Misunderstandings
"Good afternoon," Bill Weasley smirked from behind the desk.
Harry gaped.
Hermione exclaimed, "Bill! You never said anything about teaching at Hogwarts!"
"Thought it'd be a nice surprise," he grinned.
"You bigot!" Ron exclaimed. "We've been talking about the new teachers all summer and you say nothing? I thought we were brothers!"
"Oh shut up being so dramatic," Ginny snapped as she swept past them and sat in the back of the room.
"Hi, Ginny," Bill said. She gave a careless wave of the hand and turned to talk to a girl sitting next to her.
"But what about Gringotts?" Hermione asked, turning her attention back to Bill. "What about Fleur? She is pregnant you know!"
"Merlin's pants, Hermione! Is she really? Are you serious? Well I had better hightail it down to Muggle Studies, then!"
Hermione's cheeks tinged pink as she asked, "What? She's teaching too?"
"I feel sorry for the poor blokes who've got Muggle Studies this year," Ginny said disgustedly from the back.
Bill either did not hear her or chose not to reply because he said, "Yes, Hermione, she is teaching, too. Now, if you three wouldn't mind, I'd like to begin class."
They found their seats in the front and sat down.
"Hello, class. My name is Professor Weasley. And yes, if you haven't figure it out, Ron is my brother and Ginny my sister.
"I intend to teach you the subjects I believe will be on your N.E.W.T.s. This year you will be expected to keep up with the curriculum. We will be studying everything from Chimaeras to casting Patronuses–which I realize some of you already know how to produce from certain D.A. meetings a while back," Bill smirked at Harry.
The rest of the D.A.D.A. class consisted of the learning of producing Patronuses.
Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville were able to develop very impressive Patronuses, and now it was Harry's turn to have a go. Harry walked up to the front of the class and looked straight at Ginny who was watching him. He remembered the sunny summer days in the meadow and, grinning, shouted, "Expecto Patronum!"
A gleaming stag erupted from the tip of his wand. Harry let his highly defined, corporeal Patronus bound around awhile, then lowered his wand and it slowly dissolved. As the stag disappeared reality checked in and his happiness faded. He looked up and his eyes met Ginny's once again. Except this time, her face was soft and almost understanding, then, she must of realized her mistake because she quickly looked down.
"Thank you, Harry," Bill said looking curiously between Harry and Ginny. Harry nodded and took his seat between Ron and Hermione.
"Alright. Well that's all for today. See you all on Monday. Bye," he said to the students passing to the door. "See you. Bye Ginny. Bye Ron, Hermione. Harry!" he said as Harry had one foot out the door.
"Yeah?"
"Er, are you heading to a class?"
"Uh, no I don't think so," Harry said pulling out his schedule. "Uh, no."
"Cool. Sit down" he offered a chair.
Harry sat down and waited awkwardly.
"Harry, uh, just be honest with me, alright? What's going on with you and Ginny?"
Harry set his jaw and looked Bill straight in the eye, "We're over."
Bill's face turned cold and his voice icy, "Oh, I see."
Why did all the Weasley's have to think it was Harry who ended it?
"Bill–"
"You know what, Harry? Just go," he shook his head.
Harry had had it. He didn't need to explain himself again and again. People could believe what they wanted, he didn't care anymore.
"Fine," Harry walked out of the room and slammed the door.
Hermione and Ron were waiting for him in the corridor.
"What was that?" Ron asked.
Harry shook his head and strode past. Hermione hurried to keep up. "Harry, what happened?" she said struggling to stay in step. "Harry! Harry!"
"Hermione," he stopped so suddenly she ran into him. "Just–just stop–please."
He went up to his dormitory, stopping no where, listening to no one. He spent the rest of the day in his four poster bed, the curtains shut tight, with the Golden Snitch, the Marauder's Map, the photo album Hagrid had given him when he was eleven, and the ring that had been given back to him that summer.
When dusk fell a hand slipped through the red velvet curtain with a plate full of chicken, potatoes, and treacle tart. Harry had never before appreciated how good of friends Ron and Hermione really were.
