The next morning, Harry woke up to his clothes already laid out on his bed, and he felt an odd ache and happiness settle in his chest at the thought of returning to the Castle. Hogwarts was like his home after all, only Sirius' presence and efforts made Grimmauld's Place fight for that spot. But Hogwarts was still the first place he felt he belonged.
He recalled the mirror Sirius had given him the night before, and suddenly felt very grateful for his gift. Stressing out over Hedwig being found and searched, or Sirius risking life and limb just to speak to him face to face, or rather, fireplace to face wouldn't be an issue now, and he could talk to his godfather whenever he wanted. So he made sure it was safely in his trunk before locking it shut for the trip to King's Cross.
Once he was dressed, he clasped on the watch Hermione had given him for his birthday, watching the watch face slowly move like he did most mornings, and felt another small jolt in his stomach as he remembered last night, brushing his fingers over the spot where she kissed him on the cheek. It was late at night and very quick, but it wasn't something she normally did, like she had in June. The two of them were much closer than last year, certainly. They had shared countless stories with each other, and talked much more frequently without some new danger over their heads. She was such a solid presence in his life these past few months, that Harry didn't know what he would do without her. He tried to imagine what he'd be feeling right now if she hadn't, and felt hollow at the mere thought.
And now the kiss. He didn't know what to think about it, only that he knew that he needed Hermione, in some way that felt significant. They had been friends, and been dependent on each other for so long, especially in his case, that he wasn't sure he would have any words for it. Even calling her a friend felt like he wasn't doing her justice.
Harry was still staring at the stag when he heard a knock on his door and startled a little as Ron let himself in. "Hey, mate, are you ready yet? Mum's going ballistic, and she's going to start yelling at all of us if we don't get going soon."
"Right, yeah. I'm coming down" said Harry, jerking himself from his thoughts. He grabbed the trunk, and Hedwig's cage to follow Ron downstairs, who had dashed out almost as quickly as he barged in, and almost immediately flattened himself against the wall of the hallway when two trunks came streaking down with Fred and George running from behind. Hedwig barked at them affrontably as they ran past.
"Sorry Harry," said George quickly, rushing past him.
"Sorry, mate," said Fred, and he at least had the decency to look sheepish. The two of them slowed their trunks down as they bounded down the stairs, and Harry winced when he heard Ron and Ginny yelling up angrily for nearly knocking them over, followed by Mrs. Weasley shouting about using their magic recklessly again.
"Good morning, Harry," he whirled around to see Hermione dragging her trunk down the hall, and felt something jump in his stomach. She was looking as tentative as he suddenly felt.
"Hey, did Ron get you up too?" he asked, trying not to sound nervous.
"No, I was already up, I was waiting for Fred and George to leave their room, actually." Harry laughed, and her lips broke into a small smile.
"I was nearly bowled over by their trunks just now, I should've done that too."
"Did you sleep well?" she asked worriedly, as she dragged her trunk to be level with his, so they could descend the stairs together.
"Er, yeah, actually. What about you?" he had taken to asking her the same in turn when he found out how much she was really affected by her boggart. Knowing they shared similar fears about the impending war helped him talk about it as well. Not just to her, but to Sirius and Remus too.
"I slept well too," she said evasively, a hint of pink tinged her cheeks.
"Is something wrong?" he prodded her.
"No, I didn't have any nightmares. I just had trouble falling asleep," she reassured him quickly. He hadn't heard of her having that problem before. It was trying to go back to sleep after a nightmare she had told him having issues with, something he could readily sympathize with.
But as he looked closer, he thought she looked more nervous than anything. The way she avoided looking at him, or fussed with the hem of her jumper so she had something to do; was she expecting him to say something about last night? Harry didn't know what he could say though. "Oh, I didn't mind you kissing me on the cheek or anything. By the way, what's for breakfast?" Whatever he tried sounded stupid in his head.
He felt like he should do something though. But they were nearing the bottom of the stairs, and soon they would be rushed through the house, out the door, and towards the train where they would be busy on their first day acting as prefects. There wouldn't be any time to really talk with each other later. So on impulse, he gathered his courage and kissed her cheek, dearly hoping he didn't mistake his assumption.
