Returning to Hogwarts, the safest school in the magical world.
"Why is there a formal outfit among my things?" Harry said while sitting in the living room, packing his trunk with Liz's help, as she calmly floated his belongings around him.
Gris had already lined up the trunks next to the door, preparing everything for the next day so it would simply be a matter of grabbing everything and leaving. Billy's and Tommy's things were there as well.
There were even two cages, one for Terra and one for Dee, although it wasn't really like they used them. Dee was always tucked into Tommy's pocket, and Terra got genuinely annoyed whenever she was forced into a cage. Because of that, Billy had ended up replacing it with a beautiful crystal dollhouse. It was something that would undoubtedly look a bit strange if a child brought it to Hogwarts, but Billy didn't seem bothered by it at all, and Terra was happy that way, so there was even less reason to complain.
Wanda, who was sitting nearby helping fold Harry's clothes, didn't seem inclined to say much.
That was why Harry glanced at her.
"This has something to do with the fact that you don't want to tell us what's going to happen at Hogwarts this year, the change of headmaster and all that, right?" he said, looking at her as if he were starting to connect a few dots.
Before he could continue, Wanda gave her eldest son a light tap on the forehead to stop him.
"Sometimes it's good to enjoy being surprised," she said with an amused smile. She knew that if Harry really wanted to, he could figure out a lot of things quite easily. And the idiot Sirius was really not good at handling his godson's cold, analytical attitude, so Harry could get information out of him without much effort whenever he felt like it.
"I don't really like surprises, especially when they have anything to do with Hogwarts. Because its surprises are usually not fun," Harry said with a mild complaint.
"This year won't be like that…" Wanda said, but paused for a moment, as if thinking something over. "Don't worry, I'll be nearby, just in case," she added in the end, feeling it was better to say it that way.
"Aha!" Harry said, as if he had just obtained valuable information.
Even Wanda sometimes fell for his habit of steering conversations, which made her look at him with a knowing smile as she shook her head.
"I'm kidding," Harry said quickly, smiling. "I guess this time I can let myself be surprised," he added before placing his last piece of clothing inside the trunk and closing it with a light tap of his foot.
…
When Harry woke up the next morning, the day already felt gloomy, as if it were quietly announcing the end of the holidays and the return to school. Rain tapped against the window, while the streets outside were completely soaked.
Harry put on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt before heading downstairs. As always, they would put on their Hogwarts robes along the way, since it really wasn't the most comfortable school uniform in existence. Even though they were high quality and enchanted with charms to repel dirt and keep the wearer cool, they were still fairly annoying to wear.
After having breakfast together, Wanda drove them there. She could have used magic to arrive instantly, but she always enjoyed driving instead, sharing the trip with them. After all, she wouldn't see them for several months. Though, being honest, Harry saw her quite often at Hogwarts whenever something went wrong and she showed up immediately. Thinking they wouldn't see each other for a while was probably an exaggeration, but he wasn't about to say that out loud.
They all entered King's Cross Station after the drive, even running into Hermione and the Grangers along the way, so they continued together toward Platform 9¾.
"I really don't understand why we have to travel on such an uncomfortable train for hours just to get to school, when we could do it with a simple snap of our fingers," Tommy said, clearly annoyed. If there was one thing he hated, besides slowness itself, it was trains. After all, sitting for hours watching trees pass by through the window was not something he enjoyed at all.
"That's simply because someone seems to like trains a lot," Harry said with an amused smile.
"That's not it," Hermione said immediately. "Just imagine different kinds of carriages, brooms, or wizards starting to arrive randomly around the castle. On top of that, younger students can't use magic outside of Hogwarts, so they'd have to be brought by their parents. That would cause absolute chaos. With the train, all the students arrive together, on time, and at the same moment," she explained quickly, as if reciting a perfectly rehearsed justification.
Harry and Tommy looked at her with the exact same expression.
"It's still annoying," Tommy said.
As soon as they crossed through the barrier onto Platform 9¾, Daphne was already there waiting for them, wearing a wide smile, as if she had known exactly when they would arrive. Draco was there as well, arms crossed and looking tired. Farther back, Luna and Astoria could be seen searching for Ginny, scanning every passerby with narrowed eyes.
"As always, the last ones to arrive," Daphne said with a victorious smile, clearly proud of being the first. Her competitiveness was as present as ever.
"It's because Dad always tries to make the trip as long as possible," Hermione said right away, sounding slightly annoyed. They always ended up being among the last to arrive because of her father, who never stopped complaining about being careful with the kids and repeating the same warnings over and over again. At this point, Hermione practically knew that speech by heart.
"Heh, heh, heh. No excuses for losers," Daphne said with an air of smug satisfaction.
