Disclaimer 1: Draco and most of the teachers belong to JKR. (As if you didn't all know that.)
Disclaimer 2: Severus Snape owning a raven belongs to J.L. Matthews. (Go read her story everybody. It's great.)
Disclaimer 3: The gang name Sharks is borrowed from the musical West Side Story of course. I don't remember where I found the name Rakers, but I know I read it somewhere.
Disclaimer 4: The idea for Snape having a family comes from Al's fic Time of Trial.
Disclaimer 5: The Glizzard family and Gringolf Glizzard belong to my friend PegaPony and so do all of Gringolf's songs. Thanks for letting me borrow them!
Disclaimer 6: My friend Edmund owns himself and his horse Apollo.
Disclaimer 7: Old Joe and Tess' Joe belong to Zebee.
Disclaimer 8: The looks of the five Slytherin girls are taken mostly from a drawing by Iremione.
Disclaimer 9: I first encountered the Ravenslyth-terminology on the Slytherin Rising e-group. I don't remember who invented it, but it's not mine.
A/N: Okay, just a few chapters later than planned (only 17) we've reached the end of this fic. Expect an epilogue sometime next week, then a short break during which I'll work on my Saber Rider fic and then I'll finally start on The Catar. For real this time, I promise.
Since seems to no longer accept the –s I've been using due to it's unwillingness to make section breaks, I'm trying my original breaks from when I started writing MNS below. They haven't been working for years, but I kinda liked them and since the only thing that seems to work right now is editing the breaks back in without being able to even find them unless you re-read the whole thing once again after uploading I thought it's worth a try.
Chapter 21: One Student Too Many, One Too Few
Rupert felt completely exasperated by the time they finally reached the train station in Aberdeen. Glaring at the boy that was following him like a lost puppy he declared that he had to go look for his friend Dinah now.
"Okay," Thomas Riley agreed. "I'll help you."
It was almost ridiculous the way the taller and heavier Thomas was clinging to Rupert.
"You don't have to do whatever I say, you know." Rupert hinted. "As long as you stay on the platform you can't get lost. All you have to do is board the next train that arrives and it'll take you to Hogwarts. You're not dependant on my guidance from here."
"Yes, but you're the only person I know in all of Scotland." Thomas returned. "What else would I do? I can make myself useful. What does your Dinah look like?"
"Uh . . . like Dinah?" Rupert definitely wasn't good at describing people. "Black hair. Probably with a whole bunch of Hufflepuffs."
Thomas nodded. "And what do Hufflepuffs look like?"
Rupert shrugged. "Like really nice people, I suppose."
He suppressed a wince at the sound of that answer expecting Thomas to tease him about it, but the bigger boy apparently swallowed his comment. Just how lost did the bully feel?
Much to Thomas' embarrassment his grandmother had told Rupert that he'd never travelled out of Ireland without his parents before and would need Rupert to watch out for him and show him around, then entrusted him into Rupert's care, much to Rupert's dismay.
Of course it had been nice to get a lift to the port key station and not have to take the train there, but he still couldn't stand Thomas and the thought of having his most hated bully at Hogwarts with him only made things worse. Why, oh why, had headmaster Dumbledore decided to accept another student in the middle of the school year?
Hopefully Thomas would be sorted into Gryffindor. Then Rupert would be rid of him. Thomas would never risk a 'friendship' with a Slytherin, if his house mates disapproved. He liked to be popular.
Then again, Thomas knew about his father. Rupert didn't even want to think about the consequences, if the Gryffindors found out. And they would find out now that Thomas Riley would be going to Hogwarts. No matter what house Thomas would get sorted into, sooner or later he'd tell somebody and that person would tell somebody else and soon the whole school would know.
"The Hufflepuffs are really important, you know." he informed Thomas. "They're known as the nice house, the ones who are friends with everybody. The only people they don't like are dark wizards. So, if you're unpopular with the Hufflepuffs, everybody else is going to distrust you."
"And that Dinah's close with them?"
"Dinah's from a Hufflepuff family." Rupert confirmed. "She knows almost everybody in that house. If she were to warn her friends away from you, oh I think the whole house would know in less than an hour. They're very social like that."
"But Dinah's your friend, so if you tell her that I'm your friend, then she'd tell her friends what a sweet guy I am and . . . "
"Oh, I don't know." Rupert said. "I mean, you've been really nice, today, yes, but does one day spent together already make us friends? After all, in our old school you always used to tell people you wouldn't be caught dead with me, because you despise my father so much."
"But that was ages ago." Thomas almost whined. "We're much older and more mature now. I mean, at our age, who still cares about their parents?"
"Oh, some of our classmates are from really old families, you know." Rupert informed him. "They care a lot about their ancestors and their good name and people who tell tales about other people's relatives . . . "
"Okay, okay, how about this:" Thomas offered. "I don't tell anybody about that old little story with your father and in return you introduce me as your friend?"
"Not quite fair." Rupert declared. "I have to do something while you only have to not do something. I've got a better idea. You don't tell about my father and I don't tell about the way you treated me in primary school. Dinah just hates bullies, you know."
"I'm not a bully." Thomas protested.
"Then prove it by not acting like one." Rupert grinned at him. "Ah, there's Hermy. She's one of Dinah's friends. Hey Hermy!"
Hermy shot around to face them and smiled widely when she recognised Rupert. "Hi Rupert! How was your holiday?"
