"There was a party?" Cass said with vague interest. "Were there balloon animals?"

"No!" Zy said like Cass was the stupidest person in the world, which maybe she was. "What are you doing in the library reading about..." She peered at the books. "Reading about dragons?"

"Mmm?" Cass made vague 'No really, I'm listening' noises... you know, the ones that males seem to excel at. "Research."

Lotus grabbed Cass's face (unnecessary author roughing!) so that Cass couldn't look away. "What. Are. You. Researching?"

Cass blinked at her. "Dragons. I'm very interested in dragons."

"And why, pray tell, are you interested in dragons?" Snape said, his hand to his head. He was beginning to regret giving in to the pretty one's demands. Well, they were all pretty... or so Zy writes it. "I'm leaving this madness."

Zy gave Cass a pleading look. Cass rolled her eyes... elegantly, of course. "Wait. Stop. Don't go," she said in a monotone. "Hey... that's a really sexy sword. Look, if you stick around and be our new evilish miniony friend, I'll let you be the DADA instructor."

"I don't know what you just said..."

"And I'll make Zy your teaching assistant!"

"No. No, thank you, but still... no."

Everyone, even Lotus, who was elbowing Flitwick who was trying to talk (the foolish man), looked disappointed that he had turned them down.

"But... but we need minions," Lotus sniffed.

"And Snapey," Zy sniffed.

"Go AWAY!" Cass cried.

"Right-o," Lotus perked up. "The dragons." She settled across from Cass and grabbed a book. "Why are we researching dragons?"

Cass grabbed back the book and blushed. She mumbled something under her breath, but Snape, being part bat, had excellent hearing.

"You fool girl! You're wasting our time to learn about dragons to impress a WEASLEY?" Snape huffed and left. Zy followed him out, reminding him of what happened to people in her dares when they made her angry. And then begging him to love her.

Flitwick tried to say something pointless and sad to Cass, so Lotus swatted him with a boxing glove and needed to take him to the infirmary when he flew farther than she intended - right into the Restricted Section. A large pile of snapping, screaming books fell on him.

When they were all gone, Cass grabbed another book... "Ahh... quiet." After a moment, she sat up straight and cried, "FRIED CHICKENS!"


Fin