jolt

"You better pick your foot up higher, Iz, or you're going to trip," Katie said as she practically lifted Izzy onto the train.

"I hardly need to pick my foot up if you're going to pick me up," Izzy grumbled as she took hold of Katie's arm. They walked precisely twenty-four steps before Katie slid open a compartment door and made sure Izzy was sat down.

"I'm just going to get our trunks, I'll be back in five minutes."

"Okay." Izzy counted the seconds in her head, that way she knew how long it had been. Five lots of sixty was fairly easy. She was halfway through her second set when the door slid open.

"Hi," The voice was deeper than Katie's, but Izzy still queried it.

"Katie?"

"No, this is James," he said, sounding very proud of himself.

"I was going to say, have you taken up chain smoking or something in the past two minutes because I could've sworn her voice wasn't that deep. How can I help you?"

"I just wanted to-uh," Izzy caught the sound of scratching, "Apologise, I guess, for what happened at the bookstore at Diagon Alley."

"You guess?" Izzy snapped. "You guess you should apologise? Why don't you get the hell out of here before I hit you?" The sound of someone falling over really put the cherry on top for Izzy.

Katie had always been the friendlier of the two. Izzy's parents had forced her to see several Muggle doctors about her 'grumpiness' and she had refused to speak throughout it, therefore preventing them from giving her a diagnosis. She had thought the method worked out brilliantly but her parents were less than pleased with the stubbornness of their only child.

"Izzy?" Katie asked tenderly. "Ah. Hi there, how can I help?" Her voice tightened as she found James.

Izzy didn't hear James speak, but it was evident he was escaping their train compartment. The door slammed shut behind him and Izzy cautiously sat down.

"What have you done this time, Iz?" Katie asked.

"I threatened him," Izzy replied, smiling in what she hoped was Katie's direction.

"You worry me sometimes, Iz. We've got eleven minutes before the train's set to leave, are you sure that you've got everything?"

"Yes, Mother Hen! I'm pretty sure my parents went through my trunk after I'd packed it. You know what I'm like."

"Yeah, I do," Katie replied distractedly.

By the fourth hungry hour in the train compartment, Izzy thought that Mrs Piggins had been fired and that she didn't have a replacement. Her worries dissolved by the fifth hour, as the smell of Pumpkin Pasties and sour candies filled the train carriage and worsened the rumbling in both of the girl's stomachs.

"Katie! Katie! Can you get me some food please?" Izzy whined as she feared Katie would never get her food after what had happened with James.

"Of course. The usual?"

"Does my order ever change?" She laughed. She asked Katie this question every single train journey, and the answer remained the same.

"Nope," Katie replied, "I guess not."

"You could at least try and look interested in the Sorting, for appearance's sake," Katie mumbled as she passed Izzy a bowl of jelly.

"Is that citrus flavoured? And you know I don't like anybody around here. Oh no, Izzy can't see! Ya-wn. It's not like I don't already know."

Katie laughed a little. Izzy's sense of humour was dry, and did take adjusting to, but she had grown up as acting sister to her, despite Izzy being older than her.

"Alright, alright. I get it. And no, it's not your jelly that's lemon flavoured, it's mine. Now shut up and eat your jelly, missy."

"Ooh, raspberry. You did well, didn't you?" Izzy said as she struggled to keep a straight face.

Katie laughed again. "Just because we got the biggest haul of kids this year doesn't mean that you can behave like a moron this year! In fact, I should think that it means quite the opposite."

"Are you telling me to behave?"

"Yes! Oh, hi there! What's up?"

Taomi Williams sighed in exasperation before she spoke, "Do you think my haircut looks stupid?"

"No, I think it looks fantastic. Lovely, what you've done with it," Izzy said quickly, smiling.

"Oh, thanks! Wai- Izzy!" Taomi laughed with Katie and Izzy. "Alright, I get it. I got it cut to about my shoulders."

"Wasn't your hair chin-length last year?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, but magical salons and all of that jazz. I'm going to go and ask Lucy's opinion, I'll talk to you later in the common room."

"Sure. See you around." Katie replied. "I thought I told you to behave!"

Izzy laughed, "I don't have to behave. I'm not some goody Ravenclaw."

Katie tutted. "I thought I raised you better than that!"

"Sorry, Mother! It's not like many of them step out of line these days."

"So, your first day back. Are you looking forward to lessons tomorrow?" Katie asked as Izzy paced the circular dorm, brushing her teeth.

Her words were just about distinguishable, "Of course not. Who do you think I am?"

Katie smiled. "Go and finish up in the bathroom. I've got to pee and you're sure as hell going to walk in on me if I go now."

"Pfft, even if I did, and you know I wouldn't anyways, what's the harm? I mean, honestly! What's the harm?"

"You mistook the toilet for a sink for a start!" Katie half-laughed, half-screamed.

"Okay, I made a mistake, I admit it."

"Just go and finish up in the bathroom, for Helga's sake!"

"I'm going! Look, me going in to the bathroom!"

Katie laughed. Izzy was funny in her own sort of way. She laughed at anybody who treated her differently because she couldn't see them. Katie could just about remember third year, when she'd punched Fred Weasley so perfectly in the nose, rumours went around that she wasn't blind. Izzy had gathered a little bit of attention from the guys in Hufflepuff, and she wasn't exactly unattractive. Once you got past those large, unblinking electric blue eyes, she looked pretty similar to everyone else. Her eyes closed when she slept, which Katie had always found a little bit odd, but she accepted it. Both of the girls were around the same height, although Katie was an inch or so taller. Izzy had never let Katie measure her, and Katie had accepted that.

"Right, go and pee or whatever," Izzy said as she left the bathroom.

Katie jumped up and slid past Izzy, but checked behind her to see that Izzy had made it to bed in one piece. After checking that she had, Katie did her pre-bedtime routine in minutes. She stepped back into the dorm and double-checked that Izzy was tucked up underneath her bed before clambering underneath her own black and yellow striped duvet. The cotton felt cool over her skin, which was nice because the day had been hot and sticky, unusually so for September. When the students needed it, it was always cool down in the Hufflepuff dorm.

A/N: Well, sorry for the whole five month gap between chapters, although there's a big cheers for anyone who's put it on alerts! The next chapter should be up in the next two weeks! See you all soon!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter universe. My OC's and the plot are the only things I can take any form of credit for.