Back to Hogwarts
Ginny Weasley was not having a good summer. Her father had taken away all her books about the boy who lived, including the scrapbook her mother had made for her. Molly had cut out every article from the Daily Prophet and put them in a scrapbook for her daughter. Arthur Weasely had been very firm when he took Ginny’s books, telling her in no uncertain terms that her obsession with the boy who lived was not healthy and that there would be no marriage contract between her and Harry. Arthur had spoken with Lucius Malfoy and been assured Harry had no interest in a marriage contract and neither Lucius nor Harry’s magical guardian would sign one.
It had been Ginny’s expectation that the summer before she started at Hogwarts would be spent getting to know Harry. That had not happened either, her father said Harry did not want to come to The Burrow. Ginny had been furious at this and she blamed Ron. She had heard Fred and George telling Charlie what Ron had done to Harry at school, of course, he would not want to come here when Ron had been such a git.
There was only one thing to do, she would have to get Harry’s attention herself and make him fall in love with her. It would be easy she would just have to make friends with him and spend time getting to know him. If that did not work, well there was always love potions, her mother was good with potions she would ask her about them when her dad was at work.
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Dobby was cleaning and polishing the dining table and silverware in the dining room. The family had used the good silver tonight because there had been a special dinner for Master Harry and Master Severus. They had exchanged family gifts as the next step in their courting and Dobby had been very happy for his Master Harry.
The Mistress had asked Dobby to take care of Master Harry. It was Dobby’s job to keep Harry’s room clean and make sure his clothes were clean and wrinkle-free. Dobby was very proud to be looking after one of the family, especially because it was Harry Potter. He knew it was only until Harry grew up and left the Manor. Dobby was a Malfoy elf, but if he did an extra good job taking care of Master Harry Potter, then Master Harry Potter might ask Mistress Narcissa to give him Dobby, then Dobby would have his very own Master.
The elf was busy with his task and he did not mean to eavesdrop but Lord and Lady Malfoy had been in the sitting room talking about his Master Harry. So Dobby thought he should listen, just in case it was important for him to know what they were saying.
Lucius and Narcissa were in the sitting room chaperoning Harry and Severus from a distance. Draco had gone upstairs to his room after dinner and Severus had asked Harry to step out on the balcony with him. They were trying to spend time together as a betrothed couple before school started back.
Lucius had given his permission for Harry and Severus to spend time together on the weekends when they were at school. However, they were not ready for the betrothal to be public knowledge, so they had to be careful about the time they spent together there. Severus staying at the Manor meant they had plenty of time to meet the requirements of the contract over the summer.
“...with the girl starting this year, we might have to keep a closer eye on Harry. Molly was not happy about the marriage contract between him and…Ginerva, is it?” Lucius asked looking at his wife.
“Yes Ginerva,” his wife replied.
“Well she was very unhappy when I broke that contract and we know she is not above compulsions,” Lucius continued.
“Love potions are quite a leap though, surely she would not go that far?” Narcissa replied sounding worried.
“What would you do for Draco to have everything he wanted?” Lucius asked with a knowing smile at his wife.
Narcissa huffed “Alright, well I would do the same for Harry now, so perhaps we should send Dobby along to Hogwarts to keep an eye on him. Dobby will make sure his food isn't tampered with in the kitchens. He is a very loyal elf and he has taken on the responsibility of looking after Harry very well. I am sure he can keep Harry safe without anyone noticing but Sev will vouch for him if anyone does notice,” the mother said firmly.
Lucius nodded slowly in agreement. “Hopefully, Ron Weasely and Hermione Granger will just stay away from Harry this year…” he replied, taking a thoughtful sip of his Laphroaig. He looked through the glass doors and watched Harry and Severus talking on the balcony. As a general rule, Lucius did not approve of such big age differences in marriage contracts even though it was an old pure-blood custom. However, his friend was actually smiling and Harry was looking at Severus like he hung the moon and all of the stars. If this was what the two of them wanted well then Lucius would not let anyone ruin it for his old friend or his son. “...not to mention Ginerva.” he finished with a sneer.
