Sorry that this is so late, I went away for a couple of weeks on a much needed holiday which wasn't exactly close to any internet access.

Disclaimer: Non of it is mine except the plot and I am making no money from this.

Chapter 8: Lets Fight Until Six and then Have Dinner

Molly Weasley's eyes glistened with motherly tears as she stood on platform 9&3/4 looking at her troop about to leave her for another year at Hogwarts. Fred and George were teasing Hedwig, who ruffled her feathers and turned her back indignantly on them. So they would move to her front and start again. This created a cycle like a crazy clock with the sole aim of making Hedwig dizzy. It wasn't all that successful, but it was fun regardless.

'George, Fred, leave that bird alone.' Mrs. Weasley snapped.

Hermione checked her trunks and patted Crookshanks absently. He stretched and pushed her hand away with one of his paws.

The atmosphere on the platform was the usual mix of emotions forming a somewhat confusing elixir. First Years looked wide-eyed and frightened, their parents looked even worse. The other years were catching up, creating a form of chaos that only Hogwarts students could.

'Trevor, Trevor where are you?' Neville Longbottom was fulfilling his yearly ritual, searching for his wandering toad. Down on his hands and knees, looking through a myriad of shoes, legs, robes and luggage.

'Come on everyone, you have to leave.' Molly smiled through her glistening eyes.

'Thankyou Mrs. Weasley.' Hermione kissed the older lady's cheek gently.

'Quite all right dear, it is always a pleasure.'

'Bye Mum.' Fred kissed one cheek.

'Seeya Mum.' George kissed the other.

'Goodbye George and Fred. Please be good this year, I don't want to have to send any howlers!' She shouted after them as they ran towards Lee Jordan.

'Good bye Mrs. Weasley.' Harry smiled up at the gentle face, attached to a body that enveloped him into a tight bear hug.

'Bye Harry. Be a Good boy.'

'Bye Mum.' Ron rested his hand on her shoulder and looked down at his mother for what he thought was the first time.

'Ron, be good. My you're getting tall. Look after Harry please.' Her eyes looked up at him, worry now filling them more potently than tears.

'Don't worry Mum, I will.'

Ron and Harry helped Hermione steer her luggage trolley and headed toward the train while Molly said goodbye to her only daughter.

'Ron?' Harry looked at him over the top of his once again fixed glasses.

'MMMMmmmm?' Ron was watching Seamus Finnegan put a mouse down Susan Bone's robes.

'Why do you have to look after me?'

'What?' Ron still wasn't looking at Harry.

'Your Mum. She said you have to look after me. I want to know why.'

'Oh, you know what Mum's like; she worries about you all the time. Come on we better hurry if we want an compartment to ourselves.'

Together they got on the train, waved Goodbye to Mrs. Weasley and headed towards Hogwarts.

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'I'm stuffed.' Ron groaned, holding his belly.

'I feel sick.' Harry moaned while trying to catch a chocolate frog which had escaped.

'Well,' Hermione said in that tone that made your in-built lecture radar light up. 'If you both hadn't insisted on buying and then eating everything on that trolley you would probably feel a fair bit better.'

'Yes Mother.' Ron said in a singsong voice. Harry snickered.

Hermione rolled her eyes and then put her head back in Hogwarts: A History (revised).

Right on cue Draco meandered in, Crabbe and Goyle filling the doorway behind him.

'Nice Potter. Very Nice. What exactly does it do?' Malfoy reached towards Harry's plaster cast menacingly.

'Honestly,' whined Hermione. 'If you boys are going to fight before we even get to Hogwarts, I daren't think what kind of a year we are going to have. At least take it outside, would you?' She never even looked up.

Harry stood to oblige, Malfoy got the hint and looked at his cronies, then walked out anticipating their following. Ron carefully grabbed Draco's wand as he brushed past out the door.

Ron smirked evilly at Twiddledee and Twiddledum. 'Stupefy!' he pointed his wand at the two thugs, who blinked in reply.

Hermione gave her best Sarah Bernhart sigh. 'You can't stupefy that which is already stupid. Petrificus Totalus!'

Draco oblivious to the occurrences behind him turned and faced his flunkies. 'Well?'

Crabbe and Goyle stood there, eyes blankly staring into oblivion and swaying wildly.

'Looks like it is just you and me Malfoy.' Harry growled while acknowledging a gentle nod from Ron.

In the hallway the boys swayed in time with the music of the train. Back and forth, like a two beat tempo kept on a conductor's wand. The boys stood and faced each other, dangerously encroaching on the other's personal space.

'Why Potter? Why continually hang around with a Weasel and a mudblood? The boy who lived could have any friends he wanted. Instead he picks up the marsh-mud of the magical world.' Draco couldn't find his wand, and verbal taunting was the next best thing to hexes.

Harry had his wand with him, but was in muggle thinking mode and wasn't really a part of his first retaliation instinct. Instead he decided to show Malfoy exactly what a plaster cast could do. "I would rather associated with a Weasley and a muggle-born than some self-important, inbred full blood who is likely to turn to the dark side in a given second.'

Draco looked at Harry, an undefinable expression crossing his dial, then made a quick move straight at Harry, whom didn't hesitate at ducking and then pinning Draco to the vibrating train wall. 'I'll show you exactly what this thing does.' Harry started hitting Draco on the head repeatedly with his cast arm.

George Weasley stepped out from visiting Lee Jordan, looked at the scene before him and smirked. Fred walked into George's back, looked over his brother's shoulder and reflected his expression.

'Oi Harry! Give the pale little guy a chance.'

Harry looked up at the twins, giving Malfoy the opportunity to slide out and start retreating up the train. Fred and George did their best Crabbe and Goyle impersonation, standing shoulder to should in the walkway.

'We just want to help"

'We want to make you strong.'

Draco's icy eyes blazed. 'I'll die before accepting help off a Weasel.'

George winced and whispered in his brother's ear. 'Could you imagine the howler we'd get off mum if we killed Draco?'

'Dad probably wouldn't be too disappointed though.' Came the jovial reply

The twins smiled 'We could arrange that.'

Malfoy's eyes widened momentarily.

'Seriously, we just want to even it up a bit. We want to make you strong.' George and Fred grabbed Draco and shoved a butterscotch and spinach tasting tablet into his throat.

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Authors Notes:

* 'Lets fight until six and then have dinner.' Is an obscure quote from the Twiddledum and Twiddledee Chapter of 'Through the Looking Glass' by Lewis Carroll.

Sarah Bernhart: An overly dramatic actress of a bygone era (they were still called actresses back then.)

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