The Hogwarts Express
Chapter one - The Minister's Meeting
Ottaline Gambol sat in her office tapping her foot tirelessly. The summer was almost over and pretty soon she would have the stressful job of overseeing the transportation of hundreds of students to Hogwarts. The job would involve making sure no muggle would catch sight of them. Over the years the previous ministers had used methods such as portkeys or fireplaces for travel, but this was growing increasingly difficult as the number of students had gone up and her job involved more and more activities. The student transportation process was a full time process, and if an emergency were to arise in the ministry of magic midway through the process the results could be horrific.
They needed a solution that would allow her mind to stay calm at the end of the summer, so she could focus on other ministry matters. She read over the proposals from the other employees. Concealment charms were discussed the most, as well as the idea of being allowed to apparate students into the school building. One employee even suggested they ride on brooms to the magical school.
Ottaline tossed out the broom riding proposal and leaned back in her chair. The concealment charms seemed a bit excessive, and there was much room for error when the concealment charms are being put on hundreds of students in a single time frame.
An elf entered the room. "Jumpy, could you assemble the other officials for a ministry meeting?" Ottaline asked. Jumpy hopped up and down and nodded, then apparated out of the room. Ottaline stepped out of her office and headed to the meeting room.
By the time she got there, the whole meeting was already ready to go. "Thank you all for coming. I know this is short notice but I'd like an alternative solution to our transportation issue." She said, lifting up the list of proposals with her wand. "What's wrong with those proposals?" An official asked, pointing to the sheet.
"What we need is a revolutionary method of travel, something never used for a magical purpose. Any other way would cause suspicion with the muggles, and the International Statute of Secrecy of 1692 is still in place." Ottaline said. An official raised his hands in confusion. "And what do you propose Ms Gambol?" The official asked.
"A train." Ottaline announced. The room went silent then everyone started shouting in opposition. Ottaline put a muffling charm on everyone and waited for them to calm down. "One at a time. You sir?" She said, pointing to one of the officials. "Ms Gambol, using a…muggle device for such a prodigious school. Are you in your right mind? What's wrong with portkeys or apparation?" He asked.
"Students are prone to portkey-sickness, and broom riding is the most recognized form among the muggles of a witch or wizard." Ottaline said.
"But the issue is still why resort to muggle vehicles? The witches and wizards will think our school is a joke!" One official said.
Ottaline sighed and waited for others to settle down. "Muggle technology is fascinating. It's the substitute for their lack of magic. As Minister for magic I must let go of pride in the idea of magical superiority and use what I can find to my advantage. This happens to come from muggles, which means it can exist in the muggle world without too much suspicion." Ottaline said.
The officials seemed to ponder this, then one by one they started nodding in agreement.
"Excellent idea Ottaline." An official said.
Chapter 2: Marcus Malfoy
"So how will it be done?" One official asked a week after the meeting. Ottaline was still thinking through the process, and the school year was almost upon them.
She waved her wand towards a stack of papers. One of the papers flew toward her.
It was a picture of a train. The other officials went up to get a closer look. She pointed to it. "This is a Hall Class steam locomotive, built by muggles at Crewe, in Chesire, England." She said. The officials looked at it for a bit, watching the steam rise from the moving picture.
"It's quite magnificent for such a lack of magic," an official said. Ottaline nodded. "It's beautiful. An example of muggle intelligence. My brother was one of the engineers." Ottaline announced, flicking her wand and letting another piece of paper land on the desk.
It was a moving picture of a man waving. He looked like he had been hard at work all day and his face was smeared with grime, but he had a smile on his face. Behind him was the train, and a group of people were polishing it behind him as well.
"The squib brother?" A voice said from the door. Ottaline spun around and saw a man standing in the doorway.
"Evening Marcus Malfoy…care to brainstorm heist options?" Ottaline asked, already knowing the answer. Marcus chuckled and flicked his wand at the wall. Another portrait came down of Ottaline and her brother, sitting in a muggle pub.
"Sitting in a public muggle space with your brother? This is what the minister of magic wishes to have in her office?" Marcus asked suspiciously, flicking his wand and letting the picture sit on the desk. The room went silent. Ottaline took a deep breath.
