Scroundel (Being a Tale of Allison Mae Wood and her exploits with one James Sirius Potter)
The page gave a raw hiss as my hand guided it to the book's other cover. My face softened into a slight smile as I took in the words, the subtle language of deceit and sacrifice that its author tried to convey to me, the reader. I sat with my back to the window, knees tucked to my chest. Funny how in an empty compartment of the Hogwarts Express, en route to one of the most prestigious schools of magic in the world, I was lost in a world of cell phone break-ups and the all-important Friday night football game.
This morning had been as chaotically hectic as any first of September since I'd started at Hogwarts as a small, naïve first year; me stuffing all my possessions in the standard issue trunk last minute, my mother shrieking about her baby's last year of school, my father, manly wizard that he is, blinking back tears before I hastily Apparated into a supply closet at King's Cross. But now, here in this blissfully silent compartment, I heaved a great sigh of content and flipped another page.
"Fred, you rascal! Give that back!" There were sounds of a scuffle outside the compartment door. Something in me begged to throw open that door and give those scruffians a good talking to, but I couldn't bring myself to.
Allison, some day you're gonna land yourself in a really bad situation and you won't be able to get out of it because of this stupid fear of talking to people.
"Say, 'please'!" called a second voice. The owner laughed uproariously at the first's muttered reply. "Language, Jamie! Wouldn't want me to write to Auntie and tell her what a bad boy you've been, and not even at Hogwarts yet!"
Would you all just shut up! I raged silently, trying to block out the noise. I buried my nose further into my book.
"Just—Give me-!" Suddenly the compartment door flew open and two struggling boys stumbled in. They grappled with each other for a few moments before one came out on top. "Ha! You take that, Fred Weasley!" said the victor, triumphantly brandishing some worthless trinket.
"If you quite mind," I finally snapped, though I didn't dare lower my book.
"Oh, sorry," said the second. "This prick's not acting 'is age very well, 'is 'e? I do apologize for 'im."
"No need to apologize for me, Freddie, m'boy! The one who should be apologizing for their companion is I, James Potter!"
There was a short pause, as if he was waiting for something. Then— "I, James Pot-!"
"I heard you the first time," I bit out.
The boy cocked his head to the side and brought his dark eyebrows together in a furrow. "I don't believe I've seen you around before. Are you a first-year?"
"…Is that supposed to be an insult?" I asked finally, dropping my book with a soft thump on to my lap. I fixed him with my best intimidating glare (which wasn't very scary at all).
"Oh," he said as he took in my clearly not 11-year-old face. "Sorry, I guess."
I took a good look at the intruder. Tall and broad-shouldered, he had a long face and prominent amber eyes. A pair of rectangular glasses was perched on top of his headful of unkempt, messy jet-black hair. His mouth was stretched in a strange half-smile.
"Apology accepted," I sniffed, returning to my book.
"Mind if we sit here for a bit? Our compartment is pretty packed, and this is, well, practically empty," said the second boy. He was just as tall as the first, if not taller, with skin the color of chocolate milk, a wide spread of freckles, and dark eyes alight with mischief. His hair was a mahogany blonde, a stark contrast to his dark skin.
I winced at his words. Just another reminder of being alone. "Since I'm practically not here…" I answered, gesturing with a free hand to the empty seats across from me.
"Sweet," he said, promptly plopping himself down. "I'm Fred Weasley, by the way. And you've met James."
Oh, I've met James, I thought sarcastically. "Mhm-hm."
"Okay then…" Fred muttered, put out by my lack of reply.
An hour or two was spent in this fashion, until the compartment door slid open yet again and in came a tall, willowy girl, with hair so blond it was nearly white. "Well, it's safe to say that Ackerly Campbell has not changed mentally or physically since fourth year," she said, tossing back her long hair over her shoulder. "Oh—sorry," she added, seeing Fred and James.
"You definitely do not have to apologize," I said into my book. "You're not interrupting anything."
"Well, maybe learning some conversational skills would help…" James muttered at the window.
