Harry Potter was probably considered one of the most brave and
amazing wizards in the history of wizarding-and he was also grounded.
Grounded in every aspect of the word, no magic, no flying, no leaving the
house, nothing. Even though he'd been permitted a special grant saying
that he was aloud to practice magic away from Hogwarts (for additional
protection, as well as practice), he still could do nothing to lessen the
severity of the situation.
After he'd said his goodbyes and farewells to his friends, he'd
gathered his things, put them on a cart, and left for the muggle part of
the station. And to his horror, Dudley was waiting for him, giving that
same piggish smile of his, and brushing his meaty hand through his greasy
hair-- Harry felt himself cringe.
"Hello cousin." Dudley said curtly, and still with an almost eerily
childish voice for a boy that was going on fifteen shortly. Harry forced
a smile, even though he knew it would be in vein.
"'Ello Dudley, guess what I got this year?" Harry said, unable to
help himself. Dudley, despite his total dislike, and distrust of both
magic, and his cousin, couldn't help his curiosity.
"What?" He asked. Harry smiled a pulled a letter out of his pocket.
Even as he reached in, he could see the tremor wave through Dudley's fat
body as his muscles tensed at Harry's movement. Harry smirked and pulled
out the letter, which was folded over once. He then handed it to Dudley.
Dudley just starred at it for a moment.
"Well go on," Harry said anxiously. "Read it." And with that, Dudley
slowly opened the letter, his eyes widening as he read the text:
Dear Mr. H. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you, that under your extreme
Circumstances, you have here by been given full authorization by
Professor Albus Dumbledore, as well as several other heads of the School to openly practice magic away from Hogwarts this summer Break. However, we graciously request you only use it for defensive
Purposes. Sincerely, Albus Dumbledore Dudley finished reading it in his head, which took several minuets, and then shoved it back into his cousins' hands defensively, and looking rather uncomfortable. "Mum and Dad are waiting for you in the car." He said squarely and then turned his fat body as quickly as possible, and walked out, looking over his shoulder every once in a while to make sure Harry wasn't doing any spells behind his back. Once at the car, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were sitting in the car, anxiously awaiting the return of their beloved son. Dudley was in sight; they thought he was along, because the sheer size that Dudley had grown to cause him to leave Harry and his cart holding all his possessions and Hedwig in Dudley's shadow, and out of sight. For a moment, Uncle Vernon smiled, and whispered something to Petunia, and the two laughed. Vernon opened the door, his plump body giving the same jiggle as Dudley's did when he was scared, and was smiling, the smile quickly faded when he saw his sons face, and then the squawk a familiar, and despised owl. Dudley walked over to his mother's side of the car and she hugged him, kissed each of his cheeks once, and checked him for any unnatural markings or additions to his anatomy. Once satisfied, she narrowed her glare at Harry. "Mummy" Dudley whispered. "Harry can do magic away from school now, he showed me the letter, it said something about protection.why would he need protecting Mum?" Dudley asked, Petunia looked at Dudley, looking rather nervous as well, and then shook her head. "Never you mind you're perfect little head about that weird boy." She said coldly. "We'll make sure he won't be able to work any of his little.tricks." She said and then shooed his large body in the back seat of the car (he took up almost two whole seats) Meanwhile, uncle Vernon was uncomfortably close to Harry, and breathing heavily. He had a look like a hungry wild bore in his eyes. "Now you listen here, you will go nowhere, you will do nothing, you will not even do chores." Harry felt his heart leap at this announcement. "I don't want to know you're here. All of your magic doodads will be locked up proper." Vernon said, growing angrier by the moment. Harry licked his lips, and slowly spoke. "Uncle Vernon, uh, I've been given permission to practice magic away from school." He said slowly, not wanting to madden his obese uncle anymore than he already was. Slowly Harry again removed the peace of parchment from his pocket and handed it to yet another Dursley. Uncle Vernon didn't even take the time to finish reading it; he promptly ripped up the letter and threw it over his shoulder. "I don't care what some old crack pot says, you will not be permitted to practice you're dangerous.dangerous." Vernon groaned, growing flustered. "You wont be permitted to do anything like.like.. that, in my house!" He exclaimed curtly. "Now GET your things in the car and let's go!" He exclaimed plopping back down into the drivers seat. With a sigh, Harry did as he was told, he put his luggage into the trunk, strapped Hedwig in her cage to the top of the car and they set of for number for, Privet Drive. Once arriving at Privet Drive, the Dursley family proceeded to take his trunk, his wand, and anything else they thought looked out of the ordinary, and locked it up. Harry even thought he heard them contemplating locking up Hedwig. Of course, with one glare for Harry, the family decided promptly against it. Harry again was given his small, undecorated, and uncomfortable room, and again, found the bars on the windows replaced, and the door was padlocked. He sighed, sinking into the lumpy bed, and promptly drifting off to sleep. A deep, sad, dreamless sleep. *** "I'm on to you boy!" Vernon bellowed as he unlocked the door to Harry's room, Harry however was thunderstruck. It'd been nearly a week since he'd arrived at the Dursley home, and so far, nothing out of the ordinary had happened. But when Uncle Vernon opened the door, all was explained: There, tucked under his arm, squawking and screeching like crazy, was a small, overly energetic owl. With both terror, and happiness in its tone, it was frantically trying to break away from Vernon's grip. "Pig!" Harry exclaimed, rushing his Uncle, and running to fast, it caused Vernon to back up a few steps and let the frightened creature go. Pig promptly rushed over to Harry and practically purred with delight as he dropped a small letter, with of all people, Hermione's handwriting on it into Harry's hands. Harry looked at the letter for a moment, forgetting all about his Uncle. "Boy! This had better not be a constant thing! Otherwise, you'll have no more meals this summer!" He exclaimed. Harry sighed. "Sorry uncle Vernon" He said numbly, and then walked back into his room, allowing Uncle Vernon to slam it shut and lock it. Harry watched as Pig fluttered over to Hedwig's cave, and gave an almost smug hoot at the white snowy owl. Hedwig acted uninterested, but was obviously jealous of the small, fuzzy creature. Harry anxiously opened the letter and read it aloud: "Dear Harry, Ron and I didn't know if it was okay for you to receive letters by owl, so we decided to just send this brief one. My parents said that if you want you can stay with us for the summer! It'll be so much fun! Unfortunately, Ron can't come, he said something about training all summer, and I think he's got it in his head that he's going to make it onto the house team next year. Anyway, I'll be at the leaky Cauldron on July 13th from 4:00pm until 6:00pm. I hope to see you then, Oh; we'll have so much fun Harry! (Especially since Ron is being such a prat about having NO time to spend with us, his friends). Sincerely, Hermione. Harry finished the letter and sighed slightly. A smile pulled at his lips, as he began to plot a way to get the Dursley's to allow him to leave. Four days had passed since Harry had received his letter from Hermione. He was quite relieved when the Dursley's allowed him to send Pig back to Ron's. However, he'd still been too afraid to even mention leaving for Hermione's, especially before they'd had the proper time to practically starve and torture him. But, finally, after days of agonizing contemplation and anxious hope, he finally decided that he could no longer tolerate the torture he'd be subjecting himself to. And so it happened, early, on the morning of the 6th of July, Uncle Vernon banged on the door loudly, grunting slightly. It was a Saturday, and Harry knew that the Dursley family had already been awake for a few hours. Groggily, Harry grabbed his glasses off of the small nigh stand next to his bed, and put them on his face, remembering what he was going to do today. Suddenly he was wide-awake, realizing how important the next few minuets would be to the remainder of his summer. "Morning Uncle Vernon." Said Harry, unusually cheerful, as he opened the door and starred into his large uncle's eyes. Uncle Vernon eyed him suspiciously. "What are you so cheery 'bout, boy?" Vernon said cautiously. Harry just shrugged and smiled. "I had a wonderful nights sleep is all." Said Harry, making his way to the bathroom. Harry then paused, just as he reached the door, and turned to his uncle. "Say, Uncle Vernon, do you suppose I could use the telephone?" Harry asked. Vernon was caught totally off guard. He hadn't expected such a question from his nephew, in light of all the magic and such. "W.why do you ask?" He said sputtering, trying to form the words. Harry shrugged casually. "Oh, because Hermione asked me to spend the summer with she and her parents. Oh, I wanted to call and tell her no thank you. I believe it'd be dreadful awful, and in the end I suspect she'd hate me.I mean after all, her parents are Muggle Dentist's." He said with an exasperated sigh. It was as if a light had gone on in Vernon's head, and he smiled that cheeky, disgusting smile of his. Before Harry could close the bathroom door behind him, Vernon grabbed Harry and pulled him back out of the bathroom. "I think you should go to this.Her.Her." He began. "Hermione?" Harry offered the correction. Vernon nodded. "Yes that.person's house. It'd be good for ya'." Vernon said with an evil smile. Harry found it difficult to resist smiling, however he did it amazingly. Harry faked a look of horror on his face and grabbed his uncles hand. "Uncle Vernon, please! You don't understand, if I go to Hermione's her parents ll' hate me, and she'll hate me, and we'll never be friends again, it'll be awful! .Worse than awful.dreadful!" Exclaimed Harry, overly excited, but not over acting as far as Vernon was concerned. Vernon just shook his head forcefully. "Now you listen here, these people were kind enough to invite a boy like you to their home.Now you're almost fifteen years old! That's plenty old enough to be able to handle being respectful to others! Now get to packing your things.when are they picking you up?" Vernon asked curiously. "I'm to meet them in London." Said Harry with a defeated and tormented tone. Vernon smiled a little. "Oh, very well, we'll just.drop you off then."He said, and cheerily shooed Harry into the bathroom, so he could get on with the rest of this wonderful day. *** The days leading up to July 13th crawled slower than any in Harry's lifetime. The Dursley's were glad they were going to be rid of him, and at the same time see him "suffering", however they were unwavering in their cruelty towards Harry. His meals still consisted of either cold soup, the vegetables of which went to Hedwig, or cheese and bread. Harry drank the metallic tasting water they gave him, imagining all the time that it was the delicious ice cold, refreshing pumpkin juice he enjoyed with every meal at Hogwarts. Bathroom breaks had become once a day, and if he was in the toilet for more than three minutes, uncle Vernon began banging on the door, ranting about having a schedule to keep. Harry also noticed, that despite themselves, the Dursley's were in a better mood than usual; they just seemed excited, perhaps it was that Harry was leaving them to (as they thought) go to a place even more horrid. Harry spent those last few days before his liberation from the Dursley home sitting in his room, thinking up all the neat stuff that he and Hermione were going to do. Hermione, as it was a common fact, was muggle born. She was, as the Malfoy family would say, a Mudblood. This, of course, was a huge insult to anyone who was receiving it. However, despite her being a Mudblood, and supposedly not as powerful as Pureblood wizards, she was