Disclaimer:

I do not own the amusement park that is Hogwarts or the colorful characters J.K. Rowling has created for us. I've considered writing a transgender story for awhile now and have decided to try it. Like any story utilizing this premise, Harry will be different from canon but that can't really be helped considering her outlook on life and the things that happen to her. I hope you enjoy it.

#foreign language#, *parseltongue*, "spoken", 'thoughts', [telepathic messages]

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The Marauders' Daughter

Chapter Eleven

Demon on the Hogwarts Express

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(Wednesday, September 1st, 1993, Late Morning)

By the time Heather arrived at King's Cross it was quarter after ten, leaving her forty-five minutes before the train would depart. She walked through the barrier separating platform 9¾ from the muggle world and paused long enough to look around as though it was her first time. While there weren't many people milling about, appearances were important and she was supposedly new to Hogwarts. It would raise questions if she simply boarded the train as though she had done it before.

"Oh look Dracipoo, another mudblood to pollute our perfect world. As if Granger and her ilk weren't bad enough already," a snide female voice sneered loudly from somewhere nearby.

Heather turned towards the hateful voice and mentally scowled as she tried to reign in her temper at the slight to her girlfriend. Such a nasally voice and horrid attitude could only come from Pansy Parkinson and her boy toy, Draco Malfoy. While the blond hadn't said anything, she knew he agreed with his companion while his parents looked on with approval. She debated internally for several seconds on how she wanted to handle the blood-purists and ultimately decided not to reveal her name or station. Sniffing imperiously, something she mentally thanked Daphne Greengrass for, she turned on her heel without a word and walked towards the train.

"Hey Mudblood, I'm talking to you!" Pansy snarled angrily at not getting the response she wanted.

The last Potter continued to ignore the pug-faced girl and climbed onto the train. She wondered if the third-year Slytherin, who was not acting very Slytherin-like, a trait the girl shared with her cousin, would try to escalate things with her wand while they were in public. It wasn't she was afraid to duel the pureblood, as she was certain she possessed tactics and spell knowledge the less intelligent girl had never heard of, she didn't want to get into a fight before she'd even left the station.

When no spells or further shouts followed her onto the train, Heather shrugged and set about finding an empty compartment. A task that proved fairly simple as most of the carriages were empty. She spotted Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott sitting across from one another talking quietly in one compartment. As much as she would've liked to join them, she really had no grounds for doing so other than if she were looking for friends or didn't care whether she might be intruding upon a private conversation. While she and Hermione had agreed they needed to expand their friendship circle, perhaps it would be better to wait until they'd returned to Hogwarts.

Several moments later, she found an empty compartment and entered. After setting down her trunk, she grabbed Matilda from her library before drawing her wand and shrinking her trunk so it would fit in her pocket. While Dobby had assured her she could trust the House Elves with her possessions, the fact she had rare and unique items stored within her trunk made her nervous. In addition to her school books, both for Hogwarts and correspondence classes, half of the Potter family library lay ensconced within a heavily warded compartment. In addition to her precious books, James' invisibility cloak was packed with her clothing while her grandmother's goblin-made daggers were stowed in invisible sheaths attached to her hips should she need them.

Once she was comfortable, Heather sighed softly as she gently stroked the raven pendant hanging around her neck. The pendant glowed briefly with a soft white light before separating from the necklace and transforming itself into a live raven. Morrígan woke up and took flight for several seconds in order to stretch her wings before settling in her lap.

"Hey there girl," the glamoured redhead said as she gently stroked her familiar's feathers. "I'm sorry you had to travel in your pendant form, but I figured it would be better to not draw attention to myself. Walking through muggle London with a raven on my shoulder would've raised questions I didn't want to deal with."

Morrígan squawked her forgiveness and closed her eyes.

Both Heather and Hedwig had been pleasantly surprised when the ritual they'd performed during the New Moon had gifted the owl with a pendant form. After pondering the event at length and discussing it with Hermione, the girls decided it was due to the wording and intent both human and avian had professed during the ritual that had resulted in ex-owl's ability to shape-shift. While their freely spilt blood blended upon the altar she'd spent the day creating, both participants had professed their desire to always be capable of being near the other's heart. While the two of them had meant it more in a metaphorical way, Magic had taken their words and intentions literally and done the rest.

