Chapter Seven: The Journey to Hogwarts
Ginny's eyes widened, and she shrunk back behind Harry. Perfect, Harry thought, first day of school, and she is already embarrassed at something. Neville looked at each of them and smiled, even to Ginny.
"Hello, how are you all? I am just taking my usual car search, you haven't seen my toad, have you?" Neville said smoothly. He really had changed, and Hermione had noticed, she was gaping at him like he was wearing a pink tutu, and an Afro. "Oh! And Ginny, this is for you." He said sulkily. He looked like he was slightly crushed, but Harry knew better; he and Ron had seen him with another girl in Diagon Ally.
Neville handed over a folded piece of parchment to Ginny, who took it gingerly, and stared at it. "No, Neville, we haven't seen your toad." Ron said hastily. He had seen the look on Ginny's face; utter sadness and guiltiness.
"Neville, you have – changed." Hermione said, looking him over again. Behind her back, Ron was gaping at her. Neville laughed, and smiled warmly at her. "Maybe this year you'll say yes if I ask you to a dance." Hermione blushed, and smiled back up at him.
"By the way, you know that there is three dances this year? The Yule Ball, the Easter Promenade, and the Genesis Masquerade? It would be a good idea to start asking for the Genesis Masquerade; it is only one week away. It's to start off the school term." Neville said, taking a step back. "I gotta' go! See you all at the sorting!" he shut the door, smiling, and everyone listened for him to go away.
"Wow!" Hermione exclaimed, still slightly blushing. "Wow, what, Hermione?" Ron asked irritated at Neville, "All he did was barge in, show us that he has changed, and state that there are more dances. Wipee! I can't wait to be embarrassed again." Ron continued, even though the look on Hermione's face was growing sour.
"Well, Ron, at least someone cares about things." Hermione yelled at him, wringing her hands. "And at least someone has noticed that I am not just a super-smart know-it-all, as you see me, Ron."
"Hermione!" Ron whispered, a frown tugging at his lips. Harry's idea that Ron and Hermione had nothing between them, if even the slightest sliver, were confirmed at that moment.
"Alright! Shutup! Both of you! It's the first day of seeing each other for a long time! Now, if you'd treat each other with respect, we all could enjoy the ride there!" Harry yelled, watching both of their expressions fade, "Good! Thank you!" Harry sighed, and watched as Hermione crossed her arms, and Ron turned to look over at the window.
Harry turned around to Ginny, who was reading the parchment she had received from Neville. He put his arm around her, and saw that she had tears welling in her eyes. "What's wrong, Ginny?"
She looked up from the parchment, and smiled weakly, "Nothing. I am just sorry that I was the one that dumped him; it would have been better if he broke up with me." Harry nodded, and smiled softly.
"May I read it when you are done?" Harry asked as he watched Ginny's eyes fall over him in adoration. She nodded, and handed it over.
"I don't want to finish it." Ginny whispered to Harry. He nodded, and smiled, taking the parchment in his left hand, and holing it steadily in front of him. Ginny sighed and placed her head timidly on his shoulder.
Harry began to read, slowly at first, and then more and more rapidly. The parchment said:
Ginny:
When I received your letter the other day, I had opened it with happiness, thinking that it was another one of your friendly letters. I was wrong. But, the truth is that I myself was about to send a similar letter to you. We have grown apart over the summer, and I figured that it was time to end our relationship before we both got hurt. So don't feel too terribly bad, because we both made the same decision, we are together when we say that we just wish to be friends. And I hope that we will do just that, remain friends.
The time that I did spend with you was always fun, though. So don't think that you are the most horrible girlfriend on this planet. It is more like I am the worst boyfriend. I have changed over the summer and so have you; along with the changes, we have grown apart. Thank you so much for giving me the confidence to change myself this summer into the guy that I have always wished to be. Thank you.
Yours truly,
Neville Longbottom
Harry looked up from the parchment, and gaped at Ron, who was staring at him. Ron mouthed the word what, cocking his head with interest. "Nothing, really. This just doesn't even sound anything close to what Neville used to be like." Harry said, a hint of curiosity in his voice.
