Disclaimer: I feel lazy today. I don't own Harry Potter. I think that's enough.
The Clouds Are Heavy
By Sabrina Clarke & Edited by Fiona Chan
The rest of the ride to Hogwarts continued in uneasy, controlled silence, but no one could suppress the furtive glances at a friend- glances that betrayed fear and revealed an underlying excitement of the unknown.
"Go on, Ron!" hissed Seamus Finnigan, giving Ron an encouraging push.
"You do it!"
"No, you! You're closer!"
Ron took a deep breath, "Has anyone got their wand, then?"
Hermione stepped forward, and handed Ron the wand, which she would have used to hex Malfoy. I still can, she considered, spying his blonde hair glittering in the darkness. As their hands came in contact she held unto her wand a bit longer then necessary. I'm going to regret this, I know I will. Ron blushed.
"ARGH!"
From the darkness, a blur emerged. It was briefly illumed by the wand and candle light, but all that could be seen was a shock of blonde hair. Or was that Malfoy's hair? But it was gone as quickly as it came.
****
"What was that, Ron?" exclaimed Parvati, tugging on Ron's sleeve and leaning into his arm as they walked through the heavy doors that opened to Hogwarts.
Ron looked uncomfortable, "Well…" he squirmed, leaning away from Parvati.
"Ron, you were closest, you must've got a good look at it!" yelled Seamus, giving him a clap on his back.
Dean stepped forward, next to Parvati, "I was pretty close too!" he put an arm on her shoulder, and whispered, "I reckon, it was a lethifold." Everyone stared at him. "You know one of those deadly beasts that look like a cloak? The ones that creep up when your sleeping and suffocate you?" Everyone continued staring at Dean. "Last time I listen in Care of Magical Creatures." he muttered.
Parvati shrugged his arm off with practiced ease. She stepped closer to Ron and whispered in his ear, "You were very brave."
Ron looked in the other direction and pretended not to notice her. His face turned a deep crimson as he sought out Hermione's bushy hair amongst the throng of students. He stepped in her direction and called, "Oh, Herm-oh-ninny!"
Hermione groaned. I hate it when he calls me that. She raised her eyes to the enchanted ceiling and pretended not to notice the eagerly gesturing red-head behind her.
She opened her mouth for a cutting response. "Ron-" but Hermione was distracted by the maniacal cackling of Peeves the Poltergeist, as he began to do a spirited tap dance on several people's heads. "Ow!"
"Peeves, now, enough is enough!" cried Professor McGonagall, exasperatedly, as once more she found him practicing his dance moves on the students heads, "Get down here, this instant!" she screamed, hurling hexes angrily at him as he spun away chuckling and occasionally blowing raspberries in her direction.
"Good old Hogwarts," remarked Harry, thoughtfully, as he watched familiar faces chatting in the noisy hall and a livid Mc Gonagall chasing Peeves. The entire school settled into a sense of comfort- comfort that only the aging and beautiful castle could bring.
Before she sat at the Gryffindor table, Hermione took a deep breath. She pulled her thoughts together and let the bossy, sensible, in control, real Hermione Granger take over. If he calls me 'Herm-oh-ninny' I'm going to scream. She strode to the Gryffindor Table huffily.
"Sorry Hermione," muttered Harry, sheepishly.
"Yeah," Ron grumbled, "but we'd've known about you being a Prefect if you'd kept in touch." This half-hearted apology barely tugged at Hermione's heart strings. She frowned, pushing her chestnut hair out of her face.
Such thin hands, such a thin face…They both looked at her closely- she seemed different.
"Had a good summer, eh?" asked Nearly-Headless Nick, cheerfully to the Gryffindor's which was answered by a general chorus of vague responses. He grinned and pulled his overlarge ruff a little higher on his unstable neck.
"Yeah…"
"I guess…"
"Mmhmm…"
"I hope they hurry with the Sorting…"groaned Ron as he stared expectantly at the, now empty, golden plates.
"Shh…Ron it's about to start!" scolded Hermione impatiently as a small flap at the mouth of the hat opened wide-
"Hurry, Ginny! We're going to be…" Colin Creevey's voice faded off as all eyes in the Hall turned to him.
"Late," finished Professor Snape icily, striding forward with a particularly venomous smile at the two Gryffindors.
"I will handle this, Severus," snapped Professor McGonagall, holding out her arm to stop Snape from continuing forward. She hastily handed the Sorting list to Professor Sprout and barked, "Weasley! Creevey! My office! Now!" Pointing to the exit of the Great Hall, she strode angrily out with the tardy pair following guiltily after her.
Professor Sprout stood up, rather hesitantly, reading various names alphabetically off of a piece of parchment.
"Alba, Serena," she called, causing a small, timid girl to hesitantly put on the hat.
After a moment's pause, the hat announced, "HUFFLEPUFF!" and the little girl ran to the table where a merry ghost known as the Fat Friar eagerly welcomed her.
"Douglas, Amelia" became the first Gryffindor and so it continued all the way until…
"Eriksson, Stanley", who was a Ravenclaw.
