AN: I do not own anything. This has been revised since it was originally posted, and all of the irrelevant author's notes pulled. Thanks for reading! Cover image from stratosmacca on Deviantart.

The whistle for the Hogwarts Express blew, and the few clusters of people huddled on Platform 9 3/4 started before realizing that it was only the train. The platform was amazingly bare; never before had so few people come to send their children off to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The paranoid gazes and urgent whispers among those who were standing there that brisk September morning were all without a doubt in response to this dismal turnout- and of course the reason that no one was there. The wizarding world had been in a constant state of unrest since the spring before when Voldemort staged his first public display of power at Hogwarts. It was not unusual to see empty streets hurried glances.

At five minutes until eleven, a large group bustled loudly and anxiously through the barrier onto the platform. It was a motley crowd: a redheaded family, an ominous looking man with a hat pulled low over his face in a poor attempt to hide his terrifying electric blue eye that whirred unnaturally all over the platform, a tall man whose sandy hair was sprinkled with grey to aid his prematurely wrinkled face and shabby clothing in making him look far older than he was, a young woman with spiky magenta locks, a girl with bushy brown hair, and a thin, pale boy with raven hair, emerald green eyes and a lightning-bolt shaped scar running down his forehead. Indeed the group was a strange compilation of people even without taking into consideration their magical skills.

"Ginny, are you sure you got everything? It will be harder to send things up to school this year if you've forgotten anything," asked the plump redheaded woman while grasping her daughter's arm slightly too tightly to be considered comfortable.

"Yes, mother," she groaned and pulled her arm away.

The shabby wizard looked at the young raven-haired boy with caution as if choosing his words carefully, "Harry, you will be careful this year, won't you? At Hogwarts, or not, nobody is safe."

Harry glanced sharply at Remus Lupin before calming enough to say, "Yes, professor, of course," as Ron, the lanky redhead, and Hermione, the bushy-haired brunette, exchanged a glance.

The whistle for the train blew again, and Molly Weasley cried, "Oh for heaven's sake, you can't miss the train. Hurry along!" as she pushed them toward the nearest car. After a few moments of confused goodbyes and words of wisdom, the kids moved into the train. Ginny ascended first and Harry, Ron and Hermione climbed aboard behind her carrying an odd assortment of creatures: a large squash-faced ginger cat, a beautiful snowy owl, and a tiny twittering owl that looked about to burst with energy.

The small groups of people on the platform, now including a smaller, but no less odd-looking group, near where the children had just entered, all stared anxiously at the train, though their nervous eyes seemed to wander around them in search of some hidden evil.

"Thank Merlin that is over with," sighed Ron heaving his things forward into the train car.

"So where should we sit?" Ginny asked looking around, though it didn't seem to matter, because they appeared to be the only ones in their car, and the group could have the pick of the lot.

Hermione looked at Ron out of the corner of her eyes, though he was looking expectantly at Harry.

"Well, uhh, you see…" Harry began uncomfortably. Ginny looked at him curiously.

Harry looked back toward Ron and Hermione for help, but all he got was an approving nod from Hermione. "Well, Ginny, we're actually not going to sit," he finished quickly and somewhat lamely.

Ginny blinked at him.

Hermione sighed, "What Harry means, is that we're not going to ride the train. We're not going to Hogwarts."

"Okay… you're what?" she responded shaking her head stupidly. Bloody hell, she thought, they are doing it now!

"Ginny, you're not stupid so stop acting like it," Ron bit out in frustration. He immediately regretted it as she quickly turned on him.

"Well, why don't you lot just say what is going on here, then?" she retorted in a desperate attempt to delay her mind processing that she knew exactly what was going on. In fact, she had known since last spring at Dumbledore's funeral that this would happen. She spent half of the summer expecting to wake up and find them gone. As the days passed and their conspiratorial whispering increased so did her anxiety, but the day had not come and they had boarded the train. She thought she was safe here. She thought that they had changed their mind.

"Ginny, you know what I have to do. What we have to do." Harry said in a voice that was meant to be consoling, but just sounded bloody irritating to Ginny.

"And I suppose by 'we' you mean you three and not me," she replied bitterly. Of course he does, she thought to herself, why are you making this harder than it should be?

The three older students looked between each other as if saying 'I knew she was going to act like this.'

"Of course we do, Ginny. I can't take my baby sister out to deal with… well with you know what." Ron finished.

