Chapter Two
Catching the Train
She couldn't believe it! Today was the day that she'd be heading to Hogwarts. Tera and her mother had just arrived at Kings Cross Station and she was pushing along her cart which had a cat carrier with a elderly black cat and an owl cage with a large golden colored screech owl, the name Thor branded on the cage. Her trunk which was a very pretty combination of royal blue and black was embossed with the silver letters T.H. "Hurry up mum! The train leaves in less then ten minutes!" said Tera who was pushing her cart along towards Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
" Slow down dear before the Muggles start to think things around here are odd." said her mother with a small laugh, leading her along to the barrier that would lead them to platform nine and three-quarters. Passing by a large group of gingers, with 4 boys, all of whom were pushing carts of their own and by the looks of them heading the same way as her, the oldest one wearing a prefects badge and getting teased by one of the twins, their younger brother just smirking and the little girl with them sniffling lightly. Tera hurried along and they made it to the barrier that would lead her to the platform.
"I think I can take it from here mum. Lots of love to you and nana. Give her and Callum a hug for me when you get home will you? I'll make sure to write and tell you which house I get into." she said while hugging her mother and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm off then!" she said with a bright smile, pushing her cart up to speed and passing through wall between platforms nine and ten, smiling very big when she came out the other side and was staring at the Hogwarts Express.
She moved her cart along and tried not to run into other students, giving a wide birth to a young boy of about 13 with dreadlocks whom had a box that had something with long hairy legs inside. With a small shudder she trudged along and finally stopped next to one of the doors, loading most of her things on, then grunting as she tried to get her trunk to move, it was a lot harder without her mother's help. She could barely get it to move at all.
"Need some help there?" came a voice with a chuckle behind her. Tera turned around and saw the twins from the group of red-heads she had seen earlier, they were looking at her with a bit of amusement.
Tera blushed and nodded meekly. "Yes please... its a bit too heavy for me..." she said in a small voice while looking down at her feet, her reddish-blonde hair falling around her face like a veil to hide her burning cheeks.
"Not a problem." said one of the two, grabbing one of the handles. "Oi, George, wanna give me a hand with this?" he said to his twin when he too grunted, realizing that the trunk was indeed quite heavy. His twin gave a smile and nodded going to the other handle and with a bit of effort they got the trunk into the train. "There you go, all loaded up now. Oh I'm Fred Weasley, and this is my twin brother George." said Fred with a smile at the small girl standing in front of them. "And you are?"
Tera's blush burned a bit brighter and she just barely managed to talk without squeaking from embarrassment. "M-my name is Tera, Tera Howell..." she said shyly, chancing a glance up at the twins who were smiling kindly at her then looking back down quickly, she wasn't quite used to talking to boys, let alone them doing anything nice for her. The only boy she had ever dealt with was her younger brother so she had no idea what to say.
She thanked them for their help and forced herself to look up at them and smile, the blush still dusted lightly across her nose and making the light freckles there a tiny bit more prominent. She really needed to stop being so shy if she was going to be off to her new school today.
The twins smiled back at her then headed off to find their younger brother, smiling and glancing back at her as she turned to get on the train, whispering to each other about how she was an adorable little thing.
Tera walked along in the train and finally found a compartment that wasn't full, she opened the door and looked at the bushy haired girl that was sitting inside, recognizing her from Diagon Alley, the girl with the Muggle parents. "Hello... is this compartment full?" she asked lightly, hoping she wouldn't have to leave and keep searching.
"Nope. I'm the only one in here at the moment. You can join me if you like." The girl said with a smile. "I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger." the girl said with a smile, holding out her hand to shake.
Tera took her hand with a smile of her own after putting her cat carrier down on the seat and her owl cage up in the luggage rack. "I'm Tera Howell, nice to meet you. I think I saw you in Diagon Alley a little over a month ago. You're Muggle-born right?" she asked curiously.
