Chapter Six
She finds Hermione, Ginny, Harry and Ron in the sitting room. The four of them are talking over a game of wizard's chess between Harry and Ron. Hermione sits opposite of Ginny with her back to the door. Ginny immediately stops telling them her opinion about whatever the group is talking about when she notices Sasha in the door opening. The other three look up when the girl doesn't continue her statement. They see her frowning in the direction of the door and turn around, noticing Sasha as well.
"Hi," Hermione disrupts the sudden silence.
"Hi. You may continue your conversation, you know," she answers as she moves closer.
"We were just finished," Ginny explains quickly.
"It seemed quite a rough ending to a conversation, if you ask me," Sasha replies.
"Well, we didn't ask you, did we?" Ron reacts sharply.
Sasha raises her eyebrows. She knew they might be suspicious of her, but Ron is just plain hostile. "I know you are suspicious, but at least let me explain. Ask me questions, and I'll answer them as truthfully as possible."
"Ha! 'As truthfully as possible'? Right."
"Ron," Hermione speaks up, "At least give her a chance."
"I agree with Hermione," Harry says, "Why don't you sit down with us, Sasha?" He moves to the side, so she can sit down between him and Hermione. The two redheads watch her with narrowed eyes.
"So, ask," Sasha invites them.
Ron begins, "Why do you agree with absolutely everything Snape says?"
"I don't agree with everything."
"Based on what we saw and heard, earlier, you do," Ron insists.
"Yes, earlier I did, perhaps, but I don't always."
Ron opens his mouth to reply but Hermione interrupts him, "Okay, maybe you don't always, but this is the first time we saw you interact this way with him. It's weird, to say the least. Not to mention, you laugh at each of his remarks, including when he insults Sirius."
"He's got good humour."
"No, he doesn't. He snarky, condescending and cruel."
"Ronald! He's still our teacher! Do have some respect," Hermione reprimands him. He doesn't answer, but the sheepish look on his face says it all. Sasha thinks it's rather cute how the two of them are constantly bickering.
"Besides," Sasha continues, "I know Severus better than I do Black, and Black insulted him first, so…"
"'Severus'? 'Black'?" Harry repeats.
"Professor Snape, I mean." Gods, she really needs to watch her tongue. That's the second time she's slipped up today. "And yes, 'Black', 'Sirius', it's the same, isn't it?" The look on Harry's face says it isn't.
"You even sound like him. Like Snape…"
She doesn't reply to that.
"Talking about names, you called him by his first name at the meeting, as well," Ginny comments.
"Yes, well, it's his name, isn't it? Besides, it was a slip of the tongue."
"He didn't even reprimand you."
"Actually—," she quickly stops talking. She nearly told them about the slap on the leg. Undoubtedly, they'd find that even worse than the things they're talking about now. Better not to let them know about that.
"Actually what?"
"Nothing, never mind."
"Are you sure you aren't under the influence of some kind of potion?" Ron questions once more.
"No, I'm not. You really don't trust me, do you?"
"Are you surprised? You are a new student who starts school in the middle of the year, and a Slytherin at that. You're friends with Snape and, on top of that, your background story is shady at best. Finally, you're a part of the Order nearly the exact moment you arrive!" he sums up.
Hermione speaks up again, "Well, I do trust her. Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have let her come here, if he wasn't sure we can trust her, would he?" she explains to the group.
"I trust you too, for now" Harry agrees cautiously, nodding at her.
"If the both of them trust you, I do too," Ginny adds.
"Thank you," Sasha smiles.
"You're all mad, the lot of you," Ron exclaims. He gets up and leaves the room. They soon hear him loudly mounting the stairs.
If he reacts like this already, I wonder what he'll do when he finds out I'm leaving with Severus for a few days, Sasha thinks to herself.
The next day Sasha has the most fun she's had in a long time. She talks a lot with the girls – Ginny and Hermione – and sometimes Harry joins them. He doesn't quite know what to do about Ron, so he divides his time between the girls and the angry boy, though he isn't great company, if she's being honest; he's mostly silent and easily snaps. Ron has cooled down some since that first evening, but he still refuses to really talk to Sasha. She thought she was stubborn, well, Ron's apparently even worse. Though she can't really blame him. He does have a point. On the other hand, everybody trusts her, including Dumbledore and the other adults. She supposes he'll come around, eventually. He's a nice guy, after all.
She also 'meets' Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, and Buckbeak, the Hippogriff. And the portrait of Black's mother as well, sadly… The woman started screaming with a sharp voice, right when Sasha passed her portrait, as Ron laughed loudly along with Hermione. Apparently Mrs Black doesn't like 'traitors and mudbloods' in her house.
The twins, Fred and George Weasley, enjoy their pranks all day, every day. It's amusing to watch, really, unless it's you they have planned something for. Their inventions are amazing and really creative. They tell her about the different kinds of candies they've developed, for instance, to evade class whenever one wants to. The boxed 'sweets', the 'Skiving Snackbox', as they call it, is wildly popular at Hogwarts. They also show her the extendable ears. She's pretty sure Dumbledore has found out about those, as he put up some strong silencing charms on Saturday.
That same evening it's Christmas' Eve, and she joins the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione and Sirius around the dinner table. Mrs Weasley's cooking is really good, as is the company.
The next morning Sasha gets up quite early. When she arrives in the kitchen, everyone is already seated. She moves to sit next to Hermione, right when Mrs Weasley comes in, supporting a bandaged, bloodied man: Arthur Weasley, the Weasley's patriarch. They're introduced to each other. The man is, like the rest of his family, very nice and, unlike Ron, accepting of her.
Mrs Weasley gives them all knitted winter wear. The twins get a scarf each, Ron and Hermione get a pullover and Harry gets a bonnet.
"I'm sorry, dear, but I honestly didn't know you'd come here until the day beforehand. And since then I haven't had any time to make you something. Otherwise you'd have gotten something as well," Mrs Weasley looks kind of distraught, so Sasha appeases her, "Don't worry, Mrs Weasley, I really don't mind."
"Well, next year I'll make you something!" She vows, smiling brightly. Sasha smiles back. The woman is incredibly nice to her. She is reminded of her own mother, whom she lost at a young age. She's happy for these teens, to have a mother like Mrs Weasley, as well as a father like Arthur. Harry, she notices, is treated like another son by the Weasleys. At least this way he knows the love that is family, despite having never known his own parents. The boy deserves it.
They eat a typically English breakfast: bacon, sausages, eggs, beans, tomatoes, toast, and coffee or tea. Afterwards, the teens go to the living room to play some games, while the adults stay in the kitchen.
Hermione leaves the room for a short while, along with Ron and Harry, Ginny and Sasha remain in the living room, playing a game of Wizard's Chess. When they come back, she asks where they went.
"Hermione wanted to give a present to Kreacher," Harry answers, "But we couldn't find him, so she left the gift next to his cupboard."
"Kreacher?"
"Yes, the house elf. He hasn't been around, though, I wonder where he's gone…"
"Hermione, seriously, why worry about a house elf, and an evil one at that!" Ron replies to her.
"He's still a living creature, Ron, and you know how I feel about house elves!"
Everybody in their little group stays silent, wisely. Sasha, too, has found out about Hermione's ideas and S.P.E.W., in the course of the last week. She doesn't tell her, but she silently agrees with the others: if those little creatures want to work for wizards, why deny them their pleasure?
"Anyway, let's continue," Ginny breaks the uneasy silence, before giving an order to her chess pieces.
[To be continued]