As he pulled away, Hermione drew in a sharp intake of breath, and her cheeks turned a deep pink. Harry breathed a sigh of relief when a small smile flickered across her face, and she moved closer, briefly squeezing his hand as they entered the bustling kitchen. Ron, Ginny, and the twins were crowded around Mrs. Weasley, while Mr. Weasley, Vance, Mad-Eye, Diggle, and Remus were about the kitchen, wrapped in their cloaks and lining up everyone's trunks. Sirius was leaning against the entrance next to Remus, laughing about something he said.
"There you two are!" said Mrs. Weasley fretfully when she spotted them. "We won't be able to eat dears, we're going to be late if we don't leave soon, are all your belongings packed? Do you have everything you need?" she said, calling out out the last part. "We aren't coming back for anything!"
"We have everything Mum, don't worry," said Fred hurriedly. Harry didn't know if it was a mark of just how stressed Mrs. Weasley looked this morning, or if he didn't want her going through his trunk for joke products again. It may have been both.
He and Hermione walked over to Sirius who grinned as they approached. "I'm coming along this time! I'll be acting as your easily excitable dog." Remus sighed as he rolled his eyes.
"For Heaven's sake Sirius, Dumbledore said no!" said Mrs. Weasley angrily, edging past Ron and Ginny to walk over.
"And I want to see my godson off on the Express," he rebutted testily. But Harry felt worry gnaw at his gut, what if Sirius was recognized? He knew the Malfoy's would be on the platform today, and surely they knew Pettigrew by now. Sirius was probably banking on them being in public that they wouldn't try anything, but he still didn't feel comfortable taking that risk.
"Are you sure, Sirius?" Harry asked quietly, making both him and Mrs. Weasley pause to turn to him.
"Well- yeah," he said, looking a bit abashed he would be against it too. Harry tamped down the part of him that was starting to feel guilty. "Thought it might be fun to say goodbye properly."
"I'd rather say goodbye to you, Sirius, not a dog," he said, stepping over one of the trunks to hug Sirius. "I'll use the mirror later," he muttered so only Sirius would hear.
"I'm holding you to that," he said just as quietly, clapping him on the back, before stepping away from the entrance. Remus and Mrs. Weasley looked surprised that he backed off, and Harry looked at him apologetically before Mad-Eye was pushing Ron and the others to the door.
"If we want to get to King's Cross on time, we need to leave now," he said gruffly.
Harry sent one last look of farewell to Sirius before stepping out onto the pavement. Mad-Eye walked just behind him, while the others were shuffled into staggering groups with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Vance, Remus, and Diggle.
"Do we need this many people?" he asked.
"Don't want to risk anyone ambushing us," he said. "So yes, it wouldn't do well for us to go through all this trouble only to have you be captured or worse," Mad-Eye chuckled darkly.
"I thought Vol-" Moody hissed at his slip, and he hurriedly corrected himself. "I thought he was laying low, or is he supposed to be hiding behind a dustbin to try and do me in?"
"Well he might be laying low, but that doesn't mean everyone is. It's better to be needlessly vigilant than careless," he growled out, before swiveling his electric eye to something in the distance. "Look sharp, Tonks is just up ahead." Harry looked at the smattering of people, and couldn't spot the shock of purple or bubble-gum pink hair, not that he expected to see her use something that would stand out, so he waited until Remus stopped in front of an old woman on the corner with curly grey hair, and a purple hat shaped as a porkpie.
"Wotcher, Harry," she said in a croaky voice. Harry grinned at her, he was always impressed when she put on an elaborate disguise, and got the urge to try something similar later. He met Hermione's eye, who was standing near Vance looking awed as well, and thought she might be thinking the same. "We'd better get going, shouldn't we Molly?" she said, checking her watch quickly.
"I know, I know," Mrs Weasley fretted. "I wish Arthur was able to get us cars from the Ministry again, but Fudge won't let him borrow so much as a spare quill… how Muggles can travel without magic…" Harry met Hermione's eye again, and she rolled her eyes amusedly before they were separated again.
It took almost twenty minutes on foot to reach King's Cross. Thankfully nothing of note happened, but Mad-Eye was keeping a close watch on anything that moved regardless, he even eyed a few pigeons suspiciously. But Harry rather thought that it would be quite dull to end up as a pigeon Animagus and amused himself with thinking about a poor Death Eater shuffled around with the duty of acting as a common bird.
