Wednesday, 1 September - Hogwarts Express at 10:40 am.
Ares arrived via the floo with the Malfoy family, Narcissa having returned for the occasion.
His trunk was in his pocket, having been shrunken a few minutes ago to prevent any unnecessary hassle.
Nodding goodbye to his two loyal servants, he boarded the train, avoiding Draco after giving the vaguest introduction possible to the boy, as he wasn't interested in dealing with him.
Walking along the train, he investigated the compartments, catching glimpses of couples, groups of friends and housemates.
"Ares!"
He turned around and was greeted by the sight of Pansy and Tracey.
"You absolutely have to sit with us! Doesn't he, Tracey!" Pansy gushed, not even giving him a choice.
She practically dragged him to a compartment at the front of the train.
"Pansy, it would be a pleasure to sit with you, but do you think you could let go of me..."
She nodded slowly, realising she was dragging a stranger by his sleeves.
Letting go of him, she opened an apartment to reveal Daphne and Draco staring at each other as if seeing the other was a crime against them.
They both turned to see who was at the door, and upon seeing Ares, Daphne nodded, and Draco gave him a confused look.
Somehow the obtuse platinum blond had yet to find out they were engaged.
Ares could only sigh in desperation; it would take much more meddling with Draco's mind to make him a helpful right-hand man.
Ares introduced himself once again, even though everyone knew who he was, and then he asked if anyone wanted to play chess.
He played Draco first and was disappointed that he came very close to losing.
Ares had never been very good at chess, still wasn't, and probably never would be, but he had learned to enjoy playing as he could always gain new insights into the game.
You could also learn a lot about a person by the way they played, taking Draco for example, he never let his King anywhere that could be trapped. He would rather sacrifice his entire board than let his King be caught out, which told Ares he believed in the King's absolute power; he respected power and authority. Oh, and that he was a coward... a massive coward.
He played Pansy. The match was over quickly; she had let him win without a fight; this told him she was a follower who felt guilty for dragging him to the apartment and was afraid of what her parents would do if they found out.
It was an incredibly dull game, and he was glad when it ended.
He played Tracey and was fascinated by how she played. She had been playing for some time, beat him easily, was rigorous and hard-working, and had obviously practised a lot.
He thoroughly enjoyed playing against her and even had a rematch.
Finally, he played Daphne, and he was blown away by how aggressive her style was, sacrificing anything if it increased her chances of winning; she was incredibly ambitious and was not afraid to show it.
The match was close, but she won due to her tactics.
They were about half an hour into their journey when Draco stood up and excused himself, opening the door and stepping out to greet Crabbe and Goyle.
Ares watched them leave before saying he would take his leave as well, getting to know his own year mates.
He followed Draco further down a train until the blonde boy stopped in front of a compartment and opened the door with his two goons flanking him.
"Potter, oh, you still have your pet Weasley and mudblood. I hope their upkeep isn't too stressful on your wallet, but if it is, don't forget you can still make friends with the right people." Draco declared with a sneer.
Hermione fixed him with a death stare as Ron started to turn purple and said in her sweetest voice,
"Draco, may I suggest you fuck off? As you see, a professor is in the compartment, and should he wake up, you would get into trouble before the term even started. So, to reiterate my point fuck off!"
This was followed by a 'Repello' that slammed the door into his face.
'The door slam was counter-productive to not waking up the professor...'
Ares couldn't help but find the encounter amusing, but it reminded him of something he needed to do.
Locating the trolley lady, he approached her,
"Anything from the trolley, dear?" She asked,
Ares nodded and asked for all her chocolate and anything with chocolate in it.
Placing it in a bag, he shrank it to a moderate size and slung it over his back.
Wandering off, he decided to now make an effort to find his year mates.
He knew only two names, Felix Rosier and Anastasia Avery. Both were in Slytherin and were a couple.
Lucius knew their parents, and Ares had heard of Anastasia from
Narcissa, who had given the girl lessons in etiquette as a personal favour to the Avery family.
His main reason for wanting to find them specifically was because their families were two of Voldemort's most prominent supporters, and Ares didn't plan on letting the old dark lord resurrect. Instead, he would help Harry kill him off very soon.
