Harry enjoyed the slow and easy days remaining of his break.
With Neville gone, Harry's cot moved into Ron's room, and he and Ron enjoyed the rest of the holidays with only a minimum of studying. Ron, of course, was still baffled by Harry's strange obsession with learning things in the mornings, but by the time he woke up Harry had usually contributed to breakfast and taken a few notes – no magic with Mrs Weasley around, of course. He was generally accepting of Harry's curious questions over meals so long as they were followed by a game or games of some sort for the rest of the day.
The last morning at the Burrow dawned all too soon, and Harry was slightly more organised than his fellows as the rest of the household was rushing around, half-dressed, still hungry, and searching for lost socks, and quills, and missing homework. It was quite the nostalgic feeling.
Without Hedwig to worry about, all Harry concerned himself with was his magical trunk, out of which none of his possessions tended to stray long, and so his morning responsibilities were easily completed.
Having expected the chaos, he merely collected his own trunk with the twist of a key and popped it easily into the back of Mr Weasley's Ford Anglia early on. He had special memories of the little blue car and gave it a cheerful pat on the bonnet as he slammed closed the boot.
It left Harry and Percy to stand patiently by the car together, the only two people ready and waiting to leave.
Harry turned hopefully to the older boy by his side. "Percy, have you sent Hermes on ahead already?"
"Hrm? No, not yet," Percy answered curiously. "I was thinking of waiting until the train so that I could send him back when Ron or Ginny realise they have forgotten their wands or new quills, or whatever it will be. Why do you ask?"
"I suppose that makes sense," said Harry, a slightly guilty feeling arising in his gut. "I was wondering if I could borrow him again."
"You asked about that when school ended," Percy recalled. "Yes, I am amenable to that. Might I enquire as to why you don't have your own? A good post owl is generally considered a very good investment, in case you were not aware."
Harry grimaced a little at the memory of Hedwig and had to fudge the truth. "My muggle relatives aren't really comfortable with wizarding pets," he said, which was true enough. "And I can't really look after one well when I'm at home during the holidays."
Percy nodded sagely, before retrieving Hermes' cage from inside the car and passing the owl Harry's way. Harry felt a bit abashed that he hadn't noticed the great screech owl so close. He pulled out his little pouch with the undetectable extension charm, his wand securely concealed within, and set about attaching it firmly to Hermes outstretched leg.
"May I ask what you need Hermes for?" Percy inquired amiably while Harry fussed about.
Harry didn't quite know what to say. "Um…well…it's something…do you mind if I don't explain?" Harry had to ask. "Sorry, it's kind of awkward…"
"Say no more," Percy rushed to assure Harry. "I would have thought you were a little young, but I quite understand. Your secret is quite safe with me, Harry."
"Er." Harry scrunched his eyebrows. "Thanks." Harry had no idea what Percy was assuming, but it drew to mind some of the contraband that Seamus and Dean had snuck into Hogwarts around fifth or sixth year. Still, the misunderstanding suited his purposes perfectly.
Harry was finally happy with Hermes' package, and whispered a few quiet instructions to take the long way to Hogwarts and deliver it to Harry himself in the Gryffindor tower before bed. Hermes hooted with dignity and flew off, leaving Harry to turn his attention to Percy, and ponder what Percy's strange understanding might be.
Percy helped him along by stepping closer, and leaning down to murmur conspiratorially, "I hope a little advice would not be taken astray, Harry, but it might be best if you avoided this topic around Fred and George. While certainly not bad people, might I suggest that they might be a little…indelicate, in regards to matters of the heart?"
Oh. He'd been wrong. Percy must be more pure-minded than Seamus and Dean. Harry realised that he had just given Percy the impression that he had a secret girlfriend, and then remembered that Percy would naturally be thinking this because Percy had one too.
"Thanks, Percy." Harry smiled up at the older Weasley with as much solemnity as he could muster. He was appreciating Percy more than he thought he would, now that they knew each other better. The older boy was surprisingly thoughtful, generous to a fault, and Harry really couldn't hold his unusual formality against him. It was certainly a natural reaction against the boisterous nature of Fred and George, after all. "I'll bear that in mind."
