The Prince Returns

Chapter Four

The rest of the ride to Hogwarts was uneventful. Regan met a few more classmates, all of whom were considerably nicer than Draco Malfoy. Ginny did not make another appearance. Ron simply ignored her. Regan was grateful for the silence of both Weasleys. Once at Hogwarts, they put on their school robes. Regan was not used to wearing robes; they were not exactly comfortable. The four stayed together as they exited the warmth of the train to the cold, dark night. Regan was startled when she heard the voice of some giant to her left. Harry stopped her from screaming. "That's Hagrid," he whispered. "He teaches Care of Magical Creatures."

"That's a teacher?" she asked, astonished.

"Yes. What's wrong with that?"

"Well, nothing. Nevermind." She gave Hagrid a wide berth as the four made their way to the carriages. Once inside, she looked around expectantly.

"What, it's not good enough for you?" Ron mocked. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm just not used to this stuff. I generally walk to school."

"Oh," Ron mumbled sitting back in his seat. So she had been impressed by their school..."Sorry."

Hermione shared a glance with Harry. Something would have to be done with those two. It would be a long year if Ron and Regan didn't get along. It was bad enough with Hermione and Ron constantly bickering.

****

If Regan was impressed by the carriages, she was in complete awe of the school itself. Hogwarts was beautiful. She couldn't believe it really was a castle. Personally, she had always thought that Hogwarts alumni were exaggerating when they said that their school was a castle. It looked like a warm, inviting place. She couldn't wait to explore its depths.

Once inside, she had to stop herself from gawking at everything. She couldn't believe her eyes: ghosts, the enchanted pictures, and moving staircases. At the Institute, everything seemed to have a Muggle touch. Here, it was the exact opposite. Everything was magical. In the front hall, Severus Snape stood to one side, uncomfortable as the students entered. When he saw Regan, he started forward towards her. "Hello, Miss Prince," he mumbled, somewhat pained. She smiled. He was a very different person once away from school and a few shots of Richard's "special" drink. "I am going to take you to Dumbledore's office."

"Okay," she said, shrugging her shoulders to Hermione and Harry. She followed Snape through the school. She watched as he seemed to loosen up a little once they were away from the students. His body didn't seem so tense.

"How is your father?" Snape asked after a few moments.

"Oh, he's fine. You should stop by the house sometime." He gave her a small, brief smile.

"We'll see." He stopped. They had arrived at a suit of armor. She looked up to the Potions Master, confused. Her confusion only deepened as he muttered, "dazed and confused."

"What?" She wondered briefly if Snape had gone mad since she had last seen him. Suddenly the suit of armor moved to reveal a winding staircase. She turned to look at Snape. "This is the way to the headmasters office?"

"Yes. I'll see you in class Miss Prince." With that he turned on his heel and went towards the Great Hall. Regan turned back to the staircase and began to climb the stairs. At the top, she found herself at a door. She cautiously pushed the door open. All of the past headmasters stared down at her from their portraits as she entered the office. Some had the audacity to make comments to one another. Regan looked towards the desk. A very old man with long, flowing white hair and beard was sitting at the desk. He was wearing robes of a deep blue. His eyes seemed to twinkle. Regan could not believe that this man was headmaster, not to mention a powerful wizard, not to mention the only man Voldemort was afraid of. He did not appear very menacing. Her mind wandered back to the headmaster position. Her father always looked impecible, but especially so at school. He always wore fine suits. His hair was kept neat. Occasionally his eyes would twinkle, but he had little else in common with Albus Dumbledore.

"Miss Prince-" he began.

"Regan."

"Regan. Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You are here tonight to be sorted. We must hurry for the first years are almost to the castle. They will need the Sorting Hat. Now, the hat seems to have a bit of trouble with transfer students. They've already been taught so much......I will leave you to it." He turned to leave.

"To what?" She wondered what exacty a Sorting Hat was.

"Simply place the Hat on your head. It will tell you what to do." He smiled, eyes still twinkling, and disappeared into another room. Regan looked at the old hat sitting on a stool in the corner. It looked very, very old. She couldn't help but wonder how many heads it had sat on. Brief images of lice crept into her head. She willed them away and approached the hat. With hesitation, she place it on her head. Indeed, it did speak.

"Well, well. What do we have here? A new sixth year....interesting. Very interesting. Dumbledore warned we may have some trouble placing you. I see. I see. Mother a proud Gryffindo, father a cunning Slytherin. What to do, what to do. I see loyalty. Perhaps Hufflepuff?"

