Chapter 12

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER, JK ROWLING DOES

Hey everyone! Welcome back, I have regained my burning passion for writing this story and I will now be posting once a week, so stay tuned for next week's chapter. Besides that I hope you guys all enjoy chapter 12, thanks! :))

Enjoy Reading! :)


Ronald Weasley POV

Tuesday, November 12th, 1991

(Slytherin boys dorm room)

It had been a few days since the quidditch incident and Ron was finally starting to feel better. He had done research on the bird he had helped and found that it was a species of eagle known as the harpy eagle. The harpy eagle's habitat is in the rainforests of Central and South America, what the hell was it doing all the way out here? The eagle hadn't left Ron's side since he healed it on Saturday, he had let it go to fly multiple times and yet it returned to him after only a few hours. Maybe it has nowhere to return to, it did have an owner's crest on its leg, he could have been part of a personal collection…what the fuck is wrong with people.

With the eagle staying by his side Ron chose to name the raptor after one of its nicknames, Arathorn closely translates to 'Royal Eagle'.

In Brazil the harpy eagle is known as the 'royal hawk', so Ron thought the name fit quite perfectly.

He is quite royal isn't he? Ron smiled to himself as he got back to practicing his magic. He had been reading up on wandless magic and he had started to understand the basics of it, he hadn't been able to perform any yet but his understandings of how to use his core as a conduit were almost flawless. He closed his eyes as he used his core to send a pulse of magic out around himself, he could almost see the blue magic that emanated from his body. Everyday I progress a little more at this, Dumbledore would be so proud. Ron laughed as he got up from his bed and walked out into the common room, the group of Slytherins that he had grown acquainted with were all lounging on a couch at the edge of the common room. As Ron approached the five, he realized that they were watching a game of chess unfold between Greengrass and Nott. Nott looks really concentrated while Greengrass seems to be almost bored? She seems to be pretty decent at chess.

Chess had always been something that Ron had loved, ever since his grandfather had taught him how to play on his fifth birthday. I miss you grandad. His grandfather had taught him the basics of chess and chess strategy, Ron would soon become addicted to the game. Within four months he was able to defeat everyone in his home in the sophisticated game. In terms of skill, Ron didn't think too highly of himself, but now that he saw how Nott played he assumed he wasn't that bad. Daphne suddenly moved her queen into an attack position and Nott seemed to lose it at the prospect of playing another move.

"This game is stupid anyway, Daphne tricked me, there's no way for me to even win!" Nott groaned as his face contorted with anger. He really sucks at this game.

"Move your knight to E3." Ron's voice spooked the group as they all turned to face him.

"What?" Nott asked, looking between Ron and the board.

"Just do it Nott," Ron said. Nott moved his knight to E3 and was confused on what the move had done, but it was not lost on Greengrass. The blonde quickly scanned the board as she looked up at Ron in shock.

"Checkmate…" she said quietly, " I didn't even see that I was open there…"

"It's no problem, most people wouldn't be able to catch that, you'll just need some more practice," Ron hadn't meant to come off as rude, he was just trying to be honest with her. Greengrass did not take it as constructive criticism unfortunately. The blonde Slytherin looked down at the board as she looked between the pieces, her hands slowly became fists as she quickly stood up and stormed off. Huh?

"What's her problem?" Ron asked as he sat down next to Tracey. Both Tracey and Millicent looked at Ron like he was a doofus.

"Boys," Tracey sighed as she got up and followed after Greengrass. Did I come off as rude? Millicent went back to petting her cat as Ron looked to Nott and Zabini for support.

"I don't think you said anything rude," Zabini noted, "she's a Greengrass, she should take what you said with maturity and work to further herself."

"I second that," Nott said as he started putting the chess pieces away. Was I actually being rude? I didn't mean to be… Ron didn't know what to do, he'd never been in a situation like this before. Should I apologize? But why should I have to apologize? She has been treating me like muck the second she laid eyes on me. UGH! That's not how my parents raised me, damn me for being a blood traitor. Ron stood up and started walking towards the girls' dorms.

