Hello, all new, old and returning readers. Thank you for clicking on this story and thus furthering my procrastination of all the work I should be doing.
I hope you enjoy reading this story; if you have any comments, criticisms or compliments, please let me know in a review, otherwise I'd like you to review just so I know if anyone is reading.
Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling. She is not only a better author than me, but also probably has even less time on her hands (a feat which I would otherwise consider impossible.) She's probably also better at doing what she's supposed to.
As the train drew out of the station, Harry and Ginny began to make their way back to the other two.
"I guess we should go now," he began, before being suddenly interrupted.
"Luna!" Ginny cried, as she had just seen Luna and her husband emerge from the clouds of steam that were clearing as the train departed. "I was looking for you!"
She hugged both Rolf and Luna, as did Hermione, whilst Harry and Ron did the same for the latter but decided on a handshake for the former.
"I thought the twins were going to start late, since you couldn't get back from Timbuktu in time," Ginny continued.
"Tuvalu, actually. And the Kirin gave us a hand." Luna said calmly. Rolf kissed his wife.
"They did, in fact. At least, they let us see them, which meant we needed to get back here post-haste to get the pictures to the IMC."
The IMC was the Institute of Magical Creatures, an organization independent from the Ministry, which had been set up by Hermione several years ago. It had attracted both Luna and Rolf to work there, and had in fact been the site of their first meeting.
"So we dropped Lorcan and Lysander off first," Luna finished. "It's good that way. Your first Hogwarts train ride can be very important. All sorts of friendships get formed, at least, if you make any."
Some things didn't change in nineteen years. Luna's comments could still have the effect of causing an uncomfortable silence.
"It's a pity we couldn't get in touch," Hermione sighed. "It would have been nice for them to sit together on the train."
"Not if you want the train to get there in one piece," Ron muttered. Harry and Rolf, the only two who heard him, grinned.
Lily frowned. "Dad, why can't I be starting Hogwarts! Everyone else is!"
"Not everyone," Harry pointed out. "There's still Hugo, Louis and Frank…" He trailed off.
After all, Lily was mostly right. Other than her, Louis and Hugo, all the other Weasley children had started school. Of their friends, Lorcan and Lysander were the only offspring of Luna and Rolf. Neville and Hannah still had two, soon to be three, children left to send, including Frank, who was in the same year as Lily, but Alice, their eldest, was starting that year.
Lily glared after the train. "I bet they're having lots of fun," she sulked. Inside, she was pouting even more. Rose had been like a sister to her, and losing Lorcan, Lysander and Albus all at the same time made it worse. "It's all going to change," she thought unhappily. "I don't want things to change, why can't they just stay the same."
She was right about the train. Albus and Rose hadn't managed to find anyone else they knew, although James hadn't abandoned them straight away. He'd given them, Albus especially, a quick pointer on magical history - namely that all the stories that they had been told as children were true, and their parents were the heroes in them. With all the adapatability of children, particularly children who had picked up on a lot of this before, they'd accepted this and moved on. They were now having a great time on their own. As they played game after game of Exploding Snap, and talked happily about the lessons they thought they'd like at Hogwarts, not to mention getting to see the Forbidden Forest! James had already boasted that he had ventured in twice, and Albus was determined to do the same.
Fifteen minutes before they were due to arrive at Hogwarts, James stuck his head around the door.
"Don't forget to get changed into your robes," he reminded them, every inch the bossy older brother. Rose flapped a hand at him.
"We know, we know," she said. "Now go away. I'm beating Al at chess." Rose had inherited her father's love for the game, and had played against him for years. She'd not managed to beat him in a fair game yet, although he'd given up playing with a handicap just that summer.
James snorted. "Of course you are. Don't you ever get bored of losing to a girl, Al?"
"Don't you ever get bored of sounding like an idiot, James?" Rose retorted before Albus had the chance to reply.
Deciding to quit whilst he was ahead, as nobody could defeat Rose in the sarcastic putdown, James left.
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"Firs-years! Firs'-years, over 'ere!"
Hagrid was stood by the shores of the lake, boats bobbing beside him and a crowd of frightened looking children gathering nearby.
Until, that is, a red-cheeked blonde-haired girl ran up and flung her arms around him. She was being trailed by another blonde, this one tiny, with wavy hair that ran right down her back. The girls were being followed by two boys, identical in size and shape although one had dark brown hair and the other had hair in a familiar blonde shade.
"Alrigh', Alice," Hagrid nodded down at the girl whose arms currently encircled his knees. Alice Longbottom, grinned back up at him, ignoring the stares of the other students who were wondering what kind of bravery it was that led someone to hug such a tall person.
Of course, it was just that Alice, as the daughter of the Herbology Professor and Deputy Headmaster, had spent most of her childhood wandering round the grounds of Hogwarts.
"Yeh'd be the Scamander twins, then?" Hagrid said to the two boys.
The blonder boy nodded, introducing himself. "Lysander," he said, omitting his last name as always, irritated by how his parents had named him with a rhyme.
