Hi everyone :)
(Appears in several puffs of coloured smoke) I HAVE RETURNED!
Yes, hello to you all again :D As you can see, I'm back, just like I said I would be, with the sequel to my last fic Epitome of a Soldier. Now, that means that if you haven't read that fic, this one probably won't make much sense to you. Therefore, if you've simply stumbled across this and haven't read EoaS, I suggest you read that first. It's only short, ten average-sized chapters, so go on and do that, I'll wait for you.
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(Whistles the Harry Potter movie theme tune)
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Done? Good :D
Okay, warnings, just so people can't say they haven't been warned, this story contains SLASH between Harry and Draco (and the odd splash of Sirius and Remus). If it doesn't take your fancy, may I suggest you go and read something different? Perhaps some Harry/Ginny stuff, or Harry/Hermione, or whatever else is popular in the world of hetero-fics, I honestly wouldn't know since I don't read them XD
For everyone else who's still here, a quick disclaimer:
Harry Potter et al belongs to the lovely Jo Rowling, Bloomsbury and those dudes who make the movies. I don't own it. If I did own it, the series would've gone a Hell of a lot differently and they definitely wouldn't have been children's books XD
And now on with our first chapter.
4th September 1997: Morning
The scent of heated sunflower oil, fried eggs and cooking meat greeted Harry as he slowly descended the stairs of 12 Grimmauld Place, his home for just over a month at that point. Reaching the bottom of the stairs and turning to head into the kitchen, he was greeted with the sight of his godfather's back through the open door and it was evidently him who was singing so loudly and so out of tune that the teenager had been able to hear it all the way upstairs. Harry, wearing the simple black robe he always wore, entered the kitchen without making his presence known though it was only a few seconds before he was greeted anyway.
"Good morning Harry."
"Good morning Remus." The dark haired youth replied in his usual quiet, monotoned voice as he sat opposite the tired man at the breakfast table. His posture was still very good, with his back completely straight, but now he no longer held his head up so high and it was bowed with his eyes lowered.
"Morning there kid." Sirius greeted cheerfully from over by the stove, alerted to his godson's presence by his partner's words.
"Good morning Sirius." Harry returned, without emotion as he almost mechanically reached for the pot of tea resting in the middle of the kitchen table.
"Today's the day!" The black haired man declared in a voice which was too loud and too bright for seven o'clock in the morning. "Our young man's first day at Hogwarts. Bet you couldn't sleep last night with all the excitement and anticipation." He teased his godson as he began to dish the prepared food onto two plates.
"I managed." The young saviour replied as though his godfather's comment had been made seriously.
"Sirius, please, I know you're excited but for all our sakes use your in-door voice." Remus sighed, sounding like a frustrated parent.
"I can't help it Moony! I just can't wait, our little man's first day at school!"
"He's seventeen Sirius, he's hardly little anymore."
"He'll always be little to me." Sirius cooed, giving his godson a fond look as he reached the table and set the plates down in front of himself and Remus. "Are you sure you don't want something to eat for breakfast today Harry? You've got a long day ahead after all."
"I am sure."
"All right then, you know best I suppose." Harry's godfather sighed his acceptance. "So, what time was it that Malfoy said he'd be here?"
"His last letter stated that he should arrive at half past ten and Professor Snape said that he would fire-call at a quarter to eleven." Harry revealed before he sipped his tea.
Harry could tell even without looking to Sirius that a derogatory comment about Snape was about to pass from his lips but for whatever reason, (most probably discouragement from Remus) the insult was not spoken. Instead, the three settled into a relatively easy silence. There was a slight discomfort with it, something which asked that someone start talking, but it wasn't over-powering and the three men were content with letting the quiet linger, at least for that moment.
The past month had been extremely different and difficult for Harry. While he had to deal with the fact his magic was evening out and he could no longer perform wandless magic (which had led to a painful ordeal of going to Diagon Alley to buy himself a wand), he also had to manage with being thrown into a world of so many more people all asking questions, all demanding answers, none of them taking the time to understand fully before passing judgement. The once good name of Albus Dumbledore was now tarnished by the act of sealing Harry away as people deemed it inhuman and cruel and that was something that had bothered the dark haired saviour immensely. For so long, Dumbledore had been the only person he had known on any level and to know that people were blaming him was hard. The headmaster had only done what he thought had been for the best and people had no right to speak of such a hero the way that they did.
