Harry Potter and the Mysteries of Love

Chapter 3- Déjà vu

A few hours later, Harry found himself sitting on an Underground train headed for King's Cross. As always, Mr. Weasley stood by the map and pointed giddily to the stops and chanting, "Four more... three more." On he went until they were one stop from King's Cross/St. Pancras.

"These trains are awfully loud," Ginny complained.

"Unfortunately, that will never change," Hermione explained.

"Here we are!" called Mr. Weasley. The doors to the train sprang open and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley set out. They were followed by Ron and Hermione, who were closely pursued by Tonks. After Tonks came Ginny and Harry. Lupin and Moody held up the rear.

"Just up these steps," Lupin called from the back. The group turned to their left and headed up a flight up steps. "Follow the signs to Kings Cross." They turned to their right and came upon an escalator. Molly Weasley made to step onto the moving staircase, but, noticing she was not being followed, she turned around.

"What's the hold up?" Mrs. Weasley hardly needed to ask. The hold up was, in fact, due to, in her opinion, the ridiculous obsession of her husband. Arthur Weasley had stopped right in front of the escalator and was now on his hands and knees bending down to inspect the escalator.

"Arthur, get up!" she whispered insistently. "Think about the International Code of Secrecy."

"Oh... yes..." Mr. Weasley replied as he got up. Behind him a line was forming.

"What's the hold up?" called a well-dressed Muggle businesswoman impatiently. She leaned down to her light brown briefcase and secured the latch. She looked at her watch and then adjusted her teal blouse. She wore a suit identical to her briefcase. Harry only briefly glanced at her while Mr. Weasley getting up.

Soon enough, they were on the escalator and heading upward. Harry could not help looking at the signs on the wall as the past. 'Surrender to the Music of the Night' demanded the poster for the popular musical The Phantom of the Opera. Harry, bored with the posters, looked ahead. Mr. Weasley was looking in awe at all of the things Muggles could do.

"Mr. Weasley, haven't you been in an underground station before?" Hermione asked quizzically.

"Well, there's something new every time."

The group was just leaving the station when Harry heard it. It was the whisper again. 'Harry,' came its call. Hermione noticed it too. They both exchanged looks of confusion. Apparently, no one else had noticed because soon enough, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Ron, Moody, Lupin, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were approaching platform nine and three quarters.

"Molly, you first," called Lupin, "Then Hermione... Arthur... Ron... Tonks...

Ginny... Mad Eye... Harry..." Lupin found himself alone on the Platform. "I guess it's my turn." With that he casually stepped into Platform nine and three quarters.

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Once inside the platform, Ginny and Hermione automatically waved goodbye the members of the Order, but Harry and Ron lingered for a moment so Ron could ask Mr. Weasley what his surprise was.

"Dad, come on, we're about to go, so you can tell us now," Ron insisted.

"Oh, I hardly need to tell you," called Arthur gleefully. With that he stepped onto the Hogwarts express. "I'm the new Muggle Studies Teacher!"

"What?!" Ron asked, choking on his peppermint. Ron couldn't even begin to imagine the horrors he was going to face the year.

"That's great, Mr. Weasley," Harry said in a mock excited tone.

"I know, isn't it?" Arthur replied. Apparently he hadn't noticed the look of horror on Ron's face. "Well, we should probably get on."

"Oh, yeah," Ron agreed, returning to his senses.

Soon enough, Arthur, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were aboard the Hogwarts express waving to Lupin, Mad Eye, Tonks, and Molly.

"Are you two supposed to go to a prefect meeting?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione.

"Not that we know of," came Hermione's reply. As they walked down the aisle looking for a compartment, Hermione struck up a conversation.

"So, Mr. Weasly," she began. "You'll be teaching Muggle Studies?"

"Yes, that's right."

"But when will you be able to see Mum?" Ginny asked, concerned.

"Oh, well, I'll be going home most weekends." His voice dropped to a whisper. "I'll do stuff for the order then, too." Momentarily, they approached an empty compartment and they all piled in.

