Chapter 48: The Day of The Express

"Susan… Susan!", said person groggily opened her eyes, bitterly leaving a very beautiful dream involving a certain crimson eyed boy; she has always been a heavy sleeper, and even though today she would join the Hogwarts' express, it was no exception.

"Mmm…" she moaned unhappily, before her mind registered that her favorite and only aunt was sitting on her bed, caressing her hair. "A-aunty?" she almost jumped from her bed. She was rarely woken up this way. In fact, the only time it happened was the day she'd board the famous train, so she quickly understood the situation.

"Get up, we don't have much time left." Amelia scolded her niece, whom she considered her daughter, but there was no anger in her features, only tenderness and love for her only kin.

Susan immediately sprang to action, unwilling to disappoint her role model in life. She quickly got showered and got dressed, heading towards the breakfast table, humming all the way. Maybe the fact that she would be seeing her friends and crush had something to do with her eagerness.

She sat down, buttered her toast and began munching while sipping her hot tea.

"Looking forward to see your friends, Suzie?" Amelia asked with a smile she never showed outside of her home. Her job and position did not permit it.

"Mm!" Susan nodded enthusiastically.

"Any friend in particular?" Amelia continued with a teasing tone. "Wouldn't happen to be Mr. Lunar now, would it?"

"Auntyyyyy…" Susan whined, a blush slowly creeping through her cheeks.

"I see you haven't given up on him yet…" Amelia sighed. She was worried for her niece, worried she was throwing away opportunities in pursuit of a hopeless relationship.

"I won't give up on him!" Susan said passionately, almost offended. If it wasn't her aunt saying those words, she would've reacted worse.

"I am just looking out for you, Suzie. He is already betrothed… to two girls no less. And unlike those two poor girls, you are fortunate to have the ability to choose. I… I do not wish to see you hurt yourself." Amelia sighed.

She loved her 'daughter' to bits, and wanted nothing but the best for her, but she did not think her pursuit of that man would do her any good. She had nothing against him, in fact, she liked him a lot. But the fact that he was already taken was an issue. She did not believe Susan would be happy in such a complicated relationship. She wanted her niece to take her decisions herself, but hoped she took the good ones.

Susan's eyes watered at her aunt's words. She could tell how much she cared for her, and could understand her worries. But she made her mind a long time ago. From their first year, she secretly had a crush on him, and she believed he also secretly had a crush on her. At least, that's something her best friend and her agreed on. She spent three years dreaming about them being together, happily married. In fact, several of her dreams involved them holding a young boy that could be mistaken for Kaiser, if not for his sapphire blue eyes, Susan's eyes.

But her feelings for him developed during the last few years. At first, she admired his maturity and his drive that would put a Hufflepuff to shame. She understood perfectly why he was so talented at magic. In fact, she was there when he performed his very first spell. It was pathetic at best. He was beyond weak; his magical power would place him last at Hogwarts'. He was painfully aware of it himself, but he never let it get to his head.

He never slacked off in class, always researching ahead of time, and practicing with all his might whenever he could. On top of that, he never shied away from helping his fellow students, earning a lot of respect on goodwill.

Then his ingenuity during the second year was something else entirely. First, he modified a spell no one has succeeded on before, at the tender age of twelve. Then she found out later that he confronted the darkest wizard of all time with such calm and control it was almost frightening. She saw the memory, and if that conversation was to be believed, he went down there expecting to meet a Basilisk, the king of serpents, and the deadliest magical creature ever recorded.

She fell in love with his courage and loyalty to his friend, along with his cunning and resourcefulness. Then, during the third year, when all her fellow year-mates could do was stare at her chest, he behaved like a gentleman, his eyes never leaving hers, even when she wasn't looking (Her friends confirmed), though she suspected because he liked her eyes, which in hindsight he did.

Her feelings for him bordered obsession, and Daphne's support only fueled her drive, especially when she confirmed he definitely liked her too, but was too scared to confess it.

