A/N: Hello everyone, I want to again apologize for it taking me this long to update. I really didn't mean for that to happen, but I have been extremely busy. I hope that it won't take me so long next time!
Sorry this chapter is rather short, at least compared to my other ones. But I had to stop it where I did, and you will know why at the end.
Hope you enjoy this and please review!!
Thanks,
~Jen~
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter, not me!
Planes, Trains, and Harry Potter?
Chapter Five
Hermione looked around the compartment at her fellow peers. No one had spoken since they left Hogwarts one hour ago. They had already been through Hogsmeade and were now on the road that Dumbledore said to follow.
Hermione was anxious, but also excited. She knew this was going to be dangerous, but inside she was also very curious about this adventure.
Hermione looked out the window and eyed the landscape. It was very beautiful. The hills were bright green with the grass and the leaves were different colors on the trees. The horizon was a magnificent sight. The sun was up, giving off a warm feel, and the clouds were low and they filled the sky.
"Knut for your thoughts?" a voice asked Hermione and she turned to see who was talking to her. Harry was sitting beside her, looking at her intently.
She smiled at him and said, "I was just thinking about this trip and everything. I have to admit, I am kind of excited. Is that unusual?"
Harry smiled back and chuckled a little. "Well, maybe for you." Hermione gave him a stern look and a mock-gasp, but began laughing, knowing it was true. "But, it isn't really unusual. I think, in a way, we are all excited," Harry answered her.
Hermione turned back to look at the landscape and noticed that everything seemed to be getting darker. She looked to the left and saw the thick, overgrown trees ahead. "It looks like we'll be traveling in the woods for some time. Those trees seem to go on for awhile," Hermione said, noting the surroundings. She started to feel an eerie sense around herself and the trees seemed to give off an unwelcoming look. What if something tries to attack us out here? It is a very vulnerable spot, especially since none of us know what we are going to be up against.
She turned back to Harry, who was also looking out the window, and said, "Do you think we'll be alright?"
Harry shifted his gaze back to Hermione and put his arm around her shoulders. He gave her a light squeeze and stated, "I'm sure we will, and don't worry, I have your back. And look, Ron and Lavender are here too. And hopefully soon, we can teach Tyler and Claire a few of the things we read in those books."
Hermione nodded against his shoulder and looked up at him. He smiled sweetly at her and she couldn't help but feel all tingly inside. She felt as if she was being pulled into his eyes, never to be released again. She turned her head down before her feelings got the best of her and tried to relax. Neither had mentioned the kiss from earlier that day, and she just didn't know exactly what to say about it. Are we something more than friends? Did he want anything more? Do I want something more? Yes, yes, I do want something more. Should I say something?
Making up her mind, Hermione looked at Harry and opened her mouth, ready to ask him about the kiss.
Just then she saw Ron stand up, looking around, he said, "I'm hungry, how about lunch?"
Hermione sighed with relief. I will do it later; I have to do it later!
They all ate their sandwiches that the house-elves had prepared for them for their journey. They had meaningless conversation to the pass the time, and before they knew it, the sun was drifting off behind the horizon.
"I think we should go ahead and stop and set up camp before we loose the daylight completely," Hermione suggested. Everyone nodded their heads in compliance and Harry went up and pulled the reins on the horse, which made the carriage come to a rolling stop.
They all piled out of the carriage and pulled out their supplies. They had two tents, one for the guys and one for the girls.
Claire and Tyler exchanged looks with each other when they noticed the size of the tents. "Listen, I hate to say anything, but how in the hell are we all going to fit in those two tents? They barely sleep one, let alone three!" Tyler shouted, gesturing toward the tents that Harry and Hermione had put up magically.
Hermione smiled at them, remembering the summer before fourth year, at the Quidditch World Cup, when her and Harry had thought the same thing. "Well, how about you come and look inside first," Hermione said and she walked into the tent.
Claire shrugged and followed Hermione, and Tyler went with Harry and Ron into the guy's tent.
When Claire entered the tent she was amazed. Her mouth hung open at what she saw. It was as if she was standing in a three bedroom apartment. There was a hallway at the beginning, which led to a nice-sized kitchen and complete table and chairs that sat four. Through that room was another hallway, where four doors were located; three bedrooms and one bathroom at the end.
