Crossoverpairinglover: Why do people think I hate everyone except Harry, Hermione, and Luna?! The only characters I truly despise are Dumbledore, Snape, the Malfoys, Ron, Molly, and Umbridge. Most of the others I don't really have an opinion about one way or the other.

Apparuerit, bissek, U-233: McGonagall passed over Neville because Sprout made an important point. At least in this story, and I think in canon as well to some degree, the Longbottoms very much hate the Blacks and Lestranges, and I have a hard time believing that in a population as small as theirs that such a deep grudge would go unnoticed. Jen hasn't shown any such attitude towards Neville, so placing her in a position of authority over him wouldn't invite any abuse of power.

I'm kind of… meh about this whole chapter. It went where I wanted it to go, but not necessarily well.

Disclaimer: After discovering that Snape owed him a life debt because of James's actions, did Harry do any research to find out just what that meant for him? If not, I don't own the Harry Potter franchise; it belongs to J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Press, Warner Bros., and whoever else she sold the rights to.


Chapter 11
Train Rides and Train Wrecks

Hmm. I shouldn't have expected anything different, I suppose, Jen thought as she, Sirius, and Cissy exited the Floo terminals tucked along one side of Platform 9¾ and made their way into the mob of teenagers and family crowded around the Hogwarts Express. There were enough people mashed together that she was not the center of everyone's attention, but nearly all the witches and wizards the trio passed paused in their conversations to watch them. Watch her.

The family had gone over many, many plans for what to do today, all dependent on what the public reaction to her revealed 'history' was; while a few were based on a generally positive outcome, there were several more that involved the populace viewing her with suspicion, distrust, or even outright hatred. The chance of violence was low, the younger of her aunts had assured them, but she knew low was not the same as nothing.

Thankfully, it was Andi's prediction that had come to pass. The predominant emotion felt and expressed by the crowd was surprise mixed with confusion, though more than a few felt some fear, as well.

Sirius led the two women through the masses, the public recognizing him as a lord doing as much to create a path for them as his body did. Once they were next to the scarlet train – Jen had to blink a few times at the overbearing color and for the first time that summer wished she was still blind – the wizard turned to her and erected a small silencing charm around them. "This is as far as we can go. Once you get on that train, you're pretty much on your own. Are you ready for this?"

"Would it matter if I weren't?" she asked rhetorically. "It isn't like we can go back in time two weeks and intercept Skeeter's article. Speaking of which…"

"You have other things to worry about than that. Leave dealing with the Prophet to me."

She hesitated at that command; Elsie had taught her long ago that where revenge was concerned, the maxim about doing it oneself was very true. Her momentary delay caused a worried look to form on Sirius's face, however, and she nodded. Best she not make a scene here. "As you wish. Besides, it's not like this was happening last year when I didn't know anybody. None of my friends indicated they would distance themselves from me – quite the opposite, really – and let's not forget that I have at least one supporter on the staff." She tapped the small silver badge pinned to the front of her school robes; the letter that had come with it mentioned that all prefects would have a meeting immediately after they left the station, so it would behoove them to dress appropriately beforehand. "I highly doubt that Flitwick would give me this responsibility just to sit back and watch me fail."

Her Head of House shrugged his shoulders. "Good point. Just… be careful, all right? If a bunch of kids gang up on you because of the adoption, just get out of there. Don't do anything stupidly heroic."

"Of course not. That's your job," she answered with a sharp smile. When he frowned at her, she sighed. "Fine. I promise that, should I get into a situation I can't handle, I'll put my safety first. Happy?"

Not that it matters. Between wandless casting, dark magic, and Voodoo, me finding anything that I can't handle means we have bigger problems.

"More than I was, less than I want to be." Ignoring the witnesses around them, he pulled her into a tight hug. "And make sure you send more letters this year."

"Sirius, I came back to London practically every other weekend. You don't need me to write letters." She extricated herself out of his embrace and turned to her aunt. "Any last-minute advice you wish to give?"

Shaking her head, Cissy replied, "Not really. You're a thinker and have a decent knowledge of politics for a fifteen-year-old; I believe I can trust you not to make any massive blunders without me there to hold your hand. Just make sure you keep our family motto in mind."

"Which one? There are so many we've come up with over the centuries. 'Toujours pur'? 'Familia primum, familia semper'?" Jen asked with a slight grin. Some families collected titles, others trophies or stories. Theirs recorded various pearls of wisdom to share with future generations.

