Thanks To:
- StarsandSunkissed for pointing out some typos.
- Kyu9930 for their feedback regarding the one fic vs. multiple fics for TBA.
To all my lovely reviewers! You're all so awesome! I can't even—! *faints*
Chapter 7:
The Hogwarts Study Clubs
The following morning saw Harry, Neville and Ron a bit tired but perfectly cheerful, much to a certain blond Slytherin's utter disbelief.
Despite its different start, the midnight duel went mostly the same way: Harry, Ron and Neville sneaking out to head to the trophy room; Hermione catching and trying to stop them; Malfoy not showing up and tipping off Filch; running into Peeves then escaping into the Forbidden Corridor; a face-to-face encounter with Fluffy; Hermione leaving in a huff after mentioning the trap door.
It was bloody satisfying to see Malfoy's shocked face the second time around when he saw them the following morning, as well as seeing Harry's gleeful expression when he received his not-so-discreetly-wrapped Nimbus Two Thousand the following week.
Wood then invited Harry and Ron to the pitch the very night Harry got his broom for a quick rundown. He helped the Quidditch team captain teach Harry the basics of the game (by help, Ron meant that he was the one who had to wrestle the bludger back into its case). And after witnessing his best friend demonstrate to Wood exactly why he should be called the Albus Dumbledore of flying, the fifth year handed Ron a broom.
"Up you get, Weasley." Wood said after mounting his own broom, quaffle in hand. "Your turn to show me what you can do."
Wood first had Ron play as a Chaser and himself being the Keeper. It was then that Ron found how brilliant of a Keeper Wood really was—the guy was like a flashing red whirlwind covering all three hoop posts. Despite Ron's best efforts, he could only shoot three out of the fifteen attempts he made.
Afterwards, Wood made them switch positions, and then Ron felt like he was finally in his element. Ron always liked it best whenever he played the Keeper when helping Charlie or the twins. It showed when he managed to block eight out of Wood's twelve shots. Granted, Ron felt his moves were sloppier than he remembered, and he felt that he could have reacted faster at times.
Now that was a bit concerning. Perhaps his reflexes were out of practice too? He'll need to find a way to work on that.
Wood, however, looked positively gleeful. "You're a natural Keeper, Weasley! It's too bad we couldn't have you on the team now, or I would have made you my reserve straight away!"
Ron's ears flushed at the compliment, but he privately thought that it was a good thing that he didn't make the team. Because, after some consideration post the run-in with Fluffy, the boy decided to give Cedric's invite a try.
It was on the Saturday after their first flying lesson that Ron finally decided to show up on the Ancient Runes study club, awkwardly asking for Cedric. The third year Hufflepuff had been delighted.
"Hey, Ron, you made it!" Cedric clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Come on, I'll introduce you to the rest of the club! They've been wanting to meet you!"
"What? Why would they—?"
"Because he has only been talking about you everyday, for the past week," someone in front of him answered. Ron pivoted his gaze to the speaker, a short figure with wild silver hair tied away from his long face, a long hooked nose, and dressed in strange but obviously well-made robes.
"Ron, this is Professor Hui, the Lecturer in charge of the Ancient Runes study club," said Cedric.
"Always the look of surprise when a student sees me for the first time." The creature smiled kindly before holding out a hand to shake. "Lecturer Hui, Mr. Weasley. A pleasure to meet you."
A polite goblin? Really? It took Ron's brain a second to catch up to his bewilderment. "Err, Ron Weasley, Professor Hui. Nice to meet you too."
Ron took a look around to see that, while the classroom was not full, there were more than what he initially expected. He could recognize some of the students, like Cho Chang and his fellow First years: a Hufflepuff that he remembered as Amelia Bones' niece, Zabini and another Slytherin whose face is oddly familiar.
Since the two Slytherins were on the table closest to him (and since Cedric was sitting with Cho and another Hufflepuff girl), Ron slid next to them. "Mind if I sit here?"
Zabini raised a brow while the other boy answered. "You already have, Weasley."
"And you guys are?"
The Slytherins shared a look before eyeing Ron calculatingly. The red head audibly sighed. "Well, I can't keep calling you Slytherin one and two, can I?"
The dark skinned Slytherin answered first. "Blaise Zabini."
"…Theodore Nott."
Nott. Ron's eyes widened in recognition. He's one of those Death Eaters back in the Department of Mysteries! This is his son?
Nott scowled. "If you're just going to gape like a fool, there are plenty other tables. No one asked you to sit here to begin with."
Ron's ear burned as he spluttered, "Oi, no need to be rude! I didn't mean anything by—!"
