Death Is a Diamond in the Sky
Summary:
A new year, a new DADA teacher, and a new student. When everything goes wrong, who is Ron to turn to? R/H H/G D/OC
Disclaimer:
J. K. Rowling owns everything and everybody in this story, save two OCs.
A/N:
Hello, gentle readers. You know not yet what horrors you are about to be subjected to. Kindly review. And always remember:
Feel Free to Flame!
1. - Kya
"So," said Neville.
The passengers in the train compartment were still stubbornly silent. Ginny was playing with a remote control she had stolen from her father's chest of muggle treasures. Ron was examining the floor, as if he was determined to find a pattern in the dust. Hermione seemed riveted by the landscape outside, and was gazing intently out of the window. Harry pretended to be asleep.
Well, they're a cheerful group, Neville thought. He was a bit disappointed. Something interesting had always used to happen in their compartment, but now it was as if none of them felt like talking.
Neville could sort of understand why. A lot of things had happened last summer, and conversation had to be checked, so as not to bring back any painful associations. 'How was your summer?', the customary opening phrase of every start of term, was absolutely taboo today, and without it he had no sure ground to stand on. But he didn't think he could sit the entire train ride with a group of people, where each person was pretending the others didn't exist.
He sighed and got up. Ginny quickly followed suite. Apparently, her thoughts had been going along the same track.
"I'll go and see if I can find-"
"I need to talk to-" they both started.
Since none of the others reacted to their imminent departure, neither Neville nor Ginny bothered to finish their sentences. They simply left.
Ginny hurried off to look up her other friends. Neville lingered a bit outside of the compartment. He was not eavesdropping. He was only standing there!
Hermione was the first to speak. She broached the subject of Malfoy and his many failings, and that got them all talking. They seemed to be at ease when Neville and Ginny were not around. The two of them were outside of the group.
Well, how was he supposed to know that Malfoy was the topic to turn to at awkward moments?
Just then, the man himself came strutting down the corridor, flanked by his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, and looking quite as stuck-up and evil as ever. His father had already escaped from Azkaban, so Malfoy had reason to be happy. For a moment, Neville wondered what he was doing there. Then he realized that he hadn't paid his annual visit to the trio's compartment yet. He was bound to have a few extra scathing comments to bestow on them this year.
Neville clenched his teeth. He was not about to let a snivelling little rodent ruin the day for everybody. Besides, he had always been itching to get in a few good hexes at him, ever since his first year, but he had never had the opportunity.
"Engorgio!" he whispered.
At first, Malfoy didn't seem to notice anything. Then his eyes widened in horror when he realized his nose was beginning to grow bigger.
Neville didn't stay to see the effects of what he had done. He slipped into the nearest compartment before Malfoy and his cronies could see him. Unfortunately, Luna Lovegood occupied it. Neville always felt uncomfortable around her.
She didn't appear at all surprised to see him, though. She smiled at him.
"Hello," she said.
"Oh. Hi," said Neville. He wondered if he wouldn't prefer Malfoy to Luna, but the high-pitched squeals coming from the corridor outside told him it would be best not to show his face for a while. "Um, is it okay if I stay here for a bit?"
"I was hoping someone would join me," said Luna. "It's so tedious to play by oneself."
"Er, what…?" said Neville, who was beginning to feel a bit edgy.
Luna's smile widened. She held up a deck of Exploding Snap cards.
They played for the rest of the journey. They were finally able to relax around one another in comfortable silence, and Neville was glad to be free from the tension which was rampant everywhere else.
Soon after Neville and Ginny had gone out, the three people left in the compartment became more animate. Hermione commented on that Malfoy had not made his annual visit yet, and they were all grateful for his absence. Perhaps somewhat naively, she expressed a hope that he wouldn't come at all.
A little bit of badmouthing did them all good. Harry was able to shake himself awake, to join in the slander. Ron snapped out of his daze.
Actually, it was Harry who brought up the subject they had hitherto been avoiding.
"How was your summer?" he asked.
"Er," said Hermione. She and Ron exchanged a nervous look, as had become their habit of late. This little tendency had always annoyed Harry, and he had to bite his tongue to keep back a sharp remark.
"Mine was fine," Hermione stammered. "I mean – it wasn't great of course... but it wasn't… terrible…?" Then she went back to looking out of the window.
"Mine was pretty dull," said Ron. "Wish you could have been with us at Gri – but then again, uh, I don't know… was it okay at the Dursleys'?" he finished, feebly.
"I'm not made of glass you know," Harry said, mentally reminding himself that it was not their fault and he did not want another last year! "You don't have to look at me like I'm going to break any minute. We talked last term about what happened, and I don't need to be reminded about it every time you talk to me, or look at me. Can we just put it behind us?"
"But don't you think you need to talk about it at all?" said Hermione, gingerly.
"No, not really," said Harry. "But thanks all the same."
Hermione gave him a long look, but finally she nodded.
"I'm not trying to repress anything," said Harry. "But we're not going to be able to act normal around each other if you're afraid of mentioning where you spent the summer."
"You're right," said Ron.
Hermione looked like she was about to protest, but then she seemed to reconsider, and added her assent to Ron's.
They talked freely after that.
Kya cast a glance around the great hall, which was full to the brim with students. Her eyes widened. The ceiling mirrored the sky outside, and candles floated in the air above the tables. She had never seen anything like it.
"Morris, Kya," said professor McGonagall. Still filled with awe, Kya walked over to the three-legged stool with the sorting hat.
"Who is that new girl?" Hermione wondered aloud.
"Kya Morris," said Ron. "She can't be a first-year."
"I heard she's been tutored at home," said Seamus, leaning past Lavender in order to converse with the trio.
Strange, Harry thought.
They were all watching the girl, waiting to find out which house she was going to end up in. The great hall had never been so quiet. You could have heard a pin drop to the floor.
The sorting hat seemed to take a long time to decide which house to place her in, and while it was at it, it wriggled more than it usually did. Finally, it cried out,
"Gryffindor!"
The Gryffindors cheered and began to applaud wildly. Apparently a bit shaken, Kya walked over to their table and sat down next to Ginny and opposite of Harry. She gave them all a nervous smile. The students sitting in her vicinity no longer paid any attention to the rest of the first-years getting sorted. People at other tables craned their necks to get a good look at her.
Harry, Ron, Neville, Hermione and all the others introduced themselves to the newcomer. She grinned, making them feel more at ease. Neville ventured to ask her what year she would be in.
"I'll be starting my sixth year," she said. "I've never been to a real school before. I've had a tutor until now."
"What's it like?" Ginny asked.
"It's dull. You never get out of the house and meet people."
"You'll like Hogwarts then," said Hermione.
"I'm sure I will," said Kya, smiling sweetly.
When the great clock in the astronomy tower struck midnight, most of the students had already fallen asleep, Hermione, Parvati and Lavender included.
Kya was sitting on the windowsill, watching the sky outside. The moonlight reflected off her pearly white hair and her deep purple eyes.
She sighed, happy to be at Hogwarts at last. She felt sure she had already made a few good friends, like her dorm-mate Hermione, and the famous Harry Potter. A world of possibilities was open to her – this was going to be a good term. She could feel it.
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