CHAPTER FOUR

Due to her excitement and nervousness for her trip to Hogwarts, Harry found herself more than an hour early at Kings Cross station, sitting on her trunk, munching on a chocolate frog, reading her book on creative Transfiguration with a Glamoured Athenaïs reading along. Now and again she would look up to watch the people pass her by, kind of curious to study the people of this time period. Harry found that the wizards and witches of the 1940s were not so easily spotted as in the 1990s. Everyone walked with old fashioned trunks not dissimilar to the trunk she had when she was eleven, and all the men and women carried themselves in the exact same manner. Keeping their head up high, yet keeping a tension in their bodies, ready to spring into action at any given time. The fear, uncertainty and unease was unmistakable.

Despite blending in quite well, due to wearing modern-for-the-time combat boots, trousers, a dark green cotton shirt and her leather jacket, Harry knew she was out of place at least in attitude. She did not have the same fears and the same worries as these people did; she did not know what it meant to be bombed night after night. Not knowing whether you would survive to see the light of day. Well, Harry sort of knew but a homicidal maniac was one thing and bombs were another. It was also one thing to read about it in a book than to experience it first-hand. Part of her wanted to gleefully write to Winston Churchill about Hitler's fate but Harry knew better than to do something that foolish. She was already messing around with time too much; it was better not to stoke the fire further.

Harry made her way to Platform 9¾ at around 10.20. Fortunately there was no deluded house elf trying to save her life by stopping her from going to Hogwarts and no guards around her to protect her from Death Eater attacks and narcissistic Dark Lords. She got onto the platform without a hitch.

The platform was just as she had remembered from her own time, full of families and loved ones saying goodbye to their children for another year at Hogwarts, until the Yule break. Harry watched mothers weep and coddle their children while the fathers ruffled the hair of their children. There were some children who were weeping, while others were red with embarrassment at their parents 'embarrassing' them. All the while, Harry felt suddenly very alone. There was no Mrs. Weasley or Padfoot or Moony; they were all gone. Her friends were all gone. No one was there to care or to wave her off. It made her heart sink a little.

As Harry boarded the bright scarlet engine with her trunk and familiar in tow, her thoughts suddenly turned on who she would be sitting with and where. Dumbledore had said the Head Boy and Girl of Hogwarts would meet her, but they were not on the platform as far as she knew and Harry had received no letter or notice indicating where to meet them. She had secretly been rather relieved. Harry knew she wanted to avoid being anywhere near Tom Riddle if she could help it – she simply was not ready to face him yet. Harry also started wondering about which poor sod would want to sit near the freaky girl who was home-schooled. The orphan with no real heritage other than the one she recently found out about. There was a good chance that everyone had known each other since their first year; Harry was the stranger and interloper.

Dodging past excited second and third years, and trying to avoid nervous and obnoxious first years, whom Athenaïs gave rather judgemental looks to, Harry found herself an empty compartment quite quickly in the middle of the Hogwarts Express and made herself at home. While Athenaïs, whose Glamour had worn off, made herself at home on the luggage shelf opposite her witch, Harry took out her books, parchment, quill and ink. She then tried to put the trunk on the rack above her head. Unfortunately, due to the amount of stuff inside it, the trunk was much heavier than it looked. Harry found herself struggling.

But before she could draw her wand and cast a Levitation Charm, she heard a voice behind her. "Excuse me? Do you need some help?"

Harry turned around to see a boy her age standing there, staring at her in shock. She too froze for a moment, as the boy had a likeness that closely resembled Sirius, especially with the messy shoulder length curls. But, unlike Sirius, this boy had electric blue eyes. His hair was also a little darker. He was dressed in a black expensive suit that was in the same style of men's suit that Harry had seen over the month. He also had an ornate pocket watch dangling out of his waistcoat with a coat-of-arms engraved into it.

"Yes, please," Harry answered gratefully, knocking herself out of her stupor.

The boy smiled serenely, put his own trunk and owl cage down for a moment and took a hold of Harry's trunk for her and shoved it onto the rack easily. He then proceeded to put his own on top, along with his owl, who was fast asleep. The boy, sighing in satisfaction and dusting off his hands, then turned to Harry, his grin widening. "Sorry if I startled you. You just look eerily familiar, and I did not expect anyone to be here. I have sat in here since my first year and no one ever comes to sit with me or my companions. Who are you?"

Harry smiled back. "I am Hera Evans, but everyone calls me Harry."

The Sirius look-alike sat down and Harry followed suit. "Ah so you are the new seventh year student! I am Orion Black, Heir to the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. It is a pleasure to meet you."

So this is the hated father Sirius was always cursing. This jovial, apparently social boy … was a pureblood maniac who effectively drove one son to run away and effectively sent another to his death? Harry knew her head was spinning but she forced herself to react.

"Likewise," Harry answered truthfully. She had once tried to find Orion Black's portrait to see if there was any truth to Sirius' claims – Walburga's portrait had been no help – but she had never found it.

Orion Black, to Harry's surprise, fumbled nervously a bit with his hands. "So, Evans … that sounds like a Muggle name."

Harry tried to suppress a gulp. Time to put her acting skills to the test again! "My mother was a Muggleborn witch, but she knew enough of our world to know pureblood customs. She married a low-ranking pureblood, who blood adopted me into his line."

Orion's eyes widened and he suddenly eyed the compartment door before he turned back to her. "You're a bastard?" he asked in a conspiratorial tone.

Harry lowered her head. So much for hiding and trying not to oust herself as that! "Yes."

The electric blue eyes widened even more. It would have been funny had the conversation not been so serious. "And your parents … they never had any other children? I see you have a Head of House ring."

Damn, this guy was observant.

