Harry Potter 1. Dursley days

**Harry Potter and the Prophecy of the Strinx  
  
Chapter One: Dursley Days  
**  
It was one o'clock in the morning and Harry Potter was still awake. It was one of those rare summer nights when the sky was perfectly cloud-free, the stars shone brightly and the air was still and crisp. There was just one thing disturbing the peace – the ear-splitting snores curtsey of Vernon and Dudley Dursley.  
  
It was very unfortunate for Harry that his bedroom was situated between his Uncle's and cousin's rooms. The snoring was literally coming in stereo and Harry furtively tried to ignore it. How his aunt ever got any sleep was a complete mystery to him when combined the two men in her life managed to create a continuous noise that Harry was certain could drown out the sound of a loud sawmill if tried. It really was a wonder the neighbours never complained.  
  
Cursing the Decree that prevented underage witches and wizards from performing magic outside of school, Harry (rather unsuccessfully) tried to block out the annoying sound and concentrate his attention back to the book in front of him. Ever since the tragic Triwizard Tournament had ended just months before and the Dark Lord – Voldemort - had managed to yet again return to some sort of human form, Harry had desperately been reading up on advanced spells and hexes. He'd spent the last three weeks cooped up in his bedroom, reading through almost as many books as Hermione did in about a week, something that in Harry opinion was nothing short of a small achievement.  
  
He lifted a hand to his forehead and ran a finger over his lightning bolt scar, a souvenir left upon him after he at the age of one had survived Lord Voldemort's attempt to kill him. He was famous throughout the whole wizarding community for being "The boy who lived"; the one who had stripped Voldemort of his powers, bringing peace and harmony after many horrible years of terror and death.  
  
Before Harry at the age of 11 had learned that he in fact was a wizard and that he was to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he had lived a loveless life with his Aunt and Uncle here in number four Privet Drive. During these years Voldemort had never tried to kill him. But that had quickly changed as soon as he'd left for Hogwarts. Now Harry was soon to start his fifth year at the Wizarding School, and it was in his own opinion nothing short of a miracle that he was still alive to see his fifteenth birthday. Ever since he started school the Dark Lord had made several attempts to kill him, and Harry was certain that this year wouldn't be any different. And that was why he was reading up on defence spells. He desperately needed to be prepared.  
  
In just two days Harry would turn fifteen. He was quite looking forward d to it actually, not that he expected to be thrown a big party or anything by the Dursleys, but it usually meant letters and gifts from his friends from Hogwarts. This was a most welcome break to the boring and lonely life in Privet Drive during the summer months.  
  
Harry smiled as he thought of his two best friends, Hermione and Ron. He had already received a large pile of letters from both of them, and so far the letters had pretty much boiled down to one specific topic – Viktor Krum. Or Vicky, as Ron liked to call him (when he wasn't referring to him using terms like "insufferable git").  
  
Ever since Ron had learned that Hermione in fact was planning to take Viktor up on his offer to visit him in Bulgaria, he had totally lost his temper and the last few weeks had been spent writing both her and Harry lengthy letters speaking his mind. Hermione was of course not taking Ron's tirades lightly and answered his letters back in a just as violent way. At this point their friendship seemed to have hit rock bottom and neither appeared particularly eager to make any kind of peace.  
  
Personally Harry had his own suspicions as to why the two was acting like this. So far he hadn't said anything about this, but had made a mental note to confront them if the bickering per mail didn't end soon. But up till now their little row had been quite amusing. Their last two letters had reached new heights of verbal bashing, although Harry suspected neither Ron nor Hermione saw the humour in it at this point.  
  
Harry yawned and decided it was time to get some sleep. Aunt Petunia would most certainly wake him up in the wee hours to work in the garden. Uncle Vernon was planning a fancy barbeque for some of his most prominent business partners on Harry's birthday, and Aunt Petunia had been screaming orders to all of them over the weekend making even Dudley vacuum the hall and dust the shelves. Harry had never seen Dudley perform any kind of manual labour and it had actually been kind of entertaining. He had even heard uncle Vernon mutter something about Petunia being worse than his army drill instructor, and Harry had no trouble believing that. Aunt Petunia certainly wasn't one to cross when she was on a mission to make her house and garden perfect.  
  
Two days later Harry woke up early. He turned over to see what time it was and winced. It felt like his every muscle was aching from having been forced to work long hours weeding and mowing the garden into perfection. The retched barbeque was tonight and he could all ready hear his aunt fussing about in the kitchen. The old alarm clock by the bed told him that it was only six thirty in the morning.  
  
Harry had an uneasy feeling about having had a strange dream, but he couldn't quite remember what it was about. He was however prevented from further pondering about that as Hedwig, Pig and two other owls flew in through the open window. All owls dropped letters and small gifts on the bed in front of Harry and settled at Hedwig's cage drinking some water to recover from their journey. Even Pig seemed to be acting in an almost civilized manner Harry thought and wondered if the minute owl might be ill or something. Pig, which was short for Pigwidgeon, was Ron's owl, and he usually acted as if he was on a really bad sugar rush. Today however he was very quiet and Harry thought this made a pleasant change. That would at least make it easier to attach a return letter to him.  
  
Harry picked up the first letter and immediately recognized his godfather's handwriting. The letter read;  
  
_Dear Harry  
  
Happy birthday! I can hardly believe you are turning 15 today. I wish I could have been there to celebrate with you. Hope you like the present I got you, I wanted to get you something more but it is difficult finding reliable owls where I am now. I don't want to alarm you, but I believe it is only fair to warn you about the things that are happening throughout the country and the continent. There has been a noticeable increase in the activity of Death Eaters lately. The Dark mark has been spotted three times the last two weeks and at two of the houses ministry officials found that the death eaters had left casualties behind. Moony and I am now trying to recruit people to go undercover in the death eater community in hope of getting information about Voldemort's whereabouts and plans. Do not worry about us, we are extremely careful. I trust you to keep this information to yourself (although I assume you will tell Ron and Hermione). I also repeat my instructions for you to contact Dumbledore if anything out of the ordinary should occur or your scar hurts again.  
  
Moony also sends his regards.  
  
Lots of love Snuffles  
_  
Harry had suspected that Sirius and Professor Lupin were working for Dumbledore against the Dark Lord and wasn't surprised that this was confirmed. He was however more concerned to hear that wizards had been killed and the dark mark spotted. This seemed to be happening very fast, Harry thought. He also felt a wave of guilt and his stomach suddenly turned into a tight knot. All this would not had happen if it weren't for him. It was because of him that Voldemort had gotten his body back and was now obviously strong enough to command death eaters to once again perform horrible acts on his behalf.  
  
Harry picked up the gift from Sirius and unwrapped it quickly. It contained a book about blocking spells (Sirius obviously knew Harry was trying hard to learn more of those) and a little wooden box, which Harry soon to his joy realized contained a golden snitch. Harry was the seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team and having his own golden snitch was just perfect, as he now would be able to practice catching it whenever he wanted, and wouldn't be contingent on the school snitch being available.  
  
He continued to open his gifts and soon found himself the proud owner of a yet another book ("National Quidditch teams", 1995 season") from Ron, Chocolate frogs and a jumper from Hermione, a large chocolate cake from Mrs. Weasley and from Hagrid a miniature figure of a giant (which Harry privately found to be quite a paradox). He was currently on a mission from Dumbledore trying to persuade the giants to unite against the dark lord, Harry knew.  
  
There also was two new letters from Ron and Hermione. Harry opened the letter from Ron first, anxious to catch the latest update on his quarrel with Hermione.  
  
_Hello Harry,  
  
Happy birthday, mate!!! Hope you enjoy the book I bought you (I sure did, couldn't help reading a bit of it before I wrapped it, hope you don't mind (sorry about the cocoa stain on page 37. Such a terrible pity it happened to soil the lovely picture of Vicky fucking Krum, though...)). How is life at the Dursleys?? Hope it isn't too terrible. Mum says to ask if you would like to come and stay the last week before school start. You can't come sooner I'm afraid, as we will have relatives staying here for the next couple of weeks.  
  
I'm currently considering whether or not I should ask Hermione to come as well. She is probably way to busy writing love letters to that stupid boyfriend (manfriend more like it, he hardly qualifies as a boy that old git) of hers to bother with us. I still can't believe she'll betray us like that. Talk about sleeping with the enemy (not literally I hope – ehuuwww just the mental image of that makes me nauseous, I totally ruined my appetite now). I off course told her so in my last letter, and somehow I don't think she agrees with me as I got a particularly nasty Howler in return. How she managed to pull that off without being busted for doing magic outside of school is beyond me. Well anyway, I didn't quite make it out of the kitchen before Hermione's voice exploded filling the entire house with her shrill screeching and it was totally embarrassing I can tell you. Mum was really livid because I'd managed to infuriate one of my friends like that and made me clean out the attic as punishment.  
  
That still was nothing compared to the constant teasing I've had to endure from Fred and George after the incident. I won't even tell you what silly things they are saying about me (and Hermione) Frankly I never think I have ever heard more ludicrous statements in my life (and that is saying a lot, considering we have so many classes with the Slytherins).  
  
However revenge is sweet. I owled Hermione one of the twins' latest inventions (a chocolate heart, which explodes when you try to bite through it leaving your teeth blue for several days. Wonder what her dentist parents will think of that).  
  
Well that is all for now. Owl me to tell whether you will be coming to stay or not. Enjoy your birthday; keep me posted if anything unusual happens (you know; hurting scars, flying cars, weird house elves, stray black dogs etc)  
  
Ron  
  
PS!!! Would only like to state for the record that I think Vicky Krum is a pathetic, arrogant, fucking bastard, a son of a bitch and extremely bad at Quidditch!  
  
PPS! Ginny says to say happy birthday too.  
_  
Harry laughed into his pillow (he didn't want to let aunt Petunia know he was awake yet) and quickly opened Hermione's letter to hear the other side of the story.  
  
_Dearest Harry  
  
Happy 15th birthday!!  
  
I simply hate the fact that we never get to celebrate it together, but I suppose coming to visit you at your aunt and uncle's house would be totally out of the question. I am currently in Bulgaria with my parents visiting Viktor. I really like it here, it is actually quite different from how I imagined it, and I have learned a lot about the Bulgarian wizard history and customs. Thank you so much for your last letter, by the way. It was so nice reading some friendly words for a change, as Ron still hasn't stopped badgering me. Owls turn up almost daily (where does he get all the owls from I wonder, Pig has reached me twice, all the others where not known to me) containing nothing but insults. You won't believe what he actually accused me of the other day: Sleeping with Viktor!!! Where ever did he get that idea?? I have never even kissed the guy, seeing as we are only friends. Sometimes I wonder what Ron's scull is made off, as it seems nothing is getting through to him. Would you please try to talk some sense into him??  
  
Well after that particularly offensive last letter, I figured he deserved a proper scolding and so I sent him a well deserved Howler. When I got a return owl I first thought that the Howler had done the trick, because he sent me a chocolate heart, which I (stupidly) mistook for a peace offering. Well, let's just say my parents aren't too impressed with my dental situation at the moment (I am sure Ron will give you a detailed description of what I look like now. Let me just say that the twins are probably the geniuses behind the chocolate recipe)  
  
We are returning to England in about a week. Has Ron invited you to stay at the Burrow yet? I haven't heard anything, all though he did promise we would get an invitation. Well the summer isn't over yet.  
  
Hope you are all right. Promise to let me know if strange things happen. Give my love to Snuffles when you hear from him.  
  
Love, Hermione  
_  
Harry shook his head and decided to write Ron a letter asking him to get a grip and ask Hermione to stay. This whole Viktor affair was now starting to get terribly out of hand.  
  
He had just finished putting the letters and presents on his desk when aunt Petunias loud voice echoed up the stairs. Harry yelled back that he was coming, dressed quickly and headed down to the kitchen without any hope of the Dursleys remembering his birthday. He was off course correct on that assumption.  
  
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''  
  
The day turned out quite similar to what hell must be like, Harry concluded as he found himself high up on a ladder, washing the attic window on the side of the house facing away from the garden. Why he was doing this was still a mystery to him, as he very much doubted any of the guests would even consider going over to inspect this side and certainly not the attic windows. But out of fear for his own health he didn't dare tell his aunt Petunia this.  
  
After he had finished washing, uncle Vernon hurried him inside to get changed. Harry was in fact going to attend the barbeque but only as a waiter of course. He had gotten strict guidelines of how to conduct his every move, and he had a sneaking suspicion that this easily could turn out a complete nightmare. His cousin was currently walking around the living room humming the tune from Sesame Street (which was secretly his favourite TV show). Dudley looked particularly whaley today in his casual garden- wear. The look was supposed to say "high class sporty teenager", but as nothing about Dudley's appearance could be associated with "sporty" (he was as close to a square as you can get, being almost as wide as he was tall) he looked rather pathetic. Uncle Vernon had a similar outfit and aunt Petunia had put on her best summer dress. They were now pacing around the hall waiting for their guests yelling last minute orders and instructions at Harry.  
  
Finally the guests arrived and the party actually seemed to go rather well. Uncle Vernon told a dirty joke that made all the men laugh (all though their wives didn't seem to find it especially amusing) and Harry could see he was very happy. "Maybe this won't be a disaster after all", Harry thought. So far they hadn't had anything to complain about.  
  
But obviously something had to happen. The doorbell rang from inside the house and both his aunt and uncle looked up anxiously. They weren't expecting anybody else. Aunt Petunia hurried inside and moments later Harry heard her cry out, a door slammed and someone obviously came running through the house.  
  
Harry looked up towards the house and there, wearing black robes, a wizard hat and with her wand in one hand was – Hermione!

_**To be continued...**_


	2. Like Bats out of Hell

****

**Chapter 2 - Like bats out of hell.**  
  
Vernon Dursley's much-anticipated barbeque was a smashing success. Harry had seldom seen his aunt and uncle looking more pleased as they walked around the garden shaking hands and doing their best to suck up to potential new drill-customers. The garden was literally buzzing with conversations and laughter. Or at least it had been until Hermione showed up.  
  
Now complete and utter silence reigned and all eyes where on the girl wearing the (by Muggle standard) very peculiar attire. The quiet however only lasted a few seconds. Excited whispering broke out the next moment, fingers pointing and heads shaking like they couldn't quite believe what they were seeing.  
  
Hermione didn't appear to take any notice of the ruckus her presence was making. Her eyes quickly scanned the garden and finally she spotted Harry standing in the back balancing a large tray filled with glasses containing Margaritas (though he'd spilt most of it in pure shock) and looking thoroughly stunned.  
  
"Harry!" she yelled, while rushing towards him, her robes whirled around her as she ran. "Thank goodness you're okay, I was so worried about you!" She reached him and threw her hands around him, hugging him as if he'd just escaped mortal peril. "Hermione?" Harry said with confusion and surprise in his voice. "What on earth are you doing here?"  
  
He stole a glance at his aunt and uncle over Hermione's shoulder and wasn't at all surprised to see a mixture of shock, confusion along with pure and blatant fury written all over their faces. Obviously they didn't approve of her arrival, to say the least. Uncle Vernon's face had turned a very nasty shade of scarlet and Harry knew he was in for his longest punishment ever.  
  
Dudley on the other hand looked simply shell-shocked. He was (unsuccessfully) attempting to hide behind his mother, staring transfixed at Hermione's wand with a petrified look on his porky face. Sniggering silently Harry suspected his cousin was experiencing some very vivid flashbacks from his previous encounters with members of the wizarding world, which had left him with multiple bodily "mutilations" (a pigs tail and a humongous tongue, to be precise.)  
  
Before Hermione even had the chance to let Harry go of her embrace, uncle Vernon had seized their arms in a very painful grip and dragged the pair of them back into the house. Harry was still too shocked to speak but Hermione was protesting loudly much to aunt Petunia's obvious dismay. She unsuccessfully tried to shut her up by covering Hermione's mouth with her bony hand and shushing intensely, something that only managed to enrage Hermione further. Once inside the house Petunia closed the door behind them with an apologetic smile to their curious guests and Harry braced himself for the upcoming yelling.  
  
Uncle Vernon seemed to have difficulty speaking at first. It appeared as though he was about to explode at any minute, spit foaming at the mouth. He finally found his voice and Harry couldn't help thinking that aunt Petunia had closed the garden door to no avail. Vernon Dursley's thundering voice was sure to carry all the way to Magnolia Crescent and then some.  
  
"Who the hell are you, and why did you have to show up now, and in that ridicules get-up?" Purple-faced and fuming Uncle Vernon pointed at Hermione's robes and hat, looking repulsed. Harry could tell Hermione didn't appreciate being spoken to in this manner, and wasn't at all surprised when she answered him back in that bossy and arrogant tone of voice that had annoyed Harry and Ron to no end during their first year at Hogwarts.  
  
"Excuse me," she said with a superior look on her face, "but it is of great importance that I speak to Harry about a pressing matter. I would appreciate it if you and the rest of your family could give us some privacy, thank you very much. I did not come here to speak to either of you and I would be grateful if you left us alone now."  
  
Uncle Vernon clearly hadn't expected this smug reply, and his beefy face turned even redder. After a brief pause where he clearly struggled not to lose his temper completely, he spoke again. "I have made it very clear to Harry that I don't want your sort hanging around our home waving that ridiculous cane of yours around creating all sorts of mayhem. In case you didn't know we do not approve of this – you know...ehh."  
  
Uncle Vernon seemed to be searching through his vocabulary in hope of finding an alternative word so that he wouldn't be forced to say the forbidden m-word. His search was clearly unsuccessful because he finally spat out "magic", but as he said it looked almost as frightened as most wizards when saying the name Voldemort.  
  
Harry could tell that Hermione was outraged by his uncle's attitude and behaviour. Although Harry had many times described his miserable life with his relatives, she still honestly seemed surprised to see that his every word was true. And so with Harry, Dudley and aunt Petunia as respectively amused frightened and outraged bystanders Hermione and uncle Vernon continued to argue loudly. Hermione as opposed to Harry didn't hold back her opinion one bit, and he was pleased to see that his uncle often got tongue tied by his friend. This however only enraged uncle Vernon further.  
  
The curiosity of the guests had by now taken completely over, and Harry could se their snooping noses clamed against the windows looking at the scene playing out in the sitting room. Aunt Petunia (who herself enjoyed spying and eavesdropping immensely) noticed them, and tried desperately to intercept between the two fighters while simultaneously drawing the curtains to block the view. She finally got Vernon's attention, pointing indiscreetly at the windows.  
  
Hermione however had obviously reached the end of her patience where his uncle was concerned, and dragged Harry into the hall. "What an insufferable man!" she exclaimed with rage. "How do you stand this all summer? I think I would go mad in about a week if I had to put up with that every day." She grimaced in disgust.  
  
"Why are you here?" Harry still hadn't gotten an explanation as to why she all of a sudden had appeared in their backyard. "I thought you were in Bulgaria." "I will tell you all about that, but I don't think you should stay here for another minute. Where's your stuff? Let's pack immediately and get the hell out of her!" Now Harry was alarmed. Hearing Hermione resort to swearing was not a good sign!  
  
"But where would we go?" Harry was very confused. "Well, I can only think of one place," she said with determination in her voice. Harry looked at her expectantly. "Where?" he asked again whereupon Hermione promptly answered "The Burrow!"  
  