Regan shuddered at the thought. She had heard her parents talk, as well as her new classmates. Hufflepuff did not seem to be a respectable house.

"No, no not Hufflepuff. That would not do. Maybe Ravenclaw.....you do have brains. Very intelligent indeed."

"I suppose that wouldn't be too bad. Intelligence is a source of pride," she thought, after all, she had been at the top of her class last year.

"No, no not Ravenclaw. There's something else in here. Perhaps Slytherin. You could be great in Slytherin. Several powerful wizards have come from Slytherin. Your father. You have ambition, great cunning. Yes, Yes, quite possibly Slytherin. Yet still, there is bravery. There is courage. Though you are already far along in school, there is potential here.....Slytherin or Gryffindor....interesting. Very interesting."

"Well, which is it?" she wondered.

"You tell me. You are no longer a child, a naive first year. You decide."

"What? I decide?"

"Slytherin or Gryffinor....they are so very alike."

Regan rolled her eyes. She just wanted to get this over with. Surely the first years had arrived. Where had Dumbledore gone? After a moment's hesitation.."Gryffindor!"

"Are you sure? You have great potential. Why Gryffindor?"

"My friends are in Gryffindor."

"Your friends are in Gryffindor. Terrible reason, but it is your choice."

The hat was suddenly silent. Regan took off the hat and looked at it in wonder. Was she a Gryffindor then? Dumbledore suddenly appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. In his hands were new school robes. They had the Gryffindow emblem on them. He handed her the robes. "I'm starving. Let's go eat."

With that, he left. She quickly followed, pulling on the new robes as she went.

****

Harry and Hermione smiled and waved to her from their seat. She joined them. "You guys saved me a seat? That was presumptuous. I could have been a Hufflepuff."

"Slytherin more likely," Ron mumbled. Hermione shot him a look. He didn't seem to have anything else to say.

"Welcome to Gryffindor!" Regan turned to find her staring into the face of a young man. He stuck out his hand. "I'm Seamus Finnigan. Sixth year."

She shook his hand, only to have another one forced on her. "Dean Thomas. Sixth year."

"Hey guys. Regan Prince. Sixth year."

"We know," they said in unison, grinning from ear to ear. Ginny shot Dean a disgusted look and sunk low into her seat.

Regan looked around the great hall. Several heads had turned towards her. She felt herself blushing. "Is there something on my face?" she whispered.

"No. I don't think that's why they're staring," Hermione whispered back.

"Why?'

"Well, we don't get too many new students. And word has gone around pretty fast that you're here and just who your father is and just how you look and-"

"How I look?"

"Regan, Seamus is drooling. Look, don't worry about it. Give them a few days to get used to you. Everyone here is nice. You'll see," Hermione promised and looked towards the doorway as the first years were herded in by Professor McGonagall. Regan looked across the room to the Slytherin table. Draco Malfoy wa staring right back at her. He smirked and whispered something to Pansy Parkinson who was sitting next to him. She giggled and looked towards Regan. Regan sighed and focused on the first years. She doubted everyone at Hogwarts would be nice.

****

While his daughter slept in her new bed in her new room in her new school, Richard Prince looked through books in his library. He needed to find a spell Moody had requested, but he couldn't find it anywhere. Richard sighed. He didn't feel as if he was much help to the Order presently. Arthur and Albus kept assuring him that he was a big help. Honestly, Richard could name a few things he had done. He had given them a much better location for headquarters. One. He had given them several different magical items and books that were difficult to find. Two. And finally, it had went public that he was working with the Order. Several people had joined the Order or offered there help upon hearing that Richard had joined. That was three. Three things. All of which he could have accomplished back home in New York. He could have bought them a place for their headquarters. He could have given him his things. He could have let people know who he was supporting.

Richard gave up on his present task. It was late. Laura would probably be worried. He had not been getting enough sleep lately. Richard was about to go to bed when he noticed a book sitting on one of the tables. He sighed. The house-elves were slacking. He picked up the book and stopped when he saw the cover. It was his biography. Well, his unofficial biography, but the author had done a decent job with getting things correct. He knew it was Hermione's. He had seen her toting it around. She must have left it there over the summer. Richard sat back on a nearby chair and flipped through the book, occassionally reading passages. He could hardly believe that he had done some of these things, but he had. All that seemed like a liftetime ago, like all the adventures had been someone elses. In many ways they were.