"No. They … didn't want to put another child in danger," Harry answered in a tone that was barely a whisper. "Plus all of their energy was focused on making sure that I remained healthy and alive. It is why I never came to Hogwarts; I was home-schooled because of my health."

"And how are you now?" Orion immediately wanted to know, sounding genuinely concerned.

Harry regarded him for a moment, her heart pounding a little faster. Did … Orion care? Or was this a Slytherin trick? If this wasn't a trick, Orion Black was not as heartless as Sirius had thought him. But then again, Sirius did have the propensity for allowing his emotions to cloud his judgement.

Harry smiled smally. "I am much better, thank you."

The boy's face lit up in an instant. His smile was almost blinding! "Oh I am so glad! So when did you inherit your position?"

"About a month ago. I didn't know about the inheritance at all," Harry scoffed and shook her head. She really was getting fed up with all the lies and deceit, even the ones that were now keeping her alive. At least, this was a half-truth. "My parents never mentioned anything, nor any other member of my family."

"Nothing?!" Orion repeated in disbelief.

Harry smiled coldly. "I think they didn't expect me to live this long."

Judging by Dumbledore meeting her in Limbo, this was a very accurate statement.

Orion looked genuinely saddened when hearing this, a deep sorrowful and pained expression dancing in those stunning blue orbs. "I take it then … that your family is dead. Considering the fact you are the Head of the family."

Harry nodded gently. "Yes. We were attacked by Grindelwald and his men over a month ago and … well, they didn't survive. They told me to flee, and I did. I Apparated to the first place I could think of, which was London. I got to Gringotts, hoping to get a job. I got a job and an inheritance."

Orion chuckled lowly. "Sounds it was your lucky day. Despite everything."

"Yes," Harry managed to answer. Athenaïs, who had been listening intently to their conversation, daintily leapt onto Harry's lap, asking for pats. Harry complied almost absentmindedly.

Once more, the electric blue orbs of Orion widened and a look of awe had replaced the look of sadness at the speed of light. "Merlin, I have never seen a familiar like that before! What is it?"

At being called an 'it', Athenaïs looked rather affronted. Harry gave Sirius' father a pointed look. "She is a Gargouille," Harry did not even attempt to keep the coldness out of her voice. "Her name is Athenaïs."

"Oh, I am sorry. I didn't mean to offend," Orion apologised, his eyes suddenly very contrite. His eyes then widened again. "But a Gargouille, are they not … dragons?"

Harry nodded, smiling half-heartedly. Oh great. Was Athenaïs going to scare Orion off? "They are."

Orion looked apprehensive but amazed. He then began assessing Athenaïs, much to the surprise of the young dragon herself. She was particularly indignant when he started lifting her front claws to look at them more closely.

"But this one is the size of a dog or a cat! It's teeny!" Orion cried, examining Athenaïs quite closely with a frown. Athenaïs was still regarding him rather coolly. After around twenty seconds of studying, Orion looked at Harry again. "She isn't … dangerous, is she?"

"Athenaïs is a dragon so she isn't exactly tame. But I was told she only feeds on small birds and fish," Harry reassured, petting behind her familiar's ears, to which the Gargouille starting purring in contentment. "So no, if you are worried about her diet, she does not feed on humans."

Orion's shoulders sagged in relief. "Thank Morgana! Not that I think you would deliberately bring a dangerous creature into Hogwarts, I know that a familiar bond is not something to be discriminated against-"

"You are forgiven," Harry reassured with a small chuckle.

"My familiar is called Somnus," Orion grumbled, moodily indicating to the sleeping owl above his head. "Named so for obvious reasons. He just sleeps – he even manages to fly in his sleep! It is so strange! He barely even wakes up to deliver mail; I have to bribe him. One of the only things that wakes him up is food, for some odd reason."

"Food is important," Harry stated with a grin. Somehow, Orion Black with a lazy owl familiar was one of the funniest things she had seen in quite a while!

"Delivering letters is also very important," Orion stated airily. "Yet, this owl does nothing but sleep!"

Orion's gaze then fell on the books Harry had placed on the tiny table attached to the window, and his indignation on the matter of his familiar's laziness evaporated slightly. He smiled slightly and gestured to them with his head. "May I have a look at them?"

Harry felt a grin form on her face almost on its own accord. "Of course."

The Black Heir smiled gratefully, got up and carefully lifted the sumptuously decorated tomes off their resting place and into his lap. Harry watched him stroke the bindings and the covers of each one quite lovingly and study each title in detail. She saw his eyes light up when he saw the book he was holding was on Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. He also looked quite giddy for the one on creative Charms and the one on the History of Ancient Magic.

"They are stunning," he stated with a breathless sigh.

"Some of them are gifts from a friend I made," Harry informed with a fond smile. "Others come from the vaults I inherited."

"The subjects are niche but very interesting. I absolutely love Runes and Arithmancy. You can't go wrong with them; what you see is what you get. There is always a right answer," Orion stated in an almost melancholy tone. "Are you taking any electives?"

"No, I prefer to do self-study," Harry replied.

Orion's brow furrowed a little. "But all of these books are on Advanced subjects. Are you taking Advanced lessons this year?"

Harry smiled. "A fair few. Are you?"

"Only Advanced Charms and Advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts," Orion answered meekly, flushing a little with embarrassment. Harry could tell that was already a sore spot for him. Perhaps Orion had academic pressure from his parents? His friends? Harry had always felt a little ashamed that she didn't take as many classes or knew as much as Hermione. Then again it hadn't helped that the Dursleys never wanted her to outshine Dudley in anything, especially school.

Orion looked a little longer at the book before he shook himself out of the mental stupor he felt himself slip into and handed it and the pile back to Harry. Harry, on her part, took the books but held out the Ancient Runes and Arithmancy book to him.

