Harry Potter One Shots (Vol. I)

Switching Roles (Dean Thomas)

Even as I was writing the hints for this one, I was a bit concerned about the only son hint. Because we know that Dean has half-siblings and on Potterwatch it's mentioned that Dean's mother and sisters are concerned about him being on the run. So I inferred that he's the only son - either that or his brothers were too young to be concerned?

Anyway, I hope you like this one~

Even with the approaching exams, the Professors were still giving us essays to complete. It was like they enjoyed seeing us almost collapse under the workload. Professor McGonagall was the same. The exams were less than a month away and just as she did every week, she had set us an essay to complete in time for our lesson next week. Merlin, the stress was going to get to me one day and I had a feeling it would be soon. It was extremely likely too, especially since Ernie Macmillan had been admitted to the hospital wing because of his anxiety and was currently being fed calming draughts.

Terry, my tablemate for Transfiguration, was on his feet the moment the lesson ended as he rushed to pack his things. I eyed him in amusement, packing my things in a more leisurely pace.

"Hungry?" I questioned with a grin.

He looked down at me with a slightly embarrassed smile, "I need to get to the great hall before Michael takes all the Yorkshire puddings for himself."

"I doubt that's possible. The house-elves make hundreds."

Terry shook his head, "You've clearly never seen Michael's love for Yorkshire puddings."

He went to say something else but trailed off, watching the boy who was approaching our desk. I followed his gaze and tried my very best not to cringe when I saw Dean Thomas approaching us. Rowena, why did the embarrassment never cease. Whenever I saw him I instantly remembered the embarrassment I'd felt when he'd turned me down at the beginning of the year. I'd summoned up the courage to confess how I felt about him and he'd turned me down. Of course, he'd been nice about it but it was still so incredibly humiliating to remember.

Merlin, what did he want now?

As he came to a stop in front of our desk, Terry had long forgotten his plans to rush to the great hall and had instead sat down again in a show of some subtle Ravenclaw loyalty. I thanked him silently and turned my attention back to the boy standing, waiting to be acknowledged.

"Howard," he greeted quietly, making my eyebrows rise in surprise; he was here to see me?

"Thomas," I greeted back, waiting awkwardly for someone to say something.

Terry took mercy on me, clearing his throat pointedly to remind Thomas of his presence. The two boys exchanged greetings that were slightly less awkward that ours had been.

"What do you want?" Terry asked with a raised eyebrow when it became obvious I wasn't going to say anything. He threw me an exasperated glance that Thomas missed; Terry didn't understand why my personality 'disappeared' around Thomas. He just didn't understand why I found it so cringeworthy around the Gryffindor.

"You're good at Transfiguration, right?" Thomas asked me and I nodded under his eyes. He grinned suddenly, taking me by surprise, "Professor McGonagall says you're one of her best students."

I flushed at the unexpected compliment, looking past his shoulder at my Professor who was sorting through some papers. "Really?"

He nodded eagerly, "So I was wondering if you'd maybe be able to help me with the next essay? I really want to get a good grade before the exams come up."

Disbelief crossed my features for a fraction of a second. I could have sworn that Thomas was near the top of the class in terms of grades. Unless that had been a misunderstanding on my part? He waited patiently for my answer but I was busy looking over his shoulder and spying my friends who had narrowed their eyes at him.