"See you around Christmas, hun!" Harley said, kissing Harry's cheek.
The dark haired teen grinned at his parents and a blond haired, blue eyed Tom and waved before hopping on the train. Draco was waiting outside for once and had stiffly greeted Harry's family. It had gotten especially awkward when Tom told him he'd missed him the past few years, but Draco had bravely lifted his chin and had simply congratulated Tom on getting out the diary.
"I had a feeling that you lied about defeating him," Draco muttered as they walked towards the compartment where their friends would already be seated.
"I warned you about that little habit of mine!" Harry laughed, playfully bumping against the blond.
When they arrived, everyone else was already there. Daphne, Pansy, Blaise and Theo all smiled at the arriving duo and Harry quickly sat down next to Daphne while Draco sat on his other side against the window.
"How was everyone's summer?" Harry asked pleasantly.
"Not that special," Blaise shrugged.
"We went to Spain for my stepfather's funeral and then we stayed there for a few weeks enjoying the sun and beach. Mother already found another lover, but I don't think she'll marry him this time."
"We went to Greece for the summer," Daphne said smiling.
"Mother and Astoria love it there for the ancient ruins and whatnot. I liked the beach and the handsome men better."
"There's a shocker," Draco mumbled, rolling his eyes.
Daphne glared at him for a moment before huffing and turning away with a pout.
"My family went with Draco's to our shared vineyard in France," Pansy spoke up eagerly.
"How cute!" Harry gushed teasingly.
"Did you taste the wine? Did you fuck?"
The entire conversation fell quiet and Pansy blushed in embarrassment while Draco slapped Harry in the back of his head.
"Of course not! We're only 13!" he hissed.
"Besides, my parents are trying to get a contract with Daphne or Astoria."
"… So you're going to be a virgin until you get married?" Harry asked.
"Is that still how it works for you guys? Huh… Old fashioned, but I'll respect it."
"It's not how it works," Theo denied with a shake of his head.
"Actually, it's a tradition in Slytherin to have sex to gain a better position within the House."
Harry hummed in thought and nodded. That was very interesting. Since he was now the 'King' he would imagine he'd be the favorite choice by the end of the year. With a bit of luck, he'd never have to get himself off again.
"Does this conversation have anything to do with your summer, Quinn?" Blaise asked smirking.
"Of course not!" Harry laughed.
"My summer was completely uneventful."
"Somehow I don't believe you," Blaise drawled.
Harry smirked and grabbed his bag, letting Malinda out before he pulled out a bottle of straight absinthe. While his friends watched him dubiously, Harry took a big swig and grinned at them.
"Want a taste?" he asked.
Everyone shook their heads, making Harry chuckle and shrug his shoulders.
"Suite yourselves," he muttered, putting the bottle on the small table.
The train jerked suddenly and they all looked to the window, which was fogging up.
"Why are we stopping?" Pansy asked as Harry stood slowly.
"We can't be there yet."
Harry slid the door open and looked out into the corridor, just like every other student on the train. The locomotive was jerked once more and Harry fell back into the compartment and into his seat with a thump. The door slid closed on its own. Harry winced as a dull pain in his ass, made itself known. They needed better cushioning for the seats, really. Well, that or Tom shouldn't have fucked him so roughly that morning, but he liked that too much to give it up.
"I don't know," Draco said in answer to Pansy's question.
"Maybe we've broken down."
Just then, the lights went out, leaving them in darkness. Pansy let out a yelp.
"Ouch! Blaise, that's my foot!"
The lights flickered on and off as they could see Draco pressed against the window.
"There's something moving out there!" he squeaked in fear.
Once again, the lights disappeared and they were plunged into darkness.
"I think... I think someone's coming aboard!" Draco wailed in a whisper.
Harry's breath came out in a puff of white air as the air suddenly froze over. Something white crept along the window and Draco gulped. Ice. The entire train was moved once more and they all grasped their seats in worry.
The bottle of liquor that was resting by the window, froze immediately and Harry put his hands together to try to conserve his warmth. His breath was visible in big, white puffs. Pansy gave a yell when the train moved again, knocking her into Blaise.
"Bloody hell! What's happening?!"
Harry's attention was drawn to a shadow that was passing by the door. He did not like the shape of it. And the depression that came over him, made him shudder. It was so cold. So terrifyingly cold. He felt like all the happiness had been taken from him. Like he'd never smile again – and that would be a serious problem considering who his dad was.
