(a/n: OMG something is wrong with my puter...i try to put spaces in my story but they don't show up, and it's SO FREAKIN ANNYOYING!! so, you just kinda hafta improvise where the empty lines should be...anyway i know the last chapter was a bit short, but they'll get longer...remember to review!!!!!!)
And Then There Was Harry...CHAPTER II
The Hogwarts Express was moving along, quickly and without hope of stopping.
"We're all gonna die...we're all gonna die!" Ron squealed.
"Ron, don't be ridiculous. I mean obviously, this isn't some ten- year reunion, but that doesn't mean we're all going to get murdered or something," Harry said firmly.
"M-m-murdered? I wasn't even thinking that! I was thinking we were going to die of starvation! You're not helping at all," Ron squeaked. Harry sighed.
"Some things don't ever change, do they?" Harry said, almost cheerfully despite the current situation.
An awkward silence suddenly filled the compartment. Harry had never known a time when they could not talk about anything, and he felt uncomfortable. Ron and Hermione didn't seem to notice, Ron worrying way too much and Hermione with her nose in a book.
"Some things really never change," Harry mumbled to himself. He pressed his face against the cold glass of the window, suddenly depressed. He'd rather be anywhere but here, even alone in his dark apartment with nothing to do. Harry had become so weak and tired, having minimal excitement and no happiness in his life, he thought he might go insane.
"Harry...are you alright?" Harry faintly heard Hermione questioning his well-being. Harry smiled a bit, more because he knew someone still cared than to let her know he was still somewhat alright. "I guess I'm alright. It's just...it's just been so long, since I saw either of you. It's almost difficult."
Hermione suddenly looked like she felt sorry for Harry. Harry didn't like it. He wished she'd stop looking at him with those big, sad eyes.
Hermione came over, almost cautiously, and put her arms around Harry in a warm embrace. It only made Harry feel worse, however he returned the sign of affection.
Hermione let go of him after what seemed like an hour, and Harry felt more dead inside than ever. "It's just, myself and Ron-" Hermione kicked Ron's foot as he was showing no sign of caring about Harry, even at the mention of his name-"well it's been tough for us too, everything that happened...but we should have made a better effort to see you."
Truthfully, Harry hadn't made much of an effort to see them either, but his mind was on other things.
"Us...we...what happened?"
Hermione looked shocked. "You mean we didn't tell you?" Hermione paused for a moment, looking uncomfortable.
"Tell me--tell me what?"
"Harry, about five years ago, Ron and I started, you know, dating. I ended up moving in with him after a while, but things got horrible, it was like all hell broke loose, and I left."
"And you can still manage to be in the same room with him?" Harry said, no longer caring about Ron's disinterest.
"Well Harry, it was so long ago...it was awful for a while, but I-- I mean, we-" once again, Hermione had kicked Ron to get him to pay attention"-we can stand each other now, we're friends again."
Harry didn't say a thing. Here he had only seen his two best friends just a few brief times over a course of ten years, most being in the first three, and they had been together--going out, dating, and they didn't even tell him. Harry felt empty and hurt.
"If you can't forgive me...I'll understand, Harry," Hermione said softly. Once again Harry didn't say anything. It was like every negative emotion a person could have was spilling over. Harry turned away from Hermione and Ron and didn't say another word to either of them.
"What's wrong with him?" Ron said, dazed.
"If you'd've been paying attention to your supposed best friend you might have found out," Hermione snapped, feeling bad for what happened.
"Hermione! Hermione!" Hermione heard someone calling her name and looked over; it was Ginny.
"Ginny, what were you called here for?" Ron said rudely.
"A reunion, what do you think?"
"A nine year reunion?"
"So what? And why are you here anyway?"
"Supposedly for a ten year reunion, but obviously it's not that, is it?"
Hermione pushed by. It wasn't nearly the first time the two had fought, but she was just so sick of it. Besides, she had to catch up to Harry.
"Harry?" she said softly when she had found him. Harry snapped around.
"What do you want?" he barked. "Are you going to tell me more stuff I don't know?"
"Yes-well, not like you're thinking. I was going to say that honestly, I didn't mean to leave you out all this time, I was absolutely positive that I mentioned something about me and Ron more than once, until you said you didn't know...I'm so incredibly sorry that I hardly talked to you at all over ten years, but the truth is, I really missed you."
Harry thought for a moment. Finally he decided that she was for real.
"It's okay, Mione. I forgive you." A short awkward moment passed before Ginny came running up to Hermione.
"Hermione, did you see--Harry, could you kindly go somewhere else for a moment?" Harry started walking up the path to the castle obediently.
"Did you see Neville? He's like--"
"Long, tan, and handsome?"
"Well, I don't know about long, and surely not tan, but definitely handsome. Oh! There he is. Look at him..."
Hermione turned her head slowly and tried to get a look at Neville without being too obvious. Ginny was right; he had become rather good- looking, though she didn't admit it to Ginny. Instead, she just shrugged.
"Harry! You can come back now!" Ginny yelled. Harry had gotten pretty far on the path, but ran right back.
"This has got to be a mistake!" Harry heard a cold, drawling voice. He knew in an instant that it was Draco Malfoy. He had hardly changed a bit, looks or personality-wise.
"No, you really think so?" Ron said.
"Watch it Weasley," Draco replied. "You're still just a dirt poor blood traitor."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Obviously you haven't changed a bit," she said sharply.
"Neither have you, you ugly little Mudblood," he drawled back.
"You know what guys," Ginny said reasonably. "We're gonna be stuck here for a while, I'm guessing, and I'm thinking we should all at least try to get off each other's throats."
"Be here a while? I don't know about you, but I passed my Apparition test. I'm leaving."
Hermione looked angry. "I would think, after nearly twenty years, that you would all get it through your thick heads--you can't Disapparate from Hogwarts!"
Meanwhile, Neville walked over, looking terrified, trying as usual to make himself invisible (though still not doing a great job.) He looked around at all of his old friends from school, and his eyes stopped on Ginny. 'Ten years has changed her a lot,' he said in his mind.
While it was true that her looks had changed a lot; she had gotten taller and curvier over the years, as well as prettier, she was still as recognizable as ever. Her shocking red hair identified herself as a Weasley immediately; her big brown eyes were still unlike any other. She still had that dusting of freckles across her nose. Though she wasn't incredibly gorgeous, Neville had to admit that he never really got over the baby crush he'd had on her since fourth year, when he took her to the Yule Ball. 'I can't believe I'm even thinking this,' he thought.
Suddenly, an unchanged Seamus speaking ripped him from his reverie.
"You guys, something's up here. I'm saying we should take the next train back, before we all go missing or whatever."
Generally they all agreed, until Neville spoke up.
"You guys, what are the chances that there truly is something wrong here?" All the others looked at him as though he were mad.
"You know what, I agree," Ginny said. "I really would like to know what's going on here," though she didn't mean it. She really only wanted to stay because Neville was.
"If Ginny's staying, then I am too," Hermione stated. "Whatever I imagine, I'm sure, will be much worse than the truth."
Ginny looked curiously at Hermione, who again shrugged. "It's true," she muttered, so only Ginny could hear.
(a/n: ooh I know, it took me forever for that…I'm not going to write much here, just…THANK YOU TAP DANCING SPIDERS, YOU MADE MY DAY!)