A/N: This chapter is more focused on the third-years. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Same as before.

Chapter 7: Another Train Ride

By the time Sunday came around Albus was already packed to return to Hogwarts. The train was due to leave at 11:00, as it did on September 1st, but first Harry had to pick up Harry Dursley.

Harry had returned to his cousin's house the day following the dinner to make sure that they were all okay after the excitement of the previous night. Dudley had asked him to take Harry Dursley to King's Cross and onto Platform 9 3/4.

Ginny had decided that she didn't wish to go and see them off a second time this year, but Lily insisted that she come, so James sat in the front passenger seat while they went to get Harry Dursley in Little Whinging.

While Harry Potter struggled to get all three of the trunks into the rear of his Muggle car, and James tried to help him but resulted only in making things more difficult, Harry Dursley tried to talk to Albus about what they had overheard of the conversation between Harry Potter and the Minister.

"What?" Lily asked, sitting between them in the backseat and glancing back and forth. The car shook as Harry Potter tried to shove the third trunk in.

"Don't tell anyone about it," was all Albus would say in front of his sister.

"What?" Lily insisted.

"Just use a charm!" they heard James say to his father.

"Nothing," said Albus.

"Engorgio," muttered Harry. "The Department of Muggle Artifacts will love this."

"Tell me!" Lily demanded. The rear of the car slammed shut.

"Nothing!" Albus repeated. Harry and James got back into the car.

"Daddy," Lily started.

"Crumple-horned Snorkacks!" shouted Harry Dursley. Blessed silence fell, as three pairs of eyes fell on him and Harry Potter stared at him through the rearview mirror. "That's what we were talking about," he said to Lily.

"Oh. What are those?"

Harry Potter chuckled to himself.

"They're creatures," said Harry Dursley.

"What kind of creatures?"

"Um, I'm not sure. Never actually seen one myself."

"Where did you read about them?" Harry Potter asked.

"There was an old magazine in the Hufflepuff Common Room. Apparently there are a lot of strange creatures in the Wizarding World."

Harry Potter chuckled again. "You have no idea."

"Have you ever seen one?" Harry Dursley asked him.

"No."

"I wanna see one!" Lily declared.

At this point Harry couldn't stop chuckling. "Lily Luna," he muttered.

"Yes?"

"Nothing."

"What?" she demanded.

Albus rolled his eyes.


When they got to the station James once again led the way through the barrier to Platform 9 3/4. Harry Dursley watched with wide eyes.

"Alright Harry, give it a go," said Harry Potter.

Albus watched as Harry Dursley lined himself up with the wall, staring at it warily. After several seconds he began running towards it. When he was close he lowered his head, gritting his teeth together. Just as he was about to hit the wall he let out a scream, which went on as he vanished through the barrier.

"Go ahead, Albus," said his father. Albus went through, much more comfortable with it this time, and his father followed with Lily.

Harry Dursley was staring at the barrier now from the other side, marveling at the fact that he had just gone right through it. Albus wondered if he hadn't actually noticed passing through it on the way off the platform a week before. "Come on," he said, tugging on Harry's arm, "let's find Rose."

The first-years disappeared into the crowd, and Harry Potter saw James already caught up in a conversation with... Seamus Finnegan? He made his way over, and his old Gryffindor friend saw him and waved.

"Seamus!" exclaimed Harry, waving back. "How are you?"

"Very well, thanks. You?" His Irish accent was as thick as ever. Beside him stood his son, Daryl, who Harry knew James was good friends with.

"Fine, thanks," Harry replied. James and Daryl were talking in low, conspiratorial tones, as though they were planning something. "Dare I ask what you two are conspiring about?" he asked, stepping up behind his son.

James straightened up and glanced at his father. "Oh, just a little welcome back party," he said offhandedly.

Seamus chuckled. "Just like us, aren't they." Harry grinned, turning to him.

James began scanning the platform, seeking Shane and Dom.

"So what have you been up to lately?" Harry asked Seamus, not noticing his son freeze behind him, staring at something on the far side of the platform.

Seamus stood up straight and beamed proudly. "You're looking at the new Chief Financial Advisor for the Ireland Quidditch Team."