"No, something a little more recent. 'No one crosses a Black thrice'."

Ah, one of the fun mottos. If someone gets in your way, make exceptionally sure they understand why they shouldn't do it again, and should they still not learn their lesson, get rid of them discretely so they can't do it a third time. She snickered. "But auntie, you know there aren't any good spots to hide a body in Hogwarts. We've already filled them all up."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I knew letting you two spend time together was a terrible idea. Jen, no killing anyone. Cissy, no giving her any ideas."

"How else am I supposed to entertain myself all year, then?" Jen complained jokingly.

"And that's quite enough out of you." A flick of his wand dispelled the charm around them. "Get on the train; it's almost time to go."

"Send word as soon as you have the other Ravens quavering in front of you," added the older witch.

She sighed. "You're both incorrigible." Giving her aunt a quick hug as well, she grabbed her floating trunk in her right hand to make it look it had been one of the adults controlling it rather than her and slipped inside the train.

Now, where could they be?, the teen asked herself. Susan had mentioned getting to the platform early with her Auror guard and saving them all seats, but exactly where the girl would be was less than completely clear. Quickly checking for anyone walking up, she opened her left hand to reveal the needle she had picked up at Grimmauld Place before leaving. It spun in a circle a few times, then the spell previously laid upon it detected its target. The tip of the needle pointed to her left, towards the back of the train.

"Good." She pocketed her little toy. The locator spell on it would fade soon enough, but she had supplied it with sufficient power for it to last until she found whom she was looking for. Pushing her way through the narrow corridors of three carriages, she smiled when she spotted another girl leaning nonchalantly against one wall. "Waiting for someone, Tracey?"

Her best friend smirked and glanced pointedly at her chest. "Why, yes, I am. I thought you were her for a moment, but the girl I'm expecting is a rebel who electrocutes annoying twats who look at her wrong and takes out seventh-years in pitched duels. No one in their right mind would ever make her a prefect."

"I've heard Flitwick called many things; oddly, 'sane' was never one of them," she laughed. "Where's our compartment?"

"We'll go in a minute. There's something important I need to talk to you about first."

Ah, of course. "The Prophet articles." It wasn't a question.

"Yep." Tracey shrugged and continued, "The others won't have as much of an issue; you were always close-lipped about the identity of your mother. I, however, remember you saying that you were born a Potter—"

A snap of her fingers to weave a Notice-Me-Not charm around them interrupted the Slytherin. "A little discretion, if you please. Having to modify someone's memory before we even leave the platform would be a very bad start to this year."

"You know that spell?" the other brunette asked in surprise. At Jen's unrelenting glare, she shrugged. "Of course you would. And you know as well as I do that there's no one in earshot."

"Regardless…" She took a slow breath to calm herself. "The short version, then: paid the goblins a small fortune last summer to perform a blood adoption, kept it to ourselves because no one needed to know, the Potters got a nasty surprise, Rita's living on borrowed time. Anything else you desperately need to know right now?"

Tracey thought for a moment, either oblivious to or – more likely – intentionally ignoring her building temper. "No, I think that's it. I'll let you know if something else comes to mind." Waving Jen to follow her, the younger girl led the way into the carriage behind her.

The heiress of House Black stopped outside the compartment to peer inside at the people she knew but, with few exceptions, had never seen. A dark-haired boy whose magical core she recognized as Justin Finch-Fletchley's sat on one bench beside Susan Bones, Hufflepuffs both; next to them was another redheaded girl, Morag MacDougal. The other set of seats held the tousled blond Kenneth Towler, the lone seventh-year and Gryffindor of her little 'court'. To his sides were two more Ravenclaws: Padma Patil, the only Indian in the group, sat to his right while laughing at something Susan had just said, and on his left and closest to the door was Luna. The blonde turned to the window, smiling and waving upon noticing her standing there.

She slid the door open, garnering their attention. "And how was everyone's summer?"

"Jen!" her Scottish housemate exclaimed, slipping by the Badgers to hug her briefly. "We were worried that we wouldn't see you! What with… you know," the girl finished weakly.

Shaking her head at the girl's hesitance, she hoisted her trunk to fit in the overhead rack, and Luna quickly pushed Kenneth along the bench to give her just enough space to sit. The youngest Raven then blushed faintly when Jen's leg pressed firmly against her own. Once she was situated and the six of her friends not in the know about her original parentage were staring at her unashamedly, she commented, "Yes, we did not expect Skeeter to be such a nosy little sneak. Our plan was to release the news in a more… controlled manner."

