Chapter: The First Week.
The thing about Fred & George is that the words 'boundaries' and 'taking it too far' tended to get lost or forgotten amid their troublesome mischief. They weren't intentionally cruel or malicious. They just forgot that what's funny to them, isn't always funny for others.
"Alright Harry? You haven't seemed to have touched your peas?" George prompted as he sipped at his juice.
Harry smiled tightly as he tossed his peas about on his plate. The glasses wearing boy had lost his appetite after Fred had slung his arm over his shoulder. The bushy haired witch beside George hadn't let up with her glare since the food appeared, but George wasn't bothered in the slightest. She rather reminded him of a kneazle, a pissed off one, sure, but a kneazle none the less.
"Dunno, I suppose I'm just not that hungry," Harry muttered.
"Oh, come on now, don't be shy. Here, have a bit of mash," Fred grinned while spooning mash onto Harry's plate.
George would have snickered at his twin's act if both weren't distracted by the loud bang from across the table. When Fred & George faced forward, they were met with their little Ronnie's furious glare. Fred & George swallowed warily, suddenly reminded of the last time Ron had given them this snarl and glare.
"That's it. Stop it right now you bloody arse and leave my friends alone. I don't care about this 'tradition' shit Charlie made up. You stop it right now or I'm gonna write Bill tonight!"
The twins immediately jolted away from Hermione and Harry. Even Percy adopted a look of unease at the threat, but Ron continued to wear his stubborn scowl.
"Merlin Ron, ease up! It was only a bit of fun, no need to drag Bill into this," the twins frantically waved off.
Ron didn't look convinced in the slightest and the twins started to panic. It was no longer a game of fun when someone cried for Bill, and if it were Ron to write their oldest sibling, the twins were deader than dead. Especially, as Bill had warned them the night he left, to mind their mischief when it came to Ron. Fred & George quickly glanced to Percy but from his stiff posture, the threat of Bill had clearly affected him too.
"It's alright Ron," an unexpected voice piped.
Fred & George looked down at the first-year girl between them. Neither boy liked the smiley expression she wore or the dangerous glint in her eyes. George even felt the need to scoot away from the girl with how she seemed to handle her steak knife. Fred hadn't been kidding about this one, she was a ballsy little shit.
Hermione smiled at Ron and began to cut into her steak.
"Honestly, Harry and I can take a bit of fun. Can't we Harry," she prompted.
Harry looked at her like she was mad but didn't hesitate to nod in quick agreement. He took careful note of the narrowed stare Percy was giving Hermione, before turning to Ron.
"Right, We can take a joke," he repeated.
Ron frowned, obviously hesitant to believe them but then Percy added his own opinion on things.
"You see Ronald," Percy started with a smile, "No need to write Bill about a bit of fun."
Still reluctant, Ron eventually let the matter drop and tore into his drumstick with a grudging frown. Hermione and Harry didn't relax and the tension between them and the older Weasley's still lingered, but they did manage a few more bites off their plates. On Ron's left Neville practically melted with relief while Lee let out a whistle and shook his head with grim praise.
"Well, maybe Wood and I should meet tonight. What? With all this tension and such," he joked towards George.
Fred & George glared at their friend clearly wanting him to shut up.
On George's other side, Oliver jumped to his feet and leaned across the table towards Ron.
"So great to finally meet you little Ronnie. Absolute pleasure! Heard a mighty great amount-"
"Oliver, get your sleeves out of the soup!" Percy snapped, but Oliver ignored him.
"-about you! Now, is it true you've a love for flying? An interest in Quidditch maybe? A specific position of interest?" he continued.
Ron swallowed his mouthful and gave the older boy a squinty glare. He didn't say a word for few moments before he turned to Percy with a questioning tilt. Percy cleared his throat and swallowed his mouthful and carelessly gave an introduction.
"Yes, right, Ron this is Oliver Wood. Wood this is my-"
Ron looked back at Oliver with a different glint in his eye. Oliver couldn't help but think the boy looked a lot like Percy when wearing that expression.
"You're Percy's friend, the quidditch nutter. Charlie warned me about you…"
Harry shared a look with Neville that was equally amazed and horrified, as Oliver's eyes grew starry. Percy seemed rather pleased at Ron's rather rude tone towards his friend, which didn't make a lick of sense to the first years. Harry, Hermione, and Neville were starting to wonder if they'd been lucky not to have siblings, considering the insanity the Weasley siblings appeared to be.
"Charlie Weasley told you about me. Amazing!" Oliver gushed before sending a smug look towards Lee.
The rest of the feast continued relatively well after that. The twins behaved themselves and Harry's appetite returned. Sure, Ron struggled to equally divide his attention between his demanding siblings and his new friends, but it was no longer tense. Except for the minor hiccup when Hermione overheard Neville explaining to Lee how he found out he had magic.
The whole table jumped with surprise when the young witch stabbed her steak knife deep into the table wood.
"Your Uncle Algie did what?" she hissed, her hair seeming to frizz in response to her fury.
Ron's expression had shifted as well into something rather murderous. Harry had been too distracted by Percy's lecture on the school ghosts to have heard.
"What? What did he say?" he prompted with a furrowed brow.
"Um n-nothing, just-" Neville stuttered uncomfortably.
Hermione had turned to Ron looking incredibly scary with her eyes narrowed darkly.
"That can't possibly be legal! Tell me there's a procedure for something so-"
To Neville's relief, Percy interfered and stared the girl down into compliance.
"I assure you, Ms Granger, the delicate matters of ones home life is always handled with care when brought to attention."
Harry could hear the warning in the Weasley prefect's tone, that was just shy of reprimand. Hermione opened her mouth, most likely about to push the topic due to her anger, but Harry elbowed her sharply in the side. Ron must have kicked her under the table too as she leaned forward with a hiss. She shut her mouth with an audible click, but it was too late to rescue the previous vibe from before.
All of them sat in awkward tension, unsure of how to break it.
"L-look…" Neville started with a shaky breath.
Despite the loud chatter beyond their gathered group, they all heard the timid boy loud and clear.
"Gran made sure I never saw him again, b-but he was only trying to help. C-could we just… forget I said anything."
Of course, they couldn't possibly forget something like that, especially when it was towards timid Neville.
It was the first official negative strike Hermione marked against the Magical world. One she mentally noted to add to her notebook later tonight.
It cemented Ron's decision to look out for Neville and ensure the boy would know he could always find help among the Weasleys.
Harry, however, suddenly felt a kinship with Neville. One that was different to what he felt for Hermione and Ron. Harry saw a bit of his younger self in Neville and he didn't like what it possibly meant. He didn't like it at all.
"Okay," Harry agreed with a nod.
Neville hesitantly smiled but looked a lot surer when Ron gave him a friendly pat and agreed with Harry.
"Yep, totally forgotten. Hey Percy, who's that guy over there in the turban?" Ron distracted prompting Percy to introduce the teachers for Neville.
