A/N: TIME-SKIP!!! Just a reminder that this chapter takes place about 3 months after the previous one - meaning September the first, people! XD

DISCLAIMER: All canon characters and the Harry Potter-verse belongs to J K Rowling, and all "Malfoy Ambition" related things belong to Goddess Blue. Everything else belongs to me.

WARNINGS: Female Harry, Draco/Harry pairing, spoilers from possibly all the Harry Potter books, slight OOCness, cliches, and a bit of coarse language that will appear here and there.

DEDICATION: I dedicate this chappy to the super-awesome SLYTHERIN-NETTE whose feedback and concrit (and let's not forget the avid curiosity lol) have been a great source of inspiration and motivation for me! Thanks, Slythe! XD

So, on with the chappy. Hope y'all like it and that it was worth the wait ;)

CHAPTER FOUR: TRAIN-RIDE CONVERSATIONS

It was crowded.

It was always crowded on Platform 9 ¾ at King's Cross Station and Draco absolutely loathed it; especially when the undivided attention of nearly all present was on him.

'Pay them no mind, Dragon,' intoned Narcissa from beside him. 'Just ignore them. Let them stare.'

Draco inclined his head once and continued to push his trolley in front of him, searching for an empty compartment in the scarlet engine that was the Hogwarts Express. He was quite glad that he had not refused his mother when she had offered to see him off; her presence was soothing and gave him the confidence to hold his head high and make his way through all the witches and wizards on the platform, most of whom stopped in their tracks and gaped at the Malfoys with open mouths and wide eyes.

Beside him, Narcissa Malfoy walked with graceful steps, her posture held straight and proud, and with dignity in her eyes. Draco unconsciously imitated her. Neither mother nor son would give the public any chance of deeming them weak or vulnerable.

The young aristocrat allowed himself to meet the eyes of some of the onlookers. Some were looking at the Malfoy duo with hostility or mistrust - no surprises there - but most seemed to be in awe of them.

No doubt because scar-head defended us at the Wizengamot, thought Draco dryly, staring down a young girl who had been gaping in a most blatant manner at him as he passed by. Really, it was almost shocking how much everyone seemed to rely on the words or opinions of their newest heroine. A few defensive words from Hariah Potter on the Malfoys' behalf and everyone felt awed by them; respected them even. And to think that – before Potter's interference – the entire public had been hoping that the ex Death Eater family would be executed!

Not that he was complaining about what Potter had done, mind.

'How about here, darling?' Narcissa asked suddenly, ignoring two wizards that had been staring at her with eyes the size of dinner plates. 'It seems empty enough.'

Draco nodded and heaved his trunk onto the train through the open door. He then turned to bid his mother farewell. Before he could even open his mouth, however, he overheard the whispered mutters of a passing group of staring girls whom he vaguely recognised as seventh year Hufflepuffs:

'Can you believe –?'

'At such a young age too!'

'– engaged already –'

'– magical engagement rings or something.'

'Wonder who the girl is?'

'– supposed to find the perfect girl! Isn't that amazing?'

'One true love!'

'– so romantic! Wish it were me ...'

'Can you see his ring?'

'There! On his finger, I see it!'

Draco, burning with embarrassment, gave the gawking teenagers one heck of a contemptuous glare and sent them scurrying. He dropped the expression when they had disappeared and a look of pain mixed with irritation swept across his pointed features. How could he have forgotten? Of course everyone in the Wizarding World knew of his unusual engagement, courtesy of the media. And it was not surprising that even after nearly three months since the news had been printed in the Prophet, the hot gossip had not cooled down. It was only expected, after all, what with him being an ex Death Eater set free thanks to his old school rival who happened to be everyone's heroine.

And it seemed that the world at present was more interested in Draco Malfoy's sort-of love life than in the whole Death Eater-turned-good-guy-whose-mother-had-saved-Harry-Potter's-life thing.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by his mother. 'Stay strong, Draco,' she said encouragingly. 'There will be much gossip and rumours about your engagement, but do not let that get to you. It will die down soon.'

