Author's Note: Well, okay, so this little break of mine didn't result in as much writing time as I hoped it would. Moving to a new house kind of cuts into that time, not to mention all the problems I've been having with my dang computer, but I've got a chapter for you and that's all that counts. God only knows when I'll update again. Maybe if I had a release date, I'd use that as my deadline to finish the fic, like with MoL! =P
CHAPTER TWELVE
A FROSTY TRIP
Going back to Hogwarts seemed like a relief to Harry after his row with Ron. With September lst only a few days away, Harry's mood picked up considerably after spending several days brooding over what Ron had said to him. He kept going over what Ron had said again and again in his head, wondering if he was right. Did Harry truly manipulate him into thinking that he cared for Hermione as nothing than a sister instead of as something more?
Hermione tried her best to cheer him up, especially since Ron wasn't talking to her, either. She stayed in his room with him during the day while he stared listlessly out his window at the Weasley's garden. She even helped him when he decided to volunteer to de-gnome the garden, after he spied a few gnomes hopping over the fence to get into it.
Overall, she was being very patient with him and he couldn't have asked for more.
In the garden, Harry finally decided to tell her what he and Ron had argued about. She listened to him intently before finally asking him, "Do you feel you manipulated him?"
"No. I thought I was helping him-helping both of you," he said. "Okay, so maybe I didn't want you two getting together, but if he truly did fancy you and wanted to pursue a relationship with you, I wasn't going to stand in the way."
"But you determined that he truly didn't fancy me," she said.
"I asked him how he felt about you and his response was…not even remotely romantic," Harry told her.
She laughed. "Since when has Ron ever been remotely romantic?"
"Tell me you're not taking his side."
She stood up, swung a gnome she had just caught around and around, before releasing it over the fence. "I'm with you, Harry. But Ron is a friend and I want to know how to help him get over this."
"He said that he was grateful to you and willing to do anything to help you. Even for Ron, that's nowhere near romantic."
"Is that what he said?" When he nodded, she crouched back down into the garden. "I agree with you. I think he's very confused as to how he actually feels." She gazed over at him. "How do you feel about me, Harry?"
His face slowly broke into a smile. "You've been by my side since first year. You're always there for me, even when I don't want you to be. In fact, you've become the voice of reason inside my head. To put it simply, I'd be lost without you." He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her lips.
When Harry chucked the last gnome out of the garden, he and Hermione walked back towards the Burrow hand-in-hand. They both decided to see what Ginny was up to, so they went inside and looked for her. When Hermione knocked on her bedroom door, there was a short, "Come in," before Hermione pushed it open.
Ginny was sitting on her bed, reading a piece of parchment. She glanced up and smiled as the two entered. "Oh, hey, you two lovebirds."
Harry blushed and let go of Hermione's hand, realizing that he was still holding it. "Hi. Er-what're you reading?" he asked, gesturing to the parchment.
This time Ginny blushed. "It's nothing."
He glanced sideways at Hermione. "Nothing?"
"Yes," she said, stuffing the parchment underneath her pillow.
Hermione sat down on her bed while Harry leaned back into one of the corners of her room. "Really?" he asked, amused.
"Harry," Hermione scolded, rolling her eyes at him. "If Ginny doesn't want to tell us, then she doesn't have to, even though we would never tell anyone."
He grinned at her, deciding that dating a smart girl was definitely the best thing a guy could do.
Ginny frowned at both of them. "Well…" she murmured, taking the piece of parchment back out from underneath her pillow. "It's just embarrassing, that's all. I never expected it."
"What?" Hermione asked, her tone both concerned and curious.
Ginny waved the parchment in front of them. "Neville Longbottom sent me a letter today."
Hermione glanced at Harry with glee in her eyes, which she quickly masked before turning back to Ginny. "He did? What did he say?"
Ginny thrust the letter at her. "Here," she said, "read it."
Hermione took the letter and smoothed it out before reading aloud: "Dear Ginny, I hope that your summer has been good, or as good as it could have been, all things considered. I can't imagine it's been all that great. I just wanted to let you know that I sort of know what it feels like to lose a family member and that, well, if you ever wanted to talk about it while we're at Hogwarts, I'd be more than willing to. I mean, I would also understand why you wouldn't, because who wants to keep thinking about such things, and I guess we aren't really all that close, but if you wanted to talk about it, I'm willing to listen. See you at Hogwarts! Sincerely, Neville."
