Just a small note: this is a romance-based chapter, so therefore it's going to be pairings-heavy. Read at your own risk, especially if you're a die-hard shipper of Someone x Someone Else or hate romance. I apologize if any of the pairings here interfere with your ohemgee-best -OTP-evah or some crap like that. Feel free to flame if such happens. If you do flame about Character A paired up with Character C instead of Character B, you'll only be proving my point.
Not that it matters anyway, since it's the final chapter! Woo!
(For reference, OTP means "one true pairing".)
Something copyrighted this way comes:
Hogwarts © JK Rowling
Cartoon/video game/book characters © respective owners
Demi "Deathley" McClash and/or other original concepts © Epically Awesome Insanity (EAI; NO TOUCHIE!) - yes, Deathley's real name is Demi
---
It was the morning of the dance on a cold Friday morning in February. Hallways and the Great Hall were packed as characters of all ages, genders and species were trying to find their date so they can get their invitation. You didn't need to have a date to the dance; you were free to go by yourself or not come at all and stay in your House tower.
The main reason why dates were so important to the kids was that four couples were chosen to be the Kings and Queens of the dance. The four couples were from each House- Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. They would then become Kings and Queens of the Dances. Originally the King and Queen pairs all had to be dating someone from their House, but in the end staff decided against it. In other words, if you were a Gryffindor you were free to date a Hufflepuff.
---
However, you could also date someone from your House. Speaking of dates from your House…
Tails gulped as he held a blue-and-silver (Ravenclaw's colors) envelope in his right hand. He could feel the sweat from his hand seep into his glove. He scanned his eyes all over the Ravenclaw table for Panini. (It was now breakfast, an hour before class.) He saw Panini on the far left end of the table, talking to Fifi Le Fume and Cream the Rabbit about the dance. Fifi was crying quietly, face in her paws and her elbows on the table.
"Poof Fifi," Cream said sadly, patting her skunk friend softly on the head.
"I feel for you, Fifi," Panini said, sad looking too. "Chowder rejected my invitation twice."
The skunk stopped crying for a brief second. "Oui, that happened to me, too. One nice boy ran off from me today…" Resume soft crying.
Tails' face paled slightly. Seeing a friend cry is one of his least favorite things (which surprised him seeing as he and Fifi never really talked much). He also felt bad for Panini, since one of her biggest crushes kept turning down her invites. What about Cream? Was she even considered by some others? Tails knew this was one of his few chances to invite Panini, but since Fifi was upset, he decided it was best to hold off until Fifi was too concentrated in her work so she probably won't even give a flying piece of dragon dung on fire about a dance.
Probably.
He sat down next to Mac, who was finishing up Herbology homework from Professor Reaper with Double D, who was sitting across from Mac. "Poor Fifi," Tails said casually, pouring some pumpkin juice in a goblet.
Mac looked up from his homework. "What happened?" Mac asked with an eyebrow raised. Double D did the same.
"Fifi's upset that she doesn't have a date," Tails explained. Before he could continue to explain, two certain squeaky voices laughed hard. Tails and Mac looked over their shoulders too see who the two people are. Double D could see them with no problem from where he was sitting. Guess who?
"Probably 'cuz she's a skunk!" said the female voice.
"One who always stinks, too!" said the other female voice.
"She stinks literally…" said the female voice again.
"…And at getting dates!" said the other female voice again.
At this point, screechy laughter echoed in the Great Hall. All heads turned towards the two jerks. They were no other than Mindy from Endsville and Mertle Edmonds, both Slytherin girls. Both redheads didn't seem to notice that a certain Professor Urameshi was standing behind the two girls. Wordlessly, he pulled the two girls out of the Great Hall by their arms. The students in the Great Hall could only hear certain snippets of Professor Urameshi's rage, such as:
"HOW DARE YOU TWO INSULT FIFI LIKE THAT! SHE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO YOU!"
Or, better:
"I SHOULD MAKE YOU TWO WRITE 'I MUST NEVER BULLY ANY INNOCENT STUDENTS EVER!' ON THE ROUGH STONE WALLS OF THE DETENTION ROOM…WITH YOUR OWN BLOOD!"
And for the kicker:
"NOW, GET YOUR LITTLE PALE BUMS TO HERRIMAN'S – NOW!"
Scared squeals from Mindy and Mertle were heard as they walked off towards Herriman's office. Urameshi walked in the Hall not too long after this, although he appeared as if nothing had happened at all. He gave Cream a small high five as he passed by the Ravenclaw table. Low murmurs of chatter soon resumed.
