The Story of Tonight - Oona

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Thursdays. The day before Friday, which meant it was almost the weekend! With the Triwizard Tournament over, Hogwarts was returning to a state of normalcy, which meant the professors were amping up the level of homework from molehill to mountain. NEWTs were just around the corner, they liked to remind the seventh years every chance they got. So it was no surprise that Susan found herself tucked away in a corner of the library after dinner, her Transfiguration book and pages of notes spread out over a whole table. Though Susan had more than just the Transfiguration essay to get to, she decided that she’d allow herself to tackle her best subject first before delving into everything else. Ironically, the essay had to do with Animagi; there hadn’t been a storm large enough for Susan to complete her Animagi training, but she had been checking weather patterns and realized that one could be coming up this weekend. Butterflies flitted in her stomach at the thought; she didn’t know if it was going to be possible, being a Muggleborn and an Animagus. But everything had gone according to the books explanation so far, so she was counting on it working. She glanced out the window as stars began to appear in the night sky; the night was as clear as they day had been, so perhaps the weather patterns were wrong, and she’d have to wait even longer.

Rubbing her eyes, Susan pulled her notes closer to her, then began to write out the introductory paragraph of her essay. She found that the topic was easy to write about, and she was so engrossed in her writing she didn’t know someone was standing next to her until they cleared their throat. “Oh, hello! Sorry I’m taking up an entire table,” Susan exclaimed, smiling sheepishly at the newcomer.

OPEN

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Spending time in the library was nothing new for Oona. She was there so frequently that she felt that she might as well have been the librarian herself—the only barrier, though, was that the Restricted Section remained largely off-limits to her, since she wouldn't “need” anything from it until she was at OWL level in a few months' time. She hadn't really thought much about next to whom she found herself sitting, provided that they were quiet and not disruptive in any way, which the girl next to her appeared to be, even if she was staring out of the window and not actively working on anything. (Except, maybe, Astronomy; there was always that.)

It wasn't until the girl got to work that Oona felt it necessary to call attention to herself, standing up to make her presence more apparent and clearing her throat just loudly enough to get the message across that the girl's spread of papers was encroaching upon her space of table with considerable speed.

“Oh, hello! Sorry I’m taking up an entire table,” apologized the girl, and Oona realized in an instant that she recognized not only the girl's voice, but the girl herself. It was Susan Windsor. The last prefect into whom Oona had run had been Ondina Weasley—to her misfortune—but Susan was one, as well. On top of that, Susan was also Muggle royalty, so—Oona's own Irishness and the fact that royalty played no role in the Ministry aside—she did have a relatively significant standing.

Keeping that in mind, Oona was less confrontational than she might have ordinarily been, although, the last time she had had to confront someone on their behavior in the library, it had been because the other girl was making a racket. At least this, she thought, could be easily solved with some organization.

“Sorry, but could you…” Oona motioned towards the sprawl. “The table should be long enough for the both of us.”

@susanvictoria

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Upon further scrutiny, Susan recognized the girl; Oona, a fourth year in her own house. She hadn’t had much interaction with the younger Ravenclaw, which since she was a Prefect was likely a very good thing. She didn’t like getting people into trouble unless they really deserved it, unlike some of her fellow Prefects. She had never caught anyone abusing their power, but she had heard stories that were enough to make her blood boil. She had mentioned this in passing to Rose, but without any physical proof, they could do nothing. Oh well, perhaps one day.

She noticed that she was rapidly approaching taking up Oona’s study space as well as her own. She noted the polite tone of the girls voice and sat up a bit straighter. “Of course, my apologies Oona.  NEWT year is quite frazzling sometimes,” she said formally, gathering her notes so they were in one neat pile in front of her. Making sure she had the correct page on top, she went back to writing her essay, tongue between her teeth as she scribbled furiously down the parchment. When she looked up for another break, she got curious as to what Oona was doing. “I remember fourth year rather fondly; what topic are you working on?” she asked her interestedly.

