A/N Hi everyone! This book has gotten so much love in the past week and I wanted to thank you for reading and starting this journey with me. I will try to update every two to three days (I'm a college student with two jobs I'm trying) so stay tuned for more :)
Now enjoy because THE PLOT THICKENS!
(P.S you can go to my spotify to find the playlist for this book)
"Oh Merlin. Oh Merlin, can someone just avada kedavra my ass right now? This is ridiculous," complained Ramona, still reluctant to leave the quidditch stands even after almost everyone had left. The cold was nipping at her fingers but she wouldn't budge, dreading encountering anyone at all. Especially her own reflection.
"It looks rather nice on you," gloated Luna, twinkling eyes filled with amusement. Her friend's thick head of hair was covered by the lion-topped hat and she covered her face with her hands, placing her head on her knees in despair. A quiet wail of agony was heard from Ramona, who could not accept her fate easily. It was fair to say that Luna was enjoying her friend's embarrassment, though at first she hadn't believed Ramona would actually put the hat on.
"It's not going to roar again, is it?" asked Ramona, looking up at the abomination on her head, deeply disturbed at the thought of someone seeing her with it.
"Probably not," admitted Luna. She tried her very best to contain the rising laughter at the appalled face of her friend, though Luna's joyful giggle echoed off the field around them.
"Probably? What do you mean probably? Luna-"
"Come on, Ramona, you've promised me drinks," taunted Luna further, getting up and starting to leave the stands. However, Ramona stayed seated.
After Slytherin's loss, there was not person on the stands more heartbroken than Ramona. In fact, such heartbreak was something Luna had not seen since Oliver Wood suffered a loss to Hufflepuff. The girl closed her eyes while Luna tried to contain her laughter, the sheer pain of the loss mixing with the realization that she'd have to wear that horrid hat on her head.
Luna tried not to be offended once Ramona described the hat as the most heinous thing she's ever seen, deciding it was probably an insult provoked by despair, but the rather descriptive adjectives she used caused Luna to shove the hat onto her head, not giving in to her protests.
With each minute of the game passing, Ramona was growing less cocky. And by the half hour, she was in disbelief. Gryffindor were leading 60 to 0 by the time half an hour ended. Ron made some spectacular saves, some by the very tips of his gloves, and Ginny had scored four of Gryffindor's six goals. And thanks to Ron Weasley, who she entirely blamed for her fate, the Gryffindor team had won.
And now, long after the game had ended, she was preparing herself to prance around with the mortifying, humiliating piece of head-wear.
"I wanted to have it chewing up a serpent to represent Slytherin, but there wasn't time, you know," explained Luna, standing a couple of steps away from the mortified witch, who at her friend's words let out a long and over-exaggerated groan.
"It's chewing up a serpent, alright," bickered Ramona, looking at Luna with pleading eyes.
"Don't look at me like that. A bet is a bet," said the girl, turning around and finally leaving the stands, leaving Ramona to gather all her strength and follow behind.
She regretted the bet; she regretted being so arrogant about it. But in true Slytherin fashion, she wouldn't admit it. And she knew she'd do it again; even though she'd never seen Slytherin play before that day, she knew she'd make ill-calculated bets just because.
It was safe to say that disappointment colored the evening in shades of red and gold.
The two agreed to go for drinks before continuing to the Gryffindor party; it was forbidden to mingle in other student's common rooms, but neither girl was about to refuse the invitation. Ramona insisted on changing before they went back to the castle and thought of the Three Broomsticks as a safe place with few students- for most parties occurred in the common rooms.
The walk from the quidditch pitch to the Three Broomsticks was a dreadful one and Ramona hoped she would not encounter anyone she knew- however, weather or not she knew them didn't matter. She wore her Slytherin uniform and a ridiculous lion hat. That in itself was hilarious enough- and, if you looked past the giant hat, you'd see a grimace of agony like no other.
