Chapter 42: Wake me Up Before you Go-Go
Warning: The scene where the Dementors happen within this one and might be a little intense to read.
The day of the trip back was chaos. Used to the Grangers' order and structure, watching the Weasleys run around with their hair metaphorically on fire was an event. The twins seemed to revel in the chaos as they bustled up and down the stairs.
If they weren't wrapped in the middle of the chaos, it would have been funny but today it was less so. Harry sipped his tea while Hermione tried to remain calm. To ensure security to the station, Amelia had provided Ministry cars to King's Cross for Harry, Hermione, Susan, and the Weasleys. At Harry's request, she made sure there was enough room for Greg and Vinny.
Ginny slumped into the seat next to Hermione.
"I hate my family," she groaned as she made herself some tea.
"No you don't," Harry said.
"On days like today, I do," she said. "It's always chaos trying to get everyone to get out the door on time."
"Well at least you're ready," Hermione indicated Ginny's trunk and day bag packed and ready to go. "That's more than I can say for Ron."
Harry snorted tea out his nose when he followed Hermione's gaze. Ron had one shoe on and one sock, neither of them on the same foot. His shirt was backward and his fly down.
"Ronald!" Mrs. Weasley hurried up to him with her wand drawn. "What am I to do with you?"
Waiving her wand in a complicated pattern, Ron's clothes righted themselves with his missing shoe walking down the stairs to put itself onto him.
"I can do it myself, mum," Ron whined.
"Is your trunk packed?"
"Err... mostly," Ron said. Harry knew that face enough to know "mostly" meant everything was going to get thrown in last minute. "I was hoping to get some breakfast."
"Well if you were hoping to get breakfast then you could have come down when I woke you an hour ago."
"But mummmm... it's a long trip and the feast won't be for hours."
"I packed you a sandwich already. Let that be a lesson: you can either eat or you can sleep. Choosing one means missing out on the other. Now up you get, finish your packing."
Ron stomped up the stairs and Mrs. Weasley rounded the rest of her kids together with practiced ease.
"Ginny!" She looked pleased with where she was sitting. "All packed? Ready to go?"
"Yes, mum" Ginny spoke clearly. "Packed last night."
"Excellent! Are you two packed as well? I don't see your trunks."
"Yes Mrs. Weasley," Harry tapped his pockets. "Dobby was kind enough to shrink them down for us until we're on the train, so we can travel lighter. Hermione only has her carrier for Crookshanks."
"That was nice of him," Mrs. Weasley responded stiffly as if she disapproved of Dobby's help. "Where's your owl, Hedwig right?"
"Oh she flies herself to Hogwarts nowadays," Harry said. "Ever since last year, she won't let me put her in a cage so I just let her fly."
"But what if she gets lost?"
"She hasn't yet," Harry said. "Besides, Auntie Amelia said having an owl in the station would draw the attention of potentially interested parties."
Suitable satisfied with their level of preparedness, Mrs. Weasley made her way up the stairs to check on Ron's progress. At that moment, Susan entered the pub. Like Harry, her trunk was shrunk with her owl making its trip up north like Hedwig was.
"Good morning," she greeted them, brightly. "Ready to head back to school?"
"When we get going," Ginny's sardonic reply came. "Oh, I'm Ginny Weasley, by the way."
"Susan," the other redhead introduced herself. "We ready to go?"
"We are," Harry indicated to the three of them. "The rest of the clan is... it's a work in progress."
As if called, the rest of the Weasleys appeared, Fred and George laughing, Percy scowling and Ron growling with Scabbers' tail hanging out of his pocket. Hanging back was Crabbe and Goyle who were obviously not morning people.
Seeing them ready to go, Percy walked toward them.
"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, Miss Bones," Percy extended his hand toward them which they each shook in turn. "How do you do?"
"Well, Mr. Weasley," Harry returned his formal address. "I see you've been named Head Boy. Congratulations, I know you've been wanting that for a while now."
"Thank you, Mr. Potter. If only my brothers were as congratulatory as you."
"Oh come on, Percy," Ginny said. "Do you expect Fred and George to take anything seriously? Or for Ron to notice anything that isn't food?"
