Harry Potter and the Wizard's Apprentice

Chapter Six

Wizarding Wireless Network

Harry awoke early the next morning with light streaming in through the windows. He stretched lazily, and pulled a puffy feather pillow over his face to block out the sun, thinking to himself that he could get used to living the pampered life. He didn't think he'd ever slept in a bed as comfortable as this one in his entire life. From the sound of Ron's snores, he hadn't either. As his mind tried slowly to wake, he became more and more aware of a faint rustling noise coming from the other side of the room. Finally, a loud squawk brought him sitting straight up in bed.

"Hedwig!" he cried aloud. Apparently, Hedwig and Pigwidgeon had been delivered back in their room sometime that morning. He walked quickly over to her cage sitting on his dresser, to let her out so that she could stretch her wings. She looked distinctively disgruntled, and Harry could tell by her glare that she did not care much for her grooming session. Indeed, when he opened the cage door, she immediately flew out and started flying in circles across the ceiling. Harry moved to open the next cage's door, allowing Ron's owl to fly out as well. Pigwidgeon, on the other hand, seemed delighted by the whole affair. He flew madly around the room and then settled on Ron's head, hopping up and down and twittering.

"Gerroff, you stupid fluttering git!" Ron growled, rolling over and swinging at the small owl, which easily avoided his swipes and hooted even louder.

Now that they were fully awake, Harry and Ron got dressed quickly. After a short time, they headed downstairs to breakfast, dragging their trunks behind them, creating loud thunks as they hit each stair.

"How d'you think Hermione's holding up?" Harry muttered to Ron as they neared the parlour.

"I dunno, but if something happens to her parents, I'm going to kill Malfoy. I swear it," Ron said, in a voice so menacing that Harry stopped in his tracks in the doorway and stared at Ron.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" Ron asked.

Harry opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the bustling arrival of Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh, boys-- good, you're already up and dressed. The girls have just started eating. Do try to hurry, won't you? The ministry cars will be here in twenty minutes."

They hurried through a breakfast of scones and weak tea before allowing Mrs. Weasley to usher them out the Muggle London entrance to the Leaky Cauldron, where a Ministry car was waiting for them. Harry recognised the same brown-haired Auror leaning nonchalantly against the car's side, waiting for them.

"Okay, into the backseat, the lot of you-- quickly now, I don't want to be out in the street any longer than necessary. Oh, hello, Silas. Good to see you again," Mrs. Weasley greeted the Auror as she sat in the front seat again. Harry lost what the Auror replied as the car door shut and they were off.

~*~

"On the count of three, then?" Ron said, as he and Harry prepared to pass the barrier at King's Cross Station.

"Right," Harry replied. "One- two- three!" As Harry gave the countdown, he and Ron leaned casually against the barrier and slipped through.

Almost immediately, Harry felt a wave of nostalgia overcome him as he was met with the familiar sights and sounds of Platform 9 ¾. Harry couldn't help smiling at the enormous black and scarlet steam engine that loomed before him. It was good to be back. His smile slipped somewhat as he remembered his trip to King's Cross last year. Sirius had been with him then.

Mrs. Weasley had just finished hugging her children, and turned to face Harry. "Don't you worry yourself to death, now. You've had enough trouble to be going on with." She gave him a tight, motherly squeeze. Looking over Mrs. Weasley's shoulder, Harry was keenly aware of dozens of eyes upon him. Parents of the Hogwarts students who were milling about, saying goodbye to their children, had now turned to face him, whispering amongst each other.

"Oi! Harry! You and Ginny find us a compartment. Here-- take our trunks, will you? Hermione and I will join you after meeting with the other pref-- ouch! I'm right behind you, Hermione. There's no need to get nasty." Hermione hadseized a sleeve of Ron's shirt and was pulling him briskly to the train. No doubt she didn't want to be late to the first Prefect meeting of the school year.

