A/N: Heh. This one didn't take so long to write, I'm not really sure why … maybe the release of HBP has given me more motivation? Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter … and don't forget to review!

Chapter 5: Arrival at Hogwarts

"Bye, Mum," Draco said lightly. Mrs. Malfoy smiled and then Disapparated. There were no hugs or kisses when Draco left for Hogwarts on the train, because the Malfoys didn't do that kind of thing. Not in public, anyway.

All around him now students were milling about, some with their parents. They were carrying trunks, some with animal cages in hand. Amidst the hustle and bustle there was a tense atmosphere, as well. A lot of disappearances had happened in the weeks leading up to the start of the school year.

There was a new Minister for Magic, too; Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical law Enforcement. Rufus Scrimgeour had taken her place as Head of that Department, and Chadwick Murray had become Head of Auror Office for only three days before disappearing. The title went to Charles Hashborough after that.

Draco noticed a few Aurors on the platform. He recognized Janid Lucer, her hard eyes flicking around the platform and scrutinising students. Draco assumed that this was one of the extra security measures that had been mounted now that Voldemort was back and very active.

"Well," Draco said, turning to Crabbe, who was on his left, "You know what to do with this." And he handed him his trunk. Crabbe grunted and took it. He was still as big as ever, though shorter than Draco now. Quite an achievement form the blond, as Crabbe had been a head taller before, and was now half-a-head shorter.

He was taller than Goyle now, too, though Goyle was still taller than Crabbe. "Goyle," Draco ordered. "Go and see which compartment Potter's in." He had to make his usual visit, after all. Except this time, Draco thought, I'm not going to get hexed. The memory of the last train journey was still painful. And … Draco grimaced. So was the one before that.

Goyle nodded and got onto the train just as the whistle blew. Draco followed with Crabbe behind him, straining with the effort of carrying his own and Draco's trunk. It didn't help that he had his own owl cage with him, too. Draco led the way to the prefects' carriage.

Crabbe and Goyle weren't actually as stupid as they looked, but they were still dim. Draco pretty much got them to do whatever he wanted, as long as he didn't insult them. Draco also knew, however, that if he had not been sitting on the topmost rung of the Slytherin social ladder then they would not be helping him at that moment. In Slytherin, social position was everything.

The same applied for Pansy Parkinson. When Draco entered the prefect carriage he saw Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley there already. Hermione's face was as pretty, and her hair as bushy, as ever. Then Draco saw Pansy, with her pug-nosed face. Ignoring Ron and Hermione, he put a self-satisfied smile on his face as he sauntered over to her, bent down, tilted her chin up and kissed her. Ron made a retching sound behind him.

Pansy and Draco were dating. They had been doing so ever since the Yule Ball, though both had quickly agreed that doing so was without any emotional commitment to each other. Pansy and Draco were, respectively, the most popular girl and boy in Slytherin. It seemed natural they should get together. And it would boost their popularity even more. In short, their relationship was purely business, and purely physical. It was how things were at Slytherin.

Draco broke the kiss. "I'm sorry, Weasley," he said smuggle as he turned to face Ron, "it must be hard if the only thing you've kissed is your mum," he gave a theatrical sigh. "But I'm afraid you'll have to get used to not getting any."

"Shut up, Malfoy," Hermione snapped, giving Ron a warning tug. "Ron's just got higher standards than you."

"Yeah," said Ron, recovering. "I can't believe you can stand to kiss her."

Draco raised his eyebrows as Pansy hissed, furious at the insult. Crabbe had managed to put Draco's trunk onto the luggage rack and he went out to find Goyle. "I'm not the one with the Mudblood, Weasley."

Ron leapt up, brandishing his wand. "Don't call her that!"

"What is going on here?" Katie Bell stormed in. "Ron, put your wand away."

"Someone's got a temper," Draco said lazily. He took his seat next to Pansy.

"He was insulting –" Ron began.

"As Prefects, I want you to be civil," Katie snapped. "I'm having enough trouble with the sixth-years; I don't need this, too."

"Are you Head Girl, then? That's great!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Thanks …" Katie smiled, though she still looked rather harried. "Now, you all know what to do, don't you? I'll be off, then." She turned to leave then spun back around. "Oh, Chadwick Murray's Head Boy."

Ron started. "What?"

"I thought Chadwick Murray was the wizard who was murdered?" frowned Hermione.

Draco snorted. "I thought you were supposed to be bright, Granger"

Ron shot him a venomous look but Hermione acted as if she hadn't heard him at all. "Unless …" realization dawned on her face. "Oh!"

