Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, only the Archard family and other OCs belong to me. The French words/phrases will be italicized, as well as the spells. Reviews are appreciated!

Chapter 6: The Hogwarts Express

Esme POV

These last few weeks passed painfully slow. As I had feared, Papa had tightened the summer restrictions; no one besides him and Maman were allowed to leave the manor's grounds, not even Alaric or Blaire. Ever since our shopping trip to Diagon Alley, Papa had been tense and practically paranoid that something would happen, but nothing ever did. He had always been protective, almost overly so, but it wasn't until now that I realized how much of it was due to what happened to the rest of our family in France. And I doubted I was the only one to realize this.

It became an unspoken promise amongst my siblings to not complain about Papa's change in demeanor and rules. We all accepted it in strained silence - Fain and Gérard even refrained from attempting any pranks. While these last few weeks were tense, they also were extraordinarily quiet, and I was relieved when the day arrived for us to leave for Hogwarts.

With practiced ease, my siblings and I had our trunks packed and animals prepared for the journey. Likely due to his overprotectiveness, Papa had set aside work for a change and arranged to escort the five of us to King's Cross Station himself - leaving us to say goodbye to our younger siblings and Maman on the steps of Heaven's Garden.

I clutched Janette close before I was pressed between the bodies of the twins. Without any coaxing on my part, the twins promised to once again write to me. I promised to do so in return, with an additional promise to send Janette her own special letters even if she wouldn't be able to legibly write her own back just yet.

With our goodbyes said, we piled in the usual car which took us directly to the station. While the other animals were all perfectly content to sleep or doze in their carriers, Flèche remained agitated for most of the drive, biting at the latch to his cage and fluffing up his feathers in refusal whenever I tried to offer him a treat in an attempt to settle him.

Thankfully we arrived before too long, just before half-past ten, and had plenty of time to make it to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. The station was crowded with Muggles, but as always, we were ignored as we carefully nudged our way through. We made it through the barrier with no trouble at all.

It felt surreal in a way to walk down the platform alongside the scarlet train. I wasn't a First-Year anymore, but a Second-Year! Yes it was only one year of difference, but it was obvious to me who were the new First-Years as we ambled past groups of parents tearfully saying long goodbyes to their children who either looked apprehensive, embarrassed, or just as reluctant to leave as the parents were to let them go.

Once we found an open space on the platform, we all huddled around Papa. While his main focus was on us, I saw his eyes occasionally shift around to the crowd (the scuffle between Monsieur Weasley and Lord Malfoy really affected him). "Study hard and keep up with your studies. Now, it is best to go get settled."

We all gave our acknowledgments to Papa before Alaric took charge and led the way to where we dropped off our trolleys. Carlisle kindly moved Flèche's cage for me off the trolley and carefully passed the handle to me. I waited off to the side for my siblings to grab their own pets' and familiars' cages.

"Esme!"

Turning to whoever called my name, I saw Daphne walking towards me, hand-in-hand with her sister and their parents following behind them. "Daphne! And Astoria, hello." I greeted before Daphne enveloped me in a hug. I pulled back when her parents reached us and stood up straight as I politely nodded my head. "It's very nice to see you again, Lord and Lady Greengrass."

"You as well, Esme," returned Lady Greengrass. "And these must be your older siblings."

"Oui. This is Alaric, Blaire, Carlisle, and Dustin," I said as I gestured to each of my siblings.

"Lovely to meet you," greeted Lord Greengrass.

"You as well," responded Alaric. "If you excuse us, it is about time we board the train."

"Yes of course," excused Lady Greengrass. "Enjoy the coming school year."

My siblings politely nodded before leaving for the train while I waited for Daphne to say her final goodbyes to her sister and parents. Once she disentangled herself from her sister, we made our way onto the nearest carriage and began searching for an available compartment.

"Astoria seemed a little upset, is everything okay?" I asked in concern as I carefully made my way down the train aisle with Flèche's cage.

