Give Us Peace

I guess this is a sign of love

That I admire and hate you so

If I weren't so angry I'd love you

If I weren't so full of passion I'd hate you

~*~

Harry awoke the next morning to Mrs. Weasley yelling up the stairs. "Get up you sleepyheads! You're going to be late!"

Ron groaned and turned over to look at the clock. "Aw, come on Mum," he said. "We've got a good hour before we have to leave."

"She can't hear you, you know," Harry said. "I know how long it takes you to get ready in the morning," he added, "If you don't get up now, we'll never leave."

"That's not true!" Ron protested. After a couple more minutes, he gave in and got out of bed.

Harry had already put on his best fitting jeans, which were still too large, and was almost done buttoning up his green polo shirt by the time Ron had even pulled out his clothes. He walked out of the room, and called back to Ron, "If you're not down in five minutes I'm sending someone up."

"Thanks, Mum," Ron said, annoyed.

Harry went downstairs, and saw that Mrs. Weasley had prepared plates for them, and had them under warming spells.

"This looks delicious, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said, sitting down. "Ron should be down in a moment."

Ginny came down and sat next to Hermione, across the table from Harry. "Good morning Harry," she said. "Did you sleep well?"

"No nightmares to speak of," Harry said. "Although Ron did snore a bit."

"No, I did not," came Ron's voice from the hall. He walked in and sat down in the seat next to Harry. "I do not snore," he said adamantly.

"Ron," Harry said, "I've shared a dormitory with you for five years, I think I'd know by now."

Ron hmphed and dug into his scrambled eggs.

"Once, when I was on holiday in America," Hermione said, "They gave us these things called English muffins. They were sort of like round toast with nooks and crannies. There was nothing altogether English about them, just like French toast doesn't have anything to do with France."

"Uh, yeah," Ron said, before taking a gulp of pumpkin juice. When he swallowed, he turned to Harry and asked, "Did you ever find that rook from the chess set I gave you?"

Ron had given Harry a chess set for his birthday that had illustrated the Battle of Pendaryn, the battle between Archenon, the major dark wizard before Grindewald, and his light counterpart, Balthamos. Harry had lost one of the rooks after a game with Ginny.

"I didn't," Harry responded. "I looked everywhere. I don't know where it could have gone to. It's a shame, it was a nice piece."

After everyone had put their dishes in the sink, they heard a loud honk.

"That would be the Ministry cars," Mr. Weasley said. He led the four kids outside with Mrs. Weasley bringing up the rear. When they got out of the house, they saw Lupin, Tonks, and Moody standing outside.

Moody looked at Ron and Harry and said, "You two get in the first car with Tonks, Molly, and me." He turned his gaze to Hermione and Ginny and said, "You two get in the second car with Arthur and Remus."

They got into their respective cars and rode to King's Cross Station. As soon as they got there, and everyone had stepped out and retrieved their things, the cars zoomed away ahead of the traffic.
"How are you getting back?" Ron asked Tonks.

"We're going to Apparate," she responded.

"Oh," Ron said, pulling out a trolley to put his trunk on. Pigwidgeon started twittering, and Ron said, "Shut it you stupid bird."

The group minus Tonks and Moody passed through the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

Mrs. Weasley looked up at the clock and said, "Twenty minutes until the train leaves. Put your trunks on the train, and come back out here and say goodbye."

Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione put their trunks in a compartment a third of the way along the train, and came back out onto the platform.
Mrs. Weasley gripped Harry in a motherly hug and said, "Have a good term dear. Don't hesitate to owl if you need anything."

"Thank you for everything Mrs. Weasley," Harry said.

"Oh, it was nothing," she replied. "You're a member of the family."

Harry turned away, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

Lupin came up to Harry, and gripped him in a fatherly hug. "Don't forget to use the mirror if you ever need me. I'll try to have it with me whenever I can."

"Thank you," Harry said. "It means a lot."

Harry moved on to Mr. Weasley, and shook his hand. "Thank you very much," he said.

"Oh," Mr. Weasley said, waving the comment away with a wave of his hand. He quietly added, "Thanks for those, what do you call them, screwdrivers?"

Harry had given Mr. Weasley some screwdrivers that he had found when Aunt Petunia had ordered him to clear out a closet.

A whistle sounded, and Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny hurried to get on the train. When they got to their platform, they saw that Neville was also in their compartment.

"Oh hi!" Neville said. "Is this your compartment?"

"Feel free to stay here with us Neville," Harry said.

"We've got to go to the prefects meeting," Hermione said. She and Ron got up and left the compartment.

"How are you doing Neville?" Ginny asked politely, sitting down, Harry following suit.

"I'm fine," Neville said genuinely.

He pulled out an Exploding Snap deck and said, "Harry, do you want to play until Ron and Hermione get back?"

"Sure," Harry said.

Ginny turned around so that no one would see, and pulled out a plain silver ring. "Amor Ostendere," she whispered, pouring all of her love into the spell. When she looked back at the ring, it was glowing a contented yellow-green, and said, in black lettering, "Content." "I wonder what color lettering it will be when it's black," she thought.