Harry hadn't even known that professional quidditch teams had financial advisors, but he supposed someone had to manage the equipment expenses. He had retired from quidditch years ago.

Daryl followed James' gaze across the platform. "Not anxious to have to deal with Michaela Black again, are you?"

"Black?" Harry spun around at the name, and Seamus frowned in confusion.

James looked at his father. "You know that name?"

Harry stared at his son for a moment, then nodded. He had never mentioned to James exactly who he had gotten his middle name from.

The horn on the train sounded. It was just about 11. "Come on, James," said Daryl, tugging on his arm.

James took one last confused glance at his father, who still had a stunned expression on his face, and followed Daryl towards the train.

"You don't think she's related to Sirius Black, do you?" Seamus asked in almost a whisper.

Harry shook his head, still staring at his son's back. Phineas Nigellus Black had said from his portrait following Sirius's death that the ancient Black family had ended with Sirius' death.

Michaela Black?

Harry decided that it had to just be a coincidence. His godfather's family had ended with him. There must have been other families with the surname Black. Considering how commonplace the word was, of course it must have been used as a surname by multiple families.

James stepped onto the train, disappearing from his father's sight. He and Daryl found Shane and Dom already sitting in a compartment. Daryl entered and sat down, and James this time shut the door to the compartment, not in the mood for any more pranks like the previous ride.

"Hey there, James," said Shane, reaching out for a fist pound.

"Hey, Shane," James replied, sparing him only a momentary glance as he looked out the window. They were seated on the side of the train facing away from the platform, and James' friends found it rather odd that he was staring at a blank wall.

"Alright there, mate?" Shane asked. The train began to move.

"Yeah," James replied, still focused on the wall, which was now retreating away.

Shane glanced at Daryl, who was watching James with concern. "Did something happen on the platform?"

"Nothing," said James immediately, finally looking at him. Something inside him was telling him his friends ought not to know that he was bothered so much by his father's reaction to the name Black.

But then the door of the compartment opened, and James looked up to find himself staring into the glare of none other than Michaela Black.

"Hello, Jamie," she said with mock sweetness. "Have a good break?"

"I did, yeah," he replied, feigning indifference, his father's reaction to the name still hovering in his mind's eye. "You?"

"Yes, I did, thank you." As she said this she gave a smile, and suddenly James felt a sensation of being struck by an unusual jinx. He quickly looked for her wand, but both of her hands were empty. Could she do wandless magic?

Seeing his expression, her demeanor changed. "Are you okay, Jamie?" she asked with feigned concern, extending a hand towards him. He cringed away from her hand. If she was capable of wandless magic, he didn't want that hand anywhere near him.

She withdrew, and her look of concern changed to a smirk. "Alright Jamie, if that's the game you want to play. Have a good trip." With that she shut the compartment door and disappeared.

"Are you alright, mate?" Shane asked again, this time with doubled concern.

"She jinxed me!" James exclaimed.

Daryl frowned. "She didn't have her wand out."

"I think she can do wandless magic!"

All three of his friends looked at him skeptically. "Wandless magic?"

"I'm telling you, I felt a jinx hit me!" Just then everything went black. Darkness powder? No, this was even darker than darkness powder. James couldn't see a single thing.

Was this just him? Was this an effect of the jinx? Did it make him blind?

"Guys!" Dom's little voice sounded loudly in his ears.

"What the blazes is this?" Shane demanded.

Okay, so it wasn't just him. But then what the blazes was this?

A pillar of fire erupted in the center of the compartment. It illuminated the faces of James' friends, and James saw the looks of surprise and terror on their faces, guessing that he must have the same look. He stared into the swirling flames.

Tongues of fire lashed out to and fro, not long enough to reach the terrified boys but close enough to make them sink back against their seats. The pillar of fire bulged, letting out the sound of a roar.

"Aguamenti!" Daryl shouted, pointing his wand at the fire. The jet of water went right through the pillar of flame, splashing Dom on the other side.

Then there was a sound like knives rubbing against each other, and several long, curved blades emerged out of the fire. The vile-looking blades slashed through the air, and the boys tried to back up even farther into their seats.