Ginny stared at her. "So?"
"So what?" Hermione asked, handing the letter back to her.
"So what do you think?" Ginny asked.
She gave a little shrug. "It's awfully sweet of him to write you a letter like that, offering whatever help he can."
"Yeah, I thought so too."
"He's a good guy-an excellent friend," Hermione said. "There's a lot more to Neville Longbottom than most people think."
Ginny looked down at the letter before turning to Harry. "What do you think?"
He blinked. "Me?"
"No, the other guy with the glasses standing in the corner of my room. Yes, you!"
"Er-as much as I fought it when trying to get over Cedric, Sirius, and the events of last year, talking to someone helped me a lot," he replied. "It means a lot more, too, when it's somebody who understands what you're going through. Neville understands loss. He lost both of his parents when the Lestranges tortured them into insanity."
The three of them were silent for a long time before Ginny finally spoke again. "I suppose I had better write him back."
Hermione smiled. "Yes, why don't you? Harry," she said as she got up, indicating that they should leave Ginny alone.
"Hey Harry?" Ginny asked before they stepped out the door.
"Yeah?"
"How about some Quidditch practice after I'm done?" she asked.
He nodded. "Sounds good. Actually, I could use Hermione's help with something really quick before we get started."
"Okay. See you outside."
"Right," he murmured as he and Hermione stepped out of her room.
"Help with what?" Hermione asked him as they started towards Fred and George's old room.
"The Phoenix," Harry replied. "When Ron and I tested it originally, he told me that I should try to find a better Cushioning Charm, so I was hoping that you possibly knew of one or knew where to find out about one."
"You want me to help you improve your broom? The broom that your father intended to make with Sirius and Lupin?" She looked positively flattered. "I'd love to."
He smiled brightly at her. "Thanks. I've actually been hoping to use it to play Quidditch this season, provided it works as well as the tests seemed to indicate."
"You followed the blueprints to the letter, didn't you?" When he nodded, she said, "Then I'm sure it works well. Sirius, Lupin, and your father would have researched everything. They were quite brilliant."
Praise like that from Hermione, especially towards the antics of the Marauders, was very rare. A huge rush of emotion engulfed Harry for a brief moment, causing him to reach over and hug her to him, privately mourning all that he had lost before he released her and his sorrow along with it.
*****
Harry practiced on his Firebolt while Hermione spent the last few days before their return to Hogwarts searching all of her schoolbooks and Harry's books on Quidditch.
"There are some excellent Cushioning Charms out there for broomsticks," she told him, "but they're all patented. You'd have to pay a huge fee in order to use it on the Phoenix."
Harry brushed his sweaty bangs away from his eyes. He had just returned from another practice with Ginny. He was already in a foul mood as he had spotted Ron watching them wistfully from his bedroom window. He wanted the git to join them, but he knew that Ron's pride would get in the way.
"How much of a fee are we talking about?" he asked her.
"Anywhere between five to ten thousand Galleons," she told him meekly.
He stared at her. "Five to ten thousand," he repeated. "Damn."
"I know," she murmured.
"I could actually afford that," Harry said quietly.
Her eyes widened. "Harry!" she scolded.
"I'm not going to buy one," he assured her. "I was hoping that maybe you and I could work together to…make our own?"
"Make our own Cushioning Charm?" she asked him, surprised.
"Yeah. I mean, with your brains and my willingness to test just about anything, I'm sure we could come up with something," he told her.
She laughed suddenly. "We'll turn into Fred and George."
"Well, I'm sure they'd be delighted if you suddenly decided you wanted to aid them in their research and development of new products," Harry teased.
"But we're not after something that will humiliate another person, are we? We out to better something that will make a broom ride much more comfortable," she said.
"So you're in?" he asked.
"Why not?" she said, shrugging. "I sent in the petitions for house-elf rights towards the middle of June and haven't heard anything back yet. I could use something to distract me from the disappointment."
"D'you mean to tell me that you haven't been writing the Ministry every week?" Harry asked, feigning shock.
She shook her head in mild amusement. "We're in the middle of a war, Harry. As much as I want house-elves to gain rights, I understand that the Ministry's main focus is on defeating Voldemort."
"In other words, you've settled on writing them every month," Harry said.
"Precisely."
They laughed appreciatively for several moments before calming down. Harry looked out at the sky as the sun began to set. "We're going back to Hogwarts tomorrow."
