//------------------------------// // Who ya Gonna Call? // Story: Three Werewolves, a Pony, a Seer and a Skepticist walk into Hogwarts... // by SamuelK28 //------------------------------// “Wow, for a pony, you sure have a wonderful singing voice,” Leanne commented as they followed one of the Hufflepuff prefects out of the hall. “One more word about my singing and werewolf or not I am sending you to the infirmary,” Limestone threatened. “Ooh, that sounds like a challenge. What is wrong, singing not fit in with your tough girl look?” Susan nipped in as they started down a long windy staircase. “Please, don’t encourage her. At least not until we are out of this narrow staircase and I don’t end up as collateral damage,” one of the boys pleaded from further down. “No promises,” Susan said while directing a wry smile towards Limestone. “Especially as her guard dog is currently out of commission.” Said dog would have still been in the Great Hall if not for Scoti effortlessly picking him up and carrying him on her right shoulder whilst barely breaking a sweat, much to the rest of the first year Hufflepuff’s surprise. The dog was bigger than the pint-sized girl on four legs, let alone two! “Can we please all just get to bed without murdering each other. I mean, seven years might be a stretch, seven days even, with you three, but I am sure you can all at least survive until bed time on the first night,” the second boy chipped in. Limestone still had not bothered to learn the names of either of them. “Fine,” Limestone grumbled reluctantly, realising she had no real choice. If she got expelled, goodness knows where they would send her and she did not want to push her luck and find out. “As I stated, no promises. I personally think one with such a wonderful singing voice should be given a makeover to better suit such talent and tonight before bed could be a fantastic opportunity to do so,” Susan pressed only to receive a tap on the back of the head from Leanne coming down the stairs behind her. “Drop it. I’m fully fed, tired and want my bed. The last thing I need is you two keeping me awake while destroying our dorm on our very first night. I’m sure there will come a time and place where we can have a good old-fashioned wrestle but tonight is definitely not that night unless you want me to bathe you with the sweetest smelling soap I can find,” Leanne stated firmly. “You wouldn’t dare,” Susan countered. “Try me. Your aunt gave me ten bottles of shampoo and shower gel of smells you detest the most, because she knows fully well how you like to take things too far,” Leanne explained. “She didn’t,” Susan retorted looking aghast momentarily before a crestfallen look of acceptance crossed her face. “Actually, that is exactly something she would do, the wretch. Can I at least have an arm wrestle with the seer before bed?” Leanne rolled her eyes but couldn’t deny how hard the past year and a half for Susan had been since her mum passed away and she had been forced to move from being Leanne’s next-door neighbour of nearly seven years to go live in the Bones ancestral home in a practical prison cell, even if Leanne had been allowed to visit after Susan had thrown a massive temper tantrum. After that Susan’s aunt had rapidly learnt that Leanne was an integral part in controlling her niece’s lycan side. “If she agrees fine. But if you lose, you are heading straight for the bathtub,” Leanne relinquished. “Sweet. And when I win, it will be you heading for the tub,” Susan countered with a sudden spring in her step. “Wait, what, I never agreed to that?” Leanne argued as they reached the bottom of the stairs. “To late. Hey Scoti, want to make a bet?” Susan stated, squeezing past her housemates to reach the girl at the front of the queue. Leanne looked up at the ceiling hoping for a miracle. * “Whoa, this is nice,” Susan exclaimed with a broad smile as she pulled herself out of the tunnel that had led from the entrance to their common room. “I wouldn’t know,” Limestone grouched just behind her. “All I’ve got is a face full of arse.” “Sorry grouchy pants,” Susan responded cheekily moving to one side and allowing Limestone to manoeuvre out of the tunnel and assess her surroundings. She was in a large, low-ceilinged circular room decorated with all kinds of flora, magical and non-magical. Small circular windows were situated high up in the walls whilst comfy looking sofas were dotted all over the place and the portrait of a cheery, portly witch hung above a cosy fireplace. “Hmm, could use more rocks but otherwise it will do,” Limestone surmised before she was captured in a massive hug. “So happy to have you with us and the same goes for all of you,” Professor Sprout exclaimed whilst slowly releasing the stunned Limestone. “And the same goes for all of you. My name is Professor Pomona Sprout, teacher of Herbology and head of Hufflepuff house here at Hogwarts. I like to think of my house as the most inclusive here at Hogwarts, judging students on their actions rather than who they are, what they are or where they come from. Yes, we may be the subject of a few cruel jokes because we don’t win much but what you will find in this house is family that shall stand beside you for the rest of your lives and be willing to help you no questions asked when you need it. Now, if none of you have any questions, please collect a timetable from the table over there and then Miss Fairweather here will show you to your dorm where your trunks have already been brought in for you. Miss Prewett, I have yours in my hand as you have an extra class scheduled for Friday afternoon.” The six first years proceeded to pick up a timetable from the desk as Scoti went straight over to Professor Sprout to collect hers. “Oh, and one more thing,” Professor Sprout announced. “You may notice that there are numerous free periods on your timetables. I expect you all to use these periods to study diligently with one another either in here or in the library. There will be exams at the end of your first year and I expect none of you to fail. I am the only current head of house to never have a single student resit a year and that is a proud record I intend to keep. You are all highly intelligent students in your own ways and I am ecstatic to have each and every one of you as additions to my house, so please, don’t let me down. I will see you all in the Great Hall tomorrow morning to collect you for your first Herbology lesson so that you do not get lost. Would not