Richard closed his eyes in thought. Lucius had paid him another visit that morning, while Laura was taking Regan to the train station. He had another offer. Voldemort was getting desperate. Richard wondered briefly what it would be like to take Voldemort's offer. All the power. All the respect. He thought that he would feel young again. He would feel needed.

That morning, Lucius was starting to make sense. His children weren't children any more. They were young adults. They were old enough to make their own decision, find their own way. They were old enough to know that their parents are not always right. Richard started to wonder what was so terrible about Voldemort's plans. He wanted wizards to be in power. Well, Regan and Braydon were two powerful, bright wizards. They came from a long wizarding family. Voldemort would appreciate them. They would be honored in Voldemort's world. Now though, in this world.....Richard remembered all the akward conversations he had had with parents before. Before learning to control their powers, his children had caused some trouble. The Muggle parents were not impressed. Several times, his children were left out because they were different. Voldemort would fix all that.

Richard closed his eyes. He needed to get to sleep. He was no longer making any sense. His children were fine. His son was a thousand miles away, off playing Quidditch. His daughter was safe a very protected school. His wife was upstairs, waiting for him. Everything was fine. Eventually, he would find his place in the Order.

*****

Remus wandered around his empty house, unable to sleep. He wasn't sleeping much these days. He was tempted to talk to Snape about obtaining a sleeping potion. Remus knew why he couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Laura. Not Laura Prince. She was Richard's wife. But Laura Martin. The girl he knew at Hogwarts. Merlin, he missed her. He had been stupid and lost her. No getting her back now. Wandering around his house was not an acceptable distraction. He was simply thinking about Laura. He didn't want to relive any memories, not right now. So, Remus did what he always did when he was discouraged. He imagined what could have been, if he hadn't messed things up the way he had.

He and Laura would have gotten married after graduating, like they had planned. She would have stayed friend with Lily. Richard Prince would be a friend, but nothing more. He would just be an older man that Remus looked up to. Richard would not have gotten married. He would not have had children. He would have stayed in England. He would have helped win the war. Voldemort would be gone, permanently. Brayden and Regan would be Remus's children, not Richard's. But things hadn't turned out that way. After a few moments of musing, Remus gave up and retired to bed. After an hour or so of tossing and turning, he fell asleep.

****

Lucius Malfoy was tired. He had had a long day. Tomorrow did not look very promising, either. He wanted to go to bed, sleep a year or so. He did not want to have to deal with Narcissa, not tonight. More importantly, he did not want to venture downstairs to his dungeons and deal with what awaited him. He did not want to have the obligatory meeting about his dramatic failures. However, it was not his night. Lucius rarely did not get what he wanted. He was not for sure how to handle this meeting. Slowly, he made his way downstairs. Voldemort was waiting for him, sitting quite comfortably in the living area made up for him.

Once in the Dark Lord's quarters, Lucius tried not to look at him. His red snakelike eyes glared at him underneath the hood. Lucius wondered momentarily if the Dark Lord could smell his failure, his fear. "Well?" Voldemort demanded, his voice a raspy whisper.

"He will not listen to me."

"That is no excuse," Voldemort replied quickly, angry. "You have had many chances Lucius. Yet you still fail dramatically."

"What else should I do? I have done everything you told me to do. Richard will not listen. Richard has made his choice. He wants nothing to do with us."
"We need him, Lucius. We need his power."

"Surely he isn't the only wizard with any power."

"Do you think I haven't looked!" Voldemort demanded, rising from his chair. Lucius took an involuntary step backwards. "I've looked everywhere. We need Richard. If we had him last time......we would have won."

"If he were in England last time we would have lost more definitely. He would have been on the other side that time, and more resolutely so."

"Do not talk back to me in such a manner, Lucius." However, he seemed to have calmed down. He sat back in his chair and closed his ugly eyes.

"What about his children?" Lucius asked timidly. The creature's eyes suddenly snapped open.

"What about them?"
"I know they are powerful. From what I have heard, very powerful. Perhaps they could work."

"Perhaps. How old are they? Where are they? Have they been properly trained?"
"Braydon is twenty. He is off playing Quidditch somewhere. He attended a very good school in America. It is well noted for its coverage of the dark arts. Unlike Hogwarts, the Institute stresses education on how to use the dark arts as well as how to defend them. They seem to believe that a student may need them someday."

