Author Notes: Inspired by a re-watching of A View From the Gallery on B5. Not one of my more favorite episodes out of my least favorite season but still its B5 which makes it head and shoulders above much of sci-fi.
Mason Preston and Sebastian Lynch were two Hufflepuff students in the same year as Harry Potter at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. All they ever desired was to get an education and then join the working world. They were sitting in a compartment aboard the Hogwarts express heading for their sixth year after another normal summer for them..
"So how do you think Potter and his friends are going to cause chaos this year?" Mason was asking his friend.
Looking out the window Sebastian sighed deeply, "I have no idea. I'm going to put money on lovers quarrel between the three of them."
"Lover's quarrel? How do you figure that?"
"Well you see how she looks at Potter, while Weasley looks at her. It's gonna come to a head this year no doubt. Plus that thing they did at the Ministry. That brings people together." Sebastian said nodding sagely.
"Yeah well I doubt they'll have something as simple as that." Mason laughed leaning back in his seat.
Sebastian shrugged, "So what do you think?"
Mason leaned forward conspiratorially, "I bet we get attacked by Death Eaters in Hogsmeade."
"Shut your gob. Just don't, don't even talk like that." Sebastian exclaimed shaking his head. "Besides this'll be the year Malfoy finally goes off the deep end and goes after Potter."
"Yeah I saw Malfoy's dad got put in Azkaban. He's gonna want revenge for that." Mason declared.
They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Heather Mackenzie, a tall auburn haired Hufflepuff, entered to join them, "Hullo, what's the two of you on about?"
"We're just trying to figure out how Potter and his gang are going to try and get us killed this year." Mason stated with a frustrated sigh.
"Its not that bad." Heather dismissively scoffed.
"Oh really? Did you forget in first year the entire third floor corridor thing and the huge deadly Cerberus?" Mason asked with wide eyes.
"Or the troll in the castle that almost killed Potter's girlfriend?" Sebastian continued.
"I thought she was Weasley's girl and he was the Weasley sister's?" Heather asked.
"I dunno. I'm just going off the way she looks at him." Mason said.
"Well the Weasley girl brags to anyone who'll listen that she's gonna marry Potter. Really sick because she acts like a niffler going for gold over him." She said disgustingly. "Okay first year had a few bad things, I suppose."
"And they did kill Quirrel." Mason said.
"Because he had the spirit of you know who in the back of his head." Sebastian corrected him.
"That's what Potter claimed." Mason earnestly stated.
Sebastian stared at his friend, "You should write for the Daily Prophet with that kind of suspicion."
"Well second year was much worse I will admit even" Heather stated. Glaring at Mason for a moment.
"Yeah as a muggle-born you were going to be targeted, that sucked." Both boys agreed.
"I'm pretty glad they got that solved. And you have to admit it wasn't Potter's fault." Heather pointed out.
"Okay yeah it was the Weasley girl's so I'll give Potter that. Although I would've thought as smart as Granger was they would have figured it out sooner." Sebastian observed with a shrug.
"Well she was one of the people petrified so she does have an excuse." Heather pointed out.
"Okay but third year she was acting really weird. Even for that group." Mason said.
"I know I swear I ran into her twice in the same corridor." Sebastian agreed.
"She was doing something. I heard she figured out how to brew Poly-juice in only a week." Mason nodded eagerly.
"Well I still feel sorry for Professor Lupin." Heather said sympathetically to try and keep the boys from delving into crass rumors.
"A werewolf? Are you kidding me? We're lucky we're not all turned. He about ate Potter and his crew." Mason exclaimed horrified.
Sebastian scowled at him, "Werewolves do NOT eat people. My cousin is a werewolf and he's never actually eaten anyone."
"Gnawed on them at least?" Mason asked.
Sebastian growled in frustration, before admitting grudgingly, "Okay maybe gnawed a little. But he prefers wildlife as his girlfriend keeps teasing him about all the beaver he eats."
Mason nodded sagely, "Ahh I see."
Heather opened her mouth to say something, being a year older she knew more than them of course, then decided to close her mouth and let them figure it out on their own.
The three settled into a companionable silence for a few miles as Mason pulled a pair of containers out. One had these long fried potato looking sticks while the other contained a bright yellowish orange creamy sauce that had a pungent aroma when Mason opened it.
"What's that?" Heather asked intrigued.
"Its Jumja Root and Yamok Sauce. Some sort of Goblin food that the Lovegood girl brought to class one day. Its actually not too bad." Mason declared holding the containers out.
Sebastian tried some and gagged while Heather made appreciative noises and scooted a bit closer to more easily reach the containers.
"Lovegood. There's another one of that group that's an odd duck. How she got involved with them is a real mystery." Sebastian said with a confused scowl.
"I dunno. She's really not all that bad." Mason said appreciatively.
