I'm sorry, I don't know why but somehow the last chapter got cut off and I didn't realize it until it was too late, I don't own Harry Potter and here's the rest of what was supposed to have been up already
Too soon for Harry's liking, they arrived at King's Cross and before Harry could say anything, everyone else rushed through the barrier and onto platform nine and three quarters, leaving him and Ron stuck on the other side, though Ron didn't know it yet. Before Harry could figure out a way to warn his friend, the young red head rushed as quickly as he could towards the wall. But since Harry was carrying both of their trunks, Ron didn't have anything to break his impact against the wall and he nearly cracked his head open. As it was, he almost bounced away from the wall and fell on the ground. Harry rushed over to him and tried to help him up as muggles gathered around them, trying to see if the strange boy was okay.
"He's fine! It was just a dare!" Harry called out to the onlookers and several people, mostly women, rolled their eyes and Harry heard quite a few murmurs of "boys!" from any of the younger girls in the crowd. Meanwhile, Ron was regaining his senses and a look of fear appeared on his face,
"Harry! We can't get through the barrier! The train's going to leave without us!" he yelped as Harry thought.
Much to his embarrassment, he had not remembered this part of his second year until just before Ron ran into the wall. He bit his lip and began to think, what had Mrs. Weasley yelled in that howler so long ago? He glanced at the barrier out of the corner of his eye and blinked and turned to look at it straight on. He frowned and tried looking at it out of the corner of his eye again, and there it was!
As he looked at the wall indirectly he could see two sorts of glowing, one was a deep blue but there was a strange web of brown overlaying it. He frowned and moved towards the wall, keeping his eyes unfocused slightly so he could still see the colors. Tentatively he reached out and pushed against the wall and watched as the brown web moved to keep him out. Harry narrowed his eyes and before he knew what he was doing, he reached a sort of mental hand out to move the web until it began to stretch. He pulled and pulled until finally, the web snapped and he was left with a splotch of brown in his hand while the rest of the web began to unravel itself. He turned away and absently rubbed the brown stuff onto his trunk before he turned to Ron,
"Let's give it one more go before we give up and try something else." He suggested to the still panicking Ron. Ron nodded and again ran full speed towards the gateway to the platform and this time he made it. Harry's eyes narrowed slightly as he saw that now that Ron was through, the web was quickly beginning to reform. He rushed through the barrier, just as the web closed behind him. He let out a breath that he had not realized he had been holding and followed Ron onto the train, not noticing that his trunk had become a good deal lighter. His thoughts were centered on what the web could have been and what Hermione might have discovered in those journals.
An icy chill ran down his spine and he froze suddenly in front of one of the compartment doors. What if one of the journals, or all or them, had something in them like Voldemort's journal had? What if Hermione had been possessed? He apparently stood at the door too long because one of the occupants opened it to see who was standing there. Harry smiled tentatively when he saw Hermione.
"There you are! I was afraid you were going to miss the train!" Hermione chirped before he could get a good look at her to try to figure out if the journals had done anything. She dragged him into the compartment and Harry looked around to see Ron already sitting there with Neville, Ginny and, Harry realized with a slight surprise, Luna Lovegood who was, as usual, reading an upside edition of the Quibbler. Ginny immediately turned red and squeaked at the sight of him.
"I-I've gottogotothebathroom!" Ginny said in a rush and she pushed past the two of them and disappeared almost as quickly as if she had apparated. Hermione raised a brow and Harry blushed as she giggled.
"Harry, this is Luna Lovegood." Hermione unnecessarily introduced the blonde girl, after she finished laughing at Harry's embarrassment. Harry smiled while Ron rolled his eyes,
"I know who she is," he grumbled as he took the seat next to Neville that Ginny had discarded.
"But I didn't," Harry lied and then he looked at Luna, "It's nice to meet you Luna. I'm Harry." Luna looked up from her paper and smiled back,
"Hello Harry, it's nice to meet someone who wards off riscraglers so well."
"Yes, it comes in handy." Harry replied lightly as he slid next to Hermione who shot him a glance.
"Harry, I finished going through your papers. I'll give them back to you after you explain a few things for me." Hermione told him, her voice deceptively light as she looked at him straight in the eye. His brow furrowed in confusion as he wondered what paper she was talking about. He had finished all of his homework ages ago, having little better to do during his periods of exhaustion and the times where he had forced himself to listen to Ron's inane babbling about the Canons. Then it hit him, the journals, of course.
