DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
When Harry awoke the next day, he felt more rested than he had in quite some time. He even spent some time looking through his Potions text in an attempt to see if he could discover what potion Madam Pomfrey had used. It could come in handy.
He gave up some time later finding only a potion named 'The Sleeping Life', which seemed to be quite similar to the potion he'd drank, except thankfully the potion he drank made him sleep for a only day and not a whole month.
That fact was quite fortunate, since according to his calendar, he was to be at King's Cross in only six days. He'd already gone through his small room trying to keep track of where everything he owned was. He was very eager to return to Hogwarts. It was the first summer he'd spent entirely apart from his friends since he'd first gone to Hogwarts.
The next few days were difficult for Harry. He was anxious to get back to school and his friends. He was both excited and nervous about seeing Ginny again and talking to her. He was paranoid of any sleep he got, afraid it might simply be the prelude to another vision of Voldemort torturing and killing another family. And finally, he was growing suspicious of the Dursleys.
Over the last two days since he'd woken up again, his aunt and uncle had been uncharacteristically civil toward him. It wasn't the restrained politeness he'd gotten when they were afraid of him hexing them. Instead, they kept starting small conversations and slipping in questions or suggestions about Harry returning to Hogwarts.
"You're going back to...er... that school of yours, are you?" Uncle Vernon had asked him one morning over a weak breakfast of dry toast and grapefruit. "Sunday, is it? Eleven in the morning?" he asked. Harry nodded but kept an eye on him as if he might suddenly turn into a Death Eater.
The next day, only two days before he would leave, Uncle Vernon surprised Harry again over dinner. "Are your... erm... friends going to be picking you up?" Harry could see that Vernon was forcing himself to be civil, but he didn't know why.
"I don't know," he admitted. "I expect I'll hear quite soon." Somehow this seemed to please Uncle Vernon, while Petunia seemed to have developed some fear of the chicken on her plate. Dudley stopped eating and scowled at Harry. He'd spent the last week doing that. It had the odd effect of actually making Dudley seem more intelligent than he was.
"Well why don't you tell them they shouldn't bother and that we'd be glad to see you to the station." Vernon attempted to look cheery but failed. Petunia's smile was even less convincing, and Dudley didn't even attempt to smile, but wore the same scowl Harry had become accustomed to.
No one had told Harry how he'd be getting to King's Cross, but he'd hope that someone had planned something slightly better than riding in a car with Vernon Dursley. He'd told Ginny about the Dursley's odd behavior, and she'd suggested that perhaps they were simply scared of seeing Dumbledore again.
Harry doubted this, and had asked her to try and find out how he was to get to King's Cross. It didn't matter, as late that night, a Hogwarts owl delivered a note from Dumbledore explaining that Arthur Weasley and Kingsley Shacklebolt would be picking him up at eight in the morning for an early ride to King's Cross.
Harry had considered telling the Dursley's about this, but they seemed oddly happy about taking him themselves, and he decided he'd rather sneak out early in the morning. So, instead he played along, and Vernon's nearly manic response upon hearing Harry agree only made Harry even more eager to leave early.
Harry had spent most of the night packing up all of his belongings into his trunk. The only things not going in were Hedwig's cage (and Hedwig), a set of robes to wear for the sorting ceremony, and his wand.
He was both eager and nervous to go back to Hogwarts. He was anxious to rejoin the wizarding world, but he was worried about the school itself. A war was starting. Hogwarts was safe from Death Eaters, but it may not be safe from its own students. While the Order was fighting the Death Eaters, he worried about what would happen between the D.A. and the Inquisitorial Squad. The Inquisitorial Squad didn't exist officially any more, of course, but then the D.A. never had.
He decided he should try and sleep. He was going to be leaving early the next day, and he would probably be up most of the next night talking with Ron and Hermione. He didn't know what to do about Ginny.
