Chapter 2: Duel in the Compartment
Albus's POV
Author's Note: Here's the second chapter! I need at least one review before I upload the next one. Read and review, please!
P.S. The POVs won't only be Abby's and Albus's. It's going to rotate from Abby, to Albus, to…the rest of the gang. You'll find out who they are soon!
It all really started in my birthday. It was a few weeks before I went to the Hogwarts express, August 15th. I ate up whatever Grandma Molly put in front of me. You would too, if you've ever tasted her cooking. Heaven in your taste buds.
Mum was cracking jokes, pinching my cheek, and telling embarrassing stories about me to my cousins; same as usual. Dad, though, stayed silent through the whole party. I guess he was pretty worried about me going to Hogwarts. I can't really blame him for getting a bit jumpy. He's an Auror, so he's seen some pretty gruesome stuff.
Then I started opening the presents, or, to be more exact, finishing tearing up half-opened presents. James and Lily are usually too impatient to wait after supper, and when I finally get around doing it they say I'm waaaay too slow.
Granny gave me a hand-knitted sweater with a big 'A' on it. It was warm and snuggly, but a bit lame. I wore it anyway, so not to hurt my feelings. I had to ignore James's laughter while I opened my other gifts. Honestly, I am so going to get back at him in his birthday. Unfortunately, it's in April, so I'll probably forget by then. He gave me a sneakoscope. It would have been cool if he hadn't given me the same thing 5 YEARS IN A ROW.
Mom's present was better. She had gotten together with her friends from the Holyhead Harpies, and they put together a notebook with the best Quidditch tactics and strategies. Lily and Rose scoffed at it. They didn't like Quidditch, especially since Aunt Hermione had recounted how Dad once lost all his bones on his arm after an accident.
Dad actually got me a new broom, a sweet Windracer 2000. Still, it didn't compare to Dad's own broom, a Firebolt. Even though that model was from when Dad was still a kid (which was about a million years ago) it's still the fastest one today. A little voice in my head said It's nothing compared to James's present from last year either. I pushed that thought away. It was mean, and if Dad had two of them I'm sure he'd given it to me. The thing was, he had an invisibility cloak. Not only that, but it's made from a material that never loses its power. How he got it I had no idea, but it was still awesome. Still, he'd given it to James. I shouldn't have even wasted time thinking about it.
Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione's present cheered me up a bit. It was a trunk on which they cast an undetectable extension charm, so I can put any amount of stuff in it and it would just look and weigh the same. They said that they both contributed, but I'm pretty sure that the only thing that Uncle Ron did was buy the trunk.
Uncle Percy's and Aunt Audrey's gift was, as usual, disappointing. Who would want a homework planner for his birthday? Yet I saw Aunt Hermione look approvingly at it.
Uncle George's gift was probably my favorite besides the broomstick. He said that it was one of the last things he and Uncle Fred designed together. Then he got that sad look in his face when he mentioned him. He died a long time ago. How or why, they never told me, and I was too scared to ask. Uncle George got me two identical pieces of thin wire. The only difference between them was that one was slightly tinted green. They curved to a circle, and could fit around your head. I know, I know, if someone gave you something like that for your birthday, you'd probably think that they forgot to go to the shops and grabbed it out of the bin. Still, knowing my uncle, they weren't what they seemed. He told me to put the green one on my head, while he put the other one on. Then….I heard his thoughts. It wasn't like legilimency, which Dad described was seeing flashes of someone's life. I could hear his thoughts as naturally as my own. The only way I knew which thoughts were which was because I knew I'd never think about marble-cake mice. He told me they were called the 'Wisdom Wires.' Simply put it on your teacher's hat, and you know the answer of every question they ask you. They wouldn't feel a thing! Better yet, slip it on your enemies, and you'll know their deepest secrets. I wondered what it would take to get James to wear it.
The next day we went to Diagon Alley to get out supplies. Dad doesn't like going there much, for some reason. I guess it was the fact that everyone kept staring at him and his scar. Why, I didn't know. We split it up. Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron would get the books. Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey would get the potion supplies. Mum would get the robes. Dad would go with me and Rose, who was starting school like I was, to get the wands.
