"Why does it have to light up?" Parker asked, glaring at the offending gadgetry on the table. "Shouldn't stealthy stuff be more stealthy?"
"The light's how you know it's on," Hardison explained again through gritted teeth. He loved this girl, but man was she hard to please! "Without the light, how would you know?"
"Because the on switch is switched to the 'on' position," Parker stated, her tone of voice clearly conveying her lack of respect for Hardison's line of reasoning. "If it's 'on' it should be 'on.' The light thing just broadcasts your position in the dark."
"The light also indicates whether the battery is charged and–"
"Lose the light, Hardison," Nate advised from the hotel bed. He continued to flip idly through the paper.
"See! Even Nate agrees that the light is stupid," Parker said at the same time as Hardison once again began explaining the necessity of the light indicator.
The completely pointless argument was interrupted, much to Nate's relief, by the bustling return of the shoppers.
"—ld've let me, Aunt Sophie! I totally could have snuck one in."
"But what would you do with it? If no one can know you have it, it isn't very useful."
JP aborted the argument in favor of running to Parker and throwing himself into her arms with gleeful abandon. Parker dutifully caught him in a half-spun hug, listening while he babbled about how awesome the shopping trip was.
Nate listened indulgently for a moment to the excited descriptions, then turned to meet Sophie and Eliot's worried looks. He grimaced but left the happy young people to their enthusiastic re-hash of the day's adventure. He had no doubt that his own retelling would contain a lot less laughter.
As soon as the door to adjacent hotel room clicked shut, Sophie started in. She glossed over the shopping trip, focusing on the items that concerned her the most.
"No one was walking alone. There were no kids running around without adults, and even the adults seemed disinclined to be on their own for long. I know McGonagall said that Voldemort is dead, but there's definitely something rotten in the wizarding world. That's not even to get me started on what JP is supposed to do with this education he's going to get! I swear the whole community is stuck in the middle ages, and that's not just their technology! And there were no signs of the arts, Nate! No music, no acting!"
Trust Sophie to get hung up on the lack of a theater.
"It gets worse," Eliot said, giving Sophie the hairy eyeball at her dramatics. "I went exploring, and there is definitely a seedy underbelly to be found. The side alleys – which we were stringently warned not to go down, meaning they are well known for being unsafe - are full of riff-raff and dangerous characters."
"I'm sure you blended right in," Nate said, not entirely sure where Eliot was going with this. Every community had a seedy underbelly. It was actually refreshing to hear that the wizarding world didn't really try to hide theirs.
"Not really," Eliot grimaced. "My brand of charm only carried me so far. I know my limits, Nate, and I turned back before I got two hundred feet down most of those places."
That was worrisome, though not entirely surprising. "They could tell you lacked magic?"
"I don't know," Eliot admitted, "but I sure as hell didn't want to find out. I think we should reconsider where JP goes to school."
Sophie grimaced when Nate turned to her for her opinion.
"I… can't completely disagree," she said finally. "I don't like not being able to scope the school out. I'm not sure it's unsafe, per se, but I'm not entirely comfortable with the whole thing."
"He's pretty excited about it," Nate pointed out. They all paused to listen to the animated voices in the other room, paired with something that sounded distinctly like hooting. Nate raised his eyebrow. "You obviously haven't shared your reservations with him, or you wouldn't have bought him an owl."
Sophie shrugged sheepishly while Eliot rolled his eyes. "I did suggest a cat," she said, but her protest sounded weaker than usual.
Nate sighed and rubbed his temple. "Did anyone threaten him? Did anyone appear overtly scared? Not residual nervousness," he added when Eliot opened his mouth. "We know the community is still recovering from a war. We can't expect perfection. But do we think JP will be safe at their school for the year?"
Eliot and Sophie were quiet for a full minute, considering the question. Through the thin wall they could hear Hardison yell while JP and Parker laughed. They exchanged looks.
"I agree with Sophie," Eliot finally said, obviously begrudging each word. "It's not unsafe, exactly."
Sophie nodded. "I don't like that he'll be so far away from us. Maybe I'll talk to one of my cousins about being available for relaying messages."
