Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or anything else that may be referenced in this chapter.
A/N: Big thank you to you all. I hope you all enjoy this chapter! :)
Twitter: Prof_McGonagal
Chapter 4: Going to Hogwarts
"To Rachel and Marcus." echoed around the table as the adults raised their glasses of wine and Rachel, Marcus and Mary their glasses of pumpkin juice- the latter scowling, having not said a word. The three cousins had never gotten along; though the youngest of the three, Mary had always looked down upon her two cousins, refusing to share her toys or join in their games when they were younger; yet sulking when she was not the centre of attention. In her parents' eyes she could do no wrong, a fact Mary relished in whenever she was around and either Marcus or Rachel got into trouble, to such an extent that she took to making trouble for them whenever she could. Ignoring Mary, Rachel titled her glass towards Marcus, toasting him across the table as he did the same to her. A thrill of excitement ran down Rachel's spine as she sipped her drink and realised that in around about twenty-four hours' time she would be sitting with her brother at a different table; as a Ravenclaw; poised to make her house, and by extension, her family, proud, as her father had said.
So excited was she by the prospect of going to Hogwarts the following day, that Rachel found it difficult to get to sleep that night. She kept tossing and turning from side to side, thoughts of attending Hogwarts and finally fulfilling the third step in her plan to become Minister for Magic- that being to be Sorted into Ravenclaw- racing through her mind. Thus, it was rather late at night by the time she fell asleep, and she awoke to the sound of her alarm blaring angrily and someone knocking loudly on her bedroom door.
"Rachel!" Susanne's voice called urgently from the other side of the door. "Rachel get up- we're going to miss the train if we don't hurry!"
"Wha- I'mawake!" Rachel half-called, half-mumbled, sitting up and fumbling frantically for the button that silenced her alarm and her glasses. Finding the button and silencing her alarm, Rachel continued to search for her glasses. Finding them, too, she shoved them crookedly onto the end of her nose and got of of bed, crossing her bedroom and taking some clothes from her wardrobe and leaving her bedroom, rubbing her eyes behind her glasses.
"Morning- Marcus's in the en suite," Susanne said, as Rachel emerged from her bedroom. Susanne looked very frazzled indeed. "Your father's ordered a car from the Ministry- we have to leave in half an hour to get to the station on time so shower and get dressed as quickly as possible- you packed last night like I told you too, didn't you?"
"Yes I did- and good morning." Rachel replied as the doorbell echoed up through the house from the floor below.
"Ceesy will bring your trunk and Artemisia downstairs when you're ready," Susanne said to Rachel, turning and hurrying down the stairs to answer the door as Rachel crossed the landing to the bathroom. Having showered and dressed faster than she ever had before, Rachel emerged from the bathroom some ten minutes later, now wide awake, practically buzzing with excitement at the thought of going to Hogwarts and following her family's footsteps and being sorted into Ravenclaw and wondering who had been at the door as she ran down the stairs to the dining room in search of breakfast.
"Good morning Rachel." Rachel's Grandmother Elspeth smiled at her from a seat at the dining table, answering Rachel's wonderings as the girl entered the dining room.
"Good morning," Rachel replied with a smile, sitting down opposite her Grandmother and beside her mother at the table and reaching for the toast rack Ceesy had just set on the table. "Morning Dad."
"Morning." Her father grinned at her, looking over the top of his copy of the Daily Prophet, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a filled money bag. "Here's twenty galleons for you to spend while you're away; I know first years aren't allowed to go to Hogsmede, but you might want to by some food on the Hogwarts' Express or order something for yourself or buy your Christmas presents from the Daily Prophet or Witch Weekly or something before the Christmas holidays. You shouldn't need anymore than that, but if you do just write. Looking forward to your sorting?"
"Thank you- and yeah," Rachel nodded, grinning back and pocketing the money bag.
"Hi, everyone," Marcus said, entering the room and sitting down beside Elspeth.
"Morning, Marcus. Here's your money for the year; twenty galleons- you shouldn't need anymore, but of you do just write," Flavius said, taking a second money bag the same size as the one he had given Rachel from his pocket and holding it out to his son.
"Thank you." Marcus grinned, taking it. What are you doing here, Gran?" he asked her curiously as he pocketed his moneybag. "Last year you came to see me off because I was the first person with the Belby name to go to Hogwarts since Dad and Un- since Dad." He amended himself, catching his mother's warning eye. "What's special about Rachel?"