Fifi couldn't take it anymore. She took her backpack and ran off towards Ravenclaw Tower, crying softly.
"Wait!" both Cream and Panini said as the two tried to follow Fifi. Tails decided now was the chance.
"Panini!" Tails yelled to the cat/rabbit/bear girl. Panini turned around on the spot.
Tails walked up to her.
"Will-you-go-to-the-dance-with-me?" Tails asked quickly in one breath, holding out the invite.
Panini stared on. "You're inviting…me?"
"Yeah!" Tails said happily. This was it!
Panini nodded, took the invite, giving Tails a quick wave before running after Fifi and Cream. Tails slowly sat back down. Mac and Double D were smiling widely since they were happy for Tails. Tails snapped back to normal quickly.
"Congrats, Tails!" Mac said. "Going to the dance with Panini…sounds nice!"
"It sure does," Double D said, raising his goblet up as a way of toasting Tails. "Cheers!"
Mac and Tails raised their goblets up as well.
"Cheers!" they said in unison.
---
Deathley sighed inwardly to herself, sitting by herself at the Teachers' Table. She was now six months pregnant with her child (she still didn't know what the gender was and she preferred to keep it that way). Most other teachers were still getting ready- like brushing their hair/fur, making lesson plans, and so on.
Deathley quickly pulled out a small bottle of a clear liquid that looked like water (and it wasn't the Truth Telling Potion), but obviously wasn't. It was a Memory Loss Potion she brewed up the day before. She now felt ashamed that a one-night stand was the result of her pregnancy and she and Blik had went and blabbed saying how great of a dad Blik would be and the two, ahem, 'lovebirds' had obviously changed their opinion since then. Deathley then decided to brew the potion so all the other teachers (since Deathley's robes are baggy none of the students noticed her baby bump) could forget all about this and help her ease the emotional pain.
When Chef McMuesli finally came out with the teacups and left for the kitchen again, Deathley quickly spilled a small bit of the potion into the cups of tea. It was flavorless, so none of the teachers would notice. When she was done, she threw the bottle out in a trash bin. She quickly sat down. She sipped some of her own tea. When the teachers drink their tea, they will remember Deathley is pregnant, but they will forget that Blik is the father and assume the baby has a different father.
---
It was now nighttime in Hogwarts. The Great Hall was now decorated beautifully. Numerous balloons with the House colors were tied onto chairs, tables or floating around. Each House had its own banner hung up. The enchanted ceiling showed a full moon that glimmered with a silver mist with the occasional cloud floating by. Stars shone brightly. Enchanted candles floated in midair. All the House tables became one large buffet table, thanks to Professor Cheeks. Professor Reaper put numerous Ravenous Red Roses around the Great Hall to make it more "pleasing to the eye".
This reminds me of one of Reaper's classes…
The Grim Reaper looked at his Period 2 class of Slytherins on a rainy, dreary day in December. Christmas was coming up, so students were chatting away about their possible presents and how they wish school was over already, and so on and so forth. Reaper slammed his scythe down on his desk to catch the kids' attention.
"Listen up good today, kids," Grim began, "because we're workin' with the Ravenous Red Roses today. Those things can really bite, seeing as they're…well…ravenous all of the time! So if any of you here end up losing a finger or two or even get decapitated by these things" - Grim smiled at the thought of a few kids getting eaten whole- "don't go whining to your Mommy and Daddy, Headmaster Herriman or the nurses how 'Mean Ol' Professor Reaper is not letting you know if you get hurt in class or not!' I did tell you, so now you can't complain."
Maniacal laughter from Reaper echoes through the greenhouse.
"Did you all get that?!" Reaper yelled as soon he finished his laughing fit.
Nods and scared murmurs filled the greenhouse.
"Oh, for the love of- WHY DON'T YOU LET THESE LITTLE RETARDS GET EATEN?!" yelled a squeaky male voice. The whole class turned around to see a small gray squirrel lean casually on the greenhouse door. His eyelids lowered over his bright green eyes in an annoyed fashion. This here was Foamy the Squirrel, this story's Peeves the Poltergeist. He was obviously not a spirit of chaos, rather a squirrel who posses the rarely inherited power of Squirrelly Wrath, which he often uses by bothering others and trying to get students to follow him by joining his Card Cult and donating Knuts, Sickles and Galleons to help build the Almighty Church of Foamy. Usually only Slytherins helped his causes. (His "owner" of sorts, Germaine, a Wiccan, works part-time at the Hog's Head.)
