Clusters of parents enrobed in a range of colors from black to any of the school colorsgathered on the platform in intermingling clusters. One mother stood just outside a nearby window yelling to her child who had already boarded, possibly to get away from her as soon as possible. A conductor guided her away from the train as it lurched forward. A couple fathers and the mother who'd been at the window ran alongside the accelerating vehicle.
I turned away from the window. My parents were not amongst those saying good-bye to their children as the school year began. It's not as if my parents were dead, though; nor did they not care enough to see me off. They saw me off in the parking lot of Kings Cross, as they are Muggles and therefore unable to get to Platform 9 ¾. Not that I really missed them; I just knew how much they miss me and how much they'd like to see as much of me as possible before I go to school.
"Hey, MK!"
I turned to see a girl my age with skin the color of coffee with milk and a mountain of ebony hair tamed only by a single hair-tie. She stood in the doorway of the compartment, towering above me, with one hand on her hip and the other sporting a bulging duffle bag. There were several people behind her that I recognized but could hardly see within the limited space between the girl and the doorframe.
"Where were you? We looked all over for you but we couldn't find you. We were supposed to meet up together remember? We thought you were late and missed the train, so we boarded without you." My friend said as she and the people behind her filed into the compartment I was in.
"MK!" Shouted a girl with blonde highlights in her light brown hair that always seemed lighter after two months away from school and a Slytherin prefect badge on her black sweatshirt. "You didn't get a Lexi-hug yet!"
"I was late," I said over Lexi's shoulder. "But I didn't miss the train."
"Obviously." A girl with dark hair and glasses said as I let go of my other friend.
"I have to go report to the prefect car." Lexi said, backing toward the compartment door and ultimately bumping into it. "I'll see you guys."
We murmured our good-byes. Well, no. We shouted, squeaked, stated, and professed our good-byes. After laughing at the absurdity of how we sounded, Lexi left to join her fellow prefects.
"I would have looked for you guys, but I got to the platform about a minute before the train left." I explained after the four of us that were left lapsed into silence.
"Why?" Asked my friend with snowy white hair and glasses.
"I don't know. I was late. No good reason." I answered.
"Oohh…" She seemed to ponder this for a moment before shouting "GLOMP" and attacking me with a hug. Only unlike Lexi's hug, this was tight around my neck to the point of pain.
"Uh, Erin?" I said, looking down at the top of her head.
"Yes?" Erin squeaked, looking up with innocent bright blue eyes.
"Breathing would be nice."
"Really?" Her voice was falsetto and drawn out.
"Yes," was all the air I could let out.
"Aww." She said, her voice returning to normal, as she sat upright in her seat.
The picturesque Scottish countryside flew by the window, yet it was the sky that drew my attention. Although I knew it was nothing out of the ordinary, the combination of wispy and poofy clouds intrigued me, as a painting would draw an art collector. In fact, it was very much like a painting; I could pick out clouds that looked curiously like brush strokes, and I longed to be able to create a something as beautiful as them.
A low growling broke me out of my reverie. I looked up to see the smaller of my two friends sitting across from me reaching out to poke the other, who happened to be the source of the growl. When my one friend's finger got too close, the other would make to bite her and miss because the first one would pull away quickly, giggling.
"Angie," I said conversationally.
"What?" She immediately pulled her finger away from my other friend and sat innocently with her fingers folded on her lap, and her ankles crossed, swinging slightly.
"What are you doing to ViVi?" My voice hinted at suspicion.
"Nottin'" She replied in a girlish voice.
Then, when she thought we would least expect it, she reached out with both hands and attacked our friend with a dozen pokes. ViVi fought back with her teeth, attempting to bit at any finger that got too close. After about a minute, Angie flailed her arms in ViVi's direction, yet too far away to actually hit her and subsequently slid to the opposite end of the seat. She sat, slouched in the corner with her arms folded across her chest and stuck her tongue out at ViVi.
"Will you stop acting so immature?" Erin asked, annoyance seeping through her voice.
"Will you stop acting so immature?" Angie mocked, making her voice sound babyish.
"Angie," Erin paused for emphasis.
"Erin," Angie mimicked, her pitch heightening at the end the same way Erin's did.
"Stop. Now."
"Stop. Now." Angie bounced as she said each word.
She began giggling maniacally as Erin narrowed her eyes menacingly. Slowly, Erin drew her wand from the dragon-skin purse slung over her shoulder and pointed it at Angie. ViVi and I knew exactly what was coming.
"Erin, no." Our voices were both frighteningly stern.
