Dunderhead - A Harry Potter story: Snape becomes Harry's mentor

METAMORPHMAGUS

Ron could not have prepared himself that day for the unveiling that he had inadvertently caused. Really, it should not have been such a dramatic moment. But then, when there was a large crowd of people, a bit of the dramatic was inevitable. Ron found that he was sorry for it all, against his earlier judgements. 

***

Ron found Mint sitting beneath the main staircase that lead down to the Great Hall. The tapestry of a tree of bowtruckles was behind her, just as Harry had described. "Hey," Ron said casually, taking a step towards the girl. He knew that it must be the right person because she seemed as Harry had described her. She certainly did have thick eyebrows. And there was a pile of books and papers all around her to rival even Hermione's enthusiastic studying habits. 

"Hello." Mint replied hesitantly. She did not look wary of Ron but neither did she seem very welcoming. 

Oh well, Ron thought. It was not like he was here to have that much of a conversation with her, really. Just because her notebook illustrations were impressive, it didn't make Ron any less weirded out by her photographs of Harry's family. He wanted to do some digging for his friend's sake. "Harry's been looking for you," Ron said carefully, "But he's not very well at the mo-"

"At the moment? Yes, I know he's not not, I expect everyone knows it by now." Mint said, interrupting him yet managing to make the abruption sound oddly polite. 

Ron wasn't thrown off, however. "Yeah, well," he said resentfully, "Anyway, I just wanted to ask you about something on Harry's behalf." He explained with a glance at her. Ron was determined to be crafty about this, he wasn't going to go into this delicate conversation like a... what was Hermione's turn of phrase? Ah, like a bull in a china shop. 

"Alright. Do you want to sit down?" Mint suggested. She moved her bag, papers and books aside, and crossed her legs to make room for Ron's taller form. Ron hesitated but decided that he may as well be smooth about this. He didn't want people to have their attention peeked by a mention of Harry's name. Everyone was so aware these days of gossip surrounding Harry and his absence, and Hermione's and Neville's similar disappearances. Ron was anxious not to fuel more talk, and he considered that standing over Mint in the dark shadow of the staircase, shouting at her injustices against Harry, might look odd. 

He set himself down beside her and crossed his own legs - with some difficulty - before he decided that it was easier to sit with his long legs out in front of him. Trying to brush off his inelegance, Ron turned to Mint and opened his mouth to speak, before closing it when he realised that he wasn't sure how to proceed with the argument - uh, conversation. 

But Mint beat him to it. "This is about my grey notebook, isn't it." She said. There was no reproach in her voice, only a calmness that made Ron feel slightly uneasy. 

It wasn't a question but Ron nodded slowly, his eyes narrowing. She wasn't going to deny it? "Yeah," he said. "So why d-"

But Mint cut him off for the second time that afternoon. "Listen", she said firmly, "Harry has already asked me about it. I know that he was unhappy to see some photos I have of his parents. I didn't know who they were, and I didn't know they were dead." She explained, turning to look at Ron properly with a focussed gaze. 

"But," spluttered Ron, "Everyone in the entire school, no, the whole of Wizarding Britain, knows that!" Ron said. He couldn't believe that this girl could not have known anything at all about Harry and his history. Had she been living under a rock? The only time that Ron could recall having met someone who was as clueless about the Potters and Voldemort's downfall as this girl... was Harry himself, rather ironically. Ron could remember the conversation on the Hogwarts' Express like it was last week. He shook his head at Mint, distracted by his sad memories of his best friend. Harry couldn't stay a toddler, it wasn't fair. Why did literally everything seem to happen to Harry?