She walked over to him and rested her chin on his shoulder. "You're going back home tomorrow."
He smiled. "One last year."
"And it will be the best yet," she said.
"I hope so." He turned around so that she was wrapped in his arms. "It's going to be hard, keeping us a secret."
"It's what you want."
"Yeah, it is." He didn't even want to think about what Voldemort would do to her if he discovered her elevated status in Harry's life.
"We'll act like we always do. It's not like I haven't grabbed your arm before, or given you a hug," she said.
Looking back, those were some rather fond memories for Harry, even though Hermione's grip could be quite painful. When she saw the grin on his face, she poked him in the chest playfully. "What?"
"Nothing," he murmured. "Just reminiscing."
"Mind sharing?"
His grin grew even wider. "Yeah, I do."
She rolled her eyes at him before they heard Mrs. Weasley yell up the stairs, "Dinner's ready, you lot! Come down here!"
"I'll get it out of you later," she promised as they both walked towards the door, laughing.
The next morning was hectic. Harry double-checked to make sure that everything was in his trunk before heading downstairs to the kitchen, where Mrs. Weasley had made a large breakfast for them.
"Does anyone want me to make them a corned beef sandwich to eat on the train? Ron?" Mrs. Weasley asked, bustling around the kitchen.
"No," Ron said. It was the first word he had said at the table all morning, but he quickly went back to his eggs and said no more.
"Ginny? Harry? Hermione?" she asked.
"No, thanks, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said with Hermione quickly echoing him.
"I doubt I'll be very hungry on the train, Mum," Ginny said.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Mum."
Mrs. Weasley sighed. "Alright," she murmured and sat down at last.
"The Ministry is sending us cars to travel to King's Cross in," Mr. Weasley told them. "Dumbledore got the Ministry to let Tonks and Kingsley to escort us. Bill and Charlie said that they would be by too."
"Is everyone packed and ready to go?" Mrs. Weasley asked them. When the four students nodded, she said, "Good, but when you're done, I want you to go upstairs and check your rooms one last time."
"I also heard that the Ministry is posting four Aurors on the Hogwarts Express for the ride to Hogwarts," Mr. Weasley went on.
"Will there be any at Hogwarts this year as well?" Hermione asked him.
"After last year's fiasco, Dumbledore isn't too inclined to let other people in," Mr. Weasley replied.
"Any idea which Aurors will be on the train?" Harry asked.
"Nope," Mr. Weasley said. "Not my department."
Harry went back to his food. As long as there wasn't anybody like Joaquin Crow on the train with them, he would be happy.
When Bill and Charlie arrived at the Burrow, they quickly helped everyone with getting their trunks down the stairs. With a simple wave of their wands, all four trunks floated down the stairs in front of its owner.
"Why none of you thought of this is beyond me," Bill said with a grin.
"Because Ron and Harry can be a bit thick at times and don't think about how it's actually legal for them to use magic now," Ginny told her eldest brother, also grinning.
Bill chuckled. "So, have you passed for Apparition test yet, Harry?"
"Er-no. I haven't taken it yet," Harry replied.
"You haven't?" Charlie said, joining in on the conversation.
He shook his head. "I decided to wait for the test in October."
"You'll be taking it then, too, won't you, Ron?" Charlie asked.
"Yeah," Ron muttered.
"How about you, Hermione?" Bill asked.
"October as well," she told him.
"Great! I can't wait to hear how all of you do, especially you, Ron," said Bill.
"Why me?" Ron asked grumpily.
Bill raised his eyebrows. "Because you're my little brother."
"Not so little anymore," Charlie said with a grin. "He's been taller than Fred and George for years now."
"Fred and George never got the height advantage some of us did," Bill said.
Harry smirked at this. Never before had he heard anyone tease Fred and George. It was always Fred and George that teased others.
"Hey, Harry, Mum told us about your accomplishment. Congratulations on becoming Head Boy," Bill went on. "I can't even remember the last time a Quidditch captain became Head Boy."
"I can," Charlie said. "It was his dad back in the 1977/1978 school year. Gryffindor won the Cup that year."
"It figures that you would remember something like that, Charlie," Ginny said, laughing at her older brother. "Besides Ron, you're the only one in our family that follows Quidditch with a passion."
Ron didn't comment on this; instead he was looking extremely huffy as he walked out of the house and into the yard.