"Great, though I missed all my friends here." Rupert returned. "Yours?"
This was perfect. Hermy was surrounded by a whole group of other students, many older than her, making it obvious that she was popular and she'd even called him by his name and shown an interest in him. That should convince Thomas of the power behind his threat.
"Wonderful. We had this great Christmas party at home and then just the day before yesterday Nina's birthday party with almost everybody there. Apparently Dinah couldn't make it, but Jorge took lots of pictures. Stop by our table at breakfast tomorrow. I should have copies by then."
"Thanks, Hermy, I'll do that." Rupert beamed. Perfect, absolutely perfect! "But first I have to say hi to everybody else. Have you seen Dinah, perhaps? I can't find her anywhere."
"Not yet." Hermy returned. "Maybe she's sick? That would explain why she wasn't at the party."
"Oh, I hope not. If she's too sick to take the train today, how is she going to get to school?"
Hermy looked worried for a moment, but then shrugged it off. "I'm sure there's a way. Just because the Hogwarts Express isn't going doesn't mean there aren't other trains to Hogsmeade and she can always get a port key or floo into the town. One of the carriages could meet her there."
"It's not that far." Rupert reminded her. "Billy lives in Hogsmeade and he walked home for the holidays."
"Really?" Hermy asked. "I didn't know the Snapes live in Hogsmeade. Do you know where their house is? Anywhere close to McGonagall's?"
"I don't think so." Rupert had no idea where McGonagall lived. Who'd want to know that anyway? "They live in a flat in West Hogsmeade, somewhere close to where Isran and Jimmy live. They went to primary school with Billy."
"I see." Hermy sounded a little disappointed. "McGonagall lives somewhere in the center, I think. Definitely East of the river. Say, who's your friend?"
"Who?" Rupert pretended to not understand at first. "Oh, that's Thomas. He's new. We went to the same primary school, so I'm showing him around a bit."
"That's nice. Hi, Thomas." Hermy smiled at the boy.
"Hermy, there you are!" a blond whirlwind descended upon them a second later. "Hi, Rupert. Mind if I borrow her for a moment."
"Hi, Lulu." Rupert greeted the second year Hufflepuff who was already dragging Hermy away.
Thomas blinked. "Lulu?"
"I think her name's Louisa or something." Rupert confessed. "She's a second year, so I don't really know her."
"Well enough to greet her by name." Thomas pointed out.
"Yeah, but everybody knows her name. She always whirls about like that, you know. Makes her hard to miss."
"She knew your name, too."
"Yes, so she did." Hah!
Dinah arrived late and looking slightly depressed, but with Thomas right there next to them when she jumped aboard the train Rupert decided not to ask her what was wrong. Instead he complimented her new hair clips, which turned out to have been a Christmas gift from Anny.
"Very Slytherin." he declared.
"That's why Anny chose them." Dinah confirmed. "She said Tullia and Colleen would get the same."
"I got some Muggle sweets from her." Rupert told her. "Unmoving chocolate and bonbons that stay the same colour when you eat them. Really cool."
"So, which way to Tullia's compartment?" Dinah asked realising that they were blocking the way for everybody else.
Rupert shrugged. "I didn't see her. Maybe she's in one of the first coaches. Those went by us much too fast to see. Or maybe I just missed her between all those other people. We'll just have to look in every compartment until we find her."
And Thomas still trailed obediently after them through almost the entire train until they finally found Tullia and started a new round of 'How was your Christmas?'. Dinah soon cheered up when Tullia put on her new hair clips and they were talking happily when Colleen joined them in Dundee.
Rupert was just about to ask her about her Christmas when Dinah elbowed him in the ribs and shook her head at him indicating that something was wrong and he should let her lead the conversation.
Meanwhile Tullia had inquired about Phellippe and Colleen launched into an explanation of why she hadn't been able to see him, but he'd loved the picture the girls had drawn for him.
"And his heart is recovering, too." she reported. "If all goes well, he'll be allowed to come home in a few weeks."
"That's wonderful news." Dinah said. "And I see you got Anny's hair clips as well."
"Yes, and the hair band's from her as well." Colleen nodded. "I forgot to owl this, by the way. I meant to send it on Christmas, but then the aurors came and . . ."
"That's okay." Dinah assured her hastily. "I didn't expect you to remember with everything being so hectic for you this year. You don't have to apologise. . . . Now what could this be? It's rectangular and hard. Maybe a box of chocolates? Ah, but it doesn't rattle. Maybe it's a mirror then? Or . . ."
She made a big show of unpacking Colleen's gift and exclaiming how cute the kitten on the cover of the book that turned out to be inside was, then started to talk about school and seeing all their friends again. Tullia started guessing where Anny was right now.
Rupert played along, pointing out that the southern train had to at least have passed Newcastle by now, perhaps even Glasgow, while he became more and more uneasy inside. Something was definitely wrong with Colleen. She looked like she'd cried and everybody was avoiding the topic of Christmas. If she hadn't already said that Phellippe had gotten better, he would have thought that her brother had died. Hopefully he'd manage to catch Dinah or Tullia alone later so he could ask them. Apparently they both knew what was going on.
Danny half lay in her seat her feet with on the opposite bench reading a Quidditch magazine and chewing bubble gum when the Hogwarts express finally rolled out of Kings Cross station. Gangolf hadn't shown up, yet, so she was alone in the compartment.
