Another Shade of Red: Meeting at the Express

Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling and I don't' own any of her characters, even though I wish I had her amazing mind. The ideas put into this story are my own though, so please don't copy!

A/N: Okay, this is the second part to the story. I don't know how long this story will end up being, though. Maybe ten chapters? Well, please r & r the new chapter I added. Merci!

The new school year drew closer and closer, and there were only three days left until school began. Harry had come to visit a few days before, but since Ginny didn't want anyone to see her until school started she stayed up in her room unless she had a good reason for wearing a hat. She was happy when the day came to leave for the Hogwarts Express on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. The Weasleys and Harry met Hermione Granger at the train station.

"Hermione!" Ginny ran up to her friend to tell her the news. "I have to tell you something."

"Hello Ginny!" Hermione smiled. "What is it?" Her attention was soon distracted as soon as she spotter Harry and Ron. "Oh my goodness Harry! How is everything? Were the Dursleys horrible to you? Ron, I hope your family's been taking good care of him, and-"

"Apparently you had a nice holiday, Hermione?" Harry asked his friend.

"Excellent, except for the fact that I've been worried sick about the three of you all summer," she sighed. "How was Lupin's, Harry? I haven't talked to you since then. How long were you there?"

"Two weeks," Harry replied. "Sirius was there, too, of course, he's been there for a good deal of the summer to keep Lupin company. We had a great time- he has a nice little cabin out in the countryside. He can't live in town because of his y'know animal 'problem.'"

Remus Lupin, a former Hogwarts professor, was a werewolf, but all the same he was friendly, harmless, and loyal 96% of the time.

"He had to transform last week, but Sirius kept him company. Lupin has a basement that was made into an extra bedroom so I wouldn't be around the night of the full moon. To tell you the truth, it was sort of creepy down in that basement when I could hear a wolf howling every once in a while upstairs. If that's him in a calm wolf form, I don't want to imagine what he was like before my dad and Sirius helped him." Ron and Hermione shuddered and nodded. "But you'll never believe who showed up the next day."

"Who?" Ron asked eagerly. "Who, who, who!?!"

"It was-" Harry lowered his voice. "-Snape. He must have come by to give Lupin the potion, and was late, but I had just come up from the basement when he was about to leave. And I can't imagine why he'd be late, either."

"Could it have anything to do with the task Dumbledore sent him on?" Hermione asked, lowering her voice even more so that only they could hear. "It sounds very peculiar to me."

"What task?" Ginny asked surprisedly. "What are you talking about?" Hermione, Harry, and Ron gave each other nervous glances.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough, Gin," Ron spoke in his older-brother tone which Ginny hated. Then he turned to his two friends, ignoring his sister. "It sounds strange to me, too. I think his mission must have something to do with the Death Eaters. It makes the most sense." Hermione nodded vigorously and Harry tried to change the subject, because Ginny was looking quite annoyed. It wasn't unusual that the three fifth years left her out of their discussions. Sure, her parents told her Sirius Black was actually innocent, but what task were they talking about? It sounded to her like a lot of nonsense.

The four friends and the Weasleys waited five minutes for the train, then ten, then thirty, and it still hadn't arrived.

"What in the world could be the problem?" Mrs. Weasley declared. "The Hogwarts Express has never been late before. Ginny nodded in agreement. In all of the years she had left on the train or gone with her mother to see her brothers off to school the train had never been even a minute tardy.

"What is going on?" Neville Longbottom asked them as he and his grandmother walked over.

"Hullo, Neville," Harry said, trying to sound cheerful. "We have no idea, actually. I was thinking maybe you would, but apparently not."

"No, I don't, sorry," Neville said sadly. "But hey, guess what!"

"What, said Ron blandly. Ginny knew that Ron didn't exactly consider Neville a "friend" of his.

"Grandmother bought me an owl!" he exclaimed. "It's a tawny, they're beautiful birds. Now grandmother doesn't have to borrow and owl every time I write to her! It's going to make things a lot easier. And Hermes won't get lost like Trevor always did. He'll fly right back."

"Wow, Neville," Hermione smiled, "that's wonderful!" She nudged Ron in the arm.

"Ow!" he yelped. "Sure, yeah, congratulations."

"I know!" he smiled. "Well, see you soon!"

"Bye Neville," Harry waved as the short, mouse-like boy walked away with his grandmother.

"Ron!" Hermione said angrily, "how could you be so rude as to treat Neville so inconsiderately?"

"He's just Neville," Ron replied, "I mean, we always give him a hard time."

"Just Neville?" Hermione said, getting madder. "He was being polite and friendly, and you should have done the same to him."

"You mean, talk everyone's heads off about some owl named Hermes?"

"Just shut up, Ron," Hermione snapped and Ron yelled back at her. Harry rolled his eyes and Ginny laughed.

"I knew the peace wouldn't last long," she sighed.

"When does it ever?" Harry replied.

"You have NO idea what you're talking about, Ronald Weasley!"

"Me? You're the one who"

But their arguing ended with a halt, because at that moment, something very unexpected occurred.

A/C: Sorry I didn't write more to this chapter, but it's coming soon, I promise! I just didn't have time to write it all down. I was going to make chapter 2 and 3 one chapter, but that will have to wait. Please post reviews so I know what you think! J