"Mostly. Tori has been sulking this last week or so about me leaving for Hogwarts again; she doesn't like being left behind at the estate alone," Daphne explained as we finally found an empty compartment. "Thankfully this is the last year that will happen, she'll be attending Hogwarts with us next year."

I set up Flèche's cage on the stand against the window (he hooted and flapped his wings before settling down and tucking his head under his wing to nap), while Daphne threw our small bags up onto the racks above our heads. We each settled into the window seats facing each other.

"Your younger brothers will be attending next year as well won't they?" asked Daphne.

I nodded while smirking. "They're anxiously waiting for this year to go by quickly because they're so excited. Honestly, I fear the trouble those two will bring to whatever House they get sorted into without our parents there to temper them."

"It'll probably be like having a smaller version of the Weasley twins," giggled Daphne, causing me to groan in horror.

"Imagine if those four joined forces?"

"Ha! Hogwarts would fall," joked Daphne.

We both laughed. Calming down some I added, "Though in all seriousness, Fain and Gérard, are more excited about finally attending lessons to learn magic instead of the 'boring ones they're forced to endure'."

"So I'm guessing those two aren't future Ravenclaws?" Daphne asked with a teasing smirk.

"Non, not really in my opinion. Still, the hat will decide in the end."

Suddenly, the door to our compartment rattled. We both looked over quickly. I saw Neville pressed up against the glass as a group of Upper-Years rushed past him. When our eyes met, I smiled and gave a wave. Neville's already pink face turned red. He managed to wave back before he was swept away as more students made their way down the train aisle.

"I see distance made the heart grow fonder."

I snorted. "What in Mother Magic's name are you talking about?"

"Longbottom blushed the second your eyes met, and you brightened up as well. Is there, as you say, a spark between you two?"

I waved my hand in front of my face. "Nothing like that, Daphne. Longbottom and I are friends, nothing more or less. Honestly, you're starting to sound like Parkinson."

"Oh, how dare you!" Daphne said in mock offense, the impish smile never leaving her face.

"Well you are." I replied, still not taking her seriously. "One can be nice to another without crushes being involved. Neville especially deserves some kindness when he doesn't receive much from certain others in Hogwarts."

"Alright, alright, you're not wrong about that. Poor boy is targeted a lot by bullies, Draco especially."

Just as Daphne finished speaking the train whistle blew, signaling it was time for the Hogwarts Express to leave. As the train lurched and began to inch forward, Daphne and I quickly stuck our heads out the windows and searched for our families to wave goodbye. I spotted Papa up ahead on the platform and was pleased to see he waited to see the train off. When I caught his eye I waved, happiness blooming in my chest when my stoic father gave me a nod and even waved goodbye back.

Once the Hogwarts Express completely left King's Cross Station behind, Daphne and I closed the windows and resettled back into our seats.

"I did want to tell you about something that happened not long ago while my family and I were doing our school shopping in Diagon Alley."

"What happened?"

"I ran into Draco in Flourish and Blotts. The bad thing was, Potter, Granger, and Weasley were also there."

"The same day when that photo of Gilderoy Lockhart and Potter was taken by the Prophet?"

"Yes, actually that played a part in what followed. Potter got his school books for free-"

"He's the sole member of the Noble House of Potter; that hardly seems fair he got his books for free."

"Exactly, so Draco also didn't like watching Potter receive more special treatment and confronted them. It was nothing we hadn't seen before at Hogwarts, except this time Lord Malfoy and Monsieur Weasley got involved. They went back and forth until Monsieur Weasley lost control of his temper and attacked Lord Malfoy. They made quite the mess in the shop and kept at it until my father got involved and magically separated them."

"Holy Hecate…are you serious?"

"Quite serious. There were lots of other witnesses as well - this didn't happen in a private room, but in plain view everyone in the shop and even some milling about outside."

"Well I can see where Weasley got his temper from…but still…to attack a lord, the Head of an Ancient and Noble House…that goes beyond brash foolishness - it's completely mental."

