Platform 9 ¾

"Let me see it," Luna demanded, pulling on Draco's sleeve.

"Luna, someone could see us!" Draco hissed, letting her roll the fabric to his elbow anyway.

"Not in here. Simple notice-me-not." Luna shrugged as she traced the dark mark marrying Draco's skin.

"You do realize there is such a thing as the Under Age Magic Restriction Law, don't you?" Draco cocked an eyebrow at the blonde.

"No one cares. There are too many adults here for it to register." Luna rolled her eyes. "Now, tell me about this. Does this come with privileges?"

"Not the kind you're thinking of. I get to help the Dark Lord- yes I have to use that name- in one of his most difficult tasks." Draco explained. "Also, because I knew the whole prophecy, I kept my father from being tortured. That means I've earned his loyalty as well as a place in the inner circle."

"That's good. You'll let me know if you find something good, I suppose?" Luna looked him in the eye and he shrugged. "No, Draco, if you're going to do this, you're going to commit."

"I'm going to be expected to torture people. I'm going to be forced to do all sorts of horrible things in the name of this cause." Draco shook his head.

"As was Severus before you and as will be expected of him now. I'll research curses and hexes that look worse than they are. If you have to kill, use the Killing Curse. It's unforgivable, but it's instantaneous. It's not a perfect solution, but you won't have to torture anyone. And I think that will do more damage to your psyche than anything." Luna advised.

Draco didn't say thing for several seconds. Finally, he took a deep breath and said, "That is the most morbid thing I've heard in awhile. And I'm living with Auntie Bella's moron husband."

"It's also the most pragmatic advice anyone will give you," Luna said steadily.

"Are you going to give our gallant hero the same advice?" Draco asked snarkily.

"Of course not. I'll be hard pressed to convince him that an expelliarmus isn't going to save his life. I'll never convince him that it's okay to kill. Even in self-defense." Luna shrugged.

Draco was silent again for a time. Then, he choked out a, "I don't think I can do this," before Luna wrapped him in a hug.

"You come to me when it gets too hard and we'll work it out, okay?" Luna murmured as she stroked his hair. Draco let her hold him for a few moments longer before he broke the embrace and stepped away.

"It's time for us to get on with the show," he informed her. Luna nodded sadly and left her hiding place. Draco counted to one hundred and followed.

Elsewhere, Fred was saying goodbye to Hermione. It wasn't the first time they'd had to say goodbye, but this time was different.

"I won't see you for months. Christmas at the earliest." Fred whined a little as he hugged Hermione close.

"You do know that there are at least two Hogsmeade weekends between now and Christmas, don't you?" Hermione smirked at him. "And it's not like they close the village down when they release the school."

"That's a good point," Fred smirked back. "Now, when is the first one again?"

"Oh, hush you." Hermione's smirk turned into a genuine smile.

"I am so happy your parents let you come back to Hogwarts," Fred said, dropping a kiss on her nose.

"You two need to quit." George interrupted them. "Ginny's got virgin eyes and we wouldn't want to corrupt such a young soul, now would we?"

"George, I walked in on you and Verity doing… something. Last week." Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother.

"George, please tell me you're not getting a leg over on Verity. She's our shop assistant." Fred scolded light heartedly.

"Seriously? You got Verity?" Ron asked, joining the conversation.

"Ron, she's a human, not a trophy. You don't 'get' her. You have sex with her." Hermione wagged a finger in Ron's face.

"So, you're okay with me sleeping with girls, as long as I don't treat them like piss? I got that right, didn't I?" Ron asked, quirking his eyebrow in her direction.

"Why do you care what I say about the matter?" Hermione asked.

"Well… It's obvious, isn't it?" Ron asked. Hermione shook her head, so he continued. "You're like the.. mum, of the group. If you're okay with it, it probably doesn't break too many rules, moral or otherwise."

"Are you serious?" Hermione scoffed.

"No, that's my godfather." Harry interrupted, finally arriving at the platform. "Sorry, you lot. Traffic was insane."

"Harry!" Ginny screamed, wrapping him in a hug. Just then, the conductor blew the warning whistle. Fred and Hermione shared one last kiss- George gagging away in the background- while everyone else hurried to gather anything they needed for the long ride north.

"Alright, Ron, let's get to the prefects' carriage," Hermione said, pulling Ron away from Harry and Ginny.

