A/N: Finally! Finishing this chapter was murder, let me tell you. I hope you all appreciate this, because I'm doing this right now with a sinus headache that makes my nose feel like it's broken. And Regents (a NY testing thing) are absolutely stupid. Stupidstupidstupidstupid ...yeah.
Replies to my ever-adored reviewers are below, as always. Please enjoy!
Chapter 11: THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS
The next morning, Harry, Ron, and Sheridan stumbled downstairs to breakfast, followed by an annoyingly wide-awake Hermione chattering about the new subjects they were going to be taking at school, particularly wizarding law. The three boys stumbled in through the door of the kitchen like half-asleep zombies (which they were). They more-or-less staggered over to the kitchen table and sat themselves down, blearily helping themselves to pieces of toast and bacon from a large platter near the center of the table.
"Bloody hell," Ron grumbled, wincing as he moved his strained, aching muscles. "I feel like I got run over by a train! This is cruel and unusual punishment, mate, I mean it."
Harry rolled his eyes while Sheridan commented, "If you got run over by a train, you wouldn't feel anything, would you? I mean, you'd either be dead or two-dimensional, right?"
Ron stared at the werewolf, a piece of bacon hanging from his mouth. Shi snickered and turned back to his scrambled egg he'd filched from Hermione's plate. Harry snorted and replied to Sheridan's query, "Well, if you're two-dimensional, where'd the third dimension go?"
Sheridan blinked in surprise, eyes opening fully for the first time that morning. The young wizard said in a slightly wondering tone, "Harry, I think I'm startin' to rub off on you."
Harry nearly choked on his bacon, which was a remarkable feat, considering that it was the soggy, chewy type of bacon that is extremely difficult to swallow, let alone choke on. Ron pounded him on the back as Hermione finally stopped chattering about the wizarding law system and asked if Harry was alright, while Shi snorted into his glass of orange juice.
Mrs. Weasley, who'd just entered the room, raised her eyebrows at Sheridan. "Are you trying to choke poor Harry to death, Sheridan?" she demanded imperiously. Shi struggled to maintain a straight face as he replied, "No, ma'am, not at all."
Mrs. Weasley tutted disapprovingly before turning to face the other three teenagers. "And the rest of you …" she began warningly. "Are you all packed?"
The quartet exchanged guilty looks. "Err …" Ron began. "Mostly …"
Under Mrs. Weasley's furious and impatient glare, the four hurriedly gulped down the remainders of their breakfasts and dashed off to their rooms to dress and do some last-minute packing.
For a while, everything was, quite simply, chaotic; the teenaged inhabitants of Grimmauld Place dashed left, right, and center trying to pack everything they needed, remember everything they'd forgotten, and load everything else into the two cars Mr. Weasley, who'd been promoted to head of the Office for Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects recently, had received from the Ministry. It was a new office that Harry doubted was Fudge's idea. It was popular opinion everywhere that Fudge was going to be kicked out of office – and soon.
The adults, for the most part, dashed about trying to be helpful and to get the teens moving faster. Mr. Weasley and Tonks were working on stuffing the luggage into the two Ministry cars, Sirius and Remus were in charge of making sure no one forgot anything, and Professor Stanton was simply trying to get them to move faster, clapping her hands and shouting, "Come on, let's get this show on the road! Let's move it, now, now, now!"
Mrs. Weasley, when she wasn't running off with something one of them had forgotten in the kitchen or drawing room, checked everybody to make sure the teens were presentable. She randomly grabbed one of them from the hurrying mob and thrust combs through messy hair, straightened jackets, and the like. When she saw Sheridan, with his long hair still mussed from last night, she let out a cry of part dismay, part despair. "Can't you do something with that hair of yours?" she demanded frantically. Sheridan rolled his eyes in exasperation, but leapt upstairs once more to borrow a comb from Sara or Ginny, who were still packing.
Finally, everything was packed, everything was loaded, and everyone looked more-or-less presentable. Sheridan bolted back downstairs with Sara, who had forgotten her hat, with his long hair hastily brushed and pulled back into a long ponytail.
Stanton rushed into the hallway and yelled, "Okay, we ready to go? Got everything? Yes? Good! Sirius, dog! Now!"
