A/N: First of all, thank you so much and forever to IdentityCrisis, ShadowRomantic, and Ryan for reviewing chapter one! I thought no one would ever review, you guys made me so happy!
Once again, I apologize; I know that the stuff I've posted so far hasn't exactly flown very smoothly. Like I said before, I promise that after all of the exposition (and there are a lot of new characters to introduce, so please bear with me), there will be more by way of description and such. Right now it's just a lot of dialogue. Please review, it really, really helps me improve!
Please note that single words in all capitals are supposed to be in italics, but I can't write italics in text-only format.
The next chapter will be up soon; like before, I have it written on paper, I just have to type it up and do some heavy revision.
Enjoy!
Divided We Fall
Chapter Two- Drama Queens, Purebloods, and Extendable Ears
Ron and Hermione were coming back form the prefect's compartment when they were greeted by a most unpleasant sight. Draco Malfoy was laughing with Pansy and his cronies.
"Here, Ron said, shoving a pair of Fred and George's extendable ears into Hermione's hands and started to insert some into his own.
"What?"
"Let's listen to what Malfoy's saying."
"What do we care about what that little prat says?
"In the last few months living with Fred and George, I've learned that eavesdropping is always worth doing."
"Ron, we're PREFECTS, we shouldn't be eavesdropping on other people's conversations-"
"Just do it, you never know."
"What makes you think we'll hear anything important?"
"Well, we could hear something about- well- about You-Know-Who."
Hermione rolled her eyes, but placed the fleshy string into her ear. Fred and George's shop had been so successful with Hogwarts students over the summer that no one thought Ron and Hermione's extendable ears odd in the least. Malfoy's voice rang in their eardrums right away.
"Look at them all...my father always said that the Beauxbatons lot were a bunch of washed up drama queens..."
Looking over where gestured, they saw a group of students crying and wailing "Le monde finit! Le monde finit!" They wore the same thin, powder blue robes that the Beauxbatons delegates had donned during the Triwizard Tournament.
"The little git's pretty cocky for having his father holed up in Azkaban," Ron remarked contemptuously.
Malfoy went on. "Maelgwyn Academy...poorest Wizarding school in Northwestern Europe, they only stay open because of senile, muggle-loving patrons...Wystaff is fairly decent, they put some emphasis on the Dark Arts, and they don't stand for any mudblood trash, either..."
Ron clenched his hands very slightly.
Pansy batted her eyelashes at Draco. She had followed him around like a little puppy ever since the Yule Ball back in fourth year.
"Draco," she asked sweetly, "are any of these people- well- respectable?
Ron and Hermione knew that by "respectable", she meant pureblooded, wealthy, and almost certainly the child of a Death Eater.
Draco looked around some more. "Well, over there, that's Demogorgon Datrin, he's something like my fourth cousin..."
Demogorgon ("What kind of name is 'Demogorgon'?" asked Ron) was a raven-haired, malevolent-looking individual with frigid blue eyes talking to a knot of Slytherins a few seats away from Malfoy. He caught Malfoy's eye and greeted him.
"Greek," said Hermione.
"What?"
"You asked what kind of name Demogorgon is. I just remembered what Binns told us about Demogorgon the Devilish, that Dark Wizard from Ancient Greece."
"I didn't REALLY want to know, Hermione, I was just saying that it's a stupid name," Ron said. Hermione rolled her eyes once again.
When Malfoy was done, he turned back to his group and went on, scanning the corridor. "That girl over there is Avelus Cypress's daughter, he's the head of the department of Magical Law Enforcement. Don't know a whole lot about her, but I think she's related to me by marriage somehow...
The girl he indicated had short, straight, rust-colored hair, and was staring at the floor. A blonde student addressed her, and they started chatting amiably.
"The girl talking to her is Bysen Stebbins, her father works with mine at the Ministry..."
"Worked, you mean," said Ron gleefully. "Can't accomplish much in prison, can he?"
"Let's go Ron, we won't hear anything important..." Hermione removed her extendable ear. "Harry is probably wondering where we are."
"Alright," he said. He pocketed their extendable ears, moving to the door. They were almost out of the corridor when Malfoy spotted them.
"Hey, Weasely! Granger!" Pansy shrieked with laughter and Crabbe and Goyle, following suit, guffawed stupidly. Ron drove his hand into his robe and closed his fingers around his wand.
"Being brash, are we?" sneered Ron.
"I don't have a clue what you're talking about, Weasel." Everyone in the corridor was watching them closely.
"You don't? Really?" Ron smirked. "How's your dear old dad, then?"
The entire room quieted. The capture of the Death Eaters had been closely followed in The Daily Prophet, and everyone knew what had happened to Lucius Malfoy.