"Ah, yes, Foamy," Reaper said casually, eyeing the squirrel. "Care to stay with us or annoy the kids for donations for your Church of Whatever and only get a Knut or two for it?"
Foamy's face stayed straight. "Nah, dude, I just wanted to watch any of these kids getting eaten by one of those freaky rose things!"
Veronica of Dimmsdale snorted disbelievingly. "Yeah right," she said, rolling her eyes. "You want to rip us off for your stupid club - ARRRGH!"
Trixie Tang's Ravenous Red Rose obviously gotten too ravenous this time, and tired to swallow Veronica whole. Her wallet fell out of her robe with a THUD. A few Galleons fell out of the wallet.
Foamy gave a small laugh of triumph and lunged for the wallet and the fallen Galleons. "HA! Thank you for your donation to the Almighty Church of Foamy! Wooo!"
And the squirrel zoomed off out of the greenhouse, towards Hogwarts.
---
"Y'sure you fed all those danged Ravenous Red Roses?" Sandy asked Grim with a raised eyebrow. "Those things can get as hungry as a shark livin' in a pond with no fish to eat in the middle of May-"
"Trust me, I did," Grim said casually, looking at a Rose set up near the buffet table.
Sandy gave him a glance and walked off to help Frankie and McMuesli cook.
"I told you guys you cannot come here early!" Deathley snapped at Jackie Khones and Fluffer Nutter, a Gryffindor couple. "You two are gonna wait like everyone else."
Deathley had been volunteering to guard the Great Hall Entrance so no one can come in early. She sat on the stool behind the desk Mr. Herriman had put there for her.
"Oh, c'mon!" Fluffer Nutter said, annoyed. She was wearing a long red-and-gold dress with the Gryffindor scarf tied around her neck with a red version of her usual pink hair bow. She looked over to her date, Jackie. "Great. Now what are we gonna do for the next half-hour?"
Jackie made a Come Here to Deathley. She bent down on her knees to Khones' height.
"We can make it worth your time," Jackie whispered in Deathley's ear, pulling two Galleons out of his pocket. Deathley took them and stood up to her regular height, looking at the two coins in mock interest. Khones and Fluffer looked hopeful.
Instead, Deathley flung the two coins down the right hallway, near Gryffindor Tower. Khones and Fluffer yelped at the same time and ran off to the right.
"AND STAY IN YOUR TOWER!" Deathley yelled. Her yell echoed in the halls.
"Ten from Gryffindor," she muttered to herself.
"What? Why?" asked a nearby Professor Urameshi.
"Jackie Khones and Fluffer Nutter tried to bribe their way into the dance."
"But ten points? Isn't that a little harsh? More like…five."
"Urameshi, those two always get into trouble in classes. I can't tell you how many times they got detention."
"Wha…?! I didn't give them any," Urameshi said, confused.
"Because they must be good in your classes. They're little devils in mine," Deathley explained.
"Can you tell me one time?" Urameshi asked.
"Sure," Deathley said. "We made a love potion in class back in December. I told them not to drink it, but they decided to drink it anyway."
"And…?"
"I caught them making out under their desk. Their other two friends, Yogi Boo-Boo and Billy the Squid, didn't do anything about it. They just stared on."
Urameshi looked shocked.
"Exactly," Deathley said.
---
Fifi, Panini and Cream were in a girls' bathroom near Ravenclaw Tower. They were all prepping up for the dance. The bathroom was very rustic and nearly any sound in the bathroom echoes. Fifi was sitting on a stool in front of a mirror with a sink, being helped by her two friends, who themselves were already done dressing.
"Oh, don't be so down in the dumps, Fifi!" Cream said cheerfully and she clipped Fifi's claws for her. Cream was wearing a frilly sky blue dress around the size of her usual orange dress, sky blue stockings and dark blue Mary Janes, all sent to her from her mother Vanilla. The Ravenclaw scarf was wrapped around her neck.
"Yeah, Cream's right," Panini said, brushing Fifi's tuft of lavender hair and sticking a pale blue bow where Fifi's usual pink bow is. Panini was dressed in a magenta and fancier version of her usual dress with matching ballet shoes and a matching ponytail holder for her ears; the Ravenclaw scarf was also tied around her neck.
"Maybe I'll find another boy?" Fifi asked hopefully, eyes sparkling.