"Yeah that I am. This is all so wonderful, I always felt I was a bit different from the rest of the kids at my school. Now I know why! I'm a witch." Hermione said with a smile. "What about you? Are you a Muggle-born?" Hermione asked curiously.
"No. I'm a pure-blood. My mom works at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries." Tera said with a small smile.
"What about your dad?" asked Hermione with a bit of wonder at what kind of fantastic job he could have.
"I prefer not to talk about him." said Tera in a very cold voice, her green eyes turning as cold and angry as the dark green icy waters that surround Azkaban the Wizarding prison.
Hermione shuddered at the look in her eyes and decided to change the subject and quickly. "So what do you think of our books we had to buy for school? I have already been through them twice now." she said while holding her copy of Hogwarts a History close.
"Ah yeah I've skimmed them a bit." Tera said coming out of her foul mood. She smiled lightly at her new friend. "With the way your holding that book and the fact you've read all the books twice already I'd think your a shoo in to be a Ravenclaw. 'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.'after all."said, repeating the words her mother had told her was held in the heart of most all members of Ravenclaw.
Hermione blushed lightly and smiled, glad to have already made at least one friend at her new school. They both looked up when a boy their age opened the door and was gasping for breath.
"Have you seen a... a toad by chance?" he asked while trying to catch his breath. Both girls shook their heads. "Darn..." said the boy who turned to continue his search. Hermione got up to help him look while Tera stayed behind to keep an eye on her owl and cat, she also pulled out one of her Muggle stories and started reading, putting it down long enough to buy a few things from the sweets trolley when it went by.
About half an hour before they were expected to arrive in Hogsmeade Tera let out a small giggle as she saw the twins from earlier that day running past her compartment with something shiny in one of their hands, followed closely by a boy who looked to be their older brother. He was running after them screaming something about returning his badge immediately or he would give them detention.
As they drew closer and closer to Hogsmeade, Tera put her book away and changed into her school robes, Hermione showing up a moment or two later with a big smile stretched across her face.
"You'll never guess who I just met!" said Hermione in a voice that suggested that she was bursting to tell somebody. "Harry Potter! He's here on the train just four compartments down!" she said pointing in the general direction he was located.
"Really? Whats he like then? Does he really have the scar or is that just some exaggeration?" Tera asked out of curiosity. It's not everyday you talk to someone who has truly met Harry Potter. He had basically dropped off the wizarding radar for the past ten years.
"Yes he actually has the scar. He seems nice enough, kinda quiet and I guess you could say a bit overwhelmed by it all. He seems rather new to things like I am. But he seems to have already made at least one friend thus far. Oh what was that boys name? Robert..? Roger...? Ron...? Yeah Ron! Ron uhm... Weasley I think it was... yeah that was his name." said Hermione after a few minutes of having her forehead scrunched in thought.
"Weasley you say? I think his two older brother's Fred and George helped me get my trunk on the train back at platform nine and three-quarters. They were ever so nice.." said Tera with a light blush dusting her nose.
"Well that was nice of them. We best be getting our things together. I estimate we'll be arriving any minute now." Hermione said while gathering up her books and other things.
Tera nodded and put her book away in her bag. She then smiled down at her black cat, Lady, who was curled up at her side. "Come on Lady, time to get back in your carrier. Last time for a long time, I promise." said Tera while she moved the old cat into her carrier and gave her ear a loving little scratch. She then picked up her bag, tossing it over her shoulder and grabbing the cat carrier with one hand and Thor's owl cage with her other. "Well I'm ready to go." she said with a smile and nod to Hermione.
A voice echoed through the train making an announcement: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."
Tera sighed and set the cat carrier and owl cage back down along with her bag. "Looks like I'll be seeing you two after I've been sorted... see you soon." she said as she patted the tops of their containers affectionately. She then joined the crowd thronging the corridor, bumping into one of the twins accidentally and stuttering out a quiet apology.