If it had been anybody else, Danny might have felt annoyed and bored, but anything was preferable to Gangolf's company. Maybe, she thought as she flipped another page, he was playing 'beautician' with the Hufflepuff third year girls three compartments down the corridor. Apparently one of them had discovered make up during the holidays. It would probably be just Gangolf's thing to demonstrate the finer points of lipstick application to them.
Danny frowned in disgust before returning her attention to the introduction of the latest broomstick model. Not that she found this particular broom much to her taste. It looked much too frail to withstand a serious game.
They were almost five minutes past the stop in Birmingham by the time Pank found the compartment. Maybe Danny ought to have remembered to look out for him when the train had stopped and signalled him. Then again he didn't seem to mind her thoughtlessness.
"Where's Gangolf?" was his biggest worry after they exchanged greetings.
"No idea." Danny shrugged. "And who cares anyway?"
Pank sighed. "What did you do to him, Danny?"
"Nothing. I honestly haven't seen him. Maybe he's riding with some friends from another house."
"What friends?" Pank asked.
"Barbara?" Danny suggested.
"I thought they're over." Pank reminded her.
Danny shrugged again. "Maybe they made up."
"I'll check the rest of the compartments." Pank decided and got up. "I've seen most of them already anyway."
"Do you have to?" Danny frowned, but Pank was already walking out forcing her to return to her magazine, which was getting seriously boring by now.
The gum had lost its taste as well, so she spit it out and stuck it under the bench before tearing out a page of adds to fold a paper aeroplane. The dancing every flavour beans squealed a protest against such treatment, but Danny ignored them.
Pank took his time returning, so Danny decided to search her trunk for a second bubble gum. Instead she found her gobstones, but without someone to play with it soon got boring.
Pank finally came back together with Aterus while the train was waiting in Nottingham. He hadn't found Gangolf, nor had any of the people he'd asked seen him.
"Maybe he's getting on at a different station." Aterus suggested. "He might have been visiting family in a different part of the country."
"Maybe his Dad." Danny suggested from under the bench where she was groping for a missing gobstone. "From what I overheard his Mum say they're separated."
"He never said so." Pank remarked.
"Maybe he doesn't like to talk about it." Aterus said. "It might hurt too much."
Danny shrugged. "Who cares? Lets play gobstones."
"On a moving train?" Pank shook his head. "No way. That's dangerous. Lets pack them away before someone slips and gets hurt."
"Then what are we going to do?" Danny demanded.
"How about a guessing game?" Aterus suggested. "Guess what I had for breakfast."
It was a thoroughly ridiculous game, but it helped pass the time until the witch with the sweets cart passed through, after which the chocolate frog cards kept them busy until Anny got on in Leeds.
"Have you heard from Colleen?" she asked the boys. "She didn't answer my owl."
"You mean you don't know?" Danny couldn't believe it. "It was all over the Daily Prophet."
"What was all over where?" Anny asked completely clueless.
Luckily Pank got the picture. "That's a newspaper."
"Newspaper?" Anny gasped. "Colleen was in the papers?"
"Not Colleen, but her family." Aterus explained.
"They arrested her father." Danny continued eagerly. "There was a raid at their mansion and they found all sorts of dark items. The Prophet said he was teaching his children to use them and that's how the boy got his heart attack. Had to watch his father conjure a demon, or murder somebody or something like that."
"Nonsense." snorted Pank. "If he'd killed someone, they'd have arrested him for murder, not possession of dark objects. He probably just showed off his collection and Phellippe got in the way by accident."
"Or maybe . . . " Aterus started.
"Maybe we ought to ask Colleen what happened." Anny snapped silencing the boys. "The paper might have it all wrong. It could all be a mistake and her father innocent."
"Oh, you don't really believe that yourself, do you?" Danny snorted. "The Nocturnes are dark. Always have been, always will. Colleen's grandfather's in Azkaban for life."
"Colleen still hasn't done anything." Anny reminded her. "She's my friend and loves her little brother. Even spoils her owl. What's wrong about that?"
"She's a Nocturne." Danny declared. "Just wait and see."
"Danny!" Pank admonished. "Stop provoking Anny. Anny, sit back down! Really!"
Both girls glared at Pank, but obeyed.
"Spoilsport." grumbled Danny.
The atmosphere in the compartment remained rather strained for the rest of the journey, but then they got off the train and for the first time took the horseless carriages to school.
"This is so cool." Anny declared as she climbed into the carriage.
"It's weird." Danny countered. "Just plain weird. How can something move without even a driver?"
"Magic, of course." suggested Anny and Aterus right away.
"It's just wrong." Danny insisted. "Taxies, cars and coaches require a driver."
"How Muggle of you to think so." Pank laughed. "Who is the Muggle born in here, anyway?"
There was lots of talking and hugging in the great hall as the students returned from the holidays and those who'd arrived on the northern train were reunited with the ones from the south. Billy hardly managed to fight his way through the crowd to his usual seat.
When he finally got through he found everybody crowded around Rupert.
"What's going on?" Billy asked his friends.
"They've accepted a boy from my old school to Hogwarts." Rupert replied morosely. "And Gangolf's missing. I bet they'll put him in his bed."
"Rupert doesn't like Thomas." Tullia translated. "He doesn't want to share his dorm with him."
