AN: Here is chapter 7, hope you enjoy, and please leave a review etc. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to PM me or if not join my discord.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Many thanks to Tree Licker for beta-reading the story.
( - )
(Last Time)
Exiting the shop a few minutes later, his new wand safely stowed away, Harry had a slight spring in his step as he headed back into Diagon Alley, absentmindedly making small talk with Tonks as he headed for the bookshop where he was to meet up with the others.
Soon enough he would get all the books and supplies he would need for the upcoming school year, after which he would make sure to head to some clothing shops to pick up some new, and more suitable clothing.
Then, after that it was just a matter of heading back to Grimmauld Place, mail ordering some ingredients, and then waiting out the last week or so until the new school year started.
( - )
Chapter 7
( - )
(With Harry at Grimmauld Place)
Leaning back in his chair, and letting out a yawn, Harry lazily looked around at his surroundings. Currently, he was sitting at the recently polished kitchen table in Grimmauld Place, his body partially slumped back against his sturdy wooden chair.
Leaning forwards, a despondent look spread across his face as he clasped a steaming mug of tea in his hands. His face was slightly paler than normal, which in turn only made the dark bags under his bleary eyes stand out more than they would normally do.
Urgh, it was too early in the morning for this shit!
That was the thought that was currently going through Harry's head as he then proceeded to rest said head, on the warm tabletop, trying to ignore as he did, the loud thumping and clattering sounds that were drifting down from up above.
It was currently the 1st of September, the day that Harry and the rest of the teens in the house; Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Hermione, would all be catching the Hogwarts Express to school.
It was a day that everyone in the house had known was coming well in advance, and that they had even talked about at dinner the night before. Not that a single other person in the house had bothered to prepare, not even the usually anally retentive, Hermione.
Harry was able to tell that much from where he was sat, what with all the thumping and banging going on overhead, as well as the shouting of the Weasley children, and the shrieks of their stressed mother as she harangued them for their lack of organisation and tried to get them in line.
Honestly, it was starting to anger him.
Harry liked to consider himself a practical and conscientious person, as such he had been ready days in advance; he had long since packed away all his school books and clothing etc. in his expanded trunk.
On top of which, he had also managed to completely clean out the Black Family library and had packed the contents –along with the many other treasures and trinkets he had managed to salvage from around his house– in Regulus Black's old, recently magically expanded, school trunk. A trunk that Harry had procured and enchanted for that very reason.
All of this he had managed to do well ahead of time, even while still helping out with the inane chores Mrs Weasley liked to set them, after all, back when he had originally been a student, he had gotten into such a routine that even now, years later, it still stuck.
The Weasleys however, appeared to be far less prepared and organised. On top of which, they were also incredibly loud and noisy, almost obnoxiously so. It was quite a contrast to when he had had the family, older and slightly more wearied, around to his house for Order meetings, back in his world.
The other reason that Harry had sorted all his packing out days ago, had also been, so he could use the time in between practising his magic and reading some of the tomes and grimoires from the library, was to take it easy, even as he waited to get out of here and back to Hogwarts. It had also given him the opportunity to studiously avoid the other regular inhabitants of the house as and when he wanted to.
Save of course for Sirius, who, unlike the others, Harry actually wanted to see and talk to. Though mainly this was because he had never had the chance to do so before. Plus, he also chatted with Lupin and Tonks when they came to visit; though mainly that was because Lupin was often times lurking around when she was present, or vice versa, he honestly wasn't sure which it was now he thought about it.
Either way, personally he found that he got on far better with the adults than he did with the teens, or at least with Granger and the Weasley children, all of whom he had had a distinctly tense relationship with back in the day.
Another reason for his over preparedness, though, was that he had also wanted to have a lie in this morning. He enjoyed his sleep after all and despised waking up early when he didn't need to.
Only the Weasley family had scuppered that plan with all their noise.
( - )
(With Sirius)
"You look like death, Harry," Sirius stated bluntly from he was sat, straight across the table from his godson, idly looking up from his copy of the Daily Prophet as he did so, a slight grin on his face as he saw the sour look his godson sent his way.
"Pot, kettle and black…, Black," Harry replied blandly, eyeing the gaunt, pale-skinned man in amusement.
"So I take it you at least are ready for school?" Sirius grinned back, deciding not to make a stupid joke about what his godson had just said as he did so. Harry didn't look to be in the mood for bantering at the moment.
