Story Title: Time, Interrupted

Chapter Title: Upheaval

Author: Madm_05

Rating: Strong PG-13/T

Warnings: Ron Rants

Chapter Word Count: 5,273

Date: 24 April 2010

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and everyone else from Potterverse belong to JKR.

Chapter Twenty Nine: Upheaval

Time had certainly flown by, Hermione felt, briefly looking out her charmed window to see the sunshine outside. Buckbeak was running through the grass, trying— and failing— to catch some sort of bug. It was hard to believe that it was spring already, that school would be out in a little over a month. Ron, oddly enough, had become very protective of Luna since Christmas. He was also teased a great deal by his brothers, much to his chagrin, and his friends' amusement.

Luna fit surprisingly well with their group. After the death of his wife, Mr. Lovegood had become rather paradoxical in his behaviour towards his daughter. Sometimes he worried excessively over Luna. He often visited during the school week to check up on her, and to tell her to be wary of some strange creature or other. If Luna was in class, he would wait for her in the foyer, pacing nervously as he waited. On those days, Hermione felt bad for him. She knew he must miss his wife terribly and fear for his daughter. Hermione understood why he worried as much as he did, of course, but his visits bothered her, mostly because he was filling Luna's head with as much nonsense as he had in her own time.

Fortunately, between the three of them, they were able to keep Luna from believing the more outrageous tales, though she was still very much open minded. In fact, after reading Hermione's Lord of the Rings trilogy, Luna— who was very advanced for her age— had come to the conclusion that Ents really existed. She had even written her father, so that he could look for them. No matter how hard Hermione tried, she simply couldn't convince the younger girl the J.R.R. Tolkein was a Muggle and simply made up everything in the books, from the characters to the creatures to the language. He had no way of knowing that some of the creatures did indeed exist, and the rest were figments of his imagination.

Hermione found herself becoming more tolerant of the stories, or rather, desensitised, as she told herself. She would certainly never admit to anyone that she liked hearing about some of the things the Lovegoods believed in, just as she had steadfastly refused to admit she liked to read mythology before she discovered she was a witch. She was a logical being, and felt that seeing was believing.

When Mr. Lovegood wasn't worrying over his daughter, he would lose himself in his work. One time, just the month before, he had gone on a trip and completely forgot about his daughter for nearly three weeks. Luna had remained at the school for the first week, and went home with Mrs. Weasley the second week before her father returned at the end of the third. He had been apologetic, and Luna had forgiven him immediately. Harry, Ron and herself had not. Ron, in particular, had been angry with him. Hermione privately believed it was because Ron was trying to make up for what he had said to Luna on Christmas, in his own unique way.

Outside, Buckbeak seemed to have given up the idea of catching whatever he had been chasing and decided instead to practice flying. So far he had succeeded in failing rather spectacularly. He didn't seem to understand that his wings were strong enough yet to support his weight. Zeno, who was sprawled out on Hermione's bed, made a sound that was a cross between a snort and a sneeze. He, too, was watching Buckbeak. Incendia was nowhere to be found, but then, she never strayed too far from Ron. She was very fond of her human companion, and fiercely protective of him. Ron loved her dearly.

At that moment, she wasn't sure where her boys were. She supposed Harry could be in his room, making sure everything was organized— a habit leftover from his stay at the Dursleys— but Hermione felt that he was elsewhere. Ron was probably trying to avoid his brothers, as the entire Weasley clan, those that weren't in Hogwarts at least, were having dinner at Grimmauld Place, along with Luna. Ron would go home the following morning. Luna would stay until her father remembered to pick her up.

Carefully folding a shirt, Hermione shook her head in wonder. Though she was sure she had hurt the elves' feelings, she never let them clean up her room. There were too many risks involved in the kind creatures 'helping', particularly if they decided to help clean out the drawer in her nightstand. That was a disaster waiting to happen, but there was nowhere else to put the Horcruxes where they were not a danger.

As it was, Hermione was already having a terrible time with them. She hadn't known that she would be drawn to them. Several times now, she had caught herself just as she was about to touch her quill to the journal, ready to tell her innermost thoughts to the pages, or toying with the locket, considering putting it around her neck. It was only the knowledge of what happened to Ginny that kept her from doing just that.

A ruckus down the hall drew her attention. She smirked when she heard Ron protesting loudly against something. Shaking her head, she set down the shirt she was preparing to fold and walked to her door. Just as she knew he would be, Harry was waiting for her on the other side. "What's he on about this time?"

