Harry POV
After dinner last night, Harry had been too tired to take the floo or any sort of magical transportation back to the apartment, and so the evening had turned into a sleepover at the Weasleys.
Although he'd been a bit weirded out by Dumbledore's unexpected appearance, Edward had assured Harry he wouldn't be forced to go back to the Dursleys for longer than absolutely necessary to refresh the blood wards that protected him.
Ed had been angry about something, though. He'd tried to hide it, but Harry could read him. A lot better now that the older teen wasn't suppressing his emotions with Occlumency, admittedly, but even then.
Whatever Dumbledore had said to annoy Ed hadn't been repeated, but Harry became more determined than before to keep his distance from the headmaster.
But that was something to worry about for another day. Today was back to school day, and the Hogwarts express waited for nobody!
Edward had come back to the Burrow with Harry's trunk and Hedwig in the morning, and then they all got inside Mr. Weasley's Ford Anglica. How he got a car in the first place Harry could only guess at, but he'd given it some impressive enchantments to allow everyone to fit, as well as expanded the boot's storage capacity.
It was still a bit awkward and cramped, ten people not exactly fitting comfortably into the vehicle, even with magic, but it got the group to King's Cross Station quickly enough. They got there with plenty of time to spare, even though Ron had wasted some time that morning tearing up his room trying to find Scabbers.
In the end, Ron had to leave his pet rat behind. It had snuck out when they'd been sleeping, and probably gotten lost in the garden. Ron seemed put out by that since there wasn't any time to get a new pet before making it to Hogwarts, but luckily, his parents convinced him to stop making a mess by promising to get him something for Christmas, which had the young redheaded boy perk up, and he was in much better spirits when they reached Platform 9 and 3/4th.
"That is one big train," Edward hummed as he looked up at the Hogwarts Express, the gleaming steam engine quite an impressive sight in Harry's opinion.
"It's really nice inside, too," Harry told him.
"I'll bet," Edward agreed. "Are you ready? Got everything you need?"
"Yup!" Harry nodded, holding up Hedwig's cage and trunk.
"In that case, take care, Harry," Edward said, turning down to look at Harry who stood at his side, smiling fondly at the younger boy as he patted his shoulder.
"I will. And you'll be nice to Dobby, right?" Harry requested.
"Of course! He'll have plenty of fun with me. And I won't work him too hard." Edward then turned to Hedwig. "Take care of Harry, Hedwig. I have a feeling he's going to get into trouble."
At that, Harry raised an eyebrow. "Did you use Divination on me?"
Edward simply handed the Boy-Who-Lived a slip of paper. On it, the words 'Beware of Snakes' was written onto it.
"I take it this isn't literal?" Harry wondered. "Or is it referring to Slytherin? Does it have something to do with the Chamber?"
"When I was rolling the bones, 'snake' was something I kept getting, and it was definitely dangerous," Edward said in a low voice. "Mirrors are also going to be important, in a good way."
"Beware of snakes, and mirrors might be helpful… got it!" Harry said with a nod.
"Well, don't worry about it too much. If something does happen, do your best. And aside from that, have fun at school, Harry," Edward said. Harry nodded, then hugged him, which Edward returned.
The Weasleys were wrapping up their farewells, and Edward stepped away to stand beside Mr. Weasley, who'd be driving him back.
Harry went with Ron and the rest of the redheads and boarded the train, finding a compartment for themselves. Hermione and Neville joined them shortly after, and the group took the opportunity to chat and catch up.
The ride to Hogwarts was nice. They met up with the other Gryffindors from their year, and Hannah and Susan greeted the group when the dining cart rolled by.
Even Draco Malfoy passed by their compartment as well at one point, but oddly, at least in Harry opinion, neither Crabbe nor Goyle were with him. The two henchmen had been inseparable from their boss last year, and Harry wondered why Draco didn't have them with him.
...
....
Join my P*atreon for 100 premium chapters ahead of the public release.
Link: pa*treon.com/MysticVerse (Remove the *)
Free members also get 2 advanced chapters for free.