Half an hour later they had packed up all of Harry's stuff, dragged his trunk and Hedwig's cage down the stairs and into the living room. They were pleased to see that the Dursleys now had returned to the barbeque, and through an open window they heard aunt Petunia's shrill voice desperately trying to smooth the situation over.  
  
"Just a girl from the gang of delinquents that Harry hangs around all summer. You do off course now that he attends St Brutus secure centre for incurably criminal boys? Yes, quite impossible to handle and I'm afraid there's just no cure for his misbehaviour. It's all a shame, really. Thank goodness for my dear Dudley, he would never hurt a fly, you know..."  
  
Hermione grimaced. "The sooner we leave these buffoons, the better," she proclaimed. "Well I for one is all in favour of that," Harry said. "But how are we going to get to the Burrow. And do they even know we're coming? Ron told me in his letter that there will be relatives staying there the next couple of weeks."  
  
"No, they don't know that we are coming, but if we're not welcome, then we can just stay for the day and leave for Diagon Alley this evening. You see it is really important that I speak to you, and somehow this place just isn't right for important wizard conversations." She looked at him to see whether or not he would agree to her reasoning.  
  
Well, Harry thought, she was right. If they couldn't stay with the Weasleys they could stay in Diagon Alley or maybe even Hogsmeade. "Okay, I agree to that, but how do we get there? I don't have any Floo Powder, and even if I did the fireplace is blocked anyway". Hermione reached inside her robes and pulled out a small green bag. "Floo powder," she said and smiled. "And since when is blocked fireplaces an obstacle for the Great Harry Potter? Are you a wizard or not?"  
  
Harry laughed, grabbed his wand and smiled mischievously at Hermione. "Yeah, and if the Dursley's found it difficult explaining about the girl in the strange attire, I would like to know what lies they come up with to explain a smashed fireplace. It might earn me a warning for using magic outside of school though. I do already have one against me and another could get me expelled."  
  
Hermione looked to be thinking hard for a moment. "You're right, better not risk that. I'll do it then. After all I do have a clean slate and I don't suppose they'll expel me for one measly little spell." Harry smiled and gave her a reassuring pat on the back. Hermione pointed her wand at the fireplace and cast the spell. A loud noise echoed as it exploded and loud gasps could be heard from the garden. Hermione quickly conjured a fire and then threw some floo powder into the flames turning them emerald green. They grabbed the trunk and cage between them and stepped into the flames.  
  
"Lets get out of here," Harry said. "Yeah," Hermione replied. "Like bats out of hell," she said smiling and in unison they both yelled "The Burrow!"  
  
Harry and Hermione spun around with increasing speed, and as always when travelling by Floo powder Harry soon started to feel slightly nauseous. Concentrating hard not to let his elbows hit the wall while keeping both his eyes and mouth firmly shut he felt absolutely positive that he'd never in a million years get used to this. So far none of the methods of Wizard transportation he'd tried (with the exception of the Hogwarts Express and Knight Bus) had been terribly pleasant. It was safe to say that neither Floo nor Portkey were among his favourite pastimes, and he was seriously hoping Apparition would be more pleasurable. Just too bad it would be years before that would be an option. As they continued to twirl in a haze of soot and grunge, Harry could feel Hermione tighten her grip on his arm. Apparently nor she was accustomed to this way of travelling having lived in the Muggle world for most of her life.  
  
As swiftly as the spinning had started, it stopped and Harry and Hermione tumbled out of the Floo Network and on to solid ground. Unable to keep their balance at the impact they jolted ungracefully out of the fireplace landing hard on the floor in the Weasley's small kitchen. Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage landed with a loud bang smack in the middle of Mrs. Weasley's basket containing her famous knitwear, making it fly several feet scattering yarns and knitting needles all over the room. This off course made a terrible racket, and before they'd even managed to get to their feet, a flock of people could be heard running through the hall and soon after about a dozen red-haired and freckled Weasleys had appeared in the doorway watching thunderstruck as Harry and Hermione scrambled to their feet and desperately tried to dust of some soot.  
  
"Harry? Hermione?"  
  
Ron pushed his way through the crowd of shocked family members with a mix of shock and worry written all over his face. Finding his two best friends in a heap on the kitchen floor was clearly not something he'd expected. And judging by the very uncomfortable tension that now had descended on the room this was a notion shared by the rest of his family. Even Mrs. Weasley, whom Harry had never experienced tongue-tied seemed surprised beyond words. Exchanging a nervous look with Hermione he was starting to feel that perhaps this surprise visit wasn't such a good idea after all. Hermione clearly shared this sentiment and stuttering profusely they both started to apologize for the uninvited arrival. A near frantic Ron cut them of in mid sentence.  
  
"What are you doing here? Has something happened? Is everybody all right? Is it... is it your scar again? Or the Dursleys? Did the Death Eaters find you?" Ron didn't give Harry much time to respond before he turned his attention over to Hermione. "Has there been an attack on your house? Are your parents okay? Or did something happen in Bulgaria? If that good-for- nothing son of a bitch hurt you in any way, I swear I'll hunt him down and..."  
  
"Ron, for god's sake calm down!" Hermione hurriedly interrupted. Ron was babbling and making absolutely no sense. Obviously he was having trouble thinking straight and he rushed over to them with terror in his eyes plainly craving some sort of explanation. "Don't tell me to calm down! I couldn't possibly be calm when you won't tell me what's wrong!" he yelled in panic.  
  
"We're fine," Harry answered reassuringly and smiled at Ron. "Really?" Ron looked sceptically from one to the other. "Yes, really." Hermione put her hand on Ron's. "We're just fine".  
  
"Thank god!" Looking thoroughly relieved Ron flung his long arms around Hermione giving her an overwhelming hug. This rare display of affection was however over within seconds. Loud catcalls from the twins along with amused giggles from Ginny quickly made Ron let go of the embrace and jump away as if he'd just received a third degree burn. Blushing hard Hermione quickly busied herself with tiding up Mrs. Weasley's knitwear and did her best to avoid looking at Ron. Doing a striking imitation of a ripe tomato Ron glared daggers at his brothers who by now had put on their most innocent facial expressions. But as soon as Ron had turned his back the twins started to make kissy faces and Harry had to bite his lip to hold back a snicker.  
  
Mrs. and Mr. Weasley had so far not said a word, but now Mr. Weasley approached the trio. "Hello Harry, hello Hermione. To what do we owe the unexpected pleasure of your visit?" Judging be the look on his face he was just as anxious for an explanation as Ron. Mrs. Weasley had by now started to usher the others out of the kitchen and into the garden. Harry caught her eye and swallowed hard when he saw the worry and concern they conveyed. "We weren't expecting you for about two weeks, you know," Mr. Weasley continued. "Did you mix the dates or something?"  
  
At this Hermione's face turned to stone and for the first time since the hug she faced Ron looking nothing short of murderous. "You invited Harry to stay with you this summer? Weren't you going to invite me?" Harry could hear that she was really hurt by this, and crossed his fingers hoping that Ron had realized that their stupid argument over Viktor Krum had gone far enough. Ron's reply however made Harry grimace.  
  
"Well, "Ron began. "You made your choice to go traipsing all over Bulgaria with your sassy boyfriend Vicky, and as I recall you don't have the ability to be two places at once, now do you?" He shot Hermione an angry look. "Besides I didn't particularly fancy spending my summer with a traitor, anyway."  
  
Oh uh, Harry though. This time Ron had really pushed it to far. Hermione looked as if she was ready to hex him right then and there. "A traitor am I?" she asked in a dangerously calm voice that made Harry shudder. Strained calmness like this was never a good sign and Ron was sure to know this by now. But hearing Ron's reply Harry seriously wondered if his best friend had a memory problem.  
  
"Yeah that's precisely what you are. You had a choice: The Burrow or Bulgaria and where do you go? Your actions speak louder than words, Hermione. You're voluntarily hanging out with a Slytherin wannabe – that qualifies as a traitor in my books."  
  
Although Harry knew that it was the jealousy in Ron that made him say these things and that deep down he didn't really mean it, it still sounded horrible. Bracing himself for a thunderous retort from Hermione, Harry started to back away from the duo. But instead of yelling Hermione just stared at Ron, hurt shining from her eyes. Eventually she turned away from him, lifted her head and quickly exited the room with Ginny at her heels. As soon as the door had slammed behind them, they heard Hermione break out in tears.  
  
"Why did you do that?" Harry looked accusingly at his best friend. Ron's face was now just about the same colour as his hair, and resignedly he sat down heavily on one of the chairs.  
  
"Just felt she deserved to hear the truth, that's all," Ron muttered. Harry could see that he was already regretting his outburst. But knowing Ron Harry figured that even though he already was sorry about his remarks, he wasn't about to admit to this any time soon. The Weasley family was widely known for their stubbornness and Ron was by all means no exception.  
  
"Well, I'll tell you this much," Harry said and sat down beside Ron. "Until you make peace with her neither of us will know exactly why we are here." Ron looked confused. "What do you mean by that?" Harry leaned back and let out a sigh. "She just showed up in the Dursley's backyard during my uncle's barbeque and dragged me off, telling me she has something important to tell us. She really turned that barbeque upside down, though. I don't think I've ever seen my aunt and uncle looking more upset. She got into a nasty argument with my uncle, which he lost spectacularly by the way, and so she finally decided that I wasn't to stay there anymore, and we ended up here."  
  
Ron was running his hand through his thick red hair making it stand out in the back, while shaking his head. "So let me get this straight. She didn't say anything at all to you before eh... She turned all mad an left?" Harry gave Ron a piercing look and Ron seemed to take the hint.  
  
"I'll just give her some time to calm down before I start to grovel, then," he said and looked positively sick by the thought of having to beg Hermione for her forgiveness. Serves him right for being such a prat not realizing why he reacts like this, Harry though and grinned to himself.  
  
Mr. Weasley was now looking as though he wanted to say something but before a single word had left his mouth he was interrupted by the arrival of two owls. They swooped past him and circled the room twice before dropping their letters on the floor beside Ron. He quickly bent over and picked them up.  
  
"What's this then?" he asked curiously. "That looked like Ministry owls to me," Mr. Weasley answered and looked from his son to Harry. "Whom is it addressed to? It might be for me, I'm expecting some rather urgent parchments from the Unspeakables, actually..."  
  
"Nah, dad it's not for you," Ron said dumbfounded. "It's for Hermione..." Immediately Harry realized what the letters would say and truthfully he couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty about it. Obviously Hermione wouldn't have purposely broken Wizarding Laws by performing magic outside of school if it weren't for him. Harry himself had gotten a similar letter two years ago when Dobby, the notoriously strange House Elf had made a complete mess of his aunt Petunia's kitchen. He'd gotten away with a warning saying that any more violations of this law and he'd be expelled from Hogwarts. Hermione though had broken the Law not just once but twice today and that within a single minute. Would that be enough to be expelled he wondered?  
  
"Eh, I know what that's all about," Harry said and pointed to the two letters currently clutched in Ron's hands. Ron looked from the letters to Harry with an inquisitive look on his face. "What then? Has she gotten herself a scholarship of some sort?" Ron asked. "Knowing Hermione she's probably aced all her exams and been awarded some stupid plaque for getting the highest score ever on fourth year finals or something terribly snotty like that." He snorted and Mr. Weasley shot him a questionable stare. "Honestly, she's a walking talking library that one," Ron said shrugging.  
  
"I can assure you it's nothing like that," Harry said quietly. He paused and shot Mr. Weasley an anxious look. "Hermione used magic today to get us here. Twice."  
  
Ron was gaping at Harry totally lost for words. Mr. Weasley nearly choked on his own breath. "What are you saying, Harry? She used magic? Whatever for?" "To get us here by Floo powder," Harry answered quickly. "How many warnings can you get before they expel you?"  
  
"Normally they won't resort to that before you've received at least three official warnings," Mr. Weasley said sternly. Both Ron and Harry looked thoroughly relieved. "But," Mr. Weasley continued, "That really depends upon the severity of the laws broken. And that in turn depends on how advanced the magic performed was and whether or not there was Muggles present to witness it."  
  
Ron's eyes were now wide with worry. What if Hermione was expelled? That would be just terrible!! "Well, let me know how severe it is once she's opened them will you," Mr. Weasley said silently while glancing worriedly towards the kitchen to make sure his wife wasn't listening. "I might be able to reduce the sentence or even make one of the warnings go away." He chuckled slightly while stroking the little hair he had left.  
  
"Old Mafalda owe me a favour or two if I don't remember incorrectly. Between us boys the old witch had a little mishap with an ancient refreezegator or whatever the Muggle term is for that box they use to store food in. Seemed to have a will of it's own that thing. Kept hitting poor Mafalda in the head every time she tried to open it."  
  
Ron and Harry rose they're eyebrows and shared an amused look. Mr. Weasley's fascination for all things Muggle might just turn out to save Hermione's continued academic career at Hogwarts, Harry thought brightly. He silently promised to be more forthcoming in explaining Muggle contraptions for him in return.  
  
While this conversation had taken place Harry hadn't noticed that Mrs. Weasley by now had rushed the rest of the family back into the garden. Percy however was now re-entering the kitchen. He hadn't changed much Harry noticed. He still had the same smug and superior look on his face, and he was adjusting his glasses importantly as he approached the fireplace.  
  
"You two got here by Floo powder?" he asked and Harry nodded. "How is that possible? You live with Muggles during the summer don't you? Muggle fireplaces aren't connected to the Floo Network, everybody knows that," Percy said matter-of-factly. "Didn't know there were wizard houses in the near proximity of your relatives. Being with the Ministry, you know I surely would know of these things."  
  
Percy appeared extremely satisfied with his observation and looked self- righteously from one to the other. Percy was of course right. Harry knew perfectly well that his uncle's fireplace wasn't connected to the Floo Network. Uncle Vernon would rather eat slugs than allow such a thing. Why hadn't he thought of this before?  
  
"Well," Mr. Weasley got up from his chair and started to pace nervously in front of Harry and Ron. "Remember last summer when we came for you before the Quidditch World Cup?" Harry could never forget and nodded in recognition. Half the Weasleys had turned up inside uncle Vernon's blocked up fireplace to collect Harry one Sunday afternoon. They had to burst the whole thing open leaving his aunt's perfect living room looking like a war zone. "Yeah," Harry said. "You pulled some sort of favour with the Floo Department and had the fireplace connected to the network for the day". "That's right," Mr. Weasley answered. "Only... I never really unconnected it, if you know what I mean. Thought it might turn out useful some day if we had to collect you urgently or something...."  
  
This statement from his father clearly left Percy lost for words. He was really fuzzy about rules, Harry knew, and to Percy this was simply outrageous. "This can take a while," Ron whispered to Harry as Percy and his father launched into a very loud argument. "Let's go upstairs with your stuff. You will have to stay in my room. Fred and George are also in there as they had to give up their room for our relatives." They started climbing the stairs.  
  
"Wonder what Hermione wants to tell us," Ron continued. "If you plan on hearing about it any time soon, you know what you have to do, right?" Harry looked at Ron and to his relieve Ron nodded. They stopped outside Ginny's room and Ron turned to Harry. "You go ahead up to my room. I'll try to get on Hermione's good side again." Ron took a deep breath. "Wish me good luck," he said as he turned to knock on the door. "Good luck," Harry said and gave Ron an encouraging pat on the back before heading for the stairs. He was really going to need it!  
  
**_To be continued..._**


	3. Facing the Music

_**AN: **I started posting this story here on last year but stopped after about seven chapters. Since then I've rewritten large parts of it and I've decided to post the improved chapters here. I currently have 24 whole chapters written out and I'll be posting regularly here in the coming weeks. _

_The story was started before the release of OotP and is therefore very much an AU story now. Any comments, good or bad, are greatly appreciated! Enjoy!_

****

**Chapter 3: Facing the music**  
  
Ron watched with envy as Harry's retreating back headed further up the rickety staircase. Not until Harry had reached the top, disappeared into his room and shut the door firmly behind him making the "Ronald's Room" sign rattle noisily in the process, did Ron turn to face the door behind which a terrible fate undoubtedly awaited him. He knew what he had to do and dreaded it profusely.  
  
Putting it bluntly Ron Weasley was not particularly well versed in the art of apologizing. He didn't like it at all. It always made him feel terribly self-conscious and awkward, and he had a terrible tendency to botch things up and make it worse by saying all the wrong things (something he was sure Hermione could attest to). He silently cursed his vermin tongue that had landed him in this wretched mess in the first place and yearned desperately for Hermione's old Timeturner. But regrettably no such device was to his disposal in his desperate time of need.  
  
He stood outside his sister's room listening intently for a while, but no sound could be heard. Maybe this wasn't where Hermione had sought refuge after all, he wondered dejectedly. For all he knew she'd run out of the house and was possibly hiding in the garden or his dad's very overfilled and very messy Muggle-appreciation shed? Grunting at the thought of having to crusade the outdoor environment in search for Hermione like some kind of twisted game of hide and seek, Ron made a silent pact never to agitate his bushy-haired friend again. She'd better be in Ginny's room, he thought despairingly. Bloody hell, this was shaping out way too complicated for his liking.  
  
Needless to say Ron was kicking himself mentally. Why on earth did he have to go and shoot his big mouth off again like that? Was he ever going to grow up and learn to think things through before he spoke? He pondered about that for a moment (primarily to win some time before springing into action; procrastination was something he was very good at), but quickly came to the conclusion that he probably would never change in that department. Ron usually acted on his impulses and lately his impulses had been telling him that Viktor Krum was a fucking bastard, a dimwit and a twit that under no circumstances deserved Hermione's affection. He was honestly surprised to find that he was the only one to see this fact. It was so obvious, wasn't it? Krum was a dead boring ugly git with bad posture, not to mention way too old for Hermione!  
  
Ron grimaced at the mere thought of Hermione together with that prat. But even Harry had kept his opinion about this sordid affair to himself. Honestly, Vicky was as close to being a Slytherin as one could get without actually being one! They should all hate his guts! Although he is rather good at Quidditch Ron sheepishly had to admit.  
  
Just thinking about the legendary Viktor Krum though made Ron's blood run fast through his veins as if it was boiling. Calm yourself, Ron commanded. Total control. Just tell her that you're sorry. Go on, Ron – you can do it! Easy as pie.  
  
Well, he honestly was sorry. Not about telling the truth about bloody Vicks off course, but hurting Hermione's feelings had never been his intention. Ron sighed, took a deep breath and with great effort lifted his long arm and knocked cautiously on the door.  
  
"Hermione, are you in there?" he called warily through the door. No one answered. He squinted his eyes and tried to look through the small keyhole, but all he could see was darkness. Ron knocked again and slowly began to turn the doorknob, finally opening the door and carefully peering inside.  
  
At first he couldn't see a damned thing besides pitch-blackness. The lights were all out, and he immediately assumed the room to be empty. But then, just as he was closing the door again he heard a muffled sob. It appeared to come from under the blankets and after his eyes had adjusted to the darkness he faintly made out a Hermione-shaped lump sprawled on Ginny's bed.  
  