"Excellent. You said 'children.'"

"Right. Regan is sixteen. Until this year, she also attended the Institute. Now she is in Hogwarts. She is in her sixth year."

"With Draco?" Voldemort asked, a tone to his voice Lucius was unfamiliar with. Voldemort almost sounded pleased.

"Yes, my Lord. With Draco."

****

Regan was excited about her first day of classes. She was looking forward to new teachers and new subjects. Luckily, she had almost every class with Hermione. They were taking several advanced classes. Ron and Harry, however, were taking Divination and similar wastes of time.

Breakfast had gone well enough. Ron and Regan managed a few pleasantries before she accidently made a remark on the state of his books. Accidently. She decided she would be quieter around Ron. Regan determined not to let Ron's attitude bother her. It was her first day of school at Hogwarts. She would be happy. Then she got her schedule. Advanced Potions. First Hour. With the Slytherins. And Ronald Weasley. At least she had Snape. At least it wasn't some terrible teacher she had never met before.

****

Regan was wrong. She had never met this man in front of her. It was like someone had possessed Snape. Same greasy hair. Same pointed nose. But not the same Snape. He was terrible to the Gryffindors. He took points from Gryffindor because Hermione knew too much. And, possibly worst of all, he favored Draco.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Miss Prince," Snape said stoicly once Ron stopped going on about the unfair point deduction. "Now, this is Advanced Potions. I question whether or not some of you should be here"-he looked meaningfully at Ron-"but it was not my decision. Unlike past years, I will not hold your hand this year. I am not going to help you like I have before."-Ron and Harry glanced at each other, confused. When had Snape ever helped them before?-"Miss Prince, what is the delalagus root?"

"The root of the delalagus plant," she said not missing a beat. All the Gryffinors burst out laughing, most out of sheer surprise. Even Ron chuckled. The Slytherins were not amused.

"Five points from Gryffindor," Snape said and stopped at Regan's desk. "What does it do?"

"Oh, that's what you meant. Well, several things. It can be used in certain potions to cure headaches or hangovers. Or, if mixed with very specific ingredients, it can cause blindness or even paralysis."

"Yes, very good. You may have your five points back."

Regan seemed pleased with herself. Technically she hadn't lost any house points yet. She had made it through the first half hour.

After lecturing for what seemed like ages, Snape gave them a potion to concoct. They had the remainder of the period to work on the potion in pairs. Ron looked to Hermione. She looked back at him with a smile and wordlessly went to his cauldron. "Hey!" Regan exclaimed as Harry moved to her cauldron. "Dumb Granger. She promised she'd work with me today."

"Sorry. You have to work with me today," Harry teased.

"You know that's not what I meant." Regan looked towards Ron and Hermione. Hermione was giggling. "Ron isn't funny. Is there something going on between them?"

"What? Ron and Hermione? No way." Then Harry looked at them as if he were seeing them for the first time. "Nah."

It took Harry and Regan fifteen minutes to fix their potion. She looked around the room. Ron and Hermione were still working on theirs. Draco and Pansy were still cutting up the ingredients. She smiled. It could be a good day.

"You test it," Harry said.

"What? Why?"

"Because you're new. It's like initiation. Also, you pretty much did everything. If you messed up, paralysis, blindness. You test it." Regan rolled her eyes and held up their vial. Snape wandered over to their table.

"Go ahead. Get on with it," he mumbled. Regan drank the vial. It tasted like gummy worms. Not bad. Snape judged her reaction and marked something in his gradebook before moving on.

"How do you feel?" Harry asked.

"I can still see. You're still ugly."

****

After Potions, the four split up. Ron and Harry went to Divination; Regan and Hermione to Arithmancy. Regan followed Hermione as she went down several different corridors. Regan was afraid of gettting lost. She glanced down at her schedule. Unlike Potions, Arithmancy did not have which house they would be joining. Now that she looked closer, she realized several of the classes she and Hermione shared did not. "Hermione, who do we have Arithmancy with?'

"Oh. That," Hermione said, waving her hand dismissivley. A lot of the classes you and I are taking-you know, classes that require brain cells, unlike Divination-don't have many students. We're just mixed in with all the houses. Some of our classes may even have seventh years." Hermione looked rather pleased with herself.

"So?"

"So? So that means we're at the top of our class."

"Oh. I see. Best O.W.L.s and everything. Great. Who else is taking these classes?"