@oona

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Susan apologized—for the second time—for having taken up so much space and talked about how doing work at N.E.W.T.-level was “frazzling sometimes”. Oona couldn't say that she knew from experience; she still had some time before then, but she had seen plenty of the students in the years above her worrying about their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s—what they would get on them, whether or not they could get into the subjects or careers of their choice with their projected marks, and so on. With that in mind, she nodded, Susan moved her things so that there was now some free table space, and Oona sat back down and got back to her own work.

As she was reading, Oona glanced over and saw that—whatever Susan was doing—she was writing quickly, as though being timed. She wasn't going to interrupt her train of thought, though, and it wasn't until a little while later that Susan spoke up.

“I remember fourth year rather fondly; what topic are you working on?”

“It's for Herbology, actually,” Oona answered. “We've got an essay to finish. I don't mind, though. It's better than being in the greenhouses all the time.” She dipped her quill back into its inkwell. “I'm writing mine on Bubotuber pus, which is actually quite useful against acne.”

@susanvictoria

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Susan laughed softly as Oona informed her that her Herbology essay was on Bubotuber pus, and how it was useful for acne. “It really is,” she confirmed, nodding with a smile. “I’ve used it before, diluted of course. Undiluted would only make things worse I imagine!” Undiluted bubotuber pus was a nasty business; it would create nasty boils and burn-like marks over the affected area, and crust over. Susan wrinkled her nose at the thought; she had been fortunate enough to have made friends to quickly inform her to NEVER touch the stuff unless she wanted to suffer. “Have you been able to make the concoction for acne yet?” she asked curiously. She had not continued Herbology after her OWL examinations as she had only gotten an A; besides she didn’t think she’d really need it in a Ministry career. She was foggy on whether or not they had actually done the whole bubotuber pus experiment in the class, or if her friend had just made it for her. Likely the latter; she doubted Professor Longbottom would have been entirely thrilled to do an entire lesson on pimple control. The thought made her giggle a bit. “Sorry, just picturing Professor Longbottom giving pointers on acne care,” she whispered, then giggled again. It was a funny notion after all.

@oona

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“It really is,” Susan said of the Bubotuber pus's acne-clearing properties. “I’ve used it before, diluted of course,” she stated, adding that attempting to make the undiluted pus work as an acne treatment seemed likely to make things even worse. She was probably right, Oona thought with a slight grimace. If Bubotuber pus was handled undiluted, boils could form immediately; they had always used dragon-hide gloves while working with it in the greenhouses. “Have you been able to make the concoction for acne yet?”

Oona shook her head. “We've collected the pus in class,” she explained, “but I haven't ever made it. It's just diluting it, though, isn't it?” she considered. It would probably do her some good to use it occasionally, though her skin stayed relatively clear. She looked to Susan. “Have you made it?” she wondered, since Susan had asked her first. Oona didn't think that the older girl's skin was too bad, either, though she mentioned having made use of the pus before, herself.

When Susan laughed a moment later, Oona wondered if perhaps she'd been staring. It wasn't that at all, though, Susan clarified. “Sorry, just picturing Professor Longbottom giving pointers on acne care.”

It was an amusing thought, and Oona had to let out a slight giggle—muffled by her hand—at the suggestion. To her knowledge, he hadn't ever given any of them tips for dealing with acne outside of having mentioned the properties of the pus rather briefly before he had fallen ill. “It is funny, isn't it?” Oona laughed, trying to keep her volume low. “He's a dad, at least,” she granted him, “so it's not… the Bloody Baron or something.”

@susanvictoria

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Susan nodded as Oona explained how they had just collected the pus so far, and not created the concoction. “I think there’s a little more to it than that, but I haven’t made it personally. Herbology was...not my best subject, which is why I dropped it after OWL year. I have friends who are quite good at it though, and who have successfully made it,” she told her. She absent-mindedly pressed her fingertips against her skin, then shook her head. “Luckily I haven’t needed any in a few years; fourth year though, I was immensely grateful that I had friends skilled with the bubotuber pus, let me assure you,” she admitted, giggling at the memory. Merlin, she had been plagued by acne then; her forehead and chin had been the worst spots for her. Luckily the concoction truly did work. “Mines on Animagi; I find the idea of transforming at will into an animal. Did you know that you truly don’t know what your form will be until the exact moment of your first transformation?” Susan explained, sounding eager to touch on the topic. Of course she had known about all of this for months, but she hadn’t even told Lysander about it yet. Susan made a mental note to herself to talk to him later, before the lightning storm at least.

