Chapter 2

"What could he have put in there, I wonder?" Pansy pondered, after Hermione finished telling them what had happened at Diagon Alley a few days before. The four Slytherins were sitting in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express, and the train had just begun heading off toward their school.

"My father hates the Weasley's," Draco said, staring out the window, "it can't be good for them, that's for sure."

"But what could it be?" Pansy pestered.

"Look, he said when we got to Hogwarts we would be able to figure it out," Hermione said, "let's just wait and see what happens."

"Right, well, I'm going to go find Potter," Draco replied, changing the subject, "might as well start the year off right and irritate him before we even get to Hogwarts. Blaise, you coming?"

Blaise nodded his agreement and got up, and the two boys walked out of the compartment.

"What's wrong with him?" Hermione asked, staring at the door that had just shut.

Pansy shrugged, looking upset, "I think he's just worried about what his father is up to."

"Well, I'm sure he'll be fine once he realizes that it will just be something to mess with the Weasley's, and hopefully Potter." Hermione said.

"Do you think it has something to do with the Dark Lord?" Pansy asked, "They are still trying to think of ways to bring Him back, aren't they?"

"If they're not, they should be. Or else we'll have to do it ourselves.. again." Hermione replied, rolling her eyes.

"I have a feeling that's what is going to happen." Pansy admitted, "Adults work so slow. It's ridiculous, really."

"I plan on doing some major research when we get back to school. I brought back loads of books that could help. And of course, we're going to have to check the restricted section."

"What if what we're looking for can't be found in a book?" Pansy asked.

"Everything can be found in a book, as long as you know where to look."

Pansy laughed, "Whatever you say, Hermione."

Before Hermione could reply, the compartment door opened, and Blaise and Draco came in quickly, closing the door behind them and locking it.

"Potter and Weasley aren't on the train." Blaise said, breathlessly. It sounded as though they had ran the entire way back to their compartment.

"You're kidding," Pansy replied, smiling slightly at the two boys, "no, literally, you're joking, right?"

"No, we checked every compartment, twice." Draco told them, "it's not that hard to miss Weasley's red hair. I saw the twins, that older one, who's a prefect, and that girl—but not the Weasel. Him and Potter are definitely not here."

"They probably just missed the train," Hermione dismissed, "funny, but not exactly thrilling news."

Blaise rolled his eyes, "You sure know how to ruin a story, Hermione."

"I'm sorry, was there more?" She asked, laughing.

"Of course," Blaise said, defensively, "when we realized they weren't here, we went into the compartment where the prefect was, and the girl was there too. Draco asked the girl where her boyfriend was—because she defended Potter at Diagon Alley before we got there and Draco called Potter her boyfriend then, too—"

"Merlin, Blaise, you are no good at summarizing," Pansy interrupted, grinning, "Draco, could you give us the short version, please?"

Smirking, Draco finished the story. "Once I asked, the prefect got all concerned, and they went to go look for them themselves. So, they had no idea that Weasel and Potter aren't on the train."

"And since all of them obviously came here together, something must have happened after the prefect and the girl got on the train." Hermione concluded.

Draco nodded.

"Well, I'm sure that it will be all over the school before we even arrive in the Great Hall," Pansy said, "so we'll be able to hear the rumors and see what's going on."

Suddenly the compartment door opened with a click,

"Anything off the trolley, dears?" A woman asked, and it was then that the friends decided to enjoy the rest of their trip, and figure out what was happening with Potter and Weasley once they got to Hogwarts.

"Can you believe it's not a fan teaching Defense but Lockhart himself?" Pansy groaned. Hermione rolled her eyes,

"Couldn't they have gotten anyone else?"

"Apparently not," Draco said.

"Still nothing?" Hermione asked Blaise, who was craning his head trying to get a good look at the Gryffindor table.

"No, they're not here. The prefect is talking to the twins though, and all three of them look concerned." Blaise replied.

"I just heard from Millicent that Terence saw something crash into the Whomping Willow. He went outside to see what was going on, and it was a flying car. And guess who came out of it?" Pansy asked.

"Potter and Weasel," the other three said simultaneously.

"Yes, and now they're in Snape's office." She finished.

"D'you think they'll get expelled?" Blaise wondered.

"It's Potter," Draco said, "Not likely."

Hermione took a drink of her pumpkin juice, gesturing toward where they professors sit, "Dumbledore won't let him be expelled."

