AUTHOR'S NOTES: Second Year has officially begun! More action, more drama, higher stakes, and definitely more Golden Trio this year!
Please enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, and I do not intend to make any money off of this. Harry Potter is the intellectual property of J. K. Rowling , and I take no credit of it whatsoever.
I was also inspired by Demon Eyes Laharl's: THE RED KNIGHT! and also from Random-Fruitcake04's: CHOICES! I hope you check them out as well because they are genuinely very good stories.
Fate
Chapter 25 – Second Year
Ronald Weasley's POV
They were running towards Platform 93/4, and Ron was barely keeping up. Not only was the trolley too heavy, but he was also exhausted due to not sleeping well last night. Things in the Burrow weren't fun for Ron during all of yesterday… His siblings still kept their distance, except for Percy who had lectured him for an hour, and the adults were not too pleased with his angry behavior and were giving him frowns all day. Even Sirius was upset with his outburst! Ron himself had spent all of yesterday regretting his behavior and was constantly scolding himself. He had no idea why he had gotten so angry during their trip to Diagon Alley… He knew how his anger worked, but this was something new. This was too much, even for him… As a result of his regrets, he didn't even enjoy the fireworks display the twins had set off yesterday…
"C'mon, we'll miss the train" Harry called out, he was running right in front of Ron. Ron gritted his teeth and picked up his pace, his legs burning at the extra exertion. Why did Ginny have to forget her Diary?! We are so gonna miss the train! When they finally got to the barrier, Ron was up at the back with Harry and Sirius. Molly and Arthur took Ginny in first, followed by Pandora and Xenophilius leading Luna through. The rest of Ron's siblings ran through next, leaving Ron with Harry and Sirius. Remus Lupin wasn't with them due to coming down with an illness.
"C'mon, I'll lead" Sirius said as he grabbed the front of Harry's trolley. Sirius then led Harry towards the barrier, and Ron was hot on Harry's heels. We made it!
But they hadn't made it… Sirius slammed face first into the wall, and Ron heard a crunch. Harry rammed his trolley into Sirius' arse and Sirius smashed his face on the wall again. Ron smashed right into Harry's back and toppled over his own trolley, landing on the ground with a loud, painful thud. Harry also fell to the floor, holding his back and groaning. The three of them were… incapacitated…
"My fucking nose…" Sirius moaned as he covered his face, and blood leaked through his covering hands. Ron felt his ribs throbbing, and the right side of his face felt wet. Harry was just groaning and looking for his glasses.
"What happened?" asked a Muggle train-officer, he then winced at the sight of Sirius. What happened indeed…? Merlin, my fucking ribs…
"Lost control of the trolleys…" Sirius snarled at the Muggle, who went wide-eyed and backed off. Sirius then helped Harry up and found his godson's glasses, placing them gently on Harry's face. Sirius then helped Ron up, and dusted Ron's clothes. "Kid, you alright?"
"No…" Ron grit out, and then he heard Sirius take in a sharp breath. "What?"
"Pup, your head is bleeding…" Sirius said, turning Ron's head softly to look at the small gash on Ron's right temple. During this, Harry helped Hedwig and Helios who were hooting wildly due to their cages being toppled.
"Who cares?" Ron grit out. "The barrier Sirius! It closed! What do we do?!" Sirius turned to the barrier and frowned, his nose still bleeding. Sirius then looked around carefully, and then he took out his wand and tapped it on the wall. Sirius muttered some spell that Ron couldn't hear, and then Sirius took a step back and grit his teeth.
"Some bastard jinxed the fucking barrier before we crossed it" Sirius snarled, his face contorting in rage. "Finite Incantatem" Sirius said clearly as he pointed his wand at the barrier. Who would do something so stupid?! Sirius then approached the barrier and felt it, and his hand went through. "C'mon lads, move!" Harry and Ron quickly grabbed their trolleys and followed Sirius through.
The train was whistling loudly and was moments away from departing! Sirius grabbed the front of Harry's trolley and began running for the train! They made it in just in time, and Sirius all but pushed the two boys on. As Sirius threw Ron Helios' cage, the train started moving. All three of them laughed in triumph at making it, and Ron saw Sirius run towards the Weasleys and Lovegoods. Both families were horrified at Sirius's appearance, and then they looked to Harry and Ron who were standing in an entry way. Ron smiled sheepishly at Pandora and Molly, who both went pale and wide-eyed at his appearance. The train's speed picked up, and then his family was out of sight. Nice way to say goodbye…
"We made it!" Harry exclaimed with another triumphant laugh, and then he nudged Ron's right arm. "You're bleeding!" Harry gasped suddenly, and Ron felt his right temple with his gloved hand. When I find the tosser who sealed that barrier, I'm going to kick them in the head!
"Yeah…" Ron winced as he touched his cut. "Who do you think closed the barrier? And why the hell would they do that to us?" Harry looked as if he was thinking really hard, and then he frowned deeply.
"Dobby was hiding my letters…" Harry muttered. "He didn't want me to go to Hogwarts this year…"
"So a House-Elf blocked the barrier?" Ron asked.
"Maybe… what if the twins were right? What if he was acting on the orders of the Malfoys?!" Harry exclaimed, and Ron felt himself somewhat believing Harry. The Malfoys would do something like that… especially that little platinum haired twat… "Either way, we made it… I'm going to go find Neville and Hermione."
"Guess I'd better find my own friends" Ron said, and there was a short pause between the two boys. And then Harry chuckled and patted Ron on his right arm.
"I'll see you at Hogwarts, mate" Harry said with a smile, and Ron returned his smile. They both parted ways after that, and Ron made his way towards the Slytherin carriages. He ran into a few people on the way, and most of them went wide-eyed at his appearance. Ron ignored the whispers and smiled kindly at everyone along the way, enjoying the funny reactions he was getting. When finally got to the Slytherin carriages, he quickly saw Blaise looking out of a carriage. There he is!
"Hello" Ron greeted Blaise, and Blaise looked at him with a quizzical look.
"You're bleeding… you know that, right?" Blaise asked, just staring at Ron's wound.
"I am aware… now please move out of the way, this trunk is heavy" Ron replied, and Blaise walked back into the carriage. Ron entered the carriage with a smile aimed at his friends.
"There he…" Theo stopped as soon as he started. "What happened to your head?"
"Merlin, Ron!" Pansy exclaimed as she stood up and began examining his cut. Ow!
"Pansy… don't touch it…" Ron whined as he moved his head away from Pansy's hands. Ron then put Helios's cage on a vacant seat, and he put his trunk under the seat.
"What happened? Did you fall over again?" Daphne asked in a worried voice.
"Again?" Blaise piped in. "You've been falling over?" Ron was quite taken aback by all of this concern over such a little cut and he smiled internally, he had good friends.
"No, I haven't been falling over…" Ron said, and then he looked at Daphne who was frowning at him. "Although I did get this by falling over…" Ron then sat down in his seat next to Pansy and against the inner wall of the carriage. "Some bastard closed the barrier with a jinx of some sort, and I crashed into the solid wall… I barely made it on the train in time, if it wasn't for Sirius I'd be done for!"
"Language…" Daphne tutted, and Ron saw Tracey roll her eyes.
"Does anyone know healing magic?" Millie asked, looking at her friends. "We can use magic now that we're on the train." No one answered, and Millie sighed at that. "Here Ron, clean your cut with this" Millie said as she offered him a white handkerchief. Ron took it with a smile.
"Thanks Millie…" Ron said, and then he went to clean his wound but Pansy stopped him.
"Let me do that" Pansy said as she took the handkerchief from his hand. She then took out her wand and aimed it at handkerchief. "Aguamenti" Pansy chanted as she waved her wand in the shape of a horizontal 'S'. Light blue light emanated from the tip of her wand, and then clean water came out of the tip and soaked the handkerchief. "There…" Pansy said, and then she started cleaning the right side of Ron's face with soft strokes. That's a useful spell! Aguamenti… Aguamenti… Got to remember it. Aguamenti…
"That's a neat spell, how did you know that?" Theo asked.
"Mum showed me" Pansy replied, being careful to not rub Ron's cut. Ron had to admit that the cold, wet handkerchief felt good against his face. Ron relaxed and sighed in content.
"Is he purring?!" Tracey laughed, and Ron felt his ears burn.
"NO!" Ron denied, moving his head away from Pansy's hand. I'm not purring!
"Ron! Get back here, I'm almost done…" Pansy scolded, and then she reached over and kept cleaning his face. Everyone laughed at Ron's pout as Pansy cleaned his face like an annoyed mother.
