"Oh, I hate brooms! And I don't like flying!" Hermione grumbled as
she mounted her broom.
"Aw, brooms aren't that bad! Neither's flying!" Blaise cried, flexing her fingers around the handle of her broom. Hermione gave her a severe look. Blaise, ever so mature, stuck her tongue out at the Gryffindor girl.
"Up, up, and away!" Harry called, grinning as he pushed off. He heard Blaise whoop behind him as he rose and looked over his shoulder. She had just pushed off. Then he looked over at Hermione. She was still standing on the ground, feet planted firmly on the ground, biting her lip.
"Hermione!" Blaise yelled.
"I can't do it!" Hermione called back as the two Slytherins rose higher. Harry turned sharply and headed back down toward Hermione. He landed beside her.
"Come on, didn't you fly at all during the flying lesson?" he asked. He could hear Blaise's happy cried behind and above him.
"Only a little, and I hated it!" Hermione said, eyebrows furrowed.
"Here, fly with me for a minute then try it on your own broom. Deal?" Harry made a pouty face at her. Hermione rolled her eyes and put her broom down on the ground and walked to him. Harry grinned. "Behind me, then!"
Hermione climbed onto the broom behind him and wrapped her arms securely around Harry's waist. Harry could feel her trembling.
"Hey, calm down Mione, it's really not that bad. Count of three, okay? One -"
Harry pushed off hard. He heard Hermione scream behind him and tighten her grip on his waist.
"What did you do that for?! Count of three!" Hermione yelled in his ear.
"Why would I wait until three? I like flying." Harry replied, grinning maniacally, even though Hermione couldn't see him do so. "Look down, Mione!"
"Oh my god. I'm going to fall and die." Hermione breathed.
"No you won't. I'll save ya if you fall, don't worry." Harry said, and broke into a dive suddenly. Hermione screamed again, nearly choking him with her arms around his waist. Harry pulled up abruptly, shooting straight up, laughing happily while Hermione screamed.
"HARRY!" Hermione shrieked.
"Yes?"
"GET ME DOWN!"
"Why? We're having too much fun!" And Harry veered into a barrel roll, sending his passenger into a fit of hysterics.
After a few more tricks that brought screams from Hermione and howls of laughter from Blaise, Harry finally touched down. Hermione jumped off the broom as soon as she could and ran quite a distance away from Harry.
/Lovely, Harry. Now she'll really want to fly her own broom/.
Harry turned to Blaise, who'd landed a few feet away, and grinned.
/Yeah. She'll feel better that she's in control of what she does/.
/Oh wise one/.
"Aw shut up, Blaise." Harry muttered out loud.
* * *
After Blaise had explained the rules of Quidditch to Harry, and Hermione had shakily flown a ways on her own, all three returned the brooms to the broom shed and headed up to the castle.
"You know I'm going to hate you forever and ever, right Harry?" Hermione said to him as they walked up the front steps.
"Yeah."
They walked through the corridors and down to the Slytherin common room. Hermione waited outside while Harry and Blaise went in to grab their texts and essays. They passed Malfoy on the way out.
"Getting your things, Potter? Going to go home already?" he sneered. Harry turned and grinned wildly as Blaise continued through the portrait hole.
"Yes, that's right, I'm off to say my good-byes. You?"
Draco merely sneered again.
"You have this thing with sneering, don't you?" Harry asked. Malfoy glared. Harry gave him another broader grin before turning and leaving after Blaise.
"Sorry, Malfoy held me up." Harry said. Blaise rolled her eyes and Hermione uncrossed her arms. The three of them headed for Gryffindor Tower.
* * *
Ron Weasley looked up when the portrait hole opened. He saw that annoying know-it-all Hermione Granger walk in and beckon to someone behind her and rolled his eyes. He would have returned to his homework had he not caught a glimpse of who Granger was beckoning to. His mouth dropped open as Harry Potter walked into the Gryffindor common room, looking around, his face impassive as he studied the high ceiling and the red and gold that decorated the walls. Then, after Potter, came Blaise Zabini, Potter's associate. Then Granger closed the portrait and led the two /Slytherins/ to her usual corner near to the fire. Ron noticed most Gryffindors looking up at the two intruders, mouths open, making small noises in their throats.