"Doesn't surprise me," Luna muttered. "Daddy hates her, has ever since she wrote a nasty piece about Mum right after she died."

"No one likes Skeeter. She just has a talent for keeping out of the way until the firestorms started by her articles calm down," Kenneth replied with a sad glance at the little blonde. "And no offense, Jen, but revealing that you're Lestrange's daughter wasn't going to go down well no matter how you went about it.

"Perhaps you're right." She sighed. "Oh well, it's of no matter now. What's done is done."

Susan cleared her throat nervously and asked, "Speaking of news articles, I couldn't help but notice that your family's interview with the Daily Prophet about your childhood and what you told us were rather different—"

"Of course they were different," she rejoined with a roll of her eyes. "I'm not going to tell the whole world that the Muggle family whose care my mother left me in actually abandoned me in London, now am I? Saying they gave me up to Aunt Cissy implies a bad enough situation as it is."

"So, what actually happened back then?" Padma asked. "I mean, you gave us the bare bones last year, but that isn't enough to explain why you were so close to your aunts after only a single summer. If I didn't already know better, I'd think what the Prophet reported was what actually happened."

Jen smirked. "Good, I'd hate to think our cover story wasn't effective." Her sharp smile faded a bit as she weighed just how much of the truth to reveal. "You want some more detail, though? I suppose that's fair. The witch who saved me when I was little was named Elspeth, not Elizabeth, and for several years she taught me the ins and outs of folk healing. That was her job, you see, and a goodly number of people who were too poor to afford the fees to be treated at St. Mungo's, or who desired a salve or potion and wanted it made discretely, came to her for her services. That's actually how I first met Aunt Cissy; she was a frequent client of Elsie's, and though at the time neither of us knew about our relation, she was always exceptionally kind to me. Some of that may have been that Elsie wasn't exactly in good health herself and could pass her work on to me sooner than expected, but I like to think it was because she genuinely enjoyed spending those occasional half-hours with me." Recalling something the piebald witch had said the previous year, she added, "In fact, a few times she commented that she wished she had a daughter like me. Looked at in a certain light, that wish was granted."

"What potion did your aunt want?" Tracey inquired with an sly grin.

Susan gaped at the Slytherin. "All the things you could ask, and you choose that?"

"Sure. I'm rather curious what the lady of a Noble House would be doing visiting a folk healer so often."

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that," Jen answered with a smile not too dissimilar to her best friend's. "I don't exactly know myself, but considering the ingredients Elsie was using, my assumption is that Uncle Lucius is not exactly the most… virile of men."

That little lie amused her greatly. Elsie and Cissy had never met, at least not to her knowledge, but there was no way she was going to explain that the older witch had been one of her favorite lovers between the ages of seven and eleven. Such a thing would go over quite poorly.

It was at that moment that the train gave a great whistle, and they all rocked slightly as the Express began pulling away from the platform. Kenneth stood and motioned for Jen to join him. "Well, looks like it's time for us to go. Prefects always meet in the first compartment at the start of the trip."

"Very well." She edged out of the compartment and waved her hand down the corridor. "After you, good sir."

"Pretty sure chivalry's supposed to be my thing," he laughed as they made the journey to the front of the train. Upon finally reaching the first carriage, the Lion pulled open the wooden door placed in the middle of a wall that ran across the entire width of the car. She nodded her thanks and slipped inside.

The prefects' compartment larger than any of the others on the train by a fair amount, taking up the space of four as well as the hallway between. Considering it had to hold twenty-four students, that was a sensible alteration. Four low-backed benches were positioned on the side closer to the door and facing the front, each bearing cushions the color of a different house; her guess as to the colors' meaning was born out when she noticed her yearmate Anthony Goldstein sitting on the blue bench that made up the front row.

Pulling away from Kenneth so the seventh-year could take a seat on the third row, she passed the Badgers' bench and settled herself next to Goldstein. "So you're going to be my partner for the rest of our time at school."

"Looks like it," the blond boy answered, giving her a wary sidelong look. They had not interacted much the previous year, so the revelation of her 'parentage' had apparently unnerved him. "No offense, but I'm kind of surprised that Flitwick would pick you as a prefect, considering… you know…"

"That I've only been a student here for one year?" she asked with deliberate misunderstanding. "Clearly he thinks I am the right person for the position, despite what people may say about my inexperience."

