The Protagonist Syst 90 Train Troubles

90 Train Troubles

Luna and I weren't interrupted for almost half an hour, which was kind of a record for a snogging session. I whispered that to Luna as Hermione entered the compartnt and dragged her clearly heavy trunk behind her. Luna blushed and looked proud, so she understood what I ant about her being the first girl I've done that with.

“I assu you lost or broke the multiple compartnt trunk I gave you.” I comnted as I put on my Harry Potter disguise with the fake glasses and changed my hair back to black and morphed my forehead to show the trademarked lightning bolt scar.

Hermione shook her head. “My mother saw the different compartnts inside and claid it for the family to travel with.” She said and dropped the end of her normal trunk with a loud thump. “I hadn't realized how much I had stored inside and it took us several days to empty it and restock it for our trip to Greece.”

I gave her a pointed look. “...and you didn't owl

to bring you another one because...”

Hermione opened her mouth to respond, paused with her hand half-raised, and sighed. “I'm an idiot.”

Luna laughed pretty loudly and I joined her, mostly because her laugh was infectious.

“Oh, shut it.” Hermione griped and waved at her trunk.

I waved my hand at it as well and floated it up onto the luggage rack. Luna didn't react to that at all.

Hermione sat beside

and looked at the tiny blonde under my arm. “It's nice to finally et you, Luna.”

That Luna did react to with surprise and her eyes went to my face.

“I've already warned her I was waiting for a couple of first years.” I said.

Luna's eyes made one long slow blink. “Ginny won't be here until the train is about to leave.”

Hermione huffed and held a hand out to . “I think that's a Weasley curse.”

I took a new book out of my expanded pocket and handed it to her.

“Perpetual lateness if it's important?” Luna asked.

“You got it.” I said as Hermione moved to the other wall and kicked off her shoes before she put her feet up on my lap. “I stopped counting how many classes Ron was late for after the first month.”

“He's never late for als, though. Not even breakfast.” Hermione said with her face as close to the pages of the book as possible without actually touching it.

“I swear he either has a ridiculous tabolism or he's been cursed with a bottomless stomach.” I said with a laugh.

Luna tilted her head as she looked at . “Sothing like that is possible after all of the things Fred and George have made him eat all these years. I suppose an unintended interaction between ingredients might have given Ron a gibbersnack in his gut.”

I caught my breath as I looked into her eyes. “Luna, do you think that happened?”

“It's highly possible.” Luna said and bead a smile at

for not calling her crazy or making fun of her.

“Harry? What are you two talking about?” Hermione asked and lifted her head from her book.

I thought about the best way to describe it. “In muggle terms, it would be called a magical tapeworm.”

Hermione gasped and stared at .

“If it's true, Ron's eating so much because he's not getting enough nutrients from the food.” I said and thought about what he looked like. “It would also explain why he's so lanky and doesn't have a drop of fat anywhere on his body.”

Luna nodded in agreent.

Hermione bit her bottom lip. “Harry, we have to get him to Madam Pomfrey. If he's been suffering from it for years, there's no telling how big the thing is inside of him or how long he'll live if it's not taken care of.”

I patted her shin and smiled. “Don't worry, Hermione. I'll check him as soon as he's close enough and then we'll know for sure if he's a walking black hole by choice or because of a gibbersnack.”

Hermione nodded and went back to her book.

After a few quiet seconds, Luna kissed my cheek and leaned her head back against my shoulder to whisper in my ear. “Thank you, Harry.”

I nodded slightly instead of trying to whisper back. I turned my head just enough to look into her eyes and then glanced at her lips. Luna smiled slightly and then puckered them as she closed her eyes. She didn't mind trying to break our recently set record of the longest snog.

We were close to that when it was ti for the train to leave and the Weasley family showed up. Luna pouted and looked really cute, so I had to promise we could make another attempt later when we were at school.

As most of the Weasleys slowly passed by our compartnt looking for their friends, I cast a quick diagnostic spell on Ron and looked specifically at his stomach and intestines. I actually did detect sothing there and nodded at Luna. She nodded back and I quickly went to the door and opened it.

“EEP!” Ginny squeaked and dropped her trunk.

“Go on in. Luna's already here.” I said to her and she nodded several tis and darted past

and slamd the compartnt door shut.

All of her brothers chuckled at her reaction, even Percy.

“She finally ets her childhood hero and instead of telling him how much she loves him...” Fred started to say.

“...she acts like a scared little mouse and squeaked and hid.” George finished.

“It's all right. I expected it.” I said with my own chuckle. “Luna's here to act as a buffer for her, so she'll relax around

eventually.”

The twins nodded and started to walk off with Percy.

I reached out and grabbed Ron's arm. “Hey, you.”

