Wednesday afternoon proved to be a hugely entertaining one. Apple Bloom had gotten Discord involved and he’d been only too happy to provide the girl with her own ice fortress made of vanilla ice cream with its own self-replenishing ice cream snow cloud to prevent it from melting in the blistering hot June day. He’d also supplied the defenders with their lunch and an inordinate amount of banana cream pies and ice cream snow balls.
It had become immediately apparent to Scootaloo that there was no reasoning with the crazed Lady Appletree when her final attempt at a peaceful solution, whereby she once more refused to hand over the disputed galleons she owed, was met with a pie to the face. Thus began the great siege of Fort Frosty, as it was known. It was Ron who quickly realised the whole fort was made of ice cream and after Discord had kindly dropped a spoon atop his head, he had swiftly begun to munch a hole in the wall until Hannah and Megan deposited a massive bowl of strawberry syrup atop his head followed by a bowl of hundreds and thousands. Meanwhile, Scootaloo and Harry were attempting to melt said fortress using Incendio, bolts of lightning and whatever other means of heat they could possibly generate using their wands or in Scootaloo’s case, arm as well, while Sweetie used her magic to stop as many pies and ice cream snowballs as possible from hitting them and then firing them back at the defenders of the fort.
It had been an exhilarating hour or more of fun and laughter before they’d finally breached one of the walls and forced their way into the fort. The defenders had then attempted valiantly to keep them from reaching Hermione but had soon found themselves imprisoned in a bubble by Sweetie Belle. The despicable Lady Appletree though had snuck off during the battle with the princess! This then led to a rather anticlimactic chase scene, whereby Scootaloo plucked the tyrant up into the air before dropping her into a giant sundae supplied by Discord.
Overall, it was a chaotic afternoon that ended with everyone laying on the ground eating an absurd amount of ice cream in the scorching Scottish sunshine whilst recapping the whole ridiculous event. Scootaloo even promised to get the galleons for Apple Bloom out of their account when they returned to London!
The following day was a lot less fun. For a start, the streak of warm weather finally broke during the night and the torrential wind and rain meant that they were confined to the castle for the whole day. With little to distract them from the anticipation of their results, many of the first-years started to become anxious, edgy and restless, which only made the day pass even slower. Apple Bloom and Sweetie felt they must have broken a record for most games of wizard chess in one day while Scootaloo performed one thousand seven hundred and sixty-two wing ups in a row out of sheer boredom. The highlights of the day were when Sweetie had to take Wallace out for walks and came back looking like, as Wally put it, a drowned fucking rat who’d been resuscitated then drowned again. The second time the dog and girl were covered in so much mud only their eyes were visible and Sweetie had simply grumbled something about a rabbit before heading straight to the bathroom with the poor howling mutt as most the common room howled with laughter. Still, all the first years, possibly for the first time in their lives, were mightily relieved when bed time finally came around.
“Thank goodness that day's over. What a drag! I hope this storm ends soon. I can’t bear another week stuck indoors with nothing to do. Plus, I’ve barely given Firefly a proper run out yet,” Scootaloo stated as they got changed.
“Typical Scootaloo, more worried about the weather and flying than actually passing her first year,” Sweetie giggled.
“Heck. Why should I be worried when I know I’ve passed?” Scootaloo replied calmly.
“Modest as always,” Apple Bloom said sarcastically rolling her eyes as she did so.
Scootaloo shrugged her shoulders, “You know it. Also, I may have asked my new eye. Now if you don’t mind, I’ve some very important business to attend to.” She flopped onto her bed.
“You spent most the day sleeping. How can you possibly be tired?” Susan said cutting into the conversation.
Scootaloo was already fast asleep wrapped up scruffily in her sheets. She didn’t even flinch when Wallace jumped on top of her and settled down to sleep. Although the dog preferred being with his mistress on her bed, she was a restless sleeper and had a nasty habit of accidentally kicking him off the bed in the middle of the night in her sleep.
“Pegasi,” both Sweetie and Apple Bloom replied simultaneously.
*
The next morning every one of the Hufflepuff girls, aside from Scootaloo, were up bright and early, eager to find out just how well they’d done in their exams.