"How so?" Ron asked. Hermione twisted in her seat, and stared at Ginny, whom had her eyes shut, and had her shoulders locked in Harry's firm grip. Harry handed over the parchment to Ron, and watched as Hermione reluctantly scooted over to Ron to read along with him.
As Harry watched them read, he felt the steady breaths from Ginny upon his neck. He thought that she was napping right there on his shoulder, but he was wrong for she slowly sat up, and smiled sweetly at him. Harry smiled in return and looked back at Ron.
"I personally don't think that he wrote this. Possibly his grandmother, but most likely not." Ron said, looking up from the parchment. Hermione looked up as well, and said, "People do change, you know. But as for this letter, I go with Ron; he surely didn't write it." She said, flashing a half-smile to Harry.
"If he didn't, then who did?" Ginny whispered, burrowing her brow in concentration, and her smile fading. "Maybe one of his friends from over the summer, I guess. It would be the only logical explanation, wouldn't it?" Hermione said, sighing, and handing back the piece of parchment to Ginny. She took it reluctantly, and placed it beside her.
"I 'dunno, you guys." Harry started, "The handwriting looks a lot like Neville's. But we shouldn't be worrying about that at this moment, it is only the first day of school, and no one wants to get into another one of our missions yet, do we? Well, beside the fact that we need to get revenge on Malfoy."
Hermione gave everyone a puzzled look, and demanded what had happened and why they were plotting revenge on Malfoy so soon. Harry and Ron both spilled the whole story out about the fight, Ron's broken knee, and every other detail that Hermione could imagine.
By the time they were finished, Ginny was resting in Harry's arms again, and Hermione was staring at the two of them over. Harry finally caught Hermione's attention, and become aware of her staring Ginny down hard. "Hermione! What has gotten into you? First you 'wanna know about Malfoy, and then you stare at Ginny and me, not listening to a word that I say! Really!" Harry exclaimed, startling everyone else in the train car.
Hermione looked away from the two of them, and smiled at Ron. "Nothing, I was just thinking about the dilemma with Malfoy, that's all. We could set him up." She sounded embarrassed and guilty, but at the same time she sounded and looked sincere enough for Harry to really believe her.
"Yea! That's it! At the dance! We could humiliate him in front of everyone! Make him fall into a girl that wouldn't appreciate it. Cho, no, um, Lavender, no, wait! I have it! Professor McGonagal! We could make it look like he meant to stumble into her!" Ron said vehemently, his eyes ablaze, and frosted over like ice sickles on a cold winter day. Ginny didn't like that look, and neither did Hermione, nor Harry.
"Whoa! Wait up, Ron. You just got a plan to get revenge on Malfoy? Good, good, but I thought we were talking about…" Harry began, and then was interrupted by Ginny.
Ginny reached up and placed a gentle hand on his cheek. "Harry," she said, sounding exhausted, "don't worry. It's just a girl thing, no not that girl thing." She added quickly as Harry and Ron began to snicker, and chuckle. "Anyway. I know what's wrong, so just leave her alone for now, and drop the subject please. Thanks, Harry." Ginny finished as she saw Harry nod, and smile down at her.
Hermione shot Ginny a warm thank you so much look. Ginny nodded and smiled, fully aware of both of the boys watching her with intent eyes. "Anyhow, both of you better start asking for the first dance, isn't it the Genesis Masquerade? Or something like that?" Hermione queried, changing the subject and moving the spotlight from her and Ginny to Ron and Harry. Ron looked utterly thunderstruck, and began fidgeting with his fingers. Harry, on the other hand, looked extremely snug, and raised his eyebrows.
" I have to ask, now do I?" Harry inquired in a sarcastic tone, followed by a sleek grin. "Well then, I guess it's now or never." He turned to Ginny, took his arms away from her shoulders and took both of her gentle hands. Harry smiled, and looked into her eyes; Ginny looked right back, and searched desperately for that same glint in his eye that she had found the night when he had kissed her. She didn't find it; she only discovered a mischievous look that was embedded in Harry's eyes. "Ginny, will you come to the masquerade with me?" Harry whispered, smiling at her with intense green eyes.
