The riot at the Quidditch World Cup hadn't resulted in any serious injuries, but provoked strong public outcry. Part of this was due to the stance taken in the Daily Prophet article which broke the news. The writer, Rita Skeeter, leveled harsh criticism at the Ministry's handling of event security. She also reported rumors of a Ministry official seen lurking around the woods long after the riot had ended, and insinuated some sort of cover-up–though of what, she didn't specify.

Even without the slant of Skeeter's reporting, the reappearance of the Dark Mark in the skies over Britain for the first time since the war was enough to create dread in those old enough to remember its significance. For the last two weeks of summer, Arthur and Percy Weasley were busy at the Ministry dealing with the fallout.

Hermione and Harry stayed at the Burrow during this time. Harry was still in summer holiday mode, but Hermione was keeping herself busy. She had of course finished all her school assignments at the start of summer, and so was free to spend her time poring over the books on the history of mechanical computing devices she'd had her parents send her.

In a quest for more books, Ron and Hermione walked into the village center of Ottery St Catchpole, so he could show her where the library was, and point out the sections he liked to browse for books on the strategy of games and sports. The library's modest collection had nothing substantial on the subject of mechanical computers, and the librarian told them the interlibrary loan service wouldn't be able to deliver the books Hermione wanted soon enough to be useful, with how little time she had left before returning to school.

Despite this, Hermione considered the visit far from wasted. She noted the building's location for future visits, and made a quick survey of their holdings. She took one last look back at the building as they left, and breathed a contented sigh. The village felt more welcoming now that she'd seen its library, and knew where to find it. A populated area which didn't have a library would hardly be a proper community at all.

Hermione's latest research obsession had arisen from a chance comment from Ginny which reminded her of a mechanical computer she'd seen at the Science Museum in London. The museum had built a working model of a machine called a Difference Engine, based on designs by the mathematician and inventor Charles Babbage.

Along with the books, her parents had also sent her a small mechanical calculator they'd found at an antique shop. The device was much simpler than one of Babbage's machines, but Hermione thought it would be a good test to see if it would function properly around the magic at the Burrow, and the even greater concentration of magic at Hogwarts.

Arthur Weasley was predictably delighted with the device. They went out to his shop to disassemble the device for study, and Hermione was surprised at how readily he grasped the principles of how it operated, given his history of misunderstandings and mispronunciations regarding the Muggle world.

Hermione mentioned this to Ginny later, while the two of them practiced wandless magic in Ginny's room. Her friend was not at all surprised at her father being such a quick study.

Ginny said, "Having a feel for how things work doesn't depend on knowing the right words, or how you say them. He's interested in a lot of things he's read about, but doesn't get much chance to talk about with anyone. Muggle words don't have power anyway, so it's not like getting a spell incantation wrong."

"Fair enough. I've made embarrassing pronunciation mistakes myself, with words I learned from books. It's more than that though. I feel like I'm seeing a whole new side to him."

"That side has been there all along. He charmed a Muggle car to fly and turn invisible. Who do you think Fred and George get their love of experimenting from, anyway?"

"I never thought your dad wasn't smart, but you have to admit he does get things wrong about the Muggle world. A lot. Not just words, either."

Ginny frowned. "He's devoted his career to keeping your people safe. The least you could do is show a little respect."

"My people?" Hermione asked stiffly.

"You know what I mean–people like your parents."

"I do know what you mean. I just didn't expect to hear it from you."

"What are you on about? We are a separate people from the Muggles, even if we happen to live near them. You've heard of the Statute of Secrecy, right?"

"And so I'm forever separate, because of where I come from?"

"You know that's not what I meant! You're one of us now, but you came from the Muggle world, so they're still your people too. It doesn't have to be one or the other. Where you come from is pretty much the definition of who your people are, even if you become part of a new group of people later. It's not all you are, but it's always going to be part of you."

Hermione considered this. "Well sure, when you put it like that. It's just a bit of a touchy subject for me."

"I know. Same for me and people looking down on my family."

"I honestly wasn't. I would never think less of someone who has never lived in the Muggle world for not knowing everything about it. I'm sorry if it came out that way. I found it impressive that he understood so much about something I always thought was just a hobby for him. Some people would take that as a compliment, but I suppose I didn't phrase it that way."

"Okay. I'm sorry if I made you feel like you don't belong here. That's not what I meant at all."

