Episode 540.b Bubble Guppies: Nonny Pirruccello and the Half-Blood Prince! (Part 2)

Plot
In the sixth year at Bubblewarts School of Witchcraft, and in both wizard and muggle worlds Lord Rotten Tomato and his henchmen are increasingly active. With vacancies to fill at Bubblewarts, Mr. Grouper persuades Arctic Dan, back from retirement to become the potions teacher, while Mr. Grumpfish receives long awaited news. Nonny Pirruccello, together with Mr. Grouper, must face treacherous tasks to defeat his evil nemesis.

Cast (Characters from the real movie)

 * Nonny as (Harry Potter)
 * Gil as (Ron Weasley)
 * Molly as (Hermione Granger)
 * Tobias as (Draco Malfoy)
 * Mr. Grumpfish as (Professor Severus Snape)
 * Arctic Dan as (Professor Horace Slughorn)
 * Oona as (Ginny Weasley)
 * Pablo as (Fred Weasley)
 * Brett as (George Weasley)
 * Mrs. Gordon as (Molly Weasley)
 * Mr. Gordon as (Arthur Weasley)
 * Sir Mulligan as (Remus Lupin)
 * Deema as (Luna Lovegood)
 * Limbite as (Narcissa Malfoy)
 * Witch as (Bellatrix Lestrange)
 * The Night Wizard as (Fenrir Greyback)
 * Polar Bear as (Wormtail)
 * Mr. Grouper as (Professor Albus Dumbledore)
 * Goby as (Neville Longbottom)
 * Mrs. Grouper as (Professor Minerva McGonagall)
 * Pronto as (Professor Filius Flitwick)
 * Mr. Langoustine as (Rubeus Hagrid)
 * Crabs, Lobsters, and Snails as (Other characters)

Information

 * Genres: Adventure, Family, Fantasy.
 * Rating: PG for some violence, a little alcohol, and many scary scenes.
 * Type of film: Fantasy.

Trivia

 * This is based on the 2009 film "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." You can read about it on Wikipedia or IMDb
 * There are regular and fanon characters. Some don't return in this movie while there are new characters too.
 * This is the sequel to "Nonny Pirruccello and the Order of the Phoenix!" This story takes place a year after the fifth story.

Story
Start of Part 2.

(Scene: Front Steps)

(The castle glitters. Nonny, face blood-spattered, nose slightly off-center, approaches with Deema.)

Nonny: Sorry I made you miss the carriages, Deema.

Deema: It’s alright. I enjoyed our walk. It was like being with a friend.

Nonny: I am your friend, Deema.

Deema: That’s nice.

(Just then Pronto rushes forth clutching a long roll of parchment bearing all students’ names.)

Pronto: About time! I’ve been looking all over for you two. Names.

Nonny: Pronto, you’ve known me for five years.

Pronto: No exceptions, Pirruccello.

Deema: Who are those people?

(Nonny turns, sees Deema staring into the darkness, where shadows drift eerily, like ghosts.)

Pronto: Aurors. For security.

Tobias (o.s.): It’s a not a cane, you cretin. It’s a walking stick.

(Nonny and Deema turn. Tobias stands amidst a mountain of trunks and owl cages, watching the Marching Bandit pass a long security detector over a walking stick.)

Marching Bandit: And what exactly would you be wanting with a walking stick?

Mr. Grumpfish: It was his father’s.

(Mr. Grumpfish separates from the shadows. Tobias eyes him warily, then snatches the stick from the Marching Bandit.)

Tobias: Is my father’s. He’s not dead.

(Mr. Grumpfish watches Tobias carefully wrap the stick in felt, lay it back inside his trunk.)

Mr. Grumpfish: It’s alright, Marching Bandit. I can vouch for Mr. Gordon.

(Tobias eyes Mr. Grumpfish warily again, then begins to slouch off, catches Nonny looking.)

Tobias: Nice face, Pirruccello.

(Nonny puts a hand to his nose, watches Tobias disappear into the darkness, trailed by Mr. Grumpfish.)

Deema: Would you like me to fix it? Personally I think you look a bit more devil-may-care this way. But it’s up to you.

