Coming To London (Revised)
A/N: ****Spoiler**** In an attempt to not change too much in the story line created by the lovely Ms. Rowling I have decided to leave Delphini around the age of twenty. For anyone wondering this story is starting at the same time Harry Potter ended. So in Albus' first year. Albus will play a very important roll in this story but not til later. It mostly will focus on James and Riley.
Disclaimer: Still not mine... damn
Chapter Two
What the Hell is a Griffldorf?
Riley Whitewater sat up in her bed and looked around her room. Most everything was packed and her Phoenix, Ruby, was all bundled in her cage ready to leave as soon as her mother gave word. She stood up from her mattress and grabbed her suitcase. She had just begun shoving the last little trinkets into it when someone knocked on her door. She looked up just as her oldest brother, Kyler, opened it.
"Mom wants to know if you're ready?"
"Yeah, I guess."
Kyler hollered down the hall to their mother and about ten minutes later three of their house elves appeared in her room and began carrying boxes out. Kyler moved over to the dresser and picked up Ruby's cage.
"I'll take Ruby and settle her in next to Sapphire and Emerald."
"Thanks Ky."
She handed her suitcase to one of the house elves and then grabbed her Journal and headed downstairs to the car. She hopped down the last three steps and came to a stop in front of the portrait of her father. He smiled kindly at her and she felt her heartstrings tighten.
"Hi Daddy."
"Hello Crumpet."
"Ready for the journey?"
"As I understand it I will be there when you arrive. I am going with the house elves."
"Oh, well we will see you there."
She blew the painting a kiss and then bounded out the door. Her mother was bargaining with her youngest brother to get in the car. A battle she seemed to be losing. She knew it made her seem petty but it made her feel good to see the frazzled look on her mothers face. It was less than she deserved for forcing them to move across the world at the drop of a hat. She watched the battle continue and then eventually she gave in and headed over to help.
"Parker, get in the car and I'll share my secret m&m stash with you." She said.
"Okay."
"Thank you." Her mother said closing Parker's door.
"Whatever."
She climbed in herself and sunk down low in the seat. Her mother climbed in last and started the car. As they pulled away, Riley watched their childhood home disappear forever.
-London, England-
Riley started awake as something wet and sticky hit the side of her head. She lifted her head to see something red stuck to her face. She reached up and pulled a sucker out of her hair and off her face.
"EW! Mother Parker threw his sucker at me!"
"Parker, apologize!"
"Sorry."
"Ugh. Thank god I save wet naps from restaurants. Disgusting!"
"Oh stop being such a priss." Kyler says from in front of her.
"Oh shut up!"
Just then the car stopped. She looked up to see a large Victorian house in front of the car. It took her a moment to realize that the rest of the car had gone silent as well. She opened her door and climbed out.
"I mean, your grandmother said it was a quaint little house. I never imagined a mansion." Her mother was saying.
"Compared to Gram's house this is quaint." Kyler laughed heading inside.
Riley followed the family in and then gasped. Most everything had been put into the proper rooms and all five of their house elves were patiently waiting for further instruction. Gripping Ruby's cage handle she smiled at the elves.
"Biddy? Would you be kind enough to help me?" She asked.
The elves eyes sparkled. Biddy and Riley had always had a special connection to each other. She was the elf who always helped her with her homework and sat with her when she was sick.
"Of course miss."
She turned to the stairs and started climbing. She came out on a second story landing and looked at the five doors in the hall. She opened the one on the farthest wall and was surprised to see another set of stairs. She climbed up them and came out into and attic like bedroom. It was beautiful and private. Her favorite. She pulled her wand out of her back pocket and cast a minor paint spell. The walls were suddenly covered in a dark purple and she smiled. She charmed her glow in the dark stars to float just below her ceiling and suddenly felt better. Biddy popped into her room with the last stack of boxes.
"What shall I start with first miss?"
"Could you just put my clothes away Biddy? You always do it just right."
"Of course miss."
Once Biddy was started on her task, Riley charmed the rest of the boxes to put themselves away and then started in on her books. She organized them by height first, then author, and then title. By the time she had covered all the shelves of her floor to ceiling book shelf the rest of her room was done. Biddy had long since left to find other tasks and she was alone. She looked at the last box in her room. A long tall flat box leaning against the railing. She charmed the painting of her father out of it and tacked it to the wall. He wasn't currently residing in the painting which meant he was probably with her mother.
