Harry Potter and the Black Grimoire

CHAPTER EIGHT - COMING HOME

The next morning, the whole of the Weasley's, Harry and Hermione were all making a mad dash to get ready for their trip to King's Cross. Harry, Ron and Hermione's room was a mass of flying shirts, robes, underwear and other garments as the three tried to pack their last minute things as quickly as possible. They had to eat breakfast and be ready outside in under an hour. Harry didn't know how that was possible.

Madeline showed up right before they were about to leave as well. She couldn't help but give one more goodbye to everybody. Especially Ron. They sneaked into a dark alley when nobody was looking.

"You will write to me, won't you?" asked Ron.

"Of course. And you the same?"

"Everyday," he said, taking her hands and embracing her.

"Don't worry Ron, this won't be the last time we see each other."

"I know, I know. I just wish it didn't have to be this soon."

"Ron! Where are you?! Come on! The cars are here!" called Mrs. Weasley.

"Looks like you have to go."

"Yeah. I'll owl you as soon as I get there, I promise."

"I'll be waiting anxiously."

"Well, bye then," Ron said, awkwardly.

"Don't say goodbye, Ron."

Ron smiled sweetly at her and ran his hand across her cheek before embracing her once more. They had one final kiss before Ron ran off to join the others. Madeline walked out of the alley behind him and waved good bye to everybody as the cars left the curb. Then she made her way back to her own home with a smile on her face.

A short time later, the two cars pulled into King's Cross station. The group got out and grabbed carts to unpack their belongings. Then they all made their way to platforms nine and ten. They waited outside of the barrier until there weren't many Muggles left standing around. When the coast was clear, Fred and George were the first to make their way through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. To get to platform 9 3/4 you had to walk straight at the wall between platforms nine and ten. That would take you to the Hogwarts express on the other side.

After the twins had taken their turn, Ron and Hermione went next, followed by Harry and Ginny close behind. Mister and Misses Weasley made their way through after all of the rest were safely on the other side. Mrs. Weasley made her usual last minute fuss over her children before the train left the platform. She yelled at Fred and George to behave and do well on their exams and told Harry, Ron and Hermione not to go looking for trouble. She gave each of them a kiss on the forehead before letting them off. Mr. Weasley gave Harry a firm handshake and told him to enjoy his fifth year, rather than worry about things like he did every year. Harry felt more compelled to take his advice this year than ever before. He needed a normal year, after all. He knew though, that at Hogwarts, he'd never have a 'normal' year.

Ron, Hermione and Harry all went to find an empty compartment to sit in, while Fred and George went to find their friend Lee Jordan. Ginny said she wanted to go find some of her friends as well. The three were left by themselves once more, which they didn't mind at all. They spent the beginning of their train ride laughing and telling jokes and playing exploding snap. Ron and Harry spent a majority of the time teasing Hermione about her prefect status and how she felt about getting to tell people what to do. Harry and Ron were both wondering the same thing on this subject: would she take points away from them? They both sincerely doubted it, but then again, this was Hermione they were talking about.

Throughout the trip several of their friends from Hogwarts moved about the train and stopped in to say hello to them. They were all exceptionally glad to see their faces again. To Harry, this was just another sign of the normality that was starting to enter his life again. He always felt this way going back to Hogwarts after the summer break.

After awhile, when they were all settled into the train, Hermione went onto her usual standby and stuck her nose in a book. Harry and Ron talked excitedly about the Quidditch season this year. Because of the Triwizard Tournament that was held at Hogwarts last year, the Quidditch season had been cancelled, much to Harry's dismay. But this year it would no doubt be implemented into the school activities once again.

"It was tapping on the glass, trying to get in," Hermione said. "Go on Harry, open it."

Harry took the letter and opened it, taking out the contents. It contained what he at once recognized as his Marauders Map and a letter. He unfolded the parchment the letter was written on and read it aloud.

Dear Harry,

I know you lost this at the end of last term and figured you would want it back. Sirius noticed it in my office amongst a jumble of papers I had extracted from the Defense Against the Dark Arts office. He said it had belonged to you and reckoned you would be wanting it returned. I don't know why though, it just seems like an old piece of parchment to me....

