Chapter 7: Leo's Law

It's finally September first. Much as I've enjoyed staying at the Potter house, it'll be nice to be able to spend more time with Reggie and the Evans twins. James tried to convince me to put a good word in with Lily for him but couldn't seem to comprehend the fact that she just doesn't like him. If he could get his head out of his own arse for long enough, that could change.

Leo awoke early the next morning, blinking up blearily at the ceiling above him. After a moment, he shook himself before dangling his feet over the edge of the top of the bunk bed and hopping down, landing silently next to Draco. Almost cat-like. He suppressed a snicker as he went around the room and began dressing quickly and quietly before heading down the stairs and to the drawing room. Once more, he found the Marauders there.

This time around, however, he found them asleep. Cas and Sirius were in their Animagus forms on the floor, Remus wedged between them, snoring lightly. Glancing around outside the door, he closed it behind him – cast a quick Silencing Charm so they wouldn't be heard - before falling forward into his own Animagus form and padding forward to stand in front of the three. He inhaled a deep breath, about to let out a mighty roar -

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Remus's voice muttered. "Waking up Cas is never a good idea – he has a tendency to attack."

Aslan sat back, looking thoughtful. He turned back to his human form before casting the Muffliato Charm on his father, who wrinkled his nose before continuing his slumber. He was about to do the same to Remus, but the man beat him to it as he took out his wand with some difficulty and waved it around his head before nodding. With a small smirk, Leo turned back into Aslan, took another deep breath, and let out a loud roar right next to Padfoot's ear.

Immediately, the dog jumped what looked like several feet in the air before landing, turning around rapidly and looking quite panicked with his fur bushed out. Remus took the charm off himself as he let loose a loud laugh, clutching his ribs. Leo turned back into himself and fell on the floor, unable to keep himself standing as he laughed harder than he had ever done in his entire life.

Sirius turned back into himself, looking quite disgruntled as he glared at his nephew and his friend, who were still laughing heartily at his expense. Suddenly, Sirius smirked, took out his wand, and flicked it at both Remus and Leo. At once, they were hanging upside down by their ankles. Remus looked mildly peeved by the turn of events but Leo continued to laugh even as the blood rushed to his head. Sirius frowned, mildly disappointed by this.

"You're an awful nephew, you know that right?" he grumbled.

"Aww, I love you too, Uncle Siri," Leo chuckled.

"Sure have a funny way of showing it – damn near almost gave me a heart attack, you git," said Sirius, walking over and flicking Leo's forehead.

"Owww..."

"I get why Leo's hanging upside down – but why me?" Remus interjected.

"Because you were obviously in on it, Moony," Sirius rolled his eyes. "That's the only reason why Cas is still asleep and you're unaffected. Git."

Leo quickly flicked his wand into his hand.

"Flipendo!"

Sirius fell back, and Remus and Leo fell unceremoniously to the floor, wincing slightly. Sirius gave Leo a half-irritated half-proud look but didn't retaliate. Instead, he waved his wand over his brother, disabling the charm Leo had cast before turning back to his nephew with a broad grin.

"Excited to be heading back to Hogwarts?" he asked.

"Kinda, I guess," he gave a half-hearted shrug. "I'd much rather stay here with you lot... but I do miss Luna so..."

"Who's Luna?" Sirius immediately asked, grinning wickedly as Remus looked up with intrigue.

"Oh. My girlfriend -"

"You have a girlfriend?" Sirius asked, grinning at Remus. "You hear that, Moony? Our little lion has a girlfriend."

"They grow up so fast, Padfoot," Remus sighed, putting a hand over his heart.

"Feels like just yesterday he was peeing on his own face -"

"I did not do that!" Leo shrieked in horror, clapping his hands on the sides of his face.

"Oh, you did, constantly," Sirius snickered. "Didn't he, Remus?"

"Oh, yes, think he actually got James once too," Remus nodded.

"Least his mouth wasn't open," Sirius snorted before his wicked grin returned. "So, my little nephew, how long have you and Luna been together?"

"Well, we went to the Yule Ball together, but we didn't make it official until that day I assaulted Skeeter's cameraman -"

"Ah, and so it all comes together," Sirius nodded slowly. "Caught you two snogging and snapped a picture, didn't she?"

