Harry tried to hide the DeathNote as fast as he could, but it was too late. Ron had seen it.
"Hey why are you trying to hide it? You can trust me Harry. I won't show mum if it's something you'd prefer she not see." Harry's mind was going mad trying to figure out how he would play this out. He hadn't considered what he could say to people who had found the DeathNote. He liked Ron a lot, but he still couldn't trust anyone with the information.
Harry blabbed out a hurried "I bought it in Diagon Alley before I came to your house. It's just a pretty creepy notebook is all." He showed him the book, mostly flipping onto blank pages. Occasionally one of the previous owner's notes would flash by. Harry let out an internal sigh that he had scratched out Lucius Malfoy's name before Ron came in, and made a mental note to get rid of the other pages as soon as he could.
Ron seemed a bit disappointed. "Oh, I thought it might have been some kind of joke item or something, you know, like what Fred and George are always pulling out. Why were you so worried when I walked in?" He grabbed the note and felt the odd cover. Harry felt an odd sensation when Ron touched the book, but couldn't place why.
"I just thought that it might be weirdly magical, and I didn't want to get in trouble for buying something off of a guy on the street. " The lies came more easily to Harry than he expected. " The guy was pretty filthy but it looked like a nice book, and it was only 2 knuts. It feels like proper leather, right?"
"I don't know Harry. This feels a bit too soft, like somewhere between skin and leather. I won't bring it up if you don't want me to, but it doesn't seem magic." He handed the notebook back to Harry, and pulled the two letters he had brought with him back out. "But back to what I had come here to say, check out this"
Harry took his letter, which read
Mr. H Potter
Top Floor Bedroom
The Burrow
Ottery St. Catchpole
Devonshire
Within, there was another letter from Hogwarts, which included a short message:
Dear Mr. Potter, we of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry are proud to announce the introduction of entirely new courses to the already extraordinary curriculum of this fine establishment. This is, of course, a once in a generation event, as the last class to be added to the curriculum was Muggle Studies approximately 100 years ago. Headmaster Dumbledore has seen fit to include courses that will allow students a wider variety of skills to learn, and to enable better preparation for potential careers in the future. Thus, we are proud to announce the creation of
Magical Engineering, taught by Henry Whitehorn. This course will cover the creation of broomsticks, other assorted transportation devices, and will encourage experimentation and invention. Available to Third Years and up.
Magical Games, taught by Carodoc Selwyn. This course will allow Hogwarts students some much needed physical activity, as well as education on a wide variety of games, and game design in the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. levels. Available to all years.
Study of Magical Books, taught by Christina Pince. This course will cover the history of magical books, methods for proper care, methods for the charming of books, and the proper disposal of dangerous tomes. Available to all years.
Following these announcements were a list of books required for each course, and instructions to return an owl with word that you intend to enroll in one of the new courses.
"How about that!" Ron said. "Now there's a course that I can get behind. Magical Games. Just playing chess and quidditch instead of writing essays and reading books."
Harry stared at the list again. Magical Books, proper disposal of dangerous tomes. Maybe…
" I think I'm going to join the Magical Books class." Harry said while reading the list of books he would need to purchase.
"Why? I never pegged you as the bookworm type Harry. You haven't even read anything since you got here. Anyway, I was talking to Fred and George about the new classes and they said that Professor Pince is probably related to the stodgy old librarian. Just join up with the games class! Then we'll get to hang out together, even if it still sucks." Harry was touched by this, and decided to sign up for both classes.
Harry suddenly felt a concern that he and Ron would end up in the same house at Hogwarts. He had heard about how everyone in the Weasley family had been in Gryffindor, as well as his parents, but he wasn't sure. He had never felt very brave, and he had become very well adapted to lying. He knew he was smarter than Dudley by a far amount, but he had never been a knowledge lover. He felt like he was a loyal person, but he had only really had the opportunity over this summer. This train of thought ended suddenly when Vim floated through a wall, and Ron started to scream.
"What the effing hell is that thing!" Ron reeled back and reached for the closest thing usable as a weapon, which ended up being a pillow. Vim looked confused.
"You can see me?"
"You can see her?" Harry was shocked. How had Ron seen the Shinigami? Vim had said no one else would be able to see her. Wait…
"He touched the notebook Vim. Does that mean anything to you?"
"You know this thing?" Ron was shivering now, and looked like he was about to run.
"Just calm down Ron. There's nothing to worry about." Harry turned to Vim. "Why didn't you tell me that someone would see you if they touched the note?"
"Hey, I'm not obligated to tell you anything beyond the basics. There are even DeathNote rules that I don't know. "
"You really are useless aren't you."
