B.Q. Book Two: Black Princess Ascendant

Chapter 11: Train Rides and Train Wrecks

I'm kind of... meh about this whole chapter. It went where I wanted it to go, but not necessarily well.

Disclaimer: After discovering that Snape owed him a life debt because of James's actions, did Harry do any research to find out just what that meant for him?

If not, I don't own the Harry Potter franchise; it belongs to J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Press, Warner Bros., and whoever else she sold the rights to.
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Hmm. I shouldn't have expected anything different, I suppose, Jen thought as she, Sirius, and Cissy exited the Floo terminals tucked along one side of Platform 9¾ and made their way into the mob of teenagers and family crowded around the Hogwarts Express. There were enough people mashed together that she was not the center of everyone's attention, but nearly all the witches and wizards the trio passed paused in their conversations to watch them. Watch her.

The family had gone over many, many plans for what to do today, all dependent on what the public reaction to her revealed 'history' was; while a few were based on a generally positive outcome, there were several more that involved the populace viewing her with suspicion, distrust, or even outright hatred. The chance of violence was low, the younger of her aunts had assured them, but she knew low was not the same as nothing.

Thankfully, it was Andi's prediction that had come to pass. The predominant emotion felt and expressed by the crowd was surprise mixed with confusion, though more than a few felt some fear, as well.

Sirius led the two women through the masses, the public recognizing him as a lord doing as much to create a path for them as his body did. Once they were next to the scarlet train – Jen had to blink a few times at the overbearing color and for the first time that summer wished she was still blind – the wizard turned to her and erected a small silencing charm around them. "This is as far as we can go. Once you get on that train, you're pretty much on your own. Are you ready for this?"

"Would it matter if I weren't?" she asked rhetorically. "It isn't like we can go back in time two weeks and intercept Skeeter's article. Speaking of which..."

"You have other things to worry about than that. Leave dealing with the Prophet to me."

She hesitated at that command; Elsie had taught her long ago that where revenge was concerned, the maxim about doing it oneself was very true. Her momentary delay caused a worried look to form on Sirius's face, however, and she nodded. Best she not make a scene here. "As you wish. Besides, it's not like this was happening last year when I didn't know anybody. None of my friends indicated they would distance themselves from me – quite the opposite, really – and let's not forget that I have at least one supporter on the staff." She tapped the small silver badge pinned to the front of her school robes; the letter that had come with it mentioned that all prefects would have a meeting immediately after they left the station, so it would behoove them to dress appropriately beforehand. "I highly doubt that Flitwick would give me this responsibility just to sit back and watch me fail."

Her Head of House shrugged his shoulders. "Good point. Just... be careful, all right? If a bunch of kids gang up on you because of the adoption, just get out of there. Don't do anything stupidly heroic."

"Of course not. That's your job," she answered with a sharp smile. When he frowned at her, she sighed. "Fine. I promise that, should I get into a situation I can't handle, I'll put my safety first. Happy?"

Not that it matters. Between wandless casting, dark magic, and Voodoo, me finding anything that I can't handle means we have bigger problems.