This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend MICHELLE MOLLOY
This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend MICHELLE MOLLOY
This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend MICHELLE MOLLOY
This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend MICHELLE MOLLOY
This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend MICHELLE MOLLOY
This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend MICHELLE MOLLOY
This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend MICHELLE MOLLOY
This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend MICHELLE MOLLOY
This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend MICHELLE MOLLOY
This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend MICHELLE MOLLOY
This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend MICHELLE MOLLOY
This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend MICHELLE MOLLOY
This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend MICHELLE MOLLOY
This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend MICHELLE MOLLOY
This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend MICHELLE MOLLOY
This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend MICHELLE MOLLOY
HAPPY NOW?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?
Disclaimer- it's all J.K's.
Read all about it!
"Thanks again Joanne." Ron said, as he, Harry, Hermione and Daphne turned their trolleys to face the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Joanne smiled. "It was my pleasure. It was lovely having you all to stay." She said, bending down to make sure Annor's cage was secure on Daphne's trunk. She straightened up and pulled her niece into a hug. "Have a nice term Daphne." Daphne grinned. "I will." She said. Joanne gave Hermione a big hug and kissed her on the cheek. "Try not to work too hard Hermione." She said with a wink at Harry and Ron, who hid their laughter from their friend. Hermione not working hard would be like Dumbledore wearing a boring hat- ridiculous.
Harry and Ron went through the barrier together, and were quickly followed by Hermione and Daphne. The platform looked much like it did at the beginning of the year, except that everyone was wearing coats and their breath rose as steam in front of their faces. Daphne immediately began to scan the crowds for Lori, but she was nowhere to be seen. After a couple of minutes, Hermione dragged her towards the train. "Daphne!" Daphne turned around to see Jake and Lara hurrying towards her from the other end of the train. "Hi!" Lara said as they came closer. "Did you have a nice Christmas?" Daphne nodded and smiled. "Yep, it was great. How was yours?" Jake grinned. "Lara and her family came to my house on Christmas day because her mum wanted to know if it was true that my mum is a witch. So she turned my dad into a beaver to prove it. It was hilarious!" He said, starting to laugh at the memory. "We've got a compartment down the end of the train. Are you coming?" Lara asked Daphne. Daphne nodded and looked over at Hermione. "Is that alright?" She asked her. Hermione grinned. "I'm not your keeper Daph. I'll see you when we get to school." She said, climbing onto the train. Daphne wandered away with Lara and Jake, asking them if they had seen Lori. They hadn't, apparently, so she was left to trying to spot her friend in the crowds. Hermione had just sat down opposite Harry and Ron when they heard a scream from outside, followed by shouts and lots of footsteps. The three of them stood up at once and poked their heads out through the window, squashed together, and tried to see what was going on. It wasn't hard to spot. Down near the front of the train, by the prefects' carriages, a fire had started. And it was massive. It roared about three times higher than the train, and even from their vantage point halfway down the train they could feel the heat from it. However, as bad as the fire was, they weren't too worried. There were ways to put out fires. In fact, a couple of seconds later, the fire started to shrink and the next moment it had disappeared completely. The few people on the platform all stopped worrying and a few of them started to laugh. Harry tried to pull his head back, but found it was stuck under Ron's chin, while Hermione's was squashed in between the window frame and Ron's head, and Ron was sandwiched between the window frame, Hermione's head AND Harry's head. The train began to slowly pull away from the station with their heads still poked out of the window. After a moment's struggle, Ron managed to free his head, not before hitting it rather hard on the top of the window however. Rubbing his head and scowling, he sat back down as Harry and Hermione did the same. Ron cast a dark look at the offending window as the train started to pick up speed. "We should have opened the door." He said in annoyance. Harry and Hermione laughed and sat back. "What do you think started the fire?" Harry asked, closing the window. Ron shrugged. "A spell gone wrong most probably." Hermione