Amethyst Rosewood and The Joys of Independence by Melissa Nichols (ebooks that read to you .TXT) 📕

"Wait, I don't understand what's happening at all."

"Nothing to worry too much about. But if we stick around, we're gonna be his new targets. And he doesn't draw a line between a prank and attempted murder."

"What?!" Amy squeaked, horrified. "Who on earth is that?"

"A poltergeist named Peeves." Albus told them. "He's causing a ruckus. He likes frightening the students, first years especially."

"What about the Bloody Baron?"

"We'll explain later, but right now we have to move. We still must enter our common rooms, collect our study materials and get to the library. We're wasting time." Scorpius urged.

"Scorpius and I will explain once we're all safe. Make sure you come back down with an upperclassman, someone who knows how to get rid of Peeves or can teach you a spell that will scare him off."

"We'll regroup at the library. Let's go, Albus!" Scorpius urged his friend and the two boys dashed off, leaving Amy alone. Amy sighed, got to her feet, and followed the boys at a distance.

"Oooh, look what we have here. Ickle firsties!" A high-pitched cackling voice spat as Amy approached the corner. She slowed down and peered around the corner. A squat, transparent joker floated in the air above Albus and Scorpius.

"Knock it off, Peeves. We just want to get into our common room." Scorpius declared; his wand held toward the menace.

"Oooh, what are you gonna do, blondie? Poke at me from way down there?"

Amy glanced up, down the corridor she had been following. She could see the nook that hid the barrels.

"I don't have to. Let us pass."

"These firsties are brave, or stupid. They haven't even started their lessons and they think they can scare me away?"

"We will if you don't leave peacefully." Albus raised his own wand, daring Peeves to come closer. Peeves only cackled some more. A moment later, the Slytherin boys moved their wands in unison and cried 'Flipendo!'

Twin blue lights erupted from their wands and shot at the poltergeist, a harsh sound following. The spell hit Peeves and knocked him flying backwards. In the same moment, Amy dashed across the hallway. She heard Peeves scream in fury, and then the boys cast another spell, inciting another roar.

Amy made it safely into the nook and tucked herself into the darkness. She immediately tapped on the barrels and grappled her way into the tunnel the moment the entrance began to swing open. Once she was inside, she turned and closed the barrel. With the entrance closed, the tunnel was enveloped in darkness and silence, but she was safely hidden and could take a moment to breathe. She paused for a few heartbeats and then moved up the tunnel toward the common room.

The common room was empty when she came out of the tunnel, pushing open the round door that sealed the tunnel. Amy crawled out and got to her feet.

She moved to her dormitory, where she found she was the only first year back. She immediately moved to her trunk and found her backpack which was already packed with her binder. She pulled it out and opened it, checking the contents. She started rummaging in her trunk for her new Quick Notes Quill. She didn't plan to use it today, but she still wanted to make sure she hadn't forgotten it. She held up the package that held her Quill and carefully set it on her desk before turning back to her binder. "Let's see. Paper, folders, pencil case, pens, pencils, highlighters, erasers, ruler."

She loaded her binder back into her backpack, then followed it with the books she would need on Monday. To help them fit, she put the larger ones in the back against the binder, and the smaller ones in front. She struggled to get the zipper closed, but she finally succeeded and shouldered the bag.

Now ready to study, she moved into the girls hallway to look for upperclassmen. She silently pleaded for someone - anyone - to be here. She moved down the hall three steps and turned to her right to stand in front of the second-year girls’ dormitory. She knocked, but no one answered. Amy tried the door and it swung open. She glanced inside and found all the beds and desks empty, then closed the door. She tried the third-year's dormitory, on her left another three steps ahead. No one was home, nor were there any fourth-years. She moved along and found two fifth-year girls at their desks.

"Uhm, excuse me?" Amy asked quietly, trying not to startle them. The girls looked up.

"Hello! You're one of the first years, right?" The blonde one asked as she stood up.

"Amethyst, isn't it?" The brunette asked, turning to face Amy.

"I prefer Amy, but yes. I was hoping you could help me with something."

"Of course! What is it?" The blonde asked, making her way towards Amy who had opened the door a bit more.

"Well, on our way up the corridor near the bathrooms, my friends and I ran into Peeves. We didn't know what else to do so we ran. I'm the only one here because the others are Slytherins, and I need to get back to my friends at the library and I'm afraid he might be down there still."

"I see! We'd be happy to help you get back to your mates. We can actually teach you a harmless jinx that will send him running so you'll never need to be afraid of him again. That corridor would be a good place for it, too. Wouldn't it, Jane?"

"Absolutely."

"Wonderful! Thank you so much."

"Happy to help. Now, then." Jane opened a drawer and grabbed her wand, as did her friend. Amy moved closer to the seventh-year dormitory to give the older girls room to pass. "You ready to go?"

