"Ron, if you don't get your arse into gear, Mum will be up here to put it into gear for you! Do you really want that?" Bill Weasley banged on the door of the highest bedroom in the house with the side of a closed fist.

"Keep your hair on!" Ron bellowed, but if Bill heard, he didn't respond because he was already descending the stairs. Ron was still packing, a job that he had assured his mother he had finished last night. He picked up the pace, tossing his laundered robes, a pile of socks, undies and pyjamas haphazardly on top of his books before finally reaching far under his mattress for the well-thumbed magazines he had stashed there. Without taking the time to gaze at the girl on the front of the uppermost Muggle publication, he delved deep to thrust the three of them into the trunk, hoping beyond hope that his mum wouldn't insist on making sure his robes were still neatly folded, like she had been known to do in the past.

He still had hold of the magazines when the door was thrust open and Harry entered the room. Harry only had his backpack-most of his belongings were already at Hogwarts-and had well and truly finished his packing. Ron straightened, an idea coming to him. "The pressure's building, Ron," Harry said ominously. "You're mum's on the verge of exploding."

"Here," said Ron, thrusting the magazines at an unsuspecting Harry who caught them against his chest. Ron slammed his trunk shut and snatched up his jacket.

"And just what am I supposed to do with this lot?" asked Harry, eyeing the somewhat grotty magazines with distaste.

"What d'ya, think?" said Ron, trying to shove his arm into an inside out sleeve, with little success. He swore and pulled it back off. "Shove ‘em in your backpack. Right down the bottom. Mum will definitely never look in your backpack.

Harry rolled his eyes but did as he was bid. There wasn't time to argue the point. He had seen the magazines before, of course -Ron had been eager to share-he had even thought some of the girls to be quite pretty if you could get past the improbably unblemished-skin (not a freckle or mole in sight, let alone a zit) and straight, brilliantly white-teeth; it was the freakishly proportioned bodies Harry objected to. He found the pneumatic breasts and the try-hard expressions of ecstasy as the women fondled themselves an absolute turn-off. Gigantic boobs were definitely not his cup of tea. His imagination was too full of Ginny's petite form. That the best things came in small packages was definitely his philosophy.

The magazines were so well read, the shiny paper was no longer shiny and much of the cheap colour was badly smudged. Harry didn't have to stretch his imagination too far to visualize the activities undertaken during their perusal and nor did he doubt that they had been handed down to Ron from the twins.

Ron finally got his jacket on just as his mother screamed up the stairs for them to hurry up, and the door was thrust open to reveal Ginny.

"Come on, you two." She shook her head. "Merlin, and they reckon girls are slow to get ready. I'll take Pig," she informed Ron, snatching up the cage holding the excited owl.

"Who's they?" asked Harry with a smirk as he finished zipping up his bag and hoisting it onto his shoulder, thankful that Ginny had not seen what he had just stashed in there.

Ginny waved an airy hand. "You, know. They! Now come on!"

Ginny flew down the stairs with Harry on her heels and Ron bringing up the rear, his trunk thumping loudly on each stair. Out in the yard, Bill glared at Ron before he grabbed one end of the trunk and helped hoist it into the magically enlarged boot of the Ministry car.

Molly came storming out the back door, slamming it behind her and muttering darkly all the way across the yard as she fumbled to fasten her cloak. She shot Ron a withering look. "Can you possibly explain to me, young man, how it can take just as long for us to get going on September first when there are only three of you to organise, as it did when the twins and Percy were part of the equation."

Ron shrugged. "It's a mystery, Mum," he said cheekily, and taking Pig's cage from Ginny, he threw himself into the back of the car, before Molly could launch another verbal assault. The driver was sitting behind the wheel of the car and Molly shut her mouth, opting for restraint in front of the stranger. She pursed her lips at the behaviour of her youngest son, but refrained from any further telling off in front of the driver and settling instead for chivvying Harry and Ginny into the car before sliding into the front seat herself. Bill climbed in next to her and the driver started the car and slowly rolled across the yard, making sure the chickens had time to scrabble out of the way.

Five minutes into the journey, Molly had calmed down and was chatting to Bill and trying to draw the stony-faced driver into the conversation. His answers were monosyllabic and it wasn't long before Molly gave up on him. The journey passed pleasantly enough after Molly left the driver to his bad mood, especially for Harry whose hand was firmly held by Ginny's the whole way. She made no attempt to hide this from Ron, who stared at their clasped hands where they rested on Harry's thigh before rolling his eyes and looking pointedly away. Harry smirked; Ron was now perfectly fine knowing that his sister and his best mate were a couple, he just didn't like seeing proof.

Ginny, of course, made no attempt to be circumspect around her brother and she would kiss Harry or wrap her arms around him if she felt so inclined, whether Ron was a witness or not. Harry never rebuffed these displays-he was not going to upset Ginny again by going that route like he had done on his birthday-but he wished she wouldn't wind Ron up quite so often.

Harry was rather desperate at the moment to spend some alone time with his girlfriend, because even though he had spent the last twenty-four hours at the Burrow, he and Ginny had not been alone because Hermione had not been there to run interference with Ron.

The journey to King's Cross was accomplished in less than an hour-these  enchanted cars really were quite amazing-and naturally, they got a prime parking position. Bill jumped out as soon as the car stopped to go and grab a trolley. Ron, still clutching Pig's cage, scrambled out almost as quickly but before Harry could follow, Ginny pulled him back. She raised their joined hands to her lips and kissed his knuckles before reaching up and kissing him on his willing lips.

"Finding a place private enough so that I can snog you senseless once we get to Hogwarts is a priority, Potter," she whispered.

Harry smiled against her lips. "It's certainly at the top of my list of things to do," he whispered back.

"Oi! Give it a rest, you two," whined Ron from somewhere outside the car.

"Get over it, Ron," said Ginny, but she let Harry go and scrambled out of the car.

The instant Harry emerged, he found himself surrounded by no less than five Aurors dressed in black Muggle suits and ties and looking like rejects from a pallbearer's conference, and without preamble, they began to chivvy him into the station. After he had been forced along for about ten steps, Harry was seething and he dug his heels in and refused to go another step. When one of the Aurors made to grab his arm, he wrenched it away, snarling at them to leave him alone.

Ron was also yelling at them to leave Harry alone and he tried to force his way through the human wall, his face red with anger. One of the Aurors grabbed Ron's arm to try to restrain him and as they, Harry and the other Aurors scuffled with much grunting and yelling, Ginny tried to duck through a small opening, also screaming, "Leave him alone, you idiots!" Molly was rushing around the car to intercede and Bill, hearing the scuffles and curses, had abandoned the trolley to tear back and assist.