"Oh, absolutely!" Cream exclaimed. "Did you remember to bathe yourself in tomato juice?"
"Oui, oui!" Fifi exclaimed back with a smile.
"Great, then you should have no problem," Panini concluded.
Fifi grinned as she pulled on a strapless canary yellow dress, tying her scarf around her neck and quickly put on ruby red lipstick. She slipped into her white high heels.
The three girls finally left the bathroom and left for the Ravenclaw Tower, giggling and talking all the way, which echoed in the hallways.
---
Two hours later, the hallway leading towards the Great Hall was packed. Numerous conversations at numerous volume levels were going on.
"I know you're thinking 'Oh no she didn't!' but I just so totally did."
"Does this dress make my butt look big? Does it?!"
"Oh goody, there'll be tons of candy here for me and K'Nuckles and Bubbie...."
"Hi Phineas! What'cha doin'?"
"Hey Beavis, check out the fat chick with the dress."
"I sure like my monkey suit, yup…"
"SHUT UP!" Deathley said, the command echoing in the hallway. Silence. "Time to dance!"
The doors to the Great Hall opened, showing the majestic designs and Roses. Twinkles showed up in the students' eyes. Small gasps; "Wow…!", "How pretty!", and "Holy crap!" were the only phrases spoken.
And all Hell broke loose.
With numerous yells and screams echoing in the halls, the Hall quickly began to flood with students. Yells of "Ow!", "Hey!", "Watch it!", "ARRRGH!", "OH SH-!" and others began to be the only sound as students struggled to get inside, causing accidental (or in the case of some kids, purposely) pushes, stepped toes, bloody noses and bruised arms or even broken arms for the weaker folk, or – gasp – even torn dresses and tuxedos! However: The dancing, music, eating sweets, flirting, first kisses and general awesomeness? Worth it.
"Panini? Panini? PANINI?" Tails yelled over the crowd of yelling people, hoping she wasn't one of the few with broken noses.
"Over here, Tails!" Panini replied, her pink arm showing up in a sea of now violent students. Tails nearly tripped over Candace Flynn's shoes as he grabbed Panini's free arm and pulled her close to him.
"Thanks dude," Panini said casually as they followed the flow of students. She had now hooked her arm around Tails', causing him to blush heavily.
"I, uh, like your dress," Tails said, trying to get rid of the blush on his face.
"Oh, thank you! Nice…pair of shoes you usually wear."
Tails blushed even harder, remembering the fact he only wore his Ravenclaw scarf and no tuxedo.
"Thanks – sorry about it-"
"Don't worry…! I think you're cute just the way you are!"
Tails' face now had a goofy, love struck grin.
----
It was now a half-hour into the dance, and things had been running smoothly so far. Sonic the Hedgehog was behind the DJ stand, blaring catchy songs and requests from fellow students. (Hey, being the DJ gave him a good excuse to not be chased around by Amy, who's as lovesick with him as ever.)
Fifi sat down near the punch and snacks table, looking on sadly – couples were now on the dance floor, having the time of their lives. Tails and Panini, Phineas Flynn and Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, Sheen Estevez and Libby Folfax… couples out the wazoo.
"Oh – why aren't you dancing?" asked a male voice, near Fifi's left ear. The skunk girl jumped up in surprised to see Lazlo the Monkey Hufflepuff beside her.
"Bonjour, Lazlo," Fifi said causally as ever, playing with her hair.
"I wanted to say you smell pretty – is that some type of new girls' tomato perfume?"
"Er – oui! It is!" the skunk girl said.
"Oh, OK. Wanna dance?"
Fifi did a double take. "Now?"
"Yeah, why not?" Lazlo asked with a charming grin.
Fifi grinned, grabbed Lazlo's hand and rushed to the dance floor.
Tails looked over his shoulder to see Lazlo and Fifi had just begun to dance nearby.
"Wow, look at Fifi and Lazlo dance…! They're so good – did they practice?" Panini said, looking over as well.
"I dunno – maybe?" Tails replied.
"Arrgh! You stepped on my foot!" Fifi muttered to Lazlo; the two were twirling when it happened.
"Oops. Sorry, Fifi… I kinda have two left feet…" Lazlo muttered back, looking down in embarrassment.
Fifi smiled, attempting ignoring the pain (Lazlo stepped on her foot really hard). "Oh, it's fine. In fact, d'you want to get us some punch?"