Erin inched away from us into the corner of her seat, pleadingly. "But why not?" She squeaked. "She's being annoying."
"But that doesn't give you reason to hex or jinx or curse or whatever her, Erin." ViVi said, her tone hard.
"But why not?"
"Because when you're best friend is lying there in pain, you'll regret it." I said.
"And what if I don't?" Erin asked, trying to sound innocent.
The only thought going through my head that moment was 'You've got to be kidding me,' and I was sure that it seeped into my gaze because of the way Erin shrunk away from it.
"Erin, imagine if a teacher or a prefect," a light bulb, for lack of a less-Muggle term, went off in Angie's head as she spoke, her voice serious, "-yeah, imagine if Lexi came by and saw us dueling in our compartment. She'd have to give us detention and deduct points from all our houses before we even reach Hogwarts."
"Oh… okay." Erin said resignedly.
I slouched down in my seat amused. We'd been on the train only a little more than ten minutes, and already, my friends seemed like they were going to kill each other by accident soon. I couldn't wait until the lady with the cart full of candy came by; after that my friends were going to be hyper on top of it all. Gosh, it was going to be a long ride.
Eventually, after a few hours, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in!" Angie and Erin said at the same time, loud enough to be heard from the aisle.
The door opened, and in peered a tall, dark-skinned boy with slick black hair. "Hey, hey MK! Hey Erin! Hey ViVi! Hey Angie!"
After the four of us waved and said our hellos in our individual ways, he got to the point of why he was excited enough to be bursting in. "Guess what?"
"You developed a way to see nargles over the summer and went to the Ministry of Magic to patent it except nobody believed you so they through you out into the street, except since the Ministry is underground, they threw you up through the ceiling and through the asphalt street. Several Muggles ran you over with their cars and fell into the hole you created when you went through the street and they discovered the ministry. And before Obliviators could get to them, the Muggles went to their media and broadcast the presence of our world to all Muggles, thus fully making full uselessness of the Statute of Secrecy." Erin guessed wildly.
"Uh, what?" The boy asked confused. "I lost you after nargles."
Laughing, Erin repeated herself a little slower.
"Um, no…" he said slowly, giving Erin a look as if she needed a visit to the insanity ward of St. Mungo's.
"Then what, Ryan?" Angie asked. "I mean, since you didn't do anything as… as mildly catastrophic as what Erin said, what did you do?"
"I'm a prefect!" Ryan exclaimed.
"Ryan," I said slowly as Erin cheered. "You were a prefect last year; of course you're a prefect this year."
"Well, there's a Slytherin who was a prefect last year but isn't this year, and now some fifth year took his place." Ryan said.
"Not Lexi." ViVi said. "She's still a prefect right?"
"ViVi, he just said a fifth year took his place not her place." Angie said. "And besides, don't you think Lexi would have told us if she wasn't a prefect anymore?"
"Well, true." She agreed. "So wait, if Leo Bloxham isn't a prefect, then who is?"
"Some kid named Drake Jinks," Ryan informed us. "I'm not sure if you know who he is."
"I know who he is," Angie said. "He's a really short kid who I really want to punch in the face."
"Wow, Angie," Erin said in mock surprise. "If you're calling him really short, he must be a midget!"
"Erin…" Angie glared at Erin menacingly. "Do not… call me… a midget!"
"I didn't call you a midget," Erin protested. "I said that that person that you called really short is a midget."
"Augh, Erin!" Angie leaned back into her seat and held her head.
"What?" My friend sitting next to me squeaked.
"Nothing, Erin." Angie said. "Nothing."
"Oh yeah, MK!" Ryan said suddenly, as if remembering something.
"Oh yeah, what?" I asked.
"How'd you do on your O.W.L.'s?" He asked.
"Uh… I got…" I paused, fishing through my purse. "I got Exceeds Expectations on everything except for Outstanding in Divination, Charms, and Astronomy and Acceptable in Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"You only got an Acceptable in Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Ryan asked, sounding surprised.
"Yeah, it's my worst subject." I explained.
"Hey," Angie said. "You still did really good on your O.W.L.'s."
"How'd you do?" I asked.
"I think I got… hold on." She pulled out her wand and pointed it toward her trunk on the baggage rack. "Accio report card."
A piece of parchment slipped its way out of her trunk and zoomed at her. Seeing that it was aimed straight for her face, she began flailing around and moved to dodge it, yelling something about a paper cut. However, the paper stopped half a foot in front of her before falling slowly into her lap.