The blonde blinked. "Wow, what ever happened to having respect for your elders?"
James snorted. "There is no way this chick—" he gestured flamboyantly towards me—"is older than me."
"Unless you were held back a year… or two… or five… I'm most certainly older than you," I told him, more comfortable now that I had a friend around. "Mr.-Sixth Year."
"You're a seventh year?" he said incredulously.
"I don't think I can quite hear your disbelief," I winced, sticking a finger in my ear. "Anyway, Elli—where is everyone?"
By everyone else, I meant most of the people that made up my everyday life at Hogwarts—that is to say, my roommates.
"Oh, right. Scharkey and Holly found a compartment with a couple guys from Hufflepuff. Scarlett is still at the meeting, I think."
"Of course," I muttered. Boy-crazy, the lot of them. "What about Amber?"
"Right here," came a voice from behind Elli. "You'd think this gargantuan would realize she should let us vertically-challenged folk be in the front."
"I'm not even that tall!" Elli complained.
A curly-haired, pixie-like blond pushed her way in front of Elli. "You're like 5'10". That's more than 8 inches taller than me!" she pointed out, hands on her hips. "Aaaand there are strange people in this compartment. Allison, what have you gotten yourself into? You naughty girl."
"I am graciously offering this space temporarily to these children," I said airily, gesturing to the two boys.
"Elizabeth Clay," introduced the tall blonde.
"Amber Ross," said the shorter one.
"Fred Weasley," Fred offered.
"James Potter, at your service," added James.
"Ruffians extraordinaire, I assure you," I said, rolling my eyes.
James bristled. "I resent that. To save face, I shall retire from this unworthy venture," he huffed. That being said, he sprang up and left, dragging Fred with him. I noticed idly that the back of his neck and the tips of his ears had gone red.
As they left, Amber turned her big blue eyes toward me. "A younger man… two of them in fact. Allison, you cougar…!"
"Better looking than Campbell, anyway," Elli mused.
"Shut it, both of you," I ordered. "Now, who finished the summer homework?"
Rain fell down in sheets from the dark sky as people dashed to and fro, frantically searching for empty carriages and shelter from the relentless storm. Beside me, Elli covered her head with her arms. "Wonderful!" she yelled sarcastically over the roar of the crowd. I just stood there and let the rain wash over me, not caring that water was seeping into my shoes.
There was something so enchanting about rain; you can run, you can seek shelter, you can jump in puddles and splash cold water everywhere as you see fit, or you can stand and just take it: eyes closed, face upturned, the roar of millions of tiny droplets of water setting off to war, your skin being turned to liquid.
Amber appeared at my elbow. "Holly's found an empty carriage over there!" she shouted, pointed to the right. "Scarlett's already there!"
Elli led the way through the throng of people. I tripped over someone's foot and landed on my knees in a puddle. Wincing at the pain, I got up and realized that I'd been left behind. "Shit," I muttered, looking around helplessly. Somehow through the confusion, I spotted a black-haired Asian girl standing on her tiptoes trying to see above the crowded. "Scharkey!" I called, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her with me in the direction Amber had been pointing.
One way or another, we managed to reach the carriage and threw ourselves inside, finally finding some refuge from the rain and hapless students. "God!" Scharkey exclaimed, flicking water from her hair with her wand. "If I wasn't so freaking nice I would have hexed every single one of those idiots!"
"Yeah, you're definitely too nice," I muttered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing…" Despite being Japanese (a race having somehow gained the reputation of being docile and well-mannered) Elisabeth Scharkey had a short rein on her temper. Maybe I was better than her in spell casting, but the Muggle-born girl had a third-degree black belt.
"Where are Amber and Elli?" asked the girl sitting across from us. She was small and thin-boned, with sharp, pointy features, accentuated by blonde hair that was cut just past her ears. Next to her was a second girl, dirty blonde, whose cheeks were red in a permanent flush.
"Got separated," I answered shortly, still a little out of breath. "How the hell are you two so dry?"
