"Sixteen/16"
Hi! This is my very first Harry Potter fic and I'm quite nervous about it. I'm not that good in writing so don't expect much about this. It's OK if this sucks to you. Anyway, enjoy reading!
Ships involved: Harry/Hermione, Ron/Lavender/Draco, Seamus/Parvati, Dean/Padma ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------- Chapter 1
There are 3 days to go before school starts. 3 days before Harry Potter starts his 6th year in Hogwarts. Harry stayed at the Burrow with the Weasleys the whole summer. It was the best summer in his life. No Aunt Petunia scolding him. No Uncle Vernon shouting about how freaky he is and lastly, no Dudley to make fun of him. Harry was free.
Harry stayed at the Leaky Cauldron w/ Hermione and Ron together w/ the other Weasleys, 3 days before term starts. They already bought their new stuff in Diagon Alley the previous day. Hermione is still a school prefect and Ron was now part of the Gryffindor Quidditch team as Keeper----and captain. Ginny is on the team too as chaser. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were really proud of both of them. Fred and George were now working at Zonko's joke shop in Hogsmeade.
Finally, the day has arrived. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley bid their last goodbyes to Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny as they went on the train. They took the very last compartment which for them was the best spot on the train. Harry sat by the window. He stared outside as the train moved from mountain to mountain; forest to forest, thinking about what's in store for him at Hogwarts this year. Hermione noticed this and decided to break Harry's silence.
"Harry, why so silent?" Hermione asked.
"Nothing. I was just thinking." Harry said calmly.
"Of what?"
"Of 6th year..." Harry said still w/ calmness on his voice.
"Oh don't worry Harry, everything is going to be Ok. I bet it's going to be as exciting as last year." Hermione said w/ a convincing look at Harry.
"Hermione's right. Try not to think about it too much. Think of something else like........Cho!" Ron said while chewing on Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans.
Hermione frowned. She always knew that Harry likes Cho and there's something about it that makes her----well----silent whenever Cho is being talked about.
"Hermione, are you Ok?" Harry asked.
"Oh...ah....yes....I definitely am." Hermione said quickly
Suddenly, someone opened their compartment door. It was Parvati Patil. She still had a long black hair tied in a high ponytail and was still very pretty. She greeted everyone with a smile.
"Hey there! How're you guys doin'?" Parvati said beaming as she sat down between Ginny and Hermione.
"Fine. You? How's summer?" Ginny asked curiously.
"Good. I went to Switzerland with my family. It's the most awesome place ever!" Parvati said excitedly.
"Where's Lavender?" Hermione asked while checking on a large Arithmancy book.
Ron accidentally choked on a chocolate flavored bean, with the mention of Lavender's name. He had just finally admitted to Harry and Hermione that he has a crush on her ever since the start of 5th year during summer. That's why he's so jealous when Draco was stalking her the previous year.
"At the compartment. Have you seen her new hair style? It really fits her well." Parvati said excitedly.
"Lavender's got a new hair style?" Ginny asked curiously
Her question has been answered when someone opened their compartment door. It was Lavender. She still had the brown shoulder-length hair, but it no longer had a classic curl on its end. It was very straight and more shiny. She wore a pink headband. Ron's jaw almost dropped when he saw her. She's extremely pretty, Ron thought. Harry, Hermione and Ginny stared at Lavender for a while.
"What? What's wrong?" Lavender said curiously.
"Wow. What did you do to your hair?" Hermione said astonished.
"Oh this. My mom forced me to get a new hairstyle. Took a month before she convinced me" Lavender said touching the end of her hair.
"At least it's better than before..."
"Why don't you sit down?You can sit there." Ginny said pointing at the space between Harry and Ron.
Lavender sat down. Harry and Hermione exchanged looks as Lavender sat beside a now pink-faced Ron.
"Hey Harry, Hey Ron!" Lavender said as she patted both boys on the shoulder.
"Hi Lavender. I like you hair." Harry said smiling.
"It's not a big deal..." Lavender said flatly.
Suddenly, the compartment door slid open again, revealing Seamus.
"Hey peeps! What's up?" Seamus said coolly
"Hey Seamus" Hermione greeted.
"Where's Dean?" Ginny asked
"Dean? He's with his girlfriend." Seamus said confidently
"Dean's got a girlfriend? Who?" Harry asked in surprise. Hermione, Ron and Ginny seemed surprised too.
"Haven't you heard? He's dating Padma. They started dating last summer." Lavender said.
"And I am going to date her twin sister soon!" Seamus said winking at Parvati.
"Whatever, Seamus" Parvati said with a slight smile on her face as she went out of the compartment. Seamus followed her.
"Aren't you going to go back to your compartment, Lavender?" Hermione asked
"Uh....maybe later..." Lavender said in an uneasy voice.
"Why? Is there something wrong?"
"Draco.....he's probably outside looking for me again." Lavender said frowning.
"What? He's been stalking you again?" Ron asked. It's the only time he talked during the whole conversation.
"No...I-I don't know. I thought he'd stop when he found out that I'm half muggle born." Lavender said casually.
"Well.....you DO like him anyway, so why bother?" Ron said irritably.
"I never said that, Ron. How many times would I have to tell you?" Lavender said in a sort of panicky voice.
"Anyway, Change topic..." Ginny said before Ron and Lavender could start to argue again.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Hours passed and finally they have arrived at Hogsmeade station. The students got off the train. The very tensed and nervous first years had their traditional boat ride by the lake lead by Hagrid to get to the castle while the others were fetched by carriages pulled by invisible horses.
After the carriage ride, Harry, Ron and Hermione placed their things on the castle entrance and headed to the Great Hall for the feast.
THE GREAT HALL
As usual, the Great Hall was packed with students who were busy talking to their friends whom they haven't seen for 2 months. The first years now entered the hall, with a look of excitement on their faces. Prof. Dumbledore stood up and made his speech.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am pleased to welcome the new set of first year students who will be joining us for the rest of the year, and so on. Before we begin the Sorting ceremony, we shall hear first the new Sorting hat song. Prof. McGonagall, the sorting hat please."
Prof. McGonagall placed a stool with the sorting hat in front of everyone. Everyone waited as the Sorting Hat finished it's song. After the song, Dumbledore once again spoke.
"Let us begin the sorting ceremony" Dumbledore said beaming at the first year students.
Professor McGonagall started calling out names from the list written on a very long roll of parchment.
A boy named Douglas Floyd was sorted to Hufflepuff. Sigrid Dale was sorted to Ravenclaw.
Each of the houses had 10 new first years. After the sorting ceremony, Dumbledore gave his usual Let-the-feast-begin dialogue. The tables were filled w/ delicious food which Harry, Ron and Hermione helped themselves with. The House ghosts politely welcomed the first years.
After the feast, everyone went to their dormitories to rest.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------
BOYS' DORMITORIES
Harry, Ron, Dean, Seamus and Neville were still awake. They didn't feel like sleeping just yet.
"What subjects do we have tomorrow?" Seamus asked Dean
"Uh.....Potions at 9am and Divination in the afternoon." Dean said as he looked on his class schedule he posted on the wall.
"Great. Potions!" Ron said sarcastically.
"Oh no! Snape again!" Neville said w/ a panicky voice.
"Have you guys seen Lavender's new look?" Dean asked changing the topic.
"Yes. God, she looks really pretty. If only I hadn't got my eyes on Parvati...." Seamus said smiling.
Harry smirked at Ron.
"I heard that Draco has been following her again." Neville said casually
"Yeah. She told us." Ron said while arranging his books on his bedside table.
"Poor, Lavender. Of all the people in the world, why does it have to be Malfoy?..." Dean said dreamily.
"Yeah. Why can it be Ron?" Harry suggested.
Ron's eyes widened at Harry. He wasn't suppose to tell anyone else about Ron's secret crush. Seamus, Dean and Neville stared at Ron.
"C'mon, I was just kidding. Ron never liked Lavender...You guys know that..." Harry said quickly to cover Ron up.
"O-of course....whatever you say..." Dean said still being suspicious.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------- Meanwhile, in the girls dormitories, Hermione, Ginny, Lavender and Parvati were still awake as well. They were talking about tomorrow's class.
"I can't wait! I missed Divination so much during the summer vacation!" Parvati said excitedly
"Yeah. I heard that we'll be learning how to predict the future using cards." Lavender said at the exact same tone as Parvati.
"Don't get mad or anything, I know you like Divination so much but, don't you get tired of being obsessed with it? I mean, it's just about orbs, tea leaves and the like. It's not that interesting, really." Hermione said
Parvati and Lavender glared at Hermione.
"Sorry....it was just a thought..." Hermione said apologetically.
Ginny, who was listening to their conversation, sneaks in and changed the topic.
"Have you seen my broomstick, already?" Ginny said smiling.
"Broomstick? Why? What for?" Parvati asked curiously.
"Haven't you heard? She's in the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Chaser to be exact." Hermione said proudly as Ginny looked down, blushing.
