2. And On We Go

E & E—Chapter 2: And On We Go

By Marmalade Fever

"Up, up, up!" Mrs. Weasley called as she stuck her head in Ginny's bedroom. She and Hermione groggily looked up over their covers, yawned, and got out of bed. Once sufficiently dressed, they made their way downstairs to where a large breakfast of pancakes and eggs met them. A few minutes later, Harry and Ron showed up at the table as well, both sporting bad cases of bed head. Harry was sleepily trying to flatten his out with the palm of his hand.

"Here's some juice for the Head Girl," Mrs. Weasley cooed, setting a glass of grapefruit juice in front of Ginny. "And some for the Deputy Head Girl… and the Deputy Head Boy… and the Prefect."

Ron, for his part, looked skeptically down to where he'd already pinned on his badge. They'd all decided to simply apparate to Kings Cross, now that they all had their apparitions licenses, and so had decided to wear their school robes straight off, rather than changing. They had yet to decide whether or not Ron even had to perform his Prefect duties. Hermione had spouted out her theory that he would probably just be a Prefect in name and be able to deduct House Points and hand out detentions but wouldn't have to patrol the halls. Ron seemed content with this idea, mumbling something about how he was too old to go around chasing first years.

"So," Hermione said, for what must have been the millionth time over the last month, "where do you suppose our common room and dormitories will be? McGonagall said it was in a 'previously uninhabited part of the castle,' and I just can't think of anywhere that would work."

Harry looked up. "Maybe Myrtle's bathroom," he mumbled sleepily. "That's certainly uninhabited."

Hermione just rolled her eyes. "I wonder if we'll be allowed to visit Gryffindor Tower. I can't imagine any reason why not. And even if most of the other Eighth Years aren't allowed, I'm sure we all rank high enough. And Ginny will probably be allowed to visit us," she added hastily, as Ginny and Harry both gave her a look of sheer panic.

Ron stabbed an egg and chewed it, his eyelids still drooping. Mrs. Weasley came around behind him and started combing his hair, yanking his head up as he was trying to swallow. Once she'd finished with Ron, she moved onto Harry, not even bothering to ask permission. She was just working on a particularly bad rat's nest when George entered the room, dropping himself into a seat. He'd been unusually somber over the summer, though he was starting to crack small jokes again, though they generally tended to be a little lacking in the actual humor department. "That's an eggstremely good looking breakfast, Mum," he said. The others chortled, more for his benefit than from actual mirth. Truth be told, George was a bit of a downer. "Off to Hogwarts, you lot?" he asked. "You know, I didn't finish seventh year, and I turned out fine."

Mrs. Weasley yanked a little too hard on Harry's scalp than necessary. "Ouch!"

"Oh, sorry, dear," she said, turning disapproving eyes on George.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said primly, "none of us has any intention to drop out. Isn't that right?" She got an unenthusiastic response from the others, but they nodded quickly when Molly turned her disapproving eyes on them instead. Hermione checked her watch and squeaked. "We need to get going!"

Harry, having disentangled himself from Mrs. Weasley's comb, drained his juice and stood. The others followed his example, and they all grabbed hold of their trunks, Crookshanks grumbling from within his cage.

"Arthur! They're leaving!" Mrs. Weasley called. Mr. Weasley emerged from the living room, a copy of that morning's Prophet in hand.

"You're sure you don't want us to see you off?" he asked. They shook their heads. They would only be on the platform for a minute before boarding. "All right, then." There was a series of hugs and kisses between them all, Percy even coming in from the garden to bid them goodbye. George bid them "an eary day," and then they were off.

Hermione didn't stumble when she arrived at the platform. She'd done enough apparating over the past year to become more than proficient at it. The others were already hurrying to board the train when Hermione stopped, a glint of silver catching her eye.

