Chapter 1, Old Faces, New Year
As always at this time of year, King's Cross Station is packed with students and their parents. Every now and then a small group seems to simply vanish as they head toward the barrier between platforms nine and ten. The only people who spare the time to notice these odd happenings are those who most of the "ordinary" people would recommend an express trip to a nice room with a psychiatrist if their conversations were ever overheard.
"Dad! Sirius gave Marna tainted owl pellets. She's gone all green and . . . reptilian." Indeed, the very affronted barn owl had changed color and swapped her feathers for scales. The girl holding her cage dropped the cover back over it as a group of Muggles passed. She irritably tossed thick black hair over her shoulder and glared at her older brother, green eyes flashing.
The boy, Sirius, wore an affronted look of his own though his dark blue eyes sparkled. "I did no such thing! Come on, Dad, you can't believe I would attempt to change Marna's species. Sounds more like one of Jamie's experiments to me."
A fairly young man with glasses, eyes as green as his daughter's, and unruly black hair grinned at his children. "Hmm. He does have a point, Jamie. I can't imagine Sirius turning anything into a Slytherin mascot."
"It's not a snake! It's a . . . lizard." He trailed off with a defeated tone. The fourteen-year-old ran a hand through his already extremely untidy hair and sighed. "Fine. A couple drops of tirantu should sort her out. Bye, Oh Wise One. Dear Lady." He saluted his father, bowed to his grinning mother, and marched off to catch up with a pair of redheads.
Harry laughed and turned to his wife, who shared her slightly more refined features and blue eyes with their oldest. "Have you seen Ron and Hermione?"
She nodded. "They just came in. Maybe I should see to it that everything gets on the train this time."
"I only forgot once! Sirius got his trunk back by the next day."
Jamie grinned at the memory. "Yeah, but he had to sleep in his robes. The prat wouldn't ask to borrow pyjamas."
A woman with a large amount of brown hair called them over. "Harry, Kate! Oh hi, Jamie. Why don't you and Derrick go ahead and get on the train. We'll bring your trunks in just a minute."
"Sure thing, Mrs. Weasley." The girl grabbed her deformed owl and headed for the magical barrier between the Muggle station and the Hogwarts Express, accompanied by a boy with very wavy, red hair. They walked straight through the solid object as if it weren't really there and onto a platform bustling with students off to study magic, family, and their various belongings.
Derrick gestured to a point behind Jamie. "The Malfoys are here. Damien seems to be enjoying his lecture." he said sarcastically. A woman with dark hair and a somewhat squashed nose that made her resemble a pug was standing with an arrogant pose while a tall, blonde man was giving what he seemed to think was an important speech to three children. The oldest, a boy with dark hair, looked to be agreeing with everything said. The other boy stood gazing at his father with a glazed expression. A young girl as blonde as her father and second brother attempted to pry her hand away from her mother's. Finally, the boys broke from the group, dragging trunks behind them. The older one glared at Jamie and Derrick with deep contempt as he passed to meet up with his Slytherin friends.
The younger of the two stopped and decided to glare at everyone but the Potter and Weasley. "Complete idiots, the lot of them."
Jamie completely ignored his heated attitude. "At least I know nothing's changed. Stop giving the train the stink eye, Damien, or it just might not let you in. Derrick, have you seen Amber yet?"
"I don't think Uncle Charlie has even gotten here."
Damien pulled himself back to Earth. "They're not going to be late are they?" he said, concerned for the last member of their group. "Your uncle always cuts is close when he comes back to the country."
"And I'm sure Amber would appreciate having to be taken to school via the Knight Bus." Added Jamie as she imagined the rant that would probably last late into the night. "Fifteen minutes to go! Where's your mum?"
"Over here!" Mrs. Weasley walked over to them guiding a trolley with her wand. "Where in the world is Sirius? Oh!" She jumped when Sirius and two redheads appeared by her side. "I hope you did do all of your homework."
"We need to leave, Mum, before we miss the train!"
"Okay, okay. Just have a good year and . . ."
"'Bye, Mum!"
There was a chorus of goodbyes as everyone rushed off, either to catch the train or slip back through the barrier. They boarded the train and hurried to find seats. Sirius and the Michaels twins took a different route to a compartment they had already thrown most of their things into. Jamie, Derrick, and Damien made slower progress with three trunks. About midway down, they found an empty compartment and stuffed everything inside just as the warning whistle blew.
As soon as the three of them managed to sit down, a sun-tanned girl with dark brown hair sprinted inside and dropped, panting, into a seat. "You . . . won't . . . believe . . . Dad . . . different . . . time zone . . ."
Everybody burst out laughing. Derrick said, "We get the point." And fanned her off with a copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
A depressed hoot sounded from the covered cage on the floor and Damien peeked under the cloth. "Did you know your owl has scales?"
(A/N: The next chapter will have more of Sirius's group. turns on megaphone Hurry, hurry, hurry! Step right up and review! Who can pair the kids with their parents? A special prize to the first to get the Michaels twins' mother. Let's find out. Make the author happy and review!)