"C'mon, let's go in before Mum starts in on how I should be a prefect too," Ginny said in a low voice. They said their goodbyes to Mrs. Weasley, who cast a locomotor spell on the trunks before letting them head towards the train. Before they got very far, however, Harry was met with a rush of overeager witches and wizards calling out to him.

"Harry Potter-- is that really you?" a high, squeaky witch's voice reached his ear. He spun to his right and saw a tall, thick-necked witch, whose voice did not match her appearance at all.

"Er--,"

"It is! It is him!" yelled a portly man in a tweed cloak somewhere from his left. "Look at that scar. Can I touch it, Harry? You know, for good luck and all!"

Harry jerked his head around, but before he could find the source of the voice, another reached his ears from behind him.

"What can you tell us, Harry? What's going on with You-Know-Who? Our readers have a right to know, you know."

Harry turned towards the familiar voice, and felt contempt wash over him as he recognised Rita Skeeter. He opened his mouth to give her a scathing reply, but she interrupted him.

"What?" she said in a would-be innocent voice, baring her teeth in a forced smile. Harry thought it made her look like a hungry wolf. "It's thanks to you I got my job back at the Daily Prophet. I thought it was only fitting that I welcome you back to Hogwarts." She lowered her voice dramatically, "Not really, of course. But I thought your nosy friend Granger might be interested to know that I've recently become a registered Animagus." In a louder voice, she continued, "So what do you say, Harry? How about another exclusive interview, eh?"

"Bugger off," he snarled, as he and Ginny, who had been telling off the people around them, attempted to push their way through the throng. Hands reached out to grab at him, and he could hear Hedwig squawking loudly at the offending people. The trunks knocked painfully against his back as people pushed to reach him.

"Oh, is the little baby Potter angry? He doesn't like all the attention, no?" whispered another familiar female voice in his ear. "Set your half-blood to boiling?"

This voice, however, was much different from Rita Skeeter's. This voice was deep and dark, and brought back terrible memories that Harry had fought to keep hidden these last few months. He whipped his head around, searching the faces of the crowd. He caught a glimpse of a black robe disappearing, and turned quickly in that direction-- wand already raised-- only to be blocked by a wall of people. One of their trunks floated in front of him, cutting off his line of vision. Someone clutched at the back of his robes and he could hear Ginny yelling at the surrounding people to back off. He broke out into a cold sweat and his scar began to throb painfully.

"Alastor! Alastor!" Harry heard Mrs. Weasley's voice cry out above the crowd. Harry barely had time to register this when--

"See here, what's going on?" Mad-Eye Moody growled, coming out of nowhere. He grabbed Harry's upper arm with one hand, and Ginny's with another, and propelled them towards the train, trunks bumping haphazardly behind them. Moody glared at the crowd with his magical eye, which was spinning bizarrely in all directions. The crowd shrank back under his stare, finally allowing Harry and Ginny to reach the train. Harry had never been so glad to see Moody in his life.

"Wha- what are you doing here?" Harry gasped in surprise, the moment he had a chance to speak.

"Boy, you know better than to think that Dumbledore is going to let you out in public with only Molly for protection. She's a good witch, but she can't prevent everything. He's got other members scattered throughout the platform watching out for you. We were supposed to stay hidden unless there was trouble; Dumbledore said he didn't want any more attention brought on you." Moody snorted at this last comment, his magical eye searching the crowd behind him. "Obviously, we needn't have bothered. Nowadays there's no way you're going to go unnoticed, not that you ever did before. Now- on the train, the both of you!" He pushed them up the ramp to the door of the train.

"But--," Harry began.

"In you go, boy, we've stood out in the open too long already. You never can tell who may be lurking in a crowd."

"I know, that's what I'm trying to--,"

"There you are then," Moody said, successfully ushering them through the door. "Hurry and find yourself a compartment. There's good lad. Mind you keep yourself out of trouble." With that, Moody swept back out of the train, into the crowd.

Harry turned to Ginny, bewildered. "What was that all about? What was he in such a hurry for?" He realised he still had his wand out, and stuck it in his back pocket.