"Where are you heading?" Nott called, Ron ignored him as he turned the corner into the dormitory halls.

As Ron crept closer to his destination, he could hear Tracey and Greengrass' voices.

"He didn't mean it like that Daph," Tracey's voice said softly.

"Like what?" Greengrass' voice was calm, "you see the way he is, people like him are trying to dismantle the old ways, he has no respect." Respect?! I'll show you respect, you haughty twat!

"It wasn't a good idea for Nott to bring him in." Not getting enough use out of me, are you? Ron scoffed as he turned around and made his way out of the common room.


Daphne Greengrass POV

Tuesday, November 12th, 1991

(Slytherin Girls dormitory)

"Ron's a cool guy Daph, if you just took the time to get to know him-"

"To get to know him?" Daphne spun around stunned, "He's a blood traitor Trace, none of us should be taking the time to get to know him. Do you even hear yourself?" Did she not listen to her parents at all?

"Do you even hear yourself, Daph?" Tracey countered, "you sound like Millie's parents, I thought you were better than that."

"He's trying to destroy our ways Trace," Daphne shook her head as she paced the room, "he doesn't care about any of us, he's got it out for us and you're on his side."

"I'm sorry Daph," Tracey sighed as she sat down, "you're my best friend Daph, but how do you think I feel listening to you talk like this?" What?

"What subject are you speaking of?" Daphne's voice had an edge to it.

"Oh c'mon Daph! I'm half blood! For Merlin's sake!" Tracey yelled as she shook her head. "I understand the importance of the old ways, but if Ron's status is so hard for you to accept then how do you feel about me? How can I trust that you even see me as your best friend?" Tracey quickly wiped tears from her eyes as she stood up.

"Tracey that's," Daphne tried to find the words, but Tracey wouldn't let her.

"Save it Daph, until you find one good reason, don't talk to me." Tracey walked out of the room; her head held high. Tracey…

Daphne stood still, her mind whirling with thoughts as she stared at the spot her friend had once stood. This is all his fault, I would never think low of Tracey, what is he putting inside of her head? It's about time I confront him, I'm completely fed up with the way he acts. Daphne made her way out of the dormitory and out to search for the boy who had caused all the trouble.


Ronald Weasley POV

Tuesday, November 12th, 1991

(Near the Black Lake)

Ron sat under a tree as he stared at the lake. What am I even doing here? Ron shook his head as he positioned himself for meditation. He closed his eyes and started to feel the surrounding magic, he quickly concentrated on the single point of his core and delved deep into it, opening up its potential to be used as a conduit. I've never made it past here before, so here's to hoping… Ron pushed magic through his core as he lifted his right hand and pointed it towards a lone rock. Accio! Ron's eyes snapped open as he felt all of the magic quickly get released from his core, the rock started to shake and then it stopped. Damn it! I keep overdoing it, I have to learn how to control my magical core to the point where I can decide how much or how little magic is released. A familiar trio interrupted Ron's meditation with a holler, he looked over at the approaching three with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey!" Ron grinned, getting up and walking towards the three.

"Hey Ron," Harry smiled, "how have you been? Hermione said she lost track of you at the quidditch game." Oh yeah, I didn't even talk to them about what happened…should I tell them? Would it just worry them?

"I've been good," Ron answered, "and yeah at the game I kinda got intercepted by Flitwick and was sent out of there."

"Oh," Hermione said confused, "so then it was definitely Snape, yeah?" It's not Snape…I mean well, at least I don't think it is.

"Did the fire you set on Snape's robe cause a disruption in the stands?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, kinda," Hermione answered, her eyes widening with realization, "so it could have distracted Quirrell and caused him to lose concentration on Harry!" There you go!

