Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor am I affiliated with it in any way.

Note: The author notes are replies to reviews, so are a little lengthy. They're at the bottom of this chapter so as to not get in the way.

Chapter Nine – Boarhounds and Broomsticks

Whitney, who hadn't been covered in nearly as much potion as Neville had been, was released from the Hospital Wing with enough time to make it to Hagrid's on Friday afternoon. Ron was waiting for her outside the castle, kicking at some patches of grass off the steps of the castle, but Hermione was nowhere to be seen.

"Ready?" she asked, catching his attention.

He looked up and said, "Wasn't sure Madame Pomfrey would let you out in time."

"Well, thanks for waiting anyway. Where's Hermione?"

Ron looked a bit guilty at that question. "She, er… She went to go do some… homework."

Whitney blinked at the response, looking confused. "Erm, all right. Well, I suppose it's just us two, then. Neville's still… oozing a bit."

Ron pulled a face. "That's really disgusting."

Whitney grinned a little. "You should try it sometime. It's worse when you're the one covered in slime." It was pleasant, she decided, to be able to joke with friends.

Ron laughed a bit and they walked together toward Hagrid's hut. Whitney knocked on the door once they arrived and was startled by the sound of barking from within. It was a deep barking that could only belong to a very large dog, which made her nervous. The only pets she'd ever had contact with were Mrs. Figgs' cats—with whom she didn't get along very well—and her Aunt Marge's dogs, which were little terrors.

"Back, Fang!" Whitney heard Hagrid shouting from behind the door as he wrestled with something large.

"Fang?" she asked out loud, paling. "The biggest dog I've ever seen, Hagrid could pick up one-handed."

"Should we run?" Ron asked her.

"Most likely."

"Count of three?"

Whitney nodded. "One…"

"Two…" Ron followed, sweat beading at his brow.

Before they could make it to three, however, Hagrid opened the door. It was a wonder he could, since the enormous boarhound he was restraining should have taken all his strength just to hold back. The black dog, drooling excitedly over what looked like perfectly sharp teeth, was pulling against Hagrid so hard the man's feet were sliding against the wooden floor. Whitney squeaked and didn't move, but Hagrid ushered them in with his free hand. Whitney stepped inside and Ron followed her, inching around the edge of the room. When Hagrid shut the door, he released his hold on Fang who bounded at Ron and began licking his ears.

Whitney smiled in relief, though Ron looked almost horrified. "This is, er… Ron," she told Hagrid since the boy was otherwise occupied.

"Another Weasley, eh?" Hagrid said. Ron was too distracted by Fang to say anything. "Not troublemakers like yer brothers, are yeh?"

Ron only sputtered, trying to protect his face.

Whitney gave a low whistle, which caught Fang's attention and he dropped down onto the floor on his haunches, tail wagging madly in the air. It smacked Ron a few times in the chest, but when Whitney placed an inviting hand on her lap, Fang leapt up and rested his head on her robes, tongue lolling onto her knees. "Oh, I like him," she said, petting the dog. "He's nothing like my aunt's little monsters."

"Fang's a pushover," Hagrid said, yanking the dog away from her; Fang whined, but did as he was directed. "'Ere. Have some o' these."

Hagrid offered a plate of small cakes and Ron and Whitney both helped themselves to one. These turned out to be impossible to eat, however. Whitney tried her best to nibble on one of them, but wasn't able to quite scrape any small piece of them off with her teeth. Instead, she dropped it into her tea while she drank it. It sank like a stone to the bottom of the mug, and Ron and Whitney told Hagrid about their classes.

"Don' worry abou' Snape, now," Hagrid said after hearing about Potions. "Doesn' like anyone, really. 'E's a good man, though."

Whitney looked doubtful, but her attention was drawn away by a newspaper on the table. She picked it up when she noticed the name of Gringott's on the front page.

"Hagrid," she said, reading the article. "This happened the day you and I were at Gringott's. This happened on my birthday. We… we could have been in the underground while this was happening."

"Codswallop," Hagrid said, not meeting her eyes. "Nowhere's safer'n Gringott's, 'cept maybe Hogwarts. Now I think it's abou' time you two got back up ta yer common room."

Hagrid ushered them out of the small hut, but Whitney had been lied to enough that she knew when it was happening. But why would Hagrid lie to her about something like this? Did it have something to do with that wrapped, brown package he took from the vault? Of course, that was absurd! They hadn't been in any real danger in Gringott's… had they?