answered as Ron stood up. "Finally! Talk about late!" He said, throwing open the window. A ruffled looking owl, buffeted by a combination of strong winds and the train's slipstream, managed to fly in through the window. It was carrying a newspaper in its beak, which it handed to Hermione. She smiled and placed three bronze Knuts into the leather pouch tied to its leg. The owl gave a hoot and soared off through the window again, which Ron closed behind it. "Oh my God!" Hermione cried. She was staring at the front page of the paper, her eyes wide with shock. "Fudge has resigned!" She exclaimed, looking up at Harry and Ron, who were leaning forward across the table. "What?" Harry gasped, trying to see the paper. Hermione nodded as she scanned the article. "I don't believe it- it says that after the attack on his house, he feels it is in his family's best interests if he steps down, no longer safe.unable to handle the situation effectively- not half!." Hermione mumbled as she quickly read the story. She cleared her throat. "Listen to this- 'Mr Fudge has also expressed his heartfelt apologies to the Wizarding world for not accepting You-Know-Who's return sooner. "I made a mistake" was the only other comment he would make on the subject.'" Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes you did." She muttered. "It also says that elections for the new Minister will take place next week, and meanwhile Milandra Findlay-Atkinson is filling in. Well." Hermione put down the newspaper and stared at her friends. "About time." Harry muttered, sitting back in his seat. "Maybe now we'll get someone who isn't a complete idiot." He added darkly. Ron and Hermione nodded in agreement. Hermione looked down at the paper again. "It doesn't really say much about the elections, I've never read anything about-" Hermione stopped speaking and she gasped loudly, staring down at the front page. "What?!" Harry and Ron asked urgently as Hermione pressed a hand over her mouth. She looked up at them, her eyes wide. "Hogwarts was attacked!" She said in disbelief. Ron blanched and Harry snatched up the paper. At the bottom of the page was a small article, headed 'Attack on Hogwarts!' He read it out quickly: "'It has emerged this morning that on Christmas Day two Deatheaters entered Hogwarts castle and attacked some of the students. Information is sketchy at best, but it is reported that they were not caught, nor is it clear how they got into the castle. Headmaster Albus Dumbledore refuses to comment on the subject, as do the entire faculty. It is not clear what part of the castle was attacked, who was attacked, and whether they were seriously injured.'" Harry looked up at Ron and Hermione, who were both looking very pale. "Blimey." He said weakly, looking down at the paper again. "Does it say.?" Hermione began, but Harry cut her off. "It doesn't say anything else." He said, showing her the paper. Hermione looked at it quickly, but her eyes fell past it to Ron, and she frowned. "Are you OK?" She asked him worriedly. Harry looked over at Ron. He looked awful- like he was about to throw up. He swallowed hard when Hermione spoke to him. "It was Ginny." He said quietly. Harry frowned as well. "What was Ginny?" He asked Ron. Ron swallowed again. "Ginny was attacked." He said, looking straight at him. Hermione shook her head rapidly. "No Ron, don't be silly. Of course Ginny wasn't." "How do you know?" Ron asked angrily. Hermione started at his tone of voice, but recovered quickly. "Well how do you?" She shot back. Ron glared out of the window. "I just do, OK?" He said, folding his arms. Harry and Hermione shared an anxious look and then turned to Ron again. "Look Ron, loads of people stayed at school, I'm sure that Ginny." Harry tried, but Ron cut him off. "I know it was Ginny, so don't even try to tell me it wasn't." Ron said. "Fine." Harry said bitterly, sitting back in his seat again. Ron drummed his fingers on the table. "How long 'til we get there?" He asked suddenly. Hermione shrugged. "About eight hours." She said quietly. Ron groaned and sat back as well. He folded his arms. Then unfolded them again. He drummed his fingers on the table. Then stopped. Then started again. He folded his arms. Then scratched his ear. He drummed his fingers again. Hermione and Harry looked at each other in exasperation. This was going to be one long journey.
~*~
He had been drumming his fingers on the table for almost an hour now. Harry and Hermione sat with their teeth and hands clenched; to both stop themselves from yelling out loud and slapping Ron across the face. It was about six, and had got dark a couple of hours ago. It had also started to snow, causing the windows to blacken even more, meaning they couldn't even look out of the window at the scenery to distract themselves. Ron had barely spoken throughout the entire journey, something that was very unusual for him. Hermione and Harry had begun by trying to reassure him that his sister was unharmed but it was pointless- he just wouldn't listen.
