Second Year: Books

"You know, I don't think there ever was a 'quiet year' when it came to Hogwarts. There was always something happening involving our favorite bespectacled sensation." River laughed on the other end of the line. "Quirrell trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone, the Triwizard Tournament, and now actual Death Eaters as our professors? No, nothing quiet at all. As far as which year was the quietest for me?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"First Year, hands down. I was still figuring out how to be a Hogwarts student, especially as a Slytherin with… unwanted ties to the old Death Eaters. A few of the others were PROUD of that rubbish." He paused. "The most interesting thing that happened was the beginning of an intellectual rivalry between a certain muggle-born wunderkind and myself. If she's listening, she knows who she is. Stay safe out there.

"Second year is where school started to get interesting for me. That's the year lines were being drawn in the sand. That said, the year started off innocently enough…"

- Excerpt from a "History Lessons" segment on Potterwatch between regular guest Sihir Warren and host Lee Jordan, early 1998.

Naima Warren looked over Sihir's new supply list. Cauldrons, gloves, and most of the core subject books would last through the Fifth year, most lists afterward usually only had a few new books. This list was a bit longer, however, than she remembered from her own Second year. "Your new Defense professor wants all of these Gilderoy Lockheart books!"

"Oh?" Sihir peeked at the list. "You have those ones, right?"

"Yes, would you want to borrow them? No need to get brand-new books if we have them here. Otherwise, this list is well over thirty galleons!"

Sihir nodded. "Makes sense. Now all I have to get is the Standard Book, Volume Two."

"I wonder who the new professor is. Smart of them to assign Lockheart's books, he's done some brilliant things!" Naima didn't notice her son rolling his eyes. "You know, he's signing his new Autobiography on Wednesday… Oh, I have to work. You think you could get a copy signed for me? You could get all your shopping done that day, too!"

Sihir straightened up. They'd been talking about Sihir possibly going to Diagon Alley on his own. "Sure, I can do that."

"You are absolutely sure you can handle Diagon Alley by yourself?"

Sihir nodded excitedly.

Naima ruffled his hair. "You're able to handle your shopping on your own, you're smart about purchases, responsible… you're really growing up, Sihir. I'm proud of you, you know that, right?"

Sihir edged out of reach, grinning. "Come on, mom, stop!"

Naima smiled, but was frowning on her way to St. Mungo's. Considering the things he knows, he's well-adjusted. I couldn't hold anything back, he needed to know what his father did, who the Death Eaters were. I'm just glad he's taking after me.

"Alright, who is next? Ah…" Sihir stepped forward in the line, Magical Me in hand. "And who, young man, am I making this out to?" Gilderoy Lockheart, bedecked in eye-catching blue robes, flashed a smile at the young wizard.

"My mother, Naima Warren." Sihir held out the book.

"N-A-I-M-A?" Sihir nodded. "Right." Gilderoy signed the book, and handed it back to Sihir, winking. "Here you are." He turned his attention down the line. "And who is next?"

Sihir was glad to be out of the line, though he practically had to shove through the small bookshop on the way out.

"Hey, Sihir!" A voice called him from above. Sihir turned to find a fellow Slytherin, Draco Malfoy, leaning over the bannister, smiling down at him. Sihir waved up at him, and made his way to the stairs. Despite Sihir's initial impression of Draco, he found himself enjoying his friendship. Draco had helped Sihir during their initial flying lessons, after Harry had been taken away by McGonagall. Sihir repaid him by helping him on his History of Magic assignments (he had, in fact, been helping quite a few of the Slytherins on their History of Magic assignments, most of whom weren't as interested in history as Sihir.)

He met Draco by the window. "Draco!" He settled against the bannister. "Wasson?"

Draco nodded. "All right?" Sihir nodded back. Draco spotted Magical Me in Sihir's arm, and grinned. "Getting that signed?"

Sihir shrugged. "My mother wanted me to get it signed for her while she's stuck at St. Mungo's."

"Ah…" Draco said, turning his attention back to the crowd below. "Is she ill, or..?"

Sihir looked at Draco, amused. "She works there. She's a healer."

Draco nodded. "Oh, that's good." He turned to Sihir, noticing his smirk. He put his hands up. "Hey, sorry. Most of my friends' families are independently wealthy."

Sihir laughed at that. "It's fine. It's not like I'm poor, by the way," he added. "Mum just doesn't like…" He wanted to say "sitting around all day, snobbing it up," but decided against it. "She doesn't want to just sit around, she likes to keep busy."

Draco smiled. "Right, your family has quite a bit of Cleansweep money."

"Exactly."

Draco coughed suddenly. "Are those the Weasleys coming in?"

