THANK YOU to @WeasleyTwinsAreBae for the elegant cover on the side! I love the soft colors :D

Ch. 26: Back To Hogwarts

Song For Chapter: Gotta Get Back To Hogwarts - AVPM [my favorite part is 5:10 - 6:25]

"Elle, are you going to get on, or just stand there, stupidly watching the passengers go around you in annoyance?" Fred's voice wafted into my brain, pulling me from my dead stare of anticipation.

I watched as children of all ages began clambering into the Hogwarts Express, chirping their goodbyes to family members and climbing aboard the steaming train. Glancing towards Fred, I took a nervous step forward, clutching Ami's cage tightly to myself, before backtracking and pecking him lightly on the lips, blushing as Molly smiled towards the two of us in the corner of my eye.

"I'll see you over the holidays," I reminded him, pulling away as Mrs. Weasley said her goodbyes to all of us. "Goodbye Weasleys!" I hollered, grabbing my trunk in my other hand and sparing them one last grin as I followed Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Harry onto the Express.

"HEY - WAIT DON'T GO YET!" A high-pitched shriek rung in my ear and I was ambushed by a rugby style tackle from a beaming brunette. "Elle! You're going into your sixth year!" Blake's blue eyes boar into my own, swimming slightly. "Awe, you grew up so quickly! I remember two years ago, when we first met, - you remember?"

"- Yes, I do," I chuckled a bit, being overwhelmed once again by the blazing ball of energy that Blake was. "I was there -"

"-Of course you were, silly!" She pushed me lightly, "But, I mean that you are now going to be in the same year that I was when we met! Very exciting, no?"

Smiling at her, I nodded, "Yeah, you're right," The Express let out a warning whistle and I pulled slowly away from Blake. "I'll see you soon, okay? I've got to go! But, play nice with George for me, yeah?" I sent her a wink as I climbed into the train, causing her pink cheeks to tint a darker color, "Oh - and keep Fred in line while I'm gone!" I shouted, making sure Fred could hear me from the distance.

"Awe," He rolled his eyes, "Don't sick her on me!"

"Bye you guys!" I waved one last time, making sure I had everything I needed before walking down the corridor of the train. Many of the compartments were full already. I guess that's what I get for zoning out on a busy platform.

As I walked past each room, I realized that there were a lot of students at Hogwarts that I never even noticed. The school was so big, but I only talked to about 0.0004% of them. Glancing towards a compartment on my left, I noticed that Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Luna were all gathered into it. Luna's face broke out into a nice smile and she waved for me to come and join them, but a familiar rhyme pulled me back.

"Boys are cheats and liars, they're such a big disgrace. They will tell you anything to get to second base-ball, baseball he thinks he's gonna score," A chuckle cut off the girl's voice and I found myself motioning an apology to my friends as I maneuvered through the corridor once more, searching for the voices.

The next voice picked up the line in an amused way, "If you let him go all the way then you are a hor-ticulture studies flowers, geologist studies rocks. The only thing a guy wants from you is a place to put his -"

I jumped in front of a compartment on the left and found the culprits I was looking for all along. There they were, Jenna and Lana, sitting across from each other in an otherwise empty room with their legs taking up the benches, warding off people who may be looking for a place to sit.

I really didn't know whether I should allow myself to be surprised or not. Instead, I settled on sliding their compartment door open and blurting out the next line for Jenna, "Cock-roaches, beetles, butterflies and bugs. Nothing makes him happier than a giant pair of jug-glers and acrobats, a dancing bear named Chuck. All guys really want to do is -"

"Forget it, no such luck," Jenna, Lana, and I all chanted together, giggles on our breath.

I put Ami's cage down on top of my luggage and cast the two of them a weary eye, "What are you skanks doing here?"

"Well, take a seat and we will explain everything, Elizabeth," Lana grinned, waving her hand towards a seat across from her while Jenna jumped from her seat to sit beside Lana, so they were both facing me with earnest expressions on their faces.

Rolling my eyes at the two of them, I felt a sweet smile slip onto my lips. My trio was back together. I remembered someone once laughing about us in fourth year, calling us the 'silver trio' compared to Hermione's group, the 'Golden' one. It was all absurd, but still hilarious to me all the same.

Once I had put everything up, I sat down to hear their tale about why they were back at Hogwarts.

"Well, we figured that with all the crap about You-Know-Who coming back, for real," Lana sighed, folding her hands in her lap. I noticed that she was tanner than the last time I'd seen her - she'd been getting some sun out in France. "We would need to go somewhere safe from all that, since the guy is practically a wizard version of Hitler -"

"-Hitler wasn't a wizard?" I teased, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

Jenna cut me off with a chuckle and added sarcastically, "No, he was a demigod."

"Right," Lana rolled her eyes, "Anyway, we decided we had to get back to Hogwarts -"

"-Where everybody thinks were cool," Jenna grinned, "Because I really missed having you two at Sorcellerie, all those girls we used to know? Total bitches now."

