Categories > Books > Harry Potter > The Slayer, The Avatar And The Guardian Of Light
Chapter 58 - Strangers And Strange Behaviour
Dimension: 563 - Earth
Date: 1st September 2001 AD
Country: Britain - Scotland
Location: Hogwarts - Hogwarts Express
Time: Evening
Draco Malfoy had had a terrible holiday.
It had started badly; his father had told him (once he had been broken out of Azkaban) that Draco was going to be taking The Dark Mark by the end of this school year, then when his father had come back from a mission with a huge gash through his eye (or what was left of it) he kept shouting something about a bird causing the injury.
Draco thought it was hilarious, the great and powerful Lucius Malfoy mortally scarred by a bird and what made it even better was that the injury didn't heal magically no matter what they tried, so his father now wore an eye patch at all times. What further worsened his father's mood was the fact that not only did he have only one eye, but also he couldn't leave the house because he would be arrested on sight, his name now meant nothing at the Ministry AND they had his wand.
To say his father's mood was sour would be an understatement; he had been storming around the mansion ever since he got back.
For once, Draco actually felt sorry for the House Elves who bore the brunt of his father's tantrums, in fact the only things in the mansion worse off than the House Elves were the vases and other china his mother decorated the house with, many of which were priceless antiques and heirlooms....or at least they were before his Father took out his rage on any piece of pottery he saw.
But the thing that made it all much worse was the fact that since he came back from school last year Draco had started another of his summer projects (During the holidays he always started a project of some sort or other, this years had been the hardest yet), the result of said project could not have been worse if he had tried.
His father never cared what he did as long as it didn't disturb him, destroy the mansion or any of his property; on the other hand his mother was always willing to help, despite her hard public image she was actually a lot more relaxed in private, she was just a world class actress; she knew how to be the perfect rich housewife and 'Lady of the Manor'.
Draco normally preferred to work alone, but if he wanted anything for his project, he would ask her before his father, they had always been closer.
While conducting his project, he had had time to think about what life as a Death Eater would be like; he knew if he joined, he would always be less important than his father, he had always been held back by him, Lucius always had to be number one.
It was at this point that Draco started wondering if he really wanted to be a Death Eater at all, he would be able to kill Mudblood's and Blood traitors, but he could get killed in the process, it would get him power, but never as much as he wanted, over the last year he had grown to despise his father and was now unsure about what to do.
If he followed his father, he would always be second best, if he ignored the Dark Lord he would certainly be killed, but what if he turned to the other side and opposed the Dark Lord? Then he would be hunted down and executed, the only way he could get help was to go to Dumbledore, which was NOT something he wanted to do.
He despised asking for help, it was weak and pathetic, but it might be his only chance for survival.
He was now on his way back to Hogwarts in a compartment by himself. Crabbe and Goyle were off somewhere, he didn't really care where, he had had enough of them trailing after him, the stupid pair of idiots put Pure-Bloods to shame.
Millicent and Pansy had (luckily for him) not shown up either. Like Crabbe and Goyle, Millicent was just muscle and could be shaken off, though she was more intelligent than they were, but Pansy would have been a problem, she was almost as clever as his mother except she had an evil streak about her which at Hogwarts was second only to his own.
The train finally stopped and he climbed out.
He stared at the ground, not even looking where he was going until he bumped into someone.
"Oh sorry," a female voice said. "Oh it's you. In that case, forget I said anything," the voice added as he lazily turned to the person in question.
It was the Weasel Girl. She looked like she was awaiting his retort, but he just stared at her. She looked different than usual, though he couldn't figure out why.
As he thought up an insult he wondered.....Why?
Why bother?
Why should he insult her?
Feeling uneasy, Draco turned and left, not looking back.
Draco felt very worried. Why hadn't he insulted her? Why, he couldn't put his finger on it, he despised her and her family.
"Draco." An all too familiar voice called out.
Turning slowly he saw Pansy, Millicent, Crabbe and Goyle walking towards him.
Oh Merlin
He immediately put on his usual sneer.
Pansy looked her usual conniving self, taking up her role as leader of the pack in his absence.
"Where were you on the train?" she asked. "We couldn't find you and you weren't at the Prefects Meeting."
"You obviously didn't look hard enough then," he answered, returning to his usual slightly insulting tone, which told everyone else that they were not as good as him.
"Oh well, come on. Let's get a carriage or we'll have to share with a Mudblood."
The trip to the school was uneventful, Pansy kept rambling on about some holiday she had been on in Spain.
Soon they reached the school; Draco wasn't really concentrating as they went inside and seated themselves in the Great Hall. Pansy was once again rambling, but this time about whether there was anyone worthwhile to look out for among the first years.