"Yeah, but that's only part of the reason why I did it," Leo stated, not at all embarrassed like Sirius was hoping he'd be. "I also really wanted to get back at her for what she did to Hagrid in the Prophet."

"You were like a lion protecting his pride," Remus grinned broadly.

"Yes, yes, that was very noble and brilliant and all, Leo," Sirius waved his hand dismissively, a manic grin on his face. "But you do realize what having a girlfriend means, right?"

"That I have a girlfriend?" Leo replied dryly.

"It means it's finally time for you to get 'the talk' -"

"Oh, Merlin, Padfoot," Remus groaned. "Please don't give it to him now -"

"Not my responsibility, Remus. That's all Cas," Sirius snickered.

"What's all me?"

Cas had woken up and turned back into himself, staring at them all with an expression of mingled irritation and amusement as he sat up. Sirius smirked.

"Your boy has a girlfriend – so it's time for you to give him 'the talk'."

Cas blinked at him slowly before turning to Leo.

"Mazel tov. Luna, right?" he clarified, receiving a nod. "Nice girl – bit odd though. Fen was fond of her – she used to bring treats and give the best head scratches -"

"Focusing on the wrong thing, Cas," Sirius cut across him impatiently.

"Right, 'the talk'," Cas frowned before turning to his brother. "Well, I'm certainly not going to give it with you two present. Shoo."

Sirius looked like he was about to object, but Remus put a hand over his mouth and dragged him from the room as quickly as he could. As the doors closed behind them, Leo turned to his father, raising his eyebrows in mild apprehension. Cas stared back at him with an unreadable expression, though Leo was pretty sure that was because the man was still trying to gather his thoughts and wake up.

"You already know where babies come from, right?" he finally asked, receiving a slow nod. "Excellent. Here's what's going to happen then: we're going to stay in here for about five minutes and then you're going to walk out of the room looking scarred for life. Think you can manage it?"

"I walked in on Vernon and Petunia when I was four," Leo replied in a dry tone. "Think I can manage it."

"You have my sympathies, no one should have to see that..." Cas trailed off before tilting his head to the side. "Out of curiosity -"

"He was on top."

"How is she not a pancake?"

"I wondered the exact same thing."

They both wrinkled their noses in mild disgust before shuddering. They caught each other mimicking the other and started laughing, Cas reaching over and ruffling his son's hair. Leo grinned broadly as he stared at the man, finally able to see details that reminded him of himself. They had the same nose, the same eye color and shape, and they both smiled and laughed the same sort of way. He assumed he got everything else from his mother. An even blend. He smiled softly.

"Hey, Dad?"

"Hmm?"

"When did you realize Mum was the one for you?"

Cas was quiet for a moment, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"There wasn't really a specific moment, I suppose," he began slowly. "It was more... gradual, I guess."

"But if you had to pick one?"

"If I had to pick one... full moon in our fifth year. Moony broke out and tried to eat Snape. James managed to pull him out of the way and they took off running across the grounds, Moony chasing after them and gaining quickly. Padfoot and I weren't going to make it in time when, suddenly, your mother appeared. She was strolling across the grounds and saw Moony and walked towards him without a second thought. She stopped him, soothing him and calming him down with such gentleness and kindness..."

He trailed off, his eyes shining and a small smile on his face. Leo smiled at the expression, wondering if he'd ever think of Luna – or anyone, really – with that same look. He hoped so. Cas eventually shook himself from his memories, turning and giving Leo a sad smile.

"You have the same gift as she did. Reckon yours might be a bit stronger, though. Even Rosie had a hard time trying to talk to dragons," he paused. "She'd be as proud of you as I am, I reckon. You've surpassed every hope we've ever had for you, and I know you will continue to do so."

Leo felt his eyes water a bit and pretended to rub some dust out of them.

"No pressure," he eventually managed to choke out.

"On the contrary, I find pressure makes us into better people – we find out how strong we really are when everything is depending on us," Cas stated before pausing and tilting his head to the side. "I know I've put a lot on you, what with asking you to master Fiendfyre and destroy Horcruxes, but I wouldn't have done so if I didn't think you could handle it."