"Of course you don't. No one does whenever they stare at the son of an accused Death Eater." Nott said icily. "Especially if they're a Gryffindor."
"Theo, enough. Class is starting," said Zabini, but his eyes on Ron were just as cold. "If you're going to get us in trouble, Weasley, you better sit somewhere else."
"I'm not—!" Ron clenched his jaw before taking a deep breath. "I'm not here to cause any trouble, Zabini, but I can sit wherever I want."
The appraising look was back on Zabini's gaze. "Stay out of our way, Weasley, and we'll stay out of yours."
No more was exchanged between Ron and the Slytherins, but the time traveler was internally fuming. What the hell is up their arses? So maybe my staring was uncalled for, but I didn't mean anything bad by it! Why is it that these snakes look like they're readying for a fight whenever they run into a Gryffindor?
But true to their word, Zabini and Nott left him alone throughout the class, giving the Gryffindor time to focus on the lecture.
"For the benefit our new members, the Study of Ancient Runes is your first step on your journey to learn more about the mystical field of Runology. Runes have existed for far longer than any of us in this classroom" Hui began. "It was first used by the Anglo-Saxons, Germanic and the Norse over three thousand years ago, and have been known for their magical and divining properties."
Unlike the other goblins Ron had met, Hui was surprisingly lighthearted and engaging, eagerly sharing his knowledge of Ancient Runes while encouraging everyone to participate. The boy had forgotten for a minute that Hui was only the Lecturer for the subject and not the Professor (which was too bad. Nothing against whoever the Professor was, but Hui was really good at his stuff and sharing it to the class!)
On the other hand, the Arithmancy study club was taught by Professor Durand, a strict but smart looking brunette dressed in sharp mauve robes and thin square glasses in front of her eyes so brown they were almost wine red.
"Always happy to welcome new students on board, Mr. Weasley," said Durand after Cedric introduced Ron. "Though a fair warning, this may not have a direct impact on your scholastic performance, but should you wish to continue attendance, I will expect nothing short of your best. Take this subject seriously, and it will take you places, enable new discoveries and stretch the limits of your perception of magic. But this will require focus and dedication, as Arithmancy is one of, if not the most challenging, branches of magic."
Challenging was definitely the word for this subject. Small wonder Hermione loved this stuff so much! Like Hui, Durand begun her lecture with a brief introduction on Arithmancy.
"Arithmancy, for those unfamiliar with the subject, is the study of the magical properties of numbers and its application in numerology. Now, most wizards will not be able to appreciate diagrams like these," Durand presented them with a rather complicated array of numbers and figures. "But an arithmancer finds beauty in how these numbers function in relation to each other, and how the causes and effects contained in this array produce the desirable effect in the form of a spell. This, for example, is the arithmetical basis for the spell, Lumos, the wand lighting charm."
Ron's eyes nearly jumped out of his head. Bloody hell, something that complicated is just for a spell as simple as Lumos?! He was almost afraid to imagine what the diagram for Expecto Patronum would look like.
"But more than just studying the relationships of these numbers and the resulting spell, arithmancers are meant to use their knowledge to push the limitations of the diagram, modify certain aspects of it, to create more powerful versions, eliminate or reduce impact of weaknesses, or even create a new spell entirely. These changes will be reflected in wand movement and on the incantation."
Durand then waved her wand on a top section of the Lumos diagram, changing some of the numbers and angles in the process. "Now the previous diagram is the guide for casting a traditional Lumos. Like so," She waved her wand again, which produced a small white ball of light at the end. "But the changes I made in this diagram, which also changes the wand movement involved," The brunette witch moved her wand again, but instead of a slow circular wave, she moved the wood in a faster circle and a sharp jab up. "Lumos!"
And instead of a ball of light, the charm formed a glowing shape similar to a candle flame, much to the Ron's awe.
"Now this is just a cosmetic change, mind you. There are many other ways you can tweak a spell if you know which part of the formula to change. That is why there are several variations of the wand lighting charm, such as Lumos Solem or Lumos Luna. But be cautious—changing the wrong part of the diagram or a wrong computation can cause the spell to either not work properly or do something entirely different. This is the reason why wand movement and incantation are just as important in spell work as is the caster's focus and imagination." Durand concluded. "Creativity is only beneficial if it is given direction."
Naturally, Durand had her own homework assigned for all the club members, a sheet of migraine-inducing equations they needed to finish before their next meeting. But at least he wouldn't have to deal with these migraines alone.