"C'mon Hermione, Quirrell?" Harry laughed, "he can hardly get a sentence out and you think he was up there jinxing me with a spell you have to be continuously talking for? Yeah it's definitely Snape."

"I know Snape's been a jerk to you Harry, but we have to look at the facts," Ron said. "We have to cover every basis, but don't worry I'll keep a close eye on Snape and learn all that I can."

"Sweet! Thanks Ron," Harry grinned, "we gotta get going but we'll see you around."

"That you will," Ron smiled, waving goodbye as the three walked off. I'm pretty confident it's not Snape, no matter how rude he acts to Harry and Neville. A screech interrupted Ron's thoughts as he looked up to the sky to see Arathorn soaring towards him, he lifted his arm and allowed the eagle to land on his arm, its talons slowly wrapping around his forearm.

"How are you doin buddy?" Ron asked, stroking the eagle's feathers. Arathorn let out a low pipe, nuzzling into Ron's hand. Why do you want to stay by me so much? A fish swam nearby in the lake and Arathorn's eyes quickly locked onto it.

"Oh I see…hey! How about this," Ron shot up to his feet and pulled out his wand, "Accio!" The fish came spiraling towards Ron, at the same time Ron threw his arm up and Arathorn went shooting into the sky. "Ventus Tria!" A strong jet of wind shot the fish straight in the air, Arathorn quickly saw and veered in the direction of the spiraling fish, with a quick and calculated dive the eagle caught the fish in between its talons and it safely landed next to Ron.

"Great job, Arathorn!" Ron was blown away, "that was fucking awesome!" Arathorn pushed out his chest as he flaunted his catch. "Eat up bro, you earned it," Arathorn happily indulged in his treat. Is it sad that the best friend I have is a bird? Merlin I'm a sad bastard. Ron leaned down and stroked the eagle's feathers as it finished its snack.

"What the…" a girl's voice said in shock. Ron quickly looked up and locked eyes with none other than Ms. Daphne Greengrass, who was staring at Ron, petting a massive eagle, like he was a psycho.

"What is that, Weasley?" Greengrass asked, her eyes wide with shock, "and what are you doing with it?" Why is she making it sound like I'm doing something weird?! Arathorn quickly faced Greengrass and started making his way towards her.

"Uh this is Arathorn, he's a harpy eagle," Ron said as he watched Greengrass quickly seize up around the big bird. Is she…? "Are you afraid of birds?" Ron couldn't help but chuckle as he watched her try her best to avoid Arathorn.

"I am not afraid of birds!" She huffed as she faced Ron, her face showing annoyance, "ahh!" Greengrass jumped as Arathorn took a peck at her shoe. Oh Merlin, thank you! I have been blessed!

Ron tried to stop himself but he couldn't help but break out laughing.

"Oh bloody hell! I can't hold it!" Ron laughed as Greengrass fled from Arathorn and hid behind him, "what makes you think I'll let you hide behind me?"

"I am lady," Greengrass pointed out, "it is your duty to protect me."

"From Arathorn? He's as harmless as they come," Ron smiled as he kneeled down to let Arathorn on his arm.

"You named that monster?!" Greengrass was acting like that was the worst thing that could possibly ever happen.

"Monster?" Ron stood up and faced his rather rude, fellow house member, "what's your problem Greengrass? Why are you so obsessed with being a hateful snob?" How does the rest of the group even stand her?

"I have no problem," Greengrass said as her gray eyes pierced Ron's blue ones, "you're the one who doesn't respect our ways or our traditions."

"Because your old traditions are stupid!" Ron yelled, his face now red with anger, "why do you have to be so obnoxious!"

"You're the obnoxious one," Greengrass countered, "all you ever do is act like you're better than us, you act like we are beneath you because of our families." Is she being serious right now?

"I don't act like I'm better than you." Ron stated, puffing his chest out in defiance. I think I'm officially done with Ms. Prissy over here.

