Wednesday, 1 September - Hogwarts Express at 10:40 am.
Ares arrived via the floo with the Malfoy family, Narcissa having returned for the occasion.
His trunk was in his pocket, having been shrunken a few minutes ago to prevent any unnecessary hassle.
Nodding goodbye to his two loyal servants, he boarded the train, avoiding Draco after giving the vaguest introduction possible to the boy, as he wasn't interested in dealing with him.
Walking along the train, he investigated the compartments, catching glimpses of couples, groups of friends and housemates.
"Ares!"
He turned around and was greeted by the sight of Pansy and Tracey.
"You absolutely have to sit with us! Doesn't he, Tracey!" Pansy gushed, not even giving him a choice.
She practically dragged him to a compartment at the front of the train.
"Pansy, it would be a pleasure to sit with you, but do you think you could let go of me..."
She nodded slowly, realising she was dragging a stranger by his sleeves.
Letting go of him, she opened an apartment to reveal Daphne and Draco staring at each other as if seeing the other was a crime against them.
They both turned to see who was at the door, and upon seeing Ares, Daphne nodded, and Draco gave him a confused look.
Somehow the obtuse platinum blond had yet to find out they were engaged.
Ares could only sigh in desperation; it would take much more meddling with Draco's mind to make him a helpful right-hand man.
Ares introduced himself once again, even though everyone knew who he was, and then he asked if anyone wanted to play chess.
He played Draco first and was disappointed that he came very close to losing.
Ares had never been very good at chess, still wasn't, and probably never would be, but he had learned to enjoy playing as he could always gain new insights into the game.
You could also learn a lot about a person by the way they played, taking Draco for example, he never let his King anywhere that could be trapped. He would rather sacrifice his entire board than let his King be caught out, which told Ares he believed in the King's absolute power; he respected power and authority. Oh, and that he was a coward... a massive coward.
He played Pansy. The match was over quickly; she had let him win without a fight; this told him she was a follower who felt guilty for dragging him to the apartment and was afraid of what her parents would do if they found out.
It was an incredibly dull game, and he was glad when it ended.
He played Tracey and was fascinated by how she played. She had been playing for some time, beat him easily, was rigorous and hard-working, and had obviously practised a lot.
He thoroughly enjoyed playing against her and even had a rematch.
Finally, he played Daphne, and he was blown away by how aggressive her style was, sacrificing anything if it increased her chances of winning; she was incredibly ambitious and was not afraid to show it.
The match was close, but she won due to her tactics.
They were about half an hour into their journey when Draco stood up and excused himself, opening the door and stepping out to greet Crabbe and Goyle.
Ares watched them leave before saying he would take his leave as well, getting to know his own year mates.
He followed Draco further down a train until the blonde boy stopped in front of a compartment and opened the door with his two goons flanking him.
"Potter, oh, you still have your pet Weasley and mudblood. I hope their upkeep isn't too stressful on your wallet, but if it is, don't forget you can still make friends with the right people." Draco declared with a sneer.
Hermione fixed him with a death stare as Ron started to turn purple and said in her sweetest voice,
"Draco, may I suggest you fuck off? As you see, a professor is in the compartment, and should he wake up, you would get into trouble before the term even started. So, to reiterate my point fuck off!"
This was followed by a 'Repello' that slammed the door into his face.
'The door slam was counter-productive to not waking up the professor...'
Ares couldn't help but find the encounter amusing, but it reminded him of something he needed to do.
Locating the trolley lady, he approached her,
"Anything from the trolley, dear?" She asked,
Ares nodded and asked for all her chocolate and anything with chocolate in it.
Placing it in a bag, he shrank it to a moderate size and slung it over his back.
Wandering off, he decided to now make an effort to find his year mates.
He knew only two names, Felix Rosier and Anastasia Avery. Both were in Slytherin and were a couple.
Lucius knew their parents, and Ares had heard of Anastasia from
Narcissa, who had given the girl lessons in etiquette as a personal favour to the Avery family.
His main reason for wanting to find them specifically was because their families were two of Voldemort's most prominent supporters, and Ares didn't plan on letting the old dark lord resurrect. Instead, he would help Harry kill him off very soon.
He needed to learn to tell Harry about Horcruxes without giving him the wrong idea.
It did amuse Ares that there was a copy of Secrets of the Darkest Art in Albus Dumbledore's office, and it terrified him that it was initially in the Hogwarts library where anyone could get it.
Deciding he didn't have enough time to waste, as he could find Felix and Anna at the feast, he returned to Harry and disillusioned himself.
He snuck into the compartment as Harry left to visit the trolley lady.
He sat down in the corner closest to the door where nobody was and observed the compartment.