Chapter 4: Actually, I'm not sure what's going to happen in this chapter. Has anyone seen my lawyer?
Luckily, time passed quickly. Ellen and Susan spent the rest of their summer quite luxuriously. Ellen mostly stayed at her own house, perfecting everything she needed for school. She was also reading all her books from cover to cover. They were very interesting, compared to the muggle world she knew.
Susan usually stayed at her family's house, occasionally going out with Tessa to do things. She didn't think twice about the luggage she had bought in Laci Alley. Things would sort themselves out in time.
Before long, it was September first and Ellen and Susan were getting aboard the Salem Express, a train located at the New London train station.
At this moment, Ellen was still a little unnerved about entering through the brick wall next to the ticket station. It was populated by lots of people, and no one noticed when some people disappeared through it. "Walking through walls…" she kept muttering, bewildered at the result: a red steam engine with the golden letters, 'Salem Express.' She shivered suddenly.
"Come on, El. We need to get a compartment! I heard that the older students like to tease first years by filling up all compartments!" Susan rushed onto the train with all her belongings and her pet snake on her shoulders.
Ellen thought Susan was over reacting. Older kids aren't all that mean… but Susan was a good friend, and Ellen felt like she had to follow her.
Fawkes followed close behind. Ellen figured out that he was a pretty clever bird. He could carry remarkably heavy loads and, as she read in one of her books, had special powers—including his ability to be reborn, and many more powers.
Ellen continued daydreaming like this; absently turning a corner and watching Susan disappear into a compartment. Ellen was about to follow when something caught her eye and made her gasp…
Susan was settling down in the small sitting area when Ellen burst into the compartment. She was staring out the window—terrified. Susan looked out the window also and saw Jake and Ed. They looked confused, and yet they were looking for someone…
"Susan! We have to get them out!" Ellen shrieked.
"How? I don't know any spells!" Susan replied, equally unnerved by this sequence of events.
Ellen looked surprised. "Really? Haven't you started reading your books? I just started… I think I know some spells—but I never had the chance to practice…"
Susan shook her head. "Who cares? Do something! They shouldn't be here!"
Ellen whipped out her long wand. "Diffindo!" She whispered. Ed's bag ripped, spilling all of his books. Ed bent over and started picking them up, whereas Jake looked around the platform. He was looking for someone, and that in itself was worth a good spine shiver.
"That's all?" Susan asked presently.
Ellen shook her head. She had to do something else to get them out. She didn't understand why the other wizards weren't doing anything either. Wouldn't an adult wizard notice?
Jake's eyes finally met Ellen's eyes. He grinned and said something to Ed.
Ellen's heart leapt, while Susan gripped her arm. Without thinking, Ellen raised her wand and pointed it first at Jake, and then at Ed. Finally, the point landed on the books.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" she waved her wand. One of Ed's books started floating out the barrier. The two boys followed the book, trying to grasp it. They were gone, next they knew.
"Good thinking!" Susan said. She let go of Ellen's arm and relaxed in her chair. Tobias curled up on her lap.
Ellen grinned, happy of the compliment, especially from a pureblood. She sat down and started to stroke Fawkes, staring mindlessly out the window.
Susan started to stare out the window too, watching the train slowly take off. Then, she realized something. Her muggle-born friend had figured out spells not common in first years. This was not at all good considering pride was their best quality, yet Susan felt she had none since she could not produce a simple spell to save their necks. Ellen did.
Susan tried to forget about that. She had time to catch up anyway. And besides, she still had to tell Ellen about the Houses.
"Err… Just to tell you, all first years get sorted into different… groups… based on their strongest personalities. My mom told me." Susan explained.
Ellen turned her head. "Oh? How many groups? What are the groups?" she asked. Her fingers were still caressing Fawkes' feathers.
"Well, there are four Dorms based on the elements of nature…you know, before science and stuff. They are Water, Earth, Fire, and Air. The Water Dorm has people who are benevolent and adaptive…just like water. The Earth Dorm is for the strong…but gentle types. Just like Mother Nature. The Fire Dorm has its share of intense and ferocious people… and the Air Dorm has its share of peace and harmony. My family has always been with the Fire Dorm. I bet I'll be there too. You better hope so as well." Susan continued.
"Why?" Ellen asked.