Katie nodded. There was a hint of sadness when she next spoke. "Chadwick's his son. Named after his father." She sighed heavily. "Look, don't give him trouble, any of you." And she looked hard at Draco before she left.

Draco snorted again.

"Of course," sad Ron quietly, "we all know who's responsible for that. Your father and his friends."

Draco considered putting on a very ugly face but settled on latching a grin onto his features instead. "Maybe, Weasley. I wouldn't be about to tell you, now, would I?"

Ron opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by Pansy Parkinson, who reached over, fingered a new badge Draco was wearing and exclaimed, "Quidditch Captain, Draco! You didn't tell me!"

"Surprise, love," he smirked. Inwardly, though, he was trying very hard to forget about Chadwick Murray's murder and the role his father had played in it. Draco understood that his father was close enough to Voldemort to be called upon to lead or be part of cruel murders and disappearances, but he didn't like to think of his father being part of those ventures. He didn't want to think about the things his father had to have done in ventures like that.

"So are you going to change the line-up, or keep the old one?" Pansy asked.

Draco shrugged. "We'll see. I'll tell you one thing, though …" Draco lowered his voice so Ron and Hermione couldn't hear him. "We have to change the Beaters." Pansy looked surprised. "Look, they're my friends, but there have to be better Beaters in Slytherin."

Ron muttered something to Hermione, who nodded, and they both got up from their seats. They were about to leave when Goyle entered the compartment. "He's not on the train, Draco."

"What do you mean he's not on the train?" Draco said irritably. "Of course he's here!"

"We can't find him," Goyle said.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Excuse us!" Ron said loudly to Goyle as the blond muttered, "Useless."

"I heard you," Pansy said playfully to Draco.

He smirked. "Well, it's true, isn't it?" He got up. "You might want to try looking for your friend, Weasley," he said loudly. Ron turned to him. "He seems to be, ah … missing."

Incredibly, and to Draco's immense annoyance, Ron smiled. "Shows what you know, eh?"

Draco bumped Ron very hard as he strode out into the corridor, ignoring his "Hey!" and "Just because you're a Prefect doesn't mean I can't punish you, Malfoy!"

I think it's safe to conclude Potter's not on the train, after all. Draco strode quickly past train compartments, Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle behind him. I wonder where he is? Surely he doesn't need to go to Hogwarts separately?

"Oi, no running in the corridors," Draco snapped at a few second-years, who stopped immediately with rather apprehensive looks on their faces. Draco had bullied these same students the year before.

Ah, to be feared and hated … Draco thought humourlessly. Reminds me of a certain Dark Lord …

"Draco Malfoy." Draco turned. The voice belonged to Nefarious Blake, a Slytherin in Draco's year. He was very good-looking, with dark hair that fell over his forehead and hazel brown eyes. Draco also disliked him very much, because in the past they'd been fighting for the top of the Slytherin social ladder and now for Voldemort's favour as well.

"Nefarious. Good summer?" Draco asked. He put on a front, as usual. Etiquette demanded they be polite, and not throw obvious insults at each other.

"Better than you," Nefarious returned, a tad smugly. Draco knew why.

Draco had been called to only one meeting with Voldemort after he'd gotten the Mark and it hadn't gone very well. By that time most of the Slytherins that were of age or nearing it had already taken the Mark and it seemed Voldemort wanted to see them all together. By the end of it Draco was left with the distinct impression that Voldemort liked Nefarious Blake better, and that any mistake he made would be paid for dearly.

"I expect good service from you, Draco," the Dark Lord had told him. "Or you might find that death is a long way away from pain. Your father could do well to remember it, too. I daresay you've never experienced the Cruciatus Curse?" And then he laughed a high, cold laugh that still sent shivers down Draco's back when he thought about it.

Should I have been more enthusiastic at the prospect of joining Death Eater raids when I come of age? Merlin knows Nefarious Blake was ecstatic …

"Come join us, we were just discussing the summer," Nefarious invited, indicating the compartment beside him.

"Don't mind if I do." Draco swept past him and entered the compartment. "Ah, Nott, Lucinda." Theodore Nott nodded in return and Lucinda Balle, another Slytherin, gave him a very sweet smile. No secret that everyone wanted to replace Pansy Parkinson as Draco's girlfriend; becoming his girlfriend almost certainly guaranteed status as one of the most popular girls in Slytherin, though it would take more to grab the title of most popular girl, as Pansy had.

Lucinda looked disappointed when Draco took the empty seat by the window instead of the one next to her, and disappointment turned to ill-concealed jealousy as Pansy traipsed in right behind Nefarious and sat down next to Draco, taking his hand in hers as she did so. She had always been territorial where Lucinda was concerned.

