Chapter III
September first was in a week, and it was agreed that Darian would spend that time with the Potter's rather than return to the orphanage. Darian was confused by the kindness. It was obvious that Harry was uncomfortable around her, but she was not quite sure why. She assumed it had something to do with the Lord Voldemort whom Harry had stopped James speaking about that first dinner. Darian did not yet know of her relation to the man, or in fact if she had any relation at all. Perhaps her middle name was just a fancy of her mother's. After all, if the man was her father, should not his last name be hers? All she knew for sure was that Lord Voldemort was a fascinating man. Once the reader got past the inherent loathing with which the author wrote the biography, a man of passion and ambition was revealed. At least, that was how Darian interpreted what she read.
Darian could not really believe what was happening. The morning after her trip to Diagon Alley, she had to touch the quality fabric of her school robes, the leather bindings of her secondhand books, and the soft wood of her wand to make sure it was all reality. Once she was assured of their tangibility, she looked out the window. The Potter's had a beautiful garden which she was eager to explore. That was the one activity that made her happy in the orphanage. She pulled on her sneakers and started towards the front door. Before she reached it, Harry saw her.
"What are you doing?" he said somewhat more suspiciously than he meant to.
"I was going to go into the garden," Darian replied and added, "Am I allowed?"
Harry stared at her for a moment. He still could not bring himself to look directly into her eyes for longer than a moment, the eyes that reminded him so much of his godfather yet he knew came from the person responsible for Sirius' death.
"Of course you're allowed," Harry said as he turned around to leave before adding, "By the way, we will be having some guests later. You will be able to meet some more of your future schoolmates."
Darian did not say anything and just continued on her way to the garden. It was even nicer than it seemed from her window. Someone had spent a lot of care making it perfect. She did not think it was Ginny. She had caught glimpses of the little people who scurried around the mansion, apparently doing housework. Darian had spared a moment to wonder why the Potters would want to hire short people as their servants but she found that she did not really care and soon forgot about the whole thing.
Darian walked about the garden and eventually found a smooth rock hidden behind a tall bush on which to sit. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the image of a snake forming in her mind. Sowa, she whispered. Hello?
After a minute or two she heard the tiny rustling that indicated a small garden snake had heard her.
Sowa, it replied.
Hassam set she Darian asked. Would you care to talk to me?
Sessmon tallahhassi sefs, the snake slid past her. I'm sorry but I'm too busy.
Darian contemplated beckoning another snake but then she heard her own name being called.
"Darian, I'm glad I found you. Look what Agamemnon caught last night," James held out his palm while his new owl perched on his shoulder.
"It's a dead mouse," Darian said, annoyed at being discovered.
"Yeah! I found it in Agamemnon's beak this morning when he flew into my window. Isn't he smart?" James affectionately stroked the feathers of his new pet.
"Sure."
"I'm also supposed to tell you that our guests arrived," James said remembering why he was searching for Darian in the first place, "You'll like them I'm sure. Everyone does. My uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione are here with their kids. Their oldest, Pamela, just turned eleven like last week so she'll be in our year at Hogwarts. Also the Longbottom's came. Their oldest is too young to attend this year. Carl will be a first year when we're in second. Oh and I almost forgot, Uncle Draco and Aunt Persephone are coming later. Their kid isn't old enough to start yet. It's kind of sad, Derek's birthday is on September third. But you have to be at least eleven before you start Hogwarts. He just missed the cut-off. I heard his dad is talking to the headmistress trying to get her to bend the rules. I hope she agrees. Derek's my best friend."
The pair had reached the house just as James finished his short summary of their guests. When Ginny saw Darian, she ushered her in and the formal introductions began.
"This is my brother Ron and his wife Hermione. This is Pamela, she's your age," Ginny indicated a tall, thin girl with bushy red hair and brown eyes, "And her siblings. Sammy and Petey are twins. They're eight." Next Ginny turned to a slightly chubby man next to a thin woman with platinum blond hair, "Neville Longbottom and his wife Luna. He teaches Herbology at Hogwarts. These are their children Carl and Lacy. He's ten and she's seven so neither will be with you at Hogwarts this year."