Immediately Ron's level of awkwardness was quadrupled. He hesitated for a moment before he timidly entered the room and closed the door behind him. He had never entered Ginny's room before without her consent and hoped she wouldn't appear suddenly out of nowhere to give him a hard time about his obvious trespassing. You wouldn't believe it by looking at her but Ginny could get really livid, and Ron usually tried to stay on her good side. Hopefully she wouldn't have his head for invading her privacy like this (the mental image of Ginny beating him up was very unappealing). Ron shook his head lightly. Nah, she wouldn't mind this time, he thought. After all, his intentions were completely honourable as all he wanted was to make peace with Hermione.  
  
Ron approached the trembling figure under the blanket and quietly sat down on the bed. After turning on the bedside lamp he just sat there for a moment, not quite certain how to proceed. Why was there no such thing as a handy and easy-to-follow step-by-step manual to apologizing? It wasn't as if he did this sort of thing on a regular basis (though some might argue that he should...) so how was he supposed to know what to do now?  
  
Ron felt incredibly ill at ease, almost as if the person on the bed was a complete stranger and not in fact one of his closest friends. Why was he feeling like this he wondered? For some reason several of his more vital organs appeared to be performing what surely had to be a complex series of cartwheels, which really wasn't helping the situation. Ron honestly wanted to say something but found that his mind seemingly had gone completely blank and for what felt like an eternity he just sat there looking down on Hermione.  
  
He had to do something; Ron felt a wave of panic. Just sitting there like a jerk wasn't getting him anywhere. Ron liked to think of himself as a man of action, and was really glad no one was witnessing this pathetic display of passivity. He hesitated for a moment before he carefully laid a hand clumsily on Hermione's back. "Mione," Ron started.  
  
_Where had that come from?_ Ron swallowed hard. He had never called her that before. Well, only in his thoughts he had to admit, but never to her face. He felt his cheeks go all red again. To call her that felt strangely intimate in a way he couldn't quite explain. In retrospect Ron could never really explain where he got the nerve to continue speaking to the trembling lump under the blanket.  
  
"I'm really really sorry about everything I just said," Ron began shakily. He then proceeded to let out a small laugh that sounded oddly high-pitched and squeaky. Ron groaned inwardly. Not only was he acting like a prat, he sounded like one too. Ignoring his latest display of un-masculinity, Ron decided to carry on his, for the time being, pathetic attempt at an apology.  
  
"Off course I was going to ask you to stay this summer. How could you think that I wasn't?" A loud snort could be heard from under the blanket. Hermione obviously wasn't buying this at all.  
  
"I asked Harry to stay in the letter I wrote to him on his birthday, you see. I asked him to stay for the last week before school starts. I was of course going to ask you as well, but as I only have one owl I was forced to wait until Pig returned from Harry. I even told him in my letter that I was inviting you too. If you don't believe me, you can simply ask him. He'll confirm it for you."  
  
Ron made frantic mental notes to get Harry to collaborate with him on this story, as it wasn't exactly completely true. "And about that stupid tirade about Viktor and you being a traitor, you know I didn't really mean it, right?" He absentmindedly began to stroke Hermione's back over the blanket. The blanket however made a sudden move and Ron felt her foot hit him hard in his side.  
  
"Ouch!" Ron called out in pain, jerking away to avoid further attacks. "You stupid prat!" Hermione's voice was shaking with anger. "Do you honestly think you can just walk in here, mutter some lame excuse and suddenly everything will be just peachy fine again? You have done nothing but badger me all summer, one letter after the other telling me how stupid I am to be friends with Viktor. I was under the impression that we were best friends, you, Harry and I. You however have a funny way of showing it!"  
  
Completely taken aback by both her physical and verbal attack Ron began stuttering out even more excuses. Hermione however was not listening. "I honestly don't know what to make of you, Ronald Weasley!" Hermione shrieked. Her arms, protruded from the blanket, were flailing uncontrollably as she screamed and Ron found himself cowering away from her. "Half the time you make me laugh, but when you're not cracking jokes you seem to go out of your way to find ways to hurt my feelings. I'm not sure I can take this much longer." She paused for a moment and Ron heard her gasp for breath. "This constant bickering has to stop or we have to stop..."  
  
Her voice broke and Ron could hear that she was crying again. He felt awful. He had done this, he thought. He'd made his best friend sad – she possibly even hated him now. This had never been his intention at all. For some reason Ron didn't know what to say or do. He had ruined it now, he thought. He felt a strange new feeling, as though something was squeezing his heart tightly. It hurt. It hurt so badly. Could he have lost her friendship? Forever?  
  
"I'm sorry," he whispered and could hear that his voice was trembling too. "I didn't mean to hurt you. Honestly."  
  
A small face with red eyes from crying appeared from under the blanket, her bushy hair was spread out like a great big fan all over Ginny's pink and flowery pillow. Ron's heart seemed to skip a beat and he swallowed hard. She looked so small and innocent all of a sudden and he felt a very un- Ronish urge to lean down and hug her. A tear could be seen still running down her cheek. "Is that really true?" she asked unsteadily. "You're really sorry?"  
  
"Off course it's true," Ron croaked. "Have I ever lied to you?" He turned his head away from her for a split second, trying to wipe away the strange watery substance that bizarrely seemed to be clouding his vision at the moment, hoping she wouldn't notice. He then looked down on her and could see that she was coming around.  
  
"No, you have never lied to me," she whispered. "Decorated the truth a bit maybe yes, but you've never lied." There was a pause before Hermione spoke again. "Are you crying, Ron?"  
  
Ron quickly let his hand sweep away a traitorous tear that was making a solitary path down his chin and violently shook his head. Hermione looked at him searchingly but luckily she didn't pushing the topic. "I forgive you," she said quietly.  
  
Ron felt a huge relief off his shoulders and immediately broke into a huge grin. He quickly rose from the bed feeling a new spring in his step and all but danced towards the door. Still feeling a bit awkward he chose to avoid looking at her. She had after all seen him cry. No girl had ever seen him cry before. Besides his mum, off course but that didn't count. For several minutes not a word was spoken. Eventually Ron lifted his head, cleared his voice and gave Hermione one of his lopsided grins.  
  
"Why don't you take a moment to freshen up and then come up to my room so that you can finally let us in on why exactly you and scary scar face suddenly decided to floo around the fireplaces like common hoodlums, causing mayhem in the Weasley household. I imagine it wasn't for the fun of it, as I happen to know that neither of you are particularly fond of that way of travelling." He opened the door. Hermione nodded at him and he gave her a last reassuring look and headed out of the door.  
  
Outside in the hall again, Ron stood paralysed for a moment one hand still on the doorknob the other compulsory running through his hair. He felt different in a way, without knowing why exactly. It didn't make any sense at all. But at least he and Hermione were friends again, Harry would be proud.  
  
Finally breaking his trance Ron bolted up the staircase his mood considerably lighter than it had been just minutes before. He'd saved the situation this time though. Just hope he didn't have to do that again any time soon. He'd better watch what he was saying to her in the future.  
  
After Ron had left the room, Hermione couldn't bring herself to get out of bed straight away. She had spent the better part of the summer being mad at Ron and after this confrontation she felt oddly deflated. He had said (or written, to be more precise) some pretty nasty things to her, hurting her feelings in a way that no one had done before. He deserved to be yelled at and somehow she felt that she shouldn't have let him off the hook this easily. But then again he had... He had cried. Hermione still couldn't believe it. He had actually cried in front of her. Boys never did that, now did they?  
  
The door opened again and Hermione's heart skipped a beat. Was that Ron again? But both to Hermione's disappointment and relief it was Ginny's face that appeared in the opening.  
  
"Was that Ron I saw leaving just now?" Ginny closed the door and went over to sit beside Hermione, a curious gleam detectable in her hazel eyes. "Did he come to give you another lecture about your boyfriend?" "Viktor is not my boyfriend!" Hermione threw her arms dejectedly in the air and looked angrily at Ginny. "I've told you that many times. We are just friends. Why does everybody seem to have trouble grasping that?" Friends!!"  
  
"Okay, okay! No need to shout." Ginny looked a bit offended. "It's just that it is so obvious to everybody that at least Viktor has feelings for you. When you went to visit him I thought perhaps you felt the same way despite what you've told me, that's all" "Well, I don't," Hermione replied miserably giving Ginny a tired look. She didn't want to fall out with Ginny over Viktor. She let go of the hug, and leaned back resting her head against the bedpost. She sighed.  
  
"And to answer your initial question, no Ron didn't say anything about Viktor", she finally said. "He came to apologize, actually." "What!" Ginny looked shocked. "He apologized? Of his one free will? And nobody was standing behind him holding him at wandpoint, or something? And you forgave him? Just like that?"  
  
"Well," Hermione got out of bed and started to pace nervously while frantically trying to flatten her hair. "He seemed really sincere. At first I did yell at him but then he... He sort of cried and I just couldn't be mad at him any longer."  
  
Ginny now looked absolutely shell shocked. "He did what?" "Oh Ginny, he was just so cute, how could I not forgive him?" Ginny raised her eyebrows clearly not believing her own ears. "He cried? In front of you? Oh my God, I can't wait to tease him about this." Hermione stopped pacing and faced Ginny with a determined look. "Oh no Ginny. Don't tease him about it, please. Promise me you'll never mention it to him. He'll just be so embarrassed."  
  
Ginny giggled. "Exactly. That is precisely the point. To embarrass him royally." Hermione gave Ginny a begging look, and Ginny sighed and got up from the bed. "Okay Hermione, seeing as it so important to you, I promise never to tease him about it." She let out a small laugh. "Just remember that you owe me big time for keeping something like this a secret. I can just picture it; the mental image of him sitting here crying his eyes out – it's hilarious."  
  
Hermione smiled at Ginny. She could see that Ginny had really grown over the summer. They had been writing to each other since school ended and had become good friends in the process. It was really nice having a girl to confide in. Even though Harry and Ron were still her best friends, there were just some things that she couldn't talk to them about.  
  
"Just remember to keep that image to yourself, okay. Besides, he wasn't crying his eyes out; it was just a few tears really. Now let's go find them so I can tell them why Harry and I just crashed your family reunion". Ginny nodded and they left the room and began to climb the stairs to Ron's room.  
  
Halfway up the first staircase Ginny suddenly stopped dead and turned to Hermione with a wicked look on her face. "Did I just hear you call my stupid brother cute?" Hermione blushed scarlet and chuckling knowingly Ginny turned around and continued the climb to Ronald's Room.

**_To be continued..._**


	4. Predictions and revelations

  
  
**Chapter 4 - Predictions and revelations**  
  
After leaving Ron to face the wrath of Hermione Harry dragged his trunk up the stairs and, shielding his eyes, entered Ron's violently orange Chudley Cannons Shrine. The room hadn't changed much since his last visit, he noticed wryly. Large posters of The Cannons were still plastered all over the walls and as Harry entered the players started zooming cheerfully in and out of the pictures trying their best to amaze and astonish with extravagant dives and sudden moves. The Cannons was Ron's favourite Quidditch team and although they hadn't won the league in a very long time (frankly speaking they hadn't won anything at all) Ron remained a truly dedicated fan.  
  
Harry parked his trunk between two spare beds that undoubtedly had been squeezed in to house the twins during the visit from the Weasley relatives. Sighing heavily Harry sat down on the closest bed careful not to sit on the fake wand protruding from the cover. He felt extremely guilty about intruding on the Weasley's like this. Although Mr. and Mrs. Weasley hadn't seem to mind that he and Hermione had turned up two weeks early, he still couldn't help but felt a bit awkward about arriving unannounced.

With a groan Harry fell back on the bed covering his face with his hands. It just felt wrong taking advantage of Mrs. and Mr. Weasley's hospitality like this. He really should talk to Hermione about offering to stay at The Leaky Cauldron instead.  
  
Speaking of Hermione, Harry was extremely anxious to hear why she had crashed the Dursley's carefully planned barbeque and as good as kidnapped him away from Privet Drive. Not that he had any objections to the abduction, none at all actually. But still, it had to be something extremely important to make Hermione do something like that, Harry mused. She was always so careful and fussy about doing everything in strict accordance to rules and regulations. And yet today alone she'd performed magic twice outside of school, a clear and serious violation of Wizarding Law.  
  
Well, Harry thought heavily, he wouldn't get to hear her explanation before Ron had managed to grovel his way into her good books again. He shook his head in disbelief thinking about Ron's insane outburst in the kitchen earlier. Harry couldn't help but speculate if Ron by now had realized why the thought of Krum and Hermione together agitated him so much? Personally he wasn't entirely sure this had dawned on his dense friend yet, and wondered if he perhaps should talk to him about it. Maybe a few carefully dropped hints would make Ron stop harassing Hermione and make a move already?  
  
While waiting for Ron to return from his mission, Harry entertained himself thinking up possible hints and clues to drop around Ron in the days to come. Chuckling evilly he tried to imagine Ron's reaction if Harry one day casually over dinner said something like "When are you going to ask Hermione on a date? Oh and please pass the pumpkin juice." But amusing as it undoubtedly would be he wasn't entirely sure he'd run the risk of pulling such a stunt. Ron could be a "little" hot-tempered at times and pushing it too far just might result in bodily harm.  
  
Harry was still mentally debating how and when to bring on the topic of Krum/Hermione when the door suddenly opened and a somewhat red-faced Ron walked in. Without a word he crossed the room and kipped down on his Chudley Cannons draped bed making it squeak perilously. Harry immediately leaped of the spare bed and approached his freckly friend. Ron was getting shockingly tall, he noticed.  
  
"Well," he inquired hopefully, "How did it go? Can we expect Hermione to talk to us any time soon?"  
  
Looking at Ron's crimson face Harry's heart fell. Normally only a volcanic spat with Hermione could make him look this worked up and cursing inwardly Harry assumed they hadn't reconciled yet. Ron however sighed heavily.  
  
"She will be up in a minute," he said in a low voice. Harry's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You apologized to her then?"  
  
"Yup," Ron replied still looking rather dazed.  
  
He didn't offer any more information and Harry briefly wondered if he should ask why he looked so confused. He'd only seen Ron looking this concentrated when trying to work out his next chess move and Harry curiously wondered what could possibly have happened in Ginny's room just seconds ago. Reluctantly he decided against prying and instead dumped down on the bed next to Ron intentionally changing the subject.  
  
"So, who are these relatives of yours that are staying here?"  
  
This question effectively brought Ron out of his daze. He grimaced and turned his freckled face in Harry's direction.  
  
"It's mum's great aunt Betsy and my second cousin Karen. The only trouble is that she isn't great at all. Mum's aunt, that is." Harry let out a laugh. Ron waggled a finger in Harry's direction. "You won't laugh tomorrow once she has trapped you in one of her dead boring conversations, I'll tell you that." Ron sighed resignedly and rolled his eyes to emphasize his point. Harry chuckled.  
  
"She's as old as Dumbledore, if not even more ancient and talks almost continuously about the defeat of Grindelwald in 1945. Claims she played a vital part in the operations, but everyone who's ever listened to her story knows it's just a load of old tosh. I can't wait until they leave!"  
  
Ron emphasized his point of view by rolling his eyes. "And it would be a relief to get the twins out of the room too" he continued with a scowl at the two spare beds. "They've made me their personal guinea pig these last couple of weeks. For WWW, you know" Ron hastily added upon seeing Harry's puzzled expression.

"The other day they actually replaced my blanket with a candy bedspread that turns into jelly when you tuck it around you. I had to wash my hair five times before I got it all out. Daft buggers! I was really having trouble explaining to mum why I spent half the day showering. She obviously thought I was hogging the bathroom playing with myself or something along those lines. Honestly!!"  
  
Harry raised a suggestive eyebrow and gave him a look saying as-if-you-didn't that Ron pointedly chose to ignore. The mental image of Ron covered in a thick layer of jelly did however make Harry laugh so hard he almost fell of the bed.  
  
"You think that's funny, do you wonder boy?" Ron asked in a mischievous manner and before Harry could reply he'd been hit smack in the face with a pillow.  
  
Feathers were raining all over the room by the time the two girls opened the door. Ginny let out a small cry and cracked a huge smile at the sight of the two boys chasing and hitting each other while desperately trying to avoid all the natural obstacles in the room. Hermione couldn't help but smile herself. It was wonderful seeing Harry looking so happy, she thought. The letters she had gotten from him over the summer had been cheerful enough, but Hermione knew Harry well enough by now to know that it was all just a cover. He didn't want them to worry about him she thought and that was just so typical of Harry. He never wanted to be a burden to anyone. But however much he kept his dark secrets to himself, they still did worry.  
  
All the time.  
  
The two boys still hadn't noticed them coming in but when Ginny eventually let out a loud cough, they stopped dead and their heads quickly turned in their direction. Harry and Ron then proceeded to look at each other with identical mischievous grins, nodded in agreement and just milliseconds later Ginny and Hermione found themselves as victims of a flurried pillow fight.  
  
Several minutes later (after putting up a respectable fight) the girls surrendered and they all sat down on the beds panting and laughing. This is just so great, Hermione though happily. All of them together like this, just mocking around like normal teenagers. She suddenly wished she didn't come bearing bad news.  
  
It was Ginny who broke the silence first.  
  
"So", she said looking from Harry to Hermione. "Do you mind letting us in on why you suddenly materialized in our fireplace?"  
  
"Well don't look at me," Harry said shrugging. "I'm just along for the ride, it seems." Three pairs of curious eyes looked at Hermione and she cleared her throat.  
  
"Okay, here's the story," she began while removing some feathers from her hair. The others looked at her intently clinging on to her every word. "Wait a minute," Ron interrupted glaring at his sister with narrow eyes. "Why is she still here?" He pointed at Ginny who immediately opened her mouth to protest but Hermione beat her to it.  
  
"She's my friend and she's your sister – not some mortal enemy. She stays – if she wants to that is," Hermione added with a quick glance at Ginny. Ginny smiled shyly looking from one to another and finally nodded. "I'd like that." Ron mumbled something about ruddy sisters but a stern scowl from Hermione quickly silenced him. He obviously wasn't willing to risk agitating Hermione again.  
  
"Good, now that that is settled I can go back to the matter at hand," Hermione said still looking sternly at Ron who was busy glaring daggers at Ginny in a futile attempt to make her leave of her own free will. He soon gave up as Hermione started on her story.  
  
"I came across some quite startling information while we were in Bulgaria," she began and shot Ron another sideways look not wanting to get him started on the topic of Krum again. She could see a flash of anger in his eyes and he flinched slightly but refrained from speaking. Hermione saw Harry looking at him anxiously too and he was obviously relieved when Ron remained silent because he gave her a supporting look that encouraged her to go on.  
  
"Well, on our second day visiting Viktor took us to see his old grandmother. She lives in total isolation at the foot of a very large mountain and it took us almost five hours by horse and carriage and then another hour by foot just to get there. On our way Viktor explained to us that she was regarded to be a very powerful witch mainly because of her abilities to correctly predict the future as well as recapture one's past."  
  
Now both Harry and Ron were looking at Hermione disbelievingly. "You went to see a Divinator?" Ron looked totally at a loss. "Willingly?" Sighing Hermione leaned back against the wall knowing what she had in store. "But Hermione, you absolutely despise divination, and I believe your exact words were "a total waste of time" and "a load of guesswork and rubbish, not at all like Arithmancy."  
  
Hermione just glared at Ron, knowing of course that he was right. She had never put any trust in the predictions made by Professor Trelawney and as the firm believer in logical explanations that she was, she didn't blame them for their reactions.  
  
