Chapter Four
King's Cross Station was hopping. There were Muggles everywhere, staring at the peculiar children with their massive trunks and odd pets. Looking over at the barrier between platforms nine and ten, Hermione could occasionally see a child of a family disappear into it, all cautious that no one was looking. She kissed her parents goodbye, grabbed her trunk and shoulder bag, and headed for the barrier herself. She carefully "leant" against it, then fell through to platform nine-and-three-quarters.
If the station was busy, this platform was packed. The crowd was so tight that it made the rest of King's Cross appear deserted. Hermione tried to maneuver through the mob, her eyes scanning for the bright red heads that would tell her where the Weasleys were. She wondered who of the family would be there, since Ginny was missing and the twins had graduated. She let out a string of bad language, and hoped no first-years had heard. How on Earth was she supposed to find them in this mosh pit?
"Hermione! Hermione, over here!"
She looked up. Ron and his mother were waving to her from near a car at the end of the platform. She gathered her bags and began to weave her way through the crowd towards them. Ron met her halfway and relieved her of one of her bags. She hugged him with her free arm, happy to see him again. He put an arm around her shoulders and steered her through the mob to the car where they were supposed to sit.
Mrs. Weasley threw her arms around Hermione's neck, saying, "Oh, it's so nice to se you again, dear!" Hermione laughed and hugged her back. "It's nice to be back," she replied.
"We were so worried about you," Ron's mother said tearfully. Ron said you were hurt when You-Know-Who attacked!"
"Ron was hurt worse than me," Hermione retorted. "And then he didn't write me for a month!" Ron looked up from where he was loading the luggage onto the train and pulled a face at her. She grinned back and continued. "I was fine, really. My hair was singed, that's all." Mrs. Weasley hugged her again and pushed her onto the train. Ron offered a hand and pulled her in. They walked down the corridor to find an empty compartment, and sat down.
"This is the sixth-year car," Hermione said to Ron. "We're seventeen, shouldn't we be seventh-years?"
Ron rolled his eyes. "We missed our sixth year, so we're a year behind. We have to do it now."
She sighed and stared out the window. "So we'll graduate when we're eighteen, just like Muggles in high school." She massaged her forehead, feeling the beginnings of a headache at the question broiling within her. She was almost afraid to ask; worried that she wouldn't like the answer. It wasn't even that loaded a question, but the potential was there for explosion. She decided she might as well know the truth. Going over it in her mind, Hermione altered the question to sound more innocent than it was intended. She took a deep breath and asked, "So, what did you do over the last year?"
Ron looked up sharply, a suspicious look on his face. Hermione winced and bit her lip, but persisted.
"Sat around the house, mostly," he said. "We also did a lot of stuff in Ottery St. Catchpole, the Muggle town near our house. You don't know how boring life is until you have nothing to do. For a while, I was de-gnomeing the garden twice a day, just for something to do. Dad taught me a few little charms. All in all, not much."
Hermione swallowed. How was she to word this? "Did you date at all?"
Ron raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, one girl called Ashley. Followed me around the village like a puppy for weeks. That was a year ago, though. How about you?"
She blinked. "Me? Oh, I did some schoolwork and-"
"I meant did you date at all, silly," Ron cut her off. "I know you did schoolwork."
She laughed, then chewed her lip. "Er, yeah. Two guys, Mark and Evan. But- that was a while ago, too." She noticed that Ron was looking at her very intensely, and felt a blush creep into her cheeks, embarrassing her even more. She looked away.
Ron was inching closer. By now, he was close enough to be horribly nervous around anyone else, but somehow, with Ron, it was very pleasant. She blushed even pinker and backed into her chair, trying to calm herself.
"Did you kiss any of them?" Ron asked lightly. "I mean, if you go out with them, you're probably going to kiss them, right?"
Hermione glanced up, frowning. Ron's tone was far too casual to be natural. "Er… yeah. Sort of."
He grinned at her. "Who was better?"
She blushed again, and looked away. "I- I don't really know… Evan, I guess…" She trailed off.
Suddenly, Ron leaned over and kissed her firmly on the mouth. Unfortunately, before Hermione could get over the shock and enjoy it a little, he pulled away. "You dated me for a couple of days," he reminded her. "Where would I fit in?"
She shook her head violently to clear it of the giddy disorientation, then glared at him. "You could have warmed me!" she scolded.
Ron grinned, inching closer to her again. "I said the same thing, once, and you told me not to bother. So, where do I stand?"
He was getting very close. I will not lose my head, Hermione told herself firmly. "Er… I don't know. You- you kind of pulled away before I could really tell…" A piece of hair fell into her face and Ron gently pushed it back behind her ear.
"Is that so?" he asked quietly. He leaned in and kissed her again, but this time he didn't pull back right away. Hermione's stomach fluttered as she felt Ron's hand creep up to cup her face. Definitely better than Evan, she thought giddily.
"Why is it every time I see you two, you're getting close?" Draco Malfoy was standing in the door of the compartment, watching them. For some reason, though, his usual smugness was absent, replaced by an expression that just said he was irritable. Hermione and Ron broke apart quickly and Hermione felt her cheeks burn with humiliation as Ron got up and stood in front of Malfoy.
"Maybe if you waited until you were invited, you wouldn't have that problem," Ron told Malfoy. "Now why don't you take a hike?"
Malfoy scowled. "I actually came here with a purpose, for your information. I need to talk to Hermione."
She stared at him. Ron wasn't the only one who had changed. Malfoy had acquired a kind of angry sensuality, like he ought to be playing the moody hero of some soap opera. Plus, he wasn't making any smart remarks. One would simply have thought he was in a bad mood. This was not the Draco Malfoy she had last seen two Christmases ago. "What?" she asked, bewildered.
Ron cast her a suspicious look, but Malfoy just said, "You heard me. I need to talk to you. Come out into the hall or something."
She frowned, but got up and followed him into the hallway. Ron raised an eyebrow, but made no move to stop her. She closed the door behind them, and looked at Malfoy expectantly.
He just glared at her for a moment. "I just wanted to tell you- y'know on that last Hogsmeade trip- when I was an asshole to you- I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't mean it." He seemed to glower at his words for a moment, then turned and stalked down the train, looking snappish. Shaking her head, Hermione walked back into the compartment and flopped back into her seat.
"What did he want?" Ron asked.
"I have no idea," Hermione replied. "But I'm willing to bet that by the time we get to the castle, everyone will know what we were doing."
Ron made a face. "Heaven forbid," he muttered.
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