Walking down the narrow street, licking ice creams with Ron and Hermione, Harry felt incredibly happy. Quality Quidditch Supplies had a new prototype broom in the store and Harry smiled slightly at the group of second year students huddled around the window. One of the boys, who had short, dark hair and a few freckles, seemed to be nearly exploding with excitement. Ron stood on his toes and looked over their heads and read the sign to the others.
“‘The Lightning X. The Lightning X has been designed to incorporate the best designs from both the Nimbus range and the Cleansweep group. The broom, made of willow, is designed to reach speeds of up to 130mph and incorporates an unbreakable steering charm. The varnish also contains a curse repelling function which can deflect most hexes and curses as well as incorporating a gripping charm to aid the player during more difficult moves. Price is 1,299 Galleons.’
“Ha!” Ron continued. “The Firebolt gets up to 150 miles an hour!”
“Then again, a gripping charm could be useful, Harry,” Hermione added. “I’ll put one on the Firebolt if you like.”
“No thanks,” Harry laughed. “I don’t like the idea of being stuck to my broom no matter how hard the bludgers hit me.”
“Fair comment,” she replied. “Come on, lets get our books and we’ll all meet up at Fred and George’s shop in an hour.”
Leaving Ron looking around Quality Quidditch Supplies, Harry made his way to Flourish and Blotts to pick up his new school books. The Hogwarts letter had arrived a few days before and Harry was relieved to see he had made all the classes he needed to, to become an Auror. After picking up his books, he visited Madam Malkins’ Robes for All Occasions as his school ones were about three inches too short. There was, however, a bit of a queue, mainly consisting of first years and their slightly hysterical parents who wanted to make sure their “ickle one looked their very best for their new school.” Harry sat down, resigned to a wait, and he picked up an abandoned copy of the Daily Prophet and scanned the front page with interest.
The Minister for Magic today announced that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had been ‘surprisingly quiet, compared to what we expected”. The magical community again live in fear as You-Know-Who made his presence known to the magical world barely two months ago. “We are currently doing everything we can,” an obviously flustered Fudge continued. “We are intending to stop Lord V….thing, you know, Lord Vo…d…thing, from continuing any plans he may have.”
When the Minister was challenged by a member of the public as to why he never listened to Albus Dumbledore, Fudge declined comment. Questions have been raised as to whether Albus Dumbledore should take over as Minister of Magic, especially as he is acknowledged by many to be the only wizard You-Know-Who fears.
Meanwhile, the Boy-Who-Lived, who has been the subject of much ridicule in the last year due to his insistence the Dark Lord had returned, is due to return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry tomorrow to begin his sixth year. It is widely hoped that the school will remain a place of safety for the student population and that the coming war will not disrupt their magical education.
Slightly uneasy, Harry made his way up to the counter to have his robes fitted.
Around ten minutes later, Harry made his way over to Fred and George’s shop and found he was unable to hide his smile at the bright orange sign which read ‘Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes’. Having supplied the gold for the twins to realise their ambitions of opening a joke shop, he was immensely relieved to see the shop doing a roaring trade.
“Hiya Harry!” Fred shouted as he made his way through the shop. “Come over here!”
Walking past stacks of portable swamps, waterfalls, glaciers and lava pits, Harry saw Fred holding a box of what was unmistakably snackboxes. “How’s business?” Harry asked.
“Booming,” George answered, appearing around the corner. “And it’s all thanks to you, mate.”
After meeting up with Ron and Hermione, the trio spent the rest of the afternoon trying out Fred and George’s new inventions. Hermione refused to begin with, until Fred commented that they had better go and find Dobby as he’d be willing to try a Snake-hair Sandwich. Still a S.P.E.W fanatic, Hermione relented and spent five minutes with her hair as a nest of young Adders.
When it was time to go home, Fred offered them the use of the shop’s fireplace, and handed Ron some Floo powder. As soon as Ron threw the powder into the flames, a thousand spiders ran out of the fire place and streamed towards Ron. Frozen in terror, he stared at the wave of spiders but as soon as one of the spiders touched him, they all vanished. Ron looked as is he’d just been Petrified. “Whaddyadothatfor?” Ron gasped, totally frantic, while Harry, Hermione, Fred and George were doubled over with laughter. “What did you do that for?!”
“Fear powder,” George laughed, as he gained control of himself. “It acts the same way as a Boggart but as soon as whatever it is touches you, it vanishes.”
“Or, if no one touches it, it only lasts for five minutes at the most,” smirked Fred.
“Only six sickles a packet,” George added.
Still laughing, the twins offered them the real Floo powder and one by one, Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way back to Grimmauld Place.
Life at Grimmauld Place, in general, had been very similar to the year before. Order meetings were held around twice a week, and, as always, Mrs Weasley was managing to prevent all Harry, Ron and Ginny’s attempts to eavesdrop. The only snatches of conversation they had managed to overhear were just about things they knew already.
