-.-.- highlyflammable;; -.- ][uno'one] acro/aerophobia
fear of heights
fear of high places and objects
' for every fear she's ever had was in turn her secret solace '
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The wind rushed to greet her as she strolled atop the roof. A forest of mountainous trees stretched across the earth before them with a silvery aqua river serving as the train's company, swiftly running its course alongside the Hogwarts Express. " Angie, are you sure this is safe? Goddrick, everything looks like one gigantic, wankin' blur!" The others stayed behind, their feet planted firmly on the floor inside, Ron's torso bent out the window and Harry's voice strained against the autumn breeze. She decided it would be best to get some air earlier, the compartments were stuffy and she liked her space.
" Go on inside, I'll be back in a while."
Ron quickly slammed the window closed not having to be told twice while Harry was already half way back to their seats. Hermione greeted them both with a curt smile and turned her attention back to her book. " She'll be alright, yeah? I mean its not the first time she's done this, besides we're almost there so…err, if she falls and cracks her head open…Madam Pomfrey won't be too far away?" "…Ron shut up will you." Harry was not amused. Several minutes passed, the Golden Trio sat silently in a slightly shaking compartment on the Hogwarts Express, waiting eagerly for it to arrive at its destination. The boy who lived let out a yawn, the red headed Weasley leaned against the doorframe slightly snoring and the bushy haired Head Girl lazily flipped a page of her no doubt 20lb text stifling a yawn herself.
What's this; yawning, snoozing and all around boredom? That's not right, where's the excitement and magical whimsy not to mention mischief. Harry blamed himself, as he should, he had previously managed to get the other two to agree not to speak of Voldemort, Death Eaters or any other sinister business until they at least settled into their Hogwarts dorms. They decided their 7th year would be one of happy memories, absolutely no death or bodily harm and educational accomplishment, the later being Hermione's wish. Unfortunately, the trio had come to realize that fighting evil and saving the magical world was the only thing that held their friendship together, or at least kept them from gouging their own eyes out from sheer boredom.
" Whacha readin 'Mione?" Harry being bored out of his skull thought he would pester her restlessly for the time being. " Oh, this?" she raised her head sleepily; surprised that anyone had said anything at all. " Just an optional course text for Ancient Ruins, it's all about Bulgarian magic, did you know they had their own unique way of combat called Zmey. Literally translated, it means dragon, fascinating right? Thought so, Magical Warfare of the 15th Century, Bulgarian Edition, you should really read it you know." Harry regretted ever opening his mouth as Hermione couldn't seem to shut hers. Ron groaned, " Fantastic 'Mione, really spectacular but if you don't mind I think I hear the trolley! Harry, join me will you?" The two of them sped off before Hermione could educate them further.
" Hello dears! My my, is this young Potter and Weasley? Oh you've grown, such tall and handsome men you are now, my word!"
" Yes, very."
" Tall. Handsome."
" Here's a gallon, can we have some sweets?"
Ron being as impatient as a toddler with ADD snatched up some chocolate frogs, candied apples and a handful of Bertie Bott's beans and swiftly disappeared back into their compartment. He had left Harry to the mercy of the kind and evidently lonely trolley lady whose name was never as important as the sweets she provided. She pinched his cheeks and scammed him out of 4 more gallons, quite the charmer.
Meanwhile, Hermione finished her explanation of her 20lb text yet again to the bored teen next to her not bothering to change the words or show any more enthusiasm. " Sorry? Didn't catch that." Hermione began again. " She's not listening you know that right 'Mione?" Ron decided it was his duty to spare her the time it would take to repeat her summary and also save his last hundred brain cells from committing sweet sweet suicide. Being sneaky as always, Harry finally managed to escape the trolley lady's grasp and sat himself down next to Ron. " Of course she's listening, right Angie? Angie?" she held back a tear once she realized her so-called friend was preoccupied with stealing Ron's sweets. " Mfpmfmmpm, uh? No one listens to you."
The train suddenly came to a lurching halt. Everyone inside managed to spill some beverage on them or have a girl pushed inappropriately onto their lap as a result of the train conductors reckless driving. Harry was unfortunate in that regard having Ron be the one pushed inappropriately onto his lap as Angie laughed and snapped a shot at their expense. Hermione quickly swallowed her giggle.
" Ron. Your knickers are pink." Angie commented. They peeked out from a large and quite comical tear in his brown corduroy pants. If they hadn't been otherwise preoccupied with the colour of his underpants, at least one of them would destroy his self esteem by questioning his fashion savvy or lack there of.