He and Percy shared a nod, before returning to their positions, and continuing to wait for the rest of the family to leave the house.
Finally they had collected all their possessions, and Harry met a shame-faced Mr Weasley's gaze as they all scrambled into the curiously comfortable small car.
He answered the man's nervous winks with a quiet nod, as the two of them manfully agreed to keep Mr Weasley's magical tinkering a secret from the masses, and more particularly, his wife.
The whole crowd of them reached King's Cross station with fifteen minutes to spare, and while Mr Weasley dashed across the space to collect the trolleys for their trunks, Harry was interested to see a couple of suspiciously magical families hurrying in the same direction.
What with Apparition and the floo network travelling right through Britain, the hoops to jump through in order to get to Hogwarts seemed rather strange to Harry. He fell in behind the rushing Weasley family, pondering thoughtfully as they dashed through the station.
Without too much more fuss, they reached the barrier between platforms nine and ten.
"Percy first," said Mrs Weasley, after glancing at the clock, which showed they had a generous seven minutes left to get onto the train.
Percy strode through the barrier briskly, and, his memory unusually precise regarding this event, Harry stepped forward.
"How about me next?" he asked, and Mrs Weasley smiled at him maternally.
"Very well dear, your turn," she said, and Harry turned to the wall with a deep breath, thinking of Dobby.
The moment of truth.
Casually, he stepped forward and leaned gently against the barrier. His sideways glance showed him the whole family arranged around the wall like an artistic tableau, each of them posed to seem strangely interested in different items vaguely in the distance.
Harry sighed a little as Mr Weasley met his eyes, and leaned a little harder. Unexpectedly, he hit the wall and bounced. With each little jolt, Harry felt his stomach sink a little lower.
The short red-head man stepped forward in concern as Harry remained stubbornly on the wrong side of the platform entrance.
"Alright there, Harry?" Mr Weasley asked with some concern.
Harry muttered something about the wall being blocked.
"Here, let me try," Mr Weasley offered, and leaned his shoulder up next to Harry's. "Ooomph," he said, and bounced off the wall. "Pushed a bit too hard there, I think." Mr Weasley rubbed his shoulder carefully. "Perhaps one more try...?"
The family milled around in confusion as Mr Weasley failed to vanish into the barrier a second time. Mr Weasley scratched his head, before pulling out his wand and casting a number of spells at the brick in front of him.
The family around him drew closer in confusion, and then went back to staring carefully into the distance as though there was nothing to see here, folks.
"Strange," muttered Mr Weasley. "It should all be working fine."
Harry thought of Dobby fondly, if with a certain amount of frustration. Clearly the little elf had come down on the side of increasing his protection of Harry. The upcoming year was rapidly coming to seem more complicated.
Another family wheeled up behind them, a covered owl cage perched precariously on top of the luggage trolley. From behind them, Harry noticed a couple of muggles eye the little crowd strangely.
The new wizarding family also attempted to lean through the gate with Harry, and shared puzzled questions with the surrounding Weasley clan.
The other adult wizards also cast a few diagnostic spells on the wall but similarly failed to find any problem. A plainclothes Ministry official rapidly approached and attempted the same tests.
Finally, Arthur scratched his head.
"Well, we don't know what's wrong, but we can't just stand here. We'll pop you through with Apparition and pass the problem on."
Harry felt his arm being grasped by Mr Weasley and grasped wildly for his luggage. With a familiar pop, the two arrived successfully on the other side of the barrier.
Percy was waiting around for them in puzzlement. Waving him off with a hand, Mr Weasley Apparated away and returned this time with George, and the platform soon began to fill up with Weasleys as each underage wizard was ferried on through by an adult.
Having resolved the short-term problem, Mr Weasley nodded goodbye to them all and wandered away to speak further with the Ministry official, a tall man with a balding head. Meanwhile, Mrs Weasley fussed over her children for a few more minutes.
Hermione and her parents approached almost immediately. According to Hermione, they had had no trouble getting through the barrier, arriving as they had a good few minutes earlier.
