"Rhiannon, you are going to kill yourself" I heard my friend Jade exclaim.
"I'll be fine" I called back to her.
We were in gym class and I was attempting a ruteen on the high ropes. I have never been one for playing it safe, so obviously this was a kind of durastic ruteen.
"Here I go" I took a deep breath and ran towards the trampet. After my jump, I hoisted myself up to the top of the ropes. OK. Front somersault, air split, back somersault, forward straddling somersault, leg up and hold from behind, pull upside down, wrap leg around the rope and slide down gracefully.
Perfect.
I landed on the mat and Jade was quickly running towards me as I gently rubbed my hands together.
"Rope burn?" She asked smugly.
"Shut up" I said laughing.
"Well, it seems someone liked that performance" She said nodding over my shoulder.
I turned around to see what she was looking at, and there stood a tall, slightly muscular guy around our age with firey hair. He was wearing a black jersey shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and loose, blue washed pipe jeans. He looked good.
"Who's he?" I asked turning back to jade.
"No idea" She said shrugging.
"You. What do you want?" We turned around to see the gym coach walking over to the mysterious boy.
He responded but we couldn't hear what he was saying.
"Rhiannon!" Coach called. I rolled my eyes and made my way over.
"Yes coach" I asked, not really caring why she wanted to talk to me.
"Please show this boy the the Head Masters office. He is a new student and needs to find his way around" She ordered.
I sighed before smiling slightly at the boy.
"Of course" I then lead him out of the gym and started walking down the hall.
"I'm Ron" He said in a gruff voice.
"Rhiannon" I said smiling at him. "So, new student? What school did you come from?" I asked.
"Hogwarts, the one on the other side of town" He explained.
"Why did you change?" I asked curiously.
"I kind of got kicked out" He said laughing slightly.
"Do I want to ask?" I joked with him.
"It's nothing really, I just beat the crap out of my sister's boyfriend for preasuring her" He explained.
"Good brother" I said smiling.
"Yeah, well the school didn't see it like that" He said laughing again.
"Well, here we are" I said pointing the the Head Master's office door.
"Thanks" He said smiling but not going in.
"What?" I asked when he didn't say anything a just looked at me.
"What year are you?" He finally asked.
"Seventh" I responded.
"Good" He said before knocking on the door. "I guess we'll be seeing more of each other then" He said as the door was opened and he was ushered inside.
I shook my head and laughed to myself before heading back to the gym.
After class, I was thankful that there was only one lesson left of the day, I was exhausted.
I had English and sat in the back as usual with my friends Nathan and Charlie. About ten minutes into the lesson -which we weren't really paying attention to, instead we were playing hangman in Charlie's notebook- there was a knock at the door. I didn't look up, instead I concentrated on trying to figure out the answer to Nathan's hangman riddle: T_ _ D_A_H_Y _ALL_OW_.
I heard the teacher talking to someone and didn't avert my eyes from the paper until there was a nudge in my rib.
"Ow! What?" I whisper screamed at Charlie.
"New kid" He said nodding to the front of the class. There stood Ron. When he noticed me, he smiled so obviously I smilied back.
"Why don't you take a seat next to Nathan" Mr. Thomas said pointing to our desk which had one extra place.
He nodded and made his way to his new seat.
The lesson then went on as before, with Ron joining in with our little games. He was a really nice guy. I think he'll fit in well here.
Over the next few weeks, Ron had been easily welcomed into our group and we had become quite close. We were currently walking out of the school gates after class on Friday with a few other people. Nathan, Frankie, Natasha, Oliver and Abigail. We were planning on heading over to my place to drown our sorrow and stress in large amounts of alcohol.
We made a habbit of all walking home together and dropping everyone off at their houses on the way. It was always left with me and Ron, since we lived the furthest away. Everyone went home for a few ours before coming to mine so they could get ready.
"Be over at seven douche bag" I said to Ron as we stepped up outside my house.
"I'll be here" He said laughing before turning to make his way home.
It was now nine o'clock and everyone was fairly drunk. I was currently sat on the sofa with Tash, Frankie and Abi, watching the guys play Just Dance on the Wii. I think it is safe to say they were all terrible.
