The Hogwart's Express

Chapter Two


Somehow, word had spread amongst the magical population that Harry Potter had accepted his invitation to Hogwarts and as such, the crowd at Platform 9 and ¾ was larger than normal. Everyone wanted a glimpse of the boy hero that had defeated You-Know-Who as an infant.

Rumors abounded that he had visited Diagon Alley in secret. Some claimed to have seen him shopping in the presence of a powerful and wealthy foreign Lord with a servant in tow. Others of a less respectable reputation claim to have seen him come boiling up out of the depths of Hell with the Devil himself to rule this world as his own. Few if any believed the fear filled ranting of the frantic hag that sold mushrooms, magical fungi, and other unsavory things from a corner cart in Nocturne Alley though.

So it was that the platform was crowded, not only with students and parents, but also with reporters and looky-loos all craning their necks this way and that to spy some glimpse of the boy. It was those on the edges of the crowd furthest from the hidden entrance to Platform 9 and ¾ that noticed it first.

The wild baying of hounds.

The sound, while still far off, sent a chilling shiver down their spines as they reacted unconsciously as all mortals always had. The temperature dropped rapidly and frost blossomed along glass and metal even as everyone's breath began to fog. Mist and shadow rolled along the ground, chilling skin and shrinking courage as it began to coalesce at the back of the platform. Unconsciously, people began to shift away from it and into the now wan sunlight.

The howl of a hound pierced the air and all heads turned to look so that all attention was focused on the boiling black clouds growing in strength and size.

"Oh Merlin…" one voice in the crowd whimpered in fear.

Then the sounds of jingling metal, creaking leather and the whomp-click of clawed paw-pads hitting the ground were discernible. Glances were exchanged and the crowds backed away even further. A Daily Prophet photographer readied his camera.

A flash of brilliant light dazzled the eyes and a cascade of red sparkles of pure magic sizzled from nowhere and then out of the rolling cloud of blackness a black and silver chariot pulled by twin giant hounds appeared. In the chariot was a tall dark haired man in leather armor, a small boy and another tall man wrapped from head to toe in a black cloak.

A camera bulb flashed once, twice, and then again.

"The Grim!"

A hysterical witch's voice screeched in tones of sheer terror.

"Death has come for us all!"

The crowd as one heaved in a huge breath and most there suddenly realized that the two hounds pulling the chariot that just arrived were indeed Grims, those dread omens of death and destruction. Nearly as one, they all turned and stampeded out of the platform in a panic.

The man in armor who had driven the chariot watched the crowd flee for a brief moment and then tossed back his head and laughed. It was a deep, rich, and dark sound of amusement tinged with mild scorn.

The boy smirked for a moment before looking up at the man.

"That wasn't very encouraging, was it?"

The man shook his head and grinned wildly down at the boy before shrugging with a feline sort of careless grace.

"Mortals."

He waved a hand at the nearly empty platform and those few who were still there, yet cowering from them and hiding their eyes away from sight of the two big beasts harnessed to the chariot.

"They can't recognize me and who I am, yet they can recognize the dogs and remember bits of their legend." He shook his head and snorted. "I can never understand why some things stick in their collective memory and other things fade. There's no real rhyme or reason for it."

The man in the cloak bowed his head slightly and said, "Grims are frightening beasts, Master. The mortals might not remember that they were bred from your original Dogs of War, but they do know the power they hold. They remember Grims herald death, destruction, and war…even if they don't realize that this is true only because the Grims are yours to command."

The man's face turned thoughtful for a moment, but then he shrugged it off and dropped the reigns of his chariot into the open palm of the cloaked man and turned around. He took a step and then jumped out of the chariot and onto the platform.

"Come on, Harry. Let's get you on the Express."

He glanced with mild distaste at the bright scarlet steam engine slowly heating up for the trip to Scotland.

"Yes, Ares."

The boy turned and leapt out of the chariot, a big multi-locked trunk beside him obediently floating up into the air and trailing after him like a puppy. The man draped in the black cloak stayed in the chariot and held the reigns.

As they walked around the chariot and past the two Grims, Harry reached up to pat each of their heads and whisper quickly that he would see them again over break. Then he dashed off to catch up with Ares at the entrance to the Express. Ares gestured him up onto the first step and then turned him so that they could look each other in the face.

