The Attack on the Hogwarts Express

It seemed like it was only a matter of minutes since Harry had made the decision to return to Hogwarts, and now he was standing on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters gazing up at the gleaming scarlet engine that pulled the Hogwarts Express. Steam billowed from the engine, and the paintwork seemed to bathe the entire platform in a reddish glow. Despite the people staring at him, the occasional flash of a camera, and the low whispers as he walked by, Harry was glad that Ginny had sent the letter to Professor McGonagall. Despite the pain of seeing where so many of his friends had died, Harry was excited for his final year at Hogwarts. When Kingsley had become Minister for Magic, Harry had asked almost right away to join the Auror Department, but after some time deciding, Kingsley had told Harry to go out and enjoy life a little before he returned to fighting Dark Wizards. Harry, of course, had been furious. But now he felt motivated; if Kingsley wouldn't let him join this year, then by next year, Harry decided he would be Hogwarts' top student.

Unlike his previous years, Harry had begun studying early, practicing spells around the Burrow whenever he could. He'd gone to Diagon Alley and bought himself a new cauldron and scales, and a proper telescope. Many of the shopkeepers had tried to give him freebies, but Harry avoided taking as many as he could. He did however, accept a nice discount on a new Firebolt from Quality Quidditch Supplies. Not content with making himself a better wizard, Harry wanted to become a better flier too. If he was to take a year to focus on himself, then Harry was going to mould his body and mind into the best version of himself. Aside from all of the required textbooks for school, Harry spent a long time in Flourish and Blotts, and came out carrying an armful of books so big that Hermione would've beamed with pride. His purchases included; The Advanced Book of Spells Grade 1, Potion Making for the Practical Witch or Wizard, and Broomstick Warriors: A Complete Guide from the Masters of In-Flight Duelling. Once Ginny had given him the initial push, Harry had transformed from a mopey teenager with no direction, into a man on a mission.

Now, stood on the platform, ready for the journey to Hogwarts, Harry couldn't wait to get started. The guard blew his whistle to tell everyone to board their carriages, and after Mrs. Weasley had finished fussing over the pair of them, Harry and Ginny boarded the Hogwarts Express and settled into a compartment for the long journey ahead. "Excited?" Ginny asked. Harry nodded, although he wasn't too sure if he was telling the truth. Heading back to Hogwarts was going to be tough. A lot of the journey was spent giving awkward small talk. Despite everything that had transpired in the past few months, Harry and Ginny were still somewhat at an awkward phase with each other. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that he and Ginny should be just like any other couple, happy to be alive, happy to be together, and out enjoying life. But something was holding them back. Harry was sure he was to blame; he spent a great many days simply wrapped up in his own thoughts, so much so that he would rarely speak at all. He knew Ginny wanted answers, she probably had a thousand questions, but she was holding back until he was ready to give them to her. For now, they hung in the air like a black cloud, swelling with rainwater until it would inevitably burst. But for the moment, at least, they were content to be together, and moving forward.

The hours on the train whittled away, and soon the sun was beginning to set as the train thundered through Scotland, bringing them ever closer to Hogwarts. The train was very quiet compared to what Harry was used to. He expected attendance to be down, but actually seeing it happen in front of him was like a dull blow. Some, had chosen not to return, and plenty of parents had elected to keep their children out of school, but Harry wasn't thinking about those children. He was thinking about the ones who were dead. How many other parents had stood beside their child's coffins and wailed helplessly as Mrs Weasley had? How many more would grow up like little Teddy Lupin, having never known their parents? Harry thought for a long moment about Teddy, how his start in life so cruelly mirrored his own, his parents callously ripped away from him by Voldemort and his followers. The similarities, Harry hoped, would end there. Teddy would grow up in a loving household, and once he was done with Hogwarts, Harry made a promise to Tonks's mother that he would be the best Godfather any child could hope for.