'When, Mother?' he asked, giving her a pained look. 'I'm getting rather tired of all the speculations that the Daily Prophet has taken to printing about me and my unknown fiancée! I doubt that it would be much of an improvement to go to school and actually listen to people saying them out loud to my face!'

'I understand, love,' she answered gently. 'But, please, you must be patient. It will all calm down after you meet your bride-to-be.'

'Mother, it's been three months! Not one single girl has come forth – unless you count that fat woman who made a fake Malfoy ring and claimed to be my fiancée!' He shuddered at the unpleasant memory of the forty-five year old witch in fluorescent pink robes and wearing too much make up that had turned up at the Manor barely two days after his birthday. Draco had almost suffered cardiac arrest right then and there.

'Patience, Dragon, patience. I have given this a lot of thought and I rather fancy that the girl might be one you attend school with.'

'What?'

'Perhaps that is the reason we have not heard from her yet; she might have been waiting till the return to Hogwarts so as to properly meet you and make herself known as your fiancée, Draco. It is quite probable.'

'Perhaps,' repeated Draco a little doubtfully.

'In any case,' Narcissa smiled brightly at her son, 'my heart tells me that you shall find the girl soon. So, do not fret, love. And as soon as you know who it is, please do not delay in owling me.'

'Of course, Mother.'

'Now, take care of yourself, Dragon and ...' she trailed off.

'And?' Draco prompted.

Narcissa sighed slightly. 'Draco,' she said very seriously, 'you are aware that Hariah Potter ...'

There was a tense silence that stretched on for a few agonizing seconds.

'What about her?' he finally asked with a slight edge to his voice.

She sighed again before continuing, 'Darling, you know that we owe her much; she has done us a great service by defending us at the court... however – correct me if I'm wrong – I do not think that your dislike for her has changed very much ...'

Draco gazed down at Narcissa with an unreadable look in his mercury eyes. 'You're right,' he said bluntly, 'it hasn't.'

'I thought as much,' his mother murmured in a rather disheartened manner. 'In any case, the point I want to make is that we're on the same side now, regardless of what you feel for her. I would rather that you do not get into one of your petty quarrels from now on. It would be useless and you would gain nothing but pointless enemies if you pick a fight with her.' Narcissa looked at him pleadingly. 'You do understand what I am trying to say, don't you, Draco?'

'I do, Mother,' he answered somewhat reluctantly.

'You do not have to like her,' she pressed on. 'Just be civil; and if you cannot do that, ignore her at least. But, please, do not break the truce that has been formed between us. She is a useful ally and I would rather that we stay on the same side as her.'

'Mother, I understand,' Draco repeated. 'Our reputation and our name is at stake and you do not want it further tarnished –'

'No, Draco, this is not only about our reputation. This is about our life. We are on the Light Side now and I, for one, am tired of enemies and war. I just want to spend the rest of my days in peace with my family. Making enemies with Potter merely because of a childhood rivalry will only disturb this calm that has descended upon the world. Please, just keep a civil tongue, Dragon ... do not get into entanglements with her ... or any other person in Hogwarts, Gryffindor or otherwise,' she added as an afterthought.

Draco nodded stiffly. 'Very well, then, Mother, I shall stay out of her way.'

Narcissa smiled at him. 'Thank you, my Dragon.'

The shrill noise of a whistle being blown rent the smoky air.

'The train is about to leave. Farewell, darling.' Narcissa embraced her son lovingly.

'Goodbye, Mother; I shall write tomorrow.' He pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek before stepping onto the train. However, a sudden thought occurred to him and he turned around abruptly to scrutinise her through the still open door.

'You like her, don't you,' he stated frankly, watching her shrewdly.

Narcissa smiled demurely at him; she did not need to ask who he was talking about. 'I admit that I have certainly grown a little fond of her. That she saved my family from life imprisonment when she could have stood back and allowed the Ministry to throw us in Azkaban is not something that I can lightly brush aside.'

'She merely did it because you saved her life, only because of that.'

