Sunday: Sweetie's Talk
Scootaloo waltzed out onto the training field the following morning a little past 6am, her body still aching slightly from the previous evening’s antics.
“What kept you?” A voice echoed mockingly from the darkness as Hermione appeared wearing a thick jumper to combat the icy cold Scottish Autumn morning air.
“Says the girl who a week ago wouldn’t have dreamed of flying outside of lessons. Here.” Scootaloo threw Hermione Broomy. The girl caught the Nimbus 2000 in surprise. “Try to keep up.” And with a sly smirk the half-Pegasus girl shot off into the sky not waiting for a response.
“Are we going to let her get away with that?” Hermione said to the broom placing it between her legs and gripping it tightly in her hands.
Broomy needed no second invitation and shot off after the half-Pegasus girl, Hermione closing her eyes and enjoying the thrill of the cool morning air rushing past her face.
Stepping out of the shadows, Apple Bloom watched the spectacle unfold above her as the two girls raced each other whilst doing all sorts of crazy tricks.
“Cocoa?” Hagrid asked politely walking up to her and pulling out a thermos.
“Please.” Apple Bloom replied.
For the next hour the two stood in silence, to engrossed in watching the marvellous show unfolding above them to even think about making small talk.
*
There were a lot of groans and whines from the first years at the Hufflepuff table at breakfast that morning. Susan had also returned after yet another trip to the infirmary the previous evening, to which the first years and Discord especially had faced an absolute scalding from Madam Pomfrey. After this, the remaining girls had wisely felt it best to retire to their dorm for the night.
“God, I ache all over.” Hannah grumbled to several nods of agreement from around the table as she doused her fried breakfast with a large spoonful of beans. “My heads still pounding from being used as a makeshift club.” She glowered at Apple Bloom.
An inaudible noise exited Apple Bloom’s mouth in response as her mouth was constantly filled with food.
“Huh?” Hannah quizzed.
“I think she said. You started it, so I finished it.” Scootaloo interpreted.
Apple Bloom nodded her head.
“Fair point.” Hannah replied before returning to her own breakfast.
The rest of the meal went by quietly, the girls to hungry to bother starting a conversation. It was as Sweetie was just finishing the last of her third sausage and bacon rolls that Professor Sprout and Headmaster Dumbledore approached.
“Miss Belle, I believe Professor Sprout has already informed you briefly of your punishment for the incident the other day. Even so, I would still like a chat with you myself if you wouldn’t mind accompanying me to my office.” Dumbledore asked politely.
Sweetie sighed rising from the table. “Yes sir.” She replied forcing herself to look Dumbledore in the eyes.
Dumbledore stared at the girl in shock for a moment. “Good heavens girl, what have you been up to. You look like you’ve fought a war!” He exclaimed.
“Sorry sir, bludger broke my nose other day while we were playing Quidditch. Black eye is from some extra-curricular Defence Against the Dark Arts training last night.” Sweetie chose her words carefully not wanting the headmaster to attempt to inhibit Discord’s teaching methods.
“I see.” Dumbledore mused stroking his beard for a moment. “Seems like you haven’t had much luck during your first week.”
“No, sir” Sweetie replied, “but I’ve had worse. All part of being a Cutie Mark Crusader!” She ended with a giggle.
Dumbledore smiled kindly. “I can imagine so from what little I’ve heard of your time before arriving here. Anyway, let us not dwell any longer. I’m sure you’ll want to get back to spending time with your friends and enjoying the remainder of your weekend as soon as possible.”
As the party of three started to walk towards the door, Sweetie swung her head back around and said “Hey girls, see you back in the common room in a bit,” before disappearing through the huge doors that encased the hall.
*
Sweetie sat in an armchair with Professor Sprout sitting in an almost exact replica next to her. The girl was looking around the circular room in absolute awe at its intricacies and the marvellous items it seemed to store, from paintings of former headteachers on the wall to shelves packed with enticing tomes and magical artifacts. All of these paled though to the phoenix which sat on a perch preening itself next to the desk she now resided at waiting for yet another lecture from a grown-up. Sitting across from her Dumbledore began the lecture.
“Miss Belle. I’ll start by saying you and your friends have caused quite a stir since arriving this year. You all seem to be extremely talented witches in your own ways, but also seem to have a knack for finding trouble wherever you go. In your first week alone the three of you have disrespected teachers, burnt down part of the school, added an immortal being of Chaos to our staff roster, have endangered fellow pupils and staff as well, created the potion equivalent of an Unforgiveable Curse, brought with you enough Exploding Potion to level half the school, had multiple trips to the infirmary, and from what I’ve been hearing had a mock battle yesterday evening on the training fields. Don’t think I didn’t notice all those bruises and welts on you and your friends this morning, along with the swelling on Miss Bones’ face.”