She grinned. "Come on. Read it. You looked like a child who got the Yule gift he wanted."

Orion's blinding smile was back. "Are you sure?"

"I insist."

With that, Harry and Orion sat in each other's company with a book on their laps – or in Harry's case, two books, Athenaïs and parchment. She wanted to get the basic principles of creative Transfiguration and Charms into her head before she got to Hogwarts. Athenaïs insisted on reading along with Orion, interested in getting to know the subject and studying the young wizard a bit. Orion barely noticed, as he was utterly absorbed in the book Harry let him borrow. In fact, it felt like an eternity that they sat in silence; they were only shaken out of their stupor by the Hogwarts Express rolling out of Kings Cross at 11.00 exactly.

Soon, the compartment door opened and in trudged a girl who looked eerily like Bellatrix Lestrange. She had the same wild curly locks and the hooded eyelids, but the aristocratic features in her face and the icy blue eyes that Harry had seen in Draco and Narcissa Malfoy stared at Orion and Harry and lit up when they fell on Orion. The girl was dressed in a deep green silk dress and a long blue coat.

"Druella!" Orion exclaimed when he looked up and recognised the girl. Athenaïs tilted her head at the new comer, silently studying her. "I haven't heard from you since your letter about your trip to the Lake District. How are you? How was your summer?"

"Bloody awful," Druella stated candidly, as she shoved her trunk and bag onto the rack above her head with ease, put her owl cage next to the sleeping Somnus. She then flopped down in the seat opposite Harry, sighing in exasperation. "Mother and Father have finalised the marriage agreement between myself and your cousin Cygnus. After I graduate, I will have a few months of freedom and then will be officially married into your family."

Orion frowned. "No wonder Cygnus was swanning around at Lucretia's birthday party. He was more insufferable than normal. Megara had to turn his hair bright blue in order for him to finally cease boasting!"

"Please, Cygnus is always swanning for one reason or another," Druella scoffed. "My family were beyond obnoxious! Mother was especially insufferable, already planning every inch of my wedding. Honestly, it is almost as though this is a wedding for my entire family, instead of me," Druella complained, huffing like a child. "If I have to marry that oaf, I at least want to pick my dress but even that my mother and sister have robbed me off. It will be a miracle if I can at least pick the cake and flowers!"

"Sounds like hell," Harry commented, turning her attention back to her work momentarily.

Druella turned her attention onto Harry and regarded her curiously. "And who might you be? You … remind me of someone but I know for a fact you are not her. Orion, this is not a secret girlfriend is it? I thought you were engaged to Walburga!"

Orion blushed profusely. "I am. This is the new girl, Harry Evans."

Druella lit up at hearing this, a bright smile spreading on her face. "Oh, so you are the person Riddle and Harrow are attempting to hunt down! Yeah, I have just seen Caroline in a panic and Riddle is still with his friends but has promised to try and find you. Caroline is frantic that we may have left you behind in London!"

Harry paled at hearing this. It wasn't just because of slight guilt she felt at causing stress to Caroline Harrow. Harry could deal with knowing young Voldemort would be in the same year as her, but to come face to face with the baby Dark Lord so soon … she wasn't sure if she was brave enough to do that just yet. Yes, Harry willingly walked to her death but that was entirely different. Redeeming someone was much more difficult.

Druella must have seen the gorgonised expression on Harry's countenance because she leant over to give the startled girl a reassuring squeeze on her knee. Athenaïs looked at Harry with a slight worried frown. "Don't worry. Orion and I will not say a word. Besides, we do not get along with Riddle and his friends at all. We owe them nothing. We are the black sheep of Slytherin, after all."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked curiously.

Orion and Druella exchanged a look before they turned back to Harry. "Well, what do you know about the four houses of Hogwarts?" Druella asked.

"There are four of them, named after the two wizards and two witches who founded the school: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin," Harry answered, scrunching her face in the pretence of trying to remember what she read. "Gryffindor favoured the children with courage and a sense of chivalry; Hufflepuff favoured the loyal, the hardworking and the generous; Ravenclaw wished to teach the ones with a thirst of knowledge; and Salazar Slytherin wanted the cunning, resourceful and ambitious."

"Merlin, you have done your reading!" Orion gushed.

Harry gave him a pointed look. "I was home-schooled. I didn't live under a rock."

"Indeed," Druella affirmed with a small smile. "Anyway, we Slytherins have a sense of pride that could rival those of the Gryffindors, and can be quite prejudiced. Slytherins are not very good at handling unknown and unpredictable elements. To call Orion and myself 'unpredictable' is an understatement. While the rest of our House love to scheme and plot, and gather useful information on people in other Houses, Orion and I ignore their sniping and make it a point of principle to avoid Riddle and his friends whenever we can. We also play the odd prank now and then."

Orion scoffed. "You keep roping me into one of your schemes! Half of those I wanted nothing to do with."

Druella laughed shortly. "Oh please! All I need to do is bribe you with chocolate and you are putty in my hands."

The Black Heir had a look of faux-indignation. "You deliberately buy those beautifully hand-painted chocolates and those crystallised butterflies I love so much, you evil hag!"

A mischievous gleam entered Druella's eyes. "I thought it was well established that I am a malicious creature in the first year when I turned all the chocolate frogs into chocolate spiders."

Orion cackled quite madly. "The look on Tom Riddle's face had been golden, though!"

Harry tactfully kept out of this discourse and went back to her note-taking. She needed to make sure she didn't get too attached to both Orion and Druella; there was a high likelihood of her ending up in Gryffindor and thus ensuring that their friendship was at an end before it even began. Harry felt her heart constrict at that thought.