Ron gave

a blank look. “It's been a year, Harry. My na is Ron. R.O.N.”

“Sorry, it doesn't ring a bell.” I said and paralyzed him. “I just need to check on sothing for a second.” I told him and cast specific healing on him.

Ron glowed softly for several seconds and he seed to fill out in front of my eyes. His own eyes went wide, probably because the gnawing hunger in his belly was suddenly gone and he was healthy.

“A brief mory edit should fix your overeating habit before it makes you into a beached whale.” I said and took out my wand. “Obliviate.”

Ron's face went blank again.

“You finally realized you've been compensating with food instead of making friends. Work on your table manners and people will start liking you.” I said and made sure to remove his compulsion to eat and removed this conversation.

Ron blinked his eyes at

when I was done. “What were we talking about again?”

“I asked about your sumr and you said it was okay.” I said with a smile and he nodded. “It's nice seeing you again, whoever you are.”

Ron gave

a blank look. “It's been a year, Harry. My na is Ron. R.O.N.”

“Sorry, it doesn't ring a bell.” I said and patted his shoulder. “See you around.”

Ron sighed and walked away with his trunk dragging behind him, even though it was featherlight.

I slowly opened the compartnt door and peeked in. I saw Ginny and Luna huddled in the corner and fiercely whispering, so I sat down across from Hermione. She briefly looked up at

and I nodded and made a wiggly snake motion with one finger and a pair of scissors with the other, then snipped at my fingertip.

Hermione nodded in understanding and went back to her book with a relieved look on her face.

I sat there and waited patiently for Luna and Ginny to finish whatever they were discussing. I thought about taking out a book or sothing to read, then ntally shrugged. I didn't want them to think they would be interrupting

if they wanted to talk, so I relaxed and looked out the window.

After about twenty minutes, a blushing redhead stood up and took a step towards . Ginny's mouth opened and closed a few tis, probably trying to ask

if we could talk. Instead of saying anything like asking her what she wanted, I patted the spot right beside

and then held my arm up as if I would hug her when she sat.

Ginny's blush completely covered her face and she turned around and tried to sit, not realizing she was about a foot away from the bench seat. I reached for her when she started to lose her balance and scooped her up into my arms and sat down with her on my lap.

“Are you okay? You almost fell.” I whispered and held her tenderly.

Ginny looked completely stunned and stared at . She also wasn't breathing. I had to use a specific healing spell to stop her from making herself pass out from lack of oxygen. She relaxed enough to sigh and started breathing again, to my relief.

“How was your sumr?” I asked.

“I LOVED YOUR NEW BOOK!” Ginny yelled, looked really embarrassed, and fainted.

Hermione snorted and muffled her laugh with her book and Luna seed to be caught between amusent and embarrassnt.

“On my lap was too much, I guess.” I said with a sigh.

“No, she wants this more than anything.” Luna said and walked over to us to reach into Ginny's top and pulled out the necklace I had given her at new years. “She's strong and brave like a Griffindor and had planned how to et you in person for years. Her problem is she can't get over the fact that you're being nice to her and not keeping her at arms length like you do with your other obsessive fans.”

I nodded and Luna slipped the necklace back into Ginny's top. “I knew I had to take things slow.”

“Glacial.” Hermione comnted without looking up from her book. “Or you risk blowing her mind.”

I glanced at Ginny's unconscious face and had to agree. “Right. No snogging sessions for a while.”

“That would be for the best.” Luna agreed and sat beside us and patted her lap. “Do you want

to take her for a while?”

I gave Luna a searching look. “Do you think she's going to do sothing when she wakes up?”

Luna gave

a dreamy smile. “Why ever would you think that, Harry?”

I had to chuckle at her evading the question. “It's just a feeling.” I said and carefully handed the unconscious Ginny over to her and Luna cradled her in the exact sa way I had.

After about five minutes, Ginny ca back to consciousness with a gasp. “I LOVE YOU!” She yelled, wrapped her arms around Luna's neck, and slamd their lips together. They stayed like that for a good thirty seconds before Ginny broke the kiss and realized it wasn't my lap she was on. “LUNA!”

Luna giggled and kept that dreamy smile on her face. “Just like old tis.”

Hermione barked a laugh, probably because Luna was 14 and her old tis wasn't that long ago. “You were lucky to have soone to practice with, Luna. I played the 'kissing the prince' ga with my pillow.”

“You don't have to play pretend anymore.” I comnted and didn't specify who I was talking to. All three girls looked happy about that.

The compartnt door opened and Angelina Johnson walked in, saw

sitting there, and dragged

to my feet to give

a good snogging. She stepped back when she was done and smiled smugly at my surprised look, gave my cheek a light caress, and turned to leave.

