Chapter Six
The Hogwarts Express
Harry thought he was flying, he had wings, and he could flap them, he could soar. He wanted to laugh, it came out as a shrill of excitement. He swooped and dived, the currents of the wind carrying him past villages and houses, farms and cities, all lit up in the darkness of the night. He felt free and alive.
The steady beat of his wings brought him closer and closer to a particular household, it was a dark manor, creepy looking and with a dead feel to it. He found himself flying and perching on the ledge of a window, looking into a dimly lit room. His bird eyes narrowed and he was gazing at the back of a high chair. A cloaked figure sat there, lounging, Harry couldn't see his face, but the voice sent a chill down his avian spine.
"Are the preparations ready?" the hard, cold voice drawled softly, his hooded figure obscured from view.
A smaller figure slumped forward, a short, mousy looking man, Harry's eyes narrowed slightly, he seemed familiar…somehow…
"Y-yes M-master," he stuttered, "We await only your s-signal."
Harry stiffened, he knew that voice, he knew it from somewhere. He gave a sharp thrill, a pain shot up his wing like he'd been cut. The figure laughed, cackled, and the pain started in his head. Harry screamed and then there was darkness.
Harry woke panting, is forehead felt light someone was driving needles into it, but the pain was fading quickly, he glanced over at his watch which read three am, he still had a few more hours before he had to get up again. He reached over and took a gulp of water from the side of his bed, before lying back down again and closing his eyes. He reached u momentarily to rub his forehead, his scar.
"Just a dream," he muttered, turning over and falling back asleep.
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Harry rose earlier than he thought he would on the First of September, his stomach was full of butterflies and he was as nervous as hell. He got out of bed that morning feeling like there was a squeezing in his chest. He'd never been this nervous before in his life. He went down to breakfast repeating to himself over and over again that it was just the first day of school jitters. Harry hadn't had to start at a new school since he was twelve, and even then had faded into the crowd and become otherwise invisible. It was odd to him, this new feeling, he wanted this school to be better, for once, he really wanted to make friends, he wanted to fit in, and for once it seemed like he would.
Over the past month, Harry had crammed in as much magical knowledge as he would possibly retain, his head was full of it now and he could only hope he was up to scratch with the other Sixth Year Students. He had found Charms and Transfiguration interesting, Potions a little hard, but otherwise practical, but by far, Defence was where he'd excelled. Maybe it was just the fact that he liked his Defence teacher, but Harry had found he had a knack for duelling and casting defensive spell work. He liked it though, he hadn't cast another Patronus since that night, and he didn't think he'd be able to if he wasn't around one of those things. Boggarts were difficult, they always turned into Dementors and Harry would find himself on the floor unconscious in a manner of seconds. It had taken many hours and a lot of chocolate for him to be able to perform a proper Riddikilus charm. Lupin had looked at him appraisingly and said it was very wise to fear fear itself. Harry wondered if the Bogart shouldn't have turned into the first day of school instead, the way he was feeling right now.
"Breakfast Harry!" he heard Black yell from downstairs. Harry groaned, he was already dressed and had been for hours. He clamped his head on and headed downstairs. Lupin had left two day before, apparently he had to be at Hogwarts earlier then the students or something.
"Morning Black," he grumbled, sitting down at the table.
Sirius Black frowned slightly.
"You can call me Sirius, you know?" he said softly, planting a plate of eggs and bacon in front of Harry. Harry raised an eyebrow.
"All right!" he said , "Who are you and what have you done with Sirius Black?"
Sirius looked surprised.
"W-what?" he exclaimed, "What do you mean?"
Harry stared at him for a moment and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"You know what I mean," he said, "All week you've been acting-nice to me, goodness Black! If I didn't know any better I'd think I was beginning to grow on you."
Sirius looked flabbergasted, until he saw the teasing grin on Harry's face, he let out bark of laughter and gave Harry a playful punch on the shoulder.
"Guess there's a prankster in there after all, huh kid?" he smirked, "Was beginning to think you would turn out to be a book worm, stuck in the library all day, a real good two shoes-"
"You think I actually intend to do anymore studying and book learning until I'm forced to?" asked Harry incredulously, "You must be joking."
Sirius laughed.
"You remind me of a friend of mine," he said softly, "He and I were always getting into trouble at Hogwarts, there were four of us actually, including Remus. People called us the Marauders."
Harry smiled slowly at the name, he'd thought those nicknames of there's were familiar.
"Fred and George mentioned Marauders," said Harry, "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, right? I take it you're Padfoot, Remus is Moony and that other man was Prongs."