His room was very dark. So dark that it was difficult to tell the difference between closing his eyes and leaving them open. As he lay waiting for himself to fall asleep, he thought of Voldemort's most recent victims and their daughter who had been spared. He wondered if this was how Molly and Arthur felt. He felt an obligation to Capella York to protect her daughter and he couldn't help but worry about all the things that might happen. What if Death Eaters attacked her on her way to the station? What if she missed the train and was left alone? What if she simply never showed up? What would he do?
His mind conjured images of him frantically searching Platform 9 3/4 for her. In his mind there was no train on the track and he was the only one left on the Platform. Then the picture changed. He could barely see and he couldn't seem to find his way to the passage to the rest of the station.
Then he noticed the platform was dark. The moon was poking through the clouds and shining off the rails. Why was it dark? He noticed there were torches along the wall providing contrast between the center of the platform and the shadows along the walls.
Something wasn't right. He was dreaming, but it was more real. Was it another vision. If so, where was Voldemort? He was indeed at Kings Cross. Where was Voldemort?
Slowly, a strange feeling crept into his mind. Voldemort was here. Harry could feel him. A moment later he realized the impact of that revelation: Voldemort was on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. In a matter of hours hundreds of students would be gathering here to board the train to Hogwarts.
Harry shouted into the blackness, "TOM RIDDLE!" When he got no response, he tried something different. "This is the way it's always been, hasn't it? Coward!"
He could hear a faint hiss of laughter.
"Skulking in the shadows?" Harry goaded. "You bring me here and hide from me? I don't even exist here, and yet you're afraid of me?"
The laughter died. Harry looked all around him. Then, behind him, he heard the soft footsteps of heavy, worn boots on stone. He turned toward the noise and saw a shadow advancing toward him.
"Good evening." Voldemort said. "It seems you're still angry about our last meeting. It had to be done. We are connected, but it isn't fair if it only goes one way."
He stopped in the light of one of the torches. "Even now it's still unfair. I can't see you, but you can see me. You can see what I see, but I cannot see what you see."
He started walking down the platform. "At least, not yet."
"Yes, it's quite unfair. Kind of like having your parents and godfather murdered," Harry retorted.
Voldemort was making his way toward the passage. As he walked, Death Eaters appeared out of the darkness and walked behind him. There were many more than Harry had hoped would be here. He wondered if the Aurors could stop them before the students showed up. He needed to tell Remus right away. He needed to get away from this vision.
"Albus Dumbledore is still keeping things from you," Voldemort said as he walked toward the barrier. "He doesn't want you to understand. He wants you to be his puppet. He is controlling you in the same way he fears I might, in time, learn to control you."
"I know," Harry said.
"Indeed?" Voldemort said, with a laugh. "Perhaps you are learning quicker than I expected, though that will not change your fate."
Voldemort stopped at the barrier. "Life, it seems, is unfair by its nature. I spent ten years learning that lesson. You will learn it today."
He passed through the barrier onto Platforms nine and ten.
Harry passed through the barrier after him, and he was immediately struck with a wave of sickness. Scattered around the entrance to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters were a decent number of lifeless bodies. They all looked to be Muggles, men and women, but thankfully no children. The ground was covered in a large pool of blood. Farther down the platforms, a pair of Death Eaters stood in the shadows, trying to stay out of sight.
As Harry was watching, he saw a Muggle policeman run over to one of the bodies.
"You there!" he called out to Harry and Voldemort. "What have you done, here?"
A woman's voice echoed down the platform, "Iaculo!!" The policeman was jerked back as a bright light pierced his shoulder.
A second, nearer voice echoed the first: "Iaculo!" This time a jet of sparks from Voldemort's wand sped through the man's chest, and he immediately dropped to the ground. Harry realized now, that there were a number of bodies much farther away. They were apparently the ones who came around and saw the scene that had been prepared for him.
Harry overcame his revulsion. "They were powerless against you. What does this prove? You show how powerful you are by killing defenseless Muggles?"
