One Day They'll Know Your Name

The name of death

The thestrals were happy to see Harry, and he spent a few minutes talking to Andjety, who was once again pulling their carriage with his dam, Ala. He seemed to be able to get a clearer idea of what the thestrals were saying, but he shrugged it off for now. He would have to visit the thestral clearing sooner rather than later. Moony caught up with them just before the carriage left and rode with them to the school, where Professor McGonagall pulled Hermione aside and Madam Pomfrey grabbed Harry for a checkup.

"I heard you fainted, dear. Are you all right?" The Matron bustled around him, handing him some chocolate. "Oh, yes, you're a little clammy, I expect we'll have many more than just you coming in here, poor child."

"Professor Lupin gave me some chocolate earlier, ma'am," Harry finally managed to say. "Right after he sent the dementor on it's way, from what Neville said. The others were too busy fussing over me to tell me much of anything," he added with a laugh. The Matron let him go with a stern warning to stay away from the dementors as much as possible, and Harry found himself sliding onto the bench next to Draco just as the first years were being led in for their Sorting. Just as it had the last two years, the Sorting Hat opened the rip just above the brim and began to sing.

"For one thousand years

I've sat upon the heads

Of children, ready to learn,

To make friends, to start their lives.

They come and they go,

And I watch them grow.

Some go to Gryffindor,

Brave and strong,

Where chivalry abounds.

Some go to Slytherin,

Where dwell the resourceful,

The ones who think before they leap,

And can speak their way out of anything.

Others yet go to Hufflepuff,

Where hard work and patience,

Loyalty and fairness

Are valued above all.

Still others find Ravenclaw,

Where intelligence, knowledge,

And wit abound,

To be their home.

So, trust me now,

As I've been trusted before.

I'll put you where you belong,

Where you'll grow and learn.

Maybe you'll think you don't fit,

But I always know."

The Sorting passed quickly and Headmaster Dumbledore stood up for his yearly beginning of year speech. Harry listened intently for about the first three sentences, enough to hear about Moony's appointment as the DADA professor and applaud him for it, and then he tuned out. It was all the same speech, don't go into the Forbidden Forest, don't bring in any pranks or Mr. Filch will be very angry, etc etc. He tuned in again as the headmaster announced that Care of Magical Creatures was going to taught by Hagrid, which Harry thought was a strange choice, as Hagrid had never passed his OWLs, as far as Harry knew. The large man was very good with animals, however, so Harry supposed there were worse choices out there.

Harry zoned out again, noticing the way the torchlight flickered off of Draco's hair. It was mesmerizing. He wanted to touch it. He knew it was soft, from the few times he had accidentally brushed against it during one of "gesticulating moments" as Hermione liked to call them, but he wanted to see if it was as silky as it looked while he ran his hands through it.

"...dementors will be posted at the entrances to the school, due to some unsavory activity possibly related to previously uncaptured Death Eaters. Always travel in groups when you have to travel outside the castle and carry plenty of chocolate. At least one professor capable of casting the Patronus charm will be posted near the Herbology greenhouses and the Care of Magical Creatures area at all class times. Now, with that cheerful thought, dig in!"

Halfway through the meal, Harry's ring flashed blue, signaling Hermione wanted to meet with everyone in their classroom after supper. Harry and Draco quickly finished their meal and promised to meet their Housemates in the Common Room when they were done.

When they got to the classroom, Hermione was already there, along with Neville. Ron arrived shortly afterward, and Hermione went to close the door. "I already told Ginny and Luna about Sirius' offer, and they know they're too young yet. They've agreed to wait until next year at least," she said to Ron's questioning look.

"Now. We need at least a basic plan. We can't just start now, because it will be extremely suspicious if we suddenly can't talk for a month just after we get to Hogwarts. We should wait at least a month before starting. But that doesn't mean we can't start preparing. We need a Death's-head Hawk Moth's chrysalis, and there's nothing saying we can't owl order it or something. I've done some research and it's used in several potions, so it won't be strange for us to get it. Neville, when it's time, could you nick us five Mandrake leaves from the greenhouse?"

"Yeah, that'll be easy enough," he said. "Professor Sprout won't care."

Hermione nodded. "Good. Now the main thing is when do we want to do this? We don't want to start before October, and we don't want to start on the first of October, because that'll just make it look like we were waiting a month. Professor Snape would catch us in moments."

"We also shouldn't start before Samhain," Draco added. "Something always happens on the thirty-first, and it will be better if we can speak for it, just in case. I say we do the first full moon after Samhain. It will give us time to settle into the routine and for Harry to go do his yearly ritual with the thestrals." He grinned at Harry.

"Oh!" Harry spoke up. "Speaking of the thestrals, I visited the portraits again just before we went to stay with Neville and I talked with Grandfather Ignotus for quite a while. He had some interesting information." He quickly summarized their conversation and Hermione gaped at him.

"You mean to tell me every time I threatened to learn Necromancy if you die you were already a natural?" She swatted at him with a cushion from the chair next to her and he blocked her attempts with a laugh.

"I didn't know about it! I just wanted to know why the thestrals liked me so much! Mione! Alright, alright, I'm sorry! From now on I'll always tell you about things I don't know about myself, ok?"

Hermione couldn't help but laugh at that, and the teens were soon laughing too hard to do much of anything. After a few minutes they bade each other good night and headed to their Common Rooms to get some sleep before classes in the morning.