Harry Potter and the Death Note
Chapter Four: Departure
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Harry was nervous. Now, this was nothing new to the boy, as everyone gets nervous at some point or the other. But this time was diffrent. This wasn't nervousness about a test grade, or having eaten dessert secretly before dinner, or being discovered as a serial killer.
No, this was the nervousness that a lot of kids felt around their peers. However, most kids didn't enter a new school where everyone expected him to be a powerful, Dark Lord defeating pressure to perform made his hands sticky with sweat and he felt warm. "Penny, do I have to dress like this?" Harry whined, tugging at the tightness of the tie around his throat.
Penny nodded sharply and once more tried to flatten a few stray ends of hair sticking up on Harry's head. After a few years of proper washing and combing it settled down, but random ends still stuck out like thorns. By request, his bangs fell low enough to cover his scar.
"Yes you do, darling. You said you were some big celebrity among the wizards, and you need to live up to that if you don't want to be beat down. Plus you look very handsome like this."
Harry flushed in embarrassment as a teenager caught sight of Penny slicking back his hair and sniggered. "People are looking!" He hissed, seeing all the people bustling around the crowded train station. Thankfully most of them were too concerned with going about their business to notice Harry's embarrassment. Actually, people looked more at the snowy white owl, Hedwig, than at her owner.
However, Dudley was doing his best to make up for that lack of attention. "You look like a tiny lawyer, Harry." The blonde boy mocked, grinning to take the bite out of the comment. Harry tried to control his blush as Penny and Petunia deemed him ready to enter wizarding society.
He really did look oddly fancy, especially for him, as he normally preferred baggier clothing. Dudley was allowed to wear a polo and jeans, but Harry wore a smart button up with a green and silver tie to bring out his eyes, paired with dark pants and sleek new shoes. According to his guardians, first impressions were very important.
Harry pushed along the trolley with all his things on board, looking around for Platforms 9 and 10, all the while seeing different names and lifespans floating above people's heads. He immediately spotted where he was supposed to go, not because he had seen the signs, but because of the amazingly bright ball of magic he saw.
He stopped his trolley and simply stared. The light encompassed an entire wall, different colors entwining and shifting through and around the brickwork. Even though he had seen some colors around Diagon Alley, they were nowhere near as bright or complex as the wall before him. It was breathtaking.
"Harry, why'd you stop? We're here, this is the entrance." Harry nodded absently, and noted the family of gingers walk up to and through the wall. The light had swallowed them whole, twisting and then resuming its original pattern. It was one thing to hear his Aunt talk about this; it was another to actually watch it happen.
"Yes, it's all very pretty. Let's get on with this, I'm bored." The Shinigami groaned, floating in the air above Harry. He hadn't been allowed to bring any toys, as everyone would be able to see them float in the air, so he was very grumpy.
Harry heeded the Shinigami's request, wheeling forward, holding his breath. "Harry, wait!" He heard behind him, but then he was gone. In a whirl of light, he was staring at a scarlet steam engine. Harry looked around, seeing all the people parading around in cloaks of differing colors and qualities.
"Ooff!" Harry had stood looking too long, and Dudley slammed into his back, sending them both sprawling. It just so happened to send them both careening into members of the large red headed family.
Harry completely bowled over the only girl, who was smaller than even him, while Dudley took down a larger, rather pompous looking boy.
It took several confusing seconds to get his bearings, in the process accidently groping the smaller girl (not that he knew that), but before he could get up and apologize, someone grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him up, choking him in the process.
Harry barely had a moment to see a red face and hair before a fist slammed into his face with a sick crunch, sending him to the floor again.
"Ronald! How dare you hit that young man?" Harry heard a voice screech. Harry glanced up and saw the mother shaking the boy who had punched him, while the rest of the family looking on, the little girl now hiding behind her father. Dudley, who had distangled himself from the older boy, came rushing over to his cousin's side.
"That kid attacked Ginny, mum! You saw him, he was feeling her up and everything!" the boy shouted back at his mother, sending a glare over at Harry in disgust. Harry glared back at the boy, but it wasn't as intimidating with the crooked nose and blood running down his face. He had to restrain himself from letting his Eyes flash.
