CHAPTER 9: TRAIN OF THOUGHT

The Fowl men decided to fly to England, board a train, and head the rest of the way to London by train. Beckett looked like a canary among ravens, sitting with his father and brothers. He and Myles have never been to Great Britain before, but his father and Artemis have.

Beckett stared out the windows. He and Myles sat next to each other, with Beckett in the window seat. Artemis sat across from him, and their father was across from Myles.

"…they say he's gone now, so perhaps it really is safe," Beckett tuned in to reality to find he had missed out on something his father said!

"Wait!" he exclaimed, "I wasn't listening."

"That's your fault, Beck," Myles scolded him. "Don't worry, though, cuz I'll fill you in later." He lightly elbowed Beckett in the ribs. "It was super interesting, too!"

"I hope you pay better attention than that in my class, Beckett," Artemis frowned at him.

"We never do," Myles stuck out his tongue.

"Yeah, we don't," Beckett did the same.

"Boys," their father commanded their attention just by his voice, "respect your brother from now on. Once you all leave home, his authority is mine."

"Yes, dad," the twins agreed submissively.

He had charisma, and hearts rose and fell with his own. With a single gesture, he could send a room into ringing laughter or sobered silence. Myles and Beckett only knew about their family's history from what their brother told them…but Beckett felt like there was something they were never told about their family. No matter how much they grilled Artemis, he never told them much about their parents' pasts from before their dad went missing.

"…to Ollivanders for wands," Beckett missed his father's speeches again!

"Psst," he whispered to Myles, too embarrassed to let the others know he zoned out again, "What did he say?"

"Excuse me," Myles raised a hand, blushing slightly, "this time, I wasn't listening."

This time, their brother and father both sighed, but neither one seemed too upset.

"I understood, Father," Professor Fowl said comfortingly, "and the map you gave me will be most helpful."

"I know, Junior, but I'd better tell them again, just in case," their dad turned in his seat to face them more directly. He leaned forwards, resting his elbows on his knees—one real, one prosthetic. His dark blue eyes were serious as death. There was a moment of silence…

"One, two, three, eyes on me," he said while keeping a straight face. The twins couldn't help laughing, but their brother just lifted an eyebrow, clearly thinking such behavior was beneath a Fowl man. Noticing the latter's reaction, Myles cleared his throat and straightened his back, now wearing a more sophisticated face. "Really, though, this is what we're doing," Their dad seemed not to notice Myles' sudden shift. "First, we're heading to Gringott's—an ultra-security bank…not even the most skilled criminal should think of robbing it." He gave a sideways glance at Artemis when he said that, even though the Fowls have been clean for longer than Myles and Beckett have been alive. Artemis was just gazing out the window absently. "There, we'll make a withdrawal and a deposit.

"Next, you two will accompany me through Diagon Alley to buy all your supplies, except for what your mother's getting while she's in Asia. Your brother already knows where he needs to go for his own things, so I'll let him handle that himself. He'll meet us in Ollivanders, where we'll be getting your wands. Got all that?"

"Um…" Beckett was a bit confused with all this information.

"Sure thi—I mean, yes, Dad," Myles always looked up to their brother, but lately he was trying to be a little more like him. This worried Beckett—one bossy stick in the mud was bad enough (though he did like sticks and mud)!

Soon enough, the train pulled into the station in London. As they got off the train, Myles leaned over and whispered to Beckett.

"Don't worry if you're confused. Just follow me and Dad."

Beckett nodded absently, his mind in a million places at once.

It's this story turn to get updated! Yippee! Here, I decided to devote a chapter to some Beckett time! He strikes me as the kind of person whose attention wanders often, and this basically acquaints us with his mind a little more.

Note to self: Be careful when referring to both Artemises (Artemi?) at once.

NEWS: I actually borrowed the first Harry Potter book from the library just for the sake of writing fanfiction. I figured, if I'm going to use the Harry Potter universe so much, I might as well read the books instead of relying on the Internet and my memory of the movies. THIS IS FOR YOU 3 (by the way, my favorite book character is Mrs. Figg).

I was texting some friends my commentary during the first couple of chapters. Shall I write it down for you, as well?

You know what…I think I will! I can literally type prominent thoughts as I read the story and, without context, put them in a separate "story".

Is that allowed?

I'll look into it.

I do not own Harry Potter. I also do not own Artemis Fowl.

READERS: Do you prefer Rowling's Mrs. Figg, Colfer's random waitress Artemis terrified once, or my own Dana Dandy? All are random blip characters, but which is your favorite random blip character? Honestly, Dandy was kind of molded to fit with Colfer's flavor, but oh, well.