Title: In The Eye Of The Beholder
Part: Dumb People Don't Belong In Hufflepuff
Author: Svelte Rose
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairings: There are various Hermione and (insert character) pairings. It's more like the gossip of one Hermione Granger from the various perspectives of her classmates. Mwaha.
Note: Many thanks to my awesome beta, Nicole.
xxxxx
Despite what the general student population of Hogwarts thought, the Hufflepuff House did not only house idiots. In fact, she would even go so far as to say that if one were looking for the dumbest people on the planet, one only had to look at the Slytherins and/or the Gryffindors.
Slytherins may have been for the cunning and sly but those characteristics seemed to be overrun by the prominence of ignorance and just plain ol' pig-headed stupidity. The Gryffidors…bah! Courage? More like they had taken far too many bludgers to the head. From her experience with the lot of them, most, if not all, were just as ignorant as the Slytherins. Instead of coming under the veil of pureblood prejudice, their sort of ignorance was more like self-induced visions of glory and grandeur from Quidditch to fighting You-Know-Who.
That was fine; everyone wanted respect. She was of the opinion that one did not go rushing into battle against the most vile and evil wizard of their time…without a bloody plan.
Hannah Abbott scoffed as Crabbe squealed much like the pig he was whilst dancing around the Potions classroom with his robe afire. Beside her, Susan Bones snickered as the dancing elephant tripped over his own feet and knocked right into Ron Weasley's and Harry Potter's stewing cauldron.
"Nooo!" Howled the redheaded boy as he fell down with a horrified face with Crabbe on top of him not a second later.
The bushy-head girl standing just the table ahead turned around swiftly and with quick flick of her wand, the cauldron had righted itself before the boiling contents harmed anybody; particularly the two lugs on the floor.
Harry Potter, having been knocked to the floor, sat there blinking owlishly while he held his broken pair of spectacles that quickly pieced itself back together again with another flick of her wand.
Then turning back around as though nothing of great significance occurred, she continued conversing with her Ravenclaw partner while Snape (robes billowing and all) flew down the aisle and hauled all three boys up- Harry and Ron in one hand and Crabbe in the other.
Hannah felt her mouth twitch when the Potions' professor struggled with the large Slytherin boy. She looked back and caught Draco Malfoy running a hand down his face in annoyance, as though he wished he had not seen the spectacle his personal bodyguard had made of himself.
"Look at him," Susan whispered as she slowly ground the asphodel root into a powdered form.
Hannah cast her partner and friend a confused look, "To whom are you going on about?"
"Goldstein," She replied succinctly as she continued her ministrations with the mortar and stone. "He's completely besotted with her."
Hannah lifted her eyes up to the bushy-head girl again and then they flickered to the partner who seemed to be smiling more than usual, flashing his charming pearly whites every so often. She raised her eyebrows and took note of the way his body seemed to lean towards her, the way he seemed to step closer every time he needed to say something even though there was no need, the frequent 'casual' brushes of the hand…
"Irrevocably besotted with her," Hannah commented, setting to work on the wormwood required for their class potion. "How recent was this development?"
"Apparently, he's been pining for her ever since they shared that dance at the Yule Ball." Satisfied with her powdered asphodel root, Susan made a start for the valerian roots.
Hannah nodded absently, eyes glancing up occasionally to the couple in question and then back down at her work. When it came to gossip, Susan Bones was one of the best-informed girls of their house, along with Megan Jones and Eleanor Branstone. Hannah suspected she and the girls of the other houses (obviously with no better things to do with their time than to gossip) met up weekly to share the sordid on-dits about the on-goings of the students at Hogwarts.
Merlin, they had gone absolutely crazy during the Tri-Wizard Tournament what with the almost death of someone and the Gryffindor Princess storming out as though she were a contestant also. At the memory of the event, Hannah immediately winced. It was not a happy time for them with Hufflepuff had almost lost their prodigy along with the revelation that You-Know-Who had come back. (That was another story and she'd rather not think too much about it.)
Idiots who thought Hufflepuff a house of nobodies but ponces and gits were made to think twice when they remembered that Cedric Diggory also sported the colors black and yellow.