Ron and Hermione came back fifteen minutes later. Ron sighed and plopped down in a seat, and Hermione sat down next to him.

"Who are the Head Boy and Girl?" Ginny asked.

"Tracy Danvers from Ravenclaw is Head Boy, and Susannah Carter from Slytherin is Head Girl," Hermione responded.

"What?!" Harry responded, astonished. "How could they make a Slytherin Head Girl?"

"Dumbledore must have his reasons," Hermione said.

Neville pulled out a wand and showed it to the group. "Look at this!" he said. "Gran had to take me to get a new wand. This one is 9 1/2 inches, ebony and dragon heartstring!"

"That's good, Neville," Hermione said. "Maybe you'll do better this year with a wand that's suited for you."

"Maybe," Neville said hopefully. "I think it goes without saying that I didn't get into N.E.W.T. Potions. I did get a perfect score on Herbology though."

"Good for you Neville," Ginny said, as she relaxed into Harry's side.

Dean and Seamus walked into the compartment and saw Harry and Ginny. "I suppose I win the bet then," Seamus said.

"Bet?" Ginny asked, confused. "What bet?"

"On how long it would take until you two got together," Seamus replied. "I said you two would be together before the start of term, and Dean said it would take longer."

Dean reached into his pocket and pulled out two galleons. "Here you are," he said dismally as he handed the coins to Seamus.

"I suppose we had better get going," Seamus said. He turned to Neville and said, teasingly, "I hear Susan Bones has grown up quite a bit."

Neville blushed, and Seamus grinned as he and Dean walked out of the compartment.

"What was that about, Neville?" Ron asked, teasing.

"Dunno," Neville replied evasively, starting to blush. "So," Neville said, changing the topic, "I'm glad I don't have to deal with Snape in classes this year. I just hope he won't try to make up for it in the corridors."

Suddenly, the compartment door flew open, and Malfoy stepped in, flanked by his goons. "Well, well, well," he said looking at Harry and Ginny, "If it isn't Potty and his little Weasel bitch."

Harry and Ron stood up suddenly, and tried to lunge at Malfoy, their only obstacle being that Hermione had grabbed the back of their robes.

Ginny glanced at her ring, which was glowing a vibrant red, and walked over to Harry. "Harry, it's okay," she said. "It's only Malfoy. Nothing he says really matters anyway."

Harry sighed, and sat down.

"Looks like Weaslette has Potty on a leash," Malfoy said with a sneer.

Ron looked at Malfoy's robes and said, "Did Dumbledore take away your badge, Malfoy, or did your Daddy make you take it off?" He paused for a moment, saw Malfoy reddening, and then said sarcastically, "Oh, I forgot. Your daddy's in Azkaban. Is your life hell without your daddy?"

"You know nothing of hell," Malfoy spat, and headed out of the compartment followed by Crabbe and Goyle.

"Who wants to bet that he's already gotten the mark?" Ron said.

"We've got to tell Dumbledore about this," Hermione said seriously.

"What do you think he'll do to us this year?" Neville asked worriedly.

"Well," Hermione said, seriously considering the matter, "He won't be able to get away with much. I'm sure that Dumbledore, if he hasn't already, will tell all the staff to keep a closer eye on him. I just wonder how long," she paused, then said, "His Head's cover is going to last."

"His Head's?" Ron said bewildered, "You mean S-"

Hermione hurriedly put her hand over his mouth before he could say anymore. "You don't know who could be listening," Hermione warned. She looked at her watch and said, "We'd better get changed into our robes. We should be there soon."

Twenty minutes later, the train pulled into Hogsmeade, and Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny got into a thestral-drawn carriage. "Can you see them now?" Harry asked Ron, Hermione, and Ginny.

"No," Ron responded.

"I can," Ginny said gloomily, and Harry abandoned the subject.

When they entered the castle, they noticed that it was suspiciously Peeves-free. "Wonder where Peeves is," Ron remarked.

"Do you think he could possibly be doing something for Dumbledore?" Hermione said slowly, considering the matter.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

"I think I get what you're saying," Ginny said slowly. "Poltergeists can't die right? So Dumbledore could send Peeves on a dangerous mission to accomplish some task without risking one of the Order members."

"Would Peeves behave, though?" Harry asked as they walked into the Great Hall.

"I don't know," Hermione said, still thinking.

They sat down at the Gryffindor table, stared at the Sorting Hat on its stool, and waited for the first years to be brought in.

Ron said, "I'm so hungry-"

"You could eat a hippogriff," Ginny said. "Yes, we know."

Just then, Professor McGonagall walked in, leading a line of first-years, whose faces displayed various emotions.

"Look at that one there," Ron said pointing to a small boy with brown hair, "He looks bored already. Probably from some pure-blood family."

There was a brief period of silence, then the hat began to sing:

'Twas a long time since I was made,

A thousand years or so,

I've sorted them all,

It's been no ball.

The famous,

The rich,

The handsome,

The cumbersome.

The Hufflepuffs:

Loyal and true,

The Ravenclaws:

Clever, with everything to do.

The Gryffindors:

Brave and reckless,

The Slytherins:

Cunning and pitiless.