At the very end of the train platform, near the Prefects' car, two figures with blond hair were giving one another a hug. To be more accurate, the woman was giving the boy a fiercely desperate hug. It didn't take her long to recognize them as Narcissa and Draco Malfoy. He was looking a little uneasy with the attention his mother was giving him. He had just pulled away, preparing to leave, when she tugged on his wrist. She said something to him, still looking desperate, and he gave a reluctant nod. She smoothed one hand through his hair before bringing it back to her face to cover her eyes, and Hermione had an uneasy feeling that stoic Narcissa Malfoy had just burst into tears. Draco looked uneasily around him before dropping a quick kiss on his mother's forehead, sighing, and boarding the train. It was only at this very last second before he was out of sight that Hermione noticed the quick gleam of silver from his wrist again. Belatedly, she realized that it looked less like a bracelet and more like a manacle. Narcissa wore a matching one, though hers was much smaller, yet equally heavy-looking.

That chunk of ice had settled into Hermione's stomach once more. Mrs. Malfoy turned, and Hermione looked hastily away. She was very nearly sure that the elder woman had caught her watching the exchange. The train made an impatient rumbling sound, and Hermione hurried to get her trunk up and inside before she began searching out her friends. She just had time to stow her things before Ginny, Ron, and Harry tugged her off toward the Prefects' car.

Ginny scanned the over packed compartment for the telltale Head Boy badge. She finally found it pinned on the front of a sallow-looking Ravenclaw's robes, and the two of them brought the meeting to order.

In a normal year, there were twenty-four prefects, give or take two depending on whether the Heads had previously been Prefects or not. This year, there was an additional Ron, Hermione, Harry, Padma Patil, and Hannah Abbott. Malfoy was absent, and Hermione couldn't quite blame him for assuming that his Prefect duties had been revoked. Suffice it to say, the compartment resembled a can of sardines.

The Head Boy, who Hermione believed was called Wilkes, began explaining to the fifth year Prefects what their duties would be. After awhile, a sixth year Slytherin named Astoria Greengrass spoke up and asked the inevitable question of, "What exactly is up with these older people," she pointed first to Hannah and then to Ron, "being in here? And why do those two," she pointed to Hermione and Harry, "have those badges?"

"We've been invited back to finish up our schooling," Hermione explained, suddenly nervous as everyone's eyes fell on her. "We'll be separated from the rest of you, in our own common room." There was a slight murmur amongst the younger students. "Harry and I have been given the honorary title of Deputy Head Boy and Girl." Wilkes looked a little put out at this news. "But we'll mostly just be issuing detentions and awarding and revoking House Points," she finished.

"Interesting," Greengrass said, and she sat down.

Once the meeting was officially over, some of the Prefects went off to patrol the corridor, and Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Ginny left to find a compartment, something that was easier said than done. The train seemed to be over-capacity today. At last, they found a compartment with only Luna and Dean in it—luckily being the same compartment Hermione had stowed her trunk in—and they made themselves comfortable.

"So," Dean said, and Hermione couldn't help but notice the fact that he and Luna were holding hands, the girl looking dreamily down at her bunny-slipper-clad feet, "I've been trying to figure out just how many of us from our year are back. I haven't really seen anyone else yet. You?"

"Well, there was Padma Patil," Ron started. He mentioned her in a slight rush, and Hermione wondered if he really thought she might be jealous of a girl he had attended a dance with and subsequently ignored for the rest of the evening. "And Hannah Abbott."

"And Malfoy," Harry muttered, though he looked somewhat indifferent.

"And I'm guessing Parvati is around here somewhere," Hermione mused. Just as she finished speaking, there was a knock at the door, and Padma poked her head in. Of course, she and Parvati were identical, so it took a moment for them all to recognize her Prefects badge and blue tie before they could ascertain that she was not her sister.

"Do you mind?" she asked. She made her way in, closely followed by Hannah and another tiny girl sporting a yellow Hufflepuff tie. They squished themselves into the remaining seats. Padma sighed. "In case you were wondering, Parvati's not here."

"No?" Hermione asked. She had never been incredibly close to her old roommate, but it would have been nice to see her.

Padma puffed up her chest. "And you'll absolutely never guess why! My dear sister has gotten married!" Everyone in the compartment froze, and Hermione could not quite stand the thought of looking over at Ron, as if some great disaster would occur if she did.

