Disclaimer: All you fan-fic readers know the drill by now. I'm not J.K so obviously I don't own Harry Potter (much as I'd like to), BUT I do own this plot. Well, the bits of it that the voices in my head aren't dictating...

Harry Potter and the Time of Trials

Chapter 9: Meeting on the Hogwarts Express

The entire car trip to the station was accompanied by the rhythmical banging of Ginny trying to break her bracelet off. When she had hopped into the car and next to Harry it had started playing Endless Love and apparently enough was enough. Harry really couldn't blame her; it was an awful tune.

Still, they made it to Kings Cross with time to spare. Harry couldn't decide if this was because the twins were no longer going to Hogwarts - although they had promised to be at the station to see them off - or because of the influence of Hermione. She was sharing a room with one of the two Weasleys still attending, and as Harry had noticed with no small amusement, had rather an interesting influence over the other. They still seemed to be dancing around the issue though.

Neville bounded up to them the second they emerged from the barrier. "You'll never guess," he told them. "You'll never guess!! The most fantastic thing has happened! Draco Malfoy has had his prefect badge taken off him! You should have seen him!!! It was almost as good as the bouncing ferret." He stopped to consider his last statement before starting to bob around in excitement again. "Definitely almost as good as the ferret."

Ron joined him in an impromptu dance of joy. Harry wondered if this meant that they did not have to expect their annual encounter with Malfoy on the train, but considering how angry he had been just before the end of term, and how much worse that must be now that he had lost his badge, decided that was unlikely.

Other people, drawn by the noise that the two were making, started to crowd around adding bits of information that they had gathered.

"Did you see his robes?" Lavender asked.

"Not up to his usual standard," Parvati put in. "Almost ragged really."

"I heard from my aunt that they confiscated Malfoy Manor," Susan shared.

"And froze their Gringotts account," Terry added.

"Yeah, that too," Susan agreed.

"What's this we hear-"

"Sweet music to our ears?"

Ginny gave her brothers a particularly dirty look, and moved just far away enough that the music stopped.

"No, no, no, no. Not you Ginny."

"Although your bracelet does sound splendid, doesn't it."

"We mean about Malfoy," Fred clarified.

Most of the group turned to welcome the twins with looks of surprise on their faces.

"You mean you didn't know?" Anthony asked in wonder.

The thought that the twins could be ignorant about anything as big as this was a shock even to Harry. Somehow, he had expected that they would just know.

"Well we are running a business now," George said in mock irritation.

The group continued to talk about holiday news until Mrs Weasley started to fuss about the train being about ready to leave.

Harry pulled George aside in the few moments remaining before the train left.

"I have to ask, is there anyway that Ginny can get that bracelet off? I think it's starting to drive her batty." He didn't mention that it was also getting to him.

George tapped his nose in a knowing manner.

"Of course," he said with a roguish grin, then walked off before Harry could interrogate him any further.

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As the train pulled away from Kings Cross, Ron and Hermione left to attend the Prefects meeting. Harry closed the compartment door as they left and turned a content smile to the other occupants.

"What?" Ginny asked curiously.

"We're on the train. The magic ban for the holidays is officially over for the year."

He reached into his sleeve and brought out his wand. Then he tried to twirl it theatrically with his fingers and promptly dropped it.

"Oops," he chuckled as he bent over to pick it up.

Neville, looking amused at Harry's clumsiness indicated one of the seats. "Sit down before you hurt yourself, Harry. So what are you planning then?"

Harry gave him a look but sat down anyway.

"I don't know if it happens every year to you three," he answered, "but every year - without fail - Ron, Hermione and I get a visit from Malfoy and his goons. And as this year he has just had his badge taken-"

Neville interrupted gleefully. "Yeah, he was spitting chips."

"Yes. Well, I figure that he's probably going to come while Ron and Hermione are stuck in the prefect meeting-"

"Need any props?" Ginny interrupted, popping open her trunk to reveal a huge pile of dungbombs.

Harry, grinning like the Cheshire Cat, nodded. "Perfect. They'll be just the thing."

It took a little while to set up. By the time the finishing touches were placed, Harry was a little worried that Ron and Hermione might beat Malfoy in getting there. Laughing a little in anticipation the four sat back to wait and see what would happen.

As it turned out, they didn't have to wait long.

Draco Malfoy flung open the door impetuously. A shadow of a smirk crossed his face, almost as if he knew something Harry did not.

"Potter," he drawled. He looked disdainfully over Harry's companions. "A repeat of last year? Except you've lost Weasel and the Mudblood."

Harry gave him a withering look. "Has it been that long?" he asked. "Have you already forgotten about the meeting on the train?"

"I don't know, Harry," Neville sounded doubtful, but his eyes gave him away. "It was an awfully long time ago, and with him not being a prefect anymore..." Really, Neville seemed to be enjoying Malfoy's reversal of fortune almost too much.

"Was he a prefect?" Luna asked, although Harry was hard pressed to say whether she was joining in the teasing, or genuinely asking.

Shaking her head at her friend, Ginny, apparently unable to stay out of the fun cast the final straw. "And your robes-"

Malfoy's face went a queer pale colour with the exception of two small pink patches on his cheeks. Angrily he snarled, cutting her off and moved to enter the room. Behind him, Harry could now see Crabbe and Goyle looking unusually reluctant to follow. He was a little surprised at this apparent show of wisdom by the two.

Still there was nothing they could have done anyway. As Malfoy stepped into the compartment, looking all set to say something nasty, there was a whoosh of displaced air. The dungbombs proceeded to fly down, bombarding their unwelcome visitor.

