Chapter 2
Little Ms Popularity
"Erica, wake up."
Erica walked to the door and opened it. Mark stood behind it, his blonde hair all messy and still sleep in his green eyes.
"What is it?" Erica asked shortly.
"I hope you're packed and ready to go", Mark told her. "We're about to leave, mum's making sandwiches and other snacks to take to the train since we don't have time to eat here."
"I'm ready; I'll be down in a sec", she said and gave a smile to her brother.
"'Kay", Mark turned to leave.
"Could you take my trunk downstairs? It's kind of heavy… please?" Erica asked and Mark gave her a grin.
"Yeah, 'course", he replied and Erica stepped aside to let him into the room. Erica had placed her school trunk onto her bed, to make packing easier.
"Thanks", Erica smiled again.
"Taking advantage of our fool of a brother, are we, little sister?" Tracey's voice came from the door. "Why didn't we think of that, Jay?"
"Because you decided to ride your drunks downstairs", Mark said with a warm grin.
"Oh… Yeah, we did, didn't we, Trey?" Jane looked up and lifted one of her fingers on her chin.
"Good times, Jay…"
"Should we try it? For old times' sake?"
"You read my mind", Tracey grinned and the twins stormed to get their trunks. Erica and Mark switched a worried look. They weren't worried because their sisters' might get hurt, at least as worried as they were about the reaction their mother would have on this new stunt.
"Geronimo!"
"What she said!"
The twins' laughter and screams of joy didn't last for long and were soon replaced by sighs of pain and the screams of… their mother.
"When do you suppose it's safe to go downstairs?" Anton had appeared from the corridor and into Erica's room.
"Next week, maybe", Mark threw a guess and the three of them did their best not to laugh. Laughter, if heard downstairs, might be fatal right now.
A week had passed from visiting Diagon Alley. Erica had spent most of the week by herself. Reading her new spell books, practicing the wand movements and memorizing potion formulas. She was eager to learn, but she couldn't concentrate. He was on her mind. The boy she had met on Knockturn Alley. Cole. Does he go to Hogwarts? Would she maybe see him on the Hogwarts Express? Questions like these provoked Erica's curiosity. Would she be given the chance to get to know him better?
"See you on Christmas, kids", Max Clancy had his arm around his wife. Hayley Clancy waved goodbye as the Hogwarts Express started to move and slowly gain speed. Once the platform area had ended, all the Clancy children went their separate ways to find their group of friends. All, except one. Erica stood in the somewhat empty corridor. Most people had settled into the compartments of the train and after swallowing the slight feeling of abandonment, Erica started to walk along the corridor, to find a fitting compartment. To her surprise and joy she soon found him, Cole, in a compartment with a few other boys. The others looked quite nasty, so Erica didn't have the courage to go in. Cole apparently hadn't noticed her at all. Erica opened the door of the opposite compartment and met the eyes of three other girls. The girls were chatting cheerfully but when Erica interrupted them, the cheerfulness disappeared.
"Uhh… hey… Mind if I sit here?" Erica asked. The girl sitting closest to the door, a black haired Asian girl looked to the two others. The girl next to her, a brunette shrugged back and then turned to look at the third one. She was a blonde girl, sitting with her arms and legs crossed and her blue eyes turned to Erica. She was staring at her, from head to toe, as if evaluating whether Erica was worthy of their company. Her arrogance annoyed Erica and she shrugged.
"Fine then, sorry to bother you", she said and was about to close the door when the Asian girl jumped up and pulled it back open.
"No, you can sit with us, come in", the girl said and even gave out a smile. Erica entered the compartment and lifted her trunk onto the seat.
"Want some help with that?" the brunette asked. Erica just nodded; she was too surprised to form words. All of them were so cold just now and … the change of attitude was oddly sudden. The blonde girl was the same as before, though. After getting the trunk lifted to the shelf above the seats, the girls sat down and so did Erica.
"What's your name?" the brunette asked.
"Uh, Erica… Erica Clancy."
"Cool, my name—"
"Clancy? Seriously? Aren't all Clancy kids in Gryffindor?" the blonde girl had spoken. Erica didn't know what to say. This was exactly what she didn't want to happen.
"Can't argue with you there", Erica replied coldly. "So?"
"'So?' A Gryffindor can't sit with us", the blonde girl continued.
"Last time I checked, I haven't been sorted yet", Erica snapped. The girl was about to say something, when she stopped and closed her mouth. She turned her head and began to look out of the window with a determined face.
"Don't worry, she's always like that", the brunette said.
"Shut it, Dru", the blonde snapped.
"As I was saying", the brunette continued. "My name is Dru."