The brown-haired twin, Lorcan by process of elimination, nodded and answered. "Technically, although since our family has had lots of generations of twins, we're not really the only ones. And since you know our mother, not our father, in your mind we're probably the Lovegood twins."
Hagrid blinked once, twice, and then nodded. "I guess you tek after yeh mother then." He turned to the other child, speaking particularly quietly now. She seemed so small that she was liable to break if anyone even looked at her. "And who migh' yeh be?"
"Amelia Creevey, Professor. Or Lia." She replied shyly, trying to meet his eyes and failing, as they were simply too high up for her head to tilt back and see.
"Nice teh meet yeh, Lia." He said gravely.
The group of first-years had been growing throughout this exchange, and Hagrid looked around now, straightening up. "Righ' is that it?" he muttered to himself. "No, can't be, I'm still missing Al and……."
"Sorry we're late, Hagrid," Rose panted, racing up with Albus. "We were a bit delayed getting into our robes."
"Not to worry," he answered. "So, if we're all here now? Ev'ryone, get on a boat. Eight people teh each boat."
"Eight?" Rose wondered aloud. "Mum said it was four."
"Maybe it's changed," Albus answered, as he hopped into a boat that had only one occupant. "Hi! I'm Albus Potter. Is it alright if we join you?"
"Plenty of room," she answered, waving her arm past the rows of seats. "Aisha Siddiqui."
"Rose Weasley," Rose added, as she too clambered into the boat, closely followed by the twins, Alice Longbotom and Lia Creevey.
A flurry of introductions followed, after which a brief silence fell.
"Hurry up," called Hagrid. "Everyone needs to get into a boat."
The seven of them looked up to see the last students filter onto the boats, leaving one stood still on the shore. With all five of the other boats filled, and Hagrid in a boat of his own, theirs was the only one with a seat still remaining. However, when he stepped closer towards it, most of them understood why he had hesitated.
"I don't believe this," Scorpius Malfoy muttered, as he settled himself gingerly onto the far most edge of the boat, as though they might bite.
"Aisha Siddiqui," the original occupant of the boat offered.
"Scorpius Malfoy," he said smoothly. "And I don't really feel up to talking, thanks."
"Oh, do you get seasick?" Lia asked sympathetically.
Alice, Rose, Albus and Lysander all stared at her. "Doesn't she know who he is?" Rose wondered.
Lorcan, on the other hand, chipped in with "It's often due to Nautiloids, rocking the boat directly under you."
Scorpius stared at him for a long moment. "I guess some things are genetic," he murmured.
"Hey!" Lysander snapped. "If you've got something to share, say it so we can all hear."
Scorpius eyed him, then shook his head. "I'm good, thanks."
Alice let out a slight snort. "He's 'good'" she repeated in her head. "Did he phrase it like that on purpose?"
Scorpius' clear grey eyes flicked to her for a moment, but he let it drop.
Minutes passed in an uneasy silence. A quiet conversation started between Albus, Rose and Alice. Lia, who was sat beside Aisha, spoke to her whilst the twins presumably talked, though they did so with such lowered voices that it was almost as if they were communicating silently. Then…wham!
The boat shook. "What was that?" Rose asked, her voice trembling slightly.
"It's probably just the Giant Squid," Lia said soothingly.
"Just?" Aisha asked.
"It's nothing to worry about. My dad fell in once, and it fished him right back out."
"And the fact that we can't see the other boats? Should I worry about that?"
The others spun around, making the boat rock dangerously. The fog had thickened, meaning that the other boats had gradually faded until they were barely pinpricks of light from the lanterns at their bow. Then the lantern at their own bow flickered once, dimmed then went out.
It was pitch black.
"Where are the stars?" Lorcan asked without surprise. "And the moon?"
It was nearly the full moon, and they should have been able to see something, no matter how thick the fog. But it was black all around them.
"You're all wizards, right?" Aisha said, her voice, like Rose's, sounding decidedly shaky. "Can't you do some magic?"
"We haven't started school yet," Lysander replied. "We don't know any magic."
"Besides, you're a wizard too – or a witch, at any rate." Alice pointed out. "Or you wouldn't be here."
"I think she means that she's Muggleborn," Scorpius spoke, the first time he had done so since just after getting on the boat.
"Trust you to point that out," Alice muttered.
"Oh, jump off that high horse you're sitting on," he snapped back. "Or you might fall into the lake, and Merlin knows that that would be a disaster."
The wind picked up, preventing them from hearing any further conversation. Rose's hair, curly at its best, could now only be described as a mane, although nobody was there to see it. Something whipped across Lorcan's face, but he was pretty certain that it was only Lia's long tresses.
Sensibly, Aisha had tied her long black hair up into a pony tail, and Alice had cut hers to her chin only a week ago. The boys were equally lucky, though the Scamander twins, who hadn't had close access to a barber in the last few weeks, still found themselves spitting strands of hair as all eight of them, in a silent and unanimous decision, began to scream for help.
Well.....?
Anyone? Anything? Am I speaking to myself here? (not that that's an unusual hobby for me, although it's slightly more unusual for me to type to myself.)
Please review, people. x