"My father has been tense since the incident, worried over how Lord Malfoy would enact his retribution as his pride would demand. But to my knowledge, Lord Malfoy let the incident go, or at least didn't do anything blatant against Monsieur Weasley so far."

"I hadn't even heard of it before you told me, so I think everyone is keeping it hushed up in respect for Lord Malfoy." Daphne shook her head in disbelief. "I still can't believe Mr. Weasley would do that…I've always heard he was eccentric and such, but this goes beyond that. What is it with Gryffindors making everything more difficult?"

"It's not like the rest of us are completely straightforward. You've got to admit that many of us like making things more complicated for our own enjoyment. Slytherins are just as complex as Gryffindors, we're just not as…direct and blunt about it like they tend to be."

Daphne giggled. "You may have a point about that. Remember how Venna Moon created all those complicated riddles for Anthony Goldstein in an attempt to get the Ravenclaw to ask to escort her to Hogsmeade?"

"She spent hours agonizing over those, and in the end he was more interested in the riddles than he was her," I giggled out. "It goes to show all the Slytherin cunning and determination in the world cannot account for the thought process of a teenage wizard."

We giggled and recounted a few other gossip stories about Upper-Years from the other Hogwarts Houses. We were forced to calm down when our compartment door was slid open by the sweets cart witch. "Anything from the trolley, dears?"

Daphne and I both got up to look over the various treats on her cart. Daphne got a Pumpkin Pastie and Bubble Juice, while I got a few Sugar Quills and Gillywater. After paying the witch for our treats, we closed our compartment door and went back to our seats.

"Oh!" Daphne suddenly exclaimed. "I almost forgot to tell you; you will not believe what happened a few weeks ago!"

"I'm on the edge of my seat," I drawled dramatically.

"Oh hush. As I was saying, so Anderson Bagnold, who is the only child of the previous British Minister of Magic Millicent Bagnold, is now engaged to Euphemia Rowle!"

"The daughter of a Noble House being arranged to marry the son of an influential family sounds like a good match."

"But that's the thing, their engagement wasn't arranged! Anderson proposed to Euphemia on his own because they love each other! He only waited as long as he did because Euphemia's family refused to give their blessing until Thorfinn was securely married to Sora, since as the heir of the Rowle family, his marriage was considered more important."

"The order of who gets married hardly matters in my opinion."

"Oh I completely agree, it's just another silly thing the older witches and wizards expect. Still, it's all so~ romantic!"

"Oui, it's nice to hear of a happy love match between members of High Society," I said while thinking of my own parents - how their love and marriage were once not accepted in France.

"It may not happen a lot, but it does still happen," explained Daphne. "I just hate that because they only just announced their engagement, the ceremony won't be for at least a year. That's such a long wait to see such a wonderful thing."

"Think of it this way, Daphne. With so long to plan the wedding, it is sure to be a spectacular event."

"You're probably right about that, I'm just impatient about waiting that long to see Euphemia's dress."

"Do you already have your own wedding dress planned?" I teased lightly.

Daphne flipped her blonde ponytail to her other shoulder. "Of course I do, this is me we're talking about." She set aside her drink in order to have full use of her hands as she gestured about and described her dream dress. "It will be an A-line dress with a straight neckline in plain blush pink with embroidery along the bottom of the skirt and long lace sleeves which billow out from the elbows."

"Sounds like you'll be a beautiful bride." I smiled fondly at my friend, before hesitating to ask the question that came to mind. "If you don't mind me asking…how does your family handle succession?"

"I don't mind at all. The Greengrass family is traditionally a Patriarchal Magical-line, but since there's just my sister and I, Father has as officially as he can named me his heir. I don't technically hold the title because I'm a girl, but everything will transfer to me once my father steps down."

"Then, what about when you get married?"

"Whatever wizard I marry will have to give up his own family name and take the Greengrass name so we can continue the family line. And it truly is whatever wizard. Father has promised to allow me to choose my own husband when the time comes; he can be of any social standing, but has to be a competent wizard."

