Chapter Seven: Back to School, Baby!
"Be sure to write," said Narcissa sternly, once again grasping her two children in tight embraces before taking a step back to look at them. Already they'd changed simply from the months of summer vacation. Both boys had lost some of the paleness of their skin, it was now more of a caramelized white than the sickly pale white it had been previously, as a result of all the physical training on the grounds of the Manor, where the sun shone brightly.
"You two have done very well this summer," said Bellatrix, ruffling their hair, and chuckled as Draco let out cries of indignation, while Harry simply used his metamorphmagus powers to tidy up his soft blond locks.
"May I stretch my wings for the journey, Master?" asked Regulus from where he was curled up underneath Harry's robes. "I intend to make the journey myself, following above the engine."
"Alright," Harry hissed back. "But be safe."
"I always am, Master," Regulus hissed back, before slithering out of Harry's robe and flapping his wings to wait on the top of the scarlet engine to exit the tunnel.
"Take care, you two," said Lucius, hugging the two in a rare show of public affection, and then he turned to Draco.
"And make sure that little beast of yours doesn't cause any trouble." Draco looked almost affronted, a look that was mirrored by Caelum, who had now grown to the size of a small bobcat, reaching Draco's height in waist, his long, velvety russet coat gleaming.
"Don't worry, Father," ensured Harry cheekily. "I'll keep them both in line." A cry of indignation left Draco, and the two light-heartedly teased each other on their way into the Hogwart's express.
They found their usual compartment, and were joined quickly again by Nott, Zabini, Crabbe, and Goyle, and began looking out of their wide window to see which families had children that would be starting Hogwarts this year.
"Half of the blood-traitor bunch has arrive," said Nott, motioning towards Alice and Frank Longbottom, who were followed by three young girls.
"It's the younger siblings of Scarhead, Lardbottom, and Weasel-bee," said Zabini snidely. "I wonder where the rest of them are."
"Probably running late, as always," said Nott. Draco and Harry peered out of the window, quickly spotting the three young blood-traitors in question. Rose "Rosie" Potter was leading them, carrying with her a trunk and a snowy owl very similar to her brother's, with long, cascading red hair and bright hazel eyes, the opposite mix of her parents than her brother, with his raven hair and emerald eyes. Then came Macy Longbottom, with a round face, kind brown eyes, and long dusty brown hair. The youngest Weasley, the first Weasley girl in centuries, was Ginny.
Like the rest of her family, she had bright red hair, freckles overwhelming her face in droves, and brown eyes –– though some of the Weasleys had blue eyes, the majority had brown. A thought seemed to cross Draco's mind, and he turned to Nott.
"Anastasia's starting this year, isn't she?"
"Yea," said Nott. "She's with the other girls in their compartment, including mini Greengrass and a few other pureblood girls." Draco nodded, looking out of the window thoughtfully.
"Look!" said Harry, pointing out of the window. The elder Potters and rest of the Weasley clan had arrived, and were hugging their daughters, ready to send them off, but Scarhead, Weasel-bee, and Lardbottom were suspiciously missing.
"Do you think they died?" asked Draco hopefully. Harry was frowning, looking out of the window really hard, and Draco looked puzzled.
"Lipsy!" Harry called, and the rather abused personal elf of Lucius Malfoy appeared, looking nervous.
"Young Master Harrison be calling Lipsy?" asked the nervous house elf, who began to ring his hands.
"Were you on the platform just now?" asked Harry harshly, and the other boys watched in astonishment as Lipsy nodded his head nervously.
"I demand you to tell me what you were doing," continued Harry, and tears began to stream out of the big, bulbous eyes of the house elf.
"Lipsy was trying to keep young Mr. Jamie Potter sir out of Hogwarts, because of the bad things Lipsy heard Master talking about. Lipsy doesn't want Jamie Potter sir being in danger." A cold look passed Harry's face.