A couple of hours had passed, and Ron was fast asleep. His exhaustion had caught up to him, and he had just drifted right off. But his sleep was disturbed when someone shook his leg, and Ron woke up with a grumble. He opened his eyes and he felt a soft shoulder on the right side of his head. Ron sat up and looked to Pansy who was smiling at him.
"Had a nice nap?" Pansy asked, and Ron realized that he had fallen on her while sleeping. Bloody hell…
"I'm sorry, Pans" Ron muttered while he rubbed his eyes to clear his vision. Pansy giggled at Ron.
"It's okay, you weren't too heavy" Pansy said in a playful tone, Ron gave her a smile and then he turned to the person who had woken him up. It was Blaise.
"What is it?" Ron asked him. I was having a great dream…
"I was heading out to get something from the trolley, come with me" Blaise said in an aloof voice. He woke me up for that… Why?! Ron frowned and got up, and both boys left the carriage to go look for the trolley. As soon as they exited the Slytherin carriages, Blaise guided Ron to a secluded corner.
"What?" Ron asked with widened eyes, they were way too close for this to be considered normal… I'm not into that, mate…
"I wanted to talk to you" Blaise said firmly. "I looked into your Parseltongue ability…" Ron's ears perked up at that. "And no Weasleys are related to, or have claimed to be related to Salazar Slytherin. You aren't one of his descendants."
"How do you know the Weasley family's heritage?" Ron asked, frowning at the thought of Blaise searching through his heritage like some stalker.
"It's all public record… You are part of the Sacred Twenty Eight, it isn't hard at all to find your family's records. And I found the family that was linked to Salazar, his true heirs… The House of Gaunt!" Blaise whispered excitedly, acting as if Ron should know about them.
"The House of Gaunt?" Ron asked with a furrowed brow.
"Another Sacred Twenty Eight family" Blaise explained. "Except the last of them died in Azkaban Prison, his name was Morfin Gaunt! And the other Gaunt was Merope Gaunt, his sister, and she also died… Which means the Gaunt Family is finished! So that leads me to believe that you have nothing to do with Salazar, or your family for that matter. Unless…" Blaise trailed off.
"Unless what?" Ron asked slowly.
"Unless one of your family members had an affair with a Gaunt at some point …" Blaise said, and Ron frowned deeply. "Don't give me that look, I was just speculating… I'm ninety-percent sure that you aren't a descendent of Salazar… which raises another question."
"Why can I talk to snakes?" Ron finished.
"Exactly…" Blaise sighed. "Are you the only one in your family who can? Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure…" Ron whispered. "My family is notorious for never being sorted into Slytherin… until I came along and ruined that. Not to mention our 'Blood-Traitor' status… This makes no sense! Are you sure about my family's records?"
"Positive, I checked the Weasleys and the Prewetts" Blaise said with a nod. "And yet, Parseltongue is a known hereditary ability… So why can you speak it?"
"I… I don't know…" Ron muttered, he was beginning to feel scared. What if I'm not a Weasley? NO! I have the red hair… But what if someone did have an affair with a Gaunt?! Someone from ages ago? Agh! There'd be more Parseltongues then! I'm the first Parseltongue in both sides of the Weasley family as far as I know…
"Don't worry, Ron" Blaise said reassuringly, which sounded so odd coming from him. "We'll figure this out, I'm sure of it."
"Why are you so eager to help me? Not that I mind…" Ron said softly.
"Because this is far too interesting to let go…" Blaise smirked. And there's the Blaise I know! "You're an actual Parseltongue! That's just… surreal…"
"Tell me about it…" Ron smiled softly, he was glad that Blaise was helping him. He didn't want to do this alone…
"One more thing…" Blaise started slowly. "I was thinking that we should… bring Theo into this…"
"What? Why?" Ron asked quickly, his paranoia waking up and taking control of his senses.
"Relax, Ron…" Blaise said as he put a hand on Ron's left shoulder. "I know that you're… secretive… But I think that Theo can help us greatly. I found all of my information in his father's library, and with Theo in this with us, we'd have complete access to said library. And Theo's father has some… shady people working for him, investigators and the sort. Theo can give us access to them as well… Not to mention that we share a dorm with him… he'll find out eventually." He does make a lot of sense… but I don't know…
"Just Theo? Not the girls?" Ron asked, trying to make sure that this didn't spread too far.
"Just Theo, I promise. We need him, believe me" Blaise said reassuringly. Ron nodded his consent, and Blaise smirked. "This is the right call, Ron. Now we just have to convince him…"
"That won't be hard… I just have to talk to a snake near him…" Ron provided with a sigh.
"Have you seen many snakes around Hogwarts, not counting the Slytherin banners?" Blaise frowned. No… no, I haven't… Guess we need to find a snake… "I'm just messing with you, I know a snake summoning spell. We can use that…"
"Snake summoning spell?" Ron asked with a furrowed brow.
"Well, well… I know a spell that the Slytherin Prodigy doesn't…" Blaise smirked, and Ron frowned at him.
"Shut up…" Ron said, trying not to smile. Blaise chuckled and then he made his way out of the corner.
"C'mon, we need to go find the trolley" Blaise said firmly. "I promised everyone that I'd get them their orders…" Ron nodded and followed after Blaise, he could use some sugar himself. As they made their way into the Hufflepuff carriages, they finally spotted the Trolley. Blaise and Ron casually strolled up to the trolley lady, and waited for their turn.
"Anything from the trolley, dears?" the lady asked sweetly.
"Yes, please" Blaise said in a pleasant voice, which surprised Ron. "Could I please get four pumpkin pastries, four licorice wands, five chocolate frogs, two boxes of Honeydukes Honeycomb, one box of Every Flavored beans, and two exploding bon-bons?" Ron was wide-eyed at the order, but he didn't say anything. How did he remember all of that?! I've already forgotten most of it…
"And you dear?" the trolley lady asked Ron.
"I'll grab two chocolate frogs and two licorice wands please" Ron replied with a polite smile. The trolley lady gathered up their order, and then she turned to the boys.
"Paying together, or separately?" she asked. Blaise clicked his tongue and looked to Ron with a 'sad' smile.
"Mate, I forgot my pouch… do you mind?" Blaise asked, his lips twitching into a smile. This bloody bastard…
"Together…" Ron grit out, frowning at a smiling Blaise.
"Aren't you a sweet friend!" the trolley lady cooed.
"He's the best" Blaise said with a grin, and Ron forced a smile as he payed the trolley lady. I'm gonna push Blaise off of this train…
"First year! Yer with me!" Hagrid's voice boomed as he led the first years towards the boats. Ron and his friends followed the rest of the returning students towards the 'enchanted carriages'. It was hard to navigate through so many students, but at least they didn't have to carry their luggage. Their luggage would be transported magically during the welcome feast. Ron talked with his friends about the welcoming feast while they waited for their turn to board a carriage. After five minutes of waiting, Ron and his friends were ushered forward by the Head-boy and Head-girl.
Ron and his friends approached the carriages, and Ron nearly yelped in fright at the sight of the creature that was to pull their carriage. It looked like a black horse, only it appeared to be fleshless. Its skin clung to its bones, and as a result, the creature appeared skeletal and haunting. Yet it had a dragon-like face, with white pupil-less eyes that were just hollow. Giant, leathery bat-like wings protruded from its sides. The creature appeared sinister, and other worldly… Ron shuddered at the sight of it.
"What's that?!" Tracey gasped in horror, clutching onto Daphne's arm. What is that?!
"What's what?" Pansy asked Tracey, looking at her wide-eyed friends with worry. "I don't see anything…"
"That! You don't see that?" Ron said, pointing to the demon horse. Pansy shook her head, and Ron was bewildered.
"It's a Thestral" Theo said calmly, he was the only one not shocked to see it. "It is a magical creature that can only be seen by those who have seen and understood death…" Death? What the hell…? Theo then walked to the back of the carriage and hopped on. Everyone followed after him, and Ron noted that it was a bit cramped in the carriage. Too many people…
"What do you mean by seen and understood death?" Pansy asked, looking thoroughly confused. "Why can you all see it but I can't?"
"We've all seen death, and you haven't" Theo said softly, he sounded a bit sad. Seen death? MY VISION! Wait… why can the others see it as well?
"Seen death?" Millie muttered, she was as pale as a ghost. "I don't recall seeing death…"
"The Mountain Troll…" Blaise said, and then he looked to Ron. "We were all there that night when Ron killed it… but Pansy wasn't with us at that time… That's why we can see it, but she can't." Ron and his friends went wide-eyed, except for Theo. Theo just sat there quietly, absorbed by his own thoughts. The Troll… Blaise is right, they were all there when I… killed it… The carriage began moving, and none of them said a word for a while.