Nonny: Have you ever fixed one? A nose.

Deema: No. But I’ve done several toes and how different are they really?

(This does not fill Nonny with confidence. Nevertheless...)

Nonny: What the hell. Give it a go.

Deema: Episkey.

(Deema poises her wand over Nonny’s nose and... gives it a tap. It vibrates wildly and then... snaps into place.)

Nonny: Well? How do I look?

Deema: Exceptionally ordinary.

Nonny: Brilliant.

(Scene: Great Hall)

(Molly cranes her neck, looking for Nonny, while Gil stuffs his face with pudding, Mumbling, mouth full:)

Gil: Don’ you worry. He’ll be ‘long soon ‘nuff --

Molly: (whacking him) Will. You. Stop. Eating! Your best friend is missing!

Gil: Oi! Turn around, you lunatic.

(Molly spins, sees Nonny and Deema approaching. In the light of the hall, Nonny’s blood-spattered face is quite the sight.)

Oona: He’s covered in blood again. Why is it he’s always covered in blood?

Gil: Looks like his own this time.

Molly: (as he arrives) Where’ve you been, Nonny? And what happened to your face?

Nonny: Later. What’ve I missed?

Gil: (shrugging; still eating) Sorting Hat urged us all to be brave and strong in these troubled times -- easy for it to say -- it’s a hat, isn’t it? First Years seemed to enjoy it, though. Wankers. The Marching Bandit give you the wand outside?

(Nonny nods. Oona, damp napkin in hand, begins to dab his face, then feels suddenly awkward. Nonny takes it from her.)

Nonny: Thanks...

(Just then, the light in the Hall begins to gently dim and all eyes turn to Mr. Grouper, standing at the top of the Hall, ashen hand raised to the enchanted ceiling, where clouds respond to his gestures and shroud a gleaming full moon.)

Molly: What’s happened to his hand?

Mr. Grouper: The very best of evenings to you! First off, please join me in welcoming the newest member of our staff, Arctic Dan.

(Mild applause ensues. Nonny claps perfunctorily, his eyes drifting to the entrance of the Hall as a pair of Aurors station themselves just outside.)

Mr. Grouper: Arctic Dan, I’m happy to say, has agreed to resume his old post of Potions master. Meanwhile the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts will be assumed by Mr. Grumpfish.

(This is greeted by stunned silence. Mr. Grouper frowns, then attempts to generate something by clapping his hands once. A few Slytherins join in and some dim-witted First Years.)

Mr. Grouper: Now, as you know, each and every one of you was searched upon your arrival tonight. You have a right to know why.(a beat) Once there was a young man who, like you, sat in this very Hall. Walked this castle’s corridors. Slept beneath its roof. He seemed, to all the world, a student like any other. His name? The Color Monster.

(The Hall goes utterly silent.)

Mr. Grouper: Today, of course, the world knows him by another name. Which is why, as I stand looking out upon you all tonight, I am reminded of a sobering fact. Each day, every hour, this very minute perhaps, dark forces attempt to penetrate this castle. But in the end, their greatest weapon remains... you.

(Nonny eyes Tobias, slouched low, lazily levitating a fork with his wand, as if Mr. Grouper were unworthy of attention.)

Mr. Grouper: Just something to keep in mind. Now, off to bed. Pip pip!

Gil: (as they rise) That was cheerful.

(Scene: Corridor)

(A teeming mass of students fight their way to class on first day of term. Amidst it all, Mrs. Grouper stands tall and stern. The twins pass by, bearing identical looks of consternation.)

Mrs. Grouper: History of Magic is up, ladies, not down. Mr. Davies -- that’s the girl’s toilet...

(Mrs. Grouper's eyes shift, find Nonny and Gil sitting upon a ledge, clearly deriving immense pleasure from the chaos.)

Mrs. Grouper: Pirruccello!

(Nonny's smile droops. Mrs. Grouper beckons with a finger.)

Nonny: This can’t be good.

(Gil grins as Nonny makes his way “upstream” to Mrs. Grouper.)

Mrs. Grouper: Enjoying ourself, are we?