“Scootaloo, we are all heading to the Great Hall for breakfast together, whether you like it or not. So here are your two choices, get up and get dressed or I carry you to the hall in your pyjamas,” Apple Bloom commanded.
“Five more minutes,” Scootaloo grunted from beneath her covers.
“Right, well don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Apple Bloom replied yanking off Scootaloo’s duvet.
Scootaloo’s eyes opened groggily. “I fucking hate you some days,” she grumbled before rolling off the bed onto the floor. “Give me two minutes to get dressed,” she said pulling herself up of the floor and dragging herself to the bathroom, picking up some clothes along the way.
She reappeared a few minutes later looking not much better. Her robes were creased, hair a mess, and her tie was askew.
“At least she’s dressed,” Apple Bloom sighed to herself before coming over and handing Scootaloo her wand. “Come on, the rest of the girls have already gone on ahead,” she grumbled pulling Scootaloo by her arm and racing out of the dorm while ignoring the other girl’s complaints.
They soon caught up with their dormmates and as they entered the Great Hall Professor Sprout was already waiting for them with a stack of letters in her hands. Their fellow first year Hufflepuffs were already seated at the table looking somewhat annoyed they were being made to wait for their results.
“Excellent, you are all finally here. I won’t deny I had expected you all here a little earlier this morning. Results day is possibly the only day in the school year when students actually seem to want to get out of bed,” Professor Sprout stated as the girls sat themselves down at the table.
“Sorry professor. We would have been here sooner but a certain Pegasus needed some gentle persuasion to get out of bed this morning,” Apple Bloom said glaring at Scootaloo.
“I can see that,” Professor Sprout replied looking over Scootaloo disapprovingly. “Miss Prewett would you please straighten yourself out before another professor sees you and docks us points.”
“Yes professor,” Scootaloo yawned taking a brush from Sweetie to sort out her hair.
“Good. Now, I am delighted to inform you that you have all passed your first year,” the Head of Hufflepuff began.
“See, told you so,” Scootaloo whispered to Apple Bloom while getting yet another stern look from Professor Sprout in the process.
“Some of you though, Miss Prewett, need to spend a little less time sleeping and a little more time studying. 19% on your Transfiguration theory and 22% on your History of Magic exam are simply not acceptable and I’ll be seeing you shortly in my office along with your father,” Professor Sprout said coldly.
Scootaloo’s head hit the table. “Shit,” she grumbled as a few stifled giggles reverberated round the table.
“A few others will also see red notes attached to their results. Each of these will state a time when I expect you to be waiting outside my office. Don’t be alarmed though, these are purely so that I can have some time to discuss with you individually a certain result or two and how we here at the school can help assist you with this subject in the future. None of you are in any real trouble, aside my quidditch captain who has not been setting a good enough example for her peers,” Professor Sprout continued.
Scootaloo lifted her head up off the table as another round of laughter rang round the table. “Oh, come on. What is this? Pick on Scootaloo day?”
“When you nearly become the first Hufflepuff to fail Herbology during my reign as Head of House, arrive to breakfast looking like you’ve been play fighting with Wallace and then have the gall to interrupt me, you’ll get what you deserve my dear. And if it makes you feel any better, your father has already received a copy of your results while the remainder of your parents have had a copy sent out by owl in case any of you thought about mysteriously losing your copies,” Professor Sprout said emotionlessly.
Scootaloo’s face had gone white and she was simply staring distantly ahead of her. Maybe if she ran now, she could hide somewhere till her father calmed down.
“Don’t even try it,” Professor Sprout whispered into her ear passing Scootaloo the envelope with her results in. “I’ll see you at nine am sharp. Don’t be late.”
