replied listlessly, wondering how on earth those guys had gotten caught.
"But we haven't pulled that kind of low-level prank in ages. And that guy Lee—wait, it's like Lee was being controlled!"
This conclusion cheered the two of them up.
"Let's skip detention. We've never skipped detention before. We can rush back to the Common Room, rescue Lee—we could…"
Inspiration struck them both. Just as they were about to discuss the feasibility of their plan, a Knight on a portrait came charging down the wall, pulling his horse to a stop in the painting nearest them.
The horse came to a perfect halt, snorting and pawing the ground, looking as if it was ready to do it all over again.
"Misters Weasley, I bring Professor William's apologies. The detention location has been changed at the last minute, so you'll have to head to the Defence Against the Dark Arts Classroom."
He gave the two a knightly salute and then stared at them expectantly until they remembered to return the gesture. Only then did he tug satisfyingly on his reins.
"Come find me if you ever need help. A true Knight never refuses a plea from the weak."
The last half of his sentence was carried far away by his galloping horse. The two brothers, now duly notified, wore miserable expressions.
"Well, now we can't use the excuse that we forgot about detention."
"And we can't pretend to be sick, either."
"And it's even less likely we'll be delayed because Filch caught us."
The two looked at each other and abandoned all thought of skipping detention. Without any excuse, it would be no different from waiting to be expelled.
---
"George? Fred? You're here too?"
As the two of them dragged their feet to the classroom, a familiar voice came from inside.
The same accomplices who had been giving them the cold shoulder were now beaming with joy and overflowing with enthusiasm. Apart from the slightly awkward expressions on their faces, they were exactly as they'd been before.
"Man, we actually suspected you were pranking us. This whole thing is just..."
Kevin apologized to the pair, looking embarrassed. The rest of their accomplices also came forward to offer their sincere apologies—nothing dispelled resentment quite like serving detention together.
Naturally, the twins forgave them, just as the others had forgiven the twins' pranks in the past.
They even began to discuss the other unlucky fellows.
"What? Lee is washing chamber pots?"
...
Just as their discussion grew heated, the sound of the door opening filled the room.
"Good evening, students. Come on, everyone grab an exam paper. Finish this first, and then we'll begin today's work. Anyone who doesn't get an acceptable grade can go straight to scrubbing toilets—thanks to Mr. Filch, he's found another lavatory that hasn't been assigned for cleaning."
William offered a rather gentle smile.
"Isn't it supposed to be copying information?"
"Copying information also requires a basic level of competence, otherwise the information you organize will be unusable. So please answer the questions seriously. If your paper is too messy, you'll be marked as unacceptable immediately."
William explained with a smile. There were too many students to manage, so for the sake of convenience, he had specially created an exam paper, taking a page from some notoriously difficult online community quizzes and combining the format with content from Magical History and library management.
"Take it seriously. I put in overtime this afternoon making this exam paper for you."
(end of chapter)
