***
Magoo’s Note-Happy Birthday Sugar Quill! One whole year old. Now, this
fic is probably the most major plot bunny ever. Of course, it took the
wonderful contest sponsored by our absolutely adorable headmistresses
to get it down on paper, or typed up in this case. Thanks to everyone
who made it possible, and just let me say: Everyone at Sugar Quill ROX!
And many thanx to our beta readers (Leesie and Gemini)
PoV’s Note-This is a whole lot of fun to do, and I had a great time working
on it. First of all, I would like to thank my partner in crime, Magoo.
Ami, if it hadn’t been for you, I would never have even discovered the
wonderfully magical place that is Sugar Quill. Secondly, I want to thank
my other “sisters” for being the coolest girls I know on the Web. OBHGF.
Remember that! Thirdly, I want to thank everyone at the Sugar Quill for
being so wonderful to me and giving me a place to be my crazy little self.
If it weren’t for all of you, SQ wouldn’t exist. And lastly I would like
to thank the headmistresses, our wonderful Zsenya and Arabella for making
this contest and letting me stretch my creative muscles. All of you ROX!
***
One fine Saturday afternoon (on a Hogsmeade weekend no less), I went
into the quaint wizard village with my two best friends, Harry Potter
and Hermione Granger. We needed to make a couple of stops: to Zonko’s
Joke Shop for dungbombs (“Ron!” Hermione had protested), The Three Broomsticks
for a butterbeer (or 10), and Honeyduke’s, for enough sugar quills to
get me through the term in Professor Binns’ agonizingly dull History of
Magic lectures.
So, on this particular afternoon, we purchased enough sugar
quills to rot our teeth (Hermione’s parents wouldn’t be too happy). Well,
at least me and Harry (“Harry and I!” came Hermione’s correction)
did. Hermione still held the opinion that we should be paying attention
in that class. But honestly, how many goblin rebellions can a bloke take?
Afterwards, we put our sugar quills away and headed towards the Three
Broomsticks, which was run by the lovely Madam Rosmerta. A few (or many)
drinks later, Harry was ready to leave. My dear sister Ginny had apparently
stolen his socks from his feet as we drank, and he wished to steal them
back. No, you say? Alright, that isn’t exactly how it happened. Ginny
had asked him to go for a walk, so he left, leaving me alone with Hermione.
Now, what you must realize is that by this time I had perhaps one too
many butterbeers. It was only twenty-one, but apparently it was enough
to make a bloke a little tipsy. Makes me wonder whether Rosmerta had
slipped in a butterbeer extra with my regular butterbeers, but we’ll never
know the answer to that.
Now, as my butterbeer supply had been cut off, Hermione (who
had sensibly only had two) suggested we should leave. After all, there
was no point in sitting in a bar without a anything to drink. We stood
up to leave, scrambling together enough sickles and knuts, and a galleon
in my case to pay the bill. I hobbled out the door grinning merrily.
It wasn’t quite wigging, but it would do.
As we headed back towards the castle, I stumbled over a rock.
It appeared out of nowhere! Malfoy or one of his goons must have put
it there. After all, those lousy stinking Slytherins are always trying
to make the lives of Gryffindors miserable.
What are you saying? I DIDN’T TRIP! Malfoy hexed me. But
anyway, this isn’t an example of how rotten a human being Malfoy is; it’s
about my sugarquills. Now, when I stumbled, my bag opened up. Various
things fell out: dungbombs, chocolate frogs, dungbombs, a poster of the
Chudley Cannons, more dungbombs and some other various supplies. But
nowhere were my sugar quills!
Now, I was understandably outraged. I had spent a lot of
my pocket money on those sugarquills, and they had to last until the end
of term. Hermione didn’t have quite the same opinion, but she decided
to humor me about it. Together, we went back to Hogsmeade and searched
high and low, looking in every shop (and I had another butterbeer in the
process). We must have looked for hours and still NO trace of my sugar
quills!
We headed back to Hogwarts again in despair. On our way,
whom should we encounter but Draco Malfoy, the bane of my existence, and
his bodyguards.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Mudblood and Muggle lover,”
Malfoy drawled. “What’s the matter Weasley, your girlfriend not -”
Whatever it is Malfoy intended to say, we shall never know,
because I lost my temper and attacked him full force. There was no need
for a wand, I just wanted to hit him. How he could call Hermione, the
smartest girl in school that, that…I won’t even repeat that word again.
Anyway, I was fighting and I was winning too…okay, I was at least holding
my own. There was one point where I thought I knocked him unconscious,
and I was very proud of myself. But then I found out Hermione had stunned
him.
“Hermione,” I said. “I could have handled that rich spoiled prat any
day of the week.”
“Ron,” came her exasperated reply. “You don’t need to get expelled over
a git like Malfoy.”
Of course, she was right, but I’d never admit
to that. Anyway, you’re never going to believe what we found on them.
That’s right, sugar quills. Those slimy snakes STOLE my sugar quills!
So we took them with us and entered the castle, Hermione clucking all
the way that we were going to get into trouble. When we entered the Great
Hall, whom should we see but Harry and Ginny waiting for us. You know
what they had with them? MY SUGARQUILLS! Apparently, I had put them
in Harry’s bag by mistake. I don’t think I’ve ever turned so red in my
entire life. But it was worth it. I got to spend a whole afternoon with
your mother, get double the amount of sugar quills and beat up Malfoy
to get them in the process…
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~
~
Ron’s voice trailed off, and he looked at the children sleeping
peacefully in their beds.
“Goodnight my dears,” he said softly. “Maybe one day you’ll
stay up long enough to hear the end of the story.” And with a raise of
his wand, he turned off the lights.