"I'm just saying it would be nice."
"Bill was very congratulatory, if you remember," Ginny pointed out. "Just take the victories where you can, Bighead Boy."
Percy looked down at his badge and scowled.
"Here, let me," Harry pulled out his wand and, keeping his wand out of Mrs. Weasley's line of sight, dispelled the twin's illusion.
"How did you do that?" Percy asked. "I've been trying to dispel that for a half hour now."
"I know the twins," Harry said. "They always layer an illusion with an imperturbable charm to prevent any spell from reaching their illusion."
"I will keep that in mind," Percy actually smiled for the first time Harry had known him.
"That's everyone," Mr. Weasley announced from the doorway. "The cars are ready so why don't we head out?"
For security, Mr. Weasley and an Auror Harry recognized as Kingsley did a perimeter sweep before motioning Harry's group to come out. Harry moved across the sidewalk and entered the car directly with Hermione and Susan hot on his heels. Ginny needed to stow her trunk in the boot but otherwise joined post haste. The rest of the family moved to the second car. Once they were settled, Kinglsey and Mr. Weasley entered Harry's car, facing backward with their wands drawn.
"How are you doing, Harry?" Kingsley asked. "Ready to head back to school?"
"I am, thank you," Harry returned the kind smile Kingsley gave him. "Thank you for your services this morning."
"Don't be surprised if you see me around the school. Until the threats posed by Black and the werewolves has passed, I'll be one of the Aurors dispatched to help guard the town."
Harry nodded, recalling the meeting he had with Amelia when she informed him of the Minister's decision to deploy Dementors along the border of the castle. She was aggrieved with the decision so she promised to have Aurors help guard the students.
Ten minutes later, the cars pulled up to the station and the group was escorted out. Crabbe and Goyle looked a little lost, having never experienced the muggle world before. Hermione helped Greg while Harry fell into step with Vinny.
"Alright, Vin," Harry was a little stressed by the mass of people in the station. "We're going to run straight toward the barrier. Together they stepped through the barrier where the scarlet engine sat gleaming in the station.
"Did you call me 'Vin'?" Crabbe asked with a smile.
"Guess I did," Harry replied. "Sorry about that, Vinny."
"Don't worry about it," Vinny slapped him on the shoulder. "I'll see you at school."
The two big Slytherins then proceeded to wind their way through the crowd toward the front of the train.
"Shall we grab a compartment?" Hermione stepped close to him. They scanned the train for some empty compartments when a noise attracted their attention.
"Harry! Hermione!" Lavender was leaning out the window, waving them toward their carriage. Throwing open the door as they approached, Harry saw Luna was already in their carriage.
"Thank you, " Hermione said as she pulled herself through the doorway. Harry was about to join her when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see a balding head of red hair.
"Harry," Mr. Weasley fidgeted with his hands. "I was wondering if I might have a word."
Even though he knew what this was about, Harry gave him a moment.
"First of all, thank you for saving Ginny," he said. "She's more lively than I've seen in some time. Egypt was good for her. Bill, George and Fred all spent a lot of time with her and that seemed to help. Second, I wanted to let you know about Sirius Black."
"I know he's after me," Harry tried not to get testy but the train was due to depart anytime now. "I also know he betrayed my parents."
"Good, good," Mr. Weasley was looking around distractedly. "I want to make sure you aren't planning on going after him. The last guy who did, Black blew up the street. They only recovered a finger from him."
"Only a finger?" Harry's curiosity was piqued. "Nothing else. No body parts, no blood?"
"No. Black utterly destroyed him."
"Was it the same with the other victims?"
"I'm not sure," the train whistle screeched. "Anyway, just be safe and keep your eyes out."
Harry nodded before sprinting for the doorway. Clambering up, Harry's thoughts were consumed with the mystery of Sirius Black.
"What did Mr. Weasley say to you?" Hermione asked once Harry arrived in the compartment. Absently, she let Crookshanks out of his carrier to greet the other occupants
"Same old," Harry said. "'Sirius Black is out to get me, be careful.' Although one thing doesn't make sense: Peter Pettigrew they only recovered a finger from him."