He needed to learn to tell Harry about Horcruxes without giving him the wrong idea.
It did amuse Ares that there was a copy of Secrets of the Darkest Art in Albus Dumbledore's office, and it terrified him that it was initially in the Hogwarts library where anyone could get it.
Deciding he didn't have enough time to waste, as he could find Felix and Anna at the feast, he returned to Harry and disillusioned himself.
He snuck into the compartment as Harry left to visit the trolley lady.
He sat down in the corner closest to the door where nobody was and observed the compartment.
Hermione was reading a book, and Ron was attempting to move chess pieces with his mind.
Ares moved a pawn forward using a little wandless magic.
Ron looked incredibly confused before he turned to Hermione and said,
"Oi! Hermione, did you see that pawn move?"
Hermione looked up from her book and shook her head before going back to reading about magical creatures and their oppression.
Ron shrugged and moved the pawn back, at which point a knight moved forward.
Ron picked up the piece and was inspecting it when it began to talk,
"Have at you cur! Who dares to lay a hand on me?"
Ron dropped the piece in shock,
"Hermione, there is something dodgy going on." He concluded.
"Really, Ron? that's nice." Hermione ignored him.
Picking the piece of the floor, he waited for a second before placing it back on the board.
"Forward, men, forward! On towards victory and fame! Let no peasant or village fool stop you!" Both kings cried suddenly, brandishing rather real-looking small swords.
A small battle proceeded to occur on Ron's chess board, and all he could do was watch in fascination as chess pieces hacked each other to pieces.
It was finally over when only the White king was left standing, who declared softly,
"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." before he fell on his own sword,
Ron, now somewhat concerned, turned to Hermione again,
"Hermione, I think someone has cursed my chessboard."
Hermione looked up at Ron before replying,
"Why ever do you think that?"
Ron turned back to his chessboard, which was back to normal now,
"No reason, Hermione, no reason."
Professor Lupin had stayed asleep for the entire journey and did not seem inclined to wake up anytime soon, so Ares turned his attention from Ron to Hermione.
Casting a copying charm, he held an exact copy of the book she was reading in his hand.
Next, he cast a protean charm connecting the two.
Now withdrawing a quill from his robes, he began to write, and the writing also appeared in Hermione's book.
'The house elves were once wizards referred to as muggleborns or mudbloods. However, dark wizards looking for free labour were unhappy with the blood purity of certain witches, and wizards created rituals that turned witches and wizards into house elves. A vital creator of this ritual was Abraxas Malfoy, a prominent member of the wizarding world at the time.
The ritual has been banned except for special use by the ministry. However, it is believed that the Malfoy family has access to the ceremony and uses it on unsuspecting muggleborns who they especially don't like.'
Hermione could feel horror growing in her chest as she read this.
Was Draco Malfoy going to turn her into a house elf? How was she going to stop him? she needed to do research immediately.
"We need to get to Hogwarts immediately! Malfoy is going to turn me into a house elf!" She shouted.
Harry walked in at that moment.
There was silence for a few moments before Ron started laughing,
"Oh, Hermione! Hear that, mate? Malfoy can turn people into house elves now!"
Hermione glowered at the laughing ginger,
"This is serious, Ron! My life is in danger! Nobody is going to let a house elf be a minister!"
Harry set down the sweets he had bought on the chair next to Ron and sighed.
"What makes you think that, Hermione?" Harry asked.
Hermione quickly grabbed her book and shoved it in his face,
"Look, it says it here! The Malfoys made house elves using muggleborns!"
Harry looked over the incredibly dull text, which only mentioned house elf slavery and laws,
"No, it doesn't."
Hermione looked at him with an [of course it does] look before rereading the page,
Her eyebrows started rising higher and higher as she read before she began to argue,
"It did, I swear! It's probably cursed by purebloods to only show muggleborns! Yes, that has to be it!"
Harry nodded with a sigh before sitting back and relaxing.
Ares decided now was a good time to leave and exited quietly as
Hermione started arguing with Ron.
He made his way back to Daphne and the others and chatted with them.
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A few hours later...
Ares was enjoying a nap when it occurred; the train started getting darker and colder, and he couldn't help but feel a little depressed.