Orion put an end to the latest squabble between himself and Druella by turning back to Harry. "So, Evans-"

Harry chuckled lightly at his exuberance. "Please, call me Harry."

Sirius' young future father nodded. "Very well. Which House do you think you will end up in?"

"Ravenclaw by the looks of her," Druella teased, watching Harry's furious note-taking that would have made Hermione quite proud. "I mean, really. We have yet to get to the school and it looks like you are working on a thesis or something!"

Harry shrugged. "I love learning, so I suppose that is an option."

"Well, even if you do end up in Ravenclaw, I would like to continue getting to know you, if you don't mind," Orion stated amicably. "I have a feeling you are going to make this year very entertaining indeed!"

Druella rolled her eyes. "All right, Orion, calm down. We don't need you to fly through the train roof with excitement."

Harry ignored Druella's comment. "I would love to get to know you better, Orion. And you too, Druella, if you want."

Druella smiled quite brightly. "Well I already assumed that was the case," she responded a little arrogantly.

Orion actually rolled his eyes at her antics, which caught Harry off guard.

The compartment door slid open at that point. All eyes looked up at the disgruntled seventeen-year-old boy who entered. His brows were farrowed as he lifted his trunk up onto the rack and then flopped into the seat next to Druella without as much as a "hello". This was clearly routine for him. The boy had honey blonde curly hair and deep hazel eyes. His features were pleasing but were cooled by his frown. Like Orion, he was very formally dressed.

Druella chuckled humourlessly. "Well, well. Look who finally showed up. I thought for a moment Riddle found a compartment that could fit all his little friends in it."

"Oh, shut up, Druella," the boy growled bitterly.

"I take it that means my dear brother has turned down the offer to join us," Druella sang teasingly, watching an annoyed glint enter the newcomer's eyes.

An evil smirk spread its way onto Druella's face and she turned to Harry with a serene look. "Oh dear, where are my manners? My dear Harry, may I introduce you to the travelling companion Orion and I have had for the past four years? This is Altair Nott, heir to the Nott Lordship, one of Tom Riddle's friends and my brother Arcturus's closest friend. Nott sits with us on the train because compartments can only hold six people and, well, Riddle selects his favourites quite early on."

Nott glowered at Druella but his expression softened when he turned to Harry. "So, you are the new girl. I've heard about you from Tom."

"I am," Harry confirmed and held out her hand. "Harry Evans. Nice to meet you."

Nott, rather rudely, ignored her hand. "Tom said you were home-schooled by your parents."

Harry slowly retracted her hand. "I was."

"Well?" Nott stated impatiently, raising an eyebrow.

Harry raised an eyebrow. Athenaïs, who had been dozing off, suddenly sat up, regarding the boy coolly. "Well, what?"

"What was it like being home-schooled?" Nott responded condescendingly, as though he were speaking to a small child.

Harry knew that whatever she said would be reported to Tom Riddle by this boy. She sat up a little straighter. "It was nice, I suppose. The tutors were flexible and I could spend time with my peers, who were tutored too and lived close by. It was a diverse group. Some were Muggleborn, others were purebloods and half-bloods."

That got no reaction from Nott, which Harry found rather interesting. The Nott Heir decided to continue with his interrogation. "Tom also said your parents were murdered by Grindelwald and his men."

Harry was more flummoxed by how blunt this boy was than by how rude he was. Orion and Druella, however, did not take their companion's callous tone very lightly.

"Nott," Orion warned sharply. "Have you lost all manner of human empathy or something?"

Nott became defensive. "What? There is no use crying over spilt milk. Plus, others will question her about it. Flitting the topic is pointless!"

That earned him a sharp whack around the head from Druella and a groan from Orion. Athenaïs growled at Nott.

"Apologies for any offence caused by Nott, Harry. Nott is too stupid to know he has done anything wrong," Druella stated in a tone dripping with venom.

"Thank you," Harry answered with a small smile. "It has been just over a month and I still haven't really gotten my head around what has happened."

Druella returned the smile. "That doesn't surprise me at all."

Nott began drumming his fingers on his knees with no rhythm in mind whatsoever and puckered his cheeks in thought. Harry wished he would keep those to himself but apparently Nott wasn't good at keeping anything to himself. "The father must be a Muggle."

"Morgana, Nott, shut up!" Orion snapped, his eyes turning quite menacing. It was the exact same look Harry had seen in the eyes of Sirius and Bellatrix. The Black eyes and temper, Harry realised.

But Nott once more seemed unaware of his impropriety. "What? With a surname like Evans, he must be!"

"Very sharp of you," Druella hissed.

Nott folded his arms indignantly. "I am only pointing it out, Druella, there is no need to have a go at me for it."

Druella's eyes flared. "There is every need! You should watch what you say more, or that brazenness of yours will be your undoing. You know how some members of our House treat half-bloods and Muggleborns! Are you trying to set the hounds on Harry?"

Nott was about to retort when his eyes fell on the ring on Harry's right hand. The Head of House ring; the disguised Peverell ring. He gaped at her. "So you are head of your family now? Let me guess – you don't have brothers, or male cousins."

"Nope. Only got one cousin on my mother's side," Harry answered stiffly.

"That explains it."

"Nott!" Druella thundered. "This is not the 18th or 19th century!"

"Would you stop biting my head off? I didn't mean anything by that!" Nott protested.

"Then think before you open up your mouth and stop acting like such an infant."

Orion and Harry exchanged exasperated looks and then the both of them proceeded to go back to their books and note-taking while Nott and Druella continued to bicker. Once the tension had lifted slightly, Athenaïs watched them in fascination. A few times Harry had to bite her lips to stop herself from laughing at Druella's creative insults and Nott's sarcastic and snarky retorts. How Orion and Druella had put up with this for four years was frankly amazing. They only stopped sniping at each other when the trolley lady arrived; Harry found herself nursing a slight headache.

