Hogwarts Love Story pt 26 (vulturemonem)

Here's part twenty-six, I hope you enjoy it. It's a bit of a filler chapter I'm afraid, but it needs to be there. I'll be editing my previous parts and changing over to first person.

I much prefer writing that way, and I'd like a name rather than '____'. It shouldn't take long, and I'll be starting right away. Thank you, and enjoy!

Created by: vulturemonem
  1. Waking up early on the morning of our return to Hogwarts, I rolled over and looked at the sleeping forms of my two friends, still cocooned in their duvets. Muttering about late risers, I climbed out of bed quietly and headed to the bathroom. After freshening up a little and brushing and tieing up my hair, I returned to the bedroom and threw the few items I had scattered across the room into my trunk. I changed into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, and slipped my wand into the front pocket of my jeans. After my encounter with Draco the previous year, I'd never leave my wand that far out of reach. As I tucked my wand away safely, my fingertips brushed the corner of a piece of paper. Frowning, I pulled it out, and saw a letter addressed to me. I sat down on the bed, remembering that Cedric had handed me a letter when we'd been out to lunch the previous afternoon. Trying to keep quiet for the sake of my friends, I slid my finger under the seal and pulled out the folded piece of parchment. There was a short letter from Ariella, giving me her well-wishes. She then carried on to say that Oliver Wood had sent a letter to the house, and that she'd sent it on to me. I put Ariella's letter beside me, and looked back in the envelope. Sure enough, there was another, unopened letter inside. I scanned Oliver's scrawl, before sighing. He was, more or less, asking me if I was ok, and askgn me what really happened n the graveyard. Deciding I still had several hours to use up before we left, I pulled out a Biro and began to write a hurried reply, explaining everything briefly, but truthfully. I didn't really want to give details about something so barbaric. Setting my pen aside, I slipped from the bedroom to where Mrs. Weasley was keeping the owls. I unlocked Sepia's cage and tied the letter to her leg, smiling as the brown owl flew away gracefully. Wouldn't the muggles be surprised to see an owl at this hour?
  2. Spinning round, intending on going down to where I could smell Mrs. Weasley was making breakfast for the final time that summer, I found myself face-to-face – well, more like face-to-chest – with Harry. I took a small step back and smiled at him. He'd grown over the summer, and looked far less scrawny and short. "You're up early," I observed. "Yeah. Couldn't sleep." "Graveyard?" I guessed. Nightmares about that place had been plaguing me all through the summer, and I was sure they had Cedric too, though of course he would never admit it. Least of all to his girlfriend. "No," he replied, surprising me. "What about then?" I asked. "It's weird. It's like... It's a hallway, in the Ministry of Magic. And I'm not me, in the dream, I'm a snake. I always wake up just when I get to a door. And I saw it when I was at my hearing," he explained, and I saw the dark bags under his eyes. I didn't really know what to say. I had my theories, but they were just theories. And they'd been of very little help to Harry. I'd read somewhere that Voldermort can infiltrate your mind. I wondered in passing whether the connection the two seemed to share because of Harry's scar enable him to do this in Harry's dreams... "I'd talk to Dumbledore. Why didn't you when you were at the hearing?" I asked, suddenly puzzled. "I tried to. But it was like he was trying to avoid me." Why Dumbledore would ignore Harry at such an important and difficult point in his life as this had me extremely confused, and my brain whirring. I was so wrapped up in trying to work out why Dumbledore would try to avoid Harry, and why we weren't to tell him anything over the summer, for that matter, that I barely heard Ginny approach us. "Hey you two," she said, yawning widely. "Hi Ginny," Harry said.