That, of course, was when both Petunia and Penny came on the scene.
"What did you do to my nephew?" Petunia immediately got up in the mother's face, directing her attention off of Ronald and onto herself. Penny, meanwhile, was mopping up Harry's face and making sure no blood got on his shirt.
The mother swelled up to defend against the sudden verbal attack when Ronald jumped in again. "Your nephew attacked my sister!" He snarled, trying to puff up his pre-pubescent frame with anger.
"That's not what happened, Harry accidently landed on her after I slammed into him." Dudley stood beside his mother, arms crossed and arms narrowed. He was much taller than Ronald, and some of the fight seemed to go out of the boy.
The red headed father, a thin balding man that Harry saw was named Arthur Weasley, stepped in with a meek expression on his face.
"I'm so sorry about this, Ron is very protective of his little sister, and I'm sure he didn't mean to seriously harm your nephew. I'll heal him up right now, in fact. Show of good faith and all." The man's wand flicked towards Harry and his nose slid back into place, eliciting a quiet swear from the boy.
The two families parents began to talk, the less hot tempered of both (Penny and Arthur) helping calm them all down. Dudley helped Harry to his feet and the two groups left, each heading for different ends of the train.
Before they left, Harry and Ron glared at each other, both full of righteous indignation. Just before they both lost view though, Ron's eye caught on the green and silver tie the black haired boy had on, and he sneered as pieces in his head clicked into place. That Slytherin wouldn't get away with this, he promised himself.
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By the time Harry had said his goodbyes and he had found a compartment, his temper had cooled enough that he didn't immediately pull the Death Note out of his trunk and kill Ron Weasley in the most gruesome way he could imagine.
Instead, he pulled out Magical Theory, and extra book he had picked up at the suggestion of the cashier at Flourish and Blotts. He was a little nervous he would have trouble performing spells in class, so he wanted to go ahead and study now, so he wouldn't get embarrassed later. Besides, everyone would expect the Boy-Who-Lived to be good at magic, right?
"God, are you going to give me my toys at any point during the trip? It's not like anyone will want to sit with you." The Shinigami complained. He was lying down on the ceiling; however it was he did that, and was trying to make a game out of spitting a pattern onto the floor below. It was unsuccessful.
Harry grunted and flipped a page. The Shinigami took that as a yes and phased his hand through the trunk, pulling out his favorite red fire truck. Hedwig, who was still confined to her cage, watched the ethereal creature and squawked when the Shinigami got too close.
It was a few minutes later, when the train was about to leave the station, that the door to Harry's compartment slid open. Harry looked up over the top of his book and his gaze sharpened into a glare.
"What are you doing here?" He spat. Ron Weasley looked no happier to see him, but entered anyway, closing the door behind him. "Everywhere else is full, so I have to sit here. Not like I want to…" Ron glowered back at Harry and took up a position on the opposite side of the compartment after putting his trunk up, not noticing the flying red truck.
"There were plenty of other compartments, I saw them as I got on, go pick one of those."
Ron sneered at Harry. "God, you must be one of those bookworm Slytherins that never do anything." He mocked.
"I'm not a Slytherin. I don't even know what that means." Harry sent back. Ron looked confused for a moment, his temper temporarily abated.
"What do you mean you're not a Slytherin? You're so…" Ron gestured up and down Harry's body, a hint of contempt coming back into his voice.
"No, I'm not a Slytherin, whatever that means. I'm just a first year that accidently fell on your sister." Harry didn't like talking to this boy. Whatever a Slytherin was, it was clear that Ron didn't like it, so it must be awesome.
The picture that had come together so nicely in Ron's head unraveled. He had been so sure Harry had been some scrawny second-year Slytherin, dared to mess with the blood traitor Weasleys, but maybe it had actually been an accident. He opened his mouth, not exactly sure what he was going to say, but Harry closed his book sharply and got up.
"I'm going to find a different compartment. You can have this one, Weasley." Harry sneered. He grabbed his trunk and lugged it out the door, carrying Hedwig's cage in the other hand. Ron didn't even ask how Harry had known his name; he just sighed and pulled out Flying with the Cannons.