"What was it like… the troll, I mean?" Pansy broke the silence. Ron saw his friends shudder, and his own stomach tightened. He remembered how happy he had felt in that moment… His face flushed with shame.
"It was horrible…" Tracey replied meekly. "Really horrible…" Daphne put her arm around Tracey and gave her a comforting squeeze. Ron remembered the charred face, the scattered teeth, and the pool of blood… he shuddered himself.
The rest of the carriage ride went by in silence, and Ron felt an eerie sense of foreboding. He didn't know why, but with Dobby's warning, this Thestral creature, his Parseltongue, and not to mention his apprehension at seeing Dumbledore again; Ron felt as if this year was going to be far more perilous than last year… And he hated this sense of foreboding. What kind of school makes someone feel like this? Is it just me? The rest of them are eager to go back… but me… I'm worried more than ever! Not to mention this upcoming war… Ron's stomach felt heavy, and he broke into a sweat. He spent the rest of the ride to Hogwarts in a state of mild panic and anxiety.
Ron sat on the Slytherin table with his friends, and he listened to the loud chatter from all of the students. The excitement of the students in the Great Hall was easing his own worries, and he was beginning to calm down. Even his friends had moved past their somber moods, and were talking to each other animatedly. Ron also shot a long look at the Sorting Hat, and he smiled widely at it. He was going to try and speak to his magical ally as soon as he could. The Hat could have answers to his Parseltongue ability, and Ron felt excited to try this new lead.
"Silence" Professor McGonagall said in a booming voice, and then she tapped her wine glass with her wand. It made a loud chiming sound, and all the students went silent. "The sorting ceremony is about to begin, you are all to remain silent throughout it!" With that, McGonagall moved quickly and left the Great Hall. After a minute or so, the new first years came striding in after McGonagall. Most of them looked nervous and scared, but not Ron's sisters. Ron smiled at Ginny and Luna widely, but they didn't see him. Ginny was marching with a confident and defiant stride, while Luna was just smiling airily at the enchanted ceiling.
"There they are…" Tracey whispered, pointing to Ron's sisters. "Luna is so adorable!"
"I don't think I've met them properly…" Pansy whined, and then she frowned at Ron.
"Well, you have all year now" Theo chuckled, he still looked a bit out of it. Seeing that 'Thestral' really got to him… The first years stood in front of the Sorting Hat, which sat on its stool and was observing them all. This is it! The Sorting Hat broke into a long song about the four-founders and their houses, and Ron remembered that he had missed this in his first year. He had been… occupied… with his own thoughts at the time. The Sorting Hat then began sorting the students as McGonagall called them forward in alphabetical order, and Ron just ignored the other first years. He was waiting for Luna and Ginny's sorting eagerly, even if he knew the result already.
"Luna Lovegood!" McGonagall called, and Ron sat up in his seat with a massive smile. Luna skipped to the Hat and sat down on the stool with an airy smile. McGonagall lowered the Hat onto her head, and Ron could see that the two were conversing.
"Better be…" the Hat spoke after a few seconds. "RAVENCLAW!" The Ravenclaws burst into cheers and Ron clapped loudly, a massive grin on his face. A grin that faltered a bit when he remembered that she was being bullied in his vision… Not this time! Not with me around! Ron's friends cheered for Luna as well, and the chuckled at Ron's enthusiastic clapping.
And then it was finally Ginny's turn, and Ginny took a seat on the stool with a determined look. The sorting then proceeded, and it took longer than Ron had expected. Ginny and the Hat seemed to be having a discussion, and judging from Ginny's frown, it was not going well for her. Ron looked to his brothers, who looked at him as well, and then Ron turned back to Ginny. What is going on? Don't tell me the Hat is trying to sort her into Slytherin as well! Ginny's head turned in Ron's direction, and Ron just watched with a furrowed brow. Don't do it, you bastard! Don't send her here! She'll have to put up with all the shite I have to!
"Better be…" the Hat said after a minute, Ron held his breath. "GRYFFINDOR!" Ron let out his breath and almost passed out from relief. He looked to Ginny with a smile, but she didn't seem too happy. She left for the cheering Gryffindor table with a pout, like she had been denied something she wanted. Don't tell me she wanted to be in Slytherin... As Ginny sat down, she shot a sorry look at Ron. Ron smiled widely at her and waved, and she was taken aback. But she slowly smiled at him and waved back.
"Welcome, welcome" Dumbledore said after the sorting ceremony had finished. "To another wonderful year at Hogwarts! I hope you are all pleased to be reunited with your friends, and also pleased to fill your heads with more knowledge. Even I find myself learning something new every year, despite my old age!" Dumbledore chuckled at his own joke, while the students just grunted. "But I can see that you are all too hungry to listen to this old man's address, so I will give out the usual warnings… The Forbidden Forest is strictly off-limits to all students! Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to inform you all of the notices he has posted outside his office. Please take your time in reading them, they are important if you wish to not find yourself in detention!"
"Now" Dumbledore continued. "I would like to introduce you all to your new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Gilderoy Lockhart!" Lockhart stood up pompously at that, and he gave an exaggerated bow. Ron noted that Lockhart was wearing expensive lilac colored robes, and that his smile was taking up most of his face. Ron also noted the blank look on the face of Severus Snape, arguably Ron's favorite teacher. There were loud murmurs and sighs from the female student body, and Ron frowned when he heard his four female friends giggling to each other. Lockhart was about to speak but Dumbledore cut him off.
"Now on to the… feast!" Dumbledore said with a clap, and food appeared on the table. Lockhart seemed put off at that, and he sat back down with a forced smile. Snape smirked to himself, as did Ron and most of the male student body.
Ron and his friends started eating, and Ron made sure to exercise etiquette. Theo nodded approvingly at him, and Ron rolled his eyes. If he nods at me like that again during meal-time, I'm going to smack him one… They all ate and talked about their classes, and Ron frowned when the girls started prattling on about Lockhart and his 'amazing' skills. Ron shot his two best friends quick looks, and they were equally irritated.
"Well, I think he's a git" Ron said casually, and he was shocked to see the girls frown deeply at him.
"I agree with Ron" Theo backed Ron up, and Ron smirked at the weedy boy.
"Same… He is all talk, I can tell" Blaise joined in. The girls looked scandalized at that.
"No, he isn't" Pansy argued.
"He is a member of the Dark Force Defense League!" Daphne exclaimed, losing her composure. Ron and the two boys were shocked at that.
"Honorary member…" Theo scoffed. "Means he wasn't good enough to make the cut…"
"You're not good enough to make the cut…" Tracey shot back lamely, and the boys gave her confused looks.
"Was that an insult?" Theo chuckled, and then he winced in pain. "She kicked me in the damn shin…" Theo grit out, reaching down and rubbing his shin.
"You'll see!" Millie jumped in, cutting Blaise off before he could speak. "This year, we'll actually learn something for once!"
"Yeah…" Blaise said sarcastically, and then he turned to Ron. "How's it feel to have your favorite subject butchered again by some incompetent?" Ron and Theo laughed at that, while the girls began fuming with annoyance.
"It feels…" Ron started but then he winced in pain as well, Daphne had landed a strong kick to his left shin. "Bloody hell… who did that?" Ron asked, and then Daphne huffed in indignation.
"Let's ignore these three, girls" Daphne said haughtily. "They're clearly just jealous…" JEALOUS?! OF LOCKHART?! Piss on that! The girls started talking to themselves, while the boys began making fun of Lockhart amongst themselves. Every now and then, one of the girls would shoot a death glare at the boys. Death glares that the boys ignored, or smirked at.
"All of you will wait here" Carey Ductu said, her voice was firm and authoritative. "Once our Head of House is done speaking with the first years, you will all enter and be addressed by the new Silver Triumvirate." Ron felt his excitement grow at the prospect of meeting the new Silver Triumvirate, and he couldn't help but think of Victor. I wonder if he is doing well out there… I still can't believe I won us the House Cup in the end… Ron looked around and saw the same excitement being displayed by all of the second years. All of them, except Draco Malfoy. Malfoy looked thoroughly put off at the prospect of meeting them, and Ron couldn't blame him. The git was banished from the Triumvirate! Thank you Victor, wherever you are!
Ron also noticed many of the older students giving him smiles and nods, which he happily returned. It turned out that they were extremely grateful towards him for saving the House Cup, and weren't at all bothered by his father's new law. Don't trust their smiles and nods, Weasley… Remember what happened after Pettigrew got the Kiss. They all waited for another ten minutes, and then a fifth year prefect came out and spoke to Carey in a whisper.
"Professor Snape is finished, and the first years have been sent to their dorms" Carey announced. "Everyone, follow me" Carey ordered, and then she marched into Slytherin common room. Once they were all inside, they organized into their respective year-levels. Then three seventh year students emerged from the back and stood in front of all of the Slytherins. Guess they're the Triumvirate! Ron noticed that all three were boys, and one of them was the Irish bloke that Ron had made a joined bet with.