'Perhaps, but I respect her for that. My saving her was purely unintentional; at the time, I was only thinking of you, Dragon and I know that she is perfectly aware of that. Yet, she still saved us and I maintain that she is a woman of honour deserving of my respect.'

Draco stared at his mother, trying to understand her logic but at that moment, the passing guard slammed the train door shut and he could not question her further. The train began to move and Draco quickly moved to the window. His mother smiled and waved at him as the train moved further away from King's Cross. Just before it turned the corner, he saw his mother give him one last wave before Disapparating.

'Hello, Harry.'

'Luna!' Turning away from the Hogwarts Express, Harry smiled at the Ravenclaw of whom she had become extremely fond over the years. 'How have you been?'

The blonde shrugged, her usual dreamy smile etched on her face and her orange radish earrings swinging from her earlobes. 'Fine, I guess. It felt good to finally have some peace and be at home.'

'Yes, it was,' murmured Harry, thinking of her latest summer which had been the most peaceful compared to all the others she had had ever since her entrance to the magical world. 'How's your father?' she added a little tersely. Whereas she rather liked Xenophilius Lovegood despite his eccentricity, she did harbour some ill feelings towards him for betraying her to the Death Eaters a few months earlier, even if he had been only trying to save his daughter who had been captured by Voldemort's supporters.

'He's fine, too,' Luna replied; and as if she had read Harry's thoughts, she looked at Harry with her protuberant eyes and added, 'Daddy wanted me to send his apologies to you as he cannot meet you in person; he said that he wronged you greatly and wants you to forgive him if you can ... but what was Daddy apologising for?' She gave Harry a mildly curious look.

Harry shook her head slightly. 'Nothing too important ...' She was not sure how to answer to Xenophilius' apology; he had betrayed her, after all, and she and Ron and Hermione had barely escaped with their lives! But it was all in the past now and not of much consequence. I suppose that I could forgive him, she mused and said so to Luna who nodded vaguely.

Falling into a comfortable silence, they both returned their attention to the train and resumed pushing their trolleys forward, searching for an available compartment and their friends. Unsurprisingly, most of the compartments at the front and in the middle of the train were occupied and the two girls made their way through the crowded platform to the back of the train. Along the way, Harry was fully aware of all the looks and stares that she was attracting. She tried to ignore them, feeling the colour rise in her cheeks. People had stared at her often before and she ought to be used to the attention, but this was different. Before, they stared because she was the Girl-Who-Lived; now, it was because she had become their saviour. It was all heroine-worshipping now. Frankly, Harry did not know which one was worse.

'Harry! Luna!'

Harry looked around at the familiar voice and grinned. 'Hi, Neville.'

Neville Longbottom was on his hands and knees on the ground from where he had been peering under his trolley and around him.

'Lost Trevor again?' she asked amusedly, referring to his pet toad which had escaped countless times from the Gryffindor boy.

'Yeah; he still hasn't lost his touch at hide and seek,' responded Neville jokingly, raising his face so that Harry got a proper look at him. She winced slightly. Neville Longbottom was no longer the round-faced, forgetful boy who got intimidated by anything and everything. He was a man now and he still bore the scars from the cruel journey that had led him to manhood. Harry could all too clearly see the harsh, half-healed wounds on his face that he had gotten from Alecto and Amycus Carrow during his 'punishments' the previous year. His features also no longer had the naive, boyish innocence from his earlier years; the difference was almost shocking.

Neville noticed the guilty look that came to his friend's face at the sight of the wicked marks on his face. He smiled brightly at her. 'Don't worry, they don't hurt anymore,' he said simply.

Harry managed a small smile at him.

'Would you like some help looking for Trevor, Neville?' Luna asked dreamily. Without waiting for an answer, she dropped to all fours beside him.

Neville looked bemusedly at her. 'Er, thanks, Luna.' He turned to Harry. 'If you're looking for Ron and Hermione, they're further down the train. Why don't you go on ahead? We'll catch up with you soon.'

'You sure?'

'Yeah.'

'Right, thanks Neville.' With a grateful look at her loyal year mate, Harry continued on her way.

