Loony

That dog hadn't really been a dog Harry realised as he lay in bed at the Leaky Cauldron. Master Salazar would flay him for not realising that sooner. He sighed. 'Not that Sal will ever know about it.'

"What is wrong Master," Zant hissed as he crawled up to the pillow beside Harry's head.

"I miss Master Salazar, Zant," Harry hissed back. The serpent nodded slowly. He lay down across the raven's forehead and Harry chuckled. "What are you doing Zant?"

"I'm trying to make you feel better," the serpent told him.

Harry laughed he sat up and caught the serpent as he fell. "Thank you Zant," he said. He was glad that he had Zant with him. It was a shame that he'd just blown Aunt Marge up like a balloon but what he regretted the most was that he'd done it when the Winters weren't home. They were off visiting Nathaniel's mother and wouldn't be back for another week at least.

The teen and serpent fell asleep not long after that. Harry was dreaming of the orchard he and Salazar had made in Atallieru.

Miles away in a big old castle in Scotland an aging wizard sat. He was concerned. A diary had been dropped on his desk. By whom he did not know and why was a mystery as well. But these things did not worry him so much as the magic that radiated from the nondescript black book. It had a faded date in gold letters and the name inside simply confirmed his suspicions: T. M. Riddle. It was a name he hadn't seen since the young man himself had last tried to gain the Defence Against the Dark Arts position back in, well it must have been in the late 1950s.

The note written in blood had simply stated:

This is the instrument by which the dangers of the Chamber of Secrets have been unleashed.

Due to its nature I have decided it to be of upmost importance that it be destroyed.

However, I felt there was a need for others to see it for themselves.

As such it the diary will self-destruct with the turning of the sixth moon.

~Shadow

And he had found it. The magic which would destroy the book. It was sealed in blood, though, which made it near impossible to undo. Questions had swirled around his head: Who was this Shadow? Where out there lived a witch or wizard with the ability and knowledge to use blood runes like this, and where did the runes come from? For Dumbledore had seen no runes like these before. How could someone so potentially dangerous have just entered the wards of Hogwarts without alerting him and how had that very same person entered his office without triggering any alarms?

Dumbledore looked back down at the diary. He knew what it was and it both disgusted and scared him. How many of these were out there? The diary obviously was one, but it was most likely made for the purpose it had served the past school year. It was supposed to end up in the hands of a student and open the Chamber.

So Tom must have made more. How many more?

He wouldn't have time to figure this out now. School was starting up again soon. He needed to focus on his students and those horrid Dementors that Cornelius insisted on placing around his school because of Black's escape.

This was not going to be a pleasant year.

Summer had progressed nicely. Harry's time spent in Diagon Alley had been both interesting and fun. He was a bit concerned about this Sirius Black. The name was… almost familiar but he had no idea why. He had spent a couple of afternoons with the goblins at Gringotts. They had informed him of his holdings but had also told him that he was currently too young to take control of them. In a few years, probably two, since he was the last of his line. Harry had asked to Goblins to make a full audit of his accounts so he would know what to do when time came.

…

While the Minister of Magic had more or less ordered him to stay in wizarding London, Harry's hands itched; he really wanted a violin. He wanted to play again. So, he had sent Hedwig with a note to Nathaniel and the man had met him early the morning before he was bound for Hogwarts. They had eaten breakfast and then gone instrument hunting. Harry had informed the redhead that Black was a wizard which had the man giving him a pointed look. "You'll make certain to stay safe this year Harry," he'd said.

Harry had snorted and rolled his eyes. "I might be a brave and reckless Gryffindor, Nathaniel," he said. "But that's just a cover you know. In reality I'm a Slytherin and we don't just run into danger we plan ahead."

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow. "Oh, of course all might serpent," he said sarcastically. "So you didn't throw yourself after Emelle or go after the Philosopher's stone or…"

"O.K. alright I got it," Harry grumbled. "I'll stay safe I promise."

Eventually they'd found a good practice violin for a descent price and now Harry was heading back into the Leaky Cauldron. Sitting down in his room he unpacked the beautiful instrument. It didn't compare to the one Salazar had given him but it was nice all the same. He worked in slow steady motions until everything was ready. Then he lifted bow to strings and played.