"You may continue to try and keep Jamie Potter out of Hogwarts," the poor elf looked so hopeful. "But you may not tell him who your masters are, what family you belong to, or even why you're trying to keep him out of Hogwarts. That is a direct order, am I understood?"
"Yes, young Master Harrison, sir," sobbed Lipsy. "You is so kind." Harry simply nodded and motioned for him to leave.
"Why'd you let him off?" asked Draco once the whole ordeal was over, and a wicked grin crossed Harry's face.
"Because," he said simply. "Lipsy will continue to try and keep Potter out of Hogwarts, which will only make Potter more adamant that he should stay, which makes our job that much easier." An impressed look passed Draco's face, and he nodded.
"Good plan, Harry, as always." The other boys in the compartment looked confused, but didn't ask, as they assumed it was family business, and no one was dumb enough to meddle in the affairs of the Malfoys.
The train then began to move forward, and there was the usual riot of children calling out to their parents and waving. For the first hour of the train ride, the boys amused themselves by playing Exploding Snap and Wizard's Chess, and then the trolley lady, an elderly pureblood named Lisette Copperstone –– who was to be respected, as she had been the wife of one of Grindelwald's top lieutenants –– came around, and the boys wasted no time buying large assortments of sweets.
"Dobby!" called Harry, and the elf popped up in the train.
"Yes, Master Harrison?"
"Can you bring back a clear glass bowl, please?"
"Yes, young Master Harrison." The other boys looked at him in confusion, but Harry put the bowl Dobby had brought on the center table and dumped the contents of two packages of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans inside.
"I propose," began Harry. "That we all go around in a circle blindly picking one bean and telling everyone else what flavor it is… that is, unless you're too scared." Not even Crabbe or Goyle would back down from this sort of challenge.
Draco, ever the peacock, began, putting his hand within the bowl and pulling out a pale pink bean. He sighed in relief once he chewed it thoughtfully.
"Candy floss." Harry was next, and he pulled out a brown bean with darker brown spots and ate it confidently.
"Potato," he said after a while. "Not bad." Nott came next, and he got a lettuce bean, and Zabini got off easy with an icing flavored bean. Crabbe got liquorice and Goyle got chicken. And the taste testing continued until there were no more beans left in the bowl. Tripe, liver, chocolate, pudding, cake, bogey, earwax, toffee, caramel, blood, pepper, toast, soup, tomato, cheese, marshmallow, and so on and so forth. It was a fun time, especially when anyone got a bean that tasted awful, as their facial expressions were hilarious.
"I heard laughter," said Daphne as she casually opened the door to their compartment after the bean-eating had finished. "What did I miss?" Harry paused and took a moment to take in the sight of Daphne –– who he not-so-secretly fancied –– she had pale, aristocratic features, and long blond hair and bright emerald eyes. Quite beautiful, in Harry's opinion.
"We were eating Bertie Bott's Every Flavor beans," supplied Nott helpfully, and the kind hearted boy sent Daphne a small smile, which made Harry's blood boil, even though he knew that Theodore was not, in any way, interested in Daphne. All of the Slytherins –- even the upper years –– knew that Daphne Greengrass was being considered for a marriage contract within the Malfoy family, so they steered clear of her.
"Ah," said Daphne, smirking slightly at them, her Slytherin Ice Princess facade cracking a bit as she let herself go in the company of friends. "I see, and who was the one who received the most horrid flavors?"
"Zabini had the worst luck," Harry informed her with a smile.
"I see," responded Daphne, laughter evident in her eyes. "And how about you, Harrison?"
"I guess I'm just lucky," he responded cheekily, and Daphne smiled.
"We'll see about that." Just then, a smaller version of Daphne, albeit with dark hair and blue eyes, appeared next to her sister.
"Daphne, Pansy's asking after you," she said. "As is Tracey… they say they don't want to be left alone with Bulstrode the older and the younger."