"Oh my God! That's great news Ginny!" Lavender said excitedly making her jump off her bed.
"So? Where is the broomstick?" Parvati said as she looked under Ginny's blanket.
"Right here."
Ginny reached for her new broomstick from underneath her bed. Parvati and Lavender's jaws almost dropped.
"Wow. I envy you Ginny. I always wanted to own a broomstick." Parvati said without taking her eyes off Ginny's broomstick.
"Well....It's only a Comet Two Sixty. It's nothing much. Ron's got a Nimbus 2000." Ginny said in a shy, embarassed tone.
"What? Ron's got a broom too?" Lavender snapped. She looked at Ginny , as if she have said something impossible.
"Yes." Ginny said flatly to Lavender.
"He's in the team too, Lavender." Hermione said as she was brushing her long, brown and bushy hair. "Keeper and CAPTAIN." Hermione really emphasized the word "Captain" so that Lav could hear it clearly.
"Well....that's good to hear." Lavender said in a shy tone. She always thought of Ron to be just like a normal Hogwarts student. She never thought that Ron could make it to something COOL. She thinks that Quidditch is cool, just like the others, and Ron being the new Keeper and Captain just totally impressed her.
Finally the four girls decided to sleep so that they would wake up early the next day. All of them were excited to start their 6th year at Hogwarts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------- THE GREAT HALL
The next day, everyone gathered at the Great Hall for breakfast. Hermione was reading a very thick Arithmancy book and was eating a ginger muffin at the same time. Ron, who noticed Hermione's usual "obsession for books", quickly told her off.
"It's only the first day of school, Hermione. You don't have to read the entire book. Prof. Vector surely won't cover everything in that book for just one day, now can she?" Ron said looking disgusted at the thick Arithmancy book
"It's better to be sure, Ron." Hermione said as she finished swallowing her last ginger muffin. "Professor Vector might ask some questions, so I have to know the answers to all of it. I don't wanna get embarassed in front of the whole class."
"Well I suppose she'll be asking questions about one chapter only." Harry said, before Ron could argue anymore.
"Well...yeah" Hermione answered. "---but reading the entire book would make me less preoccupied during end of year exams. All I have to do next is to memorize the glossary at the back of this book, and some important terms and spells so that I would remember them until June." Hermione said turning the pages of her book to the glossary.
"How many words are in the glossary, anyway?" Harry asked, looking at Hermione as if she was crazy.
"About 450. Plus some important terms and spells, which is about a hundred. If you sum it all up, It'll be 550. 550 important words and spells to memorize for the whole year.!" Hermione said proudly.
Harry and Ron were staring at her. They couldn't believe that Hermione's being proud about memorizing at least 550 words for Arithmancy the whole year. Plus the fact that she wanted to read the whole book made Harry and Ron shake their heads in disbelief.
"You're mad, Hermione" Ron said as the three of them got up and walked towards the dungeons for Potions class.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------- DUNGEONS
Professor Snape wasn't inside the classroom yet, when Harry, Ron and Hermione arrived. Unfortunately, they're having Potions with Slytherin. As usual, Draco and his fellow Slytherins were thinking of some ways to make fun of Harry and his friends. Ron was his first target.
"Hey there, Weasley" Draco said w/ an evil grin as he sat between Crabbe and Goyle, at the back of Ron.
Ron ignored Draco and pretended that he didn't hear him.
"Come on now Weasley, that's so impolite of you to be ignoring me." Draco said provokingly.
"What do you want Malfoy?!" Ron said angrily as he turned his back to look at Draco. Harry and Hermione had their backs turned too.
"Whoa. Chill out, Weasley." Draco said smoothly. "I'm not here to fight."
"Well, there's going to be one if you don't stop bugging me!" Ron said irritably.
"I was just curious about your summer holidays. As to me, I, together with my father and mother, went touring all round the world. We went to every country. It was the best summer really. How about you, Weasley? You surely went out of the country last summer. Oh no, wait.....I forgot, you don't have enough money to visit other countries. Well you can't even afford to buy a car so why bother travel outside the country, anyway? The last time you travelled was at Egypt, and was because you won some contest. Too bad it won't happen again...tsk..tsk..tsk." Draco said in still a provoking manner. Their classmates were now staring at them.
"Poor Weasley. All his life, he'd be going to Diagon Alley through floo powder. Tell your dad to work a little harder. My father tells me that your dad is too much obsessed with muggles. He doesn't deserve to work for the ministry. Now that my father is promoted, your dad won't even stand a chance. Fired on the spot, your father will be. Poor old scumbag!" Draco said as he kept his chin up as if he was proud of what he was saying.
Ron is getting furious. He stood up quickly, ready to attack Draco. Harry and Hermione stood up as well holding Ron back. Seamus, Dean and Neville together w/ Lavender and Parvati stood up also, getting ready for back up.
"What's the matter Weasley? I'm just telling the truth." Draco said as he stood up now face to face w/ Ron.
"Don't you ever insult my family, especially my dad!" Ron said angrily.
"Oh really? Well you----"
Draco was interrupted by Hermione.
"Mr. Weasley is very much different compared to your dad, Malfoy" Hermione said, w/ a slight anger in her tone. "Mr. Weasley is nicer" she added.
"Stay out of this, Mudblood!" Draco said to Hermione.
"She's not a mudblood, Malfoy!" Harry said furiously. "Look at yourself first before judging other people. Yeah, so Hermione is muggle-born. So what? At least she knows it and she's proud of it. You're the one who's the real mudblood, Malfoy. Your attitude is as dirty as mud.!" Harry said as he looked menacingly at Draco who had an evil stare at him.
"Watch your words, Potter!" Draco said as he went closer to Harry, their eyes about inches away from each other.
"What's going on here?" a cold and mysterious voice said.
Professor Snape has entered the dungeon. He glared at each one of the students in the room, and finally his eyes landed on Harry, Ron and Hermione. The students were silent as they watched Snape's usual, cold glare.
"Well....is there anyone here brave enough to tell me what has been going on here?" Snape said w/o taking his eyes off Harry, Ron and Hermione.
Yet, no one answered.
"Then perhaps we should be starting our lesson now..." Snape said then he walked towards his desk.
"I'm not through with you, three." Draco whispered angrily at Harry, Ron and Hermione.
That day, they studied on how to make and Invinsibility Potion. Hermione had to give Neville proper instructions so that he would come up with the correct result. Ron angrily crushed his crab shells w/ a mortar and pestle. He felt like he wanted to punch Draco at the face that time.
After Potions, Harry, Ron and Hermione went to the Great Hall for lunch. The tables were ,yet again, filled with delicious delicacies the school has to offer. After lunch, Harry and Ron, together with Seamus, Dean and Neville, headed for the Divination tower while Hermione went to the Arithmancy classroom.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------- DIVINATION TOWER
The divination tower still had not changed. The room was still a bit dark and was lit by the fire near Professor Trelawney's armchair. The small, round tables were still there. The unusual fragrance still filled the air which made Harry rub his nose as he entered the room. Lavender and Parvati were already seated looking proud. As the whole class settled down, a light and misty voice spoke hidden in the shadows of the room.
"My children, we meet again"
It was Professor Trelawney. She walked slowly to the fire. She was now clearly seen by everyone. She wore a dark green gypsy blouse and a balloon skirt. Necklaces with big pendants hang around her neck, large silver bangles were at both wrists and a big and circular eyeglasses were magnifying her mystic eyes. Everyone watched her as she sat on her armchair. She glared at everyone in the room and after which, she again spoke.
"Today you will be learning to make predictions using cards..." Prof. Trelawney said, still w/ a light and misty voice. "I want you to open your books to pages 3 to 6. There, you can see the usual symbols and images used in card fortune telling and their meanings. I want you to study it very carefully. You will be performing this activity by partners. I already placed a set of cards on your tables. You may now begin."
Everyone studied the images in their books. Ron opened a tiny red box and picked up about 60 cards from it. He began spreading it on the table.
"So, what are we supposed to do now?" Ron asked Harry as he kept his eyes on his book.
"Well it says here that the cards should be shuffled first and the images should be hidden. Which means the cards should be turned over." Harry said, looking at his book ."Only 6 cards are to be placed on the table." he added pointing at a particular sentence.
"Well...shall we?" Ron said jokingly as he shuffled the cards. "I'll go predict your's first."
After shuffling the cards, Ron placed 6 cards on the table as the book intstructed. He put aside the remaining cards and asked Harry what to do next.
"Next, you should turn the cards over one at a time. Before turning the next card over, you should look up at the meaning of the first card first." Harry said.
"Well, here goes!" Ron turned the first card over. An image of a trophy was revealed. Ron quickly looked for it's meaning on page 3 of their book.
"Trophy - success, victory and luck. I still don't get it..." Ron said scatching his head.
"Turn the next card over." Harry suggested. Ron turned the second card. It was a broomstick.