"Yeah," Lana nodded, "So, I came back for the witches, and, wizards," She winked at that bit, "And, you know, the magical beasts. Remember those dragons? Awesome. Beauxbatons Academy of Magic didn't have anything like it."

"Not to mention the goblins, and ghosts, and the magical feasts," I could practically see Jenna's mouth drooling. Still the same old, hungry Jennifer.

The rest of the train ride was filled with questions about France, the United States, and Fred Weasley. It felt as if no time had been spent apart from Lana and Jenna. We picked up right were we'd left off.

"So, have you heard about the new Potions teacher for this year?" Lana asked as she tore open a bag of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. She liked them, calling them the candy version of Russian Roulette.

I grabbed a grey colored one with a small, calculating frown, "Actually, yeah - his name is Slughorn. Harry was talking about him at the Burrow."

Jenna grinned, popping a pink one into her mouth, "So, you've heard about the 'Slug Club'? I hear that he invi-ugh!" She squealed, face contorting into a disgusted grimace as she pursed her lips, but swallowed the candy, "Pepto Bismol flavored?! Who does that!?"

"HA!" I blurted out, unable to control the fit of laughter that Jenna's face had brought on, quickly Lana burst out into a fit of chuckles as well. After a minute of regaining my composure, I turned back to Jenna, chucking the grey bean into my mouth in the process, "So, what were you saying?"

"I was saying that he actually called a few people into his compartment today to meet them before Hogwarts! The guy already has favorites, and I'm not one of them," She pouted a bit, furrow on her brow.

"Neither are we," I pointed out, a grin slipping over my face as I found a small delight in the candy I'd picked, "Nice, pepper!"

Lana snickered a bit, chewing on the end of a bright green one, muttering about broccoli under her breath, "Yeah, but your twin was invited," She sent me a wink, "Guess we know who Slug thinks is the better Granger."

"Charming, Lana."

"You missed me."

The air was brisk against my bare legs as we got off the Hogwarts Express, lugging our things behind us as we followed the older students to the carriages.

Jenna's eyes flickered around until they landed on someone beside us, "Neville!"

Neville froze in his shoes as he glanced towards the three of us, nervous smile spreading on his lips as he noticed Jenna. "Jenna? 'Ello, I didn't know you were -oomph!" He was cut off by Jenna flinging herself onto the nervous boy, wrapping him into a tight hug.

"I'm back!" She chuckled, "This year is going to be great!"

"Jenna, stop attacking Neville and get on the carriage," I called out, jumping into the thing while Lana, Neville, and Jenna followed my example.

As Hogwarts came more into view, I looked around for any sign of Hermione, Harry, and Ron, but came up empty-handed. I brushed it off, realizing that they could be anywhere at that moment and instead turned back to listen to Neville as he explained the implications of water-based plants to Jenna and Lana.

When we finally made it into the Great Hall, leaving our luggage behind at the entrance, the four of us found that Hermione, Ginny, and Ron were sitting without Harry at the Gryffindor table. " 'Mione," I sighed, slipping into the vacant seat beside her, "Where's Potter?"

Hermione ignored my question by addressing Lana and Jenna, "You guys are back?"

"We couldn't stay away - we knew you'd guys would go crazy without us here," Lana smirked at Hermione, earning a grumble from Ron. "Something to say, Weasley?"

"N-No," Ron shook his head quickly as Lana and Jenna took the Twins's old spots by Ginny.

Hermione focused on me once again and let out a small sigh, "Well, we haven't really seen Harry. But, he could have just gotten side tracked. The feast has only just begun, and Ron doesn't think we should worry about it until a bit later," But, the way she trailed off told me how worried she really was.

Dumbledore got up in front of the school, welcoming everyone to another year at Hogwarts after the first years were sorted into their houses, and introduced the student body to our new professor while making a side note to the fact that Professor Snape was going to be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

I spared Lana and Jenna a special look of disdain.

The man was older, and seemed to have a kind face to him as he stood up to talk to us. "Hello students! My name is Horace Slughorn, and I am your new potions master. I have had the delighted pleasure of meeting a few of your acquaintances already," He nodded towards some section of kids, and I noticed that Hermione repressed a delighted smile that she was one of them, "And have the desire to met you all very soon, all in due time, I expect."

"Thank you, Professor," Headmaster Dumbledore smiled and gave him a round of applause, "Alright, let's eat, shall we?" He asked, spreading his arms wide as the tables gathered with mounds and mounds of fresh foods.

Grinning, I glanced towards the spot where the Twins usually sat to say a snide comment, but my smile dropped a bit when I remembered that they weren't here. This year was going to be rather different, I assumed.

Ron's plate was already piled high with meats and potatoes by the time I even decided to grab for a slice of chicken breast and mashed potatoes. Jenna, Ginny, and Lana were chattering happily back and forth while Hermione was fidgeting nervously with her hands, eyes glancing every minute of so towards the Great Hall doors.

"Would you stop eating?!" Hermione grabbed her book, hitting Ron with it angrily.