"Evening everyone" the Irish seventh year said with a smile. "My name is Samuel Byrne! This is Bloise McCarty, and this is Fabian Cunningham!" Samuel pointed to his left and right respectively. "We are your new Triumvirate…" Samuel stopped abruptly, and his gaze fell on Malfoy. "You…" Samuel pointed to Malfoy, who went wide-eyed. "Get out, you aren't welcome here. Your dorm is picked out, go and find it…" The room went quiet, and even Ron felt bad for Malfoy.
"What do you mean by 'I am not welcome'?" Malfoy shot back indignantly. "I am the heir of…" Malfoy was cut off by Fabian Cunningham.
"We don't care who you are…" Fabian said while rolling his eyes. "You were stamped with the 'Relegatio' seal by the previous Triumvirate, you are not welcome here. Leave at once, or we will have you escorted." Malfoy went red in the face, and actually shook from rage.
"Draco…" came the cold voice of Severus Snape, and everyone turned to the Head of House. "Go…" Snape ordered, and then he pointed his finger at the entrance of the boys' dorms. Malfoy looked to his Godfather in disbelief, and then he looked to Ron. The anger on Malfoy's face actually scared Ron a little, and Ron just stared back with a blank expression. This is really bloody harsh… Couldn't they just tell him beforehand? Malfoy then marched off, pushing people out of his way. Crabbe and Goyle made to follow him, but they were stopped by Pansy.
"Now" Samuel addressed everyone again, his voice was merry and it irked Ron. "We just wanted to reveal ourselves, and let you know of a few things. Each year has a quota of two-hundred and fifty house points that they must meet! Loss of points is… unavoidable, but we will not tolerate it! If you lose points, then you'd better earn them back as fast as you can! We want to make this our eighth win in a row, so keep that in mind when you plan to do something stupid…" Snape coughed at that and narrowed his eyes at Samuel. "Sorry… But yeah, that's all from us. You may leave for your dorms or… whatever…" Samuel and the other three then walked off, and Ron was… underwhelmed. He was expecting some secret society sort of thing… not this… What a letdown! Victor was so mysterious and scary… these three are clowns compared to him! Ugh… Ron looked to his friends, and they were equally disappointed. Crabbe and Goyle then ran off to find Malfoy while Ron and his friends went to their usual spot.
"That was…" Ron started but trailed off.
"Pathetic, boring, underwhelming… I could go on" Theo sighed. "That's the Triumvirate? Where's the authority and mystique?"
"Mr. Weasley…" came Snape's voice from behind them, and they all turned to the Potions Master. He was terrifying as always… "Come with me, now" Snape ordered, and then he turned around and billowed away. Um… what's this? Ron shot his friends a worried look and then he marched after Snape. As they got out of the common room, Ron caught up to the man.
"Sir, is everything alright?" Ron asked as he followed after Snape.
"Everything is fine, the Headmaster wishes to see you" Snape explained. "How… how are you feeling?" Snape asked, his voice sounded a little forced.
"I'm… better…" Ron replied, he didn't want to talk about his injuries. "I've recovered, and I'm ready to get back to school" Ron said more firmly. Snape looked down at Ron and gave him a curt nod, they didn't stop moving. They walked the rest of the trip in silence, but it wasn't an awkward silence. It felt… natural and calming. Though Ron had to admit that he was worried about meeting with Dumbledore again, every time they spoke it felt like an interrogation. Probably because it is… They eventually passed the stone gargoyle and Snape knocked on the door.
"Come in" came the Headmaster's voice. Snape opened the door and walked in, Ron followed after him. "Ah, Ronald" Dumbledore said with a smile. "Please, take a seat." Ron did as he was told, and then Dumbledore offered him a lemon-drop. Ron took it with a smile and popped it into his mouth.
"Thank you, Headmaster" Ron said politely, and Dumbledore smiled more widely at him. His eyes are twinkling again…
"I should be thanking you, Ronald" Dumbledore chuckled. "No one ever takes one of my lemon-drops…"
"I don't see why not, they are delicious" Ron said, feeling calmer all of a sudden. That's weird… I feel… soothed…
"See, Severus" Dumbledore chuckled, while Snape frowned at Ron's casualness. "How are you, Ronald?"
"I am fine, Headmaster" Ron said politely, though he was getting tired of that question. "I've recovered, and I'm ready for another year at Hogwarts." Dumbledore's smile turned a little sad.
"That is good to hear" Dumbledore said with a nod. "I am glad to see that you didn't tell the world about Voldemort…" Ron flinched at the name. Why would he say that?! And so casually as well?! A sense of calm came over him again…
"Yes... I didn't want there to be a panic…" Ron said softly, thinking about Lord Greengrass' words. Dumbledore smiled in approval.
"Thank you for that" Dumbledore said softly. "I promise you, we are doing everything we can to find him." Ron felt relief at the sound of that, maybe Dumbledore did have the best of intentions. "Is there anything that you'd like to ask me, Ronald?" Ron was taken by surprise at the question. What does he mean by that? Ron thought hard on what he wanted to ask Dumbledore, and he came up with only one question.
"What will you do when you find him?" Ron asked Dumbledore, and Dumbledore sighed a little.
"We will… we will try and destroy him, Ronald" Dumbledore replied softly, unsure if he should be telling a twelve year old boy about this.
"Good" Ron said curtly, taking both men by surprise. "That's all I wanted to know… Am I dismissed? I'm awfully tired from the long trip, Headmaster." If the Dark Lord dies… then there won't be a war! Fred will be safe!
"Yes, you are dismissed" Dumbledore said kindly. "Goodnight, Ronald. I hope we can talk again soon." Ron nodded and stood up, and then Snape guided him out of the room. Right before they left, Ron shot a look towards the Sorting Hat. I need to talk to it tonight!
Ron walked back into the common room and noticed that his friends weren't there anymore. Probably went to their dorms… Ron then headed towards the second years' dorms, and he was glad to see that he would sharing the dorm with Theo and Blaise again. He entered his new room, and was immediately surrounded.
"What did Snape want?" Theo questioned him.
"You already did something wrong, didn't you?" Blaise accused.
"Woah! Ease up…" Ron said with a frown. "I didn't do anything wrong, Dumbledore just wanted to see me. To make sure that I was… fine…" Ron finished lamely.
"Oh…" Theo muttered. Yeah… Oh…
"I'm going to go take a shower" Ron said, and then he moved to his trunk and got out his pajamas. Long sleeved… Thank Merlin for that… Ron then entered the bathroom and locked the door behind him. He then walked into the shower and turned it on, but he didn't start his shower. Instead he called out to the Hat. "Sorting Hat, if you can hear me, come to me…"
"Dear boy! It is good to see you once again!" came the Hat's voice from behind him. Ron turned around and smiled at his ancient ally.
"Sorting Hat… It is good to see you again" Ron greeted the Hat, and then he placed the Hat on his head.
"Hmmm… odd…" the Hat said softly. "Very odd… and curious!"
"What's odd?" Ron asked, feeling a little worried.
"It's… nothing. Your mind just feels a little… different… It doesn't matter! Let's have a look, shall we?" the Sorting Hat said, and then it went through Ron's latest memories. "Helga's mercy, Ronald… you poor, poor boy… I am so sorry…"
"It's alright, Hat" Ron replied. "I have recovered my health..."
"I warned Albus… that fool! I warned him not to keep the stone in the school… Let me see your scars, dear boy…" Ron sighed and did as he was told, it was just easier to show the Hat. Probably because it wasn't a person… "My word… The Entity did this, didn't it?"
"I think so…" Ron replied slowly. "When you-know-who attacked me, I felt the same way I did back in that room with the Mirror of Erised… Like cold tendrils were grabbing me, and then… Then I felt them break my bones…" Ron shuddered and put his sleeves back down.
"You are right, I think" the Hat said in a sagely voice. "I too felt its presence in your memory of that night… Hmmm…." The Hat perused through all of his memories now. "My, my… Parseltongue! How is that possible, my boy?!"
"I was hoping you could tell me…" Ron muttered, feeling disappointed at the fact that the Hat didn't have the answers.
"This is… shocking, to say the least. You've never attempted to talk to snakes before, and now you can? Care to explain?"
"A vision showed me that I could… I tried it, and it bloody worked! Am I… Am I related to Salazar?"
"No… I have sorted every Weasley and Prewett since the days of the Founders! And none of them held any relation to Salazar, so you are not one of his descendants…"
"Then why can I speak in Parseltongue?!"
