What Happens Next?
Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize.
Warnings: None
New A/N (8 Nov.2018): Hey guys, sorry about that last chapter I posted. I was just reading through it to get back in the mood of the story and I saw all the errors in it. This version should clean it up a bit and hopefully dispel the confusion that was caused by the mention of 'FA'
Hermione grit her teeth for the thousandth time as she listened to the twins talking about the Slytherins.
"Yes, mum, we understand! You think that the Slytherins are victims because they're discriminated against, and that's true. To some extent. But stereotypes are there for a reason!" Fred exploded.
Ron joined the rant. "Exactly! Mum, you weren't there at school with Malfoy! He hated us, and he called Hermione the M-word, and he did everything in his power to sabotage us and help You-Know-Who! I don't want to be the bad guy here, but I don't think that Malfoy was faking that."
"Maybe he's just a very good actor," Hermione rejoined coldly.
Ron gave her a pleading look. "Look, 'Mione, I know that maybe he could be a very good actor. But the fact remains, who can be that good of an actor, and act that way for six years? And he was like that before we went to school, too. Read the newspaper articles! You'll see."
Harry eyes widened. "Malfoy was in the newspapers before he was eleven?"
"Of course he was, Harry. His father was a member of the Wizengamot, and he was also a really famous person in general," Ron explained, calming down a bit as he explained.
"But that's not the point," Fred interjected impatiently. "The fact is that we cannot trust Slytherins, and Percy can't either. Just look at history! The Slytherins have always turned their backs on their 'friends' when the pressure is put on them!"
Hermione stood up and walked over to Fred, on the other side of the room. "Fred," she said slowly, with a forced calm.
He looked up at her. "Yes?"
Hermione took a deep breath, then pulled back her arm and punched Fred squarely in the face. He gagged, doubling over and clutching his nose. Mrs. Weasley gasped in shock. "Hermione!" she cried in reproach.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley, but you can't say that he didn't deserve it, because he did. Fred, you need to learn to keep an open mind! I know that this is what you grew up with, but it can't continue! And for the record, I don't think you took into account the fact that those Slytherins who turned on their so-called 'friends'? Those 'friends' were treating them like trash.
"I'm not saying that all Slytherins are secretly good and we just need to give them a chance and they'll change. Because that's not true. And I can't say that I'm particularly fond of Slytherins. Because I'm not. But we shouldn't have discriminated against them like that. It was wrong, and I'm ashamed to say that I've gone with the flow and attacked them with the rest of the crowd, ignoring my values.
"But what I've seen today has convinced me that it's not right to do that. And we've made a huge mistake in ostracizing them like that. Who knows how many Death Eaters only joined Voldemort because they hated the people on the light? Because the people on the light treated them so horribly? Maybe they don't even believe in Voldemort's values. Maybe they just joined because they hated us. And then they found out that they couldn't get out. Think about that. And don't talk to me until you are willing to at least try to have an open mind."
And with those words, Hermione turned on her heel and strode out of the room, leaving a room of gaping people in her wake.
Hermione raised her eyebrow as she looked at a contrite Fred Weasley a few hours. His nose was wrapped in gauze, and she felt slightly bad. But he had deserved it, and he needed someone to tell him that his ideas were wrong.
"Well?" she asked.
Fred shifted on the spot, not meeting her eyes. "'M s'ry," he mumbled.
"I'm sorry, what was that?"
He raised his eyes to meet hers. "I said I'm sorry," he repeated.
"For what?"
"For being so close minded. I've thought about what you said, and maybe you're right. I'm not saying that I'm ready to forget what they've done, and I still think that they're Death Eaters. But… but maybe they aren't, and maybe I want to see what they are really like," he glared at her.
Hermione beamed at him. "That's great. What about the rest of your family?"
He shifted again. "They are willing to try to make it work. I was the last one to accept. They want you to come down and help us to work out the prejudice, with Harry."
Hermione nodded. She had thought as much. "Why isn't George here?"
"He didn't agree with me. He started changing his thinking once we overheard the conversations earlier."
Hermione nodded decisively. "All right then. Let's go down."
She started walking down the stairs, turning back when she sensed that he wasn't following her. "What is it?" she inquired.
