and after the tragedy of last chapter, on to something a little more lighthearted...

Chapter 17: Platform 9¾

Hermione and Draco had been sending each other owls about their plan for a while, getting it until it was perfect. He had convinced Bellatrix that it would be more convincing to the authorities if she sent her "daughter" to Hogwarts than if she kept her at home. Because, he said, if you kept her at home you'd have to prove she was a squib, and there would be all sorts of attention directed at her that you didn't want, right? So that was all fixed up.

And now they were at the train station, ready to go.

"Do you know who I met?" Draco said, unexpectedly, to Hermione.

"Who?" said Hermione, distracted. She was looking for her book. Again.

It was, Draco thought, the fifteenth time she had done so, and she wasn't listening to him.

"I met Harry Potter," he said.

"What?!" Hermione said. She looked at him.

"No, I didn't actually," he said. "I was just wondering if you were listening to anything I was saying."

Hermione glared at him.

"You should have met Harry Potter," she muttered.

"What do you mean, I should have met Harry Potter?"

"That was what you were supposed to do."

"Well," he said, "How was I supposed to do that?"

Sometimes, he thought, Hermione could be quite annoying.

"Nothing," she said. "I need to find that book…"

Draco rolled his eyes. Then he said, "Oh look, it's the Weasleys."

"What?!" Hermione said again, and looked around.

"Why do you keep yelping like that?" Draco asked.

"Oh, um, nothing," she said.

"What is it?" said Draco.

Hermione was looking at the Weasleys, and she was looking straight at Ron.

"I have to talk to him," she said to herself.

"What?" said Draco. "You don't want to talk to them! They—they—they're not worth anything!"

"Draco," she said.

"What," said Draco.

"I'm going to talk to that boy," she said.

"Why?" said Draco, poutily.

"Because," she said. "Because, because—he's got—a lot of dirt on his nose. And—and he needs to be informed."

She marched over to him.

"Excuse me," she said. "Excuse me, you've got a spot of dirt on your nose."

"I do?" said Ron, and he tried to look at his nose.

"Yes," she said.

Ginny ran up to her, just as Ron was answering her, and tugged on her sleeve.

"Oh, Ginny!" said Hermione, "I'm talking to Ron," she said, forgetting that she wasn't supposed to know who these people were.

"How do you know my name?" said Ron.

"Hermione," said Ginny.

"What?" said Hermione in confusion.

Draco came over. "What's this," he asked.

"Nothing," said Ginny, glaring at him.

"Why are you glaring at me?" Draco asked.

"Because, " Ginny started. "You are a very…" and then she just stopped there, looking from Hermione to Draco. To Hermione, she said, "Are you friends?!"

"Yes," said Hermione, distractedly. She looked, but Ron had already walked farther away. "Ron!" she said in a hiss. "Ron,"

"No," said Ginny. "You can't."

Hermione was running up to Ron. He looked back at her. "What is it?" he asked. "Who are you?"

Hermione stopped. Did Ron have amnesia? Perhaps she was the only one who could remember what had happened in the future?

Ginny ran up to her. "Hermione!" she said. And that tone of voice was very familiar. Hermione turned. She looked at Ginny. "Ron?!" she asked.

Ginny crossed her arms and scowled. "Look," she said. "I've got the Polyjuice Potion, so you've just got to get Ron out of the way. All right?"

Hermione' s mouth hung open. "Ron, how are you –G—Ginny, what's going on?"

"Yes," said Draco. "That's what I want to know."

They turned to look at him.

"Oh," said Hermione. Her smile was a little confused. "Um. This is my friend, um, a R—G—Th—this is my friend," she turned to Ron.

"Ron," said Ron.

"But I thought Ron was… him," Draco said, pointing at Other Ron.

"Well, no," said Ginny. "I am Ron."

"So who's he?" said Draco.

"Um…Ginny."

"Ginny?" said Draco. "That doesn't sound like a real name."

"Oh, it isn't," said Ron. "Um, it's … it is… it's what we like to be called!"

"Really," said Draco. He looked at Hermione. "All right, what's really going on?"

"Um, I think," said Hermione, "that this is actually Ron. He's using Polyjuice Potion to… look like his little sister."

Ginny rolled her eyes.

This wasn't going very well.

"Why would he do that?" said Draco. Then he looked at Ron. "You know how to make Polyjuice Potion?"

"Yes," said Ron. "It took me forever."

"It's only supposed to take a month," said Draco.

"Well, it took me three months."

"Oh," said Draco. He thought about that. "Why did it take you three months?"

"Because," said Ron, "I couldn't get all the ingredients. It took me so long to get all the ingredients. Do you know how long it took me to get all the ingredients?!"

"No," said Draco, "I really don't. And you're weird, you know. Pretending to be your little sister. And I suppose she—I mean he, is actually, her, I mean, you?"

"Well, yeah," said Ron. "Yeah. That's right."

Hermione frowned at him. She wasn't so sure.

"So," said Ron, (who looked like Ginny,) as they walked to the train, "You know, all I need is for you to, ah, detain, Ron. Right? Hermione? Just make sure Ron doesn't get on the train."

"How do I do that?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know! I thought up a plan… but it wasn't very good."

"What plan?" said Draco.

"Well, it involves Petrifying him, and sticking him under the seat," said Ron.

"Ron!" said Hermione. "You can't do that!"

"What?" he said. "I was thinking for ages! That was the best I could come up with! You don't know how hard it is to think up something like this."

Hermione looked at Draco. Draco looked at Hermione. "We've got to help him—her—him," said Hermione. "We've got to help him you know."

"Why?" said Draco.

"Because. He's my friend."

Draco looked at Ginny. "He's your friend?"

"You're my friend too," she said quickly.

Ron's mouth hung open.

"Um," said Hermione. She looked back at Ron. "Oh whatever. Just—you're—you're, you're so good at making up plans, Draco. Surely you can think up something."

Draco rolled his eyes. "You're just trying to get me to do this for you."

"Well," she said, "Yes. —But, it's also true!"

"Fine," he said. "But I won't be able to think up a very good one in only a few minutes."

"Anything will be better than the one Ron thought up," Hermione said.

"Yeah," said Draco. "Y'know, I wanna know—again—is that Ron, and is that Ginny? Or is that Ron and is that also Ron?"

"Um," said Ginny, "We're both Ron. But he's an impostor."

"Really?" said Draco. "Looks more like you're the impostor."

"No I'm not," said Ron hotly.

"Okay, okay," Hermione said. "You can argue about this later. Draco? Do you have a plan?"

"Yeah," said Draco. "Um… yeah I do. Why don't you two get on the train."

"All right," said Ginny, (who was actually Ron.) And he ducked away and drank the Polyjuice Potion. And came back.

Draco went up to him and started talking to him. "No, wait," said Ron. "You're supposed to be talking to the other Ron. I'm the real Ron."

"Which Ron?" said Draco.

"Y'know, the one Hermione knows?"

"Oh." said Draco. "Well where's the other Ron?"

Ron looked around. "He's right there!" he said. "Getting onto the train!"

He was. They wouldn't be able to get to him in time.

"Come on," said Draco. "We'll get on the train."

"Ginny dear," said Mrs. Weasley, "Ginny, where are you?"

And none of them thought about poor Mrs. Weasley, looking for Ginny, who she wasn't going to find.

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