"Wonder who our new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher is going to be?" Hermione mused, quickly scanning the teachers' table in search of new faces. Catching Hagrid's eye, she saw him smile and wave at her. He looked different. Very different. She giggled, "Look at Hagrid!" Hermione prodded Ron.
Harry laughed, "I must say it does all the better for him." and he gave Hagrid a thumbs up sign. The messy tangles of untamed hair were now cut easily half a foot shorter and were slicked back.
Ron grinned, "He probably just wanted to look better for Madame Maxime." he chanced a half glance at Hermione, "He really likes her."
Hermione smiled in a self-satisfied sort of way, "He'd better! He spent all summer with her." she murmured. Harry and Ron grinned and gave Hagrid another set of thumbs up.
Hermione laughed. "He was off being an ambassador." Harry and Ron both raised their eyebrows.
Slowly, comprehension dawned on Harry, "Of course! That special job over the summer…Dumbledore suggested that Fudge-"
Ron scowled, "Don't even mention that name."
"Well, Dumbledore suggested that he send envoy's to the giants-" Harry continued in an undertone, looking around the chattering table.
"And who better then Hagrid and Madame Maxime!" exclaimed Hermione a little too loudly.
"Who is our new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher is going to be?" Seamus said to Ron as the last name, "Zarelli, Joseph", was called.
"Dunno," whispered Ron, "But I 'spect we'll be finding out soon," Ron nodded at Dumbledore as he raised his hands for silence.
"Ah, another year at dear old Hogwarts…another feast, another beginning- for many." announced Dumbledore, "Meet our new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher, Professor Evaline Smethwyk." At her name, a very skinny woman with highly pronounced cheekbones, stepped forward, immediately dominating the entire table with a perturbing sense of mystery. Despite her paleness, she had a certain air of elegance, which made up for her lack of beauty. There was a rather weak applause, as many students stared at the cold, expressionless face, framed by dark locks, and looked to her class without enthusiasm.
"Oh boy," said Ron sarcastically.
Dean leaned over to Harry and whispered, "Snape must be fuming, he missed the Defense Against Dark Arts job again!"
Hermione once more scanned the teacher's table and said, somewhat surprised, "I don't think so." She pointed to where Snape stood. Harry felt his jaw drop; he had just seen the strangest thing in whole life. He had seen Snape laugh.
"Look!" he hissed, "Snape is-"
Seamus looked up mildly surprised and whispered something to Lavender Brown. She giggled, "I reckon their friends."
"She looks even tougher then Mc Gonagall." muttered Harry with a groan. Hermione, however, did not say anything, and only picked her Shepard's pie. She sighed and rested her head sadly on her elbows.
Harry looked at her with surprise, "What's the matter, Hermione?"
"She's probably thinking about her classes or something," said Ron distractedly, eyeing the last treacle tart.
Hermione glared daggers at Ron and mumbled, "I was just thinking…oh never mind." She waved her hand vaguely.
Harry stared at her out of the corner of his eye and finally remarked, "This has nothing to do with spew, right?"
This seemingly offhand comment had its desired effect, Hermione laughed, "No, Harry. I think S. P. E. W is permanently disbanded." Ron and Harry both feigned disappointment.
"But Hermione-!" They pretended to protest.
Dumbledore stood up once more, "To all new students remember the Forbidden Forest is exactly that, forbidden. Also, the list of unacceptable items has been extended to include all of Fred and George Weasley's new supplies of magical mischief- Really P.U.Trid Dung Bombs, Canary Creams, Ton Tongue Toffees, etc. Good night to you all! Off you trot."
As Harry passed by the teacher's table, he heard Filch whisper to Ms. Norris, "Should have known those miserable twins would give us trouble, even after they graduated." The Gryffindors cheerfully exited the Great Hall, chatting noisily. Distracted by Peeves, who had stolen Professor Flitwick's hat, they ran straight into Draco Malfoy and his gang of Slytherins.
"Watch where you're going, Mudblood!" shrieked Pansy Parkinson at Hermione.
The Gryffindors glowered at the Slytherins, who merely waggled their tongues menacingly. Ron stepped forward, but was held back, "Gerroff Harry!" but the strong, almost painful, grip remained and he turned around- annoyed. He paled. "Professor!"
"Is there trouble here?" inquired their new DADA teacher, who looked sternly at the Slytherins and Gryffindors.
"There's always trouble when Potter's around," whispered Snape, giving Harry a particularly venomous look, "Right Malfoy?" but Draco, too, had paled, even more then usual, and no longer seemed like he wanted his thoughts to be heard.
A large group had collected around the exit of the Great Hall, but Snape shooed them irritably away, "Clear off! Unless you want a detention with me tomorrow. I'm sure Mr. Filch and I would be more then happy to arrange something. Something very painful." The other Houses quickly left at this, heading down the corridors to their dormitories, and scowling at Professor Snape. "Sorry to spoil your fun." he sneered at their retreating backs, delighted with spreading misery amongst his students.
As the Gryffindor's stomped angrily away, Ron commented, "Weird, though, that Draco wouldn't give us a bad wrap to the new teacher. That was almost human of him."
