A New Generation Rises

Ron Weasley was one worried Slytherin, there were definitely others in the same position but he didn't care about them. There was no room for doubt in his, or anyone else's mind who had dangled Draco off the astronomy tower. The all-important question though was, would Ronald Weasley be next?

He had already decided to stay well away from the Potters but Draco dripping piss for everyone's amusement took Ron's commitment on that decision to a whole different level. He didn't want to be in the same country as those two, far less the same castle. His mother had sent him a letter, imploring him to be careful and stay out of trouble before telling him he would be spending Christmas in Cairo with them.

Ron intended to obey her instructions to the letter and then beg on bended knee for the chance not to return to Hogwarts. He didn't care how hard or bad things were in Cairo, they couldn't be as bad as the image of Draco almost drowning in his own piss while everyone laughed.

One of Ron's main missions in life was now to avoid that at all costs, his other was to retain the ability to pee while standing up. He recognised those weren't particularly ambitious goals to aim for but they would do him for now, once he got out of this place he could look toward a Potter free future.

.....

Harry and Hermione had been on the receiving end of some pretty strange stares all day so were actually quite relieved when Quidditch practice started. That relief was short lived as the twins teased Harry mercilessly about leaving stuff just hanging around the castle and didn't he know some stains were incredibly difficult to take out?

It wasn't until they were alone in their room that night that the young couple could relax.

"Dobby!"

The little elf appeared and found himself instantly engulfed in hugs from his master and mistress.

"Dobby, that was amazing!"

The little fellow was exceedingly happy, "I found him asleep in the corridor, exactly where you said he would be. Bad former young master spent the night in the room Harry Potter told Dobby about. Dobby had to leave when they began searching but hoped bad former young master would wake up in time."

Hermione was gushing with praise for their little friend, "Dobby, it was perfect. You followed your instructions exactly and everyone saw us sitting in the hall for breakfast. You're the best Dobby!"

There were now tears running down the elf's cheeks. Dobby wasn't used to praise, more likely to being hit or cursed for his actions. Former young bad master had been the worst for that, calling on Dobby when he wanted to practice a new curse. Dobby now was in a good family. No, Dobby now was in a great family!

.....

Wednesday was no better for the Potters, though there now at least was some respect contained in the stares directed at them.

Cedric warily approached the young couple, "Hello, I'm Cedric Diggory. I heard from my parents that you are our new neighbours, they insisted I introduce myself to you."

Harry warmly shook the older boy's offered hand, "Hi Cedric, I'm Harry and this is my wife Hermione. Pleased to meet you."

Cedric couldn't contain his chuckle, "Harry, I think that might qualify for the most unnecessary introduction ever. The entire school, no make that the entire wizarding community, know who you are."

Harry smiled back at the boy he refused to watch die again, "Actually Cedric, you would probably find that very few people know who we are. You are welcome to become one of those few. Our door will always be open and we have our own Quidditch pitch. Drop by anytime."

Cedric understood that, with these two, the invitation meant exactly what it said. He also understood that those invitations wouldn't be given out lightly. The comment about only a few knowing what they were like also made sense to Cedric, the couple were nothing like what he imagined they would be. "Thanks, I think I would like that so plan on seeing a lot of me over the holidays."

All three walked away happier with the beginnings of a new friendship.

Their extra defence class that evening was excruciating. Not because of any work they had to perform but because Remus and Tonks decided the world needed another comedy double act and they were it. The Auror and the Wolfman were really funny together, well everyone else was laughing. Everyone else though was not the subject of their entire act, that privilege was reserved exclusively for Harry and Hermione.

Tonks set the tone for the whole lesson when she arrived with a couple of giant inflatable clubs, that in itself was funny but when she hit someone with one and the club emitted a squeal terrifyingly similar to Draco's screaming, there were students on the floor with laughter. The purebloods had never seen anything like this and, as Tonks and Remus tried to out-do one another, Neville and Millie spent most of the lesson trying to hold each other up from laughing so much. Millie appeared to hold on longer and tighter than was strictly necessary.

Both Tonks and Remus were deliberately bringing the incident out into the open and poking fun at it, looking at the whole thing as a wonderful prank. They didn't want the situation to fester, go underground or escalate, they wanted it to end here and now.

It was also great to see a bunch of kids having some laughs while they learned and any remaining barriers of friendship crashed and burned.

Pansy Parkinson had been coaxed into attending and the giggling girl was now so glad she did. Since leaving Draco's shadow, Pansy had discovered a whole new world, a world where Pansy could be accepted as herself. This new revelation was thrilling and terrifying at the same time.

Daphne laughed at her fellow Slytherin's recent discovery, "It's alright Pansy, don't worry about it. The rest of us just reached the same conclusion a few weeks ago. It's like a muggle roller coaster, all you can do is strap yourself in and enjoy the experience."

After the lesson ended, Harry and Hermione found themselves being held behind. The time had passed so quickly that most people were heading straight for their common rooms anyway.

Remus was in a very good mood, it had been a full moon on Sunday and Tonks was still by his side. Not only that, the son of his best friend had pulled off a prank that the marauder couldn't even figure out how he'd done it. Now that was impressive.

"Ok you two, it's only us here now so would you care to tell us how you managed it? Sirius is currently like a dog with two tails!"

Harry gave Remus a knowing smile, "Remus, I have no wish to know what's going on between my godfather and Hestia. I am also prepared to swear that neither my wife nor I laid a finger or a wand on Draco."

This statement had the marauder puzzled as the couple left the classroom, Hermione popped her head back into the room. "Let's just say we had a little help and leave it at that."

When her final remark sunk into Remus, he sunk to the floor while howling with laughter.

Tonks shook her head at her boyfriend and hit him with the inflatable club, "Ok lover, care to share?"

Remus was even happier at those words, "Always! Let's just say the person who served us food all day Saturday might just have served up Draco like a ham hung to dry."

Tonks was now laughing just as hard with the irony of that situation, she had to answer her boyfriend though. ""Ok, I don't think he was hung up there to dry, quite the opposite in fact."

The laughter coming from the room was not as unusual as it had been, Hogwarts was once more becoming a happy school.

.....

Can't wait to read more exciting chapters then what are you waiting for Join my p*atreon right now.

Get 60+ Premium chapters.

Link: p*atreon.com/Earthly_Writer (Remove the *)

2 Chapters for all free members.