Ginny didn't make it through the scrum; a black brawny elbow caught her hard in the face and she dropped like a stone. Harry roared with fury and in that instant, time seemed to stop. A red haze enveloped his field of vision and it was as if he was suddenly unaware of his actions. With seemingly superhuman strength, he wrenched his arms out of the imprisoning hands and twisted a little to prevent them latching on again. He raised his right arm, his fingers rigid and splayed, his face a mask of fury and concentration; his skin felt as if it had been electrified, but Harry could not see the bright aura that suddenly encapsulated his body.

Suddenly, he was free of the phalanx of Aurors. Through the red mist he vaguely saw burly bodies flying through the air and landing yards away from where he was already dropping to his knees next to Ginny. He did not see the looks of utter incredulity on the faces of Bill, Molly or Ron and nor did he seem aware that Tonks and Hagrid had arrived and were also witness to the powerful act of wandless and non-verbal magic.

Ron, who had been part of the scrum, was still standing in exactly the same spot, goggling at the scene of devastation around him and wondering how he had not been blasted off his feet along with the Aurors. Bill and Tonks shook themselves out of their shock but Ron's knees seemed to buckle and he sat on his bum on the pavement with his head resting on his bent knees.

Tonks didn't have to think about what she had to do. When she had arrived on the scene and witnessed what her idiot colleagues were doing, she had immediately cast a charm on the area that ensured that the many Muggles in the vicinity were oblivious to what was going on in their midst. She thanked all the powers that be that she had managed to do that before Harry's phenomenal display of power.

 Now she quickly approached each of the battered and bruised Aurors-some whom were still moaning on the ground and a couple who were already struggling to their feet-and pointed her wand quickly at each in turn. Her whispered, ‘Obliviate', was barely audible each time, but no less effective for not having been spoken aloud; each man's eyes drifted out of focus for a moment before they cleared and they each became aware of their relative positions and discomfort. But Tonks began to berate them for their heavy-handed approach with Harry before they could focus on why they were having to prise themselves off the pavement.

Bill had immediately rushed to Harry and Ginny's side, but when he tried to intervene, he could not approach closer than about three feet from where Harry knelt at Ginny's head. Shocked, he peered intently at the two of them, suddenly making out the wavering impression of a Shield Charm surrounding the two; the bright aura still surrounded Harry.

Thrusting this further shock away and trying to soothe and restrain his mother who was also trying to get to her daughter, Bill drew his wand and pointing it at the shield, he uttered ‘Finite'. Nothing happened.

"What the bloody hell just happened!" exclaimed Ron, who was just coming out of his shock. When Bill rounded on him and curtly told him to ‘shut it', Ron's colour began to darken again.

"But..." he spluttered, but Hagrid took him by the arm and pulled him to his feet before leading him a few steps away.

"Leave it to yer brother, Ron," said Hagrid gently. "He'll get it all sorted." Ron blinked at Hagrid; he had not realised that he was there, but somehow their gigantic friend exuded comfort and stability in a world that suddenly seemed to have gone mad, and Ron relaxed slightly.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. He wanted to ask, ‘Did you see what just happened', but now that he was thinking clearly, he was reluctant to acknowledge what had just happened... what had seemed to happen, but which surely could not really have happened. His best mate didn't have those kinds of powers.

"Dumbledore sent me to make sure you lot got onta the station without mishap. Double insurance an' all."

Bill and Molly had both tried again to break the shield without success. They could see that Harry seemed to be in a daze, though his aura and the shield held steady; he was stroking Ginny's hair where she still lay unconscious on the ground.

"What can we do," whimpered Molly. "She might be badly hurt and we can't get to her."

Bill touched her arm to reassure her. He squatted down as close to the shield as he could get. "Harry," he said gently, "You can drop the shield now. The Aurors won't bother you again." Harry didn't seem to hear him, and Bill raised his voice a little and repeated his words.  Harry finally looked up.

Bill could see the glazed look in his eyes. "Harry," he said almost harshly. "You must drop the shield."

Harry blinked. Slowly, he looked around him, his hand still unconsciously stroking Ginny hair. His eyes slowly came back into focus and as Bill watched Harry return to the present, he saw the aura and the shield waver strongly for a moment before they both disappeared.

Molly blinked as the figures of Harry and Ginny came fully into focus. Realising that the shield must have gone, she knelt down next to them. She would have lifted Ginny's head onto her lap but Harry yelled, "Don't move her!" Molly jumped violently.

"She might have spinal damage," explained Harry, his face red because of having just yelled at Mrs Weasley. He knew from seeing it on many a television program that it was dangerous to move an unconscious person unless they were chocking, until it was ascertained that they had not incurred spinal damage. But at that moment, Ginny groaned and began to stir, her head moving from side to side and Harry sagged with relief. Her eyelids fluttered open and she looked up vaguely, her eyes unfocused. "Ginny, darling, are you all right?" said Molly in a quavery voice.

Ron, now sure that his sister was not dead,  tried to shake Hagrid off and storm across the short distance to the group of bedraggled, black-suited thugs who were still being soundly berated by Tonks. But his way was blocked by Hagrid. Ron tried to dart around the half-giant, but Hagrid put out a massive arm and caught him around the chest to halt his headlong flight.

"Leave it, Ron," he said in his deep, gruff voice. "Let Miss Tonks take care of the eejits."

Ron gesticulated wildly over his shoulder. "But look what they did to her," he raged. "Let me at ‘em!"

Hagrid picked a flailing Ron up by his shoulders and deposited him right next to Molly who had gotten to her feet while Harry, still kneeling on the dirty asphalt,  now supported Ginny in a semi-recumbent position because she was still too groggy to sit up properly. Molly looked around distractedly and when she focused on Ron being restrained by Hagrid, she hissed, "Stop that right now, Ron. We do not want any more trouble." Ron subsided with ill grace.

"Tha's a good lad, Ron," said Hagrid, and he released Ron and straightened his jacket with hearty pats that nearly brought Ron to his knees, before bending down to Ginny. "Tha's gonna be some bruise," he said in a concerned voice, looking at the nasty discolouration marring Ginny's cheekbone.

"I'm all right," said Ginny weakly, and she struggled to sit up further.

"You stay right where you are, Ginevra," ordered Molly, her worry making her voice more harsh than she intended it to be. She was still totally bemused by what had just happened and she watched Harry worriedly as he gently restrained Ginny, who subsided without further argument against his bent legs, closing her eyes when he gently stroked her uninjured cheek with his thumb.

Molly moved close to Bill who was also watching his sister and her boyfriend, a frown creasing his forehead. "How did he do that?" Molly asked, her voice more worried than awed.

Bill shook his head. "I have no idea, and he doesn't seem to have any idea what he did." He looked down at his mother. "I think it would be best if we didn't enlighten him before we speak to Dumbledore and Severus."

Molly nodded her agreement. "The poor dear really doesn't need another strange phenomenon being attributed to him." She looked up at her eldest son. "I've only ever seen Dumbledore do such effortless and powerful magic."

