A/N: Everything in bold belongs to J. K. Rowling.
Cassandra looked around the station worriedly, afraid she had missed her friends. When she saw a familiar shock of black hair, she squealed loudly and ran towards him, flinging her arms around him and causing a scene.
"Harry!"
Harry laughed, barely managing to stay on his feet as she barreled into him. Anthony and Charlotte had followed their daughter at a calmer pace, their amusement evident. Harry smiled shyly at them. Anthony held out his hand, knowing from his daughter that Harry didn't like having attention called to him.
"I'm Anthony Pendragon and this is my wife Charlotte."
The boy's smile widened as he released Cassandra and shook Anthony's hand.
"Harry Potter, sir. It's nice to meet you."
Anthony grinned.
"It's nice to meet you as well. Cassandra talks about you constantly."
Harry blushed and looked at his feet.
"Good things, I hope."
Charlotte smiled warmly at the child.
"Nothing but. She couldn't wait to see you again."
"Charlotte!" Cassandra whined. Charlotte and Anthony laughed at their daughter.
"Yes, dear?" Charlotte asked innocently. Cassandra pouted at them, then turned back to her friend.
"Where are your relatives Harry?"
Harry jerked his chin towards the street.
"They left and I have no idea how to get on to the Platform."
Anthony and Charlotte exchanged a worried look, but Cassandra merely brushed aside her anger and grinned at her friend.
"Well, lucky you, we do!"
Harry laughed at her exuberance, grateful she hadn't pushed the issue of his Aunt and Uncle. Cassie, as he had taken to calling her in their letters, grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the barrier, Anthony and Charlotte following behind with her trolley, only for the three to pause when they heard a voice exclaim loudly,
"- packed with muggles of course -"
The three purebloods stared incredulously at a family of red heads led by a plump woman, a little girl clinging to her hand, as they passed them. Harry poked Cassie in the ribs.
"Do you know them?"
She turned away from the family and back to her friend, incredulous expression still in place.
"That's the Weasley family - well, most of it any way - they're a pureblood family and they should know better than to shout about muggles in a muggle train station." she told him with a frown.
"Molly!" Anthony called across the station. The plump woman looked up and smiled at them. She halted her children and gestured for Harry and the Noble family to join them.
"Hello Anthony, Charlotte! I didn't know you had children!" she exclaimed, looking at Harry and Cassandra. Anthony's expression hardened,
"Charlotte is unable to carry children, as you well know, Molly. This is our adoptive daughter Cassandra Lestrange and her friend Harry Potter." he informed her stonily. Cassandra's frown deepened and she hugged the man's waist.
"Are you okay, Anthony?" she asked shyly. Anthony smiled and put an arm around her shoulders.
"I'm fine, princess. Just a sore point." Cassandra nodded, still frowning and not inclined to move. The little girl holding Molly Weasley's hand squealed, drawing a lot of attention from passerby.
"Harry Potter! Oh, mum, can I please go to Hogwarts this year? Please?"
"No, Ginny, you're not old enough!" Molly snapped at her daughter. She turned back to the Pendragons uncertainly.
"Dears, not that I'm not confidant in your abilities to raise a child, but - are you sure you should let a Death Eater's child fraternize with our Savior?"
Charlotte and Anthony glared, but before they could respond, Harry protested on his friend's behalf.
"It's not Cassie's fault her parents were awful people! She didn't grow up with them and she doesn't act like them so I don't see any reason not to be friends with her!"
Molly and her children stared at Harry in shock, while Cassie beamed and hugged her friend. Charlotte and Anthony were smiling proudly at the raven haired boy. After a moment's silence, Molly's twins cheered,
"Hear, hear!"
The teens converged on the younger two, both taking one of Cassandra's hands and kissing, causing the eleven-year-old heiress to giggle and shook Harry's hands, wringing a laugh from the raven.
"Fred and George Weasley at your service, pleased to meet you!" they spoke at the same time.
Cassie grinned.
"Cassandra Lestrange and Harry Potter at yours, good sirs, and likewise." she and Harry answered together.
The two laughed and exchanged a look.
"We like you two! Why don't you sit with us on the train?"
The two younger years exchanged a nervous glance before facing the two teens.
"We promised our friend Neville we would meet him on the Platform." Harry told them
Fred and George shrugged.
"He can sit with us too if he wants."
"Neville's shy." Cassie insisted. The twins grinned.
"Then we'll help him out of his shell."
"His Gran is really hard on him." Harry persisted. They wanted to make sure they would be friends with Neville too, and not make him feel like a tag-a-long. They exchanged sympathetic glances.
"We know the feeling. Our mum's the same. She wants us to get a job at the Ministry, but we want to open a joke shop."
Cassie glared at Molly, then grinned at the twins.
"That sounds brilliant!" she turned to her parents, "Anthony, Charlotte, would it be possible for me to invest in Fred and George's shop?"
Anthony grinned.
"Of course. Do you want to use the Lestrange money?"
Cassandra nodded, dragging Harry and the twins towards the barrier, her parents and the other Weasleys trailing forgotten behind them.