"I don't even want to be in the same school as him." Rupert corrected. "My parents picked Hogwarts so I could start over with new people."
"So what?" asked Pank. "He's just one person and you don't have to be best pals, if you don't want to."
"Yeah," confirmed Aterus. "He can be Gangolf's friend. Maybe then they'll both be happy."
"Gangolf's not even here." Dinah pointed out. "You can't just decide that for him."
"Gangolf ought to be happy to get any friend." Danny pointed out. "He'll like him. It's whether Thomas will like Gangolf that worries me."
"Why are they accepting a new student in the middle of the year, anyway?" asked Anny. "I thought there was a limited number of places."
"Maybe they kicked Gangolf out." Colleen suggested. "For dangerous flying."
"Why does Thomas want to switch schools now?" Pank asked. "Hasn't he only just started at another wizarding school?"
"He got expelled." Rupert smirked. "Too many detentions for bullying his fellow students and beating up a girl."
"That's rather harsh." Anny wondered. "How many detentions can he have gotten in only four months?"
"The girl was the headmaster's eight year old daughter." Rupert explained. "Dear Tommy never was particularly smart."
"Then maybe he's been accepted, because the headmaster feels sorry for him." Billy decided. "Uncle Albus always had a soft heart."
Meanwhile Thomas Riley was following a stern looking witch into what she explained was called the great hall.
Rupert, his only comfort in this foreign country, had handed him over to a terrifying old man the moment they'd gotten off their horseless carriage saying that this was the school's caretaker. The man hadn't even smiled!
Instead he'd grabbed Thomas' arm and pulled him into a side passage. Thomas hadn't dared to ask where they were going and soon had been completely lost.
In the end they'd arrived at what looked like a teacher's office, though and he'd been handed over to the strange witch.
When he'd once again been led through unfamiliar corridors full of ancient portraits and suits of armour, Thomas had finally dared to ask for a destination, though the answer didn't help him much either. What and where was the great hall? And where, oh where, was Rupert? Thomas wanted nothing more than to go home.
Then the witch opened a door and a wave of noise washed over him. The great hall was full of what seemed to be thousands of students. Hogwarts had to be much bigger than his old school.
The teacher led him to a table in the front, which was apparently where the staff took their meals. At one end of the table sat the horrible caretaker from earlier and at the other yet another stern looking witch.
His stern looking witch led him to the middle of the table, though, where one chair was left empty next to an ancient looking wizard who twinkled happily at him.
"Ah, this must be Mr. Riley." he greeted them kindly. "Nervous?"
Thomas nodded mutely. Somehow he seemed to have misplaced his voice.
"No need to be." the wizard assured him. "I'll just say a few words to the students and then we'll sort you into your house and after that you can go meet your new friends. I'm sure they'll be happy to welcome you, don't you think, Severus?"
A dark haired wizard with a hooked nose, who was sitting on the nice wizard's other side, turned towards them in response. He scowled as he looked Thomas up and down.
"I'd say that depends on what house he's sorted into." he finally decided.
"So you think that Slytherin would be inhospitable enough to . . ." the stern witch started.
"No," the dark wizard smirked at her. "Not at all, Minerva. I am merely concerned that your darling Gryffindors might be thoughtless enough to completely ignore a new member of their house. I believe it has happened before."
"It wasn't at all like that!" the stern witch snapped. "The poor girl was so shy, that . . ."
"Minerva, Severus, please." the old wizard lifted his hands towards them. "You're scaring Mr. Riley with your games."
The two teachers glared at each other.
"Don't believe them." the old wizard stage whispered to Thomas. "Those two just love to tease each other. You'll find lots of friends in whatever house you're sorted into, I assure you."
Thomas gulped and nodded, but a little rest of doubt remained. Maybe the wizard just said that to calm him. Rupert had said that Hufflepuff was known as the nice house, so did that mean that the other houses weren't?
Rupert himself was in Slytherin, so he wouldn't be alone there, but what if he got sorted into that Gryffindor house and the dark wizard turned out to have been telling the truth? How was he going to be sorted anyway?
And where was Rupert? He had to be somewhere in the hall, but even when the old wizard stood and called the students to silence he couldn't find him in the mass of black robed students.
He did notice the girl called Lulu at one of the tables, though. The group she was sitting with all looked very nice and some of the students were regarding him curiously. Yes, maybe if he got to be with a group like that everything would be okay.
And then all the faces down there turned to stare at him and the stern witch gestured for him to sit in a chair in front of everybody.
Shakily Thomas walked up to the chair and sat down. A huge hat was placed onto his head.
"Ah, hello Mr. Riley." a disembodied voice said inside his head.
"Wha . . . Who said that?"
"Me, the sorting hat." the voice returned calmly. "I'm here to view your thoughts and determine your house."
"View my thoughts?" That was scary! "My thoughts are mine."
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." the hat assured him. "I'll just check where you fit in best."
"Slytherin would be great." Thomas pushed. "At least I know somebody there. Yes, please, I want to be with Rupert."
"No, I really don't think you'd be happy there." the hat disagreed. "Slytherins need a strong personality, to be able to stand on their own. You like to have confirmation from others, to be looked up to. I made that mistake with another student this year and hear it made him terribly unhappy. Gryffindor would give you the support you need."
"No, not Gryffindor!" Thomas thought. "Not the house that ignores new students. I don't want to be alone."
