Katzztar: It's under Bobmin's profile on fanficauthors dot net. I recommend it; it's a wonderful personality-driven Harmony story.

dopplerdee: Run too much electricity through a piece of wood, and it'll catch on fire (I've actually done this with a stick and a 12V battery, so just take my word for it). She wants the school's attention, so she'll go with what she knows best. Yes, destroying the world will rid you of paperwork, but it also means you won't get an update of this story. Decisions, decisions.

twilliams1797: I didn't realize that I was recommended on Caer Azkaban; it makes my cold, black heart swell with pride :) I know exactly what you mean, that's partly why I throw so many cliches out the door. Luna (obviously) is going to get along with Jen just fine; Hermione, on the other hand…

September first at last, and it only took us six chapter to get here! It makes me wonder how long I'll need to get through the next two school years.

Disclaimer: Did Harry always enter Platform 9¾ from the Muggle side, even when he was staying with the Weasleys? If so, I don't own the Harry Potter franchise; it belongs to J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Press, Warner Bros., and whoever else she sold the rights to.

Chapter 7
Problems on the Platform

Four women, two men, and a bird entered a train station.

We sound like a bad joke, Jen thought. Both her adopted aunts and Sirius had informed her that there was no way they were going to let her Floo onto Platform 9¾ by herself, especially since this would be her first time taking the Hogwarts Express. Tired of arguing, she had let the matter drop and accepted that since none of the three of them had actual jobs, there was no reason they couldn't go with her.

Then she was told that Dora and Ted were taking the day off to join in.

"I still don't see the point of the entire family coming here. It's a train; I'm going to get on it, find a seat, and leave. What part of that requires all of you escorting me?" At least they had only come ten minutes early; she had talked them down from the hour they had initially demanded.

"Nostalgia, for the most part," Andi answered. "We still remember the days we spent taking the train to Hogwarts with our friends, parents waving at us as we rolled away. Now, we get to see you ride the same train on to the school for the first time."

"It also lets us scare away any boys who try to get too close," growled Sirius, glaring at the clothes she was wearing. She had used her scrying mirror to make the selection and had chosen a fine outfit, apparently meant for dueling, composed of a green silk blouse over dark canvas trousers. Combined with the black high-heeled dragonhide boots Cissy had purchased for her in Diagon, she was sure to catch many people's eyes; the sooner she had their attention, the sooner she could begin to make the social and political connections necessary for the next four years and her entire post-Hogwarts life.

It had not been kept secret from her that, as Sirius's goddaughter, she would probably gain control of the Black family upon his death or abdication, a scenario that was even more likely due to the fact that his time in Azkaban meant that he would be exceedingly lucky to ever have progeny. Together with the 'procedure' her aunts had performed on her, her claim to the role of Family Head was practically unassailable.

He had also taken the opportunity this summer to explain the realities of the position to her, and she now understood more about the duties she would be expected to discharge than she had ever wanted to know. To be honest, she thought most of the tasks she would be required to perform were extremely tedious, but at least the Black family wasn't like other Ancient Houses that prohibited women from taking on the role in favor of their husbands or sons. There were simply too many daughters of Family Heads who deserved their name 'Bellatrix' for that rule to have lasted long.

Jen sighed. She might wish her future was more interesting, but at least this way she wouldn't have to worry about being cast out of the family like she would have if Cissy's son was the head; her month in Grimmauld Place had spoiled her too much for her to desire returning to Avryporth.

"Yes, yes, Siri, let's keep all evil, lusting, sex-obsessed boys away from me for all time," she said, responding finally to Sirius's half-serious joke. "Please recall who one of my clients was and point to the flaw in your logic."

He blinked in confusion before his eyes shot to Cissy. "Right. On second thought, you can take your OWLs and NEWTs after homeschooling."

"Ignore him," Cissy said. She looked out to the throng of people congregating on the platform. "I wanted to introduce you to Draco, but he has more than likely already found a seat on the Express. I know he can be a tad big-headed, but please try to get along with him. For me?"

"Alright, Aunt Cissy, for you. I need to go ahead and find somewhere to sit, then I'll be back." Hiking her satchel higher on her shoulder, she whistled to Loki, who reluctantly left his – apparently comfortable – perch on Dora's head, where he had been ever since Dora had arrived at the house. The woman shuddered and cast several charms on herself as soon as he had latched onto Jen. "Really? It's not like he shit on you or anything."

"I don't care. Birds should ride on shoulders, arms, or in cages, not on my head!"

Only after she had actually stepped on the train did Jen let her grin appear on her face. She had known Dora would hate what Loki did, though as he was not a post-owl but a true familiar, there was little Dora could do to stop him. Several laws protected familiars from harm and inconvenience except under dangerous conditions, and perching on someone's head was not one of them.

