J.K. Rowling Owns all. I'm just playing!

Chapter One

An Arrival

The wind whistled through Platform 9 and ¾ , meeting hardly any resistance as it went. A few leaves danced along the pavement, but apart from that, the platform was still. Not empty, but still. The usual hustle and bustle the place had been replaced with an eerie quiet. The shouts of laughter were now substituted for quiet, nervous muttering. The bright smiles and calls goodbye were no more, instead, the pale, drawn faces of parents and Hogwarts students alike bid each other farewell in low voices and grasped each other as if they were not sure if they would ever see one another again.

At 11 o' clock exactly the Hogwarts Express pulled away as it always did. Not even the rise of the Dark Lord could make the train run behind schedule. Faces pressed against the window panes up and down the train, little hands, or sometimes not so little hands pressed upon the glass. As the train vanished into the distance, twisting its way though the mountains quite a few tears were shed as Platform 9 and ¾ became but a memory.

But there were no such tears in one compartment near the back of the Express. No, you see, in that compartment sat Ginerva Weasley and Ginerva Weasley did not cry. She could sniffle though, and sniffle she did. In fact she sniffled so much that she required a tissue, an item one needs when one is sniffling, not crying. As she was rummaging in her bag for one, her compartment door slid open and a bright yellow handkerchief was suddenly thrust under her nose.

Startled, Ginny looked up, and was met with a pair of wide peculiar blue eyes and a gentle smile.

"Luna!" She exclaimed, jumping up and enveloping her friend in a hug, "I haven't seen you since-" she had to swallow a few times to get the words out, "since the wedding. Did you get out of it alright?"

"Oh yes," Luna said dreamily, stepping into the compartment and sitting down. "They questioned dad, and then me, but I just told them all about Narllumps and they let us go."

"Hello you two," a familiar voice called from the doorway. A beaming Neville Longbottom strode into the compartment and sat down next to Luna, "Heard about the wedding Gin, Harry and them get out alright?"

"Oh yes," Ginny said rather glumly, "Dissapearated right away. Dad's sent them a message not to contact the family. Suspects we're being watched."

"What did you tell them about Ron?" Neville asked, pulling a half eaten sandwich and biting into it.

"We told them that Ron's ill and can't come to school. Transformed the ghoul in the attic so it's got red hair and boils."

"And they bought it alight?" he asked, mouth still full.

"Yeah, didn't want to get too close you see, because of the smell and all," Ginny said, wrinkling her nose at the memory, "But dad still reckons we have to be careful."

"Did you hear about Snape?" Neville asked darkly, swallowing.

"Just about him running the place." Ginny scoffed, "As if more proof was needed that the Ministry's been completely taken over."

"My dad says that it's complete garbage." Luna said, her voice taking on an uncharacteristic tone of indignation, "Says so in this weeks Quibbler. Here," she reached into her shoulder bag, "take a look."

ALLEDGED MURDARER IN CHARGE OF YOUR CHILDREN! Blared the headline above a picture of a scowling Snape.

"He tells the whole truth about what happened last term," Luna said, taking the magazine back from Ginny, "had to remove a whole article about the magical properties of ogre toenail clippings, but he thinks it was worth it."

Neville had to take another bite of his sandwich to suppress a snort.

"I heard he has two death eaters working with him." Ginny said, "Alamis and Alapo…?"

"Amycus and Alecto Carrow." Neville said, swallowing again, "Death Eaters, some of the worst, Gran reckons, they were in Azkaban, but apparently there's been another breakout that the Prophet didn't cover last year."

"Yeah, well there was a lot the Prophet didn't cover last year." Ginny muttered, "though I'd much prefer it to the load of hogswolish their printing now."

"I wonder how things will be this year at school." Luna murmured, staring out the window, any view being obscured by the water that was now pelting against the glass.

'How ever it is, it's not going to be pretty." Neville said, chomping into his sandwich once more.

And, indeed, pretty it was not. When the Express finally slowed to a stop, the scene before the emerging students seemed dusted in shadow. The village, the train, the castle itself, all appeared as if they were covered by a hardly discernable grey sheen. Perhaps it was the cloudy skies, or the current climate, or the way villagers hurried from building to building, always glancing behind them, but each and every student felt a chill go through them as they stepped off the train.

Even Hargid, always cheerful in his gathering of the first years, was subdued, his eyes downcast, his beard now streaked with gray. As the Hogwarts students began their journey up to the school, one thing was certain, as the castle loomed before them. Hogwarts was no longer a safe place to be.