Chapter 33

"Where are they?" Ron growled, pacing up and down the small train car he and Harry had been confined to the minute they set foot on Platform 9¾.

"Will you stop that?" Harry sighed, from his seat. "You're going to make me dizzy."

"They should have been here by now," Ron shot back, halting in front of the window and peering out at the crowd of students now assembled on the platform greeting their friends and saying goodbye to their parents. "Wait," he cried, pointing at a flash of red hair he spotted off towards the barrier. "I think I see... bugger, it's just Susan Bones."

"It hasn't been that long," Remus Lupin informed them as he pulled Ginny's trunk into the compartment and stowed it on top of the luggage racks next to Harry's. "I'm sure they're fine," he added, giving Ron a knowing smile.

"Yeah, well... it's nice to see their luggage made it in one piece," Ron muttered under his breath as he collapsed into the seat closest to the window and continued to stare out at the crowd.

"Where's Hermione's?" Harry asked, retrieving Crookshank's cat carrier off the floor outside the compartment door and noting that her trunk was missing.

"Not enough room in here," Lupin replied, taking the seat opposite the grumbling redhead, "so we put it in the prefect car. Relax Ron," he added. "You know how girls are? They like to be fashionably late."

"My sister is never late," Ron argued just to vent his frustration. "And neither is my Mum."

"I'm sure you're sister is fine," Lupin replied, knowing perfectly well that it wasn't Ginny the he was worried about so much as it was her not so bushy haired companion.

"Professor Lupin is right," Harry chimed in. "I don't know about you, but I'd rather face down Moody then your Mum, especially when she is in protective mode. Have you ever seen her actually curse anyone?" he asked Ron, genuinely curious.

"No," Ron replied. "Well," he amended, after thinking about it for a moment, "she put a body bind on Charlie once after he caught the twin reading the love letters he'd been getting from some girl he met at school. It was hilarious. He chased them out of his room with a bludger bat. Of course that didn't stop them from quoting back what they'd read and making kissing noises as they ran. That's not exactly what you meant though, is it?"

"Hi Harry," a voice said from the corridor outside their compartment. "Hi Ron. You guys get here early this year?" Neville asked, dropping the trunk he'd been dragging and struggling with his toad, which was trying to hop out of his hand. "Must have," he answered himself quickly, "to get a compartment in the middle of the train. Mind if I...oh," he said, looking up again and finally noticing the adult sitting in the car. "Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt or anything. I should go find a place to store my stuff before it's all full anyway," he added, taking a deep breath and getting ready to drag his trunk down to the end of the train, where the only available compartments were. "Nice to see you again Professor Lupin. Hey!" he asked enthusiastically, taking a step backwards so he was standing in the doorway again. "Are you coming back to teach this year? That's brilliant."

"No," Lupin replied quickly. "I'm afraid not."

"Oh," Neville said, his face falling a bit. "Okay, then. Well... I better go."

"You can put your stuff in here, Neville," Ron said, jumping out of his seat.

"But it's full," he replied uneasily.

"I can put my stuff in the prefect car," Ron answered, grabbing Pigwidgeon's cage and thrusting his twittering owl at Harry. "It'll be a lot quieter in here without him anyway," he added, turning around and heaving his own trunk off the rack. "Come on Harry, you can help me," he said making for the doorway Neville was still standing in.

"Don't get off the train," Professor Lupin warned, as Neville stepped out of the way and Ron dragged his trunk into the narrow hallway. "You boys have fifteen minutes," he added, knowing that Ron just wanted to get out of the car so he could look for the girls. "If you're not back by then I'm going to send Mad Eye after you."

"Right," Ron cried over his shoulder as he and Harry started to carry his trunk towards the front of the train.

"Looks like you need some help with that trunk," Lupin said, smiling at Neville, who was once again, fighting to maintain his hold on Trevor.

"Damn," Ron muttered under his breath as they passed another doorway and he discovered that it too was being monitored by a member of Dumbledore's security detail, which meant there was no way they'd be able to get off the train without being seen. "The train's going to leave in 20 minutes," he said, peering at the clock hanging over the platform.