A skeletal hand appeared on the door, coming from the dark figure. The door slid aside with a slow screech and a creepy hand curled around the edge of it. Knobby and bony. The creature that opened the door of their compartment, made Harry think of the Grim Reaper or a Wraith. And it made him feel even colder just looking at it.
Harry swallowed his nerves away and ignored the horrible emptiness he felt at the creature's approaching. He smiled as best he could, a wide, bright grin like his parents always carried and held out a hand towards the unknown being.
"Hi! Want some tea and biscuits?" he asked as cheerful as possible.
The others all stared at him as if he was insane, but Harry ignored them and just kept staring at the strange creature. After a few seconds, the cloaked being just turned away again and moved on deeper into the train. Harry let out a sigh of relief and looked back at his friends, who were still looking at him weirdly. He plastered another bright fake smile on his face.
"What?" he asked innocently.
. . . . .
"Oh!"
Harry looked up, ignoring Draco's ranting to see a young second year girl stare at the carriages in wonder. For a moment, he scowled, confused what was so special about the carriages that she would stare at them so much. The only thing even worth noting were the Thestrals, but he was the only one who could see them because you had to watch someone die first… His eyes widened when he realized she actually was looking at the horses.
"That's Lovegood," Daphne whispered in his ear.
"The freak from Ravenclaw. She's in my sister's dorm."
Harry frowned and glared at Daphne, who quickly took a step back, paling in fear at the dark expression the dark haired boy shot her.
"I happen to like freaks," he hissed at her.
Without looking at any of his friends, Harry stepped up to the blond second year girl and stopped right behind her as she carefully lifted a hand up to touch the closest Thestral. He noticed her hand was slightly trembling, probably unsure if it was safe.
"Beautiful, aren't they?" Harry asked, chuckling as the girl jumped and turned around.
To Harry's shock, he recognized her as the odd girl he had met last year when they were on the train back to London. She had seen Tom, or at least known he was there somehow. Now it turned out she could even see Thestrals… She was becoming more interesting by the minute.
"Yes they are, Harry Quinn," she whispered, bright blue eyes wide as she stared at him.
Harry smirked. There were very few around who called him by that name, but it definitely was the one he preferred. Either this girl liked it better than 'Quinzel' too, or someone told her his preference. At least she didn't call him 'Potter', because then he would have had to hurt her.
"They're called Thestrals," Harry told her.
"You can pet them, they won't hurt anyone."
"How come only you, me and Theodore Nott can see them?" Lovegood asked curiously as she reached out to pet one.
"I asked my dad about them. Apparently you can only see them if you watched someone die."
The Slytherins shuffled nervously, seeming uncomfortable at this. Harry just grinned at them.
"My mum died a few years ago in a potions experiment gone wrong," Lovegood murmured.
"Who did you watch die, Theodore Nott and Harry Quinn?"
"My mum too. I was six at the time," the skinny bookworm muttered.
"My uncle. When I was five."
"I'm very sorry," the blond girl said, smiling sadly at Harry.
"I'm not," the raven haired boy snorted.
"The bastard fucking deserved it and more."
"Oh. Then I'm very happy for you," the girl giggled.
Harry laughed. He liked her already. The rest of his friends still seemed somewhat skeptical, but after everything that had happened the past two years, they quickly accepted her when Harry asked her to join them in one of the carriages. They all piled in. Harry, Draco, Daphne, Lovegood and young Astoria in one, and Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise, Theo and Pansy in a second.
"Let's hope this year will be more normal," Daphne said.
"Anything but a repeat of last year. I don't want another terror."
"In that case, let's hope Black doesn't come here," Draco muttered.
This had Harry perk up immediately. He'd seen the man's picture in some papers, but he hadn't cared much for the details of an escaped convict. Though he wished he had, if Draco was worried about him coming to the most secured and safe place in all of the British Wizarding World.
"Why d'you think he'll come here?" he asked.
The others, even Lovegood stared at him in shock. Harry just raised a brow and waited for someone to start explaining what was so special about one single criminal.
"The man is an insane serial killer who used to be You-know-who's right hand!" Daphne said.
"He's a cousin of my mother," Draco added scowling.
"She told me he used to be your dad- err, blood-dad's best friend and your godfather. Until he betrayed them and led the Dark Lord to your house. He's the reason your parents are dead."
Harry hummed in thought. That did sound pretty important he guessed. The others were all watching him curiously, probably expecting him to fly in a rage after hearing this. It wasn't anything special to Harry though. Things like that were a Sunday afternoon in Gotham. So what if it involved his birth parents? He never met them, so why feel bad about them dying? He was perfectly happy with the parents he had right now.
