"MuuuUUUm!" Merida whined.
The Dunbroch family on the whole had arrived to platform nine and three quarters with time enough to spare before the departure of the Hogwarts Express. Merida had been in good spirits, glancing around and trying to figure out everything with a glance. Hamish, Hubert and Harris, her triplet younger brothers scrammed off immediately, mixing themselves easily with the multicolored crowd of students, families and pets gathered. She'd made a joke about having to ask the Hogwarts staff to send them back later if they weren't careful enough, which her mother hadn't taken too kindly to.
That had been ages ago and she was about to lose her patience at this point.
Merida had hoped to find a good spot on the first wagons of the scarlet steam engine, settle her stuff and watch as the train filled, giving her time to study her peers or just try her hand on the levitating spell. On the contrary, she had tailed Elinor as her mother made a point of greeting everyone and their pet if she found them important or to whom she had an acquaintance with. Then came the process of parading Merida and force her to introduce herself.
Merida had no doubt in her mind that the whole process would have been much more fun if she'd just gone with her father when he was urged to chase the triplets. She did get along well enough with his coworkers after all and they tended to make fun of the more than enough repeated stories of Fergus Dunbroch's encounters with dragons. Instead she was stuck trying to match names to faces she was sure would forget as soon as possible, even though Elinor pointed out some that had visited their manor in the past.
"Merida!" Her mother scowled. "As a member of the Dunbroch family you're expected to…"
"Get on th' train, if ye want me tae arrive tae Hogwarts at all." She interrupted, tired of the assume-your-responsibilitiesspeech. "An' we only have a few minutes left."
True enough, there was a whistle calling everyone on board. Elinor gasped, covering her mouth and searched frantically for her husband, urging him to help Merida load her truck in one of the compartments. Of course, by that time, what should have been a broom's flight ended up being terrible complicated. Most of the compartments were already taken so they had to settle for one nearly at the end of the train. There was a trunk already in there but no sign to whomever it belonged. Fergus left her daughter's trunk in the compartment and Merida accompanied them to the door.
"And remember not to pick up fights or be rude to your Professors and…"
"I know." Merida whined again.
Elinor took her face on her hands and kissed her forehead.
"You'll do great, I just know it!"
"Thank ye." Merida said with honesty. It was the only thing she could mutter just before her father pressed both women on a tight hug.
The whistle sounded again and this time the doors closed by magic. The train started to move. Despite her bravado, Merida stayed at the door window waving goodbye, noticing that the triplets had gone missing again. She didn't return to the compartment until she could no longer distinguish her father's broad frame from the crowd and the triplets waving to her from the furthest point in the hangar were out of sight. When she did go back, the person occupying the compartment was already there.
A pretty girl of about her age with huge green eyes and a long, thick, blond braid falling on her back had busied herself with a book that wasn't on the supply list, as far as Merida could tell. At the sight of her, the girl yelped in a way a mouse would have done when surprised.
"Sorry, had tae take th' other seat. Everywhere else is full." Merida gave as an explanation. The girl kept quiet, eyeing her with a frightened look. "Could try tae look again though."
It would have been a pain to move all of her stuff again, without her father's help and without mentioning finding an empty seat but the girl looked absolutely terrified.
"No, no." The girl finally spoke, still behind her book. "It's no problem. You just startled me."
She seemed honest enough so Merida shrugged her shoulders and took the girl's word for it. Merida closed the door behind her and got comfortable by putting her feet on the seat besides the girl, watching the houses fly past them. The girl shared her attention between her book and her new companion.
"Mah name's Merida Dunbroch." Merida's first plan had been to leave the girl be but she ended fed up by the stares and silence. "Ye're a first year, aren't ye?"
The girl silently nodded but said nothing else. Merida crossed her arms, resigned to spend the whole trip looking through the window.
"My name is Rapunzel Corona. Nice to meet you." This time, it was the girl that interrupted. "Sorry. I'm just not used to this many people."
Merida raised her eyebrows. It was just the two of them there. She shrugged.
"Maybe 'cause thay packed us all on a single train." Merida said with what she hoped was an encouraging smile.
Rapunzel did seem to latch onto that and practically starting vibrating on the spot.
"I just really wanted to learn outside the house you know!"
Merida nodded. It wasn't anything new. Most kids, Merida included, dreamed of the day they would be able to go to Hogwarts, a huge change from being homeschooled.
There was something to it, though. The Corona name did ring some bells on Merida's head. Probably some of her lessons. Furthermore, if that was the place she had heard the name, it was someone big on the wizarding world.
Bummer.
"'at's not a textbook though, is it?"
Rapunzel closed the book, using her finger as a bookmark and showed Merida the cover. It was midnight blue with Depths of the Dream Realm by Sanderson Mansnoozie written in glittering gold letters.
"Mum bought it to me when she went for the rest of my supplies. I already read all the texts."