"Yeah... I know," Leo bit his lip. "It's just... Draco said Fiendfyre is a very Dark spell and I worry -"

"Using it will make you Dark?" his father finished shrewdly, receiving a nod. "It will if you let it. You see, magic isn't just about confidence, wand movement, and a few words of Latin – it's about intent. How you use the spell you're casting defines whether or not it's Light or Dark. For example: Fiendfyre. Most consider it Dark because it's dangerous and uncontrollable – much like you." He winked and Leo gave a small smile. "But, in the hands of a skilled witch or wizard who intends to use it for good – like destroying evil Horcruxes, for example – it can be good. It is my belief that magic is neither Dark nor Light – it just is. It's the intent of the person casting it that makes it good or evil."

"What about the Unforgivable Curses?" Leo frowned. "Are you saying they're not Dark like everyone says they are?"

"I generally find that the people who use those spells are, themselves, quite Dark," Cas replied in a dry tone. "Those spells are used to torture, kill, or control others. I reckon anyone who uses them has some pretty Dark intent, wouldn't you agree?"

Leo nodded slowly, looking thoughtful. He felt more relaxed about the prospect of learning how to create and manipulate Fiendfyre now that his worries had been assuaged. He slowly got to his feet, figuring it was time for him to make an appearance. He plastered on a horrified expression – not exactly difficult when he remembered Vernon and Petunia – and strolled out of the drawing-room. Cas turned into Fen and followed after him. Sirius was standing at the door, looking at him gleefully. Remus, thankfully, was absent.

"So, how did it go?" Sirius finally asked when his nephew remained silent.

"I didn't even know you could do that," Leo whispered, his eyes wide. "I didn't - how? Why? I – I -"

He shook his head, turned, and almost robotically walked away up the stairs toward his room to collect his trunk. He stood off to the side as Ginny moved down past him, carrying her own trunk. Leo was thankful that he had moved away as, seconds later, two trunks came hurtling past him and knocked Ginny down the stairs. Leo quickly flicked out his wand.

"Arresto Momento Duo!" he shouted, pointing his wand at Ginny.

Immediately, she stopped falling and slowed to a stop halfway down from where she had fallen. Leo ran toward her immediately, releasing the spell and helping her up before glaring up at the stairs. The twins looked back at him, looking a mixture of stricken and ashamed. He was about to start yelling at them when Mrs. Weasley appeared and beat him to the punch. She examined Ginny to make sure she was all right before pulling Leo into a bone-breaking hug, thanking him profusely before rounding on the twins and shouting at them.

When Walburga started to shout, he took that as his cue to leave and ran up the stairs to collect his trunk. He found Draco and Harry in the midst of gathering their belongings, and they both turned toward him, asking what happened. He quickly explained about the twins and Ginny and their packing sped up. Walburga and Mrs. Weasley were both still screaming at the top of their voices.

"— COULD HAVE DONE HER A SERIOUS INJURY, YOU IDIOTS —"

"— FILTHY HALF-BREEDS, BESMIRCHING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS —"

And then Sirius's voice joined the fray.

"ALL RIGHT, CAS, I THINK THE NOVELTY HAS WORN OFF! CAN YOU PLEASE MAKE THAT BITCH SHUT THE HELL UP?!"

Leo snorted alongside Harry and Draco and they waited to hear if Cas would yell – which they had yet to hear and were quite certain he was incapable of it. To their dismay, Walburga's voice vanished abruptly as Hermione came hurrying into the room looking flustered. Hedwig was swaying on her shoulder, and she was carrying a squirming Crookshanks in her arms.

"Mum and Dad just sent Hedwig back" — the owl fluttered obligingly over and perched on top of her cage — "Where's Apollo?"

"Dad'll send him over once we're off to Hogwarts – Apollo hates being caged," Leo shook his head. "He gets downright violent when you try to make him do something he doesn't want to."

"Wonder who he gets that from?" Draco snorted.

"Oi, Apollo was a huge git before I even got him!" Leo replied, somewhat affronted. "If anything, Harry's the one you should blame – he's the one that bought Apollo for me."