"Wow," Sheridan stated as Sirius swiftly transformed into a large, bear-like black dog. "Neat."
"How come he has to be Padfoot?" Harry asked Professor Stanton, confused. "The Ministry cleared his name, didn't it?"
"Yes," Remus interjected before Harry could get any farther, motioning to Stanton to wait a moment. "But … Harry, fifteen years is a long time for any community to hate and fear anyone. Most people are still getting used to the idea that he's not a dangerous criminal who'll murder them in their sleep. Padfoot is our best bet."
"Oh." Harry suddenly felt rather glum – somehow, he'd thought that, once Sirius was proven innocent, everything would be fine. Now he saw that that had been a foolish notion – nothing was ever that simple.
Padfoot woofed softly and pressed his cold, wet nose into Harry's hand, wagging his tail until Harry smiled. If Sirius was all right with this, then so was he.
"Okay, let's move it!" Stanton declared loudly. "We dilly-dally anymore, we're going to miss the train!"
They all piled into the cars. Harry was smooshed into the back seat of, ironically, a Ford Anglia, along with Ron and Sheridan, Padfoot spreading out across their laps and resting his head on Harry's knee. Tonks and Remus were situated in the front. Hermione, Sara, and Ginny were all piled into the other car, along with Mad-Eye Moody and Professor Stanton.
Unfortunately for the passengers in the dented Ford Anglia (and their stomachs), Tonks was the one driving. While this fact did mean that they arrived at Kings Cross Station with fifteen minutes to spare, it also entailed that their nerves would be frayed to the breaking point and their stomachs would be intent upon rebellion. As Ron so blithely put it, "She's a driver from bloody hell, she is!" Harry, Remus, and Sheridan nodded their agreement, not trusting in their abilities to speak. Tonks huffed and rolled her eyes indignantly until Mad-Eye shouted at her to get moving, for Merlin's sake!
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who had Apparated to a safe location nearby to save on car-space (which was, quite obviously, limited), appeared to help load the teens luggage onto trolleys and usher them into the platform in pairs.
Harry and Sheridan, accompanied by Padfoot, went first. Harry was just going to walk through the entrance, but when Sheridan realized what they were going to do – that is, walk through a wall – he broke into a full-scale run, Padfoot following eagerly. Harry found himself following, to his mild surprise. Just before they hit, Shi leaped onto the lower bars of the trolley and hung on tight, obviously enjoying himself if the manic grin was anything to go by.
The three of them burst through into the hustle and bustle of Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, Sheridan dropping his feet to the ground and skidding abruptly to a halt, miraculously avoiding bowling anyone over. The American gaped at the gleaming behemoth that was the Hogwarts Express, swarming with students, owls, cats, rats, luggage, and parents there to see their children off.
Ron, coming up behind them with Ginny, grinned at Shi's wondering expression. "That, mate," he said with an obvious sense of pride, clapping a hand to Shi's shoulder, "is the Hogwarts Express."
"It's … a big. Red. Train," Sheridan slowly stated. Harry and Ron exchanged grins as Shi cocked his head slightly and pronounced his verdict – "Wicked, dude."
Harry and Ron laughed at this solemn statement, ignoring Hermione, who had just arrived with Sara and was staring at them inquisitively, wondering why, exactly, they were laughing. She concluded after a moment's thought that it must have been something Shi had said. "We have to get to the prefect's car, Ron," she reminded him.
"Oh – oh, yeah!" Ron exclaimed, suddenly remembering. "Hey, save us a seat, Harry, will you?"
"Sure," Harry promised as the two prefects walked away, bickering about something or other. He looked about for Ginny and found her with Sara and a few of her own friends from school, walking away in the opposite direction. Which left him with Sheridan.
This should prove very interesting.
Sirius woofed, grabbing his attention, and danced about at Harry's feet before rearing up and placing his front paws on Harry's shoulders. Harry laughed and gave him a giant bear hug as the large dog slobbered all over his face.
"Gah! Cut it out, Snuffles!" he demanded, shoving him down to keep him from licking his face anymore. "I'll miss you too, alright?"
Sirius woofed happily, bouncing up and down in the way only a dog can.
