Call Me Vengeful

Convicts Teaching and Friends Whispering

Chapter Thirty-Two: Convicts Teaching and Friends Whispering

"Welcome to Hogwarts." Ginny whispered to me as the train started to slow at Hogsmeade station. Her voice, though quiet, dripped with sarcasm and almost disgust. It was hard to believe that such a tone could be used for the same place where I had opened up, had found love of the truest nature.

"Ginny, there you are!" Both of our heads snapped towards our compartment door as it slid open, revealing none other than Neville Longbottom. He looked different than he had the last time we saw one another, though that was nearly two years ago. Now he stood about a head taller and was leaner too, a tired look in his eyes that seemed to turn to relief now that he'd found Ginny.

"Neville," Ginny glanced nervously at me before returning her attention to our friend.

"We've been looking for you half the trip, we thought you hadn't made the train." Neville told her, his voice coated with relief but with an edge to it as he continually eyed me. "Who is this?"

"Sorry, this is my cousin, Gretchen." Ginny lied on the spot and it took everything in me not to smack her. Though we'd agreed to have my name be Gretchen, we had also decided that I would be a friend of her family, not part of it. It was easily known that if you were a Weasley that you had red hair. "Mum and Dad asked for her to transfer here, wanted her to watch out for me."

"Nice to meet you, Gretchen." Neville gave a stiff nod, clearly not believing Ginny's poor lie. I just gave him a weak smile as he turned his gaze back to Ginny. "We should get going now, don't want to miss the carriages."

"Alright." Ginny nodded as she got to her feet and pulled me up as well. The three of us made our way through the train and out onto the platform that was nearly as silent as a graveyard. I could remember the noisy chatter and laughter that used to fill the station when returning from break, friends retelling stories of what had happened over their holidays and such, it was the complete opposite of the current silence. I kept close to Ginny's side as we made our way through the crowd of people, the only ones who seemed to be having normal conversations being those of Slyterin.

"Ginny! Neville!" A familiar Irish accented voice called out. I scanned the crowd until I spotted the familiar face of Seamus, surrounded by other familiar faces such as Dean Thomas, the Patil twins, Luna Lovegood, Colin Creevy, and Susan Bones. All of them seemed to take on an expression of relief when they spotted Ginny at Neville's side, not even seeming to notice me there as well.

"Who's that?" Dean seemed to be the first one to notice me, eyeing me uneasily.

"This is my cousin, Gretchen." Ginny stuck with her lie as she looped her arm through mine, keeping me close at her side. Everyone only nodded, not speaking out against her obvious lie, and we all headed towards the carriages and ended up being split up into two. I sat in one with Ginny, Neville, Luna, Seamus, and Dean.

"So, how old are you Gretchen?" Dean asked me.

"Seventeen." I lied. "I've been going to Beaubuxtons up til now. Aunt Molly and Uncle Arthur asked me to transfer to keep an eye on Ginny. Figured it'd give me a chance to see the school that the twins always raved about over the years."

"Not much to rave about anymore." Seamus scoffed.

"Do you know what house you'll be in?" Dean ignored his friend's comment.

"I'd suspect Gryffindor, that's where my whole family seems to end up." I shrugged as I looked down at the Threstal pulling our carriage. I reached out and ran my hand against it's rough back. I didn't have to look at the others to know they were all giving me strange looks, unable to see the Threstal themselves.