"Yes." Amy answered, falling into step behind Jane as they led the way back to the tunnel.

"I'm Bella, by the way." The other older girl replied. "The jinx we're going to show you is a simple one. It's one of the first spells most first years learn."

"It was certainly mine. My parents were students here, so they taught me this spell specifically to help me deal with Peeves. Though, back when they were students, they couldn't cast spells in the corridors so they would have gotten into a lot of trouble for using it against him, even if it were in self-defense." Jane noted.

"Yes, but the rules have changed." Bella turned to Amy while Jane opened the door to the tunnel. "Fifteen years ago, dueling wasn't allowed under any circumstances, more as a way to keep the students from dealing irreparable or deadly harm to each other. But it became clear a few years ago that students needed to practice their spells in a real environment and not just in a classroom. Also, duels are sometimes unavoidable so it's better to let them duel following etiquette with a teacher present rather than to let them duke it out unsupervised and with hot tempers boiling over. That's the main reason why dueling in the corridors is now allowed, though not encouraged, and why an authoritative figure has to be present." Jane entered the tunnel when she was finished speaking, leading the way back to the corridor.

"Because of one poltergeist?" Amy asked, stunned.

"Well, yes and no." Bella stepped aside, motioning for Amy to crawl into the tunnel. "Peeves is a troublemaker, absolutely, and knowing a few jinxes comes in handy with him around. But the real reason is during the First Wizarding War, it was clear that wizards needed training in dueling. Voldemort came to power quickly and with much fear because very few wizards knew how to duel or were so bad at it that if they tried to stand up against him and his Death Eaters, they were killed. Very few survived. After Voldemort's temporary defeat, Headmaster Dumbledore made such changes, and classes got more thorough training, but all in all it wasn't enough. And then there was one year when the Ministry of Magic stepped in at Hogwarts and appointed a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher from within their ranks. This new professor only let her students read about the spells rather than practice them for applications outside of the class. She, and the Ministry, were only concerned that the student pass their tests. But, by now, Harry Potter had already seen his fair share of combat and had witnessed Voldemort come back, and he knew a theoretical education would do no one any good. So, he, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley formed a secret dueling club to give students the time to practice defensive spells. And after Voldemort's death at the Battle of Hogwarts, they worked with newly appointed Headmistress McGonagall to ensure the students were getting the proper dueling practice. This way, if another war came about, everyone would be able to defend themselves and hopefully end the war sooner with fewer lives lost."

"Wow. I had no idea Mr. Harry had had a hand in something like that."

"What do you mean? You know him?"

"I only met Mr. Harry the night before we left King's Cross." Amy supplied. "And then I met Miss Hermione and Mr. Ron on the way to the train. I live at the R.J. Lupin House now, so I know all of them. Not that that makes me special, of course."

"Wait, you're brushing aside the fact that you live at the R.J. Lupin House? The personal residence of Harry and Ginny Potter themselves?"

"Well, yeah. And please don't say I'm lucky. I'm not lucky. That House is for magical orphans - which I am- and for wizarding kids who were taken from their parents. Mr. Harry and Miss Ginny are simply the kind-hearted folks who opened their door to me. I'm not special any more than you are, even though I happen to know a few apparently-famous wizards."

"I think we're getting a bit off-topic." Bella intervened, cutting the conversation short. "Jane, I thought we were going to teach her a jinx."

"Yes, yes, of course. It's a fairly simple one. Most wizarding children learn it from their parents before they come here, mostly as protection from Peeves. Though you would learn it on Monday regardless. It’s called the Knockback Jinx, and it is so named because it will knock your target back several feet, thus giving you time to get away." Jane continued.

"The incantation is Flipendo and you do a simple movement with your wand that we will show you. We're also coming to the end of the tunnel. Brace yourselves." Bella cautioned. A moment later, the portrait creaked open, revealing the muted light from the nook. "The corridor should be a good place to practice, and I don't hear any sign of Peeves. Good, we'd hate for him to show up while you're practicing."

Amy and Jane crawled out of the tunnel, allowing Bella to close the barrels behind them.

"Let's go out into the corridor a bit." Jane encouraged the girls until they were properly positioned. "Now, we need something to knock back."

"I think I saw a barrel or two over there that we can use." Bella motioned farther down the corridor. "I'll get it." Bella then turned around to face the part of the corridor Amy had not yet visited, flashed her wand in a curving motion, and called out "Accio barrel!"

"That was the Summoning Charm, Accio. It's rather hard because you must clearly picture the object in your mind in order to summon it, but it is certainly a good one to master. It'd make life a bit easier if you can just wave your wand and summon something rather than go looking for it." Jane explained as a barrel came rolling out from a hidden corridor not far away, coming to a stop in front of Bella, who flicked her wand lazily and the barrel righted itself.

"Now then. While Flipendo is an easy spell to cast, the hardest part about it is the wand movement. Like with any