It had been six years since Lorelei awoke to her new life and she had spent those years fending for herself on the streets of London. For the first six months she didn't risk using her magic for fear of the damage she could do to herself were she to try, but after that it was available to her. It certainly made things easier even if it wasn't a necessity. It was a sad truth the streets were better for her than staying with her relatives.
Surprisingly, Hogwarts seemed completely unaware of what had happened, especially when one considered her relatives had been arrested for not only her disappearance, but also the way they had treated her while she was there. The authorities believed there was no way she could've survived this long on her own so even they weren't looking for her anymore.
It was a relief in many ways.
Because of this she was able to respond to her acceptance letter and do all her shopping on her own. This of course contained a trip to Gringotts that included an inheritance test.
Lorelei looked out the window of the Hogwarts Express as she rubbed over her heir ring with her thumb. It was actually three that had merged together, though only the Potter coat of arms was visible at the moment. Her mind though was elsewhere.
Until now she hadn't let herself wonder about Ominis or Sebastian, but today she couldn't help it. If they too had been reincarnated, she was likely to see them again today. Would they be glad to see her? Or will they have decided to return to the friendship they had enjoyed before she entered their lives? It hurt to think that could be the case, but it was hard to deny when Ominis had disliked her so strongly at first and Sebastian had spent an entire year using her even if he did care.
A sigh slipped past her lips, and she reached into her satchel to pull out a book. She had to distract herself before she lost herself in depressing what ifs.
By the time the train started moving, the corridors had mostly emptied though there were still a few students looking for friends. Perhaps that was why she hadn't expected it when the door to her compartment was as close to slammed open as a sliding door could be. Her eyes snapped to the doorway, her wand in hand having been released by the wrist holster she kept it in.
The sight that greeted her had her frozen though, for there stood Sebastian and Ominis. For a brief moment no one moved. It was as if time had come to a stop. It didn't last long though, because Ominis, lacking sight, wasn't as spellbound as she and Sebastian were. He slipped past their combative friend and all but dove onto her, wrapping her tightly in his arms.
Spell thus broken, Sebastian crossed the compartment as fast as he could and encircled them both in his embrace as best as he could. Tears pooled in Lorelei's eyes, blurring her sight as she clung to them so tight, she feared she'd leave bruises in her wake but neither complained. If anything, they held her just as tightly.
Later, she wouldn't be able to say how long they stayed like that – tangled together so closely it was impossible to say where one ended, and another began – but eventually they did move so they were sitting on the bench seat properly with Ominis to her right and Sebastian to her left, hands still inked and fingers laced together. A contented silence stretched between them as they simply basked in being reunited for a while longer, but it couldn't last forever.
"We need to fill each other in so there are no nasty surprises later." Ominis whispered as he pressed himself even closer to her, their linked hands resting on his thigh. Sebastian was quick to mimic the movement.
"Me first, I suppose." she uttered softly, resting her head on Ominis shoulder, "I likely have the most to tell."
Sebastian squeezed her hand gently and said, "Take your time. The train ride lasts around nine hours so there's no rush."
A smile tugged at her lips but quickly faded as she sighed, "Well first of all, my name is Lorelei Potter, and yes, I'm that Lorelei Potter." Ominis tensed but didn't try to interrupt so she continued, "I know a bit about my story, mostly what I could find in books and a couple very blurry memories from Halloween 1981, but I know there's more to it because of one of those memories. Voldemort was targeting me and not my family. He gave my mother a chance to live, but only if she let him kill me. Needless to say, she refused.
"I was in the muggle world from then until I got my acceptance letter so I may be a little behind on innovations in the magical world. I don't technically have a guardian right now as I left my relatives as soon as my memories returned, and they were arrested for abuse, neglect, and my disappearance shortly after."
"Where have you been staying?" Sebastian asked in concern.
