Disclaimer: This is not mine. JKR holds all rights. Praise her!
Harry glanced over at Ron, who was playing chess by himself as Ginny and Mrs. Weasley tried to get ready for the Hogwarts Express. He sat by the steps, trying his best not to think about the days ahead. Things were going to be hard to stand for a while. His train of thought was interrupted by Ron's call.
"Harry, come here!" He sounded scared, and Harry rushed to see what he wanted. He hadn't gotten more than a couple of feet when another shout was heard.
"Watch out!" There was a loud crashing noise, and he spun around. He shivered when he saw the heavy trunk sitting at the foot of the stairs. Had he been there, he would have been seriously hurt. Ginny came racing down the stairs, horrified. "Are you okay? I was trying to control it, but it slipped! I'm so sorry!" Harry tried to calm her down, but she was inconsolable. It wasn't until Mrs. Weasley came down the steps that she stopped babbling. Harry head over towards Ron, who was looking a little red as he stared at the board.
"So Ron, what did you need?" He turned an even deeper red, and Harry had the feeling that the call was solely for his benefit. He decided not to press the matter, and went up to see Buckbeak one last time. The Hippogriff seemed very upset that he was leaving, and Harry hoped to comfort him a little.
Harry slipped through the barrier to Platform 9 3/4, smiling when the sounds assaulted him. Owls called to each other, students shouted to their friends, and the train steamed in silence. Harry slowly made his way forward, flanked by the guards that Dumbledore had chosen. Moody's magical eye twirled while Moony walked calmly forward. His calm was only on the outside, however, as Harry could feel the tension in his body, the coil waiting to spring on any danger.
"Harry, Harry!" He caught Moody's arm before he could finish drawing his wand and shook his head. The ex-auror looked a little startled, but he covered the expression with a scowl.
"It's only Mark, you can relax." He turned to the first year, smiling as he recalled the excitement of stepping onto the platform for the first time. His parents followed at a more sedate pace. "Hey man, how are you doing?" He started babbling excitedly about all of the things he was planning to learn and do , and Harry tried to suppress his smirk. Eventually, the conductor called for everyone to finish boarding. Mark turned to his parents, his smile fading a little. It was obvious that he was going to miss them, something Harry wasn't too familiar with. However, he had anticipated this and was prepared. "Say Mark, I have a little something to show you." He gave a sharp whistle, something he had perfected over the summer. There was a response from the many owls on the train, but he waited for one specific hoot. After a second he heard it. From the sky Hedwig came spiraling down, landing softly on Mark's shoulder. He smiled at her, seeing as how they had become friends over the summer. When he reached out to stroke her, however, she fluttered onto Harry's waiting arm. He didn't have time to pout before another cry came.
A second snowy owl came barreling down, this one performing some somersaults before landing with a thump on the boys shoulder. Harry rolled his eyes at the stunts, but smiled nonetheless.
"Mark, this is Hotshot. Hotshot, this is Mark. I hope you two can get along, because you'll be seeing a lot of each other." He reached onto the cart and handed Mark a cage before he headed towards the train. Mark stood behind him, speechless and Hermione smiled.
They sat in the compartment, all involved in their own pursuits. Luna read a new issue of the Quibbler, Neville and Ginny were playing Exploding Snap, and Harry was meditating. Crookshanks sat in his lap, and he was absentmindedly petting her as he concentrated on sorting through his memories. Hedwig hooted softly from the luggage rack above, sitting on the rail since he had not put her back in her cage as of yet. Ron and Hermione had not made it back from the prefect's meeting yet. The door slid open and Harry opened his eyes, hoping not to see what he thought he would.
"So, Potty, where is your fan club?" The sneering tone of Draco Malfoy made his anger stir, but he clamped down on it hard. He didn't notice the tension going through everyone in the room, the animals included.
'They're still at the Prefects meeting, Malfoy. Shouldn't you be there as well?" He spoke as calmly as possible, not letting the nasty smile creep onto his face. Professor McGonagall had told him that he had been suspended as Prefect for abuse of power during the reign of Umbridge. Malfoy turned a shade of red Harry hadn't seen in weeks, and pointed his finger.
"You should watch your step, Potter. You never know when the Dark Lord or his followers will show up to take you out." He sneered, and Harry faked a yawn while trying to control his anger.
