This had both Harry and Hermione smiling too but Bill had more to say. "Harry, what you did in there today was brave, bold and bloody brilliant. I left Hogwarts and went straight to work for Gringotts so I have more than a fair idea of what really went on in that classroom, I take it from Miss Granger's expression that she is aware of the situation too?"
"My friends needed to know what they were getting into, I told them when we all had lunch with my father last week. The senior staff are also aware of the situation though Dumbledore and Snape are not trusted by Gringotts."
Bill was nodding, having already been made aware of some of that. "What I was going to say was that your current defence lessons are fine for getting to know your classmates but you need more..."
Hermione couldn't believe she actually interrupted a teacher but this needed to be said. "Sir, I sat there today and felt useless. I didn't like it. Harry warned us it might be dangerous to be around him and we all accepted that. What I'm trying to say here is, if there are any extra lessons on how to defend yourself I so want to be included. I'll bet Padma and Neville will say the same."
"Four is a small enough number to work with so I have no problem with that, should I take this suggestion to your father?"
This certainly got a smile from Harry. "Yes please. Could you also tell him what happened today, I know he's been really worried about it."
"Okay, providing you and your friends get down to dinner. What you did today was brilliant but now you need to follow through. There's no point of making such an impression only to go and waste it by hiding out in a toilet. Your other two friends are waiting outside, Miss Patil won't enter a boy's toilet and Mr Longbottom's not yet got the confidence to deal with Myrtle."
Hermione helped Harry to his feet and then gave him the hug she couldn't because of his previous position. He needfully hugged her back before straightening out his clothes and offering Hermione his arm. Harry didn't know if he would be able to eat anything but respected the advice he'd been given. It was time to go down to dinner.
Molly Weasley was not having a good day, it started with the Daily Prophet being delivered and went rapidly downhill from there. Her 'Harry Potter' obsessed daughter had been crying for most of the day and Molly didn't know what to do to help her little girl.
The concerned mother had objected when Arthur first brought the confiscated book home from the ministry, claiming they must have been banned for a reason. Arthur assured her it was merely a children's story book, withdrawn for copyright purposes, and began to use the banned book for Ginny's bedtime stories. Well, compared to the boy-who-lived battling dragons to save the day, Babbitty Rabbitty and the ilk never had a look-in from then on with little Ginny Weasley.
She'd accompanied her four Hogwarts-bound brothers to Kings Cross on the first of September, hoping for a glimpse of her hero. Ginny had been disappointed but consoled herself with the fact that she would be in Gryffindor next year, along with Harry Potter. Today's Prophet had shattered those youthful fantasies and broken her little heart.
As if that wasn't bad enough, Molly had just received a disturbing letter from Ron. Her first instinct was to rush to Hogwarts and start using her wand but her youngest son's ramblings just didn't make sense to his mother. For a start, he had three older brothers in the same house. Molly couldn't believe they would stand back and let their youngest brother be mistreated. Then there was Minerva and Albus to consider. The Head of Gryffindor was very protective of her charges and Molly couldn't even consider anything happening to one of her children while Albus Dumbledore was at Hogwarts. She had decided to wait and discuss the matter with her husband before taking any action.
Molly was surprised when she heard the family clock chime that someone was traveling, seconds before she heard the floo activate. She headed for the kitchen thinking Arthur must have finished early today when her squeal of delight rattled every window in the Burrow. "BILL!"
His mother's hug and relentless questions were sharply cut-off by the floo activating again and Ron stepping out. Her attention instantly switched to her youngest son.
"Ronald Weasley, what are you doing home?"
When the floo activated for the third time, discharging Minerva McGonagall, Molly's eyes narrowed as her gaze zeroed in on a red faced Ron. "Just what is going on here?"
Ron never said a word, just stood there with his head bowed. It was left to his head of house to break the awkward silence. "Molly, I need to speak to you regarding Ronald's behaviour while at Hogwarts."
Molly grabbed Ron by the ear and dragged him over to the table. "Sit there and don't move, I'll be back when I find out just how much trouble you're in. Minerva, will you come through to the sitting room?"
As they headed out the kitchen, Bill suddenly had another redheaded female Weasley in his arms. Ginny had clearly heard her mother's yell and now launched herself at her favourite brother from the bottom of the stairs. He twirled her around the kitchen before sitting his sister down on the table. "Hey Gin, you've done some growing since the last time I was home. Let me get a look at you."
Bill noticed at once that his sister had been crying and was immediately concerned, she was normally such a happy-go-lucky child. "What's the matter with my favourite sister? You and mum had a fight?"
"Oh no Bill, it was just reading about Harry Potter in the Prophet that got me upset..."
Ron may have been told to sit there but that didn't mean he had to listen this without saying something. "Why is everyone so obsessed with that prat? He's nothing special..."
"Is that why you decided to curse him in the great hall today, because you were so jealous of a nothing special prat? What the hell were you thinking? The twins told me that was the second time you've used that curse, and you didn't even apologise to the girl you hit with it."
"I didn't mean to hit her with it, I was aiming at Crow's girlfriend..."
Ginny let a shriek out at this revelation. "Harry's got a girlfriend?"
"Yeah, bint by the name of Granger. She walks around the castle all day on his arm, it's enough to make you sick."
Ginny burst into tears at this news and raced back to her room while Bill grabbed Ron by the front of his robes and hauled him over the table. "What the hell is your problem? Things not going perfect in little Ronnie's world so he decides to throw a tantrum and make everyone else miserable too? Making a fool of yourself seems to be the only thing you're excelling at, not looking good for that first Hogwarts report card Ronnie boy."
——————————————————
Don't want to wait?
Get the full chapters and extra content in my PDF store.
——————————————————
https://ko-fi.com/cmrowling