The Seers' Truth: A Broken Beginning

Chapter 24

Cool Shirts and Warm Cookies

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"I'm sure I have another shirt that will do," said Hannah. "I just made it last night thinking--well, there's a Gryffindor I might give it to eventually, but I'm not ready to give it to him yet anyway."

"Are you sure?" asked Samara. "I don't want to take the shirt if you made it for someone else."

"Who did you make it for?" asked Beatrice.

"Nosy little bunny aren't you?" said Hannah playfully.

Beatrice wriggled her nose and laughed.

"Do you really think Hermione will like a shirt like this?" asked Samara holding the 'Muggle-born and proud' shirt in front of her.

"I think she will," said Sally Anne. "There are some Hufflepuffs that would wear it, even though they are not generally as brave as Gryffindors. I don't personally know Hermione, but I'm sure a Gryffindor would wear it. What do you think, Bunny?"

Beatrice nodded. "I think she'll like it."

"But you know," said Samara. "It wasn't really Hermione who was being awful. It was Ron and Harry. I don't even know if this is a good idea or not. I feel like I'm trying to bribe them into friendship with me."

"Of course it's the right thing to do," said Susan Bones. "You're sorry that you disrupted that new friendship aren't you?"

"I am," said Samara. "But I don't think they have the right to tell me not to be friends with Draco either--"

"Of course not," said Sally Anne. "Trust us. And it's not a bribe, it's a gift. Say you are sorry for upsetting them, and then be more discreet in the future."

"That seems dishonest," said Samara.

"It's not dishonest," said Hannah. "You don't have to tell them every little bit of your business. It's not like it concerns them."

"I really think they should apologize to me," said Samara.

"Of course they should," said Beatrice. "But I don't think they will."

"You're right, Bunny-B" said Sally. "Gryffindors are just as stubborn as Slytherins. Just be glad that Gryffindors won't make you beg and grovel."

"I wouldn't do that," said Samara shortly.

"Oh, well," said Sally Anne with a dreamy expression on her face. "Sometimes it's worth it."

Hannah Abbot gave her a playful push. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Sally Anne."

"My mind isn't in the gutter," retorted Sally. "It's right here. In this room." She flung herself back on her bed and closed her eyes.

Susan Bones' mouth fell open. "Sally! What happened? When was this?"

"Opps," said Sally covering her mouth. "Didn't mean to say that in front of the prefect."

"I'm your friend first," countered Susan.

"Well, in that case--earlier this afternoon," said Sally, with a slight blush. "Vincent brought me some chocolate frogs--wasn't that sweet of him--" Sally continued to smile as Hannah turned back to the trunk to look for the shirt that had brought them up to the room in the first place.

"You shouldn't have allowed him up to your room," admonished Susan.

"But it's not like your dorm-mates should know every little bit of your business," Sally Anne said, echoing Hannah's words. "It's not like it concerns them. Especially if they're prefects--"

Samara sighed. "I do want to be friends with the Gryffindors again, but I just don't know about giving them gifts. I feel like a should be able to talk to them--get them to see reason--"

"Not about Malfoy," said Susan. "Gryffindors are completely blind about Slytherins."

"And vice versa," added Hannah. "See, if they were Ravenclaws, you could logic your way out of this one. But Ravenclaws are actually much more difficult to get around to your way of thinking," said Hannah. "And they'd never even notice a tee-shirt. If you gave them anything, you'd want to give them a book--"

"Hopefully one that would engross them for the next three days," added Susan. "And then they would be so happy that you found that particular book, they would forget that they were mad at you."

"But books don't always work," said Hannah. "You might just have to engage them in a puzzle to solve."

"Sounds like you've done this before," said Samara with a smile.

"Loads of times," replied Sally Anne. "Of course Slytherins are the slipperiest. So count yourself lucky you're not fighting with Draco."

"What about Hufflepuffs?" asked Samara curiously.

"Oh," said Hannah looking at Sally. "Give them a chocolate frog and hug and they'll forgive anything."

"Ha! Ha! Very funny," said Sally sarcastically.

"Here's the other tee-shirt," said Hannah, pulling out a dark red shirt with an animated golden lion on it. The lion scratched his mane against his leg and stretched as if awakened from sleep. He suddenly opened his mouth and roared.

"Oh, that's precious!" said Samara. "I wish I could draw animals, but I'm better at drawing caricatures."

Then the lion padded around to the back of the shirt. Only his flicking tail was visible from the front. Then he pounced around the front of the shirt, startling them all.

"Sally drew the lion. It looks great, doesn't it?" said Hannah.

"Oh it does," said Samara. "What do you want for it?"

"Transfiguration homework for a week," said Sally Anne deadpan.

Hannah threw a stuffed badger at her. "You have been hanging around Vincent too long!" she said.

"Ok, ok, I'm not serious. If you like the lion, I'll draw one on another shirt for you right now for nothing. I like drawing them anyway. It won't take me long--I do wish I could do my transfiguration as fast--"

"If you need help with transfig," said Beatrice. "I'd be glad to help."

"Would you really?" asked Sally Anne. "I can draw the animals easily, but I have such a hard time animating them correctly. Hannah did that one." She pointed to the lion shirt. "Mine always look jerky and stilted. I can do the charm part of it, but to really make them alive, you need the transfiguration."

"I see," said Beatrice. "It's the same process that animates an object when you turn it into an animal."

"Exactly," said Sally Anne.