Harry glanced over at Sheridan and got a nasty feeling in his stomach as he saw Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle approaching. He hurriedly pushed on his trolley to draw level with Shi (who was a little ways off on account of his wild entrance) as Malfoy spoke to the werewolf.
"I haven't seen you around here before," the blond drawled. "You must be an exchange student."
Sheridan nodded, smiling at Malfoy in a readily friendly fashion. "Yep! Well, sort of. I think. Actually, I'm not quite sure. I'm from America." He leaned forwards over his trolley, extending his hand, which Malfoy, after looking momentarily startled, shook briskly.
"I'm Malfoy – Draco Malfoy," the Slytherin informed him.
Shi immediately affected an English accent as he replied with a straight face, "Bond. James Bond."
Malfoy's face was predictably blank as Sheridan laughed and continued, "No, I'm actually Sheridan Parker."
"Ah." Malfoy visibly decided to ignore the previous comment and continued, "I'm in Slytherin, you know – it's one of the better houses, for people with ambition -"
Harry felt that now would be the time to butt in. "I see you've met the scum of the school, Shi," he interrupted, addressing Sheridan in a friendly, deliberately conversational tone. "Sorry you had to meet Malfoy first."
Malfoy scowled. "I see you've already met Potter," he spat. "Well, don't be fooled by his fame – I should warn you, he's a spoiled attention seeker who thinks he's better than everyone else."
Sheridan cocked his head quizzically at Malfoy, genuinely puzzled. "No, he's not," he replied, sounding confused. "I think you've got the wrong idea … or maybe the wrong person … I've known Harry for a while now, and he's none of that."
Malfoy looked like he'd been hit in the face with dragon dung – Harry had to forcibly withhold a laugh that bubbled up inside him at the sight. The blond hesitated for a moment before sweeping disgustedly away, Crabbe and Goyle hurriedly following. Shi stared after them for a moment, a faint, puzzled frown on his face.
"Shi?" Harry queried after a moment of this.
"What a jerk. He doesn't even know you, Harry. That was awfully rude of him," the werewolf replied, before he turned and, struggling a bit, hoisted his heavy trunk up into the train. Harry followed, though with a bit less effort than his diminutive companion.
They wandered about for a bit, Harry in the lead, looking for an empty compartment. Shi greeted everyone with a grin and a wave, and most people seemed to take either an immediate shine to him, or stare at him oddly as if wondering if he was smoking something. The latter reactions were much more common than the first, but Harry still felt a little resentful towards them – Shi was his friend, after all. These people didn't know him, not at all – they just saw the friendly smile, the energetic wave. They just liked him because he was being friendly, or had good looks, or just because.
Before Harry had much time to puzzle over this strange, unexpected feeling, he found Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood sitting alone in a compartment in the back of the train. Neville, upon seeing Harry, waved happily, smiling. "Hey, Harry!" the accident-prone boy exclaimed. "You want to sit with us?"
"Sure," Harry replied, smiling with relief. He'd been starting to worry that they'd never find a compartment with enough seats for Ron and Hermione.
"Who's your friend?" Luna asked, serenely indicating Sheridan, who had followed Harry cautiously into the compartment.
"Sheridan Parker," Shi replied for himself, extending a hand to Luna, who inspected it with her slightly vacant gaze before asking him, "Were you attacked by Nefronious Panzars?"
"Why do you ask?" Shi asked her curiously.
"Well …" She regarded him solemnly with her slightly protruding eyes. "Your hair is such a strange color … and your eyes as well … I thought for sure you must've had a close encounter with a Nefronious Panzar."
"What's that labeled as – Close Encounters of the Panzaric Kind?" Shi inquired musingly, causing Harry and Neville to stare at him, not understanding his decidedly American brand of humor. "No, sorry, not quite."
"Oh," Luna replied, sounding no less interested. "So you're a werewolf, then?"
Neville gasped slightly in shock, staring first at Luna, then at Harry for conformation, then at Shi, who looked mildly startled and answered, "Err … well, I'd be obliged if you didn't spread it around, y'know."
"Of course," she agreed serenely. "I'm Luna Lovegood, by the way."
"I-I'm Neville Longbottom," Neville added, stuttering a bit but thoroughly willing to be friendly, even if he did seem slightly overwhelmed by the … well, the overall oddness of Sheridan.
