Chapter 4
Almost a month later, Harry Potter found himself back on the Hogwarts Express, riding towards school for his third year of magical training. He was excited to know what he could learn this time. He was excited in wanting to see the sorting ceremony. He loved seeing how others were placed into one of the four houses based on the qualities of the Founders of Hogwarts, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor, and Salazar Slytherin.
He had friendships and alliances to all but one of the houses. Slytherins were quite arrogant in their pride, believing their house was the best because of their pureblood status. But Harry never told anyone that their pride was a cover; the Slytherins did wish to make other alliances. It was possibly their own families and the public that made them stay in the dark, made them to be the dark wizards and witches, who made model student Tom Riddle into Voldemort. After all, the sorting hat did say he was perfectly fitted for Slytherin, causing him to ponder upon his past and comparing it to the small things he observed about the currently attending Slytherins.
And speaking of Voldemort, Harry could feel the constant wave of pain through his scar. He learned more about his scar with only his help, learning that Voldemort set it off when they had faced each other in his First Year. This also explain those weird dreams he had growing up at the Dursleys. But now that pain was threatening to overwhelm Harry. Only the sly glances from Ginny and Colin as they stepped away from the other years towards the boats made him feel slightly better, aiding his headache from furiously pounding inside his head.
Once at the Welcoming Feast, Harry watched through the hazy pain as the sorting hat sang its song and sorted the new First Years. He barely listened to Headmaster Albus Dumbledore announce another professor in the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. But he did see the dark glares from Potions Professor Severus Snape directed towards the new professor, Remus Lupin, although something seemed a bit off in that glare. Something he shrugged off as he hurried through his meal to head to bed. Maybe sleep would cure the pounding headache.
But by curfew time the pain faded away, leaving behind a wide awake Harry. Since he couldn't sleep, Harry quietly snuck out from the bed curtains to his trunk. Silently, he slipped out his father's invisibility cloak and hurried out the Third Year's dorm, softly smiling at the glowing journal beneath the cloak. He wasn't the only one that couldn't sleep.
Sitting quietly before a roaring golden fire within the Gryffindor dorm, Ginny and Colin were hastily scribbling in their spelled journals. A small smile wormed its way on Harry's face as the two looked up. "Hey."
"Can't sleep either?"
"No. Thought I'd come down now. I was thinking of going out to see the morning stars in a few hours since I can't sleep." He could see the hopeful looks in their faces, "Want to come along?"
"Sure." Ginny was excited. Yes, she was attracted to Harry Potter but as she thought more and more about it, she realized it was The-Boy-Who-Lived Harry Potter she was attracted to. And that was not right in trying to base a relationship on. Besides, she favored the strong friendship, almost sibling love, from the quiet boy.
Colin grinned, "Okay. Dennis is already heading to bed, says to tell you good night. So, I'll be bored." Like Ginny, Colin had analyzed his relationship with his fellow Gryffindor and decided that the sibling relationship was more important then following Harry Potter around, flashing a camera in the older boy's face.
The three sat around the fire, talking quietly, never knowing someone had charmed the Gryffindor fireplace. Down in the dungeons where the Slytherin dorms were, two Slytherins were sitting quietly in front of their silver roaring fire, listening to the soft-spoken conversation. "They're going to head out shortly."
"We'll need to follow discreetly. We should get up early every morning to keep an eye on a restless Potter. We might be able to make that pattern come to light even sooner then our Lord wishes."
"We should stick to the shadows whenever possible. Watch out for Potter. He's quite the Slytherin when he wants to be." With that warning the two Slytherins snuck out their Common Room seconds after the new Gryffindor Trio left.
The group of five, two uninvited, headed out to the small cottage at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. The large door opened to reveal the groundskeeper, Rebeus Hagrid, and his faithful pet, Fang. "Come in, you three." Hagrid welcomed the non-sleeping students into his cottage. He knew the Headmaster would appreciate someone keeping an eye on Harry, especially to keep him out of trouble.
Waiting outside, the two Slytherins plotted on how they could send their information to their Lord without suspicion being cast on them when the occupants exited the cottage about twenty minutes later. Two pairs of eyes watched the large dog and groundskeeper lead the three students into the Forest. Curious, they followed, only to find them a few feet inside at a small clearing. Harry was politely talking to the centaurs, who were only listening because of their friend, Hagrid. Even though the centaurs did not like strangers entering their world, they were quite willing to share their views of the stars. The three Gryffindor students were eager to learn of the past, present, and future.
