Faery Heroes

Chapter 5: Confrontations Past and Present

I think I can best warn you about the second half of the chapter in two words: angst ahead! Unwanted but necessary, I'm afraid. There's also a fight scene, and some of our trio's history comes to light.

Disclaimer: Did Harry and Hermione forgive Ron after he ran off for several months in the middle of a war? If so, I don't own the Harry Potter franchise; it belongs to J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Press, Warner Bros., and whoever else she sold the rights to.
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The trio saw no students as they walked towards the Great Hall, allowing them to collect their thoughts and center themselves. There would be several people in the room that they had not seen since the second defeat of Voldemort, some whose deaths they had mourned, and even some who they would like nothing more than to slowly and messily dispose of. Not only would they have their own memories haunting them, but many would question how this most unlikely of relationships had developed without the nigh-omniscient Hogwarts rumor mill hearing about it; they would not, under any circumstances, deny they were happy together, especially not for this crowd of children.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Hermione asked when they were before the large doors. "Walk in and ignore any questions, make a scene, take out the junior Death Eaters?"

"Or we could tango our way inside," suggested Luna, "though I don't know that Harry's skilled enough with that routine to dance with both of us."

Harry fondly rolled his eyes at the many ways the two girls tried his patience. "To repeat Hermione, we're magically weaker than we were in our old timeline. Let's try to be discreet, please."

Luna huffed. "Fine, but if any of my Housemates decide to start shit with me, I'm going to finish it. I'm not that little girl who was afraid of escalation anymore." He and Hermione were surprised at her language, not her vehemence; Luna had not had a good experience at Hogwarts last time. When McGonagall told first years that their 'houses would be their families', she neglected to inform them that these 'families' acted more like packs of wild animals than humans, turning at a moment's notice on anyone who was different or 'weak'.

"Shall we?" he asked and confidently opened the door.
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The Great Hall was extremely loud, echoing with the noise of the school's 300 or so students and worsened by the voices of the hundred additional students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. The trio moved over to the end of the Gryffindor table closest to the door in order to stay out of the various conversations of their classmates; it had been ten years since this time for them, and there was no way for them to respond to the inevitable questions in-character enough to stay out of suspicion.

At least, I won't be able to be unsuspicious, Harry thought, though Hermione might be able to do it. Practically no one knows anything about Luna, so she won't have to worry about it at all. Oh well, it's not like they will do much of anything even when I do break character.

It was Seamus who first noticed the three of them sitting down, surprisingly. "Harry, I'm glad to see you away from Pomfrey. Do you think you could tell us what happened in the maze? No one seems to know."

"Seamus Finnigan, how dare you ask that!" Hermione scolded, "Harry spent the night in the Hospital Wing, and Cedric is dead; would waiting for a single day to go by before you ask such questions be too much for you?"

"Merlin, sorry Hermione, no need to yell at me. I figured Harry was made of strong enough stuff to be able to just tell us about it."

Harry laid his hand on hers to calm her down. "Seamus, it doesn't matter what I'm made of, you don't ask those kinds of questions. Besides, I expect the Headmaster will tell everyone about it eventually."