Draco looked scared, and everyone else was a little concerned.
"Don't worry, it's only dementors."
Ares explained.
All four of the Slytherins turned to look at him with incredulity.
"Just Dementors, you say; I guess you're right; they'll only suck out our
SOULS!" Pansy said, shouting at him.
Ares rolled his eyes, casting at the same time,
'Expecto Patronum'
Prongs appeared, Ares had never been able to lose his love for the beast, and it remained his Patronus.
The girls gasped at its silvery ethereal beauty.
Draco looked a lot happier now, feeling safe.
Ares set out with his Patronus directing it against any dementors he saw.
He had deliberately made his way to where the first years were keeping the dementors away. Then, looking around, he asked if everyone was alright and offered them each some of the chocolate he had bought from the trolley lady, making sure each of them got a good look at him.
He told them it would make them feel better and encouraged them to eat some as soon as possible.
Then, he made his way through the train handing out chocolate to anyone who looked shaken up and anyone in their first year.
The dementors appeared to be retreating to the front of the train back, where he had initially scared them away; turning around, he made his way back to the front, casting cheering charms on everyone he passed.
He had a passing fancy to cast one on a dementor and see what happened.
Ares arrived at the compartment with Daphne and the others and was incredibly amused, a dementor was looking in, and Draco was telling it off.
"When my father hears about this, you won't be allowed to eat again!"
Prongs came charging down the hallway, headbutting the creature of darkness in the gut.
It went flying out a window, breaking it, but it was nothing a repairing spell couldn't fix.
Daphne was looking at Draco with a critical eye,
"Are you SURE you shouldn't be in Gryffindor?" Tracey blurted.
Draco turned a dark shade of red in embarrassment.
Not long after, Professor Lupin came along and asked if they were all doing fine,
"Who was he?" Pansy asked.
Draco explained to her that he was the new professor for DADA.
She nodded in acceptance before noting something,
"He was wearing rags!"
Draco looked at her for a second before nodding slowly,
"He was!"
The rest of the train journey was spent discussing theories about
Hogwarts newest teacher and his fashion sense.
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Hogsmeade, Hogsmeade Station
The Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade station considerably less cheerful than when it set off.
The first years gathered around Hagrid quickly and got into boats, not even bothering to question how big the man was.
Ares knew he was probably meant to get in the boats as well, but he honestly couldn't be bothered as they were incredibly uncomfortable, and he had seen Hogwarts hundreds, if not thousands, of times.
They arrived relatively quickly, and Ares spent the journey contemplating the futility of life as a wizard.
There were more things to do in the muggle world than the wizarding world could fathom.
Getting out, he patted the thestrals and made his way into the chamber where all the first years were; Minerva McGonagall was explaining the basics of their schedule,
"You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your dormitory, and spend free time in your common room."
Looking up, she noticed Ares walk in,
"Mr Peverell, I assume?"
"Yes, ma'am, I am indeed he!" he replied with a flourish and bow.
He flashed her a smile and was pleasantly surprised to see the recognition in her eyes.
Minerva could have sworn she was staring at Sirius Black; his grin was almost identical, and it scared her.
This boy was the son of a pureblood lord who looked like Sirius Black; what was happening.
She gathered her thoughts and led the entrants into the hall for sorting.
Ares ignored the names as they were read out, more concerned with looking at the Headmaster, who was staring at him intently as if trying to read his mind.
Just in case Ares looked away, not wanting the man to look at his thoughts.
He just studied the room while he waited until his name was called.
"Peverell!"
Ares strode forward, making his way quickly towards the hat and stool.
"Who is he?"
"A transfer student."
"Oh, cool!"
"He isn't bad looking."
Ares couldn't help but roll his eyes at the last comment.
He sat down, and the hat invaded his mind.
"Hey! Invaded is a rather aggressive term! That isn't very nice, Mr Peverell or rather Mr Potter? Back so soon! And what house do you want to be in this time?"
Ares found the hat annoying, it could read your mind, yet it had picked the worst-sounding voice on the planet to do it with.
"Offensive."
"Shut up and pick."
"Sheesh, angsty, you'll fit right in with all these teenagers."
"Screw you."
"Very well, the house you will do the best in is..."