She smiled in triumph at this thought. Yes, Cedric Diggory; their House's golden-boy, Quidditch captain and seeker, Head Boy, etcetera etcetera. He certainly didn't look like a 'bumblebee' when he wore his robes proudly. (She could be biased; she did have a bit of a crush on him.)
According to rumors, Cedric Diggory had barely escaped by the nape of his neck when he faced You-Know-Who after having been portkeyed to some graveyard or another. That wasn't important- what was important was that he had survived which more than proved his magical abilities.
Due to the boy-who-fought-the-Dark-Lord-and-lived-to-tell-the-tale being unconscious and all, Hufflepuff had gotten their first Tri-Wizard Champion that day.
There was nothing Cedric Diggory couldn't do.
…Except provide the school body with an explanation as to what happened in the maze.
Every house had their superstars; for them, it was Cedric Diggory, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Susan Bones. The first received the unofficial, honorary title for reasons specified, the second had his own set of honors to go with him- Justin had gotten into Eton after all, before choosing to come to Hogwarts. Susan, while she may be a gossip, was very observant and paid inscrutable attention to detail to the point of being anal, which always proved to be useful when dealing with others. She was the reason their potion was always the last to be handed to Professor Snape. It didn't matter if they had brewed a less than perfect potion, if everything else was perfect, it was fine.
For the Slytherins, it was Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott. The first had morphed from his 'ferret-like' appearance to that of a rather handsome man looking more and more like his evil, yet also entirely handsome father. She'd heard less than two words come from the mouth of the second one but it only added to the air of mystery that surrounded him (he had quite the underground fan club which took to stalking him; stupid first-years, she snorted). The third was a rather slender boy, very clever and polite (a characteristic Slytherins seemed to lack- amongst many others) who had a rakish air about him.
For the Ravenclaws…well, a house that chose people based on how high their intelligence faculties were was sure to have rather productive wizards and witches; one of them being Anthony Goldstein.
However, the bloody Gryffindors had all the luck…not only did they get the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter, but also the most clever and powerful witch of their year, Hermione Granger. Who, but her, already knew wandless magic this young?
Of course, there were also questions as to why she had been the one to pop out of the hedge after Diggory and Potter. In fact, Hannah didn't think she'd ever seen the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall get so mad when they caught sight of the sheepish witch who was just as bloodied and banged up as the other two were.
Of course, nobody knew what happened. For a witch who seemed to talk quite a bit in class, she sure was tight-lipped when it came to personal affairs.
"Have you found out why she was in that maze with them?" Hannah absentmindedly asked as she added the ingredients to the bubbling potion.
Susan sighed heavily as though the world was on her shoulders and not as though she was parting with the latest gossip, "My sources-,"
Most likely the Weasley chit. Hannah thought.
"-won't mutter a single word on the incident. Frankly, I don't think any of us knows except for her and Diggory and Potter; none are forthcoming even when provided incentives." Susan sighed as she stirred their potion carefully. Her nose wrinkled when it turned a strange color of turquoise and not at all like the lilac it was supposed to be.
Hannah worriedly glanced back at their Advanced Potions-Making textbook, "Why is it that color? We followed the rules step by step!" She groaned as she flipped through the pages rapidly.
Susan continued stirring, "Textbooks aren't always that reliable. After all, the printing on ours was done practically a century ago."
"Do they not update these things?" Hannah complained as she snatched for the vial and unplugged it violently.
"Apparently not," said her partner as she carefully spooned their foul-smelling mixture into the container.
Eager to get out of the classroom, Hannah quickly cleaned up their stations while Susan squeezed the cork on their glass vial. Both headed towards the Potions professor's desk and noted with relief that practically everyone's vials were turquoise except for two others.
Susan was right, it probably was the textbook.
Although, Hannah did not miss reading the names of Granger/Goldstein and Potter/Weasley on two of the vials containing clear liquid in them.
xxxxx
Slowly making her way to Divination, Susan was surprised to hear the angry voices of Professor Snape arguing with that of a student. She carefully trod to the bend where she peeked from behind the wall and was not too surprised to find the Professor's source of vexation to be that of Harry Potter. After all, the entire school knew that no love was lost between the two.
Thankfully, there were no other students besides her; she was late getting to Divination.