Harry and Ginny watched the two, making sure they were out of range before sharing a tender kiss.

"Summer sucked without you," Harry said pulling her into an empty compartment and kissing her again.

Ginny laughed, snuggling into his arms before the door slid open. Luna took a seat across from them. Harry let out a frustrated huff and hung his head, defeated.

"So, wait." Ron was saying as he and Hermione came back into the compartment. "You told your parents what?"

"I told them that Beauxbatons doesn't accept transfer students." Hermione glared at him.

"But why wouldn't they accept transfer students?" Ron asked perplexed.

"It doesn't matter!" Hermione screeched. "I lied to them because they wanted to send me away! They wanted to keep me from fighting in this war! So they were going to send me to the continent! Like that would keep me safe!"

"Why were your parents going to send you away?" Harry asked, although he already knew the answer.

"They were going to send me away because Dumbledore did the most responsible thing he's done since I've been in Hogwarts. He finally got around to informing parents of just what exactly was going on in Hogwarts while Umbridge was the headmistress." Hermione said through clenched teeth.

"So, you get petrified while he's headmaster, and they don't hear anything. But the second Umbitch takes over, he tattles to your parents like Hogwarts was suddenly unsafe because of her?" Ginny questioned, leaning into Harry.

"So you see the irony?" Hermione agreed, throwing herself on the bench.

"I am so confused, but I don't want anyone to explain any more to me," Ron said, wiping his hands across his face.

Just then, the compartment door opened and a tiny second year popped his head in. "Excuse me, I'm looking for Harry Potter."

"That's me," Harry said ruefully.

"Oh, good." The second year let out a breath of relief. "I'm to invite you to join Professor Slughorn for dinner down in the last carriage. He said it's an important get together and he hopes you'll be there."

"Um…" Harry mentally weighed his options. "Yeah, sure, I'll be there."

"Thanks!" The second year grinned. "Now, I just have to find Ginny Weasley."

"Um, I'm Ginny Weasley," Ginny informed the child in front of her.

"Oh good. Makes my job easier, You're invited to lunch too." The second year wiped his brow then darted away.

"Guess we'll go see what that's about, then," Harry grumbled, standing up and offering his hand to Ginny.

"Oh, I'm going?" Ginny asked, raising her eyebrow at Harry.

"Look," Harry started, "if I have to be used by this guy so I can spy on Dumbledore, you're coming down with me."

"Stop being over dramatic, both of you." Hermione snapped. "You'll both go. It's for the best. Besides, Ginny, we need your keen mind to catch the social cues that Harry misses."

"Oi!" Harry shouted. "That's uncalled for!"

"It's also true," Ginny smirked as she led him out of the compartment and to the Slughorn party.

"Oi, where are you two headed off to?" Neville asked, bumping into them.

"Some thing with Slughorn." Harry shrugged.

"You get roped into that, too?" Neville asked skeptically.

"So did Ginny." Harry pointed to where Ginny was following him.

"Good. She'll keep you in line." Neville smirked. Harry glared at him as they entered the massive compartment.

"You're here!" Slughorn smiled, clapping Harry on the shoulder. "Come take a seat, take a seat."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said in a sardonic tone. "I'd be delighted to join you."

Neville and Ginny couldn't help but snicker.

"Ms. Weasley, it's a pleasure to meet you. You're the only female Weasley born in over seven generations, is that right? I hear you're particularly excellent at Quidditch?"

"Yes, and yes," Ginny said with a smirk as Slughorn directed her to sit between Harry and Cormac McLaggen, who stretched his arm across the back of Ginny's chair.

"Well then, we're all here, shall we get started?" Slughorn said, passing out some sweets.

"Where's Harry?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow as Neville and Ginny entered the compartment hours later.

Ginny growled as Neville huffed and said, "Wanker."

"What did the 'wanker' do?" Ron asked hesitantly.

"He followed Blaise Zabini! He's going to spy on that wanker Malfoy!" Ginny raged.

"Does he at least have the cloak?" Hermione asked, pulling Ginny down on the seat and holding her down.

Ginny huffed and said, "Yes, he has the cloak."

"He also has a deathwish," Neville muttered, plopping down next to Ron.

"Yeah, well we've known that since he canceled out the safety charms on his broom with 'accidental magic' when he was five. That's not news and it's not gotten him killed yet." Ron argued. Hermione and Ginny rolled their eyes at the pair.

