Chapter 3
Harry Potter leaned back against his seat, trying to block out the sound of Hermione and Ron's argument. He didn't know what Ron had said to his sister, but whatever it was had made her angry enough to run away from him. They'd searched for Ginny for at least three-quarters of an hour, and had checked probably every compartment on the train in the process. But she hadn't been in a single one of them.
Harry shook his head. Ron and Hermione… When they were going to admit that they liked each other, he had no idea. Ron's jealousy of Krum had been oh so obvious at the Yule Ball, and, if he wasn't mistaken, Hermione had been stealing glances at Ron throughout at least the last half of their fourth year.
He sighed as his mind drifted back to Ginny. She'd kissed him that summer. It had been just the two of them, down in the kitchen the last day of vacation. He'd had trouble sleeping—Voldemort, again—and she had as well, probably for the same reason. They'd been talking, about both the coming war and the past, and suddenly she had leaned over and kissed him.
To be fair, it was an okay kiss. It was also his first, and, unless he was mistaken, her first as well. She'd pulled away after two seconds, her face a deep, scarlet red, and apologized before running upstairs. She'd avoided him since then, which hadn't been hard since it hadn't even been 24 hours.
He was grateful, as he checked his watch—Sirius had given him a new one for his birthday, since his old one had stopped working after the Second Task—that they were probably almost to Hogwarts. He smiled. He loved the place; over the years it had become like a home to him, as the Dursleys' never had. And now he was finally returning.
As he felt the train begin to slow down, he stood and walked out the compartment. He realized as he walked down the corridor that Hermione and Ron probably hadn't even realized he had left. Students began to exit the compartments, the excited chatter reaching an almost deafening roar as he reached the end of the car. He stopped by the door to the last compartment when he heard Ginny's voice inside.
"Thanks for the book, Malfoy," she said. He could hear the smile in her voice, and frowned. What in the world?
She walked out the door, and he stepped away quickly, so as not to have her run into him. "Hi, Ginny," he said.
She stopped, startled, and looked up at him. "H-hi, Harry," she said quietly.
"Were you in there with Malfoy?" he asked curiously, with a tinge of anger in his voice.
She frowned. "What business is it of yours?"
"You're my best friend's sister, for one," he stated. "For another," he leaned down, "you kissed me last night."
She scowled at him, obviously in a bad mood. "So what if I did? Maybe it's just helped me realize that my crush for you is gone. Over. Zip. Nada. No more."
Harry's eyebrows went up. Way up. What on earth had happened to her? Usually she was as agreeable as could be, and she'd had a crush on him for the previous three years—not to mention the fact that she'd kissed him the day before—but now… She seemed to be a whole different person almost. "What happened to you?"
Ginny suddenly looked a whole lot angrier. "Oh, just—" she stopped suddenly, and her facial expression changed. She now seemed…sad. "Maybe…" she sighed sadly. "Maybe you just… never really knew me." She shook her head and walked off, leaving Harry staring after her.
"Well, Potter, you sure fucked that up," Malfoy said, appearing in the doorway to the compartment Ginny had just exited. He leaned against the frame, smirking.
Harry scowled at his archenemy, and, not deigning to reply, walked off down the corridor. What was the matter with everyone? Everything seemed to be off today, and it was throwing him. Badly. Ginny acting strangely, Malfoy speaking civilly—at least partly—Ron and Hermione fighting. He sincerely hoped all would do well at the sorting, or he might be feeling really off-kilter by the time he went to bed.
The ride to the school was quiet, Ron and Hermione having finally reached an impasse in their argument. Harry sincerely hoped that they wouldn't hold grudges against each other for a while, as the whole world knew when they were fighting. Or at least it seemed like it, the way they would glare and ignore each other at the same time. You could feel the tension a mile away.
As they entered the Great Hall, Harry noticed that there were three seats still empty: Hagrid's, Professor Sinistra's, and, as always, the chair for the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. He belatedly wondered who would be teaching it this year, and whether he would measure up to Professor Lupin, who had no doubt been his favorite teacher of the subject.
Harry only half-listened as McGonagall brought out the new first years and the Sorting Hat sang its song. However, at Ron's gasp, he looked up. "What?" he asked his friend.
The gangly red-head shook his head speechlessly, pointing at one of the first years. It was a girl; she had shocking red hair that clearly identified her as a Weasley. Harry raised a brow curiously as the sorting started.
