Remus and Nova gave each other bewildered looks upon noticing the large scowl on Sirius Black's face upon their return to the designated rendezvous point across from Khalid's Apothecary. "Cor, Sirius, what in blazes happened to you?" Remus asked.

"Lucius Malfoy," grumbled Sirius. "What are the odds that both of us would be in the same shop at the same time in Magical Canada? I just wanted to show the lads some magical rarities, but it seems someone in Magical Britain is on to Lucius, so he left the country to pawn off his illicit wares. And he actually had the gall to introduce himself to Harry… blimey, I think he really wanted to take him under his wing." He shook his head angrily. "I won't have that narrow-minded asp pervert Harry's mind with ideas of blood supremacy and other such nonsense."

Remus' eyes widened. "Lucius Malfoy?" he asked in disbelief. "Like I alluded to earlier, you never know what kind of shady characters you might bump into in Wheelbare Row, but I wouldn't have expected you to have bumped into someone in the Dark Lord's inner circle."

"If it means anything," chimed in Nova, "my grandparents don't exactly hold Master Malfoy in high regard. He's wealthy, but he's too craven and weak to be of any real value to the Dark Lord. There's a reason he's not his top lieutenant. Just another glorified goon."

Sirius chuckled. "I think your grandparents and I might actually be in agreement there, love." He turned toward Harry and Othniel. "I don't know about you two, but I think we've seen enough action here for one day. I'm ready to head home."

A short while later, as Harry, Othniel and Nova said their goodbyes to Sirius and Remus in the apartment lobby, Rhonda hit the carn horn to let the children know that she was there and waiting. The three scurried to the front of the building and found the Woodwards' sedan parked by the entrance.

"Did you find what you're looking for, Nova love?" Rhonda asked as the three children buckled themselves in.

"I did," confirmed Nova. "I'm sure this sleeping potion will work considerably better than the melatonin did last night."

"And what about you boys?" asked Roger. "Did you find anything interesting?"

Harry shrugged. "Not really… but Sirius almost started a fight in a pawn shop with a shady-looking customer from magical Britain. I think his name was Lucius something-or-other… he and Padfoot sure seemed to know each other."

"That must have been Lucius Malfoy," surmised Roger. "I wonder what in the name of Merlin he's doing in magical Canada…"

"He was selling some sort of magical artifacts," Othniel added. "Whatever it was, it sounds like he could get in trouble with it back in magical Britain."

"I'm probably better off not knowing," murmured Roger. "So what all went down between old Padfood and Lucius, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Honestly? Not much," Harry said. "It sure sounded like they've both been wanting to duel each other for quite a while. Sirius drew his wand, and a few seconds later, he just… disappeared. We found him outside the shop with a puzzled expression on his face."

Roger burst into laughter. "Must have been the shop wards then. Sirius really should have known better… he was always one to shoot first and ask questions later…"

"That's probably what got him sent to prison in the first place," Rhonda said. "He's got to learn that there's other ways of resolving conflicts besides violence…"

"He's a Gryffindor to the core, darling," chuckled Roger. "Thinking things through has never been his strong suit. James, Remus and I have had to restrain him more times than I care to count."

Rhonda nodded. "In retrospect, I think Lily and James' decision to have us be Harry's primary guardians was a good decision. That's not to slight Sirius as he's been a wonderful godfather, but Harry needed stability. Sirius wouldn't have been able to raise Harry from behind bars…" She then turned toward the kids. "It'll be close to dinner time by the time we get back. How does homemade shepherd's pie sound for dinner tonight?"

Thursday was Thanksgiving, and Rhonda had prepared a banquet that looked good enough to rival the Start-of-Term Feast at Ilvermorny, with fried turkey, honey-glazed ham, stuffing, deviled eggs, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. The children said their goodbyes to Sirius and Remus that evening, as they would be traveling to Seattle separately the following morning.

By the time Harry, Othniel, and Nova were about to enter the Cerulean Platform, it was already half past nine. Harry and Othniel's goodbyes to the Woodwards were quick, but as expected, Nova's was far more emotional and drawn-out. She hugged her parents tightly for what seemed to be a good ten minutes before Rhonda gently prodded her to join her friends while she still had time.

A few tears trickled down her face after she passed the portal and crossed over to the Cerulean Platform. She joined Harry and Othniel in line to board the Chinook, while a conductor checked names off from a list as they boarded the train. "I hope you had a good time, Nova," Harry whispered just before they climbed the railroad car steps. "I know you're overwhelmed and all, but if you want to join us in our compartment later…"

"I had a wonderful time, Harry," replied Nova, still sniffling. "Thank you for inviting me. If it's all right with you, I would like a little time to myself, but we'll meet up in a bit, all right? How about for a meal?"

Harry nodded. "Sounds good."

The conductors then directed the boys to the designated first-year section, and Nova to the third-years'. Not long after that, one of the conductors announced the last call to board, and within minutes, the Chinook began lurching forward, making its way back toward Ilvermorny.

The boys spent the first couple of hours relaxing in their compartment, and Othniel even nodded off for a short nap, while Harry spent the time reviewing some homemade flash cards for History of Magic. They were both interrupted by a quick, gentle rapping on their door.

The same grey-haired Jamaican witch from the beginning of term addressed her boys in her usual soulful voice. "Good day, gentlemen," she cooed. "As a friendly reminder, we are due to arrive in Massachusetts just after lunch on Sunday. You needn't worry about your personal belongings as they will be delivered to your dormitory shortly after arrival." She offered a kind smile to Harry and Othniel. "As for today, lunch will be served up front in about fifteen minutes if you're hungry now; otherwise you'll have an opportunity to purchase snacks and beverages from a trolley later in the afternoon. Finally, you may have your dinner any time between five and eight o'clock this evening. Do you have any questions in the meantime?"