Hermione looked to Harry expectantly, while Ron carefully watched from the corner of his eye. Harry made sure both saw his slow nod of reassurance. There was no way they were going to forget any of that. Absolutely none. Neither of them had ever made friends of their own before, and considering their first meeting with Neville, they felt rather protective over the boy. So no, they would not be forgetting this 'Uncle Algie' incident and will be paying awfully close attention whenever Neville talks about his home and family.
By the time desert had appeared, the earlier awkwardness was almost forgotten.
Almost, but not quite.
~(*)\(*)/(*)~
Fred & George communicated with one another above the heads of the first years between them. It was downright hilarious that their little Ronnie and his two pets seemed to have forgotten they weren't alone. Fred crinkled his nose with irritation, still feeling rather sour about the train and the missed opportunity to test one of their products. George twitched his brow prompting Fred to lowly huff but behave. Fine, he'd keep in line for now, at least till little Ronnie eased his guard over his new pets and settled into Hogwarts.
Still… Fred blinked twice with his left eye and was rewarded with short twitch of George's lips.
A curl of excitement and eager glee pounded in his chest at the promise.
If George didn't see a problem with it, then it couldn't possibly be that bad. Fred dug into his pudding and eagerly started to plan for the next couple of months. He knew George was doing the same as he added a few sprinkles to his ice-cream. The twins were beyond excited this year and weren't doing a good enough job at hiding it. The way Percy fiddled with his prefect badge while eyeing them sternly was pretty much his way of giving his blessing. Fred couldn't help the glee that bled into his rather toothy grin.
Too caught up in their excitement and plans, the Weasley twins missed more than half of Dumbledore's speech. The two only tuned in for the school song.
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts teach us something please…"
Fred & George sang slow and deep, loving the disturbed looks those closest to them eyed them with. As the rest of the school stopped singing and watched them with impatience, irritation, and mildly discomforted glares. Fred and George grinned as they reached the last few lines.
"Just do your best, we'll do the rest, and learn until our brains all rot."
The fact Dumbledore was even conducting their funeral march rendition of the school song, was absolute gold.
"Ah, music," he said while wiping his eyes.
"A magic beyond all we do here! And now bedtime. Off you trot!"
While Percy led the first years away, the twins barely made their escape when Lee accosted them with a suffering sigh.
"What are you two planning?" he resignedly asked.
"Nothing too great," they assured.
"A bit of chaos," George started
"A touch of trouble," Fred added
"A sprinkle of fun," they said together.
Lee sighed and shook his head while muttering about another year with little sleep.
"Just… take it easy on them. I know he's the boy-who-lived and she's rather weird, but they're still just first years."
Fred and George share a look, but don't bother to tell Lee of their thoughts. There was no way Hermione Granger and Harry Potter were mere 'first-years'. Not after their ballsy little displays at the station, on the train and tonight during the feast. There was something about Granger and Potter that called to their little Ronnie.
Their little Ronnie had never really set 'boundaries' when it came to the twins.
Ron had always let them do as they please with his things and be as mortifying as they wished when it came to him and people he accompanied.
It was Bill, not Ron, who punished the twins about their treatment towards Cedric during sleepovers. Ron had just stopped hanging out with Cedric and spent more time with them, just as they wanted. The first time Ron had ever threatened them into stopping one of their games was when they'd made Ginny 'cry'. The little faker had known exactly what she was doing, and they still felt equally proud and irritated about it to this day.
So, what made Harry Potter and Hermione Granger so special?
Tonight, Ron had drawn the line in the sand regarding those two.
The twins' knew where it started but needed to know where it ended.
How far could they toe the line?
More importantly…
Could they taunt Potter and Granger into crossing it first?
~(*)\(*)/(*)~
"Oi!" Ron snarled protectively as he covered Neville and Harry from the falling walking sticks.
The other first-years yelped in fright as the poltergeist cackled and continued to throw things down at them. Percy had his wand out with a terribly upset glower on his lips. Harry could suddenly see the relation between the prefect and Ron a lot more clearly. After waving his wand about uttering threats to tell the Bloody Baron, Percy managed to chase the ghost away.
"That, young first years, was Peeves. Do be careful around him, he may seem harmless on a good day but always be weary. You just might find yourselves a victim to one of his tricks that turns deadly," Percy grimly warns.
Harry swallows and tightens his grip on Neville's robe and can hear the scratch of Hermione's pencil against her notebook. He's not the only one feeling a little unnerved by the warning as he hears the Irish boy mumble to his friend.
"Well shit, I think the hat made a mistake."
Ron however rolled his eyes and loudly grumbled about Percy's warning.
"As if you and the other prefects don't have a patrol roster specifically to watch for the bloody menace."
Percy's grim expression turned into a haughty smirk as he turned and continued to lead them. All the first years looked to Ron and the red head huffed with exasperation.
"Don't mind him. He's just being a bloody show off. Peeves won't kill us, but his pranks can be pretty nasty."
One of the girls looked at him doubtfully while her friend clutched at her arm.
"And how would you know?"
But Ron hadn't heard, too busy helping Harry deal with Neville's aching knee after tripping due to Peeves' scare. In his stead, Hermione flips the page of her notebook, the paper rustling rather loud in the corridor.
"Percy is his brother and likely has more than enough experience with the likes of that poltergeist. I doubt the school would name him a prefect if he weren't equipped to help and protect the students," she said.
The girl warily eyed Hermione, who'd already marched forward after Ron, Harry, and Neville. The remaining first-years watched the four walk ahead and shared uneasy glances with one another.
"They seem a bit…" Dean Thomas raised, but was cut off by Seamus Finnegan's own input.
"…bloody intense, yeah? We all saw it, how Granger was going to gut that pug girl! What's with the book too? You think she's gunning to be a reporter or something?"
Lavender Brown didn't know what to think about Hermione Granger. The girl was scary, and that showdown earlier had been right terrifying. She was probably a delinquent or something, and very obviously a muggle born. She wouldn't have dared to talk to Parkinson like that if she weren't. But then, Harry Potter himself seemed to like her, so she mustn't be too bad.
"Neville seemed okay though, right?" Parvati Patil piped in.
The four shared another look but quickly hurried to catch up to the others.
The thing is, unlike Potter, Granger and Weasley, Neville did look rather sweet. They all attempted to try and talk with the boy before the sorting but…. Since the boat, they never got a chance. None of them could muster enough courage to approach the boy, not when Granger and Weasley were sending glares out and all but caging Potter and Neville between them. The round boy had been incredibly polite and a bit cute on the train when he was looking for his toad.
They'd all rather hoped to befriend him after the sorting.
"There you are, I must insist you keep up. I assure you there will be plenty of time to explore the school during your stay," Percy lightly scolded once they'd reached them.
Lavender felt a little annoyed with the prefect. Why was he scolding them and ignoring Potter and Granger drifting a little down the corridor? As if sensing her stare, the prefect looked towards her with an arched brow that was a little intimidating. But she was Lavender Brown and while her family might not be as notable among wizards; she was also a pure blood. She had her pride.
Lavender squared her shoulders and loudly spoke.
"We're here now, aren't we? Now are you going to show us to our rooms or not?"
