AN: So I do not own Harry Potter – JK Rowling does. There will be Ron bashing, well his temper will be seen.
Thanks everyone for the reviews! I try to respond to them all! I had a couples from guests so thanks to you guys too
Fan cast:
Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Luna and Draco are currently cast by whom they were portrayed within the films.
Vicky: Nell Tiger Free (Mycrella Baratheon in GOT S5)
Max: Rosabell Laurenti Sellers (Tyene Sand in GOT)
Blaise Zabini: Toby Sebastian (Trystane Martel in GOT)
Chapter 2:
Hermione sat curled up in the corner of the compartment, leant against the window in her lap sat a book open and her eyes were focussed on the page as if she was reading it. She wasn't, she couldn't even tell you the name of the book without looking at the cover that is how unfocused she actually was. She could faintly hear the babble of Harry and Ron on the other side of the compartment talking about Quidditch and other nonsense. She knew Ron was trying to distract Harry from thinking about Cedric's death, but all she could think about was Dumbledore's parting words and the end of the feast the night before. They were swimming around her head and had been since Dumbledore had uttered them, she had gone to sleep dreaming of the man as Harry had described him: a pale face with no nose, red eyes and a bald head his looks almost snake-like. In her dreams, the man taunted her and called her mudblood and demanded she gives him Harry. She had other dreams too, of a man with dark hair and dark brown eyes leaning over her and calling her his princess. Shaking her head, she tried again to focus on the page in front of her.
"Anything from the trolley?" a voice asked from the doorway.
"Three Chocolate Frogs, three Pumpkin Pasties and a box of Bertie Botts," Harry ordered before her or Ron could order anything, and he passed the sweets around giving each of them a chocolate frog and a pumpkin pasty each.
"WhaordinMms?" Ron mumbled with his mouth full of food.
"Pardon?" Hermione replied, not having understood a word Ron just said, "Swallow then speak Ronald."
"What are you reading Herms?"
"My name is Hermione, Ronald," Hermione responded with a glare, "not Herms, nor Mione, it's HER-MIONE."
"Herms is a nickname," Ron responded, "I prefer to go by Ron to Ronald you know."
"I don't like Herms, Ronald." Hermione hissed, "It boyish and makes me think of the Greek God Hermes who was known as the messenger God, you know the name given to your brothers OWL!"
"Merlin," Ronald huffed, "It is just a nickname, and I didn't think you would mind it."
"You didn't think full stop Ronald," Hermione responded, "At least Victor attempted to say my full name and not shorten it."
"Oh well we all cannot be like your precious Vicky, can we now" Ron snorted, "Vicky is so wonderful, Vicky is so perfect."
Hermione glared at Ron, "Oh don't be so jealous, you were the one who was so excited when you learned he was going to be here."
"WILL YOU TWO STOP BICKERING?" Harry shouted, before Ron could retort, "I would very much like to have a peaceful journey home without you two arguing like an old married couple for once."
"Sorry Harry," Hermione responded.
"Yeah, mate I'm sorry as well," Ron added, before muttering under his breath, "All I did was ask her what she was reading, she started it."
Having heard his muttering both Hermione and Harry turned to glare at Ron, then Harry turned back Hermione.
"What are you reading anyway Hermione?" Harry asked politely.
Closing the book, Hermione focussed on the front page, Ръководство за мрачните изкуства, "A book Victor leant me, though I haven't been able to focus much on reading, I have been going over Professor Dumbledore's end of year speech thinking about what he said and what he didn't say but implied."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"Well, he spoke about Vold," Hermione started.
"Don't say his name." Ron hissed.
"You-know-who's return," Hermione continued, "and how he was back and he spoke of how the Ministry was in denial."
"Yeah," Harry responded, "I got that, but what do you mean, he didn't mention everything?"
"I just get a feeling we haven't gotten the whole story," Hermione responded, "He spoke of dark times, but there is more to it than that, Professor Dumbledore knows something and I feel like he's hiding something and not just from us, something from the Wizarding World."
"You got all that from a speech?" Ron asked, "I just figured he was trying to let everyone know Moldymort was back and Cedric died a hero."
Hermione was about to respond with a comment about her being clever but the look Harry sent her caused her not to, instead she chose to focus on Ron's nickname for Voldemort, "Moldymort, now that's funny" she chuckled.
