Vox Corporis: Rebirth

Vox Corporis: Rebirth

Chapter 78: "Train of Friends"



Original story by -> MissAnnThropic

http://fanfiction.portkey.org/story/6586/1

Email: miss_annthropic@yahoo.com



Pursuant to the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 and the Digital Millennium Copywrite Act of 1998, this work is copywrited 2007 with all rights expressly reserved by its author unless explicitly granted. No portion may be reproduced in any fashion without the express written and notarized permission of the author.



Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All characters are creations of Joanne K Rowling, © 2007, to whom I am deeply indebted.



CONTENT Disclaimer: This story may contain sexually graphic and explicit material and it is not suitable for minors. If you are a minor, please leave now, as it is illegal for you to be here. If it is illegal for you to read or view sexually explicit material in the community you view such material, please leave now. This story and characters are purely fictional and any resemblance to events or persons (living or dead) is purely coincidental. If you are offended by sexually explicit stories, please read no further. These stories are just that, stories, and may or may not reflect the opinions of the author.



In Gratia: The original story was created so beautifully and so powerfully by MissAnnThropic. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to her for her kindness in letting me ‘play in her sandbox’.



NOTE: Please, Please, PLEASE! – Review my work.



NOTE 2: I have received a complaint that the sexual contact that Harry and Hermione have engaged in has strayed a great deal from what Ann wrote and that I was no longer being true to Ann’s story. I wanted to address this point head-on and say that I make no apologies for their evolution as a couple. I believe that they have changed fundamentally because of what they have been through together and how the magic that each has experienced has changed them.



NOTE 3: This story will not; could not possibly be finished by the time the last book comes out. What happens, happens and there’s nothing I can do about it. I know that JKR wants Harry & Ginny together. Personally, the idea repels me totally. She’s such a minor (and weak) character that the idea of Harry ending up with her is really, really sad. Conversely, RON DOES NOT DESERVE HERMIONE!!!!!



From chapter 77 “A Beetle Unbound”



Harry’s eyes were plaintive as he looked at the deputy headmistress “They called her, no, scratch that…SNAPE....called her a ‘insufferable know-it-all’ in front of the entire potions class, Professor. It’s something that has hurt her for a long time.”



Minerva McGonagall was not a woman who was usually troubled by the emotional ups and downs of students; having seen decade’s worth of their troubles. However, Snapes’ comments to Hermione were inexcusable.



“Headmaster, Hermione, Harry” she said, standing up. “I have a message to send. Thank you all for a wonderful dinner. I’ve enjoyed it immensely.”



She took a small, blue ball out of her pocket. It was instantly recognizable as a port key. She tapped it with a finger and disappeared in a swirl of color.



The Headmaster looked at them from across the table. “I think we ought to adjourn for the night, Harry, Hermione. I still have to meet with the new potions master. It’s a good thing that it’s a popular discipline in the wizarding world. For what its worth, Hermione, I am saddened that you were treated so badly by Severus Snape. There was never an excuse for that. It is sad that he never had an opportunity to apologize for that remark.”



Hermione nodded. She was numb, emotionally. Snape\'s remark had really hurt her and it was something she was finding hard to get over.



Albus Dumbledore reached across the table, when he saw the distress on her face, and touched her hand very gently before he rose and swept away.



Harry got up and pulled her up to him, so that he could touch her all over. “Hermione? Back to bed?”



She smiled, finally, and looked at him “You read my mind,” she giggled.

**********************************************************************************

Sunday, September First, 10:30 AM.



“Ready?”



“No. Not really. What am I supposed to do if a couple of students get into a fight or otherwise out of control? There aren’t going to be teachers on the train who’ll have authority that I can rely on. It will just be the two of us. I don’t think that the Headmaster is going to appreciate my transfiguring students just so that I can break up a fight.”



Hermione was never happy when Harry was fretting and this was one of those times. In all the years that she had known him, she had always been the one to lead – mostly because she was usually the smartest person in the room - and people (i.e. other students) respected that and were willing to do what she suggested.



Except for the minor fact that he had taken down Voldemort at the end of the last school year, Harry was a completely unknown quantity to most students. He would have remained so; content to have always been known as the youngest seeker in one hundred years’ time; if the fates had let him.



As it was – and particularly in light of Skeeter\'s article (which Harry had not read yet and had not thought to ask her about) – Harry was going to be looked at with what Hermione thought would probably be a cross between fear and suspicion.



There was nothing she could do about it in the moment. There was nothing to be done until she had had a chance to team up with some of the seventh-year Gryffindor girls whom she knew she could count on to be supportive of her plan



Walking over to Harry, who looked particularly good in his dark green polo shirt and khaki pants this morning, Hermione removed from her right pocket Harry’s Head Boy badge and affixed it to his Hogwarts dress cloak, so that as he stood, he looked official and just slightly menacing.



