When Stars Collide

Dementors on the Train

Grandmother decided that this was the perfect year to see me off to school. Because of course she did. Oh she said she wanted to see all of her beloved grandchildren to the train.

Merlin's hairy left testicle she did. None of the others ever got the special Grandmother Weasley treatment. And she did not walk arm in arm with them. Well, t be fair, Fred and George were not exactly the arm in arm sort, not if one did not want something explosive slipped into your pockets, and Ron had run off to find Harry, and I and Percy was hunting up Penelope and pretending he wasn't, but why couldn't Ginny be dragged along and have her hair smoothed down and her cheeks pinched in to color?

I looked to mum pleadingly, but she was smiling at me all goofy. Only Dad was on my side, but he didn't dare say no to his mother. Do we ever get to say no to our own mothers? Empirical evidence suggested no, no we did not.

I saw the Vipers and wanted to run off and join them, but nothing doing. Grandmother said proper young ladies did not run off and join their friends, proper young ladies waited for their friends to join them.

"When in the bloody hell did I become a proper young lady?!" I gasped in outrage.

Dropping a kiss on grandmother's cheek Fred said "A miracle worker is what you are grandmother."

Kissing her other cheek George continued "We have never seen her give a response to anyone, have we Freddy?"

'Indeed not, Georgie. Now we know how to manage it, take notes mother." Fred grinned.

"Just accuse her of manners." George kissed Mum goodbye.

I glared at both of them sullenly causing them both to laugh and bow mockingly at me.

Swatting them on their behinds Grandmother shooed them off, looking over my shoulder. Turning around I saw the reason for her sudden interest in turning me in to a "proper young lady.

"Please, I am begging you Grandmama, please in the name of all that is good and sane, please don't embarrass me." I pleaded seeing the Malfoys enter the platform.

"Nonsense, why would I have any interest in embarrassing you?" she asked a little too brightly and happily for my comfort.

"Narcissa!" she called out cheerfully "It has been too long!"

I cringed watching the two women kiss each other on the cheek. It was going to be a long miserable few minutes before I was allowed to escape. Looking over I could see the Vipers looking at me with sympathy.

Sympathy from the Vipers. Which meant they knew what my grandmother was up to. Could this day get any worse?

As it turned out it could. Draco was looking at me uncomfortably. Which meant HE also knew. It could get better. Perhaps there would be a freak accident in potions and Seamus Finnegan would manage to blow up his cauldron and I would be maimed or killed. That was a comforting thought. I soothed her frazzled nerves with thoughts of months of recovery in St. Mungos.

When we were finally allowed to escape the horrifying clutches of Narcissa Malfoy and Cedrella Weasley Draco and I fled. Proper young lady be damned I barely tossed a good bye over my shoulder. My father laughed at my poor manners.

Esme hugged me and promised to make Frank and James guard the door if I wanted to die of embarrassment. I told her that would be lovely as I collapsed in the corner.

"Goodness, could that have been any more awkward?" asked Pria.

"Well..." offered Frank, they could have called a press conference.