(Y/n)'s POV
The weeks passed by really fast, and it was already time to get back to Hogwarts, which I was pretty excited about. Mom and Dad made sure I learned the most I could with them, always talking about 'compensating lost time', I didn't mind them, so it was fine.
My parents wanted me to cut my hair because in their words, it was starting to look quite messy, so I did, just the ends of my hair though, and they were satisfied with that.
Again I had trouble sleeping, I don't know why, but I was nervous of seeing everyone else, Neville... Dean... Seamus, I don't even know why, I felt stupid by being nervous at seeing them all, I chatted most of the night with Blaze, and gave her some more fire from the matches. She didn't like it that much, now that she was used to magical fire.
After a while talking and thinking, I finally fell asleep. Blaze woke me up early in the morning, which I didn't like, but the bad mood passed on quickly when I remembered what day it was.
Mom and Dad were in the kitchen, having breakfast, and reluctantly I joined them. Apparently, they learned from their mistake last year and seemed more relaxed, so we got there with time to spare, which was good, I didn't really like being rushed.
We put on my luggage on the train, and said our goodbyes, this time, without any tears, or at least, not as many, they also said goodbye to Blaze and asked her once again to watch over me, Blaze looked really happy with that task.
I went looking for each compartment, looking for a certain someone with bushy hair, I thought I couldn't find her, until, in the final compartment, I found her.
It seemed she was alone, reading some book for the year, as always being diligent, I opened the compartment and said,
"Hi Hermione! What are you-"
I thought she was alone, but next to her, on the window side, kind of hiding beside her, was a familiar red hair I recognized. Ginny, she and Hermione apparently became friends when we all went to buy in Diagon Alley.
When Ginny heard me, she gasped and tried to hide even more, avoiding me and my gaze.
Hermione realised this, looking away from her copy of 'Magical Me!', taking in Ginny's reaction to me, she had that look she has when she's connecting pieces of a puzzle in her mind, and said,
"Is there something wrong with (Y/n), Ginny?"
Upon seeing Ginny's panicked face at being questioned, I felt bad, she looked really nervous. I don't know what kind of rumours were spreading, but if it made her feel like that around me, I didn't want her to feel forced to it.
"Uh... d-don't worry Hermione, I'll just sit in another compartment-"
"No, you don't have to go anywhere, sit down," Said Hermione, with a firm voice, and sit I did, in front of them, you don't really want to go against an annoyed Hermione Granger.
She closed her book with a snap, and looked at Ginny, her eyes softening, but also stern.
"Ginny, is there something bothering you?" Said Hermione, Ginny looked at her and looked obviously uncomfortable, shifting on her seat, avoiding my gaze, but I can't blame her, I was uncomfortable too, the last thing I wanted to do was make her feel bad.
"Well... some of my friends have older brothers at Hogwarts, a-and they told me all sort of things about (Y/n), how he took down a troll all by himself, that he was mean, looked down on people and quietly stared at them... calling him a sort of monster, and that he also had a pet that breathed fire." Said Ginny.
I guess it was obvious I was shocked by the face Hermione made when she looked at me. I tried to say something, but Hermione didn't give me a chance.
"That's absolute nonsense, (Y/n)? A monster? Last year I saw him fall from the staircase, more than once," This made Ginny giggle a bit, "Honestly! The gossip of some people... Ginny, there's nothing about (Y/n) that you should be afraid of, he has never been any threat, he can't even stomp on a bug without crying about it."
"T-That was a secret, Hermione!" I said to her, embarrassed, recalling the time I told her I cried when I was eight, I stomped on a slug without meaning to, and cried to my mom, thinking that the slug would never return to her family.
That interaction got Ginny to laugh, which prompted me to raise my hand to her, offering a handshake, and said,
"Um.. I-I don't exactly know what kind of rumours there are of me, b-but I assure you, I would never hurt anyone, the thing with the troll... it's a long story, so.. Um, do you want to... start over?"