"Speaking of Dumbledore, where did he go?" Draco asked.

"Probably to make sure Professor Snape isn't being too hard on his favorite students." Pansy said, with a laugh.

Hermione smiled slightly, before turning back toward her food.

Hermione sat up in bed an hour or so after the other girls in her dormitory had fallen asleep. Dinner had been uneventful, except for when Potter and Weasel had finally made their appearance, walking in with smiles on their faces. Obviously they had gotten away with their little stunt, which was unsurprising. After dinner, Hermione and her friends had stayed up talking for a while in the common room, and that led Hermione to what she was doing currently—researching ways to help the Dark Lord come back. Her family had hundreds of books having to do with dark magic, and she knew that she would be able to find something eventually. She was only able to bring a dozen or so books but if they didn't have anything, she would just switch them out over winter break.

Pretty soon though, after Hermione had read the same paragraph three times, she decided it was time to go to sleep.

Hermione sat at breakfast the next morning, eating silently, listening to her friends talk. She let out a huge yawn, covering it with her hand, before resting her head back on her hand.

"Late night last night?" Draco asked, noticing the yawn.

"I just want to find something that can help the Dark Lord," Hermione said, quietly. "There's got to be something."

Before Draco could reply, Blaise shoved him, hard.

"Weasel's got a Howler! They must have written home to their families."

"RONALD WEASLEY! HOW DARE YOU STEAL THAT CAR! I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE—"

The noise from the Howler was deafening; the Gryffindor table was clear across the room, but still the noise was causing the silverware rattle on the table.

"—LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY BOTH COULD HAVE DIED. I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED, YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, AND IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT. IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LIE, WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME."

And then, suddenly, it was silent. A few people started to laugh, and moments later almost the entire hall was laughing. Hermione saw that Weasel's face was bright red—so bright in fact, that it matched his hair. Eventually the laughter died down, and everyone just continued eating. Hermione watched as Professor Snape went down the table handing out schedules, and thanked him quietly when he handed her hers.

"We've got History of Magic first, with Ravenclaw. Great." Pansy groaned, because that was her least favorite subject, "but we have Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Gryffindors later today, so that should be interesting."

"We'll get to see Lockhart in action." Blaise added.

"That'll be a treat." Draco said, sarcastically.

Later that afternoon, the four friends were walking in the courtyard, heading to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Before they could make it through the courtyard, they saw the Golden Trio talking to a scrawny boy with a camera in his hands.

"—So I take loads of pictures to send home to him. And it'd be really good if I had one of you. Maybe your friend could take it and I could stand next to you? And then, could you sign it?"

Hermione watched with an amused smile as Draco strode up to the group.

"Signed photos? You're giving out signed photos, Potter?" Draco sneered. Hermione, Blaise and Pansy walked up to stand with him. "Everyone line up! Harry Potter's giving out signed photographs!" Draco called, making sure the whole courtyard could hear him.

"No, I'm not. Shut up, Malfoy." Potter said, angrily.

"You're just jealous." The boy said.

Draco laughed, "Jealous? Of a foul scar right across my head? I don't think getting your head cut open makes you that special, myself."

Weasley stepped forward to stand in front of Draco.

"Eat slugs, Malfoy." He said, glaring at him. Hermione narrowed her eyes, wondering if this was going to turn into a duel.

"Be careful, Weasel." She cut in, "you wouldn't want any word to get back to your mummy that you've been fighting."

"'If you put another toe out of line," Pansy quoted, laughing.

"Weasley wants a signed photo, Potter. It's worth more than his family's whole house."

Weasley whipped out his wand, and Hermione nudged Draco, pointing out that Gilderoy Lockhart was heading toward them.

"Who's giving out signed photographs?" He asked, happily. Both Draco and Harry opened their mouths to speak, but was cut off by Lockhart, "Oh, silly question! Hello, Harry."

Draco smirked, and the four friends backed into the crowd, letting Potter deal with Lockhart.

"This is going to be a great year," Blaise said, laughing, "I can tell already."

Author's Note: I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please Review :)

cleotheo: Well, it is categorized under that for a reason ;) It's only a matter of time!

rosebud11450: Thanks so much, and I hope you liked A Difficult Assignment! I don't need a beta right now but if I ever want one, I'll definitely message you!

NeoGenesis2013: I definitely am not going to take 4-5 years this time!

Also thank you to Liveera, Ellybelly07, Bitterglass and Known Anonymous for reviewing!