The barrier to Platform 9¾ lost its brick wall façade and become a simple iron archway as the Addams family leisurely made their way through. Still, not one muggle at Kings Cross noticed a thing and the wall was back a moment later.

Stepping out onto the platform, the family all took a moment to enjoy the heavy fumes from the billowing smoke and to observe the crowded mass of wizards and witches. A familiar feeling of distaste washed over them at the bright array of robes. Morticia looked around to see children happily chatting, faces glowing with excitement in the sun.

Eventually everyone else on the platform noticed and stared at the family and beneath her parasol, behind her black veil, Morticia could only stare back.

"Herido… help them." She said and he nodded in reply. Help them indeed.

A light breeze was gently blowing back his hair and he was glad he'd remembered to spell down his fringe. He'd let his hair grow out just a little and while it had been tamed considerably after his adoption, it still had a slightly wild look about it. You could still see traces of Potter in his face, but he thought his Addams features were much more prominent. His eyes were a lot darker now and seemed almost black when he got angry. Although they also brightened a little when he was excited and this meant that even with all his mental arts training, he had still never won a game of poker against his siblings. The only thing that could give him away was the scar, but he didn't want to get rid of it permanently and he didn't yet have the skill to produce a glamour strong enough to hide it – it was an exceptionally powerful curse scar after all. Maybe charms class would prove useful.

Many on the platform had no idea who the strange family were. Nobody had announced an Addams from America was to attend Hogwarts after all. But every well dressed, superior looking pure-blood felt their masks of indifference fail them for just a moment. The effect was almost comical; almost as one, they all suddenly broke from their previous conversations and turned to find their peers in order to share words of warning, advice or confidence.

The Malfoy family managed to fair a little better than most. It only took a moment for his calculating mind to conclude that the Malfoy Lord couldn't simply approach such a family without formal introduction. It simply went against pure-blood customs, and besides they seemed, busy, their attention now on each other. And so he took note of the small nod from his wife and then he turned to his own son, physically turning the child from the dark family to face him.

"Draco, that family is formidable," Lucius gave a frown of disapproval at the undignified noise of disbelief from his son, but continued, "it would be… prudent, to establish friendly relations with them." He glanced back to the family, as if to make sure they were still there. "It would seem that one or two of the Addams children will be attending Hogwarts this year. If the opportunity presents itself I want you to make acquaintance." Draco noticed a look of seriousness in his father that he had seldom seen directed at him and so paid close attention. Addams. He was sure he'd heard that name somewhere before. He wanted to ask more, but after glancing about the hustle and bustle of the platform, Lucius beat him to it. "This isn't the place to explain, but I will send an owl and expect my letter to be opened privately."

"Of course father, I understand." Lucius nodded and hoped he did. A call went out to urge the students onto the train and he gave his son's shoulder one last squeeze.

"And Draco this is most important: no matter into which year or house they are placed, do not make an enemy out of an Addams." He had never met the Addams' but had been assured in the past that at least some of the rumours surrounding them were true. He didn't want his son to be the one to find out which.

Herido had watched all the whispering with amusement, but decided it was time to go. If the reaction in Diagon Alley was anything to go by, the whispering would spread quickly and soon everyone on the platform would know that the Addams family were here.

His own parting had not been as quiet or measured as that of the British nobility. Wednesday had tried to nail his feet to the floor with a modified nail gun in an effort to prevent him from leaving London. He guessed she would have left him there out of spite. Pugsley had given him a pat on the back that turned out to have a surprisingly powerful electric charge. That may have created a small scene. And garnered more than a few looks and sounds of alarm. Fond farewells were given and kisses were exchanged with those that wanted them and Heri finally left for the train. Gomez and Morticia wondered whether they should start their own wizarding school in order to keep their children near, but they knew they had to let them go. Besides, she thought as she placed a hand to her stomach, soon they would have another little one running around the house, causing chaos and carnage.

Heri had found a compartment and was setting down Kounna, his Eastern Coral Snake, when he was attacked by a creature with large hair and a shockingly tight grip. He managed to stay his hand just before the blade of the kunai had cut into the back of Hermione's neck. When she noticed, she laughed and smacked his arm away.

"Really Heri, you're impossible!" It seemed she had become a little desensitised to casual threats of violence against her. The visit to his home must have had an impact after all.

He watched her as they both sat down and she started prattling on about how excited she was to finally get to school. She didn't say anything about their last conversation, but she didn't need to. She was more at peace, her magic more stable, and that could only have happened if she'd decided to embrace the darker elements of magic that were calling out to her.

She paused in her tirade when she noticed his smile, but simply smiled back and continued. He was quietly pleased that he would have one relatively normal and intelligent person to pass his time at school with.

The journey was pleasant enough – the seats dreadfully uncomfortable after the first hour and it was warm, but Kounna was enjoying the sun coming from the window, so he let the light shine in.

Soon there was a knock on the compartment door, so timid they wondered if it was a knock at all. Hermione looked to Heri.