"Hello, Ron! Oh, is it OK if I call you Ron?" The Ravenclaw girl he had been sitting with in the second row said. Like Cho, she was of obvious Chinese descent, with olive skin, shoulder length straight black hair and slanted brown eyes. "Nice to see a fellow first year in this club. I'm Sue, Sue Li."
"It's OK, Sue. Are we the only first years here?"
"As of now, yes, though hopefully I'll be able to convince some of my year mates to come. Arithmancy is such a fascinating subject, don't you think?" Sue pulled out Numerology and Grammatica from her bag. "I've been reading over it all summer before Hogwarts—my mother was an Arithmancer—but to see it in action like this is amazing! The other applications of Arithmancy are interesting of course. In my other book, Numbers for the Eye in You, it delves right into the use of numbers for predicting things like the weather and—"
The way the girl eagerly told him of the books she had read and her love for Arithmancy reminded Ron so much of Hermione that it hurt. Appearances aside, she was just like his beloved friend, only friendlier and, honestly, less sounding like a know-it-all and more of an excitable nerd.
"—ah! I'm so sorry, have I talked your ear off? Baba always said I tend to talk too much."
"Err, what's a baba?"
Sue blushed. "Sorry. I meant Dad. Baba is dad in Chinese."
The red head nodded in interest. "You're a bilingual? That's wicked! I bet not a lot of first years know a second language!"
The Ravenclaw's blush darkened. "Baba said that just because we live in Scotland doesn't mean we should forget about where we came from. I've been learning Chinese since the day I could talk. It's a very complicated language, but I love it all the same. It's like always having a small piece of home with me."
Ron paused thoughtfully. "Are there other Chinese here in Hogwarts you can talk to? There's a Ravenclaw in the Ancient Runes club, Chang."
Sue nodded. "She knows a little, but she wants to learn more and has asked for my help…" She bit her lip. "Although I'm not sure I'm a very good teacher. And I don't want to come off as boring or overwhelming…"
"Like what I always tell my friends, you'll never know until you try." Ron said. "Hey, maybe you can try teaching me a bit and we'll see what you can work on."
"Really? You'd do that?"
"I get to learn a little Chinese, you get to be more used to teaching. Why won't I?" Ron then coughed. "And, I might need your help on some other things. I think Arithmancy is cool, but I might be bullocks at it. Not that I'm saying I'll be copying off of you or anything. I really want to learn this stuff, but some just look way over my head!"
Sue giggled. "I'll try, but if you find me too hard to understand, you can also ask Penny for help. She's a member of this club too, but she sometimes misses some meetings. She's the Ravenclaw Prefect, actually."
"Penny?" Ron echoed. "You mean Penelope Clearwater?"
Sue looked pleasantly surprised. "You know Penny?"
Ron shrugged easily. "Might have heard about her from my brother, Percy. He's the Gryffindor Prefect."
Sue wasn't the only one who offered Ron help for the clubs. Cedric had given Ron a copy of the schedule of the club's weekly meetings and their assigned rooms in the School.
"They don't usually change things around here, but in case they do, the Lecturers always pass the information to the club's student representative." Cedric told him. "I'm the representative for Ancient Runes, for example. Pucey's the representative for Arithmancy."
"Who's he?"
"The only Slytherin in the Arithmancy club, and is also one of the Slytherin team's chasers. Good bloke, that one, only a bit too quiet. He's one of the few I know in the Slytherin team who has never committed a foul." Cedric frowned slightly. "Which is more than I can say for their captain, Flint."
According to the parchment, the study clubs available are for the core subjects, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures, Alchemy and Divination. Cedric himself was a member of Arithmancy and Ancient Runes club, but was also looking into rejoining Potions. Ron thought about joining Potions as well, if only to encourage Neville, who was also interested but too nervous to go by himself. Harry also sounded interested in the study club thing, but with Wood driving Gryffindor's new seeker to the ground, could he still find the time?
Ron then remembered the pile of parchment waiting for him at the dorm.
"Maybe I should start with sorting out all of that homework first..."
For the following weeks, Ron spent the rest of his free time juggling his extra readings, his study clubs and spending time with his friends. The books he had been borrowing on advanced year material were a welcome refresher, and his activities in the study clubs were opening his mind to new knowledge and ways of thinking when it came to magic.
Professor Hui helped them memorize the runic alphabet sets bit by bit while teaching them some basic rune formation layouts then having them cast basic forms. One of their first attempts being an assembly of runes mean to heat up a specific space, which would have been mighty useful during the Horcrux hunt.