-- Professor Dumbledore

Harry smiled at Dumbledore's letter because he knew that, although he didn't say it, Harry was sure Dumbledore knew exactly what the 'old piece of parchment' was. He was extremely happy to have it back though, since the fake professor Moody had borrowed it from him last year. When it was revealed that Moody was actually Barty Crouch Jr., a Death Eater working for Voldemort, Harry had not had a chance to get it back after his capture. He made a vow now to never let anyone borrow it, even a teacher. It was a very valuable magical object for him. It was written by his father, Sirius, Remus and Peter Pettigrew when they were all friends at Hogwarts. It was a map of the entire castle, which showed the locations of all of the secret exits and entrances and even the people in the castle, indicated by tiny dots. He did not want to lose it again.

Fred and George Weasley came back into the compartment a short time before they were due to arrive at Hogsmeade Station. They had a box that they presented to Ron. Thinking that it was another one of the twins' jokes, he was reluctant to open it. But after much persuasion, he gave in and opened the box. It contained one of the best looking dress robes he had ever seen. It was a shiny steel gray that shimmered in the light. And best of all, there wasn't a bit of lace on the garment. Ron was speechless.

"How? Why?" he stammered.

"Don't worry about it Ron. We had a private investor in the firm and decided to get you this, that way you wont have to wear that frilly mess like last year. You can thank us later with money," George said.

It was Harry who was the private investor that the Weasleys were talking about. After winning the Triwizard Tournament, he gave his winnings, a thousand galleons, to the twins for their joke shop. He told them that the only stipulation was that they had to buy Ron a new set of dress robes. It seemed that they were filling this request now.

The twins stayed for a bit, talking to Ron and Harry about Quidditch. They talked about who they thought would become the new captain. They all thought it would be Harry, but he highly doubted it, nor did he want it. He didn't think he could handle not only worrying about catching the snitch, but also worrying about the rest of the team. Before they left, they offered all of them some candy and they all gladly excepted. None of them even thought about what they were being offered until they had popped them into there mouths and promptly turned into giant canaries.

"Get them while they last! Now in hard candy form!"

Harry reckoned that this was what he got for giving them the money. Soon enough, they all wilted their feathers though, and there were no hard feelings. They all enjoyed a good laugh about it.

To Harry, it seemed like they had just left the platform at King's Cross when they were pulling into Hogsmeade. The train ride was over and they all piled out. Their luggage would be taken directly to their dormitories.

It was nearly dark as Harry and Ron said goodbye to Hermione, who would be taking the Prefect's carriage to the castle, and they went to the regular horseless carriages they rode in every year. They rode to the castle with the Dean, Neville and Seamus, the rest of the fifth year Gryffindor boys.

Soon the carriages were underway and they were cresting the hill in front of the castle. The tall towers could be seen over the horizon. As they rode along the dirt road, Harry breath caught in his throat as he caught sight of the castle walls coming up in front of him. The sight of the dark castle, lit by thousands of flickering torches, always had a great affect on him. He was, in fact, coming home. Ever since he turned eleven, he knew no other place where he felt more comfortable and at home than the Hogwarts castle.

"Quiet? What do you mean Harry?"

"Malfoy, Ron. We didn't see him the entire way here! Usually he comes into our compartment to act like his usual idiot self. But he didn't this time."

"I didn't even realize that Harry! But you're right, that is weird! Maybe he realized that he shouldn't mess with you after you saw his dad last year as a Death Eater. Or maybe his dad told him not to."

"Yeah, probably Ron. It's still very curious though. Pleasant, but curious. I guess we'll find out when we get to the castle and we see him or not."

"Yep."

No more was said about that as the carriages pulled up to the large wooden doors that were the entrance to the castle. All of the second year and above students piled out to take their seats in the Great Hall to await the Sorting Ceremony. They met back up with Hermione on their way in, who was now wearing her prefects badge proudly.