She did her best to ignore the hard stare the younger Weasley sent her way, or the sudden return of Granger and Potter. It helped that she had Parvati at her side with Dean and Seamus behind her. Percy Weasley stared at her intently before a smile appeared on his lips. Lavender felt incredibly uneasy under his attention.
"What is your name?" he invites.
She shifts on her feet, unable to describe the quivering in her chest at being held under his stare. It's uncomfortable and just on the edge of terrifying. But the hat put her in Gryffindor for a reason and she states her name with a haughty huff.
"Lavender," she says, offering no last name.
For whatever reason, the prefect appears pleased and his stare eases. Lavender wonders why she feels like she passed some sort of test.
"Oh, enough with that nonsense, Percy. Let the wee ones in so they can get settled. You can have your fun again tomorrow," the painted fat lady behind him giggles.
Percy's smile becomes charming as he chats with the portrait. Lavender however tenses as she finds herself under the regard of Potter, Granger and Weasley. The three look at her as if she's one step away from attacking them or some other. It irritates her how terrified she feels.
"Percy's a bit stiff, but he means well," Weasley offers in a tone that sounds comforting.
Lavender thinks she might have felt comforted if not for the way Potter narrows his eyes at her.
"Yeah, no worries. Completely understood. Just a bit impatient to get a bit of rest, you know?" Seamus pipes as he steps forward.
Merlin, Lavender wants to hug him as now Potter is staring at him instead.
"Right, a bit of rest would be nice," Potter mutters but he's still watching them with distrust.
The tension among them feels as if its growing to mirror the previous first year standoff before the sorting. Lavender is trying not to backdown. She never meant to pick a fight with the trio before them. Perhaps she should have taken her mum's advice and been careful with who she gives attitude to.
"Um, everyone? Percy's opened the dorms for us. M-maybe we should go inside?" Neville awkwardly announced.
The round boy had found himself stuck in between the two groups, watching with wide eyes as the tension rose. He tried not to squeak with alarm at how all eyes turned to him accompanied with soft and friendly smiles.
"Oh, of course Neville," Parvati chirped before she strode forward and linked arms with Neville.
"Ugh, this means we missed the password!" Weasley groans.
"It's Caput Draconis, I wrote it down while Harry was being all dramatic," Granger blithely assured.
"W-What? I was not!" Potter exclaimed.
Seamus lets out a belly aching laugh and then starts to joke at Potter's expense. Granger encourages him by absently adding on to whatever comments he makes, and its enough to kill the tension completely. Soon enough their all trooping through the entrance and marvelling at the Gryffindor common room. Percy is in deep conversation with one of the portraits, but he does spare a few seconds to explain which sides lead to what dorms. He seems rather busy and looks rather concerned about whatever their talking about, so the first years don't pester him any further.
Throughout it all…. Lavender feels incredibly uneasy about what's just happened.
"You think so too…." Dean whispers as they watch the others.
"Think what?" she quietly responds.
He's eyeing Potter, Granger and Weasley with wary eyes, just like she is.
"There's something about them that's just…. Strange, something off."
But their interrupted before Lavender could respond. Neville ambles over with a bashful grin and endearing smile that is just too cute to witness.
"Hi, erm, I thought I'd introduce myself again. Since I mucked it up back on the train,"
Lavender forgets all about the weirdo first-years and lets out a giggling squeal at having the attention of a cute boy. It's a bit rocky and awkward at first, but eventually they all split to get ready for bed. Parvati and Lavender carefully don't meet Granger's eyes, not too comfortable with the rather scary girl. They also struggle to fall asleep with the girl being a bed a post away.
Hermione notices none of that, too busy thinking about tomorrow to care.
~(*)\(*)/(*)~
Unlike the other boys, Harry can't stop himself from yawning. The excitement of the day has worn him down completely. He can barely keep his eyes open long enough to mind his step, let alone marvel at the room.
"Watch it, Harry! Come on then, let's get you settled in bed before you walk into a wall or something," Ron sighed as he guided Harry towards their shared bathroom.
Its cramped and small, but enough for five boys. Harry is only half aware of Ron's guidance as he drowsily brushes his teeth. Ron on the other hand is doing a fine job of multitasking. He keeps conversation with the other three boys watching from their bedposts, all the while handing Harry whatever he needs. Soon enough, Harry's stumbling behind Ron towards his new bed, hiding yet another yawn behind his hand.
The boys dorm grows quiet, but Ron is too busy helping a sleepy Harry under the covers to notice. Harry feels Ron take off his glasses and place it on his bed dresser. He yawns one last time before snuggling into his sheets, above him he hears Ron snort. There's a soft whisper and a light pat on his head as Ron bids him goodnight.
The last thing Harry hears before sleep takes him completely is a loud cough.
"Erm... Weasley, did you just tuck Potter in?"
A sleepy smile settles on Harry's lips as he sleeps to the sound of his chatting dorm mates.
~(*)\(*)/(*)~
Harry doesn't dream of colours but of a tent instead. It's cold and uncomfortable but he's not alone. He shares the tent with two others, a girl with brown eyes and a tall boy with a head of red. They're bickering with one another but are very gentle as they hover over him. The girl leans over him and kisses his head, bringing him warmth.
"Sleep well, Harry" she whispers, and the boy carefully takes off his glasses and pats him lightly on the head.
"We'll see you in the morning," he promises.
Suddenly, Harry no longer feels the cold of the tent. All he feels is warmth in his chest wrapped in a cocoon of safety. The hurtful green light shines outside the tent, but no matter how it tries, it can't enter. Harry knows without a doubt he's safe.
By the time morning comes, Harry is incredibly well rested. He can't stop the grin on his lips or the giddy twist in his belly. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tries, he can't remember his dream. He decides it must have been about his parents, as he can only recall red hair and eyes of brown.
~(*)\(*)/(*)~
Harry looks over to Ron's bed but finds the boy is still sleeping. He blinks with surprise at how different Ron looks when he sleeps. He hadn't realized just how grumpy the taller boy usually appeared. Ron's mouth is slack and slightly open as he snores, the furrows of his brows have smoothed out and he looks incredibly relaxed. Harry claps a hand over his mouth to quiet his snickering at the sight. A loud thump from across the room startles Harry and he turns towards the noise.
Dean freezes in place, awkwardly trying to smile apologetically for the noise.
"Oops, sorry about that," he whispers.
Harry tries not to feel embarrassed at being caught staring at Ron. He'd not even noticed he wasn't the only one awake. He hopes Dean doesn't think he's a freak who likes to stare at boys while they sleep. Dudley told him plenty of times that he had a freaky habit of staring off into space like a loon. Ugh, it would be just his luck.
"s'alright…" Harry mumbles.
Dean gives a slow nod and continues to get ready. Harry shuffles out of bed and hovers, uncertain of what to do next. He thinks he should try conversing with Dean but can't bring himself to try. Not when Dean just caught him doing something embarrassing. To Harry's great relief, Dean starts the conversation for him.
"Sleep well?" the boy asks while buttoning up his uniform shirt.