Nonny: Well, you see, I’ve got an open period this morning, Mrs. --

Mrs. Grouper: So I noticed. I would think you’d want to fill it with Potions. Or is it no longer your ambition to become an Auror?

Nonny: It is. Or was. But I was told I had to get an Outstanding in my O.W.L. --

Mrs. Grouper: And so you did when Mr. Grumpfish was teaching Potions. However, Arctic Dan is perfectly happy to accept N.E.W.T. students with ‘Exceeds Expectations.’

Nonny: Really? Well... brilliant. I’ll head there straight away.

Mrs. Grouper: Good. And take Gordon with you. He looks far too happy over there.

(Gil trails Nonny toward an open door.)

Gil: But I don’t want to take Potions!

(Scene: Arctic Dan's Classroom)

(As Nonny drags Gil inside, the other students turn in unison. Molly frowns. Jessica, seeing Gil, beams.)

Arctic Dan: Nonny m’boy! I was beginning to worry! And I see we’ve brought someone with us...

Gil: Gil Gordon, sir. But I’m dead awful at Potions, a menace actually, so I probably should just be going --

Arctic Dan: Nonsense, we’ll sort you out. Any friend of Nonny’s is a friend of mine. Right then, books out --

Nonny: Um, sorry, sir, but I haven’t got my book yet -- nor’s Gil. You see -- (until this morning...)

Arctic Dan: Not to worry. You can get what you need from the cupboard.

(As Nonny and Gil step to the cupboard, Arctic Dan resumes, gesturing to the cauldrons bubbling before him.)

Arctic Dan: Now, as I was saying, I’ve prepared a few concoctions this morning. Any ideas what these might be? Yes, Miss...?

Molly: Gentilella, sir. That one there is Veritaserum. And that would be Polyjuice Potion. And that...

(In the cupboard, Nonny and Gil find two textbooks -- one new, one shabby and soiled. Both snatch for the new when a box -- marked “Bezoars” -- tips. As Nonny makes a grab for it, Gil wrests free the new textbook and goes off grinning.)

Molly: ... is Amortentia! The most powerful love potion in the world. It’s rumored to smell differently to each person, according to what attracts them. For example, I smell freshly mown grass and new parchment and spearmint toothpaste --

(Molly blushes, stops herself. Arctic Dan regards her.)

Arctic Dan: One of my best friends is Muggle- born. She’s the best in our year...

(Nonny, settling into his seat with the soiled textbook, looks up just as Arctic Dan’s eyes shift to him for confirmation. As Nonny nods, Molly glances curiously at him.)

Arctic Dan: Now Amortentia doesn’t create actual love, of course. That’s impossible. But it does cause a powerful infatuation or obsession. For that reason, it is probably the most dangerous potion in this room.

(Arctic Dan turns, finds a sea of dreamy faces leaning into the vapors. Instantly, he clangs a cover onto the cauldron, bringing them round. As Gil blinks, he finds Jessica still staring dreamily -- at him. Noticing, Molly’s eyes narrow.)

Jimberly: Sir, you haven’t told us what’s in that one.

Arctic Dan: Ah yes...

(Arctic Dan steps to a small black cauldron. Begins to ladle a bit of golden liquid into a tiny vial.)

Arctic Dan: What you see before you, ladies and gentlemen, is a curious little potion known as Felix Felicis. But it is more commonly referred to as --

Molly: Liquid luck.

(A buzz runs through the class. Even Tobias perks up.)

Arctic Dan: Yes, Miss Gentilella. Desperately tricky to make. Disastrous should you get it wrong. But brewed correctly, as this has been, it has remarkable powers. One sip and you will find that all your endeavors succeed... at least until the effects wear off.

Jimberly: But then why don’t people drink it all the time?

Arctic Dan: Because taken in excess it causes giddiness, recklessness and dangerous overconfidence.

Tubbert: Have you ever taken it, sir?

Arctic Dan: Twice. Once when I was twenty- four. Once when I was fifty- seven. Two tablespoons taken at breakfast. Two perfect days...

(Arctic Dan eyes the vial dreamily, adrift. Finally he blinks.)