"No. Another one I'll tell you that was not all that bad was that French girl. She was very very not bad." Sebastian grinned appreciatively.
"Yeah but you see how creepy that Krum guy got over Granger?" Heather shivered, "He was playing her like a violin and she ate it right up. I bet she's not a virgin."
"Well since her other two boyfriends were having a lover's spat for most of the year." Mason snorted, then sneezed repeatedly as he had snorted some Yamok sauce. "She had to get some attention somehow." he finally managed to choke out.
"Yeah all because Weasley thought Potter put his name in. Even I don't think he is that crazy. Why would he go looking for more trouble when it keeps obligingly showing up for him?" Sebastian said sharply.
"Really. Whose bright idea was it to bring Dragons in? Nesting dragons. We could have all been killed if it had decided to have a crowd snack instead of chase after Potter. Crazy. Then we find out that insane Professor Moody was really a Death Eater. Fourth year was incredibly bad." Mason grunted out still trying to clear his sinus passages.
"Oh yeah what about last year with Umbridge? Her inquisitorial squad and those Gryffindors squared off any chance they got. Plus the Weasley twins, I'm surprised we actually had no one die last year with how bad it was." Heather said in amazement.
"Potter and his pals got injured again though. I heard that Weasley has scars on his arms now." Mason stated in his conspiratorial tone.
"Well they did face down a bunch of Death Eaters and you know who himself." Heather said.
"Maybe." Mason shrugged, "All I've heard is they broke into the Ministry and got into a big fight. Who knows what's true anymore. The Ministry said he wasn't back now they say he is back. I mean make up your minds guys. Its not like everyone's lives aren't at stake here."
Sebastian and Heather considered that for a minute then nodded in agreement. "The Ministry has really lost the Snitch." Sebastian agreed.
Mason considered, "Did you hear about the secret club they created last year?"
"I did. I almost joined but I had a run in with Parkinson that made me too scared to do so." Heather said glumly.
"Yeah I know. I talked to Susan and she couldn't tell me much. And then what happened to Edgecombe made me back off. That Granger girl is mental, really." Sebastian stated.
"Well I was told by a witness that she set fire to Snape in first year. While I've thought about it she actually did it." Mason told them. "She's really quick with the hexes."
"Pull the other one Mason." Heather said, "She's too much of a goody too shoes to do that."
"Yeah really? Okay sure." Mason said leaning back, snapping the Yamok sauce container closed on Heather's fingers.
"Okay. Back to this year. Who do you think is going to be the Defense professor this time?" Sebastian asked.
"And how are they going to try and kill Potter?" Mason laughed.
Sebastian raised his finger to contradict Mason then realized he was right and shrugged.
"Well I heard mum and dad talking to Professor Sprout in Diagon Alley this year and you won't believe it but we have Snape for Defense."
"Bloody hell. I think I'd rather go back to the Death Eater from fourth year." Sebastian said irritated.
"Well Snape's one too so its no different." Mason declared.
Sebastian sighed, "Maybe. At least that one taught us effective things. All Snape does is throw the instructions up on the board and then stalk around sneering at everyone."
"I wonder who we'll have for potions then." Mason pondered looking at Heather.
"Well Professor Sprout said someone named Slughorn had been convinced to come out of retirement by the Headmaster." she regaled with a grin.
"Never heard of him." Both boys said shaking their heads.
Heather slumped slightly, "Neither have I. I wonder if he's any good."
"Probably some doddering old fool as ancient as the headmaster and twice as barmy." Mason said with a derisive snort.
Sebastian had no answers and it was obvious Heather didn't either so they ignored his comment.
Lawrence Kroger dove into their compartment and crawled under the seat in sheer terror.
"What the bloody fookin ell Larry?" Mason hollered.
"SHHH! I'm not here!" Larry hissed back at him loudly.
"Mason was going to say more but he saw Ginny Weasley stalking the corridor glaring into each of the compartments, her face a contorted mask of rage. All three Hufflepuffs smiled nervously at her as she stared at them for a long moment then moved on like some predator that had decided they were not hungry after all.
"I take it back. She's the mental one of Potter's group." Mason said in a shallow voice.
"I think you can come out now. She went by already." Heather said looking under the seat between her legs.
"I'll stay here for the rest of the journey if you don't mind, after what she did to Zacharias. Oh my God man. I thought it was game over. It was horrible." Larry said in a tremulous shocked voice.
"What did she do?" Heather asked in awe at how terrified Larry was.
"Well Zach and some others we were trying to get her or Lovegood to tell us what really happened at the Ministry when I guess she got mad at him and whipped out her wand. I thought she was just going to stun him or do a stinging hex but no, no it was much, much worse, suddenly his nose just exploded as huge bats made out of blood and snot tore their way through his skin. They burst out of his nostrils and then they turned and started clawing and biting at his face. It was horrible. Just horrible." Larry shivered under the seat making Heather look back out of the window to make sure Ginny wasn't standing outside their compartment again. She hesitantly stood up and slid the lock slowly shut hoping it would not make too loud of a click.