It did not take very long to locate the Weasley clan. Their flaming red hair were like beacons even in the smoky air and when she got closer, she also caught sight of a head of bushy brown hair amongst them. With a grin, she approached them silently.

It was Hermione Granger who noticed her first. Before Harry knew what had happened, her vision was obscured by brown hair and her female best friend's voice sounded right in her ear, 'Oh, Harry, I'm so happy to see you! I missed you so much!'

'Me too, Hermione,' Harry gasped, extracting herself from Hermione's embrace so that she could breathe. Her eyes turned to the red haired family and she smiled genuinely at Ron, Ginny, George and Mrs Weasley, all of whom surged forward to greet her, though not as exuberantly as Hermione.

'All right, Harry?' Ron and George said at the same time while Mrs Weasley and Ginny hugged Harry briefly.

'How have you been, dear?' Mrs Weasley asked, holding Harry at arm's length and examining her critically. 'Have you been taking good care of your food and sleep?'

'Yes, Mrs Weasley, I'm perfectly alright,' Harry gave her a reassuring grin which was returned.

'Hmm ... well, you seem fine, I suppose,' Mrs Weasley said as she let go of the girl that she considered to be her surrogate daughter.

'I am.' Harry smiled again and opened her mouth to inquire how they had been but shut her mouth again at once; it was a stupid question. The Weasleys had just lost a son, after all. Harry glanced at George. It was so strange to see him there alone. He had always been accompanied by his twin brother, Fred. Seeing George alone, the usual happy-go-lucky humour replaced with a strained smile – it just was not right ... and once more Harry got that feeling that it was all because of her.

The whistle blew and she was snapped out of her thoughts. Next moment, Mrs Weasley had shepherded her two youngest children along with Harry and Hermione on to the train while George helped to heave the remaining trunks on board. They leaned out of the window to say their farewells.

'Take care, my dears,' Mrs Weasley said, 'and study hard.'

'And don't blow up the school,' added George with a half-hearted wink as the train began to move. 'But if you do, let me in on it!' he added with a grin, seemingly regaining a fraction of his old sense of humour. His last words earned him a slap on the shoulder from his mother. The rest of them chuckled and waved at the two Weasleys on the platform until the train had rounded the corner and they disappeared from view.

'Well,' said Ron, turning to his sister and friends, 'let's go find a compartment.'

'The ones at the very back are still free,' said Ginny helpfully.

'Right, let's go.'

As they dragged the trunks down the corridors, the occupants in the compartments turned to stare at them and some even popped their heads out of the doors as they passed by. Harry tried not to pay them too much mind but her friends, not used to such attention, was having a harder time than her.

'Geez, Harry,' remarked Ron with dry amusement in his voice when yet another younger student pressed his face to the glass doors to get a better look at them, 'your fan club just keeps getting bigger and bigger, doesn't it?'

'It's not only me,' muttered Harry, 'they're staring at you all too.'

'Because we're with you?' said Ginny.

'Because they know that you people helped me defeat Voldemort most.'

'Oh.'

At long last, they reached the blissful solitude of an empty carriage which they quickly claimed as theirs. Their trunks were soon tucked away and they flopped down on to the seats and proceeded to wait for Neville and Luna who, Harry informed, were on their way. Halfway through their wait, Ron suddenly remarked,

'It's going to be hectic for the teachers, isn't it; with the large number of first years they'll have to manage?'

'Yeah,' the rest of them nodded.

Hogwarts was reopening in such a way that all the students were in the grades that they had been in the previous year, so that they could learn the actual syllabus set for their grade and erase the cruel lessons taught them by the Death Eaters the year before. This meant that the former seventh years that had attended school last year, like Neville, would be in seventh grade this year too. It also meant that along with the former first years, the new batch of eleven-year-olds would be joining the school as well, thus nearly doubling the number of students in Year One. The first year dormitories were sure to be crowded.

'I pity the prefects,' sniggered Ron. 'Those midgets are gonna rub them raw!'

'That's nice, Ron,' said Ginny sarcastically while Harry chuckled and Hermione frowned disapprovingly at the red-head.