She sat up again and shrugged, "The streets mostly. I did fix up an abandoned house in London after about six months that warded with all manner of muggle repelling wards and a few protective ones that I used as a home, but I still had to pick pockets and such as I didn't have any other source of income. I had the skills, so it wasn't too bad. People are even more lax now than they were in the 1800s, so it was easy enough. No worse than growing up in the orphanage the first time around."
Ominis shook his head, "I hate that you were put in that position again," he gently brushed his lips over her cheek, startling her, "but I'm glad you're alright."
"We'll work out a better solution for you before school lets out." Sebastian informed her as he brought her hand up to kiss the back of it, startling her the same as Ominis had, before he sighed, "My turn then?"
She and Ominis both nodded and she squeezed his hand gently pulling a smile from him, "There's not much to tell on my end. My name is Sebastian Selwyn, and my father is Lord Silas Selwyn though my mother has passed away. He was an elite Death Eater even though the public aren't aware he was one at all. I think the vigilante group that fought them think he was a mid-ranked one, but I don't know for sure. Ominis and I met again the same day our memories returned, and we've been inseparable ever since, much to the confusion of everyone who knows us."
Then it was Ominis turn. He took a deep breath and began, "My name is Ominis Riddle. My fa-" his voice faltered before he continued in a barely there whisper, "My father's name is Tom Riddle, but the public knows him better by another name, Voldemort."
Lorelei felt him trembling against and knew he needed more contact than this. She didn't hesitate to climb into his lap and loop her arms around his neck, pressing her head into the crook of his neck while Sebastian moved into her previous seat and wrapped an arm around his shoulders to hold them both closer to him. Ominis buried his face in her hair before he continued.
"I've been raised by the Malfoys since his disappearance, and it is disappearance. The elite Death Eaters know he's still alive somewhere, but they don't know where, how, or what's wrong with him. Lord Lucius Malfoy was his second in command, that's why they have been raising me, I believe. I've heard a few conversations between him and his wife, Lady Narcissa concerning Voldemort. By the end, he had lost whatever sanity he once possessed and much like the Gaunts, he was a strong proponent of pure-blood supremacy."
He paused as if to collect his thoughts before he said, "On a separate note, living with the Malfoys did give me a different view on Dark Magic, if only because they taught it so differently to the Gaunts. I'm not as inherently against it anymore, but I still rather despise the Unforgivables, especially the Cruciatus."
"What changed your mind?" Lorelei asked curiously, head tilted up to look at his face.
He gave her a small smile and held her a little closer, "They mainly taught theory, for one. They explained why Dark Magic is Dark and when it would be considered acceptable to use it. Lord Malfoy may have been Voldemort's second, but he is not a sadist. He joined the Death Eaters due to the politics they promoted and not the violence they perpetrated. He did teach us a few basic Dark spells, but only after we had received our Hogwarts letters and mainly due to the risk older students could pose to us. It was... enlightening."
Lorelei and Sebastian shared a pleased smile. If Voldemort was still out there as Ominis said, then they would need the Dark Arts in order to fight him on anything resembling equal footing. They had never been opposed to it the same way as their blind friend, but they would never have forced him to watch them use a form of magic he thought was corrupting due to his history. Neither had believed it was Dark Magic that had made the Gaunts what they were, but the inbreeding and sadism they cultivated in their family. It seemed Ominis had finally realized that as well.
A comfortable silence fell over the compartment once more, all three more than content to stay in their current positions no matter the impropriety. They could get away with it for now thanks to their physical age and they were going to bask in it while they could.
Lorelei knew there would be questions, ones they couldn't answer due to the closeness between them. As far as anyone else would be concerned, she would have just met them and given their identities everyone would wonder what the Girl Who Lived was doing with two boys born to the Darkside. She didn't care, however. She would never give her boys up no matter who tried to separate them. The gentle kisses they had given her earlier flashed through her mind and she wondered why they had done that. It wasn't something they had ever done before and the meaning escaped her. She knew what she wanted it to mean, but she had decided long ago that she would never voice it.
She would just have to wait and see, she supposed.