Neville and his grandmother approached soon after, and with only the usual fuss and bother, the students were organised onto the train.
"Right you are then, Harry," one of the twins finally uttered, having heaved all the other luggage up onto the overhead nets. "We're off to find Lee. He said he'd be saving us a seat with some very charming chasers and we don't trust him with the girls all alone. Look after our munchkin for us, will you?" He ruffled Ginny's head roughly. "Oh, and Ron, I suppose."
"Sure," Harry grinned up at him. "Anything for you lot."
"Now that's the right attitude," the twin grinned back. "You certainly know who to keep pleased around here, at any rate. Percy will be by sometime if you have any problems, I'm sure."
Fred and George farewelled the compartment cheerfully and dashed off to get into who-knows-what kind of mischief, leaving Harry and his friends to settle down for the train ride.
Her hair unforgettably mussed, Ginny silently settled herself down in the seat opposite Harry, next to Hermione. Her wand was clutched tightly in her hand and she seemed rather pale, even for her.
"Nerves," Neville whispered in Harry's ear, as they sat watching Hermione trying to set her to rights, combing out the long ginger strands with her fingers, muttering encouraging words. Unfortunately, Ginny seemed to mostly ignore her, her feverish eyes fixedly staring at Harry instead.
Harry found it slightly uncomfortable to be the constant focus of Ginny's very fixed gaze, but did his best to ignore the pressure and exchange pleasantries with the others. Ron, unfortunately, did not help. Fiddling about with his pockets, Ron retrieved sandwiches, his rat – promptly stuffing him back, Liquorice Wands, a piece of string and a rock with a hole in it, before finally emerging with a pack of cards in triumph.
"Aha!" He finally exclaimed. "I knew I had them somewhere. What about a game o–"
At which point, the pack of Exploding Snap cards blew up in his face.
Ron dropped the scorching cards from his hand and shook the pain away. Somewhat tiredly, he swore a few times – reminding Ginny not to tell on him – before settling down in his seat with a slouch. "Damn the twins," he muttered, defeated. "Should have guessed. They were being too nice before."
Harry shared a wide-eyed look with Neville, and they both stifled their chuckles. Ron's face, usually very pale, was covered in black soot, with the exception of his eyelids. They stood out from his face like comets in the night. He'd obviously scrunched his eyes tight shut just as the explosion had occurred. His eyebrows, short as they were, stood up stiff and somewhat curly on his head, and the previously pristine, red leather seats of the compartment looked significantly dirtier. There was an outline of soot on the wall behind Ron's head.
"Honestly, Ron," Hermione muttered, before leaving off Ginny's hair to fuss over him instead. "Just look at you."
Neville, having finished his laugh, took a deep breath and choked. Harry jerked in surprise as his friend inhaled a lungful of green, brackish smoke and began coughing, shoulder-shaking, gasping coughs.
Amused, Harry bashing him on the back to help.
As the chaos subsided, Harry sat back into his seat. He had overcome another obstacle in his path for this year, and even without the Pensieve, was pretty sure everything was on track for a successful year. And what was Hogwarts without a little chaos from the twins, after all?
The compartment door was opened a couple of times by hopeful student whose faces fell in disappointment to see the full compartment. The Patil sisters and an older Hufflepuff waved cheerfully at Harry and his friends in greeting before moving on, but there wasn't much time for anything more to happen before the whistle blew and the Express took off with shrill squeals and steaming clouds of smoke.
"So," said Harry, as the platform faded out of sight. "How are you feeling about Hogwarts this year, Ginny?"
She turned beetroot in front of his gaze and muttered something Harry couldn't hear.
"Oh. I…see." He nodded. "And you, uh…you have anything in particular that you're looking forward to?"
"…sorghingumforss…" Ginny seemed to mumble back.
Harry meet Hermione's amused gaze across the compartment and raised his eyebrows at her meaningfully.
She rose to the occasion. "Do you think you'll have a favourite subject, Ginny?"
"…"
"She'll be good at Charms, I reckon," Ron volunteered, just as Ginny rallied her courage to mutter, "Defense?"