When Harry stood up to buy some sweet treats, Orion stopped her. "No, no. This is your one and only trolley lady experience. Let me buy your treats for you."

Harry raised an eyebrow but knew that face anywhere. Arguments were futile. Nott rolled his eyes. "I thought that Orion is engaged to Walburga."

"He is," Druella confirmed tensely.

"Then why is he buying Evans' confectionaries?"

"Because he is being a gentleman. A concept foreign to you, I know."

As Druella and Nott started another bickering session, Harry decided to clear away her notes and some of her books, leaving only a History one in her lap. Orion had brought her some cauldron cakes and a couple of pumpkin pasties in addition to some Berty Botts' Every Flavoured Beans. Oh Merlin.

Nott must have seen her face because he laughed teasingly, "careful for the vomit flavoured ones."

Harry, playing the home-schooled orphan role, gave him a pointed look and, wanting to prove a point, picked one out and chomped down on it. Oh Morgana, of course she got a bloody vinegar flavoured one! Her companions laughed cheerily. Even Athenaïs made a sound that Harry recognised as her familiar's laughter.

Soon a comfortable silence had descended on the compartment. Nott was finishing his homework, now and then eyeing Harry's familiar with a calculating look, Druella had taken out a book on duelling while Orion and Harry were back to reading and eating their sweets. Athenaïs was busy eating her cauldron cake elegantly. So when voices drifted into the compartment, they could be heard as clear as day.

"-yet another compartment down and we still have not found her!"

"The new girl must be here somewhere," stated a second voice coolly.

"I have been reminded why I hate Dumbledore," a third voice grumbled.

"Unless she missed the train," drawled another voice.

"Thank you, Rosier. That was useful," snapped the first voice.

"Gentlemen, settle down." That new voice made a cold chill run up and down Harry's spine. For the first time in a month, she felt her body go into fight-and-flight mode. That voice, despite being younger, was the same silky, velvet-like hiss belonging to Lord Voldemort. No, Harry could not deal with him right now. She just couldn't; she had no plan.

Harry's reaction had been noted by her companions; Nott frowned at her, while Orion and Druella exchanged a look. Athenaïs made a chirp that had a tone of concern and gently nudged Harry's leg.

"Caroline Harrow has had no luck either, so why would we have any luck?" the voice belonging to Arcturus Rosier asked in a tone of resignation.

The second voice, posh and bored, answered. "Because we are in a group, and thus have more eyes to use."

"Why, thank you Malfoy. I was unable to recognise that." Ah, so sarcasm runs in the Rosier family. And of course a bloody Malfoy was at Hogwarts. That would be like expecting no sheep in Wales and no Nessie in Loch Ness.

That was when the group in question stopped right outside the compartment and filed into the compartment opposite the one Harry and her companions occupied. Harry barely dared to breathe, like she was about to be caught by a hungry T-Rex. She kept her gaze fixed on the chapter on the Battle of Thermopylae that she was reading and didn't dare to move.

"Hey, Tom! Found the new girl!"

Harry had sudden urge to cut Nott into ribbons with a Sectumsempra.

Druella slapped him around the head again, at least. Harry sank lower in her seat as she heard the compartment door open. It was safe to say some very creative swear phrases ran around her head at that point. Orion gave her elbow a reassuring squeeze; it gave her the strength to look up at the person who had entered the compartment.

The boy who stood there almost sent Harry's vision blurring; it was like her nightmares were coming alive. The Horcrux-memory that had tried to kill her, the memories of Dumbledore of the handsome, powerful, intelligent young wizard – here he was right in front of her, dark curls and all. His eyes were a deep, startling burgundy and on his right hand, was the Gaunt ring. He was dressed as formally as Nott and Orion, with his Head Boy badge pinned on his jacket. Without a doubt, it was Tom Riddle.

"Hello. You are a particularly hard to find young lady," he commented with an insufferable tone of amusement.

Harry swallowed quietly.

"Perhaps I like it that way," she answered coolly.

"Well, I am glad to see you have found some companions," Tom smiled civilly at Druella, Orion and Nott. Harry's eyes narrowed when Riddle's eyes fell on the latter; there was almost complete disregard in those burgundy orbs. Apparently Druella was right about Riddle picking his favourites early on. "They have been treating you well?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Very well. Why would they not?"

"Good to hear." To everyone's shock, Tom stepped into the compartment with them and took the seat opposite Harry, which Druella had to vacate quite quickly to avoid being sat on. Athenaïs regarded the newcomer coldly, more so than she had with Orion or Nott. Harry stared at him unblinkingly in shock. Tom simply grinned at her. "So, tell me, Miss Hera Evans, what is it like to be home-schooled?"

"Harry," she replied curtly. "No one calls me Hera unless they want to be drop-kicked into the mouth of Charybdis."

Tom raised an elegant eyebrow. "Forgive me. I assumed a lady with the name of the Ancient Greek Queen of the Heavens would be rather proud of it."

"Why would I want to be named after a raging, homicidal goddess with a vindictive streak that was frankly blown out of proportion?" Harry sneered.

"Because despite all that, Hera was Zeus' equal amongst the gods," Tom quipped with a smirk. "But of course, I shall respect your wish, Miss Evans. Harry it is. But will you answer my earlier question?"

Harry resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Being home-schooled was fine."

Up went an elegant eyebrow. "Just fine?"

"I had schooling at home because my parents were afraid my condition would affect my education too much and didn't seem to trust anyone else with my care. There is nothing else to say," Harry responded almost dismissively.

Riddle smiled serenely. "Forgive my curiosity but no one else has heard of anyone being home-schooled before. You can't fault me for being curious, right?"

