The trick to getting onto Platform 9 and ¾ was that a student had to run at the stone pillar that separated Platforms 9 and 10. It would be a problem if a Muggle noticed a child disappearing into solid rock. To this day, however, very few Muggles had actually seen a student make this transition through the stone pillar, but they had been dealt with quickly by trained Ministry wizards. They were not harmed, just their memories altered to make them forget what they had seen.
On this day, Harry and his friends were being ushered quickly along the platforms by Mrs. Weasley and Kevin. Four large dogs flanked the group on either side. These animals were actually Animagi, wizards and witches that could assume animal form. They were Kevin’s most trusted friends, and a diversion for getting the students onto Platform 9 and ¾. They came to Platform 9. Kevin turned to the others, “See you all at school.” He put his fingertips to his forehead in a mild salute.
At that moment, all four dogs started barking and running wildly. All eyes followed the four-legged beasts and Kevin, who was attempting to gain some control over his animals. No one seemed to notice the people he was just with slip into solid rock. They came out onto Platform 9 and ¾, where the Hogwarts Express was waiting for them. After handing over their trunks to one of the conductors for storing, and a quick hug and kiss from Mrs. Weasley, they all boarded the train.
They all found an empty compartment, and settled into a seat. Ginny laid her head down on Harry’s shoulder. She still had been having trouble sleeping. Harry hoped that being at Hogwarts might make her feel a bit more comfortable. As for Ron and Hermione, they hadn’t said much for the past couple of days. Harry knew why, and it was starting to annoy him. “Will you two just accept it? Dumbledore made the decision and there is no way out of it.”
“But…,” Ron started to say.
“He made us…” Hermione stammered.
“Head Boy and Girl,” Ginny finished for them both. She was just as annoyed at their stunned silence. It wouldn’t have been so bad except that it seemed like they were too good to speak with her and Harry now that they had new titles at Hogwarts. She knew that this wasn’t the truth, but it bugged her nonetheless.
“Hermione, I can understand,” Ron said, “but me? What have I ever done to deserve being Head Boy?”
“No one knows how Professor Dumbledore chooses Head Boy and Girl,” Hermione responded. “So, it’s possible that you’ve done something that they were looking for and you didn’t even know it.”
Harry leaned in close to whisper in Ginny’s ear. “Or they could just choose names out of the Sorting Hat,” he whispered. Ginny couldn’t hide her laugh, and Ron had overheard what his friend had said.
“That’s mean, Harry,” Ron said. “I probably did something really spectacular and I don’t even know what it is.” Ron’s eyes suddenly glazed over as he tried to understand his own statement.
“I’m sorry Ron,” Harry said, amongst a fit of giggles. “You have done some great things over the past two years. You were a great help in the Department of Mysteries and in the Battle of Hogsmeade. You deserve that title as much as anyone else.”
“Yeah, but…”
“No buts, Ron,” Hermione cut him off. “You are Head Boy, and you have to live up to it.” She got to her feet. “Now, we have to get to the Prefect’s compartment.” She extended her hand to Ron. He took it and stood as well. “Ginny, are you coming?” It wasn’t so much a question of if, but when.
“In a moment,” Ginny answered. She was in no real hurry to get up. Ron and Hermione left the compartment.
Harry slipped an arm around her waist. “You want to talk about it?” he asked.
She didn’t look at him. “Talk about what?”
He tightened his arm. “About what has been bothering you. Ron tells me that you haven’t been getting a full nights rest in a while. He’s heard you pacing in the hallways late at night.”
“And what was he doing up that late?” she asked, trying to shift the subject off of herself.
Harry, forcefully, turned her to look at him. “Ginny, what has been going on? Please, talk to me.”
Ginny lowered her head. “It’s nothing, Harry. I just haven’t been sleeping. It’s…it’s probably because I know that this is the last train ride to Hogwarts that we will take together.” She, slightly, raised her head to look at him. “I just keep thinking that you are going to go off on your own after this year. And…and…” She couldn’t finish her sentence.
“What?”
“I keep thinking what’s going to happen to you when Voldemort gets his powers back.” Tears started filling her eyes. “I keep thinking how he is going to come after you, and all the horrible things that could happen to you.”
Harry cradled her in his arms. “Ginny, please don’t cry.” She continued to sob. “I can’t say anything that is going to make you feel any better, and I wish with all my heart that I could.” That much was true. No matter what he actually said, it wouldn’t be enough to alleviate her fears. She would know that he was just saying pretty words to make her feel good about the situation and she would see right through them.