the number one in her class, and was more advanced in practically every subject, then the ostentatious Draco Malfoy himself. This of course, earned Draco quite a lot of long lectures from his equally self-absorbed father, Lucius. Harry didn't think of Malfoy very often during the summer, he always found it brought a surge of hatred into his body, and as much as he hated the fact, Malfoy could get to Harry, and occasionally persuade him to act brash. So, Harry focused again on all the fun things he and Hermione would be doing. Common muggle things, no doubt, but still, they'd be together, two friends, for all of the vacation, and what a fun vacation it would be. *** Harry always found London fascinating, however today he could think of little more than seeing one of his two most dear friends, and that took up all available space in his mind. The entire car ride into the heart of London was spent daydreaming about the last four years of school, and all the interesting happenings, which had brought the three as close as they were. Finally, after an eternity or two, the car slowly stopped in front of a small pub, which was only decorated with one small sign, which read: "The Leaky Cauldron". Harry shuddered slightly when he saw how dim and deserted the pub looked, especially on a Saturday afternoon. Uncle Vernon sent Harry inside the pub to see if Hermione had arrived yet. Indeed she had, as Harry walked in he saw three people sitting around a small table in the center of the almost empty pub. The two parents looked almost uncomfortable as their brown-eyed, bushy haired daughter; Hermione. "Hermione!" "Harry!" They shouted in unison, rushing to hug each other tightly. After a moment, they pulled apart and looked at one another. "How are you?" Harry asked Hermione before she could ask him first. She sighed, then forced a weary smile. "I'm fine, my parents are a little uncomfortable though, I mean, I've never seen this place so." Hermione began. Harry nodded, looking around to see less than five people sitting in scattered places, keeping to themselves. "I know what you mean, I wonder what's going on." Harry said thoughtfully. Hermione looked at him. "I can tell you that." She began, and Harry's head snapped back to her, begging her silently to tell him. "Well, Voldemort's power is growing, and his attacks are becoming more frequent." Hermione said wearily. "The Ministry has no idea what course of action to take.because Fudge is still failing to believe that Voldemort has truly returned, and Mr. Weasley keeps insisting that some sort of agency be created for the protection of muggles." Hermione said quietly. Harry jumped, putting his hand to his head. "Yea, how is ol' Ron and his family?" Harry asked gently. Hermione sighed, looking to Harry gravely. "I don't really know how Ron is really feeling, but I can tell you what's going on with his family: "Mr. Weasley, and Percy aren't speaking, each taking different sides on Fudge, and Dumbledore's views.Mrs. Weasley is asking all the others not to get involved, but Ginny has declared all out war on Percy, and Bill and Charlie agree with their brother, while Fred, and George take sides with their Dad." Hermione said, feeling guilty that poor Ron was going through all that. Finally, Harry had to ask: "Yes, but how is Ron, do you think?" He asked, as Hermione's parents stood up from their table, put down their bill, and walked over to the two kids, not interrupting them. Hermione sighed, showing how worried she was; Harry was almost surprised by what she said next: "Harry, I'm worried about him. I mean, he won't talk to anyone in the family, except Fred and George, and he only speaks to them when they're training with him.Ginny says that he's become like Percy was, he leaves early and comes home late.something is on his mind, Harry, and he won't tell anyone what it is." Hermione said as her father put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on kids, we've better get Harry's things into the car and ready to go." He said, and with that they were off. *** Hermione's house was nothing like Harry had expected it to be. I suppose that's Hermione for you, he though to himself, taking a look around. The house wasn't as Harry thought it'd be at all. He'd expected an elaborate mansion type home, with fifty rooms, an indoor pool, a workout room, and all sorts of large luxuries. He'd expected large paintings of famous people, a enormous library (on that he wasn't far off though), and an even bigger study. Instead, Hermione's house was quite comfortable and homey looking. It was two stories, and looked as though it had three bedrooms. The outside of the house was a quiet pale blue, and the shutters on the windows were a darker navy blue color. The house had a small garage, big enough for one car, leaving one of her parents cars out in the small driveway, and there was a small concrete walk way leading to the front door. The inside of the house was very homey indeed. There was no wallpaper on the walls of the hallways, but in the living room there was a small flower border going around the middle of the walls. There was a sofa, love seat, and a recliner, which didn't go with the room itself. Harry assumed it must've been Hermione's fathers. Hermione's room, which was at the top of the stairs and to the left, was exactly as Harry had imagined it. It had a small bed, with blue blankets and pillowcases on it, in the corner of the room opposite the door and to the left. To the right of the bed was a large desk, upon which books and papers were stacked neatly in piles, which reached higher than Harry was tall. He smiled. In between both of these was a small window, which looked out onto her street below. On the walls there were pictures of famous intellectual types from both the muggle and wizarding worlds, as well as a small painting of Hogwarts, which had been framed, as well as a few certificates she'd been given because of her academics from both Hogwarts and a muggle elementary. Also on her wall was something Harry read, and laughed. "You framed your acceptance letter into Hogwarts?" He asked, slightly surprised, then remembering that it was, in fact, Hermione he was speaking to, calmed a bit. She blushed slightly. "Well, it's not exactly like everyone in my family's gone to Hogwarts, Harry. It's more for.proof than anything else." She said, turning a deeper shade of pink. Harry laughed. "You're blushing like Ron." He pointed out, then seeing the pink turn to deep red, he immediately regretted it. "You had to bring that prat up!" She said, but as angry as she sounded, she also sounded rather sad. Harry sighed. "Hermione, what's bothering you.about Ron I mean.?" Harry asked, talking as gently as he could, hoping she'd tell him then, so it didn't loom like a shadow over his entire stay at her home. Hermione hesitated for a moment, and then sighed. "I just feel really sorry for him, I mean, you know Ron." She said slowly. Harry still hadn't fully caught on. "Yea, I do, but I don't know what you mean." "I mean about what's going on with his family.everyone fighting with everyone. Poor Ron is the only one who hasn't chosen sides, and I think that he's actually being punished for it." She said quietly, obviously worried about him. Harry walked over to her and then pulled her over to her bed. He sat down next to her, and she faced him. "I mean, you've gotta figure, knowing Percy, that he's feeling betrayed by Ron, and his dad's the same way. I mean, don't get me wrong, they're all wonderful people, but right now.it's bringing out the worse in all of them." Hermione said slowly. "So, why do you think Ron didn't come here?" Harry asked, now fully understanding how serious the situation was. Harry had seen Mr. Weasley mad, even furious, and he'd also seen how stubborn Percy could be, this, as Hermione said, was going to bring out the worst in everyone. "I think he's afraid that if he's not there something bad will happen, and it'll be his fault. as you know, Lucius has been increasingly open about his hatred of the Weasleys, and you said you saw him with.you- know-who, and that'll only make things worse." Hermione said, feeling even glummer as she spoke. Finally, after a few moments of silence, Harry finally forced a smile. It wasn't fake, but it wasn't genuine either. "Well, we know Ron, he can make people laugh even in the worst of situations.I'm sure he's keeping them together somehow." Harry said, then slapped Hermione on the knee gently and hopped up. "Besides, he'll write I'm sure." Harry said, but as he said it, she sounded increasingly doubtful. Hermione smiled a little and stood up too. "You're right, Harry, and I'm really glad you're here." She said hugging him and heading out of her room, and as she did, she heard her mother call: "Hermione, Harry, come downstairs!" She said, very nervously. Hermione looked to Harry and then galloped down the stairs, Harry close behind. When they saw who it was, both of them knew something was seriously wrong. There, standing in front of Hermione's living room, was Percy Weasley *** Percy's face was almost mournful as he looked down, straitening his already perfectly straightened robes. Percy looked from Hermione's parents, to Hermione and Harry. "What is it, what's wrong?" Harry asked, as Hermione's face slowly filled with dread. "It is Ron, what is it, what's happened?" She asked in an almost panicked voice. Harry looked to her, then to Percy. Percy only stood there for a moment, looking down. "I.Incase you don't know.there has been some problems at home lately." Percy began slowly, then looked up to Hermione. "You were at our house for an afternoon, you saw how it is." Hermione nodded, understanding. "Well, it's gotten worse.dad, and I.we've been so. distant, and when we do talk, we always end up fighting." Percy said, however, Harry and Hermione were only feeling more and more worried as Percy tried to find the words to explain everything. "Percy, what's happened?" Harry asked calmly, knowing that Hermione would only yell if she opened her mouth. Percy took a shaky deep breath, and put one hand up and rubbed his eyes. "Dad has been feuding with Lucius Malfoy a lot more lately, he keeps declaring that Malfoy should be brought to trial, and sent to Azkaban. of course, Malfoy doesn't deny the allegations, however, he doesn't like dad pointing to him." Percy said slowly, then finally, he broke down, as if he was a child again, instead of a very high Ministry official. He began to cry, but not just cry, sob, relentlessly almost. Until finally, his sobs subsided. Mrs. Granger, who was looking increasingly nervous put a motherly arm around Percy. "Dear, would you like some tea?" She asked. Percy only nodded, and Mrs. Granger walked into the kitchen. Percy, now feeling slightly embarrassed, looked back to Hermione and Harry. "Dad was right, of course. I should have believed me, I did, deep down, but.I thought that if I agreed with Mr. Fudge, then maybe I'd .I.I was so stupid, I ignored my family for my career." Percy said, and then slowly, Hermione began to understand. "What did Malfoy do?" She asked in a shaky whisper. Harry now looked panicked too, and found it hard to swallow the lump in his throat. "Everything is gone." Percy said slowly. "The house is totally destroyed, its in ruin all over the hillside. Bill, and Charlie.they're.we don't know if they're going to recover.they were hit with the a deadly form of Petrificas Totalus." He said guiltily. "Mum's just gone some bumps a bruises, and Dad wasn't at home when it happened. Fred and George were training for Quidditch in the woods." Percy said, leaving now only two Weasley's unreported. "What about Ginny and Ron?" Harry asked. In the midst of all this terrible news, Mr. Granger walked over to his daughter, and she gripped his hand tightly, never taking her eyes off of Percy. "Ginny was with Mum, she ok, but she hasn't woken up yet.and Ron.he." Percy took a deep breath to steady himself. "Ron's.well we don't rightly know what's wrong, he not under any curse, but he looks as though.a thousand bludgers chased him down.they found him almost a mile from the house." Percy said, again feeling tears sting his eyes. Hermione felt her throat almost close completely, and she tried her best to remain calm, however it was increasingly difficult when she saw a picture of a battered Ron, laying motionless in the mud. "Will he.will he. be ok?" She sputtered between her gasps of breath. "We think so." Percy said. Then a look of pure spite flashed in