  3. I looked out over the street below, and tuned out the conversation being held a few feet to my left. I knew that the coming year, or probably years, were going to be hard. Particularly on Harry. I knew that he'd need all the support he could get, and I found myself filling with silent rage that Dumbledore wasn't helping Harry as much as he could. If he didn't clean up his act soon, then so help me... I was snapped from my rather bitter, angry thoughts when someone laid a gentle hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see Ron standing there, looking rather concerned. His hand dropped awkwardly frm my shoulder when his gaze met mine, and I noticed that we were alone in the make-shift owlery. "Mum sent me to get you down for breakfast. 'Parrently we'll be late," he mumbled, looking embarrassed. Though for the life of me I didn't know why. "Right. Sorry. Breakfast, yeah. Coming," I muttered, feeling flustered. "You alright ___?" he asked, frowning slightly. "Did Harry tell you about Dumbledore?" "Oh. Yeah. I don't understand that at all," he said, seeming far more normal again. "Neither do I. Then again, I haven't understood most of what he's done in the past four years. Most of it's been right though," I admitted. "Most," Ron repeated with a sigh. "_____! Ronald! Get down here!" Mrs. Weasley hollered from downstairs. Rolling my eyes at his mother, I strode past Ron and darted down the stairs. I'd packed my trunk already, so I had little to do. I spotted Sirius by the kitchen sink, looking rather glum. I think that secretly he'd been hoping Harry would be expelled so he could live at Grimmauld Place. I couldn't blame him, however selfish it seemed, I couldn't imagine living on my own all the time. It would get so lonely. He glanced in my direction, and I shot him a smile, which he didn't return. He seemed to be looking right through me. I sat down at the kitchen table and grabbed a piece of toast. The first thing that struck me was Cedric's absence. He, like me, was an early riser. Unlike me, he'd been down to breakfast early. He didn't daydream. He could be a little dense at times, but he was down-to-earth. Once he woke up, the kitchen was his first destination, and nothing distracted him, except for his friends. I had to admit though, ness he was having a nice little chat with Kreacher, which seemed unlikely, he was being distracted by something else.
  4. Hermione, who had a sharp eye for everything, not just ancient runes, asked after Cedric before I could even find an adult to direct my question at. "Remus? Where's Cedric?" she asked. "He's talking to Tonks. You know he wants to be an auror? They're discussing training and what muggles call 'work-experience' for next year," Remus replied. That made sense. Cedric would take the opportunity to talk to a professional. I was, however, hit by a sudden worry. "They won't let him do things to do with Voldermort in his first year will they?" I asked Remus, needing reassurance. "I doubt it ____," he smiled, "But if he does very well, and they lose people, then perhaps." Great, I thought sarcastically, so next year I'll have Cedric to worry about too. Freaking fabulous. I felt in a bad mood already, and it hadn't even reached seven o'clock. I picked at my toast, but found that I didn't really have much of an appetite. Not saying much, I pushed my plate away and listened to the conversations going on around me. "Someone tell me where Podmore is," Mrs. Weasley begged, glancing at the old clock on the wall. "I've no idea Molly, but I'm sure he'll turn up," Kinsley said quietly. I frowned, and looked at Ginny questioningly. She seemed to know everything about what was going on, so who better to ask? "Harry needs a 'guard'," she said, rolling her eyes. I nodded, but didn't join in her dismissal of the guy. Though 'guard' seemed a rather pathetic word to use, it seemed sensible enough to me. Then again, Ginny was hard as nails, except when it came to boys.
  5. Half an hour later, our trunks stood by the front door, and we were saying goodbye to those that wouldn't be accompanying us to King's Cross station. Technically, that included Sirius, but as Podmore had yet to turn up, and we were already running late, Sirius was acting as guard, in the form of a shaggy black dog. Apparently, he was directly defying Dumbledore's orders to stay inside - for the second time, not that anyone other than myself and Cedric knew that - but if I were in his position, I'd probably have done the same thing. Harry certainly didn't mind that he could spend a little more time with his Godfather. At long last, Mad-Eye opened the door and Mrs. Weasley ushered us out with a final goodbye. I let out a long, relieved sigh as we left the confines of the house, and exchanged a grin with Hermione. "Thank God," she said. I stated my agreement. Though it had been nice to spend time with my friends and members of the Order, it had become very cramped, and tempers had been running high. Ron looked equally relieved, if not more so.
