"RON!" the familiar voice of Mrs. Weasley filled King's Cross train station as six frantic wizards pushing carts of trunks, cages, and robes ran to the portal to Platform 9 3/4, the Hogwarts Express. Well, six minus one since Ron had stopped to examine a muggle shop.
"RONALD WEASLEY, If you don't get down here this instant I'll-" She noticed that a bunch of muggles were staring at her, "-I mean, you'll miss your train, dear!" she spoke in a sweet, light tone this time, for fear that they'd suspect something.
Ron caught up with them just in time to see Fred and George casually dissolve through a brick wall. Ginny went soon after, then Hermione, then Harry.
"Go on, Ron." Mrs. Weasley whispered, looking around. She didn't want to attract any more unwanted attention. She pushed him lightly, and he jogged through the brick wall.
When he had met his friends and family on the other side of the Platform, many of the students had already boarded. Unfortunately, they were making a habit of getting onto the train late. They'd only missed it once, though. They all loaded their things onto the train, and then looked around for an empty cabin. All of them frantically searched for one, but with hardly any luck. Most of the cabins were filled to their maximum with cheerful wizards ready to go back to school.
Hermione, who had run up ahead, spotted a cabin with a single wizard inside spoke up, "Look guys, I found-" She noticed that the person inside was Emalyn Sweeting, the girl they had met in Flourish and Blotts, "Emalyn, dear, so good to see you again!"
Fred soon followed Hermione in and his face glowed when he saw her. The others came in as well, and started putting their carry-on luggage in the cubbies over the benches.
"Hi everyone, it's great to see you all again!" Emalyn slid over as Fred, George, and Hermione sat down next to her.
Harry, Ginny, and Ron sat down on the other bench, Ginny brimming with happiness as Harry sat next to her. Somehow, Harry's arm had ended up around her waist. Seeing this movement, Ron elbowed Harry in the ribs.
Just as the train moved out of the station, Emalyn reached into her purse and pulled out a small stack of photos.
"Look, these are some of my unicorns," She held them out to Fred, who looked at them carefully.
The first one was a silvery color, and was running in a field. It was taken during the night and the many glistening stars were reflecting off of its shiny coat. He was moving around inside the frame and had a tall, iridescent horn protruding from his head.
"Wow, you took these?" Fred asked, flipping to the next photo.
"Yeah, they're used to me being there so they don't get afraid," She smiled.
The next photo was of two little babies. Their fur was bright gold, and their horns were only a few inches long. They were playfully smashing their heads together.
Emalyn pointed at them, "They're gold when they're born and silver when they're middle-aged. They only turn white when they're very old."
"They're so pretty! Hermione was leaning over Fred's shoulder with fluffy little Whisper sitting on her lap. She scooted up a little bit, and the little owl fluttered into the air.
"Oh, Whisper, come back here!" Hermione turned her gaze from the photos to her owl, who glided on her little wings, landing in Harry's lap.
When Whisper landed on him, he took his arm from around Ginny's waist to the little owl, holding her in his arms.
He laughed, and petted Whisper's fluffy white feathers. She buried her head in Harry's chest and cuddled up in his arms.
"I think she likes me," Harry laughed as she fell asleep on him. Ginny sighed.
'I'm not jealous of a bird. I'm not…' she thought to herself, biting her lip.
Hermione didn't bother to put Whisper back in her cage, but continued to look at Emalyn's pictures.
"Ooh, which one is this?" Fred asked. The unicorn was silvery and had glowing blue eyes that filled him with warmth.
"Oh, she's a special one," Emalyn smiled.. Fred searched her face for a clue, but before he could ask her, they heard a bell and a few squeaky wheels rolling outside the door.
"Anything off of the trolley, dears?" the witch rolling the snack cart said.
"Mmmm, yes!" they all said. Together, they gathered around the trolley and started picking out many different kinds of candy.
"Granger…" Hermione heard someone whisper her name from out in the hallway. After a pause, she heard the same voice again, "Come here."
She sneaked behind the snack cart and out into the hallway. Hermione looked around, but didn't see anyone. She began to walk down the hall.
When she neared another doorway, the voice jumped out at her, but louder this time, "In here!" She walked into the doorway that the voice had come from, and what the shadowy figure who stood in the corner surprised her.
"Malfoy?" Hermione gaped at the person who stood in front of her. He was a lot taller, now towering over her, and he had cut his silvery-blond hair shorter. Instead of being gelled-back and greasy, his hair was short and spiked up in different directions. Hermione couldn't help but think that he'd gotten better-looking over the summer.