"Remember," Ares' voice was dark, rich, and seductive; like chocolate and aged bourbon, "You are headed into enemy territory. Never let down your guard. Even those that might seem your friend can turn on you or have motives you don't see. Learn everything you can about the magic these people use, the laws and traditions of their society and the people around you."

Harry nodded his head obediently, "Yes Ares."

But Ares' eyes were unfocused as he looked at something Harry could never truly learn to see. As Harry watched, Ares' eyes slowly bled to solid black and showed the reflected echo of War and Death rolling endlessly across a broken land. He watched as Ares' head tilted slightly to the side and his lips parted slightly so he could taste the air much like a snake or lizard would. Then Ares' eyes snapped into sharp focus and the visions of War faded returning the dark orbs to normal.

"War is coming to this land. I can feel it. The first skirmishes have already taken place and soon it will draw you in my Apprentice. Be wary."

The little hairs on the back of Harry's neck stood on end and he paled slightly.

"I will make you proud of me, Ares."

Ares' eyes softened slightly, "You already have."

Then the cold mask of aloof divinity returned and Ares stepped back. He glanced along the length of the Express.

"Pick an empty carriage. Do not ask to join others; instead let them come to you as supplicants."

Then he smirked.

"I will retrieve you on the Solstice."

Harry bowed in obeisance even as Ares spun on his heel and marched back to his chariot. He watched as the Lost Son of Olympus stepped into that ancient and priceless transport and took the reigns from Andros. Then with a snap and a whistle, the twin hounds dashed off, pulling their Master into another shadow and back to the Citadel in the Hidden Mountains of Greece.


Harry sat in an empty compartment near the back of the train with his new Olivander wand tucked securely in his right wrist bracer. He was also wearing his armored leather jerkin and Strife's cloak with all of its divine protections active. Added to that, his original metal and crystal wand was tucked down one boot and a heavy dagger was hidden in his left wrist bracer. And of course, he wore Cernunnos torque around his neck and the Olympian circlet upon his head.

His first visitors didn't arrive until the train was well on its way. Harry could only surmise that his arrival at Platform 9 and ¾ had frightened the children as badly as it had the adults. It would take a while for them to work up their courage, apparently.

His visitors slid the compartment door open and stared in for a moment. They were twin red haired boys with a younger redheaded boy sandwiched between them. The younger one looked more than a little scared.

"Hey mate."

"That was quite"

"some entrance you"

"made back there."

"Scared off the"

"masses, you did."

The twins looked at each other over the younger boy's head even as Harry smirked in mild amusement. They spoke silently to each other before they both nodded in unison. Then they turned back to him with identical blinding smiles.

"I'm Fred. He's George."

The other twin frowned with exaggeration.

"Wait. I thought I was Fred today?"

"No, no. I'm Fred. You're George."

"Oh."

Then he shrugged in agreement.

"Fine then. I'm George." He glanced slyly at his twin. "The smart one."

"Oi!" Then he grinned. "That makes me the pretty one."

They bowed slightly to Harry and chorused, "We're the Weasley twins!"

Then they pushed the younger boy forward slightly so that he was actually in the carriage.

"And this is"

"our baby brother"

"Ronniekins!"

They tried to ruffle his red hair, but the boy slapped their hands away while growling "Geroff!" Then he turned to Harry with a pained expression on his freckled face and said, "Don't listen to them. My name's Ron. Ron Weasley."

Harry nodded slightly and his smirk faded a bit.

"Harry Potter."

All three boys' eyes went wide at that.

"Really?" Ron's were the widest. "Do you have the, you know?" He reached up and gestured to his own forehead.

Harry just raised up an eyebrow and didn't answer. He didn't have to though as one of the twins lightly smacked Ron in the back of the head while the other screeched in falsetto, "Manners!"

Ron smacked back and grimaced. "Stop it you two. Besides, you don't sound anything like Mum."

The twins laughed and then turned back to Harry.

"Well, it was lovely"

"meeting you Harry."

"But we have to"

"find our mate, Lee."

They grinned wickedly and said in unison, "He's got a new pet tarantula."

Harry nodded in acknowledgement and gave a brief wave as they turned and dashed off down the corridor. Then he turned his attention to Ron. They were of an age, although Ron was wearing worn jeans with a fraying hem under a robe that had faded from black to a dark gray.

