Rise of the Riddles

Chapter 7: Suspicions on the Hogwarts Express

As September 1st drew near, Harry found that the holidays were ending far too soon for his liking. This had been the best summer ever. He had a family, he'd foiled Dumbledore twice, and he'd formed a decent relationship with the goblins of Gringotts. Yes, it had been a great summer.
August 31st brought a pleasant surprise. When Harry joined his family for breakfast, he realized Luna was there as well.
"Hi Luna! It's great to see you! What are you doing here?"
"Your mum invited me over. My father thought it would be a great opportunity for me to ask all of my questions about Hogwarts. He's not sure that everything is still the same as when he was there."
Harry sat next to her, smiling and started serving himself. "Well, Luna, if you're here to ask questions, ask away."
"Is the castle really as great as everyone says?"
"Oh, yeah! It's amazing. Words cannot describe..." Harry laughed.
"Do you really get sorted by a hat?"
"Yep. It speaks to you. Oh, and it can read your mind, so be nice to it. It will listen to your desires, so, if you have a preferred house, ask it to put you there."
"That's so cool!"
"I know. What else would you like to know?"
"Are the classes hard?"
"They can be, but if you do your homework, and especially if you work ahead, they aren't bad. I know you won't have a problem." Luna smiled. Both her and Harry missed the delighted look Bella and Tom shared.
"Thanks, Harry. You've made me feel tons better."
"Wonderful," said Bella. "Let's celebrate Luna and Violet embarking on the next stage of their lives! Dobby?"
Dobby popped in and bowed. "How may Dobby be helping mistress Bella?"
"Dobby, please bring a bottle of butterbeer for each person."
Dobby bowed again. "Of course, mistress Bella. Dobby is getting them now." He popped away and was back a moment later floating nine bottles. With a snap of his fingers, a bottle floated to each person.
"Thank you, Dobby." With a wave of her wand, Bella removed the corks from each bottle. Before she could banish the corks, Luna spoke to stop her.
"Mrs. Riddle, may I keep them as a memento? Just in case I'm in a different house, they'll be a reminder of always having someone to talk to." Bella smiled fondly at her.
"Of course, Luna. Here." She levitated the corks to Luna, smiling when Luna gathered them up and put them in her pocket.
Luna stayed until lunch, asking random questions as they occurred to her. Harry had a great time, as did Alexander and Draco, although the latter wished a certain bushy-haired witch had been present as well. After lunch, Harry, Violet, Alexander and Draco all went to their rooms to finish packing.
Dinner was an exuberant affair; everyone was enjoying each other's company. It was only when their parents sent them to bed that the four young ones reluctantly went upstairs.
The next morning, September 1st, found Harry reluctantly climbing out of bed. He reflected on the difference a year had made. Last year on the first, he was desperate to get on the train to Hogwarts. Then again, he had also thought Dumbledore was a great wizard and a friend to him. He knew better now.
Once he was ready, he shrunk down his trunk and put it in his pocket before heading downstairs. Breakfast was a quiet affair. Bella and Tom especially were very sober. A couple times, Bella looked near tears. Harry hated to see his mother so sad.
"Mum, don't look so sad. I'll be back for Christmas, and we have the mirrors. We can talk every night."
"And I'll write every week Mum, and I can borrow the mirrors from Harry." Violet added.
"You're right, you two. I should be happy I have you back." Bella smiled and hugged her son and daughter. "I suppose we should be going, it's already ten." Harry and his family waited while Draco asked Dobby to bring his and Alexander's trunks.
After a couple of tries, Draco successfully shrunk down his trunk and placed it in his pocket. Alexander got it on the second try. They all walked out past the main gates, then Apparated away (Harry, Violet, Draco and Alexander were taken by side-along). Within moments, they were all walking out of the Apparition Courtyard at King's Cross.