"I know aunty…" Susan said softly. "But Kaiser is the one for me… He did not choose who to be betrothed to either, and only did so out of self-preservation and you know it… He deserves to be happy…"

"You don't have to save anyone, Suzie. You are allowed to be selfish… You should consider your happiness first…" Amelia tried to reason with her, but it was pointless.

"He needs me, and I need him too… I can't imagine myself with anyone else…" tears started flowed out of the redhead's eyes, before she covered her face with her hands and started sobbing.

Amelia sighed and approached her niece, hugging her and stroking her hair. "There, there…" it pained Amelia to see Susan heartbroken over something she was certain she would come to regret. At first, she dismissed this as a simple teenage crush, but it seemed the situation wasn't so simple. This situation escalated quickly, she would note for the future to tackle this issue more delicately.

"Wake up Ron! And you too Harry! We're already late!" Hermione smacked both of them on the shoulder, giving an extra hard one for Ron, whose sleep was almost impossible to interrupt.

"Alright, no need to scream, jeez…" Ron yawned, ready to go back to sleep again, before another smack greeted him on the shoulder. "Ouch!"

"And don't you dare go back to sleep again! Your mother says breakfast is ready." Hermione scolded, and at the mention of breakfast, Ron's eyes opened immediately, while his stomach growled in anticipation. Harry didn't need to be told twice, as he was used to waking up early in the morning.

"Poor Hermione." Ron said. "She honestly believes this family is going to be at the station early. It's as if she doesn't know us." they both burst out laughing. If there is one even that happened every year at the station, it was the Weasley family arriving late and chaotically boarding the train. People were so used to it that they reserved seat in the train near the windows to watch the show.

They joined the rest at the breakfast table after getting dressed, enjoying the Weasley matriarch extraordinary cooking. Though that was hardly the case for Ron, who was stuffing his mouth and swallowing without even tasting, something he got admonished for every time, but he forgets after a minute or two. It appears that hunger shuts down all his mental faculties.

Once breakfast was over, they all boarded the iconic Weasley Ford Anglia, that had been expanded to fit the large Weasley family, namely the Weasley twins Fred and George, Ginny, Ron, and their parents, along with their guest Hermione and favorite son Harry.

"Haven't wizards achieved instantaneous travel, Hermione?" Harry asked Hermione, their resident know it all. He was used to apparating with Kaiser, though he did not like that very much. But he knew about portkey travel too, having the opportunity to experience it before the world cup.

"Yes. Apparition is the most common, but you can apparate side-along with one person at most, two if you're very experienced. As for portkey travel, it is highly regulated by the ministry, and forbidden for civilian use." Hermione explained to him.

"Kaiser didn't have a problem using portkeys…" Ron muttered, but loud enough for everyone in the car to hear, and all ears perked at this.

"What's this we hear?" Fred and George said simultaneously.

"You're not implying-"

"That Kai of all the people-"

"is breaking the law-"

"are you?" they both chorused.

"No…" Ron said weakly, only now realizing what he just did.

"This is the third time, Ron…" Hermione and Harry both glared at him. They were lucky they were among family.

"My bad my bad… but it's only the second time, and I didn't mean to…" Ron raised his hand in surrender. He truly didn't mean it, but sometimes his mouth speaks before his brain registers the consequences.

"Right… you don't remember…" Hermione muttered under her breath.

"Listen mate, we know you don't do it on purpose, but you have to be careful… it's not right to thank the person who saved us by spreading his secrets now, is it?" Harry explained carefully. Ron genuinely felt bad, because the first time he did it, it nearly cost them their lives.

"What's this we hear, Ronnikins?"

"Do you need us to teach you a thing or two about loyalty?" The twins smiled evilly at Ron whose face drained of all color. He knew that "teaching" involved pranking mercilessly for a few days. Ginny couldn't hold her laughter at her brother's face.

