A/N: Okay, only two weeks, not bad … right? I hate to say it but don't get used to it, the next chapter hasn't been written yet. Just so everyone knows, as an American, I use American slang/terms though I try to mix in British phrases I learnt from Harry Potter. I never mentioned it before, but this story is un beta'd so as I rely solely on spell-check, expect mistakes.
Disclaimer: As I mentioned earlier, I am American. Also, it would be very impressive if I wrote such an amazing series at the age of three, ( and I sure as hell would not be living at home.)
Chapter 8
Once Leanne finally took her seat, McGonagall rushed through the rest of the sorting's. Luckily there were no other eventful sorting's and she could remove the Hat form the Hall.
As the headmaster rose to give his brief pre-feast speech, everyone's attention was on the Gryffindor table. The student's attention was equally split between gawking at the Girl-Who-Lived and glaring at Malfoy. The teachers too were staring at the table of red and gold ties. Though more discreet, they all were studying the young Malfoy heir, with the exception of two.
Severus Snape could not keep his eyes off of Jameson. A small boy with unruly dark hair, he was a near replica of Snape's childhood nemesis. And his eyes, those vibrant green orbs that he knew all too well. They were clearly Lily's eyes, and judging by the boy's behavior this far, he was her son. The question was, how? How was Harry Potter sitting with his twin at the Gryffindor table when he was killed ten years ago? Did the boy even know who he really was? And where has he been for all these years? Most importantly, how the hell could Severus find the answers? He couldn't ask Dumbledore, for something told him that the old fool was involved in this somehow. And with their history, Snape couldn't very well confront Potter with his suspicions, so that only left Jameson himself. However, Severus had to tread carefully; the boy was a Gryffindor after all, he couldn't exactly invite the child into his office for tea.
As the potions professor plotted his next move, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was having an internal discussion with a certain someone.
"It's him!" A voice hissed in the back of Quirrell's mind.
"Which one, My Lord?" Quirrell's voice replied.
"Jameson. The Gryffindor! Over there!" snapped the first voice.
Quirrell glanced at the boy, who choose that moment to look in his direction. He saw the child wince in pain and busied himself with his plate, aware that his Master had taken control for a brief time. "My Lord! I beg you to be careful! It's too crowded and Dumbledore's right there! With all due respect, I must remain in control at least until the end of the feast."
A silence paired with a dull throb in the back of the man's head told him that he would pay for his comments later, but he remained in control of their body through the rest of the feast.
Draco Malfoy sat silently at the table, wondering if he made a mistake as he studied his red and gold tie. Every Slytherin was glaring at him; he could feel their eyes on his back. When someone put a hand on his shoulder, he jumped before realizing it was Hermione.
"Are you alright, Draco? You really should eat," the girl said softly. On her other side, Neville was tapping her arm while shaking his head.
Harry sat on Draco's other side, while the twins sat across from the first years, in case the Slytherin's tried to curse the blonde while his back was turned. "Listen, Hermione. Now's really not the time." The dark haired boy said softly.
"Hey, Draco," one of the twins said suddenly.
"If you get hungry later come to us. We'll hook you up, right Fred?"
Fred nodded. "Right you are George! The two of us can get into the kitchens!"
The blonde blinked at them slowly before smiling for the first time since entering the castle. His smile faded quickly when another ginger approached the twins. "Fred! George! What are you doing with that Death Eater?" Ron said loud enough for the whole hall to hear.
George turned to his younger brother. "Shove off, Ron!"
"This doesn't concern you," Fred added, turning his back on the red haired first year.
Ron flushed furiously. "Don't you understand?" He exclaimed. "He's plotting to kill my best friend!"
The hall fell silent for a full moment as everyone took in the blonde, the ginger, and the tear streaked face of the famous girl. Then, once again, all hell broke loose. The outraged cries of the Gryffindor's and the Ravenclaw's drowned out the shouts from the Slytherin's, while the Hufflepuff's watched in horror. Neville, Harry, Hermione and the twins stood in front of Draco as the Lions and Ravens clawed their way to the traumatized blonde.