What? Draco projected into Harry's mind.
Melinda Bulstrode is an incoming first year this year, Harry sent back. As well as Tracey Davis' younger brother Tucker… and Anastasia, of course, but I can't remember the others…
"Well, then, best not keep them waiting," said Daphne, before turning and smiling at Harry. "I'll see you later, Harrison." Nott and Zabini turned to Harry, looking impressed.
"Daphne Greengrass was just flirting with you," said Blaise, his mouth opened slightly.
"Thank you for the astute observation, Zabini, but I should inform you to close your mouth before you catch flies," deadpanned Harry. "And I wouldn't exactly call it flirting. After all, we are only twelve years old. Father sent Dalton Greengrass a formal request for a marriage contract between Daphne and I, and the Greengrass family accepted. Now I need only court her."
"A marriage contract already?" asked Nott, surprise evident in his tone of voice.
"Well, it had to happen sooner or later," said Harry. "I just spared my parents the horror of the rush to find one before I turn seventeen, as the older an heir gets, the less potential wives are available."
"Who've you got in mind, Draco?" asked Nott, eyeing him suspiciously.
"Well," drawled Draco, masking his uneasiness. "I suppose I could live with Davis, but your sister would make a much more lovely match, staying in the sacred twenty-eight." Nott looked over him, and shrugged.
"I suppose it wouldn't be horrible for Anastasia to be married to you," he said, finally. "Rather you than some ghastly old coot I know not of." Draco nodded, satisfied, and turned to Blaise.
"Mother says that I should marry into the sacred twenty-eight," he said finally. "Maybe Celeste Fawley, she's a Ravenclaw in our year." Draco, Harry, and Nott all saw the logic in that choice, and Crabbe and Goyle just shrugged and grunted, as per usual. They weren't really ones to talk, ever. It wasn't really much of a shock, seeing as both of their fathers had lost the ability to speak in the previous war, when one muggle supremacist had cut out their vocal chords, so the Crabbes and Goyles frequently used sign language.
"I know it's a long way off, but have any of you considered names for potential children?" asked Blaise suddenly. "I know there are pureblood traditions, but I don't know."
"Well," began Harry. "Once I turn sixteen I will take on the mantel of Lord Black, so my name will be Harrison Malfoy-Black, formally, though I'll be addressed as Lord Black, and the Black's have a tendency to name their children after stars… I was thinking Samson for a male heir, as it means 'sun' rather than 'star'."
"Scorpius," said Draco. "I am half Black, too, you know."
"Tristan, maybe," said Nott.
"Maybe Rafael…" said Zabini, trailing off, and the boys fell into a comfortable silence.
The train ride continued on without much excitement, until Caelum had decided his nap underneath the bench Draco and Harry were on, and stretched outwards, nearly giving Nott a heart attack, as he hadn't realized how large the feline had grown in the past year, as Caelum had always been either in Draco's room, or prowling with Regulus in the Forbidden Forest.
They soon arrived at the Hogsmeade station, and the oaf of a Gamekeeper could be heard, once more, above the chatter of all the others, calling for the first years to follow him. The second year Slytherins made their way to the thestral-drawn carriages, and all twelve of them occupied one.
Harry made idle conversation with them, sitting between Draco and Daphne, as they made their way up towards the castle. Daphne would surely understand the precarious position that Harry and Draco were in, already training to be lieutenants under the Dark Lord's reign of power. After all, her father, Dalton Greengrass, was a Death Eater himself. Albeit, he didn't have the Dark Mart, but that was because he was a spy within the Ministry of Magic and the Board of Governors, so he couldn't have the mark, as it would have given him away.
The chatter passed the time quickly, and before they knew it, the Slytherins had made their way through the front gates of Hogwarts and up towards the main entrance that led to the Entrance Hall. Students exited the carriages, all catching up, and the loud ensemble of children made their way into Hogwarts, getting situated in the Great Hall for their evening meal and the Sorting Ceremony.