"Yes. Could you also see about getting all Dark objects removed from the vaults, though I want anything goblin made given back to the goblins. All books I want burnt and the objects either cleansed or destroyed, depending on value, anything of value that can be cleansed I want you and Charlotte to go through and decide what can be sold and what should be kept."
Anthony nodded, fighting not to laugh at the look on Molly Weasley's face.
"Are you really going to let her tell you what to do?" Molly demanded. Anthony raised a brow as the children ran off to find Neville and a compartment.
"It's her money and her vaults, Molly, I will do as she wishes me do with them. If she wants the objects cleansed and the valuables sorted, it will be done. Now, if you'll excuse us, I think our daughter wants to introduce us to her other friend." he told her coolly, leading Charlotte to where he could see Cassandra and Harry waving next to a round faced boy, Augusta Longbottom standing off to the side, a hard look on her face. Anthony winced. He tried, and failed, to smile at Augusta as he and his wife neared the group.
"Hello, Augusta. It's good to see you again."
Augusta 'hmphed'.
"I see you've finally decided to be the parents that little girl needs." she bit out in reply. Anthony sighed.
"Yes, we have, and we know it's long overdue. We doing the best we can to repair the damage we have caused."
"I take you've at least taught her the Old Ways and customs."
"Of course. She is not lacking in training, at least."
"She is also standing right here and can hear every word the two of you are saying." Cassandra interrupted, an amused look on her face. Anthony and Charlotte looked sheepish, Augusta merely raised a brow.
"I called you over here to meet Neville. You can talk to Lady Longbottom when we get on the train." Cassie told her parents, dragging Neville up beside her.
"Anthony, Charlotte, this is Neville Longbottom. Nev, these are my parents, Anthony and Charlotte."
The three exchanged greetings and Cassandra grabbed both of her friends' hands, saying,
"Well, we're off to find Fred, George and Lee Jordon."
She dragged the boys off with a shouted 'good-bye'. Augusta chuckled.
"She'll be good for Neville."
Charlotte and Anthony said nothing, merely waved good-bye to their daughter and watched as the train chugged out of sight.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~The Train ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Cassie dragged her boys down the train to the twins compartment, grinning when she saw the three third years absorbed in Lee's tarantula. She put a finger to her lips and crept into the compartment. She stepped behind the twins and asked in an innocent 'I've-not-done-anything-wrong' voice,
"What are you boys looking at?"
The three boys jumped and glared at her, but she merely looked at them with a 'who, me?' expression. Fred snorted.
"None of us buy that look, pretty."
Cassie laughed,
"You should have been paying attention. For all you know, we could have been Slytherins sneaked in to hex you." she pointed out. George rolled his eyes.
"Me thinks the ickle firstie should watch herself."
Cassie smirked.
"And me thinks the ickle pranksters should do better than to be sneaked up on by three firsties." she returned. Harry and Neville stood awkwardly in the threshold until Cassandra noticed and pulled them further into the compartment, saying grandly,
"Everyone, met Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom. Nev and Harry, meet Fred and George Weasley and Lee Jordon."
The younger boys muttered shy 'hello's while the teens all said 'hullo Nev and Harry', though Lee had to be glared at when Harry's name was said. Lee introduced the three first years to his tarantula Lulu and Nev panicked when he realized his toad was missing again. He was about to search the train when Cassie suggested they summon it. Lee, Fred and George shook their heads.
"We don't know how."
She rolled her eyes.
"Neither do I, but I know words and the wand movement. Just imitate me."
She flicked her wrist and said softly,
"Accio Trevor the toad."
Fred copied her and the toad came flying into the compartment. Harry snatched the toad out of the air and handed him to his friend. The others in the compartment stared at him. He looked around the compartment nervously.
"Did I do something wrong?" he asked hesitantly. Cassandra was quick to reassure him.
"Of course not! It's just that that was a very good catch Harry. You could try out for your House Quidditch team next year if you want."
Harry brightened.
"Really?"
Cassandra smiled and nodded and the other boys agreed, having finally gotten over their shock. Cassandra engaged the twins in a conversation about pranking teachers, taking their attention off Harry. Fred was listing reasons why one should always have house elves on one's side when pranking food when the compartment door slid open and three boys stepped in. A lean, blond boy with a pointed face standing between what Cassandra immediately deemed to be two gorillas. Unfortunately, she recognized all of them. She inclined her head to the blond.
"Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle."
The Malfoy inclined his head in acknowledgement.
"Lestrange."
Lee leaned over to Harry and Neville and said in a commentator's voice,
"A traditional 'I-want-to-kill-you' pureblood greeting."
Harry and Neville were startled into laughing and Malfoy and Cassandra both snorted. Malfoy shook his head.
"We would be more subtle if we wanted to kill each other, Jordan."
Cassandra rolled her eyes.
"What my dear cousin means to say is - neither of us currently have any plans to kill the other."
The twins and Neville stared at her.
"You're related to Malfoy?" Fred demanded. Malfoy and Cassandra both rolled their eyes.
"Well as our mothers are sisters his mother married to a Malfoy, I would assume so." Cassie drawled. Fred flushed and stuck his tongue out at her. She grinned at him before turning back to her cousin.