"Fred and George are teasing him about Luna. They keep saying she's weird, and now Ron's all mad at them, then they start saying she's his girlfriend, and Ron says of course she is, and that you're his girlfriend too, because you're both girls, and you're both his friends. I thought Ron was right, but then Fred and George started laughing at him, so I guess he was wrong." Harry shook his head, clearly misunderstanding what a girlfriend in the same way as Ron.

"Come on, let's go save him then," Hermione said affectionately. She loved her boys. They were adorable, though she would never tell them that. It was easy to find Ron— they had only to walk towards the yelling. They met Luna in the hallway.

"Oh, hello," she said airily. "I was just coming to get you. Ronald is very upset just now. I think the polybolts have gotten to him. He is very angry with his brothers."

Harry and Hermione shared a fond look. Having spent so much time with Luna, Hermione was beginning to find her tall tales to be more endearing than irritating. Yes, she had definitely been desensitized. "Oh those polybolts," Harry said warmly. "Always causing problems."

Luna nodded her head fervently. "Oh yes. I think we should go help Ronald now, before they take over him completely."

The trio moved towards the near constant fighting and sure enough, found Fred and George were perched on the back of the sofa in the family room, while Ron stood defiantly before them, face red. Incendia, as expected, was perched on the arm of a chair, her feathers ruffled and her angry gaze trained on the twins. "I'm not in love with Luna!" He snapped. "I don't even like her! She's just some silly girl that won't leave me alone!"

Silence.

The only sound breaking the quiet was Ron's heavy breathing. Harry and Hermione stood frozen on either side of Luna, horrified. They, of course, knew that Ron genuinely liked Luna, and truly considered her a friend, but at this stage in life, Hermione was well aware that the young would say anything to get others to stop teasing them.

Luna, on the other hand, for all of her flightiness, was actually a very insecure girl. Her insecurity coupled with the recent loss of her mother left her vulnerable to the words of others. This Luna was not the Luna of the original timeline. She had not yet learned to see beyond how others acted and understand what they truly meant and how they truly felt, had not yet learned to let harsh words fall away with no effect.

Ron turned around in a huff, his red face paling immediately when his eyes fell on Luna's still form. Harry and Hermione stood motionless, neither knowing what to do help their friends. Tears streaming down her face, Luna turned and fled the room.

Ron looked angrily back at his brothers, muttered something under his breath, and took off after Luna. "I didn't… I mean I don't…Luna please!" Ron called after her as he ran by, his arm outstretched, as though trying to catch her.

Fred and George were talking quietly between themselves and Harry and Hermione turned as one to follow Ron, and thus Luna. Hermione did not need to look at Harry to know he was just as torn over the situation as Hermione herself. They could easily understand saying things they didn't mean in the heat of the moment, Hermione especially, and they could easily understand Luna's hurt. They just hoped that there was a way to rectify the situation. Hopefully, Ron had not ruined his friendship with Luna.

In the back her mind, Hermione noted that it was always easy to find Ron— she just had to follow the commotion. Ron was pounding heavily on the door to Luna's assigned room.

"Oh please Luna, I just… I didn't… I mean I… Luna! Please Luna, don't be mad I just wanted them to stop making fun of me! I didn't mean any of it Luna, I swear I didn't! And I… please!" He was panting and his face was red. His shoulders trembled and his voice shook as he continued to plead through the door.

Suddenly Harry moved forward and took Ron by the arm before whispering in his ear. The older boy's face lit up with hope as he rushed away from the door, and back the way the three of them had come.

"Come on," Harry said as he followed. "We're going outside."

Hermione understood exactly what Harry planned. Ron was quite adept at flying by himself now, and could hover effortlessly. It would be all too easy to fly up to Luna's window— all of the bedrooms had at least one— and speak with her. It was a brilliant idea, really.

The three raced, Ron at the front and Hermione at the back, to the door leading to the backyard. They rushed past Sirius, Remus and Molly, shoved Fred and George to either side as they ran between them, moved past a sulking Malfoy without even registering his presence, and were out the door. Running to the left, they began to count the windows.

"Which one?" Ron panted.

"She's in the fifth room," Hermione began. "At least five windows. Do any of the rooms have more than one window? I don't know— I've never been in any of them."

