Chapter 70. Shall We Open a Pool?
In the afternoon, a large crowd of students came out of the castle.
Fred and George walked at the back of the crowd, with a Black boy with dreadlocks beside them.
"Jordan, what do you think Professor Kettleburn's 'surprise' is today?" Fred asked the Black boy.
Before this lesson they had always studied Care of Magical Creatures theory in the classroom.
Near the end of the last lesson, however, Professor Kettleburn suddenly told everyone to gather at the edge of the forest for the next class.
He also said he had prepared a surprise for them.
"Who knows?" Jordan shrugged carelessly, more interested in making money than paying attention in class.
"I asked around when I picked the course," George said. "He's a very 'unique' professor."
"Unique? More unique than Snape?" Jordan said with a grin.
"About the same," George thought aloud. "Snape's like an old bat with a permanent scowl, and Professor Kettleburn is like a husky with no sense of danger. There's a bit of risk to his lessons, especially the ones outdoors. In the past, almost every class had someone getting hurt. I don't know whether he's dosed Dumbledore with a sleeping draught or what, but he still hasn't been sacked."
"At the moment there isn't anyone better than him for Care of Magical Creatures, is there?" Fred said. "And Duncan's granddad won't accept Hogwarts' offer to teach. Otherwise our Care of Magical Creatures lessons would definitely be even more fun."
"You've got a point," George agreed with a nod.
"Wait, George, you said students often got hurt during outdoor lessons?"
Jordan seemed to think of something, and all at once he perked up.
Fred eyed Jordan up and down. "You're not thinking of causing trouble in class, are you?"
"As if. Why would I do something that stupid?" Jordan rolled his eyes at Fred, then said, "Shall we open a pool?"
"You mean…" Fred and George both raised their eyebrows and turned their eyes to Jordan.
"Just what you're thinking," Jordan said, eyebrows dancing. "I'm going to find our regulars and have them guess how many people end up in the hospital this lesson. If they can name the injured, the odds will be higher. How about it? Do you two want in?"
George thought for a moment and asked, "How do we split it?"
"You two take five, I take five—fifty–fifty either way, win or lose. Well?"
"Deal!" George and Fred exchanged a glance, bumped fists with Jordan, and the deal was struck.
"But be careful not to get set up," Fred reminded him.
"Relax. I'll go to our old customers quietly. They know what to do. If they interfere with the outcome, we'll just confiscate their stake. We're all smart people here. Right, I'm off. If I haven't got back when class starts, cover for me," Jordan said.
"Don't worry, we're old hands at this," Fred said with a nod.
"See you in a bit!" Jordan finished, then jogged back to the castle to hunt down those lovely little lambs.
Fred and George followed the other students to the edge of the forest, reached the place for the lesson, and looked about as they chatted.
The bell for class rang, and Jordan came back panting, beckoning Fred and George over to one side.
"How did it go?" Fred said in a low voice.
"Time was too short—I didn't find loads of people," Jordan said, his voice lifting. "But it's only been a month since term started, so everyone's got some spare coins. The betting looks decent. We do need to watch out for that bloke, though."
George subtly pointed a finger at the cluster of Slytherin students, where a tall, broad-shouldered boy was bawling at the top of his voice.
"Graham Montague. Lots of people have staked on him. They reckon he'll be the one to get hurt."
Fred looked over and frowned. "That bloke's a complete idiot. It'll be hard to keep him from getting hurt…"
"You need a bit of luck for this sort of thing anyway," Jordan shrugged. "Still, even if he does get hurt, I did some quick maths and we'll make a few Sickles—call it entertainment. But if he doesn't get hurt, we're laughing—at least a dozen Galleons!"
"Here's hoping he behaves himself this lesson and Lady Luck smiles on us," George prayed.
"Why's Hagrid here?" Jordan's gaze drifted into the distance as Hagrid strode up beaming.
"Hagrid? Is he Professor Kettleburn's 'surprise'?" Fred said.
Fred raised a hand to hail Hagrid, when a familiar figure appeared behind him.
"Duncan?" Fred blinked, then pushed through the students with George to go meet him.
George hooked an arm around Duncan's shoulders and dragged him aside. "No class this afternoon? Why've you come with Hagrid? Is there some conspiracy?"
Duncan shot George a look. "Clear off and show some respect. I'm your teaching assistant now!"
"Merlin's beard—you weren't lying last time?" Fred's eyes went wide.
"Of course not," Duncan said. "Do you think I'm like you two, not a single honest word in your mouths, lying nonstop?"
"What, not convinced and want a scrap? See Hagrid? He's the assistant I've hired now," Duncan said quickly, seeing through the twins' intentions. "Hagrid, stop them—give them a walloping!"
Hagrid only chuckled at their horseplay, then strode forward and waved to everyone. "All o' yeh, over here—gather round!"
"Just now they were saying they'd listen to me, and after a few steps they're all welching on it…" Duncan shook his head and sighed, catching sight of Professor Kettleburn coming out of the forest.
Duncan immediately raised his hand. "Professor, someone's bullying your teaching assistant over here. Shouldn't they get some punishment?"
At these words, Professor Kettleburn instinctively glanced over.
George's arm was still locked around Duncan's neck. He froze a second, then, hesitating, slowly let it drop.
"Quite right, they ought to be punished a little," Professor Kettleburn said with a nod. "After class today, you two can go and tidy up the sheds, all right?"
"That works too?" Fred and George exchanged a look, the same thought flashing through their minds. Soft smiles spread across their faces as they fixed placid gazes on Duncan, then raised a hand to pat his shoulder.
Duncan edged back. "I didn't expect Professor Kettleburn to give me such face. I suspect he's just taking the opportunity to find some free labour. I'll go with you then and help you clean up…"
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