" I know that, it's laundry day!"
" I fully and completely and entirely trust you on that."
Harry took this opportunity to shove Ron off of his lap, being careful not to do ANYTHING homosexual as he would never stop hearing about it from that point on. Hermione glanced outside and announced they were finally at Hogwarts. " Oh bugger, we didn't change into our robes yet." Hermione looked down at herself, " Well you three didn't."
" Pshha, like we need to. I've got Dumbledore wrapped around my pinkie toe,"
" ANGIE DON'T YOU TREAT DUMBLEDORE LIKE SOME SORT OF JOKE MAN TO BE LAUGHED AT WHEN PUT INTO YOUR LITTLE JOKES AND SUCH!"
" Harry put your pants back on, we don't need a fight."
" My pants were always on, I don't…understand this…" He looked down and sure enough his blue jeans were pooled around his feet exposing his also light salmon pink underpants.
" I vexed him so that every time he got angry, his pants would fall down, embarrassing him for the rest of his life. Or at least until he figures out the way to unjinx himself, which is near impossible to do, right Potter?" Angie then began to laugh like a sinister warlock and presented Ron with his empty sweet wrappers. She then promptly left the compartment and headed for the door. The Golden Trio followed suit.
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A maze of puddles greeted the students as each of them swished out of the train in their most inconvenient, water absorbent robes, most wore caps and held umbrellas to keep dry. Harry, Ron and Hermione managed to forget to pack anything of the sort despite having checked off everything from their wands to extra shoe polish from the lists Hermione wrote and scented for them over the summer. They were unfortunately soaked by the buckets of rain falling from the sky by the time they ran into a small huddle of their old friends including Crabbe, Goyle, Zambini and of course Draco Malfoy.
" Can't even afford umbrellas Potter?" Draco sneered at the drenched, slightly sniffling trio, " Too bad your Mudblood and dirt poor Weasley are too stupid to conjure up one."
" Malfoy you bloody goddamn wanker!" Hermione already had her wand aimed at his throat with Ron and Harry advancing on the foul Slytherin. His eyes were blank but his smirk remained plastered on his face, Blaise stepped next to him with his wand raised, baring his teeth.
" Only two fucking minutes on the school grounds and you're practically begging me to kill you?"
" Harry, Ron enough." Angie finally joined them. Actually she more like shoved them aside and joined Draco. " We'll be late if we don't get a fucking move on it, we're the only one's left. Even the train's leaving." The group took that moment to watch the gleaming vessel disappear into the foggy night, the crowd of students was gone and they found themselves seething at each other in the pouring rain.
Draco was under a large black umbrella while his friends chose to make use of the Praesidium charm that created a thin barrier the shape of a boulder sized bubble on which the rain fell. A useful charm for the dreary sort of weather they had, from the inside it was almost like watching rain hit a window only it was much more unnerving. Crabbe and Goyle left for the Great Hall immediately after given the curt nod of dismissal from Draco. Blaise stayed at his side a second longer, gave Harry another sneer then left as well.
" I want good seats." Angie held out her hand to catch a few rain drops, her attention was never in her words or to whom she directed them towards.
Draco pulled Angie aside, bringing her under the umbrella. The Golden Trio gave concerned looks but none the less began to leave.
" Angie you're not sitting with those Gryffindor wankers are you? Pansy will bitch for hours again, and I'm nearly done with restraining myself around her. Seriously, I will kill her if you don't sit where you should."
" Well there's a reason not to." She stole his umbrella, yanking it successfully out of his grasp and she as well made her way to the castle. " I'll sit with you for most of it, but I get to eat my pudding with Fred and George."
" The fucking Weasley twins? You bloody traitor."
" Down boy, they promised me some sweets."
She winked. Draco gave her a blank stare.
" Fuck you Malfoy, let's go."
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Dumbledore took his seat after making his inspiring yet disturbingly frightening speech about academic achievement, magical wonder and of course how one would die a terrible, painful death if they took one step into the Forbidden Forest. There were cheers from every table, Slytherins clapped with less enthusiasm as always. Snape secretly beamed.
" Mmm, mashed potatoes. Pass the gravy Blaise…" a snort and a cough was his response as he choked on his lemon chicken. " FUCKING PASS THE GRAVY YOU DIPSHIT." Angie paused, trying to sound charmingly British was difficult being from North America and every once in a while a naughty American swear slipped out. " Fuck it, Blaise. I'm going to kill you tonight."