"I'll go to the fifth window and look," Harry began. "Hermione, you look through the sixth window, Ron, you look through the seventh. If she's not in any of those rooms, we'll move down."

Each took their positions under their respective windows and lifted themselves using their magic. In the back of her mind, Hermione noted that Ron, in his desperation to fix the situation with Luna, seemed to have more control— he was steadier than usual and moved faster.

Hermione looked into the room before her, finding it empty. On the bed, though, she noted a doll that she knew belonged to Pansy Parkinson. Normally the doll traveled everywhere with Pansy but class, so Hermione guessed that she had forgotten… Isabel, Hermione believed was the doll's name.

A sharp rapping drew her attention to her right. Ron was knocking on the glass. "Luna, please open the window! I'm sorry, I really am, I— I am, I swear I am. I'm really, really sorry Luna. I didn't mean it, it's just, Fred and George always get me so mad, and I was just trying to get them to leave me alone! Please Luna, I didn't mean it." His voice grew softer. "I didn't mean a word of it Luna, I swear I didn't. Forgive me, Luna? Please?"

Hermione felt her heart clench painfully on her friend's behalf. He was hurting over his mistake. He was young yet, and still learning what it meant to have a friend who was not related to him, and more, what it meant to actually be a friend. It was a necessary but painful lesson, and one she was sure he would not soon forget.

Harry caught her eye then, and they decided that this was not their fight. They could stand by Ron, but they could not fix his mistakes. Both lowered themselves to the ground. Luna had opened the window now, and was speaking softly to Ron.

"What do we do?" Harry asked, his voice barely above a whisper. It was clear he did not want to disturb to conversation above them.

"I don't know," Hermione replied with a wince. She wasn't used to not having all of the answers, but she wasn't used to mending friendships between two children, either. It wasn't something she'd had a lot of practice with, after all. "I think we should just let them talk for now. Ron said some pretty hurtful things—"

"That he didn't mean," Harry interjected.

"But he still said them, and Luna heard him, whether he meant what he said or not. He really hurt Luna, Harry. She doesn't have many friends."

Harry looked pained. "I know. I think we're her only friends. I hope she and Ron make up. I really don't want to—"

"Ronald Bilius Weasley! What in the name of Merlin do you think—" Molly Weasley, who had come barreling out of Grimmauld Place, ceased her tirade immediately upon seeing Ron floating by one of the windows. She stood there, her mouth agape and her arms slack at her sides.

Her rant was enough to distract Ron, however, and just as she stopped shouting, Ron dropped, and out have plummeted to the ground if not for Luna Lovegood. The little blonde was holding on the Ron's arm for all she was worth. One hand was holding tightly to his arm, while her other hand gripped the collar of his shirt.

Hermione stood frozen, shocked at what was happening. Fortunately, Harry was used to acting on his instincts, and a moment later, steadied Ron with his magic, subtly lifting him and allowing Luna to pull him through her window. Hermione was relieved that he was able to keep his cool in situations like that; this was not the first time she had frozen under pressure, she knew, recalling her fate in the Department of Mysteries.

"What should we do now, Hermione?" Harry asked, worry in his emerald eyes. Hermione shrugged helplessly— she didn't know.

As if summoned by their distress, Buckbeak and Zeno— both of them taking the occasional swipe at the other— come up to them. Buckbeak nudged Harry's hand with his head while Zeno rubbed up against Hermione's leg, purring.

Zeno cocked his head to the side then began to speak in a lilting tone. "What cannot be eroded by time, weakened by anger, or lessened by adversity, but if carefully fostered, is more binding than blood?"

"Friendship," Harry replied just as Hermione said "Love."

They shared a look. "We should go to Ron and Luna. That's what we should do," Harry said firmly.

It seemed they had made their decision a moment to late. At that very moment, they heard shouting emanating from Luna's room. It sounded distinctly like Mrs. Weasley, and she did not sound pleased at all. That couldn't be good. Tapping into their magic, both levitated themselves. Mrs. Weasley was in a full blown rant by then, but Harry paid no mind as he slipped in first— clearly not caring if anyone saw him using wandless magic— then turned to help Hermione climb through the window.

Ron stood by Luna by her bed, Incendia resting on his shoulder. Mrs. Weasley stood in the middle of the room, waving her arms frantically. Behind her, the rest of the Weasley clan looked on, in addition to Sirius, Remus, Tonks— Hermione was relived that Harmony was not there— and Draco. To her surprise, Draco's face was only mildly interested in what was going on, and he seemed to derive no enjoyment from Ron's verbal lashing.