Nate nodded, liking the idea of a modern phone call rather than an owl flapping madly across the ocean to tell him his foster son had broken a leg or something. After all, they all knew JP had a penchant for mischief, and at a wizarding school that could translate into bigger trouble than he was used to.
"It's settled," he said. "We'll revisit this again as needed, but JP can go to Hogwarts in September."
It was a bit odd to walk away from that decision and re-enter the room where JP was laughing and showing off his new school things for his aunt and uncle. Nate was glad they'd be able to let JP go to Hogwarts. His happiness shone from him for all the world to see; it was nice to see him so occupied with being a child that he forgot to be a grifter.
"So what's this I hear about an owl?" Nate asked as he sat on the bed next to JP.
x
x
x
The train station was bustling. They were wearing their normal clothes for this part of the excursion, though Aunt Sophie had opted for a long dress despite the muggy weather. JP had his school uniform on, except the robe, which was carefully rolled to prevent wrinkling and stowed in his messenger bag along with a bottle of water and some reading material.
Once again it was just Aunt Sophie and Uncle Eliot. The others had said their goodbyes at the airport in Portland, which was suddenly feeling like an entire world away. JP felt silly succumbing to homesickness before he even left his aunt and uncle's company, so he swallowed the sadness and focused on trying to find the platform. Over his head the adults held a whispered argument.
JP stared at platform 9, then over at platform 10.
Suddenly a troupe of redheads caught his eye. The mother was dressed oddly, as though she were trying too hard not to stand out, and all the children accept the littlest were pushing luggage carts with trunks like JP's.
"Hey," he said, interrupting the adults to point out the curious family. "Think they're headed my way?"
"Yes," said Uncle Eliot as the tallest boy abruptly disappeared.
"Weird," JP murmured, impressed in spite of himself. "Let's go talk to them!" He ducked away before they could stop him, leaving them to deal with his luggage.
"Hi!" he said as approached the family, angling toward the mother. He gave her his most endearing smile when she looked over at him with surprise.
"Oh dear," she started, sounding oddly worried. The worry cleared immediately when she took in his uniform. "Oh, dear!" she said again, the words taking on an entirely new meaning. "Let me guess," she winked, "first year and can't find the platform."
He blushed ever so slightly as he shrugged sheepishly. "Guilty," he said, still smiling. "My Aunt and Uncle didn't go to Hogwarts; we're from America," he added as Aunt Sophie and Uncle Eliot finally caught up.
"Molly Weasely," the redhead introduced, sticking out her hand to Aunt Sophie. Aunt Sophie offered her fingers for a dainty shake.
"Sophie Devaraux," she said with a pleasant smile. "This is my associate Mr. Spencer." Uncle Eliot did not offer to shake hands, and continued to scan the crowd. JP took a moment to appreciate how cool his uncle looked, standing there with the big trunk on his shoulder like it weighed nothing at all (it did weigh nothing, but that wasn't the point) and glaring out at the world. Someday JP was going to be that badass.
"And I'm JP," he added quickly, looking back at the redheaded woman.
"Nice to meet you JP," she smiled warmly down at him. "No need to be nervous," she added. "It's Ronnie's first year, too. Ron," she barked, "get over here!" A gangly boy sauntered over to her, looking a little sullen at being called away from whatever he'd been doing.
"Ron, this is JP. Why don't you show him and his family onto the platform. The twins can manage your luggage."
Ron's eyes got incredibly large as two identical faces popped over the luggage carts with matching, predatory grins. Any protests died, however, when he looked back up at his mother.
JP watched Mrs. Weasley's face with a kind of awe. Ron was obviously scared to leave his luggage with his brothers, yet something about Mrs. Weasley's face made him overcome everything else – even his earlier sullenness – to politely invite JP to join him at a run toward a brick wall.
"Wait, you want me to what?" JP repeated, stare transferring from mother to son. Above his head Mrs. Weasley chuckled.
"It's quite alright, dear," she patted his shoulder. "It just helps to take it at a bit of a run."
JP couldn't quite bring himself to run, but he did close his eyes as he walked into the wall.