"Will that be all Marcus? Or do you have a way of retrieving this train?" She asked, her hand clenching into a fist.
Marcus chuckled again. "I'm quite sure a group of wizards such as yourselves can figure that out on your own. I was only coming here to apply for the Minister of Magic position, I heard you can sign a form prior to the death, resignation or sacking of the current minister." Marcus said cheerfully, waving his wand around the room.
"Well, I am in perfectly good health, I don't plan on resigning anytime soon, and I am in good standing with the other officials." Ottaline said confidently, not making eye contact with Marcus.
"Is that so? Accio application!" He said, and a paper flew to his hand. "I would be concerned if I were you. Us witches and wizards are very adamant about not using muggle creations. When an uprising is on your hands I'll come and see how you're doing. Does that sound good?" Marcus asked derisively, walking out of the room. Once he was gone, Ottaline pointed back to the picture of the train as if the conversation between them had never happened.
"Now then, I will need a hundred men and women to come with me to the station where the steam locomotive is being housed. I want employees stationed at each entrance. What we need to do is perform memory charms on the forty two employees at the station and take their place. Afterwards, we will need to place a concealment charm on the locomotive. We will also need to put memory charms on the people passing in and out of the station in the time that we're trying to move the train. Is that clear?" She asked sternly, looking them each in the eye carefully.
"You can count on us." One official said, and left the room.
Chapter 3: The Heist
The next morning a hundred of the ministry employees set off for the station the Hall Class steam locomotive was located.
The name of the station was Crewe railway station. It had recently been built, and it held a fascination with the muggles.
Some of the witches and wizards of the ministry were nervous about confronting muggles, though one official had assured them the muggles were the ones who should become afraid at the thought of witches and wizards coming to them.
"That's why I'm so nervous! What if they attack?" A ministry employee asked loudly. The other ministry employee laughed. "With what? Their silly muggle weapons? You have a wand don't forget."
When they reached the station it was mid afternoon. Various station employees were walking around the platforms, watching the trains go in and out.
"Find the train!" A ministry employee said, walking along the platform. Ottaline had ordered for 'muggle outfits' for them to wear to avoid suspicion, but because of a lack of creativity on the ministry's part, the outfits were all the same.
It wasn't long before the train station employees seemed to grow suspicious at the large number of people who were all wearing the same clothing. Two were already discussing the matter by a pillar, and were leaning close to one another and pointing at the various new arrivals at the station.
Ottaline, who was stationed by them, walked up, waved her wand silently, and performed a memory charm. The train employees seemed to grow calm and forget what they had talked about. They looked at each other confused and walked off.
Over the next hour the ministry employees started modifying the memories of the train station employees who seemed to pick up on what was going on. It got increasingly harder as they would miss certain people who would catch sight of a wizard performing a memory charm on another employee.
After over a hundred memory charms had been done, Ottaline raised her wand. "Enough" she said loudly over the station, causing some of the station employees to look at her oddly.
"We have to find the train. We can use continuation charms to run it after its out of the station." She said, shooting one more memory charm at an employee close by.
It didn't take long for them to find the train. It was gigantic and it was already ready to head out of the station.
Seven ministry employees entered at shot charms at the people inside the train. When they were finished, they stared at the engine in confusion. Ottaline entered in and looked around.
"OK. shovel coal into the furnace. At least that's what I've seen from my brother." She said, pointing to the shovels and the coal. The employees started shoveling. After a few more attempts they got the train to move. Once the train was out of the station Ottaline leaned towards the furnace and started shooting various charms at the engine.
After about fifteen minutes she leaned back and sighed.
"Is the train ours?" An employee asked, looking at her exhausted. Ottaline shook her head. Though the hijack seemed successful, they still needed to get the train all the way to Hogsmeade, where it could hide. "For now." She said tiredly. "Well, how about you sleep for now Ms Gambol. We'll continue running the train." An official said. Ottaline nodded and headed back to the coaches where she could fall asleep in the chairs for a bit.
Chapter 4: The Concealment Charm
When Ottaline awoke, it was dark outside. The moon was out, but it was covered by a layer of clouds. The hundred other employees were spread through the coaches of the train. Some of them were asleep, while others looked out the windows.
