Round 7:Crazy Pairings: "We are accepting platonic, romantic and familial portrayals of pairings this round."
Chosen pairing: Ted/Andromeda
Optional Prompts: (setting) Hogwarts Express, (quote) 'Just have a little faith.' - Michael Scofield, Prison Break, (word) mist
Word Count: 1 019
The Witch, the Wizard, and the Train
Dora's hand was no longer visible amongst the sea of hands waving out of the windows of the Hogwarts Express. Ted's face fell into a worried frown; I squeezed his hand.
"She will be fine. She is as strong as you."
He held me tight, quiet as he watched the vehicle taking his little Nymphie ("I am not a princess, Dad! They are boring and useless.") away.
"Just have a little faith," I added, not sure whom I was trying to convince anymore. Kids could be cruel, especially to those who were different. And Dora was unique in so many ways.
We watched as the train rapidly disappeared into the distance, its progress to the horizon more distinguishable by the dark cloud of steam than the train itself. It brought back so many memories. I could clearly remember the last time I boarded it.
~~oOoooOoooOo~~Memory~~oOoooOoooOo~~Flashback~~oOoooOoooOo~~
I pressed myself into Ted's side. We had already left the mist-covered lake and the castle behind. The white swirls of cold, soothing mist were exchanged for a swirling greyish steam that failed to hide the vividly red locomotive. As I savoured the sight, Ted whispered into my ear, "Can you believe that this is our last ride in this beauty?"
I nodded wordlessly. I knew what he meant. It was so surreal, doubly so for me. I was scared and excited at the same time. The feeling was a lot like when I first boarded the Hogwarts Express. Only this time, the security I was leaving behind was not that of home but of Hogwarts itself, and I feared reuniting with the same people I had feared to leave then.
Ted squeezed my hand and nudged me forward.
"Come on, we should find a compartment for ourselves."
I agreed with that assessment and we hastened our pace. The misty, chilly weather, while not unusual for this area even at this time of year, seemed to only highlight the sombre atmosphere of the seventh years. Well, not all seventh years were in a sombre mood, just those with a bit of political awareness. The graduating class of 1970 was headed into a wide world caught in interesting times.
When we found an empty compartment and put up our trunks, Ted turned to me. "Do you really think there will be a war?"
"There already is one. I just think it will soon be an open one."
"And your family is in the wiz-Nazi camp."
"No one can choose their family," I replied curtly, a little hurt by the remark. We had not been dating for long and it was only in secret, but he should have realised that this was a sore subject for me.
"Dromeda… I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that," Ted apologised, his voice thick with guilt.
"Unfortunately, it is true." In the awkward silence, I took off my slightly damp overcoat and cuddled up to him. "How about your family?"
"My dad is a reporter. He is good with languages and Mum speaks French fluently, so it wasn't hard to persuade them to leave the country. They are supposed to move out on August 15th."
"So, I suppose once we arrive at King's Cross station, we won't meet until the 15th?"
"Actually, they want to meet you before they leave. I haven't promised them anything as I did not know—" I silenced him with a kiss.
"I will come up with some excuse. My immediate apprenticeship starts on the first of September, and the entry exams to advanced apprenticeships are on the first of March. So I should definitely be able to find a way to meet with your parents before you get them into hiding."
There was a knock on the compartment door, and I skipped over to open it.
"Anything from the trolley, dears?" asked the trolley lady.
I saw the gleam in Ted's eyes and had to smile.
"Two Butterbeers, two Pumpkin Pasties and two Chocolate Frogs, please," I said. I didn't even need to look at Ted to know what to buy. We might have been dating for only a short amount of time, but we had been good friends long before that.
I closed the doors and turned to Ted with our purchases in my hands. "Have you decided what you want to do now?" He gave me 'the cat that sees the canary' smirk; I laughed. "Yes, we will do that too, but I meant now as in after school."
"Well, seeing as how there probably won't be anyone interested in hiring me in the Wizarding world, given the current climate, I thought I'd get some papers—maybe do some exams—in the Muggle world and try my luck there."
I set our purchases on the seats opposite us while he was talking. Turning to him, I replied, "That sounds very sensible."
"I learned from the best," Ted smiled and drew me closer to him. After that, there was only Ted and the slight rocking movements of the train, which lulled us to sleep soon after we finished having a bit of fun.
When I opened my eyes again, it was to a view of the compartment's wall and Ted's satisfied face. His head was leaning on the hand-rest under the window.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty! I think we are two-thirds of the way into the ride."
I smiled at him. "So, time for a snack?" He laughed and levitated the pastries and one of the bottles of Butterbeer over to us. I, meanwhile, heaved myself up so we were once again sitting cuddled up against one another.
~~oOoooOoooOo~~End of Memory~~oOoooOoooOo~~End of Flashback~~oOoooOoooOo~~
Ted's voice brought me back to the present with, "Come on, Dromeda! We have places to be and things to do."
I blinked the memory away to find myself at a slowly emptying King's Cross Platform 9 and ¾.
"I don't want to go home tonight. It will be too silent without her there."
"Don't be silly, Dromeda. We'll make it as loud as we wish and she will be back before you know it," Ted reassured me.
I gave him a small smile, "I'll hold you to it."
