Chapter 2
Leah followed Kyle through the station stonily and kept a hand on Zinc's back. He was quite tall, so she didn't really need to bend that much… OK, she did look a bit weird- dressed in a black coat, fastened at the waist with a black sash. Her jeans could be seen beneath the coat, and she had a pair of sunglasses perched on her nose. And she was stooping slightly, keeping her hand on thin air.
The sunglasses and coat saved her from the paparazzi.
She had put a Selective Invisibility charm on Zinc (only herself and Kyle could see him), and her invisibility cloak was buried in her backpack. Zinc was smart, and he knew he shouldn't bark. But for safety measures, she'd put a silencing charm on him.
The other option had been to transfigure him into a cat, a toad, or an owl, but Leah had refused to do that. She would not transfigure Zinc. He'd die of fright.
Kyle was perfectly OK with this plan. He was breaking rules, and therefore he was immensely happy. He loved breaking rules. 'Leah, quit holding him…' Kyle hissed at her.
'He'll get hyper and run.' She sighed, 'C'mon, Kyle, you go first.'
She nodded at the pillar.
'No, you go. I'll bring Zinc with me.' Kyle said. She nodded and walked through the pillar, pulling her trunk along with her.
'Zinc, c'mon.' Kyle whispered to Zinc, who was baring his teeth at the pillar. The dog sat down firmly and refused to move, like he was saying You bring Leah back first. I'm NOT leaving her behind. 'Zinc, this is no time to be stubborn! Leah's on the OTHER side!'
He tried to wrestle Zinc in. People stared, because obviously, he looked rather stupid. Finally, he managed to lift a growling (silently) Zinc into his arms, and straight into the pillar.
'God, Leah, Zinc is so heavy! Like you! Hey… Leah?'
There were thousands of students rushing into the Hogwarts express, but none of them was Leah. None of them was dressed in a dark coat, with dark celeb sunglasses.
'Shoot… Zinc, come on, boy…' Kyle groaned, and Zinc, unable to gather the guts to go explore this interesting new place without a voice and Leah, followed meekly, his tail stuck between his legs.
He climbed into the carriage, and walked through, making way for Zinc so that no one would touch the dog and get suspicious. Why did Leah have to keep a HUGE dog? Why not a Chihuahua or something…?
He pushed open a random door and poked his head in, 'Is this full…?'
It contained a gaggle of girls, the same age as he was. 'I'm afraid it is, sorry…' one of the girls said. She was a red-head, and her friend was crooning over a furry little cat.
Zinc's fur rose and he tried to push past Kyle.
'Ah… stop it… Oh, well- ugh- tha- aha!' Kyle had been trying not to get shoved forward by Zinc. He now shoved back with all his might, sending Zinc back effectively. The girls were looking at him weirdly.
'Are you alright?' the girl holding the cat asked, 'Hey, are you new? Because I haven't seen you around before… and if I had, I would've noticed…' She had short curly blonde hair and she was beaming really sweetly.
Yeah. Kyle was used to the female-folk noticing him. He was drop-dead gorgeous and smart and witty and… yes, he did lack modesty slightly…
'Yeah I'm new. Well, I got to hurry. See you girls around later.' He slammed the door shut, and turned to glare at Zinc, who had now turned away and was bounding through the narrow (and thankfully empty) corridor.
Kyle sped forward and slid open one door just before Zinc hurtled against it in his rage (He hadn't been allowed to go after a cat AND he couldn't find LEAH anywhere!! Not to mention he'd been so nastily shoved back by Kyle…)
'Is something wrong, mate?'
Kyle stopped staring at Zinc, who had paused and found a piece of sandwich on the floor and was now gobbling it up. He looked at the people occupying this compartment- it was quite empty. There were four boys, the same age as him. They were looking at him with odd expressions.
'Yeah, I'm fine. Can I sit here? All the other compartments are full.' He said, feeling relieved that Zinc was OK now.
'No, not really-' A boy with hair falling into his eyes began, but his friend- a sandy-haired, wary looking boy nudged him.
'Yeah, sure.' The sandy-haired guy said.