"Marcus!" Susanne admonished, frowning disapprovingly.
"Thank you, Marcus." Rachel raised her eyebrows, spreading jam over her toast. "I think you're special, too."
"You know what I mean." Marcus waved his fork about vaguely apologetically.
"Well, Marcus, you may have been the first Belby to go to Hogwarts in a few decades," Elspeth explained, "but your sister is the first female Belby to go to Hogwarts in several generations, something that is just as important, and, as the oldest person to bear the Belby name, it is only right that I am there to see her off for her first year, as I did you."
"Right," Marcus nodded amicably, stabbing at a piece of bacon with his fork.
"Hurry up and eat quickly, you two," Susanne said to her children, glancing rather anxiously at her watch. "The car will be here in twenty minutes."
"That's ages, though." Rachel pointed out; Marcus nodded, agreeing, his mouth full of bacon. Susanne pursed her lips.
"You say that now," She said, taking a sip of her tea. "But you just wait and see."
Some ten minutes later, both Rachel and Marcus were feeling slightly panicked. Rachel could hear Marcus frantically rummaging through his trunk, checking he had everything, as she brushed her teeth in the bathroom. Marcus called for Ceesy as Rachel finished cleaning her teeth and the sound of Ceesy apparating into his bedroom surrounded Rachel as she left the bathroom, shoving a black headband rather lopsidedly onto her head to keep her hair in place as she went. Entering her own bedroom, Rachel pushed her glasses up her nose and started to make sure she, too, had everything packed.
Having made sure that she had indeed packed everything she needed, Rachel stuffed her Hogwarts letter into her trunk for good measure, before closing the lid and glancing at the clock beside her bed- Artemisia had gone out hunting the night before; she usually returned between nine forty-five and ten-fifteen, and the time was ten minutes past ten. Just as she was re-filling Artemisia's water and food trays so that her owl would be comfortable on the train journey to Hogwarts, Artemisia herself came flying around the large tree in front of Rachel's house and through the girl's open bedroom window, perching atop her cage. If the half of a dead frog hanging from her beak was any indication, her hunt had been successful.
"Hey, A," Rachel smiled, stroking Artemisia's wing as her owl devoured the remainder of the toad. "Good night?"
Artemisia hooted softly, blinking rather sleepily at Rachel as she finished her frog. Rachel took that to mean 'yes.'
"Good," she said, opening Artemisia's cage with her free hand as the doorbell echoed up to her bedroom from downstairs. "We're going to Hogwarts today A," she said excitedly, helping Artemisia into her cage. "You'll be able to fly around as much as you like without any Muggles catching so sight of you and sleep in the Owlery with all the other owls."
But what Artemisia thought of the changes that would be happening in her life Rachel didn't know; for practically the moment after her talons curled around the wooden perch inside her cage, Artemisia seemed to snuggle down, then tucked her head under her left wing and fell asleep.
Hoping Artemisia wouldn't mind being disturbed too much, Rachel stepped out of her bedroom, clearing her throat as she did so.
"Ceesy!"
CRACK!
"Yes, Mistress?" Ceesy asked, curtseying as she apparated onto the lading looking up at Rachel through her large, light blue eyes.
"Can you take my trunk and Artemisia downstairs, please?" Rachel asked with a smile.
"Of course Mistress," Ceesy nodded, smiling back and adjusting the position of the knot that tied her crisp white tea towel around her like a toga on her shoulders as she entered Rachel's bedroom.
Glancing at her watch, Rachel ran downstairs to the front door, joining Marcus in leaning against the wall beside the door, opposite the hallway mirror. Marcus's trunk and cage that housed his pet rat Newt stood beside him; but the cage was empty. Looking around, Rachel caught sight of Newt curled up on Marcus's left shoulder, his claws digging into the shoulder of Marcus's t-shirt. Rachel moved away slightly; despite the fact that she stood to Marcus's right and had been assured time and time again that Newt would leave her alone if she left him alone, she was not the biggest fan of rodents- their small dark eyes had always somewhat spooked her.
"Here you are, Mistress." Ceesy came down the stairs after Rachel, Artemisia's cage in her arms and the girl's trunk floating along down the stairs behind her.
