So, chapter 9 is up at last! Sorry for taking so long and thanks for patiently waiting ^^"
Here we finally have Hadria interacting with canon-characters aside from Gellert! (The characters might be a little bit OOC, but I still intend for them to be believable so let me know if they are too OOC)
Hope you enjoy this chapter~
Warnings: Fem! MOD! Neutral/Dark! Harry, Time Travelling (of three characters), AU-ish... As this is an experimental fic, I may choose to abandon it if it does not turn out well and I fail to save it from whatever depths I sunk it to with horrible story-steering and a writer's iceberg. Let me know if you feel like there should be other warnings included later on in the story.
Pairings: Hadria (FemHarry) x Tom Riddle, other pairings undecided.
(Does anyone want to pair Gellert with anyone? XD And no, not Dumbledore please. Suggestions of a companion/friend? So far, I have Bellatrix, Luna or an OC. Will be collating all your suggestions and maybe do a poll when the time comes—which will prob be a long way from now).
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Beta: Happyfish
Chapter Nine: Familiarity
"Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illusi." All things change, and we change with them. —Traditional Latin Saying
With a swirl of shadow-coloured cloak, and a feeling of being sucked through a pipe, they appeared in a corner of Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters. Barely anyone spared a glance that busy platform for one blonde young man dressed in smart Wizarding robes of black and silver, and one black-cloaked raven-haired girl. Families were milling about, preparing to send their children off, either lecturing their kids or exchanging hugs and kisses.
Hadria soaked it all in—the people, the magic, the brilliant red and black Hogwarts Express gleaming in the light of the train station, smoking white clouds of steam and mystery, waiting for her once more to board it. The excitement that had been bubbling inside her the entire day, barely contained just for the Apparition trip, now erupted again. She whirled around with a delighted laugh, emerald-green eyes shining with joy, a wide sunny smile on her face, only to widen upon catching side of the undecipherable expression on her guardian's face.
"Gerwald," she sang, and he looked down at her, a slight frown creasing his forehead. Hadria didn't think he was even aware of it, judging by the blankness in his usually clear blue eyes. She knew that she would have felt worried before, a long time ago, in another timeline, if she ever saw such an expression on anyone's face, but now, under these circumstances, she could only feel very pleased.
"Gerwald," she repeated, a teasing lilt still evident in her voice. "Scáth is right. You're already starting to miss me, aren't you?"
"Nonsense!" Gellert scoffed as he smoothed his expression into one of absolute neutrality. "Now hurry along, we have fifteen minutes before the train leaves."
He swept off after that, back slightly stiff with indignation that only Hadria would notice, leaving the girl to gambol happily after him.
"I'll definitely write back you know?" she said as she tried to keep up with his long strides. "Lot's of letters. I'll write every week, until you have no idea where to keep them."
"What makes you think I'll keep them?" Gellert replied, still looking ahead.
"And I'll send back stuff too. You'll see," she continued, blithely ignoring whatever he just said. "And I'll send Scáth over sometimes, to check on you, and make sure you're not too lonely."
"There's no need for that. Please keep that dog to yourself. In fact, I would rather if I never got a visit from—"
"Hey! Maybe I'll even send you a dragon, if I see one!" Hadria interrupted, suddenly remembering what happened in her first year. "Won't that be awesome?"
"… A dragon? Why would you see a dragon at Hogwarts?" Gellert demanded. Despite the fact that the school motto did mention a dragon, he was pretty sure such a dangerous creature wouldn't be allowed on the school grounds when Hogwarts was professed to be the safest place in the Wizarding world, now that Dumbledore was Headmaster. But then again…
"Never mind. Don't answer that," he said when Hadria looked like she was about to concoct some wild theory about how Hogwarts could have attained a dragon and kept it. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten this was Hadria they were talking about. If there was a dragon sighting in Hogwarts, she'd probably be the cause of it.
Hadria giggled, as if she knew full well what was going on in Gellert's mind.
