Mulder sat there for five whole minutes, grinning at the person waving at him. Once he started waving back, Hermione gently took it away from him. "Sir? Sir, I just want my card back." He let her have it, then turned to Scully, who was wondering if the clones had drugged him by any chance. He was acting a little too strange, even for Mulder.
"That DOES it," Ron whispered. "They're not like us at all." Hermione frowned for the millionth time, while Neville was busy hoping that he hadn't done this, or else his grandmother would probably kill him. And all the kids at school would be so cruel!
Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville sat silently in the cabin after that. Mulder and Scully were silent as well, while Mulder wondered if these kids really were wizards and a witch. Could it be? Scully kept telling herself it wasn't true, that this all sounded like something out of a best-selling kids' fantasy series. No, this couldn't be true, not one bit. She sat there, in complete denial, wondering when the train would finally stop. The ride wasn't supposed to be this long.
Finally, the train did roll to a halt. "Great," Scully mumbled, while the kids clambered eagerly to the window. "We're getting off, then tomorrow, I'm going back to my nice apartment, and having a nice long bath. That is, after I get back to DC."
"I don't think we'll be doing that for a while," Mulder replied absently, causing Scully to glare at him dangerously.
Hundreds of stagecoaches greeted them outside. Mulder gazed at them in complete alarm, while Scully tried tugging him away. "Come on Mulder, we have to go."
"Was this our planned destination?" he asked. "Because I honestly think we planned this." Scully frowned as she looked around. "That's right," Mulder continued, "I didn't think so."
"No time for jokes," she muttered. "This is absolutely no time for jokes Mulder!"
"I'm NOT joking around!" he argued. The two looked at each other, Scully seething with rage. Perhaps it was PMS, Mulder decided, but this was going too far.
"Scully," he said. "Can we just get into the coaches and follow these kids? Maybe it is SOME kind of school, maybe we can find a way out of here. We could have gotten on the wrong platform somehow."
"Fine," she replied, trying to calm down. "We'll join those kids, okay?"
"Fine." The two of them made their way towards the kids. "Do you mind if we sit with you?" Mulder asked politely. Though Hermione was convinced that those two were slightly mad, she assented, getting elbowed by Ron in the mean time. Mulder and Scully sat inside the stagecoach, relieved that they would be getting somewhere. But once the coaches started moving, the same thought occurred to them at the same time. Why did the coaches seem to be moving without the help of any horses?
***************************
Scully barely paid any attention to the children's constant chatter, but gazed out of the coach, hoping that this was a dream. She could handle aliens and government conspiracies, but this was expecting too much from her. Mulder was also starting to panic a little, since this wasn't what he had expected at all. It was one thing to nearly get killed by extraterrestrials, but sitting with kids, who claimed to be magical, slightly startled him. And people called him Spooky.
The coach finally went through a pair of humongous open iron gates, the children gasping happily. "We're here!" Hermione exclaimed, with Harry suddenly showing a great amount of enthusiasm. Hogwarts was his home away from the pathetic excuse of the one that he lived in.
Mulder gazed in awe at the pillars. This seemed to be a castle of sorts. "This place is amazing," he said. Even Scully cracked a smile and agreed. It truly was a wonderful place, just like something out of those fairytales she read as a child.
"See?" Hermione whispered, poking Ron. "Either Neville just messed up big time, which I highly doubt, or they're not Muggles. They wouldn't be able to see this place, if they were!"
"Oh you and your books," he replied. "Always learning about these things."
"They are useful," she answered in a know-it-all manner.
The coach finally stopped and the kids jumped out, clutching their belongings. "Aren't you coming?" Harry asked the agents, who could only nod numbly. They stepped out gingerly, following the group, though nearly getting trampled by the large crowd of children trying to get in as well.
"The Great Hall," Hermione practically announced. She sighed happily, while the boys grinned. Suddenly, a stern looking woman with square glasses came towards them.
"Potter, Granger, Longbottom, and Weasley," she said in greeting, a surprising smile forming on her face. "Good to see you back again. Take care this year, okay?" Then she turned to Mulder and Scully, her mouth slightly open. "And you are?"
"They're some people that were on the train," Ron said helpfully. "They said they wouldn't mind meeting Professor Dumbledore."
She raised her eyebrow; almost the way Scully did it. Mulder suddenly felt like running out and never coming back. "I don't think so, but you'll get to meet him anyway. Come with me," she said briskly. The two glanced at each other and followed her, their original feeling of alarm returning to them.
****************************************
"I'm Professor McGonagall," the woman said in a rather tense voice. "Could you tell me who you are?"
"I'm Mulder, this is Scully."
"Full names."
Mulder gulped. "Fox William Mulder." The woman raised her eyebrows when he said 'Fox', but didn't do much else. She turned to Scully expectantly.
"Dana Katharine Scully."
"What are you doing at Hogwarts?"
"Frankly, we're lost," Scully said. "We were supposed to be on Platform 9 at King's Cross and we thought it was the right train. Plus we're American, so we don't really know what's going on."