Sirius looked shocked.
"H-how d-did you know?"
"You and Remus still call each other Moony and Padfoot," said Harry, "And if I remember correctly, you accused me of being 'another Prongs fanatic,' right before you petrified me that night."
Sirius gaped at the boy, he was quicker than he'd thought, sharper too. Sirius chuckled, Harry was certainly Lily's son, no doubt about that.
"Correct," he grinned, "I'll tell you about it some time."
Harry smiled back.
"I'd like that," he said, truly interested, he wondered what happened to Wormtail.
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"Ready sweetie?" Lily asked her eleven year old fondly, tears starting in her green eyes. Ally grinned at her mother and father, she knew they were excited about this, she was too. Her first year at Hogwarts, after all the stories her father, Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus had told her, she was more than eager to make her own mark on the magical school.
"You bet!" she said, as she watched her father load her trunk onto the train. James Potter looked down at his youngest and smiled, he'd always dreamt of seeing his children go off to Hogwarts, had hoped a while ago Harry would be the first, but that tiny regret didn't mask the fact that he had a daughter going to Hogwarts.
"Don't get up to too much mischief," he said with a wink, "Though I'll be excepting that Hogwarts toilet seat by Christmas-"
"James!" Lily scolded.
"Err right," he amended, taking on a more serious tone, "You be a good girl now, use one of the school owls to send us a letter tomorrow telling us about what house your in and so on."
"Why couldn't I get an owl again?" Ally grumbled.
"Because," said Lily sternly, "The last pet we got you didn't survive two weeks!"
"It wasn't my fault!" protested the young red head, "That goldfish was suicidal-"
"You forgot to feed it!"
"It told me not to!"
Lily sighed, shaking her head. She looked at her youngest and gave a small smile.
"We'll see," she said, "If you keep up your grades, and we hear you haven't purposely gotten into any trouble, then maybe."
Ally Potter's face spread into a wide grin and she hugged her mother around the waist, practically giddy with excitement. James chuckled as his little girl turned and pummelled him into a hug as well.
"I'd better get going then," she sighed, smiling at her parents, "You don't want to be late for work, huh Dad?"
James shrugged.
"They'll survive."
"Give Uncle Remus our love, darling," said Lily, Ally frowned at the suggestion immediately.
"Mum!" she complained, "I can't give a professor love! Even if he is my godfather"
Lily rolled her eyes as James started to laugh in agreement.
"Oh fine then," she muttered, tweaking her baby's nose, "Just be good."
"Don't worry," she said innocently, "I will."
As Ally boarded the train, Lily leaned over to her husband and muttered, much to his amusement.
"Why don't I believe her? She's far too Marauder."
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"Hurry up Weasley!" Hermione yelled at the tall red head as he came down the stairs, trunk in tow.
"Keep your knickers on Granger!" he grunted irritably, "I'm coming, I'm coming!"
Ron Weasley was not happy, not only had his mother and sister invited Granger over to stay, but they were insisting he helped with her things. He grumbled all the way down stair, ignoring the bushy hair beauty as much as he could. Not that he'd ever admit that about Hermione Granger, not on his life. He'd never tell her that yes, he did see her as a girl, that he had noticed the way she talked and looked, that he found her confrontational ways and smart manner highly attractive. No, he was not going to admit that, not in a thousand years.
"Do you need help?" she asked, seeing he was struggling a bit.
"No," said Ron shortly, his ears going a little red, "I've got it."
Hermione watched him for a moment, her big brown eyes searching him, she turned and shook her head, her cheeks flushing a little too and walked away.
"Bloody women," Ron cursed softly to himself as he dragged the trunk down stairs.
Ginny watched the exchange with fascination and shook her head in bewilderment, her mind attempting to comprehend the strange relationship of Ron and Hermione.
"If they don't end up together soon," she mused to herself, "I'll hex them both."
What followed was the usual Weasley run to the train station, this time Arthur Weasley had managed to borrow a car from the Ministry to drive the three to the station. Ginny found herself squeezed into the middle of the car, right between a rather disgruntled Ron and Hermione and an awkward silence all the way to the train station.
"Unbelievable," she muttered.
They arrived at the station with ten minutes to spare, a feat worth mentioning for the Weasleys. Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, gave a hiss as he was unloaded, onto the train, Hermione smiled and whispered something about letting him loose on the train.
"Don't you dare let that demon cat out!" Ron hissed, "Granger, you're mad!"
There wasn't much that could start a row between the two, anything small would do. Hermione puffed up to her full height in a very Mrs. Weasley like way, her hands on her hips and her scowl fixed to her face.
