Disclaimer: JKR owns all of these characters, Hogwarts, and all those other happy little details that make us wish we could see all her secret notebooks. Tantalizing hints can be torturesome! But its ok, Jo, we love you--now get back to writing Book 6!
A/N: I've got chapter three all set and ready, so I'll post it when I get some feedback, eh? Sound like a good plan to you? Does to me. So give the Hufflepuffs some love and read! Then review! It'll make me happy... anyways, enjoy! Thanks!
Diagon Alley was even better than Hannah remembered. The streets were packed with wizard families collecting books, clothes, quills, and wands in preparation for another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Abbotts were in Flourish and Blotts gathering Hannah's supplies for the new term; Mr. Abbott was staring in excitement at the window display, and Hannah's mother was examining a book of spells for lessening housework. A shopkeeper was assisting Hannah in collecting her required textbooks when a familiar voice interrupted her conversation.
"Hey, Botty!" called a lanky boy with a goofy grin spread across his face. Hannah grabbed her last book, the Standard Book of Spells: Grade 6, and turned around with a huge smile on her face.
"JUSTIN!" she squealed while running over to her classmate, who happened to be one of her best friends. "How are you? Did you get my owls? Was your summer exciting? Have you gotten all your things yet?"
"Geez, Hannah, take a breath! You're still quite the chatterbox, unsurprisingly," he added, laughing. "I just came in to pick up my last few books. Seen Ernie around?"
"Oh, he ordered his stuff ages ago. He's been in New York, he should have pictures, we've been owling back and forth all summer, and—oh, STOP it!" Hannah punched Justin on the shoulder, for he had just cast her a teasing look she hadn't seen since the last feast. "I do NOT have a crush on him!" she cried, but she felt her face flush and looked determinedly at her feet, hoping that her mother wasn't listening. Ernie was just a friend, after all—he had been her first friend, and she didn't like him as anything more than that. Justin was still grinning at her knowingly, so Hannah quickly changed the subject; they chattered mindlessly for a while about school, summer, O.W.L.s, and anything else they could think of. Her conversation had the desired effect, and as the pair walked out of Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor with unbelievably tall cones two hours later, schoolgirl crushes were the last thing on their minds.
"It looks a little crooked, if you ask me," came a casually sly voice from the corner. The speaker wore a grin that matched his tone, and Hannah noted that his badge was perfectly aligned on his robe.
"ERNIE!" Hannah was overcome with joy, and she greeted him with a tight embrace. He smiled as she released him and commented, "You sure look good." Hannah blushed, but gave a murmur of thanks before remembering the threat she had penned in her last letter to the other Hufflepuff Prefect. She took a step back, a mischievous grin tugging at the corners of her lips, and aimed her wand at him expertly. "You got my last letter, I assume?" she asked playfully. Ernie nodded and took a step back defensively. "Then where are those pictures you promised me?" the girl continued. Ernie laughed and held out his arms as if to demonstrate that he was hiding nothing.
"Search me," he said in a low, mischievous voice, causing Hannah's face to shine. This was her favorite game to play; it had started in fourth year when she was unable to grasp the summoning charm. Ernie had learned it the fastest, followed quickly by Justin, but Hannah had extreme difficulty with the spell.
"I—can't—do it!" she had cried in frustration late one night as she attempted to practice in the Hufflepuff common room. The room was nearly deserted; a group of chatting seventh year girls took up one corner and a pair of second year boys were playing gobstones by the fire. Hannah collapsed miserably onto a sunken yellow couch and shot a hard glare at the small glass she was trying to summon. Ernie and Justin were whispering on a sofa across the room, occasionally casting furtive glances at their distressed friend as though plotting something. Suddenly, after Hannah had uttered a small scream of anger, Justin ran over to the couch and pinned her arms so she couldn't move. Ernie was ready and cried, "Expelliarmus!"; he caught her wand deftly in his left hand. Justin attempted to slip Hannah's favorite charm bracelet off of her arm, a gift from her late grandmother, but the fourth year girl fought valiantly against him.
"Stop it! What are you doing?" she had shouted as she kicked furiously at Justin, all to aware that the seventh year girls were all watching her struggle with interest. Ernie took advantage of this distraction and gave a mighty cry of, "Accio!" The bracelet zoomed to him with ease, and he pocketed it quickly as Justin released Hannah. She jumped off the couch to run after Ernie, but he anticipated it and ducked behind a dingy yellow armchair.
"Stop it, Ernie!" she bellowed, her brow furrowed angrily. Hannah was on the verge of tears and pleaded, "I'm not in the mood. You know how much that means to me, now give it back. I want to go to bed."
"No," he responded simply, a maddening grin of superiority flitting across his features. He tossed Hannah's wand back to her, and she caught it with surprise. She looked up at him for explanation, but he merely stared back at her. They stayed engaged in the staring contest for almost a minute until Justin decided to interrupt.
"You could cut the sexual tension in here with a knife," he said, laughing. In a flash, Hannah had whipped around and shouted, "Petrificus Totalus!" Justin lay frozen on the couch, and Hannah turned back to Ernie, who was laughing openly. Hannah broke down and gave a small sigh of amusement, but pointed her wand warningly at Ernie. "C'mon now, what's this all about," she asked with a small smile. Ernie waggled his eyebrows and said, "You suck at summoning things."
Hannah rolled her eyes and lowered her wand slightly. "Yeah, like that's a surprise," she murmured sarcastically. Ernie ignored her comment and continued his explanation, smiling
"Justin and I couldn't help but notice your predicament—that is, your desperate struggle to draw inanimate objects toward you--"
"Drop the ego, Macmillan, and explain yourself." Hannah now had her wand pointed directly at Ernie, and the laughter was gone from her eyes.