It went a bit jagged at first with a lot of false notes but soon enough he played smoothly. He was just fooling around to begin with. Suddenly the tones of Saria's Song fell like water from the violin.

He had no idea for how long he sat there playing. The steady notes of familiar melodies flowing from the violin.

That night his dreams seemed almost more real than reality. Harry didn't want to wake up the following morning. But up he got. Packed and ready to leave he headed downstairs for breakfast.

"Hey Harry," "Wondered when you'd," "Show up," Fred and George spoke back and forth.

"Hey guys I didn't know you were here," Harry replied.

"We arrived," "Yesterday to buy," "Our school stuff."

Harry rolled his eyes he knew the twins did that to confuse people.

"Dad told us," "You were here," "But we didn't see you," "Yesterday," "Our family is downstairs they're having breakfast," George finished they seemed to have tired of twins-speech for now.

The three boys headed down the stairs. By a table sat the Weasley family plus Hermione. Mrs Weasley seemed to be telling the girls about a Love Potion she'd made as a young girl. They were giggling something awful. And Mr Weasley was reading a newspaper. His brows furrowed in concentration.

"Good morning," Harry greeted them as he sat down between the twins.

"Harwy…"

"Don't speak with your mouth full Ronald!" Mrs Weasley said before turning to the raven. "Good morning dear," she said.

Harry smiled softly at her and then he turned to Hermione. "So how was France?" he asked and then he spent the rest of the meal listening to her talk about her holidays.

Suddenly Mr Weasley who had gone outside a while ago came back in. "The cars are here Harry come on hurry."

Harry who was a tad bit confused followed Mr Weasley out to the first of two old-fashioned dark green cars. He was pushed into the backseat of the car and was soon joined by Ron, Hermione and to Ron's disgust Percy.

Once the cars started moving Harry asked Ron about his trip to Egypt. The redhead started talking in almost the same intense manner that Hermione had used earlier but he focused on completely different things.

Once at King's Cross station Mr Weasley kept close to Harry and it was starting to get on the raven's nerves. It was frustrating to know that something was going on but not what it was. 'Really I can take care of myself thanks,' he thought irritably when Mr Weasley told them they would be heading through the barrier in pairs. Finally on the wizarding platform Harry used the crowd to his advantage. He disappeared.

At the back of the train there was a compartment with a sleeping man in it. The man looked ill and exhausted. He was wearing shabby robes that were darned in several places, and contrary to the age he looked to be, his light-brown hair was flecked with grey.

Harry heaved his trunk up next to a tattered case. It had the name 'R. J. Lupin' stamped across the corner in peeling letters. Then he removed his violin case from the trunk, sat down and carefully picked the instrument out. He looked up at the sleeping man. 'I doubt I'll wake him unless I really screw up,' he thought.

Harry started playing. His strokes were light at first creating a soft calming melody. If he had his true violin, he would have been able to make the poor man feel better. He had closed and locked the compartment door when he entered and lost in the melody he wouldn't have noticed someone even if they were out there.

Then the train slowed down and then the lights went out bringing the raven out off his concentration. His brows furrowed 'What's going on?' he wondered. He looked out. There was something moving out there. He moved closer to the window placing the violin in his lap. Whatever had been outside had moved onto the train. He didn't like it.

Cold was creeping into his blood. It wasn't natural. No, Harry could almost taste the magic. The compartment door opened with a creak and the cold increased. A cloaked figure was standing in the doorway. The raven could feel the cold spreading from it. At the back of his head he could hear the faint sound of a woman screaming. Then the creature took a deep rattling breath and he could feel himself slipping. The screaming got worse … everything went black.

When Harry opened his eyes again the compartment was lit once more. 'I fainted,' he thought groggily. He felt sick as he reached up to fix his glasses. There was cold sweat on his face. Mr Lupin was sitting on the seat next to him. Harry sat up slowly. He was on the floor. "What was that thing?" he asked hoarsely.