Harry felt her blood boil. Urgh, that velvety voice made her skin crawl. "It wasn't my choice. I was ill for so long and it worsened in intervals. Whether or not I went to a normal school was the least of my worries."

"Of course," Tom's tone turned quite gentle. "I am truly sorry for that. It must have been awful."

Both Harry's inner Slytherin and Gryffindor had to double take on that. Excuse me, what?! Did he just say sorry?

Harry shrugged. "I was used to it."

Tom tilted his head in curiosity, studying her. "What is this condition that you have that made you suffer so much?"

Harry smiled wryly. She had more than a month to come up with a proper prequel to her life that would ensure she would still be able to do everything she wanted to do. It was best to go with the partial truth. Such as an illness based on the visions she got from the Horcrux connection. "The physicians called it the Fainting Sickness. At intervals I would collapse and spasm … it hurt. Like hell. Afterwards I would barely have enough energy to breathe, let alone walk. At one point, it weakened me to the point I spent an entire year in a wheelchair."

Tom's eyes went soggy with empathy. "Oh my … I am so sorry."

"Are you at risk of that happening again?" Druella piped up, looking quite worried.

Harry shook her head. "I haven't had an episode since I was fifteen. So I don't need a bloody babysitter, if that is what concerns you."

"Professor Dumbledore still insists we keep an eye on you," Tom answered with a tone full of authority. "Just in case."

Harry scoffed and chuckled openly. "Considering the fact you didn't make the welcome parade obvious, nor gave any instructions where to meet your charge, I wouldn't trust you to cut the crusts off my bread!"

Harry felt Orion tense beside her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the same flinch in Druella and Nott. Tom Riddle blinked for a moment before he began chuckling. "Yes, I suppose we could have prepared better. I do hope you will not hold that against me too much."

"Well the review to the Headmaster has gone down." Harry's eyes then fell on the Head Boy badge on the boy's shoulders. "Head Boy, huh? You are supposed to be Hogwarts' finest."

"I suppose so. I have been achieving first in everything since my first year."

Smug prick, Harry thought to herself. "Ah, modesty. Such a lovely quality."

Riddle chuckled a little. No, Harry did not think the sound was rather pretty. "It is, but the kind of modesty that downplays one's talents is not polite or gallant, it is nothing more than lying."

"Lying?" Harry repeated incredulously. "You think that having humility is like lying?"

Riddle shrugged. "If someone has a talent they should not have to undersell themselves simply to spare someone else's blushes. They have the right to let them shine, ergo I don't see the point in underselling talents. Besides, lying itself can lead to misunderstandings and unnecessary inconveniences. It is simply the catalyst for issues that can so easily be avoided."

Harry's eyes flashed silver momentarily. Not that she noticed, but the others did. "Sometimes a lie is needed to protect someone. To protect secrets. There are things in someone's past or present that are frankly none of your business. Have you ever considered that?"

Tom regarded her for a moment, and when he saw Harry's eyes return to normal, he looked to Athenaïs, who was still glaring at him. "You have a very unique familiar, Miss Harry."

"I know," Harry answered in a clipped tone. Her tone softened slightly as she turned to look at Athenaïs. "She adopted me, not the other way around."

"A Gargouille, if I am not mistaken," Tom Riddle continued with an awed expression on his face. Druella had stiffened at this and Nott looked set to faint. Clearly they had not paid Harry's familiar close enough attention. "A dragon entirely made of stone and known for their stealth and agile speeds. Not sure what the Headmaster is going to say, but there is no arguing with a familiar bond."

"Indeed," Harry agreed coolly. "Do you have one?"

"A familiar? Yes, I do. A snake," Tom replied amicably, ignoring her cold tones.

Harry's heart skipped a beat. "What kind?"

"Nothing too sinister I assure you. A ball python," Tom responded with a grin. "Her name is Frey. What's your Gargouille's name?"

Harry felt her heart calm a little. No Nagini to deal with yet, thank Merlin. "Athenaïs."

"That's a beautiful name," Tom then turned his attention onto Nott, Druella and Orion. "I take it that your travelling companions have told you some things about Hogwarts?"

"I didn't need them to educate me," Harry answered steely. "I have books." She held up her current History book as though it would explain everything.

Tom's eyes glanced at the book and there was a tug of satisfaction in Harry when she saw a small look of envy enter the burgundy orbs. "That is a very fine looking book. Where did you get that?"

"I worked a summer job in the new bookstore in Diagon Alley," Harry replied coolly. "My employer is lending it to me, along with two others. Including the one Orion is reading. Any other inane questions?"

"Yes, just this one. Would you like to meet my friends?"

Harry was quite taken aback by this. "Sorry, what?"

Riddle chuckled. "You heard me. It would be good for you to meet them; if I am not around, or these three are not around and my friends are, I want to make sure you can go to them for help. Headmaster Dippet and Professor Dumbledore would have my head if anything happened to you."

Harry was set to refuse, but then she looked curiously towards the opposite compartment. Some of the boys who had clearly been spying on them through the glass suddenly tried to make it look like they were occupied the entire time; it didn't really work. It was actually kind of adorable, now that she was thinking about it. She had to stifle a small laugh. Harry stared the young Dark Lord in the face.

"OK. Lead the way."

Riddle was a little surprised at her blunt answer – clearly he had expected her to refuse – but his shock was quickly replaced by a triumphant grin. He got to his feet and walked out of the compartment with Harry hot on his heels. All the boys in the opposite compartment – the fledgling Knights of Walpurgis – straightened up almost immediately as Tom opened the door to their compartment.