"Now, remember the Elder Futhark runes you should write on the stones." Hui raised a small square stone tablet, identical to the samples the club members have on their desks. "Kaunan, Eihwaz, Algiz, Salamander in diamond formation starting with Kaunan at the west."
Rune casting, it turns out, entailed more than simply drawing the right runes then placing them in the right formations. Ron had to draw the rune in a specific fashion, know the meaning of the rune, and envision it doing its purpose all throughout the process of drawing and casting. One of his clubmates—a Hufflepuff named Beatrice Haywood—found out the hard way when she used Ehwaz instead of Eihwaz for their practical, causing the whole table to heat up instead of just within the diamond.
The time traveler, however, found that he actually had a knack for it, finding that the runes came to him fairly easily enough.
But as for the Arithmancy study club, their sessions were more theoretical in nature. And unlike in Ancient Runes, Ron admittedly struggled with the numbers, and would sometimes interchange the rigid, intricate rules of solving the equation. Thankfully, his seatmates have him covered.
"These are parallel lines." Sue explained to him during one of their test sessions. "And to find the equation of the line in this example, we need to use the point slope linear equation formula y − y1 = m (x − x1). First, we solve for the slope of the first problem, then substitute the slope of the first problem to the—"
"Bloody hell, how many rules do I have to remember for this?! And this is just a freaking linear equation!" Ron felt like tearing his hair out until he saw Sue's worried expression. "Sorry, Sue, I didn't mean to take it out on you."
Sue smiled kindly. "It's OK, Ron. Arithmancy can get really complicated for beginners. But looking at your work, you almost got the right answer! You just need to get used to this."
"Sue's right," added a voice to Sue's left. "And don't forget that when you transpose a number to the other side, it is automatically converted into the opposite integer. So your -4 here should be a +4."
"Shite, why do I keep forgetting that?" Ron scratched the wrong numbers out with his parchment. "Thanks, Clear—err, Penny."
Penelope Clearwater smiled brightly at him. "No problem, Ron."
The first time Ron had met Penelope in class, she was very kind and friendly to him, insisting that she called him 'Penny' like Sue and offering to help him with their homework. Sue had teased him a bit for staring at Penny a few times ("I think someone has a crush!"). Ron couldn't tell his new friend that it was because the last time he had seen the blonde Prefect, she was bathed in her own blood from under a knight's blade.
It took a week, but the eighteen-turned-eleven found his footing with the additional study clubs and was now finding the experience rather enjoyable despite being mentally drained afterwards. It not only helped him improve his knowledge and skills but also helped him build new friendships that Ron thought in hindsight would be helpful to Harry in the future. His club mates have been asking about Harry every now and then, and Ron made sure to put a good word for his best mate whenever he could. There, maybe now they won't turn against him so easily in the future.
His classes, too, were going mostly all right. He made intentional blunders every now and then, but he still performed well in almost all his subjects, netting in more points for Gryffindor than he recalled ever having back in his first life. He hadn't meant to stand out so much, preferring to let Hermione answer as much of the questions as she wanted, but for some reason, his professors—especially his Head of House—made it a point to call him out a few times during class. Even Snape had been in on it, and it ended up with the most heated question and answer exchange ever in the first year's memory.
("What do I get when I combine stewed mandrake, infusion of wormwood, and scurvy grass?"
"Missing a lot of other ingredients, but I'd say Invigorating Draught, sir."
"…And what of Bicorn horn and Mandrake root?"
"Pepper-Up potion. But I'm pretty sure this and the Invigorating Draught are at least OWL-level, so why do you expect me to know?"
"Ten points from Gryffindor for your cheek, Weasley!"
Ron would have fired another witty retort at the glowering Professor, but then Harry swiftly kicked him in the shin.)
That made the youngest Weasley boy more determined than ever to earn top marks in Potions, so it was a very good thing that Greengrass—who was set to be his partner for the rest of the year—was just as invested in getting a good grade in Potions, and, unlike Nott and Zabini, was not under the impression that Ron was looking for an excuse to hex her.
Overall, it had been a several weeks for Ron.
But sadly, it wasn't entirely without a couple of downers, first and foremost being the one known as Hermione Jean Granger.
Something else Ron noticed was that, after that midnight disaster, Hermione had been giving Harry and Neville the cold shoulder. But Ron? He was getting the cold shoulder with ice spikes laden with acid.
It was driving him barmy just how much harsher Hermione was with him than he remembered her being during first year. When he tried to apologize to her for almost getting her in trouble the following morning, she had sent him a glare that made the dungeons a desert in comparison. "Oh, right, and just what good is your apology had I been expelled?"
