Harry Potter and The Magical Light

They all packed into two small black cars that the Ministry of Magic had provided them with. They were accompanied by four muscular looking security guards armed with their wands. Harry thought that this was a security measure that was enforced by Dumbledore. Dumbledore wanted them to be safe on their way to King Cross Station. Harry, Ron, and Hermione went in one car with Mrs. Weasley. Fred, George, and Ginny went in the other car with Mr. Weasley. The ride was very enjoyable. They were all talking about what they thought the upcoming school year was going to be like. They got there very quickly because the ministry cars were enchanted so that they were able to weave their way through traffic. When they arrived at the train station they noticed that it was unusually full. They just hoped getting through the barrier unnoticed wouldn’t be a problem. Fortunately there were so many people that no one really even noticed them.

When they were all on platform 9 ¾ Harry and Ron realized something. For the first time in five years they were not going to ride to Hogwarts in the same compartment as Hermione. Since Harry and Ron were now prefects they had to sit in the prefects carriage. They felt so awful. "Hermione, if you’d like we could just sit with you in a regular carriage instead of the prefect carriage," said Harry. "Don’t you guys worry about me. I’ll be fine. I’ll just sit with Fred George and Ginny. You guys go sit in the prefects carriage. After all you’ve earned your spot there. Go on," said Hermione. They started dragging their trunks. They both stopped and looked at their best friend but she just waved at them to go forward. So they did.

Hermione could not wait until they saw her there. She had sent Dumbledore an owl two days earlier and he gave her some instructions. She was supposed to wait until Dumbledore came to get her from her compartment. Then he would bring her in the carriage and introduce her as their special guest. She was so excited that she felt as if she was going to burst. She had a constant grin on her face. Ginny looked at her as if she was crazy. "Are you feeling alright Hermione. You look like you have to go to the bathroom," said Ginny. "No, I’m alright. I was just thinking about something," said Hermione. All four of them found a compartment in the middle area of the train. Everyone noticed that Hermione was acting a little odd. Hiding her excitement obviously wasn’t one of her strong points.

"Why do you keep looking at the compartment door for?" asked Fred. Hermione hadn’t realized that she had her eyes fixed under the compartment door the whole time. "Harry and Ron said that they would come to sit with us for a while and I’m just waiting for them to arrive," lied Hermione. "Well guys I guess that we are not good enough entertainment for Hermione. Anyways, George and I are going to go see what our friends are doing. See you in a while," said Fred. They left the compartment and the only ones left were Hermione and Ginny.

"Hermione can I ask you a question?" asked Ginny. "Of course you can. You can always ask or tell me anything," said Hermione. "Ok but you have to promise me that you won’t tell ANYONE," pleaded Ginny. "Of course not. You should know me better that that," said Hermione. "I know, I’m sorry. Um, do you know if Harry is seeing anyone right now?" asked Ginny. Hermione looked shocked at the question. She was shocked that Ginny had asked the question and because of the way that she felt when Ginny had asked the question. Hermione secretly had a crush on Harry since the end of last year but she never had said anything. She didn’t even believe that she had dared to give Harry that kiss on the cheek at the end of the term. She looked at Harry as a brother and realized that she didn’t want anything to do with him romantically. Or did she? "Why do you ask? Do you like Harry?" asked Hermione. "Well a little, I mean a lot. Who doesn’t? Do you think that you could find out if he likes me?" asked Ginny. "I’ll do my best," said Hermione. She didn’t know how she was going to handle this little situation, but right now she had other things on her mind.

Ron and Harry settled themselves in a booth big enough for three in the Prefect’s carriage. They wished so badly that Hermione could be there with them. No one sat with them because everyone figured that Hermione would be there. They looked around the room to see who was there. They both looked like they were going to be sick. They looked to their left and saw the one and only Draco Malfoy. They should have known that he would be chosen as one of the Slytherin prefects. "Professor Snape definitely had something to do with this," said Harry. Draco shot them a murderous glare which was returned to him by both Harry and Ron.

Harry noticed that Ron had gotten up from his seat. At that moment Ron saw Professor McGonagall. He went up to her. Harry noticed how determined he looked. "Professor why is it that Hermione is not a prefect when she deserves it more than any prefect here. She even deserves it more that the head girl," said Ron. "Mr. Weasley, I am not here to discuss with you why we chose some students to be prefects and why we didn’t chose others. All I can tell you is that after careful deliberation, the staff decided that Miss Granger just was not prefect material," said Professor McGonagall. "Please, is there any way you could reconsider? I will willingly give up my spot so that she could have it," exclaimed Ron. "Mr. Weasley I have already said all that needs to be said, now if you’ll please take your seat the ceremony is going to commence in a couple of minutes."

