Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl. Chapter South for Christmas!

DISCLAIMER: Daria is the creation of Glen Eichler and is the property of MTV Viacom. Harry Potter is the creation of JK Rowling and is the property of JK Rowling, Wizarding World, and Warner Brothers. I own neither franchise and neither expect nor deserve any financial gain for this work of fiction.

I do appreciate positive reviews.

Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl* Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl* Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl

Daria and the other First-year Ravenclaw girls in her dorm were out of the tower and waiting to catch the carriages for the Hogsmeade station by 9:30. Daria had a nervous moment when she thought that she hadn't packed her passport, credit cards, and other IDs, but after checking her purse, she realized that she hadn't. The girls had to wait a bit for their carriages, but they were on the train less than an hour later. The trip to Hogsmeade station was like something out of some nineteenth century romance, howbeit with certain differences: Daria could see the Thestrals pulling the sleighs across the lake even if the other girls couldn't. Once they got to the train, Daria, Anahita, Dahlia, Violet, Majda and Cynthia found a compartment and claimed it. With Dahlia's help, Daria put her smaller bag onto the overhead luggage rack.

"Ready to go?" asked Anahita.

"Not quite yet," said Daria, standing up and taking her camera out of its case. I should have taken more pictures this term, she told herself reproachfully. "I'll be back. I want to go take a couple of pictures of the locomotive." She told herself that she was taking the photo for Dad and Mr. Fink-Nottle, but she secretly acknowledged to herself that she was taking them for herself. She stepped back out onto the platform and tested her footing. To her relief, the platform wasn't as dangerous and slippery as she thought it might be: someone had sprinkled sand on it.

To Daria's bemusement, she wasn't the only railway enthusiast taking pictures: so were a couple of boys. She recognized Cuthbert but didn't recognize the other one. It was hard to get a good picture of the locomotive: it was mostly shrouded in steam and the light snowfall covered most of the rest. Daria shot a few pictures and hoped that they'd work out. After she took them, she started walking back to her compartment. A leather-lunged Prefect's call of "Five minutes!" inspired Daria to step back onto the train and make her way down the carriages' corridors to her compartment instead of using the station platform. A toot of the whistle, and the Hogwarts Express began moving.

Excited, Daria?" said Anahita.

"I am," said Daria.

"Also, this is the first time I've seen this part of the train ride in daylight."

The train ambled slowly past the shoreline opposite the Castle. Cloudy and snowy it might have been, but this part was like traveling through a winter wonderland. Daria got a brief, fleeting view of Hogwarts Castle and the long lake, then the train tracks plunged into a thick forest of trees.

"Sorry," she said.

"Seriously, I'm looking forward to visiting your family," she said to Anahita, ignoring that tiny bit of apprehension. Would they like her? Would they welcome her in? Would they kick her out if she accidentally offended them?

"Have you ever been inside a wizarding house before?" asked Dahlia.

Daria stopped to think about it and realized that she had. "Once," she said. "I went to Mrs. Johnson's last New Year's Eve."

"I thought you took potions at that Mrs. Ocampo's house," said Violet.

"Not really," said Daria. "Our classes met in a building she had out in the back of her property. It had air-conditioning and she'd set it up as a lab and a classroom. I never actually went into her house."

"So it's just one so far," said Dahlia.

"Not counting Hagrid's cabin," said Daria.

-(((O-O)))—

Everyone in the compartment looked forward to the holidays. Most of the girls were either going home or visiting magical households. Majda was the exception: she, like Daria, was Muggle-raised. The only fly in the ointment was that they'd been assigned homework and would have to write essays while on break.

The views out the window continued to be inspiring, despite the clouds and the snow. The train rolled down an embankment paralleling a lake for several miles, cut through a short tunnel, then crossed a curved stone bridge before ducking into another stand of trees.

The train left the Highlands a couple of hours later, speeding up as it left the curves and steep grades behind it. The Trolley Lady came by with snacks: hard and soft candies, pumpkin juice and, Thank God, bottled water. Daria thought briefly about diabetics and wondered how they dealt with these circumstances. That didn't stop her from giving in to her sweet tooth and got a couple of Chocolate Frogs.. She wasn't a collector like the other kids, but she was sure that some of her contemporaries would love to see them. So would Veronica, for that matter.

She imagined the conversation she'd have when she got back to Highland.

"So where's the chocolate frog?" said Veronica.

"I ate it," she'd reply.