Neville smiled encouragingly as he leaned forward on his seat. "What House do you think you'll get into?"
Ron snorted. "Gryffindor, of course! She's a Weasley, after all."
All eyes shot to Ginny, whose ferocious blush deepened, even as she nodded in agreement.
Cocking her head, Hermione sighed. "Ron, let her speak for herself, won't you?"
"She's my sister, don't you know?"
Hermione huffed. "Just because she's a girl, doesn't mean –"
"Just because you have an inferiority complex doesn't mean –"
Surprisingly, it was Neville who cut across the building tension with a firm voice, asking, "Ginny. Do you have any friends coming to school with you this year, do you know?"
"Not really," Ginny mumbled.
"Eh?" Harry blurted, but Ron interrupted him with a blasé, "She doesn't need much though, does she? She's got her family, and she'll have Gryffindor in a bit."
"There is that," Harry admitted absently, but he lost track of the conversation as his mind wandered. Hadn't she grown up with little Luna Lovegood? He knew they were neighbours.
But they hadn't organised to sit together on the train now, had they.
The thought of his quirky blonde friend stayed with him as the train flashed out of London, as Percy poked his head in the door, as he lost a number of games of Exploding Snap, as the trolley witch came. The thought still hadn't left him as Hermione kicked the boys of the compartment so that she and Ginny could change into their robes early.
Harry leaned against the scratched-up doorway into the compartment thoughtfully. He'd been so sure that Ginny had been good friends with Luna as children; that she'd lost contact with her because of the diary – which he'd fixed now, thank Merlin.
Had he somehow misinterpreted something?
When the girls finally let the boys back through the door, Harry got changed himself, half-heartedly.
"Oi, mate! You've got the robe on backwards," drew him back into the real world for a while, but eventually the worry in his mind became too much. She'd been so badly bullied in the last timeline…
"Sorry, guys," Harry stood with a self-conscious smile. "I'm gonna go wander the train a while. Does anyone want to come with?"
"Nah, mate," Ron muttered, his face more sooty than ever, sitting himself down and picking up the cards again. "I've got to get Neville off of this steak of luck he's on."
"Sorry, Harry," Neville grinned, echoing Ron's movements. "You know how it is."
As Harry's gaze travelled around the room, Ginny meeped. Hermione shook her head also. "I'll stay here, I think, if you don't mind. I'm not feeling that great, so I'll just stay and rest."
Ginny needed the company; that was fair. Harry closed the door as they all bent their heads back towards the pile of cards on the fold-out table.
Harry meandered down the train carriage slowly. The rhythmic rattle of the floorboards beneath his feet was comforting in its familiarity. The scuffed tread of his footsteps and the gentle rattle of doors in their frames added to the pattern. Harry passed a few closed doors and peeked in their windows to see if Luna was sitting in them, but only unfamiliar faces came to view.
Useless.
Then the thought occurred to him, quite suddenly, that he had never made the effort to visit other people on the train before; he'd always waited for others to visit him. Perhaps he had been…taking advantage of his fame, somewhat?
The realisation shamed the adult-Harry inside of him, and he stopped attempting to peer through the corridor window into the compartment he stood next to.
Instead, he knocked briskly on the door before pushing it open.
"Er…hi," he muttered immediately. Five curiously friendly faces looked back at him, in Hufflepuff colours.
"Who are you, sweetheart?" One of the girls – they were all girls, Harry noticed – smiled at him, her dimples showing. "Are you a first year? Are you lost?"
"Do you need a prefect?" one of the others asked, before Harry could make his mouth work.
Harry had barely opened his mouth to speak before one of them close to the door gasped loudly. "Ohmygosh! You're him! You're Harry Potter, aren't you?"
There was chaos.
Someone marvelled loudly, "He's so small!"
"Just look at his hair!" another girl wondered.
"Can you see the scar?"
"Do you think he does autographs?"
"Do you think he does hugs?"
"Hang on, I'm sure I have a Potter Spotter column somewhere. Can I borrow a quill?"
Harry staggered backwards. "Nevermind. Wrong room! Sorry!" He slammed the door shut.