"Don't want to be alone, eh?" the hat asked. "Well, that excludes Ravenclaw . . . I guess that means HUFFLEPUFF!"
There was some clapping and then the hat was taken off his head. Thomas got up and stood in front of the student body slightly confused. He supposed that he was to join Hufflepuff house now, but where was that? Who were his new classmates?
While looking around frantically he finally noticed Rupert at one of the tables along with his friends Dinah, Tullia and Colleen, but those were Sytherins. He needed to find the Hufflepuffs.
A very tall boy beckoned to him from another table and Thomas decided to ask him for help. At least that would take him further into the group of students where he wouldn't feel so exposed.
"Hufflepuff?" Rupert couldn't believe it. "However could a bully like Thomas get into Hufflepuff?"
"Maybe getting expelled has taught him a lesson." Dinah suggested. "He might be all determined to change his ways now."
"Maybe he isn't as bad as he seemed to you after all." commented Anny.
"Or perhaps he cheated the hat." Tullia said.
"The hat might have decided to put him there to learn better from the Hufflepuffs." Pank theorised.
"Nonsense." Danny snorted. "Your big bully's just a common miserable coward. He may talk really big when he knows he's bigger and stronger than you and has a whole gang of friends behind him, but all alone among strangers he's just a pitiful little heap of nerves. He probably whined at the hat about being scared and lonely and wanting friends to hold his hand. Even Gangolf isn't that pathetic."
"Oh, and you weren't nervous at all when you first arrived here?" Colleen challenged her.
Danny shrugged it off. "I'm never scared."
"Well, I was." Tullia admitted. "I was so nervous my knees were shaking when I had to go up and put on the hat."
"Everyone gets excited about meeting a whole lot of new people, but if any of us had been whining about needing someone to hold our hands, they wouldn't be here right now." Danny declared. "Could you pass the peas, please?"
"Sure." Colleen said and moved to pick up the bowl of peas that had just appeared on the table beside her.
But before she could lift it her hand was slapped away.
"Paws off, Death eater!" Miranda from third year snapped.
"I've got just as much right to . . ." Colleen started, but Danny had already jumped up and tore the bowl out of Miranda's hands.
"Hey!" Miranda yelped. "You could have just asked."
"I did." Danny snapped and sat back down with her trophy. "You refused."
"Not to you." Miranda promised. "I just don't want any traces of dark arts in my food."
"What do you think they are? Bacteria?" Billy asked shaking his head. "Dark arts consist of spells and potions. They aren't contagious."
"And anyhow, Colleen didn't do anything." Dinah added.
"Yeah, her parents just owned some object." Anny nodded. "They might not even have know it was illegal."
"Several objects." Danny pointed out. "Hard to overlook all of them, if you ask me. Peas, Colleen?"
Colleen just stared at her for a moment. How did this girl manage to challenge and support her in one breath? And why the hell would she do that?
"Father inherited them from grandfather." she explained while serving herself a generous amount of peas, even though she hadn't really wanted any. "Grandfather had a collection. Father handed over all the really bad stuff to the aurors, but some things were just to valuable to throw away, so he secretly sold that which had no emotional value and locked the rest away safely. Some of those objects have been in the family for centuries, were even made by our ancestors."
"Dark arts." Danny pointed out.
"Illegal things." Pank added.
"They weren't illegal when they were made." Colleen countered. "The law changed a lot over time."
"Most of the possessions of Merlin himself would be considered illegal now." Billy commented. "But they were perfectly fine to use back then. The current law is just overcautious."
"Maybe not that overcautious." Tullia remarked. "Just look what those safely locked away objects did to Colleen's brother."
"Then you could never give anyone a wand, for fear they'd cast a dangerous spell, even if only by accident." Billy argued. "You could never brew a potion, because you might burn yourself, or someone could have an allergic reaction to the vapours. You couldn't drive a car or coach, because you might run over someone, couldn't throw a stone away, because it might hit someone."
"Father showed us those objects." Colleen admitted. "Not to show off, just so we'd know they are there. They are part of our heritage, our history. I guess that was a mistake, because Phellippe must have touched something when he wasn't looking. Maybe he was too young. Maybe father should have waited to show him when he was older and less curious. But that doesn't make father evil. He didn't hurt Phellippe on purpose. He never would! It was an honest mistake."
"Then why did the aurors take him, huh?" Danny demanded. "I suppose you only want to think the best of your Dad, but the ministry wouldn't arrest him, if he hadn't done anything."
"Yes, they would." Billy countered. "The aurors don't make a difference between against the law and evil. Or between intentional and accidental. They have the law and the power behind them and everything else be damned. They're a dangerous lot, the aurors, and one does best to stay away from them as much as possible."
"Billy!" Dinah gasped. "I'm sure your Dad wouldn't approve of you talking like that."
"Oh yeah?" Billy laughed. "Guess who I learned it from. Dad spent his time in Azkaban, too. For spying on Voldemort for Uncle Albus. They sent him to prison for saving lives, Dinah."
"Really?" Colleen smiled at Billy gratefully. "So father's not the only one?"
"Really." Billy confirmed. "A lot of people have been in prison. Some guilty, some innocent and a lot who were guilty, but still didn't deserve what they got."
"Thanks," Colleen said softly. "Knowing that helps."
"My Dad was in prison, too." Rupert admitted to his own surprise.
