Dora punches the air as she arrives in the spirit world, or the other place, or whatever it's actually called. After looking around to make sure nobody saw her doing that, she walks over to the bookcase room and pokes her head round.
A second later, her hair turns bright crimson along with her skin, and she lets out an 'Eeep' a moment before the panels on the bed close with a loud clatter.
"Right, I'll, erm, be back later when you're not busy."
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Harry smiles brightly as she walks through Kings Cross Station with her new family. Dora, trailing behind them, still has bright red streaks in her hair, after her success this morning.
A glance over at the girl, who's hand she's holding, shows her that Hermione is still recovering from the families experimental use of the Knight Bus; something that was only necessary because of how long it took Dora to find her way back.
Abruptly, Harry stops as something occurs to her, "Hermione, is it me or have we just not received any mail from our friends?"
From the back of the group, Dora chuckles as Hermione frowns and says, "You're right. Why didn't I notice that before?"
Sebastian ruffles Hermione's hair, "You, my lovey daughter, were having too much fun."
Hermione looks a little stunned as Harry continues walking towards platform 9¾, "I was, wasn't I."
Harry nods, "This has been the best holiday ever. The best six weeks ever." Impulsively, she turns around and hugs Sebastian and Naomi, "Thank you, thank you so much for taking me in."
Naomi chuckles, "You're most welcome, and don't forget, it's your home too now. Also, remember that we want you to do your best. Now, come on, you need to get to the train before it fills up."
Harry smiles, "Yes papa."
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As Harry makes her way down the train corridor with Hermione, she can't help smiling as she watches Sebastian dragging Naomi down the platform through the windows. Only a couple of minutes ago, they'd walked through the wall and Sebastian had gaped, before saying, "It's a bloody 4-6-0. Naomi, it's a 4-6-0!"
That's when he'd bundled the two of them onto the train and started dragging mama down the platform.
"Harry! Come on in, we've still got a couple of seats."
Harry shakes her head and focuses on the compartment that Lavender called out from. There she can see that Lavender and Parvati are sitting with a couple of other girls from another house, one with dark hair and the other with pale blond hair. When she looks back at Hermione, who shrugs, Harry smiles and slips inside. As she sits down next to Lavender, Harry says, "Sure. Hi, I'm Harry Potter."
Hermione nods as she takes a seat on the other side, and closes the door, "I'm Hermione Granger, pleased to meet you."
The dark haired girl smiles easily at the two of them, "Tracey Davis, and my taciturn friend is Daphne Greengrass. If you care about the whole high society dance, then she's Heir Greengrass."
Harry shrugs, "I'm actually new to the whole thing. Professor McGonagall said that she's going to arrange a tutor for me, as my 'social expectations have changed, along with your sex'."
Parvati reaches over to pat Harry's leg, "Don't worry, we'll help you too."
Daphne abruptly cocks her head and asks, "What do you mean you're new to the whole thing?"
Harry shrugs, easily hiding her discomfort at the question, "I grew up with my relatives outside the magical world."
Daphne nods, "I see. You may call me Daphne in private."
Harry winces, "See, I don't actually know what you mean by that."
Tracy glances at her friend as she waves her hand airily, "It means situations like this, where it's not mixed company or in public. It's a protocol thing, as Daph is the heir apparent to her family, in public her behaviour reflects on her family."
Harry cocks her head, "Does that apply to me?"
Daphne shakes her head, "No, the Potters were always a merchant family, and only landowners through a technicality."
Harry groans, "This sounds like it's going to be a lot more time intensive than we thought."
Lavender shrugs, "It's not that bad. Parvati and my families are both merchant families too. So's Tracy. You'll have a few more expectations as you're the heir to the family. But that's only if you want to continue as a merchant family."
Daphne nods and relaxes minutely, "Of course, given your fame, and being the last of your line, you could take your family just about anywhere. The right marriage could even see the Potter family on the roles of nobility."
Hermione frowns, "How would that work?"
Daphne looks out of the window at the rest of Kings Cross Station, "The normal way would be to find a poor noble family that's in debt, and take on their debt in exchange for keeping your own name. However, with so many fallen titles over the last two wars, you could apply to the Wizengamot to take on a title in recognition of your family's services to the nation. This is the way the Malfoy's are trying to get their title, though the current head of the family scuppered their chances for this generation. You could do something that means that the crown recognises you, and elevates you to nobility. Though that hasn't happened since 1692. The last one would be discovering that you're the heir to a mystical linage like the founders, Merlin, or Pendragon."