"Really Won-Won?" she hissed back, "Scared of a little cat-"
"That thing ate Scabbers last year!" Ron protested.
"Prove it!" she snapped, whipping around, her brown hair waving out behind her and she stalked off towards the prefects compartment. Ginny sighed and shook her head, her brother whipped round and glared at her.
"What?" he asked indignantly.
"Nothing Won-Won," she said, taking up Hermione's tone, "You're just so clueless!"
"Hey!" Ron defended, "That cat killed my pet rat!"
"Put it out of it's misery more like," Ginny shook her head again, "Come on Ron, Scabbers had been in the family for nearly fourteen years! He probably curled up somewhere and died of old age."
Ron opened his mouth to reply, his ears going red once more, he closed it again, made a strange grunting sound and followed Hermione to the Prefects compartment. Ginny rolled her eyes in annoyance, what Dumbledore was thinking when he put those two as prefects, she'd never know. It was either an incredibly stupid mistake, or the most brilliant piece of match making anyone could come up with. Still a little disgruntled by her brother's silly behaviour, Ginny made her way onto the train, deciding to take a seat near the back of the train and as far from her boyfriend as possible, remembering with a heavy heart that she still needed to talk to Dean.
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"You're sure you've got everything?" asked Sirius for the umpteenth time as Harry loaded his owl, christened Hedwig after a witch he had read about in one of his books, onto the train. The train was going to leave in a few minutes, Harry watched as a brown haired girl and a red haired boy argued their way on. His eyes were still scanning the crowds for Ally, but he supposed she'd arrived earlier than him. Looking at the overly concerned Sirius Black, Harry rolled his eyes and nodded.
"No more mothering," he told the Marauder sternly, "Or I'll have to jinx you again."
Sirius let out a bark of laughter, his worries for the kid melting away.
"I'd be in St. Mungo's by now if you had your way!" he commented light heartedly.
Harry froze at the name.
"St. Mungo's?" he questioned, his voice a little strained.
"Yeah," said Sirius, "Big magical hospital in London, got nothing on Madame Promphrey if you ask me, but-"
"A hospital!" Harry exclaimed, "Called St. Mungo's? You're sure?"
Sirius looked surprised at Harry's sudden change in demeanour.
"Yeah," he said slowly, "Why?"
Harry looked at the clock, the train was leaving in exactly three minutes, he didn't have time, he wished he'd asked earlier if there was such a thing as St. Mungo's in the wizarding world, but there was no time left now. There was nothing for it.
"I need you to do me a favour," he said sharply.
"Sure Harry," Sirius looked a little worried, "What do you need?"
"I need you to check the birth registry for boys born on the 31st of July 1980," Harry said, "Look for a woman named Lily who gave birth that day."
Sirius' eyes widened.
"Harry," he breathed.
The whistle on the train went, Harry bit his lip as it prepared to go. He had nothing to lose now, he whipped off his cap revealing the messy black hair, the emerald eyes and the lightning bolt scar. He took out the old photograph and showed it to Sirius.
"It's the only clue I have to finding out who my mother was or is," he said hurriedly, "The writing on the back says St. Mungo's, if it's the same place there has to be some sort of record of who she is. I've had this picture my whole life, and I've always wondered. Please Sirius, take the picture and if you find anything, anything at all, send me a letter or something. I just-I need to know, please!"
"Harry."
The train was staring to move, Harry cursed, giving Sirius the photo, slamming his cap back on his head and running after it. He jumped onto the train, leaning out of the open door as Sirius stood looking dumb struck.
"Please Sirius!" he called.
Sirius seemed to shake out of his daze and he looked at Harry, there were tears brimming in his blue eyes.
"I promise!" he yelled at Harry.
Harry ginned and waved.
"I owe you one Padfoot!" he yelled back, as the train disappeared from sight.
Sirius stood staring at the picture in his hands, at the laughing Lily and he familiar infant in her arms. He remembered that day, James had taken the photo and-
"Shit!" he cursed, "James and Lily!"
He ran towards the barrier, his eyes still stinging with unshed tears.
"I need to get them to Hogwarts!"
"Sirius!"
He turned in surprise and almost cried out with pure relief, there, standing not far behind him was the very couple he'd been looking for.
"James! Lily!" he yelled in relief, running back and engulfing them both in a hug. James looked a little surprise and Lily just laughed.
"What are you doing here?" asked James, then his eyes lit up in memory, "Oh, of course! The Patronus kid! How's he getting on?"
Sirius looked at James, a huge grin spreading across his face.