"Yeah, almost," said Hermione with a cheerful smile at Ron. Ron blushed and tripped on the trick step most students had learned to avoid.
****
Harry awoke to find himself the only one in the dormitory. He entered the Great Hall quickly and plopped himself next to Hermione at the head of the Gryffindor table.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Nothing," Hermione responded quickly. Too quickly. Harry raised his eyes, but dismissed it as the post owls had just arrived. One dropped the Daily Prophet and an enormous Great Grey dropped a letter in Hermione's lap.
"Who's it from?" asked Harry as Ron groggily stumbled into the Hall.
For a moment she was silent. "Viktor…" murmured Hermione, wistfully, turning scarlet as Ron pulled out the chair next to her.
"Ah, we have eggs and bacon!" said Ron, loudly, giving himself generous portions of each and eating them ravenously, not really seeming to pay attention to anything else.
Harry whispered to Hermione," What's in the letter from Viktor?" She blushed again and began stammering something incoherent. Spying Lavender, she got up and went to catch up with her just as she was leaving the Hall. "Wonder what that was about," he muttered to Ron, but Ron, too, had gone.
As Hedwig alighted beside Harry's glass of pumpkin juice, he ruffled her feathers tenderly and sighed, "Perhaps, we're the only ones who haven't changed." He looked up at the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall, cherishing each moment he had in Hogwarts. Hedwig gave his finger a gentle nip and ate his toast crusts gratefully before she soared out of the Hall, and to the Owlery.
Over his schedule, Harry spied Ginny as she began to bolt through her servings of eggs and bacon. "Hi Ginny! How are you doing?" he asked casually, taking a mouthful of omelet.
Ginny jumped, startled and looked around the noisy Hall as though to make certain that Harry was talking to her, "Oh, fine!" she smiled, blushing almost to the color of her red hair and knocking over her goblet of pumpkin juice. Harry pretended not to notice and Ginny pretended that it hadn't happened.
He quickly scanned the table, looking for anything that might be harmed by the spreading juice and realized he had received a letter. Opening the envelope, he noticed that it bore the Hogwarts seal, and rushed to read:
Dear Harry,
Come down to the hut next Friday, around four. I've got a surprise for you!
Cheers,
Hagrid
Harry felt slightly ominous about what exactly Hagrid's surprise was, but he scribbled, "I'll be there." hastily on the back of the parchment, nonetheless. The foreboding feeling lingered, but he ignored it as he read his course schedule, "Damn! Double Potions first…with Malfoy and Snape," he said aloud to no one in particular.
"How are you doing, Harry?" queried Ginny, moving her arm to cover the spreading pumpkin juice. She winced and hoped that the juice would be dry before her first class.
"Oh, I'm just fine!" Harry smiled, "Look! Someone spilled their juice and didn't clean it up. Your arm is in it." He shook his head, hiding a grin, "Why don't I help you with that?" without waiting for a response he stood up and proceeded mopping up the spreading liquid with his napkin. "Give me your arm," he ordered. Hesitantly, she held out her arm, and flinched almost as though she thought that Harry's touch would burn. Still smiling, Harry cleaned up her arm and sleeve as best as he could.
"Silly of them," remarked Harry with a grin, "Not to clean it up."
"Oh, well," Ginny blushed, looking up at him and smiling, "sometimes people do silly things."
Harry took a step closer to Ginny. He just realized this was the first time she had looked him full in the face. "Too true," he murmured.
"Hi, Harry, hey!" called an all-too-familiar voice. Apparently Colin's admiration of him hadn't diminished over the summer. Harry groaned inwardly and looked up at Ginny's face. It was then he realized he was still holding her damp arm. He gingerly put it on the table and began finishing the remains of his omelet.
"Hello Colin," Harry said, somewhat distantly, in a dull monotone.
"Hey Ginny! See you in Transfiguration!" called Colin Creevey, making his way over to Harry and Ginny.
Harry remembered he was still staring at Ginny and dropped his gaze. Ginny hastily picked up her book bag and ran to catch up with Colin and they walked together out of the Hall.
Ron and Lavender reentered the Hall and sat themselves on either side of Harry. Lavender opened her mouth to say something, but spotted Parvati and ran to catch up with her. Harry packed up his book bag, and took a heaping mouthful of his ketchup and eggs. Ron cursed under his breath as he peered over Harry's shoulder at his schedule, "Can hardly wait," he mumbled sarcastically, "Yet, we struggle to get on time for a class we can't stand. Ironic, huh?" he asked, giving Harry a nudge.
But Harry was unusually silent.
A/N:To clear up where they sat
R G/R
l Gryffindor Table l H
H/L
Top- Ron (first time he sat down), Ginny & Ron (when he returns with Lavender)
Middle- Harry
Bottom- Hermione & Lavender
From this chappie, I think it's pretty obvious what SHIPs I sail on. ::sheepish grin:: The next chapter is basically a continuation of this one, so you MUST continue reading! It's also shorter, but it seemed too long to conjoin. Believe me there is less flirting and more ACTION! Oh dear, that did not sound quite right…