The two witches traded hesitant smiles, then shared a brief hug.

"Sorry."

"Me too."

Ginny said, "Maybe he does get things wrong at times, but not about machines. Well, as long as they're not electric. He can't tinker with those the same way. You know we don't even have electricity ropes tied to our house."

"Power lines," Hermione corrected.

Ginny shrugged. "Okay."

"You'll need to know that for Muggle Studies."

"Ugh. When I picked that elective, I didn't realize I was going to have to learn a foreign language."

"Think of what it's like for the Muggle-born students who arrive at Hogwarts and find out all the spell incantations derive from Latin."

"Says the girl who signed up for Ancient Runes."

"You should never be afraid to take on an intellectual challenge. That doesn't mean it'll be easy. Oh! I just realized something. Cars use electricity, so why doesn't magic interfere with them? I don't know the details, but there's a battery, and spark plugs, and things like that."

"Maybe he left those parts alone? Or replaced them with something magical? I don't know. You'd have to ask him."

"I plan to. Maybe the car was old enough to not rely on electronics. Could that be where the cutoff lies for whether something works or not?" Seeing Ginny's look, she clarified, "Electronics are a special kind of electric technology."

Ginny groaned. "This class better teach something I can actually use."

"Speaking of which, I'm glad you're taking it, but a little surprised. I would have thought you'd want to take electives that were more, well, magical."

"I considered Runes. I already know some of them. Bill taught me to write my name with them when I was a kid. But Runes and Arithmancy are both too much theory."

"I hope you're not taking Muggle Studies because you think it's an easy class. Or because of Harry."

"No to the first. Yes to the second, but not how you mean. I don't think Harry's going to decide he wants to be my boyfriend or whatever, just because I'm taking Muggle Studies. I don't think he evens plans to spend much time in the Muggle world after he graduates. What's he have there to go back to? Besides, he's not my only friend from the Muggle world I might want to understand better."

The two friends exchanged a brief smile.

"Dad is super happy I'm taking it," Ginny continued. "Percy too, for whatever that's worth. Mainly though, knowing how to get around in the Muggle world gives us options, in case things start to go bad–in case we need to run."

"You can't live your whole life thinking that way."

"Not my whole life. Just until I finish executing Riddle and all his followers."

"I wish you wouldn't talk like that."

"I wish the world wouldn't be like that. But here we are."

"That might wind up being our fight one day, when we've finished school, and know a lot more magic. For now, we should leave it to the adults, and stay out of it."

"It doesn't seem like the other side got the memo about letting us stay out of it."

Hermione frowned but had no answer.

~*~

Soon enough, the day arrived for everyone to head to King's Cross station to catch the Express back to Hogwarts. This time, they made the trip by Muggle taxi.

Arriving at the station, Harry's face lit up when he saw Sirius and Remus waiting near Platform 9 and 3/4. He hurried over to them.

Sirius grinned at him. "Surprise!"

"You didn't have to come all this way."

"I should have been here three years ago. As things worked out, you fell in with a good crowd," he said with a tilt of his head towards the Weasleys, "but you should have had a familiar face here to see you off."

Remus added, "You've heard the reasons why I was never a part of your life back then, though those excuses sound feeble to me now. All I can do is try to do better from now on."

"It means a lot that you're both here today," Harry told them.

"Wouldn't miss it," Sirius told him. "but it wasn't any trouble. Let's go through to the platform, so we can talk more freely."

Once they were through the barrier, Sirius continued, "You're still thinking of distance in Muggle terms, despite all the traveling we did this summer. It's one thing if you have a group who can't all Apparate, or if you have a bunch of luggage," he said, gesturing around at the arriving students. "But for us, the trip over here was nothing." He grinned and added, "Getting up early though, now that was a real sacrifice."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Right. Listen, do you know what the big event is at Hogwarts this year? Mrs Weasley keeps dropping hints. Bill and Charlie too."

"Can't help you. No one has mentioned anything to me."

"I suppose I'll find out soon enough."

"When you do, use the mirror I gave you to let me know. Actually, use it anyway. Often. But especially if anything strange happens."

"Yeah, I know. I will."

"I mean it. What happened at the World Cup could be the first step in an escalation. I'm going to keep pushing to get a look at the transcripts for the Death Eater trials. I'll let you know if I find out anything, and I expect you to do the same."

"I will."