"I remember your aunt making a similar threat. Last time I saw her, she as a smudge on the ground." There was a wand in his face, but he knew it was coming, so he didn't flinch. Ginny, however, soon had her own wand trained on the young Death Eater. Malfoy's sneer increased.
"Stick to what your best at, blood traitor. Being on your knees." Harry's temper rose many notches, almost escaping his control. The look on Ginny's face was priceless, as it seemed she was have trouble not cursing him. "As a matter of fact, why don't you meet me later, and bring the Mudblood..." That was as far as he got before his wand shattered. He stared in shock at the splinters that lay on the floor before he turned to grab the wand from Goyle. Harry felt it coming and prepared to dodge.
"Stupefy!" The jet of red light slammed into the window, shattering it as Harry dove forward. There was a screech and a hiss, and a scream. When he spared a glance for Malfoy, he saw him under attack. Hedwig was scratching at his face and Crookshanks demolishing his legs as he tried to prevent the attacks. Harry stared in shock, but tried to regain control.
"Here, girl, Crookshanks, I'm sure he's really sorry. Leave him be." At his words, they stopped their assault and came over to him, the owl landing on his shoulder to thread her beak through his hair. Malfoy was looking bad off. Peck marks marred his pale face in many places, and there were bleeding scratches all down his legs. He was still able to see, though, and looked ready to curse again be fore a scarred hand landed on his shoulder.
"What are you on about, Malfoy?" The gravely tones of Mad-eye Moody stopped him where he stood. Glancing over his shoulder in fear, he quickly scurried to another compartment., even as the clunking of a wooden leg grew closer. Harry sighed to himself. He couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts.
Sitting at the Gryffindor table, Harry looked at the nervous first years with some fondness. He remembered the time he had stood there, hoping against hope that he would pass the test he didn't know the contents of. He watched as Professor McGonagall brought out the Sorting Hat and it began it's song. He was distracted, however, Ron's nudge. He looked to the staff table where he pointed, and started studying the teachers there.
The Headmaster looked older than he remembered, and Harry felt a twinge, but ignored it. There were some issues he needed to work through with this old man before they could go back to their working relationship. He turned his attention to the new teacher sitting at the staff table. This could be none other than the new DADA teacher.
It was another woman, but thankfully she looked nothing like Umbridge. She was taller, for one, nor did she have any of the squat, toad-like qualities. She was, in fact, quite pretty, but Harry was less concerned about her looks than what she decided to teach. There was a thunderous applause, and he realized that the Hat was finished. When Professor McGonagall started calling the names of the first years, he paid close attention, because Mark was close to the beginning of the line. There were two additions to Gryffindor, one to Ravenclaw, and one to Slytherin before he was called.
"Evans, Mark." He stepped forward nervously, seeking Harry's face in the crowd. Harry gave him a thumbs up, and her continued onto the stool. When the Hat slid down around his head, Harry held his breath. He had a feeling he wouldn't be in Gryffindor, though he certainly had courage. No, there was another house for him. And he was soon proven right.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" He saw Mark ginning wildly before joining the others at his house table. He smiled to himself, knowing that Mark's loyalty would carry him far.
Throughout the rest of the sorting, he tried to make plans for this year. It was obvious that the teachers would take offense to the fact that he refused to do magic. In all likelihood, there would be punishments involved. He would also need to wait before he restarted the D.A. There were so many that needed help with defending themselves, if last year was any indication. He regretfully came to the conclusion that Quidditch would have to be sacrificed. He clapped absentmindedly with the others when the sorting finished, then dug into his food ravenously. He just hoped his loses were worth the cause.
Two weeks later, Harry was almost sure that he wouldn't survive much longer. He had already been given a weeks total detention from Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Joran. He was just glad he didn't have to deal with Snape's class. The git was sure to have tried to get him expelled by now. That had actually been a bright spot in the last two weeks. He remembered both Hermione and Ron asking why he had dropped potions on the first day of classes.
"Harry, you need this class to be accepted into the Auror training program. Just because you dislike the teacher doesn't mean you should let him ruin your future." He had simply smiled mysteriously and changed the subject. Thankfully, the question had finally been answered this morning with the deliver of the Daily Prophet.
Amelia Bones Announces Change To Auror Program
In a surprise announcement yesterday, Madame Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, stated her intent to push through a change to the Auror training requirement.
