The Unknown Legacy

The Trip to Hogwarts

The Weasleys made Lydia feel right at home in the Burrow. George and Lydia were openly affectionate with each other when they were alone, but kept it hushed from the rest of the family. Even so, everyone still knew, of course. Molly had spied them out the window one day watching the sunset together and kissing. She'd poked Arthur in the shoulder and made him look too.

"Look at the young love Arthur! They're just like we were!" She'd said. She wondered though, what was going to happen when Lydia went back to America.

Lydia finally found out who Hermione was when an owl carrying a huge package arrived at the Burrow on Lydia's second day there. It turned out to be a huge book and letter from Hermione for Lydia. She apologized for not being able to meet Lydia in person, but explained that the book was an objective look at the modern lifestyle and culture of British Wizards. Lydia was delighted. It had a bit of everything!

Harry, Fred, George and Ron all showed Lydia how to properly fly on a broom while Ginny seemed a bit shy around Lydia at first. Once Lydia had coaxed her into some conversations however, she'd opened up. It turned out that Harry was a celebrity in the Wizarding world, but not by anything of his own doing. There was even a younger picture of Harry in the book, with some fluffy looking guy in a bookstore from a newspaper. The man was grinning cheekily and nodding, but Harry didn't very happy to be in the picture.

On her last day at the Burrow, Lydia insisted to Molly that she be allowed to cook dinner. In the end, Molly had given in. She was interested in seeing just how Muggles cooked. Lydia decided to make meat sauce and egg noodles from scratch, which took forever yes, but required little of the cook's attention most of the time. She'd bought the tomatoes and meat at the Muggle market in town and with some help from Molly, she got her sauce started in mid morning. The ingredients she'd need for the egg noodles were all readily available at the Burrow.

Since Fred and George worked during the day, it'd given Lydia a chance to get to know the family better, and to do some reading. Ginny was hiding up in her room today though. Lydia supposed she was getting her stuff together for school. Lydia already had her things packed.

She was peeling the tomatoes when Harry wandered into the kitchen and talked to Lydia one on one. He told Lydia his whole story, about surviving, and about his horrid aunt and uncle.

"They tossed me out when I turned 18 at the end of July, and asked me to never contact them again. They've been absolutely abominable to me my whole life, what makes them think I would ever WANT to contact them?" He asked rhetorically and shook his head. "The Weasleys are more of a family to me then the Dursleys will ever be."

During their long conversation Lydia offhandedly mentioned Harry's picture in the book Hermione had given to her, which was on the kitchen table. Harry didn't seem the least bit surprised, but he opened the book anyway to see what picture they'd used.

"Oh that's Gilderoy Lockhart," he said when he'd thumbed to the page. "He was a fraud book writer that taught at Hogwarts my second year. Said he'd done all sorts of great things around the world, when it turned out he just tracked people down and memory charmed them so he could take their glory and make money," Harry said bitterly. "He was a pathetic for a professor. I was in the bookshop that day trying to buy my school books. Unfortunately he was there too, signing copies of his new book. He saw me and dragged me into the picture, said that together we were 'front page material'.

"People all over the world know about me. When ever I meet a Witch or Wizard for the first time, they always stare at my forehead when they find out who I am. It never fails," Harry said in an annoyed voice. "I've gotten used to it, but it's still a bit irritating. It's not pleasant to have people ogling at your forehead when you're trying to make conversation."

Lydia believed Harry completely. He really did sound a bit irritated with his lot in life. Once she'd added the meat to the boiled down tomatoes, she sat down at the kitchen table with Harry.

"I can't imagine what it's like to be famous for something you don't even remember," Lydia said quietly. She couldn't quite place the look on Harry's face when she'd spoken. She vaguely knew how he felt, she'd never known her parents either, but she'd grown up with her grandmother and grandfather who both loved her dearly. She couldn't imagine how Harry had felt growing up in a house with no love.

"So, eh, what do Wizards and Witches do after school anyway?" she asked. Harry sat up.

"All sorts of things! Just yesterday I sent my acceptance to the Wimborne Wasps Quidditch team for the Seeker position. Hermione is in Rome translating scrolls for Tweedbury's, and Ron is looking at several positions in the Ministry of Magic," he said.

Luckily, Lydia was not completely lost at this little tidbit of information. She secretly thanked Hermione again for the invaluable book.

"So, what's Hogwarts like?" Lydia asked. Harry grinned widely at this.

"It's great. It's been my true home for the past seven years. I'm a little sad that I'm not going back this year, but I expect I'll be fine when the Quidditch season rolls around. One thing about Hogwarts though, it's very large and easy to get lost in. There are so many moving staircases and corridors. I got lost all the time in the first few months of my first year. Hermione, Ron and I have all had fantastic adventures there, some downright deadly. It'll be nice to relax for a change," Harry said, looking relieved indeed that he'd be facing a nice near-death free year. Lydia cleared her throat.