"Well then," she said, when they'd reached the edge of the platform, and looked around. Around them were other families saying goodbyes to their children, some giving their kids a last-minute-nagging. Hardly anyone spared a glance in their direction, any oddity that might have made them stand out (such as the rather big difference in the appearance of the 'father' and 'daughter') was overlooked here, where other stranger oddities were common. For example, there was a boy wearing Muggle clothes, holding a toad in his hands, looking rather plump compared to his tall, stick-like grandmother who seemed to be wearing rather strange clothes, even by Wizarding standards.
Neville, Hadria smiled fondly. It would be nice to befriend that boy again. He was the perfect Gryffindor—brave and honourable—despite initial impressions. Perhaps she'd find him on the train later. It wouldn't be difficult, as he'd probably be looking for his toad again.
"Please do not get into too much trouble. Better still, don't get into trouble at all," Gellert sighed when it seemed like they had no choice but to part.
"Who? Me?" Hadria gave him an innocent smile.
This was rebuked with a glare. "If trouble comes looking for you—as it always seem to—run, you hear me? Run as fast as you can, and don't look back."
"Yes, Gerwald," she huffed, while hiding a smirk. It just wouldn't do to remind him of the… semantics, after all.
There was a lull for a while, as they stared at each other. Finally, Gerwald patted her head. She'd grown a lot since he first met her, having good food and the best care he could provide, though she was still on the petit side, and still retained her elfin looks with her wild raven locks only semi-tamed with a half ponytail.
"You'll do fine in Hogwarts," he said, and Hadria blinked, wondering if he was reassuring her or himself.
"Of course I will. It's the rest of Hogwarts you need to worry about," she replied with a toothy grin. Then, before he could lecture her anymore about her relationship with trouble, she ducked under his hand and launched herself at him.
Gellert caught her and automatically hugged her back. It was just a moment, before he fully registered what he was doing and what she had said. The moment he loosened his arms, she grabbed her trunk and the cage with Holly inside, and made a mad dash for the train and leapt aboard, forever grateful for the invention of Feather-light Charms.
"Hadria! What did you mean by—!"
"I'll see you soon, Gerwald!" Hadria yelled back cheekily before disappearing into the train, and other students began rushing to board the train that was about to leave.
Ah, but the incredulous look on Gellert's face as she bid him goodbye was a good one.
And so a raven-haired girl found herself humming merrily to herself as she searched for a compartment to sit.
The first time she was aboard the Hogwarts Express, she'd been there early enough to find an empty compartment almost straight-away. Now, she'd got on a lot later and many of the compartments she had glanced in were occupied. She recognised some of the faces of the older Gryffindors, and a few from other Houses' Quidditch teams. When she spotted Ron sitting in a compartment by himself, she was extremely tempted to enter, and had stopped outside for a few seconds wondering if she should look for her other first-year not-yet-friends.
Then she sensed two presences beside her and she turned, somewhat miffed that she hadn't heard them coming. Two grinning faces looked back at her.
"Well, look what we have here," said one twin.
"I believe we have found an ickle firstie…"
"… And a secret admirer of our little brother."
Hadria stared back at them unfazed and unimpressed (or so she'd have them believe). "Many of the compartments are full, so I was wonder if I should ask to sit in this one. I'm having second thoughts."
The twins exchanged glances.
"How stiff," Fred commented.
"Poor Ronnikins," muttered George.
The differences were slight and negligible at first glance—the way their hair falls, the shape of their eyes, the broadness of the face. But Hadria had spent enough time around them—as well as enough time around just one of them (but she'd rather not think about that because her heart still felt a twinge whenever she did)—to tell the difference.
"Is it fun? Being twins?" Hadria asked, almost crossly, before Fred could add anything else. It might have came out a little sharper and sterner than she intended to. (Oh no, it actually came out exactly the way she had wanted it to).
The twins exchanged another glance, this time more wary than before.
