Opposites Attract
Rating: Teen
Warnings: Occasional bad language, action violence, fluff, spoilers for those who have not read the books, anti-Ron, anti-Ginny though not as extreme as some fics & slightly ooc main characters.
Standard Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling and do not own any of the copyrights to any borrowed characters or locations used in this work and this is not written for profit. All other known characters and locations borrowed in this work belong to their respective copyright owners.
Authors note: I hope my prologue was enjoyed, but now we come to the real beginning of the tale. I'm going for a few unorthodox twists here and I hope they are enjoyed. Ron and Ginny lovers beware, this fic will contain bashing though I will try and steer clear of the money grubber Weasley's as that's been overdone to the point of ridiculousness.
Chapter 1: The Journey
'You're certain it was him Cinda?'
'Beyond any doubt, the eyes and the scar were both a dead giveaway, as dumb as Dragon is even he should have spotted that at Madam Malkins.'
Daphne and Tracey both giggled and Lucinda smiled inwardly, neither of her friends were particularly fond of her brother.
Tracey asked 'so what did you make of him? Do you think he'll help us? You know as soon as we get sorted they'll probably try and brainwash him against you. There's no way you're going anywhere else but Slytherin and considering our families we're both probably going there as well.'
Lucinda thought for a moment before she answered,
'He seems quite nice and he's definitely going to be a handsome man. If we're smart I don't see why he won't help us in time. Somebody hasn't told him a lot, probably on purpose and I've got a suspicion as to who. But you all know as well as I do that he's the best choice, once we've got him on our side and we've undone enough of the damage. I sent him a few notes with some of the more obvious things he should know, hopefully they'll be enough for him to dodge the more obvious plans Twinkles has probably laid out for him.'
Daphne looked thoughtful, 'you don't know for certain he's the one who did it Cinda.'
'No, but when you think about it, he's the most likely especially considering what Harry's told me. He was put with his muggle relatives after his parents died, probably against the wishes of his parents. Hagrid, one of Twinkles' loyalists took him to Diagon Alley when he should have gotten McGonagall, or Flitwick at the very least. I wouldn't be surprised if somebodies warded his house against mail as well, tens of thousands of people must have written to him over the years, I know I did and Gringotts would have. There's only a few people around with the influence to do all this and Twinkles is one of them. The question is, why'd he do it?'
None of the others had an answer and so Lucinda began to look out of the window, soon noticing a familiar looking boy with messy black hair making his way down the platform before he was assisted in loading his trunk by two bigger boys who were obviously Weasley's judging by their hair.
'I see him, two of the Weasley's just found him and I see the others near him.'
Tracey grimaced, 'that could be a problem.'
Daphne added, 'we don't know that yet, as long as the walking food disposal unit doesn't become too attached, he's almost as bad as Dragons pet trolls. We can probably deal with the others as I've heard they have some sense, but him, he's a liability we can't afford.'
Meanwhile, Harry had finished loading his trunk and owl and had changed into his new uniform. Lucinda had been sending him owls every few days since he'd met her in Diagon alley and he'd come to know her quite well. She had told him much of his family and the place in society he was to inherit and told him of several things to expect on his first days and had advised him of several books he should order before the beginning of term. He had managed to find the platform without help but was helped by two boys to load his trunk, both of which has immediately goggled at his scar which made him wince.
A knock came at the door and another red headed boy came in, clearly a brother of the twins who'd helped him load his trunk.
'Do you mind? Everywhere else is full.'
Harry was suspicious at once, he'd seen plenty of empty compartments while he was loading his gear and said.
'Are you sure about that? I passed several on my way here.'
The ears of the newcomer seemed to turn red as a panicked look crossed his face.
'I can help myself you know, and its Lord Potter to you thank you very much Weasel. I prefer not to hang around with people who won't say why they are here.'
'But you're Harry Potter, I need to save you from the snakes and help you, and then you'll be my friend.'
'I choose those who I count as friends, not you. Now clear off before I make you.'
The boy walked off much to Harry's relief, just before he was replaced by a far more welcome sight as Lucinda walked in and sat down beside him leading a round faced boy whom he'd passed in the station and a few girls. One was blonde with calculating blue eyes and the other had straight brown hair and green eyes with a hint of mischief about them.
'Ahh, Lord Potter, how nice to see you again, these are my friends Lady Daphne Greengrass, Lady Tracey Davis, and Lord Neville Longbottom.'
Harry smiled at all of them before kissing each girls hand as he'd been told was the custom and shaking hands with Neville.
'Well met, it's nice to finally have some polite company, you just missed the Weasel Lucinda, and he was pretty much exactly how you described him.'
'I knew he'd try and recruit you Harry, I'm just glad you saw through him. He won't be the last who tries though. Dragon likely will too as soon as he realises who exactly was standing before him that day in Madam Malkin's.'
