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Part 2 of Harry Potter's Ever Growing Collection of Family
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2023-01-14
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2023-03-31
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Snake

Chapter 4: 4

Chapter Text

“Thanks again, Minerva,” Remus says as Harry shuffles awkwardly, readjusting Merlin. Harry’s trying not to panic, but it’s a close thing.

“It’s no trouble, Remus,” McGonagall says warmly. “You can send Mister Potter through, now. The wards should be open for him.” Remus nods, and turns to Harry.

“Okay, Harry. I know this isn’t the smoothest start to the year, but everything is going to be just fine.” Harry thinks maybe Remus is saying that more or less to himself. “Remember the rules. Write to me once a week and please for the love of god don’t get into any life-threatening trouble.”

Harry nods, eyes darting to the open floo connection.

Remus smiles. “Bye, Harry. Love you.”

“Love you too, Remus! Bye! I’ll write!”

Remus laughs as Harry gathers Merlin and his school things, closes his eyes, holds his breath, and dashes through the floo. Despite his preparations, he still ends up on McGonagall’s office floor, coughing up soot. For a kid that can summon fire without a second thought, Harry sure has trouble with flooing places.

At least this time he hadn’t ended up in Knockturn Alley. That had really given Remus a heart attack and a half.

Upon falling from the fireplace into some random store, he’d immediately run into Malfoy, who’d taken one look at his sheepish soot-covered face and rolled his eyes. Harry had scowled at him, and then was shoved into a cabinet.

“Er, Malfoy?” Harry whispered, the dark enclosed space of the cabinet giving him an uncomfortable feeling of familiarity.

“Shut up!” Malfoy hissed, glaring at him through a crack in the door.

“Okay,” Harry whispered back. He’s glad he’d left Merlin with Remus.

Malfoy had stood guard as the shopkeeper and his father haggled over some dark items that Mr. Malfoy was apparently trying to sell before the ministry could confiscate them. Harry, having a rather soft spot for the dark arts, was sympathetic all the way up until Mr. Malfoy managed to insult muggles, muggleborns, and Arthur Weasley all in one breath. Harry had to grab onto his magic hard to keep it from lashing out.

(The last time he’d had to do that, it was because a house elf had shown up out of nowhere and… threatened him? Warned him? Harry still isn’t sure. However, he is sure that Remus can’t know about any of it. Last year was bad enough, if Remus caught wind of another potential danger, Remus would take Harry out of Hogwarts and the country before Harry could blink twice. Harry’s just glad he’d managed to figure out the missing letter business.)

Eventually, Mr. Malfoy had concluded his business, and Malfoy had shot one last glare at Harry before following his father out the door. Harry followed shortly after, curiously wandering around Knockturn for a bit before running into Hagrid, who’d helped him back to a frantic Remus and the Weasleys.

A cough from an amused McGonagall abruptly brings Harry back to the present. Harry flushes, and scrambles to his feet. He tries in vain to dust some of the soot off, but it’s a losing battle.

Somehow Merlin is spotless. Harry’s going to blame the Philosopher’s Stone she had eaten. He’s been doing that a lot; they don’t know what the effects it has on Merlin are, so Harry’s just been making some up as he goes.

“Sorry for the trouble, Professor,” Harry says. “You’re a real life-saver.”

McGonagall smiles wryly at him as she casts a scourgify in his direction. “Like I told Remus, it’s no trouble at all.” The Professor casts a tempus, then turns her considering gaze back to Harry. “Well, you have a couple hours yet until the train pulls into Hogsmeade. At that point, you can accompany Hagrid. I assume you’d like to meet up with your friends?”

Harry nods furiously. Theo and Ron are going to panic over his absence, Harry just knows it. He wishes there was a way to tell them he’s already safe at Hogwarts. Oh wait!

"Could you send Ron a Patronus and tell him that I'm already at school and not to worry?"

Mcgonagall smiles and nods. “Of course, Mister Potter." With a quick flick of her wand, a shiny silver cat has been summoned and the message sent off. "In the meantime, you’re welcome to sit and read. Help yourself to some biscuits.”

Harry takes Merlin and goes to sit in the chair she’d gestured to. As Merlin noses through the biscuit tin, Harry decides that now is as good a time as any to start on his Defense Against the Dark Arts reading. He’d put it off, since Remus had taken one look at the list of required texts and actually burst into laughter.