"Oh looks like we've found a mini-McGonagall," Fred said finally, with a groan.
Hadria couldn't help it, and when she tried to hold back her laugh, she choked and ended up coughing and giggling at the same time.
She calmed down enough to notice their raised eyebrows, and repeated, "Mini-McGonagall?" And doubled over in another fit of uncontrollable laughter.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it," she said when she was done as she wiped tears from her eyes, and rubbed her aching cheeks. "If Professor McGonagall finds out... Actually let's not think about that, I think I might start laughing again."
"That was an act, wasn't it? Earlier?" George realised, waving his hands as if he could demonstrate his point.
"Judging by her reaction, she must be the furthest thing from a mini-McGonagall," Fred added. "Not bad. Not bad at all."
They grinned as one and stretched out a hand each. "Fred and George Weasley, pleased to meet you. We have a feeling we'll get along just fine."
Hadria shook both hands happily. "Hadria Potter, pleased to meet you too."
If they were surprised, they didn't really show it, unlike others who might have gaped or started searching for the lightning-bolt scar. They were definitely very delighted, however, as if they'd just won a prize.
"Do you like spiders, Hadria?" asked George.
Hadria didn't have to reply, as her eyes lit up and she visibly brightened. The twins grinned and nodded to themselves and Fred slid open the compartment door.
"Hey, Ron," he said with a knowing smirk. "Listen, we're going down the middle of the train—Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."
Ron predictably shuddered and mumbled something that sounded like, "Right."
Fred shut the door. "Come along, Hadria. The tarantula's huge."
"It's totally wicked," agreed George. "Pity Ron doesn't care for spiders."
And that was how Hadria found herself not joining Ron (deciding that she could always befriend him later) and instead, following the Weasley twins to Lee's compartment where they showed her the spider. The twins had been right—the tarantula was big, as big her face and maybe even bigger. It was beautifully dark-coloured, fluffy and looked a lot less menacing than Aragog… Though that may be because she could carry it with two hands (with its legs spilling over) and it wasn't trying to eat her nor feed her to its relatives.
The only problem was when Holly tried to get out of her cage. She ended up frightening the spider (and Lee, who probably didn't want to lose his spider and was evidently very concerned for his pet) with her barking and furious flapping of wings. Hadria and the twins had a good laugh about it at Lee's expense before they decided it was best if she quickly took her leave after so as not to scare the poor spider to death.
Hadria found Neville next, who still had a young round face, sitting with bushy-haired Hermione, looking rather forlorn as Hermione talked to him. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he'd lost his toad, again. So Hadria made a split-second decision (she was good at making those), and Summoned the toad, Trevor, with a wave of her wand.
Toad in hand, she slid open the compartment door.
"Is this your toad?" she asked, poking her head it and showed them the toad.
"Trevor!" Neville yelled, relief evident on his face as he stumbled in his haste to reach the door from his seat.
"Maybe you should keep him in a tank next time," Hadria suggested. "The Magical Menagerie should sell some specially made for pet toads."
"I—I'll think about it," Neville said gratefully. "Thank you."
"That was nice of you. We were just about to go look for it," Hermione said, and Hadria noticed that her front teeth had yet to be shrunk to a normal size. "I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, and this is…"
"Neville Longbottom," said Neville, now clutching Trevor so tightly that Hadria got a bit worried the toad's bulging eyes might fall out.
