Harry Potter and the Silent Dead: Book 2

Chapter 2: Return to Hogwarts

Getting the train was different from his first experience. It was almost strange to be standing on the platform, with a family bidding him goodbye through the flurry of the trains steam. Narcissa had given him a warm hug, with Lucius simply resting a hand on his shoulder and wishing him a good year. Draco received the same, and soon they were running into the red train, to meet with their friends. They entered a carriage and he sat by the window, hit by a sense of déjà vu as he saw all the parents wave to their children. He and Draco waved at Narcissa and Lucius until they were out of sight, returning to their seats.

The journey seemed different as well. The excitement was still there, but it was more peaceful. They knew each other, and with the happy reunion over, they began to discuss the coming year. "I wonder who we'll have for DADA this year. Is your father still teaching, Draco?" The blonde sadly shook his head, and Harry sympathised. Lucius had been a much more competent teacher, and it was nice to have the familiar face. Unfortunately, he had a sneaking suspicion of who the teacher would be this year. Lockhart was the opposite of subtle.

As the sun began to set, they arrived at Hogsmeade station. A flurry of first years clustered around the half-giant, so Harry and his friends followed the older years over to large black carriages. He didn't recognise the strange horses that led them, and poked Theo gently. "What are the creatures that draw the carriage?" Theo looked at him confused, before turning back to the crowd of students. "I can't see anything Harry, I thought they were moved by a spell." Frowning, he followed the group into a carriage, and it immediately began to move forwards, towards the castle.

As soon as they walked into the Great Hall, Harry groaned, startling the students around him. He was pretty sure he hadn't made a sound in front of them before. He silently pointed to the teachers table, where Gilderoy Lockhart sat in a cloud of ego. His presence received mixed reactions from the students. A great many groaned, already aware of the man's self-absorbed ways, but many of the girls began to twitter and squeal. He rolled his eyes, taking his seat with the other Ravenclaws, who luckily weren't as endeared by the man. From the look of disgust on Professor Snape's face, it was clear they weren't alone in that. In fact, the majority of the teachers seemed rather unhappy. His mind drifted from the Headmaster's announcements, and to him, the entire evening seemed to end rather abruptly, and they swiftly headed back to their rooms for the night.

Cavalier soared through the night sky, looking down at the castle from above. The black raven landed in the window of ravenclaw tower, looking in at the boy his master wished to protect. Marvolo looked through the crystal ball, watching as the young necromancer slept. He'd retrieved his journal from Lucius, reabsorbing the horcrux. It had been quite simple to spell the book, creating a link between it and a duplicate, which Cavalier now dropped on the bedside table, before flying off into the darkness.

Harry shot up in bed, wiping away the sweat that collected on his brow and breathing heavily. What kind of dream had that been? He'd found himself in a darkened manor, illuminated by a large fireplace. The strangest part was when he'd turned to look into some kind of crystal, finding his sleeping form in its reflection. Watching himself exactly as he was now. He wasn't sure why it shook him up so much, it was just a dream after all. But a part of him insisted it was more than that. Unable to sleep again, he stood, deciding to visit Helena. She and all the ghosts were in the room of requirement again, and they greeted him rather cheerfully. At least for dead people. He told them of his holiday, and his success of moving Sally, which the ghosts seemed very interested in, before a yawn led to Helena ushering him back to bed. Tired as he was, he didn't think he'd be able to sleep tonight, so instead went to the Slytherin dungeons.

He stood in front of the entrance, before realising he had no idea what the password was. Just as he prepared to turn back and face another sleepless night, a thought occurred to him. He could open the Chamber using parceltongue... "Open." The door swung open, and he grinned. Well that's useful to know. Silently, he walked through the common room, and up the steps to the boys dorms, looking for Draco, Theo and Blaise. When he found it, he opened the door, shuffling over to Draco's bed and tugging the boys covers. As usual, the blonde was incredibly grumpy at being woken up, but quickly shuffled over to allow Harry in.