The sun was just peeping over the horizon on an icy, clear, spring morning. Out on the training fields, Scootaloo was lost in thought, recapping the weekend’s events as she waited for her teammates to appear. Madam Pomfrey had let her out of the infirmary just after lunch on Friday, and she’d then spent a wonderful afternoon with Professor Trelawny, who had doted on and spoiled her relentlessly as they continued reading each other’s palms. Her friends had been overjoyed to see her appear at dinner and were a little taken aback at first by her new appendage, but had soon gotten used to it. Still, the stares and whispers she’d received had been more than a little unsettling, and these had continued throughout the weekend whenever she’d been out of the Hufflepuff common room. There was little to notably recollect of the weekend with almost all of it spent either catching up on the week's schoolwork with Hermione, Apple Bloom, or Sweetie Belle, or with Professor Sprout and Trelawney discussing the dreams she’d had in her coma. The last bit of the weekend was what she’d really like to forget. The constant focus of everyone’s attention on her finally got to be too much on Sunday evening, and she’d finally snapped when she’d arrived at the Great Hall for dinner.
“Penny for your thoughts? Recapping last night's explosion of emotion?” Tamsin teased, knocking Scootaloo out of her thoughts.
Scootaloo groaned, placing her head on her metallic hand. “I’d rather not remember.”
“What, that you got up, stood on a table, and screamed for everyone to hear, ‘Yeah, I’m the girl who fucking saved the life of the famous Harry Potter from some incredibly dark wizard and who lost an arm in the process. If you’d like to see my new arm, come over and say 'hi' instead of acting like a bunch of creepy stalkers.’”
“Thanks for reminding me. Although, to be fair, it did sort of work. A number of students did come over to inspect my new arm, rather than gawk from the shadows. It did, though, also earn me another counselling session after school with Professor Sprout today. I’m just glad I managed to catch up with all my work over the weekend.”
“Ouch, that sucks.”
“Hey, what you two chatting about?” Heidi’s voice called as she appeared with a yawn out of the castle.
“The surprise I’ve got in store for today’s training session. Someone let slip you’ve been talking to my girlfriend,” Scootaloo stated, sensing that this was the perfect time to change the subject.
The two girls’ faces dropped.
“So, you heard about that,” Tamsin said nervously. “You know we meant nothing by it. Please don’t make us run laps for the entire session.”
“Oh, I’ve got something much better planned, and it looks like I’ll be able to tell you all in just a moment,” Scootaloo cackled manically.
“Run! Run now! She’s gone insane!” Heidi cried as the remainder of the team approached.
“Dear me, you are just a tad overdramatic, aren’t you? I was just telling these two we’ve got a super fun session planned for today!” Scootaloo replied with the creepiest of smiles. As she pulled Heidi into a hug, the other girl attempting desperately to flee.
“Creepaloo is back; we’re doomed,” Sweetie deadpanned. “So, might as well get it over with; what you got planned?”
Scootaloo pointed to four quidditch ball boxes on the ground.
“I don’t like where this is going,” Heidi admitted anxiously, still being squeezed to death by Scootaloo.
“We do!” Susan and Anthony cackled.
“That just makes me feel even worse,” Tamsin admitted.
Scootaloo let out a loud cough to gather everyone’s clear and undivided attention. She finally released Heidi, who took in a deep breath. She was still contemplating making a break for it.
“So, I’m not usually the one to hold a grudge or let personal matters influence my judgements, but if you want to pry into my personal life, well, they do say all’s fair in love and war,” Scootaloo said with her creepiest of grins still plastered across her face.
Heidi and Tamsin gulped; the others all looked nervously at each other, barring Susan and Anthony, who could barely hide their excitement.
“On top of that, after our last training session, I feel our beaters could use some more training to improve their accuracy. Thus, you shall notice here four cases. In a moment, I shall be releasing not two, not four or even six, but eight bludgers.”
Four sets of eyes went wide in fear.
“It is simple; if you get hit ten times, you are out. You may also concede. Last place, twenty-five laps of the training field.” Scootaloo picked up and dumped a rucksack in front of her. “Your bag of rocks. The remainder of you will just have to run laps. fourth fifteen, third ten, second five, the winner receives free sweets for the rest of the year, totally unlimited, unless it’s me of course, which, considering I’ve already bribed the beaters with sweets, is highly probable. I also have a secret weapon.” Scootaloo let the lightning flow through her right arm and shoot off into the sky. “If you can dodge lightning, you can dodge a bludger.”
