Hermione Granger sat at the dinner table with her Ancient Runes book open. Although she tried to read it, she just couldn't. Her mind was swarmed with images of Ron and Loony Lovegood kissing. Hermione turned around to the Ravenclaw table and shot an angry glance at Luna. Luna however took no notice. She was simply reading a copy of the Quibbler, while dreamily humming. Hermione turned to her book and tried to concentrate.
"A lot of people confuse the rune 'alwaz' with the rune 'aalwaz' when their meaning are quite different. Alwaz means 'of virtue' and aalwaz means 'retreating'. It is important you get the symbols right or you could easily mistake a vow from a command . . ."
Hermione simply gazed over the words, though none of them sunk into her head. "A lot of people ..." Does Ron like her?! What could he possibly see in her? "Confuse the rune..." I don't get it!! Why would she kiss him! She couldn't like him, she just couldn't! "...'alwaz' with the rune 'aalwaz' ..." I mean how long has she known him! How long? A year? I've been his best friend since the first year!!
Hermione slammed her book shut in frustration. A few of the Gryffindors looked up from their food to stare at her. She glared angrily at them and they continued eating in silence. Hermione took a stab at her food but decided it was impossible to eat this way. It was impossible to do anything without thinking of what Ron had told her.
"Hermione! Guess what?"
"What is it, Ron?"
"You'll never believe what happened, I mean I don't even believe it, it's so weird. I never ever thought it would happen, although you never know with her –"
"Ron you're rambling, just tell me what happened."
"Oh yeah sorry, so I was walking back to the Quidditch Pitch to see if Malfoy was still a girl or someone changed him back--"
"You know Ron, he can take points from you."
"Ah who cares, anyway I was walking there and then all of a sudden somebody pulls me into a closet."
"A Closet?"
"Yeah, so listen, I'm like 'who's there?' and I find out it's Luna."
"Luna?"
"Right, so she says 'Ronald, there's something I've been meaning to do for awhile.' So I'm like 'what's that?' and she kissed me!"
"WHAT?!"
Hermione specifically remember the look on Madame Pince's face when Hermione started screaming. It was an awful, dirty look. She remembered their argument in the library. Normally Hermione would be cautious in a library because usually people were studying and what not, and all their arguments were usually in the Common Room or at some mealtime. But she completely boiled over at the thought. She didn't care who saw them--all she wanted to do was scold Ron. Whenever Hermione lost her temper and started yelling, Madame Pince would give a loud cough and glare evilly at her. But it didn't matter--Hermione didn't need to shout to get her point across. She remembered how forceful her voice was at a hushed whisper although she had to admit screaming made her feel better.
Hermione remembered when Luna had the NERVE to come by the library. An idiotic grin plastered across her stupid face. Normally these thoughts were only reserved for Malfoy, but this was an exception. How could someone kiss Ron? How? Hermione thought, extremely frustrated. After all these years and now someone kisses him! And he likes it! Although Hermione would never admit it, she was frustrated mostly because he was happy about it. If he had said to her, "Hermione, guess what absolutely revolting thing happened to me?" she would have probably agreed with him.
Hermione looked up to see Harry and Ron come into the Great Hall. She quickly snapped open her book and pretended to read as the sat down at the Gryffindor Table, a few people away from her on the other side of the table. She knew Harry most likely was trying to tell Ron why she was so upset, although she wasn't sure if Harry understood entirely either. But at least Harry wasn't as dense as Ron. But she knew if Luna kissed Harry, she would not have blown her top. Harry probably knew, heck even Ron knew it. Of course he had no idea why. He had always been completely oblivious to her affections. She hastily turned the page. She tried to hear what they were saying.
"... I tell ya mate, she's completely mad. I mean she's SUPPOSED to be my best friend and then she gets mad at me for no reason. She's a complete nutter!"
Hermione stared down angrily at the book. A nutter am I? I'm not the one who believes complete rubbish that is printed by the Quibbler, she thought.
"Look," Harry tried to reason with him. "I think the reason Hermione is upset is cause you liked it so much."
"Well doesn't she want me to be happy? And come on, weren't you happy when you kissed the Tornado Lover?"
