Ron looked up into the cold face of their potions master, as did the others. Snape was standing by the fire as if he had been waiting for them.

"Where is he?" Snape asked without greeting, brushing his greasy hair out of his face.

"Still at the hearing, I suppose," Mrs. Weasley said, pushing her way to the front of the group.

"Not Potter, Molly. I know where that troublemaker is."

"Then who are you looking for?"
"Black!"

"Sirius isn't here?" Hermione asked, looking worried.

"No, he isn't here," Snape said sharply turning his head in Hermione's direction.

"But… Where could he have gone?" Ron asked.

"Well, all I have to say is it's about time he got out," George said, crossing his arms.

"Agreed. This place was driving him mad," Fred added.

"I agree that this place is nothing more than a hovel," Snape said in barely more than a whisper, "but every moment Sirius Black is outside this house, he is even more of a liability to the Order."

"Even so," Mrs. Weasley said stiffly, "the fact that he may be a liability to the Order does not mean we know where he is."

"Where who is?" said a voice from the doorway. Everyone turned and saw Harry standing there with a grin that could only mean he was cleared.

"Sirius," Mrs. Weasley said softly.

Harry's grin faded.

"What?"

"Sirius Black is not in this house," Snape said.

"What is he doing here?" Harry asked, looking at Snape and not bothering to mask the hatred he was feeling.

"A fair enough question," Mrs. Weasley said, turning to Snape. "What are you doing here?"

"An even fairer question," Snape said, his eyes narrowing, "is what is Black doing away from here?"

"Perhaps you didn't look around the house closely enough?" Hermione suggested.

"Of course I 'looked around the house closely enough,'" Snape said, not even glancing over at Hermione. "Now, where is he?"

"Severus, I already said we do no know where Sirius is," Mrs. Weasley said, walking past him and setting the bags down. She returned to full height and turned. "Is there anything else?"

"No," Snape said. "But if Black manages to make his way back here before the Ministry or the Death Eaters catch him--"

"Yeah, you would know a lot about what the Death Eaters are planning, wouldn't you?" Harry said hotly. Snape looked like he would enjoy nothing more than cursing Harry, but obviously resisted the temptation, returning his attention to Mrs. Weasley and finishing his sentence as if uninterrupted.

"—I would tell him that Dumbledore wants him to stay here for a reason, and every time he leaves this house, he is throwing Dumbledore's trust out the window and putting his best wishes for Potter at the bottom of his list," Snape said.

"And I'd expect you have his best wishes at heart, do you?" said a new voice. Everyone turned and saw Lupin and Mr. Weasley standing next to Harry, having escorted him back from the hearing. It was Lupin who had spoke.

"Ah, Remus…" Snape said.

"Severus," Lupin said, nodding curtly and standing aside, leaving a clear path to the doorway as if signaling Snape could go.

They all watched as he rubbed his forearm slowly, then made his way out the door. Lupin closed it behind him with a bang, and all was silent.

000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000

Ron sat in his room with Hermione and Harry, talking about how their day had gone. It had been an hour or so since they returned, and Sirius was still nowhere to be seen, and secretly, Harry was beginning to feel thoroughly worried.

"So you were cleared of all charges?" Ron asked Harry.

"Wouldn't have done it if Dumbledore hadn't showed," Harry said.

"Yeah, Ron and I had a feeling it would have been hard to go it alone," Hermione said thoughtfully.

"How was Diagon Alley?" Harry asked as he fed Hedwig an owl treat.

"The same as always," said Hermione.

"Except for the fact that you bought me a NIMBUS 2001," said Ron, holding the broomstick in his lap and looking at it incessantly.

"No worries, mate," Harry said as he forced a grin.

"But you didn't have to, Harry," said Ron, still unable to peel his eyes off the broom.

"Yeah, and Malfoy doesn't have to be a prat, but he does a good job at it," Harry replied. All three of them laughed. The door opened slowly and Mrs. Weasley poked her head in.

"Are you lot packed? I don't want to have to rush tomorrow like we always do," she said.

"Yeah, mum, we're ready to go," Ron answered.

"Good." Mrs. Weasley retreated back into the hall and went towards the staircase, up to Fred and George's room.

"Hey Harry, when we get to school, do you want to go down to the Quidditch pitch and play a game?" Ron asked, looking down at his broom again.

