It was a strange comment and Luna smiled dreamily at their bemused expressions. She was covering up her self-consciousness at the manifestation of her gift behind a mask of oddity, Harry realised.
"So Hermione will be successful if she remains well-rooted in both worlds?" Harry said interpreting her words.
Luna beamed at him.
Hermione arched an eyebrow at Harry but she turned back to Luna with a warm smile. "That's a lovely insightful thought, Luna. Thank you." She motioned at Luna. "I have to admit I've had some doubts about Divination but…how long have you had your gift?"
"For as long as I can remember." Luna admitted. "Grandmére was a full Seer. Compared to her, I only see glimpses." Her silver eyes blinked back her surprise at having her words recognised as Seer insight instead of craziness. "I don't have a lot of control over it. Most people find it disturbing."
And therefore most people found Luna disturbing, Harry mused sadly. He was glad that he'd welcomed the younger girl into the compartment and resolved again to be her friend.
"I think that's because most people hate hearing the truth." Hermione said firmly. "So, if you come from a line of Seers maybe you can answer my questions about Divination?"
Harry and Neville exchanged a knowing look as Hermione and Luna settled into a lively discussion about the subject Hermione had walked out on the year before. The boys chipped in when they could but mostly watched on.
"GET A MOVE ON, RONALD!"
The yell from outside arrested all talk within the compartment.
"Was that…" asked Neville nervously.
"Molly?" Harry nodded. He checked the time. It was almost eleven. The Weasleys were cutting it very fine.
A few moments later, Ron staggered into the compartment, the door sliding shut behind him. Neville and Harry assisted him with his trunk.
"You owe me one, mate!" Ron said as he collapsed onto the bench beside Hermione.
Harry retook his seat with a grin. "I do?"
"You should have heard her when Dobby popped in with Sirius's message! 'How could he leave him there on his own!'" Ron mimicked his Mum's voice. "'What was he thinking?!'" He snorted. "Like Sirius doesn't take every precaution known to a wizard where your safety is concerned! She's going to send him a Howler – I'd bet you anything she does! I delayed her as long as I could so she couldn't come aboard and give you an earful!"
"Thanks, Ron." Harry smiled at him as the whistle blew outside.
Ron frowned as he looked around the compartment, doing a double take at Luna before giving her a polite nod. "Where's Ginny?"
Harry, Hermione and Neville looked at each other questioningly and back to Ron.
"She had a sleepover with Lydia last night." Ron explained. "I guess she hasn't found the compartment?"
"Well, not everyone understands the Eebeebees are guards and would understand why they're here." Luna pointed out.
Ron gaped at her in bewilderment.
"The charms Remus put on the compartment were supposed to turn away those Harry considers a threat or who are a threat but let any of Harry's friends through," commented Hermione logically, "but maybe if Ginny doesn't know Harry's on board, she hasn't looked?"
"True," Ron said, "she wouldn't have known. We thought Sirius was going to floo with him until Dobby turned up."
"Or maybe Harry considers her a threat." Neville teased, smiling at Harry.
"Well, Ginny and Lydia together are a threat!" Ron said with a grin. "They're a threat to Harry's virtue!"
Harry reached around Hermione and whacked Ron on the head as they all laughed. "Oy!"
The train lurched forward. They were on the way back to Hogwarts.
o-O-o
"Stop sulking, Sirius." Remus threw a sandwich wrapper at him across the train compartment. He'd lost the female form he'd had when they'd hidden themselves away, lost the bra (Sirius never wanted to see Remus go topless ever again) and he'd transfigured his clothing back to plain wizarding robes.
Sirius glared at his friend. "I don't know why we couldn't have stayed in the same compartment with Harry." He had also ditched the disguise and was much happier back in his jeans and leather jacket ensemble.
"Because Harry's experience of travelling on the train with his friends – the experience he wanted – wouldn't be the same if we were in the compartment with him!" Remus stated with more than a little exasperation, which Sirius understood since it wasn't the first time they'd had the discussion since deciding on the plan to get Harry to Hogwarts.
"You were in his compartment last year!" Sirius whined anyway.
Remus rolled his eyes. "More like he was in mine. Look, Sirius, Harry needs to get used to being away from us – you! You need to let him go. The moment of goodbye at King's Cross is traditional. Harry's subconscious and your subconscious will acknowledge it as such and recognise it as a traditional parting of ways for parents and children. If he knew we were aboard or if we'd travelled together, it would have been delayed until Hogsmeade making things more difficult for you both."
He was right but Sirius wasn't going to give Remus the pleasure of admitting that. He took another bite of his own sandwich and wondered if Harry was enjoying the picnic basket Dobby had made up for him and his friends.
He'd been pleased to see Hermione arrive early and followed fairly swiftly by Neville. Luna's entry into Harry's compartment had been a surprise since Sirius hadn't sent her a message but that she'd found Harry had to mean Harry accepted her as a friend. Ron's late arrival wasn't unexpected – the Weasleys as a family ran on their own time. Sirius had hunkered down hearing Molly's strident tones on the platform. He suspected that he had a Howler in his future despite the fact that Remus's plan was quite ingenious.
.
.
.
🎉The novel is available in PDF with more than 400 chapters, visit us in our Ko-Fi store🎉
🎉ko-fi.com/gokublack444🎉