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While Heather was busy getting herself situated, Hermione was walking towards King's Cross station with her parents in tow. Originally, she'd figured they would stay home since she was using the Dobby Express to apparate to London. Apparently, they'd had other ideas and wanted to see her off the muggle way as they had the last two years. The only difference being they hadn't had to drive an hour and a half each way to do so.

Due to the electronic surveillance systems and cameras found throughout most of greater London, the three Grangers had had to apparate over a kilometer away from the station in a back alley near the Leaky Cauldron. Dobby remained hidden and kept watch as the family walked along Charing Cross Road towards the train station.

As the three of them walked, Hermione couldn't help but reflect on how different her life was compared with the same time the previous year. While she and her parents had always been close, the secrets she'd hidden from them regarding first year had put a strain on their relationship. She was glad everything was out in the open now, at least pertaining to her schooling. There was one secret she held close to her heart she wasn't prepared for them to find out about just yet, that being her true relationship with her best friend/adoptive sister.

She smiled fondly, her pulse quickening as she mentally pictured her girlfriend. The younger girl's slim, athletic body and its developing curves, her luscious and very kissable soft lips, her siren-like melodic voice she loved listening to, the way her face lit up when she laughed or how her fiery-red hair perfectly framed her beautiful heart-shaped face. She wished she could see Heather's face as the girl truly was, as that was the face she had fallen in love with, rather than the inky-black hair, aristocratic looks and amethyst eyes the redhead had adopted in order to conceal her true lineage.

While a small part of her hadn't wanted to return to the magical world, a more primal part of her couldn't wait until she and Heather had a chance to explore their developing relationship in a more private setting. Over the summer, they'd had to be extremely careful around her parents. There were times when she'd wanted to kiss her girlfriend but had refrained because her parents were in the next room and might've caught them. At least they'd been able to share a few soft kisses and gentle caresses while sitting on their roof earlier that morning.

Twenty minutes later, Hermione walked through the barrier after sharing a tearful goodbye with her parents. She ignored Malfoy and Parkinson with practiced ease and boarded the train. Since it wasn't five minutes before 11:00, she figured the Weasleys hadn't arrived yet and decided to search for her girlfriend.

After looking in several compartments, the bushy-haired brunette finally found her query and smiled. Heather was lounging lengthwise on one of the benches with a book in her hand as she absently stroked her familiar's feathers. Knocking lightly, she waited until the girl looked up before slowly opening the door.

"Um, hello, I'm sorry to bother you, but would you mind if I joined you?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

"Not at all, please," Heather replied with a grin as the girls acted out a scene they had rehearsed should anyone happened to be watching or listening. Motioning towards the couch across from her, the ravenette continued, "My name is Heather Black and I will be a third year."

"Pleasure," the brunette said before moving her trunk into the compartment and sitting across from the other girl. Sticking out her hand, she continued happily, "My name is Hermione Granger, third year Gryffindor."

The girls shook hands for several seconds before bursting into a fit of giggles. Morrígan squawked in protest at the sudden noise and flew up to perch in the luggage rack above her two favorite humans.

Hermione leaned forward and asked quietly, "Think we can drop the charade now?"

"Not yet, best wait until the train actually departs," Heather whispered as she mentally apologized to her familiar. She watched the raven's eyes soften as the avian nodded her acceptance.

Several minutes passed as they pretended to get to know one another. Sure enough, five minutes before the train was scheduled to depart a half-dozen redheads came barreling onto the platform from King's Cross. The girls couldn't help but wonder why the Weasleys always cut things so close. It wasn't like they didn't know when the Hogwarts Express was scheduled to depart; it was always September 1st at 11:00.

"Wonder how long until Weasley barges in here, demanding to know where Harry is," the last Potter mused aloud once she'd seen the family in question board the train.

"Speak of the Devil…" the bookworm trailed off as she pointed towards a lanky red-haired boy staring at them through their compartment window.

Without bothering to knock, Ron barged into the compartment and demanded, "Herms! Have you seen Harry anywhere?"

Hermione growled low in her throat as she glared at her one-time friend. "Honestly Ronald, have you no concept of manners? You come in here, uninvited, and immediately start demanding answers. Never mind the fact there is someone else here and we were in the middle of a private conversation."

"Whatever, have you seen Harry or not?" the redhead demanded as he glanced at the raven-haired girl sitting across from his target. Dismissing her as unimportant, he crossed his arms over his chest and continued, "How come you never responded to my letter? Why didn't you meet us at the Leaky Cauldron, five days ago?"