Another boy, with inky black hair and hazel eyes and specs, who'd asked if he was OK, looked at him curiously as he sat down. 'Are you new here? Don't reckon I've seen you before…'
'Yeah, I'm new.' Kyle said, 'Me and my twin.'
'Are you the Ebony twins…?' a plump boy asked, looking at him.
Kyle grinned, 'That's us. I'm Kyle Ebony.'
'Nice to meet you. I'm Remus. This is James. Sirius. And Peter.' The sandy-haired boy said, grinning back at him.
'Where's your twin?' Sirius asked, looking around.
'She's… I don't know.' Kyle said, suddenly worrying. Where was Leah?
Just as he thought that, the door burst open and a girl in a dark coat, with the sash open, and sunglasses in her hand stood there, looking pale and worried.
'Kyle!' she said, as she looked at him, 'Kyle, where's-'
BANG.
She fell back with a painful thud as Zinc jumped onto her and looked at her accusingly. She'd been so worried she'd only seen Kyle, thinking Zinc was lost. But Zinc had noticed her the minute she'd opened the door.
'You OK?!' Sirius asked, getting out of his seat to help her.
Kyle rushed forward at once, 'Nah, its fine… Leah, c'mon…' If Sirius tried to help her up, he'd feel Zinc.
Leah managed to shove Zinc off without looking too weird, and stood up. As she looked at the four boys in the face, Remus looked surprised.
'You're Leah Ebony, aren't you?' he asked.
She nodded and sat down beside Kyle when he made space for her. 'Leah, this is Remus.' He said, 'And-'
'I'm James, this is Sirius and that's Peter.' James grinned at her and ran a hand through his hair, 'Which house do you guys want to be in?'
They both shrugged simultaneously.
'I don't care.' Kyle said, 'Any of the houses will do.'
'Including Slytherin?' Sirius asked darkly.
'They're cunning.' Leah found herself pointing out, 'And they have a whole lot of other interesting traits. You're obviously a Gryffindor.'
Zinc nuzzled her foot affectionately and proudly.
Sirius laughed, 'How did you know that?'
Leah stared at him impassively, not smiling or laughing in return. That happened to her when she was around other people. She lost the ability to be human. 'Your ties. And the way you immediately made a jab at the Slytherin house.'
Remus hid a smile behind his book, and Peter hurriedly stuffed his tie into his pocket, dragging along the other three ties too. Sirius had knotted them together in an attempt to tie James up when they'd come into the compartment.
Leah took out her notebook and a pen. She crossed her legs, put the glasses into her bag, and started writing in it furiously.
The four boys all turned and looked at Kyle, eyebrows raised.
'Her hobby.' He mouthed.
Remus cleared his throat, 'So, um, where were you before, Kyle…?'
'Muggle school. I learnt magic at home.' He said automatically, 'Leah was home-schooled.'
'Muggle school and magic? Why?' James asked, looking horrified.
'Not everyone's as lazy as you are, Prongs.' Remus told him.
Sirius rolled his eyes, 'SO. Who wants something off the trolley?' They could hear the trundling of wheels down the corridor, as the lady approached.
Zinc sat up and sniffed at the smell of ham sandwiches. Leah and Kyle looked at him at the same time. As Zinc stood, Leah threw down her pen, making it look accidental, and Kyle threw a strip of gum from his pocket.
'Would you like anything, dears?'
CRASH.
Zinc howled (but no one heard him) as Leah and Kyle both partially landed on him. Leah groaned and rubbed her head and Kyle rubbed his thigh.
'Shit! What is wrong with you both?' Sirius asked, holding out a hand to Leah and Kyle. At that time, Zinc paused and leant forward to sniff Sirius's hand, suddenly very excited. Leah nudged Zinc away, and stood herself, ignoring the hand. She didn't take hands to get up.
'None of you got hurt, right?' Remus asked, looking concerned. Leah sat back down and fingered the bump on her head. She'd mend it when she reached Hogwarts…
'Some Honeydukes chocolate ought to make you feel better, dearie…' The lady said, holding out a small slab of it, 'Here. You can have that for free.'
'No, it's fine. We'll pay.' Kyle said and took out the money.