Granger sat down on her seat and picked up her textbook. Potter glanced around, found no empty seats, and sat down on the floor. Zabini sat beside him. Both reached into their bookbags and pulled out a textbook.
Granger looked up at the silent common room. Ron could see her face go slightly red at the stares she was receiving. Potter looked up at her. He noticed her set face and slightly red cheeks and looked around behind him. He smirked at the staring Gryffindors and returned to his textbook.
"What page is it again, Mione?" his voice broke the silence. Granger looked back down at her text as well.
"Twelve." She muttered. There was a rustling as both Potter and Zabini turned to page twelve.
"Is it always this quiet in here?" Zabini asked, glancing behind her and then back to Granger. Granger shook her head, still studying her textbook.
"No, not usually. They're just stunned that there are two Slytherins in the Gryffindor common room right now." She answered. Zabini nodded.
A few minutes passed and a few Gryffindors began to talk again, but Ron wasn't about to let Granger get away with this. He rose and started toward the two Slytherins and Granger. The room fell silent again as he reached them. Granger looked up.
"Oh, hello Ron." She said and went back to reading the book. Ron's cheeks flushed with anger.
"Hello, /Granger/. Tell me, just what do you think you're doing, taking two Slytherins into the /Gryffindor/ common room?" he asked icily, crossing his arms.
"If it makes you feel any better, /Ron/, they didn't hear the password." said Granger, not bothering to look up.
"What do you think you're doing, Granger? Those are /Slytherins/, you know, Dark Wizards?" Ron almost shouted at the stubborn girl. Granger looked up, eyes narrowed, and seemed about to rise, but Potter beat her to it. He rose quite slowly, and by the time he reached his height, his green eyes were level with Ron's. Potter stared at him, face impassive once again, for several moments before Ron had to turn his head.
"Dear me, Weasley, can't even stand to look at a /future Dark Wizard/?" Potter spat out the last words. "I'm sorry if Blaise and I have offended you by soiling your common room with /dirty Slytherin blood/, but if I may remind you, Voldemort -" Everyone in the room except Blaise flinched, "- killed my parents. Just what makes you think I'd want to go and join him? And how do I know that you aren't a Dark Wizard? Just because you're in Gryffindor? I think you have more of a chance to be one than I do. I mean, look at you. Five older brothers. You must feel very left out. Overshadowed by your siblings? How do I know that you aren't going to go Dark just because you want revenge on being the least of the Weasleys?"
Ron's mouth was open. How did he know that? How did he know that Ron had five brothers, and that he always felt overshadowed by them?
"Well, Weasley?" Potter asked impatiently.
"I'm not a Dark Wizard!" Ron exclaimed incredulously, regaining his wits. Potter arched one black eyebrow.
"Nor am I." He said.
"But how do we know you aren't lying?" Ron said defensively.
"How do I know you aren't lying?"
Ron shut his mouth. Potter had a good point. Ron mulled this over for a moment until inspiration struck.
"Every Death Eater has a Dark Mark branded on his forearm, can't remember which one. Look, all clean." Ron said, pulling up the sleeve of his shabby robes to reveal both forearms. He stared at Potter defiantly.
Potter glanced around, at all the people watching him expectantly. He seemed like he didn't really want to do it, but he lifted up his sleeve anyway.
Ron's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped when he saw Potter's arm. Scars and scabs and bruises covered the entire length of pale, waxy-looking skin. Potter's arm looked like it was just skin stretched over bone; no muscle, no meat. Potter quickly let his sleeve fall and shoved up his other one. This arm was just as bad. Potter hastily put his sleeve back in order. He stared at the floor for a good minute before blinking and looking back up at Ron.
"Happy that I'm not a Dark Wizard now, Weasley? Or would you like me to show you the rest of my arm, just to make sure Voldemort didn't put that pesky little Dark Mark in some other place?"
Ron was so shocked he forgot to flinch.
"Come on, Blaise," Potter turned around. "Let's go. We wouldn't want to dirty up the Gryffindor common room any more than it already is." He grabbed his open textbook and shut it loudly.
"See ya, Mione." Zabini called as the two Slytherins opened the portrait hole and crept out, shutting it behind them.
