Disclaimer: I do not own the HP franchise

A/N: This week has been super busy. I'm getting ready for a convention on the 11th of November, which means I've been making tons of jewelry for my table. Lots of ear cuffs. LOTS OF EAR CUFFS. I've barely had time to write this week.

Reminder that I have more chapters complete, but you need to head over to my tumblr: ethrildragon to learn more.

Reaching Through Time

Chapter 14: Return to Hogwarts

Gone.

Harry Potter was gone.

Dumbledore had done everything in his power to find the boy in the year since he'd gone missing, but he had found no trace of the boy. He'd looked all across the British Isles, Europe, and even to the Americas. All of his people in the Order were put to the task and they failed to find the boy as well.

The start of the school year, the year that Harry was supposed to start at Hogwarts, would be starting in less than a day and Dumbledore had no idea what to do.

He'd wiped clean all evidence of Harry's disappearance in the muggle world so he couldn't exactly place the blame on the boy's relatives.

Even the Book of Admittance couldn't find Harry Potter in order to send a letter. The boy's name was simply grey in the book. Usually when that happened it meant one of three things. The first being that the child had registered with another school in another country, which Dumbledore had already checked. The second being that the child had lost their magic, but people could still be traced even without magic. The last reason the book would grey out a child's name was that the child was dead.

Dumbledore ran a hand through his beard as he paced his office. Granted the death of Harry Potter didn't inconvenience his long term plans any, he could work around this obstacle, but the rest of the wizarding world would demand answers.

He did have one explanation that could work. Dumbledore would have to be careful though; a few of the Order that were smarter than their own good might see through his explanations.

With a sigh Dumbledore negligibly waved his wand at the portraits of the past headmasters. He'd frozen them so he could think in peace. Now though he had a meeting with his professors and a new batch of students to begin enthralling.

"You're not allowed to fly outside of flight class and that is final." Mrs. Malfoy was telling Harry as the family escorted not just Tom and Abraxas, but also Harry, Orion, and the few other children that were starting Hogwarts that year.

"Yes mam." Harry mumbled with a small eye roll, but at least he didn't shuffle or scuff his feet. His head was down which made his bangs cover his eyes so that Mrs. Malfoy wouldn't see the eye roll.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me young man."

How she knew he was rolling his eyes Harry wished he knew.

"Oh Hadrian..." Mrs. Malfoy smiled a little fondly as she carefully knelt down so she was closer to eye level with the small boy. Even after all the nutrient potions and the extra help the Malfoy's had gotten to get Harry to a more healthy size, he was still small for his age. "Promise to write every day? We'll miss you too much otherwise."

During the school year that Tom and Abraxas had been away, the elder Malfoy's had grown close to Harry. They were caring for other children, but it would be strange not having any of their own children in the house.

"I promise."

The platform was starting to fill up with more families; the Malfoy's had arrived early to ensure their three sons and their charges would find places on the train without trouble.

"We're counting on you boys to be upstanding students this year." Mr. Malfoy commented, more for Orion and Harry as they seemed to enjoy getting into mischief together. "You represent the Malfoy name and honor."

Abraxas and Tom stood a little taller while Harry simply nodded.

Yet another thing that Harry was having trouble getting used too. He understood how important it was to be polite and such, but why did he have to be perfectly presentable at all times?

Thankfully the children were finally allowed to leave the elder Malfoy's, after a last hug from the matron of the family, and boarded the train.

"It'll be nice not to have to write so much." Abraxas mumbled as the four boys split from the other children. "All the expectation for that chore will be on little Harry."

Abraxas had decided some time ago that having a younger brother was a blessing. His father still high expectations, but at least Abraxas didn't feel nearly as smothered as he had growing up. Tom was too close to his age to have made any difference in that regard.

"I'm not that little." Harry scoffed as he hopped up onto one of the seats of the large room they'd found along the train.

