Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Harry Potter and the Lost Souls ❯ The Vision ( Chapter 2 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Author's Notes: Thank you to everyone who (didn't) review! Lol. I'm not used to not getting a single review for a story I post, but maybe Harry Potter Fanfiction isn't popular? I don't know.

But I just wanted to let anyone reading this know that when you review, you honestly give inspiration to the author to write more and post sooner. The more enthusiastic response an author gets really gives them the "oomph" they need when they have writer's block or just aren't getting the response they think they should be getting.

So please, ALWAYS REVIEW EVERY CHAPTER YOU READ OF EVERY STORY!

Chapter Two: The Vision

Harry spent much of his time with Lupin on the last three days before school. They both went out to London to different stores, buying Harry much needed clothes. They both laughed about burning Dudley's clothes once they returned home.

They went to several Muggle places to eat, and Harry experienced much amusement as Lupin tasted the Muggle versions of food he was used to eating. He was much like Mr. Weasley, but slightly more subtle.

They attempted to get quills, ink, and paper in London, but they only had pens, pencils, and notebooks for paper. Harry wasn't worried about it, Hermione always had lots of extra supplies and Ron probably wouldn't mind sharing either.

The day that it was time to return to school, Lupin escorted Harry to Platform 9 3/4, where the train would be leaving. There was tons of security, lots of aurors and even some of the professors were there, aiding the students onto the train quickly. Harry discerned immediately that the train was going to be leaving more swiftly than usual, and he didn't even have time to look for his friends. Lupin helped him with his things until they got to one of the numerous entrances to the train. Harry felt odd saying goodbye to the man, and if anything, he didn't want to go. He had assisted him with much since Sirius had died, almost as if he was trying to take his place, but Harry didn't fault him for wanting to help. He was a good man.

Harry smiled awkwardly as he set down his trunk and Hedwig's cage, making the bird squawk indignantly. Lupin was scratching the back of his graying head, trying to look like he didn't care, but out of nowhere he grabbed Harry and embraced him fiercely, almost to the point of pain.

“Harry, I want you to listen to me. If anything happens, I want you to disappear. Come to Grimmauld if you can, that is where I am going to be staying for now on, just in case you need me. I will be here for you if you need me, I promise.”

Harry felt his throat close as he nodded against the fraying fabric of Lupin's coat. “I promise,” he whispered, embracing the man back just as the whistle on the train began to blow.

It was harder than he thought to leave his father's best friend. He felt like...like he had another father figure in his life again. Terror clasped his heart at the thought of losing him...just like he had lost Sirius.

The train whistle blew again and he nodded to the aging man, trying to swallow the lump in his throat as he turned away and boarded the train.

Carrying Hedwig and his trunk into the nearest empty room, he closed the door and sat down, sighing.

Yet another year, he thought. The last year....

There seemed to be quite a few students on the train, which surprised Harry. He had been thinking that a lot of parents would be keeping their kids home due to Voldemort, but they seemed to be thinking the same thing as him: Hogwarts was safer than home.

“Hey, mate!”

Harry smiled at the sight of Ron bursting in through the door. His red hair was shorter than his usual style, but Harry noticed that it made him look more mature. He had grown another inch or two, and his shoulders had broadened in the few months that they had been apart. He wasn't as much of a skinny red-haired pole as he used to be, in fact, it looked like he had gained a lot of muscle in the short amount of time they had been apart.

“Hey, Ron. You look great,” Harry acknowledged, watching as his friend plopped down on the seat in opposite him. Ron waved his compliment off as he started going on about how a lot of the students had returned and that he was disappointed he had been made Prefect again instead of Head Boy like he had wanted. He complained about Hermione and how she had been made Head Girl, but then he started talking about how he had barely heard from her over the summer and that he hadn't seen her yet.

Harry shrugged at most of his best mate's ramblings. “I haven't seen her either, but I imagine she's here probably doing her Head Girl duties. She wrote to me a couple times over the summer, but not as much as she usually does. I wonder why,” he said absentmindedly, thinking of his only female best friend. She had said she would do as much research as she could over the summer about Voldemort and the Horcruxes, but he hadn't really heard anything about it. He wondered if she had forgotten....

“Maybe she's in the Head cabin. Professor McGonagall made more Heads this year than usual. Six Prefects and two Heads in each House I think,” Ron mentioned, then frowned. “Someone mentioned to me though that McGonagall also appointed two Heads to be over everyone, that way not all the Heads and Prefects were coming to her for help.”

Harry half laughed, half snorted. “So there are two Head Heads?” Ron laughed, shaking his head.

“Yeah, I guess you would call it that. Ha, I bet Hermione is a Head Head.”