The hat itself made her seem closer to 6'0, so she she was certain that no passerby could miss the attraction.
Even though most of their friends were in their common rooms, that was not the case for the rest of the school. Many students had the same idea as them- and when they walked into the Three Broomsticks, Ramona wanted to obliviate herself to forget the faces of her peers once they saw her. The inn was crowded, and a bit smoky, but very loud once people started to notice her.
It wasn't the lion's roar she concerned herself with anymore. The laughter was louder. Though not everyone laughed when they saw her; some wept. There was not a face in the room that didn't immediately light up at the ridiculous scene.
One of those faces aggravated her more than the rest; the loudest and throatiest laugh of all belonged to none other than her blood relative who, upon seeing her, seemed like a man possessed.
Blaise was not only amused. Blaise was close to passing out from the force of his laughter and, still stood at the door, Ramona only wished to turn and leave. He, however, walked over to her- though walking could not have been the right world to describe it- and hid his face in his hands, peeking through his fingers to look at her once every few moments.
Great booming laughter rolled from his mouth. Hot tears were streaming down Blaise's face and he could not utter a word for the life of him, though jokes were brewing in his throat, choking him. It was a laughter that Blaise could feel in his lungs, so hard that it took his breath away. The lack of oxygen didn't matter. He would have accepted death then and there if it meant that the last thing he saw was Ramona in that hat.
Shenoticed the snickers and jokes that were coming from the table of Slytherins in the corner of the room and Ramona took the momentum of everyone's attention to strut down the room, turning around so that everyone could get a good look.
Deciding that it was easier to go with the joke than fight it, she bowed down dramatically and outstretched her hands at her sides as she came up, pointing a hand in the direction of the table where Slytherin's team sat.
"That was a pathetic game, Slytherins," she announced loudly, "I don't think I'll be betting on you anytime soon."
Graham Montague, the team captain, rolled his eyes at her words and laughed- he couldn't do anything but laugh as he looked at her. The girl spinning around in the middle of the inn looked incredibly joyful in that moment, burying the embarrassment and embracing the joke.
Even though she was not one to crave attention, she didn't mind making the most out of her doom. Wearing the hat and being laughed at was much worse than laughing along.
Ramona's theatrics were far too amusing as she spun around, the lion head eventually roaring and terrifying the table of two Ravenclaws next to her. One of the poor girls almost fell off her chair and as Ramona stretched out her hand to help, the girl ushered her away and stood up by herself.
Theodore Nott was sat at the very edge of the table of Slytherins. Ramona didn't like his gaze and the way his lips twitched into a smirk, but she could see that the awful boy was amused as well. With a shaking of his head, he turned to Graham, whispering something but keeping his eyes still on Ramona, not trying to hide he was talking about her. Graham seemed intrigued by his words and, as Nott spoke, his eyes met Ramona's.
Feeling that nothing good was to come from their whispering, she turned to face her cousin who had finally calmed down, but just enough to speak.
"Oh Merlin," wept Blaise who, once Ramona turned towards him, had his hand around Luna's shoulders. A blushing Luna supported him from collapsing, hesitantly placing her hand around his waist as he rested his entire weight on her. Blaise was not aware that the white-haired girl was looking at him, trying to suppress a giant grin, for he was too focused on staying upright.
"Lovegood, you're a genius," wheezed out Blaise. He roughly kissed the top of Luna's head before letting her go, walking towards Ramona. Luna stumbled backward and then froze where she stood, eyes wide, staring after Blaise.
"Wait. I need to preserve this memory," he said. Blaise placed his hands before him, as if framing Ramona's face with his fingers.
"Blaise, cut it out," Ramona grunted, slapping his hand away.
"Ramona, I am begging you, let me have this. This is the single greatest moment of my life," he pleaded, gripping onto her hands to pull her back. She huffed and stood still as he drank in every detail of her look, face split by a grin so large she wasn't sure it was Blaise before her eyes.
