Chapter One: Peculiar Frogs

The thin, eleven year old girl stood outside the train car. It was the only empty one she could find, and she was entirely too nervous to walk into a car that already had people in it. They had friends already. What if they didn't like her? What if they laughed at her? Shuddering at the thought, she tugged on the handle of the door. Her black hair fell a little below her small shoulders, and her olive-like skin, which gave away her Indian heritage, shone with a slight sheen of sweat.

Even as she moved to open the door, the girl noticed the approach of someone else. Keeping her eyes averted, she prayed silently that the person would move on. However, her mute pleas went unanswered as the footsteps stopped in front of her. Almost cringing, she raised her gaze and found a boy standing there. He looked to be about her age, though taller than most at several inches over five feet. Her eyes continued climbing and she tilted her head back to look at him fully. His dark hair was cut short, and looked wetted down.

As she watched tentatively, the boy looked up from his careful examination of the shiny brooch on his robes to regard her quizzically. A group of chattering older boys went past then, and the girl nervously watched them pass until they had gone. At this, the boy looked over his shoulder at the departing group, then back to the girl. Clearing his throat, he spoke finally. "Errr… hi."

Jumping a bit and letting out a squeak of surprise, as she had forgotten the boy was standing right there, the girl focused on him again. Her mouth worked a couple of times before she remembered to speak. "Oh! Ummm… Hi." She looked at the door again, to avoid eye contact with this stranger. The boy followed her line of sight in an attempt to discover what was so fascinating.

From behind both of them came an elegant yet masculine voice. "My dear, I am quite certain that despite numerous attempts to curse the various pieces of this charmingly antiquated, yet amusingly proper bit of transportation, mostly from older students who wish to startle those younger like yourselves, the door there shall not actually bite you."

The girl jumped and spun around, almost falling over in her hurry to see who was behind them. Meanwhile, the boy simply opened the door and stepped inside the cabin, looking back as he did so. Both of them beheld a most peculiar sight. A small man, no more than four feet tall, and almost as wide, stood there. He was completely bald, wore oversized sunglasses, and a suit that was too large for him in the shirt and jacket while being too small in the pants. His age was impossible to tell, and he could have been either thirty or ninety, or anywhere in between.

Nervously, the girl peered at him and spoke in a voice so quiet it might have been a whisper. "Umm… hello. I'm sorry, am I in your way?"

The man appeared to consider this for a moment, tapping his finger against his chin thoughtfully. "Well, one would suppose that that would depend on your actual definition of the term. To test the hypothesis, why don't you enter the car, and then we shall see if you were indeed 'in the way'?"

Blinking, the girl looked over her shoulder at the door. "Um, okay." She slowly stepped into the cabin and took a seat across from where the boy had set himself down. Looking around, she glanced back to see the man enter the cabin. He moved surprisingly gracefully for his stature.

Once he was inside, the man gazed around the small compartment before his eyes settled on each of them in turn. "I would assume through your behavior as well as appearance that you are both first years then?"

Biting her lip, the girl nodded but remained silent as the boy looked away from the window to answer. "Yeah."

"Wonderful!" The man's excited voice startled both of them, and the girl jumped almost off of the bench, letting out another squeak of surprise. At this, the man regarded her for a moment. "Excitable, aren't you young one?"

Now the girl spoke even more quietly than before. "I… I guess so." She looked down, as though seeking confirmation of her answer in the floor.

With a gentle nod in her direction, the man spoke. "You see, we're all a bit alike. This is my first year as well." He smiled broadly as both children looked back at him doubtfully. "Ah, but not as a student, oh no."

Seeming to understand finally, the girl asked, "Are you a teacher then?" Her voice grew a bit louder as she became slightly more comfortable.

The man appeared to be indignant in his response. "I am no such thing." He seemed to puff up proudly as he announced, "I… am a chef." At their questioning looks, he continued. "Indeed, but not just any chef. I am a Master Chef."

With a quick glance at the girl, who simply sat nervously, the boy responded. "That's… great, sir."

To this, the man shook his head almost indignantly. "The only time I have ever been a 'sir' is when I was about to be fired or arrested. Kindly do not use that term."

The girl giggled for a short moment before her eyes widened. "Wait… arrested?" She seemed to shrink back in her seat away from the man, who didn't appear to notice.

"My name, if it pleases you, or even if it doesn't quite frankly, because it's my name and if you do not like it you may kindly suck an egg, is Deondiev. You may use Deon, Diev, or Deondiev. I have also been known to respond to a multitude of other names, none of which are fit for your ears."

Blinking, the boy asked, "Errr…. How do you spell that?" His curiosity peaked, despite the girl's apparent desire to become invisible or at the very least, be away from all these people. He on the other hand, was curious enough to want to know more.

Tilting his head slightly so that his sunglasses slipped down partway, Deon regarded the boy for a moment before responding. "D-e-o-n-d-i-e-v, my boy." Looking to the girl who was still attempting to disappear, he shook his head. "Oh do not worry about the arrested comment, my dear. Everything is perfectly fine. It only concerned a minor disagreement with the authorities regarding the proper use of a shrinking key hex." At their confused looks, he smiled reassuringly. "Do not worry, either of you… I wear that very same look often. Now, you both are…?"