  6. Upon arriving at King's Cross, Remus warned us not to send any letters mentioning the Order, and he shot Cedric a very significant look. That was something I'd be asking him about once out of ear-shot. I didn't like the look one bit. It was a 'keep them out of trouble and don't let them do anything stupid' look. We waved for a moment after exchanging our final goodbyes, and walked down the isle to find an empty compartment. The twins disappeared, and Cedric, Hermione and Ron headed to the prefects compartment. I found myself left with Harry, as Ginny was bounding ahead as she searched for a place to sit. "What's wrong?" I asked, seeing the look on Harry's face. "Everything. Have you seen the Prophet lately?" "Yes. Ignore them Harry, they don't know what they're talking about. As I said, the truth will come out eventually." "But when? By the time that happens anything could have happened. Voldermort could have infiltrated the Ministry entirely!" Harry said, causing passing students to stop and stare. "Keep your voice down Harry," I chastised him gently, "Ginny's found a carriage." I effectively ended the conversation, and we sped up and slipped in to join Ginny. I was surprised to see another person in there. A girl who looked to be in our year, with long, light blond hair and startling blue eyes. She was holding a magazine in her hands, upside-down, which appeared to be called the Quibbler. I couldn't say I'd heard of it. "Hello," she said in a dreamy voice. "This is Luna Lovegood," Ginny said, grinning wickedly. "Yes. Would you like to read the Quibbler? My father's the editor," she informed us, her voice high-pitched. "No thank you," I declined. "Nice necklace," Ginny said, nodding to the chain around her neck. "Thank you. It keeps away the nargles," she said as though stating that one plus one is two. "The what?" Harry hissed in my ear. "No idea," I whispered back. The door slid open, and Neville came in. After pleasentries had been exchanged and I'd given Neville a quick hug, he asked after Ariella. "She's fine thanks," I replied. "And Harry? Just so you know, my gran and I don't believe a word the Daily Prophet says about you." This caused Harry to smile for the first time that day. "Though I don't understand why they aren't targeting you lot too, and Cedric," Neville said, nodding to myself, and clearly meaning Ron and Hermione, who had also been in the graveyard.
  7. Eventually, Ron and Hermione joined us, and informed us that Draco had been made a Slytherin prefect. "What? Is Dumbledore mad?" Harry asked, aghast. "Harry! He's not that bad," I defended. "I never will understand how you became friends with him," Ron muttered, "It was much better when you hate his guts in our first year." "As I said, he's not that bad," I replied cooly.
  8. Soon, the tran was pulling up at Hogwarts. Climbing off the train, I was surprised not to hear Hagrid's voice calling the first years. Instead, I heard a rather annoying, female voice. "First years! This way please!" she called. I shot my friends a look, and they replied with the same puzzled expression. Shaking my head, I climbed into a carriage and we headed to the castle. I smiled up when we crossed the threshold, and found the sight of the castle strangely comforting. We headed into the Great Hall a d sat down at the Griffendor table. I smiled at Cedric, and searched the Slytherin table for Draco. He was listening, or not listening, to Pansy, who was shooting me daggers. I smirked at her, and then looked away, directing my attention at the first years for the sorting. After a rather interesting song from the Sorting Hat, Dumbledore rose and welcomed everyone. He explained that Hagrid was to return later in the year, and was away on some business. In the mean time, Professor Grubbly-Plank would teach Care of Magical Creatures. This resulted in mutters breaking out through the hall. Where was Hagrid? What was he doing? This was pushed out of my mind however, for Dumbledore then announced that Professor Umbridge would be taking over as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I looked to her, and saw a toad-like woman, wearing all pink. She had pudgy, bulging eyes, and a fake, sickly smile. "She was at my hearing. She voted against me," Harry hissed in my ear. We stared at him, realising that she was from the Ministry of Magic. I hadn't payed attention to that part of Dumbledore's speech, clearly. As he continued speaking, there was a little 'hem hem' from Umbridge, and she stood up. Everyone stared at her. Nobody had dared interrupt Dumbledore before. McGonnagle and Snape had similar looks of disapproval on their faces, and I was quite sure that even the Slytherins disliked this woman. "Thank you headmaster, for those kind words of welcome. And look at all these kind young faces, smiling up at me. I'm sure we'll all be great friends," she said, smiling. "That's likely," the twins said in unison. I saw a twinkle in Dumbledore's eye, and McGonnagle's lips definitely twitched. Umbridge shot them a twisted look, before continuing her boring speech. "Though each headmaster has brought something new to this historic school, progress for the sake of progress, must be discouraged. Let us preserve what can be preserved, perfect what can be perfected, and prune practises that should be prohibited." She giggled and shot Dumbledore a smile. "Thank you Professor. That was most inspiring," Dumbledore said, before continuing with talking of Quidditch trials. "What does that mean?" Ron asked, looking at myself and Hermione. "It means the ministry is interfering with Hogwarts," I said grimly.
  9. *vulturemonem* I hadn't planned on ending it there, but it seemed like a good place to cut off. My intentions for this year are somewhat blurred, so I'll be writing what comes to me. Secondly, before I post any more parts, I'm going to be going through and editing all previous year five parts a little. Not significantly, but I'll be changing them all over to first person, and adding in a name for the main character. I much prefer writing that way, and I'd like to have a name! Thanks for reading! xXvulturemonemXx

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