"Potter, I surmise you have something that belongs to me." The unmistakable drawl was heard and Susan found herself becoming jittery from the excitement at the prospect of another juicy story.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Professor." Harry had replied, his voice cold.
"The book, Potter, or do you think my mental capabilities lack so much that I did not see my own journal in your hands during class?" Professor Snape all but snarled.
Susan knew the boy was goggling; hell, she was goggling. Harry had gotten a hold of Professor Snape's journal? Bloody hell! The boy was truly brilliant!
…Annoying Gryffindors.
There seemed to be a loud gasp, "It's yours?"
"Yes, and I would very much like to know where you got it and to also see it in my possession once again." Then Snape lowered his voice to the point where Susan couldn't hear, even when she got closer. Oh, how wished she had purchased the Extendable Ears George and Fred Weasley were always going on about!
There seemed to be a shuffling of fabric, the 'click' of a clasp being opened before her classmate spoke again, "I wasn't aware."
She could practically hear Professor Snape snatching it back from Harry's grasp.
"See to it that you are in the future!" Came the vicious snip before the sound of footsteps walking away thundered through the empty halls.
Susan waited until the second pair made their way down the hall, albeit a bit more dejected than the first, before she came out from her hiding spot.
"Hm, I wonder what that was about…"
xxxxx
Hannah pulled her soaked robes around her even more tightly as rain poured from the thundering and lightning skies, which had opened up just a scant few minutes ago. She had cast a shielding charm around her to keep out the elements of nature but it didn't hold up very long. Too lazy to keep on casting the stupid charm every few minutes, she resigned herself to letting the rain soak her to the bone.
Those around her were in the same state but none seemed as concerned with it as they were with the match going on currently.
With the stormy skies featuring as a dark backdrop, it contrasted greatly with the bright yellow of their team robes and the scarlet robes of the Gryffindors. As Oliver Wood kept another bludger from entering the ring, the two seekers were high above all the other players, zipping back and forth for the elusive golden snitch. One shouted various orders through a sonorous charm while the other slipped from his broom every so often. She deduced it probably had something to do with his shaggy black hair pasted to his face and obscuring his vision.
Hannah rubbed her hands together for warmth and was chagrined to remember that she had just cast a warming charm but it was obviously doing nothing. Merlin's beard, why did Susan have to get detention (from Trelawney of all people) at such a crucial time? She could do the best warming spell ever; it at least lasted longer.
A series of cheers surrounded her as their team managed to score past Wood, mingling with the groans of the Gryffindors occupying the stand next to theirs. Hannah looked over and her eyes widened when she noticed the rather-dry Hermione Granger, sitting down as though she didn't care one bit. For Merlin's sake, she was even reading a book!
"Who brings a book to a Quidditch game?" Came the ludicrous sounding voice to her left, as though having read her mind.
"It is Granger we're talking about." Replied another.
Lighting flashed brilliantly in the sky and thunder cracked through the sky, making some players jerk on their brooms. A huge cheer went up from the Gryffindor stands as their team had taken this deflection as a chance to score. Hannah noticed that many of the younger kids along with the older boys around her had shot up and begun shouting angrily about the 'lack of honor.' Honestly, they really did take this game too seriously.
Above the thunder, Hannah could hear Cedric Diggory's clear voice shouting at their team's keeper about keeping a strong left.
Granger, she noted, seemed to have lost interest in the book as it lay seemingly forgotten on the bench. The girl had finally stood up but instead of cheering like her schoolmates, she had a troubled expression on her face. Hannah slowly turned to what the Gryffindor's view was pointed at and could hardly keep the gasp from escaping her mouth when she realize one of their goalpost was charred at the top.
The lightning was apparently closer than they thought.
She glanced over at the professors and was happy to see that they had not missed the charred goalpost either. It seemed that other than her, Granger, and the professors, everybody else was too enthralled in the game to care about being zapped to dust by a force of Mother Nature.
Well, as long as the professors knew, no harm could come to them, she resolved, happy to be able to finally concentrate fully on the game.
xxxxx
Susan crawled through the portrait hole with an excited grin as the party in their common room seemed to be in full swing. "Did any of you save me a butterbeer?" She yelled above the noise. A mug overflowing with the beverage was quickly shoved into her hands and she greedily drank it, liquid dribbling down her chin.