"But she's only eighteen," Ginny stated. She was no more close to Parvati than Hermione was to the Gryffindor girls that Ginny roomed with, so she seemed to be able to fight off the taboo of young marriage talk a little more easily than the others. It also helped that she was a little bit younger, so it didn't hit quite so close to home.

Padma shrugged, looking vexed. "You're telling me. She met some young Auror during the, er, final battle," she was avoiding looking at Harry now, "and I guess they hit it off. The two of them went off to live in the States together." She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I swear, sometimes I can't believe she and I have the same genes because I just don't understand what it is that goes through her head."

"She probably came down with a bad case of Twitterpatitis." This was from Luna, who was now resting her head on Dean's shoulder. He looked vaguely nervous.

Padma took a slow breath, as if trying to decide whether she dared ask her fellow Ravenclaw what she was on about now. "Which is?" she prompted at last.

"It's a disease of the stomach, causing butterfly-shaped bubbles to bounce around the cavity. It's generally caused by being bitten by the love worm, which will then burrow its way into the heart to lay its eggs." This statement was enough for Padma to shake her head and dismiss Luna's idea altogether.

The small Hufflepuff girl burst into laughter. "Twitterpatitis," she mumbled. "That's a good one, Looney."

Ginny opened her mouth as if she were about to defend Luna, but the blonde girl spoke up first. "You really should take out a subscription to the Quibbler, Lil'."

The Hufflepuff girl frowned, and Hannah was quick to pat her hand. "It's all right, August," she said. "It's not that bad of a nickname."

Now Ron frowned. "How do you get Lil out of August?"

"It's not Lil, Ronald. It's Lil'. She's little August Moon," Luna replied, her tone dreamy. "It's such a pretty name."

"So you can't blame me for resenting the little part," she said, rising to her feet. She was very short, Hermione mused. She looked as if she were only 4'10". "I know I'm short. I'd prefer not to be reminded of it, though."

Luna just shrugged her shoulders in that dreamy way she had.

The rest of the trip was comfortable, with Hermione getting to know her three new roommates and Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Dean getting into an intense Quidditch discussion. August had to interrupt and explain how she couldn't possibly understand how Ron could support the Cannons, and the only thing stopping a heated debate starting was the approach of the lunch trolley.

It was getting dark once the Hogwarts Express finally pulled into Hogsmeade Station.

The carriage ride was slow and bumpy, and all of them steadfastly ignored the sight of the Thestralls. Once in the castle, the five Gryffindors sat down at their table, and awaited the Sorting.

Hermione had really only glanced at the other tables to make sure she had identified all of her fellow Eighth years, but her eyes slowed down to a stop as her gaze fell on the Slytherin Table. It looked almost like a large Swiss cheese. So many students were missing, Hermione could hardly believe it. Malfoy sat at one end, absolutely alone. None of the other Slytherins were paying him any heed. And he really did just sit there, just looking up at the stage where the stool for the Sorting Hat stood. His expression would have been blank except for the slight furrow in his brow.

Hermione was interrupted from her perusal by the start of the Sorting ceremony, and she applauded each and every first year, secretly glad each time one of them filled up a hole at the Slytherin table.

After the feast, McGonagall stood and brought the room to attention. "I would like to welcome you all back to another year at Hogwarts," she began. "And I would also like to welcome our new Professors." She turned and indicated three new adults at the table. "Professor Candanver, Potions." A bald-headed man stood and nodded his head toward the students. "Professor Writzky, Muggle Studies." A woman with an overly large nose and cartilage piercings stood and waved. "And finally, Professor Amorell. She will be teaching a new class this year in place of Defense Against the Dark Arts." McGonagall looked around, as if daring anyone to make a scene. "Grief Counseling, House Unification, and Tolerance."

The young woman who stood had an angry pink scar running down the side of her face, but she smiled, waving briefly and sitting down in a flurry of cerulean robes.

Hermione's eyes glanced quickly to catch Malfoy's reaction to the new class, and he was glowering.