Hermione was sitting in a compartment with her friends playing exploding snap when they heard a knock on the door. Professor Dumbledore opened the compartment. He had a big smile and the familiar twinkle in his eye. "Would anyone mind if I borrowed Miss Granger for a while?" Everyone said no and Hermione happily followed the headmaster. "So how are you feeling Miss Granger?" said Dumbledore. "I’m feeling a lot of things right now. I’m feeling happy, nervous, excited, scared . . .," explained Hermione. Dumbledore reassured her that she should just relax. He told her that everyone is going to be really happy for her. He told her the ceremony will begin as soon as he arrives. He gave her the instructions she was to follow. She was to wait outside the door that led into the prefect’s carriage. He had cast a spell so that she would be able to hear everything that was said in the room. After some announcements and speeches he would tell everyone about the new position and then he would say "And now I would like you to meet our new Master Prefect" and that was her cue to walk in. She told him that she understood and he walked in.

As soon as Dumbledore walked in the whole room started to cheer. After a couple of seconds it quieted down. Dumbledore stepped up to the podium. "Firstly I would like to welcome back all of our old prefects. I hope that this year you will be even better than last year. Secondly I would like to introduce our new fifth year prefects. From Hufflepuff we have Hannah Abbot, Susan Bones, and Justin Finch-Fletchley. From Gryffindor we have Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Lavender Brown." Every one looked confused. Harry and Ron knew that everyone was wondering where Hermione was. But the ceremony went on. "From Ravenclaw we have Terry Boot, Mandy Brocklehurst, and Lisa Turpin. And last but certainly not least from Slytherin we have Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, and Millicent Bullstrode." At that point Harry and Ron made contorted faces to show their disgust. They looked around and noticed that they weren’t the only ones. "These fine people have earned their spots in the prefect circle. I hope that you will treat them with the respect and dignity that they deserve," said Dumbledore. With a swish of his wand the new prefects noticed that they now had their gold "P" pinned to their robes. At that point they all applauded.

Hermione was very nervous. She knew what was about to happen. At that moment Neville Longbottom passed by. "What are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be in there with the other prefects?" asked Neville. "I wasn’t chosen to be a prefect, I’m just waiting for the ceremony to be over so that I can be the first to congratulate Harry, Ron and Lavender," lied Hermione. "They were chosen to be prefects and you weren’t? Is Hogwarts going mad? To tell you the truth I am in total shock," said Neville. "Oh well, you can’t win them all. Well I guess I’ll be seeing you later," said Hermione. She was trying to get rid of him and her plan worked perfectly. He said goodbye and kept going in the direction that he was originally headed.

The students that had been prefects before knew that at this point Dumbledore usually stepped off of the podium and let them chat and do anything they wanted until they reached Hogwarts. But they were a bit curious as to why he was still standing there.

Everyone became silent. "I have some exciting news for everyone. Since you all are the prefects of the school I thought that you should be the first to know the news. At the welcoming feast the rest of the school will find out. There is something new to Hogwarts this year. It is a new position that has been added by the staff. It is called Master Prefect. There is one fifth year student that is chosen for this position. That student will be above Head Girl and Boy but right below the professors in the chain of command," said Dumbledore.

Everyone looked shocked at this news. There was a lot of chatter among the prefects. Dumbledore hushed them and continued with his speech. "The student chosen will be a fifth year student and will continue to be Master Prefect until they graduate. When he or she graduates there will be another Master Prefect chosen. This student is also in the running for Head Girl or Boy in their seventh year. The reason for this is because having the title of Head Girl of Boy is a real honor. But he or she will have to take on both positions at the same time if chosen. This student has many responsibilities. They will attend staff meetings and prefect meetings. The student may take house points and give detentions much like yourselves but may even take house points or assign detentions to any prefect or even the Head Girl and Boy.

"In the event that a professor is absent, the Master Prefect will substitute for that teachers classes years 1-4. This position is very experimental. Since it is the first time we are doing this, the guidelines may change. And now I would like you to meet our new Master Prefect." Hermione knew this was her cue. It was her time to shine. She stepped into the door and it sounded like someone had set off a bomb. Massive applause and whistling. Everyone was cheering her on. Hermione didn’t know this but she was very well liked. In fact she was one of the most popular people in Hogwarts.