"Me? Of course so, Harry! But I wouldn't have minded if you had asked anyone else, you know." Ginny said, returning the sly smile, and her eyes twinkling. "But Ginny! That goes against everything to me. In my book, I stay true to my girlfriend." Harry replied, sounding even more ironical than before.
"I knew that Harry, I was just giving you a hard time." Ginny replied shyly as she smiled again, and squeezed Harry's hand lightly. "Of course I knew that. I wouldn't have done that either." She continued, as she giggled and smiled sweetly over at Hermione, who was trying very hard not to stare at them.
* * * * * * * *
Sitting in the comfy seat next to Neville sat Hermione. She had quickly gotten up and went to find him when Ron had insisted that her and 'wonder boy' go to the dance together. Hermione had gotten up, and stormed out in search of Neville, not because of what Ron had said, but because she wanted to be around someone who actually respected her.
Ron had soon after gone to visit Fred and George, and claimed that, "At least they will be doing something interesting, unlike Hermione, who chooses to pick 'wonder boy' over everyone else in this world." He had stormed out, and slammed the door shut behind him. Not because he was mad at Harry and Ginny, but because he wanted to leave the thought of Hermione behind for now.
So now, Harry and Ginny were the only ones left in their car. Hermione was most likely flirting with Neville and his friends, and Ron was probably playing a match of Exploding Snap with Fred and George. Which left Harry and Ginny to decide on what to do now that they were the only ones left.
Ginny had already suggested Exploding Snap, but neither of them had much liked the proposal. "We could talk." "We can practice summoning charms." "We could work on communicating with each other with our minds." "We could go say 'hello' to everyone." "We could, oh never mind." The offers were none too satisfying, and finally both of them just gave up and dropped the whole subject.
"We could what, Harry?" Ginny asked, gazing into his eyes. "What were you going to say?" Harry flushed and stared at her with disbelief. She had caught that, oh no. Harry thought with a sudden lurch in his stomach. He had very much liked the idea, but knew that now would absolutely not be the best time.
"I was going to say… um, that we could… go buy a snack." Harry covered himself up with the last words, which were not even close to what he had been going to say.
Ginny gave him an amused look, and smiled. "I know you better than you think that I do, Harry. I know when you are lying. So, com'on, tell me the truth."
Harry smiled, and laughed at himself for being such an airhead. "I was really going to say that we could, hum, how can I say this, make out." Harry blushed even more furiously; his face was now extremely red with embarrassment.
Ginny gave him an appraised look. "Not such a bad idea after all! But not right now. In here, anyone can just come in and see us kissing, so that would be a definite no. But I really, really like that idea, Harry. Keep it for later." Ginny said teasingly, a glint had appeared in her eye, and she was looking very mischievous.
"Alright then, I will, Ginny. You can count on that for sure." Harry replied. Smiling, his look matched Ginny's one. They both now looked highly deceitful.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Oh Neville!" Padma Patil sighed, gazing dreamily at him. She had come in shortly after Hermione had plopped down beside Neville. The car was now full shoulder to shoulder with seven girls, and three boys. Some of the girls even Hermione didn't know, but the ones that she did know, she had quickly acknowledged with short waves and hello's. There was Padma Patil, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, and Lavender Brown and as for the boys, there was Neville, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Dean Thomas.
Everyone was either exceptionally pretty, or handsome. Hermione was oddly one of the pretty girls. She had never been given that status before and she had the feeling that Hannah and Susan had never either. She had always been the bushy-haired know-it-all, or as everyone had classified her. She had never been included in with the same group as Lavender Brown, but now she was. She reasoned that Neville was fairly new at this also, and that he had definitely felt the same odd feeling that Hermione was experiencing right that moment.
