Entry: Friday, September 3rd, 2021

We rode the Hogwarts Express today. We stayed together for the trip- me, Neville, Susan, and Daphne. Astoria won’t be coming to Hogwarts for another two years, and if the noises I’ve been hearing from Helia are anything to go by, the Hogwarts she’ll go to won’t be the same as the Hogwarts we’re going to.

Speaking of Helia, she gave me a necklace this morning before taking me to Platform Nine and Three Quarters- a necklace so steeped in diversion magic that nobody will realize that I’m The Boy who Lived.

I’m happy with that. Especially after that train ride, there were so many people looking for Harry Potter, the Boy who Lived. Thanks to the necklace, they could never find me- even when they were looking straight at me, and speaking to me, by name.

Neville, Susan, and Astoria know the truth, of course.

And it didn’t stop a certain Princess Arienne Fox- I could have sworn she was named Abigail, but whatever- from finding Harry Potter, Friend of Helia Black.

I didn’t realize Helia had friends in such high places as the Royal Family.

Something I was confused by, at least until I allowed my eyes to drift south a little, was that she introduced herself as the Crown Princess, and people addressed her by her proper titles… but I seemed to be the only one capable of realizing that the Crown Princess was in our midst. Even Princess Arienne seemed immensely amused to it- but as I mentioned, it was only a mystery until I allowed my eyes to drift south. Displayed proudly on her chest was another of Helia’s diversion necklaces. She was actually surprised to hear that I actually was the Boy who Lived- and also seemed to be an exception to my necklace. I know they’re useless against me because Helia’s magic is technically my magic, but I guess she keyed them to also be useless against each other.

I… don’t really have a problem with that. Helia keeps her cards close to her chest, and truly trusts very, very few- so if she gave Princess Arienne something this close to her heart, the girl must have her absolute trust. And Helia apparently also told her to look for me on the train, as if it wasn’t obvious enough already.

There was one other person that joined us in our compartment through the ride. A girl named Hermione Granger. She wasn’t an exception to either mine nor Arienne’s necklaces, but she did comment on just how many members of the Royal Guard seemed to be riding the Hogwarts Express- something which drew Susan’s attention instantly.

Princess Arienne drew an evidently immense amusement from joining the speculation on why the Royal Guard might be riding the Hogwarts Express. There was even more amusement to be had when I suggested that they might be looking to protect the Boy who Lived- though that also changed the topic to why the Crown might be interested in a magical celebrity.

Arienne’s immediate suggestion to that question made a lot of sense to me- that the Boy who Lived is famed for defeating the Dark Terrorist Voldemort, so of course the Crown might be interested in reproducing that effect- and protecting him from the Dark Terrorist’s followers.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the trip, for me at least, was when Susan mentioned that her Aunt had discovered extensive compulsions throughout the Ministry. There was a suspected link between the revelation- through Dis-Ease potioning of a large chunk of the Ministry, all at once- and the crushing of a certain Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore just two days earlier. That is to say, Director Amelia Bones, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, thinks both acts- and the cleansing draughts she discovered in her own food, likely protecting her from compulsions- were performed by the same Guardian Angel.

When I commented that Helia has always been like that, Arienne raised an eyebrow at me, but I think our necklaces kept anyone else from realizing what I’d said. I think she’s planning to get me on my own to ask me about that at some point, but I’m not sure when she’ll have an opportunity. I’m in Hufflepuff with Susan, and mostly because the Hat apparently talked to Helia and agreed that Slytherin wouldn’t be safe for me, but Arienne went to Slytherin with Daphne, leaving Neville to join Hermione in Gryffindor.

Anyways, after dinner, we went down into the dungeons next to the kitchens to find the Hufflepuff dormitory. There was a quick presentation by the senior prefects, which really just boiled down to ‘a lot of stuff is changing this year’, then they sent us all to bed.

Author's Note

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