Orion smirked and ruffled Harry's hair, making it even messier. "You're tiny. Which makes you perfect for being our mascot!" Even Orion had had a growth spurt over the summer and was several inches taller than Harry.

Tom bristled when Black touched his Harry. His arm snaked out and he pulled Harry closer to his side. Tom's arm continued to stay stretched out over Harry's shoulders even after the smaller boy was nestled close.

"Well here you boys are!"

Winky Crockett, the bane of Tom's existence, slammed open the door to the space the four boys were in. She grinned and her eyes twinkled as she spotted Harry cozied up to Tom.

"Well if it isn't little Hadrian Smith!" She cooed. "It's been years since I saw you! You're still so cute and tiny."

As much as Harry wanted to snap that he wasn't tiny, for what felt like the hundreth time that day, he bit his tongue. He could be snarky and argumentative with the other boys in their quartet, but with a 6th year he hadn't seen since one of the Malfoy summer functions years ago? No, he was sure he couldn't tell her off.

"It's Hadrian Malfoy now Crockett." Abraxas was rolling his eyes at the girl.

"What? Oh my goodness when did that happen?" She took a seat next to Abraxas, much to Orion's displeasure as he was pretty much shoved out of the way.

Tom knew exactly what had happened. Winky had set them up for a conversation so she'd have a reason to sit with them. He knew the Crockett family knew about Harry's adoption into the Malfoy family; there had been a rather big party last year during the Summer Gala and Mr. and Mrs. Crockett had been there.

"Crockett would you please bugger off." Orion tried to sound nice about it, but his language was completely contradictory to his smile.

Winky sucked in her breath and her eyes narrowed as she considered the young Black heir. She could ignore his demand, but she also knew her father needed the support of the Black's to pass a bill at the ministry.

So, with a sniff and a jerk of her chin, Winky stood up and left the four boys.

"Great." Abraxas groaned and sank down in his seat. "She finally gave up on flirting with me and Tom. I wouldn't put it past her to try and cozy up to Harry."

"I would never let a parasite like Winky Crockett get close to Harry." Tom's arm over his friend's shoulders tightened for a moment before relaxing.

Harry looked from Abraxas to Tom and back, confused as to what was going on. Orion was the first to fill him in.

"She wants to marry into the Malfoy family. Or one of the other big name families. You're a Malfoy now so don't be surprised if she tries to dig her claws into you."

Harry made such a disgusted face at the very idea of marrying the Crockett girl that it made the other three boys laugh.

When the train was finally on it's way a few other had joined the boys in the cabin they had claimed. The majority of the people in the cabin were 4th, 5th, and 6th years that Tom and Abraxas had made friends with over the years.

Harry was used to being the smallest person in the room, but the youngest? Even Orion was a few months older than Harry. At one point Orion had moved from his seat next to Abraxas to Harry's other side. Tom's arm had left his shoulders at one point, but his oldest and closest friend made a point to always include Harry whenever possible.

Still, Harry found himself getting bored listening to all the older teens talk about their summer and what they were expecting for the new school term.

"Hey Harry," Orion must have been feeling the same since he nudged Harry to get his attention. "Let's go find Prince and Flint."

A big grin broke out across Harry's face and he looked at Tom hopefully. He didn't want to leave if his friend disapproved of it.

Tom wanted to tell him no, but with so many Slytherins around them it would be easy for them to figure out Harry could be used against him. So he was forced to nod subtly.

"Just be back in time to change." Tom instructed just before Orion and Harry darted out the door.

Harry felt like he could finally breath freely once he and Orion were out of the compartment full of older students. His lessons with his adopted father had kicked in and Harry had gotten rather stiff from sitting up straight for so long.

"Any ideas on finding Eileen and Rupert?" Orion asked as he stretched out his arms. He'd been getting pretty stiff as well.

