Chapter One – The Train and the Feast
Darren Clarkson sat quietly in the compartment, ignoring what was going on around him. He was a tall muscular boy of sixteen, entering his sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was a good student, coming in second to Hermione Granger in most classes. His favorites were Potions and Transfiguration, even though he did not particularly care for Professor Snape. He loved anything that could be of help to him in the future, and Potions was one class where he felt he might just learn what he needed to know.
He had gotten on the Hogwarts Express at the usual time, September first, at eleven o'clock. The train left the station on time, as always. He had kissed his mother and sister goodbye on the steps, wishing his father could have been there. His father had missed his leaving last year as well, and it hurt him deeply to remember why. His grandfather had accompanied them once again this year, something that Darren did not particularly care for him to do. He had found a lone compartment near the rear of the train, hoping that nobody else would sit with him, but it was inevitable that with all the students someone would. It turned out to be Draco Malfoy and his cronies, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.
Darren was in Slytherin House also, but he did not like his situation. He had always felt he would have been better suited somewhere else. Even Hufflepuff would have been preferable to being in the same dormitory as Draco and his idiot friends. He sat quietly, not really hearing what Draco was complaining about this time. As usual, it was Harry Potter and his friends.
"...Saint Potter and that muggle loving Weasley. Who are they to think they are so special? And that ugly little mudblood they hang around with, Granger. She is the worst. How on earth could a mudblood be so good at her class work? She must be cheating, and I am going to be the one that catches her this year." Draco droned on and on, boring even Crabbe and Goyle. Their capacity to listen endlessly to Draco Malfoy's rants was astounding.
Crabbe and Goyle nodded stupidly in agreement. Darren had always wondered how they passed anything, as they were more stupid than the trolls that sometimes wandered onto the school grounds. The time that Goyle had lit his robe on fire in the dormitory while trying to transfigure a mouse while doing his homework had startled even Darren. He could not believe that these two were actually trusted by Malfoy. That just proved to Darren what he had suspected all along. Draco was really no smarter than his friends, just more manipulative.
"...Clarkson, Clarkson! I'm talking to you Darren!" he heard, suddenly realizing that Malfoy was addressing him. He shook himself out of his daydreaming to respond.
"What?" he said.
"Granger? You do believe she is cheating, don't you?" Malfoy asked him. His face telling Darren that he was not interested in what Darren thought, just that he was looking for affirmation of his accusations of Hermione.
"God Darren, sometimes I think that you are almost as slow as Crabbe. I said, Granger must be cheating, and I wondered if you thought she was also?"
Darren thought Hermione was cheating no more that he thought Crabbe was a genius. "Yeah, she probably is Draco," he told him in order to get him off his back. Anything to be left alone by that little git and his friends. Draco snorted as if he had just discovered something important, but he only looked at Darren like he was surprised that he did not agree more vehemently.
'That is all you get, Draco,' was what Darren thought to himself. 'If he had any idea how much I hate him, he would be in for quite a shock'.
Draco made no further attempts to drag Darren into the conversation. Instead he talked endlessly to Crabbe and Goyle of how he was going to get back at Harry Potter for landing his father in Azkaban Prison. This announcement caught Darren's attention. He had met Lucius Malfoy on several occasions, but Draco did not know this. Nor was Darren about to tell Draco for that matter.
Finally Draco tired of talking to himself and took Crabbe and Goyle with him out into the hallway. Darren thought he heard him say he wanted to look for Potter and his friends. "Good luck Draco, you are going to need it," Darren muttered to himself, thinking of the time on the train last year when the other students had turned him into a giant slug. He smiled to himself as he reached down to take out his Transfiguration book to do some preliminary reading. He had just opened it to the first chapter when the door opened again. He stifled a sigh and looked up, thinking he would see Draco returning with the two morons. Instead, he saw Cho Chang. His heart skipped a beat, as she was easily the most attractive girl in the school, at least to Darren that is. His mind flashed back briefly to last school year, when he had literally bumped into her.
"Hello," she said. "It's Darren Clarkson, isn't it?"
Darren struggled to find his voice. "Yes, hello Cho," he murmured at his feet, too nervous to talk to her directly.
Cho surprised him with what she asked him next. "Is anyone sitting here? I'm supposed to be patrolling the hallway, but I am so tired and I am not really in the mood to argue with a bunch of first years anyway."