Tonks hurried over at that moment but the Aurors remained where she had left them in a suitably cowed huddle. Bill, Molly and Tonks looked significantly at each other, each tacitly agreeing not to discuss the subject of Harry's display in front of Ron; he was still glaring over at the Aurors.  He looked freaked out enough as it was, and for once Hagrid seemed to be erring on the side of common sense as he interpreted the silent communication between the adults; he nodded his shaggy head in agreement.

With the subject of Harry agreed upon, Molly returned to fretting over Ginny. "I'm sure she'll be all right, Mum?" Bill assured his mother robustly. His expression however indicated that he was not as sanguine as he sounded.

"How do you know?" asked Molly worriedly. "She lost consciousness and she's still very groggy. I can't let her go on the train like this."

"I'll take her, Molly... Harry, let me." Without waiting for permission and ignoring Molly's little bleat of fear, Hagrid bent down and hefted Ginny effortlessly into his arms. Ginny tried to protest but it took too much effort and her head flopped onto his shoulder and she shut her eyes. Harry bounded to his feet; he had not realised that Hagrid was here, but he was glad that he was and happily relinquished Ginny to his gentle care.

As Bill and Tonks conferred, Ron watched the Aurors separate and move off a short distance, his jaw set pugnaciously. Hagrid saw Harry glare over at them also poised for battle and he forestalled him. "Don't even think about it, Harry," he said in a no-nonsense voice. "If ya don't get a move on, you're gonna miss the train." Harry subsided with ill-grace, but his temper did not. He seethed as he stood with his eyes fixed on his injured girlfriend.

"Should I take her to St Mungo's?" Molly asked Bill and Tonks; she was wringing her hands in uncharacteristic indecision, but both of them also seemed uncertain as to what to do for the best.  

Hagrid came up with a solution. "Tell yer what, Molly, how about I take her back to Hogwarts with me and I'll take her straight to Poppy."

Molly blinked in surprise. "How are you getting back to Hogwarts though?" She knew that Hagrid could not Apparate.

"Dumbledore always gives me a Portkey when he sends me on a job. It gets me home an' all. I jes' have to activate it."

"Oh," said Molly, not at all sure she wanted to leave Ginny in Hagrid's sole care, though the suggestion did make sense.

Bill could see her dilemma. "You can't carry Gin, yourself Mum. She's too heavy for you. And I can't leave these two. Let Hagrid take her and you can Apparate to Hogwarts and meet him there. I'll send my Patronus to let them know to expect you."

"Right, I'll do that," said Molly, her voice becoming firmer now that she had a viable plan. "Come on then, Hagrid. I'll meet you at the gate."

"Actually, Molly, the Portkey takes me directly to Professor Dumbledore's office. But if Bill sends his Patronus, someone will meet ya at the gate. I'll take Ginny straight to the Hospital Wing. We'll see ya there.

Molly nodded; she squeezed Ginny's hand before quickly kissing Ron and  drawing Harry into a hug, the intensity of which had him blinking in surprise. "Now you two behave yourselves," she said in a voice that cracked with emotion.

Harry didn't have the opportunity to touch Ginny or say goodbye, and he looked on helplessly as she and Hagrid disappeared before his eyes, swiftly followed by Mrs Weasley.

Bill didn't allow him any further time to stew though as he and Tonks urged them into the station, Bill wheeling the trolley upon which he had quickly piled the two trunks, Harry's backpack and the caged owl, who was still twittering away madly. Harry knew the Aurors were moving with them, the five of them spread around him, Ron, Bill and Tonks. He noticed that a couple of them were limping and another one was holding a handkerchief to the back of his head.

"I wonder what Tonks did to them to make them back off?" said Harry quietly to Ron. "Whatever it was, she wasn't very gentle." He smirked and he missed the worried look that Ron shot at him.

Both boys were in pensive moods when they finally got through the barrier onto platform nine and three quarters, Tonks leading the way and Bill bringing up the rear with the trolley. Two of the Aurors preceded the party and the other three came after. It was all Harry could do not to round on them and tell them, very loudly and very clearly to piss off and leave him the hell alone! If this was an example of the sort of people who made up the Auror Division of Magical Law Enforcement, Harry was not at all sure he wanted to be one anymore. And as soon as he got up to his dormitory at Hogwarts, he would be penning a strongly worded letter to the new Minister and all. What gave him the right to organise Harry's life like this?

Briefly, he wondered what his father would say about what had just transpired. And then a disturbing thought occurred to Harry. What if his father had demanded that Dumbledore demand of the Minister that he have a contingent of Aurors waiting for them? Harry's brow furrowed. Would he do that because Harry had made him promise not to come and hover over him in some Polyjuiced form or other? He couldn't come as Severus Snape, of course, because Severus Snape would rather strangle Harry Potter than be his bodyguard.

Harry's thoughts were put on hold when he heard a cry ringing out above the noise of the crowded platform.

"Harry! Ron!" Hermione was rushing towards them.

One of the over-zealous Aurors moved his bulk to intercept her but Tonks growled in an ominous voice, "Don't even think about it, McManus, you wanker!"

McManus halted in his tracks and Hermione threw herself at Harry whose arms ended up around her, purely as a means of maintaining his balance. "What held you up?"she panted. "I thought you were going to miss the train for sure." Then she noted the expressions on his and Ron's faces.

"What's happened?" She looked around, even as they were being ushered along by Tonks who was following in Bill's wake. "And where's Ginny?" Harry had grabbed her wrist and was pulling her along. "Later," he muttered darkly.

Hermione quickly realised that something major had transpired but she was going to have to wait for details, no matter how much she hated being in the dark. Now, she took the lead, dragging Harry after Ron, Bill and Tonks. At the train, Bill handed Ron Pigwidgeon's cage and Harry his backpack before he pointed his wand at the trunks and shrunk them down to the size of shoe boxes.

"I've already saved us a compartment, Bill," said Hermione and she jumped on board and hurried along several carriages, heading towards the back of the train to a compartment where the door was shut and the shades drawn. Hermione pulled her wand and unlocked the door; she had used more than a simple ‘Alohomora'; she had not been prepared to take the chance that someone else would commandeer the carriage.

As Harry had dragged Hermione along and then followed her after she had taken the lead on the train, he noticed that people were staring at him avidly, whispering and pointing. Several girls smiled at him when they caught his eye and a couple even waved. Even the boys were staring eagerly and putting their heads together and whispering. Harry fastened his eyes on Tonks' back and he didn't begin to relax until Hermione had led them into the compartment. He had had to battle his way through a gaggle of girls near the compartment door and as he ducked inside, he had jerked violently when his bum was pinched, hard!

"What the bloody hell!" he exclaimed, rubbing the abused part of his anatomy.