"Days ago," Harry replied dryly, before he sat up and took a sip of his tea, and then continued. "Unlike the rest of them, it would appear."
"They are pretty disorganised." Sirius nodded, looking up at the ceiling as he heard his mother's portrait start shrieking. By the sounds of it, she had been woken by Mrs Weasley's shouting, and now both of them were shouting and screaming in sync as the twins had apparently, according to what little could be heard, nearly broken their sister's neck by throwing their trunk down the stairs.
It was nice in a way. This house, as far as he was aware, had never felt as lively before. When he had been a teen and had still lived at this house, there had been none of this. Instead, he and his brother, Regulus, had just sat at the kitchen table as their house-elf did all the work.
"So, are you looking forward to going back?" Sirius continued, his tone changing slightly as he eyed Harry curiously. His dark eyes moved over Harry's brand-new clothes, including his button-up chequered shirt, black jeans, brown leather boots and a brown leather jacket, all of which were created by magical folk in the muggle style, though with all the usual enchantments laid on them.
Not that this surprised Sirius too unduly, the muggle style of clothing had come into fashion over the last couple of decades in the magical world. It had become far more popular to the younger generation than traditional robes, as more and more muggleborns both entered the magical world and remained in it too after they had finished their schooling. Magical society was slowly but surely changing with the times, they were evolving and adapting to the far more rapidly changing muggle world, which was, in part, what had the old school purebloods so riled up.
No, what surprised him, and a couple of others in the house too for that matter, was Harry's decision to outfit himself with an entire new wardrobe of expensive, high-quality clothing whilst he had gone shopping in Diagon Alley with Tonks. All of which were a far cry from the hand me downs he had used to wear. Noticeably, or at least to Sirius, Ron had been sending Harry envious looks over the last couple of days, after his purchases had come to light.
Then again, this was just one of many oddities around Harry that had begun to appear, or that Sirius had started to notice.
Not only had Harry started spending more money on himself, including a fancy new dragonhide, wrist sheath for his wand and a moulded dragon bone handle, –as was his right since it was his money– but he had also become a lot more confident in himself too. This was both in the way he held himself and additionally in how he interacted with those older than himself.
Sirius was almost tempted to think that Harry was becoming a bit arrogant. Though considering what he knew of his godson and his upbringing, he doubted that this was indeed the case.
That being said, both he and Lupin had conversely noticed that Harry had also become more of a loner, with him often avoiding prolonged interaction with the other teens.
Though, fortunately, he did still seek out Sirius, Tonks and Lupin to chat with when they were around, Molly and Arthur Weasley too on occasion.
On top of that, he also had started acting slightly oddly around certain members of the Order.
Not that he was being rude or anything, or at least not directly. Instead, he was just being openly friendly with some among them and then avoiding prolonged contact with certain others; with Moody and Shacklebolt being prime examples of those he seemed to be avoiding. Though, Moody at least was understandable considering Harry had been attacked by a Death Eater disguised as Moody, just a few months previous. Why he seemed to dislike Shacklebolt, though, he honestly didn't know. The guy seemed affable enough to him.
Now, Sirius wasn't sure if anyone else in the house save Lupin had picked up on Harry's odd behaviour, save for the more obvious stuff; like his expensive new wardrobe and newfound confidence. But he certainly had, and suffice to say his behaviour was quite unlike what he was used to from Harry, or at least from the Harry he had known before the whole graveyard incident and the Dementor attack.
Not that the changes were in themselves a bad thing or anything. A more open and confident Harry was a good thing, as was one who looked after himself better and didn't seem to be riddled with the same insecurities and anxiety he had used to have.
In fact, Sirius found himself taking to this dry, sarcastic Harry far more than before. He was a lot like his father in a way, and not just in appearance, but also in the way he held himself and talked.
"Yeah, I would say so. As much as I like spending time here with you, Hogwarts always was my first home, and honestly, it feels like a long time since I was last there." Harry replied a few moments later, oblivious to Sirius's thoughts as he once again took a sip from his mug of tea.
Sirius's smile became more reminiscent of a grimace at that.
If he was being honest with himself, he was not too pleased that his godson would be leaving him, especially since he felt they had only just got the chance to get to know one another properly and to start to bond.
Before Sirius could convey this, however, or say anything else, Molly Weasley chose that moment to bustle into the kitchen with a distinctly harried look on her face.