"Well, I personally think the Fire Dorm is the best one, for reasons I just said. Water and Air Dorms are pusses for being so peaceful. It's actually quite boring. The Earth Dorm is a formidable opponent…when they actually duel… Well, this is all if the person is exactly like the dorm's personality. But we can't all be the same person…and we can't all be the same forever…" Susan explained. "Then there's the whole part where the particular dorm has particular classes…"
Ellen had a blank look on her face. She shrugged. Honestly, Ellen didn't care. She just wanted to be different in some way from the average populace. But she also wanted to stay with Susan. Susan was her only guide to the magical world, after all.
There was snickering outside the door. "Fire Dorm? Wise choice, I guess. It'd certainly focus more on Dark Arts than any other dorm. Dark Arts would be awesome." a boy with poofy red hair poked his head in. He had light gray eyes. He was tall for his age, about the same as Ellen, and she was approaching five feet!
"Which Dorm would you want, Quentin?" A girl with short brown hair and blue eyes hidden by her glasses approached. She was about the same height as the boy.
"I don't know… something that would suit me, hopefully…" Q shrugged. When he was done, he asked the girl, "What about you, Jen? Which Dorm would you choose?"
Jen shrugged. "I don't care either. I just want to make friends…"
"Err… Excuse me, who are you guys? Are you first years also?" Ellen asked. She stood up to make herself seem taller.
"I'm Jen, and this is my friend, Q. We've barely met, I know… since I'm a pureblood and he's a muggle-born." Jen explained.
Ellen turned to Q. "How do you know about the dorms then?"
Q laughed. "I spent time at Jen's house after Laci Alley. My family was rather…explosive when they found out I was a wizard… I didn't have anywhere else to go."
This made Ellen think about her own family. Of course they know about her school, and what it is, and what she is… but imagine if they hadn't have been as kind as they were? The thought frightened her.
Susan decided to assert herself. No one else seemed like they were going to do it. "I'm Susan." She held out her hand.
Jen stared at it. "I know. Your family is well known to my family." She narrowed her eyes.
Ellen and Q looked back and forth between the two of them. "Jen?" Q asked.
"Susan?" Ellen asked.
Susan had a rememory. In the ministry… oh how could she have been so blind! The Paquette family was a well known enemy of the Thiemes. Their family's rivalries could go back hundreds of years! Also, wasn't it the Paquette family who were always selected for the Earth Dorm when Susan's family were always in the Fire Dorm?
Susan drew her wand, and Jen followed the same procedure.
Just as Susan was going to say a simple curse which she had learned from her father, Ellen cut. "Expelliarmus!" she shouted. Surprisingly, this wasn't at Jen. It was at Susan.
Susan's wand went flying and landed on the seat.
Q, on the other hand, merely pushed Jen aside so she wouldn't say a spell.
"Ellen?" Susan asked. She didn't understand—they were friends, weren't they?
"You can't just fight each other for no apparent reason! Not for family history, at least. That bitter rivalry you have is from other people in your families, not from each other. You've barely even met!" Ellen stated. She looked around at them, right into their sorry faces and added, "And besides, we have worse problems than that. Salem is a tough school for young witches and wizards learning to control their powers. I suggest we work together."
Everyone remained silent after that. Ellen's firm voice still rang in their ears. Even Ellen surprised herself. She wasn't sure she knew all that anyway.
Fawkes cooed his majestic sing-song note again.
"Well then, that's settled. We'll work together…" Q was the first to break the silence.
"Yeah…" Jen nodded. "We can play games here and get to know each other… I guess."
"But after we go get food. Excuse us!" Q pulled Jen out of the compartment and down the hall.
This of course left Ellen and Susan alone. Susan gave Ellen a questionable look, to which Ellen replied, "Sorry, Susan. I couldn't see any other way…"
"That's okay, I suppose… But how did you learn all that? We haven't even had our first class! And we weren't even sorted yet!" Susan pointed out. She swooped down and picked up her wand. After examining it for any marks it may have obtained, she placed it back in her pocket.
Ellen shrugged. "I told you, I read our books…"
Susan raised her eyebrows. "All that was in our books for school?"
"Well…" Ellen rubbed her arm. Should she tell the real reason?
There was a knock at the compartment door before she could even think about it. So, she put matters aside and looked to the door. The food trolley had arrived, pushed by an old wizard.
"Yes! You really ought to try some of these, Ellen!" Susan rushed to the trolley.
The two young witches enjoyed the rest of their ride with different wizard sweets and foods. They laughed aloud and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Before either of them knew it, it was night time and the train slowly pulled into Salem station. They had arrived at Salem for Witches and Wizards.