"You don't hate me?" Mabel asked. There was no way George didn't look at her differently. Not when everyone else would.
George shook his head. "I don't. Even if I tried, I can't. I mean, the whole time I've known you, you've taught me how to love b...
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*~~~~~~~~~~*
Mabel had never seen the Hufflepuff house so angry before. There's a stereotype that Hufflepuffs are always peace-makers and happy. That was never true. There were always a few pessimists in the house. But to have the entire house angry was something abnormal.
Mabel joined her fellow Hufflepuffs in their anger. The other houses had always walked on Hufflepuff. They were seen as weak and push-overs. It didn't matter how many times these stereotypes were proven wrong. It stuck because those in Hufflepuff were kind and fair. For the first time, a Hufflepuff was seen as the perfect and most competent representative of Hogwarts. Not a Gryffindor, not a Ravenclaw, not even a Slytherin, but a Hufflepuff. That was not heard of before.
But it was all ruined by the attention-seeking Harry Potter. Of course, Gryffindor would have to push their way to the top and steal the show. They just couldn't stand another house getting recognition. The thought made Mabel's blood boil.
Ravenclaw and Slytherin supported Cedric. Ravenclaw backed him because it was Cedric, and he was actually of age to compete. Slytherin supported him because he wasn't a Gryffindor. The three houses came together and belittled Harry and his house. Slytherin sold pins that said, "Support Cedric Diggory—the real Hogwarts champion." Both Mabel and Hannah wore the pin. Hannah would push her button, switching the words to "Potter Stinks."
Mabel thought that was a bit unfair, so she never made her pin switch. But the negative words were what she felt on the inside. Hannah had a loyalty problem and was furious at Harry. Sometimes she'd flaunt her pin at Harry, flashing the nasty words at him. Mabel caught her doing this once and flicked Hannah's temple. After that, Hannah made sure to do it when Mabel wasn't around.
"Still wearing those pins, are ya?" George snuck behind Mabel. She flinched, spinning around. A smirking George Weasley greeted her.
"I'm just supporting the true Hogwarts champion." She faced forward and continued down the corridor. George rushed to her side.
"And harassing a fourteen-year-old boy is the way to do it?" George asked.
"I'm not harassing Harry."
"You're not?" George looked at her.
"No, I haven't switched the pin."
"Yeah, well, Harry knows what those pins are, so switching them or not, it's not good."
Mabel stopped walking. George copied her. The two faced each other, standing in the middle of the corridor while students went around them. George's eyes roamed around her face, taking in as much information as possible. Her lips were thin, with her jaw flexed from it being clamped. Mabel's eyes were in slits, sending daggers flying at him. "You Gryffindors don't get it. Hufflepuffs are constantly belittled and never taken seriously. For once, once, we get recognition, and Harry has to steal that. We're not just harassing Harry. We are harassing every single one of you prideful Gryffindors."