"Great job, boy, I knew I could count on you," she murmured, running a finger through the feathers of his breast, and his croak was tinged with good humor. He was named after the Norse god of mischief, how could he not enjoy helping out on a prank or two?

She knew she had little time before the train left, so she was understandably upset when it was only in the third coach that she found an empty compartment. She took off her bag and set it in one of the seat, and Loki hopped down onto it.

"You willing to keep an eye on our stuff?" He gurgled this time and puffed up his feathers. "Yes, I'm sure that no one will be able to mess with it if you're the guard. Silly bird." With one last rub on his head, she headed back to the platform to give her short goodbyes. Once there, though, she hung back; someone she did not recognize was speaking to her family, and none of them were happy about it.

To Sirius, there was only one problem with seeing his goddaughter off to Hogwarts. In a public place like the platform, nothing was stopping him from being approached by people he would rather not deal with right now.

"Sirius."

"James." How sad is it, he thought, that even after what they did to me, to Jen, I still miss his friendship?

James Potter swallowed, obviously nervous about this meeting. "What, er… how have you been?"

How he wished he could have confronted James at the same time he had Lily! When he was burning up in anger, he could say things he never would when calm; the past month had been long enough for his temper to cool. While he would probably never completely forgive the Potters for what happened to Jen, he was also – in a deep, dark part of his mind – almost happy that they wanted nothing to do with her. If what he had seen of their son was any indication of their parenting skills, Jen raised by her actual parents would not be the bright, vivacious, quick-witted, and incomprehensibly powerful young woman he now viewed as his own flesh and blood.

"I've been better," he said, "but I've also been worse, so I'll take what I can get."

James nodded and shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "I am sorry, you know. About not testifying on your behalf. I was just, I didn't want to believe that you would use dark magic, but with Peter doing what he did…"

"It's fine, James, I understand." If someone had shown him 'credible evidence' that James had used dark magic to kill someone, he would also have a hard time figuring out what was real. "That's behind us."

The smile on James grew until it nearly split his face in half. "Good, good." He cast a quick look at the Tonkses and Cissy. "Who are you waiting for?"

"Jen ran in to get a compartment for the trip, so she should be coming out soon." He was quite happy about this turn of events. If James was willing to swallow his pride and apologize to him, maybe he would also see Jen and realize the mistake he had made all those years ago. There were times a girl, even one who had raised herself, could use her dad's advice, and while he had many good points, father-material he was not.

"Jen?"

Oh, right, she was called Jenny the last time he saw her. "Jennifer, my goddaughter, your actual daughter, remember?"

"Sirius," James said with a frown, "she's a squib. She can't go to Hogwarts, no matter how much you wish she could."

"She's not a squib. She's definitely a witch." Oh, was she a witch. He hadn't mentioned it to anyone, but what she could do at fourteen still unnerved him. Mastery of wandless magic with a sharp mind and a short temper was not a good combination for anyone who pranked her, as he found out from personal experience this past month.

James shook his head. "She's a squib, Sirius, accept it. I know you were wrapped around her finger when she was little, but you shouldn't give her false hope that she'll be able to do magic." Sirius wanted to set him straight, but he hadn't finished. "Lily told me about their… talk, in Flourish and Blotts's Ancient Rune section. You know as well as I do that even if she learned everything there was to know about runes, or potions, or anything else that doesn't need a wand, she still won't be able to use them since she doesn't have any magic.

"Honestly, Sirius, all you've done is set her up for failure. She was better off in the Muggle world."

That was the wrong thing to say. Sirius's anger, previously mere embers, flared to terrible life. James had no idea what her childhood had been like; worse, he didn't even care! Was he so worried about the damage his daughter being a squib could do to his reputation that he would throw her out into the Muggle world without a single concern for how she would be cared for, who would raise her?

Padfoot's growl emanating from his throat, he stepped into James's personal space, their heads separated by only a few inches. "You have no right to say where she was better off, James. You don't have a damn clue what happened to her out there, what she was forced to do just to survive. I could tell some stories about what she has revealed to us that would turn your hair white!" His voice softened dangerously. "It doesn't matter to you, though, does it? She is your daughter, or at least was, but you still threw her out of your house because you thought she wasn't good enough. You're as bad as my parents were!

"But you can go on ignoring her. She's a Black now; her home is with us, in this world! We will love her like you never did, we will give her what she needs, and when you realize the depths of your mistake, we will say 'we told you so'. Remember this moment, for when you wail, and you moan, and you apologize over and over for how badly you think and act towards her, we will have no sympathy or comfort for you.

"As for you thinking Jen's a squib? She's powerful, so much so that I bet she has more magic in her little toe than your oh-so-precious 'Boy-Who-Lived' does in his entire body."