"—NEVER HAVE I BEEN SO ASHAMED! MY SON, MY OWN SON! USING SUCH FOUL— SAYING THAT NAME! AND YOUR BROTHERS— I CAN'T EVEN—" The Weasley Matron stopped to suck in a deep breath. After a long moment she seemed to gain control of herself, though her face was a deep shade of red and her body trembled. "And just what do you have to say for yourself young man! Accusing your brothers of being servants of You Know Who! Imagine my shame as such— such—" She stopped, seemingly not able to continue.

Ron looked back at her solemnly for a long moment. "Have you nothing to say for yourself, then?" She demanded.

Ron's mouth twisted in a sneer eerily reminiscent of Draco Malfoy's from their earlier years in Hogwarts. "It doesn't matter. You won't believe a word I say, then you'll side with Fred and George like you always do, and you'll punish me, like you always do, and completely forget they were making fun of me first, like they always do! It doesn't matter, so I don't see why I should bother talking!"

Molly stepped back as if she had been struck, the blood draining from her face. The twins exchanged a guilty look and cringed in unison. Ginny sniffled, and her father gently picked her up and cradled her in his arms.

Beside them, Sirius licked his lips nervously. "Harry, Hermione, Luna, why don't you three come—"

"No," Ron interrupted coldly. "They're the only ones who like me, and I'm not going to let you take them away from me!" Something within him seemed to snap. Growling, Ron began to pace back and forth across Luna's room. Startled, Incendia fluttered away from his shoulder and landed on Luna's. She nibbled the blonde's hair for a moment before turning her attention back to her human companion.

"You never choose me," Ron spat angrily as he paced. "Never. You always go on and on an on about how brilliant Bill is, how he was a Prefect, and Head boy! And Charlie! You talk about how wonderful it is that he's a Prefect, and how you're sure he's going to be Quidditch Captain of the Gryffindor team. Then there's Percy," Ron continued angrily, not pausing to breathe. "Whenever I come home, you always say how your just know he's going to be a Prefect and Head Boy when he get older. You tell me all about how he has good grades, how he's one of the top students in his year.

"And Fred and George! They always make fun of me, always pull pranks on me, and what do you do about it? You tell them to stop, and they just ignore you, and you don't care because you think I don't know how to take a joke, that I need to relax and have more fun! You even like Draco more than you like me, and he isn't even your son! You're always hugging him, and smiling at him, and giving him sweets and telling me to go away! And don't forget Ginny!" He continued to pace angrily. "You're little princess who can do nothing wrong. And me?" He stopped suddenly, his chest heaving as he faced his mother. His face was flushed and a lone tear trickled down his cheek.

He contorted his face mockingly and raised is voice in a fair imitation of his mother. "Oh Ronald! You need to be more adventurous like Bill! See how popular he is? You need to go out and play Quidditch more with your brothers, maybe Charlie can teach you something. Oh Ron, why can't you be more like Percy? He's so smart— you can learn so much from him! Quit whining Ronald, there's nothing wrong with a few small pranks! You're brothers just want you to have some fun instead of spending all of your time thinking about the Chudley Cannons! Ron, be a dear and play with Ginny. What's that? She wants to play dolls? I don't see a problem!"

Ron flung his arm out, pointing at his brothers and sister. "I don't want be like Bill or Charlie or Percy or any of them!" He seemed to choke on his words.

As one, Harry and Hermione stepped forward to go to their friend, Luna a second behind them, but found themselves restrained. Sometime, when they had been watching Ron, Sirius had moved behind Harry, Remus behind Hermione, and Tonks behind Luna. Each adult held their respective child tightly, preventing any of them from going to Ron as he voiced his demons.

"It drives you mad, doesn't it, that I got Incendia?" He had begun pacing again. "Bet you wish Ginny got her! But she didn't, I did, and that makes me special. I got a great familiar, and I got great friends too, better than Ginny's friends, better than Charlie's Quidditch friends, better than Bill's friends, better than all of them!" He flung his arms wide.

He stopped pacing and faced his mother angrily. "I know what you're thinking, you think I think my friends are better because of who they are, and you're right, but you're wrong too! You're thinking of what they are— Harry's the Boy Who Lived, and Hermione's the Wandless Witch, and Luna's that Loony Girl! I know what you all say about my friends, and you know what? You're wrong!