"Cho you mean?"
"Yeah her."
Harry gave an odd expression of annoyance. "Yeah, but at the time I liked her. I mean, do you like Luna?"
Ron twisted his face up. "Well I dunno really. I mean she's not like Fleur or anything..." he started. "But she did kiss me, which is pretty cool." He said drifting off. Then he snapped back to reality. "And I mean it's not like Hermione likes me or anything so I don't get what's wrong!" Hermione could tell Harry was giving Ron the 'you-have-no-idea' look.
"What?" Ron demanded.
"Well," Harry began. "How do you know Hermione doesn't like you?"
"She – um, well we're best friends! How can she – I mean well we're always fighting!" he unable to really think of anything.
"Ron don't you know anything? Usually when a boy and a girl fight it's because they like each other, but they don't want the other to know so they argue with them to make it seem like they don't. They're afraid the other person won't like them back." Ron looked flabbergasted. His mouth was open and he was starring blankly at Harry.
"But then ... if that's true does Malfoy like Ginny?" he said looking somewhat confused.
Harry had a look of annoyance on his face for a moment, but then he said "No that's different. That's family rivalry."
"So are you saying Hermione likes me?" he said, still looking confused and rather skeptical. Hermione could see out of the corner of her eye someone approach them.
Before Harry could answer, the person said, "Hello Ronald darling." Hermione's eyes flared with anger. It was Luna. She was still wearing that ridiculous dress she had been wearing in the library.
"Er hi- Luna," Ron said to her. Luna looked at Harry.
"So heard the good news have you?" she said turning back to Ron smiling sweetly.
"Yeah," Harry said. "I heard the news."
"Oh good, then you won't mind," she said, still smiling at Ron, who was now looking somewhat uncomfortable.
"Mind what?"
"Oh this," she said smiling. She cupped Ron's chin and kissed him square on the lips. Harry had to say, he did mind this. But he didn't say that out loud. A few heads from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw turned to see this. Some thought it was cute, others thought it was stupid. Hermione however, completely lost control. She sprung to her feet and whipped out her wand. She aimed it at Luna who was still kissing Ron.
"Vapulo!" she shouted. A shot of bluish light came out of her wand and hit Luna in the stomach (who was in the process of turning around at the sound of Hermione's voice). She was jetted back in the wall near the Hufflepuff table. Now everyone's attention was on Hermione, Ron and Luna.
Hermione walked straight up to Ron, without any hesitation. She smiled at him and said, "I've been waiting to do this for the longest time." With that she kissed him on the lips, long enough to make the teachers gasp and the students cheer them on. They broke apart, Hermione slightly pink, Ron with a look of wonder on his face. Luna slowly made her way to where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were standing. She walked up to Hermione and Ron, and looked them both square in the eye. There was a sharp intake of breath around the giant room. Silence rang out.
Finally, Luna gave a small smile and said, "So this is how it is then?" Her question was directed towards Ron, who looked at Hermione and nodded. Luna sighed and looked down at the ground. Ron, quite unsure of what to do, stood there staring at her blankly. Hermione however felt that something needed to be said, but before she could say anything, Luna said brightly, "Well, good for you two! I'm glad you finally found each other." She walked back to her table, and returned with a goblet in her hand. "To Ron and Hermione," she said, loud and clear, while raising her goblet. Every table except the Slytherins lifted up their goblets and repeated, "To Ron and Hermione!" Then there was a great deal of clapping. Hermione, who was still slightly embarrassed at her impulsiveness, managed to look around the room. Ron still was looking at Hermione. Harry grinned at the both of them, and patted Ron on the back. Soon Seamus started a cheer at the Gryffindor table, ("KISS HER! KISS HER! KISS HER!") until everyone joined in. Ron at first looked as if he wanted nothing more then to disappear, but then finally looked at Hermione and smiled at her. She smiled back. He knew what he had to do. To make a long story short, a lot of kisses were given that night.