"I know, I know," she replied exasperated. "I have never had much faith in that field of magic, I admit it but I have to say that after this visit my opinion definitely has changed." She chose to ignore the puzzled looks the boys were now giving each other. "But not about Trelawney," she added firmly making the boys snicker knowingly.  
  
"Viktor's grandmother led me into a small room only furnished with two chairs and a table were the Orb was standing. She started to gaze into it muttering strange Bulgarian words to herself and I off course immediately thought she was off her rocker. But then she started to tell me about myself. You know, things I've done and said. At first I figured Viktor must have told her stuff about me, although I can't remember ever telling him any of the things she mentioned. I mean Viktor and I mostly talk about present things such as schoolwork and career plans but Olga Krum explicitly recaptured some of my childhood happenings." Hermione paused for a moment and stole a glance at the boys and Ginny. Ron still looked dumbfounded, Ginny openly intrigued and Harry plainly sceptical.  
  
"Well, hearing a total stranger very accurately retell episodes from my life sort of made me wonder if perhaps she really could be the real McCoy. Viktor swore she didn't know we were coming and seeing as she strives to live in isolation I don't see why or how she could have obtained this information about me. But it wasn't until she started telling me things about you guys that she really won me over."  
  
Three pairs of eyebrows were lifted almost simultaneously at this statement, but Hermione continued ignoring it and kept on talking. "She didn't say your names or anything but from what she told me there was never any doubt as to whom she was referring."  
  
"What did she say then?" Ron was obviously craving some sort of proof and Hermione really couldn't blame him for that. The whole thing was pretty unbelievable. And they really did deserve some sort of evidence, but she felt a bit awkward telling them this. She knew it would embarrass them both terribly, but what else could she do?  
  
In the end Hermione decided to just come right out and say it. Sighing resignedly she braced herself for an awkward couple of minutes. Still a little bit peeved with Ron because of their earlier row (plus the per-mail badgering) she decided to start with him. Closing her eyes Hermione could still vividly remember the meeting with the old Seer...

_flashback_  
Hermione twisted nervously in her chair. It was extremely uncomfortable with its steep back and uncushioned seat and while waiting for the old woman to start her "show" Hermione fleetingly wondered if she would survive an entire hour on this torturous piece of furniture. But just minutes into her "session" with Olga Krum Hermione had forgotten all about her discomfort...  
  
How does she do it, she wondered? The old woman sitting opposite her was staring intently into a medium sized orb. Inside it a greyish mist was slowly spinning and swirling but no matter how hard or long Hermione stared at it all she saw was – well mist. But Viktor's grandmother obviously possessed a gift Hermione lacked because she managed to "see" an astonishing amount of things in that fog.  
  
Hermione's newly acquired Translation Quill (she obviously didn't understand a word Bulgarian) had been writing furiously for the last couple of minutes and she'd been astonished by what was now recorded on the parchment in front of her. Viktor clearly hadn't been lying; Olga Krum really could recapture one's past and quite accurately at that. Hermione didn't really know how else to explain the many childhood memories she'd pulled out of the misty orb. That was memories she'd never shared with anyone from the Wizarding world, not even Harry or Ron. However much it pained Hermione to admit it, it looked as if she might just have to alter her previously so adamant opinion about divination.  
  
Olga Krum had stopped speaking and was now looking with renewed intensity into the glass ball. Hermione's heartbeat quickened. She was fairly certain that the old woman could indeed see one's past. The important question however was: Could she tell the future as well? While Olga Krum continued to scrutinize the orb making a somewhat annoying clicking sound with her tongue, Hermione let her thoughts wander. What could she possible see? Obvious questions such as what would happen to You-Know-Who, how could he be defeated and would Harry be all right immediately came to mind. But she knew she wouldn't dare ask these questions. Because truthfully she was mortally terrified by what the answers might be. What if they weren't the ones she yearned to hear?  
  
Shaking her head slightly Hermione tried to push any thoughts about You-Know-Who and Harry's future out of her mind. There had to be other things she could ask Mrs. Krum, Hermione mused. Safe, harmless questions she could use to check if Krum's answers corresponded with the future. A certain question immediately came to her but blushing profusely she quickly rejected it. The answer to that scared her also. Better just wait and see about that she decided.  
  
Hermione jumped in her seat when Olga Krum the next moment once again started talking rapidly in Bulgarian. Her Translation Quill immediately sprang to life and eagerly she bent over the parchment to see what the old witch was saying.  
  
_Your past as well as future are closely linked to two strong souls._

Hmm Hermione thought, that definitely had to be Harry and Ron.

_They are both of utmost importance to you. I see strong friendship, strong bonds created from past events, bonds that will strengthen in the future in different ways_.

Hermione drew a breath of relief. The friendship would last, thank god! There had been times in the past (like third year when she and Ron didn't speak for weeks and last year when Ron and Harry had fallen out) that she'd wondered if perhaps that was it. No more Hermione, Ron and Harry. She couldn't bare it if that happened and Olga Krum's words were therefore a huge comfort to her.  
  
_The bond between you will change. Two will form a one. The third could find solace elsewhere but only if the Prophecy is fulfilled. That again depends on the awakening of the Strinx. If the Strinx should remain dormant the bond will break completely within a year.  
_  
Blushing again Hermione wondered what exactly she meant by "two will form a one". It did kind of imply something that she was sort of wishing for but she didn't dare ask Mrs. Krum to elaborate any further. But what was this prophecy she talked about? And what in the name of Ptolemy was a Strinx?  
  
Hastily she wrote down these questions and watched in wonder as her Quill promptly translated them into what to Hermione looked like complete gibberish. It did however seem to make perfect sense to Olga Krum because she nodded and answered immediately.  
  
_The Orb does not give me full detail of this Prophecy but I'll tell you what I see. A marked boy faces an uncertain future. Dark shadows are hanging over him and there is a possibility of torture to both him and those close to him. Darkness is drawing closer and I also see someone, a friendly face, with a dark and hidden agenda. Hope is however present with the help of his Strinx and a unity.  
_  
Oh great Hermione thought despairingly. That didn't exactly clarify things, now did it? But before she had the chance to ask for a more explicit explanation Krum started talking again.  
  
_It is of no use asking further questions regarding this. The Orb shows nothing more of this prophecy.  
_  
Hermione felt like swearing. She was seriously considering leaving the session in frustration when the old witch suddenly spoke again. For the next few minutes Hermione watched in amazement as her quill documented a few very entertaining past events from Harry and Ron's lives that she knew for a fact were dead true. The session would have ended on a very cheerful note if it hadn't been for Olga Krum's leaving words.  
  
"_The marked one is being tortured in his home and will continue to be so by people who hate him. He is suffering greatly physically as well as physiologically and will continue to do so if not rescued."  
_  
Hermione let out a terrified scream and bolted for the door. Harry was in mortal danger! She had to get him out of Privet Drive now!

_end flashback  
_  
"Well?" Ron's somewhat annoyed voice broke through Hermione's flashback. Looking at him she found him busily shredding a piece of parchment into minuscule bits littering his already messy bedroom floor. He met her gaze and her heart did a funny sort of flip-flop and she noticed that the tips of his ears had gone slightly pink. He's probably still a bit embarrassed about what happened in Ginny's room, Hermione reasoned. There was really no reason to read anything else into it, now was it...  
  
Hermione felt this was very much confirmed when Ron the next moment was back to his annoying, impatient self. "Are you going to tell us what she said about us or not? She might have you convinced but I'm not putting any faith in this before I have some sort of proof you know." He turned to Harry. "Don't you agree?"  
  
Harry looked stonily at Hermione. "Definitely," was his curt reply.  
  
"Okay okay, keep your knickers on!" Hermione answered curtly. "Are you really sure you want to know? Honestly, don't you trust me enough to just accept it without proof?" The boys simultaneously barked "NO!" at her and smirking Hermione leaned back on Ron's bed.  
  
"Alright, but afterwards please do remember that you asked for it and I offered to spare you..."  
  
"Oh stop dragging this out and just bloody tell us!" Ron practically screamed.  
  
That settles it, Hermione thought gleefully. You're first Ronald.  
  
Smiling like a Cheshire cat Hermione began speaking. "She said that a fiery friend of mine with a passion for orange (everybody looked at Ron's fiery red hair and then to his multitude of Chudley Cannons posters and memorabilia all which were bright orange), not long ago had been approached by a love struck brunette begging for his affection."  
  
At these words Ron's ears went completely red and he tried to avoid Harry and Ginny's curious stares.  
  
"Well, Ron you and me both know what she was referring to, don't we?" Hermione said quietly. She knew he didn't want her to mention that to anyone and she had promised him never to reveal it, but she needed desperately to convince them of the accuracy of the old woman's predictions.  
  
"What the hell does Hermione mean by that?" Harry demanded and gave Ron a light smack on the arm.  
  
"Nothing, just forget it," Ron muttered and looked angrily at Hermione.  
  
"Oh come off it Ron. Don't be shy and share with us." Ginny seemed positively ecstatic at the thought of something to tease her brother about.  
  
"Yeah, Ron we're supposed to be best friends and now I find that you are keeping secrets from me. I don't like that one bit." Harry was doing his best to sound offended but Hermione could tell by the twinkle in his eyes that he was just having him on. Ron however didn't seem to catch that, and actually looked worried.  
  
"All right, then," he said in a low voice. "Ehh, it's just that Martha, you know that slightly scary fifth year with the really annoying high pitched laughter." Both Ginny and Harry nodded in recognition. Ron looked like he was trying to swallow down a pillow but bravely continued. "Well she kind of cornered me one night in the common room just before we went home for the summer. Said she had something she really needed to tell me, and..." Ron had stopped talking. Hermione really felt bad for him now, his face all red and he was sitting just staring straight into his hands.  
  
"And what?" Hermione could see that Harry was getting impatient so she decided to spare Ron the embarrassment of retelling the event himself. "Basically she flung herself around his neck and tried desperately to kiss him," she said matter-of-factly. "I saw the whole thing. Poor Ron here looked as if he was going to dispose off all his dinner right there and then." She couldn't help giggling and Harry and Ginny both started to laugh uncontrollably.  
  
"I am picturing this most vividly!" Harry managed to gasp out in between fits of laughter.  
  
"Yeah yeah yeah, that's enough!" Ron had clearly had more than his share of attention for the time being and quickly told Hermione to get on with her story followed by a pleading look.  
  
"Well, that's is basically why I knew she hadn't gotten all her information from Viktor. I never told him about that and the only other person besides Ron and me who knew this ever happened was Martha herself, but after the way Ron responded to her affections I seriously doubt that she's told anyone." Hermione couldn't help but smirk. "Honestly Ron, you really ought to work on your rejection technique, can't say you handled that one particularly gracefully."  
  
"Ha ha ha, very funny," Ron said sulkily and made a rude gesture at which Hermione pretended to be shocked.  
  
Eventually Ron recovered somewhat from the shock of the "Martha-incident" being exposed to his friends and a huge grin suddenly spread across his face. "Hey, you did say that she said stuff about your friends, you know plural form – as in more than one friend."  
  
"I know what plural means, Ron," Hermione replied sarcastically. Ron glared devilishly at Harry. "What did she tell you about this lad over here, then? Go on, spill the beans. No need to sensor anything on my account."  
  
Harry's smile instantly vanished and he began sending her some very pleading looks that Hermione pretended not to notice. She supposed it was only fair to even the score a bit, and decided that Harry wasn't going to come off easily. She smiled as she continued.  
  
"She told me that the boy with the mark," (they all glared at Harry's forehead and Harry self-consciously tried to flatted his fringe to hide the scar) would be well advised not to wander off into public areas again unless properly clothed." And now it was Harry's turn to get all flushed. "What on earth does that mean?" Ron was now hollering with joy.  
  
Hermione decided to get the story out in the open as quickly as possible so that they could get back to the matter at hand as soon as possible. "He was sleepwalking one night I was sitting up late in the common room finishing up a History of Magic essay. He came walking down the stairs from the dormitory wearing nothing but his boxers. He was halfway through the portrait hole when Professor McGonagall showed up. She woke him up off course, and gave him a very memorable lecture about not eating candy just before going to bed. Then she marched him off to the dormitory, but not before The Fat Lady had gotten a peak at his boxers." Hermione giggled. "She still calls him Bunnyman because of the cute little bunnies on Harry's boxer shorts."  
  
And now it was Ron and Ginny's turn to burst out laughing. "Bunnyman!" Ron cried out. "So that's what she means by that! I never knew there was an actual explanation to it, just thought it was something she made up to annoy you." Harry was attempting a smile, but wasn't very successful at it, Hermione noticed. It took some time before Ron managed to get control over his laughing fit but as soon as the laughter was reduced to the occasional titter, Hermione continued with the story.  
  
"Okay if you're all quite done making fun of each other I would like to continue if you don't mind."  
  
"Sure mother," Ron answered with a mock-bow and Hermione scowled. He didn't make any further comments however and so she resumed. "After she had managed to retrieve this information about your past just by gazing into the misty orb, you might say that she got my attention. And the predictions she then made about the future were quite alarming." She stopped to draw he breath and saw that she had their full attention now.  
  
She began by telling them about Olga Krum's prediction saying that Harry was and would continue to be tortured. Naturally Hermione had assumed this meant that You-Know-Who or/and Death Eaters was plotting an attack on Privet Drive. Anxious to get Harry out of there she'd begged her parents to book the first plane out of Bulgaria. The only available flight thought wasn't until three days later and Hermione had finally managed to convince her parents to let her floo back to England. Once safely back in The Leaky Cauldron she had exited into Muggle London, found a deserted alleyway and hauled the Knight Bus. She'd arrived directly in Privet Drive some thirty minutes later not bothering to dispose of her robe or hat.  
  
Hermione did however feel a bit sheepish minutes later when Harry assured her that he hadn't seen hide or hair of any Death Eaters and certainly not Voldemort, as his scar hadn't hurt or throbbed for weeks. In the end they reasoned that the "torture" Olga Krum had mentioned most likely had been Aunt Petunia bossing him around like a badly treated house elf in preparation for the barbeque. Harry also made it quite clear that any time spent with the Dursleys could easily be categorized as torture and after actually meeting them Hermione had to concur. And they certainly did seem to hate him.  
  
Still a bit embarrassed about her misinterpretation Hermione proceeded to explain what Olga Krum had told her about the incomplete prophecy. When she'd finished retelling Olga Krum's reading (purposely leaving out the bit about two becoming one. That could definitely wait for later...) she looked at her friends anxious to hear their reactions. Ron's mouth was hanging open in shock and Ginny looked as if she might faint at any moment. Harry looked a bit paler that usual but otherwise fine.  
  
"What are we supposed to make out of all this, then," he finally asked.  
  
It was Ron who finally broke the silence. "It's clearly a warning don't you think? That You-know-who might try to get you again, Harry." As he spoke Ron had gotten to his feet and was now pacing up and down the small space between the beds.  
  
"No, really?" Harry said in mock outrage. "Honestly, this is just like Trelawney revisited." He rolled his eyes and imitated the Divination professor's misty voice. "I fear one among us will suffer a most tragic and painful death before Jupiter is in the twelfth house."  
  
"Oh be serious, Harry," Ron responded. "This is nothing like that fraud Trelawney. A friendly face that might turn against us! That is definitely a cause for concern if you ask me." Hermione nodded at his words somewhat mesmerized by the fact that she and Ron was actually in agreement for once.  
  
"I agree. But it also gives hope about a possible defeat of You-Know-Who." She looked at Harry wanting his opinion but he remained silent. "We'll have to start searching the Library for clues as soon as we return to school. There has to be some references to this Strinx somewhere, and perhaps we can even find the complete prophecy." Hermione looked very ecstatic at the prospect of another extensive library search.  
  
Harry however still looked unconvinced. Sighing Ron tried to reason with him. "Oh come on, mate. This all comes from the mouth of Hermione. How can you doubt her, she's bleedin' never wrong!" This comment actually made Harry smile. Assuming he'd won him over Ron continued talking excitedly. "The first thing you have to do is to write a letter to both Dumbledore and Sirius telling them about this. Remember what they said about letting them know if something out of the ordinary happened?"  
  
He was interrupted by Ginny.  
  
"Who's Sirius?"  
  
At these words Ron stopped pacing. Looking as if he wanted to hurt himself badly, he realized that he hadn't just manage to step in it this time, but rather belly-flopped. Harry was giving him a very scary piercing look and Hermione had put her hand over her own mouth staring mortified at Ginny.  
  
Ginny looked from one face to the other without getting any response. No one said a word for what seemed like forever. "Not going to let me in on your little secret, are you?" she asked in a flat sort of voice obviously both offended and disappointed. "Well, are you telling me or not? Ron? Harry? Hermione?"  
  
They still didn't say anything and Ginny was now getting really angry. She was used to everyone thinking she was just a little girl, and all her brothers always keeping secrets from her. But ever since she and Hermione had gotten so close over the last couple of months, she had really thought they would let her be a part of their group. But looking at the three people in front of her, sitting there all mute it was very clear to her that she had been gravely mistaken.  
  
"Fine them, I'll be leaving now. Thanks ever so much for being so inclusive."  
  
Well, she thought, at least I have my dignity. There was no way she was going to beg for them to tell her anything. Ginny got off the bed as gracefully as possible considering her rage, quickly turned her back on the trio and was just about to open the door (which she planned to slam really hard behind her) when it suddenly hit her.  
  
She whirled around facing them again. "Sirius Black!!" she called out. "You're keeping in touch with Sirius Black, aren't you??"  
  
At these words Harry jumped to his feet and in a split second he had crossed the room and was now covering her mouth with one of his hands. "Shush!" he told her intently looking her square in the eyes. Harry touching her like that instantly sent huge shivering waves of emotion down her spine and her entire body was trembling. Ginny couldn't have uttered a word even if she wanted to. She'd lost all ability to speak.  
  
"No need to broadcast it nationwide!" Harry hissed nervously and reluctantly released the hand covering her mouth. "For crying out loud, don't scream!" Hermione and Ron looked pale and devastated.  
  
Ginny couldn't believe her own ears. Harry, Hermione and Ron were chummy with the most dangerous convict in the entire Wizarding world? It was an understatement saying that she was lost for words. Harry looked as if he was thinking hard for a moment. Then finally he surrendered and sat down next to Ginny. Just him being so near her was nerve racking and Ginny couldn't help trembling.  
  
"Sirius is my Godfather," Harry started. All Ginny could muster in reply was a faint gasp. Harry quickly continued to tell her the entire story. About Sirius and Scabbers who had actually turned out to be Peter Pettigrew; the real murderer. He also told her about the Shrieking Shack, the Timeturner, his Patronus and about how he and Hermione had rescued Sirius from the Dementors flying on the hippogriff named Buckbeak.  
  
They spent the rest of the evening explaining and telling Ginny about most of their adventures from the last couple of years. They then continued to discuss the predictions made by Viktor's grandmother. Despite her ability to correctly retell incidents from their pasts, Harry couldn't help but be sceptic. But Hermione was persistent and maintained her view that this was something they should take seriously and in the end Harry agreed to talk to Dumbledore about is soon as they returned to school.  
  