"So have you heard the news about the party?" he asked her, the usual evil snicker absent from his deep but friendly voice.
"Yes, just a few rumors though." Hermione said, still studying him.
"It's to congratulate our school for winning the Triwizard Tournament last year, and it's tonight a few hours after the sorting." He said. Hermione noticed that he was rummaging at something in his pocket.
"Oh, I didn't realize that it would be right away," Hermione said, "I haven't even thought about who I'd go with."
Draco removed a chocolate frog from his pocket and walked closer to Hermione. He held it out to her, and she smiled.
"Is it for me?" she asked, pointing at it but looking into his light blue eyes. He nodded, then with one swift motion, he drew his wand from his robes and tapped the frog with it. It then transfigured into a beautiful single red rose. He handed it to her, and she smiled shyly as she took it.
"Whatever our differences, and the turmoil in our pasts, I'm sorry and I'd be deeply honored if you'd be my date to the party," he looked deeply into her chocolate brown eyes in such a way that she couldn't look away no matter how hard she tried.
Hermione was speechless. The last thing she'd expected when she left for Hogwarts was for Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin who always tried to make her life miserable, to ask her out like it's no big change.
Draco didn't waste time waiting for her answer, he just leaned in and kissed her lips. When he pulled away slowly, she had a look of shock but pure content on her face. Draco had never even shown a sign that he could even stand her.
"I know we haven't been the best of friends, but I spent the whole summer re-thinking my life and well, you just jumped out at me." He said.
"Alright, Malfoy, I'll go to the party with you." Hermione said. She had meant to sound more annoyed but the kiss had weakened her knees and she ended up sounding like a lovesick puppy. She couldn't help it; he was very charming. She rotated the rose's stem in her fingers.
"Thank you," Draco's normally angry face mutated into a genuine smile that Hermione had never seen him wear before. Hermione was still recovering from shock, just gazing into those eyes… He looked… cute.
Draco brought his hand to her shoulder, then leaned close to her and kissed her on the cheek. He began to walk out of the car, but turned around and said one last thing, "You have no idea how much this means to me."
She smiled sweetly and watched him walk out of the cabin, then sat down on one of the benches, gazing at the rose he had given her. No sooner than she'd sat down, Ron and Harry came in.
"Hermione, there you are!" Harry said, walking in. Once they'd completely made their way through the door, Hermione noticed that Ginny was also with them, clinging to Harry's arm.
"We saved you some candy-" Ron reached out a fistful of sweets, and handed them to her, seeing the beautiful red rose that she held in her hand.
"Who gave you that?" Ginny asked, a bit jealous.
"Has Hermione got a boyfriend?" Ron laughed.
Hermione blushed, "It's Draco," she smiled shyly.
In a fraction of a second, Harry's face was filled with fury. Ginny smirked, pulling closer to Harry, and Ron was shocked, his mouth hanging open.
"Malfoy?!?" Ron and Harry said in unison.
"Alright, where is he and what is he trying to pull?" Ron pushed up his sleeves, trying to look threatening.
"He's being nice for once, why don't you let him! He's changed, guys." Hermione stood up, holding the rose tightly. It felt strange for her to stand up for Draco, since he was usually making fun of her.
"We're just protecting you, you know Draco isn't one to be well, nice," Harry said.
"Just be careful, you never know what he's going to do next." Ron said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.
"Thanks, guys," Hermione smiled. They all walked from the cabin into the hallway, and headed back to their original cabin.
"It's weird though, why would he suddenly be so nice to me?" Hermione asked, still twirling the rose stem in her fingers.
"And he gave you a rose," Ron was as confused as Hermione, and thought out loud.
Hermione grinned, and looked at her feet, "That's not all he gave me."
"Oh my god!" Ginny squealed, and pointed at her lips. Hermione nodded, smiling, and Ron noticed this.
"THAT SLIMEBAG KISSED YOU?!?!?" Ron's face turned dark purple and he was shouting so loudly that everyone in the area turned to look at them.
"Something is DEFINETELY up with him," Harry said.
"Was it good???" Ginny perked up and smiled.
"Ginny!" Ron squeaked, giving her the evil eye.
Hermione's grin got wider, "Yes, it was VERY good."
Ron frowned, and so did Harry. The two boys walked ahead, leaving the girls alone.
Ginny waited for them to walk out of sight, then whined to Hermione, "Lucky! Harry would never kiss me; he's too afraid that Ron would kill him."
