In turn, Hermione and Ron also left and began walking along the corridor as they pinned their Prefect badges carefully to their chests. The two remained silent during the whole patrol. They could hear the sounds of chatter and laughter coming from the various compartments. The sight was comforting in a way. It felt almost normal. But deep down, they knew nothing was normal anymore. Not with Harry locked away.
The first one to break the awkward silence was Ron.
"I don't know how long I can continue to pretend that I'm strong. There is this odd sense of loss inside me." Ron stopped by a window as he watched the outside moving quickly, as the train was moving at high speed.
"I have never travelled on the Hogwarts Express without Harry." Ron chuckled as he remembered one particular journey, " I felt like yesterday that Harry and I took my father's car and flew over to arrive at Hogwarts. Those were simpler times."
Hermione reached out and squeezed Ron's shoulder gently. "I know, Ron," she said softly. "It feels strange, doesn't it? Like a piece of Hogwarts is missing."
After a few minutes remaining there, the two walked through the train, and they spotted Neville Longbottom and Ginny in a compartment near the middle. There was another girl, whom Ginny introduced as Luna Lovegood. She was sitting quietly as she read The Quibbler.
They decided to rest a little as Neville began questioning them about the Prefect meeting and telling him who exactly the different Prefects were. When Ron got to the part where Draco remained idle without any taunt, Hermione shrugged slightly.
This was really out of character. The usual Draco would have taunted them so much about Harry being in Azkaban.
"Maybe he's hit his head, or he's trying something new," she replied quietly, "Either way, it's best for us if he remains like this for the entire year."
Ron seemed to think of something and then uttered, "Maybe he is scared now. Seeing Harry kill the muggles who bullied him, maybe Draco is scared that Harry will target him next."
Immediately, in a high-pitched voice, Ginny opposed her brother. "No!"
Her face was filled with anger. "Harry is not a killer. Stop portraying him as one."
Then the emotion began to change as the anger turned into pain. "Harry is not a killer." Tears began flowing down her cheeks.
Hermione, who was next to Ginny, took her into her embrace. Ron could see that there were also tears coming down Hermione's face. Apart from the sobbing coming from Ginny, the room became silent as everyone seemed to be in their own thoughts.
At last, the train began to slow down, and they heard the usual noise as everybody scrambled to get their luggage and pets assembled, ready for departure.
Ron and Hermione were supposed to supervise all this, so they disappeared from the carriage, leaving Ginny and the others to look after each other.
After confirming everyone was off the train, Ron left the train and got into Hogsmeade station. Here stood the hundred or so horseless stagecoaches that always took the students in their first year up to the castle.
Ron, together with Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and that weird girl Luna, got into one and it started heading towards Hogwarts on its own. They soon arrived at their destination and got inside.
The entrance hall was ablaze with torches and echoing with footsteps as the students crossed the flagged stone floor for the double doors to the right, leading to the Great Hall for the start-of-term feast.
The four long House tables in the Great Hall were filling up under the starless black ceiling, which was just like the sky they could glimpse through the high windows. Candles floated in midair all along the tables, illuminating the silvery ghosts who were dotted about the Hall and the faces of the students talking eagerly to one another, exchanging summer news, shouting greetings at friends from other Houses, eyeing one another's new haircuts and robes.
But as Ron and Hermione got inside and the students started to notice their presence, Ron noticed people putting their heads together to whisper as they passed by.
Of course, that was going to happen. They were the closest to Harry, and automatically, the students were going to gossip about them.
Luna drifted away from them at the Ravenclaw table. The moment they reached Gryffindor's, Ginny was taken by some fellow fourth years and left to sit with them. Ron hoped that her friend would not question her a lot about Harry.
Then, Ron, Hermione, and Neville found seats together about halfway down the table between Nearly Headless Nick.
Every moment that Ron and Hermione had taken till now reminded them about Harry.
How they would gossip around the table, talking about their vacation, about the different students. Even Nearly Headless Nick was acting differently, as he just asked how both of them were doing and then moved on. Ron's eyes looked up to where the teachers were sitting. His gaze fell first on the headmaster.
Dumbledore was sitting in his high-backed golden chair at the center of the long staff table, wearing deep-purple robes scattered with silvery stars and a matching hat.
Ron felt that the respect he had for Dumbledore was gone. His mother, Molly, had been cursing Dumbledore since she learned that Dumbledore knew that Harry was being mistreated by his Muggle family. After Ron learned about everything that happened, he sided with her mom and said that Dumbledore should have helped Harry.
Ron looked at Hermione, who was also staring at the Headmaster. Just like him, Hermione had been affected deeply by the events. Her mind had become such a mess that she did not know exactly what she needed to do.
Ron looked back at the staff table. Dumbledore's head was inclined toward the woman
sitting next to him, who was talking into his ear.
"That should be the new professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts." Ron thought that during his past four years at Hogwarts, there had been a different teacher for DADA each year. Ron continued to observe the staff.
There was the usual. Professor McGonagall and Snape.
"Where is Hagrid?"
On hearing Hermione's question, Ron focused on the chair where Hagrid usually sat, but the half-giant was nowhere to be found.
Just then, Professor Grubbly-Plank, who had just appeared behind the staff table, walked her way along to the very end and took the seat that ought to have been Hagrid's.