A Lonely Child

How 'bout you

How 'bout you Eric church

I know where I come from:

How 'bout you? I don't need baggy clothes,

Or rings in my nose to be cool.

The scars on my knuckles,

Match these scuffs on these cowboy boots.

An' there's a whole lot more like me:

How 'bout you? An' how 'bout you?

Do you feel the way I do?

To tell the truth, I think we're the chosen few.

But that's just me: How 'bout you?

Hermione wasn't the only one who had a hard time sleeping before the night before they left for school. She was glad to see that she wasn't the only one to be running around trying to find their things that were not placed in their trunks the night before. The guard that had accompanied Harry to Grimmauld place accompanied everyone to Kings cross, everyone but Sturgis Podmore that is. Even Sirius who had not been out of the house in months went with them much to Molly's dismay. Sirius was in dog form so they didn't have much to worry about unless Wormtail had told the other death eaters. They wait for Podmore as long as they could but had to go on without him. Sirius scampered along behind them snapping playfully out the pigeons gathered on the streets.

The kids (including Cedric) said good bye to the parent on the platform. Mrs. Weasley had lingered longer on Cedric, Harry and Hermione hugging them each a second longer than normal. Fred and George left them saying something about talking business with their best friend Lee Jordan.

"Let's go get a compartment before they are all taken." Harry said walking down the corridor.

Hermione looked at Ron and then Cedric and then said "Harry we can't we've got a prefect meeting to get to. Sorry we'll catch up with you later though."

She watched as Harry walked away with Ginny. When they were out of sight she walked to the prefect compartment to wait for the meeting to start. Ron and Cedric followed her. Hermione hated being in the compartment even though Cedric and Ron was in there with her because she could hear the others whispering about Cedric and Harry. Probably believe in all the lies the Daily Prophet is telling about them and Dumbledore. She thought to herself.

After the Prefect meeting breaks up Hermione, Cedric and Ron find Harry in one of the last cars of the train. "Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson are the Slytherin Prefects." Ron spat out slipping into the open seat next to Harry.

"What about Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?" asked Ginny.

"Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott are Hufflepuff's prefects and Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil for Ravenclaw's prefects."

They all talk for hours and hours. At one point Ron told a bad joke at which Luna laughs a little too loudly at. Hermione noticed Harry looking at the magazine that Luna is holding.

"Can I take a look?" Harry asked Luna pointing to her magazine.

"That's just rubbish Harry I wouldn't even bother reading it." Hermione told him.

Luna gave Hermione a glare (that went unnoticed) and replied "My father's the editor."

"Hey its true Potty Wotty came back to Hogwarts?" Draco said with his ever-present bodyguards flanking him on either side.

"What's it to you?" asked Cedric.

"Get out Draco." Hermione said.

"I'll see you some other time when your friends aren't around to protect you." He said moving back out of the compartment. "Oh you should tell your little doggy friend to be more careful wouldn't want him to slip on to the tracks you know. Nasty business really." He added before walking away.

"Git!" Cedric and Ron both muttered not even bothering to cover it up with a cough.

Hermione and Harry both exchanged looks of concern for Sirius. Hermione because he might be her dad and Harry because he was the closest thing to family he had left if you didn't count the Weasley's. Everyone else in the compartment went oblivious to their exchange.

"We should change into our uniforms. I assume were close to Hogwarts." Hermione said retrieving her uniform from her trunk and leaving for the bathroom.

Hermione was pleased to see that everyone was in their uniform when she came back. They got off the train and were greeted by a voice that did not belong to their friend Hagrid. The voice was familiar but it wasn't Hagrid's which concerned everyone in their group. As they got closer they saw the face of the woman that filled in for Hagrid for a few weeks last year, Professor Grubbly-Plank. They hardly have time to ponder this before Ginny and Harry have to carry their belongings to the carriages.

Hermione is shocked to see that the carriages carrying them to Hogwarts were no longer horseless; they are drawn by black, skeletal horse-like creatures with leathery skin and wings. Nobody else but Luna and Harry saw them. Harry seeing them made her feel a little better but Luna seeing them kind of creepd her out a bit. Luna was a bit out there so Luna seeing the skeletal horse like creatures just made Hermione even more confused.

Hermione kept her thoughts to herself no one needed to know that she saw something that was normally invisible. She put her things into the carriage with the help of Cedric and climbed into the carriage and sat by Cedric who saved her from having to sit beside Luna whose last name she learned to be Lovegood. Hermione kept to herself on the ride up to Hogwarts. She wanted to find out just who her dad was exactly; especially if it was Sirius; because if it was she thought that maybe she could talk him out of being so reckless by giving him another reason to live.

"You okay Hermione?" asked Cedric.

"Yeah I was just thinking." Hermione replied.

"Oh looks like we're here." He told her hopping out of the carriage going to help with all the trunks.

Hermione waited till everyone else was out before getting her own trunk from the carriage. Ginny stayed back with her. "You didn't have to wait Ginny. I'm fine on my own." Hermione told Ginny as they started walking.

"I know. I was just wondering how your search was going." Ginny replied.

"Fine right now, I'm going to look at the potion part of that book tonight." Hermione said.

"That's good. Let me know when you start the potion so I can help."

"Don't worry Ginny I totally will."