"He was?" Pank stared at him. "Was he a war hero, too?"
Rupert blushed. "No, nothing at all like Professor Snape. Or Colleen's father. It's a really embarrassing story and I don't like to talk about it."
"Ah, but that's not fair." Dinah declared. "First you make us curious, then you refuse to tell."
"Colleen and Billy both told us." Pank decided. "Now it's your turn."
"And it'll help Colleen feel better." Anny stated. "Won't it, Colleen?"
Colleen nodded.
"Thomas Riley wouldn't per chance know?" Danny asked smirking evilly.
Rupert shuddered. If they went and asked Thomas, it'd all be over. Who knew how he'd tell the story. Not that there was much that needed embellishing in order to make his Father look like a complete idiot.
"Alright." he agreed. "But there's really nothing cool or romantic about it. My Dad isn't a hero or has any grand traditions to maintain. It's just a chain of really ridiculous mistakes."
The others looked at him eagerly. Oh hell!
"So one day my Dad went out with some friends. He had a few firewhiskeys too many and really was in no shape to walk when he decided to go home. So when he realised he couldn't walk straight, he decided, drunk stupid as he was, to apparate instead."
"He splinched?" Colleen asked. "But how did that land him in Azkaban?"
"Not Azkaban." Aterus corrected. "They've got their own wizarding prison in Ireland. It's somewhere underground."
"No, Dad didn't splinch." Rupert admitted. "And he didn't go to The Caves either. No, he had a much worse accident."
"What could be worse than splinching?" Danny asked with a puzzled frown.
"He mis-apparated." Rupert explained.
"He what?" asked Anny.
"Reappeared in the wrong place." Aterus explained. "So what? If he didn't splinch, he could have just tried again, or waved down a bus."
"Or gotten a taxi." Danny added.
"Well yes, he could have." Rupert sighed. "He should have, but being as drunk as he was he just keeled over and fell asleep."
"And?" Pank demanded when Rupert didn't continue for several seconds.
"And he just happened to have landed on the premises of a muggle company that had been closed up for the night and tripped over some alarm spell." Rupert buried his face in his hands hoping to hide his blush.
"Burglar alarm, I assume." Anny corrected. "Muggles don't use spells."
"Well, some sort of alarm anyway." Rupert said into his hands. "The Muggle aurors came and arrested him and he was so drunk he didn't even remember that he could take out his wand and obliviate them. He just let them take him away."
"Policemen." Anny corrected again.
"What?" Colleen asked.
"Muggle aurors are called policemen." Billy explained.
"Whatever." Rupert shrugged. "The Muggles put him on trial and by the time we found out about the whole mess it was all over their papers and too late to cover up. The ministry decided that Dad just had to pretend to be a Muggle, so he couldn't explain how he got in there by accident. The company was surrounded by a big fence and all the doors were locked, so the Muggles thought the only way to get in was to climb the fence, which you could only do intentionally. Dad managed to convince them that it was just some stupid drunken idea and that he hadn't really intended to steal anything, but it was still an illegal break in which earned him a prison sentence. In a Muggle prison."
They laughed. Of course they laughed. After all it had to be the most ridiculous predicament a wizard had ever found himself in.
"Well, why didn't he simply disapparate from the prison?" Anny asked finally.
"Why the ministry confiscated his wand, of course." Rupert explained. "They didn't want any more unexplained appearances or disappearances associated with him in the Muggle papers."
"So he really had to fulfil his entire sentence, even though he wasn't guilty?" Dinah asked.
"Yes and besides getting into several Muggle papers it made headlines in the wizarding ones as well." Rupert admitted. "You can't imagine how embarrassing that was."
"At least nobody called you a death eater for it." Colleen glared at Miranda.
"No, they just called me a Muggle and a thief and just about everything else." Rupert pouted.
"Then they were idiots." Billy declared. "Anyhow, I've got some much more joyful family news. Everybody from the school's welcome, of course, but for you as my friends I have . . ." He dug a stack of white envelopes out of his pocket. "Personal invitations to my brother's wedding." he beamed at them.
"Well, they got a little rumpled." he admitted after a moment.
"Is that muggle paper?" Colleen asked when she felt the unusual texture of hers.
Billy nodded. "Of course. Much easier and cheaper than folding parchment into envelopes and they're prettier as well."
"Cool!" decided Colleen.
"That's during the Easter holidays." Rupert remarked.
"Yes, I suppose you'd have to stay at Hogwarts over the holidays, if you want to come, but I promise it'll be worth it." Billy admitted.
"I'll have to stay as well." Anny announced. "You know my parents could never take me to Hogsmeade."
"Then I'm staying, too." Dinah decided. "To keep you company." And then she wouldn't have to see any of her relatives and wouldn't be reminded of how they felt about her.
"Me too." Pank declared. "It'll be fun, if we all stay."
"I can't." Billy shook his head. "I have to help with the last minute wedding preparations."
"And my brother will probably be at home by then." Colleen said. "I have to go home to see him. I'm sure grandmother will let me attend, if I show her the invitation, though. I can take the carriage and train, if someone will meet me at the station."
"We'll do that." Pank confirmed. "Just owl ahead when you're going to arrive."
"Bring your brother along." Billy suggested. "He can have fun with the neighbours' kids."
"He's not allowed to have fun." Colleen reminded him. "His heart."
