CHAPTER 4:
Harry, Draco, Ginny, and Hermione had already passed through the barrier that allowed them onto the famed Platform 9 ¾. But just as Ron was preparing to do the same, Molly, who as always wanted to see them all off, began to get a bit teary-eyed, showered the boy with kisses, it was the last time she would wave at them as the train carrying both Ron and Ginny, sped off towards Hogwarts. "You be careful in these dark times, and do look after Ginny," she said as Ron slipped onto the train and out of sight.
And as he sat down next to Hermione, Draco sneered and said, "I would say your mother is the only one who fawns over you like that, right Weasel?" This remark, of course, earned him a glare from the red-haired boy and even his messy-haired boyfriend, who promptly removed his hand from the blonde's. Ron rolled his eyes and sighed in a way that was a bit too melodramatic for Malfoy, who had risen from his seat and crossed the compartment, opening the sliding door and said, "I'm going to get something from the trolley," as he walked out and the glass door thumped shut behind him.
Harry glanced over in his best friend's direction and steamed, "Why are you always driving him away like that?" as he watched his lover disappear from sight. Ron looked both shocked and very offended as he was accused of making the Malfoy boy always go away. 'It isn't always him, you know' slid across his mind, and Harry knew it was the truth.
"Drive him away?" Ron sputtered angrily, "Why the bloody hell are you going out with him to begin with?" he continued, fuming with anger, his face turning the color of his blazing red hair. He had finally had it with Draco, "stupid bloody bouncing ferret," he muttered, just loud enough for a angered Harry to hear.
"Ron," he started, the opening of the compartment door interrupted him. He looked up, expecting to see Draco, but instead found himself looking at a tall strawberry-blonde woman in black robes with a vine-like pattern on the hem and edges of the sleeves in a deep red. The way she stood in the doorway seemed intimidating, yet something in how she smiled warmly at the group of friends made her seem a little kinder than their Potions Master, Severus Snape. She gestured for them to continue their conversation, but Harry shook his head shortly, this conversation wasn't exactly one for a professor to hear.
"Good evening to you," she said brightly, "if you don't mind, I'd like a word with Miss Hermione Granger." She continued to smile warmly at them after saying this, she figured it would be a short conversation and Hermione Granger could return to the conversation that she seemed to want to budge into. Her Irish accent was thick, but not overdone, and there was a sense of command as she spoke.
Hermione soon figured out that this woman was Karisma Chase, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor because she recognized her face and had read about her taking the position in the Daily Prophet and in their Hogwarts school letters. Also, not only would this woman be the new Dark Arts professor, she would be taking over as Head Nurse after this year, Pomfrey would be retiring then and wanted Karisma to take over, as she was a very good Healer at St. Mungo's and quite knowledgeable on the many spells that just might save a person in a duel with a student or a Dark wizard. Hermione nodded and said, "Of course, Professor," and then glanced over at each of her friends, shooting them both a glare as she did so, and got up to join the professor.
And as the compartment door slid shut behind them, Harry glared straight at Ron, someone he would normally consider a friend but wasn't thinking too highly of him right now. "I've already talked to you about this. You know why I asked him out, you know why he's decided to accept me. But if you insist on hearing it all again, it's all because there's been a slight respect between the two of us since we got to this bloody school first year!" he said, his voice growing louder and louder as he went on.
Ron scoffed. "Respect? How can you say there's a respect between you two since first year? He's tried to kill you before, Harry! That's an odd way to show someone respect," he fumed, crossing his arms over his chest, glaring at the boy. "Besides, you weren't exactly jumping his bones when he made those 'POTTER STINKS' badges," this was more muttered, but it was still loud enough to be heard. Ron was fuming, his face now matched the red crest of Gryffindor on the robes that hung from the overhead storage.
"Would you stop being a thick-headed git for more than a second?" he shouted, he was starting to thank the fact that the compartment door was soundproof, otherwise the other end of the train would hear them fighting. "Besides, it's done and we can't exactly turn back time, can we? The Ministry's entire stock of Time-Turners was smashed and it'll be ages before they make more!"
Ron sighed overdramatically and then decided he wanted to go visit Seamus and all his other friends that seemed not to be stabbing him in the back at every turn. He got up hastily and stormed out of the room, slamming the glass door behind him, halfway to his friends' shouldering past Draco, who was on his way back to Harry with a handful of pumpkin pasties. "Bloody good luck with that ferret and the rat," he said as he stormed into Seamus' compartment, shutting the door behind him.
As Draco entered, he noticed Hermione talking to a tall blonde woman, but he wasn't going to ask what they were discussing, it might be private. As he sat down next to Harry, he held out the hand that was full of treats and said, "Pumpkin pasty?" in a I-don't-know-what's-going-on-but-I-might-not-want-to-so-just-don't-tell-me tone and a fake smile plastered on his face, Harry looked like he could take on a Maticore and a Hungarian Horntail all at once.
Harry glanced over at the blonde boy, he was still frustrated with Ron, but Draco always fixed the moment just a little bit. He placed a soft kiss on Draco's cheek before taking a pasty from him and then taking out a treacle tart he had bought from the trolley. As he glanced into Harry's eyes and slipped his hand into Harry's, Hermione walked back in and plopped down across from them, a huge smile on her face. Harry noticed how satisfied she looked and said with a laugh, "What's got you so chipper?"
Hermione smiled as though Viktor had just appeared in front of her and said, "You know how she's the knew Dark Arts professor? She just asked me to be her teaching assistant. I've just become the teacher's assistant for Dark Arts…this is wonderful! Finally, someone notices how HARD I've worked in that class!" with that same smile that lit up the room, not caring how Harry and Draco were looking at her like she had just announced an O in Divination, but she did wonder why they were so shocked.
"Wow Hermione, that's great," Harry said, as he found himself opening a treacle tart then slipping his hand back into Draco's. He bit off a small piece and smiled at his bushy-haired friend, he was going to support her whether he thought she should be more of a help with Transfiguration or not. This earned him a grin from her, he figured nothing could ruin this for her, she was too happy how it was. But, he found himself thinking about how he was glad they had a woman for a Dark Arts professor, finally it was one that was easier to look at than Mad-Eye or Snape.
"Thanks for that, Harry, it helps oh ever so much," she said sarcastically, giving him a playful smack on the arm, but continued to smile. She glanced down at her watch and sighed. "Bugger, we're almost to Hogwarts, might as well start changing into our robes." And with that small glance, she got up, picked up her robes from the overhead storage, and sweeping past the Potions Master, which seemed weird to her because she knew he lived close to Hogwarts, why would he be on the train?
She shrugged it off as she found the compartment where Ginny was and entered, shutting the door behind her and then they both changed into their robes there and then they hung out for the last few minutes of the train ride. Harry and Draco, of course, did the same and spent the time talking and eating the handful of treats they bought when the trolley passed by, the pumpkin pasties and the one treacle tart disappeared quite quickly.
And it was ten minutes before they felt the train slow to a stop, they had reached Hogsmeade station, and so Harry and Draco walked out, hand-in-hand, then they met up with Hermione, Ginny, and Ron on the platform. Hermione smiled to herself as they heard Hagrid's familiar voice calling out, "FIRS' YEARS! FIRS' YEARS OVER HERE!" and they all got in a carriage together and felt the familiar lurch as the thestrals that they knew led them started off in a trot on their way to the huge oak doors of the main entrance.