Murder On The Hogwarts Express

"Love quickens all the senses – except common sense"

With one last look at the Dursleys, Harry stepped through the barrier to Platform 9¾ to go to Hogwarts for his 5th year. Hermione and Ron were already on them platform, along with Fred, George and Ginny Weasley. Mrs Weasley was also there fussing over her children. Eventually she left them, and they all got on the train.

They found an empty compartment and shoved their luggage under the chairs before sitting down and beginning to chat about their summer holidays.

Just as the train began to move, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle came wandering into the compartment. A black cat was walking at their feet, and was constantly weaving in and out of their legs.

'Can't you keep this new cat of yours under control, Crabbe?' Malfoy asked irritably. Crabbe laughed stupidly and picked up the cat. 'Oh, hello.' Draco said to Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys, pretending that he had only just noticed them.

'Hi.' They all mumbled.

'And how did you spend your summer holidays?' Draco continued. 'Actually, let me guess. You Weasleys were probably wandering the streets of London, looking for any loose money that had been dropped so you could buy your things for this year. Granger, you must have been reading everything under the sun so you can be sickeningly clever again this year, and Potter, you were probably trying to do a great new heroic act so you can be even more famous…. AH!'

Draco had been hit by six different spells at once. Loads of large, angry boils had broken out on his face, and his skin was turning a strange shade of green.

'Oh, you're dead! All of you, you're dead!' Draco shouted before running from the compartment, Crabbe and Goyle following him.

***

'AAAHHHH!' A scream echoed through the whole of the Hogwarts Express. Harry, Ron, Fred and George came running from the boys' toilets to where Ginny was standing, frozen, in the doorway of their compartment.

Ginny had come back from the food trolley to find Hermione lying on the floor with a pool of blood around her head and a deep, bleeding wound in her chest.

'Oh my God, get a prefect!' Fred said.

'No, get the head boy and girl!' Harry said. Ron ran off up the train to the prefects and head students' carriage. The others went into the compartment and knelt at Hermione's side.

'She's… she's dead!' Ginny cried.

George checked for Hermione's pulse, but couldn't find one. 'Ginny's right!' He said, shock and sadness in his voice.

Ron came running back into the carriage; followed by the new Hogwarts head boy and girl. They introduced themselves as Lisa and Ralph, before Ralph asked, 'Is she… dead?' George nodded.

'We're nearly at Hogwarts.' Lisa said. 'Has anyone in here got an owl?' Harry nodded, and released Hedwig from her cage. Fred pulled a roll of parchment from his trunk and handed it to Lisa, who took a quill and ink from her pocket, and scribbled a note to Dumbledore explaining the situation. She gave the note to Harry, who gave it to Hedwig and opened the window so she could fly off.

By now, several of the younger, more inquisitive students had appeared in the doorway. Ralph quickly ushered them away and closed the door. Fred and George were trying to comfort Ginny, who was crying hysterically. Tears were also running down Harry and Ron's faces. 'This is Malfoy's doing.' Ron said. 'He said we were dead.'

'But Hermione would have been prepared for that – whoever did this must have taken her by surprise, otherwise she would have got out of the compartment.' Harry reasoned.

'Any way, Draco's all talk. I bet he wouldn't have the bottle to actually do anything to us. Well, nothing more than put some spell or curse on us. He wouldn't actually try and kill anyone, would he?' George said.

'I don't know.' Harry said, just as there was a loud pop in the compartment and Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George found themselves face to face with Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape.

All three of the teachers looked rather pale and frightened. 'What happened?' Dumbledore asked. Harry explained how they had all left the compartment, and had left Hermione on her own. They returned to find her dead.

'If you don't mind me asking,' Ron said. 'How did you manage to apparate? I didn't think you could from the Hogwarts grounds… that's what Hermione told us.'

'You can't. We went out the gates first.' McGonagall said, sounding as if this was of no importance whatsoever, which it wasn't.

'The parents will have to be informed.' Dumbledore said. 'In all my time at Hogwarts, this is the worst thing that has happened. Miss Granger was a very kind, bright student.' McGonagall nodded in agreement, but Snape remained still and silent.