"Oh, you don't?" Greengrass laughed, "you've got to be kidding me, you act like we are all little death eaters in training!" Greengrass was starting to lose some of her cool and Ron could tell.

"Well now that's just-"

"No!" Greengrass stopped Ron, "that's what you do, you come into our group," she stuck a finger in Ron's face, "you push your little agenda when you don't even know what we've all been through." Where the hell is this coming from?! Bloody hell!

"Oh, boo! Hoo!" Ron mocked, "did your daddy not buy you the one-hundredth pony you wanted?"

"You don't know anything Weasley!" Greengrass yelled, tears welling up in her eyes, "and you're trying to turn us all against each other."

"I'm not turning anyone against anyone Greengrass, I don't know where this is coming from but you need to calm down," Ron was really confused and all he could do was hope that she would calm down.

"Calm down?!" Oh fuck…I should've listened to dad… "you've turned Tracey against me!"

"I did…" Ron stopped as he inspected her face, "did something happen with you and Tracey?" Greengrass opened her mouth to retort but then stopped as she stared up at Ron.

"Why would you care, we're all just rich little brats to you, are we not?" Greengrass muttered, looking at the ground. Shit, have I really given off that vibe?

"Look Greengrass, I'm sorry if I ever you the idea that I think I'm better than you," Ron spoke quietly as he kneeled down so he could look up and see her face. "It's a little hard for me, adjusting to Slytherin and all, I'm sorry if that came off as me thinking I'm better than you." I don't think I'll ever understand girls… The blonde girl finally made eye contact with Ron and within that moment Ron could tell that they had come to a silent agreement. She was gonna start treating Ron like a human being and Ron was gonna start to take a peek on the life of his fellow Slytherins. She's not as bad as I thought she was, she definitely has some problems that she needs to work on. Greengrass sat down under a nearby tree and Ron sat down next to her.

He watched as she wiped her eyes and calmed herself down.

"Tracey and I got into a fight," she finally said, "she thinks that I might think low of her because she's half blood, which is completely ridiculous. I would never think low of her."

"And you've told her that?" Ron asked.

"Well…no, but she should know that I would never," she tried to explain to Ron what she meant but he couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh c'mon, Greengrass!" Ron laughed, "you gotta tell her that!" He got up and offered her his hand, "she's supposed to be your best friend, so your best friend duty today is to go and tell her how much you value her!"

"But what if-"

"No more excuses Daphne, it's time for you to do what's right." Ron smiled as he took her hand and pulled her up, "we both have things to work on, this is yours, you don't want Tracey thinking you hate her now, do you?" C'mon, you got this Daphne!

"No, you're right…" Daphne dusted off her skirt as she stood up straight, her eyes returning to their normal look of pride and confidence, "I'm gonna go find Tracey right now." Hell yeah!

"Good on you!" Ron smiled. Daphne nodded as she turned to walk towards the castle, "aren't you gonna say goodbye to Arathorn?" Ron joked.

"Very funny Weasley," Daphne said with a smile, "and don't think I didn't notice that you called me Daphne." Oh…shit! I didn't even notice.

"Well I don't know," Ron scratched his head, "I just guess I thought it kind of fit, y'know?"

"Whatever you say, Ron." Daphne smiled as she slowly got farther and farther away. Arathorn puffed out his chest as he screeched a deafening roar.


Daphne Greengrass POV

Tuesday, November 12th, 1991

(Hogwarts Library)

Daphne had checked almost everywhere she could think of in the school, Tracey had to be here. I'm almost gonna change my mind and just go to bed. She entered the library and scanned the tables for a head of brunette hair, she quickly caught sight of Tracey's wavy hair and made her way over to her.

"Tracey, can we please talk?" Daphne asked as she came to a stop in front of Tracey, "I hate fighting with you Trace."

"I know." Tracey said as she looked down at her lap. Daphne quickly sat down next to Tracey and took their hands in hers.

