Chapter Text
“A Horcrux, Saul?” Amelia Bones raised her eyebrow. “Are you serious?”
The Head Unspeakable nodded. The journal of Tom Marvolo Riddle hovered in the Isolation Sphere. Amelia shivered and not just from the cold of the Department of Mysteries. It looked so deceptively innocent, a book one could pick up from any stationary store. The Grey boy had been right about the journal being a dark artefact and having no place in a house full of children. She had thought the child was being over-dramatic – like Susan insisting there was a dragon under her bed. The child grew up in the Near East, said to be the source of more outré magical practices. But a Horcrux? That was the stuff of nightmares.
“With your permission, ma’am, we would like to bring in a specialist from Gringotts…” And notify the Goblin Nation as per the terms of the alliance as signed in 1779… Amelia thought wryly. The Ministry had a bad habit of ignoring the treaty which allowed them to tap on the expertise of their creature allies. The goblins took issue about being left in the dark about major magical upheavals which could adversely affect the magical economy. Rumour had it her predecessor Crouch had been blacklisted by the goblins for failing to inform Gringotts of the severity of the Voldemort issue until entire families like the McKinnons started dying out.
“Do what is necessary, Saul.”
Amelia understood why Saul Croaker had reached out to her instead of the Minister. Fudge would likely dither and that poisonous pink toad undersecretary of his would make sure the goblins were never informed. The public does not want to know that You-Know-Who was still around in some shape or form.
The goblins had cunningly wrested the guardianship of little Harry Potter from whichever guardian the Chief Warlock had chosen and made him a ward of Sir Allister Grey the Cursebreaker. Harold Grey’s guardian was said to have a close working relationship with the goblins in Cairo, so the gossip in the Leaky went. She had met the boy, a serious little wizard. She also heard from her niece Susan how academically brilliant the child was. There was that incident of Pettigrew found dead at the Weasleys’. They put it down as an accident involving Harold’s cobra. No one had any idea where Pettigrew had been these past decade or why he was in the Burrow. Perhaps they should speak with the boy, but now the child should be on his way to Hogwarts by now.
Harold winced as his little queen let loose a string of blistering invectives when they hit another pothole. Ron Weasley scowled as he steadied his trunk. The little Scops owl Bill had bought was hanging upside down by one foot in his cage and glaring at the boys. Maybe they should have let the owl out at King’s Cross to fly ahead. Thank goodness for the Knight Bus. Harold was not going to risk getting another Howler from Uncle Ali for something as stupid as taking Arthur Weasley’s car without permission. He had flagged down the Knight Bus and piled his trunk and Ron’s aboard before the redhead could get any more bright ideas.
Two hours ago…
They watched Luna and her father go through the barrier. Father and daughter were closely followed by Molly and Ginny. Molly was grumbling about missing the train and yelling for Ron and Harold to keep up. Arthur and the older sons had already gone ahead, but Ginny had to stop and chat with Luna. Ron was still struggling with Pigwidgeon. For some unfathomable reason, the bird had latched onto the end of Ron’s wand when he refilled his water bowl through the bars of the cage. As for Harold, he was enjoying watching Ron get bested by a bird who was probably smarter than his young master.
So that was how they stood five minutes to eleven, ready to go through the barrier when…
“Ow! Move, you git!” Ron bellowed from under the upturned trolley.
“Ron, the barrier is broken…” Harold winced as he rubbed a bruise on his arm. Nefertari made an unhappy sound under Harold’s shirt.
“Impossible! Ginny and Mom made it through!” Ron tried running full tilt the wall only to bounce off. Some of the passing Muggles were starting to stare at the pair.
“Ron, quit it…” Harold grabbed their trunks. A wheel had fallen off the trolley. He Cast a silent Featherlight Charm on the trunks. “Let’s get out of here… and back to the car.”
“Yeah, I can fly Dad’s car there…”
Harold ignored Ron and scribbled a note for Arthur, which he tucked under the windscreen wiper. With the attention they had drawn, it might not be wise for Mr and Mrs Weasley to come popping out of the wall in front of some Muggle train guard. He had an idea how to get them both to Hogwarts and did not wish to worry Ron’s parents.
