September 1, 1995
A messy-haired boy tossed and turned in the soft, king-sized bed in a spare suit in an elegant manor in Wiltshire. A dark shadow hovered over the ancient castle that was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The air had a sense of foreboding, a chill hung in the air. A cold laugh echoing in the wind.
The boy jolted awake in a cold sweat. This was not unusual for him because he had suffered from nightmares for as long as he could remember. Something about this felt different though. Almost like it had been sent. The raven-haired wizard rubbed his forehead, and though hoping to remove the images by force.
Harry abruptly and looked around his room. At least that is what Draco and Aunt Cissa kept insisting that he think of it as. He stood somewhat wobbly at first and meandered towards the shelf where Aunt Cissa had put a supply of dreamless sleep for him as well as some headache reliever. He downed a one of each and returned to his bed, in hopes of getting a few more hours sleep before making the trip to the platform.
By the time that Harry woke up again the sun was rising in the sky and the air warm, carrying the smell of chrysanthemums, and other fall flowers. A very sleepy Harry Potter rose once more from the bed that he had inhabited and made his way to the shower and began to prepare for the long day ahead. He washed with the apple and cinnamon scented body wash, shampoo and conditioner that Draco favored, and tried to try on his hair still a mess no matter what he did. That was done, and he made his way to the wardrobe and pulled out his clothes for the day. Today, Harry dressed in a pair of nice black trousers and a pale green polo style shirt with a pair of black Nike Air Maxes.
Next it was time to make sure that he had packed everything that he would need. The green-eyed boy looked through his trunk and ruck sack one more time to make sure that everything was packed that he needed to have at school. It still boggled his mind that he had so much stuff. He then secured his new trunk and ruck sack and floated it down the stairs in front of him as he headed down to the dining room.
The entire family was gathered in the dining room to enjoy a pleasant meal before Harry and Draco would be returning to Hogwarts. The entire spread still made Harry's eyes widen to the point of being bigger than his stomach looked over the table to determine what he wanted to indulge in before they left for the platform. Finally, dishing up some of the scrambled eggs, bacon and a biscuit with some jam. He also took a little not pf the grapes. Narcissa on the other hand stuck to a mixture of fruit with her tea. Draco's plate looked similar to Harry's for all appearances, except Draco favored strawberries over grapes.
Lucius looked over at the boys, "I need you both to be on your best behavior this year. That moron failed to find a suitable applicant to take on the defense against the dark arts job. The worst part is that vial woman will be there so that she be used to keep control over the student body. Thank goodness I managed to slip your change of custody through a friend in the ministry under Dumbledore's very nose. You will have to worry about attracting attention from the wrong people."
The trip to the platform was relatively uneventful. As Harry stepped out of the floo onto the platform he was ambushed by a girl with a brown bushy mop of hair. Harry stepped back, "hold on, you ignore me all summer and you want to behave as though nothing has changed. "The girl stood back, "Harry, you don't understand we didn't have a choice. We were told that it was too risky to contact you. That communications could fall into the wrong hands."
As this exchange was going on Draco stepped out of the floo right behind Harry. The older boy rolled his eyes, "some friend you are Granger. You serious let something like the need for a little cunning prevent you from communicating with one of your best friends." With that the older boy dragged Harry over to the scarlet steam engine.
Once on board they found a compartment that Pansy was currently saving for them. The petite brunette smiled, "somebody's in trouble." Draco looked at his betrothed, "what did I supposedly do this time?" Pansy laughed, "not you this time, Harry." The green-eyed boy looked at Pansy extremely confused, "today is Daphne's birthday." Harry smirked, "I'm sure I can think of something. Just then the door to their compartment opened, revealing the birthday girl herself dressed in a deep blue blouse and cardigan set, with a short black skirt and mary janes. They were soon joined, by Theo and Blaise who took the remaining seats. After singing Happy Birthday, the group settled in to read various books for the long, arduous journey to Hogwarts.
By the time that the trail rolled to a stop in Hogsmeade the group was desperately in need of stretching their legs. Deciding to forgo the traditional carriage ride the group walked up to the road back to the school.
Harry and Daphne fall to the back of the group. They had been walking for a while when he looks over and finally Harry says, "I'm kind of new at this whole relationship thing. I guess that I just want to know where you stand. Would you object to being known as my girlfriend?" Daphne reached out stopping him in his tracks. This was one of those tricky things, "I would not object. We have to be careful, there are others who have their own agendas where you are concerned." Harry nodded his head in understanding. Daphne continued, "we can take this at your pace. I've known about this my whole life and had time to get used to it."
Harry nodded, "meanwhile what would you like for your birthday?" Daphne winked, "well I wouldn't say no to jewelry and a good snog." Harry's jaw dropped so that he resembled the time when he caught the golden snitch like a widemouthed toad. Daphne laughed and began to run in order to catch up to the rest of their group.