The next day, Harry and Ron woke up still in a daze over the last night's events. Ron was grinning stupidly to himself while he made his bed. Harry just ignored him, knowing if he spoke he would make absolutely no sense. Even if he did make sense, Harry was still unsure whether or not he wanted to talk to Ron. How do I really feel about this? Harry thought to himself. They are both my best friends. Will Hermione now be the center of Ron's life, and will Ron be the center of Hermione's life? Will we all still be friends? Why did this have to happen in the first place...it's too early to be thinking about things so complicated, Harry thought stubbornly. He looked over at Ron again, who still had a big goofy grin on his face. Harry's hard expression on his face softened. How could I say this? Ron's my best mate. . .I want him to be happy. He's never had a girl before.. so maybe this will work out. But what about Dad, Mum, and Sirius? This must've happened to them to... I could ask Sirius, thought Harry excitedly. Just then, his thoughts turned gloomy. Ask Sirus? he thought spitefully. Sirius is dead.. dead... dead.. dead .. dead. The words seemed to ring in his ears, until Harry couldn't take it anymore. He ran to the bathroom away from his roommate. He felt as though he needed to cry. When he got himself under control he walked warily back into the room. Ron was combing his hair. Combing it. Harry couldn't help but grin.
"I see our Hermione has certainly changed you," he said, smirking. Ron's face turned red.
"Don't know what you mean," he muttered under his breath. He stubbornly fought with his hair to untangle it. Harry went to lay on his bed and sighed. When he made sure no one was looking, he rolled over on his stomach and took a wooden box out from under his bed. He opened to crudely carved box and felt around inside until his hands felt sharp, broken edges. Slowly, he pulled out the mirror that Sirius had given him, the one thing that Sirius said he could contact him by. The one thing that he had been ignoring all year long. Ron's voice startled Harry back into reality. He quickly put the mirror back into the box.
"How do I look?" Ron asked rather nervously. He played around with his tie, making sure it was straight, and ran his shaking fingers through his hair.
"Well, if I was Hermione and you were you," began Harry with a grin on his face, but Ron began pelting pillows at him before he could finish.
"Alright, mate, let's go down," said Ron, walking to the door. Harry turned back to the box.
"Er—you go along, I'll be coming down in a couple minutes," he said. Ron nodded and left the room, (though not before Harry noticed him taking a deep breath and talking to himself). As soon as he was gone, Harry rummaged back through the box and brought out the mirror. He also retrieved a small, satin red bag. Sitting on his bed, Harry took the mirror and set it down. He opened the small bag and carefully fingered out over 20 jagged pieces of broken glass. Looking at the mirror, he began to place each piece in its proper place. This took quite a lot of skill and thoughtfulness, almost as though he was finishing a puzzle. Finally, Harry looked over the mirror and saw his reflection. It was a broken reflection, but it was a true one. The almost-fixed mirror made Harry think back on all the memories he had had with Sirius. Harry knew that it would make him cry, but he didn't care—no one was here now. No one would hear him. He could cry. Big silent tears fell down and hit the mirror square on, blurring his reflection. Finally, when Harry felt that he could stop he wiped his eyes on his robes and got up. He picked up the blurred mirror and looked it over once more. Somewhat relieved, he put the mirror on his bed, and out of the dormitory.
As soon as Harry had left his room, the tears that had fallen on the mirror began to spread out in between the cracks of the broken glass. As though the tears had healed the mirror, the glass began coming together and connecting in smooth, flat sheets. Soon enough the mirror was back to its original state—smooth, flat, and clear. The edges around the circular mirror glowed blue. The tears had worked their magic.
Harry entered the Great hall to find Hermione frantically searching for something. She was throwing books out of her bag, some striking people on the head looking for something. Ron was nearby, with a worried look on his face, obviously trying to help. Hermione seemed oblivious to his presence.
"What's going on?" he asked her, as a book flew by, nearly smacking his nose.
"Oh Harry!" she said flustered. "Thank heavens it's you." Ron's face paled a little.
"Erm- thanks Hermione, nice to see you too." After she had emptied her book bag without success she sat down and put her head in her hands murmuring 'What am I going to do?"
"Hermione, what wrong?" Harry said, sitting down next to her.
Ron however, grabbed his shoulder. "I believe Hermione is my girlfriend, if you don't mind," he said rather rudely.