“Thank you.” I said and she waved at

over her shoulder as she left.

Lavender, Parvati, and Padma ca in and saw

standing there. Lavender gave

a quick kiss, then Parvai did, then Padma looked embarrassed and kissed , too. Even after months of sneaking off to have fun, and we had a lot of fun, Padma was still nervous about having a relationship with . When they sat down, there was no space left for

to sit.

Not surprisingly, the three girls quickly started a conversation about what they did during the sumr and successfully drew in Hermione, Luna, and Ginny. I opened my mouth to say sothing and paused as I rembered what Hermione had told

before. She was happy that I didn't try to interfere in their lives or demanded that they sit around and make ti for .

With that thought in my head, I stepped out of the compartnt and silenced the door as I closed it. I took a deep breath and let it out, then picked left as the direction to go and started walking. A few compartnts had their doors opened and a few people said hello, so I said it back and stopped to talk for a few minutes.

I moved on and this continued until I ca to what was considered the Hufflepuff section, since most of them hung out together, no matter their year. It was eerily quiet as I moved through the train car where most of them had gathered. None of them had ever apologized for their behavior or even pretended to try.

“Harry.” A soft voice said and I stopped walking and turned around to look into the compartnt I just passed. Inside was Hannah, Susan, Ernie, Justin, and Neville.

“Hey, Neville. How are the new cuttings from Floppy's greenhouses working out for you?” I asked.

Neville's face flushed red. “Th-they're doing great.” He said and looked up at my face. “I still can't figure out where you're getting magical plants and fruit seeds that no one's ever heard of.”

I had to smile at that. “You must have brought so to Professor Sprout.”

Neville nodded. “She almost tore my hands off when I gave her that weird apple peach thing and told her it ca from a twisted vine instead of a tree.”

I held in my laugh at that image. “Did you tell her how to properly prepare and cultivate the seeds?”

“She had

take over the project and watched

like a hawk.” Neville grumped.

I couldn't hold my laugh anymore and let it out. “Hahahaha! You poor bloke! Having to do all of that work twice!”

Neville groaned and sighed, then he smiled. “She marked

with a passing grade without having to take the end of year exam.”

“Good for you.” I said and leaned against the doorfra as I crossed my arms. “How's your mother, Alice? Is she still as cute as a button as she keeps your dad in line?”

Neville blushed and had to look away. “Unfortunately.”

“Heh. She always was a little spitfire. Five foot nothing and she has Frank wrapped around her little finger.” I said with a smile. I had kept an eye on the Longbottoms over the years and nothing else had happened since that night.

Almost as if he knew what I was thinking, Neville turned his head back to look at . “I never told anyone I saw what you did that night.”

That made

smile. “Were you worried no one would believe you or were you proud that you shared a secret with the savior of the wizarding world?”

Neville straightened his back and no longer slouched. “I was proud I knew sothing that no one else did.”

“Until now.” I said and Neville stilled. “I sincerely doubt Hannah won't hound you endlessly to hear about the secret.”

Neville closed his eyes and sighed.

“It's all right, Neville. Just swear her to secrecy as your wife and everything will be fine.” I said and basked in their reactions.

Hannah squealed like a stuck pig, Susan's face paled, Ernie looked shocked, and Justin looked devastated. Neville's was the best, though. He looked catatonic and stared at

without blinking.

While they were like that, I quickly cast a spell on them to never speak of the secret, because I didn't want anyone in authority knowing what I did.

“See you later, Neville.” I said and turned to walk away.

“Harry, wait!” Susan nearly shouted, so I turned back and gave her an expectant look. She looked embarrassed and reluctant to speak, which was funny, because she had gained my attention specifically to speak.

“Are you still becoming an Auror?” I asked and she nodded. “Then whatever you might have expected to happen between us is never going to happen. You know my ex chucked

aside for her career last year and there's no way you're not going to do the sa.”

Susan looked devastated and sighed with resignation.

I stood there and waited for her to apologize, about anything, and she stayed quiet. “Yeah, I knew it was true. Thanks for the confirmation.” I said and stepped out of the compartnt. “Also, thanks for the apology on Hufflepuff's behalf.”

“What?” Susan asked, confused. “I never said...”

“I was being sarcastic.” I said to cut her off and started to walk away. “Buh-bye.”

“Harry, wait!” Susan nearly shouted again.

I ignored her, mostly because all of the Hufflepuffs around had been eagerly listening to our conversation. I cast the sa spell on them to keep quiet about Neville's secret and walked on down the train. I reached Angelina's compartnt and Alicia and Katie were there.

“Is this the compartnt that Heaven was assigned? Because all I can see in here are angels.” I said with a huge grin on my face.

The three girls laughed and pulled

in as the door slamd shut and locked behind .