"Oh, then you'd probably better lave him at home." Billy agreed.
"So now that all that's cleared up, what do we do about Gangolf?" Pank asked. "Do any of you know where he might be?"
"Who cares?" Danny rolled her eyes.
"Yes, we're better off without him." Colleen agreed. "Lets enjoy this while it lasts."
"It's not right." Pank insisted. "Gangolf, however annoying he may be, is our classmate. We are supposed to watch out for him."
"We could ask Dad after we finish dinner." Billy suggested reluctantly. "If there's an official reason, he'll know and if there isn't, he'll have to be informed. Either way we will have done our duty and can leave everything else to the teachers."
Thus it came that Professor Snape found the entire Slytherin first year waiting outside his office door when he arrived in the dungeons about an hour later. Most of the students including Billy looked rather reluctant to be there, though, which caused him to turn to Pank and Danny for an explanation.
"Gangolf's missing." Pank reported immediately. "None of us have seen him since we left for the holidays."
Severus quickly counted heads. Indeed there were only nine of them and he couldn't remember seeing the boy in the great hall.
"Are you sure?" he demanded. "Have you checked your dorm, yet? He might have arrived with friends from another year or house and set with them during dinner."
"I checked the entire train." Pank declared. "He wasn't there."
"He doesn't have any friends." Dinah pointed out. "Nobody outside of our class wants to be seen with him."
"Then, maybe he wasn't feeling well and didn't want any food." Professor Snape decided. "Billy and Aterus, you two run up to the hospital wing and ask Madame Pomfrey whether she's seen him. I'll check the common room myself."
Feeling slightly annoyed Severus took off for the common room. Missing student alerts right after the holidays were not an entirely uncommon event, though, so he wasn't overly worried. Usually they turned out to be false alarms, though one or two students managed to miss the train every year. Most of the time the students were found in their common rooms, the hospital wing or socialising with friends from another house.
Those who did miss the train usually sent an owl, if they owned one, flooed the headmaster, if they were from wizard families, or took the next train to Hogsmeade, if they were Muggle born. That could sometimes lead to a very late arrival, since the student didn't only have to wait for the later train, but also had to walk up to the castle on a path that was still unfamiliar to a first year.
If Gangolf had been Muggle born Severus would have worried that he might have lost the path from Hogsmeade in the darkness. A wizard born however should have had a faster way to get here.
The common room was quite busy tonight with students coming and going from every direction, which wasn't really a surprise. It always took the students a while to settle back in and share all their holiday experiences.
Severus caught a prefect by the shoulder as she hurried past him. "Miss Denington."
"Yes, Sir?" she seemed a little surprised.
"I want all the prefects and at least one boy and girl representative of each of the lower years in the common room on the double." Severus told her. "Please spread the word."
"Yes, Sir." the girl confirmed.
Severus led the first year boys up to their dorm. It was obvious that Gangolf wasn't there the moment he opened the door. Nobody had been in this room, yet, at all. All the beds were still neatly made, not a single sheet rumpled. There were no knickknacks lying about and all the trunks stood exactly in line at the end of the beds.
Except one bed had no trunk and it just happened to be Gangolf's.
Severus nodded at the boys, turned around and led them back into the common room.
This time the picture was much more orderly. The students had collected in year groups around the tables and silence fell the moment Severus stepped into view. Pank and Rupert slid onto a bench next to the first year girls.
Severus let his eyes wander over the assembly without saying anything at first. There was still the occasional student wandering in, some looking bewildered at the sight of everybody sitting in silence, but every year was at the very least represented.
"We have a missing student alert." Severus announced finally. "Has anybody seen Gangolf Bartering today?"
Silence. The seventh years were complete and the last of the fourth years had just appeared on the stairs.
"He should have been on the southern train." Severus coaxed. "From the very start in London."
An embarrassed looking Ravenclaw was trying to sneak out the secret door unnoticed. In the back of his head Severus vaguely wondered what she was afraid of. He had more important things to worry about, though.
Two second years came in just as she left and were waved over by their classmates. That completed that year.
Lisa Alters stumbled in with a towel over her wet hair. Apparently she wasn't a fan of drying charms.
"Are there any other missing students?" Severus continued glancing towards the sixth years' table. "Corrinna Aven?"
"Stubbed her toe, Sir. She limped out in a huff. I guess she either went to the hospital wing or is pouting somewhere."
"Maxie Harcourt?"
"Off meeting her boyfriend."
"Calligula Lestrange?"
"Taking a shower."
"Andrew Undercastle?"
"No idea, but I talked to him at dinner."
Billy and Aterus returned looking slightly miffed.
"Madame Pomfrey hasn't seen Gangolf." Billy reported. "What now?"
"Please wait here while I inform the headmaster." Severus decided. "We might have to search the castle."
It seemed forever until he returned, but when he did it was with good news.
"False alarm." he announced to the entire house. "Mrs Berring owled the school yesterday requesting a copy of Gangolf's student file to be sent to London. Apparently Mr Berring will continue his education there. His bed will have been removed by this time tomorrow." he added towards the first year boys. "The house elves simply didn't get around to it, yet."
It took a moment for the information to sin in, but then cheers started up at the third years' table and soon the whole house was declaring how happy they were to be rid of the weird boy.
"That's not very nice of us." Dinah commented a little worriedly.
"But he'll probably be happier there." Danny consoled her. "He never fit in with us."
