Although they could fade to the train station or even directly into the train (or to Hogwarts, for that matter), Hermione still wanted her parents to drive her to the station. Harry knew that his aunt and uncle were not looking forward to that. Uncle Vernon would probably let them reach London by train, driving with Dudley to Smelting. "I think it would be easier on everybody if I fade to Hermione's home after breakfast, letting both of you escort Dudley to school," he told his aunt.
Petunia considered it for only a second. "Are you sure about it? I'll gladly escort you like last year."
Harry smiled at her. "I appreciate it, but I know both you and Dudley would like this way better, and I really don't mind. And the drive from her home to London is much shorter."
Petunia finally smiled. "Yes, it can turn better for all of us, and Vernon doesn't even need to see your stuff. You can take it with you directly from your room, can't you?"
"Of course, Aunt Petunia. I've already checked it, fading there and back with my trunk."
"Fine. I'll come to your room before breakfast to make sure you have everything you need."
The next morning, Harry helped Dudley carry his luggage to Vernon's car. They all said goodbye, just like the previous year, only it was at their parking and not at the local train station. Harry returned inside and let Aunt Petunia lock the door. He went to his room, grabbed his stuff and faded to Hermione's room.
\/\/\/
They were among the first to arrive at the train station. Only a few first-year Muggleborns arrived there earlier, unsure of how long it would take them. Harry helped Hermione with her luggage. Although they could easily shrink it to fit in a pocket, they didn't want to advertise their abilities. They just lightened their trunks, to make them much easier to carry, and Harry felt he needed to act gentlemanly.
They were soon joined by Neville, Susan and Daphne, all eager to share their vacation experiences. Unfortunately, just before the train started moving, Ron also joined them. His pocket was bulging with his pet – a fat rat that had previously been Percy's. He took it out to brag, although the girls were appalled at the sight.
'This is not a rat,' Harry felt Silky in his mind. 'It's a man.'
'How can that be?' Harry asked. 'We all see that's a rat.'
'I can smell it. It doesn't smell like rat. It will probably not taste like rat either. Don't let its looks confuse you. Don't you remember the first lesson with that cat that turned into an old lady?'
Harry remembered seeing that cat on the teacher's desk that suddenly turned into Professor McGonagall. Well, he and Hermione were also able to become tigers. Could this rat be similar? Harry thought about letting the others see Silky, as his new pet, but then thought better of it. Ron would certainly turn more unpleasant, thinking the snake was after his rat. He stayed silent on the matter.
Ron also brought another surprise. Shyly hiding behind his back was his little sister, Ginny, now starting the first year. Harry remembered hearing the Weasley twins talking about their sister's obsession with "The Boy Who Lived," and about her dreams of becoming his wife. He grabbed Hermione's hand more evidently than usual, trying to send a clear message of 'We're together'.
The girl seemed extremely shy. She barely managed to exchange introductions with Hermione and Neville but blushed fiercely and lost her voice when Harry was introduced. A quick Legilimency probe made Harry aware of the girl's unhealthy infatuation with him, or more correctly – with the hero figure of all her Harry Potter books that were all complete rubbish. He also noticed a certain secret, but didn't try to find what it was, not wanting to breach her privacy more than strictly necessary.
Luckily for him, Ginny didn't feel comfortable in the company of the older children and soon left to sit with some of her age-mates. Both Harry and Hermione felt relieved when no longer in her company. Unfortunately, Ron stayed. Although he tried to sit as far away from Daphne, Ron seemed insistent on riding in that compartment.
'Shouldn't we encourage him to go somewhere else?' Harry felt Hermione in his mind.
'Sure, but how? It shouldn't be something too obvious.'
He could sense her smirking mentally. 'I can wandlessly cast a spell to make him rush to the loo and spend a long time there. Would you like me to try?'
Harry barely kept his face from showing his amusement. 'Probably. If that's not enough, we can try something more drastic later.'
It only took a few minutes before Ron hurriedly excused himself and left for the loo. Nobody missed his company for the rest of the ride.
\/\/\/
Dumbledore was quite unhappy as he waited for the students to arrive. Although he'd taken upon himself to handle the Potter assets, holding one full-time job and two part-time jobs left him very little chance to really do anything about them. He let his Gringotts account manager, the one handling the Hogwarts account, also handle the Potter accounts that weren't locked and mostly forgot about them. That was alright until he needed to hire a new DADA teacher and found that Hogwarts couldn't afford the salary that Lockhart was asking for. Well, the Potter account was currently of no use. He could take that money from Potter's account and use it for the greater good. James would have approved, of that he felt sure. He sent a letter with the request to his account manager. He was utterly surprised to get a reply, stating, "The Potter account has been returned to its owner, who also required the return of all assets removed from it without authorization. You no longer have any access to that account."