"Yeah, I asked for the rudest, most violent owl they had," Harry said without a trace of sarcasm in his voice. "Figured he and Leo would get along well."

Hermione and Draco laughed as Leo pouted. He was half-tempted to stick them to the ceiling when the three were saved by the lovely sound of Mrs. Weasley's voice.

"WILL YOU LOT GET DOWN HERE NOW, PLEASE!" Mrs. Weasley bellowed and Hermione jumped as though scalded and hurried out of the room. Harry seized Hedwig, stuffed her unceremoniously into her cage, and set off downstairs after Hermione, dragging his trunk with Leo and Draco following behind him.

As they passed down the stairs, they saw Walburga's portrait encased in ice, howling with unheard rage as she scratched at her portrait furiously. Leo took a moment to flip her off before continuing downstairs where Cas was boredly shrinking everyone's trunks and handing them to them so they would be easier to carry. He paused briefly when he saw them descending the stairs.

"Dumbledore wanted to arrange a guard for you, Harry, but I politely told him -"

Everyone snorted in disbelief.

"That would just slow us down and draw unnecessary attention," he continued, ignoring them. "Besides, with the whole family coming, that's enough of a guard anyway."

Leo couldn't help but agree, glancing at Remus, Sirius, his father, and Mrs. Weasley. Cas led the way out the front door, everyone following after him with Remus and Sirius taking up the rear so they could keep an eye out. The stone steps of number twelve vanished as soon as they reached the pavement.

It took them twenty minutes to reach King's Cross by foot and nothing more eventful happened during that time than Crookshanks trying to escape from his cage to attack the occasional cat. Once inside the station they lingered casually beside the barrier between platforms nine and ten until the coast was clear, then each of them leaned against it in turn and fell easily through onto platform nine and three quarters, where the Hogwarts Express stood belching sooty steam over a platform packed with departing students and their families. Leo stared at it with mixed feelings.

"Forgot how many people were on the platform," Cas grumbled, rubbing his head in annoyance.

"We should probably say our farewells then," Sirius remarked, receiving a curt nod from the man.

"Well, look after yourselves," said Remus, shaking hands all around and clapping Draco and Harry on their shoulders. Leo didn't give him a chance to shake hands and instead embraced his godfather in a tight hug. "Try not to cause too much trouble, alright?"

"I make no promises," Leo grinned, releasing him.

"Spoken like a true Marauder," Sirius chuckled, ruffling his nephew's hair before giving him a hug and lowering his voice to a whisper. "Give that Ministry teacher hell from us, kid."

Leo nodded firmly as Sirius went along the line to say his farewells to everyone else. Cas approached him, one of his eyes twitching as he occasionally glanced around with an expression of mild irritation. He abruptly pulled Leo into a hug.

"I'll send a message with Apollo about where and when the six of us can meet again," he whispered before stepping back and saying a clearer voice for everyone to hear. "Careful what you put in writing. If in doubt, don't put it in a letter at all."

He walked away to hug Harry and a very surprised Draco before walking out past the barrier and out of the station. Leo and the others watched him in bewilderment but Remus and Sirius seemed unconcerned by his behavior. A warning whistle sounded; the students still on the platform started hurrying onto the train.

"Quick, quick," said Mrs. Weasley distractedly, hugging them at random and catching Harry twice. "Write... Be good... If you've forgotten anything we'll send it on... Onto the train, now, hurry..."

They all ran to board the train, sticking their heads out the window to wave farewell. The figures of Remus, Sirius, and Mrs. Weasley shrank rapidly before disappearing altogether as they rounded a corner. Leo lowered his hand with a sigh, already missing them.

"Well," said Fred, clapping his hands together, "can't stand around chatting all day, we've got business to discuss with Lee. Draco? Leo? You two coming?"

"Can't - promised Luna I'd meet her on the train," Leo shrugged.

"And I have to go to the prefect carriage with your brother and Granger," Draco added.

Fred and George looked disappointed at this before they took off down the train. Everyone stared at each other somewhat awkwardly after this. Thankfully, Hermione was the first to break it.