'Happy, are you Ronald,' Hermione said icily, 'that you and I are no longer prefects because we dropped out last year?'

'Well, I'm not complaining,' Ron answered bluntly. 'Keeping up with schoolwork and Quidditch while doing duties at the same time was a right pain in the ass; and don't look at me like that, Hermione, just because you're unhappy that you weren't made Head Girl. You chose to drop out with Harry and me to go after You Know Who's bloody Horcruxes!'

'Of course I chose to!' exclaimed Hermione, looking scandalised. 'I wasn't accusing you and Harry of my not being made Head Girl! I was just pointing out that you have a negative attitude when it comes to leadership.'

'Say what?! I do not!'

Harry exchanged amused glances with Ginny. Her two best friends still bickered like an old married couple. The familiarity of the scene had quite a comforting touch to it. And from the look on Ginny's face, she quite agreed with her.

'Enough, you two,' the youngest Weasley finally said before the argument completely skyrocketed. 'We haven't even reached Hogwarts yet and you're already at it!'

The two teens in question fell silent, Ron peaceably holding up his hands in surrender and Hermione still looking slightly inclined to treat the auburn-haired male beside her to a real lecture. Ginny shook her head as if to say 'You-two-are-completely-hopeless' before turning to Harry who was seated next to her and inquiring, 'So, how was your summer, Harry? Got enough rest to face your last year at Hogwarts?'

Harry shrugged. 'I guess; the summer was pretty quiet. I went to see Andromeda, by the way ...'

She told them about her visit to the Tonks household and her decision about her godson. When she finished, Hermione looked at her with a pleased and impressed look on her face.

'That's great, Harry. I really do think that you made the right decision in leaving Teddy with his grandmother.'

Harry nodded, the corners of her lips curling upwards. 'Yeah ... and I can visit Andromeda and Teddy when I want to. So I guess what I did was OK.'

'Yes, Harry, it was,' Hermione said gently.

'So, anything else happen other than you partying with Kreacher?' Ron asked lazily, leaning back in his seat. Hermione slapped him across the arm with a 'Ron!'

'Ouch! What? What'd I say?'

Harry laughed. 'What is it, Ron? You're jealous that you can't party with a house-elf yourself?'

'When did I say that?' he exclaimed looking very confused at the nonsensical direction their conversation had turned to.

She shook her head amusedly. 'Ah, forget it, Ron. As for your question, the answer is no; not much happened really, and I'm glad about that.' Harry reached up a hand to brush back a wayward strand of hair and her eyes were automatically drawn to the diamond ring that rested innocently on her finger. Ah heck! She had almost forgotten about the thing, having become so used to its weight in the past three months. Harry glanced up at her three friends who were chatting among themselves; now was a good time to tell them about her little ... ring problem. She would have preferred to tell Ron and Hermione about it in private, but as it did not really seem to concern anything related to the Dark Arts, Harry figured that she could let Ginny in on the secret as well.

'Guys,' Harry said quietly. Their chatter died away and the two Weasleys and Hermione faced her with curiosity in their eyes. 'Now that Ron has brought up the subject ... well, er, something did happen.'

Unsurprisingly, her friends' eyes immediately filled with anxiety and worry.

'It's not something bad, is it, Harry?' There was a note of panic in Hermione's voice.

'I have no idea ...' Harry said in a whisper.

'Draco.'

The young Malfoy heir turned around in irritation, ready to flip off the unwanted person behind him, reputation and composure be damned! He had already had his name called from every direction, mostly by girls gushing over his engagement and ring and he had had enough of that kind of attention. Never mind that this particular voice was definitely masculine; if there was a guy after him, then that person was going to be sorely heart broken; Draco was straighter than a poker.

Just as he was raising his hand to flash the one-finger salute, he recognised the young man behind him and immediately halted his hand. It was Blaise Zabini and that was someone that Draco Malfoy most certainly did not want to flip off.

Blaise appeared amused as he glanced at Draco's still half-raised hand with a cocked eyebrow. 'Were you just about to do what I think you were about to do?'

