Destiny Trilogy: The War

Chapter 1: The Beginning

"Harry, pass those cauldron cakes over here will you?" Ron mumbled through a mouthful of chocolate frog.

Harry grinned as he watched his friend wolf down cakes and sweets like there was no tomorrow. Well, of course there was a very real possibility that there wouldn't be one. Just last year, Harry had witnessed the rebirth of the Dark Lord Voldemort. It wouldn't be long before he regained full power, especially since many of his followers had gladly returned to his side. Harry turned away pretending to be interested in the passing countryside outside so Ron wouldn't see the haunted look that had come into his eyes and Ginny wouldn't notice anything amiss than what she had already been told.

For Harry's safety, Dumbledore had flatly refused to have Harry leave Privet Drive before it was absolutely necessary, even if he would be with the Weasleys. He hadn't even been allowed to make a trip down to Diagon Alley, thus his new schoolbooks and supplies had been bought by Professor McGonagall. Although he was normally sick of being cut off from the wizarding world every summer, Harry was almost happy to go back to the boring normalcy of getting bullied by the Dursleys during his vacation. And for the first time in his life, the prospect of going back to Hogwarts had been met with mixed feelings.

But the moment he stepped on Platform 9¾, he had felt as if most of these horrible pessimistic thoughts were being swallowed in the billowy smoke of the Hogwarts Express--for he had friends here, he had Quidditch here, and he definitely belonged here. He had so much to catch up with Ron and Hermione! But Hermione had been made Prefect this year, so she was sitting in the Prefects comartment this year instead, leaving Harry, Ron and Ginny to speculate over what was happening at the Ministry of Magic.

"You know Fudge. He's still ignoring all the missing person reports," Ron told him. "Pretending he's totally in control and You-Know-Who is just a legend or something. And he keeps saying he has absolute faith in the Dementors, as if anyone in his right mind would trust those monsters."

Percy, being a Weasley after all despite his overwhelming deference to authority, had agreed rather grudgingly that there was just a tiny chance that Fudge's might have gone a little soft in the head.

Ginny had other news too; apparently their mother had been very pleased with the appointment of a new teacher, but she wouldn't tell them who. Just as they were discussing possible candidates, some of their classmates popped in to say hello, and very soon the Gryffindor fifth years were crammed into the compartment, making wild guesses at who'd take over the Defence Against the Dark Arts job.

"A vampire maybe."

"As long as Snape doesn't get it this time, Potions is bad enough..."

"I don't want Mad-eyed Moody back! Maybe they'll get some other Auror..."

"But my Mom was positively jumping for joy! I don't think she'd be happy if another mental-case got appointed!"

"Maybe they'll let Professor Lupin come back! After all a werewolf is way better than a Death Eater..."

Malfoy and his two sidekicks were nowhere to be seen, much to the delight of Ron ("Maybe they finally transferred to Durmstrang!").

As night fell, the Hogwarts express pulled into Hogsmeade Station, its bright scarlet outline barely visible in the foggy night air. They waited for the familiar booming voice calling out, "Firs'-years! Over here now!", as they stepped down from the train, but all they heard was the unnerving silence of the darkness and the chattering of students as they surveyed their chances of finding their way through the thick fog enveloping them. Harry and Ron exchanged worried looks.

"Hermione!" called Ginny as she spotted her, seemingly in conference with the other Prefects. "What's happening?"

"I don't know what we're going to do with all the first years," she frowned. "Hagrid's never this late."

Harry squinted into the darkness. "There seems to be some sort of lantern over there!"

He and Ron hurried over to the source of the light, but all they could see was the spot of dim light.

"Hagrid?" Ron asked the bobbling lantern tentatively.

"No, Mr. Weasley, I'm afraid Hagrid has some urgent matters to attend to," answered Professor McGonagall, as she stepped out of the gloom.

They clambered into a carriage with Dean Thomas and Neville Longbottom. Neither of them spoke much, Harry especially lost in his worry for Hagrid. He strongly suspected Hagrid and Madam Maxime had gone to negotiate with the giants somewhere up a foreign mountain range, and his heart couldn't seem to help sinking to somewhere in the region of his toes. When the carriages finally stopped, Harry could almost feel the heaviness in their steps echoing on the flagged stone as the older students trudged into the Entrance Hall.

