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Title: The Howler

Contributors: pb_prince, lucamoonstone, wings_of_charm, serpent_flower, ___neville___, chasermelza

Edited by: Carla Lute

Posted: 2006-01-17 to 23

Game Date: September 8^th

Disclaimer: No one at Levicorpus owns Harry Potter, the world or its characters. We just like to play in J.K. Rowling’s world.

* * * * * * *

An owl dropped a red envelope on the table by Blaise. "What's this?" he murmured. He opened the envelope and a booming, rich female voice filled the Great Hall.

"BLAISE ZABINI!

IT HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION THAT YOU ARE USING THE MUGGLE TECHNOLOGY AT HOGWARTS TO COMPLAIN LIKE A SPOILED BRAT ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO RACE IN SWEDEN, NOT TO MENTION CALLING MY HUSBAND, YOUR FATHER, UGLY AS SIN AND SOMEONE WHO DRESSES LIKE A BEGGAR! HAVE YOU NO SHAME OR CONSIDERATION HOW THIS MIGHT REFLECT UPON ME?!

IF YOU WISH TO COMPLAIN ABOUT HOW HARD LIFE IS, WHY DO YOU NOT LEARN TO FEND FOR YOURSELF AND FIND A WAY OF CONVINCING YOUR TEACHERS THAT YOU SHOULD GO INSTEAD OF WHIMPERING LIKE A BABY. I SWEAR TO YOU, BLAISE, IF IT WEREN'T FOR THAT FACT YOU WERE MADE PREFECT I WOULD PULL YOU FROM THAT SCHOOL AND CUT YOU OFF! ALL DAY I SEE YOU PREEN AND STRUT LIKE A PEACOCK, BUT UNDER IT ALL YOU ARE AN UNGRATEFUL CHILD. NOW I HEAR FROM FRIENDS THAT YOU ARE DATING SOME AMERICAN COUNTRY GIRL, SOME MUDBLOOD AND MY SON!? THIS IS INTOLERABLE. YOU HAD BETTER FIND SOME CLEAR WAYS OF SETTING THINGS STRAIGHT BLAISE ZABINI. I HOPE THIS IS HEARD BY EVERYONE AT HOGWARTS, SO THEY CAN HEAR HOW MUCH OF A DISAPPOINTMENT YOU ARE.

YOU ARE NEARLY A MAN, BLAISE.. WHY DON'T YOU START ACTING LIKE ONE INSTEAD OF A SIMPERING JACKAL, SOME LOW BRED FILTHY TRASH. MAY I ADD IF I FIND OUT THAT HALF-BREED WAS IN MY HOUSE... YOU KNOW WHAT I'LL DO."

The letter disintegrated in a puff of smoke, and Blaise just stared at it blinking for a moment.

* * * * * * *

Neville usually felt sorry for someone when they received a howler. Having been on the receiving end of a few of his grandmother's howlers, he knew how embarrassing it was to be scolded in front of a bunch of people.

But when it came to Blaise, Neville couldn't help but laugh. In his mind, any friend of Draco's was an enemy of his, and since Blaise had always been a good friend of Draco's, Neville had never liked him. In fact, it gave him great satisfaction to see him in such a humiliating position. It was as if, for once, the tables had turned and it was finally Neville's turn to laugh at a Slytherin instead of always being laughed at by Slytherins.

Remembering Slytherin's countless attempts to sabotage the Gryffindor Quidditch team, not to mention the fact that Blaise had insulted herself and Ginny earlier that day, Demelza laughed heartily with the rest of the Gryffindor.

* * * * * * *

Luca had not been himself from the day previous. He had spoken to very few, if any. He had buried himself in his work, even more so than before his attempt to be more social. His manner of dress was odd in the effect it was not odd, in fact his tie was on straight and pressed, his uniform perfect in every detail. He stared at his plate as the Howler went off, continuing to eat what he could, but his normally voracious appetite seemed to have left him as well. He withdrew a bit after the event and stared down at his plate.

"That's odd," Blaise said. "She's never sent me a howler before."

Luca slumped down a bit, and with a shaky hand he pulled out the letter from his parents and read it again, cringing a bit.

Promise had just happened to be walking past toward her own table when the Howler began to scream. She jumped, completely startled, throwing Charm from her shoulder and nearly losing her balance completely.

However upon hearing something about American country girl she listened and found that she was being called a mudblood...now she'd never put that much worth into blood, but she found herself bristling. How dare that woman call her a mudblood! She of as pure a bloodline as they came, both sides of her family dating back in the magical world for centuries.