That wasn't really a wall. He stumbled slightly as he stared around at the new platform, but Aunt Sophie's supporting hand kept him upright.
"That's different," muttered Uncle Eliot.
"You should get out of the way," Ron suggested, hands in his pockets. "The twins like to ride the trolley through."
They quickly vacated the space in front of the gateway, thanking Ron as they walked into the crowd. He shrugged as the twins, true to prediction, came barreling through on their rolling luggage mountain.
It took hardly any time at all to find an empty compartment and stow his luggage and his owl. Then it was time to say goodbye. JP hugged Aunt Sophie. He'd never spent more than a week away from the team, and even that was rare.
"You'll do great, kiddo," Uncle Eliot's voice was rough and reassuring. "Give 'em hell."
"And keep up with your other school work," Aunt Sophie added, pulling away to look him in the eye. "I know fifth grade bored you, but if you keep up your normal studies you'll be able to get a G.E.D. and go to college." She didn't add 'in case this whole magic thing doesn't work out,' for which JP was grateful.
"I love you," he said, appreciating the heartfelt responses, even though he was eleven and too old for mushy stuff. Then he was alone in the compartment, and the train was making its way out of the station.
x
x
x
Sophie watched the train pull away, hands tight around her elbows.
"He'll be fine," Eliot said. "He's a good kid."
"The best," Sophie agreed. She sighed and turned to join the flow of parents exiting the platform. She smiled when she caught sight of Molly Weasley pulling along a moping little girl who was obviously disappointed at not being old enough to ride the train with her brothers.
"Molly," Sophie called out, smiling again when she caught the woman's attention. Molly smiled back and made her way over. "Thank you again for your help earlier."
"Don't mention it," Molly waved her hand. "I always like to keep an eye out for the Muggleborns who don't know their way across. Your JP surprised me when he saw us first," she added with a laugh. "Do you think he's headed for Ravenclaw?"
Sophie found herself very at-ease with the friendly redhead.
"I couldn't saw," Sophie admitted. "I won't be surprised no matter what house he ends up in."
"Even Slytherin?" there was a curious edge to Molly's voice; it wasn't mean or accusing, but it was definitely questioning.
Sophie laughed. "Especially Slytherin! I hear that's the house for the sly and the sneaky? JP is so full of mischief that it's coming out his ears."
Molly seemed to relax a little, and she even laughed a bit. "Sounds like my twins. They're Gryffindors, of course, like the rest of the family, but…" she shrugged. "I suppose we wouldn't have been shocked, either, if they'd gone the other way."
"Gryffindors and Slytherins are rivals, yes?" asked Sophie, interested in the dark undertone of the conversation.
"Oh yes," Molly smiled. "In school and beyond! Slytherins aren't all bad, of course, but they have a reputation and it only got worse with the… you know, the war." She whispered the last bit, looking around to make sure no one was paying too much attention to them. Sophie wanted to tell her that acting suspicious made people curious, but she refrained.
"A reputation?" Sophie prompted, feeling a little resigned.
"Well, first there's the blood purity nonsense that Slytherin house has always concerned itself with, and then there's recent events. Most of You-Know-Who's followers were Slytherins."
Sophie frowned. Blood purity? That hadn't been mentioned in the brochure.
"But don't worry," Molly patted her arm, misinterpreting her look. "That's all over and done with."
"Well, that's good," Sophie said half-heartedly. It was time to change the subject. "Molly, I was meaning to ask, you wouldn't happen to be related to a Bill Weasley by any chance?"
Molly's eyebrows shot up and her body language changed completely. "How do you know Bill?"
"We met a few weeks back at the Leaky Cauldron. Bill offered to be a penpal for JP, since we're so far away."
Molly immediately glanced over at Eliot, who was currently thumb wrestling her daughter. Sophie bit back a grin, noting the curious new gleam in Molly's eye.
"Bill's my oldest."
"Well, then we're doubly lucky to have run into you," Sophie said warmly. "I'd hoped to see him before we left for the States, but I'm not sure how to get in touch. JP has the only owl."