Kaiser apparated very early to platform 9 ¾ in King Cross station with a loud crack, drawing enough attention from those already present there. Considering the distance between Scotland where Hogwarts resided and London. He did not spare any energy to the spell, not risking splinching himself.

He came early because he wanted to avoid the headache that is talking to people, especially those that had ulterior motives. He boarded the train and took the first empty compartment he found, placing his trunk in its reserved space. While his trunk was technically at Hogwarts before, he had to maintain appearances. No one knew he lived at Hogwarts after all, not even its current headmaster. He sat silently in his compartment, thinking about the future events of this year again.

But his peace was short lived as the compartment door yanked open, revealing a grinning black-haired girl. "Ojamashimasu!" she said before taking a seat opposite to him. Michael followed right after, it appeared they came at the same time.

"Sup." Kaiser nodded, earning a raised eyebrow from both of them.

"Sup?" Asked Michael.

"What? It's a common greeting." Kaiser shrugged. "I take it you enjoyed your trip to Japan?" he asked Tracey.

"Yes!" Tracey said with a gleam in her eyes, eager to finally share everything she bottled up until now. She really liked talking.

"Here we go again…" Michael rolled his eyes, earning a glare from Tracey, but she quickly returned her attention to Kaiser, bombarding him with everything that came through her mind. For the most part, he paid attention because he was interested to know of Wizarding Japan. For starters, it was interesting to notice that they had zero tolerance for Dark Magic there. Anyone found practicing them is sentenced to death. But he wondered if this was a tactic, they used to control their population to remain in power, or they just abhorred the concept.

Soon they were joined by Daphne, that was now the new target of Tracey's ramblings.

"Psst." Kaiser whispered in an overly dramatic way to Michael, who just rolled his eyes again. "Tell me, did Tracey ask you out yet?"

"What?!" Michael asked outraged, which drew the attention of the others, though he played it off as nothing, so they turned back to their conversation. Once it was safe, he whispered back: "What the hell do you mean?"

"You've been making googly eyes at each other for most of the third year, don't think we haven't noticed." Kaiser shrugged.

"Well yea but…" Michael was lost for words before he looked outraged again. "And why would she ask me out? Aren't I supposed to be the one asking her out?"

Kaiser forced a muffled laughter. "Yes, sure. As if."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Michael narrowed his eyes at him.

"I'm saying that you're too shy for your own good, and someone else might ask her out while you're considering it." Kaiser said sagely, patting Michael in the shoulder, who eyes started twitching from annoyance. "Just do it, and then, Que sera sera."

"Couldn't you find a better way to say it next time?" Michael appreciated the advice nevertheless.

"And miss the opportunity to annoy you?" Kaiser said in mock shock. "Never!"

The door opened again, this time it was a blond and redhead Hufflepuffs. "Hello!" they both said in sync.

"Hey guys! It's been a while! Come join us!" Tracey said, almost jumping from her seat in excitement. More people to talk to, sounds like fun is probably what is was thinking.

"We would love to, but the others are waiting for us. We came to say hi. Sorry." Hannah answered first while Susan pouted.

"It's alright, we'll get opportunities to catch up at Hogwarts." Michael said smoothly.

"See you guys later!" Susan waved at them, though her eyes were fixated on Kaiser, who smiled and waved back.

It didn't take long before the Weasley show began. Hectic running just as the train was about to depart, accompanied with cries and useless orders along the lines of "Get on the train", that only serve to create more stress for them and amusement for the spectators. The Weasley matriarch was giving them a shove to the train, just the right amount of propulsion much needed. The most amazing part was when they all boarded the train, applause rang across the station, and the train, with the Weasley family feeling a bit awkward because they didn't feel it necessary to applaud their successful endeavor. Little did they know that it was only as thanks for the show.

Kaiser shook his head in amusement. He could not understand how could a family come late to the same event for over twelve years in a row. The odds were ridiculously low, yet it was happening in front of him. One possibility would be that it's done on purpose, but he failed to see how that would benefit anyone.