Draco turned his attention to the Gryffindor table. There sat the golden duo sidekicks, Potter still hadn't been found, even the Death Eaters didn't know where he was, or so his father had shouted.
There had been lots of rumours flying around about Potter leaving his home, ranging from him being thrown out to torturing and then killing his family before destroying the house. Somehow Draco didn't believe this, the former was more likely but at the moment it was unimportant.
The Weasel and the Mudblood were sitting with that stupid Longbottom lump and the Weasel Girl.
When he looked at her, he felt something. What was it? She looked the same as ever, but then again, she didn't, it was strange.
She looked over.
Don't let her see you staring. Look somewhere else. See who the new DADA teacher is.
What the....That's odd.
There were seven spare seats.
Seven!
Who in Merlin's name were going to fill those chairs?
All the other professors were there, including Professor Snape who sent him what could only be described as a warning glance. He was a hard one to figure out; he was close friends with his father, or rather they were firmly on the same side, Slytherin's really don't have friends, just allies who want the same thing as you do and think you can help them get it. He was also a very high ranking and very trusted member of the Dark Lords inner circle, yet he was different. He had always kept an eye on Draco, but he could never figure out if it was because of his father or for some other reason.
He was surprised that Dumbledore hadn't found out about him yet. He may not like the old wizard, but even Draco knew that the Headmaster was no fool.
________________________________________________________________________
Dimension: 563 - Earth
Date: 1st September 2001 AD
Country: Britain - Scotland
Location: Hogwarts - Hogsmeade Station
Time: Evening
As the group climbed down out of the train Fleur and Colleen turned to the group.
"Professor Dumbledore suggested we accompany the first years across the lake as this is the first time we have come to Hogwarts other than by carriage." explained Colette.
"I would much rather never go near it again." said Fleur slightly fearfully as she stared at the lake, memories of her previous visit renewing themselves in her mind.
"We will see you up at the school." Said Colette quickly taking her friends arm in reassurance before leading her to the lake side.
As soon as the pair were gone the group started heading towards the carriages.
"Oh thank Merlin." Sighed Neville as his Veela temptress walked away "I'm sure I'm not going to survive Professor Fontaine's classes."
"I liked her." Smiled Luna brightly, looking in the direction of the two departing Veela "I found her forwardness most refreshing."
"I have to admit that once she stopped teasing the boys and starting explaining her class she did seem a lot more likable." Agreed Hermione "Did you notice how Fleur didn't seem her usual annoying self?"
"I'm more worried about Harry," explained Ginny "We still don't...."
She never got the chance to finish as someone bumped into her.
"Oh sorry," she apologized before turning to come face to face with a very familiar Slytherin. "Oh it's you. In that case, forget I said it." Ginny sneered awaiting his comeback.
As Malfoy turned and saw Ginny he froze, not even looking at the others and then, much to their surprise, he just walked off.
"What was that about?" asked Ron.
"I have no idea." Replied Hermione "We can talk about it later, we must get a carriage quickly or there won't be any left with enough space for all of us."
________________________________________________________________________
A few minutes later they entered the great hall. At the end of Gryffindor Table they separated from Luna as she went to sit down at her house table, while they continued on down the length of their own and sat near the end so they could clearly see the teachers table.
Discussing quickly turned to their encounter with Malfoy.
"He didn't even sneer at us," said Ron. "But you know what the weird thing was?" Receiving a blank look from the others (save Hermione) he continued. "He didn't have Crabbe and Goyle with him."
"Oh yeah, I didn't notice at the time," Ginny said, looking over to Malfoy, who had been looking at her mere moments before. He snapped his eyes away before the others noticed. He was sitting with Crabbe and Goyle, but didn't seem to actually be there, as if he was lost in thought.
"He did it again."
"He did what?" Ron said snapping into protective big brother mode.
"When I turned, he was staring at me. He did the same outside before walking off. I don't think he even noticed you lot."
"We'll keep an eye on him," Hermione said before Ron could march over to Malfoy and introduce him to his fist.
"I wonder who is going to fill the seven spaces at the teachers table?" asked Neville, aiding Hermione in distracting Ron.
"Well Adam, Professors Delacour, Fontaine and Radcliffe for a start," added Hermione said him a thankful look at Neville "That leaves two, one has to be the DADA teacher."
"But what about the other?" asked Ginny.
"We will have to wait and find out," replied Hermione "Here come the first years."
The sorting proceeded as usual: the hat doing its usual weird song followed by the sorting, a perfect split of students, ten for each house.
Dumbledore stood.
"Welcome....Welcome to another year at Hogwarts."
A loud bang in the room drew everyone's attention and several wands from Professors and DA members, the small explosion flooded the area with smoke, obscuring the source of the noise.
There was a loud pop as the smoke began to clear, revealing a large phoenix and Harry Potter.