"You and," Molly raised an eyebrow, "your associate? should join us for dinner tonight! It's always too quiet when all my little chicks go off to school. My oldest have taken to joining us so it's not so lonely."
"You're too kind!" Sophie blinked, honestly surprised by the woman's openness and generosity. She didn't even know Eliot's first name, but she was welcoming them nonetheless.
"Not at all," Molly said, waving her hand. "In fact, I insist. Where are you staying while you're here?"
"A hotel in Muggle London," Sophie said, nearly forgetting to add the 'muggle'.
"I'll send one of the boys around to the Leaky Cauldron to pick you up at 6," Molly said, leaving no room for questions. All Sophie could do was thank her and accept the invitation graciously.
x
x
x
The train had only been moving for a few minutes when the door to JP's compartment opened. He looked up from his comic book to see Ron standing awkwardly in the open doorway.
"Do you mind? Everywhere else is full."
"No worries," JP said, gesturing idly at the seat across from him. "It's all yours."
"Thanks. Mum told the twins to watch out for me, but you know brothers…"
"I don't, actually," JP said with a shrug. "I'm an only child."
"Lucky," smiled Ron.
"I wouldn't have minded a sibling or two," JP said with a grin. "Your brothers looked like loads of fun."
"If you want 'em, you can have 'em. Just don't say I didn't warn you!"
There was a beat of silence, and JP was about to go back to his comic, but Ron decided to continue the conversation.
"So where're you from? You don't sound British."
"Oregon, most recently," replied JP. "Before that we lived in Massachusetts."
Ron stared at him blankly.
"The United States of America?" JP tried again.
"Oh!" Ron's face cleared. "So those other places are states?"
"Yup." A rather dull conversation about geography lasted about a minute before Ron started asking questions that JP didn't really have answers to: like why he wasn't going to a school closer to home.
"My bio-parents went to Hogwarts," JP said uncomfortably, when Ron's questions became rather insistent. "It just seemed like a cool thing to do."
Then they were off on what bio-parents meant and the complexities of family. Ron was absolutely appalled at the idea of living with a bunch of aunts and uncles. JP was getting a little tired of defending himself. Luckily for the continued possibility of friendship, the door chose that moment to open.
It was the blond from the alley. JP found himself smiling in recognition and appreciation. The blond looked surprised, but smiled hesitantly back.
"We heard Harry Potter might be on the train," he said by way of explaining himself. For the first time JP noticed the two bigger boys flanking him in the hall. His eyebrows shot up in respect – barely on the train an hour and the boy was already putting together a crew! Granted, they didn't look particularly bright, but JP knew better than to judge a book by its cover.
"Hi Malfoy," JP greeted at the same time Ron said, "well he's obviously not here."
"Hello Leverage," Malfoy greeted politely before turning to give Ron a distasteful look. "And… friend." The last part obviously left a bad taste in his mouth, but he spat it out anyway.
"This is Ron Weasley," JP said. "His mother helped me this morning."
Malfoy sniffed slightly, but didn't say anything. He turned back to JP. "There's a compartment of us a little ways down," he said. "There's plenty of room if you'd like some different company."
"Thanks for the invitation. I might stop by a little later." He still wasn't sure he wanted to be too friendly with Malfoy, but it was never a good idea to make enemies this early in the game. Besides, it might be nice to have an escape from Ron at some point. The redhead was nice enough, but completely oblivious when it came to personal subjects.
"You are welcome any time," Malfoy said, looking a little disgruntled that JP hadn't immediately jumped up, ready to leave. "We're three cars up."
The door closed and Ron immediately started seething.
"That bloody wanker; he's Slytherin scum, you know!"
JP blinked at the vehemence in the other boy's voice. "He's a first year too," he pointed out. "He's not anything yet. Besides," he added before Ron could voice the obvious, "I'm not convinced I won't be in Slytherin myself. That's the house of the cunning, and the ambitious, you know. I value cunning and ambition."
Ron looked as though his best friend had just died.
"You… think you might be a Slytherin? And that's OKAY with you?"
"Sure," JP shrugged. "Why wouldn't it be?"