"He's fine," he said, "A real quick learner, good sense of humour, got a heart of gold."
"That's nice," said Lily, a little surprised at Sirius' tone, like he wanted them to be proud too.
"Say Padfoot," said James, "We're going to go check out that school next week, Harry should be returning there soon, want to come?"
Sirius took a deep breathe.
"Harry's not at that school," he said slowly.
Lily and James were both frowning by now, Lily looked at Sirius wide eyed.
"What do mean?" she asked a little shakily, "He's not at school?"
"He's not at that school," Sirius corrected her.
"What are you talking about man?" snapped James, "Do you know something? This better not be a joke!"
"No joke," said Sirius, looking right at James, "He's at school, he's on his way to Hogwarts as we speak."
Lily gaped at Sirius, her eyes wide with shock, James looked even more confused.
"A week ago," said Sirius, "I managed to catch a glimpse of the boy's face, you remember that red cap he was wearing? Well, he never takes it off and Remus says that he was unconsciously putting a notice me not charm on the cap to stop anyone from really looking. And well, I saw his face, for just a moment, but James, he was a spit of you! Except he had your eyes Lil, same green. We should have called you right then and there, I know, but we didn't want to shock the boy and break any of the trust we'd gained with him. But-"
"But?" Lily urged, wide eyed and hanging on every word.
Sirius smiled.
"Seems Harry's been keeping something all these years," he said sadly, "He heard me say St. Mungo's and asked if there was anyway I could dig up something on his mother. As soon as he showed me this though, I knew it was really him, I knew he was Harry Potter."
He held up the photo to James and Lily, Lily let out a small gasp at her younger self and James could feel the tears entering his hazel eyes.
"I thought that was lost in the rubble," Lily whispered, reaching out and taking it as though it were made of gold, she looked at Sirius, now teary eyed, "He kept this?"
"Looks like he's been looking for you too," Sirius smiled, motioning for his friends to follow him out the barrier so that he could explain further.
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"You're not making any sense at all!" Granger exploded. She and him were together, lone in the hallway of the train. Her brown eyes were flashing with anger and hurt and she looked at him Ron hated that, he hated it when she was unhappy.
"I'm not making any sense?" Ron yelled back, he couldn't help it, try as he might he would always end up fighting with her, pushing her just as she pushed him. They were like fire and water sometimes, so opposite it shocked and surprised him, terrified and excited him. Truth be told…
He'd liked her fire for a long time now.
"Exactly Weasley!" she cried, tears were starting to fill her brown eyes, damn, he hated that, "Everything I say has to be contradicted by you! You never listen to me! We're supposed to be partners, we're the Gryffindor prefects and we're supposed to work together! Why can't you back me up at least once!"
"I-" he had no answer to that. Why didn't he back her up? Why wasn't he more active in this perfecting thing?
Why couldn't he be a better friend at least?
I have a foot in mouth disease, I swear, he thought to himself dryly as he opened his mouth to once again say the wrong thing.
"I'm sorry okay?" he shouted instead, surprised Hermione as well as himself, "I don't mean to-it just-it just turns out that way, okay? I'm sorry."
Hermione looked at him in shock, her lips parting slightly in disbelief that he had actually apologised for something. Ron couldn't blame her. He was an idiot. He sighed and shook his head, his mind reminding him quite annoyingly that he'd made his choice when it came to love and he'd have to stick with it.
At least for now.
"Look Granger," he said finally, "I really don't want to fight right now, so just give it a rest okay?"
He walked away from her, eager to find a place far from Hermione Granger as the embarrassed blush rose to his cheeks and his ears threatened to turn red.
Why wasn't this getting any easier?
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Harry found a seat in a compartment all on his own, he sighed as he sat down, suddenly tired from the day, he supposed he could spare a few hours sleep. Sirius had said the train ride took a good eight hours at least. Tilting the front of his cap forward a little, he leaned back, closed his eyes and tried to drift off. But things were buzzing in his head, excitement, fear and anxiety. He was nervous about Hogwarts, true, he also wondered if it was wise to give Sirius his photo. He missed being able to take it out and look at it to comfort him. He'd have to owl Sirius first thing in the morning and ask for it back. A gnawing feeling started in the pit of his stomach and he knew it wasn't hunger, with a small sigh, he lifted his cap and stared out the window at the passing world. Harry didn't know how long he stared out that window before his eyes began to droop and he started to drift.
He had only been asleep for what seemed like a few seconds when he heard arguing outside his compartment, some scuffling and the door slid open. Harry looked up in surprise to see a tall, red haired boy standing in the door way of the compartment. His face was a little flushed and he looked at Harry with a small, pleading look in his eyes.