"A few." Harry tugged his sleeve up to reveal his little gartner snake wrapped around his wrist. "Can you scent Eileen or Rupert?" He hissed softly at the snake. Orion had found out during the last year and had found Harry's ability to be amazing.

Ladon lifted his head up and his little tongue darted out of his mouth a few times. Orion watched with interest as the little snake's black eyes started to glow subtly.

Gartner snakes were not magical creatures, but if a normal animal lived around others with magic long enough they would develop small talents. Ladon had a talent for tracking and instinctively knowing the layout of the area around him.

"Back," Ladon hissed as he turned his head back to look at the train cars towards the back of the train. "In one of the open boxes with no inner walls."

"He says they're in one of the cars behind this one." Harry told Orion as he tugged his sleeve back down so Ladon could go back to napping.

The two boys had to wander through 2 other cars, passing by older students that mostly ignored them.

Eileen spotted them just as they made it into the car she and Rupert had found most of the other first and second years in.

"There you are Harry!" Eileen jumped out of her seat to give Harry a quick hug before tugging him into the seat next to her. Orion was forced to take a seat next to another student he didn't know. "Where have you been? We looked for you, but we couldn't find you."

"You probably didn't see him because Tom was hoarding him." Orion crossed one leg over the other as he lounged back. "We'll be lucky to have Harry to ourselves at all this year if Tom has any say in it."

"Eileen who are these fellows?" a young boy with dirty blond hair asked from next to Orion.

"Orion Black," Orion offered up his own name before Eileen could. "Hadrian Malfoy." He held out his hand to indicate the dark haired boy that Eileen had looped arms with.

The blond nodded and held out his hand to Orion. "Gifford Abbott. Second year Hufflepuff."

Orion sneered a bit at that, but he did take the other boy's hand to shake it once.

The girl on the other side of Gifford didn't need to be introduced. She knew Orion and Harry from the social tea parties Mrs. Malfoy had thrown throughout the year to get Harry used to pure blood society. Persephone Greengrass had perfectly straight brown hair and muddy brown eyes.

"So we already asked Eileen and Rupert," Gifford said once introductions were done with. "But what houses do you two think you'll get into?"

"I'm a Black. That pretty much guarantees me a spot in Slytherin." It was well known the Blacks had always been placed in the house of the snake. "My sister Lucretia is a fifth year in Slytherin and my cousin Walburga is a fourth year."

The two black girls had made a brief appearance in the cabin with Tom and the others to make sure Orion was behaving himself before going off to join their own friends.

"And you Malfoy?" Gifford asked once Orion was done preening.

Harry rubbed at the back of his head for a moment. "I don't know. I mean...Malfoy's go into Slytherin, and a lot of my friends are there."

If Harry was honest with himself he would admit he didn't know what house he would go into. Both his Malfoy parents had been in Slytherin and they, along with Tom and Abraxas, had made the house of snakes sound amazing. It would make sense if he were sorted into Slytherin since he could also speak to snakes like the infamous Hogwarts Founder.

Still Harry could see himself in any of the houses. He enjoyed learning new things and Tom had made sure he was always ahead in his studies, even when Harry would have preferred playing, so Ravenclaw was an option. Harry valued his friendships and was fiercely loyal to those he cared about so Hufflepuff would make sense as well. He knew he could be a bit reckless and adventurous so Gryffindor might be a good fit.

"I'll just leave it up to the hat." Harry grinned and shrugged. He would prefer Slytherin, if only to be close to Tom during the year.

"Not a very Slytherin answer." Gifford didn't mean anything bad by it, but it still earned him a scowl from Orion.

Harry could only shrug. He could be cunning if he wanted, but he didn't see the point at the moment. "I just like to keep my options open. You never know what is around the corner."

"So I heard there's a Scamander starting Hogwarts this year." Gifford said after a few minutes of stalled conversation. "They say his dad caught Grindelwald back in '26!"

"Yeah," Eileen rolled her eyes. "For all of what? A few months? They've never been able to hold onto that psycho."