"Broomstick - sport/athlete. I know! the gryffndor quidditch team might win the house cup!" Ron said beaming. He turned the third card over. "Er...it's a dog. It means friend or ally"
Ron turned the fourth card over. "A roof?" Ron quickly run his finger down page 5 of Ungfogging the Future Year 6 "It means home or shelter....maybe you will be owning a dog. The roof probably represents the dog's kennel. Damn it! I really suck at this"
"5th card...It's a....heart...hang on....it means love and affection, it's quite obvious." Ron said as he looked at the card. Finally, the 6th and final card was turned over.
"It's a pool. What's a pool got to do with this? It means summer. What does that mean?...... Hang on, maybe you'll fall in love next summer!" Ron said teasing Harry. Harry's stomach turned. The thought of love itself gave him the willies. "Oh well, at least this is a lot easier than tea leaves and orbs. Plus, you didn't get any death related cards." Ron said in a matter- of-fact tone.
"My turn." Harry said as he returned the 6 cards and shuffled it w/ the other ones. He began spreading 6 inverted cards on the table. He carefully turned the first card over.
"It's a sword. It means revenge. Whoa...." Harry said surprisingly at Ron. " Second card.....it's a bow and arrow. It means enemy or rival......I get it. You'd probably get revenge on Malfoy!" Harry said excitedly.
"Really? Cool!" Ron said w/ a grin of success on his face.
"The third card is a ring. It means relationship." Harry smiled at Ron. Ron started to get nervous. "The fourth card is an apple. It means crush or admiration" Harry grinned broadly at Ron once again.
"Turn the fifth card over..." Ron said to stop Harry from teasing him.
"Okay....the fifth card is a coin.....It means money or gold. Then..." Harry slowly turned the last card over. "a trophy, which means success or victory.Maybe you'll have more money in the future...."
"Everyone done?" Professor Trelawney said as she walked from Lavender and Parvati's table back to her armchair. Everyone nodded. Usually it takes an hour for the students to come up w/ a prediction, but this time it only took them 30 minutes. This is indeed the easiest Divination lesson they ever had.
"Good. Now, I'd like you to make an essay about the activity you just did. Maximum of 15 sentences. I'd like to see the symbols and it's meanings. To be passed on Wednesday. Class dismissed." Professor Trelawney said as she walked towards the trapdoor and opened it for her students.
After Divination, everyone went back to their respective common rooms.
---------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------- GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOM
The common room was boisterous as usual. Harry and Ron found Ginny sitting at the couch near the fireplace.
"Hey Ginny..." Ron greeted. Harry smiled at Ginny.
"Hi! How's class?" Ginny asked curiously.
"Not fine. My good mood this morning was ruined by Malfoy during Potions." Ron said irritably as he sat at the couch opposite Ginny.
"What did he do now?" Ginny asked.
"He insulted our family again!"
"What a scumbag!" Ginny said as she closed her Transfiguration book. "What about divination?"
"It was Ok." Harry said casually as he sat next to Ron. "The easiest lesson ever. Professor Trelawney made us predict the future using cards."
"How 'bout you Ginny? How's class?" Ron asked his sister.
"Well....Transfiguration went well, so was History of Magic..." Ginny said smiling.
After a while, Seamus, Dean, Neville, Parvati and Lavender entered the common room.
"Hey! What's up?" Dean asked as he sat beside Ginny.
"That was the easiest Divination class wasn't it?" Neville said confidently as he sat next to Dean.
"Of course it was! Lavender and I finished 5 minutes after Professor Trelawney told us to begin." Parvati said proudly.
"Really, now?" Seamus said sarcastically.
"Yes. Parvati and I read the book all summer. We decided to memorize some of it...." Lavender said casually as she sat next to Harry.
"You've been infected by the Hermione virus now, haven't you?" Ron said jokingly. The boys forced a laugh.
Speaking of Hermione, she just entered the common room. She was smiling from ear to ear as she greeted everyone.
"Hi!" Hermione said beaming.
"You seem to be in a good mood..." Ginny stated.
"Well....yeah.....I've answered all Professor Vector's questions. He gave 20 points to Gryffindor because of that!"
"Wow. I envy your great intelligence, Hermione" Dean said sarcastically. Hermione gave her a "whatever look".
"What's our class for tomorrow?" Neville asked.
"Transfiguration in the morning and Defense Against the Dark Arts in the afternoon." Parvati said as she checked her schedule.
"Great! No Potions!" Seamus said beaming.
"Hey, we better go down to the Great Hall now. Dinner will be starting any minute." Hermione said as she checked her watch.
So, Harry, Ron and Hermione together w/ their friends headed to the Great Hall for dinner.
---------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ THE GREAT HALL
The Great hall was fully lit by the usual floating candles and the enchanted ceiling showed the night sky outside. The tables were filled with lots of delicious foods. Harry, Ron and Hermione helped themselves with everything, the same thing w/ Seamus, Dean and Neville while Lavender and Parvati had only a small piece of carrot cake on their plates. All of them enjoyed the food and the dinner itself----not until Malfoy could handle it. Draco, with a little help of his fellow Slytherins, tried to accomplish their unfinished business just this morning and that was to make fun of Harry and his friends.
"Pothead, Weasel and Mudblood..." Draco said loud enough for Harry, Ron and Hermione to hear from across the Slytherin table.
"Here we go again..." Seamus whispered to Dean. But Harry, Ron and Hermione didn't turn their backs to argue.
"If you think you'd get away with what you've done this morning, Potter, you're wrong." Blaise, a girl with black hair wearing two pigtails, said confidently.
"C'mon Potter, say something! You were brave enough this morning to answer back at Draco. Speak up!.....or unless you've chickened out...." Pansy said provokingly.
"Don't mind them...." Neville told Harry.
"Hey you, Mudblood!" Draco shouted.
"She's not a mudblood!" Harry said angrily now facing Draco and the other Slytherins. "And she never will be! You are the mudblood, Draco. You're the filthiest person ever. You call her a mudblood again and I don't have any choice but to attack you!"
"Aww how sweet. Potter's sticking up for his best friend!" Blaise said tauntingly.
As Harry was about to answer back, Hermione held him back.
"Harry, stop. It's not worth it." Hermione said calmly.
"Hey Weasley! I've heard that you're now part of the Gryffindor Quiddtich team. I'm sure that your money has drained out quickly because all of your savings were spent to buy you and your little sister a broomstick." Draco said trying to provoke Ron just as he did this morning.
"Poor Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. They have to spend all their lives watching their children wear hand-me-down robes and use second hand books. Well I guess what they're wearing were handed down by their brothers and sisters as well...." Draco said provokingly still. A couple of Slytherins laughed.
"Yeah...I guess the Weasleys are just poor by nature!" Pansy said as the other Slytherins laughed even more.
Ron tried his best not to lose his temper. Harry and Hermione were exchanging looks. They were controlling their tempers too. Lavender was watching this. She stood up and walked a long way around the Gryffindor table just to argue with the Slytherins.
"Well....he's not---"
Pansy stopped talking. She now came face to face w/ Lavender. Lavender stood in front of her as if daring her to speak one more word about her friends. Pansy stood up and examined Lavender from head to foot.
"And what do you think you're doing?" Pansy said.
"Well...your voice happens to irritate me so I decided to shut you up..." Lavender said irritably
"Uh Oh..." Dean whispered to Seamus
"You mind your own business!" Pansy answered back at Lavender
"You mind our own business too. I believe that this is Draco's business only. So you and Blaise might as well shut up! You don't know anything about Ron's family that much, so you don't have the right to say something bad about them....and you too, Draco!" Lavender said furiously.
Draco admitted that he's a bit intrested on Lavender. He sent a love letter once to Lavender during the summer holidays but Lavender never answered to it. If there's one person which Draco could never insult, then it has to be Lavender.
"Listen, Ms.Goody-two-shoes" Pansy said pushing Lavender with her index finger. "You better stand back!"
The Gryffindors and the Slytherins were now watchig them. Ron was a bit surprised at Lavender. Even Parvati never saw Lavender that angry.
"No, you stand back..." Lavender said as she pushed Pansy with her right hand strong enough to make her take a step backwards. "Don't tell me what I'm supposed to do, Little Miss Pug face!"
This made the Gryffindors go "Ooooh!"
By the look on Pansy's face, you can see that she's getting more furious. She pushed Lavender again using both hands, making Lavender stumble a few steps backwards. Lavender didn't think of pushing her back. Instead, she grabbed Ron's goblet full of pumpkin juice and threw it right through Pansy's face. Pansy was extremely horrifed. Blaise glared at Lavender as she accompanied Pansy to her seat. The Gryffindors were cheering. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were looking over the Gryffindor table to see what has happened. Lavender felt a bit proud about what she has done not until Professor McGonagall approached the scene of the "crime".
"What is going on here? You're in the Great Hall not in some Quidditch stadium!" Professor McGonagall belowed at the Gryffindors who fell silent immediately. "Ms. Brown....what on earth is going on here?" Professor McGonagall asked Lavender sincerely.