He dashed over to the next compartment door and yanked it open quickly in his enthusiasm to get away.
A couple of Ravenclaw boys looked up at him from waist height, having apparently been asleep on the long seats.
"My mistake," Harry muttered, and backed out slowly.
He travelled down the carriage somewhat more carefully after that, and, not having found who he was looking for, then carefully stepped outside and across the coupling to enter the next carriage down.
He discovered Fred and George with some of the Quidditch team, waved at Cedric Diggory, and said hello to a couple of his year mates in Ravenclaw in short order. He was about to enter the last carriage when he ran into Draco Malfoy.
"Malfoy." Harry nodded.
"Potter."
"…How were your holidays, after that?"
Malfoy sniffed as if it were a habit. "Not bad. My parents took me to Paris."
Harry was about to step past him, but then Malfoy continued. "I found a replacement Defense book since we last spoke. Did you…Are your own plans finalised?"
"What? Oh. Yes." Harry was startled that the conversation was continuing.
"That's a relief," Malfoy smirked. "I didn't think you could speak French."
Harry wasn't certain what Malfoy was implying, because the obvious implication just couldn't be right.
"True."
"I thought as much."
Harry scowled, but Malfoy stepped back, waving Harry on. "Off you go then, Potter. If you need any help with your classwork, do let me know." He smirked, and Harry felt the sudden urge to smack his face. "Some help could be made available, for a price."
"Whatever. Oi, Malfoy," Harry called just as he was about to step outside. "Have you thought about this one? How fast would a broomstick have to travel in this corridor to stop it travelling backwards in the train?" He jerked the door open with a click, and rushed outside before Malfoy could respond.
Unfortunately, Luna was not in the last carriage either, which meant that Harry had walked the wrong way down the train. He made his way back up the carriage he came from, intending to go on, but a small fuss by the girls' bathrooms ruined his plans.
"What's up?" asked Harry, and a frustrated Padma spun around in relief.
"Potter? Oh, thank goodness. You sort it out. I've simply got to go." To Harry's bemusement, she spun around and dashed up the corridor leaving him standing alone awkwardly in front of the girls' bathroom door.
"Patil?" he called, but she disappeared out the door as he did so, leaving him rubbing his neck in an awkward silence.
Tentatively, Harry craned his neck forward and spoke quietly in the empty corridor. "H-hello?"
He waiting anxiously, and a raucous rumble of laughter from a nearby compartment made him jump.
Shuffling his feet, Harry wandered over to the boys' door, which was unfortunately obviously empty.
He scuffed his way back in front of the girls' room with hunched shoulders. "Um…hello? Anyone in there?" Heart racing, his knuckles brushed up against the door in two light knocks.
To Harry's surprise, Hermione's questioning voice quavered out of the door. "Padma? Is that you?"
"Hermione?" Harry asked, much relieved. "Thank goodness it's you. Patil just left me here. Are you alright?"
"Harry?" Now that Harry was listening, Hermione's voice sounded rather high. "Harry? Oh, thank goodness. Look, Harry. I need your help."
Feeling significantly less like a pervert, although discomforted by talking to someone in the girls' loo, Harry relaxed further. "Sure. What's up?"
She spoke very quickly as she replied. "Nothing much. Nothing much at all. Listen, Harry. Can I just borrow your wand for a sec?"
"Sure," Harry smiled, before… "Uh…I don't have it with me."
"What?"
"I, uh, left it in my trunk," Harry lied.
"Can you go and fetch it for me?" Hermione quavered. "Quickly? Before anyone else comes?"
"Well…" Harry deferred, knowing that his wand was taking the long route to Hogwarts as he spoke. "It's right at the bottom of my trunk, I think. You know what the holidays are like. Shall I go and fetch yours?"
"No!" Hermione yelped. "Mine's also in my trunk. Under my robes, and…underthings. Can't I just borrow yours?"
Starting to wonder, Harry inquired, "What's wrong, Hermione? Do you need a...um…a potion?"
She giggled a little hysterically. "No! No, I'm fine. It's not my stomach, Harry. Don't worry."
"Are you stuck or something?"
