Skinny Love - Ron Weasley

Chapter 7

"Stunning is one of the most useful spells in your arsenal. It's a wizard's bread and butter, really. So come on, then, Nigel. Give it your best shot." Harry stands at one end of the room while Nigel stands at the other.

"Stupefy!" Both of them get flown backwards hitting into the wall behind them.

"Good. Not bad at all, Nigel. Well done," Harry says getting to his feet, "Alex, Ron, you're next."

"Don't worry. I'll go easy on you."

"Thanks, Ronald." Alex says sarcastically going to the other side of the room.

"Come on, Ron."

"You can do it."

"One Sickle."

"You're on."

"Ready?" Harry calls.

Alex casually twirls her wand between her fingers humming lightly as she does, Ron smirks and raises his wand, "Stupefy."

Ron yelps as he flies backwards into the glass wall behind him.

"Thank you."

"Shut up."

Ron walks over to the twins fidgeting with the wand in his hands, "I let her do that. It's good manners, isn't it? It was completely intentional."

~~~~~

"Up you come. Would you like a cup of tea?" Umbridge asks as she leads Alex into the pink office.

"Got anything stronger." Ignoring the girl she uses her wand to pull out a chair.

She clears her throat and sits opposite her, "Do you have any idea why every student is being called here today?"

Alex pretends to think for a moment, "Oh, I don't know? To ruin everyone's chance at a social life?" She says sarcastically.

"Hand, Miss. Black... please."

Alex holds out her right hand and Umbridge sighs, clenching her jaw in anger, "Other hand, Miss. Black."

Thrusting her left hand forward she bites her tongue trying to not show the pain she still feels in her hand as the teacher presses her thumb onto the scaring tissue, "Tea?"

She pours a pink cup and Alex raises a brow slowly taking a sip, she furrows her brows at the weird smell, "Have you had any contact with anyone in any kind of clubs or activities?"

"Not today."

"Yesterday?"

"Nope?"

"How about last week?"

"Not that I remember, let's see, Monday I had a nice bit of bacon and scrambled eggs for breakfast, then I had Care of Magical Creatures with Hufflepuff, after that I had a free period, I went to the Library, surprisingly, then I had P-"

"That's quite enough, Miss. Black. What about your father? Have you had any contact with him?"

Alex looks up in thought biting her tongue until she can taste blood in her mouth, "Well, yes, obviously, during third year when he saved my life, multiple times. I also talked to him the moment he was sentenced to death, Dumbledore had to pry me away from him. Oh, and let's not forget about all the time when I was a baby, he probably talked to me then. There's also the factor that he is my father, I believe we have intel-"

"That's enough, Miss. Black. Have you spoken to your father within the past few weeks."

Yes, she thinks straight away, but how much is a few, she hasn't spoken to him in a month, surely that's over a few weeks, "No."

"That's all Miss. Black, off you go, now."

~~~~~

"Now, focus on a fixed point and try again."

"Expelliarmus."

"Very good. Keep your concentration. Great."

Alex flicks her wand sending George flying backwards, he groans and gets up receiving a wink from the girl before she skips away to her next victim, "Working hard is important, but there's something that matters even more: Believing in yourself."

"Stupefy." Next Fred gets sent back hitting George back down resulting in them both groaning.

"Think of it this way. Every great wizard in history has started out... as nothing more than what we are now: students. If they can do it, why not us?"

They continue disarming each other for a while until finally Neville gets it, "That's it, Neville, well done."

"So that's it for this lesson. Now, we' re not gonna be meeting again until after the holidays. So just keep practicing on your own as best you can. And well done, everyone. Great, great work."

Alex sighs nodding bye to Harry before following Ron out of the room, "Did Umbridge talk to you yet?"

Alex nods and scowls at the mention of the name, "Gave me bloody Veritaserum. Bitch."

"Surely that's illegal, to give it to a kid."

She shrugs and sighs as she walks into the Common room quickly throwing herself onto one of the sofas.

They sit for a while, Alex reading over her books with her feet in Ron's lap, eventually they're joined by Hermione and then finally Harry comes padding into the room.

He sits in front of them looking sorry for himself, "Alright there, mate?"

"I kissed Cho."

They all look at him wide eyed, "Well, how was it?"

"Wet."

Alex turns her nose up and slams her book shut, 'accidentally' kicking Ron as she sits herself upright, "Wet?"

"I mean, she was sort of crying."

"That bad at it, are you?" Ron questions with a snort.

"I'm sure Harry's kissing was more than satisfactory. Cho spends half her time crying these days."

Alex leans back beside Ron kicking her feet up onto the coffee table, "You'd think a bit of snogging would cheer her up."

"Don't you understand how she must be feeling?"

Alex thinks for a moment before shrugging, "Well, obviously she's feeling sad about Cedric... and confused about liking Harry and guilty about kissing him... conflicted because Umbridge might sack her mum from the Ministry, and frightened of failing her OWLs because she's worrying about everything."

"One person couldn't feel all that. They'd explode." Ron exclaims.

Alex scoffs and kicks him slightly making him glare at her, "Just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon, Ronald."

Everyone looks at each other before the Quartet burst into laughter. Alex leans forward clutching her stomach as Ron shakes his head while Hermione and Harry both try to calm down.

"A teaspoon?" Ron questions.

Alex sits back up straight and shrugs her shoulders, "Meh?"