J.K. Rowling owns all of the characters, places, spells, etc. other than the ones I've made up. I've merely used these elements to make a plot of mostly my own invention.


After a few short minutes of waiting, a steaming serpent came into view. Slowly, the serpent came closer and closer until it became the Hogwarts Express. Harry gave Mrs. Weasley an awkward hug given that he was holding Theodore and then handed the baby over to her. He went and shook Mr. Weasley's hand while Ginny hugged her mother and said goodbye. After the well wishes had been shared and the good-byes all said, the two young couples boarded the train and found the 'Granger, Potter, and Weasley' compartment which had been named after and reserved for them. It was loaded with high end snacks and extra comfortable seats with decorative throw pillows and fancy curtains. It was a bit overboard and Ginny was sure Harry wasn't really happy about it. But the school board had done this for him and his best friends and it would be rude to refuse it. Ron gave an excited whistle as he walked in. He immediately began going through the food contents.

"Ooh! Chocolate frogs!" he exclaimed. Hermione attempted to hide her smile.

"That would be what you are most excited about," Hermione exclaimed, "all these expensive truffles and beverages and you notice the run-of-the-mill chocolate frogs." Ginny could see her stern face was about to break into a smile.

"Well! This other stuff is all fancy! I like to eat things that I know what they are!" Ron was already stuffing a chocolate frog in his mouth. Ginny could see the twinkle in his eye that only appeared when he was arguing with Hermione. He enjoyed it far too much in Ginny's opinion.

"Oh, Ron! Honestly, you really expect us to believe that you have discriminating tastes in any form?"

"I hab discwimmmminaing tasss!" Ron replied indignantly, his mouth full of chocolate frog and finger sandwich. Ginny giggled while Harry stifled a snort.

Hermione just threw her hands in the air. She missed the wink Ron shot Harry.

Harry leaned back and relaxed into the corner of one of the benches and Ginny leaned back into him. Harry kissed the top of her head while they watched Ron continue to stuff his face.

There was a buzzing sound and then a voice came out of the air.

" Attention Hogwarts Express passengers! This is your final boarding call! I repeat! This is your final boarding call! The doors to the train will close in one minute and then we will set off on our journey, so any students not on the train need to board now! Thank you!"

"That's new," Ginny remarked.

"I believe we might be in for some surprises this year," Hermione said. She'd said this several times over the past month or so. Ron teased her about being obsessed. Hermione had been following every Daily Prophet article and trying to infer what every little hint McGonagall dropped to the reporters might mean. Ginny suspected Hermione was worried about going back to school after missing a year and was funneling this into knowing all about the school in advance.

"Hermione, I wrote you a book to read about Hogwarts," Ron said handing her a napkin folded in half with writing on the front. Ginny read it upside down.

Hogwarts: A Future by Ron Weasley

Hermione unfolded it.

The Only Classes Now Offered: Quidditch, Divination, Magical Fashion, Jim Class

Hermione is going to fail! Mwahaha!

"Ron!" Hermione said and smacked his arm. Ginny finished reading and laughed.

"Can I see it, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Yes, and gym is G Y M, Ron," Hermione replied haughtily.

Harry read it, wadded it up, and threw it at Ron, "I don't want to take a fashion class or Divination! What is wrong with you!"

Bzzz, "Passengers! We are now leaving Platform Nine and Three Quarters! We may be facing some stormy weather along the way so please stay close to your seats! Thank you and have an enjoyable trip!"

Ron and Hermione continued to play fight, but Ginny and Harry ignored them and went to sleep. They'd taken care of baby Teddy the night before and were quite exhausted. Ginny woke up to the sound of buzzing and warning about a storm, but quickly went back to sleep when she realized they weren't there yet.

After what seemed like a few minutes, the announcer voice came back, "Passengers, we will be arriving at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry shortly. First years and repeat first years, find Hagrid on the south end of the platform! We thank you for riding the Hogwarts Express, ask that you be sure to not leave any items or trash on the train, dress in your school robes, and have a wonderful year!"

Ginny sat up, rubbed her eyes, and looked around. Harry and Ron were awake and it seemed they'd been talking for a while. Hermione was passed out on Ron's shoulder. Ginny would have been willing to bet that Hermione hadn't been able to sleep the night before. Luckily, they had all changed before the train had even arrived and Hermione could be allowed to sleep a little longer… but Hermione was waking up.

"Ah, the dead one rejoins the living!" Ron announced spotting Hermione's open eyes.

"Mmm…" was her only verbal reply, but she smacked his leg to add emphasis, "What did I miss?"

"Just a really awesome storm and the announcement that we're almost to Hogwarts," Harry told her.

"I heard the rain, but it was so relaxing, I just couldn't stay awake," Hermione admitted.

They all stood up and started gathering their things together so they'd be easy to get off the train. After forming a pile of trunks and a few other items, they all sat back down to wait.

"What do you think they're going to do about the lack of Slytherins?" Harry asked.

"I'm not sure. When I went to the lavatory earlier, someone said that they thought they were just going to get rid of the house and resort them… I really hope we don't get Malfoy," said Ron making a face.

Ginny felt she had to pipe in about that. She replied, "I don't think they can do that… They will probably lose the rest of the Slytherins to Durmstrang if they do…"

"I don't think they will either," Harry agreed, "Honestly, I don't think the board would be willing to break so many years of tradition. They probably will leave all of the houses intact."

The announcer voice interrupted Hermione's opinion on the matter, "Attention passengers! We are now arriving at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! Please remove all personal belongings. These will be placed outside of the train on the trolleys to the west end of the landing in order to be sorted and delivered to your living quarters for the year! Please remove all rubbish. There are bins to place it in within the main aisle of the train. Any compartments found with rubbish will result in points lost! Thank you for travelling the Hogwarts Express and have a marvelous school year!"


AN: Thanks again for reading!