When Hermione Fights

Plattform 9 ³/₄

Chapter beta: Dani

Chapter translator: Aivy

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The Twins had seen us off with great fanfare. It would be lonely for them until Christmas, although I was sure they would find ways to enjoy the alone time! The corners of my mouth curled into a dirty grin as I vividly imagined what they would be up to.

We already knew how we wanted to arrive at the platform: we Gryffindors would go together, as would the Slytherins. A delegation from the Order would greet us to see if Harry came back safe and sound and master of his senses, we were certain of that, and to make sure I kept my promise to bring him back in one piece. It was too funny that they had never stopped pestering us with their mail, so much so that even Ron had refrained from writing home anymore, feeling harassed and annoyed when they kept on sending us jinxed letters even after his petitions to stop. The disconnection from all of us, even from Ron, was total and very final, I had found. It was good, very good. We were a team and saw ourselves as such and I was so glad and grateful that they acknowledged everyone, including Draco, as belonging in our midst!

The lessons Draco had given Ron and Harry had been too delightful. They had accepted it with minimal grumbling when he had taught them to behave according to the rules. Of course, far-sighted as he was, he had adapted it to them. They were not to be smug, snobbish and arrogant like a Malfoy, no, not that, but confident and commanding, presenting themselves casually but also proudly. One of his favourite mantras:

"Keep your composure, act appropriately, You are the Chosen One, Potter, and you are a pureblood, Weasel. Oh, before I forget, the Potters were once pure too, before your mother, so be proud of your ancestors!"

You could really feel sorry for Ron and Harry, the way he tormented them. For Ron in particular, he put the knife to his chest when it came to table manners. Draco was worse than Molly and I put together; that Ron cracked under the pressure of those steel-grey eyes should come as no surprise to anyone, especially since Astoria and Daphne continued to harangue him about it when Draco disappeared with me, and he was getting really fed up with embarrassing himself over something like that. When he saw that Harry submitted to this doctrine without question, because he wanted to please his beloved Daphne and she was a well-bred pureblood... Well, let's put it this way, the two of them were no longer recognisable. Not only were their clothes better, but their behaviour and appearance were now impeccable. Added to this was their changed physique due to the long hours of training, as a result of which they were now young, strong, mature men. They looked good, very good; I would say they looked good enough to fall in love with, if I weren't very much taken... I hoped there wouldn't be too much trouble for Harry with other women who thought they were now discovering him for themselves. I would keep my eyes peeled.

I was wearing my brown dress from breakfast, which I would hide under my cloak for the feast tonight, and Draco was dressed in a white silk shirt like every year and over it he wore a fine black suit.

Yes, I know and here comes the shock: Ron and Harry were wearing trousers, but linen trousers. Dark grey linen trousers that looked fantastic on them and over them smart polo shirts. Harry's shirt reflected his eye colour and Ron's was a shade of grey to match the grey trousers. They looked smart but not too much, they held themselves straight and radiated an inner calm and equanimity that had probably been foreign to them until recently.

We attracted attention with our looks alone, but not only because of that.

As we walked through the wall of 9 ¾ and left the Muggles who had already been staring at us strangely behind us, Ron with Pig, Harry with his flashy white Hedwig and me with my sweet Orange, with the big wardrobe trunks on our carts, we didn't stand out at all, of course. But we couldn't use our wands without drawing attention to ourselves, so we were an attraction until we crossed the magical barrier, and then we were even more the focus of attention as the glorious Golden Trio.