Author's Note: Yo. Chapter 9 here.
Sorry for the long wait, but I had a lot of trouble with my computer, so it was in the shop. Then there were power failures and intermittent internet connections…so yeah, a lot of stuff happened.
Keep in mind that this is a secondary story, so updates are going to suffer until I catch up with my other stories. I'm already two weeks behind!
Anyway, enjoy!
Please Read, Review and check out my other stories!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
"Harry" -Speech
'Ginny' -Thoughts
/Bill\ -Foreign/Non-human Language
Chapter 9: Demented on the Train
The Next Day
Dining Room, The Leaky Cauldron
Harry was tucking into a large All-English Breakfast when Errol skidded to a halt on the table in front of him. The old owl had fainted in exhaustion again.
"Up you get, Errol." Harry muttered and beckoned to Tom for a water dish for the poor thing.
Taking the letter from the aged owl's leg he flipped it open and started to read as poor Errol started to desperately drink some water.
'Harry,
What the bloody hell? You blew up your aunt?! Dad told us about it when he got home from work last night. What happened?
Just to warn you Fred and George are planning to get you back for the prank you pulled on them…and me, for that matter. I know Dumbledore convinced you to do it, but did you have to make our grades a condition of the repayment? Hermione is going to be a nightmare when she hears about it!'
The raven-haired boy flinched as he remembered he'd have to owl his other best friend to tell her what had happened. Yes, Hermione would not be pleased with what he had done, although he was willing to bet his broomstick that she would be even more incensed by Large Marge's words and actions.
'Anyway, Mum was up in arms about you being alone in Diagon Alley until Dumbledore showed up not long after Dad got home and told her that 'you were perfectly safe at the Leaky Cauldron, so she wasn't to worry in the slightest.'
Of course, that didn't stop her from planning to visit you, so expect her, me and Ginny to show up later on today. She'll also want to know why you lost control of your magic, just to forewarn you.
See you later, Ron.'
"Oh boy." Harry muttered. Molly Weasley was not going to rest until she knew that he was alright, which gave him a couple of odd feelings. First, a feeling of indignant wounded pride. He was fine after all; Professor Dumbledore had said so, hadn't he?
The other feeling was…more complicated. It felt…nice…to have someone actually concerned about him in a maternal way.
Finishing his breakfast, Harry set out to finish his school shopping before half the Weasley family descended on him, which meant his first stop, was Gringotts.
Tapping the brick that opened the passageway to Diagon Alley, Harry stood back and watched the bricks do their shuffle into the doorway. He never got tired of seeing this.
Stepping into the bustling shopping area, Harry had to grin at the haphazardly built buildings as he walked along the road. This was so much better than the sameness suburbia that was Privet Drive.
He forced himself not to look at the window in Quality Quidditch Supplies. Money first, then school supplies, then extra DADA books THEN Quidditch.
Entering the large white building that was Gringotts, he could see goblins bustling around, serving customers and weighing jewels the size of his fist. Basically, business as usual for the bank.
Spotting a free teller, Harry trotted up to him.
"Yes?" the goblin asked curtly.
"I'd like to make a withdrawal from my Trust Vault, please." Harry said politely.
"Do you have your Vault Key?" the goblin asked in a monotone. Clearly, he had said this so many times that he didn't bother with sounding interested.
"Yes, right here." Harry replied, showing the key to the goblin, who rang a bell.
"The goblin who will come shall escort you to your Vault. Next!"
The goblin who appeared a minute or so later was one that Harry was familiar with.
"Griphook." Harry greeted him with a nod, "Nice to see you again."
The goblin raised an eyebrow at Harry in surprise. "Indeed. I am surprised you recognise me. Most wizards and witches cannot tell one goblin from another."
"Can't they?" Harry wasn't surprised though, despite his question. Most Wizarding folk seemed to have the uncanny ability to look down upon and dismiss non-humans as unimportant enough not to need to remember the faces or even names of different members of the same race. "Well, more fool them."
"Quite so." Griphook replied, "We'd better get you down to your Vault then, Mr Potter."
The cart ride down to his Trust Vault was as exhilarating as it had been before his First Year at Hogwarts. When the Vault door was opened, Harry decided to withdraw twice the amount he had taken out then, as he had used almost all of the money he had brought with him, except seven Sickles and four Knuts.
"That is more than you usually withdraw." Griphook remarked as he regarded a piece of paper he had removed from his suit pocket.
"I'm starting my Third Year subjects, so I'll need the books for them." Harry replied as he finished shovelling in a last handful of Galleons into the sack Griphook had provided for him, "I'm also going to buy some extra DADA books for self-study."
"Very good." Griphook nodded.
In short order, Harry was back outside and deciding where to go next. His robes, he decided, were a bit too short and in need of either replacing or being taken down a bit, so he set off for Madame Malkins.
"Dear me, you should have replaced those last year." the owner herself asked, "Hop onto a stool so I can get you measured up."
As he did so, he recalled something.
"Umm…I've become the Heir to House Potter, so I'll need the family crest next to the Hogwarts one." he told her.
Madame Malkin nodded absently as she handed him a blank robe to pull on. "Yes of course. I've had to do several of them already. The Malfoy Family, the Greengrass Family and several others. It's a good thing I have almost all the Family Crests on record. Belinda, come and pin the exact measurements of Mr Potter while I track down his Family Crest."
"Yes Madame." one of the saleswitches replied and hurried over to do as her employer asked. She looked uncertain, which made Harry somewhat nervous to have her sticking pins in his clothes.
Thankfully, she only stabbed him in the leg once and she was very apologetic about it, so Harry was relieved about that.
