The day of new journey
The morning of September 1st arrived not with a sunrise, but with the sound of a heavy trunk falling down the stairs and Nymphadora Tonks yelping in the hallway.
Because the Tonks family had stayed for two days to help with the morning rush, the Lee house was packed to the rafters. There were six children, three adults, and a mountain of magical luggage squeezed into a space meant barely for a family of seven.
The Morning Chaos
"Who took my left boot?" Leo shouted from the second-floor landing. His hair was a frantic, spiky shock of electric blue—a physical manifestation of his nerves. "I put it right by the door!" he yelled
"Carina's using it as a bed for her stuffed dragon!" Lyra yelled back, dodging a flying piece of toast charmed by Ted to land on a plate.
"Carina!" yelled Leo, "sorry! " yelped carina.
In the kitchen, Ji-ho was a blur of motion. "Vela, check the list! Leo, check your pockets! Ted, please tell me you didn't let Dora try to 'help' with the shrinking charms on the trunks!"
"Too late!" Ted Tonks called out from the parlor, followed by a loud bang and the smell of singed feathers. "it not me" yelled Tonks, clearly it was her.
Leo scrambled into the kitchen, finally wearing both boots but with his tie lopsided. His porcelain skin was flushed, and his golden eyes were darting everywhere.
"Here," Orion said, stopping Leo in his tracks. The eldest brother reached down and straightened Leo's tie with a firm, steady hand. "Don't let the chaos get to your head. You're a a big boy now"
"I'm nervous, Ori," Leo admitted, his hair fading to a shy, pale lavender.
"Good," Orion grunted, giving him a playful shove. "It means you're paying attention. Now, grab the marmalade before the twin"
The Great Migration
The journey to King's Cross was a logistical nightmare.
The Lee family was far too large for a single car, and the Floo Network was out of the question. Ever since what the papers politely called the Malfoys' Ruling, Ministry monitoring of their household connections had become relentless. So there is only one option left. Since appeartion might have risk in getting caught by muggles.
They took three separate Muggle taxis.
Leo found himself wedged in the back seat between Tonks and Andromeda, his knees pressed against his trunk.
"Check this out, Leo," Tonks whispered, her hair flickering through three different shades of pink in rapid succession showing the diffent shade of pink she might use for today journey, clearly enjoying herself.
Andromeda immediately smacked the back of her head.
"I told you to behave," she said sharply, authority radiating off her in a way Tonks had never quite outgrown.
Tonks only grinned wider. "Sorry, Mother."
Andromeda sighed deeply, then turned her attention to Leo, her tone lowering into something more thoughtful and measured.
"Remember," she said carefully, choosing her words so the taxi driver would hear nothing unusual, "just because you are talented doesn't mean people will automatically flock over you. Sometimes it's better to watch first. Follow the flow around you. Learn who people are before showing them who you can be."
Andromeda had always been practical. Logical. Years of raising Tonks had given her a very clear idea of what a young Metamorphmagus might face at Hogwarts.
Leo nodded. He didn't fully understand yet, but something about her words settled quietly in his chest, like advice meant to be remembered later.
Arrival at Platform 9¾
When the taxis finally screeched to a halt outside King's Cross, the family spilled out onto the pavement like a traveling circus.
Ji-ho emerged try to pay the taxis, while carrying his works documents, and someone else's scarf. Ted Tonks laughed far too loudly at a joke only he found funny. Lyra hauled her trunk with athletic ease, while Vela carefully balanced a stack of books tied together with enchanted string. Orion carried lyra broomsticks over his shoulder like weapons. Tonks's trip and fall down due to air.
Passersby stared.
There were trunks with owl cages strapped to them, broom handles poking out of luggage, and at least one suitcase that hummed softly when startled. A man in a business suit stopped walking entirely just to watch them pass.
They moved through the station anyway, unapologetic, a tide of barely-contained magic pushing through a sea of ordinary Londoners.
Leo felt it before he saw it.
The air changed as they approached the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10. It grew heavier, warmer.
This time, he wasn't watching his siblings go without him.
Orion went first, disappearing into the wall without hesitation. Lyra followed, then Vela, her books clutched protectively to her chest.
Leo swallowed.
He tightened his grip on the trolley handle and pushed forward.
For a split second, everything blurred. The cold grey of the Muggle station dissolved, replaced by warmth and motion. The sound of voices, steam, and magic crashed over him all at once.
He stumbled out onto the platform.
The scarlet steam engine stood before him, enormous and alive, steam hissing like a breathing creature. In gleaming gold letters along its side were the words Hogwarts Express. Owls hooted overhead. Students laughed and shouted. The scent of coal smoke and old magic filled the air.
Leo stared.
"We're here," he whispered.
Meeting with Friends
Steam curled around Leo's ankles, thick and warm, as the Hogwarts Express hissed impatiently beside the platform. Trunks rattled, owls hooted, and voices overlapped in excited chaos. While the rest of the family began hauling luggage toward the train, Orion and Tonks gently but firmly pulled Leo aside, tucking themselves into the shadow behind a massive stone pillar.
Orion placed both hands on Leo's shoulders. His expression was unusually serious.
"Leo," he said quietly, "if you ever get into trouble, you call me first. Then you call the twins or Tonks. And listen—" He hesitated, clearly choosing his words. "I love how openly you express yourself. But Hogwarts isn't always kind to people who wear their hearts on the outside. Sometimes, when things hurt, you need to bury it. Lock it away. Don't give them weaknesses to grab."