"We'll just have to keep an eye out and make sure he gets up to the castle we when get to Hogsmeade," Hermione suggested. "Now, Ginny, Fred told me something super interesting, but I need real details. Did, or did not, Remus and Tonks get married over the summer? And if they did, why is she on this train right now?"

Ginny couldn't help but laugh at Hermione's questions. "Yes and no. Yes, they had a bonding ceremony, but no, their marriage isn't legal. She's here because she's on duty to protect us from dangerous Death Eaters."

"So… Their marriage isn't legal?" Hermione asked, quirking an eyebrow at Ginny.

"Of course not. Remus is a big, bad werewolf. The only villains allowed to get married are blood purists." Ginny shrugged. "Thanks a lot, Umbitch."

"I hate that woman!" Hermione raged, standing up and preparing herself for a wonderful rant.

Ron was having none of that. Instead, he pulled her right back down, slapped a hand over her mouth, and said, "We get it, Hermione, it's not fair. Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it right now. We'll have to just make things better in the future."

Hermione could do nothing but glare at him, angry that he was right. There was nothing they could do at that moment. She huffed and threw herself back into the seat.

"Wotcher, you lot, what're you gossiping about in here?" Tonks peeked in their compartment at that moment.

"You, actually," Ginny shrugged. "I was just telling Hermione about your wedding this summer."

"Awe, that's sweet. We really wish you could have been there." Tonks blushed, ruffling Hermione's hair.

"I wish I could have been there, too," Hermione replied.

"I wish Sirius had been anywhere else," Ginny muttered. "He made the whole thing awkward."

"He did, didn't he!" Tonks laughed, throwing herself down next to Hermione. "He kept making inappropriate comments every time Remus tried to touch me. He thought he was being funny, but really he was just killing the mood."

"What did he do?" Hermione asked in shock.

"Oh, you know, kept howling. And barking," Tonks laughed. "Anyway, station's up soon. Time for you lot to get changed. I'll be seeing a lot of you this year."

"What does that mean?" Hermione asked. Tonks refused to answer, instead miming zipping her lips and throwing away the key.

"By the way," Ginny huffed, "That wanker I'm dating is spying on Slytherins right now. Can you make sure he gets out alive?"

Tonks just rolled her eyes and walked away.

The Great Hall

Atria took a deep breath. No matter where she ended up, she would be in trouble. She was too lazy to be a Ravenclaw, she was too snarky to be a Hufflepuff and too cautious to be a Gryffindor. Then, there was Slytherin. She would have been perfect for Slytherin… a year ago. Now, now she was the half-blood daughter of a blood traitor and a proposed spy. The Slytherins would eat her alive.

Professor McGonagall called her name and she marched to the front of the hall just like her mother had taught her. Head up, shoulders back, eyes hooded, pretending she was better than everyone else. It helped boost her confidence before she got up on the platform. When she turned around, she locked eyes with Draco and suddenly she didn't feel as nervous. Her big brother would take care of her, she was sure of it.

Hmm, hmmm, hmm, Atria Snape. This is quite the conundrum. Unless you have anything to add, I think the answer is obvious. The Sorting Hat said into her mind.

I want to be with my brother. He needs me. Atria thought.

I assumed as much. It better be…

"Slytherin!" The Sorting Hat shouted. No one in the hall seemed surprised at her sorting, so she walked to her brother.

Fortunately, Draco was an amazing brother, despite all of his faults. He subtly pointed her to the end of the table with the other first years and she followed his directions. Once she sat down, she let her eyes sweep across the room, taking things in the way she couldn't before the sorting. Her gaze landed on Marly at the Hufflepuff, who gave her a thumbs up. Ginny, over at the Gryffindor table, smiled and winked at her. Luna, the Ravenclaw, gave her a serene look and waved her hands about in a way that meant she was sending positive thoughts. That was enough to make her feel better.

Gabs: Well, someone made that take longer than it should.

Kat: #Sorry, not sorry

Gabs: Well it's a good thing I've started the next chapter. Perhaps we can speed these updates back up again.

Kat: I have ONE WEEK of grad school left! Sorry, for real.

Gabs: We own nothing, please review, we fixed the last chapter to add the 'husband' after Auntie Bella.

Kat: Yes, review so we know you're still with us...again, sorry.

XOXO

Gabs & Kat