Chapter Seven: Memories
Half way into the long train ride, Hermione and Ron were done with their duties and ready to find Harry and Ginny. Hermione had made head girl and was able to boss around her prefect boyfriend. He didn't mind it that much of course because he was used to her being a bit bossy, with or without the head girl badge.
They were strolling down the corridor of the train, when they spotted a particular compartment with the glass quite fogged up. Ron wanted to leave whoever it was in there alone, while Hermione wanted to punish them for having such behavior on the Hogwarts Express. Hermione put her hand on the handle of the door and looked at Ron.
"What?" He shrugged his shoulders and took a step back away from the door. "I'm not going in there."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Fine, be that way." She opened the door and her eyes found Harry and Ginny snogging heavily on the floor. She covered her eyes and- oh no. Ron had seen them.
"Harry, just what the bloody hell do you think you are doing?!?! Get off my sister, you git!" Ron rushed in the compartment and crossed his arms.
Harry rolled off of Ginny and stood up. "Sorry mate, I…er….Ginny….you tell him."
Ginny looked like she'd been interrupted from something very important. "Ugh! Ron, this was my idea! Leave him alone, will you?"
"Ginny, don't you know any better? What if we had been Malfoy and his nasty blokes, eh? We could have cursed you to bits with your backs turned like that."
"Not to mention you were too distracted to notice much going on around you," Hermione chimed in.
"Alright you two, enough with the lectures," Harry said.
"Harry, can I talk to you for a second?"
"Yeah sure, Ron. What is it?"
"No, no, in private."
Harry gulped. He wasn't quite sure what Ron wanted with him, but he had a pretty good idea. He followed Ron out of the compartment and down the corridor until they found an empty one.
"So, what's this about?"
"Look Harry, this is my little sister you are messing with. If you do anything to hurt her, you'll have me and my brothers to deal with. Got it, mate?"
"Ron, I don't want to hurt her. I love-"
"No, no no no no no no. My sister is way too young for love, not to mention what we saw you two doing last night…or this morning….or whatever the bloody hell you want to call it. Right, well…."
Harry sighed. "She's only a year younger than us! You and Hermione were in love at Ginny's age. AND Hermione…you know…with Krum at Ginny's age too."
Ron turned red. "Don't say his name, Harry."
"Er, sorry. But it's true and you know it."
"Right," Ron said, trying to control his temper. "Well, just don't hurt her or you know what will happen."
"Whatever then. So are we still mates then, or are we sworn enemies now?" Harry said with raised eyebrows and a smirk.
Ron looked at him for a second. "Right, well I guess we're enemies now that you're dating my sister and all," Ron said sarcastically with a smirk that matched Harry's.
They looked at each other for a second and started laughing. Just then Hermione showed up at the door and opened it.
"The cart's come by. Do either of you want anything to eat?"
Ron and Harry perked up. "Yeah… I could really go for some cauldron cakes right about now…" Ron said longingly.
"Don't forget about some Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans," Harry said with his eyes glazed over.
The rest of the train ride was a fun one, at least for those eating all the sweets. Although you can consider reading the new years' textbooks quite fun too, if you're name happens to be Hermione Granger.
They got off the train, boarded the carriages, and were led to Hogwarts. By the time they made their way through all the people at the entrance, the sorting had already ended.
It was time for Professor Dumbledore to make his usual speech and everyone was dead silent.
"Hello and welcome to another year here at Hogwarts. You'll find that we have a new addition to the staff this year. Taking the Defense against the Dark Arts position is Nymphadora Tonks."
She stood up and gave a wave and a smile to all in the great hall. "Uh, if you don't mind, it's just Tonks, Professor Dumbledore."
Professor Dumbledore nodded. "I'll make a note of that, Professor Tonks." He paused for a second and looked down. His face looked tired and worn, like he hadn't gotten sleep for days. He sighed quietly and looked back up to face everyone. He spoke slowly and softly, giving each word an emotion of it's own. "In times of war, we must always remember that all we truly have is our loved ones. Our possessions can be taken away from us, broken, or destroyed. But those trivial things can be replaced."
"It is the people that we care for that cannot. Once they are gone, there is no return for them. It has come to my attention that many of you have already lost some of your loved ones. I wish I could tell you that it will get better. I wish I could tell all of you that there is no more evil in this world, or that everything will turn out to be okay…..but I can't. No one can. We must take what life deals us and learn to live with it. I am truly sorry for all of you that have lost someone you love. I myself lost a friend a few years ago. Not many knew the real him, but he was an extraordinary man all his own." He looked at Harry, who was looking at his empty plate but not really seeing it. His thoughts were completely consumed with memories of Sirius.
"So, now that this is all said and done, let's eat," Dumbledore said with one last look at the boy who lived. The plates filled up with magnificent food, but not many felt like eating.
Quite a few Gryffindors were lost in thought over their loved ones, Neville and Harry especially. Hermione looked at Harry in concern and noticed that his right hand was shaking.
She tried to put her hand on his and comfort him, but he snapped back to reality and threw his fork that he had been gripping down on the table. He got up and looked at Hermione, Ron, and Ginny. "I…I'm going to bed," he managed to get out. He walked swiftly through the great hall and broke into a run once he reached the doors. He kept running and running until he reached the portrait hole. Luckily, Hermione had told him the new password before Dumbledore had stared his speech. He spoke the password in a shaky voice and he climbed inside the Gryffindor common room. He headed straight for the boys' dormitory and collapsed on his bed.
He breathed deeply and hoped he could force himself to fall asleep, but he wasn't tired. He sighed as he thought about Sirius. He missed him now more than ever and partly wished he could go back to the department of mysteries and go through the veil too. If he could not join him in life, then he would join him in death. But a second thought came into his head.
What about the prophecy? It has to be fulfilled and there is no running from it. He still hadn't told anyone about what it said and time was running out. He felt the others should know before it was too late. The last thing he wanted was for them to get hurt because of him. He would fight Voldemort alone, even if it was the last thing he'd ever do. Maybe he would meet Sirius in death after all…
A/N: Hey everybody! Happy Thanksgiving!! I'm actually writing this ON thanksgiving so yeah. Tells you how much my family and I spend bonding around the dinner table, huh. So yeah I hope you like this chapter. Although I may have to wait until Sunday to get this posted because my AOL is being stupid. I'll probably have to go to my friend's house when she gets back from her sister's. Riiiiiiiiiiight. Okay well, don't forget to review!!
Love from, Chrystal