Tonks nodded.
"Hogwarts is a dragon's nest, kid," she added. "Malfoys being a the Hogwarts governor, Parkinsons, Greengrasses—they look for tells, this pure blood supremacy will view us as food if we don't carefull. If you're in a duel, or even just an argument, and your hair flashes white with fear, you've already lost. You need to learn control. Keep it black. Keep it still. Only change when you decide to."
Leo felt a sting rise in his chest. He glanced down at the polished brass latch of a nearby trunk, catching his reflection. His hair had dulled into an uneasy, muddy grey.
"But that's who I am," he said quietly. "It's my uniqueness. You're telling me to hide it?"
Orion leaned closer, lowering his voice. "No. We're telling you to weaponize it. Use it when it benefits you. Charm people. Distract them. Confuse them. Imagine turning into a prefect to slip past curfew, or copying a professor's face to prank someone. But never—never—let them see when you're scared. If they can't read you, they can't hurt you. You're not a baby anymore."
Tonks grinned. "Yeah. You're an upgraded model. Baby: Hogwarts Edition."
Leo let out a small laugh. Then he closed his eyes.
He imagined the steady quiet of his bedroom, his father's calm presence, the cold weight of his mother's Auror badge resting against his chest. He slowed his breathing. The grey faded. His hair deepened, settling into a thick, glossy raven-black—still, controlled, deliberate.
He opened his eyes. The gold of his irises looked sharper now, framed by darkness.
"Better?" he asked.
Orion smiled, relief softening his face. "Much better. Now go. Show them who Leo Lee is."
They watched as Leo tugged his trunk toward the train, waving once before disappearing inside.
"I hope he doesn't overwhelm people," Orion murmured.
Tonks snorted. "Oh he will. I mean, look at him. . He was never going to blend in."
Both of them were smiling and laughing as it was probably true.
The Shared Compartment
Instead of following Orion and the older girls to the upper-year carriages, Leo headed for the middle of the train. He spotted a familiar kind face and a flash of red hair through a compartment window.
He slid the door open.
Fred and George Weasley were already half out of their seats, arguing in hushed excitement while attempting to drop a stink wood sap into the pocket of a passing prefect. Cedric Diggory sat by the window, a book open on his lap—but he clearly wasn't reading, his eyes flicking nervously between the twins and the corridor.
Leo grinned with what he see.
"Room for one more?" Leo asked.
"Leo!" the twins shouted together.
"The man of many faces!" Fred exclaimed. "Sit, sit. We were just discussing how to properly greet Charlie."
"Did you know," George added solemnly, "that Charlie licks his fingers to turn pages?"
"That explains why his mouth always looks like it's dying of thirst," Fred said gravely.
Cedric snorted before he could stop himself. Leo laughed and dropped into the seat beside him. The air between them warmed instantly, that same shy spark from Ollivanders lingering—but this time, it felt easier. Cedric's ears turned faintly pink, but he smiled.
As Cedric try to process the earlier conversation
"Wait what do you mean man of many faces" he asked curiously.
Fred and George grinned mischievously already know what coming.
Leo smile and then his face morph, height adjusted and black hair turn into brown.
Cedric saw this happening and shocked to see himself without using a mirror.
Leo who change to look at Cedric make a dramatic hair flip . "Heheh that the perk of being a Metamorphmagus" and then he was trying to flex his muscle.
The twin roared with laughter and Cedric look like a mix of astonishment and embarrassment was stunned for a moment.
"H-hey change back" Cedric says with a flushed face.
all four of them laugh at that point
As the train lurched forward, countryside blurring past the window, conversation erupted.
"I want to see the Great Hall first," George said. "Charlie says the ceiling actually messes with your head."
"And the food," Fred added. "Apparently it just keeps coming. Mountains of it."
"I'm excited for Transfiguration," Cedric said quietly. "My dad says it's about discipline. Precision."
Leo's eyes lit up. "transfiguration for me as well. And the collection of art work in the building."
"The Sorting Hat," Fred said suddenly. "What if it puts us somewhere weird?"
"I hope not Slytherin," George said quickly.
Leo tilted his head. "Why? My mum and brother is a Slytherin."
The twins blinked, then shrugged.
"Well… as long as you're there, we treat you better but the others one they know what coming," this statement is the only things the twin able to compromise, coming to a family of Gryffindor and a parents with a long time rival with Slytherin make their impression of Slytherin more on the negative side, even Leo also sometimes thinks the same, although mother and Orion have a good time at Slytherin houses, the level of guarding and protecting one dignity in order to not show weaknesses can be exhausting.
Cedric smiled." Well my brother is from Gryffindor and my sister is from Hufflepuff, I think I am fine either houses."
George chummed in "oh yeah Rufus, he and Charlie are both on the quidditch team"
Leo was confused " did you guys meet before"
Fred chimed in "our family lives in the same place, so we often meet each other"
this make Leo a little bit jealous because they already have a preestablish relationship while he had to build up this one.
Fred chimed " well regardless we like you better than cedric"
Cedric pout with that statement and was speechless it was a joke but it was in the expense of him. Leo laughs so loud that he swallowed his bubble candy, making him laugh while bubble come up to his mouth, nose and ears.