"I don't know who you are, boy, but I suggest you leave before I throw you out," Heather snarled as she drew her wand and pointed it at her former friend.

"To answer your first question, Ronald, no, I haven't seen Harry since the end of last year," Hermione replied frostily as she too drew her wand on her former friend. "As for your second and third, yes, I did receive your letter, but saw no reason to respond as I was going to be seeing you in a few days. As for meeting your family at the Leaky Cauldron, I saw no point because I had already gotten everything I would need for our upcoming year."

Seeing two angry girls glaring at him with their wands drawn was enough for Ron to realize he should leave. Putting his hands up, the redhead slowly backed away before grabbing his trunk and fleeing down the corridor.

Once they were certain the boy was gone, the girls looked at one another and burst into another fit of giggles.

"That was brilliant 'Mione," the ravenette said with a smile as she slipped her wand back into her holster.

"Did you see his face? Oh Morgana, that was priceless," Hermione said with a snicker as she too stowed her wand in her invisible holster.

"You know, one of the reasons I started studying so much last term was because I was hoping he would leave me alone," Heather said thoughtfully. "I figured he would've gotten the hint, but as thick as he is, maybe I overestimated his intelligence. Perhaps now he'll finally get a clue and leave us alone."

"I hope so, he's never been particularly nice to me," the bookworm agreed. "I only tolerated him for your sake."

"I know."

Several minutes passed and the girls started talking about who they might want to include in their new circle of friends when they heard someone lightly knocking on their door. After waiting for a few seconds, the door slowly opened to reveal the uncertain faces of Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood.

"Um, please pardon us for the interruption, but we were wondering if either of you had seen Harry Potter recently," Ginny said nervously as she looked down at the floor.

"Ginny, Luna, please come in," Hermione said gently as she stood and offered her seat to the younger students. When the second years walked in, she sat beside her girlfriend on the other couch and continued, "Have either of you talked to Ron?"

"No," the redhead said as she and Luna sat across from the older girls.

"Alright, but first things first," the bushy-haired brunette said as she gestured towards the girl sitting beside her. "This is Heather Black, a third year transfer student I met shortly after boarding the train. Heather, this is Ginny Weasley, second year Gryffindor and Luna Lovegood, second year Ravenclaw."

"It's nice to meet you both," Heather said warmly as she reached forward to shake the younger girls' hands. Turning towards the youngest Weasley, she continued, "I must say, you have much better manners than that lanky redhead who barged in here earlier."

"Ron's always been like that," Ginny said derisively as she rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter how often Mum has tried to correct him either, he refuses to listen."

"Pity, he won't get very far in life if he offends everyone he meets," the ravenette stated matter-of-factly. "Anyways, enough about him, what can we help you with?"

"We checked every compartment and couldn't find Harry anywhere," the youngest Weasley said. "I tried sending him an owl over the summer, but my letter was returned without being opened. I hope he isn't mad at me, I just wanted to wish him a Happy Birthday and thank him again for saving my life last year."

"Well, like I told your brother, I haven't seen Harry since the end of last year," Hermione said. "That said, I've been in contact with him since then so if you'd like, I can forward any letters you have and he'll get them. The reason he's not here is because he's not returning to Hogwarts. There were many factors, but mostly it was because of what happened last year. Without any proof, most of the students turned on him over the whole Heir of Slytherin/Chamber of Secrets issue. Add in the fact the staff never did anything about the rumors or help Harry deal with the bullying, he decided magical Britain wasn't for him and left."

"Aren't you upset? You were one of his closest friends," Luna asked as she glanced at the mysterious ravenette with the amethyst eyes watching the conversation. Something was niggling at the back of her mind that she couldn't quite place, something familiar.

"I've had the entire summer to come to terms with it, but if you're asking whether I miss my best friend, I would say no," the bookworm said and raised her hand to stave off the younger girls' objections. "Wherever Harry is now, he's in a better place. Hogwarts and magical Britain have been horrid to him and I hope with all my heart he's happy where he is."

"He's really gone?" Ginny asked in a small voice as her blue eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

Heather frowned slightly as she watched the exchange and how her 'absence' was affecting the younger redhead. She'd known from the beginning she was going to hurt a lot of people with her decision, the Weasleys and Hagrid in particular, but she still thought she'd made the right call. Magical Britain and Harry Potter just didn't mix. As Harry, she never seemed to have any privacy because there were always people watching, waiting for her to screw up in some manner or attack when her guard was down.