"Just a single finger?" Hermione reached the same issue he did. "No blood, nothing?"
"It could be that Black just vanished the remains he saw," Neville said. Harry felt bad for not recognizing Neville, Susan and Hannah had joined them. For some reason, the compartment was still cozy. Snug, but cozy.
"And he leaves a finger just for identification?" Harry asked. "Why? There's something we're missing here."
"All mysteries begin with an unanswered question," Luna said without looking up. "The bigger the question, the better the mystery. Congratulations on acknowledging your feelings, by the way."
"How..." Hermione never could understand how Luna's mind worked.
"The Nargles have almost entirely fled from both of you," Luna said. "They're now moving in a ring around the compartment. I've never seen that before. Don't worry, I won't let the Wrackspurts know what you have done."
"Thank you, Luna," Harry said after shaking his head. "I think."
"You are welcome," she said, serenely.
"I'm glad as well," Parvati said. "Lavender told me when she found out. We're both so happy for you."
"How was your summer?" Harry asked.
"Excellent!" Parvati brightened. "We both had independent breakthroughs, one which you're wearing."
"I was curious about that," Harry said. "I assume you're talking about the cologne?"
Lavender nodded and pulled out a full vial.
"It is an offshoot of amortentia."
"The love potion?" Hermione asked to which Lavender nodded.
"It is tailored to match the wearer to bring out their natural scent," Lavender explained. "You'll know you're truly attracted to the person if you have a strong reaction to the scent. The stronger the reaction, the stronger the attraction."
"And I was able to make a special lipstick," Parvati pulled out a tube. "It's got an imperturbable charm on it."
"Fred and George?" Harry's eyes glinted with mirth
"Yes. They helped me design the spells to work with it. The trick was getting it off but eventually, I figured out a way to dispel the charm safely. I'm hoping to find a way to make it quicker. Hopefully, Ancient Runes will give me the solution."
"Anything else you're working on?" Hermione asked.
"We're really close on a color-changing eye shadow but we need to research the color-changing spell and a shampoo and conditioner for difficult hair."
"Now when you say difficult," Hermione asked.
"Yes we're designing with you in mind," Lavender said with a smile. "We just need to be sure to get it correct so you don't go bald after using it."
"I mean we did arrive at a solution," Parvati said. "The hair we tried it on wasn't an issue anymore."
"Yeah but that's only because there wasn't any hair left," Lavender said. "Poor Bunny. I had to feed him a vial of Harrison's Hair Raising Hare Product before it grew back."
"Alright, I'm convinced," Harry said.
"Here we go," Hermione rolled her eyes, congenially.
"Was only a matter of time, "Neville added.
"What?" Lavender stared, wide-eyed between the two.
"Harry's about to invest in what you're doing," Hermione explained.
"You're kidding," Parvati was between hopeful and incredulous. Her parents, while wealthy, had dismissed their ambitions and refused to fund their operation.
"I'll just need to have a word with the goblins," Harry said. "They've helped me back the twins and their prank items- I need to check in with them on that, now that I think of it. You both are close enough to some real breakthroughs that I can get the goblins on board now."
"Really!?" Both girls squealed in unison.
"He is," Hermione said. "Harry's mum gave the goblins a few tips in investing in the muggle world. It has inspired him to do the same whenever he sees a good idea."
"But... why?" Lavender asked the question gnawing at her.
"For the first 11 years of my life, I had nothing," Harry explained. "Then Hagrid takes literally knocks down the door and shows me to this bank where I have more money than I could ever spend.
"Since then, I've only wanted to be the gateway for others to experience the same thing. It's a family trait. My grandfather was one of the people to help turn Diagon Alley into what it is today. Half the shops got their opening loans from him."
"Thank you, Harry," Parvati said. "We've been trying to convince our parents but they don't seem to think we're worth investing in like this is a fleeting fancy."
"Once you get some product off the ground, I'm sure they'll come around," Harry said. "Same deal with Fred and George. I'll set you up with an operating fund. Once you're ready to roll, we'll work out the contract for continued investment with a reasonable return for myself and the goblins."
