Spider's Blood

Chapter One

Harry Potter, "the boy who lived" to those who don't know him, stood in the center of his very small and very quiet bedroom on the second floor of the house address number 4 Privet Drive. He looked over at his calendar, four days until the first day of his sixth year at Hogwarts. He smiled as he remembered how excited he'd been his first year. A little apprehensive perhaps, but excited nonetheless. It was all like a dream unfolding before his eyes and he could barely wait to see what would happen next.

Of course it wasn't an easy dream to witness as things began to unravel. Two dead parents, an ex-con godfather, and an evil presence trying to kill him every step of the way...not really something most people his age were ready to deal with. But then again, he wasn't like most people his age. He was Harry Potter and everything that went with it, scar and all.

He sighed as he drew his silent reflections on his youth to a close and peered around his room. It was as plain as it always was, even when he wasn't packing it all up to leave. His aunt and uncle didn't like his pictures that moved or his unexplainable objects that he wished to place about his room. They were too "unusual" for the Dursleys' taste. In retaliation, they had forbidden anything that required "flying", "whirring", or "magical" in its name to be placed out for company to see. Instead, Harry had the most cluttered and enchanting closet space he had ever seen.

But now, all his enchanting artifacts were being carefully stuffed into his trunk. First his books, any book in his room that he didn't want ripped to shreds by Dudley's childish ways of amusement. He put his brand new schoolbooks first, then his slightly older ones from his previous years and gifts from his closest friends. Very carefully above all he placed an increasingly worn photo album from Hagrid. Next came his clothes and any especially breakable objects wrapped between. He shuddered to think of the conversation with Uncle Vernon asking him to drive carefully because he didn't want his sneak-o-scope having to be replaced. Instead, he wrapped all his breakables and neatly piled his remaining clothes. After that came the remainder of his school supplies: quills, ink, parchment, etc. He look around his bare room for the remainder of his possessions: posters of the Chudley Cannons Ron had insisted he have, letters from his friends over the summer days, a few old copies of the Daily Prophet he wanted to keep, and the many pictures of his dearest friends.

He quickly flipped through them with a smile, a picture of the twins and Ron, that always turned into a sort of wrestling match, always made him smile along with one of Hermione and Ginny from the previous summer. They were chit-chatting the way they always did when alone, not aware of their picture being taken. They weren't faking smiles or grooming themselves to look better, just sitting and talking, occasionally giggling like the old friends they were. This was Harry's favorite picture of Hermione and especially of Ginny. Her flame red hair was even more vibrant from the bright flash and her eyes dazzled their blue. He had never noticed how beautiful she was until the previous year. She was only fourteen, but still extraordinarily beautiful. He hoped she hadn't changed one bit.

He sighed and carefully placed the pictures inside the trunk. He peered again around the room. Hedwig was sleeping peacefully inside her cage on Harry's nightstand. She gently hooted as she slept. Harry's Firebolt was propped neatly in the corner, next to the door. He peered at it and wondered if anyone would notice a teenage boy flying around on a broomstick in the middle of the night? He shook the mischievous idea out of his head and he lie on his bed, waiting for the next few days to pass and his sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to begin.

Of course these were probably the worst days to get through, the ones that separate a joyous event from an increasing desolate one. Not that living with the Dursleys had gotten any worse than the previous years - it just wasn't getting better either. Everyday he joined his "family" for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or at least some portion of what was supposed to be the three meals, before he separated himself in his room or the backyard. Harry had noticed that his summers with the Dursleys made his clothes hang off his increasingly bony body, giving him a ghastly forbidding appearance. He enjoyed this appearance as much as he could, especially since it scared the pants of his cousin while Harry muttered incoherent gibberish under his breath at Dudley.

Other than the meals he shared with his aunt, uncle, and cousin, Harry rarely spoke to or saw them. Most of the day he spent in his room, writing to his friends, playing with Hedwig, or thinking about his future. Sirius had given him a small talk at the end of his previous year about "the road ahead" and "plans for the future". He suggested looking into several fields of study, all of which seemed nice...but none really appealed to Harry's liking. Instead, Harry simply thought of how much he enjoyed not knowing his future and felt a certain excitement at the realization he could do absolutely anything he wanted...even though he didn't know exactly what that was at the moment.