There was also the life with Remus and Sirius to become accustomed to. Living with them was...A challenge. To Harry it seemed that neither of the men knew exactly how to treat him. They had no doubt had their own ideas and their own dreams about what it would be like to have the son of their deceased best friend living with them and Harry was sure that he had shattered all of those expectations. He had improved with his mannerisms (he now knew the significance of pleasantries such as "good morning" or using "please" and "thank you"), and emotions were becoming less alien to him but he was still far away from being "normal". His voice had remained emotionless, something he hadn't been able to change even when he had consciously tried, and he never used abbreviations, they sounded foreign on his tongue when he had tried speaking them on his own once. He rarely reacted to physical affection (unless it came from Draco), though he no longer shrank away from Sirius' hugs or the spontaneous slaps on the back the man was prone to giving him, and he had yet to really meet anyone else other than five men he was currently acquainted with (journalists and paparazzi didn't count really as he had merely spoken his story rather than talked to them individually as people).
Not meeting people was about to change though because Harry was leaving 12 Grimmauld Place in favour of attending a final year at Hogwarts.
It had been Sirius' idea (no surprise there) but Remus had agreed with it whole-heartedly. The point of attending Hogwarts was not for academic purposes because Harry knew everything and more of what the Seventh Years would be taught and neither was it so he could get his NEWTS. No, the point of attending a single year at Hogwarts was to try and get Harry to "come out of his shell". In other words, it was a way to force him into interacting with new people and to try and help him to learn how to be "normal" just that little bit faster. Harry could understand the logic behind the decision but that didn't mean he had to like it.
And that was something else Harry had discovered he had. Opinions. No longer was the world a fixed set of rules which everyone must follow in the young saviour's mind. He now understood opinions and realised he had several of his own. He did not like to eat bananas nor did he like to eat meat, but he did like drinking pumpkin juice and earl grey tea without milk but with a tea-spoon of sugar. He found reading enjoyable as well as spending time with Draco doing whatever the blonde youth fancied. He thought Quidditch was a pointless activity and didn't see the attraction it held for so many people. Green and red were wonderful colours, especially together, though Harry would never dare to wear them, instead preferring to wear black despite the fact Sirius often teased him about looking a Muggle goth (whatever a goth was). Day was better than night, sunshine better than rain, warm better than cold, cold better than hot and Draco was better than everything.
Yes, Harry felt he had a good understanding of life so far, yet things were not all well. He understood life and there were elements of it he enjoyed but, on the whole, his opinion was that life was a chore and a meaningless one at that. What was the point of it? So much pain and suffering and annoyances to live through for only the odd moment of happiness here and there. People wandering through life without purpose, without a goal, without a reason. It was all so unnecessary...
"Here you are Harry," Remus' voice said then as a hand was placed on the teenager's shoulder while a fresh pot of tea was placed just in front of him on the table.
"Thank you." Harry gave the required pleasantry. The hand on his shoulder gave a few pats before it left. Silence fell over them again as Harry poured himself another cup of tea.
4th September 1997: Mid-morning
"Harry! Draco's here!" Remus' voice called up the stairs and reached Harry where he stood in the bedroom he had been assigned upon his first arrival at 12 Grimmauld Place. He knew that no answer was necessary and upon hearing hurried footsteps coming up the stairs, he also knew that his blonde friend was coming to him rather than the other way around.
Indeed, not a minute later and the bedroom door had swung inwards and the form of Draco Malfoy strolled in confidently, a happy smile on his face. "Hello there my Harry." He cooed softly as he approached the dark haired teenager, leaning in and delivering a light kiss on his lips upon getting close enough.
"Good morning Draco." Harry replied softly once the kiss had ended. A very small smile quirked the edges of the young saviour's lips as he looked up at the taller teenager. "My apologies for not being there to greet you, I fear I lost track of time."
"Think nothing of it." Draco assured as he pulled Harry towards himself and wrapped his arms around him in a secure embrace. He leaned down to nuzzle the slope of Harry's neck as he breathed in his scent. "I've missed you." He admitted quietly.
The small smile on Harry's lips grew very slightly at that confession and his eyes softened with emotion as he brought his arms up to hold onto the blonde in return. It had been about a week and a half since they had last been together and Harry was rather inclined to agree with Draco; from spending practically every day together during the summer to spending eleven days without each other had been hard. But at least that was one thing which was good about attending Hogwarts, it meant that he could once again spend every day in the company of his dear friend.