"I don't think we'll have to stay there all journey," she said. "Our letters said we just get instructions from the Head Boy and Girl and then patrol the corridors from time to time."

"All right, we'll save a compartment for you then," Leo replied, putting his hands in his pockets. "People tend to avoid Luna, so it should be empty."

"That's probably one of the saddest things you've ever said, Black," Draco remarked.

"Eh, I've said sadder," he waved a hand. "Let us know who the other prefects are, all right? Curious to know who's got the other badge for Slytherin."

The three prefects nodded and walked off toward the engine end of the train with Pigwidgeon and Crookshanks. Leo waved a hand for Harry and Ginny to follow him and they walked in the opposite direction, peering through the glass-paneled doors into the compartments they passed, which were already full. Leo could not help noticing that a lot of people stared back at him and Harry with great interest and that several of them nudged their neighbors and pointed him out. He ignored them for the most part, not really caring what they thought about him or his and Harry's story.

In the very last carriage, they met Neville Longbottom, Leo and Harry's fellow fifth-year Gryffindor, his round face shining with the effort of pulling his trunk along and maintaining a one-handed grip on his struggling toad, Trevor.

"Hi, you three," he panted. "Everywhere's full... I can't find a seat..."

"What are you talking about?" said Ginny, who had squeezed past Neville to peer into the compartment behind him. "There's room in this one, there's only Loony Lovegood in here —"

Leo shot her a reproachful look at the nickname before pushing his way past her and into the compartment, grinning broadly. The girl beside the window looked up. She had straggly, waist-length, dirty-blond hair, very pale eyebrows, and protuberant eyes that gave her a permanently surprised look. The girl gave off an aura of distinct dottiness. Perhaps it was the fact that she had stuck her wand behind her left ear for safekeeping, or that she had chosen to wear a necklace of butterbeer caps, or that she was reading a magazine upside down. Leo found every detail about her endearing.

"Hiya, Luna, it's good to see you again," Leo remarked, taking a seat beside her as everyone else shuffled in. "Sorry I didn't send that many letters over the summer – it's been quite hectic."

"I understand, you don't have to apologize," she smiled lightly, kissing him on the cheek.

Leo blushed slightly and his grin widened. Thankfully, none of his other friends had noticed this. Having to endure their constant teasing on the way to Hogwarts was not something he wanted.

"Had a good summer, Luna?" Ginny asked.

"Yes," said Luna dreamily, settling her eyes Harry. "Yes, it was quite enjoyable, you know. You're Harry Potter," she added.

"I know I am," said Harry.

Leo and Neville chuckled. Luna turned to Neville instead.

"And I don't know who you are."

"I'm nobody," said Neville hurriedly.

"Bollocks," Leo snorted. "You're Neville Bloody Longbottom – one of the bravest Gryffindors in our year. This is Luna Lovegood, she's in Ginny's year, a Ravenclaw -"

"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure," said Luna in a singsong voice.

"- And my girlfriend," Leo finished before glancing at her. "Lovely singing voice."

"Thank you."

She raised her upside-down magazine high enough to hide her face and fell silent. Harry and Neville looked at each other with their eyebrows raised. Ginny suppressed a giggle. Leo smiled at Luna fondly for a moment before glaring at the others, daring them to make a snarky remark. They were wise enough not to.

The train rattled onward, speeding them out into the open country. It was an odd, unsettled sort of day; one moment the carriage was full of sunlight and the next they were passing beneath ominously grey clouds. Always a good omen. Leo rolled his eyes.

"Guess what I got for my birthday?" said Neville.

"Another Remembrall?" said Harry.

"No," said Neville, "I could do with one, though, I lost the old one ages ago... No, look at this..."

He dug the hand that was not keeping a firm grip on Trevor into his schoolbag and after a little bit of rummaging pulled out what appeared to be a small grey cactus in a pot, except that it was covered with what looked like boils rather than spines. Leo eyed it warily, wondering if it would explode and looking forward to it if it did.

"Mimbulus mimbletonia," Neville said proudly.

Leo stared at the thing. It was pulsating slightly, giving it the rather sinister look of some diseased internal organ. He flicked out his wand in case it tried to eat them or something.