But before Lavender could answer Blaise told Prof. McGongall what had really happened.
"It's Lavender, Professor. She threatened Pansy!" Blaise exaggerated.
"What are you talking about, Ms. Zabini?" Prof. McGonagall asked.
"Lavender threw pumpkin juice on Pansy's face!" Blaise said trying to look pityful. Pansy started crying, although it was obvious to the Gryffindors that she faked it.
"Is this true, Ms.Brown?" Professor McGonagall said.
"Well....y-yes....but I---"
"See professor? she's guilty!" Blaise angrily. Pansy cried even louder.
"Professor, please...let me explain!" Lavender said desperately.
"You do the explaining in my office.....NOW." Professor McGonagall belowed at Lavender and walked smoothly down the Great Hall.
Lavender had no choice, so she followed Prof. McGonagall to her office. The Slytherins had evil grins on their faces and the moment Prof. McGonagall left the Great Hall, Pansy stopped crying and together w/ Blaise, forced a mean laugh.
After dinner Harry, Ron and Hermione, w/ Seamus, Dean, Neville, Parvati and Ginny went to the common room at once. On the way to the common room, Ron sneaked out and went to the other staircase leading to Professor McGonagall's office without Harry and the others noticing.
---------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------- PROF. MCGONAGALL'S OFFICE
Prof. McGonagall's office was really tidy and classy. There were lots of thick books placed in a large shelf. Lavender was standing in front of Prof. McGonagall's desk looking disappointed.
"I never expected you to have done this, Ms. Brown...." Prof. McGonagall said disappointedly.
"But they were making fun of Ron...." Lavender said desperately. "They were---"
Before Lavender could finish her sentence, they heard a knock on the door.
"Come in..." Prof. McGonagall said.
As the door opened, Prof. McGonagall and Lavender were surprised to see Ron.
"What can I do for you, Mr.Weasley?" Professor McGonagall asked as she removed her eyeglasses.
"Uh...Professor..." Ron closed the door behind him and walked toward the desk. "It's about what happened at the Great Hall during dinner."
"If you're here to say that Ms.Brown is innocent then I believe that it's too late. I already made my decision. She will be having detention tomorrow night." Prof. McGonagall said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"But Professor--"
"No buts Mr. Weasley. Now if you don't mind, Ms. Brown and I are still---"
"Lavender is innocent, Professor!" Ron said desperately. "I was the one who did it. I threw pumpkin juice on Pansy Parkinson's face."
Lavender's eyes widened at Ron w/ disbelief.
"Then why did Ms. Zabini say that it was Ms. Brown's fault?" Prof. McGonagall said as if she was testing Ron.
"They..." Ron took a quick glance at Lavender. "---they hate Lavender. They wanted to put her into trouble that's why they accused her. But the truth is....I did it." Ron said sincerely with all his might to make Prof. McGonagall believe everything he says.
"So you are saying Mr. Weasley that Ms. Brown has nothing to do with what happened to Ms. Parkinson..." Prof. McGonagall said.
"Yes Professor." Ron answered.
Prof. McGonagall stared at Ron for a while then moved her eyes away from him and was now looking at Lavender.
"I'm sorry Ms.Brown for wrongly accusing you. If Mr.Weasley haven't got the conscience to stand up and tell the truth, you'd end up in detention tomorrow night."
Lavender opened her mouth to say something but Prof. McGonagall continued speaking.
"As for you Mr.Weasley, you will serve detention at the Hospital Wing tomorrow night. You will be cleaning Madame Pomfrey's bottles and jars without using magic. Both of you may now go back to your common room."
Ron and Lavender headed for the gryffindor common room. Lavender couldn't believe what Ron did. She never expected Ron to do something like that. Quidditch Keeper and Captain, plus the fact that Ron proves to be a true gentleman, really impressed Lavender even more.
---------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------- GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOM
There were only few students left inside the common room. Seamus, Dean and Neville stayed inside their dormitory, finishing their Divination homework. Ginny and Parvati were at the girls dormitories probably asleep already. Harry and Hermione sat on the floor, in front of the fireplace as they waited for Ron and perhaps Lavender too.
"Where did Ron go?" Harry asked
"I have no idea. He was with us right before we left the Great Hall. He probably went somewhere..." Hermione answered as she stared at the flickering fire.
"Yeah...he probably did." Harry said as he stared at the fire as well "So, how was Arithmancy?"
"Heh....fine. It's quite good....How was Divination? Prof. Trelawney didn't predict your death again now, did she?" Hermione said smiling.
"No. It was actually the easiest Divination lesson but it doesn't mean that we love it already." Harry said casually. "Let's just leave all the obsession to Parvati and Lavender."
Hermione smiled broadly at Harry and he did the same thing. Then after a while, the both of them stared at the flickering fire once again.
"Harry..." Hermione said softly. "I just wanted to thank you......for defending me a while ago."
"Oh...ah...it's nothing." Harry said shyly feeling awkward about Hermione bringing up the topic. "That's what I'm supposed to do anyway. I'm you best friend right?" he added
Hermione smiled gently. Harry has been her best friend since first year. She had a lot of experiences with Harry either fun, sad or dangerous. But Hermione started to feel that there's something more than that. She starts to feel something more than friendship towards Harry.She wanted to ignore it, but she can't. It was the only time, at that very moment, that she felt nervous around Harry. Although she knows that she won't have a chance on Harry, she still had a smile on her face. She knows completely about Harry admiring Cho.
"Yeah...I guess you're right Harry." Hermione said. "Thanks again..." Hermione had a faint smile on her face as she said this looking at Harry, straight in his green eyes.
"It's nothing, really. Nobody can call you a mudblood as long as I'm here....and don't forget about Ron." Harry said smiling at Hermione. Hermione smiled back at him even if the thought of Harry and Cho together kept swimming around her head.
The common room was now empty except for Harry and Hermione who were still sitting in front of the fireplace, silent. The silence was broken by the sudden opening of the portrait of the fat lady revealing Ron and Lavender.
"Ron, where have you been?" Harry asked as he stood up. Hermione stood up as well.
"I....went to Prof. McGonagall's office and...." Ron said slowly as he took a quick glance at Lavender who was staring at the floor, as if she was thinking about something.
"And?" Hermione asked curiously.
"And....I....asked her if I could take up Muggle Studies." Ron lied quickly.
"Are you serious?" Harry and Hermione said at the same time.
"Uh...y-yeah....sort of..." Ron said awkwardly.
"Oh....Anyway, it's getting late, I better go to bed now. Lavender,aren't you coming?" Hermione asked.
"I'll be over after a minute. I still have to say something to Ron." Lavender answered.
"Oh....well....Goodnight, Ron. Goodnight, Harry!" Hermione strode off towards the girls dormitories and out of sight.
"So um....I'll be going up to the dormitories now....I'll see you upstairs then, Ron. Goodnight Lavender." Harry said as then he walked up the spiral staircase and out of sight.
Ron and Lavender were now alone inside the common room. Ron started to get nervous again. He was never left alone with his crush especially in the common room at night. Soon enough, Lavender broke the silence.
"Why did you do that, Ron? Why did you tell Prof. McGonagall that it wasn't my fault? Lavender asked Ron.
"Well...I..." Ron stopped. He actually couldn't speak normally in front of his crush. "---I didn't......want you to....to...get into trouble..." Ron said finally...
"I deserved it. I should've been in detention instead of you....Really, you shouldn't have told Prof. McGonagall, Ron. It was my fault." Lavender said in a sort of "demanding" tone.
"It's...Ok. At least you're out of trouble." Ron said more confidently.
"But...but I feel guilty!If you want I can help you clean Madam Pomfrey's bottles. There's at least something I could do for you in return..." Lavender said looking a bit desperate.
"Come on, Lavender. You don't have to do anything. Anyway,....you better go to bed now. It's a bit late...Hey and....thanks for backing me up at the Great Hall. I really thought you didn't care about it at all."
"Of course I care. We're friends and friends are supposed to help each other right?" Lavender said feeling a bit awkward. "Anyway, yeah....I gotta go upstairs now. And you too. Good night."
Before Ron could reach the spiral staircase leading to the boys' dormitoies, Lavender called for him again.
"Uh Ron..." Lavender said as Ron turned his back at her again. "Thanks again...."
"Anytime..." Ron said as his face turned a bit pink.
"And ah.....congratulations for being part of the Quidditch team. You'd definitely be a great captain....and keeper, of course. So...goodnight..." Lavender still feeling awkward walked towards the spiral staircase and out of sight.
Ron quietly walked towards the Boys dormitories, feeling very happy. As he lied down on his four poster bed, he kept on recalling the words Lavender have said and her face floating around his head. Ron has never been so happy in his life. He closed his eyes and finally, he fell asleep, still w/ a slight smile on his face.