"Something like that."
"Do you need me to break the door down?"
"No!" Hermione moaned. "No! Can you just go a find a wand before someone else comes?"
Utterly confused, Harry leaned his arm up against the door frame in concern. "What's wrong, Hermione? Do you need to talk about something? I'm happy to listen, if you do?"
"Just a wand," she wailed. "I don– Just a wand, Harry. Please?"
His eyebrows scrunched in confusion, "You want me to talk to Neville?"
"Not Neville," Hermione snapped quickly. "Anyone but Neville."
"I thought…" Harry began, before remembered that Hermione was overwrought. "Ron, then?"
Hermione let out a little wail that was halfway between a giggle and a moan. "Oh Merlin, that's even worse."
"…Ginny?" Harry ventured.
"Not Ginny," Hermione's voice murmured from behind the door. "She's too young."
Utterly confused, Harry nevertheless imbued his voice with all the confidence he could manage and spoke slowly and calmly. "Alright, Hermione. You stay here and don't worry. I'll go and sort this out and come back soon. Alright?"
He scampered back a few minutes later and gently shooed away a fifth year Slytherin who was knocking at Hermione's door.
"Ginny couldn't find your wand," Harry had to report, leaning against the door frame in apology. "She had a really good look, took a bunch of stuff out – she put it all back again, of course – but she couldn't find your wand, sorry."
Hermione whimpered. "Did you see everything?"
"Well, not everything, of course."
"Of course," Hermione seemed to sigh. "At least she put it all back. Did she loan you her wand instead?"
"Oh," Harry mouthed. "I think I forgot to ask. I'll be right back."
"Don't ask Ron or Neville," Hermione begged him. "Just…keep it quiet, alright?"
Turning, Harry prepared to sweep down the corridor and dash back into their compartment. Instead, he walked smack bang into Zacharias Smith.
"Potter," the taller boy complained. "What have you been doing in front of the ladies' washroom? A few of the girls are uncomfortable with your presence, if you understand where I'm going."
"Smith," Harry beamed. "How convenient. Look, Smith, I know we're not close but there's a bit of a situation and…do you think I could borrow your wand?"
"What?" Smith recoiled in indignation. "Are you mad?"
"…What?" Harry echoed, utterly confused. "It'll be just for a minute, I think, won't it, Hermione?"
"Harry?" Her voice echoed out from the door. "Who's out there with you? Do have a wand for me?"
Smith huffed in Harry's general direction and sent a scathing look towards Hermione's door. "Are you playing me, or do you genuinely not know?"
"I don't get it." Harry quirked his head.
Scowling, Smith muttered under his breath, but loud enough for Harry to catch a few words. "…rumours you were muggle-raised, but…obnoxiously uncouth…"
Harry crossed his arms. "I still don't get it." Harry raised an eyebrow. "But if it's not important, do you think you could tell me while Hermione borrows your wand?"
Utterly exasperated, Smith rolled his eyes. "Potter, surely even you have noticed that wizards don't just casual loan wands around like quills? A wand bonds to one wizard, don't you realise? Disrespecting that bond is positively churlish, even if you are the Boy-Who-Lived."
"Well, it would be only for a moment," Harry tried.
"Show some respect," Smith scolded. "I would have presumed that with a father like yours you could have valued your culture a little more, but blood will tell, they say."
"Right," Harry drawled, heat rising to his head. He took a couple of calming breathes and practiced his Occlumency. "Thanks for that glowing endorsement. I'll certainly bear that in mind. In the meantime," he scowled up at Smith with all the impatience he could muster, "Hermione's having a crisis, so I think I'll just go and find someone useful, if you don't mind."
"And what is wrong with her, that's caused you to hover outside the ladies' facilities?"
Uncertain himself, Harry huffed. "Never you mind."
He rushed back shortly after and rapped on the door. "Are you still there? Hermione? It's okay now, I didn't go to any of the boys. I brought Percy here instead."
"…Percy?" Hermione's voice quivered, and she snuffled somewhat wetly. "Oh, Harry…" She seemed to sigh. "Thanks, Harry. Um…Percy? Are you there?"