The finished robes, with the Potter Family Crest nestled next to the shield of Hogwarts, were rather nice and Harry thanked Madame Malkin for her excellent work.
His next point of call, Flourish and Blotts, was rather amusing. Evidently, the floor assistant was having trouble with all of the Monster Books of Monsters, to the point that he had to cage them away from the other books and even then, they were busy ripping each other to pieces on occasion.
"You have to stroke the spines to make them docile." Harry told the man.
"I am not putting my arm into that cage without a good reason." the man stated firmly.
"You have a wand, don't you?" Harry was wanting to get on with his shopping and this guy was just irritating him, "Try stunning them. You know, Stupefy?"
This made the assistant's face light up. He whipped out his wand and bombarded the cage with red stunners until all of the books were pacified to his satisfaction.
"Right. That sorts them out, anyway." he said, rather pleased with himself, "Now, what is it you're wanting?"
"Numerology and Grammatica, The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Three, Intermediate Transfiguration, the Rune Dictionary, The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts and Spellman's Syllabary, please." Harry recited from his list.
"Ah, taking up Ancient Runes and Arithmancy are we?" the man said with a smile as he flitted around gathering up the requested books, "Very difficult to do, but very much worth it. Do you need a copy of…that….book too?"
He gestured at the cage with ill-concealed distaste.
"No, a friend of mine gave me a copy a week ago or so." Harry replied.
As the assistant looked relieved and scurried about to grab the last of his books, Harry spotted a book on a little table at the back of the shop entitled, 'Death Omens: What to Do When You Know the Worst Is Coming' by Volans Scrivener. It had a picture of a giant black dog of some sort on it that looked superficially like the creature he had seen the previous day before the Knight Bus showed up.
"Ah, you don't want to be reading that." the assistant said, "Divination is a very woolly art and reading that will just make you start to see death omens left, right and centre. Anything else?"
"Not at the moment." Harry said as he tore his eyes away from the book, "I'll be back tomorrow, likely."
"Very good. That'll be twenty Galleons and four Sickles."
Once he paid for his purchases and took his books back to the Leaky Cauldron, Harry set out again, because he needed to restock his Potions ingredients, buy more owl treats for Hedwig and gawk at the new broom, the Firebolt, on display at Quality Quidditch Supplies.
He mightily resisted the urge to buy it though; his trusty Nimbus 2000 had never failed him yet, and had stood up to its immediate successor, the Nimbus 2001, very well.
'Of course, that might have more to do with the person riding the broom, rather than the broom itself.' Harry thought as he headed back to the Leaky Cauldron again to await the arrival of Molly Weasley and co.
Draco Malfoy had gotten his father to bribe his way onto the Slytherin Quidditch team by buying the newest in the Nimbus line of broomsticks for the entire team. Not a very good choice for either Quidditch or the Slytherin team, Harry knew.
The Malfoy Heir was, at best, adequate at flying on a broom, and the Nimbus 2001, while certainly faster than the 2000, was a racing broom primarily, which meant that it had a very poor ability to turn at high speeds and had a relatively slow climbing speed as well.
Both factors combined meant that Harry was confident that he could beat Draco in a Seeker's Duel…unless someone managed to jinx both of the Bludgers to attack him during the Slytherin-Gryffindor Quidditch match this time, as one hadn't been enough to stop him last time.
Harry was sipping on a Butterbeer in the leaky Cauldron's restaurant room when the Floo turned green and disgorged Molly, Ron and Ginny Weasley in quick succession.
"Harry dear!" Mrs Weasley quickly descended upon him and looked him over critically, "Those Muggles have fed you a bit better this time around, but you are still far too thin!"
"I'm working on it, Mrs Weasley." Harry replied, "Hey Ron, Ginny."
"Mate, you really know how to make people sit up and take notice, don't you?" Ron asked in amusement, "I mean, who blows up their Aunt?"
"Technically, she's just my Uncle Vernon's sister." Harry replied, "Imagine a female version of my Uncle, including the moustache."
Ron mimed vomiting, while Ginny wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Yeah…let's just say that she makes Snape and Malfoy look mild mannered and kind by comparison and leave it like that." Harry said with a shudder.
"That shouldn't be possible." Ginny muttered under her breath so her mother couldn't hear her.
The time that the three Weasley's spent with Harry was a pleasant one. He was able to ask them all about their holiday to Egypt and Molly scolded him for being so generous with his Galleons in regards to her family and thanked him profusely at the same time.
"Why don't we go to Ollivanders and get Ron's new wand while you're all here?" Harry proposed.
"Well…that sounds like a lovely idea." Mrs Weasley replied, "But I haven't brought my Vault Key with me…"
"I'll pay, as per my settlement from the Honour Debt." Harry said firmly.
"But…" Molly was swithering here between saving money and trying to stop Harry from being overly generous with his money.
"Mum, Dad accepted his restitution." Ginny reminded her, "That means you have to let him pay for Ron's wand."
"I know dear, but this feels too much like charity." Molly replied with a sigh.
"It isn't." Harry denied, "Charity would be giving you the money for no reason other than the fact I wanted to. This is a repayment of a debt for services rendered to the Heir of House Potter. Please Mrs Weasley, stop fighting it or you might call into question the legitimacy of the debt's repayment and I'll lose my Heir's Ring."
Molly sighed again and capitulated to the inevitable. A handful of minutes later, Ron was the proud owner of a 14-inch willow wand with a unicorn hair core. The sparks that had shot out of it had been just as impressive as the sparks from Hagrid's new wand.