his eyes. "One thing is for sure though, Malfoy was behind it." He said calmly. "but no one will do anything about it!" He then exclaimed. Hermione's face went dark, and she no longer felt as though she'd cry. She was now focused on one thing. "Percy, do you have any Floo powder?" She asked him. Percy nodded. "Yes, of course." He said gently. "Good." She said. "C'mon Harry, we're going to see them." She said. Harry nodded, though he despised Floo powder, now was not the time to seek other means of transportation. *** The hospital ward at the Ministry's head offices was busy with commotion, as most of them were focused on either undoing a curse, or figuring out what exactly happened to several people, Ron being one of them. "It's never been this busy before." Percy said to Harry and Hermione quietly. The two only nodded, feeling very uncomfortable. Percy walked over to a stout woman wearing blue robes, the same as the other nurses walking around the hospital. "Excuse me, but can you please direct us to where Ron and Ginny Weasley are being held?" Percy asked. The stout woman shuffled through several papers on a clipboard. "Weasley, Weasley, yes, here we are.Ron and Ginny are in two separate rooms. Ginny is in room 101, next to .Bill, Fred, George, and Molly Weasley in the stable ward, and Ronald Weasley is in the Critical ward.room.301." The nurse said, and then looked up. "Thank you." Percy said quietly. Harry then looked to Hermione. "I think we should go see Ginny first." He said. Hermione nodded. Never in his life had Harry ever seen the Weasley family so glum. They all looked awful. None of them were talking. Bill was sleeping, Fred and George were dozing off, and Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and Mr. Weasley were all reading quietly. Fred and George were the first to see their brother and sneered. "What do you want?" They both said, equally upset. "Enough both of you." Mr. Weasley said quietly, and then saw Hermione and Harry shuffle in the room. Ginny and Harry locked eyes for a moment, and Ginny could see how relieved Harry was to see her ok flash in his eyes. "Oh, I'm glad the both of you came." Said Mr. Weasley. "I take it Percy has filled you in on everything?" He asked, and the two nodded. "Oh, Percy, your brother Charlie is fine now too, he's left actually, said something about research, but he'll be back later." Mr. Weasley said without a lot of his usual emphasis. "Mr. Weasley, um, is Ron allowed visitors?" Hermione asked quietly. Mrs. Weasley smiled at her slightly. "Yes dear, you can see him, but.he's in a terrible condition.the doctors say he'll be ok.they just don't know how long it'll take." She said, with a glimmer of hope. "Perhaps if the two of you talk to him, then maybe it'll help him." Ginny said, looking more to Hermione then Harry. "Especially Hermione." Fred said, with a sudden, small smile. "W.what do you mean by that?" Hermione asked, trying to sound stern, but the situation was just too precarious to be stubborn on the issue. "Well, Ron was worried about you more than himself. He thought that Malfoy would come after you, because you beat his son all the time. Ron was actually taking a break from practice, and writing to you when." Fred's words trailed off, and no one cared to finish it. Hermione gulped, feeling even guiltier now. "He was writing to me." She repeated. Mrs. Weasley stood up and walked over to her, hugging her gently. "Why don't the two of you go to see him, I know he'd appreciate it." She said *** The atmosphere a floor higher than the Weasley's room was quite different. There was no one standing around talking, there were also no waiting rooms or even doctors for that matter in the hallways. It was almost vacant, with the exception of a few nurses wandering here and there flicking their wands. Harry slowly, followed by Hermione made his way to room 301. The door was closed, but not locked, and when Harry stood in front of the door, without even putting his hand on the handle, the door clicked open silently. Slowly the door walked inside. There was Ron, lying motionless on the bed, covered up to his waist. The tops of his hospital bottoms were visible just above the end of the covers, but his chest was bare. Hermione felt a gasp escape her lips, but she wasn't sure if she'd imagined it. There were bruises all over Ron's chest, and in the center, carved deep into his skin was something that almost brought Harry to tears: The dark mark. "It's almost as if they played connect the dots with his bruises." Hermione said slowly, running her hand from one bruise to the other, tracing the outline of the skull, and the snake protruding from it. "That's not going to go away." Harry said slowly, looking at his friend, unable to do anything to help him. However, Harry's words didn't reach Hermione, she was off in another world. As she was slowly tracing the deep cuts and bruises on Ron's chest, she reached up with her other hand, and brushed some of his deep red hair away from his eyes. His face was as bruised as the rest of his body, however the bruises on his face were totally random and untouched. Hermione traces his cheek, then his jaw line, feeling increasingly panicked, and worried. "Mmm." Came a groan from Ron as his face twitched a little, and he opened his eyes quickly. For a moment he had no idea what was going on, then slowly Ron remembered. He then looked around, and seeing Hermione, shot up, grabbing her hand that was on his chest gently. "Hermione." He said, reaching with his other hand to hold his head as pain shot trough it. "Hermione, where is my family?" He said as if he was a child. She smiled at him a little, Harry only watched from the sidelines quietly. "Shh, they're fine, don't worry.everyone is ok.now that you are I mean." She said and looked down at her hand on his chest. He smiled a little, and let her hand go, then saw his chest. "What the hell is this?" He asked angrily. Hermione looked to Harry, and Harry walked to the other side of the bed. "They found you like that.I don't think.that'll go away." Harry said, feeling almost guilty. Ron had a look in his eye that neither Harry, nor Hermione had ever seen before, it was stronger than hate; it was.almost evil. "Malfoy.that rodent.he and his father tried to kill my family." Ron said with a sneer. Neither Harry nor Hermione knew how to respond to that. *** The Weasley's were in the hospital for over half the summer. Ron was the last to be given the okay to go home, and just as Harry had predicted, the Dark Mark on Ron's chest didn't go away. It left a deep, visible scar, one that no magic could remove. The scare was placed there with dark magic, and no one knew how to remove it. Harry and Hermione stayed, most of the time, with the Hermione's parents, and about twice a week they'd go to the hospital to visit the Weasley's. Often they'd bring treats for everyone, joke books for Fred and George, food for Ron, and other gifts. Hermione had actually given a clock radio to Mr. Weasley to tinker with, and he was extremely excited. They gave Mrs. Weasley a set of new cookbooks, which she read religiously. And one day, Harry had brought Ginny a small, calico kitten. Ginny tuned to many shades of red that Harry couldn't keep count of them all. She named the boy cat Griff (after Gryfindor), and it instantly became her baby. Hermione spent almost all her time with Ron, even when Harry wasn't there, she'd stay with him, and talk to him. They were getting along famously. "I should get attacked more often.it does wonders." Ron joked, but Hermione gave him a stern look. "That's not funny Ron, I was terrified!" She exclaimed. Ron couldn't help, but smile. "School starts in three days, are you ready to go back?" He asked her. She smiled. "I am, but are you? I mean, .did your parents get your new books and everything?" She asked him. Ron nodded. "Yea, unfortunately." He said only half joking. And so, with one day before Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny had to catch the Hogwarts express, they all left the hospital, getting ready to go back. The Weasley family was staying at Mr. Weasley's parents home, which wasn't far from their home, and they'd also been given an exceptionally large amount of money after the attack, which they all supposed was to shut Mr. Weasley up about who had attacked them, but due to their lack of money, he had to accept it. About half the money they'd been given went to buying the school supplies for all the kids, and the rest went to Gringots. New trunks, robes, quills, parchment, ink, and anything else, accept wands, which were miraculously untouched, were given to each of the kids. Luckily (or unluckily to Ron) Pig was perfectly safe, and overly excited about returning to school. And so the day finally came, the six boarded the platform, got a booth to themselves, and set back off for Hogwarts. *** Hogwarts was as lively as ever, as all the students, minus first years, filed into the Great Hall, and to their designated house tables. Seamus, Dean, and Neville all greeted Ron with curiosity, and Ron noticed that he'd been getting some odd glances by nearly everyone. As they sat down, Colin Creevy scurried over. "Hi Harry! How was your summer?" He asked, almost trying to hard to sound cheery. Harry smiled. "It was ok Colin, how was you-" Harry began, but before he could finish, Colin cut him off. "Ron! Ron, is it true?" He asked curiously. Ron looked at him with a confused look. "Is.what.true?" He asked. "The thing about you getting attacked." Colin asked, sounding almost a little scared to mention it. Ron sighed. "Yea, it's true." He said dejectedly. "So you've got the scar then." He asked, and both Harry and Ron exchanged looked of amusement. "Shouldn't you be talking to Harry about scars?" He asked, slightly amused. Colin shook his head furiously. "No, no, no, I mean the dark mark scar, is it true that it's on your chest.?" Colin asked. Ron nodded. "Yea, if you want to see it, I'll show you sometime." He said, trying to get Colin to go away. Several other people from the Gryfindor table, as well as other tables had looked over to the conversation before a foul voice filled the air. "Hey Weasley, I heard your fathers loud mouth almost got your family blown to bits." said Draco Malfoy, Crabe and Goyle snickering behind him. Before anyone knew what was happening Ron leapt out of his seat, wand pointed directly at Malfoy. "Cru-" He began, until a slimy voice interjected. "Don't even think about it Weasley!" Yelled Professor Snape as he walked over quickly, grabbing Ron's want out of his hand. Ron didn't respond, instead he lunged over the table at Malfoy, knocking him, sprawling, onto the hard cold stone floor. Without the slightest hesitation, Ron proceeded in delivering a number of hard blows, particularly to Malfoy's face, before he could even think of retaliating, Crabe had grabbed Ron, holding his arms behind his back, and Goyle delivered a series of rib-shattering blows to Ron's stomach. Snape didn't attempt to stop the fight, Hermione and Harry rushed over, wands raised, ready to take out the three goons one by one. The crowd around them all had grown, and Ginny fought her way over to Harry and Hermione, as they all tried to shove through the crowd to help Ron. "ENOUGH!" Bellowed a loud, and very furious Professor Dumbledore, his entire body down to his beard, shook with anger. Harry had never seen Dumbledore quite like this-ever. The entire school looked from the fight, and over to Dumbledore, and those who had been standing on benches and chairs for a better view of the battle, hoped down quietly, mingling with the rest of the crowd. Dumbledore took in a deep, shaky breath, attempting to calm his nerves. "Malfoy, Weasley, Granger, Potter, Crabe, and Goyle." Dumbledore said, Crabe and Goyle released Ron, who fell over a bloodied and battered Malfoy with a loud thump. Hermione rushed over to him, followed closely by Harry, and together they helped him up. "My office, now." Dumbledore finished, giving a glace for Professors Snape and McGonagal to follow. Then he looked to Professor Moody. "Professor Moody, will you be so kind as to fetch Poppy, I expect she'd better check out Mr. Malfoy, and then Mr. Weasley." Dumbledore said, making sure to make it sound like Malfoy had in fact, been injured worse (which, he was). Moody nodded, casting a glance at Harry, and then walked off mumbling about "Hooligan kids". *** Dumbledore's office was rather comforting amidst the haze and confusion of the last few minuets. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat in three chairs to the right of Dumbledore's desk, while Crabe, Goyle, and Malfoy (who was wiping the blood from his face on his robes), sat on the left. Hermione looked to Ron, obviously not pleased, but very concerned. "Ron, why did you do that? You know you're probably going to be expelled!" She exclaimed in a whisper to him. Harry nodded, on Ron's right (Ron was in the middle of the two), and Ron scoffed. "That git tried to kill my family." Ron said, every word dripping with loathing. Hermione winced at the tone in his voice, and touched his cheek lightly. He turned his head to look at her, slightly confused. "You're a fool, you know that don't you?' She said, smiling casually. He smirked back a little, and for a moment they sat, eyes locked, saying nothing. Harry looked at the two, slightly amused. "Oh look." Said a almost whimpering voice from across the room. Malfoy was obviously trying to get the last laugh. "It's yet another romantic moment for the peasant and the Mudblood. This was enough to infuriate Ron again, and he tried to leap from his chair, but as he did, Dumbledore stepped behind his desk and sat down, Professor Snape on the left, behind Malfoy, and McGonagal on the right, behind Harry. "Mr. Weasley, what you did out there was extremely.out of character." Said Dumbledore, trying to word it as not to insult Ron. Dumbledore's face was un-readable; he looked as though he was trying to distinguish what was right and wrong in his mind. "There are many curses you should never use on another living thing, and that my dear boy, was among the top three. Please, I beg you, attempt to justify your actions." Dumbledore said, trying to give Ron every opportunity to get off the hook. Ron glared at Malfoy, who sat smugly in his chair. Ron, unable to look at Malfoy any long, otherwise he'd probably attack him again, looked back to Dumbledore. "I'm sure you're aware of the attack on my family." Ron said slowly. Everyone in the room, minus the Slytherin's nodded. "My brothers almost died, my whole family was put in the hospital.and I have this-" He said, pulling up his shirt and showing the teachers the scar of the dark mark on his chest, at this even Crabe and Goyle gasped. Malfoy however, held his poker face quite well. "-To show for it. And that.that.thing over there's responsible, he and his father, and of course, Lord Voldemort." Ron said, for the first time every saying Voldemort's name aloud. Harry was shocked, as well as Hermione, to hear the name escape his lips. Dumbledore still held his emotions concealed. He nodded, as if totally understanding what was being said. However, for several moments he said nothing. "So, Mr. Weasley, you were acting out of protection of your family?" Dumbledore asked. Ron looked to Harry, and then Hermione, keeping his gaze piercingly on her as he spoke. "Absolutely, and my friends." He said confidently. Dumbledore nodded. "Very well then, you will receive a month's detention, and I will choose the punishment. As for you, Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Crabe, and Mr. Goyle.Malfoy, you will go now where near any of the Weasley's, Mr. Potter, or Ms. Granger. If I hear you've been anywhere near any of them, immediate expulsion.for the three of you." Dumbledore said resolutely. Snape looked as if he wanted to interject. "Serverus, if I heard that you've been allowing the punishment I've put before Mr. Malfoy slide in anyway.there will be harsh consequences for you as well." Dumbledore said, making it sound as if it was just a simple warning, rather than a threat on Snape's job. However, to Harry's surprise, Snape nodded to Dumbledore, understanding completely. "Headmaster, with all due respect, I ask that, due to Mr. Malfoy's actions, that Slytherin be taken out of the running for the Quidditch cup." Snape said, sending a glare at Harry, as if to let him know that he wasn't do this for Gryfindor, or Harry especially. Dumbledore looked completely taken aback by this, and McGonagal looked as if she could kiss Snape. Malfoy, however, would hear nothing of this. "You can't do this!" Malfoy exclaimed angrily, jumping out of his seat. "This is preposterous! Wait till my father gets wind of this." "Wait until your father gets wind of you bragging about certain incidences that could land he, and you in Azkaban for a great many years." Said McGonagal, and the color drained from Malfoy's face. With that, he sat back down, gulping, not even stopped to stare evilly at the three across from him. Some of the wizards and witches in the paintings around Dumbledore's office were stifling their laughter. Dumbledore then fixed his eyes and crocked nose on Crabe and Goyle. "Mr. Crabe, and Mr. Goyle.what to do with the two of you.well, it seems no matter what punishment I give you.three will still be able to sit in your common room and concoct some plan. So, this is the first time in the history of Hogwarts-" with this he looked to Hermione, who blushed furiously."-As some of you know, that anyone has done this. Minerva, please bring the sorting hat here." He said, and with that, McGonagal reached to the shelf behind Dumbledore's desk, and gave him the battered only hat. He then placed it on his own head. The hat sprang to life. "Yes, Headmaster?" It said respectfully. Dumbledore smiled a little. "Hello, it has been a long time since you've been upon my noggin' hasn't it?" He asked with a slight laugh, which the hat joined in on. "Well, down to business I'm afraid. Please, if you would.tell these gentlemen, Mr. Crabe, and Mr. Goyle, which houses they will be spending the remainder of their days at Hogwarts in." Everyone in the room was taken back with shock as what Dumbledore had just said sunk it. Even the sorting had wavered slightly, before nodding itself slightly on Dumbledore's head, and giving a determined look at Crabe and Goyle. "Ah, yes, yes, I remember these two." The hat said, deep in thought. "Plenty of muscle, and strength, but not to much in terms of strength of mind.rather dull in fact." At this Ron, Harry, Hermione, and even Dumbledore himself had to stifle their laughs. "Well, if I must choose, well, Crabe to Hufflepuff, and Goyle to Ravenclaw, it's the best I can do, Headmaster." Said the hat respectfully. Dumbledore nodded his thanks, then took the hat off and placed it back on his desk. "There you have it, gentlemen. You'll find your things there when you arrive, and now that all this is settled, you may all go back down to the-" But just as he was about to tell them all what they wanted to hear, the nurse, Madam Pomfrey, burst in the door, looking terribly distraught. "Oh the trouble you've caused!" She said, glaring first at Ron, then harder, and longer on Malfoy. "There's been several duels in the Great Hall between Slytherin and.everyone!" She said, narrowing her eyes, yet again on Ron and Draco. "Because of THESE TWO!" She yelled. Then stubbornly added, "I refuse to see either of them until tomorrow." She said, which left both Malfoy and Ron grimacing. She then looked to Dumbledore and stalked out. Dumbledore sighed loudly. "Well you've heard her, you're going to have to deal with the pain you've all inflicted and received until tomorrow. now go on, back to the feast with you.
So, slowly but surely, they all left. Malfoy, Crabe, and Goyle, leaving, horrified, first, (but not before Snape added "Make sure you sit with your appropriate houses, and said it with what Harry swore was a smirk) and then, Harry, Ron and Hermione next. Ron winced each time he walked down a step, and when he came to the last one, he took in a sharp breath. Hermione put a hand on his back, to support him, and looked at him nervously. "Are you alright?" She asked him, forgetting all about the lecture she'd been planning to give him. He winced slightly, then nodded. "Yea, its just.my ribs.they feel." "Broken?" Harry asked, slightly horrified at the thought of one of his best friends having broken ribs and not getting proper attention. Ron, to Harry's relief, shook his head 'No'. "They feel.cracked or.bruised." Ron said as they slowly made their way to the Great Hall, though none of them felt hungry. Hermione looked just as horrified at this prospect as Ron having actual broken ribs. "Goodness!" She exclaimed as they walked into the hall, which was all alerted to their arrival. The hall was full of laughter and chatter as they walked it. They had missed the sorting, but it wasn't really that important to them anymore, as no one they knew was being sorted, and they began to put small amounts of delicious food on their plates. Just as they were beginning to forget all about the earlier events, something had to come along and wreak havoc. "Skrewts!" Exclaimed a large, bellowing voice as its owner bolted into the Great Hall. Everyone, including all the teachers whom had been present in Dumbledore's office (who'd just returned, and sat in their seats moments earlier), looked up to see a terrified Hagrid staring at them, his eyes so wide, Harry though he could see himself in the black. Everyone in the hall went eerily silent, everyone who'd been in the school last year, all looked terrified with the recollection of the Skrewts. "What?" Said Dumbledore calmly, though looking slightly tense himself. "Skrewts!" Exclaimed Hagrid again, "Hundreds o' them! C'min out o' the Forest!" And with this, everyone began to panic silently. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all exchanged nervous glances and pulled out their wands. "I thought that the last of the Skrewts had been destroyed last year." Said Dumbledore nervously. Without waiting for Hagrid's answer he stood up. "All professors, come with me, Head Boy, and Head Girl, you are now in charge, however, I'd like it if Prefects please take their houses to the dorms." Dumbledore said, and with that all the teachers, Hagrid included, exited the Great Hall. A few moments later, Harry, Hermione and Ron found themselves walking down the corridor towards Gryfindor's dorms. "This is really serious." Said Ron, who now had to be supported by both Hermione and Harry, and was still in a great deal of pain. "Yea it is, I mean, just a handful of those things were hard to take care of. I wonder who-" Harry began, then shook his head."- of course, Voldemort." He said, and sighed. "Gyfindor's listen up!" Said the new head girl, who was taking charge, leaving a rather scrawny looking boy, obviously the prefect, looking quite flustered. Everyone went silent. "Everyone, I'd ask you NOT to go anywhere. The first password of the year is "No Slytherin." She said with a slightly giggle. By now, everyone was aware that Slytherin had, in fact, been disqualified from this years Quidditch season. "See, not everything has gone bad tonight." Ron said, stepping into the corridor leading to the common room, and moaning a little in pain as he reached his foot in. "Ron, this isn't worth getting Slytherin disqualified." She said sternly. "We really ought to check your stomach out, see if everything's ok." She said, blushing slightly. Harry smiled. "Ron!" Ginny yelled, as she ran over and tackled her brother hard to the ground. "OW!!!!" Ron yelled painfully. Ginny, who looked very surprised, jumped off of her brother. "gee, sorry Ron, I didn't mean to hurt you that bad!" She exclaimed, seeing his face contorted in pain. The three of them helped Ron back to his feet. "Not your fault Gin, he said with a small smile, then winced again. "I really wish old Pomfrey would let me see her." He said smoothly. Ginny looked to Harry. "So this is all pretty crazy, huh?" Said Ginny, trying to make conversation. Harry nodded to her. "Yea, Skrewts are nasty little buggers too, the teachers have their hands full." Said Harry, and with that, their conversation began. They were so deep into their conversation; they almost didn't notice Ron and Hermione walking off towards the boy's dorm. Harry and Ginny exchanged puzzled, but amused glances. "Hey, where are you two going?" Said Harry, trying to hide his amusement. Both Ron and Hermione couldn't help turning slightly red. "I was just going to take a look at his chest." She said over the other voices in the room. Almost all of them turned to Hermione and Ron, and she turned and even deeper shade of pink. "To make sure his ribs are ok!" She said defensively. Harry and Ginny nodded. "I think we'd better make sure that's all they're doing." Said Ginny with a small giggle. Harry laughed, and he started off after them.
