Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was crowded that morning as always.
Students hurried back and forth between trunks and owls, parents shouted last-minute instructions, and the familiar scarlet Hogwarts Express waited impatiently beside the platform, steam drifting slowly into the autumn air.
Helios walked through the crowd with his hood pulled low over his face.
It was not cold.
But anonymity had become necessary.
Ever since the Prophet's front-page story, people had begun staring at him the moment they recognized Rose Potter nearby. Even here on the platform, whispers followed them through the crowd.
"That's her."
"The Girl Who Lived."
"Where's the boy from the newspaper?"
Helios had no interest in becoming a travelling spectacle.
So he kept his hood up.
Rose walked in a distance, her trunk floating slightly behind her wand. Hermione walked on Rose's other side while Ron carried his owl cage under one arm, looking irritated at the constant noise.
Ahead of them, Fred and George pushed through the crowd with exaggerated effort.
"Move aside, citizens," Fred declared loudly. "Important magical traffic."
George added, "Government-level importance."
Ron rolled his eyes.
"You two are insufferable."
"Thank you," Fred said proudly.
Behind them trotted a large black dog.
Padfoot.
Sirius Black walked casually beside the group in his Animagus form, tail swishing lazily. Few people paid attention to him—just another large dog on a busy platform.
And that alone was a small miracle.
Sirius had lived like a fugitive but things had begun changing.
Helios' presence had quietly shifted something inside him.
The restrictions placed on him by Dumbledore and the Order had slowly begun to lose their weight. Sirius had finally realized something important.
He did not owe them obedience.
Not after Azkaban.
Not after twelve years of wrongful imprisonment.
Especially now that the Ministry itself had begun investigating the circumstances of his arrest.
The investigation had confirmed one thing already.
Sirius Black had never received a trial.
Whether he was innocent or guilty remained officially undecided—but the miscarriage of justice was undeniable.
And after the public embarrassment of Rose's trial, the Ministry was under pressure.
Sirius walked more freely now.
Even if he still preferred fur to human skin in crowded places.
Helios slowed slightly as they approached the Hogwarts Express.
He had his own trunk now.
A Hogwarts trunk.
One that bore the name Helios Black engraved neatly across the front.
He had never intended to return to Hogwarts.
At first, the idea seemed pointless.
War was coming.
His instincts told him to fight alongside the Order.
But he had already realized that Dumbledore—and most of the adults in the Order—would never allow a fifteen-year-old to participate directly in the conflict.
Even if that fifteen-year-old had already dueled Voldemort once.
And more importantly—
Hogwarts itself was becoming important.
Students would soon begin choosing sides.
Fear would spread.
Rumors would grow.
And if resistance was ever going to form inside the next generation, it would start there.
Rose would need allies.
Helios intended to make sure she had them.
They reached the train doors.
Students climbed aboard while parents gave last-minute hugs and instructions.
Helios paused beside the large black dog.
Sirius looked up at him.
Helios crouched slightly and scratched behind the dog's ear.
"Take care of yourself," he said quietly.
Sirius huffed softly.
Helios reached into his coat and pulled out a small enchanted mirror.
Sirius had given it to him the previous night.
"Two-way communication," Sirius had explained proudly. "James and I used them when we were at school."
Helios slipped the mirror into his pocket.
"I'll use it if anything happens."
The dog barked softly.
For a moment neither of them moved.
Then Helios stood and stepped toward the train.
Rose had been watching the exchange quietly.
"You'll be careful?" she asked.
The dog barked again.
Hermione crossed her arms.
"That's not entirely reassuring."
Helios smirked faintly.
Fred clapped him on the shoulder.
"Come on, mysterious boyfriend. The train waits for no scandal."
George added, "And neither does Hogwarts gossip."
Helios groaned softly beneath his hood.
"Please stop calling me that."
"No promises," Fred said cheerfully.
They climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express together.
Behind them, Sirius Black watched from the platform as the doors closed and the train whistle blew.
The scarlet locomotive began moving slowly down the tracks.
The Hogwarts Express had barely cleared the outskirts of London when the corridors settled into the familiar rhythm of a long train journey.
Laughter echoed between compartments. Chocolate frogs were traded. Owls hooted occasionally from their cages. The train rocked gently as it pushed north toward Scotland.
Helios had chosen his seat carefully.
Not with Rose.
Instead, he had taken a seat in a compartment already occupied by Fred and George Weasley—and Lee Jordan.
Lee Jordan stared at him with open curiosity.
The moment Helios entered the compartment, he had pulled a book from his bag and started reading.
Not glancing up.
Just reading.
Lee leaned toward the twins and whispered loudly enough that it wasn't really a whisper.
"Who is that?"
Fred shrugged casually.
"A friend."
George nodded.
"He's not here for small talk."
Lee blinked.
"Oh."
That answer seemed to satisfy him for about thirty seconds.
Then he leaned forward again.
"Is he the—"
Fred raised a hand.
"Don't."
George added, "He's reading."