"Well, look who it is," Seamus Finnigan said when he stepped out of a nearby compartment and spotted Ron and Harry standing in the doorway, staring out at the platform. "What happened? Did your private transport to Hogwarts fall through? No flying car this year? No special arrangements for the exalted ones?"

Harry spun around and was just about to ask Seamus what the hell his problem was when Ron unexpectedly jumped off the train. Taken by surprise, Harry turned and glanced out the door just as Tonks walked through the barrier and join Mrs. Weasley and Bill on the platform. Her flamboyant purple spikes, clashed violently with the Weasley red she was surrounded by and Harry noted that he wasn't the only one staring at her.

"Don't even think about it, Potter," a gruff voice growled, the instant Harry tried to step off the train. He didn't need to turn around to know that the voice and the hand now resting on his shoulder belonged to Mad-Eye Moody. Their fifteen minutes must have been up. "What part of stay on the train didn't you understand?" he asked, watching Ron approach Bill, only to be grabbed by the arm and ushered back to the train.

"Damn it, Ron," Bill said, shoving his brother through the doorway Harry had just vacated and following after. "What did you think you were doing?"

"Me?" Ron cried. "What about you? What took you so damn long?"

"Oh for god sakes, you idiot," Ginny's disembodied voice declared. "Will you shut up and get out of my way so I can get on the train already?"

"Oh yeah, sorry," Ron said, stepping out of the doorway and feeling his sister brush by.

"Hermione?" Bill asked.

"Right here," she replied, somewhere to his right, although it was hard to tell where exactly since she was still assuming the coloring and the texture of the object surrounding her like a human chameleon. Until she moved again, and the effect rippled as it readapted, it was all but impossible to see her.

"Right then," Moody said, pulling his wand and tapping Ginny on the head, lifting the Disillusionment Charm that had been hiding her. "Come on Granger," he said, as soon as Ginny reappeared and stepped aside. "I've got other things to do besides stand here ya know?"

"You've got all day to bark orders at the students Mad-Eye," Tonks teased as she appeared in the doorway. "Why don't you go spread the wealth among the masses," she suggested, winking at Hermione as she reappeared. "I'll look after this lot. Right," she added, after Moody and Bill had departed together, "I've got some things of my own I need to take care of. I trust you can look after yourselves for a little while. Hermione, Ginny, you remember that curse I taught you? If those two," she said, pointing at Harry and Ron, "try and get off this train before we reach Hogwarts, use it on them."

"Cool," Ginny replied, whipping her wand out as soon as Tonks ducked out of the doorway and walked back over to Mrs. Weasley. "Have I mentioned that I love her? I get Ron."

"Put that thing away," her brother snarled, when Ginny jokingly pointed her wand at him.

"Must be nice knowing that you've got special protection," Seamus said, casting a venomous look in Hermione's direction.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Finnigan?" Ron snapped, stepping in front of Hermione and obscuring her from Seamus' view.

"I'd think it would be pretty self-explanatory, even to you, Weasley. What part of 'special protection' didn't you understand? The part where she got to spend the summer in a Ministry run safe house. Or how about the part where the Aurors escorted her on the train?"

"Aurors," Ginny scoffed. "That was my brother, you idiot. He works for Gringotts."

"The Aurors are here to protect all of us," Harry added, his own temper rising.

"That's not what the papers said," Seamus retorted. "Me mam, read all about it."

"Not this again," Harry sighed, rolling his eyes.

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about," Ginny chimed in.

"Come off it, Potter. We all know she got preferential treatment because of who she..."

"PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT!" Ron shouted at the top of his lungs, bearing down on Seamus who immediately took a step back. "If by preferential treatment you mean being attacked in the middle of Diagon Alley and taken prisoner..."

"Ron," Ginny gasped, when she noticed Hermione blanch. "Calm down," she implored, placing her hand on his arm just in case she had to hold him back.

