Wow am i updating a lot to night or what?
Hope you like! I had to ask Maya the names and personalities for her characters, poor Katie being left all alone...
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CHAPTER THREE
THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS
Three weeks later they woke up in the Leaky Caldron. Today was the day they would get on the train to Hogwarts. It was also Arianna's birthday, September 1. Arianna woke up on a four-poster, double bed, with moth eaten maroon curtains, and off white sheets. To her left was a window with a wonderful view of train tracks and under the window, a wood desk with a pile of cards and presents. Right across from her bed was a dusty, brick lined fireplace with embers still glowing from last night. To her right was an old wooden door and a mirror with a table of roses in front of it.
Arianna sat up and rubbed her eyes. Then she swung her legs to the left of the bed and stood up on the cold wood floor. She walked over to the fireplace and poked the embers a bit before pulling out a couple more logs and threw them on the embers. The she stood up from the crouching position and walked over to her trunk. She pulled out a lime green tee shirt, which said: MILWAUKEE in black letters with white borders, and jean capris. She didn't want to wear her robes in the train station for fear of looking silly. Arianna decided that she would change on the train.
She pulled off her dark blue long sleeve shirt that she wore to bed and cast it on the bed. Then she pulled on the lime green shirt and jean capris. Afterward she pulled up a pair of balled white socks and her white tennis shoes. She pulled on the shock and shoes while looking and the now well light fire. Then she took her nightshirt and folded it and put it into her dark green trunk.
Arianna wandered over to her bed and sat on it. She took in every last detail of the room she had stayed in for the past week and wondered what Hogwarts was going to be like.
After a good long five minutes of wondering she turned her attention to the pile of presents and cards that she had forgotten about. Ari smiled. She walked over to the desk and took the first card that she could reach. On the front it said:
To our little witch
"Hmm…" Ari hummed as she opened the card. It was from her Aunt Debbie and Uncle Brian. It read:
Dear Arianna,
We are so proud of you and we can't believe you got into Hogwarts! Your uncle Bryan and I went there when we were young. I was in Ravenclaw and Bryan was in Gryffindor. Now there is a school for Wizards in the United States so David, Brad, and Anna are going there. Try to write often and have a wonderful birthday!
Love,
Aunt Debbie, Uncle Bryan,
David, Brad, and Anna
Ari took the present that was attached to the card. It was wrapped in red and gold paper. She carefully took off the paper and inside was a book called Quidditch Threw the Ages.
The next card was addressed to:
Ari
Inside it read:
Ari,
I can't believe you're leaving us to go to a boarding school! You and Julie and Kayla and Sam! Oh well, you're leaving me all alone. But anyway Happy Birthday! I'll miss you! Write to meeeeeeeee!
Katie
It was just a card but Ari was happy to get on just the same, and now she felt just a little bit bad for leaving all of her friends behind. But what did she mean Kayla and Sam were leaving too? They can't be witches too can they? She discarded that thought and moved to a rather large broom shaped package.
It was addressed to:
Arianna Meares
Room 190
Leaky Caldron
London
"Hmm must have been sent by owl." She wondered allowed. She opened the card. It read:
Dear Arianna,
Now I know you aren't allowed to bring a broom your first year, but I thought you might like one anyhow to ride over your breaks. I used to play on the Quidditch team when I was at Hogwarts. I was a keeper. I know you don't know what that is yet so I'll let you look it up at school. Quidditch is a fun game though Ari, try out.
Love,
Gram
"Did she say a broom?" Arianna said in disbelief. Sure enough as ari unwrapped it she could see a handle. "She didn't!"
On the handle it said in silver writing Nimbus 2001. Ari held it out and stared at it.
"Wow," said a voice from behind her. It was Julie.
"Hey Fish! Look at this!" Ari stood up and handed the Nimbus 2001 to Julie who was wearing a red tank top and blue jeans with her hair in a ponytail.
"Amazing! What is it?" she asked.
"A Nimbus 2001, wait hold on," Ari said as she turned to the index of her Quidditch Threw the Ages book and then flipped franticly to a random page.
"Here we go! Says here it's the fastest model yet!" Arianna said reading out of the book.
"Cool, you can't bring a broom to school this year though."
"Oh I know, I'm sending it home for the Holidays we can ride it there! There's something else I wanna tell you Julie."
"Ok, shoot."
"I got a letter from Katie Carr."
"Uh huh…and?"
"Oh, uh she said Kayla and Samantha are going to a boarding school also."
"So?"
"They could be witches!"
"Or…or they could be going to a different school! Ari don't jump to conclusions."
"Oh fine."
She finished unwrapping her presents and packed them away (all except the broom, she wrapped that up and sent it home with a note explaining).
"What time is it?" asked Arianna.