"Harry, what are you doing down here?" Molly Weasley asked abruptly, pausing mid-step as she focused on Harry. "We will need to get going soon, where are your things, I hope you're ready!? I didn't see your trunk or Hedwig's cage in the hallway with the others!"
"I sent Hedwig onto Hogwarts already, as for the rest of my stuff I've shrunk it all down, including the trunk and cage, and have put it all in my satchel!" Harry replied, gesturing to the innocuous-looking brown, leather satchel that was sat on the floor right beside his chair. "I'm all sorted and ready to go, Molly."
"Oh… right, good. Well drink up then, we'll be setting off in a few minutes, or at least we will once I've chivvied everyone else along!" Molly replied, blinking in surprise for a moment, before she favoured Harry with a slight smile, after which she turned and bustled back upstairs, probably to go scold the others again.
"Well you heard her kid, you better get going. The last thing you want is to be on her bad side." Sirius spoke up, his smile once again genuine now as he sent Harry an amused look, especially when they heard Mrs Black wake up yet again as both she and Molly once again started screaming in tandem.
"Oh clearly, because compared to Molly Weasley, the Dark Lord is a pussycat," Harry replied dryly, draining his cup of tea as he did so before with a lazy flick of his hand he drew his new alder wand and cleaned the cup with another simple flick, after which he put it back on the kitchen table.
Sirius laughed in response to that comment before he put down his paper and stood up himself. His dark eyes rested on Harry's wand for a moment, before they shifted back to his face as he put it away. From what he could see, Harry seemed to have realised that he could get away with magic whilst under Grimmauld Place's enchantments. "Nice job, by the way. I wasn't aware you were advanced enough to start casting non-verbal magic or even know about it yet for that matter?"
"Trust me Sirius, when you spend your summers with muggles you tend to get bored of the mundane very quickly, which then leads to you reading as many books on magic and theory as you can. Just so you can try and re-immerse yourself in the magical world." Harry replied dryly, his expression not changing for a moment as he let slip another thing about himself that Sirius hadn't known previously. "Thanks, though, I've got the theory down and can do some of the more simplistic spells non-verbally. I'm not quite as good with the trickier and more powerful ones."
"That's fair enough, are you sure you shouldn't be a Ravenclaw?" Sirius said jokingly, before continuing. "Still, you're pretty advanced as it is anyway. The rest will just come with time and practice." Sirius said, patting Harry gently on the shoulder as he walked past him. The kid might look and act like his dad, but he clearly got his mind and aptitude for learning from his mother. "Now come on, we don't want to leave Molly waiting, do we?"
( - )
(With Harry)
Nodding at Sirius's words, Harry made to follow his godfather upstairs, noticing as he did so that someone had once again shut up the portrait of Walburga Black. Before he left, however, he made sure to grab his bag, and the paper Sirius had been reading off of the table too before he then followed Sirius up the stairs and out of the kitchen.
"Harry! There you are!" Granger's strident voice sounded out the moment Harry entered the hallway, her words waking up Sirius's mother portrait again! Who immediately took that moment to start shrieking and screaming, again!
Thankfully, the moment she kicked off, Sirius to rush over and forcibly closed the curtains on her, shutting her up, before she could get on another roll spitting out her usual diatribe about filthy mudbloods, half-breeds and blood traitors.
"Morning, Hermione," Harry said with a forced smile, giving the bushy, brown-haired girl a nod as he did so before he walked past her and over to where he could see Fred and George waiting in the foyer.
"Oh, sorry Sirius, I didn't mean to wake her up again," Hermione whispered to Sirius as Harry passed, her eyes widening as she looked over to where the last Black had just managed to shut his mother up.
"It's fine, but please be quieter in the future," Sirius replied with a grimace. "What was all that noise about before, by the way?"
"Oh that, well Fred and George decided it was a good idea to bewitch their trunks to fly downstairs, so they wouldn't have to carry them, but they accidentally hit Ginny as they did it, and knocked her down the stairs," Granger replied, rolling her eyes at the older boy's immaturity, after which she turned back to Harry. "And where have you been, Harry? Mrs Weasley has been running around trying to get everyone ready. I hope you've done all your packing?"
With that said, the bushy brown-haired girl then started to look around, as if she were looking for Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage.