“I do hope he’s doing alright though, Professor Longbottom that is. I feel that we would have been told if the worst happened though, so perhaps no news is good news? Andromeda would have mentioned something at least,” Susan mused sadly. She knew that Andy looked at Neville as a father figure, and what it would do to her fragile health if he were to pass on. She hoped it wouldn’t come to that, she would hate for Andromeda to relapse; she was doing so well.

@oona

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“I think there’s a little more to it than that,” said Susan about turning the Bubotuber pus into an acne treatment, though she added that she hadn't ever made it herself. “Herbology was… not my best subject,” she added, saying that she had dropped it after completing her O.W.L.s. “I have friends who are quite good at it, though, and who have successfully made it.” Oona nodded thoughtfully at what Susan had said, and then Susan added on that she was grateful to have had friends who did know how to dilute the Bubotuber pus when she was in her fourth year.

Susan then shared that her own assignment was on Animagi, “Did you know that you truly don’t know what your form will be until the exact moment of your first transformation?”

Originally, Oona had been under the assumption that someone's Animagus form was just something that they could choose. If it was useful for them to be a bird, for example, then they would choose to be a bird. That was before she had understood the Patronus Charm, though. As far as she knew, there was some correlation there; if your Patronus was a cat, then your Animagus form would be a cat, or vice versa.

“I didn't know that.” By that token, Oona imagined that her Animagus form would be a rat. She had only ever cast the Patronus Charm with success once. While it had been enough to tell its form, she hadn't been capable of sustaining it before it had faded into wisps again. “Imagine turning into an insect,” she mused. That would be frustrating, she thought, having to avoid being stepped on.

In discussing Professor Longbottom, Susan expressed that she hoped that the man was still doing alright. She said that she thought that they would have been told if “the worst” happened, and Oona gave a small nod; she didn't think that Hogwarts would leave them in the dark if he were to die. ”…so perhaps no news is good news? Andromeda would have mentioned something, at least.”

Oona didn't know Andromeda or her sister or Professor Longbottom's biological children well enough to know if any of them had mentioned anything. She hadn't heard anything new about the state of their former headmaster's health, though. “It's sad,” she commented. “He isn't very old, either.” He was just a few years older than her own father. “Do you know what he's got? Someone in my year said it's Dragon Pox.” She wondered if perhaps Andromeda had said something about that.

@susanvictoria

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Susan was pretty proud that she had shared a fact that Oona didn’t know; normally in class she was the shy one, letting some of her other more boisterous classmates do all the talking. This year though she felt she had really come out of her shell; she was speaking up in class more, and had improved the relationship between herself and her younger brother Edmund. That was a major accomplishment in and of itself if you asked her. She shuddered lightly at the thought of becoming an insect animagus. “I think there was one notable Animagus who was a beetle, that reporter from the Daily Prophet, Rita what’s her face…” Susan trailed off with a shrug. The woman was unregistered but it was a poorly kept secret that she had used her beetle form to get the “inside scoops” for her Prophet column. She hoped that when she first transformed it would be into something more graceful than a bug; perhaps a bird of some sort, so she could fly. She wondered what would happen if her form ended up being some kind of horse; Lysander would go crazy. She shook her head with a small smile, then realized she hadn’t really said much out loud. “If I ever studied to be an Animagus I would hope for something a bit larger than a bug, even if we don’t have any choice in the matter, hoping doesn’t hurt,” she explained.

Her smile faded a bit at Oona’s comment on Nevilles’ age. “You’re right, I think he’s like...mid forties? And I’ve heard dragonpox as well, that seems to be the common ailment people are saying.” Susan shrugged, feeling a bit helpless. “I haven’t had the nerve to ask Andromeda if it’s true or not. She just got back from being..sick herself, so I don’t want to cause her more stress,” she admitted, twirling a small lock of her curly hair around her finger. “Perhaps Rita whatever her name is will find out and report on it,” she commented with a twisted smile. She really hoped that the woman would give the Longbottom family their privacy, but from her understanding that was highly doubtful. Nothing got in that womans’ way for a juicy story.

