A\N: Sorry for the wait I was distracted from finishing the next chapter by a rabid plot bunny and I never post if the next chapter isn't written.
Concrit is love and beta offers are gratefully recieved.
After her successful trip to the Alleys with the Weasleys and Luna, Mistress Mallory sent her scurrying across Ottery St Catchpole to the Burrow most days after her chores. Hermione had spent warm summer days dangling her toes in the stream that ran behind the Rookery, Luna's father's house, while Ron and Luna fished and brisk mornings helping with the chickens. She had laughed as the twins tickled her and learnt when they were planning something. Spent the balmy summer evenings sharing Bill's old runes books with Ginny while Luna and Ron crawled through the tall grasses following Gnomes and Kneazles. She couldn't remember ever being so happy and for the first time in her life she was sadden by the inevitable approach of school.
Mrs Weasley made the best of it she could having Luna and Hermione stay the night and encouraging the cheerful organised chaos of leaving. She laughed as the twins tried to teach them the School song letting Luna and Ron's voices ring out through the crowded muggle station, "Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty, Hogwarts," catching the attention of a small black haired boy with a beautiful snowy owl.
"Excuse me," He asked coming up to them, "Are you… I mean…"
"Hogwarts dear?" Mrs Weasley asked. He nodded emphatically and her face broke in to one of her welcoming motherly smiles. "These four will be first years too. Just stand between Ron and Ginny." She tucked him in between them, "You go first Percy." Percy walked quickly up to the wall. The boy blinked and rubbed his eyes. "You five next. It will be fine just keep up with Ron dear."
He fell a little behind but he was soon staring at platform nine and three quarters. Ron dragged him out of the way before the twins and Mrs Weasley could knock into him and he shook himself out of his daze. "Thank you." He said and pulled his trunk on to the train.
Mrs Weasley nudged Percy, "Help him with his trunk dear. Fred, George, get yours on board and then help Ron, Ginny, Luna and Hermione." She said beginning to look damp eyed. The twins disappeared into the scarlet train leaving them with Mrs Weasley. For once she didn't try to fill the silence with any words just ran her hands periodically over their heads her eyes damp and smile slightly crooked.
It looked like she would really break down as the twins came back her smile quivering awfully. Ron looked up at her and threw his arms around her, "We love you mum. I'll look out for the girls. Don't worry."
"Oh," Her face broke into a true smile, "I'm so proud of all of you. My children." She cupped his face, "Thank you Ronnie. Go on you'll miss your train."
They helped pulled the heavy trunks on to the train and followed Fred and George through the train until they got to a compartment with just the small black haired boy.
"Can we sit here?" Ginny asked, "Everywhere else is too full for four more."
"Sure" The boy said putting his book away.
"I'm Ron, Ron Weasley," Ron said holding out his hand, "These are my little sister Ginny and our friends Luna Lovegood and Hermione Granger."
"I'm Harry Potter." The boy said as they all sat down.
"Really?" Ron asked excitedly, "Do you have the scar?"
"Ron!" Ginny, Luna and Hermione all reached over to punch him. "Don't be rude."
The boy smiled slightly and pushed his messy fringe up. "I guess you all grew up together?" He said with slight longing.
"Gin, me and Luna yeah." Ron answered, "Hermione only moved to our town this summer.
"Is is true that you grew up with goblins?" Luna asked in the dreamy voice she only used when she was trying to wind someone up.
"Lu!" Ginny blushed bright red and pressed into Hermione's shoulder.
"Is that what the books say?" Hermione asked smiling down at Ginny's head..
"Ask Ginny," Ron and Luna both answered giggling.
"I was seven." Ginny retorted sitting back up her face still bright red. "Where did you really grow up?"
"With my muggle aunt and uncle. They don't like magic much." Harry said grimacing.
"Neither do Hermione's parents." Luna said. "The beauty of Slytherin's Law is no muggleborn or muggle raised child returns to their muggle guardians after they start school."
"Slytherin's Law" Harry asked.