“Master! Elf magic!” Nefertari wriggled.
“I know, Nef…” Elf-magic was resistant to most wizard-magic. If some elf was being difficult… but why? Arthur had parked his car, albeit illegally, on the street just outside the train station, which suited Harold’s purposes just fine. Stepping to the edge of the kerb, he raised his wand and heard a loud bang as the Knight Bus appeared in its purple glory. The door popped open.
“Blimey, missed the train, didn’t ya?” Stan Shunpike grinned as he welcomed the boys on board.
They took the scenic route up to Scotland with a break for lunch at a place called Godric’s Hollow. The driver and conductor needed to eat too, you know. Ron mumbled something about the Potter Cottage through a mouthful of his corned beef sandwich. Harold only shrugged. He knew about what happened to the Potters but that was another life. He would like to visit his birth parents’ grave, but not today.
“Harry Potter must not go Hogwarts! Great danger!” Harold had gone to use the washroom when he was surprised by a house-elf in a very Muggle men’s room in the local fast-food joint. He had left Nefertari sunning on hood of the Knight Bus.
“Was the barrier your doing? What danger?” Harold scowled. He was so done with Harry Potter.
“Dobby cannot say!”
“Then I must continue to Hogwarts.” Whose elf are you? Harold wanted to ask.
“Dobby very sorry, sir…” The elf snapped his fingers and all the toilet paper in the restroom went flying up to the ceiling. The soap dispensers went crazy as well. The sinks filled with bubbles and the toilets started spewing filthy water.
“Cursed Set…” Harold groaned. He did not need this. He fled past a bewildered cleaner who was probably going to have the worst and most confusing day of his life. He could hear pops as Aurors responded to the magical disturbance. Harold hauled himself up the steps into the bus as Nefertari flicked her tongue in disdain.
“You forgot to wash hands…”
“There’s a spell for that…” Harold grumbled as Cast a Tergeo. He did not need to be questioned by Aurors. The passengers were rejoining the bus as Ernie settled into the driver’s seat. Not a moment too soon, they were back on the road.
Once they had left the large cities behind, the trip was almost idyllic. There was less need for sudden swerves and jumps. They had a smooth stretch on the A82 into the highlands. Well, until a baby kelpie decided she would try riding the bus as well. Nefertari had identified the small witch they picked up by the loch as not being human earlier. Being a baby, she reverted to her kelpie form after dozing off in one of the beds. Ernie needed to pull over and have Stan return the young kelpie to her mom. Nessie was quite impressive to look at, especially when she had hauled herself out on the bank to get her baby.
The boys were dropped off at Hogsmeade station just as the last carriage was about leave. They made it just barely. Harold was pleased to see that among the riders in the last carriage was his friend Tony. Micheal Corner, Sue Li, and Terry Boot were also there. Harold’s absence on the train had been noticed and his Housemates had lingered behind to see if he got off the train. Prefects Penny Clearwater and Percy Weasley were also in the last carriage. Percy had tweaked his brother’s ear for giving them a scare while a haughty Hermes pecked Pig hard on the head. It was a bit of a squeeze with the eight of them and Ron and Harold’s trunks since the Hogwarts elves had already left with the luggage from the Express. Percy decided to let both Hermes and Pig fly ahead to the Owlery while they loaded their cages on the top of the carriage. Harold found himself sandwiched between Tony and the window so Nefertari could rest on the window’s edge. The cobra seemed to be on edge.
Their heavily laden carriage was lagging. Harold watched the sun set over the mountains and wondered if they would have stuffed eggplants at the Welcome Feast. Ron was grumbling about being hungry. Corner handed him a Shrieking Sherbet Stick. They were passing the Black Lake and could see the lanterns of the boats on it. Ginny and Luna would be out there… His familiar suddenly flared her hood.
“Danger!” she hissed. There was a loud crack. Harold felt the carriage tilt sharply. Then students and trunks were tumbling every which way in the carriage. Glass was breaking. A girl screamed. One of the trunks smacked Harold on the head. All-encompassing blackness.
