The next evening, right in the middle of dinner, Mr Weasley emerged from the fire in the kitchen.
“The Wizengamot have made their decision, pending the ceremony tomorrow our new Minster for Magic will be Amelia Bones,” he settled himself into the chair that had been left for him at the head of the table.
“She’ll be good, knows her stuff she does,” George appraised.
“That’s because she lost her brother and sister-in-law, the Bones’ always were a nice family,” Ellie had the hint of a sad smile.
“They were, I remember them at school, they were very sweet. They started going out in second year and stayed together all that time, they got engaged in their final year. It was such a pity,” Molly said wistfully.
“Yes well, by tomorrow she’ll be Minister Bones and just you wait and see she’ll soon put you-know-who in his place. The first thing she wants to do is put every single member of the ministry through a legilimency test. She wants anyone who might be feeding information to Voldemort weeded out,” Arthur interjected.
“That’s one way to start with a bang. Hopefully she’ll take a more direct approach to fighting Voldemort, it was the wait and see methodology that got the last one killed,” Ellie looked a little more hopeful now than she had since the events of their trip to Diagon Alley.
“Has everyone packed?” Mrs Weasley brought around the change of topic. Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny looked at each other shamefully. “Oh for goodness sake you four. When are you going to learn that when you leave it to the night before you almost always forget something?” she looked at the four blank faces in front of her.
As soon as they were finished eating the four students were herded upstairs to pack. Harry felt that the scolding was very unfair, with everything that had been going on the return to Hogwarts had snuck up on them. He was wondering where the holidays had gone; it felt like only last week he had been disembarking the Hogwarts express to come home from the summer.
He felt terrible; his first summer without Sirius should have dragged on forever. He should have felt the pain of losing his godfather everyday but he hadn’t, he’d been to busy enjoying himself and having fun with Ron, Hermione and Ginny. Things with Ginny were still the same, Dean had sent a letter back with Pig, telling her not to make any rash decisions and they’d talk about it once they got back to school. That depressed him a bit and then he felt terrible again because here he was feeling awful because he couldn’t ask out Ginny when he should feel bad because he’d lost Sirius.
The four of them tottered about the house picking up the books and clothes that seemed to have miraculously summoned themselves to the strangest corners of the house. Ron had found his school tie in the bottom of the umbrella stand to his complete bewilderment. Hermione had found a necklace of Ginny’s in an ornamental jug the library and neither had any clue how it had got there. Harry searched through every room of the house for his copy of the Standard Book of Spells Grade 6 before ending up in the kitchen and finding it under the sideboard. If he hadn’t known better then he would have thought that Kreacher’s spirit was running around the place moving things. Just as he was finishing his packing he turned around to pick up a pair of socks and found that Ellie was in the doorway watching him.
“All packed?” she asked.
“Almost, I’ve just got a few things to put away then I’ll be finished.”
“Where’s Ron?”
“The last time I saw him he was looking under Ginny’s bed for a missing shoe,” he told her almost in disbelief.
“I’ll never understand how we can misplace so much stuff. I remember last year when I packed my school trunk for the last time; I managed to lose my broomstick. I couldn’t find it anywhere, it eventually turned up three days after I went back to school, our house elf found it in the attic. How it got there I’ll never know, I treasure my broom, I’d never have put it up there,” she grinned. “Are you sure you’re alright? You seem a bit distracted.”
“I’m not nearly as distracted as you’ve been the last few days,” he shot back at her.
“The difference is that I’m an adult and I’m allowed to deal with my distraction on my own. You, Mr. Potter are a young adult currently under my guardianship, I am fully entitled to inquire about your distraction,” she assumed an entirely superior voice as she perched on the edge of Ron’s bed.
“It’s nothing really.”
“In my experience nothing is generally a something, so spill the beans. You never know I just might be able to help.”
“I’ve just been thinking about this summer. I’ve been here the whole time and I’ve hardly thought of Sirius, I led him to his death and I’ve been here having fun. I think I’m forgetting him,” he was relieved that it was finally out. He thought how strange it was that last year he’d felt that he couldn’t share his problem with anyone yet here he was pouring his heart out yet again.
“Here we were thinking that the only thing you’d inherited from you mother was her eyes.”
“What do you mean?”