Hermione, Ginny, Harry and Ron made their way through the train, looking for an empty compartment. Luckily, they didn't look for long as they came across Kaiser's, and while it wasn't empty, a compartment can house eight people, and right now, it only had three occupants.

"Hello, mind if we join you?" Hermione asked hopefully. She did not have many friends, and Kaiser happened to be one of the very few she had.

"Of course, make yourselves comfortable." Kaiser gestured to them to come in with a grin. He did like Harry and Hermione; they were very pleasant people. And while he was not a big fan of Ron, he could still tolerate him. Ginny was still shy around Harry and himself, but she was a nice person nevertheless. She still hasn't gotten over her crush of the Boy-Who-Lived, if the looks she gave him weren't clear that everyone, besides the person of interest knew about it.

"How was your summer, guys?" Michael asked, opening the conversation.

"Brilliant actually. The greatest summer I ever had if I'm being honest." Harry said cheerfully. Not only did he have a great summer, but now that the school year has started, going back to the Dursleys wouldn't be a possibility for a long while.

Kaiser offered a pained smile at that. He desperately wanted to take him away from that place, and do unthinkable things to those scumbag relatives of his. But as much as he wanted to do that, there was one person that prevented him from doing so: Dumbledore.

Legally speaking, he had no right whatsoever to take him away without Dumbledore, his legal guardian's permission. And while Sirius wanted to take him away himself, he told him that it was hopeless for the time being. He just got out of the highest security level from Azkaban, and as far as the world was concerned, he was still mentally unstable. It was a lost cause.

Not to mention, should he try to take him by force, he was hopelessly outgunned against Dumbledore, 'the greatest wizard to walk the earth'. And the last thing he needed right now was an angry powerful old man on his ass. Kaiser planned on getting closer to Harry and actively help him from the shadows, he was reaching the age where he showed his full potential.

"Yeah! The Quidditch World Cup was amazing!" Ron said with a gleam in his brown eyes only present when Quidditch was mentioned, but it quickly dimmed when he remembered something. "A shame those Death Eater wankers had to ruin it!" He spat with venom.

"Yeah, Death Eaters wannabes if the news is to be believed." Michael added.

"Except it isn't." Hermione interrupted. "They are Death Eaters, and the spell they used was a Death Eater exclusive one. You know, the symbol on the sky?" Michael nodded. "Only Death Eaters can do that. It's what they used in the previous war. Whenever they raided a place, they'd leave the Dark Mark behind to inform the world of their presence."

"Why the World Cup of all the places? And why did they target Muggles only? I heard they didn't injure a single wizard." Tracey asked.

"Injuring a Wizard would raise more flags than a Muggle." Ginny, to everyone's surprise, was the one who said this. "Wizards pretend they treat Muggles as equals, but they don't. A case where muggles were injured among wizards won't draw as much attention and as much repercussions in court."

"When did you get so wise?" Ron's hung open, while everyone in the compartment was giving Ginny weird looks.

"I heard dad say it." she admitted, now feeling awkward. She was not familiar with the others.

"It's clear that they are cooking something if they chose to be active again." Harry said, diverting everyone's attention.

"Maybe he is coming back…" Hermione said uncertainly.

"Who?" Michael was alarmed. There was only one person she could be referring to, and he did not like the idea at all. Michael and Tracey turned to Kaiser for confirmation.

Daphne exchanged looks with him, an unspoken conversation went through their eyes before she nodded. He did not want to burden them, but his plans for fourth year would require him to do so anyway.

"Voldemort is alive."

"What?!" both Michael and Tracey jumped in surprise, but whatever they were about to ask was interrupted with the sound of the compartment door yanking open.

Draco, flanked by his two goons, made his way through the train, terrorizing the students, reminding them who the boss was. He enjoyed showing off his authority and the scared looks the students gave him. No one, regardless of their house, can stand in face of his power, especially not mud-bloods. Except a certain crimson haired bastard.

