HP: DnD Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Ron’s Little Sister 

“Do we have to attend this class?” 

Having finished the first few classes of the day, Damien finally had an hour’s break before his last one. 

And just like the one asking the question, he too found himself wondering the very same thing.

“I mean, all he’s taught us in the past few classes has been about his supposed adventures.” Hermione complained, something that she rarely did. “It doesn’t even feel like a Defense Against the Dark Arts class.”

Damien listened to the complaints of his friends, though he didn’t offer an opinion of his own. Despite his silence, he was the first to admit that he was disappointed with Lockhart’s classes.

‘I waited so long, hoping he would finally go into detail about the monsters he’s faced, their magic, and their weaknesses. Instead, all he’s done is talk about how brave and strong he was during those fights,’ Damien thought, feeling his hopes slowly crumble. ‘Why isn't he covering actual DADA topics? Isn’t that why we’re here?’

“Isn’t it fine?” Ron asked casually, “If it’s just about his stories, we can easily get good marks in this subject. Also, he doesn’t punish us for being late or even forgetting our assignments.”

Hermione shook her head quickly, clearly not agreeing with Ron’s logic in the slightest.

However, Damien and Harry exchanged a glance—there was some truth to Ron’s point, especially when compared to someone like Snape.

But after a brief moment of eye contact, both of them sighed and shook their heads, realizing that it wasn’t about the leniency in the class.

“No.” Harry muttered, his disappointment clear.

“Indeed, not a good analogy,” Damien added thoughtfully. He didn’t think it was just about strictness. ‘Snape can be extremely rude and downright unpleasant, but in his class, we actually learn something. He may not be the best teacher, but I’ve learned a lot of spells because of him.’

“And when it comes time for the O.W.L.s and other exams, we’ll be tested on Defense Against the Dark Arts. If Lockhart’s classes keep going like this, we’ll definitely fail.” Damien’s reasoning finally made Ron see things in a different light, and he began to realize that maybe Lockhart’s class wasn’t as perfect as he’d originally thought.

But for Damien, it wasn’t just about exams. There was something else he was focused on. For years, he had always believed that the only reason Hermione managed to outperform him in almost everything was because of his weak magical energy.

Now that his magical strength had grown considerably, he thought it might be time for a change.

He glanced at Hermione, her bushy hair as untamed as ever. The look went unnoticed by her or her friends.

‘I just hope this doesn’t come back to bite me if I start outperforming her too quickly.’ Damien sighed inwardly. He realized how often he had been worrying lately. 

And he knew the reason: the dungeons. As his magic grew stronger, his intellect sharper, Damien found himself second-guessing everything around him, becoming more suspicious than ever before.

“Huh?” In the middle of his thoughts, Damien overheard Hermione whispering to Ron. “Isn’t that your sister, Ron?”

Everyone’s gaze followed the direction Hermione was looking in. Sitting alone on one of the walkways, a young girl with red hair, freckles, and brown eyes that seemed unusually anxious caught their attention. Damien recognized her immediately from the sorting ceremony—she was a year below him and Harry, and she seemed to have an almost idolizing admiration for Harry.

“Oi! Ginny!” Ron called out, surprised to see his sister outside during class hours.

Despite the shout, the girl didn’t seem to notice them at first.

“Should we check on her?” Hermione asked, clearly concerned, especially since she had met Ginny before.

Ron hesitated. Though Ginny was his sister, he didn’t want to embarrass her by involving her with older students.

Harry, however, nodded in agreement with Hermione. “We should,” he said, noticing that Ginny seemed to be troubled. “She looks a little worried.”

Damien wasn’t as familiar with Ginny, so he hesitated a bit. But even he could tell that she appeared tense and uneasy. So, he decided to follow the trio, uncertain but willing to see where this would go.

As they approached, Ron called out to his sister once again.

“Ginny!” He shouted, and this time, she looked up, startled.

“O-Oh.” Ginny jumped in surprise, clearly flustered. “Ron.”

“Are you alright?” Ron asked, his voice full of concern. “No, you don’t look alright.”

Ginny’s eyes darted around, not meeting their gazes. She seemed too nervous to look anyone in the eye.

“I-I…” She hesitated, her voice barely above a whisper. “I forgot to do Professor Snape’s assignment.”

The group stood there in stunned silence, trying to process what she had just said.

