Unfortunately, the Weasleys were also present at that Ball. Luckily, Ron didn't come. He didn't know how to dance and didn't care about learning it. Besides, not much food was served at such Balls. It was all some small servings of "finger food" — nothing to conform with his insatiable appetite.
Harry couldn't escape a too-tight hug from Molly, which made him extremely aware of her huge sagging tits. Well, she had used them to feed seven babies. Still, if Ginny was anything like her mother, he didn't think she'd look very nice with such huge boobs. Well, some boys may like her that way.
Ginny, of course, insisted on dancing with Harry. He didn't enjoy the dance and let her babble about Quidditch, only nodding occasionally. She wasn't a very good dancer, but not too bad either. He was glad when the song ended and he could excuse himself. "I promised to dance with some more girls."
Indeed, when Daphne stepped into his arms, it was a relief.
"I saw that the Weaslette caught you for a dance," she commented.
"Yes. And I managed to stay polite for the whole dance," he agreed.
"Was she so bad?" she asked with amusement.
"A rabid fangirl, that's how you described her, and it fits. It was no fun, although she tried to press into my body as tightly as she could."
"Didn't you enjoy that, at least?"
He chuckled. "I could have enjoyed that a few months ago. Now, it's just a pale reminder of what I regularly enjoy at home."
"And how is dancing with me?" she asked in a teasing tone.
"I'm not sure… I mean — I like it. Not as much as I like dancing with my wife, of course, but you're a very beautiful girl and interesting to talk with. Even your figure is closer to Hermione's than that of most other girls. It makes me feel more comfortable."
She chuckled. "You looked quite comfortable with Susan, and she's nothing like either Hermione or me."
"Well, I was. So what?"
Her chuckle continued. "Nothing really, but it may be an indication for a possible future. Or not. Only time will tell."
Harry kept thinking about her comments long after they finished dancing.
–..–
The Potters, like most youngsters, didn't stay late at the party. They needed to get ready and be at the Hogwarts Express on time, and a good night's sleep was a must, as well as some fun preceding it, of course.
–..–
Neither Harry nor Hermione were looking forward to the attention they would surely get on the Hogwarts Express and then at school. That didn't change their schedule, though.
Although not a prefect, Hermione made sure that they arrived at the train station about an hour ahead of time. They then boarded the train and chose to sit in a compartment in the middle, knowing that many would seek them either to congratulate or just to gossip and it would be more friendly not to make them reach one end of the train or another.
Luna arrived shortly later and they invited her to join them. She did so with a thankful smile. They were then joined by Neville too. Susan and Hannah only peeked in, exchanged a few greetings and moved to sit with some of their housemates.
The Weasley clan arrived almost too late, as usual.
"As a Prefect, you should set an example for the younger students and be on your best behaviour at all times," Molly admonished Ron. "How can you do it when you keep us from even coming on time, not to mention almost too late? You should have been here early enough to help all the first-year students with their first time coming here, you know."
As far as they could see through the window, Ron didn't even listen. Judging by the glances that the twins were exchanging, Ron would soon become the target of quite a few pranks, Harry was sure. It only made Hermione frown.
–..–
Ron arrived at their compartment after the train was already way out of the station. "You didn't visit me during the summer," he said in place of greeting.
Harry shrugged. "I wasn't even in Britain for most of the summer." He stated it as a fact, not an apology.
"And you?" he asked, looking at Hermione.
She didn't even bother to form a full sentence. "The same."
Ron didn't seem satisfied, but he first wanted to get rid of his trunk. When trying to lift it to the rack, he finally noticed some others. "Loony? What are you doing here?" he asked in a degrading tone.
Harry could see that the girl tried to not show how his words hurt her. He didn't wait for her to speak, though. "Ron, Luna is our friend and we expect you to treat her as such and stop using that word when referring to her."
"You can't speak for her," Ron said, pointing at Hermione.
"We're a couple, or have you forgotten?" Harry retorted.
"You haven't told me!" Ron said, sounding offended.
"Didn't I? I remember telling you in a letter about meeting Hermione on the beach and then completing a bond. You grew up in a magical family. You should have known what that meant."
Ron frowned. "I didn't think…"
Harry thought that these words were very appropriate for how Ron normally behaved. Hermione was the one to respond, though. "Ron, we are bound, which means that we're married. I'm Lady Potter now. We've been announced as such at each of the end-of-summer balls we went to, including the one where your parents and Ginny were present. Didn't they tell you?"
"But… Dumbledore said you will be mine…" he blurted.
He couldn't understand why both his friends looked furious. Harry then spoke slowly and clearly, trying to make it as clear as possible. "Dumbledore has no say in my life any longer. He's been meddling with it way too much and it ended this summer. Hermione is my wife, magically and legally. You'd better look for somebody else."
Ron didn't seem convinced. He just checked that his trunk was secure and then sat below it, looking very grumpy.
"Don't you need to go to the Prefect meeting?" Hermione reminded him. "I read that it starts as soon as the train leaves the station, so you're already late."
"Then, why are you still here?" he asked.
"I'm not a prefect. I gave up the position. I have had enough with becoming a wife and a member of the Wizengamot. I shouldn't try to do more than I'm comfortable with."
"You're not a prefect? Then… Who will help me with that?"
Hermione smiled mischievously. "Whoever is the other fifth-year prefect. Or maybe she'll need your help, you know."
Ron seemed to become even grumpier. He mumbled something unintelligible under his breath and rushed out. Harry thought it was, "I'm doomed!"
