19 The Sound of Silence

Author Note: The last chaptertitle was wrong. It should have been "Taking a Hostage"

This chapter is the real "The Sound of Silence Chapter"

As Atlas walked into the Great Hall for dinner, he immediately noticed his group from the library huddled together. But something was different this time - Hermione and Ron were having a heated argument, and Harry seemed torn between them. Atlas could see the tension on everyone's faces as he made his way towards the table. Suddenly, Hermione stood up to storm off, almost colliding with Atlas. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of irritation that the situation had escalated in his absence.

Atlas caught Hermione before she could make a hasty escape. He led her outside the Great Hall to get to a less public space. He didn't mind missing dinner, as his concern was with his friend's well-being. Hermione's eyes were brimming with tears, and she seemed to be on the verge of an emotional outburst. Atlas gently inquired about what had happened, hoping to understand the situation better and help if possible.

Atlas put a comforting hand on Hermione's shoulder as she began to vent about Ron. "What happened, Hermione?" he asked.

"He's just impossible, Atlas. I spent all afternoon helping them with their homework, and then he badmouthed me to Harry right in front of me. He called me an annoying know-it-all who can't have fun with anyone," Hermione said, her voice shaking with anger and hurt.

Atlas clenched his jaw. "I'm sorry, Hermione. That's not fair to you. I helped Ron out too, and I know that he isn't really the grateful type, but being mean to you is just inexcusable."

Hermione looked up at him with watery eyes. "I know I'm not the easiest person to work with sometimes. I can come off as a bit of a know-it-all when I'm trying to explain things. But I just wanted to help them. Am I really that terrible?"

"You are not, Hermione. You're brilliant, and you know your stuff. Maybe it's just a matter of finding the right approach, in your teaching methods, but that doesn´t excuse Ron. He is ungrateful and doesn't know you well enough to judge you, so you shouldn't care about what he thinks." Atlas said, trying to soothe her.

Hermione couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious after her outburst. "And what about the fun part? Am I really that boring?" she asked Atlas, her voice quivering slightly.

Atlas smiled at her, trying to reassure her. "Hermione, everyone has a different definition of fun. For me, learning new spells and trying them out is fun. Sometimes studying can be fun too, in the right circumstances. Maybe that makes me a bit nerdy, but I'm okay with that. And besides, I always enjoy having you around. I'm never bored when we're together, so if you are boring, I am too," he said, hoping to lift her spirits.

But he could see that Hermione still seemed a bit down, so he decided to inject a bit of humor into the situation. "Who knows, maybe Ron has a completely different idea of what's fun. Maybe he thinks fun involves doing an erotic dance in front of a moving picture he believes to be a secret passage. We should probably ask him," Atlas joked.

Hermione let out a small laugh, and Atlas was relieved to see her mood brighten. "Thanks, Atlas. I guess you're right. Maybe I just need to lighten up a bit," she said, giving him a small smile.

"Hey, don't worry about Ron, Hermione. His opinion doesn't matter. You're an amazing person, remember that," Atlas reassured her with a gentle pat on the back. "And I'll have a word with him about his behavior. It's not acceptable, and someone needs to set him straight. Plus, he's going to fail his classes with that attitude, and neither you nor I want that to happen," he added, determined to help his friend.

Hermione looked grateful but a bit hesitant. "You don't have to do that for me, Atlas. I don't want to cause any trouble or make things awkward for you."

Atlas shook his head. "Nonsense, Hermione. Ron needs a wakeup call, the earlier the better." Hermione nodded, feeling relieved that she had such a good friend in Atlas. "Thank you, Atlas. I appreciate it." Atlas smiled warmly at her. "Of course, Hermione. And hey, if you're hungry, I can go grab something and bring it back to the common room. We can eat together and maybe do something fun afterwards. I have a few noise producing sweets, or Fizzing Whizzbeese, that let you float for a few seconds."

Hermione's face lit up with a smile. "That sounds great, Atlas. Thank you."

"Anytime, Hermione. I think I will be back in half an hour. So do what you want till then, but after that, no more homework today." Atlas said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Ha ha, so funny." She said it sarcastically but still grinned. "I will see you in half an hour then. And don't be early, or the homework will get envious."

