Someday, I will own something of great value. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

Not Involved in Draco's Great Plan

Ryua went down to Potions that Thursday, happy to be back in a class she really liked. That boggart thing had put her off DADA for a while, and Transfiguration and Charms had been as tedious as ever (Although McGonnagal's lecture about animagi had got her thinking...). Hermionie introduced Ryua and Harry (although they already knew each other by reputation, neither reputation was very good), but they barely got to talk before Professor Snape strode in, and snapped at everyone to sit down. The lesson started off good, but then Draco came sauntering in, looking like some movie star hero.

"Ooh, does it hurt, Draco?" Pansy was being disgusting again, slobbering over her brother.

"Yeah." And there was her brother, enjoying it immensely.

"Settle down, settle down," Snape said, barely looking up from his desk. Draco slid into position beside Ryua, which was odd, considering she was sitting across from Harry and Ron, Hermionie one desk down. Oh, wait, maybe it wasn't so odd...

"If you so much as think of asking me to chop those roots," Ryua said in a low voice that only carried as far as Draco's ears, "I will curse you so hard that arm of yours, back when it did hurt of course, seems like a paper cut."

Draco swallowed, knowing full well she meant it. "Er... Sir, I'll need help chopping these roots..."

Ryua hid a small (very small) smile at the look on Ron's face, and stifled a giggle at the way he chopped up the roots. Then, of course, he had to switch roots with Draco, and the look on his face became even worse. Harry didn't look too pleased to be skinning another shrivelfig either. "There's nothing wrong with your arm," he muttered at Draco.

Draco cheerfully admitted he was putting it on for the benefits, pushing over his next few ingredients for Harry to chop.

After the lesson, Draco went over to preen for his audience, leaving Ryua a moment of peace with her new friends. "Isn't he just unbearable? You're lucky you only have him around for a couple classes. I have to live with him full time..."

"Yeah, I guess. A couple classes is all I can stand him, I can't understand how you can be twins," Harry replied, "You're so much more... human or something. Hey, why didn't he ask you to cut roots?"

"Because I would have cursed him, and then he'd really have been in that hospital wing for a few days." Ryua paused at the look on Harry's face. "I'm serious. It's the only way I can get him to take me at all seriously. You should try it sometime." She walked off to drag her performing sibling down to the dormitories before he embarrassed the family name, leaving Harry and Ron to look at each other and shake their heads.

"You know, she's got a point. What I wouldn't give to be able to hex Dudley once in a while... D'you know any good ones?"

"Me, mate? One or two, I suppose, but honestly, I can't imagine really needing to curse your family. I mean, even Fred and George keep it to pranks."

"Yeah, but you've got a great family. Actually, Ryua's got both parents and a brother too, so maybe that's not it after all. I wonder what curse she was talking about, though. No one's taught us anything to incapacitate someone for a week."

"So, we ask Hermionie," Ron turned around to ask her, but she wasn't there. "Odd, she was right behind us."

"Maybe she's learned to apparate."

"Nah, she's always saying how you can't do that in Hogwarts grounds."

"Fine, stamp on my ideas."

"Hey, you have good ideas, sometimes," Ron ducked away from Harry's fake punch. "Remember when you tricked McGonnagal into letting us into the infirmary? Now that was sheer genius."

"Yeah, except we weren't trying to get into the infirmary, remember?"

"Oh, right. Hey, what were we talking about, anyway?"

"Curses."

"Right. Let's find Hermionie before we forget again."

Author's note: Wow, that was a completely random chapter. I just couldn't shut Harry and Ron up. I tried, but they dodged my silencio charm. Just as well, I suppose, I suck at charms. And now I'm the one rambling... Oops.