"Sure," Harry answered.

"Fifth year is supposed to have a lot of homework, you two," Hermione said. "Remember?"
"Of course I remember," Ron said, looking up. "That doesn't mean I have to care."

"YOU ARE A PREFECT!" Hermione said, standing up very fast. "If you were to say that in front of a first year, you could ruin the importance they might have placed in their education before."

"Thank goodness there aren't any ickle firsties around then," Ron said. Hermione spun around and growled all the way to the door.

"I've always said it. Mental, that one," Ron said.

Harry forced another grin. He was beginning to worry even more, and his face showed it.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked.

"Just worried about Sirius, that's all," Harry answered.

"Ah, don't worry about it too much, mate. I reckon Sirius just wanted to stretch his legs a little bit. And besides, the Snuffles disguise hasn't failed him yet."

"Yeah, but I've been thinking about what Snape said," Harry confessed.

"What? Don't even bother with that great big, enormous, steamy pile of---"

"Shit," Harry said, rubbing his knuckles against his forehead.

"Exactly."

"No, I mean… What if Sirius was nabbed by the Death Eaters?" Harry said, leaning forward.

"If he was, we'd know," Ron replied simply, standing up and crossing his arms in front of his chest. He couldn't sit still, and he kept shooting nervous glances over at the Nimbus, which he had been worried would fall every second since he set it down.

"How do you reckon?"

"Well, for one thing, Sirius is the most wanted wizard in the world, behind You-Know-Who of course. Anyone who saw him would want to collect the reward."

"We're talking about Death Eaters here, Ron… If they find him, they'll want to bring him to Voldemort so he can be killed. They're not going to go and turn him into the Ministry of Magic." Ron flinched at the name as always.

"Fair point," he said, sitting down and deflating slightly.

"And what's worse is that we're leaving for Hogwarts tomorrow," Harry said. "And if he isn't back before we leave…"

"What will you do?" Ron asked apprehensively.

"I'll have to go to school, of course. Dumbledore didn't put all that work into saving my neck just so I could throw it all away."

"You never told us how Dumbledore helped you get out of trouble," Ron said.

"He pointed out the facts," Harry said simply. "There was no way Fudge could ignore it, and the rest of them either."

"The rest of them?"

"Yeah, all the other witches and wizards that were there in the court room."
"Blimey," Ron said. "That means you got--"

"—a full trial. Yes, I know," Harry replied. The two of them fell into silence for quite some time, thinking about several different things.

CRACK.

"Hey there, Harry," Fred said.

"Hey," Harry answered, slightly shocked by the sudden appearance of the twins.

"Tomorrow's the big day," George said with a smile.

"This is going to be a good year indeed," Fred said.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

"We talked to Lee Jordan in Diagon Alley, and he said he would start spreading the word about Weasley's Wizard Wheezes," Fred said.

"We already have loads of orders," George added, holding up a stack of papers.

"Better not let Hermione see," Harry said with a grin.

"In that case, we better not let ickle prefect Ronnie see either," said George with a nod to their younger brother.

"Shut it, George," Ron said.

"Or what? Gonna start docking points from Gryffindor?" Fred said.

"I would never take points from my own house," Ron said.

"And besides, Prefects cannot take points away at all," said a voice from the doorway. They looked and saw Hermione leaning against the frame of the door, her arms folded across her chest. She gave Ron a contemptuous look.

"Whew," Fred said.

"Nothing to worry about, then!" George added.

"Dinner is almost ready," Hermione said stiffly, turning and leaving the room again.

"What's with her?" George asked.

"Harry and I made plans to go down to the pitch and play some Quidditch on the first weekend back. Then Hermione reminded us we'll have loads of homework," said Ron. "I told her I didn't really care right now."

"Why would that get her all bent out of shape?" Fred asked, thumbing through the stack of papers and looking for an order form to match up with the checklist he and George had made.

"The two of us never gave much attention to homework, and look at us," George said.

"She wants me to set some kind of example for the younger people," Ron said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, that is your duty as ickle prefect," Fred said. The door opened again, and this time Ginny poked her head in.

"Mom said get downstairs," she said.

000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000

Harry and Ron walked into the kitchen a few minutes later to find Lupin, Mr. Weasley, Bill Weasley, and Tonks sitting at the table, heads bent together.