Sweetie attempted to shrink guiltily into the depths of her armchair.
“There are reasons why we take your magical education slowly here at Hogwarts, especially during your first year. The most notable of these is maturity and using magic wisely and in the proper manner. We all understand kids will be kids and that is why we turn a blind eye to a lot of the mischief the students get up to, especially as the majority of indiscretions come from the lower years who usually aren’t able to cause much more than a harmless prank or two due to their limited magical knowledge and ability. You and your friends have certainly provided an exception to this this year.” Dumbledore continued.
Sweetie blushed a little unsure whether to take that as a compliment or criticism.
“Although we are extremely pleased with your early development and the fact that you and your friends seem to be way above the expected magical level of a normal first year student, all three of you are still only children who lack the maturity and control to be able to handle such power, as has been demonstrated over the course of this week. I am hoping that this incident in the potion lab has taught you a valuable lesson that with great power comes great responsibility.”
“Yes sir” Sweetie Belle replied automatically.
Dumbledore sighed feeling the girl was barely paying attention to the seriousness of his talk. “What would you do if you accidentally killed Apple Bloom or Scootaloo because a spell went wrong?”
Pomona coughed spitting the tea she was drinking back into its cup. “Albus, that’s seems a little.”
“No” Dumbledore growled gravely. “She needs to learn. So, Miss Belle, what would you do in such a situation.”
“I, I, I don’t know.” The girl stammered in complete shock, the mere thought of such a thing causing tears to well up in her eyes. “They mean everything to me. Honestly, I’d probably kill myself.” Sweetie looked at the floor as she said the last part in barely more than a whisper.
Pomona’s eyes went wide, her mouth hanging open unsure of what to say.
“That’s what I thought. I hope now you realise the seriousness of the situation you caused on Friday. If the end result had been even slightly worse you could very well be sitting in Azkaban right now and simply saying sorry wouldn’t have saved you then.” Dumbledore said sombrely.
Sweetie sniffled, tears streaming down her face. Pomona did not look pleased, but allowed Dumbledore to continue, for now.
“Even despite this you are very, very lucky not to face expulsion and if the Ministry had their way then you would be. It is only due to your teachers and my support of your character that you are receiving such a lenient sentence. Even so, I’ve a duty and obligation to uphold Miss Belle in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all who reside at Hogwarts. That is partly why you are being removed from the Potions tract and banned from making any further potions on the school grounds unless you wish to be expelled. But that is not the only reason.”
Dumbledore reached across his desk and lifted the openly sobbing girls face up so he could stare into her tear stained eyes. His voice softened as he pulled a handkerchief out of his robes and started to clean the girls face.
“You are an extremely gifted and hardworking student and one we cannot afford to lose. You are on the edge of a cliff right now though and even the smallest mistake could see to your expulsion and a one-way trip back to Equestria, which would be an absolute travesty. Furthermore, I’ve no doubt, even despite your protests, that Miss Bloom and Prewett would return with you, losing us two just as equally gifted students. I’d rather you lost the ability to study one subject than lose you and your friends altogether. Besides, it’ll give us some more time together to focus on your Transfiguration magic” He finished with a smile, releasing the girls head as the tears slowly dried up.
She stared at him quizzically for a moment before he explained.
“Your skill and aptitude at Transfiguration are extraordinary and I’m not going to lie I could probably give you the first-year exam now and you’d pass the test with 100%.”
Sweetie blushed from the praise.
“Thus, due to the new gap in your schedule and to try and keep you out of further trouble, every other Tuesday from now on, starting next week, I’ll meet you outside the gargoyle downstairs and bring you up to my office where we shall go over some more advanced aspects of Transfiguration, Switching Spells, Vanishments and so forth. I hope this will not be a problem.” Dumbledore continued softly.
“No sir.” Sweetie said seriously. “And thank you, for everything. I’ll make you proud you gave me this chance, I promise.”
“I’m sure you will and I look forward to teaching you this year. I’m sure with your attitude and inquisitive nature to learning you can regain the forty points you have lost your house in no time. Now, you are free to go and enjoy the remainder of your weekend. Hop along, I’m sure they are waiting for you.”
Sweetie rose before curtsying and turning to leave.
“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t slap you right now.” Pomona spat angrily as soon as her student was gone.