Remus said, "Though I'm no longer your teacher, I'm always available to offer advice as well." He glanced towards where Molly was fussing over her children while they loaded their luggage onto the train. "Especially if you or your friends have any problems with your magic."

Harry followed the direction of his look. "You're still worried about her losing control?"

"I would say rather that I still think it's worth being extra cautious with such volatile magic. I know the wizard who will be teaching you Defense this year. Alastor Moody. You couldn't ask for someone with more knowledge and experience, but his demeanor doesn't make him easy to talk to. I make the offer in case Ginny feels more comfortable confiding in me, but the important thing is that she talks to someone, should the need arise. The same goes for you."

"Thanks. I'll pass that along. But can we trust this guy in general?"

"To have no sympathy for the Death Eater cause whatsoever? Absolutely. Getting him to trust you is another matter. He doesn't give his trust easily."

Sirius snorted. "Which is a polite way of saying he's paranoid as hell. Not without reason though, with the things he's seen. And what happened after the World Cup probably won't help his attitude."

Sirius and Remus helped Harry get his belongings loaded, and Harry exchanged farewells with them and with Mrs Weasley. The students boarded the train, which soon was on its way out of the station.

Once the group settled into a compartment, Hermione started to relate everything she'd somehow found time to learn about Europe's other wizarding schools. Harry remembered Sirius mentioning other schools while they were traveling, but much of what she said was new to him. He got the strange feeling he sometimes experienced of the wizarding world coming into existence right as he was hearing about it, but dismissed the absurd thought.

Dean, Seamus, and Neville joined them, and conversation turned to the Quidditch World Cup. This was interrupted by the unwelcome arrival of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

After making some disparaging remarks about the dress robes Ron had left laying out, Malfoy asked who was going to enter the big event. When everyone looked at him blankly, he crowed to Ron about his father knowing things that Ron's didn't, and what that said about the relative standing of the two wizards.

Ginny decided she'd had enough of everyone dropping hints. She'd refrained from attempting Legilimency on her family–eavesdropping was one thing, but poking around in their minds was a bad path to start down. She had no such reservations with Malfoy.

"I guess you think you know all about this big event, then?" she asked, drawing his attention and locking eyes with him.

Her Legilimency wasn't good enough for her to see what the event was, as Malfoy had only a vague idea, and no concrete images associated with it. She did pick up enough to see he wasn't supposed to know about–let alone talk about–the event before its official announcement. But he seemed to believe the main purpose of secrets was to give you opportunities to flaunt your knowledge of them.

Malfoy started to answer the question she'd spoken aloud, but she cut him off. "If you know what's happening, you also know you shouldn't be running your mouth about it. I wonder what it would do to your father's reputation if it got around that he can't keep his mouth shut."

He looked caught off guard for a moment, then snapped, "Don't talk about my father!"

"Believe me, I'd rather not. You're the one who barged into our compartment and started going on about him. He's not the most interesting subject. Maybe good for a laugh now and then, like his idiot son."

Malfoy started to draw his wand.

Before he could get it aimed at her, Ginny idly waved her hand. "Accio fuckwit's wand."

His wand flew to her. Hermione's coaching on adding summoning to her wandless magic repertoire was already paying off nicely.

She made a show of examining the wand. "Wow, almost looks brand new. I guess a wizard as weak as you doesn't actually have much use for a wand. Still, be a real shame if something happened to it." She took the ends of the wand in both hands, bending it slightly to test its flexibility.

The compartment had gone silent at her casual display of wandless magic, but the intolerable notion of her daring to snap his wand startled Malfoy into finding his voice. "How dare you! Give it back now!"

Ginny tucked the wand away in her robes. "It's clear you lack the maturity to be allowed to carry it on the train. You'll get it back once we get to Hogwarts, where you can be properly supervised."

Malfoy started to reach for her. Harry moved to stop him, but Ron sprang to his feet first, grabbed Malfoy by the front of his robes, and shoved him out of the compartment. Malfoy stumbled and fell against the opposite corridor wall, and Ron followed him out.

Crabbe and Goyle moved to follow, but Harry jumped up and drew his wand, and the rest of his roommates did the same.

"Let's let the two of them work this out," Harry told the two Slytherins.

Out in the corridor, Ron loomed over Malfoy. "If you ever even think about putting your hands on my sister, no one will ever find your body."

"My father–", Malfoy started, trying to scramble to his feet.