Then he noticed there was an odd splotch on the carpet that looked oddly like a skull. He leaned over and touched it briefly, then groaned his disgust, wiping the spit on a clean space of carpet.
He could have sworn he heard laughter, but he shrugged it off and went back to reading.
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Harry dragged his trunk down the train until he found another empty one where he could continue reading, but it was stuck. He set down his trunk and tried pulling on the handle with both hands but it wouldn't budge. Hedwig let out a bark that sounded like laughing.
"That won't work." Harry turned around and found a pair of girl his own age standing behind him. Both were looking at him with amusement that made him feel stupid. They looked like opposites, one with long straight blonde hair and a complexion that suggested she didn't spend much time in the sun, while the other had wild brown curls and had a dark tan.
He looked at their faces and made out their name: Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis.
"Why not?" He questioned, pushing down his embarrassment. Were there code words or something?
"A lot of the compartments are locked by year. Supposedly some of the older Hogwarts students were tired of their…private time… being intruded on that they keyed every compartment with some sort of identification. First years have access to the least number of cabins, so we normally don't get them to ourselves." Daphne explained primly.
"That's the most official explanation. I think the adults did it on purpose, so that the first years would have to sit with one another and make friends." Tracey piped up. Daphne turned back to her friend. "I told you that don't make any sense; people make more friends within their Houses at Hogwarts than on their trip."
"Yeah but the friends they make here could influence what House they get into." Tracey shot back. Harry got the feeling this was an old argument and couldn't help the edge of his mouth curling up into a smirk.
Unfortunately, they caught onto that. "What's so funny? Do we look like clowns to you?" Tracey got really close to him and Harry backed up, his back hitting the wall. He almost went for his wand, despite the fact that he knew no spells, but she backed up and laughed. "Look at that! He looked so scared!"
For the second time within a few minutes Harry flushed in embarrassment. "I wasn't scared." He said boldly. Tracey raised an eyebrow and even Daphne looked amused. "Really? Because I could have sworn that you were getting pretty pale for a moment there. Well, more than you are already." Tracey taunted.
Harry fought down his blush and racked his brains for something to say. What would Dudley do? His cousin was unflappable in the face of problems, but that was because he was big and intimidating. Suddenly a solution popped into his head and Harry let the suavest smile he could muster blossom on his face and he closed the distance between himself and the grinning brunette slightly.
"For a moment I thought you were going to kiss me. I wasn't emotionally prepared for such a leap, however pretty my aggressor was." Harry would look back on this move with embarrassment later, as he realized it was a lame line and that he probably looked ridiculous with his 'suave' look on his face.
But on an eleven year old girl, used by an eleven year old boy, it worked. Tracey rapidly turned a dark red and Harry felt a thrill of victory go through him. A large grin grew on his face and Daphne started to chuckle, which quickly turned into a loud laugh that Harry joined in on.
"Oh, I like this one; he managed to shut you up, Tracey." Daphne chuckled as she came down. Tracey didn't respond, her face still red with embarrassment. Daphne took the lead and offered her hand to Harry, which he shook.
"I'm Daphne Greengrass, and the blushing wonder is Tracey Davis. Why don't you come join us in our compartment?" She offered. Harry nodded enthusiastically. He didn't fancy dragging his trunk all over the Hogwarts Express looking for a compartment and tolerable people. Hedwig was getting grumpy with all the movement too.
"Harry Potter, I'd be delighted." Harry accepted. He appreciated that Daphne's face only showed surprise for a moment before returning to her normal expression. Tracey was not so restrained. "You're Harry Potter?" she yelped.
Harry nodded and decided to tease her some more. "You mean you would have kissed me even without knowing I'm famous? I'm flattered. I mean, I know I'm good looking but…" Tracey punched his shoulder and Harry noted that while her face was clear, her neck and ears started turning red.
"I wasn't going to kiss you, you prat." She hissed. High on his previous victory, Harry took a step closer to her until they were practically nose-to-nose. Her eyes widened in shock and she backed up, but this time her back hit the wall. "What a shame." Harry whispered, staring into her eyes.
Whatever willpower she had holding back her embarrassment broke and she blushed even darker than she did the first time. "Come on, Harry, you might break her. I kind of need her." Daphne drawled. Harry acquiesced and stepped away from the girl, grabbing the handle to his trunk.