It was a subject that left everyone feeling chilled. Gellert Grindelwald had made many children, from muggle, half-blood, and pure-blood families into orphans.

In fact, Grindelwald was the excuse Tom and Abraxas had come up with when explaining why Harry had been living with his distant relatives rather than his parents before the Malfoy's had adopted him.

"I heard he's the reason the muggles are fighting." Persephone whispered the longer the conversation went. "Remember all the bombings the last couple years? My father was pretty sure some of those bombs were enchanted to cause extra damage."

Harry froze. He remembered those bombings. He'd had nightmares about those bombings. If the Malfoy's had waited just a couple days after he'd collapsed then they would have been in Diagon Alley when the bombs had fallen.

"Guys. Drop it."

Harry didn't realize his shoulders were shaking until he felt a hand gripping him. "It's ok Harry. Just breath."

It wasn't Orion's voice that was right next to him and it wasn't Orion's hands on his shoulders. It was Tom. The moment Harry realized it was Tom he stood up and burrowed into the older teens embrace. He didn't care about what all the others thought of the display, all he cared about at that moment was being safe in Tom's arms.

"The war and Grindelwald are not meant for polite conversation." Tom's eyes were hard as he stared at the pre-teens that had upset his Harry. "Especially when there are so many that have been affected and hurt."

Tom had changed into his student robes and had partially wrapped Harry up in them to block out the rest of the world. "Come on. I'll take us to some place quiet." He murmured gently to Harry who only nodded weakly.

Swiftly Tom ushered Harry out of the train car to search out a quiet and private cabin in one of the other cars.

"What was that about?" Persephone asked as she looked from Eileen to Orion, who were both looking away from everyone else in guilt.

"Hadrian's parents were killed by Grindelwald. He and Tom grew up in London..." Orion explained slowly. It wasn't his place to reveal all his friend's secrets, but they needed to know. Orion should have stopped the conversation as soon as it had started, but he hadn't been thinking. "The Malfoy's adopted Tom and Harry. If they hadn't..." He left his words hanging there so that Persephone and Gifford would connect the dots themselves.

It took longer than Tom would have liked to find an empty cabin in another of the train cars, but eventually he did and carefully maneuvered Harry inside. The older teen threw up several silencing wards, and locking charms to keep people from coming inside or hearing what they were talking about.

"I'm sorry Tom." Harry whispered as he quickly wiped away the tears that had filled his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Shhh, it's alright." Tom wrapped Harry back up into his arms and held onto him. "They should have known better. The war is not a topic for children." Especially for children that had yet to feel the repercussions of the war.

"You're just overwhelmed. You're meeting a lot of new people today, we're far from home, and you're nervous about starting school. It's alright."

Harry shook his head, but didn't fight when Tom sat down and pulled him into his lap. "We weren't even in London when the bombs fell! I shouldn't be having nightmares about it. I shouldn't be such a...a big baby about it!"

Tom gently ran his fingers through Harry's wild locks to calm him down. "Remember what the mediwitch said?" He asked softly as he held the smaller boy close. "She told you that in your weakened state your magical senses were extra sensitive. Those bombs broke and damaged a lot of the magic in London. You felt that backlash."

In private the mediwitch had also suggested that Harry might have some seer capabilities with how accurate his dreams were. He wasn't an outright seer, the healer had tested for that, but his sensitivity to magic was unpredictable while in his sleep state.

Tom felt Harry nod slowly against his chest. "The war is still going on and London is still recovering. Those...children have no idea about the devastation that has been caused nor do they know how much harm their words can do."

The longer Tom talked the better Harry felt. It'd been awhile since just the two of them spent time together. Normally they had either Abraxas, Orion, or some of the other kids around. Even at night Harry was usually forced to sleep in his own room instead of with Tom. He only got away with sneaking into Tom's room after a particularly bad nightmare.