We went to a shop called 'Ollivander's.' When I met him, I had a shock. He was a thin, frail little man that looked as if he'd drop any second. He had huge eyes as big as a house-elf's. He gestured for us to come in.
"Ah, Mr. Potter. Yes, yes, I remember you very well," He said, staring at my Dad. He looked slightly uncomfortable. I didn't blame him. "Yes, I remember you very well indeed. Yet it has been about twenty-five years since you have set foot in my shop, correct? It was your wife who had accompanied your son, James, last time."
When Dad nodded, he seemed satisfied. "Now, who would these two be?"
"Rose-Rose Weasley," My cousin answered in her slightly bossy voice. She looked like a mini-replica of Aunt Hermione, with bushy brown hair and skinny body. She also had slightly large front teeth, though Aunt Hermione promised to shrink it as soon as possible. Something told me that she used to have big teeth too.
"A-Albus S-Sev-verus P-Potter," I stuttered. He smiled when he heard my first two names.
"Well, now, lets get to business," Ollivander declared, as if we were the ones who were asking the weird questions. "Ladies first, please."
He told Rose to try out a few wands. The last one produced a shower of red sparks.
"Ah, a very nice combination, this is. Cherry blossom, dragon heart-string, very stable, I'm sure. Now," he said, turning to me. "It is your turn, young master."
Like Rose, he handed me a few wands. None of them worked for me. He turned back to his shelves. I was starting to panic, thinking there was no wand suited for me, but he just carried a stack of them and plopped it on the table. I waved each of them. Again, none of them worked.
"Ah, a tricky customer, just like your father," He said with a wink. "I wonder if you need a special combination as well…"
Dad looked slightly alarmed at that. I made me wonder what happened to him with his wand. Ollivander came back with a wand that slightly reminded me of a sword, since the wood thinned as it went up, until it ended with a sharp point. I waved it. It emitted a shower of red sparks.
Ollivander was very surprised. "Interesting," he said. "Very, very interesting."
I started to hate the word. "What's interesting?" Dad and I said at the same time.
"This combination hadn't been used in years. Not since my master's-master's-master's-master's-master's-master's-master's-master's-master's-master's-master's-master lived. The wood of an elder tree," at this, Dad's eyes widened so much that I thought they would pop out, "and the feather of a griffin. The only person who had the same match was none other than Godric Gryffindor."
Great. My pressure on becoming a Gryffindor has reached an all-time high.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Ollivander," said Dad firmly, "But we really must get going." We practically ran to the door.
"I'll be here," He said wearily.
We all seemed to be in an unspoken agreement not to talk about what had happened. I was kind of relieved, though I felt a little guilty when Mum gave me a goodnight kiss. James also suspected that I had something special with my wand, but for once, he decided not to press. It was only a few days before we were going to Hogwarts, so we were all busy packing and unpacking.
Then September 1st came. We went to Platform 9 3/4. Everyone was tense, especially mum. She kept rummaging around unpacking our bags to check that we've got everything.
Dad tried to hel. "Calm down, Gin…"
"CALM DOWN?" Mum screamed at him. Dad might be a fully-qualified Auror, but he shrank at Mum's angry face.
Well, she did stop yelling after a bit. The rest of our family showed up too. I tried to stop the panic swelling inside of me. What if I'm not in Gryffindor? What if I'm in Slytherin? Just when it was time to go, I suddenly blurted out all my worries to Dad. He didn't think it was silly at all, and told me about when he was worried in his first year, too. He actually asked the Sorting Hat to put him in Gryffindor, and it did. It made me feel a little better. I jumped on the train. A few minutes later, it started to move.
I waved to my Dad until he disappeared. As soon as he was out of sight, James started towards a compartment. I tried to follow him, but he shooed me away. "Make your own friends, bro," he said with a wink. Well, at least Rose was with me.
