The sound of children laughing overtook the noise of the Hogwarts Express as it jetted along down the tracks to where the school of Hogwarts lay hidden. Sitting in the cabin next door to the one where Head Boy and Head Girl sat, Harry Potter was so wrapped up in his own thoughts he didn't notice the worried looks his two best friends were shooting at each other from where they sat across from him. It had been well over a year since the death of Harry's godfather, Sirius Black and still Harry seemed to be caught up in the dark depths of his mind. Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, Harry's two best friends, had noticed the odd change in their friend over the past year, and they weren't happy with it. Harry needed some closure on the death of the only family he ever knew, and both of his friends knew the only way that would happen would be for Voldemort to be defeated by Harry alone.
Sitting in the cabin, staring out of the window, he also knew this, he was just choosing to push it to the back of his mind, and try to live out each day. Life had changed since that fateful day back in his fifth year, and as he sat in the train on his way to his final year at Hogwarts, Harry knew most people would be surprised at what he had become. It wasn't only his physical appearance that had changed, even though his now glasses were no longer needed as Hermione had figured out a spell to heal his eyes, and his body had bulked up from all the fighting, it was his soul that had changed. It had hardened. Which, in Harry's mind, was a good thing. He could not fight a war if he was constantly worrying about the people he killed, even if they were Death Eaters. Back in his first year, Harry knew he would not have had the strength to shout out the words "Avada Kedarva!", even if it were to defeat Lord Voldemort. No, he had a huge conscience then, but now, Harry knew he could yell out those words without a second thought.
Glancing into the eyes of his worried friends, Harry forced a smile onto his pale face, and rolled his eyes when Ron attempted to smile back.
"Your fake smiles suck, Ron," Harry pointed out as he stood up to stretch, "They always have."
"You're the right one to talk," Hermione pointed out as she narrowed her eyes at Harry, "Yours are the least believable."
"Shouldn't you be in the Head Girl's cabin?" Harry asked, ignoring her last statement as he raised an eyebrow, "I mean, you are head girl, aren't you?"
Hermione blushed under Harry's stare, before an angry scowl crossed her features, "I should be, but I won't be. I know it was to be expected, that Draco Malfoy would be Head Boy, but I don't think I will be able to even stand him! Right now he has his two goons in there and I don't think I'm ready to wage another world war if I were to bring you two in there. I just…want to forget about all that petty fighting this year and get on with my studies!"
"True," Ron nodded, "As much as I despise that prat Malfoy and love our joyous fights, this year I just want to get good grades! Without them there is no chance I can become an Aurorer."
"Yeah," Harry nodded, returning his blank stare back out the train's window, and then abruptly changed the subject, "Dumbledore owled me during the holidays to tell me there'd be some changes at school this year, and that I was to tell you two not to worry when he gives his beginning of the year speech."
"Did he say why?" Hermione asked immediately, "Or what changes were being made?"
"Nope," Harry shook his head, "Only that the three of us must be prepared. Oh wait! He also said-"
Harry's sentence was cut off by a loud bang down the hallway, followed by loud, hysterical female laughter. Without even a glance at each other, the three friends all jumped from their seats and rushed out the cabin door.
The sight that greeted them was quite extraordinary.
Two identical girls, first years obviously, were holding onto each other for support as they laughed hysterically, their eyes watering from laughter. In front of them another boy lay squirming on the floor, his mouth open and screaming, yet there was no noise.
"What's going on here?" Hermione questioned, her voice causing the two girls to immediately fall silent, and the boy to look up at her pleadingly. Her shiny head girl badge was definitely not lost on any of them.
"I don't know," One of the brown haired twins spoke up, her voice loud and clear, "My sister Morgan and I don't even know how to use magic yet, but when this monster here," She indicated to the boy now sitting up on the floor his blue eyes wide at Hermione, "Came out of his cabin, he started calling us names and next thing I know, I've gotten all angry and am yelling all sorts of insults back at him, like I would do in the non wizard world to my other sister, but the difference is, I've somehow silenced him. Not that silencing him is a bad thing."
She paused for a moment before looking Hermione directly in the eye, "What exactly is a mud blood?"
Hermione said nothing, but her eyes widened with surprise, then narrowed with anger at the boy sitting on the floor. She pulled him to his feet by grabbing his right arm, then pushed him into one of the cabins and followed him in.
"Boy, he's about to get the lecture of his life." Ron mused as the door shut with a loud bang behind Hermione, "Although he does deserve it."
"Why?" The other twin asked, finally speaking up, "I know what he said was offensive, because of the snide tone he had going, but I don't know what it means."
"A mud blood is a horrible term used to describe a witch or wizard that has muggle parents." Harry spoke up, glancing from one twin to the other, "It's a really nasty comment that Hermione has heard so many times she's vowed to put an end to it."
"Oh." The twin replied, frowning, "Remind me to thank Hermione."
"And me to kill Daemon Malfoy." The other practically growled.