"So," Draco sighed, lifting his head to rest his chin on top of Harry's head but not letting the boy go. "Are you all packed?"
"Yes, I believe I have everything I shall need." Harry answered.
"Good, that just means I don't have to put you down then." And with that, the blonde moved them so they fell backwards and landed on top of the bed Harry slept in. Harry's smile remained as they both bounced on the mattress from the remaining momentum of their landing but once they had settled into stillness, the smile faded somewhat. He was quite comfortable where he was, curled on his side with Draco spooned behind him, but now his mind was plagued with worries. "Are you nervous?" Draco's voice murmured, as though reading the saviour's thoughts.
"Somewhat." The dark haired teenager confessed quietly. "It is a daunting prospect, there will be so many people..."
"I can only imagine how anxious you are." Draco murmured, running a soothing hand over the head of dark hair. "But it'll be all right, I'll be there with you, and your godfather and Lupin will be there too."
"Yes, I suppose." Harry said in reply, though the presence of Sirius and Remus as teachers of DADA and Potions respectively wasn't actually that reassuring.
"My father sends his luck, as does Mother. She's really taken a shine to you, you know."
"I have only ever spoken to her through the floor network once."
"Sometimes once is all it takes." Draco shifted after saying that, moving so the upper half of his body was lifted over Harry, his weight supported on his forearms on either side of the saviour's head. "It only took one hug to make me realise I love you."
"You are far too romantic for your own good." Harry murmured, the soft smile on his face negating any negative effect the stoic tone may have had on those words.
"I know I am, but don't say it out loud, my father would have kittens if he found out." The blonde whispered in a conspiratorial manner. Harry couldn't help it then and he gave a very quiet, almost non-existent chuckle. It definitely happened though and it prompted an absolutely beaming smile from the young Malfoy. "That's the third time I've made you laugh now." He grinned, apparently very pleased with that fact.
"Perhaps you should be awarded a medal."
The smile vanished from Draco's face to be replaced with one of complete astonishment. "Was that a joke?" He paused for a moment before he gave a joyous laugh. "It was, that was a joke! It's another date to remember: fourth of September 1997, Harry told his first joke." Draco leaned down then and placed a light but lingering kiss on Harry's lips then. "You make me so happy." He whispered, only moving back enough to speak, their lips remaining so close that they brushed with each spoke word.
"That makes me...Glad." Harry whispered back, hesitating for a moment when it came to deciding on what word to use.
Draco's smile was tender and adoring then before he closed the gap between them and their lips joined together once again. Their kiss was slow and languid and innocent: there was no use of tongues; their mouths remained shut; and they kept their hands to themselves. Draco was always the one who led their kisses and Harry, although he admittedly knew very little of such things, thought that the blonde was no doubt keeping things light for his benefit, something he did appreciate. Perhaps the day would come that he would want things to move further but for the present he was still getting used to the affection he and his friend currently shared.
The knock and the subsequent opening of the door happened in too quick a succession to allow the two teenagers to separate in time. Therefore, it was the figure of a rather embarrassed looking Remus which Harry and Draco found when they moved apart and opened their eyes. The sandy-haired man was blushing and appeared to be acutely uncomfortable as he looked around at anything but the two young men on the bed. "Yes?" Was all Harry said by way of greeting.
"Severus' is calling." Was all Remus said before quickly hurrying from the room before Harry could give the customary "thank you".
"I never would've imagined it would be so easy to traumatise your godfather's lover." Draco chuckled in amusement as he dutifully rolled off of the form beneath him.
"He has unrealistic expectations." Was all Harry said to that as he too rose from the bed and headed over to the still-open bedroom door.
Without further discussion on the matter, the two teenagers made their way downstairs, Draco following on behind as Harry led the way. They turned to the right upon reaching the bottom of the staircase in order to head into the living room where the fireplace was. However, before they could reach their intended destination, a call of Harry's name from above caught their attention. The blonde and the dark haired youth paused and tilted their heads back to see Sirius' head poking over the edge of the banister upstairs.
"Have you finished packing?" The godfather inquired.
"Yes."
"Okay, I'll bring your trunk down for you." And with that, Sirius' head pulled back and disappeared.
After that short delay, there was nothing else that got in their way on the remainder of their journey into the living room. Draco did the polite thing of opening the door for Harry, something which wasn't acknowledged by the young saviour, not that the blonde minded. Side by side, they moved over to the fire place where the face of Severus Snape was clear in the flickering flames.