Hermione looked over at Neville, who sat snugly beside her, Justin on the other side of him. She smiled sweetly over at him, and Justin returned it, not knowing that the smile was for Neville. The conversation had been oddly shallow, and she knew that if she began to speak with more interest and intellect, then she would quickly be excluded. She had never had to hide her intelligence from Harry, Ron, or Ginny before, and she preferred to speak with meaningfulness, and talk of something that she was truly into, and something that was a little deeper and had meaning.
"Hermione, are you with us?" Hermione heard Hannah ask. She snapped her head up and said, "Oh, sure. Just tired, that's all." To her, even her own voice sounded weird, and her usage of words was unusual for her. Normally she would have said, "Of course I am. I am just extremely tired, that's all." But at the moment, she didn't care what she said, she was just glad to be sitting by Neville. Deep down, she knew that he was still the same old Neville, and that he was still as forgetful as ever, although she preferred him to look the way that he did right that moment. He had changed for the better in his looks, and Hermione had noticed.
The truth was that both of them had changed dramatically over the summer, mostly in their looks. And they had both changed under the same conditions; they both were unhappy with themselves, and they both had been in different company that had helped them achieve their goal to change.
"So, what have you all done this summer?" Dean asked, changing the subject. He was sitting squashed between Hannah and Padma in the opposite seat as Hermione.
"Nothing." "Nothing, really." "Nothing, I guess." The 'nothings' went on for a minute or so 'till Hermione was in the spotlight. "Well, I did much more than nothing. I spent the summer over at my aunt's house. I watched a lot of quidditch games, with Krum playing for seeker, since I only lived a few houses away from him." Hermione didn't care if they didn't favor of her answer, but they did, and a meaningful conversation broke out about Victor Krum. Finally, Hermione thought, a conversation that I can relate to.
* * * * * * * * * *
Ron sat beside Fred, and George was in front of him in the opposite seat. Beside George sat two girls who were whispering together. Ron recognized them as Katie Bell, and Angelina Johnson. Ron and George were engaged in a match of exploding snap, and Fred was spacing off.
Snap! "Ha ha! I won again! Would you look at that, ladies? Three matches in a row!" George said, turning to the two girls. They giggled, and smiled over at him. George had won yet another match of exploding snap against Ron, and Ron was about to quit, for fear of further humiliation.
"Hey Fred, what's up?" Ron asked, glancing at his brother who now had his head in his hands. "Nothin'. Tired." Ron barely heard Fred mumble the two words. There was something wrong, but Fred didn't know what it was, he could just feel it.
George turned to Katie as Ron glared curiously at Fred, "Katie, you wanna' go to the Genesis Masquerade with me?" She blushed scarlet as everyone but Fred turned to look at her. She nodded, and smiled happily at George. "Great!" George exclaimed, smiling very broadly, "Now, Angelina just needs to go with Fred."
That was when Fred sat up suddenly. "Already going with Alicia Spinnet. I'm really sorry, Angelina!" He seemed to be refueled with the thought of the first dance.
"Oh, it's okay, Fred! Really, it's okay." Angelina said hurriedly, like she didn't want to hurt him. "Thanks." Fred whispered as he lowered his head back to his hands. "Go on, do whatever. I'm fine, and nothing's wrong." Fred said loudly.
George nodded, and turned back to Ron. "Care for another match?"
* * * * * * * * * *
"Harry, do you know how to dance?" Ginny asked. She was now sitting opposite of Harry in the other seat that had once been occupied by Ron and Hermione.
Harry grimaced at the thought of dancing. The Dursleys had attended a formal family reunion, and had to take Harry. The reunion had dancing, and Harry had humiliated himself in front of what was left of his family, which was very little. And that bit of family left was all on the Dursleys' side, and hated him already. Shortly after the reunion, Aunt Petunia signed Harry up for formal dancing lessons. Every Tuesday, Harry would be pushed into a dusty, old dancing academy with thousands of girls. Harry thought that he had seen Lavender Brown there, but then figured that it was highly unlikely that she would attend a Muggle dance academy. There, Harry learned how to dance formally. He was polished and pressed 'till there were no flaws left in him when he danced.
