Chapter Five - Ten Minutes

A voice suddenly filled the Hogwarts Express announcing, "We will be arriving at Hogesmade Station in 10 minutes."

Alice shook awake from her nap. She had fallen asleep without realizing it. Eyes looked up and out the window of her compartment, watching numerous students pass through the hall just outside. She grumbled lightly to herself and pulled down the shade as she got up to change into her uniform and robes.

She sat down again as the train finally began to slow, only to look up again as Jamie pushed open her door, the train falling to a halt. "Come on, Alice! Don't you want to get a could carriage?" asked Jamie as she began to pull Alice from her seat.

Jamie was another one of those tall girls, strong, built for Quidditch yet not too much into house pride, or even the fact that she was a witch. Jamie had lost her brother the previous year, and that's how she met Alice.

Alice growled as Jamie pulled her up and out of the compartment. She could only be glad that Jamie was in Slytherin with her, or she might have done some serious damage. Being pulled down the halls through crowds of people, Jamie began to point out a few people she had met at Diagon Alley and other places over the summer . . along with all the boys she had a 'crush' on.

Alice gasped as they stepped outside of the train and into the cold air, Jamie still chattering away. Alice understood though, Jamie hadn't talked to a single soul since she first came to Hogwarts from Durmstrang, and now she was an outlet. "Look," Jamie whispered into Alice's ear as she pointed through the crowd toward three boys. Two rather large, rather stupid looking ones, with a smaller blonde boy standing in-between them as if they were body guards. "That's Draco Malfoy . . he's in our year."

"I know who he is," said Alice without even looking, but then she followed Jamie's finger, in the direction of the blonde boy. Eyes shot wide in disbelief. "So that's who it was!" Alice thought to herself, as she found herself frozen.

"Alice?! Alice! Come on, Alice!" Jamie exclaimed as she shook at Alice's shoulder before she began to pull her through the crowd toward to carriages.

"Huh? Oh!" Alice quickly gathered herself, mind lingering for well more than a moment as she climbed into the carriage next to her friend, shutting the door behind her.