The final days of August settled into a useful rhythm. Edward practised Elementalization each morning under Kreacher's observation, stopping whenever heat spread beyond the marked stones. Afternoons went to schoolwork and the less glamorous task of checking every bottle in his Potions kit. Evenings belonged to the rose garden, where he reviewed the alliance notes without inventing members who had not agreed to join.
On the first of September, Kreacher accompanied him to King's Cross. The elf wore a plain travelling coat and carried no visible Black crest. He checked Edward's trunk twice, objected to the crowd three times, and did not release the handle until Edward promised to use the mirror if anything unusual happened.
"Ordinary school trouble does not count," Edward said.
"All school trouble counts."
"Then I will never leave the mirror."
Kreacher accepted a promise to report injuries, threats, and dangerous family objects. They did not yet understand how soon the third category would matter.
Draco waited near the barrier with Lucius and Narcissa. His parents greeted Edward, then gave both boys the same instruction: write before attempting anything they would conceal from an adult. Draco promised with the solemnity of someone already searching for exceptions.
Once aboard the Hogwarts Express, he produced a folded parchment before the train left the platform.
"The emblem," he said. "Improved."
A silver serpent surrounded a black raven. A small flame appeared between the raven's wings, narrow enough that it no longer looked fatal to the bird. Draco had added spaces for initials and a date.
"No crown," Edward observed.
"Pansy has not seen it yet."
"The symbols still belong mostly to our families."
"The name is Flame Serpent. What did you expect, a badger?"
Edward turned the parchment. The reverse held notes for a concealment charm and an identification enchantment. Neither had been tested.
"We do not enchant badges before we know what information they store," he said. "A symbol can remain a drawing until Professor Flitwick reviews the charm."
Draco protested that the enchantment was simple. Edward asked who could detect it, whether a lost badge could reveal members, and whether removing it erased the connection. By the third unanswered question, Draco took back the parchment.
"A drawing," he conceded. "Temporarily."
Crabbe and Goyle joined them with enough sweets for the journey. Edward made room without turning the compartment into a recruitment meeting. Draco talked about Quidditch, Goyle described a family trip to the coast, and Crabbe discovered that two Chocolate Frog cards had stuck together.
The ordinary conversation was not wasted time. Edward learned more about the boys when no grand purpose demanded a performance. Crabbe remembered every player statistic Draco forgot. Goyle disliked heights despite following Quidditch closely. Both noticed when Draco wanted agreement and gave it before considering the question.
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Near midday, Hermione opened the compartment door. Her hair had escaped its ribbon, and a copy of Hogwarts: A History was tucked beneath one arm.
"Have you seen Harry or Ron?"
Draco leaned back. "Why would they be here?"
"They did not come through the barrier. I have checked every Gryffindor compartment."
Edward set down his book. "Who last saw them?"
"Mrs. Weasley. They were behind the rest of us with the trunks. When she returned through the barrier, they were gone."
"Tell the prefects and the conductor. They can contact the station."
"Percy already has."
"Then the adults know where to begin."
Draco made a dismissive sound. "Potter and Weasley probably found a dramatic way to miss a train."
Hermione's grip tightened on the book. "That does not mean they are safe."
"No," Edward said before Draco answered. "It does not. If we hear anything, we will tell a prefect."
Hermione studied him, perhaps remembering Flourish and Blotts. "Thank you."
After she left, Draco complained that Edward had encouraged her to interrupt every compartment. Edward pointed out that a missing student was not a house dispute. Crabbe agreed because Harry's absence might delay the feast. It was not the noblest reasoning, but it reached the correct action.
The train continued north. Edward and Draco revised the emblem notes, removing an enchantment that would have recorded every person who touched it. They kept only a possible visibility charm that a bearer could end without permission. Even that required review.
At dusk, the train slowed beneath the outline of Hogwarts. Harry and Ron had not appeared. Prefects moved through the corridor asking whether anyone had seen them leave the station. Edward gave Hermione's account and did not add Draco's speculation.
The carriages carried returning students from Hogsmeade to the castle. Draco could not see the Thestrals pulling them. Edward could, and the sight of their dark wings recalled losses he rarely discussed. He did not turn the creatures into an omen. Death made them visible, not prophetic.
They entered the Great Hall with the other students while their trunks went ahead to the dormitories. The Sorting had nearly begun. Professor McGonagall stood beside the first-years, but her attention kept moving toward the doors. Snape's chair at the staff table was empty.
Edward and Draco took seats at the Slytherin table. Crabbe asked whether missing the train cost house points. Pansy wanted to know why two Gryffindors were important enough to delay dinner. Theodore said the absence mattered because the barrier itself might have failed.
"Or Potter wanted another entrance," Draco said.
"Both remain possibilities," Edward replied.
McGonagall began the Sorting without the missing boys. During the third name, Snape crossed the rear of the hall in travelling robes, spoke briefly to Dumbledore, and left through a side door. Mud marked the hem of his robe.
Draco noticed. "Someone is in trouble."
"Probably."
"Potter and Weasley."
"Possibly."
"You make guessing miserable."
"That is why it remains guessing."
The feast appeared after the Sorting. Conversation rose, but the tension at the staff table did not disappear. Dumbledore received two messages from portraits and sent Flitwick from the hall. McGonagall's place remained empty after she followed Snape.
Edward ate while tracking only what he could support. Two students were missing from the train. Several professors knew. Mud on Snape's robe suggested he had gone outside. Nothing established an accident, attack, or deliberate stunt.
Near pudding, a distant crash echoed through the grounds. Most students did not hear it beneath the hall's noise. Edward felt the vibration through the table and looked toward the enchanted ceiling.
Draco followed his gaze. "What now?"
"Something struck hard enough to reach the castle."
A few minutes later, McGonagall returned. Her hat sat crooked, and anger sharpened every movement. She spoke to Dumbledore, who closed his eyes briefly before nodding.
The feast continued. No announcement named Harry or Ron. Edward resisted the temptation to turn the professors' expressions into certainty.
Afterward, Slytherin students followed their prefects toward the dungeons. Edward saw Snape waiting near the entrance hall with leaves caught on one sleeve. His expression confirmed only that someone would have an unpleasant evening.
Draco whispered, "Still only possibly Potter?"
"Ask me after we have evidence."
They reached the common room before the story of a flying car began moving through the portraits. By then, Draco had already unfolded the emblem and started explaining it to Edward again.
Second year had begun with an unfinished alliance, two missing students, and a professor whose assigned books described fame better than defense.
Edward decided observation would not be difficult.
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