A Foretold Love

ONE.accusations

Hermione Granger faced the brick wall that divided platform nine and three quarters from platform nine and King's Cross Station. She headed towards it at a brisk walk, her pace quickening as she got closer until finally she was sprinting, barely controlling the flimsy cart. From inside his cage, the orange tabby cat Crookshanks let out an annoyed hiss as the trolley almost fell onto its side. Hermione steadied it as she sailed through the barrier.

A loud crash caused everyone on platform nine and three quarters to turn and look towards the barrier.

Hermione had collided with Ron Weasley, who had been standing just on the other side of the barrier with Harry Potter. Both Hermione's and Ron's carts had overturned and both teenagers had fallen to the ground. Suitcases were spilled across the ground, though luckily none had opened during the collision. Crookshanks was wailing loudly and thrashing inside his cage (which was no upside-down). Ron's owl, Pigwidgeon, was hooting wildly as his cylinder-like cage began to roll away from the carts.

A few people laughed as they saw what had happened, most ignored it and returned to what they had previously been doing.

"I'm sorry! Oh, I'm so sorry!" Hermione apologized hastily as she jumped up and brushed her pants off. She seized Ron's cart and began to right it.

"It's all right, don't worry," Ron grunted as he, too, picked himself up off the floor. "We were standing too close to the barrier, I guess."

"Which is why we should move before more people arrive," Harry suggested as he helped Hermione pick up her own trolley.

Ron and Hermione nodded and wheeled their now empty carts away from the barrier, Harry following suit. Then Hermione lifted her belongings back onto her cart and strapped Crookshanks' cage securely onto the trolley, fearing that the cat's thrashing would knock the cage off. Ron, meanwhile, was chasing after Pigwidgeon's cage as it rolled further and further away. Harry snickered as he heaved a suitcase onto Ron's trolley.

"How was your summer, Hermione?" Harry inquired as he tied Ron's suitcase down.

Hermione only shrugged. "All right. I finished my homework the first week of the holidays so I didn't have much to do for the rest of the time."

Harry stopped his work and looked up at his friend, incredulous. "You finished all of it your first week?"

"Yes. It was easy." At Harry's embarrassed look she paused. "You did finish everything, right?"

"Um.... Not exactly...."

"Harry! You had two months!" Hermione exclaimed. "When are you planning on finishing it? On the train?"

"That was the idea," Harry admitted. Then, seeing Hermione's exasperated expression, hastily added, "I don't have that much to finish! I only have a Divination essay. I think I'm going to fake it again."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Have you and Ron ever done a legitimate Divination essay?"

Harry paused, thinking, then shook his head. "Nope." He returned to securing Ron's luggage to the cart.

The sixteen year old girl sighed, shaking her head. "I'm telling you, you should drop that class. It's all guesswork if you ask me."

"Exactly!" Ron said, having just returned, "And that's why we guess for all our essays." He grinned cheekily at her as he strapped a crazed Pigwidgeon to his top suitcase.

Hermione scowled at the redhead, tucking a strand of her own wavy brown hair behind her ear. She motioned towards the scarlet train nearby. "Shall we?" Then she, Harry and Ron pushed their trolleys towards the train that would take them to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their sixth year.

.

"Don't worry too much about the O.W.Ls," Hermione assured Ginny, who was looking quite nervous indeed about her fifth year at Hogwarts. "They're not so hard."

Ron snorted. "Speak for yourself," he muttered, earning himself a smack to the head from Hermione.

"Really," Hermione said, turning back to the red-haired female, "if you study they're not that hard. Ron here, however, found it more productive to play exploding snap rather than study for some of the most important exams of his life."

Ron scowled as she shoved a whole Chocolate Frog into his mouth. "Wu-u," he mumbled, the chocolate in his mouth slurring his speech.

Ginny crinkled her nose in disgust. "Swallow you food before speaking!" she snapped.

Scowling again, Ron swallowed the Chocolate Frog almost whole having hardly chewed it at all. "Yes, mother," he replied sarcastically, before glancing at the card he had received with the Chocolate Frog. "Another Dumbledore!" he groaned, throwing it across the train car.

Frowning at her older brother, Ginny Weasley turned her attention back to Hermione. "So they're not that hard? The O.W.Ls, I mean."