"Do you think Voldemort will ever be killed?" she asked suddenly. Harry didn't flinch at the sound of the name.

"He can't die," he said flatly. "He made sure of that long ago, I think you could take his head clean off with an ax and he'd still survive. After he attacked me as a baby, he lost his body. He told me he was less then a spirit. He could possess people if they were willing to share their bodies with him, but I do believe he'll be defeated for good one day. Everyone seems to look to me for that closure," he said simply.

Lydia tried to imagine what it would be like to overcome mortal death, to exist without a body. Then a ridiculous thought popped into her head.

"Maybe his spirit can be banished to an object like they do in the movies." Lydia said in a rather bland tone as Ichabod flew in the kitchen window and landed on her knee. She reached down automatically and stroked his feathers. Harry chortled.

"And then buried in a cursed cave where he can be found years later by a group of teenagers and be reawakened by their stupidity. He'll wreak havoc until a group of intrepid heroes reseal him!" Harry mused with Lydia. They both laughed faintly. "It's fanciful, but unlikely. Maybe whatever Hermione is working on will be some help though. She says it has something to do with an object that can destroy evil. I can't think of anything more evil then Voldemort," Harry said. Lydia nodded.

"Neither can I," she concurred.

That night, Lydia served dinner to everyone as a thank you. Mr. Weasley pouted that he hadn't been home to watch Lydia cook the meal. Mrs. Weasley said it was splendid and torturous to have the wonderful smell wafting through the house all day long, but well worth the wait in the long run.

Lydia and George stayed up long after everyone had gone to bed, cuddled up in front of the living room fireplace. She wanted to freeze that moment in time and live in it forever. The two eventually fell asleep cheek to cheek, where Molly found them the early the next morning. She almost couldn't bear to wake them, until she saw George drooling on Lydia's hair in his sleep.

"It's morning?" Lydia asked sleepily when she was woken up. Molly smiled.

"That it is. You'll be wanting a shower and breakfast too. The trip on the train is a long one," she said. Lydia disentangled herself from the still sleeping George and stretched. He woke up only seconds after she stood up.

"Whatimisit?" he mumbled. Lydia grinned.

"7:30. I need to go get a shower and get ready." Lydia said. George nodded and plodded up the stairs after her, though he kept going when she went into her room. No doubt he was going to crawl in bed and go back to sleep. He didn't need to be at the shop until ten.

Lydia got her shower and went back to her room. She felt a bit stupid for not picking something out the night before. She'd meant to, but hadn't planned on falling asleep with George in the living room. She quickly took a silvery skirt and a green shirt out of her luggage and threw it on. There was no place to plug in her hairdryer though, so she put her wet hair in a ponytail and walked out her door. She ran straight into George, and was almost knocked over. He looked just as surprised as she was.

"I thought you were going up to bed," she said.

"Lydia, you can't wear that!" he exclaimed and pushed her back into the bedroom. Lydia quickly turned sour and crossed her arms with a scowl.

"Since when do YOU get to say what I can and can't wear? What's wrong with it?" she asked and looked down.

"Those are the Slytherin house colors," George said plainly. "You don't want to be associated with those slime balls, TRUST ME! Most dark Witches and Wizards come from Slytherin house," he said. Lydia blinked, and her scowl disappeared.

"Well then," she said quietly. "I'll have to wear something else."

"We'll be waiting downstairs," he said and disappeared down the steps. Lydia threw her suitcase back on the bed and opened it up. She held up her 3 piece navy blue suit with white pinstripes. She smiled. She always looked sharp in that suit. Her heart sank though. She had no way to get the wrinkles out of it. She was about to put it away when Molly walked by the room and peered in.

"Are you alright there?" she asked. Lydia sighed and held up the wrinkled suit.

"I don't suppose you have any place where I could plug in my portable steamer so I can get the wrinkles out of this do you?" she asked. Molly smiled and walked into the room.

"Oh I can fix that for you dear," she said as she took out her wand. She cast an anti-wrinkle charm. Lydia grinned as all the wrinkles came out of the suit. It looked more pristine then it had on the day she bought it. She grinned.

"It'll repel wrinkles and stains all day too, now hurry up and get dressed! Breakfast is almost ready!" she said and turned to leave.

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley," Lydia said. Molly grinned to her and left. Lydia quickly got dressed and looked in the mirror. The charm had completely restored the suit to brand new splendor. The colors seemed darker and the angles and pant leg creases had gotten their sharpness back. Lydia grinned at her refection one last time. Ichabod flew into her room from the door and landed on the floor. Her cawed at her.

"I know, I know. I'm coming," she said and closed up her suit case. She turned to Ichabod.

