Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin

Chapter 2: The Long Night

Hogwarts
1 September 1994

The ride to Hogwarts was uneventful, at least compared to years past. Indeed, the biggest hurdle was the torrential rainstorm that struck Hogsmeade upon their arrival. As Harry and his crew made their way from the train station to the waiting carriages beneath the protection of Umbrella Charms, Amy gasped in surprise at the sight of the thestrals. Harry and Theo both looked at each other. While none of them had personally observed the death of Tiberius Nott, Amy had seen the man's incapacitation and then heard his death-screams and the sounds of a Barghest tearing him apart. Apparently, that counted as "witnessing death" for purposes of the strange magic of thestrals. Of Harry's closest friends, only Neville and Ginny were still sheltered enough to not be able to see the eerie steeds.

Harry helped Amy into one of the carriages and then paused to look around. Nearby, he noticed Daphne and Astoria Greengrass boarding another carriage along with Pansy Parkinson and Drusilla Crabbe. He was surprised to see a somewhat sullen Tracey Davis board a different carriage farther back and wondered what sort of argument had split her off from the Greengrass sisters. Then, a sudden impulse seized the Slytherin.

"Please, let me help you up," he said somewhat loudly while holding out his hand to Ginny Weasley. The youngest Weasley nearly said something sarcastic about not being an invalid when she noticed him glance surreptitiously off to the side. She cut her eyes in that direction and noticed Daphne glaring at them.

"Why thank you, Harry!" Ginny said with what she hoped sounded like a coquettish laugh. "You're a true gentleman!"

Harry followed her into the carriage, where Theo and Amy were both looking dubiously at the pair. Ginny just smirked.

"Are you actively trying to make Daphne Greengrass jealous, Harry?" she asked.

"Maybe," Harry answered with a smirk.

The Sorting went off with only minor hitches. First, most of the student body was unpleasantly damp. While the older Slytherins and most Ravenclaws were quite familiar with the Umbrella Charm, the Hufflepuffs were less so, and the Gryffindors seemed to relish getting drenched in the rain. To make things even wetter, Peeves went after Jim and Ron with water balloons, and young Dennis Creevey (who seemed even more hyperactive than his relentlessly cheerful brother, Colin) had managed to fall into the lake. Naturally, young Dennis followed his sibling into Gryffindor, which was good, because it meant he had to walk past Hermione, who was the first person with the presence of mind to cast a Drying Charm on the poor boy.

As Harry took his seat, he noticed that the Head Table seemed a bit longer than usual this evening, complete with a few extra chairs for guests. In particular, Bartemius Crouch and Ludo Bagman were both present, presumably for Dumbledore's announcement about the Triwizard Tournament. Percy Weasley was also present, sitting next to his boss and looking distinctly uncomfortable to be sitting at the Head Table. And speaking of the Triwizard Tournament, the fabled Goblet of Fire was already in position on a pedestal directly in front of Dumbledore's chair. A circle of faintly glowing runes surrounded it. Presently, Bagman seemed engaged in a hopeless effort to converse with Professor Snape who resolutely ignored the fatuous man. Harry also noticed that the chair on Dumbledore's right was empty at the moment.

Another unexpected addition to the Head Table was Ted Tonks, who Dumbledore introduced as a new faculty member. Ted would be teaching introductory healing courses, acting as the official Healer for the Triwizard Tournament, and assisting Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing as needed. According to Dumbledore, Ted had some degree of training as a Mind Healer, and he would also be on call to act as a counselor should any of the student body wish to meet with him in that capacity. Harry's eyes narrowed at that, and he privately suspected this was more of Sirius's scheming to get him "the help he needed" after the various traumas of the last few years. What sort of counseling a 4th level Occlumens might need was beyond Harry, but apparently, his godfather was not letting the matter go.