"You finished? That's great!" Harry exclaimed, wondering what Hermione had found in them as a sick feeling developed in his stomach. He hoped that there was nothing in them that had hurt her, "And I told you I'd explain when we get to school." Hermione frowned slightly and she narrowed her eyes but said nothing. A slightly tense silence developed in the compartment.
"Hermione, would you mind looking at my potions paper?" Neville asked, breaking the silence as he dug through his bag to pull it out, "I don't want to give Snape any more excuses to take off points than I have to." Harry felt a rush of anger towards Snape but he quickly attempted to keep his emotions under control. Snape had not killed Dumbledore, yet. He could not punish Snape for something he didn't do this time around. That had been his mantra for quite some time and it was working so far, sort of. Hopefully it would work when he came face to face with the murderous overgrown bat.
"When did you give Hermione your homework Harry? And take a look at mine too, would ya?" Ron asked and he shoved the paper at Hermione before she could say anything. She glared at him before turning to Neville,
"Of course I'll look over your potions work." Hermione said sweetly and she began to read the essay.
"Here Neville, would you mind looking at my herbology essay?" Harry asked the shy boy. Neville had been the most competent member of the DA, besides himself and Hermione, and Harry had a feeling that he would need Neville's help and that meant building up the shy boy's confidence and asking him to help with his homework was a good start. Hermione gave him a sharp look but before she could say anything, the door to their compartment slid open to reveal Malfoy and his cronies.
"Well Potter, you actually decided to come back another year?" Malfoy sneered and Harry rolled his eyes.
"Malfoy, all your family's inbreeding has obviously affected your brain and your memory. Just go away." Harry sighed and watched with detached pleasure as Malfoy began to turn pink.
"My family is not inbred." Malfoy snarled and Harry raised a brow,
"I've seen your family tree Malfoy, exactly how closely related are your parents? If I remember right, they're second cousins, aren't they?" The pink in Malfoy's cheeks increased and he snapped,
"Just you wait Potter; you'll regret what you've said to me." With that the young Slytherin left, twirling his cloak in what he probably thought was perfect for a dramatic exit. Unfortunately he twisted his cloak just a bit too far and ended up tripping on his feet. Harry smiled slightly as everyone else laughed while Malfoy stood up and walked away with his nose high in the air.
Neville brought out a pack of cards and soon Harry was embroiled in a game of exploding snap with him, Luna and Ron while Hermione read a book with a title that looked like French to Harry. As they played, Luna asked about the sorting.
"You'll go to the house that you're suited for or you'll go to the house that you want. If you're lucky it'll be the same place." Harry said without thinking as he played his next card. He looked up and saw Hermione and Neville looking at him.
"What?"
"Nothing, I've just never thought about the sorting that way." Neville confessed as he slapped his card down.
"Well, it is true. The hat said I was more suited to Ravenclaw but I chose Gryffindor and here I am." Hermione confessed and Harry smiled.
"I didn't know what I wanted, only what I thought I deserved," Neville added, "That's probably why the hat chose Gryffindor instead of listening to me."
"Well, someone once told me that it's our choices, not our abilities that make up who we become." He glanced at the card that Neville had plated and smiled as he put his next card down and won the game.
"Anyone for another round?" Luna shook her head,
"I think we're getting close to the castle. I'd like to change into my robes." Hermione nodded,
"I need to change as well. We'll be right back so you three should take the chance to change too." Hermione said as she grabbed Luna's arm and took the blonde girl away.
"Luna's nice." Harry mentioned as he and Ron began to follow Hermione's advice. Neville had already changed prior to boarding the train. The red headed boy frowned as he tugged his robes over his head before he sat down with a huff.
"She's been completely nutters for ages, always talking about strange creatures and that paper her dad writes, The Quibbler, is rubbish." Harry frowned at Ron but said nothing since the girls, except Ginny, came back into the compartment. He saw Hermione glare at Ron for a moment and Luna's eyes were shining suspiciously but the two girls just took their seats and began to discuss Hogwarts: A History.