Harry frowned. "What? Now I can't be friend's with her?" Ron opened his mouth to retort, but Hermione jumped up.
"Listen, Harry, come with to the library a minute. I promise you Ron, it's strictly business, I DO NOT fancy Harry." She said as she grabbed Harry's arm and whisked him away to the library. Ron stood there, his mouth agape. He then frowned. He had combed his hair for Hermione, COMBED HIS HAIR! He sat down and sighed, nibbling on a roll. He'd just have to impress her tomorrow.
Ron sat in thought for a moment. What does Harry know that I don't? What was she looking for? Could it be a present from Harry? No she...she fancies me! At least, I thought so. But why would she kiss me? His very jealous nature was getting the better of him. Could Hermione be ... A SCARLET WOMAN? At the thought he jumped up, and ran briskly out of the Great Hall towards the library.
"Hermione, what is this all about?" Harry said, exasperated. Hermione was pulling him through the halls, as fast as she could, not stopping for any reason. They reached the library in a few short minutes. Harry was out of breath, his chest heaving. Hermione peaked in.
"Oh great!" she said frustrated. Inside a group of Hufflepuffs were finishing some potions homework.
"What now?" he said, equally as frustrated by Hermione's odd behavior.
Hermione glanced around a moment. Her eyes rested on a closet and she said 'Ah ha! Perfect." She yanked Harry's arm and thrust him in the closet. Then she peaked behind the door, to make sure no one had seen and she shut the door.
"Hermione... what the bloody hell are we doing in a closet?" He could tell Hermione was frowning.
"Harry, I've lost my time turner!" Harry raised his eyebrow in confusion.
"You did ...what?"
"I lost my time turner!"
Harry was extremely confused. "But...how do you...you have one...again?"
"Harry, honestly how can you be so dense? You know in our 7th year we're offered more things, and I've been taking all of them! I much more busy than I was in the 3rd year! Didn't you even consider a time turner?"
Harry looked bemused. "Er...I...sure" he stuttered out, feeling incredibly stupid as he spoke the words.
"That's why I couldn't tell Ron," she continued. "He doesn't know about the Time Turner. But Harry, what am I going to do?" she asked frantically.
"Well, don't panic, let's think. Where did you see it last?" Hermione racked her brains. "Well, yesterday, I was holding it in my hand with a pile of books on my way to the library and then I –"Hermione stopped short.
"What?" Harry demanded. "What happened?
"Ginny," she said slowly.
Harry looked as confused as he ever did. 'What about Ginny?"
"I was in the library and I ran into Ginny, literally. I must have dropped it and she must have picked it up." A wave of relief seemed to hit Harry.
"Well then, just ask her for it," said Harry. Hermione seemed troubled.
"I haven't seen her since you two came into the library yesterday. Have you?"
"No, I haven't," said Harry foolishly. What with all the drama last night, the last thing he thought about was Ginny..
Just then the door burst open, and in came a red-faced, angry looking Ron.
"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING IN HERE?" he screeched at the top of his lungs. Five minutes ago, Ron had followed both Harry and Hermione to the library, trying to not be seen. Luckily, the last thing Hermione was paying attention to were people behind her and Harry. As soon as they had neared the library Ron had hid behind one of the corridor, and saw Hermione whispering frantically to Harry and then pull him into a broom closet. He decided to trust his best friend Harry, and waited behind the corridor, thinking they would come out. But they didn't. Ron decided he had to take matters into his own hands, and ran into the closet to find a startled Harry and Hermione, standing quite far apart.
"Calm down Ron!" said Hermione sharply. Ron let out short puffy breaths.
"Well, you heard me!! What were you two doing? "he asked again.
"Talking," said Hermione.
"In a broom closet?" asked Ron suspiciously.
Hermione sighed exasperatedly. "Forget the broom closet Ron, we need to find your sister! We think Ginny's missing!"
Ron's face turned from angry to worried. "What do you mean she's missing?! She's not downstairs? Where is she? No, you have to be wrong...she's got to be downstairs," he said in one breath. Harry shook his head.
"I didn't see her this morning Ron," he offered. Ron shook his head.