He shook his head no, and told her to please have a seat across from him. She did, smoothing her hair as she sat down.
"So, sixth year Transfiguration huh?" she asked.
"What?" he responded stupidly.
"Your book, I had that last year you know."
"Oh, yes, I know. Was it hard?"
"Well, at first, but once you get the hang of it, it comes pretty naturally. If you did well in the other Transfiguration classes, it should be no problem really."
"Oh, well I did pretty good, and I got an "O" O.W.L. in it."
"Very good Darren, I am impressed." She smiled at him as she said this, making his heart skip a beat at the same time.
'Is she impressed, or just being polite?' he thought.
"Thanks. So, I see you are the Head Girl this year."
"How did you know that Darren?"
"The pin on your robe; it kind of gives it away."
She looked at it, laughing at the realization that he could see it plainly. "Yeah, I guess it does at that." She smiled bashfully, her cheeks turning pink at her embarrassment.
She had turned to gaze out of the window, looking at the countryside rushing by. He could not help it; he looked at her. She was beautiful, perfect in every way. He had secretly had a crush on her since he was a first year, but she had never even talked to him before. He caught himself staring and turned back to his book just before she turned back to him.
"Oh Darren, how old are you this term?"
The question caught him off guard, and he tried desperately to not show it.
"Sixteen, but I turn seventeen next summer," he declared in response.
"Well, I turned seventeen this summer, and I got to take my apparation test, and I was able to pass it on the third attempt." She leaned towards him and whispered in a conspiratorial tone. "It isn't easy at all. I had to study for three weeks on just the theory alone. On my first attempt, I apparated right onto the lap of the Ministry wizard that was testing me. I tell you, that was a bit awkward. But on the third time, I got it right, and I am now allowed to do it whenever I want, to wherever I want, with some restrictions of course."
"Restrictions?" he asked.
"Well Darren, nobody can apparate on the Hogwarts grounds, and I am still not capable of apparating over long distances. Only the most experienced witches and wizards can apparate to other continents. Imagine being able to apparate home, or even to Africa or Asia, that would be so cool, wouldn't it?"
Darren just nodded in agreement. He was not eligible to take the apparation test until the summer of the next year, and he was not too sure about doing it in any case. To him, apparation had always sounded unnecessarily dangerous, not to mention just plain insane. Why apparate when you can just use Floo Powder to do the same thing?
"It will be so much fun to go to Hogsmeade and be able to just apparate to the stores instead of walking all day, don't you think?"
He just looked at her, astounded as to why she was telling him all this. "Yeah, it would be cool to be able to apparate into Honeyduke's and The Three Broomsticks. I could go for a butterbeer right now, come to think of it."
She just laughed at his reply, her hair falling down in her face. He watched her as she brushed it away, the way it shone in the light. For a moment an awkward silence permeated the compartment, as neither of them seemed to be able to think of anything to say to the other. Finally Cho broke the silence.
"Have you heard who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is this year Darren?" Her question had caught him off guard again. He had been expecting her to leave, as he could not think of anything to talk to her about at the moment.
"No, who is it this year?" he replied.
"Well, it is so cool. Professor Lupin is back again. He was so good the one year he was here, don't you think?"
"Professor Lupin?!" he exclaimed, perhaps a little too vehemently it seemed for Cho's tastes.
"What is wrong with Professor Lupin Darren?" she asked; a hint of accusation in her voice.
He tried to recover from the shock of the news she had told him. He had no problem with Professor Lupin, none at all, but he was surprised he would return, after what had been found out about him.
"Nothing is wrong with him; I think he is the best teacher we had in that class since I started."
She looked at him out of the side of her eye, looking as if she did not quite believe him. "Right, well I'd better be going then. I guess I should do at least one patrol around the train before we get to school. See you around school Darren, and maybe in Hogsmeade?" And with that she swept out of the compartment, leaving a hint of raspberry in her wake. Darren could have kicked himself then. He had her alone, and he could talk to her, but he had reacted stupidly to the news about Professor Lupin, and it had apparently upset her.
'You idiot,' he said to chastise himself. He filed the memory of talking to her away and returned to his textbook, but he could not get her out of his mind as he continued reading.