Percy puffed his skinny chest out like a proud pigeon.
"Miss," Percy began pompously. He coughed. "Hermione? What's wrong?"
"It's nothing important," Hermione's voice dropped. "Sorry for bothering you. I…Can I just borrow your wand, please?"
"Well," Percy blinked owlishly. "It's not really done, don't you know."
"Just one little spell!" Hermione seemed to beg.
"I'm afraid I'm not really comfortable with that." Percy hesitated, sharing a blank look with Harry at his side. "Dare I venture, are you perhaps having troubles of a delicate nature?"
"Yes!" Hermione seemed to sob. "Yes, you could say that."
"Oh, dear," Percy murmured, looking surprisingly like his father at that moment. "Oh dear, oh dear. And," he hesitated, "dare I confirm, are they boy problems?"
Hermione did that high-pitched, watery little giggle again that made Harry feel quite concerned. "Boy problems?" she echoed. "Oh, Morgana. No, they're not boy problems."
Quite befuddled, Percy stopped and stared at Harry in surprise. "No?" All his prefectly superiority seemed to bleed out of him, leaving Percy looking quite deflated in front of Harry's eyes.
Harry, his mouth half open for words that hadn't come, glanced rapidly between Percy's face and Hermione's closed door. He knew Hermione's inflections well after so many years.
"Hermione," Harry began very, very slowly. "Hermione, are you having girl problems?"
"…Just one little spell," Hermione mumbled. "Just a wand. Please."
Harry, still feeling quite baffled, looked back at a rapidly paling Percy with hesitation. "Do you need to curse someone?" Harry asked in confusion.
Percy interrupted. "You, you," he muttered, and Harry watched in fascination as all the blood rushed back into his face, darkening it to a beautiful radish-pink. "You stay right there. Harry, go….somewhere else. I'll…I'll fetch Penelope."
Harry began to ask what was going on. "Wh-?"
"Go on," Percy encouraged, his hands beginning to flap. "Penelope will know what to do," he insisted, and dashed off down the train.
"Hermione?" Harry asked.
"…Thanks, Harry," Hermione's voice muttered quietly. "You go on and grab a seat again. We'll probably be arriving soon-ish."
"Did I do something wrong?"
"You did fine," Hermione's voice smiled. "Just…just don't worry about it anymore. Did you," she hesitated, "did you happen to tell many people about me being stuck in here?"
"Oh no," Harry reassured her. "I only mentioned it to Ron, Neville and Ginny. And Percy, of course."
"…Of course…"
"And," Harry hesitated, counting on his fingers, "of course, the Patil twin knows, since she was here when I arrived, so the other Patil will know soon too. So, Lavender as well, I guess. And Smith, who you know didn't want to help."
"…"
"And that Slytherin girl," Harry added, with a cringe. "And now, Penelope? Did you, maybe, not want many people to know?"
"Go and have a seat," Hermione instructed. "Thanks for your help, Harry."
He wandered back to the compartment dejectedly, still not quite sure precisely where things had gone wrong.
Eventually a pale Hermione rejoined them all in their compartment, holding her stomach tightly but otherwise seeming alright. Both Harry and Neville fussed over her, offering Chocolate Frogs and Cauldron Cakes, but Hermione seemed strangely subdued as she nibbled on them. Harry had the awful sinking feeling in his stomach again, that somehow, he had dealt with this all wrong. Perhaps he should have flown the car to Hogwarts after all.
The uncomfortable train ride finally ended, and Harry lurked by Hermione's side as he and his friends entered one of the coaches and Ginny nervously toddled off towards the hulking silhouette of Hagrid at the far end of the tiny platform.
Their coach ride was strangely subdued, Hermione occasionally grimacing, and Harry maintaining a nervously concerned silence. Elsewhere, however, the noise levels rose the closer the coaches drew to Hogwarts.
The whole student body was clearly excited to be back. Filing through the main doors and into the Great Hall, hyperactive voices bounced off the ceiling until they were firmly repressed by the teachers present.