When everyone was seated, the doors opened once again and the nervous looking first years made their way in. Harry did make note of the fact that Draco was indeed there, sitting at the Slytherin table, flanked by his two giant bodyguards, Crabbe and Goyle. He elbowed Ron to let him know. Ron gave him a look of disappointment and looked back at the first years. They were all lining up in front of Professor McGonagall and the old, worn out Sorting Hat that sat on the stool in front of the teachers' table. It was then that Harry looked up at the table and got a surprise. There were two new faces that he didn't usually see there. One, an attractive woman in her early thirties and the other, to his astonishment, Sirius. He gave Harry a wink when he noticed him looking. Harry replied with a broad smile. He also noticed another thing that made his heart leap.

"Ron! Snape's not here!"

"What?!" Ron asked, turning excitedly to look at the head table. "Where do you think he is??"

"Maybe he's still on that assignment Dumbledore sent him on at the end of last year. I saw him back at the end of the year feast, but maybe he had to do more...."

"Yeah, I hope he's not here at all. That would make this year really great."

"It would. And also Sirius and a new lady are here. Did you notice?"

"Yeah, Yeah. I wonder who the new lady is."

"She's probably the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Hermione chimed in.

"Yeah! And maybe Sirius is filling in for Snape!"

"That would be wicked!" Ron exclaimed.

"Well, we'll soon find out!" Hermione added.

To their dismay, because of their excited chatter they had missed the Sorting Hat's song, which it sang every year at the start of the ceremony. Soon the first years began taking turns sitting on the stool with the hat on their heads. The Sorting Hat would look into their minds and see which house they were best suited for.

There were four houses, each with their own distinct characteristics. There was Hufflepuff, which were generally thought of as hard workers; Ravenclaw, who held the cleverest students; Gryffindor where the brave were housed; and Slytherin, where the students were often power-hungry and ambitious. It was often thought that Slytherin House was the producer of dark witches and wizards. It was true in most cases, as most of the dark wizards that existed came from Slytherin, including Voldemort himself. Harry was very sensitive on this subject though, because the Sorting Hat had wanted to put him in Slytherin in his first year. I was only because he asked not to be put in Slytherin that he was in Gryffindor House.

At least that's what Harry thought. As soon as Dumbledore began speaking however, he knew otherwise.

"Now, students and teachers, It is my great honour to announce that this year at Hogwarts we have a situation we have not had in forty-three years! We are happy to announce that we have a transfer student! Due to her ("Ooo! It's a girl!" said Ron.) unique circumstances, she has had to transfer from her private school and we were happy to take her in. She will be amongst the rest of the fifth years and in a moments time she will be sorted into the house that she is destined! So without further adieu, would everyone please welcome Madeline Radford!"

"Maddy!" yelled Ron.

To their great surprise, the Madeline that they had left just that morning walked into the room from the side entrance next to the teachers' table. She looked at Ron in surprise, but Harry had a feeling she wasn't quite as in the dark about this as Ron was. In fact, he had a feeling that she had known about this the whole time.

"You devil!" he whispered back before kissing her quickly on the mouth.

They embraced once more while mostly everybody in the room clapped for them. Even some of the teachers had wide smiles on their face. Harry noticed the smile on the new lady's face was especially sincere.

Dumbledore motioned for Ron to go sit down. Amongst renewed laughter, Ron returned to his seat sheepishly.

"Now, Madeline, if you would please sit on the stool, we can see where you will spend your free time."

"Please Gryffindor!" yelled Ron.

Dumbledore laughed as much as everyone else.

Madeline now moved to the stool and sat down. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her head. Harry thought he saw her whisper something to herself, perhaps to the hat, like he had. Everyone in the hall was completely silent now. They all were now curious to see where she would be put. Ron was sitting with ever finger, toe and limb that he could think of, crossed for good luck.

"Yes! I love that hat!"

"Ahh, young love! Isn't it beautiful? A very refreshing start to the feast! So now, getting down to business, it is my great honour to welcome you all! Old faces as well as the new. I hope you all had a pleasant summer and are all ready to fill your empty heads with knowledge! But for now, I know you don't want to listen to this old geezer, so there are only two words I have to say to you! Let's eat!"