Just when they thought they wouldn't be able to last another second, the compartment door slid open to reveal Daphne. Harry and Hermione had never been so glad to see anyone in their lives- the drumming stopped immediately. "Hi." Daphne said, stepping into the small box and smiling tiredly. "Er- " "Daphne! Come and sit with me!" Hermione said, grabbing her cousin's hand and pulling her down onto the seat next to her. "How are you?" Hermione asked her eagerly. Daphne looked at her cousin in surprise. "Um, I'm fine. But- er, have you seen Lori anywhere?" Harry frowned. "Haven't you found her yet?" He asked in surprise. Daphne shook her head, obviously puzzled by the fact as well. "No. At first I thought she just couldn't find us, so I went to look for her. I must have been up and down this train ten times- I can't find her anywhere, and the only person who's seen her is Craig, and that was when she was going through the barrier onto the platform." Daphne told him. Hermione frowned. "Hmm. Well, we haven't seen her. Sorry Daph." She said. Daphne nodded and stood up to go. "No!" Harry and Hermione cried simultaneously. They both shifted embarrassedly as Daphne frowned at them before turning to leave. "I'll see you later- if you see Lori, will you tell her we're in the second to last compartment?" Daphne said. "Oh," she added, turning round again to face Ron. "What's wrong with you?" she asked, referring to the stony look on his face and his silence throughout her entire time in the compartment. Ron spoke now, but impatiently. "There's nothing wrong with *me*. I'm not the one you should be worrying about." He told her quizzically. Daphne nodded, shot a confused look at Harry and Hermione, and left the compartment. Hermione rolled her eyes. "For goodness' sake Ron!" She said exasperatedly. "Stop jumping to conclusions!" Ron glared at her. "I am not jumping to conclusions." He said stonily. Hermione glared back. "Yes, you are." She told him. "Ginny has not been attacked." She said defiantly. Ron looked like he was going to answer but then decided not to. Instead he shot Hermione another icy look, and started to drum his fingers on the table again.
~*~
Harry and Hermione had never been so glad to get off of the Hogwart's Express. They were among the first to jump out when the train pulled to a halt, followed by a very impatient Ron. He dodged between the people on the platform, cursing under his breath whenever he was held up, while Harry and Hermione struggled to catch up with him. "Well at least he's not drumming his fingers anymore." Harry said to Hermione as they narrowly avoided knocking someone over for the fifth time in one minute. Hermione smiled weakly as they pulled free of the crowds on the platform and ran after Ron, who was already getting into one of the horseless carriages. They managed to reach it just as the thing started to move off again. Harry and Hermione took one look at Ron and knew not to say anything- he was so on edge that he looked ready to plummet to his death. Ron didn't wait for the carriage to stop- he was out of it as soon as it neared the front steps of the castle, Harry and Hermione struggling in vain to catch up. They knew that Ron was worrying about nothing, but what if, what if he was right? He seemed so sure. Harry and Hermione got through the massive front doors in time to see Ron disappear into the Great Hall. They exchanged a glance and followed. Ron hadn't got very far. Professor McGonagall was standing a few feet inside the hall, and was now talking politely to Ron, asking him about his holidays. Harry and Hermione were glad to see he was answering properly and not ignoring the Head of Gryffindor house. Then they realised why this was- Ginny was seated at the Gryffindor table next to her friend Lisa, smiling and waving at Ron, who could see her perfectly. Even though they hadn't really believed Ron, Harry and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief to see that Ginny was fine. And felt relieved also that Ron would finally be able to relax. Or so they thought. As soon as Professor McGonagall moved away Ron was off again, not running, but certainly walking very fast. Harry and Hermione rolled their eyes and went after him. "Hi you three!" Ginny said, as they got nearer. "Happy New Year! How was your Chri- Ron, what's wrong?" She asked as Ron walked up to her and grabbed her shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me?" He demanded. Ginny glanced at Harry and Hermione, who looked back apologetically, and then back at Ron. "What do you mean? Tell you what?" She asked. Ron glared at her. "About Christmas Day- about the attack." He said. "Oh." Ginny said casually. "Dumbledore didn't want anyone to tell anyone about it- how do you know about it?" She asked curiously. "It was in the paper." Ron said, sitting down next to her. Ginny rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah- I