She looked hesitant at first, glanced at Hermione, and her face changed, from a hesitant, doubtful one, to a more clear face, determined, grabbed my offering hand, and said.
"Yeah, I'm sorry, I... I shouldn't have trusted those rumours, and yeah, I'd like that."
Little by little, the anxiety went on going down, until eventually we were comfortable enough with each other. I told her all about our adventures on Hogwarts last year, Hermione just kept on reading the book of Professor Lockhart, and I said,
"Uh, you must really like that book, huh? What's it about?"
She looked up from the book, her eyes shining, and said,
"Well, obviously, he's an amazing wizard, you should read his books, he's just outstanding! I can't wait to see what he's going to teach us this year." She looked really excited, somehow even more than last year.
"Uh... yeah, can't wait," I wanted to talk more to her, but she seemed so absorbed into her book that I just waited for her to finish. So I spent the time talking with Ginny, and showed her Blaze, they became friends really quickly, I guess Blaze was really friendly like that.
I tried reading Lockhart books, I really did, but... they didn't really click with me, they lacked all the magical feeling the books from last year had, besides, he weirdly focused a lot in describing how he looked in almost every two pages.
After a while talking, I realised we were missing two very important people, two of my closest friends, and I said out loud,
"Where's Ron and Harry?"
"That's what I would like to know, I checked every compartment and they weren't here, honestly, you would think they'd be on time for the first day of school, boys..." She said, with a scoff, and after that she went back to her book, did she... forget I was a boy too?
Ginny apparently suddenly realised that too, and exclaimed,
"They were right behind us! How could they get lost?"
Thoughts came rushing through my mind, what if they didn't get on the Hogwarts Express? What if something made them be late? What if-
"Don't worry too much, you two, I already alerted the driver about it, I'm certain they'll be fine," Said Hermoine, without even looking away from her book, I'm not going to lie, it did help a bit, but I was still worried about my friends, without me knowing, my leg started to jump.
It was going to be a long journey.
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It was now night time, the Sorting Ceremony was over, and Ginny was, unsurprisingly, put in Gryffindor, but one thing was on my mind.
Where in the world were Harry Potter and Ron Weasley?!
I thought they'd arrive during the day, but they never did. As a matter of fact, no one knew where they were, which was even more worrisome. What if they had been attacked?
Through the feast, I started to hear rumours about someone who arrived in a flying car, and crashed into an old tree. I didn't need to think a lot to realise who those people might be.
After some time, I was walking to the common room with Hermione, until we heard a familiar voice,
"Password?" Asked the Fat Lady,
"Er..." Said the familiar voice of Harry, Hermione ran towards the portrait and I followed her,
"There you are! Where have you been? We've been hearing the most ridiculous rumours, someone said you'd been expelled for crashing a flying car." Said Hermione,
"Uh, well, I don't think they're rumours, I mean... Mr Weasley did have a flying car..." I said, she looked at me with a stone hard gaze, which indicated me to shut up and let them explain.
"Well... we haven't been expelled," Said Harry, he probably wanted to reassure her, but all it did was make her more mad.
"You're not telling me you did fly here?" Said Hermione, with an icy tone,
"W-Well! I-I'd think they must've had a really good reason for it, don't you think?" I said, trying to defuse the situation,
"Yeah, maybe you should listen to us before jumping to any conclusions, anyways, skip the lecture," Snapped Ron, again, trying to not get them to argue on the first day, I said,
"I-I mean, we were really worried, Ron, I'm sure Hermione's just saying all of that because she was worried about you two-" I tried saying, but he interrupted me,
"Yeah, yeah, just tell us the password." He looked annoyed, which made me feel kind of bad, was I that annoying? While I was feeling down, Hermione said,
"It's 'wattlebird', but that's not the point-" The Portrait opened, and from inside it, cheering and clapping was heard, everyone was complimenting Harry and Ron as they entered.