"No, she must be downstairs. Let's go look." Hermione and Harry decided not to argue with him, and followed him back to the Great Hall. On the way Ron asked, "But why did you guys have to go into a broom closet to talk? Why didn't you just let me hear?" He sounded rather hurt.
"Well, we didn't want to make you worry or anything," said Hermione. Harry hid a grin.
"Well, I'm worried now, aren't I? And why the hell were you looking for Ginny in your book bag?" asked Ron, looking at Hermione as though she had sprouted six heads. Hermione shook her head and sighed. When they reached the Great Hall, Ron scanned the table, his expression getting more worried by the second.
"Ginny isn't here!!! Where could she be," he choked out, talking more to himself then to Harry and Hermione. "Wait a minute..." Ron became silent, and then his face lit up, as though he had a realization. "Harry, yesterday you told me that when two people like each other they sometimes act like they hate each other so that the other one doesn't find out, right?"
Harry slowly nodded his head saying, "Yeah. . .so?"
"What if....." began Ron.
"Yeah, what if what," prodded on Harry.
"What if.."
"Yes," said Harry rather angrily.
"Ron don't you know anything? Usually when a boy and a girl fight it's because they like each other, but they don't want the other to know so they argue with them to make it seem like they don't. They're afraid the other person won't like them back." That's what Harry had told him yesterday. He remembered his response. "But then ... if that's true does Malfoy like Ginny?"
"Malfoy," mumbled Ron.
"Pardon," said Hermione.
"Malfoy," said Ron again, under his breath.
"What?" asked Harry.
"MALFOY!" shouted Ron, and then as though he was possessed, he ran to the Slytherin table and grabbed Malfoy from the back by the robes, and lifted him up.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY SISTER?!" screamed Ron, loud enough for the entire Great Hall to hear him. Malfoy's eyes burned with rage.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said coldly. "Now put me down you Weasel." It was apparently the wrong thing to say. Ron began punching him in the face as hard as he could. Blood spurted from Malfoy's nose as he began to attack back, hitting every inch of Ron he could find.
"NO!" shouted Hermione, who ran forward to Ron's rescue, but was held back by Harry.
"Hermione, let Ron handle this. He wouldn't want you to get hurt," he said. Hermione gave Harry the dirtiest look she could muster, but obeyed. The entire Great Hall was watching the fight now, (the Slytherins screaming "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!") Teachers were trying to hurry their way through the huge crowd of students who were gathering themselves in front of Ron and Draco. Harry couldn't tell who was winning. The two boys were rolling on the floor, punching each other's lights out when Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape broke through the crowd. Their presence however, did not make the boys stop. McGonagall grabbed the back of Ron's robes and yanked him away from Draco. Snape followed the same suit, only with Draco. Ron was still flailing his arms when he noticed Professor Mcgonagall.
"Er- hello there, Professor," he said, smiling innocently at her.
"What is the meaning of this Weasley?" she demanded, giving a hard tug on his robes.
"Just a friendly little .. exchange of...violence, that's all," he said still smiling, looking almost desperate as he said it.
"WEASLE ATTACKED ME!" Draco said trying to charge towards Ron. He struggled in Snape's grip, which was half hearted. He would have loved to see Ron's face smashed in.
"Is this true Weasley?"
Ron shook his head. "Professor, attacked is such a brutal word. I'd say more of a approach would be correct," he finished, his voice getting lower and lower.
Her mouth became thin. "Come with me Weasley. As for the rest of you, continue going about your day." She pulled Ron out of the crowd by the back of his robes. He shot Harry and Hermione a miserable look as he disappeared down the hall with McGonagall.
Hermione turned to Harry. "Harry, we have to tell someone about Ginny."
"Who are we gonna tell?"
Hermione looked at him in that you're-so-thick look. "Dumbledore of course!" she said crossing her arms, in an exasperated fashion.
"Yeah but, we don't know the password. We'll have to run it by McGonagall first."
"You're right, come on! Let's get there quickly. The sooner we tell Dumbledore, the sooner we'll find Ginny, and my time turner." The two friends dashed from the Great Hall and followed down the corridor Ron and McGonagall had disappeared down a minute before. Shortly they found themselves outside McGonagall's office. They had heard her yelling fill the corridor.
