As Usual, I am not JK Rowlings, I do not own these Characters, this is written for fun and nothing else.
Harry Potter and the Temple of the Holy Cross
Chapter 4, The Hogwarts Express
The bright sun began to break over the Horizon, shining through the partly cloudy London Skies as Ginny, Hermione, and Ron approached the Leaky Caldron by foot, which would take them to Diagone Alley, where they would retrieve their school books. From there they would go to King's Cross station where Ron and Hermione would board the Hogwarts Express for their last journey to the School. Hermione and Ron walked casually hand-in-hand, while Ginny walked ahead of them, on her face was a look of seriousness, contemplation. Since the incident at the night club Harry had been quiet, reserved, unwilling to talk to anyone; not that this bothered Fred and George who were quite angry at him, though it worried Hermione, Ginny, and Ron.
More than the rest of them, Ginny was worried about her now ex-boyfriend who disappeared earlier than the rest of them that morning. He left a note that told them not to worry, but it did not specify where he was going. Knowing that his path lay in a different direction than theirs, they let him go and proceeded to the Leaky Cauldron without him.
"I can't believe that Harry would become so violent like that," Ginny began. "And then not talk to us about it. This just isn't in his nature."
As they approached the Leaky Cauldron, a middle-aged Christian minister in a clerical collared shirt—the same middle-aged Christian minister as had spoken Harry in the night-club—joined by a man in a muggle shirt, tie, and pants stood at the edge of the street across from the Leaky Cauldron. As people passed by these two handed them little shiny pieces of paper; usually the people who took these slips of paper nodded politely as the minister and the other gentleman tried to talk to them, and then hurried on without giving what the two were saying another thought.
"Dumbledore's death was very hard on him," Hermione said.
"That's no excuse, we all loved him."
The three did not notice the minister or his companion as they proceeded toward the Leaky Cauldron. The minister however, noticed them; as Hermione was in the middle of responding to Ginny's recent remark, he came over to them extending to them one of the shiny slips of paper. Hermione quickly noticed the minister approaching her.
In an American Accent, he began to speak, "Pardon me, but have you three come to know Jesus Christ as your…"
"Bugger off!" Shouted Hermione before he could finish his sentence.
The other two were almost shocked at Hermione's sudden outburst without any hint at politeness. It seemed to both Ron and Ginny that the decent thing to do would be to take the man's tract and politely walk off; however, Hermione stood resolved, looking into the Minister's eyes, who stared back at her with a friendly yet powerful gaze. After a moment of staring between the two of them, Hermione turned and headed for the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron, joined by Ron and Ginny.
"Good luck this year at Hogwarts," The Minister said to them as they walked toward the entrance. "Gryffindor will do well this year, I'm sure of it."
At this they were petrified, they turned around and looked at the minister with a confused stupor. How did this obviously muggle individual know anything about the Wizarding world, much less the most famous school in the wizarding world. He simply smiled at them and gave a friendly chuckle.
"Surprised?" He began. "Come now, Ms. Granger, you know full well that a quarter of the Ministry of Magic professes Christianity."
Hermione was stunned that not only did this Christian Minister know of the Wizarding World, Hogwarts, and the Ministry of Magic, he somehow knew her name. She let this curiosity depart from her and gave another conceited response.
"That doesn't mean I have to."
"No," The Minister Responded. "But that does mean that contrary to what some Muggles may think, Christianity and Magic are not mutually exclusive."
"Honestly, I can't understand why they wouldn't be," Hermione began. "Now if you'll excuse us."
As the three entered the Leaky Cauldron the minister's American Voice called to them a final time.
"God go with you."
The three had retrieved their books more quickly than usual as they were doing so the day they left for School. In the rush they also tried to spot some sign of Harry, whom they feared was not coming with them as he had boasted at the beginning of the summer. After they had purchased all they required they found themselves in quite a rush to get to King's Cross, barely making it on time.
The main topic of conversation had changed since meeting the minister at the Leaky Cauldron. It had been about Harry earlier that morning, however now it had turned to what Hermione believed to be the idiocy of Religion, especially Christianity. Much to Ron and Ginny's dismay, she was still going on about it as they boarded the train. After not seeing Harry in Diagone Alley, in the Rush to get to King's Cross before the Hogwarts express left, they had almost forgotten about Harry's absence. In her forgetfulness Hermione openly expressed her anger at the bold Christian Minister who, to their great surprise was familiar with the wizarding world.