Dobby did not know who Ron Weezy, Hermy Granger or Jinava were but he would not let them hurt his Master Harry. Mistress Malfoy had said Dobby was doing a good job looking after his Master Harry and he was determined do a good job of keeping him safe at school. The elf finished his cleaning duties and went to check Harry’s trunk was ready to pack when the boys purchased their school books in the morning.
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Diagon Alley was packed with families shopping for the start of school. Their booklist had just arrived the day before and Narcissa had decided it was best to get the shopping out of the way early before Harry’s birthday on Friday.
Severus agreed it was a good idea. The plan was for Severus to go with them to help Narcissa keep an eye on Harry, people were still far too interested in him for it to be completely safe. If they waited too long then Severus would not be able to accompany them as he would be busy visiting Muggle-borns and taking them to get their books.
Harry had not been surprised to learn that he was the only muggle-raised student not to have had a Head of House visit him with his first Hogwarts letter. Severus told Harry that he thought Minerva had been to visit him and Minerva thought it had been Severus. Dumbledore had lied to them both, surprise, surprise.
Harry walked next to Draco, they followed close behind their mother with Severus walking behind them as they made their way through Diagon Alley. Harry thought about his first trip to buy his school supplies the year before, he did not remember it being so crowded. Maybe it was because it had been a bit later or maybe Hagrid just cut through the crowds so easily that he had not noticed how many people there were.
The two boys had grown significantly over the previous year and both needed new robes. So they went to Madam Malkins to have their robe fitting first, then headed to Scribbulus Writing Instruments for parchment and quills, after which, they went to Quality Quidditch Supplies for broom servicing kits. Severus wanted to look at Obsurcus Books and Harry went with him out of curiosity. He was delighted to find a couple of books on scrying and one on parselmagic which Severus bought him for his birthday.
Next, they needed potion ingredients from the apothecary. Severus bought a selection of ingredients at Slug and Jiggers. Then he led the way into Knockturn Alley to a supplier who always had good quality ingredients even if they were dubiously sourced. They did not need new cauldrons, Harry and Draco had not been among the number of students who had blown up their cauldrons last year. However, they did purchase new potion kits including their own silver daggers and stirring rods.
Draco wanted an owl so they stopped at Eeylops Owl Emporium where Draco chose a young Eurasian Eagle Owl. He was a very handsome boy and he knew it, Draco called him Achilles.
The last stop was Flourish and Blotts, it had been rather busy when they first arrived, there had so many people they could not get in the door, so they had left it for last. When they came back there were no customers and it appeared as though the store had been playing host to a rampaging erumpent. Chairs had been overturned, there was rubbish and papers strewn all over the floor, books had been pulled off shelves and left in random places and one display had been knocked over. In the middle of the shop was a large table which took up most of the available space and was piled high with glossy hardcover books. Narcissa picked one up and made a very rude sound.
A harassed-looking wizard walked up behind her. “I am afraid you have just missed him,” he said to Narcissa who was glaring in contempt at the book in her hand, ‘Magical Me.’ by Gilderoy Lockhart.
“Missed who?” she asked.
“Gilderoy Lockhart of course, he was here signing books all day, we just got rid…I mean, unfortunately, he just left,” the assistant said with a grimace. “He will be back tomorrow though, should you want an autograph,” the man looked truly pained to have to say those words.
Narcissa huffed. “We have just come to buy books for Hogwarts, second year two sets please,” she said handing over Harry and Draco's lists.
“Right, I will get them together for you then,” the man said and walked back to the storeroom.
He returned several minutes later with a trolley piled high with books, Narcissa looked appalled. “What on earth are all those?” she demanded.
“Booklist for year two, everyone at Hogwarts is required to buy a full set of Lockhart’s books for Defence against the Dark Arts. He’s the Professor this year, he made the announcement here today,” the clerk told her as he rang up the books.
Narcissa laughed out loud “oh please tell me you're joking,” she almost begged, she glanced at Severus hoping for him to contradict the man.
Severus just looked grim and gave a small shake of his head.