It took two words—"Hadria Potter"—for Hermione to go on another one of her long speeches about 'Harriet Potter' and history books. In another time, Harriett Potter would have felt rather bewildered by it and perhaps even a little put-off. Now…
"I've read them too! But none of them are accurate, not at all. Why, there was even this book that said…"
"… And there was this other book that was just utter rubbish. I know that now of course, after seeing you in person. It is rather different from how they depicted it. I suppose they took some creative liberty with…"
"… Gerwald, my guardian, says that we have to be careful when we read. He taught me all about cross-referencing with other sources and…"
"… I also read your parents were Gryffindors? I've been asking around, and I think it's by far the best House, though I hear Ravenclaw is…"
"… And Hufflepuff seems scary, don't you? With their loyalty and determination, I'd imagine if you accidentally offended one of their friends…"
"… Well, I heard that You-Know-Who was in Slytherin. I must say the House description doesn't sound remotely pleasant. I mean, cunning and ambition makes them…"
By the end of it, Hadria was settled comfortably beside Hermione, and Neville was the one who looked rather stunned, until Hadria dragged him into the conversation. She thought it was a good thing she did, because he seemed to get bolder and gain confidence the more he spoke.
They were just getting to the topic of Wizarding games and Quidditch, after having concluded that if the four students from all four different Houses could somehow become friends, they would be a terrifying force to behold, when the compartment door slid open and three boys entered. The boy in the middle, pale and blonde, was flanked by two stockier dark-haired boys with scowls on their faces.
Hadria recognised them at once, and for a moment, she froze. She thought she had prepared for everything, and had in fact, prided herself in the idea of being the one throw others off-balance, but she had honestly forgotten that she would meet Draco before reaching Hogwarts.
It might have been because she hadn't met him in Diagon Alley this time around, and was under the impression that she'd know what to do with him after the Sorting, depending on how the conversation with the Hat goes.
In her past life, she had never been truly friends with the Malfoys. She'd ended up being on relatively good terms with Narcissa, but her relationship with Draco merely consisted of cool, distant, short but civil conversations whenever they bumped into each other. (There wasn't a need to even consider Lucius, because the poor guy had been thrown into Azkaban after the Battle of Hogwarts, before they moved him to St Mungo's due to some illness, after which he was discharged and stayed in the Malfoy Manor, and was never seen in public again).
"Has any of you seen Harriet Potter?" Draco asked. "I've heard that she's almost definitely in one of the compartments somewhere around this part of the train." And Hadria immediately knew how she was going to respond.
Neville and Hermione turned at once to glance at Hadria, who shrugged. "I'm not. Harriet Potter, that is."
Neville blinked several times. Hermione raised her eyebrows. The other three boys stared. And Hadria shrugged.
"It's true. My name hasn't been Harriet for six years now."
Hermione turned back to Draco and said, with a sigh, "She used to be Harriet Potter, but apparently her guardian changed it when she was five, so she's Hadria Potter now."
It was funny, Hadria noted, amused, how Draco looked a little stunned upon hearing Hermione's words. His expression froze a little, before he quickly covered it up with a frown.
"And who are you?"
"I'm Hermione Granger. But it's a bit rude, don't you think? Demanding for someone's name before giving yours?" she replied curtly.
The pale boy raised an eyebrow, lips curling into an almost-sneer. "Granger? I don't believe I've heard that last name before."
There was imminent disaster and Hadria could smell it coming. So she quickly interrupted with a bright smile that she knew tend to throw people off, "Well, there was a Dagworth-Granger some hundred years ago. Can't quite remember what he did—something related to Potions—but it's really quite likely that Hermione's descended from one of his squib relatives." Here, her smile turned into a vicious smirk. "So please don't call her a Mudblood. If you do, I will send Snag after you."
Draco blinked, looking like he was trying to process what she'd said, opened his mouth, and something about her expression must have warned him not to be careful with what he said because he quickly shut it again, and finally asked, "Uh… Snag?"
"My Jarvey," Hadria replied casually, as she shrugged off her cloak and an overgrown ferret was jolted out of one of the inner pockets. The Jarvey yawned and looked about blearily.
Hermione let out a startled gasp. "Are you sure that… animal is allowed?"
"Students may also bring an Owl, a Cat or a Toad," Hadria recited. "They didn't say we couldn't bring other animals. Besides, there's a third-year student with a tarantula, and I heard from some friends that their brother has a rat."