read that too. So anyway, did you." "Did you get hurt badly? How's your arm?" Ron asked suddenly. Ginny's eyes widened as she turned to face Ron fully. "OK, now I'm freaked out." She said. "How did you know it was me?" She asked. Ron ears turned pink. "Because I'm a genius." He said angrily. Then: "I can't believe you didn't tell me." Ginny raised her eyebrows. "You didn't need me to." She said in disbelief. Harry and Hermione sank into chairs opposite Ginny and Ron. "You mean you *were* attacked?" Hermione asked, aghast. "Ron was right?" Ginny nodded and Hermione and Harry gaped at her. Ron frowned. "I told you she was attacked. It's not my fault you didn't believe me." He said to them before turning back to his sister. "And your arm?" Ginny stared at him. "It's fine now. Madam Pomfrey fixed it straight away." She said. "How did you-?" Ron cut her off. "I could tell by the way you were holding it. So you're OK?" He persisted. Ginny nodded dumbly. Ron nodded as well, and then looked at Lisa. "How about you?" He asked her. Lisa's eyes widened. "Er- I'm OK as well. Ginny was worse than me, and she only broke her arm." Ginny, Lisa, Harry and Hermione continued to stare at Ron as the rest of the school filed into the hall. Ron was ignoring them all- instead watching the rest of the students. Daphne, Lara and Jake came in and sat down near the end of the table. Fred, George and Lee came in, the twins showing Lee some innocent looking lollipops that Ron knew were far from innocent. They were all laughing. Draco Malfoy and his two goons came in, looking stupid as usual. The last student to come into the hall was Lori, looking very, well, scared. Ron frowned and pointed her out to Harry and Hermione who stopped staring at him and turned to stare at her instead. "What's wrong with her?" Harry asked. Ron shrugged and Hermione turned to where her cousin sat further up the table. "Daphne!" She called out to her. Daphne looked up at Hermione, and then past her to where Lori stood near the doors. Her face split into a relieved grin and she raised her arm and waved. Harry, Ron and Hermione turned to watch as Lori approached the Gryffindor table. She spotted Daphne and, instead of smiling, waving back and going to sit with her, Lara and Jake, as they expected her to, she quickly looked away and sat down at the first seat she came to, which was as far away from them as she could possibly get. Daphne began to stand up, but at that moment Dumbledore also got up to begin his speech, so she was forced to remain seated. Dumbledore raised his hands for silence, and smiled. "Welcome back everyone- and Happy New Year! I hope you're all back, eager to learn." (There were groans, rolls of eyes and sniggers from everyone except Hermione). "I imagine that most of you have read the article in the Daily Prophet this morning, but I would like to assure you all that the students in question are perfectly alright and there is absolutely no danger of a repeat. Extra security measures have been placed on the school and I'm sure that any such stealth attack will not happen again. But now, let's turn to more cheerful matters- time to eat!" Food appeared magically on the plates on the tables and everyone tucked in. Harry, Ron and Hermione helped themselves to food, watching Daphne and Lori out the corner of their eyes. Daphne had been roped into conversation with Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet and Lee Jordan. Daphne was far too polite to break off conversations, so they continued to watch as she forced herself to speak.
~*~
Daphne didn't get away from Angelina, Alicia and Lee until the deserts were nearly finished. She liked them a lot- and if they wanted her to tell them all about her Christmas and what ice-skating was like, then she wasn't about to say no. Finally, she excused herself and walked over to where Lori was sitting, morosely picking at a slice of lemon sponge. She didn't see her get closer. "Hi Lori." Daphne said, sitting down opposite her. Lori glanced up at her, turned red, and looked down again. "Hello." She mumbled. Daphne frowned. "Why didn't you come and sit with us?" She asked. Lori seemed to be finding her cake very interesting. "I, I didn't see you." She said quietly. This was a downright lie, and Daphne knew it. She leant forward, lowering her voice. "What's wrong Lori?" She asked, concerned. Lori tucked a hair behind her ear and shrugged. "Nothing." She said quickly. Daphne rolled her eyes. "Lori, you can." She began, but Lori suddenly looked up and said; "Daphne, just leave me ALONE!" Daphne sat back in her seat, completely shocked, as Dumbledore stood up and bade them all good night. Lori jumped out of her seat as if it were on fire, and exited the Great Hall before anyone else. Daphne stayed where she was, staring after Lori, until Jake and Lara came along and practically lifted her out of her chair.
