Lesson 7 - Basic Level

With a shrug, Calixta walked over to Keith. She wasn't completely heartless and for a second year he was astonishingly bright, though sadly not always at the right moments.

"Do you know who Mother Theresa is?" she asked, figuring that if she was going to be insulted it would help if she knew just what the insult meant.

"At least we don't have to finish making those potions. You think he'd realise that assigning them for homework would make us at least as miserable as rattling off incomprehensible blather about almost being blown up."

With a quick change of subject, she glanced down at his footwear. There was still a hole there where the potion had chewed through.

"I could fix it for you," she suggested. "For a price..."

Keith chewed his lip. He wasn't in the habit of spending much money - he had learned early on that frugal living was the way to go. But on the other hand, he did like these shoes...they had little wings on the side that fluttered when he walked, and sometimes they changed color.

He looked down at them. The wings seemed to be molting.

"How much are we talking?" He asked.

"Not money," she clarified.

Calixta wasn't hard up for cash, her daddy's clients paid him handsomely for his efforts.

"That boy almost ruined my cauldron with his stupid outburst. You can help me get back at him."

Keith grinned, cracking his knuckles It wasn't often someone offered to pay him in the chance to play pranks. He could get used to this. Too bad all Slytherins weren't this fun - most of them just went off ranting about how they were either super-evil or misunderstood.

"I'm your man," he said, sticking out a hand to shake. "Tell me what you need me to do."

Calixta waved her hand airily, then waved her wand in a similar manner, to transform Keith's shoes back to their original state.

"Use your imagination," she said. "Just make sure he knows it's from me, and he regrets what he did. I don't know. Maybe use that bit of swamp on the third floor?"

"I trust you to use your own initiative."