"All I can say is that I can't wait until tonight," Hermione said, smiling to herself and twirling the rose in her fingers.
"RONALD WEASLEY, If you don't get down here this instant I'll-" She noticed that a bunch of muggles were staring at her, "-I mean, you'll miss your train, dear!" she spoke in a sweet, light tone this time, for fear that they'd suspect something.
Ron caught up with them just in time to see Fred and George casually dissolve through a brick wall. Ginny went soon after, then Hermione, then Harry.
"Go on, Ron." Mrs. Weasley whispered, looking around. She didn't want to attract any more unwanted attention. She pushed him lightly, and he jogged through the brick wall.
When he had met his friends and family on the other side of the Platform, many of the students had already boarded. Unfortunately, they were making a habit of getting onto the train late. They'd only missed it once, though. They all loaded their things onto the train, and then looked around for an empty cabin. All of them frantically searched for one, but with hardly any luck. Most of the cabins were filled to their maximum with cheerful wizards ready to go back to school.
Hermione, who had run up ahead, spotted a cabin with a single wizard inside spoke up, "Look guys, I found-" She noticed that the person inside was Emalyn Sweeting, the girl they had met in Flourish and Blotts, "Emalyn, dear, so good to see you again!"
Fred soon followed Hermione in and his face glowed when he saw her. The others came in as well, and started putting their carry-on luggage in the cubbies over the benches.
"Hi everyone, it's great to see you all again!" Emalyn slid over as Fred, George, and Hermione sat down next to her.
Harry, Ginny, and Ron sat down on the other bench, Ginny brimming with happiness as Harry sat next to her. Somehow, Harry's arm had ended up around her waist. Seeing this movement, Ron elbowed Harry in the ribs.
Just as the train moved out of the station, Emalyn reached into her purse and pulled out a small stack of photos.
"Look, these are some of my unicorns," She held them out to Fred, who looked at them carefully.
The first one was a silvery color, and was running in a field. It was taken during the night and the many glistening stars were reflecting off of its shiny coat. He was moving around inside the frame and had a tall, iridescent horn protruding from his head.
"Wow, you took these?" Fred asked, flipping to the next photo.
"Yeah, they're used to me being there so they don't get afraid," She smiled.
The next photo was of two little babies. Their fur was bright gold, and their horns were only a few inches long. They were playfully smashing their heads together.
Emalyn pointed at them, "They're gold when they're born and silver when they're middle-aged. They only turn white when they're very old."
"They're so pretty! Hermione was leaning over Fred's shoulder with fluffy little Whisper sitting on her lap. She scooted up a little bit, and the little owl fluttered into the air.
"Oh, Whisper, come back here!" Hermione turned her gaze from the photos to her owl, who glided on her little wings, landing in Harry's lap.
When Whisper landed on him, he took his arm from around Ginny's waist to the little owl, holding her in his arms.
He laughed, and petted Whisper's fluffy white feathers. She buried her head in Harry's chest and cuddled up in his arms.
"I think she likes me," Harry laughed as she fell asleep on him. Ginny sighed.
'I'm not jealous of a bird. I'm not…' she thought to herself, biting her lip.
Hermione didn't bother to put Whisper back in her cage, but continued to look at Emalyn's pictures.
"Ooh, which one is this?" Fred asked. The unicorn was silvery and had glowing blue eyes that filled him with warmth.
"Oh, she's a special one," Emalyn smiled.. Fred searched her face for a clue, but before he could ask her, they heard a bell and a few squeaky wheels rolling outside the door.
"Anything off of the trolley, dears?" the witch rolling the snack cart said.
"Mmmm, yes!" they all said. Together, they gathered around the trolley and started picking out many different kinds of candy.
"Granger…" Hermione heard someone whisper her name from out in the hallway. After a pause, she heard the same voice again, "Come here."
She sneaked behind the snack cart and out into the hallway. Hermione looked around, but didn't see anyone. She began to walk down the hall.
When she neared another doorway, the voice jumped out at her, but louder this time, "In here!" She walked into the doorway that the voice had come from, and what the shadowy figure who stood in the corner surprised her.
"Malfoy?" Hermione gaped at the person who stood in front of her. He was a lot taller, now towering over her, and he had cut his silvery-blond hair shorter. Instead of being gelled-back and greasy, his hair was short and spiked up in different directions. Hermione couldn't help but think that he'd gotten better-looking over the summer.
"So have you heard the news about the party?" he asked her, the usual evil snicker absent from his deep but friendly voice.