Ron stood there and fidgeted a moment, his mouth opened to say something. Then it snapped shut and he looked pained and embarrassed. Maybe if Harry had been obviously down trodden in battered glasses taped back together and wearing torn and dirty rags he'd have been able to gather his courage to sit down and chat. But that wasn't to be. Instead, he was faced with the legendary Boy-Who-Lived sitting there in finely crafted and obviously expensive warrior garb with a calm if amused expression on his face. His courage and confidence fled him.

"Well, uh…. It was, um, nice to meet you Harry. I uh, well, I should go catch up with my brothers. I'll, um…I'll see you at Hogwarts, yeah?"

Harry nodded.

"It was nice to meet you as well. Perhaps we will have some classes together."

Ron blinked at him and nodded shakily. Then without another word, he turned and fled. Harry chuckled.

His next visitor was the blonde boy he'd met at the clothier in Diagon Alley. He slid the door to the carriage open to stand there framed by two larger hulking boys standing just slightly behind him. The expression on his face was one of arrogance and boredom.

"I'd heard that Harry Potter is on the train." He sneered lightly and gazed Harry up and down. "Is that true?"

Harry smirked and tried to decide if he was amused at the airs the boy was putting on or if he was offended at the implied slight.

"I suppose it must be since I am Harry Potter," he drawled in imitation of Ares' dark tones.

The blonde looked startled for an instant and then puffed up a bit.

"I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."

Harry raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. He simply shifted to give a pointed glance at the two boys behind him. Draco huffed slightly but obligingly pointed behind him.

"That's Crabbe. And that's Goyle."

Harry nodded acknowledgment to all three and then turned his attention to Malfoy. The boy posed with a haughty expression on his face before speaking in a self-important tone of voice.

"Now that you're back from…uh, wherever you were, there're some things you should know. Not all wizarding families are equal here. Some are," he buffed his nails on his chest and smirked, "better than others. I can help you with that."

Then he held out his hand to shake.

Harry looked at it for a moment, then reached out and grabbed his hand. After one pump of their hands, Harry pulled Draco towards him. Yanked off balance, Draco was forced to lean over so that Harry could look him in the face.

"Well, Malfoy. I'm not currently looking for someone to recruit followers for me just yet. However, if I do, I'll keep your application for the position in mind."

Then he let go of the other boy's hand. Draco had to brace himself on the bench to keep from falling and then hastily stood up and backed up a step. He seemed to sputter in shock for a long moment and then drew himself up haughtily.

"I don't think you understand, Potter. I'm Draco Malfoy. I'm nobody's servant!"

Harry thought about Ares, alone in his Citadel. Forcibly separated from his family, his home, and his purpose by the Twilight. He thought of Morrigan trapped in the Land of the Forever Young and unable to directly aid her chosen people.

He was suddenly tired of bantering with the pompous and ignorant child before him. He slumped slightly into his seat and lifted a hand to shoo the blonde and his bodyguards out. He turned slightly haunted eyes the color of the killing curse at them.

"Run along Malfoy. Until you are capable of realizing that we are ALL servants of Fate and Destiny, you are just wasting my time."

Malfoy's eyes bugged out slightly and his jaw dropped. It was obvious that no one had ever spoken to him like that before. Then he puffed up in indignation, twin spots of pale color on his cheeks.

"Wait till my father hears about this!"

Harry rolled his eyes as Draco turned on his heel and stomped away between the two other boys. The one closest to Harry gave him a slightly embarrassed look and shrugged lightly before they turned to follow.

The next visitor was the lady pushing the Snack Trolley. Harry stood up and walked to the door of his compartment to look over her wares and grabbed up a licorice wand and a chocolate frog. Then he paused for a moment considering.

He could remember plenty of times over the years that he had watched Ares reward a servant or two with some bauble or token. He'd also been present countless times that Andros had paid some craftsman or merchant for services or items. Now, he was on his way to a strange castle filled with foreign children that had heard about him even if they didn't know him. Some would set themselves as his enemies while others would try to work their way into his service and good graces.

Before him he was looking at a treasure trove of bribes and rewards in a currency that children spoke; sweets. He just had to be careful as to how he presented them and the reasons for handing them out. Temptation and reward all in one, he could earn a reputation for generosity if he did this right.

Smiling at the woman, he bought dozens of chocolate frogs, licorice wands, cauldron cakes, pumpkin pastries, bubble gum, and rock candy. The woman looked a bit startled, but he had the money for it so she willingly sold it to him. With a nod, she was off and Harry carefully packed his treats away in his trunk.