Malfoy's hand disappeared into his robes as well. His eyes grew cold with fury. "You're on dangerous ground, Weasely," he said in a low voice. "Don't you even breathe a word about my father."
Hermione tugged on Ron's arm. "Come ON, Ron," she whispered. Ron brushed her off and pulled out his wand. Malfoy did likewise.
"You should listen to your little mudblood girlfriend," hissed Malfoy.
Ron raised his wand.
"Oh, cut it OUT you two." The voice was sharp and condescending, and came from Bysen Stebbins, the blonde girl Draco had mentioned. Both parties lowered their wands. "I mean, HONESTLY. No one needs your little testosterone battles right now. Save it for a time when all of us AREN'T tired, hungry, and nervous. Come on, Iris, let's go and find a compartment." Iris, apparently, was the reddish- haired girl next to her, the one that whose name Malfoy had forgotten. She followed Bysen out the door. The silence lifted, and Ron and Hermione slipped out unnoticed in the chatter that followed. When they were safely away from the corridor, Hermione started in on Ron.
"Ron, WHAT were you thinking, making a prat out of yourself like that? You know he's only provoking you, just ignore him!"
"Are you kidding me? He called you a mudblood, I'm not going to just walk away after an affront like that..."
"He called ME a mudblood, not you, so you need to learn a little self-control!"
"I won't let him insult my mates like that! HE'S the one who needs self-control, if you ask me..."
Hermione rolled her eyes.
"You know, if you keep doing that, they might get stuck that way."
"Shut up Ron! That girl was perfectly right; the both of you need to keep your hormones under control!"
"It's not hormones, Hermione, it's him being a total GIT."
They didn't talk for a minute or so, making their way to the end of the train. The tension that had existed at the beginning of the ride had eased up a little, and people were laughing and joking. Hermione told a few second years off for playing a particularly rowdy game of Gobstones. After a while, she spoke again.
"Thank you for defending me, Ron."
Ron faltered, and turned to her. "Well...er...you're welcome." His ears turned a little red at the tip.
"Even if it WAS unnecessary, and even if you do need to learn a little self-control."
"Yes, Hermione"
"But it was very thoughtful of you all the same."
The redness in his ears deepened the tiniest bit.
A/N: So, what did you think? Please review; the last couple of people were so helpful! Thanks again, guys!:-) I'll update soon, I promise!
Once again, I apologize; I know that the stuff I've posted so far hasn't exactly flown very smoothly. Like I said before, I promise that after all of the exposition (and there are a lot of new characters to introduce, so please bear with me), there will be more by way of description and such. Right now it's just a lot of dialogue. Please review, it really, really helps me improve!
Please note that single words in all capitals are supposed to be in italics, but I can't write italics in text-only format.
The next chapter will be up soon; like before, I have it written on paper, I just have to type it up and do some heavy revision.
Enjoy!
Divided We Fall
Chapter Two- Drama Queens, Purebloods, and Extendable Ears
Ron and Hermione were coming back form the prefect's compartment when they were greeted by a most unpleasant sight. Draco Malfoy was laughing with Pansy and his cronies.
"Here, Ron said, shoving a pair of Fred and George's extendable ears into Hermione's hands and started to insert some into his own.
"What?"
"Let's listen to what Malfoy's saying."
"What do we care about what that little prat says?
"In the last few months living with Fred and George, I've learned that eavesdropping is always worth doing."
"Ron, we're PREFECTS, we shouldn't be eavesdropping on other people's conversations-"
"Just do it, you never know."
"What makes you think we'll hear anything important?"
"Well, we could hear something about- well- about You-Know-Who."
Hermione rolled her eyes, but placed the fleshy string into her ear. Fred and George's shop had been so successful with Hogwarts students over the summer that no one thought Ron and Hermione's extendable ears odd in the least. Malfoy's voice rang in their eardrums right away.
"Look at them all...my father always said that the Beauxbatons lot were a bunch of washed up drama queens..."
Looking over where gestured, they saw a group of students crying and wailing "Le monde finit! Le monde finit!" They wore the same thin, powder blue robes that the Beauxbatons delegates had donned during the Triwizard Tournament.
"The little git's pretty cocky for having his father holed up in Azkaban," Ron remarked contemptuously.
Malfoy went on. "Maelgwyn Academy...poorest Wizarding school in Northwestern Europe, they only stay open because of senile, muggle-loving patrons...Wystaff is fairly decent, they put some emphasis on the Dark Arts, and they don't stand for any mudblood trash, either..."
Ron clenched his hands very slightly.
