The last few days of the winter break passed without incident as Harry merely lounged around with Remus and Sirius, just relaxing before he had to return to Hogwarts. And when the day came, all three of them Flooed to the Leaky Cauldron before taking a muggle cab to Kings Cross to catch the train.
"Do you have everything?" Remus asked him.
"Of course." Harry said with slight annoyance, as he was being treated like a kid again.
"Sorry pup. This mother hen was always like that with us as well. Even in our seventh year." Sirius said with a bark-like laugh.
"Even adults can miss things." Remus said defensively, even as Harry prepared to board the train.
"I'm going now. Keep him out of trouble Remus." Harry said while jerking his head towards Sirius.
"I always try." Remus said tiredly.
"And you usually fail." Sirius said with a smirk.
Harry smiled wryly at the two seemingly older men as he boarded the train with his trunk and Hedwig's cage, stowing them overhead before taking his seat in the empty compartment.
Not empty for long though, as Hermione naturally found him moments later before making herself at home. Harry swore she had some kind of tracking spell on him sometimes.
But Harry didn't mind since he knew he was the only real friend Hermione had, as no one else really tolerated her when he wasn't around.
"So how did you like the book I sent you?" Hermione asked eagerly, though she already asked him during his Christmas party.
"It's excellent. I've already begun forging some of the weapons in it." Harry answered as he readily reached into his bag, and pulled out one of the smaller weapons he had created. A shorter curved blade known as a kukri, which originated from the Indian subcontinent.
And while the weapon was still a bit foreign to him, Harry's skill in handling one-handed weapons helped him to use it well enough in combat training despite no real experience with it before now.
Harry was just about to return the kukri to his bag when two more people entered the compartment, Ron and Neville.
"Hey Harry! How was your holiday?" Ron immediately asked with a wide grin.
"It was fine Ron, but I'm guessing yours was great?" Harry asked, already figuring the answer from Ron's expression as he put his own trunks away.
"Great?! My break was bloody brilliant!" Ron exclaimed as he took the seat right across from Harry, and told him all about seeing his brother Charlie and the dragons he was handling in Romania.
Right as Ron was about to tell them about the Hungarian Horntail, and the train whistled in preparation to leave, the compartment door opened yet again to admit two more figures.
"Potter. Mind if we join you?" Asked the pale blonde figure who opened the door, Daphne Greengrass.
"???"
"If you're allowed to be seen in my company, Daphne." Harry replied cordially, even as she readily squeezed herself in on his right, sandwiching him between her and Hermione. The other girl however sat beside Ron on the other side of Daphne, much to the Weasley boy's chagrin. If Harry recalled correctly, and he was sure he did, she was Tracey Davis.
"Much has changed over the last couple weeks. Especially within the pure blood families." Daphne stated while pointedly ignoring the looks she was getting from the other Gryffindors, hostility from both Ron and Hermione, while even Neville seemed wary of them.
"You mean the Malfoy's." Harry 'guessed', to which Daphne nodded in affirmation while Ron's hostility turned to glee.
"Indeed. With their entire fortune and influence gone, along with Lucius now facing a lifetime in Azkaban, things have shifted tremendously within the pure blooded families." Daphne explained, while Harry added,
"Many of the families will use this chance to increase their own influence, while others may actually go after the Malfoy's personally due to past grievances or opportunity."
Ron frowned when he heard that. "I thought Slytherins were supposed to be about 'unity' and presenting a strong front?" He asked curiously.
"That's only on the surface with most noble or influential families. They show unity against any they consider to be 'outsiders', but behind the scenes they're all vying for power and control over one another." Harry explained, recalling some of the nobility in Skyrim and Cyradiil as he did so.
"It's also why political marriage is so relevant between aristocratic families. A union between them can strengthen ties and form alliances that can last for decades, while also removing a potential rival from play since they would be more likely to work together." Daphne added, and Harry was sure that her attention was entirely on him as she spoke.
'So that's what it is.' Harry thought to himself as he realized what was going on. Magnus more than likely told Daphne to stay close to him, and is probably hoping Harry would grow attached, maybe romantically so, with her as they matured. Something that would further protect and elevate their family in the future.
The thought almost made him chuckle as he recalled more than a few such instances in Skyrim, where young women from nearly every station would try to sneak into his chambers to seduce THE Dragonborn. They always got caught by Aela the moment they entered his chambers though, and the feisty werewolf would always put them through the ringer before turning them over to Harry to play with. Surprisingly, there were a few young women that would come back for more after all of that.
They all continued talking about their respective holidays for a while as the train left London behind, and continued north past the snowy landscape. Though a few amongst them were more cagey about the details.
Daphne for instance skirted around the fact that her family more than likely revolved their holiday around her sister, who had recently been inflicted with their family's curse. Harry of course knew about the entire story, thanks to Rita, and wondered if Magnus had performed the counter curse yet.