"I like Harry because he's funny and he likes to play the games I like to play. He's not obsessed with Quidditch like Charlie is, and he doesn't make fun of me for liking the Cannons, either. I like Harry because he makes a good friend. I like Harry for who he is, not what he is.

"And Hermione is a good friend too! She doesn't tell me to just study harder or to ask one of my brothers like you always do when I need help. Just last night she helped me with my reading homework. She doesn't care that I'm not good at reading, she just sits with me and helps me with the words. And Harry doesn't mind, he just waits, and sometimes he helps too."

Ron was waving his arms frantically now as tears streamed unchecked down his face. "Luna's great too, and she's not nutty at all! She's really funny too, and she knows a lot about animals, and she doesn't laugh at me when I say something dumb. And I hate it, I hate it when Fred and George call her Loony Luna, because she's not! Do you hear me? She's not!

"And you know what? Voldemort!" He snarled the name and watched his family when they winced at a name, and Draco cringed away as if the name caused him physical pain. Mrs. Weasley, terribly shaken, opened her mouth, possible to protest the use of the Dark Lord's name, but they would never know as Ron continued, furiously wiping away angry tears. "It's a name! Just a name, and I was afraid first when I first said it, but it doesn't even sound scary, it sounds dumb, and I'm not afraid of it anymore, and you should be proud of me that I'm not afraid of a name like you are, and not yell at me!"

Ron's voice dropped to just above a whisper, but in the stillness of the room, everyone heard his words. "But I don't care. I have Incendia. I have Harry, and Hermione, and Luna. I have my friends. And they're all I need." He looked at his mother, his eyes red and puffy, and he was still crying. "I don't need you." His words were strong, but his tone belied the truth. His chest was heaving, his face was a deeper shade of red than his hair, and his entire body trembled, but Hermione was sure that rage was not the source. Before her was a broken little boy.

Then a peace settled over the room. Incendia, her bright red and orange plumage was ruffled slightly— showing she agitated that anyone dared to agitate her human— was singing to them. Her song spoke of many emotions. There was anger and hurt, but overlying them all was a sense of relief. The song, Hermione realized, reflected what Ron must have been feeling; hurt and anger, but relief at finally voicing his troubles and insecurities. The relief from the song was so overpowering that Hermione felt the tension leave her body. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harry and Luna relaxing as well.

When the song finally ended, Incendia fluttered over to Ron. She preened his hair before rubbing her beak against his nose in what could only be called affection. Silence reigned over the room until a cry down the hall broke the peace.

"Harmony," Remus murmured softly, picking up Hermione. Hermione, for her part, was still dazed from the explosive argument and Incendia's song. Harry and Luna seemed to be in a similar state.

"Well," Sirius interjected softly. "I think we'll just leave you to your… discussion. I'm sorry to have intruded on such a private moment. Harry, Hermione, Luna, this is for Ron and his family to discuss. Let's get Harmony and go to the kitchen."

With that, Luna relinquished her room to the Weasley clan who all circled around Ron. The twins looked shamefaced and looked sadly at Luna— for a moment Hermione thought they might apologize— but in the end, they're shame prevented them from speaking. Instead, they shuffled towards their brother, their eyes trained on their feet. Hermione was not sure how she felt about their behavior; she loved the twins and their love of life, but she knew that sometimes they went too far with their pranks.

Mr. Weasley looked terribly tired, his jaw clenching as he tried to stave off his emotions. Hermione could all but see his thoughts— he thought he was a failure for having overlooked his youngest son in favor of the other children which always seemed to require more attention than their much quieter brother.

As Remus carried her down the hall to Harmony's room, Hermione realized that it was all a series of horrible misunderstandings. The Weasleys took Ron's silence to mean that nothing was wrong and so focused on the others who demanded their attention, and in turn, Ron felt that he was being ignored.

And this, Hermione realized, was the source of all of Ron's insecurities. In fourth year he had abandoned Harry because he felt that he was once again being overlooked, this time by his peers and teachers. It must have been the metaphorical straw that broke the camel's back.

When Hermione snapped out of her thoughts, she found herself, along with everyone sans the Weasleys, in the kitchen. The mood was subdued, far from the jovial air of earlier. They sat around the table, no one really speaking for fear of bringing up the Weasleys and their dilemma. It was Draco who eventually shattered the silence.