"Honestly! Being cheered on by breaking the rules, I wouldn't be surprised if they rewarded them too about it," Said Hermione, clearly frustrated. I looked over to them, and saw them going upstairs after Ron received a stare from Percy.
"I don't think they're going to enjoy it that much... I'll follow them and get back to you in the morning, Hermione," We wished each other a good night, and I followed them,
Once in our dormitory, I saw them surrounded by every Gryffindor second year, I just hugged them,
"Mate, you have no idea how worried I was..." Blaze also made some sounds at them, maybe upset they worried me so much, and they told us the story, which was what I expected.
"Well, can't have a quiet year with you two, can I?" They laughed a bit, and after a while we all went to bed .
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It was time for our classes, but first, we had breakfast, I woke up alongside Ron and Harry, because I didn't really like mornings.
We walked to the Great Hall, and they already filled me on what happened, some crazy adventure,
"Honestly, guys, I'm kind of jealous, it did sounded like lots of fun," They looked at me as I said that, and Ron said,
"If you were there you wouldn't have called it that, bloody hell, I can still feel the punches from the Whomping Willow,"
"Yeah, (Y/n), besides, Hermione's right, we're lucky they didn't expel us." Said Harry, I tried to imagine myself in that situation, and knowing I don't really act well under pressure or with lots of nervousness in my body, I said,
"Actually, on second thought, I think I would've fallen from the car. To be honest, I don't think my body would've agreed with that many hours in the sky..." I shivered a bit and almost gagged at the thought of flying for that much, I didn't like the heights very much.
They laughed a bit, and we arrived at the Great Hall to eat. Hermione was already there, she was reading another book from Professor Lockhart, Voyage with Vampires or something.
Ron and Harry sat in front of her and besides Neville, I sat down next to her, thankfully there was space, I said 'Good morning' to her, and she greeted me as usual, although she still looked annoyed at the other two.
"Post's due any minute, I think Gran's sending me a few things I forgot" Said Neville, who was sitting in front of us,
"Well, I don't really think I'll get any, except from the daily letter from Mom and Dad," As I said it, Coconut arrived with the usual letter from my parents, as expected, I rolled my eyes, and played a bit with her, even Blaze said hi to her, and then quickly left.
Suddenly, as I was reading the letter, something grey fell into Hermione's cup, which made me jump. Thankfully, I didn't scream, that would've been embarrassing.
"Are you okay-?" Was trying to say Hermione, but Ron yelled,
"Errol! Oh no," He gasped,
"It's all right, he's still alive," Said Hermione, trying to calm him, but apparently Ron wasn't worried about that, pointing at a red envelope,
"Uh... what's wrong with it?" I asked, not knowing what the alarm was.
"She's... mum sent me a howler!" Said Ron, both him and Neville look really scared, I just said,
"I mean, it looks like a normal letter, doesn't it? You should read it, it's not every day your mum sends you one," I extended my hand to grab it, as Neville and Ron yelled 'No!', but it was too late, I grabbed it, and apparently from Errol's peak it was already kind of open.
Suddenly, it floated towards Ron, and the most ear breaking sound erupted, which was heard through all of the Great Hall. I had to put my hands on my ears with all my might, it was a recognizable voice, Mrs Weasley's.
"... STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT HAD GONE..."
I couldn't really hear everything, because I put my hands on my ears, but suddenly, everyone on the Great Hall was laughing, Ron was as red as his hair, and Hermione wanted to say something, but Ron stopped her,
"Don't say I deserved it!" He snapped, I wanted to say something, because I didn't really like when she was treated like that, but I kind of understood it, he was already humiliated, I could feel it.
After that, Professor McGonagall passed each of us the timetables, and I groaned loudly, Hermione realised this, and said,
"Honestly, (Y/n), this class is important too, besides, your mom is a really good teacher, you'll do better this year, I'll help you again," Trying to make me feel better I guess, she really wanted me to do better at this class.