"Thank you, Ceesy." Rachel smiled, taking Artemisia's cage from Ceesy and setting it down atop her trunk as it turned in mid-air and set itself down vertically beside Marcus's. Artemisia shifted slightly on her perch, but her head remained firmly under her wing, as though she was determined to sleep.
"Marcus! Rachel!" Susanne called as she emerged from the sitting room with Flavius and Elspeth. "Hurry up- the car is due any- oh." She stopped short upon catching sight of her children standing by the door with Ceesy and their things.
"Told you we had ages." Rachel smirked triumphantly. Marcus snickered, stretching up onto the tips of his toes and peering through one of the three triangular frosted glass panels in the front door.
"The car's here." He announced.
"Well, we'd best get going, then," Susanne said quickly, pushing her hair from her face. "Put Newt back in his cage and grab hold of your trunk- Ceesy; go and start on lunch, please- just some sandwiches or something simple, don't worry yourself too much."
"Yes Mistress," Ceesy nodded. "Have a good term, Master Marcus; Mistress Rachel."
"Thanks, Ceesy," Rachel smiled. "See you at Christmas."
"Yeah- take care Ceesy." Marcus said, smiling, too
Ceesy smiled back at them both, curtseyed and disapparated.
Once Marcus had put Newt into his cage and got hold of both the cage and his trunk as Rachel had hold of hers, the Belby family left the house. The Boot's house across the street was clearly empty- it looked as though they had already left for St. Mungo's to visit Sally. The day was a beautiful summer's one; so much so, in fact, that the Belby's sour-faced elderly neighbour Edith Dawson was outside, planting some seeds in a flower pot that hung from her sitting room window. She merely sniffed in response to the Belby's greetings, casting dark, suspicious looks at Marcus and Rachel's trunks and pets.
"Miserable old bat," Susanne said softly under her breath. "Nothing to worry about, though- it'll be decades before she figures anything out, and if she does it can be taken care of. Oh, look- they've given us the bigger car we requested, excellent."
The car looked like a perfectly normal, if not slightly old fashioned, dark green Muggle five seater car from the outside; the driver, too, looked like a perfectly normal Muggle man- despite the fact that his suit was the same shade of green as the car- as he got out of the car to help load the trunks into the boot. Marcus and Rachel's trunks fit neatly and with ease into the apparently small boot, and the entire family fit comfortably into the car. Susanne, Marcus and Rachel sat on the three seats in the back of the car- the latter two with their pets' cages' on their laps- while Flavius and Elspeth sat on the magically expanded passenger's seat in the front of the car with the driver, who introduced himself as Norman Prang, and discussed wizarding news such as Fudge's latest Ministry reform and the break in at Gringotts on the thirty-first of July.
It did not take them long to reach Kings Cross Station; the Ministry of Magic car soon proved itself capable of slipping into gaps that the cars around them certainly couldn't have fit into, and at times managed to jump long traffic jams and traffic lights in their entirety. By a quarter to eleven, the family had got out of the car, loaded Marcus and Rachel's trunks and pets onto two trolleys, said thank you and goodbye to Norman Prang and were walking through the bustling station towards the entrance to Platform nine and three-quarters. Rachel felt more excited with every step she took; her mind was full of thoughts of going to Hogwarts, fulfilling the third step of her plan, and making her house and family proud.
A plump, redheaded woman and a young girl who could only be her daughter disappeared through the barrier that was the wall and Muggle ticket box between platforms nine and ten as the Belbys reached it.
"Shall we let the newest edition to Ravenclaw go through first?" Elspeth suggested with a smile, taking in the excitement in Rachel's expression.
"Yes, I think so," Flavius agreed, smiling at Rachel, too, as he gestured towards the barrier. "I assume you know what to do?"
"I think so," Rachel replied with a grin. Tightening her grip on the handle of her trolley, she straightened it so that it faced the barrier, took a deep breath and broke out into a run, her gaze fixed on the brick wall and Muggle ticket box that would take her to the Hogwarts Express. Her footsteps pounded loudly in her ears as she ran, getting closer and closer to the barrier with every step she took… moments away from the barrier, Rachel couldn't help but close her eyes tightly, in anticipation of the SMACK! and pain that she knew, logically, wouldn't come…
And it didn't… Rachel kept running for a few more steps, just to make sure; then slowed her pace and opened her eyes.