Scootaloo gulped deciding to simply get it over with. The letter read:
Dear Professor Discord,
We here at Hogwarts are pleased to inform you that your daughter, Scoti, has passed her first year at Hogwarts with an overall average grade of 62.8%, Acceptable, and as such can proceed into her second year of study. You will find her individual grades for each subject, along with teacher notes, on the proceeding pages. Please be aware, that due to Professor Quirrell’s untimely disappearance, grades for years 1-3 in Defence Against the Dark Arts have had to be scrapped this year aside from those in Professor Discord’s first year Hufflepuff class. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you,
Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft
Well, it couldn’t be as bad as Professor Sprout was making out, she’d passed, hadn’t she? She turned the stapled page over and stared at her detailed grades. What began as a wide smile slowly turned into a grimace as she went down the page.
SUBJECT THEORY (%) PRACTICAL (%) OVERALL (%) OVERALL GRADE
Astronomy N/A N/A N/A N/A
Charms 64 99 81.5 Outstanding
DADA 71 100 85.5 Outstanding
Divination 94 98 96 Outstanding
Herbology 36 66 51 Acceptable
History of Magic 22 - 22 Dreadful
Potions 44 60 52 Acceptable
Transfiguration 19 84 51.5 Acceptable
OVERALL 50 84.5 62.8 Acceptable
B.F.A.T Result – 100% - Outstanding
GRADING SYSTEM
0-10% - Troll
11-30% Dreadful
31%-50% Poor
51%-65% Acceptable
66%-80% Exceeds Expectations
81%+ Outstanding
So engrossed with her results was Scootaloo, she hadn’t even noticed Apple Bloom coming up behind her.
“Oh wow! What a spectacular set of results,” she exclaimed.
“Spectacularly good or spectacularly bad?” Sweetie asked still examining her own results.
“Both. Three Outstandings, three Acceptables and the Dreadful for History,” Apple Bloom stated pulling Scootaloo’s out of her hand and replacing them with her own. “In case you are interested, here are mine.”
SUBJECT THEORY (%) PRACTICAL (%) OVERALL (%) OVERALL GRADE
Astronomy 78 78 78 Exceeds Expectations
Charms 69 57 63 Acceptable
DADA 70 62 66 Exceeds Expectations
Herbology 100 95 97.5 Outstanding
History of Magic 60 - 60 Acceptable
Potions 100 100 100 Outstanding
Transfiguration 68 48 58 Acceptable
OVERALL 77.9 73.3 74.64 Exceeds Expectations
B.F.A.T Result – 70% - Exceeds Expectations
“WOW!” Sweetie exclaimed next to her. “That’s amazing. You somehow passed Transfiguration despite only scoring 19% in the theory.”
Susan was trying to stifle a giggle next to Sweetie while looking over the other girl’s shoulder at Scootaloo’s results. Apple Bloom meanwhile was examining Sweetie’s.
SUBJECT THEORY (%) PRACTICAL (%) OVERALL (%) OVERALL GRADE
Astronomy 96 90 93 Outstanding
Charms 93 73 83 Outstanding
DADA 81 53 67 Exceeds Expectations
Herbology 88 70 79 Exceeds Expectations
History of Magic 89 - 89 Outstanding
Potions N/A N/A N/A N/A
Transfiguration 100 100 100 Outstanding
OVERALL 91.2 77.2 85.2 Outstanding
B.F.A.T Result – 77% - Exceeds Expectations
“These are truly great results Sweetie, you must be proud,” Apple Bloom praised passing Sweetie’s back to her.
“Aside from DADA, yeah real proud. Not that mum or dad will care though and Rarity will more than likely be too busy to notice,” Sweetie sighed taking her results back from Apple Bloom as she passed Scootaloo’s back to her. “Don’t be too harsh on yourself Scoots, you’ve still some incredibly good marks there, I’m sure Discord will be proud of what you’ve achieved.”
“That I am,” a voice said from nowhere as Discord suddenly popped into existence behind Scootaloo.
The girl had immediately frozen in terror upon hearing her father’s dulcet tones.
“As soon as I’ve straightened Professor Sprout out and Scootaloo has had her check up with Madam Pomfrey how about I take the three of you out to Hogsmeade for some shopping and ice cream to celebrate. Before you ask, yes, Hermione and Neville can join us. Miss Belle, anyone you’d like to bring?” Discord said calmly.