Ron stared at her in shock and slight hurt, mouth gaping with food. "Whaa-?"

"-You're best friend is missing and all you can think about is food!" She wailed, tossing her hands up in the air as I chuckled and glanced towards the doors of the Great Hall just as Luna and Harry made their way inside with Tonks.

"You guys, look," I murmured, nodding towards the Chosen One as he quietly tried to maneuver his way over to us. Luna slipped into the Ravenclaw table while Tonks made her way towards the teacher's table, whispering to McGonagall before disappearing once more.

I couldn't help but notice how disheveled she seemed.

"There he is," Lana rose a brow, turning to Jenna.

Ginny peeked up beside us and took in Harry's blood stained shirt and broken nose, "Covered in blood... Why does he always seem covered in blood?"

"Looks like it's his own this time," Ron murmured, receiving an acknowledging nod from myself. Hermione moved down a bit so Harry could sit next to Ginny, and Ginny grabbed a towel, getting it wet with water and pressing it lightly against Harry's face, tenderly.

Harry jumped at the touch, but gave her a quick, nervous smile. "Thanks Gin," He murmured and softly took the towel from her, pressing it against his face to stop the bleeding.

"Who broke your nose, Harry?" I asked lightly, stabbing my chicken as if this was the most casual conversation in the world, "Also, who patched it up? They did a pretty decent job, you know."

Harry's eyes flickered towards the opposite end of the room, the Slytherin side, but refused to say who'd punched him. "Luna fixed it, actually. And, Tonks was the one to bring us back to the castle."

"Harry, you know you can tell us what happened," Ginny murmured, placing a firm but dainty hand on his shoulder to show her support. "We are here for you."

He offered her a crooked smile, but shook his head, "I don't want to talk about it right now," He glanced towards the teacher's dining table and changed the subject, "So, what did I miss?"

Ginny shifted towards Harry to explain quietly but Headmaster Dumbledore took a stand in front of the student body once more to make is closing speech before bed. "Dear students," He began, getting the room to quiet down, "As you know, each one of you was searched upon your arrival tonight. And, you have the right to know why."

I twitched uncomfortably in my chair as the once homey air of the Great Hall turned a sour, cold one.

"Once, there was a young man who, like you, sat in this very hall, walked these castle corridors. Seemed to all the world a student like any other. This boy's name?" Dumbledore paused, adjusting his glasses with allowing the darkness to settle on our anxious hearts. "Tom Riddle."

Hermione and I glanced at each other at the same time, a mirrored gaze of fear etched on our faces as whispers ran rampant throughout the room.

Dumbledore cleared his throat to continue is speech. "Which is why, as I stand looking out upon you all tonight, I am reminded of a sobering fact. Every day, every hour, this very minute perhaps, dark forces attempt to penetrate this castle's walls. But, in the end, their greatest weapon is you," His light eyes darted slowly across the Hall, piercing everyone's soul as they did. "Just something to think about."

Then, he took a deep breath and clapped his hands together with an echoing finality. "Now, off to bed. Pip pip."

I blinked the haze of shock from my eyes a few times before realizing that my friends had risen from their seats and were starting to make their way out of the Great Hall.

"Well," Ron scratched the back of his neck, "That was cheerful..."

I nodded, letting out a loaded sigh, "You're telling me." I reached out towards Hermione and she grabbed my hand tightly. In that moment, I knew we were thinking the same thing. The world is changing, and, in Voldemort's world, there is no room for Muggle-borns.

We'd be the first he would track down.

"Hermione," I pulled her aside, away from the others as fear began to pebble my brow. I tried to remind myself that, for now, Hogwarts was the safest place for Hermione and I.

"Yes, Elle, what's wrong?"

I ducked my head and pushed a strand of hair behind my ear before glancing up at her once more, " 'Mione, I don't know if I have really ever said this, but I hope you have been aware of it, I love you. You know?"

Hermione's brows shot up on her forehead, but a slow grin spread on her lips as other students passed us in the hall, in a hurry to get to bed after that depressing talk from Dumbledore. "Elle, I love you too. You're the best sister I could have asked for."

"You mean it?"

"No."

A pout formed on my face from her quirky sarcasm. It was true. She's been around my friends and I too much. "Well then..."

"You know I'm kidding," Hermione chuckled, walking beside me as we made our way up to the Gryffindor tower. "And, I am glad I have you. I've always felt that it was Harry and Ron with Hermione, but now it seems Harry and Ron with Hermione and Elle."

"Don't forget that last bit, you Grangers!" Jenna's laughter floated down from the stairs above us. "It's really: Harry and Ron with Hermione and Elle with Jenna and Lana!"

A brilliant, beaming smile spread on Hermione's cheeks and she nodded happily, "Yes, and we all will have each other's backs. No matter what."

[early update, WHAT? :3]

oh, who knows what movie the rhyme was from? (TEN POINTS TO YOUR HOUSE IF YOU KNOW)