"...and then tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange," he continued, ignoring his sister completely. "Do you have any idea how many times that twisted bitch used the Cruciatus Curse on her? DO YOU?!"

"Please," Hermione begged, wiping away the tears that were now rolling down her cheeks.

"WHERE WAS ALL THAT SPECIAL PROTECTION THEN? WHERE WERE THOSE AUROR BODYGUARDS WHEN SHE NEEDED HELP?"

"RON!" Ginny shouted.

"IF SHE HADN'T SAVED HERSELF..."

"STOP IT!!!" Hermione screamed, finally getting Ron's attention.

Hearing the pain in her voice, he spun around to check on her and then rounded on Seamus once more, glaring at him as if her distress were all his fault.

"Just stop. Please," Hermione begged. "Don't you see? This is what he wants. I'm sorry about what happened to Dean," she said, stepping in front of Ron so she could look at Seamus as she spoke to him. "We all are," she assured him. "I know he was your best friend and I can only imagine how hard this must be for you, but..."

"It isn't her fault," Ginny interrupted. "And it isn't Harry's either. They didn't kill him, Voldemort did. If you want to blame someone, blame him. If you want to fight someone, fight him. Hermione's right. This is exactly what Voldemort wants. He's trying to turn us against one another and you're playing right into his hands," she finished. "You're doing exactly what he wants you to do."

Ron at least had the good grace to look down at his feet uncomfortably as the truth of his sister's words hit home. Seamus on the other hand, just continued to glower at the rest of them angrily.

"Sorry," Ron mumbled, purposely looking at Hermione and not Seamus as he apologized.

"Yeah, whatever," Seamus said, before turning around and stalking off down the corridor towards the back of the train.

"I'm going to wash my face," Hermione said softly, turning away from her friends and heading towards the front of the train where the toilets were.

"I'll go with you," Ginny said, glancing at Ron and Harry before taking a step towards Hermione.

"No," Hermione replied. "It's ok. You should probably put your robes on anyway. I'll just meet you and Ron in the prefect car."

"Yeah," she agreed, "Ok."

"Come on Gin," Ron said, even though his eyes were still glued to Hermione's retreating form. "I'll show you where your stuff is and you can change in our compartment."

Just ignore them, Hermione chanted in her mind, as she ducked into the empty prefect car and slid the door closed behind her. You should be used to it by now. It's not the first time you've had people staring at you and talking about you behind your back. You've had plenty of practice dealing with it, thanks to that cow, Rita Skeeter. This is just like that really. Just ignore them and eventually they'll find something else to talk about.

Of course that was easier said then done. Just because she'd looked the other way and refused to react to all the pointing and whispering she'd encountered in the walkway, didn't stop it from making her uncomfortable. But she wasn't about to let it show. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction. Let them talk. Their opinions of her didn't matter anyway.

It wasn't until Hermione had locked herself in the loo and glanced at her reflection in the mirror that she'd remembered that her appearance had been altered. Mad-Eye Moody had insisted upon it. She'd understood the logic behind his request. Paranoid or not, he had their best interests at heart and changing her hair was an effective means of preventing a Death Eater in a Polyjuice disguise from trying to take her place. Still, that didn't mean she had to like it. In fact, she hated it. This girl with the sleek honey blond hair staring back at her was not the Hermione she knew. She looked more like Lavender Brown then she did herself. Suppose I might as well go the rest of the way and curl my eyelashes with my wand, she'd thought, glaring at herself in disgust. I can practically hear them squealing now, she'd groaned, trying not to focus on the way her roommates were going to react. Won't they be disappointed when it wears off and I'm back to normal in the morning.

Of course just because her hair would be normal in the morning, didn't mean the whispering and the looks were likely to stop. They're not talking about my hair, Hermione reflected, spotting her trunk and retrieving her school uniform. It's those damned attacks and the fact I'm not one of the victims. I wonder who the other victims were? she thought, sliding her skirt on over her jeans and securing it. I suppose it's all over the train by now, she continued, slipping her jeans off and replacing her shirt. Harry and Ron probably know by now, and if not, Lavender and Parvati certainly do. I'm sure I'll hear all about it later tonight.

