Disclaimer; I don't own Harry Potter (and I didn't in Ch.1 or any other time I forgot to write this). I did, however, come up with the de-gnomer all by myself, and also this little duck thing (which tends to go dismembered on ff for some reason);



(..)

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Ch.5 - On the Hogwarts Express



"What is it?" asked Mrs Weasley. "What now?"

"I think they've made a mistake," said Ron, looking at Harry, "I mean, us, prefects?"

There was no mistake though, Harry skimmed his eyes once more over his letter, reading it aloud.



"Dear Mr Potter,

In light of all you have done over your four years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, we have decided to appoint you the position of prefect. This is a responsibility as well as a privilege and if we feel that you are setting an inappropriate example to other students, we will revoke your badge immediately. Overleaf are terms of both your privileges and extra responsibilities,

Congratulations,



Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress



Harry flipped the top sheet over and was presented with a very long list of rules. Mrs Weasley pulled him and Ron into a bone breaking hug, sobbing how proud she was of both of them.

"Fred and George are going to tease us something rotten!" hissed Ron, from under his mother's arm.



They were making there way up to the paddock the Weasleys owned to play Quidditch with Fred, George and Ginny when something struck Harry.

"Don't you have to apply to be a prefect?" he asked Ron quietly. Ron stopped dead, causing Ginny to walk straight into him.

"Watch it!" she squeaked angrily,

"Sorry," said Ron carrying on, "Yeah you're right. Why d'you think...?"

"I don't know," said Harry slowly, "Usually inexplicable things have to do with Vol- sorry, 'You-Know-Who'. But I can't see how he could kill me by making me a prefect."

"We've got badges and everything," said Ron, "We'll just have to ask someone when we get there."

"Malfoy!" said Harry suddenly.

"What, you think he's playing a prank?"

"No," said Harry, "I was thinking of the look on his face when he finds out!"

"Yeah," sighed Ron, evidently slipping into a day dream.

They'd made it to the paddock and mounted up. They began throwing an old Muggle football around. Harry noticed, with interest, that Ron never missed a single catch.



***

Before he could quite believe it (Harry was sure time ran wonky in the Weasleys' house) he was packing his trunk for Hogwarts. He smiled - he was probably the only boy in the world who loved going back to school more than anything else (he included Quidditch as part of going back to school because it happened there). Harry loved September 1st in the Weasley house - it was just very funny. Even with only five of them to get on the train, chaos still reigned supreme. There was nearly a mid air collision (literally) when Fred and George thought it would 'speed things up' if they went everywhere on their brooms and Ginny was a walking disaster area; Harry counted her knock seventeen items off the breakfast table. Somehow they managed to get everything organised without any serious injuries.

"Come on Arthur!" called Mrs Weasley, in the general direction of the shed, as she helped Ginny heave her trunk outside.

"Just putting an anti-earthing charm on the de-gnomer, dear, won't take a-"

"NOW!"

"How are we going to get to the station?" Harry asked Ron quietly. He was answered by something nosing him gently in the back. He turned around to find the Weasleys' old Ford Anglia behind him.

"Hello!" he said to it, in the voice you use when addressing cats dogs and other cute fluffy things. He reached over and gave its bonnet a friendly pat. Then he realised everyone was staring at him. He straightened up.

"It just came back." said Ron, as they climbed in, "We think it got bored. It's ejected the 'fly' button though - doesn't want us getting any ideas." Harry grinned guiltily.

For once the Weasleys and Harry arrived at the station with enough time. Even so they went straight through to the platform.

"HARRY! RON!" Hermione was running towards them, she threw an arm round each of them. "Hiya Ginny," she added as Ron's sister materialised through the barrier and went off to join her friends. "Look!" she said, sticking her chest out. Harry was just worrying about what she wanted them to notice, when he saw there was a shiny prefect badge pinned to the front of her robes.

"Wow, that's great" said Harry trying not to stare.

"Didn't either of you apply to be prefects?" she asked, sounding deeply shocked.

"No," said Ron casually, "But we got made them anyway." Harry wondered if he'd been practising this moment in his head. Hermione opened her mouth and shut it again, she'd initially gone white but was now bright red.

"But - but," she stammered, "But that's not fair!" She looked like she might cry. "Well, if you're prefects, why aren't you wearing badges?" she asked sourly.

"Well..it seems kind of odd." said Harry, "What if it's a prank or something?" That sounded even more pathetic out loud than it did in his head. Hermione clearly wasn't buying it and was still looking rather annoyed when they boarded the Hogwarts express. There was tense and fractured conversations about their summers - Harry thought this would be a good ice breaker, but Ron started getting edgy when he mentioned Krum for some reason. They sat fairly silently until they heard a noise from the compartment behind them.