We had the most boring subject as a first class, Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, it was going to be a really long day.
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All of us were talking as normal, probably because she was pleased with those two being yelled at by someone, we were now in front of the greenhouse, they were full with exotic plants and species. It sounds interesting, but it really isn't, besides, the contents are really confusing.
The only thing I liked about it was the statue that looked like a dragon, which was pretty cool to be honest, it almost made it worth it to be in the greenhouse, almost.
"Why is it always so humid here?" I asked, with a clearly irritated face,
"Oh, that's because plants here need it, the kinds of plants the school has here needs this kind of environment so that they grow in top notch form," Said Hermione, she looked really happy to be able to explain that to me, and it also was kind of repetitive, it was what Mom used to say too,
"I know... but why does it need to be humid even outside of the greenhouses?" I said back, Hermione was going to say something else, probably explain it, but I just put my hand up and said,
"Let me guess, magic," She looked kind of taken aback, and said,
"Well, something more complicated than just magic, but yes, essentially."
"Bloody hell, (Y/n), and I thought I didn't like this class, I'm surprised you don't actually do well in it" Said Ron,
"I-I don't hate it, it's just... the classroom is uncomfortable, besides, mom's got my head full with it because in her words I have to study even harder because it's difficult for me, the classes became kind of dull after a while, I even did plant analogy for some time..."
"What does that even mean?" Asked Harry, as they all laugh,
"Yeah, you laugh now, just wait until I do them again" I said with a groan.
I didn't like this class because of what I said before, but also because Professor Sprout knew my mom, and because of that, she asked me things a lot more than other students, probably because mom did so well in her class, but I didn't really know all of the answers.
Not knowing them made me feel embarrassed, I didn't want any of my friends to think I was dumber than them.
We stood there waiting for Professor Sprout, until she arrived. She was a small witch, with her pointy hat, green robes, and gloves that were all filled with dirt, but I noticed something that caught my attention.
She had bandages around her arms, and also, she was with another wizard, a blond, blue eyed one, Professor Lockhart, when Hermione realised this, she tensed up, and when I looked at her, she had a tinge of red on her cheeks.
It was weird, but again, didn't think much about it, Professor Lockhart beamed at us with his smile, while accompanying Professor Sprout,
"Oh, hello there! Just been showing Professor Sprout the right way to doctor a Whomping Willow! But I don't want you running away with the idea that I'm better at Herbology than she is! I just happen to have met several of these exotic plants on my travels"
All right, I don't really know Professor Lockhart a lot, but it seems he really loves to talk. Professor Sprout, who was usually a pretty happy witch, seemed annoyed at what he was saying, maybe that wasn't a good sign of his knowledge, who knows.
"Greenhouse Three today, chaps!" Said Professor Sprout, with a not so happy face, Neville, who was next to us, seemed really excited about it, he noticed I looked at him, and said,
"T-They have more exotic plants in Greenhouse Three, I'm just excited to see what we'll find!" He really liked herbology. I was happy for him, he did really well in this subject.
We started to walk towards the greenhouse, and when we all were in, Professor Lockhart grabbed Harry by the arm, and said,
"Harry! I've been wanting a word, you don't mind if he's a couple of minutes late, do you, Professor Sprout?" I looked at Professor Sprout, and again, she looked pretty annoyed at him, but before she could say anything, Lockhart closed the door in her face.
"I wish I was the one going a few minutes late into this class..." I whispered to Ron, he laughed, and said,
"Don't know, mate, all I've seen from him is talking about himself, I don't think you'd do well with someone who talks that much,"
After some minutes passed, Harry came back, he put himself between Ron and Hermione, I was standing next to Ron. There were a pair of earmuffs for everyone on a bench, once Professor Sprout saw Harry come back, she started to talk.
"We'll be re-potting Mandrakes today. Now, who can tell me the properties of the Mandrake?" She looked at me for a second, and in that second, Hermione's hand shot up into the air, as usual, she knew all the answers and didn't skip a chance of saying them.
