Chapter 1
(Strength of The Heart, Revised)
by anime_angel2000
Ron heaved his luggage out of the car and turned to look at the break between Platforms Nine and Ten. Suddenly, every memory of last year came rushing back to him. The Triwizard Tournament, Krum, Cedric Diggory's death, The Yule Ball, the confusing ordeal with Mad Eye Moody, The House Elf Liberation Front. He remembered the confusing night of the third task. Everything had become chaos, and the entire maze had been trampled down in search of Harry and Cedric. He remembered, searching, being so scared... having Hermione, her eyes filled with tears, rushing into his arms. He remembered comforting her, breathing in her scent, letting her sorrow ease away, and he felt her panic leave, as if it were a wave crashing down, out of her, and onto the ruined Quidditch field. He remembered waking up in the lake, around the middle of the winter. Harry was with him, dragging along a girl that Ron had never seen before. He remembered the wonderful, silver blue dress robes Fred and George had bought him for his birthday, and trying to think of where they might have gotten the money. He remembered the way Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had looked when they had gotten off the train and laughed inside. He thought of Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret. So many things had happened to everyone since the first year... And with that thought, he stepped through the break between the platforms.
As he reached the other side, he saw the steaming red engine, its gold letters reading "Hogwarts Express." He looked around for someone familiar, other than the twins and Ginny. This was the first time he had come to the Platform without one of his friends since first year.
Out of nowhere, a girl flew into his legs, knocking him over. The girl shouted, "Gotcha!" and her arms encircled a large ginger cat. However, the force of her leap sent the cat, hissing and spitting, into the crowd, while she landed right in Ron's lap.
"Oh, ouch, I'm so sorry," she said, looking down in embarrassment and brushing her bangs out of her face. Ron immediately recognized who it was. "Hermione?"
At the sound of her name, Hermione looked up--and came face-to-face with Ron, whom she had not seen all summer. But how he had changed! His hair was brushed back, but it looked almost spiked, which kept it out of his eyes. But his eyes--that was what really threw her for a loop. His crystal blue eyes, which had always been half-hidden by his hair, now shone with happiness.
Harry finally came across his friends. Ron was laying down on the pavement, and Hermione was sitting on his stomach, both doubled up laughing. He was about to say something when Ginny came up and started watching them. Her eyebrows raised slightly. Harry looked at her, quite startled at how different she looked. Her red hair, sides pinned by sparkling blue clips, cascaded down her back in a shower of curls. She smiled shyly at Harry, and said, "I wonder how long it will take them to realize we're here?"
****
She looked down at them. They looked so perfect together. It was disgusting. She remembered how perfect her love had been. What had come of it? Nothing. Nothing but hate. And now she would rid the world of that hate. Hate that was bound to happen. She would take it from the world, even if it meant death. Starting with this girl.
****
Ron threw his cards down disgustedly. The kings and queens immediately started making faces at him, and the rest of the deck swapped places. " I can't play cards, and I hate the fact that they keep switching!" Harry snickered and said, "Guess you're a chess boy at heart, huh, Ron?" Ron frowned at the stack of cards and muttered, "Guess so."
The train screeched to a halt. Ron grabbed a large volume from underneath Hermione, who had fallen asleep. She shook her head quickly, hit Ron, and grabbed her bags from the luggage compartment, which were stored with Harry's large wooden trunk and Ron's shabby old carpet bag. They exited the train quickly, and poured out onto the Hogwarts grounds. They heard the familiar yell of Hagrid leading the first years toward the lake. They hurried up to the coaches and leapt into them, all hungry and more than ready for a good night's sleep.
****
The girls stuffed themselves into the prefects' room, getting ready for the sleepover of a lifetime. Hermione was sitting and laughing as Lavender read love letters sent to her by a first year. Meanwhile, Cho was braiding Parvati's long hair into smooth perfect plaits and Parvati was drawing intricate designs on Hermione's fingernails. Hermione laughed as small unicorns dashed across her finished nails, stopping to play with butterflies and eat grass.
Suddenly, Ginny, who had been unpacking, screamed. "What's wrong?" said Lavender, startled. "Oh, nothing," Ginny sighed, "Except that Ron mutilated my picture." Looking into the frame, Ginny's eyes glazed over, a star-struck look on her face. Alicia Spinnet noticed and peered over Ginny's shoulder, saying, "Just who is this picture of, huh?" Ginny snatched the picture back, and stuffed it into her sock drawer. "Nobody," she said, a sly grin on her face.
"Speaking of Ron..." Lavender trailed off, gazing into space. "He sure is good-looking this year, isn't he? I'll bet he's been working out." Parvati said. Padma groaned, "I know!! And I just had to be a snob and be mean to him, didn't I? Oh well, it's all for the best, because," she roped her arm around Hermione, "now he's free for you!" Hermione blushed and murmured, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, come on," Cho elbowed her and smiled. "You know we know. You can't keep anything from me." It was true. Over the summer, Cho and Hermione had become good friends, and always knew what the other was thinking. She leaned over and whispered in Cho's ear, "No!! Well.... no." Cho squealed excitedly and whispered back, "Liar!" Hermione started to reply, but was interrupted by a Ravenclaw girl, who was yelling, "Time for Dare!!" Hermione smiled and squeezed into the giggling group of girls, and suddenly, for the first time in over four years, she felt like she belonged.
