...CLASSES START...
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It was really hard for him to sleep in all this noise. Cursing his saiyan side for giving him heightened senses; Gohan slept covering his ears the whole night, preventing the loud snores of Ron, Dean and Seamus. But it wasn't completely effective.
When the first streak of sunlight hit inside the dorm, Gohan got up walked down his four poster bed. He felt a bit tired because of the lack of sleep. Normally a lack of sleep wouldn't bother him at all but he felt already tired the previous night so adding that with the lack of sleep- Gohan felt tired.
Looking around, Gohan saw every other boy was in deep sleep. Dean and Seamus' snores had stopped in the middle of the night but Ron was still snoring. He wondered how Harry and Neville slept with all this noise around them when he slapped his head for not thinking it out. He could've used a silencing charm around his bed before going to sleep.
"Well, at least now I know to use that spell," Gohan muttered as he walked over to the door, leading him out into the common room. He was planning to have a run around the school grounds. The ground was big but the landscape of Mt Paozou was a lot bigger.
Stepping into the common room, Gohan saw someone sitting on the couch. The couch had its back towards him so Gohan couldn't figure who it actually was until he got closer. He saw her engrossed deep into the Transfiguration book. She hadn't noticed him coming into the common room at all.
"Good morning, Hermione," Gohan said.
The mentioned girl gave out a yelp of surprise and dropped the book from her hand. She looked up and saw it was just Gohan.
"Don't ever do that!" she hissed a bit angrily but then her anger was gone as well. "What are you doing up so early?" she asked.
"I could ask you the same," Gohan said.
"Well, I was planning to revise a little bit before the classes star today," Hermione said.
"You know which classes we'd have today?" he asked.
Hermione nodded. "I had already asked my class schedule from professor McGonagall last night after the feast ended. We have transfiguration the first thing today morning. By the way, what are you doing this early?" she asked.
"I hardly slept the last night" he groaned.
"What happened?" Hermione asked.
"If you have three out of five of your dorm-mates snoring as loud as a trumpet, do you think one can sleep in peace?" Gohan asked.
"You could have used a silencing charm around your bed," Hermione said with a chuckle. She knew how loud Ron's snoring was. She had witnessed it during her weeklong stay at the Burrow during this summer.
"I know. I was too tired last night to think logically. Besides, who knew I was sharing a dorm with those who'll snore the hell out of me?" Gohan said.
"So you didn't sleep at all?" she asked.
"I did. Just a few hours after midnight," Gohan said. "I was planning to have a run around the school grounds. Want to join me?"
"Okay," Hermione said after a moment's thought. "But I won't accompany you in your run."
Ten minutes later the two were out in the grounds of Hogwarts. While Gohan was running laps after laps around the black lake, Hermione sat under the shade of one of the trees, reading her transfiguration book.
'How long can he continue this?' she thought as she saw Gohan from over her book. 'It's already been more than twelve laps and he doesn't look tired at all.'
When the final bell rang, an indication for the students to finally wake up, Gohan stopped his run and came towards Hermione. The girl was surprised as Gohan didn't look tired at all.
"How come you're not tired after all those laps around the black lake?" she asked, closing her book and standing up as the two started to head towards the castle.
"Back at home I exercise a lot harder," Gohan said with a shrug of his shoulder.
"Exercise?" she asked.
"Yes," Gohan said. "You need to do it, too, you know. It is good for your health."
"That's not what I meant," she said, looking Gohan's muscular arms as he wore a sleeveless shirt. She quickly removed her gaze from his arms, blushing slightly which Gohan didn't notice. "I meant, you appear like a body builder. And I noticed you did some reflexive moves while you were running. Are you a martial artist?"
"I am," Gohan said. He knew people knowing his martial art side wouldn't be a problem until they come to know about him being half alien with enough power to take out the entire planet with ease. He could live with it. "I was wondering to find a suitable place so that I could train while I am at Hogwarts. Back at home, we have plenty of space in the forest behind my house. Here is a bit difficult."
"So who taught you, you know, martial arts? Who taught you?" Hermione asked.
"His name is Piccolo. He was the one who taught me martial arts. He took me in when I was five," Gohan said.
"That's...That's pretty early, don't you think?" she asked, her mind already going over through the name Gohan had just said. 'I know I've heard the name somewhere before but where?' she thought.
"I thought the same, you know," Gohan said. "But then I realised it was actually a good thing. You can learn it, too. It will be good for your health and you will improve physically and mentally."