Dumbledore amplified his voice and shouted as the heads of houses shot green, red, blue and yellow sparks from their wands. Eventually the only movements came from Ron who had Draco by his tie, Percy Weasley who was struggling to pry his brother off the boy, and Draco's friends who were trying to keep the blonde from suffocating.
"Ronald Weasley!" The headmaster roared. "Release Mr. Malfoy at once and come with me! Everyone else report to your common rooms!"
As Dumbledore lead Ron to his office McGonagall rushed forward and hurried Draco to the infirmary, not surprised when Harry and one of the twins followed. Without acknowledging the other two boys, she turned to the other twin. "Mr. Weasley, please tell your brother that I will be up with these three soon. Until then, he and the other prefects are in charge."
With a nod the twin, George, followed the students heading to the Gryffindor tower.
The only time Dumbledore ever sees Gryffindor's resident ghost so angry is when he gets his annual rejection letter from the committee of the Headless Hunt. Nearly Headless Nick followed the headmaster and Ron all the way to the gargoyles guarding the headmaster's office. "Never in all my years in this castle have I ever seen such behavior! And between housemates, to this level! I doubt even the Bloody Baron had seen such things in Slytherin!" The ghost ranted, his head bouncing on his shoulder, lessening the effect of his lecture.
Ron rolled his eyes at the ghost. "Well, Malfoy should just go to Slytherin where he belongs!"
Nick made to shout at the child some more, but the gargoyles, who had been ordered to keep all ghosts and spirits out unless there was an emergency (thanks to Peeves) stopped the ghost from following the two up the stairs.
The old man sat at his desk and fired a stern look at the first year who looked rather confused. The boy glanced around the office, focusing on the portraits on the walls, which were more crowded than usual. Most of the guests in the frames had heard what happened in the Great Hall and wished to give Dumbledore advice on how best to punish the child.
"Sir? I-I don't exactly understand what I did to get in trouble." Ron said, looking innocently at the headmaster.
It was doubtful that anyone alive has ever seen Dumbledore so angry. "Sit down," the man said, shocking even himself with his calm tone. "Mr. Weasley … I honestly don't know where to begin. You verbally assaulted a fellow student, made false accusations which caused an uproar, and nearly strangled Mr. Malfoy. All before the start of term feast ended. Is there any way you could possibly justify your behavior?"
It took over a minute for Ron to realize he was expected to answer. "Well… er… everyone knows the Malfoy's are evil and his father is a Death Eater and, well, I just put two and two together."
The headmaster arched an eyebrow. "Anything else you can think of?"
The boy gulped. "He should be in Slytherin! He will kill Leanne and you know it!" Ron suddenly yelled.
Fawkes squawked loudly as the people in the portraits muttered in disapproval. The headmaster cleared his throat. "Mr. Weasley. Your behavior was beyond unacceptable. Mr. Malfoy is a Gryffindor for a reason. Sorting's never depend on where the family went, but on where the student should go. There are no resorts except for special circumstances. This is not one of those exceptions. A person is not born good or bad. Instead, they are to make decisions which will determine their path. As part of your punishment, you will serve detention every Saturday for the rest of term. In addition, I will be taking 60 points from Gryffindor. I will also contact your parents to discuss your behavior and the rest of your punishment."
Ron sat in horror while the portraits continued to talk amongst themselves. While it was the harshest punishment Dumbledore has ever given personally, they agreed that it was fair. The boy deserved it too; Albus Dumbledore believed in giving everyone a second chance and being fair to everyone. This first year has just turned most of the students against one poor boy, simply because of his family name.
The headmaster stood and stroked Fawkes before continuing to speak. "You should know, Mr. Weasley, this year we are applying a strategy used in Muggle schools. It is called the Zero Tolerance policy, meaning that all forms of bullying will be looked down upon. Punishments won't just be docking points; there will be detentions, suspensions and even expulsion. And with your little show in the Great Hall, you have become an example for the school."
With that, Dumbledore walked to the door and gestured for Ron to follow him to the Gryffindor common room.
From what Madam Pomfrey had heard about the disastrous welcome feast, the blond first year was lucky he wasn't seriously injured. All he needed was a pain potion and some balm for the swelling on his throat and he was good to go.