*~*~~*~**~*~*~~*

The Great Hall looked its usual splendid self, decorated for the start-of-the-term feast. Candles floated above them casting light all over the shiny gold plates, a stark contrast to the foggy grey darkness of the enchanted ceiling. Harry was mildly surprised to realise that there were much less people at the Slytherin table, which was almost half-empty.

"Unfortunately Malfoy's mother still seems to love him," Ron scowled as he spotted the familiar pale face snarling at them.

Harry agreed as he spotted the rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team, though he suspected the real reason was that they were just trying to keep up appearances to not seem suspicious.

They found seats next to the rest of the Gryffindor team. Wood had made Angelina the Gryffindor captain the previous year, and she was discussing when to hold the try-outs to find a new keeper.

"Interested, ickle baby Ronniekins?" asked Fred

"Stop calling me that," Ron said crossly. "Besides I'm hopeless at playing Keeper, you guys know that."

"There'll be try-outs for Chaser and Beater too," Alicia told him. "Almost the entire team is graduating this year you know."

"Plus we need some reserves," Katie agreed.

Ron brightened up upon hearing the news. "Cool! What do you think my chances are of getting to be a Chaser next year?"

But Harry was more interested in looking for the new teacher. He looked up at the staff table, where most of the teachers were already seated. Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster was seated in the middle of the table, his sweeping silver hair and beard shining in the candlelight. He seemed a lot older; paler, and his wrinkles more pronounced, but his eyes still twinkled merrily behind his half-moon spectacles. Harry noticed an empty seat next to Dumbledore's where Professor McGonagall was usually seated. The chair on her other side where Professor Snape, Harry's least favourite teacher usually sat, was also empty. On the other side of Dumbledore, where Hagrid usually sat, was another empty chair. But next to it was...

"It's Fleur Delacour!" Harry whispered to Ron. "She's the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher!"

Ron whipped around and gaped at her, mouth hanging half-open like a goldfish. She saw them and waved happily, and they waved back uncertainly.

"We've got a half-veela for a teacher?" Hermione said, nose wrinkled with displeasure as she joined sat down next to Ginny, her Prefect badge glimmering under the candlelight.

"How could you speak ill of a teacher?" George asked in mock horror. "You're a Prefect--"

"And a Prefect should uphold the honour of the school, enforce the school rules and mete out punishments impartially and justly," recited Hermione. "I know the Prefects' Handbook by heart, and you're right George, it wasn't nice of me to say that about Fl... Professor Delacour."

The twins stared at her with an expression of pure terror on their faces.

"You'd want to watch that one," Fred told Ron, who was still staring at Fleur with a rather vacant look on his face. "I never thought I'd see something worse then Perfect Prefect Percy, but she's getting there."

Just then the great doors opened and the first years stumbled in after Professor McGonagall. When the last of the first years had joined the line in front of the three-legged stool, a stocky red-headed man shut the doors with his tanned, muscled arms. He spotted them and winked.

"Charlie?" the four Weasleys exclaimed in disbelief as he made his way up to the staff table.

"No wonder Mom was so pleased," Ginny said after she got over the shock, waving happily at Charlie. Charlie was Ginny's favourite brother besides Ron. Harry on the other hand found his happiness had a dark shadowy edge. He liked Charlie too, but he was beginning to miss Hagrid already.

Professor McGonagall set the old Sorting Hat on the stool and stood back. The whole school went quiet as they watched it. Then the hat twitched and the tear near the brim opened wide as the hat began to sing:

I may seem like a tattered old cap

But that's not all I am;

If you can find a cleverer hat,

I'll shut up like a clam!

Just try me on and you will find

There's nothing I don't know

Let's sort those thoughts and then decide

On where you ought to go!

Perhaps you'll be a Gryffindor,

If bravery is your thing;

'Twas bold and daring Gryffindor

Who gave me brains to sing!

Or you might be in Ravenclaw,

Where the wise are found to dwell;

She was the cleverest of the Four,

As far as I could tell!

You might find friends in Hufflepuff,

Who are loyal, just and true;

Helga mended me bit by bit

With lots of patience too!

Or you might be a Slytherin,

Where the power-hungry rule;

Salazar would have stopped at nothing,

Don't treat them like they're fools!

Though times are dark and hope is thin

And the future looks real glum,

Don't fret, don't worry, pull yourself up

For good things are sure to come!

The school burst into applause as the hat went silent. Then the sorting began.

"Alberforth, Gary!"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Brickwell, Jerry!"

"Ravenclaw!"