"It's really, really rare," said Neville, beaming. "I don't know if there's one in the greenhouse at Hogwarts, even. I can't wait to show it to Professor Sprout. My great-uncle Algie got it for me in Assyria. I'm going to see if I can breed from it."

"Is it the same Algie that pushed you off the end of a pier and dropped you out a window?" Leo asked in a very dry tone.

Neville nodded, not seeming bothered by it at all. And I thought my family was barking.

"Does it — er — do anything?" Harry asked.

"Loads of stuff!" said Neville proudly. "It's got an amazing defensive mechanism — hold Trevor for me..."

Leo cast a preemptive Shield Charm as Neville dumped his toad into Harry's lap and took a quill from his schoolbag. Luna's popping eyes appeared over the top of her upside-down magazine again, watching what Neville was doing. Neville held the Mimbulus mimbletonia up to his eyes, his tongue between his teeth, chose his spot, and gave the plant a sharp prod with the tip of his quill.

Liquid squirted from every boil on the plant, thick, stinking, dark green jets of it; they hit the ceiling, the windows, and splattered against Leo's Shield Charm – missing him and Luna. Ginny, who had flung her arms up in front of her face just in time, merely looked as though she was wearing a slimy green hat, but Harry, whose hands had been busy preventing the escape of Trevor, received a face full. Leo roared with laughter.

Neville, whose face and torso were also drenched, shook his head to get the worst out of his eyes.

"S-sorry," he gasped. "I haven't tried that before. .. Didn't realize it would be quite so... Don't worry, though, Stinksap's not poisonous," he added nervously, as Harry spat a mouthful onto the floor.

At that precise moment, the door of their compartment slid open.

"Oh... hello, Harry," said a nervous voice. "Um... bad time?"

A girl with long, shiny black hair was standing in the doorway smiling at Harry: Cho Chang, the Seeker on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. Harry seemed at a loss for words for a moment before he managed to recover somewhat.

"Oh... hi," said he blankly.

"We've had worse times," Leo replied, releasing his shield. "What d'you want?"

"Um..." said Cho, seeming startled by his bluntness. "Well... just thought I'd say hello... 'bye then."

She closed the door again, rather pink in the face, and departed. Harry slumped back in his seat and groaned. Leo raised an eyebrow at him before looking at the door Cho had gone through. He didn't really see why he was upset with her leaving – she obviously wasn't cool enough to hang around with them when they were covered in Stinksap.

"Never mind," said Ginny bracingly. "Look, we can get rid of all this easily." She pulled out her wand. "Scourgify!"

The Stinksap vanished.

"Sorry," said Neville again, in a small voice.

Draco, Ron, and Hermione did not turn up for nearly an hour, by which time the food trolley had already gone by. Harry, Ginny, and Neville had finished their Pumpkin Pasties and were busy swapping Chocolate Frog cards when the compartment door slid open and they walked in, accompanied by Crookshanks and a shrilly hooting Pigwidgeon in his cage. Leo glanced up from where he was making fiery figures in his hands and stared at them expectantly.

"Well, there are two fifth-year prefects from each House," said Hermione, looking thoroughly disgruntled as she took her seat. "Boy and girl from each."

"And guess who's the other Slytherin prefect?" said Ron, flopping onto a seat, closing his eyes, and eating a Chocolate Frog.

"Daphne Greengrass?" Leo asked hopefully.

Of all the Slytherin girls, she was the most tolerable.

"'Fraid not," Draco sighed, taking a seat next to Leo.

"It's that complete cow, Pansy Parkinson," said Hermione viciously as Leo groaned. "How she got to be a prefect when she's thicker than a concussed troll..."

"Who's Hufflepuff?" Harry asked as Leo snorted at Hermione's remark.

"Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott," said Draco, snatching the last remaining Pumpkin Pasty. "Best we could've hoped for out of that lot, I suppose."

"And Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil for Ravenclaw," said Hermione.

"You went to the Yule Ball with Padma Patil," said a vague voice.

Everyone turned to look at Luna, who was gazing unblinkingly at Ron over the top of The Quibbler. He swallowed his mouthful of Frog.