"There's a new broom out." he told the Weasley's as they left the wandmaker's shop, "It's called the Firebolt. Looks like all the national Teams are going to buy a set."
"What's the price?" Ron asked.
"It says in the window 'Price upon demand', so I guess more than three of the Nimbus 2001's that Malfoy bribed his way onto the Slytherin Team with." Harry replied.
Ginny whistled. "That's a lot of Galleons." She showed no signs of her previous stop-and-stammer behaviour when around him.
This was something that had happened as he had taught her DADA one-on-one during the last week or so of her First Year. She had gotten more comfortable with him and had stopped dropping whatever she had in her hands whenever he showed up. There were still the blushing and sneaky glances every so often, but Harry knew those would be put to pasture soon enough if she kept hanging around with him.
"Yeah, I decided not to buy it." Harry replied, "After all, my Nimbus is still in perfect working order."
"Very sensible." Molly said in relief, seemingly relieved that Harry hadn't been spending his gold like it was going out of fashion.
"Can we eat now?" Ron asked plaintively once he realised he wasn't going to have the chance to examine the new broom up close and personal.
"Sure. I was wondering when you'd ask." Harry laughed, "C'mon. Tom has a special on burgers today."
Once they were in the Leaky Cauldron and tucking in, Ron looked at Harry oddly.
"You know mate, you're…better this year."
"Hmm?" Harry said around a bite of burger.
"What my brother is trying and failing to get across is that you aren't depressed or withdrawn." Ginny said with an eye roll at Ron.
"Getting away from Durskaban will do that for me." Harry replied lightly and slightly uncomfortably.
Molly's face tightened slightly at hearing him compare the Dursley's house with Azkaban, but she brought herself under control before Harry or her children could see her loss of control.
"Have you bought your school things, Harry dear?" she asked to move the conversation to something more pleasant.
"Yeah. The weight of the books for Ancient Runes prompted me to buy a bag with a Feather-light Charm on it." Harry replied ruefully, "Both of them weigh a ton."
"You should have stuck with Divination and Care of Magical Creatures." Ron told him unsympathetically.
"Nah. It'll be worth it." Harry replied, "I've had a look through the Runes textbook and it looks dead interesting. With the right Rune combination, you can ward a home or even a room much better than you could with just wand spells."
"I remember when Bill was taking Runes." Mrs Weasley reminisced, "He was cursing the complicated combinations in Futhark, but he was glad he took Arithmancy as it helped him out greatly. He's a Curse Breaker now, you know, and they require a NEWT in Arithmancy and in Runes."
Something about the way she said that made Harry look at her closely before he said, "You don't approve?"
Molly looked at him sharply before relaxing again with a sigh. "No, I do not. I have always thought that a career at the Ministry is what all hardworking folk should aspire to. Still, Gringotts Curse Breakers are just as highly regarded and even better paid than anyone else barring Department Heads. I just wish he could be home more often instead of gallivanting in places like Egypt. He was even in Tierra de Fuego once."
"Mum, he loves it." Ginny protested, "Besides, I'll bet once he gets a lot of experience, Gringotts'll transfer him to Britain to train other Curse Breaker trainees."
That made Mrs Weasley brighten up a bit.
Soon, the relentless march of time meant the three redheads had to return to The Burrow so Mrs Weasley could make the tea. Harry duly promised the Weasley Matriarch that yes, he would eat three hearty meals a day, and yes, he'd meet the Weasley Family here on August the 31st.
HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP
August the 31st
The Leaky Cauldron
The rest of the next two weeks had gone by in an easy and comfortable manner. Harry had honestly never has such an exciting and relaxing holiday, save for when he had stayed at The Burrow last year.
Knowing that the Weasley's and Hermione would arrive soon, Harry decided to do one last sweep of Diagon Alley before they arrived. He wanted to look at the Firebolt one last time as well.
He had seen more than a few of his schoolmates in the last week. Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas and Neville Longbottom were just the ones he was more familiar with.
As he walked into Diagon Alley, he was hailed by a slightly familiar voice.
"Mr Potter?"
He looked around and saw Madam Bones standing off to the side, with her niece Susan, a Hufflepuff in his year, next to her. Behind her were a couple of men who radiated authority and seemed to be bodyguards of some sort.
"Madam Bones. Susan." he greeted the two witches politely.
"Hi Harry." Susan said shyly.
"I had been wondering where you were." Madam Bones said calmly, "Albus said you wouldn't wander into Muggle London, but you haven't been out and about in the Alley recently."
"I bought all my school things last week." Harry replied, "I've mostly been reading my Arithmancy textbook. Fortunately, it seems to be basic maths for the most part, so I should be alright in it."
"'Maths'? You mean mathematics, correct?" Madame Bones asked curiously.
"Yes. It is one of the basic subjects at Muggle Primary and Secondary Schools." Harry replied, "All Muggles learn basic addition, subtraction, division and multiplication in Primary. Dudley, my cousin says that Algebra and other more complicated concepts are common subjects at his school, Smeltings."
"So…Muggleborns and Muggle-raised Halfbloods have an advantage in Arithmancy." Susan said with a frown.
"I guess." Harry said with a shrug, "I've never thought about it much. I'm OK at it, but someone like Hermione, who has the drive to do her best at everything, will be better."
"Fair enough." Madame Bones nodded, "Susan and I were about to have an ice cream at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Care to join us?"
"Umm…sure." Harry replied.
As they walked the short distance to the Ice Cream Parlour, trailed by the bodyguards, where he had spent the last weak wrestling with his homework, occasionally aided by the proprietor himself, Harry had to wonder why Madame Bones had apparently been waiting for him.