Draco Malfoy stopped short when he opened the door of the prefect's carriage and spotted the lone girl struggling to retrieve something out of her trunk. He glanced quickly down the hall, just to make sure none of the other prefects were around, before he smiled, and slipped inside.

She didn't know he was there. She thought she was alone. It was a perfect opportunity, but he'd have to act quickly. They wouldn't be alone for long. Pansy Parkinson was bound to show up soon. She was like a simpering little shadow that followed him everywhere. He'd managed to shake her for now, but she'd find him eventually.

But not until after I have a little fun, he thought, as he silently approached the girl from behind.

As he advanced, Draco took a moment to appreciate the view. Whoever the new 5th year prefect was, she certainly filled her uniform out well. Of course the fact she was on the tips of her toes, rummaging through her tilted trunk, didn't hurt matters any. She might be wearing knee socks, but he still had an excellent view of her legs. Her socks didn't cover everything, not by any means. The position she was in had caused her skirt to ride up quite a bit, affording him the perfect opportunity to ogle the vast expanse of her lower thighs.

He was just beginning to wonder if she filled out the front of her uniform as well as she did the back, when he reached her. Only one way to find out, he decided. He'd have to get her attention so she'd turn around.

If he'd been a gentleman, he might have offered to retrieve whatever it was she was looking for, as he was taller then she was. But Draco Malfoy was not a gentleman and offering to help her never even crossed his mind. Where was the fun in that?

Hermione shrieked when she felt his hand plunge up under her skirt and pinch her. She spun around so fast that her unbalanced trunk fell right off the luggage rack and crashed to the floor, spewing its contents everywhere.

"Granger!" Draco drawled, screwing his face up in a look of utmost disgust and saying her name as if it were a curse word. He was obviously as shocked and as horrified as Hermione was, the only difference was that he tried to hide it. "Well if it isn't the mudblood slag herself," he snarled, purposely moving in closer and forcing her to take a step back.

"Excuse me?" Hermione hissed back, in a tone of voice that would have had most Griffindors stumbling all over themselves to get out of her way for fear of being cursed.

Of course Draco wasn't worried about that, because he knew that she didn't have her wand. He knew this because he'd seen it, resting on top of her robes, which she'd carelessly discarded out of reach. As long as he kept her cornered, she'd be unable to retrieve it.

"Don't act so surprised," he sneered. " Everyone knows."

"Knows what?" Hermione asked, wondering if somehow people knew about what had happened between her and Ron over the summer. But they couldn't. There was just no possible way. He was fishing for information. "I don't know what you are talking about," she stated angrily. "Now get out of my way," she demanded, trying to shove her way past him.

Unfortunately her words didn't have the desired effect. Rather then letting her pass, Malfoy simply shifted with her, blocking her retreat with his body at the same time he placed his hands on the wall on either side of her to pin her in.

"I wouldn't admit this if there was anyone else around to hear it," he said quietly, "but I can see why Potter keeps stringing you along," he added, his eyes dropping to her chest. "Why else would he want a mudblood whore?"

Draco actually staggered backwards when Hermione's hand connected with the side of his face. It wasn't the first time she'd slapped him, but she was older now and stronger. His eyes caught fire as he fingered the stinging welt on his cheek. How dare she hit him? "It's too bad they didn't manage to kill you when they had the chance," he growled menacingly.

"Get out of my way," Hermione snarled, almost hoping that he wouldn't so she could knee him in the groin, "or I'll give you something to really be sorry about."

Before he could respond, Malfoy found himself moving, although it wasn't of his own volition. As he felt himself falling into the center of the compartment, he wondered for a brief second if Granger could perform wandless magic. It wasn't until he landed on his arse and looked up at the redhead standing beside her, positively seething with rage, that he realized it hadn't been her.