"Yep! Fine, really good, actually," Harry hastily blurts.
"Great. Nev's awake too. Erm…Seamus was loud last night. Ron was worried he'd wake you," Dean explained.
Harry blinked realizing he was the only one to sleep early last night. He tried not to feel left out but it was hard. He also didn't miss the fact Dean had used Ron's first name rather familiarly. Harry realized he'd been quiet for too long when Dean looked over to him questioningly.
"Oh, no, yeah. I slept well. Um, didn't hear a thing, actually."
Harry inwardly beat himself up for sounding so stupid. Dean started to nod again, but the silence between them was slowly turning awkward.
"That's… great…" Dean muttered as he worked on his tie.
Harry looked over to where Ron slept and inwardly begged the boy to wake up soon. If Ron woke up now, Harry would consider the boy a life saver. But Ron looked nowhere near waking up, in fact the boy had just turned over and continued to snore. Harry took a deep breath and tried to think of something else to say.
"Listen-"
"Hey-"
Harry quickly shut up again, mirroring the tortured expression Dean was wearing on his own face. The silence between them was agonising and beyond awkward now. Neither boy particularly wanted to try again as they had no idea what to say to one another. So, when the bathroom door opened to reveal a fresh-faced Neville, Harry inwardly wept with joy.
"Morning Harry, sleep well?" Neville greeted with a smile.
"Brilliant! You too?" Harry eagerly greeted.
Neville nodded as he dried his hair and made his way to his bed. Harry was avoiding looking in Dean's direction, so he missed the boy's clasped hands of grateful praise towards Neville. Neville just furrowed his brows in confusion.
"Well, um… bathroom's free if you want it?" Neville slowly spoke.
"Thanks, Nev!" Harry quickly blurted before hurrying towards it.
Dean waited until he heard the gushing tap behind the tightly shut bathroom door. Only then did he hurry over to Neville and practically hug the round boy.
"Neville, you're a bloody life saver!" He near wept.
"What? What did I do?" Neville asked utterly confused.
But Dean didn't get to explain as Ron chose that moment to wake up. He grunted and groaned as he sat up in his bed. Dean noticed that the red head had looked over to Harry's empty bed first, before bothering to look anywhere else.
"Morning Nev, Dean. Harry up?" Ron grumbled as he rubbed at his eyes.
"Bathroom," Dean shortly informed.
Neville wondered what the heck had happened between Dean and Harry, as the two boys avoided one another for the rest of the morning. Harry stuck close to Ron and Dean kept close to a lazy Seamus. In fact, Neville thought Harry was unusually quiet as he'd not really conversed with anyone but Neville and Ron. By the time they'd reached the common room, the girls were already there.
"Took you long enough," Hermione huffed as she put away her notebook and pencil.
"What? No morning? Bit rude of you, have you no manners?" Ron teased with a smirk.
Hermione glared at him while Harry chuckled, finally looking relaxed.
"Blimey, what happened to the two of you? You look like shit," Seamus loudly exclaimed as Lavender and Parvati joined them.
The two girls were pale with puffy bags under their eyes looking exhausted. Their uniforms were rumpled and hastily thrown on, even their hair looked messy.
"Don't. Say. A. Word. Finnegan" Lavender hissed with a dark glare.
The trio took no notice, caught up in their own conversation. Or in the case of Ron and Hermione, caught up in their bickering while Harry urged the two on with timely comments and laughter.
"You won't believe what happened this morning," Parvati whispered catching Dean's attention.
"You too?"
"What are you-"
Neville didn't get to finish asking what they were talking about, as Ron called out to him questioningly.
"Aren't you coming with for breakfast?" the red head asked leaving it open to the others as well.
Harry and Hermione were watching from behind him, and Neville wondered why the rest of their Gryffindor year mates shuddered.
"Um…" the timid boy hedged.
"Sorry Ron, but the rest of us were going to send our letters home," Seamus answered.
"What?" Neville questioned only to get nudged in the back by Lavender.
"Yes, exactly. We'll join you later," she added with a sweet smile as she batted her lashes at Ron.
Ron shrugged and waved them off before continuing forward with Hermione and Harry. Harry however stared at their group a little longer. Nobody relaxed until the boy-who-lived had turned his complete attention back to his bickering friends.
"Oh, thank God," Dean sighed with relief.
"Look, I'm just going to say it. Granger is a complete psychopath! I woke up to her muttering like-like some hedge witch mid-ritual!" Lavender blurted.
"Well, I caught Potter staring at Ron while he slept this morning," Dean admitted
"What? Why didn't you wake me up!?" Seamus demanded.
"But that's not all Granger did! She made us stay up majority of the night to write up dorm rules! We didn't get to sleep until 2 this morning!" Parvati added.
"Well, Ron tucked Potter in like a baby!" Seamus shot back.
Lavender and Parvati looked to him with incredulous disbelief.
"Wait a minute, why do you sound jealous?" Parvati questioned.
Seamus huffed and shook his head while Dean rolled his eyes.
"He's just put out because when he tried to get Ron to do the same for him, Ron told him to sod off."
Lavender and Parvati giggled while Seamus grumbled about Potter getting special treatment. All the while, Neville stood among them feeling completely blindsided and unsure of what was happening. When he did find his voice, they all turned to him with sympathetic looks.
"I-I thought we were going to send letters?"
Lavender cooed and pat him on the cheek causing him to flush pink.
"Ngaw, you're just too cute,"
~(*)\(*)/(*)~
Ron had already grabbed himself a plate and was quickly filling it with toast and eggs before Hermione or Harry had even sat down.
"Right, I think Dean hates me," Harry miserably announced as he opted for cereal rather than bacon or eggs.
"Nonsense Harry, Dean's only just met you," Ron absently assured.
"Yes, but you weren't awake this morning when it was just the two of us! He hates me!"
Harry, too caught up in his misery, took no notice of the whispering stares around him. Hermione on the other hand took careful note of each individual and scribbled hasty descriptions into her notebook. She thought it rather interesting that students were equally whispering about Harry and Ron. Not that it was surprising after the large commotion the Weasley twins made during last night's feast.
"Of course, he doesn't. It was probably just nerves because you're the boy-who-lived or whatever. Right, Hermione?" Ron prompted around a mouthful of toast.
Hermione hummed and sipped at her coffee.
"Certainly, unless he actually does hate you for no apparent reason."
Harry turned to Ron and motioned at Hermione feeling validated. Ron however was scowling at the girl across from him hard enough to prompt her to look up. She peered at him from above the rim of her cup, unaffected by his glare.
"Could you at least pretend to be helpful?" Ron huffed.
"I don't lie unless it'll benefit me," she easily responds causing both boys to peer at her with fascination.
"Really? So, what- wait, is that…. Are you drinking coffee?" Harry blurts with surprise.
Ron's usual frown returns, and he reaches out and snatches Hermione's cup. The girl growls at him and leans over to snatch it back, but Ron's arms are longer and easily keep it beyond her reach.
"Give it back! I need that!" she snaps, her wild hair makes her look crazed and Harry shrinks closer to Ron.
