Disclaimer: It's all J.K. Rowling's, except for one original character who isn't that important yet anyway.
A Note From The Author: Well let me start out by thanking everyone who's reviewed so far: Hermione L. Granger, college girl, Landry Anne, Siria Snape, Sara, J, Firebolt909, Puzzler, Snuffles, MagicianX, rissa, ron's babe, Shankzta Lockhart, Tinabedina, Cornelius Fudge, nikalee, Malena, person, and lotrfan. Your comments are my soul's candy, and I love you for it. Thank you. In this chapter, I kind of fast-forward through the summer so we can get straight to Hogwarts. My utmost apologies if it seems rushed, but I don't want to drag the summer out any more than I have already. This is the last of the "introductory" chapters. The chapters that follow will have much more action. I have decided on alternating POVs for this, BTW. The last chapter was told from Harry's perspective, this will be from Ron's, the next will be from Hermione's, and so on. A big "thank you" goes to Arabella for beta-reading. Well now that I've taken care of those things I'll stop babbling and cut to the story. Please enjoy.
About The Revisions: I was re-reading this and realized I forgot to put in a vital clue about what's coming next. I suggest you re-read this chapter to get an idea of what's coming. (hint, hint) On top of that, I changed the last scene a little, but that's it.
Aftermath and Awakenings
Part III
A Harry Potter Fanfic by Aira
***
The rest of the summer passed by peacefully. Or, as Ron reflected, as peacefully as was possible when You-Know-Who…oh, fine, Voldemort, was returned to power. But even there things were relatively quiet. The Dark Lord was apparently somewhat taken aback by the new Minister and there were not nearly as many reports of brute attacks. Whether this was a good thing or a bad thing no one was sure. Was Voldemort-Ron still winced at the name-really scared? Or was he just preparing to launch a new terror?
More and more, Harry's dream gnawed at Ron's mind. Could the explanation for the calmed violence be that the Dark Lord was occupying himself by plotting on how to get into Hogwarts? Ron gave an involuntary shudder as he thought of a swarm of Death Eaters showing up in the middle of his Transfiguration class. But then, there was a reason why his favorite Quidditch team had the motto of "Let's all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best." More often than not, Ron preferred to do just that. After all, hadn't Dumbledore written Harry to thank him for his assistance and to inform him that he was "currently formulating a plan to prevent such an action"? If anything, Ron had complete confidence in the Headmaster.
The most monumental event of August, in most people's opinion, was the fact that the dementors had been removed entirely from Azkaban. Now, highly trained Ministry Hit Wizards guarded the fortress, along with extremely powerful charms to prevent any prisoner from leaving. Albus Dumbledore himself was said to have cast those particular spells.
The most monumental event of August, in Ron Weasley's opinion, was that Hermione had kissed him not once but twice on the cheek. Most unfortunately it was that Fred had happened to walk in on the second peck on the cheek. The twins were now making kissing noises every time Ron approached, to his great irritation. Everyone else at the Burrow, with the obvious exception of Hermione and possibly Percy as well, seemed to find the whole thing highly amusing themselves, though no one dared to say so.
The above incidents set aside, life at the Burrow was blissfully normal throughout the last days of summer. The twins, Ron, and Harry played Quidditch scrimmages. Hermione and occasionally Ginny as well watched and smiled from the ground. Mrs. Weasley doted on Harry during mealtimes, and on one occasion, Percy had accidentally swallowed a Toad Tart, which caused the victim to speak in croaks for a half hour. Apparently Fred and George were still hoping to open their joke shop after graduating.
September 1st arrived all too soon. Despite the tension revolving around Voldemort's return, Ron had to admit that few summers had been so enjoyable. This can be largely attributed to a certain brunette with whom Ron had taken many late night walks. Indeed, his relationship with Hermione had certainly evolved. While they still had their famous rows, both parties took obvious pleasure in such banter, and were even more elated in the making-up.
Having just had a particularly nice making-up scene, it was with a blissful heart that Ron boarded the Hogwarts Express. He felt a jolt of electricity as Hermione took the seat next to his and slid her hand into his own. 'Take that, you Bulgarian Quidditch player!', he couldn't help but think.