Heidi and Tamsin looked like they were about to pass out in terror.
“Bring it on, you crazy bitch,” Sweetie cackled with excitement.
“I’m so going to make you run laps today for a change,” Cedric said with determination etched across his face.
“Excellent, I’m glad to see you are all game. If there are no further questions, I suggest you all hop on your brooms, and I’ll let the fun begin,” Scootaloo finished with her trademark creepy grin as she released the first bludger from its straps.
*
“Please, I can’t take any more!” Tamsin begged.
“Really? You barely lasted ten minutes up there, and now twenty-three laps all you got? Pathetic,” Scootaloo taunted, landing before the other girl.
“Yes ma’am,” Tamsin groveled before her captain.
“I’ve only one thing to say to that performance.”
Tamsin gulped.
Scootaloo leant in and whispered in the other girl’s ear, “Incredible job. I didn’t expect you to get past ten, let alone twenty. Let me know what you want as a reward, soldier. Just remember next time before you pry into my private life, I have the power to make your life very, very difficult.”
“Yes ma’am,” Tamsin wheezed. “Truthfully, my scales are on the fritz.”
“Consider a new silver set bought.” Scootaloo pulled her head back. “Now hit the showers.” She turned to the rest of her team.
“As for the rest of you.” She looked over her clearly sore and aching team who were rubbing numerous bruises across their bodies. “Well done for lasting the whole hour. Heidi, you lucky, lucky girl. One life with one second left, how fortunate that my lightning caught you just after the claxon.”
“My arse feels like it’s on fire,” Heidi grumbled, rubbing her aching behind.
“Should have dodged it then,” Scootaloo said bluntly before moving on. “Sweetie, you’re supposed to dodge bludgers, not save them. Still, two lives; well done.”
“You never said I couldn’t catch and throw them at others,” Sweetie stated.
Scootaloo ignored her friend. “Cedric, four lives, respectable and the same as myself. An outstanding performance.”
“I’ll beat you next time,” Cedric quipped.
“Anytime, anywhere. Susan and Anthony, I’m glad to see last week was just a blip. Back to your accurate best. Those Slytherins are in for a pounding in May. Keep up the great work.”
“Thanks, and we will,” Anthony replied with a smile.
“As a reward for your hard work and diligence today, you can all have the next two Mondays off for your efforts.” There were cheers throughout the team. “Just remember that before you go trying to find gossip on me, I have the power to make training as difficult or pleasant as you want it to be.”
“Was still totally worth it to find out your right ear twitches when you kiss,” Heidi giggled causing Scootaloo to go red faced.
“Macavoy, how would you like a one to one training session next Monday?” Scootaloo said in an ominous tone.
The girl in question had disappeared.
“Looks like she doesn’t want help with her kissing studies,” Cedric finished with a chuckle.
Scootaloo placed her head in her left hand and started rubbing her temple. “Just go before I change my mind about those training sessions.”
*
The following morning, after sleeping through yet another dull and lifeless history lesson, the first-year Hufflepuff girls, aside Sweetie, were nearing the potions lab, discussing just what the misery professor had in store for them today, when they came across the rest of their class blocking the hallway in front of them.
“Hey Hermione, what gives?” Scootaloo immediately asked, seeking out her girlfriend.
“The Weasley twins. Apparently, they thought that if the Potions lab was out of commission, their infinite detention would-be put-on hold,” Hermione explained.
Hannah and Meghan started snickering.
“Sounds like something those two would do. So, what did they do?” Scootaloo replied.
A firework exploded above the students' heads.
“That.” Hermione pointed above her head. “They set off fifty magical fireworks at the end of their Potions lesson. Snape’s just gone to see what other classrooms are available while we wait out here.”
Scootaloo giggled. “He must have been furious.” Then, her face dropped. “Oh crap, he’s going to take it out on us, isn’t he.”
“I honestly don’t know, but he definitely did not look at all pleased when he exited the lab covered in soot, robes on fire, and dragging both Weasley twins by an ear to Professor Dumbledore,” Hermione stated.
“Mum will be fuming,” Ron sighed.
“At least it’s not as embarrassing as dancing in your underwear in the common room,” Hermione said with a chuckle.
“I thought we agreed we were never going to mention that again. It’s bad enough my mum found out,” Ron said, his face starting to match the colour of his hair.
“I wonder where our lesson will be,” Apple Bloom stated, suddenly entering the conversation.