"Alright, let's head off!" Harry said enthusiastically. After that incident at the train station, this really restored his good mood. He was looking forward to Hogwarts.
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"Finally, you two are back! Did you find the Trolley Lady?"
Harry raised an eyebrow and the dark skinned boy looked at him in surprise. "Oh jeez, sorry, I thought you were someone else." The boy apologized. Harry read his name as Blaise Zabini and entered the compartment, swinging his trunk onto the racks above and setting Hedwig in the corner.
"It's us, Blaise. And no. Guess the rumors were true." Tracey announced, stepping into the compartment, followed by Daphne. The three all settled down, with Harry greeting Blaise and letting the boy get over the shock of him being Harry Potter.
"What rumor were you two chasing?" Harry questioned. Daphne and Tracey directed their eyes to Blaise, who cleared his throat theatrically and turned down the dial on the light above them, along with closing the shades on the window, plunging them into near complete darkness.
"Of all the legends Hogwarts has ever produced," Blaise began, his voice grand and dramatic, ", the greatest is the mystery of the Trolley Lady."
Harry scoffed. "Really? The Trolley Lady of the Hogwarts is the most mysterious thing in a world where wizards and witches exist?"
Blaise glared at Harry and the two girls shushed him back into silence. "As I was saying," Blaise continued. "Back when Hogwarts fist opened and the Hogwarts Express started being used to cart us to school, the Trolley Lady's presence wasn't questioned. After all, those sweets would help the children bond and the extra funds would help Hogwarts in general. But after several years, people began noticing things."
"For one thing, no one knows what her name is. People have asked, but she never answers. Even the Headmasters didn't know. That's rights. Headmasters, not Headmaster. Because all this time, the Trolley Lady has remained the same. Every generation has seen her, and she always looks exactly the same."
"She's a vampire!" Tracey was the one to interrupt this time, her voice excited. Harry could make out Blaise's eye twitch and mentally noted to not interrupt anymore lest he wake the boy's wrath.
"She is not a vampire." Blaise said with forced calm. "People have thought so, but she has been shown crosses and doused with holy water, but she still lives on. She's older even than Dumbledore, who thought she was old when he was eleven. Even more than that, she seems to live on this Express. She's never been sighted anywhere else, and she only ever appears half-way through the journey to sell us sweets. After that, she disappears, and no one can find where she goes off to, even if they follow her."
Blaise leaned in, and Harry did so as well, without knowing why. Daphne and Tracey did too as Blaise's voice fell to a whisper. "She's a witch, that much is obvious, but she's older than any witch in recorded history. Perhaps she's a protector, in case the Hogwarts Express is attacked. Or maybe she's a watcher, checking for threats among the students. After all, some students are known to go….missing."
Blaise paused and all three of his listeners watched him with impatience. "Or maybe they don't just go missing. Maybe she grINDS THEM UP AND PUTS THEM IN HER PUMPKIN PASTRIES!" Harry shot back as Blaise's voice suddenly rose and he had to swallow a scream.
Blaise laughed deep and malevolent, his amusement obvious. Then the compartment door shot open with a loud smash and all four of them screamed.
"Anything off the trolley, dearies?" It was an old woman with a happy smiling face, pushing a cart filled to the brim with sweets of all kind. The quartet exchanged glances, none of them willing to speak. "Nothing then? So sad, those who don't buy candy off my trolley often come to a bad end." The Trolley Lady said mournfully.
"WE'LL TAKE ALL OF IT." Blaise screamed, his eyes wide with panic. He threw a heavy purse at the Lady. There was a blur of motion, and then the bag was gone. The Lady tipped her cart over, spilling the load of candy onto the floor.
Harry looked at the Lady with amazement and fear. Her Trolley was already re-filled with candy. But more than that, he couldn't see her name or lifespan above her head. What was she?
The Lady went on her way and the door slammed shut without anyone touching it, the lights also coming back to its previous brightness without anyone touching it.
"Blaise….wasn't that all the money your mom gave you for the year?"
"Yes. Yes it was."
"…..Thank you. We owe you one."
