For the next month or so of summer vacation, Jon Hart spent most of his time at the Leaky Cauldron.
Occasionally, he would wander through Diagon Alley. From the look of things, the world outside seemed perfectly calm and uneventful—there was no sign of Voldemort's terrifying return.
The front page of the Daily Prophet was filled with trivial stories: a celebrity's wedding, Fudge's diplomatic visit to some minor country's Ministry of Magic, or a report about the Ministry importing a new batch of cauldrons…
It was as if the world couldn't find anything more important to talk about.
Of course, Jon wasn't interested in the headlines—his eyes were always on the smaller sections.
For instance, he found no mention anywhere in the Daily Prophet of Harry Potter using magic outside school, violating the International Statute of Secrecy, or facing trial before the Wizengamot. That confirmed his hunch—Umbridge hadn't dared to make a big deal out of it.
Then, one morning in early August, Jon noticed a small article in the paper: Percy Weasley had been promoted to personal assistant to Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge. It seemed the third Weasley had indeed betrayed his family.
Meanwhile, Harry Potter's name appeared once or twice a week in the papers—not in major pieces, but in passing, usually as the butt of some joke. Whenever they mentioned Harry, they made him sound like a fool desperate for attention, someone who thought of himself as a tragic hero.
The papers sprinkled in these biting remarks with feigned nonchalance. If they printed an unverified rumor, they'd add, "Only Harry Potter could come up with something like that." If someone did something ridiculous, they'd quip, "Let's just hope he doesn't end up with a scar on his forehead—otherwise he'll start demanding we worship him next…"
There were plenty of articles about Dumbledore, too.
But Dumbledore's reputation still carried weight. The Ministry only dared to imply that he was growing senile—they didn't dare attack him as viciously as they did Harry Potter.
Fudge's strategy, in a sense, had worked.
By now, both Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore had seen their reputations dragged through the mud.
During his breakfasts at the Leaky Cauldron, Jon would often overhear wizards talking about them. But the tone was always mocking—people spoke of them like they were clowns. Of course, there were always a few who argued in their defense, which often led to heated shouting matches…
Jon, however, couldn't care less.
If Dumbledore didn't care, there was no reason for him to either.
...
On September first, Jon arrived at King's Cross Station half an hour early, at ten-thirty.
He pushed his luggage through the station, casually loitering near the barrier between Platforms Nine and Ten. When the coast was clear, he leaned casually against the barrier and slipped through unseen—straight onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
The Hogwarts Express was there, its scarlet body shrouded in white steam.
Jon hauled his luggage onto the train and found an empty compartment. After stowing his trunk on the overhead rack, he settled into a window seat and glanced outside.
The platform was crowded with Hogwarts students and their families.
Before long, Jon spotted several familiar faces.
There was Cedric Diggory and his father—Cedric wore a gleaming badge engraved with the letters "HB," marking him as Head Boy of Hogwarts. He also saw Zacharias Smith with his mother, Ernie Macmillan with his parents, and Hannah Abbott with her grandfather.
Unfortunately, Jon was now known as Chris Patrick, not Jon Hart, so he couldn't greet any of them.
...
Near eleven o'clock, Harry Potter arrived—alone.
But Jon was certain there were members of the Order of the Phoenix watching nearby.
Sure enough, his eyes soon caught a witch with bright pink hair standing in a corner of the platform. There was no doubt it was Nymphadora Tonks. And she definitely wasn't the only one—Jon simply couldn't be bothered to look for the others.
Parents and students alike drew back when they saw Harry. He looked bewildered, as though he had no idea what was going on.
It seemed he'd spent the entire summer on Privet Drive, never once setting foot in Number 12, Grimmauld Place—so he likely didn't know what had happened during the holidays.
But Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger would soon fill him in.
Jon soon spotted Hermione and the entire Weasley family arriving on the platform.
With them were Mad-Eye Moody and a massive black dog—nearly the size of a bear.
The dog bounded toward Harry, rising on its hind legs and placing its front paws on his shoulders in greeting. Mrs. Weasley rushed over just in time to stop it from going any further—otherwise, Harry and the dog would have made quite the spectacle.
Every time Jon saw that enormous black dog, he couldn't help thinking of piles of glittering gold coins.
Rumor had it that the bounty on Sirius Black had risen to ten thousand Galleons—a fortune by any measure.
But since Black seemed to have joined the Order of the Phoenix, and with tensions running high between the Ministry and the Order, turning him in now would probably get Jon killed by Dumbledore himself.
After some thought, Jon decided to let that temptation go.
...
The whistle blew, signaling it was time to board. Students hurried onto the train.
The Hogwarts Express began to move.
Figures on the platform grew smaller and smaller, though one large black dog ran alongside the train window, its tail wagging furiously.
People on the platform burst into laughter at the sight of the dog chasing the train. Then the train turned a corner, and the black dog disappeared from view.
The weather on this year's first day of term seemed unusually pleasant.
Jon glanced up at the clear sky outside the window, lost in thought. The past two years, it had poured rain on the journey to Hogwarts.
Stretching lazily, he suddenly realized that no one else had joined him in the compartment.
Could it be that he was going to end up sharing a carriage with the Chosen One and his friends all the way to school? The thought made him pause.
Harry and the others had probably just boarded—they hadn't found a place to sit yet.
Just then, the compartment door slid open.
Three people stepped inside.