"Can we help you with something, Draco?"
"I heard Harry Potter was in this compartment. We came to see if it was true."
She smirked at him.
"It is indeed true. Harry would you like to speak with my cousin?"
Malfoy sneered at her, then faced Harry, holding out his hand.
"You'll soon find some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."
Cassandra rolled her eyes, smiling delightedly when Harry replied,
"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks."
She grinned and shooed her cousin out of the compartment.
"Go on, Draco, before you put your other foot in your mouth."
She gently led him and his goons out into the hall and shut the door in their faces. The boys laughed and clapped Harry on the back. Cassandra, however, sighed.
"You've made an enemy today, Harry, by refusing his hand. Though I will admit he could learn a thing or two about tact."
Fred snorted.
"That's an understatement."
She rolled her eyes again, hugging an uneasy Harry and changing the subject again.
"So back to house-elves."
Fred was off again, and Cassie had to chuckle at how easy it was to distract her boys.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The Great Hall, just before the Sorting ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right- the rest of the school must already be here- but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded rather closely together than they usually would have done, peering about nervously. "Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.
"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.
"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."
Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and Ron Weasley's nose. Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair
"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."
She left the chamber. Harry swallowed.
"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" he asked Cassandra. She grinned at him as she fixed Neville's cloak.
"We try on a hat. Nothing too horrible."
Harry returned her grin shakily. They waited quietly listening to the other kids talking.
Then something happened that made him jump about a foot in the air- several people behind him screamed.
"What the-"
Harry gasped so did the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Cassandra laughed and drew his and Neville's attention from the ghosts by asking them what they thought of the castle. Eventually, Professor McGonagall came back carrying a stool and a hat and led them into the Great Hall.
She walked up to the platform and set the stool down. Everyone stared at it for a moment.
Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth- and the hat began to sing:
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,I'll eat myself if you can find,A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,Your top hats sleek and tall,For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting HatAnd I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your headThe Sorting Hat can't see,So try me on and I will tell youWhere you ought to might belong in Gryffindor
Where dwell the brave at heart,Their daring, nerve, and chivalry,Set Gryffindors might belong in Hufflepuff
Where they are just and loyal,Those patient Hufflepuffs are true,And unafraid of toil;Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,If you've a ready mind,Where those of wit and learning,Will always find their kid;Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,Those cunning folk use any meansTo achieve their put me on! Don't be afraid!And don't get in a flap!You're in safe hands (though I have none)For I'm a Thinking Cap!"
The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still.
Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"
A pick-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause-
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.
The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.
"Bones, Susan!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.
"Boot, Terry!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.
"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling.
"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin.
"Finch-Fletchly, Justin!" became a Hufflepuff.
"Granger, Hermione!" a girl with bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth went into Gryffindor.
Neville followed Hermione into Gryffindor, and had to take the hat back when he ran off to the table with it still on his head. Then it was Cassandra's turn.
"Lestrange, Cassandra!"
"Lestrange, did she say?"
"The Death Eater's daughter?"
"Should they really be letting her around other people?"
Cassandra wiped all expression from her face as she approached the hat. She saw the professor shoot her a sympathetic glance before placing the hat on her head. She started in surprise when a voice started speaking in her mind.
My, my, my… much more difficult to place than your parents. No doubt where they would go…. You would fit in well in Slytherin… you're cunning enough. Not a bad mind either…. Brave, very brave to face those who would scorn you…. Loyal to those you consider friend…. Hmm… better be… "GRYFFINDOR!"
Absolute silence. A Lestrange had just been sorted into Gryffindor. Suddenly Lee Jordan, Fred and George Weasley, and Neville Longbottom started cheering, the twins cat-calling as they had for Lavender brown. The rest of Gryffindor quickly followed and Cassandra slowly made her way towards her house after handing McGonagall the hat. As soon as she reached them, she plopped down next to Fred and hid her face in his side. The teen looked startled, but put an arm around her comfortingly as the sorting continued. Finally, it got to "Potter, Harry" and she lifted her head to watch. They waited a few minutes until, finally, the hat shouted…
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Harry got the loudest cheer yet, the twins standing up and singing "We got Potter! We got Potter!" much to Cassandra's disapproval, as this dislodged her from Fred. She pouted at him until he sighed sat back down. She smiled happily as she snuggled back into his side. He rolled his eyes when he caught sight of his twin and his best friend sniggering at him. Dumbledore stood, but she ignored him until she heard Harry say,
"Is he- a bit mad?"
"Yes." she answered immediately, garnering laughter from those within earshot. Harry gave her a questioning look and she shrugged.
"Well, it's mostly just a political opinion, but yes, the man is mad. Nev and I can tell you later, and if you want, you can come to the Manor with me for Christmas and ask Anthony and Charlotte. You need to learn this stuff anyway. You're the last of your line and you have a duty to your House and those under its protection."
Harry nodded, looking confused. She smiled at him.
"I'll explain it more on Saturday, okay?"
He nodded again and began loading his plate. Cassandra smiled to herself as she fixed her own plate. She had three new friends and no one had tried to harm her yet. This was a good day. Now to see if her luck would last.