Hermione's lips were set in a tight, disapproving line. "They've spent the summer reading about your adventure in the Department of Mysteries, Harry, and how you got away from Voldemort again. They obviously believe that you're the Chosen One, now that it has been proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that you were telling the truth all along and that you're not an attention seeking prat."

Harry just stared as Hermione delivered this recitation, then he threw himself down on the seat near the window. "Bloody brilliant!" he muttered. "First the stinking Aurors attack us, and now I'm a bloody exhibit again! This is fucking brilliant"

"Harry!" gasped Hermione but Tonks just smirked.

"Where's Ron and Bill?" asked Harry easily ignoring Hermione's indignation.. Sure enough, neither of the Weasleys had immediately followed them into the compartment. Bill had grabbed Ron's arm before they had boarded the train.

"What?"

"You saw what happened back there," said Bill, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "Do not bring the subject up with Harry."

"Why?"

"Because he doesn't seem to have any recollection of what actually transpired back there. I want to talk to Dumbledore and Snape to see what they have to say."

Ron slowly nodded, for once not arguing. "He thought Tonks had stopped the idiots," he said. "I didn't set him straight." Bill clapped Ron on the shoulder.

"You did the right thing." He pushed Ron gently forward. "Come on. Get on board.

Hermione looked around. "I don't... Oh, here they are." Ron and Bill entered the compartment, struggling to get through the gaggle of girls blocking the corridor and Bill pulled the door shut. Hermione gave Ron a piercing look, but he shot his own look at her that said, ‘later'. For once, she had the sense to desist. Taking a deep breath, she asked, "Where's Ginny?"

"There was a welcoming committee when we arrived in the Ministry car," snarled Ron, glad to be able to vent some of his feelings of anger and confusion.

"Ginny got hurt," provided Bill, and he and Tonks filled Hermione in as Bill arranged the shrunken luggage on a rack. He took Pig's cage from Ron and put it up also, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and enlarging it to place over the cage to quieten the excitable owl.

"Is she going to be all right?" Hermione asked, appalled.

"I'm sure she'll be fine. She's a strong little witch," said Tonks reassuringly.

"How can you know that for sure?" growled Ron. "Concussion is an unknown quantity, Tonks." Three sets of eyebrows rose; Harry was still stewing and hadn't really heard Ron.

Hermione leaned forward from her position next to Ron and put a hand on Harry's knee and one on Ron's hand where it was clenched on his thigh. "I'm sure she will be all right. The Ginny I know is very strong."

"The Ginny you know hasn't ever been knocked unconscious before," countered Ron, but there was no longer any heat in his words. He allowed Hermione to open his fist so that she could clasp his hand.

Harry glared out the window at the less than inspiring industrial area they were passing through. He kept on seeing Ginny lying there on the ground and him being unable to get to her and being terrified that one or more of the great buffoons in black was going to stand on her. Harry really didn't remember the Aurors being forced away, but he thanked God Tonks had come along when she had.

Ginny was probably being tended by Madam Pomfrey right now and Harry had to believe that she would be all right. He couldn't keep stressing the whole way to Hogwarts, he'd end up with an ulcer. Bill seemed to be fairly relaxed about Ginny, even if he and Tonks had their heads together having a pretty intense, but whispered conversation that the clacking of the wheels on the tracks and the hubbub out in the corridor was blocking out. Tonks was probably telling Bill how she was going to report her fellow Aurors, but Harry was sure that if Scrimgeour had ordered their presence, then there was probably nothing she could do.

Harry clenched his right fist where it rested on his thigh. His hand was paining him for some reason and the joints felt stiff. He looked down, only to discover that the whole hand seemed to be inflamed and his knuckles were swollen. His brow furrowed as he tried to think of what he could have done to his hand. He couldn't think of anything.

"Is something wrong, Harry?" asked Hermione. She had seen him frowning. Harry shook his head and thrust his hands into the pockets in his grey hoody. He was suddenly exhausted and he leaned back, closing his eyes.

Hermione looked at Ron, raising her eyebrows in silent question again, and once again, Ron's silently admonished her to wait. Hermione clamped her lips together but didn't argue; she picked up the book she had put aside earlier, but Tonks started conversing with her and the book remained unopened for the time being.

They had been travelling for about twenty minutes when an extra loud bang shook the compartment door, shocking Harry's eyes open. Scuffling feet, whispers and bodies knocking into the door had been heard for the whole of the journey so far and he saw through the drawn blinds the silhouettes of many bodies bobbing about outside the compartment. The soft hisses of whispered conversation combined with the strident peel of female giggles were getting louder.

"Bloody hell!" he ground out.""What do they think they're doing?"

"Stop stressing Harry. You only give their antics importance if you let it get to you," Tonks said sagely.

"But I don't understand why they're so worked up! It wasn't just me in the Department of Mysteries," Harry ranted, seemingly unable to heed Tonks' advice. "And I didn't escape Voldemort again. If it was up to me, I'd be dead! Dumbledore saved my arse!"

"It's you they want to read about, Harry," said Bill, from where he sat opposite  Tonks. " You're the one they've been reading about since you were a baby, so it makes good copy. Don't let it get you down."

"Yeah," piped up Tonks. "At least this time they're for ye and not agin, ye."

"That doesn't explain why all those girls were gawping at me like I'm one of Florean Fortesque's ice-cream sundaes, nor why one of them felt the need to feel me up!" Harry continued to lament. Hermione and Tonks looked at each other and shook their heads as if they despaired for Harry's intelligence.

"What?" Harry asked belligerently. He looked at Ron, but like Harry, Ron appeared clueless and he shrugged and shook his head.

Tonks sighed. "Harry. Harry, Harry, Harry! It must be so depressing being a boy and being so completely clueless."

"Excuse me," said Bill with dignity.

At the same time, Harry said "Oi!" and Ron just opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish, apparently too offended to vocalize how insulted he felt.

Tonks laughed and she eyed Bill up and down. "You've grown out of it Bill," she said, and her eyebrows waggled up and down lasciviously. "And very nicely too, I might add."

Bill laughed. "High praise indeed. I thank you."

"But these two..." said Tonks and she shook her head as if there was no hope for Harry and Ron.

"Well," said Harry indignantly, "If you've finished insulting us, perhaps you can answer my original question."

Tonks gave a put upon sigh. "Harry," she said with the air of a teacher talking to a particularly obtuse child, "Have you looked in the mirror lately?"

Harry's brows furrowed. "Have I... What sort of a question is that?"

"Oh for heaven's sake, Harry," said Hermione almost snappishly. "Tonks is telling you that you have also grown up very nicely." Her face had become slightly pink as she spoke, but she ploughed on, ignoring both Harry and Ron's looks of incredulity.

"Against all the odds, you've grown quite considerably over the summer, and you've filled out in all the right places."

