Dark Pasts { A Harry Potter Story }

Chapter 62 - On The Hogwarts Express

The last week of the holidays was dreadful as Harry seemed keen to keep ignoring me, so much that he would not even talk to Ron and Hermione when they were with me, forcing them to take turns between him and me.

"He's being completely unreasonable," Ginny said as we tried to find an empty compartment on the train.

"You know, I won't say I mind spending less time with him right now," Hermione said making us both look at her questioningly. "He can't stop talking about how he thinks Malfoy's a Death Eater," she explained in a low voice as we sat down.

"Oh, please," I said, rolling my eyes. "What would You-Know-Who want with a sixteen-year-old?"

"That's what we keep telling him," she said and proceeded to explain what they had heard at Borgin and Burkes from under the invisibility cloak.

Ginny soon left to find Dean, but before Hermione and I could say anything, Harry, Ron and Neville sat down beside us. Hermione rolled her eyes as we heard them talking about Draco again, but suddenly a bunch of younger girls were all huddled up in the corridor in front of our compartment.

"Hi, Harry, I'm Romilda Vane," one of them said confidently, "would you like to join us in our compartment?"

"Uhm, yeah, no thanks," he said, making me smirk slightly.

"Wish the lunch trolley would hurry," Ron said. "I'm starving."

Harry deliberately refused to acknowledge my presence so I opened my book and ignored the lot of them in return. Soon enough, the compartment door slid open again.

"I'm supposed to be delivering these to Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom," the young girl said as she handed them both scrolls of parchment.

"What is it?" Ron asked.

"An invitation," Harry said.

"Who's Professor Slughorn?" Neville asked.

"New teacher," Harry said as he stood up. "Come on."

I heard the compartment door close again and then there was silence. I slowly lifted my head to see Ron and Hermione staring at me.

"What?"

"So are you going to talk to him?" Ron asked.

"You've got to be joking," I said as I shook my head but he seemed serious. "Ron, I did talk to him and he made it clear that he wanted to act like a baby."

"But he was just upset," he said.

"Because you think I wasn't when I didn't receive his letters?" I said angrily. "We were in the same boat, Ron, and yet only one of us is acting like a complete prat about it."

"Yeah, but—" he said but I glared at him, making him shut up.

"Look, Liz," Hermione said calmly, "I think what Ron's trying to say is that— well, you know Harry... he overreacts."

"Look, I know that, alright?" I said. "It's just... I was just as upset as he was, and yet I knew that something must have happened because I trust him. I mean, why would I tell him I would write to him and then not? I can't just let him be angry at me for every little thing and forget about it the second he regains his senses. He's got to make up for that by himself."

Neville came back after the sun had set, but told us that Harry had gone somewhere, making us all looked to each other curiously. But when the train stopped and there was still no sign of him, I grew slightly nervous.

"He took his invisibility cloak," I said.

"What?" Hermione said and sighed in annoyance. "I wonder where he is."

"He's probably already on the platform," Ron told us. "Come."

Hermione and I exchanged a doubtful look before following Ron out of the train.

"Granger! Rosier!" A voice shouted from further down the platform.

We turned around to see Megan Jones and Hannah Abbott making their way toward us. Hermione and I exchanged a curious look before looking at them.

"Have a good summer?" I asked them.

"Yeah, great!" Megan said. "Listen, we were wondering..." She said, but Hannah remained silent beside her, "Is it true? What they're saying in the Daily Prophet about what happened at the Ministry?"

"Most of what the Prophet writes is rubbish, Jones," I said and dragged Hermione away.

"What'd they want?" Ron asked as we caught up to him, but not a moment later did someone else jump out in front of us.

"Is it true?" Zacharias Smith said, making me roll my eyes. "Is Harry the Chosen One?"

"You people have got to stop taking the Daily Prophet so seriously," I said before walking away.

We hopped on one of the carriages with Neville and were carried away toward the school by the thestrals.

"You know," Hermione whispered in my ear, "Harry told us he really is the chosen one..."

"What?"

"Yeah, turns out Dumbledore heard the prophecy and told Harry he's the one that has to kill Voldemort," she explained.

I frowned, slightly upset that they had not told me. But more than this, I felt scared for Harry...