Ron and Harry laughed about it for several minutes, wondering who the two Head Heads were, until someone knocked on the door. Expecting Hermione, both were disappointed and surprised to see Professor McGonagall in the doorway.

The Headmistress eyed both of them for several moments, as if expecting them to be doing something bad, but then nodded politely as if she was acknowledging they weren't. “Mr. Weasley, would you please excuse me and Potter for a moment?”

Ron frowned briefly, but nodded and left the cabin, closing the door behind him. Harry sat up straighter when the Headmistress sat opposite him, folding her hands primly in her lap after placing several silencing and protection spells on the compartment.

“How are you doing, Harry?” she asked concernedly. Harry sensed she was dissecting his features, and felt odd sitting there with her alone. Was there something on his face? He sneered at his inner self, wondering where that thought had come from.

He shrugged, but when she gave him a glare, he decided to answer verbally. “I'm fine, Professor. Just wanting to get to Hogwarts safe.”

The older woman nodded, understanding. “We have many safety measures in place right now, Potter. If we are attacked, which I doubt we will be, we will be protected.” She looked at him closely again, and Harry had the distinct feeling that something peculiar was going on.

He raised his eyebrow. “Is there...something you want to ask me, Professor?”
She felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth. “How observant you are, Mr. Potter. Actually yes, there is something I wish to ask of you, but you are free to turn me down.”

Harry looked at her strangely, wondering what in the world she could want to ask him that was important enough not to wait until they arrived at the castle. As he studied her features, he could tell that the stresses of the past year were getting to her. Her face seemed strained, and she looked way older than she really was. More gray was appearing from underneath her pointed witch's hat, and her normal green robe was replaced with a stark black one, giving her an even more severe look.

“Mr. Potter, as I am sure you do not know, we had a recent death concerning one of our Hogwarts students. Pansy Parkinson and her family were killed just a few days ago.” Harry gasped, surprised. Although he did not like Pansy, especially with her being part of the Slytherin House, he didn't think she deserved to die. “She was a Slytherin Prefect, and she was awarded Chief Head Girl this year. Unfortunately, since she has passed, I have been forced to make some changes to the system. Your friend, Hermione Granger, was awarded her position, and now I am left without a Head. I was wondering if you would be interested in the position.”

Harry stared at her, stunned. He admitted to himself that when Ron and Hermione were made Prefects two years ago he had been severely jealous, especially when Ron was made one over him...but he couldn't imagine being a Head when Ron was more qualified for the position.

“Before you answer, I want to let you know some of the benefits of being a Head. You will have your own room in Gryffindor Tower, and a common room which would be shared with the other Prefects and Head. You will have no restrictions concerning when you need to be to your room at night, for all that I care, you can be out all night...however much I would not recommend that,” she said stiffly, but with a small quirk to the corner of her mouth when he sat up even straighter. “You have your own Head bathroom in which you can lock against others, unlike the common bathrooms that your fellow Gryffindors must share, so you have more privacy. It is something like the Prefect bathroom that I am sure you have seen considering your past. You will have full access to the library's restricted section, which, from what I hear...you may need.” She raised her eyebrow at him and watched him closely. “I will also be giving you and a select few constant right of entry to my office.” She sighed, then continued. “I am not just giving you this position because I think you are a good choice, for you are, but I am also giving you this position because Professor Dumbledore and I have had a chat...and I agree with him when I say that you need all available assistance and resources you can possibly get this year.” She leaned forward, nearly whispering. “I am not expecting you to so much be a...student...this year, Harry. I think you know what I mean. If for some reason you need to miss a class, report to me, and I will excuse you. I am on your side, Potter.”

Harry felt a huge smile appear on his face. This seemed almost too perfect; he was actually getting help to fight against Voldemort! With the last Horcruxes to destroy, this was just way too good to be true. Being a normal student would have made this hard...but Professor McGonagall had just made his life way easier.

“I accept, Professor,” he decided, shaking her outstretched hand. She was also smiling, making her look much younger.

“That is excellent, Potter. Here is your badge,” she said, placing the silver badge of a large “H” in his hand, surrounded by each house's mascot and house colors. “Now I suggest going to the Head compartment and meeting the other House Heads. You will all be working together this year very closely.”

Harry nodded and went to grab Hedwig's cage and his trunk. Professor McGonagall waved him off. “Do not worry about your things; they will be taken care of. I only recommend that you change into your robes now to put a good impression upon the other students.”

Harry nodded once more and waited for the Headmistress to leave before he tugged on his black robe and pinned his badge to his chest. He stared at it a few moments before he was interrupted by another knock on the door. Frowning, he flung it open and almost fell backwards as Ron toppled in.