Harry and Ginny arrived shortly afterwards, interrupting Ron's rather shameless gloating. "You two look awfully cozy," Ginny giggled.
'Why do I have to have such a big-mouthed sister? Can't keep her mouth shut about anything, she can't…Hey, wait a minute. Normally she can barely keep from fainting when Harry's around. What's with her, anyway?'
Harry apparently noticed as well, for he looked at Ginny strangely. At this she promptly turned pink and quickly occupied herself with rearranging her battered trunk, which lay beside Harry's. 'Ah-ha. So she still fancies him.'
The rest of the trip passed pleasantly. Ron was surprised to find that he didn't really mind his sister intruding on his time with his two best friends. In fact, Ginny was quite a pleasant and amiable companion, though considerably less talkative and smart-alecky than usual. Doubtless Harry's presence was to account for that. Ron considered making a remark about this in retaliation to her previous comment, but Hermione seemed to sense what he was planning and silenced him with a glare.
The four found considerable conversation material for the long journey, and chatted genially about how hard it was to believe that this was Fred and George's last year, what the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor would be like, and would they finally get one that would last for more than a year?
Hermione showed Ron and Harry her new prefect's badge with a combination of pride and embarrassment. She glanced anxiously at Ron, awaiting his opinion. Ron knew he would shock her royally by breaking out into an ear-to-ear grin. "Excellent! Now we can get away with breaking rules!"
This made Hermione look even more embarrassed. "As a prefect I can't sanction rule-breaking just because you're my friends," she said quickly.
Ron was on the verge of making a comment like "You're turning into Percy!" But he caught a glimpse of Hermione's hurt eyes and quickly rebuked himself. "Of course," he said quickly.
And soon, the Hogwarts Express came to a halt. Its' passengers walked off, ready to begin a new year.
*
"Welcome back," came the voice of Albus Dumbledore.
At the sound of the familiar voice, the merry chatter that echoed throughout the Great Hall ceased. Ron focused on the old man, who appeared somewhat exhausted at the moment. "I would like to say a few words before we resume the feast."
Ron was expecting something along the lines of "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" He could not have been more wrong. Instead, the Headmaster continued in a tone more grave than usual. "I would first like to welcome Professor Dorson, who will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts this year."
A tall, lanky, woman of about 45 stood up looking nervous. She wore robes of dark maroon-Ron couldn't help but snicker at the color-and her dirty blonde hair was pulled up in a loose bun. Ron frowned as he looked her over. Had he met this woman before? A flock of heads turned towards the staff table as the whole of Hogwarts attempted to catch a glimpse of their new teacher. The applause that followed her introduction was cordial at most; everyone was too used to Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers coming and going.
The Hall broke into murmurs once more as students began to give their appraisal of Professor Dorson. Dumbledore quickly silenced his pupils with a wave of his hand. "I hope that those of you that were here remember what I said to you at the end of last year."
Here, Ron took a quick glance at Harry, whose eyes had darted towards the Hufflepuff table. "As most of you know, Lord Voldemort has indeed returned."
These words didn't create nearly the commotion they had the previous year. Voldemort's return was now a widely accepted fact, though many flinched at the sound of the name. "I shall be frank with you. There is every possibility that the Dark Lord may attempt to break into the school."
There were loud gasps from everyone, excluding those who already knew about Harry's dream and certain Slytherins whom had likely heard it from their parents. Dumbledore waited until the tumult had died down. "I assure you that extreme safety measures are being taken to prevent such. I ask you to remain calm and to obey all instructions given to you. I also request that no one travel out of bounds after dark. In the past, some of you may have gotten away with midnight wanderings beyond the school grounds,"-Ron noticed Harry squirm guiltily at this-"But now it is more vital than ever that you stay within school boundaries and listen to your professors. Thank you and enjoy the feast."
The chatter wasn't so merry after that.
*
"Schedules!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly at breakfast the next morning.
"Schedules?" Ron's voice echoed incredulously. "Honestly, Hermione, you sound like your birthday's come early. We get to find out what pointless classes we get to take this year and when. That's fantastic, that is."