"Good morning Professor Snape." Harry greeted in the usual manner.
"Good morning Potter." The man's voice came in reply. "Draco."
"Morning Sev." Draco said with a slight nod to the man.
"What time will you be leaving for King's Cross?"
"About half ten-ish, right Harry?" The blonde stated, glancing to his friend to check he was correct; he received a simple nod in reply. "It's going to be weird not seeing you there everyday Sev," he sighed as he moved his gaze back onto the fire. "And ever weirder to not have you teaching potions."
"I'm sure Lupin will teach just as adequately as I ever did, though I imagine your Defense Against the Dark Arts skills will drop dramatically, even more so then when Lockhart was teaching you." Snape sneered.
"Please do not insult my godfather." Harry requested, looking off to the side instead of into the fire.
Snape gave a somewhat disgruntled noise at that but said nothing by way of apology and instead moved onto another topic of conversation: "The last time we spoke, you were undecided on your third subject Potter, what did you finally choose?"
"Divination." Draco answered in a long-suffering tone. "Can you believe that?"
"It is the subject I know least about." Harry pointed out.
"But still! Why couldn't you have taken Arithmancy with me? Then we'd have all our lessons together."
"Being separated from Mr Potter for an hour or so every day will do neither of you any harm Draco." Snape chided him lightly. "And to you Mr Potter, I find myself wanting to commend you for choosing a subject for your own reasons. I was rather worried you would allow Draco or your guardians to sway your decision."
Harry didn't say anything to that and neither of the Slytherins pressed him for an answer, instead they got the hint he would probably say nothing more now and so went on with a conversation between themselves. As they did that, Harry thought to himself. In his mind, he didn't actually deserve Snape's praise on the matter of "going his own way". When he had chosen to take Divination, the only subject he had chosen which Draco hadn't also chosen, it had not occurred to him that taking it meant he would be without his blonde friend. If he had thought about it properly and realised it beforehand, he knew he would've chosen Arithmancy if only so that he and Draco didn't have to separate. The dark haired saviour wanted to stay beside his friend as much as possible because Draco was a constant. While the world changed around him and life became increasingly complicated, the blonde Slytherin remained the same, familiar, reassuring, and that was something he'd need all the more when he reached the strange surroundings of Hogwarts.
4th September 1997: Midday
Despite Harry's progress with emotions and such, there were still a couple of things which were yet to flare up in him. Anger was one and the feelings of self-consciousness and embarrassment were another which was rather handy as it allowed him to deal with situations like his current one very well.
Everyone, absolutely everyone, was staring at him as he walked side-by-side with Draco down the length of Platform 9 3/4, Sirius and Remus following on behind them. Naturally he knew why they were staring and while he thought it was rather pathetic, he had no other opinion on the matter. Let them look, they were doing no harm and he had nothing to hide. The wizarding world knew his story (or at least the story the media had publicised), and it was only natural they would be curious. As long as they didn't start to bother him, he was quite content to allow them their stares. Draco didn't seem bothered by the stares either but Sirius and Remus were another question. Neither seemed happy with the blatant way they were being watched and while the werewolf simply tried to ignore it all, the ex-convict had nothing against shooting nasty glares at anyone whose gaze he caught.
"This is where we get on." Draco said suddenly and Harry turned his eyes to glance at the open door of one of the Hogwarts Express' carriages. A couple of small children, probably First Years, were climbing on board, chatting to each other excitedly as they disappeared inside.
"Then this is where we say goodbye." Remus said as they all came to a stop.
"My little man's first day of school," Sirius gushed as he yanked Harry into his arms in a tight embrace. "I feel like a proud father." He pulled away slightly then so he could grin down at his godson. "Have a good trip there and we'll see you at dinner tonight."
"Very well." Harry murmured his reply and only just managed to catch his balance as he was pulled into another tight hug. As always, he didn't return the embrace but Sirius didn't seem to care and when he was released, the man was still smiling as brightly as ever.
"Don't hide yourself away Harry," Remus advised as he took his turn to embrace the stoic youth. "Use the journey to meet new people."
Harry said nothing to that and when he was released he simply turned from his two guardians to follow Draco onto the train, but not before Sirius lurched forward in order to ruffle his hair. Once on the train, neither boy bothered to turn back and wave and instead started the task of finding a compartment for them to sit in. They mostly went un-noticed now as the majority of the students were focussed on waving off their families from out of the windows so it was without event that Harry and Draco found an empty compartment in which they settled in.