"Anglia, Robert!" Professor McGonagall read from her list. A small brown-haired boy stood up nervously and put the Hat on his head.
After a very few seconds, the Hat shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Bones, Georgia!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Terrence Everett became the first new Gryffindor, and Bea Farnwourth the first new Slytherin. Harry tuned out after that, looking up and down the table at the old faces. The twins were still there, as were Neville, Parvati, Lavender, Seamus, and Dean. He saw Ginny at the end near the teachers, by herself as she often seemed to be. He felt bad about their argument, but also rather relieved to find out that she no longer had a crush on him.
Speaking of crushes… He glanced over at the Ravenclaw table, blushing when he saw Cho seated there. She was smiling and laughing quietly with her friends.
Harry jumped when he felt Ron poke him.
"Weasley, Jessica!" McGonagall called. A tall—especially for an eleven-year-old—red-haired girl walked confidently to the Hat and set it on her head. Unlike most of the Weasleys, it seemed to be taking an inordinate amount of time to decide where to put her.
"She's my cousin," Ron whispered. "Dad's brother, Ben, married a Slytherin, and he was practically disowned. That's their daughter," he nodded at the girl the Hat was still deciding on. "I guess they're happy, and dad finally made peace with his brother a few years ago. We only just met Jessica last year."
"Why didn't you ever talk about her?" Harry asked quietly.
Ron shrugged. "Well, I didn't even know she existed till last year, and, well, it just never came up, I guess. I wonder what's taking so long… Usually the Hat places a Weasley within five seconds. It's been at least three minutes for her."
Harry shrugged, looking at Jessica Weasley. There was something different about her. She didn't seem as carefree as the other Weasleys he had met.
Finally the Hat decided. "SLYTHERIN!" it shouted decisively. Talk broke out amidst the tables, no doubt about a Weasley being sorted into Slytherin, and the table's applause was half-hearted at best.
Harry turned to his friend and was amazed to find his mouth gaping open. "Ron?" he asked.
"Sh-she-she was s-sorted into Slytherin," he finally gasped out. "A Weasley was sorted into Slytherin. I do believe the world is coming to an end."
A look down the table found the rest of the Weasleys to be in similar predicaments. Both Fred and George were staring open-mouthed as their cousin made her way to the Slytherin table, and Ginny had her eyebrows raised curiously. She seemed to be taking it the best. The twins weren't even able to make a joke about it.
Finally, with "Zabini, Aileen," sorted into Slytherin, the sorting was over. Professor McGonagall carried the Hat away, and Dumbledore waved his hand, the food appearing one the table and Ron, despite his shock that a Weasley had been sorted into Slytherin, was able to eat quite a bit. The three friends didn't talk, and Hermione didn't even mention the house-elves. When they were finished eating, Dumbledore stood.
"Ah, another year begun. There are a few start-of-term notices I would like to give out before I leave you to return to your dormitories for the evening.
"First, the Forbidden Forest is, of course, forbidden to all students. Hogsmeade is forbidden to those below third year and," he added, glancing at Harry, "those without a parental permission slip.
"Second, the Inter-House Quidditch Cup shall recommence this year, so I suggest that the teams begin training as soon as possible.
"Third, it is my great honor to introduce to you our Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor, Professor Malfoy."
Murmuring swept through the Great Hall as the doors opened and a tall woman with light blonde hair strode past the students and up to the table, where she sat down next to Professor McGonagall. It was this that finally knocked Ron out of his stupor.
"Is he mad?" Ron demanded, looking shocked at the thought of a Malfoy as a professor, and Dumbledore for allowing it.
Harry looked at the new professor, frowning. As much as he wanted to dislike her, he knew that Dumbledore always did things for a reason, and his choices could generally be trusted… And although he still was not completely certain about Snape, he knew that Dumbledore trusted him. If Dumbledore trusted Professor Malfoy, Harry supposed he could live with the professor.
"Ron!" Hermione scolded him.
They began arguing again, although it was cut short when Dumbledore again demanded silence. "That is all. Will the prefects lead their houses to the dormitory then?"
Everett Smith stood, calling, "Gryffindors, follow me," and headed to the common room. Hermione stood and followed him, ignoring Ron completely. Harry shook his head, sighing, taking his time getting up from the table. He glanced at the Slytherin table, and was surprised to find Malfoy frowning at the top table where the teachers were still sitting. "Ron," Harry said, "You go; I'll catch up."
