It was morning at the Potter household, and everything was going wrong, the kids were leaving in half an hour, and yet they hadn't finished packing.
"You've had a week! A week! And you decide to do it on the morning before you leave!" Molly called from the kitchen. Hermione looked indignant at this; she was of course perfectly ready.
"She isn't including you Hermione, don't worry," Emma chuckled then went to help the girls who were searching for random things.
There was a scream, and everyone ran to Pansy's room.
They looked to the floor were there lie a dead rat.
"Look at it! Look at what they did! They hid a rat in my trainers!" Pansy wailed, Emma engulfed the hysterical girl into her arms, while Charlie removed the offending creature. Ginny yelled at him they had to give it a good send off, so Charlie agreed, with Emma's permission to bury it nicely in the garden.
Finally they were ready to leave to get back to school; Remus and Belle would take the children as they needed to get there for their teaching jobs anyway.
When they arrived in Dumbledore's office they were warmly welcomed by the elderly Headmaster who was looking much better.
"Please go ahead to your common rooms; I don't think you'll find many there. The password is the same. Mr Malfoy, Mr Zabini and Miss Parkinson I think that because of your new fondness for the Gryffindor students that is where we will replace you," Dumbledore said, and then looked up at the sorting hat. "Don't you agree."
"They were once true Slytherins, but over the last year the change is near amazing, they've shown bravery beyond the many, though I feel maybe Ravenclaw would be a better suit, the fondness of their fellow Gryffindors does shine through, so yes, Gryffindor." The hat said, then went silent.
"Well there you go," Dumbledore said, when they were out of his office, the three once Slytherins were very happy.
From then on every time Harry, Ron and Hermione were anywhere, Ginny, Melanie, Luna, Neville, Draco, Pansy and Blaise were there as well. By now it wasn't such a shock, people had adjusted to this. It was also well know now that Harry and Ginny were still going strong now a year into their relationship, Draco and Melanie too were doing well eight months later, and that Ron and Luna had been together for nearly a month. Hermione was happy being single. Blaise was in contact with Gabrielle, but realised it was just friendly. Pansy was still Pansy, she went on dates and met up with boys, but nothing was set in stone. Neville was a stammering mess around Pansy, but he dare not make a move.
But no matter what the friendship remained strong, yes there were arguments, and small fights, particularly between Melanie and Harry and Ginny and Ron, but nothing ever tore the group apart. The smartest, strongest, bravest and most loyal of all friendship groups. Albus Dumbledore could not be prouder; they were the fighters, who would never back down. The light in dark times. He was proud, and so should be their guardians and parents.
And then the unthinkable happened, it was late November, and Albus decided that the students deserved a break. So he allowed Hermione and Blaise to talk him into a day at Hogsmeade.
The group had stayed together for the most part; sipping butterbeer at the three broomsticks, but Melanie felt the sudden urge to empty her bladder. She got up and went to the toilet. Five minutes later Harry was getting restless.
"Where is she?" Harry mumbled, Pansy sighed and got up, she walked to the woman's toilets and walked in, the place was a mess. The mirrors were shattered, the cubicle doors were lying strewn across the floor, the sinks smashed, water leaking over the floors. But it was empty.
Running out to the main area Pansy shouted for her friends.
Melanie had been taken.