When they crossed the barrier and stepped onto the platform, it was filled with students, and they could hardly find a place for everyone to come together. Mad-Eye and Mrs. Weasley were close behind him, soon followed by the others. The adults took turns saying their goodbyes, while Tonks hinted that they would see them again soon. Harry was looking forward to the idea of being able to spend Christmas outside of the castle, but before anyone could ask anything else, the warning whistle sounded, and they had to board.
Mrs. Weasley hugged each of them randomly,, pushing them a little towards the train as she did. "Be quick," she said in a rush. "Write, if you've forgotten anything, send a letter and we'll send it in. And be good," she said with finality, sending the twins a pointed stare.
"We will, Mum," Fred quickly assured her, before he and George pushed their trunks to the train. Mrs. Weasley sighed, and gave Harry a quick hug before turning to Ginny. Harry pulled his trunk and Hedwig's cage along a bit, and waited for Hermione and Ron to follow him before he dragged his trunk up the stairs. Ginny and the twins followed them, and they took the empty compartment near the door, so they could open the window to see the adults. "See you!" he called out. They all waved back, Mrs. Weasley was the most enthusiastic of all, then there was a lurch and the train began to move. Harry, and the others dropped their hands, watching the platform move away.
"Well," said Fred, clapping his hands together. "We can't sit here and chat all day, we have a lot of important business to discuss with Lee," he said in a pompous voice that would make Percy proud.
"See you all later," said George with a jovial wave, and he and Fred left the compartment and quickly vanished from sight.
"So will I," said Ginny. "I'm going to find Luna," she said, dashing off as well with her trunk. Harry shrugged, not knowing who this Luna was.
He turned to Hermione. "I suppose we have to go to the Prefect's carriage now?"
She nodded, and her expression was mixed with excitement and nervousness. "There's a lot we need to do, most Prefects are on board before the rest of the students arrive. Oh, I hope we don't make a bad impression," she said, looking increasingly anxious as she spoke.
"We'll be fine, Hermione. We just need to go now, will you be okay?" he asked, turning to Ron. Who stood off to the side, looking between both of them as they talked.
"Yeah, I'll find Dean and Seamus. I expect Seaamus will want to talk endlessly about the World Cup," he said eagerly. "Ireland came pretty close to making it back in this year after all," Harry nodded absently. All the Weasley siblings, especially Ron, had kept up closely with Quidditch over the summer, not having much else to do besides getting on each other's nerves. Ireland almost qualified for the Quidditch finals that would determine who went to the Cup, but lost against Canada, who had a superb Beater team, and were able to break most of their Chaser formations, losing them a lot of potential points until Canada's seeker managed to catch the snitch. Fred and George in particular had taken a lot of inspiration from their strategy.
"Okay, could you watch our trunks? Where do Dean and Seamus usually sit?" he asked.
"They usually sit near the front, because that's the first stop for the trolly witch," said Ron. He and Hermione looked at each other, not knowing how Ron knew that, and followed him out.
"At least it's on the way," she said. As they walked down the corridor, students standing idly by, or sitting in their open compartments stared at him more than usual, and not in fascination or awe, but instead, even people in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw robes, with suspicion and dislike. Harry tightened his hand on the handle of his trunk, and looked down a little, avoiding eye contact with everyone. Hermione briefly squeezed his hand, and he shot a small smile at her as Ron came to a stop outside a compartment with Dean, Seamus, and a couple other Gryffindor boys Harry didn't know the names of. When they spotted him, they looked at him with wariness, and Seamus didn't even look at him.
Harry and Hermione looked between themselves as he felt unease settle in his stomach, wondering what this boded for the rest of term. Ron looked awkwardly between them, and wheeled his trunk inside before taking theirs.
"I'll see you two later, dock some points off Malfoy for me," Harry let out a strained sort of sound that was a cross between a snort and a groan. He wasn't looking forward to seeing him again.
"Come on, Harry," said Hermione gently. He nodded, and waved Ron a weak farewell as they made their way to the prefect's carriage. She shot him anxious looks when they passed more people, and he smiled weakly in return. He's dealt with this before, right? He could do it again. And again. Harry sighed, and stepped closer to Hermione so he could take her hand without people noticing, she squeezed it in response as they stepped inside the carriage just behind the one for the wizards who ran the train.
