Ron sat up and blinked in the sunlight. First day of classes, he thought. Harry was still asleep, breathing softly.
"Oy, Harry! Wake up, mate. First day of classes." Ron said, as he gently shook him.
The dormitory slowly began to awake with activity, students falling into their usual routines of changing into their robes and getting their bags together. Ron leaned over to Harry and whispered, "So..any dreams last night?"
"Not a single one." Harry said, briskly.
He really shouldn't blame himself, thought Ron. He's under a lot of pressure already and he doesn't need this. I'll get Hermione to talk to him.
Meanwhile, Neville was in a panic. "Has anyone seen Trevor?" he asked.
"You've lost that stupid toad again?" Seamus said.
"I put him in his terrarium, over there on my desk…I swear!" Neville said, appearing quite forlorn.
"Neville's right, you know," Ron said, "I saw him last night. What could that toad be up to?"
"Who knows? Last time, we found him in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom!" Dean laughed.
With all their belongings together, they walked down the stairs from their dormitory and left the common room. They arrived in the Great Hall and immediately sat down next to Hermione, who had propped up multiple textbooks against various dishes.
"How is it that you are reading five books at once, Hermione?" Ron asked.
"Shut up," snapped Hermione, who was obviously not in a very amiable mood.
"Who spoiled your pumpkin juice, Hermione?" Harry asked.
"It's that new girl, Stella. I woke up in the middle of the night to find a horrible toad on my face! I swear it was her." Hermione grumbled.
"Stella? Are you sure? She seemed pretty nice to me…in fact…she reminded me a lot of you," Harry said.
"Don't you EVER say that again, do you hear me Harry? I am not at ALL like that girl. And if you don't believe me, fine. Considering we've known each other for six years, I thought you might take my side over hers." Hermione fumed. She stomped out of the Great Hall without finishing her breakfast.
Harry looked stunned. "What was that all about?" he asked.
"No idea…but for the first time it was something YOU said instead of me." Ron joked.
I have never seen Hermione this angry at someone, except perhaps Rita Skeeter…oh and there was that time when she smacked Malfoy…but anyway…what reason would Hermione have for not liking Stella?" Ron wondered.
"Do you really think that Stella would do something like that?" Harry asked. "She really seemed quite nice, everyone in Gryffindor likes her."
"I don't know but she's coming this way," Ron said quickly, "don't say anything."
Stella sat down, looking quite cheerful. "Good morning, Ron…Harry. Sleep well?"
"Um…yeah," said Ron.
"It was okay," Harry said.
"Did you hear what happened to Hermione? Someone put an awful toad on her face. That's absolutely terrible! Who would do something like that?" Stella said.
"I don't know," Ron said, monotonously.
"I think," Stella whispered, "that Hermione thinks I did it."
"Oh no…she doesn't think that at all…it fact, she likes you very much," Ron said.
Why in the world did I say something like that…, Ron thought. If Hermione can't stand her, she'll eventually know about it.
"Well I want her to like me too…I mean…everyone says she's the smartest girl in the school." Stella said, sounding worried.
"Well that's true…" Harry said, but the broke-off at the sight of a bushy haired someone storming back into the Great Hall.
Hermione passed by and gave the three of them a look of venom before collecting her schedule from Professor McGonagall.
"Okay, so maybe she doesn't like you a little," Ron said.
When Professor McGonagall came around with the schedules, Ron grabbed his eagerly.
"Oh no," Ron said to Harry, "Double Potions with Slytherins this morning."
"You're joking," Harry said, scanning the schedule.
"What's so bad about Potions?" Stella asked.
"It's not just Potions; it's a combination of Potions and Slytherins that makes it worse," Ron groaned.
"Potions is taught by the most evil professor you could imagine: Professor Snape. He hates Gryffindors and favors the Slytherins. And then there's the Slytherins themselves. They're an awful lot, they are. Especially Malfoy…I recommend that you stay away from him. You'll see the slimeball as soon as you walk into the classroom," explained Harry.
"I hope I'm good enough, after all, I have Hermione to compete with," Stella said.
"He can't stand Hermione either, good luck," Ron said, with a pained look on his face.
This could be my worst year yet. Double Potions? With Slytherin? Why couldn't we just have Potions with the Hufflepuffs or Ravenclaws. I pity Stella…she has no idea what she's getting into, thought Ron.
Reviews:
Raven-Padfoot-Marauder: Yeah me too…this is what's been getting ME through the summer.
Tigrrgirl13: The idea for Tonks just kind of came to me…I dunno what's next…I've tried to make the chapters longer…this is my longest so far. To change your user name, go to the Settings page.
Chrys-Moony-Marauder: Are you and Raven related? Anyway, thanks for the advice about the first chapter…yea it sucks…but hopefully people will look past that. And no, there are no conveniences or coincidences. Everything that happens happens for a reason
Peaches-503: I don't know Peaches, is it? I guess you'll have to find out, won't you?
Brittany Michelle Granger: You know, that sounds a lot like Sarah Michelle Gellar…gotta love Buffy…anyway…keep reading! I'm not sure I even know what's going to happen next!
Tigereyes92389:Yay! My chapter is finally longer! Are you excited? I am…anyway…keep reading…I'm honored to be on your favorite stories list.
Softballsweeti11: Aren't we all, though?
SesamEChIckEN:No, actually, I haven't read the Abhorsen trilogy, although I've always wanted to…I've just never gotten around to it…do you see some similarities?
KawaiiFryingPanChick: Please don't hit me, I don't write well when I have a throbbing headache. But if you haven't noticed, what I lack in length, I make up for in speed. I wrote the first seven chapters yesterday!