“Hey mate, be careful with—”

Ron stopped when he saw the badge on Harry's chest. “When did you—?”

“Professor McGonagall just made me one of the Heads of Gryffindor House. Hermione is replacing Pansy Parkinson as Chief Head Girl because Pansy and her family were killed...McGonagall needed a new Head to replace Hermione, so she chose me.”

Ron stared at him in disbelief, and Harry knew that he was thinking that he should have been made Head, not Harry. Immediately wanting to make his best mate feel better about the situation, he said, “Don't feel bad, Ron. We will be sharing the same room again, and Hermione will be with us too. Hey,” he whispered sneakily, “maybe you can slip into her room, eh?”

Ron laughed uneasily and started scratching the back of his head. “I don't know, Harry. Hermione acts like she likes me, but at the same time, I'm scared of her. Plus she was distant the whole summer with me, she barely even wrote me. I bet she wrote you more than me....”

It was probably the truth, but that wasn't what Harry was going to say. They were getting closer to Hogwarts and they hadn't even seen her yet, so Harry suggested going to find her. Ron agreed reluctantly, his shoulders drooping.

“You think that if I asked her out, she would say yes?” Ron asked quietly, not wanting to attract attention.

“Hell yeah, Ron. I know she's liked you since forever, but you two are just too chicken to ask one another. You should definitely ask.”

Ron and Harry had a small laugh over how funny it would be to see Ron asking Hermione out and the possible outcomes. Neither had very much experience with girls, but both agreed that they would try to get a girlfriend this year. Thinking of a girlfriend, Harry instantly thought of Ginny...he had told her that they couldn't be together because of the danger...would it be possible to get back together with her? He had told her that he wasn't planning on coming back, and now that he was...maybe it was a possibility...a distinct possibility.

“How is Ginny doing?” Harry asked, walking by several compartments with students goofing off. He even passed several with couples making out and groping each other. Rolling his eyes at the sight, he continued his search for Hermione.

“She's good...she was quiet most of the summer. I think she was sulking over you, mate.”

Harry stopped to look at Ron, and noticed for the first time how they were almost of equal height. Ron had always been slightly taller than him, and Harry felt amazed that he had grown so much as to catch up to him. He wondered what else had changed over the summer.

“Wow,” Harry said, surprised. “Do you think she would...you know, go out with me again?”

Ron shrugged, deflating Harry's hope. “I don't know, man. She was sulky all summer, yes, but when we talked about you, she always got quiet and acted like she didn't care. Maybe it's some sort of female defense mechanism.”

Harry felt his face twist in confusion. “Defense mechanism? What the hell is that?”
Ron laughed. “I don't know, I heard dad talking about it one day, how mom acts certain ways and he said that's how she defends herself, she shuts herself off from things so they don't bother her. Maybe you should do some sort of a trial and error thing. Watch her and try to be around her and see how she acts. If she acts interested, then maybe she wants to go back out with you. If she doesn't, then I would back away and go for someone else. There are lots of girls in the school, Harry.”

Harry snorted. “Yeah, so that makes sense why you've been chasing Hermione's skirt since you've known her.”

Harry laughed when his best friend stuck his tongue out at him, and then stopped in front of compartment A, where the Heads and Prefects hung out. They looked inside and saw Hermione reclined across the whole cushion with a book in her face. She was alone.

Ron jerked the door open, startling the girl inside. She gasped, dropped her book, and jumped up in anger, prepared to scold whoever was stupid enough to intrude so rudely.

With her finger pointed in the air and ready to admonish the pitiful soul that interrupted her, Ron grabbed her and squeezed her until she squeaked.

“Hermione! Oh, how I have missed thee!”

She sputtered and tried to shove him off her. “Ron, let go of me you oaf! You are impossible, you know?” She pushed away from him and brushed back her hair, trying to fix her skirt and shirt that he had rumpled upon his attack.

Ron backed off as Harry entered the compartment and closed the door. Harry tried to shove his friend out of the way or make him sit down, but it was as if Hermione had hit him with a Petrificus Totalus curse. He wouldn't even budge.

“Ron, what the hell, man. Sit down or—”

Harry figured out immediately what it was that Ron was staring at.

Hermione.

Both Ron and Harry stared at the vision in shock. They had once seen her look something like this at the Yule Ball a few years back, but that had been once and when they had been younger. Now....