McGonagall led the first years into the Hall soon after that, and placed the Sorting Hat on the stool, where it then began to sing, talking about the core traits of all four houses, and all-in-all, the song was very similar to that of their Sorting Song.
"Bulstrode, Margaret!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Creevey, Colin!" called McGonagall, and the boy anxiously walked up to the Sorting Hat, no doubt a mudblood.
"GRYFFINDOR!" After that, the boys only really tuned in to the names that were of importance to them.
"Davis, Tucker!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Greengrass, Astoria."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Longbottom, Macy."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Nott, Anastasia."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Potter, Rosalie." Here, there were mutters about the younger sister of the Boy-Who-Lived, much like there had been whispers during her brother's Sorting.
"RAVENCLAW!" the hat cried out, which surprised Harry and Draco both.
I was sure she was going to be in Gryffindor, thought Draco.
I know, Harry sent back. I suppose she'll be smarter than her dumbass of a brother, though, that'll come in handy for her.
I suppose.
"Weasley, Ginevra." Red-haired and freckled Ginny Weasley walked up to the stool nervously, and Harry smirked at seeing that the effects of the artefact his father had bestowed on her were already taking hold.
"GRYFFINDOR!" Not a surprise there, but all the Weasley brothers present erupted in cheers, as Scarhead, Weasel-bee, and Lardbottom still hadn't showed up. Once more, Albus Dumbledore provided several 'words of wisdom' for his pupils, before allowing them to commence in the grand feast that was the back-to-school banquet.
Halfway through the meal, though, there was a loud crash! that resounded from the outside grounds, and the Headmaster quickly rushed to see what was going on, and he came back quickly, Madame Pomfrey following. Regulus soared through the opened doors and landed next to his Master.
"The scar child, the rodent, and the weakling have crashed some sort of odd, flying car into the Whomping Willow," Regulus informed him dutifully, and Harry quickly relayed the story to his friends, crossing his finger and hoping that Scarhead would be expelled.
"Oh, I hope Uncle Sev got his hands on the trio of dufuses," cackled Harry, rubbing his hands together in a rather stereotypical bad-guy gesture, though, in his opinion, he was the good guy.
"He'd pummel them!" Draco continued gleefully. "Oh, my heart sings at the very thought."
"Don't hurt yourself," said Daphne with a coy smile and a smirk, motioning between the two brothers, and Draco's ears turned pink.
Harry, nevermind. I take it back. You shouldn't marry Daphne.
Too bad, Harry projected back. It's already been set up.
Little knucklehead.
Pompous ferret.
The two brothers shared a smile, and Daphne just smiled into her meal, wondering just how strong a bond between two people had to be in order for them to communicate so effortlessly without even speaking.
"Do you think Potter will get expelled?" asked Zabini, one pale eyebrow raised on the Italian boy's face.
"One can only hope," Draco replied.
The next morning, the sextuplet of Slytherin boys entered the Great Hall for the morning meal with a groan, as the trio of Gryffindor second year wanna-be boys could clearly be seen eating ravenously at the Gryffindor table.
"How'd Potter manage to wiggle his way through that!" barked Harry incredulously, pointing at the morning edition of the Daily Prophet, where one could clearly see a magical car flying through the air, and there had been muggles there to see what had happened! Muggles! That was a clear violation of the Statute of Secrecy!
Halfway through the meal, though, entertainment began to arrive in small doses. The first came with the arrival of a rather battered, worse-for-wear looking great horned owl, who managed to crash into the Gryffindor table, as opposed to Zeus' smooth landings, scattering food everywhere, and holding a scarlet letter tightly in his beak.
"Look!" jeered Harry, capturing the attention of the rest of the Slytherins. "Weasley's got a Howler!"
The students waited eagerly, and, several moments later, the Howler exploded open, and a voice on par with that of a banshee shook the Great Hall.