Sihir looked down. Indeed, the Weasley family was entering the shop. He spotted the twins (though he couldn't tell which was which,) Mrs. Weasley, Percy, the Gryffindor Prefect, and a girl who must have been Mrs. Weasley's daughter. She must be starting school this year. "That's them. You can't mistake that hair, can you?"

Draco chuckled, then frowned. "That whole family is a disgrace. Blood Traitors."

Mr. Weasley had just followed the rest of his family inside, chattering away excitedly with a couple. "...both are dentists, correct? I understand that many muggles are afraid of you..." These people stood out, not wearing robes like most of the shop patrons. Hermione's parents, probably.

"Just that, right there. Arthur Weasley, consorting with muggles." Draco shook his head.

The subject of blood treachery was a common one in the conversations held by the Slytherins of Sihir's year. As always, Sihir was silent, uncomfortable, not sharing the supremacist views of most of his House. A few of his friends at school were muggle-born. Justin sat with him on his first trip on the Express. He had a friendly academic rivalry with Hermione Granger (she had beaten him on the final exams, in all classes but History of Magic.) What did Draco truly think about Sihir, considering that fact?

"And it gets worse…" Draco said, interrupting Sihir's thoughts. The trio of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger had just walked into the shop, joining the Weasley family and Hermione's parents. "Potter…" This was said with disgust. He turned to look at Sihir, expectantly. "Well?"

Sihir shrugged. "What?"

"Well, don't you hate Potter as much as I do?"

"I'm more indifferent than anything."

"What do you mean, 'indifferent?'" Draco sneered. "They're the reason we lost the House Cup a few months ago, or have you forgotten?"

"Oh, giss on. I'm not one of your bleddy minions, Malfoy, don't talk down to me like an idiot." Sihir stared at Draco, who looked away, unable to meet his eyes. "Yes, they won the Cup, but it was a fluke. They won all those points at the end of the year because of what happened with Quirrell. That's not going to happen again." Sihir pointed at Draco. "You need to stop worrying about him, focus on your studies. We are in school, remember?"

Draco scowled, then nodded. "That's a Ravenclaw sentiment if I've ever heard one."

Sihir smiled. "I get it from my mother."

"And what do you get from your father?"

Sihir's smile faded, and he practically felt the blood drain from his face. "Excuse me?" He asked, shakily.

Draco smiled. "My father told me about your father. Don't worry, though, I understand the need to keep that secret."

Draco turned his attention below, as Lockheart was making an announcement. Sihir continued to stare at him, his mind racing, afraid of how much Draco might know about Hanif. Draco may or may not know how much leverage he had over Sihir. If word got out that Sihir's father was a Death Eater, and currently in Azkaban... (and if Neville Longbottom of all people found out…)

"Did you hear that?"

Sihir jumped. "Huh- what?"

"Lockheart just said that he's our new Defence professor. Weren't you listening?"

He doesn't have anything better to do, famous author that he is? "Oh, 'diddy? I was… lost in thought for a moment there. Sorry."

Draco grinned. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." Draco made for the stairs.

Sihir raised his eyebrows, watching Draco make his way to the ground floor. He wondered who else might know. Theodore? Maybe Draco's minions, Crabbe and Goyle? Quite a few of the old Death Eaters had claimed to be under the Imperius Curse during the War, including Draco's father. Sihir's father, however, went to Azkaban with a smile on his face for what he did to the Longbottoms.

Sihir's fist clenched in his hand as his thoughts drifted to his father.

Few foreign wizards took to the Death Eaters, and Hanif Mostafa was one of them. The Mostafa family was one of the more respected families in Egypt, with a long recorded history stretching back to the time of Alexander. They were members of the Heka-Kemet cult, the descendants of the old priesthood of the Pharaohs, though they were long gone. Magical Egypt was split mostly along religious lines, rather than blood purity, though most Heka Kemet followers would be considered pureblood. Fanatics looked down on the Muslim magical community, viewing them as intruders into the Magical Egyptian community.

While most of the Mostafa Family were, accepting of the Muslims, Hanif was not. He'd heard about the Death Eater's goals, and found possible allies in the domination of the usually muggle-born Muslims of his own country. You-Know-Who himself had expressed interest in the Heka Kemetic teachings, an "all-wizard religion," which allowed Hanif to be one of the select few in the inner circle. After the night You-Know-Who was defeated, Hanif and four other Death Eaters kidnapped Neville Longbottom's parents and tortured them.

The attack on the Longbottoms had been detailed in the book The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, shortly after the chapter detailing You-Know-Who's downfall, as one of the most heinous and most horrible crimes to be committed in the modern wizarding world. The assailants, Hanif Mostafa, Bartemius Crouch Jr, and three of the Lestranges (Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan) were all sentenced to life imprisonment in the wizarding prison Azkaban.

