There's a deadly Snake downstairs! (rewrite)

Back to School

Later, the girls were joined by the friends they had made over the last year.

The journey was spent with a lot of chess.  Harriet slaughtered them all. Her strategies always won. If they had thought she would go easy on them, they had been mistken.

Crabbe, Goyle and Blaise were finishing some last minute homework that was written about as well as nearly headless nicks head had been chopped off. Theo turned up his nose at their handwriting.

Harriet thought about what Tom had asked her to do. How the hell was she supposed to find a single black book in Hogwarts? There were too many people there. Approximately 100 in each year, per house. If not more. It was probably impossible to find a tiny black journal.

It was slowly getting darker outside. Harriet yawned. She currently had absolutely no idea what Pansy was talking about and simply nodded along. 

By the time the train pulled into Hogsmeade station, the moon had risen and the stars were twinkling in the sky. 

This year Harriet and the others were brought to the school in coaches. They were victorian looking and we're being pulled by something invisible, which was mildly disturbing. They were more comfortable than the wooden boats of the last year though so that was a plus. 

Candllight shone in the great hall, which was decorated as it had been last year with  the house banners hanging above the tables.  The golden plates and goblets were set out and gleamed in the semi-darkness. They bade Theo and Hermione goodbye and found some seats at the Slytherin table.

A while later, McGonagall led in the first years and the sorting commenced. Draco immediately pointed out a Weasley who, of course, was put in Gryffindor. 

" Knew it, " He whispered when she sat down.

Pansy and Harriet were far to bust analysing the new slytherins to notice. The seemed a decent bunch, but you never knew did you? 

The appearance of the food put a hold on all assessments. Eating was more important. They could decide who was most likely to sneak frog-spawn soap into a bathroom later.

" Yay! Food!" Harriet exclaimed happily, grabbing a nearby dish.

" Pass the spaghetti! " Pansy ordered. 

"Chicken!" Said Blaise.

The feast was always a joyful occasion and the one time where you could eat as much as you damn well wanted without feeling judged. Slytherin Prefects Higgs and Whittington were no exception.  Both were politely stuffing their faces. Slytherins always did everything with a certain air of dignity that no situation could take away from them. Or at least, they liked to believe they did.

Something flashed passed the window along with the sound of a car engine. All heads turned.  Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape hurried out of the hall. 

"Did someone fly a car to school?" Harriet asked.

"I think you need a permit for that." Pansy said.

"Well," Blaise chimed in, "Maybe it's an older student. Most seventh years are seventeen already."

"No one seems to be missing..." Harriet frowned, studying the seventh years at the far end of all the tables.

"Can we just enjoy our meal, please?" Draco asked, rolling his eyes. "We can worry about the drama later!"

After the feast was over, they walked towards their house common room.

"Looks gloomier than last year," Harriet commented.

"Maybe it's because of what happened..." Pansy trailed off.

They all exchanged glances.

"Let's not talk about that," Draco suggested. That was what his father always said when an uncomfortable subject was brought up at dinner.

The others nodded in agreement. They were okay and had rescued the stone. All was well.

"Well, goodnight then." Harriet raised a hand shortly and walked in the direction of the second year dormitory.

Pansy followed her after a short while. When she entered the room, the curtains around Harriet's bed had been drawn shut already. It was strange, since she usually kept them open for an hour to read before she went to sleep.

Maybe something had changed over the holidays?

Pansy shrugged it off. Even last year she hadn't been able to tell what Harriet had been thinking. She wasn't even sure she had gotten to know her properly. Regardless, Pansy Parkinson had decided that Harriet Potter was her friend and that she could trust her, even if she was rather cold, sometimes on the rude side and made everyone around her feel like an idiot on a semi-regular basis. Harriet could also be considerate and warm hearted. It just wasn't her default setting.

Pansy was sure that she would eventually come out of her shell completely and that she would be the best friend anyone could wish for.

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Thanks to all my readers. I hope you're all doing well!

XOXO, Drachma