"You're my best friend Trace," Daphne said, looking Tracey in the eyes, "I would never think low of you or your parents, you mean way too much to me for me to ever do anything like that." Please Trace, just listen to what I'm saying.

"I…I know Daph," Tracey sighed, "it's just hard sometimes, all of you constantly make comments about people who aren't pure blood and you conveniently forget that I'm one of those people."

"I'm sorry we make you feel that way Trace, we have been incredibly insensitive to how you feel about blood status and your own status." Daphne took a hold of Tracey's hand, "I promise you though, none of us look down upon you, we would never look down on you, you're our friend Tracey."

I don't know what I'd do without you… "I spoke to Ron and he made me see how silly I've been."

"You spoke to Ron?" Tracey asked, looking up.

"Yes, we have to come to a sort of understanding," Daphne answered.

"Brilliant!" Tracey smiled as she Shot up from the table and put her arm around Daphne, "let's go see if the others wanna play a game." Huh?!


Severus Snape POV

Tuesday, November 12th, 1991

(Snape's Office)

Knock! Knock!

Severus looked up from the essays he was currently grading, it seemed the silence he so desperately yearned for would not come to him tonight. If Albus just let me strangle these kids…

He got up from his desk and made his way to his door. He opened it to reveal none other than Ronald Weasley.

"Mr. Weasley." Severus stood in the doorway staring down at the red headed boy, who was staring up at him with a jovial smile.

"May I come in sir?" Weasley asked.

"It is almost curfew, Mr. Weasley," Severus replied, visibly annoyed.

"I do actually need your help sir," Weasley started, his smile dropping, "something happened during the quidditch game, something or someone was in my mind." What? Severus stepped aside and quickly let the redhead into his office.

"Tell me everything." Severus said sternly.

"Okay well, uh…" the boy stopped for a second before nodding to himself, " so during the game Harry lost control of his broom in an abnormal way so I went to investigate. I walked around the stands trying to see if anyone was messing with Harry and his broom." Someone was jinxing Potter's broom…

"When I started to approach the professor's stands I suddenly kind of froze up." Hmmm… "I physically couldn't move, my whole body felt cold and my head started to ache and then out of nowhere a voice started berating me in my head, it showed me my own memories and berated me for them. Eventually it became too much for me to handle and something stopped the voice and I kind of collapsed into a nearby bush."

"Have you read up on the arts of the mind?" Severus asked Weasley as he walked to his personal book shelf and pulled out a tome.

"A little…I guess? Not much really," the boy answered, watching Severus intently.

"What you experienced on Saturday morning was a mind attack by a legilimens," Severus spoke as he flipped through the tome. "A wizard using legilimency can, if proficient enough, invade your mind and riffle through all of your memories and thoughts."

"Is that a common thing known amongst wizards and witches?" Weasley asked.

"No," Severus answered, sitting across from his student, "the mind arts are very difficult to learn and even more difficult to defend yourself against."

"So there is a way to defend your mind then," Weasley muttered to himself.

"Yes," Severus flipped to another page in the tome, "occlumency is the art of defending your mind from invaders, you will use it to put up shields and even put up fake memories and thoughts to confuse your mind's invader."

"Seriously?" Weasley eyes grew wide as he leaned forward, "would I be able to learn how to do that?"

"You would need help from someone who is mastered in the art of occlumency." Severus stated.

"Oh…," the redhead deflated at Severus' answer.

"Fortunately for you," Severus pushed the book towards Weasley, "I am well versed in the art of occlumency."

"Seriously?!" Weasley immediately brightened up, "I swear, what can't you do? Thank you so much sir, you won't regret this!" I already am.

"I want you to read through that tome, learn all you can from it while I get you started," Severus said, leaning back in his chair.

"Yes sir," Weasley responded quickly, "I will get right on it sir." Good. "So when will we start?"