She was standing on platform nine and three quarters. Witches and Wizards of all ages swarmed the platform, those of Hogwarts' age saying goodbye to their families, greeting their friends and climbing aboard the scarlet school train that billowed clouds of white smoke all over the station. Rachel smiled, feeling a thrill of excitement as she caught sight of the sign above her head, which read Hogwarts Express, 11 o'clock.
"Hasn't changed that much in a few months, has it?"
Rachel turned as Marcus fell into step beside her, having passed through the barrier, which on this side looked like an archway wrought out of iron emblazoned with Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
"Not at all," she replied, "It's just last year I was here to see you off, and now I'm getting on the train and going with you, so it feels a bit different."
"Yeah, I imagine it would," Marcus nodded.
"Marcus- there you are, mate!" Oliver came out of nowhere, looking excited. "You won't believe this- Lee Jordan, that Gryffindor in the year above who hangs out with the Weasley twins; he's bought a tarantula back with him and he's talking about putting an Engorgement Charm on it! Oh, hello Rachel." He added, smiling.
"Hi." She replied, smiling back.
"A tarantula- wicked!" Marcus grinned, looking as excited as Oliver. "How big is it now?"
"Dunno- he's never opened the box enough for anyone to see anything more than a leg or an eye." Oliver said. "He's saying he's going to make it bigger when the train leaves. Terry and Lisa- she arrived a little before you two- are keeping a compartment beside his so we can get good seats."
"Great!" Marcus grinned, tightening his grip on his trolley. "Well, we'd better go and-"
"Not so fast, dear Marcus." Susanne's voice sounded from behind them; turning, Marcus and Rachel saw that their parents and Grandmother had come through the barrier and were behind them, smiling. "Your decrepit mother and father wish for you both to say goodbye to them and your grandmother before you embark on whatever adventure that is consuming your thoughts at present. Hello, Oliver- how is your mother?"
"Hello- she isn't any better, but she isn't any worse, either," Oliver replied. "The Healer's say that can be a good sign, so we're still hopeful."
"That's good," Flavius smiled. "Is your father here?"
"No; Mr Bagman wanted him to go into work." Oliver explained. "He said to say hello, and he'll see you for coffee on Wednesday."
"Excellent- thank you." Flavius nodded.
Susanne glanced at her watch. "We'd better say our goodbyes near the train," she said. "The whistle's going to go off soon."
Marcus and Oliver, the former clearly following the latter, lead the way down the platform to a carriage only in the middle of the train, talking so quietly Rachel couldn't hear what they were saying, and in any case, she was feeling far too excited at the prospect of going to Hogwarts to try and find out. The two boys' conversation ceased abruptly as they reached the train, and, together with Flavius, they lifted both Artemisia and Newt in their cages, and then Marcus and Rachel's trunks into the train. Oliver said goodbye and climbed on board after the trunks, waiting beside them while Marcus and Rachel said goodbye to their family.
Looking rather guarded now they were so close to the school train, Marcus permitted Susanne to kiss him on the cheek and shook hands with Flavius, who looked very much as though he was fighting back a grin. Elspeth, however, paid no mind to Marcus's reputation as she engulfed him a bear hug. Rachel bit back a grin, hearing Oliver snigger as Marcus hugged Elspeth back briefly and managed to politely squirm away, his cheeks bright pink.
Rachel turned to her mother as Marcus boarded the train. A lump rose in her throat- she had never been away from home for more than a few nights, when she had stayed at either her Grandmother's, the Boots', or the Turpins', and she had a feeling that she was going to miss her parents and her house. Rachel swallowed thickly, telling herself sternly that she would not make an idiot of herself by crying in front of everybody on the platform.
"I'll see you at Christmas," she said to her mother. Susanne nodded, looking rather as though she was fighting back tears herself as she hugged her daughter tightly.
"You will make Ravenclaw very proud, my dear," Flavius said to Rachel as he, too hugged her; he had said something similar to Marcus the year before, Rachel remembered. She nodded into his shoulder, blinking back tears. Only once she was sure that she did not look at all as though she was on the point of crying did she lift her head from her father's shoulder and turn to her Grandmother as Flavius straightened up.
Elspeth smiled at Rachel, then glanced at her watch. "If my old memory serves me correctly, we still have a few minutes before the whistle is set to go off." She said. "In light of this, Rachel; may I speak with you alone?"
