Perilous Omens

She faltered under Professor McGonagall's intense stare in Transfiguration.

"Uh... the most important aspect of all inanimate-animate switches is... uh..."

The rest of the class stared at her. She gulped and reddened, wishing the floor would swallow her up.

Why couldn't she remember? She'd mastered inanimate-animate switches in her first year! Why had she suddenly drawn a blank? Why was the only answer that came to mind 'To consult the tea leaves.' Why was she thinking about Divination at a time like this!?!

She gulped again. Luckily, the bell chose that moment to ring. She literally flew out of the classroom before McGonagall could pierce her with another accusing stare.

In the corridor, she hurried on the way to Potions. Not seeing a mischievous suit of armor that stuck out a metal leg, she tripped and fell on her face. Her books scattered.

People stared and laughed as she struggled to gather them up. She felt like crying but swallowed her tears. Finally holding her books, she realized that she'd brought her supplies for Ancient Runes, not Potions. She'd never make it in time if she went back to the Tower! She ran.

People were still laughing. Looking down, she suddenly realized that she was in her blue dress robes instead of her black Hogwarts ones. She ran up a staircase to escape the jeering crowd.

The staircase gave a lurch and turned in the other direction. She climbed up and found herself lost in some unknown corridor . . .

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Hermione Granger sat bolt upright in bed. Beads of sweat slid down her forehead as she panted for air. Looking around at her surroundings, she collapsed back on the pillows. It was just a bad case of the pre-school nerves.

Her digital clock read 4:27 AM. She glanced at the calendar on her desk. The old page hadn't been torn off, and it still read July 30th.

'That means today's July 31st,' thought Hermione with a smile to herself. 'Harry's birthday.'

She'd sent his present a week ago. In truth, she'd labored for months over what to get him. What do you get for a guy to send him a message but remain discreet at the same time? How do you tell your best friend you love him?

Yes, it was true. She had a crush on Harry Potter. A big crush.

It started at the end of their first year, after he'd saved her from the troll and everyone from Voldemort. At first, she didn't even know she had feelings for him. But gradually, it grew. Before long, it was like a huge bubble kept carefully hidden inside her heart.

No, she'd never told anyone. Not even Ginny, whom she'd shared most of her other secrets. After all, most people would laugh. Potter and Granger? No, that didn't sound right. Plus, Harry was still interested in Cho, though she was still in despair at the loss of Cedric. And no matter what happened, Ginny would always love Harry. Hermione was positive of that.

She sighed again. No, she couldn't tell anyone. She'd settled on a book of Quidditch teams for his birthday so he could decide for himself whether he supported Ron's Chudley Cannons or not.

'Maybe I'd get my chance this year,' she thought. 'Maybe I'll be able to tell him and not hurt anyone. Maybe...'

She rolled over and fell into a dreamless sleep.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

"Ron! Harry! Aren't you up yet?" called Mrs. Weasley up the stairs of the Burrow. She received no response.

The matron shook her head and returned to the kitchen of the lopsided house, glancing at the eggs and bacon left at the empty table.

After washing several dishes (magically of course), the soft sound of skippered feet caught her attention. She looked up to see Ginny yawning in the doorway. She looked as though she'd just rolled out of bed, with her hair like a burning bush around her face.

" 'llo, Mum," she said with another yawn, sitting and stretching at the table.

Mrs. Weasley made a "tsk"ing sound. "Bout time you got up. The breakfast's probably cold by now."

Ginny shrugged. "Stimmio," she said, pointing her wand at the food. Thin tendrils of steam began curling towards the ceiling from the now-warm eatables.

Mrs. Weasley watched her fondly. In little more than a week, her youngest child would be entering her fourth year at Hogwarts. Molly found it hard to believe. It seemed like just yesterday that Bill had timidly bid them farewell and boarded the Hogwarts Express for his first year at the school. It all had gone by so fast. 'Maybe I'll adopt another,' she thought to herself with a chuckle.

"So where are your brothers?" she asked Ginny out loud.