Arctic Dan: So. This is what I offer each of you today. One tiny vial of liquid luck... to the student who, in the hour that remains, manages to brew an acceptable Draught of Living Death, the recipe for which can be found on page ten of your textbook.

(Excitement seizes the class. Arctic Dan smiles knowingly.)

Arctic Dan: You should know that in all the years of my previous tenure at Bubblewarts, not once did a student brew a potion of sufficient quality to claim this prize. In any event -- good luck.

(Arctic Dan sets the vial upon his desk, where it shimmers in a shaft of sunlight. Nonny opens his book. Frowns. The margins of the page before him are black with the tight scribblings of a previous owner.The same creepy graffiti fills the next page as well, on and on throughout the book. Shaking his head, Nonny runs his finger under the first printed instruction: “Cut up one Sopophorous bean.” Nonny takes the silver dagger upon his desk, poises it over the bean when... Gil’s bean shoots across the room and bounces off Jimberly Shaskan’s head. Nonny surveys the rest of the room: everyone is struggling to cut the resistant legume. He glances back to his book, considers the instruction again. As arrow has been drawn from the word “Cut” to the margin, where a modification has been written in the tight scrawl: “Crush with blade -- releases juice better.” Nonny considers the dagger in his hand, then places the flat of the blade against the bean and presses. Instantly, the protective parchment covering the desk runs red with juice.)

Molly: How did you do that?

Nonny: Crush it. Don’t cut it.

Molly: No. The instructions specifically say to cut.

Nonny: No. Really --

Molly: Sh!

(Nonny shrugs, lifts the parchment and tips the juice into his cauldron. It hisses, then turns lilac. Nonny grins. Students struggle. A cauldron overflows. Jessica eyes Gil. Molly grows more and more frustrated. Her hair grows bushier in the steam rising from her cauldron... Nonny’s finger traces under the official instruction... then drifts to the spidery scrawl in the margin... Tobias cuts himself, curses... Nonny, cool as a cucumber, adds one last ingredient, steps back, done... Molly, hair like Medea now, glowers at him... Arctic Dan wends his way amongst the cauldrons, nodding with sympathy at the fiascos before him. Then... he stops, staring in disbelief at the pearly sheen of one bubbling potion.)

Arctic Dan: Merlin’s Beard! But it’s perfect. So perfect I daresay one sip would kill us all! Your mother was a dab hand at potions, but this... My, my, what can’t you do, m’boy? Perhaps you will save us all in the end...

(All eyes turn to Nonny. His smile falters.)

Arctic Dan: Here you are then, as promised. One bottle of Felix Felicis. Use it well.

(Slowly, Nonny reaches out... takes the glittering vial.)

(Scene: Castle)

(The Castle is dark, but for one window.)

(Scene: Mr. Grouper's Office)

(Mr. Grouper sits alone at his desk, the deep lines of his face illuminated by the shimmering pensieve. Two objects of note are before him. One is a black-stoned ring. The other is the Color Monster's diary. He briefly balances the ring upon the tip of an ashen finger, then turns a page of the battered diary. His face is troubled. A knock. He takes the ring and diary, slips them inside a drawer. The door swings open, reveals Nonny.)

Mr. Grouper: Good evening, Nonny. You got my message, I see. Come, come. Sit.

(Nonny steps forward, eyes the Pensieve curiously. Sits.)

Mr. Grouper: So. How are you?

Nonny: Fine, sir.

Mr. Grouper: Enjoying your classes? Arctic Dan, for one, is most impressed with you.

Nonny: I think he overestimates my abilities, sir.

Mr. Grouper: Do you?

Nonny: Definitely.

(Mr. Grouper smiles affectionately, nods.)

Mr. Grouper: And what of your activities outside the classroom? Do they bring you satisfaction?

Nonny: Sir?

Mr. Grouper: I notice you spend a great deal of time with Miss Gentilella. One can’t help but wonder if --

Nonny: No! I mean... she’s brilliant. And we’re friends. But... no.

Mr. Grouper: Forgive me, Nonny, I...

(Mr. Grouper smiles faintly, shakes his head.)

Mr. Grouper: ... I was merely curious. (rising) In any event, I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve summoned you here tonight. The answer lies here.