"No one doubts my power," he said with a sickening laugh. "All things will be made clear to you in time," he continued as he headed back to the barrier. "Hurry back, young Potter, and give my greetings to Albus Dumbledore."
Harry jumped out of his bed, suddenly awake. The dream was still fresh in his mind, though he doubted he'd be forgetting it any time soon. He felt exhausted, but it wasn't nearly so bad as the last vision. He forced himself to stay awake. He needed to let the Order know. He turned on his lamp and realized immediately that he'd packed everything.
He rummaged through his trunk looking for his Obscuring Orb, some parchment and whatever quill he could find. Eventually he found everything he was looking for, and he began haphazardly packing everything back in, before giving up and sitting at his desk. He could repack later.
He began writing quickly.
Lupin,
The Death Eaters have set up an ambush at Platform 9 3/4. Many Muggles are dead.
Voldemort is there.
They're on both sides of the barrier, and there are a lot of them. Voldemort's planning something more. I don't know what it is.
Harry
He wanted to tell Lupin to have Ginny talk to him, but he didn't know how. Finally, he decided on something truly vague, in case Moody or anyone else saw it.
P.S. Tell anyone who who might want to speak to me that I'll be up all night.
After it was Obscured, he tied the note (now instructions for a fire extinguisher) to Hedwig's leg.
As he threw open the window, he quickly gave orders to Hedwig. "Take that to Grimmauld Place. Give it to the first person you find. Go as fast as you can."
With a soft rustle of wings, Hedwig sailed out the window. Harry watched as she flapped her wings quickly to gain speed and height as she flew off. Below him, on the street, he saw both the Aurors stand. He took his wand, and waved it slowly at them. Clarence Stafford disappeared with a pop.
Harry sat on his bed. It was early in the morning, and the sun still hadn't risen. As he looked out his window again, the world began to feel very dark and cold. He was reminded of the dream he had before his first vision. Had he made some poor decision? Was there some wrong choice that had caused all of this?
He tried to tell himself that he didn't believe in such things. He didn't have prophetic dreams. His dreams were always about reality and the horrible things that were happening right now. Yet, at the same time he couldn't forget the Prophecy which bound him to Voldemort.
Did Voldemort know that Prophecy yet? How long would it take? How long would Harry have to wait before Voldemort learned that there was nothing special protecting Harry. Well, nothing beyond Albus Dumbledore. Harry felt less like a hero and more like a prisoner.
He had been a prisoner all his life. Ever since Voldemort took his parents from him, he'd been hidden away, removed from the world where he belonged, removed from any world. Even at Hogwarts he had to struggle to escape the groups of people seeking to keep him safe. But he'd never been safe. He was always imprisoned.
He always would be imprisoned. He'd never escape Voldemort. He was too strong now. It would be years and years before Harry could ever be strong enough to face him alone. Harry would be dead long before then. His was a sentence of death.
But maybe, just maybe, something could be done before then. He didn't know what good it would do, but he couldn't just abandon his friends. Harry had no idea what that might mean doing, but he was prepared to do it.
The first glow of the coming sun could be seen to the east. He looked out his window to look at it. It seemed appropriate to him at that time. He felt like a part of that small glow of light, facing an insurmountable dark. Was he living through the dawn, or dusk?
Clarence appeared again, suddenly. He talked quickly with Magnus, but then turned to look at Harry. With his hands stretched wide, he shook his head. They didn't know what was happening.
Harry closed the window and then put on some clothes. He slowly walked down the stairs and out the front door. The two Aurors had been joined by a pair of other wizards, most likely another pair of Aurors. They appeared much more serious than Clarence and Magnus. They looked more like Mad-Eye Moody, though without many of the battle scars. When Harry reached the other side of the lamp lit street, the Aurors spread before him in a semicircle.
"You did signal us," said Magnus Montnor. "It looked serious."
"I did," Harry said darkly, "and it is."