"I do not think this is going to work," Mr. Weasley said. "Someone will know what is going on. There will be no way of missing it."

"Dumbledore thinks this will work," Lupin said calmly. "That is all the reassurance I need."

"But what if it doesn't?" Tonks asked.

"I think we all know what will happen if it doesn't work," Mr. Weasley said quietly. "And I know that none of us want that to happen."

"It is risky," Bill said, leaning back in his chair. "But I think everything will be fine if it works."

"High risk equals high reward?" Mr. Weasley said.

"Exactly."

"Besides," said Tonks. "This is one way to make sure that nothing funny happens… This way we can make sure Harry doesn't hurt anyone."

"What's going on?" Harry said apprehensively. Everyone at the table jumped and turned, not even noticing that anyone had entered the room. They cleared their throats and sat up straight in their seats, each of them trying to find something to do to make it look as if nothing peculiar was going on.

"Nothing too important," Mr. Weasley said with a smile.

"It sounded pretty important to me," Harry said, crossing his arms in front of him. "Who am I allegedly going to hurt?"

"Harry, there is nothing for you to worry about," Mr. Weasley said, a little more firmly than before. "Trust me. You will know everything in due time."

"Oh yeah, great, keep me in the dark just like over the summer. Well, we all know what happened the last time you tried it," Harry raised his voice a little bit. "I was attacked by two Dementors and almost expelled for it!"

"Harry," Lupin said calmly.

"WHAT?" Harry shouted. Immediately, he felt guilty, but Lupin showed no sign of offense.

"Listen to me. You are in no danger, and neither is anyone that knows you. That is to say, you are as safe as you can be, given the fact that Lord Voldemort has returned."

"Then what is going on?" Harry demanded. The group of people at the table exchanged nervous glances. Finally, Lupin shrugged and returned his gaze to Harry.

"We think that--"

"Dinnertime!" Mrs. Weasley said as she came into the door carrying a large tray full of food. The twins entered the kitchen followed by Ginny and Hermione, and after a look of warning from Lupin, Harry was forced not to press the issue until later.

"So, do all of you have everything packed?" Mrs. Weasley said as she sat down.

"Yes, mum," Ron said. "You've already asked us."

"Good, dear," Mrs. Wesley said with a smile.

"I can't wait until tomorrow," Ginny said.

"It's going to be a pain," Tonks said, grabbing a plate and scooping some mashed potatoes onto it.

"Everyone wants to make sure Harry here is safe, so we're going to have to wait for Alastor and a handful of others to arrive before we leave," Mr. Weasley explained, noticing the inquiring looks from the children.

"Why does everyone want to make sure I'm safe?" Harry asked.

"Because, Harry, you've already been attacked once this summer. Someone wants to hurt you," Lupin said.

"I wonder who…" Harry muttered, causing everyone except for himself to laugh.

000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000

After they were fed and watered, Ron, Hermione, and Harry went back up to Harry and Ron's room and sat down, talking once more.

"I hope we get to the train on time," Hermione said worriedly.

"I just wonder what they were talking about before dinner," Harry said, sitting down on the bed and leaning back against the wall.

"What?" Hermione asked in a confused way.

"Blimey!" Ron shouted. "She didn't hear it!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Before dinner, Lupin, Mr. Weasley, Bill, and Tonks were talking about something, but they wouldn't tell us what."

"Surely you were able to get a vague idea," Hermione said hopefully.

"We got much more than a vague idea," Ron said, looking over at Harry.

"They said…" Harry paused and looked at Hermione apprehensively. "They basically said they're worried about me."

"Well yeah, everyone is," Hermione said.

"They're worried about me attacking someone at the school." Harry finished. A very awkward silence filled the room for a few moments, during which Harry and Ron looked to Hermione for a reaction. Her face was disbelieving.

"Why would they be worried about something like that?" Hermione asked. "Honestly, the only person I can imagine you 'attacking' is Malfoy, and I'm sure no one would blame you for that one."

"You are a Prefect," Ron said in a singsong voice.

"Shut it," Hermione said, glaring at Ron.

"I'm only saying… You could ruin the importance the first years might have placed in following the rules before." Ron said. Hermione groaned in frustration.