'Aunt Marge. It has to be.' he realised, 'Great. The one thing I didn't want to talk about.'
As the waiter took their orders and walked off, Madame Bones looked at Harry with a look that he presumed was her professional mask.
"Now, I would like to ask you why you lost control of your magic with Marjorie Dursley." she said firmly.
"Isn't that already in the report made by the Accidental Magical Reversal Squad?" Harry asked quietly.
"No, just a note that she was a harridan offspring of a harpy and they would be happy to hex her for the things he said about you before they Obliviated her." Madame Bones replied with a small snort.
"Sounds like Large Marge." Harry noted automatically before he flushed at the raised eyebrow Madame Bones sent his way, "Sorry, but…well, she and I are like oil and water, except more volatile."
"I see." the Head of the DMLE replied dryly, "So…you simply lost your temper?"
"It was hardly 'simply' anything." Harry sighed, "Madame Bones, my uncle hates unnatural occurrences, or 'freakishness' as he puts it, and I am the son of a witch and a wizard, so my very existence is an affront in his eyes. His sister is cut from the same cloth. Add in to that the fact that the story he told her regarding my parents'…deaths was that they died in a drunk-driving incident and the fact that she rubbed in that fact every moment she was around me for an entire week and it leads up to me causing accidental magic."
The looks of disgust at Marge's conduct and Vernon's cover story on the two witch's faces were comforting for Harry. The frowns that followed on from that were not so comforting.
"That…still doesn't make sense, Harry." Susan said with a frown, "Accidental Magic doesn't happen after the first year of Hogwarts because you have actively and purposefully channelled it, thus bringing it under your control."
"The only exception to that would be if you are very magically powerful." Madame Bones added, "It is very rare that someone with that kind of power is born, and even rarer that they are caused to use Accidental Magic. You must have been furious with the woman."
"How would you react to your dead parents being called 'useless drunken layabouts' for over a week?" Harry asked with a twitch of remembered anger becoming audible in his voice.
"Not well." Susan said as she shared a dark look at her aunt, "My parents died during You-Know-Who's rise. Aunt Amelia and a couple of Squib cousins are all the family I have left."
"Sorry." Harry said awkwardly, "I didn't know."
Susan shook her head slightly. "You couldn't have known. You've lived in the Muggle world, so there's no way you could have found out. It isn't something that people talk about."
Silence came over the table as their ice creams were delivered by a waiter. As they tucked in, Harry snuck a look at the men who were standing behind Madam Bones like shadows.
"Umm…who are they?" he asked.
"Oh. They're my bodyguards. Aurors." the elder witch replied, "Proudfoot and Wigglesworth."
"I'm sorry, they're what now?" Harry said in confusion.
"Aurors. They are the Magical equivalent of both the Muggle Please-men and the army." Susan said.
"It's policemen, actually." Amelia corrected her niece, who flushed in embarrassment, "But Susan has the majority of the details right. Aurors act as law enforcement for more serious crimes committed by Dark Wizards, rather than the more minor crimes dealt with by the Magical Law Enforcement Squad, as well as soldiers in time of war, alongside the Hitwizards."
"Hitwizards?" Harry raised an eyebrow at that.
"Sort of the equivalent of the Muggle SAS or SBS." Amelia explained, "Hitwizards are trained to either infiltrate enemy positions and destroy them from within, or attack the enemy in an assault, breaking through and taking them down fast and hard. Your father was a Hitwizard, you know."
"My dad was?" Harry asked, his emerald green eyes locked onto hers.
"Yes, he was one of the best Hitwizards in the Ministry's employ." the woman said with a smile, "James Potter took down more Death Eaters than almost any other Hitwizard or Auror, save for Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, the Auror who trained him. He only retired because He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named started hunting for him and Lily."
"Call him Tom. He'd hate that." Harry suggested.
"I'll…take that under advisement, Mr Potter." Madame Bones replied dryly, "Most people try not to irritate He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named needlessly."
"He'll come after me if he returns to power anyway, so I see it as six and two threes." Harry replied with a shrug.
"Huh?" Susan looked confused at this.
"He means that no matter what he does, the result will be the same." Amelia explained, "You-Know-Who will go after Mr Potter here regardless of whether he says HIS true name or not, so he plans on doing as he pleases in that regard."
The younger Bones nodded at her Aunt's words.
"Anyway, thanks for the ice cream and conversation." Harry said, "I'd better get back to the Leaky Cauldron and wait for the Weasley's to show up, otherwise Mrs Weasley will be worried. See you at Hogwarts, Susan."
He dropped a couple of Galleons on the table to pay for their ice creams and headed off with a nod to Madame Bones. The two witches sat in silence for a moment before the elder witch smirked at her niece.
"So…that's the boy who has caught your fancy, Susan."
"Auntie!" Susan squawked in embarrassment, her face doing a passable imitation of a tomato.
"Determined, polite, inquisitive, gentlemanly…" her aunt listed off, ignoring her niece's embarrassment, "I can see why you are interested in him. You do realise you have an obstacle to overcome in Hermione Granger?"
Susan sighed. "I know Auntie. He likes her and she is head-over-heels for him. The only blessing is that they are both blind to their feelings for each other. Ginny Weasley is another problem. That crush of hers will have gotten worse after he saved her like he did."
"A knight in shining armour, complete with a sword." Amelia said with a chuckle, "Yes, I can see why she would crush on him, even without the whole 'Boy-Who-Lived' mystique he has."
"He hates that title though." Susan said, "Did you notice how every so often, he'd flatten his fringe over his scar? And how his fringe is longer in that area to deliberately cover it up?"