End of Chapter 1
~ I really don't know what people would think after reading this. Anyway, the second chapter is up, if you want to continue.....('',)
Hi! This is my very first Harry Potter fic and I'm quite nervous about it. I'm not that good in writing so don't expect much about this. It's OK if this sucks to you. Anyway, enjoy reading!
Ships involved: Harry/Hermione, Ron/Lavender/Draco, Seamus/Parvati, Dean/Padma ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------- Chapter 1
There are 3 days to go before school starts. 3 days before Harry Potter starts his 6th year in Hogwarts. Harry stayed at the Burrow with the Weasleys the whole summer. It was the best summer in his life. No Aunt Petunia scolding him. No Uncle Vernon shouting about how freaky he is and lastly, no Dudley to make fun of him. Harry was free.
Harry stayed at the Leaky Cauldron w/ Hermione and Ron together w/ the other Weasleys, 3 days before term starts. They already bought their new stuff in Diagon Alley the previous day. Hermione is still a school prefect and Ron was now part of the Gryffindor Quidditch team as Keeper----and captain. Ginny is on the team too as chaser. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were really proud of both of them. Fred and George were now working at Zonko's joke shop in Hogsmeade.
Finally, the day has arrived. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley bid their last goodbyes to Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny as they went on the train. They took the very last compartment which for them was the best spot on the train. Harry sat by the window. He stared outside as the train moved from mountain to mountain; forest to forest, thinking about what's in store for him at Hogwarts this year. Hermione noticed this and decided to break Harry's silence.
"Harry, why so silent?" Hermione asked.
"Nothing. I was just thinking." Harry said calmly.
"Of what?"
"Of 6th year..." Harry said still w/ calmness on his voice.
"Oh don't worry Harry, everything is going to be Ok. I bet it's going to be as exciting as last year." Hermione said w/ a convincing look at Harry.
"Hermione's right. Try not to think about it too much. Think of something else like........Cho!" Ron said while chewing on Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans.
Hermione frowned. She always knew that Harry likes Cho and there's something about it that makes her----well----silent whenever Cho is being talked about.
"Hermione, are you Ok?" Harry asked.
"Oh...ah....yes....I definitely am." Hermione said quickly
Suddenly, someone opened their compartment door. It was Parvati Patil. She still had a long black hair tied in a high ponytail and was still very pretty. She greeted everyone with a smile.
"Hey there! How're you guys doin'?" Parvati said beaming as she sat down between Ginny and Hermione.
"Fine. You? How's summer?" Ginny asked curiously.
"Good. I went to Switzerland with my family. It's the most awesome place ever!" Parvati said excitedly.
"Where's Lavender?" Hermione asked while checking on a large Arithmancy book.
Ron accidentally choked on a chocolate flavored bean, with the mention of Lavender's name. He had just finally admitted to Harry and Hermione that he has a crush on her ever since the start of 5th year during summer. That's why he's so jealous when Draco was stalking her the previous year.
"At the compartment. Have you seen her new hair style? It really fits her well." Parvati said excitedly.
"Lavender's got a new hair style?" Ginny asked curiously
Her question has been answered when someone opened their compartment door. It was Lavender. She still had the brown shoulder-length hair, but it no longer had a classic curl on its end. It was very straight and more shiny. She wore a pink headband. Ron's jaw almost dropped when he saw her. She's extremely pretty, Ron thought. Harry, Hermione and Ginny stared at Lavender for a while.
"What? What's wrong?" Lavender said curiously.
"Wow. What did you do to your hair?" Hermione said astonished.
"Oh this. My mom forced me to get a new hairstyle. Took a month before she convinced me" Lavender said touching the end of her hair.
"At least it's better than before..."
"Why don't you sit down?You can sit there." Ginny said pointing at the space between Harry and Ron.
Lavender sat down. Harry and Hermione exchanged looks as Lavender sat beside a now pink-faced Ron.
"Hey Harry, Hey Ron!" Lavender said as she patted both boys on the shoulder.
"Hi Lavender. I like you hair." Harry said smiling.
"It's not a big deal..." Lavender said flatly.
Suddenly, the compartment door slid open again, revealing Seamus.
"Hey peeps! What's up?" Seamus said coolly
"Hey Seamus" Hermione greeted.
"Where's Dean?" Ginny asked
"Dean? He's with his girlfriend." Seamus said confidently
"Dean's got a girlfriend? Who?" Harry asked in surprise. Hermione, Ron and Ginny seemed surprised too.
"Haven't you heard? He's dating Padma. They started dating last summer." Lavender said.
"And I am going to date her twin sister soon!" Seamus said winking at Parvati.
"Whatever, Seamus" Parvati said with a slight smile on her face as she went out of the compartment. Seamus followed her.
"Aren't you going to go back to your compartment, Lavender?" Hermione asked
"Uh....maybe later..." Lavender said in an uneasy voice.
"Why? Is there something wrong?"
"Draco.....he's probably outside looking for me again." Lavender said frowning.
"What? He's been stalking you again?" Ron asked. It's the only time he talked during the whole conversation.
"No...I-I don't know. I thought he'd stop when he found out that I'm half muggle born." Lavender said casually.
"Well.....you DO like him anyway, so why bother?" Ron said irritably.
"I never said that, Ron. How many times would I have to tell you?" Lavender said in a sort of panicky voice.
"Anyway, Change topic..." Ginny said before Ron and Lavender could start to argue again.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------
Hours passed and finally they have arrived at Hogsmeade station. The students got off the train. The very tensed and nervous first years had their traditional boat ride by the lake lead by Hagrid to get to the castle while the others were fetched by carriages pulled by invisible horses.
After the carriage ride, Harry, Ron and Hermione placed their things on the castle entrance and headed to the Great Hall for the feast.
THE GREAT HALL
As usual, the Great Hall was packed with students who were busy talking to their friends whom they haven't seen for 2 months. The first years now entered the hall, with a look of excitement on their faces. Prof. Dumbledore stood up and made his speech.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am pleased to welcome the new set of first year students who will be joining us for the rest of the year, and so on. Before we begin the Sorting ceremony, we shall hear first the new Sorting hat song. Prof. McGonagall, the sorting hat please."
Prof. McGonagall placed a stool with the sorting hat in front of everyone. Everyone waited as the Sorting Hat finished it's song. After the song, Dumbledore once again spoke.
"Let us begin the sorting ceremony" Dumbledore said beaming at the first year students.
Professor McGonagall started calling out names from the list written on a very long roll of parchment.
A boy named Douglas Floyd was sorted to Hufflepuff. Sigrid Dale was sorted to Ravenclaw.
Each of the houses had 10 new first years. After the sorting ceremony, Dumbledore gave his usual Let-the-feast-begin dialogue. The tables were filled w/ delicious food which Harry, Ron and Hermione helped themselves with. The House ghosts politely welcomed the first years.
After the feast, everyone went to their dormitories to rest.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------
BOYS' DORMITORIES
Harry, Ron, Dean, Seamus and Neville were still awake. They didn't feel like sleeping just yet.
"What subjects do we have tomorrow?" Seamus asked Dean
"Uh.....Potions at 9am and Divination in the afternoon." Dean said as he looked on his class schedule he posted on the wall.
"Great. Potions!" Ron said sarcastically.
"Oh no! Snape again!" Neville said w/ a panicky voice.
"Have you guys seen Lavender's new look?" Dean asked changing the topic.
"Yes. God, she looks really pretty. If only I hadn't got my eyes on Parvati...." Seamus said smiling.
Harry smirked at Ron.
"I heard that Draco has been following her again." Neville said casually
"Yeah. She told us." Ron said while arranging his books on his bedside table.
"Poor, Lavender. Of all the people in the world, why does it have to be Malfoy?..." Dean said dreamily.
"Yeah. Why can it be Ron?" Harry suggested.
Ron's eyes widened at Harry. He wasn't suppose to tell anyone else about Ron's secret crush. Seamus, Dean and Neville stared at Ron.
"C'mon, I was just kidding. Ron never liked Lavender...You guys know that..." Harry said quickly to cover Ron up.
"O-of course....whatever you say..." Dean said still being suspicious.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------- Meanwhile, in the girls dormitories, Hermione, Ginny, Lavender and Parvati were still awake as well. They were talking about tomorrow's class.
"I can't wait! I missed Divination so much during the summer vacation!" Parvati said excitedly
"Yeah. I heard that we'll be learning how to predict the future using cards." Lavender said at the exact same tone as Parvati.
"Don't get mad or anything, I know you like Divination so much but, don't you get tired of being obsessed with it? I mean, it's just about orbs, tea leaves and the like. It's not that interesting, really." Hermione said
Parvati and Lavender glared at Hermione.
"Sorry....it was just a thought..." Hermione said apologetically.
Ginny, who was listening to their conversation, sneaks in and changed the topic.
"Have you seen my broomstick, already?" Ginny said smiling.
"Broomstick? Why? What for?" Parvati asked curiously.
"Haven't you heard? She's in the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Chaser to be exact." Hermione said proudly as Ginny looked down, blushing.