She stood up and walked towards the front of the train. Once she got there she saw a couple of ministry employees waving their arms around the room.
"Repello Muggletum…Repello Muggletum…" She heard one of the employees repeating as he waved his wand around the area.
"Protego Maxima…" Ottaline said, waving her wand. Various other enchantments were said over the train for the next half hour, until they were confident enough it was hidden from muggle eyes.
"Tomorrow, I want to think about how to do a follow-up on the memory charms to make sure the muggles won't grow suspicions from lingering bits of memory." Ottaline said.
The employees nodded. Ottaline leaned against a wall and looked up at the cloudy night sky. Parts of it were starting to clear up and she could see stars. She thought about how the muggles had their own bit of magic in the night sky. She thought about how the stars must appear magical to all the muggles of the world. She continued staring at the sky until the full moon appeared from behind a cloud. After a moment she heard a scream from the coaches. "MINISTER!" One employee shouted from the coaches.
Ottaline snapped herself back to where she was and ran back to the coaches. She was almost there when she heard a wolf's howl.
"AWOOO!"
She froze in place and waited before entering the coach, trying to decide where the sound came from.
"Ms Gambol!" another voice said, and Ottaline ran into the coach. The employees were all pointing their wands at a seat, but Ottaline couldn't tell who or what was sitting there. Suddenly, the wolf's howl emanated from the chair, causing her to leap back in fear.
"What is this?" She shouted, raising her wand. "A werewolf." An employee answered, peeking at the chair for a better look.
"But who is it? How did the ministry employ a werewolf?" Ottaline asked in shock, pressing herself up against a window.
The werewolf howled again, and Ottaline jumped. There was a apprehensive moment of silence.
"What's going on? Why hasn't it moved?" Ottaline asked. "They sometimes have these moments after transformation where they get their bearings. He'll attack us pretty soon. What should we do?" One employee asked.
Ottaline's eyes widened. "What should we do? We should…kill him! He's a danger to everyone on this train right now." Ottaline said unwaveringly.
The other employees nodded.
"Shall we use avid kedavra?" One ministry employee asked, pointing his wand directly at the werewolf's chest. Ottaline shook her head. "No. It's an unforgivable curse, and you're a ministry employee. Your wand's spell history can be read by anyone in the ministry." Ottaline said.
"Then what should we do? Stab him to death with the pointy part of our wands? I'm sure the ministry will understand when we explain the spell was on a werewolf…" An employee said, keeping a close eye on the bewildered werewolf.
Ottaline shook her head. She turned around and shouted "REDUCTO!" to the windows beside her. It shattered all over the floor of the coach. The werewolf howled again.
"Now, all we have to do is get the werewolf off the train." She said. She took a deep breath and howled "AWOOO!"
The werewolf jumped off the seat and ran towards the noise. Ottaline counted the seconds and leapt right when the werewolf did. It flew out of the train and landed in the dirt outside.
The ministry employees applauded happily and lowered their wands in relief. Ottaline repaired the windows with a spell. "Luckily, we didn't have to kill it. However let me get one thing clear. We don't speak of this. Understand?" She said, looking at all of them.
They all nodded happily and settled back in their chairs.
Chapter 5: The Drunken Fellow
Two men were in Hogsmeade sharing a drink at the Three Broomsticks inn. One was large and chubby and the other was small and thin.
"I heard that Ms Gambol gone and stole a train right from under the muggle's noses!" the chubby one said, gulping down a butterbeer.
"Ah, that's a load of rubbish that is. No minister would be stupid enough to attempt that stuff." The thin one said, gulping down a butterbeer as well. The large one took the mug before the thin one could finish it.
"Hey! What's the big idea?" The thin one said, trying to grab the mug back from the large one.
"You're a lightweight, best not to drink another one of these." The large one said. The thin one kept trying to grab it. "Who are you now? My mum?" The thin one said irritated, still trying to grab it.
Suddenly a loud train whistle went off in the area. "Did you hear that?" The large one said, putting the mug down slowly. The thin one grabbed the mug and drank the rest of the butterbeer.
"I sure did, let's go see what it was." The thin one said, wiping his chin.
The whistle went off again and they followed the sound. By the time they got there the residents of Hogsmeade were there as well.
"Look at that!" The large one said.