"Some of us actually care about our studies," Hermione sniffed loftily. "You may not have noticed, Ronald Weasley, but we have our O.W.L.s coming up this year and some of us would like to do well."
The adoration in her eyes could not be missed. Ron only grinned at her.
*
Several uneventful hours later, Ron felt himself sitting in the stuffy classroom of Sibyll Trelawney, who wasted no time informing the class that the Dark Lord's return would bring bad fortune upon Leos. Ron let out a derisive snort as Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil gasped in fear. He looked to his right where Harry was sitting and rolling his eyes. "That makes it the, what, hundred-fourteenth time?" Ron whispered to his friend.
"You're welcomed to start counting," Harry said in an undertone.
"Nah," Ron replied, casting a glance towards their professor who was looking rather detached at the moment. "Too much work."
Soon thereafter, Ron began to doodle pictures of Bludgers and Quaffles inside his copy of 'Unfogging The Future' and began to count the minutes left in class, occasionally looking towards Harry, who had fallen asleep.
A sudden gasp from his right diverted Ron from his highly essential work. He turned to find Harry clutching his scar with a terrified expression on his face. 'Oh, no,' thought Ron. 'He couldn't have had another one of those?!'
The entire class watched intently as Harry leaped out of his seat. Still clutching his scar, he quickly explained to Trelawney that he had a bad headache, and could he please go to Madam Pomfrey immediately?
Though quite displeased, Trelawney granted him permission to leave reluctantly. Harry quickly left the North Tower, though Professor Trelawney called behind him that it was an unlucky day for people wearing spectacles. (Apparently this did not extend to herself.)
Ron was more anxious than ever for the duration of the class. He just couldn't squash his anxiety. His best friend's horrified face when he awoke from whatever dream he had had filled his mind. What was Voldemort up to now? Thousands of terrible possibilities came to him, but Ron had to know the truth.
But for now, he could only cross his fingers and hope for the best.
***
Author's Note: Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this part as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have ideas, comments, constructive criticism, whatever, please review. Thanks!
A Note From The Author: Well let me start out by thanking everyone who's reviewed so far: Hermione L. Granger, college girl, Landry Anne, Siria Snape, Sara, J, Firebolt909, Puzzler, Snuffles, MagicianX, rissa, ron's babe, Shankzta Lockhart, Tinabedina, Cornelius Fudge, nikalee, Malena, person, and lotrfan. Your comments are my soul's candy, and I love you for it. Thank you. In this chapter, I kind of fast-forward through the summer so we can get straight to Hogwarts. My utmost apologies if it seems rushed, but I don't want to drag the summer out any more than I have already. This is the last of the "introductory" chapters. The chapters that follow will have much more action. I have decided on alternating POVs for this, BTW. The last chapter was told from Harry's perspective, this will be from Ron's, the next will be from Hermione's, and so on. A big "thank you" goes to Arabella for beta-reading. Well now that I've taken care of those things I'll stop babbling and cut to the story. Please enjoy.
About The Revisions: I was re-reading this and realized I forgot to put in a vital clue about what's coming next. I suggest you re-read this chapter to get an idea of what's coming. (hint, hint) On top of that, I changed the last scene a little, but that's it.
Aftermath and Awakenings
Part III
A Harry Potter Fanfic by Aira
***
The rest of the summer passed by peacefully. Or, as Ron reflected, as peacefully as was possible when You-Know-Who…oh, fine, Voldemort, was returned to power. But even there things were relatively quiet. The Dark Lord was apparently somewhat taken aback by the new Minister and there were not nearly as many reports of brute attacks. Whether this was a good thing or a bad thing no one was sure. Was Voldemort-Ron still winced at the name-really scared? Or was he just preparing to launch a new terror?