The blond rolled his eyes. 'As a matter of fact, Zabini, yes I was. My patience and self control can only hold out for so long.'

'Indeed,' Blaise chuckled. His dark, handsome eyes took in the trunk that his fellow Slytherin was hauling behind him. 'Looking for a compartment? You're welcome to join me, Draco, if you wish. There's no one else in here.'

Draco glanced at the empty compartment through which his friend had come out and nodded both in agreement and thanks. Blaise held the door open for him and the young aristocrat entered, acknowledging the gesture with a half-smile. A minute later, Draco's trunk was tucked away in the luggage hold and they were seated opposite one another, taking in each other's appearance.

Draco almost immediately noticed that the half-Italian had grown since last he had seen him. Blaise was probably as tall as him now and he also appeared to have bulked up slightly. Other than that, he was unchanged. His deep brown hair was neatly combed like always, the dark eyes were still enigmatic and especially appealing to the delicate gender, and his skin was bronzed to perfection.

'You look well,' he remarked to Blaise. 'I presume that you haven't had to deal with many problems ever since the fall of the Dark Lord, then?'

His companion raised a dark eyebrow. 'And you make that presumption based upon my looking "well"? Don't make such baseless assumptions, Draco ... though one may appear to be doing well, he may have gone through more than you can imagine. Take yourself for an example; Merlin knows the trouble you have been through, courtesy of the Ministry and the Prophet, yet you look as well as ever.'

'I am a Malfoy, Blaise. I have an image to uphold.'

His friend merely shook his head. He had already heard those words many a time.

'How were the trials?' he asked with some sympathy in his voice.

Draco grimaced. 'Unpleasant. You should be glad that your family stood neutral in the war, Blaise. At least you escaped the humiliation of imprisonment and being labelled as a Death Eater.'

'Yet, you are free now. And if the Prophet is to be believed, it was all thanks to Miss Chosen One.'

The young aristocrat's eyes hardened slightly, but he nodded nevertheless.

'It's true then?' Blaise stared at his friend incredulously. 'Hariah Potter saved your family from Azkaban?'

'Yes,' the other Slytherin forced out through clenched teeth.

His friend look amazed. 'May I ask why? The Prophet didn't specify.'

'Later. I am not in any mood to discuss that poncy Gryffindork.'

'You are on the same side as her now, Draco. Have you forgotten?'

'Regardless, Zabini, I do not have to like her. I am not obligated to shower her with praises and compliments like the rest of the world.'

'Fine, have it your way then. Let us change the topic. What is this engagement I hear of?'

Draco summarized what had taken place in the Malfoy vault three months ago and also explained the history and magic of the Malfoy engagement rings. When he finished, Blaise let out a low whistle.

'It has been three months? And she still has not come forth?'

Draco shook his blond head slowly, a hint of sorrow in his eyes. 'No ... I don't know why.'

'Do you have any idea who it can be?'

'Mother is rather taken with the idea that she is a schoolmate and that I will meet her in Hogwarts.'

'Hmm ... probable.'

'Blaise,' Draco met his friend's gaze steadily, 'I really want to find this girl. Will you help me?'

The half-Italian smiled at the aristocrat. 'Of course, Draco,' he said simply.

'I was having a dream – wait, don't interrupt Hermione! It wasn't a nightmare – and I saw this tiny silver snake that spoke to me in Parseltongue, and for some reason, I could understand it. It said something like, "You're the one", whatever that's supposed to mean. And then I just picked it up off the ground –'

'Harry, it's common knowledge that you must never pick anything off the ground! You should know that!'

'Thanks, Ron. Now as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted –'

'Sorry 'bout that, Harry.'

'Ron, stop interrupting her!'

'I'm sorry, Hermione.'

Silence.

'Er, Harry, I'm sure they're both finished with the interruptions. Carry on.'

'If you say so, Gin. Anyway, like I said, I just picked the snake up and it – I dunno, just curled around my finger and started to glow weirdly and next thing I know it had turned into a diamond ring!'

