A/N: I am tired, but not quite as much as last time. The poll I put up last chapter will be open for only a few more chapters, so be sure to get your vote in. I really hope this chapter is better than the last one. I still think it rambles a bit, but that's because it's leading up to something big. It's almost time for some action, baby! The theme song is the first verse of "We're Going to Be Friends", by The White Stripes.
Disclaimer: I own the plot and some cool creatures to come, oh and also a cute little fox that I wrote in this chapter and now want for myself. If you wish to use any of this, or archive this story, then please ask me. Everything else belongs to JKR. ^_^
We're Going to be Friends, by The White Stripes (1st verse)
Fall is here, hear the yellChapter 4: Start of Term Chaos
Back to school, ring the bell
Brand new shoes, walking blues
Climb the fence, books and pens
I can tell that we're going to be friends
"Harry, come on! Get up!"
"Just five more minutes please, Aunt Petunia! Dudley can wait for his bacon!"
"HARRY JAMES POTTER! Wake up this instant!"
Harry finally opened his eyes, to see Ron and Hermione standing over him, giggling.
"Finally…. I thought we were going to have to dump a bucket of cold water on you!" exclaimed Ron.
"What's the big deal, anyway?" asked Harry, sitting up and stretching.
"Harry, how could you *possibly* have forgotten? Today is September 1st! We have to be at the King's Cross in only two hours. And you still have to pack, and shower, and eat breakfast…" said Hermione, counting off the list on her fingers.
Harry shot out of bed and ran towards the door, yelling, "Well, geez, why didn't you say so?"
Hermione and Ron just looked at each other and rolled their eyes before following Harry down the stairs.
Ginny looked up and giggled as she saw her crush descending the stairs in nothing but his Golden Snitch-covered boxers.
"What's so funny? What's everyone staring at?" Harry asked as he saw the amusement and shock written all over the Weasleys' faces.
"Well Harry, ol' chap, methinks you may have forgotten to do something…" said one of the twins.
"Such as… get dressed…" finished the other.
Harry looked down and blushed red enough to rival the Weasley hair when he realized that he had just flashed his knickers to the entire Burrow.
"Ron! Hermione! Why didn't you tell me?!?" Harry shouted as he raced back up the stairs.
"Hey Ginny… too bad you didn't have a camera on you, eh?" teased George.
Ginny shot him a death glare and left the room to make sure she had everything packed.
Two hours later, the Weasleys and their guests were finally gathered and ready to go.
"Okay, pile everything into the car," said Mr. Weasley.
"Car?!?" exclaimed Ron.
Arthur looked over at his youngest son and replied, "Yes, I rented one from the Department of Transportation. Unfortunately, it doesn't fly. So don't get any ideas."
Ron blushed and tried to hide a grin as he shuffled his feet.
By the time everything was loaded up and everyone had retrieved everything they had forgotten, it was 10:15. Luckily, this Ministry car had the ability to safely go at hyper-speed without any Muggles noticing. They made it to the King's Cross at 10:45.
They took he barrier three at a time and Mr. Weasley and the twins loaded the trunks onto the train.
"Now, all of you be good," said Mrs. Weasley, staring pointedly at the twins. "And study hard!"
The four redheads, plus Harry and Hermione, dutifully nodded and boarded the train.
"I suppose you two are going to sit up front with the Prefects?" asked Ron of Harry and Hermione, as he searched for an empty compartment for himself and Ginny. The twins had gone ahead to find their friend and fellow prankster, Lee Jordan.
"No way, Ron! We're sitting with you!" Harry said with a reassuring smile.
"Here's an empty one…" Hermione added as she and the others entered and sat down.
"I hope the trolley witch comes by soon," commented Ron, massaging his stomach.
"Ron!" shouted Hermione. "You just ate breakfast two hours ago! What are you, a bottomless pit?"
"Hey I'm a fifteen-year-old growing MAN… I need my fuel," he replied.
Ginny snorted and looked out the window.
"What?" Ron asked. "What's so funny?"
Harry and Hermione then joined Ginny in looking out the window.
"Fine then, I *see* how you're going to be…" Ron said with mock anger.
Hermione giggled and kissed his cheek.
"You're such a dork…"
Ron blushed and replied, "Hey… I resemble that!"
This sent all four of them into a hysterical bout of giggles.
"So I take it that you two are officially a couple now?" asked Harry.
Ron turned red and grinned sheepishly as Hermione replied, "Yeah, though he was no Casanova about it…"
"Well, he *is* a guy. What did you expect?" Ginny said, as if this point should have been obvious.
"True…"
"Hey! Are you trying to insinuate that guys are dense?" huffed Harry.
Ginny raised a copper eyebrow and replied, "Yes. They are also blind to what is right in front of them, and disgusting twits, and thick prats, and…"
"Okay, okay, I think we get the point," Harry said, laughing as he cut her off.