"Are you quite happy now, Ron?"
Ron turned back to Granger, mouth still slightly open. Granger's hands were on her hips and her brown eyes narrowed.
"Huh?" was all he managed to say.
"You've chased off my friends because of some childish house rivalry. Do you have any idea how stupid you are?" she yelled at him. Ron just stood, stunned.
Granger turned back to her textbook, grabbed it and shut it with a louder bang than Potter had, and hurried out the portrait hole after the two Slytherins.
There was silence in the common room as they all stared at the closed portrait hole. Then everyone turned to Ron.
A/N: What a lovely chapter. I'm sorry about Ron and Harry's conversation, it's all crappy. But hey, I'm really tired, so hah. I'll have a way better chapter next time, don't worry.
Reviewers:
Katy999: I like the red ones. Do you like Mike and Ikes? I do. Yeah, they kinda are asking for trouble, aren't they? But wouldn't you say that about Hermione sitting at the Gryffindor table?
Sarah: Alright, if you're the expert on Mary Sues, how is Blaise one? And I'm so terribly sorry if you think my story is pathetic but the least you could do is keep your mouth shut about it.
Creamy Mimi: Indeed, chocolate pudding.
Carey Miles: Heh, couldn't have Harry getting expelled, could we? Sheesh! Yes! Yes! Send me more of your story!
Ryra Skorka: You tell her!
Rachel: Tempting . . . but no, nobody else can know about Sadie (except maybe Mione) until they find out he's a Parseltongue. Maybe then. Gryffindor Seeker? I dunno . . . you'll find out when I do.
Ian: Ah shush. I'm going, I'm going.
Xirleb70: I update every weekend (as long as ff.net cooperated). Don't worry! I won't leave you there forever!
Sk8reagle: We'll hear more from Ron soon. Yeah, Hermione on a broom . . . very fun to write!
Andrea_Potter: Not as good as it could've been, but I was rushing to finish it.
Hell's Reaper: Well, Ginny will be about as much of a character in this story as she was in the original series, so . . . I'm not sure about Harry and Blaise. That's something that'll come around when it feels like it. Eventually even Ron will warm up to the Slyths but it'll take quite some time.
"Aw, brooms aren't that bad! Neither's flying!" Blaise cried, flexing her fingers around the handle of her broom. Hermione gave her a severe look. Blaise, ever so mature, stuck her tongue out at the Gryffindor girl.
"Up, up, and away!" Harry called, grinning as he pushed off. He heard Blaise whoop behind him as he rose and looked over his shoulder. She had just pushed off. Then he looked over at Hermione. She was still standing on the ground, feet planted firmly on the ground, biting her lip.
"Hermione!" Blaise yelled.
"I can't do it!" Hermione called back as the two Slytherins rose higher. Harry turned sharply and headed back down toward Hermione. He landed beside her.
"Come on, didn't you fly at all during the flying lesson?" he asked. He could hear Blaise's happy cried behind and above him.
"Only a little, and I hated it!" Hermione said, eyebrows furrowed.
"Here, fly with me for a minute then try it on your own broom. Deal?" Harry made a pouty face at her. Hermione rolled her eyes and put her broom down on the ground and walked to him. Harry grinned. "Behind me, then!"
Hermione climbed onto the broom behind him and wrapped her arms securely around Harry's waist. Harry could feel her trembling.
"Hey, calm down Mione, it's really not that bad. Count of three, okay? One -"
Harry pushed off hard. He heard Hermione scream behind him and tighten her grip on his waist.
"What did you do that for?! Count of three!" Hermione yelled in his ear.
"Why would I wait until three? I like flying." Harry replied, grinning maniacally, even though Hermione couldn't see him do so. "Look down, Mione!"
"Oh my god. I'm going to fall and die." Hermione breathed.
"No you won't. I'll save ya if you fall, don't worry." Harry said, and broke into a dive suddenly. Hermione screamed again, nearly choking him with her arms around his waist. Harry pulled up abruptly, shooting straight up, laughing happily while Hermione screamed.
"HARRY!" Hermione shrieked.
"Yes?"
"GET ME DOWN!"
"Why? We're having too much fun!" And Harry veered into a barrel roll, sending his passenger into a fit of hysterics.
