A Darker Form of Magic, book two: Parseltongue

Chapter two

A/N: There's a Slytherin in here that might be from the video game, I don't know. I just needed a Slytherin for duels that was known for dueling, please don't take the name too seriously. Also, anyone else think that Lockhart was kinda creepy in the books, always showing up where Harry was. Cause I did and there wasn't a tag for it yet. The man is still harmless though

King's Cross Station was already busy when Thomas drove into the parking lot beside it, sighing like an old man as he listened to the conversation taking place around him, back and forth from the front and back seats of the car.

"Remember to actually eat something," Alex insisted, not for the first time.

"And sleep some, you damned bastard," Jude's voice came next from behind Thomas's seat, frustration lacing both of the boy's tones as they spoke to the fourth within the car.

Thomas and Alex had only known the two boys in their backseat for a couple of months, since the start of the summer, but both of them were unquestionably fond of the duo. And more protective of the youngest of the two than they thought possible in such a short time.

Though the eldest of the four knew that they had reason to be, more evidence to support their worries than they should for a boy of only twelve. A boy that had blood on his hands before they had even met him, and more so now that they had.

The instructions followed relentlessly as the four boys got out of the car, drawing more than one curious glance from the other more respectably dressed people walking to the station.

Thomas grinned as he watched the youngest of their lot walk away from the other two, to the boot of the car.

"You know what?" The black haired boy asked, his hands held up tiredly as if in surrender or defeat, though Thomas knew that it was neither.

Harry wasn't one for either of those, and when one was forced upon him then his retribution was always worse than the original slight. Something that the corpse in the ground should have remembered, but none of the boys felt any pity for it not having done so.

"This space is great," the boy continued, "I can already feel my IQ increasing from here." The elder of the four boys laughed, a deep rumble in Thomas and Alex's chests that hadn't been heard in some time now, but he could see that Jude did not look impressed by their youngest's witt in the least. Harry sighed at the look. "It's just school, I'm not going to show up dead or something."

All four boys went still at the youngest's words, a mixture of guilt and raw pain painting across each of their faces as the carless words set in. Because that was exactly what they were afraid of, that somehow the scarred boy would die and they wouldn't know until he just didn't show up at the beginning of the summer holidays, because no one writes to friends that they don't know exist. Because they wouldn't have been able to do anything to help the boy even if they did.

" Harry ," Thomas said, his voice pained with an anguish that he knew hurt each of them to hear so plainly. But it was better to be hurt than to be broken, a glance at the bespectacled boy wearing long sleeves even in the summer was all he needed to know that.

"Right, sorry," the boy said guiltily, his eyes downcast.

No one said that it was alright, Jude only moved to grab the other end of the trunk and Alex closed the boot as Thomas walked away solemnly to grab a trolley and brought it back. The boy loaded the trunk onto it, and Harry pulled the contraption out in front of the beat up car.

The four boys gathered there, something unbreakable in each of their eyes as they refused to say a proper goodbye. Thomas held out his fist and grinned with mischief as the other boy knocked his own against it, doing the same with Alex. Only Jude dared to touch the small boy more than that, bringing a hand to the scarred boy's face in a way that only he was allowed to do. The three watched as Harry went still under the touch, but didn't pull away.