He had thought of becoming a Professor like Lupin, or an Auror like Sirius, or even joining England's Quidditch team. He was an excellent Seeker, not even he could deny it, but was Quidditch something to really make a career on? Would he be the next Victor Krum? Harry would close his eyes as he lie in bed and think of himself flying across a field so fast that only the Omnioculars in slow motion could visibly capture his moves. These daydreams always brought a smile to his face, especially when they turned to being rewarded by Ginny, but that's a different set of dreams Harry wouldn't dare confess to outside of his mind.

It was now the day before Harry was set to leave for Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. It was close to six; just after a horrible farewell supper with the Dursleys' and the excitement of leaving was not helping his already sensitive stomach. As his stomach finally began to settle, Harry peered around his room. He wished he hadn't packed everything so soon - he always did. He had promised himself he wasn't going to pack until the night before, but then again he always told himself that. He would get too anxious and begin packing before he could stop himself. Now he was peering around for something to do, Hedwig was busy delivering a letter to Ron so he had no pet to occupy his time. He gave another glance to his broomstick, still untouched in the corner of his desolate room. He wondered if it were possible that no one would see him, he could be at The Burrow in less than three hours at his speed. He could see his REAL family just after they sat down for dinner. Mrs. Weasley always cooked such a great meal and always forced down third and fourth helpings. At the thought of food, Harry's stomach turned over and he brushed the outlandish yet appealing thought aside.

"Although," Harry thought to himself, reemerging the thought of escaping, "the look on Ron's face would be worth the risk." Harry smiled as he thought of the shock and happiness across his best friend's face. He wondered briefly about what Ginny would do when there came a knock at his window.

Harry propped himself up, leaning against his elbows as he peered out the window, where Hedwig was fluttering her grand white wings and tapping on the glass with her beck. He hurried to the window and lifted it, allowing a warm breeze in with his owl. She perched on his shoulder and waited for him to untie the parchment from her leg. The brownish-yellow parchment was tied with an orange ribbon; it was his reply from Ron. Harry carefully removed the ribbon and allowed Hedwig to peck at his ear for a moment before placing her back in her golden cage.

Harry went to his small writing desk and unraveled the paper. In Ron's quick and curvy writing were the following:

"Dear Harry,

"Great to hear about Dudley's pissed pants! And all you really did was mutter 'Abracadabra'? Honestly, you should do it more often! Sorry we couldn't visit for your birthday, but dad won't let us take the new car out for a spin! The last one didn't end up too shabby if you ask me. Anyways, you'll get your gifts on the train. I might want to warn you though, I swear I saw the one from Fred and George moving! On it's own!! I can tell you it's something from the shop, so it's not likely to kill you before you've had a chance to get away. But be mindful...it's Fred and George we're talking about here.

"Have you heard about Slytherin yet? I guess all the way out there you haven't! Anyway, there's a rumor going around that one of the Slytherin members was kicked out! By Dumbledore himself! How much stuff did we pull and still manage not to be thrown out?! I don't think we're lucky enough for it to be Draco, but you never know! I'd fill you in right now, but I Hedwig's getting a little annoyed at my reply taking so long.

"See you tomorrow, ten o'clock, platform nine and three-quarters. I'll be the one with the insane group of red heads, try not to pass us by.

Ron"

Harry laughed as he read the letter two more times before unlocking his trunk and adding it to his already large stack. He wondered if it was true about a Slytherin being kicked out. He and Ron had done a great deal of rule breaking in their time at Hogwarts...going into the Forbidden Forest, being out after hours, breaking into locked rooms with three headed dogs in it, handling dragons, sneaking into the Restricted section of the library...you know, first years stuff! But they never managed to get themselves kicked out. And how was it possible to do it over the summer? Surely they would've heard about it during the year. If it was top secret, everyone was bound to know about it sooner or later. That was how Hogwarts always worked.

Harry allowed himself to dream more and more of a desperate looking Draco Malfoy begging the stern Professor Dumbledore over and over for another chance. But no! He had gone too far this time and could not be allowed back in the school. He was a danger to his classmates and to himself! The risk was too great. Harry smiled as he imagined the thin blonde boy he despised so much crying like a little baby as Harry drifted off to a peaceful sleep that surprisingly lasted the whole night.