"And we're just supposed to know what's going on," growled one of the new Aurors. "You woke us up because you had—" He stopped suddenly with a look from Harry.
"Where did the owl go, Harry?" Magnus asked, quickly.
"To Arthur Weasley and Remus Lupin."
"What happened?" Clarence finally asked.
"Death Eaters are attacking King's Cross," Harry said simply. "They've set up an ambush at the entrance to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters."
The other new Auror grunted. "King's Cross? It's four in the bloody morning! Why? The Hogwarts Express doesn't leave until eleven o'clock." He frowned at Harry. "Getting an early start, are they? Or is this supposed to be some prophecy. I've never held with prophecies. A load of rubbish, all of it."
"It's not a prophecy," said Harry angrily. "It's happening right now. They're killing Muggles."
"Really, now?" he said in a very patronizing tone. "Well, I suppose we best check it out so the lad can get back to sleep."
"Voldemort is there," Harry said.
The pair of older Aurors hesitated, but it seemed it was more because of the use of the word 'Voldemort' than the actual news. "I don't think he'd be there without us knowing. Hampton is there, keeping an eye out, but Shackleton would have me cleaning fireplaces if I didn't follow up on a tip from the Great Harry Potter." With a nod to his partner the two of them disappeared with faint pops.
Harry stood there numbly. He wanted to worry about them, but his mind was occupied with more worrisome issues. How would they get to Hogwarts? Would they close Hogwarts? What would happen when students began showing up?
"How bad is it, Harry?" asked Magnus. He looked troubled by Harry's silence.
"It's bad."
"How many of them did you see?"
"I'm not sure..." Harry started, "Twenty?"
"Twenty!" he exclaimed. "They've never—"
Suddenly there was another pair of pops, with another pair of wizards appearing before Harry. At first, Harry thought it was the two Aurors returning to confirm what he'd told them. Instead, it was two new Aurors. The taller of the two began talking immediately.
"Montnor. Stafford. There's an emergency. The Aurors are gathering. You're to stay here and— Bloody Hell!" The Auror had just noticed Harry standing silently next to him. "What's he doing out here?"
"He just told us what you're about to," said Clarence. "Daleson and Tettle were just here. They Disapparated to check it out, but—"
There was a loud crack and a wizard in a robe dropped to the ground with a loud grunt. It was one of the Aurors who'd left. He was holding his leg. Even in the dim light, Harry could see it was bleeding. He was gasping for breath, and trying to speak at the same time.
"Daleson... 'E's dead..." he said between breaths. "Death Eaters... They got 'im... Hampton too... and a great pile o' Muggles."
One of the new Aurors tossed him something that looked like a small coin and he immediately vanished. The Auror who tossed it to him Disapparated. The remaining Auror looked upset.
"Get him back in that house," he growled. "Shackleton claims he's found someplace safe to keep him. Remus Lupin will pick him up soon, I'd guess." He turned to Clarence. "You watch him. Make sure Lupin gets him. You—" he pointed to Magnus Montnor "—come with me. You'll explain whatever Potter told you."
Without any more explanations Clarence Stafford led him back to the Dursley's and waited outside as Harry quickly repacked everything. Hedwig hadn't returned, so he shrunk her cage and tossed it in his trunk as well. He looked around the room for anything else that should go. He was not saddened at the thought that this might be the last time he saw this room.
Finally he heard a sharp knocking at the front door. He quickly levitated his trunk and tried to ease it through the door and down the hallway. Though he tried to be careful, it banged heavily against the door frame, and once against the wall. As he led it down the stairs, he heard creaking at the head of the stairs.
"Where do you think you're going at this hour?"
It was Uncle Vernon. Harry scowled back at him. "I'm leaving." He guided the trunk down the last set of stairs. Uncle Vernon was already walking down the stairs as quickly as he could. He had seen Harry levitating the trunk.