Draco saw a muscle twitch in Nefarious' jaw as he saw what pansy was doing. More to annoy him than anything else, Draco pulled Pansy closer to him, and she obliged by hopping onto his lap and wrapping her arms around him.

Not exactly what I was going for … but it'll do, Draco thought as both nefarious and Lucinda scowled.

Goyle took Pansy's vacated seat as Crabbe closed the compartment door and sat down next to him.

"So," Nefarious began when it looked like Pansy was just about to lean in for a kiss, having caressed Draco's hair to the extreme annoyance of Nefarious and Lucinda, and the hidden resignation of Draco himself, "Have you received any orders yet?"

"From him, you mean?" asked Draco. Nott looked up from his book, suddenly interested.

Nefarious nodded. "Have you? Because I have," he gloated.

Draco smiled. "I'm on my second assignment," he lied. In truth, Voldemort had asked him to do nothing, which had been a relief. However, this news that Nefarious had already been called to do something made him uncomfortable. If he wasn't careful, Nefarious would soon take his place as Pansy's boyfriend.

The dark-haired sixteen-year-old looked surprised; he wasn't the only one, however. Pansy and Lucinda both had their mouths slightly open and Nott had closed his book, eyebrows furrowed, frowning at him.

"I was rather under the impression that you didn't give a good impression at the time," he said sharply.

Draco smirked. "Shows what you know."

"Well, what was your assignment, then?" demanded Nefarious.

"Unimportant," Draco drawled. "Well, the first one, anyway. You know the second, of course … we're doing the same thing." Nott was still frowning. Draco ignored him.

"You mean, how to communicate with him from inside Hogwarts?" Nefarious said blankly. "Without going through Snape?"

Aha. Stupid idiot gave it away just like that. So easy … Draco nodded. "Exactly. Whoever makes communication first … that'll be me, of course - wins. And you'll just be second best."

"We'll see about that," retorted Nefarious.

Nott broke in before Draco could respond. "You're real stupid, Blake."

That's a break of etiquette, Draco thought, amused, as Nefarious fired up. "What do you mean by that?"

"Any idiot would know that he wasn't pleased with Draco," Nott nodded at the blond. "There was no assignment. He was trying to get you to tell him what your assignment was, dimwit."

"I knew you were bright, Nott," Draco said to him, and Nott scowled.

"You're lucky I don't want spotlight."

"No, you like your solitude, don't you?" Draco agreed. "And you don't want to lead." For that was what, ultimately, Voldemort's favourite would do one day.

"Are you telling me …" Nefarious began.

"Maybe. I'm not about to tell you," Draco interrupted, and he kissed Pansy. Nefarious looked incensed.

"Is that …"

"The new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, yeah," Harry said as Ron and Hermione sat down on either side of him.

She was a very pretty, fair, rather young woman with long auburn hair and pale blue eyes. Her mouth was set in a pout. Perfectly manicured nails featured on her long fingers, which were drumming impatiently on the staff table in front of her.

"Not bad," Ron commented. Hermione snorted.

"Well, anything's better than that Umbridge," Harry said, surreptitiously avoiding looking at his right hand.

"Damn, please tell me that's not the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, someone groaned. Harry had half-turned before realising it was Draco Malfoy, who was just passing the Gryffindor table.

"Looks like Malfoy isn't happy with Umbridge's replacement," commented Harry as he turned back to the table.

Hermione looked over her shoulder. "He looks absolutely horrified," she said and Ron nodded. "Surely she can't be worse than Umbridge?" she wondered.

"Or maybe," Ron suggested, "He's horrified because she's a Muggle-born, or a 'blood traitor' as he'd call it. You know, horrified that the school let in someone of inferior blood or something."

"That'd be just like him," Harry said disgustedly. "Anyway, how was the train ride?"

Ron shrugged. "It was alright. Katie Bell's Head Girl."

"Good for her," Harry enthused.

"What did you do?"

"Well," Harry lowered his voice. "Dumbledore wanted to see me. He's going to be giving me private lessons, so no more Occlumency with Snape."

Hermione looked surprised and happy at the same time. "Wow, Harry! Is he just continuing Snape's lessons, or is he doing other things as well?"

"I dunno," Harry shrugged.

"I think it should be other things as well," Hermione mused. "You know … things that can help you." She didn't voice the obvious: things that can help you fight Voldemort. Harry had told his best friends about the prophecy, when he'd felt reasonably ready to share. He felt it was something they had to know, even if it would terrify them which it did.