The trip to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was never boring. Whether he was meeting a host of new friends, stuffing his face with sweets, being attacked by a dementor, trying desperately to figure out a secret event, or having his face covered in stinksap, Harry usually had a good time. Unfortunately, the journey always involved an unpleasant encounter with an uninvited guest, Draco Malfoy.

Today, Draco arrived earlier than any other time before. Fortunately, Mr. Weasley had just gone off to the toilet when he arrived. Harry and Ron had barely finished situating their hooting owl's cages and sitting down when the compartment door swooshed open. "Well, well, well..." Draco examined the compartment looking for his first bird of prey. "I see your mother has dug a little deeper into her pockets this year," he commented to Ron. "How're you managing? Is your Dad getting extra pay for embarrassing himself by meddling with Muggles?" Ron turned pink and Draco's mouth widened into a smirk. "But I'm sure Mr. Magnus won't be quite as generous this time around."

"Unfortunately, since your father's in Azkaban, he won't be able to win you any favors," Hermione replied. "Or has he broken out yet?"

Hermione's words seemed to have slipped right through his greasy hair because Draco made no retort. Instead, he rounded on Harry. "Seen any more visions?" he coolly asked. "Pretty soon you'll be as talented as Trelawny. Supposedly, she had had a grandmother who was a Seer. I'm sure you could just ask your par-" Harry's faced flushed and Malfoy's lip curled. "Oh, wait, my mistake."

These little taunts hardly even mattered to Harry, now that he'd lost so much. "You can do better than that, can't you Draco?"

"I wouldn't want to break a sweat over Dumbledore's favorite."

"You're despicable," Harry said.

"Temper, temper, Potter," Draco insisted. With that he turned and left.

"Well, that wasn't so bad," Ginny decided. "I mean that it's been worse."

"I'll get over it," Harry said quickly. "Well, who do you suppose the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be?"

"Never know, do we?" Hermione inquired. At this precise moment Mr. Weasley returned.

"Dad?"

"Yes, Ginny?" Arthur replied.

"Can you tell us who the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is?"

"Oh, well..." Mr. Weasley paused. "Well, I suppose. His name is Mr. Delphius."

"Is he a friend of Dumbledore's?" Hermione questioned.

"Yes. He's actually Dumbledore's cousin."

"Well, I guess that Dumbledore appointed him and not the ministry," Harry decided.

"Dumbledore practically runs the ministry these days," Ron put in.

"And that's the way it should be," Mr. Weasley concluded.

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The scarlet steam engine persisted through hills, through plains, and even a few mountains, all at once disappearing in the haze and soon after, rematerializing a little farther on. Inside the train ride could not have been anymore blissful. Ron, Ginny, and Harry enjoyed a cutthroat game of exploding snap, while Mr. Weasley and Hermione heatedly discussed concepts of Muggle science.

The train ride had been going along so enjoyably that the sudden explosion of noise from a compartment two cars down was quite unwelcome to the five. As a teacher, it was Mr. Weasley's responsibility to keep the train in order, so he was the first to leave the compartment, being prefects, Ron and Hermione followed immediately afterward, leaving Harry and Ginny to pick up the rear.

As they past, heads popped out of the compartment doors to see what the commotion was. Harry was too curious about the source of the sound to notice them. All of a sudden they reached a car that was full of people. 'This must be it,' Harry thought. He was about to cross over to the other car when Ginny abruptly tugged on his arm.

"Harry, please, this'll be the perfect time."

"The perfect time for what?" Harry asked somewhat annoyed.

"Just come in here." She waved towards an empty compartment. Grudgingly, Harry stepped in. This was the second time in two days that she had pulled him aside. Was something up?

"Was is it, Ginny?"

"It's just," she paused. "Dean."

"Dean Thomas?"

"What other Deans do we know?" she asked a little frustrated. Suddenly it dawned on Harry. She and Dean Thomas had a relationship.

"Did you guys break-up?"

"That's just it, I don't know!" Ginny's eyes were beginning to water. Harry could see where this was going and he wanted to get out fast. "You see, he only wrote to me once the whole summer and when we past him on the train, he hardly even noticed me. I mean it's been 4 months that we've been together. A grunt of acknowledgement might nice." Tears started streaming down her face.