Lee looked at Helios again.
Helios had not moved.
He was completely absorbed in the book in his hands, turning a page slowly as though the train around him did not exist.
Lee whispered again.
"Does he always do that?"
Fred smirked.
"Pretty much."
George leaned back in his seat.
"If the train crashed, he'd probably finish the chapter first."
Helios didn't respond.
And within a few minutes, the compartment fell quiet.
Because there was something about the way Helios read—focused, undistracted—that made interruption feel unnecessary.
By the time the trolley witch came around with sweets, Helios had already read several chapters.
The entire train ride passed almost unnoticed for him.
Further down the train, Rose sat in a compartment with Hermione, Ron, and Neville.
It was the usual arrangement.
Four people.
One small space.
The Hogwarts Express compartments had never been designed for large groups.
Still, when they first boarded, Rose had asked Helios to sit with them.
"You can come with us," she had said quietly.
Helios shook his head gently.
"You'll need space."
She frowned.
"There's room."
He glanced inside the compartment.
Rose.
Hermione.
Ron.
Neville.
Four seats already filled.
"It's better this way," he said.
"You should spend time with your friends."
Rose hesitated.
"They're your friends too."
Helios gave a small smile.
"Not really."
He lowered his voice slightly.
"And most of them aren't comfortable with me yet."
That much was obvious.
Ron still looked suspicious whenever Helios entered a room.
Neville didn't quite know how to behave around him.
Even Hermione remained cautious.
Helios had noticed all of it.
So he stepped back.
"Go," he said gently. "I'll see you later."
Then he turned and walked down the corridor toward the twins' compartment.
Rose watched him leave.
A strange heaviness settled in her chest.
She slid into the compartment beside Hermione, but her mind stayed on the corridor long after the door closed.
Because the truth was becoming harder to ignore.
She had kissed him.
In front of half the Ministry.
In front of reporters.
In front of the entire wizarding world.
And she had never actually asked him if he liked her.
At the time it had felt natural.
Emotion overflowing after the trial.
But that moment had passed.
Now reality was settling in.
If that kiss had happened in Grimmauld Place… it could have been ignored.
A private moment.
An awkward mistake.
But she had done it in the Ministry Atrium.
In front of cameras.
There was no pretending it hadn't happened.
And Rose knew it.
Which made the silence between them even worse.
Because she didn't want to hear the answer.
If Helios said he didn't like her that way—
She wasn't sure she could bear it.
So she avoided the conversation entirely.
Unfortunately, that strategy lasted about five minutes.
Then Hermione spoke.
"So," Hermione said carefully.
Rose froze.
Neville leaned forward.
Ron crossed his arms.
Hermione continued.
"What exactly do you know about Helios Black?"
Neville nodded eagerly.
"Yes. That's what I wanted to ask too."
Ron looked less curious and more suspicious.
"You've known him longer than us."
Rose sighed.
"I don't know that much."
Three sets of eyes stared at her.
Hermione raised an eyebrow.
"You kissed him in front of the entire Ministry."
Rose groaned.
"Please don't remind me."
Ron leaned forward.
"Where did he even come from?"
Rose hesitated.
"He found me during the summer."
Hermione's curiosity sharpened immediately.
"And you just… trusted him?"
Rose thought for a moment.
Then nodded.
"Yes."
Ron looked unconvinced.
"That's not suspicious at all."
Hermione ignored him.
"What's he like?"
Rose struggled to answer.
How did you describe someone like Helios?
"He's… calm," she said finally.
"Also dangerous."
Neville nodded slowly.
"I noticed that."
"And he's very smart," Rose added.
Hermione's interest deepened instantly.
"How smart?"
Rose thought about the Wizengamot trial.
"He knows wizarding law better than anyone from the Ministry."
Ron muttered something under his breath.
The certainty in her voice surprised even herself.
Hermione noticed.
And Ron noticed something else entirely.
The way Rose's cheeks turned slightly pink when Helios' name came up.
The train continued rolling north through the countryside.
By the time the Hogwarts Express finally slowed to a halt at Hogsmeade Station, the sky had already turned completely dark.
Cold evening air rushed into the corridors as students poured out of the train, their breath forming faint mist in the autumn chill.
All along the platform, wands lit up one after another.
"Lumos!"
Small balls of light flickered everywhere as hundreds of students illuminated the darkness.
The station quickly became a sea of moving lights.
Older students were already moving ahead toward the waiting carriages, while younger ones struggled with their trunks and owl cages.
But most of the older students knew the routine.
Their trunks would be transported to the castle by house-elves.
There was no need to drag heavy luggage through the muddy road.
Rose stepped down onto the platform beside Hermione and Ron, scanning the crowd immediately.
She was looking for only one person.
Helios.
This was his first time at Hogwarts.
And while the castle was enormous and confusing even for returning students, it could easily become a nightmare for someone arriving for the first time.
What if he gets lost?
The thought made her move faster.
"Where is he?" she murmured.