Harry was snapped from his train of thought abruptly, as a scream tore through the carriage, followed by another, and then the sounds of shattering glass. His wand was in his hand before he even had time to think about it, and he charged into the corridor, closely followed by Ginny. Something flashed past the window at great speed, and a crackle of blue lightning hit the side of the carriage, rocking it perilously on the rails. Neville Longbottom was at the end off the corridor, ushering a trio of First-years out of their compartment. "Neville!" Harry shouted, "What's going on?"

"Wannabe Death Eaters!" Neville called back furiously, "Let's teach them a lesson they won't forget!" Harry rushed forward into the compartment with Neville, who was firing spells left and right at a figure in a black cloak. Harry chimed in with a few curses of his own, and the figure was forced to retreat. Further up the train, the engine's whistle was blowing frantically.

"They're attacking the driver!" Harry shouted. Suddenly, a window on the other side of the carriage was blasted into a thousand pieces, forcing the students to scramble for cover. The hooded figure slunk back on his broomstick to the Ravenclaw carriage, and another forceful spell shook the train violently.

"I'll look after the driver!" Ginny shouted, already backing up the corridor, "you protect the rest of the students!" Harry nodded, but sent Neville after her, just in case. He pushed into the Ravenclaw coach, which was in utter chaos. They seemed to have taken a worse beating than the Gryffindors, and the compartments were choked up with grey smoke, which hung around in the air, making it difficult to see.

"Harry!" A voice shouted through smoke. It was Luna Lovegood. "They're on the left hand side! We've been putting up a fight, but it's not easy." Harry put a hand on his friends shoulder as she staggered towards him. She had a small cut on her cheek, but otherwise seemed fine. Clearly, Luna had lead the counter attack, as the Ravenclaws, despite the state of their carriage, were arranged in two neat rows, defending either side of the carriage. Harry pressed one, firing curses through every window he could, forcing the attackers towards the back of the train. He was passing through the Hufflepuff's now, they weren't as organised as the Ravenclaw carriage, but they were making up for it with enthusiasm, erupting into cheers when Harry stumbled into their corridor. 'He's here!' They shouted, 'Come on Harry! Let's get them!' Harry echoed their determination with a superb stunning spell that knocked one of the attackers clean off his broom and into the bushes.

The next carriage was the Slytherins, the end of the train. Harry felt nervous. Would they let him walk through? Would they try and help? Or would the Slytherin's try and stop him? As he opened the door, he could tell that something was wrong. The other coaches had been furiously noisy, and people had packed the corridors, but the Slytherin coach was deathly quiet, and icy cold. Harry walked through the corridor, passing several empty compartments. Then he heard it, a quivering voice at the end of the corridor. "No, no, stay away! I-I wont let you hurt them!" Harry sprinted to the last few compartments, his wand raised. He knew now why the coach was so silent, why the air seemed to have turned to ice.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry bellowed, and the silver stag burst from his wand, charging down the Dementor. The stag's antlers hit the foul creature square in the chest, and charged it down until it had completely fled the train. What was left of Slytherin house huddled fearfully in the last four compartments of the train. A tall girl with jet black hair still had her wand raised shakily at the place where the dementor had just been. "It's alright," he told the Slytherins, "it's gone." The girl lowered her wand, and seemed unable to speak for a moment. "We all need to look out for each other," Harry said, "I know you're scared, I am too, but we have to protect the train!" A few of the Slytherins nodded, and some began to move out of their huddles and raised their wands to the windows.

"Thanks," the dark haired girl said, regaining her voice at last.

"Any time," Harry replied. He stalked his way to the back of the train, and flung the door open. Now their was nothing but open space. Harry swung out onto a small platform on the outside of the train, gripping a handle on the door frame for dear life. There was one cloaked figure firing spells at the Slytherin carriage a few feet ahead of him. Harry pulled his broom clear using a lanyard charm, and it was all the masked man could do to hold on to his rogue broom. Harry cast incarcerous, and the man on the broom dropped painfully onto the tracks behind, bound tightly in thick chains.

"Are you mad? You're out here alone!" It was the dark haired girl who had tried to fight off the dementor. She was making her way out onto the opposite side of the small platform and pointed her wand up the other side of the train.

