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Different Isn't Necessarily Bad

Prequel to The Secret Parchments

WHACK!

A sour-faced Ron Weasley rubbed the side of his head and ran his fingers over the growing goose egg.

"Ruddy owl!! What do you think you're DOING?!" Ron said angrily, glaring at Pigwideon, his overly excited owl that was given to him as a gift from Sirius Black, an alleged murderer and Godfather to Ron's best friend, Harry Potter. Pig, as Ron called him, was fluttering around on the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, causing a mess. Crookshanks, Hermione's ginger cat, took the opportunity to take control over the situation. He snatched Pig in his mouth and scurried off.

"Crookshanks, NO!" yelped Hermione, chasing after her cat and the owl, followed by a panic stricken Ron. They finally caught the cat as they reached Ron's dormitory. The cat had placed the owl down on the four-poster bed and was sitting innocently at the foot of the bed while Pig hooted softly and clicked his beak in content. Ron sighed, glanced at Hermione, and began to walk out the door, but was met by Harry. Harry held out a letter, sealed with the Weasley crest, and Ron took it and tore it open. Harry and Hermione looked at him expectantly when he was through reading the letter.

"I've got to go to Romania this Christmas." Ron scowled.

"Your mum and dad decided already? It's only October!" said Hermione.

"They made plans early I guess." Ron looked as if he would have to be dragged to Romania with his family, and from the way he was acting, it probably would be if he wasn't careful. Harry and Hermione, however, had come to grips with Ron's new stubborn attitude, which was the result of being in the wake of five successful older brothers, and not receiving as many O.W.L.s as he had wished.

It was hard to believe that the threesome was in their sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry had become the Gryffindor Quidditch team captain as well as keeping his position as Seeker, Ron had become one of the Beaters like his twin brothers before him, and Hermione was a Prefect, which was no surprise. The surprise though, was what Ginny Weasley had grown into. It was common knowledge that Ginny had been rather taken with Harry Potter since her first year at Hogwarts. While in her fourth year, Harry had offered to give her flying lessons on his Firebolt. Ginny turned out to be quite the flier, and surprisingly, a fair Beater, despite her size. When the twins, Fred and George, had finally caught up to Ludo Bagman, the former Beater for the Wimbourne Wasps, and he had agreed to endorse their new joke shop, the two boys introduced Bagman to Ginny. He of course, was very taken with the young girl's enthusiasm for the sport, and offered to coach her. The very next year, Ginny was on the house Quidditch team. This resulted in many snide remarks made by the Slytherins, mainly Draco Malfoy, the son of Lucius Malfoy, a loyal Death Eater in the service of Lord Voldemort. They continued to call Ginny "Pint Size" until she directed a Bludger at Malfoy, knocking him out cold during the Slytherin/Gryffindor Quidditch Final last year. Malfoy was silenced by his mortification.

All of the sixth years seemed to be growing up quickly. Hermione had grown into a beautiful, young woman, save the bushy brown hair, now wavy and somewhat tamed. Harry, although still in glasses, had grown to look more handsome and more like his father every day.