They both stared at the train standing strongly on a set of train tracks that hadn't been there the day before.
"The minister seems a bit reckless, stealing a muggle train and not expecting any muggle eyewitness." The large one said.
"Am I seeing that? Or am I really drunk?" The thin one asked. "Well, I'm seeing it too." The large one said. "You had three times as much to drink as I did. Why should I trust you?" The thin one said, pointing his finger and almost falling over.
"I'm gonna go inside." The thin one said, stepping forward drunkenly. "You shouldn't go in there! You're drunk!" The large one said dizzily.
The thin one got up to the door and said "Alohomora," almost dropping his wand as he swayed back and forth. The door opened and he stepped inside.
Once inside the coach, he spotted ministry employees vacuuming pieces of what seemed like dog's hair off the floor.
A woman walked up to him. "Sir, what are you doing here?" She asked. Even though the thin man was drunk, he could still recognize her. "You're the ministry lady…Gambol something…" He said lazily, almost falling over again.
"I take it you just came from the Three Broomsticks?" She asked, keeping him from falling. The man nodded.
"Listen lady, I'd take my train out of here if I were you. Lots of pureblood families here that won't be happy to see a muggle train on their property." He said, pointing around the train as if she didn't notice she was on one.
"Thank you, drunken fellow. Now, will you please let me escort you out?" She said, dragging him to the exit.
"I'm good friends with Marcus. We were dorm mates in Slytherin house back in school." He said as they neared the door. She paused and turned him around.
"Marcus Malfoy?" She asked. The man nodded. "Said you were stealing a train. He wasn't lying!" The man said.
Ottaline bit her lip. "Did he say anything else?" She asked. The drunken man nodded. "He said he was planning on murdering you, if the rebels didn't get to you first. He told me not to tell." He said nearly falling over again.
Ottaline shuttered.
"Thank you." She said, walking the rest of the way and letting the man out.
Chapter 6: The Pure-Blood Revolt
Ottaline stood shaking in the car. Marcus wasn't capable of murder, was he? Sure, he would most likely have a smile on his face at her funeral, but he never seemed like the type capable of murder.
An employee went up to her. "Are you OK Ms Gambol?" the employee asked cautiously. She didn't respond for a moment.
"Sure." She answered, looking around. "OK I think we cleaned up the werewolf hair. I think we should talk about the memory charms." She said. She pointed to seven employees. "You seven apparate to the train station and apply the memory charms. I'll go public with the news." She said, brushing herself off in a useless attempt to rid herself of the butterbeer smell on her clothes and stepped out into the morning air.
The crowd that had gathered outside got louder as they spotted her. She waited for them to become quiet before talking.
"As some of you already know, the Ministry of Magic did a large-scale operation in order to obtain a muggle train. We did this because of the increasing difficulty of transportation hundreds of students every year to Hogwarts…"
"If it's too difficult why not get someone else to become Minister?" A man in the crowd shouted.
Soon everyone was shouting in agreement and started throwing stuff at her and the train.
She ran back inside and closed the door. The employees were looking at her in concern. A large rock smashed into a window and broke it. An employee quickly said reparo and the window fixed. The crowd was advancing towards the train.
"What do we do?" An employee asked Ottaline desperately.
Ottaline pointed her wand outside of the train. "Protego maxima…fianto duri…repello inimucum…" She muttered. The employees stood in awe as a shining barrier appeared outside the train.
She turned to them and pointed to the barrier. "This is one of the most powerful barriers a witch or wizard can conjure up. If you were to try and escape from this train, your body would be disintegrated." She said.
She turned to the window and watched as the thin man she had carried out earlier wobbled towards the train before falling over and disintegrating. The ministry employees watched in horror as his body lit up in many bright pieces.
"Nicholas!" the large man shouted as he watched his friend slowly fade away.
"The Minister is mad! The Minister is mad!" The crowd shouted over and over.
"I will not take my son to school in that!" A man shouted, pointing disgustedly at the red gleaming train.
"Yes, I quite agree." a calm but booming voice said over the crowd. They turned around and saw Marcus Malfoy.
"Now, I understand the frustrations you all must have. The minister has created far more harm in 24 hours then the ministry has since it's inception." Marcus said, raising his eyebrows and looking towards the train.