Ron sputtered in confusion. "But you're—we're—no one's been expelled, Hermione."
"Because that makes it all the better, doesn't it, Weasley?" Snapped Hermione before hurriedly brushing past him.
What had he done to make Hermione this angry at him? All this time, he had been trying to be her friend. But every time, she'd always be snappish and sensitive like a cornered kneazle. She'd avoid being within arm's length of him unless she had to. Hell, every time he'd initiate a conversation with her, she would rebuff him with a "What do you want, Weasley?"
He'd been so bothered by it that he ended up asking his friends for advice.
Harry was less than helpful about it. "Granger's been so horrid to you, Ron! There's nothing to like about her in the first place! I don't know why you keep trying to be friends with her!"
"That's not true! You remember what she was like on the train, right, Harry, Neville? I'm sure she's plenty nice underneath all her smarts. We just need to get to know her better!"
"I thought so too. But then there's only so much of her badmouthing one of my best mates that I can handle," said Harry darkly. And if it weren't for the topic on hand, Ron would have been delighted at Harry acknowledging him and Neville as his best friends for the first time in this timeline.
Thankfully, the red head's other best mate had been more forthcoming. "Honestly, Ron? I think it's because she's, err, jealous of you."
"Jealous? Of me?" Ron repeated incredulously. "How? Why?"
"For one thing, you're one of the runners for the top student of the year." Neville explained slowly, as if talking to an agitated child. "You've seen how Hermione's like. She's very smart and she takes her studies very seriously. It's obvious she sees you as competition." The dark-haired boy paused. "No, scratch that, she thinks you're a threat."
Ron rubbed his face. "How many times do I have to say it? I'm not—"
"Like it or not, mate, you're one of the best students of our year," reasoned Neville. "Especially during the practical parts. And don't think I haven't seen your essays! You never got anything below an EE, even in Potions. Potions, Ron, from Snape!"
Now that Ron found utterly ridiculous. True, he was studying harder this time, only because it was necessary for his mission. He had been reading a lot in order to review his basics and learn new spells. He had been doing his homework as soon as he could in order to have more time for his extra readings. He had been writing more in his essays because he knew enough to write more than he used to. He could do first-year spells almost flawlessly—no thanks to the temperamental stick that is Charlie's old wand—because he was already in the process of remastering the third-year level ones he knew.
And the only reason he was anywhere near the top ten percent of the first-year student body was thanks to his unfair advantage in experience. He was a seventh-year student! It would downright embarrassing if first-year courses will make him struggle! That's why he had to do extra readings and take the extra study clubs in order to keep learning new ways to do magic!
However, his steadily improving magical abilities also brought about his second problem: Charlie's wand not cooperating with him again, making Ron's spells either weaker or stronger than intended. During one Transfiguration class, when they had to transfigure parchment into wood, Ron's first two attempts only made the edges, then the whole parchment, acquire a wood-like appearance. Infuriated that he was genuinely struggling with a first-year spell, Ron did the incantation a little too strongly, causing the parchment to jet up before landing on his head with a hard clap, the paper having turned into wood somewhere down the tumble.
"There's no need to take it out on your parchment if you are unable to do it the first time, Mr. Weasley." McGonagall had reprimanded him lightly, much the boy's embarrassment. But because Ron was still the first one two turn his parchment into wood, he got five points for his effort.
He didn't understand, though. Back at the Burrow, Ron thought he had gotten this problem under control. He had been casting fifth year level spells pretty well at that point, so Ron was at a loss on what went wrong.
Maybe I need to practice more again. I have been doing more magic lately, with my extra classes and all. Ron surmised. But where do I practice without people seeing me? I wouldn't know how to explain why I know the spells I know, especially the ones I had to use during the war.
He hadn't been able to think too hard on it, though, because the week after came that Charms lesson on Wingardium Leviosa.
If looks could kill, Ron would have been back at that chessboard with Death and Snape a hundred times over.
Of course he still gets paired up with Hermione during Charms. Of course Hermione was still rather cross with him. If It was getting a kick out of making Ron's life miserable, this had better be worth the torture!
"So, err, want to get started?" Ron asked carefully while pointing at the feather.
Hermione's gaze sharpened as she drew her wand. "Fine, we'll take turns trying to levitate the feather. I'll go on ahead."
Ron shrugged easily, fully intending to let her actually be able to do the charm right first. After a bit of snap thinking, he felt that it was the best course of action. Hermione was competitive and smart, so maybe if he showed her that she was better than him in something (in everything, actually), then hopefully she'll ease up the hostilities.