For herself, she had chosen a white silk blouse which was just form-fitting enough to accentuate her cleavage and a knee-length dark-blue plaid skirt. What only Harry knew was that she somehow obtained (and he had no idea when), from a muggle company called ‘Fredrick’s of Hollywood’ a pair of lacy, crotchless knickers, and was wearing them at that very moment. Because of just how wicked (and wonderful) this was in his eyes, he had had to cast a ‘notice-me-not’ charm over the lower half of his body. It would not have done his reputation great good, as Head Boy, to be walking around with a noticeable erection, despite the gentle teasing to the contrary which he had gotten from Hermione not an hour previously.



To finish her outfit, Hermione had put on a very dark blue dress cloak and affixed her Head Girl badge to it. For her, the effect was not menacing, as was Harry\'s, but rather totally entrancing. The blue of her cloak was set off by the lustrous curls of her hair as it cascaded about her shoulders.



“Ready now?”



Glumly, Harry nodded. He had never been looking forward to this particular responsibility, except insomuch as he would have a chance to see Ron again. He hoped that Ron would have wild stories to tell from the summer break and he expected that Ron would, given that he had gone to Romania to recover and to see Charlie. Apparently, recovery meant spending time herding dragons and reveling in his new-found relationship with Luna.



Hermione took him by the hand and led him towards the doors of the castle, so that they could get clear of the schools’ wards and apparate directly to Platform 9 ¾ before most of the students arrived.



It was a long walk out to the main gates – almost a mile – which is why students usually arrived by carriage once they had disembarked from the train.



For almost ten minutes they walked in silence; the stillness broken only by the occasional call of the Black-throated Thrush or the Grasshopper Warbler. Once they were close to the gates, Hermione took his hands in hers and pulled him close. “Don’t be afraid, Harry. Today will be a good day. There are no more death eaters and no one’s going to spoil this for us or the other students.”



He looked into her eyes and she could see the concern – the worry about not being good enough. “It’s all right, Harry. No one’s going to judge you today for what you did to save everyone. I know that even if some do, there are plenty of others who saw what happened and know the truth. They’ll stick up for you. Don’t worry! You’ll see.”



She smiled and then pulled him close for a kiss. When they broke apart, Hermione grinned and said, “Just remember, Harry, I’m wearing those special knickers…and I fully expect us to get a private coach where you will take full advantage of them.”



Harry grinned and felt his erection throb in his slacks. “Yes, Ma’am!”



“Good. Now that that’s cleared up, we can get going. We’re almost to the gates.”



Harry’s smile was stuck in the ‘on’ position as the two of them crossed the remaining distance to the apparition point. Wicked, wicked witch. Whatever did I do to deserve you?



*********************************************************************************



The Platform was already beginning to fill with students, parents, and Ministry personnel including, Harry was happy to see, several Aurors led by Kingsley Shacklebolt, dressed in what looked to be form fitting uniforms made of dragon-hide. It satisfied Harry no end to think that a Hungarian Horntail had met its match and was now doing something productive.



The Aurors spread out to take up strategic positions along the Platform. Their wands were out and there was no doubt they meant business.



Somehow, seeing Shacklebolt, Harry felt much better and more at ease. It meant that he didn’t have to be on his guard as much. Then he had an idea. “Hermione? I’m going to take Knight for a walk-around. See if anything smells out of place.”



She looked at him quizzically for a moment and then nodded. “Good idea. I’ll do one side, you do the other.”



Harry smiled and then suddenly, he was the great cat. Even as his paws hit the ground, there was a great shout of joy and a round of applause from those who were milling about the train. He roared what he hoped was a happy roar, though he wasn’t quite sure what that meant. After nuzzling Sagehunter, he loped off towards one end of the Platform, stopping to smell at different points. He went back and forth, investigating every place where there could be a problem. He leapt up on onto the train and searched its length, before disembarking on the other end.



Satisfied that the train was safe and that there were no malicious surprises anywhere, he sought out Hermione. He found her sitting on her haunches, being patted by a couple of very young children. Still in his animagus form, he walked over to her and nuzzled her affectionately, before sitting down beside her.



“Oh look, mommy! It’s Knight! Isn’t’ he beautiful!!?”



“Gently, Gretta. That’s Harry Potter. You need to be very gentle with him. He protected you; he protected all of us.”



For almost ten minutes, Harry and Hermione let themselves be patted by the young children. There were more parents and more ooows and awws, and every parent and ever child thanked the two of them for being there and protecting everyone.



Hermione pulled him aside, after they finally resumed their human forms, and cried on his shoulder, as she let out the emotions which had built up inside her.



“I never really realized what we were doing, Harry. I didn’t know that it could mean so much.”



He looked down at her and wiped away a tear from her cheek. “I didn’t know, either, Hermione. All I wanted to do was protect you. It was only ever about protecting you.”



“Damn you, Harry. How am I going to go onto the train after crying like this?”



“It’s all right, Hermione. People understand.”