Well Michelle, all I can say is; if you don't review, I'll kick your toe really hard.
HAPPY NOW?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?
Disclaimer- it's all J.K's.
Read all about it!
"Thanks again Joanne." Ron said, as he, Harry, Hermione and Daphne turned their trolleys to face the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Joanne smiled. "It was my pleasure. It was lovely having you all to stay." She said, bending down to make sure Annor's cage was secure on Daphne's trunk. She straightened up and pulled her niece into a hug. "Have a nice term Daphne." Daphne grinned. "I will." She said. Joanne gave Hermione a big hug and kissed her on the cheek. "Try not to work too hard Hermione." She said with a wink at Harry and Ron, who hid their laughter from their friend. Hermione not working hard would be like Dumbledore wearing a boring hat- ridiculous.
Harry and Ron went through the barrier together, and were quickly followed by Hermione and Daphne. The platform looked much like it did at the beginning of the year, except that everyone was wearing coats and their breath rose as steam in front of their faces. Daphne immediately began to scan the crowds for Lori, but she was nowhere to be seen. After a couple of minutes, Hermione dragged her towards the train. "Daphne!" Daphne turned around to see Jake and Lara hurrying towards her from the other end of the train. "Hi!" Lara said as they came closer. "Did you have a nice Christmas?" Daphne nodded and smiled. "Yep, it was great. How was yours?" Jake grinned. "Lara and her family came to my house on Christmas day because her mum wanted to know if it was true that my mum is a witch. So she turned my dad into a beaver to prove it. It was hilarious!" He said, starting to laugh at the memory. "We've got a compartment down the end of the train. Are you coming?" Lara asked Daphne. Daphne nodded and looked over at Hermione. "Is that alright?" She asked her. Hermione grinned. "I'm not your keeper Daph. I'll see you when we get to school." She said, climbing onto the train. Daphne wandered away with Lara and Jake, asking them if they had seen Lori. They hadn't, apparently, so she was left to trying to spot her friend in the crowds. Hermione had just sat down opposite Harry and Ron when they heard a scream from outside, followed by shouts and lots of footsteps. The three of them stood up at once and poked their heads out through the window, squashed together, and tried to see what was going on. It wasn't hard to spot. Down near the front of the train, by the prefects' carriages, a fire had started. And it was massive. It roared about three times higher than the train, and even from their vantage point halfway down the train they could feel the heat from it. However, as bad as the fire was, they weren't too worried. There were ways to put out fires. In fact, a couple of seconds later, the fire started to shrink and the next moment it had disappeared completely. The few people on the platform all stopped worrying and a few of them started to laugh. Harry tried to pull his head back, but found it was stuck under Ron's chin, while Hermione's was squashed in between the window frame and Ron's head, and Ron was sandwiched between the window frame, Hermione's head AND Harry's head. The train began to slowly pull away from the station with their heads still poked out of the window. After a moment's struggle, Ron managed to free his head, not before hitting it rather hard on the top of the window however. Rubbing his head and scowling, he sat back down as Harry and Hermione did the same. Ron cast a dark look at the offending window as the train started to pick up speed. "We should have opened the door." He said in annoyance. Harry and Hermione laughed and sat back. "What do you think started the fire?" Harry asked, closing the window. Ron shrugged. "A spell gone wrong most probably." Hermione answered as Ron stood up. "Finally! Talk about late!" He said, throwing open the window. A ruffled looking owl, buffeted by a combination of strong winds and the train's slipstream, managed to fly in through the window. It was carrying a newspaper in its beak, which it handed to Hermione. She smiled and placed three bronze Knuts into the leather pouch tied to its leg. The owl gave a hoot and soared off through the window again, which Ron closed behind it. "Oh my God!" Hermione cried. She was staring at the front page of the paper, her eyes wide with shock. "Fudge