"Oh look," Draco sneered, rising up off the floor as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"Your guard dog has returned. Pity. But then, he'll end up just like Potter's mangy mutt."

"No, don't," Hermione cried, but by then it was already too late. Ron had lurched forward and tackled Malfoy to the floor. There was no way she could stop him now, because he wasn't the only one swinging. If she tried to interfere or distract Ron, Malfoy might actually hurt him.

"Holy shit!" Anthony Goldstein cried, as he and Ernie Macmillan appeared in the doorway of the prefect car and spotted the brawl taking place on the floor.

"Hannah," Ernie yelled, as Pansy Parkinson shoved her way into the doorway, gasped, and then took off running. "Go find Harry and tell him he better get up here before Crabbe and Goyle show up."

"You smarmy bastard," Ron shouted, throwing a punch that connected squarely with Malfoy's eye. "If you ever touch her again, I swear I'll..."

But what exactly Ron would do, the crowd of students congregated at the door never discovered, because the room unexpectedly went silent. Ron was still shouting; his mouth was moving, even as his fists did. They simply couldn't hear what he was saying. They couldn't hear Malfoy's response either, if he had one that is. He might have been a little too busy fending off punches to actually reply, but he had to be making some sort of noise. They simply couldn't hear it.

It wasn't until Crabbe and Goyle came barreling down the hallway and tried to cross the threshold that Ernie figured out what had happened.

"She shielded the room," he laughed, venturing a quick look at Crabbe and Goyle who were trying to untangle themselves on the floor, and then back at Hermione, who was holding her wand. "Looks like it's an Imperturbable Charm."

"Is it possible to imperturb an open doorway?" Padma Patil asked. "I thought it had to be cast on an object, like the door itself."

"It certainly repelled them," Roger Davies snickered, motioning towards the glowering Slytherins rising up off the floor.

"What's going on?" Harry asked as he forced his way through the crowd of students that had nipped out of their compartments to see what the ruckus was all about and were now loitering about in the hallway.

"No clue," Anthony replied, as Ginny and Neville skidded to a halt behind Harry.

"They were already going at it when we got here," Ernie explained, stumbling slightly as the train started moving.

"All right," A familiar voice shouted up the hall. "Break it up. The train's moving now. Everyone back to your compartments."

"Bill," Ginny said, before turning around and pushing her way down the corridor, hoping to head her brother off.

"It's imperturbed," Ernie said, when Harry moved towards the doorway. "At least we think it is," he added. "Does Hermione know how to do that?"

"Apparently," Harry said, after reaching for the doorway and having his hand repelled.

"What the hell is going on up here?" Mad-Eye Moody barked loudly, as he hobbled towards the crowd of students. "Why aren't you in your own compartment?" he snarled at Goyle, who was standing behind Anthony Goldstein pounding his fist into his hand. "I don't see a prefect badge on you," he said, grabbing Goyle by the collar, then shoving him down the hall and away from the prefects' carriage, "so get back where you belong."

"Uh oh," Neville moaned, looking at Harry with wide eyes.

"Potter," Moody cried, the instant he spotted Harry standing in front of the open doorway. "I might have known you'd be in the center of all this. Not even five minutes out of the station and you've already found trouble."

"I didn't find trouble..." Harry started to object.

"Yeah. yeah. Trouble finds you," Mad-Eye finished for him. "And where the blazes is Tonks? She's supposed to be watching you," he said as he strolled up to the doorway. "When I find her I'm going to... OY!" he shouted, as his magical eye spun around to afford him a view of the inside of the prefect carriage. "That wouldn't be Lucius Malfoy's dirt bag of a son that Weasley's thumping, would it?"

"Er..."

"Yes sir," Hannah Abbott replied meekly.

"Well then, that changes everything."

"Damn it, Ron," Bill cried, shoving his way through the students that were slowly backing away from Moody. "What the hell is the matter with you?" he muttered under his breath, glancing into the room just as Ron pulled his arm back and Hermione latched onto it. He didn't need to hear her shouts to know what she was saying, his brother's name was clearly visible on her lips.