"Honestly! You had no right to attack that boy, you had absolutely no evidence against him. I cannot believe this fowl, disgusting, low and dishonorable thing would happen in Gryffindor! I'm very disappointed with you Weasley and –"
Harry and Hermione burst through the door. Ron and Professor McGonagall turned their heads to the noise. "What is it Mr. Potter, Miss Granger?"
"We need to speak with Professor Dumbledore!" they said simultaneously
"Whatever for?"
"Ginny Weasley is missing, and she has my time turner!" Hermione said urgently, forgetting that Ron was there.
"Time Turner?" he asked, confused.
"Quiet Weasley!' McGonagall said fiercely. "What do you mean missing?" she inquired looking at the pair.
"We haven't seen her since last night, we've looked everywhere!"
"Are you certain she's not in her classes as you should be?"
Harry and Hermione frowned. "We're positive, she wasn't here this morning."
McGonagall looked thoughtful. "On second thought, I haven't seen Miss Weasley in quite some time. How long has she been missing?"
"Since seven o'clock last night," Harry said. Hermione, Ron and McGonagall looked at him strangely, he answered very quickly. "Er-"he started. "That's when we all went to dinner right? I mean we didn't see her during the whole L-U-N-A deal. Right?"
Professor Mcgonagall lowered glasses. "Luna?" she repeated, sounding perplexed.
"Nothing Professor, but she hasn't been here for more than twelve hours!" said Harry, his temper rising.
McGonagall frowned. "Don't take that tone with me Potter," she said pointing her finger at his dismissively.
"Sorry Professor, I'm just...I mean we're just worried about Ginny."
"Yes I can see that. You three come with me."
Ron looked at her. "Me too?" he asked.
"Yes, but don't think you're getting away without detention Weasley." Ron grimaced as she led them out the door and down the corridors. Shortly they approached the gargoyle in front of Dumbledore's office.
"Peppermint Twist," McGonagall said and the gargoyle leapt out of the way. They followed her brisk walk up the winding staircase when they came to Dumbledore's office. As usual, it was filled with odd little instruments and the former headmasters and headmistresses portraits were on the wall. Some of them were talking with one another, while others were napping.
"Well hello Harry!" said that portrait of Phineaus to him, who noticed them when the came in the door. Dumbledore was sitting at his desk , looking down at something. It was the Penseive.
"Professor Dumbledore," Professor McGonagall said to him. He immediately straightened up and looked at the people in his doorway. "Oh, hello Minerva." He nodded dismissively, and she walked out closing the door behind her. Dumbledore slowly made his way to the window, watching the sun climb higher and higher into the morning sky. He gave no sign that he knew of anyone's presence, except for himself. At last he finally said, "I know why you're here." This resulted in many confused and doubtful looks being past among the three friends. Dumbledore, as though it was a great effort, finally turned back to face Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "I know why you have come."
Hermione hesitated only a moment before speaking. "But surely you couldn't...it happened...how...I...Professor?" Silence. Then Dumbledore began to laugh, loud and happily.
"Oh, I do. You must be looking for Ginny," he said, looking carefully at their faces. When they all continued to look astonished, he continued. "She's...away at the moment. Very safe, I assure you. Nothing to worry about. No harm will be done to her. As to when she will be back...I'm not quite sure yet. Time will tell."
Ron looked at Professor Dumbledore blankly. "Away?" he asked. "What the bloody hell do you mean by away?" He covered his mouth as soon as he had gotten the words out of his mouth, and Hermione elbowed him deeply in the ribs. Dumbledore merely smiled.
"I understand your concern, however, all I can assure you of right now is that she is safe and happy. She is being well accommodated for, and is being well fed. There is no need to worry," he finished cheerfully. Ron continued to glare back. Harry too looked rather taken aback.
"But Professor—what happened to her?" he asked.
"That I cannot say."
"Why?"
"I am not the one to give you the answer. Everything happens for a reason, I shall let you know. I am not meant to tell you why she is away, or where she is."