"Yes. He seems uncomfortable with his fame." Amelia said thoughtfully, "That's all to the good though. If he were too comfortable with being famous, he would get a big head. Instead, he's rather humble. I approve."
"Madame Bones, it is almost time for your meeting with the Minister." Proudfoot said quietly.
Making a face, the Head of the DMLE stood up and motioned to Susan for follow her. "We'd better finish your shopping, Susan. Good thing you decided to take Arithmancy, isn't it?"
"Auntie!" Susan wailed in embarrassment.
Later on, Dinnertime
The Leaky Cauldron
Harry was glaring at the Weasley Twins across the table. If looks could kill, the duo would have been six feet under.
The reason he was glaring at them was because they had turned his skin orange with lurid purple spots, presumably by slipping something into his food somehow.
Mrs Weasley was haranguing the twin terrors with a detailed description of exactly what she would do to them if they didn't undo what they had done, right this minute.
"Sorry, mother dearest…" Fred said with an irrepressible grin, despite the verbal beat down by the venerable Matriarch.
"…sadly, Harrykins will have to put up with his new paintjob until an hour from now." George finished with an evil look at Harry, which caused him to redouble his glare.
"It's OK, Mrs Weasley." Harry sighed, "I was going to tell them how to open their new CoMC books, but as they've done this...they'll have to risk their fingers every time they open them."
"You figured out how to open them without them biting you?" Hermione asked intently. She had bemoaned the nature of The Monster Book of Monsters because she couldn't read ahead like usual, "How?"
"Professor Dumbledore knows a lot of things." Harry stated misleadingly. Dumbledore had asked him to keep Hagrid's teaching position a secret until the Welcoming Feast at Hogwarts. "I'll tell you how to open it on the train, Hermione."
Fred and George frowned at this, but shrugged. They would figure it out eventually, so it didn't worry them…much.
"I'd better go and feed Crookshanks." Hermione said as she stood up.
"Just keep him away from Scabbers!" Ron said firmly.
Hermione sniffed. "He's a cat, Ron. Cats hunt rats. It's the way of things."
Harry had to wince at this. Hermione was showing all the sensitivity of a bull right now, so he decided to step in.
"True Hermione, but because you know that, you have an obligation not to let you cat eat your friend's rat." he said calmly, "I mean…if you can't control him, I doubt your parents would be happy."
This made her frown slightly, but she nodded reluctantly. "I suppose you're right. I'll try and be more careful while Scabbers is around, but it honestly looks like he's on his way out."
Ron feigned indifference, but Harry knew his redheaded best mate was actually fond of Scabbers and would be upset if he died.
"I need to finish packing." he said and stood up to follow his female best friend up the stairs.
As they left, Mrs Weasley leaned over to her husband and whispered, "I think Harry is going to scold Hermione, Arthur."
"I hate to say it, but her reaction here is very cold and uncaring regarding people's pets." he replied in the same tone of voice, "She needs to know not to do that in future and Harry is just the boy to sit her down and make her take notice. You know how fond he is of Hedwig."
Molly nodded. The bond between Harry and his pure white owl was uncanny, with Hedwig understanding her master's emotions and words far more than was expected, even with the magic that Post Owls possessed. It was almost as if she was his Familiar.
Familiars were rare, very rare, in the Wizarding World. Professor Dumbledore had his Phoenix, Fawkes. Nicholas Flamel was also rumoured to have a Phoenix as a Familiar. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was said to have an affinity for snakes, but had not been seen with a specific snake, so he probably hadn't had a Familiar.
To have a Familiar was a statement of power, skill, empathy and affinity. Sheer power alone was not enough, neither was skill alone or either of the other two alone. All four came together to create the Familiar Bond between master and pet.
"Still, I wonder what caused Hermione to be so uncaring about pets?" the Weasley Matriarch mused to Arthur.
"I don't know, dear." Arthur sighed, "But I think Harry will get to the bottom of it."
With Harry and Hermione…
"What is it Harry?" Hermione asked impatiently. Her friend had leaned against the wall as she fed her brand new pet cat and was just looking at her with a controlled expression on his face that was making her nervous.
"Hermione…why is it you seem very indifferent to the idea of Scabbers dying?" Harry asked after a moment.
"I said downstairs just now, didn't I?" Hermione asked quickly.
Her friend just looked at her with those eyes of his as if to say 'yeah, now tell the truth.'
"Oh, fine!" she huffed, "I've never had a pet before Crookshanks and I have very little patience for what I do not understand."
"So…because you've never had a pet before, you have all the sensitivity of a brick when it comes to other people's pets possibly dying?" Harry said slowly.
"Pretty much." Hermione confirmed, "I was isolated in Muggle Primary School and had almost no friends because of my intelligence, if you'll recall. Another thing that separated me from them was my maturity. I saw their crying and thought it was silly over a non-sentient being. I…guess I never really grew out of it."
Harry sighed. "Just…in future, try not to use logic to justify the death of someone's pet. It'll make people angry at you for being uncaring and cold, and it wouldn't be fair, because you aren't."
This made Hermione smile. "Thanks for looking out for me, Harry."
"What are friends for?" Harry shrugged, "Oh, by the way, do you have that book I leant you? I think Professor Dumbledore might want it back tomorrow."
"Hold up." Hermione said and walked over to her trunk. Opening it, she rummaged through the mountain of books that were taking up the vast majority of the space in it.
"Hermione, how many subjects are you taking again?" Harry asked as he watched her rake through her stuff.
"Twelve." she replied.