"You've had your moment, twit, be gone now," announced Ramona as tears returned to Blaise's eyes. Grabbing Luna's hand, she dragged her to an empty table, away from prying eyes.
Blaise followed along closely, trying to contain his laughter- but the resonating giggle of her cousin was hard to ignore.
"No. Absolutely not. Piss off," she told him, holding onto the chair he tried to pull out.
"Oh come on," he complained, "Lovegood wants my company. Don't you?" He turned his gaze to Luna, who's cheeks were still tinted pink. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
Like a fish, Luna Lovegood opened and closed her mouth, eyes twinkling as she looked at Blaise. Her eyes only snapped to Ramona for a brief second- but enough for Ramona to know what she meant. Damn you Lovegood.
"You can sit. But I swear to Merlin, if you make one more comment-"
"Allow me one joke, just one joke," begged Blaise. He pulled out the chair and sat down opposite Luna, eagerly waiting for permission to begin. He was bursting with joy the more he looked at Ramona and she couldn't help but be amused herself.
"I'll get the drinks," Ramona sighed, standing up just as Blaise started to blabber.
"So a lion and a mouse walk into a bar, right? Appropriate," he said with a wink and Ramona slapped him upside the head as she walked away from their table. "They're sitting there chugging away at a few beers when a giraffe walks in. And the mouse says, Get a load of her, I fancy that!"
Luna was engrossed in Blaise's story, not even looking at Ramona as she left.
"Doesn't fancy him my ass," muttered Ramona under her breath, adjusting the lion head so that it didn't slip down her forehead.
On her way to the bar, snickers and laughs were heard as she passed. She'd smile awkwardly, nodding politely at the people that would crack a joke, eventually laughing herself. She didn't mind it that much at that point, the initial embarrassment passing, and felt rather happy that people would look at her with smiles instead of weary faces.
They were all friendly towards her. She even debated thanking Luna for making her wear that hat. She felt accepted, even more so with that hideous thing on her head. She looked approachable with it- a thing she'd never been before.
"What a heinous thing," someone muttered from behind Ramona, who stood at the bar, squinting at herself in the mirror. The hat truly looked horrid on her.
"I've been called worse," said Ramona, turning around and coming face to face with a very broad chest.
Graham Montague.
Graham Montague was a large and muscular bloke she'd never really spoken to before. Standing beside him, she realized he was even larger than Crabbe and Goyle. His hairy arms were crossed over his chest as he towered over her, even taller than the hat on top of her head. He had a sly grin on his face, one that made Ramona recoil slightly, and look at the woman behind the bar in hopes of getting out of there fast.
"I was talking about the hat," he pointed out. He flashed a toothy grin, winking. He was a handsome bloke. His squared face suited his broad body well; but something about his smile didn't sit right with Ramona.
"In that case, I agree," she said, leaning her elbows on the bar as she stared at her reflection. The more she looked at it, the funnier it was. She couldn't blame Blaise for laughing, despite how annoying it was.
"So how are you liking Hogwarts?" Graham asked, leaning on the bar beside her. Ramona was very aware of his large arm brushing hers and she leaned away discreetly to maintain a comfortable distance.
"It's been alright so far," she replied. "I've made some nice friends."
"Yeah, sure," he said, words dripping with sarcasm, as he turned slightly to glance at Luna.
"Is something funny?" she asked, frowning at his stupid smiling face.
"Looney Lovegood isn't actually your friend, is she?" he then asked. The shameless question angered Ramona and she immediately decided that she did not like the man- that, and the fact that he was stepping closer to her by the second.
"She's one of the greatest friends I've had," argued Ramona. Graham then laughed, genuinely laughed, as he did not believe her words for a moment.
"That girl's the biggest nutter I've seen," he wheezed jokingly, as if thinking that Ramona would laugh along.