Ron grinned at her, and they spent the rest of the train ride coming up with nicknames for Voldemort. But Dumbledore's speech still plagued the back of her mind, and the way Professor Snape's eyes had rested on her during the speech left her feeling like she was part of whatever Dumbledore wasn't saying.
Ginny sat in the compartment with her friends, they were mostly discussing the Hogwarts male population and how handsome they were. She often flittered in and out of the conversation, especially when one of her brothers, mainly Fred and George, were brought up. She certainly did not want to hear about how hot Fred looked in his Quidditch Uniform or how George looked better with his hair long. She certainly did not want to hear them talking about Ron, who was the current object of their discussion.
"Ron's has no manners though," her dark-haired friend commented, "He eats with his mouth open and talks with food in his mouth."
"True that is a major turn off," her blonde friend added with a laugh, "What do you think Luna?"
"Too many wrackspurts," Luna smiled and Ginny laughed.
"Can we talk about something other than my brothers?" Ginny suggested to her friends, "Surely there are enough other male students for us to talk about that we don't need to talk about my brothers."
"But Percy is such perfection," the dark haired girl across from Ginny chuckled, "the way he is such a pompous prat makes me squirm with delight."
"Shove it Max," Ginny half snarled and half laughed at her friend, throwing the empty Chocolate Frog box at her friend as she did so.
Her friend quickly knocked the box and it went soaring sideways and hit the unsuspecting blonde.
"Seriously," the blonde hissed, "Must you two act like children?"
"Oh chill out Vicky," Max responded, "We are kids, well until we hit seventeen in the eyes of the Ministry anyways."
"Oh stop being so fastidious," Vicky hissed.
"That's a big word for you Vicky," Max replied with a smirk, "Can you spell it?"
"Sometimes I think that I am friends with a bunch of Slytherin's with the way you two smirk and hiss all the time," Luna commented airily.
Ginny burst out laughing at the comment, "I agree Luna those two do act like such snakes sometimes."
"We do not!" Max and Vicky denied together.
"Speaking of Slytherin's," Ginny added, "Do you know who I caught with his shirt off the other day, sunbathing in front of the Great Lake?"
"A Slytherin," Max replied smarmily replied.
"Well duh," Ginny commented, "Which one though?"
"Goyle," Luna added with a giggle.
"I wouldn't have mentioned it if it was Goyle," Ginny commented, "I would still be in bathroom, attempting to scourify my eyes."
"Blaise Zabini," Luna suggested.
"How did you guess," Ginny asked.
"Oh, I was feeding Thestrals in the woods near the lake and saw him sunbathing too," Luna stated, "and I saw you watching him with a look in your eye."
"Well he's hot," Ginny started but was interrupted by the apartment door opening.
"I thought I felt someone staring at me, Little Red if I had known it was you," a voice stated, "Well I would have..."
"Oi Blaise my man," a second voice joined the first, "What have you found?"
"A group of gossiping third years," Blaise responded.
"Let's take a look," Draco responded and joined Blaise at the door.
"Ah a group of blood traitors," Draco commented as he popped his head through the door, "What could you lot possibly be gossiping about?" and he paused as if to think about it, "how the world is going to end cause the Dark Lord is apparently back."
"Actually Draco their topic for discussion was a little more interesting than those rumours spread by Dumbledork at the end of term feast," Blaise smirked, his eyes lingering on Ginny.
"Oh well tell me more my friend," Draco replied with a smirk of his own, "You know how much I love the gossip spread by little girls."
"Now, now Draco," Blaise addressed his friend, "There is no need for that tone, these lovely ladies were discussing how hot I was."
"Really?" Draco queried and when Blaise nodded in response a look of glee appeared on his face, "And who may I ask started this topic of conversation?"
"Little Red," Blaise responded.
"Well, I wonder what the Weasel would think if he knew his little sister had a crush on a big bad Slytherin," Draco sneered, "You know what, I think I might go tell him," he paused for a moment, "I don't think his compartment is too far from here, I heard him and the Mudblood screeching at each other earlier," with that Draco left Blaise standing in the doorway.
Ginny glared at the snake stood in the doorway.
Blaise just chuckled and approached the red haired girl and she pushed herself back against the cushion of the seat she was in.
"Don't worry Little Red," Blaise chuckled, "I don't bite much, and I just wanted to whisper what I was going to say earlier in your ear."
Her friends watched in apprehension, their hands on their wands.