//No Harry, I don't think you do…// thought Ginny as she went back to staring out the window.
"So, are all of you trying out for the Quidditch team? We need a new Keeper since Wood graduated two years ago and Angelina told Fred that Alicia's dad got transferred to America, so she's attending the Merlin Academy of Magic in New York this year. So that means we also need a new Chaser, along with a new team Captain. I personally think Katie should get it," said Harry, changing the subject.
"I think you should get the Captain's position, as you're easily the best player. And there's no way on earth that I'm going to try out for *Quidditch*," said Hermione. She was pathetic on a broomstick and knew next to nothing about the game anyway.
"I want to, but I don't think I would make it," Ginny said quietly.
"Oh come on, Ginny!" You'd make a superb Chaser!" said Hermione. She didn't know much about Quidditch, but she knew that Ginny carried the Weasley-Quidditch-Talent gene that seemed to run as rampant in their family as hair the color of flames.
"Well, I'm definitely going for it," said Ron. "Now that there's two spots open, I'm not about to pass up the chance to be on the team. And just think… if we had four Weasleys on the house team, that Cup would have Gryffindor written all over it!"
"Modest much, Ron?"
Ron stuck his tongue out at his girlfriend as the others laughed.
Suddenly, Harry heard a soft yipping coming from the opposite end of the compartment.
"Did anyone else hear that?" he asked.
"Yeah… it sounded like an animal of some kind."
Harry got up to inspect the noise and, much to his surprise, he found a baby red fox.
"Awwwwww!!!" exclaimed Ginny. "It's absolutely adorable!"
"Here, Gin. Why don't you take him?" asked Harry with a smile, as he handed the small fox to the younger girl.
"Thanks Harry."
"I wonder how a baby fox got on the train…" mused Hermione.
"Well at any rate, it looks like I have a new pet. I think I'll name him Karuma…" said Ginny.
"Karuma?" asked Ron. "What the hell kind of pansy-ass name is that?"
"RONALD! LANGUAGE!" yelled Hermione.
"It's from a Muggle show that I took a liking to when I stayed with Kerstan Morgan during the first couple of weeks during the summer," replied Ginny. Kerstan was a pretty Muggle-born Gryffindor in Ginny's year with ash blonde curls and honey-colored eyes.
"Oh yeah, from one of those Japanese animations, right?" asked Hermione.
"Yeah, anime. The show is Yu Yu Hakusho. Karuma is…"
Ginny was interrupted however, when the train suddenly stopped and everything went dark.
"What's going on?" asked Ron.
"No idea…" replied Harry trying to ignore the agonizing screams and heart-wrenching wails coming from the front of the train. "I'm going to check it out."
"Be careful, Harry!"
Harry grabbed his wand and cautiously walked out of the compartment.
"Lumos," he whispered, lighting the tip of his wand so that he could see.
He walked a few feet further and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a cluster of figures in dark cloaks and masks. He ran back to the compartment.
"Death Eaters…"
A/N: BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Cliffie! *dodges the hexes and curses that are thrown at her* Ron and Hermione are still a couple at this point, but so far your votes are commanding that I break them up, which is what I wanted to do in the first place. In the event that the final toll is for them to break up, I have someone in mind for Ron as well as for Hermione. (They're both OC's. And no slash this time, sorry. ^_^) Karuma is a really hot fox demon from Yu Yu Hakusho. *drool* If you would like to be added to my updates mailing list then please say so in your review. ^_^ This Sunday is my 19th birthday, so make it a good one and flood my mailbox with reviews! (And yes, this story really starts to pick up from here.) IT'S COOKIE TIME!! (There's SIX of them!!!! Yes, I am very excited about this.)
Lady Prongs: I hope "interesting" is a good thing. ^_^ I agree, Ron and Hermione do not belong together. They would drive each other crazy! Luckily so far, it looks as if I get to break them up. *does a dance, and hands Lady Prongs a tall, dark, handsome, blue-eyed, strong, love only her forever and ever and feed her ice cream in bed wizard* LOL, thankies. I guess it's a good thing that I'm pretty much always sleep-deprived… Thankies for the review!
a bad cliché: Thankies. ^_^
Lady of the Dark: Thankies! You're so cool! Here, have a lolly!
rebekah: Ah, E… interesting choice there. ^_~ Thankies, and I'll try not to ramble as much from now on, lol.
Angelxd14: Ullowy Princess Anna! Thankies for the review, again. And thankies for adding me to your favorites! Love ya, Queen Alexa
Daine of Queenscove: Whoo hoo, thankies. ^_^ And I don't mind the spelling. I love the review anyway. ^_^
MUAH!!!! LOVE YOU ALL!!!!