"I don't know..." Ginny said. They walked down the corridor a bit and she peered out the nearest window. "Oh! I see... look at what he's doing!"

Harry joined her at the window and saw that Moody had cast some sort of shimmering barrier around the platform, only letting the students pass by him into the train one by one. He saw many adults try to force their way past, only to bounce back uselessly. Harry peered into the crowd, but could not see anyone else he recognised.

"Ooh..." Ginny breathed. "He's going to get into so much trouble. I'm sure he doesn't have authorisation for that."

Harry snorted, pulling his head back from the window. "Oh, yeah, and who's going to punish him? Your dad?"

Ginny gave a short laugh. "I forgot. How silly of me. Not that Mad-Eye ever bothers with anything so trivial as laws. Harry, what were you trying to tell him?"

Now that he was standing under the bright, reassuring lights of the train, Harry suddenly felt unsure of what had really happened. For a minute, in the moment of chaos, he had thought he heard Bellatrix Lestrange's voice. How could she have been there, though? She would have been recognised, surely. Your scar did hurt, a little voice in his head replied.

"It doesn't matter," he said instead. "C'mon, let's go on and get a compartment."

Being relatively early, they were lucky enough to find an empty one, and stowed their trunks and cages in the overhead luggage rack.

"Ahh... freedom," Harry said, stretching out on the seat opposite of Ginny, and propping his head up with his hand.

She gave him an impish grin and said, "Shall we celebrate? MobiliOrchideous!" She waved her wand and instantly a dozen violet coloured flowers shot out of its tip, and floated lazily around the room.

Harry cocked an eyebrow at her, and took his wand out of his back pocket. "You think that's something, Weasley? Try Avis!" He brandished his wand lazily, and several songbirds flew out to join the flowers circling around the ceiling.

"Ha!" Ginny laughed. "Bulla Aureas!"

"Papillious!"

"Ornamentum!"

They were laughing so hard, they didn't even hear the compartment door slide open.

"Well, what do we have here? Is it playtime for the kiddies?" Draco Malfoy stood in the doorway, scowling at them through a cloud of golden bubbles, which had chosen that moment to drift in front of his face. Harry was surprised to see that he was alone again.

"Oh, Malfoy. You're just jealous because you don't have bubbles, butterflies, or birds floating in your compartment. I imagine the Slytherin carriage only carries skulls, poison, and dead animals," Ginny said flippantly.

"Are you trying to be cute, Weasley? I'm surprised you would even recognise the term."

"Don't you have somewhere to be? Like a prefects' meeting?" Harry said quickly, before Ginny could retort. He was in too good of a mood to have it ruined by the likes of Draco Malfoy.

"Actually, Potter, the meeting doesn't start until the train leaves the station. But it's nice to know you care," Draco said snidely as he leaned casually against the doorframe. The train gave a jolt just then, as it started down the tracks.

"Well, it's left the station now. So sod off."

"What's the matter with you, Potter? Missing your dog?"

"I SAID SOD OFF, MALFOY!"

Harry felt anger coursing through him. How dare Draco Malfoy mention Sirius to him? Without warning, Malfoy flew off his feet, out of the compartment, and into the hall, the door sliding shut behind him with a bang. Harry met Draco's eyes from the other side of the glass pane and saw that the pale boy was picking himself off the ground and staring at Harry incredulously.

"Harry? How did you do that?"

"Huh?" Harry said, tearing his eyes away from Malfoy. "Do what?"

"You did magic without using your wand."

"Oh... yeah, I guess you're right. I don't know how I did it, but it seems to happen whenever I get really angry. Doesn't that happen to everyone, though?"

"Sort of... " she said, looking hesitant.

The door sliding open interrupted them again. This time, Dean, Neville, and Seamus walked in.

"Hiya, Harry," Neville said cheerfully and sat down next to him. Harry was glad to notice that this year Neville had not brought his Mimbulus mimbletonia with him into their compartment. "What's going on in here? Why are all of these streamers flying about?"