"I…" the Hat started, but then it gasped loudly.
"What?! What happened?!" Ron asked in a panic.
"I cannot tell you…" the Hat said, its voice sounded strained. Almost as if it was fighting against something…
"Excuse me? What do you mean that 'you cannot tell me'?"
"It would mean revealing another student's private memories and thoughts, and I am magically restricted… A safe-guard created by the Founders, my creators… It forbids me from revealing anything about the students unless I believe they are in danger… Forgive me, Ronald. I cannot tell you, though I desperately wish that I could!"
"Bloody hell… why can't things just be simple for once in this damn school?!" Ron sighed, trying to calm himself down. "So I'm not in any danger? And neither is this 'student', the one you can't tell me about?"
"No, you two aren't… I'm sorry that I cannot offer you any help on this, my boy…"
"It's alright, Hat. I'm just glad that I got to talk to you again… And I'm glad that you didn't sort Ginny into Slytherin, I was worried for a second that you would…"
"She is a Gryffindor at heart, much like yourself! Though I must admit, I am pleasantly surprised at your progress… In just one year, you have learned much from your peers and made strong connections! Well done, Ronald… well done indeed!"
"Thanks Hat, you were right… Slytherin isn't so bad… I've made good friends here, friends that have my back."
"Fraternity, Ronald. It is one of Slytherin's best traits, in my opinion at least…"
"At least? Shouldn't your opinion be the only opinion that counts? You're the Sorting Hat! You were made by the Founders themselves!"
"Oh dear boy" the Hat chuckled. "If only others shared your wisdom!" the Hat said, and then it laughed loudly on top of his head.
"Are you making fun of me?" Ron asked with a frown.
"Of course not, goodnight Ronald! I hope we can speak again soon!" the Hat said, and then it disappeared. Barmy old thing… Ron smiled to himself, and then he took off his clothes and had a shower. After that, he dressed in his pajamas and wore his leather glove over his right hand. He then put on his rings on his left hand, and exited the bathroom.
"Why were you laughing in there?" Blaise asked in an aloof voice, and then he looked at Ron's attire. "Why are you still wearing only one glove?" Theo perked up at that, and he looked at Ron's right hand.
"So I'm not the only one who finds that weird?" Theo chuckled, and Ron frowned at them. Bloody hell… I should just show them, they're bound to see it eventually… But why is it so hard? C'mon Ron… just do it! They live in the same room as you! No matter what you do, they'll see it soon enough anyway… Ron slowly took off his glove and presented his hand to his two best mates. Theo stopped chuckling abruptly, and Blaise took in a sharp breath.
"What… happened?" Blaise muttered, looking at Ron's scarred hand with utter shock.
"The Dark Lord…" Ron muttered, his face felt hot with shame and he shuffled his feet. "When he attacked me… it left scars…" There was a short pause between them.
"Scars? As in… more than one?" Theo whispered, his mouth hanging open slightly. Ron took in a deep breath, and then he showed them both his right forearm.
"Fucking hell…" Blaise said as he took a step back from shock. Ron immediately covered his scarred arm up, and his eyes began to sting. I'm a freak… "Sorry mate… you just… took me off-guard" Blaise muttered, feeling guilty about his strong reaction. Ron's scars were horrifying to look at, they looked like snake tracks winding upwards…
"It's fine…" Ron said meekly, he made sure to look at the ground. He didn't want to see their disgusted faces…
"Is it just your right arm?" Theo asked slowly, his voice a little shaky. Ron shook his head and then he sniffled, doing his best to keep his composure. I'm not going to cry! I won't give the Entity that satisfaction!
"I have scars like that all over my body…" Ron said in a whisper. None of them said a word after that, not for a few minutes at least. Ron eventually decided to put on his glove and go about preparing his bed, but his best mates were just rooted in their spots. They were no doubt trying to process this…
"Don't tell the girls…" Ron said, and the both of them just nodded.
"I'm sorry, Ron…" Theo apologized. "I shouldn't have made jokes about your glove…"
"You didn't know" Ron provided with a faint smile. "Just forget it, please…" Theo nodded at that, but Ron could tell that Theo wasn't going to forget this. Ron then closed the curtains to his bed, and went to sleep. He didn't know what else to do…
Ron woke up early in the morning, and he quickly hopped out of his bed. He opened his trunk and got his running gear out, and he smiled at it contently. Finally! Mum isn't here to stop me now! Ron took his running gear into the bathroom, and was about to change, but he instead frowned when he realized that his running gear consisted of a t-shirt and shorts… Bloody hell! How did I forget something so basic?! Discouraged, Ron stepped out of the bathroom with a deep scowl.
"You're awake…" Blaise said, and Ron looked at him sitting on his bed. Blaise was wearing his pajamas, which consisted of a black t-shirt and pajama pants. Merlin I miss wearing t-shirts… It gets so hot under jumpers!
"Yeah, I wanted to go for a run" Ron said, trying not to make things awkward. "But I just realized that I can't…"
"Why not?" Blaise frowned. "Theo and I were looking forward to going for a run with you."
"My running gear shows my arms and legs…" Ron sighed. This day is already turning rotten! With my luck, I'll get a class with Lockhart today… Blaise looked at Ron with confusion for a second, but then he realized what Ron meant.
"Oh… Sorry to hear that…" Blaise said, his voice sounding forced. Merlin… Showing them was a bad idea… "I reckon we should still go out to the lake… We can tell Theo about your Parseltongue ability, and show him proof." Ron thought about it for a few seconds, and then he nodded.
"The lake does sound nice…" Ron mused. "And the sooner we tell him the better, let's wake him up." Blaise got off of his bed and walked up to Theo's, shaking the weedy boy until he woke up.
"What? Are we going for a run?" Theo asked as he sat up, rubbing his eyes.
"No, but we are going to the lake" Blaise informed Theo. "C'mon get ready…" All three boys then changed into their school uniforms and headed out to the lake, Theo asked questions the entire way there but Ron and Blaise told him to just wait. When they finally reached the lake, Ron took in a deep breath. It was a cold morning, and Ron smiled at the sight of the lake. He loved this place.
"Can you two stop being so secretive?" Theo asked with a frown. "What are we doing here? And why aren't we going for a run?"
"My running gear shows my arms and legs" Ron finally answered, and Theo just blinked at him.
"Oh…" Theo muttered.
"Also we have something important to tell you" Blaise said seriously, and then he faced Ron. "Ron?" Ron sighed and nodded.
"I'm a Parseltongue…" Ron told Theo with a straight face, and Theo just blinked at Ron again.
"Pardon?" Theo asked with a confused look. Yeah… I wouldn't believe me either….
"Ron is a Parseltongue, Theo" Blaise joined in. "It's true… I saw him talking to that python back at the Muggle Zoo…" Theo stared at the two, and then he began sniggering. Ron and Blaise both frowned.
"A Parseltongue? Good one…" Theo sniggered. "You two are mental! Did you seriously drag me out here to play some sort of joke? That's a fair effort!" Ron and Blaise looked at each other, both of them frowning due to Theo's sniggering.
"He needs proof…" Blaise said, and then he aimed his wand away from his friends. "Serpensortia!" Blaise chanted, the end of Blaise's wand exploded with white light. And through the white light came out a large black snake that landed heavily onto the ground, the snake's head rose up and it looked ready to strike.
"Merlin Blaise!" Theo yelled as he took a few steps back, even Ron was surprised. "What do you think you're doing, summoning that thing?!" Blaise just looked to Ron and nodded. Here goes nothing… Ron took a few slow steps towards the snake, the snake also faced Ron and hissed.
"My target?" the snake hissed, it sounded male. "Come closer, yes… Come to me…"
"I'm a friend" Ron hissed back, and the snake was shocked to hear this. Ron missed Theo going pale as a ghost, and even Blaise shuddered.
"You speak in the noblest of tongues?" the snake hissed. "How is this possible? You are not one of us…"
"I don't have the answers as to why I can speak in 'the noblest of tongues'…" Ron hissed, hoping to Merlin that the snake didn't attack him. "But you are not the first snake that I have spoken too."
"Is that so? I am the most beautiful though, am I not?" the snake hissed, sounding rather pleased. "Tell me, boy? Am I the most beautiful of my kind that you have spoken to?" What? What kind of question is that?
"You are" Ron lied, he didn't want to anger this vain serpent. "What is your name?"
"They call me Sarravirr, the dark one…" the snake hissed proudly. "And you?"
"They call me Ronald" Ron hissed, and the snake bowed its head. Ron did the same, thinking that it was part of snake culture… Do snakes have culture?
"Vipera Evanesca" Blaise chanted as he aimed his wand at the snake. The snake vanished in a puff of black smoke, and Ron was startled.