"Oh my God! That's great news Ginny!" Lavender said excitedly making her jump off her bed.
"So? Where is the broomstick?" Parvati said as she looked under Ginny's blanket.
"Right here."
Ginny reached for her new broomstick from underneath her bed. Parvati and Lavender's jaws almost dropped.
"Wow. I envy you Ginny. I always wanted to own a broomstick." Parvati said without taking her eyes off Ginny's broomstick.
"Well....It's only a Comet Two Sixty. It's nothing much. Ron's got a Nimbus 2000." Ginny said in a shy, embarassed tone.
"What? Ron's got a broom too?" Lavender snapped. She looked at Ginny , as if she have said something impossible.
"Yes." Ginny said flatly to Lavender.
"He's in the team too, Lavender." Hermione said as she was brushing her long, brown and bushy hair. "Keeper and CAPTAIN." Hermione really emphasized the word "Captain" so that Lav could hear it clearly.
"Well....that's good to hear." Lavender said in a shy tone. She always thought of Ron to be just like a normal Hogwarts student. She never thought that Ron could make it to something COOL. She thinks that Quidditch is cool, just like the others, and Ron being the new Keeper and Captain just totally impressed her.
Finally the four girls decided to sleep so that they would wake up early the next day. All of them were excited to start their 6th year at Hogwarts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------- THE GREAT HALL
The next day, everyone gathered at the Great Hall for breakfast. Hermione was reading a very thick Arithmancy book and was eating a ginger muffin at the same time. Ron, who noticed Hermione's usual "obsession for books", quickly told her off.
"It's only the first day of school, Hermione. You don't have to read the entire book. Prof. Vector surely won't cover everything in that book for just one day, now can she?" Ron said looking disgusted at the thick Arithmancy book
"It's better to be sure, Ron." Hermione said as she finished swallowing her last ginger muffin. "Professor Vector might ask some questions, so I have to know the answers to all of it. I don't wanna get embarassed in front of the whole class."
"Well I suppose she'll be asking questions about one chapter only." Harry said, before Ron could argue anymore.
"Well...yeah" Hermione answered. "---but reading the entire book would make me less preoccupied during end of year exams. All I have to do next is to memorize the glossary at the back of this book, and some important terms and spells so that I would remember them until June." Hermione said turning the pages of her book to the glossary.
"How many words are in the glossary, anyway?" Harry asked, looking at Hermione as if she was crazy.
"About 450. Plus some important terms and spells, which is about a hundred. If you sum it all up, It'll be 550. 550 important words and spells to memorize for the whole year.!" Hermione said proudly.
Harry and Ron were staring at her. They couldn't believe that Hermione's being proud about memorizing at least 550 words for Arithmancy the whole year. Plus the fact that she wanted to read the whole book made Harry and Ron shake their heads in disbelief.
"You're mad, Hermione" Ron said as the three of them got up and walked towards the dungeons for Potions class.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------- DUNGEONS
Professor Snape wasn't inside the classroom yet, when Harry, Ron and Hermione arrived. Unfortunately, they're having Potions with Slytherin. As usual, Draco and his fellow Slytherins were thinking of some ways to make fun of Harry and his friends. Ron was his first target.
"Hey there, Weasley" Draco said w/ an evil grin as he sat between Crabbe and Goyle, at the back of Ron.
Ron ignored Draco and pretended that he didn't hear him.
"Come on now Weasley, that's so impolite of you to be ignoring me." Draco said provokingly.
"What do you want Malfoy?!" Ron said angrily as he turned his back to look at Draco. Harry and Hermione had their backs turned too.
"Whoa. Chill out, Weasley." Draco said smoothly. "I'm not here to fight."
"Well, there's going to be one if you don't stop bugging me!" Ron said irritably.
"I was just curious about your summer holidays. As to me, I, together with my father and mother, went touring all round the world. We went to every country. It was the best summer really. How about you, Weasley? You surely went out of the country last summer. Oh no, wait.....I forgot, you don't have enough money to visit other countries. Well you can't even afford to buy a car so why bother travel outside the country, anyway? The last time you travelled was at Egypt, and was because you won some contest. Too bad it won't happen again...tsk..tsk..tsk." Draco said in still a provoking manner. Their classmates were now staring at them.
"Poor Weasley. All his life, he'd be going to Diagon Alley through floo powder. Tell your dad to work a little harder. My father tells me that your dad is too much obsessed with muggles. He doesn't deserve to work for the ministry. Now that my father is promoted, your dad won't even stand a chance. Fired on the spot, your father will be. Poor old scumbag!" Draco said as he kept his chin up as if he was proud of what he was saying.
Ron is getting furious. He stood up quickly, ready to attack Draco. Harry and Hermione stood up as well holding Ron back. Seamus, Dean and Neville together w/ Lavender and Parvati stood up also, getting ready for back up.
"What's the matter Weasley? I'm just telling the truth." Draco said as he stood up now face to face w/ Ron.
"Don't you ever insult my family, especially my dad!" Ron said angrily.
"Oh really? Well you----"
Draco was interrupted by Hermione.
"Mr. Weasley is very much different compared to your dad, Malfoy" Hermione said, w/ a slight anger in her tone. "Mr. Weasley is nicer" she added.
"Stay out of this, Mudblood!" Draco said to Hermione.
"She's not a mudblood, Malfoy!" Harry said furiously. "Look at yourself first before judging other people. Yeah, so Hermione is muggle-born. So what? At least she knows it and she's proud of it. You're the one who's the real mudblood, Malfoy. Your attitude is as dirty as mud.!" Harry said as he looked menacingly at Draco who had an evil stare at him.
"Watch your words, Potter!" Draco said as he went closer to Harry, their eyes about inches away from each other.
"What's going on here?" a cold and mysterious voice said.
Professor Snape has entered the dungeon. He glared at each one of the students in the room, and finally his eyes landed on Harry, Ron and Hermione. The students were silent as they watched Snape's usual, cold glare.
"Well....is there anyone here brave enough to tell me what has been going on here?" Snape said w/o taking his eyes off Harry, Ron and Hermione.
Yet, no one answered.
"Then perhaps we should be starting our lesson now..." Snape said then he walked towards his desk.
"I'm not through with you, three." Draco whispered angrily at Harry, Ron and Hermione.
That day, they studied on how to make and Invinsibility Potion. Hermione had to give Neville proper instructions so that he would come up with the correct result. Ron angrily crushed his crab shells w/ a mortar and pestle. He felt like he wanted to punch Draco at the face that time.
After Potions, Harry, Ron and Hermione went to the Great Hall for lunch. The tables were ,yet again, filled with delicious delicacies the school has to offer. After lunch, Harry and Ron, together with Seamus, Dean and Neville, headed for the Divination tower while Hermione went to the Arithmancy classroom.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------- DIVINATION TOWER
The divination tower still had not changed. The room was still a bit dark and was lit by the fire near Professor Trelawney's armchair. The small, round tables were still there. The unusual fragrance still filled the air which made Harry rub his nose as he entered the room. Lavender and Parvati were already seated looking proud. As the whole class settled down, a light and misty voice spoke hidden in the shadows of the room.
"My children, we meet again"
It was Professor Trelawney. She walked slowly to the fire. She was now clearly seen by everyone. She wore a dark green gypsy blouse and a balloon skirt. Necklaces with big pendants hang around her neck, large silver bangles were at both wrists and a big and circular eyeglasses were magnifying her mystic eyes. Everyone watched her as she sat on her armchair. She glared at everyone in the room and after which, she again spoke.
"Today you will be learning to make predictions using cards..." Prof. Trelawney said, still w/ a light and misty voice. "I want you to open your books to pages 3 to 6. There, you can see the usual symbols and images used in card fortune telling and their meanings. I want you to study it very carefully. You will be performing this activity by partners. I already placed a set of cards on your tables. You may now begin."
Everyone studied the images in their books. Ron opened a tiny red box and picked up about 60 cards from it. He began spreading it on the table.
"So, what are we supposed to do now?" Ron asked Harry as he kept his eyes on his book.
"Well it says here that the cards should be shuffled first and the images should be hidden. Which means the cards should be turned over." Harry said, looking at his book ."Only 6 cards are to be placed on the table." he added pointing at a particular sentence.
"Well...shall we?" Ron said jokingly as he shuffled the cards. "I'll go predict your's first."
After shuffling the cards, Ron placed 6 cards on the table as the book intstructed. He put aside the remaining cards and asked Harry what to do next.
"Next, you should turn the cards over one at a time. Before turning the next card over, you should look up at the meaning of the first card first." Harry said.
"Well, here goes!" Ron turned the first card over. An image of a trophy was revealed. Ron quickly looked for it's meaning on page 3 of their book.
"Trophy - success, victory and luck. I still don't get it..." Ron said scatching his head.
"Turn the next card over." Harry suggested. Ron turned the second card. It was a broomstick.