The woman who had remained so calm, now had her eyes practically popping out of her head. "Really?"
"We're FBI agents," Mulder offered. "But this time, we're on vacation."
"Some vacation," Scully grumbled, but said no more.
"FBI AGENTS?" the woman boomed.
"Yes," Mulder replied, somewhat timidly. "Did we do something wrong?"
"Did anything strange happen to you?" she asked, ignoring his question.
"Well," Mulder said, his brow slightly furrowed. "There was this flash. And then we floated towards a barrier of sorts, but we didn't get hurt. Then everyone was just looking at us and…"
McGonagall stared at him incredulously, then went inside the room they were outside of. "Stay here," she commanded, then pulled the strange robes she was wearing, around her as she walked in.
"The nerve of some people," Scully said. "You'd think we did something wrong."
*****************************
"I'm Professor McGonagall," the woman said in a rather tense voice. "Could you tell me who you are?"
"Muggles?" Dumbledore inquired, a look of worry passing over his face. "This isn't good at all! How did they get in?"
"A flash Professor," she replied. "They saw a flash and floated towards the barrier to platform 9 and ¾. I personally don't understand what's going on here."
"The Ministry contacted me," he said grimly. "Neville Longbottom did something strange with his grandmother's wand when he picked it up. They've been having a hard time getting the Muggles to forget about the incident. These two must have gotten in somehow."
"But they shouldn't be able to see Hogwarts!" McGonagall protested unhappily. "What's going on?"
"Oh you know Neville," Dumbledore answered.
"How can you be so relaxed?"
"I'm not!" he replied. "But they're just Muggles."
"And we'll have to make sure they don't remember all of this," McGonagall said in complete frustration. "Things just seem to be getting worse. Last year was horrible…" She bowed her head in silence for a moment, causing Dumbledore to do the same. "Now we have Muggles IN Hogwarts. Wait till I get my hands on Longbottom."
"Don't panic Minerva," he said kindly. "We'll do something. However those two have not had a good day obviously."
"The woman's very touchy."
"I see," he said, nodding solemnly. "Well, we'll allow them to stay one night in Hogwarts, how about that? Just to relax, then we'll let them go."
"And what if they go insane after staying here?" McGonagall shook her head. "The reason we hide this place from them is because they can't accept anything different."
"Perhaps they're different," he replied. "Let's just give them the benefit of the doubt. "Maybe they'll like to sit through the Sorting Ceremony? Arrange for two places at our table, but only once you see if they can handle it. Like you said, hysterical Muggles are no help at all, and will just disrupt everything."
*************************************************
"That DOES it," Ron whispered. "They're not like us at all." Hermione frowned for the millionth time, while Neville was busy hoping that he hadn't done this, or else his grandmother would probably kill him. And all the kids at school would be so cruel!
Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville sat silently in the cabin after that. Mulder and Scully were silent as well, while Mulder wondered if these kids really were wizards and a witch. Could it be? Scully kept telling herself it wasn't true, that this all sounded like something out of a best-selling kids' fantasy series. No, this couldn't be true, not one bit. She sat there, in complete denial, wondering when the train would finally stop. The ride wasn't supposed to be this long.
Finally, the train did roll to a halt. "Great," Scully mumbled, while the kids clambered eagerly to the window. "We're getting off, then tomorrow, I'm going back to my nice apartment, and having a nice long bath. That is, after I get back to DC."
"I don't think we'll be doing that for a while," Mulder replied absently, causing Scully to glare at him dangerously.
Hundreds of stagecoaches greeted them outside. Mulder gazed at them in complete alarm, while Scully tried tugging him away. "Come on Mulder, we have to go."
"Was this our planned destination?" he asked. "Because I honestly think we planned this." Scully frowned as she looked around. "That's right," Mulder continued, "I didn't think so."
"No time for jokes," she muttered. "This is absolutely no time for jokes Mulder!"
"I'm NOT joking around!" he argued. The two looked at each other, Scully seething with rage. Perhaps it was PMS, Mulder decided, but this was going too far.
"Scully," he said. "Can we just get into the coaches and follow these kids? Maybe it is SOME kind of school, maybe we can find a way out of here. We could have gotten on the wrong platform somehow."
"Fine," she replied, trying to calm down. "We'll join those kids, okay?"
"Fine." The two of them made their way towards the kids. "Do you mind if we sit with you?" Mulder asked politely. Though Hermione was convinced that those two were slightly mad, she assented, getting elbowed by Ron in the mean time. Mulder and Scully sat inside the stagecoach, relieved that they would be getting somewhere. But once the coaches started moving, the same thought occurred to them at the same time. Why did the coaches seem to be moving without the help of any horses?
***************************
Scully barely paid any attention to the children's constant chatter, but gazed out of the coach, hoping that this was a dream. She could handle aliens and government conspiracies, but this was expecting too much from her. Mulder was also starting to panic a little, since this wasn't what he had expected at all. It was one thing to nearly get killed by extraterrestrials, but sitting with kids, who claimed to be magical, slightly startled him. And people called him Spooky.