"Close your eyes," Severus' voice commanded, Weasley quickly followed the instructions, "you have to be calm for this to work, you're going to have to let go of all of your emotions, you have to be empty so your mind can build its defenses." Be sure looks concentrated, he may be talented but occlumency is no first year tripe. "You have to learn to always have your mind guarded, some legilimens are so skilled that you won't even feel them enter your mind, you have to be better than those wizards, you have to be able to detect and defend against anything or anyone." Severus watched as Weasley breathed in and out, attempting to lose all emotions and hide them within his mind. A wizard's mind is their most important asset, it must be protected at all costs. The amount of worthless sacks of blood that choose to leave their minds vulnerable is unbelievable, they believe just because the dark lord is 'dead' that no one can threaten them.

"Focus Weasley, concentrate, forget everything but the moment, keep your mind a solitude object." I don't know if I want to go view Weasleys memories. He must learn though, if he plans on being anyone of vigor. Severus pulled out his wand and aimed it at the boy. "I am going to enter your mind, once you feel my presence try to force me out, force me to view memories I do not wish to see, keep me from seeing what I want." Legilimens. Severus delved deep into the youngest Weasley boy's mind, he quickly filed through memory after memory, searching for the boy's worst and most painful memory. He's struggling, he's doing better than I expected but he still has a long way to go, his shields are non-existent. He delved deeper until he reached his desired memory, he could feel the boy try to push him out but it was quite futile. The memory was easily unlocked and shown to Severus and Weasley. The two wizards watched as a dark lit room was shown.

Arthur Weasley walked into the room where his wife, Molly Weasley laid on a bed with a healer by her side. Arthur walked up to his wife who was holding a newborn baby who wasn't crying at all.

"Molly is everything alright?" Arthur asked, "I didn't hear any crying, just wanted to make sure everything was okay." Arthur quickly noticed how Molly had tears flowing down her face. "What's wrong Molly?!"

"Take him Arthur," she said sobbing, "it's a boy, they said it would be a girl…" she sobbed, she forced the baby into Arthur's hands. "I can't look at him Arthur, I just can't." The minute the newborn child was given to Arthur to be taken out of the room, it started to cry. Arthur didn't say one word as he took his sixth son out of the room.

Molly sent the healer away as she laid in bed and wept.

Severus quickly released the spell and lowered his wand. What did I just witness? Did his mother really practically throw him away when he was born? Severus looked at the young boy in front of him and the most baffling thing happened, he felt sympathy for the boy, he hadn't felt sympathy for anyone in almost 11 years. He watched how the boy was frozen still, his eyes wide, his mouth parted in confusion. This was the first that Ronald had learned of how his mother felt at his birth; he had no memory of the day but his mind and magical core did. I'm sorry Ronald…

"I…," Severus didn't know what to say, how could he apologize for this, this would change the boy's life forever. I didn't think something like this was plausible for the Weasleys.

"It's ok professor," Ronald spoke with a cool, heart wrenching tone. It was like he didn't know how to function anymore. "I wanted to learn, I still want to learn this. There were obvious risks going into this, you hold no blame for this professor." How could he say that? After what he just witnessed, he should be devastated beyond belief. Is he so used to being uncared for that he's able to keep pain like this inside himself? "If it's alright with you professor, I would like to go to bed now."

"You may," Severus answered.

"Then I shall see you in class tomorrow sir," Ronald stood up, grabbed the tome on mind arts and headed for the door, "have a good night sir." Severus watched as Ronald Weasley walked out of his office and he was utterly confused at himself, who was this boy? Why did he cause emotions in Severus Snape? Has it really almost been 11 years, Lily? Severus proceeded to stay seated in his office for the rest of the night, his mind set on one woman alone.


Thank you all for reading, I hope you have an amazing rest of your day! Thank you all so much for taking time to read my story, it truly means a lot. I will see you all next week and please review, I would really appreciate it, thanks! :))