Maybe this is why Charlie's old wand was supposed to act up. Ron thought optimistically. Maybe it's so that I won't outperform Hermione for this moment and then I'll have a chance to fix things with her.
It took them a few alternating tries, with him making sure to gradually correct his movement and incantation to make it look like he was progressing, until Hermione let out a happy cry when her feather floated slowly into the sky.
"Excellent work, Ms. Granger!" Flitwick said over the class' excited chatter upon witnessing Hermione's successful casting. "Take five points for Gryffindor for your excellent charm work!"
"Great work, Hermione!" Ron said sincerely after his seatmate had quieted in her cheering.
The bushy haired girl appeared taken aback by his comment before saying, "It's your turn."
"Right." This time, Ron tried to seriously cast the spell. Even then, it took two more tries (and at one point, it felt like his fingers were being pricked by the wand) before the feather too floated away. "Hey, I did it."
"…Well, it was about time anyway." Hermione said haughtily after Flitwick gave Ron two points for his own work.
The red head just shrugged the comment off before taking a look around the classroom for his friends.
Harry, who was paired with Seamus, looked close to succeeding with his own feather; but Neville and Dean right next to him were both obviously struggling with theirs. Deciding that it was a better way to spend his time, Ron turned to the pair. "Need any help, mates?"
"Yes, please, Ron. Bloody feather just won't budge no matter what we do," said Dean while Neville nodded vigorously.
The time traveler laughed. "It's not as hard as you guys think. First, I heard you pronouncing it wrong. It's 'wing-gar-dium levi-o-sa', not 'leviosa'. Emphasis on the 'o' in the middle and making the 'gar' nice and long are very important. With me so far?"
Dean and Neville spent some time practicing the incantation until Ron, satisfied, brought up his own wand.
"Great job! Now that you got the incantation, the next is wand movement."
"Yeah, I remember that." Neville said. "Swish and flick, like this right?"
Ron noted the movement of his friend's wand before shaking his head. "Almost got it. Just need to make it sharper near the end. It's what will direct your magic to pull the feather upwards." (Turns out Ron did learn something in Arithmancy. Wicked!) "Here, I'll demonstrate the movement without the incantation so you can see."
The boy waved his wand in the correct pattern. He felt a bit of his magic course through his arm, but didn't think too much of it, turning to Neville and Dean halfway to see if they got the movement. "You guys think you can do it?"
But instead of comprehension or even confusion, the two Gryffindor boys' jaws were slack with shock.
He raised a brow. "What?"
It was Neville who pointed with a shaky finger. "R—Ron, look."
Ron turned to the direction his friend pointed, and what he saw made his heart drop to his feet. What the fuck?!
"Ha, splendid! Splendid!" From the front row, Flitwick was clapping his hands excitedly. "Did you see that, class? Mr. Weasley had just demonstrated how to cast Wingardium Leviosa wordlessly!"
WHAT. THE. FUCK?! Ron's eyes frantically darted from his wand to Neville's feather innocently floating to the sky. No. No, no, no, no, that's not supposed to happen! He wasn't even focusing on levitating the fucking feather, just doing the right movement for his friends! He realized now that he should have taken that bit of magic that escaped him more seriously!
"Professor, I—I don't even know what happened! I wasn't even trying to—!"
"Wordless casting is very difficult for a first year to do, as it takes strong familiarity with the way the spell is cast and how it works to be able to do so. But if one studies enough, and has had enough practice, then casting the spell becomes such second nature that you can do so non-verbally or with very little magic!" Flitwick explained excitedly. "I have seen only a handful of first years accomplish this over the years, and it is always an exciting thing to witness every time! Not a surprise that you would be one of them, given your performance in my class."
No, that's because I'm a seventh year who's so used to doing first year spells—!
"Now take fifteen points to Gryffindor for your above average charmwork, Mr. Weasley!" Flitwick finished with a beam.
Ron was sorely tempted to disapparate from the classroom because of the whispers that exploded around him. Mother of Arthur Pendragon, somebody kill me! Or chuck this stupid wand away before I snap it in half! Little piece of shite, how could you do this to me?!
He caught sight of Hermione's gaze on him, eyes ablaze and face a furious pink.
Grindelwald's sagging balls!
"Hermione! Oi, Hermione!"
As soon as class was dismissed, Ron immediately went to Hermione, but the girl had quickly left the classroom. By the time Ron had found her, she was storming past the first years, hefting a heavy book under her arms, not stopping despite Ron calling out for her.
But the Weasley was nothing if not stubborn.