"Mentally?" Hermione asked. "How can one improve mentally while learning martial arts?" she asked.
"The kind of martial arts I know requires a clear combination of a fit body and a calm mind. Once you learn to keep your mind calm and organised, it becomes a lot easier for you to concentrate easily on things. Things then come easily to you," Gohan said.
"So you need to meditate?" she asked.
"In the beginning, yeah. But it proves to be very beneficial in the long run. Besides, I learnt that the magical world has wizards' duels. So someone knowing martial arts can hold an upper hand as I hardly see the magical people with a completely fit body. No offence," Gohan said.
"None taken," Hermione said. "And I think you are right about it. My parents made me join a karate school for a year when I was nine. I didn't do well enough and pleaded them to take me out of that academy. I think I'll only be a nuisance to you if I accept you training me," she said with a smile. "Thanks, Gohan. But I think I'll pass this one out."
Gohan looked at her and then nodded in understanding. One thing he knew was never to force someone to do something they didn't like. But sometimes people started to like that after sometimes, just like he had started to like studying after sometime.
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Gohan entered his dorm and saw everyone but Ron was awake.
"Where were you?" Harry asked.
"I was out for a run around the castle," Gohan said.
"Oh. Well, get ready. Breakfast's already started and we have classes starting in next one and half hour," Harry said and went over to Ron's bed and started to wake him up.
Gohan rolled his eyes, seeing Ron was in no mood to be disturbed. Walking up to his trunk, Gohan opened it and took out his school uniform and went to the bathroom for a shower.
It was twenty minutes later that Gohan was sitting in the great hall with Hermione and Neville who was deeply engrossed in his herbology book. Hermione, too, had a book by her side but it was close at the moment.
"How can you eat so much?" she asked, looking at Gohan.
"I don't know," Gohan said. He didn't want to reveal it was due to him being half saiyan. "I am just hungry right now."
'At least he has table manners unlike Ron,' she thought with amused eyes looking at Gohan.
Harry and Ron joined them a couple minutes later as McGonagall started distributing their class schedules. Gohan was finished by then with his breakfast which was worth the breakfast of at least twenty students so when Ron started to eat, Gohan was thankful that he had eaten already. This boy's eating habits were just gross as what Gohan thought as he watched the red head shoving food in his mouth like there was no tomorrow.
'He's eating like dad but only dad never spilled food while he ate them,' Gohan thought as he looked at the schedule in his hands.
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Transfiguration was fun after McGonagall instructed Gohan how to control his magical flow through his wand. He had surprised everyone when he used a transfiguration spell to change a conjured mouse into a goblet. But in turn, his spell was so powerful it changed the entire desk into something unrecognisable as the spell was particularly meant to change animals into goblets and not furniture into one.
McGonagall was in awe just like every other student in the class seeing the raw power of Gohan's wand. Blushing hard, Gohan tried to cover himself under his table when McGonagall came over to him with a stern face. He knew he was in trouble but then McGonagall told him how he could control the flow of his magic and after a few more exposure of his powerful core, Gohan had grasped his control and then everything went smoothly. Ron's transfiguration was a light entertainment as his rat got transfigured into a furry goblet with a moving tail attached to it. He got a stern advice from McGonagall to change his wand as soon as possible.
Potions was a nightmare. Gohan admitted it without a doubt. Snape targeted him particularly. He first said how 'inappropriate' it was for someone to be admitted directly as a second year. Hermione frowned but she knew Snape was like this. He despised every other house except for his own one. And as it had happened with Harry, Snape, thinking of humiliating this boy, asked him questions way over Gohan's league and as expected, Gohan couldn't answer a single one of them.
"Well, perhaps the school did happen to mistake you as a second year, Mr Son," Snape sneered before taking away twenty points from Gryffindor because Gohan had failed to answer any of his questions. The class then went ahead until Gryffindor lost another fifty points when Neville's cauldron exploded – a result of Draco's spell as Gohan had seen it. He tried to complain but lost another twenty points for that. Hermione, who was grouped with him, gripped his hand, preventing him from speaking anything regarding this injustice. It was finally a relieved breath which left Gohan when the class had ended, taking away a hundred and seventy points in total from Gryffindor house and rewarding ninety points to Slytherin.
"Couldn't you have shut your mouth?" Ron asked angrily once they were all out and in the corridor, walking towards the common room.