"Mandrake, or Mandragora, is a powerful restorative, it is used to return people who have been transfigured or cursed, to their original state." She said, I remember mom talking about it too.
"Excellent. Ten points to Gryffindor, the Mandrake forms an essential part of most antidotes. It is also, however, dangerous. (Y/n), can you tell me why?" Said Professor Sprout, I stood there for a second without saying anything, and after taking a deep breath, said.
"W-Well... if I remember correctly... it's because it can kill whoever hears it cries, right?" At least I didn't have any voice cracks, so I guess it went out well.
"Precisely, five points to Gryffindor, try to sound more sure next time, dear." Said Professor Sprout, she pointed to where a row of deep trays were, each with purple plants that looked a bit fat, like babies, that were growing there.
"Everyone take a pair of earmuffs, when I tell you to pull them on, make sure your ears are completely covered, when it is safe to remove them, I will give you a thumbs-up. Right, earmuffs on." Professor Sprout said this with a lot of emphasis on it.
When I put the earmuffs on, it was quite nice, to be honest, I loved how quiet it was, it was calming, just me and my thoughts.
I looked at Professor Sprout, as she with strength pulled one of the plants that were there, something that looked like a baby, but ten times uglier and dirtier came out, and it had it's... mouth? Whatever it was, it was open, as if it was crying.
In a swift motion, Professor Sprout put a big plant pot underneath it, and buried the ugly plant baby in it, and gave us the signal, a thumbs-up.
"As our Mandrakes are only seedlings, their cries won't kill yet, however, they will knock you out for several hours, five to a tray, there is a large supply of pots here, compost on the sacks over there, and be careful of the Venomous Tentacula, it's teething." Said Professor Sprout.
The four of us got into one, and we were accompanied by a curly haired hufflepuff boy, I can't really recall his full name, but from the times Professor Sprout reads the list of students who are present, I believe his name is Justin.
Of course, the boy looked really happy and excited as he greeted Harry,
"Justin Finch-Fletchley, know who you are, of course, the famous Harry Potter, and you're Hermione Granger, always top in everything," He said, as he shook Hermione's hand now, she looked really happy that someone recognised her efforts.
"And Ron Weasley, wasn't that your flying car?" Ron looked mortified to be reminded of it, he was going to greet me, I guess, but looked at me, and apparently thought back on it, as he didn't say anything to me, only giving me a side look.
I'm not going to lie, that made me feel bad, like I was being outcasted, and I was reminded of the rumours Ginny heard, I thought I was safe from them, but I wasn't, or so I thought.
"You don't know (Y/n)?" Asked Hermione, Justin looked uncomfortable, and said,
"Er, yeah... anyways," He was sweating a bit, and I could feel the awkwardness coming from him, so I just grabbed Hermione's arm, and whispered to her 'It's alright...'
She could obviously feel it wasn't fine, but I think she didn't want to make a scene when we were going to deal with the Mandrakes.
They talked for a while, or at least, Harry and him talked, Hermione seemed upset at the boy, and Ron was too busy thinking about the Howler to be doing anything else, honestly, I think he'll remember it through the whole school year, his broken wand being a reminder of it.
After the class, we were all covered in dirt, I pulled my wand out and said,
"Scourgify..." And the dirt was quickly cleaned for us, they all looked like they wanted to say something, except Ron, trauma and all that, but they didn't, so we just walked to the next class that at least was more interesting, Transfiguration.
The class went on without anything important to note, we had to turn a beetle into a button, by the end of it, Hermione was able to do it multiple times, and I got at least half of what she got, Ron got a bit of trouble for his broken wand, something I feel was going to happen a lot.
He didn't want to send a letter home to tell them, because he was afraid of getting another Howler. It didn't seem like the most practical thing to do, but you can't force anyone to do anything, I guess.