Harry's face was now the colour of Ron's ears and he glared at Tonks who was laughing like a loon and Bill, who was smirking, even though he was leaning back with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

"Perfectly true, Hermione," said Tonks, trying to get herself under some semblance of control. "And, Harry James, you have the most beautiful eyes and eyelashes-the envy of many a girl, I might tell you... myself included-lovely teeth and skin..."

Harry was now magenta and he squeezed himself as far into the corner as he could and glared out the window at the unsuspecting view because he couldn't look at anyone in the compartment any longer. He actually wanted to put a Silencing Charm on Tonks.

But Tonks was relentless. "All in all, my young friend, I have to say that you have become rather fanciable. Wouldn't you agree, Hermione?"

Hermione was aware of Ron glaring at her, almost daring her to agree that their best mate had become quite fanciable. She mumbled something under her breath and quickly stood to grab Crookshanks' cage from the rack so that she could liberate him. Crookshanks had been asleep, so he looked a tad disgruntled over being disturbed.

Tonks could see Ron still glaring at Hermione as she kept herself busy with her cat. She decided that a little diplomacy might be in order and to that end, she set about stroking Ron's ego, telling him that, like his eldest brother,  he too had grown up very nicely indeed. 

They all sat in silence for the next fifteen minutes, until the door was banged into from outside for about the tenth time and Tonks jumped to her feet and violently slid it open. She came face to face with a gaggle of girls who all squealed and fell back a step in a single move that might have been choreographed.

"Can we help you?" Tonks barked in a menacing voice. Two of the group broke away and staggered off down the rocking corridor. It seemed the need to perve on Harry Potter was not worth being confronted by a mini-skirted, bare-midriffed, pink haired, knee-high sock and combat-booted woman who was, apparently, an Auror, unless the distinctive badge pinned to her short, pale yellow angora top was a fake. There would be plenty of opportunity at Hogwarts to catch up with a certain Gryffindor Seeker, who had definitely grown up mighty fine. Plus, he was as famous as He Who Must Not Be Named, but for all the right reasons.

Three of the girls however were game enough to stay and one of them actually moved forward to try and see past Tonks into the compartment. Tonks moved to block her view. She crossed her arms menacingly, but the bold girl was not cowed.

"We wondered if Harry would like to join us..." she waved airily in the direction of the other girls, "...in our carriage. My mum packed me a huge hamper with chicken and ham sandwiches and bottles of Butterbeer."

Tonks looked at the girl as if she was a specimen under a microscope. Her eyes narrowed. "May I ask who's asking?" she asked seriously.

‘My name's Romilda Vane."

"Just one moment," said Tonks in an extra refined voice.

She turned her back on Romilda Vane, her eyes dancing with amusement. She exchanged a smirk with Bill who rolled his eyes and shook his head at her idiocy. "Err, Harry, Miss Vane would like to know if you would care to join her and her friends in their carriage to partake of a delicious repast comprising of chicken and ham sandwiches and Butterbeer. And," she added sotto voce, "If you play your cards right, I'm sure you can count on desert."

Ron stared at Tonks as if he despaired for her intelligence and Hermione stared at her as if she couldn't believe the older woman's audacity. But Harry positively goggled at her.

"I see," said Tonks, interpreting his non-verbal response correctly. Arranging her face into appropriately sober lines, she turned back to face the girls.

"I'm sorry," she said, smiling sweetly, "But Harry doesn't appear to have much of an appetite. I'm sure even less now than before you asked him to join you." Tonks smiled even more widely at the girl who was only just starting to realise she had just been insulted by a true expert in the art.

"Thanks for dropping by." Tonks slammed the door hard and threw herself down in her seat.

"You can thank me later, Harry."

"You could have just told her to move on," said Ron.

"Where would the fun have been in that?"

"What did she think?" asked Harry, truly baffled. "That I would just go off with her and her friends and leave my friends behind? I've never even seen her before."

"Yes you have," corrected Hermione. "You just haven't ever taken any notice of her, before. She's a Gryffindor and she's a fourth year. She's always staring at you. Even back when most everyone thought you were a liar, she looked at you as if you were one of Florean Fortescue's ice-cream sundaes.

"And you never bothered to point this out to me?" asked Harry, his voice high with indignation.

"Why would I?" asked Hermione reasonably. "You would have just felt self conscious and awkward whenever you saw her." Harry couldn't deny that.

"Well, it appears Romilda has become much more bold over the holidays, Harry, if she's now game to make a move on you," pointed out Tonks, most unhelpfully. Harry glowered at her.

"I feel sorry for her," continued Tonks, conversationally. "If Ginny figures out that she's making a play for you, Harry, she'll be one sorry, sorry little fourth year."

When Harry continued to glower, Tonks decided it was time to give him a break. She changed the subject, none to subtly.

"And speaking of Ginny, has she followed in the footsteps of three of her older brothers and been made a prefect?"

"Oh, my God!" Hermione suddenly squealed, jumping to her feet. "Ron, we're supposed to be at the prefect's meeting!" She rushed to the door, then when she realised that Ron wasn't on her heels, she rushed back and tugged him forcefully to his feet. "Come on!"

Hermione bolted into the corridor with a clearly disinterested Ron following behind at a slower pace; he looked back over his shoulder at his brother and best friend and rolled his eyes.

"In answer to your question," said Bill to Tonks, "No, Ginny didn't make prefect."

"Was she upset?"

Bill shook his head and Tonks grinned. "Good for her! I always knew the girl was a cut above the common herd."

"Are prefects the common herd, Tonks?"

"Everyone wants to be a prefect, Bill, just as their parents want them to be prefects. So, yeah, they're the common herd." Bill just shook his head.

"Was Molly upset?" persisted Tonks.

"She didn't comment as far as I know."

 Harry let the conversation sail over his head. Even though groups of students moved past the open door, and quite a few peered in at him, Harry could see  that his ‘fan club' had dispersed. Thank God! He jumped to his feet, feeling suddenly antsy. He had to get out of here and stretch his legs; he needed to get his mind off Ginny and his increasingly painful hand which he had kept hidden in his pocket.

As Harry went to move past Bill, the eldest Weasley offspring put out a leg to impede his progress, propping his foot on the opposite seat. "Where do you think you're going?"

Harry frowned. "For a walk."

Bill studied him for a moment, then he removed his foot. But before Harry could proceed, Bill stood up and gestured towards the door. "Let's go," he said.

"What?"

"You said you wanted to go for a walk. So, let's go."

"You don't have to come with me!" said Harry.

"In actual fact, I do."

Harry looked at Tonks and raised his unaffected hand, palm upwards, and along with the open mouth, widened eyes and slight shake of the head, it was clear that he was asking Tonks, ‘what the hell?'.

Tonks sighed. "Honestly Harry, why do you think we're here?"

"Bu... but we're on the train now. No Death Eaters here. I know there are protective wards on the train similar to those at Hogwarts, and Dumbledore would know if there were Death Eaters on board."

Bill leaned forward, his face close to Harry's. "For a seemingly intelligent person, Harry, you can be really dense."