Hermione frowns, "Mystical linage?"
Daphne nods, "It's happened a few times in the past. The last was the Smith's 300 some years ago when Pleasance Smith fulfilled the criteria to become The Hufflepuff. Unlike normal inheritances, a Mystical linage needs to be earned, and nobody is really sure what's entailed."
Tracy sighs, "Daphne, I'm sure you'll have time to regale us with all of this later. For now, I want to know what's up with Potter."
Harry shakes her head, "Just call me Harry. And what do you mean?"
Tracy waves her hand up and down in Harry's direction, "I mean this, your new look. Don't get me wrong, it's better than the half-starved rat look you had last year, but it's a bit sudden."
Lavender squirms in her seat, "Harry, do you mind if I take this one?"
Harry chuckles uncomfortably, "Sure, go ahead."
Lavender smiles brightly, "So, you remember there were those petrification's, and the heir business? Well, the heir kidnapped Weasley's 1st year sister, and Harry went with Weasley to rescue her. Only Harry got separated and had to go on alone to Slytherin's chamber. When she got there, she found the heir draining the life out of his victim and charged in to stop him. Only, the heir called Slytherin's monster to defend him, and it was an ancient basilisk. Not knowing what else to do, Harry called out for help and a phoenix brought her Gryffindor's sword before clawing out the monster's eyes. Bravely, Harry charged in to face the monster, and ended up shoving the sword through the top of its mouth at the same time he was bitten. Because of his heroic actions the phoenix tried to save his life with its tears, but the damage was so bad that Harry had a massive bout of accidental magic and turned into this beauty. Then she banished the heir, so that he could never trouble the school again."
Harry groans, "I knew I should have kept my mouth shut. How much have you practiced that Lavender?"
Lavender smiles, "Not much."
Parvati hit's Lavender's arm, "Not much? Lav, you've told that story at every single party we've been to this summer."
Daphne arches an eyebrow, "Well, the question is, is it true?"
Harry sighs, "For the most part yes. Though it misses out the fact that we couldn't have found the chamber without Hermione's and Myrtle's help. It also makes me sound like a hero, when I was just a scared kid that didn't care if I died or not."
Hermione reaches over and places a hand on Harry's knee, "Harry, you never told me about that."
Harry smiles shyly, "I'm a lot better now that I'm a girl. Also your mum's helped a lot over the summer. That and our sword training, so that if it happens again I'm not just trying to stick the pointy end in the enemy."
As the compartment falls to silence, there's a loud whistle and the carriage jerks a couple of times as the train starts to move.
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A couple of hours into the journey, Daphne looks up from a sheet of parchment she's writing on while everyone else is reading or chatting quietly. "Potter. Do you still have Gryffindor's sword?"
Harry carefully finishes the stroke of nail varnish she's applying to Lavender's finger before she looks up, "I do, why?"
Daphne shrugs, "It just occurred to me to ask. Do you mind if I see it one day?"
Harry shrugs and holds out her hand, "Sure. Be careful, I don't have a scabbard for it, and the blade is poisoned."
As she's talking, golden motes appear above her hand and coalesce into the sword of Gryffindor.
Daphne's eyes widen as she looks at the sword from her seat, "And you've been practicing with that?"
Harry shakes her head, "Odin's tears, no. I like having sparing partners. Hermione, why don't you grab your sword, as it's safe for them to handle."
Hermione looks up from her defence textbook and whines, "Harry!"
Harry smiles sweetly as she sends the sword back into wherever, "Maybe also grab a couple of games while you're there. It will also give you a chance to grab any other books you want, too."
Hermione huffs as she puts a bookmark in her place, "Fine."
Daphne narrows her eyes as Hermione leans back in her chair, and the book disappears. "Potter, what was that?"
Harry grabs the nail varnish and Lavender's hand again, "My teacher told me to say two words whenever someone asks me that. 'Family Magic'"
"And Granger?"
Harry's eyes narrow slightly, "What's with the last names suddenly?"
Parvati glances up from her own book, "She's acting as the heir to her house."
