Accidentally In Love
CHAPTER ONE:
"Ah – there they are!" Mr. Weasley spied out the Grangers from the sea of people at the train station. Not that it was hard – not many ordinary folk lingered idly around a place as random as one between Platforms 9 and 10, or any other place for that matter. The train station was always full of movement and buzz.
"So nice to meet you again." Said Mr. Weasley emphatically as he extended a firm handshake to Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Muggles! Always so fascinating. "Has Ron been behaving? Hasn't given you any, uh, trouble I hope?"
"Oh, your boy's very well-behaved." Mrs. Granger replied politely, vaguely remembering how the freckled, red-haired boy had given half the mall a shock when he yelled through the "fellytone" – which really was Mr. Granger's mobile phone. She smiled. "No trouble at all, Mr. Weasely."
Mr. Granger gave a pronounced cough at this point – clearly both husband and wife shared the same thoughts.
"Oh – is that a fellytone?" Mr. Weasley narrowed his eyes at Mr. Granger's Nokia mobile and asked in wonder. "It's curiously small! From all the ones I've seen, that is. Is that a new invention?"
"Well, it's a mobile phone, actually – "Mr. Granger replied hastily.
"May I have a look at it?" Came the eager request.
"Uh, sure – "
While Mr. Weasely fiddled excitedly with the gadget, Mrs. Weasley herded the children and quickly ran through a list of things in her mind.
"School books? Pets? Clothes?"
"Yes mum, we got them." Ginny replied exasperatedly.
"And you, Ron? Hermione?" She turned her protective glance to the both of them. They nodded.
"Right... well you just stay here while I – "
"HELLO! HELLO, CAN YOU HEAR ME?" A loud voice boomed and echoed across the station.
Hermione jumped and clutched Ron's arm instinctively, and in that few seconds Ron felt his face burning right up to the ends of his flaming red hair. He wondered vaguely if he looked more like a tomato or an apple, and then decided there wasn't really any difference.
Hermione turned to look at where the commotion came from, then relaxed and laughed a little when she saw it was just Mr. Weasley bellowing, with effort, into her father's mobile phone.
"That's how you used to use the telephone, Ron." Hermione said, laughing.
"Well – I know now, don't I?" He replied, scratching his head a little sheepishly. After that day at the mall, Hermione had insisted on teaching him how to use the felly – telephone – thingy.
Apparently you were just supposed to sorta talk normally to the person over at the other end, and there was no need for yelling. But he still didn't quite understand. What if the person was all the way in Egypt, in the middle of some mummy crypt, like his brother Bill? Surely a little, uh, volume would be needed. Of course Hermione had mentioned something about fibres and wafers, but the thing certainly didn't seem to comprise of edible parts, Hermione was talking nonsense as usual... Like what she had said about Krum being charming and all that... Nonsense...
Ginny fought hard to suppress a giggle, making it hard for her to have an intelligible response. She had wandered from her mother and now found herself in a one-way conversation with Luna Lovegood. Luna had on white earrings that rather looked like turnips; Ginny suspected that it came in a set, along with the radish-like earrings. Her hair was also ornamented with various animal-shaped (looked like it) hairpins.
"You may not believe me," Luna continued coldly, "but just wait till you read all about it in this month's The Quibbler."
With that concluded Luna strode away haughtily, leaving Ginny to wonder if she had been giggling rather obviously, and if Luna was offended. But surely, Luna was used to this sort of thing by now...
"Happy now, aren't you?" Came a cold sneer from behind. She recognized the voice at once.
"Malfoy." She turned and met his icy glare.
Draco Malfoy's blonde hair was no longer carefully slicked up as it was before. It hung casually like a curtain that framed his pale face, and his steely blue eyes looked even more menacing than before. He no longer had that sleek, polished quality – on the contrary he looked rather haggard, like one would if one's father was in Azkaban... or worse, if one had the misfortune of being been pestered all summer by a certain Pansy Parkinson.
"Ginny! Mum's been – "Ron halted at the sight of Draco Malfoy. He opened his mouth instinctively to make a snide remark, then stopped and thought better of it. "– come along, Ginny."
Ginny shot Draco one final look of contempt and turned to leave with Ron. But Draco's gaze never wavered. Harry fidgeted about in the car restlessly. If his piggish Uncle Vernon continued to drive at turtle pace, there was no way he was going to get to the Hogwarts Express on time.