"Do you mind?" he asked a little apologetically, "Everywhere else is full."
Harry shook his head, motioning to the seat opposite him, the boy gave him a grin and took the seat. He looked at Harry a little quizzically.
"What year are you in?" he asked, "I swear I've never seen you before in my life."
Harry let out a small smile, the boy was very blunt.
"Sixth," he said.
"Really?" the red head looked surprise, "So am I, never seen you though, what house?"
Before Harry could reply the door slid open again and this time a girl with bushy brown hair entered. She cast the red haired boy an odd look, cleared her throat.
"Sorry," she said, "All the compartments are full, mind if I take a seat?"
The other boy opened his mouth, his ears turning red, but it was Harry who replied.
"Sure," he said, "Take a seat."
She looked at him oddly too and smiled, with a murmured thank you she took the seat beside him. Harry glanced between the two of them, there seemed to some kind of tension, he sincerely hoped he hadn't just landed himself in the middle of a lover's quarrel or something.
"Ron-" she began.
"It's nothing Hermione," he interrupted her quickly, he turned to Harry, "So you were saying?"
Harry blinked a little to find his grounding, the bushy haired girl bit down on her lower lip and seemed to be internally scolding herself for something.
"Um," Harry started, "Well, I'm actually new this year, so I don't have a house yet."
The girl perked up and turned to him with a smile.
"You must be Harry Jameson then," she said in a friendly tone, "I'm Hermione Granger, I'll be your tutor this year. Professor McGonagall owled me over the summer."
Both boys looked at her in surprise, but she just kept smiling at Harry, he smiled back, a little comforted to know someone in his year.
"You're the Patronus kid!" the red head exclaimed suddenly, "The one who cast a Patronus charm on all those Dementors, you didn't even know you were a wizard!"
"How did you know that?" asked Harry, clearly surprised.
He sat back a little in his seat with a small shrug.
"Dad," he said simply.
"Huh?" Hermione rolled her eyes and went on to explain to Harry.
"Ron's dad works for the Ministry," she said, "You caused quite a stir, being in a muggle area and all."
"Oh," said Harry, a little embarrassed, he hadn't thought he'd caused anyone harm, "Sorry about that."
"No, no, no mate!" exclaimed Ron excitedly, "Dad even said he was impressed, not many students are even able to conjure a few wisps of smoke by the end of their seventh year. Yours actually had a shape, right?"
Harry chuckled and nodded, remembering fondly the stag that had burst forth that night, sometimes he wondered if it had really happened, how it had happened and if he'd ever be able to do it again someday.
"A stag," he said softly, "I-I haven't been able to do it since though and Professor Lupin said-"
"Lupin!" both exclaimed, causing Harry to jump, he lifted his cap almost off and stared at them curiously. There was a mutual excitement in their eyes as they looked at him.
"He's coming back to teach?" asked Ron hopefully. Harry's nod was all that was needed for the red head to give a whoop of joy. Hermione beamed, shaking her head a little at Ron's reaction, she turned back to Harry.
"He was our Defence teacher in third year," she explained, "Probably the best we'd ever had."
"The best!" agreed Ron, "Never learned so much in my life!"
Harry and Hermione exchanged glances at his sudden burst of approval, like a kid at Christmas, but Harry was confused. He didn't know Lupin had taught there before, he wondered why he had quit for two years, the man never mentioned being at the school previously, only that he owed Dumbledore a favour and would be teaching that year.
"Why did he stop teaching in the first place?" he asked curiously.
Ron and Hermione exchanged glances. Ron shrugged and Hermione bit down on her lower lip, Harry cast her a suspicious look, she seemed to know more than she let on. He opened his mouth to say more when the compartment door slid open yet again. This time it was a sleek blonde with cold eyes who looked in. Ron and Hermione tensed immediately, at the sight of the new comer, he looked at them too, a calculating look that was filled with disdain and something close to hatred.
"Weasel and Mudblood," he sneered, his voice cold and harsh, "The perfect couple!"
"Shut up, Malfoy," Ron snarled, his fists clenched.
"Easy Weasel-bee," Malfoy said coolly, "I'm just finishing patrols, you two are up next hour, don't forget."
He spotted Harry and smiled, Harry stiffened a little, he didn't like the look of this boy. Malfoy was watching him, his eyes perked with interest and curiosity, Harry suddenly wished he was anywhere else but in that compartment.
"Ah," said Malfoy, he addressed Hermione here, "So whose this then, Mudblood?"