Harry looked indignant, but Bill didn't give him a chance to rebut.

 "You do remember the events of some two months ago, do you not?" Bill said with hard-won patience. Harry automatically opened his mouth to answer, but he suddenly shut it again as colour climbed into his face.

"Exactly!" said Bill. "That was no Death Eater who managed to poison you at Hogwarts. You have a very dangerous enemy at school, Harry, and hence, the necessity for Tonks and my presence here on the train, to see you safely to school." He shot a quick glance at Tonks before he said, "Dumbledore would have our hide if we allowed anything to happen to you."

Harry knew that Bill actually meant, Severus would have their hide, but Tonks did not know about the changed circumstances between Harry and his hated Potions professor. He knew that Severus had been instrumental in organising his bodyguard.

Harry knew that he would be stupid to try and argue the point; for starters, neither Bill nor Tonks was likely to listen to any argument of his, and secondly, he would be a fool to ignore the obvious threat from an unknown source within the school. If it was a student who had poisoned him, and that was the most likely scenario, then that person was most likely on the train... unless they had been a seventh year during the last school year.

And of course, the person who had poisoned him was most likely a Slytherin because as far as he knew, nobody in either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff held a grudge against him. He  was not acquainted with one Slytherin who did not hate him on principle, though when he thought about it, Harry found it hard to believe that every member of the house of snakes was evil. Look how good Severus had turned out to be.

Of course the name that sprang immediately to mind was Malfoy. But somehow, Harry could not see Malfoy having the balls to do something as audacious as actually devising a plan to kill him, and then seeing it through. Malfoy was all bluster; he was a coward too. He would never want to get his hands dirty by actually doing the deed, even a deed that was basically hands off. The person who had poisoned him had not had to stick around to see the result of his handiwork, which made it almost definite that the would-be-killer had been pretty blasé about whether Harry died or not, though if Severus had not been on hand, Harry knew he would died.

The would-be killer had coated that pendant with a very lethal poison that, according to Severus, would have been absorbed into his skin slowly if he had not pierced his hand with the sharp quills of the stylized knarl/hedgehog. The perpetrator would have planned for Harry to be on the train and away from immediate intervention. If that had been the case, Severus had said Harry would definitely have died... and very painfully too. Harry shuddered.

At that precise moment, Draco Malfoy himself walked past the open door of their compartment. Most unusually, he was not accompanied by Crabbe and Goyle  but by Theodore Nott. Harry didn't really know the stringy Slytherin boy at all; he only saw him in the classes that Gryffindor shared with Slytherin, and the boy rarely opened his mouth.

Unusually, Malfoy didn't shoot a look of deepest loathing at Harry, despite them having ended the year as the worst of protagonists; Harry had been responsible for the imprisonment of Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father. No, it was the quiet, unobtrusive Theodore Nott who glared at Harry as if he would like nothing better than to take his wand out and put the Cruciatus Curse on him.

Harry was surprised; he had never known Nott to display any emotion at all. But he supposed if anything was going to engender that look of loathing, then it would be the person whose actions had been the catalyst for ones father being imprisoned. Nott's father had also been one of the Death Eaters at the Ministry and he too had been captured. Harry felt sick. Just what he needed... someone else out for his blood.

Before Harry could turn away, both boys had moved on, leaving behind an all-pervading sense of menace. If Bill had noticed the silent interchange, he didn't comment.

"So," he said, "Do you still want to go for a walk?"

Harry looked towards the door again, but his enthusiasm to leave the compartment had disappeared. Something was niggling at the back of his mind, but it was so ethereal, it barely made a ripple. He shook his head and threw himself back down in the seat near the window. To avoid communication he stared fixedly out the window, his thoughts turning to Ginny and how much he wished she was here with him.

As his hand throbbed painfully, Harry also wished that he had a pot of the salve Severus had given him when his hands had become inflamed and painful after the poisoning. Severus had not been able to tell him what was wrong with his hands back then, but whatever it had been, it had again flared, but in one hand only, which was a little strange. Harry wondered if he was getting arthritis, but that seemed unlikely as in between the two episodes, he had been completely pain free... in his hands anyway.

Exhaustion overcame Harry and he shut his eyes again and dozed.

Bill and Tonks exchanged glances; they had recognised Draco and by mutual consent, they decided to leave Harry to his own thoughts... for a while anyway. It was a long trip and Tonks was determined that Harry was not going to wallow in misery for the duration.

 

&&&&

Severus was crossing the Entrance Hall when the front door was pushed open and Minerva hurried inside. Severus wondered what she had been doing out in the grounds; winter seemed to have bypassed autumn, and it was bitterly cold. He had only taken two steps towards Minerva when someone else practically stumbled through the door. Molly Weasley.

Severus' gut clenched. He hurried forward to intercept the two women. Molly spotted him as she pulled the hood of her travelling cloak down. "Oh, Severus..."

"What has happened?" asked Severus in a tight voice.

"Nothing to get stressed about, Severus," assured Minerva in her no-nonsense tone. There was an incident at King's Cross Station..."

"What kind of an incident?" the two women were walking swiftly across the Hall to the marble staircase. Severus rushed to get ahead of them and block their ascent.

"Severus, for Merlin's..."

"What kind of an incident?"

"Ginny was hurt," said Molly. "And Harry... Harry..." Molly didn't quite know how to communicate what Harry had done and she clamped her lips together and tried to dart past Severus. Severus stepped sideways and blocked her again.

"Harry what?" bit out Severus.

"Severus, really..."

Severus ignored Minerva. "Molly?"

Molly stopped and glared up at Severus where he stood two steps above her. "I wish to see my daughter, Severus," she said in a quietly determined voice. "I will tell you that Harry is perfectly well and will now be on the train. I will explain everything after I have ascertained that Ginny is all right."

The young man and the older woman glared at each other for several seconds, then Severus stepped aside to allow Molly to pass. Minerva added her own censorious glare as she fell into step with him. Impatience was evident in Severus's every clipped footfall.

"There was a contingent of Aurors and they were over-zealous in their attentions to Harry," said Minerva out the corner of her mouth. "Ginny was trying to get to Harry and she was knocked out by one of the brutes. The fools didn't even realise that they had knocked her unconscious." They nearly trod on her for heaven's sake! Hagrid brought Ginevra straight here with his Portkey.

"Who ordered Aurors to make up a welcoming committee?" asked Severus. He wanted to ask again what had happened to Harry, but he did not think Minerva knew if her expression of confusion when Molly had faltered over Harry's name, was anything to go by.

"Who else?" bit out Minerva. "Scrimgeour! The idiot man seems to have inherited Fudge's brains as well as his title. Sticking his bib in where it is not needed and most definitely is not wanted. As if Albus would not have taken adequate precautions to see Harry safely onto the train."