(Mr. Grouper swings open a cabinet where dozens upon dozens of glittering vials stand like tiny glimmering soldiers.)

Mr. Grouper: What you see before you are memories. In this case pertaining to one individual: Rotten Tomato. Or as he was known then... the Color Monster.

(Mr. Grouper reaches down with his damaged hand and removes a stoppered vial, dusty and veined with age.)

Mr. Grouper: This vial contains a most particular memory -- of the day I first met him. I’d like you to see it. If you would...

(Mr. Grouper extends his ashen hand and Nonny rises, gingerly takes the vial and removes the cork. He tips the contents into the Pensieve. Mr. Grouper nods and Nonny leans into the iridescent liquid, his face breaking the surface...)

(Scene: Street)

(A horse-drawn milk cart rattles across a rain-swept Bubble City street and a young Mr. Grouper appears in a plum velvet suit. We track him down the street (and see him eye a lovely lass appreciatively) until he reaches a grim building surrounded by iron gates.)

(Scene: Corridor)

(A skinny, sharp-featured woman snail leads Mr. Grouper down a drab corridor. Children's voices carry from an unseen courtyard, splashing and shrieking, in the midst of some game.)

Skinny Sharp-Featured Woman Snail: I must confess to a bit of confusion upon receiving your letter, Mr. Grouper. In all the years the Color Monster’s been here, he’s never once had a family visitor. Frankly, I was stunned to find that someone knew of his existence.

Mr. Grouper: I am not family. But his name has been known to me since birth.

Skinny Sharp-Featured Woman Snail: I see...

(But she doesn’t really. She stops, frowns.)

Skinny Sharp-Featured Woman Snail: I think I should tell you. He’s a funny boy -- the Color Monster. Odd. There have been incidents with the other children. Nasty things.

Mr. Grouper: Perhaps you could give me an example.

(The skinny, sharp-featured woman snail starts to speak, then shakes her head, moves off. As Mr. Grouper makes to follow, his eyes happen upon a framed photograph on the wall, old and yellowing, depicting a seaside scene of a sharp rock outcropping and a cave.)

(Scene: Corridor Outside the Color Monster's Room)

(The skinny, sharp-featured woman snail's hand appears. Knocks. She turns the knob.)

(Scene: The Color Monster's Room)

(A small room, grim and shadowy. The Color Monster, 11 years old, sits atop a bed, hands in lap. The walls crawl with reflected rain, oozing like oil down a grimy window.)

Skinny Sharp-Featured Woman Snail: You’ve got a visitor, Color Monster.

(Mr. Grouper steps forward, extends his hand.)

Mr. Grouper: How do you do, Color Monster.

(The Color Monster eyes Mr. Grouper briefly, looks away.)

Skinny Sharp-Featured Woman Snail: Well, I’ll leave you two to yourselves.

(The skinny, sharp-featured woman snail exits, closing the door. Mr. Grouper studies the Color Monster, then begins to tour the room. Carefully placed upon a low shelf are some odd souvenirs. A grouping of seven stones... A book containing secen matches. Seven brass keys... Moving on, Mr. Grouper passes a tall cabinet, tracing his fingers over its surface, as if the wood’s grain were Braille, as if somehow “seeing” what lies within. Then Mr. Grouper pauses. Strewn on a small table are a grouping of seven dark drawings. A boy and girl, their faces anguished. A sea-swept cave. The same cave from the photograph. Mr. Grouper begins to reach out...)

Color Monster: Don’t.

(Mr. Grouper stops, turns. Finds the Color Monster’s level gaze on him.)

Mr. Grouper: As you wish.

(The Color Monster looks away and Mr. Grouper, for the first time, notices his hands. They are splayed, utterly still, and interlaced with a silky web, where a spider knits back and forth.)

Color Monster: You’re the doctor, aren’t you?

Mr. Grouper: No. I am a Headmaster.

Color Monster: I don’t believe you. I hear Mrs. Cole talking, her and the rest of the staff. They want me looked at. They think I’m different.

Mr. Grouper: Perhaps they’re right.

Color Monster: I’m not mad.