Sihir shook his head, banishing the thoughts. Just keep it quiet, you don't need anyone else knowing about this.

Harry Potter had escaped the crowd applauding Gilderoy Lockheart, over by where the younger Weasley girl was standing, just under Sihir. He tipped his books into her cauldron. Draco strode over to confront him, and Harry turned, a scowl already present on his face. Sihir couldn't hear what they were saying, but thought it best. He didn't want to get in the middle of their feud.

Harry's friends, Ron and Hermione, joined them. Sihir smiled when he saw Hermione. They'd struck up a friendly rivalry last year, after she was the first to master the levitation charm. He'd have to go and say hello.

He made his way downstairs as Ron's face flushed scarlet, and moved towards Draco. Harry and Hermione held him back.

"Ron!" Mr. Weasley made his way over with the twins, struggling against the crowd. "What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."

"Well, well, well… Arthur Weasley." Sihir turned to find Draco standing next to a man wearing the same sneer on his face. Sihir froze as he recognized Draco's father, though he paid Sihir no mind.

"Lucius," Mr. Weasley said.

Lucius Malfoy stepped forward. "Busy time at the Ministry, I hear, all those raids…" He said, smirking. "I hope they're paying you overtime?" Sihir moved aside as Mr. Malfoy strode to the Weasley girl, taking a shabby, worn book out of her cauldron, well out of place amongst the quality new Lockheart books. "Obviously not…" He paused, looking over the Weasleys. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"

Sihir saw Mr. Weasley step forward slowly. "We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy." He said, calm but cold.

Malfoy Senior spied Hermione's parents, watching the confrontation. "Clearly!" He said, with disdain. "The company you keep, Weasley… and I thought your family could sink no lower -"

Mr. Weasley threw himself at Draco's father, knocking him into a nearby bookshelf. The crowd began to stampede, amid the punches and harsh words thrown around by the two. Sihir himself was knocked to the floor, attempting to break up Ron and Draco, as they threw themselves at each other.

"Break it up, there, gents, break it up..!" The large groundskeeper from Hogwarts, Hagrid, pulled Draco and Ron's fathers off of each other. Mr. Weasley was tense, readying himself for another punch, and Mr. Malfoy shoved the younger Weasley's book back into her cauldron.

"Here, girl, take your book. It's the best your father can give you..!" He pushed Hagrid's arm aside, and beckoned to Draco to follow him out of the shop. Draco spotted Sihir on the floor and hesitated before nodding goodbye and following his father.

As Hagrid was straightening Mr. Weasley out, Hermione approached Sihir. "Are you alright, Sihir?" Hermione helped him up.

Sihir rubbed his nose. "I think I was hit in the face by Fantastic Beasts, but I'm fine, considering." He grinned, and she chuckled.

"Kids, come on! Back to the Burrow!" The Weasleys and the Grangers were following Hagrid's lead to the door.

"We've got to go." Hermione said, looking back at her friends. Sihir noticed Ron giving him a dark look. Harry's was more distrustful. "Don't mind them."

"I get it, I'm a Slytherin." Sihir waved it off. He nodded at the two. "We should probably head out, that assistant isn't looking happy." He walked her to the door, and they joined Ron and Harry outside. "I've got a few stops left to make, anyway. The Daily Prophet Office, Quality Quidditch-"

"Quality Quidditch?" Harry asked. "You're not joining the team, are you?"

Sihir grinned at him. "Don't worry, Potter. I'm just getting a new Falcons banner for my dorm."

"Oh, come on. The Falcons?" Ron rolled his eyes. "You like the Falcons? They're just Beaters! And Beaters pretending to be Chasers," he began counting on his fingers. "...and a Beater pretending to be a Seeker, and..."

"Hey, don't talk about the Falcons, you tuss." Sihir said. Hermione watched the exchange, bewildered. Harry listened intently. "What's your team, then?"

Ron paused. "Chudley Cannons," he said, suddenly defensive.

Sihir scoffed. "Ninth place, soon to be last? Yeah, please don't embarrass yourself! The last time they won League was literally a century ago." The two bickered back and forth about the teams all the way back to the Leaky Cauldron, where the group parted ways with Sihir more amicably than he thought they would.

Platform 9¾ didn't have the same chaotic feeling Sihir remembered from his First year. In fact, he was more excited than anything. He saw some familiar faces: Daphne Greengrass and Theodore Nott from his own house. Padma Patil, from Ravenclaw, and her twin sister Parvati from Gryffindor.

"You don't seem as nervous as last year!" Naima Warren smiled down at her son.

Sihir smiled back. "No, I'm excited."