Almost every pair of eyes turned their attention to Sweetie. As first years they were rarely allowed out of the castle grounds unless accompanied by a professor, who could only escort a maximum of six at a time, which virtually meant they weren’t allowed to go anywhere else as no professor had the time or effort to spare to escort them usually.
“Sorry guys and gals but we quidditch players have to stick together. Susan, fancy some shopping?” Sweetie asked.
A massive smile wrapped its way across Susan’s face. “Like you have to even ask. This is going to be epic!”
“Excellent, we shall likely leave between 10:00 and 10:30 as soon as Scootaloo’s check-up is completed,” Discord said with a smile before turning his attention back to Scootaloo. “Something the matter? I thought you’d be pleased with how well you are doing?”
“Y-you’re not mad?” Scootaloo gulped.
Discord looked at his daughter with a puzzled expression. “And why would I be mad? Your results are even better than I expected and you’re turning into a fine witch already.” He snapped his fingers and his copy of Scootaloo’s school report popped into his hands along with a pair of reading glasses. “Your Charms and your DADA practical ability matches that of most third and even some fourth years, whilst your Divination skills are already apparently at N.E.W.T level. You aced your B.F.A.T with an expert level broom that most adults wouldn’t have been able to control while your practical Transfiguration is simply outstanding. As a being of chaos, you don’t need to worry about rules and regulation so don’t worry about the theoretical side of Transfiguration. I’m already predicting you’ll have given Minerva McGonagall a stroke by the time you leave. As for Herbology, you’re not an Earth pony so understandable and the same applies to Potions although I’m hoping Miss Bloom and Granger can help push your mark up a bit in that one. As for History,” Discord threw his head back and started snoring.
Scootaloo started to laugh. “Thanks Dad. You’re the best.” She rose and gave her goofball of a father a hug.
“Anytime, dear daughter of mine, anytime,” he replied with a smile of his own. “Now, you had better have some breakfast before I have some choice words with your head of house.”
*
Scootaloo stood anxiously outside Professor Sprout’s office with Discord waiting for the inevitable. She couldn’t believe just how shaky and nervous she was. Every minute felt like an hour until finally a solemn voice called from within.
“Come in.”
Scootaloo took a deep breath before pushing the door open.
“Scoti, please have a seat,” Professor Sprout said formally from behind her desk while tending to a potted plant. "I’m guessing your father has already had a talk with you about your results.”
Scootaloo did as she was told as Discord replied somewhat testily.
“Yes, and I’ve assured her they are absolutely fine.”
“I see. Well, I’m sorry that I have to disagree. If it wasn’t for your natural Divination ability, we’d be discussing you resitting your first year right now instead of how we can simply help to improve your main area of weakness, theoretical study.”
Discord snapped two of his right fingers and a book appeared in his left hand entitled An In-Depth Guide of the Ponies of Equestria. “Sorry to disappoint you professor but it just isn’t in her nature.” He placed the book down on the desk in front of Professor Sprout. “Please read the highlighted section out loud.”
Professor Sprout stared at Discord for a moment before sighing and taking a look at the book that was now in front of her. “Pegasi are one of the three main tribes of ponies in Equestria alongside unicorns and earth ponies. They are notorious for having short attention spans and being stubborn, strong willed and, at times, extremely lazy, often spending up to two-thirds of a day asleep. They are also though dedicated, loyal and extremely efficient, often becoming fixated with anything that interests them and completing any work they have to do unbelievably quickly, yet still at an exceptionally high standard. One of the reasons behind this is that most their work is practical based, which they have a natural affinity for as they are strong kinaesthetic learners. This means that they learn best through doing or practical activity, with a great example being that if you asked a Pegasus to write you an essay on flight mechanics, they’d likely struggle, yet they could demonstrate them to you perfectly. This is not to say that a Pegasus can’t write an essay or sit a theoretical exam, it is just harder for them to do so as it goes against their natural way of thinking or in other terms, biology. As such, when it come to more theoretical tasks, like studying, reading, writing and so forth, a Pegasus will only consider, conduct and succeed in such tasks they have a strong liking for,” Professor Sprout finished reading while rubbing her temple.