Harold awoke to someone flicking hm in the face with a wet ribbon. He opened his eyes. Nefertari. The snake was flicking him in the face with her tongue. A flick of his hand Summoned his glasses and wand over. A quick Reparo on the cracked lens. His ribs felt sore. His shoulder felt like it was on fire. He wiped blood from his brow and felt for his amulet. It was cool to the touch. So not the wraith’s doing. He could hear his friends moaning but he could not see them. The sun had set entirely by now. Harold Cast a Lumos. The first thing he saw was the smashed carriage. The thestrals pulling it had torn themselves free of the traces and were now nosing about the wreck. School supplies, books and clothes were scattered all over the grassy slope. They had tumbled down from the road. There were bobbing lights above. The accident had not gone unnoticed. With the chill of the Scottish evening setting in, Nefertari slithered up his arm and settled around his shoulders.
The first other student he saw was Percy. There was blood on his face as the teen sat on a boulder. He was making no move to stop the thestral that was licking the blood from his head. Was he in shock, or did the prefect not see the creature? Or he might be concussed. Tony Goldstein and Sue Li were helping each other out of the wrecked carriage. Sue was favouring one leg while Tony’s arm was badly broken. Penny Clearwater had been thrown clear of the wreck and was lying on her back motionless amid some broken glass. Harold limped over to check her vitals. She was breathing and her pulse was steady. He did not want to risk moving her.
“Same elf… I bite…” a furious Nefertari puffed her hood. If his familiar were a spitting cobra, Harold was sure she would be spraying venom in her fury.
“Some help here! Terry’s been impaled!” Corner staggered out of a thicket of brambles. He was cradling his wrist.
“Merlin… Hurts…” Terry whimpered as Harold grimly tightened his scarf round the wound and the broken branch sticking out of his thigh. Harold hoped it had missed the artery.
“Ron, watch Percy!” Harold shouted when he saw that Ron was miraculously unhurt and milling about aimlessly. A concussed Percy had found his feet and was headed in the wrong direction - towards the water. Ron scowled but stumbled after his older brother. Thankfully, the staff and elves from Hogwarts soon arrived with stretchers to carry the wounded.
Despite his protests, Professor Snape insisted Harold lie down on a stretcher. Snape had some training as a healer and took over caring for Terry Boot. Hagrid set about rounding up the thestrals. Then Harold started feeling the pain of his injuries.
As he was jostled on his journey to the Hospital Wing, Harold overhead the teachers speculating about the accident.
“Hagrid says it looks like the back axle snapped. At the worst possible time just as they were coming up the rise.” Professor Sinistra. Harold fought to keep from losing his lunch. He was feeling dizzy.
“Was it overloaded? Understand two of the lads were late…” Madam Hooch.
“Nay, the carriage should be able to take their weight,” Professor Septima Vector.
“Didn’t he inspect them just last week?” Professor Sinistra.
“Yes, he did. I was with him too… No reason for the axle to break…” Madam Hooch again. But one could not account for a meddlesome elf who has developed a grudge… Everything kept fading in and out of focus.
“Mister Grey, let’s take a look at you. Your familiar can rest on the bedstead if she doesn’t need Hagrid to look at her…” They had reached the Hospital Wing and Madam Pomfrey’s capable hands.
They needed to send Penelope Clearwater and Terry Boot to St Mungo’s. Clearwater had a skull fracture and a bleed in the brain. Boot had lost a good deal of blood. Snape had to Spell Blood Replenishers into him to keep him stable enough to be moved. Their injuries were beyond Madam Pomfrey’s capabilities. The rest escaped with sprains and broken bones. All of them were to be kept overnight for observation except for Ron Weasley, lucky fool.
Percy’s brothers and sister dropped by after the feast to inform him that little Ginny had Sorted into Gryffindor. Luna Lovegood had Sorted into Ravenclaw. Ginny hoped her friend would do alright in that house as Luna had always been a little strange. Harold understood that their respective House heads would inform their parents or guardians of the mishap.
Who sent that bloody elf?