"…Right."

A black-haired seventh-year girl stepped in front of the benches, and to no one's surprise, Cedric Diggory quickly took his place at her left. They wore badges emblazoned with the letters 'HG' and 'HB', respectively, both a bright gold to distinguish them from the prefects' silver. Cedric raised his wand and unleashed a high-pitched whistle to gain everyone's attention. "Can you all take a seat, please? We have a few things to discuss before we set out on patrols."

When they were seated, the Head Girl said, "Welcome to the start of yet another year of Hogwarts. For those of you who don't know me already, I am Viola Pucey, seventh-year Slytherin and your Head Girl. Diggory will be assisting me as this year's Head Boy."

"Really? I could have sworn it was the other way around." Cedric ignored Pucey's dismissive sniff and continued, "Most of you already know what's what, but for our newest members, allow me to explain what is now expected of you. As prefects, we are the students our heads of house trust most, granted the authority to enforce the school rules, maintain order, and generally act in their stead. I can't begin to describe just what a privilege this is, but do not forget that it is a privilege. Abusing your authority will not be tolerated."

"There are, of course, restrictions on what you can and can't do," Pucey cut in. "The one we always have the most trouble with is in regards to point deductions. Yes, you can take points from students of other houses; no, you can't take as many as you want. Each prefect may deduct a maximum of twenty points for any infraction you notice. Nor is your punishment set in stone; your head of house will review all your deductions at the end of each week and, should he think your actions were in error, can and likely will moderate the deduction or even return the points entirely."

Cedric added, "And just so we're clear, you cannot take points from other prefects. Only we and the professors have that authority, so don't bother trying. Hopefully that won't be an issue this year." He eyed a couple of the older prefects for a moment. "Please keep in mind that you are now more than just a normal member of your house; you are its representative to the school at large and to the faculty. That badge you wear is more important than any personal or family grudges you may be involved in, and participating in such a thing will see you punished for it."

Behind her, Jen heard Malfoy and Weasley huff in disgust. Cissy had explained that their Houses had a feud going on, and had for generations; from their attitudes, she doubted they would be quick to obey Cedric's warning.

"At the risk of sounding Hufflepuffish," Pucey said with greatly overdone distaste, more a joke than an actual insult, and the Head Boy rolled his eyes, "Diggory has the right of it on that subject. For the Gryffindors and Slytherins, I will say this only once: do not let our little house war interfere in carrying out your duties. If you do, if you take your badge as an opportunity to strike back against the 'slimy Snakes' or the 'stupid Lions', I will personally come down on you like the hammer of Thor and give what's left of you to Filch to dispose of in the Forbidden Forest. Is that understood?"

The assembled Lions and Snakes mumbled a reluctant agreement.

"Good. Back on the topic of punishments, you can give a detention instead of deducting points, but what that time will be spent on and who the student in question will serve it with is dependent on their head of house. We have that same restriction, in case you were wondering. You may tell the appropriate head what your recommendation for said detention is, but that's all."

"That's about all we have to say about in regards to that subject," Cedric continued. "Due to various attempts at circumventing the rules that have occurred over the centuries, you are not allowed to give points, though you can report a reward-worthy action to the student's head of house. Corroboration from someone of a different house is recommended should the student in question be your housemate."

Pucey again took over. "We have nightly patrols alongside the professors; your head of house will give you your personal rota so you can add it to your schedule. If something comes up and you need to switch a patrol with someone else, arrange that between yourselves before discussing it with the faculty. We'll also patrol the Express today to make sure there aren't any problems, but thankfully that is rarely an issue. Seventh-years will patrol during the first and fourth hours of the trip, sixth-years the second and fifth, and fifth-years the third and sixth hours."

"I'm sure you all remember having a prefect lead you to your dormitories after the Welcoming Feast when you were firsties," said Cedric with a smile. "Fifth-years, you're in luck; that's your job. Everyone else, remember to make yourselves available for the first week or so in case a first-year gets lost."

"One more thing we need to mention, and something everyone could do with hearing again, is the prefects' bath," Pucey growled, looking at no one in particular as far as Jen could tell. "Yes, this is a communal bathroom; it is also mixed gender. If you don't want anyone else looking at your bits, I recommend you use it when others aren't there or, better yet, stick with the bath in your dorms and leave the rest of us to our business. That said, anyone who has sex in the bathroom will lose their access privileges for the remainder of the year, as will you should you give the password to anyone who is not a prefect. Passwords change at the start of each term; for now it's 'lemony clean'. The new password will be written on the chalkboard by the door one week before the end of term, and you can also use the board to leave messages for one another if need be, provided you keep the clutter to a minimum.