Hermione cleared her throat. "Any idea how soon Tonks and Kingsley will arrive?"
"Very soon," Bill said. "We better get these trunks outside so that we can leave the moment they arrive."
Not two minutes after all of them walked outside did two black cars pull up next to the Burrow, their windows tinted so that it was pretty much impossible to see inside it.
"Why two cars?" Harry wondered out loud.
"We're splitting you up," Mr. Weasley said, coming to Harry's side. "Ron and Harry, you'll be in the first car with Molly, Charlie, and Tonks. Ginny and Hermione, you'll be in the second car with Bill, Kingsley, and me."
Ron didn't look happy about their traveling arrangements at all, but grunted just the same and took his trunk to the first car before getting in. Harry quickly followed.
When everyone was settled into the appropriate cars, they took off. Harry tapped his foot on the floor, feeling slightly anxious because of the silence that permeated the car. Finally, Tonks, who was sporting short, raspberry colored hair, asked cheerfully, "Anyone want to sing a song as we drive to London?"
Ron groaned slightly as he stared out the window. Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat and said kindly, "Sorry, dear, but-erm-the Weasley family isn't quite known for their wonderful singing skills."
"Oh, well, that's okay. How about a game?" Tonks asked.
"Erm-"
"What do you have in mind?" Charlie asked.
"I dunno. I Spy, perhaps?"
"It's probably better than singing Ninety-Nine Bottles of Butterbeer on the Wall," Charlie said, "so why not?"
"Great!" Tonks said happily. "I'll start!" She looked around. "I spy with my little eye something…red."
Ron let out a low groan again.
Harry stared out of his window at the countryside. He wished he could pass the time by talking to Ron, but that wasn't possible. Heck, he wished he could join in Tonks's game, but he thought it was better that he didn't. Mrs. Weasley seemed quite intent on stopping it anyway, with the way she kept glaring at Charlie, who continued on the game.
He wished he could be back in Hermione's car. Of course, Mr. Weasley was there, probably pummeling Hermione with questions about Muggles, satisfying his never-ending obsession with them. Still though, he'd rather endure Mr. Weasley's questioning with Hermione than he would Ron's anger at him.
He didn't know what to do about Ron. He was positive there was nothing he could do or say that would make Ron be his friend again. He hoped that time would heal all wounds and that Ron would eventually come around, but he doubted it. Ron could be very stubborn and held onto grudges for a long time. To Harry, it was a rather hopeless situation.
Eventually they made it to London and to King's Cross Station. Kingsley went off quickly to find them trolleys for their trunks. Tonks stood by Harry with her hand resting on the wand in her pocket, trying to look casual, as Bill and Charlie helped unload the trunks from the boot of the cars. The moment Kingsley arrived back with the trolleys, Harry placed Hedwig, who was safely in her cage, in the basket before helping Tonks lift his trunk onto the trolley.
"You have a good term, okay Harry?" she said, giving him a smile.
"I'll try," he said.
"I'm sure we'll hear about you," she added with a wink, letting him step past her so that he could steer the trolley.
"Only if Dumbledore likes to talk about me."
She laughed. "Not from Dumbledore, silly-Remus! He's always very proud of you."
Harry felt his cheeks burn red, but smiled just the same. Part of him liked knowing that Lupin expressed pride in Harry. Since Sirius died, Lupin was the last true connection Harry had to his parents.
The group marched into King's Cross with Kingsley in the lead. Tonks dropped back to the rear as Bill took her place beside Harry. He grinned at Harry as they walked down to platforms nine and ten.
"Good luck this year, Harry," Bill said to him as they reached the barrier to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. "I'm sure you'll make one hell of a Head Boy."
"Thanks, Bill," he replied.
As he walked past Bill and over to where Hermione was standing with her trolley, Charlie whispered in his ear, "Kick Slytherin's butt in Quidditch this year."
"Always do," he whispered back and then took his place next to Hermione.
"Okay, I want Ron and Ginny to through the barrier first," Mr. Weasley said, trying to keep his voice down. "After that, Harry will be accompanied by Kingsley and Molly and I will escort Hermione. Bill-Charlie, go with Ron and Ginny. Then Tonks will go through last."
"Four people through the barrier at once is no easy trick," Bill said as he and Charlie quickly walked over to the barrier, closely followed by Ron and Ginny, who were pushing their trolleys.