Hermione stepped onto the podium after giving Dumbledore a massive hug. "I would just like to thank everyone for being so happy for me. I was so disappointed when I didn’t receive my prefect letter. I thought I was going to die. But then I got a letter from Professor Dumbledore. I was so ecstatic when he told me what I was going to do. And I will do the best job that I can. Thank you." Dumbledore directed his wand to her chest and said an incantation. A beautiful gold pin that said Master Prefect appeared on her robes. Everyone applauded. Hermione steeped off of the podium and joined her two best friends.

"How come you didn’t tell us?" asked Ron. "I was told not to tell anyone. Specifically you and Harry. I felt really bad having to do that but I had to. And plus I really wanted to see the look on your faces. It was so funny," said Hermione. They sat there playing wizard chess and exploding snap. Now they were even more excited about the year to come. Harry hoped that this year he would be able to focus on his studies rather than on someone trying to kill him. Like every year the witch with the snack cart came and gave them a visit. And like usual they bought a little bit of everything. Meanwhile everyone kept coming up to Hermione and congratulating her.

"We should go tell Ginny, Fred and George," said Harry. "Yeah, I’m sure we don’t have to ride here for the entire trip," said Ron. The trio got up and went to go see their friends. "I see you both got your prefect badges," said Ginny. "Yeah aren’t they nice," Ron said happily. Then Ginny’s attention shifted to Hermione. She noticed her badge. It stood out because it was charmed to always sparkle. "Hermione, what on earth is that?" Hermione jumped right into the story. Ginny, Fred, and George stared open mouthed. "So you mean to tell me that you are the most powerful student at Hogwarts?" exclaimed George. "This could be very advantageous." "Well don’t even think about it because I am not going to let you get away with anything just because we are friends," said Hermione. "Well I guess the power has already gone to her head. There is no hope for her now. She might as well go and marry Percy," said Fred. "Oh well we still have Harry and Ron." Harry and Ron gave him an vicious stare.

The train started slowing down. They were finally there. Everyone got off the train. But something was different. Instead of Hagrid gathering the first years together, it was Filch. "I guess Hagrid is still on his secret mission," said Harry. Ron, Harry, and Hermione knew that Hagrid and Madame Maxime had been sent on a mission to get the giants on Dumbledore’s side. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny got into a large horseless carriage that would take them to the castle. Although they were already in their fifth year, every time they saw the castle in the distance it would take their breath away.

As soon as they walked through the doors of the entrance hall they heard a familiar but disturbing voice. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Mrs. Granger please follow me to my office," grunted Snape. They did as they were told. But they were all thinking the same thing. What could we have done? The term just started, we couldn’t already be in trouble. "Take a seat please. I’m sure you all remember the events of last term. With that in mind you must realize that Harry is in danger. Voldemort will undoubtedly be after him. He is the main target, but I hope you realize that you two have now also become targets because you are the two people that he loves most in the world."

At this statement Harry was shocked. Harry didn’t even think that Snape was capable of even saying the word love. And he actually sounded kind, like he cared. Harry wondered what had happened over the summer to provoke this change. "Because of the constant threat, Dumbledore has decided that you three will be put through some defensive training. You will be taught to duel properly. The dueling club may be reinstated this year but you three will be learning advanced techniques that the other students will not. You will also be learning spells that will aid you in the fight against evil. And there is one more thing. Dumbledore has decided that he cannot trust the Ministry of Magic anymore. He is afraid that there are death eaters in high ranking positions. So he has taken this next decision upon himself. You three will be taught to become animagi." The three of them just sat there. They were completely quiet. They were shocked, they couldn’t believe what was just said to them. Finally one of them spoke up. "And when is all of this supposed to take place?" asked Hermione. "Well, we will begin tomorrow. We will train you after hours so that everyone is sleeping. But you must remember that it is very important that you tell no one." But won’t people get suspicious when they notice that we are always out after hours," asked Ron. "Well unlike other years, you now have an excuse to be out after hours. Did you forget that you and Harry are prefects and Hermione is Master Prefect," Snape said with a grin.

"Well I think that we should get to the Great Hall. The welcoming feast has already begun. We probably already missed the sorting." With that, they all got up and went to the feast. They had a very nice time and Dumbledore explained to everyone Hermione’s new position. She got a huge round of applause and many pats on the back. Harry saw how happy this made her. She deserved it. The feast was finished and it was time for them to go to the common room. They walked up there together but finally split up because Harry and Ron had to show the first year boys to their dormitories and Hermione had to show the girls.