Tom was never so glad to have such a strong connection with Harry thanks to the blood bond. Even when Tom had been at school and Harry at the Malfoy's, he'd been able to know instantly whenever Harry was having a panic attack or was upset. Likewise Harry always knew whenever Tom was particularly annoyed or angry.

And Tom got angry a lot when Harry wasn't near him.

"Better?" Tom whispered after nearly an hour of calming Harry down.

Harry nodded and rubbed his red eyes tiredly. "Yeah. How close to Hogwarts are we?" He asked as he looked out the window at the darkening sky.

Following Harry's gaze, Tom glanced at the sky and then sighed. "About a half hour give or take. We best get you changed into your school robes."

The rest of the trip to Hogwarts went smoothly after that. Harry even got an apology from both Persephone and Gifford after they had disembarked and just before the first years were led away from the older students.

"You'll see me during the feast." Tom told Harry as the younger boy waited until the last minute to join the other first years. Despite the fact that Harry had calmed down from earlier he was still feeling reluctant to leave Tom for any length of time and Tom could feel it.

"Why can't I just go with you?" Harry asked with an annoyed huff. "We're going to the same place."

Tom shook his head and gently nudged Harry towards the boats that were filling up. Orion was saving a place for Harry. "It's tradition. The boat trip is worth it, you'll see."

Harry finally gave up trying to follow after Tom when Orion called out for him. Eileen was in the boat as well and she was watching Harry worriedly.

"Don't keep your friends waiting." As much as Tom disliked the idea of sharing Harry, he knew the younger boy actually considered both Orion and Eileen to be his friends.

"You alright mate?" Orion asked once Harry was settled in his seat on the little boat.

"Please don't be too upset with Persephone. She didn't mean to upset you." Eileen whispered as she reached out to gently touch Harry's knee.

Harry smiled at his two friends. Other than Tom and Abraxas, Orion and Eileen were probably the closest friends he had. He and Orion had bonded over their love of flying and quidditch. It'd taken some time to figure out what he and Eileen had in common, but eventually they both found out that they had a fondness for gardening and cooking.

Eileen was still trying to convince Harry that potion making and cooking were similar enough that he would enjoy making potions.

All of Harry's thoughts stopped when the fog that had settled over the lake cleared to reveal a castle built up on the cliff overlooking the lake. The magic was so thick around the castle that Harry could practically see it glow against the night sky. The magic was swirling in a myriad of colors. Even the grounds around the castle were bathed in the castle's magical glow.

How in the world was he going to be able to survive in the middle of all that magic for an entire school year? It was beautiful, but even out on the lake Harry was starting to feel light headed and dizzy just looking at the magic.

"Harry?" Orion whispered his friend's name as the smaller boy started weave a bit from where he was sitting.

Ladon hissed softly and slipped up Harry's arm to go up to his neck. The little snake started hissing quickly in Harry's ear and after a minute or two the boy blinked and seemed to be able to focus a little better.

"Are you alright?" Eileen asked as the boats pulled up to the docks. "You looked like you were about to faint."

Harry rubbed at the back of his neck. "I'm fine. Just...got a little dizzy." His friends may know he was a parselmouth, but they didn't know about his sensitivity to magic. Ladon had been right about focusing on his bond with Tom to avoid being overwhelmed.

It helped a bit, focusing on the dark swirl of Tom's magic that Harry could pick up on through their bond. The magic of the castle was still there, looming over Harry, but it wasn't filling all of his senses like before.

Focusing on Tom's magic didn't stop Harry from noticing the dark and oppressing presence that was approaching them. The magic wasn't strong enough for Harry to see, but he could feel it as it ran across his skin. It felt like sludge clinging to his skin and weighing him down.

"Welcome first years."

Harry recognized the man the moment he stepped up to the group. Instinctively he hid a bit behind Orion which earned him a strange look, but the Black boy didn't say anything.