More and more, Harry's dream gnawed at Ron's mind. Could the explanation for the calmed violence be that the Dark Lord was occupying himself by plotting on how to get into Hogwarts? Ron gave an involuntary shudder as he thought of a swarm of Death Eaters showing up in the middle of his Transfiguration class. But then, there was a reason why his favorite Quidditch team had the motto of "Let's all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best." More often than not, Ron preferred to do just that. After all, hadn't Dumbledore written Harry to thank him for his assistance and to inform him that he was "currently formulating a plan to prevent such an action"? If anything, Ron had complete confidence in the Headmaster.
The most monumental event of August, in most people's opinion, was the fact that the dementors had been removed entirely from Azkaban. Now, highly trained Ministry Hit Wizards guarded the fortress, along with extremely powerful charms to prevent any prisoner from leaving. Albus Dumbledore himself was said to have cast those particular spells.
The most monumental event of August, in Ron Weasley's opinion, was that Hermione had kissed him not once but twice on the cheek. Most unfortunately it was that Fred had happened to walk in on the second peck on the cheek. The twins were now making kissing noises every time Ron approached, to his great irritation. Everyone else at the Burrow, with the obvious exception of Hermione and possibly Percy as well, seemed to find the whole thing highly amusing themselves, though no one dared to say so.
The above incidents set aside, life at the Burrow was blissfully normal throughout the last days of summer. The twins, Ron, and Harry played Quidditch scrimmages. Hermione and occasionally Ginny as well watched and smiled from the ground. Mrs. Weasley doted on Harry during mealtimes, and on one occasion, Percy had accidentally swallowed a Toad Tart, which caused the victim to speak in croaks for a half hour. Apparently Fred and George were still hoping to open their joke shop after graduating.
September 1st arrived all too soon. Despite the tension revolving around Voldemort's return, Ron had to admit that few summers had been so enjoyable. This can be largely attributed to a certain brunette with whom Ron had taken many late night walks. Indeed, his relationship with Hermione had certainly evolved. While they still had their famous rows, both parties took obvious pleasure in such banter, and were even more elated in the making-up.
Having just had a particularly nice making-up scene, it was with a blissful heart that Ron boarded the Hogwarts Express. He felt a jolt of electricity as Hermione took the seat next to his and slid her hand into his own. 'Take that, you Bulgarian Quidditch player!', he couldn't help but think.
Harry and Ginny arrived shortly afterwards, interrupting Ron's rather shameless gloating. "You two look awfully cozy," Ginny giggled.
'Why do I have to have such a big-mouthed sister? Can't keep her mouth shut about anything, she can't…Hey, wait a minute. Normally she can barely keep from fainting when Harry's around. What's with her, anyway?'
Harry apparently noticed as well, for he looked at Ginny strangely. At this she promptly turned pink and quickly occupied herself with rearranging her battered trunk, which lay beside Harry's. 'Ah-ha. So she still fancies him.'
The rest of the trip passed pleasantly. Ron was surprised to find that he didn't really mind his sister intruding on his time with his two best friends. In fact, Ginny was quite a pleasant and amiable companion, though considerably less talkative and smart-alecky than usual. Doubtless Harry's presence was to account for that. Ron considered making a remark about this in retaliation to her previous comment, but Hermione seemed to sense what he was planning and silenced him with a glare.
The four found considerable conversation material for the long journey, and chatted genially about how hard it was to believe that this was Fred and George's last year, what the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor would be like, and would they finally get one that would last for more than a year?
Hermione showed Ron and Harry her new prefect's badge with a combination of pride and embarrassment. She glanced anxiously at Ron, awaiting his opinion. Ron knew he would shock her royally by breaking out into an ear-to-ear grin. "Excellent! Now we can get away with breaking rules!"
This made Hermione look even more embarrassed. "As a prefect I can't sanction rule-breaking just because you're my friends," she said quickly.
Ron was on the verge of making a comment like "You're turning into Percy!" But he caught a glimpse of Hermione's hurt eyes and quickly rebuked himself. "Of course," he said quickly.
And soon, the Hogwarts Express came to a halt. Its' passengers walked off, ready to begin a new year.
*
"Welcome back," came the voice of Albus Dumbledore.
At the sound of the familiar voice, the merry chatter that echoed throughout the Great Hall ceased. Ron focused on the old man, who appeared somewhat exhausted at the moment. "I would like to say a few words before we resume the feast."