"Don't you think you're biting off more than you can chew?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, "I mean you are brilliant and everything, but even you have a limit."
Hermione flushed at his words, partly from annoyance that he didn't think she could handle her workload and partly from his opinion of her intelligence.
"I made arrangements with Professor McGonagall, Harry." she said, thinking about the rare privilege of being able to use a Time Turner, "It'll be fine, so don't worry about it."
"OK, just you don't fry your brain or Ron and I will point and say 'I told you so' at you." Harry said with a grin.
"Prat." Hermione said as she finally unearthed the book that she was looking for. She passed it over to Harry, who took it with a nod.
"I'd better get back to my room." Harry said with a sigh, "I do still have packing to do, even though it isn't much."
As he headed off to his room, he mused that tomorrow would be rather interesting if the Weasley family acted as they usually did on the day term started.
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The Next Day
Dining Room, Leaky Cauldron
"I knew this would happen." Harry commented to Hermione as they tucked into a leisurely breakfast. Above them, the sounds of stamping feet and shouting came from the Weasley's rooms as they hurried around packing.
"Does this happen every year with them, I wonder?" Hermione wondered aloud.
"Probably." Harry replied, "It seems to be a family tradition."
"Honestly! A little preparation ahead of time would save them a lot of bother!" the bushy-haired girl muttered.
As he ate, Harry's mind drifted back to the night before, where he had overheard Mr and Mrs Weasley arguing and found out that Sirius Black, Death Eater and Mass Murderer, had broken out of Azkaban Prison for one reason.
To kill him.
This information, which the Minister for Magic wanted to be kept a secret from him, had sent Harry's mind into overdrive. Arthur Weasley's assertion that if Black could break out of Azkaban, he could very easily break in to Hogwarts rattled him somewhat.
He mentally upped his planned extra DADA training. Although he had to wonder why everyone was so worried about Black when he didn't even have a wand. A wizard is mostly helpless without one.
With a frown, Harry recalled Professor Quirrell had used a silent and wandless Incarcerous spell on him in his First Year, as well as undo it. Although he had no idea if that was because he was possessed by Voldemort or not, it seemed unlikely that the man had had that sort of power on his own. Did Black?
"Oi!" Ron said as he charged down the stairs, "Are you two not ready or what?"
"Our trunks are over there, Ronald." Hermione said primly, gesturing at the wall behind them.
"Don't call me Ronald, 'Mione!" Ron growled before stomping off back up the stairs.
"Don't call me 'Mione, Ronald!" Hermione called after him irritably, "Honestly!"
Harry shook his head in amusement. "You two never change, you know that?"
"Shush you!" Hermione said before moving to finish off her breakfast.
Once the Weasley family was finally ready, they packed themselves into the two Ministry cars that were being provided, Harry was sure, because Sirius Black was after him.
The rush to Platform 9 ¾ was just as bad as last year, but this time, Harry and Ron insisted on going first, just in case Dobby was lurking around again. Luckily enough, the hyperactive House Elf wasn't nearby, as they made it through without any problems.
"Harry, a quick word please." Arthur called as soon as he entered the platform proper with Fred and George.
Having a pretty good idea of what he wanted, Harry headed over to where the Weasley Patriarch had moved to the side of the Hogwarts Express.
"Harry…there's something you should know before you head of to Hogwarts…" Arthur said uncomfortably.
"I…kinda overheard you and Mrs Weasley talking about it last night." Harry said sheepishly, "I know about Black and his reason for breaking out."
"Oh. Not the way I'd have liked for you to have found out about it, but…" Mr Weasley muttered, "Err…how're you taking it?"
"Well…worried, obviously, but I still can't see why he's so dangerous without a wand." Harry replied with a shrug.
"Harry, he was rumoured to be You-Know-Who's right-hand man." Arthur said urgently, "If he wasn't, he was at least high ranking enough to be one of the Inner Circle Death Eaters, all of whom were supposedly taught Dark Magic by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named himself. Who knows what he can do. Anyway, I'm glad you seem to be made of stern stuff, but promise me…do not go looking for Black."
Harry stared at Arthur Weasley in shock and confusion. "Why would I go looking for someone who wants to off me?" he asked in disbelief.
The train's whistle went off, signalling it was almost ready to leave. With a curse, Mr Weasley and Harry raced to the train and got Harry on board just in time.
"I need…to run more." Harry huffed.
"Harry! There you are!" Hermione appeared at his side, quickly followed by Ron and Ginny, "Where were you?"
"Mr Weasley pulled me over for a talk." Harry replied in a low voice, "He told me something you three need to hear. C'mon, let's find a compartment."
"Ginny too?" Ron asked in confusion.
"Unless there's someone standing under an invisibility cloak nearby, yes." Harry replied testily, Ron's indifference to his sister getting irritating.
"I can go if you want…?" Ginny said uncertainly.
"No, it's fine Ginny." Harry told her, "Ron just forgot he all but ignored you last year and that he promised to do a better job this year."
Ron flinched guiltily and nodded reluctantly. The foursome set off to find a free compartment, but were stymied at every turn. Finally, they came to a compartment where there was only a single occupant.
It was a grown man, which was odd as the Express was usually students only, except for the driver and the witch who sold food. Even stranger was his clothes. He wore very shabby wizard's robes. Clean ones, but clearly second or third hand robes. His hair, despite a relatively youthful appearance, had flecks of grey smattered throughout the light-brown colour.
"Who do you think he is?" Ron asked dubiously. The man was sounded like he was asleep, so he was quiet (for once).
"Professor R. J. Lupin." Hermione answered promptly in a whisper.