"Yeah, I know I did," he said, looking mildly surprised.

"She didn't enjoy it very much," Luna informed him. "She doesn't think you treated her very well, because you wouldn't dance with her. I didn't mind it so much," she added thoughtfully, glancing at Leo. "Walking around the grounds was much nicer. Even after I fell in the fountain."

"We got you dried off pretty quickly and managed to escape the Nargles," Leo tapped his chin as he draped an arm over her seat. "Great night all around, I say."

Luna nodded in agreement before hiding behind The Quibbler again. Ron stared at the cover with his mouth hanging open for a few seconds, then looked around at Leo for some kind of explanation. Leo merely shrugged, not expecting anyone to understand the complex enigma that is Luna Lovegood. Ron shook his head, bemused, then checked his watch.

"We're supposed to patrol the corridors every so often," he told the others, "and we can give out punishments if people are misbehaving. I can't wait to get Crabbe and Goyle for something..."

"Getting Zabini will be a laugh too – I imagine it won't take very long to write him up for something," Draco grinned maliciously.

"You're not supposed to abuse your position!" said Hermione sharply.

"We're prefects – it's our right," Draco replied with an errant wave of his hand. "Guarantee Zabini'll have Parkinson out to get you lot anyway -"

"So you're going to descend to his level?"

"Absolutely," Draco and Leo said at once, high-fiving each other without even looking.

"You're unbelievable -"

"I'll make Goyle do lines, it'll kill him, he hates writing," said Ron interjected happily. He lowered his voice to Goyle's low grunt and, screwing up his face in a look of pained concentration, mimed writing in midair. "I... must... not... look... like... a... baboon's... backside..."

Everyone laughed, but nobody laughed harder than Luna. She let out a scream of mirth that caused Hedwig to wake up and flap her wings indignantly and Crookshanks to leap up into the luggage rack, hissing. Leo resisted the urge to clap his hands over his ears. She laughed so hard that her magazine slipped out of her grasp, slid down her legs, and onto the floor.

"That was funny!"

Her prominent eyes swam with tears as she gasped for breath, staring at Ron. Utterly nonplussed, he looked around at the others, who were now laughing at the expression on Ron's face and at the ludicrously prolonged laughter of Luna, who was rocking backward and forward, clutching her sides. She eventually toppled onto Leo, who looked down at her with a faint smile.

"Are you taking the mickey?" said Ron, frowning at her.

"Baboon's... backside!" she choked, holding her ribs.

"Breathe, Luna, breathe," Leo chuckled, patting her back.

Everyone else was watching Luna laughing, but Harry, glancing at the magazine on the floor, noticed something that made him dive for it. He looked over it for a moment before looking at Luna.

"Can I have a look at this?" Harry asked Luna eagerly.

She nodded, still gazing at Ron, breathless with laughter. Leo was now rubbing her back, trying to get her to breathe regularly before she passed out. He glanced up at Harry periodically, watching as he scanned the magazine with an expression that was a mixture of amusement and confusion. Sounds about right. That's usually my reaction to reading The Quibbler. Merlin, I love that thing. Leo chuckled quietly to himself. He had taken out a subscription over the summer when Luna had mentioned her father ran the paper. He found it to be ridiculous but highly entertaining.

"Anything good in there?" asked Ron as Harry closed the magazine.

"Of course not," said Hermione scathingly, before Harry could answer, "The Quibbler's rubbish, everyone knows that."

"Excuse me," said Luna; her voice had suddenly lost its dreamy quality. "My father's the editor."

"And I happen to find it quite illuminating," Leo sniffed in defense of both his girlfriend and the magazine. "Like the fact that Fudge is a serial goblin murderer. Always knew he was a git, but blimey -"

"Do you really believe that Fudge murders goblins, Black?" Draco snorted as Luna took her magazine back.

"Fudge is a power-hungry lunatic – I wouldn't put it past him."

"Fair point."

Leo and Harry both perked their heads up suddenly and turned toward the door. Leo heard three sets of footsteps coming down the corridor towards them. His eyes glinted in delight as he pointed his wand at the door and whispered the incantation for the Shield Charm. Mere seconds later, Blaise Zabini tried to walk in with Crabbe and Goyle, but they suddenly found themselves smacking face-first into what appeared to be an invisible wall. Everyone in the compartment laughed at their expressions.