"Oh, and if you feel the need to ride up on my shoulder today, you'll have to mind your talons. This is quite expensive," she said. He made a sound of agreement and flew up to her shoulder. She carried her suitcase downstairs.

Breakfast turned out to be hearty Eggs Benedict. Molly had only made about fifteen of them! Lydia had eaten four before she couldn't eat anymore. The four of them managed to eat most of the food. Molly left the rest out for whoever was the first lucky soul to come downstairs to them. When they were finally ready to leave at around 8:30 Molly had everyone do a final check on their belongings.

"How are we getting to London?" Lydia asked. Molly grinned as she put a scarf over her hair and opened the front door.

"We're walking to the Muggle post office and ordering a cab from there," Molly said and smiled to everyone. "Shall we be on our way then?"

It wasn't a very far walk. Molly had cast a featherweight charm on Ginny's heavy trunk, so it would be easy for the girl to carry. Once they got into the village, Mrs. Weasley ordered a cab. The driver stared at Lydia and Ichabod. She knew he wasn't used to seeing people with birds that big following them around and was going to make something up to tell the man but decided not to.

"Can you meet us in London on the train platform before 11?" she asked Ichabod instead. He cawed happily and took flight. It seemed he'd been waiting for her to ask him that. She figured that when he saw the car, he thought it looked a bit like a cage. The cabby stared at her even more. She grinned nervously.

"He's trained," she said and hoped he wouldn't think more of it. It seemed to work because he got back to loading Ginny and Lydia's things into the trunk. Molly sat up front next to the driver and the rest sat in the back. She leaned over the seat to talk once they were on their way.

"I can't believe my baby girl is in her last year of school!" she exclaimed almost tearfully. Ginny blushed at the attention. "Why it seems like it was only yesterday that I was waving to Bill as he got on the school train for the first time!"

"Oh mum!" Ginny said with a red face to rival her hair. George told jokes, which most of them made no sense to Lydia or the driver. When they arrived at King's Cross at around 10:30, the driver got a trolley for Ginny and Lydia's luggage. Lydia however insisted on dragging her luggage behind her. She'd barely started walking towards the station when she heard a familiar caw. The driver of the cab watched with a dropped jaw as Ichabod landed on her rolling suitcase.

"You weren't kidding when you said he was a trained bird!" the driver commented. Lydia smiled weakly. She'd meant for Ichabod to meet her on the train platform. He was going to draw more odd looks from people in the station.

"Yes, he's really well trained," she said and thanked him for his help. Once the cabby was gone, the four started towards the platform. People did indeed stare at the young, well dressed woman with a raven perched happily on her rolling luggage. Most people reckoned though, that the bird was hitching a ride and the woman didn't know he was there. One man even tried to shoo Ichabod away without alerting Lydia. Ichabod only snapped his beak at the man, and convinced him to leave him be.

"Where exactly is the entrance to the platform?" Lydia asked, remembering what Dumbledore had said about guessing she'd be able to see the platform.

"In between the barrier of platforms nine and ten," Ginny said quietly. When they got there, Lydia spotted it immediately.

"Ok Ginny you go first, you're the most conspicuous," said Molly. Lydia looked at the barrier. It looked like a foggy mirror that showed a different place. She could barely make out something red and several black blobs moving around the scene.

Ginny waited till the coast was clear and then pushed her trolley towards the barrier. Instead of hitting the wall, she went right through the foggy mirror. Lydia watched with great interest as she went from real Ginny to foggy mirror Ginny.

"I'll go next," Lydia said. "This barrier is really weird looking. How is it that Muggles don't see it?" she asked George and Molly. The two exchanged odd glances.

"Er, we can't see it either," he admitted. Lydia looked from them, to the barrier.

"Oh," she mumbled. She made sure no one was looking and stepped into the foggy mirror. She was instantly on another train platform. A large, antique, scarlet steam engine was spouting steam into the air. There were people of all ages standing around, talking, laughing and hugging. Most of the children were already in their black robes, and some of the younger ones were crying, while their parents soothed them and patted their cheeks. She felt a familiar ache throb in her chest. She felt it sometimes she saw mothers and their children together

Several people gave Lydia a sideways glance. She looked like a Muggle who'd gotten on the wrong platform. They looked away though when Ichabod flew onto her shoulder and stared them down. Anyone with a bird that possessive and foreboding had to be a witch. Lydia, who didn't notice that people were looking at her, found Ichabod's weight comforting. She reached up and stroked his feathers.

She found Ginny and helped her lug her heavy trunk into an empty compartment. When both of their belongings were nicely stowed, they made their way back to the platform. She thought of something when she saw George standing there near a group of younger students and grinning.

"How am I going to see you? Will you come and visit me at the school?" she asked.