Later that night when he was laying on a spare bed crammed in between Fred and George (who were both snoring heartily) Harry thought about all the mind-blowing things Hermione had told them. What in the name of Lockhart was a Strinx anyhow? It all sounded pretty farfetched, but what if there actually was some truth to it? Had a prophecy telling of a way to conquer Voldemort really been predicted? Harry knew it was a very slim chance for it to be true, but still it gave them hope.  
  
Hope is all we have at this point he thought with heavy heart. They simply had to follow up on it, but he feared they would be disappointed in the end. Looks like our fifth year will be just as complicated as the previous four, Harry thought dejectedly as he drifted of to sleep.  
  
**_To be continued..._**


	5. Admirers, Love letters and Death Eaters

**Harry Potter and the Prophecy of the Strinx**

**Chapter Five: **

**Admirers, love letters and Death Eaters.**

"Hey, that's a foul!" Ron bellowed furiously at George who'd just performed a very daring fly-by almost knocking the younger Weasley of his broom.

"Not even close!" George yelled back grinning cheekily while giving Fred a mid air high five.

"You'll have to handle rougher moves than that if you want to secure yourself a spot on the house team, ickle fickle Ronniekins!" Ron in retaliation stuck out his tongue and made a rather rude gesture. The twins took no offence and laughed heartily while Hermione cried out "Ron!" in a shocked and outraged manner from her spot safely on the ground.

The whole Weasley family, including their guests, had ventured out into the garden to enjoying a friendly game of Quidditch. Seeing as it was such a lovely Sunday afternoon Mrs. Weasley had conjured up a row of comfortable sofas that she, her great aunt Betsy, Karen the cousin, Percy's girlfriend Penelope and Hermione was currently occupying, drinking iced pumpkin juice and watching as the rest played.

They had formed two teams, the first consisting of Fred and George as chasers, Mr. Weasley as keeper and Bill as seeker and the second team consisting of Ron, Ginny and Charlie as chasers, Percy as keeper and Harry as seeker. Harry's team had the advantage of three chasers but an even huger disadvantage with Percy as keeper.

Harry felt it was probably safe to assume that Quidditch wasn't one of Percy's passions in life. His attempt at being sporty was so completely out of character it was hilarious. Harry suspected he only participated to impress Penelope, but so far he hadn't succeeded much. She was currently engrossed in a conversation with great aunt Betsy, and did to Harry's huge surprise actually look like she was enjoying it. Harry had been unfortunate enough to let himself get trapped talking to her about the many uses of wool for an entire hour the other day something, which according to Ron was a topic quite representative for dear old Betsy span of interests. Penelope was therefore in Harry's opinion either a _very_ convincing actress or completely mental. Probably the last he thought sniggering. She was after all dating Percy...

To everyone's great surprise both Fred and George had put their names down to be considered new Captain for the Gryffindor house team this year. And it was a somewhat odd experience, witnessing the two pranksters take something seriously for a change. According to Ron they'd been practicing new moves and brushing up on their beaters technique at every opportunity all summer. And when they weren't outside flying or barricaded in their room inventing new hazardous Wheezes, they could be found huddled over Oliver Wood's old tactic books with a manic gleam in their eyes. Harry thought he'd never seen anything quite so scary, and he secretly hoped that one of the Chasers would be appointed Captain instead.

On a happier note Ron had decided to try out for the team as Keeper and Harry really hoped he would get it. It would be great having his best friend on the team too. Harry watched his friend as he flew by catching the Quaffle Ginny threw him, and had to admit that he was actually quite good on a broom. And so was Ginny, he noticed.

Harry had never seen Ginny play before. In fact he had never thought her to be the slightest bit interested in Quidditch. Pulling out of a steep dive Harry suddenly realised that he in all honesty didn't know much about her at all. Funny really, he reflected. He'd known Ginny since she was ten and in the last four years he'd hardly had a single normal exchange of words with her.

Not that Harry hadn't tried talking to her. The lack of normal conversations had mainly been because of Ginny's not so secret crush on him and not because he hadn't. It had usually made her blush into a deep shade of red whenever she saw him and rendered speechless whenever he talked to her. Whenever he'd asked her something or just looked at her, Harry had usually been awarded with a squeal before she'd taken flight out of the room. Not exactly ideal conditions to form new friendships, Harry thought dryly.

It suddenly hit him that Ginny hadn't been acting like that at all since his arrival at The Burrow more than two weeks ago. No giggling, no staring and not so much as a teeny tiny blush as far as he could remember. Harry had always found it a bit awkward being around her knowing she had these feelings for him, and that awkwardness had for some reason vanished this summer.

Realizing this Harry couldn't help but feel a little funny. Was he disappointed? Nah, he concluded, it would certainly be a relief not having her following him around like a lovesick puppy anymore. He watched her swoop past Fred and score after performing a clever manoeuvre outsmarting him completely. "Way to go, Ginny!" Harry yelled giving her a very enthusiastic thumbs up.

They played for several hours and afterwards Harry's team had to endure being teased by the twins for losing miserably. Neither Ron nor Harry cared much one way or the other though. They both knew their loss had a lot to do with Percy's miserable keeper play as he'd only made one save during the entire game.

"I can't believe Percy's actually related to us," Ron complained while he and Harry were heading off to his room on Mrs. Weasley's orders to change into something less sweaty before dinner.

"Have you ever met a greater sissy? Did you see how he dived out of the way to protect himself from the Quaffle?" Ron did a striking imitation of Percy's leap to safety and Harry nearly wet himself from laughing so hard. Ron cracked a smile and bowed gracefully to his only spectator.

"Has he calmed down about the cauldron thickness, then?" Harry asked as they continued the long climb to Ron's room.

After leaving Hogwarts a year ago Percy had started working for the Ministry of Magic in the Department of International Cooperation. He had really put his heart into the work driving everyone crazy with his constant references to both his boss and his assignments. Ron grimaced as he pulled on a clean t-shirt and shook his head.

"Not really, you should have thought that the shocking revelations about Mr. Crouch would put a damper on his enthusiasm, but no such luck I'm afraid. He's just as smug an unbearable as always if not even more so. Would you believe that the death of Mr. Crouch actually got Percy a promotion?" Ron asked shaking his head.

"The former Headboy now has an even larger head if you catch my drift." Harry nodded. Over the last couple of weeks he had noticed that Percy sometimes acted as though he considered himself to be more important and better than the rest of his family. On one or two occasions he'd even gone as far as to openly criticize his own father.

Ron sighed. "I guess we can't all be the same, you know. Just think about what it would be like if more of us were like the twins."

"Amen to that!" Harry replied.

They ate dinner in the garden again that evening, as there wasn't by far room for all of them in the kitchen. The table was filled with delicious and mouth-watering food and Harry secretly thanked his lucky stars he was here instead of Privet Drive. Aunt Petunia was about as generous with her food rations as Snape was with house points and more often than not did Harry leave the table feeling hungrier than when he sat down. The contrast to Mrs. Weasley's full plates and compulsory third helpings was therefore huge but certainly welcome.

Luckily the two warnings Hermione had gotten from the Improper Use of Magic Office hadn't been enough to expel her. Mr. Weasley had pulled a favour with Mafalda Hopkirk and the most severe warning (for blasting the fireplace into pieces) had by now magically disappeared from the files in her office. Hermione had been delighted and Ron had taken great pleasure in pointing out that she so willingly had allowed his dad to break the Law on her account.

They'd bickered about this for several days until Harry had lost patience with the topic and refused to spend time with either of them unless they stopped. His threat had worked wonders and presently he, Ron and Hermione were happily discussing the upcoming trip to Diagon Alley. Hermione was almost halfway through alphabetically reciting which books they needed for next year when Mr. Weasley suddenly cleared his throat loudly so that he got everyone's attention.

"As many of you know, Percy here has been keeping in touch with an German boy named Max Strober that we all met on our holiday in Egypt a couple of years ago. Max has been very interested in taking parts of his wizarding education here in England seeing as his father is of British descent and he has been accepted as a seventh year exchange student at Hogwarts. He is arriving tomorrow and will be staying with us until school starts. I will be picking him up at Kings Cross station right after I've seen aunt Betsy and Karen off."

Harry and Hermione was clearly the only ones who didn't know anything about this, and by the look on Hermione's face she were positively thrilled by the news.

"Which German Wizarding School is he attending," she asked Ron. "Grünerwald or Bratenburg?"

Ron just shrugged signalling that he didn't know and didn't care either.

"Really, Ron" Hermione disappointedly chastised. "I surely expected you to be more interested in learning about these things. I mean it is not everyday you get to meet wizards our own age from other countries, now is it? He is clearly very interested in the British wizarding community to be going on an exchange program."

"Yeah, he is interested enough," Ron answered with a snort. "Just don't think his main interest is in the community or history, though."

Ron's mood had definitely taken a turn for the worse at the mention of Max, and Harry was very curious as to why. While Hermione gave Percy a very thorough third degree about Max Harry asked Ron about it.

"You'll see tomorrow" was Ron's short reply. "I swear if you don't see what I mean within five minutes, you'd better bloody go check those glasses of yours!!"

The next day passed without any extraordinary events taking place. That is with the exception of great aunt Betsy's embarrassing attempts at giving all the Weasleys a goodbye kiss. Fred and George fought bravely for the longest time, but in the end even they had to give in as she managed to corner them in the kitchen. They both looked utterly repulsed afterwards, but within the hour they had turned the incident into a joke with Fred doing a very convincing imitation of Betsy. The others however just held their breaths, closed their eyes and let her get it over with, and this was by far the wisest strategy, Harry thought even if it wasn't as entertaining as the twins'.

For the remainder of the day they all entertained themselves in the garden, either just lying lazily underneath one of the big oak trees chatting about everything and nothing or playing a casual game of Gobstones. While watching Hermione and Ginny giggling madly over something in a magazine, Harry concluded that this by far had been his best summer ever. Despite the alarming half-prophecy made by Viktor Krum's grandmother, the resent killings by the Death Eaters and his ever-constant guilty conscious about Cedric, Harry almost shamefully had to admit he was having the time of his life. Somehow it was really difficult being too worried around the Weasleys and he was very grateful that they'd let him and Hermione stay for the remainder of the holiday.

He looked over at Ron who was gazing dreamily into the air and seemed to be far away in thoughts. Following his stare Harry wasn't the least bit surprised to see that he was looking at Hermione.

To Harry's chagrin an opportunity to drop a hint or pursue the topic of Ron's obvious feelings for Hermione hadn't yet presented itself. Recently Ron and Hermione had only had a couple of small rows (mostly about Ron's habit of using some of the nastier words in his vocabulary) and none of them had been about Viktor Krum. There had however been a few amusing incidents (such as the time when they'd both reached for the same piece of pie) that had resulted in some extremely red ears on Ron's part and deep blushes on Hermione's normally even toned cheeks.

Charlie suddenly appeared in the garden and his words quickly brought everyone to attention.

"Dad's back from King's Cross," he announced excitedly. "Why don't you all come into the sitting room and give Max a real Weasley welcome!" They all scrambled to their feet and headed for the house, although Ron seemed a bit reluctant. Trailing behind him Harry could hear him muttering and cursing as they walked.

"What did you say?" Harry asked him curious as to why Ron was acting like this. Surely it would be exciting having an German wizard visiting?

Shuffling his feet and kicking the rocks on the ground (only just missing a very confused and lost garden gnome in the process) Ron continued to curse looking grumpier with each step.

"The prat fancies Ginny," he finally revealed. Ron grimaced leaving no doubt that he didn't approve of this at all.

"I mean the guy is three years older than her! It's almost like child molesting! Hermione and Krum all over again! I reckon she is the reason he wanted to come to England you know, but no one else seem to agree with me. Mum just laughed when I tried to persuade her to not let him stay here. Blind cow!"

Harry didn't know what to say to this at all. Suddenly he wasn't looking forward to meeting Max with the same enthusiasm as before. Could Ron be right about this? Did this Max character have a thing for Ginny?

There wasn't much time to dwell on the subject as they soon reached the sitting room. The room was crowed with red haired people and for a split second Harry wondered if Max too had this flashy hair colour, as he couldn't spot him in the throng. A soft and charming laughter however drove his attention to the back of the room and he quickly recognized it to belong to Ginny. She was standing there tossing her long hair back smiling at a tall boy with blond hair and very tanned skin. They were talking enthusiastically and Ginny seemed to be laughing at the boy's every word. Harry instantly felt his heart beating faster and something clutched in his stomach.

For some reason Ginny suddenly looked much older than he remembered her. He now noticed that she had grown over the summer and something about her posture also seemed different. Why hadn't he noticed this before? Ginny had always been just Ron's little sister to him, but it was now quite obvious to Harry that she wasn't a little girl anymore. And now she also had an admirer in this Max, Ron was clearly right about that. Max was definitely flirting; he was leaning over towards her and whispered something in her ear, touching her hand intimately. Not that Harry had much experience with these things but he had noticed Percy acting in a similar fashion towards Penelope now and then. Max Strober was flirting with Ginny and Harry didn't like it. He didn't like it one bit.

_Oh my God_, he silently exclaimed to him self. _Was he jealous?_ Was he jealous because Ginny now seems to fancy Max over him? Why? He didn't like Ginny in that way, so why was his stomach acting as if there was something alive in there?

Confusion and something close to anger was flooding through Harry as he stood watching the exchange between Ginny and Max. He hoped dearly no one would notice his confusion and tried desperately to put on the most neutral facial expression he could muster. He turned to Ron who was staring at the couple on the other end of the room with a disapproving look.

"See what I mean," he whispered gloomily to Harry. "The guy is practically drooling all over my innocent, little sister and no one here seems to think it is inappropriate. I do **not** like that boy!" Harry just nodded in agreement to afraid to say anything, as he feared his voice wouldn't sound normal. Ron however was evidently pleased that at least Harry shared his point of view.

"We need to keep an eye on him from now on. Make sure he doesn't do anything to my sister, you now. And I mean anything. Agreed?"

Ron looked him straight in the eye and Harry swallowed hard hoping his face didn't portray any of his confusion. He felt really warm, and crossed his fingers hoping that Ron wouldn't notice the telltale blush that for some reason now decorated his face.

"Agreed" he whispered back and Ron cracked a smile. "Right then," he said happily. "I would like to see the guy who can outsmart The Boy Who Lived and his amazingly brilliant side kick. Ginny's welfare couldn't be in better hands!" Grinning like a he'd already eliminated the threat of Max, Ron grabbed hold of Harry's arm and started tugging him forward. "Well what are we waiting for? Let me introduce you to this looser."

And with that Ron dragged a reluctant Harry over to where his sister and the exchange student was standing and deliberately positioned himself between Ginny and Max. Max looked a bit offended by this but Ginny didn't even raise an eyebrow. Instead she clapped her hands excitedly and pulled Harry closer to her. Harry cursed silently as he felt the blush return full scale. Ginny however didn't take any notice of this.

"Oh Max, you haven't been introduced to Harry, have you? This is my brother Ron's best friend, Harry Potter. Harry, this is Max Strober."

Max lit up at the sound of Harry's name and stuck his hand out. Harry took it and shook his hand grudgingly. "Well, I never thought I'd one day meet the famous Harry Potter," Max said in fluent English, not so much as a trace of the stereotype broken stuttering Harry was expecting. "Pleased to meet you."

Max was tall, muscular and rather good looking, Harry had to admit, but he obviously seemed to be all too aware of this judging by the superior look on his face as he stared at Harry. Harry knew he couldn't compete with Max's physical appearance but he seldom met people who didn't felt honoured to make his acquaintance. Harry had never really gotten accustomed to all the attention he received wherever he went and could personally live without all the ado surrounding his person. Normally he'd therefore feel grateful when people didn't make big fuzz when meeting him. Max was clearly not especially flattered to meet Harry and his "pleased to meet you" was said in an almost mocking tone, which reminded Harry vividly of certain Slytherins he knew.

So far Harry didn't like this Max much but he managed to return his greeting in a somewhat normal voice and he and Ron stood there for a couple of minutes (although it felt like an eternity) listening to Max go on and on about the German wizard school he attended, famous German Quidditch teams and how he had met the Weasley's in Egypt. Ron's dislike of Max was clearly matching Harry's by the look on his face, and they left the conversation as soon as an opportunity presented itself in the form of an overly excited Percy.

Well out of everyone's earshot Ron let out a loud "Ewwhh!" and made a face of utter repulsion. "He is such a suck-up! The guy is so false and full of himself he'll give Malfoy a serious run for his money."

They went outside and sat down under the tree again, both looking gloomy.

"For once I totally agree with you, Ron," Harry said and patted his friend on the back. "Not to worry, though. Gits like that never get the girl anyway. She's bound to find out what he's really like. Ginny is no fool after all." Harry said this in a surprisingly confident voice but didn't feel very confident at all. Ron though didn't seem to notice this and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right. Ginny is a smart girl; she is a Weasley you know and brains do run in the family. Besides we two are going to help her come to that realization quickly aren't we?"

"Help who come to what realization?"

Neither of them had heard Hermione approaching, and the sound of her voice startled them both into a nervous jump. "Nothing in particular," Ron muttered without looking at her. Hermione glanced from one to the other searchingly. They both steadfastly avoided her gaze. "You two are up to something, I can tell." She placed her hands firmly on her hips and awarded them her most interrogating stare.

"You two look really gloomy," she continued. "You should think someone had nicked your Chocolate Frogs or something. And how come you're out here and not inside talking to Max? It's just amazing talking to someone from the German Wizarding community. I've read a fair bit about it, off course but the books only covers so much. From what I've heard so far, the schools in Germany hold an equal standard to Hogwarts and that is really saying a lot." She stopped to draw her breath and was about to continue on her appraisal of Max when Ron cut her off.

"Oh shut up about, Max, will you?" he snapped. His outburst made Hermione look honestly confused. "Why?" she inquired. "Do you have anything against him? I can't for the life of me think what that should be. He's clearly very intelligent and to be honest I think he is quite taken with Ginny."

As she said this both boys' faces froze in an angry expression positively shooting daggers at her. Hermione suppressed a sudden urge to laugh. So that's what's bothering them, she thought. She should have known Ron would react like this towards any guy that showed even the faintest bit of interest in his little sister. That's actually rather sweet, she admitted feeling her cheeks go slightly warm. He's obviously protective of the ones he cares about. Come to think of it Ron was always very protective of both her and Harry, so naturally he would react this way when his own sister was concerned. After all he'd more than once gotten into fights and arguments with Malfoy and his thugs because of offensive remarks they'd made about her.

Hermione's heart suddenly started beating faster as a possibility occurred to her. Could this mean that Ron actually cared for her? Like, really cared? Not just as a friend? She looked at him and met his eyes, but quickly looked away. Of course he cares for you, she told her self. Just not like that. There was no need for her to get worked up about something that just wasn't there.

She forced her attention away from Ron and instead looked at Harry. He had a similar look of anger on his face. That's funny, Hermione acknowledged. She'd never known Harry to care too much about whom Ginny spent her time with, so why should this be any different? Unless, she thought and smiled inwardly, Harry finally had come around. That would be simply amazing! She let out a small laugh. This could possibly turn out to be a very interesting school year indeed, Hermione thought with a grin.