Many of those girls were very beautiful, and had become Harry's dancing partners. And almost always they had asked about Harry's particular scar on his forehead. "Car crash" was his answer, for it was the only thing that he could come up with, and plus the fact that he had believed that his parents had died in a car crash for quite some time because of the Dursleys'. If it hadn't been for Hagrid, Harry never would have known the truth, and he would never be on his way to Hogwarts that very second.
Harry flashed the thought of dancing with a bunch of unknown girls, and then thought about dancing with Ginny. He would dance with Ginny any day, for he had grown to love to dance, especially the waltz, even though he couldn't remember that that was what the waltz was called. He would never ever in a million life times admit that he loved to dance, even to Ginny, and especially not to Ron.
He looked over at Ginny, and smiled. "Yes, I do know how to dance." Harry settled on not bothering to tell her the whole story about the dance academy, unless she asked. "Why?" Harry smiled weakly, and watched her eyes flicker.
"Well, it's just that, it's just- Harry, I don't know how to dance. Neville and I barely managed at the Yule Ball, and I think that I was the one that caused us to trip over each other." Ginny stopped abruptly, realizing that she might have said too much. She looked away from Harry, and gazed out the window.
The trees were so dense now; you could barely tell that it was daylight. The ground was splattered with small puddles of light that seeped in through the treetops. If you looked closer, there were many paths and intersections that looked as if they had been deserted for quite some time now. There was an occasional owl, centaur, and raccoon, but other than that, there was nothing too new about the same wooded area that the Hogwarts express passed through every time it came to and from Hogwarts.
"Go on, Ginny, I'm not gonna' laugh. I couldn't dance very well last year either." Harry whispered soothingly, trying to sound reassuring. Ginny nodded, and shut her eyes as she faced Harry again.
"Will you teach me to dance, Harry?" She said as she opened her eyes cautiously. Harry's stomach jumped; he was thrilled. Now he could really dance with Ginny every day 'till she learned to dance.
Harry smiled so broadly that his cheeks hurt. He nodded furiously, and yelled, "Yes, of course I will!" Then he said in a calmer voice, "I'd love to, I'd really, really love to. When do you want to start?"
Ginny looked exhilarated, and she reached over and threw her arms around Harry in a weak attempt to hug him. Her arms barely made it, and she quickly withdrew, for she knew that she couldn't fully reach Harry. "Thank you so so much, Harry! Oh, um, what about tonight?"
"Tonight? Great! Maybe we could eat really fast, and make up an excuse for going to the common room so early. If we eat really quickly, we can get down there with forty-five minutes to begin. Sound good to you, Ginny?" Harry rushed, sounding a little too juvenile, even for himself. "Now I actually have something to look forward to tonight!" Harry smiled devilishly, and chuckled merrily, eyeing Ginny with deep green eyes.
Ginny nodded, and smiled in return. That was when the door swished open, and Hermione strutted in, her face pressed into the broadest smile ever imaginable. Ginny knew exactly what had happened, and she nodded to Hermione, giving her a smile that said good for you, Hermione, good for you.
"So, Neville asked you to the dance, did he?" Harry asked, reading Ginny's thoughts.
Hermione blushed deeply, and nodded, grinning at Ginny. "How'd you guess?" "Well, you always get that smile when something- or someone- makes your day." Harry responded, looking at Ginny with twinkling eyes.
Hermione glanced from Harry's knowing expression, to Ginny's joyful smile, and chuckled to herself. She knew that they were hiding something, but she pushed the thought aside, and decided not to get involved with what it was that they were up to. Although she knew that she would end up getting into it sooner or later, she didn't care. Whatever it was, it had nothing to do with Neville, and that was what kept her from asking what the situation was.
Hermione plunked down next to Ginny, pulling the door shut behind her as she did. Now, all was silent; no words were spoken and no movement was made. The awkward period of serenity was felt by all three of them. The felling tugged at their body, and made everything seem in an altered state; no one knew why the silence had descended on them, or why neither of them bothered to break the period of it. They all just simply sat and let the quiet wash over them; an odd feeling of peace fell on each of them, and no one seemed to care.
