Platform 9&3/4
Days later, Harry, Ron and Hermione were back at the train station, preparing for the usual ride back to Hogwarts. As the Weasleys wished him a safe journey, he remembered the last time he had gotten on the train to leave for Hogwarts. Then Sirius had been there to see him off too. Harry had another one of the now familiar pangs of sadness mixed with guilt. He tried to push the feeling away, but it did not leave until it was replaced by another emotion that had become a common part of Harry's repertoire: Hate.
This emotion was provoked by the appearance of none other than Draco Malfoy. He got on the train directly before Harry and his friends, and Harry made a deliberate effort to walk in the opposite direction as the one that Malfoy started to go. Yes, he was angry at Malfoy for his father's involvement in the battle that had killed Sirius. And yes, he was even more furious knowing that Draco condoned what his father had done. But he still felt that performing a curse on Malfoy would not be the best way to start off his disciplinary record for this term.
But some day, Harry thought, with some satisfaction, all the Death Eaters would pay. Especially Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry imagined that someday he would have the satisfaction of seeing Lestrange's face contort in pain as Harry performed the Cruciatus curse successfully on her.
Harry looked around and noticed that Ginny was looking at him in a very concerned way. "Are you all right Harry?" she asked.
"Yeah," he lied. Then he considered for a second and decided that he really shouldn't make a habit of lying to his girlfriend. "Well, no, not really," he revised.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked.
"Death Eaters, and how much I want to kill them all," said Harry, felling it slightly inappropriate to discuss these feelings with Ginny.
But Ginny simply nodded sympathetically and said, "Let's go find a compartment, and we can talk about this."
"No, I'll be all right," he said.
"Well, we still might as well go find a compartment. Ron and Hermione have to go meet with the prefects, but they'll come join us later. Are you sure you're going to be all right Harry?" she asked, still obviously concerned.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," said Harry, trying to think of something else to talk about. Having an actual conversation might help to distract his hateful thoughts. "You're not disappointed that you're not a prefect, are you Ginny?" he asked, although he felt somewhat as if this conversation starter was the verbal equivalent of grasping at straws.
"Disappointed?! Not nearly as disappointed as Fred and George would have been if I had been made one," said Ginny smiling. "They were quite relieved. Mother on the other hand... well, you saw her." Harry had, of course. Yes, Mrs. Weasley had been disappointed that Ginny had not been made prefect, but she got over it quickly. After all, she had never expected Ron to make prefect.
"Do you know who either of the other 5th year prefects are from our house then?" asked Harry, trying very hard to keep this conversation going.
"Yeah, the girl is Amy Bell, Katie's little sister. She's pulls slightly better grades than I do, and talks a lot less in class, which is probably why she was made prefect over me," Ginny said.
"Really?" said Harry, who hadn't known that Katie Bell had even had a little sister. He was rather glad that the conversation had turned to this topic, however, because Quidditch was one of the few thingss that could still distract him when he got into a bad mood. "Why doesn't she play Quidditch?"
"Well, she's going to this year," Ginny explained, "but the only position she'd even consider playing is Chaser. Which is why she never tried out last year."
"I see," said Harry, "we'll have to see if she can play as well as her sister.
"Yeah, but she'll have to spend time on her prefect duties this year as well, she'll be pretty busy if she makes the team. Yet another reason why I'm glad I wasn't picked," Ginny said.
At just that moment, Malfoy walked in, flanked as usual by Crabbe and Goyle. Immediately, Harry reached for his wand.
"Relax," drawled Malfoy, showing both his hands palms out to prove that his wand was not drawn. "I wouldn't want to curse you in front of your girlfriend," he said, gesturing to Ginny.
Harry wagered that that was pretty near the truth, but also that the truth also had something to do with Malfoy being afraid that with both Ginny and Harry there, they might be able to outcurse Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.
Harry eyed Crabbe and Goyle closely, making sure that they weren't going to reach for their wands, as Malfoy said, "Just beware, I will get you back for getting my father sent to prison."