"I suggest we pity her instead of attack her, and let her live the remainder of her life in Azkaban." Marcus said. Suddenly Ottaline stepped out angrily.
"What did you say? Azkaban?" She said fiercely. Marcus nodded calmly. Spells bounced harmlessly off the barrier as the two stared at each other.
"Why would I deserve to go to Azkaban?" Ottaline spat. "Well, let's see. You nearly threw away the International Statute of Secrecy, you just successfully murdered poor drunken Nicholas, and…you kept a werewolf employee secret." He said.
Ottaline's eyes widened. She raised her wand threateningly at him, but Marcus just laughed.
"How do you know about that?" She asked. Marcus laughed. "News gets around in the ministry. I found him lying by the train tracks a few miles from here, still in werewolf form and sleeping. Oh and do lower your wand you look like an idiot with that barrier in front of us." He said, waving at the wall of magic.
She lowered her wand and started tearing up. Marcus sighed loudly. "Oh how professional." He said, pointing his wand at the wall and started muttering incantations.
"It'll take me quite some time to get through this wall, but I might as well start now." Marcus said, continuing his incantation.
"All I wanted was for the witches and wizards to have a safe and convenient means of travel. This meant that th-"
"Oh please, are you going to talk while I utter my incantations?" Marcus asked tiredly.
She groaned and headed back into the train. "Any luck out there?" An employee asked. She shook her head. "He knew about the werewolf." She said.
"How?" The employee asked. "He said he found him a few miles from here." Ottaline said. The employee frowned. "That's nearly impossible unless he was following us." The employee said. Ottaline gasped. "Marcus ran employment the day I got sick! He hired the werewolf!" Ottaline shouted. She ran back outside.
The crowd was angrier than ever.
"Oh what is it now?" Marcus sighed. "You hired the werewolf! The day I asked you to cover for me." Ottaline said confidently.
"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. The point is everyone wants me as minister, not you Ottaline, so step down." He said.
"We'll see about that." Said Ottaline smoothly, stepping back onto the train.
Chapter 7: Evangeline Orpington
A few months had passed and students had come and gone from Hogwarts on the now named Hogwarts Express. The students had returned home for winter break and some purebloods were even on the train.
The initial criticism was harsh, with nearly a hundred percent of slytherin students refusing to enter the train and asking instead to use a vanishing cabinet, portkey, or fireplace. When Ottaline threatened to drop them out of Hogwarts altogether, they reluctantly got on the train.
Ottaline however, had grown tired of her job and hated the continued stress even after she had found an alternative to her transportation problem.
One day in her office she got a knock on her door. "Come in." she said. It was the large man who had been drunk when they first met.
"Hi, I'm Henry." He said, sounding very sober. Ottaline nodded quickly, slowly reaching for her wand just in case of an attack. He shook his head noticing what she was doing. "I'm totally safe. I wanted to congratulate you on your idea. It works wonderfully." He said, tipping his hat awkwardly. Ottaline tilted her head and nodded quickly again.
"My friend Nicholas, well…I don't blame you for his death. He gets drunk easily and should have known better…" Henry said, his voice trailing. Ottaline nodded slowly and finally grabbed hold of her wand, but held it towards the desk.
"Why are you here?" She finally asked. The man nodded. "I found someone who might want the job you're so eager to give away. Her name is Evangeline Orpington." He said, gesturing to her as she entered the room. They shook hands.
"Well, have a seat, Evangeline Orpington." Ottaline said, gesturing to the chair. Henry nodded, said goodbye, and left.
"What made you interested in this position?" Ottaline asked. It was the same question she had asked dozens of people already, so it had a rehearsed tone to it. "I heard about your train idea, and I got so excited! My sister is a squib and she's well versed in muggle things. I grew an appreciation for them as well. I have an idea for the Hogwarts Express." She said.
Ottaline raised her eyebrows. "Really? What is it?" Ottaline asked, intrigued. "Well, I think we should have a train platform in London for the Hogwarts Express. I've thought about the magic charms that would be involved and we could potentially hide the platform within the muggle platforms at King's Cross Station between platforms nine and ten. I'd call it platform 9 and 3/4."
The End.