บท 20: Harry Gaunt - Chapter 20
Harry was dressed in his Hogwarts uniform, which he'd kept safe in his trunk for all this time. He'd made wider and longer in places, but since the design hadn't changed between then and now, he saw no reason not to use it.
"Good."
Harry looked pleased as he saw his reflection in the mirror, he looked tall and far different from his father. There was only one person he truly looked like now as he swept and out of his bedroom, heading down to the kitchen and his impromptu potions lab. It was just to practice really, since Harry hadn't brewed anything but a specific few since fifth-year.
He checked the cauldron filled with living death - it looked fine, so Harry stored it and dissembled his equipment ready to bring to Hogwarts, along with the books he'd been studying so he could attend with the seventh-years.
Dumbledore had mentioned some remedial classes, but as was usual with the Headmaster it had been painfully vague.
"Right, I think that's it." Harry looked around at the kitchen with a satisfied air. "Oh."
Harry spied the newspaper pages he's used for a spill, the title still there and the images playing. They were both far from complimentary, one with the name 'Gaunt' and the other with a picture of the alley. Harry was just glad it didn't have a picture of him as burned them to a crisp, pleased at least that there were more Aurors on duty now.
He disappeared with a crack and appeared within the platform at Kings Cross, the morning commute in full swing as people flowed around him. Harry made the short walk towards platforms 9 and 10, glad he didn't need to push his things around. "It's still the same," he smiled as he spied the wall. "But more people..."
Harry saw what looked like a queue leading away from the wall, mostly first-years who couldn't control their trolleys. But as Harry came closer he did see a few older years helping out, brothers and sisters probably who'd been forced to assist by their parents.
"Are you queuing?" asked Harry to a confused looking pair lingering at the back.
"Oh, yes. We think so." The woman laughed as she stayed close to her daughter. "Are you a… student too?"
She looked around for a moment, wary of revealing the secret.
"Yes, I am a student," chuckled Harry with a nod. "This is my uniform."
Harry glanced at the young girl behind her trolley. She seemed to recognise it.
"The letter said we should change on the train," she said.
"It did?"
Harry had gone with the common-sense approach. "My mistake then," he said, seeing the girl was beginning to worry. "You must have been surprised when your letter turned up, I know I was."
The girl shook her head. No way had she been surprised.
"Martha was very calm actually," said her mother conversationally. "It was me who was surprised. We started having owls turning up at the house, but they wouldn't get close because of Budgie."
Harry looked at the smiling woman.
"He's a budgie," she explained. "He protects the house."
Harry made an 'I see' expression. "The queues moving on," he observed, causing them both to look behind and then fumble with Martha's trolley.
"Oh, thank you." Martha's mother stepped aside so Harry could push. "We really struggled on the way here. I am Diane by the way."
Diane thought to offer her hand, but then remembered what the Professor had said, so settled on a smile when Harry nodded. "Harry," he said.
They were almost at the wall now, the sight up ahead truly tiresome to Harry as a mother said goodbye umpteen times to the same boy. It was never this bad in the future, the effect of Voldemort's rise truly startling when seen first-hand.
"Where's your trolley?" came Martha's question from beside her mother. "Everyone else has one."
Martha had been watching while they queued.
"I am wizard," said Harry as if that explained it all. "You'll see soon enough when you get to Hogwar-"
The girl made shushing sound.
"What?" Harry looked at her. "I shouldn't say Hog-"
Shhh!
The girl was giving him evils. "They said it was a secret," she whispered. "Professor McGonagall said not to let anyone find out."
Martha obviously thought passers by would somehow hear, then through inexplicable fate manage to prevent her from attending Hogwarts.
"I see," returned Harry good naturedly, pushing the trolley forwards again. "I suppose you're right, attending Hogwarts is a privilege. You wouldn't want to risk it by getting into trouble."
Harry often liked that about Muggleborns. They saw magic as he did, this wonderous thing that had changed his life. Martha had it too. She knew how much it meant to her to be able to come here.
"Do you want to follow me in?" offered Harry out of character as they arrived by the wall. "Up to you, it makes no difference really."
They would part ways on the other side.
"We'll follow you in if that's okay?" Diane positioned herself and Martha beside Harry, perhaps misunderstanding the meaning of 'follow' as Harry nodded.
"Here we go then."
Harry readied the trolley, about to push when he felt a hand grasp his sleeve. Martha was holding on, her eyes fixed ahead at the daunting wall.
It didn't matter, thought Harry as he took them through to the incredible sight that was Platform 9 ¾.
"It's real!" squealed Martha with a hop as they slowed to a stop off to the side. "Look Mum!"
Marta pointed at the people appearing via floo across the station, then looked again with awe at the Hogwarts Express.
Harry's arm was under attack. Martha tugged it again as she pointed at something else.
"Sweetie, you can let go now," said Diane, coming near to pry her away. "Sorry Harry."
Diane smiled apologetically at him.