Speaking softly, the girl answered. "Oh… ummm… N-Nara… Nara M-maraj." She appeared confused as to whether she should be polite and extend her hand or play it safe and remain as far from the man as possible.

The boy nodded once to Nara and then looked back to Deon. "Crede…nce."

Pushing his sunglasses back up, Deon asked, "Is there a stuttering problem going around here? Should I be wary? Is it terribly contagious?"

Nara giggled quietly and looked to Credence, who shrugged. "Credence Monday Moon, but I'd prefer just Crede."

Nodding affirmatively, Deon clapped his hand together. Right then, this is all of our first years, so we shall just be sure to watch out for one another... Deal?"

"Umm… what happened to the last cook?" Nara looked nervously out the window and then back to the odd little man.

Deon shrugged dismissively. "Oh, I baked him into a cake." He winked to Crede while Nara squeaked and shoved back against the seat in surprise. To this, the short man smiled. "Oh, do not fear, I assure you that it was quite delicious." Nara proceeded to slowly inch away from him and towards the window.

Looking to Crede, Deon raised an eyebrow. "I am afraid that she simply does not understand sarcasm whatsoever." When the boy nodded, the man looked back to Nara. "Dear, the previous chef left his post due to the events of last year. Dumbledore, that would be the headmaster, contacted me this summer and requested my presence as soon as possible."

Nara appeared confused, and asked, "...W-what happened last year?" She stopped moving away and managed to look at Deon without looking like a deer in headlights.

Appearing slightly surprised, Deon answered. "You did not hear? Last year was the first year of Harry Potter... the boy who lived? Any idea of what I am talking about? Any?"

To this, Nara nodded quickly. "Y-yes... of course...who hasn't heard of Harry Potter...?" Meanwhile, Crede simply looked confused and lost.

"I had figured as much. You looked like the type. You, Nara... you can tell him the full story later." Deon pointed first to Nara, and then to Crede. "In any case, events conspired last year, and ended with the removal of the old Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. You shall have a new one this year, some Lockheart fellow. He is apparently quite famous."

Seeming to lose all nervousness for a moment, Nara's eyes widened. "Gilderoy Lockhart?" At the man's nod, she gained a look of utter adoration, which quickly turned to blushing as she realized that both Crede and Deon were staring at her.

Giving her a knowing look, Deon glanced out the window. "Dear me, it is already quite late. Well, I am afraid that I must be off to speak to the conductor. You both get along well here. Oh, and before I forget, your gifts are underneath the benches." Tipping his wand to them as they blinked in surprise, he made his way out of the compartment before either could respond.

Nara and Crede both gave blank looks to one another, and then leaned over to peer beneath their seats. Reaching, Nara pulled out a leather-bound book while Crede had found a small black ball that fit into the palm of his hand. The book, when opened revealed empty pages while the wispy clouds seemed to swirl inside the ball.

As the girl flipped through the book, a note fell out and drifted to the floor. Stooping, she picked it up and read it aloud. "This, my dear... is a very lovely gift which was given to me years ago. I now pass it to you. It is no ordinary book, but a repository of knowledge. It contains the answers to almost every factual question in the Wizarding world, assuming that answer is written in some place. To use it, simply write your question. The answer will appear."

While Nara examined her book and thought about how to test it, and Crede regarded his ball questioningly, the train began to move. The boy finally shrugged and put the ball in his pocket before looking up. "So, you know a lot about this stuff? Wizardry, witchcraft, the whole lot?"

Before she could answer, both of them heard a voice from the doorway. "Oh yes, I'm sure she knows a lot. Her mother must have filled her head with all sorts of stories about magic... too bad none of it saved her father."

Both looked over to see an older boy, well-groomed, blond, wearing a smirk that fit him almost as well as his perfectly tailored robes.

With widened eyes, Nara shook her head. "E-excuse me?"

The boy took a step inside. "Y-y-you heard me." Sneering, he continued. "Daddy couldn't make it? Oh yes, he's rather... indisposed."

Nara bit her lip and raised her gaze to meet his. "S-shut u-up" Her voice had gained some strength, but was still quiet.

"What? I didn't hear you... I think the rats on the train must be moving around."

At that, Crede stood. "What is your problem?" He moved to put himself between the other boy and Nara. Seeing this, the boy just laughed quietly. "Never mind. It's none of your concern, Mudblood." Nara squeaked at this and her hand flew to her mouth, while the blond boy chuckled and looked directly at Crede for the first time. "Look, sit down and you're not going to get hurt. They don't like it when the ickle first years are picked on."

From her spot in the corner, Nara spoke up. "W-what d-d-do you w-want?"

Ignoring her, the older boy continued to speak to Crede. "Her though... her dad and mine have a history... Her dad tried to get mine arrested... back when he was in power. So, watch yourself. We wouldn't want you getting... hurt or anything... Hogwarts is very dangerous if you're not the right type of person." Finally, he nodded his head towards Nara. "You'd do well to stay away from her. She's not going to be... safe company this year." With a final smirk, he turned and walked out.