"Very well, then. Bill, you go with Ginny and Charlie can go with Ron. But make it quick," Mr. Weasley implored.
"Can do. Let's go, Ginny," Bill said, grabbing hold of her trolley. They both leaned back against the wall…and suddenly they disappeared without anyone noticing.
"You're next, Ron," Mrs. Weasley said from beside her son. "Quick, go with Charlie."
Ron and Charlie waited next to the barrier and a moment later they too were gone.
"Harry, time to go," Kingsley said to Harry and walked with him to the barrier. Harry took a deep breath and, turning his trolley to face the barrier, he walked right through it with Kingsley hot on his heels.
He waited on the other side of the barrier until Hermione and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley joined them, and they waited long enough for Tonks to cross the barrier too. Then, they all turned and faced the steaming red locomotive that was the Hogwarts Express.
Harry couldn't help but grin.
Students and their parents crowded the platform. Lots of them were saying good-bye while still more were rushing off to find their friends to see how summer had changed them. Harry looked around and spotted Colin and Dennis Creevey, along with Lavender Brown and her little brother Dylan, who was searching the crowd feverishly for his friends. When he saw Harry, he waved at him. Harry gave a short wave back before continuing on. Standing with her parents was Siobhan Cassidy, the younger sister of one of Joaquin Crow's victims.
Harry scowled next when he saw the figure of Draco Malfoy standing aloof and away from the train. It was hard to read the expression on the seventh year Slytherin's face, although even from a distance Harry could tell that his gray eyes seemed duller than usual.
"You lot better go find a place to sit on the train," Mrs. Weasley advised. "But join us again after you do."
Bill and Charlie went with them to help load their trunks. Hermione and Ginny quickly found and empty compartment and the four of them lifted their trunks up onto the racks above the seats, setting Hedwig, Pigwidgeon, Crookshanks, and Giles with them. Then they quickly departed the train to say their final good-byes.
Mrs. Weasley hugged her children fiercely. "Be safe. Look after each other. Study hard."
"Win the Quidditch Cup and owl me immediately if Hagrid ever gets himself a new dragon," Charlie added.
"Just have a good year," Mr. Weasley finished, also giving his children a hug.
Mrs. Weasley turned from Ron and Ginny to Harry and Hermione. "The same goes for you two. Be especially careful, Harry." She hugged both of them.
"Don't worry, I will be," Harry assured her. Every time he tried to tell people that, however, he always felt like he was lying to them. Hopefully he really wasn't.
They finished saying their good-byes when the whistled sounded for the train. "You better get on, quick!" Mrs. Weasley said. "Ron-Ginny, make sure you write home! I'll worry if I don't hear from you!"
Both Ron and Ginny turned a good shade of red as they boarded the train, but Ginny did yell back a promise that she would. Ron just merely nodded at her and waved as the second whistle sounded and the train started to move.
"Good-bye!" they heard Mrs. Weasley shouting. "Good luck! Have a safe term!"
They waved back to her and the rest of them out the window until the train had rounded a corner and they no longer could see her. When Harry made a move to head to the compartment they had picked out, Hermione's arm darted out to stop him.
"Harry, we have to go to the prefect's meeting. We're supposed to run it," she reminded him.
"Oh, right," he murmured. He slipped the badge out of his pocket and pinned it to his shirt. "Erm-"
"Hey guys!" said Neville cheerfully as he walked down the train towards them, his trunk in tow and Trevor in his hand.
"Hi Neville," they greeted.
"Harry, you're Head Boy? Congratulations," he said, gesturing to the badge on Harry's chest. "I guess that means you've got to go with Ron and Hermione."
"Er-yeah."
"Leaving me all alone," Ginny said. "Do you have a place to sit, Neville?"
"Er-no, not yet," he said.
"You can join me then," she said.
His face turned pink. "That would be g-g-great," he stammered.
She smiled at him and then turned back to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "I guess we'll see you after your big important meeting."
"Yeah, see you," Hermione said, smiling as Ginny led Neville to their compartment. "Let's get to the front of the train, shall we? We've got a meeting to get to."
Ron took the lead as Harry became very nervous. He and Hermione had taken a look at the list that Dumbledore had provided each of them to discuss during the meeting, but Harry was unsure that he possessed enough leadership abilities for the prefects to follow him. After all, he had never been a prefect-just a Quidditch captain. Did prefects respect Quidditch captains?
