Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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Late one morning, three weeks before Mae and James were scheduled to leave their home and depart for Hogwarts, Mae frowned to herself as she walked through the forest on Riddle Manor's grounds.
Busy brooding over the prospect of leaving her impressive doll collection behind, she neglected her step and tripped over a wayward stone.
A cry left her lips as she ungracefully tumbled down an incline.
With a painful thump, she crashed against a huge rock.
Her eyes closed and her brow furrowed at the resounding pain that echoed in her head.
As she laid her hand against that rock, the strange gift which Harriet had been given before her daughter's birth finally awakened after more than a decade dormant in its lingering enchantment.
A cracking noise sounded.
Mae rubbed her temples.
The rock splintered into pieces as new life sprang from within it to spread its already impressive wings.
As Mae opened her emerald eyes, they widened at the baby dragon who stood in front of her.
Although Mae had only read about the creatures, the dragon in front of her already seemed odd.
Bright green and as big as a wolf, fear bloomed in Mae's heart as emerald smoke began to billow from its nostrils.
She staggered to her feet and spoke warningly in Parseltongue, hoping the dragon would understand, "...I am the Princess."
The dragon snorted rings of smoke before it lowered its head and replied in a low growl, "...And I am the carriage."
An evil smirk curled Mae's plump lips.
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As the Minister for Magic and his wife escorted their children across Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, Harriet fondly remembered her own first journey to the castle.
Tom ushered his little family along with Harriet at his side and their three little ones bobbing around them.
The boys' eyes widened once they made it through the brick wall and saw the enormity of the Hogwarts Express.
Mae rolled her eyes.
People hurried past while James pointed at the waiting train and exclaimed, "Is that entire thing going to be full, Mum?!"
"Yes, sweetheart, it will be." Harriet smiled, "...Make sure you treat everyone with kindness….You can't be certain who you'll meet today."
"What do you mean?" James blinked.
"During my first ride on the Hogwarts Express, I met your father." Harriet smiled as Tom flashed his son an arrogant smirk and snaked a possessive arm around her waist, "...And my two best friends, Ron and Hermione."
"Didn't we meet them once when we were little?" James asked.
"Yes." Harriet nodded, "I'm certain you will again soon. Ron is Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's son, remember?"
As James nodded, Tom turned to Mae while Mark hugged his brother.
"Now, my little viper, I want you to pay close to your studies, do you understand?" Tom asked, "Your capabilities are far beyond your peers' understanding, as are your brother's, since you are both my children…..Still, entering at such a late year may prove challenging at times."
"I understand, Daddy." Mae said with a sickeningly sweet smile, "Don't worry, I promise I'll make you proud!"
"You already have, my darling princess." Tom grinned as his dark eyes glowed with pride while he laid a hand on Mae's shoulder.
Father and daughter exchanged knowing smirks before the Hogwarts Express whistle blared.
"JAMES!" A voice shouted, "...JAMES!"
Mae grimaced as Lily ran over with her trunk and owl, thrilled beyond measure to see her very best friend.
Behind her, across the platform, Mr. and Mrs. Trendell whispered to each other as they walked away with the other muggle parents.
Harriet smiled at Tom while she watched the children interact.
"Do you think we can find a seat together?" Lily asked excitedly.
"We're certainly going to try." James grinned.
He and Lily became preoccupied with gazing at each other for too long.
"I'll miss you two!" Mark finally cried, desperate to be remembered.
"Oh, Mark! Don't cry! Don't cry…..it's alright!" Lily said as she rushed to comfort her younger friend with a thoughtful hug.
James threw his arm around his brother's free shoulder as he joined in, "The time will pass by soon enough and we'll be home for autumn recess…….Don't be sad! It won't be that long until you come to Hogwarts too, alright?"
Harriet and Tom exchanged grim glances as Mark looked up at his brother and asked, "...R-Really?"
"Of course!" Lily smiled.
"Someone has to look after Mum and Dad in the meantime, don't they?" James grinned.
Mark wiped his wet face with the back of his hand as he nodded, "I……I dunno, I suppose."
"I'll miss you too, brother." James confessed as he flashed Mark a genuine smile.
The train whistle blew again to warn of its imminent departure.
As Mark collapsed into a fresh set of sobs, Harriet put her arms on his small shoulders and whispered to him soothingly.
"Go on." Tom nodded at James, Lily, and Mae, who had lingered nearby, "It's time for you three to board. We'll look after him."
Harriet's heart broke as Mark let out a pained wail while James walked away, careful to frown at his brother over his shoulder in one last farewell look.
As passersby glanced at the Riddles, Tom glared at his youngest son in abject mortification.
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"Let's see….." James mused as he and Lily walked down the train's narrow corridor.
"...Every compartment's already full." She frowned.
One particular group of scowling, seventh year Slytherins snarled at them both as they walked by.
"There has to be room for us." James shook his head, "...Somewhere."
As they walked, their hopes fell, finding one door after another shut with passengers on both sides.
"Hey!...You two!" A voice suddenly called.
James and Lily both turned around.