"Hip hip hooray!" Her housemates cheered as Cedric Diggory was hoisted upon Zacharias Smith's and Sebastian Summerby's shoulders. He threw a sheepish grin to the crowd as a pretty blush colored his cheeks; this obviously did not sooth the female hearts of Hufflepuff as many high-pitched squeals were heard along with declarations of 'I love yous' from-
Ravenclaws? Slytherins? Even Gryffindors? Susan choked on her butterbeer, the liquid having gone down her windpipe and up her nose. For Circe's sake, when had they started admitting other houses into their common room parties!?
"How was detention with Filch?" Hannah asked, handing her a napkin, Megan Jones standing right next to her.
"Horrible!" Susan wailed through the napkin as she rubbed her nose with it. "Honestly, did it have to be on the same day as our Quidditch match?"
Hannah shrugged, "That's how things tend to occur. Always to one's disadvantage."
"What's with-," Susan began, her hand motioning wildly to diversely colored robes.
"The fan club has emerged." Her friend dryly commented as she took a huge gulp from her own mug of butterbeer.
A bright flash went off and all three girls winced.
"Bloody Creevey brothers." Ernie was heard muttering as he pushed his way past the crowd.
"I want to know every single detail about the game!" Susan demanded her voice somewhat petulant at having missed what seemed to be a rare defeat for the Gryffindors.
"You wouldn't believe what happened." Megan began.
Susan drank in every single word, imagining the scene as though she were actually there.
"You should've seen Sprout and McGonagall running towards Luna Lovegood; I've never seen anybody move that fast! I imagine they were going to cancel the game on account of it being too dangerous but apparently, the lightning struck again before they could get there."
Susan gasped, horrified but all too intrigued, "And then?" She pushed.
"Well apparently Hermione-,"
"What?" Susan did a double-take, "She actually went to a game?"
Megan sighed impatiently, "She always goes to every game Weasley and Potter play."
"Right."
"Can I go on?"
Susan nodded eagerly.
"Well, just as the lightning hit, Granger screamed out something, a spell or another, and was pointing at our team with her wand. At first, I was horrified, absolutely horrified to think that she could even think about hexing our team-,"
Susan twitched. Much as she adored Megan, she was rather impatient in dealing with her housemate's dramatic airs.
"But it turns out that she was protecting our members, Artagan Cadwallader in particular, from a nasty bout with lightning." The girl finished.
"What?" Susan gasped. She seemed to be doing that quite a bit.
"Yes!" Megan's eyes lit up, "It was glorious! You could practically feel the force of her shield! I've never seen magic go head-to-head with Mother Nature as forcibly as I have today; the lightning bounced off and right back into the sky. Everyone was so stunned that nobody even noticed Cedric diving for the snitch!"
"Merlin's beard," Susan murmured in awe.
"Of course now-," Megan emphasized as she grinned wickedly, "Cadwallader thinks the Gryffindor Princess has a bit of a soft spot for him."
"No! Really??" Susan's hand flew to her lips as her eyes glittered excitedly. "Is she sweet on him??" Inside, she bemoaned the fact that she was unable to attend the game even more especially since she could've witness such a delicious sight for herself!
Hannah snorted into her mug, "Not likely; he's just fooled himself into thinking that while he's the one who's actually taken quite a fancy to her."
"I imagine we'll have quite a bit to talk about at the next Vineyard meeting, will we not?" Megan leaned close to the other two girls while she spoke, the name of their 'information network' said in a rather hushed tone.
"Indeed." Susan replied, nodding her head emphatically.
Hannah could only shake her head as though fed up with their antics before she dumped the remaining contents of the mug into her mouth.
xxxxx
Note: Story doesn't finish here. However, this part is done. This obviously takes some instances from the books but certainly do not follow them at all. I've intended for our girls to be in their fifth year (even though Harry finds Snape's book in sixth year) but as readers, it is ultimately up to you to decide what year they are in. I know Oliver is supposed to be older than Cedric, but he is the same age in this particular story. The Hufflepuff Quidditch team players, Cadwallader and Summerby didn't have first names in canon so I gave them their names. Sebastian and Artagan are entirely fanon- my fanon, in fact. Anyways, if you have any further questions, just ask and I will be more than glad to answer.