"–– STEALING THE CAR. I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU. I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE ––" The Weasley matriarch's yells, a hundred times louder than usual, made the plates and spoons rattle on the Gryffindor table, and echoed deafeningly off of the stone walls. People throughout the hall were swinging around to see who had received the Howler, and Weasel-bee sat so low in his chair that only his crimson forehead could be seen.
"–– LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU, JAMIE, AND NEVILLE COULD HAVE ALL DIED ––" Harry had been wondering when the two cohorts would have been brought up, and a strange smile crossed his face when he realized that the other two would most likely receive Howlers as well.
"–– ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED –– YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, AND IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT. AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE, WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME!." The Howler seemed to have finally reached its end, and ripped itself apart, and Weasel-bee quickly fled from the Great Hall, knowing the fate of his two friends.
The next owl that landed with a scarlet letter in its beak was a tawny, Lily Potter's faithful owl, Todo. Jamie Potter begrudgingly opened the letter, resigning himself to his face.
"JAMES CHRISTOPHER POTTER!" if possible, Lily Potter's voice was even louder than that of Molly Weasley's, and the Slytherins were already chortling heavily, finding comfort in the despair of the Gryffindorks. "–– I COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT COULD POSSIBLY BE GOING ON WHEN WE CAME OUT AND SAW THE THREE OF YOU MISSING! WE WERE ALL IN A RIGHT STATE! HOW STUPID COULD YOU POSSIBLY BE, THINKING IT WOULD BE TO DRIVE A FLYING CAR THROUGH A MUGGLE BUSY AREA? I THOUGHT I RAISED YOU BETTER THAN THAT!"
"AND YOU MADE THE FRONT PAGE, TOO! I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY WITH THE DISHONOR YOU'VE BROUGHT UPON YOUR FAMILY, YOUNG MAN. WE WERE ALREADY GRASPING AT STRAWS WITH THE MINISTER, AND NOW THIS!? HONESTLY, YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED! IF I HEAR ONE MORE WORD OF YOU BEING TROUBLE TO ANY OF THE PROFESSORS AT HOGWARTS, I'LL TAKE AWAY YOUR BROOM!" A pause. "AND THAT BLOODY CLOAK OF YOURS!"
Harry smiled when he looked to the Ravenclaw table and saw Rosie Potter sniggering at her brother's current position. Apparently she thought he needed to be knocked down a peg or two as well.
The last letter was by far the worst, as there were legends of the eldest Longbottom, Augusta's, fury, and of how it had made several people go deaf. Jonathan Carrow did the Slytherins a favor in conjuring up earmuffs in order to block out the majority of the noise.
"NEVILLE FRANKLIN LONGBOTTOM! IN ALL OF MY YEARS, THERE HAS NEVER BEEN SUCH A DISGRACE ON THE LONGBOTTOM FAMILY! YOUR MOTHER AND FATHER WERE IN A RIGHT STATE! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED, YOUNG MAN, THOROUGHLY ASHAMED! POOR MR. WEASLEY IS FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK BECAUSE OF THE LAPSE OF JUDGEMENT AND UTTER STUPIDITY OF YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS!"
"HONESTLY! YOUR MOTHER AND FATHER DID NOT RAISE YOU TO BECOME SOME GALLIVANTING CRIMINAL! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY MUGGLES HAD TO BE OBLIVIATED! YOU THREE COULD HAVE RISKED EXPOSING OUR WORLD TO THE MUGGLES! SUCH DISHONOR!"
"YOU BETTER CLEAN UP YOUR ACT, YOUNG MAN, OR ELSE… AND DON'T ASK 'WHAT ELSE', BECAUSE, TRUST ME, YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW OF THE HORRORS I CAN UNLEASH UPON YOU!" The last Howler finished up its rant, and Lardbottom was a snivelling mess by the end of it.