Dumbledore barely showed any emotion in his response. “Sometimes you have to use a bit of tough love to get the message across I’m afraid Pomona. Neither of us want to lose the girls, but I could see a simple slap on the wrist was not going to be enough here to make her understand the seriousness of the situation she caused. The method I took, although drastic, will hopefully ensure no further accidents occur that could lead to her or her friends leaving Hogwarts.”
Pomona grumbled unhappily but kept her mouth shut, seeing the point Albus had made. Instead she rose from her chair and followed her student to the door only turning to grumble a quick goodbye before heading off to the greenhouses.
After she’d gone Dumbledore took another handkerchief from his robes and wiped the sweat of his brow. That had certainly been more stressful than he’d anticipated.
*
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom immediately saw the anxious and worried look upon Sweetie’s face as she entered the common room and were on her in a flash.
“Hey, was it really that bad?” Scootaloo enquired not even attempting to hide the worry that was evident in her voice.
“Just a stark reality check was all. Nothing for you two to worry about.” Sweetie forced a smile.
“Oh no, you’re not” Scootaloo stopped as Apple Bloom nudged her in the side shaking her head.
“If she wants to tell us, she will. Now, how about we look over our Transfiguration notes from last week.” Apple Bloom said with a cheery smile.
“Thanks, that sounds great” Sweetie replied as Scootaloo pouted.
The girls along with the rest of their dormmates spent the majority of the remainder of Sunday in the common room idly chatting to each other while going over their first week of lessons and writing to family back home. For once, the girls were quite happy to have such a lazy and uneventful day. It was bedtime when Sweetie suddenly brought the mood crashing down.
“I was lucky you know.” She said to Apple Bloom.
“What?” The Earth Pony gave her a questioning look.
“That that potion didn’t kill anyone. If it had I certainly wouldn’t be here right now. Even more so, what if it had been either you or Scootaloo. I don’t think I could have ever forgiven myself. When Dumbledore asked me what I would do if I ever killed you or Scoots accidentally with a spell, I said I’d kill myself.” Sweetie rambled her voice distant.
The other jovial conversations around the room died.
“He actually asked you that?” Meghan interrupted wide eyed. “No wonder you looked so ashen faced when you returned. That’s cold.”
“But he was right, that potion could easily have killed any one of you and if it had I’d either be dead or in Azkaban right now.” Sweetie continued.
Deathly silence hung in the dorm room.
“I’m literally on the edge of a cliff right now. I’ve only avoided expulsion by the skin of my teeth and any minor indiscretion in the near future will see me sent back to Equestria. That’s part of the reason why he’s taken me out of Potions, my own safety. But I think we do need to at least try and keep our heads out of trouble for a little while.” Sweetie finished slumping down on the end of her bed looking sorrowfully at the floor beneath her.
Shortly she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. Surprisingly it was Susan’s voice she heard. “We know you’d never intentionally harm any of us. Accidents happen and yes, some can be more dangerous than others, but we learn and take the positives from them. I think we’ve all learnt never to let you near a cauldron ever again, unless for some bizarre reason we want to end up in St Mungo’s!” She let out a small chuckle before continuing. “And rather than focus on what could have happened, we should look at the fact no serious damage was done this time and we’re all here and fine. Now, let’s forget about such thoughts or I’ll have to keep doing this until that frown turns upside down.” She released the gloomy girl and reaching out grabbed Sweetie’s own pillow and started battering her over the head with it.
Sweetie laughed. “No, stop, please.”
“PILLOW FIGHT” Scootaloo cried grabbing her own pillow and launching herself at Susan.
Chaos descended upon the first-year girls’ dormitory as the girls each grabbed their own pillows and started battering each other round the head with them whilst squealing with delight and glee.
“What in Dumbledore’s beard is going on in here?” Maddie Fairweather exclaimed opening the door.
The girl’s all looked at her for a moment sheepishly before Scootaloo hurled her pillow at the prefect hitting her in the face. The other five first year girls stared at her as if she’d lost her mind.
Maddie smiled wickedly. “Oh, it is on! Sonorous.” She said pointing her wand at herself before bellowing through the halls “PILLOW FIGHT!!!!”
And that was how the Great Hufflepuff Pillow Fight of 1991 began.
*
Applejack smiled. The Pegasus across from her shuffled uncomfortably, looking worried. Then that blasted bird flew in again. Applejack’s face dropped and her heart sank. Please, no. The bird vomited up the dreaded letter in front of Rainbow who read it aloud eagerly.