That right there made Ramona want to knock out his teeth. But she decided that it was not a night for violence. She did not want to get into trouble over dumb boys- though his offenses directed at Luna left a bitter feeling in her mouth and she wanted nothing more than to spit in his face.
She fumbled with the moonstone on her necklace, hoping it's energy would calm her down, but she couldn't stop her mouth from running.
"I suppose you're much better company?" she then asked him.
"Of course. I've actually come to ask you if you're free tonight. Making some actual friends might be nice for you." He grinned. Ramona could not believe that a person seeing her facial expressions could even assume that that was the right question to asked.
"Unfortunately, I'm not," she spat, leaving no room for imagination as her dry tone of voice gave off just how unpleasant she found that proposal.
"That's a shame."
"Really is."
An awkward silence commenced. Ramona hoped and prayed that the waitress would look her way, but the woman was busy with taking orders from people on the other side of the bar, as it was getting crowded by the second.
"I've been meaning to ask you out since you got sorted, actually," he said, poking at her arm to get her attention. Ramona turned back to him, believing very little in his words.
"Lovely," she grinned, the grin looking more like a sneer than a smile, and proceeded to stare at the waitress, compelling her to come over.
"We haven't really had a chance to talk before," he continued, either oblivious to or ignoring her disinterest.
"What a loss," mumbled Ramona under her breath.
"A loss indeed," he declared. For a moment, the waitress turned towards them, but was called over by someone else. Ramona groaned.
"Do you reckon I could buy you a drink, at least?" he asked loudly, leaning over the bar a bit so that he could look at her better. He leaned on his elbow, playing with the strands of the lion's mane.
"Please, refrain from touching," Ramona sternly warned. "And I am in no need of being financed, though I thank the offer. "
He was close. Too close. Her personal space was invaded and it was causing nervousness to bubble up in her stomach. She usually had no problem in telling people off, but the seemingly friendly smile of Graham Montague made her want to converse with him as little as possible.
For a brief moment, she thought of getting him to buy her entire table drinks. But not even that seemed worth being in his presence. The air he gave off was so unpleasant, Ramona wanted to vanish. She was rarely wrong about people and there was something about him that didn't sit right with her.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"No," she said. She then turned away from him, leaning on the bar herself, and tried to stare the waitress down.
"What's going on with you and Zabini?" he asked, dismissing her answer.
Ramona turned to look at him, no softness in her gaze. She was hell-bent on making that man leave her alone, not at all interested on amusing him any further. So she simply stared him down and uttered, "I don't think that is any of your business."
"It's not, you're right," he confirmed. "However, I noticed you've been getting along. I asked him about you but he told me off. Can you tell me why that is?"
"He probably told you off for a reason. Whatever that reason might be, I'd suggest you stick to what he said," responded Ramona, picking at her fingernails to keep herself from hitting him. She needed to control her temper- punching whoever bothered her in the slightest wasn't a good reaction and she knew it.
"I know Zabini doesn't like to share his women, so I've come to scout this situation out myself," Graham proceeded to say.
"This situation?" she asked, annoyance lacing the words. From behind him she could see Nott watching the interaction intently, sipping on his drink. It was clear to her what was going on at that point.
"Zabini is a nice bloke, but I can't help but wonder if he has what it takes," Graham mumbled, voice octaves deeper, as his eyes bore into hers.
"What it takes?"
"To satisfy a woman such as yourself." At his words, Ramona felt bile rise in her throat. The view of Graham's square face and toothy smile made thinking about satisfaction fairly impossible. No matter how handsome he was, his features morphed as the conversation progressed and to her he appeared almost like a caricature.
"I feel we'd get along well. I've heard that you're a pretty filthy thing," he whispered, sneaking one arm around Ramona's waist, "I know a place where no one can hear you. You're a screamer, aren't you? I bet you are."
His eyes were hard-rimmed and fixed, so much so that it was as if he was no longer able to move his eyeballs, like they'd rusted into place. His gaze fell like an act of violence, as uncomfortable as a chorus-girl corset. It had the same effect on Ramona's breathing- constricted and shallow.