Harry was still debating whether he ought to take out his own wand and curse Malfoy when Ron and Hermione walked in. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle apparently took this as their cue to leave.
"So that's why he rushed off at the end of the prefect meeting," said Ron, "wanted to talk to you before we got here, that way they'd outnumber you. He didn't try anything funny did he?"
"No, he was scared of me," said Ginny, laughing.
"Maybe he was expecting you to be alone," ventured Hermione. "And maybe you ought to try not to be alone in the hallways too much this year."
"I can take care of myself," Harry said, slightly irritated.
"Still," said Ron, "it'd probably be best if you didn't end up confronting him alone."
Harry was so shocked to find Ron and Hermione agreeing about something that he said, "Yeah, sure whatever. I usually walk around with you guys anyway, right?"
"Exactly," said Hermione, "so it's settled then."
Just then, the door opened again, and the Creevey brothers entered. During Harry's second year, Colin Creevey had been nearly as annoying as Gilderoy Lockhart had been. The fact that he was already showing up on the train ride to Hogwarts seemed a bad omen to Harry. The omen worsened when Colin opened his mouth, "Wow, Harry, I heard over the summer what you did at the Ministry of Magic. That was really brave!"
More like stupid, thought Harry bitterly, but instead said, "A bunch of other people were involved too. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna, and Neville. They were all just as brave as I was," finished Harry, thinking, so why don't you go bug some of them instead?
Luckily for Harry, Neville and Luna entered the compartment at that moment, prompting Colin (who seemed to be slightly frightend of Luna) to say "Well, Harry, nice to see you again," and leave promptly.
For the rest of the train ride, the 6 of them (Hermione and Ron, being sixth year prefects, were not required to patrol the corridors of the train like the fifth year prefects were) talked, each tactfully neglecting to mention the trip to the Ministry of Magic. However, it was on all of their minds anyway. As the train neared Hogwarts, Harry hoped in vain that this year might just be the first normal year he was to have at Hogwarts.
Days later, Harry, Ron and Hermione were back at the train station, preparing for the usual ride back to Hogwarts. As the Weasleys wished him a safe journey, he remembered the last time he had gotten on the train to leave for Hogwarts. Then Sirius had been there to see him off too. Harry had another one of the now familiar pangs of sadness mixed with guilt. He tried to push the feeling away, but it did not leave until it was replaced by another emotion that had become a common part of Harry's repertoire: Hate.
This emotion was provoked by the appearance of none other than Draco Malfoy. He got on the train directly before Harry and his friends, and Harry made a deliberate effort to walk in the opposite direction as the one that Malfoy started to go. Yes, he was angry at Malfoy for his father's involvement in the battle that had killed Sirius. And yes, he was even more furious knowing that Draco condoned what his father had done. But he still felt that performing a curse on Malfoy would not be the best way to start off his disciplinary record for this term.
But some day, Harry thought, with some satisfaction, all the Death Eaters would pay. Especially Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry imagined that someday he would have the satisfaction of seeing Lestrange's face contort in pain as Harry performed the Cruciatus curse successfully on her.
Harry looked around and noticed that Ginny was looking at him in a very concerned way. "Are you all right Harry?" she asked.
"Yeah," he lied. Then he considered for a second and decided that he really shouldn't make a habit of lying to his girlfriend. "Well, no, not really," he revised.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked.
"Death Eaters, and how much I want to kill them all," said Harry, felling it slightly inappropriate to discuss these feelings with Ginny.
But Ginny simply nodded sympathetically and said, "Let's go find a compartment, and we can talk about this."
"No, I'll be all right," he said.
"Well, we still might as well go find a compartment. Ron and Hermione have to go meet with the prefects, but they'll come join us later. Are you sure you're going to be all right Harry?" she asked, still obviously concerned.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," said Harry, trying to think of something else to talk about. Having an actual conversation might help to distract his hateful thoughts. "You're not disappointed that you're not a prefect, are you Ginny?" he asked, although he felt somewhat as if this conversation starter was the verbal equivalent of grasping at straws.
