DISCLAIMER: no, I still don't own Harry Potter and I never will.ok?..ok. A/N: Sorry its taken me so long to update! Hopefully after this the next chapter won't take long, this one was just hard for me because there was so much explaining to do! Please Review! Please Please! ****************************************************************** Chapter 3:

"Bloody Hell!" Harry thought to himself. How could the Masons be here with all of these wizards, they're muggles!? Oh Merlin, now Ron who's not supposed to be here either is standing right over there by the Creevy brothers. Only the last part of what he was thinking was heard by Hermione standing nearby: "Herm, is that Ron Weasley over there, and have you ever seen that pair of wizards over there?" a nervous and confused Harry asked his bushy-haired friend. "Of course that's Ron, Harry and I've never seen the other couple in person but I know that I read about them somewhere, there must have been a picture because I'm sure they look familiar." Hermione seemed a bit annoyed with herself for not immediately knowing where she had seen the two before. Inside the girl's head she was mentally bashing herself for not, in her opinion, being able to figure out the connection, which these two things had in common. Finally, Hermione remembered where it was which she had read and seen a picture of the Masons. It was in "Ghouls, a History." Yes, she thought these two were noted in more recent history because they had defeated a colony of ghouls on their own, with only the aid of their wands. Both Hermione and Harry knew that defeating a large and fierce group of ghouls was no small task and if these two were able to complete this than they surely should have the honor of being mentioned in "Ghouls, a History." Hermione informed Harry of this and instead of helping the boy who lived to look less shocked it instead sent him into a new wave of confusion and panic. To add to Harry's already full and concerned mind, the Mason's seemed to have spotted him and made their way through the large crowd, wading through the groups of eager Hogwarts students, some weeping parents of first years, and the siblings of the students either too old or too young to attend the great wizarding school. Some of the younger ones were toting wizard toys such as miniature broomsticks only capable of bringing you a mere three feet above the ground, figures and dolls from the popular wizarding play, Professor Lockhart's Wizard Show For Kids and spinning tops singing songs from the Wizarding Wireless Network. Harry was relieved of his tension for a few moments when he saw the Lockhart figures remembering the experience which he and his classmates had experienced with him during a previous year and the disappointment Harry had felt when he had received and owl from Dumbledore during the early summer containing information about how the doctors at St. Mungo's Hospital had successfully performed an operation to fix Lockhart's brain however he had no memory of ever working at Hogwarts. The Cornish Pixies indecent was all too vivid in Harry's mind to be relieved that his former professor had regained necessary brain functions. The Masons were closing in on Harry and Hermione depleting the boy of all thoughts other than sheer panic. He muttered incoherently until the two reached them smiling at the students with friendliness Harry had failed to notice during his first meeting with the Masons and he stopped doing anything at all, maybe even breathing until, the man laughed and put a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder. Mr. Mason then explained about him and his wife actually being wizards, their work with the stars and ghouls and a surprising announcement at the end of the speech which even Hermione was thrilled with. "You see," Mrs. Mason finished, "The reason we ran so quickly out of your aunt and uncle's house that summer was because we were afraid that your uncle would find out about our true identities as wizards. We actually were working at that bloody company Grunnings of Vernon's, however at the time we didn't realize that it was the relatives which you had been living with. My husband and I were afraid that we had received an owl from one of our friends and that the ministry would see us receiving it in the company of muggles. It seems a bit confusing as I explain it now but this is only because we worked for the Deprartment of Mysteries and we can't quite tell you everything. You, even made up some random excuse about me being afraid of birds, didn't you honey?" she said referring to her husband standing next to her adjusting the silver clasp on the front of his dark cyan robes.

"Yep, that excuse was bogus, considering we have 5 owls of our own but we just needed to get out of there. As May (Mrs. Mason's first name) said, we can't quite tell you two guys everything. We, uh, at the time also worked for the department of Mysteries" said Mr. Mason. "Oh," the woman exclaimed, "We haven't shared the best part yet, Dumbledore has hired Bob here (referring to his first name) as the new Astronomy teacher, as Professor Sinistra has taken a leave to work for the Ministry of Magic, a goal which he has had since childhood at Hogwarts, and I have also been hired by Dumbledore to be Filch's partner in taking care of the castle. He offered me a position at the school too, but I have a very bad case of chronic stress and opted instead to take the more laid back position which he offered. Merlin knows, Filch could take a few days off now and then, and Dumbledore has also agreed to let me to fill in for any of the other professors, when they have taken ill. Basically, I'm there to help out wherever I'm needed!" "This is great." Harry said, "I was so concerned that. err.. wait.. I don't even know what I was so concerned about, I think it was just a major shock to see you two guys here, I mean I always associated you with the Dursley's and excuse me but they are not quite my favorite people." he finished, casting a nervous glance up to the new professor and caretaker. "Oh, don't worry about it, Harry, they are not exactly on the top of our list of people to go and have a drink in Hogmoseade!" said Bob Mason. Hermione who had been unusually silent throughout the explanation and conversation which had followed, now said, "Wow, its great to know this Professor, I'm taking Advanced Astronomy this year, and am ever so pleased to know that you will be my professor, oh , and Harry I think we better go meet up with Ron before he begins to suspect that we have abandoned him, however odd it is that he's here when he is supposed to be attending his err, ailing Grandmother Adonis!" She trailed off , and then nearly dragged Harry away to the clad of redheads standing nearby. " 'Arry, 'Mione, is that you two, why of course it is!" he said through a mouthful of a tall salomi and ham grinder. " Ok, Ron, why are you here, did your mum, err.. find out.. err. about what your grandmother's true err condition was?" said Ron casting nervous glances to Molly Weasley, who was standing nearby lecturing her youngest child, and only daughter Ginny about not going into the Forbidden Forrest. (The three fifth years could only hear an exasperated answer from Ginny informing her mother that, she would never go there and why must she pester her so much.) "Oh, yah, Mum and Dad found out, weren't too pleased though, it was very funny though seeing the look on Mum and Dad's face though, they actually came in to visit her when she wasn't quite expecting it and, they err, saw her with her crack." He attempted to stifle a laugh as Mrs. Weasley walked over to the group and enveloped Harry and Hermione in a bone breaking hug. "You lot better get a move on the trains leaving in less than a minute!" Mrs. Weasley said, a note of panic evident in her voice. With that, the group of Hogwarts students scrambled off to the scarlet train engine and Harry, Hermione and Ron, were lucky enough, to find an empty compartment near the back of the train, already bringing out packs of exploding snap and ripping into the few chocolate frogs which Ron still had in the bottom of his trunk. Laughter and talking began rapidly as the train began to move towards Hogwarts, an elaborate display of greenery and forests speeding past in a blurred design across the glowing window of the train.

A/N: I hope this made sense! please review. I know I promised gillyweed in this chapter but explaining everything on the platform took longer than I expected! Sorry! It will be in the next chapter though! *jen*