Albus Dumbledore stood before them, his hands clasped behind his back and his blue eyes twinkling above his half moon spectacles. He was smiling warmly down at the young students waiting to be taken to the great hall.

After Harry had turned 11, Dumbledore had searched for him at the orphanage only to discover that Harry had been adopted. And then the old man had showed up at the Malfoy Manor in order to deliver the letter to Harry.

The Professor had tried to, subtly, tell Harry about how the Malfoy family was a Dark wizarding family and that he needed to be careful. He'd come across as a warm grandfather type, but the magic that Harry had felt off of him had left the boy feeling gross.

Harry's instincts, then and now, were telling him to avoid eye contact and that's just what he did. He kept himself right behind Orion until the group was led up into the great hall.

"Now then," Professor Dumbledore turned back to the waiting first years once they were outside a large pair of doors. "Once inside you will be sorted into your houses. These houses will be your homes for the rest of your education here at Hogwarts. They will be your families." He smiled warmly at the students only for his smile to waver a moment as Harry looked down at the ground. "The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin."

Despite the man's smile and gentle words he seemed to jerk a bit at the name of the last house.

"If you will follow me, we'll go inside and get you sorted."

As soon as the doors opened Harry was looking around for Tom. A pull on their bond had Harry looking to the far left. His eyes locked with Tom's black eyes and Harry relaxed. A small smile settled on Harry's face when Tom nodded to him. When Tom subtly pointed up Harry tilted his head.

He gasped softly at the sight of the ceiling. He could see the enchanted sky, but also the magic that was swirling and dancing from star to star. The magic coiled and spun as it held up each of the many candles above the heads of the students and staff.

"When I call your name," Harry was pulled away from his marveling of the enchanted ceiling to look at Dumbledore. For a moment their eyes locked and Harry felt that gross sludge like magic creep over him. He felt the bond with Tom snap at him and Harry's eyes were quickly pulled away. "Please come up and take a seat here."

Dumbledore lifted a silk shawl to reveal a rather beaten up old wizard hat on the stool. A few of the first years were whispering to each other, especially those that hadn't been warned ahead of time.

The magic that Harry could actually see around and inside the castle was nothing compared to the magic that was the hat. It didn't swirl or dance like the magic in the air, no, the magic of the hat filled the hat so completely that Harry couldn't actually see the physical object.

Harry watched in fascination as the magic in the hat lit up just before the hat started singing about the founding of Hogwarts and the four founders.

The first names were called once the song was done and the students were sorted quickly. Orion, much to no one's surprise, went to Slytherin within seconds of the hat being lowered onto his head.

"Hadrian Malfoy."

Keeping his eyes away from Dumbledore and on the hat, Harry walked past Eileen and up to the stool. He sat down and took a deep breath in preparation for the hat's magic to overwhelm him once it was on his head.

Much to Harry's surprise the magic that filled the hat did nothing more than warm him. He felt like he was getting a hug rather than sitting on the stool with an overly large hat on his head.

"Well! You're finally here!"

Harry jumped a little when suddenly there was a voice speaking to him. Tom had warned him that the hat could talk, but Harry hadn't completely believed it.

"I am a bit of a surprise that is true." The hat chuckled at Harry's thoughts. "But you! I've been expecting you for quite some time."

Had Tom told the hat about Harry?

"Now, now, what happens during my sortings is private. I can't very well reveal the secrets of one student to another now can I?"

No, a person's secrets were their own.

"Speaking of secrets, you have quite a few yourself. No worries, my seams are sealed." That got a small chuckle out of Harry. "You have quite the fate ahead of you, young Potter. Or is it Malfoy now? The magic is binding and true. But one can never completely let go of who they truly are."

Harry had had so many names in his short life, but he held his true name close to his heart.

"As you should. Now then. Down to business shall we?" The hat shifted a little on Harry's head. "There's a great deal of talent in this head of yours. You'll need it in the years to come. But Talent isn't everything." The hat rambled softly in Harry's ear.

