#Chapter 18

*Roses POV*

I was shaken up awake by Pansy. I groaned as I got ready, and went downstairs to the Great Hall.

I took porridge, then had toast. I was still a bit more hungry so I pulled up bacon and eggs. Pansy rolled her eyes next to me and Tracey smirked.

"I will make sure you go one a diet next year," Pansy stated.

"Good luck with that," I replied.

Sev gave me my timetable, us girls' eyes shined seeing Lockharts' name.

"Look everybody! Weasley's got himself a howler!"

I looked up, and it was true. They were talking amongst themselves.

After a moment it exploded, a roar of sound filled the huge Hall, shaking dust from the ceiling.

"... STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT HAD GONE ..."

Mum's yells, a hundred times louder than usual, made our plates and spoons rattle on the table, making it echo.

I could not help but giggled a bit as Draco and Blaise laughed their heads off. Ron had sank down, his face crimson.

"... LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DID NOT BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE DIED ..."

My eardrums started to throb.

"... ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED, YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S ENTIRELY YOU FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME."

The red envelope, which had dropped from Ron's hand, burst into flames and curled into ashes.

I was about to faint, lucky for me, Daphne caught me and used her timetable to give me some wind.

"Thanks," I whispered. My ears hurt as like they were bleeding. I looked at Dumbledore and he teachers, how could they act like nothing just happened?

"Come on," Tracey said,"You're fine, stop acting. We anyway have double Herbology first. I don't want to run all the way there at the last minute."

I stood up and we walked, Draco joining us.

We crossed the vegetable patch and made for the greenhouses, where the magical plants were kept.

As we neared the greenhouses we saw the rest of the class outside, waiting for Professor Sprout. We had just joined them when she came striding up thr lawn, accompanied by Gilderoy Lockhart. All of us girls stared at him in awe as he showed of his looks.

Draco nudged us, clearly getting jealous, making me smirk.

Professor Sprout was a squat little witch who wore a patched hat over her flyaway hair.

"Hey Tracey?" I Whispered.

"Yeah?" She whispered back.

"Isn't it supposed to be Gryffindor and Hufflepuffs?"

"Yes, but it looks like we were the odd ones out and they needed both groups to be equal."

I frowned,"They can't just dump us like that!"

Gilderoy Lockhart beamed at us, we girls smiled back,"Oh, hello there! Just been showing Professor Sprout the right way to doctor a whomping willow! But I don't want you running away with the idea that I am better at Herbology than she is-"

"As if we would," Draco muttered.

"-I just happen to have met several of these exotic plants on my travels."

I fluttered my eyes at him.

"Greenhouses three, today, chaps!" Professor Sprouts told us.

We had only ever worked in greenhouses one. Greenhouses three, in my opinion, had far more dangerous plants.

Professor Sprout took a large key out of her belt -which was disgusting- and unlocked the door. We all scurried inside.

I could smell a white of damp earth and fertiliser, mixed with the heavy perfume of some giant, umbrella-sized flowers dangling from the ceiling.

"We will be repotting mandrakes today. Now, who can tell me the properties of a mandrake?"

Hermione's hand shot up in the air.

"Know-it-all" Draco said. I gave him a small slap on his hand, missing what Hermione said.

"Excellent, ten points to Gryffindor. The mandrakes forms and essential part of most antidotes. It is also, however, dangerous. Who can tell me why?"

I raised my hand after Hermione's.

"The cry of the mandrake is fatal to anyone who hears it," I said.

"Ten points to Slytherin. Now the mandrakes we have here are still very young."

She pointed to a row of deep trays as she spoke and we shuffled forward to have a better look.

"Everyone take a pair of earmuffs."

Tracey and I snatched the ones that weren't pink and fluffy. Draco, however, ended up with pink colored and fluffy ones. Tracey and I started to giggle.

"Shut up," Draco mutttered, snatching away someone elses earmuffs and giving them the pink ones.

Must have been a Hufflpuff's.

We put our earmuffs on. They shut the sound out completely. Professor Sprout put a pink fluffy pair over her own ears, rolled up the sleeves of her robe, grasped one of the tufty plants firmly, and pulled.

The most disgusting things were pulled out of the earth and it was bawling its lungs out.

Professor Sprout took a large plant pot from under the table and plunged the madrake into it, burring him in the dark, damp compost until only the tuffted leaves were invisible- not that I felt sorry for it. Like since when are madrakes scared of the dark?

She gave us a thumbs up and we removed our earmuffs.

"As our mandrakes are only seedlings, their cries won't kill you yet, she said calmly,"However, the will knock you out for several hours, and as I'm sure none of you want to miss your first day back, make sure your earmuffs are securely in place while you work. I will attract your attention when it is time to pack up."

We were told to go four to a tray, but since we were the odd ones out, it was only Tracey, Draco and I.

We quietly did what Professor Sprout had demonstrated. I pulled out mandrake and put it in the pot. Movement caught my attention.

It was Draco, who had his finger in the Mandrake's mouth. I nudged Tracey as well went into hysterics as Draco finally managed to pull his finger out.

We got back to our work, filling up the pot compost.

Once we were dismissed from class, we went over to lunch.

"What do we have next?" Draco asked.

"DADA."

"Wow,"Draco said looking at my timetable,"You have hearts at Lockharts name."

"Yeah, Hermione gave me that idea actually," I replied.

After lunch, it was time to head to Defense against the Dark Arts. Pansy and I were very excited. Tracey was sad because she didn't have DADA as the same time as us.

Blaise and Draco sat behind us, and Crabbe and Goyle behind them. Pansy and I had taken a seat right in the front.

Lockhart cleared his throat and the whole class fell silent.

"Me," Lockhart said winking at Pansy, who flushed red,"Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League and five times winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award- but I don't talk about that. I didnt get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!"

He waited for us to laugh, I didn't find it funny, but I smiled at him.

"I see you've all bought a complete set of my books, well done!-"

"We were supposed to do so," Draco said behind me, with Blaise sniggering.

"-I thought we would start with a little quiz, today. Nothing to worry about, just to check how well you've read them, how much you've taken in ..."

When he had handed out the test papers, he started a timer. When he said 'NOW' I scribbled through the answers, guessing. I hadn't actually read anything and that wasn't my fault as I was really busy.

I got two wrong, which got me surprised. Lockhart introduced us to pixes. They were horrible. I dont really blame Lockhart for not knowing that, I mean it was just an accident.

All of us had ran out of our class after they were let out of the cage, which meant we were free for some time before our next class.