“Sorry, Lady Malfoy. I wish I could, but it's true. He was here all day signing his books. If you want these signed you can come back tomorrow but I really would not recommend it,” he told her.
“We shall be just fine without signatures, thank you. What’s the total?” she asked.
The clerk rang up the purchases and gave her the total for the two full sets of Lockhart books as well as the other required texts. Narcissa shook her head “Disgraceful,” she muttered as she handed over the money.
When the books had been packaged up she called Dobby and Bippy to come and take them all back to the boys' rooms and pack them in their trunks. Then she took Severus and the boys to the teashop for tea and cake.
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Harry had the best birthday of his life. Up until this year his birthday had been completely ignored by his family. Last year Hagrid had turned up and taken him to Diagon Alley to buy his school supplies. The very best thing about the trip to Diagon Alley was that when he got back his family had left him alone, he got to stay in Dudley’s second bedroom with all his books completely undisturbed. The family had been too scared to go near him, so they did not speak to him or even look at him, but best of all no one had laid a hand on him.
This year though Harry was woken up early by Draco jumping on his bed wishing him a happy birthday. There was a special birthday breakfast of all Harry’s favourites including sausages, eggs, bacon and tomato.
When they had eaten more than their fill Draco dragged Harry into the sitting room to open his presents. Harry unwrapped his books from Severus and discovered the man had also purchased him a dragon hide wand holder. Lucius and Narcissa purchased him a telescope, a new set of quidditch robes, a new winter cloak and some new muggle clothes including a nice leather coat and designer jeans. Draco gave him a huge bag of sweets, a sneakoscope and his own golden snitch.
Harry spent the morning battling Draco in seeker duels using his new snitch. Lunch was the usual selection of sandwiches after which was it deemed to be too hot to go back outside so the boys retreated to their room. Harry spent the afternoon with Bindi draped over his shoulders while he read his new book on parselmagic and tried to use his scrying mirror using the instructions in his other new book.
Dinner was like a Hogwarts feast with all Harry’s favourite foods being served. There was roast chicken and pork chops, roast potatoes and mashed potatoes and huge plates of vegetables; desert was treacle tart with ice cream and then there was a birthday cake, a huge chocolate gateau. Harry was in shock that his family had done so much for him.
The family, including Severus, spent the evening together in the sitting room. The boys played exploding snap followed by chess, while Narcissa, Lucius and Severus discussed the upcoming Ministry search of the Manor and their plan to move several items to Potter Manor. The day ended with Severus and Harry taking a late evening stroll in the garden and Harry had never been so content with his life.
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The summer flew by after Harry’s birthday and the countdown to their return to Hogwarts began. The boys spent the last days of their holiday preparing to return to school. They read all their new textbooks, neither was particularly impressed with the huge pile of Lockhart books. However, Harry found the standard book of spells grade two quite interesting, he also read a potions book Severus had recommended.
Severus had to return a week before the students to prepare his classes for the start of the year. There were also endless meetings with Dumbledore, to discuss whatever had occurred to him that day, usually something about Harry. He also spent a lot of time avoiding Gilderoy Lockhart.
Lockhart wanted to start a duelling club and was chasing Severus to coordinate it with him. Filius had hexed him when Lockhart had approached him about the club, when he had persisted, the half-goblin had threatened to curse him gobbledygook. So Lockhart had turned his attention to Severus.
By the time September first rolled around Severus was almost at his wits end with both Dumbledore and Lockhart.
On the evening of the 31st of August Harry and Draco spent several hours double-checking the contents of their trunks. The elves had made sure they had all their essential school supplies, but they were responsible for their muggle clothing and anything extra they wanted to take. They both packed their brooms and quidditch training robes; they were hopeful of getting places on the Quidditch team even if it was only a reserve place.