"Says the scrawny ass almost 11 year old."
"Hey! I'm only scrawny because my aunt and uncle starved me. I'm getting better now that I'm here."
"What is even going on here?!" Ron wasn't scared anymore. The oddly pedestrian bickering made the scene too surreal to be scary. "So this thing isn't dangerous? And what's this about that notebook?"
Harry was trapped. He felt like the only thing to do was to get Ron to keep the secret, at least most of the secret. He truly liked Ron, and he knew that Ron liked him, so he knew how he'd have to progress.
"Ron, I need you to keep a secret, as my friend." Hearing this brightened Ron up.
"Of course Harry. Just tell me what's going on."
"This is Vim. She's a shinigami. A magical creature that haunts the person with this notebook."
"Hello." Vim said smiling, revealing her sharp teeth, and causing Ron to clutch at the pillow again.
"So you picked up a dodgy notebook in Diagon Alley, got stuck with a creepy monster, and only you and I can see it?
"I resent the monster comment, for the record." Vim piped in. The indignation mixed with the rough vocals made for an interesting combination.
"Then why don't you just get rid of it? Just throw it in the trash?"
Crap. Well, I'm definitely not a Ravenclaw. Harry thought. Now what…
"Here's the thing, Ron. This book is dangerous, and I don't know how to get rid of it safely. I need to keep it with me so that it doesn't fall into the wrong hands."
"So what does it do?" Ron seemed really interested now. "Does it give you incredible power? I think there's a fairy tale about something like this."
"People die, usually by heart attack, when their names are written in the book." Vim threw this comment into the mix. Harry felt his heart skip several beats. How am I going to fix this now? Harry thought, dreading how Ron would respond.
" And so that's what happened to your family Harry?" Ron sounded quiet. Harry felt like it was all over, but Vim had forced him into this.
"Yes."
"Well good."
"What?!" Harry wasn't sure he had heard Ron correctly. "Did you say good?"
"Yes I did." Ron's voice was rising. "When you showed up Harry, we were all shocked. No one said anything because they wanted you to feel welcome, but you were skin and bones when you showed up here. Even after a week of mum's food you're probably only 70 pounds. We're the same age and I'm more than a foot taller than you. I know you try to hide it from me, but you've got more scars than just that lightning bolt on your forehead. Those muggles got what they deserved if you ask me."
Harry had never heard someone talk about him with such concern before, and felt the need to give Ron a quick one-armed hug.
"Thanks Ron. That means a lot. You deserve to know the whole story." Harry proceeded to tell Ron everything, from his childhood, Voldemort, finding the DeathNote, his aunt and uncle, deciding to keep the notebook, even Malfoy.
"It's lucky for you that you had Harry kill someone who worked for the man who murdered his parents you sick thing." Ron spat out at Vim. "You better watch out. Wizards aren't to be messed with." The shinigami ignored the red head, as she had decided to go to sleep.
"So you don't blame me for this?" Harry asked tentatively.
"Nope. Now I'm even surer that we'll be in Gryffindor together. It's incredibly brave to keep that god of death haunting you so that you can get rid of that thing eventually. No one should have that kind of power, especially something like Vim." It was hearing things like that that made Harry sure he had found a truly good friend in Ron Weasley.
Harry's birthday celebration was excellent. Everyone in the family got him a small gift. The best ones were definitely Ron's gift of several of Dr. Filibuster's Wet-Start, No-Heat Firework, and Charlie's gift of a miniature dragon that moved. Harry decided to take everyone out to a dinner in the nicest restaurant the where Weasley's shoddy clothing wouldn't be banned. Mr. Weasley tried to pay anyway, but Charlie interceded and made sure to let Harry be kind if he wished to. Everyone said it was the best meal they'd had in years, and even Mrs. Weasley relented after a bit of grumbling. Back at the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny made a magnificent cake for everyone in the shape of a lightning bolt, and Harry got to blow out his first birthday candles.
The next month passed in a blur. Charlie left for Romania soon after Harry's birthday, and got permission from his parents to have Harry and his siblings visit next summer. They managed to spend some time in the muggle village, despite Shacklebolt's intense disapproval, and Harry led Ron and Ginny into their first muggle arcade and film, but couldn't get into either. Ron convinced Harry to set off one of the filibuster's fireworks near a playground, terrifying a lot of the parents sitting around.
The only major news story that Harry noticed during august was that Narcissa Malfoy, Lucius' wife, had been arrested for her connection to the Death Eaters, and was in questioning to discover any others. The Daily Prophet ran many stories about the young son Draco, who would be joining Harry at Hogwarts.