has resigned!" She exclaimed, looking up at Harry and Ron, who were leaning forward across the table. "What?" Harry gasped, trying to see the paper. Hermione nodded as she scanned the article. "I don't believe it- it says that after the attack on his house, he feels it is in his family's best interests if he steps down, no longer safe.unable to handle the situation effectively- not half!." Hermione mumbled as she quickly read the story. She cleared her throat. "Listen to this- 'Mr Fudge has also expressed his heartfelt apologies to the Wizarding world for not accepting You-Know-Who's return sooner. "I made a mistake" was the only other comment he would make on the subject.'" Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes you did." She muttered. "It also says that elections for the new Minister will take place next week, and meanwhile Milandra Findlay-Atkinson is filling in. Well." Hermione put down the newspaper and stared at her friends. "About time." Harry muttered, sitting back in his seat. "Maybe now we'll get someone who isn't a complete idiot." He added darkly. Ron and Hermione nodded in agreement. Hermione looked down at the paper again. "It doesn't really say much about the elections, I've never read anything about-" Hermione stopped speaking and she gasped loudly, staring down at the front page. "What?!" Harry and Ron asked urgently as Hermione pressed a hand over her mouth. She looked up at them, her eyes wide. "Hogwarts was attacked!" She said in disbelief. Ron blanched and Harry snatched up the paper. At the bottom of the page was a small article, headed 'Attack on Hogwarts!' He read it out quickly: "'It has emerged this morning that on Christmas Day two Deatheaters entered Hogwarts castle and attacked some of the students. Information is sketchy at best, but it is reported that they were not caught, nor is it clear how they got into the castle. Headmaster Albus Dumbledore refuses to comment on the subject, as do the entire faculty. It is not clear what part of the castle was attacked, who was attacked, and whether they were seriously injured.'" Harry looked up at Ron and Hermione, who were both looking very pale. "Blimey." He said weakly, looking down at the paper again. "Does it say.?" Hermione began, but Harry cut her off. "It doesn't say anything else." He said, showing her the paper. Hermione looked at it quickly, but her eyes fell past it to Ron, and she frowned. "Are you OK?" She asked him worriedly. Harry looked over at Ron. He looked awful- like he was about to throw up. He swallowed hard when Hermione spoke to him. "It was Ginny." He said quietly. Harry frowned as well. "What was Ginny?" He asked Ron. Ron swallowed again. "Ginny was attacked." He said, looking straight at him. Hermione shook her head rapidly. "No Ron, don't be silly. Of course Ginny wasn't." "How do you know?" Ron asked angrily. Hermione started at his tone of voice, but recovered quickly. "Well how do you?" She shot back. Ron glared out of the window. "I just do, OK?" He said, folding his arms. Harry and Hermione shared an anxious look and then turned to Ron again. "Look Ron, loads of people stayed at school, I'm sure that Ginny." Harry tried, but Ron cut him off. "I know it was Ginny, so don't even try to tell me it wasn't." Ron said. "Fine." Harry said bitterly, sitting back in his seat again. Ron drummed his fingers on the table. "How long 'til we get there?" He asked suddenly. Hermione shrugged. "About eight hours." She said quietly. Ron groaned and sat back as well. He folded his arms. Then unfolded them again. He drummed his fingers on the table. Then stopped. Then started again. He folded his arms. Then scratched his ear. He drummed his fingers again. Hermione and Harry looked at each other in exasperation. This was going to be one long journey.
~*~
He had been drumming his fingers on the table for almost an hour now. Harry and Hermione sat with their teeth and hands clenched; to both stop themselves from yelling out loud and slapping Ron across the face. It was about six, and had got dark a couple of hours ago. It had also started to snow, causing the windows to blacken even more, meaning they couldn't even look out of the window at the scenery to distract themselves. Ron had barely spoken throughout the entire journey, something that was very unusual for him. Hermione and Harry had begun by trying to reassure him that his sister was unharmed but it was pointless- he just wouldn't listen.