"Good lord, Harry," Susan said. "You really don't do normal."
"Normal is overrated," Luna said. "It invites the Florbot Humperdingers to nest with Shumbat Fluzbangs. After that happens, nothing interesting will ever happen in life."
New to her ramblings, Parvati and Lavender gaped at the smaller blonde like fish. Even as Luna was a fellow Gryffindor, they had yet to have a real conversation with her.
"I think you broke them, Luna," Hannah said. That started off a chain reaction and soon the compartment was filled with laughter, brightest of all them being Luna whose giggle fit threatened to topple her from the bench altogether. That was before the door slammed open.
"Figured I'd find you surrounded by your freaks, Potter," Draco drawled. Flanking him were Theo Nott and Pansy Parkinson.
"Least I'm surrounded by friends, Mr. Malfoy," Harry returned. "Good afternoon, Mr. Nott, Miss Parkinson."
"Can it, Potter," Theo spat. "Your tactics may work on simpletons like Crabbe and Goyle but not here."
"Got to say, I'm surprised you're here," Draco sneered. "Thought you'd be out hunting Sirius Black."
"I'm not about to go hunting for a mass murder, no matter what he did, Mr. Malfoy," Harry said.
"Just going to hide behind the adults like a coward then? Let Black come and get you himself?"
"Like a third year would stand a chance. The only thing that would achieve would be to make me very, very dead and I'd rather that not happen," Harry tried his best to look nonchalant as possible. "Who's to say he's after me?"
"What?" Malfoy said. "Heard he was deranged enough, muttering 'he's at Hogwarts' over and over again."
"Yeah, and who's to say he's after me?" Harry realized for the first time this might be true and filed it away for future thought. "Who's to say he's not after you, Malfoy?"
"Why would he be after me?"
"He's just spent 12 years behind bars while your father has been free to do whatever he pleases, including giving books to little girls, the philanthropist he is."
"Yeah? What's that do with anything?"
"Your mom is Narcissa Malfoy, formerly Narcissa Black, correct?" Harry said, bringing Draco up short. "That would probably make you next in line for the head of the Black family, yes? Either you or me, it's not certain who has the better claim at this point.
"Do you think the head of House Black, deranged as he is, would love that the family is going to pass to a sniveling little ferret like you? While he rotted in prison, your father was able to-shall we say- sidestep, the allegations against him. To Sirius Black and the other loyal followers who preferred Azkaban over renouncing their lord, that would appear as nothing more than Lucius Malfoy abandoning their lord to keep his cozy lifestyle. How do you think that would make him feel?
"Add in the Heir to the Malfoy line could also be the heir to the Black line, it would make you an ideal target to strike back at someone who he thinks betrayed Lord Voldemort. So tell me, Draco, which of us is he coming for again?"
At his point, Draco's pale cheeks had lost all color and his eyes widened. He physically shook him and returned to his haughty state.
"Good try, Potter," Malfoy said. "Too much of a coward to do anything. I see it all clear now."
Malfoy bade a quick retreat with Nott and Parkinson remaining long enough to sneer at everyone in the compartment.
"Harry," Hermione said in a voice just above a whisper. Harry let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, he looked across the compartment to see everyone staring at him wide-eyed.
"I'm sorry, that was..." Harry started to say.
"Bloody brilliant," Neville said, breaking the tension. "Did you see how terrified Draco was? I've known him all my life and nobody got to him the way you just did."
"Hopefully, he doesn't run and tell daddy what I said," Harry said, not wanting to provoke a response from Lucius after the end of last year.
"Hopefully he does," Susan said. "You made a very compelling case. This could throw good old Lucy off his game. I'll have to write Auntie to let her know. I know she's hoping Lucy will mess up and she can nail his ass to the wall."
"You took a bully's point and turned it back on him," Hermione said. "He came here looking to provoke a fight and you made him retreat in fear. Are you sure you're not supposed to be in Slytherin?"
"Please," Luna said. "Like a Slytherin would fight a snake with a sword. If anything, that was a Ravenclaw solution; brains not bravado."