"All sorted, shrunk down and in my bag," Harry replied, turning back to face her and patting the satchel at his hip as he did so.
"What, it's all in there?" Hermione asked in surprise, before she suddenly frowned as she digested his words. "Wait, 'shrunk down', have you been casting magic? Harry, you've just been through a Hearing for underage magic! What were you thinking, using magic again outside of school!?"
"That it makes life so much easier," Harry replied sarcastically, restraining the urge to roll his eyes as he instead gave her an amused look. He couldn't believe she was trying to give him a dressing down, especially when she was supposed to be his friend and not his mother. "Besides, I know how the trace on underage wizards works. The trace tracks magic in the area but doesn't differentiate between who the caster is. Which basically means that if you're in an area with other magicals you can cast magic as much as you like, and you won't get caught! Plus, this house is unplottable, and so the trace wouldn't work here anyway…"
"Wait! Are you saying we could have been using magic during all our school holidays, all this time, and no one would have known?" Fred Weasley suddenly asked, his eyes agog as he stared at Harry.
"Yup, it's left to the parents to enforce the no magic outside of school rule in magical households." Harry shrugged before he grinned slightly when he saw the twins share a look. They both knew the chances of their mother letting them break the rules. It was non-existent.
"But that's against the rules, Harry!" Hermione said aghast.
"That's brilliant!" Ron said at the same time, a grin on his face as he, unlike his older brothers, had not clocked onto Harry's last words yet and the fact that Molly Weasley would not allow a single one of her children to break the law while under her roof.
"Yep, keep it in mind for your next holiday, and remember, what your mum doesn't know won't hurt her," Harry replied, sending both Ron and Ginny a wink as the last of the teens assembled in the hall.
"Harry!" Hermione hissed, already gearing herself up to reprimand him. Probably with some bullshit about him being a bad influence, when he should be setting a good example.
Only for Harry to studiously ignore her, as he instead noticed Sirius wiping away a fake tear, a bright grin on his face as he reached out and patted him on the shoulder.
"Such a troublemaker, oh I'm so proud," Sirius said, not even hiding a grin as he witnessed his godson trying to inspire others to break the rules. By the looks of things, this was a proud moment for him.
"Right, okay…" Harry said, sending Sirius a bemused look as he did so before he looked around at the others. "So, how are we getting to King's Cross? Do any of you know?"
"Walking," Ginny replied, the ginger-haired girl looking none the worse for wear, despite her recent altercation with a pair flying of trunks. "Mum's been going spare because we can't leave without a full guard, or at least according to Moody. She thinks we're going to miss the train as usual. I think Moody's waiting for Sturgis to turn up."
"A full guard?" Harry questioned in confusion before he stopped and remembered that, in this place, he was the Boy-Who-Lived and not Longbottom, and as such, it was him that Voldemort wanted to do in permanently.
Oh great, Harry thought, he had almost forgotten how precarious his life in this world/reality, or whatever it was, was.
Why had he not just skipped the country again?
To be fair that was a good question and one that he had considered himself once he had become aware of how troublesome his new place in society was, and how it would make his dream for a nice, simple life of luxury and extravagance somewhat harder to achieve.
In the end, however, he had decided it was best to stay in Britain and make the best of it. After all, the British magical society was the largest, wealthiest and most powerful in the world, despite what other people said, this was simply a fact.
Leaving all that behind would be difficult, especially as a member of the aristocracy, as would acclimatising to a different country after spending his entire life in Britain.
More than that however was the issue that his money and the few pieces of property he owned were all in Britain, and anyone who had had business with the Goblins knew that they would make things difficult if he tried to liquidise his assets, and then withdraw all his wealth and flee the country.
Plus, he also knew how much of a pain Dumbledore and his Order would be if he suddenly up and disappeared. He had been a member of the Order and knew how tenacious they were, just as he knew Dumbledore was also almost creepily obsessed with the Boy Who Lived, which again, was now him.
Similarly, he had been a Death Eater and had served under Voldemort, as such he knew how powerful and unrelenting the Dark Lord was, as well as just how far his influence spread. If Harry left Britain he still wouldn't be safe, the Dark Lord's reach was long, and he was as patient as he was evil and deadly.
So yes, the chances of him being able to escape two such powerful wizards were non-existent.