"And I'm Lucy", the Asian girl said. "Miss Sunshine here is called—"
"I can introduce myself, thank you", the blonde girl said with a poisonous tone. She then turned to Erica. "I'm Drew Leurc."
"Nice to meet you, all", Erica said.
"Oh, please, the pleasure's all mine", Drew sneered. Lucy rolled her eyes.
"So Erica, what house would you most want to be sorted into?" Dru asked her.
"Whichever, as long as it's not Gryffindor", Erica answered truthfully. "I couldn't stand being in the same house as all my brothers and sisters."
"Don't you get along with them?" Lucy asked with curiosity in her voice.
"It's not that, I do, I just… I wanna do things my way for once in my life."
"Your way, Clancy?" the door to the compartment had been opened and everyone looked towards the voice. Erica gasped when she recognized the person. "Define 'your way'." Cole continued. He had apparently been listening to their conversation across the hallway, how else would he know Erica's last name? Erica blushed a little but didn't lower her eyes.
"I just want to show them I'm special."
"Everyone's special. That's why everyone's ordinary", Cole replied with a lazy voice. He looked around the room. "Who're your friends, Clancy?"
"You don't get to come here and ask the questions, Malfoy!" Drew had stood up and her arrogance was back. 'Malfoy?' Erica wondered.
"Oh? You're a Leurc, aren't you?" Cole asked Drew. "No need to get all emotional…"
"I've heard of you. How your family used to be all high and mighty, back when the Dark Lord lived. Notice the past tense", Drew said coldly.
"And what about your family, Leurc? Orphaned, and at such a young age, too. Apparently the Dark Lord didn't take kindly to traitors", the last word seemed like a slap in the face. Drew's breathing was now faster and her blue eyes were filled with fury.
"Get out, Malfoy", she whispered and made Cole smirk.
"I think I'll stick around", Cole replied and with that, he sat next to Erica and took a relaxed pose. Erica, Lucy and Dru had been watching the conversation silently.
"As the introduction was interrupted", Cole began. "Let's give it another shot. I trust Leurc knows better this time around."
"My name", Lucy began with confidence, "is Lucy Yang."
"Yang? That's original", Cole mocked. Lucy wasn't thrown aback by his words.
"My family name's Korean, but my mother is European, I'm the first of my family to enter Hogwarts."
"That is so very…" Cole began with fake enthusiasm, "boring", he ended his sentence coldly.
"I'm glad you think so, I would consider myself unfortunate if I were considered interesting by you", Lucy replied smoothly. Cole seemed to ignore this last sentence.
"And you?" he turned to Dru.
"Drusilla Barclay", Dru replied shortly. "I suppose this is the part where you mock my family for being grave robbers?"
"Where's the fun in mocking someone who already puts herself down all on her own?" Cole asked and got up. "Interesting crowd you chose for yourself, Clancy", he continued and was about to leave. Erica looked around at the other girls, and then turned her head to Cole.
"I won't judge them based on their families, Malfoy, since the last thing I want is to be judged based on mine. I see you criticize all the other families here, so why not mine? Since you know all that, surely you've heard of the Clancy family."
"I know one thing about them", Cole replied without turning back to look at Erica, "The rest of the family members don't spend their time sneaking around in Knockturn Alley."
And with that, Cole closed the door their compartment and slipped back into his. He didn't look at Erica after that, and soon the curtains were closed on the compartment windows.
"Knockturn Alley? What did he mean by that?" Dru asked Erica.
"Yeah, and he seemed to know you, Erica, how can a Clancy be familiar with a Malfoy?" Drew inquired. Her arrogance had dropped a little; Erica suspected that it was taken over by curiosity.
"I don't really know him, I just met him at Knockturn Alley…"
"What were you even doing there? He was right about that, Clancy's aren't really all that popular there", Dru said.
"Yeah, I noticed", Erica muttered. "It's really not all that interesting, let's just… talk about something else for a while."
The conversation was changed to spells and classes. Erica was truly enjoying herself, if she didn't think about the fact that she would most likely, like the rest of the family, be sorted into Gryffindor. If that happened, she could kiss her new friends goodbye, assuming they didn't jinx her before she could even wave her hand.
A dimpled woman came by the door with a trolley full of sweets. After buying Pumpkin Pasties, Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron Cakes and all kinds of other sweets, sugar high took over quite fast. Even Drew was smiling. She seemed to have forgotten Erica's family ties and had given her some kind of approval. Erica had a few friends back home, though she did not see them often. Not that many magical families lived near the Clancy family. And now she felt like she had finally gotten something of her own, something her siblings could never take from her…
"Erica…? What the heck are you doing here?"