"Nice to meet'cha, Neville," Shi answered cheerily, grinning.
Harry smiled slightly at Neville, who was looking at Sheridan with an expression that clearly said, What kind of drugs is he on?. "You get used to it – he's not as bad as you might think," he reassured the other boy.
"I'm from America," Shi added, as if that explained everything. Which, Harry realized after a moment of reflection, it probably did.
"So … Luna … find any Crumple-Horned Snorkacks?" Harry asked the Ravenclaw, vaguely remembering her saying something about going on an expedition over summer break with her father to find them.
"No," she replied. "But we uncovered a rather nasty infestation of nargles and zargles, so it was alright."
"Ah – are zargles like nargles?" Harry wondered, asking the first thing that came to his mind after Luna's typically strange reply.
"Oh, no, not at all," she explained. "Zargles hate mistletoe."
" …Ah." Harry couldn't think of anything else to say, so he chatted with Neville about the OWL test results (Neville got an 'O' in Herbology and an 'E' in Charms, of which he was very proud). Sheridan and Luna launched immediately into a serious discussion about what sounded like pinecones that exploded when kicked by hapless and unsuspecting mountain hikers.
After about ten minutes or so, Ron and Hermione showed up. Hermione was looking slightly murderous, although she calmed down after Shi asked anxiously if anyone had killed her cat, and if not then why was she so mad? Ron explained that Malfoy was just using his badge to bully kids again, as per usual, and, also as usual, Hermione had protested … with less-than-satisfactory results.
"Hey, what's a 'prefect', anyways?" Sheridan inquired. "I've never heard of them before."
Ron stammered, struggling slightly with the concept of a school with no prefects, while Hermione launched into a long and involved explanation that left everyone more confused than anything. Harry and Neville then attempted to explain in a clearer manner, with Luna breaking in every once in a while to mention things such as "The Great Prefect Revolt of '68". Finally, when they finished, Shi concluded, "Sooo … kinda like a Hall Monitor who can give detention."
"Sure," Harry agreed, although he very much suspected that there was a bit more to it than that.
Just then, the serving witch came by, rolling her trolley of goodies. Harry bought a large bundle of candy for everyone, even though Neville and Hermione had protested (Ron was used to it, and Shi and Luna knew better than to pass up free food). Soon, they were all settled in, contentedly munching Chocolate Frogs and Pumpkin Pasties, watching Sheridan experiment on how long a Licorice Wand could stretch before it breaks (using his mouth and right hand). He was still intent upon stretching it (it was about three feet long by then), when Crookshanks decided enough was enough and clawed his way out of his basket, severely scratching several ankles in the process. The large cat surveyed the compartment before suddenly pouncing atop of Sheridan's lap and starting to work on swallowing the stretched-thin Licorice Wand whole.
"Hey!" Shi protested laughingly. "That's my Licorice Twizzler of Doom!"
"'Twizzler of Doom'?" Ron repeated, as if unsure he had heard correctly.
"Yeah – oh dammit, he ate the whole thing." Shi pouted unhappily, but the puppy-dog effect was ruined by the sight of surly Crookshanks purring happily and licking the werewolf's licorice-sticky fingers. Hermione attempted to scoop the cat off of Shi's lap, but Crookshanks protested, yowling and digging his claws into Sheridan's knees and thighs, causing him to yelp.
Soon, however, the cat was successfully removed as the six teenagers pulled on their school robes. Looking about at everyone's house badges and colors, Sheridan sighed. "I feel so left out and – and – colorless," he complained in his usual melodramatic manner.
"I expect you'll be sorted after the first years," Hermione assured him, causing him to perk up enough to ask, "First years are sixth graders, right?" Harry, puzzling over the statement for a moment, decided that it was an odd American concept and he shouldn't comment.
As they made their way out of the train, into the light drizzle that had been going on all afternoon, they immediately spotted Hagrid's huge form shouting "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" When he spotted them, he called, "Harry! Ron, Hermione, yeh doin' all righ'?" When they all nodded, he noticed Sheridan, who was busy pulling his trunk out of a rather large puddle.
"Oh, yeh must be Sheridan Parker!" the gamekeeper exclaimed. "Ye're supposed t' meet Professor McGonagall once yeh get inside!"