"At any rate, if they're worried you'll attack someone, then they've probably already concocted a plan to prevent it," Hermione said thoughtfully.

"They have," Harry said. "They were talking about that when we went into the kitchen."

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see what happens," Hermione said, shrugging. "But Harry, don't let this bother you. There is a lot that is going to need done in the first few weeks back, and you can't have your mind wandering when it should be focusing on schoolwork."

"I only wish Sirius were here," Harry said. "He would tell me what I needed to know."

000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000

Next morning was as chaotic as ever. Fred and George, who were prone to use magic in an attempt to save time, kept knocking people down the stairs as they zoomed their belongings to the bottom. Crookshanks was nowhere to be found. Pig had somehow managed to get out of his cage and had taken to flying around the house like an animal possessed. Ginny had misplaced her school robes, though she swore she had them in her trunk the night before.

"FRED, GEORGE, WILL YOU JUST CARRY YOUR TRUNKS TO THE BOTTOM OF THE STAIRS LIKE EVERYONE ELSE?" Mrs. Weasley shouted.

Of course, amid all the chaos, the portrait of Sirius' mother was wailing like there was no tomorrow. No one bothered to silence her anymore, simply because something would just rouse her again.

"RON, GET THAT RUDDY BIRD BACK IN ITS CAGE!" Mrs. Weasley shouted again.

"HARRY!" Mrs. Weasley shouted. Harry turned at here and ducked just in time, as Pig was zooming right at him. He ducked out of the way, causing Pig to smash into the curtains and fall to the floor. Ron seized his chance and pounced on his owl, clasping him gently between his fingers.

"Gotcha!" Ron shouted. He turned and put Pig back in his cage, just as Hermione came panting down the stairs holding a hissing Crookshanks.

"She was up in the attic where Buckbeak used to be!" she said.

"Buckbeak is gone?" Harry said.

"I reckon Sirius took him," Ron said thoughtfully as they crowded around the door.

"Listen up, you lot," said a gruff voice in front of them. It was Moody, and he looked extremely agitated. Ron guessed it was from the very stressful morning, during which Moody probably believed his life was in danger seventeen times. "I want you all to stick close together. Myself and Lupin will be with you, and Tonks will be walking behind us."

"Is that it? Is that the 'major' security Dumbledore wanted?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"If I were you, boy, I would be a little more grateful that Dumbledore is worried about you at all." Moody said coldly. Ron glanced over at Hermione and saw here glaring at the back of Harry's head with a confused face. They walked down the road in silence for some time.

"You can't tell me we're walking all the way to King's Cross," said Ron incredulously.

"We are," Moody grunted.

"But… That could take forever."

"Better to arrive safely late than not to arrive at all."

"Not if we miss the Hogwarts Express," Hermione said. For nearly twenty minutes they walked, until finally, they were just about to enter Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

"Ok, I'll go with Harry, and the rest of you follow behind when no one is looking," Tonks said. Harry glanced over his shoulder at the group of people behind him and noticed Moody looking in every direction very cautiously. He felt a firm hand grasp his shoulder and pull him towards the barrier dividing platforms nine and ten.

"Don't mind Moody," Tonks said as they walked. "He's just… moody…"

"Yeah," Harry said glumly.

"I can understand that you are frustrated about all of this, Harry, but you have to know that Dumbledore has his reasons," Tonks continued.

"Why does everyone think I'm going to attack someone?" Harry asked.

"Well… Dumbledore will tell you in due time."

"I don't want to know in 'due time.' I want to know now," Harry said, feeling his impatience surfacing again.

"If I could tell you, I would," Tonks said. "But Dumbledore made us all make an unbreakable promise not to tell you more than you need to know until the time is right. That is, until he gives us permission to do so."

"Who is Dumbledore to decide when the time is right for me to know what is going on?" Harry said angrily.

"You know exactly who Dumbledore is to make such decisions. He knows more than anyone else, in and out of the Order," Tonks said calmly. "I wouldn't be surprised if he had a little Seer blood in him." Harry fell silent. He knew that Tonks was right, but he was still highly irritated about the whole situation.

"Alright, on the count of three…"

000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000

Ron and Hermione stood side by side, watching Tonks lead Harry away to the platform.

"I've been noticing a lot of changes in Harry," Hermione said.