The night was spent laughing and playing games like children. Half way through twister someones phone went off.
"Hello there Jeff" Ron slurred into his phone. "I know your name isn't Jeff, but I think it suits you" He laughed. "No Harry, i'm not drunk" As he said this, he turned to the rest of us and we all burst in to fits of giggles and fell to the floor.
"Oh Harry say hi!" He exclaimed before putting his phone on louder speaker. Straight away everyone cried out with around of hello's.
"Um... Hi?" He said through the phone. "Dude, if you're drunk i'll just call you tomorrow"
"No it's fine, we haven't spoken in a while" Ron slurred back.
"Ron get naked!" Ollie shouted.
"And you wonder why people think you're gay" I said laughing.
"You are obviously busy, I'll call you tomorrow" Harry said through the phone again.
"Alright, bye" Ron said before hanging up.
"Let's have a race!" Nathan exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Where?" Tash asked.
"Outside! Piggy back races!" He continued excitedly.
We then all paired up so Nathan, Ollie and Ron would be running. Abi was with Ollie, Frankie was with Nathan and I was with Ron. Tash ho go home so she left as we headed out on to the road.
It was pitch black since it was now about quarter to eleven. We all mounted our 'pigs' and lined up in the middle of the road.
"OK" Frankie exclaimed. "From here, round the corner and up the road, through the village center and back taking Queen's Road. Got it?" She instructed.
"On your marks!" Abi shouted. "Get ready...GO!" We were all off like lightening. Before we got to the village center, we had already sped so far infront of everyone that they were no longer visible. When we started to run through the center, I saw in was empty apart from a trio of people that looked our age walking along the side of the street.
"Is that Ron?" I heard one of them ask another.
"RON!" A dark skinned boy shouted.
"Dean!" Ron exclaimed from beneath me as he made our way over to them.
"What are you doing?" A girl with bushy hair asked.
"Having a race" Ron slurred. "This is Rhiannon" He said nodding his head backwards to me.
"Hi" I said smiling.
"Rhiannon, this is Hermione, Dean and Seamus" He said pointing to them all and smiling wildly.
"Dude, are you drunk?" The boy called Seamus asked laughing.
"That's what Harry said when he rang me, I can't sound that drunk can I?" He asked me.
"Not at all" I said stroking his hair sympathetically.
"Bro, we haven't seen you for ages" Dean said.
"I know, I've been busy. We'll meet up soon" He replied.
"There they are!" I heard Nathan shouted from far behind us.
"Shit! They're coming" I said laughing.
"Sorry guys, we have a race to win" Ron told his friends before running off again.
Safe to say, we won. And as soon as we all got back to mine we crashed for an hour or so before everyone got up to go home.
Ron's POV
The next saturday, I called Harry, Dean, Seamus, Hermione, Neville, Collin and Luna over to hang out with me and Ginny. We were now in our bark yard with the girls sat talking on the grass and a small football pitch set up for a three on three match.
I think it's fair to say our team had an advantage seeing as Harry, Dean and I all played on the school team when I was still at Hogwarts. Neville and Seamus on the other hand, were not quite as skillful with foot work so Collin was picking up most of the slack.
We had been playing for about half an hour when someones phone rang from where the girls were sitting.
"Ron, it's yours!" Hermione called.
I jogged over to them and picked up my phone from the bundle where I left my hoodie. I looked at the caller ID and saw it was Nathan.
"Hey dude, what's up?" I greeted.
"What's up? Bro, there's a massive party tonight over at the old abandoned Riddle place. Charlie found a way to sneak through the broken gate, so we are gonna go and get fucked up! You in?" He asked, excitement evident in his voice.
"Seriously? That sound brilliant" I said smiling. "But wait, can I bring people?" I asked looking over to my friends.
"Definitely! The more people the better, just get them to bring there own booze" He said.
"Great, what time are you going up?"
"Eight, that way there probably wont be any cops around that part of town. And if your bringing people, be careful about going in a big group, we don't want to attract attention. Sneak up a few at a time" He said.