“Don’t tell me that Snape is the reason you’re acting like this?” Ron asked, his voice filled with disbelief. “Ginny, the girl who never stops talking at home, is afraid of Snape?”

For a split second, Ginny’s face flushed with anger, but as her gaze shifted to Harry, her expression softened, and she blushed even more, appearing almost shy.

Despite Ron’s teasing, Hermione stepped forward with a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, Ginny,” she said, her tone much gentler than usual. “I felt the same way once when I forgot to do his assignment.”

This caused both Damien and Harry to stare at Hermione in complete surprise. 

“You did?” Harry asked, clearly in disbelief that Hermione, of all people, could forget an assignment.

“Yes, thanks to you dragging me off on a certain adventure.” Hermione gave him a pointed look, but there was no real anger in her tone. “Snape taunted me and deducted ten of my personal points, it wasn’t too bad, really. I recovered them pretty quickly.”

Damien continued to watch Hermione, impressed by how she handled the situation with such ease and kindness.

“What I mean is that you don’t need to be afraid. Just try not to miss more assignments,” Hermione continued, and Ginny nodded softly, her tension easing a little.

“But how did you even manage to miss an assignment in Snape’s class?” Ron asked, clearly baffled that his normally punctual sister could mess up so badly in Snape’s class.

Ginny hesitated, her expression falling into thought. She opened her mouth to respond but then paused.

“You’re not being bullied, are you?” Harry asked suddenly, frowning in concern. Without thinking, Damien added his own words of reassurance.

“Do tell us if someone’s bullying you,” Damien said earnestly. “We’ll do everything we can to help.”

Damien’s words came from a place of personal experience. Having been bullied himself, he couldn’t stand to see anyone else suffer the same way, especially if he had the power to protect them.

Ginny nodded quietly, and Damien could see a flicker of curiosity in her eyes as she glanced at him.

Realizing she was likely confused about his identity, Damien smiled softly and extended his hand. 

“I’m sorry for not introducing myself earlier,” he said. “I’m Damien Butler, a friend of your brother and also a classmate of his.”

Ginny smiled and quickly shook his hand. “I’m Ginny Weasley,” she introduced herself. “Ronald’s younger sister and an underclassman to all of you.”

Damien was impressed by how quickly Ginny was able to regain her composure. Her nervousness faded as she became more confident, speaking clearly.

“Thank you for taking care of Ron,” she said, flashing a smile. “I never thought he’d actually manage to make friends.”

“Oi!” Ron yelped, half-embarrassed, half-angry.

Damien noticed that Ginny kept stealing glances at Harry, and her cheeks flushed every time their eyes met. He found it amusing, though he kept it to himself. He hoped Harry wasn’t oblivious enough to miss the adoration Ginny clearly had for him.

“Well, let us know if you’re ever bullied, Ginny,” Harry said kindly, flashing her a reassuring smile. “And don’t worry too much about Snape. All he can really do is make comments. He can’t punish you for missing just one assignment as long as you’ve been punctual in everything else.”

Damien stared at Harry, noting the way he reassured Ginny without a second thought. 

‘Or maybe he is blind,’ Damien thought with a quiet chuckle.

“I’d suggest you head to his class, Ginny,” Hermione said, glancing at the large clock on the wall. “Don’t worry about anything else. But if you skip, he’ll remember it.”

Damien fully agreed with Hermione. Snape was strict, but he was also petty, and Damien had no doubt that Ginny would be marked for missing his class if she didn’t attend.

“Then… I’ll go to his class.” Ginny said, nodding resolutely.

“Good idea,” Hermione said with a smile. “We should get going as well. We have our own class to attend.”

Damien stifled a sigh. He remembered that their next class was with Lockhart—the one he had the least interest in.

“Alright,” Ginny smiled brightly. “Bye then. I’ll head to class.”

With that, she took a step back and waved as the four of them waved back and headed in the opposite direction.

The conversation ended quickly, and Damien couldn’t help but glance back at Ginny as she disappeared down the hall. He wasn’t sure why, but something felt off about this entire encounter. The way Ginny acted... as if she were hiding something.

‘I wonder if she’s hiding something,’ he thought, feeling slightly suspicious about the situation. His mind was racing with questions and thoughts he couldn’t quite place yet. Something was bothering him, but he couldn’t pinpoint what.

All Damien could do now was wait and watch as the mysteries of Hogwarts unfolded before him.