The rest of the ride passed comfortably, the only interruption being from the trolly lady from whom they purchased sandwiches and some sweets – enough to satisfy Ominis' sweet tooth. Otherwise, they spoke of what this return to Hogwarts meant for them.
Sebastian admitted he anticipated it being difficult for him at first, as Anne wasn't with him like before. He may have gotten used to her absence in their last life, but being eleven once more meant he felt her loss keenly. Lorelei understood and promised to do what she could to help him adjust to it once more, a sentiment Ominis was quick to share.
Lorelei was quick to tell them she had no intention of downplaying her intelligence, at least not enough to give the illusion of an average eleven-year-old. She truthfully didn't think she was capable of it even had she wanted to. She would limit herself somewhat but knew there was no chance of her being less than top of the class. The other two agreed and even felt the same as she did. They would all limit their spell repertoire to lower third year spells at most, but that was the extent of the concessions they would make for their age.
Ominis though, had a more pressing concern. Potions class. It was a very difficult subject for him due to how much it relied on seeing the changes that happened to the potion with each step so as to know when to move on to the next one. He knew the potions master, a man named Severus Snape, as he was Draco's godfather and so was well aware he would make no concessions to his disability. Neither had Sharp, but he did curve his grades in a way that Snape would not. To say he was at a disadvantage was to put it mildly. Rather, there was a better than average chance he would fail that class once again. Potions truly was the bane of his existence. Lorelei offered to assist him, but he was quick to shoot that down. Snape would only punish her for the attempt.
Neither she nor Sebastian were pleased when he told them that, but they knew better than to argue. Instead, Lorelei decided she would try to find a way for him to brew that wouldn't require him to see. The art of potion making had come a long way in the past hundred years, becoming a lot more exact than it used to be. More a science than something that went slightly different for each brewer. Perhaps the answer was in the new instructions.
It was with this in mind she pulled out the potions text for first year and checked over the method listed. She was pleased to see that while it listed what color it should be after each step, the instructions themselves were detailed enough he wouldn't need to see to accomplish an acceptable brew. It listed exact measurements for each ingredient and exactly how many stirs were required. He would never be a potions master, but he would be able to pass as long as he prepared and measured each ingredient ahead of time and had them arranged in a way he knew where they were.
She promised Ominis to help him figure out how to arrange things ahead of time using the Room of Requirement. She would make sure he was able to pass and maybe even get an O.W.L. in the subject, but that was likely getting ahead of herself. The relief Ominis felt was visible on his face which only firmed her resolve.
Before they knew it, the train was pulling into Hogsmeade Station, and they were disembarking onto the platform. A man so large he had to be part giant called all the first years to him and led them down a steep, slick path towards the lake. For safeties sake, Lorelie swapped places with Ominis, putting him in the middle where both she and Sebastian linked their arms with his so they could make sure he wouldn't fall. He wouldn't admit it, but she knew he was thankful for their caution.
Once they reached the boats, Sebastian climbed in first before helping first Ominis and then Lorelei into their seats. He sat across from them in the four-person vessel, a dark-skinned boy who looked to be of Italian descent taking the empty spot beside him.
The trip across the lake was silent for them as the students in the other boats murmured and gossiped amongst themselves. Lorelei kept her fingers threaded with Ominis' and even leaned her head on his shoulder. She knew he hated this part from stories the boys had told her before. It wasn't that he couldn't swim, it was that were he to fall in, he wouldn't be able to tell up from down at all. Going in on his own was much different than that. Besides, he had never enjoyed swimming in the first place, he only learned because Sebastian and Anne had insisted.
Luckily, they docked without incident and Sebastian let the Italian boy out first before exiting and then helping the Ominis out while Lorelei kept him steady. She then allowed the two boys to pull her from the boat as well and they made their way up to the castle proper where the first years were left in the hands of a woman named Professor McGonagall.
It was almost time for the Sorting Ceremony. At least she wasn't late this time.