"Eight eyes?" Snag yelped, suddenly very much awake and winter-white. Hadria wasn't sure why, but the Jarvey was, for some reason, amusingly afraid of anything with more than two eyes. (She'd discovered this that one time they encountered a lizard with a third eye).
"Stick to Holly and you'll be fine," Hadria said dismissively, knowing full well that Snag would not be fine with Holly as the snowy owl seemed to be holding a grudge against the Jarvey for insulting her one too many time.
"I'm pretty sure more than one pet is not allowed," Hermione insisted. Hadria decided it wouldn't be wise to mention that she had a third pet with her, especially when the third pet was most definitely illegal. Instead, she turned to look at Draco (who was looking rather bemused), then faltered, when she realised Draco hadn't introduced himself yet. Of course, she knew who he was, but she wasn't supposed to.
"Um, you haven't introduced yourself?" she said, pointedly looking at Draco.
Draco looked startled (it seemed like the combined expression of shock and confusion was now his favourite face), "I'm Draco Malfoy. And these are Crabbe and Goyle."
"M-Malfoy?" Neville stammered and stared at Draco long and hard as horrified recognition dawned in his eyes. Hadria wondered if the poor boy has had an unfortunate encounter with Lucius Malfoy before.
"Got a problem with that?" Draco replied, silver eyes narrowing defensively. "I suppose you're the Longbottom boy? Father described you before."
"I think Draco's a nice name," Hadria hastily interjected. "Can I call you Draco? Of course, you can call me Hadria, if we're gonna be on first-name basis."
"Thanks." Draco tilted his head slightly. "Are we friends?"
"We can be, I'd like to befriend you, if you don't mind me being friends with Hermione and Neville. But I can promise you that if you want to liven up your life, being friends with me will be a very good idea. Probably."
The Malfoy scion, naturally, didn't look very reassured. Hadria sighed.
"Look, I'm Hadria Potter, and I don't plan on being any ordinary student. I don't like the current educational and government system. It's stuffy and boring. We have magic. Magic! There are so many possibilities to explore, and we're not doing it. We say this is not possible, or this is how things should be done, and then we just sit around believing it and there use to be so much research and new discoveries but now things are stagnating. Alchemy is no longer taught at Hogwarts because there isn't sufficient demand and why isn't there a Wizarding Studies class for Muggleborns? There are all sorts of rules and regulations that are just wrong. And I'm just not satisfied, you know. So I'm fully plan on shake things up, have fun, question everything, and well, change things, including correcting common prejudices and stereotypes. Which is why I'm also planning on starting a small club just for this purpose, and I think you guys are perfect, but well, only if you're interested."
There was a stunned silence after her speech, which she had fully expected, because she herself hadn't thought she'd end up saying this much. She hadn't even realized what she wanted to actually do in Hogwarts until she had begun speaking from a need to do something about the whole Malfoys are Dark prejudiced wizards, Longbottoms are pathetic Light blood-traitors and Muggleborns are ignorant close-minded Mudbloods situation.
"You want us," Neville finally said, faintly, almost disbelievingly.
"Yes, you. From what I have gathered in our short conversation, Neville has the potential to get things done if he wanted to. Neville, you just need more confidence in yourself. Hermione has the brains. She's smart, sensible and has a brilliant memory. Hermione, just remember that not all reading materials are correct or unbiased, and books aren't enough if you want to learn about Wizarding culture. But don't worry, I'm sure Neville and I can help you with that. And Draco… Draco comes from a traditional Pureblood family, right? And one that is… not quite so Light-inclined. Which can give us a different perspective. He'll know things most of us don't, like the politics his father is involved in, and well, I hope I'm not wrong in saying that he's most likely going to be a Slytherin and Slytherins are supposed to be cunning, ambitious and resourceful, which can be downright useful. Draco, I know you're apprehensive about doing something new, like associating yourself with those whom some may call blood-traitors, but it's things like these that I want to change and your help would be greatly appreciated. And it's an opportunity for you to make your own name, you know, instead of being only known as the son of Lucius Malfoy?"
