Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Chapter 6: The Arrival
It had been two years since he left. Two miserable, pain-staking years. Hermione had gotten over it, well not entirely. She was just now numb to the pain. She felt if she tried harder to be his friend, his best friend, he wouldn't have left. She didn't worry that he was dead or anything, since he had sent her letters. Not just her, but everyone he cared about. It did make the pain more bearable, but at the same time, so much worse. It was like something she so desperately wanted, but it was just on the tips of her fingers. And what was worse was that, in his letters, he never accused her or Ron of being bad friends. They were on friendly terms, but he never divulged what he was doing, or where he was.
Since the time Harry had been away, he had apparently been up to some very weird things. He claimed to have created a new type of phoenix. They were white, silver, and gold all mixed in. they didn't have a consistent pattern to their plumage and each on was different. Including their personalities. So far, there were three known phoenixes. One, Harry gave to Sirius. He was a playful bird, and made people wonder why such a strange bird hung around a beast of a dog.
The other two were gifts to the school. Harry said that they had properties that would help the school; however, no one but Harry knew what they were. Dumbledore said to trust Harry. And no one questioned Dumbledore. Except for Sirius, who wouldn't stop pestering the Headmaster until Harry's first letter arrived. It eased Sirius slightly in that aspect.
Ron was extremely downtrodden until Harry sent his letter. He blamed himself, for one reason or an other. After Harry's first letter to Ron, things changed. Ron was mad that he left the qudditch team hanging. Hermione could tell Ron was relieved, and would be the first one to cry upon the arrival of Harry.
Things were pretty much settled. No Deatheater attacks, as they focused solely on finding Harry. The only real bad news was the lack of Ministry help and Slytherin winning the qudditch cup again.
Currently, Hermione was thinking about Harry's letter. In it, he said that she was perfectly in the right to date anyone she so desired. It was his fault for being a bad friend, and when he got back, he would embrace Malfoy like a brother just for her. It also said he would come back when he was needed, and he knew the perfect time, as strangely enough, he found a way to become psychic.
Thinking about the letter, got her thinking about Malfoy. In all the time they dated, she never once called him Draco. It made her laugh a little. He was actually saddened by their sudden break-up. Hermione felt badly for a moment, before she found out that he was sad was because someone broke up with him.
After that, Hermione was able to reconcile with her friends once again. They were closer than ever. Ron was still her best friend, but Hermione now had a fair few girl friends. They enjoyed the way she described how she played with Malfoy, as he had played them.
Malfoy was the last boyfriend Hermione ever had. It wasn't that she was unattractive, but she had Ron as an acting older brother. She also still had her crush on Harry all this time. Ro thought that he had to step up because Harry wasn't there to help him protect Hermione. Hermione remembered the day when a first year boy asked for help on a homework assignment, and Ron thought he was hitting on her. Poor child is probably still scared from that encounter. She hoped Harry wouldn't be like Ron though. She wanted to be with him, badly.
Whenever she felt like this, though, she would always rub the pendant Harry made for her. A gleaming white unicorn, it was, and made her feel graceful and warm inside. Ron also got one of a lion. He claimed it made him feel braver and more confident. Hermione figured Harry some how transferred the quality those animals represented into the pendants. How he did this, she didn't know.
***
Dumbledore was thinking about when his pupil would return to school. Unbeknownst to everyone, he kept in constant correspondence with Harry. He didn't know what he did, or where he was, but he was always in contact. Harry had secretly taken his OWL's, and Dumbledore had even gotten him a few books Harry requested.
Harry said that he knew the perfect time to return, and he wouldn't come a moment early. Dumbledore had no choice but to believe him.
He was currently going over papers for the school, when a rattling BOOM, shook the foundation of the school. Dumbledore hurriedly got up, making a beeline for the entrance of the school, fearing the worst.
By the time he got there, students and professors had assembled. Dumbledore made no time in wasting on trying to calm everyone down. He whispered to Professor McGonagall to handle the situation, and he would secure everything else.
Once outside, he saw a horrific site. Thousand's of Deatheaters and double the Dementor's, giants, and all other horrific beasts. Dumbledore knew that it was a hopeless predicament as he hoped the wards around the school wouldn't give in such a short time. He made the decision that anyone who wanted to fight, teacher or student, would be welcome to do so, as there wasn't much chance of Aurors coming.
Voldemort, leading the charge, gave a battle cry as he was ultimately sure of his victory. He would finally be able to get his hands on the long forgotten notes of Tom Riddle.
As he was one fifty yards away from clashing with the enemy, something strange happened. A gigantic bird landed between the two opposing sides. Upon closer inspection, it was of the same kind of phoenix Harry sent, but five times larger. The bird gave an unearthly melody, sounding nothing like a traditional phoenix.
The two sides stopped in mid-stride. It was absolutely quiet as they observed the newcomer. All of a sudden, it morphed into a human. Almost like animagi, but the motion was smooth with no pop, almost similar to changing clothes. This human had a deep tan and silver, white, and gold hair and what appeared to be some feathers sticking out of his head. He was tall and athletic looking as well, wearing a white cloak.
As he lowered his hood, the two sides could clearly see a vibrant gold lightning bolt mark upon the newcomer's forehead.
AN: How was that? I know it didn't have a lot of action, but next chapter will. Some descriptions come into play, and explanations won't be given till the chapter after that. I would like to give special thanks to sinastrasin for a wonderful review. The reason I seemed confused was that I forgot some details in my stories for having not written for a while. Thanks also to everyone else who reviewed also.
I would like to give some general advice to some people. If you like a story, but don't review, put it on your fav. list because that way someone with the same tastes as you might leave a review. Reviews make it feel like the author isn't wasting their time on a pointless activity, when actually, it is enjoyed.
Sorry for the drabble. Peace.