Chapter 9
The Hogwarts Express pulled away from the station, marking the end of another school year. Harry closed his eyes and leaned back against the compartment wall, bracing himself for the coming conversation.
“All right there, mate?” asked Ron.
“Yeah, it’s just …” The train’s wheels clattered as it picked up speed. “You’ve probably noticed there are things I’m not telling you, right?”
Ron, Hermione and Neville traded glances. Neville said. “You don’t have to tell us if you’re not comfortable.”
Harry shook his head. “I want to tell you. I know I can trust you. It’s just a lot.”
Hermione tilted her head. “I had a hypothesis that you somehow got a copy of Voldemort’s memories.”
“I like this one, she’ll make a good minion, ” Thomas cackled.
She would make a good friend . Harry said aloud, “That’s not that far off, actually.”
“Wait, so you do have Voldemort’s memories?”
“It’s not just memories.” Harry drew his wand. “Here, see for yourselves.”
Thomas took the appearance of himself as a student. “Greetings. Master Harry has won not only my knowledge, but also my allegiance. His power is incomparable.”
“This is Thomas, he does my bragging for me.”
“Someone has to, Master. For a Gryffindor, you’re surprisingly bad at it.”
“You really do know each other,” said Ron. His eyes went wide. “You’re the True Heir of Slytherin, aren’t you?”
“Well, yes – ”
Ron seized him in a hug. “You saved Ginny. She called a family meeting and told us all about it.” Harry awkwardly patted his back.
“I thought nothing could top ‘I talked to a basilisk’, but here we are,” sighed Hermione. “I just know I’ll be screaming into a pillow later.”
“Understandable,” said Thomas.
Harry, continued, “That’s one reason I waited until now to tell you all, so that you can think it through over the summer.”
“Is –is there another reason?” asked Neville.
Harry’s expression turned serious. “Ron, I suggested to Ginny to have lessons in protecting her mind; you might want to join in. Hermione, you learn well from books, so I got you this.” He handed her a copy of Occlumency: the Hidden Arte . “And I got you a copy too, Neville. If you choose to tell anyone, it’s up to you, but it should be your choice.”
***
Elsewhere on the Express, a young girl with radish earrings had her back pressed to the carriage wall. Luna wasn’t sure why the older Ravenclaw girls had cornered her. Her first year had gone by in a whirl of classes and wondrous magical entities. She’d hardly had time to offend anyone. Had she?
“Loony Lovegood’s wandering alone again,” one of them jeered. Vortexes of magic, the ones Luna called Nargles, swirled around her head. So it wasn’t anything Luna had done, nor anything she could control either. She shrugged and waited for them to get on with it.
“Got nothing to say for yourself, Loony?”
“What’s going on here, then?” A new voice; Luna looked past the girls – over them –
“None of your business, Bulstrode. You’re not a prefect, just a second-year.”
Miss Bulstrode raised an eyebrow. “Is your business something that a prefect should care about?” Her magic was fascinating – arcs and lattices like Luna had never seen before. The Ravenclaw girls had no good answer, and they slunk away, grumbling. “That’s what I thought. Lovegood, you can sit with me for the rest of the trip.”
Distracted by the shifting patterns of her magic, Luna asked, “Are you a Wiffbibbler?”
“Hmm, not that I know of. You must tell me more.”
***
Lucius Malfoy was going through his morning correspondence. At the top of the pile was Draco’s latest missive – he should certainly read it before meeting the Express. The envelope was thick, which seemed odd since they were soon to speak in person. Lucius opened the seal. Enclosed in the letter was a glove. Why in Merlin’s name would Draco owl him a glove? Lucius tossed it aside – and it was plucked from the air by an excited house elf.
“Dobby gots a glove! Dobby gots a glove! Dobby is free!” The elf popped away and left Lucius blinking.
Well. Draco had expressed his misgivings about the elf; when discussion failed to produce the results he wanted, he had resorted to other methods. Outwitted by his own son; Lucius was so proud.
The next letter was slimmer, and he didn’t recognise the magic clinging to it.
To the attention of Lucius Malfoy: I know what you sent to Hogwarts this year. I wonder if you know what you would have unleashed in the same place as your only son and heir. It is fortunate that I had already taken steps to secure the creature in question. You would do well to pay weregild, discreetly, to those students who were affected. You ought also explain to your lady wife what you almost wrought, and accept whatever penalty she decides. – The True Heir of Slytherin.
***
“Of the five most powerful wizards in the world, three are half-blood,” Thomas was saying. “The proportion is even higher when one considers the top ten.”
Hermione had a notebook on her knee and was scribbling furiously. She furrowed her brow. “If you know that blood purist rhetoric is hogwash, why would you promote it so much?”
“To hinder my rivals, of course,” Thomas answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Ron groaned.
“You are so Slytherin. ”
“Naturally.”
Harry listened to the conversation quietly. His friends now knew his greatest secret, and were tentatively accepting – Thomas’s natural charm helped. Even if they weren’t quite comfortable with his past yet.
“Do you even regret what you’ve done?” asked Ron.
“Considering it didn’t work, yes.” Thomas glanced sideways at Harry. “As it led to meeting my Master – I cannot say I regret that.”
“You’re completely gone on him, aren’t you?”
“I have no idea. I have no similar experiences.” Which said far too much about Thomas’s social life.
“Have you decided which elective classes you’re going to take next year?” asked Hermione.
“I reckoned on Divination and Care of Magical Creatures; how about you?”
“They all sound fascinating, I can’t decide. Why those two? I’m sure you could manage something more advanced.”
“They’re the only ones that Thomas didn’t study while he was a student.”
Hermione thought this over, and what it meant to have an adult’s memory in a child’s body. “Oh dear. How bored have you been?”
“Very. Except in Potions; Professor Snape keeps us on our toes.”
“Taking the piss out of Lockhart was entertaining,” Thomas said.
“Of course that was you too.”
“Why’d you even bother with school?” said Ron.
“It would be suspicious if he didn’t,” said Neville.
“A seven-year school has more benefits than just its classes,” Thomas explained, “And Hogwarts is the original.”
Harry added, “I met you all there, so I’d say I’ve come out ahead.”
***