Hermione followed her gaze across the platform.
"You'll probably find him easily," she said.
Rose blinked.
"What do you mean?"
Hermione pointed forward.
"There."
Rose looked.
And immediately saw him.
Helios stood several yards away, one hand holding his wand.
The light from his wand was noticeably brighter than most others.
Almost like a small lantern compared to the dim glow of ordinary Lumos spells.
Rose and Hermione pushed through the crowd toward him.
When they reached him, Helios had already pulled his trunk down from the luggage rack beside the train.
Rose frowned immediately.
"You don't have to take that," she said.
"The house-elves will bring it to the castle."
Helios glanced at her calmly. Then he crouched slightly beside the trunk.
"But I don't trust anyone with my trunk."
Rose blinked.
"What?"
Before she could ask more questions, Helios tapped the trunk lightly with his wand.
"Reducio."
The large Hogwarts trunk instantly shrank.
From full size—
To the size of a small matchbox.
Hermione's eyebrows shot upward.
Helios picked up the tiny trunk and slipped it casually into his coat pocket.
"There," he said.
"Much safer."
Rose stared at him.
"You're paranoid."
"Careful," Helios replied calmly.
"Paranoia keeps people alive."
Hermione opened her mouth to argue—
But stopped.
Because honestly… he wasn't entirely wrong.
Around them, the students were already beginning to move toward the carriages waiting beyond the station.
Thestrals stood quietly in the darkness, their skeletal wings folded as they waited to pull the carriages up the road to the castle.
Rose turned to Helios.
"Come on," she said.
"We have to go to the carriages."
She grabbed his sleeve and started pulling him toward the road.
But before they could move more than a few steps—
A booming voice echoed across the platform.
"HELIOOOOOOS!"
Students turned their heads.
Some jumped slightly at the sudden roar.
Helios sighed softly.
He already knew who it was.
"Over here!"
Through the crowd came a massive figure.
Half-giant.
Wild beard.
Hair like a tangled forest.
It was Rubeus Hagrid.
Hagrid pushed through the students, smiling widely when he reached Helios.
"Good ter see yeh again, lad!"
They had met before.
A few times.
During Helios' visits to Grimmauld Place.
And unlike many adults in the Order, Hagrid had never been overly suspicious or formal.
Hagrid simply liked people.
Especially people who shared his love of magical creatures.
And Helios had surprised him greatly during their earlier conversations.
The boy knew far more about magical beasts than most Hogwarts students.
Hagrid clapped him on the shoulder hard enough to almost knock a normal person sideways.
"First years this way! First years this way!"
Then he leaned closer.
"Yeh're comin' with me."
Rose frowned.
"He's not a first year."
Hagrid grinned.
"First time at Hogwarts though, ain't it?"
Helios nodded.
"Yes."
Hagrid pointed toward the path leading down the hill.
"Then yeh ride the boats."
"That's tradition."
Rose blinked.
"Oh."
She had almost forgotten.
Every new student's first journey to Hogwarts began with the boat ride across the Great Lake.
Helios shrugged.
"Alright."
Hagrid waved to the crowd.
"FIRST YEARS! THIS WAY!"
Small nervous-looking children began gathering around him.
Many of them glanced curiously at Helios.
He was far taller than them.
Broader.
Older.
One tiny girl tugged on his sleeve.
"Are you a first year too?"
Helios looked down at her.
"I'm a first year at Hogwarts," he said calmly.
"But I'm not eleven."
The girl giggled.
Several other children laughed quietly.
Soon the group began walking down the narrow path toward the lake.
Hagrid led the way with a lantern.
When they reached the water's edge, several small wooden boats waited.
First years climbed into them in groups of four.
But when Helios approached one boat—
The younger students hesitated.
He was simply too large to fit comfortably alongside three small children.
Hagrid scratched his beard thoughtfully.
"Yeh take that one by yerself."
Helios nodded.
The wooden boat rocked slightly before settling.
Then the journey began.
One by one, the boats pushed away from the shore.
The dark water of the Great Lake stretched ahead of them.
The night was quiet.
Then Hagrid raised his lantern high.
"Head down!"
The boats passed through a rocky arch.
And suddenly—
The castle appeared.
Illuminated towers.
Golden windows glowing warmly against the night sky.
Massive stone walls rising above the cliffs.
Gasps erupted across the lake.
The first years stared in open-mouthed wonder.
"Woah…"
"It's huge!"
"Is that really the school?"
Their voices echoed softly across the water.
Even after seeing it countless times before—
Helios felt the familiar pull of awe.
He sat quietly in his boat, staring up at the ancient castle.
Hogwarts never lost its effect on people.
Author's Note:
Enjoying the story?
Consider joining my Patreon to get early access to more chapters and exclusive fanfictions! Even as a free member you will get one extra chapter and you'll receive early access to chapters before they're posted elsewhere and various other fanfictions.Your support helps me create more content for you to enjoy!
Join here: Patreon(dot)com(slash)Beuwulf