Harry swallowed. He knew that he wasn't going to get much more out of Dumbledore, but that wouldn't stop him from trying. He made to question further, but Dumbledore said briskly, "Now, I think it's time the three of you went back to your classes." He looked at all of their now thoroughly worried faces. "Don't fret—she will be back. Now, classes!" Hermione began to open her mouth, but Dumbledore quickly added, "Miss Granger, a word please." He nodded at Harry and Ron, who both dejectedly trudged out of the room, closing the door. As soon as they left the room, Ron went into an angry tirade.
"But how could Dumbledore be so unreasonable, Ginny is my sister, what was he thinking?! Mums going to have a fit if she finds out, Dad's going to be even more worried, Fred and George will literally come flying through Hogwarts' doors with their broomsticks, I don't even know what I –"
"RON! Please!" shouted Hermione over his voice. Both Ron and Harry turned around to find Hermione, who had finished her talk with Dumbledore. Harry could see the glint of gold around her neck, and hid a smile. So Hermione has gotten a new time turner, he thought. "We have to go to class—we can talk about Ginny later! Dumbledore said she's fine, so she must be fine," continued Hermione, who was trying her best to override Ron, who was trying to retort back. "We have...Potions."
Ron moaned in disgust. "Wonderful, this is just wonderful. I've got detention for a two weeks, my sister is missing, I don't know where she is, and now I've got Potions with that arse of a teacher!" Harry laughed, but Hermione gave Ron a stern look and walked ahead of both of them, muttering to herself. They arrived at Potions soon after, twenty minutes late, for which Snape grinned and took away twenty points from Gryffindor, to the glee of the Slytherins.
Later on that night after dinner, Harry came back to his room still brooding on thoughts of Ginny. Ron and Hermione decided to take a walk past the lake, which had left Harry either to go to study with Neville or come back to his room. He explained to Neville that he was tired and would be going to sleep early, so off went Neville to the library.
Harry knocked on the door to his dormitory, and seeing as no one answered, opened the door. The room was abandoned—no one was in the bathroom or in their beds. It was just Harry. He sighed and went over to his bed. He made to sit down, but a silver glint at the corner of his eye caught his attention. The mirror!! It was....new? Fixed? Repaired? Harry took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and put them back on, thinking he was seeing things. No. The mirror was fixed. Harry's shaky hand reached for the mirror. The outer rim of it glowed a bright blue. He traced the edges with his fingertips, almost willingly believing what was happening. This cannot be...I must be dreaming, thought Harry shakily. But he wasn't dreaming. Everything that was happening was as real as ever. If the mirror truly is fixed, then that must mean.... Harry's thoughts continued. Then he shook his head scornfully. The dark part of Harry said, Sirius is dead. He cannot be contacted. However, another part of Harry seemed to egg him on. Well, it's worth a shot, isn't it? By now, Harry's heart was beating fast with anticipation. Would it work?
Harry took a deep breath and said in his clearest, most confident voice, "Sirius Black!" There was silence. Then, rather suddenly, the insides of the mirror began to ripple, like a lake when you throw a rock in it. The ripples spread to the outer edges of the mirror, and then rebounded back to the center. Slowly, an image formed in the mirror. Harry gasped when he saw it. It was the reflection of a tremendously handsome boy, who looked to be around the same age as Harry. He had black hair, which looked rather untidy at the moment, and chocolate brown eyes. A stubborn nose was in the middle of his perfectly proportioned face, along with a rounded chin. The face suddenly took on a look or alarm.
"Sirius?"
Authors' Note: We saw some other fanfics do this, so we thought it would be a nice thing to do, after all you guys were nice enough to review!
Leogal: Thanks so much for your review! We loved it! And we don't mind at all, that is so cool of you! Thanks!
DevilsPrincess: The Draco element was mostly to take up space and add some more humor to the story, it has no real purpose but i think if we wanted to we could expand on it. Thanks a lot for the great review!
cherryblossom203: Ah, gotta love that french toast. Thanks for reviewing my story, I'll review yours again as soon as you get a new chapter going :D
Also many, many thanks to VanillaChocolate, Irish Chick, Brian, and PyroGurl. Thanks so much you guys, we love your reviews. If you ever want us to review something of your we'd be glad to! Hope you enjoy the new chapter!