ruins ; harry potter [1]

two ; the weasleys and hermione

For the first time in her life, Diana slept without any nightmares. In fact, the only reason she was awake at nine in the morning was because the slam of the front door reverberated through the house, and Mrs. Black screaming profanities.

"George! What did I tell you?" yelled Mrs. Weasley from below.

"SHUT UP!" Diana heard Sirius yell from a floor above, subsequently followed by footsteps thundering down the stairs. Diana leapt up as well, in all of her unexhausted glory, and determinedly swept out of the room to help Sirius shut Walburga up. She met him outside her room and they ran down the stairs, side by side. Diana told Sirius to go down and tell whoever was making so much noise downstairs to shut the hell up while she handles Walburga.

Sirius went down further, yelling a last "shut up you old hag!" before he started telling the people downstairs off.

"Walburga!" said Diana, in a voice much older and wiser and more superior than a normal fifteen year old. Last night, Tonks knocked over a plate which sent Walburga into another rant, and everyone was incredibly curious when Walburga laid eyes on Diana, her voice dropped to one of a kind coo, and she started saying what seemed to be the nicest things she had ever said, even when she was alive.

Walburga fell silent at the sound of Diana, her face turning into one of, confusingly, worry. "Oh, Diana, dear, how are you this morning?" she asked, like a concerned mother.

"Quiet."

And with that, the curtains slammed shut over her portrait, and the house fell silent once more.

A group of red-heads stared at her with curiosity, along with a bushy-haired brunette.

"Hello," said the two red-headed twins in unison in a semi-flirty tone, and one of her eyebrows unconsciously rose in amusement.

"Hello," Diana replied slowly. She looked between the teenagers, meeting everyone's eyes.

"Diana dear, I'd like you to meet my children," said Mrs. Weasley, winded from her earlier rant. "Fred and George--" she gestured to the pair of twins "--Ron, Ginny, and Ron's friend, Hermion Granger."

She recognized them from her dreams, but did not mention it.

"Diana," she said. They all trailed into the kitchen and took a seat.

"Diana, you said?" asked the girl named Hermione. "What is your last name?"

Diana bristled invisibly.

"Don't have one," she finally settled on, talking through clenched teeth and her nails dug into her skin so hard she was sure they'd leave marks. She wasn't angry; she probably looked angry, but she wasn't. She was ashamed of her namesake, she was ashamed of a man who shared the same last name but was no father to her. She hated him, and she hated the name nearly as much as Tom did.

The teenagers didn't press it, but they were obviously curious as to her sudden change in behavior. Sirius, Mr. Weasley, and Mrs. Weasley looked significantly relieved that she didn't kill them all.

"Do you go to Hogwarts?" Ginny asked through a mouthful of scrambled eggs. "I don't think I've seen you before. What year are you?"

Diana hesitated. What should she tell them? The more vague she is about her past, the more curious they'll get. How long will it take before they start to pry deep into things they shouldn't?

"No, I'm not a student. If I was, I'd be a fifth year," she settled on, not going too far into details.

"You'd be a fifth year but you're not a student?" Hermione asked.

Her fists clenched again. She hated talking about her personal life. "Right."

Hermione opened her mouth to ask something else. "Alright, kids, I think it's time to show you all to your rooms!" Mrs. Weasley interrupted, sensing that Diana was uncomfortable.

Diana bolted through the door so quickly she unsettled some dust, which caused a coughing fit among the group. From then on, she didn't talk much about herself at all, and everyone seemed to understand not to pry.