"Sure, that's fine. I'll see you tonight" I said hanging up the phone.
I ran walked back over to everyone, the guys had stopped playing when I answered my phone.
"Who was that?" Harry asked taking a bottle of water from the cooler.
"My mate Nathan. There's a party at the old abandoned Riddle house tonight, anyone up for it?" I asked sitting down.
"The Riddle house? How are you meant to get in there?" Hermione asked.
"Someone found a way to creep through the gate. It's gonna be good you should all come" I pleaded.
Some seemed reluctant but eventually everyone agreed. We had two hours until we had to head up so we hung out a bit longer before everyone went home to change.
At quarter to eight we all met by a pub in the middle of town. From here I got slightly make out the silhouettes of three people walking up the hill to the abandoned house. The house was frightening from far away. It was on top of a large hill over looking the town and surrounded by a high fence.
When everyone arrived we split up and made our way up the hill. I was going up first with Luna and Dean and then the others would follow in groups of three.
Getting closer to the house I could hear muffled music erupting from the falls and off to the side, I could see someone standing by the hole in the fence.
"Charlie" I greeted him with a high five. "These are my friends Dean and Luna" I introduced.
"Hi, nice to meet you" He greeted them.
"So why are you standing out here?" I asked him.
"Just making sure no unwanted visitor arrive like that git Malfoy from Hogwarts" He told me.
"Fair enough, six more people are on their way up, they're with me so let them in" I informed him before we made our way through the hole in the fence.
We walked along the small path to the house and opened the rickety door. The music instantly hit my ears and a smile grew on my face when I saw the interior of the house.
There were quite a lot of people here from school and a few I didn't recognize. We made our way over to a small table on the side to put down the alcohol we brought and get ourselves a drink. A few minutes later, the rest of my friends arrived and more from my school.
"Ron!" I heard someone call from a little way across the room. Then I saw a frustrated Rhiannon walking towards me.
"What's up?" I asked her concerned.
"We need you out front" She said. "You lot look strong, you come aswell" She asked the rest of the guys.
She then turned around and started walking to the front door. We followed confused but as soon as we got out side, all my questions were answered. There stood Malfoy and his 'posse' arguing with Charlie and Nathan by the fence.
"Got it" I nodded to Rhiannon and made my way down the yard.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Weasle and the rest of the Gryffindors" Malfoy snarled.
"What do you want ferret" I sneered back.
"We wanted to join the party didn't we guys" He laughed as he looked around his group of friends. In the dark I could see he was with Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise Zabini, Marcus Flint, Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass.
"Well your not coming in so fuck off" Nathan growled.
"Temper temper" Blaise tutted.
"Listen, your not welcome here so why don't you go home and play like a good little boy" Rhiannon sneered as she stepped out from behind us.
"Well look who it is, Rhiannon Davis. It's been a while" Malfoy said with a smirk.
"Not long enough" She muttered.
"Come one, we aren't doing any harm. Why don't you let us in and we can talk things out" He replied stepping closer so they were only inches from eachother.
"Not that I wouldn't love to talk to you more. Fuck off" She said glaring at him.
"Don't talk to him like that" Pansy shrieked.
"This your new pet dog, Draco? She doesn't seem very obedient" She sneered causing our group and even Blaise, Marcus, Daphne and to ape-like goonies to snicker.
Just when Pansy looked like she was going to retort, the ferret stopped her.
"Don't" He said without looking at her but holding up a hand in front of her face. "Still holding a grudge, sweetheart" He continued with a smirk as he went to brush some of Rhiannon's hair behind her ear before she slapped it away.
"Don't touch me. And incase you forgot, I broke up with you remember?" I was shocked at her statement. When had they gone out?
"You actually dated that, Draco?" Pansy shrieked again.
"Will you shut up" He growled at her before turning back to Rhiannon. "You know it's only a matter of time before you come crawling back" He said proudly.
"Well, I haven't for the past three years so I think I'll be OK" She said turnign around. "Just get them out of here" She said to us before moving back through the fence and into the house.