@oona

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“I think there was one notable Animagus who was a beetle,” Susan commented, “that reporter from the Daily Prophet, Rita what’s her face…” Although she didn't keep up much with celebrity gossip, Oona knew who Susan meant. The woman of whom she spoke was notorious for using Quick-Quotes Quills and twisting around the words of her interviewees. She had also released a number of books, if Oona remembered correctly, and she was certain that that must have been how she had found out about her.

“If I ever studied to be an Animagus,” the older girl added—apparently after having thought about something rather amusing, given her smile—“I would hope for something a bit larger than a bug, even if we don’t have any choice in the matter, hoping doesn’t hurt.”

Oona nodded. “My Patronus is a rat, but I think I would want my Animagus form to be…” She considered the world of possibilities—was something exotic out of the question? “Hmmm… I think it would be nice to be a bird or a fish,” she said, since there were few other magical options for being able to fly or swim great distances, taking into account that being spotted on a broomstick by a Muggle community was more than simply frowned upon.

Back on the subject of Professor Longbottom, Susan worked to estimate his age, saying that he would have been in his mid-forties. Doing the mathematical calculations in her own head, Oona knew that sounded right, if he had been in his seventh year at the end of the Second Wizarding War.

Susan said that she had heard the Dragon Pox theory, too. “I haven’t had the nerve to ask Andromeda if it’s true or not. She just got back from being… sick herself, so I don’t want to cause her more stress.” If Andromeda had been ill, Oona wondered, then could she have passed whatever she had had on to Professor Longbottom? It was a thought, anyway.

Rather devilishly, Susan added, “Perhaps Rita whatever her name is will find out and report on it.”

“She's the one who wrote that book about Albus Dumbledore, isn't she?” Oona asked, raising a brow. She'd seen that one once at Flourish and Blotts, and, in her opinion, it had looked like absolutely awful reading.

@susanvictoria

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Susan chuckled as Oona commented that her patronus was a rat. “Mine’s a penguin, one of the only flightless birds. That would be just my luck,” she said, giggling a little louder than she meant to and wrinkled her nose as she was shushed by fellow studiers. She mouthed her apologies to them, then turned back to the fourth year. “I would love to be a horse of some sort,” she whispered admittedly. In part, it was admitting to herself that she wanted her connection with Lysander to grow more since their awkward moment in the common room, but for reasons other than strengthening their friendship. If she was a horse, Sander could use his equine affinity to communicate with her, and she was fascinated to see how it worked from the other side. It also wouldn’t hurt to have that kind of secret shared between the two of them.  Susan snapped her fingers when Oona mentioned the Dumbledore tell-all.  "Ah! Yes, Rita Skeeter," she said, causing her to be shushed again.

Susan glanced back down at her essay and sighed a little. It was just two inches too short, so she wasn’t quite done yet. As she tapped her quill feather side against the parchment, it came to her. Tongue between her teeth, she scribbled down the last two inches she need, and added in a better conclusion before setting her quill down with a flourish. “Done,” she whispered triumphantly. She looked back over at Oona and her pile of homework. “Do you know what you plan on taking on the NEWT level?” she asked the other girl curiously. She was always wondering what other peoples plans were for NEWT classes, and their logic behind it.

@oona

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Susan said that her Patronus was a penguin, “one of the only flightless birds. That would be just my luck.” Before Oona could bring her finger to her lips to signal that Susan was being louder than was necessary, someone else had already shushed her. A penguin, she thought, would be exciting if you were able to reach Antarctica, but probably not so much if you were somewhere like Hogwarts. “I would love to be a horse of some sort,” Susan told her, her voice now at an appropriate volume. Being a horse would be useful. They were graceful and powerful and could carry a rider, which could prove helpful.

When it dawned on Susan whom they had been discussing—Rita Skeeter—she snapped her fingers and was, again, shushed. Oona was grateful that she hadn't had to be the one to do it and had made it a point to keep her own volume at a respectable level.

As the older girl went back to work on her assignment, so did Oona on hers, writing until she heard Susan whisper that she was finished. Oona stopped what she was doing and smiled.

“Do you know what you plan on taking on the NEWT level?”