"I'm glad I don't have to worry about you being stuck in a loveless arranged marriage, far, far into the future."

Daphne burst out laughing. "Yes, it won't be for a while yet, but Esme, you shouldn't be so grossed out about the idea of boys or marrying. It's actually kinda funny how unladylike it is of you to not be dreaming of the Magical you will one day marry."

"It's not that exactly - I do sometimes dream of one day marrying and having the same bond of love I see between my own parents. I just don't really want that day to be anytime soon. We're only twelve years into our expected one hundred twenty years or so, we have plenty of time and I don't want to be Parkinson and rush blindly forward towards it with the first boy I lay my eyes on."

"Wow…that's so wise of you to say…are you sure you're not secretly a Ravenclaw?"

I giggled my response, "No, I'm still a Slytherin and it's just my ambition to forge my own path first before anything else."

"I can understand that, and it makes you, you, Esme."

Whoosh.

Daphne and I startled at the sudden noise of our compartment door sliding open. "What makes her Esme?" asked Blaise as he made himself comfortable next to me on the cushioned seat."

"Merlin's beard Blaise, ever heard of knocking," Daphne complained, her hand still clutching at her no doubt fast-paced heart.

"Didn't mean to scare you there, bambina," said Blaise with a smirk which showed he was not at all sorry for what he did.

"Sorry you two," apologized Theo as he sat next to Daphne. "We were just in a hurry to escape Parkinson carrying on when she finally found Draco with us."

"I'm glad we left when we did. I heard something interesting floating around the whole train," Blaise intoned while leaning back against the seat. "No one has seen either Potter or Ronald Weasley on the train, yet the other four Weasleys are here."

"What? That can't be right," I denied.

"Prefect Weasley and Granger have been near frantic searching for them. So unless those two have been in the bathroom this entire time, they've missed the train."

"I don't think that's ever happened before for a returning student," commented Daphne.

"Is there some sort of penalty for missing the train? Surely they wouldn't forbid a student from attending Hogwarts for something like that?" I asked, slightly concerned.

"My father is on the Board of Governors for Hogwarts," said Daphne. "So I know for a fact there's no official rule about it. It's just an accepted custom, though it's waved for extenuating circumstances."

Theo scoffed. "It doesn't really matter. This is Potter we're talking about; they'll either portkey or floo to Hogsmeade, and then Dumbledore will probably fetch Potter and his sidekick himself."

"Perhaps," agreed Blaise before chuckling. "But just imagine if it was Professor Snape to pick them up? Oh~ I'd pay five galleons to be there to witness the dressing-down he'd give those two Gryffindors."

We all laughed at the idea of that. All Slytherins feared Professor Snape's temper, but admittedly it was entertaining when you were not the focus of his ire. The conversation then moved on from Potter and Weasley, and even my thoughts moved away from them as I enjoyed being with my friends once again.

"My father finally did it," Theo announced suddenly, his face looking entirely unenthused. "All his complaining about my sister becoming a spinster has finally been silenced, he signed a marriage contract for Tabatha to marry Lysander Yaxley. There's been no official announcement about it yet, but it should be coming out any day now."

"You don't seem particularly thrilled about it," I pointed out.

"Because I'm not," sneered Theo. "Father is forcing Tab to marry this boy all because he's an heir to a noble family, and she's completely going along with it! Who knows how this wizard will treat her, he could be a complete tosser and Tab doesn't even care and almost seems happy that she's making our father pleased with himself!"

"I'm sorry, Theo," Daphne said gently as she placed her hand on his in comfort. "But there's also the chance that Lysander could treat Tabatha kindly."

"No offense Daphne," interjected Blaise, "but if Theo's father approves of this wizard, then he's likely just as much a Supremacist as Lord Nott is."

"If he does mistreat Theo's sister, is there anything that can be done?" I asked, both curious and worried for Theo about the dark cloud that has hovered over him since he brought up the announcement.