"How dare you! You'll not use any... abnormality in my house!" he said harshly, trying to be both intimidating and quiet at the same time.
"With any luck, you'll never see me again," Harry said as he draped his robes over his shoulders.
"You're not going anywhere like that! We'll never hear the end of it!" he shouted.
"I am leaving," Harry said dangerously.
"Not while I live!" bellowed his uncle. "If you can't leave in a normal fashion, you'll not leave at all!"
Harry glared back at him, and would have enjoyed this last argument, but he was rudely interrupted by the door shattering to matchsticks.
Harry had turned away, but the blast threw Uncle Vernon backwards onto the steps. When he turned back a group of dark shapes were jumping through the door. Harry immediately had his wand out.
"Stupefy!"
One of the men flopped to the floor immediately. Another aimed a wand at Harry and started to shout some spell, but a third shape in Muggle clothes jumped at him, knocking his arm away.
"It's Harry!" he shouted, as he rushed over to Harry.
Harry immediately recognized Remus Lupin. He lowered his wand and sat heavily on his trunk. They were here to escort him. He looked over Lupin's shoulder to see Uncle Vernon running into the living room. His face was white, and he seemed to be blubbering incoherently.
A par of Aurors followed him, and Harry heard one of them shout "Incarcerous!". He and Lupin both ran to follow them. On the floor Uncle Vernon lay wrapped in thin, tight ropes from his knees to his shoulders. His voice was muffled by the fact that he was laying on his stomach but Harry could still make out enough to know he wasn't complimenting the Aurors. The Aurors were ignoring him and arguing amongst themselves instead. The two of them had captured the attention of everyone in the room.
"Are ye' bloody daft? Look at 'im!" one shouted.
"Did you hear him? He's a Death Eater or I'll eat my broom!" one yelled back.
"Yer blind if you can't tell a bloomin' Muggle from a Death Eater!"
"So what if he is a Muggle? He could still be one of them!" replied the second Auror.
"One o' them?" the first said dubiously, "A Muggle Death Eater? Have ye' lost your sense?"
"How do we know there aren't any?" the second one asked. The room silenced as people either tried to imagine such a thing, or tried to imagine how the others could.
"If there ever were any Muggle Death Eaters," said Lupin in a deadpan voice, "they've probably tortured and murdered themselves already." Some of the Aurors laughed quietly, others remained completely silent. "This one is loud, but he's harmless."
"He said he was going to stop Potter!" the second Auror said, pointing at Harry. "He was trying to imprison him."
"And Harry would have left anyway," Lupin said. The Aurors seemed to accept this. Harry finally got a chance to look around and counted eight Aurors in the room, plus Lupin and himself. The front door had been annihilated. The Aurors now went about the room closing the drapes and checking the walls. Three of them were looking closely at the fireplace.
"What should we do with the Muggle?" an Auror asked Lupin.
Lupin seemed to think for a moment, then with a scowl he looked down at Uncle Vernon. "Untie him. He's not a Death Eater, and neither are we."
As soon as Vernon was untied, a sound like the howling of some injured beast came from the kitchen. Harry turned to see Petunia, screaming as she ran at the nearest Auror with a broom. She swung the broom viciously at his head, but he ducked. As she recovered and prepared for another swing, Harry heard a voice shouting.
"Serpenmorphus!"
Aunt Petunia shrieked and dropped her weapon. But instead of a broom, a large black cobra landed on the ground. It immediately reared its head and began hissing at her.
"Stop." Harry hissed at it. The snake froze and turned to look at Harry. "Guard them." he hissed. The snake turned and circled around Petunia, herding her toward Uncle Vernon.
The Aurors were staring at him. Even Lupin looked shocked. "Harry, that wasn't the best way of handling that." He looked at his wand, then at the cobra which was obediently keeping Vernon and Petunia where they were. He remembered Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets. He looked like Tom Riddle. He had a similar past. He even had a good deal of his power. It had felt so natural to do it, and it had worked perfectly, yet Harry couldn't help but feel revolted by what he'd done.
