The next morning, Harry woke up feeling the same way he'd been feeling for the past three months; drained, angry, confused, and yet happy all at once. He got up and showered before meeting Ron and Hermione in the Gryffindor common room. Hermione was reading a book about some kind of advanced potions that Harry couldn't even pronounce, and Ron was trying to get Scabbers to eat something. "Morning, you two." Harry said with a big yawn. They both look up at him. "Morning, mate. You look like a right mess you do." Ron said with a smirk. Hermione scoffed at him and rolled her eyes before returning her attention to Harry. "Good morning, Harry. How are you feeling? You seem a little...drowsy this morning. More so than usual, I mean." She asked, a look of concern on her face. Harry laughed humorlessly. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just have the weirdest feeling that something bad's about to or already has happened. It kept me up most of the night." He said, crashing onto one of the comfy chairs near the fireplace. "I'm glad it's the weekend though. We can go visit Hagrid all day if we want to. And maybe I can practice some Quidditch." He said. Hermione and Ron exchange glances before Hermione speaks up. "Er, Harry. Have you looked outside at all in the past week?" She asked, weary of his response. "No, why?" He stands up and looks out the window, dread, anger and sadness immediately clouding his emotions. Outside, the ground is completely covered with snow, signaling that it's too cold to play Quidditch, and maybe even too cold to even go visit Hagrid. He sighed. "Well, I guess we better just do all of our homework after breakfast in here, then." He said with a slight frown. "Why not go into the library? It's going to be much quieter-" Harry cut Hermione off. "No, not there. There's too much of a risk that Jaqui and her little band of criminals are going to be in there. And her and I really aren't on speaking terms at the moment." Hermione sighed with frustration. "Oh, honestly. You two haven't so much as glared at each other since she became a Slytherin, three months ago! I mean come on Harry; she's your twin sister! And you two act like you don't even know each other!" Suddenly, Neville Longbottom walks in. "Whass all the bloody yellin' about? I'm trying to calm down me toad." He said tiredly. "Sorry, Neville. Harry's just ignoring Jaqui and he won't listen to reason." Hermione explained. Neville looked at the three of them with curiosity. "Yeah, I know. Jaqui and I are quite close friends, actually. She says that as long as Harry hates her just for where she's been Sorted, she sees no reason to bother acknowledging his existence, since she knows how stubborn he can be. Her words, not mine." Hermione knew that Jaqui was right, Harry had no real reason to hate her right now. But she also knew that Harry was as stubborn as a poltergeist at a carnival. He was determined to hate his sister, for some reason or another. "Let's all go to breakfast, yeah? Won't kill us to have breakfast before we work." She suggested. Harry, Ron and Neville agreed to go to breakfast, getting into their daytime robes before they do. As they entered the Great Hall, Harry froze. "What the bloody HELL?!" Hermione, Ron, and Neville looked where Harry was looking, and everyone's jaw dropped but Hermione's. There, sitting at the Slytherin table, like a King worshipping his Queen, with his hands draped around Jaqui, kissing her, kissing Harry's sister Jaqui, was none other than the youngest son of Voldemort himself, Mattheo Riddle. How dare he?! How dare he seduce Jaqui like this?! And how dare Jaqui let him get that close to her, after everything? Harry's blood boiled. Now I have a reason to hate her. She's dating the youngest son of the man who killed our parents! Hermione walked over to Jaqui and greeted her and Mattheo, excited that the two lovebirds finally united. Harry, Ron and Neville looked at her with confusion. When she returned to them, seeing the confusion on their faces, she sighs. "Must I always be the one who notices things? Those two have been flirting with each other for months! It was only a matter of time before something like this happened. Besides, I trust Jaqui. If Mattheo messes up, he'll regret it. But something tells me that he won't." Harry rolled his eyes as the three Gryffindors sat down for breakfast. Neville leaned over to the Slytherin table and tapped Jaqui's shoulder. "Morning, Jaqui. You two look cozy. I support this fully, but seriously mate," he looked Mattheo dead in the eyes. "If you hurt her, if there's anything left of you after she's done with you, you'll have to answer to me, she's taught me a few curses that I've been wanting to test out." He turned his attention back to the Gryffindor table, where Hermione was looking at him curiously and admirably. "What?" Neville shrugs. Hermione smiles. "You know, Neville. Since Jaqui arrived, you certainly have gotten a serious confidence boost. I'm glad to see how much you've grown in such a short time." Neville blushed, thanking her softly. Harry, however, was still brooding. Looking at his sister and her new lover with such disgust it was a wonder he wasn't throwing up. "Seriously, Riddle, Mattheo Riddle, snogging my twin sister!" "Would you rather it was Tom?" Ron joked, receiving an elbow in the gut from Harry as he choked on his food. Hermione sighed. "This is going to be a long school year." Neville scoffed. "School year? It's going to be a long term. I bet you fifteen galleons Harry's gonna get detention for causing a scene by Christmas." At that, everyone, even Harry, laughed.
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