No, he was a marked man, and if he did try to run, all he would achieve would be to find a more exotic place to die. On top of which, he would lose the protection Dumbledore and his Order currently gave him, which meant that Voldemort would probably be able to find him and destroy him far more easily than he would if Harry just stayed put.
Harry withheld a grimace at that thought.
Yes, it was much better to stay here in Britain and make the best of the situation.
Who knows if he pulled it off like the buffoon Longbottom had, and considering the differences in their skill and intelligence he thought he had a very good chance of that, then he would be set for life!
Women, wealth, power, influence; it would all be his for the taking!
Harry's grimace twisted into a smirk at that thought.
Yes, he was no coward, he was just an opportunist and a chancer, and at the moment the best thing that he could do was go to Hogwarts and remain under Dumbledore's protection and trust in the old man for the moment, all while he planned out his master strategy to come out of this whole mess better than he had gone into it.
( - )
(Half an hour later)
In the end, they eventually managed to leave the house with time to spare, and started walking to the station; with Moody, Mrs Weasley, Tonks and Lupin all acting as guards.
Initially, Sirius had wanted to come along too in his Animagus form, however, Harry had kyboshed that idea pretty swiftly. After all, if Pettigrew, Sirius's old friend and fellow Animagus, was with Voldemort like he had been the last time, then the chances were that the Dark Lord and all of the Death Eaters had all been informed of Sirius's Animagus form.
Of course, Sirius hadn't been too happy with Harry when he had said this, but a few threats of neutering later and comments about Sirius's overall lack of hygiene had amused him enough to let it go. Though he had still been a little more stiff than usual with Harry when he had hugged him goodbye.
Still, Harry hadn't been too bothered about this. He had lost his godfather before the last time around due to the idiocy of Longbottom, Granger and Weasley, and that was before he had even had the chance to meet him. He didn't want to lose him again, especially not because of the man's own idiocy. Call him sentimental, but Harry was not too eager to lose one of the few people in existence who seemed to genuinely care about him.
Either way, the group all managed to arrive in one piece at the hustling, bustling station after about twenty minutes of walking. With the group slowly, but surely, making their way to the barrier to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, after which they casually slipped in one at a time, all under the oblivious gazes of the nearby muggles.
Oh those silly, unobservant, muggling muggles, Harry thought to himself with a chuckle as he walked through the barrier.
Upon passing through, Harry then soon found himself looking at the gleaming scarlet Hogwarts Express in all its glory as it waited patiently for the Hogwarts's students to board, just like it did every year.
Smiling slightly at the familiar sight of the train, Harry ignored all the staring and gawping people around him as he instead pushed through the crowd on the platform and headed for the train.
With him only pausing long enough to give some cursory goodbyes to Tonks, Lupin and Mrs Weasley; thanking them for all they had done for him over the summer. He didn't do anything too extravagant of course, instead, he just gave them a smile and a polite thanks for everything and goodbye. He wasn't exactly a touchy-feely person by nature after all.
Following on from that, he had then given Moody a curt nod –the Auror had just grunted in response and muttered something, probably some paranoid tripe about 'constant vigilance' or something else like that– and then he boarded the train, even as the others all crowded around to give longer, and probably much more heartfelt, goodbyes before they too got on the train.
( - )
(A few minutes later)
Upon entering one of the back carriages, Harry strode through the slowly filling up corridor, breezing past the other students without a word, even as he saw some of them stop and stare as he passed.
Suffice to say, it was disconcerting to be the centre of attention, especially since he had generally passed under the radar when he had been at school the first time around.
But still, Harry had had to deal with far more uncomfortable things than some staring teens. 'The Pit' in Azkaban sprang to mind.
With that in mind, he swiftly found himself an empty compartment, eschewing the company of the other students for the moment, as he instead closed and then magically sealed the compartment behind him. Closing the blinds moments later as he did so.
Hopefully, these precautions would ward off some of the more annoying students, though, he knew they would not last for long. Probably just up until an older student, or more likely a prefect discovered them, and then decided to dispel them.
Still, it would at least give him some time to himself, which honestly, Harry felt like he really needed right now.
His time at Grimmauld Place, although not unpleasant, had been somewhat stifling at times. Both in the way Ron and Hermione had followed him around like lost puppies, bothering him every time he tried to find some peace and quiet. That, and in the way that Mrs Weasley went overboard in either trying to look after him or in trying to get him to help with the cleaning-up effort. Harry had diligently tried to avoid the majority of that nonsense.