"Damn straight."
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The rest of the trip to Hogwarts passed with little more fanfare. There had been a girl that barged in looking for a toad, but that was about it. Harry passed the time by talking with Blaise and Daphne, as well as teasing Tracey. They worked their way through the candy, but there was simply too much, and they ended up stuffing a lot of it into their respective trunks.
By the time the Train arrived, night had fallen and clouds were gathering on the horizon. Harry hoped it wouldn't rain while they were still outside, these robes would get really heavy if they got waterlogged.
"Students, over here! Get in the boats, groups of four please! Don't want to fall in the Lake after all!" Harry followed the jovial sounding voice and found it to be coming from a very tiny man, who was standing on the tip of one of the boats, one Fillius Flitwick.
Harry got into a boat with his group and they all pushed off.
"No, Trevor's back there!" Harry heard someone squeal from another boat.
"Trevor? Did we miss a student?" The small man seemed concerned. He waved his wand an all the boats stopped moving.
"Sorry, sir, Neville lost his toad on the train and we couldn't find it. We're not missing a student." Harry caught sight of the bushy haired girl that had come through asking about a toad, the one who was talking. The short man chuckled.
"That's simply solved, young Neville. Accio Trevor the Toad!" Flitwick squeaked. In just a moment, a dark spot rushed into the man's hand, which he then handed off to Neville, who gave a shout of delight.
"Was that safe?" Blaise muttered. Harry sent him a questioning look and he elaborated. "I mean, if the toad was in the train, was he guided through the corridors and out the door? Or was he just summoned through a window?"
Harry shrugged. "Dunno. Magic, I guess." Blaise grumbled and Tracey laughed. With that minor bump out of the way the boats proceeded, and they soon were within sight of Hogwarts Castle.
When Harry caught sight of the Castle his breathe was taken away. It was a large, grand building straight out of the medieval period, with over seven stories of stone and majestic towers. More than that, it was bright, lit from within by its power. The light of the portal at the station was nothing compared to the complexities of Hogwarts. They twirled and intersected in odd, untraceable patterns, with delicate differences in shades that Harry hadn't seen in any painting.
Harry continued staring until the castle became larger and larger, allowing Harry to see further into its light. Then the boats bumped into the shore and Harry had to tear his eyes away from the Castle to get out of the boat.
The mass of students began walking up a steep hill until they were greeted by an enormous double door of iron and bronze studs. Flitwick flicked his wand and the knockers on the doors slammed into the metal, creating such a loud noise several of the closer students were forced to cover their ears.
Then, the doors slowly swung inwards, revealing a tall thin woman with a stern expression and a twisting witch's hat adorning the stiff bun that her hair was pulled up into. If her hard eyes and regal appearance hadn't alerted Harry to her power, then the soft drumbeat of her magic would have. He was instantly on guard. He knew not to mess around with Minerva McGonagall.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, children. Come in, come in, it's time for the Sorting Ceremony!" Harry took a deep breath and stepped into Hogwarts, followed by his new friends, new classmates, and an invisible Shinigami, whose grin never faltered.
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Hello, beloved readers! Have another helping of Harry Potter and the Death Note! This is mostly a character introduction and filler chapter, which I'm not great at, so any feedback would be welcome.
Warnings:
At this point, no pairing is confirmed. Tracey and Harry's interaction reflects several interactions I've seen between close female and male friends, so while this may develop into a relationship later, right now they're more like rivals/friends.
I'm honestly trying not to bash Ron, but in the situation I needed someone needed to push Harry away from Gryffindor, and Ron was just defending his little sister. So while I don't really like him, I'll do my best to be fair.
The Death Note may be in the background for a bit, but it'll still be a driving force in the story, as will the Shinigami, who I'm going to name next chapter. For any suggestions, shoot me a review or PM and I'll take it into account.
Warnings End
The thing with the Trolley Lady is inspired by reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, in which the Trolley Lady IS TERRIFYING. Seriously, she's one of the most powerful things in the series, and all she does is make and sell sweets.
Also, if I get enough feedback for this chapter (a few reviews wouldn't hurt) then I'll be bringing a very special friend into the story. One who has a fondness for apples.