"In any case, I want to remember that look for the rest of my life," Neville said. At that moment, the train skidded to a sudden stop and Luna was truly dislodged from the bench.
"What was that?" Lavender asked before the lights winked out.
"I don't know," Hermione said. "Luna are you okay?"
"I am fine, Hermione," Luna said, picking herself up from the floor. "What happened to the lights?"
"It looks like someone is coming aboard," Hannah said. As she said that the door opened and Hermione yelped as someone stepped on her foot.
"Hermione?" Harry heard Ginny's voice. "What's going on? Have you seen Ron?"
"No, he was sharing a compartment with Dean and Seamus last I saw," Hermione explained. "Perhaps we should-"
"-Quiet," a new voice said from the corridor. Harry, tired of the dark, cast an orb of light to hover near the top of the compartment, bathing the benches in a creepy-ethereal glow. "Stay here. I'll check up front."
"Who was that?" Harry asked.
"Professor Lupin, I think," Ginny said. "He's been sleeping the whole way up here."
"Have you been alone all this time?" Hermione asked.
"No one wanted me to sit with them. They're afraid I'm going to attack them, I think and your compartment looked full."
"I think we could have fit you," Hermione said. "Last I checked, these compartments are big enough for 6 but there's 8 in here now with plenty of room. My guess is the compartments magically expand themselves."
Any further discussion halted when the air inside the train became frigid, in the pale light, the window began to ice over. Shivering in the cold, the group turned as the door slowly slid open.
In the doorway stood a tall creature whose face was obscured by a large, grey hood. Inhaling a raspy breath, the temperature of the compartment descended into frigid territory. A grey hand, cold and scabbed over, emerged from the cloak, reaching out for Harry. It touched the light Harry conjured and crushed it in its hand, removing all light from the train.
At this point, Harry's brain was in a fog, his vision faltering. Instead of the compartment, he was seeing flashes of a room. He was being placed within a crib by someone he couldn't quite see.
The door slammed open and Harry heard a voice mutter something to which his protector screamed, "not Harry. Please, I beg you. Not Harry."
The person shielded Harry with her body.
"Step aside, foolish girl," a new voice hissed out. "I'm only here for your son; you don't need to die like your husband."
"No!" The woman sobbed, still covering Harry with her body. "Take me instead. Just leave Harry alone; he's just a baby."
"Enough of this," the voice said with finality. "Avada Kedavra."
Harry watched, helplessly as a green light struck the woman and she fell down in front of the crib. Harry cried, wishing his mum would rise.
"Harry Potter," the now-visible Voldemort said. "Immortality here I come."
The last thing Harry remembered was cackling laughter and a bright green light before he lost consciousness.
Hermione felt Harry faint next to him as she was lost in a memory of her own. She recognized her own scream as she blew the obese man back from the door and her scream of terror when she saw the small boy lying, broken, within the room upstairs. Yet when she felt Harry slide onto the floor, it brought her out of her memory. Spurred into action, she drew her wand.
"Incendio," she cast and a gust of flame burst toward the wraith. Instead of moving, the wraith just exhaled and turned the flame to ice before it reached its target. Hermione started to panic as the creature once again reached for Harry. Hermione sat on the floor with Harry's back propped up against her. Valiantly, she wrapped her arms and legs around her boyfriend to protect him from the wraith.
Meanwhile, Neville wasn't fairing any better. His vision went dark and all he could hear were screams he had spent his entire life trying to forget.
"Where is your son!? Where is Potter? You're part of the Great Alliance, he must be here! Tell me where you hid them and the pain will stop," the male voice said while a female just laughed maliciously.
Neville cried and cried while his mother's screams permeated the entire house. He didn't know where his dad was as he gave his mother time to hide Neville in a wardrobe that was then disillusioned and silenced. He cried and cried, wishing they would stop hurting his mom but the woman continued to laugh, reveling in the pain of Alice Longbottom.
"Ah what's the matter, Alice," the woman Neville knew to be Bellatrix said as his mom's screams halted. "Are you done playing? It's no fun if you don't scream. Maybe I should finish you."