"The Muggleborn Protection Act." Hermione said. "Although it also covers muggle raised children. It isn't really wide reaching enough to be called a Protection Act. It's more concerned with the Statute of Secrecy."
"Did you get to read about the houses?" Ron asked changing the subject as Ginny slipped her hand in to Hermione's.
"Just that there are four named after the Founders." Harry answered. "And that they accept students with different traits. I don't know which one I'll be in."
"Our parents and all our brothers were in Gryffindor." Ron said, "We probably will be as well."
"Mummy was in Ravenclaw," Luna said blinking. "I think daddy might have been too."
Ron asked a question about quidditch and soon they were explaining the rules to Harry and he was looking blank as Ron went off on a rant about the Quidditch League and Chudley Cannons with Ginny laughing and interjecting comments about the Harpies league position. Hermione slid one of Bill's books out of her satchel and Luna open a copy of the Quibbler both of them occasionally looking up and commenting when relevant.
They were a quiet happy compartment that the prefects mostly ignored until a blond boy and his two massive sidekicks arrived. "Draco Malfoy." He said, "I heard that Harry Potter was in this compartment."
Luna stood on Ron's foot and Hermione placed her book over Ginny's hand. Harry stood, "That's me, didn't we meet at Madam Malkins?" He asked, "You wanted to drag your father off to look at brooms?"
Draco smiled, "Yeah, father said I have to wait until second year for a new broom but he brought me a new quaffle and gloves for my birthday."
"Cool" Harry answered, "These are Ron and Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood and Hermione Granger."
Draco seemed to wrestle with himself for a second, "You could have done worse Potter. I hear one of the first years brought a toad and is looking for it! I better be getting back."
"A toad. Bleurgh!" Ginny scrunched her face up, "Even Scabbers would have been better."
"Scabbers?" Harry asked.
"Our brother Percy's old rat. He got an owl when he made prefect and offered him to Ron." Ginny explained.
"I didn't want a pet if Ginny couldn't have one too." Ron added smiling at his sister.
"So Scabbers was retired." Luna finished.
"But only after Percy tried to give him to Lu and me." Hermione said. "He really wanted rid of that rat."
The excitement over she and Luna tucked themselves back into their respective reading materials with Ginny reading over Hermione's shoulder. Ron rolled his eyes and went back to describing the finer points of quidditch to a glazed eyed Harry.
The rest of the train trip passed in quietly and all to soon they were drawing up at Hogsmeade Station. The five tumbled out of the train on Percy's orders leaving their trunks behind to the crush of the dark cold station. A deep loud voice was yelling, "First years, first years to me. Four to a boat."
Following the voice they could see a giant of a man standing head and shoulders above even the tallest student. Harry broke into a wide grin, "That's Hagrid he took me to Diagon Alley." He whispered as they made their way across to Hagrid.
"Our brothers have told us loads about him." Ginny and Ron said in unison.
They came up to giant and he smiled down at Harry his warm black eyes crinkling, "Hi Harry," he said, "made some friends already?" The giant lifted Harry into a boat and gently shoved Ginny, Luna and Ron on too leaving Hermione standing on the bank alone. As the boat self propelled itself across the black lake towards the castle silhouetted on the hill they could see her figure getting smaller.
The small fleet of boats met at a curtain of vines. Hagrid's boat moved easily around them and in front of them, with one large hand he pulled back the curtain and moved across letting the smaller boats through and up to the small natural harbour revealed. The boats pulled themselves out of the water and the awestruck first years clambered out. Luna's wide silver eyes were the only ones that looked behind scanning the crowd for Hermione. Her steps lagged and Ginny and Ron's automatically fell in line causing Hagrid to push them gently along. "Come along."
He crowded them together in front of a massive elaborately carved door and slammed his fist hard against it until a tall black hair woman with her hair in a severe bun opened the door. "First years Professor." He said.
