Chapter 14: Different Dialects

I didn't have time to dwell on Fred becoming my boyfriend. It just happened. I probably could say it was unexpected, I should have seen the signs, et cetera. But it all just seemed so fast and yet so natural.

Roughly the entire school knew of the Weasley fourth year dating the pretty second year girl by dinner. There were about twenty two different scenarios they came up with as far as how Fred had asked me. However, most of the reason that everyone knew was because of the event at lunch:

I had suddenly felt much better as Fred and I walked together, his arm around my waist. I doubted that we would go through that 'awkward phase' in dating, since we already were so close and knew each other pretty well.

We didn't really discuss much about the whole dating thing as we walked around the castle; we talked like we did just as we had on a day like this so many times before. Eventually we made our way to the Great Hall at around noon. Fred had stiffened as we got closer to the entrance. I looked at him quizzically and opened the doors.

"YA! GO FRED AND AMI!" George stood up and shouted. All of the eyes in the Great Hall were on us now. I laughed nervously and hid my face behind Fred's arm. He just rolled his eyes and dragged me along to the table.

A few people had clapped or cheered. Some looked disgusting, and others, mainly the Slytherins, looked horribly annoyed.

I cursed George when I sat down, who responded with ruffling my hair. My friends at the table-Ginny, Hermione, Harry, Ron, Lee, and Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas- congratulated us.

At that time I took a moment to…enjoy it all. This was perfect: Me with my friends around, Fred's arm around me, and laughter and smiles everywhere. I made a wish at that moment that the rest of my life would be exactly or close to exactly like this.

Gilderoy Lockhart was our new Defense against the Dark Arts professor, since Quirrel last year had turned into Lord Voldemort. Parvarti and Lavender thought this was an amazing change in staff, no surprise there.

Lockhart was having us practice dueling. I tend to zone out his words and this time was no exception. I watched Harry and Draco duel uninterestedly until Draco conjured a snake which began to attack a Hufflepuff boy. Harry approached the snake and started chanting. It didn't sound like a normal spell, it was more alien. I didn't think much of it until some students whispered, "He's a Parselmouth!" I hadn't heard much about Parselmouth and Parseltongue, but I knew it was snake language, and it was sometimes known as the language of Voldemort and Salazar Slytherin.

Many people back at the common room were casting dark looks at Harry and were whispering frantically. I hated people who did that- talking behind people's back was my biggest pet peeve. If you have something wrong with someone, say it to their face or don't say anything at all. Only cowards talk about others without them knowing. And yes, I realize it seems like I've done that to Ron, but believe me, I say worse to his face.

Fred and George were in detention, so I was sitting with Harry and Ron and Hermione. Harry looked depressed despite our efforts to cheer him up. As things became more and more awkward in the common room, the four of us decided to sit in the library.

When we approached the library, none other than the Hufflepuff boy who was almost attacked by the snake came out. His name was Justin Finch-Fletchy. His eyes widened and he backed away once he saw Harry. He acted like this because, like the others, believed that Harry was the Heir of Slytherin who had opened the Chamber of Secrets. How stupid could people be?

Harry looked uncomfortable, so I walked up to Justin, "Listen Fletchy, Harry is not the Heir Slytherin nor did he open the Chamber of Secrets! Now you and your little Hufflepuff friends need to shut up and get a grip, and make sure that Harry Potter's name does not come out of your little mouth. Have I made myself clear?

The poor boy was shaking like a leaf now and he just nodded and ran away.

My three friends were looking at me with their mouths open. "Well, now that we've got that settled," I said with a grin and went into the library.

Justin Finch-Fletchy came up to me after breakfast. "Got something to say, Fletchy?" I asked him.

He didn't look as nervous now; in fact, he looked confident. "I just wanted to know why you talk funny." He said bluntly.

"What?! How do I talk funny?"

"Your accent. It's different."

I knew what he was talking about know. After living in America for so long, I had developed kind of American accent. I didn't notice, but I'd been told before.

"Are you that naïve?" I asked him. "I have a different accent. Because I lived in a different country. Have you never heard anything besides a British accent? May I ask where you've been your whole life? Because I have never known anyone so stupid and so blind to the world. So ya'll better get a move on, partner, before I kick ya where the sun don't shine." I said the last sentence with the most horrible, over exaggerated country western accent ever.

Justin backed away from me, looking scared again.

Bless his heart.