"Broomstick - sport/athlete. I know! the gryffndor quidditch team might win the house cup!" Ron said beaming. He turned the third card over. "Er...it's a dog. It means friend or ally"
Ron turned the fourth card over. "A roof?" Ron quickly run his finger down page 5 of Ungfogging the Future Year 6 "It means home or shelter....maybe you will be owning a dog. The roof probably represents the dog's kennel. Damn it! I really suck at this"
"5th card...It's a....heart...hang on....it means love and affection, it's quite obvious." Ron said as he looked at the card. Finally, the 6th and final card was turned over.
"It's a pool. What's a pool got to do with this? It means summer. What does that mean?...... Hang on, maybe you'll fall in love next summer!" Ron said teasing Harry. Harry's stomach turned. The thought of love itself gave him the willies. "Oh well, at least this is a lot easier than tea leaves and orbs. Plus, you didn't get any death related cards." Ron said in a matter- of-fact tone.
"My turn." Harry said as he returned the 6 cards and shuffled it w/ the other ones. He began spreading 6 inverted cards on the table. He carefully turned the first card over.
"It's a sword. It means revenge. Whoa...." Harry said surprisingly at Ron. " Second card.....it's a bow and arrow. It means enemy or rival......I get it. You'd probably get revenge on Malfoy!" Harry said excitedly.
"Really? Cool!" Ron said w/ a grin of success on his face.
"The third card is a ring. It means relationship." Harry smiled at Ron. Ron started to get nervous. "The fourth card is an apple. It means crush or admiration" Harry grinned broadly at Ron once again.
"Turn the fifth card over..." Ron said to stop Harry from teasing him.
"Okay....the fifth card is a coin.....It means money or gold. Then..." Harry slowly turned the last card over. "a trophy, which means success or victory.Maybe you'll have more money in the future...."
"Everyone done?" Professor Trelawney said as she walked from Lavender and Parvati's table back to her armchair. Everyone nodded. Usually it takes an hour for the students to come up w/ a prediction, but this time it only took them 30 minutes. This is indeed the easiest Divination lesson they ever had.
"Good. Now, I'd like you to make an essay about the activity you just did. Maximum of 15 sentences. I'd like to see the symbols and it's meanings. To be passed on Wednesday. Class dismissed." Professor Trelawney said as she walked towards the trapdoor and opened it for her students.
After Divination, everyone went back to their respective common rooms.
---------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------- GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOM
The common room was boisterous as usual. Harry and Ron found Ginny sitting at the couch near the fireplace.
"Hey Ginny..." Ron greeted. Harry smiled at Ginny.
"Hi! How's class?" Ginny asked curiously.
"Not fine. My good mood this morning was ruined by Malfoy during Potions." Ron said irritably as he sat at the couch opposite Ginny.
"What did he do now?" Ginny asked.
"He insulted our family again!"
"What a scumbag!" Ginny said as she closed her Transfiguration book. "What about divination?"
"It was Ok." Harry said casually as he sat next to Ron. "The easiest lesson ever. Professor Trelawney made us predict the future using cards."
"How 'bout you Ginny? How's class?" Ron asked his sister.
"Well....Transfiguration went well, so was History of Magic..." Ginny said smiling.
After a while, Seamus, Dean, Neville, Parvati and Lavender entered the common room.
"Hey! What's up?" Dean asked as he sat beside Ginny.
"That was the easiest Divination class wasn't it?" Neville said confidently as he sat next to Dean.
"Of course it was! Lavender and I finished 5 minutes after Professor Trelawney told us to begin." Parvati said proudly.
"Really, now?" Seamus said sarcastically.
"Yes. Parvati and I read the book all summer. We decided to memorize some of it...." Lavender said casually as she sat next to Harry.
"You've been infected by the Hermione virus now, haven't you?" Ron said jokingly. The boys forced a laugh.
Speaking of Hermione, she just entered the common room. She was smiling from ear to ear as she greeted everyone.
"Hi!" Hermione said beaming.
"You seem to be in a good mood..." Ginny stated.
"Well....yeah.....I've answered all Professor Vector's questions. He gave 20 points to Gryffindor because of that!"
"Wow. I envy your great intelligence, Hermione" Dean said sarcastically. Hermione gave her a "whatever look".
"What's our class for tomorrow?" Neville asked.
"Transfiguration in the morning and Defense Against the Dark Arts in the afternoon." Parvati said as she checked her schedule.
"Great! No Potions!" Seamus said beaming.
"Hey, we better go down to the Great Hall now. Dinner will be starting any minute." Hermione said as she checked her watch.
So, Harry, Ron and Hermione together w/ their friends headed to the Great Hall for dinner.
---------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ THE GREAT HALL
The Great hall was fully lit by the usual floating candles and the enchanted ceiling showed the night sky outside. The tables were filled with lots of delicious foods. Harry, Ron and Hermione helped themselves with everything, the same thing w/ Seamus, Dean and Neville while Lavender and Parvati had only a small piece of carrot cake on their plates. All of them enjoyed the food and the dinner itself----not until Malfoy could handle it. Draco, with a little help of his fellow Slytherins, tried to accomplish their unfinished business just this morning and that was to make fun of Harry and his friends.
"Pothead, Weasel and Mudblood..." Draco said loud enough for Harry, Ron and Hermione to hear from across the Slytherin table.
"Here we go again..." Seamus whispered to Dean. But Harry, Ron and Hermione didn't turn their backs to argue.
"If you think you'd get away with what you've done this morning, Potter, you're wrong." Blaise, a girl with black hair wearing two pigtails, said confidently.
"C'mon Potter, say something! You were brave enough this morning to answer back at Draco. Speak up!.....or unless you've chickened out...." Pansy said provokingly.
"Don't mind them...." Neville told Harry.
"Hey you, Mudblood!" Draco shouted.
"She's not a mudblood!" Harry said angrily now facing Draco and the other Slytherins. "And she never will be! You are the mudblood, Draco. You're the filthiest person ever. You call her a mudblood again and I don't have any choice but to attack you!"
"Aww how sweet. Potter's sticking up for his best friend!" Blaise said tauntingly.
As Harry was about to answer back, Hermione held him back.
"Harry, stop. It's not worth it." Hermione said calmly.
"Hey Weasley! I've heard that you're now part of the Gryffindor Quiddtich team. I'm sure that your money has drained out quickly because all of your savings were spent to buy you and your little sister a broomstick." Draco said trying to provoke Ron just as he did this morning.
"Poor Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. They have to spend all their lives watching their children wear hand-me-down robes and use second hand books. Well I guess what they're wearing were handed down by their brothers and sisters as well...." Draco said provokingly still. A couple of Slytherins laughed.
"Yeah...I guess the Weasleys are just poor by nature!" Pansy said as the other Slytherins laughed even more.
Ron tried his best not to lose his temper. Harry and Hermione were exchanging looks. They were controlling their tempers too. Lavender was watching this. She stood up and walked a long way around the Gryffindor table just to argue with the Slytherins.
"Well....he's not---"
Pansy stopped talking. She now came face to face w/ Lavender. Lavender stood in front of her as if daring her to speak one more word about her friends. Pansy stood up and examined Lavender from head to foot.
"And what do you think you're doing?" Pansy said.
"Well...your voice happens to irritate me so I decided to shut you up..." Lavender said irritably
"Uh Oh..." Dean whispered to Seamus
"You mind your own business!" Pansy answered back at Lavender
"You mind our own business too. I believe that this is Draco's business only. So you and Blaise might as well shut up! You don't know anything about Ron's family that much, so you don't have the right to say something bad about them....and you too, Draco!" Lavender said furiously.
Draco admitted that he's a bit intrested on Lavender. He sent a love letter once to Lavender during the summer holidays but Lavender never answered to it. If there's one person which Draco could never insult, then it has to be Lavender.
"Listen, Ms.Goody-two-shoes" Pansy said pushing Lavender with her index finger. "You better stand back!"
The Gryffindors and the Slytherins were now watchig them. Ron was a bit surprised at Lavender. Even Parvati never saw Lavender that angry.
"No, you stand back..." Lavender said as she pushed Pansy with her right hand strong enough to make her take a step backwards. "Don't tell me what I'm supposed to do, Little Miss Pug face!"
This made the Gryffindors go "Ooooh!"
By the look on Pansy's face, you can see that she's getting more furious. She pushed Lavender again using both hands, making Lavender stumble a few steps backwards. Lavender didn't think of pushing her back. Instead, she grabbed Ron's goblet full of pumpkin juice and threw it right through Pansy's face. Pansy was extremely horrifed. Blaise glared at Lavender as she accompanied Pansy to her seat. The Gryffindors were cheering. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were looking over the Gryffindor table to see what has happened. Lavender felt a bit proud about what she has done not until Professor McGonagall approached the scene of the "crime".
"What is going on here? You're in the Great Hall not in some Quidditch stadium!" Professor McGonagall belowed at the Gryffindors who fell silent immediately. "Ms. Brown....what on earth is going on here?" Professor McGonagall asked Lavender sincerely.