Dear Applejack, Rarity and company,
Wow the second half of the week proved to be just as chaotic as the first half. On Thursday we had our first lesson with Discord and then followed it up by learning some more spells. Sweetie then proceeded to break her nose in a game of Quidditch at the end of the day although worse was still to come. On Friday Sweetie accidentally sent the whole class bar myself, Scoots and a boy named Neville to the infirmary after brewing a Potion incorrectly. It was so bad that they’ve dubbed it ‘The Unforgiveable Potion’. Thankfully everyone has now recovered although Sweetie has become the first student at Hogwarts to be expelled from just one subject. Anyway, later on Friday I attempted to throw Scoots in the lake to make a prediction of hers come true but failed. On Saturday I may have also leaked that I’ve been secretly hiding twelve vials of extremely volatile Exploding Potion under my bed. Don’t worry about these now though, they have been safely moved and stored in the Potions Lab in the Dungeons. In the evening after our Dormmates were released from the infirmary we had a mock battle in practicing some pranking spells that Discord provided us a book on each. It was all in good fun although did result in a few bumps and bruises, Sweetie adding a black eye to her broken nose. Scootaloo also has a new friend in the form of a Gryffindor first year girl called Hermione and they both seem to share the thrill of flying like lunatics as I observed this morning, Scootaloo with her wings, Hermione on Scoot’s broom. Thankfully today proved a little less chaotic than the previous few, with us just catching up on homework mainly and Sweetie getting a stern lecture from the Headmaster over the potion accident. Sorry this is so condensed, quite a lot has happened in half a week!
All the best,
Apple Bloom
P.S. Congratulations on the engagement. Can’t wait for the wedding!
“You’ve got to be kidding me. You’re making that all up.” Applejack growled as Rainbow fell on the floor unable to control the fits of laughter that she was trying desperately to hold in.
The letter fell onto the floor in front of her and Applejack got up and went over to read it for herself.
“You’re fucked, you’re fucked.” Wally cawed causing Rainbow Dash’s laughter to increase in volume further.
Applejack glowered at the bird before reading the letter.
“Sweet Celestia.” She muttered to herself shaking her head. “Can’t those girls even go half a week without causing chaos. I’ll go get the bits, forty wasn’t it.”
“Oh no.” Rainbow managed to force out. “You agreed that I could choose the punishment this time if the girls couldn’t go the remainder of the week without causing another major incident and they’ve caused several. Your own sister seems to be a pyromaniac or whatever the explosives equivalent to that is.” On that last point she fell back to the floor laughing her head of once more.
“Yeah, but, oh no, you don’t mean.” Applejack’s face paled
Rainbow stopped laughing once more and nodded, a massive grin appearing on her face. “The Macintosh 3000.”
Applejack facehooved “Why’d I ever agree to marry you?”
“Because you love me.” Rainbow replied.
As Applejack rose her head in acceptance to her inevitable fate, she found the rainbow maned mare standing muzzle to muzzle with her. Before she even knew what hit her their muzzles were locked together in a deeply passionate kiss.
“Get a fucking room” Wally cawed.
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Heh, another great chapter. I look forward to seeing what you do with Quidditch in the next chapter!
It could be argued that book Dumbledore doesn't know about school safety and a responsibility. This one is at least doing his job as a professional.
10418562
Exactly what I thinking to!
moar please. also loving this, And book dumbledor does not know the meaning of the word school saftey.
10420627
Trying to releas at least a chapter a week depending on work schedule! Nice comments mean world to me, thank you!
YAYYYYYYYY!!!!
Could use some flow and pacing editing but good story so far!
10421115
Thanks for the comments, completely understandable! I do the best I can. There is actually very little planning to any of these, usually a bullet point stating what is planned for the day i.e. Herbology, Lunch, etc. And then I have a look, do some research, an idea pops in my head, I like it, I go with it. So yeah, very little planning and a lot of improv in this story!
10422242
You're welcome. Also good job on uncontracting Scootaloo's name.
i love that fucking bird.
Sigh... yes Uncle Ben.
I'm not sure whether to be surprised about the devotion or post that Suicide Hotline message again.
That would be a Mad Bomber.
Really good Dumbledore too. He has reasons for everything he does...don't want to bring too many other fics into this, but this is why I stopped reading Magical School Days, their Dumbledore was evil...but he only ever did what he did in canon, so his 'evil' was pretty half-assed, and did not earn him the several attempted murders the Mane 6 tried on him. This one, however, is a good man, trying his best, but is aware of the danger involved in his world.