Ginny moved a little closer to Harry. Harry was getting very uncomfortable. Through his mind, as if he was the victim of Legilemency, he could see flashes of all his time with Cho. He recalled the Valentine date, the fight with about her friend, and the Christmas kiss. Ginny was now crying her eyes out on his shoulder. The inevitable seemed approaching rapidly. If only something could happen that would prevent this. Maybe he could do something to keep their lips from meeting.

All of a sudden, they heard it. 'Harry,' it whispered. Harry could not be more thankful that it came at that precise moment. Ginny looked up to find the source of the sound.

"What could it be?" she wondered aloud while drying her tears. "You heard at you're doorstep, at Grimmauld Place, right here on the train-"

"-And in King's Cross," Harry finished her sentence. At this precise moment, Ron walked in.

"We've been looking all over for you guys," Ron blurted out, but, suddenly realizing the situation, finished with, "Bloody Hell!"

"No Ron, it's not what it looks like," tried Ginny.

"It looks like you and Harry are a love fest!"

"Well, we're not!" Harry exclaimed. Several people were coming out of their compartments to see what the matter was.

"I guess the whole Hermione thing was just a rouse to cover up your relationship with my sister!"

"No, Ron you've got it all wrong," Ginny tried to explain.

"You're just a fat, old, double-crosser!" Ron yelled.

"Double Crosser? So, you're saying you're in love with your sister?" Harry asked accusingly. Ron, realizing his mistake in choosing his words, suddenly turned pink.

"That's not what I meant!" Ron concluded. Harry, finally comprehending the stupidity of the situation, began to laugh.

"You actually thought that Ginny and I were a couple?" Harry barely got out through his fit of laughs.

"Now that you mention it, I guess that is pretty funny." Ron began to chuckle. The only one not laughing was Ginny; in fact, she left the room so quickly that you would have thought her pants were on fire. At this moment, Hermione walked into the room.

"Come on, let's get back to the compartment," Hermione insisted. Ron and Harry followed. Though laughing heartily on the outside, inside Harry was so confused.

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For the duration of the journey all was talk. First, Ron explained the highly entertaining story of the explosion down the hall. "Everyone was poking their heads out of their compartment doors to see what it was. Turns out, that it was a newly formed dungbomb, so when they looked out they all got a whiff of it! Luckily, Dad told us that we could go back when we found out. That's when I ran into you and Ginny." Harry laughed half-heartedly. He really needed to be alone to have time to think. Fortunately, they arrived at Hogwarts earlier than expected.

Night had fallen on Hogsmeade station. Harry heard the familiar call of 'Firs' years, firs' years,' from his good friend Hagrid. As Harry walked toward the thestral pulled carriages Harry got in. Hermione sat down next him.

"What's bothering you?" she whispered to him. This was the first time he had spoken to Hermione, one on one, since she had discovered his secret passion.

"Oh... nothing."

"Harry, please. I'm one of your best friends. We should be able to talk about anything."

"Really, Hermione its nothing." That could not have been a bigger lie. First of all, he was feeling uncomfortable around Hermione because of his feelings, he was still confused over the whole Ginny situation, he was lamenting over Sirius, and he still hadn't told Ron and Hermione about the prophecy.

Hermione turned away and didn't speak. Ron, Mr. Weasley, and Ginny piled into the carriage. Mr. Weasley and Ron seemed to be getting along just fine, but Ginny just sat back and stared out the window to the clear night. Her chocolate eyes seemed surprisingly gray. She seemed to be staring off into eternity. You could get lost in those deep eyes.

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Once inside the castle, all was pandemonium, Mr. Weasley had to rush off to the staff table, leaving, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. The Entrance Hall seemed very overcrowded.

"There must be five hundred people in this hall!" Ron exclaimed.

"Five hundred and two, Mr. Weasley," corrected a tall and lean figure. Dumbledore was just making his way into the Great Hall. "I'm afraid the great hall doors didn't open in a timely manner."