Circumstances, you have here by been given full authorization by
Professor Albus Dumbledore, as well as several other heads of the School to openly practice magic away from Hogwarts this summer Break. However, we graciously request you only use it for defensive
Purposes. Sincerely, Albus Dumbledore Dudley finished reading it in his head, which took several minuets, and then shoved it back into his cousins' hands defensively, and looking rather uncomfortable. "Mum and Dad are waiting for you in the car." He said squarely and then turned his fat body as quickly as possible, and walked out, looking over his shoulder every once in a while to make sure Harry wasn't doing any spells behind his back. Once at the car, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were sitting in the car, anxiously awaiting the return of their beloved son. Dudley was in sight; they thought he was along, because the sheer size that Dudley had grown to cause him to leave Harry and his cart holding all his possessions and Hedwig in Dudley's shadow, and out of sight. For a moment, Uncle Vernon smiled, and whispered something to Petunia, and the two laughed. Vernon opened the door, his plump body giving the same jiggle as Dudley's did when he was scared, and was smiling, the smile quickly faded when he saw his sons face, and then the squawk a familiar, and despised owl. Dudley walked over to his mother's side of the car and she hugged him, kissed each of his cheeks once, and checked him for any unnatural markings or additions to his anatomy. Once satisfied, she narrowed her glare at Harry. "Mummy" Dudley whispered. "Harry can do magic away from school now, he showed me the letter, it said something about protection.why would he need protecting Mum?" Dudley asked, Petunia looked at Dudley, looking rather nervous as well, and then shook her head. "Never you mind you're perfect little head about that weird boy." She said coldly. "We'll make sure he won't be able to work any of his little.tricks." She said and then shooed his large body in the back seat of the car (he took up almost two whole seats) Meanwhile, uncle Vernon was uncomfortably close to Harry, and breathing heavily. He had a look like a hungry wild bore in his eyes. "Now you listen here, you will go nowhere, you will do nothing, you will not even do chores." Harry felt his heart leap at this announcement. "I don't want to know you're here. All of your magic doodads will be locked up proper." Vernon said, growing angrier by the moment. Harry licked his lips, and slowly spoke. "Uncle Vernon, uh, I've been given permission to practice magic away from school." He said slowly, not wanting to madden his obese uncle anymore than he already was. Slowly Harry again removed the peace of parchment from his pocket and handed it to yet another Dursley. Uncle Vernon didn't even take the time to finish reading it; he promptly ripped up the letter and threw it over his shoulder. "I don't care what some old crack pot says, you will not be permitted to practice you're dangerous.dangerous." Vernon groaned, growing flustered. "You wont be permitted to do anything like.like.. that, in my house!" He exclaimed curtly. "Now GET your things in the car and let's go!" He exclaimed plopping back down into the drivers seat. With a sigh, Harry did as he was told, he put his luggage into the trunk, strapped Hedwig in her cage to the top of the car and they set of for number for, Privet Drive. Once arriving at Privet Drive, the Dursley family proceeded to take his trunk, his wand, and anything else they thought looked out of the ordinary, and locked it up. Harry even thought he heard them contemplating locking up Hedwig. Of course, with one glare for Harry, the family decided promptly against it. Harry again was given his small, undecorated, and uncomfortable room, and again, found the bars on the windows replaced, and the door was padlocked. He sighed, sinking into the lumpy bed, and promptly drifting off to sleep. A deep, sad, dreamless sleep. *** "I'm on to you boy!" Vernon bellowed as he unlocked the door to Harry's room, Harry however was thunderstruck. It'd been nearly a week since he'd arrived at the Dursley home, and so far, nothing out of the ordinary had happened. But when Uncle Vernon opened the door, all was explained: There, tucked under his arm, squawking and screeching like crazy, was a small, overly energetic owl. With both terror, and happiness in its tone, it was frantically trying to break away from Vernon's grip. "Pig!" Harry exclaimed, rushing his Uncle, and running to fast, it caused Vernon to back up a few steps and let the frightened creature go. Pig promptly rushed over to Harry and practically purred with delight as he dropped a small letter, with of all people, Hermione's handwriting on it into Harry's hands. Harry looked at the letter for a moment, forgetting all about his Uncle. "Boy! This had better not be a constant thing! Otherwise, you'll have no more meals this summer!" He exclaimed. Harry sighed. "Sorry uncle Vernon" He said numbly, and then walked back into his room, allowing Uncle Vernon to slam it shut and lock it. Harry watched as Pig fluttered over to Hedwig's cave, and gave an almost smug hoot at the white snowy owl. Hedwig acted uninterested, but was obviously jealous of the small, fuzzy creature. Harry anxiously opened the letter and read it aloud: "Dear Harry, Ron and I didn't know if it was okay for you to receive letters by owl, so we decided to just send this brief one. My parents said that if you want you can stay with us for the summer! It'll be so much fun! Unfortunately, Ron can't come, he said something about training all summer, and I think he's got it in his head that he's going to make it onto the house team next year. Anyway, I'll be at the leaky Cauldron on July 13th from 4:00pm until 6:00pm. I hope to see you then, Oh; we'll have so much fun Harry! (Especially since Ron is being such a prat about having NO time to spend with us, his friends). Sincerely, Hermione. Harry finished the letter and sighed slightly. A smile pulled at his lips, as he began to plot a way to get the Dursley's to allow him to leave. Four days had passed since Harry had received his letter from Hermione. He was quite relieved when the Dursley's allowed him to send Pig back to Ron's. However, he'd still been too afraid to even mention leaving for Hermione's, especially before they'd had the proper time to practically starve and torture him. But, finally, after days of agonizing contemplation and anxious hope, he finally decided that he could no longer tolerate the torture he'd be subjecting himself to. And so it happened, early, on the morning of the 6th of July, Uncle Vernon banged on the door loudly, grunting slightly. It was a Saturday, and Harry knew that the Dursley family had already been awake for a few hours. Groggily, Harry grabbed his glasses off of the small nigh stand next to his bed, and put them on his face, remembering what he was going to do today. Suddenly he was wide-awake, realizing how important the next few minuets would be to the remainder of his summer. "Morning Uncle Vernon." Said Harry, unusually cheerful, as he opened the door and starred into his large uncle's eyes. Uncle Vernon eyed him suspiciously. "What are you so cheery 'bout, boy?" Vernon said cautiously. Harry just shrugged and smiled. "I had a wonderful nights sleep is all." Said Harry, making his way to the bathroom. Harry then paused, just as he reached the door, and turned to his uncle. "Say, Uncle Vernon, do you suppose I could use the telephone?" Harry asked. Vernon was caught totally off guard. He hadn't expected such a question from his nephew, in light of all the magic and such. "W.why do you ask?" He said sputtering, trying to form the words. Harry shrugged casually. "Oh, because Hermione asked me to spend the summer with she and her parents. Oh, I wanted to call and tell her no thank you. I believe it'd be dreadful awful, and in the end I suspect she'd hate me.I mean after all, her parents are Muggle Dentist's." He said with an exasperated sigh. It was as if a light had gone on in Vernon's head, and he smiled that cheeky, disgusting smile of his. Before Harry could close the bathroom door behind him, Vernon grabbed Harry and pulled him back out of the bathroom. "I think you should go to this.Her.Her." He began. "Hermione?" Harry offered the correction. Vernon nodded. "Yes that.person's house. It'd be good for ya'." Vernon said with an evil smile. Harry found it difficult to resist smiling, however he did it amazingly. Harry faked a look of horror on his face and grabbed his uncles hand. "Uncle Vernon, please! You don't understand, if I go to Hermione's her parents ll' hate me, and she'll hate me, and we'll never be friends again, it'll be awful! .Worse than awful.dreadful!" Exclaimed Harry, overly excited, but not over acting as far as Vernon was concerned. Vernon just shook his head forcefully. "Now you listen here, these people were kind enough to invite a boy like you to their home.Now you're almost fifteen years old! That's plenty old enough to be able to handle being respectful to others! Now get to packing your things.when are they picking you up?" Vernon asked curiously. "I'm to meet them in London." Said Harry with a defeated and tormented tone. Vernon smiled a little. "Oh, very well, we'll just.drop you off then."He said, and cheerily shooed Harry into the bathroom, so he could get on with the rest of this wonderful day. *** The days leading up to July 13th crawled slower than any in Harry's lifetime. The Dursley's were glad they were going to be rid of him, and at the same time see him "suffering", however they were unwavering in their cruelty towards Harry. His meals still consisted of either cold soup, the vegetables of which went to Hedwig, or cheese and bread. Harry drank the metallic tasting water they gave him, imagining all the time that it was the delicious ice cold, refreshing pumpkin juice he enjoyed with every meal at Hogwarts. Bathroom breaks had become once a day, and if he was in the toilet for more than three minutes, uncle Vernon began banging on the door, ranting about having a schedule to keep. Harry also noticed, that despite themselves, the Dursley's were in a better mood than usual; they just seemed excited, perhaps it was that Harry was leaving them to (as they thought) go to a place even more horrid. Harry spent those last few days before his liberation from the Dursley home sitting in his room, thinking up all the neat stuff that he and Hermione were going to do. Hermione, as it was a common fact, was muggle born. She was, as the Malfoy family would say, a Mudblood. This, of course, was a huge insult to anyone who was receiving it. However, despite her being a Mudblood, and supposedly not as powerful as Pureblood wizards, she was the number one in her class, and was more advanced in practically every subject, then the ostentatious Draco Malfoy himself. This of course, earned Draco quite a lot of long lectures from his equally self-absorbed father, Lucius. Harry didn't think of Malfoy very often during the summer, he always found it brought a surge of hatred into his body, and as much as he hated the fact, Malfoy could get to Harry, and occasionally persuade him to act brash. So, Harry focused again on all the fun things he and Hermione would be doing. Common muggle things, no doubt, but still, they'd be together, two friends, for all of the vacation, and what a fun vacation it would be. *** Harry always found London fascinating, however today he could think of little more than seeing one of his two most dear friends, and that took up all available space in his mind. The entire car ride into the heart of London was spent daydreaming about the last four years of school, and all the interesting happenings, which had brought the three as close as they were. Finally, after an eternity or two, the car slowly stopped in front of a small pub, which was only decorated with one small sign, which read: "The Leaky Cauldron". Harry shuddered slightly when he saw how dim and deserted the pub