"It's fine." Harry stepped away. She was just a girl. "I'll be off now. It was nice meeting you."
Harry turned abruptly away.
"Y-you too!" called Diane, followed by a wave from Martha. "Drat, now we'll need help getting this stuff onboard."
Diane had struggled enough just getting in and out her car.
"He was nice though," said Martha, now at the helm again as she tried to move the trolley forward. "Come on Mum, we don't want to miss it!"
Martha edged her way forward, missing Diane's sigh as she helped stop the trolley from veering off. "Let's follow Harry," decided Diane, these carriages looked very busy as she and Martha pushed along.
Harry knew what he was doing, so they'd follow him.
~~~~~~~
Harry made his way towards the back of the train through the sea of people, heading for the furthest point from where the firsties would usually get on. It was where the quiet types liked to sit, the Ravenclaws and solitary Slytherins, teachers too who took it in turns to ride the train up.
It was Hermione who had first sat them here, and Harry had never looked back as he slipped inside the spartan carriage. There were the usual compartments and narrow walkways, but also seats made of polished wood towards the centre. It varied depending on which carriage you came to.
But Harry stayed clear of the wooden seats, walking instead for an empty compartment he could relax in. "Only 7 hours to go," he murmured, taking a seat well back from the window. "How long until she finds me."
He was talking about Bellatrix of course, who he hadn't spoken to him since the day he'd slipped away at the ministry. Harry remembered the way she'd looked at him, one that was far from done trying to harass him.
Harry hoped Arcturus had made progress with curtailing Walburga's efforts, the woman was a nasty cow just as her portrait was, which Harry had had the misfortune of talking to once.
She'd called him filth. Unworthy to walk the halls of House Black. Harry wasn't surprised when Sirius said he'd run away, anywhere would be better than living with her - the Potters for instance, Harry could see Sirius getting along with Euphemia.
Harry was glad, as he was that no further communication had been received from grandmother, an event that both saddened and relieved him at the same time. On the one hand, she was indeed his grandmother: she seemed to care about him too. But on the other, she was also an intrusive, untrustworthy old woman. Harry had told her not to look in that folder.
"James and Sirius aren't so different," said Harry aloud, looking thoughtfully at the compartment walls. They had both grown up with unusual mothers.
Harry wondered what their mother was like, Bellatrix and Cissy.
Perhaps it was the same for them too.
Clunk… Clunk Clunk.
Harry made a face at the noise he was hearing.
Clunk.
He got up and took a look outside. "Martha?" Harry saw her try to shunt her trunk onto the wooden seats.
He sighed.
"Where are you sitting?" he asked her from his compartment doorway. "Here, stop. Let me."
Harry came over and helped her stand the trunk on its end.
"Can I sit with you?" pleaded Marth with an exhausted air, fully regretting telling her mother to leave and stop trying to help.
"There's plenty of free space," returned Harry helpfully, obviously not wanting to share a compartment as he gestured away. "I'll get you setup over there."
There was another compartment just past the benches. Harry put a hand on her trunk to speed things along.
"Why can't I sit with you?" she emphasised, inching as she did towards Harry's open door. "I don't want to sit on my own. Mum said to try and make friends."
Martha had left all her other friends behind so she could come to Hogwarts.
"Then why did you come all the way down here?" asked Harry in confusion. "Most of the first-years are up there."
He pointed back towards the front of the train, expecting an answer while Martha looked away.
"Stop being mean," she said out the blue. "I don't want to sit down there. It's busy."
She made her way to Harry's to compartment.
"But you just said you didn't want to sit on your own," came Harry's voice as he followed her back in. "Martha, I don't want to sit with you."
Harry had to be stern, children took advantage otherwise.
"Who's that?" said Martha looking out the window, there was a pretty girl scanning the windows. "She's looking at you Harry."
Martha shuffled a bit so Harry could see. "She just doesn't give up," he muttered, looking away from Bellatrix and her victorious smirk. "And they say I am crazy."
Harry stepped back from the glass, she'd be here any minute.
"So I can stay?" asked Martha. She hadn't a clue what Harry was talking about. "I promise not to bother you. I usually fall asleep on long journeys anyway."
That was also be why she didn't want to sit alone. What if someone came in when she was asleep?
"You can stay," said Harry, taking a seat as Martha hopped onto her own just across from him. "But no noise."
Harry looked at her pointedly.
"No noise, got it," she said, glancing around with a smile. "Oh, my trunk. It's still outside."
Her eyes swivelled back to Harry.
"Stay still," sighed harry, lifting his hand towards the door. He imagined the trunk floating towards him, which it did as it peeked through the doorway.
Martha awed, watching it as it carefully moved inside, then floated up to the racks above her head.
Clunk.
Harry returned his hand.
"You really are a wizard!" cheered Martha in her seat. "I hadn't realised you didn't need a wand, does that happen once you get good enough?"
Maybe she could do that. Martha tried to picture it as footsteps came down the corridor.