"Good thing you asked, I was getting parched," Lazlo said as he took Fifi's hand and walked over to the snack table with her. Lazlo got two cups and poured punch into both of them.
"To us!" Lazlo said as he thrust his cup into the air in a sort of cheer, only to accidentally splash some on Fifi's dress – right in the middle too, making a large dark pink spot on her dress.
Fifi jumped back a few feet from her date and looked at the stain in horror.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! Here, let me mop it up…" Lazlo said as he got a tissue and began to rub the tissue on the stain, embarrassing Fifi even more (some couples began to stop eating or dancing and began to watch them and some had the nerve to chuckle).
Fifi stamped her left foot (she was still in shock) so hard her high heel broke – "Oh, no! My heel…" At this point Fifi had begun to sob loudly and ran out of the Great Hall, towards the Astronomy Tower, which is open to couples that want to stargaze or want quiet.
Nearby couples were either horrified or laughing very hard at Lazlo, who was rooted to the spot with a look of horror and seemed pretty heartbroken.
"FIFI! I'M SORRY! COME BACK!"
Lazlo ran off towards the Tower, hoping Fifi would be willing to listen to his apology.
Deathley, who was sitting down with the other teachers at their own table that were eating dinner and desert, looked at the laughing couples with a glare. "These kids, honestly – you'd imagine their parents would actually teach them manners."
Headmaster Herriman looked over at the couples with disdain as well. "Point taken, Ms. Demi – I'd be a monkey's uncle if I found out the parents of these children actually taught their children decent manners, but the children apparently don't want to use them. Is common courtesy no longer common?"
"So is common sense," Deathley added.
SpongeBob, the Head of Hufflepuff, frowned. "Aw, don't say that – some people still do!"
"Name one person," Mr. Blik said, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. "Humor me, Sponge. I'll give you two Galleons if you find one."
SpongeBob jerked a thumb at Candace Flynn, one of his Hufflepuff students. "Look at Candace! She's the redhead with ocean blue eyes and a freakishly long neck! She has good common sense. Watch. You'll be the one giving me the Galleons."
Candace was dancing with her crush Jeremy Johnson, a blonde and an equally freakish long necked Gryffindor boy, on the dance floor where Sonic was playing some classic rock music, which echoed in Great Hall. (Pick your preferred classic rock band.)
"Wow, Candace…you're really good!"
"Heh, thanks," she replied, blushing.
"Wanna get a drink?"
"Oh, sure!"
The two walked over to the snack table, where most couples had forgotten about Lazlo and Fifi's argument by now. Candace, in an attempt to be cool, leaned on the table; her elbow landed in the punch bowl.
"Isn't this dance great? Um, Candace, your elbow is in the punch bowl…"
"I know, isn't that great too?"
"Do you mind taking it out…? Thanks."
Blik smirked, holding out his hand towards SpongeBob. SpongeBob grumbled as he handed the Galleons to Blik.
The classic rock music had now stopped, and slow dancing music had begun to play over the stereo, echoing softly in the Great Hall. The candles in midair had dimmed lightly, to set the mood.
"And now for the slow dances – couples, come on down!" Sonic announced into the microphone.
Cream the Rabbit looked around to see if any boys were willing to dance – Urameshi had danced with her in one of the upbeat dances before he went to eat with the teachers, and most boys were either too old, too mean, or didn't want to dance. Cream's big brown eyes casually glanced over to the snack table (which, if you can't tell by now, is proving to be very popular) where she saw Chowder Daal, the cat/bear/rabbit boy from Gryffindor. The boy was hunched over at the table, dining nosily on the pigs in blankets, much to the annoyance and disgust of nearby folk. Cream smiled as she walked over to the table.
"Hello, Chow–"
Chowder immediately turned around with a very annoyed look in his eyes.
"I'M NOT YOUR BOYFR–" Chowder stopped in mid-sentence to see he was yelling at Cream, who looked grossed out (he was still chewing the pigs in blankets, some stuck in his fangs) and horrorstruck. Blushing slightly, he said, "Oh, I'm sorry, I though you were Panini!! You kinda sound like her!"
Cream forced a grin on her face as she wiped off a few pieces of bun that landed in her fur. "It's OK…but I have to ask you a question. Why are you so mean to Panini?"
Chowder frowned. "She's always trying to hug me or kiss me or hold her hand or dance with her or –"
Cream frowned now. "OK, OK, I get it, Chowder…!"