"Drying spell," she said, rolling her eyes. "Here-,"
She took out her wand and pointed it in my direction. Instantly my robes began to steam. "Thanks, Holly," I said, closing my eyes in pleasure. "Hey, Scarlett," I added. "How was the meeting?"
"Okay, I guess," Scarlett replied, shrugging. "Kind of boring. Anthony Marwick totally took over. Barely even let Molly Weasley talk. He's totally lording it over me that he's a Head now and I'm not."
"Oh, well. You know Anthony; if he could have been Head Girl as well as Head Boy, you know he would've done it," I said.
Holly let loose a snort. "I really think he would've!"
"Who would've done what?" asked a soaked Elli. She and Amber had finally joined us. "How the hell did you get here before us?" she asked me.
"Anthony Marwick," Scarlett answered.
"Anthony Marwick got Allison here before us? What, is he some kind of time god?" Elli sputtered.
"Because that's the logical interpretation," I said, rolling my eyes.
Elli opened her mouth, about to deliver some blood-curdling retort, when the carriage gave a jolt and began to roll forward. "Ah, finally," she sighed instead.
"I am so starving," Scarlett inserted. She raised her arms above her head and arranged her face in a stern manner, exactly imitating Headmistress McGonagall. "Let the Hogwarts feast begin!"
"Kamerer, Carlton!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Boo!" Scharkey mumbled in my ear.
"Why, I never!" I huffed, trying and failing to keep the grin from stretching across my face. "If you must know, I have some very good friends in Slytherin!"
"Wai, Abbie!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Wow, the Sorting Hat's pretty efficient this year," Holly noted. "Hardly any hesitation."
"Weasley, Roxanne!"
"…" The silence rang painfully through the anxious hall.
"Way to jinx it, Holly!" Scarlett hissed. "And we were almost done, too!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Of course," Scharkey commented. "What other choice could there be?"
"There are Weasleys not in Gryffindor," I said absentmindedly. My eyes were on the Gryffindor table, where Fred Weasley was standing up and pounding his little sister on the back as she sat down next to him, grinning from ear to ear. James Potter held up his empty goblet and faked giving a toast to her, making her blush and stare down at the table.
"Yeah, take Rose Weasley for example," Scarlett cut in. She pointed down the table at the red-haired fifth-year, yapping away to that Veela cousin of hers… Luke? Lewis?
"Oh, right. But her brother's in Gryffindor isn't he? Hugh or whatever?"
"Wasn't it Harvey?"
"It's Tarquin, I thought."
"Oh, that's right."
"Oh, look! The last one!"
We all craned our necks to look at the lone first year still waiting to be Sorted. When "Yonan, Kenneth" went to Ravenclaw, we cheered loudly, not just because he was one of us now.
At the head table, Professor McGonagall got up gingerly and slowly, very slowly, gestured for silence. "Ahem! Ahem. If I may deliver a few announcements… Mr. Ruppenthal would like me to remind you all that Defenestrating Gargoyles have been added to the Confiscation List, as are all Weasley Wizarding Wheezes products. The full list may be viewed in his office on the second floor… Also, the Forbidden Forest is still forbidden to all students at all times. This means you, Mr. Potter—" Everyone knew she meant the elder brother, not the younger—"No exceptions. Thirdly, the Astronomy Tower is now off limits after dark without teacher supervision."
Scarlett chuckled at that. "Like that's gonna stop any lovesick couples," she whispered. "I know for a fact that they can be very determined…"
"Oh, ew!" Holly said. "Scarlett, you're a prefect!"
"So?"
"So-!"
"And now, without further ado… let the feast begin!"
A great cheer arose from the students as food magically appeared on the plates in front of them and the shiny golden goblets were filled with pumpkin juice. "Ye-es!" Scarlett moaned, immediately making grabs for the chicken legs and mashed potatoes at the same time.
"Pass the marmalade, would you?" Amber asked me, holding up a roll.