“You sure?”



“You heard what that one mother said to her daughter? Yes, Hermione. I’m sure. I think they finally get it.”

***********************************************************************************

10:50 AM



Hermione and Harry walked the length of the platform, actively pushing students to get up onto the train; get their travel cases packed away; and find seats.



Just as they were turning to make their next pass along the length of the train, several mops of red hair appeared through the portal. It wasn’t rocket science to figure out that Ron and Ginny had finally arrived.



The four of them ran to greet each other. For the first time, Harry grabbed Ron and embraced him in a bear hug. “Missed you, Mate. It’s good to see you again.”



Ron looked him in the eye and grinned. “You too, Mate. I’ve loads to tell you two!”



“I’m sure Ron. I’m dying to hear about it. We can talk on the train, after Hermione and I have done our rounds.”



“Ya, I can see! Head Boy and Girl. Well, I always thought it would be the two of you. I mean, how could Dumbledore not?”



“Well, I see you were named Prefect and Quidditch captain? That’s great Ron! I can’t wait to play for you.”



Ron’s smile was threatening to become permanent. Harry was glad that Ron didn’t seem to be mad at not making Head Boy. He remembered back to when Ron had seen himself in the Mirror of Erised. Ron’s fondest wish (then) had been to be Head Boy and win both the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup.



He figured that two out of three wouldn’t be too bad.



After Hermione had hugged Ron and Ginny (though Hermione\'s hug for Ginny was a little less enthusiastic), Harry hugged Ginny. “Hey, sis. Missed you. I never got a chance to thank you for how well you protected Hermione and me when we were in St. Mungo’s. I owe you a lot for that.”



“Oh, Harry. No you don’t. I love you as a brother and how could I not protect you two that night, after everything that happened? You saved Neville, and that’s what matters to me.”



“I take it that you and Neville have gotten pretty close?”



Ginny nodded enthusiastically and reached down the front of her shirt to pull out a golden chain, from which hung a heart-shaped locket. She tapped it once and it sprang open to reveal their pictures, side by side.



Both Hermione and Harry looked at it closely. Hermione spoke first. “That’s beautiful, Ginny. He must really care about you to do that. Do you think he’s going to propose?”



Ginnys’ eyes went wide and she grinned hugely. “He will, I think, just as soon as he can break the news to his grandmother.”



“Congratulations! That’s wonderful, Ginny. Is your mother pleased?”



“Pffffffffffffff. You know Mom. She’s been desperate to see me get back with you, Harry. I finally had to tell her off and storm out last Friday. I was so ripped. I mean, really! How could she think that you and I could ever be together when stories and pictures of you and Hermione were splashed everywhere? Now mind you, this was AFTER we all left St. Mungos.”



Ron chimed in. “I finally had it with her too, Harry. I love Mom a lot, but she’s totally daft. She actually had the nerve to get in my face about my being with Luna. I just about lost it. She had the audacity to tell me that Luna’s family wasn’t a proper wizarding family because her father had raised her alone, after Luna’s mother had died.”



Harry was rocked back by what Ron and Ginny had said about Molly. She had always been a mother to him, though not was much, he reflected, as Miranda had come to be for him.



A loud, five-horn blast sounded, catching them all by surprise.



Hermione looked at them all. “Time to go! Ron – find Luna and make sure she’s onboard. Ginny, please get Neville and make sure that we have enough carriages for all of us.”



“Harry? Would you do your magic and make sure that we are going to get moving in a moment.”



He grinned at her and nodded. “I’m on it. See you onboard in a moment.”



They kissed and then broke apart to complete the last of their responsibilities.



There were very, very few times when Harry ever had had the chance to ‘show off’ and this was, he thought, one of them.



Moving to the center of the Platform, he summoned his magic and let it infuse him. The air around him started to shimmer. The four Aurors along the Platform suddenly whipped around and focused their attention on him. Knowing that they were watching, Harry raised his hands above his head and clapped them together. While it was totally unnecessary for him to carry off the magic he was planning, it made for a good show. As Gilderoy Lockhart said to him once, “famous is as famous does.”



Harry thought to himself “TEMPESTAS!”



The fact that he was wandless was not lost on the Aurors as they watched him. A great, black cloud appeared about fifty feet off the ground and ran the length of the Platform. Lightning started to crackle and his magically amplified voice, two octaves below his normal speaking voice, echoed everywhere.



“It’s time to go. If you’re going, GET ON. If not, it’s time for you to LEAVE”



There were great flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder as Harry’s magic filled the Platform. The few stragglers who just hadn’t gotten it together and boarded the train were goosed by strategically aimed bolts. A general cheer went up as the last student was chased all the way across the Platform and onto the train by a series of ‘near-miss’ bolts.



Once everyone was on-board, and the train was starting to back out of the station, he cancelled the spell and withdrew into the train.