Blaise bent his head down next to Ginny's right ear, "I would have taken off those trousers I was wearing and given you something to really think about Little Red," he paused as Ginny's breathing hitched and he felt her let a little sigh as her breath tickled her throat, "Or perhaps I would have put a shirt on after all I don't want little Blood Traitors ogling me like a piece of meat its slightly disgusting habit you picked up from those muggle filth you lot rub shoulders with," with that Blaise pulled away with deep chuckle and exited the carriage before what he said sunk in and shut the door behind him. He waited for the comment he knew would come from one of the girls in the carriage and the response of the Weaslette.
"So what did he say?" he heard one of the girls ask whom he knew to be a beater for the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team.
"He first said he would have taken off his trousers if he had known it was me," he heard her hiss in response.
"You lucky girl," one of the other girls responded.
"He then said, he might have put his top back on as blood traitors like myself shouldn't ogle at him and how staring is a filthy habit picked up from Muggle's," he could hear her practically seething and he decided he should leave shortly and go find his friend before he ended up on the end of one her Bat Bogey hexes. As he moved away, he heard the final comments on the matter.
"He may be hot," he heard the girl respond, "But he is also an arrogant asshole."
He assumed the other girls had nodded in agreement as he heard the conversation change.
Draco marched along the corridor on the Hogwarts Express with an air of confidence about him, so much that other individuals who were also walking along moved out of his way.
"This is the one," he whispered to himself, looking through the glass window that looked into the compartments and he saw the bushy hair that could only belong to Granger. He pulled the door open.
"Now look what I found, a Mudblood, a Weasel and the boy who just won't die," Draco addressed the group.
"What do you want Ferret?" the Mudblood addressed him with raised eyebrows.
"Ferret?" he asked.
"You know a great white bouncing Ferret," the chit retorted a little smirk on her face, "like the one fake Moody bounced all over the place a few months ago."
"Shut it," he snapped at Granger moving towards her and he spat and the ground in front of her, "you pathetic little mudblood bitch, I hope you get what's coming to you."
He felt two wands at his neck and he turned around to face the other two males in the compartment.
"Don't worry," he sneered, "I will just be leaving I only had a message for the Weasel anyways."
He smirked as they dropped their wands, "Weasel, apparently your sister has taken a little fancy to my friend Blaise, I heard she was ogling at him when he was sunbathing by the Great Lake," Draco paused, "You should perhaps rein her in, you know it is unbecoming for a pureblood lady to ogle at others, your sister should learn some manners if you want to find a suitable husband for her."
He stepped back, "Oh wait you are all blood traitors so you won't find her a suitable match," and with that he left the compartment, laughing to himself as he heard Potter ask.
"What one is Blaise?"
"He's the one with dark curly hair and dreamy brown eyes," Hermione commented, "According to Lavender anyway."
"Doesn't help," Ron snorted, "I don't want that slimy snake anywhere near my sister."
"Ignore the Ferret," Hermione replied, "He was most likely trying to get a rise out of you, you know what he's like."
"Doesn't matter," Ron responded, "He was right, Ginny shouldn't be ogling at anyone, it isn't right of young ladies."
"But its ok for men to ogle at young ladies," Hermione retorted, "I caught you ogling at Fleur several times."
"That's different," Ron informed Hermione with an air of authority, "Traditionally Pureblood males are allowed to ogle, and the females are not."
"I thought you weren't one to follow tradition," Hermione commented snidely.
Seeing the steam building up in Ron's ear, Harry decided to change the conversation by drawing his friends attention to station they were pulling into, "Guys we are back in London."
End Chapter Note:
Bulgarian book translated using Google Translate.
Ръководство за мрачните изкуства – A Guide to The Dark Arts
Ginny's Friends
Maxine (Max) O'Flaherty is a Hufflepuff and was a Beater for them during Cedric's time as Captain
Victoria (Vicky) Frobisher is a Gryffindor
The above characters are taken from some searching on Harry Potter Wikia and Harry Potter Lexicon. Neither character has an associated year and little information minus a house and only an image I think comes from the video games.
Additionally, Blaise calling Ginny 'Little Red' is not my own nickname for the Slytherin's to have for Ginny nor is Weaslette as it is Unsourceable Fanon as it has been used so much
24.07.19 - Chapter has been amended to use line breaks, FFN decided recently it doesn't like the * anymore. Apologies