"I don't get it," he said in frustration. They looked at him, his expression that of what Hermione thought of as a desperate confusion. He looked as if the rug on which he stood had been pulled out from under him. "Why's he so upset?" Draco demanded. "My mother never spent any time with me, because she was always doing important things like going to banquets. Why's Ron so mad?"

In that moment, Hermione felt a great swell of pity for Draco. She did not like the man he would become— the man he might become in this new time— but Hermione strongly believed that people were shaped by their environment. Already, she could see drastic changes is people she knew from Hogwarts. Pansy Parkinson was kinder. Neville was more confident. Cormac, sadly, was sure to be a Slytherin this time around.

Tonks seemed to have a similar realization, for she swiftly stood up and moved to kneel by his seat. He watched her with a mix of confusion and suspicion. They stared at each other before Tonks suddenly wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. It was not like the suffocating hugs Mrs. Weasley freely gave. It was much less, and at the same time, it was more. Draco was stiff in her arms before he gradually relaxed and leaned into her, releasing a small sigh.

She pulled away and grabbed his hands. "Why don't you and I go for a little walk outside, hm? I think it's time we had a talk. You know, cousin to cousin." With that, she lead him outside, his hand still in hers.

Sirius shook his head. "It's a shame they never gave him to any of the Tonks' to begin with."

"Papa Sirius?" Harry asked, squirming in his seat between Hermione and Luna. "What do you mean, that he wasn't given to them?"

Sirius smiled wanly at his godson. "Well Harry, it's really complicated. When Draco's parents… well, when Draco needed to stay with someone, I was the first choice, but… nobody thought he would get along very well with you. And Draco's mother, Narcissa, she really hated Andy and Ted, so much that she stated before witnesses several times that her son was never to be placed in there care.

"Then, Dora was a bit young to be anyone's guardian, so she was out." Sirius paused his explanation to look outside at his cousins. Tonks had taken another form, one where she had long, mousy brown hair. "But she's not so young now. I think I'll have a talk with the Weasleys and members of the Wizengamot. If Dora is willing to walk around with her actual appearance, she must care."

Remus was looked out at Draco with sad eyes. "It really is a shame, you know. All these sad things…" He trailed off.

Harmony, who was sitting in his lap, was not happy with his despondent attitude. "Dada Moo," she said firmly. "No sad." Remus looked down at her stern little face and chuckled warmly. He lifted her up and tossed her gently into the air and caught her again. Harmony giggled merrily. "All better!" She chirped.

Just then, the door down the hallway opened. They waited in silence— all but Luna, who was humming a nameless tune. The Weasleys stepped through the threshold, and Incendia hovered above them. All of them, even the twins, looked liked they'd had a difficult discussion, and Hermione could tell that it was far from over. There was one ray of hope however. Molly Weasleys hands rested tenderly on Ron's shoulders.

"I'm terribly sorry for everything, but I'm afraid we'll be heading home now. We have… a great deal to discuss," Arthur said softly.

Sirius nodded. "We'll keep Draco overnight." He nodded towards the window. "He's bonding with his cousin just now. Go. We understand."

The Weasley parents smiled tiredly and guided their children towards the fireplace to floo home. Before he left, Ron smiled at them. No, everything was not all better, but Hermione had no doubt that it would be soon.

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A/N: Well, here's another chapter, late as it is. This chapter was not very cheerful, but Ron needed some development, and I thought this was better than JKR's method *Cough*Lavender*Cough*. As for the rant itself, I don't know if any of you have ever been on the receiving end of little kid's rant, but I feel this is a fair representation, based on the fits my nieces and nephews have thrown. Yes, Ron came to some wrong conclusions, but little kids do that.

I would like to say that Draco is still a long way away from being a good guy. In fact, I doubt he'll ever be a good guy, and he still hates Hermione with a passion. That has not changed. People, however, do, even if certain characteristics do not.

Okay, the animagi issue. First of all, a large majority of the vote was the trio plus Luna to be animagi. This I can do, but don't expect this to happen anytime soon.

As for Hogwarts, unless my chapter guide changes drastically, there are three chapters following this one until Hogwarts, and one of those chapter deals with getting supplies, dealing with complications that arise, etc. Is this satisfactory?

Again, a thousand apologies for the lateness, and I hope you all enjoyed reading. Thanks you all again.

Cheers,

Madm_05