"What kind of snacks will you be serving?" asked Harry. "I know it's a good couple of hours away, but I would like to know my options ahead of time."

The older witch chuckled. "No harm in asking. There's the usual fare – puckerberry juice, puckerberry rolls, Toby Tucker's Thousand Spice tortilla chips, chocolate frogs, Pukwudgie pies…"

Othniel's eyes widened. "Thousand Spice tortilla chips? What are those like?"

"Each tortilla chip is infused with the flavor of one of a thousand different kinds of chili peppers. Some are pleasingly piquant, others will have you breathing a hotter fire than a Chinese Fireball dragon," replied the witch.

The boys high-fived each other. "Cool!"

The witch smiled and nodded at the boys. "I'll need to finish making my rounds, but I'll be back this afternoon. See you then."

That same day, back at Hogwarts, Daphne Greengrass was going over some potions classwork with her housemates in the Gryffindor common room after class.

"It says we need ten lionfish spines for a Wiggenweld Potion," said Lavender. "Why are you only adding five?"

"Because we don't add all of them at the same time," explained Daphne. "Surely you remember Professor Snape berating Ron and Neville for dumping them all at once?" She squeezed her eyes shut and let out an exasperated sigh. "Merlin, Gryffindor boys can be so daft sometimes. Their Slytherin counterparts reek of smugness, but they're at least competent in the classroom."

Hermione – this time, sporting a perfect halo braid, courtesy of her housemates – looked upward in thought as she ran some numbers in her head. "Among the four of us, we've contributed a net running total of forty eight house points, at least so far."

Daphne gave Hermione a high-five. "Not bad at all… I'm curious, have you kept a running total of the boys' contributions as well?"

Hermione gave Daphne a look of uneasiness. "I have… but do you really want to know? I don't think you'll like the answer…"

"Fire away, girlfriend," chimed in Parvati. "I'm not going to lie, I do take a bit of pleasure in one-upping our male counterparts." All four Gryffindor girls giggled softly at her comment.

"Minus thirty nine," squeaked Hermione, causing Daphne to cringe. "Granted, Professor Snape is responsible for the majority of those deductions. If Neville can just a find a way to keep his cauldron intact…"

"He also gave us five points for our Wiggenweld potion earlier today," added Daphne. "I'm just grateful to get any at all. He doesn't award Gryffindor points very often, that's for sure."

"He gave Malfoy ten points for his," mumbled Lavender. "His potion was good, but no better than ours."

"I've noticed that Professor Snape gives Draco special treatment," agreed Hermione. "He doesn't favor anyone else in Hufflepuff like that…"

Daphne shook her head. "He doesn't favor anyone like he favors Draco – not even his own serpents." She let out a thin, airy sigh. "He and Lucius Malfoy were housemates at one point. Master Malfoy was a couple of years ahead of Professor Snape, and took him under his wing. Neither of them are particularly fond of Gryffindor, but I suppose I can sympathize a bit. From what my parents told me, when they were still enrolled at Hogwarts, there were quite a few Gryffindor students who got their jollies by harassing and pranking Slytherin students. Both Master Malfoy and Professor Snape were victims of their so-called 'practical jokes'…"

"So Snape is basically repaying Malfoy's father," surmised Parvati. "But what I don't get is, he showers the boy with house points, and offers him private tutoring lessons, but he rarely steps in when Slytherins harass his favorite pupil."

"I'm sure he wants to," Daphne said. "But everyone he knows was sorted into Slytherin, so Master Malfoy likely only wants Professor Snape to step in only when absolutely necessary… he wants his son to act like a Slytherin even though he's a Hufflepuff. In other words, he needs to figure out how to resolve his problems on his own, because from a Slytherin perspective, getting help can be seen as a weakness."

She smiled at her three friends. "I never expected to be sorted into Gryffindor, but I really think it's the right house for me. I don't just have three awesome housemates; I have three awesome friends which I wouldn't trade for anything in the world." Her smile then faded. "As for Draco, his sorting wasn't just unexpected… it was unacceptable. Rumor has it that his father wanted to have him re-sorted, but the headmaster wouldn't allow it, so he may be going to another school altogether next term…"

"Like Durmstrang?" chirped Lavender. "The school is basically what Hogwarts would be if Salazar Slytherin had his way…"

"They're going to absolutely break him if he goes there," said Parvati. "If he can't stand up to three or four Slytherins… imagine the hell he'd go through when the whole school is like that."

Daphne shook her head. "That's the whole point. I think Lucius wants Durmstrang to break Draco down, then build him back up… he's going to end up a very bitter and mean-spirited wizard one day if his father gets his wish."

"He's not a mean boy at all," protested Hermione. "Why would a parent want their child to grow up angry and vengeful?"

"Because the Malfoys don't eschew dark magic like my family does," replied Daphne. "Most of my family was officially neutral in the Wizarding War over a decade ago – in fact, a few of them were secretly hoping the Dark Lord would fall, my parents included. And the Malfoys… well, they were some of the Dark Lord's strongest supporters before his defeat. Lucius was once a Death Eater, but he was tolerated more than favored as he was more of a financial supporter; he was usually too craven to do anything meaningful out in the field. The only way for Lucius to get over his own shortcomings… is to live vicariously through his son."

"It's only natural for a parent to want their children to eclipse their accomplishments," murmured Hermione. "But what Master Malfoy wants is just sick and twisted." Her housemates nodded in agreement, then continued on with their schoolwork.