Hermione sighed heavily and nodded.

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As the train continued northward, the sky grew dark and ominous. Lightning arced across the black sky as thunder rumbled close enough to shake the very ground. The wind howled and rain lashed at the windows as though they were traveling through a hurricane.

The four girls occupying the compartment paid no mind to the rapidly deteriorating weather as they talked and got to know one another. Both Heather and Hermione were pleased with the progress of one of their early goals: increasing the size of their circle of friends. While they had lost Ron, something neither of them honestly considered a great loss, they had gained Ginny and Luna. Both second years were ecstatic with having a pair of older girls as their newest friends and were looking forward to their return to Hogwarts.

When the temperature in the cabin started to drop, conversation ceased as the girls looked around anxiously. Something strange was happening. The lamps started to dim and the girls could tell the train was slowing down.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked nervously. "We can't be there yet."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Heather said as she turned to look outside. While she couldn't see anything in the darkness, she could sense something was outside the train, something that was the cause of everything that was currently happening and was about to happen. Ice started forming on the windows as the air temperature surrounding the train plummeted into the negatives.

Moments later, the lamps winked out completely and Hermione, Luna and Ginny started screaming. Heather, no stranger to bizarre and dangerous situations, stood from her couch and slid into a combat ready stance as the lamps dimly relit. Dropping the invisibility charms on her wand holster and daggers, causing the younger girls to shriek in shock, the ravenette drew her Red Oak and Morrígan feathered wand along with one of her jeweled daggers and stared at the door leading to the hallway.

She didn't have to wait long.

Hermione and the second years stopped screaming as they scrambled away from the door, both in self-preservation and to give Heather more room. While she wanted to fight alongside her girlfriend, given the lack of space she knew she would be more of a hindrance than an asset in the upcoming situation. Instead, she tried to calm the younger girls down by huddling with them and taking their hands in hers.

Roughly thirty seconds later, the quartet could hear what sounded like whispering along with a rattling noise similar to rusting chains coming towards them. None of them had any idea what could be causing the sound, but whatever it was had to be unnatural. As the unknown perpetrator approached, the rattling grew louder and the temperature fell further.

A shadow passed in front of their cabin and stopped. Without even touching the latch, the door unlocked itself and started to open.

Heather narrowed her eyes as she took in her adversary's unnatural features. Whatever the creature was, it didn't walk on two legs like humans but rather floated in mid-air similar to ghosts and wraiths. In fact, if it weren't for the scaly, long-fingered hand reaching for the door, she would've called it a magically animated tattered cloak as that was all it appeared to be. She had no idea what lay beneath the cloak nor did she particularly care. Whatever it was, it was threatening her friends and that meant it needed to be destroyed.

Before the dementor could begin its signature happiness draining attack, the ravenette willed her dagger to lengthen until it was the length of a rapier. Jumping at the horrid creature, she thrust her sword through its chest cavity and was surprised when she actually met some resistance. Channeling her anger, righteous anger borne of wanting to protect her girlfriend and new friends, a reddish-purple aura exploded around her lithe body as she willed her sword to burst into flames.

The dementor screeched in pain as the magical fire ignited its millennium old body and began consuming it from the inside out.

Heather pointed her wand at the creature's head and growled, "I don't know what you are, but you will not harm my friends. Let your death be a warning for the rest of your kind."

As the creature continued to scream, the ravenette cast the strongest cutting curse she knew, severing the demon's head from its body before kicking it down the hallway like a football. As the dementor's head continued its unorthodox flight through the corridor, the last Potter launched a fireball at the improvised football and watched in satisfaction as it exploded in gore and blood.

"That goes for the rest of you as well," Heather snarled darkly as she glared at the students who had watched the fight. "If you try to harm me or my friends, you will suffer the same fate as that unholy creature. You have been warned."

She knew she was potentially setting herself up to be vilified as a Dark Witch, though technically none of the spells she had used were Dark. If her actions served to protect those she loved or cared about, so be it. She would be reviled, feared and hated but her friends would be safe. At least this time, people would hate her for a legitimate reason rather than because of rumors and hearsay like the previous year. Besides, once everyone learned her name they would likely assume she was Dark anyway considering she was the daughter of the alleged mass-murderer Sirius Black.