Sitting back down Harry turned his head and watched the countryside whoosh past him as he considered things. It would be nice, he supposed, if he could just be a normal child. He could make friends just for the sake of liking them, learn magic just for the enjoyment of knowing things, and fashion himself a quiet life somewhere idyllic.

That was not to be however. A madman had stolen the secrets of the gods and twisted them to suit his own purpose, desperate to elevate himself to godhood. In his wake lay destroyed lives and warped destinies. He was an abomination on all levels of existence and even Magic herself wanted him destroyed.

The Norns had chosen a child descended from the blood of Morrigan to face the madman and bring him low. When the child fulfilled his destiny as the Champion of Morrigan, he would be elevated to godhood and married to Ares as his Consort.

Harry was that child.

To be honest, it scared him if he thought about it too closely. Instead, he tried to focus on completing one step at a time; to break his destiny into small chunks that were easier to manage. Right now, the step he was working on was getting to Hogwarts and forging his place among his peers and age-mates. That meant allies and minions; not friends. Hence the candies for bribes and rewards. Still, it would be nice to have someone to talk to that was just there for the enjoyment of their company and not for what they could do to aid him on his quest.

Harry was pulled from his thoughts by the compartment door sliding open once again. He turned his head to look and saw two children; a boy with a sheepish and shy grin under worried eyes as well as a thin girl with wild and frizzy hair.

"Have you, by any chance," the girl began, "seen a toad?"

Harry blinked in mild surprise.

"Pardon?"

The boy grimaced even as the girl took in a deep breath. "A toad. We're looking for Neville's toad as he's lost it."

The boy blushed and Harry raised an eyebrow wondering how in the world one managed to lose a toad. Still, as odd as this all was, perhaps a sign of his benevolence would be helpful to his cause. Slowly, he slid his Olivander wand out of his holster on his bracer.

"A toad, huh…" Harry shook his head slightly before grinning. "Is it a living pet? Future potion ingredients? What?"

The girl crinkled up her nose and opened her mouth again to speak, but the boy stumbled forward a step and babbled.

"Trevor's a pet. Well, a familiar. Mine." He blushed brightly and shrunk back a bit, "Er…I mean, he's my familiar. My uncle Algie got him for me. But he likes to escape, you see? I'm afraid I won't find him again or maybe someone else will find him and I won't get him back."

"Ah."

Harry raised his wand and considered the situation. He could summon things that were small and light, like the mice he captured to feed post owls. He could probably do a toad as well. He didn't imagine that a toad would be too much bigger than a mouse.

"Trevor, is it?"

The boy nodded, and Harry made a shooing gesture at them. "Step away from the open door for a moment, please."

The girl's eyebrows arched up in interest. "Oh? Are you going to do some magic, then? Well, let's see it."

Harry shot her a quelling look, but didn't bother to answer. Instead he pointed his wand out the door and carefully waved it so the tip made a small triangular shape in the air to symbolize the letter Delta and intoned, "Ακρόαση Trevor the toad."

Harry nodded once and then calmly slid his wand back into its sheath in his wrist bracer. Once it was secure, he looked up into the boy's confused face and said, "You're welcome."

The boy looked even more confused, "Er….um, I mean…"

The girl wasn't nearly as tongue-tied. With a derisive snort, she glared down her nose at him. "Well, that wasn't very good magic, was it. In fact, I'd say nothing happened at all."

Then, lifting her nose into the air, she said, "Come on Neville, we've wasted enough time here with this boy. We still have to find Trevor." And then she spun on her heel and managed only one step before she was hit in the face with the toad slowly floating into the compartment from the corridor.

"Eeeee!"

The girl barely had time to flail about when the boy cried out in joy, "Trevor!" and snatched the toad out of the air. He cradled it gently in his hands and smiled widely at Harry. "Thanks!"

Harry nodded at him once in acknowledgment and then turned a slightly amused look on the girl. One eyebrow rose up in silent challenge.

For a brief moment, he thought the girl would snap at him for making a fool of her. Her face pinked up and her eyes narrowed in irritation, but then suddenly her anger melted away and her eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"How did you do that? What was that spell? I've read all our books in order to prepare, but I've never heard of that spell."

He could only blink at the sudden change in her demeanor as well as the quick barrage of questions.

Then she flushed again and said, "Sorry, um…I'm Granger…Hermione Granger. And this," she gestured to the boy, "is Neville Longbottom."