"You know, you get to choose your Third Year electives this year." She elbowed him playfully. "It's never too early to start thinking about that. Just, don't choose Divination, it's haraam."

"Sihir!" Sihir turned, and saw Hermione Granger coming his way, her parents following.

"Hermione!" Sihir turned to his mother. "Mum, this is Hermione. I've told you about her."

"Ah, yes! The genius, right?" Hermione and Sihir blushed as Hermione shook hands with Naima.

"Mum, Dad, this is Sihir and Ms. Warren."

"Pleasure to meet you, young man!" Said Hermione's father, shaking Sihir's hand. "Ms. Warren!"

"Call me Naima, please!" Said Sihir's mother, shaking the Grangers' hands.

"I'm Jean, and this is Thomas."

"Well, I think you two should go and find some seats? It's good to find a compartment early, they fill up fast." Naima hugged her son. "Have a good Second year, Sihir."

"I will!" Sihir set off to search for an empty compartment, joined by Hermione.

"It was nice meeting your mum, Sihir. I thought she was Egyptian, too?"

"Nope! She's from Falmouth. The other side is Egyptian. I'm Corn-gyptian."

She grinned at him as they made their way across the platform. "Did you really call me a genius?" She laughed as Sihir blushed in response. "What does she do, again?" Hermione asked, stepping onto the train.

"She's a Healer, actually. Your parents are doctors, right?" Sihir asked, looking into the compartments as they traversed the Express.

"Dentists, actually. Doctors for teeth." She looked away from Sihir, as if hiding her own teeth, and feigned looking for a compartment.

"Oh, here we go! Want to sit together?" They had finally reached an empty compartment.

"Do you mind if Harry and Ron join us?" Hermione asked, nervously. "I told them to find me on the Express."

"Hey, that's fine. Ron and I can continue our discussion of why the Cannons are terrible." Sihir quipped.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Ron actually enjoyed talking Quidditch with you. I was surprised, I thought he didn't like you too much."

"Well, I was one of the people rubbing the 150-point loss in your face a few months ago." He laughed as he sat down across from her. "You three pulled out a win, though, in the end, so more power to you."

Hermione shrugged. "Either way, I'm glad to see them warming up to you." She looked out the window. "What time do you have?"

Sihir checked his watch. "10:58"

"They're so late! Where are they..?" Hermione's worries were soon alleviated, however, as she spotted a crowd of redheads rush through the platform. "Oh, I see the twins, there. Harry and Ron shouldn't be far behind!" She sat back, relaxed. "I wonder what held them up?"

"Harry is staying with the Weasleys? I heard he lived with muggle relatives after the... you know." He pointed at his own scarless forehead.

"Usually, but they're horrid people. Did you hear..?"

The train took off as Hermione explained Harry's situation with the Dursleys.

"...had to take Mr. Weasley's flying car to rescue him!"

Sihir's eyes were wide. "The Dursleys sound…" He shook his head. "I don't… They just sound bleddy cruel!"

"Oh, Percy!" She stood suddenly and leaned out of the carriage. The tall, redheaded Gryffindor Prefect stopped as Hermione called his name, smiling at her, though looking a bit distracted. He walked back at a brisk pace.

"Oh, Hermione, good to see you." Looking into the compartment, he noticed Sihir sitting across from her. "Oh, you're… What's your name, again?"

"Sihir Warren, Second Year."

Percy snapped his fingers. "That's right, in Slytherin." He eyed Sihir with uncertainty as he turned his attention towards Hermione. "What's up, Hermione? I have to go… Prefect's meeting."

"I was just wondering where Ron was. He and Harry were supposed to join us."

"Ah, yes. We were a bit late coming in. I'm sure they were behind us." He turned to continue his way down the carriage. "They're probably getting the luggage sorted with Fred and George! I've got to go!"

Hermione sat back down, dissatisfied. "Where could they be?"

"'Innocently enough?'"

"I mean, it's not like the Basilisk was released the day term started, was it?"

"True."

"There was still excitement. If anybody listening was subscribed to the Daily Prophet in September 1992, they might remember an Evening Prophet article about a flying automobile was spotted by a few muggles, flying through Britain." River burst out laughing. "I sat with Hermione Granger on the Hogwarts Express in our Second Year. We were expecting to be joined by Harry and Ron. Turns out it was them flying that car from London all the way to Scotland." Sihir paused as River's laughter died down. "Good gas mileage."

River let out another chuckle. "I can't believe I forgot about that."

"Not surprising, considering what happened later in the year."

- Excerpt from a "History Lessons" segment on Potterwatch between regular guest Sihir Warren and host Lee Jordan, early 1998

AN, 4/6/19: Just some slight adjustments to this chapter, the Fifth should be out soon.