Recnac Transfaerso

2 - Back To The Castle

"Harry!"

Harry began to turn towards the familiar voice when a pair of arms was thrown around his neck.

"Hey 'Mione," he said with a bit of a chuckle as Hermione stepped back.

"Wow, Harry, I haven't seen you all summer! I'm sorry I didn't write more, but we were traveling you know, and guess what! I have a surprise that I've been waiting to tell you, but I'll tell you on the train when Ron gets here and...."

She was cut off by Ron, who had just come through the barrier and was walking towards them.

"Oi! Harry, Hermione!" he called to grab their attention. Hermione turned around and gave Ron a quick hug, turning Ron's cheeks a nice shade of red. Hermione didn't seem to notice this and started to guide the two boys towards the train so they could get settled enough to hear Hermione's surprise.

"How many sugar quills did she have this morning?" Ron muttered to Harry, earning himself a nice "Oh shut it Ron!" from Hermione who had overheard. Harry laughed as he was dragged along. It was good to be back.

When the three had finally found an empty compartment and settled down, Hermione pulled out a badge from her pocket and held it up for the boys to see.

"Look I was made prefect! Can you believe it?" she squealed with joy.

"Hermione, I would've died of shock if you hadn't been made a prefect," Ron said. "Anyways, you weren't the only one who was made a prefect." Ron took out an identical badge and held it up, but far less conspicuously than Hermione. In fact, Ron looked a little stressed out about the whole thing. "Fred and George have been teasing me mercilessly ever since I've got it, calling me Percy Jr. and such. What a nightmare!"

Harry and Hermione laughed at this, though Ron couldn't seem to find the humour in it.

"That's great Ron, I'll have a friend to be a prefect with!" she said. Harry could see that Ron was relieved, probably having thought Hermione might have been upset that her news was made less glorious.

"Well, it looks like they gave us a matching set," Harry said, pulling out his own badge. He had been utterly shocked when he had found it in his Hogwarts letter. He couldn't figure out why he would be made a prefect when he spent half of every school year breaking the rules. It seemed Ron shared his thoughts.

"Well it's understandable with Hermione, but I think with you and I, they're trying that 'give them responsibility and they'll be more responsible' method. Mum tried that with Fred and George once. That poor cat..."

"So Harry, how was your summer? You didn't really mention it in your letters." Hermione asked with interest. Harry knew it was just a friendly question, but he still felt his stomach tighten and his pulse quicken with the thought of them finding out the secret that had already once that summer been found out.

"Oh, er, it was fine," he muttered fingering his badge. "Better than usual, for staying in Little Winging."

"Yeah, who was that girl you mentioned in your letters? Dakota? Does Harry have a little crush?" Ron asked, nudging Harry playfully with his elbow and shrugging his eyebrows.

"Dakota? No, definitely not a crush. Just a friend," Harry said with the utmost sincerity. It just wasn't like that with them. "How was Rome, Mione?"

With that change of subject, the subject of Harry's summer was forgotten, and the rest of the train ride was relaxing and enjoyable.

The weather was much like the last year when they arrived, pouring rain and with the added bonus of wind strong enough to push a few of the younger students over. There was a mad dash from the train to the carriages, but even despite their quick speed, by the time Harry, Ron and Hermione scrambled into a carriage, they looked like they had decided to go swimming in their clothes. Hermione started to pull shut the carriage door, which the wind was holding open, to stop the rain from coming in, but stopped when she heard, "Hermione, wait! Please!" Neville came racing up and stopped right in front of their carriage door, or tried to stop. He skidded on a puddle and ended up sliding past their door, and finally landing on his butt in a puddle. He quickly got up, slightly blushing, and tried to push his way against the wind towards the carriage. Ron and Harry each grabbed an arm and helped pull Neville into the carriage, as Hermione used all of her strength to pull the door closed.