Ron punched the button to open the door of the first car on the train. To his surprise, he could see that the first car was not broken into any compartments. It was like a dining car on a normal train-wide open. All of the prefects sat around, waiting for the meeting to begin.
When the door opened, Harry could hear the conversation already taking place.
"-who the new Head Boy is?" Ernie Macmillan was wondering. "I mean, we all have to know that Hermione Granger is Head Girl, but none of us were selected to be Head Boy!" He looked over at Ron as he entered the car. "And Ron isn't either! Who is it, then?"
Hermione stepped in, followed by Harry.
"Hi Hermione," Ernie greeted and then stared at Harry. "What are you doing in here, Harry?"
"Do you not see the badge, Lumpy?" said Pansy Parkinson. "Potter is the new Head Boy."
Everyone stared at Harry. "Head Boy?" Ernie gasped.
Ron plopped down next to the other Gryffindor prefects as Hermione walked quickly to the middle of the car.
"Let's begin the meeting, shall we? We've got a lot to discuss. First off, I'd like to welcome our nine new prefects, including my own replacement, Parvati Patil-"
"Why are you the Head Boy?" Ernie asked, looking rather put out. "You weren't even a prefect!"
"One doesn't have to be a prefect to be either the Head Boy or Head Girl," Hermione snapped.
"Katie Bell," Luna said airily from where she was sitting alone.
"Yeah, but, she wasn't a Quidditch captain and she was fairly studious!" Ernie defended. "Potter's already captain of the Gryffindor team and-"
"Don't you get it?" came a drawling voice from the corner of the car. Malfoy was sitting there, staring out the window. "Potter got the badge because he's Dumbledore's pet."
Harry glared at Malfoy and then glanced down at Ron, who was looking highly amused by this interchange.
Hermione had folded her arms across her chest and was tapping her foot impatiently. "Harry was not chosen as a favorite of Dumbledore's," she said heatedly. "He is an excellent leader, which is what we all need in a time like this. Perhaps you remember, Ernie, how he helped you perfect your Disarming Spells?"
Ernie's face reddened.
"We're in a war here," Hermione said fiercely, "and Harry is the only one our age who has met Voldemort and lived to tell the tale! Who else would you want being Head Boy?"
After the initial cringing of the use of Voldemort's name, there was a murmur of assent, causing Hermione to smirk. "So can we finally get started?" Ernie sighed in defeat and nodded. "Good." She took out her list, causing Harry to fumble for his. "The first order of business we need to attend to is knowing what exactly is being planned for this year.
"Dumbledore and the other professors will be announcing tonight the activities planned for this year, but they're taking one away from last year. The Boys versus Girls Quidditch Match."
Ron looked up at her, alarmed. Even Harry had to frown. He knew about it, of course, but he still didn't like it. He actually enjoyed the exhibition match the previous year, even though he had lost.
"Anything else?" Anthony Goldstein asked.
"They're adding a Mentorship Day for the first, second, sixth, and seventh years. The Yule Ball will also be returning, but I'm sure all of us already knew about that." She shrugged. "All of this, of course, is to strengthen the bonds between the Houses and to make Hogwarts seem as normal as possible."
"Normal by wizarding standards, you mean?" said Padma Patil, grinning.
"Yes," Hermione said, obviously attempting not to roll her eyes. "Now, on to the next order of business…" She looked over hopefully at Harry.
Harry jumped forward and cleared his throat. "Er-Hogsmeade visits this year will unfortunately be fewer are farther between. When they do occur, the Ministry will be dispatching Aurors to supposedly help protect us." Then he added for his own grim satisfaction, "Hopefully none of them are Death Eaters in disguise."
The others shifted uncomfortably.
"But yeah," Harry mumbled, recovering, "the third thing we have to deal with is-" He glanced over at Hermione, hoping that he was doing things correctly. "-setting up meeting times."
"For the last two years we've been meeting every other Monday," Ernie told him. "Do we want to change that?"
Most of them muttered a negative and Harry shrugged. "Every other Monday it is then." He then backed up to let Hermione take control again.
"Fourthly, as always, I need one prefect from each House to volunteer to escort the first years to their common room." Her gaze landed on Ron, who looked away and slouched in his seat.
"I'll volunteer for Ravenclaw," Luna said, raising her hand.
Graham Pritchard, one of the new Slytherin prefects, raised his hand to volunteer for Slytherin. Ernie Macmillan volunteered for Hufflepuff. Hermione turned expectantly towards her fellow Gryffindors.