"Ugh, finally." Draco sighed as he slumped down on a seat. "That's the worst part about going back to Hogwarts; the crowds on the platform just before the train leaves." He paused then as he look at Harry while the dark haired youth sat down opposite him. "Your godfather messed you hair up."
Without waiting for a reply (though he wouldn't have got one anyway), Draco moved across the compartment in order to sit on the same side as Harry and promptly began to smooth down the strands which had been raised by Sirius' hand. Harry made no reaction to the treatment and simply allowed the blonde to do as he wanted. He had learnt many weeks ago that it was often best to just allow the young Malfoy to do as he wished without argument, though it was hardly a chore to endure the blonde's touch, Harry actually rather enjoyed it.
Draco took much longer over his hair than Harry really thought necessary and the train had started to move by the time the blonde had finally stopped. His hands never left the young saviour's head though, and instead glided down, fingers trailing down the skin of the pale cheeks and coming up rest around the neck in a gentle, intimate hold. "There," the Slytherin murmured, his face only millimetres from Harry's. "Much better."
Harry thought that Draco appeared to be leaning in to kiss him then but when there was a sudden knock of the compartment door, the aristocrat pulled away to look past the young saviour. As the sound of the door sliding open came, the dark haired boy also turned to look just in time to see two other male teenagers, who he would've actually assumed were older than he and Draco, enter the compartment. Both were massive, big and bulky, and one was rather on the plump side as well. Considering that Draco had not immediately told them to get out, Harry assumed he must have been on friendly terms with them both.
"Ah, there you two are." The blonde greeted them as he stood up. "Crabbe, Goyle, this is Harry Potter. Harry, this is Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle." He introduced confidently. "They're my closest friends so we'll no doubt be spending a lot of time with them throughout the school year."
Neither of the massive boys gave a verbal greeting but instead gave twin nods in Harry's direction. Harry returned the gesture without hesitation though on the inside he was feeling rather on edge. One of these strangers had the last name of Goyle, there had been a Death Eater named Goyle present when he had faced Voldemort. If this stranger was somehow related, then surely he would want some sort of revenge against the one who had sent his family member to Azkaban...
"So," Draco's voice suddenly broke into Harry's thoughts and he came back to reality to find that the two new people were now sitting opposite them. "Have you seen who's here and who isn't?"
"Zabini's not here." The one named Crabbe grunted. "And neither is Nott."
"Don't know about Bulstrode but we saw Parkinson looking for you." Goyle said with a light smirk of amusement.
"Yeah, well she can just keep looking, I'm not in the mood to deal with her right now." Draco muttered as he casually slung an arm around Harry's shoulders. The dark haired youth accepted the gesture of affection without comment and noticed that neither Crabbe or Goyle seemed particularly fazed by the act either; were they used to the Malfoy treating others in such a way? "How about the others from our Year? And what about the Sixth Years?"
"From what we've heard and what we can tell, most of the Slytherin Seventh Years aren't coming back and a good chunk of the Sixth Years aren't around anymore either." Goyle revealed. "I think there's even a few Fifth Years who haven't come back as well."
"Yeah, well, just as long as all that sort is gone, we don't need Death Eaters in our House." The blonde sneered distastefully.
Harry found that he had to bite his tongue in order to stop himself from speaking then. It had been explained to him in one of Remus' "how to deal with the outside world" pep-talks that there were times when you had to think about what you said or did before doing it as it might cause offence or upset others. The desire to point out the fact that Draco was, or at least had been, a Death Eater was present in Harry but he thought that perhaps this was one of those situations where it was not suitable to say such a thing. Besides, the more he thought about it, the more he was sure that Draco was talking about people who were still loyal Death Eaters. Though the majority of them were in Azkaban now, Harry was sure there were still a few wizarding families who believed in Voldemort's ideals and wouldn't hesitate to go back to the "cause" if ever the opportunity presented itself.
After that, Harry allowed himself to fall out of the conversation. He was aware of the voices of the three Slytherins but their words simply washed over him and no actual words registered in his mind. It was actually a rather content time for the dark haired youth. Draco's warmth beside him was pleasant, as was the weight of the arm around his shoulders and the light sensation of the blonde's fingers trailing up and down his upper arm. Yes, it was a lovely moment of peace for the young saviour and a rare moment where he felt safe, comfortable and cared for all at once and he found himself leaning into the one-armed embrace of his best friend. He felt Draco's cheek come to rest of top of his head and Harry knew a small smile had blossomed on his face.