The door opened then and a tall man with hair a color similar to Luna's and a pretty woman with light brown hair walked in. Ginny exclaimed, "Draco, Persephone you are just in time for the introductions. Darian, this is Draco Malfoy and his wife Persephone who happens to be Hermione's cousin. This is their only child Derek," Ginny pointed to an extremely happy looking boy with light blonde hair and gray eyes.
"Guess what!" Derek shouted, unable to contain his excitement, "Come on father, tell them!"
Draco smiled down at his son and looked up at his friends, "I got Derek a spot in Hogwarts this year."
Harry grinned at one of his best friends, "How'd you manage that? I would have sworn McGonagall would never agree to that."
"She was adamant at first, but the woman can be shrewd when need be. She agreed to let my son start this year if I taught Potions," Draco explained.
"And you agreed?" Ron asked.
"Well I knew there would have been hell to pay in my household if Derek here ever found out he had a chance to go to Hogwarts earlier than originally specified and it was my fault he didn't get it," Draco slapped his son's shoulder affectionately, "Plus it's not like I haven't the time."
Draco, Persephone, and Derek had been living comfortably on Draco's inheritance for years. All his friends knew he was a bit bored. This would be good for him.
"But what happened to Slughorn?" Neville asked.
"He said he was tired of teaching. I think it's just because none of the kids would even pretend to be interested in joining his Slugclub anymore," Harry answered.
All the adults were silent for a moment, reminiscing about their time at Hogwarts, specifically their sixth year when Horace Slughorn had come to teach at their school.
James rolled his eyes, "Come on guys lets go upstairs." All the children followed him, Darian bringing up the rear. The adults went into a parlor where the houselves served them coffee and tea.
"So that was her?" Ron was the first to speak.
"Yeah," Harry said.
"Does she know anything about who she is?" Hermione asked.
Harry was about to respond but Ginny beat him to it, "No. She has been staying with us for about two days now and so far I have not seen anything but a sweet, shy orphan. Harry doesn't want to hear it, but the girl is not evil."
"I have reason to believe that her family genes are a more powerful influence than my wife cares to admit," and Harry continued to tell his closest friends all about what happened in the wand shop.
"So she's a parseltongue. So what? So are you," Draco pointed out.
"Yeah Harry, that doesn't really prove a penchant for dark magic," Hermione said. She and Ron were both Aurors for the Ministry.
Persephone, a muggle, was confused, "Wait I don't get it. Are you guys saying you think that skinny little dark girl is some sort of force of evil?"
The wizards and witches in the room spared a moment to give her a condensed explanation of Darian's lineage.
Meanwhile, upstairs, the older kids were happily discussing Hogwarts while the younger one's played with their merchandise from Fred and George Weasley's joke shop.
"You guys are so lucky. I wish I were going this year," Carl complained.
"It's alright Carl, you'll be with us next year," Derek said somewhat halfheartedly. He had yet to remove the wide smile from his face which indicated his jubilation at getting to go to Hogwarts with his best friend James.
"Darian? Isn't that a boy's name?" Pamela asked the stranger. She did not mean to sound rude, she was just naturally curious.
"No," Darian replied her face and voice eerily even. Pamela was a bit frightened to continue further questioning.
"My dad said you were raised in a muggle orphanage and that you didn't even know magic existed before Uncle Harry got you. Kind of strange considering who your parents were . . ." Derek broke off, trying to remember if this was one of those secrets his father did not want discussed.
"You know who my parents were?" Darian asked her face finally revealing some emotion.
"You don't?" Pamela mustered up the courage to ask, her eyes widening.
James, never one for being left out of a conversation, said, "We all heard our parents talking about it."
"Tell me," Darian commanded as she resisted the urge to grab the small snake pendant that always hung around her neck now.
"Well, we're not really supposed to," Carl wished the topic of conversation would change soon.
James finally made up his mind, "It's alright guys. I think she's cool. She's kind of quiet but not mean or anything. I think we should tell her."
Derek looked at Darian, "Alright, but you can't tell our parents we told you."
Darian nodded and listened as the three preteens explained all about Lord Voldemort and Bellatrix Black Lestrange. At least they told her all they knew, which admittedly was not that much. They just knew the simplest details but it was enough to awaken a strange feeling in Darian.
Their story continued until dinner time when their parents called them down to eat. "Remember what you promised," Derek whispered to Darian as they went to wash their hands.
That evening, Darian lay on her bed thinking as she caressed the spine of the green book she had found by chance in Flourish and Blott's.