I reached for the container, but someone else got there first. Our hands brushed, and, shivering from the contact, I recoiled and withdrew. "Oh, sorry," said Matt Edwards, offering it to me.
"Oh, no, that's okay—you go ahead," I told him; I couldn't not quite look him in the eye. He shrugged and went along his business.
"Thanks a lot," Amber muttered.
"Oh—sorry, Amber," I said. "Go ask Holly for the one by her elbow."
She huffed and turned away from me.
I reached for a roll myself and dropped it when a voice next to my ear said," Your face is red." It was Elli, grinning from ear to ear.
"It's hot in here," I said uncomfortably.
"He's cute, in a monkey-ish sort of way."
"He does not look like a monkey!" I snapped.
"Oh, so you know what he looks like? You could hardly look at him."
I picked up my roll and tore a piece off with my teeth. "I am no longer speaking to you," I informed her. "You hear me? This is me not speaking to you."
She laughed gently. "You should talk to him," she said. "He's looking at you."
"He's what?" I jerked my head in his direction. Sure enough, he was gazing at me. When our eyes met, he smiled slightly and raised his eyebrows before turning away. I don't know what my face did—probably melted, solidified, and melted again in some sort of soppy grin.
"Wow, I am so glad I know you," she told me, laughing some more and slapping me on the back.
"Oh, go eat your turnips," I said indignantly, and stuffed a large spoonful of mashed potatoes into my mouth. I closed my eyes briefly in bliss before digging in some more.
Half an hour or so later, the food disappeared, much to the Scarlett's disappointment (I swear, that girl has two hollow legs). The Headmistress got up again. "You are dismissed to your dormitories! First-years, please locate your House Prefects, they will ensure that you do not get lost!"
Scarlett immediately stood up and started calling for first-years.
"Let's go," Holly said. We stood up and began making our way out of the Great Hall.
"Oof," I said, squished between a burly fourth-year and the wall. Rock and a hard place, indeed, I groaned mentally. I pushed through them and starting climbing the Grand Staircase two steps at a time in an effort to get away from the crowd. Upon reaching the fifth floor, I took an immediate left down a dark hallway. I ducked under a low opening onto a tightly spiraling staircase. Light flickered from torches set up the walls. At the top, I paused at an immense door decorated with a giant, eagle-shaped bronze knocker.
"What are you waiting for?" panted Scharkey behind me. Her round, slanted eyes glinted in the torchlight. She reached around me and gave the knocker a sharp tap.
The eagle's beak opened creakily and from it came a woman's calm, soothing voice.
"What is the origin of magic?"
"Oh, God…" Scharkey sighed.
"Nothing," I answered quietly after a moment. "Magic is the origin."
"Well put," said the voice.
"Nice one," Scharkey said.
The knocker's beak closed and the door swung open, revealing a large, airy room decorated by blue and bronze silk curtains.
Tall, arched windows were set into the walls of stone and were accented by various statues of assorted philosophers and inventors. Fat, comfortable armchairs and small, sturdy wooden tables were spread around a huge granite fireplace. Numerous thick, midnight blue carpets covered the shining wood floor. A marble staircase led to a round, wide balcony—more like a mini-library—from which protruded two spiral staircases. Every inch of wall not covered by paintings or hangings bore towering wooden bookcases. As I stepped in, I took a deep breath and tipped my head back, inhaling the faint scent of lavender and catching a glimpse of the domed ceiling, painted with stars to look like the night sky.
"Welcome home," I said to myself.
[A/N: Yeah, I know this is yet another new story while I have yet to complete my other ones... But it was my New Year's Resolution to finish a story (yes, just one-I have this problem with finishing through with anything) and I've decided to do this one. Plus I have a crap load more already written :) I'm just editing it.
So tell me what you guys think! I know there's not much James, but there will be soon. The great thing about writing Next Generation is that you can make up practically EVERYTHING, so I'm experimenting with a lot of ideas. But the only way I get any feedback is from reviews, so please don't hesitate.
Over and out!]