Ron, however, clicks his tongue and shakes his head with disapproval.
"You can't drink coffee, you're eleven!"
Harry nods in agreement but stays carefully close to Ron.
"He's right you know, it stunts your growth," he pipes in trying not to snicker at the rage in Hermione's eyes.
He's never teased anyone like this before. No wonder Ron likes to mess with her so much. Besides, she did say during the feast that she could take a joke.
"For your information, I've been drinking coffee since I was eight!" Hermione hisses.
Both Harry and Ron gape at the girl, but Ron finds his words first.
"Merlin, no wonder you come off as such a priss!"
Harry loses it then and laughs loudly while Hermione attempts another lunge for her cup. It all comes to an end when Percy passes by with his Quidditch friend and snatches the cup out of Ron's hand.
"Ronald, you very well know that coffee at your age is no good for you," Percy scolds.
Ron growls as Percy pats down a few strands sticking up out of place on his head. The prefect then takes a sip of the drink and continues forward leaving a disgruntled Ron, a Flabbergasted Harry, and an irate Hermione in his wake.
"You're going to regret this," Hermione vows with a dark glare towards Ron.
Ron recovers from Percy's sudden appearance and turns to the girl with a smug smirk. He pours her some pumpkin juice instead and motions to her bowl of oatmeal.
"You'll thank me when you're not as shrimpy as Harry here," he teases.
Harry turns to Ron with an offended glare but doesn't get to give a reply as McGonagall reaches them. The transfiguration Professor looks down at them with an arched brow. Harry can't help but try to tidy his hair while Ron gives a charming grin.
"Morning Professor," the two boys chirp.
"Mister Potter, Mister Weasley, Miss Granger," she greets in turn.
Hermione completely abandons her meal in favour of holding both hands out expectantly. Harry and Ron stare at the girl who's doing a swell job of mirroring Oliver Wood's excitement during last nights feast. Professor McGonagall obliges and gives the three a copy of their class schedule. Hermione starts muttering under her breath, calculating the time gaps between each class. Harry and Ron share a glance with one another at the girls manic behaviour.
"I expect you all to arrive on time and to be presentable," Professor McGonagall warns before she moves on.
Harry sags with relief and mumbles inconsolably.
"I swear she's talking about me every time she says that. I can't help it! My hair's just like this!" he whined.
Ron pat him on the back consolingly but was busy eyeing the incoming owls with the morning mail.
"I hardly doubt she is, why would she? Your hair is fine, suits you."
"You think?" Harry pressed hopefully.
Ron spots his family owl and confidently grins towards Harry.
"Absolutely!"
"Ugh! Would you look at this? We've only got ten minutes to find our way to our next classroom!" Hermione pointed out with an annoyed huff.
"What? But we don't even know where the classrooms are!" Harry panicked as he looked down at his own schedule.
Ron was busy watching Errol, the old family owl, as it fumbled through the air. Just as the bird was starting to nosedive in his direction, Ron leapt to his feet and caught the bird, startling Harry, and those around him. Ron calmed the wildly flapping bird as he settled back into his seat as if nothing had happened.
"There, there Errol. Here, have some bacon," he soothed.
"Ron, that was brilliant!" Harry blurted with wide eyes of awe.
Ron shrugged his shoulders more interested in the letter he was untying from the owls leg. Hermione found herself trapped in a staring contest with the wide-eyed owl, one Harry was sure she was winning. Harry jumped again as twin red heads sidled up on either side of him out of nowhere.
"Amazing catch, little Ronnie," the twins praised right by Harry's ear.
Ron glared at them and the twins backed off allowing Harry to relax.
"Anything for us," Fred started
"Especially from the imp?" George finished.
Ron grunted but handed over something that looked like a bottle cap that was attached to Errol's leg with red string. The twins grinned unnervingly wide smiles that made Harry shiver.
"Bless you," they thanked, quickly messing Ron's hair until it was a wild mess and running off.
Harry wondered if he'd ever get used to the crazy that was the Weasley twins.
"Hah! I knew she'd get stuck by now," Ron grinned.
Harry tried to ignore the tugging curiosity he felt towards the letter. He knew it would be rude to read the letter without Ron's express permission. Ron saved Harry from feeling awkward by leaning over so Harry could read his letter too. Across from them Hermione smirked as Errol had shrunk back into his feathers in utter defeat.
"You were sleeping when Percy checked in on us last night. I asked him to send off my letter then because I knew Gin would've hit the hard stuff in her hunt by now. Looks like she's ready for some hints," Ron explained.
Harry smiled trying to ignore the envy that gripped him at seeing Ron's obvious pride in his little sister. He couldn't help but think she was lucky to have a brother like Ron. Ron turned to Hermione with a distracted gaze.
"Could I borrow a bit of your muggle parchment? I'll just be writing a quick note now and ask Percy for some parchment later tonight."
Hermione wryly nodded as she pet the rather docile owl in front of her.
"Why not just wait till tonight?" she asked.
Both Harry and Hermione watched Ron scribble his hint for his sister. They felt a wistful sort of envy at seeing the concentration Ron was giving his task.
"Gin's real impatient. She's got a right temper and wouldn't last more than a few hours in wait. Since it's just her and mum at home, if I don't hurry, she's bound to set mum off."
Hermione looked rather soft when she next spoke, both she and Harry admiring the red- head for his consideration.
"That's incredibly kind of you, Ron" Hermione praised.
"Not really, just makes sense" he shrugged off.
But the day had only just started, and the first years had quite the day ahead of them. The trio quickly finished their meal and hurried off to get their needed books and find their first classroom. It was their first day at Hogwarts, and all three felt a mix of weary excitement and anxiety.
~(*)\(*)/(*)~
Hermione quickly concluded that Hogwarts was a mess, a place without logic. She tightened her grip around her messenger bag till her knuckles turned white.
"You have got to be joking!" she snarled as the staircase began to shift.
Behind her were several groans in agreement, but none louder than Seamus.
"McGonagall's gonna kill us!" the boy cried.
Hermione growled and scratched at her scar with frustration, aware that her hair was beginning to frizz up again. Behind her she heard Harry kick the staircase with a grumbling curse.
"How are we supposed to get to where we need to be, if the whole bloody castle is working against us!" he protested.
Even Ron, who'd been doing his best to keep the atmosphere among them light-hearted, was starting to get a bit of a temper. The Gryffindor first years had decided to navigate the castle as a group rather than two separate ones. It was Neville's idea, and the initial awkwardness was quickly forgotten as their frustration grew. It didn't help in the slightest that the older students they passed would watch them with laughter in their eyes. Sure, some of them were helpful but it was always after a giggle or with a smirking smile.
Hermione hated it and soon enough so did the rest of her Gryffindor year mates'.
It felt way too much like a joke at their expense.
"If I have to walk into class and see those bloody snakes sitting smug and pretty, I'm going to scream," Lavender darkly hissed.