The silence was broken when Ron came fuming into the small room. Harry gave a small inaudible sigh of relief, and gave Ron a nod. "He bloody beat me six matches in a row! That dirty- what?" Ron exclaimed irritably, reaching behind him to shut the door that he had swung too far back and glaring at Hermione who was staring at him with a new and different expression.
Ginny smiled and giggled to herself as she examined the look on Hermione's face. That look said it all. It said how dare you come barging in here and yelling at us with frustration? But it also screamed Ron! What has gotten into you lately? And why-why are looking at me like that? And it whispered in the slightest whisper wow, Ron, you're kinda' cute when you get mad. Ginny was the only one that could read Hermione's expression; or so she thought. Since they were both girls and their minds pretty much thought the same thing twenty-four seven, it was only logical that Ginny could figure what Hermione was thinking.
Both of the girls were fiercely pulled back to reality by Ron's bellow of, "What the heck is bloody wrong with the two of you? Ginny? Hermione?" They both snapped back to actuality, and looked over at Ron, who was now currently sitting beside Harry.
"Nothing Ron, nothing." Ginny said, brushing the subject away, and giving him a gleeful smile. Ron looked from Ginny to Hermione speculatively, and raised his eyebrows at them, knowing that nothing was, in fact, something.
As he had come to notice, girls tend to say other than what they are actually thinking. And they hardly ever tell exactly what they want, either. Harry and him had conversed on the subject many times during the summer, and they had concluded to never take what a girl says too seriously, but to use what they say as hints to what they are really saying, thinking, or wanting. But they had also concluded that when a girl is very specific, and looks you in the eyes with the most sincere look, that they are telling you exactly what is on their mind.
"Sure, sure." Ron sarcastically said, a smile tugging at his lips. Harry nudged Ron in the ribs, and smiled mischievously. "Alright, alright. I believe you, really." Ron concluded, after a sharp glance at Harry, who chuckled to himself.
It seemed as if Hermione and Ron had totally forgotten their dispute, and had dropped the fact that they were fuming just a mere thirty minutes ago. Harry was relieved that they were over it, and he could tell that Ginny felt likewise.
Now, the foursome was engaged in a conversation about odd sorts of things. At one point, they were talking about Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and a slight incident in which Hermione ate a dung flavored one. From there, they moved onto the subject of his or her collection of cards from the chocolate frogs. And then onto the subject matter of who was to be the new professor for the Defense Against the Dark Arts, and they all hoped and prayed that it wasn't Snape that got the job. Everyone knew that Professor Snape, the Potions professor, had been after the Defense Against the Dark Arts job for quite some time.
As Harry had found out in his fourth year at Hogwarts, Snape used to be one of Voldemort's Death Eaters. But, Professor Dumbledore had trusted Snape, and had hired him into the Hogwarts school system. Harry knew a lot more than Ron, Hermione, and Ginny did about Dark Magic and the Death Eaters. If Cedric hadn't died, he wouldn't be the only one who did know. Although Harry shared a lot of information with Hermione and Ron, he still kept some things to himself, and that night in his fourth year, in the graveyard, where he saw the Dark Lord rise right before his unwilling eyes was one of them. Some events of that night Harry hadn't told them yet, and some times he would be on the verge of blurting it out, but he restrained.
"So," Harry began, silencing the others, " you guys remember what kind of wand you received by Mr. Ollivander?" Hermione glanced from Harry, to Ron, to Ginny, and shrugged. Ron snorted, and shook his head, but Ginny had said that she remembered.
"Well, well! You are the lucky one, aren't you? You got a brand new wand after you flushed yours down the toilet this summer. Lucky you." Ron said irritably.
Ginny shot him a nasty look and retorted back, "Well you got your new one when you broke yours, remember?"
Hermione held up both hands, and stopped the fight before it got worse, and, luckily, it didn't. "Thank you, goodness."