“Who knows, but here comes Snape now. He looks angrier than usual,” Ron answered.
“Maybe that’s cause his robes still on fire?” Susan commented.
“Doesn’t matter. All that matters really is it means more pain for us,” Scootaloo groaned
“Settle down please,” Snape’s voice droned from the front of the class. “As you probably have all realised, the Potions lab is currently unavailable for lessons due to an incident at the end of my previous lesson,” Snape paused and sent a deadly glare at Ron that turned the boy's face as white as a sheet. “As such, today's theoretical lesson on poisons and how to tell if your drink or food has been spiked, shall now be hosted in, ugh, Classroom 77 of the Discord Tower.” Snape rolled his eyes with obvious discontent with where he would now have to conduct his class. “Let’s get this over with; come along, class.”
The trip to their temporary classroom was a quiet and rather sombre affair, with no student wishing to bear the brunt of Snape’s wrath. This was only exacerbated when he deducted two points from Gryffindor just because Neville coughed. In deathly silence, they walked into their temporary home, and that’s when things got a lot worse.
Snape looked at the lime green furred hooves he now sported and took a few deep, calming, breaths.
None of the class said a word, partially because they were all staring at each other, shocked at the fact they were all now tiny multicoloured ponies. One of the most peculiar things to have occurred was that all their robes had transformed perfectly with them.
“Okay, that’ll be ten points from Hufflepuff because I just know you three girls must have had something to do with this,” Snape muttered, barely hiding the anger in his voice.
“Hey, that’s unfair,” Scootaloo couldn’t help but object. Interestingly, her metallic arm had transfigured perfectly into her right foreleg.
“Would you like me to take another five, Miss Prewett?”
“No,” Scootaloo grumbled.
“No, what?” Snape replied
“No, sir.”
“Better. Now come along, class. I guess I’ll just have to make the best of this situation,” Snape sighed in resignation. “And you two, stop flying around the classroom. That’s a further five points from Hufflepuff and five from Gryffindor.”
Reluctantly, Susan lowered herself to the ground, crash-landing into a wall with a thump.
“I’m fine,” the girl groaned from a heap on the floor.
Ron went one better and crash-landed into Snape.
“Weasley, you have five seconds to get off of me before you are joining your brothers in infinite detention. Do I make myself clear?” Snape growled.
Ron had never moved so fast in his life.
Slowly, Snape rose and dusted himself off whilst repositioning his robes with a hoof.
The class though had all noticed the potions bottle with black bubbling liquid and a white skull and cross bones that now adorned his flank. Wisely, they chose not to infuriate their potions professor further by enquiring about said mark.
“Right, unless are any further disruptions,” Snape droned, “take a desk and we shall begin.”
The potions professor trotted to the front of the class, illuminated his horn, and lifted some chalk up to the board before turning his attention back to his class, who were rapidly taking their desks and getting quills, parchment and textbooks out of their satchels. With the majority of the class being unicorns, they had followed Snape’s example and, after some trial and error, had managed to use the magic in their horns to prepare themselves. They were now sitting in anticipation, waiting for the lesson to begin, each with a quill held in their magical aura. Unfortunately for Snape, only fifteen of his twenty-one strong class were unicorns. Although two of the other six students had had experience in such a bizarre phenomenon and were waiting patiently along with the other students with quill in mouth and wing respectively, the other four were not faring so well.
“Longbottom, please look at how Miss Apple holds her quill in her mouth and try and use that technique. Miss Jones, can you assist in helping Miss Abbot with her books? Miss Prewett, could you kindly show how you manage to hold a quill in your wing to Mr. Weasley and Miss Bones?” Snape sighed, pulling a chair over with his magic and taking a seat as he rubbed his temple with a hoof. This was going to be a long lesson.
*
Aside from Neville spilling three pots of ink in the opening five minutes and the whole class now being tiny sentient equines, the remainder of the lesson actually proved to be relatively straightforward and not that interesting as Snape rattled on about numerous different poisons and their varying characteristics before setting them a lengthy reading assignment and a whole sheet of questions for homework.
Unsurprisingly, the students were deep in conversation about the whole experience as they left the classroom and transformed back to their usual forms.
“Anyone else got a headache?” Meghan groaned, rubbing her temple.
“Yeah, me to,” Justin groused.
“And me,” Wayne chipped in.
Scootaloo tittered. “That’s what happens when unicorns in our world use magic continuously for a substantial period of time without training. You’ll be fine after a little rest.”
“Thanks for warning us,” Meghan groaned, still rubbing her temple.