The girl looked up with a mouthful of toast. "Mmf. Mff mmf," she said, gesticulating wildly with her arms.

"Ah yes," winced Mrs. Weasley. "Now swallow please, young lady."

Ginny obediently swallowed. "They're gone," she translated. "Ron and Harry went off with Fred and George, Bill and Charlie this morning. They've been gone for hours. Playing Quidditch, I think."

"Don't they have anything better to do?!" groaned Mrs. Weasley.

Ginny smirked. "Probably not."

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

"Come on, Bill, go for it!" yelled George as he batted a self-cursed Bludger at Charlie.

They were playing 3 v 3: Harry, George, and Bill versus Charlie, Fred, and Ron. Harry, Charlie, Bill, and Ron played as Chasers (there was no Snitch), and Fred and George were, naturally, Beaters. The goals were simply an open space between two trees.

Currently, Fred claimed his team was leading 90:20, while George claimed he was winning 120:10. In truth, neither knew. Everyone had lost track of goals long ago. And since there was no Snitch to be caught, the game just kept going.

"Harry, catch!" yelled Bill as he threw the Quaffle from above.

The Quaffle was very different from the Snitch, but Harry could still feel his Seeker instincts kicking in. He watched the ball fall, as if in slow motion. He saw Ron try to intercept it but fail. Harry dove down, and Ron followed.

Faster, faster. The ground was nearing; would he make it? He saw Ron pull out of the dive from beside him, not sure if his Shooting Star could take it.

There was the awkward falling ball. Harry held out both arms to receive it. The large red ball fell neatly in the crooks of his arms, and he straightened his broom to skim the grass.

His teammates and opponent had all flown down to stare at him.

"Wow, Harry," muttered Ron. "Wicked..."

Charlie slapped him on the back. "Great job, Seeker! Can't say I've ever seen a Flipbuster Dive down with a Quaffle before. Well, there was this time when the Wasps were playing the Dragons --"

George whacked a Bludger at him to shut him up before he began another Quidditch story. Fred grabbed the Quaffle out of Harry's unsuspecting arms and tossed it up to Ron, who put it in the unprotected goal.

"And that's a score!" cheered Fred. "140:20!"

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Draco Malfoy was staring out a window, watching one of his pets, a manticore, prey on an unsuspecting rabbit. He yawned; manticores were so stupid- they never did anything new.

He turned inside again and looked up at the endless bookshelves of the Malfoy Manor.

'How to amuse myself today...?' he wondered. His father was away, as usual. His mother claimed it was for "work", but Draco doubted the explanation was that simple, especially with the Dark Lord's rising.

Besides public appearances, Lucius Malfoy barely spent anytime with his son. At home, he would usually be hosting parties, counting his wealth, or having fireplace conversations with fellow wizards.

Draco flipped open his notebook and placed another 'X' on the inside cover. He glanced at the brightly circled 'Sept. 1'. "Only 11 days left . . ."

A clock bonged somewhere in the Manor. 'Correction,' said Draco mentally. '10 days and 14 hours . . .'

******************************************************************************

Ten days later, a boy with tousled dark hair and bright green eyes sat on the edge of his bed, holding his head in his hands. He tried to shake the morbid images of vivid detail from his mind.

He hadn't told anyone. Not even Sirius. He knew how busy his godfather was these days, and he didn't want him to worry.

But the dreams were back. At first, in the beginning of the summer, he'd relived the Third Task and Cedric's death countless times. He'd seen Wormtail with his silver arm and Voldemort with his red eyes and the shadows on his parents and . . .

But at the end of July, the nightmares stopped. He was able to sleep in peace again. He never guessed that it was because he was under the protection of his zodiac, Leo.

But none of that mattered anymore. Because they were back. And this time, they weren't just memories repeating over in his head. They were new images, of places he'd never seen. Of the past, present, or future, he couldn't he sure.

But the suffering was always there, he could tell that much. Sometimes it was a battlefield, with men in strange armor invading a city with flames leaping all around.