looked, especially on a Saturday afternoon. Uncle Vernon sent Harry inside the pub to see if Hermione had arrived yet. Indeed she had, as Harry walked in he saw three people sitting around a small table in the center of the almost empty pub. The two parents looked almost uncomfortable as their brown-eyed, bushy haired daughter; Hermione. "Hermione!" "Harry!" They shouted in unison, rushing to hug each other tightly. After a moment, they pulled apart and looked at one another. "How are you?" Harry asked Hermione before she could ask him first. She sighed, then forced a weary smile. "I'm fine, my parents are a little uncomfortable though, I mean, I've never seen this place so." Hermione began. Harry nodded, looking around to see less than five people sitting in scattered places, keeping to themselves. "I know what you mean, I wonder what's going on." Harry said thoughtfully. Hermione looked at him. "I can tell you that." She began, and Harry's head snapped back to her, begging her silently to tell him. "Well, Voldemort's power is growing, and his attacks are becoming more frequent." Hermione said wearily. "The Ministry has no idea what course of action to take.because Fudge is still failing to believe that Voldemort has truly returned, and Mr. Weasley keeps insisting that some sort of agency be created for the protection of muggles." Hermione said quietly. Harry jumped, putting his hand to his head. "Yea, how is ol' Ron and his family?" Harry asked gently. Hermione sighed, looking to Harry gravely. "I don't really know how Ron is really feeling, but I can tell you what's going on with his family: "Mr. Weasley, and Percy aren't speaking, each taking different sides on Fudge, and Dumbledore's views.Mrs. Weasley is asking all the others not to get involved, but Ginny has declared all out war on Percy, and Bill and Charlie agree with their brother, while Fred, and George take sides with their Dad." Hermione said, feeling guilty that poor Ron was going through all that. Finally, Harry had to ask: "Yes, but how is Ron, do you think?" He asked, as Hermione's parents stood up from their table, put down their bill, and walked over to the two kids, not interrupting them. Hermione sighed, showing how worried she was; Harry was almost surprised by what she said next: "Harry, I'm worried about him. I mean, he won't talk to anyone in the family, except Fred and George, and he only speaks to them when they're training with him.Ginny says that he's become like Percy was, he leaves early and comes home late.something is on his mind, Harry, and he won't tell anyone what it is." Hermione said as her father put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on kids, we've better get Harry's things into the car and ready to go." He said, and with that they were off. *** Hermione's house was nothing like Harry had expected it to be. I suppose that's Hermione for you, he though to himself, taking a look around. The house wasn't as Harry thought it'd be at all. He'd expected an elaborate mansion type home, with fifty rooms, an indoor pool, a workout room, and all sorts of large luxuries. He'd expected large paintings of famous people, a enormous library (on that he wasn't far off though), and an even bigger study. Instead, Hermione's house was quite comfortable and homey looking. It was two stories, and looked as though it had three bedrooms. The outside of the house was a quiet pale blue, and the shutters on the windows were a darker navy blue color. The house had a small garage, big enough for one car, leaving one of her parents cars out in the small driveway, and there was a small concrete walk way leading to the front door. The inside of the house was very homey indeed. There was no wallpaper on the walls of the hallways, but in the living room there was a small flower border going around the middle of the walls. There was a sofa, love seat, and a recliner, which didn't go with the room itself. Harry assumed it must've been Hermione's fathers. Hermione's room, which was at the top of the stairs and to the left, was exactly as Harry had imagined it. It had a small bed, with blue blankets and pillowcases on it, in the corner of the room opposite the door and to the left. To the right of the bed was a large desk, upon which books and papers were stacked neatly in piles, which reached higher than Harry was tall. He smiled. In between both of these was a small window, which looked out onto her street below. On the walls there were pictures of famous intellectual types from both the muggle and wizarding worlds, as well as a small painting of Hogwarts, which had been framed, as well as a few certificates she'd been given because of her academics from both Hogwarts and a muggle elementary. Also on her wall was something Harry read, and laughed. "You framed your acceptance letter into Hogwarts?" He asked, slightly surprised, then remembering that it was, in fact, Hermione he was speaking to, calmed a bit. She blushed slightly. "Well, it's not exactly like everyone in my family's gone to Hogwarts, Harry. It's more for.proof than anything else." She said, turning a deeper shade of pink. Harry laughed. "You're blushing like Ron." He pointed out, then seeing the pink turn to deep red, he immediately regretted it. "You had to bring that prat up!" She said, but as angry as she sounded, she also sounded rather sad. Harry sighed. "Hermione, what's bothering you.about Ron I mean.?" Harry asked, talking as gently as he could, hoping she'd tell him then, so it didn't loom like a shadow over his entire stay at her home. Hermione hesitated for a moment, and then sighed. "I just feel really sorry for him, I mean, you know Ron." She said slowly. Harry still hadn't fully caught on. "Yea, I do, but I don't know what you mean." "I mean about what's going on with his family.everyone fighting with everyone. Poor Ron is the only one who hasn't chosen sides, and I think that he's actually being punished for it." She said quietly, obviously worried about him. Harry walked over to her and then pulled her over to her bed. He sat down next to her, and she faced him. "I mean, you've gotta figure, knowing Percy, that he's feeling betrayed by Ron, and his dad's the same way. I mean, don't get me wrong, they're all wonderful people, but right now.it's bringing out the worse in all of them." Hermione said slowly. "So, why do you think Ron didn't come here?" Harry asked, now fully understanding how serious the situation was. Harry had seen Mr. Weasley mad, even furious, and he'd also seen how stubborn Percy could be, this, as Hermione said, was going to bring out the worst in everyone. "I think he's afraid that if he's not there something bad will happen, and it'll be his fault. as you know, Lucius has been increasingly open about his hatred of the Weasleys, and you said you saw him with.you- know-who, and that'll only make things worse." Hermione said, feeling even glummer as she spoke. Finally, after a few moments of silence, Harry finally forced a smile. It wasn't fake, but it wasn't genuine either. "Well, we know Ron, he can make people laugh even in the worst of situations.I'm sure he's keeping them together somehow." Harry said, then slapped Hermione on the knee gently and hopped up. "Besides, he'll write I'm sure." Harry said, but as he said it, she sounded increasingly doubtful. Hermione smiled a little and stood up too. "You're right, Harry, and I'm really glad you're here." She said hugging him and heading out of her room, and as she did, she heard her mother call: "Hermione, Harry, come downstairs!" She said, very nervously. Hermione looked to Harry and then galloped down the stairs, Harry close behind. When they saw who it was, both of them knew something was seriously wrong. There, standing in front of Hermione's living room, was Percy Weasley *** Percy's face was almost mournful as he looked down, straitening his already perfectly straightened robes. Percy looked from Hermione's parents, to Hermione and Harry. "What is it, what's wrong?" Harry asked, as Hermione's face slowly filled with dread. "It is Ron, what is it, what's happened?" She asked in an almost panicked voice. Harry looked to her, then to Percy. Percy only stood there for a moment, looking down. "I.Incase you don't know.there has been some problems at home lately." Percy began slowly, then looked up to Hermione. "You were at our house for an afternoon, you saw how it is." Hermione nodded, understanding. "Well, it's gotten worse.dad, and I.we've been so. distant, and when we do talk, we always end up fighting." Percy said, however, Harry and Hermione were only feeling more and more worried as Percy tried to find the words to explain everything. "Percy, what's happened?" Harry asked calmly, knowing that Hermione would only yell if she opened her mouth. Percy took a shaky deep breath, and put one hand up and rubbed his eyes. "Dad has been feuding with Lucius Malfoy a lot more lately, he keeps declaring that Malfoy should be brought to trial, and sent to Azkaban. of course, Malfoy doesn't deny the allegations, however, he doesn't like dad pointing to him." Percy said slowly, then finally, he broke down, as if he was a child again, instead of a very high Ministry official. He began to cry, but not just cry, sob, relentlessly almost. Until finally, his sobs subsided. Mrs. Granger, who was looking increasingly nervous put a motherly arm around Percy. "Dear, would you like some tea?" She asked. Percy only nodded, and Mrs. Granger walked into the kitchen. Percy, now feeling slightly embarrassed, looked back to Hermione and Harry. "Dad was right, of course. I should have believed me, I did, deep down, but.I thought that if I agreed with Mr. Fudge, then maybe I'd .I.I was so stupid, I ignored my family for my career." Percy said, and then slowly, Hermione began to understand. "What did Malfoy do?" She asked in a shaky whisper. Harry now looked panicked too, and found it hard to swallow the lump in his throat. "Everything is gone." Percy said slowly. "The house is totally destroyed, its in ruin all over the hillside. Bill, and Charlie.they're.we don't know if they're going to recover.they were hit with the a deadly form of Petrificas Totalus." He said guiltily. "Mum's just gone some bumps a bruises, and Dad wasn't at home when it happened. Fred and George were training for Quidditch in the woods." Percy said, leaving now only two Weasley's unreported. "What about Ginny and Ron?" Harry asked. In the midst of all this terrible news, Mr. Granger walked over to his daughter, and she gripped his hand tightly, never taking her eyes off of Percy. "Ginny was with Mum, she ok, but she hasn't woken up yet.and Ron.he." Percy took a deep breath to steady himself. "Ron's.well we don't rightly know what's wrong, he not under any curse, but he looks as though.a thousand bludgers chased him down.they found him almost a mile from the house." Percy said, again feeling tears sting his eyes. Hermione felt her throat almost close completely, and she tried her best to remain calm, however it was increasingly difficult when she saw a picture of a battered Ron, laying motionless in the mud. "Will he.will he. be ok?" She sputtered between her gasps of breath. "We think so." Percy said. Then a look of pure spite flashed in his eyes. "One thing is for sure though, Malfoy was behind it." He said calmly. "but no one will do anything about it!" He then exclaimed. Hermione's face went dark, and she no longer felt as though she'd cry. She was now focused on one thing. "Percy, do you have any Floo powder?" She asked him. Percy nodded. "Yes, of course." He said gently. "Good." She said. "C'mon Harry, we're going to see them." She said. Harry nodded, though he despised Floo powder, now was not the time to seek other means of transportation. *** The hospital ward at the Ministry's head offices was busy with commotion, as most of them were focused on either undoing a curse, or figuring out what exactly happened to several people, Ron being one of them. "It's never been this busy before." Percy said to Harry and Hermione quietly. The two only nodded, feeling very