The door to the compartment had once again been opened and to Erica's horror, there stood her twin sisters, looking at her in shock.
"Sitting?" Erica stated the obvious. Tracey grabbed a hold of Erica's arm and pulled her up and out of the compartment. Erica looked back at Drusilla, Lucy and Drew, who gave each other questioning looks. Tracey and Jane pulled Erica along the train corridor. While passing the compartments, Jane smashed her fist on three of the doors they passed. A few seconds later the doors to those compartments were opened and one after the other, Erica, who was looking back at the compartment doors, saw all her three brothers sticking their heads out of different compartments. When the boys saw Tracey pulling Erica away, they came out of the compartments, closed the doors and followed the girls to an empty compartment that Jane had found.
"What did you do now?" Anton asked with a challenging tone once the compartment door was closed. Mark sat on the seat and waited; Derek stayed and waited by the door. Erica just glared at Anton, what a question to ask…
"I'll tell you what she did", Tracey started, outraged.
"She was hanging out with Leurc's sister—"
"And Barclay's demon offspring."
"There was this third chick we didn't recognize—"
"Still, obviously a future Slytherin!"
"Our sister!! With Slytherins!!"
"Is this true, Erica?" Mark asked her youngest sister. Erica crossed her arms and gave them a rude look.
"Whoa, check the attitude change! Little Ms Popularity got a head rush!" Derek seemed surprised. Erica sighed and rolled her eyes, and stayed silent.
"Erica", Mark began, "is something the matter? You do realize who you're spending time with?"
"Yes, I realize who they are, thank you very much. They're my friends", Erica said, "The girls and Cole are one of the few people who don't –"
"'The girls'?" Jane repeated and seemed amused.
"…wait, Cole? Cole Malfoy?" Tracey asked in disbelief. Erica bit her lip. Oops…
"...what of it?" Erica asked, trying to act tough. She knew perfectly well what the Malfoy family was like. Truth be told, she was a little shocked to hear Cole was Draco Malfoy's son, of course she did blame herself for being too thick to understand that of course it was the Malfoy's that she had seen. She considered the information meaningless, however. What did it matter who Cole's father was? Did it change Cole as a person if his father was the 'enemy' of the savior of Witch and Wizards all around? Harry Potter had indeed saved the world by putting an end to the schemes of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and then as the 'hero' that he was, disappeared of the face of the earth. Erica never learned to fear You-Know-Who, she was born on the same day as his demise. She didn't grow up in a world filled with terror over Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. She was brought into a world filled with happiness and celebration.
"Erica, are you even listening?" Mark asked and Erica woke from her thoughts.
"Sure, Mark, as always", Erica replied. "Your sermon about Malfoy was quite interesting indeed. Can I go now? My friends are waiting", she continued. Her siblings looked at each other and Mark sighed.
"Feel free to leave, then."
And with that, Erica got up and left.
"First years, gather here, please!" a young lady was waving her hand. She had a red lantern in her other hand and all the first years were moving towards her. Moving around was much more easier without the heavy trunks and Erica, Drusilla, Lucy and Drew reached the lady quite fast, pushing through the crowd of the older students. Erica saw her siblings pass by, giving her worried looks, but she chose not to care. She considered not being able to detect Cole from the crowd a much bigger problem than her over caring family.
The platform to which the train arrived was soon completely empty of the older students. There were a lot of first years, at least 40 kids had gathered around the lady.
"Please form a line in pairs and follow me", the lady said with a loud, clear voice and after seeing a satisfying line, she turned and started walking. Evening had arrived and soon the lights from the station had been left behind. The only source of light was the red lantern they saw ahead. Erica had paired up with Lucy, and just like many other students, they had to look down at their feet to make sure they wouldn't trip. The lady took them down a set of stairs into a slender path. It was dark and Erica hit her foot into, she would guess, roots of trees. And from the silent groans of pain she heard around her, she knew she wasn't the only one.
Little by little, the path started to gain more light, coming from ahead. Erica lifted her head and saw where the light was coming from. They had come to a lake, filled with little boats. Each boat had a small lantern placed in them, but the light wasn't coming from them. At least not all of the light… In front of them, was a huge stone castle, right on the other side of the pitch black lake.
"Four students on each boat", the lady said calmly. "Quickly please", she added and all first years hurried into the little boats. Erica and her friends took over one of the boats, Lucy in front, Erica and Drusilla in the middle and Drew sitting in the back. The little lantern was placed in between Erica and Dru. There were no paddles in the boats.
"How does the boat get moving without a paddle?" Erica whispered to Drusilla and she shrugged.
"I hope they don't expect us to paddle with our hands", Dru whispered back and Drew, who had been listening, made a scoffing sound.