It was cleaner and fancier looking than the rest of the train, there were tables in the compartments, unlike the other compartments which just held seats, and there was even a small station for food - it seemed prefect's didn't need to wait for the trolley witch to get treats. It was also a lot less crowded, he supposed with so few prefects, it was quite roomy. And on the far left hand side, where there would've been two compartments, there was a long bench, and small tables.
The other prefects, who were talking quietly with each other, almost all stopped to look at him. Several openly scoffed, and the Slytherin's sneered at him, but he expected that. Then he heard a sneering, drawling voice from one of the compartments marked for Slytherin, and sighed in irritation.
"You and Granger, Potter?" said Malfoy in malicious amusement. Harry glared at him as Parkinson followed him out of the compartment. "I guess the Prophet was right, Dumbledore is as touched in the head as they say to put you two up."
Harry grit his teeth, trying to restrain himself. His hand was already on his wand, waiting to draw it, while the other prefects were looking between them warily. "What does that mean about your father then, is the Prophet right about him too?" he shot back heatedly. Hermione gently laid a hand on his arm, with a warning in her eyes. Not here.
"That's enough," said a new voice Harry didn't recognize, coming from the same compartment. A Slytherin girl stepped out, and he saw she had the Head Girl badge. She had an oval face, light blue eyes, and dark brown hair that fell over her shoulders, slightly curling at the ends. Harry thought she looked quite prim and proper, and hoped that if a Slytherin was going to be a Head student, she would be fair. "I will not have a fight break out in this carriage, you are all prefects, act like it." she said, looking at Malfoy in particular. "If you incite any fights rather than adhering to your duties, I'll have to tell Professor Snape, that goes for Professor McGonagall too, Potter" she warned sternly, nodding slightly at his hand. The handle wasn't visible, but it didn't take a Troll to know he was reaching for his wand. Malfoy looked at her in distaste, but he finally held his tongue for once. Harry relaxed a little, and withdrew his hand.
The Slytherin looked at him with a neutral expression he couldn't read, before turning to the others. "Now that you're all here, my name is Juliana Sainsbury. I expect all of you to carry yourselves with the maturity and responsibility trusted to you as prefects. Since we have a lot to go over, please take a seat at our table. Simon!" she called out. "We're ready now." A Ravenclaw boy with a narrow face, brown eyes, and neat auburn hair so dark it was nearly brown, stepped out from his own compartment with a couple other Ravenclaws.
Harry followed Hermione and the other prefects to the large bench, most of them grouped by house with a few exceptions between the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws, though all the Slytherins stuck to themselves. He was right next to Hermione, but the gap left by another Gryffindor was nearly wide enough for another person.
Sainsbury waited for all of them to settle before pulling out a small roll of parchment. "Let's start with the new Fifth year prefects," she said. Harry felt Hermione straighten from beside him, pulling out her notebook and fountain pen as she did, and he brought out his own fountain pen and a small scrap of parchment. Juliana looked at their pens with a strange expression, but didn't say anything about them.
"You are all responsible for the First years this term," she began. "As you will be leading them to the tower, you will also have the privilege of setting the first password or question for your dormitories. If any First years need help, you are also expected to provide that assistance. The Sixth and Seventh year prefects will rotate on nightly patrols for the first week, and we will devise a schedule next Sunday evening to include you, though you will have less patrols overall." Harry scribbled down the important parts on his parchment as Hermione did the same. A number of prefects just listened, but he saw Ernie Macmillion, the new Hufflepuff prefect, writing everything as well. Malfoy just surveyed Sainsbury with slight distaste, as did Parkinson, and a couple other Slytherins. She didn't look too bothered by it though.
"Moving on, nightly patrols last until eleven, or eleven-thirty on weekends. Patrol routes are handed out, some by request, and are done in pairs. In addition, in times of emergency or large events, you will be responsible for making sure everyone in your house adheres to the guidelines set by teachers.
"As prefects, you have permission to set detentions with their Head professor, and take points up to twenty from students, but not prefects. Any serious infractions, done by students or fellow prefects, must be brought to Simon and I, or a professor, not by you. Any questions?" she asked, looking between all of them. When no one spoke, she nodded to Simon, and stepped back a little.