Harry mulls that over for a minute while she carefully paints Lavender's next nail. As she finishes the nail, a couple of boxes and a book appears in Hermione's lap, while a sword, that's almost as long as the compartment, appears in her hand. With that Harry smiles, "I suppose it would be true to say that because Hermione's family took me in and treated me as one of their own, I've also taken them as my own family too."
Daphne nods distractedly as Hermione stands up and puts the boxes up on the luggage shelf without letting go of the sword. "I can see that. Granger, how are you even holding that?"
Hermione smiles as she carefully turns the sword around so that the hilt is facing Daphne, "Daily practice. At the beginning of the holidays, it was all I could do to hold the sword off the ground for five minutes at a time. It's not as heavy as my bookbag, but it's so long that the tip feels far heavier than that if you get your grip wrong."
Harry points the nail varnish brush at the sword, before moving onto Lavender's thumb, "That's also the reason why I'm going to be quitting the Quidditch team. I just won't have time to keep up my studies, practice the sword, and do Quidditch, and I promised papa that I'd do my best this year, so I can't let my studies slide."
Tracy chuckles, "Malfoy's going to be so upset."
Harry chuckles, "Not as much as Oliver will be. I'm just glad I'm in the girls dorm this year. There, I think I'm done. How did I do Lavender?"
Lavender holds her hand up and looks at each finger critically, "Good enough, though it's a bit uneven, so it won't last more than a couple of days before it gets chipped. Come on, I'll do yours now."
Daphne finishes writing while Lavender does one of Harry's hands, and Hermione places her sword on the luggage rack. As she sands off the ink, Daphne looks over at Harry, "Harry, well done on mentioning family magic, and I was impressed that you took the time to think about your response to my question about the book disappearing. You should remember that, too Hermione."
Hermione looks a little confused, "Remember what?"
"Harry's excuse for you being able to do the pulling stuff out of thin air magic."
Hermione looks over at Harry, "I obviously wasn't paying attention, what did you say?"
Harry smiles at Hermione, "Just that because your family took me in as one of your own, I've taken you into my family."
Hermione frowns, "Why is that even important?"
Daphne sighs, "It all ties into Family Magic."
Hermione shakes her head, "What's Family Magic?"
Daphne looks at Hermione like she's been a little dense, "It's exactly what it sounds like. Magic developed by a family, and not shared outside the family. Usually because it gives them a competitive advantage. All of the established families have their own secrets. Oh, and it's also legally protected, so trying to steal those secrets could see you punished with anything from a fine to a prison stay."
Hermione frowns, "Why would you want to keep it secret?"
Tracy sighs, "Hermione, magical research is dangerous and expensive. My mother is a spell researcher for hire, and she only deals with customisations of known spells, usually for stadiums and theatres. She developed a couple of spells to help her with that when she left school, and kept them as family magic. Dad said that we could have made a fortune by selling the spells, but we could have only made it once. But by keeping them as family magic, we can repeatedly make the same fortune over a longer period of time."
Harry looks up, "Like the recipe for Coca Cola. Is there anything stopping people from coming up with their own spells that do the same thing?"
Tracy shakes her head, "Only the danger involved. It's why I'm taking Arithmancy this year. It might only deal with predicting numbers, but Mum says it ties in with the theory we learn in Charms and Transfiguration, and forms the basis of spell design."
Harry nods, "I'm taking Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, as you need both to be able to perform rituals."
Daphne shakes her head, "Careful, the Ministry's banned rituals."
Harry frowns, "I didn't know that, thank you. I'll have to ask my teacher about that."
Hermione looks very put out as she says, "I'm only taking the two electives too, for the same reason. The library has a section for laws, I'll look it up at the weekend."
Lavender laughs, "Hermione, your face. Honestly, I'm surprised that you're not doing every elective."
Hermione sighs dramatically, "Harry's, um, tutor was adamant that I don't, and they got my parents to agree. So then I had to choose between rituals and Care of Magical creatures, and as I'm much better at wizardry than anything else, it wasn't much of a choice."
Tracy frowns, "You're making it sound like the tutor is alive."
Harry waves her free hand easily, "It's not a secret that I was tutored by the sorting hat at the end of last year. That tutoring took place in a special place that my family can access."