A short time later they began to see signs of Muggle technology and the Muggle world they'd left behind back in early September: metal sheds here, a farm tractor there, several automobiles, a power line. It had stopped snowing, the snow was replaced by cold drizzle even as the snow cover began to recede, retreating into shady areas. It was still cold. Daria guessed that the temperature must be in somewhere between the mid-forties to mid-thirties.

About an hour later the train slowed down and came to a halt. It was now dusk and rapidly growing dark.

"What happened?" said Cynthia.

"I don't know," Daria replied. "I bet someone else does." Cuthbert had told her that a few of the Muggleborn and some of the Half-Bloods came from railwaymen's families, and that a couple of the school's alumni tried to recruit retired railwaymen as volunteers to keep the Express running. She wondered if any of those students knew about keeping trains moving.

She looked out the window. The train had stopped—somewhere.

"Would you guys mind if I opened a window?" said Daria.

"Make it quick," said Violet. "It's freezing out there."

Daria opened the window and quickly looked in both directions. She wasn't the only person who'd done it; so had a couple of other girls and guys.

"Brrr!" said Violet. "It's freezing!" Daria closed the window.

"Now what did you see?" said Violet.

"We seem to be near some small Muggle town about a quarter-mile from some station or other," said Daria.

"A big one?" said Violet.

Daria was about to say no when the girls' speculations were interrupted by a school prefect walking up and down the corridors and shouting "Everyone is to stay on-board! No one is allowed to get off the train! Everyone is to stay on-board!"

The train remained stationary. Daria hoped that whatever the problem was, it was something minor. She did not want to go looking for a floo or a loo in the cold and dark in some British equivalent of Tuna, Texas.

"So what do we do?" said Dahlia.

"Let's play Snap," said Violet. "Who's in?"

The girls had just finished playing a game when the locomotive blew its whistle and the train began moving again. The train rolled past a small station with a station name and a sign advertising the something and something Valley Tourist Railway. Daria made a note to herself to ask Mr. Fink-Nottle what line the station was on.

"It looks like they fixed whatever it was," said Violet.

"So it does," said Majda.

Violet pushed up her sleeve and looked at her wrist-watch.

"We'll be late, but only by thirty minutes," she said.

Don't tempt Murphy, Daria thought but didn't say. She made the sign to ward off the Evil Eye, which she'd learned from other kids was supposed to ward off Murphy, too, although she doubted its effectiveness.

There were no further incidents. The sun had set and the twilight was fast fading into darkness. One by one, the girls slowly dozed off.

She was awakened by prefects walking up and down the train saying "King's Cross station in fifteen minutes! King's Cross in fifteen minutes! Gather up your things and be prepared to leave the train!"

The girls burst into a flurry of activity, putting things they'd taken out for the ride down to London back in their suitcases and carry-on bags. Daria tried to remember where her suitcase was, then remembered that she'd handed it to a porter when she got on. She'd have to look for it when she got off.

Daria looked out the window. They must be approaching King's Cross station: Daria could see other train tracks and newer Muggle railway consists going past them on other tracks. She wondered how the Wizards managed to keep the Hogwarts Express from colliding with one of the other trains. Charms? Or did the Wizards have people on the signaling staff quietly letting the Express slip through without notice? Dara suspected that it was the latter. Whatever the case, someone did a masterful job. The Express rolled under the overhead canopy that covered the tracks and station platform, then came to a stop.

They had arrived in London.

-(((O-O)))—

The public-address system came on again as the Hogwarts Express halted beside the station platform. "The Train has arrived at King's Cross Station. The Train has arrived at King's Cross Station. Gather up your things and prepare to debark at the station! Do not leave anything behind!"

Daria and the other girls in her compartment began putting on outer clothes and gathering up their things. Nobody had pets yet: Violet was thinking about buying an owl but her parents hadn't given her permission. Daria pursed her lips together: owl cages would certainly make their compartment seem more crowded.

Daria looked out the window. She could see the crowd of expectant parents gathered to welcome their children home from school. The carriage doors opened and her fellow students began to get off the train.

"Let's wait a little bit," said Violet. "We won't get so battered if the crowd thins out first." The girls waited a few minutes as compartments emptied and students made their way through the corridor to the doors in the vestibules.

"Now go," said Violet. Majda, the girl closest to the compartment's interior windows, opened the door. The girls picked up their carry-on luggage and started making their way to the platform. "And if I don't see you before you pop away, have a good holiday!" said Violet. "Merry Christmas!"