"Gentlemen, may I present to you Miss Hera Evans. She prefers to be addressed as Harry, if she permits you to call her by her personal name. Miss Harry, these are my friends: Abraxas Malfoy, Heron Lestrange, Caius Dolohov, Arcturus Rosier – he is Druella's twin brother – and Felix Mulciber. We have another friend but you already met him: Altair Nott."

"Has Altair been behaving himself?" Rosier immediately asked, brow furrowed and leaning forwards slightly. Harry regarded him for a moment. The resemblance between him and Druella was unmistakeable. Rosier had different coloured eyes, though. His were a dark emerald green. Darker than her eyes.

"He has been perfectly civil," Harry reassured diplomatically. Nott had been a little rude but there was no way that she was going to get him into trouble with Riddle or his Knights. She was not stupid.

"You sure about that?" Dolohov sneered from next to the window. "That boy's mouth runs away more often than not. That one has never been taught manners properly. I put it down to his mother."

Harry noticed Rosier shoot him a deadly glare, which made Dolohov recoil slightly. She scoffed under her breath.

"I think I am perfectly able to tell when someone is civil or not, thank you," Harry replied crisply.

"Of course you are. Forgive Caius; he did not mean to cause any offence," Malfoy drawled, looking up momentarily from the book he had been reading. Harry regarded the boy for a moment. Merlin, the white hair and the silver eyes were really the dominant features in the Malfoy line. She was looking at an amalgamation of Lucius and Draco, and it was rather unnerving. Abraxas Malfoy in turn took her in and his eyes quickly landed on her ring. "Well, well. You are the Head of your family."

"Yes," Harry affirmed curtly.

"Awful business that with your parents," Felix Mulciber stated with a slight purr, looking more pleased than anything else. Harry could see that his character already matched his sharp and rather unpleasant exterior. Everything from his dark hair, grey eyes and facial structure was too cutting and sharp.

"That is putting it mildly," Heron Lestrange cut in, giving his friend a cold look. Mulciber raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, well," Tom slammed down the hammer before any confrontations could ensue. "I have told Harry here that should she have an issue with anything, or if she finds that her condition is causing her more grief on any particular day, she can come to any one of you. So I advise you to behave yourselves."

That killed the mutinous mood in an instant.

"Of course. We will be happy to help," Lestrange answered, giving Harry a genuine smile, which made her flush. Damn gallantry of the 40s. Plus it also didn't help that Lestrange was a much more pleasing amalgamation of Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange. Brown curls with red highlights and blue eyes that had a coolness but a kindness embedded in them.

Harry found herself returning his smile. "Thank you. It's very kind of you."

Tom cut in before Lestrange could open his mouth. "Right, Harry, a few housekeeping rules. Before we get to Hogwarts you have to change into your uniform. When the train stops, you will be met by Ogden the groundskeeper and he will take you and the first years up to the castle, where you will be taken to the reception chamber and wait there to be Sorted. The Sorting Ceremony will be in front of the entire school before the feast."

"OK," Harry answered with a hint of forced apprehension.

Naturally, the overly observant Head Boy picked up on it. "Nervous?"

A small, weak smile formed on her countenance. "Perhaps a little."

"Don't worry," Rosier piped up. "All you have to do is listen to a hat argue with you and dissect your character."

Harry's eyes widened. She had almost forgotten. The damn Sorting Hat could find out everything! "Oh."

"Any idea which House you will end up in?" Malfoy asked silkily.

Harry gave a slight shrug. "I suspect Ravenclaw but I really don't know for certain. I can be rather reckless and well, I have been told I have an uncanny ability to survive some very strenuous circumstances."

Dolohov smirked. "A toss-up between Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Slytherin. This should be interesting. Maybe you will be a hat-stall, Evans."

Playing the ignorant home-schooled girl, Harry frowned. "A what?"

"Hat-stall," Lestrange clarified kindly. "A term we students have for a new student who takes more than one minute for the Hat to sort."

"Brilliant," Harry huffed. "As if I am already not enough of a freaky weirdo."

Harry felt Tom flinch not so subtly when she called herself freaky. The burgundy eyes of the boy darkened quite considerably. "Do not call yourself a freak, or a weirdo. If it happens, it is nothing to be ashamed of. Do not let someone tell you otherwise."

Well, that was … unexpected.

Harry, trying to disguise her inner surprise, shrugged nonchalantly. "It wouldn't be the first time. My mother's family are not particularly friendly. They hate magic; they despised my mother and me with a passion. They never called me by my name. It was always either 'freak' or 'girl'." The angry walrus face of her uncle and her aunt's face turning ruby red with anger suddenly flashed in front of Harry's eyes and she closed her eyes abruptly and shook her head to get rid of the images. Underneath her skin, she felt her magic humming.

Oh no. That was not a good sign.

"Were they Muggles?" she heard Mulciber ask through gritted teeth.

Harry reopened her eyes sharply. "My mother's family? Yes. My grandparents were proud of the fact Mother was the first witch in the family. From what little I know of them, I got the impression they were somehow waiting for it to happen. Pity I never got to meet them." Harry remembered the vitriol of Petunia all too well, and Snape's memories. "But my mother's sister … she was bitter and jealous about it." Harry's heart sank further at this. "My aunt could never let go of her anger until Grindelwald … started targeting her as well."

Harry still sometimes thought back on that conversation she had with Petunia before she, Vernon and Dudley went into hiding. You did not just lose your mother that night in Godric's Hollow. I lost a sister. Regret, only it came far too late.

"Did he find them?" Dolohov asked too eagerly for her taste.

"I don't know," Harry whispered, shaking her head. "I haven't seen them in almost a year. I don't know if they are alive or dead. And you know what," she rounded on Dolohov with her eyes flaring, "I don't like the tone you just used. Even if I hated my Muggle family, I don't like the amount of glee you expressed at the prospect of them being dead. I have the right to hate them; you don't."