"Okay, I got…" She held up the parchment to scrutinize it. "A's in History of Magic and Ancient Runes; E's in Charms, Herbology, Potions, and Transfiguration; and O's in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creatures, and Astronomy."
"Oh, that's good!" Erin and I said at the same time.
"What about you Erin? What'd you get?" Angie asked.
"I got Exceeds Expectations in everything except Care of Magical Creatures." She answered without even fetching her report card.
"Everything except Care of Magical Creatures?" Ryan repeated. "What'd you get in Care of Magical Creatures?"
"Outstanding." She smiled.
"Wow, that's good!" Ryan said. "Wanna hear what I got?"
"Sure." The rest of us consented.
He pulled a paper out of his jeans pocket. "I got Exceeds Expectations in Arithmancy, Exceeds Expectations in Astronomy, Exceeds Expectations in Care of Magical Creatures, Exceeds Expectation in Charms-"
"So basically Exceeds Expectations in everything?" Erin interjected.
"No! I got four Outstandings!" Ryan exclaimed indignantly.
"Really?" Angie asked, bemused. "It sounded like you got E's in everything."
"What'd you get Outstanding in?" I asked.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, Potions, and Transfiguration." He said. "And then I got Exceeds Expectations in Herbology."
"Hey, ViVi," Angie turned to the girl sitting next to her. ViVi was staring blankly out the train window. Angie playfully slapped her on the arm. "ViVi!"
"OW!" ViVi whined, wincing as she rubbed the place where she'd been hit.
"Oh, come on, it didn't hurt that much." Angie rolled her eyes.
"That's what you think." ViVi stuck her tongue out to Angie.
"What'd you get on your O.W.L.'s?" Angie asked. When ViVi didn't respond, Angie called her name, long and drawn out, a few times. After a few minutes, she finally shouted "Veronica!" ViVi jumped at the sound of her name, but forced herself to ignore Angie.
"ViVi," I said calmly.
"Yes, MK?" She responded sweetly.
"I think Angie wants to ask you something." I told her.
"Yeah, well, she could have asked me without bruising my arm."
Angie sighed, rolling her eyes. "I doubt I bruised your arm."
ViVi stuck out her bottom lip and turned toward the window again.
"I think I'm going to patrol the car now…" Ryan said cautiously, backing away.
I smiled slightly, wishing I could go with him. "Have fun."
He laughed. "See you."
Erin and Angie granted him their good-byes as I sat silently as he left the cabin, disappearing behind the closing door.
"Thanks for ignoring me." Angie said.
ViVi gave a small smile as she continued to stare out the window.
"Veronica, stop being so annoying." Erin commanded, only to get a sniff of indignation in return.
As Erin attempted to get ViVi to talk, I sighed, wondering how in Merlin's name we were going to get her to not be mad at us anymore. I knew that she wouldn't be mad for a long time, even if she were to bring up Angie's hitting her later. Although, sometimes I wondered if some day she really did stay mad longer than she seemed to. I sure hoped not; I like my friends to be happy.
Just then, the compartment door slid open and a kindly older witch pushing a tea trolley full of sweets appeared. "Would any of you like anything?"
I'd saved a small portion of my money just for a cauldron cake, but I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it now that one of my friends wasn't talking. That sort of thing tends to get rid of my appetite more than anything.
However, ViVi suddenly looked up, her eyes as wide as saucers behind her glasses.
"Suuuuggaaarr!" She began laughing maniacally.
"Veronica!" Angie didn't seem relieved, yet now annoyed even more.
The witch pushing the cart didn't seem to mind much, having become accustomed to ViVi's excitement whenever the trolley came around. A smiled twitched at my lips as I remembered how the poor old witch had jumped out of fright five years prior when my friend had nearly attacked the trolley with my other friends and myself following behind ready to pounce.
"Would you like chocolate frogs again this year, Miss?" The witch asked.
"Yes, please." ViVi smiled as if nothing was wrong as they exchanged a few bronze knuts for the pieces of chocolate. "Thank you!"
I stood. "May I have a cauldron cake please?"
"Of course, dear."
After buying my favorite dessert, Erin and Angie each bought some licorice wands and a cauldron cake, respectively. When the witch was gone and the compartment door closed again, Angie set down her cake and glared at ViVi who was clearly enjoying playing with her little frog, oblivious to the death glare coming from beside her.
I was hardly paying attention, for what was outside was much more interesting than a frivolous squabble. Hogsmeade Station was in sight and nearing rather quickly. The last of my cauldron cake, which I had been savoring for the past twenty minutes, was suddenly that much sweeter. As the train came to a halt, I smiled.
"We're here!" I sang.