"What did you do?!" Ron asked in horror. "Did you kill it?!"
"Relax…" Blaise said, he looked out of sorts. "I just sent it back to wherever I conjured it from…" Bloody hell… Thank Merlin…
"I need to sit down…" Theo muttered, he was as pale as a ghost. Ron and Blaise looked at Theo, both of them understanding of Theo's shock. "How?" Theo managed to ask. Ron and Blaise then spent the next half-an-hour catching Theo up, and by the end of it, Theo had relaxed considerably.
"That explains why you kept sneaking around my father's library…" Theo said to Blaise, and then he turned to Ron. "Are you sure you want to hide this from the girls? When they find out, they'll be pissed…"
"I agree with, Theo" Blaise said firmly. "The more help we can get, the better… Stop being stubborn about this, Ron." How do I tell them that I'm trying to dodge that mental vision I saw?!
"For now… let's just keep this quiet, please…" Ron pleaded, both Theo and Blaise frowned. "I'll tell them, I promise… Just give me time to process this myself, all right?"
"Fine…" Blaise sighed, and then he looked to the castle. "We should head back inside, it's almost time for breakfast."
Ron groaned to himself as he read his class timetable, and he cursed his own luck. A double of Transfiguration, and then a double of D.A.D.A… A double of Lockhart on the first day! Ron frowned as he heard the girls giggling to each other, but he was happy to see that Theo and Blaise were as annoyed as he was. At least I know everything we will be covering… Percy's notes said that he had to transfigure a beetle into a coat button in the first class of Transfiguration. I can do that… And in D.A.D.A, we should be going over the disarming charm.
They all made their way towards the Transfiguration class room, and the girls were still ignoring the boys. Ron didn't care though, he was preparing himself for the first class of the year. He wanted to start earning house points, and he wasn't going to be outdone by Hermione. But it turned out that the Slytherins would be sharing this class with the Ravenclaws instead. Ron relaxed a bit at that, and he waited eagerly for the class to start. McGonagall then came out and let the students inside, telling them to take their seats.
The first half of the lesson was just revisiting theories of Transfiguration, and Ron managed to earn fifteen points for Slytherin. Unfortunately, the Ravenclaws earned a total of thirty… Padma Patil was competing with him just like Hermione would, and Ron looked to his friends for help. His friends looked bored with the class, and Blaise just shrugged at him. Useless… Guess it's up to me! But then, something unexpected happened. Draco Malfoy came to Ron's aid…
Malfoy answered every question that the Ravenclaws couldn't, and he earned twenty points in just ten minutes. Ron was shocked… and so were Ron's friends. Ron didn't even know what to make of this, and so he just went with it. Both of them did their best to outdo the other, but in the end it was Malfoy who earned more points than Ron. He flashed Ron a triumphant smirk, he had earned thirty points for Slytherin while Ron had only managed twenty. Professor McGonagall was awestruck as well, she hadn't seen Mr. Malfoy try so hard before.
"We will now be doing a more practical exercise" McGonagall announced. She then flicked her wand, and beetles were conjured up on the students' desks. Most of the girls in the class shrieked at the sight, and Professor McGonagall frowned deeply. "Ladies, control yourselves at once! They are just beetles, and not the end of the world! You are to transfigure these beetles… into coat buttons. I have already told you all the spell, you may begin."
Ron aimed his wand at the beetle and concentrated. He thought of the beetle morphing into a black coat button, and then he imagined the button's miniscule weight. Easy does it, Percy already showed me how to do this spell. I can do this! Ron chanted the incantation lightly, and then he tapped the shell of the beetle with his wand. There was a white light, and then the beetle was a button.
"Well done, Mr. Weasley" Professor McGonagall said with one of her rare smiles. "Fifteen points to Slytherin for a spell well performed, well done." Ron smiled proudly at the button, and he thanked Percy once again. Professor McGonagall then started moving around the class, and the rest of them weren't having any success.
"Do you want to share your knowledge?" Blaise asked, and Ron turned to his friends. They were all waiting for him to teach them. Ron smirked and shrugged his shoulders at Blaise, reminding Blaise of his earlier behavior. Blaise and Theo chuckled, but the girls were a bit put off.
"Ron… teach me" Daphne said softly, giving him a pleading look. NO! Not this look again! Ron did his best to resist her sad pout, but he couldn't do it. His guilt was beginning to burn a hole through his chest, and he sighed as he gave up…
"Fine…" Ron muttered, and Daphne smiled triumphantly at the others. "Here, this is what you do…" Ron said as he moved closer to Daphne. They were sitting together, as they always did during Transfiguration classes. Ron went over the instructions slowly, and Daphne listened intently. Daphne then tried the spell, and it worked partially. The beetle was half-button and half-beetle. It was an unpleasant sight, because the beetle had died when half of his body was turned into a button…
"No…" Daphne muttered sadly, and Ron just frowned at the beetle. That's just grim, that is…
"Did you think of the button's weight?" Ron asked, and Daphne just nodded. "What about the shape, and the four holes for threads?" Daphne shook her head at that. "Well, try again…" Daphne tried again, and this time the beetle fully transformed into a button.
"Yes!" Daphne exclaimed, losing her sadness. Wait… she wasn't sad that the beetle died, was she? She was sad because the spell didn't work… Ron frowned a bit at how cold Daphne was just then…
"Helping your friends again?" Professor McGonagall asked as she came up from behind them. She then looked at the button in front of Daphne, and she gave a tight smile. "Well done, Miss. Greengrass. I award ten points to Slytherin for your success." Daphne smiled at the sound of that, and Professor McGonagall walked off again. What about my points for helping? Bloody hell… they just expect it now, so they don't give me any extra points! Ron frowned to himself, and he missed Daphne sticking her tongue out at the others. Ron also missed Malfoy and his goons glaring at him with ill-intentions.
After they finished their lunch, Ron and his friends made their way to the courtyard to relax. Ron wanted to start reading 'Voyages with Vampires' in order to prepare for Lockhart's class, while his friends just wanted to enjoy the Sun. They all sat together, and the girls gushed on about Lockhart's wavy hair. Theo and Blaise were still muttering to themselves, upset that Ron had helped Daphne just because she was a girl. Ron found himself horrified at the book he was reading, it was a novel! Not a text-book! Where are the damn spells?! This… This is garbage! Ron closed his book and huffed in annoyance.
"This book doesn't have a single spell in it!" Ron complained to his friends.
"What?!" Theo asked in shock, and then he took Ron's book out of his hands and perused through it.
"It cost five Galleons though…" Blaise stated with a frown.
"None of you have read 'Voyages with Vampires'?" Tracey asked, shocked to learn this. "Why? It is an amazing book!" Tracey then turned to Daphne. "What was your favorite part?"
"When Gilderoy charmed that barmaid…" Daphne sighed. "I thought that was really romantic…" All four girls smiled as they thought of that, and Ron gagged. I'm gonna fail D.A.D.A this year… and I'm alright with that. Ron decided to ignore the girls, and instead focused on looking around the courtyard. He smiled when he spotted Hermione, Harry, and Neville.
"I'll be right back" Ron told his friends, and then he got up and walked to Hermione. He missed the frowns that his friends were giving him. Ron approached Hermione, and she had her nose buried in 'Voyages with Vampires'. Not you too…
"Ahem" Ron coughed, and Hermione looked up with annoyance. Her annoyance shifted to a bright smile when she saw that it was Ron. "Mind if I join you?" Ron asked with his best smile.
"Of course not, come sit with me" Hermione giggled as she patted the patch of grass next to her. Ron sat down with her, and Hermione closed the book.
"Enjoying some light reading?" Ron asked. "You should appreciate the Sun instead."
"The Sun is out every day, I can enjoy it whenever I want!" Hermione argued with a humorous tone.
"What if the Sun disappears tomorrow?" Ron asked in a foreboding voice. "Then you'll be left with nothing but regrets… 'Oh, how I wish I enjoyed the Sun' you'll say, but it'll be too late!" Hermione giggled at his silly impression of her.
"I don't sound like that!" Hermione chuckled.
"Really? I thought I was spot on!" Ron grinned, and then he laughed when Hermione gave him a light smack. Ron's eyes fell on Harry and Neville, and the mousy boy that was talking to them. Harry and Neville both looked rather uncomfortable. "Hermione, what's going on over there?" Ron asked as he nodded his head towards Harry. Hermione looked to Harry, and she frowned.
"It's that boy again… I saw him watching Harry all during dinner and breakfast…" Hermione said with a furrowed brow. Then she stood up and marched towards her two friends, and Ron followed after her.