"How'd you know?" Ginny asked in amazement.
"It's printed on his luggage." Hermione pointed out. So it was, printed in flaking golden letters on the man's suitcase.
"New DADA teacher?" Harry said with a frown.
"Has to be. It's the only free job." Hermione replied.
"He looks like a good hex or curse would finish him off." Ron said, clearly not impressed with the latest offering for the DADA post, "So what did Dad tell you?"
After getting Hermione to cast several privacy charms on the door, Harry proceeded to tell them of the suspicions of the Ministry regarding Sirius Black and Arthur Weasley's recent urging for him not to go hunting for Sirius Black.
Hermione and Ginny had turned white, with the former placing her hands over her mouth in horror. Ron just looked thunderstruck.
It was Hermione who broke the silence. "Sirius Black broke out of Azkaban to come after you? Please be careful…don't go looking for trouble…"
"I don't go looking for trouble; trouble comes looking for me!" Harry groused.
"Hermione, how mental would Harry have to be to go looking for the bloke who is trying to off him?" Ron asked shakily.
"Does Dad really think that Black could break into Hogwarts?" Ginny asked quietly.
"Azkaban and Hogwarts are both considered impregnable by wizards." Hermione said in a clipped voice that told Harry that she was engaged in serious thinking, "It is logical to assume if Black breeched Azkaban's set of defences, he can do the same at Hogwarts. He even has a better chance at Hogwarts because he spent seven years here as a student, so he knows it far better than Azkaban."
"Encouraging." Ron said dryly, "So what's the plan?"
"Stay away from Black." Harry replied, "Although I will repeat that most witches and wizards are helpless without their wands. Blacks was presumably confiscated when he was arrested, so he has no wand."
"He must have used wandless magic." Ron said, "I'll bet You-Know-Who taught him how."
"And so, he sits in Azkaban in the company of the entire population of Dementors for twelve years just for the shits and giggles because…why, exactly?" Harry pointed out dryly, "Remember what Hagrid said, a wizard can lose his powers if around those foul things for too long. If anything, he should have been weaker than a five year old, magically speaking."
"This is all very odd." Hermione said abruptly, "Harry's right. Most wizards can't use wandless magic after their Accidental magic is brought under control, not even to save their lives. Plus it's magically draining to do so, even for a basic Lumos, so Harry's point about the draining effect of the Dementors is very much valid."
"So, what? He didn't escape using magic?" Ron asked in confusion, "How? He didn't use a Muggle Boom-thing, did he?"
"Boom? Oh, you mean bomb." Hermione rolled her eyes at the ignorance of Purebloods.
"According to your Dad last night, Ron, there was no sign of any method used to break out. No broken cell doors, no injured wizard guards, no destroyed walls, nothing." Harry said, "So no, unless there is a Wizarding bomb that returns anything it blows up to how it looked before it was set off, there was no bomb. Other Muggle methods require tools, so they are out as well."
"How'd he get out then?" Ginny wondered in confusion, a frown on her face, "No wand, wandless magic near impossible, no Muggle methods, Dementors outside his cell day and night…it's impossible. He shouldn't have been able to leave his cell, let alone the prison and the island."
"Hey what's that noise?" Ron said with a frown when a high-pitched whistling sound started coming from Harry's trunk.
It turned out to be the Sneakoscope that Ron had sent Harry for his birthday. Once Harry throttled the damn thing with an old pair of Uncle Vernon's socks, the talk turned to where the Third Years would look forward to going in Hogsmeade.
For Hermione, she was fascinated by the historical value of the only remaining Wizarding-only settlement in Britain, as well as the Shrieking Shack, the most haunted building in Britain, whereas Ron was looking forward to Honeydukes, the sweetshop that was reputed to have the most complete collection of magical sweets in Britain.
Harry himself was just looking forwards to getting out of the castle and grounds for a bit. If there was anything he hated more than being locked up, he didn't know about it. Normally, he didn't mind being restricted to Hogwarts, as the grounds, excluding the Forbidden Forest, were large enough to give the illusion of freedom, if not actual freedom, but now he was aware that he could leave the grounds a couple of times a year, woe betide anything or anyone who tried to stop him.
"But Harry, what about Black?" Hermione asked as she gnawed at her lip in worry, "He could attack you while you're away from Hogwarts."
"I'll just have to pack my dad's invisibility cloak so I'm invisible on the way to and from the village." Harry replied, having thought of this argument, "There'll be Aurors or something patrolling the village itself, so unless I deliberately run off to a deserted area, I'll be fine."
"He killed thirteen people with one curse." Hermione pointed out, "I doubt he'll mind going through a bunch of schoolchildren to get to you."
"Ah, but yet again, he has no wand." Harry retorted, "We've been over this, Hermione. I really doubt that a month away from the Dementors is enough to restore more than a fraction of his powers, so no wandless magic if he was ever even taught it."
"How do you know so much about Dementors and their effects anyway?" Hermione asked.
"One of the extra DADA books I bought was 'A Treatise on the Darkest and Foulest Beings to Walk the Earth', by A. Fowl." Harry replied, "The Dementors are one of the first ones they talk about, including a study on the extended effects of exposure to their powers. Just about the only thing I dislike about the damn book is that it doesn't include any spells to deal with the creatures that are in it."
"Sounds like a rhetorician's book." Hermione commented, "Any real DADA book would give spells to deal with any creature it talked about."
"You mean unlike Lockhart's books then?" Ron asked innocently, earning him a slap across the head from a furiously blushing Hermione.
A plaintive mewl from Crookshanks had Hermione wanting to open his carrier, but Harry convinced her to not do that to save poor Scabbers' health.