Harry smiled, and looked quizzically at Ginny. "Well, what is it, Ginny?"
She looked up and smiled wearily at him, yawning. "It was beechwood and phoenix feather, eleven inches, springy. You, Harry?"
Harry's eyes widened, though he smiled still. " Mine was holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, supple." Out of the corner of his eye he watched Hermione and Ron's eyes widen. Here it comes, he thought.
"You know how weird that is, you two? Both phoenix feathers, and eleven inches. And I just happen to know that beechwood and holly are extremely similar. Although being supple and limber is different than being springy and bouncy; but I guess that they are both elastic traits, correct?" Hermione said, gaping at them and folding her arms.
Harry held up a hand, and smiled. "Yes, yes, but the phoenix feathers came from two different phoenixes."
Ron smiled, "And how would you know that, Harry?"
"Easy. Mr. Ollivander said that the phoenix that gave a feather for my wand also gave one other, and only one other." Harry replied, nodding, and watching Ron snort.
"And who other than Ginny might be possessing that other wand, Harry?'' Hermione queried, raising her eyebrows, and looking as stern as an old mule.
"Are you sure you want to know?" Harry asked, sure of the stubborn answers he was about to receive. The small room was filled with many words at once. But they all seemed to carry the same message. Yes, of course, Harry, we would like to know. "The other person-well, the other wizard- that has that wand-or did have that other wand- is- is Lord…He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
The room was once again washed over with silence, and Harry hated it. He knew that he shouldn't have brought up the subject. But, since he already was on the subject, he added to it.
"And that phoenix was Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix." Harry said quietly.
Hermione's gaze was fixed on Harry, and he was sure that she was debating on whether to faint, or to scream that he wasn't telling the truth. Ginny and Ron were staring at Harry with wide eyes and clenched jaws.
"Look, I'm no different than I was two minutes ago, so don't look at me like I'm a serial killer slash criminal mastermind because I am not! You don't need to rub it in 'cause I still can't believe it, and it still makes me uneasy to think of Him walking around, planning to kill me once and for all. And now that he has risen again, and has a body, more power, and not to mention, some of my blood, he will have no trouble at all finding and destroying me this year. Got it? Just drop the subject because I absolutely do not want to talk about it!" Harry yelled. He sighed, and slammed his head into his hands. He gripped his hair, and clenched his teeth, trying to hold back the urge to pound something to the ground, and curse everything in sight.
As Harry fumed, and came close to pulling out every bit of his hair, there was quite a lot of undetected movement. The next moment Harry felt the reassuring warmth of Ginny's small and delicate hand upon his arm. Harry sat up and glanced around him.
Hermione was looking out the window, a sliver of guilt pressed into her face. Ron was sitting beside her, instead of sitting beside Harry, and he was staring at the ground, his face also showed a hint of guilt and sorrow. Harry looked to his right, and saw Ginny smiling up at him, her hand resting on his arm.
Harry reached up and took her hand from his arm, and held it firmly. He smiled and whispered to her, "I'm sorry. Can't wait for tonight!" Then he turned to face Hermione and Ron, and addressed them also. "Guys, I'm sorry that I snapped at you, although you really shouldn't have looked at me like you did. Sorry."
Hermione looked over at Harry and smiled, "S'ok, Harry. We understand, really. After four years with you, we get to understand a lot. Really, it's perfectly okay." Harry smiled over at her, and nodded. "Thanks." Harry said, grinning even more broadly.
"Yea, Harry. You're one screwed up kid, all right. Man! You really have no idea what me and Hermione have to put up with. But now, Ginny is gonna' have to put up with it too!" Ron snorted, and chuckled to himself. Harry rolled his eyes, and laughed merrily. "Sure, whatever you say, Ron."
* * * * * *
Soon after the silence had been demolished, the foursome went to change into their Hogwarts robes. Hermione transformed back into her old self, and everyone felt and looked ready for school to start back up again. Once they all sat back down again, everyone began talking once more. Someone had then appeared in the doorway. Someone that neither of them had seen before, and that caught Ron's attention right off the bat.