Ron was expecting something along the lines of "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" He could not have been more wrong. Instead, the Headmaster continued in a tone more grave than usual. "I would first like to welcome Professor Dorson, who will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts this year."
A tall, lanky, woman of about 45 stood up looking nervous. She wore robes of dark maroon-Ron couldn't help but snicker at the color-and her dirty blonde hair was pulled up in a loose bun. Ron frowned as he looked her over. Had he met this woman before? A flock of heads turned towards the staff table as the whole of Hogwarts attempted to catch a glimpse of their new teacher. The applause that followed her introduction was cordial at most; everyone was too used to Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers coming and going.
The Hall broke into murmurs once more as students began to give their appraisal of Professor Dorson. Dumbledore quickly silenced his pupils with a wave of his hand. "I hope that those of you that were here remember what I said to you at the end of last year."
Here, Ron took a quick glance at Harry, whose eyes had darted towards the Hufflepuff table. "As most of you know, Lord Voldemort has indeed returned."
These words didn't create nearly the commotion they had the previous year. Voldemort's return was now a widely accepted fact, though many flinched at the sound of the name. "I shall be frank with you. There is every possibility that the Dark Lord may attempt to break into the school."
There were loud gasps from everyone, excluding those who already knew about Harry's dream and certain Slytherins whom had likely heard it from their parents. Dumbledore waited until the tumult had died down. "I assure you that extreme safety measures are being taken to prevent such. I ask you to remain calm and to obey all instructions given to you. I also request that no one travel out of bounds after dark. In the past, some of you may have gotten away with midnight wanderings beyond the school grounds,"-Ron noticed Harry squirm guiltily at this-"But now it is more vital than ever that you stay within school boundaries and listen to your professors. Thank you and enjoy the feast."
The chatter wasn't so merry after that.
*
"Schedules!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly at breakfast the next morning.
"Schedules?" Ron's voice echoed incredulously. "Honestly, Hermione, you sound like your birthday's come early. We get to find out what pointless classes we get to take this year and when. That's fantastic, that is."
"Some of us actually care about our studies," Hermione sniffed loftily. "You may not have noticed, Ronald Weasley, but we have our O.W.L.s coming up this year and some of us would like to do well."
The adoration in her eyes could not be missed. Ron only grinned at her.
*
Several uneventful hours later, Ron felt himself sitting in the stuffy classroom of Sibyll Trelawney, who wasted no time informing the class that the Dark Lord's return would bring bad fortune upon Leos. Ron let out a derisive snort as Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil gasped in fear. He looked to his right where Harry was sitting and rolling his eyes. "That makes it the, what, hundred-fourteenth time?" Ron whispered to his friend.
"You're welcomed to start counting," Harry said in an undertone.
"Nah," Ron replied, casting a glance towards their professor who was looking rather detached at the moment. "Too much work."
Soon thereafter, Ron began to doodle pictures of Bludgers and Quaffles inside his copy of 'Unfogging The Future' and began to count the minutes left in class, occasionally looking towards Harry, who had fallen asleep.
A sudden gasp from his right diverted Ron from his highly essential work. He turned to find Harry clutching his scar with a terrified expression on his face. 'Oh, no,' thought Ron. 'He couldn't have had another one of those?!'
The entire class watched intently as Harry leaped out of his seat. Still clutching his scar, he quickly explained to Trelawney that he had a bad headache, and could he please go to Madam Pomfrey immediately?
Though quite displeased, Trelawney granted him permission to leave reluctantly. Harry quickly left the North Tower, though Professor Trelawney called behind him that it was an unlucky day for people wearing spectacles. (Apparently this did not extend to herself.)
Ron was more anxious than ever for the duration of the class. He just couldn't squash his anxiety. His best friend's horrified face when he awoke from whatever dream he had had filled his mind. What was Voldemort up to now? Thousands of terrible possibilities came to him, but Ron had to know the truth.
But for now, he could only cross his fingers and hope for the best.
***
Author's Note: Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this part as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have ideas, comments, constructive criticism, whatever, please review. Thanks!