"Colleen will have to sit alone in most classes." Anny remarked slightly worried.
"Maybe the teachers will let us switch seats." Pank suggested. "Or else pull her desk over to attach it to another one."
"It's okay." said Colleen. "I never liked Gangolf anyhow. I'd rather sit alone than with him."
"We'll be an uneven number in Potions." was Tullia's only problem with the change.
"I'll work alone when we have to pair up." Billy decided. "I'm faster than the rest of you anyway. It'll be an additional challenge."
"There'll be more room in the dorm now." Rupert beamed. "And nobody blocking the bathroom for hours."
"It will take some time to get used to." Aterus said.
"Yeah, about five seconds." Danny sneered. "This is the best thing that could have happened to us. Now we've got a perfect group of friends. Right people?"
"Yes!" they exclaimed happily and Gangolf was indeed soon forgotten.
By the end of the year only a few pictures remained to remind people that there had once been ten Slytherin students in the year.
Wirretine – Luckily Colleen isn't very close to her father. I doubt she'd have a chance to handle it, if he'd been the one that raised her. She's getting psychological treatment now and as you saw has the support of her friends. She'll never trust Aurors again, but won't turn to the dark either. . . . Guessed it about Gangolf, of course. It'll be better for him this way.
Preppygirl – Of course she's snotty, she was raised to be. She's also a very sweet and warm hearted girl, though and loves her family. . . . I considered making Rupert Jewish at the very beginning of this fic, but decided against it. I just don't know enough about Jewish customs, or where in the British isles there are Jewish communities. I don't even know any Jewish people I could have asked about it (at least not ones that I know are Jewish. I don't tend to talk to people about religion much as I'm without confession and it's not a big factor in my life.). Hence, there are Jewish children at Hogwarts, but not among the Slytherin first years of this year.
Kyzara – They've grown on me a lot as well and I'm once again sad to let them go, but still the time has come for a whole bunch of Catar, whom I already love dearly, to get the chance to grow on me and my readers. My Slytherin first years will be okay as the epilogue will show and even Gangolf will be happier at his new school where he can go home to his beloved Mummy every day.
Joou Himeko Dah – Thanks!
Pam Briggs – I was surprised myself at how well Colleen is dealing with her experience, but then she was rather estranged from her father to start with. She has learned to hate Aurors now, but with the psychological treatment she's getting and the support of her friends she'll recover from the rest of it. . . . Indeed, Billy couldn't even imagine what Colleen's family is like. Draco could, but Billy has always lived surrounded and protected by his family's love and support.
ERMonkey Burner of Cookies – Yes, Colleen definitely doesn't have it easy, but she's a strong girl luckily.
Hieiko – Thanks! Holiday Blues is my little sweet fic, loved dearly despite being one of my shortest.
Blythe.Naurin – That's okay. Sometimes also won't let you review. (I had that problem with a fic this week. I reviewed every chapter of it, but this time I couldn't even log in.) . . . Colleen's grandmother does love her grandchildren a lot, but she was raised in another century and in a dark family. She's the product of her time and surroundings. As is Colleen. . . . Billy would fit in anywhere. His loving background has given him the balance and happiness he needs to make friends, deal with problems and adapt to new surroundings. Slytherin rarely gets such uncomplicated students and is much luckier to have Billy than Billy is to have it. He is happy there, though, so why should he want to switch? . . . Gangolf's father was actually thinking of his own good name and using his son as a tool to manipulate his wife. She loves Gangolf a lot and wouldn't want to be a bad mother. The terrible thing about it is that both Gangolf and his mother are suffering from the pretence of family. They'd both be better off with a clear end and no man in their lives. It would leave them free to move on, maybe even find someone to replace Gangolf's father.
Amelia D. – Well, I couldn't very well move that many existing characters into West Hogsmeade. It would be against the very nature of the place I meant to create. Hence I needed to create new ones and it was good practise for this fic where the whole story is carried by my own characters. . . . It's always hard to leave a story I've written behind, but I need to start the next one at some point, so one chapter just has to be the last one and after that the characters are left to live their lives. I'll always remember them fondly, though.
LM – Indeed, a lot of those items do, but the law doesn't care much about that. Colleen has the support of her friends, but there's little they can do for her father. He will have to spend his time in Azkaban. As he hasn't actually murdered anybody he'll probably get a more lenient sentence, though. With a little luck the judge will believe that he only kept the items for emotional reasons and never intended to touch them.
Brink182 – How Colleen feels about Aurors now? Well, I think about as kindly as Severus does. (Remember he was in Azkaban and they used to regularly wreak havoc in his home during their raids.) . . . Yes, Gangolf will be happier going to the London school.
Anonymous – Yes, but he's also Harry's best friend, from a very light oriented family and a Gryffindor and Severus hardly knows him. He was chosen for the job, because of his knowledge of all the death eater children. A Gryffindor is quite out of his reach.
Twilight Dusk – Ah, now lets not scare all the poor little mint lovers. They can still have their favourite candy, I'd say. Just put on a warning for the rest of us.
A/N: Will Gangolf make friends at his new school? Will the other students leave Colleen alone? And are you mad at me for stopping here? (I know it's not a perfect place, but this story just doesn't have one and I can't go on forever.)
In the epilogue: Severus updates his files with some photos, someone's just gotten married and Harry visits the school with his daughter.