'The Weasel will be back as well, sooner or later my Lord, I very much doubt that you've seen the last of him,' said Daphne.
'What have you got against the Weasley's anyway Daphne?' asked Neville as the train set off and began to move.
Tracey answered him, 'the Weasley's were and still are quite loyal to Dumbledore, and while Dumbledore is a great light wizard. He is getting older and some might say that his methods are becoming questionable. His goals are noble, true, but what he is prepared to do to achieve those goals rarely is good to those he uses to carry out his plans. A lot of families that were closest to him during the war suffered terribly for their support. As long as the Weasley's remain blind in their devotion we can't trust them completely.'
A pained look crossed Neville's face for a moment before it vanished while Tracey had been speaking about Dumbledore and Harry was curious about what was wrong but decided to let it go for the time being as three more girls suddenly joined them. Harry recognised the first and second almost at once from Lucinda's description.
'Lady Susan, Lady Abbot how kind of you to join us,' greeted Harry as he rose and introduced himself to the newcomers.'
'Lord Potter, thank you for your gracious welcome, may we join you?'
The third girl who'd so far been silent suddenly gushed upon hearing Harry's name.
'Potter? As in Harry Potter, the boy who lived? Oh, I've read so much about you.'
She began to ramble on about several books before Harry held up a hand to silence her.
'I've read those books too, most of them are full of rubbish, I'm the only one who survived and I don't remember it, so all those interviews were wrong since I never gave them. There's nothing wrong with studying, but you can't believe everything you read.'
The girl blushed and fell silent before Harry introduced himself, 'anyway, since you know who I am, may I ask your name?'
'I'm Hermione Granger.'
The new group of friends settled down and enjoyed the ride, Harry buying enough sweets and cakes from the trolley to share, much to the approval of his new friends. Harry feeling contented as he enjoyed the fact that for once he was surrounded by those who weren't afraid of coming near him because of his fat tub of lard of a cousin.
Hermione it seemed was somewhat of a bookworm and hoped to get into Gryffindor as she'd read about Dumbledore's time in that house. But once warned about the Weasel's likeliness to being in there she was persuaded that Ravenclaw might suit her better. Neville's pet toad made several escape attempts before he was shut in his tank.
Lucinda's prediction was spot on and as the afternoon wore on three boys appeared in the doorway, Harry recognized Draco at once while the two boys beside him both had the look of dumb muscle.
'So it's you is it? They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment.'
His eyes registered the presence of his sister, 'Lucy? What are you doing with these fools, mudbloods and blood traitors the lot of them.'
'Forming new acquaintances brother, as I suspect you were here to do as well. Do you not see who is here? Mother and father would both be ashamed of your conduct, perhaps I should write to them.'
Draco scowled, 'apologies, Lady Greengrass, Lady Davis I did not see you.'
Turning back to Harry he said, 'you should watch who you associate with, if you spend too much time among the traitors and the dregs of our society you shall find their filth rubbing off on you. I can help you meet the tight people.'
He extended his hand, but Harry did not take it, 'I can find the right people for myself thank you very much.'
He stalked off, taking his thugs with him, saying as he went.
'I should be careful who you are seen with sister, father would not approve of some of your companions and his retribution could be dire.'
Once he was gone, Lucinda fumed, 'how dare he? One of these days I swear I'm going to…'
Harry gently interrupted, 'do you think he's really going to be a problem?'
She sighed, 'yes, but don't worry Harry, I know how to handle Dragon and I knew this would happen sooner or later.'
'How?'
Tracey was the one to answer
'Dragons a lot like the Weasel, both of them are quite dumb, and both are so narrow minded about people that unless one agrees with them completely, they'll hate them for it. Dragon can't stand anybody who questions Lucius's view of the world and he'll preach it as gospel, you wait. Weasel on the other hand has been groomed as a sheep, believing that the sun shines out of Dumbledore's ass and that anybody who questions him is evil. You watch, he'll be among the worst of the Gryffs for propagating this stupid feud.'
'Which is why it's better if I try and go for one of the neutral houses as I'll be able to stay under both of their radar.'
'Radar?' Asked Neville
'Muggle invention, used to spot approaching ships and aircraft at a distance,' explained Susan.
The train soon slowed down and pulled into the station, Harry following the others towards Hagrid as he beckoned them closer with his lamp. Eventually he led them through a forest and Harry got his first view of Hogwarts castle.
'Beautiful isn't it?' said Lucinda from beside Harry. 'Mother brought me here once to see it when Dragon and I were little.'
'Let's grab a boat before your brother finds us.'
Harry led the way and he and Lucinda were followed into their boat by Neville and Susan, eventually sailing right under the castle as the boats took them across the still lake which was reflecting the lights from the windows above them. Hagrid knocked three times on the vast doors before they swung open.