"Nine oh six."
"Ok, Gram should be here any minute."
"Ok lemme get my trunk."
"I'll be here…"
Julie left and came back a couple seconds later with her maroon trunk witch she set on Ari's bed. Minutes later there was a loud crack and Arianna's grandmother appeared.
"Ok, ready to go?" she asked them.
"Uh huh," said Ari taking her trunk and her grandma's arm. Julie did the same.
A moment later the three of them were standing in front of a scarlet steam engine. A sign overhead read Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock.
"Wow," Julie and Arianna said in awe.
"Right then let's load you trunks on the train and find you two a good seat. Come on, this way now." Elsie lead them onto the train and they put their luggage down.
"Well I've got to leave you two now, Ari tonight or tomorrow whenever send me a letter ok?"
"Hm, oh yeah," said Ari half paying attention.
"All right then," Elsie gathered Arianna up in a big hug and then left the two first years on a scarlet steam train.
"Let's go find a seat Owawa."
"Don't call me that Julie," said Arianna as they climbed onto the train. They walked down passageway after passageway, not finding any empty. Finally they came to a compartment that had just two people in it, so they entered.
"Mind if we sit?" asked Arianna.
"No not at all," said a red haired girl with freckles.
"Hullo Julie, Arianna." Said the frizzy haired girl they knew to be Hermione.
"Hi Hermione!" Julie said. Julie and Arianna took a seat across from Hermione and the other girl.
"Hi, I'm Ginny Weasley, first year," she stuck out her hand.
Arianna took it and said, "I'm Arianna Meares, first year too."
"I'm Julie Falango, first year." Julie said and shook hands with Ginny in turn.
"So Hermione, where is Potter? Off killing someone else?" sneered Arianna as she looked out the window.
"What? Look, Arianna, you need to know this much: Harry killed the teacher because Vol- He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named possessed him," explained Hermione.
"Who?" asked Julie and Arianna in unison.
"You don't know who You-Know-Who is?" asked Ginny.
"No," said Ari.
"His real name is," Hermione took a deep breath, "Voldemort."
"Voldemort?" said Arianna loudly.
"Yes…shhhhhhhh," said Hermione.
"Er…why?" asked Julie.
"He is a dark wizard who as killed many people. He is feared by everyone," explained Ginny.
"Not me, until I know who he is personally. I can't hate someone because other people do," Arianna said thinking of Draco Malfoy and how Potter and Ron hated him.
"I can," said Julie.
"So can I," said Ginny.
Then Hermione, Ginny, and Julie got into a boring conversation about what house they wanted to get to. Hermione was telling them all sorts of stuff about each house.
Arianna on they other hand was thinking about Katie's letter she wrote to her. She suddenly stood up.
"Where are you going?" asked Julie almost at once.
"Oh, so you remember I'm here do you? Well if you really care, I'm going to walk around the train a bit."
"Ok Ari," said Julie not really paying attention anymore. Arianna stormed out of the cabin and began walking around.
Through the windows she saw a lot of people. Some giggle Ravenclaw girls and sleeping Hufflepuff girls. She even saw Draco and gang but didn't bother to say hello. She looked all over the train and then stopped. Who the hell am I looking for? She thought. Then it hit her. That Potter kid isn't anywhere around here I wonder…wait what am I thinking? What do I care? She shrugged and started walking back to her seat.
When she got there Hermione, Ginny, and Julie were franticly talking, Ari caught one word 'Harry'.
"Ari! You've seen Harry right?" said Hermione.
"Er…Potter? No, I think not." Ari said as she took her seat.
"He hasn't gotten on the train! What about Ron? See him?" asked Ginny.
"No," said Arianna staring out the window.
"They'll be here don't worry, let's get into our Hogwarts robes. We should be there soon," Hermione suggested.
"Right," they said.
"We will be arriving there in ten minutes, please change into your uniforms, if you haven't already and leave your luggage where it is," sounded the conductor's voice.
The four of them filed out into the hallway, like the rest of the train, and made their way to a door. When the train stopped moving everyone pushed their way out of the train and were greeted by an enormous person who kept calling "Firs' years follow me! C'mon, follow me, any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"
Slipping and stumbling, they followed the giant person down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Arianna thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much.
"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," he called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."
There was a loud "Oooooh!"
The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.
"No more'n four to a boat!" he called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Ginny and a girl with silver blonde hair followed Arianna and Julie into a boat.
"Everyone in?" shouted the giant, who had a boat to himself. "Right then, FORWARD!"
And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was a smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.
"Heads down!" he yelled as the first boat reached the cliff; they had all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that had 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. The large person was checking the boats as people climbed out of them. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after the large man's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.
They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.
"Everyone here?"
He raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.
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