****
Hermione groaned as Parvati yanked the shades off the windows. "Good morning, girls! Up, up, up!" she cried, clapping her hands. Lavender groaned and muttered, "Now I know how she got in Gryffindor. You have to be brave and crazy to wake up five fifth years like that on the first day." Hermione laughed and rolled out of bed, pulling on the overly large, orange cat-headed slippers Ron had given to her for her birthday. In the mouth of each cat was a bloody, dead gray rat.
Suddenly, she realized something. "Oh, no," she said to herself, "Ron has my faerie book."
Meanwhile, Dean Thomas was waking the people in his dorm up by banging a long spoon on the large silver water jug. Neville chucked Mr. Squiggles, his stuffed bear, straight at Dean's head. Harry slowly sat up and looked around the room at his friends. Dean, still half-heartedly banging on the jug, was still lying in bed. Seamus Finnigan was gazing at pictures of his new girlfriend, who went to a wizarding school in Paraguay. Neville stretched and reached down to scoop his teddy off the floor. Her had grown much taller, and now finally looked his age. Harry had seen two sixth year Slytherins throw themselves at his feet before realizing who he was. He now looked around, bewildered, murmuring, "I know I put him somewhere..."
Ron tossed him Trevor, and Harry's attention turned to his best friend. Ron had definitely changed over the summer. He had been chosen to take Alicia's spot as Chaser, because Alicia had had a painful accident, and was more than willing to hand over her position. Fred and George had trained him every day, using the new Cleansweep 7 that Mrs. Weasley had proudly bought him with money that had mysteriously turned up in their vault. He also looked very different with his American, somewhat-spiked hair.
"So," Ron said, turning to him, "I was looking through Ginny's suitcase the other day, and guess who's picture I found in there?" Harry smiled dryly and said, "Can I have three guesses?"
****
Hermione tiptoed up the long, narrow staircase to the boys' dorm. She was startled when Harry quickly opened the door to her left.
"Hermione?" he said incredulously. "What are you doing up here?"
"Well," she replied, "Ron has my faerie book, and I don't exactly trust him to remember to bring it down, so..." she shrugged.
He looked at her skeptically, as though he thought she was hiding something. "Well," he said finally, "go ahead. He's the only one in there." He gestured to the half-open door.
She smiled and watched him tramp down the stairs. Quietly, she slipped in the door and turned around. Ron was rummaging through a dresser that was pushed against the wall. She cleared her throat loudly, and he turned around, a white shirt in his hands. "Hermione!" he exclaimed, clutching the shirt to his bare chest, his ears turning red. She raised an eyebrow and sighed.
"Ron, you're a guy. You don't need to worry about stuff like that." He smiled and held the shirt in front of him, mumbling, "Guess not." She thought of the situation, and a strange feeling came over her. She blushed. He pulled the shirt over his head and said, "Anyway, Herm, why did you come up here?"
She quickly regained her composure and said, "I need my faerie book." He laughed, took it off the top of the dresser, and handed it to her. He pulled his black robes over his clothes, picked up his book bag, and said, "Come, damsel in distress, I will escort you to the lovely feast being held in my honor, for the sole reason that I have saved you," he said mockingly, offering his arm. She set her hand lightly on it and wisped, "Oh, thank you, kind prince, however shall I repay you?"
"With your kingdom, everything money can buy, and about fifty kids," he laughed, and she pushed him out the door. Together they walked down to breakfast.
****
It was smoggy as usual in Professor Trelawny's tower. They were working on mind reading, but Ron couldn't concentrate. His focus kept chancing back to Hermione, standing in the doorway to the boys' dorm room, her cheeks slightly flushed. It felt weird, but the thought of her made his heart beat a little faster. He tried to shake it away, telling himself that they were only friends, but it wouldn't leave.
Suddenly, Harry snapped his fingers. "I can read your mind!" Ron looked up, startled, sincerely hoping Harry was joking.
"You're thinking about Hermione!" he whispered excitedly. Ron's heart filled with horror, and his ears turned a dark shade of red, as he muttered stubbornly, "Am not."
"Yes you are!" Harry insisted. "You fancy her!"
"What?!" Ron exclaimed. This thought hadn't even crossed his mind. This feeling wasn't a crush, was it? "I am not, Harry! You're imagining things?" Ron said urgently.
"Sure," Harry said mockingly, then sang softly, "Somebody's gonna be black-mailed, somebody's gonna be black-mailed..." He winked at Ron, who was now clenching his fists in his lap. "Don't worry, Ron. Secret's safe."
Ron whispered angrily, "I don't know what you're talking about!!" and turned away from his snickering friend.
Suddenly, a small dagger raised out of Professor Trelawny's stores. It raised in the air until it was above the mantelpiece over the fire. Slowly, it etched words into the hard stone, making a cold, harsh ring, as though someone were dragging a million nails across a never-ending board. Behind each scratch, the wall began to bleed, as though it were human flesh. When the long ringing noise ended, the wall read:
On the eleventh hour
In the eleventh hall
There will be delivered a message
The code of humanity's fall
The chord only one can break
Be it unbreakable, till the heart is pure
And the weapon is not sword, but bravery
True bravery, from the soul
Will free her
The messenger
And give life back
To the world.
The dagger quivered and fell. The sound of it, crashing against the hard stone floor, shattered through the silent room.
A/N: Okay, took my long enough to get this up. Grr, school...
Anyway, here it is, hopefully lots better. It's only 3 pages printed in size 10 font, but oh well.
And!
I know the poem don't rhyme, but I never was good at poetry, so...
Anyway, please R/R!
D/C: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling and her minions.
