I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_ron]

Uh.

Fred? or George?

Are you at Quidditch or the library or somewhere?

If you're coming back to the tower soon, I could use your help with something.

Comments

[alt_gredforge]

We just finished up at Quidditch practice, bro, if you want to come meet us at the locker rooms.

[alt_ron]

Ah

that wouldn't be really convenient. I'm sort of

well

I don't think I need to go see Madam Pomfrey, but let's just say that the spells I tried didn't save my shoes and they didn't really turn out so well for my feet, either.

I'm, uh

in the showers and

I'd rather Finnigan and Thomas and, y'know,

everyone else didn't see

[alt_pansy]

Well that's no good.

I'm in rehearsal otherwise I'd see what I could do.

That, and I wouldn't be caught dead in a boy's shower.

Does it hurt?

[alt_ron]

Well, it's not so bad

but it doesn't tickle either.

It's just, they're really, uh

leathery

[alt_ron]

and sort of stiff

and really brown

[alt_ron]

and when I try to walk they make really loud smacking sounds on the floor

when they don't make me fall over

which they sort of do

pretty much every time I try to get going

[alt_pansy]

You turned your feet into shoes?

I'm actually sort of impressed.

And grossed out.

If it still looks like that when we get out of rehearsal, can I see?

[alt_ron]

Well, they're not exactly shoes, but I guess they were trying to be.

I don't think they'd win any prizes for being stylish.

I mean, they're bloody hideous looking, really.

[alt_neville]

Solves the problem, though. Sort of. In a think-outside-of-the-box sort of way.

[alt_ron]

Oh, ha ha!


you haven't seen what they look like

[alt_sally_anne]

Are you sorted or are you going to have to go to the hospital wing?

[alt_ron]

I had to go during supper.

And she gave me shoes. Look like they might be a hundred years old, and I don't even want to know who they belonged to and why Madam Pomfrey had them in her storage cupboard, but she was able to size them for me and they fit as well as the old ones did. And I thought those were old. Anywiz. It'll be all right.

And she got the heels off my feet and put them back to normal skin and all.

Er. I mean, she didn't take my heels out or anything, but when I was trying to reverse Carrow's spell, I somehow made my feet have heels like on boots. Y'know, hard leather and sort of tall and slanted. I don't even know how I got that to happen. I mean, it's not like my shoes looked like that. It was more like Charlie's dragon boots.

I don't know. Madam Pomfrey said she was impressed with my spell, though. Said I have some skill at that sort of thing and could make something of it if I were properly taught. And, yeah. I think she meant just what that sounds like, though when she said it, she said it sort of less like she was really saying that Carrow's a rotten teacher and more like, I don't know, like if I'd study I could go far. But she said it so it felt like I was probably right if I thought she meant more than she actually said. If you know what I mean.

So now I guess I just have to find out if Clearwater's going to boot me out of the play. Oh, and get my Charms parchment finished between my other lessons tomorrow since I didn't have time tonight. I don't guess Acton'd care that Carrow melted my shoes and nearly did for my feet, too. She doesn't go for excuses very often. Not even really ace ones like that.

[alt_sally_anne]

I was thinking as soon as you described what your feet looked like, that was a really impressive bit of magic. I bet you could become an animagus someday if you wanted. It would probably help if you didn't have an utterly rubbish Transfiguration professor, though.

[alt_ron]

Oh, well.

It was mostly an accident how that spell turned out. I mean, I was just really trying to get my shoes to stop going all gooey and stay, y'know, shoes.

You know. I always wanted to be an animagus when I was a kid. I thought I'd make a nift panther. Now I think I might want to be a badger if I could choose what I'd be.

But the twins always said I'd be more likely to turn into a flobberworm or a newt or something. And get eaten by a gnome or stepped on or something.

Anywiz, I guess I can't see worrying too much about that. Almost nobody can really do that transformation. And it'd be useless to spend loads of time trying and not have it ever work.

[alt_sally_anne]

I wanted to be an animagus, too. I wanted to be a merlin -- I mean the bird, but partly because, well, MERLIN, you know? But also they can fly a really long way.

Although I remember thinking I'd settle for being a squirrel or a weasel. As if it would be 'settling' to be able to do it at all.

Do you know if maybe you had an ancestor who was an animagus? That might explain where your last name came from, if he was a weasel.

[alt_ron]

D'you think?

I dunno, actually. I guess I could ask Dad when we go home.

That'd be nift, wouldn't it?

[alt_sally_anne]

It would be nift!

And it probably means you could do it if you worked on it, don't you think? Being good at certain kinds of magic sometimes runs in families.

[alt_terry]

It's really hard, you know. The animagus spell. Because I've been studying it and working on it for months and months and MONTHS, and I haven't seen any sign that I'm getting it at all.

[alt_ron]

Really? You're still trying to learn it?

I guess you really want to do it!

[alt_sally_anne]

Maybe you two should compare notes.

[alt_sally_anne]

And I'm glad she had shoes for you. Finnigan brought his in a bucket to rehearsal and had one of Patil's Ravenclaw mates try to set them right. And, well, they did at least look like shoes at the end, but they didn't fit him properly anymore at all.

[alt_ron]

Heh.

Yeah, they were squeaking something dire when he came up here to go to bed.

I guess we won't have to worry about him sneaking up on us any more.

[alt_sally_anne]

I think he had a second pair. And maybe a third.

[alt_ron]

Oh.

You're probably right.

Mr Rosier's really rich and he buys stuff for him all the time. Probably will send him more shoes tomorrow.

Must be nice.