Draco did not understand how someone of such a low birth could rival him in magic. Everyone knows that those of noble birth are gifted in magic, and while muggle-borns argued otherwise, the overwhelming evidence cannot be refuted.

He talked with his father about his concerns, and he found that he was unsure himself. There are different theories around, some saying that he was groomed by the Greengrass family, others saying that he was from an ancient family himself, but hid it well. Draco refused to consider the latter theory.

How could someone of noble birth ever claim to be otherwise? It was absurd. He could understand if he got where he was through hard work, as he could hardly be jealous if he didn't apply himself as much. He understood why Hermione Granger was doing better at school because she spent an absurd amount of time at the Library. But no matter how much they both strived to be powerful, they'd never succeed simply because of their lower birth.

In that department, Draco had the advantage. He spent the last summer training diligently on his spells. He even underwent his family's rituals, so in term of raw power, the difference between them is overwhelming, and he was itching to put them back in place. He walked through the trains, checking each compartment he passed, flanked by his goons, Crabbe and Goyle.

He smiled in glee at finding his two preys sitting in the same compartment. Contrary to what many thought, he did not even consider Potter as his rival. He was unworthy. He was as Gryffindor as they come, hardly showing any signs of wit. He enjoyed riling him up to pass the time every now and then. He opened the door unceremoniously, staring down at them with arrogance.

"What do we have here?" a voice filled with contempt came out of the mouth of the blonde Malfoy heir. "Mud-bloods and blood traitors."

"Very original." Kaiser and Daphne shook their heads.

"Says the blonde ponce." Ron drawled and got up from his place. "Your daddy isn't here to protect you, Malfoy." He warned, wand in hand.

"Protect me from an incompetent fool like you? Don't make me laugh." Draco smirked, unafraid of Ron's threats. Ron was incompetent, and that was a well-known fact in Hogwarts.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry scowled. He wanted to punch Draco in that smug face of his, but he couldn't do it without getting in trouble.

"Came to check on you scar-head. Heard you fainted like a little girl in the middle of nowhere during the World Cup." His goons started snickering. 'Typical villain crap…' Kaiser shook his head.

"Alright. Your time is up. Leave." Kaiser suddenly said. He did not want to listen to his crap for a second more than he had to.

"Why don't you make me?" Draco said arrogantly, pointing his wand at him. His newfound confidence in his abilities alarmed Kaiser. He was fairly sure he was warned not to engage him. Lucius Malfoy must know about how he disposed of several Death Eaters. Permanently. So it was safe to assume he warned his son against picking a fight with someone who can perform a Killing Curse at the age of fourteen.

Yet Draco seemed convinced he was up to the challenge. Something is wrong here. Kaiser wanted to probe his mind, but if there was one lesson he learned from his previous encounter with Susan, it is to never probe a noble family's heir's mind.

He could just send spells his way and be done with it, but he did not wish to start any petty war with the Slytherin house. He only ever attacks when attacked, and that's something everyone knew by now. Not to mention, in case he deflected any of his spells, the others in this cramped compartment would be the unlucky victims.

"Ron," Harry interrupted him from pointing his wand at him however much he wanted to do it himself in a rare display of self-control from his part. "don't bother. He's not worth it."

"I'm certainly worth more than a Weasley. Did you even eat properly during the summer?" he sneered mockingly.

"Bastard!" Ron was positively enraged. The one thing he hated the most was his family's poverty, and this asshole just had to bring it up. As he was about to raise his wand, he found he couldn't lift his arm, an invisible force preventing him.

"If you wish to fight, take it somewhere else." Kaiser interrupted them again, giving a disappointed glance at Ron, before looking back at Draco's smug face. "As for you, if you are itching so much to have your arse handed to you, you're welcome to challenge me at Hogwarts. I'd be happy to oblige."

"Count on it." Draco said before turning back, his robes fluttering for dramatic effect. It would've intimidating if it didn't get stuck while he was closing the door, so he sheepishly unstuck it and made his way out.