"I'm taking loads of pictures to send home to him" the mousy boy said enthusiastically. "And it'd be really good if I had one of you… maybe your friend could take it, and I could stand next to you?" the boy asked in a pleading tone. "And you could… sign it, maybe?" Ron chuckled at the request, and the boy turned around and went wide-eyed at him. "You're a Slytherin…"
"Observant" Ron chuckled, and Hermione frowned at Ron's sarcasm.
"The other Gryffindors tell me that you're all bullies…" the boy squeaked. Ron looked to Hermione with a smirk and a cocked eyebrow.
"Is that what they say?" Ron asked merrily.
"Um…" Hermione stuttered. Wow… "Not you specifically… Just all of your friends… and Malfoy… and the other Slytherins…" Ron frowned at the mention of his friends being bullies, and then he turned that frown towards the mousy boy.
"You shouldn't believe everything that the Gryffindors spew out…" Ron advised, and he noticed Neville frowning deeply. "Now… what's this about a photo?" Ron asked, returning to his nice demeanor.
"I just wanted a signed photo… with Harry Potter…" the boy squeaked.
"I'll take it for you!" Ron said, feeling particularly mischievous right now. Harry went wide-eyed and shook his head at Ron. "C'mon mate, hand over the camera. I'll take your photo…" The mousy boy beamed and took the camera off of his neck, and then he handed the camera to Ron. The mousy boy then squeezed in-between Harry and Neville, and he smiled widely. "Go on Hermione, join in" Ron chuckled, aiming the camera at the three boys. Hermione was trying not to smile at Ron's antics, and she slowly moved over and stood next to Harry. "Big smiles everyone!" Ron declared. They all gave wide smiles, though Harry's was forced, and Ron took the photo.
"There you go" Ron said as he handed the camera back to the mousy boy.
"Thanks!" the boy said happily, and Ron smiled at Harry's death glare. "My name's Colin… Colin Creevey!"
"Weasley, Ronald Weasley" Ron introduced himself.
"What's this then?" came a pompous voice from behind them. Ron frowned when he realized that it was Malfoy's. "Famous Harry Potter…" Malfoy spat out. "Handing out signed photos? And with the Weasel as his camera-man? Are you paying him well, Potter? He could use the money!" Malfoy and his two goons laughed at Ron, and Ron felt his temper flare. No… behave… Ron remembered how disappointed his family was with him when he had given into his temper. He didn't want a letter being sent home… that would not be good…
"Everyone!" Malfoy shouted, attracting the attention of everyone around. "Potter is handing out signed photos! Make a line!"
"No, I'm not!" Harry argued angrily, clenching his fists. "Shut up, Malfoy…"
"You're just jealous of Harry" Colin Creevey piped in, and Ron was rather surprised by the little boy's bravery. Gryffindor for certain! I mean, Crabbe could probably eat him…
"Jealous?" Malfoy laughed scathingly. "Me? I'm the heir of the Malfoy Family, and he has some ugly scar on his forehead… I don't think having your head split open should make you famous, and you're an idiot if you do." People were now gathering around, including Ron's friends. They were just frowning at Ron being part of a scene again. I need to stop this before a fight breaks out… I should never have taken that photo without looking around!
"That's enough, Malfoy" Ron said as he stepped up to Malfoy. "Back off…"
"I think the Weasel wants a photo too, Potter" Malfoy sneered at Ron. "You should give him one for free, seeing as he can't afford to buy one!" A bunch of older students sniggered at the comment, and Malfoy puffed his chest out proudly. I'm this fucking close to clocking this git! This CLOSE!
"Leave him alone" Hermione grit out, narrowing her eyes on Malfoy. Malfoy turned to her with a disgusted look, and then he went to say something but he was cut off.
"What's all this then? Did I hear someone is giving out signed photos?" came loud and merry voice. The people around Ron parted, and Ron spotted Lockhart striding forward with a happy grin. His turquoise robes were extravagant as always, and Ron nearly went blind from the gleam given off by Lockhart's pearly white teeth. "Ah! Harry, we meet again my young friend!" Lockhart all but shouted, and then he put his arm around Harry and gave him a paternal squeeze.
"Go on then, Mr. Creevey" Lockhart smiled at Colin. "Take a photo, and we can both sign it! That's a fair deal, eh? Smile Harry, this is one for the scrapbook!" Colin fumbled with his camera and took the photo, and Ron smiled sadly at Harry's bright red face. Then the bell rang loudly through the courtyard, signaling the start of their next class. D.A.D.A… with Lockhart…
Ron joined his friends behind Lockhart, who was still holding onto Harry, and they followed their new Professor to the classroom. Ron heard some really arrogant things come out of Lockhart's mouth, such as 'Wait until you're older like I did' and 'I built up my name through hard-work before I turned into a worldwide sensation'… Ron cringed at Lockhart's happy grin. Ron also tried avoiding his friends' glares, he knew that they weren't happy with him associating with Gryffindors again.
As they approached the classroom, Lockhart let them all go in but he held Harry back. He was still clutching onto the boy-who-lived, and Harry looked embarrassed beyond words. Once Ron entered the classroom, he sat down next to Tracey… mostly because he knew that she wouldn't be as angry as everyone else. Tracey doesn't push the Blood-Status angle at least…
"You're an idiot" Tracey muttered, and Ron sighed. Is it too late to swap?
"Ahem" Lockhart coughed loudly, and the class was silenced. Ron saw Harry slink into the back of the, red as a tomato. He was joined by the rest of the Golden Trio. Lockhart then marched up to the front of the class, and he turned to them with a twirl and a bow. What a tosser…
"Gilderoy Lockhart" Lockhart introduce himself. "Order of Merlin: Third Class, Honorary member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five times winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming Smile award… But I'm not here to talk about that!" Lockhart laughed, and then he grinned at the class. "I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!" A bunch of girls sighed at that, including Tracey.
"Now, I see that you all have my seven books" Lockhart continued. "I'm going to give you all a short quiz!" The class moaned, but Ron got excited. Actual work? In this class?! "Don't worry, it won't be too difficult. I just want to test your knowledge!" Yes, thank Merlin! Lockhart then handed out test papers to every student, and Ron wondered why he didn't just flick his wand like Professor Flitwick would. "You have thirty minutes, begin!"
Ron immediately turned the page over and he read the first question. 'What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?' it read, and Ron blinked at it. He looked to the next question, 'What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?' it read… What is this? Ron then read all fifty-four questions, and they were all about Lockhart! None of this is about D.A.D.A?! I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS SHITE?! Ron felt panic rising in his stomach, he was gonna fail this test! He looked to Tracey, and she was writing her answers down. FUCK!
Ron looked around the room, which Lockhart missed because he was staring at his reflection with a pocket mirror… Ron noticed that every boy was looking around like he was. Ron's eyes locked with Blaise's, and Blaise mouthed 'What the hell?' and Ron shrugged. This is bad! What do I do? Ron looked over at Tracey's answers, and he copied a couple of them down. Tracey noticed his cheating, and she smiled slyly. She then moved her arm and let him cheat, and Ron did so with a shameful blush. This is what I've been reduced to… A cheat!
"Time's up!" Lockhart announced after thirty minutes, and Ron put his hands on his face. He felt real shame, and Tracey's sly smiles weren't helping him. Lockhart then collected the papers from all of the students and went through them. He started talking, but Ron just ignored him. Ron had flunked a test… Percy… Charlie… I'm so fucking sorry… Ron felt a nudge on his ribs, and he turned to Tracey. She gave him a wink and smiled happily, and Ron just blinked at her. Ron managed a forced smile, and Tracey did her best to not laugh at him.
"Where is Miss. Granger?" Lockhart asked, and Ron looked up at that. Hermione put up a trembling hand, and Lockhart grinned at her. "Excellent work! Take ten points for Gryffindor due to getting full marks! Excellent! And now… to business…" Lockhart finished ominously. He then picked up a covered up cage from behind his desk, and he placed it upon the desk. The cage began rattling violently, and Ron leaned forward in his seat.
"Yes…" Lockhart said with a sudden grim tone. "It is my sworn duty to prepare you against the foulest, and most evil creatures known to Wizard-kind… You all may very well come face-to-face with your worst nightmares under my tutelage… But know this… No harm will befall you whilst I am here… Prepare yourselves…" Ron felt his anticipation grow, and he gripped his wand tightly under the desk. He could feel its warmth even through the glove, and Ron was ready… The class was so silent that one could hear their own thoughts!
"I must ask you all to remain calm" Lockhart said in a low voice. "Or else, you might provoke them!" And with that, he ripped off the cover. "YES! Freshly caught Cornish Pixies!" Lockhart announced, and the room was dead silent for a few seconds. And then Seamus Finnegan started laughing, and some more boys joined in. Even Ron was laughing his head off… CORNISH PIXIES! WHAT THE HELL?! HAHAHAHA! There were dozens of electric blue pixies in the cage, and they were pulling faces and shouting nonsense at the students. Their squeaky voices were annoying, and Ron was sure that he heard some nasty cusses.
