Magic's Unfinished Symphony (Harry Potter Fanfic)

Chapter 2

September 1st, 1992. Tuesday

The end of summer vacation came quickly, much to Harry's liking. He was definitely looking forward to going back to Hogwarts; only slightly put out by the vague warning Dobby presented earlier into the holidays, other than that Harry was looking forward to it. Another reason to justify his excitement was how certain he was, that with Draco's help, he would do better in his subjects than ever. He cast a quick tempus charm, a spell he had come across while glancing through his first year Charms book. '8:43...we're cutting it a bit close there', Harry thought, while absentmindedly stroking his snowy owl, Hedwig. "Sorry girl, but could head up to the Hogwarts Owlery and wait for me? " Hedwig gave a small hoot and affectionately nipped his ear, before taking flight through the window of the room he and Ron were made to share through the holidays.

Harry was fiddling with his ring when Ron came up to the door. "Mum says you need to come to outside, it's time to go!" Harry, already dressed in his Gryffindor robes, only gave a simple nod in response, getting him an odd look from the ginger. Harry shrugged off the creeping sensation of dread as he carried his trunk down the rickety stairs.

Once outside, Harry found himself staring at slightly run down blue Ford Angelia, with an exasperated Arthur Weasley sat in the driver's seat. As if sensing Harry's disbelief, Hermione was quick to explain the concept of the car. "It has been magically expanded on the inside, so there is more than enough space." she said, in a slightly snobbish voice. Giving a slow nod, Harry entered the vehicle, and found himself sat in between the twins, and opposite a red faced Ginny.

The ride to King's Cross had been shorter than Harry originally anticipated. They arrived at the busy station at quarter past 9, and the creeping sensation intensified. Only when it was time for him and Ron to go through the brick wall did Harry realize what it was. Instead of filtering through the gateway to the Hogwarts Express, they had run into a solid wall.

By now, Harry was internally panicking, why couldn't he go through? Was it because magic rejected him? Scenes of his miserable life with the Dursleys flowed into his mind, and Harry found himself close to tears. He couldn't go back there, he would die for sure. He heard Ron say something about taking the flying Ford Angelia all the way to Hogwarts. Despite his current state, he whipped round to face the ginger.

"Have you gone mad?! We could be seen! I love Hogwarts, but there's no way in hell I'm getting expelled because a stupid idea!" Ron didn't seem fazed by Harry's indignant response. He was already heading towards the enchanted car, so Harry did the one thing that popped into his mind. He called to his magic for help.

'Please get me to Hogwarts safely...Please don't make me have to go there...'

Harry didn't know how many times he repeated his mantra, nor did he know for how long. All he knew was that after a while, Harry felt a jerk somewhere under his navel, and was being squeezed through a very constricting tube. With the only solid things near him being his trunk and Hedwig's cage, he held on to them tightly, while wishing for his safety. He unexpectedly came to a halt, and he felt himself and his things fall with a thud on, thankfully, solid material.

Finally, deciding to open his eyes, Harry looked ahead and was overjoyed to find that he was on the familiar train route to the wizarding school. 'If I'm on the train, that means I must be in someone else's compartment. Guess I have to apologize, and ask if I can stay here for the rest of the ride.' Realizing he was still on the floor, he quickly got up from his position and bowed his head in apology. The voice that spoke up, to Harry's surprise, was one that he knew all too well.

"Potter? What, how did you..."

Harry didn't let him finish as he bolted towards the source of the voice, façade forgotten, and enveloped them in a hug. His worries instantly melted away as he relaxed into the oddly warm body of his supposed archnemesis, Draco Malfoy. The Slytherin Prince. This time, Harry really did cry, except out of pure relief. He didn't care that there were two other Slytherins in the compartment. He didn't even care that said Slytherins were very formidable ones, being Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini, heirs of two powerful families.