"Oh, Harry and I were just letting off a little steam," Ginny answered for him.

"Well, did you let off steam on Draco Malfoy?" Dean asked, as he and Seamus sat next to Ginny. "We saw him leaving this compartment and he looked paler than normal-- if you can believe that."

"Oh, you know, he was being typical Malfoy," Harry replied quickly, hedging the question. He did not want Ginny to mention what had just happened. He spotted the rectangular box in Seamus's hand, and changed the subject. "What's that you're holding, Seamus?"

"It's a birthday present from me Mam," Seamus said, grinning. "It's a Wizarding Wireless. It plays broadcast music from the Wizarding Wireless Network."

"Like a Muggle radio," Dean explained.

"Cool," Harry said. "Let's hear it then."

They sat in silence for a while, listening to the music. Harry felt warm and peaceful, and was almost lulled to sleep by the gentle rocking of the train. Somewhere far away he heard Dean and Seamus arguing over the finer points of football versus Quidditch. He was vaguely aware as one tune ended, and he heard a voice announce that a song by the Weird Sisters and their new lead singer was coming on next. The music started back up and Harry closed his eyes, thinking about taking a nap.

Then his scar prickled. He sat up and rubbed at his forehead, feeling very irritated. Why did it have to hurt now? Why did it have to hurt at all? He was sick and tired of having to worry about it. Harry looked around at the others, hoping for a distraction. Ginny was glaring out the window. He turned to Neville instead, who was also wearing a frown on his round face.

"So, Neville, did you have a good holiday?" he asked the other boy stiffly.

"I don't know what business it is of yours, Potter." Neville scowled at him, and folded his arms across his chest.

"What's the matter with you?" Harry spat. He was just trying to be polite to the other boy, after all. Also, his scar hurt.

"Maybe he doesn't like you being so nosy," Dean said.

"ME, nosy? I--,"

"Oh, shut up, Harry. Not everything is about YOU," Seamus yelled, and then turned to Dean. "You too. I've been listening to you jabber on all morning, and I'm SICK OF IT!"

"You're one to talk, SEAMUS!" Ginny shrieked, standing up to face him. "Maybe I'M tired of hearing your stupid VOICE!"

"GINNY- don't you DARE yell at SEAMUS," Harry roared back, jumping out of his seat. "He didn't do anything to YOU."

"OH!" she screamed in frustration. "Don't tell ME what to do; you're just the BLOODY BOY WHO LIVED."

"You didn't mind so much before, did you?" Neville hissed at her.

Ginny opened her trunk and threw a textbook at Neville. Neville hurled it back with a loud grunt. Dean stood up and reached into the trunk as well. He grabbed a hairbrush and chucked it at Neville's head. Harry, in turn, opened his trunk and lobbed a pair of shoes at Dean. Seamus pulled a handful of Chocolate Frogs out of his pocket and pelted Harry with them. Harry reached for his wand, mouth already forming a curse--

"IMPEDIMENTA!"

Harry, Ginny, Dean, Neville, and Seamus were all thrown to the floor from the force of the spell. Harry landed on Seamus's Wizard Wireless and felt it crunch underneath him. The music stopped, and there was deadly silence in the compartment. The only thing Harry could move was his eyes and he forced them to look at the doorway. Hermione and Ron were standing there, both looking flabbergasted. Hermione had her wand in her hand.

"In a moment you all will get up, apologise to each other, and act like rational human beings or I will put the full body bind on the lot of you!" she said in a steely voice.

She waved her wand and said, "Finite Incantatum." Harry immediately was able to move his limbs again, and all of the magical items he and Ginny had conjured disappeared. The five of them picked themselves up off the floor, confused expressions on their faces.

"How'd we get on the floor?" Neville asked.

"No idea," Harry said, "but I landed on your Wireless, Seamus. Sorry about that." He handed the broken box to the sandy haired boy.

"It's no problem, mate. Easily fixed. Reparo!" Seamus flicked his wand and the broken pieces flew back together. "I'll leave it off for now, though."