Pansy batted her eyelashes at Draco. She had followed him around like a little puppy ever since the Yule Ball back in fourth year.
"Draco," she asked sweetly, "are any of these people- well- respectable?
Ron and Hermione knew that by "respectable", she meant pureblooded, wealthy, and almost certainly the child of a Death Eater.
Draco looked around some more. "Well, over there, that's Demogorgon Datrin, he's something like my fourth cousin..."
Demogorgon ("What kind of name is 'Demogorgon'?" asked Ron) was a raven-haired, malevolent-looking individual with frigid blue eyes talking to a knot of Slytherins a few seats away from Malfoy. He caught Malfoy's eye and greeted him.
"Greek," said Hermione.
"What?"
"You asked what kind of name Demogorgon is. I just remembered what Binns told us about Demogorgon the Devilish, that Dark Wizard from Ancient Greece."
"I didn't REALLY want to know, Hermione, I was just saying that it's a stupid name," Ron said. Hermione rolled her eyes once again.
When Malfoy was done, he turned back to his group and went on, scanning the corridor. "That girl over there is Avelus Cypress's daughter, he's the head of the department of Magical Law Enforcement. Don't know a whole lot about her, but I think she's related to me by marriage somehow...
The girl he indicated had short, straight, rust-colored hair, and was staring at the floor. A blonde student addressed her, and they started chatting amiably.
"The girl talking to her is Bysen Stebbins, her father works with mine at the Ministry..."
"Worked, you mean," said Ron gleefully. "Can't accomplish much in prison, can he?"
"Let's go Ron, we won't hear anything important..." Hermione removed her extendable ear. "Harry is probably wondering where we are."
"Alright," he said. He pocketed their extendable ears, moving to the door. They were almost out of the corridor when Malfoy spotted them.
"Hey, Weasely! Granger!" Pansy shrieked with laughter and Crabbe and Goyle, following suit, guffawed stupidly. Ron drove his hand into his robe and closed his fingers around his wand.
"Being brash, are we?" sneered Ron.
"I don't have a clue what you're talking about, Weasel." Everyone in the corridor was watching them closely.
"You don't? Really?" Ron smirked. "How's your dear old dad, then?"
The entire room quieted. The capture of the Death Eaters had been closely followed in The Daily Prophet, and everyone knew what had happened to Lucius Malfoy.
Malfoy's hand disappeared into his robes as well. His eyes grew cold with fury. "You're on dangerous ground, Weasely," he said in a low voice. "Don't you even breathe a word about my father."
Hermione tugged on Ron's arm. "Come ON, Ron," she whispered. Ron brushed her off and pulled out his wand. Malfoy did likewise.
"You should listen to your little mudblood girlfriend," hissed Malfoy.
Ron raised his wand.
"Oh, cut it OUT you two." The voice was sharp and condescending, and came from Bysen Stebbins, the blonde girl Draco had mentioned. Both parties lowered their wands. "I mean, HONESTLY. No one needs your little testosterone battles right now. Save it for a time when all of us AREN'T tired, hungry, and nervous. Come on, Iris, let's go and find a compartment." Iris, apparently, was the reddish- haired girl next to her, the one that whose name Malfoy had forgotten. She followed Bysen out the door. The silence lifted, and Ron and Hermione slipped out unnoticed in the chatter that followed. When they were safely away from the corridor, Hermione started in on Ron.
"Ron, WHAT were you thinking, making a prat out of yourself like that? You know he's only provoking you, just ignore him!"
"Are you kidding me? He called you a mudblood, I'm not going to just walk away after an affront like that..."
"He called ME a mudblood, not you, so you need to learn a little self-control!"
"I won't let him insult my mates like that! HE'S the one who needs self-control, if you ask me..."
Hermione rolled her eyes.
"You know, if you keep doing that, they might get stuck that way."
"Shut up Ron! That girl was perfectly right; the both of you need to keep your hormones under control!"
"It's not hormones, Hermione, it's him being a total GIT."
They didn't talk for a minute or so, making their way to the end of the train. The tension that had existed at the beginning of the ride had eased up a little, and people were laughing and joking. Hermione told a few second years off for playing a particularly rowdy game of Gobstones. After a while, she spoke again.
"Thank you for defending me, Ron."
Ron faltered, and turned to her. "Well...er...you're welcome." His ears turned a little red at the tip.
"Even if it WAS unnecessary, and even if you do need to learn a little self-control."
"Yes, Hermione"
"But it was very thoughtful of you all the same."
The redness in his ears deepened the tiniest bit.
A/N: So, what did you think? Please review; the last couple of people were so helpful! Thanks again, guys!:-) I'll update soon, I promise!