He sat alone for the rest of the trip, not wanting to be disturbed. He drew his wand out of his robe and pointed it at the window on the compartment door. "Fusco Glass" he chanted, and the window darkened. He did this to the train window as well, and curled up on his seat, deciding a nap would do him some good. He slept for the rest of the trip, and did not wake until the train stopped at the station. He got up groggily and re-packed his books into his bag. As he walked out into the hallway, he was jostled by several excited first years eager to get to Hogwarts for the first time. He remembered his trip across the lake, and hoped they did not feel as queasy as he did that night. When he disembarked on the platform, he could see Hogwarts Castle in the distance, all the windows lighted, and he was overcome with feeling of happiness at returning to school, mixed with apprehension at what this year would hold.
As Darren was working his way through the crowd, he heard the familiar cry of "FIRST YEARS, FIRST YEARS OVER HERE!" from Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher. Finally he saw the carriages. The Thestrals that pulled them were standing still, but some were longingly watching the flock of birds that flew overhead, just barely distinguishable in the semi-darkness. He moved to a carriage, and when he got in, he was surprised to see Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom already in it. He started to turn to look for another carriage, but Harry told him to just sit down. He could hear Ron whispering to Harry and Hermione.
"...a Slytherin...can't be trusted...let him leave..."
Hermione made a small cough that shut Ron up, and he saw Ginny looking daggers through Ron. Neville just sat there, not looking at him, obviously terrified of him, for some reason or the other. He sat next to Ginny, feeling her slide over a bit farther. Her attempt to keep her brother from being rude was limited to being too close to him, apparently.
Hermione reached her hand out to him, offering it in welcome. "Hello, I am Hermione Granger, and you are...?"
Darren took her hand, shaking softly so as not to hurt her hand.
"Darren Clarkson," he replied, happy to be welcomed by at least one of the group.
"Harry Potter." Another hand.
"Ginny Weasley." And another.
"Neville Longbottom," he heard the shy boy say meekly, not looking at Darren as he shook hands.
Hermione nudged Ron, who reluctantly shook hands with Darren as well. "Ron Weasley," he muttered, not looking happy at all about his plight of having to be polite to a Slytherin.
Darren was becoming more anxious to get to the school, not wanting to stay with a group that he felt so unwelcome with. He listened to Hermione go on and on about Transfiguration and how they get to study Human Transfiguration this year, and how she could not wait to get back to her Ancient Runes studies as well. Darren was tuning her out, instead looking at the lake and the first years in the boats. The lake swells were calm this year.
'Good for them,' he thought absentmindedly.
Hermione caught his attention. "...classes will be so hard this year, what with all of us being in N.E.W.T. level studies. I do hope you two take it a little more seriously this year." She was talking directly to Harry and Ron, her look accusatory.
Ron just muttered a "Yeah" and Harry nodded; his thoughts obviously somewhere else. Then Darren noticed that he and Ginny were looking at each other, a little more intensely that friends would normally. Ron caught him noticing this, and he looked out the window again, not wanting to get Weasley all worked up over his sister. She was pretty, that was true, but he had no interest in her. There was another girl he liked, and she wasn't even in Gryffindor anyway.
Hermione was talking about her homework, and Ron was complaining loudly that there wasn't any yet and for her to give it a rest for now. Then the conversation turned to an incident on the train. It seemed that Draco and his cronies had tried to ambush Harry again. Some other students had put the Full Body Bind on them and used them as floor mats to wipe their feet on. Darren laughed loudly at this information, the picture of it making him laugh even louder. The others looked at him incredulously, obviously shocked that a Slytherin would be so giddy at the thought of one of his own being attacked and treated in such a way. He saw their looks and stopped laughing, but he could not control his subtle giggles that followed.
Harry was looking at him. His face was a mix of curiosity and incredulousness that a Slytherin was so happy at Draco Malfoy being embarrassed in such a way. Darren decided then and there that he had had enough of the Slytherin vs. Gryffindor rivalry and spoke his mind to another student for the first time about Draco Malfoy.
"I hate him almost as much as you do Harry, maybe more, to tell the truth. He is a complete git, and he drives me crazy with his pureblood drivel. Actually, most of the other Slytherins don't care for him either, especially the younger ones. He bullies them endlessly."