Harry tuned out the sorting, suddenly acutely aware that he was immensely hungry, but registering that they had only just began on the Cs. Then he heard a name that jerked him out of his thoughts:

"Chang, Yue!"

He whipped his head around to the Ravenclaw table, scanning the heads for Cho. It was unmistakable, that smile on her face--it was her sister who was being sorted. The Sorting Hat took a long time to decide. At last, it bellowed,

"Gryffindor!"

Harry noticed Cho's smile falter a little, but she clapped hard for her sister as she joined the Gryffindor table. Cho turned around and her eyes met his. He turned away. Looking at Cho reminded him of Cedric.

After what seemed like an eternity, "Yeller, Calvin" was made a Ravenclaw. The school turned expectantly towards Dumbledore, waiting for him to start the feast. But Professor McGonagall did not put away the Sorting Hat or the stool. She stood very still, looking straight at the great oak doors, as if waiting for something. Then the door of the Great Hall opened once again, and a man with greasy black hair and sallow skin swept in, his black robes billowing behind him.

"Snape," groaned Ron.

Behind him was pale girl with sea-green eyes, her dark wavy hair cascading like an ebony waterfall to her waist. She was wearing Hogwarts robes, but she was almost the same height as Hermione, about a head taller than the rest of the first years.

"Great, just what we needed. Malfoy's sister," said Ron as she was escorted by Snape up to the Sorting Hat and stopped in front of Professor McGonagall. Harry couldn't help agreeing with him. Although the new girl had dark hair, there was a coldness about her that reminded him irresistibly of Mrs. Malfoy. But apparently they were wrong.

"Ladon, Kera!"

The new girl stepped forward. Unlike the decision to place Malfoy, which had taken mere seconds, she sat there for more than two minutes.

"Bet you two butterbeers she goes to Slytherin," Ron whispered to Harry.

"Gryffindor!" The hat proclaimed.

There was stunned silence for a moment before the Gryffindor table started applauding, and from the look on Snape's face Harry swore he was as surprised as they were. Albus Dumbledore stood up smiling. "Let the feast begin!"

Harry and Ron were so busy eating from the magically filled plates, they couldn't speak for a full ten minutes.

"Weird huh?" Ron finally said through a chunk of pork chop. "I really thought that Ladon girl would be in Slytherin."

"You shouldn't judge a book by its cover, Ron," Hermione scolded. "She might be very nice."

"But Snape escorted her in," Ron protested.

"And did you see the look on Snape's face when she got sorted into Gryffindor?" Harry asked. "He looked like he swallowed a couple of lemons."

Hermione rolled her eyes and said nothing.

They had gotten the password from Hermione ("Jobberknoll") and were about to make their way back to the Gryffindor common room when they were stopped by McGonagall.

"Could I see the both of you for a moment?"

Harry and Ron exchanged uneasy looks, remembering the thorough hexing they had given Malfoy and his cronies on the Hogwarts Express at the end of last year. They followed her down the dark stone corridor to her office and sat down nervously.

"I want an explanation from the both of you," she said sternly.

Harry gulped. From the look on her face it looked as though Gryffindor would be at negative points until Halloween.

"Um...well..."

"We...err..."

Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow at them. She reached into her drawer and placed a shiny Prefect badge on the desk in front of them.

"What are your reasons for declining the post?"

The relief must have shown on their faces, because her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"My results aren't very good and I've done nothing much for the school, really," Ron replied hastily. "And I've broken a few school rules..."

"More than a few in fact, Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall said dryly. "What about you, Mr. Potter?"

Harry looked down at his feet. Cedric had been a Prefect. Cedric might have been the Head Boy this year...if he hadn't...

"I don't deserve it," Harry replied quietly, wishing his voice wouldn't choke up like that and Ron would turn away.

"Both of you have done great services to this school," McGonagall said gently. "Even if you have broken hundreds of school rules along the way."

"I don't want it," Harry said flatly.

"Very well then. Mr. Weasley?"

"I..." Ron looked uncertainly at Harry.

"I trust you will be taking up your post then," McGonagall said, smiling as she handed him the badge.

They made their way back to the Common Room, not talking. Ron fingered his new badge nervously. When they finally reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Harry stopped.

"Ron...why did you decline the post?" Harry knew Ron would have loved to be Head Boy like his oldest brother Bill.

"Figured you wouldn't want to either," Ron mumbled to his feet. "Besides, who wants to end up like Percy?"

Harry smiled as he followed his best friend into the portrait-hole, the first real smile he had smiled for weeks. It was good to be home.