That was simply impossible! The boy could not possibly know of his assets. His aunt wouldn't know and even if she did, she wouldn't tell him. By the time Lily finished Hogwarts, Petunia had already distanced herself and was adamant to stay as far away from magic as she could, making her ideal for keeping Harry away from the magical world. And yet… The boy showed much more confidence than expected and was able to withstand a powerful Legilimency probing. The boy didn't seem to take the role he had designed for him as soon as he suspected what that scar might mean. But the scar was no more when the boy arrived at Hogwarts, and he certainly didn't tend to trust Albus, nor any other teacher. Now it looked like he did get control of his accounts. What else had the brat done without Albus being aware of? How could his plans succeed if the boy kept turning them on their heads?
And then there was the Sirius fiasco. Albus had always known that he hadn't been the secret keeper, but he needed him away from Harry, so Harry could grow unloved, just like Tom, so he could fight Tom as an equal. That meant that Sirius needed to be sacrificed. But now Sirius was free and was tightening his relations with Harry. That didn't fit his plans at all! He was also unable to understand the reason Harry found interest in Miss Granger and in the Longbottom scion. He could somewhat understand boys becoming friendly when sharing a dorm room, although that didn't seem to be the case with the young Weasley boy, but boys this age were not supposed to find any interest in girls, at least for another year or two.
Luckily, he made Lockhart aware of the fact that he could require any books he thought useful as course material. That allowed Lockhart to request all students to buy the whole set of his travel books, giving him a very nice income, so that he accepted the much smaller salary that Hogwarts could afford.
Albus wondered if he could ever regain control of the boy or his account. He doubted both. With Sirius now becoming a major influence on the boy, he couldn't even guess what effect that would have. He only knew his plans were in ruins. He didn't really mind them, but he knew that Tom would return and Harry would have to defeat him, probably at the cost of his own life. For that to happen, Harry needed to be with low self-esteem and practically no friends, but…
Oh, well… He needed to regain control of his facial expression and become the benevolent and eccentric headmaster that all knew. It wouldn't do for anybody to see him in such a mood.
\/\/\/
It surprised nobody that Ginny was sorted to Gryffindor. Every Weasley had been sorted to Gryffindor for the last century, at least, although Harry knew that some had even been Slytherin, a few generations back. Well, some of his ancestors had also been Slytherin, as he found out from the Potter ancestry book as well as from the Black family tree. Unlike Ron, he didn't judge people by their school house affiliation but by their own deeds.
Back in his dorm, Harry tried to think of a way to use Silky to find some more about the rat. Silky made it clear, 'Since it's not a rat but a man, I won't eat it. Most predators won't eat it, although they may hunt and kill the rat.'
Not knowing who this rat was, Harry wasn't sure how to feel about it. He wouldn't like an innocent man to be killed just because he had an animagus rat form. On the other hand, someone who kept hiding as a pet rat for many years didn't seem quite innocent. Harry was inclined to think it was somebody wanted by the police or the Aurors, probably for a major crime. Well, he would need to keep an eye on that rat.
Silky could help at that. Harry had rarely let Silky roam on her own during the first year. He hadn't known what dangers Hogwarts presented for snakes and had been reluctant to let her out of his sight. He changed his mind for the second year. 'I think you can stay safe enough as long as you don't leave the grounds. You're already big and strong enough not to fall prey to any of the other pets or familiars and even to bigger birds, like eagles. I'll let you roam for one day and night each week.'
Silky didn't need that much and was just as reluctant to leave her human without her protection. 'One night per week is good enough. Just let me slide out of the toilet window before you go to bed. I'll be back with you before you wake up in the morning.'
Harry agreed. That way, he didn't need to leave his bed while Hermione stayed with him, and Silky would be back before anybody woke up. It was just perfect, for him, at least.
Hermione didn't mind, of course. For her, Silky was just a part of Harry, which was basically true. The familiar bond, highly enhanced by being embedded in his skin most of the time for a few years, made Silky an extension of Harry, with more intelligence than most snakes of her species. She still maintained her own will and personality, though, especially while separated.
It worked quite nicely. Silky didn't need much food and one night of hunting per week was more than she needed. She usually hunted only every other week, spending her other free nights just roaming the grounds and the castle and getting acquainted with other snakes. On the other hand, she could easily check on the rat, who was usually sleeping at night (and quite a lot during the days). She could find all the holes and passages the fat rat could use, in case she needed to intercept him.