“I believe that explains to you why my daughter had the highest average practical mark of her entire year yet one of the lowest overall theoretical ones. In truth, I’m rather amazed she’s become infatuated with three subjects,” Discord deadpanned.
Something suddenly clicked in Scootaloo’s brain. “Wait, I had the best overall practical marks out of everyone in my entire year? Even Hermione?”
“Beat her average by .1%,” Discord replied with a smile before turning his attention back to Professor Sprout. “Now, I totally understand that theory is a key part of Scoti’s education here at Hogwarts along with the fact you want to mould her into the best and most well-rounded witch possible, but this isn’t likely going to be possible. She’ll excel at what she’s good at, Charms, Divination, DADA and Flying, while everything else we will simply just have to try and ensure she does well enough to pass.”
Professor Sprout sighed rubbing her temple some more. “And how might I ask do you plan to do that? I’m guessing you’ve already…” she stopped as a knock resounded on Professor Sprout’s office door.
“Right on time. Come in,” Discord called.
Hermione’s head popped through the door.
“Scoti, Miss Granger here has kindly offered to be your study buddy for your second year to try and assist you in your weaker areas. She shall be reporting weekly back to me and if I feel you are not trying hard enough, the next step will be spending your evenings with me to help you. Got it?” Discord explained.
The smile that had made its way across Scootaloo’s face upon hearing how she’d so narrowly beaten Hermione and won their bet swiftly evaporated. “Yes, Father,” she said in a muted tone while looking at the wide smile upon her girlfriend’s face. She was enjoying this, wasn’t she?
“Well, that to me seems like a fair solution,” Professor Sprout began. “Miss Granger is an excellent student and even with your close ties, I know she’ll push you hard. Even so, before I let you go, let this be a warning for you. If I don’t see at least some kind of improvement in certain subjects across your second year, not only could your captaincy of the quidditch team be under threat but also your position on the team. Now, I’ve many other students to see so I’ll bid you good day.” She rose from behind her desk and walked over to the door.
Scootaloo visibly gulped before rising from her own chair. “Yes, Professor Sprout. Understood,” she said solemnly before heading to the door alongside Hermione.
“Good,” Professor Sprout replied, a smile returning to her face. “Now, have a great rest of the day and I’ll catch up with you later.” She closed the door behind them.
An eerie silence hung over the three of them for a moment before Discord said, “Right, now that that is over, shall we head to Madam Pomfrey’s for your checkup before celebrating? You are more than welcome to tag along Miss Granger if you wish or I can come and get you once we’re done.”
“If Scoots doesn’t mind, I’ll join you. I still haven’t had a chance to share my results with her and the walk will give us time to catch up,” Hermione said sweetly.
“Of course,” Scootaloo replied, a smile slowly returning to her lips. She could worry about the future later. Right now, it was time to relax, have some fun and enjoy the holidays.
“Excellent, come along then,” Discord said starting off down the corridor.
Hermione and Scootaloo slowly followed with the former whispering into the latter’s ear.
“Discord’s already shown me your results when he came to inform me of today’s plans and his plan to help you in your second year.”
“I guess you weren’t too happy about being beaten by .1%,” Scootaloo giggled.
Hermione turned to face Scootaloo with a wild look in her eyes. “Not particularly,” she said grinding her teeth together before adding merrily, “but at least he offered me the chance of revenge, I mean to ably assist you, next year.”
All the colour drained from Scootaloo’s face.
*
Hermione's Results
SUBJECT THEORY (%) PRACTICAL (%) OVERALL (%) OVERALL GRADE
Astronomy 98 88 93 Outstanding
Charms 100 98 99 Outstanding
DADA N/A N/A N/A N/A
Herbology 96 82 89 Outstanding
History of Magic 94 - 94 Outstanding
Potions 76 78 77 Exceeds Expectations
Transfiguration 94 76 85 Outstanding
OVERALL 93 84.4 89.5 Outstanding
B.F.A.T Result – 100% - Outstanding
*
“Hmm, interesting,” Madam Pomfrey mused reading over the results of her medical scan.