"Bloody hell." Mason whispered reverently.
Sebastian cleared his throat, "Well Zacharias does have a tendency to go a bit too far."
"All he was doing was asking her if she really did fight at the Ministry since her brother has scars on his arms and Granger almost got killed." Larry said from under the bench.
"Where did he hear all of that?" Sebastian asked skeptically.
"His uncle is an auror and was one of the first on scene. They carried Granger out on a stretcher, Potter looked like a rag doll that an angry Wampus cat got hold of. Longbottom was bleeding out of his nose and looked shakey as hell. Even Lovegood got knocked around but Ginny ,she only got a sprained ankle. Supposedly its all in the official report." Larry stated.
Mason grunted in confirmation, "Ha. So how did her brother get the scars on his arms?"
"According to Zach he got attacked by something in the Department of Mysteries. The report was heavily redacted so his uncle said." Larry claimed curled in a ball.
"Are you going to come out of there?" Heather asked calmly.
"Only when I make sure she's not hunting me. I was standing right next to him. I, I, I made eye contact with her. Those cold dead brown eyes that have no emotions in them. Nothing but a thirst for the living souls of those who anger her." He dramatically hissed.
"Are you crying? There is no crying in Hogwarts." Sebastian said nudging Larry with his toes.
"She's going to come for me. I know it. She'll stalk me and then riip there goes my nose too. She'll get us all until we're nothing but noseless faceless creatures serving her." Larry's voice was a low quavering rasp.
Heather shrugged, "Well Larry has lost the capacity for rational thought so."
"I saw her use it on Malfoy last year. He had to have his face regrown." Mason said.
"Yeah I've heard her brothers bragging about how good she is and how that's her favorite spell." Larry confirmed from the floor.
"Okay so let's just make sure to humor Ginny Weasley so she doesn't literally rip our noses off."
"And that is why Potter and his gang are going to get us killed." Mason flatly declared. "They're all mental."
There was a knock at the door and the three not cowering on the floor spun to see who it was. Heather backing slightly so she almost wound up in Mason's lap.
Standing at the door placidly staring at them was Luna Lovegood. They recognized her, everyone in the school would recognize her. Not just because she was one of Potter's associates but from her own exploits and adventures around the school.
Heather stood up and opened the door slowly, making certain Luna was alone she smiled and asked, "Yes? Can we help you?"
"Possibly. Have you seen Ginny?" the blonde asked.
"Uh yeah she was moving towards the front of the train." Heather said.
"Oh good. Professor Slughorn had heard about her skill with hexing Zacharias Smith and was quite impressed. He had invited her to have lunch with him in his compartment." She said cheerfully.
"He was impressed with her ripping the nose off of our friend?" Mason exclaimed.
Luna looked past Heater at the brown haired boy with a puzzled expression, "True it is rather disturbing, however he is a Slytherin so it is not unexpected that he would admire someone committing a vicious act of violence for minimal provocation."
"You mean you understand she hurt Zach for no good reason?"
Luna sighed, "Yes her and her brother do have a nasty tendency to become quite violent when angered. I think they have a permanent nest of Infurnari in their brains."
The three Hufflepuffs glanced at each other before smiling politely at Luna, "So why are you still friends with her?"
"Because I do not know how to stop being friends with someone, as I have not had enough people who wanted to be my friends to ever choose not to be friends with them." She explained sedately.
"Oh right. Well uh. She went towards the front of the train." Sebastian repeated.
"Very well. Thank you." She said and turned, pausing briefly she turned back and said, "Oh Tell your friend under the seat that he should use a set of robes or a cloak for a pillow if he is going to sleep there." She then turned and left them, heading for the back part of the train.
"Now that was odd." Sebastian said shaking his head. He reached into his trunk to pull out a book.
"We are so dead this year." Mason said slumping in his seat. "If the new professor approves of ripping your nose off we are so dead.
Heather relocked the door then sat beside Mason, "Do you have any more of that Yamok sauce?"
"Yeah but I'm out of Jumja Root. We ate it all." he said.
"That's okay. It tasted pretty good by itself." She said.
"Really." Mason replied smiling.
Sebastian looked up from his book rolling his eyes as Harry Potter slunk by looking like he was heading for the Gallows. Sebastian's friends apparently had not observed it so he did not feel like remarking on it. Sebastian did wonder though what the year was going to be like. Maybe they wouldn't have it all that bad.
Review Responses:
rifannuari95 : Yes. Yes I did. Look at the story Little Talks.
TerryR32: Thanks.
Kimjo2: lol. Yeah Ron found his purpose in life. And yes guys will be guys. I'm not sure why Neville is always regarded as the biggest but it does seem to be traditional so I'll not argue. Anyhow glad you enjoyed.