--

As Atlas made his way back to the Great Hall, he took a deep breath and tried to maintain a calm expression. He sat down beside Harry, his façade breaking into an accusing expression. "Hey Harry, what happened earlier with Hermione and Ron?" he asked, trying not to be too partial and at least hearing both perspectives, but he already had a strong hunch that Ron was in the wrong and deserved a beating.

Harry sighed, shaking his head. "We were studying in the library, and Hermione was helping us with Transfiguration homework. Ron was struggling with the calculations, and Hermione was getting frustrated because he kept getting them wrong. She explained it to him several times, but he still didn't get it," he explained.

Atlas nodded in understanding. "And then what happened?" he asked.

"Ron got even more frustrated and asked if he could just copy it. But Hermione told him that he needed to learn it if he ever wanted to master transfiguration. And then, on our way out of the library, Ron said he preferred hanging out with you because Hermione was annoying and no fun," Harry explained.

"Annoying and no fun at all." Atlas raised an eyebrow at this, feeling disappointed and angry at Ron's behavior."Ron got even more frustrated and asked if he could just copy it. But Hermione told him that he needed to learn it if he ever wanted to master transfiguration. And then, on our way out of the library, Ron said he preferred hanging out with you because Hermione was annoying and no fun," Harry said, looking a bit intimidated by Atlas's stare and his unusually calm attitude.

Atlas took a deep breath and turned to Harry and Ron, trying to keep his composure. "Ron, did I understand correctly that instead of being grateful for Hermione's help, you chose to be mean to her?" he asked, obviously not as calm as he intended to be.

Ron quickly interjected, "No, no, I just said that it's better with you, Atlas."

Atlas pointed a finger at Ron's chest and rebuked him angrily. "Ron, we heard what you said after Charm class. Do you really think it was appropriate to say something like that to the person who tried her best to help you?"

Ron started to defend himself, "It wasn't all my fault. She nagged me the whole time without really helping."

Atlas was having difficulty containing his anger. It was now clear to him that Ron was just being disrespectful. "If explaining how to do your homework, something you should be able to do on your own, is considered nagging, then maybe you should not ask anyone for help anymore," he said firmly. "From now on, you will have to do your homework on your own. I won't be helping you anymore."

Ron was shocked and protested, "But that's not fair!"

Atlas took a deep breath, trying to calm down before speaking. "No, Ron, it is fair. You know what's unfair? Asking someone for help and blaming them for your own stupidity and lack of engagement, instead of thanking them for their time and effort."

Neville joined the conversation with a concerned look on his face. "Does that mean we won't be doing homework together anymore?" he asked, looking worried. Atlas took a moment to consider. He knew that he could probably finish his homework faster on his own, but he didn't want to cut ties with Harry, Neville, Seamus, and Dean just because of Ron's foolishness. After all, they could help him in the fight against the hero, and he saw Neville as a friend too. However, Ron's behavior was unacceptable. Finally, Atlas answered Neville's question. "Of course, we can still do homework together. I just won't help Ron anymore," he said firmly. "And if any of you give Ron the homework, I helped you with, I won't help you either until he apologizes to Hermione. But other than that, we can still study together."

Ron was clearly upset by this and protested, but it only angered Atlas even more.

"Well, it sounds like you need a little reality check," Atlas said with a small smirk.

Atlas lifted his wand and summoned Ron's Transfiguration Book with accio and pushed the book in Ron's hands. "If you really need so much help to not be a lazy idiot, I will help you one last time. Epoximise."

"What did you do?" asked confused and relived at the same time, as he thought that Atlas would attack him.

"It's a simple spell that will help you concentrate on your transfiguration homework, Ron. But don't worry, I will lift the spell when you apologize to Hermione and do your homework on your own." Answered Atlas and began to pack some food onto two plates.

After a few seconds, Ron realized that he could not put down the book. "What did you do? Lift that spell immediately."

"No, Ron, take it as a lesson and learn from it, until then, the book stays glued to your hand," Atlas answered and he used the locomotor charm to make the plates float behind him as he made his way to the common room.