There was another round of applause, mostly from the seventh years, as Harry passed into the Head Boy and Girls’ compartment. It was impossible to keep from smiling, because it seemed that for the first time, they actually appreciated something that he had done – not because he was forced into it, but because he wanted to do the thing.



Not a second after he had crossed the threshold of the compartment, warm and loving arms raced to embrace him.



“It was really good, Harry. I think everyone really liked it.”



The smell of her perfume and the soft, silkiness of her hair threatened to get the better of him as he held her. “I love you, Hermione. Thank you. It was the first time that I could actually ‘show off’ a little bit without anyone thinking badly of me. I hope it wasn’t too much.”



Before she could respond with the affection that she felt for him, two red mops stuck themselves inside the compartment.



“Hiya, Harry. Cool show. When’s the Prefect meeting?”



A pout had settled onto Hermione’s face, but Ron either didn’t understand what her look meant, or did, but ignored it. Harry, on the other hand, knew exactly what Hermione was feeling, but couldn’t say anything about it in front of Ron and Ginny.



He glanced at Ron. “Give us a moment, Ron? Ginn?”



The two Weasleys looked at him and then at Hermione. “Sure, Harry. We’ll take a walk and come find you in a few minutes.”

*********************************************************************************



After the door closed, Harry turned to her “Hermione? They’re gone. C’mere”. She threw herself into his arms; which gave him a chance to hold her and stroke his fingers through her hair. “I love you, ‘Mione. I don’t ever want to do anything you’re not proud of.”



“I know Harry. I’m always proud of you. You’re not the same person you were in our fourth year. You’ve changed a lot.”



For the better, I hope. Harry thought. It scared him that Hermione might ever learn how much doubt he felt about the things that he did.



It felt really good to just stand there and hold her, Harry thought. A lot was going to change once classes started again and he didn’t want to loose the incredible intimacy with Hermione that had grown over the summer. Have we been too intimate? He wondered. No. We might have both found lovers if we hadn’t gotten together. We needed it. I needed it. That was an epiphany of a sort for Harry – and one that he thought he should probably talk to Hermione about.



Besides, I love her.



The gentle rocking of the train, combined with the warm of Hermione\'s body pressed against his, caused a wave of tiredness to wash over him. Nap. The idea of curling up and taking a nap with Hermione was suddenly very appealing. He wondered how long they could put off meeting with the Prefects.



BANG!



The door to their compartment flew open, as if Hagrid had entered and wasn’t minding his strength.



Two glowering red-heads came barging in and the taller one was holding a copy of a newspaper.



The Potters – they weren’t calling themselves that yet, but it felt good, Harry thought, to hear them called that by the Headmaster – turned to face Ron as he stormed back into their compartment.



Ron was waving a copy of the Prophet around and looked fit to kill. “Mate, I’m going to kill the bitch.”



Hermione was scandalized (almost) by Ron\'s invective “Ron! Language!”



Ron looked at her and his features softened a bit. “Sorry, Hermione. It’s just that….I mean HOW COULD SHE SAY THOSE THINGS ABOUT HARRY!”



Harry looked lost. “Say what things. Ron, what are you talking about?”



Hermione had really wished to avoid this very scene. She knew that Harry was going to be very, very angry once he read the article and she just hoped that he didn’t do anything rash.



Ron thrust the Prophet at him, which Harry took from his hand and started reading. The picture, though it bothered him a little, wasn’t that much of an issue.



The air began to shake with the power that was building in Harry as he read the article and Ron and Ginny backed themselves against the wall of the compartment. They didn’t want to be in the way if Harry decided to do something. Both Ron and Ginny knew, from first-hand experience, that bad things happened to people who got in his way – and in the state that he seemed to be getting to, they were not all together sure what might happen.



Harry suddenly realized what Dumbledore had been referring to during their dinner the night before. He turned to Hermione and while his first instinct was to be mad at her for not showing him the article, he realized that yelling at her wasn’t going to do him any good at all.



Hermione saw the look in his eyes and felt his power, but it didn’t make her afraid. Harry wasn’t mad at her. Disappointed, maybe, but not mad. She could live – barely – with his being disappointed, but would have been very hurt if he had been mad at her.



He said quietly. “You should have told me, Hermione. I would have wanted to know.”



She reached out to touch his cheek and whispered, “I’m sorry, Harry. You were almost asleep when it arrived yesterday and I didn’t want to wake you. You looked so happy. I just didn’t want to see you get mad, that’s all.”



The one thing in their relationship that neither bonding charm, nor outside force could ever duplicate, was the calming effect that Hermione had on him. All at once, the waves of power dissipated and the look on Harry’s face returned to what passed for normal with Harry.



The sound of heavy, pounding feet and then the door being thrown open, disturbed the moment. Harry saw that it was Kingsley Shacklebolt; his wand out and his eyes alert for trouble. “I came as fast as I could. I felt the waves of power building and I didn’t dare take a chance that something was happening to you two.”



