Second Year
Hermione and Neville looked at each other, then back at the platform gateway where Mrs. Weasley had just disappeared. After befriending Fred and George the previous year, their mother had invited Hermione and Neville to stay with her family at the Burrow over the summer. She was a widow, with five sons, her husband having been killed along with the Potters and some other victims twelve years earlier during Voldemort's reign of terror.
"Let's go," Neville nodded. The two friends broke into a run, the barrier getting closer and closer... they would be through in a moment -
CRASH! Neville went headlong into the solid barrier, flipping over his trolley before Hermione crashed into him from behind.
"OI! What's going on here?" a Muggle conductor bellowed.
"Lost control of the trolley," Neville lied. He turned to his best friend. "Why can't we get through?" They began slapping at the stone.
"The gateway's sealed itself for some reason," Hermione frowned, and Neville knew her brain was going a mile a minute, trying to solve the puzzle.
The clock chimed. "The train leaves at exactly 11:00! We've missed it!"
"Neville... if we can't get through... maybe Mrs. Weasley can't get back," Hermione reasoned.
Neville tried not to panic. "Maybe we should just go and wait by the car."
And that's when Hermione got her brilliant idea, centered around the blue Ford Anglia that could fly. "The car...!"
Moments later, the two preteens were taking off into the skies in the Weasley family car, activating the Invisibility Booster to conceal their movements. Following the train tracks and the scarlet blur of the Hogwarts Express, Neville and Hermione had plenty of time to talk.
"Did you have a lot of friends growing up?" Neville asked. He knew Hermione was an only child, the daughter of Muggle dentists.
Hermione bit her lip. "No," she admitted sadly. "The other kids in my primary school found me odd, because I really liked books and learning. Even with all the places a book could take me... it got rather lonely."
Neville dared to place a sympathetic hand on Hermione's knee. "I'm sorry. You've got a friend in me."
Hermione looked from his hand to his face and smiled. "I know."