"RON!!! RON STOP IT!!!! He's not worth it."

"He's been asking for this for years," Ron muttered under his breath, but he stopped swinging. Hermione had a death grip on his arm and he knew if he swung it forward he'd likely drag her with it. "Fine," he sighed, after glancing over his shoulder and seeing how worried she was. "But he better learn to keep his mouth shut," he added, for good measure as he stood up and backed away.

"You're going to pay for this, Weasley," Malfoy shouted as he climbed to his feet.

"What are you going to do? Hit my fist with your face a few more times?"

"She must compensate you well," Draco sneered. "Although for the state of your dress robes I'd say it isn't with money."

Ron reacted faster then Hermione could. Before she even had time to protest, he'd doubled up his fist and punched Malfoy right in his big fat mouth.

"You just don't know when to shut up, do you?" Ron asked, as Hermione latched onto him again. His point made, he relented, and allowed Hermione to pull him back. Only this time, rather then stay behind him, she made sure that she positioned herself between him and Malfoy.

"I'll have you expelled for this," Draco shouted, fingering his bleeding lip.

"No, you won't," Hermione said, her voice low and cold and positively crackling with anger. "If he goes," she hissed, taking a step towards Malfoy, who immediately backed away, "so do you."

"He started the fight," Draco retorted with a forced laugh. "I have all these witnesses to back me up."

"Oh you do, do you?" Hermione asked, taking another step forward and repressing a smirk when she noticed Malfoy step away from her again. "I didn't hear any of them shouting for Ron to let you go. In fact," she said, pausing just long enough for the silence to sink in. "I don't hear anything at all. Do you?"

It wasn't until she actually said it that Draco realized how unnaturally quiet it was. With all the people standing outside in the hall there ought to be more noise. Where was the shouting? Where was the taunting? And where the hell were Crabbe and Goyle? What the hell did that bitch do? he wondered, as he took another step backwards and collided with something solid that hurled him back into the room.

"I imperturbed the doorway," Hermione explained, holding up her right hand so Malfoy could see her wand.

"They might not have heard him, but they all saw him."

"Yes," Hermione sighed, "I suppose they did. But they saw you throwing punches as well," she added with a smirk. "And before you say you were just defending yourself, you might want to ask them what they did hear," she pressed on, "I believe it was something along the lines of, 'If you ever touch her again, I'll...' A perfectly justifiable thing to shout at someone you've just discovered assaulting a fellow student."

"WHAT!" Draco cried indignantly. "I ... I didn't..."

"Oh well, perhaps you didn't," Hermione admitted. "But you won't be able to prove that."

"It will be your word against mine."

"Yes," she agreed. "Who do you think they will believe? Of course the fact that my blouse has been torn open might be a little difficult for you to explain. Surely I wouldn't have tried to rip it off myself. I wonder how long it will be before someone notices that?" she asked.

"You lying mudblood bitch!" Draco shouted, when he looked at her closer and realized that the sleeve on the left hand side of her shirt had been torn at the shoulder and she was holding the blasted thing closed because the buttons were missing.

"NO! RON!" Hermione shouted the instant he sprang forward.

"I told you if you ever called her that again I was...."

"It's my turn," she declared, bringing her wand up and pointing it at Malfoy's chest.

He flinched and instinctually stumbled back, only this time rather then collide with the force field she'd thrown up, he found himself colliding with Mad-Eye Moody, who was standing in the center of the doorway.

"Well, well," Mad-Eye growled, his magical eye spinning in its socket before focusing on Ron. "What do we have here?" he asked. "I don't suppose there is any point asking which one of you started it, is there? Not that I really care, mind you. What I do care about is the fact that this little disturbance of yours is preventing me from doing my job. So it ends. Now!" he snarled. "If I have to come up here again," he warned, both of his eyes now focused on Draco, "you are going to be very very sorry. Do I make my self clear?"