"I bet he wet his trousers," said Draco snidely to Harry, who scoffed at him.
"Please, Draco, I do not engage in bets that are on common knowledge, I don't wish to throw my money away… even if I have enough to throw away." Draco chuckled.
"Better them than us, right?"
"Of course."
After the first Slytherin class of the day, Charms, Draco, Harry, and the rest of the second-year Slytherin boys were walking through the courtyard, when they saw a rather eager-looking first year Gryffindor with a camera talking to Jamie, and they managed to catch the end.
"––maybe your friend could take it and I could stand next to you? And then, could you sign it?"
"Signed photos?" asked Draco incredulously, sneering at Scarhead. "You're giving out signed photos, Potter?" Jamie turned around quickly, scowling at the Malfoy brothers and co., while Ron's ears turned pink and the mudblood, Colin Creevey, looked on in confusion.
"Everyone line up!" said Harry in a rather poor imitation of a fangirl's voice. "Jamie Potter's giving out signed photos!"
"No I'm not! Shut up, Malfoy!" said Jamie angrily, before pausing. "And Malfoy!"
"Your just jealous," piped up Colin, whose entire body was about as thick as Crabbe's neck.
"Jealous?" asked Harry incredulously. "Why would we––" here he motioned to himself and Draco. "––be jealous of that?" He pointed at Jamie.
"You see, young, impressionable mudblood," began Draco in a sing-song voice. "Harry and I have something Potter here doesn't."
"Like social standing, contacts with the Ministry, enough galleons to fill Hogwarts, and pure blood, to name a few," piped in Harry.
"And besides," cooed Draco, very much belittling Colin Creevey. "I don't want a foul scar right across my head, thanks. I don't think getting your head cut open makes you that special, myself." Zabini and Nott were doing their best to stifle their laughter behind small smiles, and Crabbe and Goyle were sniggering stupidly.
"Eat slugs, Malfoy," said Ron angrily. Crabbe stopped laughing and started rubbing his knuckles in a menacing way.
"Be careful, Weasley," sneered Malfoy. "You don't want to start any trouble or your mummy'll have to come and take you away from school." Here, Harry continued in a rather shrill, piercing voice.
"'If you put another toe out of line' ––" A knot of Slytherin fifth years that were present nearby laughed loudly at this.
"Weasley would like a signed photo, Potter," smirked Malfoy. "It'd be worth more than his family's whole house ––" Weasel-bee made a move to pull out his Spellotaped wand, but mudblood Granger shut Voyages with Vampires with a snap and whispered, "Look out!"
"what's all this, what's all this?" Gilderoy Lockhart was striding toward them, his turquoise robes swirling behind him. "Who's giving out signed photos?"
Scarhead made to speak, but he was cut short as Lockhart flung an arm around his shoulders and thundered jovially. "Shouldn't have asked! We meet again, Harry!" Smirking, Harry and Draco pulled back into the gathered crowd of Slytherins, the others following their example as Potter shot daggers at them with his eyes.
"Come on then, Mr. Creevey," said Lockhart, beaming at Colin. "A double portrait, can't do better than that, and we'll both sign it for you." Mudblood Creevey fumbled with his camera and took the picture as the bell rand behind them, signalling the start of afternoon classes.
"Off you go, move along there," Lockhart called to the crowd, and he set off back to the castle with Jamie, who looked as if he wished he knew a good Vanishing Spell, still clasped to his side.
"Did you see his face?" sniggered Harry, morphing his face into Potter's as they made their way to their second class of the day, Defense Against the Dark Arts. "He looked murderous, like he'd ever be able to one-up us."
"And Weasel-bee was in a right state as well," crowed Blaise, smiling at Harry and Draco. "Good job at that, you too. You think we can provoke them into getting expelled before the years out?"
"One can only dream, Zabini," said Harry morosely, changing his facial features back to the usual. "With his ties to Dumbledore, I don't think anything could get him expelled."