She decided not to push the matter at this point, and waved her arms in the air to signal that she wasn't going to take the discussion further. Both boys seemed pleased with this, and they spent the remainder of the evening playing chess and making lists of all the things they needed in Diagon Alley. At dinner that night Ron and Harry made a point of making sure that Ginny was seated between them so that Max wouldn't be sitting near her. Ginny looked as if she didn't care one way or the other, but Harry swore that Max looked more than a little disappointed. He kept giving him and Ron some less than friendly looks during the meal; they however chose to overlook this completely.

Something that was distinctly more difficult to overlook though was Hermione. She was giving him some rather funny looks from across the table, and Harry didn't quite know what to make of them. She smiled almost mischievously giving him an uneasy feeling that she somehow knew what was going on inside his head. Ron had also noticed these looks and he glanced questionably from Hermione to Harry. Harry decided to avoid meeting their eyes and felt his face turning red. He sure wasn't ready to tell anyone about these feelings. He wasn't even sure himself exactly what to make of all this. And besides, Hermione would probably tease him senseless and judging by Ron's reaction to Max' interest in Ginny, Harry sure wasn't willing to risk Ron's anger being directed at him.

Damn, why did this have to happen right now? Harry cursed to himself. As if he didn't have enough on his plate as it was? Harry shook his head depressingly. This promised to be a very difficult school year indeed.

From the other side of Ginny Ron was sitting feeling puzzled. Hermione and Harry were exchanging some rather funny looks, he noticed. Harry looked almost embarrassed and Ron could have sworn he'd just witness a blush on the legendary Potter's normally pale cheeks. He felt a sickening feeling in his stomach as an unwelcome thought entered his mind. Was there something going on between Harry and Hermione that he didn't know about? He hadn't noticed anything before, but these looks were very mysterious almost as if they shared a secret he didn't know about. He suddenly felt very hostile towards Harry. Was his best friend hiding something from him? And did it involve Hermione?

All three went to bed that night feelings slightly confused.

For the next couple of days the atmosphere between the three friends could best be described as a tad tense. Hermione continued to give Harry what she obviously thought was encouraging looks in order to coax him into telling her about the feelings she suspected he had towards Ginny.

Harry however wasn't even close to being sure of what he was feeling, and did his utmost to ignore her. Her continued staring did however make him blush slightly as he had an unnerving feeling that she could read his mind, and this in turn didn't go unnoticed by Ron. He again felt hurt because they didn't confide in him and despaired at the thought of his two best friends possibly having feelings for each other. Still he had to admit that Harry was an improvement from Vicky, but this didn't lift his spirits much.

So even though they wholeheartedly tried to act as if everything was normal, it was obvious to everyone around them that something was amiss. They continued to play Quidditch, chess and in Hermione's case read every book she could lay her hands on, but something just wasn't right. All three felt it, but as they were too embarrassed to actually talk about it they continued to tiptoe around each other exchanging pleasantries and acting very much like distant acquaintances instead of the tight-knitted trio they really were. The tension was almost unbearable, and to top it all off something happened the afternoon before their trip to Diagon Alley that didn't exactly improve matters much.

All three plus Max, Ginny and the twins were sitting in the living room being entertained by the twins' latest inventions (quills that amusingly wrote the opposite of what you intended and assorted pastries that for a short period turned random body parts into obscure objects) when it happened. Ron and Harry were both very much enjoying the sight of Max lying helplessly on the floor with his left leg momentarily replaced by a giant coat hanger while Hermione, wearing a huge frown, was trying to concentrate on one of her many books. Just as Max' foot changed from coat hanger into an odd sort of corkscrew, a rather scabby looking owl swooped in through one of the open windows and promptly dropped a letter along with a small package in Hermione's lap. With a surprised and confused look she quickly opened the letter and read it. Her face split into a flattered smile before turning slightly pink and she hurriedly continued to open the package. It revealed a small blue box and a gasp escaped her mouth as she opened it.

"What is it?" Ron asked, a mixture of curiosity and scepticism detectable in his voice. "Who's it from? Your parents?" Hermione hesitantly shook her head and got up from the chair heading for the door. "Where are you going?" Ron too had gotten to his feet and was heading towards her. "Aren't you going to tell us who's sending you letters and gifts?"

He looked defiantly at Hermione and she could see that he wasn't going to let this go. She sighed deeply fearing another fight might be eminent. Past experience had shown that Ron's apparently had certain _issues_ with regards to the sender, and Hermione very much doubted this posting would help matters.

"Believe me, you don't want to know," Hermione answered looking pleadingly at Ron. She tried to turn around to leave but before she could even move a foot Ron grabbed hold of her arm.

"It's from bloody fucking Krum, isn't it?"

The look he was giving her was filled with anger, and she could see his face turning redder by the second. "Yes," was all she said. As she watched Ron struggle to keep his anger at bay (and failing miserably by the look of things) Hermione started to regret having told him the truth. But she hated the idea of lying even if it would prevent another fight with Ron. He really should learn to control that terrible temper of his anyway, she thought touchily.

Ron's face quickly turned from red to an alarming burgundy shade and Hermione knew he had a long way to go before he'd learn the subtle art of controlling his emotions. Harry, sensing the danger had reached his friends and tried to act as a human buffer in hope of preventing the inevitable. Ron however pushed him away. "Let's see it then," he spat venomously. "The present, I mean. Come on Hermione, won't you show us what your boyfriend has sent you?"

Hermione had so far managed to keep a straight face, but her limit was now clearly up. "For the thousandth time!" she screamed, "He is not my boyfriend!! Are you thick or something, because I seem to recall having explained this to you before! Obviously you are incompetent of receiving and saving this information in your peanut sized brain." She stopped momentarily to draw her breath before she continued screaming. "Come to think of it, it doesn't surprise me one bit as I've had the huge misfortune of witnessing your pathetically poor academic abilities for the last four years!" Hermione was now equally as red as Ron, and Harry thought he'd never seen her look angrier.

Ron made a loud snorting sound at Hermione's outburst. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've all heard you claim that you're just "friends" with the git. But then small things happen to prove the opposite. Like for instant the fact that you went off to bloody Bulgaria for several weeks, not to mention that you keep receiving lengthy love letters by owl. And now, surprise surprise, small gifts appear on a common Thursday. How stupid do you actually think I am?" Their faces was now only inches away from each other and Harry crossed his fingers hoping they wouldn't resolve to physical measures.

"I think you are so stupid that there isn't a reliable way to measure it," Hermione replied ice dripping from her voice.

"Really," Ron answered. "Then I guess you won't mind me checking out your innocent little gift" And with that he grabbed the box from her hands and tore it open. His face fell and Harry could tell that the content of the box had left him more disappointed and sad than angry.

"Well," he started and lifted the object up so that everyone could see. It was a beautiful ring, and by the looks of it a very expensive one too. Ron just looked at Hermione with a very hurt and disappointed gaze handing her the ring back. "With that I rest my case. That ring has _boyfriend_ written all over it in flashy gold letters. Why don't you just admit it?"

Hermione looked fit to burst. Harry hadn't seen such an inflated look since he accidentally blew up his aunt Marge two years ago.

"Sometimes I wish you'd never saved me from that troll, Ronald Weasley" Hermione said frostily with an unnatural calmness to her voice. "Because I hate disliking people, and you sometimes make it impossible for me to find _anything_ worth liking in you. And in case you were wondering, yes this is one of those times."

The air seemed to freeze for a moment and Harry was certain the temperature in the living room had dropped ten degrees at Hermione's words. No one blinked, swallowed or even breathed for a long time. Finally Ron broke the tension. He'd been staring at Hermione since her last words escaped her mouth but suddenly turned away from her and ran out of the house.

"Ron, were are you going?" Harry yelled after him, but by now Ron's head was just a small red dot on the horizon.

"Great," Harry said looking at the people in the living room. "Just great."

Ginny rushed towards Hermione and the girls left the room without another word. Suddenly Max started to laugh. "That was quite a show! Do they do that sort of thing often? Extremely entertaining, I must say. Wouldn't miss the next fight for the world, even though I can't see how anything can top this one." He flopped down on the couch and continued sniggering.

"Oh shut the fuck up!" Harry and the twins yelled in unison.

Ron was running fast. His heart was pounding harder and faster than ever, and his vision was blurred. But he didn't stop. He couldn't stop. He had to put as much distance between him and The Burrow as possible. He ran past the stream, crossed a large field and suddenly found himself in an unknown part of the forest surrounding Ottery St. Catchpole. He stopped dead by a large oak and leaned against it, panting and wiping away both sweat and tears.

Seeing the ring Krum had sent Hermione had made something inside him snap. She had told him numerous times that there was nothing more than friendship between her and the Bulgarian, and he'd finally been inclined to believe her. Especially since she hadn't even mentioned him once since the fight they had the day she and Harry arrived. The last couple of days had been very confusing indeed with all the strange looks she and Harry had exchanged, and trying to figure out what that was all about had made Ron completely forget about Viktor Krum.

But now he had sent her a ring. That's what you send your girlfriend, wasn't it? Percy had given one to Penny on her birthday and you just didn't go around handing out expensive jewellery to every girl you met, now did you? It had to mean there was something more going on between them than Hermione had let on. And then there were the things she'd said. Those hurt even more than knowing she had a relationship with Krum. Hermione not liking him, not wanting to be his friend was something he couldn't bear.

Ron cursed loudly and picked up some rocks and threw them violently at the tree, making them bounce right back and almost hit him. He didn't care however and continued. The thing that frustrated him the most was that he didn't really know why this business with Krum made him so mad. Harry was Hermione's friend too, but he'd hardly heard him say anything about this ever. If there was anyone that should feel mad about her running of to such Slytherin-friendly people, it was Harry. After all Durmstrang students were widely known for their association with dark arts and Death Eaters, and everybody knew that the Death Eaters was out to get Harry.

This made absolutely no sense whatsoever, and that was partly why he'd run out of the house in the first place. Ron realized that he'd overreacted but couldn't help it at the time. Still cursing he sat down with his back against the tree and buried his head in his hands. He knew that he had to go back and apologize to Hermione. He just needed a moment to collect himself before he headed back to face the music yet again.

It was while raking through his mind trying to conjure up a reasonable apology to Hermione he first became aware of the sound. From somewhere behind him Ron distinctly heard what sounded suspiciously like clattering of branches breaking and leaves rustling. He didn't even have time to turn his head before a couple of strong hands forcefully grabbed hold of him and something black was shoved over his face. He struggled without knowing with who or how many while desperately trying to reach his wand. Kicking frenziedly in the blind Ron hit something and heard a man cry out in pain. "God damn!" the man hissed angrily. "Knock him out before he does some real damage." Ron felt something hard hit him in the back of his head and then everything went black.

Back at The Burrow the rest of the Weasleys had come storming into the living room after the massive quarrel between Ron and Hermione. Hermione was currently in tears up at Ginny's room with Ginny and Penny doing their best to calm her down, but so far without much luck.

Mrs. Weasley had conducted a thorough interrogation of Harry and the twins in order to understand what had made the two friends bite their heads of like that.

She was now sitting on the sofa shaking her head. "That boy," she said with despair. "He's too temperamental for his own good." She sighed. "I suppose he gets that from me, I'm afraid, but I always hoped he would grow out of it in the end."

Mr. Weasley went over to her and put his arms around his wife. "Not to worry though, dear. I'm sure he'll be back soon. You know it's almost dinnertime and I've never known Ron to voluntarily miss a meal." They all smiled at this remark. Feeling confident that Ron would soon skulk back into the house with his tail between his legs, they all agreed to a play a game of exploding snap while Mrs. Weasley returned to the kitchen.

Two hours later however dinner was more than ready but still there was no sign of Ron. Harry was starting to feel as though something was terribly wrong and told Charlie so. They were just in the middle of airing their concern to Mr. Weasley when Hermione entered the room. Her eyes were puffy from crying and her hair was looking bushier than ever. Her eyes darted around the room, obviously searching for Ron's familiar face. When she didn't find him she turned to Harry. "Where's Ron?" she asked in a shaky voice. "He's not back yet," Harry answered silently, fearing her reaction.

Hermione went absolutely hysterical and started crying again. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!" she chanted over and over. "It's dinnertime and he's not back. My God, something must have happened to him. He'd never voluntarily miss a meal!!" She flung herself around Harry's neck nearly throwing him of balance and sobbed loudly into his chest.

"I think maybe we should go out looking for him," Charlie said to his father. "I don't think there's anything wrong with Ron besides hurt pride and a bad case of stubbornness, but he shouldn't be acting like this. The poor girl here is positively cracking up."

Mr. Weasley agreed and so they split up in pairs and began searching for Ron's hideout. An hour later they all returned to The Burrow without Ron, and now Mrs. Weasley joined in on Hermione's panic. The fact that Ron's arm on the grandfather clock in the living room was positioned right between "travelling" and "mortal peril" didn't help matters much either. The atmosphere had never been tenser in The Burrow.

Just a few kilometres away Ron was waking up with a pounding headache. For a split second he wondered why he couldn't see anything but then he remembered. Someone had grabbed him, put some sort of cloth over his head and knocked him out. He was currently lying on the ground and he could hear someone talking in hushed voices not far away. The back of his head was throbbing something awfully and wincing Ron moved to touch what promised to be an impressively sized bump. Trying to move however made him aware of the fact that his hands were tied behind his back. Cursing silently Ron began to noiselessly wriggle and writhe in hope of escaping the bloody rope. Surprisingly it loosened almost immediately and Ron carefully reached for his pocket. If he could only get his wand out without them noticing, maybe he would be able to escape.

He froze as one of the men raised his voice. "So you are sure that this is the Weasley boy?" Ron heard him ask. "Yeah," another voice replied. "At least it's a Weasley, the red hair is a dead giveaway. I'm sure we've got the right one, though. Fits the description we got to a tee, doesn't he?" "Good, that will please our master. Harry Potter is sure to try to rescue his best friend, isn't he? And then we'll trap him."

The men laughed a disgusting and drawling laughter, which reminded Ron intensely of a certain Malfoy he knew. He had to get out of here, and that fast! There was no way these Death Eaters (he was sure that was what they were) were going to use him as bait to get to Harry. Over his dead body!

He slowly put his hand into the pocket and felt his fingers clutch around his wand. Good, they hadn't taken that away from him. Stupid prats, Ron thought thankfully. Careful now, Weasley he told himself. Don't make any sudden moves. To his surprise he also felt something else in his pocket, and judging by the shape of it, it was a Dungbomb. Brilliant, that would create the diversion he needed, Ron thought happily.

He listened intently to the men for a moment trying to get an idea how many they were and the distance between them and him. He concluded that there were at least three men, but he couldn't be quite sure. He needed to have a peek at them before he threw the bomb. He couldn't afford to fail with that throw. Slowly Ron eased his hand up to his face and began tearing the cloth away. He finally managed to sneak a look underneath the fabric covering his face and after adjusting to the light Ron could see that there were in fact four people holding him captured. They all had their backs against him and he couldn't see any of their faces. Too bad, he thought. He would've loved to turn all of them in to the Ministry.

Ron carefully glanced around to determine the best way to escape, but ended up picking a direction at random as he had absolutely no idea which way would lead home. He drew his breath and tried to get his nerves under control. Here goes nothing, he muttered quietly, and on the count of three he tore the rest of the cloth from his face, reached for the Dungbomb and threw it at the men with all his power. Seconds later it exploded covering the Death Eaters in a cloud of smoke. Ron heard them scream out in surprise and disgust as the smell hit them, but he didn't stay to watch. Instead he quickly got up and immediately swayed and staggered as all the blood had drained from his feet and the bump on his head hurt like hell. He quickly grabbed hold of a tree and tried to collect his balance. He couldn't afford to stick around here for much longer!

A loud yell brought his every muscle to attention and he twirled around to see one of the men heading towards him. He reacted on impulse, raised his wand at the man and yelled "_Patrificus Totalus_". A split second later the man froze dead and fell to the ground. While heading into the forest Ron quickly sent a warm thought to Hermione for teaching him The Total Body Bind spell back in their first year.

He ran as fast as he could. His balance wasn't fully restored he noticed because every now and then he stumbled and almost fell flat on his face. Behind him Ron could hear angry voices yelling and swearing, and judging by the sound level of their yells they weren't far behind now. Ron ran straight through bushes praying he wouldn't step into a rabbit holes or other obstacles. He was now completely exhausted and prayed he soon would exit the forest. If he didn't reach the end soon, he would be captured again for sure.

And just when Ron was certain that he couldn't run another minute, the forest disappeared and he found himself out in a large field. He could see houses up ahead and felt a huge wave of relief. The Death Eaters would never risk following him into populated areas, he was sure of it. He had made it! Unbelievable. He slowed down a bit and not long after he collapsed on the road he knew headed back to The Burrow. He just needed to get his breath back, he thought happily, and then he could go home. Dinner surely would be ready by now...

While Ron was escaping the Death Eaters, the atmosphere at The Burrow had changed from sheer panic to extreme worry and Mr. Weasley was preparing to apparate to The Ministry for help in the search for his son. Mrs. Weasley had turned an alarming shade of white, which made her numerous freckles even more visible than usual. Harry was pacing impatiently up and down the living room, trying hard to hatch out a plan to find Ron, but so far nothing useful had come to mind.

He looked over at Hermione who by now had stopped crying. For the last half hour she hadn't said a word and she looked as if she'd lost all hope of ever seeing Ron again. She was just staring into the fireplace, hardly even blinking. Harry was almost as worried about her as for Ron at this point. Hermione was a realist; he knew that much after hanging out with her on a daily basis the last four years. She always searched for logical explanations and had a natural ability to always look on the bright side. This silence was therefore scary. She looked as if she had started the mourning process already, and Harry wondered how he could make her snap out of it.

He sat down beside her and took her hand in his. She didn't react at all. "Hermione," Harry began, "I am really worried about you. It's not like you to sit like this not saying a word. For goodness sake, you haven't even suggested a single book we should look up in to find ways of locating him. This is really out of character for you." He tried to give her an encouraging smile. Finally she looked at him, and for a moment he thought she was smiling back. But instead she started crying again.

"It's all my fault," she managed to say between the tears. "If I hadn't become friends with Viktor this never would have happened. He really isn't that fun to be around anyway." She wiped away a tear before she continued. "I never told you this but I was really bored while visiting him in Bulgaria. The hole time I kept wishing that you and Ron were there with me. Viktor really is almost as stiff and fuzzy about rules as Percy."

"Well," Harry said squeezing her hand comfortably. "Maybe you should tell Ron this when he comes back?" She looked at Harry with eyes filled with terror and fright. "What if he never comes back?" Her voice was shaking and Harry didn't know what to say to this. He refused to consider that option. After what happened to Cedric at the Triwizard tournament, he had sworn he never wanted to lose a friend again. This couldn't be happening again, and not to Ron.

Mr. Weasley was just saying goodbye to his wife when the front door burst open and an exhausted and bloody Ron appeared in the opening. Hermione let out a loud scream of pure joy and ran over to him and threw her hands around his neck. Mrs. Weasley started to cry and Harry too hurried over to greet his friend.

It took Mr. Weasley and Bill several minutes to remove Hermione and his mother from Ron's neck, but finally they were all comfortably seated in the living room and Ron started to tell them about what'd happened in the forest. As the story progressed the looks on everyone's faces clearly showed both fear and anger. After Mrs. Weasley had cleaned Ron's cut in the head, Mr. Weasley brought him, Percy and Bill with him to the Ministry by Floo powder to report the attack. A short while later several aurors appeared outside The Burrow and after having put up a well of protective wards on the house they continued to search the forest. Apart from the remnants of a fire they returned hours later empty-handed and none the wiser about who the culprits were.