"Politicians are not renowned for their brains, Minerva," said Severus and Minerva snorted in agreement.

In the Hospital Wing, they found Albus and Hagrid waiting while Poppy Pomfrey examined Ginny behind a screen. Molly darted past Albus and Hagrid and ignoring the barrier, she darted behind it to be with her daughter.  

"So things did not go as smoothly as hoped," said Albus when Severus and Minerva joined him and Hagrid. "Rufus is a fool," he continued,  uncharacteristically critical. "Just like Cornelius, he is intent on doing that which will make him look competent, even if the action borders on the incompetent."

When they had entered the hospital wing, Severus had taken a mere second to put on his hard and uncaring persona; Hagrid was unaware of the true state of affairs between Severus and Harry and the pretence had to be maintained at all times.

"And all this fuss for the Golden Boy," said Severus in a laconic drawl. "Have you never noticed Albus, that when it comes to Harry Potter, the implementation of any plan will always go awry?" Hagrid's face had reddened above his scraggly beard as this criticism of his young friend continued.

"That will do, Severus," said Albus, shortly. "One of our students has been hurt and we do not need your bile-soaked input."

"Yes, Severus," added Minerva in a clipped voice, "I wonder if it had been one of your Slytherins who was hurt whether you would be quite so sanguine?" Severus sniffed and looked towards the screen.

"And I wonder if it had been one of my Slytherins whether either of you would be quite so concerned?"

Minerva drew herself up to her full height, her face stiff with indignation. "You are the only head of house in this school, Severus Snape, who is totally blind to the welfare of any student not in your own house," she hissed.  "Do not attempt to tar us all with the brush that has coloured you!"

"Thank you, children!" said Albus in a tight voice- Minerva looked livid at the use of the hated sobriquet, but Severus just looked amused, "I would prefer that my staff not be at each other's throats mere hours before the children arrive en masse.

Severus sighed and looked towards the screen again; they could hear Poppy's quiet voice reassuring Molly. "I suppose Ginevra was hanging off the Chosen One's arm and that is how she came to be hurt."

"None of it were Harry's fault, Professor,"  growled Hagrid. "Those ruddy Ministry drones virtually attacked Harry, an' Ginny was hurt trying to get to ‘im." Severus looked supremely unconcerned with this tale and Hagrid pulled out his handkerchief and dabbed at suspiciously bright eyes as he recalled the happenings at King's Cross. Minerva patted the half-giant's forearm, shaking her head a little at his emotional display, but not allowing her impatience to show as she comforted him.

"I think you should go and have yourself a cup of tea, Hagrid," said Albus. "I can hear Fang beginning to make a fuss, objecting, I am sure, to having been left alone for so long." Sure enough Fang's intermittent barks could be heard; the hospital wings eastern windows looked over Hagrid's cabin in the distance.

Hagrid sniffed and cleared his throat. "Right yer are, Professor," he said and he moved towards the door.

"I will come down a little later with a report on Ginevra, Hagrid. We'll have some afternoon tea together," assured Albus. Hagrid waved his hanky to indicate he had heard, but he stopped at the door when the headmaster addressed him again.

"You did the right thing bringing Ginevra here, Hagrid. Well done." Hagrid gave a watery smile and left.

Severus dropped his mask immediately.  "What happened, Albus. Other than Ginny getting hurt, Molly intimated that something happened to Harry."

Albus sighed and crossed to a bed to sit down on its edge. "Nothing happened to Harry, Severus," he said. "Rather, Harry caused something to happen."

Both his companions looked puzzled, before Severus's expression changed and he looked severe. "What did he do?"

"You remember, I am sure, the episode of wild magic in your room after Harry awoke for the first time after the poisoning..."

Severus's eyes widened and he shook his head. "You are not going to tell me that he had another burst of wild magic in front of a street full of Muggles?"

Albus nodded somewhat wearily. "I'm afraid so."

 

&&&&

 

When the carriage transporting Harry, Ron, Hermione, Bill and Tonks lumbered up to the forecourt, freezing needles of rain were lashing down. Bill looked at Harry worriedly. The kid looked absolutely exhausted; there were dark smudges under his eyes and he was hardly able to keep them open. He was also very pale and sweat was beading his forehead. He still had his hand hidden inside the pocket of his hoody, but Bill had come to the conclusion that there had to be something wrong with the hand because Harry had worked very hard to keep it out of sight.

Once they had arrived in Hogsmeade, Bill had sent another Patronus to Dumbledore informing him that in his opinion, Harry would not be up to the feast; would, in fact, need the Hospital Wing himself.

"You two get inside," said Bill to Ron and Hermione when the carriage ground to a halt. "I'll see to Harry."

Harry roused himself at the sound of his name and he sat up straight. A hiss of pain escaped him though when he jarred his hand but he tried to cover up. "I'm all right," he said. "I don't need seeing to! Why would I?" his words were slightly slurry and when he would have eased himself off the musty-smelling velveteen seat, Bill reached over the leg-space and held him in place with a hand against his chest.

"Stay put, Harry." Bill could feel the rapid tattoo of Harry's heart through his clothing and feel the unnatural warmth of his body. Harry wanted to argue, but quite frankly, he did not have the energy. He subsided against the seatback and his head fell back, his eyelids already fluttering closed.

Hermione hesitated with her hand on the door, her face creased with worry. But Bill jerked his head to indicate that she get out. Hermione did so reluctantly and Ron followed just as reluctantly.

Hordes of students were running past the carriage, squealing as the rain soaked them, and so eager to get inside, they didn't stop to peer into the still occupied and lighted carriage.

"Should we take him straight up to the Hospital Wing?" Tonks asked Bill. Bill peered through the wet twilight towards the lighted Great Hall; he saw a black figure silhouetted against the backdrop of light, students separating and streaming around it before it hurried down the steps in a flurry of black robes.

"Someone's coming," supplied Bill and within seconds, the door was flung open and Severus stood there, his eyes immediately seeking out Harry whose own eyes fluttered open at the noise and the further incursion of cold air into the magically warm interior.  If he realised that his father stood there, he did not acknowledge his presence in any way; his leaden eyelids closed almost immediately and his head slumped to the side.

"The headmaster saw fit to send me to retrieve Mr Potter, Weasley," Severus drawled indifferently, even as his eyes raked over his son. His voice might have been indifferent, but a spike of fear pierced his brain as he took in Harry's wan face with ill-disguised concern. He was thankful that the dim light would not allow Nymphadora to see his true concern.

Tonks' mouth  had tightened when she saw who Harry's saviour was. She had the good sense not to say anything though, taking her lead from Bill who managed not to look too relieved to see Severus; Tonks, after all, was not part of the secret.

