A/N: Sorry about this change, you guys. But something happened in one of the reviews (It was done in a strange font), and every time I tried to open the reviews for this story, it would freeze my computer for some reason. So, anyway, I'm having to switch the whole story over to another thing. If you want to read old reviews, you can still find them, though I don't know if you'll be able to open it or not because I can't.

Thanks for all the feedback from the last story! I promise I will do some Hermione POV soon! Thanks guys!!!



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"Ron! Harry! Are you ready yet?"

Mrs. Weasley's voice bounded up the stairs, waking two sleeping fifteen year olds abruptly. The two aforementioned boys both shot up at once and looked at each other wide-eyed from across the room, shocked at the loud voice that had woken them so quickly.

"What time is it?" Ron asked, glancing around for his watch.

Harry checked his own and immediately jumped out of bed. "Eight forty- five! We have to leave in fifteen minutes!"

It was September 1st. The Hogwarts Express would be leaving King's Cross in London at exactly 11:00, and Ron and Harry had yet to even get dressed. Luckily, both of them had showered before they'd gone to bed and didn't have to take time for that this morning. After Ron cursed rather loudly at their late lie-in, they hurried around the room getting dressed and making sure everything they would need was packed away in their trunks. Mrs. Weasley had taken them all to Diagon Alley the week before, and they'd bought their new books and supplies. The twins had also bought Ron the new dress robes Harry had asked them to; so, instead of ruffled maroon ones, Ron now had a brand new set of dark gray dress robes packed into his trunk. Quickly, they dragged their trunks and Hedwig and Pigwidgeon down the stairs and set them by the door next to four other trunks and a rather large cage containing one rather large orange cat. Ron made sure to set Pig as far away from Crookshanks as possible, as it seemed that Pig and Crookshanks got along about as well as Scabbers and Crookshanks had. And finally, at 8:57, Ron and Harry burst into the kitchen, both a little short on breath.

Hermione and Ginny were sitting across the table from Fred and George, and all four of them looked rather full and wide-awake, the exact opposite of the way Ron and Harry felt. Mrs. Weasley tutted softly at them and thrust four pieces of toast at each of them as she said, "This is all you have time for. You'll have to take it in the car with you because if we don't leave now, you'll all miss the train. Now, hurry up, all of you."

Ron and Harry looked pitifully at the empty plates on the table that still showed the remnants of sausage, bacon, gravy, and fried potatoes. Still, thinking that the toast was better than no breakfast at all, they followed the others out to the car which Mr. Weasley had magically packed already. They all told him bye because he wasn't going to be able to join them on the trip due to work.

For once, no one had forgotten anything, so the trip to London went uninterrupted. Once again, the six teenagers had piled into the back of the car, though they sat in a different order this time- Fred by the window, then George, Ron, Ginny, Harry, and finally Hermione. On the trip, Harry reflected on everything that had happened that summer. It had been fun- the most fun summer he'd had in his life, actually. And now it was over. They were all headed back to Hogwarts, but, for once, Harry wasn't looking forward to his return to school. He'd spent a lot of time during the summer doing his best to forget everything that had happened at the end of his fourth year and pretending that everything was as normal as it had been a year ago. He knew, though, that upon his return to school, he was going to be forced to face everything and everyone.

He wondered how all of his schoolmates were going to treat him.

Just because the Weasleys and Hermione were able to treat him normally didn't mean that everyone else would. He was sure that those who didn't believe that Voldemort had returned would still blame him for Cedric's death, and he was pretty sure that those who had accepted the fact that Voldemort was back would treat him as though he were a glass figurine in danger of breaking at any given moment.

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Before long, Harry found himself pushing his trunk toward Platform 9 ¾. He watched as one by one, the Weasleys went through he barrier, and he followed them with Hermione. Staring at the Hogwarts Express was comforting in one way, at least. It gave him a sense of security; he knew that Dumbledore would be around, and at least that gave him some sort of safe feeling.

"Owl me when you get there," Mrs. Weasley said after she'd joined the teenagers on the platform.

"We know, Mum," Fred said, a slight trace of annoyance in his voice.

Mrs. Weasley smiled fondly at the circle of children she'd brought to King's Cross with her. "Okay. Well, you better hurry and board. We've just barely made it."

She kissed the twins first and then Ginny, sending them to the train with "Good luck" and "Be good." She then turned to the remaining three, and her smile faded just a bit.

"You three, be careful," she told them seriously. There was worry clearly showing in her eyes.

"We will, Mum," Ron said, agitated. "We're not…"

"I'm serious," she cut him off sharply. "Don't go looking for trouble."

"We don't have to," Hermione mumbled, a bit of bitterness evident in her voice. Harry felt immediately guilty.

Mrs. Weasley looked briefly at each of them in turn. "You just have to promise me that if anything is wrong, if you suspect anything at all or if you feel anything strange, you have to promise me that you'll go straight to Dumbledore and tell him." Her gaze finally rested on Harry. "Promise me."

Harry nodded solemnly, though he didn't speak.