After a few more tricks that brought screams from Hermione and howls of laughter from Blaise, Harry finally touched down. Hermione jumped off the broom as soon as she could and ran quite a distance away from Harry.
/Lovely, Harry. Now she'll really want to fly her own broom/.
Harry turned to Blaise, who'd landed a few feet away, and grinned.
/Yeah. She'll feel better that she's in control of what she does/.
/Oh wise one/.
"Aw shut up, Blaise." Harry muttered out loud.
* * *
After Blaise had explained the rules of Quidditch to Harry, and Hermione had shakily flown a ways on her own, all three returned the brooms to the broom shed and headed up to the castle.
"You know I'm going to hate you forever and ever, right Harry?" Hermione said to him as they walked up the front steps.
"Yeah."
They walked through the corridors and down to the Slytherin common room. Hermione waited outside while Harry and Blaise went in to grab their texts and essays. They passed Malfoy on the way out.
"Getting your things, Potter? Going to go home already?" he sneered. Harry turned and grinned wildly as Blaise continued through the portrait hole.
"Yes, that's right, I'm off to say my good-byes. You?"
Draco merely sneered again.
"You have this thing with sneering, don't you?" Harry asked. Malfoy glared. Harry gave him another broader grin before turning and leaving after Blaise.
"Sorry, Malfoy held me up." Harry said. Blaise rolled her eyes and Hermione uncrossed her arms. The three of them headed for Gryffindor Tower.
* * *
Ron Weasley looked up when the portrait hole opened. He saw that annoying know-it-all Hermione Granger walk in and beckon to someone behind her and rolled his eyes. He would have returned to his homework had he not caught a glimpse of who Granger was beckoning to. His mouth dropped open as Harry Potter walked into the Gryffindor common room, looking around, his face impassive as he studied the high ceiling and the red and gold that decorated the walls. Then, after Potter, came Blaise Zabini, Potter's associate. Then Granger closed the portrait and led the two /Slytherins/ to her usual corner near to the fire. Ron noticed most Gryffindors looking up at the two intruders, mouths open, making small noises in their throats.
Granger sat down on her seat and picked up her textbook. Potter glanced around, found no empty seats, and sat down on the floor. Zabini sat beside him. Both reached into their bookbags and pulled out a textbook.
Granger looked up at the silent common room. Ron could see her face go slightly red at the stares she was receiving. Potter looked up at her. He noticed her set face and slightly red cheeks and looked around behind him. He smirked at the staring Gryffindors and returned to his textbook.
"What page is it again, Mione?" his voice broke the silence. Granger looked back down at her text as well.
"Twelve." She muttered. There was a rustling as both Potter and Zabini turned to page twelve.
"Is it always this quiet in here?" Zabini asked, glancing behind her and then back to Granger. Granger shook her head, still studying her textbook.
"No, not usually. They're just stunned that there are two Slytherins in the Gryffindor common room right now." She answered. Zabini nodded.
A few minutes passed and a few Gryffindors began to talk again, but Ron wasn't about to let Granger get away with this. He rose and started toward the two Slytherins and Granger. The room fell silent again as he reached them. Granger looked up.
"Oh, hello Ron." She said and went back to reading the book. Ron's cheeks flushed with anger.
"Hello, /Granger/. Tell me, just what do you think you're doing, taking two Slytherins into the /Gryffindor/ common room?" he asked icily, crossing his arms.
"If it makes you feel any better, /Ron/, they didn't hear the password." said Granger, not bothering to look up.
"What do you think you're doing, Granger? Those are /Slytherins/, you know, Dark Wizards?" Ron almost shouted at the stubborn girl. Granger looked up, eyes narrowed, and seemed about to rise, but Potter beat her to it. He rose quite slowly, and by the time he reached his height, his green eyes were level with Ron's. Potter stared at him, face impassive once again, for several moments before Ron had to turn his head.
"Dear me, Weasley, can't even stand to look at a /future Dark Wizard/?" Potter spat out the last words. "I'm sorry if Blaise and I have offended you by soiling your common room with /dirty Slytherin blood/, but if I may remind you, Voldemort -" Everyone in the room except Blaise flinched, "- killed my parents. Just what makes you think I'd want to go and join him? And how do I know that you aren't a Dark Wizard? Just because you're in Gryffindor? I think you have more of a chance to be one than I do. I mean, look at you. Five older brothers. You must feel very left out. Overshadowed by your siblings? How do I know that you aren't going to go Dark just because you want revenge on being the least of the Weasleys?"