It didn't take much after that to get them to leave. Malfoy did end up with a broken nose thanks to yours truly. But apart from that, no harm was done.
When we got back inside, I went to talk to Rhiannon. Turns out, she dated Malfoy when they were fourteen and he was an epic arse. It wasn't serious, obviously when your that young it won't be, but even after only being together for about two months, Draco never really got over her breaking up with him.
The rest of the night went well. All of my friends from Hogwarts got on well with my new friends and were mingling easily. At one point, I saw Ollie and Collin talking quite intently. I smiled, knowing a lot more than the rest of my friends probably did.
Collin 'came out' to me last year, saying her had a massive crush on Dean. Unfortunately for him, Dean didn't feel the same and started dating another girl. Since then Collin has only had one boyfriend, but that ended a few months ago.
And Ollie, well you only really needed to talk to him for about ten minutes to know he was gay. They seemed to be really enjoying each others company, and for that I was happy.
Two weeks after what we are now calling 'The Big Race' I was sat in my house trying to find something to do. I had spent the rest of last weekend with all my friends from Hogwarts but wasn't really in the mood today.
I decided to text Rhiannon.
-What are you doing to day slut?
It took a few minutes but I got a reply.
-Rude. But I'm going to wallow in my misery and pray I had a penis instead of a womb.
-That was graphic. Do you want me to come over? I'll bring you ice cream :D
-Mint Chocolate.
I laughed before standing up and making my way to the kitchen.
"Mum, do we have any mint chocolate ice cream?" I asked her as she cleaned up form lunch.
"We should, check the back of the freezer" She said dismissively.
"Thanks" I said pulling the box out of the freezer.
"Are you having that all to yourself?" She asked me giving me a strange look.
"No, I'm going over to Rhiannon's for a bit" I explained putting on my jacket.
"Oh OK, see you later" She called as I was opening the door.
"Bye" I called over my shoulder and began to walk down the road.
A few minutes later I knocked on the door to Rhiannon's house. After a few seconds the door flew open.
There stood what looked like a creature that has been living under a bridge for years.
"You look absolutely gorgeous" I said trying to stifle a laugh.
"Shut up" She growled grabbing the ice cream tub out of my hands and storming back into her living room. "Get me a spoon!" She called back to me.
When I joined her I saw that she was in sweats and wrapped in a large double duvet.
"That bad huh?" I asked laughing slightly.
"Don't laugh. Maybe I should kick you in the balls for a week and see how you feel" She whined while jamming her spoon into the ice cream and taking a large mouthful.
"Alright I'm sorry" I said flopping down onto the couch with her. "What are we watching?" I said nodding towards the TV.
"Charmed, now shut up and let me watch" She groaned as she readjusted her position.
We watched the show for a few hours and Rhiannon was starting to cry at something one of the girls on the show was going through.
"Are you made of stone!" She exclaimed when she noticed my expressionless face.
"No, I just don't get it" I said shrugging.
"She had her memory erased and now she's being forced to remember that her boyfriend has been killed by the avatars!" She explained.
I exhaled loudly showing that I didn't really care. At her angry face I began to laugh again.
"Oh lighten up! If you're so emotional why are you watching stuff that will make you cry more?" I asked.
"I am not emotional!" She said starting to cry again.
"Not at all" I broke out into a full blown laugh now.
"You're such an ass" she said throwing a pillow at my face.
"I'm sorry" I said trying to calm down as I pulled her into a hug. She groaned uncomfortably in response. "Is it really that bad?" I asked seriously.
"Yeah, fuck evolution. You would have thought after centuries of women going through this once a month something would have changed" She said angrily.
"Anything I can do to help?" I asked.
"Doubt it" She said massaging her stomach slightly.
"Come one, move over" I instructed.
"What?" She asked confused.
"Move over and lie down on your back" I explained.
"What the hell are you going to do?" She asked laughing.
"You'll see" I told her. She got into position and I put my hands slightly under her shirt onto her lower stomach and massaged her gently.
She sighed lightly.
"Better?"
"See, I knew you'd be good for something" She joked.
I carried on for about fifteen minutes and then we went back to watching TV for a few hours before I went home.