After The War (Romione & Hinny fan fiction)

Percy's Darkest Secret

Last day young. Last day teens. Last ride on the beautiful scarlet train Ginny had always dreamed of since Bill left for Hogwarts at eleven. Call it what you want, but leaving Hogwarts was not only a goodbye, but also a new beginning. Freedom.
They played chess and ate animal crackers (Hermione had precautionally put a Silencing charm on the compartment). Harry became a dog, Ron a dolphin - it had taken them several minutes to figure it out though -, Ginny's modified voice filled the room with unnatural quacks, and everyone applauded at Hermione's deep lioness roar.
Harry was there, right beside her, the girl named Ginny, laughing as she teased Ron about snogging the Head Girl. Hermione was nearly as red as the Hogwarts Express, and she was only glad at some point Harry and her sneaked away to go check on the Prefects in the Prefects' carriage. She - the readhead - disappointingly remained alone with her brother in the compartment.
"Why did you do that?" asked Ron after a few moments of silence.
The girl looked away from the window and frowned at her brother, "What?"
"Embarrass Hermione."
"I wasn't trying to embarrass her." the girl said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, but her brother seemed confused.
"Who then?"
Ginny considered telling him, but he wouldn't have understood anyway. She just hoped Ron would let the subject drop. "No one."
Ron raised an eyebrow, then turned back to the Quidditch catalogue he had borrowed from Ginny. The Seeker Weekly sponsored some international Quidditch teams to pose and sometimes fly on new brooms or try on brand new Quidditch items on market. The copy Ron was holding was filled with famous witches and wizards in shiny robes and expensive broomstick. Ron thought Ginny would be more than alright for that job, it would fit her, he thought. Of course suggesting it to Ginny herself would probably gain him a punch on the nose or something. Maybe even a Bat- Bogey Hex. However, as he was picturing hundreds of bat painfully making their way out of his nostrils, Ron's eyes met Viktor Krum's. Not the real one, but the sight of his picture was as annoying as a Bat-Bogey hex (he was beginning to consider telling Ginny now). The boy was standing there as if he had been a role model all his life, his chin lifted and robes fluttering, a pair of shiny black new Seeker gloves very in sight.
Ron stared at him in the eyes, and a wave of hatred went through his body. All the anger he had always - well nearly always - kept down since fourth year brust out of him.
He tore the page apart and threw it on the floor.
Ginny looked at him in surprise, but said nothing when she saw the torn apart body of Krum on the floor.
-

Meanwhile, in front of the Prefects' carriage, Hermione was trying to compose herself and hide her still-blushed face from view.
"Good morning Prefects." Harry said formally to the sixteen students chatting peacefully in the carriage. When Harry entered, everyone stopped talking and looked at him. Hermione let a strand of hair fall casually on her face and stared at the floor as if it was as interesting as an Arithmacy book or something. Thank Merlin Harry knows how to do his job, she thought.
"How was your ride?"
"Okay." replied half the carriage in unison.
"Did you do your rounds to check on the compartments?"
"Yes."
"Good. Was everything all right?"
"I had to rescue an escaped rat who had gotten his leg stuck in door lock." said a sixth year Ravenclaw.
"I had to ennervate the girl who had fainted because of that rat. Said she had mouse-phobia or something." added the other Ravenclaw prefect looking exasperated.
"I had to accio a jumping chocolate frog for a first year who let it jump out of the window and became histerical."
"Could have been wrose." commented Wally Klark from Hufflepuff patting the Ravenclaw prefect on the shoulder. "A kid named Jonathan in a compartment down there had a cat. Well, the cat smelled John's friend's tuna sandwich and blew up half the compartment to get it, because you know how kids are... John and his friends tried to catch the cat and put him back into his carrier.. . Had to fix all the scratches on the seats."
"Hopping centaurs!" Harry exclaimed, making the whole carriage start laughing and forget about their own list of recent happenings. Thank Pigwidgeon.
"You all seem to have done very impressive things." said Hermione, finally daring to speak. She smiled as her gaze passed from one face to another. "We will arrive at King's Cross station in forty minutes, so I must ask you to decide who will go around the train to inform students about that and tell them to get into their muggle clothes and the usual things. Any volunteers?"
No one moved except Anne Light, who raises her hand instantly. Hermione suffocated a loud groan from escaping her throat. Anne Light was possibly the less smart person to walk on the planet and giving her the job was not an option. Hermione was still wondering how could Anne even got the role of Prefect when it was so evident she belonged in her pinky rooms playing with dolls. Still, she most definitely would notice if Hermione pretended not to see her raised hand now. But honestly, who cared if it was Anne Light and not someone else? Most people didn't even know who or how Anne Light was, and if she stepped in their compartments all they would see was a scrawny girl with blonde hair and always-wide eyes that would offer them an overly sized all-teeth smile. The Smile™ was usually misunderstood as a friendly gesture, but Hermione knew she was just imagining of being some sort of bartender Muggle Barbie greeting her customers or something.
"Ok," said Harry taking Hermione back to the present "Anne and... Wally?!"
"All right." Wally shrugged.
"Okay then, Prefects." Harry clapped his hands, and Hermione admired once again his gift for gaining everyone's attention instantly. "It was a pleasure to meet all of you and work with you, beautiful, beautiful people. Next year those of you that are fifth years'll have to lead by example the new Prefects, and I do believe all of you'll have a place outside there in a couple years. I wish you the best."
Hermione looked around the carriage at all he familiar faces. She wanted to say something, but Harry had already said everything. Well, not everything... "And never stop dreaming." she added with decision "Never stop chasing your dreams, because they're what keep us grounded."