"Yes?" He called out, sounding a little put out at the disturbance. The door slid open to reveal a shy looking round-faced boy who seemed close to tears.

"Have you seen a toad at all? Mine keeps getting away from me." He let Hermione answer in the negative and as she proceeded to engage him in conversation about said toad, he gave the boy a cursory once-over. Despite his appearance, this, Neville (he'd just caught his introduction), had the potential to be a considerable wizard. Heri couldn't sense anything particularly dark about him, which was a shame, but maybe with a little help he could… No! His mother had said to help these children, but he wasn't inclined to play Saint Addams. He would wait and see who was worth the effort first. Hopefully this boy would prove himself, but for now he had no patience to deal with the nervous wreck. Maybe Hermione would take pity on him and help out.

Quickly after Neville had left to continue his toad hunt, the peace was once again disturbed as a gangly ginger boy came barrelling through the door. He slid the door closed quickly and listened a few moments. By the time he turned to see who else was in this compartment, Hermione's eyes with filled with mirth, she'd let go of Heri's arm and he'd put away the shuriken, turning to give his attention to the passing countryside instead of this intruder. He should have locked the door.

"Sorry about that! I'm hiding from my brothers. They thought it was funny to chase me with their friend's giant tarantula. I hate spiders!" Heri found it amusing too, and thought it was kind of the boy to announce his fear to total strangers. "I'm Ron, by the way, Ron Weasley." Heri gave him a quick glance, but stayed quiet as Hermione once again made the introductions. Weasley, yes he should have guessed.

He heard a small ruckus out in the hallway, and as he looked to the door it seemed to slide open of its own accord just as two identical red heads were going by. Heri didn't bother to suppress his smile.

"Ah ickle Ronniekins, there you are! You ran out before you could properly meet Charlotte!" The two were twins and shared wicked grins that Heri guessed reflected not a small amount of sadism. They looked around the room and gave an exaggerated bow.

"Hi, I'm Gred."

"And I'm Forge." Hmm, even their magic was identical. Interesting. He wondered if they could feel each other's pain – he'd heard that twins could sometimes do that. They continued:

"It's nice to meet you! We hope our little brother wasn't being too annoying." The chorused together. Heri liked these two; they were amusing.

"Shut-up!" Ron scowled.

"I'm Herido Addams and this is Hermione Granger. How do you do?" He finally spoke up. The twins' grins become almost manic. It was a fine look.

"Are you really?" Twin number one sounded far too excited. "Have you heard, George? The rumours on the train?" Fred then.

"I have indeed, dear brother." George returned in the same tone. "Rumours of a scary firstie."

"Apparently he was the one who broke into Gringotts."

"Has turned three prefects into toads."

"Can kill with a look."

"And drinks the blood of small furry animals." Heri had to let out a laugh at that one.

"Is it true? Are you really dangerous?" They asked as though the very prospect was thrilling. Heri crossed his arms.

"Well, that depends." He answered. His eyes were still laughing, but his even tone and small smirk made them feel just a little less excited.

"On what?" Fred asked. Heri shrugged.

"On whether you brought the tarantula with you." The twins shared a look. They weren't entirely sure of the right answer.

"No, it's our friend, Lee Jordan's." Heri let out a sigh of disappointment.

"That's a shame. Kounna was getting a little hungry." They looked down and noticed for the first time, the snake curled up on the boy's lap. Ron gave a short eep and left the compartment quickly.

"Cool!" The twins chorused. "Is he dangerous?" They looked like they wanted to pet the snake, but were holding themselves back. These two were nuts. He liked them.

"It's a she. And of course she is; she's mine." He held Kounna out for them to take. They looked a little nervous about accepting her, until Hermione spoke, not looking up from the book that seemed to have materialised in her hands during the encounter. He guessed she didn't find them as amusing.

"But she won't attack unless she's told to." She informed in that authoritative tone of hers.

"Spoilsport." Heri huffed as one of the twins – he'd lost track – took the snake and started to coo at it. Really nuts.

He was about to offer Fred and George a seat, when a blonde boy with sharp features and a more plain looking boy popped their heads around the door. The blonde scowled when he noticed the redheads.

"Oh, excuse me." His words were cordial but his tone was a little insincere. "We were looking for the Slytherin prefects. Goyle passed out after eating an every flavour bean." He informed them.

"That's ok," Heri said in defeat. "It's turning into a conference room in here anyway. Why don't you come in?" He gestured to the open seats. "You don't happen to know which flavour bean it was, do you?" He sounded a little hopeful and Draco did a double take at his tone.

"No, I don't. And I should really find that prefect..." Draco thought the boy was strange, almost like… "I'm Draco Malfoy and this is Theodore Nott, how do you do?" He held out a hand, which Herido accepted politely.

"I'm Herido Addams. This is Hermione Granger and these are either Fred or George Weasley. Take your pick." The twins snickered. Draco felt himself sneer a little at Granger's name. Was this really the boy from such an important family? In the company of Weasleys and mudbloods? Maybe his dad was mistaken, but he had seemed so sure.

"Actually, we best get back." One of the twins declared.

