NOVEL NEXT Chapter 96: "From Counselor to Tamer of Lunatics"
"From Counselor to Tamer of Lunatics"
—--------------
Natasha was sitting in her office, massaging her temple as she watched her siblings, who were sitting in front of her for different reasons. Or rather, for one reason that united all five of them: they had been caught doing foolish things, and now they were there to speak with her, the counselor, and receive their punishment.
"So?" Natasha asked, looking at the group of idiots in front of her.
"In my defense, I had everything under control," Tony said, trying to justify himself, but the others simply looked away, either out of embarrassment or fear.
"Having everything under control means throwing a party right after joining Ravenclaw, smuggling alcohol for minors, and ending up with most of the students drunk, some of them running around the castle in their underwear?" Natasha replied, looking at him like he was a complete idiot. "Professor Filius Flitwick ended up in the hospital wing after seeing the chaos in his house. I hope you're prepared for your punishment."
Natasha looked at the others, who were trying to suppress their laughter as they listened to Natasha's scolding of Tony.
"What are you idiots laughing about?" she said angrily, watching as the others covered their mouths until her furious gaze landed on Loki, who flinched slightly.
"Attempting a coup on the first day of classes doesn't seem like something funny. Especially when you convinced most of your classmates to 'end Dumbledore's tyranny' and embarrassingly failed right at the door of his office," Natasha said as she massaged her forehead, feeling her patience running thin. "And you, Wanda, what reason did you have to help him with such stupidity?"
"Ha, ha, I just wanted to see how he failed," Wanda replied, grinning.
"Hey!" Loki protested. "I only failed because of the old man's intervention."
"Yeah, you failed miserably when Grandpa Nicolas came out of the office," Wanda said, shrugging.
"Tsk..." Loki stopped arguing, accepting defeat.
While Loki and Wanda marched ahead with the Slytherin "army," Nicolas Flamel stepped out of Dumbledore's office just in time to see them. In an instant, everyone froze, but when Loki and Wanda tried to flee, they were quickly caught by their grandfather.
"What idiots. Isn't that right, Harry?" Stephen, covered in paint, said to Harry, who was even more stained and had his head down.
Sigh "I still don't understand what you two did. Can you explain it?" Natasha asked, looking at the two colorful Gryffindors.
"We declared war on Hufflepuff with paint guns," Stephen said calmly, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
Natasha was stunned for a moment, then looked at Harry for a more detailed explanation.
"Harry, explain!" she said, annoyed, staring at him.
"Y-yes. After dinner, Professor McGonagall called Stephen..." Harry started, glancing at Stephen. "When he came back to the Gryffindor common room looking upset, he told the twins to get ready to declare war on Hufflepuff. Many Gryffindors thought it would be fun and joined easily."
"Then I was sent as a messenger to declare war and deliver the paint guns that Stephen had transfigured. After agreeing on a time in the courtyard, we all met there. But while we were shooting, Grandma Perenelle arrived and caught Stephen before he could react. Then Stephen grabbed me so he wouldn't be the only one punished, since the others ran away as soon as they saw Grandma," Harry finished, resigned.
"Ugh! I missed the war. But why against Hufflepuff?" Wanda asked, regretting following Loki.
"Well, we sent messengers to the other houses, but they were busy. Also, Hufflepuff always joins any nonsense for fun," Stephen answered.
Meanwhile, Harry was visibly upset since Stephen dragged him into the punishment so he wouldn't be the only one caught.
"So, you got upset because McGonagall told you that you had matured and weren't acting like a fool anymore? And that led you to do something stupid?" Natasha asked, looking at him tiredly, already knowing what had happened. She had overheard the conversation between Stephen and McGonagall as she passed by.
Ahem... "Of course not," Stephen said, avoiding Natasha's gaze with embarrassment.
"Well. Obviously, everyone is punished. Loki and Wanda will have to assist Professor Snape. Tony will be Professor Flitwick's assistant, while Harry and Stephen will help Professor McGonagall for a month," Natasha said, looking at her siblings with annoyance. "Now get out of here before I hit you."
The five of them immediately stood up and ran toward the door.
Natasha was starting to regret accepting this job. While she was normally the counselor, she was also in charge of the problem students, as they caused the most work for the teachers. Thanks to her, the staff could do their tasks with more peace of mind.
Although little did she know, the problem students would be her own siblings.
While sitting in her office, she heard some knocks on the door.
