Harry stared out the window of the Hogwarts Express as it barreled down the tracks that lead to Hogwarts. Hermione and Ron had Head Boy and Girl duties, and he was alone. Just as he was slipping into sleep, the compartment door slid open. He woke, hoping to see Ginny, but instead, he looked at a person he had never seen before.
He was tall. There was no other way to say it. He was taller than Ron, standing at about 6’9” easy, hair that fell into his eyes, which were a startling blue, and was very lanky. He was wearing black shorts, tube socks that came just short of his knees, a black shirt that read “My Chemical Romance” with a picture of a pack of black wolves cornering a lone white wolf, and scar resembling a snake running down the side of his neck. The boy threw himself into the seat across from Harry, studying him intently. His blue eyes drifted to Harry’s scar.
“Nice scar. How did you get it?” he inquired, in a deep voice. Harry’s eyes widened.
“You…You don’t know?” Harry said, dumbfounded.
“Nope,” came the reply, “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t know.”
“Well,” Harry chose his words carefully, “When I was a year old, Voldemort…” At his name, the boy stood, a smile cracking the serious look he had. “Harry! Ha! You’re practically my twin! I’m Cody Halen, transferred here from the United States. This,” he pointed at the scar on his neck, “is old Voldemort’s gift for me. We are pretty much one and the same.” Harry stood, his head not even reaching Cody’s shoulder. “You were born…” “…July 31st. Same as you, Harry. We’re both seventeen.” Cody finished for him. Cody’s eyes bore into his as if he were searching for something. Harry was simply confused. How did Voldemort manage to mark two different people? The Prophecy only mentions one marked as an equal, he thought.
“There can be more than one Prophecy, Harry.”
Harry looked at Cody, stunned, while Cody simply smiled at him. “I’m a Legilimens, in the same way that you are a Parseltounge. The connection to Voldemort.” He added when he saw the confused look on Harry’s face, then he pointed at his scar. “I’m also a Parseltounge, but that has nothing to do with the connection. My parents found me talking to snakes in our nursery when I was nine months old, a month before Voldemort killed them.” After Cody finished talking, the door slid open again as Ron and Hermione stepped in. “Oi, Harry! I’ve gotta tell…Who the bloody hell are you?” Ron said, looking down at Cody. Cody stood up, and Harry couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of Ron looking up at someone, the color slowly draining from his face. “I’d watch how you talk to me. Harry, who is this guy?”
“That’s Ron, my best mate. That is Hermione, the smartest girl I’ve ever met.”
“Oh. Does that mean I can’t hit him?” Harry laughed, Cody grinned, and Ron looked like he would faint. “I’ll be back in a sec,” Cody said, smile gone, replaced by a look that reminded Harry of someone who had been Confunded. Cody bolted out the door and sprinted down the train. “Bloody hell, Harry! He’d probably be able to look down at McLaggen!” Ron said, the color returning to his face. He threw himself down across from Harry. Cody slid open the door and stepped in. Well, now that…” Cody stopped talking and swore as his hand shot to the scar on his neck. Harry felt his scar, searing with pain as Cody sat next to him. “He’s excited,” they said simultaneously. Harry flitted into Voldemort’s mind and saw him flying towards a train. The train seemed awfully familiar…
“Oh, shit!” Cody said, confirming that he and Harry had seen the same thing. “He’s about to attack the Hogwarts Express!” Harry and Cody said, jumping up and drawing their wands. Ron and Hermione looked confused. There was a bang. The train shuddered and there was screaming. They ran out the door to see two Death Eaters in the hallway. Zacharias Smith stepped out of the compartment across from them. “Harry! What's…” was all he managed to say. A Death Eater shot a Killing Curse at Cody, but missed, hitting Smith square in the face. He fell backwards, eyes glassy and blank. Harry spun around to Stun the Death Eater who shot the curse, but he froze when he saw the look of rage in Cody’s face. The latter raised his wand.
“Avada Kedavra!”
A jet of green light shot from Cody’s wand. The green converged with the black of the robes on the Death Eater, which seemed to absorb the green jet. The Death Eater crumpled to the floor, knocking the mask off and revealing the glassy, unfocused eyes of Draco Malfoy. The other Death Eater spun around to find himself face-to-face with a second jet of green light. He fell with a resounding thud. “Cody, what th…” Cody cut Harry off. “I’m sick of people dying, sick of Stunning, sick of holding back. I’m leveling the field. No more Stunning, Harry. I intend to kill.” Cody kneeled when he finished, removing the second Death Eater’s mask, revealing Fenrir Greyback. Cody spat in his face.
The two boys moved toward the front of the train. After a few cars, they ran into another Death Eater. A jet of green light soared between them. Cody answered with his own jet of green light. The Death Eater dropped, but they didn’t bother to check who it was, as another Death Eater joined the fray. Cody shot a Killing Curse at the robed figure but missed. “Oooh, Potter’s friend knows how to play!” said the figure. Harry knew the voice instantly.
Bellatrix Lestrange removed her mask. “I found Potter, my Lord!” she yelled, turning and slipping into a compartment door. They ran after her, wrenching open the door. Harry saw Ginny trying to stand, but Bellatrix was blocking her. Bellatrix was about to raise her wand. Harry wouldn’t let her take away another person he loved. Harry raised his wand, and he fully intended to enjoy the effects of the curse.
“Avada Kedavra!”
Harry felt as if his arm was tingling as the curse traveled through his arm, exploding from the tip of his wand in the form of a jet of green light. The force of the curse swept Bellatrix off her feet. She hit the window of the compartment, smashing through the glass with ease before being sucked under the wheels of the train. The crunching of bone and the grinding of flesh between metal was inaudible over the roar of the engine.