Harry's eyes flared with anger and he too could feel himself clenching his fist, he didn't know what mudblood meant, but if it was coming from this boy, it was bound to be an insult. The flush on Hermione's cheeks, as well as her pained look at the name was all he needed to know before he looked up at the boy angrily. Hermione remained silent, she looked a little stressed, she bit down on her lower lip as though to stop herself from retorting, or perhaps crying. Ron looked ready to punch the new comer to the ground. Harry took a breathe and spoke calmly, hoping to quell the inevitable fight, although he'd much rather have helped start it.
"I'm new," he said simply, not bothering to elaborate.
He didn't need to, immediately Malfoy sneered at him too, his expression changing from clear interest to contempt.
"The new mudblood," he drawled, he smirked at Hermione, "Won't be so lonely now, huh Granger?"
He cast Ron a significant look which caused the red head's face to turn almost the same colour as his hair. Hermione looked as though she'd just been slapped in the face and was looking away. Harry had had enough.
"I suggest you keep that foul tongue of yours inside your mouth," he said sharply, "Might just get you in trouble someday."
Malfoy froze, glaring at him, his cold eyes looking Harry up and down as though searching for some form of threat from the boy.
"That a threat?"
The words were so familiar they almost made Harry laugh, he resisted and settled on a smirk of his own.
"No," he said simply, "A promise."
Unlike Dudley, this boy seemed a little smarter and instead of rushing at Harry, only smirked a little wider, though Harry could swear he was still being sized up, still undetermined.
"I suppose we'll see what your made of then," he jeered, "Huh, mudblood?"
The compartment door closed with a slam, leaving the three to themselves once more. Ron's fists eventually unclenched and Hermione's cheeks lost their flush, even Harry could feel the anger seeping away.
"Bloody Slytherin," Ron mumbled.
"What's a 'mudblood?'" asked Harry, raising an eyebrow, he took off his cap and was looking at Hermione who seemed the most effected by the word. She looked up at him, her eyes a little watery and her face fixed in anger and frustration.
"It means dirty blood," she said fitfully, "Mudbloods a really foul name for someone from non-magical parents, a muggle-born, like me."
Ron looked up, his eyes searching Hermione for something, he looked away again and said softly, "It's disgusting."
"That's the biggest load of bull I've ever heard in my life!" Harry protested, "What gives him the right?"
"He's a pureblood," explained Ron, "Some pureblood families, like the Malfoys, think they're better than everyone else just because they've all been wizards for hundreds of years, through generations and so on. It pretty stupid, hardly any families are pure anymore, we'd have died out if we were."
"Ron's pureblood," explained Hermione at Harry's confused face, "His dad loves muggles though, finds them fascinating."
"So how do those pureblood families keep on so long?" asked Harry, absentmindedly running a hand through his hair and lifting his cap, it fell behind him on to the seat, going unnoticed by the three.
"Oh that's easy," said Ron, finally breaking a grin, "Tons of incest going on there, you know, cousins marrying cousins. No wonder Malfoy's so bloody damaged."
Harry and Hermione laughed at this, it was a feeble joke, but somehow, it seemed to spark a companionship between the three, if only for a few brief moments in that compartment.
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Ally Potter stared out of the window in a compartment near the back of the train, completely and utterly bored. She was alone in her compartment, she hadn't seen anyone she knew yet, not that it mattered, but still. She was bored. She started twirling her red hair between her finger tips, her hazel eyes still watching the outside world pass by. The sky outside was beginning to turn to a dark grey and Ally had the feeling it would rain at some point that afternoon.
Life in the Potter household had been stranger than most the past month, her mother had been writing to various people, including the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Her father had been prancing around a whole lot happier than she'd ever seen him before. Ally smiled, she knew it was because of the conversation she'd heard that night. Her parents were closer than ever to finding Harry, their Harry, Harry Potter. The-Boy-Who-Lived, the saviour of the wizarding world, the little boy who had defeated You-Know-Who, her brother. Ally hoped, hoped with all her heart, that her parents finally found him, finally brought him home. She wanted to know him, she wanted to have a brother, she wanted her mother's smile to be wider again, her father's eyes full of mischief. She wondered if her brother would like to pull pranks like her dad, if he would fly, if he was smart like mum, or even if he had inherited the Potter's messy hair. She looked at her red locks and concentrated hard, her hair turned black as night and she smiled. It had taken her years to figure out how to change her hair colour on her own, at first it had been during a burst of accidental magic and her black hair had turned red. Then, as she got older, she had learned to perform the same trick, switching from red to black as she chose. It had been funny as first, confusing Uncle Sirius and her father with her tricks, still, she preferred black, but red suited her too and sometimes her hair seemed to have a mind of its own, creeping back to red once she'd turned it black. After a small internal debate on the matter, she decided to keep her black hair for Hogwarts.