But more often than not, it would be a family, trying to protect each other. There would be a flash of green light, and they would be no more. Too often the family reminded him of the Weasleys. Harry shivered.

The victims never screamed audibly, but their horrified yells still filled his heart.

He looked at the watch Sirius had given him for his birthday. Mixed with an alloy of moonlight and quartz, the timepiece glowed faintly in the darkness. '4:23,' it read. 'Mon. Sept. 1'

Harry groaned and rolled over. In only a few hours, he'd be awake again, running around doing last-minute checks on supplies and preparing for the new year at school.

The ghoul knocked something over in the attic. Ron mumbled something about a 'Quaffle' and rolled over, but continued snoring softly. Harry tried to stuff the covers in is ears. Although he was very grateful to the Weasley for taking him in most of the summer, would he never get any peace and quiet?

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

"Ronniekins! It's time to get up, ickle Ronniekins."

Fred stepped quietly behind his younger brother's head while George continued to taunt him in a sweet voice. "The train leaves in five minutes, Ronniekins, and you will be on it, with Mr. Fluffy* or not."

Ron's eyes snapped open. "Wha?"

Fred tipped the bucket. Icy water poured down his brother's head as Ron let out a high-pitched scream and fled to the bathroom.

"Mission accomplished!" said George, high-fiving his twin. Harry, already dressed with bags under his eyes, looked in.

"That wasn't very nice to scare him like that," he said, while munching on a piece of toast. "We still have almost two hours."

"Aww! Harry-poo is up already!" whined George. "Doesn't Harry-poo want a free shower, too?"

Harry smirked. "I'll pass, but Percy looks like he needs one."

A pair of devilish grins lit up the two faces, and they silently snuck out of the room to find their new prey.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

After many screams and chasings around the Burrow everyone was finally eating breakfast peacefully at the Weasley table. Or as peaceful as possible in a family of nine. Harry watched, amused, as Percy (whose hair was wrapped in a towel) sent death glares at the twins, who pretended not to notice.

"So where are we meeting Mione again?" asked Ron after swallowing some French toast.

"Platform," said Harry automatically. He'd barely seen Hermione all summer while she was traveling with her parents, and he wasn't about to forget where to meet her.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

A horn honked outside. "Oh no! The car's are here already!" exclaimed Arthur, almost choking on his eggs.

Molly quickly began rattling off orders. "Percy, go dry your hair! Fred and George, go change into something less... conspicuous. (The twins currently wore mismatched polyester pants and tie-dye T-shirts.) Ginny, help me put away this food. Harry and Ron, go get your stuff and Ginny's. Bill and Charlie, go tell the driver's we'll be right out and help your brothers load their stuff. Go now!" she barked.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

It was precisely 10:52 AM when the ministry cars pulled into King's Cross, packed with the Weasleys and Harry. In the hustle bustle that followed, everyone tried to grab his or her own belongings and rush to the platform.

King's Cross Station was crowded. Mr. Weasley led the way, cutting through the crowds of closely packed Muggles. Everyone else hurried along behind him.

Harry was running behind Ron, pushing his cart in front of him. They had only 3 minutes left, judging that his watch was correct.

He glanced to the left, and something caught his eye. Dark hair. Olive skin. Strange robe-like clothing. A woman, standing alone admits a crowd of rushing Muggles, staring straight at him! The Muggles seemed to run right through her, but her gaze was intense. Harry blinked and tried to get a closer look, but she was gone.

He tried to shake her soul-piercing stare from his head as they prepared to enter Platform 9 3/4. Two minutes . . .

With a run, Harry, Ron, and Ginny broke through the wall to enter the magical platform, with Fred and George directly behind them. There was Hermione, standing alone by the Ticketbooth and looking frantic.

"Hullo Her--" greeted Harry, but he was cut off as she grabbed his arm.

Her worry turned to anger. "Where were you?! I was worried sick that something had happened!" She began dragging him away, but Harry would not go down alone. He grabbed Ron's arm and pulled him along. Ron yelped and grabbed Ginny's wrist.