"So have I," Ron said.

"So have we all," added Lupin from behind them. "But that is only to be expected, given what he went through two months ago."

"But still…" Ron said. "I don't like the changes at all."

"None of us do, dear," Mrs. Weasley said. "This has all got to be very difficult for Harry. I expect him to receive plenty of snide remarks this year."

"Potter's a tough kid," Moody growled, not bothering to look at the others as his head was swiveling in every direction looking for possible danger. "He'll be fine."

"But still, I want you two to look after him," Mrs. Weasley said. "As prefects, you can help prevent some of the chastising."

"Do you really think there is any reason for us to worry about… well… ourselves?" Hermione asked.

"I don't think it will come to that," Lupin said. "But if you do see any worrisome changes, go straight to Dumbledore or your new Care of Magical Creatures teacher. They'll know what to do."

"New Care of Magical Creatures teacher?" Hermione said.

"Where's Hagrid?" Ron asked.

"Don't worry your heads about that," Mrs. Weasley said sternly. "He's away on Dumbledore's orders."

"But… Will he be back?" Ron asked.

"They're gone," Moody growled. "Our turn."

000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000

When the scarlet train swam into view, all of the misgivings Ron and Hermione had shared vanished. They were finally going back. Harry stood in front of them with Tonks, smiling at the train despite how horribly his mind was racing.

"You lot have a good term," Mrs. Weasley said with a warm smile.

"Oh don't worry, we will," Fred said slyly.

"'Bye mum!" George shouted as the twins hurried off to join Lee, who they noticed by the train.

"YOU TWO DON'T DO ANYTHING YOU NORMALLY WOULD!" Mrs. Weasley shouted after them.

"Lupin," Harry said, turning.

"Yes?"

"If… When… Sirius comes home, could you write me and let me know?"

"Of course," Lupin said with a smile. "You three be safe."

A whistle sounded off in the distance, and the train began to billow steam. The three of them, followed closely by Ginny, boarded the train quickly, said their goodbyes to the others, and set off in search of a compartment.

"So, where to?" Harry asked brightly.

"Er…" Hermione began, looking at Ron.

"We have to go to the front carriage for a prefects meeting," Ron said.

"Oh. Right," Harry said, turning.

"We would much rather come with you, mate," Ron said. "But… You know… Prefect's duties…"

"No problem," Harry said, frowning slightly. "I'll see you later, then?"

"Right," Hermione said.

Ron and Hermione left Harry and Ginny and made their way towards the front of the train. They passed compartment after compartment, and finally arrived at the front. The slid the prefect's compartment open and found themselves standing in the doorway to a large circular room, in the center of which was a large round table that seated ten.

"Great, that's everyone," said a voice. Ron looked and saw a tall, very Percy-ish person standing with his hands clasped in front of him.

"Hermione, look," Ron said, nudging her. He nodded towards a pair of people sitting closest to the window.

"How could they make MALFOY a prefect?" Hermione said.

"I dunno," Ron answered. "Parkinson, too."

"Ok then, let's get started," said a very pretty girl. It dawned on Ron that these two must be the head boy and girl at Hogwarts this year. Ron and Hermione sat down in the last two remaining seats and watched the head boy and girl, Hermione with rapt enthusiasm, Ron with slight skepticism.

"Alright, first of all, I'm Emma Ulbrich," said the girl. "I'm a Hufflepuff seventh year."

"And I am Benjamin Boyd from Ravenclaw," said the boy.

"You have been handpicked by Albus Dumbledore himself to represent your houses as Prefects. As such, you are going to be given several new responsibilities," said Emma.

"For starters, you now have the power to give out detentions to any rule breakers," said Benjamin. To this, Ron saw Malfoy smirk.

"Also, you are given special permission to use the Prefect's bathroom, which is off limits to everyone else, besides Quidditch captains," Emma added.

"But perhaps the most important thing that you are going to do from now until you leave Hogwarts is provide aid to students whenever they need it," Benjamin said. "That will start directly after the feast tonight."

"As you probably well know, prefects lead the first years to their common room and teach them the password. Please note that it is not advised to write the passwords down, as… well…"

"Bad things can happen," Benjamin finished as Emma paused.

"Like what?" Malfoy said jokingly.

