The Deal
"Real sorry ter see this happenin' ter yeh, Johnny," Hagrid says. He has a knowing expression on his bearded face. Johnny is too upset to inquire. He stops at Zimmermann's office. "Here yeh go. Good luck."
Johnny knocks on the door quietly. She waits for Zimmermann's faint: "Come in," before pushing open the door.
Dumbledore is sitting at Zimmermann's desk and Zimmermann is sitting in the beat up armchair. He is bandaged up pretty tightly. They are both looking hard at Johnny. "Do you have anything to say in your defense, Miss Parker?" Dumbledore asks.
"You know I didn't do nothing, Doc!" Johnny exclaims, looking at Zimmermann. She can't believe that he is accusing her of such a crime. "What could I have done?"
"You attacked me. You came at me vith your bat vhen I vas trying to stop those junior Death-Eaters," Zimmermann says calmly. He looks at Dumbledore. "Ve have already come up vith your punishment."
Dumbledore sighs. "Your school's headmaster has been informed of your actions, Miss Parker," he looks down. "You will not be allowed to return there."
"I'm being expelled," Johnny says. She already knew that was going to happen but the pain of it is too much. She'd never been into magic but she was willing to deal with it as long as she could share a world with Ginny Weasley. But what could Ginny possibly find appealing about an ex-witch? She bursts into tears, wiping her face with her sleeve. She takes her wand and tries to hand it to Dumbledore. "You're going to be breaking this now, right?"
Dumbledore takes Johnny's wand. He examines it with interest. "Redwood, thirteen inches. A dragon heartstring core?"
"Yes, sir," Johnny says. "Got it at Winthrop's, a shop in Salem,
Massachusetts. We had to go there to do
our shopping my first year. Tennessee's
wasn't open yet."
"Why would I want to break a magnificent wand such as this?" Dumbledore asks. He hands it back to Johnny. "I believe that fairness is the only way in which to deal with a situation such as this. And this is indeed a grave situation.
"Why would you protect the young Death-Eaters, unless you are sympathetic to their cause? Why would you attack Dr. Zimmermann, a man who has done much to aid your progress in your goal of witchcraft?" Dumbledore asks. He holds up a hand to prevent Johnny from interrupting. "You see what a predicament I'm in? It's a teacher's word against yours, and, sadly, it's more universal to take the teacher's word on it. So I have no choice but to back his decision."
Johnny is genuinely confused. "But… you ain't expelling me. Why?"
"Zat is not my vish, Parker," Zimmermann says. "As I've said, you show great potential. And once you are punished for your acts, you vill understand zat vhat I do is for ze best. Zat is vhy you vill be transferred to Slytherin, effective immediately."
Johnny's jaw drops. "I'd rather be expelled! They have a full Quidditch team. I need to play or I lose my scholarship!"
"Zat is a moot point, Parker," Zimmermann replies. He looks at Dumbledore. "You vill be engaging in a work study program, helping Hagrid vith his animals."
"I don't want to be a Slytherin!" Johnny exclaims. "I want to be in Gryffindor. I want to be on the team. I worked so hard to get there."
Dumbledore raises an eyebrow. "There is one way to rectify the situation, if you've been falsely accused."
"I'll do anything," Johnny says eagerly.
"Where were you during the ball?" Dumbledore asks.
Johnny freezes. She can't tell him. What if Dumbledore kept her and Ginny apart? She looks at the floor. "I can't tell you that, sir."
"Then you are proving your guilt," Zimmermann says. "Zis is the only vay to teach you a very harsh lesson in reality."
"I want to go home," Johnny murmurs. She sighs. She can't leave, though. She can't leave now that's she's found Ginny. "What now?"
"Your things have already been taken to the Slytherin common room. You will be a full member of that house," Dumbledore says with a sigh.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione are sitting in the Potions classroom, waiting for Snape to arrive. They'd had trouble getting Ginny to say anything that morning and are very concerned for their younger friend. Hermione is the only one who has an idea of what Ginny's feeling, having witnessed their separation. She sighs deeply and leans on her elbows.
"Tired, Miss Granger?" Snape asks suddenly, rushing into the dungeon with his usual flair. Hermione sits up and gasps with the rest of the Gryffindors when they see Johnny Parker following him, wearing Slytherin robes. She looks very uncomfortable and she eyes the trio nervously. They just stare at her in shock. "Is something wrong, you three? Or do I have to separate you?"
Johnny aches to sit next to them and explain but the confused and hurt expressions are priceless. She sighs deeply and sits on the side of the room with the Slytherins.
"Hey, clear off," Draco snaps. "We don't need a turncoat among us, even if you're in our house now."
"Mr. Malfoy, I'll have you know that the American Sorting Hat made a mistake in Miss Parker's case," Snape says, actually defending Johnny. "She is where she belongs now and will be treated with the respect due to one who's been lost for as long as she has."
Draco closes his mouth. He glares at Johnny, who has to sit next to him. She ignores him and focuses on concentrating on Snap's lesson.
After class, Harry and the gang waits for Johnny, who trudges out of the dungeon with a bewildered look on her face. "How'd you know all those answers? I'll bet Snape does has secret lectures only the Slytherins get!" Ron exclaims, not affected by Johnny's robes at all.
"Uh, no. He doesn't," Johnny says. "I just… understood stuff today. I don't know. Maybe because I don't have to concentrate on Quidditch anymore."
"You can't play?" Harry asks.
Hermione puts her hand on Harry's shoulder. "That's not the important thing, Harry. Johnny, what happened? How did you get to be a Slytherin?"
Johnny explains the whole story, leaving out the kiss with Ginny. Hermione listens attentively. "This surely must be a rare case. Perhaps unprecedented! I'll look it up right away and see if there's anything we can do."
"Look, I don't want anymore trouble. I just want to get this over with and go home," Johnny says.
"Johnny?" Ginny's voice says suddenly. Johnny turns and sees the horrified expression on the younger girl's face. "You had to do things your way, didn't you? Just had to!" she cries before running off in the opposite direction.
Hermione glares at Johnny. "What does she know that we don't?"
"Nothing," Johnny says. "She's just a silly kid. She has no idea what's going on," she is angry at Ginny's reaction. She'd done this for her. If she hadn't run off, she'd have been able to explain. Her fists clench as she thinks about the world of pain she wants to inflict on Zimmermann. She'd like to actually be responsible for the crime she's being accused of.
"You didn't seem to think she was just a silly girl the other night," Hermione hisses just loud enough for Johnny to hear.
Johnny stares at Hermione in shock. Was there a hint of jealousy there? She sees that Hermione's eyes lingered on her a little bit too long before she turned in a huff toward the library.
