Harry had managed to pull himself together when there was a knock on the cabin door. He opened it to see a Slytherin second year waiting. The kid was practically shivering while she looked up at Harry.
He smiled softly. "Are you ok?"
"Professor Slughorn requests your presence in the VIP car." The girl held out a paper invitation.
"Slughorn." Harry mumbled. "That's new."
It made sense. With Snape dead they needed a new Potions Professor. Harry nodded to the student.
"Thank you." A smooth motion flipped her a galleon.
She caught it. Her eyes widened as she realized what it was. The girl zipped off down the corridor without another look back.
Harry straightened up his clothes. He took a deep breath, focusing his magic on cleaning himself up. Showing up with puffy red eyes wasn't how he wanted to start the year. Last time he encountered Slughorn things had been too messy to properly appreciate the situation. The old professor seemed to know everyone, and they all owed him some sort of favor. With the Tri-Wizard this year Slughorn had probably volunteered for the potions position the moment it opened.
Voldermort was dead. There were still a decent number of Death Eaters that needed to be dealt with, but that was something he could space out through the year. This new future was one he hadn't given much thought. Having someone like Slughorn around could be rather useful. Harry wasn't going to be an auror this time. There was more to life than handling dark lords.
Harry headed to the VIP car. It looked a lot like it had last time. Slughorn greeted him warmly. They had a nice meal while the professors let people know about the Slug-Club. He also managed to drop a famous person's name for every hobby or interest someone mentioned. Slughorn knew everyone.
It was just the distraction that Harry needed. There were no intense conversations to be hard, no betrayals to unearth, or battles to fight. Without a Dark Lord hanging over his head, Harry found Slughorn to be a vast resource of knowledge. The man randomly spouted out things to impress that would have taken ages to learn. Family history, current whereabouts, and career milestones all casually mentioned so he could look good in front of this new crop of prospects. Slughorn even managed to tell everyone about the Tri-Wizard Tournament by way of bragging about being approached as a potential judge. Harry repaid the information by letting him know about the Quidditch Tournament Sirius was arranging over the summer. That got the old man very interested.
Harry excused himself as they got closer to the school. He promised that he would attend one of the Slug-Club gathering. When he got back to his cabin, he found Luna waiting for him. The girl was already changed into her uniform. She made no move to leave when Harry began to put his on. Once he was finished, she patted the seat beside her. Harry took the offered spot and let her curl up on his lap. She trailed one hand through his hair and the other held him tight.
"I was rather cross with you earlier." Harry finally said.
"It needed to happen." Luna nuzzled his chest.
"You do know we're almost there." Harry asked.
"You're strong enough to carry me." She replied.
Harry stroked her back. "Can you tell me how to beat him?"
"No." Her voice was getting softer. "I can tell you what is, what isn't, and what was. Your was is different than my was. Your is will make the worlds is new again."
Her cute little snores cut him off before he could ask another question. She was limp against him as he carried her off of the train and found an open carriage. He caught a brief glimpse of the Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny but didn't say anything to them. The twins weren't their usual selves. He didn't want to intrude on their family time.
Daphne and Astoria Greengrass joined them with Tracy Davis slipping in as well. He hadn't been introduced to them yet, so he gave them a polite smile in greeting. They spared a quick look at Luna but didn't say anything. Now that they were here Harry noticed that there was a noticeable amount of Slytherin students missing.
Last time around he had met the Greengrass sisters at one of the Ministry gatherings. He couldn't remember which, they all blurred together even without any sort of memory altering magic. They were strictly on a polite work greeting basis. Tracy, he met due to her opening a small café in Diagon Alley. They made the best hot cocoa during the cold winter months.
"Luna." Harry whispered as they got closer to the castle. "You need to wake up."
"You didn't hold me enough." She replied. "Not in your was."
"I will in this is." Harry kissed her on the forehead. "If you go back to sleep now you will miss the welcome feast."
Harry got out first once the carriage stopped. He helped each of the girls down. They gave him nods in thanks before joining the rest of the Slytherins at their table. It was even more noticeable now. There were at least twenty students missing. Considering how small the class sizes were in recent years that was a sizable chunk. It seemed there were at least a couple gone from second on through seventh. They were lucky that there wouldn't be any quidditch this year. He doubted they would have enough for a full roster.
It didn't take him long to realize the ones missing all had ties to Death Eaters. Nott, Goyle, and Crabbe were gone as was Pansy and Millicent. The Carrow Twins were still here, which surprised him. They were in their second year now. Blaise was practically the only male student in his year.
Harry would need to check, but it looked like his kill list just got a lot shorter. If they had left the country, then he couldn't chase them. It would cause even more attention to be drawn to his actions.
Another shock was seeing Moody already at the front of the Hall. His magical eye was zooming all over the students. It stopped for a moment longer on him before moving on. The real Moody didn't seem as jumpy as the fake. He was coiled to strike, but he wasn't jumping at shadows.
Harry sat through the opening announcements and the sorting. The twins seemed to come alive once they heard that quidditch was canceled this year. A familiar glimmer in their eyes returned when they found out about the Tournament. Hermione had already made an impact by snapping at Lavender and Parvati when they had asked about her summer. Ginny stuck close to Ron. Neither paid much attention to him. Judging by their change in demeanor he wondered if something had happened beyond what he knew.
Dealing with Hermione made approaching them less daunting. He would wait though. Let them settle into the routine of the school year.
"What about you, Harry?" Seamus asked.
"Hm?" Harry shook his head, coming back to the present.
"Are you going to enter the Tournament?" Dean pressed.
"No. I'm looking forward to a nice calm year." Harry smiled broadly at them. "Let someone else face certain death this time."
The two scoffed. With the feast over the students split off to head to their common rooms. Lavender and Parvati appeared on either side of him.
"What was this about you cuddling a little Ravenclaw on the train?" Parvati asked.
"Has a lucky lady snared the heart of the Hogwarts Heartthrob?" Lavender asked.
"Hogwarts Heartthrob?" Harry chuckled. "Ladies, I don't have a girlfriend and I haven't ever had one."
"The ladies will be happy to hear that." Parvati giggled.
"Feel free to ask me if you'd like to take a walk around the lake." Lavender stroked his forearm.
Harry shot her a crooked smile. "I'll keep that in mind."
"I'm free whenever." Lavender leaned in, practically purring in his ear.
"Don't get greedy, Lav." Parvati wagged her finger at her friend. "A lot of ladies have been waiting for a shot at Harry."
"And I'm just finding this out now?" Harry chuckled.
"You're finally free of Granger." Parvati slipped her arm in his. "She was scaring everyone off."
"You've cleaned up nicely too." Lavender took his other arm. "Clothes that actually fit. You're walking around with your head held high. Confidence looks good on you."
"Thank you for noticing." Harry inclined his head. "I'm sure you'd look even better on me."
The two giggled. All things considered; this year was looking up.