Secrets and Lies

The hustle and bustle around Platform 9 ¾ almost made you think that everything happening was entirely normal. This was not quite the case. This year there seemed to be a slight increase in the number of students boarding the train.

This was mostly due to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry abruptly closing just over a year ago. This meant that many magical children had no place which they could learn magic. For some this didn't seem at all significant, after all there was a war going on. But this meant that those who would have been inducted into first year were without the first year of their magical education.

So, this year there were twice as many first years, although there weren't any second years to speak of. However, there was the ever-so-slight issue of the students who had been sitting exams whenever the school doors had slammed shut. After a year astray, many students would be returning to sit their OWL and NEWT exams in December, which gave them a brief period of time to remember everything they'd forgotten over the last year (which is basically everything really).

This was how Harry Potter found the train as he, Ron, Hermione and Ginny said their goodbyes to Mr and Mrs Weasley. Ron and Hermione promptly handed Harry and Ginny the trunks, and set off towards the prefect's carriage, Hermione leading the way with her Head Girl badge sticking out, and Ron trudging along behind her.

"If we hurry, we might find a compartment all to ourselves," Ginny said, giving Harry a sly wink before grabbing hold of her and Hermione's belongings. Harry tried desperately behind her to drag two cases and two owl cages (one of which contained a small creature who considered flying around his cage and making a lot of noise to be the best thing in the world) whilst wondering how Ginny managed to drag two cases and a cat with such apparent ease.

Then Harry realised she wasn't carrying them, she was levitating them with her wand. Sadly, he only noticed when they'd managed to find an empty compartment halfway down the train.

The cases all hit the ground with a thud, and Harry promptly decided (as any gentleman would) that Ginny would look far much better if he was kissing her whilst she was pinned against the wall. Ginny seemed to agree with him.

The door swung open behind them, and Harry muttered several words that made Ginny giggle.

"Hiya Harry," Neville said, nudging his way past the suitcases and owls piled in the middle of the floor. He hauled his case into the luggage rack, and turned around to face the room. "Oh, Ginny. I didn't see you there!"

"It's alright Neville," Ginny assured him with a smile.

"Yeah, it's not like we were doing anything interesting," Harry mumbled, before deciding to follow Neville's example and place the suitcases in the overhead luggage racks. Somehow Neville had made it look so simple.

He'd already put his and Ron's up before Ginny told him that he should use a Hovering Charm.

By the time he was done, Luna arrived. She wandered in (perhaps by accident) and sat down beside Neville, saying nothing to anyone before taking out the Quibbler and engrossing herself in it.

Harry sat down beside Ginny, but any thoughts he may have had were interrupted by Neville.

"So how was your summer?" he asked.

"Well, I had a wonderful eighteenth birthday that was only marred slightly by Bill's questionable stripper," Harry said, shuddering slightly.

"It was good, how about you?" Ginny said.

"Luna came to stay with me and Gran," Neville said, smiling. Harry couldn't help himself from smiling too. Neville's grandmother was a stern woman, and he could imagine just how such a woman would react to someone as odd as Luna, who was wearing her jeans back-to-front. This was even odder because Luna never usually wore jeans (something about a Muggle conspiracy to control all humans by crushing their... personal areas).

"How was yours Luna?" Ginny asked. Luna looked up, as if noticing them for the first time.

"Mine was good, how was yours Neville?" she added, eying him curiously. Neville went scarlet.

"Well, we spent most of it together."

"Yes, but how was the last week of your holiday when I wasn't there?" she asked, with a tone that suggested it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The group sat and talked as the train sped off into the countryside, almost as if it was just like any other school year. Eventually Hermione and Ron appeared. Hermione practically bounced into her seat, whereas Ron could only manage to collapse into the seat nearest the door. Harry had to dodge out of the way to prevent Ron sitting on his knee.

"Who's the Head Boy then?" Harry asked, sensing that Hermione very much wanted to answer this question.

"Ernie Macmillan," she said, the words almost exploding from her mouth.

"Look at it this way, it was him, me or Goldstein... and Goldstein has a weird sense of humour," Ron mumbled.

"I think Anthony is a very charming young man," Hermione said hotly.

"I think he's gay as a picnic basket."

"Ron!"

"Anthony isn't gay," Luna said dreamily. "Although he does sleep with a picture of Gilderoy Lockhart beside his bed." This was met by a long pause.

"And he went to the Yule Ball with Mandy Brocklehurst, who looks a bit like a bloke if you ask me," Ron said as if it settled the matter.

"What about the prefects who were in the year above us?" Harry asked, trying to steer he conversation away from Anthony Goldstein's sexual preferences.