Silence met her last words. Ron looked as if he still had not completely managed to digest what he had heard, Ginny looked slightly confused and Hermione was gazing at Harry with a thoughtful frown on her face. Finally, she spoke,

'Well, I honestly don't know what to make of that, Harry, only that it doesn't seem like a bad thing or something evil. Maybe it was just a dream.'

'That makes sense,' murmured Ginny while her brother nodded in agreement, finally having had caught up with the rest of them.

Harry frowned. 'I thought so, too,' she muttered, 'until I woke up the next morning.'

Three pairs of puzzled eyes turned to her. With a sigh, she finally held out her left hand so that her friends could see the beautiful ring that rested on her finger. Her eyes were fixed on the little piece of jewellery and she did not see the look of shock, disbelief and – in Ron's case – utter horror that crossed their features.

'This is the exact same ring I saw in the dream and it was on my finger when I woke up. And to top it all off, the bloody thing won't even come off! I tried everything, but it just wouldn't budge! I don't know what to make of it. Any ideas?'

Harry finally looked up and saw their expressions. She looked bemusedly from Hermione and Ginny's open mouths and wide eyes to the look on Ron's face that suggested that the end of the world had come ahead of schedule; Harry had to bite back a laugh. However, when no one seemed to be able to regain their senses, she could not help but feel a little worried.

'That bad, huh?' she asked in a low voice, watching her friends with apprehension.

Not shockingly, Hermione was the one who shook herself from her stupor first. 'Harry,' she began uncertainly, glancing at the two Weasleys who were still in shock, 'have ... have you been ... um, keeping up with the Daily Prophet lately?'

'No,' Harry answered truthfully, wondering how the newspaper had anything to do with her predicament, 'I cancelled my subscription ages ago, you know that. Ever since they started advertising that biography of Dumbledore that Skeeter wrote. And after the whole Horcrux thing, I didn't bother to renew my subscription.'

'No wonder she doesn't know anything about that thing!' exclaimed Ron hoarsely who was still gaping at the ring with an expression akin to the one he used to wear whenever he saw Crookshanks, Hermione's kneazle-cat.

Hermione ignored him. 'Harry, that is very irresponsible,' she scolded her female best friend. 'You must keep up with the news, you know that!'

Harry snorted rather contemptuously. 'Like I can depend on the Prophet for news! Half the stories in that thing aren't true and lately, all it has ever done is just print story upon story about me. I should think that I don't need it much.'

'Well, if you had read the latest editions of the Daily Prophet, maybe you might have known what that ring on your finger is ...'

Harry sat up straight. 'What'd you mean?' she demanded breathlessly. 'What does the Prophet know of this ring? What do you know about it?'

Hermione looked nervously at the other two occupants in the compartment before turning to Harry with a huge grin on her face that was rather disconcerting. 'Harry,' she spoke through her great big smile, 'we're your friends and we'll love you no matter what.'

Harry's face drained of colour. 'Oh no.'

'No matter what you choose, we'll always support you. Isn't that right?' she shot at the two Weasleys. Ginny nodded rather mechanically but Ron needed a pinch from Hermione before he replied in the affirmative.

Harry paled even further. 'Oh shit!'

'Every thing will turn out absolutely fine.'

'Damn it, Hermione, just give me the bad news already!'

Her friend winced, but she managed to keep up her smile nevertheless. 'That ring ... well, it's an, um, an engagement ring.'

'Yeah, I figured that much! What else about it?'

'Well ... You're ... uh ... you'reengagedtoMalfoy,' Hermione said in a rush.

'Huh? I didn't get that.'

Hermione bit her lip nervously before repeating her words, slowly this time, ''You. Are. Engaged. To. Draco. Malfoy. Now.'

There was a beautiful moment of silence that was the absolute definition of 'the calm before the storm'. And then,

'SAY WHAT?!'

A/N: Ehehehe ... so ... ::sweat-drop:: ... cliffhangers, anyone?

::runs for life, fearing readers' scathing reviews:: LOL

UP NEXT: CHAPTER FIVE - The Attempted Self-Combustion of the Finger (Interpret that any way you want :P)