Harry wasn’t going to lie anymore. “Ginny, I can’t say what is going to happen for certain, but you have to believe me when I say that I will be ready for anything that happens. Whatever I face in the next year, I am going to be prepared.” He turned her eyes to his. “And I won’t do this alone. You are going to be right there beside me.” He leaned in to kiss her.
Ginny let herself be drawn towards him. In one part of her mind, that was what she had wanted to hear. Harry wasn’t going to go into anything without her, nor was he going to rush off into something he wasn’t prepared for.
But something else was troubling her, and it scared her more then anything else on the outside. She was scared of the one person that she had professed to trust more then anyone.
She was scared of Harry Potter.
***********************************************************
The train arrived at Hogsmeade station near Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The students filed out onto the train platform. A familiar voice was soon greeting them all in his usual fashion. “First Years, This Way! First Years. Follow Me!”
Harry quickly turned to see Rubeus Hagrid bellowing at the top of his lungs to be heard over all the noise of the students. The large groundskeeper/professor waved one his enormous hands as soon as he saw Harry. “All right there, Harry?” he called out to him.
Harry nodded his head and waved back. He soon found himself getting into one of the carriages which would carry him and the other students up to the castle. Ron, Hermione and Ginny had all found him quickly and joined him in the carriage. They rode in silence as the Thestrals, large winged creatures that could only be seen by someone who had witnessed death, pulled the carriages along the road up to the castle.
Everyone entered the entry hall and made their way to the Great Hall. There, they took seats at one of the four large tables in the hall. Each table was meant for students of one of the four different houses of Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Harry and the others took their seats at the Gryffindor table. Bright golden plates and goblets were placed before them. Though they were empty now, in a matter of time they would be filled with food and drink as the start of year feast would begin. However, before the feast could commence, the first year students had to be inducted into their houses.
The doors to the Great Hall opened up and Hagrid was seen leading a long train of students down the middle of the tables. Normally, he was alone in this endeavor. However this year he had company. Four wizards that Harry knew well were walking on either side of the train of students. These wizards were the Animagi Wizards that had watched over the castle last year in their animal forms. No one knew that those “housedogs” were actually wizards, which made for quite the shocker when the truth was revealed.
As Harry watched them advance towards the front of the room, he noticed that they looked less like wizards and more like…warriors. Each person was dressed in animal skinned tunics with flowing capes behind them. They carried a different weapon in their possession. Chris had a broadsword sheathed to his back. Stacy was sporting a long staff with curved blades at each end. Shawn held a large battle axe in both of his hands, and Lita had a crossbow dangling from her belt and a quiver of arrows strapped over her shoulder. There was no mistaking these wizards for anything except medieval warriors ready for battle.
As the students reached the front of the hall, the four warrior-wizards branched off from the group and took up positions along the wall. Hagrid went to his usual seat at the teacher’s table. Professor McGonagall brought forward a three legged stool with a tall, pointed wizard’s hat sitting on it. This was the sorting hat, which would tell each new student which house they were meant for.
The new students looked up at the old hat with a mixed feeling of fear and excitement. The old hat suddenly split at the brim, as if a mouth were forming. It broke into song.
From years since past
Long have I been entrusted with
This important task
To tell young wizards
Who are confused
Where would be the best place
They might be used
To one of the houses
Will you be sent
And there you will find
A sort of merriment
For in these houses
Will people be
Who treat you just like family
(Just wait and you will see)
In those I sense a longing
For adventures and excitement
Gryffindor is best for you
They have always loved incitement
To those of mind that’s strong
And willing to face a test
To Ravenclaw you shall go
For at those they are the best
And those who I find loyal
Dependable and true
I will give to Hufflepuff
And there your growth will ensue
To those who have ambition
And take the risks ahead
Nobel Slytherin is best for you
“They find glory everywhere”
At least that’s what has been said
I always know the best place for you
Though your mind may be divided
Never fear for my wisdom is great
And people wonder where I hide it
I always have the best ideas
Even though my mouth is but a hem
So it be your wish
LET THE SORTING NOW BEGIN!!
The Great Hall was soon filled with cheers and hollering as the Sorting Hat finished its illustrious song. This would be the last one that a lot of the students would ever hear, and it weighed on their hearts a bit. The hat made no movements as it was placed on each of the new students head. Once around their ears, the hat would be silent for a moment before shouting the name of a house. Whenever the name was shouted, the house table would applaud for the new student.