The coach finally went through a pair of humongous open iron gates, the children gasping happily. "We're here!" Hermione exclaimed, with Harry suddenly showing a great amount of enthusiasm. Hogwarts was his home away from the pathetic excuse of the one that he lived in.
Mulder gazed in awe at the pillars. This seemed to be a castle of sorts. "This place is amazing," he said. Even Scully cracked a smile and agreed. It truly was a wonderful place, just like something out of those fairytales she read as a child.
"See?" Hermione whispered, poking Ron. "Either Neville just messed up big time, which I highly doubt, or they're not Muggles. They wouldn't be able to see this place, if they were!"
"Oh you and your books," he replied. "Always learning about these things."
"They are useful," she answered in a know-it-all manner.
The coach finally stopped and the kids jumped out, clutching their belongings. "Aren't you coming?" Harry asked the agents, who could only nod numbly. They stepped out gingerly, following the group, though nearly getting trampled by the large crowd of children trying to get in as well.
"The Great Hall," Hermione practically announced. She sighed happily, while the boys grinned. Suddenly, a stern looking woman with square glasses came towards them.
"Potter, Granger, Longbottom, and Weasley," she said in greeting, a surprising smile forming on her face. "Good to see you back again. Take care this year, okay?" Then she turned to Mulder and Scully, her mouth slightly open. "And you are?"
"They're some people that were on the train," Ron said helpfully. "They said they wouldn't mind meeting Professor Dumbledore."
She raised her eyebrow; almost the way Scully did it. Mulder suddenly felt like running out and never coming back. "I don't think so, but you'll get to meet him anyway. Come with me," she said briskly. The two glanced at each other and followed her, their original feeling of alarm returning to them.
****************************************
"I'm Professor McGonagall," the woman said in a rather tense voice. "Could you tell me who you are?"
"I'm Mulder, this is Scully."
"Full names."
Mulder gulped. "Fox William Mulder." The woman raised her eyebrows when he said 'Fox', but didn't do much else. She turned to Scully expectantly.
"Dana Katharine Scully."
"What are you doing at Hogwarts?"
"Frankly, we're lost," Scully said. "We were supposed to be on Platform 9 at King's Cross and we thought it was the right train. Plus we're American, so we don't really know what's going on."
The woman who had remained so calm, now had her eyes practically popping out of her head. "Really?"
"We're FBI agents," Mulder offered. "But this time, we're on vacation."
"Some vacation," Scully grumbled, but said no more.
"FBI AGENTS?" the woman boomed.
"Yes," Mulder replied, somewhat timidly. "Did we do something wrong?"
"Did anything strange happen to you?" she asked, ignoring his question.
"Well," Mulder said, his brow slightly furrowed. "There was this flash. And then we floated towards a barrier of sorts, but we didn't get hurt. Then everyone was just looking at us and…"
McGonagall stared at him incredulously, then went inside the room they were outside of. "Stay here," she commanded, then pulled the strange robes she was wearing, around her as she walked in.
"The nerve of some people," Scully said. "You'd think we did something wrong."
*****************************
"I'm Professor McGonagall," the woman said in a rather tense voice. "Could you tell me who you are?"
"Muggles?" Dumbledore inquired, a look of worry passing over his face. "This isn't good at all! How did they get in?"
"A flash Professor," she replied. "They saw a flash and floated towards the barrier to platform 9 and ¾. I personally don't understand what's going on here."
"The Ministry contacted me," he said grimly. "Neville Longbottom did something strange with his grandmother's wand when he picked it up. They've been having a hard time getting the Muggles to forget about the incident. These two must have gotten in somehow."
"But they shouldn't be able to see Hogwarts!" McGonagall protested unhappily. "What's going on?"
"Oh you know Neville," Dumbledore answered.
"How can you be so relaxed?"
"I'm not!" he replied. "But they're just Muggles."
"And we'll have to make sure they don't remember all of this," McGonagall said in complete frustration. "Things just seem to be getting worse. Last year was horrible…" She bowed her head in silence for a moment, causing Dumbledore to do the same. "Now we have Muggles IN Hogwarts. Wait till I get my hands on Longbottom."
"Don't panic Minerva," he said kindly. "We'll do something. However those two have not had a good day obviously."
"The woman's very touchy."
"I see," he said, nodding solemnly. "Well, we'll allow them to stay one night in Hogwarts, how about that? Just to relax, then we'll let them go."
"And what if they go insane after staying here?" McGonagall shook her head. "The reason we hide this place from them is because they can't accept anything different."
"Perhaps they're different," he replied. "Let's just give them the benefit of the doubt. "Maybe they'll like to sit through the Sorting Ceremony? Arrange for two places at our table, but only once you see if they can handle it. Like you said, hysterical Muggles are no help at all, and will just disrupt everything."
*************************************************