"I was nice to meet you guys." The other finished as they made their way out, having placed Kounna down beside Heri.

"Are you ok, Draco?" He asked, still in a good mood from the twins visit. Draco had faltered for a moment, but quickly pulled himself together.

"Of course." He decided to take the offered seat after all and inclined his head in a way to suggest Nott do the same. He was sure Goyle would be fine. "You sound American. How is it you came to be attending Hogwarts?" He asked trying to make conversation.

"Oh, my parents thought it would be beneficial for us, that is, my siblings and I, to gain experience from other countries and cultures."

Hermione had looked up at the new boys after they sat down. She had of course read all about pure-bloods and their prejudice against witches like her, and she and Heri had discussed it a little. She decided to test the waters and see if it was true with the obvious pure-bloods before her.

"I was initially going to Durmstrang, but mother didn't like the idea of me being so far from home."

"But why would you want to go there? I heard Hogwarts is the best magical school there is." She quickly got an answer to her thoughts. Both boys turned to look at her with sneers – like they thought she was something on the bottom of their shoes.

Draco bit back his retort, not having assessed what she was doing here yet and not wanting to blow this opportunity over some mudblood.

Theodore wasn't as thoughtful.

"He wasn't talking to you, filthy little…" His breath caught in his throat as the air itself seemed to hold him still with a force that would surely do physical damage. It felt like his chest was pressing in on his heart and lungs and he couldn't breathe!

"I would suggest you don't finish that sentence, Theodore." Herido said in a tone that made Draco's blood run cold. It made him want to start apologising, even though he wasn't the one who'd offended. His father had been right then. He gulped and looked at Nott, who was gasping for air with a look of panic on his face. If he could speak he would beg. Draco said nothing.

"It's ok, Heri." Hermione said, surprising Draco. Heri turned his sharp, dark eyes to her, but Nott was still struggling to breathe.

"No it is not." His tone and that stare made her shiver. She'd never seen him angry before and if she weren't so pleased that he was defending her, she would have been frightened. She took a breath to steady herself and continued.

"No, I mean, do you mind if I try?" Intrigue immediately broke through his hardened features and he gave a curt nod.

Nott immediately began to draw in greedy gasps of breath when he felt Herido release him. He was just managing to gather his wits, when he felt himself gripped once again, only this time it was nowhere near as powerful and he could still breathe and fight against the hold.

Draco turned as he heard Herido draw in a sharp breath.

Heri was shocked to his core!

It had been an awfully long time since he'd felt so, but it seemed his new friend continued to surprise him! The ability to use your power to overpower someone else's only came from sacrificial magic! She was obviously straining to hold the boy, and was a little winded herself, but she managed to give him a small smile.

Nott broke free and was about to turn his rage on the mudblood, when Herido turned his attention back to the boy, with eyes so dark and cold that he froze for long enough to hear the next words spoken.

"I suggest you leave, Theodore. Otherwise I'll allow her to keep practising on you until we reach Hogwarts." Heri left no doubt that he was being serious, so Nott stood, not even bothering with dignity and turned to leave, wanting to get out as soon as possible. He didn't care about the girl, but he did NOT want to anger the Addams boy again.

"Are you coming, Draco?" He asked, his voice a little hoarse, even though the damage couldn't have been real. Draco froze for just a moment before replying.

"I…I'll catch up with you." And with that the three of them were left alone.

"We will be discussing this later." Heri schooled his features as he spoke to her, but Hermione could see a flash of pride there. She just beamed at him.

After the Nott incident it had taken Draco a little time to fall back into the conversation, but eventually he joined in while they were discussing houses. He made sure to keep his tone and features the same whether he was addressing Herido or the… Granger girl. The Granger girl who Addams had defended and allowed to call him Heri he constantly reminded himself.

"I just know I'll be in Slytherin," Draco said with pride, "all my family have been. What about you guys?

"I'm not sure," Heri started, "I don't really know if I'm brave, so I doubt I'd be placed in Gryffindor." Draco suppressed his snort. There was no way he would be placed in Gryffindor. "I guess I'm hard working, but I can't imagine them trying to make me wear yellow!" Heri shuddered and Hermione laughed. "I'd say it's between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. 'Mione?"

"I wouldn't mind Gryffindor" Draco couldn't help but give her a look of incredulity at that, "or Ravenclaw."

"I think you'll end up in Slytherin." Heri said with a sly smile. Now Draco really couldn't stay quiet.

"No way!" He regretted speaking when those dark green eyes pinned him in place. "I, I mean, she'd get eaten alive. There is no way the Slytherins would accept… her, in their house." He tried to defend but every word felt like he was digging a hole and he was grateful when Hermione saved him.

"He's right, Heri. I could never be placed in Slytherin."

"Oh I don't know." He said as he turned back to her with a knowing look. "I'd say you're plenty ambitious. Sly too, I'd bet." She blushed but didn't respond.

When the train finally pulled into the station, Heri, Hermione and Draco waited a few minutes for the throngs of students to alight before following.