Mr. Grouper: Bubblewarts is not a place for mad people.

(The Color Monster looks up, cocks his head ever-so-slightly.)

Mr. Grouper: It’s a school. A school of... magic.

(The Color Monster stays looking, but says nothing.)

Mr. Grouper: You can do things, can’t you, Color Monster? Things the other children can’t.

(The Color Monster eyes Mr. Grouper intensely, unblinking.)

Color Monster: Yes.

Mr. Grouper: Tell me some of the things you can do, Color Monster.

Color Monster: (watching the spider) I can make things move -- without touching them. I can make animals do what I want without training them. I can make bad things happen to people who are mean to me. I can make them hurt... if I want.

(Mr. Grouper studies the Color Monster -- then the boy looks up.)

Color Monster: Who are you?

Mr. Grouper: I’m like you, Color Monster. Different.

(The Color Monster closes his hands and the web collapses.)

Color Monster: Prove it.

(It is not a request. Without breaking his gaze, Mr. Grouper’s eyes narrow ever-so-slightly and... the wardrobe bursts into flames. The Color Monster wheels. Slowly smiles. Mr. Grouper studies him. Abruptly, the wardrobe begins to shake. The Color Monster’s smile fades.)

Mr. Grouper: I think there is something trying to get out of your wardrobe, Color Monster. Open it. Open. It.

(Terrified, the Color Monster steps to the burning wardrobe and throws open the door. On the topmost shelf, above a rail of threadbare clothes, a small box shakes violently.)

Mr. Grouper: Take it out.

(As the Color Monster’s fingers touch the box, the flames engulfing the wardrobe vanish, but the box continues to shake -- the only sound in the now-silent room.)

Mr. Grouper: Is there anything in that box you ought not to have?

(The Color Monster eyes Mr. Grouper, a trifle fearfully this time. He spills the box onto the bed: a yo-yo, a silver thimble, and a tarnished mouth organ.)

Mr. Grouper: Why did you want these things, Color Monster?

Color Monster: (looking off) I like having things that belonged to other people. It makes me feel ... close to them.

(Mr. Grouper studies the Color Monster’s profile, pondering this.)

Mr. Grouper: Thievery is not tolerated at Bubblewarts. At Bubblewarts, you will be taught not only how to use magic, but to control it. Understood? (as the Color Monster nods) I’ll be going now, Color Monster. Leave your window open tonight. An owl will bring you a message. Read it carefully.

(Mr. Grouper starts to exit, when:)

Color Monster: I can speak to snakes too.

(Mr. Grouper stops and we are on his face, his back to the Color Monster.)

Color Monster: They find me. Whisper things. Is that normal. For someone like me?

Mr. Grouper: It is unusual. But not unheard of.

(Mr. Grouper exits then, without a backward glance, leaving the 11-year-old Color Monster alone.)

(Scene: Mr. Grouper's Office)

(The image shudders and Nonny and Mr. Grouper reappear. The room has grown dim in their absence. Mr. Grouper gestures. Lamps blaze to life.)

Nonny: Did you know, sir? Then?

Mr. Grouper: Did I know that I had just met the most dangerous Dark Wizard of all time? No. Had I...

(Mr. Grouper falters, his expression troubled. Nonny looks up from the Pensieve, where the young Color Monster’s fragmented face floats on the surface, eyes Mr. Grouper.)

Mr. Grouper: Over time, while here at Bubblewarts, the Color Monster grew close to one particular teacher. Can you guess which teacher that might be?

Nonny: You didn’t bring Arctic Dan back simply to teach Potions, did you, sir?

Mr. Grouper: No. I did not. You see, Arctic Dan possesses something I desire very dearly. And he will not part with it easily... (eyeing Nonny knowingly) I’d rather not divulge any more just yet, Nonny. But I promise. In time you will know everything.

Nonny: You said Arctic Dan would try to collect me.

Mr. Grouper: I did.

Nonny: Do you want me to let him?

(Mr. Grouper trails his ashen fingers in the surface of the Pensieve, vanquishing the young Color Monster’s face.)

Mr. Grouper: Yes.

End of Part 2.