The compartment door slid open and a blonde girl with big blue eyes looked in, she looked about Ally's age and had a big smile on her face.
"Hello!" she greeted with a smile, she had an Irish tinge to her accent, "Sorry, but do you mind if I take a seat."
Ally nodded, smiling.
"Sure!" she said.
The girl sat opposite her, her smile still plastered to her face, she was really very pretty, with honeyed blonde locks that curled around her shoulders and deep blue eyes that were as big as saucers. Her blue eyes were enchanting though, something about them was very familiar too.
"I'm Mickey by the way," she said, "Well, Michaela, but most call me Mickey, Mickey Hollow, nice to meet you."
"Ally Potter," said Ally, "Allison, but Ally for short."
"Are you really?" asked Mickey excitedly, "Wasn't your brother Harry Potter?"
"Y-yeah," said Ally, a little nervously, "He is, we just haven't found him yet."
Mickey nodded.
"Don't worry," she said, "I have a dad we haven't found yet too."
A moment of silence began between the two girls.
"So," said Ally, "What house are you hoping for then?"
"Gryffindor of course!" Mickey said with a smile, "My dad and my aunt and uncle were in there, though I suppose Hufflepuff wouldn't be too bad and you?"
"Gryffindor," Ally agreed, smiling back.
"Were you're parents in there?" Mickey asked curiously.
Before Ally could reply, the compartment slid open again, this time a black haired boy ran in, slammed it behind him and leaned against it panting. He looked terrified and waited a few moments, as though expecting someone to come through looking for him. He sighed with relief before spotting the two girls for the first time and blushed.
"S-sorry about that," he stammered, clearly embarrassed, "I just really needed to escape my brother."
"Quite alright," said Mickey cheerfully, "Take a seat."
He looked surprised, but relieved when he sat down. Slumped down rather, he still seemed a little cautious though and kept glancing at the door nervously as though expecting someone to suddenly barge in. He caught the two girls looking at him and gave them a shaky smile, his brilliant blue gaze looking them over with little fuss, Ally felt a small chill, she knew that face.
"You look a lot like my Uncle Sirius!" she exclaimed, "Same hair and eyes and everything!"
"Sirius?" the boy raised an eyebrow, "As in the Auror? Sirius Black?"
Ally nodded and the boy burst into laughter, he looked incredibly happy about something and laughed even harder. The girl's exchanged glances and their eyes started to widen, not because of the laughter, but because the boy's hair had changed colour to a bright, lime green, his eyes grew a pale grey and his face became a little narrower and paler.
"You're a Metamorphagus!" Mickey exclaimed, the boy looked up, a mischievous grin on his face and nodded. Ally was in awe, she'd always wanted to be one herself, but all she could ever manage was her hair colour. She'd met Sirius' cousin, Nymphadora Tonks quite a few times, but not since her Auror training had started to get a little more hectic. She liked Tonks, the girl was just fun to be around and she had the suspicion that she had a huge crush on her own godfather, Remus Lupin.
"That's amazing!" she said to the boy, he looked at her, still with that grin plastered to his face and blushed a little at the compliment.
"Thanks," he said, "Names Nick by the way."
"Ally," said Ally.
"Mickey," said Mickey, "What's so funny about looking like Sirius Black?"
"I'm just really glad you think I do," he said, "I was trying to annoy my parents, they hate Sirius Black."
"Whys that?" asked Ally, clearly surprised.
Nick gave a dry chuckle, his green hair suddenly turning a dark brown in colour.
"He's my mother's cousin," he said, "But I guess you could say he's the White-"
"Sheep of the Black family," Ally finished with a grin, "My father's called him that often enough."
"You must be a Potter then," Nick grinned, "I hear your dad's Head Auror now, huh?"
"Allison Potter," she reintroduced herself, nodding, "So if your mum's Sirius' cousin, well, there are only three. You're a Metamorphagus, so I'd have thought you were Andromeda's kid-"
"I wish," the boy grumbled softly.
"But she only has one daughter," continued Ally, "So that leaves Bellatrix Lestrange-"
"Oh, Merlin no!" Nick said in a disgusted tone, causing both Ally and Mickey to giggle.