“I have an idea of what I'd like to take,” Oona said, knowing that she wouldn't have to finalize that until after her fifth year. “I know I want to continue with Defense Against the Dark Arts,” she answered. She was in Dueling Club, too, and it only made sense to her to stick with it. “Potions,” she added, “and History of Magic…” As many subjects as she could take without having scheduling conflicts, she probably would take them.

@susanvictoria

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Susan had to keep her eyes from rolling whenever she was shushed. She was a Prefect after all! Not that she would ever abuse her power as a Prefect; she took her position incredibly seriously. She had worked hard to be a Prefect, and got along well with most of her fellow Prefects. The air between herself and Cecelia was still a little...awkward to say the least, but over time it had gotten better, especially with the death of Desirae and her twin Braelynn being alive. Deep down, Susan felt that Cecelia’s circumstances were more what made her be the way she was, but she had no idea how to approach the Gryffindor. Perhaps if Braelynn ever came back...there could be a way.

Susan nodded along as Oona listed off the classes she was hoping to continue with once she finished up with her OWLs. “All good options,” Susan concurred quietly. “Potions and I...well, we didn’t get on very well. So I was pleased to drop it after OWLs. Somehow managed to get an A but I have no idea how,” she admitted with a chuckle. She had been surprised that she had even passed, but also knew she had no intention of continuing the subject once in her NEWT levels. “History of Magic though that’s interesting. I only know of a slim number of people who choose to continue with that one. Any reason?” she asked curiously.


@oona

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When Susan told her that the options she had listed all sounded good, Oona beamed, happy to know that she had the right classes in mind.

“Potions and I…” Susan began, “well, we didn’t get on very well. So I was pleased to drop it after O.W.L.s. Somehow managed to get an A but I have no idea how.”

An “A” for… “Acceptable”, or an “A” in the Muggle sense of the mark? Oona guessed at first that Susan must have meant that she had done well… “Acceptable” was just that! It was… acceptable, barely passing, and Susan was… positive about having achieved it. Oona tried to keep her jaw from dropping, though she looked at Susan incredulously, eyes wide. “You?” she whispered. “An ‘Acceptable’?” Susan was a Prefect! Potions couldn't have been that difficult at the N.E.W.T. level, though maybe she needed to rethink it…

“Are they Muggle-born, or did they grow up knowing about it?” Oona asked when Susan told her that she only knew of a few people who chose to continue with History of Magic in their final two years of school. “I find History of Magic fascinating, but I didn't want to take Muggle Studies,” so she could see where others might have been coming from. Maybe the Goblin Rebellions did get a little tired after the millionth time of hearing about them, but the very idea of goblins' having rebelled against anything had been novel to her in her first year. “I didn't see the point in taking a class to learn about everything I use at home—electricity and all of that.” She already knew about telephones, television, and cars, and she didn't think that she could stand to listen as her classmates mispronounced what was basic knowledge to her.

“Magic, though? There's so much that we don't know, as Muggle-borns. If we're going to live in the magical world, we need to know everything we can.”

@susanvictoria

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Susan shrugged; to her getting an Acceptable on the Potions owl was a blessing; she hadn’t failed after all, and when she had blown up her cauldron fourth year, she had been certain that would have been the case when it came to sit her examination. “It’s alright, I went into it knowing I didn’t need it for NEWT level for the career choice I wanted so I wasn’t that upset,” she whispered, not feeling guilty about getting an average grade at all. Perhaps it wasn’t very Ravenclaw of her, but then again competition was much more of a Gryffindor trait in her opinion.

“One’s a pureblood in my year, she’s nuts about it. Other than that I’m not really sure. I don’t really talk about blood types - usually I can decipher who has had some Muggle influences in their lives if they recognize who I am,” Susan commented. “I almost took Muggle Studies for the sake of seeing what it was like from the Wizarding point of view, but by that point I was reaching a breaking point with my course load. I love to learn, but I didn’t want to burn out by fourteen either,” she explained. Personally, she had found History of Magic to be more interesting when she read about it rather than listening to a lecture, but to each their own she supposed. “My internship with the Ministry is with the Department of Regulation of Magical Creatures; that’s the magic I want to focus on,” she added.


@oona