"All Slytherins are dark wizards!" Ron insisted.
JP was getting tired of this. "Obviously that isn't true, Ron. Look, it's all a moot point until we get there. I'm not a dark wizard. Malfoy's not a dark wizard. He's kind of a git, but so are you. Look, I'm going for a walk. I'll be back, okay."
Ron sort of shrugged, obviously unhappy with the whole turn of the conversation.
The hallway was more crowded than JP expected. Plenty of kids were moving between compartments, flitting between groups of friends like social butterflies. JP flattened himself against the wall as two laughing teenagers made their way down the hall.
He was just stepping back into the flow of traffic when a bushy haired girl his own size bumped into him.
"Excuse me!" they said at the same time. JP grinned at her, and she smiled back.
"We're looking for a toad," the girl said. "Neville's lost his." She pointed behind her shoulder with her thumb, where a chubby boy smiled and waved.
"I haven't seen one," JP admitted. "Have you asked one of the older kids? I read that there are summoning charms that can bring specific items straight to you." Auntie Parker wanted him to learn that spell first thing.
The bushy haired girl looked stunned. "I hadn't thought of that," she said, as though this was completely unheard of. "I'm Hermione Granger," she added, thrusting her hand forward.
"Harlin Leverage, but my friends call me JP," he said, taking her hand. "Hi Neville," he added over her shoulder.
"Hi," the boy smiled back. "Thanks for your help."
"I haven't helped yet," JP shrugged. They pressed themselves against the wall again to let another group of kids squeeze by. JP recognized the redhaired older boy who had disappeared first through the wall.
"Excuse me, Weasley?" he asked.
The boy turned in surprise. "Yes? What is it?"
"Neville's lost his toad," said JP. "We thought an older student might know a summoning charm or something."
"Of course," the redhead said, looking pleased. "Smart thinking to ask a prefect for help."
JP didn't know what a prefect was, but decided that didn't matter. A few minutes later, Trevor the Toad came flying through the air, looking slightly disgruntled. JP went over the words and the wand motion in his head. He wanted to learn that spell!
They made their way back to JP's original compartment, though he felt a little bad about not stopping in to say hello to Malfoy and his friends. He might try again before the end of the train ride. For the moment, the compartment was a lot more comfortable with Neville and Hermione added. The four settled in for an hour of comfortable conversation. JP quickly decided that Hermione would make a good addition to his crew; she was a little rough around the edges, but she obviously had brains. He wasn't sure about the other two, but even if they weren't useful, they might still make good friends.
He slipped out of the compartment with half an hour to go and made his way toward Malfoy's compartment. The first compartment he'd tried was full of older Slytherins, and he apologized politely for interrupting them. When he explained that he was looking for Malfoy, they eased up on the glares and were almost cheerful as they pointed him toward the correct door. He thanked them, carefully utilizing the stupid etiquette Aunt Sophie made him learn. The older Slytherins appreciated the nuances and returned them in kind.
JP took a deep breath, then carefully opened the compartment door. He was once again met with cold stares, as all the conversation inside died. Only Malfoy smiled from his seat by the window.
"Come in, Leverage. Glad you could join us."
"I appreciated the invitation," he said, stepping in and closing the door.
"Everyone, this is Harlin Leverage," Malfoy introduced. JP bowed slightly, smiling at his audience. Malfoy quickly introduced the rest of the apartment, then ordered Crabbe to sit on the floor to make room on the seat. Obviously there was a pecking order here.
Conversation started off light, probably where they had left off at his interruption. They were all enthusiastic about a game called Quidditch, which JP had read about but obviously never played. When he was worried his silence was becoming too noticeable, he started inserting comments and questions based on the opinions of the people around him. It seemed safest to favor Malfoy's team, since he was the obvious leader of this group. Eventually, however, he had to admit that he'd never actually been to a Quidditch match. Instead of being a problem, however, this just served as an opening for Malfoy to inform everyone that he was from the States. After a beat of silence that was almost embarrassed for him, they continued on as though nothing had happened.
The rest of the ride passed comfortably. All too soon, they were slowing down.