Meanwhile over the other part of the train Draco and Snape were sitting in
silence, although the look in their eyes spoke volumes.
"I can't believe we're on this - this - Mudblood train." Draco's voice was seething with anger and contempt. Snape made no comment, although his eyes showed that he agreed with the teenager. Draco looked around, deciding that he might aswell work out what was going on, so he had some kind of ammunition for later when he spoke to his father.
"Would you be so kind," Snape said, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he looked at Heather nastily. "To explain what on earth you think you are doing? Let me assure you, that were you at Hogwarts and in my house, you would be expelled straight away!"
"Well, we're not." Heather said, reasonably calm, although Anna could see that she was shaking. Gemma was still staring at Wood, so she couldn't notice much.
"Yes. Well. Will you explain?" Snape snapped, after a moment or two's worth of mental deliberation. Heather nodded.
"You have no magic, and no Muggle money, it wouldn't be fair just to leave you all stranded at the station alone, so we're goin' to look after you until Dumbledore or someone finds you." She explained. Snape pulled an elaborate expression of disgust.
"You mean to say that we have to reside with you Muggles?" he questioned, sounding like someone had told him he was to run around the Whomping Willow wearing nothing but lurid pink bloomers, singing the Harry Potter National Anthem. Heather sighed.
"Yes." She said coldly. She was already sick and tired of him - why on earth had she offered to take Snape and Malfoy?! "You and Malfoy are to live with me, Wood and Hermione, you're living with Gemma, Ron and Harry are living with Anna. We all live reasonably close together, so we'll be able to see each other and stuff." She said, seeing the worried look on Ron's face. He grinned, and Heather nodded at Harry, Wood and Hermione.
"So it is all settled?" Snape's voice was again sarcastic. "I suppose we have no say in this matter at all?"
"No." Heather said shortly, turning her back on him and Malfoy to face Anna and Gemma again.
"Heather!" Anna whispered. "I can't believe you just cheeked Snape!"
"Yeah I know." Heather said glumly. "And I have to live with him!" she grinned ruefully, then smiled happily as Ron grinned at her.
"Nice one with Snape!" he said. "He's just a git, and he can't turn you into anything coz he doesn't have his magic!"
"Yeah, but I'm sure he can still poison me, given the right materials." Heather grinned. Ron shook his head, though he looked a little doubtful. "Okay." Heather said, looking at Gemma and waving her hand in front of her face.
"Huh?" Gemma grinned. "Hi."
"Yeah, hi." Heather chuckled. "Right, we have to work out what the story is. I'm gonna have to explain to my mother why I've got a full grown man and a fourteen year-old boy in my room!"
"Your room?!" Draco practically screeched, getting a few funny looks from the other occupants of the carriage. They had already been stared at almost constantly by one man, who seemed to find it amazing that they were all wearing robes, save the three Muggle girls.
"Yes Malfoy, my room." Heather said, managing to keep herself calm again, even though her heart was playing the eighteen twelve overture. "Unless you plan to sleep out in the shed?" she added sweetly. Malfoy gave her a filthy look and sat back in his seat, regaining his homicidal air. Heather sighed. "This ain't gonna be easy." She commented to Gemma, who nodded.
"I know." She sighed. "What're you gonna say to your mum?"
"Well." Heather sighed aswell. "She was looking for a lodger, for upstairs, y'know? But if Snape stays as Muggle-hating as he is now, I've got no chance! And she won't let two people live up there. Maybe I should try being really polite to Snape, and see what happens.?" she laughed slightly and sat back in her seat, pulling out some ancient-looking headphones and putting them on. Soon the strains of Queen rang from her ears where the volume was so loud. She smiled and shut her eyes.
"Wow. What's that?" Ron asked Anna, staring in amazement at the headphones as Bohemian Rhapsody blasted out. Anna smiled.
"They're headphones, you listen to music with them." she explained. Ron's eyes went wide.
"Wow." he repeated. Anna shook her head with a grin. Hermione looked up at the noise.
"Need she have them so loud?"
"She's deaf in one ear."
"Yes, I can hear that."
"No, I mean literally."
"Oh!" Hermione looked interested. Gemma smiled at her, and she smiled back.
"So you go to a Muggle school?" Hermione questioned, wriggling around the table so she could sit nearer to Gemma. The teenager nodded.