While they were in the hospital wing, McGonagall told the boys about the schools new policy on bullying and that they would be keeping an eye on the youngest Weasley boy. Seeing Harry frown, she turned to him. For a brief second, something unreadable flashed in her eyes, something only Madam Pomfrey saw. Shaking her head, McGonagall addressed Harry. "Is there something you would like to say, Mr. Jameson?"
The boy blushed before answering. "Yes, ma'am. You see, I am Muggle raised so I am familiar with this policy. From my own experience, the teachers down always see the bullying or get the full story. And when they do, it often just leads to more trouble for the victim once a teacher gets involved. I'm sure that you and the other professors will have better luck than my old Muggle teachers. I just wanted to point out the flaws in the system."
McGonagall nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Jameson. I will speak to the Headmaster about your concerns. Now the three of you run along. I have to speak with Madam Pomfrey for a moment in private. Straight to the common room, Mr. Weasley; I mean it."
Once Fred shut the door behind them, McGonagall turned to Pomfrey. "Poppy. Who does Jameson look like to you?"
The mediwitch looked pale. "James Potter," she said breathlessly.
McGonagall looked like she would cry. "Oh, Poppy! He's Harry Potter, isn't he?"
The other woman sat down with a sigh. "I think so Minerva. But how? Who else knows? Oh dear, you don't think Harry knows?"
Minerva shook her head. "I doubt it. But we'll have to have concrete proof if we plan to do anything. If we could find a way to give him a heredity potion, we could go to Albus."
"Are you sure Albus doesn't already know?"
Minerva frowned. "I wish I could say that Albus would never do such a thing, but I'm afraid that he tends to be blinded by 'the greater good.' However, if we go to him with undeniable proof, he may tell us everything he knows."
"So what do we do until then?" Asked a voice from the doorway.
Both women turned around with their wands drawn. Fred held up his hands in surrender with a nervous smile. "Mr. Weasley!" McGonagall snapped. "You nearly gave me heart failure! Five points from Gryffindor!"
"Sorry, Professor. It's just George and I knew there was something familiar about Harry and I was sure that you two saw it as well. So I, er, told Harry and Draco how to get into the kitchens and came back here."
His head of house scowled. "Another ten points from Gryffindor. And not a word about Mr. Jameson's true identity to anyone, with the exception of your twin. Let us handle this."
And for once, Fred agreed without any trouble.
Once McGonagall and the three boys came through the passage way into the common room, the elderly woman spent ten minutes lecturing the students for their appalling behavior in the Great Hall. "I know I speak for all the teachers when I say that I never want to see such atrocious behavior again! Believe me, the punishments will be severe!"
She went on to explain the Zero Tolerance policy and ordered all the Gryffindor's to write a two foot essay about bullying and why it is wrong, due at the end of lunch the next day. Cutting off the grumbling students, she ordered everyone to bed.
Entering the first year dorm, Harry and Neville quickly claimed two beds, with one between them for Draco. The other two boys, Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas, silently took two of the beds opposite them. After several minutes of silence, the door opened to reveal Ron Weasley, who scowled at the blond as he slammed the door and taking the only available bed.
The children continued to unpack in a tense silence. After closing their respectful curtains to change, Ron suddenly began speaking. "It's so unfair! McGonagall is making us write an essay about bullying for this? God, what is she playing at?"
Harry rolled his eyes and opened his own curtains. "You nearly killed Draco, Weasley! Obviously she wants everyone to know that they can't do that sort of thing!"
Ron glared at the green eyed boy. "He's a Death Eater! You're Muggle born, you don't understand. He's dangerous!"
For the first time since his sorting, Draco spoke up. "No. My father's a Death Eater. But I would never join them. I've seen the things they like to do, and it scares me." The blond looked so unhappy, Seamus and Dean themselves felt guilty and they were the few who had done nothing at the feast. "I grew up knowing nothing else. My family will never accept me; I was supposed to be a Slytherin, I told the Hat I had to be a Slytherin. But the Hat asked me if that was what I wanted. I told it no, so now I'm in Gryffindor."