Later that night Harry asked Narcissa to help him expand the secret compartment in his trunk so he could fit his scrying mirror, the philosopher's stone and his books on parselmagic and scrying in it. When his mother had kissed him goodnight and left to see Draco, Harry took the books out of the compartment and glamoured them with a spell he found in his parselmagic book, it was the same spell he was using on his jewellery and only another parselmouth could break it. Once he took the books out he had room for other contraband, he found the small leather diary he had taken from his vault and he slipped it into the hidden compartment and sealed it with another parselmagic spell. He had no idea what he would do with the diary at school but with the expected Ministry raid he could not leave it in the Manor.
The day finally arrived and Harry was much more relaxed about going to the station this year at least he knew what to expect. They travelled via the floo, which was in Harry’s opinion, much better than using the Muggle entrance. They arrived on the platform with their luggage already shrunk down to fit in their backpacks. Hedwig and Achilles had flown to Hogwarts of their own accord so Harry only had to worry about Bindi. Unfortunately, people were still keen to get a look at Harry Potter and he found himself subject to much scrutiny. However, the general consensus this time was that living with the Malfoys had done the boy the world of good. Harry looked tanned and healthy if still a little on the small side.
Albus Dumbledore could breathe a sigh of relief he was unlikely to receive any howlers that night.
Harry and Draco boarded the train with the rest of the Slytherin second year’s and found themselves and compartment. The train ride was still very long but with all his friends for company the time flew by. When the trolley arrived they pooled their money and between all the people in the compartment, they purchased quite a lot of food. They spent the rest of the journey feasting on sweets and telling stories about their summer until the train reached Hogsmeade.
They disembarked at Hogsmeade Station and followed the crowd towards the exit. Outside there was a line of carriages waiting to take the second to seventh years to the Castle. Harry gasped at the sight of the strange creatures which were harnessed to them. They looked like horses only they were all dark grey and they looked almost like skeletons with skin. Draco took charge pulling the intrigued Harry towards carriages to search for an empty one; Harry opened his mouth to ask Draco about the skeletal horses when a loud obnoxious voice carried across the night air.
“They are pulled by thestrals, you can't see them unless you have seen death. I read about it in Hogwarts a History,” Hermione Granger yelled.
Harry groaned, forgetting all about the creatures he now knew were thestrals. “Quick before she sees us,” he said pulling Draco to a halt beside the first carriage. They climbed in without looking to see who was in there already and found themselves face to face with two identical redheads and their friend and sidekick Lee Jordan.
Fred and George were grinning more than usual. “You missed it, Harry! They said together.
“It was brilliant,” Fred said.
“It was indeed,” George added.
“The barrier at the station was sealed!” Fred chortled.
“Ron and Hermione got stuck, they couldn't get onto the platform!” declared George with glee.
“Mum went back for them then she was stuck too,” they said together, both giggling hysterically.
“So how are they here?” Draco asked with a frown “I am sure we just heard the know-it-all yelling about thestrals.” he said with a slight sneer.
“Oh yes, well, Mum sent a patronus to Bill, our oldest brother. He came with us to the station this year coz Dad is flat out at the Ministry since the new Muggle protection bill passed,” Fred said more somberly.
“Bill told the conductor there was a problem with the barrier and asked him to hold the train. Then he went to figure out the problem. He’s a curse breaker for Gringotts you see, ” George said with a huge smile.
“It's a very cool job,” Fred said nodding.
“Anyway the conductor held the train, while Bill worked it out,” George told them.
“It turned out a house elf had sealed the barrier,” Fred said with relish.
“Shame we don't have an elf,” George said sadly.
“We could have locked Percy out,” they both said falling against each other laughing.
Harry and Draco chuckled and Lee rolled his eyes as the carriage started to move. Harry was excited to be going back to Hogwarts. He had all his new jewellery and his scrying mirror in his trunk and he was determined to stay out of trouble and have a normal school year.
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The carriages pulled up at the foot of the stairs leading up to the Castle and the five boys climbed out of their carriage. Harry could see the deputy Headmistress standing at the door waiting for the first years, her list of names clutched tightly in her hands, very tightly Harry observed. Next to Professor McGonagall was a tall blond wizard in garish red and gold robes, which put Dumbledore’s robes to shame. As Harry drew closer to them, he heard the man telling the professor her method of waiting on the steps for the first years was inefficient and he knew a much better way to collect the new students. Harry glanced at Draco who mouthed ‘Lockhart’ and Harry’s heart sank; he had hoped up until that moment the man would not be as bad as Narcissa and Severus made out, it seemed however they might have been understating.