"Your father won't be at Hogwarts with you," Ron said, shoving him back down. "But I will."

"You're going to be in so much trouble for this."

"Oh, Draco…" Ginny called out. "I don't think we need to mention this to the teachers, do you? I would have to give my side, and explain how you drew your wand first, and then attempted to grope me."

"Like I want to touch you! I just want my wand back!"

"I don't care. It doesn't give you the right to put your hands on me. You'll get your wand back in the Great Hall. Not before. Now get lost."

Malfoy scowled up at Ron. "Tell your brother to let me up, then!"

"It's okay, Ron," Ginny said. "Little Drakey still has some growing up to do, but I think he learned an important lesson today."

Ron drew his foot back ready to deliver a kick, causing Malfoy to flinch.

"Don't think I wouldn't," Ron warned him, before turning away and stepping back into the compartment. He pushed past Crabbe and Goyle, and told them to get out.

The two Slytherins eased themselves out the door while keeping an eye on all the wands still pointed at them, taking care not to make any sudden movements.

Malfoy scrambled to his feet. He glared at Ron, then at Ginny. "I better get that back in perfect condition."

Ginny shrugged. "You're always bragging about how much money your family has. I'm sure it would be no great burden to replace it."

"I already had to–" he started, before cutting himself off. He turned and stalked off down the corridor. His fellow Slytherins gave the Gryffindors sullen looks, then followed him.

Ron threw himself down into his seat, flushed and scowling. The others returned to their seats as well. Harry put a protective arm around Ginny.

After giving everyone time to cool down, Hermione told Ginny, "I know Malfoy is awful, but you could have at least tried to de-escalate before things turned physical."

"Why would I do that?" Ginny asked. "He came in here looking for trouble, and he got some."

"Why? Maybe because we all carry deadly weapons, and if this continues, sooner or later things are going to go too far."

Harry asked, "You do remember the time you punched him in the face, right?"

Hermione blushed at the admiring looks from the Gryffindor boys who hadn't known about the incident before that moment. "I'm not proud of losing my temper like that. Malfoy was obviously way out of line today, drawing his wand, and then trying to get grabby with Ginny. But she engaged with him before that. It would have been better not to give him the response he wanted in the first place."

Ginny said, "That's never going to work with the people who think like him. Those families have had years to get over their bad attitudes. Sooner or later, it's going to come to another war."

"I hope that doesn't happen, and we certainly aren't there yet. Yes, Draco has some truly awful beliefs. And maybe one day he'll act on them, but we can't know that. For now, he's all talk."

Ginny shook her head. Rather than continue the argument, she turned to the other Gryffindors. "Listen guys, thanks for defending my honor or whatever, but I had it under control. If Malfoy had actually dared to lay a hand on me, it would've been the last thing he ever did with it. And Neville, if you can stand up to those idiots for me, you can stand up for yourself too."

Neville said, "I don't even know what I would have cast. I drew my wand without stopping to think about it."

"Natural Gryffindor instincts right there," Seamus said proudly, nudging him with an elbow.

Hermione countered this with, "But please remember that there are ways to stand up for yourself without anyone drawing a wand."

Ron said, "Yeah, like a good punch in the nose. Hermione can give you pointers."

This suggestion proved popular with the other Gryffindors, though Hermione refused to dignify it with a response.

~*~

The rest of the train ride passed without further incident, as did the carriage ride from the station to the school, and soon they were filing into the Entrance Hall at Hogwarts.

The students had all gotten drenched by the heavy rain outside, and Peeves had made it worse by pelting them with water balloons. Everyone but Ginny was shivering, but she didn't feel confident enough in her control to risk casting warming spells on her friends; something to work on.

As they made their way into the Great Hall, Ginny caught Malfoy watching her, but he didn't approach. An idea occurred to her that made her smile to herself. Putting on a straight face, she took out his wand, but instead of returning it, she headed for McGonagall.

"Excuse me, Professor McGonagall?"

"What is it, Miss Weasley? The Sorting Ceremony is about to begin."

"Well, about that. I found this on the train," she said, holding out Malfoy's wand. "I assume a new first-year dropped it, as I can't imagine an older student being so careless. I thought this might be, well, a teachable moment, I guess? About the importance of keeping track of your wand?"

McGonagall raised an eyebrow, but accepted the wand. "Very well, Miss Weasley. I'll see that it makes its way back to its owner. Thank you."