Before she could retort, Harry jumped in, "We couldn't put you through that. I thought you understood that this is the way that it has to be. I need to know you're safe. I need… well anyway, you need to stay away from it and since we are headed toward trouble, you will be as far away from us as possible."

Ginny glared at the three uncomfortable looking people in front of her and tried to take that look in Harry's eyes as sincere, but she wanted to whip out her wand and hex him with the most powerful bat bogey jinx she could. As it stood, however, she knew she wouldn't, she knew she was not surprised, and she knew that no matter what she put herself through right now, nothing would change- they were leaving and she would be alone at school. Probably completely alone judging by the state of the platform and the car, she thought bitterly.

"Fine," she muttered uncharacteristically. Ron looked horrified.

"What? Aren't you going to argue and try and blow my head off or something?" he asked.

"Ronald, be quiet," Hermione scolded. "I am really glad you understand, Ginny." She spoke too comfortingly. I'll show you comfort, Ginny thought, how about I jinx you so that you can never move again- wouldn't it be comfy to lay about immobile all day on your ruddy arse. "I also wondered if perhaps you'd take care of Crookshanks and the others. We can't bring them with us, and they could keep you company," Hermione continued, oblivious to Ginny boiling insides.

"Oh yes, I'd just love to!" Ginny's voice dripped with sarcasm as she grabbed Crookshanks a little too forcibly from Hermione's arms and winced as he dug his claws into her forearms. Ruddy cat.

"Right, well then." Harry looked at Ron as he placed Hedwig's cage in front of the fuming redhead. They communicated silently with their eyes before looking back to Ginny.

"Well, I love you, Gin." Ron said stepping toward his sister. Ginny stepped back and held Crookshanks firmly in front of her.

"You too," she replied.

"We'll be back soon, Ginny," Harry muttered uncomfortably.

"Right"

"Okay then, you boys ready?" Hermione asked. When they nodded, she looked toward Ginny one last time before screwing her face up in concentration. Are they are going to apparate off of a moving train? Ginny wondered, but before anything could happen, a door at the far end of the car creaked open and a tall boy with uncharacteristically disheveled platinum blonde hair moved quickly forward without looking up.

"Malfoy!" Harry shouted having grabbed his wand and aimed it in a split second at the sound of the door.

Draco Malfoy looked up at the surprised group.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Ron bellowed moving toward the blonde.

"Trying to get to my seat, thanks," he muttered bitterly as he brushed past Ron and the other three.

Hermione threw Ginny a look that clearly asked, "What in the name of Merlin is he doing here?"

"What are you too afraid to talk to us ferret-face? Afraid you might meet the same end your parents did? It's all your fault you know," Ron yelled at the retreating back, while Hermione looked astonished and Harry seemed flustered.

Malfoy's pace faltered and he stopped, his hand on the doorknob. He slowly turned to see the smirk on Ron's flushed face. "Why don't you…" he began with his hand tightening on his wand in his robes, before it slackened a bit, "… just grow up, Weasley," he finished quietly before opening the door and disappearing into the next car.

There was a moment of silence in which Ginny took in the boys' clearly shocked faces. She fought to control a chuckle. Ron finally reacted and looked as if he was going to move toward where Malfoy had just disappeared when Hermione's hand reached out and stopped him.

"Let it go, Ron. We need to go while we still can."

"What is he doing here? He shouldn't be here! And Ginny! He'll be here with Ginny!" throwing out several short and somewhat disjointed sentences as his face reddened even more.

Harry's eyes widened and he looked at Ginny. "We can't let him stay here with you!" he spit out quickly.

Ginny's eyes narrowed, "I can take care of myself, believe it or not! Aren't you supposed to be going somewhere?" And here I thought I liked this prat?

Hermione reached to Harry and placed a calming hand on his shoulder. "She's right. She'll be fine. We really need to go!"

"Fine," he muttered with a sideways glance to a very angry redhead.

The three screwed up their faces in concentration and with a few loud pops, disapparated. Damn, thought Ginny bitterly taking in the blank space in front of her, I had hoped that they would splinch themselves. They haven't even been properly apparating for a month… Rotten luck. I would have liked to wreak havoc on some poor, forgotten limbs. With that, she gathered her things and moved angrily toward the front of the car peering into windows looking for any sign of human life on the seemingly deserted train.