"Harry, there you are." Bellatrix stepped into view dressed smartly in her Hogwarts uniform. "Scooch over. Cissy will be here soon."
She came right in and sat beside him, forcing Harry to move at the last moment. Bellatrix looked satisfied as the two sat evenly on the bench. "How was your summer?" she began, slipping her bag from her shoulder. "Have you caught up with your studies?"
She began pulling books and arranging them in the space between them.
"Bellatrix," said Harry, watching her hands bring more and more out. "What are you doing here?"
She was supposed to be doing as Arcturus had told her.
"Speaking to you," she returned easily, holding a book with a happy smile. "Now, I was thinking about your studies and what you said during dinner." She flicked to a page she'd marked in the seventh-year charms book. "What does the Cinitro charm do?"
She held the book in such a way that Harry couldn't see. She was testing him, trying to understand if he'd be good enough to join her in class. "Any ideas?" she pressed.
"It's a fire charm," said Harry like he'd rather not. "When cast it creates an intense blue flame that is commonly used to during Potion brewing." Harry looked at her sideways. "Anything else?" he bit.
Bellatrix flicked to another page. "What is the Patronus Charm and how is it used?" She peered at him over the tops of the pages. "The incantation too if you know it."
Harry looked at her carefully. She had a glint in her eye, that happy expectation that things were going to plan.
He told her the answer, adding the incantation.
"Excellent," she said, closing the book as she looked at him frankly. "I was worried you'd be behind. Did you know those already?"
She suspected he did.
"They're not that uncommon," said Harry, noticing how she had swivelled to face him on the bench. "This is Martha, by the way." Harry gestured to the little girl who Bellatrix hadn't greeted. "Martha, this is Bellatrix."
"Pleasure."
Bellatrix turned her attention back to Harry.
"Hello," said Martha, still in rapture by how pretty Bellatrix was. "It's nice to meet you."
Martha wondered if she'd ever be that pretty as Bellatrix leaned towards Harry, expressing something silently with her eyes.
Harry promptly ignored it.
"Martha," said Bellatrix. "Maybe you'd like to explore the train soon? The first-years are encouraged to do so."
Bellatrix leaned forwards towards Martha, trying to stop Harry from answering.
"It's fine Martha," interjected Harry without moving. "You can stay if you want to."
Harry tried not to smile when Bellatrix gave him a sour look. "Cissy's probably gotten stuck with Marlene," she then posed. "She doesn't know we're this far down."
Bellatrix shifted on the bench as if to get up.
"Okay then, we'll wait here." Harry glanced at the window, the train beginning to throw steam as it readied to go.
He felt Bellatrix plop back down with a quiet huff.
"Fine, we'll wait here." Bellatrix flicked a few curls away from her face, undeterred as she rummaged through her bag again. She'd known this would be difficult. "Here, Arcturus told me to give you this."
Bellatrix held a small envelope in her hand.
Harry frowned at it. "Why didn't he just send it?" he asked, looking between it and Bellatrix's face. "You know my address. Why not come before?"
Harry met Bellatrix's eye, his words with a double-meaning as she looked back into his. "I didn't want to bother you," she said honestly, glancing down. "And Arcturus only told me today. He's become a bit…" Bellatrix really wished Martha would go away. "He hasn't left the house since he returned from the ministry."
Bellatrix handed the letter over, watching as Harry quickly began to read. She'd not enjoyed the last few weeks of holiday, it had been filled with arguments between members of her house. Walburga had not given up, nor was she cast out. "What does it say?" asked Bellatrix innocently, leaning a little to try and see.
But Harry didn't answer, he just tucked it away into his robes. "Thank you," said Harry. "I'll write back to him later."
Arcturus just wanted him to check a few things.
"You're welcome," said Bellatrix, sitting back again with a little smile. "He said he was sorry about the papers too," she added. "He couldn't stop them."
Harry stopped himself from answering. "It wasn't his fault," he said instead, knowing now what Bellatrix was trying to do. She was trying to get Harry to send Martha away as she played with a stand of hair.
Harry hadn't noticed, but she'd done something different to it.
"It was Cissy's idea," said Bellatrix, seeing him look. "It's not much different though."
While Bellatrix had kept hers simple and long, only tying it back when it became a nuisance, Cissy had somehow managed to dye hers into two colours. It had been tied up in a very 'fashionable' way.
Bellatrix wondered what Harry was thinking. She wasn't surprised when he didn't say anything, he seemed content to just end their conversation there and look at the things passing by. The train had set off a few a minutes ago, Bellatrix hadn't noticed as she took the time to really look at him.
He looked very much like a Pureblood, elegant and refined features, clear and with eyes that were unique among the back drop of browns and blacks. His messy black hair too, she liked the way it seemed to curl and stick up with a strength of its own.
It was rather unique actually, a bit like the Potter hair that was as unruly as they came.
Bellatrix decided to leave him be for the moment, she didn't want to annoy him, quite the opposite in-fact as the train trundled on.
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