"For instance, a few years ago, a Gryffindor third year wrote down the password when the murderer Sirius Black was on the loose, and he managed to get into--"

"You mean Longbottom, the fat lump?" Malfoy said. "I heard about that."

"Did you?" Hermione said, glaring at Malfoy.

"The whole school did," Malfoy said. "Disgraceful, really…"

"Yes, well, at any rate, do not let the first years write the passwords. Before you leave here today, you will be given a slip of parchment with your common room passwords written down. But before then, Dumbledore has been kind enough to send us a bite of lunch," Emma said.

The compartment door slid open and the lunch trolley was wheeled in, covered with foods and drink instead of candies. The woman who normally pushed the food cart now set down a plate in front of each of them in turn, and gave them what they ordered instantly.

"You know, I could get used to this Prefect stuff," Ron said after swallowing a bite.

"It is going to be great, isn't it?" Hermione said.

"It is."

"So, Weasley, how long has it been since Potter died?" Malfoy said.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ron asked.

"Well, the only way you would ever beat Potter at something was if someone killed him," Malfoy finished, causing Pansy Parkinson to laugh. The other prefects simply looked at Malfoy and returned to their own conversations as if they had been uninterrupted.

"Don't mind him," Hermione said, taking a sip of her pumpkin juice.

"Harry's right," Ron said, glaring at Malfoy, who had long since returned to his conversation with Pansy. "Malfoy is good at being a prat."

"That's true enough," Hermione said, taking another sip of her juice. "I have a feeling it won't be long before he starts abusing his powers."

The two of them fell silent for some time, listening to the other Prefects converse happily. It was awkward for Ron, being with Hermione away from Harry once again. It seemed like forever since it had just been the two of them at Grimmauld Place, before Harry had come, and Ron was finding it hard to have the same freedom of speech that he had had before.

"I wonder what's up with Hagrid," Ron said finally, deciding to come to a topic that they could both talk about without worry.

"Me too," Hermione said. "I hope nothing has happened to him."

"I just hope that the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher isn't Grubbly-Plank," Ron said, poking his food with his fork.

"Grubbly-Plank is a fine teacher!" Hermione said, looking over at Ron.

"Exactly. If she comes to Hogwarts again, everyone will be oohing and ahhing about her, and Hagrid will be that much closer to being out of a job."

"Oh, come off it, Ron. Dumbledore would never fire Hagrid now that he has a legitimate job."

"But still…"

"What I'm curious about is our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Hermione said.

"Blimey, that's right. I forgot that we don't have one, now that Moody is Moody again."

"So Weasley," said the drawling voice that both of them immediately recognized as Malfoy's again.

"What?" Ron said.

"Do you and your family still live in that hole in the ground?"

"Now, that is quite enough," said Benjamin sternly. "All you have done since the two of them arrived is give them a hard time."

"What do I care?" Malfoy said.

"That isn't the way a Perfect should behave," Emma said.

"Oh, and what are you going to do? Strip me of my title?"

"It is well within our power to have it done," Benjamin said.

"And I would love to see you try it. My father would make sure you never get a legitimate job. And that is well within his power," Malfoy said, smirking at the head boy and girl.

"While that may be, he is not here to save you right now," Emma said, looking down at Malfoy as if he were something disgusting. "So, I think it is quite time for you to leave."

"And what if I said I didn't want to?" Malfoy asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "You going to put me, a prefect, in detention?"

"Prefects are not immune to detention," Benjamin said. "I'm sure you will find out soon enough."

"I doubt that," Malfoy said.

"Honestly, I expected something like this from a Slytherin," Emma said. "But I don't see why Dumbledore approved you, of all people, to represent that house."

"Because I am the best in the fifth year," Malfoy said.

"Then Slytherin is going downhill, I'm afraid," Benjamin said. Malfoy's face reddened.

"Come on, Pansy," he said.

"What did you call me?" Benjamin said, standing up.

"Not you," Emma said in his ear, nodding to the girl that was sitting by Malfoy.

"Oh… Miss Parkinson… Understood…"

Pansy stood up and took her leave with Malfoy.

"Honestly…" Benjamin said. The others returned to their own conversations.

"If Malfoy is willing to talk like that to the head boy and girl…" Hermione began.

"Harry is in for a rough year," Ron finished.