"Yeah," Ron sighed, looking down at his feet so he wouldn't have to meet his brother's disapproving stare.

"Well?" Moody barked at Malfoy, who still hadn't replied. "Kneazle got your tongue, boy?"

"No," Draco replied.

"No, what?" Mad-Eye growled, arching his eyebrow at Malfoy's flippant reply. "You planning on picking another fight?"

"I didn't..." Malfoy started to protest, but he stopped short when he saw the expression on Bill's face change from disapproval to shock as he looked at Hermione. The instant Bill's wide eyes narrowed and locked on him, Malfoy changed tactics. "No sir," he said quickly, hoping his answer would pacify the adults and they'd leave. "It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't," Mad-Eye said, poking Draco in the chest. "I'm going to keep my eye on you."

"You two," Bill said, pointing at Ron and Hermione as Moody stalked off. "I'd like a word with you before your meeting," he added, entering the prefect carriage. "This will only take a minute," he said to Roger Davies, when he spotted the head boy badge pinned on his robes. "What are you...?" Bill started to protest when Ginny shoved Harry into the room. "Aw, to hell with it," he acquiesced. "Just, make yourselves useful and pick up Hermione's things," he sighed, pulling the door closed.

"What did he say this time?" Harry asked Ron the instant the door closed.

"Here," Bill said, scooping one of Hermione's school jumpers up off the floor and handing it to her. "Do you want to tell me what happened?" he asked her, purposely averting his eyes as she threw the jumper on over her torn shirt.

"Nothing happened," she insisted as she watched Bill wave his wand over the floor and send all of her displaced items flying back into the trunk Ginny had just righted.

"Ron?" he asked, studying his brother who had the makings of a nice black eye.

"What?" he replied, licking the blood off the corner of his lip.

"What happened?" Bill asked crossly.

"Nothing."

"And I suppose if I ask Malfoy, he'll give me the same answer?"

"I don't know," Ron shot back, his smoldering eyes now locked on his brother instead of the door he'd been glowering at. "Why don't you go ask him and find out."

"That's all I'm going to get from you? That's all you have to say?"

"Pretty much," Ron admitted.

"What about you?" Bill asked, turning to Hermione once more, hoping that she at least would be reasonable.

"Sorry," she replied, staring at the ground and fidgeting slightly as she nodded her head.

"Did he try and hurt you?" Bill asked, the concern evident in his voice.

"No," Hermione replied quickly.

"He didn't..."

"NO!" she cried, cutting him off before he could finish.

"I saw your shirt."

"What's wrong with her shirt?" Ginny asked, her brow creasing in confusion.

"Nothing is wrong with it," Hermione lied. "I was just in the middle of getting dressed when Malfoy walked in, that's all."

"Uh huh," Bill replied, clearly not buying her explanation.

"Just drop it, all right," Ron snapped, stepping in front of Hermione. "She said nothing happened so stop harassing her."

"You two better get your stories straight," Bill warned, shaking his head sadly as he gave up and approached the door. "Because I guarantee you Malfoy will have his all worked out by the time we reach Hogwarts."

"Whatever," Ron said, crossing his arms in front of his chest and watching his brother walk out of the room.

"Thank you," Hermione said the instant he was gone, taking Ron, and nearly everyone within earshot by surprise.

"What?" Ron cried, spinning around and gaping at her along with everyone else. "Aren't you going to tell me off?"

"Why would I yell at you?" Hermione asked.

"For... for... loosing my temper," Ron replied. "For brawling on the train. Because I'm I prefect and should set a better example."

"Are you daft?" she retorted, deciding that it might not be such a bad idea to have a few witnesses to back up her story if she needed to use it. "What better example could there be? You caught that low life assaulting a fellow student and proceeded to beat the tar out of him for it. Yell at you? If I wasn't afraid I'd hurt that bloody mess you call a mouth, I'd kiss you. Figuratively speaking of course," she added, blushing as she noted the stunned expressions and raised eyebrows on the various prefects trailing into the room.