"Thank you....It's good to be back."
Dimension: 563 - Earth
Date: 1st September 2001 AD
Country: Britain - Scotland
Location: Hogwarts - Hogwarts Express
Time: Evening
Draco Malfoy had had a terrible holiday.
It had started badly; his father had told him (once he had been broken out of Azkaban) that Draco was going to be taking The Dark Mark by the end of this school year, then when his father had come back from a mission with a huge gash through his eye (or what was left of it) he kept shouting something about a bird causing the injury.
Draco thought it was hilarious, the great and powerful Lucius Malfoy mortally scarred by a bird and what made it even better was that the injury didn't heal magically no matter what they tried, so his father now wore an eye patch at all times. What further worsened his father's mood was the fact that not only did he have only one eye, but also he couldn't leave the house because he would be arrested on sight, his name now meant nothing at the Ministry AND they had his wand.
To say his father's mood was sour would be an understatement; he had been storming around the mansion ever since he got back.
For once, Draco actually felt sorry for the House Elves who bore the brunt of his father's tantrums, in fact the only things in the mansion worse off than the House Elves were the vases and other china his mother decorated the house with, many of which were priceless antiques and heirlooms....or at least they were before his Father took out his rage on any piece of pottery he saw.
But the thing that made it all much worse was the fact that since he came back from school last year Draco had started another of his summer projects (During the holidays he always started a project of some sort or other, this years had been the hardest yet), the result of said project could not have been worse if he had tried.
His father never cared what he did as long as it didn't disturb him, destroy the mansion or any of his property; on the other hand his mother was always willing to help, despite her hard public image she was actually a lot more relaxed in private, she was just a world class actress; she knew how to be the perfect rich housewife and 'Lady of the Manor'.
Draco normally preferred to work alone, but if he wanted anything for his project, he would ask her before his father, they had always been closer.
While conducting his project, he had had time to think about what life as a Death Eater would be like; he knew if he joined, he would always be less important than his father, he had always been held back by him, Lucius always had to be number one.
It was at this point that Draco started wondering if he really wanted to be a Death Eater at all, he would be able to kill Mudblood's and Blood traitors, but he could get killed in the process, it would get him power, but never as much as he wanted, over the last year he had grown to despise his father and was now unsure about what to do.
If he followed his father, he would always be second best, if he ignored the Dark Lord he would certainly be killed, but what if he turned to the other side and opposed the Dark Lord? Then he would be hunted down and executed, the only way he could get help was to go to Dumbledore, which was NOT something he wanted to do.
He despised asking for help, it was weak and pathetic, but it might be his only chance for survival.
He was now on his way back to Hogwarts in a compartment by himself. Crabbe and Goyle were off somewhere, he didn't really care where, he had had enough of them trailing after him, the stupid pair of idiots put Pure-Bloods to shame.
Millicent and Pansy had (luckily for him) not shown up either. Like Crabbe and Goyle, Millicent was just muscle and could be shaken off, though she was more intelligent than they were, but Pansy would have been a problem, she was almost as clever as his mother except she had an evil streak about her which at Hogwarts was second only to his own.
The train finally stopped and he climbed out.
He stared at the ground, not even looking where he was going until he bumped into someone.
"Oh sorry," a female voice said. "Oh it's you. In that case, forget I said anything," the voice added as he lazily turned to the person in question.
It was the Weasel Girl. She looked like she was awaiting his retort, but he just stared at her. She looked different than usual, though he couldn't figure out why.
As he thought up an insult he wondered.....Why?
Why bother?
Why should he insult her?
Feeling uneasy, Draco turned and left, not looking back.
Draco felt very worried. Why hadn't he insulted her? Why, he couldn't put his finger on it, he despised her and her family.
"Draco." An all too familiar voice called out.
Turning slowly he saw Pansy, Millicent, Crabbe and Goyle walking towards him.
Oh Merlin
He immediately put on his usual sneer.
Pansy looked her usual conniving self, taking up her role as leader of the pack in his absence.
"Where were you on the train?" she asked. "We couldn't find you and you weren't at the Prefects Meeting."
"You obviously didn't look hard enough then," he answered, returning to his usual slightly insulting tone, which told everyone else that they were not as good as him.
"Oh well, come on. Let's get a carriage or we'll have to share with a Mudblood."
The trip to the school was uneventful, Pansy kept rambling on about some holiday she had been on in Spain.
Soon they reached the school; Draco wasn't really concentrating as they went inside and seated themselves in the Great Hall. Pansy was once again rambling, but this time about whether there was anyone worthwhile to look out for among the first years.
Draco turned his attention to the Gryffindor table. There sat the golden duo sidekicks, Potter still hadn't been found, even the Death Eaters didn't know where he was, or so his father had shouted.
