Jacob Riddle

The day was dark and grey. Rain pattered softly on the windows as the train moved swiftly and smoothly across the empty countryside. The train itself was warm and comfortable with the students of Hogwarts busily milling about happy, laughing, and having fun within their compartments. This particular compartment, though, seemed to reflect the mood outside.

A young boy, about the age of fourteen sat alone, staring at a small photograph in his hand. The boy was of average height, and slender, although, you could see budding muscle on his arms. His medium length black hair shrouded his dull—almost hollow—brown eyes from the world. He was tan, but not overly and dressed in typical wizarding clothes and a green cloak with a red lining. Hearing voices, the boy quickly put the photo into his cloak as the door slid open.

"Maybe," a girl with bushy brown hair was saying to a tall red headed boy, "or it might have Muggle-Repelling Charms on it, like the World Cup Stadium. And to keep foreign wizards from finding it, they'll have made it Unplottable—oh…um…sorry." She blushed, seeing the boy. "We'll just find another compartment."

"No, please." The boy smiled, standing up. "I don't mind. I was getting lonely anyway."

The girl smiled uncertainly, before walking in and sitting opposite him. "You're an American," she stated, almost embarrassed, as the other two boys sat down. "I can tell by your accent."

"Yep," the boy answered, sticking out his hand. "Jacob Riddle, I'm a transfer student from Horseheads, New York."

The black haired boy in glasses with a lightning shaped scar on his forehead reacted first, taking Jacob's hand and shaking it firmly. "Harry Potter. This is Ron Weasley," he said pointing to the tall red head, "and Hermione Granger." He indicated the bushy haired girl.

"So you're Harry Potter, huh?" Jacob sat back his eyes alight with mirth. "Thought you'd be taller…" Harry smiled.

"Why are you transferring?" Hermione asked, with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

If Jacob noticed, he paid no mind to it and answered, "The American Wizarding Assembly or AWA wouldn't let me attend Jeanu."

"Why not?"

"No clue." He shrugged.

"What's Jeanu?" Harry asked.

"Jeanu is one of the Wizarding Schools in America," Hermione answered. "It's just as good as Hogwarts, but it doesn't have houses or Quidditch." Ron looked shocked by the idea that some schools didn't have Quidditch. "So you'll be starting as a first year?" she asked turning back to Jacob.

"You're very knowledgeable," Jacob laughed, "and actually, no…A man named Dumbledore came and tested my capabilities before the term started. He said that I would be able to start as a fourth year student. What year are you all in?"

"Fourth."

"Oh! Awesome, so at least I'll know some people." He grinned. "I know about the houses…a lion, a badger, a raven, and a snake. What houses are you in?"

"We're all in Gryffindor, the lion," Ron answered proudly. "Hufflepuff is the badger, Ravenclaw is the raven, and the snake is Slytherin. I hope you don't end up there, mate."

"Why not, I happen to like snakes."

"There's not a witch or wizard who turned bad that wasn't in that house."

"I'm sure that's just some stupid rumor," he laughed, shaking his head. "So what else should I know about the school?"

Harry, Ron, and a reluctant Hermione passed the next few hours taking turns explaining different aspects of the school to an eager Jacob.

About halfway through Ron's overly excited explanation of Quidditch, a round faced boy burst into their compartment, looking much disheveled.

"What's wrong Neville?" Harry asked.

"Malfoy's causing trouble with Ginny," Neville panted.

Instantly, the four shot up. "Who're Malfoy and Ginny?" Jacob asked as he walked next to Harry down the aisle.

"Malfoy's a git," Harry, replied shortly.

"A what—oh an idiot," Jacob laughed.

"Ginny's my sister," Ron added.

"Leave her alone!" a petite girl, obviously Ginny judging by her red hair, yelled angrily at a group of kids, led by a blond boy who was probably Malfoy. The group had surrounded a small girl with white-blond hair who looked on the verge of tears. The small red head was shoved into her brother by a large ape-like boy, who then turned back to taunt the girl. The blond haired boy took a newspaper forcefully from the girl's hand with a look of disgust.

"G-give that back, p-please," the girl stammered softly, head pointed at the ground.

"Or what?" the boy sneered. "What could 'Loony' Lovegood do to me?"

Jacob stepped forward before Ron and Harry even noticed, wand out and aimed at the boy's head. It was just over twelve inches with a dark red finish and a sliver handle. Harry noticed Jacob's eyes had turned very cold, aged almost, and that his expression had turned very serious, a huge difference from his earlier smiling face and bright eyes. "I think she asked you to give that back," Jacob said calmly.

"Who are you?" the boy asked with a sneer, and then a look of realization came over him and he smiled. "Ah yes, Father told me all about you. You're the new transfer student—the American." He said American with a hint of superiority. He looked behind Jacob and growled. "Why are you hanging out with riffraff? Surely, you could do better. You should be with people that are more…prominent, Draco Malfoy," he added sticking out his hand. "I can help you with anything you need."