"You, too! Merry Christmas!" the other girls echoed.

Despite the fact that there wasn't any snow on the ground here, Daria could tell that it was definitely winter. It was already chilly in the compartment and even colder on the platform. Not freezing, but definitely uncomfortable. Daria stayed close to Anahita; the girls would be looking for their luggage on the platform as well as for their parents.

The crowd of parents and returning students had begun to thin out as Daria followed Anahita onto the platform. Anahita started scanning the faces of the adults on the platform and upon spotting Mr. Waring, yelled "Dad!", "Mum!"

Anahita dashed towards the swarthy man wearing the fur har standing next to a tall, light-skinned woman wearing a wizarding-style overcoat. "Anahita!" said Mr. Waring. "My baby!" said a woman Daria recognized as Mrs. Waring from Anahita's photographs. Daria hung back, letting the Warings exchange hugs.

"Ah! And Daria!" said Mr. Waring. "Good to see you again! I'm glad you could join us this holiday!"

"Thank you for the invitation, sir," said Daria. "I was afraid that I was going to be rattling around the Castle all by myself until Spring Term started." She thought about telling them about the Fink-Nottles but decided that they didn't need to know. Besides, it looked like the Fink-Nottles might let her visit them during the Easter break.

"So now that we're all gathered together, shall we do something about your luggage?" said Mr. Warning.

"Oh, yes," said Anahita.

Together, they walked the platform in search of the girls' luggage. The crowd had already thinned considerably and it didn't take long for them to find Daria's and Anahita's suitcases. The Warings gathered Daria's and Anahita's luggage and placed them on a luggage trolley.

"Next stop, the Floo!" said Mr. Waring.

"Uh, Mister Waring," said Daria. "Could we stop by a pay phone before we floo away? I'd like to call my parents and tell them I'm all right. I haven't spoken to either one of them since September 1st."

"Are you sure you want to call them right now?" said Mr. Waring. "There's a time-difference, you know. I don't think that your Dad and Mum would appreciate being called half past three in the morning."

"Actually it would be half past three in the afternoon," said Daria. "It's earlier in Texas."

"Is it really?" said Mr. Waring. He looked thoughtful, then said "You're right. I'll have to remember that."

"Anthea?" he said, turning to Mrs. Waring.

"I think we can spare the time," said Mrs. Waring.

"To the phones, then!" said Mr. Waring, as if they were about to set off on some great adventure. Mrs. Waring made a look of fond amusement.

Together, Daria and the Warings stepped through the barrier and emerged into a crowd of Muggles that had just detrained from a train on Track Nine.

"Now where do you think that the pay phones would be, Daria?" asked Mr. Waring. "I haven't the foggiest."

"Up past the head end," said Daria. "Thataway," she added, pointing. "I guess we follow the flow."

Together, the Waring family and their guest followed the crowd of weary Muggle travelers and lingering wizarding families past the track bumpers and the parked trainsets.

Mr. Waring watched with amusement as the American practically pounced on a uniformed Muggle and got him to divulge the location of the pay telephones. The Muggle pointed in a certain direction, told her good luck, then wished her a Merry Christmas.

The American girl thanked him, and then started walking towards the station concourse. The Warings followed just behind her. Mrs. Waring gave him a look. He shrugged. "She looks like she knows what she's doing," he said.

A little later, Daria turned around and said "I guess those are them over there."

Mr. Waring smiled. He'd already noted that the American girl tended to speak correct, if American-accented English and rarely let her local patois come out. The girl must be more stressed than she let on.

The phones were a bank of what looked like yellow plastic spheres set on metal posts about three feet off the ground. One of their sides had been partially hollowed out to house the telephone apparatus itself to allow what Mr. Waring thought was a less-than-satisfactory amount of privacy. The girl dug into her wallet and extracted a small spiral notepad and a plastic card, then inserted a couple of Muggle coins into a coin slot on the apparatus.

A short time later, then girl spoke to some person on the telephone and said that she'd like to make an international telephone call to the United States, then rattled off a couple of series of numbers, one of which Mr. Waring recognized as a telephone number, then another number that must have been printed on the plastic card she was holding. She finally gave a month and a date at least two years ahead of the present, then put her hand over the lower part of the telephone receiver and muttered "About damn time."

The girl waited, then spoke.

"Hello, Lucy Ann, this is Daria. Is my Mom available?" she said.

