Lions, Magic, and Snakes

Chapter3

I flop down at the Gryffindor table and start piling mounds of food onto my plate. Fred and George flop down on either side of me grinning. "Hey Kaitlyn!" Fred says brightly watching me

"How is your first day at Hogwarts going so far?" George asks his brow furrowed slightly as I toss food onto my plate.

"It was going great until two," I pause thinking of the word, "gits?" They both nod, "Ya gits, went and screwed it up." They share a glance around me and nod sharply.

"Ah, and what did our little brother do?" Fred asks in a very serious voice.

"And Harry I'm assuming." George says not really asking. I nod and dive into what happened. I tell them how Draco wasn't that horrible to me, and I didn't understand why they thought he was so bad.

"I understand they've known him longer, and probably have a good reason to dislike him, but they didn't have to get so shitty with me!" I zone out looking at my food missing the look they share. I pick up my fork and start eating not wanting to say anything else or miss out on lunch.

"We can tell you why they hate him so much." Fred says calmly.

"And why you should watch yourself around him." George adds seriously.

I look between them gratefully and nod.

"Malfoy is a spoiled git that thinks he rules the world. He's also a muggleborn, and muggle hater. He regularly calls Hermione derogatory slurs." I frown at that, but I keep eating listening intently.

"He's had it out for Harry since their first day at Hogwarts when Harry turned down his friendship." George picks up. He drops his voice so I really have to listen, "We also know that his father, Lucious, is a death eater." I choke and cough until Fred hands me my goblet.

After I catch my breath, I look at George swiftly, "Is he really? How do you know for sure?" I glance over at the Slytherin table and spot Draco laughing and talking with his friends before I turn back.

He goes on to explain how Harry saw him at the graveyard when he-who-must-not-be-named was brought back. "Crabbe and Goyle's fathers were there as well." I gape at him stunned for a moment before I look down at my now empty plate.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but..." Fred starts gently, but I shake my head.

"Thank you both for taking the time to explain it to me. I can see why they would have been upset..." I let my voice drift off lost in thought.

"No problem." George says softly.

"If our stupid brother gives you anymore trouble you let us know. We'll fix him up right." Fred says teasingly trying to make me smile again. I oblige him shoving my thoughts down for later.

"Next time I'll hex him myself." I grin mischievously looking between them both.

"Haha that's what I like to hear!" They both exclaim brightly laughing.

"And what are you two laughing at?" We all look up and see Ron and Harry standing behind us.

"Oh, nothing little brother." Fred says giving me a wink before they both stand up.

"Keep in mind what we said. We'll see you around Moon." They say together making me laugh.

"I will, thanks again!" They both nod before walking off. I turn back to the table and pick up my goblet taking a drink. Harry and Ron hesitate behind me before Harry clears his throat.

"Do you want to walk to Divination with us?" He asks sounding slightly nervous and embarrassed.

"Sure." I say coolly before standing up. The three of us walk towards the door, me between the two much taller boys. I glance over at the Slytherins out of the corner of my eye, and I see Zabini, Draco, and that flat faced girl glaring at the three of us. I lift my head higher and strut from the great hall. 'No idea what all that crap is about.' I roll my eyes as we start climbing the staircase.

We walk in silence for a while before Ron starts up this time, "We uh, we were wrong earlier." I can hear how anxious he is.

"Oh? Whatever for?" I say sarcastically, giving him a small smile over my shoulder. He looks relived but answers me anyway.

"We shouldn't have assumed you'd instantly dislike him too." I nod agreeing whole heartedly with that.

"But you need to know how bad he is." Harry adds a scowl furrowing his brows.

"Fred and George told me everything over lunch." I step off to the side of the hallway and turn to face them. They both follow me looking a little confused. "I just want to say, I get why you hate him, and you have every right too." I can tell Harry sees my 'but' coming and he frowns harder. I fight to keep from rolling my eyes at him, "But he hasn't done anything wrong to me." Harry opens his mouth looking angry, so I raise my voice a little, "Yes, yes, I know about his father, but we aren't our parents. We can be different if given the right opportunities."

They both stare at me for a moment, and I raise my brows asking them to tell me I'm wrong. Harry lets out a sharp breath still looking perturbed but gives in anyway. "I guess you're right Kaitlyn." Ron mutters softly before turning to lead us on to class.

As I'm turning to follow him Harry says softly, "Just don't expect too much. He's a git."

"I'll try not to get my hopes up." I say giving him a teasing smile. He searches my face for a moment before he nods and grins back.

I find I hate divination with a passion. Trelawney read my future and assured me I'd be miserable this year, and dead in two years. It takes all I have not to scoff openly at her "prediction."

"What a load of crap that was. No wonder Hermione dropped the class!" I complain as we head off to our next period. Harry and Ron laugh along with me as we joke about Professor Trelawney.

"What are you three laughing at?" A familiar voice says curiously behind us.

"Hey Hermione! I was just saying how dumb divination is." I say grinning brightly at her. She sighs and agrees with me. We all talk and laugh together until we finally make it to Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Harry and Ron sit together while I sit with Hermione.

"Please open your books and read chapter ten." A squeaky overly sweet voice says from the back of the room as the door clicks shut. I glance over my shoulder and see a woman in a horrendous pink cardigan walking smugly up to the front of the room. Once she stops at her desk, she turns to look at the rest of the class. Her eyes sweep over Harry then over the rest of the class.

Her brow furrows when her gaze lands on me. "And who are you dear?" My stomach rolls with the fake sweet words.

"Kaitlyn Moon ma'am. This is my first day." I say simply trying to keep my voice neutral. My parents worked for the ministry now, and from what Hermione had told me earlier, this lady does as well. I didn't want to get them in trouble with my smart mouth.

"Ah yes Miss Moon. I do remember Fudge telling me you would be attending here." She looks me over slowly and I hold my ground not flinching or fidgeting. "I need you to start at chapter one and be caught up with the rest of your peers by next class." With that she turns away and fiddles with something on her desk. I pull a nasty face and mumble soft curses to myself as I flip to the first page of the book. I see Harry and Ron grinning at me out of the corner of my eye and I flash them a smirk before turning back to read.