Chapter 14: Going Home

"Ready?"

"Yeah," said Hermione, picking up a bag and her suitcase, "You?"

"We've only been waiting on you the past eight minutes." Ginny said, laughing.

"I didn't take-"

"I was joking, Hermione."

"Oh…"

"Come on." Ginny laughed, picking up her suitcase and stepping to the door.

The door shut behind them and they made their way down the stairwell.

"I'm gonna miss it…" Hermione said.

"Yeah. We get to go back to homework and all that junk now." Ginny said, "Joking." She added, seeing Hermione's shocked face.

"Well, it is good to get away from school."

"I never thought I'd hear you say that! What's this world coming to?"

"Ron, shut up." said Ginny.

"What?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "See you guys downstairs." She said, clanking down past Ron.

"Want help?" Ron offered, once Ginny's footsteps had disappeared.

"Sure." Hermione shrugged, offering him her suitcase.

They started down the stairs together.

"So…" Said Hermione.

"It's gonna be weird going back to school with homework and classes after this." Ron said.

"Yeah, we had fun here."

Ron nodded.

"Maybe we'll be able to go on another trip…"

"And maybe I won't be acting like a jerk the whole time."

"You weren't a jerk." Hermione protested.

"Yeah, I was."

"Okay, maybe you were!"

"Yeah." Said Ron, "Wait a second," He stopped on the stairs. Hermione laughed.

"Come on." she grinned.

"About time." Said Harry, "We thought you guys got lost or something."

"Or something." muttered Ginny.

"Oh yeah? What's that supposed to mean?" Ron said, glaring.

"It means, that-" Ginny started, but was cut off.

"If the Gryffindors would follow me, please." Professor McGonagall announced.

They formed a rather messy line as she led them out to the path. Knight Buses were waiting there as before at Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny hurried up to the top. They were soon met by Madison, Haley, Luna, and Neville who seated themselves across from them.

"Say bye-bye!" Haley said, waving to the hotel as the Knight Bus set off.

"And say hello to school." grumbled Madison.

"School isn't that bad, you know." Haley and Hermione said at the same time. They glanced at each other and grinned.

"So…now what should we do while we wait?" said Ron, "And not another one of those 'would you rather' s. I don't like those."

Harry grinned, "Yeah, I agree. Though it was funny when-"

"Shut it." Ron said.

"Fine, fine." Harry put his hands up in defence.

"We could do-"

"Not karaoke!" Madison interrupted.

"I wasn't going to say that." Haley said. "I was going to say we could play the alphabet game."

"The what?" said Neville.

Haley sighed, "You have to pick a topic then we go around and name things from that topic in alphabetical order."

"Uh.." said Neville.

Haley rolled her eyes.

"Say the topic is states." Said Hermione, "You'd have to choose a state that started with A. Then the next would choose one that started with B, etc, etc."

"Oh! Okay." Neville said.

"Who wants to go first? And what's the topic?"

"Magical animals?" Suggested Harry.
"Yeah, that'll work." Said Ginny.

"I'll go first." said Hermione, "Augury."

They went around in a circle.

"Bogart." said Harry.

"Crumple-Horned Snorkack!" said Luna.

"That doesn't count!" Ginny protested.

"It's a magical animal!"

"Fine, fine, it works." said Hermione, rolling her eyes.

Ron stuck his tongue out at Ginny.

"Demiguise." said Ginny.

"Demy- what?" said Ron.

"They're used to make invisibility cloaks." Luna said. Harry looked up at her in interest.

"Flobberworm." said Ron.

"Ghoul." said Haley.

"I've got one of those!" said Ron.

"Mm hmmm." said Harry. "And I don't like it."

"Kneazle."

"Leprechaun."

"Merperson."

"Niffler."

"Occamy."

"Phoenix."

"Quintaped."

"Runespoor."

"Snidget!" shouted Harry.

"Troll." Laughed Ron.

"Unicorn."

"Um…Veela!" said Neville.

Hermione and Ginny rolled their eyes.

"Werewolf."

"There's nothing for 'x', and y is 'yeti' and there's nothing for 'z'" Hermione said.

"Attention everyone. We will be at Hogwarts in ten minutes time." Professor McGonagall's voice echoed throughout the bus.

"Almost there." Sighed Ginny.

"Whoopee." Madison said, sarcastically.

"Oh, come on! School isn't that bad!" said Hermione, annoyed.

"I'll agree with you if you shut up about it." Said Madison, "I get enough of that from Haley.

"HEY!"

"We're here." Said Professor McGonagall. (A/N: I know, that wasn't l0, sue me.)

Neville bounded up and was out of the bus before any of them. They others looked at each other for a second, then headed down the stairs and out onto the grounds. Even though it was school, it was the home for them for the past 4/5 years. They all inwardly sighed and grinned.

"After me." said Professor McGonagall, grinning.

"I think the vacation's got to her head." Ron muttered to Hermione.

Hermione smiled at the thought of her strict teacher.

While Stan Shunpike levitated all their items, they followed Professor McGonagall into the Entrance Hall. It was, as ever, stone, torch lit, and accompanied by Filch, but it was a welcome sight to all of them. McGonagall led them into the Great Hall where it was, surprisingly, not normal. The walls shined with a bright sparkle, or was that just the sunlight streaming in? The sky was a rosy pink splashed with purple. It seemed as though the sky was grinning. But that couldn't be it…

The Gryffindors sat down at their table, as the others did with theirs, and waited. There was no food, and everyone was looking up at Dumbledore. He got up from his throne-like chair and stood before them all.

"I have a little surprise for you." he said, smiling. "But for now, we eat." The tables were filled with food and they began to eat the varieties of stews and soups, for it was nearly winter, after all.

"What do you think it is?" the trio and Ginny heard Parvati ask Lavender.

"It could be anything. But doesn't the Hall look different?"

"And they all look happy about something" Parvati said, jerking her head at the staff table.

"It's not Christmas." said Ron, "Not something that good, because Snape looks really annoyed." Indeed, he did. "Is there any wonky holiday I don't know about?"

Hermione shook her head, "Not that I know of… I mean, Bertie Bott was born today years ago, but why would we celebrate that?"

"Hermione!" said Ron in outrage, as though she had just said the worst swear word, "How can you say that about the almighty creator of the tastiest and most mysterious sweets on the earth?"

"I believe she just did," Ginny said.

Harry grinned. "Guess we'll just have to find out later tonight."

"I suppose…" said Ron. He took a large bite of his stew.

(A/N: SO SORRY! I had to go to a wedding, then I had to do school shopping, my friend is devastated for not being in my class this year and I've been consoling her, another friend is having a sleep over tomorrow. I've been working on other fan fictions while I was gone and I'm working on four of them in my head. The gears are slowly rotating. I apologise SOOOOOO MUCH for the promise I broke! I won't make any more promises, 'cause I keep breaking them! I've been so busy with guitar, piano, singing, acting, searching for all kinds of stuff for information on History Fair when we get back to school. I've just been so busy trying to do everything at once and I can't stay up late writing anymore like I used to because I'm going to school soon! Then I'll be writing even less! I'm trying to get this finished before Monday. Wish me luck! I promise I'll at least bring my notebook so I can write more at my friend's house. Ack! I'm doing so much! Thank you to all my readers who have been patient with me and keeping up reading the story. It's great to be able to write and people actually comment you on your work and tell them how they like it. It feels really good when you get great support. It really helps me think 'Continue writing!' when I think of how many people read my story. Once again, thanks, and see you soon!)