"My name is Simon Popley, Juliana just outlined all of your basic duties, so if you have questions, bring them to her, though I'm available if she can't answer. A few minor things of note, the prefects bath is only open to you, not your friends. Bringing in other students is grounds to get you banned from the bathroom for the rest of the year, or permanently. The first password will be Flitterbloom, and will be changed by Halloween.
"The passwords or questions to your dormitories will be set at the castle, but I recommend you take the time to think of them until we get there. It will be approved by Juliana or I, then one of us will pass it to your Head of House, so they can place it, and finally you'll inform your fellow House prefects, so they can share it with the rest of your House.
"Finally, the professors allow us to use their staff lounge for meetings to set patrols and discuss anything important. The password to get in will be Sopophorous," Harry jotted down the password, and when Popley noticed everyone was finished, he turned it back to Sainsbury.
"Fifth years will take the first patrol on the train. Keep fights from breaking out, and help students if they need it. You'll be switched out with the sixth years in an hour, and will be free to do what you like for the rest of the journey. You're dismissed, Potter, I'd like you to come back after your patrol about your duties." Malfoy smirked at him as she and Popley were quietly approached by a few of the prefects. Harry nodded at her, and he and Hermione stood to get started. Malfoy walked past him roughly with a sneer.
"Come on," murmured Hermione before he snapped at Malfoy. They kept at a slow pace until Malfoy's retreating frame was far enough away. The other students continued to look at him warily at best, as Hermione muttered reassurances and stared back defiantly at anyone who openly glared at him. They passed the compartment Ron was in, hearing laughter inside. Harry could just place Ron's laugh among them.
"Well, it sounds like they're enjoying themselves," said Harry quietly.
"Yes, I was worried he might feel left out without us. Should we just take the front few carriages?"
"Sure, anything to stay away from Malfoy for an hour," Hermione looked disgruntled.
"How he and Parkinson made prefect at all is what I want to know, are the choices in Slytherin that terrible?" she asked.
"They must be, what did you think of Sainsbury?"
"She seems fairer than most students. But I don't know her, why did she want you to stay behind?"
"Probably Professor McGonagall, she must've told the Head students that I'll be exempt from some duties this year," he said quietly. A few students passed them by, including an older Hufflepuff prefect who went to one of the compartments.
Over the next half hour, he and Hermione walked back and forth between the carriages, sometimes overlapping with other fifth year prefects. They didn't have much to do, except deal with students sneering at him in distaste, and he rather felt like he would be at his wits end by the end of the week. More than one student mocked him, and it was only Hermione who kept him from snapping back at them, the irritation he had felt simmering below the surface this summer was growing again.
They passed a compartment, whose door was slightly ajar, and Harry could see Ravenclaw robes inside. As they passed, they heard someone moving inside, and Harry was surprised to hear Cho.
"Hello Harry," she said. He felt Hermione momentarily stiffen beside him, but she just looked between them.
"Hey Cho," said Harry carefully. He didn't know what she thought of him after all the reporting by the Prophet, and was worried she was about to blow up at him.
"How was your summer?" she asked. Hermione looked between them again, and hesitated for a moment before she stepped back with a quiet, 'I'll just continue for now,' before walking away. Harry watched her walk away and felt something uncomfortable stir in his stomach.
"It was fine," said Harry. "How- are you doing alright?" he asked, wondering how she had fared this summer. Cedric was her boyfriend after all, of course she'd be grieving over him too.
"I'm doing well," she said in a soft voice. "I just wanted to see you," she said, stepping forward a bit. "I wanted to let you know that I believe you, about You-Know-Who, and everything, it's horrible what the Daily Prophet is doing to you."
"Yeah, thanks," he said. Harry felt stifled, while he was inordinately grateful that Cho didn't blame him, and was sorry that she was grieving, he felt very uncomfortable talking about it with her despite that. Especially in a corridor where anyone could overhear. "Well, I have a patrol I'm supposed to be doing," he said, trying to steer the conversation away from what happened in the graveyard.
"You made prefect," she nodded, momentarily glancing at his badge. "Congratulations. My friend Marietta is the Ravenclaw prefect in sixth year."
"Oh, that's nice," he said, feeling more suffocated by the second. "I should get going though."
"Okay, can we talk later?"