–..–
They had quite a few visitors. Harry was surprised that the first to visit were the two Slytherin girls: Daphne and Tracey. Wearing the school robes, they looked much less attractive than at the Balls, but both were still more than pretty.
"I thought you'd become a prefect this year," Hermione said.
"Snape preferred Pansy, probably due to Draco. He seems to do everything that Lucius Malfoy wants. I don't mind, though. I was even thinking of how I could refuse the position without offending anybody. How come you're not a prefect? Both of you, actually."
"I had to refuse the position. With my new duties, it's way too much responsibility. Dumbledore didn't think Harry should be a prefect either. Probably another attempt at manipulating us."
Daphne frowned. "Who got the position, then?"
Hermione chuckled. "Ron. He was frightened when he found out I wouldn't help him with that. I don't know who the girl prefect is."
"I think I heard Lavender bragging about it," Tracey said. "I just didn't believe it was true."
Hermione gave it a bit of thought. "She may pose like an airhead, but Lavender is much smarter than she lets others notice. She may even become good at that. Besides, it will give her some more sources for gossip."
They all laughed at that.
–..–
A few minutes later, after the Slytherin girls left, two other girls came.
"Auntie finally found who our new DADA teacher will be. It's that pink toad, Madam Umbridge. She gives me the creeps just by looking at me. I think she's almost as evil as the Dark Lord," Susan told them.
Harry turned pensive. "That may force us to act much sooner than I thought. Still, it may turn for the best. For the moment, we may support Dumbledore against the Minister, but I think we shall have to replace him soon enough. I'm not even sure he really cares for the students. He seems to have some other agenda, and the school only gives him a comfortable base and many innocents to recruit."
Hannah looked appalled. "The way you talk about him, it's like he's a Dark Lord. Do you think he is?"
Harry sighed. "Not quite, but almost. He has some ideas that may be good, but his methods are not good at all. Would a good person let one of his lackeys rot in jail for twelve years when innocent? He could have insisted on a trial for Sirius Black even that day he was arrested, but it fitted his plans to keep Sirius away from me, so — Sirius went to jail without a trial. Would a good man disregard the will of two of his followers and deposit their orphaned child with the person specifically forbidden in the will? He did that with my parents and me. And he'd done much more, and worse. He should have retired many years ago, or forced to retire, based on his mental state, but nobody questioned him, I'm sure."
Both girls looked appalled at the new information. Susan, though, seemed determined to act. "Alright, we shall talk tomorrow, after we have all the facts, and decide on what to do. We should keep our cooperation secret until we decide to act."
She looked around at the others, who all nodded in agreement. Although neither Harry nor Hermione elaborated on their new positions, both Luna and Neville could see that these three had all the lordships to control Hogwarts.
Harry also noticed that both Luna and Hannah were sitting very close to Neville, almost leaning on him. Neville didn't seem to feel comfortable in that situation, but still liked it, or he would have asked one or the other to move a bit. He then noticed that Susan was sitting similarly at his side. He glanced at Hermione. She was smirking slightly. He could sense that she was bemused. He just thought this was too much for the moment and changed the subject.
"I hope we can resume Quidditch this year. I really missed it last year."
"I could live without it, or without you in it," Hermione noted, not quite happy about the subject.
"There won't be much Quidditch until you remove the toad," Luna commented dreamily.
They all turned to her. "Do you know anything about it?"
She shrugged. "Just a feeling. I sometimes get them. Not very often."
"Are you a seer?" Hannah asked.
Luna frowned. "No, I don't think I am. Still, if I get any feeling concerning any of you, I'll make sure to tell you."
Harry smiled reassuringly at her. "Thank you, Luna. That may prove helpful."
Luna just smiled thankfully, suddenly looking much prettier. Neville seemed to notice that, judging by his surprised expression.
Ron returned soon after the Hufflepuffs left. "It's insane, I tell you. We are expected to do all our homework and still patrol a few hours each week and also help younger students with whatever they may need, and keep discipline in the common room and in the corridors. When can we even relax? I'm not sure I can keep this position."
He looked even gloomier than before.
Lavender and Parvati came a few minutes later.
"Can we see your ring? Padma said it's magnificent!" Parvati asked.
Hermione smiled and made her ring visible, gaining some Ohs and ahs from the girls.
"Tell us how you got bonded," Lavender asked, sounding very giddy.
"There's not much to tell. We met on the beach. We then stayed in the same place. We bonded and got the confirmation letters." Hermione made it sound very innocent.
"You shagged him, didn't you? You couldn't get a bond otherwise," Lavender stated.
"Well, yes," Hermione said calmly.
"And… How was it? Was he good to you? Did it hurt? Did you reach your peak? How big is he?" Both girls bombarded her with questions.
Hermione waited for them to stop. "It was very good for both of us. That's all I'm going to say about it."
This didn't deter the other two. They asked some more, gaining no reply. They then asked about the vacation. Hermione was slightly more open about it. "We met at a warm beach where nudity is the norm, so we could both see each other nude even before we did anything. We were then invited to join another magical family there, who also lived nude while there. It was really very nice."
"You stayed naked?" Ron finally noticed what they were talking about.
"Sure. Everybody there was naked. It would have felt weird if I was the only one dressed there, you know."
"And everybody could see you naked?" Ron wanted to clarify
"Yes, and I could see everybody else naked too. Some boys were quite… well equipped," she deadpanned.
All the girls giggled. Ron turned redder than his hair. He then mumbled something and rushed out of the compartment. It only made the girls laugh harder.