"Uncle Vernon – "He began desperately.
"Shut up."
"– I'm going to miss the train – "
"Shut up."
"– and if I do, I'm going to have to stay at the house all year – "He said, getting angrier.
"I said shut up. If you miss the train, you'll just find another way to get to that ruddy school anyway – "
"– and if you don't speed up," Harry continued in a louder voice, taking out his wand from his back pocket, "I'm just going to have to hex you."
Uncle Vernon squinted at Harry through the rear mirror, his beady eyes reduced to slits. "You're not allowed to do magic," he said as a satisfied smile crept across his face. "and I shall drive as fast – or slow – as I like!"
What Uncle Vernon said was true – Harry was still one year away from being of age to do magic outside of school. He fell silent.
CRACK.
"No, he can't – "came a female voice.
"No, sir, no he can't!" Exclaimed Uncle Vernon in fervent agreement, before realizing that a young lady had just appeared in his car out of thin air. "Wha - ?"
"But I can." She said with a grin.
Ten minutes later, Harry was speeding down the train station with a hooting Hedwig as her cage rattled wildly in the trolley.
"Well, here we are." Said Tonks cheerily upon reaching the magical barrier to Platform 9 ¾.
"Thanks." Harry beamed at her with appreciation, noticing that her hair was a mild brown today.
"Anytime!" Tonks replied, then bent down and whispered in his ear, "The rest of the Guard had about ten million messages for you, especially Moody – " she grimaced as she remembered, "– but basically it boils down to this: be good." She winked.
"Hullo, Harry." Came a dreamy voice.
Harry spun round. "Oh, uhh, hi. Tonks – Loony, Loony – Tonks." He introduced hastily. He wanted to disappear immediately; Luna Lovegood always had this... strange effect on him.
Tonks raised an eyebrow inquiringly. "Loony?"
"It's Luna, thanks." Luna corrected coolly. "And hi."
"Of course, I meant Luna." Harry corrected quickly, and rather guiltily.
"D'you suppose Harry made it?" Hermione asked worriedly, peering out of the compartment every 2 seconds. "What if he misses the train?"
"Well, then he gets to put a flying charm on his uncle's car and fly to Hogwarts." Ron mumbled sarcastically, remembering their catastrophic flight during their 2nd year in which they flew straight into the Whomping Willow.
"What?"
"Oh – no, nothing." Ron replied quickly. "Of course he's going to make it, mum said Tonks went to get him, remember?"
"Yes, but..." Hermione didn't sound any more reassured, still sticking her head out of the compartment. "What if they ran into trouble on the way? Like, you know... Oh." She smiled a little. "Looks like he did run into some trouble."
"What?" Asked Ron curiously, and peered out. Harry was walking down the compartments towards theirs with a rather annoyed look on his face, with Luna trailing behind him.
Ginny, who was also in the same compartment, laughed. "She's probably telling him all about her Crumpled-Horned Snorkacks now – oh, hi Harry." She smiled sweetly as Harry appeared.
"Hi," Said Harry, and took the last empty seat in the compartment.
"Oh – no more seats?" Luna's voice came floating in, dreamy as ever, though Harry thought he detected a very slight hint of disappoint. An odd feeling rose in him – like during the last night of their fifth year, when he learned that Luna's things were being stolen for fun. He supposed it was something like sympathy, but then remembered he himself had just introduced her as Loony.
"Sorry," He said dumbly, himself not being able to conjure an extra seat or something of the sort.
"You can come look for me if you want to talk," She said enigmatically, then shrugged and strolled back down to another compartment that would take her. Something struck Harry as he watched her retreating figure – he did want to talk to her, about... things that 3 of his friends in his compartment wouldn't fully understand. In fact, he'd been bursting to talk to someone about it all summer.
"We were so afraid you wouldn't make it in time, Harry!" Said Hermione, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"It was just you, Hermione." Corrected Ron (Harry smiled at this). Hermione ignored him.
"How come you're so late?" She asked curiously.
"Was just my Uncle Vernon." He answered, and then dived into an animated re- telling of how Tonks had 'rescued' him. Amidst all the laughter and lively conversation on the train, Harry's emotional burden of Sirius's death lifted but only temporarily, and he knew he would have to talk to someone about it soon to keep himself from going... loony.
How ironic, he thought, as the train started and bore them all away.