"Er, yeah, sure." he said absently, hoping that it wouldn't be somewhere as open. This was worse than when he tried to ask her out last year. "See you." Cho went back to his compartment, and Harry spun on his heel to find Hermione. She was more than a carriage down when he found her, and she jumped when he came up beside her.
"Hi," he said, not able to hide the relief in his voice. He was already feeling more at ease.
"I thought- I thought you and Cho would be talking for longer," she said, uncertain. She was messing with the hem of her jumper again as he shook his head.
"I felt, I dunno, suffocated around her. She sounded like she wanted to talk about Cedric, but I didn't feel comfortable about it. I know she's grieving, but I just- I can't talk about it out of the blue like that." he said, hoping he made sense.
Hermione nodded, and he let out a relieved sigh. "Will you try talking to her later?" she asked hesitantly.
"I don't know, it sounds like she'll try talking to me, I don't know how much I'll be able to do though," he said, running a hand through his hair tiredly The two of them continued their patrol quietly after that, until they were called back by a couple sixth year prefects who would take over. They made their way to the prefect's carriage, and found Sainsbury sitting at the end of the bench.
"Hello Potter, Granger? I only need Potter for this," she said politely. He looked between Sainsbury and Hermione before she stepped back. "Professor McGonagall has informed me that you will be grading transfiguration homework with her on Saturdays, and as such, will be unable to do any patrol on those days."
Harry nodded again. "I know, I got the letter from Professor McGonagall about that with my badge," he said, which was half true. "But was there anything else?"
"Only that your patrols will be over the weekdays to avoid conflicts with the schedule, remember to let us know about your password decision. You can go now."
"Thank you," he said, Hermione was just outside the carriage waiting for him. Since their patrol was over, they decided to find Ron, who was still in the carriage with the Gryffindor boys. There were a couple small explosions inside as they opened the door, but the compartment fell silent when they stepped in. Their trunks were stacked in a corner to be out of the way, and Ron was in the middle of a game of exploding snap.
The other Gryffindors looked uncomfortable, and Seamus refused to look up at him. Ron's ears slowly turned red as he looked between Seamus and Harry.
"Can we sit?" he asked, gesturing to himself and Hermione. None of them moved, but he thought Dean looked a little apologetic. Ron carefully set his cards down, none of the others budged from their seats.
"Hey Dean, Seamus," he said after a few uncomfortable moments. "How was your summer?"
"It was half decent," said Dean quietly with a shrug. "Better than Seamus's anyway," he said with a chuckle that held no amusement. Seamus shot Dean a small glare before looking back down.
"Oh, why?" he asked. Seamus sighed and spoke for the first time.
"Me mam didn't want me to come back," Harry felt taken aback.
"Wait, what? Why not?"
"Well, I suppose, it was because of you," he said, looking up at him, with an odd look between curiosity and apprehension.
"Me- I- This is because of the Prophet?" he half-demanded, catching on. "Your mother believes it?"
"Yeah, it's just, you came out of the maze with DIggory, and well, it's only your word, isn't it? She thinks you did it for more attention."
Harry took a small step back, Hermione lightly touched his arm. He knew Mrs. Finnigan, talked with her, he thought she was nice.
"And what do you think?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
"What really happened, in the maze I mean, with Diggory and all?" he asked curiously, the other boys looked increasingly interested, even Dean looked like he was having trouble hiding it. Harry set his jaw, and tried to ignore how Voldemort's cold voice filled his ears, or seeing Cedric laying in the grass in his mind's eye, eagle spread, his face etched in shock. Hermione was incensed.
"That's none of your business," she snapped. "V-Voldemort killed him," everyone flinched, but Ron looked more surprised at the use of his name by her, "and you're asking what it was like, seeing that?"
"I just want to know," said Seamus heatedly. "If it really happened-"
"It did," Harry finally snapped. "Voldemort was waiting for me," everyone flinched again. "And then-" Harry stumbled over himself and quickly recovered. "But why are you even asking? Just read the Prophet, that'll tell you everything you need to know."
"I'm just asking a question, but if the Boy-Who-Lived can't answer-" Harry's hand twitched, about to grab his wand to hex Seamus, but Hermione grabbed his arm in one hand before he could, wearing a furious expression, and pulled her trunk down roughly with the other. A loud thud echoed through the compartment when it hit the ground.