" Here's your goddamn gravy, how the hell can you eat all this tripe without being the size of Goyle?" Draco drawled in her ear after taking a good long look at her plate. Her three gigantic plates, two gargantuan bowls and one very large tray with everything from spaghetti to spinach piled on them like mountains of savoury goodness rather.
" Shh, I am preoccupied." Angie continued to gorge like a rhino on pot with an already intense addiction to food.
On the other side of the Great Hall, Ron was stuffing his face with less intensity but stuffing his face nevertheless.
" I don't get it Hermione, she's not even in a house. Why does she have to sit at Slytherin table?"
" No idea Harry, but she'll come here for dessert, she always does. Besides, I think Dumbledore will seriously consider putting her in a house this year."
" Isn't it odd that she isn't in one, I mean sure she missed first year but there has to be some rule against just floating from table to table; common room to common room." Ron had finally taken a breath of air and leaned back in his seat. He yawned and scratched his fully belly like a proper man then put his elbows back on the table. His heavy head rested on his hands as he fought away the sleepies. " Even that new student all the way from Australia got sorted, right into Hufflepuff. Don't see why she can't just be put in Gryffindor and call it a day."
" Ron, it's not just about sorting. Professor McGonagall told me the Sorting Hat couldn't figure out what she should be. They tried it in Dumbledore's office, but the hat kept saying ' Slytherin or Gryffindor? Slytherin or Gryffindor? ' until he drove himself and everyone in there with them nutters." She let out a small giggle, imagining Snape pulling out his hair or Flitwick stomping around begging the ancient hat to choose or shut up. " And apparently, the hat just refused to sort her after hours and hours of searching her mind. So Dumbledore decided to put half her things in the Gryffindor tower and half in the Slytherin dungeon. They planned to just have her try the Sorting Hat on again some other time; it was only supposed to be a temporary fix. No idea how it got so out of hand."
Harry blinked. Once, twice and by the third time he never wanted to open them again. The first day back at Hogwarts almost always ended with him falling asleep half way back to his bed, he figured it was something odd in the tarts. Ron began to snore slightly with his half eaten tart still in his hand, Harry's suspicion grew. Hermione unfortunately took his snoring as an insult and immediately began to plan his untimely demise.
Her scheming was cut short as Angie sat herself down next to her, a bowl of pudding in her lap that could've easily been the size of Ron's head. She didn't know why she instantly thought of Ron's large head before her own bushy haired mess, perhaps it was all the tarts.
The strawberry tart next to her pinky finger felt deeply offended and as though his kind were being prosecuted for a conspiracy they did not conceive.
" Where's Fred and George? They own me sweets."
" Because the party sized bowl of pudding isn't enough?"
" Precisely."
She began to leave in search of the mischievous twins but was distracted by Dumbledore who stood and addressed the mass of students again.
" Attention please, may I have your attention for one moment." No one had ever heard two speeches on the first night back at Hogwarts before, Dumbledore did indeed have everyone's attention. " I would like to announce one more sorting before the evening is over." He looked over to Angie who returned his gaze with an amused smirk.
Ron was shaken awake by both Hermione and Harry, it only took him a moment to realize what was about to happen next. Draco leaned back and waited expectedly for Dumbledore to continue what could only be one thing. " If you could please join me?" Dumbledore stepped down to the wooden stool set in front of the hundreds of curious students, he had in his hand the Sorting Hat. Angie swiftly joined him.
" Finally." She let out a sigh, " Hope it works this time eh? Less trouble for you." Dumbledore chuckled lightly and placed the hat on her head.
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A/N:
It's been quite a while since I read the Harry Potter books and I'm not very well versed in the plot and all the Voldemort/Death Eater related twists and happenings so you won't hear much about that in this fic. Also, for my own personal amusement, Fred and George are still at Hogwarts as they were invited back to finish their education by Dumbledore after Umbridge was terminated from her post. My silly yet slightly believable excuse for them not finishing when Harry and company were in 6th year [ the year after their expulsion ] was because they were busy trying to open their magical treats shop in Diagon Alley. Unfortunately, they didn't have much luck and they decided it would be best for their pride to come back to Hogwarts; also Mrs Weasley threatened to murder them if they didn't take Dumbledore up on his rare and gracious offer.
Therefore, the Weasley twins will be finishing their 7th year along with Harry and co. The upside for them being in 7th year at the age of 18 means they can practise magic out on the school grounds or in the hallways without watching out for Filch as well as they can apparate when ever they choose. Dumbledore simply turns a blind eye because he is very suave.