"Don't. Don't you dare say anything against my son," James warned, fingers tightening in his pocket, presumably around his wand. "Danny defeated You-Know-Who while the girl did nothing, and you think she is stronger? Not a chance." He scoffed, "St. Mungo's clearly couldn't repair the damage Azkaban did to your mind as well as they thought; I can't come up with any other reason you would associate with a Malfoy, of all people. When you come to your senses and realize who really belongs in the magical world, you know how to contact me. If you're too soft to do it, I'll even Obliviate her for you so you can put her back wherever you found her."

Sirius grabbed for his wand, but he was beaten to the punch as thick metal cables wrapped around James's form, throwing him backwards onto the ground. His eyes shot in the direction they came from and saw Jen standing there, sneer on her face as she held out her 'wand', really just a wooden stick used by children to practice wand movements before they could attend Hogwarts. Sirius unconsciously whimpered; he was nervous about her effortless wandless magic, yes, but there was something primal and terrifying about an angry witch pointing a wand at him. He should know, it happened often enough while he was in school.

She stalked to her bound father. "The only person who will have anything to do with my memories is me. I'll give you a warning: I'm not as nice as Sirius is. You threaten me again, and I won't just tie you up, I'll show you why I'm a Black. You insult my aunts or my godfather again, and you'll beg for death."

The Express's whistle prevented her from threatening James further. She instead walked over to Cissy and hugged her, then repeated her actions with each member of the family, finishing with Sirius. "Alright, I guess I need to go. Don't have too much fun without me."

Sirius held her closer for a moment, "We'll miss you, but just concentrate on your studies. It'll be Christmastime before you know it, and then you can come back home."

"Christmas? Don't be silly," she whispered, "I can teleport, remember?" She laughed as she backed away, running onto the train when it started to move. "Catch you later!"

He smiled, and knew even without looking that all the rest of his family were, too. When the train moved out of sight, they walked back to the Floo, paying no attention to the man still restrained on the platform floor.

Jen made her way to the compartment she had left her belongings in by following the spark of Loki's magical core. When she arrived, he leapt to her shoulder, and she retrieved one of the books she had borrowed from the library for the term. She knew that traditional classes generally progressed more slowly than tutoring, even though she had never set foot in a classroom, and was worried that she would become bored; she was also slightly concerned that she would be behind the other students, though she would never admit to it. They had three years of large classes where she had one-on-one instruction for twice that long, so there should be no need for alarm.

She had barely read through a chapter when her compartment door opened. Recognizing the mental signature and magical core as Tracey, she waved her hand towards the row of seats opposite where she was stretched out. "So how did the past month go for you, friend?"

"Better than the month before it," the girl responded, sitting primly. "My grandfather was 'most impressed' that I had made a political connection with the rumored heiress of Black, said that if I kept up with these actions, he might even be nearly as proud of me as he would were I a Pureblood. Sanctimonious prick."

She chuckled at Tracey's acidic comments. "I'm glad I could be so helpful, pushing you towards the cusp of respectability."

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Why did you bring that raven with you? We can't have any birds other than owls."

"That would be true if he weren't my familiar," she said, giving the animal in question a short mental command, "but as he is, Hogwarts's bylaws prevent any staff from prohibiting him entrance."

"Blimey, not bad if you can get it. Wait, why is he looking at me like— hey, get away!" She flapped her arms to ward him off, ultimately failing. "Jen Black, why is your bird—"

"Loki."

"—Loki, then, sitting on my head?"

Jen smirked. "Well, I had him play a bit of a trick on my cousin by perching like that. I guess he's found it to be better than a shoulder. If you ignore him, he'll get off on his own. Eventually. Maybe."

"Well, now we know why you never had company over if you treat others like this," Tracey snarked.

"And yet I have no idea why you aren't surrounded by admirers."

The two girls grinned at each other, their sarcasm cementing their budding friendship.

Yes, James is a bit of a idiot here, isn't he? He's spent the past thirteen years thinking Jen is a squib, and if the Potters are anything like the Weasleys, they would just pretend she didn't exist. Remember how, in the first chapter, their son didn't even know he had a twin sister? That's because James and Lily never mentioned her. And saying Sirius should have left her in the Muggle world, in Candyland? He didn't know it, but he couldn't have said anything worse if he tried; at this point, basically any bridges left between the two men have been burned.

Sirius has jumped into the role of Family Head with both feet, making the situation even worse. The family looks to him as The Authority™, and in return he will provide for and protect them. And if he will do that for relatives that he disagrees with, like Narcissa, just what will he do for his beloved goddaughter?

Tracey is looking to be more and more fun to write. She is offensive and proud of it, amusing herself by throwing scathing and sarcastic comments at any person or thing that rubs her the wrong way. With three years of anger stored up, I recommend you expect more of her barbs.

Silently Watches out.