Darian spent the rest of her stay at the Potter mansion reading her schoolbooks. She would learn all there was about magic. She would become as powerful as possible. She would make her parents proud.
It was the morning of September first and Darian had just followed James onto Platform 9 ¾. She looked around and saw a lot of young witches and wizards. Some were dressed in black robes similar to those packed in the small trunk she had had to purchase in Diagon Alley, but most were wearing regular clothes. Darian checked herself: muggle clothes.
As her companions said good-bye to their parents, Darian stood off to the side. She was a bit surprised when Ginny came and gave her a small kiss on her forehead and a smile followed by hugs from Cathy and Bobby. Darian gave them a nervous smile and followed James when he said, "Come on Darian. Let's go find a compartment! See ya later dad!"
Harry, Neville, and Draco would apparate to Hogwarts later.
After several minutes of searching, James, Darian, Derek, and Pamela found an empty compartment. They threw their trunks up on the luggage racks and sat back. They began to discuss the sorting ceremony.
"How embarrassing would it be if you tripped while going up to the stool?" Pamela said, ever self-conscious. They all knew what the ceremony entailed from reading Hogwarts: A History.
"Don't be silly Pamela. You'll be fine. Just don't be nervous. Think Gryffindor!" James tried to comfort his friend. They all agreed Gryffindor is their goal, except Darian. Derek was not sure either; his family did not have a tradition of being in the "courageous" house like his friends' families did.
After James and Derek stocked up on chocolate frogs from the snack trolley, the group was confronted by several order students.
The two boys were busy exchanging Famous Wizard Cards, Pamela was reading The Daily Prophet, and Darian was looking out the window when the door to their compartment opened.
A burly boy of thirteen appeared before them followed by four others.
James was the first to speak, "May we help you?"
The burly boy said with a malicious smile, "Just welcoming the new students."
"Oh well, alright," Pamela began uncomfortably, "I'm Pamela Weasley, this is James Potter, Derek Malfoy, and that's—"
"Darian. Darian Riddle Black," Darian finished. She noticed the green emblem of a snake on the leader's black robes.
The boy squinted his eyes at her. Finally he whispered more to himself than anyone else, "I heard rumor of a child." Then he introduced himself, "I'm Jonathan Avery. This is Daniel Zabini, Jacob Rookwood, Tyler Wilkes, and Alexis Nott.
Jonathan was not very tall for his age but he was muscular. He had light brown hair and matching eyes. He would be beginning his third year at Hogwarts this year. Daniel's parents were schoolmates of Pamela, James, and Derek's parents. Fortunately for him, he took after his father Blaise, rather than his mother Pansy Parkinson. He was tall with high cheekbones and dark eyes. However, Daniel had inherited his mother's black hair. He would be starting at Hogwarts this year. Jacob was another first year who was of average height. He had blue eyes and blonde hair. Tyler and Alexis would be beginning their second year at Hogwarts. Tyler had black hair as well but with blue eyes. Alexis had strawberry blonde hair and light brown eyes.
As they finished appraising Darian, Jonathan said, "Alright, we'll see you up at the castle." The group left.
An uncomfortable silence resonated throughout the compartment. Pamela, Derek, and James had recognized most of the names as past deatheaters they had heard about. Finally Pamela said, "We should put on our robes. I think we'll be there soon."
The four companions began to get ready and about a half hour later, the train came to a stop.
As they disembarked from the train, they heard a gruff voice shout, "First years! O'er here!"
They moved in the direction of the voice and James exclaimed, "Hello Hagrid!"
"Hi there James! Good to see ya. And Derek and Pamela. But who's this?" Hagrid asked looking at Darian.
"That's Darian. Didn't dad tell you about her?" James said.
"Oh aye. Listen James I gotta go get the other first years. You and your friends can just hop into one of those boats o'er there," Hagrid pointed to a bunch of small wooden boats.
The four picked an empty one and waited until the other new students were situated as well. Darian's first impression of the castle was one of awe. She had never seen such a magnificent building. She could not believe that would be her home from now on.
Eventually she found herself in a large corridor listening as a middle-aged professor introduced herself, "Hello, I'm Professor Turnpike and welcome to Hogwarts. When you hear me call your name, come up to the front of the Great Hall and you will be sorted into either Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin."