Interestingly, Neville also skirted the details of his holiday before attending Harry's party. Instead, he quickly passed the attention to Ron once again, who gleefully recounted his family's reaction when they found out about the Malfoy situation. Apparently there was even a feud between the two families that started between Arthur, Ron's father, and Lucius.
Then, as if his ears were burning from how much they had been talking about him, the compartment door opened to reveal Draco.
Apparently poverty and the loss of all his possessions had NOT been kind to Draco. His hair was no longer slicked back with whatever expensive products he had been using. His new school robes, as the others had been lost in the fire, were shabby and worn, obviously secondhand. And finally his complexion was now a sickly grey rather than pale, while dark circles had formed under his eyes from lack of sleep.
"Potter!" Draco sneered as he chucked something at Harry, a book.
"Draco!" Harry said a mock tone of concern, even as he effortlessly caught the book and glanced at its cover, 101 Steps to Becoming a Proper Gentleman.
"This was a Christmas gift Draco, you don't need to return it." Harry said with false woe, even as both Hermione and Daphne fought back a giggle when they read the title from either side of him.
"Don't patronize me Potter!" Draco snarled as he entered the compartment entirely to confront Harry.
"I KNOW you were the one behind what happened to us. YOU got my father arrested!" Draco accused while his hand twitched towards his pocket.
"That's quite the accusation, Draco. And how exactly would I, an eleven year old, manage to break into Gringotts and get an actual pure blood patriarch arrested?" Harry asked curiously, even as the others glanced at him.
"I don't know. But I will expose you. And when I do-"
*Crack!*
Whatever else Draco might have said was cut off, as Harry promptly headbutted him in the face.
"GAH!"
Draco screamed as he recoiled, blood pouring down his face as Harry stood and grabbed him by the front of his robes, and tossed him out of the compartment.
Heads poked out of the other compartments as Draco wailed from the pain of his possibly broken nose, even as Harry stepped out after him and knelt down beside him.
"Since your mother apparently can't even be bothered to educate you about the current situation, allow me." Harry said in a low voice that no one else heard.
"You are no longer a little Lord, Draco. You no longer have wealth, or influence. You are in no position to make threats to ANYONE anymore. I mean, where are Crabbe and Goyle? Your two cronies can't even be bothered to be seen with you anymore, let alone protect you. And I'm supposed to be scared of YOU?"
Draco's eyes narrowed in hatred at Harry even as he tried to stop the bleeding from his nose, but a quick glance at the surroundings showed him the truth of the matter.
No one, not even the Slytherins, stepped forward to try and help him. More than that, there was no more fear or respect as they looked at him either. Just pity or contempt.
Even Tracey Davis, a half blood that was at the bottom of the Slytherin house hierarchy, looked down at him with barely concealed contempt from behind Potter.
"So much for the house of unity." Harry remarked dryly, returning to the compartment while leaving Draco alone.
"Wasn't that a bit harsh?" Hermione asked as soon as Harry closed the compartment door, and returned to his seat.
"Nah. The prat deserved it." Ron immediately answered.
"Ron is technically right Hermione. Draco is the one who has consistantly pursued a conflict with me for no apparent reason. Everything I've done is retalitory. I even sent him a Christmas present." Harry replied, holding the book up for them to see.
"Why DID you send Malfoy a gift?" Daphne asked curiously.
"Why not?" Harry replied with a shrug. "I saw the book, and I thought of him. I also sent Snape a gift as well."
"""!!!"""
THAT got everyone's attention as they all looked at Harry like he was crazy. Or at the very least, suicidal.
"W-what did you get him?" Neville asked nervously, his complexion going pale at the mention of the Potions master.
"A gallon of Pepto Bismal." Harry answered casually, confusing Neville, Ron and Daphne. But Hermione and Tracey both looked at him like he was a dead man walking.
After getting over the shock when Harry told them what Pepto Bismal was, the group began to slowly relax as they continued interacting while the train took them further north.
Soon they left behind the frozen farms and fields so that they were surrounded by mountains and forests instead. And surprisingly, even Ron and Neville began to accept the fact that they were riding with a couple of Slytherin girls.
Eventually the sky began to darken, before changing completely to night well before they arrived at Hogsmeade station. After quickly changing into their robes when the train began to slow down, they came to a stop completely and prepared to disembark. Of course, none of them grabbed their luggage since it would be taken to the castle for them, and they all loaded up into the carriages being pulled by the skeletal horse things with wings.
Harry REALLY wanted to try riding one sometime.
The roar of hundreds of students, and scent of food met them as they entered the Great Hall, prompting Daphne and Tracey to head to the Slytherin table while Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville all headed to the Gryffindor table on the other side. Students everywhere were telling each other about their respective holidays, right up until everyone was seated, and Albus rose to his feet.
The entire hall went silent as they waited to hear what he had to say, and the elderly headmaster smiled down at them as he spread his arms wide in a welcoming manner.
"Welcome back, and dig in."