“Sorry Harry,” he’d said, wiping away a stray tear. “But I think your teacher this year is going to be even worse than Quirrell.”

(Considering the fact that Quirrell had literally been the host of a parasitic Voldemort, this was saying a lot. At least Remus had given him some suggestions for supplementary texts.)

Then, to top it all off, after meeting with Hermione at Flourish and Blotts Harry had actually met the man: Gilderoy Lockhart. If it hadn’t been for Remus’s hand on his shoulder, Harry would have been pulled right to the man’s side, and then likely onto the front cover of the newspaper the next day.

Of course, the pompous man had gifted him a set of the ‘textbooks’ for free regardless, which was… nice of him? Anyways, Harry had just given the set to Ron, who’d stared at them with such undisguised disgust that Harry had to hold back a laugh.

After that, none other than Mr. Malfoy showed up, followed by Mrs. Malfoy and Malfoy. Mr. Malfoy proceeded to pick a fight with Mr. Weasley, brawled with the other man in the middle of the bookstore, and then left in a huff with his family. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Malfoy had spent the whole time trading venomous glares.

At least Harry knows now where Malfoy gets his ‘dickhead’ genes.

With a groan, Harry slams the book closed. It’s just the first chapter and already Lockhart has claimed to have cured a werewolf with the power of love. McGonagall looks up at him, eyebrow raised. Harry wordlessly gestures to the book, and McGonagall’s expression turns into one of understanding.

“Think I should kill this one too?” Harry jokes, pushing the image of Quirrell's terrified face from his mind. McGonagall’s face goes stern. “Right. Sorry. I’ll refrain from joking about that.”

“See that you do, Mister Potter.”

“It’s okay, Harry; it's not your fault they can’t understand true comedic genius,” Merlin hisses petulantly.

Harry smiles, but doesn’t respond.

Suddenly, Madam Pomfrey opens the door and walks in. She sees Harry and does a double take. “Mister Potter?” Pomfrey asks. “Shouldn’t you be on the train?”

Harry grimaces. “For some reason, the wards wouldn’t let us apparate in, so I had to floo.”

“That’s unusual,” Pomfrey says. Harry nods, then lights up.

“Do you need any help getting the Hospital Wing ready for the year? I could help,” Harry asks hopefully.

Madam Pomfrey gives him a warm smile, but shakes her head. “I’m all prepped, Mister Potter. Thank you for the offer, though.”

Harry nods, and sinks back into his seat glumly.

“You might be able to help Hagrid with the carriages?” Pomfrey suggests.

Harry turns to face McGonagall. “Can I?” he pleads. “I’ve already done all my other reading,” he continues.

McGonagall sighs. “I suppose,” she concedes. “Leave your trunk here, the Elves will get it.”

Harry shoots up. “Thank you Professor! See you at the feast! Bye, Madam Pomfrey!”

With that, he gathers Merlin more securely around his shoulders and dashes off towards Hagrid’s hut.

As Harry comes up to the hut, he slows. There’s a long line of carriages parked all around the grounds, and Hagrid is bustling between them; lifting them up, moving them around, and attaching harnesses to them.

“Hey Hagrid!” Harry calls as he jogs over.

Hagrid turns, and his face breaks into a big smile. “Hullo Harry!” Hagrid’s face suddenly falls, and he looks around anxiously. “What are you doing here? The train hasn’t come early, has it?”

“No, don’t worry. For some reason we couldn’t apparate into the station, so I flooed here instead.”

“Ah, well that’s a relief. Er, not that you couldn’t get to the train, mind you. But these carriages aren’t ready yet. I haven’t even called the thestrals over!”

“Thestrals?” Harry asks curiously as he peers into an empty carriage.

“Aye! Interesting beasties, they are. We have ‘em pull the carriages every year,” Hagrid explains. Harry doesn’t think it’s much of an explanation, but figures he’ll be seeing them soon enough.

Hagrid puts his hands up to his mouth and makes a haunting sort of bird call. Then, he lumbers over to a pile of crates, grunting as he uses a crowbar to level the tops off of one. Harry walks over to see what they hold, and immediately wishes he hadn’t: the crates are filled to the brim with what seem to be skinned rabbits. Merlin takes one look at them and then burrows her face into Harry’s shoulder.

“Er,” Harry says with a hand over his mouth and nose.

“Treat for the thestrals,” Hagrid clarifies. Then he furrows his eyebrows. “Or, maybe more of a payment for them pulling the carriages? Oh, here they come!”

