Note: Ok, so I really wanted to write a story featuring Darren, but it's against the guidelines of the site. I didn't want to take all of this time and effort to write this story and then have them take it down. SO, Blaine is basically Darren. It's like the AVMP / AVPS stuff, except more serious-ish.
This is my first fic, so excuse any mistakes I make. Thanks!
The sun was just starting to rise over the horizon, and yet it was already hot enough to make me long for the cool airconditioned room back home. I stared up at the sun as I packed my trunk into the back of the car, and sighed at the thought of the long journey in front of me. The train ride to Hogwarts was always enjoyable, of course, but the incredibly long car ride with my parents to the station was not quite as comfortable.
I heard a car pull up to the curb and watched as my father got out of his car. At the same time, my mother came out of the house, locking the door behind her. There was the obligatory awkward silence between the two of them for a moment before they acknowledged each other.
"Edgar." Said my mother, purposely using his full name to irritate him.
"Frankie." Replied my father, using her pet name to irritate her in turn.
"Let's just get going you two." I sighed, wondering if they could ever be civil with each other.
We all piled into the car, my mother driving because she wouldn't dare trust my father to get us there on time. As we started on our long journey, the usual conversation, or argument rather, began to take place. My father started to tell me all about his fifth year at Hogwarts and how he hadn't done so well on his OWLS, but that I must not take after him if I wished to get a good job these days. Then my mother chimed in, saying that I could always attend school at University after Hogwarts, if I wished to get a respectable job in the non-wizarding community. Of course, my father scoffed at this idea and before I could even get a word in edgewise, they had gone off on a full blown argument about the importance of magic in my life.
I sighed, resigned to the fact that this would be the soundtrack, once again, to the station. I sank back into my seat and tried to tune them out. I watched the scenery pass me by, trying to find anything interesting to latch my brain onto, but to no success.
Finally, after what seemed like endless hours, we arrived at the station. My father left to get a cart for all of my things and I started to take my things out of the car. He returned with the cart, and we loaded my things onto it.
"Oh, I almost forgot! Silly me!" My mother exclaimed, running around the car to get a basket off of the floor of the car. "I got you a present!" She handed me a basket with a lid on it. I gave her a questioning look but opened the lid. Staring up at me from inside the basket was a tiny calico kitten.
"Aww!" I exclaimed, reaching in to pick up the kitten. It gave a tiny meow as I picked it up, and then it snuggled its face into the corner of my neck.
"She's a late birthday present, since I didn't get you anything." My mother smiled at me. "Oh, and she doesn't have a name yet!"
"Thank you!" I said, giving my mom a quick hug.
"We better get going. Don't want the train to leave without you!" My father had finished loading my stuff and was already walking toward the barrier.
"Ok, well, bye mom! I'll see you at Christmas." I hurried after my dad, still cradling my new kitten. I saw him disappear through the barrier, and after checking to make sure the way was clear, I followed.
I had barely enough time to take in the scene in front of me before I was being embraced by a curly haired red-head.
"Hi Savannah!" I said, laughing as I hugged my best friend back.
"Girl, I haven't heard from ya all summer!" She said in her strange accent.
"I know, I'm sorry. I was just super busy!"
"Oh, it's ok, you're forgiven! Here, I'll help ya get your stuff onto the train." She turned to help me with my trunk and I said a quick goodbye to my father.
"I'll see you at Christmas." He said as I gave him a hug. "Have fun, just not too much!" He called after me and Savannah as we dragged my things onto the train and into a compartment.
The compartment was already half full with people. Our friend Jemma was sitting in the seat closest to the door and in the seat next to her was her boyfriend Charlie. Next to Charlie was a boy from our year but I wasn't sure of his name since he wasn't in our house. I wondered what he was doing in our compartment. As far as I knew, he wasn't friends with any of us.
"Hi guys!" Jemma said when she saw Savannah and I. They helped me shove my stuff in the storage areas and we took our seats. "Oh!" said Jemma, looking at Blaine. "This is Charlie's cousin, Blaine. He's a Gryffindor from our year."
Blaine smiled at Savannah and I, and shook our hands with a polite "Nice to meet you". I couldn't help noticing that he had a nice smile. It reached all the way up to his eyes, where they seemed to twinkle with amusement. He had long curly black hair that seemed to go every which way, but it just added to his charm.
Savannah had started a conversation with Jemma and Charlie, but it was about OWLS, and I really didn't want to talk about that. I mean, we had the rest of the school year to worry about it. I started to look out of the window but was distracted when Blaine asked me a question.
"Sorry, what was that?" I asked, as I hadn't heard what he had said.
"I asked what kind of animal was in that basket you're holding." He pointed to the basket in my lap.
"Oh! It's a kitten." I opened the lid and took my kitten out of the basket. "She still doesn't have a name. It'll have to be a good one..." I trailed off, trying to think of the most badass name possible to give this tiny little animal.
"Ooh. She's cute!" Blaine said, reaching out to pet her.
"Well, if she were a boy, then I'd name her Link, so I guess Zelda will work." I turned to look my kitten in the face and said "Do you like it, Zelda?" She gave a small meow and I took it as a confirmation.
"Zelda. As in, the video game?" Blaine asked, giving me a questioning look.
"Yes." I said, returning the look. Here in the Hogwarts crowd, not a whole lot of people know what a video game is, much less character names. "Muggle parents?" I asked.
"Yeah. You too?"
"My mom is. Her and my dad separated before I found out I was a witch, so I grew up around all muggle stuff." I explained.
"Well, Zelda is a good choice." He said, smiling at me again. "I approve."
"Thanks." I returned his smile, and the went back to snuggling Zelda.
"Oooohh, a kitten!" Savannah squealed. She had looked over and finally seen my new friend. "Let me see her!" I passed her over, laughing at Savannah.
The rest of the train ride consisted of passing Zelda around, watching her try to catch the fly that had gotten into the compartment somehow, and Charlie and Blaine playing a game that I didn't understand at all.
By the time we arrived at the school, the sun had sunk below the horizon, but the heat still remained. I rolled up the sleeves of my robe before getting into a carriage with Savannah and Blaine that would take us up to the castle.
I was surprised to find that inside the castle was still cool, although, looking back, I suppose I shouldn't have been. It is magic after all. We headed into the Great Hall, looking forward to the amazing feast that was waiting for us.
"See you guys!" Blaine called, waving over his shoulder as he headed to his table and we headed to ours.
The sorting went by quickly, and once all of the first years had taken their places, the feast began. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed the food here. It was way better than anything my mother made, since she could hardly cook to begin with. I stuffed my face, with a complete disregard for my appearance.
After two rounds of dessert, I was so full I was afraid I wouldn't be able to walk. I made Savannah put her arm around me as we walked to our dorm, just in case I had the sudden urge to fall over. I felt the food coma settling in, and had just barely made it into my bed before my eyes closed and I drifted off to sleep.