The boy merely grinned at this and shrugged. "Try it."
"Try what?" Hannah asked suspiciously.
"The summoning charm—or haven't you been listening?" he taunted, looking amused.
"Nasty game this is, Mac," said Hannah, her mood turning sour once more.
"Having your way, then," Ernie said coolly, turning to leave.
"Accio bracelet!" Hannah flicked her wand hopefully, but had no luck. "It doesn't work!" she wailed, wanting more than ever to be in her dormitory.
Ernie smiled encouragingly. "Just take a deep breath and try again. Concentrate on the bracelet."
Hannah closed her eyes, focusing her mind on the item and the charm. When she reopened them, her face shone with determination. She aimed, and then stated clearly, "Accio bracelet." To her disbelief, the jewelry flew straight into her hand, and she stared at it in shock.
"And that, my Hannah, is how it is done," Ernie said in quiet satisfaction, allowing her to savor her success. He patted her on the back, smiling as she slipped the bracelet back on her arm lovingly. "Night," he said, heading down the hall towards his bedroom. She murmured back, "Night," and walked slowly to her own dormitory, leaving Justin frozen on the couch.
Ever since that incident, Ernie and Hannah would summon everything from each other as a sort of inside joke. Hannah grinned at Ernie, deciding that he must have the pictures kept in his inside pocket, his favorite place to hide things. She called the photographs to her with expert precision and smiled widely as they flew into her empty palm.
The pair sat down and flipped through the snapshots, reliving Ernie's summer, while the other sixth year prefects wandered into the compartment. The Head Girl came in and issued the basic instructions to patrol the hallways and keep the students in line, reminding them that all prefects were role models and should act as such. Hannah chanced a glance around the compartment; Ernie's attention was entirely focused on the Head students, as was Hermione's, but Ron was rolling his eyes and picking at a loose thread on his sleeve. Grinning, Hannah continued looking around, her mind only halfway focused on the lecture. Draco and Pansy were flirting madly, so Hannah let her eyes slide to the Ravenclaw prefects instead. Padma was examining her nails in a manner of terrific boredom, while beside her Anthony was staring off into space, feigning attention. Hannah caught his eye and he waved; she waved back with a smile and then forced her attention back to the Head Boy, who was now finishing the speech.
"You'll be informed periodically of the remainder of your duties, so be sure to stay on top of your schoolwork. Set a good example for the younger students, and remember—the school needs you. Keep Hogwarts a great place."
The Head Girl interrupted him at this point, throwing him a look that clearly instructed him to stop talking. "His mindless ramblings aside, we want to have a great year. Just be responsible and have some fun." She checked her watch and added, "Alright, we should probably start patrolling the halls. Thanks guys!"
The Head students left, followed closely by the Slytherin prefects, but the rest of the sixth years hung back to talk with each other; it had been an entire summer since they'd last seen their friends.
"Pleasant summer?" asked Padma mildly, looking up from her nails.
"Moderately," said Hermione with a shrug, and Ron nodded at her side, looking slightly glum. Ernie and Hannah exchanged glances, but Hermione apparently didn't want to discuss whatever had gone on. "Harry wants to start the D.A. back up this year, so we're spreading the word around," Ron said quietly.
"We'll tell Justin and Susan," said Ernie, frowning in thought.
"And Zacharias," Hannah chimed. They all stood there in silence for a moment before Anthony voiced the group's concern.
"But are we really going to need it? I mean, we're going to have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, right? So I imagine we'll get some practical instruction this year."
Hermione gave Ron a nervous glance, almost as though she was seeking his advice. When he shrugged noncommittally, she sighed and turned back to the group. "Well, we don't know who the new teacher is, or how they'll teach. This way we'll be able to learn what we want. Voldemort's a bigger threat that ever, and it can't hurt to study a bit more. Plus," she added, chancing another anxious look at Ron, who was staring determinedly at the floor, "Harry needs it."
She lowered her voice to a whisper as though expecting him to burst in at any moment. "He's had a really hard summer, and he needs the D.A. to keep his mind off things."
Ernie looked at her curiously. "What's gone on with him, then?"
Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but Ron answered first. "Too much," he said, shaking his head sadly. "Poor kid. Dunno how he's gonna get through this year."
"He'll make it out all right," Hermione murmured in a tiny voice, as though trying to reassure herself. It was at this point that Padma spoke up, breaking the tension.
"Alright, well, I'll spread word about the D.A. to the Ravenclaws... should I tell Cho?"
Hermione shook her head. "No, its better she's not told. If she comes and asks, we'll tell her, but I honestly don't think she'll care."
Anthony nodded his agreement, and then grabbed his bag. "See you all around, then," he called as he followed Padma out of the carriage. Hannah waved after him and turned to pull out her robes. Ernie was speaking with Ron, who looked extremely tired. Hermione timidly placed her hand on Ron's shoulder and said, "Suppose we should get back to Harry?"
"Yeah, I imagine so," the redhead replied, checking his badge. "We'll be seeing you, then," he called to the Hufflepuffs as he left.
Hannah, who was gathering the pictures that were still on her seat, said, "We should probably go find Justin and Susan, too, Ern." He didn't respond, and Hannah noticed that he was still staring after the retreating backs of the Gryffindor prefects.
"They going out?" he asked, his face creased in curious confusion.
Hannah leaned into the hallway from beside him to look at the pair. "Mm? I think so. Thought so last year, 'smatter of fact." They stood there staring for a moment until the pair turned into a different compartment. "Quite the pair, aren't they?" mused Hannah. "Anyways, we should go."
Ernie nodded and slowly pulled his eyes away from the hall. "Yeah, we should go find Justin," he agreed, and the two Hufflepuff prefects journeyed down the train in search of their friends.