Grunting at that thought, Harry opened up his satchel and began to search about inside. A few moments later he found what he was looking for, this morning's copy of the Daily Prophet, or rather Sirius's copy of the paper which he had snagged on his way out of the kitchen.
Opening up the paper, Harry settled himself down on one of the seats. As much as he, like any good Ravenclaw, enjoyed reading magical tomes and grimoires, it was nice to have a scan through something else every now and then. Even a filthy tabloid rag like the Daily Prophet, which despite its clear agenda and bias, was still entertaining.
This was how Harry spent the next half an hour or so, a slight smile on his face as he picked out all the 'subtle' jabs at him in the paper, interspersed amongst the much more blatant smear campaign against Dumbledore. It was cute the way lesser wizards and witches nipped at the heels of their betters.
During this time, a few people had tried the door, but more often than not they gave up after one or two attempts and left, and so were easily ignored by Harry, who instead continued to leaf through the paper. It was a useful exercise, as it helped to bring him up to date on what was going on in magical Britain at the moment, after which he could compare it with what had happened the last time around. Thus far, he was seeing an awful lot of similarities.
"Interesting," Harry muttered to himself, as he came to an article near that had been tucked away near the back of the paper. Apparently, there had been an altercation at the ministry very late last night when some fool had attempted to break into a heavily protected door that he shouldn't have done.
"Too blatant for the Dark Lord, perhaps an opportunistic thief, or a saboteur." Harry mused as he saw how scant the information was on the intruder. That, and he was curious about just what door he was trying to get past, and which department it fell under. The paper didn't give much detail... All of which was very suspect, as the paper usually loved sensationalising news.
Unfortunately, Harry didn't have too long to ponder on this article, as at that moment a loud thump sounded outside in the corridor, as someone tried, and failed, to open the carriage door.
What followed next was some inaudible and angry muttering from the other side, before the door rattled a few more times as someone tried to physically force it open.
"Oh really, I can't believe someone has locked the door like this. That's against the rules." A familiar, irritating voice suddenly sounded out loudly. "Move aside, I'll open it with magic."
Tilting his head to the side curiously, Harry pulled out his alder wand and flicked it at the door.
With a click the door slide open in response, revealing as it did the source of the commotion.
"Harry!" Ron cried out in surprise as the door slid open to reveal both Ron and Hermione standing in the doorway, their Prefect badges gleaming on their chests, and with Hermione in the middle of waving her wand, a prominent scowl on her face. "There you are mate, we've been looking for you everywhere."
"Ron." Harry nodded, folding up the paper and putting it to one side. "Hermione. You're here."
"Harry, why did you disappear on us like that?" Hermione asked, the frown still on her face as the both of them pushed their way into the compartment.
"Hmm, well I said my goodbyes and got on the train before it left. I had assumed you two would be heading off to your Prefect meeting, or something..." Harry replied, making up his response on the spot, after all, he couldn't just say 'I left because I don't particularly like you'.
"Oh, right, yeah, well we did have a meeting." Ron nodded, assuaged now as he settled into the seat, before he started looking around for some food. "The trolley lady hasn't come past yet, has she?"
"Not yet," Harry replied dryly. "By the way, if you want to come in you might as well sit down as opposed to standing in the doorway, Hermione."
Hermione frowned in response to his words, before with a sigh she shook her head. "We can't, we're in the middle of our patrol. We should be done in another twenty minutes, though, so we'll come back. Come on Ron, we need to go."
"Urgh, can't we just say we've done it and stay here?" Ron grumbled from his seat.
His tone elicited a slight smile from Harry, he could empathise with his frustration, he had gone through the same thing when he had been a Prefect.
"Ron, we're Prefects and we have responsibilities." Hermione reprimanded, stamping her foot on the ground as if to emphasise her point.
"Fine!" Ron groaned, pushing himself to his feet. "See you later, Harry. We'll finish our rounds and head back as soon as we can."
"Right." Harry nodded, not too concerned.
"Yes, Harry, we'll see you later." Hermione nodded as Ron passed her and headed back into the train's corridor. "Oh, and don't lock the door again, Harry. I'll let you off this time because you're my friend, but next time I will have to report it."
"I'll keep that in mind," Harry replied sardonically, his eyes narrowing a fraction as the duo turned and left, waving goodbye to him as they did so.
