Appearing Weak

Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.

Ron sat behind his desk as the students shuffled out of his classroom. He watched head bob and push one another out the door. All of them left except for Carlotta Bagger and her friends, who were lagging behind and twittering behind their hands. They reminded Ron of Pansy and her Slytherin lackeys back when he was at school. Ron already knew what they were talking about: the blood-traitor who taught History of Magic.

He had enough of this nonsense walking down the streets, he did not want to have to deal with petty schoolgirls and obnoxious rumors in his own classroom. He quickly cast a charm on them from behind his desk, amplifying the girls' voices.

"...when they were in school. Can you believe it?" Catie Cadbury had finished saying before realizing what had just happened. She turned to face Ron with wide eyes.

"Anything that will be said in this classroom will be for all to hear. If you're going to talk behind someone's back, might I suggest not being three steps away from them?" He said, not bothering to keep the irritation out of his voice. The girls hurried out and Ron finished packing his case and heading to the teacher's lounge to Floo home. On his way down the corridor, he peeked in on his colleague, Professor Padma Patil, who was also packing her bags.

He knocked on the doorframe and Padma peered up from the brim of her pale blue witch's hat, with her eyes like maple syrup.

"Oh hi. Just finishing up. Wait for me?" She asked. Padma had an odd habit of coloring her lips the strangest colors. Today her lips matched the color of her hat, popping off her dark face and drawing one's attention to her smile. Padma adjusted her hat, grabbed her horned-serpent skin bag and rushed out the door.

"If I remember correctly, yesterday your lips were red with white polka-dots. Decided it was time for a change, did you?"

"Periwinkle blue is a beautiful color Bilius. You are just jealous you couldn't pull off this color like I can."

"Really, because you look like you blew a unicorn." Padma squawked indignantly and gave him a punch on the shoulder.

"Merlin, that's disgusting." Padma snorted in a rather unladylike manner. "Besides, how do you know what that looks like?"

"First of all: how dare you." Ron chuckled.

"Do you have Carlotta Bagger by any chance?" Padma smirked.

"Yes, why?"

Padma mimicked, making her voice obnoxiously high and nasally,"'Merlin, Professor Brown was so rude. It's those blood-traitor sorts, like my mother always says. I cannot believe Professor Edgecomb hired him," Padma rolled her eyes. "Of course I paraphrased. What I heard was much more arrogant."

Ron chuckled. It was common for him to receive comments from 'concerned' parents and 'wary' students about his role as a teacher. Well, they were complaints about Bilius Brown. After Voldemort (Ron still shiver at the mention of the Dark Lord from his time spent in the Death Eater dungeons) had gained power, all blood-traitors were ordered to change their names, not being allowed to keep their identities as those who opposed the Death Eater's reign. Ron, of course, knew there were more people who treated him as a pariah because of their fear of punishment, but he still had to deal with people like Carlotta's and Catie's families who agreed with the ideas of the pureblood supremacists.

He bid Padma goodbye and Floo-ed to his home, greeted by small arms wrapped around his knees. Ron's seven-year-old son, Bard, looked up at him affectionately. Bard's older sister, Molly, ran down the steps to greet her father. Ron chuckled and kissed them both on the foreheads before announcing his arrival. Bounding up the stairs to the second floor, he knocked on the door of his third-oldest daughter. Helena turned from her scroll and smiled at her father, looking back at him with his eyes and her mother's blonde curls.

She opened her mouth to speak, but the mirror on the other side of the room which had been charmed to broadcast news changed from a reflective surface to an image of Riddle manor. A large, pitch black cloud loomed over the manor, streaked with glowing purple veins. The image opened on the infamous eldest Riddle children, Thomas and Delphini, standing proudly on the top marble steps leading to the Manor. The third child Merlin stood on the step below them. Ron stared at the image. They were horribly beautiful people. Godlike. Looking into the mirror, Ron saw the eyes which haunted his every waking hour.

Their glowing green eyes.

A voice echoed from the mirror: The high vampire of Europe, Lady Semele Sera of the Italian clan has arrived at Riddle Manor only hours ago. She, her second-in-command and six others including Lord Merlin Riddle's fiance Duilio Sangue will all be staying at the Manor until the wedding in May.

The clear, crisp voice droned on about the engagement and the vampires arriving, including the beta vampire Lucine Sangue and her son Rebelli Mendax. Ron turned to his daughter who was watching him intently. Ron knew he tended to get a far away look in his eyes whenever the Riddle children's images were broadcasted on the mirrors.

"Dad, just so you know, I don't think I want to go to Adelaide's party." Ron sat on the foot of her bed looking at Helena. Helena had so little friends it was surprising she was giving up an opportunity to spend time with some of them.

"Why not? Is it the other girls? Is it because of your mother and me?"

"Not exactly. See, Adelaide and all her friends adore Hesperos and the other Riddle boys. I don't want to be there to watch them fawn over mirror images and posters of them."

"Did you tell your mother?" Helena bit her lip.

"Mum said I should go. Said it would be good for me," Helena shrugged nonchalantly, but her shoulders were tense. "I'll go if you want me to. I just don't think I'll have anything to talk about." Ron nodded. Lavender's voice came through the door announcing dinner.

"We'd better get going or your siblings will eat it all before we're down the stairs." Helena smiled and put down her quill.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Seeing as I never finish a fanfic, I am making a much heavier effort to do this one. This is honestly not my worst or best work so I apologize for...well all of it. The story is going to be in little vignettes and have a rather thin plot line but its there.

Thank you for reading this awful attempt at drama.

Troy Dancing