want you late for your very first lesson now, would we?” And, without waiting for a response, she turned and departed the common room for her own quarters. “Okay, everyone got a timetable? Great, then follow me,” Miss Fairweather instructed, turning and heading for a tunnel across the way not bothering to look behind her to see if anyone was keeping up. Limestone pocketed the timetable with barely a glance and fell into step with her year mates, Susan and Leanne excitedly chittering to each other about their lessons next to her. “The Hufflepuff common room is the most secure of all the common rooms and the only one of the house common rooms never to be breached by outsiders since Hogwarts was founded. Even in the unlikely event a non-Hufflepuff was able to remember the intricate system of knocks and breach the common room, the dorms are designed like a badger sett and infused with magical defences. This means that it is a maze down here and unless you know precisely where you are going, it is extremely easy to get lost, especially for you first years as our youngest members dorms are located at the heart of the sett for protection purposes,” Miss Fairweather explained like a tour guide as she moved swiftly down one corridor, then of down a side passage to the left, then back right twice and so on and so forth. Limestone had no idea how she would ever find her way out of her dorm in the morning! “Do not worry though as until you are accustomed to finding your dorm, we prefects will be happy to assist guiding you from and to your dorm every morning and evening. Just don’t leave anything you require for the day behind,” the prefect continued before stopping at a dead-end corridor. Two heavy looking oak circular doors sat on either side. “Boys to the left as girls are always right. And don’t try to enter each other’s dorms unless you like flying without… hey, what did I just…” she never finished as Susan placed her hand on the boy’s door and immediately went shooting backwards into the rest of the first years. “Cool!” Susan exclaimed, untangling herself from the mass of limbs that now covered the floor. “I want to do that again.” “Oh no you don’t or no arm wrestling before bed,” Leanne said firmly grasping her friend’s wrist as she pulled herself up. “But, but,” Susan looked at her pitifully. “Seriously? The puppy dog look. You know fully well that does not work on other canines. And don’t you even think about exploring down here, who knows how many students have been lost over the years?” Leanne retorted sternly. “No one has died, although one first year did go mad after getting lost for more than a week and ended up killing themselves by jumping of the astronomy tower thinking they were a Thestral. His mangled corpse of a ghost now floats between the two first year dorms constantly wailing and moaning in his never-ending quest to find a way out of the sett,” the prefect informed them. The first year’s reactions to this were mixed as they finished picking themselves up of the floor. The boys, understandably, looked terrified, Leanne looked concerned, Limestone annoyed, Susan ecstatic, and Scoti’s face was just unreadable. Everyone’s faces became looks of confusion though when the prefect doubled over with laughter. “Your faces,” she finally managed to wheeze. “Got you all good. Now, in all seriousness, please do not explore the sett as although it would take us no more than several hours to find you, it is a waste of everybody’s time and effort to do so and Professor Sprout would in return have you tidying up the greenhouses for a week after classes. Furthermore, please do not try to activate any of the defences or you will face the same punishment and more than likely time in the infirmary to.” “Wait, so is there or is there not a ghost?” Susan enquired looking disappointed at the fact the ghost might not be real. “Only our house ghost the Fat Friar and he doesn’t come down here. Your dorms are totally ghost…” The door to the girl’s dorm opened and two ghostly pale figures stepped out moaning and wailing whilst rattling chains in their hands. The boys and the prefect screamed as a ghostly hand slowly pointed at Limestone. “WE WANT THAT ONE!” the ghosts bellowed. Everyone took a hasty step back as Leanne gave Limestone a gentle nudge forward. The pony girl gave the Lycan a scathing glance in return before turning to face the ghosts. “Yeah, and why do you… wait a minute,” Limestone said, finally getting a good look at the two ghosts in the dim torchlight of the hall. A second later she found a bucket of putrid smelling slime dumped on her head. “Got you,” Kendra chuckled before racing of down the hall with Bree right behind her. “BREEEEEE, I WILL BE TELLING SPROUT ABOUT THIS. THIS IS NOT HOW PREFECTS SHOULD BE ACTING,” Miss Fairweather bellowed down the hallway. “Oh, don’t worry, it looks like someone has woken up after their after-dinner nap. Do you want to play boy?” Limestone said emotionlessly as she removed the bucket from her head and held out a scrap of cloth for Teeth to sniff. Find and play boy, find and play.” Teeth apparated away and seconds later a scream reverberated down the tunnel followed by “LIMEY CALL HIM OFF, CALL HIM OFF, PLEEAAAAASE CALL HIM OFF.” Limestone though ignored Kendra’s please for mercy and instead headed for what she guessed was the bathroom for a nice long shower before bed. * “How? How is she so strong?” “Doesn’t matter, it’s bath time for you.” “No, please, anything but that!” Limestone emerged from the bathroom half an hour later to see Scoti with a massive smile on her face and an equally massive stack of coins by her side. Across from her sat a dejected and disconsolate looking Susan. “Should have thought about that before you challenged a seer to a bet,” she heard Leanne state before witnessing the girl grasp Susan in a headlock and then drag her away to the second bathroom that occupied their dorm room. “Let me guess, you whooped her arse at arm wrestling,” Limestone said frankly as she made her way over to her trunk at the end of a massive bed and foraged for some fresh pyjamas. Five times, even tried to cheat the last time and still lost, Scoti replied with a sign. “Fair play. Night Scoti,” Limestone said politely as she finished getting dressed and jumped into the softest bed she had ever come across. In an instant Limestone found herself drifting off to a sleep so deep that even when the inevitable howling began in the bathroom, she did not awaken.