Sitting down on her bed which as always was right up against the wall with the window on it facing out the front of the house. She noticed a grouping of red head children playing in a yard down the street. Two little blonde haired boys were also in the grouping which made them stand out the most. She shrugged her shoulders and headed downstairs with her favorite book.
As she hit the bottom floor landing and ran smack into her mother.
"Oh Riley. Could you help me in the kitchen?"
"Sorry I'm busy."
She shoved past her mother to the front door and trudged over to the small garden pond in the far corner. She sat down on the planting bricks and opened her book. She was maybe reading for 15 minutes before a huge splash in the pond soaked her. She squealed and jumped up. Floating in the ond was a larger than normal orange.
"Sorry! Could I have that back please?" A tall boy with fire red hair said.
"Oh uhm...sure."
She handed the orange over to the boy.
"I'm so sorry about that. Let me help." He pulled out his wand and mumbled a charm and she was suddenly as dry as she had been five minutes ago. "I was trying to teach my cousins how to play quidditch and Rose hit the Bludger a bit hard."
"I'm no expert, but I am pretty certain that is an orange."
"Oh, you're American?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"Kinda yeah. I'm Theodore Lupin. But most people just call me Teddy."
"I'm-"
Just then a bellowing voice came from down the street.
"THEODORE LUPIN I TOLD YOU MY FRUIT WAS NOT FOR PLAYING QUIDDITCH!"
"Sorry gotta go!"
She watched him run down the road looking as embarrassed as she was sure he felt.
-Diagon Alley-
"But mom there isn't a damn thing wrong with my wand." Kyler whined.
"Watch your mouth and I know that but your grandmother wants to buy you something nice for school. A new wand is perfectly acceptable."
"Riley dear, are you sure you wouldn't like a new wand?" Grandma Edna asked her.
"Really Gram. I would much rather have all the books I can find on Hogwarts!"
"Well I already called ahead to Florrish and Blotts and they are having all the books sent straight home for you. Biddy said she would come get them. How about a new trunk too?"
"A trunk? Uniform robes? Seriously is this school desperate to live in the 1920's?" Kyler groaned.
"Quit whining. Look There's Ollivanders just there!" Her mother said.
They headed into building and looked around at the stacks and stacks of wands. Riley started looking at all the different kinds and was floored by the beauty in them. She looked around some more while her mother and Grandmother spoke with the wand maker. She noticed a black wand box among the lot of them and reached out to grab it. As she lifted the lid off the box the whole store fell silent. She reached in and grabbed the wand. Not sure why but something was compelling her too.
You want it. This wand must be yours...
The wand felt warm in her hand and she shivered. Suddenly a hand on her shoulder made her jump. She turned to see the wand maker smiling at her.
"As my father always says, the wand chooses the witch or wizard miss."
"Then we will take the both of them." Edna said.
By the time they had finished there school shopping, Grandma Edna had purchased them each a new trunk and a new wand. 6 sets of school uniforms and robes and a few outfits for Hogsmeade weekends. She had also given them each a hefty amount of money for these weekends as well, while their mother hadn't been looking.
"Now what do you say we grab some lunch?" Grandma Edna asked.
They made their way to a small cafe to eat. Once they were seated, of course, Parker needed to pee. Riley offered to take him so that her mother could finish getting her lecture about 'needing proper school attire' so she would stop talking about how all the things she had bought the kids was too much.
Waiting outside the restroom for Parker she picked the purple nail polish off her nails. She was just scrapping the last bit off when Parker pushed his way out of the bathroom. He took off down the hall and ran smack into a waiter on his way down.
"Oh god I am so sorry. Parker apologize."
"Quite alright! No harm done."
Riley looked up from helping Parker up.
"Oh Teddy! I am so sorry."
"It's okay. Now we are even!"
She smiled and waved goodbye as she walked Parker back to their table. Maybe London wouldn't be so bad
-Headmistress' Office-
Minerva McGonagall was small thin woman with pale skin and seemed to favor the color emerald green. Her office walls were charmed so the stone radiated the color and she seemed to be a fan of glitter because Riley could swear the stones sparkled.