Little Ginny entered the room with the other anxious first years, another anxious huddle of people that Harry suddenly felt quite empathetic for. Luna was there too, Harry finally realised. Her silver-blonde hair glimmered in the candlelight, and it was quick work to find her standing dreamily off to one side of the crowd. Harry wondered, with knowledge borne of long familiarity, if Luna might be looking a little less dazed than usual.
Finally the whispers died down, and the Sorting Hat took centre stage to display its lyrical talent. Despite the lingering sense of guilt and confusion, Harry perked up in interest. This time last timeline, he'd been fighting off the Whomping Willow about now: he'd never heard this song.
In the dead silence, the Sorting Hat, bizarrely, seemed to clear its throat. The tear in its brim widened. Harry sat forward in eagerness, and heard:
"Your next few steps on Hogwarts grounds
Direct your future years.
Each first foot forward and unproved step
Is witnessed by your peers.
But different folks have different needs
And grow a unique way.
The Hogwarts Houses thus define
How you will work and play.
Each disposition has a House
To which it belongs best,
So join like minds and learn your strengths
For life is but a test.
Sly Slytherin wants those with guile,
Who dream of great acclaim,
Know, if you wish to join his House,
Ambition leads to fame.
Bold Gryffindor accepts the Brave,
Who face up to their fears,
The skills you learn by forging forward
Support you through the years.
Fair Ravenclaw, admiring Wit,
Wants those who love to learn.
For great success comes step by step,
It's something you must earn.
And as for Hufflepuff the Just,
She loves the loyal and kind,
True friends and noble vocation
Both take an earnest mind.
So set this cap upon your heads,
I will not steer you wrong.
The Sorting Hat's just what you need
To find where you belong!"
The room filled with applause and Harry joined in with the rest of the room. It had been a while since he heard a Sorting Song, Harry reflected as the clamour died down, and it was positively nostalgic to hear one that was so carefree.
Why, no warnings about House unity or troubled times, at all. He wondered if it had been the same song as last timeline.
He turned to Hermione, on his right, and actually began asking, before his brain caught up with his mouth with one long-patient glance from her.
"Hey Hermione, was the…Uh, never mind." This Hermione hadn't been with him in the last timeline. He was quite alone in his knowledge.
He smiled awkwardly as she turned to look at him, and felt a strange heaviness on his shoulders as she looked away silently. Was she angry with him?
"Sorry, sorry," Harry cringed. "Look, McGonagall's starting!"
Professor McGonagall began calling the first years forward in her Scottish brogue.
Harry had never seen any of these people Sorted in his last timeline, and sat up straight to pay attention. It also served to take his mind off other things. He had friends in this cohort. He wondered how childhood suited them.
"Creevey, Colin," was called up quite quickly. Harry noticed with a pang that the small boy's camera was already hanging around his neck.
"Lovegood, Luna," was sorted into Ravenclaw without much fuss, the hat taking only a short time to call out her new House.
Harry watched her closely as she tottered over to her new House table. She looked fine, Harry was pleased to note. She certainly seemed happy to be sorted into Ravenclaw.
Ron's attention began lapsing, and Neville's stomach gurgled before, "Weasley, Ginny," was finally called, her pale face growing whiter as the pressure mounted. Ron snapped back to attention and grasped his seat; Harry noticed his knuckles go white with tension. But the hat barely touched her head, before, "GRYFFINDOR!" was called out to the hall, and the table at which Harry sat erupted in cheers.
Personally, he thought that Fred and George were pretty good blokes, but at that moment he could easily see why Ginny might find them a little overwhelming as older brothers.
"WEASLEY! WEASLEY! WEASLEY!" They climbed up on their seats and shouted over the Gryffindor clapping and whistling. Ginny flushed tomato-red as she stood up from the sorting stool. Lee Jordon joined in with the chant as the twins started a stamp-clap rhythm. McGonagall scowled furiously their way as the Ginny ducked her head and scurried in mortification to the empty end of the table. Harry couldn't help but notice that Ron was nodding his head to the rhythm of the call.
Their impromptu cheer call finally wound down, McGonagall finished her list, and the Hogwarts welcoming feast began.