"Come in," Natasha said, wondering what was going on now since it was quite late.
"Sorry, Miss Flamel, I've brought another problematic student," McGonagall said, not fully entering, holding someone by the ear.
"That's fine, come in," Natasha replied, sighing as she wondered who the next idiot causing noise had arrived at Hogwarts. However, she quickly found out when Professor McGonagall entered, dragging her "prisoner."
"Professor McGonagall, you know I'm an advisor to students, not professors," Natasha said, watching Sirius Black with an annoyed expression as he was pushed toward her.
"That's true, but I was told you're the only one who can make Mr. Black behave," McGonagall replied with a smile.
Sigh "What did he do?" Natasha asked, already irritated.
"He put a stink bomb in Professor Snape's office as a welcome gift," McGonagall said, pushing Sirius toward Natasha. "So, good luck, Mr. Black. Oh, and I'm happy you're back at Hogwarts," she added before leaving, leaving Sirius and Natasha in the office.
Natasha slowly rose from her chair, causing Sirius to take several steps back with concern.
"Hey, hey, wait. Torture has been banned at Hogwarts for years!" Sirius exclaimed, starting to sweat.
"Yes, but you're not a student... Professor Black," Natasha said as she advanced toward him with a dark smile.
Outside Natasha's office, screams of pain were heard for several minutes. Professor Snape, who was about to enter and confront Sirius, stopped. After hearing the screams, he decided someone else was already taking care of making him suffer enough for the day, so he simply left.
Meanwhile, the Flamel siblings were returning to their respective common rooms after their meeting with Natasha. Along the way, they chatted, laughing.
"So, you were excited because your daddy's coming, and you wanted to take over the school for him?" Stephen said, teasing Loki.
"Of course not, you idiot! I just thought it would be fun to mess with our new 'ruler,'" Loki replied, visibly annoyed.
"And you, Stephen? Did you act like a child just because they told you that you had matured?" Tony intervened, massaging his head, already feeling the effects of the hangover.
"Well, I may have gotten a little upset, but it wasn't because of that... It was because I hadn't done something crazy in a while," Stephen said, walking calmly with a smile.
"Now that I think about it, the new 'slaves' told some stories from when you joined Hogwarts," Loki said, referring to their classmates as if they were subjects rather than equals.
"True. What was the title they gave you?" Tony asked, trying to remember what his drunken classmates had mentioned.
"Dark Prince," Wanda replied, laughing at Stephen.
"Shut up, Dementor extinguisher," Stephen said, annoyed by his old title. Although he shared the same nickname as Wanda, he knew it bothered her more because it didn't sound as "cool."
"Tsk. Looks like we'll have to make a name for ourselves before getting a new title," Tony commented, looking at Loki, who nodded, thinking the same. Both remembered that Harry already had his own title, the most famous of all: "The Boy Who Lived."
"Although for me, it'll be easy to get back my title as the god of pranks," Loki said, beginning to strategize in his mind.
"Oh, weren't you going for the Prince of Asgard title first?" Stephen asked mockingly.
"We don't even know if Asgard exists here," Loki replied, visibly irritated.
"So, will Tony be Iron Man again or change to Magic Man?" Wanda said, laughing with the others.
"Still debating whether I should reclaim the title of philanthropist, millionaire, playboy... or Iron Man," Tony said, speaking proudly.
"Narcissist will be first then," Wanda replied.
"Mr. Sarcasm or Problem Inventor," Stephen added, recalling the nicknames some people had given Tony.
"Tsk. You guys are just jealous," Tony said, separating from the group to head to the Ravenclaw common room. Loki also veered off toward his room.
Meanwhile, Wanda, Harry, and Stephen continued together toward the Gryffindor common room. As soon as they entered, they saw their classmates covered in paint, cleaning themselves while laughing and recounting their "heroic" acts in battle.
Upon seeing Stephen, everyone greeted him and mentioned they should do it again another day.
Of course, after cleaning up the mess, everyone retired to their rooms, exhausted from the long day.
—-----------------
Thank you for Reading
Dear readers,
Thank you for joining me on this literary journey. If you enjoy my novel and would like to continue reading, I invite you to support my work through Patreon and Ko-fi. Your contribution will allow me to keep creating and sharing more exciting chapters.
I hope to have your support and continue bringing you unforgettable stories!
ko-fi.com/yodarki
https://www.patreon.com/c/YoDarki