After they enlarged and stowed their trunks in a compartment, Harry and Draco went in search of Luna and Hermione respectively. Harry found Luna rather quickly. She had already changed into her school robes. The first thing Harry noticed was the butterbeer cork necklace she had on.
"Hi Luna! Er, what is that?"
"Hi, Harry, it's lovely to see you. This is a necklace I made from the corks from yesterday. I wanted to carry the reminder of such a great day with me all of the time."
Harry smiled. "That's great, Luna. I'm glad you had such a great time." Harry made sure to say hello to Mr. Lovegood, who, happy Luna was in good hands, left immediately to complete the next issue of The Quibbler before its publication.
Harry led Luna back to his family. Draco had found Hermione and her parents and had brought them to the family as well. Surprisingly, Mr. and Mrs. Granger seemed to be getting on very well with the Riddles and the Malfoys. They all had a polite conversation until the train conductor blew his whistle.
Harry, Draco, Hermione, and Violet said good-bye to their families then boarded the train. They reached the compartment that the boys had claimed just as the train started moving. They all hung out the window waving good-bye, even Luna and Alexander, until the Malfoys, Grangers, and Riddles were out of sight. Harry immediately turned to the other's.
"Mia, I hope I don't offend you, but how did your parents manage with the Malfoys?" Before she could answer, the door opened revealing Vince and Greg.
"Here you all are. We've been looking everywhere for you!" Harry and Draco looked guilty. They had been preoccupied with Luna and Hermione. Alexander just smiled and patted the seat next to him.
"Sorry. Come in and sit." They did so, and once they got their luggage stowed, Harry turned back to Hermione expectantly.
"Oh, alright, Harry. I schooled my parents in how to deal with them like you did for me. Except I also told them to work in that we are well off every chance they got."
"It worked like a charm, mate." They all laughed at that, then spent some time talking about their summers. After a while, the food trolley stopped at their compartment. They all bought some snacks, then sat back down to relax and enjoy the rest of the ride.
After about ten minutes, however, there was a commotion right outside the compartment. Luna and Violet eased open the door and they all peeked out. Two people with flaming red hair were arguing. Draco sneered.
"Obviously Weasleys." Alexander nodded. A young girl, probably in first year, was being yelled at by the boy, who was wearing a prefect badge.
"Oh, she's crying," said Hermione. Harry and Draco remained silent, wanting to hear what was going on.
"...look like a SCARLET WOMAN! I won't stand having my sister look like a HUSSY!"
"But mum..." SLAP! The girl fell to the floor and slowly sat up, holding her cheek. Harry was enraged by the forcible reminder of the Dursley's treatment, which was made even worse by them being siblings. These thoughts, along with the memory of the girl standing up for him at Flourish and Blotts, spurred Harry forward with his wand out. As the boy raised his hand to strike again, Harry aimed and yelled his spell.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Harry," cried Hermione. "You attacked a prefect! You'll be in so much trouble!"
"But it was bloody brilliant!" Alexander said, looking at Hermione.
Harry turned to them, eyes blazing. "He was attacking his own sister!" Harry kneeled next to the young girl and helped her up, just as the head boy and girl appeared.
"What is going on here?" As she spotted the petrified prefect, the head girl gasped. "Who attacked Mr. Weasley?" Before anyone could react, the red-headed girl spoke up.
"My brother slapped me, then Harry cast that spell to stop him from doing it again." The head girl looked to Harry.
"Is this true, Mr. Potter?" Harry nodded. A few other students confirmed the girl's statement as well. The head girl's eyes looked like they would pop out of her head. "Everyone, back into your compartments!" Her tone of voice very clearly said she would accept no opposition. "Mr. Potter, Miss Weasley, come with me." The head boy turned to the Weasley boy.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" They all walked back to Harry's compartment where Hermione, Draco, Luna, Violet, Alexander, Vince, and Greg were still standing. The head boy looked at all of them.
"I suppose you seven saw it all as well?"