It was at that point that Neville passed out, forcing Hannah to catch him before he hit the deck that Harry currently occupied.
Across the compartment, Luna was entering her mother's study. She always loved to see her mum work. As she entered, she knew something was wrong. A purple light was flashing through the study.
"Luna!" her mother turned toward her, her long straw-colored hair whipping around her long face. Luna's eyes widened as the spell headed toward her. The next thing she knew, her mother stepped in front of the spell. The room went dark as her mother collapsed in front of her.
"Mummy!" Luna collapsed onto her knees to shake her mum's still figure. "Mummy, wake up! You've got to wake up."
That was how Luna's father found her hours later, collapsed, sobbing over her mother's corpse.
"Moonbeam," Xeno asked. "What happened?"
"The Wrackspurts came for me," Luna wailed. "Mum stood in the way. I had too many Nargles and wasn't paying enough attention..."
The scene dissolved as Luna curled up in a ball on the bench. Hermione was sobbing, trying to keep the floating creature away from her boyfriend. Undeterred, the creature grabbed onto Harry's arm and started to drag his limp form away. She could hear his skin cracking as if freezing on contact. With no idea what to do, she called upon all her strength to keep Harry with her, crying hysterically as she was losing ground.
"Expecto Patronum," she heard twin shouts and the entire train was filled with light and a four-legged creature constructed of blue-white light entered the compartment in the shape of a jack rabbit. Taking a defensive position, it drove the creature back, forcing it to release Harry. Once outside, a second light drove the wraith back and off the train. It was then Hermione noticed the second form to be a wolf. Interestingly, both turned toward one another. They paced around one another in a circle before dissolving.
The lights of the train popped back on as the Hogwarts Express continued on toward its destination. A man popped his head into the compartment.
"Is everyone okay?" He asked before noticing the state of Luna, as well as the passed-out Harry and Neville.
"Who are you?" A voice Hermione recognized as Tonks spoke up. From over the man's shoulder, Hermione could just barely make out her pink locks with her wand drawn.
"Remus Lupin," the man said. He had a young-looking face that looked weathered through some very tough years. He had a significant stubble and his eyes looked tired. His robes had patches over them as if they were the only ones he had. "I am the new Defense teacher. Dumbledore asked me to ride up with the students, just in case of such an event."
"Auror Tonks," she lowered her wand. "Madam Bones dispatched me for the same reason. I'm assuming the second Patronus was yours?"
"Yes ma'am," Tonks bristled at being addressed as ma'am by a man her senior but she also reveled in being addressed as a professional. "What's the situation."
"We've got a compartment of people with acute exposure, two unconscious," Lupin said. Tonks breezed past him to kneel next to Harry. Unfortunately, her infamous penchant for clumsiness struck and she tripped on the door into the compartment, collapsing onto Lavender and Parvati.
"Sorry," Tonks mumbled and rolled off. She took up her place next to Harry with Hermione on his other side. Lupin, noticing the situation was well in hand, departed for the front of the train.
"Reneverate," she cast said, waiving the wand over his nose, as if administering smelling salts. Harry bolted awake, Hermione's hands the only thing keeping him from sprinting out of the corridor.
"Hermione! Tonks!" Harry's eyes flicked around the entire compartment. "What happened? Who screamed?"
"Nobody screamed, Harry," Hermione said as Tonks moved toward Neville to do the same. He also started awake, his blonde hair an unkempt mess.
"I know who was screaming," Neville said, morosely. "I've been working my entire life to block out those screams."
At the unspoken question, he said "my mother. It's my worst nightmare, hearing Bellatrix torture her."
"I think it was my mum," Harry communicated his sudden realization as he slowly stood. Hermione gasped and enfolded him into one of her trademark hugs. "I think I relived the moments before her death. I think I remembered watching her die."
"That's horrible," Lavender was crying tears of sympathy. "I can't even begin to imagine..."
"That's what Dementors do," Tonks said. "They feed on fear and make us relive our worst memories. Considering the trauma the both of you endured at such a young age, I'm not surprised at your reaction."