Surprised, Rachel nodded. "Sure." She said, and followed her grandmother a short way away from her parents and the train.
Elspeth's hands rose to her neck as she turned to face her granddaughter, and Rachel saw with a jolt of surprise that her grandmother was removing the gold chained locket with a bronze, diamond shaped pendant that she had worn uniformly even in Rachel's earliest memories.
"My mother, Geraldine Fronsac, cleaned and then gave me this necklace on the 1st of September 1918, my first ever day at Hogwarts," Elspeth began. "She told me that her mother had cleaned and given it to her on the first day of her first year at Hogwarts, and she was carrying on the tradition. I had always hoped to do the same, however, I doubted that either of my two sons would have much use for a woman's necklace. I would like for you to have it."
"Me?" Rachel asked, her eyes widening in surprise.
Elspeth nodded. "Yes, you." She said with a smile. "And not only because you are the only remaining female in my family line. Truth be told, Rachel Elspeth Belby, you remind me a little of myself when I was your age in a few of your mannerisms; and quite a lot of my mother, too, based on all the tales I heard of her youth growing up. So much so that I think that even though you are my granddaughter as opposed to my daughter, my dear mother would have loved to know that the tradition is being carried on."
As her grandmother smiled at her anew, Rachel was visited by a wave of memories, a few standing out more than the rest She was four years old, standing on a footstool and stirring a bowl full of cake batter with the utmost concentration. The bowl was being held by her grandmother, who was full of words of encouragement as she taught Rachel how to bake a cake. Then she was seven, dressed in a bright red raincoat and holding tightly to her grandmother's hand as they walked along the shop lined street of the village of Hogsmede for the day; intent on getting Elspeth's mantelpiece radio fixed before going to Honeydukes for a lollypop. Finally, she was nine, sitting beside her Grandmother on the plush floral sofa in her grandmother's living room; rain pounding against the windows outside and the wireless radio on the mantelpiece softly crooning Celestina Warbeck's 'You Charmed the Heart Right Out of Me,' as both Elspeth and Rachel read books- Elspeth: Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart and Rachel, in her quest to find out as much as she could about the position of Minster for Magic- Magical Moral Perspective in Minister's for Magic, by Cygnus Observer. Rachel felt a renewed rush of affection for her grandmother at the thoughts, and returned Elspeth's smile.
"I would love to wear the necklace." She said. "Thank you very much."
Elspeth's smile widened. "Thank you for accepting," she said. "In keeping with the tradition; allow me to wipe the slate clean for you," she said, and took her wand from her pocket, tapping it to the necklace. "Emundabit." She said.
At once, a wave of soapy water poured from the tip of her wand and covered the entirely of the necklace, from it's clasp to the very tip of the pendant of even the inside of the pendant, which had opened, released a lone, diamond shaped photograph-which had faded so much it was impossible to see what it once was, and flew into Elspeth's pocket.
"My mother said that this allows for the necklace to hold new memories, your memories, my dear." Elspeth said, slipping the necklace around Rachel's neck and sealing the clasp at the front before turning the necklace around so that the pendant rested against the front of Rachel's t-shirt. Comforted by the feeling of having something to remind her of her grandmother and by extension her family and her home, Rachel covered the pendant with her hand, just as the whistle of the Hogwarts Express pierced the air.
"Rachel! Hurry!" Flavius called.
Rachel and Elspeth hurried back across the platform; Rachel smiling at Marcus and Oliver as they helped her into the carriage.
"Have a good term, both of you," Susanne said, as the train door swung shut and Marcus and Rachel leant out of its window. "And Marcus- look after your sister!"
"Don't worry, Mum!" Marcus grinned as the train began to move. "Rachel is perfectly safe with me!"
"Yeah, don't worry Mum!" Rachel nodded. "I'll be fine!"
"See that you are!" Susanne called with a laugh, starting to wave with Flavius and Elspeth as the train pulled away from the station, and began to move along the tracks.
Marcus and Rachel waved back vigorously until the train rounded the corner and Platform nine and three quarters disappeared from view. They grinned at each other and Oliver excitedly as they ducked back into the train and took hold of their things. Her upset forgotten, Rachel felt yet another thrill of excitement as she followed Marcus and Oliver down the carriage with her trunk and Artemisia in her cage: at last, she was on her way to Hogwarts.
A/N: Please review! :)