"Not really," admitted Daphne. "Lord Nott could absolve the marriage, but…"

"But he won't do that," continued Theo, a deep scowl on his face. "Because he doesn't and won't care. Tab could only say something, but I can't do anything until our father hands over control to me, either willingly or when he dies."

"What if you made it clear to Lysander that if any harm or mistreatment should befall Tabatha, then when you become Head of the Family, you will ensure that the Yaxley family will fall into political ruin?"

"That could work, mate," Blaise agreed, with a thoughtful look on his face. "The Yaxleys are only a Noble House, but the Notts are an Ancient and Noble House. Lysander would have to be completely brainless to risk the alliance between your two houses falling once the current Lord Nott passes on."

"But how could I get him to take me seriously?" asked Theo. "Lysander is at least twenty years old - I'm still a child, especially in his eyes."

"You dig down deep, and unleash your inner Slytherin fury," said Daphne while gripping onto Theo's hand with both of hers. "Be the haughtiest, but dignified little lord you can and lay it out flat with no argument that you will ruin his family if he mistreats your sister in any way. You may not like to hear it, but you are your father's son - you could emulate him the best out of anyone if you'd tried."

"Perhaps…" Theo said, a deep look overcoming his face.

"And you have time, right? Before the marriage?" I asked, feeling a spark of hope for my friend.

Without looking my way, Theo replied, "It could happen as early as next summer."

"Then you have a year to practice and pick the right words before you confront him," said Blaise.

"And we'll help you," I promised, with Daphne and Blaise both agreeing with me. It was no Wizard's Oath or Unbreakable Vow, but I would still treat it as if it was, and I knew from the fire in their eyes that Daphne and Blaise felt the same way.

The three of us would help him, not only for his sister's sake, but for Theo's sake because he was our friend. Nifflers may hoard their gold, but Slytherins hoarded their loved ones. Theo had little love for his father; but he loved his sister dearly, just as I loved my siblings and Daphne loved her sister. And from that fact alone, I knew we'd succeed in putting the fear of Morgana in Lysander Yaxley.

Monsieur = Mister

Oui = yes

Non = no

Bambina = girl (italian endearment)

Extra POV

Blaire POV

I'd barely been settled into a compartment with Julie and some other Gryffindor girls after leaving King's Cross Station when Percy appeared in the doorway, announcing there was a prefects' meeting we needed to attend and we would be late if we didn't head to the front of the train right at that second. After counting to five in my head, I agreed calmly and followed him up the carriage aisles.

Now I didn't really mind Percy all that much, though I had to agree with some of the things George and Fred said about him right now. Percy did have an overinflated sense of authority when it came to his prefect position. He rudely forced aside a couple of Lower-Years when they stood in his way, all because he had 'important business as a school prefect' to attend to. I was only able to apologize to the students as I gently squeezed by as I had to hurry to keep up with Percy, lest I make him more annoyed because he thought I was slow.

The meeting itself was tedious and pointless in my opinion - it wasn't even an official meeting. The entire thing was the 'old' prefects meeting us 'new' prefects and then bestowing upon us their 'words of wisdom' and then bragging about all the perks that came with being prefects. I learned no useful information or details about our duties and anytime I asked, questions were waved off to be answered by my Head of House once we were at Hogwarts - when the actual official prefect meeting would occur.

I was very happy when I could finally politely break away - not caring a single inch I was the first one to leave the so-called meeting (though the two new Slytherin Prefects, Garrett Carmichael and Cara Buttermere, weren't far behind me). While I hated the meeting, at least I didn't have to be on the receiving end of the others' condescension like those two were. I couldn't guess if that treatment was due to them being Slytherins or because they both 'new' because they were the only House with two 'new' prefects.

Besides Kevin Bones, I don't think the other 'old' prefects were even aware of how rude some of the things they said were. Kevin tried his best to move things along, but the poor Ravenclaw could only do so much against the others, especially since Basil Eddings, as the new Head Boy, acted as ringleader of the pompous. Penny Haywood was apparently the new Head Girl, but she wasn't even there.