"Reducto!" Shane shouted. James ducked as the curse sailed right through the fire and blades and over his head, striking his trunk on the rack above. The trunk shook violently, and James' briefly wondered how many of his possessions had been destroyed, before ducking again as a blade swung over his head.


In the next train car over, the first-years sat quietly. Albus stared out the window, watching the passing landscape. Rose sat beside him, her nose buried in their Defense Against the Dark Arts book. Allison lay along the seat opposite them, fast asleep, still wearing her Muggle clothes.

When Albus and Harry Dursley had gone to seek out Rose on the platform, they found her already standing beside Allison, while Uncle Ron was happily explaining to Allison's father, who was a Muggle, about how Arthur Weasley had convinced the Ministry to change the dynamics of the barrier between platforms 9 and 10 so that Muggles whose children went to Hogwarts could go with them onto the platform. Of course, Arthur had been remembering how Hermione's parents could never join her on the platform when he had urged this legislation. Allison's mother, a very beautiful witch whom Albus was sure he had seen somewhere before, was watching her daughter proudly, seemingly ecstatic about the fact that her daughter had become such good friends with the daughter of the famous couple Ron and Hermione Weasley.

Albus had immediately felt a pang of jealousy seeing Rose with Allison, and she had simply waved at him when he appeared, and went on talking to Allison. Then Harry Dursley had spotted his Hufflepuff friends and run off, waving goodbye to Albus and leaving him with the girls, who didn't even bother to incorporate him into their conversation.

Now that Allison had fallen asleep on the train, Albus had hoped that Rose would at least pay him some attention. But she had her nose buried in a book.

"When do you suppose we'll start learning spells?"

"Huh?" Albus turned to her.

"In Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Albus shrugged. "If Brant knows any, I hope soon." He had a hunch that he would do quite well in that class, since he already knew some of his father's signature defensive spells.

"If he knows any? Well, look who's such a know-it-all."

Albus scanned her face quickly for any sign that she was joking. "I'm just saying! He doesn't seem terribly bright."

"Because you're already an expert in defensive magic, aren't you?" She was glaring at him now, and for the life of him Albus couldn't understand what he had done wrong.

"No, I'm not! I'm just saying..."

But Rose had gone back to the book, and was no longer listening to him. He turned back and glared out the window, trying to figure out what he had said wrong.


Confused and frustrated as Albus was, if he had known the predicament that his brother was in at that moment, he would have found his situation to be quite comfortable. For James and his friends were still trapped in utter darkness, with the roaring pillar of fire and violent swirling blades between them.

"Shane, try to open the compartment door!" James yelled.

There was a sound of tapping, but after a while Shane yelled back, "I can't find the handle! It's not there!"

A blade swirled dangerously close to James' nose, and he tried to back up even further into his seat. The blades seemed to be swinging closer and closer to the trapped boys.

Daryl tried a few more spells, none of which worked. Then suddenly a blade swung out wide towards him. He couldn't dodge it, there was no way he could get any farther back or any lower.

"Daryl!" James shouted.

The blade reached the poor boy's face, then passed right through it. Daryl, who had shut his eyes tightly, opened them wide, watching as the blade returned to the pillar of fire.

Suddenly a whole series of blades were slashing out wide. They passed right through the boys. James winced the first time one reached him, passing across his chest. It felt like nothing more than a cold wind striking him.

"What the blazes is this?" Shane repeated, a blade passing through his face as he spoke.

Then the pillar of fire began to turn to smoke, spreading outward and upward. As the fire disappeared the blades seemed to disintegrate into silvery wisps, which vanished. Soon it was all gone, and the darkness lifted. The compartment of the train looked like new.

The boys stared at each other. The smell of urine pervaded the air, emanating from Dom. They looked around, seeking any traces of what had just happened. On the floor in the center of the compartment lay a small black box. James picked it up, finding it empty. On one side, three Ws were emblazoned in gold.

"He must be out of his mind," James muttered.

"That's your uncle's product?" Daryl asked, surprised.