Later when Ron had returned and the boys were lying in their beds, he told Harry that he strongly suspected Crabbe and Goyle senior to be two of the Death Eaters kidnapping him. They made a pact to get Draco Malfoy and his cronies back double for this as soon as they returned to school.

Ron fell asleep almost immediately (Mrs. Weasley had cleverly slipped him a sleeping potion) but Harry lay awake for some time thinking about the events of the day. Ron had been lucky to escape he thought and intrinsically knew that this was only the beginning. Voldemort was clearly gaining power quickly, and his grudge against Harry was by no means diminished over the summer. Harry hated the fact that Voldemort's hate for him put the people he cared about in danger. This was a constant worry to him, and he felt really guilty about it, even though he knew he couldn't stop Ron and Hermione being his friends even if he tried. And even though this obviously put their lives in jeopardy it was also somewhat reassuring. I am really lucky to have friends like this. Just hope they'll live to tell their children about this someday. And with that he drifted of to an uneasy sleep.

In Ginny's room Hermione too was lying awake staring up at the ceiling. Today had been one of the worst days in her life. Never had she felt so totally and utterly paralysed with fear. Sure Harry and Ron had been in great danger before, but never had that affected her in a manner such as this. The thought of Ron being hurt or possibly dead had hit her so hard it had been difficult just to breath. What she only had suspected earlier was now crystal clear to her: She was in love with Ron.

Oh my God, Hermione thought despairingly. She was in love with one of her best friends! How on earth was she going to deal with this? Fifth year was shaping up to be a very difficult school year indeed!

_**To be continued...**_

_AN: Please take the time to leave a review, your thoughts and comments are greatly appreciated!_

_Next: It's back to Hogwarts for our favourite trio! An action packed train ride, a few surprises at the teacher's table, some grave words from the headmaster, Ron discovers the joy of female anatomy and Hermione practises her shin-kicking abilities. And that's just the first day..._

_PS! For those of you who absolutely hate OCs that are exchange students please don't quit on me! Max will only be a secondary character at most and I assure you he's no Mary Sue :o)_


	6. Back to school

**Harry Potter and the Prophecy of the Strinx**

**By Moon Weasley**

**Chapter Six: **

**Back to school**

Ron, obviously very exhausted from his run-in with the Death Eaters the previous night, slept through most of the next day. In light of the recent event, Mrs. Weasley insisted upon postponing the planned trip to Diagon Alley. Much to the dismay of Harry and company the trip was pushed back to they day before they were to leave for Hogwarts and it was decided that they should stay the night at the Leaky Cauldron, leaving directly for King's Cross from there.

And eventually the summer holiday drew to an end. With their trunks packed, repacked and finally approved on by Mrs. Weasley they'd retired to the living room for a last evening of relaxation and fun before leaving for school.

Neither Ron nor Hermione mentioned anything about the quarrel that had resulted in Ron running off. They just continued going about things as though nothing had ever happened. Harry found this a bit odd but had the good sense to mind his own business. He'd learned from bitter experience never to interfere in their bizarre and cryptic understandings. In a way they are equally stubborn and pigheaded he thought pensively while watching them playing chess the night before they were leaving for Diagon Alley. They both despised being wrong and would rather eat Flobberworms than admit defeat in front of the other. Denial and avoidance therefore had become their way of solving spats like this. If the topic was ignored altogether neither had to make any admissions.

Harry smiled as he watched them from across the room. He was pretending to read the latest issue of _Which Broomstick_ but admittedly found spying on Ron and Hermione over the top of his magazine much more entertaining.

At present moment they were having a "friendly" bickering as usual. Hermione was persistently accusing Ron of trying to turn her own chess pieces against her. Ron on the other hand was steadfastly denying any knowledge to these in his opinion false accusations and was now mock-sulking and pretending to be mortally offended. Exasperated Hermione was retaliating by throwing all her foul tasting Every Flavoured Beans at him.

Considering the way Hermione had acted when Ron was missing, Harry had started to suspect that maybe the feelings she harboured for Ron wasn't just of the platonic sort either. As he studied them teasing and taunting each other from his inconspicuous corner he had to admit that the two of them somehow seemed right together.

He smiled. I wonder how long it will take them to realize what's right in front of them Harry thought musingly. Would they ever admit to how they felt about each other? While trying to focus his attention back to the article about the latest developments in broom brake charms, Harry concluded that the answer to that question most likely was a thundering NO. Knowing both his friends' very stubborn track records Harry couldn't really see either of them breaking down and admitting something this profound any time soon. Guess I'm in for an interesting year, he thought with a sigh.

"A Knut for your thoughts," a voice said smoothly in Harry's ear and he immediately felt his face go red.

It was Ginny.

She sat down beside him and threw him a mischievous grin. "Are you thinking what I am thinking?" she asked while brushing one of her stray curls away from her face and tucking it behind her ear. Completely mesmerized by this casual motion Harry felt his body tense up and it seemed like an eternity and half passed before he finally managed to reply in a (to him) surprisingly normal tone of voice.

"Maybe. It depends really, on what you're thinking."

Ginny let out a small laugh and her eyes twinkled as she turned to look at her brother and Hermione. "I wonder how long it will take for that dense and obviously blind brother of mine, to realize what is right in front of him." She let out a small sigh. "You know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

Harry nodded returning her smile. "Yup, I believe I do, actually."

Ginny gestured for Harry to move a bit closer, and as he leant towards her (a bit more than necessary) he could smell the scent of her hair. The flowery odour made him feel almost light-headed and he had a sudden urge to touch her red curls. Naturally he didn't.

"Promise never to reveal this to anyone, but if they don't get their heads out of the sand by Christmas, I think I have to take matters into my on hands," Ginny whispered in his ear. She giggled softly. "I might need your help when the time comes," she said with a wicked grin on her face. "Can I count on your assistance?"

"Sure," Harry replied openly surprised that Ginny had let him in on one of her pranks.

Over the last couple of weeks Harry had gotten to see a side to Ginny that he'd never known existed. She'd seemed to finally grown out of her shyness towards him (or maybe Max had simply made her forget all about her previous not so secret crush) and Harry had discovered that Ginny on a good day almost matched the twins' mischievousness and prank pulling. Up till now Ginny had just been the little Weasley girl that never did or said much one way or the other in Harry's presence. Ron had more than once tried to convince him that she actually was a royal pain in the butt, but looking at her Harry had never really believed him. He'd simply put Ron's stories down to common sibling rivalry not once seriously considering there might be any truth to his horrific tales of nasty pranks and annoying teasing. But now that he had been on the receiving end of some of her escapades (most of which were just too embarrassing to mention), he knew otherwise and would much rather act as her accomplice than her intended victim.

The next moment Max came striding into the room flanked by Fred and George, and Ginny's attention was instantly drawn to him. He called her over, and she gave Harry a short apologetic smile before joining him at the table. Harry couldn't help put feel a wave of disappointment run through him. Cursing Max inwardly he desperately hoped The Sorting Hat would at least have the decency to put the darned bloke in Slytherin.

The trip to Diagon Alley the next day was fairly eventless. As always travelling by Floo Powder made Harry feel somewhat queasy. His nausea did however effectively vaporize the instant they stepped out into the sunny street. It was packed with wizards and witches buzzing to and fro, and at every corner they seemed to run into friends and classmates.

The day would have been perfect hadn't it been for the fact that Mrs. Weasley simply refused to let any of them out of her sight for even a minute. They were forced to stay together the whole day (which looked extremely odd as they were a numerous pack), and her fussing and fretting made them all feel as though they were trapped in a wacky sort of kindergarten.

After finishing all their errands and shopping (Hermione eventually had to be removed from Flourish and Blotts by force), they met up with Mr. Weasley, Bill, Charlie and Percy for dinner at the Leaky Cauldron. As Tom the innkeeper served them a particularly scrumptious looking steak, Harry thanked his lucky stars that they'd been fortunate not to run into Malfoy all day. Harry knew a run-in with his nemesis was inevitable, but was never the less thankful for each day that passed without meeting the self-rigorous bastard. Besides Malfoy would've simply had a field day if he'd witnessed them being marched up and down the street in a firm row by Mrs. Weasley. They'd never hear the end of it, if Malfoy's previous taunting sessions were anything to go by. Well, at least they'd managed to delay the inevitable by a day, he thought as he helped himself to seconds.

The talk around the table wasn't as cheerful and boisterous as Harry had grown accustomed to around the Weasleys. Mrs. and Mr. Weasley kept sending Ron anxious looks as to check that their youngest son was in fact still present and in good health. Ron seemed perfectly fine, but Harry knew from their talk after the attack that he was only putting on a brave face. Ron was especially joyous when addressing Hermione, but she'd never been easy to fool and judging from the interrogative looks she gave him, she saw straight through his cover. There was however no opportunity to talk about this at The Leaky Cauldron seeing as the population of suspicious Weasleys per square meter was alarmingly high, and so they all went to bed rather early.

Harry and Ron shared a room on the second floor, and as they were changing into their pyjamas' Harry decided he had to get something of his chest.

"Ron," he started and looked over at Ron who was struggling to button his pyjama top correctly.

"Yeah?"

Harry crossed the room and stopped directly in front of the struggling redhead. "Bloody shirt's impossible to button up," Ron complained irritably. Having clearly lost patients with the offending garment he ripped it clear off and flung it on the floor. "It's really to warm for a pyjamas anyway," he said smilingly flopping down on the bed.

"What's bugging you, Harry? You look like you've accidentally swallowed a spoonful of Skelegrow."

"Ha bloody ha," Harry replied and sat down next to Ron. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry."

Ron looked puzzled. "Sorry about what exactly?"

Harry shrugged and stared down at his feet not meeting Ron's eyes.

"You know, about the Death Eaters and you being kidnapped and almost killed... just because you're my friend. I'm really sorry about that... When you think about it, it's all really my fault, isn't it? You know, because of Voldemort and all..."

This was something that had been eating away at Harry for the entire summer. Cedric had died because he'd been unfortunate enough to be in Harry's proximity at the wrong time, and now Ron too had narrowly escaped certain death because of their close friendship.

Ron simply looked flabbergasted for a moment before speaking.

"Okay, Potter let me get this straight. You're apologizing because I was a stupid prat and ran off into the woods making myself a sitting duck and a prime target for seriously evil wizards? That is just about the most insane thing I've ever heard!"

Ron looked intently at Harry who was just opening his mouth to reply, but before he could say anything Ron continued.

"I know you've been beating yourself up over what happened with Cedric and You-Know-Who regaining his body, and don't even try denying it. But really Harry, you shouldn't blame yourself for that. You never asked to be famous or to have the most evil wizard to ever walk this planet trying to hunt you down like a dog and kill you every year. And as for me, I've known since our first year at Hogwarts that being your friend was in many way a health risk."

Ron smiled one of his famous lopsided grins.

"And you have never forced me or Hermione into your little adventures, have you?"

Harry reluctantly shook his head.

"You see then, famous Potter, it would therefore be wise of you to conclude that who I spent my time with is entirely up to me and me alone, and I for one could think of none other I would have as my best friend than you. And with your friendship comes danger, and I accept that. After all, I am a Gryffindor, aren't I?"

Harry was speechless and didn't know what to say after that. All he knew was that he was really lucky to have friends like Ron and Hermione. And Ginny. So instead of replying he awkwardly reached out and gave Ron a brief and clumsy hug, something they'd never done before (except when winning the Quidditch Cup and the House Cup, off course, but that was totally different). There was a brief pause where none of them said a word. They then grinned shyly at each other before climbing into bed and saying good night. Both boys felt considerably better after the talk and drifted of to sleep just moments after.

The next morning Harry and Ron were brutally awakened by thunderous banging on the door followed by a very shrill threat to bewitch their underwear unless they got out of bed this instant. A very stressed and panicky Mrs. Weasley continued the morning glory by bossing them all around like crazy, making everyone conduct a thorough search of their rooms for possibly misplaced items or stray socks. A little behind schedule they all squeezed into two of the Ministry cars Mr. Weasley had borrowed for the day and by ten to eleven they reached King's Cross Station.

They then ran as fast as they could manage (which wasn't particularly speedy what with both heavy trunks and owl cages as luggage) and made it onto Platform 9 ¾ in the nick of time. Panting and gasping for air they quickly said their goodbyes and well aboard the Hogwarts Express they were pleasantly surprised to find an empty compartment.

Unsurprisingly the twins could barely sit still for more than three seconds and had soon left the others. Harry and Ron were quickly enrolled in a discussion about who they'd thought would be substituting for Hagrid as Care of Magical Creatures teacher while he was on his mission with the giants, and were at least for the time being oblivious to the two girls.

Ginny was sitting across from Harry secretly studying him as he chatted enthusiastically with her brother. Right now he actually looks happy, she thought wistfully and sighed. She had been watching him this summer. She always did, nothing new about that. But it had been a lot easier this time, as she'd managed not to blush as furiously as she normally did when in his presence. This had obviously made him feel more at ease around her, and after the day when Hermione had told them about that strange prophecy and Harry had let her in on the secret about Sirius, she had spent most of her time with the trio, much to Ron's chagrin.

Ginny had noticed that he'd been more silent and withdrawn that usual, and he'd seemed more preoccupied somehow. Harry was a boy who took responsibility, Ginny knew, but she deeply feared that he often took on a bit more than necessary. Like for instance the blame for Cedric's death. And for what had happened to Ron. But right here and right now, these things seemed to have left him, at least temporarily and she was happy for him, desperately hoping it would last but fearing it wouldn't.

A movement at the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she turned her head slightly to see what it was. Hermione was sitting hunched over her trunk fiddling nervously with a parchment of some sort. Every now and then she looked up anxiously as to check that no one was watching her. Ron and Harry were still too absorbed in their conversation to notice her peculiar manner, but Ginny's curiosity was awakened.

Smoothly she slid closer to Hermione and pecked the older girl lightly on the shoulder. Hermione let out a small cry of surprise, whirled around and stuffed something quickly into her robes. This outburst made the boys stop talking and they were now all looking at her questionably.

"What?" Hermione barked nervously, looking from one face to the other. They just stared back. Ron had a very suspicious look on his face, Ginny noticed with dread. He'd obviously noticed the parchment she was trying to hide.

"What's that you just tucked inside your robes?" Ron asked in a not to friendly voice.

"Uh, nothing in particular, just one of our summer assignments, that's all." Hermione's face had turned a light shade of red and it was clear to everyone in the compartment that she wasn't being entirely truthful at the moment.

"Really? Are you sure it isn't another ruddy lover letter from the Bulgarian jackass?" Ron asked hotly.

Oh no, Ginny thought worriedly and she looked over to Harry who seemed to be thinking the exact same thing. Ron was now entering a danger zone - Again.

Hermione looked as though she was about to give Ron a piece of her mind, but to everyone's surprised she instead pulled the parchment out of her robes and handed it to Ron to read. He quickly skimmed the page and then his face lit up and he cracked a huge smile.

"You're a Prefect! Oh my God, Hermione, congratulations!"

Ron handed the letter to Harry so that he too could read it. Whatever Hermione had thought his reaction would be, it was obvious she hadn't expected this, and she looked startled for a moment. Harry and Ginny were now smiling too and hurried over to congratulate her on the achievement. Ron's anger had mysteriously vanished and a look of utter relief was adorning his freckled face as he helped Hermione pin the Prefect badge to her robes. She on the other hand was blushing madly.

"Whoa, you guys." Hermione looked around at their smiling faces,

"I honestly thought you would think it was a bad thing. I mean you're always making fun of the Prefects, saying that being one would probably take all the fun out of life."

"Well," Ron shrugged, "I suppose we all sort of expected you'd be appointed Prefect all along. You know, seeing as you're so smart and everything. I was surprised when you didn't mention anything about it when we got our letters from Hogwarts. And since you didn't say anything I assumed you hadn't been made one. I didn't dare ask you about it either since I thought you might be terribly disappointed or something." Hermione looked at Ron not really believing her ears. Wasn't Ron going to tease and taunt her about this? How strange.

"Besides," Ron continued in a slightly more teasing voice. "I don't think we will notice much difference, really. I mean you already boss us around anyway. A badge one way or the other doesn't make any difference." At this Hermione flung out an arm punching Ron good heartily on the chest.

"You be nice to me, Ronald Weasley, or I'll be forced to deduct points from Gryffindor because you're being an obnoxious git." They all laughed at this whereupon Ron did a majestic attempt to grovel at Hermione's feet begging for mercy, which made them laugh even harder.

Several hours later both Ron and Hermione had fallen asleep and Ginny was sitting curled up in a corner reading a Muggle novel. Harry had claimed a spot by the window and was sitting with his head resting in his hands staring at the passing scenery not really seeing it at all. A thousand thoughts were running through his head, several issues weighing heavily on his mind fighting to get his attention.

First and foremost there was the ever-present fear of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Ron's kidnapping had been a close call, and Harry felt with certainty that this was only the beginning. Despite Ron's speech last night, Harry still felt guilty about the way he was exposing his friends to mortal danger and no matter what they all said about that, there was precious little that could make him feel differently.

He sighed silently. And as if this wasn't enough there were this other changes as well. Small and insignificant when compared to Voldemort of course, but still changes that impacted them all in so many ways.

For instance Ron and Hermione. Harry had to admit that he hadn't given Hermione and her chance of being made Prefect a single thought the entire summer. But judging by his statements earlier Ron obviously had. It was oddly strange witnessing his two best friends slowly develop these new feelings for each other (although they obviously were completely oblivious of this fact themselves), and he couldn't help but wonder if it would change anything between the three of them. He really hoped it wouldn't.

And then there was Ginny. Harry stole a glance at her out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help but wonder why he all of sudden seemed so much more aware of her presence. Every time she was near him now he could feel it in his entire body, and that scared him.

With a piercing squeak, that both broke his reverie and made him reach for his wand on instinct, the compartment door suddenly slid open. To Harry's huge displeasure Max "prat-face" Strober stepped in looking smugger and dandier than ever. Harry groaned. He'd forgotten all about him, and was highly disappointed to see that he hadn't managed to fall of the train yet. Max strolled in and clapping his hands loudly woke both Ron and Hermione with a start. Ron jumped up and drew his wand, looking drowsy and confused ("Wassup?"). Max just laughed and kipped down in the seat next to Ginny.

"I've had a tour of the train," he said cheerfully, "and I must say there is a lot of really fascinating wizards and witches attending this school." As he spoke he gradually leaned closer to Ginny making Harry grit his teeth in annoyance. "I hope you guys don't mind, but I invited a select few of them over to this compartment. Lovely lads they seemed to be. Should be here any moment now."

What riff raff could this be Harry wondered slightly annoyed. Taking into account Max' miserable personality they should probably expect the arrival of the annoying Creevy brothers or some smug unbearable seventh year. Sharing a disgruntled look with Ron Harry braced himself for some sort of cloned Percy. Unfortunately they were not so lucky. Seconds later an all to familiar drawl could be heard from the open compartment door and Harry snarled loudly.

"Well, well Max, if I'd known you were inviting me to sit in with the Weasel, Pouty-Potter and their shared Mudblood girlfriend, I assure you I would have spared the energy it took for me to walk down here."