"I don't know. I'm pretty sure we're the only Gryffindors, though there may be a few from seventh year." By that time, they had reached the classroom. They were among the last of those to arrive. Regan did a quick survey of the room. She felt hopeful. She knew Ron would not be sharing many of her classes. She didn't know about Malfoy, but he didn't exactly exude intelligence. But there he was. Talking to another Slytherin Regan didn't know. They were the only two from that house. Regan noticed that most of the students, though there were only a dozen or so, were from Ravenclaw. "It's going to be a long year," Regan mumbled to herself as she and Hermione took empty seats. Surely Draco cheated on his O.W.L.s. It was the only possible explanation. He could not cheat on every assignment. Eventually, the professors would realize what had happened. Draco would have to go back to Magic for Dummies. Regan was beginning to feel optimistic when Draco chose his seat. He chose the one directly behind her.

"Oh look, Blaise," Draco began in a sarcastic voice to the other Slytherin, "It's Regan Prince, daughter of the great and powerful Richard Prince. Can I have your autograph?" He and Blaise thought this was hysterical. Hermione shook her head. Regan turned to face them.

"Is that really the best you can do, Malfoy? I thought it was quite pathetic."

"No, no Rae, you misunderstand me. I'm just getting started. Now is the warm up. Now I find out just what it is that pisses you off, just what it is that really gets under your skin, then I will show you what I can do." Draco leaned back in his seat and smirked at the girl. His usual arragance was replaced by a calm sense of knowledge. He looked like he had many secrets that he just couldn't wait to share. His change in appearance bothered Regan. She wondered just what Lucius told his son, and what his son would do with such information.

****

"Do you trust them?" Ron asked. Harry looked up from his astronomy chart. He was busy inventing new ways to die.To some extent, he had missed Divination. It was fun, making up one's own future, especially when it was favored by the teacher to have a dark, depressing future. He was describing death by glue stick when Ron interrupted him. Ron repeated, "Do you trust them?"

"Trust who?"
"Regan's family." Harry suddenly looked up from his paper, surprised.

"Why wouldn't I trust them?"
"Harry, I know Remus and my parents haven't told us everything, but I got the impression that Richard didn't exactly jump at the opportunity to join the Order. And I know he has been talking with Lucius Malfoy."

"So? He has his reasons. Look, none of that matters. He's with us now. Regan said that her father is very loyal, that he would never betray us or switch sides. Regan-"

"Stop Harry. Why do you suddenly trust Regan? You haven't known her that long."

"Neither have you. You just hate her because she's rich."

"Harry, I read Richard Prince's biography several times. The only thing that I don't like about the man is his attitude toward Muggle-borns. The guy doesn't like them. He doesn't think they should be treated like purebloods. That sounds an awful lot like You-Know-Who and his gang."

"Oh, please Ron. That doesn't mean that he is going to go around in a hood and kill innocent people. He isn't like that. Regan said-"

"Stop quoting Regan. The only reason you're taking sides-"

"Since when is there a side!"

"is that you like her."

"I like her?" Harry tried to sound disgusted, but it didn't quite work out. The color creeping into his cheeks only made matters worse.

"Sorry Harry, but she's already taken."

"What?"

"She and Malfoy are going to get together. You know it. There are all the signs. Purebloods. Rich. Not the biggest fan of Muggle-borns. They'll get married in a ceremony conducted by You-Know-Who. At the reception they'll get their dark marks together. She'll be forced to get pregnant. Once a Malfoy heir is produced, she'll be reduced to You-Know-Who's personal slave, if you know what I mean. Then she'll die, alone."

"...you are an idiot."

"But that is what purebloods do," Ron smiled, pleased with himself. "Listen Harry, you don't know her. You don't know her family. Don't be too trusting."

"Just a month ago you were so excited. Thought Prince was the coolest."

"I didn't know him yet."

"What do you think Richard is doing? Do you think that he's secretly joing the Death Eaters, that he goes out at night and runs to Voldemort, tell him everything he knows about the Order? Is that what you think?" Harry could tell by the look on Ron's face that that was exactly what Ron thought. "You are a complete moron."

"Don't believe me, but just be careful. You never really know a person, Harry."

Ron turned back to his Divination homework. Harry thought about what Ron had said. he thought about Snape, who masqueraded as a Death Eater and risked his life to get information for the Order. He thought of Sirius, who had suffered twelve years at Azkaban. He supposed Ron wasn't a complete moron. He might even be right.