"Okay, okay," laughed Ally, "So I'm guessing Narcissa Malfoy would be the winner?" "Bingo!" said Nick with false enthusiasm, "Dear old mum, the most cunning of the three, or should I say two, Aunty Andromeda's not so bad, but by far, Bellatrix takes the cake. She's just plain mean! Full name's Nicodemus Scorpius Malfoy, now tell me it's not cruel to give a kid a name that long?"
"Your dad works for the Ministry right?" Mickey asked, "On the School Governors or some such."
"Yep," nodded Nick, "So you know if I don't get into Slytherin he'll probably say it was Dumbledore's fault."
"Do you want to be in Slytherin?" Mickey asked.
"With all those blood puritans, you must be joking!" he snorted, "It'll be worse than being at home! But alas, t'is the fate of all Malfoys to end up in the House of Snakes."
"They said that about Blacks too," murmured Ally, looking him straight in the eye, "But there's one lion amongst snakes, why should you be any different?"
Nick looked at her in surprise, it was almost as though he had expected scorn from her, anger or even distrust because of his family. He gave her a small, grateful smile which made Ally blush a little and turn away, a few seconds later he had gone back to his lime green hair style, but didn't answer.
"Hey!" he said suddenly, after a few moments of silence, "You're hair's turning red!"
Ally looked at her locks in surprise and groaned. Indeed, her black hair was swiftly fading back to red.
"Not again!" she grumbled, "I just changed it!"
Mickey and Nick looked at her in surprise.
"Are you a Metamorphagus too?" asked Mickey.
"No," sighed Ally, "Though I wish I was, see when I was little the first bit of magic I ever did was turning my hair from black to red. I can do it when I like now, but for some reason my hair is adamant on staying red!"
Mickey and Nick exchanged looks, then both looked like they were fighting smiles, then they broke out into full scale laughter which Ally joined in with too. They stayed and talked in the compartment for most of the trip.
HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP
"Come on Harry!" Ron laughed, "It's easy!"
"You forgot to warn me that the cards explode!" Harry fumed in mock anger as he tried to hold back his own laughter. They were already in their Hogwarts robes, Ron and Hermione having finished their Prefect rounds and according to Hermione were only about another forty minutes or so away from Hogwarts. Ron had talked Harry into playing a game of Exploding Snap, neglecting to mention it's namesake. Hermione sat watching them, giggling every now and then from the top of large book entitled; Hogwarts; A History.
"Thought it was pretty obvious," Ron murmured, earning him a light punch to the shoulder from Harry. Both started laughing again. Hermione rolled her eyes with a smile and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "Boys."
The sky outside was entirely grey now and it was definitely getting darker, Harry wondered briefly if it was going to rain before they reached Hogwarts. Hermione looked a little worried too.
"The poor First Years!" she exclaimed, "Crossing the lake in this!"
Harry nodded, Ron and Hermione had explained to him a lot about Hogwarts, the Sorting, the moving stair cases, the ghosts and the Giant Squid.
"Don't worry Hermione," said Ron, "They'll be fine."
Hermione looked at him oddly.
"You know," she said softly, "You haven't called me Granger once this entire trip."
Ron looked at her in surprise and gave a sheepish grin.
"Well you haven't called me Weasley either."
There was a slightly awkward silence that passed, Harry sighed internally and coughed to break the tension.
"Weasley?" he looked at Ron, it was actually the first time Ron had mentioned his last name, "You're Fred and George's little brother?"
Ron looked at him in surprise and Harry rushed to explain how he had met the twins in Diagon Alley, he left out the part about the raffle, he didn't really want anyone to know about his broom yet, not until he'd had a chance to try it out.
"Sounds like them!" Ron snorted, "They were visiting my brother Percy, he works for the Ministry and was staying in London for a few days. You know they somehow got funding for that joke shop of theirs? Mum nearly had a fit when she heard, thought it was bloody brilliant though. You should have seen them in school, they left end of last year, Hogwarts just won't seem the same without them."
Harry opened his mouth to ask Ron more, when the lights in the compartment flickered and went out. They were surrounded in darkness. Then the train jerked and came to a sudden halt, Hermione lunged forward, almost colliding with Ron, there was a silence through the train before the swinging open of compartment doors and the curious murmur of students.
"The train is never supposed to stop," Hermione whispered wide eyed, "There are spells, it's impossible for the train to break down."
There was a large bang and the whole train jerk, it seemed to becoming from the very back of the train.
"Something's getting on," Harry murmured, "From the back of the train."
Hermione suddenly paled.
"Ron!" she half yelled, "Ginny's at the back!"
Revision 6- Only one scene added to this, the confrontation I left out between Ron and Hermione. I decided to put it in because I have no idea where else to put it.
-Southern Hearts-