But then a knock came at their compartment door and ruined everything. All conversation stopped and the pressure of Draco's cheek left the top of Harry's head just as the door slid open to reveal an elderly lady pushing a trolley fit to bursting with sweets and cakes and various other snack foods. "Anything from the trolley?" She asked in a friendly, motherly tone.
The two known as Crabbe and Goyle were up in an instant, moving to the door in order to buy as much as they could afford. Draco also stood, though he rose at a much more dignified and sedate pace and only after he had gently untangled himself from the dark haired youth. "Harry, do you want anything?" He asked once he was up and feeling through to pockets of his robe in search of the wallet he knew he had on him somewhere..
"Such food holds no significant nutritional value." The dark haired youth answered in his usual monotone, his gaze falling off to the side.
"That's not what I asked you." Draco teased in a quiet, sing-song voice which no doubt went unheard by the others in the immediate area.
Harry's eyes flickered to his friend's face to see him now leaning down to his eye-level, smiling gently at him. He lowered his gaze again not a moment later though. "I am not hungry." He revealed quietly.
"Fair enough." The blonde conceded and, even without looking at him, Harry knew that he was straightening up and moving off to get his own sweets from the trolley.
Carefully, the stoic youth flickered his gaze over to watch his friend talking with the other two Slytherins and also the woman who had control over the trolley and its contents. He wondered idly why the two strangers seemed so completely unfazed with his manner and resolved to question Draco on it later. For that moment though, he would keep to himself but keep an ever constant awareness of what was happening around him.
4th September 1994: Evening
Harry sat at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, his back perfectly straight as always and his head slightly bowed, his eyes focussed on his neatly folded hands on his lap, just about visible past the edge of the table. On his left side sat Draco and on his right side sat Crabbe, Goyle was sat on Draco's left side. In front of them sat two girls who had been introduced to him as Millicent Bulstrode and Pansy Parkinson. They were the only Seventh Year Slytherins who remained. Further down the table to them was a small group of seven Sixth Year Slytherins. The gaps in the seats and between the sets of students was unusual and uncomfortable but was still not the reason why the entire school felt in necessary to glance over to the upper end of the Slytherin table every few seconds or so.
Beyond all hopes and expectations that he would be Sorted into Gryffindor, Harry had been made a Slytherin. There had been an opening in the Gryffindor Seventh Year (it seems Peter Pettigrew was not just a one off) and the Sorting Hat had offered him that place when the young saviour had gone to the Headmistress' office before the Sorting Feast. Harry had chosen Slytherin though. That was where he wanted to be despite the fact it had horrified the general student population and miffed more than just Sirius and Remus. The dark haired youth knew his limits, he knew what he was and was not comfortable with and ready for. He was not ready to sleep in a strange place with strange people and he was not comfortable with the thought of being so far away from Draco. Gryffindor Tower may as well have been in another country it was so far away from the dungeons. So he had insisted on Slytherin and so a Slytherin he was.
His school robes, though slightly irritating and uncomfortable, were acceptable in Harry's opinion. Unlike the majority of the students who apparently tried to make themselves look as scruffy as possible, the dark haired saviour looked immaculate: the buttons of his robe done up all the way; the top of his neatly fixed green and silver tie poking out just underneath his chin; his trousers crisp and straight; and his shoes polished and a shining black. His appearance coupled with his posture, he really did put all the other students (except for Draco of course) to shame.
"Merlin," Draco muttered beside Harry then and green eyes moved onto him. "How much longer is that old bat going to keep going on for? None of us have been living under a rock for the past year or so, we all know the situation."
Professor Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Dumbledore had talked of her often and thinking back, Harry had the impression that the elderly wizard had planned that he should go into her care, instead of Snape's, should something bad happen before he woke the saviour up. Harry's first impression of the woman had been a sort of neutral one. She was the Headmistress and so deserved respect and she seemed friendly enough, though rather stiff and formal as well. She had explained to him how things worked at Hogwarts, she had gone through his time-table with him and she had invited him to come to her with any problems which may rise for him in the future. Harry's sorting into Slytherin seemed to surprise her more than dismay her which gave definite points in her favour.