The thing which surprised Harry, though, was when the Prophecy was mentioned; no one seemed to know anything more than they had twelve months earlier, which was basically nothing. Dumbledore had kept his silence with regards to the Prophecy’s contents and for that Harry was eternally grateful. It wasn’t that Harry didn’t want the others to know, it was more he didn’t want the knowledge of it overshadowing everyone’s thoughts.
Each night Harry was well aware that the others gave him curious glances before he went to bed. Mostly, he assumed, it was due to his frequent nightmares, although these had eased up over the last few days. Often Harry found that if he used the Clamcelo for anything which was really worrying him, he could sleep relatively peacefully at night.
The only thing which truly shocked Harry, though, was the fact that Snape was blanking him completely. Several times he had been to Headquarters but if Harry came anywhere near him, Snape somehow managed to slip away. On the surface, Harry didn’t seem to care; often showing an obvious anger and hatred towards him although deep down Harry felt a glimmer of confusion. Why would Snape suddenly change his attitude towards me? Harry wondered. Maybe he knows the Prophecy… And yet as time went by, Harry felt less and less convinced about that theory. Although he kept his confusion secret, the only thing which Harry could use to conceal his opinions was the loss of Sirius. This, he had quickly realised though was just a way of using Sirius’ memory and feeling guilty, he quickly abandoned it.
Sometimes, it’s easier to forget than to forgive.
“Harry! Ronald! Hermione! Ginny! Wake up! The Hogwarts Express is leaving in an hour and a half!” Molly Weasley’s voice punctured through Harry’s sleep. “Breakfast will be ready in five minutes, I expect you all to be dressed by then.”
Ron groaned. “It’s the same every year. Why can’t we have a bit of a lie in?!”
Yawning himself, Harry sat up. Ron continued to groan and complain, still not opening his eyes. An evil grin crossed Harry’s face, and he crept over to the sink, filled his cupped hands with ice cold water, and threw it across Ron.
“Aaaargh!” yelled Ron. “What the…?” Looking up, he saw Harry and Mrs Weasley laughing so hard they could barely stand up. “I’ll have to remember that one, Harry,” she choked. “I’ve never seen Ron move so fast in his life!”
Ron picked up his somewhat damp pillow and threw it Harry. Still laughing, they both went down to breakfast.
They all were remarkably organised, helped largely by the fact they had packed the day before and they had put the clothes they were going to wear by the sides of their beds. It stopped the usual fight over socks. As it happened, they arrived at Kings Cross with plenty of time to spare.
“Now then,” Mrs Weasley said as she ushered them all over towards the train. “I hope you all have a very good year. Behave, all of you, and I’ll see you at Christmas, all going well…” she tailed of into silence.
“Bye Mrs Weasley!” called Hermione. “Thanks for everything you’ve done for us!”
“Bye Mum!” chorused Ron and Ginny together.
“Bye Mrs Weasley, and really, thanks for everything.” Harry called.
“It was nothing dear. Have a good term all of you!” she called.
The whistle blew and the doors of the train slammed shut. All four of them waved until the Hogwarts Express turned a corner and hid the platform from their sight. “Come on,” muttered Ron. “Let’s go and find some seats.” Eventually, towards the end of the train, they found an empty compartment.
Settling down, Harry and Ron began to discuss Quidditch and who would be on the Gryffindor team. Ginny muttered something about visiting one of her friends and disappeared down the train. After a while, Hermione, fed up with the minor argument between Harry and Ron over who the best chaser was, got out the Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6, and buried herself in its pages.
The train wound its way north, and at one o’clock, the tea lady came along the train and Harry bought pumpkin pasties for them all to share. Harry had just got his exploding snap cards out when the compartment door slid open.
Draco Malfoy and his cronies stood in the doorway, smirking at something. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Potty, Weasel and the Mud-blood!”
“Say that again and I’ll hex you from here to the moon and back,” retorted Harry as he grabbed Ron’s robes and pulled him back into his seat. “How’s your dad enjoying his permanent holiday in Azkaban?”
Malfoy paled visibly, his eyes flashing with anger. “Say that again Potter and you’ll really regret it.”
“Oh, yeah, I forgot what sensitive, timid creatures ferrets are…”
“Laugh now, Potty, but you won’t be later,” sneered Malfoy. “We got the rat back and then we went for the dog. How about go for the cat next? Shame to break with tradition, wouldn’t it.”
Laughing insanely, he walked away. Harry felt uneasy; and looking at Hermione, he realised she had picked up on Malfoy’s hint too.
“Come on Harry,” Ron interrupted, “what about that game of snap?” Smiling slightly, Harry pulled out his pack. Decoding cryptic messages had never Ron’s strong point anyway.