"Here," Lupin returned with four bars of chocolate. Breaking them up and distributing them. "Chocolate helps with Dementor exposure. What happened there?"
Lupin pointed to Harry's arm where a blackened mark of a hand lay imprinted.
"That's where a Dementor grabbed him," Hermione said, making Tonks and Lupin gasp. "It was dragging him away. I tried as hard as I could to keep him here. If those lights hadn't arrived..."
Hermione shuddered and sobbed, fearing the worst would have happened to Harry.
"A Dementor touched a student," Tonks' hair went from pink to fire-red. "I have to let Madam Bones know immediately,"
"And I Dumbledore," Lupin said. "He's going to be furious."
"I'd hate the be the Minister right about now. He's going to get it from both sides," Tonks pulled out a camera from her robes. "Mind if I document this?"
Harry nodded, allowing her to take a picture of his arm.
"We'll need to get that looked at, once you get up to the castle," Lupin said. "I'll send word with the conductor. Eat the chocolate. I swear it helps."
"I'll stay close, just in case," Tonks said. "Then I'll head back to make my report."
"Thank you, Tonks, Professor Lupin," Harry said.
As Tonks moved to exit into the hallway, she stumbled yet again. With a yelp of surprise, she started to fall. Lupin spun at her sound to catch her before she could fall.
"Thanks," Tonks' cheeks and hair turned red as the older professor returned her to an upright position. Collecting herself, Tonks and Lupin went their separate ways, each looking back at the other as they parted.
Harry watched them go with an amused expression. He looked around the stone-silent compartment and spotted Luna with a faraway expression on her face. Harry leaned down so he could look up into her eyes. "What's wrong, Luna?"
"I saw my mum... the day she died," the serene, oddball Luna was gone and in her place was a nine-year-old girl who just wanted her mum. Harry didn't hesitate. He brought both of his arms around and pulled her into a hug, letting the small girl mold herself into him. He held her as she shook from a fresh bout of sobs.
"It's okay," Harry rubbed small circles on her back. "You're okay. I know it hurts but I know your mum would be very, very proud of her little girl."
"Thank you, Harry," she sighed out. Harry tried to rise but she wouldn't let go. Instead, he deferred to sliding backward onto the bench, bringing Luna with him. Hermione couldn't help but smile. Harry had just passed out and his first concern was the other people. With a ways to go to the castle, everyone relaxed into a companionable silence. Neville leaned heavily into Hannah. Hermione also noticed Parvati and Lavender sitting close to one another while Susan was busy writing something.
Finishing up, she called out for their family elf and gave them a letter.
"Auntie needs to know about this earlier than Tonks can report in," she said. "She's been spitting mad since Fudge decide to deploy the Dementors. It was like she was waiting for something like this to happen."
When the voice on the intercom announced they were a half hour from the station, Harry and Neville collected their uniforms and headed across the hall to Lupin's former compartment.
"You okay?" Neville asked. Harry was still shaken from experiencing his mother's last moments.
"I'll get there," Harry said. "You?"
"Same," Neville actually smiled. "I've blocked so much of that night out but reliving it, just now it made me remember everything those monsters said. They weren't there for my parents; they were there for us. Me and you both. Why? What was so important that they would torture my parents into insanity?"
"I think I know," Harry said, heavily. "I'll tell you tonight but it all has to do with the reason Voldemort came for me, the reason both our families were in hiding. Tonight, in the common room. I'll tell you."
Neville nodded. They finished dressing just as the train pulled into the station. Reuniting with the girls, Harry stepped off the train into a steady rain pounding the station. Harry conjured a large umbrella for Luna, Hermione, and him. Rusty as his conjuration skills were, it was still serviceable. Luna walked silently next to Harry, her hand sliding into his. Hermione fell into step on Luna's other side and together, they headed toward the carriages. Harry helped the girls up and followed in behind. Neville, Hannah and Susan joined them.
With Luna's arms around his middle, squeezing the life out of him and Hermione's firm grip on his hand, he readied himself for everything that the year had in store. Year three here we come, Harry thought as the carriage moved up toward the castle.