"Hermione, wait!" It didn't take long for Ron to finally catch up at a vacated hallway and blocked her path
"Stay away from me, Weasley." Hermione snapped, her voice trembling as she pushed her way past him. But Ron made a move for her arm. "Hermione, if this is about—"
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" The girl shrieked, shaking her arm out of his grasp with a sharp slap. "What even is your problem?! Why can't you just leave me alone?!"
"My problem? I'm the one who should be asking you that!" Said Ron. "When we first met on the train, you were nice enough to me. But once class started, you've been downright pissed at me and I don't know why!"
"You don't know? For someone who is supposed to be the top student of our year," said Hermione with scathing spite, "You're surprisingly rather thick, aren't you?"
Calm down, Weasley. Deep breaths. Calm down. "Well since you're so smart," Ron whispered lowly. "Maybe you can tell me."
The bushy haired girl's brown narrowed hard. "Don't act like you're the victim here, after you deliberately made a fool out of me back at Charms!"
He heard footsteps coming from his left, but Ron forced his focus to remain on the girl in front of him. "Hermione, that's—I didn't mean for that to happen! I—!"
"Rubbish! Professor Flitwick said that you can only achieve that kind of skill through constant practice!" The girl snapped angrily at him. "You must have already cast that charm properly for days now, but you made it look like you didn't know what you were doing, just to pull a cruel trick on me when I finally—!"
Ron's cheeks colored guiltily. "That wasn't what I meant to do." He took a deep breath. "Fine, I admit, I planned to let you get the charm right first. But it's because I'm tired of this! I don't want this to be some sort of competition between us! We're here to learn, not to see who's the best witch or wizard in the school!"
"Oh is that it? You were feeling sorry for me?!"
"I don't feel sorry for you! I want to be nice to you! I want for us to be friends!"
"Well too bloody bad, because I don't want to be yours!" Hermione shouted at him, her lithe body shaking in rage. "You think you're so smart and so popular, just because you're friends with Harry Potter! Just because you can do better magic than me! Just because you think you're smarter than me! But I know your type! You're just a thick headed, attention seeking ponce!"
"Th—That's just stupid! I never said any of that! Where are you even getting all of that from?!"
"No, you're being stupid! I don't need your pity, Weasley! So what if I don't have any friends? So what if everyone seems to like you better than me? I don't bloody care! You hear me, Weasley? I don't bloody care," continued Hermione. "So shove your niceties up your arse because I don't want it! I don't even like you! I hate you, Ronald Weasley, and for the love of God, let this be the last time I say it, LEAVE ME ALONE!"
With that, Hermione had bodily slammed her way past Ron, who was too stunned by her parting words that it left him in shock, limbless, as memories from another time bombarded his senses.
"Why do you have to be such a complete prat, Ron?!"
"What should I have expected over someone with an emotional range of a teaspoon?!"
"You—complete—arse—Ronald—Weasley!"
"RON!"
He felt a hand on his shoulder, pulling him out of his stupor and straight into the green depths of Harry's worried eyes.
"H—Harry?" It was then that he realized how shaky he was, how the world sounded like fluctuating buzzing in his own ears.
"Ron, you OK?" Neville appeared next to Harry, looking just as concerned. "You want to sit down for a bit?"
"Who would want you, over the Chosen One?"
"N—no, I'm fine. It's—I'm OK. I just—" Ron shook his head. Get a fucking grip, Weasley! "Hey, mates, do me a favor and get my books up the Tower for me, yeah? I'll just—" He cleared his throat after shoving his books into Harry arms. "I need to go to the loo."
He had taken off before Harry or Neville had the chance to reply.
"Stop blaming Crookshanks for losing Scabbers, you prat! It's not his fault you couldn't take care of your pet properly!"
"The next time there's a ball, ask me before someone else does and not as a last resort!"
Shite! Shite! Shite! Shite! Ron splashed more water onto his face, as if it would somehow wash away the images and words bombarding his mind.
He hadn't known how long he stayed in the men's loo, rubbing his face and sending water all over the sink and mirrors, swaying between wanting to throwing up and to pound his head against the wall to knock himself out. He felt terrible for leaving his friends like that, then not telling them where he went or when he'd catch up to them. But he can't let them see him like this, can't let anybody see just how pathetic the real Ronald Weasley is, over a girl of all things.
But no, Hermione Granger was not just any girl. She had been his best friend, his ally, his rock whenever he became too emotional, the woman he had wanted to spend the rest of his life with. And Merlin help him for being so selfish, but he wanted her back so badly, even if it's just as a friend for now. Harry and Neville had come back to him somehow, so why couldn't he have her?