Cream genuinely smiled this time. "But can you try being a little nicer to her, please? It makes me sad when you turn her down. She's really nice to me and Fifi Le Fume – by the way, did you see her?"
Chowder shrugged.
"Ah. Must've gone to the bathroom to clean up," the rabbit girl suggested.
--
Fifi's elbows were propped on a ledge of the Tower and her head was in her hands while she was staring up at the star-dotted sky with puffy red eyes, running make-up and her hair was even falling out of place. She snuffled as stared intently at the Moon, which was reflecting in her teary eyes. The skunk girl wiped her nose with her arm.
"W-well," she said, looking down at the ground, "P-Panini and C-Cream we're wrong…this dance was h-horrible…ruined the whole n-night for me!" A fresh round of sobbing broke out. Most couples had left since the skunk came crying to go to the slow dance going on.
Lazlo finally arrived on the top of the Tower, albeit huffing and puffing since it was a long run.
"Fifi!"
Fifi turned around.
Lazlo pulled out a small bouquet of baby pink daisies out of one of his pockets, tied in a yellow-and-black paper cone with a blue-and-gray bow tied on it.
"I managed to get onto the grounds and pluck these daisies, found a piece of paper lying around, put a color-change charm on it and the bow and came up here," the monkey said, handing the bouquet to the skunk. Fifi's jaw dropped, she quickly closed it.
"Lazlo, I-I don't know what to say…"
"Say you're sorry or not. If not, then I want the bouquet back…but you can keep a daisy or two," Lazlo said.
Fifi sighed, and hugged Lazlo. He hugged back.
"Sorry, Lazlo – I just wanted the dances to be one of my shining moments – most boys are scared of me when my tail begins to stink, you're one of the few that actually invited me."
"No problem – but I think people should be together for their personality, not what they look like. People would be happier that way."
"Wow, Lazlo - that was deep, ami."
"Thanks, I read it in a magazine once!"
Fifi's face fell, then shrugged. The two ran back down to the Great Hall to dance.
---
It was now June, and the final day of Hogwarts was celebrated in the Great Hall with one final feast. All the Professors were sitting down on stage, preparing to give End-of-The-Year speeches. Deathley was now the whole nine months pregnant, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Mr. Herriman went up first.
"What a grand first year for all of you; I was impressed by many of you in all types of ways: intelligence, bravery, workmanship and the cunning. As for the rest" - Herriman eyeballed the whole student body - "you'd better pray you don't get left back. Your Head of Houses shall speak to you now. Professor SquarePants, you go on."
Polite clapping filled the hallways as SpongeBob stood up to the podium.
"Ladies and gentlemen of Hufflepuff! You guys were the greatest kids a fry cook could teach the wondrous ways of magic. You got to spread your wings… so to speak, unless you're a bird. However - you can keep spreading them… with IMAGINATION!" As he said this, the sponge opened the palm of his hands and a small rainbow formed as he said the word. Seriously.
"I can go on, but I gotta give the others a chance to talk. Hufflepuffs, stay loyal!"
Cheering came from the Hufflepuffs and Professors. Deathley politely clapped until she felt water drip onto her legs and the floor. Luckily none of the kids noticed.
"Deathley?" Sandy whispered as Blik begun to say his speech to the Slytherins. "Are you OK?"
"Either I peed myself or my kid's ready - argh! Yep…it's the kid!" Deathley muttered. Sandy was in shock. The two got up from their seats and ran off the stage while Blik was still talking. Kids stared at the squirrel and bat in surprise.
"Of course, my kids wouldn't have gone anywhere with my grand leadership skills…" Blik continued on, not noticing.
Sandy and Deathley bumped into Frankie just as the redhead was entering the Great Hall.
"Sorry, Frankie, my kid's coming!" Deathley yelled out as she and Sandy ran out. Frankie looked shocked as she stood there, then began to run up with Sandy and Deathley.
"You two need to get to Hogsmeade and fast! She can't have the kid here, Leslie never delivered a kid before!" Frankie said.
"You're right! Then we can Apparate to London!" Deathley added before groaning in pain.
"Why can't you have the kid in Hogsmeade?" Snady asked.
"Because there aren't any hospitals there, and I don't think people deliver in St. Mungo's!"
Sandy sighed. "Good point - Frankie, let Herriman know, and tell the Ravenclaws what's going on in private, I'll get Deathley to Hogsmeade so we can get to London - it'll be too long to make the Hogwarts Express start up - and it's in the Hogsmeade train station, so...yeah, you know what to do."