"Come on," Ginny said, grabbing Ron's arm and pulling his towards the doorway. "Let's get you cleaned up before the meeting starts," she added, dragging him through the crowd and down the hall towards the loo.

"Hermione," Ron asked, as his sister shoved him into the toilet compartment and turned the water on in the small sink. "He didn't really...I mean... he wasn't..." he stammered, "Ow, Ginny. Stop it. That hurts," he cried, grabbing his sister's hand and shoving the wet paper towel she was using on him away from his bloody lip.

"DID HE ATTACK YOU?" Harry bellowed, clearly enraged. "I'll..."

"No," Hermione replied quickly. "Well...sort of."

"WHAT!!!"Harry and Ron shouted in unison. Obviously on the same page, the two boys didn't even have to look at one another. They simply spun around together and tried to shove their way past the girls so they could march down the hallway and drag Malfoy out of whatever compartment he was hiding in.

"STOP IT!" Hermione shouted, shoving Ron back into the toilet compartment. "RIGHT NOW!" she added, grabbing Harry by the arm to prevent him from going after Malfoy on his own. "Nothing happened."

"But you just said..." Ron started.

"Wait," Ginny interrupted, "if you didn't see him...if you didn't catch him in the act," she asked her brother, clearly confused by the whole mess, "then why..."

"Because the slimy little tosser had her cornered and was taunting her about the Death Eaters," he replied. "If I had known that he really had touched you. I'm going to kill that..."

"Ron, watch your language," Hermione admonished. "There are first years onboard. And he didn't... he wasn't... I tore it myself when you two were fighting."

"Tore what?" Harry asked, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.

"Her shirt," Ron sighed, blushing crimson as he said it. "You're sure you tore it open yourself?" he asked her seriously. "Malfoy didn't..." he continued, no longer paying the slightest bit of attention to the other two people that happened to be standing there.

"No," she replied briskly.

"He didn't..."

"No."

"Are you sure?" Ron asked, narrowing his angry eyes at her. "You can tell me if he did. I won't kill him. I swear. I'll just make him rue the day he was ever born."

"No," Hermione insisted. "He...well...ok...," she wavered. "He came up behind me and pinched me, but ...that was before he knew who I was," she added. "He was as shocked as I was when I turned around. Then he looked disgusted that he'd actually touched me and proceeded to sling the usual insults my way," she admitted. "A little more venomous I suppose."

"He was going on about how he wished the Death Eaters had killed you when I walked in," Ron snarled angrily.

"Yeah well, it isn't as if we haven't heard him say that before," Harry muttered under his breath.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, noting that she wasn't the only one surprised by this news. Ginny was actually gaping at Harry in astonishment. Ron on the other hand, was staring at his feet and refused to meet her gaze.

"You know, that time we took the ...," Harry began to explain and then faltered. He glanced at Ginny uncomfortably for a moment and then continued. "That time in second year," he said, hoping that Hermione would figure out what he was talking about, "when we had our private chat with him."

"When you took the what?" Ginny asked, her eyes hoping around to all their faces before landing on Harry's once more. "When you had a private chat about... oh..." she said softly as comprehension dawned on her. "That's why you made that Polyjuice potion," she asked uneasily. "You thought he was the Heir of Slytherin."

"He told you that he hoped I was the next victim?" Hermione asked calmly.

"No, he said that he hoped you were the first one to die," Ron growled.

"And you never told me?"

"You had enough to worry about, being a cat and all."

"Ron," Ginny cried, smacking her brother in the arm.

"We didn't want to worry you," Harry said uncomfortably. "Besides, you know how Malfoy is. He's all talk and no action."

"Um hum," Hermione muttered under her breath. "Well we better get back to the prefect car before they start the meeting without us," she said, purposely changing the subject.

"We'll come find you as soon as it's over," Ron said to Harry as Ginny shoved him out of the loo and into the hallway.

"Yeah, all right," Harry sighed, watching the three of them walk away together. Looks like it's just me and Neville this year, he thought as he spun around and shuffled back to his own car.