"I think that's everything," she told Cedric.

"So do I. Seventh-years, to your patrols; the rest of you, you can head back to your compartments. Jen, would you please stay for a minute?" he asked over the noise of the others leaving.

What could this be about?, Jen wondered. She stepped to one side, and she could not help but notice that Potter's friends, Granger and Weasley, shot her curious looks as they walked past. To her further shock, Malfoy stopped for a moment to offer her a short nod and a muttered "Cousin" before departing. After another few seconds, it was just her and her fellow Triwizard Champion in the compartment.

When the young man did not immediately speak, she prompted, "What was it that you wanted to say to me, Cedric?"

"Before we all left for summer holidays, I completely forgot to tell you something," he began tentatively. "I don't know why I forgot, because it's a big deal, but my parents brought it up when I got home and were quite cross with me."

"I'm afraid I don't know where you're going with this."

"No, I suppose I'm not being very clear right now, am I?" He snorted in self-deprecating amusement. "Well, let me be upfront, then. Jennifer Black, during the fifth Task of the Tournament last year, your banishing spell threw me out of the way of the Killing Curse and onto the portkey that carried me to safety, leaving you to face our attacker alone. I owe you my life for that, and thus I am greatly in your debt." Suiting actions to his words, he bowed at the waist until his torso was nearly horizontal.

Jen blinked rapidly in surprise; this was not something she had expected. Though there were obviously aspects of Pureblood culture that she was of yet unaware, Andi and Cissy's hurried explanations of various societal obligations were enough for her to recognize the meaning behind his words. He was acknowledging a life debt.

Life debts were by no means common, mostly because of the conditions necessary for them to form. For such a debt to exist, a witch had to save the life of another and in the process risk her own. To make matters more complicated, she could not enter the situation with any expectation of reward; even contemplating that an act of heroics could be enough to earn such a debt would prevent one from ever developing. When her aunts had discussed the subject, she thought she would never be in this position, and it was for that very reason. Very rarely did she do anything charitable without weighing the benefits.

But in the graveyard, I didn't consider what I could get out of saving his life. There just wasn't any time. By the Baron, I didn't even mean to throw him towards the portkey! Can a life debt really be made in those circumstances?

This was not the time to ponder that question, however; she had to decide what to do right now. Now that he had admitted that the debt existed, there were two options before her. Should she acknowledge it, it would remain as it was, tying them together in some minor, unpredictable manner. At any time, she could call that debt due and require him to complete a task for her, and he would be compelled to see it through to the best of his ability regardless of his opinions on the mater. That was the normal way these conversations went.

The second option was to dismiss it, and it would be as if the debt had never existed. Such an action was exceptionally generous and rarely seen outside of Houses that were longtime allies. House Black and House Diggory, to the best of her knowledge, had never had ties like that, so from a societal perspective it would not be seen as odd for her to keep the debt hanging over his head. On the other side of that argument, however, she knew from spending time with Dora that Hufflepuffs were very much 'team players'. Looked at from that angle, he might very well hold it against her should she not free him from this obligation.

Decisions, decisions. The biggest question is what would do me the most good? He is a close acquaintance, and having the Head Boy under my thumb could be useful, but at the same time I can't think of anything I could possibly need to order him to do that I couldn't get some other way. Forcing a wizard to do something for you against his will is much less difficult if you're not afraid of using the Imperius Curse. Besides, didn't Dora say that loyalty to one's friends was the most prized trait in Hufflepuff house? If it were a Ravenclaw or Slytherin speaking to me, I would worry that they could turn on me without this leash, but the so-called 'Hero of Hufflepuff'…

"There can be no debts between friends," she finally answered, and around her left wrist she felt a cord of magic leading to Cedric's magical core fade into being and instantly break. She rubbed her skin to rid herself of the remaining tingle while he rose to stare at her. "I know that, should our situations be reversed, you would do the same for me without expectation of reward."