Harry shook his head as he looked at Mr. Weasleys’ long-time friend. “We’re all right, sir. It’s just that…Ron just gave me a copy of yesterdays’ Prophet and it set me off.”



The tall, black Auror nodded. “I saw it too, Harry. I’m sorry that you had to see it. Something’s going have to be done about that reporter. I don’t know what, yet, but something’s got to be done. It’s almost as if she’s deliberately trying to provoke you. For what reason, I can’t imagine. It’s as if she has a death wish or something.”



He nodded. “I could accommodate her, I’m sure.”



Shacklebolt nodded, a smile tugging at his mouth. “I’m sure you could, Harry. A pity she wasn’t there when you finished with Tom. It would have been such a nice excuse. She could have been ‘hit with a mis-directed death eaters’ curse’ or something.”



He turned and started for the door, and then turned back to grin, “Of course, you never heard me say that.”



“Say what?” Harry grinned.



“Good man. Now you’re thinking”.



The distinguished Auror left the compartment much more quietly than when he had entered.



Almost immediately, Ron and Ginny both launched into tirades against Skeeter and the Prophet and just about anything connected with the Ministry. Both Hermione and Harry smiled. It felt good to let someone else rant for a while. They had had their fill, both during their recovery at St. Mungo’s and then after their encounter with the Minister himself during the summer.



Once the Weasley energy had run its course, Hermione stood up. “Well, I don’t know what else to do. I think we should just get the Prefects’ meeting over with. Then we can eat or nap” Hermione smiled at her love as she said it “or do other things.”



Ron groaned. He knew Hermione well enough to know that whatever she had just insinuated, he really didn’t want to have the mental image that went along with it.



“Get a room, you two. I can’t deal with you two getting lovey-dovey”.



Ginny coughed and it sounded to Hermione\'s ear like she had just said ‘Luna’. When Ron’s ears went scarlet-red, she knew that she was right and that Ginny was giving her brother a hard time about the love of his life.



“Ok, ok. Stop it you two. We need to have the Prefect meeting and then get patrols set up. Ron, would you and Ginny go and round up the rest of the Prefects and bring them back here?”



Ron nodded and slipped out the door. Ginny stayed behind for a moment. She looked like she wanted to ask a question.



“Yes?”



Ginny looked embarrassed, but she showed her Gryffindor courage and pressed ahead. “Can….Can I see your ring?”



Hermione held her left hand up, so that Ginny could see it. “It’s beautiful, Hermione. How long?”



“Since Harry’s birthday.”



“Oh?! That’s romantic. Where did he ask you?”



Harry stepped forward and placed his hand on Hermiones’ shoulder. She turned and saw the look on his face. It was pretty clear that he didn’t want her to talk about it.



“I’m sorry, Ginny. I don’t think that Harry would like me to talk about that.”



Ginny pouted as she looked up at Harry. “Awwwwwww! I wanted to hear. I love romantic stories.”



Harry looked at her. “I’m sorry, Ginny. You’re a sister to me, but that is one of those things that I want to keep between myself and Hermione.”



Ginny knew that when Harry made a decision, it was almost impossible to move him off it. It took a moment for her internally to come to acceptance, but she eventually did. “Ok, Harry. I’ll respect that. Mom’s going to be unhappy, though. It might mean you’ll not be invited to dinner any time soon.”



Harry looked at her; his expression soft and understanding. “I know, Ginny. Molly’s just going to have to learn how to accept me and my love for Hermione. If she can’t, well…..I’d be sorry to have it come to that.”



Hermione didn’t want to get in between Harry and the Weasleys, so she chose to say nothing. Ron was like a brother to her and she loved him in her own way, but she didn’t think that it was reasonable for Molly to judge Harry on the basis of with whom he had fallen in love.



“I’m sorry, too. My mother’s being a prat and she’s going to have to get over it if she wants to see you or Harry again. I hope she does it sooner than later.”



Their conversation was cut off by the approach of numerous people in the passageway. Harry figured that it must be Ron with the rest of the Prefects. It was just as well, because Harry really wanted to get the meeting done and over with, so that he could be with Hermione in private.



Once everyone was in the compartment (which Hermione had magically expanded, just for the meeting), there was noisy chatter for a moment, until Hermione set off a muggle firecracker, which she had conjured for the purpose.



The ten prefects all focused their attention on Hermione.



“Thanks for being here. I’m sure you are wondering why there are no Slytherin prefects present and why there are only ten of you, instead of twelve. I’ll try to give you as many answers as I can in the time we have.”



Hermione could see Ginny bouncing up and down on her feet a little bit. It was either because the young witch was cold, she decided, or because she was already dying to ask a question.



“Ginny? What’s wrong?”



The red-headed witch was clearly excited about something.



“I just realized that I get to use the Prefects’ bathroom and those amazing hot tubs!”