"Disappointed?! Not nearly as disappointed as Fred and George would have been if I had been made one," said Ginny smiling. "They were quite relieved. Mother on the other hand... well, you saw her." Harry had, of course. Yes, Mrs. Weasley had been disappointed that Ginny had not been made prefect, but she got over it quickly. After all, she had never expected Ron to make prefect.
"Do you know who either of the other 5th year prefects are from our house then?" asked Harry, trying very hard to keep this conversation going.
"Yeah, the girl is Amy Bell, Katie's little sister. She's pulls slightly better grades than I do, and talks a lot less in class, which is probably why she was made prefect over me," Ginny said.
"Really?" said Harry, who hadn't known that Katie Bell had even had a little sister. He was rather glad that the conversation had turned to this topic, however, because Quidditch was one of the few thingss that could still distract him when he got into a bad mood. "Why doesn't she play Quidditch?"
"Well, she's going to this year," Ginny explained, "but the only position she'd even consider playing is Chaser. Which is why she never tried out last year."
"I see," said Harry, "we'll have to see if she can play as well as her sister.
"Yeah, but she'll have to spend time on her prefect duties this year as well, she'll be pretty busy if she makes the team. Yet another reason why I'm glad I wasn't picked," Ginny said.
At just that moment, Malfoy walked in, flanked as usual by Crabbe and Goyle. Immediately, Harry reached for his wand.
"Relax," drawled Malfoy, showing both his hands palms out to prove that his wand was not drawn. "I wouldn't want to curse you in front of your girlfriend," he said, gesturing to Ginny.
Harry wagered that that was pretty near the truth, but also that the truth also had something to do with Malfoy being afraid that with both Ginny and Harry there, they might be able to outcurse Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.
Harry eyed Crabbe and Goyle closely, making sure that they weren't going to reach for their wands, as Malfoy said, "Just beware, I will get you back for getting my father sent to prison."
Harry was still debating whether he ought to take out his own wand and curse Malfoy when Ron and Hermione walked in. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle apparently took this as their cue to leave.
"So that's why he rushed off at the end of the prefect meeting," said Ron, "wanted to talk to you before we got here, that way they'd outnumber you. He didn't try anything funny did he?"
"No, he was scared of me," said Ginny, laughing.
"Maybe he was expecting you to be alone," ventured Hermione. "And maybe you ought to try not to be alone in the hallways too much this year."
"I can take care of myself," Harry said, slightly irritated.
"Still," said Ron, "it'd probably be best if you didn't end up confronting him alone."
Harry was so shocked to find Ron and Hermione agreeing about something that he said, "Yeah, sure whatever. I usually walk around with you guys anyway, right?"
"Exactly," said Hermione, "so it's settled then."
Just then, the door opened again, and the Creevey brothers entered. During Harry's second year, Colin Creevey had been nearly as annoying as Gilderoy Lockhart had been. The fact that he was already showing up on the train ride to Hogwarts seemed a bad omen to Harry. The omen worsened when Colin opened his mouth, "Wow, Harry, I heard over the summer what you did at the Ministry of Magic. That was really brave!"
More like stupid, thought Harry bitterly, but instead said, "A bunch of other people were involved too. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna, and Neville. They were all just as brave as I was," finished Harry, thinking, so why don't you go bug some of them instead?
Luckily for Harry, Neville and Luna entered the compartment at that moment, prompting Colin (who seemed to be slightly frightend of Luna) to say "Well, Harry, nice to see you again," and leave promptly.
For the rest of the train ride, the 6 of them (Hermione and Ron, being sixth year prefects, were not required to patrol the corridors of the train like the fifth year prefects were) talked, each tactfully neglecting to mention the trip to the Ministry of Magic. However, it was on all of their minds anyway. As the train neared Hogwarts, Harry hoped in vain that this year might just be the first normal year he was to have at Hogwarts.