Harry pushed his heavy cart as he counted the platforms before him:

"Five and six," he said as he pushed, Hedwig's cage rattling a little on top of his trunk. A Muggle man in a suit and trench coat gave him an odd glance as he pushed by. Although Harry loved his owl more than any other creature on earth, he sometimes wished Hagrid had selected a more "normal" looking owl or at least given him a spell to change her appearance for times like these. It was enough being stared at in the magical world for his scar, but to be noticed in the Muggle world was far worse.

"Seven and eight," he muttered with a deep breath as he tried to ease his flipping stomach.

He took one step and saw a gang of fire tipped heads, making Harry smile and nearly start running towards the platform. He caught himself and began to nonchalantly stroll over the space between platforms nine and ten.

"Harry dear!" Mrs. Weasley burst when she recognized him. His smile grew and she wrapped her arms tightly around Harry, nearly lifting him off the ground by herself. For such a small woman, Mrs. Weasley was surprisingly as strong as she was kind.

"Oh, dear!" she continued when she let go. She lifted Harry's arms so she could examine him better. "When was the last time you ate, dear? Oh, I ought to give that family of yours a piece of my mind! Not to worry! I packed two extra boxes of brownies for you this trip, that'll set you back on the right track in no time."

"Mum, you're going to make the poor boy sick before he even gets on the train," a tall red headed boy said from behind his mother. The boy had grown, if possible, even taller over the summer, making him tower over Mrs. Weasley with no effort at all. His hair was parted at the side and had obviously just been cut recently. It would grow back out in no time at all, covering his eyes and ears before Christmas no doubt.

"Hallo, Ron," Harry smiled as he stuck out his hand.

Ron shook it with delight, nodding his head as he did so. "Been two months too long."

Harry smiled and turned his attention to the sound of wind and barely recognizable pop as one of the twins disappeared into platform nine and three-quarters. Another pop quickly followed as the other twin headed straight through the brick wall separating platforms nine and ten.

"Have you seen Hermione yet?" Harry persisted to Ron.

"No, she always gets here early, she's probably on the train, holding out seats right now," Ron smiled as he positioned himself directly in front of the wall and ran through it.

A pop filled Harry's ears and he looked briskly around to see if any Muggles had bothered to notice the disappearance of so many young children through the brick wall.

"Best get along, dear," Mrs. Weasley sounded in his ears, "don't want to be late!"

Harry nodded his head and rushed through the wall. The immediate smell of the smoke from the train filled his nose as the breeze flew back his black hair, ruffling it even more. He glanced around, searching for any of his four flame headed friends.

"Harry!" a near squeak came from his distant right. He turned his head and saw a young girl rushing at him, red tendrils flowing behind her. He took in a pleased breath and smiled at her. Her bright eyes flashed as she smiled, continuing her rush towards him.

He balanced himself as she threw her arms around his neck and squeezed with all her might.

"Hallo, Ginny!" he laughed in her ear.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" she asked as she stepped back, removing her arms and letting them fold awkwardly in front of her.

"No, not at all," he laughed as he tried to imagine the nearly weightless girl hurting him physically in any way.

"I'm just not used to not seeing you is all! You've visited the Burrow for the past three summers, it was strange without you there," she explained with a bright smile.

"I'm sure it was," he replied, not really knowing what else to say on the subject. It had never been hard to talk to Ginny before, why was it now? She was just like Hermione after all...both...well, they were both girls after all, and didn't that make them alike? Harry couldn't help but notice how much Ginny had changed over the summer. She seemed tanner, making her freckles stand out more. She had applied some type of cosmetic charm to her lips, making them a shade of red darker than they normally were; it was subtle enough that Mrs. Weasley wouldn't have noticed at first glance. Above all that, Ginny's yellow sweater seemed to fit a bit tighter than the previous year or several years.

"Harry! C'mon!" Ron's familiar voice rang from the train, interrupting Harry's thoughts on Ginny's yellow sweater. He felt himself blush as he realized he might have been staring at Ron's sister directly in front of his eyes. What an embarrassing talk that was going to be on the train if he had noticed.

"I'll see you on the train then?" Harry murmured with a nod and a glance at Ginny's face before he walked over to Ron.