A brown-eyed, red-haired girl waved to them as she poked her head out of a compartment, "Do you need somewhere to sit? There's room for you both in here."
James and Lily exchanged quick glances before they made their way back down the corridor.
"Sure." James nodded once they entered the red-haired girl's compartment, "That's awfully kind of you. I'm James……Riddle. And this is Lily Trendell."
"Hello." Lily smiled.
"Hello!" The red-haired girl replied, "I'm Rose Weasley. It's lovely to meet you both."
"Weasley?" James asked, "Are you related to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley? Molly and Arthur?"
"Yes, I am!" Rose proudly chirped, "Those are my grandparents…..Well, our grandparents. This is my brother, Hugo." She nodded as she gestured inside the compartment to a slightly older boy with equally bright red hair.
"Hello." The boy, Hugo, greeted the newcomers.
"Hello!" Lily smiled.
A surge of jealousy surprised James by hitting him squarely in the heart as he managed a pleasant nod, "Hello. I'm-"
"-James." Hugo nodded, "And that's Lily." He said as he gestured to her, "Nice to meet you both."
"It certainly is." Lily said as she flashed Hugo another bright smile.
James grimaced as they both sat down across from the Weasley siblings and began to chat.
"Well, then….,Excited?" James asked.
"Oh, very much!" Rose quipped, "I can't wait to begin my first year at Hogwarts! Hugo's already on his second just because he's older. Clearly, talent isn't valued over age."
"Hey!" Hugo scowled.
"Oh, so you're a year ahead of us?" James asked.
"Yeah." Hugo said with a sniff and a cocky shrug, "It's not much, but I've had a few lessons."
James bit his tongue while he tried to determine if Hugo's arrogance was intended to impress him and Lily or Lily only as Hugo generously offered, "If you two need any help with your homework, feel free to ask me."
"Actually, I'd advise against that." Rose cut in, "He doesn't get the highest marks in his classes. I wouldn't be surprised if he gave you the wrong advice."
Hugo scowled as he prepared to retort, but James spoke first, "Sorry if this seems too personal, but who are your parents?"
"Ron and Hermione Weasley." Rose shrugged.
"You're the Minister's son, aren't you?" Hugo asked as he narrowed his eyes at James.
"His eldest son." James corrected him, "I have a younger brother and my sister's somewhere on the train. My Mum's Harriet Potter. I believe our parents were friends when they were our age."
"Oh, Harriet Potter!" Rose said as her face brightened into a glowing smile, "Mum and Dad talk about her all the time!"
Hugo shrugged again as he answered, "They're still friends, aren't they? From what Mum and Dad have told us, they just haven't had much time to see each other over the years."
"Maybe they'll find the time that we're all at Hogwarts together!" Rose interjected.
"Maybe the four of us will become friends and we can visit during the summers." James suggested, "Then they can see each other too!"
Although Lily had felt out of place for a moment while the trio connected over their parentage, she gave James a kind smile when she heard him purposely include her.
Rose and Hugo said nothing, but they both noticed that Lily slipped her hand into James's waiting palm, an affectionate grip which he gladly returned.
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Eager to be away from his sister, James didn't even bother to make sure Mae had found a place to sit.
Mae had other plans than spending hours on the bumpy, plain-looking train.
The vehicle had barely pulled into motion before she rushed to the very end and stepped out of the last compartment that housed excess trunks and luggage.
As the train hurtled along its track, Mae scowled up at the sky and whispered a single command in one low hiss.
A moment passed.
Another.
The wind tousled her long, wavy hair around her shoulders until finally, a shape appeared on the horizon.
Mae smirked as she watched it draw closer.
While the rest of her peers rode the thundering train, Mae effortlessly climbed off the back of the vehicle, mounted her dragon, and soared away.
The scaly creature had no trouble keeping pace with the locomotive as it soared above clouds and over the horizon.
Mae shivered as her alternative transportation flew a bit too high and brought them into the airspace of descending muggle planes.
Just before she pushed on the dragon's back to signal him to dive lower, a muggle boy happened to glance out of one airplane's window and glimpse the amazing sight of a rider clearly sitting on top what was unmistakably a-
"MUM!" He cried as he reached over in the seat next to him and grabbed his mother's arm.
"What's the matter, love?" The boy's mother frowned as she woke from her nap, "We're nearly there now, calm down."
"No, that's….that's not it! Out the window, there! There was a dragon!" The boy exclaimed as he pressed a hand against the glass.
"Oh, Robert….." The woman sighed as she kissed his head, "It's been a long night, love…….You've barely slept! Try and close your eyes before we land, alright?"
"But…..!" Robert sighed in consternation as his mother settled herself to go back to sleep.
A frown marred his face as he stared out the window at the nothingness of the morning sky.
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Careful not to come close enough to the train that anyone would be able to spot her, as the Hogwarts Express moved on, Mae followed a short distance behind.
As the castle eventually appeared in the distance, a smirk danced across her lips while the tireless beating of the dragon's leathery wings brought her closer to her birthplace.