"I'll lead them, Hermione," said a girl that Harry didn't know. She had straight dark brown hair and eyes that contrasted heavily against her pale skin.
"Thank you, Druantia," Hermione said.
"Now, onto the final order of business," she continued on, "I've taken the liberty to write down the passwords for each of the common rooms. Harry, if you'd pass them out please?" Harry grabbed the four pieces of paper from her hand and quickly set off to give them to a member of each House. "Please share the password with other prefects in your House and then, when we get to Hogwarts, to the other members themselves. Also, please note that on Halloween, as a security measure, these passwords will become null as Professor Dumbledore will personally give each dormitory a new password. He'll notify the prefects of each House as to what the new password is."
She looked around. "So, any questions?"
"Yeah," said Malfoy snidely. "How many of these stupid meetings can we skip so that we won't have to look at your face?"
Harry, who was just about to hand Slytherin's password over to Pritchard, instead balled it up and threw it hard at Malfoy, happy when it bounced off of his head and onto the floor.
"I see Professor Dumbledore made an excellent choice for Head Boy," said another, colder, voice from the doorway.
Harry whirled around and felt his eye twitch immediately. Standing in front of three other Aurors, was Mara Frost, the Auror that Harry had believed to be the person behind the murders during the previous school year. The woman who hated his mother.
Little had changed in her appearance since the last time Harry had seen her. Her dark blonde hair was still short and her blue eyes were still just as chilly, like ice chips. A shiver ran down Harry's spine as he stared at her defiantly.
"Potter," she greeted.
"Frost," he returned.
One of the Aurors behind her cleared his throat. She rolled her eyes. "These are my associates, Murdoch-" She gestured to the man that had cleared his throat. "-Timmons-" This time she gestured to a witch with auburn hair. "-and Hornby." A man with rimless glasses nodded to them. "We're here on orders from Minister Amelia Bones herself."
"So I've heard," Harry muttered. "Can we help you?"
"We're checking all of the compartments to make sure that there isn't anyone or anything that shouldn't be on this train," Frost said. "Perhaps you'd like to be checked first, Potter?"
"For what?" he asked her.
"Illegal devices," she said and held up her wand. "Come here."
"Are you checking all of the students?"
"No," she said sarcastically. "Just the ones with scars."
He could hear a few of the Slytherins snickering behind him. "Fine," he muttered, stepping forward. "I'll submit myself for a frisking…but not by you."
She gestured the one named Murdoch forward. "Check him. The rest of you, line up." When they all stared at her, her eyes narrowed. "NOW!"
Murdoch's wand passed over Harry like a metal detector and when it found nothing, he was moved along while the other prefects and Hermione were searched. Nothing was found. Finally, Frost and the other Aurors stepped out of the car, on their way to search other students.
Harry straightened his shirt before glancing at Hermione.
"Er-right," she muttered. "Meeting adjourned!"
The prefects, feeling rather hassled, all got to their feet and headed towards the door so that they could join their friends. Harry and Hermione were two of the last to leave with Ron right behind them.
"I can't believe that Frost cow is on this train," Harry said savagely as they traveled from car to car, heading back to the one that Ginny and Neville were in.
Luna was standing in the middle of the next car they entered, looking rather lost. Harry cautiously moved to join her.
"Luna? You okay?"
"Huh?" she asked, turning her usual dazed face towards him. "Oh, yes, I'm fine. I just can't seem to find a place to sit. Everywhere is full."
"Ginny and Neville are reserving a compartment for us. Would you care to join us?" he asked her.
"Really? Oh, that would be nice," she said, smiling. Then she looked behind him. "Hi, Ronald."
"Er-hey, Luna," he mumbled.
"Come on," Harry said. "It's not that far away."
Harry led the way to the next car, chatting with Hermione and Luna as he did so. Then, as he pulled open the door to the compartment they were in, Hermione jumped and gave an "Oh" of surprise.
Harry turned back just in time to see both Ginny and Neville leap back in their seats, their faces both red. Ginny looked rather embarrassed while Neville looked terrified, staring at Ron.
Harry afforded himself one glance back at Ron to confirm his suspicion. Ron's face was redder than his hair and he looked like he was about to breathe out smoke.
He stepped forward. "What the bloody hell was happening here?" he asked dangerously.