Gryffindor was graced with thirteen new students that year, the lowest that Harry had ever known them to receive. Once they were all seated, Professor Dumbledore stood. The whole hall went silent. The old headmaster raised his hands. “Tuck in,” he said. The plates were suddenly filled with all varieties of meat, vegetables and drinks to tempt the stomach. The students rushed to take some of the delicious food before others had had a chance to horde it all for themselves.
Harry had filled his plate with generous portions of beef and potatoes when he noticed that Ginny wasn’t taking any of the food. As he looked over at her, he noticed that her head was actually drooping and her eyes were half closed. “Ginny,” he said, gently nudging her with his elbow. “Are you all right?”
Ginny snapped back to reality. “Yes, I’m fine,” she answered. A smile, though a small one, crept onto her face. “I just dozed off a bit.” She started to grab food for her own plate, but considerably less then the others around her.
Harry watched her closely as they ate. Ginny looked, if it was possible, even worse then she had on the train. Her eyelids kept falling and rising, her head was lulling to one side and she was not eating that much. Once the feast had concluded, Harry placed an arm around her waist and allowed her head to rest on his shoulder. Normally, she would have objected to this, but Ginny had no fight left in her.
Professor Dumbledore stood once again to speak. “Welcome to yet another year at Hogwarts. Before we retire you to your beds for the evening, a few start of year announcements are needed. As always, our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has a notice of items that are banned in the castle. You may find them on your common room bulletin board and on his office door. No one is to be out of bed after hours. New security measures are being put into place to ensure that we have no adventurers in our midst.” Harry glanced over at Kevin, who seemed to be thumbing an old piece of parchment. He caught Harry’s eye and nodded, with a sly grin. The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was holding the Marauder’s Map, something that could track anyone in the castle at any time. Harry had hated handing over that particular treasure last year, but it was for the greater good.
Dumbledore continued, “The Forbidden Forest is just that, forbidden. No one is to go into it for any reason. With the success of last year’s series of balls to brighten the student’s spirit, we are doing them again this year.” The hall was suddenly filled with excited chatter. The balls had been such a huge success, especially for Harry. He glanced over at Ginny to see her reaction, but found her eyes closed. “Yes, yes we are all excited,” Dumbledore said. “However, we are forced to limit ourselves to only two this year, one just before Christmas break and another at the end of the year.” Where there had been happy chatter, there was now crestfallen murmuring.
“I don’t know what they are all unhappy about,” Hermione said. “We only had three last year. The end of year ball was never held given what happened.” She glanced over at Ginny. “Is she all right?”
Harry shrugged with the shoulder that Ginny wasn’t resting on. “Don’t know. She won’t talk.” Dumbledore dismissed the students to their dormitories. With a gentle nudge, Harry managed to rouse Ginny from her slumber.
Her eyes lightly opened. “What’s going on?” she asked, her voice not much higher then a whisper.
“It’s time to go up to the dormitory,” Harry whispered back. Even through all the shuffling of feet and robes, they could still hear one another as close as they were. “We have to go to bed.”
“Want to stay here,” Ginny said. Her arm came around and placed itself on his other shoulder. “Want to be with you. Don’t want to be hurt…” Her voice trailed off as she drifted back to sleep.
Harry wasn’t sure how he was going to get up to Gryffindor tower with Ginny asleep on him. He could have carried her, but that would look suspicious, not to mention odd, and any teacher that saw him would think she had taken ill. Ginny would be rushed off to the hospital wing in an instant.
What Harry didn’t realize was that was exactly where she was meant to go.
Sara Hall walked over to the table. “I think she had better come with me,” she said. “Molly wanted Ginny to be looked over by Madam Pomfrey as soon as the feast was over.” Kevin walked over to his wife’s side.
“What’s wrong with her?” Harry asked, hoping he would finally get an answer.
“Nothing, hopefully,” Sara answered. “But we were asked to look after her for the night. Don’t worry, Harry. She should be back for breakfast.” Kevin leaned down and gently placed Ginny onto his back. He hooked his arms under her kneecaps and let her arms flop over his shoulders.
As Harry watched the elder wizards carry his girlfriend out, Ron and Hermione stood on either side of him. “She’ll be all right, Harry,” Hermione said.
“Yeah, mate,” Ron added. “When it comes down to it, my sister is tougher then she looks.”
In Harry’s mind, though, she was the most fragile thing in the world. He knew what it was like to lose her once.
He would never lose her again.