Death at Hogwarts - A Harry Potter fanfiction

Chapter Two

As I stared back at him, I felt the part of him that was Tom Riddle shrink away from me in fear.

“Who're you?” Harry asked me.

I hadn't thought of that. I needed a name, and fast.

I settled on going with what everyone knew me as, but making a name from it.

“Dean. Dean Eath. I'm a transfer student from Durmstrang. Didn't like it there much, and I must say, Hogwarts is so much nicer.”

He simply nodded and cast a gaze over my soaked clothing.

“Why don't you just dry your clothes out with magic?” he asked.

Of course. Wizards used magic for pretty much everything. I blinked and my clothes dried themselves instantly. I didn't use magic, not in the way they did. For me, I just thought of things and they happened. Like magic.

“You're good at non-verbal spells.” Harry remarked as he walked back up to the dormitory. I followed him.

“Yes, magic seems to happen naturally for me.” I replied, looking to where my bed was, right in between Harry's and Ronald's.

Harry climbed into bed and I glanced over to where Ronald was already fast asleep, his red hair tumbling over his face as he slept.

“Well. . .goodnight.” Harry said awkwardly, though the attempt at niceties was evident in his voice.

“Goodnight, Harry Potter.” I said, sitting on my bed and staring out of the window.

Harry, not questioning how I knew his name, turned over and was almost immediately asleep. Soon after, I looked round, ensuring everyone was asleep and decided to take a late night walk. No one was due for a while yet, unless you counted Verity Sage, seventy three, who was going to die in a week's time from falling down her stairs after forgetting to move that book that she had placed just so, so she wouldn't forget where it was.

Standing, I made my way down to the Common Room and looked at the few books that were on offer. I did like to read. It passed the time quite nicely, and the way I saw it, reading a book was like delving into someone's mind, it was full of their ideas, whether the book was fiction or non fiction. I didn't have a personal favourite type of book; I'd read anything I could. Picking up a rather battered copy of Hogwarts: A History, followed immediately by A History of Magic, I settled into the sofa in front of the fire and began reading, my long fingers curling around the cover of the book to hold it comfortably in my grasp, just the way I liked it. Humans would call it Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I called it, quite simply, my way or the highway. I liked things done a certain way, and why not, I'd done them that way for thousands of years; why change now?

As the storm continued around me, I immersed myself in Hogwarts' colourful history, and magic's history I found to be quite typical of mortals. Show them something they didn't understand and they ran for the hills and locked themselves in and you out. Failing that, they killed you, and, if you couldn't be killed, simply ignored you.

Night faded into day and the castle began to slowly awaken. Numerous Gryffindor students came down, stopping dead when they found me sat on the sofa, reading.

Harry came over and sat down with Ronald and Hermione.

“Hi Dean. This is Ron and Hermione.”

I looked up at them all and closed my book. “Hello Ron, Hermione.”

“Dean Eath?” Hermione asked.

I nodded.

“Hey, cool, your name spells Death!” Ron exclaimed.

Looks like I hadn't been as smart as I thought – I was thinking too mortal. Then again, it was so obvious no one would ever get it – right?

“Ha, ha. Yes. Funny thing.” I said lamely, looking around the room as they sat down.

“So you transferred from Durmstrang?” Hermione asked, looking intrigued.

“Yes. I was there from the first year, but I felt it wasn't giving me enough of a challenge, so I came to Hogwarts.”

Hermione's eyes bored into me. I knew plenty about her, more than enough to know I was hitting all the right buttons for her to end up having a full conversation with me, which would push them away from my name. Hermione was smart. Too smart. Unless I was very careful, she was going to realise who I was, and I couldn't be dealing with other people finding out.

“Where abouts are you in the learning curriculum?” she asked me.

“Well, when I left, we'd just learnt non-verbal magic, which we had a test in before I left.”

“You get tested in non-verbal magic in your fifth year? But we don't even start learning that until the sixth!” Hermione said, looking shocked.

I smiled.

“Well, I guess different schools teach different things at different times.”

“I suppose you knew Krum.” Ron's tone was grumpy, and I knew he didn't like Krum much at all.

“I knew him, yes. We weren't friends though, I doubt he even knew of my existence, I was always too absorbed in the library reading.”

Hermione nodded sympathetically.

“Just like Hermione, then.” Ron observed, causing Hermione to slap his arm with a scowl.

“It's nice to find someone who enjoys learning as much as I do. Although I must admit, sometimes I've broken a few rules to get where I needed to, or to help someone.”

All three of them looked at me, and I knew I had them. It was important for me to make friends with the three of them, especially since they would soon go looking for Tom Riddle's Horcruxes and the Hallows. I needed to get a look at Harry's cloak though, and hold it long enough for my own Cloak to repair itself.

I didn't know whether it would be going too fast, but I needed to see the Cloak as soon as possible.

“I used to have an Invisibility Cloak, and I'd go sneaking round at night, sometimes in the Restricted Section of the Library.”

Ron's eyes lit up, and I knew what was coming.

“Harry has an Invisibility Cloak.” he said in a low voice, ensuring no one would hear us.

“Ron!” Hermione hissed. “That's for Harry to say, not you!”

“No, it's okay.” Harry said, looking at me.

“Really?” I said, putting interest into my voice. “Can I see?”

He nodded and went upstairs, Hermione, Ron and I followed him to his trunk at the end of his bed, where he pulled the Cloak out. I smiled as I gazed at it. Centuries had done nothing to diminish it's powers – and why should they? The Cloak had originally been mine, after all.

“Wow. . .” I said softly as Harry handed it to me. Immediately, I felt the power of the Cloak running towards my own Cloak and the two became one for a moment while Harry's Cloak repaired my own. Within a second or two, my Cloak was whole once more. Smiling, I handed Harry his Cloak back and he put it away.

“Something tells me being friends with you three is going to prove very interesting.” I said. The others laughed and we all headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

“I hope they have pudding . . .” I thought to myself as we walked off.