When the food trolley came around, they tried to wake up Professor Lupin, but he was in a deep sleep, so they gave up. As Ron enthusiastically tucked in to the sweets, Harry was happily casting the odd spell, glad to be allowed to use magic once again.
"You really miss magic during the holidays, don't you?" Ginny remarked quietly.
"Yeah." Harry sighed, "Living at the Dursley's…it used to be Hell, almost literally. Now it's more like Purgatory."
"Aren't they the same thing?" Ron asked through a Cauldron Cake.
"Manners!" Hermione scolded him, "And no, they aren't. Hell is eternal suffering. Purgatory is suffering until you have atoned for your sins, a temporary hell, if you will."
"Oh." Ginny said.
"I can't say anything to do with the Magical World while there." Harry sighed again, "Words like 'Wizard', 'Witch', 'Magic' and 'Spell' are pretty much forbidden. And the unrelenting sameness of Privet Drive drives me mad. Not to mention the neighbours are stuffy idiots who think that anyone who earns under whatever they earn per year are beneath their notice. Muggle Malfoys, in other words."
"What a horrible thought…living around multiple Dracos and Luciuses!" Ron shuddered in very real horror, echoed by Ginny and Hermione.
Almost as if his name had summoned him, the door to the compartment opened and in stepped Draco Malfoy and his bookends-, pardon me friends, Crabbe and Goyle.
"Well, well, if it isn't Potty, the Weasel, the Weaselette and the Mudblood." Draco sneered.
Cue thuggish and sycophantic 'Hur-hur-hur' laughter from Crabbe and Goyle.
"Bad Faith, you really need a better scriptwriter." Harry sighed, "That is what you said the last…three times you've shown your face in here. Seriously, it's getting boring now."
"It shows poor imagination." agreed Hermione.
Ron, who had about to go coastal on Malfoy, burst into laughter at the look of outrage on the pale boy's face. Crabbe and Goyle just looked nonplussed at this.
Lupin, silent until then, snorted as he shifted in his sleep.
"Who's that?" Malfoy narrowed his eyes at the man.
"New DADA teacher." Harry smirked, "Your move, Malfoy."
Scowling, the Malfoy Heir beat a swift retreat with his minions. Even he wasn't stupid enough to start a fight in front of a teacher.
"Check and mate." The Boy-Who-Lived said slightly smugly as he closed the door again and sealed it shut with a muttered 'Colloportus'.
"I swear, if he starts on my family one more time…just one more crack and I'll…!" Ron gestured abruptly as he spoke, miming tearing Malfoy's head off.
"Ron, be careful!" Hermione hissed as she gestured at Lupin.
Thankfully, Ron's threats were unheard by the sleeping teacher, who just shifted in his sleep again.
By the way Harry, why'd you call him 'Bad Faith'?" Ginny asked.
"Basic school French." Hermione answered for him, "'Mal' means bad and 'Foi' means faith. Put together as 'Malfoi' and anglicised as Malfoy. Simple really."
"I really have to wonder what his ancestors did to deserve that name." Harry remarked, making Ginny giggle.
Time passed slowly as the Hogwarts Express sped towards Hogsmeade Station in increasingly heavy rain. To pass the time, Harry, Ron and, surprisingly Ginny, had a debate about the upcoming Quidditch season, while Hermione grabbed her copy of 'Hogwarts: A History' and started to read it again.
When the train started to slow down, Hermione looked at her watch and frowned. "We can't be at Hogsmeade already."
With a sudden jolt, the train came to an abrupt halt, sending luggage flying from the racks and people from their seats, judging from the thuds that were audible up and down the train.
"What the bloody hell!" Ron yelped.
Harry stood up, undid his Locking Charm with a muttered 'Alohamora', and stuck his head out into the corridor, seeing other students doing the same thing in confusion.
"No clue." he replied before spotting Neville Longbottom, a clumsy round-faced boy in Harry's year, coming towards him, "Neville? What's up?"
"Harry!" Neville exclaimed, looking relieved to find him, "I was looking for Trevor when the train stopped. D'you know what's going on?"
Trevor, Neville's pet toad, was quite the accomplished amphibian escapologist, escaping from the Longbottom Heir more times that the Chudley Cannons lost a Quidditch match in a year.
"Not a clue." Harry repeated his earlier statement, "Come in."
No sooner did Neville set foot in the compartment than the lights flickered and died, allowing Neville's klutzy clumsiness to trip him up on something, sending both him and Harry crashing to the ground.
"OW!"
"Sorry Harry."
"It's OK Neville." Harry replied with a wince, "Can you get off me though? And can someone use Lumos, please?"
As Hermione and Ginny cast the light spell, Ron helped both Neville and Harry up.
"What the bloody hell is going on?" Ron said worriedly.
"Quiet!" a hoarse voice commanded them.
Professor Lupin had woken up at last. Standing up and removing his cloak, he held a handful of flickering flames in one hand that cast sinister shadows on his face.
"Stay where yo are." Lupin said and stepped forward. When he did, a cold feeling stole over the compartment as the temperature plummeted.
A black-cowled figure filled the open door. Face hidden by the shadow of its cloak, it grasped the doorframe with a slimy, scabbed hand for a moment before with drawing it under its cloak.
Then , it took a deep breath, as if trying to draw something from the air. A deep chill set upon Harry as it did so. His ears rang with the sound of screams and darkness edged his vision as he collapsed on one knee, desperately trying to remain conscious to no avail.
The last thing he heard was the scream of a woman.
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Next Chapter: Arithmetic and Buckbeak
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