Just when they thought they wouldn't be able to last another second, the compartment door slid open to reveal Daphne. Harry and Hermione had never been so glad to see anyone in their lives- the drumming stopped immediately. "Hi." Daphne said, stepping into the small box and smiling tiredly. "Er- " "Daphne! Come and sit with me!" Hermione said, grabbing her cousin's hand and pulling her down onto the seat next to her. "How are you?" Hermione asked her eagerly. Daphne looked at her cousin in surprise. "Um, I'm fine. But- er, have you seen Lori anywhere?" Harry frowned. "Haven't you found her yet?" He asked in surprise. Daphne shook her head, obviously puzzled by the fact as well. "No. At first I thought she just couldn't find us, so I went to look for her. I must have been up and down this train ten times- I can't find her anywhere, and the only person who's seen her is Craig, and that was when she was going through the barrier onto the platform." Daphne told him. Hermione frowned. "Hmm. Well, we haven't seen her. Sorry Daph." She said. Daphne nodded and stood up to go. "No!" Harry and Hermione cried simultaneously. They both shifted embarrassedly as Daphne frowned at them before turning to leave. "I'll see you later- if you see Lori, will you tell her we're in the second to last compartment?" Daphne said. "Oh," she added, turning round again to face Ron. "What's wrong with you?" she asked, referring to the stony look on his face and his silence throughout her entire time in the compartment. Ron spoke now, but impatiently. "There's nothing wrong with *me*. I'm not the one you should be worrying about." He told her quizzically. Daphne nodded, shot a confused look at Harry and Hermione, and left the compartment. Hermione rolled her eyes. "For goodness' sake Ron!" She said exasperatedly. "Stop jumping to conclusions!" Ron glared at her. "I am not jumping to conclusions." He said stonily. Hermione glared back. "Yes, you are." She told him. "Ginny has not been attacked." She said defiantly. Ron looked like he was going to answer but then decided not to. Instead he shot Hermione another icy look, and started to drum his fingers on the table again.
~*~
Harry and Hermione had never been so glad to get off of the Hogwart's Express. They were among the first to jump out when the train pulled to a halt, followed by a very impatient Ron. He dodged between the people on the platform, cursing under his breath whenever he was held up, while Harry and Hermione struggled to catch up with him. "Well at least he's not drumming his fingers anymore." Harry said to Hermione as they narrowly avoided knocking someone over for the fifth time in one minute. Hermione smiled weakly as they pulled free of the crowds on the platform and ran after Ron, who was already getting into one of the horseless carriages. They managed to reach it just as the thing started to move off again. Harry and Hermione took one look at Ron and knew not to say anything- he was so on edge that he looked ready to plummet to his death. Ron didn't wait for the carriage to stop- he was out of it as soon as it neared the front steps of the castle, Harry and Hermione struggling in vain to catch up. They knew that Ron was worrying about nothing, but what if, what if he was right? He seemed so sure. Harry and Hermione got through the massive front doors in time to see Ron disappear into the Great Hall. They exchanged a glance and followed. Ron hadn't got very far. Professor McGonagall was standing a few feet inside the hall, and was now talking politely to Ron, asking him about his holidays. Harry and Hermione were glad to see he was answering properly and not ignoring the Head of Gryffindor house. Then they realised why this was- Ginny was seated at the Gryffindor table next to her friend Lisa, smiling and waving at Ron, who could see her perfectly. Even though they hadn't really believed Ron, Harry and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief to see that Ginny was fine. And felt relieved also that Ron would finally be able to relax. Or so they thought. As soon as Professor McGonagall moved away Ron was off again, not running, but certainly walking very fast. Harry and Hermione rolled their eyes and went after him. "Hi you three!" Ginny said, as they got nearer. "Happy New Year! How was your Chri- Ron, what's wrong?" She asked as Ron walked up to her and grabbed her shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me?" He demanded. Ginny glanced at Harry and Hermione, who looked back apologetically, and then back at Ron. "What do you mean? Tell you what?" She asked. Ron glared at her. "About Christmas Day- about the attack." He said. "Oh." Ginny said casually. "Dumbledore didn't want anyone to tell anyone about it- how do you know about it?" She asked curiously. "It was in the paper." Ron said, sitting down next to her. Ginny rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah- I read that too. So anyway, did