She was fascinated and utterly enthralled by the tent. She took a peek inside one of the bedrooms and was also astounded at what it held. There was a twin bed, nightstand, dresser and full mirror in the corner.
She emerged from the tent with a smile from ear to ear. Hermione saw this and chuckled. "I take it you like what you saw?" Hermione asked her. Claire could only nod her head in compliance. Words had now left her as the sight of the tent still lingered in her mind. Maybe this really won't be so bad after all!
She looked over and saw Tyler come out of his tent. He looked her way and walked over. "Did you see the size of that tent? Can you believe that? It's like magic…well wait, it is like magic!" Tyler said rambling because of his excitement. Claire could only nod again, still speechless.
Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Lavender, laughed out loud at the sight of the two.
"Alright, now how about dinner?" Ron asked and Hermione looked over at him.
"Is that all you think about?" she asked him, moving toward the bags to pull out more food.
"Well, what else is there to think about at seven o'clock at night?" Ron answered, giving Hermione a look that meant he was completely serious. She shook her head at Ron's antics and pulled out some pots and pans to cook up some dinner.
They all sat around the small fire they built. Ron was entertaining everyone with the funny story about how Fred and George left school for good.
Tyler was laughing hard, trying to picture the scene. Even though Claire had read it, she still laughed at Ron as he mimicked his twin brothers. Harry, Hermione and Lavender were also laughing as they remembered that day. When he was done, everyone sat back, staring intently into the fire.
"Well, I'm pretty tired, so I think I will go ahead and get to bed," Hermione said as she stood up.
"Yeah, I think we should all go ahead and get some rest. We have to be up early, because tomorrow I think we will reach our first task," Harry added to the group. They all stood and made their way into the separate tents, bidding each other a good night.
Claire, Lavender, and Hermione walked into their bedrooms. Claire walked into Hermione's room, to get a change of clothes. Hermione pulled out some from her suitcase and handed it to Claire.
"Here you go, Claire," Hermione said. Claire smiled and took the clothes. Just then Lavender came in and sat down on Hermione's bed.
"Hermione, do you have any idea what we are going to face tomorrow?" Lavender asked. Hermione could see the anxious look on her face and she felt guilty that Lavender had ended up in this situation. She wasn't used to this sort of thing, neither was Claire. Hermione was used to dangerous situations, you have to be used to it being Harry's friend.
She took a seat beside Lavender and Claire stood in front of them.
"Lavender, I really don't know, but Harry and I are going to read the book first thing tomorrow and try and find out something. I'm sure some kind of information has to be in there," Hermione tried to answer to reassure her friend.
"Well, I guess as long as we have the guys we'll be ok, right?" Claire said to both Hermione and Lavender.
"More like good thing they have us," Lavender stated sarcastically. Hermione and Claire laughed.
"Yeah, I can't tell you how many times Harry and Ron would have probably screwed themselves over if it wasn't for me. Guys don't think; they just rush right into things!" Hermione answered as a smile came to her face at all the times she had saved her best friend's asses.
"I can picture it now, us the heroes and the guys the damsel's in distress," Claire said and she, Lavender, and Hermione all got this dreamy expression as they all thought about this happening.
~*~Dream Sequence~*~
"Oh, please someone save us!" Harry screamed. He was in a blue vest with matching tights. His hands were bound above him in chains and Ron and Tyler were in the same fashion.
"Yes, please, I don't want to die!" Ron screamed as he wiggled his hands in the chains.
"Dear Lord, someone help!" Tyler shouted.
Suddenly a door open from the corner and a dark wizard came out from the shadows. He raised his hands and began laughing. "No one can save you now!" Part of the wall began to move and a huge dragon emerged.
Ron screamed as loud as he could (picture Ron screaming like a girl). Harry and Tyler began thrashing around in their chains.
Just then the door at the far wall swung open and Hermione slid in, followed by Claire and Lavender. They were clad in strong, metal armor and had menacing looks upon their faces. All had their swords drawn as they looked around.
"AH!" Tyler, Harry, and Ron screamed at once as they finally saw that their rescuers were there.