But before Lavender could answer Blaise told Prof. McGongall what had really happened.
"It's Lavender, Professor. She threatened Pansy!" Blaise exaggerated.
"What are you talking about, Ms. Zabini?" Prof. McGonagall asked.
"Lavender threw pumpkin juice on Pansy's face!" Blaise said trying to look pityful. Pansy started crying, although it was obvious to the Gryffindors that she faked it.
"Is this true, Ms.Brown?" Professor McGonagall said.
"Well....y-yes....but I---"
"See professor? she's guilty!" Blaise angrily. Pansy cried even louder.
"Professor, please...let me explain!" Lavender said desperately.
"You do the explaining in my office.....NOW." Professor McGonagall belowed at Lavender and walked smoothly down the Great Hall.
Lavender had no choice, so she followed Prof. McGonagall to her office. The Slytherins had evil grins on their faces and the moment Prof. McGonagall left the Great Hall, Pansy stopped crying and together w/ Blaise, forced a mean laugh.
After dinner Harry, Ron and Hermione, w/ Seamus, Dean, Neville, Parvati and Ginny went to the common room at once. On the way to the common room, Ron sneaked out and went to the other staircase leading to Professor McGonagall's office without Harry and the others noticing.
---------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------- PROF. MCGONAGALL'S OFFICE
Prof. McGonagall's office was really tidy and classy. There were lots of thick books placed in a large shelf. Lavender was standing in front of Prof. McGonagall's desk looking disappointed.
"I never expected you to have done this, Ms. Brown...." Prof. McGonagall said disappointedly.
"But they were making fun of Ron...." Lavender said desperately. "They were---"
Before Lavender could finish her sentence, they heard a knock on the door.
"Come in..." Prof. McGonagall said.
As the door opened, Prof. McGonagall and Lavender were surprised to see Ron.
"What can I do for you, Mr.Weasley?" Professor McGonagall asked as she removed her eyeglasses.
"Uh...Professor..." Ron closed the door behind him and walked toward the desk. "It's about what happened at the Great Hall during dinner."
"If you're here to say that Ms.Brown is innocent then I believe that it's too late. I already made my decision. She will be having detention tomorrow night." Prof. McGonagall said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"But Professor--"
"No buts Mr. Weasley. Now if you don't mind, Ms. Brown and I are still---"
"Lavender is innocent, Professor!" Ron said desperately. "I was the one who did it. I threw pumpkin juice on Pansy Parkinson's face."
Lavender's eyes widened at Ron w/ disbelief.
"Then why did Ms. Zabini say that it was Ms. Brown's fault?" Prof. McGonagall said as if she was testing Ron.
"They..." Ron took a quick glance at Lavender. "---they hate Lavender. They wanted to put her into trouble that's why they accused her. But the truth is....I did it." Ron said sincerely with all his might to make Prof. McGonagall believe everything he says.
"So you are saying Mr. Weasley that Ms. Brown has nothing to do with what happened to Ms. Parkinson..." Prof. McGonagall said.
"Yes Professor." Ron answered.
Prof. McGonagall stared at Ron for a while then moved her eyes away from him and was now looking at Lavender.
"I'm sorry Ms.Brown for wrongly accusing you. If Mr.Weasley haven't got the conscience to stand up and tell the truth, you'd end up in detention tomorrow night."
Lavender opened her mouth to say something but Prof. McGonagall continued speaking.
"As for you Mr.Weasley, you will serve detention at the Hospital Wing tomorrow night. You will be cleaning Madame Pomfrey's bottles and jars without using magic. Both of you may now go back to your common room."
Ron and Lavender headed for the gryffindor common room. Lavender couldn't believe what Ron did. She never expected Ron to do something like that. Quidditch Keeper and Captain, plus the fact that Ron proves to be a true gentleman, really impressed Lavender even more.
---------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------- GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOM
There were only few students left inside the common room. Seamus, Dean and Neville stayed inside their dormitory, finishing their Divination homework. Ginny and Parvati were at the girls dormitories probably asleep already. Harry and Hermione sat on the floor, in front of the fireplace as they waited for Ron and perhaps Lavender too.
"Where did Ron go?" Harry asked
"I have no idea. He was with us right before we left the Great Hall. He probably went somewhere..." Hermione answered as she stared at the flickering fire.
"Yeah...he probably did." Harry said as he stared at the fire as well "So, how was Arithmancy?"
"Heh....fine. It's quite good....How was Divination? Prof. Trelawney didn't predict your death again now, did she?" Hermione said smiling.
"No. It was actually the easiest Divination lesson but it doesn't mean that we love it already." Harry said casually. "Let's just leave all the obsession to Parvati and Lavender."
Hermione smiled broadly at Harry and he did the same thing. Then after a while, the both of them stared at the flickering fire once again.
"Harry..." Hermione said softly. "I just wanted to thank you......for defending me a while ago."
"Oh...ah...it's nothing." Harry said shyly feeling awkward about Hermione bringing up the topic. "That's what I'm supposed to do anyway. I'm you best friend right?" he added
Hermione smiled gently. Harry has been her best friend since first year. She had a lot of experiences with Harry either fun, sad or dangerous. But Hermione started to feel that there's something more than that. She starts to feel something more than friendship towards Harry.She wanted to ignore it, but she can't. It was the only time, at that very moment, that she felt nervous around Harry. Although she knows that she won't have a chance on Harry, she still had a smile on her face. She knows completely about Harry admiring Cho.
"Yeah...I guess you're right Harry." Hermione said. "Thanks again..." Hermione had a faint smile on her face as she said this looking at Harry, straight in his green eyes.
"It's nothing, really. Nobody can call you a mudblood as long as I'm here....and don't forget about Ron." Harry said smiling at Hermione. Hermione smiled back at him even if the thought of Harry and Cho together kept swimming around her head.
The common room was now empty except for Harry and Hermione who were still sitting in front of the fireplace, silent. The silence was broken by the sudden opening of the portrait of the fat lady revealing Ron and Lavender.
"Ron, where have you been?" Harry asked as he stood up. Hermione stood up as well.
"I....went to Prof. McGonagall's office and...." Ron said slowly as he took a quick glance at Lavender who was staring at the floor, as if she was thinking about something.
"And?" Hermione asked curiously.
"And....I....asked her if I could take up Muggle Studies." Ron lied quickly.
"Are you serious?" Harry and Hermione said at the same time.
"Uh...y-yeah....sort of..." Ron said awkwardly.
"Oh....Anyway, it's getting late, I better go to bed now. Lavender,aren't you coming?" Hermione asked.
"I'll be over after a minute. I still have to say something to Ron." Lavender answered.
"Oh....well....Goodnight, Ron. Goodnight, Harry!" Hermione strode off towards the girls dormitories and out of sight.
"So um....I'll be going up to the dormitories now....I'll see you upstairs then, Ron. Goodnight Lavender." Harry said as then he walked up the spiral staircase and out of sight.
Ron and Lavender were now alone inside the common room. Ron started to get nervous again. He was never left alone with his crush especially in the common room at night. Soon enough, Lavender broke the silence.
"Why did you do that, Ron? Why did you tell Prof. McGonagall that it wasn't my fault? Lavender asked Ron.
"Well...I..." Ron stopped. He actually couldn't speak normally in front of his crush. "---I didn't......want you to....to...get into trouble..." Ron said finally...
"I deserved it. I should've been in detention instead of you....Really, you shouldn't have told Prof. McGonagall, Ron. It was my fault." Lavender said in a sort of "demanding" tone.
"It's...Ok. At least you're out of trouble." Ron said more confidently.
"But...but I feel guilty!If you want I can help you clean Madam Pomfrey's bottles. There's at least something I could do for you in return..." Lavender said looking a bit desperate.
"Come on, Lavender. You don't have to do anything. Anyway,....you better go to bed now. It's a bit late...Hey and....thanks for backing me up at the Great Hall. I really thought you didn't care about it at all."
"Of course I care. We're friends and friends are supposed to help each other right?" Lavender said feeling a bit awkward. "Anyway, yeah....I gotta go upstairs now. And you too. Good night."
Before Ron could reach the spiral staircase leading to the boys' dormitoies, Lavender called for him again.
"Uh Ron..." Lavender said as Ron turned his back at her again. "Thanks again...."
"Anytime..." Ron said as his face turned a bit pink.
"And ah.....congratulations for being part of the Quidditch team. You'd definitely be a great captain....and keeper, of course. So...goodnight..." Lavender still feeling awkward walked towards the spiral staircase and out of sight.
Ron quietly walked towards the Boys dormitories, feeling very happy. As he lied down on his four poster bed, he kept on recalling the words Lavender have said and her face floating around his head. Ron has never been so happy in his life. He closed his eyes and finally, he fell asleep, still w/ a slight smile on his face.
End of Chapter 1
~ I really don't know what people would think after reading this. Anyway, the second chapter is up, if you want to continue.....('',)