"It has come to our attention that certain requirements are outdated, and should be rethought. Upon interviewing with Alastor Moody, one of the most experienced Aurors around, the council came to a conclusion.
It was funny watching both Hermione's and Ron's faces when they realized a NEWT in Potions was no longer a necessity. It had been dropped to an OWL, and a NEWT in some higher level Magical Combat area was added, to reflect the more turbulent times. It was Hermione that figured out his schedule was perfectly balanced for Auror training.
"How did you know, Harry? Surely it wasn't an accident." He had smiled at her.
"Well, Madame Bones just 'happened' to let something slip at my party. It seems they were having trouble getting Auror cadets, because the closest Potions Master was Snape, and not many can actually learn from him. Not only that, but when she interviewed the Aurors, past and present, she discovered that they rarely, if ever, use Potions." It had been fun to see Snape's face when he read the article. Harry had been very careful not to let any laughter escape, but it was a very close thing. He allowed himself that laugh now, as he head across the grounds to see Hagrid.
He had grown closer to the half-giant in the last two weeks, and had come to enjoy their daily talks. He had been somewhat surprised to discover that Hagrid held in his head a vast knowledge not only of all magical creatures, but also mundane ones. Though he enjoyed talking about the "interesting" ones most, creatures such as fairies and elves were also covered. He was thinking about the talk ahead when the sounds of what sounded like a dual stopped him.
"Intendere!" He gave pause when he heard this spell uttered. It was used to magnify the effects of certain spells, and was rarely used for good reasons. The worst part was the fact that it lasted for a whole half-hour. "You're a disgrace to your house, Jason Ristanov. Buttering up the Oaf, of all teachers." Harry immediately recognized Malfoy's drawl, and decided whomever he was addressing was in trouble.
Using what cover he could find, he crept closer until he was in sight of them. What he saw was unpromising. The younger Slytherin was being held up by Malfoy's thugs, and Draco was berating him.
"He's really cool, and I don't see how it's any of your business." Harry winced as this was the perfectly wrong thing to say to Malfoy. Knowing that this would soon get out of hand, he pulled his invisibility cloak out of his pocket and started picking up stones from the ground. When he straightened, he was surprised to see Hedwig sitting on a branch of the tree he was hiding behind.
"Hey girl, you have perfect timing. Listen, I need you to do something for me." He laid out his plan, feeling slightly foolish. He knew Hedwig was far more intelligent then other delivery owls, but he was asking a lot. His doubts disappeared when she fluttered down and carefully took the cloak from his grasp. He heard screaming from the four Slytherins, and checked it out. Malfoy was using a tickling charm, and with the magic of the Magnifying Hex, it would feel like torture.
Working quickly, he ran in a circle until he was behind them at a distance. Then, using his ammo, he started his plan. Quietly as possible, he started throwing the stones as hard as he could, moving to a different position each time. When he had their attention, he was gratified to see a silver cloth drop onto the now unconscious form of their victim, rendering him invisible. He dropped the rest of the stones and concentrated on remembering what he needed. Then he raised his face and took a deep breath.
From Malfoy's point of view, it sounded as if a herd of really angry Hippogriffs wanted blood. He reflexively clutched the arm that had been shredded in his third year and gestured for the others to follow him. Then he ran.
Harry watched them for a few minutes, rubbing his throat to try and decrease the soreness. When he was sure they were gone, he went over to where he felt the strange yet familiar magic coming from. Pulling his cloak off of the prone body, he checked him for signs of injury. There was a small burn on his shoulder, but that was the extent of the physical wounds. However, the neural damage could well be worse. Pocketing the cloak, he shouldered the light body, and started trudging towards the hospital wing.
He kicked open the door with some effort, as he was out of breath from his long walk. Madame Pomfrey came rushing towards him.
"Your owl arrived a couple of minutes ago, so I figured there would be work for me. Place him on that bed." Harry lowered him to the bed and started explaining what had happened. She looked rather infuriated with what had happened. She wrote something on a piece of parchment and handed it to him. "Take this to Professor Snape immediately. I need some Nerve Numbing Potion, and I've used the last of my supply." Harry shook his head at his luck. He had managed to avoid the Greasy Git for two weeks, and here he was almost volunteering to see him. Just another after effect of his "Saving People Thing". With a last backwards glance at the student on the bed and headed back out of the doors. He would keep an eye on this Slytherin.