"Yeah, I'm going to need to do something about them," Harry muttered to himself as he drew his wand again and closed the door, though this time he didn't lock it.
The Ron and Hermione he had known had never been this friendly to him, not even when they had been in the Order together. The whole, them being the cause of Sirius's death thing, had had something to do with that. Plus, at school they, like Longbottom, had never really spoken to him, and the few times they did it was stilted and had ended awkwardly. They hadn't been unpleasant, instead, it had been because both he, and to a much lesser extent them, had been socially awkward and thus hadn't wanted to converse with them longer than needed.
For that reason, the two of them suddenly trying to force their way into every aspect of his life, made him both uncomfortable and a little irritated.
On top of which, when you take into account the fact the two of them had hated him by the end of the war and had tried to kill him, just as he had tried to kill them. Well, it kind of made all their interactions a little awkward, or at least for him.
Sighing at that thought, Harry shook his head.
He had come to terms with where he was now and his current position in this world. But at the same time, he had not quite gotten used to seeing all the young and familiar faces around him. Even now he tensed up and had to stop himself from going for his wand when he came across people like Shacklebolt and Moody, both of whom he had fought a vicious duel against back in the day.
Stretching at that, Harry settled back in his seat.
He was just going to have to get used to seeing more and more of these faces at Hogwarts, including the young, innocent faces of those he had killed, some in battle, and some just because he was ordered to.
It was as these thoughts were whirling around Harry's head, that he received another unwelcome visitor, or rather visitors. With the door to his carriage sliding open with another bang, even as three more people appeared in the doorway.
Two of the newcomers were thickset and stocky, with mean-looking faces and thuggish appearance, the last one, meanwhile, was a skinny and pale boy, with pointed, ferret-like features and slicked back blonde hair.
Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and Draco Malfoy.
"Malfoy," Harry said coolly, settling back in his seat, his hand still clasping his wand as he saw the three boys force themselves into the compartment.
"Potter," Malfoy sneered, his cold blue eyes surveying the compartment before focussing in on Harry. "I'm surprised you're by yourself, Potter. No mudblood or blood traitor to keep you company? Oh no, don't tell me, is it because everyone now knows you're an insane, attention-seeking murderer, so they don't want to sit with you, or associate with you?"
If Malfoy expected an angry response to that comment, he was to be disappointed, as Harry instead just tilted his head to the side curiously and looked the blonde up and down. His green eyes held a coldness to them that Malfoy had probably never seen there before.
The last time he had seen this little shit, was when he had been crying himself to sleep in his cell.
He wasn't intimidated, if anything his presence amused him.
"Well, I'm not going to lie, I'm kind of surprised you're still alive, Malfoy," Harry replied simply, his green eyes boring into Malfoy with such intensity that they made the blonde teen take a step back. "For now, anyway."
"And what's that supposed to mean, Potter?!" Malfoy spat back.
Harry could see that he was visibly caught off-guard by his cold, and odd comeback.
"It's just that the Dark Lord subscribes to the idea of 'survival of the fittest'. Or rather 'the strong rule over the weak'." Harry said, eyeing the three teens now as he toyed with his wand, pondering what he should do next. "You, Malfoy, are weak, just like your father. You both talk a good game, but neither of you have the skill, the wherewithal, nor the guts, to follow through. Even now your daddy is probably in deep shit with the Dark Lord for abandoning him. It won't be long before he fucks up again and is killed, and then after him, you'll be the next one in the firing line..."
"You dare!" Malfoy hissed, his pale face turning even paler, even as his jaw clenched.
Harry could see both Crabbe and Goyle sharing a look, even as they stopped their attempts at intimidation and listened in on the conversation.
"You're weak, Malfoy, you're stupid and above all you are incompetent. I can't see you making it past a year in the Dark Lord's service until you are dead. Either at the hand of the Aurors or on the word of your master." Harry stated, his tone holding such certainty that it made Malfoy shudder.
Raising his wand, Harry trained the tip on Malfoy, his eyes glinting dangerously. "I could put you out of your misery here and now if you want? It'll be quick, easy and painless, I promise."
Malfoy stiffened even further now, his hand edging towards his wand.
Seeing this Harry grinned. "What's the matter Dracy-poo, there are three of you and only one of me, or are you scared?"
"Scared? I'm not scared, Potter!" Draco snapped, regaining a bit of his bravado as he pulled out his own wand.