With his last words, the empty golden plates and goblets filled magically with foods of every kind. This was the only place that Harry ever got to eat as much as he wanted. With as much delicious food that was presented before them, there was no problem with everybody having their fill. If there was any kind of food that you could think of, It was on this table.

Everybody in the Great Hall ate and drank heartily, talking and laughing with their mates in-between bites. A dull roar echoed off the walls and high ceiling of the large hall all throughout the meal. These feasts were Harry's favorite times at Hogwarts, short of the Quidditch games. It was a time when there was nothing expected of you. You just ate until you were full and talked with your friends. It was fun for all and nobody had a care in the world.

After all of the students and teachers had ate and drank themselves into a merry stupor, Dumbledore again got to his feet. It was at this time that he usually gave his speech and announced all of the special announcements for the upcoming year. Harry, Ron and Hermione knew that now they were about to find about why Sirius was here, why Snape wasn't and who the new woman was.

"I trust that everyone is now happily fed and watered, so I will begin with my babble," he said, smiling warmly at the sea of faces before him. "As always, I have to announce that the Dark Forest is forbidden to all students. All students with permission will also be allowed to visit Hogsmeade on certain weekends. Happily, Mr. Filch, the Hogwarts caretaker, has not added any more items to his list of forbidden items. If you wish to read the list of items that are forbidden in the hallways, you may do so in Mr. Filch's office. Blah, blah. Yes, yes. I know you all want to know who these new faces are. Well, I'll tell you."

"It's about time!" yelled Fred Weasley.

Dumbledore chuckled before resuming his speech.

"Yes it is Mr. Weasley. Now, as you may have noticed, one of our number is missing. Sadly, Professor Snape is currently detained at the moment and will be joining us later in the year. ("Yes!!!" whispered Harry and Ron.)"

There were several boos from all of the Slytherins.

Harry, Ron and Hermione clapped much louder than anybody else in the hall. Everybody knew by now that he was completely innocent of his accused crimes, so he was greeted very warmly. Except by the Slytherins, of course.

"Now, I know the Slytherins will be wanting back the head of their house, but I can assure you this is only temporary. I'm sure you understand."

Most of them looked like they didn't though.

"Now, on to the next new face. As most of you know, our Defense Against the Dark Arts position was left vacant at the end of last year. For this, we had to find a replacement. So, I am very happy to announce that we found one! I give you Professor Radford!"

"Oh no!" groaned Ron.

Everybody in the hall laughed, especially Dumbledore. This was, without a doubt, the 'unique circumstances' that had caused Madeline to come to Hogwarts: her mother was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. It all made sense now to Harry.

Professor Radford now rose to her feet and smiled at Ron.

Everyone laughed as she sat back down. She seemed like a very nice woman and Harry was highly looking forward to going to her class.

Dumbledore got back to his feet.

"Yes, yes! I quite agree Mrs. Radford! Now I think it is quite late already and you should all be --"

He was cut off by the shouts of Fred and George.

"Quidditch!!!"

"Oh, yes! Thank you! Sadly, there will be no --"

"What?!?!" the twins yelled again.

Harry's heart dropped.

A smile broke out on Dumbledore's face as he continued.

"Just kidding!" he said as everyone let out a sigh of relief. "The Quidditch season will begin as usual and trials will be held two weeks previous. Now, as I was saying, it is getting late, so I would like to wish you all a good night! To bed! Hurry! Classes start early tomorrow! Will the prefects please escort the students to the dormitories!"

With that, everyone in the hallway got up and went out the doors into the entranceway. Harry was happy to see that Hermione was enjoying herself. She led the first years all the way to the portrait hole. She was in her element. He could tell she was having fun from the smile that she wore while answering the questions from the young children.

Harry made his way upstairs to the fifth year dormitories and got into his pajamas before tucking himself into his four-poster bed. He laid in his bed for awhile listening to Dean, Seamus and Neville talk about how lucky Ron was. Later that night, he heard Ron come up to bed. He said goodnight and closed his eyes. Soon, his eyelids were beginning to feel heavy and he was almost asleep. Neville started snoring loudly, as usual. Harry smiled and rolled over as he realized that now, he was truly at home.