That caused a ripple of laughter in the other prefects. Harry looked around and saw Luna Lovegood, Lisa Turpin, Anthony Goldstein, Stewart Ackerly (a student Harry didn’t know at all), Hannah Abbot, Susan Bones, Ernie McMillan, and Justin Finch-Fletchley. He thought that it wasn’t a bad group at all. It was a combination of sixth and seventh-year students that was pretty well balanced.



With Ron and Ginny in the mix, it made for four prefects in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw and two in Gryffindor, along with Hermione and himself. Twelve students to police a thousand? Upon reflection, those weren’t great odds, he thought.



Once the laughter died down, Hermione continued. “There have been changes since June. First, Slytherin House is no more. It’s being disbanded. Those students who were in Slytherin who chose to return to school today will be sorted into the remaining three houses. If they are not sorted, or reject their assignments, they will be sent home. Permanently. The Headmaster has decided that, in order to rebuild the trust and camaraderie of the school and the harmony that once existed, Slytherin must be done away with. Tonight, every returning student and every professor will be checked for the dark mark. For what it’s worth, Harry and I will go first. We want to and have to lead by example. It’s going to be done in public. Anyone caught with the dark mark will be dealt with by us.



For the time being, you will not talk about this. Understood? Do NOT make me bind you all with an oath.”



Not a single one of the ten students in front of her thought it would be a good idea to test Hermione’s word on that. They all knew that she had powers that they could not, nor would not, ever understand and they also knew that Harry would back her up on anything she said.



After she had looked around and seen that they were taking her seriously, she went on “As you can see, we have close to one thousand students on the train tonight. Your job, before dinner begins, will be to take a roll-call of every student in your house. You will work in teams to count all those at your table in the Great Hall and check them against the lists which you will be given.”



She paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. “There will be a meeting of seventh-year students ONLY in the common rooms tonight at 10:30. At that meeting, it will be announced, quietly, that seventh year students are going to be allowed to ‘consolidate’ sleeping arrangements.”



There were questioning looks at that. “That means that if you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend with whom you want to share sleeping quarters, you will be allowed to do that.”



A cheer went up from most of the prefects present. “Yes, I know. It’s a significant change from the previous rules. The reason for the change is two-fold. One, it recognizes that all seventh-year students are seventeen or older and therefore are of age to make that choice, and two, it frees up beds that are in short supply right now. Dumbledore has commissioned the building of a new residential tower that will be connected to Gryffindor tower via a passageway on the sixth floor. However, it will not be ready for two years, so until then, seventh-years are going to have the privilege of ‘bunking-up’. I want to stress that if you and your significant other choose to do this, you WILL HAVE TO COME TO ME OR HARRY for permission. Is that clear? The reason for that is so we can accommodate roommates, and or move people around as necessary. We figure that by permitting this among the seventh years, it will free up thirty to thirty-five beds per House.



I want to stress that THIS CANNOT AND THEREFORE IS NOT OFFICIALLY SANCTIONED by the Headmaster or by Professor McGonagall. If the Board of Governors were to find out, it would cause a great number of problems. THEREFORE…Seventh years will be bound by an oath of secrecy. You sixth-year prefects will be bound by the same oath. I will administer the oaths tonight. If any of you sixth years discuss this change this afternoon, or before the oaths tonight, you will spend the next year as mushrooms. Do I make myself understood?”



There were vigorous nods. No one doubted that Hermione could do that, or worse, to them and again, not a single one of them wanted to push the issue.



“Harry and I agreed jointly that if he and I got to sleep together, we’d extend the privilege to others to enjoy.”



Hermione casually swept her left hand through her hair and as she did so, there were ooows and awwws from the all the prefects, save Ron and Ginny.



Susan Bones jumped up and down “Let me see!! Let me see!! Rebecca told me all about it yesterday!!”



Hermione extended her hand and the girls all crowded around it. Lisa looked at her after looking at the ring “oh Hermione! You lucky witch! When did he propose?”



Harry stepped close and put his hand on Hermiones’ and drew her next to him. “I asked her on my birthday, and that’s all I’m going to tell you.”



Lisa pouted “Spoilsport. Now I’m dying to know!”



Hermione grinned at her. “Too bad for you that you don’t know legilimency and that I do know occlumency.”



“Is there anything you don’t know, Hermione?”



“Yes. I don’t know what it’s like to get married, yet…”



Ron started making gagging noises in the background and that broke the sudden tension in the room.



Once Harry had backed off to the corner of the compartment, to the spot that he had left, Hermione continued. “There are also several other pieces of news. First, the potions master from last year, Slughorn, has decided that he didn’t want to stay in the post. He is going to be replaced with Libatius Borage, who who wrote the sixth-year potions textbook.”



A huge cheer went up from the assembled prefects. Ron, in particular, looked very pleased. “Arrogant git.”



Harry was in private agreement with that sentiment, but there was just no way he wanted to get into a discussion on the subject with Hermione.