"The Sorting," Ron said suddenly, as Professor McGonagall came in holding the Sorting Hat, followed by a group of first-years. There were less first-years than the year before, and Harry noticed that one of the first-years, a boy with blond hair and freckles, looked miserable. He had to be the Muggle-born whose family had been murdered by Voldemort, the boy staying with Marian Garr. Harry felt, not for the first time, immense hatred at Voldemort, at Lucius Malfoy, the Death-Eaters … they were the ones that were doing this, they were the ones making so much harm …

The Sorting went on without any major hiccoughs, unless you counted the girl who was so enraptured by the Enchanted Ceiling that she didn't realise McGonagall had called out her name. The blond boy, Torey James, was sorted into Gryffindor.

The feast was magnificent, a bit quieter than normal but still full of chatter. Voldemort had yet to make his mark on the students of the school, though there were a few subdued areas; mainly the end of the Ravenclaw table where Head Boy Chadwick Murray sat, and at the Gryffindor table, Torey James sat picking at his food.

After all the plates had been cleared away. Dumbledore stood up to make his usual speech. The auburn-haired witch was introduced as Professor Rashyn Buchet, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Harry noticed Draco had a very sour look on his face as the rest of the school clapped. Then Dumbledore grew sombre as he looked around the Hall at the students.

"Now, as you all know, Lord Voldemort is back and active again." Immediately the atmosphere became tense, and Torey James looked up at the Headmaster for the first time. "Times now are dangerous, and you must all be careful. New security measures have been taken to give us more protection and I trust all of you to abide by them. The castle's magical fortifications have also been strengthened. If any of you should notice anything suspicious, report to one of the teachers. Do not take matters into your own hands. I trust you to behave responsibly both for yourselves and others. Above all, be alert and careful."

Then he smiled. "Now, I know you are all eager to climb into your beds, so goodnight!"

Instantly the volume of sound rose in the Great Hall as the students stood up and made their way out. Harry joined the throng as Hermione and Ron resumed their duties as Prefects. NO Ginny to walk with, either; she'd been made a Prefect, too.

Harry met Neville Longbottom on the third floor. "Hi, Neville."

"Oh, hey, Harry!" Neville smiled. "I didn't see you on the train!" Neville had, like many of the people Harry had seen, grown taller. He was also holding a very familiar stunted plant.

"I got here early," Harry explained.

Neville was surprised. "I didn't know you could do that!" Harry shrugged. "So … how's your summer been?"

"Er – alright," Harry said as they climbed a flight of stairs.

"Did you hear about Sirius Black? He was innocent after all!" Neville shook his head. "But, I dunno … third year …"

"He was innocent," Harry said vehemently, feeling a pang of sadness as he did so. The Ministry had issued a statement during the holidays about Sirius' innocence, and how he had died. Neville couldn't know that Sirius had been his godfather, and that he'd meant so much to Harry. "You've still got that 'mimbulus mimbletonia' then?" he changed the subject quickly, pointing at the stunted plant Neville was holding.

"Yeah," Neville nodded. He didn't seem to have noticed Harry's eagerness to change the subject. "It's growing really well. And the defence mechanism is still just as good … but," Neville added quickly, "I won't try it out, don't worry."

Harry smiled, remembering the last time Neville had poked his plant, in the train to Hogwarts the year before.

Harry's thoughts turned to Sirius as he lay in bed that night. His godfather … gone. Harry remembered the flare of hope that he'd had at the prospect of living with him. It would never happen now. He'd never see him, talk to him, again. He could still see his godfather, in his mind's eye, with that bark of a laugh … and suddenly, Harry smiled as he remembered Sirius' stories of what he and Harry's father had done in their schooldays … Sirius in Animagus form, jumping on Harry to say goodbye on the train platform …

For the first time, when Harry dreamt of Sirius that night, it was with a smile on his face. He still had the memories, the happy ones. And Sirius was challenging him to a game of Quidditch …

A/N: I would like to thank all my wonderful reviewers, and I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I'm not sure when the next one will be up, I haven't even started on chapter 6 yet … but I will try to be quick :P I had a little trouble with Dumbledore's speech, I was trying really hard to have his speech not sound like the one in HBP …

My reviewers, thank you so so much! You've helped me reach the big 50 :P A little note, though … I have noticed some people reading, putting this story on alert or faves or things like that … but never once reviewing! Don't get me wrong, I love that you've put this on alerts or your faves list … but I would also love if you reviewed, because then I'd be getting more feedback, and every author loves her reviews. Especially constructive criticism :P that way I get to improve.

horseluver13

Sickle Sword

Snow-kitten1: Hee, I finished HBP in the first 24 hrs of buying it, too!

theLastBLACK17

FalconWing

foxeran

Miz Thang

And now, if you would all do me the pleasure of clicking on the review button …