"Don't worry, we are here now! We will save you!" Hermione screamed. Hermione made her way over to the wizard and Lavender and Claire moved toward the dragon.
Hermione swung her sword, dodging the wizard's spells, and began battling with him. Lavender and Claire rolled out of the way of the fire the dragon spit out. They hid behind a rock as the dragon moved around, looking for its prey. Claire saw an opportunity and nodded to Lavender, who knew exactly what she meant. Lavender darted out; trying to avert the dragon's attention from Claire to her. It worked, and Claire made her move. She ducked underneath the dragon, and using all her might, thrust the sword into the dragon's stomach. The dragon swayed a bit, and then fell upon its side, dead.
Hermione dodged another curse and twisted around the wizard. She hit him hard in the back of the wizard and he fell forward down the black, endless tunnel.
They each looked at each other and ran to their "damsel's in distress." Hermione cut Harry's chains and he was free. Lavender and Claire repeated the process with Ron and Tyler.
"Thank you for saving me. I am now forever in your debt!" Harry said as he threw his arms around Hermione and gave her a long, sweet kiss.
"I knew you would come! You never let anything hurt me!" Tyler muttered in a high pitched voice. He too, gave Claire a kiss.
"My hero!" Ron exclaimed, burying his head in Lavender's shoulder.
Hemione, Lavender, and Claire looked at each other, and winked, smiling.
~*~ End Dream Sequence ~*~
Hermione, Lavender, and Claire were rolling on the floor from laughter at the dream they just had in their heads.
"Well, I feel a little better now that I had that laugh!" Lavender said as she moved off the bed.
"Yeah, me too!" Claire exclaimed.
"That's good," Hermione said. She watched as Lavender and Claire moved toward the door. "And guys just try and think good thoughts. We'll be ok, you'll see!" Hermione said and Lavender and Claire smiled at her as they departed for their own rooms.
Now I just have to convince myself of that!
Hermione jerked awake as she heard a loud, sharp, banging coming from outside. She reached for her wand, which was on the nightstand beside her bed, and raced out of the room. Lavender and Claire were right behind her.
"Hermione, what's going on?" Claire asked as they walked toward the opening of the tent.
Hermione shook her head, but turned around and put a finger to her lips. She pushed open the door and walked out. She looked over and saw that Harry, Ron, and Tyler were also making their way out of the tent.
Harry had an intense look on his face and his wand was out in front of him. He looked over at Hermione and she shrugged. They stood there, listening for the sound again.
Silence filled the air as they all stood motionless. They all jumped when the loud thumping began again.
Hermione noticed that it was coming from the compartment in the carriage. It was the one that Dumbledore said only they could open with the password. They walked uneasily toward it and Hermione got close to Harry.
"How could something be in there? Dumbledore said it as locked," Hermione whispered to Harry.
"I don't know," Harry answered as they stood staring at the door. The loud hammering could be heard again and they also could hear the muffled yells for help coming from the other side.
"Should we open it?" Ron asked, standing beside Harry. His wand was also drawn.
"What if it's something that could hurt us?" Hermione added.
"I guess there is only one way to see, right?" Harry added and he walked closer to the door. "Golden Snitch," he muttered and the door slowly opened.
Hermione peered through the opening and could only see darkness. The six of them stood their anxiously awaiting to see what would emerge out of the compartment. Could it be a dementor, death eater, what could it be? Hermione's mind was racing, as were everyone else's as they thought about what could come through the door, but what emerged was more of a shock then anything they could have dreamed of.
A young girl, with flaming red hair stepped out from the cell and stood in front of them. Her hair was a mess and it looked like she was in there for a few days. She eyed them warily and Hermione could see that her cheeks were awfully red.
"Ginny!?!" Ron screamed as he moved next to his sister. "What in the bloody hell are yo…," Ron started to say, but he stopped when another person emerged from the room.
They all stood in shock as they took in who they were looking at. Hermione's eyes were as wide as saucers. She couldn't believe it. First Ginny, now….! What was going on?
As if on cue Hermione, Lavender, Claire, Tyler, Harry and Ron all shouted, "MALFOY!!!"
Sorry for the cliffhanger! Hope you liked this chapter though! Now, you know the drill: REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!