The others looked at him in shock; unable to comprehend why a Slytherin was speaking about one of their own in such a way.
"Oh, and Hermione, watch out for him this year."
Ron looked up suddenly at his announcement, allowing his obvious protectiveness for Hermione to show through.
"Why would I need to do that?" Hermione asked.
"Well, he is determined to prove that you are cheating in class, and he will probably try to frame you to do it, so be wary of him, and his idiotic cronies too. They may be dumb, but they are still dangerous."
Hermione seemed to not be shocked at his telling her this, and she just nodded to herself. Ron made violent gestures with his hands, while Harry just sat there, deep in thought.
Harry spoke first. "How do you know this Darren?"
"I was sharing a compartment with him, and he was ranting and raving for an hour about Hermione and how he is mad that a mudblood..."
"Call her that again and I will thump you Clarkson!" Ron screamed.
Darren sat back. "I didn't call her that, Malfoy did, because he is mad that she is doing better than the purebloods in class, so he is determined to ruin her this year. He wants to prove it, so that he will make himself look better. That is what he thinks, so calm down Weasley."
Hermione had Ron's elbow, but was looking at Darren. He was not scared in the least of Weasley, but felt it would do no good to get into a fight in a carriage that was full of five Gryffindors and being drawn by flesh eating winged horses.
The rest of the trip passed quietly as nobody spoke for the rest of the journey. Darren looked out of the window the rest of the time, not wanting to get into another disagreement. Finally the carriage stopped and Darren hurriedly exited. Surprisingly, Hermione caught his arm.
"Thanks Darren," was all she said.
"You're welcome Hermione. Ron, Ginny, Neville, Harry, see you all around school then."
They all told him goodbye, but Ron, not surprisingly, was short and curt. Darren turned to walk away and heard Draco's voice.
"What are you doing Clarkson, sitting with that scum? You should be ashamed of yourself Clarkson. What kind of Slytherin is friendly with a bunch of low class Gryffindors, especially a stupid one like Longbottom?" Draco sneered at Neville, and for some reason Darren felt his blood go hot. He wanted to hit Draco right then and there, but he was taken by the arm from behind. He turned to see Professor Snape.
"You will come with me Mr. Clarkson, now," was all he said.
Darren went with Snape, unsure of why he had to in the first place. He was led to the dungeons, to Snape's office. He sat down as ordered, but eager to leave as soon as possible. His hunger was growing steadily, and he did not want to miss the feast. When they got to Professor Snape's office, Professor Dumbledore was already waiting for them. Darren was surprised and very nervous to see him there. Dumbledore then addressed him directly, making Darren jump in fright at the fact that the Headmaster was talking to him.
"Hello Darren, please have a seat," he said.
Darren did as he was asked, sitting on the chair in front of Professor Snape's desk. He turned to look at Dumbledore, who was standing in front of the fire, his arm resting on the mantelpiece.
Dumbledore then spoke to him again.
"We are curious as to why your grandfather is signing your school forms, instead of your parents Darren," he said.
"Sir?"
Snape answered this question. "The Headmaster would like to know the reason why your parents are not returning the school correspondence to the Headmaster's office? It is a matter of concern for Professor Dumbledore."
"I am staying at my grandfather's estate now, that is why Professor."
"And why is that Clarkson?" Snape asked him. His stare was unsettling, his hooked nose making Darren uneasy.
"I have not seen my father in two years sir," he responded truthfully.
"Two years? And why is that?" This time Dumbledore asked the question.
"That is a personal matter between my father and me," Darren said coldly.
He could feel it. Dumbledore was attempting to read his thoughts, but he fought him off, putting a different picture in his mind other than the truth. He was thinking about a fight with his father, Darren leaving in anger, his mother and sister upset and crying.
Dumbledore seemed to be pondering his thoughts for a moment, and then dismissed Darren to go to the feast. When he arrived, the sorting was over, and he sat at the only place available, at the very end of the table, near the entrance of the Great Hall. Several third years moved to give him room, obviously scared by the look on his face. He was not happy to have been interrogated by Professor Dumbledore about his family. Not at this point at least. Just then Dumbledore took his place at the podium at the head Table and began to address the students, as he did every year at the welcoming feast.