"A Dementor one of the Dementors of Azkaban," Lupin said and removed a chocolate bar from his pocket. He broke a piece off and offered it to the raven. "Eat it you'll feel better," he said.

Harry accepted the chocolate with a, "Thanks."

"I need to go and speak to the driver, if you would excuse me…" he stood up and left Harry.

The raven nibbled on the chocolate for a while. Then he got back up on his seat and grabbed his violin. To his relief he instrument was undamaged. Placing the bow against the strings, 'People need something upbeat after that,' he thought. He stood up a bit shakily as he started playing but soon he was moving with the tune.

When he opened his eyes once more he noticed that Lupin was back. He didn't stop playing though. He just smirked at the man's surprised expression and changed the tune slightly. Master Salazar had once told him he was a natural with the violin. He was glad that still held true. He ended with Saria's favourite tune.

"That was very beautiful Harry," Lupin said.

Harry inclined his head. "Thank you Mr Lupin," he responded. He wasn't too surprised that the man knew his name since the entire wizarding world seemed to know it. He sat down crossing his legs.

Lupin seemed to want to say something else but the compartment door opened interrupting him.

"Harry there you are… Is that a violin?" Hermione had entered the compartment.

"I've been here all along and yes it is a violin," Harry answered. He placed the instrument back in its case.

"You can play the violin Harry?" Hermione looked surprised.

Harry chuckled. "Yes 'Mione I can play the violin."

"Oh." She sat down next to him. Then she blinked startled as she noticed Lupin. "I'm sorry sir I didn't introduce my…"

Lupin waved her off. "It's fine Miss don't worry about me," he said with a smile.

Eventually the train did stop at Hogsmeade station. They left the train and made their way through the rain that had been falling heavily since midday. Once in the safety of Hogwarts Entrance Hall they breathed out.

Harry was walking down a corridor alone one day. He had left a stressed Hermione and a bored Ron in the common room. He was thinking of green fields and deep forests as he rounded the next corner.

"What is it Loony gonna cry, huh?"

Harry blinked. 'What is going on here?' he wondered. Two girls were standing on either side of a third. One of them was ripping some sort of paper to shreds. "What are you doing?" he asked sternly.

The girls looked over at him. Then they turned to face each other. "Nothing we're just talking," one of them said.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Really," he said coldly. He walked up to the small blond girl. "Hey are you O.K?" he asked softly.

The girl turned to him. Her protuberant eyes were opened wide. She looked a bit strange with her peapod earrings and cork necklace. Her wand was stuck behind her left ear. She tilted her head. "O.K. yes I guess I'm O.K." She kept looking at him not blinking once. "You know…you're Harry Potter," she stated.

Harry shook his head in amusement. "Yes I'm Harry Potter," he said. "Are these girls bothering you?" he asked her.

"Hmmm," the girl got a dreamy look on her face. "I think it's the Tailpasarans fault," she said.

Harry did a double take. Did he hear that right "Tailpasarans?" he asked.

"Mmm, they're parasitic tapeworms," the girl said. She was watching the ceiling now.

Harry looked at her. 'How does she know that?' he wondered. Then he looked over at the girls. "Yeah I guess it could be Tailpasarans they do tend to make people rather nasty," he said thinking of Ruto.

The girl finally blinked. "Yes, yes they do. They do make people awfully nasty," she said dreamily.

The two girls that had been bullying the little blond stood there starting at them. How could anyone believe the nonsense Loony was spouting?

Harry ignored them. "Would you like to come with me? I was thinking of going outside," he looked back at the blond.

"You would like me to come with you? I'd love too," the girl said dreamily.

Harry just shook his head and grabbed her hand. They walked outside in silence. It was a nice change from the constant blabber of Hermione and Ron. They sat down by a tree near the lake. Harry leaned back against the trunk and looked over at the girl. "What's your name by the way?" he asked.

It took a while for her to answer "Luna, Luna Lovegood," she finally said.

Harry nodded. He reached out and pulled his violin from its case. Luna was an interesting girl he thought as he started playing.

It would be the start of a solid friendship.

The first quidditch game of the season had been a disaster. Harry had woken up in the hospital wing a few hours ago and he felt groggy still.