"I'll come to Hogsmeade. It's a wizarding village near the castle. I'm sure Dumbledore will let you come down and see me. We can meet up at the Three Broomsticks. It's a pub." He said as the whistle on the train blew shrilly. Some of the kids crying began to wail louder, and the older students made their way onto the train. George looked at Lydia.

"George dear, she has to go, the train is getting ready to leave," Molly said. George ignored his mother and bent down to kiss Lydia. Until now, they hadn't been openly affectionate in front of others, but neither of them cared much at that moment. He pulled away slowly. Lydia seriously considered staying behind. Even if she didn't go back to the Burrow, she could always go back to the Leaky Cauldron. George broke her reverie.

"I'll see you in Hogsmeade. I promise," he told her quietly, his lips still close to hers.

"Tonight?" she asked as she heard the engine begin to chug. George grinned

"George! The train!" Molly sounded exasperated. George hurried Lydia to the train. It was still moving slowly enough for him to trot beside her.

"Tomorrow. You'll be too tired tonight," he said as he went along next to the train. It was beginning to go a bit faster. He reached up and gave her one last kiss.

"Go with love," he said before the train was going too fast for him to keep up with. Lydia held her head out the door, with her hair whipping the back of her neck until George and his mother disappeared around a bend in the tracks. She sighed and pulled into the door and shut it. She turned around. Ginny was standing in the aisle smiling. She'd already changed into her Hogwarts robes.

"You're really good for my brother. You make him happy. Do you know that he talked about you all week before you came to stay with us? You've really calmed him down." Ginny said. Lydia raised her eyebrow.

"Calmed him down?" she asked. Ginny nodded.

"He acts completely different around you. Now he's doing something other then testing the joke shop items on the family," she said simply. "Mum was NOT happy with him two weeks ago when he and Fred mixed some of their yummy fangs into her mushroom soup. We all sprouted huge fangs at dinner."

"Yikes!" Lydia said and made her way towards Ginny. So George acted differently around her. She frowned inwardly at this. Was there a reason for that? Lydia remembered the way he and George had mocked Percy, and the way that Fred jumped out of the house wearing those ridiculous clothes. She'd always figured Fred to be more jovial, but now. What made him act differently around her. She would just have to ask him when she saw him next. She wouldn't mind getting to know the George that his family knew.

Ginny opened up the compartment door and went in. Lydia followed. When they'd first gotten on the train, the compartment had been empty. Now there was a young child wearing his black Hogwarts robes sitting in the furthest corner from the door. He watched Lydia and Ginny walk in. They both sat on the seat opposite of him. After a moment of looking at each other, Ginny was the first one to speak up

"Hi there," she said in a friendly voice. He tried to grin, but looked a bit scared. Lydia wondered if he'd been one of the children on the platform crying. His eyes didn't have the tell tale puffy aftermath of tears. Finally, he spoke up.

"Hi," he said simply in a small voice. Ginny grinned.

"You're new to the whole wizarding world aren't you?" she asked in a gentle voice. The boy nodded.

"That's alright, you're going to have fun at Hogwarts. It's always scary going somewhere new, but you'll be fine. I'm Ginny by the way, and this is Lydia. What's your name?" she asked. Lydia was impressed. Ginny would make a good mother someday. The boy already seemed to be more at ease.

"My name is Benjamin Moss," he said and looked back out the window for a second, then he looked to Lydia.

"Are you a teacher?" he asked. Lydia laughed. Ichabod jumped off her shoulder and onto the seat. He eyed a loose cushion button for a second or two before pecking at it.

"No, I'm only a guest at the school. I'll be there for a few days." Lydia said and shooed Ichabod from tearing the button loose from the cushion. He hopped backwards and opened his beak at her in a threatening manner, but he wouldn't dare strike her. It was more of a show of irritation and rebellion then actual aggression. When her hand moved away he closed his beak and turned his head sideways to look up at her.

The Weasley's hadn't been kidding when they said it was a long ride. The train wound through mountains and tunnels. Sometimes when Lydia looked out the window she could see that the path of the tracks sometimes did complete U-turns. She seriously doubted it was the most direct route to the castle.

At around 12:30 a well needed distraction presented itself in the form of a friendly looking woman who opened up their compartment door and asked if they wanted anything from the snack trolley. Lydia bought some pumpkin juice and cauldron cakes. Ginny opened her pumpkin juice and drank it eagerly, but Benjamin and Lydia both seemed a bit skeptical of the translucent orange liquid. Benjamin ended up trying it first and with a smile, told Lydia that it tasted like pumpkin pie.

After their meal, Lydia must have fallen asleep, because in what seemed like the blink of an eye, she was shaken awake by Ginny. It was already dark outside.

"The train is slowing down. We're almost there