Atlas was having a great time goofing around with Hermione and Neville in the common room, winding down for the night. However, things took an unexpected turn when Percy suddenly appeared and accused Atlas of cursing his little brother. He even went as far as deducting Gryffindor points for Atlas' supposed misdeed. Despite Atlas' efforts to explain the situation, Percy remained stubborn in his belief that it was unacceptable to curse a fellow housemate.

Although Atlas endured Percy's tirade, a seething anger bubbled up inside him. In that moment, all he could think about was getting revenge on Ron the next time he saw him. House points didn't matter to Atlas - he couldn't care less about the house cup. What really irked him was the fact that Ron had run crying to his older brother instead of owning up to his mistake and learning from it.

Atlas didn't have to wait long for his next run-in with Ron. As luck would have it, Ron was already in bed when Atlas went to hit the hay. But Atlas wasn't about to let Ron off the hook for his previous bad behavior so easily. However, he knew he couldn't just start blasting curses at Ron willy-nilly. That would only make matters worse. Instead, Atlas decided to let Ron doze off and get some shut-eye, and then think of a plan in the morning.

Just as Atlas was about to drift off, Ron's notorious snoring began to fill the room. It was like listening to a chainsaw with a cold. Atlas was starting to feel his blood boil, but he knew that casting curses at Ron wouldn't do him any good. Then he remembered a spell he had seen used in the Fantastic Beasts series: the silencio charm. It wouldn't solve the snoring problem for the whole night, but it would give Atlas some much-needed peace and quiet for a few minutes. But then he remembered another spell, the oscaci curse, that would keep Ron silent for a much longer time. Atlas hesitated for a moment, knowing that using a curse might lead to even more trouble, but then he thought about Ron's previous behavior and decided that a little punishment was in order.

He muttered the spell as quietly as possible and waited anxiously. Suddenly, the room was filled with blissful silence. It worked! Atlas couldn't help but smile to himself.

The next morning, Atlas was up before the crack of dawn. He slipped away to the Room of Requirement for a quick training session, taking advantage of the shower that was integrated into the room. No need to waste precious minutes running back and forth to the dormitory.

When he went to potion class he scanned the room for his ginger-haired "friend" but to no avail. Instead, Harry and Neville were shooting Atlas curious looks, clearly wanting to speak with him.

Just as they were about to whisper something to him, their potion professor appeared and began the lesson. Atlas was bummed that he couldn't chat with his buds, but he knew the importance of a good education.

As he mixed his ingredients together, Neville leaned over and whispered, "Did you hex Ron's mouth away?"

Atlas knew exactly what he was talking about but decided to play dumb. "Hex Ron's mouth away? I have no idea what you're talking about. Maybe he had a little too much Snitchwhiskey last night and ended up swallowing his wand in his sleep."

Neville wasn't convinced, but Atlas quickly changed the subject and reminded him to lower the temperature of his potion. After all, he didn't want to end up in the infirmary again!

Atlas couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he stirred his cauldron, secretly pleased with his improvised handiwork from the previous night.

They didn't get any more opportunities to talk, as Snape seemed to find joy in standing directly behind them. As it was the dreaded double lesson, the students were counting down the minutes until it was over.

The only thing that could make it worse was when Snape handed back their graded homework from the previous lesson. Atlas got a barely acceptable grade, while his friends got an acceptable one. It was frustrating to see that he had put in more effort and done better than his friends but still got a worse grade. However, he knew better than to argue with Snape about it.

As Snape went on to praise Malfoy's explanation about the most trivial error they had to research, Atlas gritted his teeth and tried to stay calm. But when he took a closer look at his assignment, he saw that Snape had written some notes on what he could improve. It was a small gesture, but it made a big difference for Atlas. Suddenly, he felt a bit of relief, knowing that Snape wasn't just trying to bully him but had absurd requirements for him. In some sense, it was still bullying, but he was glad that he at least got notes that helped him improve, instead of just bad grades. The grades in itself weren't really important either, as only the exams at the end of the year were important for their advancement to the next year.