"Wha… Oh, yes, of course." He bobbed his head rapidly, and she cocked her own in curiosity as she turned over the wizard's hasty change in words. A groan threatened to escape her when she figured it out. He didn't expect me to release him from that debt? Damn it! Such a waste, and I don't know that I'll ever be in a situation that would let me forge another. Unaware of her rumination, he continued, "My parents were worried about how you'd take me telling you about that, but I knew you would be honorable about it."

"Sure you did," she teased, keeping her annoyance at herself off her face.

His face grew hot from his blush, and he quickly stammered, "W-Well, I should start on my patrol now. It'll look horrible for the Head Boy not to do his fair share. I could escort you to your compartment if you want."

"Oh, I can find it on my own. Unless you wanted me around in case you need me to save you again?" He hung his head at her joke, and she chuckled before stepping closer and patting his cheek. "Don't look so glum. I'll never let you live down the fact that you needed a fourteen-year-old to pull your arse out of the fire, but what's a little ribbing between friends, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just head on out before you do any more damage to my self-esteem."

Her resulting laughter probably didn't help much in that regard.


Danny glanced up as Hermione and a very disgruntled Ron entered the compartment. He then had to force down the faint surge of jealousy at seeing the redhead wearing the prefect's badge. While he would never blame Ron for getting the position, he could not deny that he had expected that McGonagall would have picked him for the job. That the badge made Ron so happy just made him feel even more guilty that he had felt entitled to it, even subconsciously.

Shaking himself from his introspection, he said, "That was a quick meeting."

"The Head Boy and Girl were just going over what is expected of us this year. We have to patrol the train, but not for a couple of hours," the brunette answered as she fell into her seat next to Neville.

"Pretty boy Cedric Diggory and that Pucey girl from Slytherin," his best friend added from beside him.

He frowned at Ron's angry attitude. "Surely that's not what's set you off."

"No, that would be who we have to deal with now. Guess who's the Slytherin prefect."

Danny sighed in resignation. "It's Malfoy, isn't it?"

"Him and Parkinson." Hermione crossed her arms and huffed. "Why Snape would give that utter cow a prefect badge, I'll never understand."

"Well, it's not like he's got much to work with," Neville said after swallowing what was left of his Pumpkin Pasty.

She laughed bitterly. "True enough."

"Was Hannah the Hufflepuff girls' prefect?"

"Yes, Nev, your girlfriend was in there, too," taunted Ron.

Ignoring his godbrother's muttered denial regarding any romantic relationship, Danny asked, "Who else was in there from our year?"

"Well, Ernie Macmillan was the other Puff, and for the Ravenclaws…" The oft-called 'Smartest Witch of Her Age' shared a nervous glance with Ron, and Danny's gut clenched.

Please don't say it's

"Anthony Goldstein and Black."

Hearing her name caused him to sigh. "Merlin, that's just wonderful." His sister; his twin sister, at that. He was still a little miffed at his parents for keeping that bombshell from him. They had said something about her when they visited his godfather, Sirius, at St. Mungo's two summers previous, but in all honesty he hadn't payed much attention. He had still been trying to wrap his head around the fact that the man whom his parents had always maligned as a despicable dark wizard was suddenly considered a respected fighter for the Light. Their trip had been cut short when the wizard threw them out, and he had not bothered to ask what the adults had talked about. He was just happy that everything could finally go back to how it had been all his life.

In hindsight, that assumption had been a mistake.

Now he was left reconciling the fact that he had a sister with the identity of said sister. Jennifer Black was a cheater, a liar, and a terror, as he had found out first-hand, and to his private shame, that distaste had not stopped him from admiring the girl's curves the previous year. If she weren't such a bitch, he had thought she could have been the kind of girl he wouldn't mind asking to Hogsmeade. He could not be happier now that he had never revealed those disturbing, disgusting thoughts to anyone else.

His mum had practically begged him to try to get along with her this year, but in all honesty, Danny wasn't sure how he could possibly go about it. There was already too much bad blood, even after only a year, and even if there weren't, she wasn't someone he wanted to spend time with. She was too much like a Snake for him to be comfortable around.

A growl drew his eyes to Neville, who sat ramrod-straight with his fists clenched tight. The normally calm boy had already disliked Black – that entire House, in fact, as did his grandmother – and finding out that she was claiming Lestrange of all people as a relative had only made it worse despite now knowing who her mother truly was. "Is there any way to get the professors to change their minds? That or ignore a prefect without getting in trouble?" His godbrother cursed under his breath when Hermione shook her head.