There had been lots of rumours flying around about Potter leaving his home, ranging from him being thrown out to torturing and then killing his family before destroying the house. Somehow Draco didn't believe this, the former was more likely but at the moment it was unimportant.
The Weasel and the Mudblood were sitting with that stupid Longbottom lump and the Weasel Girl.
When he looked at her, he felt something. What was it? She looked the same as ever, but then again, she didn't, it was strange.
She looked over.
Don't let her see you staring. Look somewhere else. See who the new DADA teacher is.
What the....That's odd.
There were seven spare seats.
Seven!
Who in Merlin's name were going to fill those chairs?
All the other professors were there, including Professor Snape who sent him what could only be described as a warning glance. He was a hard one to figure out; he was close friends with his father, or rather they were firmly on the same side, Slytherin's really don't have friends, just allies who want the same thing as you do and think you can help them get it. He was also a very high ranking and very trusted member of the Dark Lords inner circle, yet he was different. He had always kept an eye on Draco, but he could never figure out if it was because of his father or for some other reason.
He was surprised that Dumbledore hadn't found out about him yet. He may not like the old wizard, but even Draco knew that the Headmaster was no fool.
________________________________________________________________________
Dimension: 563 - Earth
Date: 1st September 2001 AD
Country: Britain - Scotland
Location: Hogwarts - Hogsmeade Station
Time: Evening
As the group climbed down out of the train Fleur and Colleen turned to the group.
"Professor Dumbledore suggested we accompany the first years across the lake as this is the first time we have come to Hogwarts other than by carriage." explained Colette.
"I would much rather never go near it again." said Fleur slightly fearfully as she stared at the lake, memories of her previous visit renewing themselves in her mind.
"We will see you up at the school." Said Colette quickly taking her friends arm in reassurance before leading her to the lake side.
As soon as the pair were gone the group started heading towards the carriages.
"Oh thank Merlin." Sighed Neville as his Veela temptress walked away "I'm sure I'm not going to survive Professor Fontaine's classes."
"I liked her." Smiled Luna brightly, looking in the direction of the two departing Veela "I found her forwardness most refreshing."
"I have to admit that once she stopped teasing the boys and starting explaining her class she did seem a lot more likable." Agreed Hermione "Did you notice how Fleur didn't seem her usual annoying self?"
"I'm more worried about Harry," explained Ginny "We still don't...."
She never got the chance to finish as someone bumped into her.
"Oh sorry," she apologized before turning to come face to face with a very familiar Slytherin. "Oh it's you. In that case, forget I said it." Ginny sneered awaiting his comeback.
As Malfoy turned and saw Ginny he froze, not even looking at the others and then, much to their surprise, he just walked off.
"What was that about?" asked Ron.
"I have no idea." Replied Hermione "We can talk about it later, we must get a carriage quickly or there won't be any left with enough space for all of us."
________________________________________________________________________
A few minutes later they entered the great hall. At the end of Gryffindor Table they separated from Luna as she went to sit down at her house table, while they continued on down the length of their own and sat near the end so they could clearly see the teachers table.
Discussing quickly turned to their encounter with Malfoy.
"He didn't even sneer at us," said Ron. "But you know what the weird thing was?" Receiving a blank look from the others (save Hermione) he continued. "He didn't have Crabbe and Goyle with him."
"Oh yeah, I didn't notice at the time," Ginny said, looking over to Malfoy, who had been looking at her mere moments before. He snapped his eyes away before the others noticed. He was sitting with Crabbe and Goyle, but didn't seem to actually be there, as if he was lost in thought.
"He did it again."
"He did what?" Ron said snapping into protective big brother mode.
"When I turned, he was staring at me. He did the same outside before walking off. I don't think he even noticed you lot."
"We'll keep an eye on him," Hermione said before Ron could march over to Malfoy and introduce him to his fist.
"I wonder who is going to fill the seven spaces at the teachers table?" asked Neville, aiding Hermione in distracting Ron.
"Well Adam, Professors Delacour, Fontaine and Radcliffe for a start," added Hermione said him a thankful look at Neville "That leaves two, one has to be the DADA teacher."
"But what about the other?" asked Ginny.
"We will have to wait and find out," replied Hermione "Here come the first years."
The sorting proceeded as usual: the hat doing its usual weird song followed by the sorting, a perfect split of students, ten for each house.
Dumbledore stood.
"Welcome....Welcome to another year at Hogwarts."
A loud bang in the room drew everyone's attention and several wands from Professors and DA members, the small explosion flooded the area with smoke, obscuring the source of the noise.
There was a loud pop as the smoke began to clear, revealing a large phoenix and Harry Potter.
"Thank you....It's good to be back."
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