Harry Potter and the Year of Surprises by erinpotter

Malfoy's Fan Club

Belong to erinpotter on HPFF

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The time at Grimmauld Place went all too quickly for Harry’s liking. He wanted to stay and watch the Lupin twins grow a little more. They were developing extremely quickly and they were already laughing and gurgling by the time Harry and his three friends were due to go to Hogwarts.

‘Well, bye then.’ he said to Remus at platform nine and three quarters. ‘I might pop into the fire some day. See how the babies are getting along, you know.’

‘Yeah, do keep in touch, Harry.’ Remus replied, hugging his godson.

Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny said their farewells to their family and friends and boarded the scarlet train. On the way there, they met Malfoy, who shot Harry, Ron and Hermione dirty looks, but winked at Ginny. She had hoped he’d forgotten about her, but it seemed he hadn’t. 

Ginny glared at him for a few seconds and turned into her compartment. A few moments later a bunch of younger girls ran into the compartment giggling and whispering. They pushed one girl to the front of the group.

‘Erm…hello. Are you Ginny Weasley?’

Ginny nodded.

‘Hi. I'm Freya Colgan and I'm the chairperson of the Draco Malfoy fan club. Rumour has it that he likes you. And we think that we just witnessed him winking at you. Pray tell, why aren’t you going out with him?’

After Ginny had gotten over the shock of Draco Malfoy having a fan club, she narrowed her eyes.

‘Do you really think that I'd go out with that good for nothing scumbag?’

‘Who wouldn’t?’ one of the girls near the back of the group squeaked.

‘Anyone with a millionth of a brain cell!’ Ginny said, rising from her seat. ‘Now I know you are only juniors but you really should have more sense. No one is this earth should ever feel as if they want to spend time with Draco Malfoy, let alone go out with him! Now out! Before I put you all in detention!’

The girls scuttled out of the compartment muttering and shaking their heads. One girl was frozen with shock.

‘I think I handled that well.’ she said,

‘I think you flew off the handle!’ Ron exclaimed. ‘They’re only little! Leave them alone!’

‘They were astounded that I'm not going out with Malfoy. They must think I'd stoop very, very, low.’

‘No, they think you are the devil for saying “no” to him.’ Hermione said, knowingly.

‘Yeah, Ginny. They’re only little. They don’t know him or what he is like. Let them have their silly little fan club.’ Harry said, patting her on the hand.

‘Hmmm. I think I’ll try to disband it…’ Ginny said, laying her head on Harry's shoulder and falling asleep.

A few hours later, Harry woke Ginny to tell her to get changed into her school robes. They were only half an hour away from the station. 

Everyone dressed in silence. They all knew that they had all wanted to stay at Grimmauld Place. Harry though that if Sirius had been there, he would have fought to be allowed to stay.

Once they got back into the routine of classes and homework, the NEWT work really started to pile on. They were sitting up most nights till well after midnight finishing essays and reading books. Harry and Ron were lucky. They were only doing five NEWTS. DADA, Potions, Transfiguration, Charms and Herbology.

Ginny was doing DADA, Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, Charms, Divination and Muggle Studies. She was doing two more NEWTS than Harry and Ron, even though she was a year younger.

But Hermione beat them all. She was taking the most NEWT subjects anyone in the history of Hogwarts had ever taken. DADA, Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, Muggle Studies, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. She was taking eight. The most available is usually seven but Professor McGonagall had written to the board of governors, asking for permission for one extra. The same old stuff she had to write in third year for Hermione’s time – turner. That she was a model student and the perfect pupil and head girl, blah, blah, blah.

But they were all keeping up (just) with the work and Harry, Ron and Ginny were also finding time to fit in quidditch practise. Harry had been thinking about starting up the DA again but he really couldn’t find the time. 

The weeks and months passed, mostly without anything exciting going on, the Gryffindor seniors had another party which was much the same as the last one except Dumbledore didn’t make an appearance this time! 

It wasn’t until the week before Easter than Ron had a brainwave.

‘Did anyone ever find their lockets again?’ he mused, pouring over his latest DADA essay. Erin was piling on the work load recently.

Everyone looked up, realising that they had forgotten all about them, except Harry, who had done a little research on them.

‘Er, look. I've found out a bit about them, but I totally forgot to tell you about them, what with all the work and everything.’

‘Well, what did you find out?’ said Hermione, temporarily looking up from her DADA essay.

‘Erm…it seems that they’re illegal.’

‘What?’ Ginny gasped.

‘Yeah. Apparently there was a new decree brought out that any of the lockets made after 1995 were illegal. That’s why I've still got the one from my parents and Sirius (A/N. I'm writing the story as if they are 18 now! Not whenever JK wrote the story).’

‘Aw well that’s shit!’ Ron raged. ‘How many other ways can we protect ourselves?’

‘We’ll just have to fight off the spells ourselves.’ Hermione sighed, picking up her quill and continuing with her essay.

‘Why aren’t they making the ones made before that illegal?’ Ginny asked.

‘I think they are trying to. I read that they were trying to round them all up. I just hope they don’t get mine before the big battle.’

‘Why do you call it “the big battle”? Why can't you just sneak up on old Voldy and bump him off?’ Ron asked, for what seemed to Harry to be the hundredth time.

‘Because I just can't. Do you honestly think he’s not surrounded by death eaters and such like?’

‘Well, yeah but still…’

‘Just leave it Ron. I’ll deal with it when the time comes.’

And that was the end of that conversation. 

Over the Easter break (they got a long weekend) Hermione decided to let them all off for one afternoon. Typically, it rained so they spent their time in their tower, playing wizard’s chess, exploding snap and Harry tried out several of his new pranks on Ginny and Hermione, while Ron fell about laughing. It was finally when Hermione was drenched in bobotaur pus and Ginny was sporting a bloody nose and wearing a hat shaped like a teacup that wouldn’t come off that they declared a ‘girls versus boys’ war. Ginny and Hermione sent every harmless spell they knew at them but they couldn’t compete with Fred and George’s genius pranks. They finally had to wave the white flag and give in, but it was fun.