Samara could see that this conversation was going to go in-depth into transfiguration and she wasn't sure she wanted to go there right now. Besides, Sally Anne had bumped into her several times, moving around the small dorm room trying to find the right colors for the lion's mane and tail. It was the first time that Samara noticed that the Hufflepuff rooms were smaller than Gryffindor's and then, when she thought of it, she realized that the Slytherin's rooms were bigger. She wondered why they weren't all the same size. Then she realized that each founder would have chosen the size rooms for his or her house.

"They'll be engrossed for a while," said Susan Bones. "Do you want to go back down to the common room with us? I think there's cookies tonight."

"Would you mind if I went down and looked at The Wall for a while?" Samara asked Beatrice and Sally Anne.

They both waved her away.

Once down in the common room, Samara settled herself on the sofa to watch The Wall. She found Helga almost immediately. She was stirring a potion and Salazar was trying his best to distract her by nuzzling her neck. Salazar was dressed in immaculate green and gray robes. Helga had her potion-stained yellow robe open to reveal an old-fashioned flower patterned cotton housedress like Samara had seen her Grandma Lori wear. Samara noticed that as long as she didn't actually stare at the couple, Salazar didn't scowl at her.

Unfortunately, if Samara really wanted to look at The Wall, she was out of luck. Two other Hufflepuffs thought she looked lonely and came over to keep her company. They talked about the train wreck and the wizarding bank and the upcoming Quidditch season. Then, Susan and Hannah brought the cookies they had offered along with the choice milk or hot chocolate.

"These are wonderful," said Samara as she bit into a warm cookie. "Who made them?"

"House elves," replied Susan. "Don't they bring an evening snack to Gryffindor?"

Samara shook her head, her mouth full of cookie. "But I think they should," she said.

"Oh, they always bring something," said Hannah. "Cookies or pastries or fruit--sometimes we make requests too."

It was starting to get a little cool in the room and no one wanted to light a fire, so the occupants of the room brought out an assortment of afghans and quilts and fluffy stadium blankets. Hannah moved over to share a quilt with several other Hufflepuffs. "There's room for you too, Samara," she said, holding up a corner of the quilt.

Samara shook her head.

Then an exceeding boisterous game of exploding snap started on the other side of them. Susan tried to settle them down. She put a cooling charm on the smoking sofa, just in case--

When Samara glanced back up at The Wall, Salazar was sitting at the table near Helga. He was viscously grinding some roots that Helga had cut and another person had joined them. She was a petite dark haired girl and when she smiled at Helga, Samara realized that she was a vampire.

"Ohmygosh!" exclaimed Samara. "Is that a vampire?"

Several excited Hufflepuffs moved forward to look and apparently frightened, the vampire disappeared from view. Salazar scowled at the Hufflepuffs and shook his wand angrily.

It seemed to Samara like the whole of Hufflepuff house was in the common room. If there hadn't been so many students crowding around, maybe the vampire wouldn't have been frightened. She was disappointed that she didn't get a better look.

By the time the girls brought down the shirt, Samara had a headache from the noise and snap smoke, and she was shivering, but she had learned the rudiments of knitting from Calvin Anthony. Knit one. Pearl one. She had a rather crooked red and gold scarf started. A few more Hufflepuffs offered to share their blankets, but Samara wasn't sure she wanted that complication in the mix with Draco and her Gryffindor friends. Even though she liked Hufflepuff, she was glad to get back to Gryffindor Tower.

She and Beatrice tweaked the animation a little making the lion lick his lips and yawn a great yawn that showed his exceedingly large teeth when he rolled his tongue. Samara suggested having one of the lions gnawing on a leg covered in Slytherin robes. "I can draw humans or human parts," said Samara. "Just not animals."

But after much giggling, they decided that neither Harry nor Ron would wear as shirt decorated by Slytherin colors even if they were on body parts eaten by a lion--at least they were sure about Harry. Samara wasn't so sure about Ron.

Draco, on the other hand Samara suggested, would probably relish a shirt depicting Gryffindors being eaten by a snake. "I have the perfect idea," said Samara excitedly. "The snake slithers around the front of the shirt and swallows the Gryffindor--"

"Samara!" said Beatrice shocked.

"And all you can see," continued Samara, "are the kicking legs sticking out of its mouth and the bottom of the Gryffindor Robes--"

"Kicking legs?" interrupted Beatrice.

"Yeah," said Samara. "Then I'll need a second drawing of the snake with a big bump in the middle of it."

"Maybe it should put its tail up to its mouth to cover a 'burp' if it's eaten a whole person," said Beatrice dryly.

"Maybe--" said Samara thoughtfully, completely missing Beatrice's attempt at sarcasm. "Do you think we could make it re-appear on the back and repeat the whole process?"

"Samara," said Beatrice slowly. "I thought the whole point of the shirt was to make up with the Gryffindors, not antagonize them."

"You're right," said Samara, still thinking about the snake shirt. "I wouldn't make the person look like anyone in Gryffindor of course--no black hair and glasses--no red hair--"

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As they turned the corner, they met with Professor Snape and Headmaster Dumbledore talking quietly in the corridor.

"Don't know--but something bigger than--" Snape cut off mid sentence and waited for the girls to pass them.

"Good evening, Professor. Headmaster," said Beatrice.

"Good evening," Samara echoed as they passed the teachers and headed up to Gryffindor Tower.

"I'll speak to you later, in the library," Dumbledore said to Snape, and he left the professor standing at the foot of the stairs, near the Slytherin Dungeon.

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