000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000

For nearly two hours, Ron and Hermione stayed in the Prefect's carriage, talking to each other happily. Ron was excited with the way things were going, and he couldn't help but notice that Hermione was looking at him with a funny expression, as if she had just solved a riddle that had been bothering her for a long while.

"Alright," Benjamin said, standing up. The conversations died down slowly.

"You are free to go and sit where you want," Emma said. "But what we need from you is assurance that you will patrol the corridors from time to time to make sure that everything remains orderly."

There was a general murmur of consent, and then the prefects were dismissed. Ron couldn't help but want to stay glued to his seat talking to Hermione happily, but he knew that he couldn't. He knew that Harry, who had never been on the Hogwarts Express without Ron's company, would be waiting expectantly for the pair of them to return.

"You ready?" Hermione said, standing up.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Ron replied, standing as well. The two of them headed over to the compartment door and entered the corridor behind the other prefects.

"I wonder where Harry is," Hermione said over her shoulder to Ron.

"I think I saw Ginny and him walking towards the end of the train," Ron said. The kept walking long after the prefects from the other houses had retreated into compartments one by one. Soon, they came to the very last compartment, slid the door open, and saw Harry, Ginny, Neville Longbottom, and a blonde girl sitting in silence.

"Wotcher, Harry!" Ron said.

"Hey," Harry said glumly.

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

"N-Nothing," Harry stammered.

"Nothing?" Ginny said, looking at him incredulously. "Neville decided to poke his plant right before Cho Chang walked in."

"Is that… Mimbulus Mimbletonia?" Hermione said.

"Yes," Neville said brightly.

"That means you were all showered in…"

"Stinksap, yes," Ginny said.

"Oh Harry, did she…"

"Run? Of course," Harry said glumly.

"Well that must have been…" Ron said.

"Hilarious?" said the blonde girl suddenly. "It was."

"No, I meant horrible," Ron said.

"Depending on how you look at it, it was horrible too."

Ron and Hermione stepped into the carriage at last and sat down in the two remaining seats, directly across from each other. Ron couldn't help but glance over at Hermione, and saw that she was still looking at him in the same peculiar way she had been looking at him in the prefects' carriage. She turned away when her name was called.

"How was the prefects meeting, Hermione?" Ginny asked.

"Interesting, to say the least," Hermione answered.

"Guess who Slytherin's prefects are?" Ron said.

"Malfoy?" Harry guessed.

"Of course," Ron answered. "And Pansy Parkinson."

"Perfect," Harry moaned.

"Prefect," Ron corrected.

"Whatever. Are you two in here for the rest of the trip?"

"No," Hermione said. "We have to patrol the corridors from time to time, that's about it."

"I expect we should be at the school sometime soon," the blonde girl said.

"Right," Ron said awkwardly.

"Oh, sorry," said Ginny suddenly. "This is Luna Lovegood, and those two are Hermione Granger and--"

"Ronald Weasley…" the blonde finished.

"How did you know?" Ron asked, leaning forward and looking around Neville.

"You took Padma Patil to the Yule Ball last year," Luna said, "and she had the most horrible time ever."

"Oh… Right," Ron said, looking slightly crestfallen.

"Why did you treat her so bad anyways?" Luna asked.

"Because I didn't really want to go with her in the first place," Ron said. "I wanted to go with--" He caught himself just before saying it. "Someone else," He finished lamely. Hermione's eyes narrowed and her mouth curled into a satisfied grin, but she didn't say anything.

"Then why did you ask her?" Luna asked.

"He didn't," Harry piped up. "I asked her for him when I asked Parvati."

"Come to think of it, she didn't enjoy herself too much either," Ginny said.

"Oh well. I had my mind on other things that night. I was too irritated watching Cho dance with… Well…" Harry fell silent, and so did the rest of the carriage. The others hadn't heard him come so close to talking about Cedric in some time, and it was awkward to hear him almost do it.

"At any rate," Hermione said brightly, "We need to start getting ready. It is getting dark, which means we're almost there."

Another hour or so crept by, and finally, the train was slowing and entering Hogsmeade station. It was a clear, cool night, and the voices of the emerging passengers carried a great distance. Ron looked up at Hogwarts Castle, Hermione and Harry at each of his shoulders, and smiled. They were back.