"We've got to get on now," Hermione was saying. "Luckily I saved us all a compartment..."

Ginny grabbed George who grabbed Fred. The whole line was being dragged toward the train by a very annoyed Hermione Granger.

"See you next summer, Mum!" called Fred, as they were pulled inside.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Somehow, all six had managed to squeeze into the compartment Hermione had saved. Luggage was shoved onto racks, and suitcases that had been mixed up during the chaos of arrival were returned to the proper owners. All six sat squeezed in the compartment, munching on Chocolate Frogs and Cauldron Cakes as the landscape outside their windows sped by.

There was a commotion outside in the hall and the sound of laughing voices as several pairs of feet rushed by. The door slid open and a dark face peeked in.

It was Lee Jordan. He brightened as he spotted the twin red-heads.

"There you are, Fred and George! I've been looking all over the train for you. My giant tarantula finally had spiderlings. I'm giving them away, first come first serve basis. Thought you might like one."

Ron visibly paled and swallowed hard. Harry recalled his huge fear of spiders, magnified since their second year. The twins smiled devilishly.

"Lead the way!" They jumped to their feet and followed Lee out into the hall.

Ron was visibly shaking. "I swear, if they try anything with that baby tarantula, I'll--"

"You'll what, Weasel? Force feed it to your hyperactive bird?"

It was their annual greeting committee: Draco Malfoy and henchmen.

"Go away, Malfoy," muttered Harry, not bothering to waste much breath.

"So how was your summer, Draco?" Hermione asked in a sweet voice dripping with sarcasm. "Get hired as the new attraction at Ripley's Believe It or Not as the Amazing Bouncing Ferret?"

Draco growled threateningly at the reminder of the embarrassing (and painful) event last year.

"Shut your trap, Mudblood. You'd better watch what you say. Things are gonna be different this year, Potter. It's not just Quidditch you'll have to worry about anymore."

Malfoy turned and left, Crabbe and Goyle silently following.

"What does he mean by that?" fumed Ron. "He knows something; I know he knows!"

"It's about You-Know-Who being back, isn't it Harry?" asked Ginny fearfully.

Harry looked grim but made no response.

There was a faint knock on their open door. They expected it to be another taunt from Malfoy. So they were shocked when an Asian face peeked inside.

"May I sit in her for a bit?" asked Cho Chang quietly. "I needed to get away from all the noise and rowdiness."

"Sure," said Harry when he finally found his voice.

Cho smiled slightly and sat beside Ginny.

Hermione didn't like Cho much, but no one else made any attempt at conversation. Ron had no interest in Cho, Ginny had always disliked her for taking away Harry's attention, and Harry was too busy deciding what to say rather than saying it. So Hermione tried to fill the uncomfortable silence.

"So how was your summer, Cho?"

The girl looked up from where she was uncomfortably staring out the window. "Alright," she said evasively. "But it's good to be getting back to Hogwarts. Though it won't be the same again."

For a second, there was a flash of pained emotion of Cho's face. Then it disappeared, to be hidden by the mask of disinterest.

"No, it won't," agreed Hermione. She realized, then in that small cramped compartment, that Cho wasn't just visiting. She was escaping. She was no longer the amiable popular seeker. Now she was a lonely girl, feeling lost and forsaken. She had changed after Cedric's death, while her friends had remained the same. Hermione made a silent vow to be a lot nicer to this girl than she had been in the past four years.

"But we will get through it together," said Hermione, passing an encouraging smile to the lonely girl. Cho looked up with surprise and gratitude on her face. She didn't need to vocalize it; her expression was clear enough. 'Thank you.'

"We will be approaching Hogsmeade Station in ten minutes," announced the conductor over the magical speakers.

Cho stood up. "I'd better go change into my robes." She headed to the door.

"Yeah. we'd better change as well. See you around, Cho."

She paused in the threshold and smiled slightly. "See you around, Hermione."

She left and pulled the door shut.