"It's… it's just… are we terrible people?" he asked quietly, sounding more vulnerable than she had ever heard before. To be honest, she hadn't even thought that he could be vulnerable. He had always been loud and laughing, never showing weakness.
"Oh Fred. You aren't a terrible person. I admit, I don't approve of the prejudice that you and your family have been showing. But we all make mistakes, and I don't really think that's it's your fault. It's what you've been raised with," she assured gently and sympathetically, her brows furrowing and a small smile appearing on her lips.
Fred's mouth quirked, the brief vulnerability gone once more. "Well, then. They're waiting for us downstairs."
She smiled sadly at him, then started down the stairs again. She gasped in shock as she turned a corner and nearly bumped into Percy.
"I'm so sorry!" she said quickly, stepping back right onto Fred's toes.
"Oy!" he yelped, jerking back.
"I'm so sorry, Fred!" she cried in dismay.
Percy laughed, and Hermione frowned as she watched Fred's balled fists in worry.
"Apologies for being in your way," he grinned. "If you don't mind, I'll leave you to it."
Hermione nodded, still keeping a wary eye on Fred. He glanced up, meeting her gaze. His eyes flashed for a minute, but then he stepped out of Percy's way.
Percy looked curiously at the two of them, clearly suspecting something. But he walked past them, climbing up the stairs to his room.
Hermione looked at Fred. "I was afraid that you'd punch him," she admitted.
"I wanted to," he responded stiffly, then walked right past her, leading the way into the small room that the Weasleys used for family meetings.
George sighed in relief as they walked in. "Percy was in here earlier. We were afraid that he suspected something, and he would confront you."
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Should I be worried that the first thing you think of when you think of Percy is that he is a bad person?"
George flushed. "Old habits die hard," he mumbled, looking down at his feet. "And it wasn't really prejudice that made us think that of him. It's just that his actions aren't exactly encouraging."
She nodded. "Alright. So, it's clear that we need to work on ways to reduce your prejudice, both against Slytherins and against Percy."
She held up a hand to stifle the protests that arose at the last part of her sentence.
"Because it's when you automatically associate Percy as being evil, you are showing prejudice, based on his past actions."
Harry nodded. "She's right. And, as much as I'm loathe to admit it, I'm just as guilty of prejudice as the rest of you. I think that Hermione should take the lead on this issue."
Hermione stared at him, trying to assess his motivations. What she saw satisfied her. "Alright," she repeated. "Well, we already know that Percy and the Slytherins, and maybe Oliver, will be trying to help us to change our ideas. So we need to work with them. But I even though I'm pretty sure that they know we were following them, it might not be a good idea to state it outright. Let's just see what happens, and what clues Percy might give us about what they're planning."
The people around her nodded.
"So, right now, there's not really a plan. Just go with the flow. I'll try to figure out a plan to help out, but it will take a while."
Ron raised his hand.
"Ron."
"What will your plan be like?" he asked.
She thought for a minute. "It will probably consist of research of Slytherins who were beneficial to our society, or maybe going out to see them. I can try to reach out to some Slytherins and ask them to come and talk about the prejudice that follows them, but I doubt that it will work."
The room nodded again.
Hermione smiled. This was far from an ideal situation, but at least they were willing to try. Maybe the fact that such a prominent family, who was made of all Gryffindors and was a notorious anti-Slytherin family, along with the Boy-Who-Lived, were trying to change their ideas on Slytherins would change the views of the wizarding world in general.
Ok, so, I know that there wasn't a lot of Percy and the Slytherins in this chapter, but there's a reason for that, and they'll be back next chapter.
The reason is that I didn't want to make Ron and the Weasleys and Harry all two-dimensional characters. I also don't want to bash them too much. But I wanted to show how people can have a prejudice that is there for years and years. Sometime, they don't even think that they are prejudiced – it's just a way of life.
I'm not trying to justify their behavior, I'm trying to help others see why they behave the way they behave. In the wizarding world, Slytherins are synonymous for 'evil', or at the very least 'suspicious'. And that's just the way that life works, and it's the way that life has worked for centuries.
Don't just judge someone for their actions. Try and see why they do what they do, and then try to help them see the truth about the way that they're acting. I want to show that people should always be given a second chance, and that you shouldn't just write someone off as wrong or bad, because they're prejudiced/ the subject of prejudice. Sometimes, you just need to come alongside them and gently guide them in the right direction.