"I can't believe that there are still Christians in the Wizard world," She spoke. "It just doesn't make since, after all the persecution the muggles tried to put us through in the name of their God, although admittedly they never did successfully execute an actual witch unless he or she turned themselves in but that's not the point, it's the principle of Christian discrimination against our world which continues to this day and…"
"Have you ever read the Bible Hermione?" Ron Interjected.
They were now well on the train looking for an empty compartment.
"I started with Genesis, put it down when I got to Joshua," she responded. "So much justified killing of innocent people, even women and children. How can they worship a God so evil?"
"I meant the New Testament," Ron said. "So unlike the old, it almost made me cry when I read it."
They finally settled themselves into the last empty compartment. Ron sat next to Hermione with his arm around her shoulder, the two leaned against each other holding the hands of the arms not around each other's shoulders. Hermione gave a look of shock, had Ron really read a book that she hadn't? Ron gave a chuckle as he realized why Hermione had been so shocked.
"Yeah, I read it one summer a few years ago, Dad got it from work, told me to start with Matthew so I did, and I ended up reading the whole bible before the summer was over. I can actually see how it gives some people hope."
"Or an excuse to hate people who are different than them," Hermione responded, not willing to lose the argument that easily, even if Ron had actually read the book. Ginny, not wanting to discuss religion anymore changed the subject.
"So I can't believe they were going to close Hogwarts."
"I can't believe that we were going to follow Harry on idealistic crusade against you-know-who this summer," Ron said, reopening the topic of Harry who had not shown up. With a shudder the train began to move, the three were now quite worried about their missing friend.
"It's not idealism that motivates Harry, it's rage, and it'll tear him apart," Hermione Responded.
"Well my dad confirms, the Ministry has in fact been surprisingly successful against you-know-who," Ron submitted. "But do you think that Voldemort can still attack the school?"
"I think that it's inevitable that the school will be attacked again," Hermione said. "But we're no safer at home. I just wonder if the prophesy hasn't been misinterpreted, if it is true according to our understanding, Harry is still the only one who can defeat Voldemort"
As the three continued to talk, Harry walked through the isle of the moving train, already dressed in his Hogwarts robes. Coming to their compartment and opening the door, he stood beholding them and they him. They stared at each other with blank, emotional looks for what seemed forever before Ginny broke the silence with an angry, cold voice of despair.
"What do you want?"
"To sit down," Harry replied, hurt by Ginny's coldness.
Harry's visible reaction of emotional pain actually served to give relief to the other three, to them it was a sign of life, a sign that perhaps Harry wasn't lost to the world in his rage after all.
"I thought you'd left us," Ron said.
"I need you all," Harry responded, pleading. "More than ever, I'm sorry that I've alienated myself from you, I know that mine is a path that you can't follow anymore, though I don't know why. I still need your moral support at least. Please, let me be your friend."
Hermione let out a sigh, she looked into his eye with a gaze of resignation, she knew that he would do whatever his heart was set on, and that nothing she could say would change that.
"It's not the path your on Harry," She began. "It's what motivates it that bothers us."
Harry sat down next to Ginny, though the two kept their distance, Harry still looked into Hermione's eyes.
"What else would motivate it?" He asked. "Voldemort must be stopped, as must Snape, and Malfoy, all the death eaters…"
"You don't care about that Harry and you know it," Hermione proclaimed. "You want revenge, we all did but rage will do us no good…"
Hermione continued to lecture, as Harry caught something out of the corner of his eye in the corridor that made him quite curious. For a split second he saw who he thought to be the middle-aged Christian minister that he had met in the night-club. Though after only an instant of seeing and recognizing him, he was gone.
"What the hell," Harry exclaimed.
"What is it?"
"I thought I saw someone I met at the night-club, an American middle-aged Christian minister with a goatee."
"Strange," Hermione said contemplatively. "We met a middle-aged Christian Minister with a goatee on our way to Diagone Alley this morning, I think he was American too."
"Definitely had an accent," Ron said.
"The strangest part about it was," Ginny broke in. "He was a wizard."
"Well I know that Christian wizards are not unusual," Harry said. "But what would a Christian Minister be doing on the Hogwarts express, wizard or muggle?"
"Maybe he's coming to teach History, or Muggle Studies, or something like that," Hermione suggested.
Harry thought for a moment, it didn't seem possible, he was probably just hallucinating, or he probably just saw someone else and mistook him for the minister.
"No, I must have been seeing things."