“Well, that sounds ominous. Good or bad?” Scootaloo replied forcing out a chuckle.
“Good. You see, although minor, because the knife that cut your throat was dark magic, it left a very minute trace in your blood stream,” the matron began.
“Well, that doesn’t sound very good,” Scootaloo interrupted somewhat alarmed.
Madam Pomfrey glowered at Scootaloo for a moment before replying. “If you’d let me finish. Thankfully, it seems your body has been able to naturally expel such a small amount as it is no longer showing up on any of my scans.
“I can confirm that,” Discord added, joining in the conversation. “Being such a tiny amount, it wouldn’t be much of a problem for most people, let alone one with an abundance of Chaos magic in their system. Is there anything else you need to inform us of matron or is that all for today?”
“No. You’ve taken remarkably well to your new eye despite how unnerving it may be and I see no lasting damage there. The scar on your neck will obviously be permanent but with the dark magic now having dissipated there are no further concerns with that either. If it ever starts to bother you though please either come directly here or inform the nearest professor,” Madam Pomfrey explained. “You are free to go my dear and please, let this be the last time this school year you visit me.”
“I’ll try, but no promises,” Scootaloo tittered jumping off the bed she was sitting on.
Madam Pomfrey just rolled her eyes.
*
“Alright Scootaloo, I’m here. Why did you want me to come find you in the Discord tower?” Hermione’s voice called grumpily while pushing the door open to the classroom she’d been instructed to come to after dinner.
The six girls had had a wonderful day visiting Hogsmeade. They’d started their shopping trip at TheCentaur’s Eye where Scootaloo practically bought half the shop’s stock while talking to Sorlith Song. From there they hit a Herbology shop, Dogweed and Deathcap, J. Pippin's Potions, and a couple of cauldron shops so that Apple Bloom could buy the supplies she required. After this they then topped up on writing supplies and while on the way to lunch at a quaint little café Sweetie saw a beautiful blue fiddle in a music shop’s window that she just had to have.
At lunch, they’d further discussed each other’s results, with the biggest topic of discussion being Scootaloo’s minor victory over Hermione in the practical aspect of their exams, while also discussing ideas of things they could do in their final week before the holidays.
Subsequently they had then visited Spintwitches Sporting Needs and then Tomes and Scrolls for some summer reading material before ending their trip with the best parts, visits to Zonko’s Joke Shop and Honeydukes, the latter of which they ended up buying so many sweets from it was amazing they were able to carry them all back to the castle.
Finally, after all that, they had returned back to the castle in time for dinner and it was here that Scootaloo had informed Hermione of a little surprise she had planned for her.
“A sickle for your thoughts?” Scootaloo’s voice echoed across the practically empty room, which seemed, in Hermione’s eyes anyway, to be some kind of school hall, the kind used for physical education.
“Nice hair by the way, pink suits you,” Scootaloo’s voice
“You had better hope it's not permanent or your father is in for a world of pain,” Hermione grumbled trying to locate her partner.
“Oh, such a sourpuss,” Scootaloo teased from just behind Hermione making the other girl jump.
“You bitch,” Hermione yelled turning around. Her eyes widened in surprise at what she saw. “Pffft, what are you wearing,” she exclaimed barely holding the laughter back.
Scootaloo was doing the splits in a pink tutu while standing on her right leg, her left stretched way above her head. “Oh? I thought you might enjoy an evening of ballet?”
Hermione couldn’t help but fall on the floor laughing hysterically. After almost a full minute of being unable to control herself she wheezed, “Oh, my word. You? Possibly the most tomboyish girl in the entire school is into ballet. That has to be the highlight of my day, no, make that my month.”
Scootaloo scowled at her girlfriend before she strolled over to an ancient looking Gramophone, wound it up and let it begin playing as she danced flawlessly in time with the music.
Three minutes later and if it could, Hermione’s jaw would have hit the floor. “Well, that was unexpected,” was all she managed to say.
Scootaloo smiled wickedly in reply. “It would be even more epic if I had a partner. Care to join me? Tutu is mandatory though,” she said walking over to Hermione and offering her hand to the other girl who was still sat on the floor.