"Malfoy?" Ron and Harry exclaimed loudly, their eyes shooting open.
"Yeah…that's what he said his name was," The louder twin replied nervously, "Why?"
"There's a Malfoy in our year," Ron narrowed his eyes at the thought, "He's given us nothing but grief, especially Hermione."
"Oh," The other twin nodded in understanding, "They're pure blood wizards then?"
"Yes." Harry frowned, "And he likes to make it known."
"I can't believe there's another Malfoy. Why? Why I ask! Have I been that horrible?" Ron asked, his blue eyes shining, "This is beyond cruel."
There was a silence in the corridor, before the louder of the twins, and definitely the most outgoing spoke up, "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Blaire Chisholm, and this is my sister Morgan."
"Ron Weasley."
"Harry Potter."
"Glad to meet you," Blaire smiled widely at the two, her green eyes flashing happily, "At least now we know that all wizards aren't horrid. We didn't even believe wizards existed!"
"I know the feeling," Harry rolled his eyes at the thought of the Dursley's, "But being a wizard is much better than being a muggle. The magic is wicked."
"Do wizards," Blaire dropped her voice down to practically a whisper, "Ever play pranks on each other? With wizard stuff?"
Ron and Harry shot each other a mortified look. It was going to be like Fred and George all over again.
"They do," A voice spoke up from behind them, "In fact, this year you're going to meet two of the greatest pranksters of them all!"
Ron groaned. Harry turned around, startled. Two identical, red haired, grinning Weasley's stood behind them, grinning madly.
Her parents still didn't know she had overheard her father's nasty comment. Straight after he had said it, her mother had practically raced into Liana's bedroom, where she pretended to be asleep, her music drowning out any nose whatsoever. No one spoke of her adoption to her, but she knew her "father" was dying too.
The day they had to go to Diagon Alley was probably one of the best in Liana's life. Their mother had taken the three of them one day when their father was at work, and they had spent the entire day there. She had been amazed at the street; it was like something straight out of a science fiction movie. The shops were fun too, each was different and each amazed her more than the first. Their last stop had been at the wand shop, where her two sisters had been assigned almost wands with feathers in them from the same bird.
"Identical in every way," The man behind the counter had chuckled at the two excited girls in front of him.
Liana had been sitting on the only chair in the shop, looking around when she felt his eyes on her. He gave her a questioning look, before her mother dragged her three daughters out of the shop. It was almost like he had expected to sell her a wand too.
That night their father hadn't said a word about school, and none of the women in the family did either. They knew when not too push it. One thing troubled Liana though, if her parents were from the wizarding world, shouldn't she be a witch as well? Wouldn't that be logical? But no, no letter had come for her from any wizarding school. She was just an average muggle, who was going to be forced to be the only child in her family while her sisters went to Hogwarts, and that thought made her feel more depressed than ever.
Her sisters had left early that morning, straight after their father had left to go to work, so Anita Chisholm had taken the two girls to the train station. She had left Liana to sleep, and so when Liana had woken up, she was furious that she hadn't gotten to say goodbye to her "sisters". She had woken up about ten minutes after her mother had left, it being only ten fifteen in the morning, and so Liana knew she had a good half an hour before even bothering to expect her mother home. Dressed in a pair of baggy blue jeans, a plain white t-shirt and a bandanna over her long, light brown hair, Liana stalked to the family room where she sat down on the old couch and turned on the TV. The annoying face of Spongebob Squarepants came up immediately, and with nothing better to watch, Liana sighed and settled for the annoying animated character.
Pop!
Liana jumped at the noise, and whirled around to find an elderly man with a long, white beard standing behind her, dressed in a long cloak.
"Ah! The famous muggle contraption…the TV?" He exclaimed, his blue eyes landing on the television set in front of her.
At the word muggle, Liana suppressed her urge to scream as loudly as she could. He was a wizard. Instead she only nodded.
"I'd like to discuss exactly what the purpose of it is," He spoke softly, "But I am afraid I have more important things to say."
"If you're looking for Morgan and Blaire, they're already on the train to Hogwarts," Liana spoke up, knowing that could be the only reason the wizard was here…unless…no, it couldn't be about her. Nothing was ever about her.
"It is you, Liana, I am here for." He chuckled at her surprised face, "It is time for you to come to Hogwarts, I am afraid you have been deprived of it for long enough."
"Deprived? What?" Liana spoke up, "You mean, I'm a witch too? But how come I didn't get a letter when I was eleven?"
"It is a long story, one which would take many hours to explain," The old man spoke, "And that is time we just do not have. I must stress the urgency of getting to Hogwarts though."
Liana sat still for just one moment, before springing up and sprinting to her bedroom. She had just flung in some of her clothes before peeking her head out of her bedroom door and asking,
"You never did tell me who you are."
"Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts Witchcraft and Wizardry." He spoke up from where he sat, eyeing the TV.
"Thought so." Liana mumbled, and continued packing her bag.
She was going home.