"Bit of a nutter, that one," Ron said as they walked back to the castle together. He tossed his teacake toward an open space of grass where even the birds avoided it. "Talk about mood swings."

Whitney made a noncommittal noise in the back of her throat. There's definitely not something right about that, she thought to herself. Definitely not…

.

"What do you mean, 'broomsticks'?"

Whitney was looking uncertainly at Ron whose face was glowing with excitement as he read off the notice pinned up in the common room one evening after dinner. Ron goggled at her for a second.

"I… I mean what I said. Broomsticks. Are you mental?" he asked her.

Whitney scowled and folded her arms across her chest a little defensively. "Where I come from, broomsticks stay on the ground," she said, feeling self-conscious for her Muggle upbringing. It was a feeling she was growing accustomed to. It seemed that, no matter where she was at any time of the day, someone was telling her something as though she should understand what they were saying. But she didn't.

"Oh," Ron said, looking apologetic. "Right."

There was an awkward silence for a moment or two before Ron immediately switched back to excited. "Well, anyway," he started, "they'll teach you to fly a broom if you've never been on one. That's what the class is for. I wonder if they'll go over Quidditch!" he exclaimed. "Maybe we can play for the team."

"Fat chance," said two harmonizing voices behind them. Whitney turned to see Fred and George looking at Ron with twin grins.

"We've seen you on a broom," one of them said.

"It's embarrassing, really," said the other. Whitney still couldn't quite tell them apart. She knew that one of them had a clump of freckles on his cheek shaped like a star, but they pretended to be each other so often that she couldn't be sure if it was Fred or George.

"Sod off," Ron told them, turning pink.

"Now, is that any way to speak to family?" the first one asked.

"Kiss your mother with that mouth?" asked the other.

They shook their heads disapprovingly at him, winked at Whitney, and left through the portrait hole into the corridor outside.

Ron was in a surly mood for the rest of the night, so Whitney went to bed early, grabbing a hot shower so she wouldn't have to fight with Parvati in the morning about who had used all the hot water up. Nevermind that the water was magic and always came out hot. Parvati always found something to argue about. When there wasn't anything going on that she could complain about, she set herself to creating something. It drove Whitney mad. She and Lavender were always sitting together and talking about someone. The pair of them had grown up together, it seemed.

Hermione was little better, always talking about class or some new fascinating fact she'd read. Whitney had to admire the girl's conviction, though. Hermione was determined to learn everything about the new world she'd been introduced to, but all Whitney wanted to do was feel normal in her own skin.

The next day, Whitney dragged herself out of bed at six in the morning, feeling groggy. She'd gotten a lot more sleep than she was used to getting and her body was begging her for more. She shook it off, though. No sense in letting her ability to sleep late spoil her for the summer when she'd have to start getting up early again.

She splashed some water on her face in the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. It had only been a few weeks so far, but she could already notice some changes in her appearance. Her hair was growing in thicker and darker, shedding the strawberry blond from her early childhood. Her eyes weren't as sunken in her head as they been before and her collar bone wasn't poking violently out of her neck anymore. She was looking healthier, and as she smiled at her own reflection, she realized she was also looking happier.

For some reason, this thought induced a small level of panic. Can't get too attached, she thought to herself, dropping her smile. It could all be gone tomorrow.

If there was one thing Whitney had learned from living with the Dursleys, it was that good things always come to an end. Even if she managed to make it through the year without dying, going crazy, or getting expelled, she would have to go back to live with her aunt and uncle over the summer. It was important that she remember where she came from. If she forgot that, it would be a nasty shock when she was sucked back in to that life.

Whitney took a deep breath, steeled her expression, and went to get dressed.

Note: Your wonderful reviews make me excited to post sooner, so here's chapter nine. I was begged in a review not to make Draco such a git in my story. Draco, when he was young, unfortunately was a git. Where Harry wrote Draco off completely, however, Whitney is naïve enough to believe if someone says they've changed. This will be both to her favor and her detriment later in the story, but no more spoilers than that.

I was also asked whether Snape was going to treat Whitney any better than he treated Harry. To this, I say, there are different shades of Gryffindor. The House included James, Lily, Sirius, Remus, Hermione, Percy, the twins, and Neville. Harry, through no fault of his own, makes it very easy for Snape to dislike him because of the sort of Gryffindor he is. Snape will find it much harder to dislike Whitney for who she is, but he will also always see Lily's betrayal whenever he looks at her.

Thank you for your questions, and as always, please review.

/-wujy