Chapter 3: Kevin Tries to Keep his Big Mouth Shut
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world belongs to J.K. Rowling.
A/N: If you haven't noticed, different chapters follow different people. The first one was Dennis, then Lena, and this one is Kevin. However, I will not keep repeating everyone's full nameevery chapter, only if it is someone not introduced in a chapter that follows whoever it is following. For instance, everyone from Hogwarts has been introduced from Dennis's first chapter, so I won't be repeating everyone's full names unless we introduce new characters, which obviously I will have to because we are having two more schools enter the picture. However, from a Lena view, Leo Pasts hasn't come into the picture, so when he does, he will be Leo Pasts at first.
Also, every chapter following Dennis will be titled "Good Boy." All Lena chapters will be "Big Cowy Things that Jump like Hares." All Kevin chapters will be "Kevin Tries to Keep his Big Mouth Shut." There will be one chapter title for each character.
Kevin Whitby sat starving, but he had to wait for a while still before he could eat. Lena Grogan had been right to suggest that he eat something while in Paris, but he didn't have enough money after Dawn Parkinson discovered she forgot to exchange some of her galleons for Muggle money; she had been surprised that the Muggle store clerk wouldn't take her gold coins so he and Dennis paid for her.
He sat in the train car; his stomach growled loudly. It was only five, they had another hour to travel, and then they still would have to wait until after the speeches before eating.
"What is that annoying noise?" Kevin's older sister, Theresa howled. She pulled two chunks of her blonde hair to either side of her head in aggravation.
"That would be your brother's stomach," Dwight Frost said. Dwight turned to Kevin and called out, "why didn't you eat anything this morning, mate? There was plenty of food for all."
"I had other things on my mind," Kevin replied running his hand through his hair. It had been hot in all the train cars except the dining car for most of the day and his hair, perfectly gelled that morning, drooped. Kevin realized that the dining car had become unbearably hot because almost everyone in the train had moved there. He stood up and made his way out toward his own sleeping compartment.
After 'fixing' his hair so that it came to a peak above his forehead, he looked at his clothes. He was wearing Muggle jeans that were a size or two too big. They were his older brother's, who had not acquired magic and was now living in America studying law at Princeton. His shirt was also from his brother, however not as a hand-me-down, but as a present from Princeton. Simple white tee shirt with the Princeton logo on it.
Just as he was about to walk out, he remembered that everyone in the dining car were wearing their Hogwarts robes because they would be arriving at Beauxbatons and needed to be in the proper wardrobe for the occasion. Kevin quickly pulled out a bundle of clothes, his only clean robes left. 'One disadvantage of the Wizarding world is that we don't have machines to wash our clothes,' he thought to himself taking mental note to wash his robes later that night after the festivities.
He peeled off his shirt, which was sticking to his skin in the heat. Compared to his good friend, Dennis Creevey, Kevin couldn't think of himself as anything but a shrimp. Dennis had gone to the gym everyday during the summer, and it had paid off for him. But Kevin had gone once, and decided it was not worth the trip.
It didn't take much for Kevin to take off his pants. He unbuttoned them and they slid off his legs. His legs were also scrawny. There was no other way to describe them. He hated the way he looked like a hairless monkey. He knew that if Vidya Tummala or Malcolm Baddock could see him at that moment, they would break out laughing and probably call him a hairless monkey or some other names that he didn't even want to think about.
Once Kevin had his Hogwarts robes on again, just before he left his room, he heard the most peculiar noise in the compartment next to him. The compartment was Dennis's, so Kevin decided he needed to know what was happening. Dennis had had a hard summer, and Kevin was using all his power to help Dennis feel better.
Kevin walked down the hall a little and, before knocking, leaned close to the door to listen to any conversation that might be going on inside. He heard a giggle, Lena Grogan's giggle to be exact. Kevin thought about it, and last he had seen both of them was when Dennis walked out of the dining car and Lena followed to constantly ruffle his hair.
With a breath to steady himself, Kevin brought up his fist to knock on the door, but milliseconds before his hand could hit the wood, conversation started again. Kevin stopped himself so he could listen to the conversation. This didn't make any sense to Kevin, he wasn't the type of guy to spy on his friends, but he felt that if they knew he was there, they wouldn't tell him what was going on.
"Why do you keep doing this to me, Lena?" Dennis asked.
"I'm sure you could figure it out if you put your mind to it," Lena replied. Kevin couldn't tell if her voice was just low, or if she talked in the sexy voice she used to get Curran Davies to date her the year before.
"We, or should I say I tried this fourth year, remember?" Dennis said, but Kevin had to strain to hear this.
"I know," Kevin could tell from the tone of her voice she was making a puppy face. She continued, "But…"
Kevin couldn't hear again, which really annoyed him. Then he had an idea. He skidded back into his sleeping compartment and began digging through his trunk. Finally, he pulled out a bag from his before school year shopping. The bag was labeled "Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes." Kevin pulled out what looked like a chunk of skin and an eyeball. The 'skin' was of course an Extendable Ear and the eyeball was one of the newer inventions of the Weasley twins, the Extendable Eye. Kevin reckoned that he wouldn't need the Extendable Nose for this little escapade of his, and was sure that if there was anything to smell, he didn't want to smell it.