"Can't you see this compartment's in use?" That was the unmistakable drawl of Draco Malfoy.

"I-I-I'm s-sorry," stammered a girl's voice - they didn't recognise it. There was what sounded like feet shuffling back across the floor, then;

"Wait, what's your name?" asked Draco.

"Gwyn." came the nervous reply.

"Your surname stupid," said Draco, as though this was the most obvious thing in the world.

"F-F-Feuxpinch," the girl managed to stammer.

"F-F-Feuxpinch?" mocked Draco. Crabbe and Goyle could be heard chortling, and feet moving towards the girl, "You know I don't think I recognise that name. You're a skanky little Mudblood aren't you?"

"A what...I'm sorry, don't understand you," Gwyn replied, panic rising in her voice.

"That proves it," said Draco.

"I'm sorry, but what are you-" She was cut off by what sounded like, and judging by her yelp of pain probably was, a slap.

"Just get out of my sight, you scum, and don't you dare cross me again." Draco spoke slowly and deliberately, his voice brimming with menace. There was the sound of a compartment door sliding shut. Hermione was on her feet within a second, Harry and Ron scrambled after her. They burst into the corridor. The girl was crouched on the floor, still just outside Malfoy's compartment. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, although she was doing her best not to sob loudly. Ducking past Malfoy's window, Hermione grabbed her by the arm and pulled her upright and into their own compartment. There were tears in her own eyes as she wrapped her arms round the small girl. She had jet black hair, which was bobbed just under her ears, murky brown eyes and was quite short and skinny. She was shaking.

"Shhh," said Hermione gently, stroking Gwyn's hair, "Shhh, he's not worth bothering with. Ignore him, those names, they're not worth bothering with."

"I d-don't know w-what they m-mean," sobbed Gwyn, "I, just, I - Oh! Wh-wh-why, did something, l-l-like this h-h-have t-t-to happen on my first day of school?" The world 'school' had become a wail, as she sobbed uncontrollably. "W-w-what IS a M-m-mudblood, anyway?" The group shifted uncomfortably, Gwyn was looking expectantly at Hermione. She sighed.

"A Mudblood is a derogatory term for a Muggle-born wizard," she spoke matter of factly, but there was an edge to her voice, "Idiots like Malfoy think what parentage you've got effects how worthy a witch or wizard you are. Fascists like him believe that people like you and me don't have a right to an education." Her voice was rising now, Harry heard the conversation from Malfoy's stop, apparently so did Hermione because she had managed to regain her control by the time she said, "In short - he is a twat. But it's alright because no-one who matters cares what he thinks. That and I slapped him in our third year." Harry could detect a definite note of pride in her voice when she said this. "Obviously he's forgotten though," she was saying. Why was she standing up?

"HERMIONE, NO!" yelled Harry, grabbing her as he pulled her back into her seat, "What's got into you today? I mean, I want to see Malfoy get slapped around the face as much as anyone but...just - No!" He nodded at Gwyn, who was staring at them over her knees, which she was hugging to her chest. She looked rather anxious. Hermione sighed and sat back down. She managed to cheer Gwyn up and drew her out a bit by talking to her about things like her family, and Hogwarts, until the witch with the trolley came along. Harry bought their usual start of term mini feast, which included Chocolate Frogs. He threw one to Gwyn. She smiled and unwrapped it - Harry knew the curing effect chocolate could have. He picked one up to throw to Hermione.

"No thanks," she said, holding up a hand, "I've got a stomach ache."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes I'm sure I have a stomach ache Harry," she snapped tartly, Harry wondered why she was being so moody today, but he was too busy to think about it, because Gwyn had dropped her frog on the mention of his name. She was staring at him, or rather his forehead. If she hadn't been slapped and reduced to tears already today, Harry might have been a bit snappy - the whole 'Harry Potter!' thing got annoying after a while.

"Harry?" she breathed, he nodded, "Harry Potter?" she asked, staring at his scar, he nodded again, she gave a small squeak, "But - But I've read about you in a history book in Flourish and Blotts!" Harry smiled,

"You dropped your frog." he said, "Here, have another one." She caught it without taking her eyes off him.

***

The night air ruffled their cloaks as they stepped off the train. It wasn't raining - luckily for the first years, but Harry was still glad to be taking a stagecoach, rather than a boat across the lake. Hermione pulled the door closed behind them - her outrage at Malfoy seemed to have made her forget that she was mad at him and Ron - they all settled into the soft velvety seats as the carriage began to jolt along. Harry smiled to himself - he was back where he belonged.