Chapter 3 – Midnight Celebration

Harry and Ron ran down the corridors, heading towards Transfiguration class. They were late. And Professor McGonagall isn't too keen on those who are late. And they didn't want to get on her bad side.

It was nearing Halloween. Professor Dumbledore announced that there was going to be a Halloween dance right after the feast, and they are required to bring a dance partner. And both of them didn't know who to ask.

While they were running, a black figure emerged from the corner and knocked Harry off his feet. Harry fell back. He looked up to see who knocked him over. A smile appeared on her face, a scowl appeared on Harry's own.

"What do you think you're doing, Hayama?! Knocking someone off their feet like that..." said Ron, helping Harry to his feet.

Harry looked at Shiina, who flashed a fake smile at them and said, "I'm sorry. It was an accident."

"Yeah, I bet it is, Hayama. Your boyfriend Malfoy can't pull off his own pranks so he sent you instead?" Harry taunted.

"Oh, I'm SO sorry that you didn't pay too much attention when running," said Shiina, sarcastically. "You're no better than that Mudblood cousin of mine," she added.

Ron snapped and lunged himself at Shiina, forgetting the fact that she's a girl. He put his hands around her neck in effort to strangle her. Shiina flipped Ron over, making Ron punch her in the face and left a cut on her upper lip.

"RON! STOP!" Harry shouted.

The brawl brought Professor McGonagall out of the classroom.

"What is this?! Mr. Weasley, Ms. Hayama, cease this quarrel immediately!" McGonagall ordered.

None of them heard her. Other students came out to the corridor and watched. Some cheered for Ron, some cheered for Shiina. Shiina delivered a strong punch in Ron's face, sending him off her. She stood up and dove towards Ron. Halfway, she was stopped in mid-air.

Professor Dumbledore walked towards them with his wand pointed at Shiina.

"Oh no..." Ron muttered as Harry tried to help him up.

Ron got up. Dumbledore slowly lowered Shiina to the floor. Shiina stood up and brushed off the dust from her robes.

"The two of you, please follow me to my office," said Dumbledore. He turned around and began walking. Ron and Shiina walked behind him. McGonagall walked behind Ron and Shiina.

Ron and Shiina kept slapping each other's arm on the way to Dumbledore's office. McGonagall hit their hands with her wand. Ron acquired a black eye, a slight bloody nose and a rip on his vest. Shiina received a cut on the lip and eyebrow, a bitten arm and a lock of hair ripped off from her head.

"Mental..." Ron muttered.

"Retard..." Shiina muttered.

McGonagall hit both of them on the head, "Will you two stop?"

The four of them entered Dumbledore's office. Ron and Shiina stood facing Dumbledore and McGonagall. They decided to keep their heads down. That was the only thing they could agree on doing.

"I don't know what got into the both of you," McGonagall started, "Would any of you like to explain why we found you in the corridors when you're supposed to be in your respective classes?"

Ron and Shiina started talking at once. They'll tell each other to shut up from time to time and kept on explaining each other's side of the story. Dumbledore waved his wand and 2 strips of tape taped up Ron's and Shiina's mouths.

"I am going to remove the tape one by one so we can settle this, situation," said Dumbledore, calmly.

He removed Ron's tape first.

"Now, Mr. Weasley. Kindly explain why Ms. Hayama and yourself were fighting in the hallway?" Dumbledore asked, looking at them through his half moon glasses.

"Hayama called Hermione a...a... Mudblood, sir..." Ron answered nervously.

Dumbledore fixed his eyes on Shiina. He removed Shiina's tape and asked, "Is this true, Ms. Hayama, that you called your cousin, Ms. Granger, a Mudblood?"

"Yes sir," Shiina replied, without hesitating. "I did call my cousin a Mudblood."

Ron looked at her with a sense of disbelief. How could she admit something like that and not feeling guilty? Ron thought, Can she really be THAT evil? She didn't look nervous. She stood there with her eyes fixed at Dumbledore.

Ron looked into her eyes and saw determination somehow. It's like she's sure that she didn't do anything wrong or said anything offensive. Ron noticed the hint of arrogance in her voice as she explained her story to Dumbledore. From time to time, she touched the cut on her lips (courtesy of Ron) to check if there was blood.