The train slowed soon and finally came to a stop, people pushing and shoving their way towards the door and onto a tiny platform. A lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students and a loud voice boomed: "Firs' years Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"
Hermione popped up next to her and pointed at a skinny young lad with glasses and messy black hair. "That him, that's Harry Potter!" she said with a big smile.
Tera nodded and looked curiously at the boy, a small smile stretching across her face. "He looks just like his father." she mumbled to herself with a small nod. "Except for the eyes, he's got his mother's eyes."
"How do you know that?" asked Hermione in a surprised voice.
"My mother went to school with Harry's parents. Actually Harry is technically my cousin like... three times removed. Or something like that anyways." said Tera with a shrug.
"C'mon, follow me – any more firs' years? Mind yer step now! Firs' years follow me!" bellowed the large hairy man with the lantern. Tera thought she had heard Harry call the man Hagrid so she figured that must be his name.
Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep and narrow path. The boy who had lost his toad back on the train, sniffled a few times along the way.
"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec, jus' around this bend here." said Hagrid, his voice traveling back to them on the slight breeze.
There was a loud chorus of "Ooooh!" from many of the students. The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Looking out across the lake you could see a vast castle, its many windows sparking in the starry sky.
"No more'n four to a boat." said Hagrid as he himself sat down and took up a whole boat to himself alone.
The first years all scrambled to get into a boat with people they already knew. Hermione got pushed along and ended up in a boat with the round-faced boy missing his toad, Harry and the twin's younger brother Ron. Tera looked around and scowled, just her luck, the only boat left was with that arrogant boy from Madam Malkin's and two large brutes who greatly resembled gorillas in wizarding robes. Tera sighed and got into the boat, trying her best not to be noticed.
The blindingly bright blonde haired boy turned when he felt the boat move and smirked. "Oh its you again. Didn't catch your name back at Madam Malkin's. I'm Draco, Draco Malfoy, this is Crabbe and Goyle." he said, indicating each of the gorilla's in turn. "And you are?"
"My name is Tera Howell." she said, trying in vain to ignore his arrogant attitude.
"Ah yes, Howell. I've heard that name before... that means your one of us then." he said with an approving nod, looking her up and down with an interested and appraising eye. Crabbe and Goyle nodded along with what Malfoy said, sneering over at her.
"One of you?" she asked lightly, tilting her head in slight confusion.
"Yes, one of us. A pure-blood! Not one of those lowly mud-blood scum that have been infesting our world." said Malfoy in a matter of fact sort of way.
Tera turned her icy cold glare on him, her green eyes nearly glowing with a deep and powerful loathing. "Don't you EVER use that word around me, you arrogant, pompous, ferret faced git!" she growled, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. Her right hand itching to grab her wand and blast his arrogant pretty boy face off.
"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, looking around to make sure everyone was in a boat. "Right then – FORWARD!"
And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the mirror like surface of the lake.
Malfoy looked at the little girl in front of him, his mouth hanging open in shock for a full minute before he started to shake with fury. "How... How dare you! How dare you talk down at me! Me, whose family is one of the most powerful in all of Europe! You will rue the day you dared to call me that ridiculous name!" said Malfoy in a cold, fury filled voice.
"Ooh I'm shaking in me knickers." said Tera with a sneer worthy of Draco himself. "I don't fear you Malfoy. Your nothing without those gorilla like lackies of yours. Your all bark and no bite, so just shut your trap! Silencio."she said and with a wave of her wand she cast a silencing charm on Malfoy, whose face was turning red with his frustration.
"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first of the boats reached the cliffs.
Tera bent her head and chuckled lightly to herself when Goyle didn't duck low enough and got conked on the head by the cliff, falling to the side and nearly knocking Malfoy out of the boat. The boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.
Once Hagrid who had found the round-faced boy, Neville's, toad, handed him over they all clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shade of the castle. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front doors.
"Everyone here? You there, still got your toad?" called Hagrid, he then raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.