"Graham, darling," hissed out Ramona, "I will kindly ask you to remove your hand before I bite it off."
"I knew you were a kinky little shit," he mused, entertained by her anger. At that point, Ramona was no longer trying to be calm. She was beyond trying to hold her anger at bay.
Mad like Schrodinger's cat stuck in its box, Ramona was about to make the boy before her wonder weather he was dead or alive. But before she could even think through what she was going to do, their interaction was interrupted.
"Fancy checking out that cabinet, Montague?" a voice perked up from beside Ramona, not registering in her ears at first.
Graham's entire posture changed, the amused grin wiped off as he hissed out a low, "Weasley."
"Leave the lady alone, mate," George preached, putting a hand on Graham's shoulder. The boulder of the man shook his hand off aggressively, still rooted in his spot. But in shaking off George's hand he let go of Ramona's waist, which allowed her to step a safe distance away.
"The lady is fine, mate, mind your business," he spat, looking at Ramona once again.
Ramona did not even get the chance to process his words before Fred pushed her out of the way slightly, leaning on the bar in front of her so that he created a human shield between the two.
"I don't reckon you remember what happened last year, yeah? Do you need a reminder?" Fred said lowly, implying something Ramona clearly had no idea about. Though it caused Graham to stare Fred down, appearing even intimidated by the man.
"You got away with it once," said Graham, though his voice wasn't as confident as he intended it to be.
"Who's to say we won't again?" taunted Fred, whispering something lowly, for only him to hear.
"Right, calm down mate," said Graham, rising his hands up in defense. "It was just a stupid bet, nothing to get fussy over."
He walked away without any other commentary. Nott, who was laughing at the fallen soldier, patted him on the back and mumbled something, causing Graham to push him away and cuss him out. The large bloke was angry and that anger amused Nott who nodded at Ramona, rising his glass at her.
She did not want to believe that her eyes were seeing Theodore Nott actually smiling at her and laughing at Graham.
"Oh Merlin, bless your souls," exclaimed Ramona, hugging the twins tightly. "Though I really didn't need the assistance, you know."
"We know," said George, patting her back through the hug, "But I wanted to spare him a visit to madam Pomfrey. You looked murderous."
"I didn't. But I did want to spare you the trouble of punching," said Fred, looking at the lion head on top of her hat rather than at her.
"Oh, it's never a trouble," said Ramona, now in a much better mood when the pest was gone.
"Really in the spirit of winning, eh?" asked George, poking the lion's nose with his finger.
"Not my bloody fault Slytherin played so bad," Ramona grumbled, finally catching the attention of the waitress, calling out her order from across the bar. She added Fred and George's drinks to her order and they helped her carry them all back to their table where Luna and Blaise were talking animatedly.
"People don't usually believe that a Blibbering Humdinge exists, but that thing that was just on your shoulder was definitely one," said Luna.
"Yeah no shit, I definitely felt something," grunted Blaise, rubbing his shoulder and looking around in paranoia.
"But don't worry, they won't harm you if you don't harm them," she then explained.
"I fucking hope so. What did you say it was called again?" asked Blaise, turning around once more to be safe the creature Luna named wasn't anywhere near him.
Luna was about to repeat the name of the alleged intruder but was interrupted by a loud greeting from Fred and George who settled around the table joyfully. Blaise wasn't particularly happy to see them, but once he looked at Ramona his mood was restored. Slightly.
"It's even better than I remember it," he said, chuckling.
"You saw me five minutes ago," she grumbled, pushing Blaise's glass in front of him as Geroge handed Luna hers.
"It wasn't five minutes. What took you so long?" he asked, leaning back in his chair. He eyed Fred and George as they settled in the seat in front of him, lips in a tight line. It was evident he wasn't thrilled with their company. As Blaise reached for his drink, so did Luna- and they raised their glasses only slightly in toast before drinking.