"Both of you will receive a week's worth of detention and ten points will be taken from Gryffindor and Slytherin," said McGonagall. "Now, go to the Hospital Wing and let Madam Pomfrey tend to your wounds."

Ron and Shiina left Dumbledore's office and headed for the Hospital Wing. Ron heard Shiina cursing under her breath. She looked at Ron, angrier than ever.

Come to think of it, Ron thought, we've never seen Hayama angry... just, sarcastic,

"Thanks to you, Weasley, my face is ruined," Shiina said hotly.

"At least I didn't give you a black eye," Ron retorted.

"Fuck off."

"Dumb sod..."

Ron placed his books on the table in the Common Room after his visit to the Hospital Wing and sat down. He sighed as he rubbed the back of his aching neck. He took off his robes and looked at his forearm. It was bandaged up. Shiina had fought dirty.

She used a knife.

Ron touched it and flinched. The blood had dirtied his robes and most of the bandage. He traced his right eye and accidentally pressed the wounded area. That woman's mental... that was the first time a girl had given me a black eye... He thought.

A figure emerged from the portrait hole. His little sister, Ginny. She stood looking at her brother and was shocked to see him in his current physical state.

"Ron, what happened to you?!" Ginny asked, panicking.

"Come off it, Ginny, it's not that bad," said Ron, touching his black eye. He let out a loud "Ouch!"

"Bloody 'ell, Ron. What in blazes happened to you?" asked another voice. Ron looked up and saw Neville Longbottom.

"Hayama happened to me... is she really a girl or some demon in disguise...?" Ron murmured under his breath.

As more Gryffindors came into the Common Room, surrounding Ron with twenty questions, he was lost in deep thought. Why DID he fling himself at Shiina?

He remembered the word 'Mudblood' being uttered by those black lips belonged to Shiina.

He remembered the hatred he saw in Shiina's eyes.

He remembered the anger boiling within himself.

Maybe he did it because Hermione was one of his best friends. But Malfoy called Hermione Mudblood all the time and I didn't bloody him up... he thought silently, but that was because Harry and Hermione stopped me... but why didn't Harry stop me then...?

Ron stood up, got his books and went up to the boys' dormitory.

Ron and Shiina started their detention the night after their brawl. After their last class (Charms Class with Professor Flitwck), they went down to the dungeons. Or more particularly, Snape's dungeon; where they usually have their Potions Class.

Snape left them alone to clean off the muck and grease off the floors, toad's eye and lizards tail off the cauldrons. Manually, the Muggle way. Shiina scrubbed the cauldrons, Ron scrubbed the floors. Shiina kept cursing under her breath; Ron kept looking over his shoulder at Shiina.

"Hayama," Ron called, after an hour's scrubbing.

"What?" Shiina answered, not taking her eyes off the dirty cauldron.

"Why do you hate Hermione so much?" Ron asked, curiously, "She is your cousin, you know. It's like you want to kill her or something."

Shiina stopped scrubbing. She placed the brush on the floor and turned around to face Ron, "Can't you keep to your own business, Weasley?"

"I'm just curious."

"Curiosity kills the cat."

"But I'm NOT a cat."

"Well I could turn you into one... and then I'll kill you..."

"Come off it. Tell me why you hate her so."

"You really want to know, don't you?" Shiina heaved a heavy sigh and stood up. As she rearranges the bottles of Potion ingredients on the shelf, she started her story –

"Our grandmother adopted a Muggle daughter; Hermione's mother. Everyone in the family were powerful witches and wizards-" she closed the bottle of newt's eyes, "-except for her. But she made up for it. She studied hard, got good grades, got so popular. Even though I wasn't in the same country with her, it has always been 'Hermione this, Hermione that. Oh, isn't Hermione a good girl?'. Obviously, I got irritated. It's been that way ever since we were kids.

"I've always hated her. So that's why I turned cold towards her. I strived to become better than her in every way."

"But you followed the Dark Arts."

"That's because they UNDERSTOOD me. I spoke to the Dark Lord in my dreams. He listens to me, he understands me."

"You could always be friends with us. Or at least try. We'll listen."

"Are you mad? My parents don't even understand me. What makes you so sure that you will?"

"Just give it a tr-"

Snape re-entered the dungeon to let them off for the night. Shiina made her way to Slytherin tower, Ron made his way to Gryffindor tower. His eyes might have deceived him but he swore he saw a tear trickled down from her eye.