The bat let out another groan of pain. Sandy gave a small smile. "Don'tcha worry now, we're going…"
The pair continued to run towards the exit that follows to Hogsmeade, foot steps echoing in the halls.
---
"What do you mean Ms. Demi is expecting?" Herriman asked as Frankie told him the news outside of the Great Hall.
"Exactly that - her kid was ready!" Frankie said exasperatedly.
"Where is she and Ms. Sandra?"
"They left to go to Hogsmeade to Apparate to London. You should've put down Hogwarts' Anti-Apparate charms for them!"
"Absolutely not, Ms. Frances. You know quite well that they're used for protecting us from potential break-ins from criminals or worse -"
Frankie groaned. "Not for the whole day - just for a minute!"
Herriman shook his head. "I refuse to go against the ground rules. They should've used broomsticks -"
"A pregnant bat on a broomstick? Really?" Frankie yelled.
"Don't raise your voice at me!" Herriman snapped back. "What about Hogsmeade?"
"No hospitals! Sandy and Deathley are going there to Apparate to-"
"St. Mungo's?"
"They don't have maternity wards! I was going to say they were going to London for a Muggle hospital."
"Brilliant. What are you going to tell the children?"
"Me? What about you?"
Herriman grunted. "Fine - we'll both tell them."
The two ran back into the Great Hall.
---
CRASH.
Sandy and Deathley had used Side-Along Apparition to London from Hogsmeade. The two girls landed in a dark alleyway, startling a few stray cats. Sandy squinted her eyes to see the hospital's silhouette about a block away.
"Deathley - the hospital's a block away! C'mon!"
Deathley nodded. "Right!"
They ran out of the alleyway as quickly as they could. People stared at them - a squirrel and bat in robes isn't something you see everyday.
They busted into the hospital's main lobby were other patients and visitors were waiting, and ran up to the main desk.
"Welcome to -" the receptionist said in a bored voice, but was cut off by Sandy.
"My friend here's in labor - can you send us to the -"
"Right on it," the woman said, calling for doctors. Deathley sat down and breathed heavily as the two were waiting for doctors.
---
As soon as Herriman and Frankie entered the Great Hall, questions filled the Hall at numerous volumes.
"Where's Professor Cheeks?"
"Where's Professor McClash?"
"Where's the beef?"
"Where's my question?!"
"Calm down, students!" Herriman announced. "There's been an emergency for Professors Cheeks and McClash - no need to start going wild!"
"Well, we should be!" Mindy of Endsville shouted out.
"And why is that?" Herriman asked.
"'Cause it's fun!"
"Not on my watch, Ms. Mindy."
"Still, we should," Mindy added. "What else can we do? Be quiet?"
Silence. Then loud laughter.
Herriman crossed his arms, defeated. "Fine, we shall serve food."
The food suddenly appeared at all the House tables.
"Enjoy," he said fairly annoyed. He walked over to the Ravenclaw table to sit with the students as conversations filled the air. "That Mindy is a Slytherin indeed…"
"Mr. Herriman, where did Professor McClash go, exactly?" Violet Baudelaire asked.
"Did she go to Hogsmeade?" Klaus Baudelaire asked as well.
He sighed. "She was pregnant."
"WHAT?" the entire Ravenclaw table shouted.
"She should've told us!" Double D said. "I have science textbooks with ideas for childbearing folks!"
"We should've cooked her some food!" Panini Endive jumped in.
"We should've built a crib!" Tails added.
"We should've bought make-up!" Fifi Le Fume yelled, grabbing her make-up case.
"We should've got her…um…" Mac said, but trailed off, thinking of an idea.
"Meh," Sunny Baudelaire muttered, which meant, "I know a lot about babies."
"Coco coco coco co co co!" Coco the Bird/Plant/Plane said. ("I laid an egg the other day with a pacifier!")
"How did she keep it a secret for so long?" Cream asked, petting her chao Cheese.
"I have no idea," Herriman replied, rubbing his head.
"I got it!" Mac exclaimed as he snapped his fingers. "We can make a card!"
The entire table stared at him.
"…It's just an idea…" Mac grumbled.
"You've had better," Fifi replied.
Herriman looked at his pocket watch. It had now been a half-hour since Deathley and Sandy left for London.
"Is there someway we can surprise her before we leave in a few hours?" Tails asked.