Harry, feeling the humming grow louder, whirled around and marched back into her compartment, fuming to the point steam almost came out of her ears. Harry felt her magic whip and whirl around her; Nott, Druella and Orion cowered away from her as far away as possible, but kept their eyes firmly fixed on her as she angrily went back to reading.

That's when Harry's magic starting causing issues again. The lights in the compartment began to flicker; so did the lights in the compartments opposite and adjacent. Harry's curls began crackling and spitting with bolts of quintessence. The scar that was hidden under her fringe began heating up. Her eyes looked like they were bathed in silver fire. Athenaïs was crying out in warning uneasily but Harry barely paid her any attention. How bloody dare that arrogant future Death Eater sound so damn happy?! Unfortunately, Harry had no idea what her magic was doing to her companions, or the fact it was striking out into the corridor outside.

"Harry, please, calm down!" Orion begged as he dodged a lightning bolt and grabbed Harry's familiar out of the way of another. Druella's owl was hooting madly; Somnus, somehow, was snoozing away contently.

"She is going to explode the compartment and us along with it!" Nott exclaimed.

"Shut up, Nott! You are not helping!" Druella snapped.

"You do something then!"

But it wasn't Orion, or Druella or Nott who decided to try and still Harry's ire.

"Harry, listen to my voice," the silky voice drifted into Harry's ear drums and slowly pulled her back down to planet Earth. "Take deep breaths. Focus on my voice. Deep breaths. In and out, in and out."

Harry found herself complying. After repeating the process five times, she found herself return to her right mind and the next thing she knew, Tom Riddle was very, very close. Close enough for her to smell that lemon-and-lime cologne. Harry shot back in shock and then stared at Orion, her familiar, Druella and Nott, eyes wide. "Shit. Not again."

"Again?!" Nott exploded. "You mean, this happened before?"

"I have anger issues," Harry replied meekly. "My magic has always gone a bit wild when I lose my temper or when I feel threatened. I don't know why. Yesterday my magic struck the night maid coming to see if everything was all right with me. But for some reason it's a lot worse now."

Nott could not believe his ears. "Didn't your parents teach you to control this?"

"Nott!" Tom snapped. "I suspect they may have done but clearly, that was not the solution to this particular problem."

Wait … Tom Riddle was standing up for her? Voldemort was … defending her.

The Head Boy turned back to her with a small, reassuring smile on his face. "I apologise on Dolohov's behalf. We in Slytherin have a complicated relationship with Muggles and Muggleborns; please, do not take this personally."

"Complicated relationship?" Harry repeated icily. "He looked like he was about to find my aunt's grave and dance on it!"

Druella, Orion and Nott exchanged a knowing look.

An apologetic look entered those creepy burgundy orbs. "Yes, and it is wholly unacceptable considering your circumstances. But I do wish to warn you that his attitude may not be the first nor the last you encounter. I just hope you won't explode the castle with one of your little lightning bolts."

Harry frowned. "Lightning bolts?"

"Your magic was sending out lightning left, right and centre," Druella gulped. "It even almost hit Tom in the face! You looked like some avenging goddess. Girl, I know you hate your name but I think it rather suits you after seeing this."

Harry paled to the point Orion shifted back to her in case she would faint. Athenaïs nuzzled her gently, trying to reassure her. "Oh no …"

"Would you like me to try and help you with your temper?" Orion asked with a grin. "I mean I act as a kind of emotion healer for my sister Lucretia. She has a violent temper as well – it scares all her prospective suitors away, which makes Mother and Father almost go to bed crying every night in utter despair! I have helped Lucretia get to the point she gives her suitors ten minutes to impress her before unleashing her talons on them."

Orion looked way too happy as he said all of this.

Druella chuckled. "Ah, Lucretia Black. One of the many reasons the Black family will never be considered boring. I heard she sent one of her suitors literally flying out of the window as a sparrow hawk."

"Oh she absolutely did!" Orion confirmed gleefully. "Another as a mouse and a third as a bird called a Dodo. The elves spent a good half an hour trying to catch the mouse and the Dodo-suitor's form did not wear off for three days!"

Nott shook his head. "I am so glad my father hasn't considered me as a suitor for that vicious harpy. I pity the poor man who actually goes through with trying to win her hand. A part of him dies every time."

"Yes. His dignity," Druella snickered.

"Lucretia takes after Mother in that aspect," Orion said proudly. He turned to Harry with a grin. "My mother was a Hufflepuff you know, but you would never guess once you meet her. Every member of our family lives in fear of her. My cousin Dorea recently eloped with Charlus Potter and when Mother found out, she gave Dorea a dressing down and told her that if she wants to take away Mother's wedding pleasure, Dorea will have to put up with Mother planning the naming ceremony for the first born."

Harry gaped at him in disbelief. "Are you sure your mother was a Hufflepuff?"

"You are in good hands," Tom spoke up lightly as he stood up and walked towards the compartment door with an amused look in his burgundy eyes. "I will see you at the feast, Harry. Try to stay out of trouble."

Harry couldn't help but scoff at this. "As you can probably tell, trouble always finds me, somehow."

Tom snorted a little at that. He paused for a moment. "What review will you leave the Headmaster?"

"A positive one with room for improvement."

Tom barked out a laugh. "Oh yes, we may see you in Slytherin."

Harry chuckled. "We shall see."

======================

So Harry has come face to face with Tom Riddle, his friends, Druella, Orion and Nott! Let us indeed see where the Hat decides to put her, and just how much trouble her new volatile magic may cause. Once more, the only character in this story that is originally mine is Athenaïs.

Hope you all enjoyed it! I would love to know your thoughts.

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