We tried to find another one, but they were all full. The best we could do was a nearly empty one with a slightly-green looking witch in it. She had short, black hair that could just barely get tied up in a ponytail and brown, puppy-dog eyes. I asked her if we could sit, and she said sure. She still looked like she was going to vomit any time, but she didn't get up to go to the bathroom. I edged away from her us much as I could. It might be a bit unfriendly to you, but trust me; you do not want to be stuck with a sick witch. Don't believe me? Visit Aunt Hermione in sloppy joe day.
It was sort of awkward. Rose wanted to read, but apparently she thought it was rude. Still, she kept stealing longing looks towards her books. I didn't know why she bothered, since the girl was only staring at the window. As for me, well, I planned to sit with James to discuss about Quidditch. He'd be trying out for seeker this year, and he's been itching to try out his Eagle 2020 on the pitch. Sort of fell apart, didn't it?
"You like Quidditch?" The girl asked. I blinked. How did she know that?
"How did you-"
"Kent wears that same expression when he rides on his toy broom," she said matter-of-factly.
"He's your brother?" I inquired. I immediately wish I didn't. Her face turned sad.
"Yeah, I guess you can say that," she answered.
"So…." I said, desperately trying to make a conversation. Judging from her accent, she was from the USA. "You're from America, right?"
For a moment she hesitated, as if she was deciding on how much she would tell me. "Yup, from New York, actually. So….Quidditch?"
Nearly forgot she asked the question. "Yeah, I like it. I'm best at playing seeker, though my brother's got more practice. Still, there was this one time-"
Then, all at once, I started talking. Really talking, not just stiff conversations that I usually have with people who I've just met. Don't ask me why, I really don't know; she just seemed so open somehow, if that makes sense. I didn't even have to stick to the stuff that girls like, like dress robes, or love potions. As soon as I started about Quidditch, she asked about my team, and pretty soon we were arguing who would win the world cup. Rose just sighed and finally started reading her book.
We kept on talking until it started to get dark. I estimated that we'd get to Hogwarts in about two hours. Since we were all in our school robes already, we didn't need to change. By now, I started to feel a little queasy. Again, worries about which house I'm going to be in overwhelmed me. What if I'm in Slytherin? No matter what Dad said, I'd rather die than be sorted there.
The girl noticed the look on my face. "Thinking about what house you're going to be put in?"
I rolled my eyes. I stopped being shy with her when she told me about the time she accidentally stuffed her owl in her bag. "Honestly, how can you guess how I'm thinking? It's like you have my Wisdom Wires."
"What are Wisdom Wires?" She asked curiously.
I started to explain when James popped in. "Hey, Al!" He grinned. Then he looked at the witch. "Who's this?"
"This is-" I turned red. I've been talking to her for over three hours and I still didn't know her name.
"Abigail Ferall," She replied.
"James Sirius Potter," James said, plopping down on a seat. "So, can't wait for the Sorting? Remember what you're dad said, Rosy," He said, grinning at her. "He'll disown you if you're not in Gryffindor."
"Did he really say that?" asked Abigail, shocked.
"Not really," said Rose. "He was just kidding around. He does it all the time."
"Bet Al's going to be in Hufflepuff," He said, grinning at me.
"What's wrong with Hufflepuff?" Abigail said angrily.
"Duh! They're like, the ones that the other founders didn't like," said James lazily.
"'Course they aren't! They're the most loyal ones in the school!" Abigail said.
James shrugged carelessly. "Well, at least they're better than Slytherin."
"Their not bad either!" Abigail shot back. All right, now it was getting weird. Was she actually defending those gits?
"Abigail," I said, trying to reason with her. "They've gotten the most dark wizards and witches of all time! They're pureblood maniacs!"
"Not all of them," She answered. "There's more to them than that. They're really cunning and ambitious, and loads became great potion-makers or Aurors. Some of the bravest people of all time came from Slytherin."
I blinked. It echoed what Dad had said. One of them was from Slytherin, and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew.
James laughed. "Well, how 'bout a duel to prove it?"
"No!" I protested. "Dad told us not too.
"Wrong. Dad told you not too. Besides, Abby here doesn't have to accept," James said.
"I don't mind," Abigail answered. I stared at her.