So put me on,

I'll sort you into the house which you belong,

Quick as a tap,

For I'm a quick-witted cap!

The sorting started with Adams, Nadia, who was sorted into Hufflepuff.

"Bletchley, Georgia," McGonagall called out, as a beefy girl stepped up and put on the Sorting Hat, which screamed, "Slytherin!"

"Not another one!" Ron said with a sigh. "Bloody Slytherin bastards."

"Ron!" Hermione said sharply. "You heard what the hat said last year. We must unite and work on inter-house relationships."

Ron ignored her, and turned back to the sorting, which had just sorted a boy into Ravenclaw.

"Driscoll, Tiberius," McGonagall said.

There was a long pause while the hat thought, and it finally said, "Gryffindor!"

Harry stood up and cheered along with the rest of the table.

"Driscoll, Aherne,"

"Are they twins?" Ron asked.

"Looks like they're fraternal twins," Ginny said. "I wonder if they'll both be sorted into Gryffindor."

After a minute, the hat said, "Gryffindor."

"That was odd," Hermione said standing up and applauding, "The hat sounded unsure. It usually screams the name of the house. Wonder what that was about."

The hat quickly sorted two boys into Hufflepuff and a girl into Slytherin, before "Johnson, Harriet!" was announced.

"That's Angelina's sister," Ron said. "Fred told me she was coming this year. Apparently she's a great flyer and a good Seeker." He turned to Harry and said, "Though she's nothing on you mate."

"Hufflepuff!" the hat shouted. Harriet sat there stunned for a moment, before walking glumly to the Hufflepuff table.

"Well, Hufflepuff could use a good Seeker," Ginny said, "Since-" She realized the direction that the conversation was going, and immediately quieted.

"It's okay, Gin," Harry said sounding like it was anything but, and laid his hand on hers. "I have to put it behind me. Not talking about it won't help."

In that awkward silence, they heard McGonagall say, "Malfoy, Lysistrata."

"Is that Malfoy's sister?" Harry asked.

"I don't think so," Ron said, "Must be a cousin."

"Ravenclaw!" the hat shouted.

The hall was stunned silent. A Malfoy in Ravenclaw? After an awkward silence the Ravenclaws applauded, but it was halfhearted.

"I feel sorry for her," Hermione said.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked. "She's a Malfoy."

"There you go again!" Hermione said. "You're as prejudiced as the Slytherin lot are!"

"Am not," Ron said obstinately, turned away, and was silent.

McGonagall called, "Pritchard, Matthew."

Matthew put on the Sorting Hat, which loudly declared, "Ravenclaw!"

"Would that be Graham's brother?" Seamus asked, leaning over towards Harry and Ron.

"Dunno," Ron said, "I suppose."

"Quirke, Brigid," McGonagall read.

"Huff-" the hat started to say, before continuing with, "Gryffindor!"

"What is going on with the hat?" Ron asked Harry in a whisper.

"Dunno," Harry said, "Ask Hermione, maybe she's got an idea." He saw Ron quickly glance across the table at Hermione.

"Hmph," was Ron's reply.

"Ryan, Aislinn," McGonagall said.

The hat screamed, "Gryffindor!" and the table got up to cheer.

"Is it just me," Ron said, "Or is this sorting taking longer than any other. It seems like there are a lot more people this year."

"I wouldn't be the one to ask about magical genealogy," Harry replied, with a pointed look towards Hermione.

The sorting finished with "Walker, Jerome," who was sorted into Gryffindor.

"All I have to say," Dumbledore said, "Is e pluribus unum." He sat down, and food appeared on the table.

"What does that mean?" Harry asked Ron.

"I'm too hungry to care," Ron said, spooning yams onto his plate. A short while later, after pudding, he pushed back contentedly, and said, "That was perfect."

Dumbledore stood up, and said, "Eager though I know you all are to get to your dormitories, there are a few things I must say. First, the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds, as always. Second, Quidditch tryouts will be held the second week of term, with times posted on each house's respective message board. I would like to introduce you all to your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Sofia Leon, who comes to us from the Boston School of Wizardry in the United States."

There was enthusiastic yet hesitant applause for this unknown teacher. Dumbledore dismissed the students, and Harry, Ron, and Ginny got up from the table and headed for the Common Room.

After about ten minutes of ducking behind some tapestries and walking along semi-hidden passages, Ron said, to no one in particular "I just don't get it sometimes! Why is she always like that?"

"I'm kind of glad I'm not a prefect," Ginny said, dropping back behind Ron with Harry and leaving Ron to his ramblings. "The fifth year prefects have to lead the first years to the dorm."

"Who are the prefects?" Harry asked.

"Colin Creevey and Lia Gardner," Ginny said.

"I'm glad as well," Harry said, "That you aren't a prefect, I mean. The more free time you have, the more time I can spend with you."

They reached the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Please tell me you're not turning into an incurable romantic," Ginny teased, before saying, "Canis Lupis." The portrait swung open, and she headed inside, followed by Ron and Harry. Ginny kissed Harry on his cheek before disappearing up the girls' staircase.