 "What exactly has the idiot boy been up to?"  Severus continued in his pseudo-cold voice as he hoisted himself into the carriage to sit next to Harry. He put his hand on Harry's forehead, his eyes widening when he felt the heat radiating off him; Harry moaned and unconsciously pushed his hot face against the cold hand

"Why Severus," cooed Tonks in honeyed tones, it appeared she was incapable of holding her runaway tongue. "You had better be careful or people might get the impression that you actually care what the ‘idiot boy' has been up to."

Severus ignored her; he was too busy pulling back Harry's eyelids to check his pupils and feeling his pulse to respond,  but Bill felt he had better nip Tonks' insane desire to cross swords with a master duellist, in the bud. Auror, or not, Nymphadora Tonks was no match for Severus Snape.

"Why don't you go ahead Tonks and report to Dumbledore. I'll assist Severus in getting Harry to the Hospital Wing."

Tonks frowned at Bill. She knew what he was doing and was annoyed; she wasn't afraid of Severus Snape. Bill widened his eyes at her in silent admonition, jerking his head towards the sick boy opposite them. Now was not the time to start a battle. With a last glare at Snape, Tonks exited the carriage, reluctantly admitting as she ran through the rain, that Snape seemed to be treating Harry with all due care... much as he had done when Harry had been at his aunt and uncle's back in July.

 

&&&&

 

"Explain to me exactly what happened," ordered Severus, his hand still resting against Harry's cheek, his dark eyes softened by anxiety as they continued to study Harry's flushed features.

"You know about the wild magic?" asked Bill and at Severus's terse nod, he continued. "He seemed fine in the beginning... we boarded the train and he was indignant about a girl groping him and pinching his bum..." Severus' lips tightened, but he didn't interrupt, "...but he was mostly worried about Ginny. After a while, he just became really quiet and after an hour or so, he seemed to fall asleep. He kept on starting awake, and he was looking hot and flushed. He kept his right hand buried in his pocket, but a couple of times when he started awake, he seemed to jar it and it obviously pained him."

With exquisite tenderness, Severus pulled Harry's hand from the pocket and Bill hissed when he saw the swollen and inflamed appendage. Severus's lips tightened even further as he turned the hand over. Harry whimpered and unconsciously tried to free his hand, but he did now awaken and Severus pulled his wand and cast a charm over the swollen palm and digits before resting it back on Harry's thigh. The lines of pain on Harry's forehead had deepened when Severus was handling his injured hand, but now his face relaxed back to what they had been.

Bill would have liked to ask questions but now was not the time. He became business-like. "Do you want a stretcher?" he asked.

Severus shook his head. "No, I'll carry him. But I want to wait a few minutes, until there are no stragglers in the Entrance Hall. I don't want anyone seeing; Harry doesn't need to start the year having people wonder why he needs the Hospital Wing before the feast has even started."

Bill nodded. "No," he agreed. "He doesn't need to be under an even bigger spotlight."

Severus shot him a look. "What exactly do you mean by that?" he bit out.

"Only that he has been the cynosure of all eyes on the train. It appears that the general populous now see Harry as a hero rather than a deluded fool." Bill's eyes travelled over Harry. "Poor kid. He can't take a turn, can he? And Ginny's going to have her hands full chasing off amorous competition."

The corner of Bill's mouth quirked. "Harry was propositioned by a rather forward fourth year, and believe me, she wasn't the only one who would have liked to get up close and personal with the Chosen One."

Severus scowled and Bill was sure he heard him mutter, ‘idiot females'. "Check the steps for stragglers," he said shortly.

Bill stepped out of the carriage and after ensuring that there were no students around, he flanked Severus as they hurried into the castle with a very floppy Harry clamped to Severus's chest. If Severus could find anything to feel pleased about, it was that Harry was considerably heavier than he had been on and around the time of the poisoning. He was still slender and would never be a heavy-weight, but he was now a healthy weight.

Poppy descended on them with a soft susurration of starched white robes, when they entered the double doors; she ushered Severus to the bed that she had already turned down in anticipation of Harry needing it. When Bill veered off towards the only other occupied bed hidden behind a screen, Poppy forestalled him. "Your sister is going to be fine, Mr Weasley; she is sleeping peacefully at the moment and I would prefer she stays so. Bill continued on his chosen course, but all he did was look past the screen at his little sister; he had to see for himself. Ginny was curled on her side, her pretty face flushed with sleep; Bill was relieved to see her whole, and apparently healthy.

Severus deposited his limp son onto the turned down bed and without preamble,  Poppy pulled out her wand to begin diagnosing. Severus allowed her to feel in control but he informed her of his own findings.

"He is suffering from magical exhaustion; he needs an antipyretic and Pepper-Up potion first off." He indicated Harry's hand. "I have cast a protective charm over his hand and I have the salve needed to help ease his hand down in my rooms."

At Poppy's raised eyebrows, Severus explained. "I had need to come up with  a suitable formula during Harry's previous illness; he has strained the fine muscles and tendons in his hand with a powerful burst of magic that was not channelled through his wand."

Poppy clucked her tongue and raised her wand to summon the potions she did have on hand. "What in Merlin's name was the foolish boy thinking?"

"It is doubtful premeditation was part of the equation, Poppy... hence, the label, ‘wild magic'.

Poppy sniffed. "Well, perhaps after it takes young Mr Potter days to recover enough to even leave this bed, he will try for more control."

Severus bit his tongue; he did not want to start an argument with Poppy Pomfrey. He was surprised when Bill spoke up though. "He has no idea what has even happened," he said.

Severus sighed. He had been afraid of this. Harry had had no idea about what he had done down in the dungeon room when he had blasted Severus through the air nearly two months ago. He had hoped that the amnesia on that occasion was because Harry had still been so out of it after the poisoning, that even though he was conscious and conversing with them at the time, he was still very ill. The fact that he had not re-awoken for a further three days was evidence of that.

"On the train, he was totally unaware of what he had done. Ron told me later that Harry was under the impression that Tonks had been responsible for dispersing the Aurors; he had no idea that he had held an impregnable shield charm in place, protecting Ginny for nearly five minutes. I still don't know how I got through to him."

Severus and Poppy were looking at Bill with appalled expressions.

"How did you get through to him," asked Severus in a tight voice.

Bill shook his head. "I think he just came out of it by himself. My voice may have impinged on his consciousness, but the dazed look in his eyes just faded and the aura and Shield with it."

"Aura?" bit out Severus.

Bill looked at him. "He was surrounded by a golden aura. It appeared a split second before he raised his arm and blasted the Aurors away.

Severus lips thinned as he looked down at his son; he was aware of Poppy breaking the seals on the vials of potion she had summoned. He heard her sniff. "Not an auspicious start to the year," she said softly.

Severus pushed Harry's sweat-soaked fringe off his hot forehead. "Indeed not," he agreed.  He knew it was going to be a much more difficult task this year protecting his son from all danger. They certainly did not need Harry having bursts of wild magic and weakening himself so severely when he would need all of his wits, and his power to stay on the alert and protect himself.

TBC