"Sorry, Bikini, you'll have to stalk me another time. This compartment has reached full capacity and does not permit entrance to arrogant gits," Leo smiled brightly.

"If you'd like to submit a request," Draco added. "We can review it -"

"But you still won't be allowed in," Harry finished. "It's Leo's Law."

Leo grinned broadly as the three Slytherins walked away with expressions of irritation on their faces. Everyone laughed in delight before they all fell into easy conversation about what the school year would be like and their hopes for Defense. Leo's weren't very high after the talk he had had with the Marauders, but he didn't mention this, hoping he was wrong.

The weather remained undecided as they traveled farther and farther north. Rain spattered the windows in a halfhearted way, then the sun put in a feeble appearance before clouds drifted over it once more. When darkness fell and lamps came on inside the carriages, Luna rolled up The Quibbler, put it carefully away in her bag, and took to staring at everyone in the compartment instead.

"We'd better change," said Hermione at last. She, Draco, and Ron pinned their prefect badges carefully to their chests.

At last, the train began to slow down and they heard the usual racket up and down it as everybody scrambled to get their luggage and pets assembled, ready for departure. Draco, Ron, and Hermione were supposed to supervise all this; they disappeared from the carriage again, leaving Leo and the others to look after Crookshanks and Pigwidgeon.

"I'll carry that owl, if you like," said Luna to Harry, reaching out for Pigwidgeon as Neville stowed Trevor carefully in an inside pocket.

"Oh — er — thanks," said Harry, handing her the cage and hoisting Hedwig's more securely into his arms.

Leo grabbed the handle of Luna's trunk and pulled it behind him as they shuffled out of the compartment and joined the crowd in the corridor. Slowly they moved toward the doors. He could smell the pine trees that lined the path down to the lake. He stepped down onto the platform and looked around, expecting to hear Hagrid's familiar voice.

But it did not come. Instead, a quite different voice, a brisk female one, was calling, "First years line up over here, please! All first years to me!"

A lantern came swinging toward them and by its light they saw the prominent chin and severe haircut of Professor Grubbly-Plank, the witch who had taken over Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures lessons for a while the previous year.

"Where's Hagrid?" Harry said out loud.

"Problem for another time," Leo replied. "We need to move, we're blocking people -"

"Oh yeah..."

The boys and girls became separated as they moved off along the platform and out through the station. Several times, Harry tried to stop and look for Hagrid. Each time, Leo pulled him away, wanting to get to the castle as quickly as possible so he could find out who was there from the Ministry and report it to his dad. They shuffled slowly through a narrow doorway onto the road outside with the rest of the crowd. Outside Hogsmeade stood the hundred or so thestral-drawn stagecoaches that always took the students above first year up to the castle. Harry stopped, staring at them.

"Leo, do you see -?"

"Yes, Harry, it's nothing to worry about. I'll explain later -"

"Where's Pig?" interrupted Ron's voice, right behind them.

"Luna's got him," Leo informed him.

A short distance away, Blaise Zabini, followed by a small gang of cronies including Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson, was pushing some timid-looking second years out of the way so that they could get a coach to themselves. Seconds later Draco and Hermione emerged panting from the crowd.

"Zabini was being a git to a second year, so I assigned him detention," Draco informed them with a smirk.

"Brilliant!" Leo laughed, high-fiving him while Harry and Ron chuckled.

"Where's Crookshanks?" Hermione asked, looking around.

"Ginny's got him," said Harry. "There she is..."

Ginny had just emerged from the crowd, clutching a squirming Crookshanks.

"Thanks," said Hermione, relieving Ginny of the cat. "Come on, let's get a carriage together before they all fill up..."

"I haven't got Pig yet!" Ron said, but Hermione was already heading off toward the nearest unoccupied coach.

Leo, Draco, and Ginny followed after her. Harry, Ron, and Luna appeared not long after they had settled into a carriage and squeezed in with them. The carriage gave a lurch before they trundled off to Hogwarts.