Then she sat down across from him uninvited and pulled Neville down beside her. Harry grinned at her audacity and fire.

"Pleasure to meet you, Granger." He nodded at the boy, "Longbottom." Then he grinned even wider. "I'm Harry Potter."

Neville went positively pale and shrank back away from him, but Hermione leaned forward to study him as one might study a bug pinned to a board.

"Are you really? Well, I read all about you, of course. There's an article all about you in Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts."

Harry blinked and then snorted.

"Did you? I missed that one." He tilted his head thoughtfully. "I'll have to read it. I wonder how badly they stuffed it up."

Now Hermione was pulling back in shock, "What?!"

Harry rolled his eyes.

"Please, Granger…I've read several different articles and books about that night. None of them can manage to even get most of the basic facts right and their speculations are more than a little ridiculous. It would be funny if it weren't so pathetic."

She looked aghast.

"But they're books!"

Harry snorted again.

"Books written by idiots, no doubt."

Hermione's face pinked up, her eyes narrowed in irritation and she opened her mouth; to berate him most likely. Harry wasn't really in the mood to argue with someone and so cut her off before she could get some steam behind her.

"About your questions, though…it was a summoning spell."

She blinked, thrown off track. "Wha…?"

Harry grinned and gestured vaguely in the direction of the door.

"The spell I used to find and retrieve Longbottom's toad. It was a summoning spell." He shrugged lightly, "There are others like it. Some are stronger, some are faster. That's the only one I'm able to cast, however. I like that one though, mostly because it's slow and steady. That means I can summon living things without them getting hurt."

Then the Longbottom boy seemed to pull himself together enough to ask a question. Apparently he'd found his courage seeing as Harry hadn't smote Hermione yet.

"Er…that wasn't English. Or Latin." He blushed heavily. "I mean, it wasn't something I recognized."

Harry chuckled lightly and shook his head. "No. It was Greek."

Hermione frowned and shared a look of confusion with Neville. Then she turned her head to look back at Harry.

"How could you cast the spell without speaking it in English or Latin?"

Harry blinked. What an odd question…it was a perfect example of unthinking arrogance.

"Because it was a Grecian spell?" At their blank looks of incomprehension, he explained. "Magic isn't bound to only a few languages. Magic can be cast in all languages. And nearly all people who develop spells do so in their own native language. The Master of Charms that invented the spell I used just happened to have been Greek."

He watched as something like understanding began to trickle into their heads. Then suddenly a soft tone echoed up and down the corridor. A look of frantic shock growing on her face, Hermione hopped up out of her seat and dragged Neville with her.

"Oh!" She glanced up at the ceiling quickly before turning an excited gaze at Harry. "I read about that alarm in Hogwarts: A History! It means there's only fifteen minutes left until we reach the station."

Then Hermione's eyes slid down his body from his face and frowned as she took in his linen blouse under the heavy leather armored vest. Then her eyes shifted over to the cloak he wore and noted its fine and archaic lines. Her lips frowned slightly, but her eyes swam in confusion. Even a young girl raised in the modern muggle world couldn't help but notice he was dressed in the manor of an old-world noble of the warrior class. She just couldn't fathom why.

"Er…you might want to take the time to get changed into your uniform." Hermione unconsciously reached down to smooth out her own Hogwarts issued grey skirt and her expression turned prim. "After all, you don't want to get in trouble on your very first day there, do you?"

Harry fingered the cloak he wore and smiled ironically. It had once belonged to Strife, the God of Mischief and that long dead god would only encourage Harry finding or even creating trouble and havoc. Still, Hermione was right that he should change, as much as he didn't want to be bereft of the protection of his armor and the enchantments Strife himself had woven into this cloak.

Sighing, Harry stood up and shooed Hermione and Neville to the door of his compartment. "Yes, right…well, go on then. I have to change, so I'll see both of you later." He shooed them again, "Go on…"

Hermione scowled and then opened her mouth, likely to chastise him for dismissing her so abruptly. Neville, however, was used to the ways of noble purebloods and grabbed her hand, pulling her to the door. He held up the other hand briefly, displaying Trevor the toad.

"Thanks again. Er…we'll, uh…see you later."

Harry nodded once in acknowledgement and then flicked a hand at the door once they were through it. The door slid shut with a soft click and then he turned around and reached for his trunk with a grimace. He really didn't like the Hogwarts uniform at all.