Her hair was down in a silken curtain of curls. Instead of bushy and frizzy like it normally was, it looked soft and smooth. Her style of clothing seemed to have changed as well; her shirt was tight against her chest and showed off curves that neither had ever noticed on the girl before. She was wearing a dark blue skirt that went to mid-thigh, not looking like she was trying to attract attention but drawing attention nonetheless. And her face—

“Are you wearing makeup?” Ron stated the obvious, blurting it out like an idiot. Hermione blushed and attempted to cover her face, but Harry punched Ron as hard as he could in the shoulder, effectively making him fall and get out of his way as he yelled “OUCH!”

“You're stupid, Ron,” Harry hissed, moving in front of Hermione and hugging her tightly. She looked to be close to tears, but Harry knew she wouldn't let them fall. She was too prideful to let it show that Ron's words had hurt her. He had said them almost as if it was an insult.

“You look beautiful, Hermione,” Harry said softly, squeezing her tightly and then letting her go. She blinked a few times and nodded as she stepped away, sitting back down again and grabbing her book. Ron tried to sit next to her but Harry shoved him back into the opposite seat. Ron looked confused, but Harry gave him a silencing motion with his hand against his throat, telling him to shut up.

Hermione buried her face back behind her book, almost as if she was trying to hide her features. Harry could still see the slight stain of pink on her cheeks, and wanted to bash Ron on the head for being so stupid.

“So Hermione, did you see?”

Wanting to draw her attention away from her book, Harry pointed to the badge on his chest. Hermione looked out of the corner of her eyes, and then gasped in surprise when she saw that Harry had been appointed as Head Boy.

“Oh, Harry! That's wonderful!” she cried, throwing her book aside as she hugged him. He sensed something odd, much more different than when Hermione had hugged him before. He felt her draw in a deep breath against the side of his face, where hers was pressed; he could smell her sweet flowery scent, and her hand against his skin at the nape of his neck made his whole body suddenly...aware of her.

Scared, he almost pushed her away. He had never felt anything like that before, and he didn't know how to react to it, especially in front of Ron...the boy who liked her.
She was smiling brightly at him as she pulled away. Her face was positively glowing, as if she was genuinely happy that he had been made Head Boy.

“You'll have to teach me everything,” he said, nearly choking on his own words. His voice had almost cracked mid-sentence, and he felt like a fool.

“Oh, it's easy!” she said, grabbing the book that she had just tossed aside. “It's almost like the military. The top of the totem pole consists of Headmistress McGonagall, then the professors. From there it goes to Filch, the Chief Heads, Heads, and then Prefects. Under the Prefects it's the students. So, for example, if I were to give you an order, Harry, you can go down to Ron and tell him to do it. But, it works the other way if a problem occurs. If a student has gotten in trouble, then Ron would come to you, and then you would come to me if you feel that I am needed. Ron and you can deal out punishments and detentions, but for more severe cases, you might want to come to me so I can go to Professor McGonagall. We go on rounds every now and then to make sure everything is in order, and take care of anything that Professor McGonagall needs us to do. Understand?”

Harry stared at her, wowed at everything that had just poured out of her mouth nonstop and without a breath. Ron was still pouting on the opposite seat, not even paying attention.

She quirked her eyebrow at him, still wanting an answer. “Y-yeah,” he stuttered, making her roll her eyes.

“Good. Then you and Ron can go on rounds now. Make sure everything is ok and stop any horsing around. Report back to me when you are done.”

Ron stood with Harry, happy to be leaving. Harry left first and then Ron, who slammed the door behind him. Harry gave him a confused look, not understanding why he was acting this way.

“What's wrong with you, Ron?”

Ron jerked open a compartment door and yelled at some second years who were wrestling around. He slammed the door closed when they jumped back into their seats.

“Everything's wrong, mate. Did you see her? What the hell, man? She's bloody gorgeous now! She's never going to want me, especially when every guy is going to be sniffing up her skirts now.”

Harry sighed loudly. “Ron, first off, stop being stupid. Hermione has always been pretty...it was just that other guys didn't see around her bossy nature and her hair. So what, she fixes her hair and wears some lip gloss? She's still Hermione to me,” he said, that odd seed that had been planted in the back of his mind tickling his brain. “She...she's always been pretty, Ron. I think you should still ask her out.”

Ron shook his head. “She will say no. Especially after saying `are you wearing makeup' like a complete bloody idiot. She looked like she wanted to cry. I'm so stinking stupid, Harry.”

Harry felt bad for his friend, but there wasn't much he could do but try to encourage him. “Maybe you should say sorry or something. Make it up to her somehow.”

Ron lapsed into a depressed silence, mumbling to himself at how dumb he was with girls. Harry just shook his head as they continued their rounds, that strange seed in the back of his head continuing to bother him.

Author's Note: Well, that's chapter two! Please let me know what you think! Everyone's opinion matters! PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! I WANT YOUR OPINION!!!

Thank you :D Ja!