Mrs. Weasley sighed softly and turned her look to Hermione and Ron. "And you two?"

They both nodded, too, and Ron mumbled what Harry could barely make out to be, "Okay."

The train whistle sounded at that moment, signaling the last warning before it took off.

"Right, then," Mrs. Weasley said uneasily. She then gave them what was a very recognizable forced smile and kissed them all on the cheeks. "Have a good term."

"Thank you for everything, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione smiled at the older witch.

"Yeah, thanks," Harry added with his own forced smile.

She shook her head. "Oh, you're welcome."

With a final smile, Harry and Hermione turned and boarded the train. Ron started to follow them, but Mrs. Weasley caught his sleeve; he turned to look at her questioningly.

"Watch out for Harry," she said quickly.

Ron saw the worry in his mother's eyes, and he nodded at her uneasily. He didn't like the look on her face. "I will, Mum."

The worried look didn't fade at all. "And if you think he's hiding something or… anything, please tell Professor Dumbledore."

Ron was getting a bit worried, and he was upset at this because he'd been forcing himself to think that things were going to be perfectly normal. Very quietly, he said, "I will…"

"And watch out for Hermione, too," she added hastily. "She's not exactly in the safest of situations with her parents, you know."

Ron did know. But he didn't like to think about it. "Okay, Mum." He was speaking even softer by now.

"And you be careful," she said finally. "Please be careful." She was looking at him imploringly.

He just nodded at this, not sure what else to say.

His mother finally wrapped her arms around him hurriedly as the whistle sounded a final time. "I love you," she whispered quickly.

Ron pulled back and gave him mum one final look before finally managing to mumble, "I love you, too… I have to go…"

She nodded. "Bye, Ron."

"Bye." He barely whispered the answer before turning and boarding the train just in time, feeling it move as soon as he'd shut the door behind him. He glanced up and down the aisle. He recognized many of his schoolmates as they gathered in the aisle and hung out of compartments, chatting loudly with each other and catching up on summer events. He spotted Dean and Seamus and walked the few feet to join them.

"Hey!" Dean said, grinning. "What's up?"

Ron smiled back at him. "Nothing much. Did you guys have a good summer?"

They both nodded. "Yeah, did you?"

Ron returned the nod. "Yeah, it was pretty good. Hey, have you guys seen…"

"Second compartment from the end," Seamus said, cutting him off before he could even tell them who he was looking for.

Ron laughed. "How did you know I wasn't talking about my brothers or something?"

Seamus rolled his eyes. "Lucky guess."

Ron laughed again and was about to turn in the direction Seamus had pointed him, when he felt a hand grab his arm. He turned around, and Dean was staring at him wide-eyed.

"Hey!" Dean's eyes flashed. "What happened to Hermione over the summer?!"

Ron wrinkled his forehead. "What do you mean? Nothing happened to her."

"She's hot!" Dean said, grinning.

Ron felt something strange in the pit of his stomach, and for some unknown reason had the urge to throw a punch right at Dean's nose. He withheld the urge, though, and just gave him the best "I didn't notice" look he could manage. "She just straightened her hair; that's all."

Seamus laughed at this. "She did a little more than straighten her hair…"

Ron had to fight the urge to punch Seamus, as well. Instead, he wrinkled his nose and said, "I really don't want to hear it, Finnigan," in the best "You're sickening me" voice he could manage.

Seamus just smirked and sent him a knowing look. "Sure," he said suspiciously. "I saw her picture in Quidditch Center. Is she really going out with Viktor Krum?" He raised his eyebrows.

Ron mentally cringed at the name. "How the hell should I know?" he asked, a little too bitterly.

Seamus and Dean both rolled their eyes. "Don't even pretend like you haven't asked her," Dean said accusingly.

"I haven't," Ron answered honestly. He hadn't even mentioned Viktor Krum since the day Hermione had arrived at his house, and whenever the large gray owl appeared bearing a letter for her, he'd chosen to ignore it. "Whatever she does is her business," he answered shortly. "I don't care what she does," he added for effectiveness.

The other two boys were silent for only a moment before Dean rolled his eyes once more and said, "Okay, right," with a tone that made Ron positive that neither of them had believed his story for even a second.

He rolled his own eyes and said, "Look, I'll see you guys later, okay?"

They nodded, both wearing identical smirks. Ron chose to ignore them, and he turned and made his way down the aisle to the second compartment from the end. He entered it and shut the door behind him. Harry and Hermione both looked up at him curiously when he walked in.

"Where've you been?" Harry asked as Ron took a seat beside him and across from Hermione.

Ron shrugged dismissively. "I ran into Dean and Seamus."

"Oh, we did, too," Hermione said, smiling.

"I know you did," Ron said, memories of the urge to hit his friends returning to his mind.

"How did you know?" Hermione raised her eyebrows at him.

Ron, not about to launch into the reasons he knew, simply said, "They told me where you guys were."

"Oh. Hey, did you see Lavender? She cut all of her hair off!" Hermione's eyes were wide as though this was huge news.