"I…we…er-I…Ginny…I…" Neville gulped.
"It's none of your business," Ginny said, scooting over to let the others sit down. "Neville and I were just talking."
"Talking?" Ron shrieked. "That didn't look like talking to me!"
"Well, it sort of evolved into something else," Ginny muttered.
Neville seemed to be trying to push himself farther and farther into his seat. "Ron, I'm really, really, really, s-"
"Oh, don't apologize to the prat," Ginny told him. "He can't seem to handle people getting into relationships at the moment."
Neville blinked in surprise and stared at her, dazed. "Relationships?"
Ginny nodded. "Didn't you admit to me that you fancied me?"
"Well, yeah-"
"And we kissed, right?"
"Er-yeah-"
"Then I'd say we just started a relationship," Ginny said, smiling at him, "because I think you're a sweetheart and would like nothing more than to be your girlfriend."
Neville's jaw dropped, as did Ron's. Hermione jumped into the compartment, grinning. "Oh, this is wonderful."
Luna quickly joined them, followed by Harry. Ron, however, stayed in the doorway.
"Aren't you coming in, Ronald?" Luna asked him.
Ron scowled. "I'm surrounded by bloody traitors."
Harry's mood suddenly jumped from that of jovial to raging inferno. "Nobody in here is a bloody traitor," he growled.
"Oh, shut up, Harry," Ron spat.
"What about what you said after Ginny and Justin broke up?" Harry challenged. "You told Neville that you trust him more than you've trusted all of her other boyfriends and that you know that he'd never deliberately hurt her!"
"Yeah, but I never thought he'd work up the courage to actually ask her out!" Ron said. "And besides, I didn't think she'd accept even if he did, what with our brother just dying and all!"
Ginny jumped up, looking like she could smack him, but Harry held her back. "Don't, Ginny. He's just bitter."
"Bitter? Bitter? Who says I'm bitter?" Ron asked, eying Harry. "I'm not bitter, no! I just been betrayed, that's all."
Harry shook his head in exasperation. "Again with the being betrayed! You weren't betrayed, Ron! Nobody has betrayed you."
"Hark who's talking! Gone behind anyone's back lately, Harry?" he said, scowling.
"I don't know. Have I?" Harry replied, stepping closer to the redhead.
"You sure have. What you did was low. Very low. It would be low by even Malfoy's standards!"
Harry's jaw was set and it took everything in him not to grab Ron by the shirtfront and slam him into the wall. "And your stupidity is currently more pathetic than either Crabbe or Goyle's."
Ron's self control was obviously not as strong as Harry's. At that moment, he snapped and pushed Harry hard, knocking him back against the window. Before Harry could retaliate, both Hermione and Ginny jumped up, the former grabbing Harry and the latter knocked Ron into the doorframe before forcing him to sit down.
"You…you…you're a piece of Blast-Ended Skrewt dung and serve no better purpose in life than to be Dolores Umbridge's love slave!" she shrieked at him. "You're lucky that you're my brother and that I love you because I'm really tempted to shove some bat bogeys down your throat."
His shoulders slumped and he sat back in his seat, glowering at all of them. Then he slumped down into his seat some more and started to examine his fingernails, scowling. Luna scooted over next to him and held out her copy of The Quibbler.
"Do you want to read it?" she asked.
He glanced up at her and then went back to looking at his fingernails, completely ignoring her.
Harry sighed as Hermione still held him back. "I'm fine," he murmured to her and sat back down.
"Harry-"
"I'm fine!" he said testily and then instantly regretted it. "Sorry."
"It's okay," she said quietly. "Let's just try to get through the rest of this ride without any more incidents, okay?"
He smiled at her. "Okay."
Hermione pulled out her copy of the Daily Prophet. After all the excitement of the morning, followed up by the prefect's meeting and the altercation between Harry and Ron, she hadn't had the time to read it. Harry rubbed his eyes as she opened up the paper and read the front page. Suddenly, she let out a gasp and whispered, "Oh my God."
Harry went on high alert. "What is it?" he asked her.
"There's been a death," she said as the entire compartment settled into silence to listen to her. "A very terrible death."
"Who?" Harry asked her urgently.
She turned the Prophet towards him so that everyone could see the leading headline.
MEMBER OF THE BRITISH MUGGLE ROYALTY DEAD. DEATH EATERS SUSPECTED TO BE INVOLVED.