“Sounds to me like you’ve inherited her conscious as well. You’re father would be disappointed. You’re not forgetting him Harry. Sirius would have wanted you to have fun. After everything you’ve been through and with everything that lies ahead you deserve to have fun more than most do. Let’s see…do you remember the way he used to shake his hair out of his face?”
“Yeah, he’d just shook it out of the way when it fell back down again,” he allowed himself to smile at the image of Sirius sitting shaking his hair like a dog.
“Do you remember how when he laughed really, really hard it sounded almost like he was barking?”
“Yeah,” he was always amazed at how similar his godfather’s human behaviour was to his dog behaviour.
“Then you’re not forgetting him. You’ll never forget him, he was too important to you. It’s just that… as time goes by you won’t remember so much. You’ll be sitting one day and somebody will say or do something and it will remind you of him and you’ll smile and you’ll be grateful for the time you had with him. It’ll most probably be Ron. Sometimes with the things he does I realise that he and Sirius are more alike than Molly would approve of,” there was the first definite smile on her face. The more he thought about it the more he realised she was right. Ron was always up for an adventure just like Sirius. He never wanted to forget him and he never would.
“How about when you come back for Christmas we set about really making this place our own. Everyone can have their own room decorated to their tastes, we’ll put up some pictures and we’ll make it a home. Our home. The home that Sirius would have liked it to be.”
“I’d really like that.”
“Motion agreed. Well I’ve got some packing of my own to do, so I shall leave you to it,” she patted him comfortingly on the back and left the room.
The next morning was as chaotic as ever, just as they were about to head out the door Ron realised that he had left his Cleansweep in the wardrobe upstairs. His mother berated him as he dived up the stairs as quick as his legs would carry him. Moody had given up the usual duty of taking care of the luggage to Charlie and Ellie, instead he was co-ordinating everyone else. The newly instated Minister Bones had Ok’d Mr. Weasley’s request for cars to take the group to the station, she had kindly offered them two cars. In order to save them from revealing the headquarters they would floo to the Burrow first.
When they got there they were rushed through the house out into the driveway, where the Ministry cars were waiting. Piling in to the first car were Ron, Hermione, Mr and Mrs. Weasley, Kinglsey, and Bill, the second car was being filled by Harry, Ginny, Ellie, Charlie, Remus, Tonks and Moody. Elizabeth had very niftily shrunk the luggage and then Charlie had levitated it into the boots of the cars. Then they were on their way. The journey, which would normally have taken an hour or so, only took twenty minutes, Harry had a sneaking suspicion that there was quite a lot of very complex magic involved.
Once they got to the station they went through the barrier onto platform 9 ¾ in pairs. Remus and Tonks had gone first, followed by Mrs. Weasley and Ginny, who were followed by Mr. Weasley and Bill, then Hermione and Tonks, then Ron and Kingsley, Harry and Ellie and finally Moody and Charlie. Mrs. Weasley caught everyone with a hug before they got on the train; she caught Harry no less than 3 times. It was a little while before Harry realised that everyone was saying goodbye to Ellie, Remus and Tonks as well. He was seconds away from asking why, when Hermione beat him to it.
“Are you going somewhere?” she asked politely.
“We’re coming on the train with you lot, we’ve been landed with guard duties,” Tonks giggled. Although she made it sound like guard duty was such a drag and that she would rather would be doing something else they all knew that Tonks loved the idea of spending time with the youngsters after all she was only about five years older than them. Ellie kissed Charlie goodbye as Fred and George pretended to vomit in the background. Then the other three then piled on the train behind the teenagers. While Remus and Tonks immediately set off in the direction of the front carriage, Ellie stayed behind to wave goodbye to what was left of the order contingent on the platform. Once they had pulled out of the station she headed to the front of the train along with Ron, Ginny and Hermione who all had to be filled in on their prefects duties. Harry on the other hand slunk off to find a compartment where he could wait for his friends. He eventually found one quite near to the end of the train, he was just settling himself into his seat when Neville appeared.
“Hiya Harry, how was you’re summer?” the words came with concern which Harry appreciated; Neville understood the feeling of loss just as much as he did.
“Better than I though it would be. How about yours?”
“I’m glad yours wasn’t too bad. Mine was good. Gran has been looking at me in a different light since what happened. Dumbledore wrote to her and said that I had showed great courage, determination and skill. That I would have made my Dad very proud,” Neville finished very quietly.