"I'm hungry." Harry heard Goyle complain next. "Do you think anyone would notice if I pinched a chicken leg?"
"Don't be so pathetic Gregory," the blonde girl who was Pansy Parkinson sneered at him. "Waiting a few more minutes isn't going to kill you, learn some self-control."
Ah yes, the mystery which was the female species of the human race. The last, real female contact Harry had ever had was with his mother and that was so long ago it hardly counted. He had briefly spoken to Narcissa Malfoy once but that had hardly been anything really. Professor McGonagall had been his first real introduction to a female and he had found her no different from the males he knew of her own age. However, upon meeting females his own age, he had started to notice the difference, especially with Pansy Parkinson. No one he had met yet, other than Death Eaters, had taken an instant dislike to him. Parkinson had changed that. It seemed as though the moment she set eyes on him, she disliked him, which in turn made Harry feel rather inclined to dislike her back. He didn't really understand the reasoning behind the girl's dislike for him. Was it something to do with the fact she was a girl? Were girls less welcoming than males? He didn't think that was the case as the Bulstrode girl seemed friendly enough towards him. Perhaps Parkinson had Death Eaters in her family, perhaps she was angry for the part Harry had played in sending them to Azkaban.
"Finally." Crabbe said beside Harry just as chatter filled the Great Hall and people began to fill their plates with food.
"I thought she'd never shut up." Draco grunted as he too started to put food on his plate. Harry started to do the same moments later. "You wouldn't get such long-winded greeting speeches from a Slytherin Head."
"Professor Snape would've made a lovely Headmaster, it's a shame he's had to leave." Bulstrode spoke up then, doing the same as the others and gathering the food which would be her dinner.
"Potions definitely won't be the same without him, I'm glad I didn't take it." Parkinson said, her tone snooty and pompous.
"You're not taking Potions?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow, apparently thinking that was rather surprising.
"You are?" The blonde girl asked and Harry thought she sounded rather surprised as well. "I thought you were taking Charms?"
"No, I'm taking Arithmancy, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions."
"Defense Against the Dark Arts? You're really carrying on with that rubbish?"
"It isn't rubbish." Draco said with a harsh glare in the girl's direction. "If it wasn't for what I had learnt already, I probably wouldn't be alive now."
"If you'd just shut up and done as you were told your life wouldn't have been threatened." Parkinson grunted lowly, perhaps because she never actually intended to be heard. If that was her intention, she failed because the Malfoy heard her and was not in the least bit amused.
"What was that?" He asked her dangerously.
"Is that all you're going to have?" Bulstrode said very suddenly. The question caught everyone's attention and they all turned to see that it was Harry she was addressing and had her fork pointed to his plate which held only small amounts of peas, mashed potatoes, carrots and green beans, all of which were covered in a decent amount of gravy. "You're allowed more, you know."
"And what's with all the vegetables? Don't tell me that the Wizarding world's perfect little saviour is an animal rights activist as well." Parkinson sneered, earning herself another dark look from Draco.
Before the Malfoy could speak his mind to the blonde girl however, Harry spoke for himself, his naturally quiet voice almost getting lost on the surrounding noise. "I dislike the taste of meat."
Perhaps it was the way in which those words were spoken, or perhaps it was because they were surprised he had answered himself, it was the first time he had actually spoken in the presence of the two girls and Crabbe and Goyle, but whatever the reason, the answer received no verbal reply and only silent stares. The approaching confrontation between Parkinson and Draco was forgotten and no more was said to Harry for the remainder of the meal after that and that was just fine by him.
End of Chapter 1.
Merlin, I hope I haven't disppointed you all. I got the feeling that many of you were greatly anticipating this sequel and I hope you all enjoyed that chapter. If not, it gets better, I swear it does!
Now, update times. I have decided that I'm going to update every other Saturday. Before you start yelling and screaming and throwing stuff at me, let me explain! I only have about nine chapters pre-written, I don't know how many chapters it's going to have and progress can sometimes be very slow. Therefore, I want to play safe so I don't get to the stage where I have no more chapters pre-written and months start to pass by without me updating. I'm sure none of you want that either so for now, put up with the slow updates. Hand on heart, as soon as I have all the chapters pre-written, the speed of updates will be bumped up like it always is :)
I have spoke far too much for one chapter. I will toddle off now and bid you all bye bye for the moment. See you all next time hopefully :)
Hugs
Dream