We had about 15 mins in hand and quickly made our way to the barrier to 9¾ platform. I noticed Harry coming our way as Percy went across and walked over.

‘Hi Harry! Searching for the platform.’

‘Hi Darius! Its great to see you. And yes, I’m searching for the platform. Hagrid gave me the ticket but never explained how to get to the platform. I’ve already been here quite a while and was wondering if we had to take our wands out and start tapping the bricks.’

‘Not quite, Harry. There is a magical barrier in place, right over there and you just have to rush through it and you’ll make it to the platform. Best jog a little, if you are nervous. But before that, come over and meet the Weasley’s, they are a family in the magical community and I stayed over the latter part of summer with them.’

I took him along and walked back to the others. They were all waiting there to see who I was bringing along.

‘People, meet Harry Potter, the boy who lived. Harry, meet the Weasley’s. That’s the twins, Fred and George Weasley, that’s Ron, he is joining Hogwarts this year too and she is Ginny, she’ll join the next year.’

The Weasley’s all broke into chatter when they heard his name. I couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Ginny to see her reaction. She looked a bit curious but not star-struck like I had expected. I unconsciously relaxed and also realised at that moment that I kind of liked the cheeky younger Weasley girl.

Mrs Weasley and I had to chivvy them all along, so that we made the train. We quickly piled in and made it just in time. We waved goodbye to Mrs Weasley and Ginny and then headed to different compartments. Harry and Ron headed another way to find an empty compartment while the twins and I searched for Lee Jordan, who had agreed to meet us on the train. We found him soon enough and took a compartment for ourselves. Lee already knew about the map from the twins, so I could take out my own version and we all tried to brainstorm on how to further improve it. The trolley witch came by and he bought enough treats for everyone. They soon got tired of working and switched to talking about Hogwarts, their lessons and playing games.

Soon enough they had made it to Hogsmeade and the students alighted from the train. While the first years were lead away by Hagrid, the seniors headed towards the track outside where hundreds of horseless stagecoaches were parked. Well, horseless to the others, Darius could clearly see the Thestrals tethered to the coaches. The creatures may be regarded as omens of death and had various superstitions surrounding the, nobody who could see them would deny that they had a regal air to them. The skeletal horse-like creatures with their large bat wings and draconic heads looked rather more dangerous than their skinny frames would suggest, but he had a feeling they would never hurt him. He stroked the creatures head and threw it half the roast he had left and saw it snap it up in a single gulp. The others had boarded the coach and didn't notice. He also got on and the coach trundled its way through the wrought iron gates of Hogwarts.

All of them entered the great hall and took their seats. He sat with the twins and Lee and started chatting while waiting for the sorting to start. Soon enough, the first years were lead in and the sorting began. It went exactly as per canon and finished soon. Harry and Ron came over and sat near them. Hermione and Percy were sitting directly opposite him. The food appeared and all the students started digging in. Before long, the feast was over and it was time for the headmaster to give his welcome speech.

'Ahem -- just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well. I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And lastly, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death.'

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There was an outbreak of muttering at that and Percy seemed visibly indignant that the prefects had not been informed about this. Dumbledore waited for the sound to die down before continuing. We then sang the school song before retiring to our dorms.

I started my inner magic channelling exercise after getting into bed and drawing the curtains of my four-poster bed. I had gotten extremely efficient at it by now and effortlessly started the exercise. It had been a long time since I had to last sleep. While I did occasionally take a nap to relax a bit, it wasn't really necessary anymore.

What this channelling was predicated on, was that magical power could be treated just as any other muscle in the body. Repeated exercise further strengthened it and my method of channelling was nothing more than manipulating magic through every part of my body. Another thing of note is that unlike in the eastern tales of dantians or cores, our magic is not centralized to one region and is spread throughout the body. Channelling in effect is exercising each cell of the body in the most precise manner, leading to optimal body growth. That's why I always look slightly mature for my age. The effects of doing this since early childhood are already showing and my magic capacity is already past the average level of 7th year students and should be at the levels of a qualified wizard before the year is out. While skill and knowledge of spells is important in determining strength, no one can deny that it also helps a lot to have a lot of magical capacity to back that up.

I woke up early, or rather finished my meditation, early in the morning and headed down to the great hall for breakfast after freshening up. While I was on my second plate of bacon, eggs and toast, the twins sauntered in and took up seats beside me. We all had our breakfast while talking about the upcoming lessons. While the twins may joke around about their marks and exams, they took the magical knowledge seriously. They just didn't want to put any extra effort into it. The hall had started rapidly filling up by now and they noticed Professor McGonagall making her down the table towards them. She came to a halt by Darius.

'Good morning, Mr Icarus! I am glad you decided to advance a year in your studies. It would be a much better atmosphere to have you with students closer to your own level. I have high hopes from you and am expecting an excellent showing this year too.

Now, I presume you had enough time to get your new books. You may request an older copy from your teachers as a temporary measure if you don't. Then, off to class with all of you. Its already time.'

The first day of classes had charms and transfiguration and he performed just as splendidly in them as he did in first year and earned himself a load of house points. It wasn't really difficult when your studies were a minimum of two years ahead of the rest of the class. He was extremely proficient in the theory due to his own enhanced mental levels as well as the self-made spell 'fortis memoriae'.

McGonagall was extremely pleased even let him off without homework. Flitwick also had some interesting news to deliver. He took Darius aside after the class and told him that he had pitched the idea of a duelling club to the headmaster and it had been approved. It was to be held from a couple of months hence on a weekly basis. Darius was especially excited about this. While knowing spells was all well and good, using them in a combat situation was an altogether different ball game. Learning combat movement spells, duelling shields and chain casting were just some of the things he was anticipating. He also wanted to learn the more destructive spells but he was sure that those wouldn't be taught. While he didn't consider himself to be a dark wizard, he didn't have any qualms using the darker variety of spells, especially on people who intended to harm him or his family. There existed spells such as the bone-breaker curse, blood boiling curse, Fiendfyre and many others and he already had plans on how to get a hold of them. Of course, if those plans failed, he could always sneak into the forbidden section of the library to find them. But his plan would give much better yields if he could get it to work. Well, that would have to wait till next year.

It was on the next day's afternoon, that they had a Care of magical creatures class. They were taught by Professor Silvanus Kettleburn. The man was missing his limbs except one hand and half a leg. Still, he was a renowned magizoologist and was sure to have rich amount of experience. They started off with some theory about the magical creature classifications given by the ministry before quickly moving on to the practical lesson. They studied salamanders and had a very enjoyable class. The professor taught us many facts about them and even threw in a couple of amusing anecdotes. Overall, it was a good first class and he was looking forward to more lessons.

But it was the next class which had him excited. As they walked back to the castle, he could hardly keep himself from rushing to the class. It was the class for Study of ancient runes and the subject which he was the most interested in at the moment. If he got his ideas to work, he would be raking in the galleons. As far as he had gotten in his self-study of the subject and rune overlay, he required a much more thorough understanding of the subject to achieve his aims. He couldn't wait!