"Welcome all, to another year at Hogwarts. If I could have everyone's attention, there are a few announcements I would like to make before we enjoy the feast. First, I would like to welcome back a previous staff member. He will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts once more. Please welcome back Professor Remus J. Lupin."
The Great Hell erupted in applause, and Darren clapped along with the rest of them. Not caring one whit what anyone else at his table thought anymore. He saw Draco smirking and pointing at Lupin's appearance, and his dislike for him grew even more pronounced. Whether he was a werewolf or not, poor or not, he was the best man for the job, and Darren was glad he was back this year.
The applause gradually died down, but went a little longer at the Gryffindor table, as could be expected. Dumbledore cleared his throat loudly in order to quiet the students so he could continue.
"We must also reiterate the fact that the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all students, as well as Hogsmeade to students under third year. All third years should turn in their Hogsmeade permission forms to their heads of house as soon as possible. Also, due to the fact that Lord Voldemort has indeed returned, and that the Dementors have left Azkaban and joined with him, the Patronus Charm will be taught to all classes this year."
There was an audible intake of breath at the mention of the Dark Lord's name, but Darren did not flinch. He had no reason to, as he had heard Voldemort's name plenty of times before. That did not mean Voldemort's name didn't make his blood run cold, just that he was almost used to it by now. Dumbledore continued.
"I feel it is necessary to teach this to all that will be willing to learn the charm so that a defense against the Dementors is available to all. Also, no student will be allowed outside of the castle after dark, for no reason, no matter what."
Darren could swear that Dumbledore had looked straight at Harry when he had said this.
"The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be incorporating the Patronus into this year's curriculum, in every level class, and I would ask any with experience to help those that need it." Had Dumbledore looked at Harry again? It was well known that Harry had been able to conjure a corporeal Patronus for a while, but why was he being asked to help teach it to other students? Darren filed that away for later.
"Also, please remember that no magic is to be done in the corridors, and Mr. Filch has asked me to read off the list of banned items for this year, but it is too long to read, so it will be posted for all to see on his office door tonight."
Dumbledore let the scroll unfurl and it hit the ground and unrolled for about another five feet. The students erupted in laughter, and Filch looked like he was going to explode at the joke Dumbledore had made at his expense.
"Now, for something a little more light hearted. This year we will be having a Halloween Ball, and every student is allowed to attend. The theme will be famous Muggles throughout history, and I have been told that Gladrags Wizardwear in Hogsmeade will be able to supply the costumes, for a small price that is. The Ball will be on Halloween night, after the traditional Hogsmeade trip that day. Finally, let us all realize that we are all at odds with what is going on outside this castle, and we would be wise to rely on each other, no matter what house we may find ourselves in. So, let's all have a bite or two to eat, shall we?"
He clapped his hands together, and the plates of food appeared. Darren piled his plate high. He was as hungry as he had ever been. He was hungry before he had gone to Snape's office, but he was famished now. He worked on his shepherd's pie, looking around the hall absentmindedly when Cho caught his eye. She was looking at him and smiling. He smiled back at her, making her blush and look down while rubbing the side of her face to cover her embarrassment at having been caught looking at him.
He could not help but smile to himself. She took his attention whenever he saw her, and he was eager to see and talk to her again, if her could. As the night grew longer, the students started to file out, Dumbledore letting them leave on their own this year. He excused himself, and headed to the Slytherin common room. He was behind Malfoy, who was talking loudly again about his usual minutiae; purebloods and mudbloods, and the fact that he thought he would be Head Boy next year. Darren stifled a laugh, thinking that Crabbe had as much chance at that position as Malfoy did. He stayed far enough behind as not to draw attention, but close enough to hear the password.
"Wolfsbane," Malfoy said, and the brick wall opened. Darren let them go first, and then he entered as well, not surprised at all that Snape would have picked a word that relates to werewolves.
Darren waited in the common room for a while, listening to the chatter of the other students for a few moments before heading off to bed. He was mad to hear Draco still ranting about Hermione and Harry, so mad that he went back downstairs to the common room. He took his blanket, pillow and Transfiguration book with him and lay down on the couch in front of the fire. He opened his book and turned to the chapter on Human Transfiguration, determined to read himself to sleep if he had to. He could not sleep though, and he found he had read the entire chapter twice before he finally drifted off into a fitful sleep.