"It wasn't his fault, Ron," Hermione said. "You know professor Snape needs excuses to take points away from Gryffindor and other houses."
"But couldn't he have shut his mouth? Who told you to complain regarding Draco? You cost us another twenty points. Neville explodes almost every cauldron of his in almost every potions class! You don't need to speak for him!"
"Ron!" Hermione said loudly, making the angry red head shut his mouth. "It wasn't his fault. It was simply Draco's and professor Snape's."
"She's right," Harry said quietly. "You did nothing wrong Gohan and neither did you, Neville," he said, looking over to the round faced boy who was close to tears now.
"I am of no good," Neville said, close to sobbing.
"You can't say that," Gohan said immediately, putting an assuring grip on his shoulder. He had sensed a great potential within this boy but was confused why Neville wasn't using it. Perhaps the boy didn't know about it. "You just need to see who you really are."
"I know who I am," Neville said. "A squib. Grandma's fear was right after all. It was an accident and not magic I did. I am a squib!"
"You can cast spells Neville! You are not a squib!" Hermione said firmly and Harry nodded and so did Gohan. Ron kept quiet all this while. "And a squib is someone who can't do magic at all. You can and so you are not a squib. All you need to do is open up more. Don't listen to what others say about you," she said, glaring at Ron who only frowned in return, something Gohan didn't like for unknown reasons for himself. But he kept quiet.
"She's right," Gohan said. "You need to see what you really can do. You need to open up more. Your reserved nature causes you to lose your confidence. From what I know, magic strictly depends on your emotions. You think that you can't do magic while you try to cast and that's what makes you look weak as a wizard. Think that you can do magic. Think it with confidence and you'll see the results."
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"What's wrong with him?" Gohan asked as he, Hermione and Neville were heading towards the great hall for lunch. Harry had said he'd join them after he has calmed down Ron.
"He's been like that since we know him," Hermione said. "And we won't talk to you if you believe even a single word of Ron's, got it, Neville?"
Neville only nodded in fear.
'He needs to be more confidant,' Gohan thought, looking at Neville. "But there can be a reason for that kind of behaviour from Ron, you know."
"He just has issues with his jealousy and anger," Hermione said with a tired sigh. "We think it is because he has all this older brothers."
"I don't get it," Gohan said.
"Ron's family consist of six brothers, including him, Ginny, their sister and Mr and Mrs Weasely," Hermione said. "And their financial condition's also not that good. It is fair but when you have seven children, it becomes hard for you to struggle financially. Because of this and because Ron is the youngest of all brothers, he receives hardly anything new. He has hand-me-down books, school robes, and his pet rat from his brother Percy and even his wand was of one of his late uncles, which he recently broke. All this is hardly liked by him. Then there's Ginny, who, being a girl, needed to have her own robes for her year at Hogwarts...you know what I mean to say." Gohan nodded. "Ron's a bit insecure from the inside and because of that and because he's hardly given any attention in his home, he's developed these kinds of issues. We tried to make him understand that his parents are doing the best they can for him but he doesn't seem to understand it and you know people do unthinkable when they are angry."
Gohan nodded, understanding what Hermione was saying. Ron was the youngest brother and being from a poor family, he was handed down the stuff already used by his brothers. But he should understand that as what Gohan thought regarding Ron. The boy appeared old enough to have his own understanding towards his brothers and parents and his sister.
The three saw Harry and Ron enter the hall a few minutes later. Harry had a bit tired and annoyed expression on his face.
'Looks like it was harder this time to convince Ron,' Hermione thought as she watched her two best friends take a seat in front of her on the table.
No one talked, fearing that Ron would be pissed again regarding something. The five stayed quiet. The sound of their cutleries being enveloped by the normal shouts and talks all around the great hall as other students talked and discussed their own matters with each other over the meal.
No one noticed Ginny writing something in an old, worn out black diary. She was sitting at the very end of the Gryffindor table. Luna had been sorted in Ravenclaw and at the moment, Ginny was hesitant to make some friends. She had been to Hogwarts just yesterday night and so she hadn't made any friends. This diary, Merlin knows where it came from, was the only companion of Ginny at the moment and from the first time she had started to use it since last night in her dorm, she had instantly felt a connection towards it.
The hidden dark soul within the diary smiled satisfactorily. The process was slow but it would be worth it.
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A/N: THANKS FOR READING...