Though she had been trying to pay attention to what the Headmistress was talking about with them she couldn't draw her eyes from the walls or the completely out of place bird perched beside one of them. It just seemed so out of place.
"I'm in- I was in Pukwudgie at Ilvermorny." Kyler was saying.
"And what is the focus of that house?" McGonagall asked.
"Healers, and kindhearted."
"That would be equal with our Hufflepuff House. What about you Miss Whitewater?"
"What? Oh, um I was in Horned Serpent. It favors Scholars."
"Well that sounds equal to our Ravenclaw house. Well we shall head to the great hall and you will try on our sorting hat to ensure you are put into the proper houses. Follow me."
-Great Hall-
"Welcome all to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! I have been asked by our caretaker and game keeper, Rubeus Hagrid to remind you all that the dark forest is absolutely forbidden without the proper adult companionship. Now before we begin the usual sorting ceremony for our bright eyed first years, I would like to welcome our new transfer students all the way from America to be sorted. Mr Kyler Whitewater please make your way to the stool."
Riley watched Kyler trudge up to the stool and sit upon it. McGonagall placed the hat on his head and before it sat fully on his head it called out "HUFFLEPUFF"
Then McGonagall called her name and she made the same trudge up to the stool and sat down. The hat sat down upon her head and suddenly there was a voice in her head.
"Ah, an odd one here. Haven't had one like you since the original . The boy who lived. The chosen one. Quite the mess in here. A brave heart but fear to be great. The ability to be cruel but kindness to overpower it. Kindhearted but not so much as to open your heart. And brilliance but the unwillingness to shine. A hard one too place... I once placed a girl with a similar mind in the most unlikely house and she went to do great things. I guess it better be..."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"What the hell is a griffldorf?" She said out loud before she could stop herself.
Embarrassingly there were catcalls that followed.
"Woooheee that's my kinda gal!"
"What a woman! I love a girl with a mouth on her!"
"She rivals even our James in astonishing language!"
"Oh stop it right now you goons! Making the girl afraid to sit with us." Said a tall red haired girl.
"To your seat Miss. Whitewater."
She stood up from the stool and apologized to McGonagall quietly and hurried toward the table. The red haired girl greeted her and scooted over to make room. Once she was seated the girl stuck her hand out.
"The name is Molly Weasley. The cat calls were my idiot cousins."
"I'm Riley Whitewater. Nice to meet you."
"Welcome to the house. Which is called Gryffindor by the way."
"Oh. What is a Gryffindor?"
Molly laughed.
"Gryffindor is a person. Our house was founded by a man named Godric Gryffindor. Our house symbol is a lion."
"Godric? Like Godric's Hallow?"
"Yes, you know it?"
"My family just bought a house there."
"Whoa. We live there too. My family is incredibly close. We all live in Godric's Hallow."
"All of you?" Riley asked shocked. "How many of you are there?"
Molly laughed again. Her laugh had an odd power to it. It instantly made Riley relax. She was starting to think she and Molly could be great friends.
"All in all there are 12 of us. There's Fred, and Roxanne. They're Uncle George and Aunt Angelina's kids. That's Fred right there and Roxanne is only 9. Then Rose and Hugo. That's Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione's brood. So there is Rose there. She is sitting next to Louis and Dominique who have a sister, Victoire. They are Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur's. Then you have James, Albus, and Lily. They belong to Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny. Then me and my little sister Lucy. Think you got all that?"
"Let me try? So there is you, Molly, Lucy, Fred, Roxanne, Victoire, Louis, Dominique, Rose and Hugo. All of you are Weasleys. And then James, Albus, and Lily, who are all Potters?"
"Very good. Oh and of course Teddy. He is Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny's god son."
"Oh, now Teddy I've met."
"Oh how am I not surprised. He has that effect on all the girls."
Riley blushed as she could feel her head spinning as she tried to remember all of them. 12 cousins was a lot of family to remember and all of them lived in Godric's Hallow. Well at least her summers wouldn't be boring. If they wanted to be her friends.
"Oh its time to head to the house! Come on! You can walk with me."
Riley smiled and followed Molly. She caught Kylers gaze in the group of Hufflepuff's and waved. He smiled back at her and waved goodnight. Maybe Hogwarts would be different for them. Maybe it would be better.