"I'm not doing that. The water must be freezing!" Drew said as if even the idea froze her. Erica looked around to see if there were enough boats. Most of the students had settled in but there were still a few standing on the shore. The lady sorted the rest randomly into free boats and then stepped into a boat of her own. She gave the shore one last glance, making sure everyone was onboard.
"Alright, then, let's move forward", she emphasized the last word, and just with that, all the boats started to move towards the castle as a group. Erica looked over the lake.
"Look at the surface", Drusilla whispered. "It's like glass! We're not making any waves!"
They were nearing the castle, and Erica was starting to fear they would crash into the mountain wall which Hogwarts had been built on. Erica squinted her eyes and saw that there was a wide gap in the cliff, which was hidden by a curtain of ivy.
"Lower your heads, students", the lady called to the boats behind her and as the boats glided into the ivy, the students bent their heads to prevent from touching it. The ivy pathway was long enough to make their backs ache from bending down so low. And finally they reached a wide round area where all the students were able to climb off their boats to a stone dock of sorts. Once the line was formed again, the lady led them up a round, stone stairway. Erica, tired and hungry from the long journey, was afraid the stairway would never end, until she saw the sky once more. Stars had come out and the sight was absolutely breath taking. They had reached the Hogwarts grounds and were led to a huge wooden door. The lady gave the students one more glance, making sure everyone had reached the front door and then knocked three times.
The door creaked and swung open. The lady walked inside and the first years followed.
"Ah, yes, we've been expecting you", the wizard who opened the door told the lady. "No problems, I assume?"
"None at all, Professor Atwater", the lady replied. "First years, this way, please."
After getting over the shock that was caused by the size of the Entrance Hall to which they were led into, the students regained their ability to move forward. Erica could hear Professor Atwater closing the door behind them as they walked past the enormous Hall. The lady took the students into a rather small room. They had to stand close to each other; there was barely any space to move at all. No one was in the mood for chit-chat either, so once all the students had crammed into the room and the door was closed, they merely waited, silently. The lady turned around to look at the students.
"I would like to welcome each of you to Hogwarts. My name is Celia Sinclair, you will address to me as 'Professor Sinclair'. In a moment, we will pass through these doors and The Sorting Ceremony will begin. There are four houses in all. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. During your seven years of magic school, your house will be like your family. And as to all of you, there is no changing of houses, as there is no changing of families, either."
"Tell me about it…" Erica muttered bitterly. She could feel Drew's head turn toward her behind her, but ignored it.
"I will come back to get you once we're ready", and with that, Professor Sinclair left the room.
"I'm finally here", Erica whispered.
"You and the rest of us", she heard Cole's voice. "Or is it just you that matters?"
"Shut it, Malfoy", Drew said.
"You know, Leurc, I really don't like your attitude. Not one bit", Cole replied coldly.
"Aw, that's too bad. And I should care?"
"You better w—"
"LOOK!" someone yelled and pointed at the ceiling, gaining everyone's attention right away. All eyes turned to where the girl pointed. Erica gasped sharply as she saw something unnatural. A robed … man flew through the ceiling. He was white and transparent and there was something silvery on him. A lot of the students started to scream as the ghost dived at them.
"Wicked cool!" some boy next to Erica yelled with a wide, excited smile on his face. Erica really didn't see what was so 'cool' about the apparition. She heard someone sigh nearby and looked to see, only to find another ghost, almost right next to her.
"That's Bloody Baron for you… Always looking forward to scare the new students… Bit of a dilemma really. Is it any wonder ghosts are still avoided? We're not all bad, you know!" he gave the students a wink and floated above their heads.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, first years!"
Soon after, Professor Sinclair returned and led them to the next room. If the size of the Entrance Hall shocked them, it was nothing compared to the shock of the next room. The ceiling was charmed to look like the night sky, and there were hundreds of candles floating in the air above them. Four long tables had been placed in the hall, leaving somewhat roomy corridors between them. The students were lead through the middle of the hall, towards the back wall. The first years gathered in front of a fifth table, at the end of the Great Hall. A wooden stool was placed there and on top of that an old wizard's hat. Professor Sinclair walked to the stool, took the hat and turned to the first years.
"Once I read your name, I want you to move forward and sit on the stool. I will then place the hat on your head and you will be sorted into your house."
And so it began. Professor Sinclair started to read out names from the parchment she had in her right hand and once the student had been sorted, the claps and cheers showed the student which table to join. A few students had been sorted when Erica's heart jumped.
"Erica Clancy."
Erica came through the students, walked up to the stool and sat down. She felt the Sorting Hat being placed onto her head and she closed her eyes.