After watching the door for a moment, Crede turned around to look at Nara, who gazed intently at the floor. Sitting back across from her, he shrugged. "His mother combs his hair. So what was that about anyway?" When she shook her head in confusion, he let it go. "Would you mind explaining some of the texts to me?"

Wiping her eyes before looking up and smiling a bit, the girl nodded. "...Okay, like what?"

Crede thought about that for a moment. "Like… everything. I don't know any of this. I just got that letter from the owl the other day. My dad had a right fit about the whole thing too. It was a riot, it was. I'd never seen him get that worked up before. Mum said it was the best thing for me though, so here I am. She didn't know anything about it either, but she's a mite bit more accepting than my dad, as far as this sort goes. You shoulda seen Keaira though, that's my sister. She had a bigger fit than my dad did. She tried to convince my mum to let her come too, only she's just seven you see, not that that's stopped her from doing everything I do anyway, up to this that is."

Not appearing to know what to say to this at first, Nara finally settled on a simple nod and smile. "Well, I think... maybe... you should know about Harry Potter, first..." She went on to explain all about The Boy Who Lived and Voldemort, managing to spell out and whisper his name, though she squeaked in fright when Crede repeated it back louder.

Once this had all been explained, Crede thought, and then asked, "What's a mudblood anyway?"

Squeaking again, Nara bit her lip before answering. "It's a...really bad name for somebody with muggle, that means non-magical, parents… but, I mean… it's really bad. It's an insult, like…. it implies that you're lower somehow."

At that moment, a kind voice from the doorway asked, "Anything off the trolly, dears?" When the two looked up, they found the trolly-lady pushing her cart of sweets and snacks. Nara took a pumpkin pastie and a chocolate frog, and Crede followed her lead.

The two of them sat back down, and Nara opened her frog to find a card featuring Circe, which she showed to Crede before he opened his. Scrambling to catch his chocolate before it got away from him, the boy didn't notice his card at first. Finally, as he sat back and munched on the treat, Crede picked up the card to look at it. To his great surprise, the card was completely blank. It was white on both sides. Blinking and pointing this out to Nara, who told him that the people in the pictures sometimes leave, but had no response as to why the entire card had nothing on it at all. He eventually sighed and put the blank card in his pocket.

A moment later, just as Crede finished his pumpkin pastie, his pocket grew warm. Nara happened to glance down then, and pointed. "H-hey… your… your p-pocket is glowing. I think… I think it's the card."

Reaching into his pocket, Crede took out the card and peered at it. It was warm, but not too warm to hold. As he watched, letters began swirling into place at the base of it. First came a V, then an o, an l, and a few seconds after that a d appeared while more letters continued to swirl. Crede gasped quietly and said, "I… I think it's spelling Volde…"

Hearing that, Nara squeaked and dove across the space between them to stare at the card. By this time a picture had started to form, which seemed to show a lake, with a castle in the background. The card read Voldemor, and the last letter was swirling into place. Yelping, Nara snatched the card away from Crede and threw it on the floor facedown, where it smoked and then burst into flames for a brief moment before disappearing from view. Both students distinctly heard bells while this happened, and then there was silence.

Nara swallowed hard and looked at Crede. "Wh-what… what was that?" She was shaking slightly, and then stared at the spot where the card had been.

Raising his shoulders in a mute shrug, Crede was silent for a minute before responding. "D-Dad would say that was a bad omen."

The girl looked at him incredulously. "I w-would say t-that w-was a bad o-omen. S-should we t-tell anybody that t-the card was saying Y-you-know-who...a-and then it...d-disappeared?"

Crede nodded. "I think so, but who would believe it?"

Thinking quickly, Nara tentatively asked, "Wh-what about that Dino guy?"

"You mean Deon?" Crede considered, and then nodded again. "That sounds great, but didn't he say he was gonna go talk to the conductor?"

"S-should we go and look for him?" Nara looked to the door and was startled into another squeaking yelp to see someone standing there.

Deon seemed to take her surprised yell easily enough and simply asked, "Look for whom, then?"

Also jumping, Crede turned to the small man and blurted, "There was the an the 'like the and I got the and the card it started and in my pocket, and then.. it said... ... You-Know-Who's name... and burst into flames."

Seeming to understand perfectly, Deon spoke quietly. "Oh dear."

Nodding, Crede vowed, "I'm never eating another chocolate frog."

"Quite unnecessary to blame the chocolate for the actions of the card, my boy." Deon knelt and looked closer at the spot where the card had vanished, and then glanced up. "Though I do not believe you can be blamed for that feeling. In any case, we will be arriving at the castle before too long. It would behoove you to calm yourselves and ensure that you are ready. I shall inform the appropriate people of this development. Rest assured that it is most likely nothing too important, probably simply a prank." He ignored the doubtful looks both gave him as he stood and stepped away from the room. "Good day to both of you."

Before Nara and Crede could say another word, the train pulled into its station with a long whistle and both were able to look out their window and see Hogwarts castle in the distance, across the lake. They had arrived, and before their year had even truly begun something had happened to make them each wonder if it might have been safer to stay at home.