That made both Hermione and Harry, and even Draco, who had arrived second and had been putting up with her for a while now, show an almost imperceptible grimace for a brief moment. It was hard to notice, but for those who knew them well, it was obvious that something was about to start again.
"Save your competitions for later," Selene said immediately, approaching with a smile as she took her husband Edward by the arm. He responded with a silent greeting, only with his gaze, as always. "This year will be truly exciting, so I hope you all have a lot of fun," she added.
"She's still evil and refuses to tell us anything while raising our expectations," Daphne said to the others, a slight annoyance evident at her mother's game.
Before they could keep talking much longer, the whistle of the train announced that it was time to board, so everyone had to quickly say goodbye to their families and head inside to find a seat.
The train didn't take long to start moving, while students waved to their parents from the windows. Of course, Harry and the others were no exception, and they waved enthusiastically as well before losing them from sight.
Billy and Tommy left to look for their second-year friends. The same happened with Astoria and Luna, who had practically captured Ginny the moment she crossed through the platform barrier.
Now the four of them were sitting together, while the rain slammed against the window, making it impossible to see anything outside.
They all pulled out their massive books, which still looked like they hadn't quite finished studying them, while every now and then some of their friends passed by to say hello. The trolley witch also appeared, and Harry bought several pastries to share with everyone.
"So, are you ready to go back to our safe school of magic?" Harry asked without lifting his eyes from his book.
"Hah. I'm always ready. This time I had the brilliant idea of giving the twins the grenade blueprints so they could bring a few to school for me. Mum didn't notice," Daphne said.
"I don't think using the twins was the smartest idea," Hermione said immediately.
"It doesn't matter. I'll be safe anyway, because I'll attack first," Daphne replied without hesitation.
"Why is it that every time we go back to Hogwarts, it feels like something is going to go wrong?" Harry said, letting out a sigh.
"Because it's obvious that with you at the school, something will go wrong," Draco said dryly, without lifting his eyes from his book.
"So now it's my fault?" Harry said, acting as if he were hurt by his friend's words.
"Yes," Draco said, briefly lifting his gaze to look at him before returning to his reading.
"He's right," Hermione said, unable to deny it.
"I already told you, Harry, you're cursed," Daphne added.
Harry simply rolled his eyes at them and went back to his reading, until the compartment door slid open.
"Hey, guys," Neville said as he walked in.
The four of them nodded to greet him and then went back to their books. However, just a few seconds later, they opened their eyes in surprise and turned to stare at Neville, expressions of confusion on their faces and their mouths slightly open.
Standing there was a boy their age who usually had a round face, a constantly nervous look, crooked teeth, and a somewhat chubby build. Now, however, in front of them stood someone a little taller, lightly tanned, slimmer, with straightened teeth and a more confident gaze, though still a bit embarrassed by the way they were staring at him.
"Neville!" Daphne exclaimed in great surprise as she finally connected the face with her friend. "What happened to you?" she asked, while the others were clearly thinking the same thing. He didn't look anything like the Neville from before.
Neville awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed by all the attention.
"Well… I asked Mum to sign me up for a Muggle camp to try and improve my self-esteem and my personality," he said. He still had some unmistakably Neville-like mannerisms, but he truly looked more refreshed.
"A Muggle camp?" Harry asked.
"What kind of camp causes that kind of change?" Hermione couldn't help but ask, since the physical difference was impossible to ignore.
"Oh… I think it's called a military camp," Neville said after thinking for a moment. "It was really tough. I fainted all the time during the first few days," he added.
The others could only blink for a few seconds before looking at each other.
"Why a military camp?" Draco asked.
"Mmm… aren't all camps military?" Neville replied.
"Oh, Neville," Hermione said with a look that mixed pity and resignation, while Daphne burst into laughter. Harry pressed a hand to his forehead, and Draco couldn't help but remain surprised. In the end, he hadn't really changed that much. Just his appearance.
"It's good that you're trying to improve, Neville," Harry said with a sincere smile. "It's not really necessary, but we're still happy for you," he added.
"Yeah. After all, I don't want to always be walking behind you. I want to be able to walk at your side with confidence," Neville said, wearing a genuinely proud smile.
That made the four of them look at him in silence for a moment, smiling as they gently shook their heads.
"What an idiot," Draco said before shifting slightly to make room for him to sit down.
"Come on, Neville. We'll tell you everything you missed at the Quidditch World Cup. We also have a few gifts we bought for everyone who couldn't go," Daphne said right away.
With that, they all set their books aside and started talking. They spoke about what Neville's daily life had been like at the camp, and also about how they themselves had spent their holidays.
None of them said it out loud. Even so, that uncomfortable feeling lingered, as if something didn't quite fit into place.
Meanwhile, the train moved forward through the rain, heading straight for Hogwarts and the first day of the new school year.
…
Next chapter: You've got to be kidding me…