บท 44: OPINIONS

After our outing in Diagon Alley, we once again settled down in the calm pace of a normal holiday at The Burrow. The time for the start of a new term was still one month ahead and we were expecting our results in the coming week and thus we would ask Mrs. weasley at least twice a day, for the whole week if the owls delivered our results and she would answer in the negative.

Ron was not so enthusiastic about his results, as he had yet to understand its importance and the perks that will be associated with them for the upcoming school term. As per the discussion I had heard between him and Mrs. Weasley, he assured her that he will pass almost certainly and what was the big deal since he was not sitting for O.W.L's or N.E.W.T's.

The twins, for the past three years had followed the same pattern as Ron was currently following and did not place much importance in trying to score more than necessary to pass. That too was the result of their fear of what Mrs. Weasley would do to them if they ever failed a subject, becoming the first of her children to fail at Hogwarts.

Mr. Weasley was used to their acceptable results and did not scold them or force them into performing exceptionally, as long as they were happy. He was not expecting the twins to perform any differently than previously and therefore did not even bother to ask them on they thought they had performed in their exams, and after hearing the same kind of response from his youngest son, he gave up on asking him too.

Unlike Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley was rather expectant for the results of the twins due to the positive signs they had displayed in their behaviour in the second half of the term. It was not as if she expected outstandings across the board, but she at least hoped for better results than they had been showing previously.

Percy was expected to perform as brilliantly as he always did and he did not forget to boast about how easily he had performed exceptionally in his O.W.L's and how he was sure to get outstanding in all the mandatory subjects, at the least, in both theory and practicals. Considering what I remembered of Percy, it was not pure bragging and he will end up performing brilliantly in not just his O.W.L's but also his N.E.W.T's and be directly employed at a higher position in the ministry after his graduation, all while becoming the prefect in the upcoming term and the head boy two years from now.

Though I knew all that, his siblings did not. The twins made sure to make fun of him all week long after that and Ron also frowned whenever he saw him and would mutter silently when Percy would boast. Ginny rather believed in her brother and showed her support.

Mrs. Weasley did not forget to ask me on how I thought my exams went and what result I was expecting. Before I could respond, Ron spoke on how I was mostly average in terms of the grades I was getting all year round and how I will probably score equal to or even less than he has. He even went on to explain that I had not taken anything at hogwarts very seriously and just wasted most of my time.

Mrs. Weasley scolded Ron for talking like this about me, but Ron responded that he was not talking bad about me, rather this was the opinion of almost all gryffindors of our year. He explained that they had never seen me actively participating in either the class or quidditch. He spoke of how I was always seen either goofing off either with Daphne Greengrass or Hermione or Neville.

Seeing that her son was not making things up due to his dislike towards me, she asked him to explain further. I could understand what was going on right now in Mrs. Weasley's mind. If it was true that I am having difficulties in adjusting and am not able to concentrate, then she will find ways to help me, now that she started treating me as one of her. This was purely out of her concern that she had asked Ron to continue, so I did not stop him, afterall this was the persona that I had myself made and let others view me in this light.

Ron continued by saying that, when he first met me at the train, I was already acquainted with Hermione and I made no effort to make more friends in the house apart from Neville, and that too took time. He was also very confused on how I, a person who had grown up in the muggle world was able to get a girl from one of the sacred twenty-eight family to go out with him after only a month. The most shocking fact was that she was not even from Gryffindor but rather Slytherin, a house who were so set in their ways of purity that they looked down on everyone else and as far as Ron understood I was not what they termed as Pure-blood.

My interest in becoming friends with Neville out of everyone in the house was also a cause of debate among the first years, considering that he was the sloppiest wizard of our class and it was visible to everyone that he was weaker than every other kid by a large margin in every task, be it studies or sports.

After he completed his reasoning, Mrs. Weasley looked at me asking for an explanation on whether everything that Ron told was the truth or not, and if he was telling the truth what was the reason that I was having trouble at school. She assured me that I had nothing to fear and that she will help me in every way she can.

I explained to her that I had no issues and that this was just a huge misunderstanding created by my personality. I told her about how I was treated by my relatives while growing up, that led to me having no friends before I met Hermione, a year before I came to know about the magical community and my being a wizard. This had turned me into being unable to make friends very proactively.

As for the reason I became friends with Neville, it was because I somewhat saw myself in him and so I could relate with him better than anyone else in the class and now that I was in a better position myself I chose to help him, because I sure would have liked someone to help the old me.

On the topic of me being with Daphne, I explained how it was just a coincidence and how our friendship already ended at the of the year.

They were all shocked by my explanation, especially Ron.