By the end of the summer he couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts, and finally get to start learning Magic. Vim seemed excited as well, and expressed that by only sleeping 15 hours instead of 20 a day. The trip to King's Cross station was taken by floo powder to a building operated by the Hogwarts express for people to connect to on their way to the station. Shacklebolt had to check the street multiple times before they left, but they eventually made their way onto the busy London streets.
"Why can't we just floo to Hogwarts?" Harry asked. "It seems like a lot more effort to go by train."
"It's precautionary, Harry." Shacklebolt explained. "The Hogwarts Express is designed to make sure that nobody who hasn't been admitted to Hogwarts actually gets into the castle. I remember that in my second year, there was a student from America that tried to sneak on. He was apparently trying to sneak into the location of You-Know-Who's education. He's kind of a pop-icon in the States. They never had to suffer under him, and so it's all kind of a joke to the yanks."
Getting onto platform 9 ¾ was an exciting experience, with everyone running through the solid barrier. Ginny was starting to get more and more depressed as they neared leaving for school, as she would have to wait one more year to go. Harry had asked what she did the rest of the year, and it seemed painfully boring. Apparently there wasn't any standardized wizarding education until age 11, and so young wizards and witches were stuck at home. There was only one other girl Ginny's age in the wizarding community near their village, but she had been on holiday while Harry had been with the Weasleys.
"We'll send you loads of letters Ginny." Fred and George said, trying to cheer her up. "Yeah, and we'll make sure Harry sends you all the love letters you'd like." Mrs. Weasley yanked both of their ears for that, and Ginny punched them in the gut.
"Like you two knuckleheads know anything. Harry and I are just friends, and we're hardly old enough anyway. Idiots…" She still looked very embarrassed and wouldn't look at Harry, which made Harry feel uncertain.
"Look over there" Ron said, pointing at a young man being dragged along by a very rough looking woman in her 40s. He looked to be 11, very pale, and with white-blond hair. Behind them was a very beautiful woman around 18 or 19 with bubblegum pink hair. "It looks like Malfoy isn't very happy with who he's stuck with now." The boy looked over at Harry and scowled. The look went beyond ordinary dislike. This look said "I hate Harry Potter and would do anything to make him suffer."
Mr. Weasley asked, "Who is it dear? She looks a little familiar."
"That's Andromeda Tonks, Arthur! We went to school with her! It's been nearly 20 years!" Mrs. Weasley rushed over to talk to Mrs. Tonks, who greeted Mrs. Weasley politely but with nowhere near the intensity that Mrs. Weasley expressed. She seemed very worn out. While the older women were talking the younger woman noticed their group, and walked directly towards Harry.
"Harry Potter! I thought that was you! My name is Tonks. Wonderful to meet you." She shook his hand very enthusiastically, and at the same time her pink hair changed into a shining golden-blond.
"Um, good to meet you too. Um, your hair…"
"Oh this silly thing. I must be really excited. I'm a metamorphmagus. I can change my appearance at will, and sometimes it runs amok. I guess my mom knows you guys." Tonks said while gesturing to the Weasleys.
"Yes, Andromeda went to Hogwarts with us. I'm Arthur Weasley, and that's my wife Molly. Harry has been staying with us since his aunt and uncle died."
"You're one of the interns at the office aren't you?" Shacklebolt cut in.
"Um, yes, I'm in training at the Auror office. I don't think we've met yet."
"Kingsley Shacklebolt. I've been positioned as Potter's guard until he gets on the train."
"Ah yes, I've heard the office gossip. Youngest Auror at 21. I'll have you beat if I can help it sir."
A loud whistle cut off the conversation, and they all had to rush to get on the train. Tonks yelled after them, quickly saying she hoped to see Harry again someday. The Weasleys took everyone's trunks to a baggage collector and they made their way inside the train at exactly 10:59 am. As the scarlet train began to puff away, Ginny and the Weasley Parents waved enthusiastically, until they were far off into the distance.
Ron and Harry then worked their way down the aisles until they could find a place to sit. As the last ones on the train there weren't any completely empty rooms. Ron was running down the hall when he accidentally ran down a girl walking out of a room with her nose in a very large book. They tumbled over and the girl was very annoyed.
"I'm so sorry! Let me help." He extended a hand to the girl to help her up, and she seemed better off than one could expect.
"No, it's my fault. I shouldn't walk and read, but that chapter was just so interesting." The girl was seemingly a first year as well, with majorly bushy brown hair that was cut to her shoulders, a small mouth, and was wearing a muggle t-shirt and jeans. "I was just going to look around the conductor's cabin, but I'll be back in a moment. Feel free to join me for the train ride. There's no one else with me yet. I'm Hermione Granger by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you."