Was it because I changed? Because I duped everyone into thinking that I'm some sort of prodigy? Ron thought morosely. If only I could tell the truth, that I'm just a fraud. A fucking fraud. Hermione's the smartest witch of our generation and she…she worked so hard to be the best. I…I never wanted to take that from her. I just want her.
Ron felt his eyes burn so he angrily swiped at them. This is the worst. What was crying like a big baby going to do, other than to make him even more of a laughable piece of shite? But in spite of knowing this, the tears kept on building.
It's like losing her all over again. But this can't be it. There has to be a way, Ron choked heavily. There has to be a way for me to prove to her that I…I never meant to hurt her. I just want for us to be friends again. For things to go back to the way they were supposed to…
"Well too bloody bad, because I don't want to be yours!"
Ron frowned, his hand hovering over the closed sink tap.
Now that was a very good point. All this time, when it came to Hermione, he kept on thinking that he wanted her friendship back, more than because it was what was meant to happen, but because it was what he wanted to happen. Needed to happen.
But then he had changed things, hadn't he? Ever since he awakened that July night, he had already begun changing things, in spite of his best efforts to not affect any external events other than what he had to.
The more Ron thought about it, the more he began to realize…
It said that this world is not entirely the one in my old future. Ron thought. That some things will be different here to begin with. And here I am, trying to change this world, forcing it to become what I remember it being. But this is their world too, isn't it? And…if it's not something that will cause their deaths…who am I to make them do what I want?
"Why does this have to be so bloody complicated?" The red-haired wizard exhaled loudly before brushing his mussed up hair back. I guess this is the price I pay for going back in time, huh? Or to be reborn or whatever It wants to call this.
Ron took one more good look on the mirror. His hair wasn't as messy as before, his complexion having a little bit of its color back. Passable, he supposed. I better get back out. It's probably time for the Feast already. I'm sure Harry and Neville must be a little worried—
THUD!
A loud bang on the loo door, and a slamming motion that made Ron nearly lose his balance. "What the hell?"
THUD! THUD! BOOM!
The ground seemed to quiver at the impact, seemingly affecting the whole room, making Ron slip from his grip on the sink and sending him flat on his bum.
Was it an earthquake? Something in his gut told him otherwise. For one thing, he was bloody sure that there had never been an earthquake at Hogwarts during his first year. He'd definitely remember something like that! For another, the shaking felt like it was being caused by something heavy beating down the door. Something strong enough to affect the whole room in the process—
BLAG!
Ron barely managed to raise his arms on time, shielding him from the debris as the said door exploded into pieces.
What in the world is going on out there?! It was after hacking a bit of dust out of his lungs that the most nauseous scent hit him.
The combined smell of a badly soiled urinal and filthy, grimy socks.
Oh no. Ron's hand went for his wand, heart hammering as he braced himself for what he already knew was there. Oh, you have got to be fucking with me.
Less than ten feet away from Ron, towering twelve meters of hulking grey mass and with a very thick, spiked wooden club hanging from one of its arms, was a fully grown, angrily growling Mountain Troll.
Let me explain.
I fully intended to wrap up the Halloween chapter with one chapter. But then it turned into this behemoth that I had to cut it down to size.
But heeeey, at least there's a troll at the end, right?
*crickets chirping*
Hermione might seem a little too spiteful here, but even the smartest witch of her generation can't be mature all the time (and she's a kid! Some immaturity is to expected!) I'm not bashing her here. There are reasons for her actions; not exactly right ones, but they're there nonetheless. Don't get me wrong, I like RHr, but Ron won't be her punching bag, just as Hermione will always calls out Ron's shit. They will both mistakes, own up to them and grow as a result. That's what made their dynamic an enjoyable read (at least during the first five books).
And now we've got the study clubs in! And my first two OCs, Hui and Durand! Yay! The students who joined Ron's study clubs are all either canon characters or lifted from other HP-related material (looking at Haywood). Give them time, they'll warm up to Ron eventually.
Once again, I could never thank you all enough for the attention you're giving my humble fanfic, especially for those who took the time to review, point out corrections and give feedback. Your kind words are what inspire me to continue writing, because honestly, it makes a huge difference when you're writing for something that you know people are reading and enjoying; and when you're writing for something without feedback. Much love, guys. Hope you enjoyed this one. If not, hope you'll leave comments/suggestions/corrections to make it better.
UP NEXT:
The conclusion of the Ron vs. the Troll face-off, and its consequences for Ron and the people around him.