At seven o’clock, the Hogwarts Express pulled in at Hogsmeade and Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville all shared a coach up to the castle. As they passed into the entrance hall, Peeves appeared out of nowhere and began to pelt a group of third year Hufflepuffs with dung bombs. Covering their heads, they all sprinted into the great hall.
Looking up at the enchanted ceiling, Harry paused to admire the millions of stars which glittered and sparkled; total unreachable, even by wizards. A draft was blowing through the hall from the entrance, and Harry fancied it carried a faint whisper; “…the indications have been that wizardkind is living through nothing more than a brief calm between two wars…the fight must break out soon again…” Shivering slightly, Harry made his way to the Gryffindor table.
Looking up at the staff table a tall, black wizard sitting between Dumbledore and Snape caught his attention. “Isn’t that Kinsl…?” Harry was forced to break off as the doors swung open and the first years filed in. Barely ten feet in front of them, the tattered sorting hat sat perched on the stool. Everyone in the hall looked at it expectantly.
“Many years have passed me by,
Since four great wizards came from ‘on high’.
Together they built these age old walls,
And formed the chambers, rooms and halls.
Together they chose to teach the arts,
Of spells and potions in all its parts.
And yet each founder had a view,
So four great houses formed anew.
First was Ravenclaw, of bronze and blue,
Whose power of learning was beaten by few,
Next, kind Hufflepuff, of yellow and black,
She took those who the others threw back.
Third came Slytherin, of silver and green,
Who wanted his students cunning and keen.
Fourth, brave Gryffindor, of red and gold,
Who brought the courageous into the fold.
The four great houses worked as one,
Through understanding, love and fun.
And when their differences brought a fight,
Hogwarts withstood the founders’ plight.
Now dark times are upon us again,
And before we’re through, there will be pain.
Take my advice, try me on, don’t fear,
For if you ask for help, someone will hear.”
The Great Hall rang with applause, most students talking about the Sorting Hat’s warning between themselves. Harry was silent; very aware that after the last sentence Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape had all looked at him.
Professor McGonagall stood up and began to call the first years forward. At last, the sorting was over and the house-elves once again excelled themselves with a magnificent feast; the food ranging from sausages and burgers to lemon sole and crispy duck pancakes. Once every plate was cleared, Dumbledore stood up and beamed around at every student present, his eyes lingering on the Gryffindor table a little longer than the others.
“Welcome! Welcome to Hogwarts. Before you all make your way up to your dormitories, I need to make a few announcements. Firstly, all Educational Decrees, starting from number twenty-two, have been disbanded.”
Cheers erupted around the hall.
“All bans, detainments and forbidden areas created by one of those decrees are no longer enforced. Secondly, first years need to be told that the Forbidden Forest is strictly forbidden, as its name suggests. This reminder should also be taken into account by several of our older students as well.” Dumbledore’s eyes flicked over to a pair of Ravenclaw fifth years and the majority of the DA members.
“Third, Mr filch has requested that no magic is used between classes and that all products obtainable from Weasleys’ Wizarding Wheezes are banned; and that also includes a certain snackbox product in case anyone was wondering.”
An uneasy silence covered all the tables except the Slytherins’. No one knew Dumbledore had known about the skiving snackboxes; especially since he wasn’t even present at Hogwarts when they were used.
Dumbledore continued, his eye twinkling. “And finally, I have great pleasure in introducing our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Shacklebolt.” Kingsley glanced over at Harry, Ron and Hermione as applause swept the hall. Each of them smiled back in return.
“Goodnight all of you,” Dumbledore finished. “Prefects, please lead your houses up to your dormitories at once.”
“Let’s go,” said Hermione. “If we’re quick we can beat the crowds…”
Taking a shortcut, they arrived at the Fat Lady’s portrait a good five minutes before the first years. “Oh damn!” moaned Ron when they got there. “We dunno what the password is!”
Harry groaned.
“Hiya, guys!” called a breathless voice.
“Neville!” smiled Hermione. “You don’t know what the password is, do you?”
“Sure I do,” grinned Neville, “I asked a prefect downstairs. The password’s ‘phoenix’!” As the portrait swung open, and Neville scrambled through the hole first, all three of the trio exchanged highly uneasy glances.
“Coincidence,” said Ron quietly.
“Yeah, maybe…”
Looking around Gryffindor Tower, with the familiar chairs, tables and crackling fires, Harry, Ron and Hermione felt at last they had escaped the war “ even if it would only be for a little while.
Once they were all back in their dormitories, Harry gazed at the scarlet hangings and smiled. At last he was home. Pulling his pyjamas out of his trunk at the foot of his bed, he called goodnight to Ron. A loud snore told him he was already asleep.
When Harry awoke the next morning, however, he didn’t remember waking up crying from a dream about a phoenix catching fire, and becoming nothing more than a pile of ash which a spiral of wind picked up and scattered over a darkened valley.
A/N : Reviews please! Chapters are getting longer; the next has come in at over 3000 words! All comments are really appreciated!