Revelations

Chapter 3: Remembrance

It was the last year of school, and the Boy-Who-Lived turned 18. He had grown to a full height of six foot. His robes from the year before were too short, and Harry had to catch the first train into London this morning to Diagon Alley for new ones. But Harry did not mind. The summer was probably one of the best ones spent in the Muggle world. Dudley had been away all summer with a wrestling team from his school and was apparently beating the life out of little kids everywhere. But as long as the trophies kept coming, Harry's uncle could care less. Aunt Petunia had sent Dudley a cake for everyday of the months that he had been gone, and Harry was not surprised that by the end of the summer Dudley had come back twice the man he had been before. The Dursley's themselves have been careful not to tread loudly in Harry's life and that was fine by him. His uncle had resorted to simply not speaking to him; believing that in doing so their "problem" would simply go away. When Harry had told them he was taking the train in instead of needing them for transportation, he was hardly out of the door and saying goodbye before the door slammed in his face. But Harry did not expect any less from his guardians.

As Harry slowly made his way through the crowds and boarded the Hogwarts Express he finally found a redheaded boy sitting by himself in one of the cars near the back.

"RON!"

"HARRY!"

Ron had grown as well, standing about two inches taller than Harry. The boys hugged and patted each other on the back before sitting down. Ron spoke about how his week spent with Charlie had been and how his mum will never accept the fact that the twins are still no longer in school. There had been some riots in the Burrow evidently involving both twins and some pots and pans. But business was booming and Mrs. Weasley lastly, after two years of yelling and tears, gave up on the two. Ron asked if Harry received his birthday present, a year's worth of Weasley's Gifts and Gags. He told him just how much chaos Fred's Weasley Waterworks had caused in the house. Harry laughed and told him about his days mirthlessly passed on Privet Drive, listening to his uncle's snores and his aunts fluttering about Dudley. Both then proceeded to sit and discuss more important matters, such as how many chocolate's to buy, in honor of their seven-year tradition.

Suddenly the door opened and there stood two ginger haired girls in Gryffindor uniforms.

One was Ginny Weasley, now 17. She had an air of maturity about her. She had shorn her hair short over the summer, when Harry visited, since Ginny hated to fuss over her hair. Growing up in a house of boys, it wasn't surprising that Ginny Weasley turned out to be much more of a tomboy than anything else, much to her mother's chagrin. She was pretty, with a slightly awkwardness about her that simply added to that. Over the summer she had had a fleeting romance with some boy, ending with the boy dumping her for another girl. But Ginny was not frazzled by it all. She had boys lined up to date her. Currently, she stood warily against the doors and began to argue with Ron on just why he was spending his summer savings on mere candy.

Next to her stood Hermione Granger, Ron and Harry's best friend. Hermione had decided that she wanted to get away from it all over the summer and went with her parents to the Mediterranean for 3 months studying the life cycle of the fast growing algae that was consuming...something. Harry had stopped listening last year as she was explaining it. So, without seeing her for an entire summer, the two boys excitedly jumped up to greet their best pal. Except...she wasn't. This was not the Hermione Granger that the two boys had grown up with. She was beautiful. Not that Hermione wasn't pretty before, just, there was a lot of "mess", as Ron had said once, around her that hid everything pretty about her. Her hair was always a mop of indecency, going this way and that, unruly curls that frizzled at the first sign of rain. Her arms and legs seemed too long and too skinny, with her knees always muddy from something. Her face was never adorned, with a sprinkling of freckles everywhere, and the large, unattractive glasses that sat upon her dotted nose made her look like some overgrown goldfish. And then the teeth....

But that mattered very little right now. This Hermione had long, ginger hair, in soft waves around her face, with a blue ribbon tied around the top. The usual mousy brown-ness was nowhere to be seen. Her large honey eyes shimmered, without the presence of glasses and her skin seemed to be smoother, less dotted, and creamy rose colored cheeks. Her arms and legs seemed less gangly and more graceful and her body...well...she couldn't have been the same person.

"Hallo. Sorry I was visiting some friends. How have your summers been?"

Ron and Harry simply sat, staring, at the girl standing in front of them with eyes of wide disbelief. Ginny clucked her tongue and sighed, signaling her annoyance and disapproval at the way her brother was drooling over some hairspray and makeup. She looked at Harry and rolled her eyes, for some reason she had thought he would be different that her idiot brother...but alas...no.

The train ground to a halt, thereby flinging both Ron and Harry across the compartment, stopping all thoughts about Hermione. She smiled and said, "See you later" and walked out, slipping the Head Girl badge on her lapel. Ron looked at Harry, stood, and ran outside following Hermione with a dumbfounded look, without a goodbye to Harry. Ginny looked and Harry and said, "I expect you to be on your best behavior" with a smile and walked out, with her own prefect badge.

Harry sighed. What a ride.