Harry whirls around, and focuses on the forest’s tree line. At first, he doesn’t see anything at all: then, his eye catches on some movement.

Harry’s breath hitches as he watches a skeletal deer… bat… snake… thing gingerly step from the darkness of the forest. Its eyes are huge and bright, and it’s got a feathery mane of hair trailing down its neck and back. It shakes its leathery wings out, then snorts and jerks its head forward as though gesturing for the rest to follow. And follow they do, as one thestral turns into two, then four, then a whole herd.

Harry watches in wonder as the thestrals come from the forest. It was hard to tell when they were under the shadow of the trees, but in direct sunlight it’s almost as though their black leathery skin is absorbing all of the light that hits it.

“They look friendly,” Merlin hisses sincerely.

Harry nods, eyes meeting the gaze of what appears to be the herd leader. For a long moment, Harry and the thestral just stare at each other. Then, the thestral shakes its wings out again, unfurling them completely before it leaps into the air. Harry watches the beast take flight, swooping low to the ground and shooting forward… right towards Harry and Merlin. Harry barely has time to let out a startled cry and stumble backwards before it's suddenly upon him. It lands in front of Harry, and Harry sits down on the grass heavily. He’s suddenly all too aware of how sharp its beak-like snout is. It leans down, opening its mouth. Harry can only watch in horror as it reveals a mouthful of sharp black fangs, not unlike Merlin’s teeth.

Then, the thestral has a hold of a lock of his hair and is tugging on it gently.

“Hey- hey! What?” Harry protests, trying to swat it away.

Hagrid is staring in shock, rubbing his eyes as though he can’t believe what he’s seeing. The thestral is unperturbed. It just snuffles against Harry’s head, and resumes ruffling through Harry’s hair. Merlin is hissing threats at it, but it just flicks an ear (or is that a horn?) at her.

Another thestral appears, then another. Soon, they’re crowded around Harry, each shouldering into each other in order to get their turn with him. Harry decides to give in, and is giving each one a couple pats as they appear in front of him. Their skin is dry and cold, and feels like what Harry thinks Merlin’s skin would feel like without scales.

“Alright, alright give the boy some space,” Hagrid grumbles as he wades through the herd.

He picks Harry up and places him on top of a carriage. The thestrals toss their heads and snort in protest, but Hagrid distracts them easily enough with the rabbits.

“Are they always so friendly?” Harry asks, trying to pat his hair back into place.

“No! They aren’t unfriendly, but they usually like to keep to themselves unless you have a rabbit carcass on hand.”

“Hm. Weird,” Harry says. Then he shrugs. “Well, I like them!” Harry declares.

“Me too,” Merlin hisses in agreement. “They have great taste in people.”

Harry thought that maybe he would be a big help in hitching the thestrals up to the carriages because of how much they like him, but it turns out he’s too distracting and Hagrid just has him sit on top of the carriage as he does the bulk of the work. Harry would feel bad, but he’s pretty sure Hagrid mostly just appreciates the company.

Finally it’s time to drive the carriages down to Hogsmeade. Harry gets down from the carriage and is then placed unceremoniously by Hagrid onto one of the thestrals- he thinks it's the herd leader, the one who had first run up to him. Hagrid walks alongside the line of carriages, and Harry’s heart starts beating faster and faster every step closer they get to Hogsmeade and by extension, his friends.

Harry and Merlin end up on the platform, waiting for the train to pull in. Hagrid watches bemusedly as Harry absentmindedly summons, unsummons, and then resummons ribbons of light as they wait.

It takes a good twenty minutes, but at last the train pulls up into the station. Harry bounces on his heels anxiously, scanning the crowds for his friends. Fortunately, Hermione is one of the first students off the train and she makes a beeline straight for him. Harry can see Neville, Daphne, and Blaise all fighting their way through the crowd towards him as well. He wonders where Theo and Ron are.

“Harry! Merlin! Oh, it’s so good to see you two again! Where were you? We were all so worried!” Hermione pauses, taking in a deep breath, before throwing herself at Harry and pulling him into a big hug.

“What?” Harry asks into her bushy hair. “Didn’t Ron tell you? McGonagall sent him a Patronus telling him that I was safe at school already.”

Hermione pulls back from him, a confused expression on her face. “Wait,” she starts nervously. “Ron and Theo never showed up on the train. We had thought they were with you.”