"You can always do what you suggested," Herriman said. "Jolly good ideas. Yes, you too, Master Mac," he added as Mac looked over. "Do it quickly as the elves are setting up the Hogwarts Express in Hogsmeade. Enjoy. You there, please stop that food fight!"
The rabbit hopped off to his business.
"You heard the rabbit, let's do it!" Panini yelled as the Ravenclaw table cheered.
---
It had now been four hours in total since Sandy and Deathley left. Tails and Violet built a music box (without magic, as it isn't allowed outside of classes.) in two hours; Cream, Panini and Sunny baked their Professor a batch of cookies; Mac created the card with all of their names on it; Double D and Klaus made a pamphlet about babies' general needs, while Coco supplied them all with what they needed. There was about an two hours to spare before the Hogwarts Express was to let students in to leave.
"All done!" Tails said and he and Violet changed the crib's color into white.
"So are we!" Mac announced, holding up the blue and silver card.
"It's so sad that Ms. McClash can't be here," Cream said, lowering her head.
"Maybe she had the baby," Panini said hopefully.
"But the baby can't be brought here immediately, Panini," Klaus said. "The baby needs to be evaluated by hospital staff so -" He cut off as he noticed Panini wasn't paying attention.
"Pack up," Sunny said to Violet.
"Yes, Sunny. Klaus! We need to pack up for the Express."
The Baudelaires left for Ravenclaw Tower. The other begun to leave as they realized they need to pack up.
---
"Congrats, Ms. McClash! It's a girl!" The doctor said as he handed Deathley the newborn vampire cabat - cat and vampire bat hybrid, if you will.
Deathley's face was tear stained from the pain of the labor and the excitement. "Thank you, sir."
The baby girl had brown fur like her mother, a patch of wild jet black hair, black wings on her back, white muzzle, button black nose, large ears…only thing the baby was still sleeping, so the eye color is unknown. Deathley wiped away her tears as a nurse waled over with a clip board.
"Name of the baby?"
Deathley had picked the name months ago. She breathed in.
"Alexis Claire Cramdilly."
The nurse nodded her head. "Father's name?"
"Blik Cramdilly."
"No middle name?"
"Yes."
"Your name?"
"Demi Rose McClash."
"Divorced?"
Deathley sighed. "Yes," she lied. She added quickly as the nurse walked off, "He's relieved of parenting duties!"
She handed Alexis to the doctor for some check-ups. "I'll go tell your friend!" he said as he walked off to care for Alexis.
Deathley's ears perked up as she heard a song play over a small radio in the corner.
Do you believe in magic
In a young girl's heart
How the music can free her
Whenever it starts
And it's magic if the music is groovy
And makes you feel happy like an old-time movie
---
"All aboard the Hogwarts Express!" Herriman yelled as the entire student body was rounded up for the train, which was polished for this trip. "No pushing! Gather all your belongings! Hey, you, don't changes him into a slug!"
All the Ravenclaws had all their belongings with them, as well as the gifts they made for Deathley, who wasn't going to show up, sadly.
"I wonder how the baby is," Cream said, wiping her eyes with a tissue.
"Oh, she's fine," a female voice said behind the group. They all looked around.
"PROFESSOR CHEEKS!" The entire group yelled, gleefully.
"How's the baby?" Panini asked excitedly.
"It's a girl - Alexis Claire."
"Is she pretty?" Fifi asked.
"Very!"
"Can you give Professor McClash our gifts?" Tails asked.
"Sure - where are they?"
Cream handed Sandy the plate of cookies, Tails handed her the music box, Mac gave her the card, and Klaus gave her the pamphlet. Sandy put the gifts in her suitcase, which she took with her when she went to the hospital. "I'll give it to her as soon as I can - my plane leaves in a week, like hers. We need to go back to that hotel in London again."
Sandy gave one last wave as she went over to talk to Mr. Herriman, Frankie, and the other students.
Cream felt a sudden jolt of memory as she barely remembered a song heard long ago…
I'll tell you the magic
It'll free your soul
But it's like telling a stranger
About rock and roll
If you believe in magic
Don't bother to choose
If it's just band music
Or rhythm and blues
Just go and listen
It'll start with a smile
That won't wipe off your face
No matter how hard you try
Your feet start tapping
And you can't seem to find
How you got there
So just blow your mind
THE END
---
I hope you enjoyed this fic! Sixteen pages, according to Microsoft Works…wow! I outdid Masuphobia by eight more pages!
Yes, the song is Do You Believe in Magic? by The Lovin' Spoonful - belongs to them, not me!
-EAI