And that meeting was the first of many over the next month. The two Slytherins had sent their information by owl to their Lord in hopes of what to do next. They even told of the days Harry would go first, only to be followed moments later by a rushing Ginny Weasley and Colin Creevey, who would chatter about the next year of bringing Creevey's younger brother onto their excursions.
And miles away someone was practically giddy with joy at the constant news.
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Dark Lord Voldemort summoned his few trusted Inner Circle to his side. It was time the plans were placed into action. He had his only Potion Master, Severus Snape, create several Dark potions, keeping him from knowing the real plan. Voldemort didn't really trust Snape too much, because the dark haired man had recanted his alliance to the Death Eaters to serve the Muggle-loving fool, Albus Dumbledore to avoid a long sentence within the walls of Azkaban. But there weren't many Potion Masters of Snape's degree to replace the man with. Because of the mistrust, Voldemort had been careful with Snape, at least that was until he learned how close his young follower was to Dumbledore. With that knowledge he began to open up more to his fallen one.
But at this moment he had a select few who would carry out his plans. Gleaming red eyes glared down at the chosen few, "Parkinson, Zambini, send word to your daughters. I want Potter's new friends at my side. It seems these new friends are his greatest weakness, more so than Potter's own best friends. Next weekend would be a Hogsmeade visit for the older years; Potter will be attending somehow, according to his words. But I don't care how it is done, I want that Weasley girl and Creevey boy at my side before the visitation is completed."
"Yes, my lord."
Before he dismissed his two followers, "Take this." He used his wand to float two small vials of a light purple liquid to them. "Feed these vials to the two students. Severus created a hallucination potion upon my order. Permanent carbon copies of the two will appear, fooling any into believing it is them. Then tell your daughters Harry Potter will be the murderer, even though he'll be busy during one of his treks to the Forest."
"My lord, what about Potter's wand and magical signature?"
A third vial, this one a dark blood color, was floating before their vision, "This is a potion based on Potter's physical features with an added feature to allow the caster to cast with his wand. I've already checked to make sure both potions will truly work. Be sure whoever drinks this potion will murder the copies with a witness. And take Potter's wand. It's the only way the potion will work. Now go!"
"Yes, my lord." Voldemort laughed delightfully as they raced away.
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And that weekend had come up fast. Harry reluctantly left his two younger friends to spend time with Hermione and Ron. He did spend most of his late nights and early mornings with Ginny and Colin, as well as the spelled parchment to speak with Dennis. Now was time for the original Golden Gryffindor Trio.
As the older years left, Colin had gone outside to the lake with Ginny. Both were content to sit quietly while waiting for Harry to return with gifts or trinkets for them, he promised. It was just after the last of the coaches left for the small magical village when fellow second year Gryffindor, Morgana Fey, had stopped by.
Ginny brightly smiled at the shy girl, "Hello, Morgana."
The young girl shakily smiled back. "I was going for a walk. But I don't want to be alone."
"We'll keep you company if you like." Ginny didn't want to be rude to the smaller girl. She knew what it was like to be forgotten.
"Thank you." Little brunette Morgana Fey led the two around the lake, fingering the two vials in her robe pockets. Hours earlier, she had been pulled aside in the library by Blaise Zambini and Pansy Parkinson. It seemed their Lord had finally given the word to begin Harry Potter's downfall. Morgana was not afraid of Albus Dumbledore. Because Morgana was a distant relative of the ancient Sorceress, Morgana LeFey, enemy of Merlin himself. And that history made little Morgana excited to be the next witch to change the world. And that change included two Death Eaters, waiting at the edge of the Forbidden Forest on the other side of the lake. She kept the two Gryffindors distracted with small talk, deliberately leading them to the Forest.
By the time Ginny realized what was happening, she and Colin were swiftly stunned. "Good work, Morgana."
The young witch smirked, pulling the two vials out of her pocket. She waited for the Death Eaters to bind the two students before awakening them. This way she had an easier time to feed the potion to them, forcing out a carbon copy of the two. Ginny tried to fight her bonds but she couldn't get free. She and Colin were forced to watch an identical set of themselves slip out the Forbidden Forest with a chatty Morgana Fey, back to the school with no one the wiser.