"Harry." The soft voice of Cedric Diggory reached his ears.

"Ced' what are you doing here," Harry tried to sit up properly.

"What am I doing … Harry the Dementors came and you fell like fifty-feet. I wanted to see how you were doing," Cedric sat down on the edge of Harry's bed. "And I wasn't the only one," he said inclining his head.

Harry looked up again. "Luna," he breathed. The girl was staring at him which wasn't unusual but there was something. Something in the way her shoulders were tense and she almost reached out for him.

"How are you feeling Harry?" she asked her usually dreamy voice had a scared edge to it.

Harry smiled reassuringly at her. "Like a heard of Helmasauruses has trampled all over me," he responded.

"That's not very nice of them," Luna said.

Cedric was sitting there watching the strange conversation take place. When Harry had first dragged Luna along for one of their usual study sessions he'd been sceptical. Not that he had anything against the strange girl it had just seemed a bit over the top somehow. Of course Harry hadn't stood for that. No the raven wanted Luna to be a part and so she was. He'd gotten used to their talks of creatures no one had ever seen or heard of before. But both Harry and Luna believed in them so he let the two be.

"I found Boe droppings on the third floor earlier," Luna said. She was twirling her hair absentmindedly. Then she looked over at Harry. "You look better with long hair Harry. You should grow it out again," she said.

Harry started laughing. "Yeah I've been thinking about it," he said running a hand though his hair. Then he winked at Luna and grabbed his wand from the nightstand. He placed the tip to his scalp and the black hair grew out slowly. It was soon reaching beneath his shoulder blades. "There," he said as he put the wand back down. "Now what was this talk of Boe droppings Luna?"

Cedric was just sitting there staring at the raven. How? Why? "What did Luna mean by growing it out again?" he asked confused.

Harry raised an eyebrow amused. "I doubt you'd believe me if I told you Ced'," he told the brunet.

Cedric didn't get a chance to respond as Madam Pomfrey walked in and ordered both him and Luna to leave so Harry could rest.

…

"…I mean just look at his hair what has happened. It wasn't like that yesterday," Ron's voice woke Harry up the next morning.

"Ron really, keep it down. It's not like it's a big deal anyway," Hermione said.

"Not a big deal look at him…"

Harry sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes. "Wha' you two on abou'?" he asked tiredly.

"Harry how are you feeling?" Hermione asked quickly.

"I'm fine 'Mione a little sore but nothing major," Harry answered.

"Hey mate what happened to you hair?" Ron butted in.

"What do you mean Ron?" the raven asked confused.

"Well it's all long and stuff," the redhead told him.

Harry starred at his friend for a moment then he said "So."

Ron blushed uncomfortably. Harry didn't seem surprised by the statement. The raven was even looking at him like it was supposed to be that way. "You did it yourself," he blurted out before he'd thought about it properly.

"Yes as a matter of fact I did," Harry said. "I happen to like it."

"I think it's much nicer long," Luna's dreamy voice drifted through the air.

"Well no one asked for your opinion," Ron told her rudely.

Harry narrowed his eyes at the redhead then he turned to Luna with a smile. "Any more sightings of Boe droppings Luna?" he asked the blond and motioned for her to come over.

Luna sat down on the opposite side of the bed from Ron and Hermione. She was staring of into nothing when she answered Harry. "No there have been no more Boe droppings," she said dejectedly.

"Don't worry Luna we'll find them," Harry reassured her.

"What is a Boe I don't think I've ever heard of them," Hermione asked.

"You wouldn't have," Luna said airily. "They aren't very well known." Harry smiled at her. "A Boe is a small shuffling hazy ball usually black or white with red-rimmed orange eyes," Luna described the creatures.

Hermione looked at the girl sceptically. She doubted the creatures existed at all really.

Harry had to stay in the hospital wing until Sunday evening rolled around. He was rather bored with the place by then. He was thinking about the big Grim like dog he'd seen. He was convinced it was the same one he'd seen back in Magnolia Crescent. What was the dog doing here or rather what was the man he knew the dog to be doing here. It was like Ron's rat. Harry blinked 'What if the dog is looking for the rat?' he contemplated.