"Laugh if you want" Lockhart chuckled menacingly. "But let's see how you deal with them… ONCE THEY'RE FREE!" Lockhart shouted bizarrely, and then he opened the cage and flooded the room with Cornish Pixies.
Utter, and absolute chaos broke out. The students screamed and yelled as the pixies flew around the room, knocking over books and attacking the students. Some of the student tried to run out of the room, but the pixies got there first and blocked their path out. Ron was attacked by a particularly vicious pixie that grabbed him by his nostrils and dragged him out of his chair while he screamed at the little blighter. He could hear Tracey screaming as well due to a couple of pixies pulling her hair, and Ron lost his temper. He grabbed his attacker with his left hand and slammed it on a nearby desk, and then he turned to help Tracey. Getting to her was another issue entirely… there were screaming students everywhere. Ron spotted Blaise punching a pixie out of the air, while Theo was swinging his text-book around violently.
The shouting got louder and louder, and Ron was attacked by another pixie that bit into his left ear-lobe as if it was a juicy morsel. As Ron fought off the little blue bastard who had a taste for human flesh, he heard Malfoy yelling for Pansy to stay still. Ron managed to turn in time to see Malfoy smack a pixie with his text-book and save Pansy from it, and then a couple of angry pixies attacked him and he bolted.
"MY PIN!" Daphne screamed as she covered her face from a pixie that was trying to kick her face. Ron immediately pointed his wand into the air.
"Accio Daphne's Hair pin" Ron yelled, and he saw a golden pin fly at him. He caught with a triumphant grin, and then he turned to Daphne but she didn't see him because she was hiding behind Millie who was swinging around her text-book just like Theo had been. Where the fuck is Lockhart?! Ron looked around frantically, but there was no sign of him.
"LOCKHART BOLTED!" Finnegan yelled as he ran past Ron, a pixie was pulling his hair and basically riding him like a horse. Ron was about to cuss, but he stopped when he saw Lavender Brown and Tracey running together as three pixies chased them. Ron aimed his wand at the pixies, but he decided not to fire a stunner. In this chaos, I'll hit someone! Ron pocketed his wand, and then he grabbed a text-book off of the floor. He then intercepted the two girls and smacked all three of their chasers down.
"RON!" Tracey yelled, her face haggard and her hair messy. "Granger got hit in the face and she fell over!" Ron went pale at that.
"WHERE?!" Ron asked.
"OVER THERE!" Lavender yelled, pointing to Lockhart's desk. Ron turned to the desk and ran towards it, dodging his screaming class-mates as best he could. He found Hermione on the ground with her eyes closed, and she had a bruise forming on her chin. Bloody hell! Ron shook Hermione, but she didn't wake up.
"What happened?!" came a shout from behind him. Ron turned and saw Neville rushing over to him.
"She got hit in the face! She's out cold!" Ron yelled, and then the three pixies he had smacked with a text-book came for him. They flew around his face, and then they launched their assault. They bit and scratched at him, and he screamed as he fought them off. "FUCK OFF YOU LITTLE BASTARDS!" Ron yelled, and he was forced to leave Neville and Hermione behind.
Ron managed to smack all three of his assailant away, and then he ripped his wand out. THAT IS IT! Ron aimed his wand at the pixies that were flying above the students, and then he started throwing out stunners. Red sparks flew out of his wand as he fired one 'Stupefy' after another. Most of his stunners missed… but a few landed, and he smiled evilly as he saw the pixies fall down.
"IMMOBULUS!" came a shout from behind him, and then all the pixies were out of commission. Ron turned to see Hermione standing there with her wand aimed into the air, and she had a fierce look on her face. The screaming came to a halt, and every student just looked around in a daze. The pixies were just floating around, unable to move or even blink. The Freezing Charm? Brilliant! I didn't even think of that in all of this panic…
"Grab them, and put them in the cage before they wake up!" Ron heard Harry shout, and then there was mass movement. Ron walked up to Hermione and Neville, and he faced Hermione.
"Are you alright?" Ron asked her, and she looked at him and winced.
"No… my mouth hurts…" she muttered meekly, and Ron could see blood on her bottom teeth. Hermione sniffled as she rubbed her chin, and Ron felt like he was seeing Ginny whenever she was bitten by a Garden Gnome. So Ron gave her a comforting hug, and she sniffled over his right shoulder as she hugged him back.
"Where's Lockhart?" Neville asked, and Ron broke his hug slowly.
"Finnegan was screaming that he bolted…" Ron grit out. "I don't see him anywhere, so Finnegan was probably telling the truth."
"Bloody hell…" Neville muttered, looking haggard and out of sorts. "C'mon Hermione, let's go to the Hospital Wing…"
"But class isn't over…" Hermione muttered, her eyes red from crying.
"It's over…" Ron said with a tired sigh. "Trust me, we need to get you to the Hospital Wing." Before she could argue, Ron grabbed her right hand with his gloved one and pulled her behind him. "We're going to the Hospital Wing!" Ron shouted to everyone. "Every one of us!" There was no argument, and all of the students followed Ron's lead. All of them had cuts and bruises, but some were hurt more than others… Ron led the students onwards, and they eventually reached the Hospital Wing. Ron opened the door and called for Madam Pomfrey, who came running out of her potion-closet.
"What's happened?!" she demanded with a shocked look. She had never seen so many students walk in at once, and all of them needed help. Their clothes were torn, and they all looked like they had been through a battle.
"Gilderoy Lockhart happened" Ron told her with an annoyed voice. "He let Cornish Pixies loose in the class-room and then he bolted!" Madam Pomfrey just blinked at him, and then she turned to the students. Her demeanor just changed, and then she began her work without any other thought in her mind.
Ron sat with his Slytherin friends while Pomfrey treated the students. McGonagall and Lockhart had both turned up a minute ago, and they were talking to Hermione.
"The Freezing charm you say" Lockhart said with a smile, and Ron just frowned at the man. "Well done, Miss. Granger! I myself would have used no other spell! You have impressed me greatly today, especially after you got all those questions right in class!" Hermione beamed at Lockhart, her cheeks turning scarlet. "Twenty points to Gryffindor for the use of a perfect Freezing Charm!" Lockhart exclaimed with an obnoxious laugh. McGonagall just stared at Lockhart in utter disbelief, what was Albus thinking when he hired this… this mad-man?!
Lockhart then ruffled Hermione's hair like she was some pet, and after that he marched off with a smile. Ron wanted to run after him and hex his balls off… What an absolute tosser! Instead of doing something that would get him expelled, Ron instead chose to help Madam Pomfrey. He was joined by some of the other students who only had scratches and so forth, and they all handed out bandages dipped in a smelly potion of some sort. After Ron finished handing out his share of the bandages, he spotted a rather sad looking Daphne. She was sitting quietly on a bed, and she was ignoring her friends. Her hair was a mess, and Ron remembered that he had her hair pin in his robe pocket.
"Hi" Ron said softly as he sat down next to her, and she seemed to tense a bit.
"Hi…" she replied, and then she tried to fix her hair a bit. Ron took out the pin from his pocket and showed it to her, and she instantly lost her defeated demeanor.
"My hair pin!" she exclaimed excitedly, and then she took it from Ron eagerly. "You found it?" she asked him, finally looking up at him.
"Yeah… I heard you shouting when they took it. So I used the summoning charm to retrieve it for you…" Ron explained, and Daphne beamed.
"Thank you, Ron!" Daphne said, and then she hugged him from the side. He chuckled at that, and tried to hug her back. It was an awkward positioning, but he tried nonetheless.
"Get a room…" Tracey joked, and Daphne let Ron go quickly. She was blushing and frowning at Tracey.
"I'm never going to that class again…" Theo muttered. "And if you girls don't think that Lockhart is a nutter by now, then you're all mad…" The girls didn't argue with him this time, but Ron could tell that they wanted to. I'm with Theo on this, why would Dumbledore hire that moron?! Ron then yawned, feeling utterly spent. I'm so tired… I'm going straight to bed tonight…
Author's Notes: And there it is! I hope you all enjoyed reading it! Things moved relatively slowly in the first half of the second book, but I've decided to add my own Arcs to fill that space. I don't like time-skips much because they feel unnatural, so please bear with me as I avoid the time-skips made by J.K Rowling! The Chamber of Secrets will open soon enough!
See you all in three or four days! (Uni is days away and I'm currently volunteering so I'm a bit more busy...)