I couldn't believe it. It happened all so fast. The letter, the plane ride, the shopping, and now I was staring at the enormous crimson train known as the Hogwarts Express. I smiled at the horn blew to alert the children that it would be leaving soon, at exactly eleven o'clock.
"Do you have your cat?" my mother asked me as she straightened my coat.
"Stop, mom," I snapped as I brushed her away. "I'm just going to change into my uniform on the train."
"Do you have your cat, your wand, your books, your-"
"Yes, yes," I snapped again. "I have everything."
"Are you sure?"
The horn blew again. I turned to the train and seen smoke billowing from the engine. It was time.
"I have to go, mom," I said as I started for the train.
"Wait!" she called. She ran to me and gave me a hug then a kiss on the cheek. "You be careful, now."
"Moooom!" I whined in unison with a lanky, ginger kid a few feet away. I'm glad someone shared the humiliation with me.
I finally pushed her away and for the train. "I love you!" I shouted over my shoulder as I jumped on board with my trunk and cat, Stray.
Stray was a pure white cat I had found on my street the previous summer. Her name, obviously, came from the fact that she was a stray cat.
It was a tight squeeze in the isles, considering everyone got on at the same time. I finally escaped the suffocation by jumping into an empty compartment and locking the doors behind me. Stray was already sitting on the seat, purring.
On the other seat was a girl around my age. She was read a booking with hands holding an apple. I immediately decided I'd never read that book as long as I live.
The girl lowered the book. She had straight, black hair that framed her face very beautifully. She was wearing sleek black glasses, a black shirt, skirt, and boots. She also wore black fishnet gloves.
A goth reading about apples. I sure did know how to pick compartments. I mentally slapped myself.
"Hi," she said sweetly as she held out her hand. "I'm Charmaine."
I quickly shook her hand, then placed my trunk on the shelf above.
"I'm, uh, Misty," I said as I sat down.
"You're american?" she asked as her eyes narrowed.
I swallowed. "Yes."
"I thought there was a magic school in America."
I shrugged. "I guess there was a letter mixup."
She sighed. "Curious."
There was a long awkward silence. It was finally broken by a soft hoot.
"Hush, Herbert," Charmaine said as she poked under her seat. She sat back up. "It's my owl, Herbert. He likes the dark better."
I nodded awkwardly, then pointed to my cat. "This is my cat, Stray. She like dark meat better."
"Charming," she said, then pursed her lips.
I cleared my throat. "So, what are you reading?" I asked, even though I didn't really care. Talking to her was better than the dreaded silence.
"Twilight," she said. "It's about sparkly vampires."
I burst into laughter. "Sparkly vampires!" I howled.
"What's so funny?" she asked, blushing a little.
I waited till my laughing died down, then I answered, "Just imagine if the real vampires heard you saying that they sparkled!"
She chuckled slightly. "They would ring my neck," she said.
"Exactly," I agreed.
The rest of the ride seem to fly by. Charmaine (which was soon shortened to Char) and I had lots of fun joking around. We also had the same interests, despite being from different countries. At the same time, we were intrigued by each other's culture.
We also ordered strange snacks that we had never had before.
"Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans?" I mused as I opened a box. "They can't mean every flavor."
"Try one," Char suggested.
"What if I get like…wet dog flavor?" I said, chuckling.
She rolled her eyes and popped one in her mouth. Her face scrunched up and she spit it on the floor.
"What did you get?" I asked, grinning.
She didn't answer. Instead she shoved a cauldron cake in her mouth. I assumed it was to get rid of the flavor. Finally she swallowed the last bite and sighed.
"Electricity."
"You're joking!"
She shook her head then treated herself to a liquorish wand.
After about an hour of snacking, there was a sudden shuffle in the compartment next to us.
"I suppose they're changing," said Char as she stood up. "I guess we should change, too."
I quickly dug into my trunk and pulled out my uniform. We both changed back to back so we wouldn't see each other. Then, when we finished we placed our trunks back on the shelf.
"You're a first year, too!" I said delightedly as I pointed to her robes.
"Maybe we'll have the same classes," she said.
"I hope so."
There was a knock at the door. I opened it and there was a guy with curly red hair in the doorway.
"I see you've changed," he said sternly. "Right, well. We'll be arriving shortly. Leave your belongings on the train except for your wands. When the train stops, exit in an orderly fashion."
With that, he left.
Char and I got off the train as soon as it stopped. No one exited in an orderly fashion as the curly ginger had ordered. When we got off, a large man in a brown coat beckoned the first years to follow him. I was hesitant, but Charmaine didn't seem to be afraid. The fact that she was brave gave me some courage.
She both stepped into a boat as the large man had asked us to. There were three boys in the boat with us. A boy with white blond hair, and two with short brown hair. They were rather plump, while the other was skinny.
"Crabbe, Goyle, sit there in front of those girls," the boy with white blond hair ordered. "I can't risk catching their cooties."
Char and I chuckled.
"You think I'm funny, do you?" the boy snapped. "I guess you don't realize the dangers of cooties."
"I guess you don't realize that cooties aren't real," said Char.
"How dare you speak to me in such a tone!" he snapped.
I burst into laughter.
"I'm completely offended by your behavior!" he yelled. "Wait till my father hears about this!"
"What's he going to do? Tell our mommy?" I asked, trying to hold in laughter.
The boy glared, then turned to the front of the boat. Char and I then fixed our gaze ahead of us and gasped. It was beautiful. The lights, the water, the-CASTLE!
"They call this a school?" the blond boy muttered. "More like a prison. I'd rather be at Pigfarts."
"A prison? A prison!" Char looked taken aback.
The boy turned around and eyed her fishnet gloves. "Do you have a problem, freak?"
"Hey!" I snapped as I stood in the boat. I wobbled uncontrollably and decided to sit back down. "You don't speak to her that way!"
"And why not?" he asked.
Before I could answer, the boat came to a sudden stop. We looked ahead to see the large man's foot on the front of the boat.
"You getting out then?"
We nodded and hopped out of the boat. The boy brushed his robes off and strutted towards the other students.
"They should really sack the great oaf," he told the other two. "He's a waste of space at this school."
I started to give him a piece of my mind, but Char grabbed my shoulder. "Don't waste your energy on idiots like him. Let's enjoy the night."
I nodded. We walked through the large doors and into an entrance hall. We all stopped and waited. A woman came out and cleared her throat.
She began to explain that we'd be sorted into one of four houses. Houses are teams, and after a period of time they become a family.
"TREVOR!"
I couldn't find the owner of the voice, but the woman did not seem happy with them.
"Sorry, sorry," I heard him say.
"I'll come back when they're ready for you." She went behind another set of large doors.
Char and I pushed to the front. The blond kid was talking to some kid in glasses, asking him to be his friend.
"Who would be friends with you?" Char spat at him. "You're just a daddy's boy!"
Everyone began laughing as the boy blushed. They quickly went silent as the woman came back.
"Follow me," she said.