Like he had said on the train, Harry would leave his sorting to the hat. He didn't know which house he would be best suited for, but he would prefer to be with his friends in Slytherin.

"Slytherin, aye? Yes, you would do well there. You have ambition to do your best, but just not in the way most Slytherin's have. You'd rather become stronger and make a name for yourself so you can protect and care for your loved ones."

Was that so wrong? To want to reach for the top to make things better for others?

"Of course not! It is admirable. Your ancestors would approve greatly." The hat assured the boy as it contemplated Harry. "If you go to Slytherin you will meet with resistance. The house of snakes will make you stronger, help you build stronger bonds and gain allies, but it will not be easy."

Nothing in life was easy.

"Wise beyond your years. You'd make a good Ravenclaw as well you know. Even Hufflepuff would do well for you."

And what about Gryffindor?

"Ah. Yes. The Lions would make you strong, but you would have a hard time being around your old friends without making many enemies. Lions do not forgive those they label traitors."

Having friends outside of your house made a person a traitor? That didn't seem fair.

"It isn't. It is not what the Founders had in mind either." The hat sighed wistfully. "In the end though there is only one house that would work for you. With that bond of yours you'll need to stay close to your Tom. For both your sakes."

Slytherin it was then. Harry felt light and happy at the decision; he'd get to stay with his friends!

"A word of advice if I may? If you are ever in trouble and your friends are not close, trust in Hogwarts. It's magic will protect you and it will guard your secrets as it has your ancestors for centuries." Before Harry had even time to think the hat yelled out his house.

The hat was jerked off of his head abruptly and the magic next to him coming from Dumbledore riled angrily. It didn't matter at the moment. All that mattered was getting over to the table under the green banners and to be with Tom again.

Cold blue eyes watched Harry as the boy darted away from the stool and over to the Slytherin table. He took the open seat between Tom and Abraxas and was all smiles even as Dumbledore called out the next name.

"You were under the hat for a long time. Your sorting took longer than even Tom's did." Abraxas informed Harry even as Eileen joined them at the Slytherin table.

"Too bad Rupert got put in Gryffindor." Orion said with a sigh. "It's going to be impossible to hang out now."

"Why?" Harry asked with a tilt of his head. "Just because he's in another house doesn't mean we can't be friends."

One of the older students, Lestrange if Harry remembered right, snorted and rolled his eyes. "I'll eat my broom if those stubborn lions let your friend even get close to you."

All conversation ended when the sorting ended and a man at the head table stood up. "Welcome, welcome to a near year at Hogwarts! Welcome to the old students, who I hope are planning on being good examples to our new students. Welcome to our first years! And welcome to our new MediWizard Sir Leighleas who has graciously agreed to step in for Madam Malicent who has retired to spend more time with her grandchildren in Australia."

The headmaster waved a hand to one end of the table where another wizard stood up to take a bow.

The mediwizard looked completely average to the majority of the staff and students, but Harry could sense something strange about him. It felt like the man's magic was being constrained, held back, so Harry couldn't get a good feel for how strong the wizard was. Unlike Dumbledore, who's magic left Harry feeling ill, this wizard's magic felt like static and made Harry rub at his arms.

Harry could usually get a feel for what a person was like by how he responded to their magic, but Sir Leighleas didn't come of as good or bad. He just existed.

Tom caught Harry rubbing at his arms, heard when Ladon hissed softly when Harry's hand bumped him, so he looked in the direction Harry was staring.

Sir Leighleas was of average built with dark auburn hair styled simply and plain brown eyes. He had a charming smile and moved gracefully as he waved and then took his seat once more. Tom's instincts weren't riled. He would need to talk to Harry later in private to learn why harry was fidgeting so much.

"With introductions out of the way, let us eat to our fill!"

Special thanks to: Louise to, Maurey

See you guys next Monday!