It was lunch time, and I went on to eat my worries away, food always helps anyone to feel a bit better. I suppose I was talking to Ron and Harry was eating, and Hermione was looking at a book and something else.
"Blimey, that was a tiresome class... although, more entertaining than Herbology. I don't even know what we have now," I said,
"At least you don't have Professor McGonagall mad at you and following everything you do," Said Ron.
"Anyways, what've we got for this afternoon?" Said Harry, I could see he wanted to change the subject, I think he didn't like being reminded of what happened at all.
Almost immediately, as if waiting for that question, Hermione said,
"Defence against the Dark Arts" Ron scooted over to her, looked confused, grabbed her timetable, and said,
"Why have you outlined all Lockhart's lessons in little hearts?" Hermione blushed profusely, and desperately snatched back her timetable, it was kind of weird, but I guess we weren't able to talk about it either, we were walking outside, and a kid approached us.
A really small boy, with a camera around his neck, the moment he approached us, he blushed,
"All right, Harry? I'm - I'm Colin Creevey, I'm in Gryffindor too" He said without taking a breath, "D'you think - Would it be all right if- Can I have a picture?"
Harry looked with a plain face and blinked a few times, "A picture?" He asked.
"So I can prove I've met you, I know all about you. Everyone's told me, a boy in my dormitory said if I develop the film in the right potion, the pictures'll move!" He looked really excited, like a little mouse talking, "My dad's a milkman, so I'm taking loads of pictures. And It'd be really good if I had one of you."
It was to be expected, Harry was a celebrity in this world, you defeat a dark lord and people'll always look up to you, you take down a troll and people spread rumours about you-
"And you too! (Y/n), right?" I wasn't expecting him to say that, so it was my turn to get nervous,
"U-Uh? M-Me?" I was blushing a bit, I could feel it in my cheeks, I didn't expect anyone to say that to me, I'm no Harry.
"Yeah, I know all about you too, they've been talking all about you and the troll, calling you a freak and all that, but I think it's brilliant! So, maybe your friend" He said, referring to Ron, I suppose, "And then, could you sign it, Harry?"
I didn't like the attention at all, but after psyching myself up for everyone being mean to me, it felt good to have someone outside my friends to treat me like that, I was smiling to myself, until of course someone had to come and ruin it.
"Signed photos? You're giving out signed photos, Potter?" Malfoy was behind Colin, with his two goons who were really tall for being only twelve years old.
"Everyone queue up! Harry Potter's giving out signed photos!"
"No, I'm not, shut up Malfoy," Harry sounded angry, I know he also hated receiving unnecessary attention, surprisingly, Colin spoke up, even though he was a quarter of Crabbe's body.
"You're just jealous" I kind of admired him for that, being so small and still this brave.
"Jealous? Of what? I don't want a foul scar right across my head, thanks. I don't think getting your head cut open makes you that special, myself, besides, (L/n)'s rumours are definitely fake, he's a full on coward." Everyone on the courtyard was now listening.
His two goons started to laugh, and I remembered what I said to myself before the year began, I was not going to let Malfoy ruin another year, and I was not going to stand anymore of his harassment.
I pulled out my wand, and pointed it at them. Some people who were looking kept on walking when they saw I took out my wand, but now what? I couldn't think of anything to say, and just stood there pointing at them, Hermione approached me and whispered,
"Look out!"
"What's all this, what's all this?" The voice of Professor Lockhart was heard, and we saw him walking towards us, "Who's giving out signed photos?"
Professor Lockhart pushed me, I guess by accident, and flung his arm around Harry, after Colin took a photo of the two of them, Professor Lockhart walked off with Harry being dragged off by him, as they talked.
"Let's hope he did half of the things he wrote about in his books," Said Ron, and the three of us followed them, because Defence against the Dark Arts was about to start.
I hope Ron's right, Hermione seemed more excited than usual about this class, so I have high expectations, I mean, if Hermione seems excited about someone, that must mean he's good.
Right?
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