"I'm in year nine." She said. Hermione looked interested again.
"So, how old would that make you?"
"Fourteen." Gemma said. Hermione nodded.
"The same year as me." She smiled. Gemma nodded back.
"Yeah, but our years are so much more dull than yours." She said without thinking. "We don't do Astrology or anything interesting, we do maths, and science, and things like that. Really boring."
"Well, not really." Hermione got a look in her eyes. "Maths can be really interesting! I learned about it in Muggle Studies.!"
Anna looked between Gemma and Hermione as they started a long conversation about the differences between Arithmancy and mathematics, and which is better. She shivered slightly as a cold draft shot past her.
"Tickets please." A cheerful looking man had opened the compartment door and was smiling around at the odd group. Heather swallowed; they had no tickets for the wizards. She suddenly had a brainwave; she had idly picked up a few of the blank tickets from the station floor as the others were talking.
"I'm afraid there was a bit of a mix-up at King's Cross." She said politely, taking out the blank tickets. "We had to catch our train, and the ticket machine didn't print our tickets properly." She held out the tickets she had picked up. The man looked at her carefully, but Heather was an actress, and she held her perfectly innocent gaze, backed up by innocent looks from Anna and Gemma either side of her, and he nodded.
"Right. I'll have to get that sorted." He said slowly. "So you did pay?"
"Of course!" Heather's eyes went wide. "It's a day out for us all! It cost us an awful lot."
"Alright Heather, don't overdo it." Gemma muttered, but the aging ticket collector seemed to think Heather was a cute kid.
"Well, if you paid." he printed out some more tickets for them. "Here you are love. Be more careful next time, and speak to an official at the station if it happens again."
"I will." Heather nodded, her eyes still wide and innocent. The man smiled at her and moved down the carriage.
"Tickets please."
"Heather you're a genius!" Anna hugged her friend, starting to laugh.
"I can't believe you!" Gemma shook her head. "You're so- so-!"
"Sickly sweet." Harry pulled a face. "I haven't seen acting that good since Mrs Figg couldn't look after me and I had to go to Dudley's birthday outing." he shook his head like Gemma. Heather went red.
"Yeah, well." She dropped the 'cute kid' act and grinned. "All over."
"I can't believe we're on this - this - Mudblood train." Draco's voice was seething with anger and contempt. Snape made no comment, although his eyes showed that he agreed with the teenager. Draco looked around, deciding that he might aswell work out what was going on, so he had some kind of ammunition for later when he spoke to his father.
"Would you be so kind," Snape said, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he looked at Heather nastily. "To explain what on earth you think you are doing? Let me assure you, that were you at Hogwarts and in my house, you would be expelled straight away!"
"Well, we're not." Heather said, reasonably calm, although Anna could see that she was shaking. Gemma was still staring at Wood, so she couldn't notice much.
"Yes. Well. Will you explain?" Snape snapped, after a moment or two's worth of mental deliberation. Heather nodded.
"You have no magic, and no Muggle money, it wouldn't be fair just to leave you all stranded at the station alone, so we're goin' to look after you until Dumbledore or someone finds you." She explained. Snape pulled an elaborate expression of disgust.
"You mean to say that we have to reside with you Muggles?" he questioned, sounding like someone had told him he was to run around the Whomping Willow wearing nothing but lurid pink bloomers, singing the Harry Potter National Anthem. Heather sighed.
"Yes." She said coldly. She was already sick and tired of him - why on earth had she offered to take Snape and Malfoy?! "You and Malfoy are to live with me, Wood and Hermione, you're living with Gemma, Ron and Harry are living with Anna. We all live reasonably close together, so we'll be able to see each other and stuff." She said, seeing the worried look on Ron's face. He grinned, and Heather nodded at Harry, Wood and Hermione.
"So it is all settled?" Snape's voice was again sarcastic. "I suppose we have no say in this matter at all?"
"No." Heather said shortly, turning her back on him and Malfoy to face Anna and Gemma again.
"Heather!" Anna whispered. "I can't believe you just cheeked Snape!"
"Yeah I know." Heather said glumly. "And I have to live with him!" she grinned ruefully, then smiled happily as Ron grinned at her.
"Nice one with Snape!" he said. "He's just a git, and he can't turn you into anything coz he doesn't have his magic!"