“Finished yet, Ron?” Hermione asked, in a not-quite cutting tone.



Luna was pleased, as she looked over at Ron, that he picked up immediately on Hermiones’ tone of voice and settled down. He’s learning, she thought. She had fallen in love with Ron because of his boyish charm and generally happy attitude, but had been occasionally disturbed by a certain lack of sensitivity on his part. Recently, that had been changing, though and she was more and more convinced that Ron was the one for her. It would be good to be allowed to sleep with him and have a chance every night to talk to him….among other things.



Hermione was winding down. She had hit the ‘high points’ already and wanted to get them out of the compartment soon, so she could have some alone time with Harry.



“There are two more pieces of news. One you’ll really appreciate and the other you might not. The good news is that every student from the fifth to the seventh year will have the chance to become an animagus. It’s a required course, actually, but it won’t be graded. Harry and I are going to be the teachers.”



There was a cheer for this bit of news, too. It was very exciting for them all, because they had seen how powerful Harry and Hermione were in their animagus forms.



“I’m going to ask you all to not talk about this until it’s announced tonight at dinner. It’s a surprise and it should definitely add excitement to the year for everyone.”



There were lots of nods of agreement on that. It was a huge deal, as far as they were concerned, but since they only had to keep it a secret for a few more hours, each thought that he or she was able to ‘keep it inside’.



“Now, the last bit of news is that there will be a new muggle-studies teacher this year. I haven’t been told who it is, but I’m definitely sure that it’s going to be a muggle. A real, genuine muggle.”



The prefects laughed, almost nervously, when each of them thought about what might happen to a person who could see magic happening, but not be able to feel the energy from it or understand how it was happening.



“Ok. That’s all I’ve got. Split into pairs and set up a patrol schedule among the ten of you. We have four more hours between now and when we arrive, so maybe half-hour shifts. Harry and I will do that last shift.”



The prefects all stood, from where they had been sitting or leaned away from the wall and moved towards the door to the compartment.



When Ron and Luna left, Hermione closed and locked the door and made it imperturbable, so that nothing could get through.



“Now, Mr. Potter” she said, as she unbuttoned and untied her skirt “I think you made me a promise earlier today...”



He approached her and fell to his knees in front of her, cupping her arse in his hands and leaning forward “Well, Mrs. Potter, I’d hate to be known as someone who didn’t live up to his promise..”



**********************************************************************************



The train rattled along, working its way north into Scotland. Eventually, the rain started, as it often did. As Harry looked out the window of their compartment, he thought about the fact that this was going to be the last time he ever rode the train to school. There was a certain amount of sadness that he felt because of that. He had come to love Hogwarts. It meant home and family to him. It meant…Hermione. It was the place where he had found the one true love of his life. That’s something to be grateful for.



Hogwarts also meant Dumbledore, and Minerva McGonagall and Hagrid. It meant…Ron. His very best (male) friend. As the landscape rolled by, Harry thought about Godrics’ Hollow and about their home. It will be good to get back. He had promised himself that the coming Friday afternoon would be spent at the jewelry store – for however long it took to find the perfect wedding band for Hermione. I can have Hermione meet me at the Hollow Friday evening. Since they had permission to leave school grounds whenever they needed/wanted to, he thought it would be good to go home and be away from everyone for forty-eight hours or so. He also wanted to see Dobby and Winky and find out what was happening in the village.



Finally, there was but a half-hour to go before arrival and Harry went to the bed which they had magicked into existence. He knelt and kissed Hermiones’ cheek and the spot above and in front of her ear. “Sweetie?” he said very gently. “ ‘Mione? It’s time to get up.”



Harry chuckled to himself. Hermione had cum three times before she had passed out on the bed. Ordinarily, he would have been content to let her just sleep, he couldn’t do patrol himself or could he?



Suddenly, an idea sprang to mind. He went and found the port key that Madame Pomfrey had given them and then came back to the edge of the bed. He wrapped her in a blanket; thought to himself Levicorpus! and watched as Hermione floated into the air, still asleep. Harry held her hand and activated the port key. In a swirl of color, they disappeared.



A second later, they re-appeared in their bedroom at Hogwarts. Fortunately, Hermione had slept through the entire process.



He lowered her onto their bed and tucked her under the covers, while simultaneously drawing the shades and shutters closed, so that the room would be dark and quiet. Once he was satisfied that she was safe and still asleep, he kissed her cheek again. Gotta get back. Port key should do the trick.



Harry grabbed an empty ink bottle that was on the nearby desk and muttered Portus. It shuttered and glowed blue for a moment before settling back down on the desk.



Harry grabbed it and tapped it three times with a finger and then disappeared in the same way he had arrived.



**********************************************************************************



Back on the train, all hell had broken loose. The remaining Slytherins had just found out that Slytherin House would be no more and they were protesting loudly to the prefects and to anyone who would listen. Unfortunately, one of the fifth-years from Gryffindor, Colin Creevy, was overheard by some of the Syltherins saying ‘so long to bad rubbish’. That one comment provoked an all-out hex-war along the corridors of the train.