“Wait, then why don’t I feel anything?” Hermione asked.
“Do you want the Rainbow Dash or Twilight Sparkle answer?” Scootaloo requested.
“The nicer one please.”
“I’ll combine the two. You’re an egghead with a greater amount of magic.”
Hermione gave her girlfriend a friendly shove. “So, I guess that means it takes more to strain my magical ability.”
“And the egghead gets it in one,” Scootaloo teased before turning her attention to Susan. “And nice job losing us five points Susan.”
Nobody noticed Hermione pull her wand from her robes and start muttering something under her breath.
“Hey, you lost us twice as many,” Susan retorted, sticking out her tongue at her friend rebelliously.
Hermione kept chanting and manoeuvring her wand.
“I didn’t do anything wrong and you know it. Bloom will back me up,” Scootaloo contested.
“Well neither did I!” Susan countered.
“You flew around the room like a possessed lunatic!” Scootaloo argued.
“Takes one to know one!”
Hermione finished casting her spell.
“Bloom, help me . . .” SPLASH.
Susan burst out laughing as did a number of the students as a bucket of water materialised and fell on Scootaloo’s head, drenching her.
“Sometimes being an egghead has its benefits,” Hermione said brazenly before she darted off down the hall.
“Oh, I’m so getting you back for that one,” Scootaloo replied as she lifted the bucket off her head and shot after her girlfriend.
Slowly, Susan regained her composure. “How can such a prude and know-it-all like Hermione just suddenly pull a switch and act like, like . . .”
“A normal eleven-year-old girl?” Hannah replied.
“Exactly,” Susan responded.
“One word -- Scootaloo,” Hannah replied. “Those two are perfect for each other.”
“That they are. Fancy going to the Great Hall and making a start on our homework before lunch?” Susan asked.
“I’m in,” Meghan replied, jumping not only into the conversation but literally onto Hannah’s back, her headache seemingly forgotten.
“Get off me, you oaf; you’re heavy,” Hannah jested, trying to push the other girl off her.
“Calling me fat! How rude,” Meghan laughed as she released her grip on the other girl. “Come on, let's get a move on. Apple Bloom, you in?” the girl said looking around. “Huh, where did she go?”
“I saw her heading off with Neville a moment ago towards the library,” Hannah replied.
“Oh well, looks like it’ll just be us three then,” Meghan said, shrugging her shoulders before pulling her two friends along towards the Great Hall.
*
“Get me down from here,” Hermione pouted as she tightly gripped the tower on which Scootaloo had deposited her.
She knew she should have sought the sanctuary of the library, but in her haste to get away from her girlfriend, she'd had taken a wrong turn. It turned out to be a fatal mistake as her route had taken her outside the castle, and one sharp whistle from Scootaloo saw Broomy zooming in and stealing her away, high up into the sky where she was unceremoniously dumped here, the broom paying no attention to her commands. At least it couldn’t get any worse.
That’s when she heard a massive boom and looked up just as a rain cloud emptied itself upon her.
“Next time, I’d suggest not pranking a pegasus with their natural element,” Scootaloo cackled, leaning over the cloud.
“You’ve always got to be one better, haven’t you,” Hermione grumbled, now absolutely sodden.
“Yep,” Scootaloo replied smugly as she floated down to Hermione. “Now how about a fly to dry off?” she asked, holding out Brunhilda to Hermione.
“You ‘re on,” Hermione said with a wicked grin, “but first a kiss.” She grabbed hold of Scootaloo’s sodden robes and pulled her in close.
Scootaloo closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable. The warmth of Hermione’s lips never came. Instead she got something cold and slimy along with the taste of, crackers? A squawk of indignation snapped her out of the moment. She opened her eyes mid-kiss and stared straight into the single eye of a very soggy and unhappy parrot who was floating in front of her.
“I’m not particularly amused by this fucking situation myself,” Wally squawked.
Scootaloo spat cracker crumbs out of her mouth. Hermione was laughing uncontrollably a little way away.
Finally, Hermione managed to utter, “You want a kiss? You’ll have to earn it and catch me first,” before she shot off into the distance on Brunhilda.
“Oh, we’re playing that game again,” Scootaloo said to herself before whistling to Broomy and shooting off after her girlfriend.
“Fucking crazy witches,” Wally grouched as the magic applied to him started to fade and he took off towards the Great Hall, hoping for a piece of fruit to complement those crackers and seeds that girl had used to bribe him.