There was, once again, a short pause before the silence was broken by Crabbe who had a hand raised and looked like he was trying very hard to form a sentence, the poor boy. Hadria never really did like the two of them, not because of their lack of intelligence or initiative, but because she recalled how much more mean, sadistic and convinced about blood purity than Draco had ever been.
And that was why she ended up smiling oh-so-sweetly at the boy.
"Tell me Crabbe, are you willing to look past Hermione's Muggleborn background? Because while I don't expect all of you to get along straightaway, I do expect you to be willing to try. Oh, and I might as well warn all of you first—I have every intention of involving the Weasley twins in this. You'll see why once you get to know them, so don't scowl, Draco. They're brilliant, really. And I don't think I'll have a problem recruiting them… though their younger brother may be a problem… But I think I've said enough. Your turn."
Crabbe gaped, and so did Goyle. Draco was rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly, pale face scrunched up. Hermione looked thoughtful, while Neville seemed slightly star-struck.
"You know what?" Draco said at last as he took a seat beside Neville. "Crabbe, Goyle, return to our compartment without me. You're not needed here."
When his minions left, both still looking rather… displaced, Draco sighed. "Potter, Hadria, I did not know what to expect when I came looking for you, but it certainly wasn't this. Your proposition does sound interesting, but I do not know how well it'll be received by others."
"So… You're worried about public opinion and I'm guessing, your parents' opinions?" Hadria asked.
"It does sound something that would raise eyebrows but… I like it," said Hermione with a small smile that only grew wider the more she thought about it. It did seem like something Hermione would enjoy, what with S.P.E.W. and all, Hadria thought fondly.
"Mother will be fine with it, probably," Draco said pensively. "But Father on the other hand… Actually, if Mother approves of it, I don't think Father would be a problem."
Which showed just how the dynamics of the Malfoy family was like. So all that was left was…
"Neville?"
"Yes," said the quiet boy, with such conviction that Hadria could not help but grin with pride and elation.
It was the start of a beautiful friendship.
.
.
.
"Now, Draco, do you have a pet?"
"Well… We have a family owl, but no, I don't have a pet of my own, not yet."
"How would you like to keep a Jarvey? Just for a while."
"A Jarvey?"
"Yeah, since, as Hermione pointed out, I don't think I should be having a second pet. So I need someone to help me take care of Snag."
"I'm not sure…"
"He's rather rude, but then all Jarveys are, and it's quite fun after you get used to exchanging insults with an animal with the intelligence of an annoying six-year-old. Otherwise, he's pretty tame, and you just need to feed him your leftovers. And he cleans himself fine, no fleas or anything, so you don't need to worry about grooming."
"What's your owl's name?"
"I don't think Holly likes you very much."
Indeed, the snowy owl was glaring at Draco for some reason.
"But I'm really not sure if it is advisable for me to keep a Jarvey…"
"Its classification is XXX, the same as Kneazles and Crups, and according to Ministry guidelines, competent wizards should have no trouble with such creatures." Hadria conveniently neglected to mention that Hippogriffs and Fire Crabs were also under the XXX classification.
"If I get into trouble, I'm blaming you—"
"Sure, it's my Jarvey after all."
"—And you have to get Sorted into Slytherin."
"Deal."
It really was the start of a very beautiful friendship.
And there we have it, Hadria finally leaves Gellert and boards the Hogwarts Express!
Next up: Hogwarts! Progress on profile.
Also, thanks for reading and thanks for all the favs, follows and reviews! Feel free to PM me or leave a review if you have any comments, criticisms, or questions~
Ah, and for guest reviewers who have questions you want answered, and can't PM me, leave something I can address you by (e.g. a nickname) so that I can answer your review in my next chapter and not mix you up with other guest reviewers. Thanks!