James nodded. "Looks that way." He stared at the empty black box for a moment longer, then abruptly stood up, opening the compartment door. As he made to step out, he tripped over nothing visible, falling heavily to the floor of the corridor. Another Ridicule Rope, this one attached to each side of the door frame just outside the door.

There was laughter throughout the car. "Again, Potter," said a nearby Slytherin. "Can't stay on your feet, can you?"

James was on his feet and had his wand out in a heartbeat. Moments later there were tiny bats flying out of the Slytherin's nose and attacking him. James turned and made to leave the car, but just then a more mature voice called out. "Mr. Potter!"

James turned to face the Head Boy. "Theo."

"What do you think you are doing?"

"Going to find my cousin."

Theo's eyes widened slightly. James knew that it was the Head Girl who held the real power among the students. "Which one?"

"Guess."

Theo waved off the insolence. "Fifteen points from Gryffindor. Be glad I'm not taking more." With that he turned and walked away.

There was chuckling around the car. "Well done, Potter," said the Slytherin, who had managed to remove the hex from himself.

James waved his wand, and the hex started again. Then he turned and stalked out of the car.


"Are you mad?"

Michaela turned from her dinner and smiled at him. "No. What would I be mad at? But I assure you, if I were mad, you would not want to be around me." She had deliberately hid from him on the train, knowing that he would then confront her here in the Great Hall, and make a fool of himself in front of all the other Gryffindors.

James swore under his breath. "Bloody American! You know what I'm saying. You're crazy! Insane! Cuckoo!" He twirled his index finger around his ear.

She shrugged. "Maybe. But right now you look more 'cuckoo' then I could ever hope to be." She gave him a sympathetic look. "Are you okay?" She reached a hand towards him. He shied away from the hand, staring at it cautiously.

There were scattered chuckles. Across the table, on either side of Laura, Pearl and Selina giggled madly, but Laura silenced each of them with a glare. "Why don't you give it a rest!" she snapped at Michaela.

"Everything alright here?" James looked up to see Neville standing there, watching the group.

"Yes, Professor," replied James, looking back down to meet Michaela's challenging gaze.

Neville looked between them uncertainly.

"You know what?" said Michaela. "I can see where I'm not wanted." And with that she got up and stalked away from the table. James and Neville watched as she stalked all the way around the Hufflepuff table and sat down with the Ravenclaws, next to Sarah Anderson.

Neville turned back to James, looking unhappy. He stepped up very close to James and whispered in his ear. "Your father would never have provoked someone to do something like that."

Sitting next to Sarah, Michaela watched with satisfaction as Professor Longbottom reprimanded James.

"So what would a Gryffindor be doing sitting at the Ravenclaw table?" Michaela looked at the Ravenclaw across from her.

She shrugged. "I like it here." She gave the air a sniff. "The air is better."

The Ravenclaw frowned in surprise.

"It feels cleaner. Better for the hair," Michaela went on. Sarah was giggling into her hand.

"Um, right," replied the Ravenclaw, glancing at the air around him. He reached up a hand and waved his fingers, then sniffed the air.

Sarah was nearly hysterical by now, struggling madly to restrain herself.

Headmistress McGonagall stood up, and the room fell silent. "Welcome back, once again. Let us hope that there will not be any reason to further delay the school year."

She paused, and every student in the hall watched her intently.

"Rest assured, there is no reason to worry. The Ministry investigation turned up no existing threat within the school. You are all safe here."

Another pause.

"However, if another accident should occur within the grounds of this school," she said in her most ominous tone, "The Ministry will close down our school for the remainder of the school year."

The students all glanced at each other.

"Therefore I beseech you all to be very careful. Do nothing stupid that would put our school at risk of being shut down." She turned and nodded at the Hogwarts caretaker, Argus Filch, who was standing in the corner of the hall. "Mr. Filch has put up outside the hall a list of new rules and enforcements, which should adequately discourage even the most adventurous of you..." She glanced at a certain quartet of third-years at the Gryffindor table. "...from doing anything you might later regret."

With that she sat back down. James, Shane, Daryl and Dom glanced at each other. James frowned, clenching his fists under the table. He was going to get back at Michaela Black, new rules or no new rules.