Ron nodded distractedly; the whole Jessica-thing was obviously still eating at him. Harry watched as his friend walked away before looking back to the Malfoy. The Slytherin stood slowly, and jerked his head towards the door. Harry followed his gaze to find it resting on the new professor, and tilted his head thoughtfully before heading towards the door.
Walking out of sight, but not out of range, of the doors to the Great Hall, Harry heard the doors open again, and heard Malfoy begin speaking, "Aunt, why did you not tell me you would be teaching here?"
"Draco," Professor Malfoy sounded amused, "It is not as though I must tell you everything. Besides, I did not even know myself until a few days before you left."
"But you knew while I was there; why didn't you tell me then?" Malfoy demanded.
"Draco…" she sighed. "I just… I didn't, alright? Now then," her voice took on a happier note, "why don't you go on to the common room? We can catch up later." As Malfoy began to walk away—or that was what Harry assumed—she said, "Love you, dear."
"And you, Aunt Alicia," Malfoy replied.
Harry stood, shocked, in the corridor. Malfoy loved someone? Someone loved Malfoy? Alright, so it was family, but still. Malfoys were capable of love? The same shock that had no doubt engulfed Ron when Jessica had been sorted into Slytherin now engulfed Harry… His very basic beliefs about the world were being questioned.
"Good Gods," he whispered. First Ron and Hermione, then Ginny, then Malfoy, then Jessica, then Malfoy's aunt, then Malfoy again. Everything was throwing him so off-kilter he felt as though he might as well be on a ship… Not that he ever had been. But he imagined seasickness was this bad. Well, maybe not quite this bad.
And to think, all he had been worried about when the summer had begun was whether or not there would be Quidditch games this year…
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Disclaimer: If I ever tell you I own this, please hit me over the head with a frying pan and ask me to gather my sanity.
Kemenran: Glad you liked that chapter! Hope you enjoy this one as well, and that you enjoy my other stuff.
Lia: Yes, it will be a D/G fic. That's 'cause I really enjoy those two together, and it's really difficult, and it'll have to move really slowly, which is fine, since Ginny's still in fourth year, and Draco's still in fifth. Ginny's not speaking to Ron may or may not be revealed; I haven't decided whether or not it's important. And I love the relationship between Alicia and Draco. It is so much fun to work with. *grin*
Crystal: Glad you like it. :) You're on the updates list.
Kerbi: Yeah, I'm done with exams… But I only got three A's. I got a B. *frowns* Phooey. I really needed all A's. *sigh* Oh well.
harrypotter4ever: Don't you love Ginny? *grin* What do you mean by Draco/Ginny slashes? I didn't get that. Anyways, I won't reveal Hermione's pairing, whether it be Ron or someone else, for a bit. Haven't decided exactly when it'll be yet. Ah. However do I keep up with all my stories? I have no friggin' idea. I wrote a lot during my supposed sabbatical, and that's mostly what I've been posting. The rest of the time… Well, I dunno. I mean, I get writer's block a lot. I just work through it. I either start writing or I start plotting. I've thrown out a lot of copies of chapters. It took me three tries to get this one scene in chapter four of this fic (not yet posted, but finished) right. I kept messing it up. And I started chapter six of Last Will and Testament completely differently than I posted it. It was rather ridiculous actually. That's usually what happens; I start writing, and it's ridiculous, so I have to start over. It's trial and error for a while. Right now I'm really badly blocked on Last Will and Testament and The Hogwarts Express and The Secrets of My Heart. For LWaT, I need to write, I know; for THE, I need to plot, because the problem right now is a plot detail—i.e., who the devil are the children and when did Ginny leave Draco for them?—for TSoMH, I also have plot problems, although this time it's the fact that I want to finish it A.S.A.P. and I have no idea how. Well, okay, so I've already written the last chapter, but I really should have a chapter before that. And now I'm thinking of totally rewriting the ending and changing it drastically because of a recent realization I had about the chapter. So right now I'm concentrating on my new stories because they don't have plot troubles yet. *sigh* But know that I will finish all of them. And I will attempt to finish them well. All I can promise is that I won't go more than a month without updating, and I will finish all of them. Well, that's probably a lot more than you wanted to know, but I felt the need to vent…
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