Ron's mouth was open. How did he know that? How did he know that Ron had five brothers, and that he always felt overshadowed by them?
"Well, Weasley?" Potter asked impatiently.
"I'm not a Dark Wizard!" Ron exclaimed incredulously, regaining his wits. Potter arched one black eyebrow.
"Nor am I." He said.
"But how do we know you aren't lying?" Ron said defensively.
"How do I know you aren't lying?"
Ron shut his mouth. Potter had a good point. Ron mulled this over for a moment until inspiration struck.
"Every Death Eater has a Dark Mark branded on his forearm, can't remember which one. Look, all clean." Ron said, pulling up the sleeve of his shabby robes to reveal both forearms. He stared at Potter defiantly.
Potter glanced around, at all the people watching him expectantly. He seemed like he didn't really want to do it, but he lifted up his sleeve anyway.
Ron's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped when he saw Potter's arm. Scars and scabs and bruises covered the entire length of pale, waxy-looking skin. Potter's arm looked like it was just skin stretched over bone; no muscle, no meat. Potter quickly let his sleeve fall and shoved up his other one. This arm was just as bad. Potter hastily put his sleeve back in order. He stared at the floor for a good minute before blinking and looking back up at Ron.
"Happy that I'm not a Dark Wizard now, Weasley? Or would you like me to show you the rest of my arm, just to make sure Voldemort didn't put that pesky little Dark Mark in some other place?"
Ron was so shocked he forgot to flinch.
"Come on, Blaise," Potter turned around. "Let's go. We wouldn't want to dirty up the Gryffindor common room any more than it already is." He grabbed his open textbook and shut it loudly.
"See ya, Mione." Zabini called as the two Slytherins opened the portrait hole and crept out, shutting it behind them.
"Are you quite happy now, Ron?"
Ron turned back to Granger, mouth still slightly open. Granger's hands were on her hips and her brown eyes narrowed.
"Huh?" was all he managed to say.
"You've chased off my friends because of some childish house rivalry. Do you have any idea how stupid you are?" she yelled at him. Ron just stood, stunned.
Granger turned back to her textbook, grabbed it and shut it with a louder bang than Potter had, and hurried out the portrait hole after the two Slytherins.
There was silence in the common room as they all stared at the closed portrait hole. Then everyone turned to Ron.
A/N: What a lovely chapter. I'm sorry about Ron and Harry's conversation, it's all crappy. But hey, I'm really tired, so hah. I'll have a way better chapter next time, don't worry.
Reviewers:
Katy999: I like the red ones. Do you like Mike and Ikes? I do. Yeah, they kinda are asking for trouble, aren't they? But wouldn't you say that about Hermione sitting at the Gryffindor table?
Sarah: Alright, if you're the expert on Mary Sues, how is Blaise one? And I'm so terribly sorry if you think my story is pathetic but the least you could do is keep your mouth shut about it.
Creamy Mimi: Indeed, chocolate pudding.
Carey Miles: Heh, couldn't have Harry getting expelled, could we? Sheesh! Yes! Yes! Send me more of your story!
Ryra Skorka: You tell her!
Rachel: Tempting . . . but no, nobody else can know about Sadie (except maybe Mione) until they find out he's a Parseltongue. Maybe then. Gryffindor Seeker? I dunno . . . you'll find out when I do.
Ian: Ah shush. I'm going, I'm going.
Xirleb70: I update every weekend (as long as ff.net cooperated). Don't worry! I won't leave you there forever!
Sk8reagle: We'll hear more from Ron soon. Yeah, Hermione on a broom . . . very fun to write!
Andrea_Potter: Not as good as it could've been, but I was rushing to finish it.
Hell's Reaper: Well, Ginny will be about as much of a character in this story as she was in the original series, so . . . I'm not sure about Harry and Blaise. That's something that'll come around when it feels like it. Eventually even Ron will warm up to the Slyths but it'll take quite some time.