"Ten seconds," Harry replied, lowering his wand now as he saw Draco's confused expression. "That's how long it would take me to kill all three of you, and yes, I will be going for the kill."
The gleam in Harry's eyes was borderline maniacal now, and maybe Draco noticed it, as he began to back off again.
"What's happened to you?" Malfoy muttered, swallowing a lump in his throat as he saw Harry get to his feet and then stand opposite him, his wand held limply at his side.
The Potter, Malfoy likely knew, was probably loud, brash and easy to goad. That, Harry suspected, was probably why he had tracked him down, so he could smugly mock him and goad him into losing his temper. It had probably become a pre-school and post-school tradition of sorts between the two of them, a comfortable ritual. Malfoy would find the 'other Harry', mock him and make him lose his temper, and then leave with the last word.
Now though, something was different. Harry was different. He wasn't the angry or loud Gryffindor that Malfoy likely knew. No, he was a different type of animal altogether, and from what he could see, Malfoy was just realising that now.
"That's not important. What is important though, is what you choose to do next." Harry replied, the fingers of his left hand flexing, as he prepared to whip out his second wand. Not that he would need it against three untrained teens, but still, Harry always tended to go overboard in a fight.
Go big or go home! That was his motto in a duel, and it was part of what made him so dangerous and deadly, and why he had been able to kill so many people back in the day.
"You do know I'm a Prefect, don't you, Potter!?" Malfoy sneered, jabbing at the gleaming silver badge on his chest as he did so.
"You do know that I don't give a fuck, don't you, Malfoy?" Harry replied softly.
Malfoy's pale cheeks flushed red at this, before he looked to both Crabbe and Goyle and back at Harry.
Obviously, he was weighing up on what to do next.
"Things are going to be changing this year, surely you know that, both at Hogwarts and in the rest of the wizarding Britain. Both sides are gathering allies and building up their power bases, and sooner, rather than later, the Dark Lord will come out of the shadows and reveal himself. And when that happens I will be vindicated, and this country will descend into all-out war." Harry stated bluntly, taking a step forward, which in turn made Malfoy take a step back.
"And when that happens Malfoy, a Prefect's badge won't protect you, nor will these two gorillas beside you." Harry continued softly, his green eyes glinting maliciously. Raising his wand, he pointed it at Malfoy again, the tip glowing and starting to smoke. "I'll give you a single chance, here and now. Back the fuck off and never bother me again. If you do that, I won't aim for the kill when we fight. Don't do it, and the first chance I get, once the war has started, I will end you, and it won't be a quick end, nor a painless one. Trust me."
"The hell, Potter," Draco whispered, real fear entering his gaze now as he fully backed out of the compartment. His grey eyes fixed on the glowing wand tip pointed directly at his heart. "What happened to you? You're as crazy as they say!"
Harry smiled as he heard that, gripping the edge of the door as he did so. "You say crazy, I say practical. So anyway, as I said, Malfoy, don't fuck with me, keep your head down, and you'll be fine. Start something, or inconvenience me in any way, and well… well suffice to say you won't like the consequences…"
With that said Harry stowed away his wand, locking gazes with the now scared Malfoy for another moment before he then slammed the door shut and sat back down.
"Damn, that felt good," Harry muttered to himself with a grin, and honestly it did. Just letting loose like that and being an absolute bastard, was so liberating, especially as he had had to be on his best behaviour whilst at the Order's headquarters.
With that thought in mind, Harry once again settled back into his seat.
Hopefully, now he could have another few minutes of peace and quiet before both Hermione and Ron barged into the compartment to annoy him again.
Urgh, Harry had to resist a groan at that thought, he was almost tempted to cut off all ties with the duo. Not that he would give in to that impulse, not yet at least.
The last thing he needed right now was Dumbledore sticking his nose into his business, which he knew the manipulative, old Headmaster would do the moment Harry started to suddenly act erratic, or out of the ordinary, including him pushing away his 'friends'.
Sometimes he wondered how things in his life had become so complicated.
( - )
Please leave a review, comment etc. If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to PM me, I'm usually good at answering them.
Also I am on a discord with a load of other writers, so if you fancy popping over to ask questions or offer suggestions about this story, or any of my other ones, or to find new authors you might not have come across yet, please feel free to use the link in my bio.
Thanks for reading, and I'll see you later.
Greed720.