Unlike them, the Slytherin first years seemed to have no problem finding their classes. While they weren't always the last house to arrive, it annoyed them to constantly be greeted with Parkinson and Malfoy's uncontrollable snickering and mocking smirks. It ate at their pride and they would not stand for it any longer.
"That's it, I've had it," Hermione announced with a hard stomp of her foot.
Knowing she had everyone's attention, she stepped off the staircase and led them towards the nearest portrait. The painted maid quickly closed her eyes and feigned sleep, but Hermione was not having it. She held her pencil close to the canvas and lowly growled at the picture.
"Oh, stop pretending you haven't been watching! Have you had you're fun? Watching us look like fools?"
The maid opened her eyes, looking flustered at having the attention of all eight children. It was obvious that the group was leaving the entire confrontation in Hermione's hands. The maid looked to her fellow paintings, but they'd all scurried to hide after sensing Hermione's angry approach.
"I-I, Of course I-" the maid stuttered.
"Shut up, I don't care. Now, you and all your friends are going to help us get to class for the rest of the week," Hermione growled.
"For the rest of the year!" Seamus hastily corrected and Hermione nodded and revised her statement.
The maid's colouring seemed to pale as Hermione's eyes narrowed into near slits.
"If you don't, I'll draw you a new face and give you a pig pen for a home!" she threatened.
Finally finding some semblance of bravery the maid yelped indignantly.
"You can't! I've a preservation spell! I'm protected!"
Hermione grinned looking less than pleasant.
"I doubt the preservation charm works against my muggle pencil."
The maid quickly gave directions looking frightened and more than disturbed. Hermione leaned back, tucking her pencil behind her ear, giving a satisfied nod.
"Good, now spread the word,"
The maid in the painting ran to the next portrait, immediately consumed by the crowd of painted individuals. Behind Hermione, the other first years, minus Ron, and Harry, had taken a large step back. They watched her like one would a ticking bomb. Ron snorted and shook his head.
"Now who's being dramatic," he teased while Harry slowly nodded in agreement.
"Would the spell really not work against a pencil?" Harry curiously wondered.
Hermione snorted and tossed her hair about as she started to walk.
"Of course not, she's got a preservation charm on her. It's magic," she drawled.
Ron and Harry laughed as they trailed after her. Behind the trio, the rest of the Gryffindors traded another series of looks with one another.
"I told you, total psychopath that one," Lavender quietly hissed.
Nobody corrected her, not even Neville, as they all followed the trio.
To their great pleasure, they arrived at the same time as the Slytherins, feeling more than a little gratified at the upset frown on Parkinson and Malfoy's lips. They felt even greater when Professor McGonagall greeted them with an especially pleased smile, one that was said to be incredibly rare.
Hermione, Harry, and Ron sat right in the front paying close attention as McGonagall started her class with a stern talking to.
"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said.
"Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."
Harry swallowed at the threat while his heart pounded with excitement in his chest at seeing Professor McGonagall transfigure her desk to a pig and back. Ron wasn't as impressed, but he did enjoy watching Harry's wide-eyed wonder and Hermione's obsessive scribbling.
Hermione couldn't stop her wrist from writing, not even when it started to cramp. She'd dipped her quill into her ink pot so many times a few drops spilled over and stained her desk. She had smudged a bit of ink around her neck from when she rubbed at her scar and its dull ache. It was only once they'd reached the practical, when she stared at her success, did she find herself breathless, her scar no longer aching.
"Well done Miss Granger," McGonagall praised.
Hermione's eyes glittered with awe as she stared at the needle that was once a matchstick.
Not long after her, Ron had managed the same success and with a bit of help, so did Harry.
The trio took no notice of the attention they garnered from their year mates, too caught up in each other to notice.
~(*)\(*)/(*)~
By Friday, the trio knew their way around the castle incredibly well. It helped that the portraits were always quick to warn them ahead of time if they were heading the wrong way. Hermione got a bit of a talking to from Percy for upsetting the portraits, but she was stubbornly unapologetic until Ron was forced to step in. Harry and Neville had watched it all go down from the sofa by the fireplace. Somehow, the entire confrontation ended with Hermione and Percy deliberating ways to assure future first years had a better understanding of Hogwarts layout.
"What have we got today?" Harry asked Hermione as he passed his plate so Ron could add some sausages.
"Double potions with the snakes, we'll need to leave in 15 minutes if we want to get there early," she answered, not once looking up from her open textbook.
Ron was glaring at Hermione's cup, knowing it was coffee and that the girl was purposely ignoring him. What had started as a bit of fun teasing had turned into a real battle of wills. Harry had grown tired of it by Wednesday, but both Ron and Hermione were incredibly stubborn. Hermione protected her cup like a lioness would its cub.
"Potions? Which Professor teaches that?" Harry pondered as he looked over to the teachers table.
"Says here someone called Severus Snape," Hermione hummed while moving her cup out of the way from the ripped toast bits Ron was aiming towards it.
"Snape? I've heard of him. The twins say he's a right bastard and a greasy haired git. He's head of Slytherin house and apparently favours them."
Harry wasn't sure why he felt a sense of doom at that bit of news. There was a loud plopping noise and Hermione's face turned red while Ron's turned smug.
"I'll gut you Weasley, I swear I will," she growled pushing away her half full cup with a floating slice of sausage.
"I'm telling you, it's for your own good," Ron shrugged with a careless grin.
When the post came, with another expected letter to Ron from his sister, Harry was surprised when an owl dropped a letter his way. Hermione immediately looked up from her book, watching him carefully. Harry looked from the letter to Ron with obvious shock.
"We're you not expecting anything?" Hermione carefully asked.
Harry shook his head before quietly explaining.
"My Aunt and Uncle don't like magic, and my cousin wouldn't have an owl to send me anything."
Ron looked to Hermione and the two shared a nod. Hermione got her wand out and Ron emptied the big bowl of croissants and held it readily. After reading a book about curses and having Ron tell them about howlers, the trio were rather paranoid when it came to Harry. None of them were comfortable with the attention Harry's fame garnered, especially why he was famous. Aunt Petunia read enough gossip mags and chatted about famous people for Harry to know that not everyone likes famous people. Hate mail was a definite thing and he wasn't willing to take any chances with possible magic hate mail.
To their relief, nothing happened after Harry opened it. He scanned the letter with Ron reading over his shoulder. The two boys shared an uneasy glance prompting Hermione to reach over and grab it the second Harry offered. The girl's brows furrowed with hard thought and she rubbed at her neck where her scar pulsed.
"What do you think?" Ron prompted, ignoring the throb of his chest.
"It's concerning that he's been keeping track of you, but for the most part it seems harmless," Hermione mused.
Harry nodded feeling a little unsettled about Hagrid's invitation.
Still….
"You're considering it," Ron accused with a knowing nod.
"He knew my parents. I can't just ignore that," Harry sighed.
Ron and Hermione shared another nod before coming to a decision.
"Right, then we'll all go. It's not like he explicitly said you couldn't bring guests," Ron decides as the throb in his chest eases.
Hermione gives a small smile and stops rubbing at her neck.