"Yes, it's me," she said. "I'm calling from London."

This Lucy Ann must have said something, because Daria said "OK, I'll wait."

"Hi, Mom!" she said.

"Yes, it's me," she said.

"No, I'm at the train station in London" said Daria. "I thought I ought to give you all a call to let you know that I'm OK."

"I thought I'd better call you now. The Warings are rugged individualists and I don't think they have a phone," she continued. "I thought I'd check in before I move on."

"I had a great time," she said. Mr. Waring thought she sounded surprised to admit it. "It's an old and sometimes creaky castle, but it's a lot more fun than Pa Ferguson Elementary, and I like some of my teachers. I learned a lot "

"Yes, I also made some new friends. I particularly like the girls in my dorm room. I particularly like Dahlia and Anahita but all my roommates are cool."

"I'm glad to take a break. I'm grateful to the Warings for inviting me over to their house for the Christmas holidays. I like the castle, but I really appreciate the chance to get away from school for a few days."

"How's Dad, Quinn, and Ronnie?" said Daria. Mr. Waring had heard that Daria had two sisters.

"He has?" said Daria. "Good for him! I hope he enjoys it." She laughed. "Maybe we won't have to eat so many TV dinners."

"Good for Quinn, I'm glad she's enjoying it." Said Daria.

"I'm not surprised anymore," said Daria. "I'm beginning to think that June Bug is a maniac."

"Oh, they're here," said Daria.

"Well, could you give Dad, Quinn, and Ronnie my love and tell them that I miss them and hope that they're doing OK?" said Daria.

"OK," she said.

Daria turned to Mr. Waring and extended the telephone receiver. "It's my Mom," she said. "She wants to talk to you."

Mordred took the receiver from Daria and said "Hello? This is Mordred Waring. Are you Madam Morgendorffer?"

"A pleasure to speak with you, Madam," he said.

"Yes, we agreed to have your daughter over for the holidays," he said. "We're looking forward to her company."

"My daughter says that your daughter is an interesting person," he said. "Anahita's also a good judge of character."

"I do this and that. I am currently working in real estate," said Mr. Waring.

"I've heard that you're a lawyer," said Mr. Waring. "Extraordinary!"

"Are you a solicitor or more of a barrister?" said Mr. Waring.

"I see! A trial lawyer!" said Mr. Waring.

"And Mr. Morgendorffer, what does he do?" he said.

"Well, things need to be distributed and the distribution needs to be managed," he said. "Is he a manager just for Texas or does he do the whole country?"

"I see," said Mr. Waring. "Just for West Texas."

"Your pardon, Madam. I didn't know that it was so big," he said apologetically.

"And of your other daughters, are they?" he said.

"Ah. I see," he said.

"We don't have a telephone, but there is one within walking distance and we can floo out in an emergency," he said.

"All right," he said. "Here is my wife Anthea." He handed the telephone to Mrs. Waring.

"Hello, Mrs. Morgendorffer?" said Anthea.

"A pleasure to speak with you," said Anthea.

"I'm looking forward to hosting your daughter," said Anthea.

"I won't ask you what you and your husband do for a living," said Anthea. "I overheard Mordred's half of your conversation."

"So you are an attorney? I'm impressed."

"I'm an amateur botanist," said Anthea. "It's a passion of mine. I'm working on breeding useful plants."

"I wouldn't mind making some galleons from my research," she added. "We'll see if they work out."

"Anahita's not our only child; she has a younger sister named Dana. Mordred and I have an older nephew who recently graduated," she said.

"You have how many?"

"Three?" said Anthea. "I'm sure they're all lovely."

"Anyhow, we're looking forward to a happy holiday and will head home shortly. Our best to you, Mr. Morgendorffer, and your other daughters," said Anthea.

"Merry Christmas and good-bye." Anthea hung up the receiver.

"Interesting woman," she said. "Let's be off now."

Author's Notes

My outside interest as a railway enthusiast caused me to slightly modify the canon route of the Hogwarts Express in this chapter. Supposedly the Express changed from its original routing sometime in the late 1960's to early 1970's, taking advantage of British Railway's abandonments of certain lines to cut the length of time Hogwarts students spend aboard the train.

The idea of the Hogwarts Express now dipping into and out of the Muggle world is meant as a gift to other Harry Potter friends and family, particularly those model railway enthusiasts who don't have the space or inclination to allow either Hogwarts Castle or King's Cross station to overwhelm their set-ups.