They reached the station in a few minutes and separated from Luna as they went to take the carriages to Hogwarts. Harry blinked as they came to the thestral drawn carriages. He turned slightly so he could look at the carriages out of the corner of his eye. That strange brown energy covered the wheels. He looked at Hermione and saw that she too was staring at the wheels of the carriage. She looked back at him and her brow furrowed,
"Do you see that stuff on the wheels?" she whispered to him out of the corner of her mouth and Harry nodded. She pinned him with a piercing look,
"You have that much more to explain Harry." Harry smiled weakly.
"Of course Hermione." Then the two Gryffindors turned their attention to the wheels of the carriage.
"What are you two waiting for?" Ron called out from inside as he glared at his two friends. Harry searched for an excuse when Hermione piped up,
"Seamus and Dean mentioned they wanted to speak to you Ron. We'll wait for the next carriage." Harry looked and saw his two roommates walking up to them. He grabbed onto the excuse and added,
"She's right, and I needed to talk to Oliver about an idea anyway. We'll see you at the feast Ron." Harry assured him and Ron nodded reluctantly while Harry and Hermione stood aside for Seamus and Dean. Harry watched with relief as the brown web began to melt away from the carriage wheels until it was completely gone as the thestral began to move. Harry felt his brace pulse slightly and he glanced at it, and then realized that it was hidden beneath his long sleeves. He frowned slightly and then realized that Hermione was pulling at his arm.
"Harry, come on." She hissed as she pulled him towards a carriage where, Harry noted, Oliver and the twins were sitting.
"Come on Harry," Fred grinned.
"What are you waiting for?" George added. Harry let Hermione pull him into the carriage.
"Are you ready for the quidditch season Harry?" Oliver asked with a bright smile. Harry smiled back and suddenly an idea hit him.
"I can hardly wait Oliver, but I was wondering, what's going to happen when the older players graduate? We'll have to start training almost an entirely new team and Slytherin will stomp us for sure, even if their seeker won't get anywhere near the snitch." Oliver frowned as he thought about it and he nodded slowly. Before he could say anything, Harry went on,
"Maybe you could start training a reserve team made from the younger years. I know that Ron would make a great keeper. He's been playing with his brothers for ages, right?" he looked at the twins who seemed to pick up something from his expression.
"Yeah, someday we might even claim him as family." George confirmed. Oliver looked thoughtful and they continued the discussion of the junior Gryffindor quidditch team for the rest of the ride up to the castle. None of them noticed the occasional silvery spark coming from the carriage wheels or the trail of glitter that shined briefly on the ground before they disappeared.
Once they made it to the Great Hall, Ron waved over to them and they took their seats. McGonagall came in leading the first years and Harry quickly caught sight of Luna, who had a light smile on her face, and a quavering Ginny.
The Sorting Hat opened its ragged mouth and began to sing its song but Harry wasn't paying attention. His mind was racing as he tried to figure out a way to ensure that the journals hadn't done anything to Hermione and what he could say to her that would convince that he wasn't crazy. A bright flash briefly blinded him and he blinked and saw Colin Creevy waving cheerfully at him with a bright grin on his face.
"Hello Harry, I'm Colin Creevy. Of course I know all about you. You're the greatest!" he chattered and Harry nodded and smiled,
"It's nice to meet you Colin. Welcome to Gryffindor." That seemed to make the hyper boy even happier and he bounced over to a seat just close enough that he could chatter to his heart's content and it would all reach Harry's ears.
The brief shock of re-meeting Colin brought him back to what was happening around him. He looked at the line of first years and saw that Luna was going up to be sorted. He smiled slightly and watched as the Hat and Luna conversed. Finally, the Hat opened its brim,
"GRYFFINDOR!" It called out and Harry blinked in surprise and he frowned as a chill ran up his spine and a sick feeling developed in his stomach while Hermione congratulated the blonde girl.
Why had Luna become a Gryffindor? Why couldn't he get the diary? Who had told the goblins to give him the journals? Had he already ruined everything? He smiled weakly at Luna when she turned to him,
"Congratulations Luna, I'm glad you're here." He looked and saw that Ginny too had just been sorted into Gryffindor. She made a beeline for a cluster of other new Gryffindors and then Harry sighed in relief. At least he had not changed that much and hopefully what had happened wouldn't change events very much or he was going to be in serious trouble.
-->