"That's crazy!" Rose finally spoke up. "We can really get in trouble, plus he's in second year."
"I don't mind," Abigail repeated. Rose sighed exasperatedly.
"Okay then, let's start," James declared excitedly. "Wands out!"
That's when she turned red. "I, uh, don't have one," She mumbled.
"What!" James gaped at her. "You don't have a-"
"Look, I know it's weird, but my family's stronger without wands," She explained. "We use our hands instead. Can we start now?"
James snorted. "Suit yourself!"
The duel began. I loved the look on James's face when Abigail deflected his spell.
"How did you-" He began.
"Oh, did I forget to mention?" She smiled mischievously. "My Mom's the principal of a school in America. She, ah, pushes me to learn spells. Some of them become very useful."
James glared at her. "You're not the only one with a parent who can teach you spells," He seethed. "Deprimo!"
A blast of wind swept toward Abigail. "Protego!" She crossed her arms. A transparent shield appeared in front of her.
"Incendio!" A fire went on Abigail's robes.
"Aguamententi!" The fire was put out, while also a blast of water pinned James to the wall.
"Impadimenta!" Abigail's torrent of water stopped, and she froze.
Just as James was getting his bearings and started pointing his wand at her, the spell wore off and she yelled, "Avis Oppugno!"
A flock of birds appeared and started pecking James.
"Expulso!" They exploded in to feathers.
It went on that for a long time. Both of them were equally matched. I was betting that she was better than even Rose on at least 'Defense Against The Dark Arts.'
Finally, James made his fatal mistake. "Expelliarmus!"
Nothing happened. He had forgotten that she wasn't using a wand. He only had time to say "Oh, Merlin…"
"Furnunculus!" said Abigail triumphantly. James became covered in boils. She had won the duel.
Everyone laughed, including James. Even Rose produced a chuckle. Then we heard someone who wasn't there before. A boy with blond hair that was almost white and a pointed, arrogant look on his face was doubled up and shaking with guffaws. All laughter instantly stopped.
"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" James spat.
Scorpius scowled. "Nice boils, Potter." He moved along the hall.
Abigail frowned. "What did you do that, for?"
"He's one of those pureblood freaks," James told her. "Probably going to Slytherin, and he had the nerve of laughing at me…."
"We were all laughing at you! You were laughing at you!" She exclaimed. "And that Slytherin nonsense again? Don't you remember what that duel was about?" She ran out of the compartment.
She wasn't back for a long time. I glared at James. Had he already lost me my first friend? I was starting to get desperate. I considered running out of the compartment and begging for forgiveness, when Scorpius came back. He didn't look happy.
"I'm sorry for laughing at you," He said in a meek voice.
"What?" James said blankly, but he already disappeared. Then Abigail came back in. She looked very pleased with herself.
"Did you make him say that?" I asked in complete disbelief.
She gave me a smug smile. "Maybe." I decided not to ask.
"So, what are Wisdom Wires?" She continued.
I nearly forgot she asked that. "Oh, they're these wires that can read your mind. Uncle George gave them to me for my birthday. They're right over-" I stopped. "They're gone!" I started looking for them. Rose and Abigail helped, but James just went back to his compartment.
"What a nice big brother," said Abigail sarcastically, as she lifted a cushion. It made me feel a little better. For once, someone wanted to be my friend, not his.
We searched and searched. We did manage to find one, which turned out to be in the hallway, for some reason. It wasn't the green one, the one that could hear thoughts.
"Maybe one of us should put it on," Rose suggested. "Someone might recognize our thoughts and give it back to us."
"Unlikely, they probably just threw it in the bin," I said helplessly. Abigail patted me on the back.
"Don't worry about it. We'll find it somewhere. I'll do it," She added, taking the wire from Rose and placing it on her head.
Abruptly, the train stopped. Distinctly, we heard the distant call of, "Firs' years o'er 'ere!"
"Hagrid!" said Rose joyfully. I perked up a bit at the mention of our big friend.
"We're-we're in Hogwarts?" said Abigail. I was surprised to see that she was nervous. Rose noticed too, and smiled at her.
"Let's go find out."