"Still doesn't explain why he'd come here though," he pointed out lazily.
"To finish what he started of course," Lovegood said in a dreamy voice.
Harry stared for a moment before he started laughing.
"He's going to come here to kill me?" he asked between fits of laughter.
"That's not funny!" Daphne cried out.
"He's insane, and a killer! He killed 13 muggles and a wizard before they could catch him."
Harry had killed about the same amount of people, and Joker's numbers were up somewhere in the hundreds, maybe even thousands, not that he'd tell them that of course. He liked to keep his friends around for a bit longer. Besides, it was easier for him to move around the Wizarding World if they still trusted him somewhat, and with rumors like him killing people, that would be impossible.
"I'm not scared of some wand-waving lunatic," he snickered instead.
"I've seen things none of you can even imagine. He is nothing at all, trust me. If he comes, he won't know what hit him."
. . . . .
Dumbledore gave his annual greeting to the school and introduced a ragged-looking man as Professor Remus Lupin, who would be taking up the DADA position. Harry wondered if the man would make it to a second year or not. Probably not.
The man stood and gave a small bow. He was obviously of the shy type. Harry couldn't help but snicker when Snape barely clapped and with absolutely no amount of enthusiasm. He looked completely annoyed that he was sitting next to the new professor. That, or the fact that he hadn't gotten to teach DADA again. Whichever worked. The students clapped lightly, also not really expecting Lupin to last all that long.
Dumbledore moved on to inform them all that Hagrid would be the Care of Magical Creatures teacher that year. It didn't surprise Harry, now that he thought about it. The book for the class was pure evil. Harry hoped he would be able to get away with causing some of the Gryffindor books to attack their owners. It'd be fun to watch them try to stop from being eaten. Especially Ron Weasley, and maybe Longbottom too, just because he was such an easy target.
Harry was very conflicted when he learned that the Dementors were going to be patrolling the borders of the school. On one hand, they were obviously pure evil and dark creatures, and that would mean he should get along with them just fine, it was just the fact that they seemed to suck all his happiness away. Without his happiness, there was very little left of Harry Quinn, only a bitter, hateful shell he preferred to keep hidden a little while longer.
"But you know, happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times. If one only remembers, to turn on the light."
Harry had to snicker at the cheesy words of his headmaster and rolled his eyes, as did most of his peers at the Slytherin table. Dumbledore might be worshipped in the other three houses, inside the green and silver house, he was a laughing stock.
. . . . .
After the feast, all students went to their own common room. Harry was happily talking to Flint, who apparently had to redo his last year. Colin had come running over at one point too to greet him with a bright smile and the flashing of his camera. Harry had smiled at that and watched the second year run back to the Gryffindor table when he saw a few odd things. First off, Hermione was talking to Ron Weasley, which had to be a first, especially since they seemed to be getting along. Second, the Twins were staring at him…
"They've been watching you since the start of the feast," Theo muttered in his ear.
"Really?" Blaise asked surprised.
"What would that be about?"
"Who cares? They're bloody Weasleys," Draco huffed.
Harry ignored them all and just waved at Fred and George. Dual smirks appeared on their faces and they waved back before turning to talk to Lee. Chuckling a bit, Harry walked out of the Great Hall with his friends.
"Quinn!" Adrian Pucey called out, rushing to walk next to him.
"The older students have talked it over and we've come to a decision."
Harry frowned at that.
"What kind of decision?" he asked.
"Well, it's tradition that when a King or Queen is appointed in the house, they're given a private room," Adrian explained grinning.
"And since you became King last year, this is a little overdue. It only took so long because it's the first time someone this young made King."
"Private room, huh?" Harry asked smirking.
"Alright. I'm game. Show me the way!"
. . . . .
The room was adjacent to the common room through a secret doorway behind a bookshelf (because it wasn't cliché, it was a classic). It was spacy and the door was guarded by two giant snake statues (again a classic Harry supposed). He had a private study, a bathroom, a king-size four-poster bed and a loveseat with a nice black polished coffee table. All decorations were of course in green, silver and black, but a few charms had that fixed right away. Harry loved color after all.
*Finally Hatchling gets the acknowledgment he deserves,* Malinda hissed proudly as she popped her head out of Harry's robes.
Harry chuckled and laid down on his bed with a pleased sigh. A new year at Hogwarts, his own private bedroom and a mass murderer chasing him. Exactly what the doctor ordered.