He climbed onto his bed and pushed the ear and eye into the vent and through to the vent into Dennis's room. Lena had changed since he had last seen her. She was now wearing a green sundress, which Kevin hoped she had put on before entering Dennis's room. Dennis was wearing the same pants, but now his shirt was in a bundle on the floor at the foot of his bed. Lena danced and sang in a flirty manner while Dennis just sat, smiled and watched at her perfectly shaped body.
Lena finally stopped singing and jumped on Dennis. She leaned forward and whispered into his ear, "I promise to be nicer if you give me a second chance."
"Why do you suddenly want this?" Dennis asked. His smile had disappeared
"Do you not think you are worthy of my perfectness?" Lena asked.
"Lena," Dennis said pushing her away from him slightly, "I think you're jealous."
"Of who?" Lena asked and seemed insulted, though Kevin suspected it was the truth.
"I'm betting Kevin told you more of the reason I went with you to Paris than to protect you," Dennis said, which surprised Kevin. Kevin had promised to never tell a soul about Dennis's secret crush. Kevin had once or twice let slip a secret of Dennis's, well, ten to be accurate, but still, he had promised on sacrifice of his blood if he broke this promise.
"Oh yeah," Lena said sounding bored, "he told me everything. I'm really surprised with you, after the incidents of the summer. Didn't…"
"Do you think I want to hear that Lena?" Dennis snapped.
Lena looked taken aback. Kevin was taken aback for a moment before he remembered that Dennis did not know that he could hear and see everything that was going on.
"I'm sorry, it's just that, since then you've been different," Lena said. "You don't laugh when I trip, which is a good thing. Then again, you don't laugh ever anymore. Not when the Blast-Ended Skrewts hit Aggie's Basic Blaze package of Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-Bangs and the fireworks almost took off Filch's head. It's like you're an empty shell when it comes to happiness."
"Yeah, I know," Dennis said sitting and Kevin could tell it was taking all Dennis had to not cry. "You wouldn't be Ms. Sunshine if your brother was killed in front of your eyes."
Lena scooted closer to Dennis and put an arm around him. "I'm sorry I mentioned it," Lena said. "What your brother did was noble. It allowed Harry the chance to defeat the Dark Lord." Lena closed her eyes slowly, but then they shot open. "You were there? What were you doing there? You could have been killed."
"Please leave Lena," Dennis said as calmly as he could. She slowly stood, but after a few seconds, Dennis stood and pushed her out the door.
Kevin retracted the eye and ear and placed them back in their bag. He was bubbling over with anger at Lena. It wasn't his fault that she found out about Dennis's crush on Dawn Parkinson. He would somehow have to get Dennis to realize this without telling Dennis that he had been spying on him.
Kevin returned to the dining car, surprised that they were coming up on Beauxbatons and would be arriving in five minutes or less. He sat down next to his sister.
"Why are you so jumpy?" Theresa asked.
"No reason," Kevin said too stiffly. Now she was sure to push it out of him.
"Come on," Theresa said, "I can tell you're hiding a secret. What's it about?"
"I'm not telling you," Kevin snapped.
"I'm not the blabber-mouth," Theresa shouted.
"Mr. and Miss Whitby," Professor Dumbledore's voice rose above their racket. Everyone looked on. "I hope we will not have a problem while at Beauxbatons. We wouldn't want to spoil the Hogwarts name."
"He has a secret," Theresa said, "and if he doesn't tell someone now, he's bound to tell some random French student, and then they will all think something horrible about us."
"That is not true," Kevin said. "I can keep a secret."
"Yeah," Malcolm Baddock snickered, "if you're the last to find out."
Kevin fumed. "I'm going to find Dennis."
"I'm sure he'll fulfill your needs," Baddock said in a voice implying that there Dennis and Kevin were 'partners' as Baddock would say. "He'll fulfill your every desire."
"Mr. Baddock," Dumbledore began, but by the time he continued, Kevin could no longer hear anyone from the dining car. He passed Lena as he went to find Dennis.
"Why do you like him?" Kevin couldn't help himself from asking. The question had been plaguing him all day.
"Who?" Lena asked.
"Who do you think?" Kevin said fairly loudly. "You were all over Dennis… how are you?"
Dennis had walked out just as Kevin said his name. From the look on his face, Kevin could tell he had not heard Lena and himself talking.
Dennis looked at Lena, who, to Kevin, still looked absolutely beautiful even though she was in her Hogwarts robes now. Kevin made himself look at a spot straight ahead as he waited for Dennis to answer.
"Crummy," Dennis replied. "Ask Lena if you want to know why." And with that Dennis left Kevin alone with Lena in the hall. Lena winked at Kevin and followed Dennis into the dining car.