Ron wasn't sure why Hermione seemed so excited by this, but he really couldn't picture Lavender without her long blonde hair. "Really? Does it look good?"

Ron understood immediately why Hermione was so excited. Breaking into a fit of giggles, she shook her head. "No! It looks awful!"

Ron had to bite back his own laughter at Hermione's giddiness. He knew that she felt some sort of resentment towards Lavender and Parvati even though she would never verbally admit to it. He smiled at her. "Hey! Where are Fred and George and Ginny?"

Harry rolled his eyes slightly. "Fred and George dragged Ginny up the train to show her off to Lee Jordan. Apparently, she's going to make the greatest fourth addition to their little mischief team imaginable."

Ron returned the eye roll. "I can't wait to see what Mum does when she starts getting owls about Ginny like she always does about Fred and George. She'll probably blow completely."

"I can't believe they didn't turn us into toads or something," Hermione said, sitting up and shaking her head. "I definitely never expected to make it out of your house unharmed, Ron."

Ron laughed. "Yeah, but I threatened to tell Mum all about their secret stash if they messed with either of you."

Hermione and Harry broke into identical grins. "Thanks for that," Harry said, still grinning.

At that moment, the compartment door slid open, and the most unwelcome of faces greeted them.

"Well, if it's not Hogwarts' Terrific Trio." A drawling, sarcastic voice made all three friends look up and groan. Draco Malfoy was standing in the doorway, a superior smirk upon his lips and flanked, as always, by his cronies Crabbe and Goyle.

"Go away, Malfoy," Ron said immediately, a tone of complete hatred lacing his voice.

Malfoy turned to shoot him the smirk before saying, "I'd rather not, Weasley." He then turned his attention to Hermione who was glaring at the three Slytherins. "Wow, Granger," he said loudly. "Did Krum's parents force you to get that makeover? I'm sure they're a lot more particular about who their son hangs out with than the Weasleys are."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut it," she said calmly. "No one's going to pay any attention to you."

This made the blonde-haired Slytherin wouldn't shut anything, though, least of all his mouth. "I must say that it's a definite improvement. Not looking too bad on the outside, Granger… Now, if there was just something that could fix your blood, you'd be a pretty good catch. I might even make a go for you." He was smirking at her in a way that made Hermione want to throw up.

"Just go away, Malfoy," Harry said, correctly predicting that Ron was extremely close to punching Malfoy's lights out.

Malfoy then, of course, turned his attention to Harry. "And what about you, Potter? How was your summer?" His eyes were glinting evilly. "Uneventful, I hope. Certainly hope that you didn't have too many nightmares about the Dark Lord and such." His voice was so cocky and sarcastic, Harry wanted to hit him, as well.

"Sod off," Ron said, standing to face the Slytherin. Though he wasn't as big as Crabbe or Goyle, he was definitely bigger than Malfoy, and he hoped that his size would be somewhat intimidating.

Malfoy looked up at Ron and grinned. "Please, Weasley." He then turned back to Harry and continued his little taunt. "My father told me that you've got quite the price on your neck, Potter. If you ever need a secret keeper, make sure you don't choose Weasley- he'd probably turn you in for the money. Might buy his family a living complex that could actually be considered a house."

"Go to hell," Ron muttered angrily, his ears tingeing pink.

"And even without the money," Malfoy continued, completely ignoring Ron, "I'd still be careful of choosing him. Don't forget your poor parents' fate."

"Malfoy, get out," Hermione said, leaping up angrily.

She, too, was ignored. "Your father chose his faithful sidekick, and look where it got him. And I daresay Weasley is even more pathetic than old Sirius Black was… Wow," his blue eyes were glinting maliciously. "Wouldn't it be something if 'Famous Harry Potter' went the same way as his dear old dad… You know, Potter, history has a way of repeating itself."

Crabbe and Goyle were snickering stupidly, and Harry felt his blood boiling. He didn't like to hear anyone talk ill of his parents, Sirius, or his friends. Malfoy was managing to do all three at one time.

"Get out of here before I make you sorry," he warned, his hand reaching into the pocket of his Muggle jacket for his wand as he leapt to his feet.

Malfoy took a step back, though his smirk didn't disappear. "I'm just trying to help you, Potter. Looking out for your best interest and all…"

"Well, why don't you go look in the hall?" Hermione spat and shoved the door closed in the three Slytherins' faces. She turned back to Harry and Ron. "Just ignore him," she told them quickly.

Harry was so angry, he wanted to go after Malfoy and his tagalongs and hex them anyway. His face was extremely red with pent up anger, and he seemed to be fuming. Ron, though, was looking rather odd. His face was completely solemn, and he was staring at the door blankly.

"He's such a bastard," Harry muttered finally, sitting back down.

Hermione scowled. "We've just got to ignore him," she asserted again.

"I hate him," Ron mumbled after a moment. "I really hate him." He sat down and crossed his arms as he stared out the window.

Harry and Hermione just looked at him, not knowing what to say.

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So? Please leave me feedback if you found the rest of this story okay! I'd really appreciate it! (