Hermione shook her head, smiling. "The professors prepare you for it, anyway. Don't sweat it. And I can help you a little bit if you want when they set a date."

Ginny grinned, appeared relieved. "Thanks," she said sincerely, then turned to leave, talking over her shoulder as she did so. "I'm going to go find Colin."

From the other side of the compartment, Harry groaned, his almost complete Divination essay spread over his lap. "I hope she doesn't bring Colin here," he muttered and Ron laughed.

"He'll probably want another picture," he said.

"There's nothing wrong with him wanting Harry's picture," Hermione pointed out. "Harry's a celebrity in the wizarding world, after all."

Ron glanced at Hermione with mock surprise. "Really?" he inquired, his voice full of sarcasm. "I had no idea!" He turned to Harry and asked in a pleading voice, "can I have your autograph?"

Both Harry and Ron chuckled as Hermione glared at them and sat down in a vacant seat. "Colin's really not so bad," Hermione said. "You shouldn't be so mean to him."

"We're not mean to him," Harry said. "He's the one who follows me around like a lost dog."

"He looks up to you, Harry," Hermione said.

"God knows why, though," said a drawling voice from the train car door and all three compartment occupants turned to look at the speaker.

"Get lost, Malfoy," Ron snapped. "I would've thought you'd've dropped out of school to become a Death Eater like your father."

Draco Malfoy's eyes flashed and Hermione cringed while Crabbe and Goyle paled. It was one of the highest insults to openly accuse someone of being a Death Eater, especially since Voldemort had returned.

A growl emitted from Draco's throat. "How dare you accuse me of being a Death Eater?" His voice was icy but barely audible.

"Oh please," Ron snorted. "Everyone knows your father's a Death Eater. We assumed you'd follow in his footsteps."

Before Draco could speak further, Hermione gave Ron a hard nudge in the side, causing him to wince and turn to face her. "Would you shut-up?" she hissed, and Harry nodded violently from across the car in agreement.

"Yes, listen to the little Mudblood. You should learn to control your mouth, Weasley. It could get you into trouble." His eyes still flashing, Draco Malfoy left the compartment.

"What's wrong with you?" Hermione burst out the instant Draco, Crabbe and Goyle had gone. "Don't go shooting your mouth off like that! Especially about Death Eaters and especially during times like these! For all you know, Malfoy might tell his father and next thing you know you could be dead!"

"She does have a point, Ron," Harry agreed quietly, not wanting to take sides but wanting to enforce the severity of what Ron had said at the same time.

Ron only scoffed, but he became slightly more alert.

.

Draco, Crabbe and Goyle sat together at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. The Sorting had just concluded and the plates were now heaped with food. To Draco's right sat Pansy Parkinson who was chattering to the blonde excitedly, but Draco had long since tuned her out. He served himself more mashed potatoes and smothered it in gravy before eating.

"Are you listening to me?" Pansy finally shouted into Draco's ear, grabbing his attention.

"What?" he snapped, annoyed at her ignorance.

"I heard that Weasley found out you're a Death Eater," she said coolly as she, too, served herself more potatoes. "What are you going to do now that people know?"

Draco's head snapped around to face her. "What?"

Pansy frowned. "What are you going to do now that people know you're a Death Eater?" She said it more loudly this time, catching the attention of a first year Slytherin. The first year looked up in shock, her eyes wide.

"I'm not a Death Eater!" Draco snapped, speaking loudly enough so the majority of the Slytherin table could hear.

"Really?" Pansy seemed surprised. "I thought you would be since your father is...." She didn't bother to quiet to tone.

Draco slammed his fork down onto the table with a bang. "Shut-up!!! What's wrong with you!? Haven't you any sense?" He opened his mouth to continue when he realized the whole Great Hall had fallen silent and was now watching him. Seething, Draco followed their example and became quiet. The Hall gradually filled with the normal chatter once more, Draco's outburst forgotten.

Pansy seemed embarrassed. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "You should eat," she added, nodding towards the plate Draco had pushed away from him.

"What does it matter to you?" he snapped. "You obviously didn't care about telling the world I was a Death Eater."

Pansy said nothing more to him for the remainder of the meal.