"Come along," She stepped aside expecting them to follow her in to a small room. She stood silently at the front until they had all arrived. "I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of this school. In a short while I will lead you to be sorted in to one of the four houses. Your house will be your family while you are at Hogwarts." She turned to leave and ran her eyes over Harry's messy hair, Ron's smudged nose and Crabbe and Goyle's rumpled robes. "I suggest you make yourselves presentable."
Ginny tugged Ron's shoulder turning him around, "There she is." She started pulling him over the commotion catching Luna's attention and making her hurry over to Hermione, Harry following closely behind. "Hey," Ron rubbed his head and seemed at a loss as to what else to say.
A quick smile flashed across Hermione's face. "It's fine." Then she smirked at Luna and Ginny, "Didn't you hear Professor McGonagall?" She brandished her wand at Ron. "Esse Elegans." Ron scowled but his hair flattened itself and smudge on his nose disappeared.
"Now you Harry." Luna's dreamy air made the sight of her wand in Harry's face rather disturbing; the twin smirks on Ginny and Ron's faces and the tingling sensation across his head didn't help.
The girls quickly cast the spell on themselves none too soon as they were joined by four spectres. The ghost's seemed not to have noticed the first years they glided through so consumed by their argument about something called Peeves and floated back out the room without noticing them.
No sooner had the ghosts departed and the first years begun to calm down than Professor McGonagall returned and brought them out to stand in alphabetical order along one wall. She put the tattered hat she had been carrying down on a stall and stood next to it with a scroll in her hands. There was a stilted pause filled with nerves from the first years and eager anticipation from the rest of the school before one of the many seams on the hat broke open and in a deep croaking voice it began to sing.
"I'm going to kill Gred and Forge." Luna said in a very matter of fact tone just loud enough for all the first years to hear. "They tried to tell us we would have to wrestle a troll."
"Abbot, Hannah" Professor McGonagall called out. A blonde girl ran forward and jammed the hat on her head. After a few moments it called out "Hufflepuff."
They soon switched off until Hermione's name was called. She walked quickly over to the stall and felt McGonagall place the hat on her head. A quieter version of the croaking voice from before filled her mind, "Interesting, interesting." It said.
"Excuse me," Hermione said quietly, "but where do you keep your brain?"
The hat broke out into loud chortles that echoed through Hermione's mind and she could hear gasps from the hall, "A very clever mind, no one has asked me that for many years." The had said. "I think you would do well in Ravenclaw."
"If you can't answer that question I don't see why I should allow you on my head." Hermione said reaching up to take the hat.
"With foolhardy bravery like that it has got to be GRYFFINDOR" The hat yelled as Hermione pulled it of.
"Mr Weasley says to never trust a magical object if you don't know where it's brain is." Hermione informed the hat sternly before Professor McGonagall pushed her toward Gryffindor table.
Once she was seated between one of the twins and Percy she looked up at the rest of her year to see Luna, Harry, Ginny and Ron all laughing quietly. They directed warm smiles at her when they saw her looking. "Good girl." Percy whispered quietly into her ear.
Smiling Hermione pressed herself against Gred and chortling with the rest when unfortunate Neville Longbottom ran off with the hat and had to run back to let Luna be sorted. Once the hat was on Luna's head it immediately started commenting out loud, not just "Hmm interesting" but probably arguing with her.
"I can't sort you somewhere you don't belong." It said.
Luna's clear voice rang out, "I want to be with my friends, with my family. What's the point of a House if it breaks up a family?"
"If you're sure…" The hat sounded almost unsure, "It had better be Gryffindor."
Smiling Luna skipped across to join Hermione. "Weasley's are always Gryffindors" She said firmly.
A pretty pair of twins were sorted into Ravenclaw and a pug nosed girl into Slytherin before Harry's name was called. As with Luna and Hermione he seemed to have to argue with the hat before it finally called "Gryffindor" and he stumbled over to the table.
Hermione and Luna separated to let him slip in between them as the twins crowed "We got Potter!"
After Hermione, Harry and Luna's sortings the speed and ease with which Ginny and Ron joined Gryffindor seem rather anticlimactic and Dumbledore's opening words left them convinced he was barmy.