"Just— just leave it," Lupin said. "I'll handle it. We need to go. Now."
The Aurors gathered themselves and revived their stunned friend. The group of them piled into three Ministry cars parked on the street. As they left, Harry noticed several of the Dursley's neighbors looking around curiously. One pair was already walking to inspect the destroyed door.
Harry found that he didn't care about all the explaining they would have to do. He was more concerned about his actions, and the fact that the Aurors in his car kept staring at him, keeping their wands in their hands as if they weren't sure if they should defend Harry or attack him.
The car ride to King's Cross was quiet and tense. It was starting to bother him. The sun was finally rising. There were already other cars on the road, but the trip seemed to be going fairly quickly. Lupin had said it should only take an hour.
When they were less than ten miles from the station, Harry finally broke the silence, making the pair of Aurors in the back seat with him jump.
"When will the Express be there?"
Lupin turned to answer, "It should be arriving shortly." A moment of panic struck Harry.
"The Death Eaters are gone?"
"Yes," Lupin answered. "The reports I heard said they were gone before the team of Aurors showed up. And yes, they did search the platforms."
"So all the students are still going to board it?"
"Yes," Lupin said. Harry felt a wave of relief wash over him. Lupin continued. "The Ministry is trying to... fix everything before any of the students arrive." This got a couple of strange looks from the Aurors in the car. "Dumbledore will be there. He'll make sure everything is alright. But for now, the most important thing is getting you onto that platform."
"Why?" asked Harry. "The train doesn't leave for hours?"
"The platform is protected," Lupin responded. "No apparition or Portkeys. It's unplottable. There are loads of barriers and charms, and now, the Aurors are guarding the only entrance."
Harry sat silently for the rest of the journey, and before he was ready, they were walking through King's Cross to a rendezvous location set by Dumbledore. All the Muggles around him seemed edgy and tense. The whole station seemed muffled and eerily quiet despite the normal crowds.
Albus Dumbledore was dressed in a fine black suit, with his long hair tied back and hidden under a business-like hat. He looked respectable without losing his unmistakable eccentricity. When he saw Lupin escorting Harry along with a pair of Aurors dressed as Muggles, he waved and invited them over. He did not have the same jovial nature Harry was used to seeing.
"There has been a... complication, Remus," Dumbledore said gravely. "I'm afraid we have no choice but to take Harry to the Platform, but we must stop all other students for now."
"Can't we sneak them past the Muggles?" Remus said in a low voice.
"We can," Dumbledore said, nodding, "but there is another problem now."
The five of them walked off towards Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Harry wondered what could cause a problem for Albus Dumbledore. As they got closer to Platforms Nine and Ten, Harry began to notice a number of police walking around. He asked if the platforms were closed, and got a quick nod from Dumbledore.
They stopped in a large open area near the platforms. Dumbledore turned to address the trailing Aurors. "I expect we'll be safe from here. However, I'll ask you to make certain no other Hogwarts student passes this point." The Aurors nodded and quickly picked up a pulled out a pair of newspapers to pretend to read. Dumbledore opened Harry's trunk and rummaged through it quickly before closing it again. "Remus, you'll take care of the luggage?" Lupin nodded.
Harry and Dumbledore walked a little farther, until he could see the entrance to the platforms. There were quite a few police around, and they were keeping people away from the entrance. Before Harry could ask, Dumbledore had guided him to a small empty hallway nearby.
"You'll need this," Dumbledore said as he handed Harry his father's Invisibility Cloak. "I know you have sufficient practice using it. You'll need to sneak past everyone to the barrier. I will be following you —invisibly, of course."
"What about my trunk?" Harry asked.
"Remus will deliver your trunk to Hogsmeade. I would guess all the luggage will be delivered that way," he said, as if this was something he'd just figured out.