"Yes, just a few rumors though." Hermione said, still studying him.
"It's to congratulate our school for winning the Triwizard Tournament last year, and it's tonight a few hours after the sorting." He said. Hermione noticed that he was rummaging at something in his pocket.
"Oh, I didn't realize that it would be right away," Hermione said, "I haven't even thought about who I'd go with."
Draco removed a chocolate frog from his pocket and walked closer to Hermione. He held it out to her, and she smiled.
"Is it for me?" she asked, pointing at it but looking into his light blue eyes. He nodded, then with one swift motion, he drew his wand from his robes and tapped the frog with it. It then transfigured into a beautiful single red rose. He handed it to her, and she smiled shyly as she took it.
"Whatever our differences, and the turmoil in our pasts, I'm sorry and I'd be deeply honored if you'd be my date to the party," he looked deeply into her chocolate brown eyes in such a way that she couldn't look away no matter how hard she tried.
Hermione was speechless. The last thing she'd expected when she left for Hogwarts was for Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin who always tried to make her life miserable, to ask her out like it's no big change.
Draco didn't waste time waiting for her answer, he just leaned in and kissed her lips. When he pulled away slowly, she had a look of shock but pure content on her face. Draco had never even shown a sign that he could even stand her.
"I know we haven't been the best of friends, but I spent the whole summer re-thinking my life and well, you just jumped out at me." He said.
"Alright, Malfoy, I'll go to the party with you." Hermione said. She had meant to sound more annoyed but the kiss had weakened her knees and she ended up sounding like a lovesick puppy. She couldn't help it; he was very charming. She rotated the rose's stem in her fingers.
"Thank you," Draco's normally angry face mutated into a genuine smile that Hermione had never seen him wear before. Hermione was still recovering from shock, just gazing into those eyes… He looked… cute.
Draco brought his hand to her shoulder, then leaned close to her and kissed her on the cheek. He began to walk out of the car, but turned around and said one last thing, "You have no idea how much this means to me."
She smiled sweetly and watched him walk out of the cabin, then sat down on one of the benches, gazing at the rose he had given her. No sooner than she'd sat down, Ron and Harry came in.
"Hermione, there you are!" Harry said, walking in. Once they'd completely made their way through the door, Hermione noticed that Ginny was also with them, clinging to Harry's arm.
"We saved you some candy-" Ron reached out a fistful of sweets, and handed them to her, seeing the beautiful red rose that she held in her hand.
"Who gave you that?" Ginny asked, a bit jealous.
"Has Hermione got a boyfriend?" Ron laughed.
Hermione blushed, "It's Draco," she smiled shyly.
In a fraction of a second, Harry's face was filled with fury. Ginny smirked, pulling closer to Harry, and Ron was shocked, his mouth hanging open.
"Malfoy?!?" Ron and Harry said in unison.
"Alright, where is he and what is he trying to pull?" Ron pushed up his sleeves, trying to look threatening.
"He's being nice for once, why don't you let him! He's changed, guys." Hermione stood up, holding the rose tightly. It felt strange for her to stand up for Draco, since he was usually making fun of her.
"We're just protecting you, you know Draco isn't one to be well, nice," Harry said.
"Just be careful, you never know what he's going to do next." Ron said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.
"Thanks, guys," Hermione smiled. They all walked from the cabin into the hallway, and headed back to their original cabin.
"It's weird though, why would he suddenly be so nice to me?" Hermione asked, still twirling the rose stem in her fingers.
"And he gave you a rose," Ron was as confused as Hermione, and thought out loud.
Hermione grinned, and looked at her feet, "That's not all he gave me."
"Oh my god!" Ginny squealed, and pointed at her lips. Hermione nodded, smiling, and Ron noticed this.
"THAT SLIMEBAG KISSED YOU?!?!?" Ron's face turned dark purple and he was shouting so loudly that everyone in the area turned to look at them.
"Something is DEFINETELY up with him," Harry said.
"Was it good???" Ginny perked up and smiled.
"Ginny!" Ron squeaked, giving her the evil eye.
Hermione's grin got wider, "Yes, it was VERY good."
Ron frowned, and so did Harry. The two boys walked ahead, leaving the girls alone.
Ginny waited for them to walk out of sight, then whined to Hermione, "Lucky! Harry would never kiss me; he's too afraid that Ron would kill him."
"All I can say is that I can't wait until tonight," Hermione said, smiling to herself and twirling the rose in her fingers.
