Y/N's POV

There was a definite gloom in the air when I awoke the day I was due back at Hogwarts. Heavy rain was splattering against the window as I got dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt. My parents would be accompanying me and Issac to the station, something that I was very grateful for since they always had work and always seemed to have something urgent the day I was going back to school.

My parents, Issac and I would be going separately and meet up with the others at the platform. We were all inside a Muggle car and my father was driving, technically, his wand was since he was casting some spell for the car to drive automatically. We managed to get to King's Cross and the rain was coming down harder than ever, we got soaked carrying our trunks across the busy road and into the station.

I was used to getting onto platform nine and three-quarters by now. It was a simple matter of walking straight through the apparently solid barrier dividing platforms nine and ten. The only tricky part was doing this in a subtle way, to avoid attracting Muggle attention. Me and Issac were used to this and just casually waited till everyone was looking somewhere and passed the barrier.

The Hogwarts Express was already there, clouds of steam billowing from it, through which the many Hogwarts students and parents on the platform appeared. We met up with the others and me, Harry, Ron, and Hermione set off to find seats, and were soon stowing our luggage in a compartment halfway along the train. We then hopped back down onto the platform to say goodbye to everyone. My parents pulled me away gently and my dad handed me a package.

"This is for a special occasion." my dad said with a wink.

"What's happening?" I asked curiously.

"You'll find out soon, I think you'll be seeing a lot more of us this year." my mother smiled before saying goodbye to me, and then Issac.

I made my way over to the Weasleys who were having a conversation about the same thing my parents were going on about.

"I might be seeing you all sooner than you think," said Charlie, grinning, as he hugged Ginny goodbye.

"Why?" said Fred keenly.

"You'll see," said Charlie, "just don't tell Percy I mentioned it...it's 'classified information, until such time as the Ministry sees fit to release it,' after all."

"Yeah, I sort of wish I were back at Hogwarts this year," said Bill, hands in his pockets, looking almost sadly at the train.

"Why?" said George impatiently.

"You're going to have an interesting year," said Bill, his eyes twinkling, "I might even get time off to come and watch a bit of it."

"A bit of what?" said Ron.

But at that moment, the whistle blew, and Mrs Weasley started ushering us to the train,

"Thanks for having us to stay, Mrs Weasley," said Hermione as we climbed on board, closed the door, and leaned out of the window to talk to her.

"Yeah, thanks for everything, Mrs Weasley," me and Harry chorused.

"Oh it was my pleasure, dears," said Mrs Weasley, "I'd invite you for Christmas, but...well, I expect you're all going to want to stay at Hogwarts, what with...one thing and another."

"Mum!" said Ron irritably. "What d'you know that we don't?"

"You'll find out this evening, I expect," said Mrs. Weasley, smiling, "it's going to be very exciting, mind you, I'm very glad they've changed the rules-"

"What rules?" said Harry, Ron, Fred, and George together.

"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will tell you. Now, behave, won't you? Won't you, Fred? And you, George?"

The pistons hissed loudly and the train began to move. Fred and George opened their mouths to interrogate their mother but it was too late, the train was going...going...and gone.

We were all sitting down and I opened my mouth to initiate a conversation.

"Shh!" Hermione whispered suddenly, pressing her finger to her lips and pointing toward the compartment next to ours. We listened and heard a familiar voice drifting in through the open door.

"Father actually considered sending me to Durmstrang rather than Hogwarts, you know. He knows the Headmaster, you see. Well, you know his opinion of Dumbledore - the man's such a Mudblood-lover and Durmstrang doesn't admit that sort of riffraff. But mother didn't like the idea of me going to school so far away. Father says Durmstrang takes a far more sensible line than Hogwarts about the Dark Arts. Durmstrang students actually learn them, not just the defence rubbish we do..."

Hermione got up, tiptoed to the compartment door, and slid it shut, blocking out Malfoy's voice.

"So he thinks Durmstrang would have suited him, does he?" she said angrily. "I wish he had gone, then we wouldn't have to put up with him."

"Durmstrang's another wizarding school?" asked Harry.

"Yes," said Hermione, "and it's got a horrible reputation. According to An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe, it puts a lot of emphasis on the Dark Arts."

"I think I've heard of it," said Ron vaguely, "where is it? What country?"

"Well, nobody knows, do they?" said Hermione, raising her eyebrows.

"Er - why not?" said Harry.

"There's traditionally been a lot of rivalry between all the magic schools. Durmstrang and Beauxbatons like to conceal their whereabouts so nobody can steal their secrets," said Hermione matter-of-factly.

"Come off it," said Ron, starting to laugh, "Durmstrang's got to be about the same size as Hogwarts - how are you going to hide a great big castle?"

"But Hogwarts is hidden," I said, chiming in, "everyone knows that...well, everyone who's read Hogwarts, A History."

"Just you and Hermione then," said Ron, "so go on, how d'you hide a place like Hogwarts?"

"It's bewitched," I said, "if a Muggle looks at it, all they see is an old ruin with a sign over the entrance saying DANGER, DO NOT ENTER, UNSAFE."

"So Durmstrang'll just look like a ruin to an outsider too?"

"Maybe," I said, shrugging, "or it might have Muggle-repelling charms on it, like the World Cup stadium. And to keep foreign wizards from finding it, they'll have made it Unplottable-"

"Come again?"

"Well, you can enchant a building so it's impossible to plot on a map, can't you?" I said

"Er...if you say so," said Harry.

"But I think Durmstrang must be somewhere in the far north," said Hermione thoughtfully, "somewhere very cold, because they've got fur capes as part of their uniforms."

"Ah, think of the possibilities," said Ron dreamily, "it would've been so easy to push Malfoy off a glacier and make it look like an accident. Shame his mother likes him."

The rain became heavier and heavier as the train moved farther north. The sky was so dark and the windows so steamy that the lanterns were lit by midday. The lunch trolley came rattling along the corridor, and I bought a large stack of cauldron cakes for us to share.

Several of our friends came into our compartment as the afternoon progressed, including Seamus, Dean, and Neville, Seamus was still wearing his Ireland rosette. After half an hour or so, Hermione, growing tired of the endless Quidditch talk, buried herself once more in The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Four, and started trying to learn a Summoning Charm.

Neville listened jealously to the conversation as we relived the Cup match.

"Gran didn't want to go," he said miserably, "wouldn't buy tickets. It sounded amazing though."

"It was," said Ron, "look at this, Neville..."

He rummaged in his trunk up in the luggage rack and pulled out the miniature figure of Viktor Krum.

"Oh wow," said Neville enviously.

"We saw him right up close, as well," said Ron, "we were in the Top Box!"

Ron kept on boasting about the World Cup to Neville and I could see that Neville was quite upset so I told Ron to stop and the three boys left our compartment.

"Why'd you do that Y/N? I wasn't done yet."