She took several deep breaths to calm herself then walked like a soldier, stiff and controlled to the Gryffindor table. She sat there with her eyes closed, trying to calm her anger.

Suddenly Promise stood up and stalked back to the Slytherin table then set herself down next to Blaise, eyes flashing.

"Is that talking about me. Because I. Am. NOT. A. Mudblood. I have as pure of a pedigree as they come." She took another calming breath and closed her eyes telling herself to do the cliché thing of counting to ten. When she opened her eyes the look of rage had cleared and was replaced by a perplexed expression. "And who in hell told her that we were DATING?!"

Charm sneezed in a tentative giggle, her eyes flicking to Luca every now and again. Draco had told Promise to look after Blaise and keep an eye on Luca. Promise had given Charm that duty as well and she had every intention of fulfilling her duty.

Promise looked calm again on the outside but on the inside she had half a mind to send Blaise's mother an Owl.

"I don't know," Blaise said, looking honestly perplexed. He spoke in a tone that implied he found the whole thing slightly curious. "Whoever these new friends of hers are, they seem to have trouble getting their facts straight. The whole thing's weird. She laughed when I said he dressed like a beggar, and she's never asked me to call one of them 'Father' before. I wonder what's gotten into her...Merlin's beard, I hope she's not pregnant."

Charm piped up when Blaise mentioned that his mother's new 'friends' needed to get their facts straight. "No, Charm, you can't kill them. We don't even know who they are."

Promise leaned her against the table with a look of curiosity, "She's asking you to call him Father, and he's not even your real father? That seems a little ridiculous. And yes, heaven forbid she be pregnant if this man is ugly like you say he is. Can't have Blaise's image tainted with an ugly younger sibling."

She smiled slightly, still fuming a little. She'd never been called a mudblood before, and she was quite offended by the term.

Luca pushed his plate away, not even half finished. He stood up shakily and quietly excused himself from the table, the color drained from his face as he walked out of the Great Hall.

Blaise gave an amused snort and frowned at the remains of the letter. He raised his wand and cast a non-verbal spell to summon an ink, quill, and parchment.

Crabbe and Goyle were watching Blaise and Promise as though not sure of what to make of it themselves. Daphne was giving Promise a slighty sour look. "Are you dating?" she asked.

"Course not," Blaise said, giving Daphne a slightly annoyed look and reaching for the salt.

"Good," Pansy said, sitting across from Blaise as Luca left the table. She watched him leave, wondering why exactly she was doing so. She snapped her head to Daphne. "And even if they were, I highly doubt that Blaise is blind to the fact that you are completely besotted with him and would gladly lick his boots at the first given opportunity."

Blaise smiled at Pansy's retort, while Daphne, clearly cut, pouted and pretended to be interested in her breakfast.

Blaise took the ink and parchment he had summoned and wrote a letter to his mother.

Dear Mama,

I just got your howler. I don't know who has been telling lies about me, but I am not dating the American girl. I do not understand why my journal offends you. I write only truth.

~Blaise

"You," he called to an Owl that had stopped on the table to nibble at an unguarded tray of bacon. "Come here. I want you to take this to my mother."

He folded the letter, wrote Cleopatra Anderson on the outside, and gave it to the owl.

As Blaise answered Daphne, Promise shook her head faintly as well in negation.

Upon Pansy's stinging comment to Daphne, Promise could do nothing more than look incredibly entertained and suddenly find something at the Ravenclaw table incredibly interesting so she could politely not laugh.

Charm found it endlessly amusing and couldn't help but sneeze in feline laughter before hopping on to Blaise's shoulder cheerfully.

Blaise felt the light weight on his shoulder and reached up to rub Charm behind her ears. He had seen so many students burst into tears after getting a Howler. He wondered what had upset them so much. It wasn't that bad, just yelling.

Promise felt a little awkward sitting at the Slytherin table for the first time, but at the same time she didn't feel unwelcome. She sat looking slightly uncomfortable and wondering whether or not to leave and go about her business. She immediately felt a liking toward Pansy simply because of her comment to Daphne. So brutal and honest, she loved it. However, she'd never been introduced to the girl so she felt like it would be strange to talk to her.

Charm looked happy and comfortable so she decided not to leave just yet. Charm was rarely that cheerful so Promise liked to prolong her episodes of happiness.

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