Ginny was dying to shoot a look at Malfoy as she made her way to the Gryffindor table, but worried McGonagall might be watching her.

McGonagall went out for a minute, and returned leading the first-years. She cleared her throat to get everyone's attention, and held up Malfoy's wand.

"Before we begin, would the student who mislaid their wand on the train please come forward to claim it?"

Laughter and derisive comments drifted around the room, but no one spoke up.

McGonagall said crisply, "Come along now, we don't want to hold up the Sorting Ceremony. I've already confirmed it doesn't belong to any of our newest students."

Still receiving no response, she said, "No one wishes to claim it? Well then, I suppose I'll just have Mr Filch dispose of it."

Filch stepped forward eagerly from where he'd been standing by the door, but Malfoy stood up from the Slytherin table. "Wait! Okay, it's mine."

Jeers came from around the Great Hall. Malfoy even found himself the target of scorn from the older Slytherins, though they expressed it in a more reserved manner than the Gryffindors.

While Malfoy was making his way to her, McGonagall turned to the Gryffindor table to shush them. Her eyes found Ginny, and pinned her with a suspicious look.

When Malfoy reached McGonagall, he said, "Sorry, Professor. It must have slipped out of my pocket."

McGonagall frowned, but evidently decided getting on with the Sorting was more important than pursuing the matter. She handed him the wand. "Do be more careful in the future, Mr Malfoy."

"I will," he told her, before slinking back to his seat.

Ginny wanted to call out to him that he was welcome, but thought she'd tested McGonagall's patience enough already.

The Sorting Hat sang its song and sorted the new students, after which the feast began.

Nearly Headless Nick appeared to greet the new and returning students. He made a passing mention of the Hogwarts house-elves, which brought the issue of their plight back to mind for Hermione.

She put down her fork and stared pensively at the food, until Ginny cajoled her into eating by reminding her she had agreed to find out more about the situation before deciding how to handle it.

After the feast, Dumbledore stood to make announcements. The least popular by far concerned the lack of Quidditch that year.

Before he could explain what would take its place, the door burst open to admit a wizard who looked like he'd been cursed from one end of the British Isles to the other and back. He shot suspicious glares around the Great Hall with a pair of shockingly mismatched eyes.

The new arrival turned out to be their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Alastor Moody.

After this interruption, Dumbledore picked up where he left off with the announcements, with news of the resumption of the Triwizard Tournament, a competition between Hogwarts, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. The winner would receive honor, glory, and a prize of one thousand Galleons.

To reduce the risk of fatalities–which had plagued the Tournament in the past–no student under the age of seventeen would be eligible to submit their name for consideration.

Fred and George took this last point about as well as the suspension of Quidditch. Although Sirius had hinted he might be willing to help fund their business, they hadn't reached a firm agreement before the discussion got put on hold by the excitement of the Quidditch World Cup and the terror of the riot that followed. They hadn't found an opportunity for a private conversation with him since.

In the Gryffindor common room after the feast, the twin brothers began plotting how to get around the age restriction. They extended an offer to help anyone else who wanted to try, in exchange for a cut of the prize money if the person they helped ended up winning.

Neville said he might like to try, more for how the honor and glory would impress his grandmother than for the money. Ron said he would welcome all three–honor, glory, and Galleons.

"Didn't any of you pay attention to the part about fatalities?" Hermione complained. "Not that it matters, because you're not going to outsmart whatever system Dumbledore puts in place to keep you from entering."

"I don't know," Harry said. "At the end of first year, the three of us got past the best protections the teachers could come up with, including Dumbledore's."

"Harry! You're not actually thinking of getting involved in this foolishness? It's one thing to risk yourself to stop Riddle, or help someone in trouble. But not for fame or money. You're not really going to try, are you?"

He shrugged. "Probably not. Might get in the way of dealing with whatever else is going to try to kill me this year."

"That's not funny!"

"I know. You're right about the Tournament though. I don't remember a lot of competitions with a body count, back in Muggle school. It says something that not one teacher stood up to protest tonight."

Hermione frowned. "Maybe they complained when they first found out, but were overruled."

"Maybe. Or maybe they don't believe the danger is real yet. It wouldn't be out of character with other things we've been through here."

With that thought in mind, even Ron's enthusiasm cooled, and the conversation moved on to what they could expect from classes that year.