"Hello, Dumbledore," Hermione greeted cheerfully.

"Hello, Miss Granger, and hello to you too, Harry." Harry was relieved to see that Dumbledore willingly met his eyes. "Well, I must be off," and he gingerly glided into the Great Hall. Harry, too hungry to think straight, hardly even noticed Ginny's absence from Dumbledore's greetings. Nor did he notice that this was because Ginny wasn't even there.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione quickly entered the Great Hall. As usual, the four house tables stood along the hall. The three hurried to get good seats next to all their friends.

"Hello, Harry!" came the somewhat deeper voice of Colin Creevey. Harry waved and put on his best parade smile. He also greeted Lavender and Parvarti. He finally took his seat with Ron on his right and Hermione on his left. Soon enough, Dumbledore rose from his chair and all was silent.

A door burst open and in came Professor McGonagall firmly carrying the sorting hat. She was followed but a line of very small, curious, and anxious first years. She conjured up a stool with her wand and set the sorting hat on it.

"Let us begin our year with a song from the sorting hat," he proclaimed. The sorting hat opened its mouth and began.

"I've been here but a thousand years,

I'll admit, I don't know all,

But this I know, be sure of that,

Our separation is our fall.

When I sort you into houses,

As I was meant to do,

You'll find there is a common trait,

In each, and all of you.

Oh yes, there are four houses,

There've never been less or more,

They're Hufflepuff and Slytherin,

And Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.

Gryffindor, he took the brave,

And kept them tried and true,

Ravenclaw, only the clever,

She taught them all she knew.

Old Slytherin, he had ambition,

He only took the same,

And Hufflepuff, she claimed the loyal,

And took them as they came.

You might have guessed the common trait,

It's not that hard to see,

For when we stand together,

It leads to victory."

The whole hall burst into applause. Dumbledore stood once again. "Let the sorting begin," He said simply. Professor McGonagall pulled out a roll of parchment from her robes and the sorting began.

"When I call your name, please step forward, still on this stool, and I will put the sorting hat upon your head," Minerva McGonagall said pleasantly.

"Cooper, Claire." A small, dark haired, little girl step forward, sat on the stool, and the deputy headmistress put the sorting hat upon her head.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" it shouted. The Hufflepuff table noisily clapped. Harry drifted of into thought. Once again, the sorting hat had implied that they were stronger together. He still couldn't see how becoming friends with all the Slytherins would lead them to 'victory.'

"GRYFFINDOR!" Harry applauded along with all the other students as Grant Haun joined the Gryffindor table. "GRYFFINDOR!" Ashton Jones joined the table. "RAVENCLAW!" Katy Roweton joined the Ravenclaw table. "SLYTHERIN!" Kyle Shoemaker was the first new Slytherin.

A little while later, Luke Stehr was sorted in to Hufflepuff and Dumbledore rose for a third time. "Let's eat," he proclaimed and that was enough because the four tables filled with food. Harry blissfully grabbed all the food that his plate could carry and dug in. As he stuffed his mouth with his steak he glanced at the staff table. To Harry's surprise, Professor Trelawny was sitting at the staff table. As he scanned the rest of the table, Harry found that all were familiar faces except for a tall and lean man sitting next to Professor McGonagall. Harry thought this must be Mr. Delphius.

When the quiet that was sustained but stuffed mouths began to weaken and everyone was feeling full. Dumbledore rose once more and he began his yearly announcements.

"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts," he said with a grin on his face. "Everyone should note that the Forbidden Forest that resides on our ground is, indeed, forbidden." His eyes seemed to linger on Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Also, third years and older are only entitled to visit Hogsmeade if they have a signed form." His eyes seemed to linger on Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Now for a few introductions. This man sitting by Professor McGonagall will be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. His name is Professor Delphius. He happens to be my first cousin on my mother's side." At this moment, the door to the great hall burst open and Firenze galloped in. He seemed to be going extremely fast. When he made it up to Dumbledore he whispered something into his ear.

"Student's, I regret to inform you that," he paused. "Ginny Weasley was found unconscious only moments ago. She is being taken to the Hospital Wing as we speak."