"Good," Jacob said, not lowering his wand. "You can start by handing that girl her paper back and then clear off." Malfoy's smile disappeared. "I've been around you for three minutes, Draco, and I already dislike you."

"Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?" Malfoy demanded.

"I'm Jacob Andrew Riddle," Jacob answered smartly giving a small bow, "and for your information, I find riffraff, as you call them, quite interesting. From the looks of it, I won't have to buy friends." He smirked. "Unlike you it seems."

"Why you filthy—" Malfoy growled reaching into his pocket, instantly four more wands were aimed at the snob.

"Make another move…I dare you," Ron growled from behind Jacob's shoulder.

Malfoy glared at the group then looked directly at Jacob. "Keep hanging around Mudbloods, traitors, and especially Potter and you'll meet a very sticky end."

"At least it'll be an interesting one, Draco," Jacob taunted. He motioned at the girl with his wand and Malfoy dropped the paper and strutted off with his cronies following.

The girl sniffled, hurriedly grabbed the paper, and then looked around. She mumbled something that sounded like 'wand' and went after Malfoy. She reached him, and tapped him on the shoulder.

Suddenly, he whipped around, smacking her across the face. "Don't touch me!" he yelled. The force of the hit sent the girl's head into a window, cracking it and she fell limply to the ground.

Before anyone could react, there was a loud crack and Malfoy was suddenly up on the ceiling of the train, on his back. "What the hell did you do you me, Riddle?"

"You're lucky that's all I did," Jacob growled, rushing to the fallen girl. His eyes were ablaze with anger, but they instantly softened as he helped the girl up. "Are you okay?" he whispered.

She nodded shyly. "He had my wand."

"I thought that's what you said." He smiled picking up the wands Malfoy had dropped when he ended up stuck to the ceiling. She grabbed hers and he tossed the other one aside. "Come on, you can sit with us, okay?" She didn't answer, but let him lead her to the other five, leaving Malfoy's group to try to pull him down.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Ron and Neville cheered as they got back to their compartment.

"Where did you learn that?" Ginny asked with an evil glint in her eye. She turned to see Jacob checking over the blond. "Are you okay, Luna?" The girl nodded with a far off look on her face.

"Okay, you're all set!" Jacob smiled sitting across from Luna. "I'm not a doctor but it doesn't look like you were hurt, just had some glass in your hair, but I got it all out. Oh, uh, I'm Jacob, by the way." She nodded, but continued to stare. He smiled, blushed, and looked down, before turning to Ginny. "I…" he paused and looked sad for a moment, "…I had a younger sister. She got hyperactive, after a few too many sugar cookies, so I created that to keep her from moving until she calmed down. Unfortunately, she loved hanging off the ceiling and got hyperactive more often," he laughed.

"You created that?" Neville asked, shocked.

Jacob nodded, scratching the back of his head with a nervous laugh. "The incantation is Superat with a sharp flick of your wand at what you want to hit."

"What do you mean by had a sister?" Ron asked.

"Ron, don't pry!" Ginny scolded sharply, smacking her brother in the back of the head.

"It's a long story…" he smiled hesitantly.

"I'm sure it is," Hermione put in a tad harshly. "We'll be at Hogwarts in about five minutes so…"

"I need to get my things…" Luna said dreamily. "Jacob, would you mind coming with me?"

"Not at all, Luna," Jacob replied, getting up and walking with her down the hall. "Hey, do you think they have any chocolate pudding?" he asked, as they got further away. "I haven't had that in months."

Ron shut the door briskly. "What was that about, Hermione?"

"I don't trust him," Hermione stated flatly.

"Why the hell not?" Ron demanded, puzzled.

"He seems fine to me," Neville added.

She huffed and looked directly at Ginny, Harry, and Ron. "What other Riddle do we know of?"

"What?" Ron asked.

"Tom," Ginny gasped, sneaking a glance at Harry. "You don't think…?"

"It's possible." Hermione shrugged.

"Wait, who's Tom?" Neville asked.

"Tom Riddle is Voldemort's real name," Harry answered, ignoring the shudder that ran through the room. "Come off it, you guys. It's just a coincidence. Besides, he seems pretty nice."

"So did Tom," Ginny mumbled.

Soon after that, the train pulled into Hogsmeade Station.

Hey, At long last I'm back! No, I'm not dead; life just got in the way. But I plan on continuing this story! I've missed writing and it's about time I started doing it again. A BIG thank you to Tinian I'att for being my Beta for this chapter and hopefully more chapters to come.

I've edited the previous chapters as much as I could and am going to be sending them off to Tinian I'att for her opinion THEN post these bad boys up. Some chapters may have been extremely revamped, while others may just have small changes. In my personal opinion, any changes are more than welcome. I look back on this story, and my Naruto one, and wonder what I was thinking when I posted them as they were.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading Harry Potter and the Second Riddle. Please remember comments, criticisms, and flames are more than welcome.

~Kingdom219