"Now Harry," he said as he looked into Harry's eyes, "It is very important that you reach the Platform quickly. You must not let yourself be seen or heard —or felt— and above all, do not stop walking. If anything happens, you are to run for the barrier as quickly as you can, understand?"
Harry tried to say something but Dumbledore was already wrapping the cloak around him. Once Harry was hidden, Dumbledore turned and with the smallest swish of a wand, he dissolved into the air. Harry started to worry for a moment, but he soon felt an arm pulling him out toward the platforms.
"Come along, Harry," he whispered, "We should be as quick about this as we can. There is still much to be done."
With that, the two of them made their way past the police and onto the platforms. The entrance to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was still some distance away, but from where he was Harry could see a grouping of white shapes on the ground. With a gentle push from Dumbledore, Harry started walking at a brisk pace, avoiding the groups of policemen.
As he got closer his blood ran cold. The bodies he'd seen had been removed. However, in their place were glowing translucent copies of the bodies laying in wide, silvery pools of ghostly blood. The platform had been dark in his dream. Daylight revealed the true horror of what had happened here. There were so many of them. Harry's legs felt weak. They were everywhere. He forced himself to keep walking.
Why had Voldemort done this? If he'd wanted to stop the Express, why not attack hours later, when the train would be there and loading students? He certainly didn't even know any of the Muggles he killed here, and the two dead Aurors were casualties not targets. As he stepped around the translucent corpses, he wondered what he'd missed in his vision that might have explained what had happened.
He finally reached the barrier. But as he got there, he could force himself no further. Bodies had been dragged and piled up against the barrier, leaving long silvery trails on the ground, but that wasn't the worst part. Harry had frozen. He couldn't go through the barrier. He felt sick. He wanted to turn and run.
"No," Harry said aloud as he stared at the barrier. "It can't be... It's..." His heart pounded in his chest as he surveyed the death around him. There was indeed a purpose to all of it, and Harry understood it now. He struggled to keep control of his stomach, and staggered backwards for a moment.
"You must go through, Harry," Dumbledore whispered behind him. "You'll be safe on the other side."
Harry closed his eyes and walked steadily toward the barrier. His feet stepped through glowing corpses and shining pools. He reached the barrier. He tried to look back at Dumbledore, but as expected, saw nothing.
The surface of the barrier was gouged and burnt as if some scorching tool had burnt away the surface of the stone, and drops of both red and silver had run down the barrier from the cuts. The mark was jagged and vicious, and closely resembled the scar on his own forehead.
He finally closed his eyes and walked through the barrier. When he opened his eyes, he was on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. There were many Aurors standing around, and as soon as he stepped through he heard a high pitched whining.
"Oi! Who's there!" one shouted over the murmuring of the others. "Reveal yourself!" He was pointing a wand in Harry's general direction. Harry immediately pulled off the cloak.
"It's me," he said holding out his arms, "Harry Potter. Dumbledore sent me." Suddenly the platform went silent as all the Aurors stopped to gaze at him. There were looks of amazement, and some looks of pity, but there were also a number of Aurors looking at him with expressions of something close to suspicion.
"He is with me," said a voice next to him. It was Dumbledore. He'd appeared suddenly, and without any alarms. Many of the Aurors turned and went back to their tasks.
There had been a few bodies on this side of the barrier, but they all seemed to have been dragged through the barrier. They must have been wizards, and probably Aurors. The Aurors on the platform were working on removing their phantoms. Many of them were much more faint than the ones on the other side of the barrier.
"Follow me, Harry," Dumbledore ordered as he walked toward the Hogwarts Express which was sitting silently next to the platform. They entered the empty train and walked to one of the large compartments. Harry stopped at the door.
"I think I want to be in the back," he said quietly.
Dumbledore nodded and led Harry to the back of the train, where Harry sat down in one of the last compartments. He avoided the window. He didn't want to see what, if anything, was happening outside. As Dumbledore turned to leave, Harry stopped him.