Daphne nods before standing up to look at the supposed games, "What's Cluedo?"
Hermione looks up at the box, "It's a murder mystery game. The aim of the game is to work out who killed the victim, where they were killed, and what the weapon was. At the beginning of the game, a random character, weapon, and room card is placed in an envelope. Once that's done, the rest of the cards are shuffled and dealt out to each of the other players. You then move your character around the map of the house and make suggestions about who could have committed the murder, and what weapon they might have used. Once the suggestion has been made, each player, starting on the left, has to try and disprove it by showing one of their cards to the player that made the suggestion."
Daphne nods, "Sounds interesting."
Hermione nods, "It's fun, and better when there's more players. We keep plenty of pens and paper in the box for note taking."
Lavender groans, "Note taking?"
Hermione nods, "Yep, it's the only way to tell who's got which cards. Don't worry, we still have plenty of the original notes with checkboxes on them. Harry uses those."
Harry laughs, "Yes, yes I do. That's because I haven't been playing the game for years like you have. I've still managed to win a few times."
Lavender sighs, "Ok, fine. Let me finish Harry's nails first. Parvati, you in?"
Parvati looks up from her book, "Huh?"
"A game that Hermione brought, do you want to play?"
"Oh sure."
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The sun is starting to set when the train slows to a halt. As it does, everyone's breath starts to steam in the air and Tracy starts to shiver uncontrollably. A minute later she pulls her knees up to her chest and chatters, "I'll be good, I'll be good."
At the same time Daphne starts to shiver more than the cold would suggest, as does Hermione. It's also when they hear the first of the screams from further down the carriage.
When Parvati screams, "There's something out there!" while looking out the window, Harry slams the table back into the wall, heedless of the snacks and game pieces dropping to the floor as she does.
Harry materialises her sword and the blood veil that she settled on, as she digs deeply into her blood to counteract the fear that's starting to seep into her bones. "Hemione, take them to Mum and get back as soon as you can. Lavender, Parvati, get behind me."
Hermione tears her eyes away from the door and grabs Tracy and Daphne's hands, before slumping off the chair as her soul leaves her body. At the same time, both Tracey and Daphne stop shivering.
Behind Harry, Lavender screams as traceries of frost start to creep across the window in the compartment door, and Harry lunges forward to pull the privacy blind down over the compartment window.
As a shadow passes in front of the door, Hermonie starts to move again, and knocks a box across the floor with a clatter as her leg spasms. Before either of them can say anything, the door starts to rattle as the shadow fills the window again. Behind Harry, Lavender and Parvati both start to moan piteously while Hermione shivers on the floor.
"Hermione," Harry hisses as the door starts to slide open, "take the others and I'll find you once it's safe."
Harry curses under her breath when Hermione doesn't move, and crouches down as a tail starts to extend from the bottom of her long coat.
Suddenly, there's an unearthly scream from the other side of the door, and the shadow disappears towards the front of the train, followed by a flash of brilliant white light. A couple of seconds later, the sound of booted footsteps goes past the door, seemingly loud in the sudden silence. As they disappear off down the carriage, Harry nudges Hermione with her foot, "Hermione, take them and go. I'll come and get you once I know it's safe."
Hermione looks up with wide eyes and nods before she grabs Lavender and Parvati's legs.
Several minutes later a man calls out, "I'm about to open the door."
When she hears that, Harry lowers her sword arm, but doesn't quite relax. A couple of seconds later the door opens and a young man with a scraggly blond beard and sallow skin looks inside, "Is everyone ok in… Merlin's beard!"
The man swears as Harry raises the tip of her sword slightly and says, "Who are you?"
"Professor Remus Lupin, and you are?"
"Harry Potter. What happened?"
Remus frowns as the train lurches forward, and looks like he's going to say one thing, but instead says, "Dementors boarded the train to search for Sirus Black. Now is everyone alright in here?" Harry glances down at the girls' bodies, and Remus grimaces slightly, "Point taken. You shouldn't need your sword anymore. Can you make them comfortable, I need to check the rest of the train. I'll be back in a bit with some chocolate, it helps with Dementor exposure. If they don't come round before we get to the station, we'll summon help from the school."
Harry nods, "I will."
With her acknowledgement, Remus moves down to the next carriage.