Ginny and Harry were still deep in conversation, and Hermione was nodding off to sleep, still stroking Crookshanks in her lap. But Ron was now smiling at someone in the doorway. This someone was a girl with mid-back brown hair, which lofted down her back in brown curls. Her brown eyes shined with happiness at the sight of someone that had actually noticed her.
She had been on the train for over two to three hours and no one had noticed that she even existed. All of the girls had already formed their friendships, and she hadn't been able to fit into any groups so far. Therefore, she was delighted to find someone to talk with, and maybe even a group of friends to fit into.
"Parlez-vous français?" the strange girl asked. Ron raised his eyebrows at her, and clenched his teeth.
"Oh no. You only speak that language? What are you speaking?" Ron quizzed, biting his lower lip.
"Oh! 'Ou only speak English! I can speak French also! That is what I was speaking. I am Autumn Jemink, and 'ou are…?" she said, smiling at him.
"Good, you speak English. I am Ron Weasley. Come on in and sit down! Everyone else in here is busy with other things. That is Hermione Granger, there with the cat, and that is my sis', Ginny, and that is my best friend, Harry Potter." Ron answered, sighing, and pointing to everyone as he introduced him or her.
Autumn came in and sat down in front of Ron, beside Ginny. No one noticed her, and kept on what they were already doing. Autumn didn't seem to mind, and she kept on talking to Ron with a bold smile on her pretty face.
"You-ah-sound like you come from over by Durmstrang." Ron said casually. It wasn't a question, but a simple statement that should be treated like a question.
Ron had gotten used to the little accent from the Durmstrang students since he had spoken with Victor Krum in his fourth year at Hogwarts. Krum, the well-known seeker for the Bulgaria quidditch team, had been one of the four champions in the Triwizard Tournament in Ron's fourth year. Harry was one of the champions; Fluer Delacour, from Beauxbatons, and Cedric Diggory, from Hogwarts, had been the other two, along with Krum, from Durmstrang.
"No, not 'Urmstrang, but Beauxbatons." Autumn declared, still smiling.
"Oh! You must know Fluer Delacour! She was the champion last year for your school! Correct?" Ron asked inquiringly.
Autumn nodded, her eyes bright. "Yes, yes! I 'o know her! Part Veela, I believe. Yes, that's it."
"Then that would explain your ability to speak French. But it would not explain why you are here, on your way to Hogwarts." Ron said, glancing over at Hermione, who was now asleep.
"Ah, yes. While attending Beauxbatons, my 'arents died. I was transferred to 'Ogwarts. My aunt Sumernickle lives nearby. She 'ill be the new Dark Arts professor, I believe." Autumn said as she tossed her lofty hair over her shoulder. Her eyes flitted over to Harry and Ginny. "They are dating, yes? Did 'ou say-did 'ou say 'Arry Potter?"
"Yea, I did. My best friend. Hey, Harry, Ginny- would you be polite enough to even say hi?" Ron said, crossing his arms, and sighing.
Ginny turned around, and half-jumped in her seat. "My goodness! I am so so sorry! I am Ginny Weasley. Pleased to meet you!" Ginny apologized, extending her hand. Autumn took it, and gave it a light, careless shake.
"Oh, it is fine. I am Autumn Jemink, from Beauxbatons. My 'arents died last year, and I came to live with my aunt, who lives near. So, 'ow I go to 'Ogwarts." She smiled, and switched her gaze to Harry, over Ginny's shoulder.
"Yea, yea. I am Harry. But, you already knew that, didn't you? Nice to meet you, Autumn." Harry nodded to her, and smiled, giving Ginny's hand a slight squeeze. "I'd love to chat with you, but me and Ginny are kinda' in an important conversation. Talk with you later, okay?"
Ginny nodded her approval. "Yes, later will be perfect for us, alright Autumn?"
Autumn nodded, and smiled as she turned back to Ron to extend their conversation. "'Ow, tell me. Which 'ouse are 'ou in, Ron?"