"Yeah, but I'm sure he can still poison me, given the right materials." Heather grinned. Ron shook his head, though he looked a little doubtful. "Okay." Heather said, looking at Gemma and waving her hand in front of her face.
"Huh?" Gemma grinned. "Hi."
"Yeah, hi." Heather chuckled. "Right, we have to work out what the story is. I'm gonna have to explain to my mother why I've got a full grown man and a fourteen year-old boy in my room!"
"Your room?!" Draco practically screeched, getting a few funny looks from the other occupants of the carriage. They had already been stared at almost constantly by one man, who seemed to find it amazing that they were all wearing robes, save the three Muggle girls.
"Yes Malfoy, my room." Heather said, managing to keep herself calm again, even though her heart was playing the eighteen twelve overture. "Unless you plan to sleep out in the shed?" she added sweetly. Malfoy gave her a filthy look and sat back in his seat, regaining his homicidal air. Heather sighed. "This ain't gonna be easy." She commented to Gemma, who nodded.
"I know." She sighed. "What're you gonna say to your mum?"
"Well." Heather sighed aswell. "She was looking for a lodger, for upstairs, y'know? But if Snape stays as Muggle-hating as he is now, I've got no chance! And she won't let two people live up there. Maybe I should try being really polite to Snape, and see what happens.?" she laughed slightly and sat back in her seat, pulling out some ancient-looking headphones and putting them on. Soon the strains of Queen rang from her ears where the volume was so loud. She smiled and shut her eyes.
"Wow. What's that?" Ron asked Anna, staring in amazement at the headphones as Bohemian Rhapsody blasted out. Anna smiled.
"They're headphones, you listen to music with them." she explained. Ron's eyes went wide.
"Wow." he repeated. Anna shook her head with a grin. Hermione looked up at the noise.
"Need she have them so loud?"
"She's deaf in one ear."
"Yes, I can hear that."
"No, I mean literally."
"Oh!" Hermione looked interested. Gemma smiled at her, and she smiled back.
"So you go to a Muggle school?" Hermione questioned, wriggling around the table so she could sit nearer to Gemma. The teenager nodded.
"I'm in year nine." She said. Hermione looked interested again.
"So, how old would that make you?"
"Fourteen." Gemma said. Hermione nodded.
"The same year as me." She smiled. Gemma nodded back.
"Yeah, but our years are so much more dull than yours." She said without thinking. "We don't do Astrology or anything interesting, we do maths, and science, and things like that. Really boring."
"Well, not really." Hermione got a look in her eyes. "Maths can be really interesting! I learned about it in Muggle Studies.!"
Anna looked between Gemma and Hermione as they started a long conversation about the differences between Arithmancy and mathematics, and which is better. She shivered slightly as a cold draft shot past her.
"Tickets please." A cheerful looking man had opened the compartment door and was smiling around at the odd group. Heather swallowed; they had no tickets for the wizards. She suddenly had a brainwave; she had idly picked up a few of the blank tickets from the station floor as the others were talking.
"I'm afraid there was a bit of a mix-up at King's Cross." She said politely, taking out the blank tickets. "We had to catch our train, and the ticket machine didn't print our tickets properly." She held out the tickets she had picked up. The man looked at her carefully, but Heather was an actress, and she held her perfectly innocent gaze, backed up by innocent looks from Anna and Gemma either side of her, and he nodded.
"Right. I'll have to get that sorted." He said slowly. "So you did pay?"
"Of course!" Heather's eyes went wide. "It's a day out for us all! It cost us an awful lot."
"Alright Heather, don't overdo it." Gemma muttered, but the aging ticket collector seemed to think Heather was a cute kid.
"Well, if you paid." he printed out some more tickets for them. "Here you are love. Be more careful next time, and speak to an official at the station if it happens again."
"I will." Heather nodded, her eyes still wide and innocent. The man smiled at her and moved down the carriage.
"Tickets please."
"Heather you're a genius!" Anna hugged her friend, starting to laugh.
"I can't believe you!" Gemma shook her head. "You're so- so-!"
"Sickly sweet." Harry pulled a face. "I haven't seen acting that good since Mrs Figg couldn't look after me and I had to go to Dudley's birthday outing." he shook his head like Gemma. Heather went red.
"Yeah, well." She dropped the 'cute kid' act and grinned. "All over."