And that's the second issue. What kind of person would ever want a Death Eater as her mother? I get that she's mad at Mum and Dad for leaving her with Aunt Petunia, and Dad said she wasn't happy there, but that wouldn't be enough to make me reject my own parents. From the way they said she acts, it's like she blames them for every bad thing that ever happened to her. If she's full of that much hate for them, how are we supposed to find common ground like Mum wants?

Noticing his friends looking oddly at him due to his silence, he reluctantly announced, "Hey, Ron? Hermione? There's something I need to tell you. It's about Black…"


Stomping into their borrowed bedroom, Lily demanded, "I thought you said you were going to talk to Professor Dumbledore about getting out of this!"

"No, I wasn't," admitted James with a sigh as he levitated a folded robe into the space-extended trunk. "I told you that to give you a chance to calm down. Looks like that was a failure."

"You think?!" she shrieked. "James, why would you do this?!"

"I already told you. One of us needs to get a real job so we can qualify for a loan to buy a new house—"

"Don't give me that shite!" she snapped. "This isn't about the money or the house or anything, and you know it. This is about Jenny."

He summoned another robe into his hands before he turned to look at her. "Fine. Getting Jenny to realize that she's better off here is a major part of this, yes. If she won't come to us, I'll just have to go to her."

"And ruin everything in the process." She closed her eyes and silently counted to ten; this was not an argument she wanted to have when she was this angry. It wasn't an argument she wanted to have, period. "Have you thought that maybe, just maybe, this is a bad idea? Forcing yourself on her won't make her like you."

"If she's anything like you, I bet it will," he said with that boyish grin that normally made her melt into a puddle. Right now, all it did was fill her with heat of a different sort. "Look, Lils, I know what's happened with her. Narcissa Malfoy gave her a skewed picture of what we're like, and Sirius was mad enough at us that he didn't correct it. If I show her we're not as bad as they painted us, she'll open up."

She bit her tongue for a moment to keep from hurling out the first thing that came to mind. The second was little better. "James, I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I love you, but you are an absolute idiot. Malfoy didn't do anything to make Jenny hate us; us leaving her with Petunia so she could be tortured was more than enough to do that all on its own. She isn't some young child who just mindlessly repeats the opinions she hears around her as fact, and treating her like all we need to get her back is talk louder than anyone else won't make any difference. Besides, how do you think Sirius will respond when—"

"I don't care what he'll do!" James shouted, wadding the black robe in his hands into a ball and throwing it to the floor. "She's my daughter, and I have the right to be part of her life!"

"And I'm not disagreeing with that!" Lily screamed back, all thoughts of keeping calm washed away by her anger. "I'm just saying this is the worst possible way you could go about getting her to want you around!"

"Then what am I supposed to do, huh?! Just sit around uselessly and wait for her to come to me on her own? That's worked so well this far!"

"At least if you do that, she won't resent you any more than she already does! I was actually making inroads with her until you and Dumbledore cocked it all up!"

James scoffed. "Inroads, sure. Is that why she'd rather have Bellatrix bloody Lestrange as her mother than you?"

Her husband's harsh words physically staggered her, and she felt tears begin to gather in her eyes at the same time that the cruel knife buried in her breast twisted. He knew that was an open wound still; he knew it. How dare he use that against her!

At the look on her face, he at least seemed to realize that he had crossed a line that should have been left untouched. "L-Lily, I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"

"We both know what you meant," she retorted, dashing the tears away. "You're right, she chose to claim her mother was a madwoman instead of acknowledging me, but just because she admitted you are her father doesn't mean she will accept you. Of the two of us, I'm the only one she's had a halfway decent conversation with."

She walked to the door, needing some time alone before she did something she would regret, but turned back just before she stepped over the threshold. "If you're this determined to ruin your chances to be a real father to her, fine. Throw it away. I just hope she doesn't choose to paint me with the same brush."


Well, that first scene got out of hand quickly, didn't it? It's not a huge issue by any means – I have plenty of bigger problems with canon besides this – but I always thought it strange that despite Harry's best friends being prefects, their actual duties and restrictions were never elaborated on. Of course, we don't see the prefects much, anyway; except for Percy's overbearing nature and Cedric giving Harry the password to the bath, it's as if the position didn't exist until until book 5.

Ah, an example of marital bliss James and Lily are not. In case you were wondering, I based their "discussion" on the kind of arguments I expect Ron and Hermione would have had post-honeymoon period when they realized they legitimately were not right for each other.

Silently Watches out.