1Chapter 16: To Beuxbatons

"All right then Harry?" asked Ron questioningly the next morning, as Harry had been slopping tea all over his fronts for the third time. "You seem a little...distracted this morning."

Harry nodded to Ron and said, "Didn't get much sleep last night," but said nothing more. Just as he had promised to Dumbledore, Harry had said nothing about last nights events to anyone, including Ron and Hermione. Yet the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he trusted them just as much as he trusted Dumbledore. And the shock that Hermione received when she read about the Death Eaters deaths in the Prophet made Harry want to change the subject more than ever. Pushing these thoughts out of his mind, he resolved that it wasn't a question of trust; that Dumbledore had other reasons for not telling Ron and Hermione.

"Was it one of those dreams again Harry?" asked Hermione tentatively, fear in her eyes. Harry had decided to tell Ron and Hermione the story of his dream of fleeing Hogwarts, and killing Ron. Harry had thought this information would rattle Ron, but on the contrary, it made him laugh. He thought it was funny that Harry had ended up killing him over ripping up the Fat Lady's Portrait, but Hermione did not. She looked at Harry apprehensively, and constantly asked him to relive the experience of what had happened in the dream. He remembered similar treatment the year prior to this one with his Occlumency lessons with Snape. Furthermore, she was constantly nagging Harry to tell Dumbledore about the dream, but as Dumbledore had enough dreams about Harry to worry about already, he did not think he needed to burden him with more.

"So then," said Ron, finishing off a bit of buttered toast. "What are we supposed to do on this ship anyway?" He then turned promptly to Hermione, expecting an answer from her.

Sure enough, Hermione spoke saying, "I heard Parvati saying that we should arrive at Beuxbaton tonight. As for what we do here, I have no idea."

Ron looked then to Harry, who shrugged, and stood up. Hermione leapt up as well, and Ron, disgruntled, dropped the bit of toast he wanted longingly to finish, and walked away from it as he followed Harry out of the eating cabin.

"Why don't we go out onto the deck," suggested Hermione as all three of them strolled towards the stairs. Harry and Ron nodded, and traveled up a flight of wooden planks that led them to the top of the ship.

A great beam of sunlight hit them the second they walked out, and it took them all a moment for their eyes to adjust.

Percy Weasley's austere appearance came to view as they moved toward the center of the mast. His horn rimmed glasses shone violently in the sunlight, making him appear to have no eyes behind his particularly large lenses.

"What are you doing here?" inquired Percy demandingly, not stopping to sneer disgustedly at his own brother. "The deck is not open to pupils without adult supervision!"

"Percy, we're seventeen, we can walk were we want, whether you like it or not!" retorted Ron, jabbing a finger in Percy's chest. "And anyway, aren't you supposed to be a pathetic attempt of adult supervision?"

Percy just glared at Ron after this comment, obviously just realizing he had slipped up. Ron, also knowing this, grinned at Harry and Hermione. And without another word, Ron gave Percy one last contemptuous look, and strode further down the deck.

As they walked farther down towards a cabin perched atop the deck, and looking inside it to see an empty room with an oar that magically was steering itself, Harry came to a thought.

"Hang on, if Percy wasn't up here to supervise us, then what was he doing?" asked Harry to Ron, and Hermione continued looking through the window.

Ron merely shook his head and said, "dunno," slightly distractedly, also looking at the self-moving oar. "I reckon he's just up here to look around, like us."

But Harry was not satisfied with this answer. Out of them many things Harry discussed with Dumbledore the previous night, he was gladdest he wasn't allowed to speak of the Headmasters suspicion of Percy future attempt to sabotage VillVif school and steal the Quill of Nalbun. Harry thought back to the days of his first year, when he stole the Sorcerers Stone right under the nose of Voldemort. He wondered if VillVif would have similar enchantments protecting the Quill, and whether Percy would be able to get through them.

But Harry's thoughts were once again, quickly drowned out by Ron beckoning Harry to come sit in between him and Hermione, where they had a view of the ocean ahead and around them.

"I almost forgot, you got picked for Team Hogwarts in the International Quidditch World Cup, right?" said Harry happily, falling into the chair next to Ron. "As Keeper?"

At these words, Ron did not put on a delighted face and begin to make strategies with Harry, but turned red and began mumbling. Harry looked at him with concern, not understanding this attitude.

"I'm only a backup," said Ron, still crimson in the face. "To Gordon Bletchley, a Slytherin."

But Harry only laughed at this, and smiled widely. "Gordon didn't make the ship, his father was caught as a Death Eater and he was arrested as well, he apparently helped his father use the Crutacius Curse and put the Dark Mark over someone's house. That makes you Keeper, first round!"

Ron sat awestruck at this, and turning from bright red to a deep greenish purple, which showed Harry that Ron's nerves were beginning to get the better of him, just like last years Hogwarts matches.

Harry began to get comfortable in his chair, and before he knew it, he had dozed off and fallen into a deep sleep. No dreams bothered him, but he was bothered by Ron's continual poking, so bothered that he stood up right out of his chair and looked at him; annoyed and irritated. But he understood why as he woke up not to a sunny afternoon sky, but a star filled night.

"We'll be there in ten minutes," said Ron quietly, eyes focused on the horizon.