Besides dealing with Hermione who was constantly trying to drill sense into Harry and Ron's heads Nick also had to keep Luna from getting killed by Dusk as she "Thinks he looks like he needs a hug" and wasn't understanding that that would be the last hug she ever gave if Dusk had his way. That bird REALLY didn't like being touched by anyone other than Nick and made it clear after "warning" the offending party. Nick had heard from Helena the sort of "warning" Dusk had given Dumbledore and didn't want to have to explain to Madam Pomfrey why Luna had magical fire burn marks on her skin.-

Things would have been fine if it hadn't been for Peeves sneaking up on Dusk and yanking out one of his long tail feathers. The bird went absolutely ballistic as fire exploded out of it and it angrily started chasing the Poltergeist down the hallway launching gouts of flames without care for collateral damage after him. It got so bad that Mcgonagall had to get involved to save the rest of the school from the wrath of a very pissed off ho-ho. Her solution was to put him in time out effectively by transfiguring an unburnable stone box around Dusk.-

"I believe I made it clear that you were to keep this ho-ho under control Mr. Ravenclaw?" Mcgonagall questioned with a glare behind her spectacles. Nick could only smile helplessly and explain what had set Dusk off so badly. After listening to the full story Mcgonagall merely sighed in frustration before turning the much less homicidal but otherwise still fuming Dusk over to Nick. She then left to go deal with Peeves who was the entire reason an angry immortal bird had rampaged through the hallways.-

Releasing dusk from the transfigured box Nick finally got a good look at the tail feather area and sighed when he saw the bloody place on the side of it that had been ripped out. He gave Dusk some wiggenweld to close the wound before bringing the very unhappy bird to see Madam Pomfrey. The older woman gave Nick a strange look when he walked into the infirmary before speaking. "You don't look sick nor injured , please tell me it's not another strange thing like last year." she said worriedly. Nick shook his head "It's not me this time but Dusk here." he said pointing at the large red and black bird sulking on his shoulder.-

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Madam Pomfrey raised an eyebrow at this before walking over and examining dusk from head to tail before pausing when she saw the bloody and still very fresh wound. "Peeves" Nick explained before she could angrily ask what had happened. The nurse grit her teeth clearly not doubting what he said at all and walked to the back of the infirmary and came back with a potion and a small tin of bluish cream. Dusk glared threateningly at her angrily but she merely scoffed at him before addressing Nick.-

"Give him a quarter of this potion in the morning for the next four days and when the flesh mends use this balm on the skin to promote regeneration for the week after you started. I am sorry to say that I can't do anything about the feather however as Peeves pulled out its root as well." She said while handing him the items. Nick stored them in Greed and thanked her for her help on Dusk's behalf even if the bird was in a foul mood. Madam Pomfrey merely waved it off however by saying it was her job before shooing him out of the infirmary.-

Fawkes meanwhile also got angry when Mcgonagall had reported to Dumbledore what had happened while handing over the feather she had retrieved from Peeves. It was about a foot long and the base of it still had flesh and dried blood on it. To say that Dumbledore was displeased would be an understatement as he more than most understood the value an immortal bird put on their feathers as well as which ones were most precious to them. Fawkes had only ever allowed two feathers to be plucked from him and those were the least precious ones on his body.-

Every ho-ho much like phoenix's placed a massive amount of importance in their tail feathers so getting them forcefully ripped out would definitely set one off no matter how peaceful originally. Dusk was definitely not a very peaceful bird to begin with so Dumbledore wasn't surprised by his outburst at all. "It seems heavy punishment is in order for Peeves as his actions this time placed many at great risk of injury or worse. I will ask Severus to choose a fitting punishment as he will surely treat Peeves most harshly out of us all." Dumbledore said with no room for debate not that Mcgonagall was going to defend the poltergeist after such a dangerous action.

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