"Not a light read, either o' them." Merida said, more to keep the conversation going than anything else. She had barely looked at the covers as she selected them at the library.
"I had already gone through all of my father's library. I was going to read Where There's a Wand, There's a Way for the fifth time when mum gave me my new books. I just had to." Rapunzel smiled, hugging her book. "Plus, she subscribed me to the Flourish and Blotts catalog so I can tell her which ones I want next time."
"Blimey, ye're serious." Merida deadpanned. It seemed to put Rapunzel off some so she raised her hands as an apology. "Just not much o' a reader mahself."
Rapunzel though about it, finally putting aside her book and leaned towards Merida with big eyes.
"I don't know much more. When I went to Diagon Alley we went straight to Ollivander's and then back home."
Merida blinked in disbelief and Rapunzel looked ashamed.
Oh! So that had been it! The Coronas were one of the oldest wizarding families in Great Britain. Merida couldn't -and wouldn't- recall if they were at the level of the Malfoys or even the Blacks, even if the last one's core had become extinct in the Second Wizarding War or somewhere near there. Definitely above the Dunbrochs, even if they didn't usually hit the news that much.
Elinor's comment had been about how little of the Coronas daughter hadn't been heard of after her rescue from the clutches of the Dark witch Gothel Rosier that ended a three year kidnapping case. Probably for the best that Rapunzel's family –if she was really her- had kept their distance. At least for Merida. Otherwise, they would have met her as one of the arranged playmates Elinor liked so much to find for her. She would have hated her guts just for that.
On the other hand, however, it left Merida with an utter lack of response.
"Anything of the cart, dears?"
"My! Aye!" Merida jumped over enthusiastically at the interruption.
Merida stocked up with as many Pumpkin Pasties and Cauldron Cakes she was able to carry so Rapunzel and she entertained themselves by sharing and exchanging the food they had gotten. They had talked their way out of London and a long stretch of farmland when someone burst into their compartment again.
"Yo, Dunbroch! Last place Ah thought Ah see ye!"
As Merida was trying to get her way past a haggis Bertie Bott's bean via pumpkin juice, her face lit up at recognizing the newcomer. It was an older student with blue eyes, a long and big nose, and lots of puffy black hair.
"On th' only train tae Hogwarts?" She asked with a smirk. "Didn't think I'll see ye 'till we got tae th' castle, Mcintosh."
"Has any Prefect c'me this way?" He asked, looking around the empty corridor. There didn't seem to be anyone on the other compartment.
"Ye're th' first." Merida rolled her eyes, noticing the not so subtle attempt on Mcintosh to show of the P badge on his chest. "What wanker would've cared tae make you Prefect anyway?"
"Beats me." He shrugged. "Been finding a good place tae try out a little experiment. Care if we come?"
"What kind o' experiment?"
"Gobstones. Been tryin' to improve tha game for a while."
Merida looked at Rapunzel. The girl had kept quiet through all the exchange.
"What do ye say?"
"Me?" She looked like a deer in the headlights.
"It was yer compartment first." Merida nodded. "There's a reason why thay don't want other Prefects knowing what they're doing."
"Just tryin' out a static charm a bloke from Gryffindor suggested." Mcintosh interjected.
"I'm OK. I… think."
"On it!" Mcintosh hardly waited for Rapunzel to finish talking before he disappeared though the door to the next carriage.
Rapunzel looked at Merida in amazement. "Do you already know people on Hogwarts? And a Prefect!"
"No biggie. He's th' son o' one o' mah father's buddies from th' Dragon Killers squad. As for Mcintosh, I didn't know he was a Prefect 'till now either."
No sooner had she finished her explanation, Mcintosh returned. He was followed by two other guys, a big dark-skinned guy with a crew cut and a younger one with brown hair and a goatee. All three of them had at least three balls roughly the size of a Bludger. They were made of something glass-like, with swirling colored liquids inside.
"Aren't those too big tae be Gobstones?"
"Thay're supposed tae be. One o' th' changes we're trying tae make."
"Besides, we're playing on a train." The guy with the crew cut helped with the explanation. "It'll do us no good if we have to look for the balls under the seats."
"Those look dodgy." It was a soft murmur that no one but Merida could hear, since Rapunzel was watching everything from behind her.
"Well, the Jack Stone seems to be working just fine." The younger guy said, he had placed the smaller ball with a silver color on a throwing distance from everyone. "I'll take the red one. House pride and all that." So he was the Gryffindor Mcintosh was referring to earlier.
"Care to try?" The guy with the crew cut asked Merida, offering her a green ball.
Merida exchanged a look with Rapunzel, who still seemed scared, but all the same took the ball with resolution. She tossed it on the hall, aiming for the silver one. It was a good shot, and thanks to her archery training, she managed to aim it perfectly, even in the moving train. She whooped and offered Rapunzel a big thumbs up.