I was broken out of my thoughts when arms suddenly grabbed me and pulled me into a nearby washroom. I wiped my wand out, ready to hex whoever it was stupid for daring to attack me, when I heard a familiar voice.

"Merlin's saggy balls! Blaire, it's me! Sorry, it's me!" exclaimed George Weasley, his hands now up between us.

I slid my wand back into my pocket. "George," I greeted with a smile. He smiled in return and opened his mouth, but then I slapped the back of his head as hard as I could. "You, you, imbécile! You nearly scared me half to death!"

George groaned as he rubbed the back of his head. "Merlin, witch, that hurt."

"It was supposed to!"

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you, I just wanted to talk to you."

I sighed and released my anger with it. "About what?" I asked in a genuinely calm voice this time.

George's usual confidence was nowhere to be found as he seemed to curl into himself, nervousness radiating from his entire being as he flushed as red as his hair all the way to his ears. I raised my eyebrow in confusion, but waited in patient silence for him to find the words he wanted to say.

He took a deep breath, as if to steady himself, before beginning. "Look, I know you're gonna be really busy with your studies, cause you like to be challenged, cause you're so smart, and plus you're a prefect now, which seems like a lot of work."

George was rambling. Why was he rambling? This wasn't like him at all.

He cleared his throat. "Anyways. You're amazing, and I just wanted to tell you, to say, I mean, for you to know that I…sweet Merlin…" He took a deep breath. "I like you, like more than a friend like you. But I'm fine staying as friends with you because like I said, you're great, and I like spending time with you. So um, yeah…"

I blinked as I slowly processed what he just said. Sweet Circe, this boy…Words seemed to have fled my mind so I did the next best thing - I kissed him.

I smiled into the kiss as George made the most adorable squeaking noise. Pulling back, my smile brightened at his cute embarrassed face. I thought he was red before, but I swear his entire face was redder than a blood ruby; though I bet my own cheeks had to be flaming red from the heat I felt rushing there.

"I like you too, George. And I hope this means that perhaps you are willing to give a relationship between us a try."

"Yes!" shouted George. He cleared his throat and said in a much softer voice, "I mean, yes I would."

He gave me such a dopey smile and I couldn't help but smile in return. "Though perhaps we should keep this between ourselves for now."

"Why?" he asked, his smile waning as a pained look entered his eyes.

I quickly waved off whatever negative things he was thinking. "It's nothing like what you're probably thinking. It's because of my brothers." I sighed in annoyed fondness. "They're all very protective, Alaric especially, and I don't want them butting in while we figure out our new relationship for ourselves. Once we do that, then we can tell them and brace for their ridiculous reactions."

The pain left George's eyes as his smile returned. He put his arms around me and hugged me close. I snuggled into his embrace. Despite George being two years younger than me, he was only a bit shorter than me - and would likely continue to grow.

"I can agree to that, though I'll have to tell Fred because he knows what I planned to do and will want an answer. But I promise, Fred won't tell anyone, not even Lee."

"I have absolutely no problems with that. Fred is your twin, so I can understand not wanting to lie or keep secrets from him. For me, it's different when your twin is a different gender. Well, different when your twin is Alaric, who is irrationally protective when it comes to me and my younger sisters especially."

I both felt and heard his chuckle. "Trust me, I get the brotherly protectiveness. If anyone dares to look at Ginny funny, Fred and I would hex them into oblivion, or at least at whatever was left after Ginny was finished with them."

We both chuckled before falling silent. I pulled back and smiled at George. "So, what would my boyfriend like to do now?"

"I'd like to kiss my girlfriend again."

"Done." I am happy to say we completely lost track of time as we shared sweet kisses, basking in the reality that this was indeed happening.

Imbécile = idiot

Special thanks to my Beta-Readers: Anonymous and TheSparkler!