Hands flailing in a helpless attempt to protect himself Malfoy tried to back out. "Crabbe! Goyle! Help me," he ordered, but when Harry looked to see what they were doing the corridor was empty. With a cry of rage, Malfoy managed to escape the barrage and fled away toward the back of the train. A stray dungbomb followed him until he managed to close the door between carriages.

Harry, Ginny and Neville looked at each other before dissolving into helpless laughter while Luna looked on blinking a little.

"H-he-" Ginny tried to say.

"And t-they j-just-" Harry managed to get out.

"Brilliant!" Neville summed up when he got his breath back. "Just brilliant."

Getting himself back under control, Harry inhaled deeply and gagged. He wondered how he had missed it before; the flaw in his plan. The whole compartment was filled with the pervading stink of the dungbombs.

Ginny, catching the scent, sprung up and tried to force the window to open. She pulled out her wand when it refused to do so, and pointed at it.

"Alohomora!"

Luna grabbed her copy of the new edition of The Quibbler, and had started to fan the air, trying to push the stink out of the now open window when all of a sudden she sat back down and retreated behind it. Harry noted, with the surprise of one seeing something for the first time, that it was even the right way up. He looked around to try and work out why she had reacted so and saw Ron and Hermione standing at the door, looking with astonishment at the mess that had accumulated there.

"Ron, Hermione, you just missed Malfoy," Harry called out nasally to them, holding his nose and gesturing for his friends to join them. Ron sniffed, shrugged and bounded across, directing a curious glance at Luna hidden behind the magazine before sitting next to Neville who promptly stopped his own efforts to get rid of the smell and immediately started to retell the events of minutes before. Hermione stepped into the room and wrinkled her nose.

Harry watched with relief as she brought out her wand and with a quick swishy movement cast a spell. "Aeraticaus."

Moving to take her own seat, Hermione took a deep satisfied breath. Removing his grip on his own nose, Harry cautiously followed her lead and found that the stink was gone, replaced by a faint lemony aroma. He glanced over at Ron, who shrugged.

"Guess I'm a little too used to it. Scary thought, huh!"

Harry could only smile.

His relaxed moment was short lived. Ginny gave him an encouraging look and he cleared his throat a little nervously, looking around at the people gathered about him. Neville seemed almost finished his description of Malfoy's meeting with the dungbombs for Ron, and was hurrying it along after glancing at Harry. Ginny had reached over and taken The Quibbler from Luna, indicating with her head that she should listen to what Harry had to say. Hermione had put aside the book that she had picked up when she had sat down, and after sharing a significant glance with Ron gave her full attention to Harry.

Harry cleared his throat again, wondering why it had suddenly gone so dry. Shifting restlessly in his seat he glanced toward the door, then his friends. Abruptly he stood and pulled his wand out. Pointing it back at the door he cast an Imperturbable Charm at it, replaced his wand and sat back down.

Seconds later he jumped up again and looked once more at his friends. All of them had helped him. He caught sight of Ron's arm, revealed because he had discarded his jacket. The scar from his encounter with the brain twisted around much of his arm. While no longer raised and sore looking, it reminded Harry of just how much his friends had risked for his sake. All had risked their lives at the Ministry of Magic. He knew he couldn't keep the rest of the story a secret any longer. Ginny reached out and caught hold of his arm. Silence filled the room for a moment as he looked at her she gave him another encouraging look before releasing him. Harry nodded and sat down once again, taking a deep fortifying breath. Ginny grabbed a Weasley jumper and wrapped it around her arm until the tinny notes of Eternal Flame almost disappeared.

"You are the people who stood by me. It's not..." he struggled to find the word he wanted, "...right that I should keep you in the dark. Enough damage has already been caused by people not being told the truth." A bitter edge crept into his voice.

Hermione opened her mouth, probably to ask him to clarify his last statement, but Harry beat her to it.

"Please don't interrupt me. This is hard to say, and I... you need to listen. To understand what happened."

He told them about what had happened after he had left Neville, up until when he was sent back to Hogwarts. It was much easier this time around. Faster even, at first, as he didn't have to order his thoughts as much as he had during the first telling. He explained about his attempt to cast an Unforgivable, about wanting to hurt Bellatrix, to kill her. He went into great detail about the duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort. When he glanced up at Ginny, she gave him an encouraging look, and realising that he had been putting off the event that had scarred him most, he stopped for a second and looked around at the others, trying to gauge what they thought of what he had been revealing to them.

Neville looked shaken, which Harry attributed to the mention of his attempt to cast Crucio. Ron was looking wide-eyed, conflicting emotions of awe and horror fighting for dominance of his features. Hermione was listening intently, and Harry could almost hear the questions she had stored up in her head, fighting to get out. Luna had dropped her spaced out usual expression and was regarding him quite seriously.

A little reassured, Harry drew another slow deep breath and ran his tongue quickly over his dry lips.

"And then he possessed me," he stated simply.

The reaction was explosive.

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Shall I Shut Up Now?

A/N: Endless Love is by Mariah Carey. I consulted my sisters really bad CD collection until I managed to find something totally cringe-worthy. How the twins came by the song is anybody's guess. The other song mentioned in this chapter is Eternal Flame by the Bangles.

Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out. As said on the Author page, I've been sucked into the RPGing world and was attacked by a vicious pack of plot bunnies. Hopefully the next chapter will be out in a more reasonable time.

In the meantime, feel free to review. They remind me that I need to keep updating! ;)