"I don't understand," Ginny said. "Did the train stop suddenly?"

"I don't know," Neville said in a bewildered voice. He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. "My head hurts."

"Maybe it did, Ginny! Your trunk contents are strewn all over the floor," Dean said, looking around. "We'd better go check on our stuff; it's in the next carriage." He, Seamus, and Neville left, shutting the door behind them.

"What are you playing at?" Ron said as soon as the others were gone, looking at Harry in disbelief.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, when Hermione and I came in, you all were standing nose to nose, screaming at each other! Harry, you almost cursed Seamus!"

"Come off it, no I didn't!" Harry said, laughing. He felt strangely exhilarant, as if a ton of weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "You're mad! We were just sitting here listening to music-- weren't we, Ginny?"

Ginny nodded vigorously; she too was wearing a wide grin. "Yeah! And then the next thing I knew, I was picking myself up off the floor, and-- oh, goody. I'm starved!"

Harry turned and saw that the plump witch with the food trolley had arrived. He jumped up enthusiastically and bought everyone a round of sweets.

"Here ya go," he said cheerfully, dumping handfuls of candy into Ron, Hermione, and Ginny's laps. Ginny giggled merrily and popped a few of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans into her mouth, heedless of the various tastes. Harry sat down as well, munching happily on a pumpkin pasty. Ron and Hermione exchanged worried glances.

"Harry, Ginny, are you two sure you're all right? You seem a little off," Ron said hesitantly.

Harry was humming to himself and looking out the window. "Mmh? Oh, yeah. Never better, in fact." Ginny sat twirling her hair around her finger, smiling absently, and didn't answer.

No one talked for a while; it seemed there was nothing to say. Eventually, Harry felt the euphoria from earlier wear off, and now he was just tired.

~*~

He must have dozed off a bit because the next thing he knew, the sun was setting outside the window. Ginny was curled up like a cat, asleep in the seat next to him. Ron and Hermione were whispering together in low tones, sitting on the bench across from him. They had their heads bent low towards each other, and he could only catch part of the conversation.

"--don't care what they say, Ron--,"

"--wouldn't lie; they must not--,"

Harry cleared his throat and sat up straight. Ron and Hermione jumped guiltily and looked at him.

"What are you two talking about?"

"Oh, nothing much, really, Harry. Prefect stuff. They're going to add to our duties a bit more this year. More patrolling of the halls and that kind of thing," Hermione replied swiftly. She was still looking at him strangely. "So, you don't remember anything odd happening this afternoon?"

"Well, now that you mention it. You're not going to believe what happened outside the train today." He went on to tell them about the mob of people, seeing Rita Skeeter ("That Skeeter cow," Hermione huffed), and thinking he heard Bellatrix Lestrange's voice. After he finished, both Ron and Hermione were looked at him with a measure of disbelief.

"But," Ron said, "she couldn't really have been there, could she? I mean, come on. There had to have been at least a dozen Aurors milling about."

"You did tell Mad-Eye, didn't you, Harry?" Hermione asked, chewing on her bottom lip nervously. "The Order should know that she may be in the area. What if she tries to get into Hogwarts?"

"Well, that's the thing. I started to, but, I dunno, he cut me off or something. When we get to Hogwarts, I can send an owl to... oh. Well, I guess I could tell Dumbledore."

Hermione looked at him sadly. "Don't worry, Harry. We'll take care of it. We always do."

Harry looked down and picked idly at a thread on his jumper cuff, unable to meet Hermione's eyes. He shook his head as if to clear it, and pulled out his wand to start practising wand movements when he heard loud voices coming down the outside corridor.

"Whas' going on," Ginny mumbled sleepily, rising to a sitting position and rubbing her eyes. Harry and Ron looked at each other apprehensively and jumped up to look out the small window in the door.

"It's Luna!" Harry exclaimed, thrusting the door back and stepping out the door, wand raised. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny quickly followed behind him.