Darian looked over at Pamela who could not stop shaking from nervousness. She decided to try and reassure her, "Relax. You'll be fine."
It was a foreign feeling for Darian; she had never tried to comfort anyone before. She wondered if it helped Pamela at all. It seemed to; the tall girl had stopped shaking slightly.
Quite to most of the first year's surprise, the sorting hat soon broke out into song.
When Hogwarts was still young
And I had not yet a tongue
The founders four fought and fought
Couldn't agree on who they taught
Brave Gryffindor liked might
So that's who he would invite
Only the ones who proved to him
Courage filled them to the brim
Shrewd Slytherin had a plan
Everyone else he would ban
But those who showed ambition
And always stuck to tradition
Smart Ravenclaw said no
Seeds of learning we must sow
Only in those with quick minds
For they are the perfect kinds
Kind Hufflepuff was appalled
Hogwarts should not be walled
She wanted to accept everyone
They should refuse none
So four houses they created
And patiently they waited
For the kids with the qualities
They would teach with ease
Gryffindor Slytherin Hufflepuff Ravenclaw
They made me without one flaw
Come to me and I'll tell you where
You belong, this I swear
The great hall erupted in applause as Professor Turnpike appeared next to the stool on which the hat stood.
"Ansel, Larry."
Darian watched as a mousy boy stepped up to the sorting hat which was placed on his head. After a moment it shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" and Larry ran to an excited table at the far left.
"Black, Darian."
Darian could not remember ever being nervous before, yet as she walked up to the stool and heard whispers of "That's her," she could feel her heart thumping rapidly against her ribcage. However, the hat hardly touched her head before it shouted, "SLYTHERIN!" She looked up in time to see a table at the far right erupt in applause. She walked over to the table and realized that Jonathan Avery had cleared a space for her beside him. She took it as he whispered "Welcome to Slytherin," in her ear.
When she looked up, "Eames, Jennifer" had just been sorted into Ravenclaw.
After several more students, she heard "Malfoy, Derek" being called up. Darian was curious to see where he would end up. After a moment of silence, the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" Derek looked happy as he walked over to the table specified for his new house.
Once "Padelink, Katrina" was sorted into Hufflepuff, it was James' turn. Darian was not surprised when he ended up beside his best friend at the Gryffindor table.
Next was "Rookwood, Jacob," one of the boys that had been with Jonathan's gang on the train. He was also put into Slytherin and he took a seat beside Darian when he reached the table.
Darian did not look up again until she heard "Weasley, Pamela." The hat took a while to decide on Pamela's placement but eventually it shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" Pamela looked incredible happy. As she was walking towards the table, she stumbled once but Pamela did not seem to care.
The last name was "Zabini, Daniel." The hat yelled out, "SLYTHERIN!" once it touched his head. Daniel walked over and sat himself between Jacob and Darian.
An elderly yet seemingly strong woman stood up and said in a commanding voice, "Welcome students back, or for the first time, to Hogwarts. I would like to remind you of some rules we abide by at this school. The forest on the outskirts of the grounds is off limits. We also do not allow several items from the joke shop called Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes to be on the grounds. A full list is available in our caretaker's office. Now you have waited long enough. Enjoy your meal."
Darian watched as the empty dishes before her suddenly filled with delicious looking food.
After dinner, Darian was ushered, along with the rest of the Slytherin first years, out of the Great Hall and into a small corridor to the right of the main staircase. She watched as James, Pamela, and Derek all went up as she went down into what resembled a dungeon. The Prefects stopped in front of a portrait of a snake coiled around a tree branch.
"Password?" the snake asked extending its Ss.
Darian wanted to shout, "That's not how snakes talk," but contented herself by glaring maliciously at the painting.
She heard the male Prefect say, "Teepee" and the portrait swung open.
Teepee? Darian wondered sardonically. Who comes up with that?
She stepped into a room lit by numerous torches on the walls and a roaring fire in the hearth. There were comfortable-looking green chairs scattered about the room, most of them accompanied by silver tables.
"Girls over here, boys follow Jason," Amber, the female Prefect, said. Darian followed her up a narrow winding staircase and was soon in a circular chamber with five beds in it. She saw her small trunk at the foot of one of the beds and walked over to it. Darian slept comfortably her first night at Hogwarts.