uncomfortable. Percy walked over to a stout woman wearing blue robes, the same as the other nurses walking around the hospital. "Excuse me, but can you please direct us to where Ron and Ginny Weasley are being held?" Percy asked. The stout woman shuffled through several papers on a clipboard. "Weasley, Weasley, yes, here we are.Ron and Ginny are in two separate rooms. Ginny is in room 101, next to .Bill, Fred, George, and Molly Weasley in the stable ward, and Ronald Weasley is in the Critical ward.room.301." The nurse said, and then looked up. "Thank you." Percy said quietly. Harry then looked to Hermione. "I think we should go see Ginny first." He said. Hermione nodded. Never in his life had Harry ever seen the Weasley family so glum. They all looked awful. None of them were talking. Bill was sleeping, Fred and George were dozing off, and Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and Mr. Weasley were all reading quietly. Fred and George were the first to see their brother and sneered. "What do you want?" They both said, equally upset. "Enough both of you." Mr. Weasley said quietly, and then saw Hermione and Harry shuffle in the room. Ginny and Harry locked eyes for a moment, and Ginny could see how relieved Harry was to see her ok flash in his eyes. "Oh, I'm glad the both of you came." Said Mr. Weasley. "I take it Percy has filled you in on everything?" He asked, and the two nodded. "Oh, Percy, your brother Charlie is fine now too, he's left actually, said something about research, but he'll be back later." Mr. Weasley said without a lot of his usual emphasis. "Mr. Weasley, um, is Ron allowed visitors?" Hermione asked quietly. Mrs. Weasley smiled at her slightly. "Yes dear, you can see him, but.he's in a terrible condition.the doctors say he'll be ok.they just don't know how long it'll take." She said, with a glimmer of hope. "Perhaps if the two of you talk to him, then maybe it'll help him." Ginny said, looking more to Hermione then Harry. "Especially Hermione." Fred said, with a sudden, small smile. "W.what do you mean by that?" Hermione asked, trying to sound stern, but the situation was just too precarious to be stubborn on the issue. "Well, Ron was worried about you more than himself. He thought that Malfoy would come after you, because you beat his son all the time. Ron was actually taking a break from practice, and writing to you when." Fred's words trailed off, and no one cared to finish it. Hermione gulped, feeling even guiltier now. "He was writing to me." She repeated. Mrs. Weasley stood up and walked over to her, hugging her gently. "Why don't the two of you go to see him, I know he'd appreciate it." She said *** The atmosphere a floor higher than the Weasley's room was quite different. There was no one standing around talking, there were also no waiting rooms or even doctors for that matter in the hallways. It was almost vacant, with the exception of a few nurses wandering here and there flicking their wands. Harry slowly, followed by Hermione made his way to room 301. The door was closed, but not locked, and when Harry stood in front of the door, without even putting his hand on the handle, the door clicked open silently. Slowly the door walked inside. There was Ron, lying motionless on the bed, covered up to his waist. The tops of his hospital bottoms were visible just above the end of the covers, but his chest was bare. Hermione felt a gasp escape her lips, but she wasn't sure if she'd imagined it. There were bruises all over Ron's chest, and in the center, carved deep into his skin was something that almost brought Harry to tears: The dark mark. "It's almost as if they played connect the dots with his bruises." Hermione said slowly, running her hand from one bruise to the other, tracing the outline of the skull, and the snake protruding from it. "That's not going to go away." Harry said slowly, looking at his friend, unable to do anything to help him. However, Harry's words didn't reach Hermione, she was off in another world. As she was slowly tracing the deep cuts and bruises on Ron's chest, she reached up with her other hand, and brushed some of his deep red hair away from his eyes. His face was as bruised as the rest of his body, however the bruises on his face were totally random and untouched. Hermione traces his cheek, then his jaw line, feeling increasingly panicked, and worried. "Mmm." Came a groan from Ron as his face twitched a little, and he opened his eyes quickly. For a moment he had no idea what was going on, then slowly Ron remembered. He then looked around, and seeing Hermione, shot up, grabbing her hand that was on his chest gently. "Hermione." He said, reaching with his other hand to hold his head as pain shot trough it. "Hermione, where is my family?" He said as if he was a child. She smiled at him a little, Harry only watched from the sidelines quietly. "Shh, they're fine, don't worry.everyone is ok.now that you are I mean." She said and looked down at her hand on his chest. He smiled a little, and let her hand go, then saw his chest. "What the hell is this?" He asked angrily. Hermione looked to Harry, and Harry walked to the other side of the bed. "They found you like that.I don't think.that'll go away." Harry said, feeling almost guilty. Ron had a look in his eye that neither Harry, nor Hermione had ever seen before, it was stronger than hate; it was.almost evil. "Malfoy.that rodent.he and his father tried to kill my family." Ron said with a sneer. Neither Harry nor Hermione knew how to respond to that. *** The Weasley's were in the hospital for over half the summer. Ron was the last to be given the okay to go home, and just as Harry had predicted, the Dark Mark on Ron's chest didn't go away. It left a deep, visible scar, one that no magic could remove. The scare was placed there with dark magic, and no one knew how to remove it. Harry and Hermione stayed, most of the time, with the Hermione's parents, and about twice a week they'd go to the hospital to visit the Weasley's. Often they'd bring treats for everyone, joke books for Fred and George, food for Ron, and other gifts. Hermione had actually given a clock radio to Mr. Weasley to tinker with, and he was extremely excited. They gave Mrs. Weasley a set of new cookbooks, which she read religiously. And one day, Harry had brought Ginny a small, calico kitten. Ginny tuned to many shades of red that Harry couldn't keep count of them all. She named the boy cat Griff (after Gryfindor), and it instantly became her baby. Hermione spent almost all her time with Ron, even when Harry wasn't there, she'd stay with him, and talk to him. They were getting along famously. "I should get attacked more often.it does wonders." Ron joked, but Hermione gave him a stern look. "That's not funny Ron, I was terrified!" She exclaimed. Ron couldn't help, but smile. "School starts in three days, are you ready to go back?" He asked her. She smiled. "I am, but are you? I mean, .did your parents get your new books and everything?" She asked him. Ron nodded. "Yea, unfortunately." He said only half joking. And so, with one day before Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny had to catch the Hogwarts express, they all left the hospital, getting ready to go back. The Weasley family was staying at Mr. Weasley's parents home, which wasn't far from their home, and they'd also been given an exceptionally large amount of money after the attack, which they all supposed was to shut Mr. Weasley up about who had attacked them, but due to their lack of money, he had to accept it. About half the money they'd been given went to buying the school supplies for all the kids, and the rest went to Gringots. New trunks, robes, quills, parchment, ink, and anything else, accept wands, which were miraculously untouched, were given to each of the kids. Luckily (or unluckily to Ron) Pig was perfectly safe, and overly excited about returning to school. And so the day finally came, the six boarded the platform, got a booth to themselves, and set back off for Hogwarts. *** Hogwarts was as lively as ever, as all the students, minus first years, filed into the Great Hall, and to their designated house tables. Seamus, Dean, and Neville all greeted Ron with curiosity, and Ron noticed that he'd been getting some odd glances by nearly everyone. As they sat down, Colin Creevy scurried over. "Hi Harry! How was your summer?" He asked, almost trying to hard to sound cheery. Harry smiled. "It was ok Colin, how was you-" Harry began, but before he could finish, Colin cut him off. "Ron! Ron, is it true?" He asked curiously. Ron looked at him with a confused look. "Is.what.true?" He asked. "The thing about you getting attacked." Colin asked, sounding almost a little scared to mention it. Ron sighed. "Yea, it's true." He said dejectedly. "So you've got the scar then." He asked, and both Harry and Ron exchanged looked of amusement. "Shouldn't you be talking to Harry about scars?" He asked, slightly amused. Colin shook his head furiously. "No, no, no, I mean the dark mark scar, is it true that it's on your chest.?" Colin asked. Ron nodded. "Yea, if you want to see it, I'll show you sometime." He said, trying to get Colin to go away. Several other people from the Gryfindor table, as well as other tables had looked over to the conversation before a foul voice filled the air. "Hey Weasley, I heard your fathers loud mouth almost got your family blown to bits." said Draco Malfoy, Crabe and Goyle snickering behind him. Before anyone knew what was happening Ron leapt out of his seat, wand pointed directly at Malfoy. "Cru-" He began, until a slimy voice interjected. "Don't even think about it Weasley!" Yelled Professor Snape as he walked over quickly, grabbing Ron's want out of his hand. Ron didn't respond, instead he lunged over the table at Malfoy, knocking him, sprawling, onto the hard cold stone floor. Without the slightest hesitation, Ron proceeded in delivering a number of hard blows, particularly to Malfoy's face, before he could even think of retaliating, Crabe had grabbed Ron, holding his arms behind his back, and Goyle delivered a series of rib-shattering blows to Ron's stomach. Snape didn't attempt to stop the fight, Hermione and Harry rushed over, wands raised, ready to take out the three goons one by one. The crowd around them all had grown, and Ginny fought her way over to Harry and Hermione, as they all tried to shove through the crowd to help Ron. "ENOUGH!" Bellowed a loud, and very furious Professor Dumbledore, his entire body down to his beard, shook with anger. Harry had never seen Dumbledore quite like this-ever. The entire school looked from the fight, and over to Dumbledore, and those who had been standing on benches and chairs for a better view of the battle, hoped down quietly, mingling with the rest of the crowd. Dumbledore took in a deep, shaky breath, attempting to calm his nerves. "Malfoy, Weasley, Granger, Potter, Crabe, and Goyle." Dumbledore said, Crabe and Goyle released Ron, who fell over a bloodied and battered Malfoy with a loud thump. Hermione rushed over to him, followed closely by Harry, and together they helped him up. "My office, now." Dumbledore finished, giving a glace for Professors Snape and McGonagal to follow. Then he looked to Professor Moody. "Professor Moody, will you be so kind as to fetch Poppy, I expect she'd better check out Mr. Malfoy, and then Mr. Weasley." Dumbledore said, making sure to make it sound like Malfoy had in fact, been injured worse (which, he was). Moody nodded, casting a glance at Harry, and then walked off mumbling about "Hooligan kids". *** Dumbledore's office was rather comforting amidst the haze and confusion of the last few minuets. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat in three chairs to the right of Dumbledore's desk, while Crabe, Goyle, and Malfoy (who was wiping the blood from his face on his robes), sat on the left. Hermione looked to Ron, obviously not pleased, but very concerned. "Ron, why did you do that? You know you're probably going to be expelled!" She exclaimed in a whisper to him. Harry nodded, on Ron's right (Ron was in the middle of the two), and Ron scoffed. "That git tried to kill my family." Ron said, every word dripping with loathing. Hermione winced at the tone in his voice, and touched his cheek lightly. He turned his head to look at her, slightly confused. "You're a fool, you know that don't you?' She said, smiling casually. He smirked back a little, and for a moment they sat, eyes locked, saying nothing. Harry looked at the two, slightly amused. "Oh look." Said a almost whimpering voice from across the room. Malfoy was obviously trying to get the last laugh. "It's yet another romantic moment for the peasant and the Mudblood. This was enough to infuriate Ron again, and he tried to leap from his chair, but as he did, Dumbledore stepped behind his desk and sat down, Professor Snape on the left, behind Malfoy, and McGonagal on the right, behind Harry. "Mr. Weasley, what you did out there was extremely.out of character." Said Dumbledore, trying to word it as not to insult Ron. Dumbledore's face was un-readable; he looked as though he was trying to distinguish what was right and wrong in his mind. "There are many curses you should never use on another living thing, and that my dear boy, was among the top three. Please, I beg you, attempt to justify your actions." Dumbledore said, trying to give Ron every opportunity to get off the hook. Ron glared at Malfoy, who sat smugly in his chair. Ron, unable to look at Malfoy any long, otherwise he'd probably attack him again, looked back to Dumbledore. "I'm sure you're aware of the attack on my family." Ron said slowly. Everyone in the room, minus the Slytherin's nodded. "My brothers almost died, my whole family was put in the hospital.and I have this-" He said, pulling up his shirt and showing the teachers the scar of the dark mark on his chest, at this even Crabe and Goyle gasped. Malfoy however, held his poker face quite well. "-To show for it. And that.that.thing over there's responsible, he and his father, and of course, Lord Voldemort." Ron said, for the first time every saying Voldemort's name aloud. Harry was shocked, as well as Hermione, to hear the name escape his lips. Dumbledore still held his emotions concealed. He nodded, as if totally understanding what was being said. However, for several moments he said nothing. "So, Mr. Weasley, you were acting out of protection of your family?" Dumbledore asked. Ron looked to Harry, and then Hermione, keeping his gaze piercingly on her as he spoke. "Absolutely, and my friends." He said confidently. Dumbledore nodded. "Very well then, you will receive a month's detention, and I will choose the punishment. As for you, Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Crabe, and Mr. Goyle.Malfoy, you will go now where near any of the Weasley's, Mr. Potter, or Ms. Granger. If I hear you've been anywhere near any of them, immediate expulsion.for the three of you." Dumbledore said resolutely. Snape looked as if he wanted to interject. "Serverus, if I heard that you've been allowing the punishment I've put before Mr. Malfoy slide in anyway.there will be harsh consequences for you as well." Dumbledore said, making it sound as if it was just a simple warning, rather than a threat on Snape's job. However, to Harry's surprise, Snape nodded to Dumbledore, understanding completely. "Headmaster, with all due respect, I ask that, due to Mr. Malfoy's actions, that Slytherin be taken out of the running for the Quidditch cup." Snape said, sending a glare at Harry, as if to let him know that he wasn't do this for Gryfindor, or Harry especially. Dumbledore looked completely taken aback by this, and McGonagal looked as if she could kiss Snape. Malfoy, however, would hear nothing of this. "You can't do this!" Malfoy exclaimed angrily, jumping out of his seat. "This is preposterous! Wait till my father gets wind of this." "Wait until your father gets wind of you bragging about certain incidences that could land he, and you in Azkaban for a great many years." Said McGonagal, and the color drained from Malfoy's face. With that, he sat back down, gulping, not even stopped to stare evilly at the three across from him. Some of the wizards and witches in the paintings around Dumbledore's office were stifling their laughter. Dumbledore then fixed his eyes and crocked nose on Crabe and Goyle. "Mr. Crabe, and Mr. Goyle.what to do with the two of you.well, it seems no matter what punishment I give you.three will still be able to sit in your common room and concoct some plan. So, this is the first time in the history of Hogwarts-" with this he looked to Hermione, who blushed furiously."-As some of you know, that anyone has done this. Minerva, please bring the sorting hat here." He said, and with that, McGonagal reached to the shelf behind Dumbledore's desk, and gave him the battered only hat. He then placed it on his own head. The hat sprang to life. "Yes, Headmaster?" It said respectfully. Dumbledore smiled a little. "Hello, it has been a long time since you've been upon my noggin' hasn't it?" He asked with a slight laugh, which the hat joined in on. "Well, down to business I'm afraid. Please, if you would.tell these gentlemen, Mr. Crabe, and Mr. Goyle, which houses they will be spending the remainder of their days at Hogwarts in." Everyone in the room was taken back with shock as what Dumbledore had just said sunk it. Even the sorting had wavered slightly, before nodding itself slightly on Dumbledore's head, and giving a determined look at Crabe and Goyle. "Ah, yes, yes, I remember these two." The hat said, deep in thought. "Plenty of muscle, and strength, but not to much in terms of strength of mind.rather dull in fact." At this Ron, Harry, Hermione, and even Dumbledore himself had to stifle their laughs. "Well, if I must choose, well, Crabe to Hufflepuff, and Goyle to Ravenclaw, it's the best I can do, Headmaster." Said the hat respectfully. Dumbledore nodded his thanks, then took the hat off and placed it back on his desk. "There you have it, gentlemen. You'll find your things there when you arrive, and now that all this is settled, you may all go back down to the-" But just as he was about to tell them all what they wanted to hear, the nurse, Madam Pomfrey, burst in the door, looking terribly distraught. "Oh the trouble you've caused!" She said, glaring first at Ron, then harder, and longer on Malfoy. "There's been several duels in the Great Hall between Slytherin and.everyone!" She said, narrowing her eyes, yet again on Ron and Draco. "Because of THESE TWO!" She yelled. Then stubbornly added, "I refuse to see either of them until tomorrow." She said, which left both Malfoy and Ron grimacing. She then looked to Dumbledore and stalked out. Dumbledore sighed loudly. "Well you've heard her, you're going to have to deal with the pain you've all inflicted and received until tomorrow. now go on, back to the feast with you.
So, slowly but surely, they all left. Malfoy, Crabe, and Goyle, leaving, horrified, first, (but not before Snape added "Make sure you sit with your appropriate houses, and said it with what Harry swore was a smirk) and then, Harry, Ron and Hermione next. Ron winced each time he walked down a step, and when he came to the last one, he took in a sharp breath. Hermione put a hand on his back, to support him, and looked at him nervously. "Are you alright?" She asked him, forgetting all about the lecture she'd been planning to give him. He winced slightly, then nodded. "Yea, its just.my ribs.they feel." "Broken?" Harry asked, slightly horrified at the thought of one of his best friends having broken ribs and not getting proper attention. Ron, to Harry's relief, shook his head 'No'. "They feel.cracked or.bruised." Ron said as they slowly made their way to the Great Hall, though none of them felt hungry. Hermione looked just as horrified at this prospect as Ron having actual broken ribs. "Goodness!" She exclaimed as they walked into the hall, which was all alerted to their arrival. The hall was full of laughter and chatter as they walked it. They had missed the sorting, but it wasn't really that important to them anymore, as no one they knew was being sorted, and they began to put small amounts of delicious food on their plates. Just as they were beginning to forget all about the earlier events, something had to come along and wreak havoc. "Skrewts!" Exclaimed a large, bellowing voice as its owner bolted into the Great Hall. Everyone, including all the teachers whom had been present in Dumbledore's office (who'd just returned, and sat in their seats moments earlier), looked up to see a terrified Hagrid staring at them, his eyes so wide, Harry though he could see himself in the black. Everyone in the hall went eerily silent, everyone who'd been in the school last year, all looked terrified with the recollection of the Skrewts. "What?" Said Dumbledore calmly, though looking slightly tense himself. "Skrewts!" Exclaimed Hagrid again, "Hundreds o' them! C'min out o' the Forest!" And with this, everyone began to panic silently. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all exchanged nervous glances and pulled out their wands. "I thought that the last of the Skrewts had been destroyed last year." Said Dumbledore nervously. Without waiting for Hagrid's answer he stood up. "All professors, come with me, Head Boy, and Head Girl, you are now in charge, however, I'd like it if Prefects please take their houses to the dorms." Dumbledore said, and with that all the teachers, Hagrid included, exited the Great Hall. A few moments later, Harry, Hermione and Ron found themselves walking down the corridor towards Gryfindor's dorms. "This is really serious." Said Ron, who now had to be supported by both Hermione and Harry, and was still in a great deal of pain. "Yea it is, I mean, just a handful of those things were hard to take care of. I wonder who-" Harry began, then shook his head."- of course, Voldemort." He said, and sighed. "Gyfindor's listen up!" Said the new head girl, who was taking charge, leaving a rather scrawny looking boy, obviously the prefect, looking quite flustered. Everyone went silent. "Everyone, I'd ask you NOT to go anywhere. The first password of the year is "No Slytherin." She said with a slightly giggle. By now, everyone was aware that Slytherin had, in fact, been disqualified from this years Quidditch season. "See, not everything has gone bad tonight." Ron said, stepping into the corridor leading to the common room, and moaning a little in pain as he reached his foot in. "Ron, this isn't worth getting Slytherin disqualified." She said sternly. "We really ought to check your stomach out, see if everything's ok." She said, blushing slightly. Harry smiled. "Ron!" Ginny yelled, as she ran over and tackled her brother hard to the ground. "OW!!!!" Ron yelled painfully. Ginny, who looked very surprised, jumped off of her brother. "gee, sorry Ron, I didn't mean to hurt you that bad!" She exclaimed, seeing his face contorted in pain. The three of them helped Ron back to his feet. "Not your fault Gin, he said with a small smile, then winced again. "I really wish old Pomfrey would let me see her." He said smoothly. Ginny looked to Harry. "So this is all pretty crazy, huh?" Said Ginny, trying to make conversation. Harry nodded to her. "Yea, Skrewts are nasty little buggers too, the teachers have their hands full." Said Harry, and with that, their conversation began. They were so deep into their conversation; they almost didn't notice Ron and Hermione walking off towards the boy's dorm. Harry and Ginny exchanged puzzled, but amused glances. "Hey, where are you two going?" Said Harry, trying to hide his amusement. Both Ron and Hermione couldn't help turning slightly red. "I was just going to take a look at his chest." She said over the other voices in the room. Almost all of them turned to Hermione and Ron, and she turned and even deeper shade of pink. "To make sure his ribs are ok!" She said defensively. Harry and Ginny nodded. "I think we'd better make sure that's all they're doing." Said Ginny with a small giggle. Harry laughed, and he started off after them.