Luna Lovegood was backing down the corridor, holding her wand tightly in her fist, facing three Slytherins who were approaching menacingly. Harry knew that the tall, thin, brown-haired boy in the center was in their year, but blanked on a name. However, he immediately recognised the two ogres flanking him-- Crabbe and Goyle.

"Listen here, you freak," the boy in the middle hissed. "You tell your father to quit printing up lies in that pathetic paper of his, or you'll be paying the price."

"Yeah," Crabbe grunted. Goyle said nothing, but furrowed his brows in what Harry could only imagine he thought was a threatening look. Harry thought it made him look constipated.

For once, there was no dreamy look in Luna's eyes. She clenched her jaw stubbornly and raised her wand even higher. "The Quibbler does not tell lies. Your fathers are Death Eaters just as much as the Crumple-Horned Snorkack likes to hunt at night. That's not my fault."

The boy in the middle spluttered wordlessly. Crabbe and Goyle just looked confused, which meant they looked about the same as they always did.

"You'll answer for that, Loony Lovegood," the brown-haired boy growled, as they walked past Harry's compartment.

Harry decided it was time to step in. "I think not," he said calmly, sliding the door open and stepping out behind the three Slytherins. They spun around to face four different wands pointing at their faces.

"I know it's hard for you lot to count, so let me save you the suspense," Harry continued. "You're outnumbered, and outwitted. I believe, last year on the train, that Crabbe and Goyle here got a taste of what happens when you mess with me, or my friends. Did you enjoy being slugs? Ready for another go?"

Crabbe and Goyle glared at him, but turned to look at the other boy questioningly.

The third boy stared at Harry for a long moment, brown eyes so dark that they appeared black. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced," he said finally.

"I'm Blaise Zabini," he went on in a cool voice, as if they were meeting at a formal dinner, and not facing down one another at the back of a school train. He stuck out a slender hand to shake Harry's.

"I don't shake hands with Slytherins," Harry replied coldly.

Blaise raised a silky brown eyebrow, but retracted his hand nonetheless. "Famous last words, Potter," he countered smoothly.

Harry felt a hand on his arm and turned to face Hermione, who looked edgy. "Let's just go back in the compartment, Harry, okay? Luna, you come with us," she said to the blonde girl.

"Potter, you got a bossy girlfriend," Goyle chortled, apparently thinking he said something hilarious. Blaise rolled his eyes, and shook his head in disbelief.

"Oh shut up, Goyle," Luna said, pushing past the three of them to join Harry and the rest. "You look like a baboon's backside." With that, she burst into a loud peal of mirth that made them all jump, and strolled into the compartment. After a split second, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny joined in on her laughter, turned their backs on the three Slytherins, and followed Luna through the doorway.

~*~

There wasn't much time left before the train reached Hogsmeade station, so once they entered the compartment they began changing into their school robes.

"What was that all about?" Ron asked Luna, putting his robes over his jeans and slightly worn jumper.

Luna, who was already in her robes, shrugged nonchalantly. "Daddy's just been printing articles about different Death Eaters and their plans to take over the world." She fiddled absently with one of her large earrings that looked, to Harry, like a large white chess piece. "If Blaise's father didn't want people to know that he consorts with vampires he shouldn't have bought all of those Nargles." She sniffed disdainfully at Mr. Zabini's apparent stupidity.

"Urg," Ron said, looking bewildered. He turned to Hermione for help. She had just finished pulling on her own robes, and the static made her hair frizz more than usual.

Hermione frowned at him, then said to Luna in a consoling voice, "Well, whatever the reason, they had no reason to corner you like that. Imagine! Three against one!"

She leaned forward and glanced out the dark window, squinting at something in the distance. "I think I can see the lights of Hogsmeade. Ron, we'd better go on up to the prefects' carriage."

She and Ron finished pinning their badges on and left, heading toward the front of the train. Harry, Ginny, and Luna looked at each other.

"How come we always end up carrying their stuff?" Ginny asked plaintively.

Harry shook his head resignedly and stared out the window towards the glowing lights of Hogwarts.