"Yes," answered Hermione.
"Then we can discuss this here." They all walked inside, then the head girl locked the door and cast privacy charms so they would not be overheard. Once she was finished, she released the elder Weasley, whose face was now bright red, from his body bind.
"Mr. Weasley! What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Just look at my sister! She looks like a hussy!"
"Even if Miss Weasley is dressed a bit inappropriately, striking her is certainly not the correct punishment," said the head boy, aghast.
"She has to learn how she will be treated if she dresses in such a manner." Both the head boy and girl turned their backs on him in disgust. The head girl looked to the younger Weasley sibling.
"Miss Weasley, perhaps you can shed some light on why you are dressed in this fashion. Your clothes seem awfully small." Although the head girl spoke with a voice full of kindness, Miss Weasley looked down, shamefaced, pulling at her too short skirt.
"With f-five of us in Hogwarts, mum c-couldn't a-afford to get me new clothes other than my school robes."
"Why didn't you just wear your robes, then?"
"We arrive the muggle way, and dad didn't want us to stand out. There are too many of us to Apparate in."
"Couldn't your mother have transfigured your clothes?" asked the head boy.
"She did! She warned me it wasn't permanent. But I was so amazed by the train as I walked around it. I'd heard so much about it from my brothers, I wanted to see it all and lost track of time. When the spell wore off, I headed back to my compartment to change, but I came across Percy first." Everyone turned to look at Percy, who was sitting on the floor, looking miserable.
"Why don't you go change, Miss Weasley?"
The girl nodded and stood then turned to Harry. "Thanks for your help, Harry. I'm Ginny, by the way."
Harry forced a smile. "You're welcome Ginny. Why don't you come back once you've changed? You're welcome to sit with us."
Ginny smiled. "Thanks." She walked out of the compartment and everyone turned back to Percy.
"Mr. Weasley," started the head girl, "as the term has no officially started, I cannot assign you a punishment. However, I will be speaking to Professor McGonagall as your head of house about your behavior, and I am certain she will speak with your parents. I expect you to get back to your duties now." She unlocked the door for him.
"Of course, right away." He scurried out of the compartment, and the head boy and girl turned to Harry.
"For the same reason we cannot punish Mr. Weasley for his actions, we can't award you for yours," said the head boy. "However, we'll speak with Professor Snape about your quick action today. Enjoy the rest of the trip." The head boy and girl left the compartment and closed the door behind them.
"Well, that was interesting," said Draco.
"Very," said Harry. "It's odd that neither Weasley seemed particularly shook up about the incident. And that Percy didn't seem to care about having his parents told. I would think that with someone as uptight about the rules, he'd be more upset about that." The others nodded.
"And did you notice," said Hermione, "that there was no mark on her cheek?"
Without thinking, Harry spoke the first thought that came to mind. "There should have been with such a hard blow." There was silence at Harry's remark. No one missed the bitterness in his voice that spoke of first-hand knowledge. Alexander gently rubbed Harry's shoulder as Violet gave him a hug. However, before the silence could grow truly awkward, Ginny returned wearing her school robes. No one noticed the odd look in Ginny's eyes when she saw Violet hugging Harry.
The eight friends, not wanting to reveal their suspicions, were cordial to her. They began asking her, Luna and Violet about their expectations for Hogwarts.
"I just hope I'm in Gryffindor like the rest of my family," declared Ginny.
"Well I wanna learn how to transfigure objects." Violet said excitedly.
"I'm looking forward to learning new things," said Luna. Ginny snorted at that statement, earning her a glare from Harry that she missed. Their conversation didn't continue for long, as they pulled into Hogsmeade station soon after. As they left the train, Ginny stayed very close to Harry.
When Hagrid began calling for the first years, Harry gave Luna a hug, missing the enraged look Ginny gave them both. He gave Violet a half-hug. With a quick good-bye to Ginny, he jogged back to his friends.