"Harry, are you feeling all right?" Ron asked as they walked down the narrow walkway inside the train. Each was peering in the windows, looked for a familiar bushy brunette holding a book in her lap and probably biting her nails. So far there had been only a few Ravenclaws and a Slytherin or two, but no Hermione.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked carefully, not wanting to be too defensive before he knew exactly what Ron was referring to.

"You looked a little sick outside is all."

"Oh, train...smoke...gets me every time," Harry laughed off, pretending to cough, as he ducked his head into a compartment.

Hermione sat, staring out the window, with a closed book in her lap. Her hair was tied back with a blue ribbon to match her blue sweater and black skirt. She looked very much older than she had the last time Harry had seen her, very proper too. She turned her head and smiled. The boys entered and received their hugs from her before sitting down. Ron sat next to Hermione, holding her hand, and Harry across from them.

Hermione shared her stories of her summer in France with her family. Most was about little tid-bit facts about the structure of the Eiffel Tower.

"Did you know there's a little apartment up there?" she inquired with wide eyes at Harry, who shook his head, trying to make his face look interested.

"Very interesting," he smiled as he nodded his head.

Ron stifled a small chuckle from the corner of his mouth, turning his face from Hermione.

"And what is so funny? It really was interesting!"

"Of course it was, darling," he smiled.

"Honestly, Ronald Weasley, I don't know what I'm going to do with you," she said as she rolled her eyes. Normally, the two would've continued the petty argument until it erupted into some sort of war or until the candy cart came around. But this time, Hermione leaned over and kissed Ron briefly before returning her attention back to the history of the Eiffel Tower.

Harry thought it was still strange to see them affectionate with one another. The previous year they had kept it out of his view, but now they seemed shameless and carefree. But then again, they weren't the same eleven-year-old children who had met on that very train only five years before. Ron was tall and handsome while Hermione was growing more and more womanly each day. They were all changing, all growing up and older. They were no longer children; they were blossoming adults simply enjoying what was left of their youth.

"Ron," Ginny's tone filled the cabin as the train jolted into motion, "have you seen Trevor? Neville's lost him again...he's worried sick."

"Well, the years officially started! Neville's lost his toad," Ron mused at Harry, who returned his laugh. Ginny placed her hands on her hips and stared at her brother, obviously not amused.

"Oh God! You look like mum when you do that! Stop!" Ron said as he shielded his eyes from his sister's posture.

"Ronald Weasley! That's no way to treat..." Ginny glanced over at Harry before continuing, "Neville...he's a good friend of yours!"

She gave him a hard look before turning on her heel and stomping off, her hair bouncing on her back.

Ron sighed and rolled his eyes.

"What was that about? Why does she care if he's lost his toad, he does every year," Harry inquired as he watched Ginny pop her head into another compartment.

Harry noticed that neither Ron nor Hermione was answering his question; he thought perhaps his recent mumbling fits had caused another without his knowledge and he was about to inquire further when their faces stopped him. Hermione was biting her lip as she stared at the ground and Ron made a whistling sound as he peered intently out the window. Harry shifted his glance from friend to friend before going on, "Is something wrong?"

"Wrong? No!" Hermione said, still shifting her looks at the ground.

"Well," Ron burst out, "I think we should help Neville look for Trevor, don't you?"

"Yes, we should," Hermione agreed with wide eyes as they headed out the compartment.

The door shut closed behind them, leaving the inside humming with silence. Harry wondered if they were just sneaking off to snog or were actually looking for Trevor. He put the thought out of his mind as he looked to the scenery. Bright green flashed with a steady blue as the train moved towards the castle. The train rocked slowly from side to side, making Harry want to sleep. He had slept for nearly fifteen hours the night before, but still he yawned and stretched. He was just about to close his eyes when another faint taping at a window startled him. He peered at the window, but there was no Hedwig this time, just the endless blue and green horizon.

He turned his head and looked to door. A young girl stood in the doorway. She had very long black hair that shined in the light from the sun hanging over the green outside the window. She wore a gray skirt and light blue sweater that clashed against the long black waves that showed through the gaps between her arms and narrow waist. She wore very dark sunglasses over her eyes and she pushed them up as Harry usually did with his own glasses most of the time.

"I'm sorry to startle you," she smiled, showing pearly white teeth and lips that curled, raising her cheeks to show a pleasant and amused face. "I was just wondering if the there was room in here...everywhere else is full."