"It'll be better to go in a group anyway. We'll let Percy know about the invitation and have him walk us over. It sounds better than a strange giant inviting over a lone eleven-year-old to his hut," she reasons.
Harry pales a bit as he hadn't even thought about it that way. She sighs as if she knew what he was thinking and shook her head disappointedly.
"Harry, I know you tend to forget, but you are famous. You need to think about these things. Who knows what people in this school might do if you give them the chance?" she scolds.
Harry frowns feeling rather irritated at the fact she was right. He could take care of himself, thank you very much. Ron must have sensed his annoyance as the red head interfered before anything else could be said.
"He knows, Hermione, let him be. Here, write your response so we can get a move on. If the twins are right about Snape, I don't want to risk it. We're all going to be extra early if I can help it." He determined.
Hermione rolled her eyes while Harry obediently started to write his reply. Ron, satisfied with their compliance, looked down the table for Neville and the others.
"Oi! You lot are coming with us yeah? Best to stick together for this one," he called getting thumbs up and agreeing nods.
Harry couldn't help but grin after sending off his reply. Across from him Hermione scoffed and hissed a quick whisper in his direction.
"Kiss arse."
Harry glared at her and stuck out his tongue.
"Like you can talk, coffee hog," he muttered
Ron was much too busy trading jokes with Seamus to notice his friend's hissed bickering.
~(*)\(*)/(*)~
Neville had been rather optimistic towards his Potions lessons. After having a relatively good week, how could he not? While he wasn't the top of his class, he wasn't the worse either. He'd made friends with all his Gryffindor year mates' and never got lost once thanks to the portraits. So yes, he was feeling rather optimistic indeed.
This all changed the second the classroom doors opened with a dramatic bang. Professor Snape swooped in with a swirl of his dark robes and a scowl that could easily curdle milk. Neville immediately tensed in his seat next to Hermione, shrinking in hopes he wouldn't be noticed. The already dark and cold dungeon seemed to increase ten-fold with the Professor's presence. The whole room shifting from just creepy to horror inspiring.
Although nothing terrifying happened until Professor Snape took the register.
"Ah, yes," he said softly, yet in this sort of environment it sounded deadly rather than comforting.
"Harry Potter. Our new celebrity," he drawled.
Nobody said a word, heck, Neville doubted anyone was even breathing. All eyes darted over to where Harry sat stiffly in his seat beside Ron. Snape finished calling the names, but his cold dark eyes never once left Harry. Neville felt his skin crawl uncomfortably and he couldn't possibly imagine how Harry must be feeling. Professor Snape started to introduce the subject, but his soft tenor and dark stare sounded like the crooning lure of someone's nightmare. When Snape did look away from Harry it was to meet every single first year's wide-eyed stare.
For some reason, he held Hermione's stare last. Neville could feel his anxiety rising to scarily high levels, but the girl beside him never once blinked under Snape's stare.
"… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death- if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."
Neville hadn't realized he was quietly hyperventilating until Hermione had slipped her hand into his under their desk and gripped tightly. Snape had turned his stare on Neville by the end of his sentence. Neville had a feeling his nightmares would involve the dark endless glare of the Professor's eyes rather than Uncle Algie letting go of his leg. Neville doesn't know why or what prompts Snape's attention to switch, but he turns on his heel and points at Harry.
"Potter!" he barks.
"What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
Neville can feel his breathing begin to even out, but his terror still exists. At his side Hermione had raised her hand and was ignored. Ron looked rather red in the face, but it was nothing compared to the confused twist of Harry's lips. Harry's eyes, though, were set in a glowering glare of poisoning green.
"I don't know, sir," Harry answered.
Snape sneered and approached their table with a slow gait.
"Tut, tut- fame clearly isn't everything," he mocked still ignoring Hermione's hand.
"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"
Hermione stretched her hand higher, and this time Ron had raised his hand as well. Snape could obviously see Ron's hand, but he ignored it all the same. Harry's cheeks looked a little red, but otherwise he looked unaffected. Neville was struck dumb with awe at his bravery, but his own terror kept him from making a single sound.
"I don't know sir,"
"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" Snape quickly shot back.
Harry forced himself not to look away from the Professor's cold glare. He was vaguely aware of the fact Ron was gripping the edge of his wooden seat with his left hand while his right was still in the air. Harry never thought he could hate someone so much until now. Also, because of Hermione, Harry had read his textbook twice over and none of this seemed familiar to him.
"One more, I suppose. What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
Neville knew the answer to this one, but no matter how much he tried to raise his hand, he was too terrified to do it. The tension in the room was near suffocating but no one dared to disturb it. Not when Harry looked so humiliated while Professor Snape stared down at him cold and unyielding.
There was a loud shattering crash followed by the creaking snap of wood, causing everyone in the classroom to jump.
Neville sucked in a sharp breath as Professor Snape's robes swished and he turned in their direction. Hermione, with her hand still in the air, stared up at their professor with a dull stare equally as cold. She kept her back straight and her eyes hard as the burning of her scar nagged her relentlessly.
"If you must know, Professor, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion powerful enough to earn the moniker Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and will save you from most poisons. As for your last question, they are the same plant and can also be identified as aconite."
Time seemed to have stopped as Hermione defiantly jutted out her chin. On the floor was the shattered remains of Hermione's ink pot staining the floor with black ink, seeping between the cracks like spilled blood. When she'd spoke, it had been with the barest amount of respect, borderline mocking. Neville could finally understand why Lavender insisted Hermione was insane.
"10 POINTS from Gryffindor for speaking out of turn," Snape snarled.
Ron snorted loudly and stared unashamedly when Snape turned his glare towards him.
"5 Points for Weasley's vulgar cheek!" he added.
Then Ron shrugged and dusted his hands letting splinters fall from his unclenched hand. Several students, including the Slytherins, felt their mouths drop open at his blatant attitude. Ron was practically daring Professor Snape into punishing him further. Unsurprisingly, that's exactly what Snape did.
"20 points for damage of school property!" he announced before turning a pointed glare towards Hermione, who hadn't once stopped her glare.
"EACH!"
Neville swore he heard someone gasp in shock as that racked up to a 55-point loss for Gryffindor.
"You can't do that!" Harry accused after jumping to his feet with his face twisted in rage.
Snape met Harry's glare, falling silent for a split second, before deliberately drawling his words.
"100 points from Gryffindor for blatant disrespect."
More than one first year gasped at that and Harry's eyes went wide with disbelief. If not for Ron's tight grip on Harry's robe, Neville's unsure of what would have happened next.
"As I am sure you will come to realize, Potter, in this classroom, there is no such thing as special treatment."
The stare off between Harry and Snape seemed to go on for years but no one dared to interrupt. Eventually, Snape broke it and Harry sat back down with a mutinous thump, his eyes never easing out of it's poisoning glare. Neville had found that it was him gripping Hermione's hand instead, as the girl kept reaching for her wand.
"Let this be a lesson to all of you," Snape warned.
He then ordered them to pair up and to ready the ingredients for the boil cure potion on the board. Neville took quick breaths as his back felt cold from his sweat and his hands still trembled. Ron and Harry had wandered over to their table and were in quick discussion with Hermione.