Harry arrived back in the Heads’ compartment just in time to hear the first shots ring out and hear the impact of a serious hex impact one of the walls. It took no time at all for Harry to charge into the hallway and see a half-dozen of the young Gryffindors piled in a heap, with older Slytherins throwing hex after hex at them.



What happened next became a matter of speculation later on. One Slytherin fifth year swore that he was thrown back, down the length of the passageway, by a prefect, but none of the prefects’ wands revealed the use of the hurling hex or the disarming charm, Expelliarmous. One fact was acknowledged widely, however. The moment that the Slytherin students saw Knight and heard his roar, they turned and ran as one to get away; ducking into compartments that weren’t their own or into the lavatories or whatever other hidey-hole they could find. Not a single one of them dared to poke so much as his or her head out into the passageway for fear that he or she would be seen by Knight. They all forgot one thing: he could smell them. Fear has an odor all its own and the Slytherin end of the train was lousy with the smell.



Harry knew that he didn’t have to chase down the culprits immediately. He’d remember who they were and pull each aside as he or she got off the train. It was enough, for the moment, to get everyone separated.



Once he was satisfied, he went back to the Gryffindors who lay unconscious on the floor of the passageway; sprouting tentacles, vomiting slugs, or growing horribly long front teeth. Harry cast a Finite Incantatum and all of the vile magic suddenly ceased. The student with the now abnormally long teeth would have to be attended to by Madam Pomfrey just as soon as Harry could get the student to the Hospital wing.



He revived those that he could and made sure they were safe and ambulatory. The one with the teeth he hustled down to the Prefects’ carriage, so that he could be watched over while they waited for the train to pull into the station.



Harry gave explicit instructions to the rest of the Prefects. “Wands out, everyone. If anyone starts anything – or even if you hear one student hassling another, I wanted that person pulled aside for me to talk to. Make sure that everyone gets off the train. Check each compartment carefully. Look for people hiding under invisibility cloaks. Check the lavatories. Make sure nothing belonging to a student is left behind.”



Satisfied that the Prefects knew what they had to do, they all waited for the train to finally pull into the station and come to a complete stop.



The trains’ horn sounded three long blasts; signaling that they were pulling into the station. Harry looked at the Prefects around him. Ginny chimed up “Where’s Hermione?”



Harry looked at her and said, “I used a port key to take her to the Castle. She’s safe in bed right now; hopefully still sleeping.”



Ginny grinned like a mad woman and said, “Well, I was wondering, because I found these…” She held up Hermiones’ lacy, crotchless panties “and I was pretty sure that they didn’t belong to anyone else.”



Ginny and the other girls were now laughing hysterically and Harry felt the flush of his embarrassment run all the way down to his toes.



There was nothing to be done but let them laugh, Harry knew. However, he wasn’t going to give Ginny the satisfaction of embarrassing Hermione, too. Accio knickers, he thought and Hermiones’ knickers flew to his hand. Putting them in his pocket, Harry decided that what was good for the goose was good for the gander. “Accio Ginny’s knickers.”



Since Ginny was wearing her school uniform, her knickers were fairly readily accessible and to her horror and chagrin, her knickers dutifully slid down her legs and flew across the room to Harry’s hand.



He held them up, as if inspecting them. They were white cotton bikini knickers; much like what Hermione sometimes wore; if a tad smaller.



Ginny was blushing furiously, even as Harry was grinning. “Why Ginny! Virginal white cotton? Your mother would be proud of you! Imagine that…”



“Oh stop it, Harry. Mom sent me the positively worst ones…I had to buy these on my own.”



Harry tossed them back to her and she discreetly cast a ‘notice-me-not’ charm all over her lower body as she put them back on.



Ron was still laughing as the train whistle sounded the ‘all-clear’.



***************************

Following Harrys’ orders, the ten prefects, Ginny included, moved to secure the doors and watch as the almost one thousand students began disembarking. Minerva McGonagall could be seen approaching the train platform – which was something that Harry had anticipated, as he had sent her his Patronus with a message asking her to meet the train as it pulled in.



As the Slytherin students began disembarking the train, Harry became Knight and positioned himself near the door. Slowly, the students who had been responsible for attacking the younger Gryffindors were culled from others and held aside. Once the train was fully unloaded, Harry resumed his normal form and frog-marched the offenders over to the Deputy-Headmistress.



“I’m afraid that Mr. Potter had some thing to say about your behavior aboard the train today and there are going to be some difficult questions asked of you in a little while and since we don’t use legilimency here at the school, I have asked the new potions professor to being me Veritaserum.”



Several of the Slytherin students blanched. It was going to be a long night, many of them thought.



==============================================================================



A/N – next chapter: “Out of Sorts”