Stepping back into her compartment, Heather canceled the fire enchantment on her sword and restored both weapons to their original state and sheaths. Her aura faded as she muttered the runic command words to turn her wand holster and daggers invisible. Smiling sheepishly, she turned towards her friends and asked gently, "Are you all okay?"

"We're fine now Heather, thanks to you," Hermione said happily as she released Ginny and Luna's hands and pulled her girlfriend into a heartfelt embrace. Since neither of them wanted to reveal the true nature of their relationship, the hug didn't last long. The girls returned to their seats as she continued with a teasing smirk, "I do have a few questions though."

Heather couldn't help herself and burst into a fit of giggles as the second years got themselves situated. "You wouldn't be Hermione Granger if you didn't. Alright then, let's hear them."

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By the time the Hogwarts Express had arrived at Hogsmeade, word of Heather's violent demolition of the vile creature had spread like wildfire throughout the train. While the majority of the students had no idea who the girl was, most seemed to agree she was a young Dark Lady in training and wondered how such a person could have been admitted to Hogwarts. A few of the Slytherins from darker families wondered how long it would take for her to upstage Malfoy and become the Princess of Slytherin. No third year in the millennium long history of the House had ever become Queen, but who knew what the future would bring.

Once the train arrived, Heather, Hermione, Ginny and Luna climbed to their feet and smoothed out their uniforms. As they disembarked, the last Potter surreptitiously cast several warming charms on herself and her friends to combat the chilly and misty atmosphere. The large thunderstorm they had encountered on their trip northward had abated a half hour prior.

"Firs' years o'er here!" a large man, easily three meters in height and half that around, bellowed as he walked up and down the platform.

"Hagrid!" Hermione, Luna and Ginny chorused happily.

"Why 'ello there 'ermione, who are your friends?" the gentle giant asked.

"I thought you knew Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood, they were both here last year," the bookworm said in confusion.

"Oh, right, my apologies Miss Weasley, Miss Lovegood," Hagrid replied sheepishly as he turned to the last member of their quartet.

"This is Heather Black, she's new this year but not a first year," Hermione said.

"Ah, Miss Black, yes, Professor McGonagall asked me to keep a lookout for yeh, said yeh'd be takin' the boats like first years. My apologies Miss, my name is Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts."

"Pleased to meet you Mr. Hagrid," Heather said warmly.

"Just Hagrid please," the half-giant said as he fidgeted uncomfortably at the girl's surname. "Say 'ermione, while I'm glad to be seeing yeh with female friends, where's young Harry and Ron? Usually the three of yeh are attached at the hip."

"Well," Hermione started as she briefly considered what to tell the man. It wasn't as though Harry's absence from Hogwarts would remain unnoticed for long, but she really didn't want to have to explain it over and over. "Ronald and I were never really friends. The only thing we had in common was Harry and well, Harry wasn't on the train…"

"Blimey, did somethin' happen like last year?"

"No, it's nothing like that, it's just…"

Hagrid could tell it was difficult for the girl to talk about her missing friend and said, "Don't you worry none 'ermione, Professor Dumbledore will find young Harry in no time. Meanwhile, I need to be getting the first years to the boats and you three have a carriage to catch."

Hermione and Heather glanced at one another and rolled their eyes in exasperation. They knew Hagrid was devoted to the senile old fool and wondered if their friendship with the gentle giant could continue in light of their change in attitude towards the aged headmaster. The last Potter still remembered the thunderous expression on the man's face when Vernon had slandered the bearded wanker when they'd first met. Neither of the girls wanted Hagrid angry with them and hoped they could keep their opinions of the headmaster away from half-giant's ears.

After waving to her new friends, Heather followed Hagrid and the first years towards the lake and waiting boats. As she walked along, she noticed most of the first years were shivering from the misty coldness in the air. Knowing the half-giant wouldn't realize the children were cold and banned from using magic, the ravenette cast several warming charms on everyone. She smiled within the privacy of her own mind when she noticed the happiness on the other children's faces.

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Author's Notes:

I hope you all have enjoyed this chapter. I want to thank everyone who has read this story so far and I hope I can retain your interest. Please read and review. Comments and criticism are welcome, I just ask you to be nice about it.

Publish Date: June 18th, 2021