"Why?" He had already guessed the answer, but he wanted the Headmaster's opinion.
Dumbledore's eyes softened and he gave Harry as sympathetic look. "I believe that Voldemort intended to keep you from going to Hogwarts. Whether that is by closing the school, keeping any students from going, or by scaring you into running away, I do not know. This isn't your fault, Harry, and we must not allow him to succeed."
Dumbledore left, leaving Harry in silence. The compartment felt uncomfortably small to him. It would be some time before anyone else would be boarding, if they found a way for them to board at all. Over the next few hours, Harry tried to encourage himself with the thought of another year at Hogwarts, but he kept remembering his dream.
He wanted to believe Dumbledore. He wanted to think this was all just a scheme to keep him from reaching Hogwarts, but in his heart he knew it wasn't. Harry knew the truth. He could feel it. Voldemort attacked last night so he could show Harry. He'd done something to the bodies so that Harry would have to see them. He was trying to send a message. They had died to punish him.
Harry spent the remaining time trying to stay awake. He didn't want to dream right now. He just wanted to get to Hogwarts. The Aurors had seemed to have mostly disappeared, and only a few remained.
Suddenly he heard noises coming from the head of the train. Someone was coming toward him. Fast. Harry took out his wand and aimed it at the empty doorway. A head of bright red hair poked around the door, and then disappeared.
"He's here!" shouted Ron. "He's back here!"
Ron stepped into the compartment and flopped down in the seat across from Harry. He immediately offered him a Chocolate Frog. Harry took the frog cautiously.
"Hey, Harry," he said, trying to sound cheerful. "I figured you need it more than I do."
Harry smiled and took the frog. He had bit it in half before it was able to get in its first (and only) good jump. It didn't make him any happier, but it did taste good, and he hadn't eaten since the previous evening. As he ate the frog, he heard more people walking on the train. With a flurry of hair Hermione appeared in the doorway.
"Harry, I'm so—"
With a muffled squeak she was bumped from the doorway out of sight. Ginny stood in the doorway, her eyes wide open and staring at Harry.
"You are here!" she shouted jumping in the compartment. Hermione staggered into the compartment behind her, looking a more than a little annoyed. "No one knew where you were, and Dumbledore was too busy to talk to us."
"I boarded a few hours ago," Harry said in a tired, emotionless voice.
Ginny's face softened. "I'm sorry, Harry... You know— You know it wasn't—"
"I know."
Ginny looked at the two open seats. One by her brother, one by Harry. She knew which one she wanted to sit in, but she worried about how it would look. What if Harry wouldn't want to sit next to her? At his birthday it had been different, but so much had changed since then.
Hermione gave her a frown and pushed her aside before sitting next to Ron. He immediately sat up in his seat and tried to give her a friendly smile. Ginny went and sat between Harry and the window. She flashed a smile at Harry and he smiled back and seemed to relax a bit.
Slowly the rest of the train filled up. Ron told Harry about how the Aurors had stunned all of the police on the platform, and then escorted all of the students onto the train. The police would be revived and Obliviated. In a matter of minutes everyone was on board and the train pulled away from the platform.
After about a half hour, the new Head Boy, Nigel O'Brien, walked into the compartment. "There you all are. There'll be a prefects meeting in the first compartment in five minutes." He left without saying anything more.
The three prefects looked at each other. Hermione finally spoke up. "Will you be okay, Harry?"
"I'll be fine, I'm not—"
"I'm staying with him," Ginny said very matter-of-factly.
"I'm not going either," Ron said without looking up from the Quidditch book he'd brought with him. "You can tell us whatever we need to know. I'm not leaving Harry."
Hermione huffed. "But I— Oh very well. I'll go." She stood to leave.
"Wait," Ron said quickly, "We all want to stay. I'll go this time. Just don't bore him with girl talk." Ron handed his book to Harry. "Just in case, mate." he whispered, then walked out of the compartment.