"Swap with me. We are going excel at potions. Do you understand me?" Hermione hissed as she gathered her hair into a bushy low ponytail.
Ron was rubbing at his chest looking murderous but in complete agreement with Hermione. Harry mirrored their expression while Neville could only shudder at the scary union taking place before him.
"If he thinks he can bully us just cause were kids, he's got another fucking thing coming," Ron growled.
"Harry, ready the cauldron." Hermione ordered before she grabbed Neville's hand and dragged him towards the ingredient cupboard.
All the other students kept a wide berth away from them, probably due to Hermione's intense stomp of determination. Neville just accepted everything she stuffed in his arms before she dragged him back to the worktables. Ron was waiting with the cauldron and all their needed equipment. He took the ingredients from Neville's hold and guided Neville to his side. On the other worktable Hermione and Harry started working in an organised frenzy.
~(*)\(*)/(*)~
"They're bloody mad," Theodore whispered with unintentional awe seeping into his tone.
Draco hated himself for agreeing, awed and all. Nobody could stop themselves from watching Weasley, the mudblood and Potter as they worked. It was social suicide at its finest as Snape continued to take points away for the smallest of reasons, but there was no stopping the aggressive trio. It didn't matter that Snape hovered closely over both groups, didn't matter that he barked at them at the oddest of times. The three continued to work with focused finesse that was grudgingly impressive. Even Longbottom, who was pissing his pants at this point, was keeping up relatively well with everything thanks to Weasley's deceptively blithe guidance and distraction.
"No wonder the hat put them in Gryffindor," Blaise muttered
Draco clenched his jaw as he finished his and Theo's potion. An easy task for the godson of a Potion's master. It allowed them to watch, without shame, as the mudblood quickly snatched a tipping vial from the edge of the table without looking. The girl was a complete freak, just as Millicent said.
There was a loud explosion from Finnegan and Thomas's section. The Irish half-blood looked utterly shell shocked with soot covering his face, while Thomas hastily extinguished the flames on his robe sleeves.
"Weasley! Why didn't you warn Finnegan not to set his horned slugs too close to the flame before adding it?" Snape accused with a snarl.
Weasley shrugged as if Snape had just asked after the weather. He didn't even bother looking at Longbottom as he stopped the boy from adding the porcupine quills and moved their cauldron off the fire. Draco swore his godfather's cheeks had earned the slightest bit of colour when Weasley did answer.
"Dunno, suppose I wasn't looking,"
Blaise shook his head and voiced what Draco had been thinking.
"Complete and utter suicide. Snape is going to murder them by the end of the year," he predicted.
"End of the year? Try the end of the month!" Theo corrected.
When it came time to hand in their finished potions for assessment, it was a welcomed relief for all the first years. All eyes watched intently as Potter and Longbottom walked to deliver their potion vials. Draco didn't see where the jinx came from, but he knew it couldn't have been any of the snakes. Not when all of them were too weary of gaining any attention from Snape in this mood. Not to mention they'd unanimously agreed to be cautious around the trio after the showdown before the sorting. They'd all seen it in the mud bloods stare, she wouldn't have hesitated to gut Pansy if she were given the chance. Potter and the Weasel probably would've held her down to give the mudblood better access.
They were Slytherins, and snakes knew when to attack and when to stay on guard.
Whoever it was, jinxed Longbottom into stumbling into Potter. Both boys watched with horror as their potion vials smashed on the ground, wasting their hard-worked effort.
"Tut tut- such a waste. I'm afraid without a potion, all four of you will earn a failing grade, a pity," but Snape didn't sound the least bit sorry.
In fact, Draco suddenly suspected his godfather had wordlessly jinxed Longbottom himself.
Draco stared at his godfather having never thought he could be so… petty. He knew he'd hated Gryffindors, had a bad history with a few, but to go so far was astonishing. Draco felt uncomfortable with what he'd witnessed of the man he shared fond memories with. But he ignored it in favour of watching Weasley and Granger suddenly grin.
"It's a bit of luck then, isn't it, Professor. Hermione thought we'd best bottle a few spares just in case," Weasley explained with a good-natured grin.
Draco squirmed in his seat, hating himself for once again feeling awed by the Weasel's daring.
"Fucking suicide!" Theo gaped at his side, uncaring about his Slytherin mask.
Grange- The mud blood, and Weasley walked to the front and presented their bottled potion vials with shit eating grins.
Snape stood stiffly for a moment before he reached for the vials and resolutely said nothing at all. The whole class held their breaths in wait, but the old bat snarled at them all and ordered them out of his class. They scrambled to leave, but Weasley, the mudblood and Potter sauntered out with their heads high looking incredibly pleased.
Draco absolutely hated himself for wanting to chase after them, like the Gryffindors, pestering them on how brilliant they'd been.
~(*)\(*)/(*)~
All of Hogwarts bore first-hand witness to the wailing cries of disbelief, anger, and rage from House Gryffindor at dinner. It was expected that there wouldn't be a great amount of House points earned as it was only the first week back. But all of Hogwarts gaped with shock as Gryffindor's house points had sunk into the negatives.
"Merlin's saggy balls! Has this ever happened before! Is it even allowed?" a Hufflepuff exclaimed as they watched a few Gryffindor's actually cry.
"Not even the Weasley twins have ever managed this!" another whispered.
The twins in question looked shell-shocked themselves, but more because someone had beat them at something already. Although, they thought, perhaps it was a good thing they'd never done this. Not when it had rallied all of Gryffindor into a frenzy. Many were out for blood, wanting to know just who was to blame.
At the Ravenclaw table, Penelope leaned over as her friend tugged at her robes to whisper in her ear.
"The first years told me they heard from the snakes, it was Potter, his girlfriend and the newest Weasley's fault."
Penelope pulled back with shock.
"Percy's little brother? Really?" she checked.
Her friend nodded her head looking equally disbelieving.
The two looked over at the mentioned Gryffindor first years, but the two boys and their female friend looked unbothered as they ate. A great contrast to their fellow year mates who ate stiffly looking rather terrified of their older housemates.
The Slytherin table were careful to hide their own personal reactions. The older years boisterously mocked and teased the house of Lions, but fifth year below only smirked and laughed in support. None of them offered remarks of their own. Marcus hid his amused smirk behind his goblet, having heard the complete story from his first-year snakes.
"Percy hadn't been kidding," Gemma mumbled as she watched the lions accuse one another, specifically the Weasley twins who were innocent for once.
"And just think… it's only the first week," Terrance added with a disbelieving scoff.
The Slytherin's looked over to the teachers table where McGonagall hadn't stopped death glaring at an incredibly stiff Snape as she ate.
"Well, can't say this year won't be boring," Gemma grinned.
Marcus laughed in agreement, wondering just what else the first-year trio would bring about as the year continued. He glances over to where Malfoy sat with his own huddle of first year snakes who were poorly hiding their staring at the trio.
He wonders what other change they'll inspire among his snakes.