The four teenagers were walking down the corridor of the train, looking for an empty compartment. This wasn't exactly hard.
"Hey, how come there's so many empty compartments?" Ron asked.
"A lot of students are being home schooled this year. It said this in the letter we got at the beginning of the summer, Ronald. Did you even read it?" Hermione scolded, opening a door to a compartment. Ron rolled his eyes.
Harry smiled at the scene. It was just like old times, as if nothing had changed. But, of course, a lot had changed. People had died, killed, and been hurt all for him and the people around him. He sometimes still blamed himself for the death of Fred, Lupin, Tonks and all the others. But Ginny kept telling him it wasn't his fault. Though he still believed it was, he went on living and tried to put it all behind him.
Harry let Ginny go into the compartment first, ("Thank you kind sir!" Ginny had said jokingly when he did this,) and they all put their belongings in their chosen compartment.
Getting right down to business, Hermione said, "Okay. Now that this is all settled. We should probably go into the prefect compartment. I don't want to say a long speech because that was just annoying." The others looked surprised at this, Ron had told them that she had been taking notes and listening intently when she was a prefect. "Everyone agree?" Not waiting for everyone to comply she nodded her head and walked out of the compartment. Hermione put a charm on their luggage so they wouldn't be stolen.
They went to the meeting, where the prefects were all students whom neither one of the four teenagers had seen before. When Harry had walked in last, a few of the girls had let out gasps. A few of the prefects were stealing looks at Harry, while Hermione was speaking. Of course, Hermione's speech went right to the point, telling the other prefects about their passwords, and rules. This left nothing else to be said by Ron, Harry, or Ginny so they told the prefects they could go back to their compartments.
When they all had left Hermione said proudly, "I quite like speaking in front of people. It makes you feel like everyone got it, you know?"
Ron smiled, "You did a great job, 'Mione," he said affectionately. Hermione kissed him. It wasn't exactly a quick kiss so Harry and Ginny left that compartment and headed back to their original one.
They sat down and Ginny put her head on his shoulder. Harry held her close, as if he could lose her at any moment. They sat like that for a couple minutes in comfortable silence, then Ginny situated herself so her legs were draped over Harry's, and her arms around his neck.
"I'm going to have to keep you close, did you see all those girls eying you?" Ginny said smiling.
"Fine by me," Harry said.
"What the girls?" Ginny asked jokingly.
Harry smiled, "No. You keeping me close." And at that he kissed her. It soon progressed to more than just a simple kiss, Harry went back to the spot on Ginny's neck he found earlier, and just like before, she moaned and grabbed his face, kissing him ferociously.
"Well, well, well," A drawling voice, interrupted them, "Potter's got himself a girlfriend!" Draco Malfoy was standing in the compartment door, as if last year's battle hadn't taken place. He wasn't surrounded by his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, like usual.
Harry slid Ginny off of him and onto the seat next to him, and got up. His hands were clenched into fists, and as fast as if it were a snitch, that fist had hit Malfoy right in the nose. Ginny gasped from inside the compartment. She knew better than to interfere, so she hoped the fight wouldn't get too serious.
Malfoy screamed, "What the bloody hell was that for?"
Ignoring his comment Harry snarled at him, "I thought you'd be in Azkaban. Like father, like son, eh? I thought, maybe, you could have at least shared a cell with him." Harry stepped closer to Malfoy who was on the floor. Harry glared at him, "Don't you dare come near me or Ginny or Ron or Hermione. Don't you dare!"
"And you can tell me what to do, Potter?" Draco said, he got onto his feet, his hand on his broken nose.
"Yeah, I think I can, since I saved your bloody life twice last year. What was it Ron called you?" Harry pretended to think, "Oh yeah! A two-faced bastard. And that's exactly what you are, and always will be, just like your father." And at that, Malfoy punched Harry so they both had broken noses. Ginny gasped and yelled, "Harry stop it!"
But Harry didn't let this faze him and soon it was a full on fist fight. Other students were coming out into the corridor now to see what was going on and soon Ron and Hermione had come back to see what was happening as well.
"Malfoy!" Ron had snarled, but Hermione held him back.
"Don't, Ron!" She said pleadingly. She took out her wand and shot a spell at the two fighting boys so that they were both tossed against opposite walls of the corridor.
"You better go Malfoy, or I'll break something else of yours," Ron said threateningly.
Malfoy glared at Ron and Harry, but walked down towards, what they suspected was his compartment.
Ron turned to the students still staring, "Well, what are you looking at? Do you want to lose points for you house before you even get to Hogwarts?" He said. The rest of the students rushed back into their compartments.
"What happened? Why did you get in a fight?" Hermione asked while they were walking back into their compartments. She was fixing the damage Malfoy had done to Harry.
Ginny glared at Harry. She was mad at him for picking a fight, and he knew it. "Nothing. Malfoy just came by made fun of me and Harry kissing," Ron looked suspiciously at Harry and Ginny, but she continued, "and Harry punched him. It was really stupid, Harry. I know you hate him, but come on! He didn't even do anything." She shook her head and moved away from him. She sat next to the window and looked out of it.
Harry looked crestfallen, but all his anger towards Malfoy he had for the past eight years, was something he couldn't have held in any longer.
"What am I supposed to do? 'Just ignore him,'" Harry said, in what Ginny and Hermione supposed was an imitation of a girl voice, "Yeah right. I've been doing that for eight years."
"She's right, Harry! That's not how you should act. You're Head Boy! Even if it is Malfoy," Hermione scolded.
"He deserved it," Ron mumbled, "Bastard," He said under his breath.
"That's what I told him," Harry added, sitting up in his seat. This seemed to be amusing to the boys, and they started laughing.
"Harry, stop! Let me finish!" Hermione said, referring to Harry's nose she was fixing, "There."
"That sounds like something you said to me this morning in your room, 'Mione." Ron said jokingly. He winked and grabbed her by the waist and put her in his lap. Hermione shook her head, and blushed.
Harry found this so funny, he fell back onto the seat, where his head coincidentally found its way onto Ginny's lap.
"Idiots," Ginny said under her breath, but she wasn't angry with Harry anymore. She started laughing.
For the rest of the ride to Hogwarts they discussed who might or might not come back to finish their seventh year. It was also filled with joking and laughing.. It felt wonderful to the four teens because they had nothing to worry about. Not danger for Harry, or dark wizards, just normal lives as teenagers.