Harry, Neville and Dean nodded in understanding as the blond finished his speech. Ron looked on in hatred while Seamus appeared confused as to whether Draco was really all that bad. The red head suddenly made a noise of disgust. "Well, this git got me detention! He's plotting something, I tell you! He'll hurt someone and I'll be the only one who saw it coming!"
"Oh for God's sake!" Dean exclaimed. "Will you stop sprouting your mad conspiracy theories? We do have classes tomorrow."
Ron turned to the black boy. "Oh, don't worry about being late tomorrow. Or any day really. Just walk with Leanne and me; as long as we're with her, we'll be fine."
The bespectacled boy blinked owlishly at the ginger before laughing hysterically. "And why is that, Weasley?"
Ron looked at Harry and addressed him as if he were a bit slow. "Well, Leanne is the Girl-Who-Lived. As long as you're her friend, you get a free-pass in life!"
Dean and Draco laughed along with Harry. "Where did you hear that crap?" Dean gasped.
The red haired boy narrowed his eyes at him. "It's obvious. She is famous after all."
Harry rolled his eyes. "She's not famous," he said simply, holding up a hand when Ron opened his mouth to argue. "Sure, she made You-Know-Who go away. That's great. But she let the fame from that get to her head. Think about it, has she done anything amazing in the past few years? Become an animagus, invent a potion or spell? She's not famous anymore; she's just a celebrity."
Seamus gave the dark haired boy a strange look. "That's the same thing Jameson."
Harry shook his head. "No, they aren't the same thing. There's a difference between being a celebrity and being famous. A famous person doesn't do whatever they do for attention; they do it because they love it or because it is the right thing to do. Celebrities, on the other hand, crave the attention and will do whatever they can to remain in the spotlight because they cannot function without it."
The other boys silently absorbed what Harry had said. Draco, Neville and Dean were slowly nodding in agreement, while Seamus looked confused and Ron looked pissed off. "Oh," the ginger sneered. "And I suppose next you will be telling us that Leanne is an attention seeking brat?"
Harry returned Ron's sneer. "Well, I don't have to now." Draco, Neville and Dean laughed along with the smaller boy.
Seamus looked uncomfortable; on the one hand he agreed with what Jameson was saying, but Malfoy … well the Irish boy didn't trust the blond in the least. His mother reads the Prophet like Muggles read the Bible and has done her best to pass that habit on to her son. While he had analyzed each article regarding the Girl-Who-Lived and would be the first to criticize her, Seamus has also read enough about Death Eaters to be wary of Malfoy.
The Irish child was called out of his musings by Ron. "You lot laugh all you want, but you're all wrong. Leanne is a brilliant girl and deserves your respect." The red head stood up and pulled on the curtains surrounding his bed. "You four are nothing compared to her. I'm telling you now; you all better get it together or there will be hell to pay."
Four of the five boys waited a moment after the ginger shut the curtains before they burst out laughing. "Bloody hell," Dean snickered. "Did he actually just threaten us?"
"Sounds like it," Neville gasped. "I have no clue what he said exactly, but that seems to have been the gist of it."
Seamus couldn't resist chiming in. "I think it was something about how much better Potter is than us and how we should be tripping over each other to lick the dirt off her shoes."
Draco snorted. "Damn, I think he might be even dumber than her!"
The Irish boy tried to stop himself; he really did, but he found himself laughing along with Malfoy among three of his fellow Gryffindor first years.
A/N: Yeah, Ron's kind of an asshole in this story in case you haven't figured it out yet. Basically, I needed a new enemy for Harry as Draco is his friend. I could have used Leanne, but I've always wanted to write a Ron-Bashing story. I've read plenty but they are always Ron trying to shove his way into Harry's inner circle; I just wanted to do something different. Also, I always thought it was strange that Hogwarts did nothing about bullying. I get that the Zero Tolerance policy is more of an American thing and is relatively recent, but I could not stand letting a bully get away with their behavior (even in my own story.) From personal experience, I know the ZTP is bull shit in most situations (as explained by Harry,) but I felt the teachers should do more about bullying than taking points at Hogwarts.