"Come on Harry," she said, trying to drag him out before things could escalate. Harry grabbed the handle of his own trunk, and followed her down the carriages until they could find an empty compartment away from most of the students. He slammed the door shut behind him, and collapsed on the bench, breathing heavily. Hermione latched onto him in a tight hug
"How long, Hermione?" he asked hoarsely. "How long will this have to last?"
"I don't know, but he was out of line, asking you those questions. It's unfair asking you to carry on, but… they'll know they were wrong. I just hope the reason they do decide to believe you won't be too horrible."
Harry sagged a little against her. "Yeah, me too," he said quietly. The two of them sat in silence for a few moments until Ron stuck his head through the door and let out a relieved sigh when he saw them. He wore a disgruntled expression, and his ears were dark red as he pulled his trunk inside roughly and sat on the opposite bench, looking between them.
"What happened?" Hermione asked.
"I, er, told Seamus you were telling the truth and we kind of blew up at each other, so I left. It rather ruined the mood." Harry cracked a small smile.
"So, what was being a prefect like?"
Harry shrugged. "We didn't do a lot, but we get to set the first password for the dormitory tonight before we bring up the first years, it's one of our perks."
Ron went almost rimrod in his seat. "Wait a minute, prefects can do that? Bloody hell, remember our fIrst year password? Caput Draconis? I always thought it was ridiculous compared to the rest of our passwords that year. Percy must've come up with that," he said with a groan before looking at them curiously. "What are you two going to use?"
He and Hermione looked between each other, neither really having an idea. "I don't know, we didn't talk much about it-"
"Well, we don't want the password to be too difficult," said Hermione thoughtfully. "What if it's something the first years will get to know?" Harry nodded, and they began tossing out possible passwords, while Ron occasionally chimed in.
"Uric the Oddball?"
"Too odd."
"You're no fun."
"Wingardium Leviosa?"
"Do you have to rub it in, mate?"
Harry and Hermione eventually settled on Flintifors, the spell to turn something into a matchbox, and the three of them fell into companionable silence after that. Harry wasn't in the mood to play exploding snap, so he cracked open his human transfiguration book, Hermione was trying to catch up on early reading since they only got their textbooks the night before, and Ron pulled out his old, beaten set of chess to play against himself, letting the opposing pieces choose their movements. It was often amusing to watch, as the pieces spent several minutes angrily arguing with each other over who should move, made even better that they couldn't talk about why they wanted to be the ones to move, because then Ron could catch onto their strategy more easily.
"That's odd," said Hermione, frowning at her book. He looked at the title, Defensive Magical Theory, and frowned in turn. He hadn't opened his copy yet. In truth, he hadn't opened any of his textbooks, he just placed them in his trunk to read when he got to Hogwarts, and kept out several books he was already studying out of.
"Does it lean too much into theory?"
"It doesn't talk about anything but theory," she said in frustration. "I'm only a few chapters in, and there's pages and pages of useless muck, and what's worse, some of it is material we had in first year!" she said in indignation. "We're entering OWLs this year, V-Voldemort is out there, and this is the textbook we're supposed to be using?"
Harry took the copy from her, which she practically thrust at him, and tried to read it for himself. He didn't get past the second paragraph before he felt his concentration slipping away.
"Okay, I see what you mean," he said, handing the book back over. "It looks like we'll have to rely on my books this year, but what about the new professor? There's no way they'll help us with defense practisals."
"I don't know Harry, we may have to rely on abandoned classrooms like last year," he sighed, and rubbed his eyes tiredly.
"I'll ask Sirius and Remus about it later, I'm sure they'll give us everything we need to know for OWLs," said Harry.
"But what about the other students? This is their OWL year too," Hermione fretted.
"Do you want to start a homework group or something?" he asked her, half-jokingly. "Who do you know will want to study with me? I'm a nutter!"
But Hermione got a glint in her eye when he said 'homework group,' and if he didn't know any better, he just gave her an idea. He glanced at Ron, who shrugged in response, as she pulled out her pen and notebook to begin writing something down at a rapid pace.
Just so we're clear, there won't be any Harry/Cho in this story. So, sorry to all of you who expected/wanted it, and I hope this is reassuring to anyone who didn't. She will have some presence, at least early on, as she moves on from Cedric.
What do you guys think about Juliana? There's really not a lot to go off from when it comes to characters like this, so I decided to take some creative liberties and see what happens.