Draco Malfoy was standing in the opening flanked by Dumb and Dumber and looking, if possible, sassier than ever.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny simultaneously jumped to their feet, their wands drawn and ready, pointing directly at the Slytherin who was smirking broadly. Ron was practically fuming and Hermione had already secured a tight grip on his robes.

"Get lost, Malfoy, if you value your health," Ron growled icily, his wand shaking with anger.

"Yeah," Harry added in a bored voice. "Honestly Max, there is really no need to bring your filthy comrades into this compartment. I was perfectly happy with the state of this booth but after these award winning prats have soiled the interior of this cubicle I'll be forced to perform a series of complex "cleaning" charms." Harry waved his wand carelessly in front of him as he spoke. This gesture along with the subtle hints of "cleaning" them up again, made Malfoy duck suddenly, as if he expected Harry to send random hexes at him any moment. Harry smiled viciously as he saw the effect, and shot out a few harmless red sparks for effect.

"Instead, Malfoy, I suggest you take your new _buddy_ here with you so you all can catch up on the latest evil curses. Or wait a minute; I have an even better idea. Why don't you form a Young Death Eater Society? Wouldn't that be all cosy and nice? Now run along. Shush!"

Malfoy had by now sought refuge in the corridor and they all laughed heartily at the sight of Dumb a.k.a. Crabbe trying to hide behind Malfoy. Max had stopped smiling and looked from one to the other with something that could only be described as mild shock. Smiling like he'd just been declared a Gallionare Ron patted Harry on the back congratulating him on scaring away "the evil threesome" as he liked to call them.

"Good riddance to bad rubbish, I'll say!" Ron exclaimed as he watched the Slytherins running down the corridor and then turned to Max with a scowl.

"What were you thinking inviting bloody Malfoy to our compartment? Are you deliberately trying to annoy us or was that just a display of your natural bad judgment?"

Max looked somewhat uncomfortable with four pairs of distrustful and angry eyes at him, and Harry was pleased to hear him stutter and splutter for an excuse. Not all that confident anymore, huh Harry thought and was a bit surprised to find himself enjoying Max' embarrassment to such a full extent. Yet he couldn't help it. There was just something not quite right about this guy, but Harry couldn't really put his finger on what exactly this was. But he would definitely keep an eye on the bloke in the future. Just to be on the safe side...

The rest of the train ride passed without more excitement (with the exception of Trevor the toad going missing as usual, finally turning up in Lavender's make-up bag to her great displeasure and Neville's great relief). They finally arrived at Hogsmeade Station and made their way onto the platform. On impulse Harry immediately searched the station for Hagrid's familiar and huge body, but without result. Hagrid was off course on a mission negotiating with the giants but it took Harry a couple of seconds before he remembered this, and he mentally kicked himself for being so forgetful. Hermione and Ron also looked to be craning their necks looking for the half-giant. Harry discreetly mouthed the word "giants" and they both nodded understandingly in unison. Ginny however didn't seem to take notice and so Harry didn't bother commenting on it.

"First years, over here!" a voice shrieked from the other side of the platform and they immediately recognized it to belong to Madam Hooch. Lacking Hagrid's height and stature she was currently hovering over the crowd on a broomstick in order to make herself heard. The first years seemed highly impressed and loud gasps of amazement could be heard while she led them over to the path to the lake. Harry and the other students made their way over to the horseless carriages that would take them up to Hogwarts Castle.

As Harry entered the Great Hall and found his way over to the Gryffindor table, he felt the familiar and comforting feeling of coming home. Hogwarts was his favourite place in the whole world, and the only place (besides The Burrow, of course) where he'd ever really felt welcome. He looked around and was comforted to see that nothing appeared to have changed over the summer. He'd feared that the return of Voldemort last year would scare some parents off, resulting refusals to send their children back, but clearly this hadn't happened. After all Hogwarts really was the safest place to be anyway.

Hermione nudged Harry's arm and pointed discreetly at the teacher's table.

"Look," she whispered excitedly. "There's a line of new teachers this year!" Only Hermione could looks so thrilled about the teaching staff of Hogwarts Harry thought wryly. Although he reluctantly had to admit he was a smidge curious himself with so many vacant positions to fill.

"Blimey!" Ron exclaimed mirthfully making no effort whatsoever to hide who he was pointing at. "Ron!" Hermione hissed heatedly. "You don't point like that at people. Honestly, where are your manners? Do you even have manners?"

Ron shot her an amused look. "But Hermione, that's has to be the biggest hat ever worn! It was made with the intent of being pointed and gawked at." Harry secretly shared Ron's view but wisely kept his mouth shut as Hermione continued to edify Ron on common decorum.

"I've never seen her before," said Harry. "Not the youngest of witches I've seen either. Wonder what class she'll be teaching." Next to him Ginny was snickering at the sight of the new professor's abnormally large yellow hat, but thankfully in a much more subtle manner than her brother. Harry joined in on her mirth, laughing discreetly into his napkin. Suddenly however Ginny's eyes froze in a shocked expression.

"Oh my God," she whispered and hurriedly gestured for the others to look at the teacher sitting at the end of the table looking kind of lost in the large chair usually reserved for Hagrid.

"It's ... It can't be true... Tell me my eyes are playing tricks on me!" Ginny mumbled looking stunned. All four sat staring with mouths open at the person who undoubtedly would be their new Care of Magical Creatures Professor this year.

It was Charlie Weasley!

"That bastard!"

Ron had finally gotten his tongue working again and was now literally fuming.

"He never told us he was going to be a teacher here!" He shook his head in despair. "Now we'll have a brother here watching our every move and making daily reports to mum. Brilliant, just brilliant," Ron muttered sarcastically.

Ginny suddenly started laughing and they all looked at her quizzically.

"What's so funny? I don't find anything particularly funny about this situation!" Ron exclaimed hotly. "You do realize he'll be hovering over us like an oversized bat, trailing our every move? Howlers will become a weekly habit if he owls mum as frequently as he does when in Romania."

"Yeah yeah tough luck for you, you rule breaking maniac," Ginny answered still sniggering. "It's just that I did notice Charlie acting a bit strange sometimes this summer, and I just assumed it was because he was in love or something. You know, because he looked really nervous at times, and I figured it was because he was working up the nerve to ask someone out. Well, in retrospect I think he was just nervous about his new job."

"Well, whatever," Ron said acidly. "I'm still going to kick him in the shin for not telling us! Honestly, keeping something like that from us, it's treachery that's what it is!" They all looked up at Charlie again and this time he caught their eyes and gave them a wave, which they all returned albeit in Ron's case reluctantly.

It took some time before the shock of seeing Professor Weasley wore off. Hermione also made a point of telling Ron that the terms "Weasley" and "professor" really didn't mix very well, and this set of a new bickering between the two. Harry and Ginny simply rolled their eyes and focused their attention to the teacher's table again. They still hadn't figured out which class the witch with the wacky hat was teaching. They knew it had to be either Defence Against the Dark Arts or Potions, as these were the only open spots this year (besides from Care of Magical Creatures that is, but it was quite obvious to them who'd be filling that position).

Well, Harry thought, Dumbledore surely would tell them within minutes anyway. He looked over at the Headmaster who was currently in a deep conversation with someone wearing a large hooded cloak. "That has to be the last new teacher," Ginny whispered in his ear and Harry felt goose bumps trailing down his back and he barely managed to nod back.

At that moment Dumbledore rose to his feet and cleared his voice and the Great Hall immediately fell silent.

"Dear students, welcome to another year at Hogwarts. In just a few moments the first years will be sorted into their houses, but before this magnificent ceremony begins I would like to introduce you all to our three new teachers this year. Firstly we have Professor Charles Weasley that will be filling in for Hagrid as Care of Magical Creatures teacher this year."

The Great Hall erupted in applause and waving hesitantly at the crowd Charlie looked to be blushing ever so slightly. A fair few of the older girls were already batting their eyelashes and winking seductively in his direction. Apparently we have ourselves a new Lockhart Harry thought wickedly, finding Charlie's obvious discomfort quite entertaining. The Slytherins were unsurprisingly the only ones to refrain from cheers and flirting.

When the cheers and catcalls finally died down Dumbledore continued. "And secondly I am proud to introduce to you Professor Figg who will be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts." No one seemed to know who this witch with the bizarre hat was, but they all still applauded politely. Harry had an unnerving feeling that he'd seen her somewhere before but was unable to place her. He twisted his brains, but without result. "Argh," he thought irritably. He hated when that happened.

The next announcement however made him forget completely about the mysterious Professor Figg. Dumbledore's voice echoed once again throughout the hall as the third new teacher at the top table removed the cloak. Harry stared in amazement for a few seconds before looking over at Ron. He was already practically drooling in his seat.

"And last but not least, we welcome Professor Delacour as our new temporary Potions Master!"

It was Fleur! Harry couldn't believe it. Fleur had been a Champion representing Beauxbarton in the Triwizard Tournament the previous year, and it was no secret that Ron had been rather taken with her. Fleur was part Veela Harry knew, and Ron was very easily affected by their charm (something which had been thoroughly demonstrated at the previous Quidditch World Cup). This s still seemed to be the case as Ron now sat with his mouth wide open looking at her longingly. Harry couldn't help it and let out a small laugh. He really did look like a fish out of water with his eyes wide open and was clearly unable to breathe properly at the moment. Hermione however didn't seem to find this the least bit entertaining, and proceeded to hit him rather violently over the head with her fork.

"Ouch, what did you do that for?" Ron asked without taking his eyes of Fleur.

"Really," Hermione replied obviously disgusted by Ron's evident admiration for their new Professor. "Drooling over a teacher like that. It's appalling." She snorted.

"I'm not drooling! Just appreciating the lovely scenery, that's all," Ron said and winked at Harry who just shrugged and smiled weakly at his friend. With that comment Ron and Hermione's second quarrel in less than ten minutes began, and he decided not to be dragged into it.

Professor McGonagall had now placed the old three-legged chair in front of the teacher's table and the Sorting Hat lay motionless on top of it. The first years all jumped nervously as the old bonnet moments later broke into yet a newly composed song. Once it ended and the tremendous applause died down, the first years all stood in line looking visibly nervous as McGonagall pulled out a large piece of parchment.

"When you hear your name called out," she explained patiently, "you will go up, sit on the chair and put the hat on and it will decide which House you belong to." And so she began calling the new students and one by one they made their way over to their House table with Gryffindor counting nine new members.

After the first years had been sorted, Max was the only one left. McGonagall signalled for him to take place in the chair. Harry watched closely as Max put on the hat and he crossed his fingers under the table, desperately hoping the German wouldn't end up anywhere but Gryffindor. The seconds trailed off and nothing happened. The Sorting Hat must be having trouble deciding what House Max was best suited for, Harry concluded remembering all to well his own sorting. He himself had been given a choice between Gryffindor and Slytherin; a fact that he'd never mentioned to anyone except the headmaster.

Finally the brim of the Hat opened wide and shouted out "Gryffindor!" Harry cursed loudly earning himself a questionable look from Ginny, while the rest of the Gryffindors (Ron off course being the exception) applauded wildly. Harry simply avoided Ginny's puzzled stare and turned his attention to Seamus and Dean who were now talking vividly about the latest Quidditch News.

Max joined them at the table and confidently chose the seat next to Ginny who was soon busy introducing him to everyone. Dumbledore declared the feast for open and soon the tables were filled with delicious food and Harry's dislike for Max was at least temporarily forgotten. After they'd all eaten way more than they needed, Dumbledore once again rose from his chair and signalled the students to silence.

"My dear students. Before we all retreat to our dormitories, I wish to make a few announcements. Firstly everyone should note that it is still strictly forbidden to enter the Forbidden Forest, hence the name, and Mssrs. Weasley should by no means regard themselves exceptions to this rule." Dumbledore looked at the two redheads at the Gryffindor Table, and Fred and George raised their goblets in a mock-toast saying, "Hear hear" in unison.

Dumbledore continued. "I hope you all have the words of my last speech fresh in mind, but for those new to the school as well as others that might have developed a slight case of selective amnesia over the summer, I will repeat my statement. Last June Voldemort returned to body. I know this because Harry Potter was there to witness it all. He barely escaped to tell the story, and I believe it is in your best interest to know what dangers that possibly lies ahead. We must therefore be strong together and put our hearts and souls into learning ways of fighting these threats to our society."

Dumbledore paused for a moment letting his gentle eyes sweep across the Great Hall. No one said a word. "We have already lost one among us to this dark and evil wizard" said Dumbledore sadly with a nod towards the Hufflepuff table. Small sobs could now be heard from around the hall as the memory of Cedric Diggory came back to them. "Since Cedric left this world at Voldemort's hand, many wizards have followed. This is only the beginning. We are once again at war, good versus evil, and I believe the good will stand victorious in the end. I hope you share my beliefs. And with that I think it is best if you all return to your Houses."

After the feast was over Hermione immediately left for the Entrance Hall where she'd immediately starting ushering the new Gryffindors towards the seventh year prefects who'd just received the password ("Flibberty flopp") to Gryffindor Common room. Hermione usually loved guiding newcomers around Hogwarts, answering questions and giving out advice about this and that, but tonight she found that her heart just wasn't in it. Her mood had taken a turn for the worse when discovering that Fleur Delacour had been employed as their new Potions Master, and the very thought of what that class would be reduced to irked her. Not that she had anything against Fleur personally, not at all actually. From what she'd heard she was very talented. But her dazzling beauty made all the boys go completely gaga by just looking at her and that surely couldn't be a good thing for a professor now could it?

She looked crossly at Ron who was currently walking next to Harry a few steps ahead of her, not taking any notice to her irritation. Really, Hermione frowned. The look on his face when Fleur had been introduced had been nothing short of appalling. He'd looked like a lovesick puppy with his stupid drooling. Hermione shook her head disbelievingly wondering how some people could be so shallow that the sight of a pretty face would make them loose their head completely.

Naturally she had pointed this out to Ron during the feast, but he hadn't taken her point at all. Her helpful comment had instead resulted in a very loud shouting match that'd almost led to a full-blown food fight. Hermione had to admit she'd come pretty close to chucking her pudding in his face in retaliation for some of the snide remarks he'd made about her prudence. Fortunately she'd managed to subdue her impulse just in time. It really wouldn't have been very Prefect-like, now would it?

Preoccupied with thoughts of stupid adolescent boys Hermione hadn't noticed that Ron and Harry had stopped dead two steps in front of her and without warning she walked straight into Ron's back.

"By Merlin's wand, why did you stop like that?" she asked irritably. Not receiving any form of coherent reply from the boys (Ron made a faint gagging sound and Harry was spluttering for some reason) Hermione peered curiously over their shoulder wondering what'd made them freeze to the spot like that. She looked enquiringly down the corridor and saw Lavender and Parvati standing next to a particularly ramshackle suit of armour giggling madly about something or the other. Nothing odd about that Hermione thought dryly as those two was prone to titter and gossip on a regular basis, only occasionally stopping to eat and sleep. That couldn't be it Hermione concluded, she was clearly missing something.

"What are you staring at?" She looked from Ron to Harry.

"Er," Harry began still not looking at her, a slight blush visible on his cheeks.

"Er, what?" Hermione inquired feeling a wave of impatience forming. Harry was now sporting a blush a light shade of burgundy.

"Er, it's just that, er, Lavender seems to have... You know, er, filled out a bit during the summer." He blushed even deeper and refused to meet Hermione's gaze. She turned and looked at Lavender again and now she noticed it too. To be blatantly blunt Lavender appeared to have grown out of her A-cup bra and had clearly advanced to a C-cup if not more. Well, well, well Hermione thought resignedly, this will surely only add to her already big ego. Obviously she was bound to make a lot of new male friends with advantages like that.

Harry had by now managed to snap out of his previous trance and was currently waving a hand in front of Ron's face trying (and failing) to get his attention.

"Earth to Ronald! Hello, is there anybody home?"

"Eh?" Ron answered unintelligently. "What did you say? Are you talking to me?" He was still staring at Lavender (or rather Lavender's breasts) while he spoke. Hermione felt her blood starting to boil again. Honestly, were looks and breasts the only thing Ron cared about these days? She had thought her friends were a bit more mature than this and that they realized that looks wasn't everything. Clearly she was mistaken. Hermione huffed. Boys were so immature sometimes.

"Whoa, Harry did you see the jugs on Lavender? That is just unbelievable. They're even bigger than the sets on some of the witches in those magazines I found under the twins' beds this summer." Ron seemed to be unaware of Hermione's presence and Harry gave him a piercing look and gestured for him to stop talking. Ron however was to worked up to realize what Harry meant and just kept going with his appraisal.

Hermione was now seeing red. Was she hearing correctly? Had her friend Ron stooped so low as to read dirty magazines? And he was openly admitting to this?

"ARGH!! RONALD WEASLEY, YOU DISGUST ME!" Hermione kicked him with all the power she could muster, and was pleased to hear Ron cry out in pain as her foot hit his shin. She then turned and ran as fast as she could up the stairs, delivered the password to a very shocked-looking Fat Lady and as soon as the portrait swung open she headed straight for her dormitory. She flung down on the bed and pulled the covers well over her head. Her heart was beating at an alarmingly high rate, and it felt as though it was about to break down completely. Tears were now running down her face.

He had done it again. Why on earth did Ron always manage to infuriate and hurt her like this? Hermione heard the other girls coming in and pretended to be asleep. She wasn't in the mood to face all their questions about why she was crying. She simply couldn't bear the thought of listening to them analysing the situation and her reaction. Besides she wasn't too keen on another reminder of Lavender and her growth spurt either.

Hermione was no fool. She knew exactly why she reacted like this. She'd known since the day Ron was kidnapped and had suspected it for even longer. She was in love with him. And she hated herself for it. Why Ron of all people? He was just impossible sometimes and so different from her in every way it was annoying.

Hermione sighed. Why couldn't she just like Viktor in that way instead? It would make everything so much easier. But the fact remained that he didn't make her heart beat faster. He didn't make her blush or feel special. But Ron did. And he didn't know it, and probably didn't even care by the look of things. Judging by the way he was acting these days he sure as hell didn't feel the same way, Hermione thought gloomily. Sighing she pulled the cover tight around her and closed her eyes. When did life become so difficult?

Ron was sitting on the stone floor of the corridor massaging the spot where Hermione's foot had hit his leg just moments before. Harry was sitting in front of him with a disapproving look on his face.

"What ever did she do that for?" Ron asked. "That really hurt."

"Well, she put her whole strength into that kick, so off course it hurts," said Harry. Ron thought Harry looked a bit amused. He however couldn't really see anything funny about the bruise he felt coming on.

"She's mental! What in the world got into her just now? Was it something I said?" Harry was now laughing. "You could say that," he replied.

"I don't understand her sometimes," Ron said rubbing his eyes.

"Obviously," Harry answered mirthfully. "But maybe you should try to figure this out soon?"

Harry got up and offered a hand to help Ron up.

"Figure out what exactly?" Ron asked confusedly accepting Harry's hand. Harry smiled a mysterious smile.

"Why you and Hermione always argue so much, off course."

Harry refused to elaborate any further as to what he meant by this, and so Ron went to bed that night feeling both confused and puzzled.

_**To be continued...**_


End file.