"'Kay," Shi replied, grinning at Hagrid in a friendly fashion before following his friends over to the thestral-drawn carriages.
"Oh, wow! You've got thestrals!" Sheridan exclaimed excitedly when they reached an empty carriage. "I didn't know they looked so freaky, though …" He stared straight at the phantom-like dragon-horses, obviously amazed, which surprised Harry – the only people who could see thestrals were those who had seen death. But then, Harry had never asked if Shi had ever seen anyone die. He made a mental note to ask him about it sometime.
They all piled into the carriage, out of the rain (Crookshanks hissing with displeasure the entire time), and sat back as the carriages pulled them towards the bright, welcoming lights of Hogwarts – for Harry, the warm and friendly lights of home.
A/N: ((announcers voice)) And now, for the most stupendous and awesome event: review replies!: And , for the most studous and some event: review replies!
book-zealot: Thank you very very much! I'm overjoyed that you like my take on Harry. I hate it when people make him uber-depressed, he's doesn't strike me as a guy that can stay depressed for very long, though he can be angry for practically ever. He's a strong leader, but he's also a teenage boy, with all that that implies. And, sorry, but I'm planning on remaining single for a while ... ((giggles)).
elle: I'm very glad you think so! I've been trying so hard to keep up the essential chemistry of the Trio and not leave anyone out! It's harder than it seems. I'm very glad you like it!
Alphamech: Well, I'm really really glad you like my story! But, sorry, I've already got a rather extensive plotline, and I clearly stated in the first chapter that this was going to be a Harry/Sheridan fic. It's going to be awfully mild though, and won't really start up for some time, so please keep reading! And I didn't really intend the four to be Neo-Marauders, though I'm considering wether or not to make them Animagus. It's still under debate at the moment. Thank you for the review!
Satio: Hello hello hello! Very funny story - that must've earned you some odd looks, eh? I'm glad you like the 'breather' chapters - I don't do them on purpose, actually, but they write themselves like that, and they seem to fit. And I wanted to delve a little deeper into Sheridan's family history, as well. There's still plenty more under wraps, though!
And - YES! I DID SHERIDAN'S PARENTS RIGHT! You're supposed to hate them. I hate them. I created them to be hated, and I'm glad I made them despise-able! See, the thing is, Sheridan doesn't hate them. Not really. They're his parents, and ... well, you never really want to give up on them, do you? Not really, anyways. He knows that their motions of love are really empty. He knows they don't really care about him. Teens know stuff like that, he's not stupid. But they're still his parents, and he's the sort of person who wants to see the best in people. Kinda like Dumbledore, actually. He'll defend them because he still loves them, but he doesn't know why he still loves them, and why he can't bring himself to hate them. He's rather confused, poor guy. Personally, I agree with Harry's views on Shi's parents - they should have kept trying, or at least shouldn't keep lying to Sheridan - that can be worse than outright hate, in a way. (You don't need abusive relations to have a messed-up kid. People tend not to realize this.)
Well. That was a long explanation. Sorry. And I will never ever ever tell you to stuff it. If you give me a novel, I will be thrilled. Seriously. And I'm glad Shi's alive and kickin' in your head! People are never what you see at first. There's always a bunch of hidden layers underneath. Same thing with Sheridan. And no, I don't work for the devil (unless you're, like, an uber-Catholic and believe that this pairing makes me a Satanist), and I despise tax collectors along with the rest of humanity. Until next time!
shedoc: Glad you liked it! Err ... kicking whose butt? I'm a bit confused ... whose butts are we kicking? Merry Christmas to you, too!
Twin Tails Speed: Well, they're not really like the Marauders, at least not in the pranking sort of way ... I'm considering having them become Animagus, but other than that I think that their group should really develop their own personality. I mean, they don't exactly fit into the Marauders mold, they've developed under completely different conditions. Still, I hope you continue to enjoy it!
AlyRaven: I'd love to be e-mail pals, but I don't have the time for one at the moment, sadly. School's a killer. Ask again some other time? And thanks for reviewing!
Keep the reviews coming, you know ya'll make my day!
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"Smile, and the world will smile with you. Laugh, and they'll all think you're on drugs." -Unknown