Harry followed Draco into the Hall and made his way to the Slytherin table. He glanced up at Severus who was wearing his stern potions Master face and did not meet Harry’s eye. The sorting ceremony was much more interesting when you could just sit back and watch. Harry watched all the first years follow Professor McGonagall up to the front of the Great Hall and he wondered if he had looked that terrified last year. To Harry’s great astonishment, the hat performed a song before the sorting commenced. It sang about the houses and their traits and assuring everyone that he could be trusted to look into their minds and see where they belonged, had the hat done that last year? Harry supposed it must have but he could not remember it.
When the sorting was done and the Headmaster welcomed everyone to Hogwarts and made the usual announcements, the food appeared and Harry dug in happily. This year he did not have to worry about overfilling his small stomach and ruining the whole experience, he could eat as much as he wanted without making himself sick. The food disappeared at the end of the feasts and the prefects stood up and called for the first years to follow them. Harry and his friends stood up as well and headed back to the Slytherin dormitory in the dungeons and it felt just like coming home.
Dumbledore watched Harry from the staff table, he had to concede, if only to himself, that Harry did indeed look much healthier than he had last year. He would never admit it but when Harry had arrived last year he had been in much worse physical condition than Albus had expected. The Durselys had overplayed their role and he would not be defending them if they were put on trial. In fact, he would be putting as much of the blame on them as he could; he needed to make people think he was a victim too.
He had thought long and hard about how to handle this problem and he decided he would simply say that he had trusted Lily’s sister to care for her nephew. It had been for Harry’s safety that he had stayed away, it would not do for him to be followed by a reporter or Merlin forbid, a Death Eater. He would insist it was all Petunia’s fault that she had betrayed his trust. He just needed to get that message through to Harry and endear himself to the boy this year. It was his best hope of coming through the unpleasantness, which would come from the investigation, unscathed.
Try as he might he still had not been able to confirm there would be an investigation. His sources had reported that Severus had delivered Harry to the Ministry during the holidays and that the boy had met with Amelia and two other people. Severus had been decidedly unhelpful, insisting he had only escorted Harry to meet his father and his lawyer. It had amused Severus greatly to watch Dumbledore baulk at the mention of a lawyer.
The Headmaster had spent the better part of the evening trying to think of an acceptable reason for calling Harry into his office tonight, however, he could think of nothing. He could feel Severus glaring at him, daring him to try something and Mineva would not back him either. She had looked very pleased to see Harry looking so healthy. So instead he just watched as his prized weapon smiled and laughed with the snakes; he looked happy, comfortable and at home with them and it made Albus' stomach turn.
He turned his attention to the Gryffindor table. Ron was sitting between one of the twins and Percy. Clearly, Arthur had instructed the older boys to keep Ron in line this year, so it was likely he would be no help to the Headmaster. His eyes strayed to the red-headed girl sitting next to Hermione Granger. She was eating her food with the same gusto as all those on the Gryffindor table but her eyes were fixed on Harry Potter. Albus smiled, perhaps he could use the girl this year. Arthur had said there would be no marriage contract but if the two fell in love…well that would be perfect and there were many ways to make people fall in love. Albus should know, that he made Lily Evans love James Potter, that had been quite a challenge and should have been impossible, yet he had succeeded, in spite of the fact that Lily really had hated James before he had intervened.
Albus sat back and watched as the students filed out of the Great Hall and headed for their beds. His eyes caught the back of the youngest Weasely who was walking out with the other first years. Yes, there were options, Ginny Weasely was just one possibility which was open to him, he needed to rethink his strategy. He knew he needed to tread more carefully after his mistakes last year Harry would not trust him easily and after Ron’s behaviour, it would take a while for Harry to trust Ginny too.
It would take time, he could only hope that Tom would not be making an appearance anytime soon.
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