"I'm trying to draw them to the back so I can get a clear shot!"

"They hit us first!" She shouted over the roar of the wind, the driver had put his foot down, and the train was thundering along violently, but it was still not capable of outrunning the brooms. "We tried to protect the first years, and then they sent the Dementor in! We need to get forward!"

"No!" Harry shouted back, an idea forming in his head, "You get back in and rally the rest of Slytherins, I'm going to catch them off guard!"

"How do you plan on doing that?"

"Accio Firebolt!"

Harry rocketed his broom over the tops of the carriages, catching three of the hoods entirely by surprise and knocking them into the undergrowth. The remaining three attackers weren't so oblivious, and were coming at Harry in an arrow formation. He shot off a volley of spells to try and scatter them, but their leader remained fearless and charged headlong into the fire. Only Harry's exceptional flying allowed him to dodge at the last minute as the first figure nearly took off his head. He managed a weak hit on another flier that sent them spiralling out control, but didn't unseat him. The situation was becoming dire, and Harry decided the best he could do now was to get them all clear of the train, and so he fired off, up into the hills, leading the trio behind him. He heard a cry of pain behind him, and turned to see one of the hoods sent flying into the dirt, while the other two spun round in confusion.

The girl from the train was back again, riding a sleek, grey broomstick. She had hit the man square in the back with a stunning spell, and in doing so, had caught the other two off guard. Harry polished off one of the two with a full body bind, sending him crashing through the trees, unable to move. The remaining attacker was putting up a much beefier resistance, but he could see the writing on the wall as the two students round on him, and with a loud crack, he disappeared, leaving his fellow attackers stranded. "We need to get to the driver!"

Harry shot to the front of the train. The engine looked in bad shape, but it was still faithfully chugging along. Harry landed on the footplate and was immediately crushed by a hug from Ginny. "I was so worried! I saw you go up into the hills, and then we couldn't see anything! I thought they'd gotten you!"

"It takes a little more effort than that to bring me down," Harry joked wryly, "besides, I had a lot of help. Is everyone ok?" The driver had a large cut across his face, but assured Harry it was nothing he couldn't deal with. Ginny and Neville were covered in coal dust, but otherwise they were fine, and by the sounds of it, had put up a stellar fight. Harry asked the trolley lady to distribute some chocolate to the Slytherins, and was in the middle of explaining the Dementor attack when the girl with the dark hair landed behind him.

"You should see this." She said.

"Ah, I didn't thank you!" Harry said, turning to offer his hand to the girl. "What is your name?"

"Regina Corsica," She shook his hand briefly, before hovering on her broom and repeating herself, "you should see this."

Harry kicked off from the footplate and flew to where Regina was waiting for him. She pointed back towards the train. Harry followed her finger along the length of the carriages. There were giant letters burned into the side of each carriage, a dark and smoky message scrawled along the entirety of the train.

HARRY POTTER! GO HOME!

Author's Notes

Hi Everyone,

I'm sorry you've had to wait so long for this chapter. I explained in my update of the Tournament of Champions; my MacBook died, and took most of my work with it, so I've had to spend a lot of time rebuilding my stories from cloud saves and doc boxes on FF. It has been difficult, but I'm finally up to speed again. I should be updating the Tournament of Champions sometime next week, and I will try and get another chapter of the Great Prophecy up by the end of the month.

I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, and if you were a fan of After the Battle of Hogwarts, you'll notice I've decided to introduce one of the stories key characters very early on, rather than in the final third of the book. I think After the Battle allowed me to try my hand at writing, and make mistakes, and I hope that now I'm able to re-tell it in a more professional, and more entertaining manner.

I feel as though I've gotten Harry's character a little more correct this time, and I'm trying to give this story a much darker feel than it had before. After the Battle of Hogwarts was a little too happy, everything was a little too hunky-dory after a major war. I don't want to make it completely dark, but we've now learned fairly quickly that everything isn't perfect in Harry's world.

Let me know if you enjoyed it, or even if you didn't. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

IronManRidingaNimbus.