While he did go to breakfast and lunch the next day and he did spend his time Ron and Hermione, he said very little to either of them.
"Have you finished your Herbology essay, Harry?" Hermione asked Harry during their break after lunch.
Harry nodded.
"Oh, good!" Hermione praised. "No doubt McGonagall will give us work."
She was right. McGonagall had lectured them about N.E.W.T.s for a good half hour then she told them that they would be expected to transform their other classmates into nearly anything they wished by the end of the year.
Hermione sat up straight in her chair and poised her quill in midair over her parchment. At the end of class McGonagall assigned them to practice changing their friends hair color. "Only change it if they say you are allowed to!" McGonagall said as they filed into the corridor.
"What've we got now?" Neville asked.
"Well, Neville, we've got Potions," Hermione said uncomfortably.
"Oh right! Have fun!" he said as he ran off to enjoy his break.
Hermione looked at her schedule as they headed down to the dungeons. "Then we're done after that."
"Do you think Slughorn came back again?" Ron asked as they stood waiting outside.
"I don't know who else McGonagall would have found," Hermione said.
Only three other seventh year Gryffindors, including Ginny, had made it into Potions. One Ravenclaw and two Hufflepuffs were also waiting with them outside the door. All that was left was the–
"Well, well, well, look what we have here," said a Slytherin boy Harry recognized only by sight. The Slytherins glared at Harry from over the boy's shoulder.
"He's a Death Eater's son," Harry heard Ginny whisper to Hermione. "His name's Brock Napier, he's taken over the spot of Draco Malfoy, a real arse."
Harry didn't feel like starting a fight with someone he didn't even know, so he ignored them.
Brock Napier stepped forward and was inches from Harry's face. "Better watch out, Potter. Who knows what might happen to your little girlfriend over there, or her brother," he sneered at Ginny and Ron. "Filthy little Blood Traitors–just as bad as Mudbloods, in my opinion. But you've got yourself one of those, too, don't you, Potter? You're a disgrace to wizard kind," he said looking at Hermione, he spat in her face.
Hermione had to hold Ron back with all her might so he wouldn't strangle Napier right then and there.
"You had better watch yourself, Napier," Harry growled, his heart pounding. "Things aren't like they used to be. The Ministry has changed. You wont have your little Dark Lord watching over you anymore."
"This isn't over, Potter," he sneered back.
"Oh really? See, I thought that when I killed Tom Riddle it was over."
Napier grabbed for his wand but Harry had already yelled "Expelliarmus!" and it was sent flying into Ron's ready hands.
"What's the matter, Napier?" Harry asked. "Mum and Dad locked up in Azkaban?"
"You little–"
"What's this, what's this?" said a booming voice from behind them. Harry spun around to see Horace Slughorn bouncing toward them. "Ah, Harry! So good to see you! How are you, ol' chap?"
"Fine, Professor, thanks."
"Is everything er–alright?" he said cautiously, looking at Napier.
"Yes, Sir," Napier growled. It was clear that the relationship Harry had with his own Head of House did not please him.
"Well come in then. Let's get started!" Slughorn said cheerfully. He led them inside and Ron shoved Napier's wand back into his hands.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down together. Ginny looked around the dungeon room, hoping for another table of Gryffindors. "Ginny, sit down!" Hermione said quietly.
Ginny reluctantly took the seat across from Harry, keeping her eyes averted from his. Harry stared at the top of her head, hoping beyond hope that she would look up once so he could look into those bright brown eyes, but she didn't. Hermione looked completely frustrated as she watched.
Their first Potions class was spent with Slughorn praising Harry so many times that Napier looked as though he were going to curse the teacher right then and there. Harry was the first out the door as the bell rang and he didn't bother to wait for Ron and Hermione. He went straight up to Gryffindor tower into his bedroom and talked to no one for the rest of the day.
this chapter was a real bother to make correction on.
my goodness, was i even aware there was a spell check back then?
thanks for reading :)
SLGunn