"Sodding Graham Montague wouldn't leave me alone," Ramona sighed.
"Montague?" Blaise echoed, putting his glass down loudly. He leaned forward, crossing his arms on the table.
"He and Nott made some sort of bet. Unpleasant fellow," Ramona concluded. Luna silently met her eye, as if asking what had happened, but there was no time to answer. In any case, Ramona wouldn't tell her what Graham said. Even though she knew that Luna wasn't bothered much by anyone's words, she wouldn't want to repeat them to her anyway.
"That manky prat. He's been asking me about you for a while now, but I thought I've been clear enough in telling him to piss off," Blaise hissed out, leaning to the right on his chair to stare at Graham.
"We've made sure he steers clear," said Fred confidently, rising his glass as he did so. George rose his as well, toasting with his brother.
"Have you now?" snickered Blaise, not entirely believing them.
"You forget what happened last year," Geroge reminded him with a mischievous smile that matched Fred's.
Blaise snorted, almost starting to laugh at the memory. He nodded his head, biting at his lips to keep a smile off his face.
"Serves him right," said Luna, laughing at the memory.
"I suppose you did, then," Blaise concluded, turning to Ramona. "He's a real prick, Montague. Comes off all nice and friendly, but he's a cunning arsehole if I've ever seen one. What did he say?"
"I don't think I'll go through the trouble of repeating it," she said.
"Did he make you uncomfortable?" Blaise asked, leaning closer to her. Ramona sometimes forgot how intimidating her cousin could be and as Blaise's eyes searched for Montague, he gritted his teeth and reset his jaw.
"Yeah," Ramona admitted. "But-"
"I'll knock that tosser's fucking teeth out," grumbled Blaise under his breath. Ramona placed a hand on his shoulder but he shook her off, leaning back in his chair stiffly.
"What happened last year?" asked Ramona, wanting to know what Luna was laughing about quietly and intent on diffusing the tension that had built at Blaise's words. The four looked at each other, as if asking who was going to tell the story.
"We forced him head-first into that Vanishing Cabinet on the first floor for trying to take house points from us," bragged Fred, a broad smile on his face as he did.
"The Vanishing Cabinet?" Ramona asked.
"Yeah, he was stuck there for a while. Apparated out of it, but it wasn't entirely successful," George explained.
"I thought you couldn't apparate inside Hogwarts," Ramona mused.
"You can't," said Blaise, "And I'm rather surprise you got away with that one."
"Peeves broke the cabinet. I suppose there's something wrong with it, or Montague is just very lucky," Luna reasoned, observing her friend. Ramona's mind was running a mile a minute. She was intrigued.
But there was no time to think much of it once Fred and George started talking. They even got Blaise to smile a couple of times, even though he announced that he wasn't going to stick around for long. Luna was thrilled to be in his company and the two had found common ground soon. She was sure that Luna's kindness shone upon him as well, for Blaise seemed like a different man then. Calmer. Even nicer.
For a brief moment, Blaise stared at Ramona. She was wiping her tears, her shrill laughter sounding in his ears, and he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her laugh like that. He could still, every time he closed his eyes, see her face when she was cursed.
Blaise cared deeply about very few people, but Ramona was at the top of the list. He was very aware of the danger that lurked around her, very aware that they could be mere days away from it, very aware that she was not one to hold back in doing what she thought was necessary.
He could still remember the scared little girl who walked in her father's shadow, a small soldier standing her ground against things beyond her comprehension. He felt sorry for her even then, knowing the things that were expected of her. For years, he thought she was safe. But now, he was very aware that she'd never escaped them.
She laughed. He loved it when she laughed. But it also made him sad.
So he continued to look at her, his smile mirroring her own, and enjoyed the moments of happiness as they passed before his eyes- as if he could have known, as if he could sense that there were not going to be many of them.