
Time passed fairly quickly in the Castle.. About an hour after the house had taken off into the sky, a short, pudgy woman came past the room and peeked her head inside. "Anything from the cart, boys?" she asked, teeth glittering white, which contrasted with her dark sunglasses.
Don shook his head no and held up the now soggy brown paper bag his mother had given him. Harry, on the other hand... who had never had any sort of real money was eager to let go of a bit of it. "I'll take two of everything" he said.
"Two??" Don asked incredulously.
"I'm not used to money" said Harry. "It'll be nice to have things and someone to share them with for a change."
Don blushed a little, but put his sack aside and smiled. A ferret slipped out of his pocket and to his lap, where it promptly fell asleep. Harry glanced to the ferret, then to Don. "Oh.. " he said "This is Grabber, my ferret. I got it from my brother Perky... he's a prefect this year and so he got a new Widget bird.... it's not as nice as yours though. And I uh..." he sighed. "I got Grabber."
Harry nodded. He'd meant to ask Eddie what sort of bird he'd gotten him, but
he was so excited to
get ANYTHING for his birthday it had slipped his mind.
Moments later, Don and Harry began to devour the various candies and cakes Harry had bought. They had barely noticed a slight boy who had entered the room, flanked by two larger boys who stood menacingly around him at the doorframe. "Is it true what they're saying?" was his way of announcing himself, and it made Harry and Don sit up quickly and look at them. "Is it true that Harry Furter is here?"
Don glanced toward Harry, who nodded.
"I'm Flamboy"
"..ant" added Don in a low mumble.
"I don't NEED to know your name to know who you are..." Flamboy moved into the room and sneered at Don as his two companions made rhythmic crackings of their knuckles. "My father told me the easiest way to tell a Wheezy was by their hair...." his eyes trailed over Don's severe red hair and down across his clothes, which were obviously hand-me-downs "and their lack of anything.... new" he rounded his look on Harry, who was decidedly unimpressed, unwrapping a chocolate moose. "This is Crabs, and this is Boil." He motioned to each boy in turn, and they both gave simpering sneers in greeting. "You ought to be careful with who you associate with, Furter. You don't want to get in with the wrong type."
"I think..." Harry said, breaking the antlers off his moose. "I can tell who the wrong types are." and he popped the chocolate into his mouth.
Flamboy's half, near-pleasant smirk turned into a frown. "We'll see, Furter..." and he turned quickly out of the room, the others lumbering stupidly behind him.
Don was mimicing him as soon as he had turned his back.
"Fun sort..." said Harry good-naturedly, handing over a chocolate moose.
"Yeah. Are you going to keep that card?" he asked, motioning to the small card that came in the package.
"Oh... I hadn't noticed it. What is it?" he asked, turning it over to look. On the front was a picture of what appeared to be a Transylvanian with slicked-back hair and a knowing grin.
"Oh, they're famous Transylvanians..." said Don as he peeked over. "Nevermind... that's Mumblemore. I've got about twenty of him"
"That's Mumblemore?" Harry repeated, taking a closer look at the
picture. He turned the card around and read.
Phallus Mumblemore
Currently Headmaster of the Transylvanian Academy
Considered by many to be the greatest Transylvanian figure in modern times (certainly
the best dressed...) Mumblemore is particularly known for his defeat of the
enemy to the
Transylvanian throne Dr. C. Mentis, in 1969, for his studies involving the various
uses
of Spandex, and his work on serums with the well-known chemist Nicolette Flannel.
Professor Mumblemore enjoys rock-n-roll music and collecting beer cans.
Harry turned the card back over to take another look at the picture when a voice broke through.
"Has anyone seen a lizard? A chameleon?" the voice belonged to a girl, and she spoke in an incredibly bossy sort of tone.
"No, we haven't..." said Don idly, setting the chocolate moose aside
to see what card was lying beneath it.
"Well Orville's lost his. You will say if you see it, won't you?"
Don set the moose aside and took out a small box with a lever on it from his pocket and began to poke Grabber with it.
"Oh!" the girl replied, moving to sit next to him without invitation. "Are you going to medusa him?"
"I uh..."
"Well? Let's see it then. I've read all about it of course, done some things myself."
Don was liking her less and less as he fiddled with a few buttons and flipped the switch.
"Was something supposed to happen?" she asked, her brow raising high on her head. Though he hadn't said anything, Harry had been wondering the same thing.
"Well..." Don frowned. "The configuration was probably wrong. I got it from my brother." and he shoved the box back in his pocket.
"Well you'll probably want to get your things on... we're almost there.
I'm Harmony Danger, by the way..."
and she thrust out her hand to Don, then Harry... noting his scar. "You're...
Harry Furter! Well I've read all about you of course."
"Read... about me?" Harry asked, shaking slowly.
"Of course! You're in "Transylvania: A His and Herstory, Great Figures in Fishnets and dozens of other books. Honestly, if it were me, I'd want to read anything I could get my hands on!
Have either of you thought what House you hope to be in? Of course I think it would be wonderful to be in Grabmemore, don't you? But then, RaveandClaw wouldn't be bad either. I imagine that's what sorting is all about after all." She glanced to their rather dumbfounded faces and shrugged. "Well, I'm going to go get dressed. You should do the same. Goodbye, then."
Not only was Harmony rather on the bossy side, but she spoke with such exuberance and speed that it was difficult for either boy to follow what she was saying with any sort of success. But they both nodded at what appeared to be the appropriate times and Harmony continued her search through the Castle in search of Orville's Lizard.
"That girl is something else! I thought she'd never go!" exclaimed Don, putting Grabber away and getting into his school clothes. Harry smiled and went to do the same.
No sooner had he dressed that the castle once more lurched and sent him to
a nearby wall.