Reception at Hogwarts
Upon arriving at the castle, the carriage went directly to the stables and we got out from it, on the other hand, the carriages organized by Hagrid stopped directly at the castle entrance to facilitate the students' stepping out of the carriages.
Our walk was just over three hundred feet. Neither far nor near, you can say.
When we arrived at the entrance to the castle we were greeted with curious looks, the best of all was that no one recognized Millicent, so there were no hostile looks other than the few who had the courage to direct them at me.
The Weasleys were leaning against the castle door waiting for Ginny to arrive and when she didn't get out of the carriages they probably thought their parents hadn't let her back in.
This caused varied reactions from them.
Percy was nervous, but clearly he was thinking about the scandal it would be to have his sister removed from Hogwarts because of a relationship with a Slytherin. Something terrible to have on his CV when he wants to get into the Ministry of Magic.
The twins looked frustrated and a little angry at the possibility. Every now and then they would direct a disgrunted look at Ronald.
As for Ronald, he was being the usual coward, he was pale and anxious. Knowing Ginny as I do, this reaction was due to him wondering what Ginny would do to him when he returned home at the end of the year having made her leave Hogwarts.
He clearly didn't want to encounter this scenario.
But that all went away when they saw us getting closer.
The feelings ranged from relief to Ronald's impatience and revolt.
Me carrying Ginny's suitcase didn't seem to help the situation much.
Ronald was the first to speak.
"Ginny! What are you doing with him?" – he asked vociferously.
I could hear the girl take a deep breath, she was talking to Bridget and I didn't want to interfere, so I walked a little ahead of them, with Gemma and Millicent closing the group in the back.
I turned my face enough to see the girls and saw Ginny motioning apologetically to Bridget. She then quickened her pace and overtook me until she reached the foot of the staircase in the castle's entrance hall.
"Ronald Weasley! Because of you I had to go home for winter break just to fight with mom and dad. Do you have any idea what it's like to hear Mom complaining nonstop all these days?" – she shouted pointing her finger at her brother.
Ronald was intimidated by her demonstration.
"I know." – said Fred.
"Me too." – said George.
Percy in turn just remained silent.
"He's just tricking you." – argued Ronald, taking a step back.
Ginny snorted.
'Grow up, you don't have any friends because you just bother people." – she replied impatiently.
"Hey Ginny, look at how you talk to Little Ronnie, he just wants the best for you." – George intervened.
"That's right little sister, Little Ronnie is trying to protect you from the big bad Slytherin." – added Fred.
Ginny sneered.
"I'm more at risk from your pranks than from him." – she said with a bit of disdain.
Both placed their hands on their chests, pretending to be offended.
At that moment Percy thought it was time to intervene.
"Ginny, did you got back with him to end the relationship?" – he asked with a hint of hope.
His sister shouldn't be seen hanging out with someone as promiscuous as me, let alone be part of the promiscuity.
I laughed at that moment.
I knew what the situation was from the moment she got off the train and I confirmed it when she hugged me.
She was mine.
"I already explained to our parents, Kai will help me study and in the meantime I will be his girlfriend. They don't agree with what I'm doing, but they've given up trying to convince me otherwise." – she explained, still with a very high tone of voice.
Ronald was stunned by this.
Upon hearing her explanation I tried to contain myself, her connection with me only strengthened. That lame excuse she gave to her parents and siblings basically means nothing.
"Mom will never agree to that." – declared Ronald defiantly.
Ginny took a deep breath.
"That's exactly what I just said, you knucklehead. They don't agree with what I'm doing, but I'm still not breaking up with Kai." – she said, raising her arms.
He looked confused, he was sure their mother would be able to convince her somehow.
"Okay, we understand." – said Fred.
"We'd better continue this conversation in a more private place." – added George.
Ginny just shook her head before turning to me.
"See you tomorrow." – she said, taking the suitcase from my hand.
I smiled at her and nodded in agreement.
I could kiss her, but that would only provoke her brothers.
Seeing the five Gryffindors enter the castle I turned to the girls.
"Ready to face the castle?" – I asked Gemma and Millicent.
The two intertwined the fingers of each other's hands and nodded.
I led the procession with Bridget by my side and we entered the castle.
Many eyes focused on our group, but mainly on Millicent's new appearance. The whispers began to increase as we made our way to the common room. At first they wondered who she was, they weren't used to such a tall and beautiful girl, until they noticed that she was holding hands with Gemma. Even so, there were zero guesses that she was Millicent.
When we arrived at the entrance to the common room, I gave the entrance password.
'Shriveled Lion.'
I still don't know if I consider this one more childish than Stinkindor.
Upon entering the common room, which was basically full at this point, many faces turned towards us at that moment. Some of the people who were here saw us as we were approaching the castle and the news of the unknown girl walking with us.
Malfoy stood out from the crowd and came towards us.
"You know not to bring anyone from outside here." – he shot arrogantly.
Gemma at that moment opened her mouth.
"This rule does not exist, students from other houses can enter common rooms if they were invited by students or the Head of the House, but even if it existed it would not apply here." – she said with much greater disdain than Ginny had used with her brothers.
Malfoy blushed at the humiliation she put him through.
"Who is this girl then?" – he asked, not giving up.
"Who?" – Gemma asked sarcastically.
She looked around making sure everyone was looking at us.
I pulled Bridget aside and leaned against the wall with her in my arms to enjoy the show.
"OK, I got it. You never paid attention to my poor Milli." – she said with an upset pout.
The confusion in the common room only increased.
"Let me introduce her to you. Slytherin students, this is third year Millicent Bulstrode!" – she declared, gradually increasing the volume of her voice.
'Pow!'
Half of the students in the common room almost, some literally, fell to the floor.
"What?!!!" – was all that came out of Malfoy's mouth.
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