“You would have,” Harry knew it meant as much for Neville to be compared to his dad as it did for him.
“Thanks Harry. Anyway since then Gran’s been acting like I’m a hero. She bought me a new wand and everything,” he immediately pulled it out of his pocket and began swishing it about. “Willow, 10 inches with a dragon heartstring core,” he said putting it back into his pocket. Their prefect friends returned sooner than expected and with Luna in tow, she too had made prefect this year. She tucked herself in to a corner near the door and immediately pulled out an edition of the Quibbler and began to read it. Everyone struggled not to laugh, she was definitely the same old Luna.
“Why are you back so early?” Neville inquired.
“Well most of our time is used to draw up rotas for patrolling the train but that’s being done by Lupin, Tonks and Ms. Dumbledore,” Hermione informed him,
“Tonks? Ms. Dumbledore? Any relation to Professor Dumbledore?” Harry had forgotten that Neville didn’t know Ellie.
“Tonks is an auror, she fought in at the Ministry. As for Ellie she’s Professor Dumbledore’s granddaughter and Harry’s new guardian,” Hermione filled him in.
“So what she like?”
“She’s cool,” Ron breathed.
“What brought that on?” Harry knew that Ron liked Ellie as much as the rest of them but it was the way that he said it which puzzled him.
“You should have seen it Harry. It was brilliant,” Ginny giggled.
“Malfoy strolled in ten minutes late and immediately began to push around some of the younger students. The Head Boy and Girl both gave him a bit of a telling off, then he sat down and began laughing and joking with some of the other Slytherin prefects. Well, you saw how Ellie was with the Malfoy’s in Diagon Alley they don’t intimidate her. She told Malfoy that it was very rude to talk over people, especially when it was something as important as this and then she told him to be quiet.” Hermione was always better at telling stories she added in all the little details that made them more interesting.
“You know Malfoy, never did know how to quit while he was ahead,” Ron grinned fiendishly.
“When he continued to talk Ellie hit him with a silencing charm. He got up and was waving his hands about apparently shouting at the top of his voice, he pulled out his wand and pointed at her, forgetting that he couldn’t speak any incantations when he realised that he threw his wand aside and lunged for her. She was quick with her spell work though, caught him with the full body bind. He fell face first on to the floor right in front of everyone and then Ellie told the heads just to carry on. She left him lying there until the meeting was finished, she didn’t take it off him until everyone was leaving. Malfoy was as red as a tomato,” absolutely everyone burst out laughing and they didn’t stop until their sides ached.
They didn’t see any signs of Draco at all, but from time to time people popped in to say hello they were largely DA members wondering if it would be continuing this year. They were all told the same thing: It depends what the new Defence teacher is like. Every now and again Remus, Tonks or Ellie stopped by on their rounds of the train, seeing Ellie had reminded them all of Malfoy and their unstoppable laughter had started all over again. When Ellie had entered the compartment she immediately asked to be introduced.
“This is Luna Lovegood,” Ginny provided. Luna looked up over her edition of the Quibbler and nodded.
“And this is…” before Harry could finished she interrupted him.
“I would recognise that face anywhere, you can only be Neville Longbottom,” she smiled warmly as she shook his hand. “The last time I saw you, you were knee high to a grasshopper. You must have been about two,” Neville looked startled by the fact that she knew him.
“I’m sorry I don’t remember.”
“Don’t be. It was a very long time ago,” with that she departed and continued on down the train.
Before too long the sky outside got dark and the familiar message came over the speaker system announcing that they were nearing Hogsmeade and they should all change into their robes. Hermione, Ginny and Luna left the compartment so that they could all change. When they did eventually pull into the station they were able to see Hagrid’s impressive form calling out for first years.
“Firs’ years here, firs’ years over here please, you alrigh’ Harry?”
“Fine thanks, you?”
“Jus’ fine Harry, jus’ fine,” Harry watched as the tiny little first years crowded around him.
He and Neville then set of towards the carriages, which would take them the final part of their journey. Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Luna who had been off making sure that the first years all departed the train met them there. They climbed in one carriage together and moments later began their approach to the castle, they swept past the enormous gates and up the sloping drive. They climbed out of the carriage and looked up at the castle before them.
“Good to be back isn’t it?” Ginny whispered to him as they set off up the front steps.