Disclaimer (1): I am not writing this for fame or fortune. All copyright retention applies as required by law.
Disclaimer (2): I wrote this for the Houses Competition being hosted by MoonlightForgotten. All appropriate author's notes are found at the end of the story.
Read & Enjoy
Ron walks into the Transfiguration classroom to find everyone standing up with crossed arms. In fact, they are staring at him too. Each pair of eyes in the room is boring into him as he approaches his desk. It makes him uncomfortable but he tries to ignore them regardless. Thankfully the tension is somewhat broken when Professor McGonagall jumps from her desk as a cat, which Ron always wants to question.
"I will collect your assignments before I hand out the tests…." Ron stopped listening and turned to a particularly cross looking Harry Potter.
"What homework?" Ron asks, not particularly surprised he's forgotten another assignment, but he'd been sure there was no homework. There's never homework on an exam day. Panic starts to poke at the edges of Ron's mind as he questions Harry again. "Was there actually homework last night?"
Professor McGonagall is walking around the room with the clop of her shoes beneath her long, emerald robes. It is sending fragments of sound though the room that scatter Ron's brain. He tries to stay focused and look through his book while Harry ignores his question.
On his left is Neville, who is scribbling his name on a scroll that is left completely blank. It gives him some temporary comfort that he wasn't the only one taken aback by the change in routine. Since he doesn't seem upset, Ron leans in and inquires about what he's forgotten, "What was the homework?"
"Shove off, Ronald, and mind your own business. If you forgot your assignment – good riddance!" Quite literally, Ron jumps in his chair. Awkward, stuttering Neville Longbottom – snapping at him? He shakes his head in surprise to try to mentally replay the scene without any additional distractions, only Professor McGonagall is closer and the smacking of her feet on the stone floor gets inside of his brain.
Ron can't think clearly. Before he realizes it, Professor McGonagall is standing in front of him with a sneer on her face. He had never seen her look so angry in his four years at Hogwarts. Was this really happening? He wasn't sure so he just asked her plainly, "I'm sorry, Professor, but I don't remember there being any homework last night."
"Then you'll fail the test, Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall hissed in irritation, "You are dismissed, and you may not return to my classroom until the assignment is complete." She sidestepped to her left in order to collect Harry's assignment, which is also a blank scroll with his name written on it.
"Why is everyone turning in blank papers?" Ron practically demands from his teacher. He would take the failure if he genuinely forgot the assigned work but he cannot escape the feeling that there is something seriously wrong with this scenario. He stands up from his seat and continues his thought while Professor McGonagall pivots around to meet his challenge. "Are you just doing an experiment on how often students turn in blank scrolls if they forget homework? 'Cause I'll do it! I'll give you a blank scroll!"
"You are a failure, Mr. Weasley, and you are not welcome in my classroom!" A quick flick of her wand sends the classroom doors crashing against the stone pillars outlining the entryway. With his jaw hanging low and his head shaking, Ron isn't even sure that this is really happening to him. That's when he refuses.
"No," he declares, "This isn't right. You could at least tell me what the assignment was before I leave." Ron tries his best to avoid sounding desperate. He just wants to know what he missed so he can get it done. If that means failing a test at the end of the term, fine, but he can't do anything about the homework if he doesn't know what was assigned in the first place.
Professor McGonagall points her wand to the door. "Leave, Mr. Weasley, or I'll have you expelled." Ron snatches his belongings from the table. Tears are threatening to burn his eyes completely out of the sockets but he doesn't care. He looks all around the room, noticing that everyone is still staring at him. Only now, instead of standing, they are siting. And instead of crossing their arms, they are shaking their heads. Nothing feels right.
But he submits. Ron starts making his way towards the door very slowly, hoping someone might speak up for him. Of course, why would anyone defend him? He's a mediocre student at best, isn't he? If he fails, he earned it. Ron figures that there isn't anyone in the class willing to defend him and simply accepts that he really is just a failure.
"Ron!" A familiar voice calls out to him.
"Ron!" he hears her voice again, but it feels closer than the first time. "Ron!" It sounds off again. This time, though, he's being shaken. Suddenly he lifts his head and finds that he's still in his seat. Professor McGonagall is nowhere to be seen but he's definitely in her classroom. Shaking the sleep from his head, Ron rubs his eyes as the realization settles.
"How long was I asleep?" he whispers with a slight cracking in his voice. It does that, and it embarrasses him when other people can hear it. Especially when Hermione hears it, though he can't deny that his humiliation fades when she smiles at him with her pink cheeks and shining eyes. Right now, though, she's not impressed. "Ten minutes!"
Ron nods his head and looks over at Harry, whom is snoozing too. A quick nudge sends pulls his best friend back to the present. "What did I miss?"
A second passes where he reflects on the fact that he spent the greater part of the year being jealous of his best friend. Fearing failure just because Harry is successful is ridiculous. He's glad that they're friends again. Then Ron feels a stroke of genius, and he remarks quietly. "There's homework."
"Homework?" Harry asks with grogginess apparent in his tone, "What homework?"
Author's Note:
Ravenclaw, Short Story
"What Homework"
1,005 words
If you read this and are thinking that you could do something like this – or even do better – there are permanent positions available in the Houses Competition! Feel free to PM for more details if you're interested in participating! :)