you." "Did you get hurt badly? How's your arm?" Ron asked suddenly. Ginny's eyes widened as she turned to face Ron fully. "OK, now I'm freaked out." She said. "How did you know it was me?" She asked. Ron ears turned pink. "Because I'm a genius." He said angrily. Then: "I can't believe you didn't tell me." Ginny raised her eyebrows. "You didn't need me to." She said in disbelief. Harry and Hermione sank into chairs opposite Ginny and Ron. "You mean you *were* attacked?" Hermione asked, aghast. "Ron was right?" Ginny nodded and Hermione and Harry gaped at her. Ron frowned. "I told you she was attacked. It's not my fault you didn't believe me." He said to them before turning back to his sister. "And your arm?" Ginny stared at him. "It's fine now. Madam Pomfrey fixed it straight away." She said. "How did you-?" Ron cut her off. "I could tell by the way you were holding it. So you're OK?" He persisted. Ginny nodded dumbly. Ron nodded as well, and then looked at Lisa. "How about you?" He asked her. Lisa's eyes widened. "Er- I'm OK as well. Ginny was worse than me, and she only broke her arm." Ginny, Lisa, Harry and Hermione continued to stare at Ron as the rest of the school filed into the hall. Ron was ignoring them all- instead watching the rest of the students. Daphne, Lara and Jake came in and sat down near the end of the table. Fred, George and Lee came in, the twins showing Lee some innocent looking lollipops that Ron knew were far from innocent. They were all laughing. Draco Malfoy and his two goons came in, looking stupid as usual. The last student to come into the hall was Lori, looking very, well, scared. Ron frowned and pointed her out to Harry and Hermione who stopped staring at him and turned to stare at her instead. "What's wrong with her?" Harry asked. Ron shrugged and Hermione turned to where her cousin sat further up the table. "Daphne!" She called out to her. Daphne looked up at Hermione, and then past her to where Lori stood near the doors. Her face split into a relieved grin and she raised her arm and waved. Harry, Ron and Hermione turned to watch as Lori approached the Gryffindor table. She spotted Daphne and, instead of smiling, waving back and going to sit with her, Lara and Jake, as they expected her to, she quickly looked away and sat down at the first seat she came to, which was as far away from them as she could possibly get. Daphne began to stand up, but at that moment Dumbledore also got up to begin his speech, so she was forced to remain seated. Dumbledore raised his hands for silence, and smiled. "Welcome back everyone- and Happy New Year! I hope you're all back, eager to learn." (There were groans, rolls of eyes and sniggers from everyone except Hermione). "I imagine that most of you have read the article in the Daily Prophet this morning, but I would like to assure you all that the students in question are perfectly alright and there is absolutely no danger of a repeat. Extra security measures have been placed on the school and I'm sure that any such stealth attack will not happen again. But now, let's turn to more cheerful matters- time to eat!" Food appeared magically on the plates on the tables and everyone tucked in. Harry, Ron and Hermione helped themselves to food, watching Daphne and Lori out the corner of their eyes. Daphne had been roped into conversation with Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet and Lee Jordan. Daphne was far too polite to break off conversations, so they continued to watch as she forced herself to speak.
~*~
Daphne didn't get away from Angelina, Alicia and Lee until the deserts were nearly finished. She liked them a lot- and if they wanted her to tell them all about her Christmas and what ice-skating was like, then she wasn't about to say no. Finally, she excused herself and walked over to where Lori was sitting, morosely picking at a slice of lemon sponge. She didn't see her get closer. "Hi Lori." Daphne said, sitting down opposite her. Lori glanced up at her, turned red, and looked down again. "Hello." She mumbled. Daphne frowned. "Why didn't you come and sit with us?" She asked. Lori seemed to be finding her cake very interesting. "I, I didn't see you." She said quietly. This was a downright lie, and Daphne knew it. She leant forward, lowering her voice. "What's wrong Lori?" She asked, concerned. Lori tucked a hair behind her ear and shrugged. "Nothing." She said quickly. Daphne rolled her eyes. "Lori, you can." She began, but Lori suddenly looked up and said; "Daphne, just leave me ALONE!" Daphne sat back in her seat, completely shocked, as Dumbledore stood up and bade them all good night. Lori jumped out of her seat as if it were on fire, and exited the Great Hall before anyone else. Daphne stayed where she was, staring after Lori, until Jake and Lara came along and practically lifted her out of her chair.
Well Michelle, all I can say is; if you don't review, I'll kick your toe really hard.