Treacherous | Hermione Granger Book II

|17| Chapter Seventeen

S E V E N T E E N

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Saffron couldn't believe just how quickly an opinion could change on somebody. But as the week and more Defence Against the Dark Arts classes passed, it started to make some sense. As somebody who had presented themselves under such a positive light in their books was bound to not match up to that portrayal in real life. What shocked her most of all was the chasm that lay between book Lockhart and real-life Lockhart. They seemed like completely different people, just with the same name.

This theory was one that Saffron voiced to Rachel and Rowan on their first Friday in the school, at the meeting they had arranged to have in the library. It had been exciting to finally catch up with them properly. Of course, they had exchanged words and looks in the corridors during the week, but this was the first time the three of them could sit down together to properly converse.

It had been a good enough week for the twins. Rachel was enjoying Hufflepuff and seemed very proud to have ended up in the house, especially since their head of house, Professor Sprout mentioned how she had taught their father Oscar, and that he would be proud of her for ending up in it. She shared a dorm with four other girls; Darcy, Elena, Krystina, Louise, and Pheobe. The way Rachel described it suggested the five girls got on like a house on fire. Rowan, on the other hand, shared a dormitory with only two boys, called Henry and Kyle, both of whom he got on well with. Others that he liked included two girls called Luna and Paige.

The day previous, Rachel and Rowan did something that Saffron suggested they do, which was to try and integrate their friends if possible. She had gotten the idea from Parvati, who had often brought Lavender to go and hang out with Padma and her friends during their first year. It was a way of keeping the twins close and it seemed that it had worked so far, as Rachel brought Elena and Rowan brought Kyle and the four of them had gotten on just fine.

The only issue they both seemed to have was also Professor Lockhart. When Rowan spoke of him, Saffron's blood was boiling hotter than ever before.

"You should have seen it," Rowan told her, anxiously looking over his shoulder to make sure they were alone. "He got mad at me for not knowing who presented him with his Order of Merlin because he said who it was the day before but I--I couldn't remember. Everyone was staring, and then I felt it,"

Saffron's eyes went wide. "You felt it?

Rowan nodded and Saffron bit her lip furiously. By it, they meant the Grey, and seeing as neither of the twins had visited it properly yet, they still got frequent headaches because of it. Lockhart had triggered one in Rowan and the fact that he had done so angered her.

"Were you okay?" Saffron asked him concernedly.

"Yeah," said Rowan. "It got really bad, I asked to go the toilet and didn't come back to class after because of it. Kyle had to take my stuff for me, it was so embarrassing,"

Rachel shook her head. "You shouldn't be embarrassed, you can't do anything about it,"

"That's what's so embarrassing," replied Rowan quietly, staring down at his lap. "That I can't do anything about it,"

Turning to Saffron, Rachel questioned: "Why would Professor Dumbledore hire someone like that?"

"Because Professor Dumbledore is a moron,"

There were three distinct whipping sounds in the form of Rachel, Rowan and Saffron alike, turning their heads to find the source of the sentence. For none of the Mitchells would say such a bold and out-there comment like that.