After her the boys took turns at doing the same thing. The first one was the one with the crew cut that had battled over the blue ball and lost, thus getting an orange one. The second was Mcintosh with the blue one and finally the Gryffindor with the red one.
"Hey Blondie!" Rapunzel jumped at being addressed. The Gryffindor guy held a purple ball for her. "It's your turn."
The girl looked at everyone and then back at the ball with the same big dove eyes. She extended her hand, seemed to reconsider it and withdrew it again. The other didn't seem to be in any rush and there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the balls either so Merida gave her an encouraging nod. Rapunzel nodded in response and took the ball.
She aimed for the Jack Gobstone and tossed it. It hit crew cut's ball, which, as well as the rest, had stayed put where it landed by a spell. It bounced back to the wall at the end and then on one of the compartments. Rapunzel's ball got closer to the Jack and crew cut's vibrated a lot for a while but finally stood where it was.
"Hey! Nice shot!" Said Merida, impressed by the feat. She responded to the same signal she had given Rapunzel before.
"Was that supposed to happen?" asked the Gryffindor to which Mcintosh shrugged, getting the next set of balls sorted.
Outside the windows, the orderly fields got wilder, morphing into woods and soft hills. On their compartment, each of the contestants took turns to toss a ball their assigned color to move the first one closer to the golden one that was on the far end. By the end of the third turn, Rapunzel had a clear advantage over the others and Merida's last turn had done nothing to change it. Apparently the difference between rounded objects and her arrows were more pronounced than she thought at the beginning.
Rapunzel had taken each of her balls without her original hesitation and was clearly enjoying herself by the time hers was declared the winner. Merida didn't know what to expect, as she knew how the Gobstones ended but all of the balls merely vibrated a lot, like crewcut's had done before. The four of them looked at each other.
The door slammed suddenly, startling them all.
"What has been happening?" A pretty older girl with black straight hair came through. She already had her robe and sported a badge similar to Mcintosh's on her breast.
Something about the extra vibrations must have activated the balls because they all released at once a putrid gas that filled the carriage in seconds.
"What the bloody…!" The girl had gotten the worse dose so her eyes were tearing and she tried hard not to cough. Or breathe.
The group opened the windows, causing the gas to disperse as the early night air came inside. The sky had already turned a light purple color. Through crying eyes, the girl managed to focus on Macintosh's figure.
"I should have figured." She said, angrily. "You're a Prefect! You're supposed to set an example, not to encourage this sort of behavior. And on first years nonetheless!"
"Relax, Vicki." Mcintosh approached her with a conciliatory gesture. It was painfully obvious that nothing about it was welcome. "No harm was done."
"Bolloks! You call this no harm done! It's my new robe!" She screamed. "I won't let this go by easily."
"Geroff, Vector." The Gryffindor guy said. Somehow he had gotten inside Merida and Rapunzel compartment and had his feet off the division. "What are you accusing us of?"
None of the balls was anywhere in sight. Except for a remnant stingy smell, there was no evidence of anything happening in there. The girl bristled in anger and pointed an accusatory finger at Mcintosh. The boy didn't do a good job of feigning innocence.
"Like I wouldn't find whatever you tossed at me. I'm sure is something against the rules or you wouldn't had hidden it."
"Yah, sure, but like me, ye still don't have tae authority 'till we meet with tae Heads." Mcintosh pointed out.
"Plus, what'll you do if one of the girls ends up in Slytherin?" The Gryffindor guy interjected. "Start the year with your House on the negatives?"
The girl threw a killer glare at Merida and Rapunzel. The blond girl squirmed again behind Dunbroch.
"You're new, right?" The Prefect girl yelled more than asked. Merida winced but held her gaze. "Fine. Whatever. If you keep associating with the likes of Mcintosh and Rider, I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again." She left, slamming the door so hard it got unhinged.
"I'll see that she dinnae chew some poor innocent's head off." Mcintosh followed the girl quickly and crew cut went behind him, trying to cover the big sack he held.
"Good one, both of you." Except for the girls, the only one remaining was the guy from Gryffindor. "She's probably right though I wouldn't mind seeing both of you being sorted into Gryffindor."
After he left, Merida turned to eye Rapunzel, who was hiding behind a curtain of blond hair.
"Ye 'kay? Sorry abuit th'." She said, worried.
"That was awesome!" Rapunzel jumped, taking Merida's hands in hers. "I never knew school was going to be this exiting!" She let go of Merida and started rubbing a piece of her hair that had gotten loose. "I mean, not the last part. That was scary. I wouldn't like to be expelled or something."
Merida smirked. "Ye just don't get caught. Ye know? Tha' bloke was right abuit sumethin'. I wouldn't mind sharing a House with ye."
"Whichever it is?" Rapunzel asked, letting go of her hair and offering her hand.
"Whichever it is." Merida answered, taking it.
End of Chapter
No one has volunteered as a beta, so feel free to point any mistakes you might find. Read ya next time!
