Bright the sun, bright the air, bright the students and bright their parents, clean the paved ground of Platform 9.75, the winter Sun hanging low in the sky at 9:45AM in the morning on January 5th, 1992. Some of the younger students wore scarves and mittens, but most simply wore their robes; they were wizards, after all.
After Harry had moved away from the landing platform, he took off his scarf and coat, opened a compartment of his trunk, and stowed away his winter things.
For a long moment, he stood there letting the January air bite at him, just to see what it was like.
Harry took out his wizards' robes, shrugged them on.
And finally, Harry drew his wand; and he couldn't help thinking of the parents he'd only just kissed goodbye, of the world whose problems he was leaving behind...
With a strange feeling of guilt for the unavoidable, Harry said, "Thermos."
The warmth flowed through him.
And the Boy-Who-Lived was back.
Harry yawned and stretched, feeling more lethargic than anything else at the conclusion of his vacation. He didn't feel like reading his textbooks, or even any serious science fiction, this morning; what he needed was something completely frivolous to occupy his attention...
Well, that wouldn't be hard to come by, if he was willing to part with four Knuts.
Besides, if the Daily Prophet was corrupt and the Quibbler was the only competing newspaper, there might be some suppressed real news in there.
Harry trudged back over to the same newsstand from last time, wondering if the Quibbler could top the headline he'd seen before.
The vendor started to smile as Harry approached, and then the man's face suddenly changed, as he caught sight of the scar.
"Harry Potter? " gasped the vendor.
"No, Mr. Durian," said Harry, eyes dipping briefly to the man's nametag, "just an amazing imitation -"
And then Harry's voice stopped in his throat, as he caught sight of the top fold of the Quibbler.
SLOSHED SEER SPILLS SECRETS:
DARK LORD TO RETURN,
For just an instant, Harry tried to clamp down on his face, before realizing that not being shocked could be just as revealing, in a sense -
"Excuse me," Harry said. His voice sounded a little alarmed, and he didn't even know whether that was too revealing, or just what his normal reaction would be if he didn't know anything. He'd spent too much time around Slytherins, he was forgetting how to keep secrets from ordinary people. Four Knuts hit the counter. "One copy of the Quibbler, please."
"Oh, no worries, Mr. Potter!" said the vendor hastily, waving his hands. "It's - never mind, just -"
A newspaper flew through the air and hit Harry's fingers, and he unfolded it.
SLOSHED SEER SPILLS SECRETS:
DARK LORD TO RETURN,
WED DRACO MALFOY
"It's free," said the vendor, "for you, I mean -"
YOU ARE READING
Harry Potter And The Methods Of Rationality
FanfictionSince on I have only seen two different reposts of this story here on wattpad (neither of which are completed) I decided to take matters into my own hands and do it myself. Credit where credit is due: Less Wrong