"They aren't prefects anymore," Hermione told him. "Technically they're eighth years now, but they'll only be at Hogwarts until they sort their exams out."

They continued to talk about the various prefects, with Ron adding his own comments here and there, long through the afternoon. Then talk moved on to what the new teachers will be like ("Twenty Galleons says the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher doesn't last the year," Ron said) until eventually Luna stood up, undid her belt and dropped her jeans.

"Luna, what are you doing?" Ron asked, horrified. As opposed to Neville, who was entranced.

"Getting my Hogwarts robes on," she said, looking at Ron as if his head had suddenly turned into a cabbage.

"We'll leave the room for a minute," Harry said, grabbing Neville by the arm and pulling him out into the train. Eventually the girls emerged from the compartment, and sent the boys in to dress themselves. Almost as soon as they were done, the train ground to a halt in Hogsmeade station.

The six disembarked the train into the cool evening air. Over the heads of students they could make out the familiar gigantic figure of Hagrid, who waved at them enthusiastically.

They then got on to the carriages being drawn by the Thestrals (with Ron complaining loudly that whoever had thought up the idea for them had to have been the thickest god ever) to take them up to the familiar Hogwarts castle.

Eventually they arrived in the Entrance Hall, and walked through into the Great Hall, where Luna drifted over towards the Ravenclaw table, pausing only to say goodbye to Neville. The five Gryffindors then made their way over to their table, and sat down beside all their old classmates.

They said hello to their classmates and got a very varied reaction. Parvati and Lavender merely shot dirty looks at Ron, before turning around to talk to someone else. Dean glared at Harry, then at Ginny, before turning to the grinning Seamus who was greeting everyone as though they were his best friends.

Although he was perhaps even a bit tipsy, as Ron was keen to point out.

"How are you doing Seamus?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, fine," the sandy-haired boy answered. "Me mam almost wouldn't let me come back."

"Why not?" Hermione asked. "Surely it's safe now with all the dark wizards gone."

"It was never that, it's because she thinks me and Dean are gay," Seamus explained. "But then I told her that I wasn't gay, and that I was just looking for the perfect woman whilst doing Dean on the side." At this point Dean turned red, Ginny's jaw dropped, and Neville grinned as though he'd known all along.

"We've shared a room for six years," Ron said, looking very pale.

Ron's fears were silenced by the arrival of Professor Flitwick, leading a rather large group of students towards the head table. Abruptly the mass of people stopped, with all eyes focused on the tattered old hat that sat on a small wooden stool just in front of the staff table.

Then, the rim of the hat opened, and burst into song.

"You may not think I'm pretty,

But you're no prize yourself,

But I'm far smarter than I appear,

Not some hat bought off the shelf.

It started years and years ago,

When I was but a young hat,

And now where there are teachers,

The great founders once sat.

First was noble Hufflepuff,

Most loyal and most kind.

Beside her was fair Ravenclaw

Of noble heart and mind.

Gryffindor came next along,

The bravest of them all.

Then last was mighty Slytherin,

Who was so drunk he woke up in a bin.

As they sat around this table,

They did begin to ponder,

How would they divide the students,

When they had gone lands yonder?

Then at last, they found a way,

And that's when I was born

When Gryffindor enchanted me,

On one fair-lit morn.

Now you'll have to put me on,

We can't have you standing there all day.

I will pick a house for you,

And that is where you'll stay."

The whole hall burst into applause, and the new students looked a little more relaxed. Then, Flitwick conjured a stool to stand on so that everyone could see him. Sadly, no one could see him, so the first years were given the impression that there was a voice coming from nowhere that was summoning them forward to their dooms.

However, there was one new student in the bunch who looked slightly out of place. He was much taller for one thing, and he looked perhaps like he might be Harry's age. From where Harry sat the boy looked like he might be around the same height as him, only with short, spiky brown hair that maybe made him look a bit taller.

So engrossed was Harry in this new student that he didn't even notice the students were already being sorted. He did notice, however, when the Gryffindor table burst into applause when a student was sorted into their house (he later found out this was the fourth student to be sorted).

"Baird, Matthew!" Flitwick called, and the tall boy stepped forward looking confident. He settled down on the chair, and lightly placed the hat on his head.

The hat seemed to take a moment to decide on what house to sort this boy into, and the boy looked as though he was slightly annoyed at the hat. Then, the Sorting Hat made its decision.

"GRYFFINDOR!" it shouted. The Gryffindor table all cheered, but the boy just sat there, suddenly looking very pale.

And then he muttered something that looked vaguely like it may consist of four letters and begin with an f... it wasn't food.

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