Chapter Five: Leaving for Hogwarts
AU & Disclaimer: Oh why do I keep writing disclaimer? You all know what belongs to who. So if you want to sue, just look at the first chapter. Muahaha. So, here we are, at a point of nowhere. Just keep r/r, k? Thnx!
When Annis finally finished shopping for her school supplies, she ran upstairs to her bedroom and gratefully flopped onto the bed. Her feet were aching after hours of walking and shopping. Meanwhile, Aunt Margaret was writing back to Hogwarts with Annis' acception. Well, Annis never did actually /i, but Aunt Margaret did anyway.
"Annis!" Aunt Margaret called from downstairs, "come down! I need to explain some things!" Just great, Annis thought as she made herself get up from the warm bed, more explaining. She climbed down the stairs and found Aunt Margaret sitting on the sofa and wringing her hands.
Frowning slightly, Annis joined her on the sofa. Aunt Margaret didn't exactly have a worried expression, but Annis sensed it anyway.
"Now, this isn't bad at all, Annis," Aunt Margaret said, "But you need to know. Now, about Hogwarts..." she trailed off. However when she started to speak again, Annis cut her off.
"What, is the school nearby? Haha, are you driving me? Or what?" she asked jokingly, but noticed that Aunt Margaret had that serious expression on her face again. How Annis hated that serious face. It always made her feel like a fool when she mistook it for amusement.
Sitting stiffly, Aunt Margaret answered, "Not exactly. I /u be driving you to King's Cross Station, in which you will take the train, the Hogwarts Express, to Hogwarts. Now, it isn't exactly close to home..." Annis raised an eyebrow. So?, she thought, big deal. Obviously not.
"Since Hogwarts is quite a ways away, you and I will be separated. Which will make you vulnurable to Grindelwald." she emphasized the name Grindelwald, meaning that Annis, and Aunt Margaret, will be in danger.
Annis realized this, and gaped.
Swallowing that fact, she mumbled, "Surely you will be able to visit? Or live temporarily close by? Or something?" What will happen if Annis loses her dear aunt? Sure, she was annoying and strict, but she was still her aunt. Aunt Margaret's lips slowly formed a slow sad smile as she sadly shook her head.
"The Ministry of Magic has promised security but everyone knows they're a bunch of dunderheads," she said, shaking her head in disgust, "so I want you alert every moment of the day. I know there will be teachers looking out for you, but still." Annis nodded silently. It was clear. By going to Hogwarts, she would be putting both Aunt Margaret and herself in danger.
Annis sighed, and slumped against the sofa. Danger was sure to rear its ugly head, no matter what.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
September 1st had come. Annis had her supplies packed and her wand pocketed. She just knew that trouble was going to lurk nearby. She /i knew. However this day was not the day to be gloomy. When Aunt Margaret and Annis arrived at King's Cross, there were tons of wizard families, watching and wishing their children going to school good luck, excitment and the parents' resentment to let go of their children filled the air.
"Remember Annis, be aware," Aunt Margaret had warned her. "You do have your ticket, right?" Annis nodded. They had bought it a few days ago, but Annis had been hesitant when paying the kind lady at the window.
After Annis hauled her trunks onto the luggage cart, Aunt Margaret had left to go to work. After all, she DID have to make money, right? Annis then glanced at her ticket. Platform 9 3/4. i9 3/4??/i There was no such platform, Annis thought as she pulled the cart aimlessly.
She followed a family with children pulling their own carts. Annis watched with awe as one child after another ran into a wall between the platforms 9 and 10. Amazingly, they did not crash, but instead, they went right through the wall! Gulping, she pushed her cart toward the wall. No questions asked. Closing her eyes, she picked up her speed and lunged for the wall. However, instead of crashing into it, she went through it as well.
Wow, Annis thought, as she opened her eyes again and saw Platform 9 3/4. And gold letters etched on the large scarlet trained read iHogwarts Express/i. Well, Hogwarts, here I come, she thought to herself as she got checked and got onto the train.
Minutes later Annis was searching for a vacant compartment. Most of them were filled with people who were already friends and were chatting amongst themselves. Annis got frustrated by the time she reached a compartment with only one person in it.
"Excuse me, do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere is um, taken," she said to the girl sitting there. She spat out the word 'taken'.
She smiled, and replied, "Sure! I could use some company! I hate how people already have so many friends and are taking up spaces for themselves. By the way, my name's Michelle. Michelle Allison. You?" Michelle gestured toward the seat in front of her, so Annis stepped in and took it.
Sighing happily as she sat down, Annis answered, "My name's Annis. Annis Johnsen." Annis then raised an eyebrow, because when she said the name 'Johnsen', Michelle gasped.
"/i You mean David and Amelia and Margaret Johnsen?" she gasped again when Annis nodded, "Wow! So you're David and Amelia's daughter! I wish I had the courage to stand up to Grindelwald, but I'd get killed," she said sheepishly, but then stopped after seeing Annis' saddened face.
"It's okay, Michelle. My parents died bravely," Annis said, but mentally added, /i.
Michelle nodded. The two then conversed about Hogwarts, and then Michelle had to explain about the houses after Annis admitted she didn't know anything about it.
"The four houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin," she recited, as if from a textbook, "They're like your family and junk like that. I wouldn't want to be a Slytherin, though. They're a bunch of snobs and they all turn evil in the end. Grindelwald was in Slytherin." Annis frowned at that last part. Slytherin? Evil? Grindelwald? Suddenly Annis regretted asking the question, but then Michelle reminded Annis to change into her robes. Annis nodded. As she went off to change, she exchanged one more smile with her new friend.
AU & Disclaimer: Oh why do I keep writing disclaimer? You all know what belongs to who. So if you want to sue, just look at the first chapter. Muahaha. So, here we are, at a point of nowhere. Just keep r/r, k? Thnx!
When Annis finally finished shopping for her school supplies, she ran upstairs to her bedroom and gratefully flopped onto the bed. Her feet were aching after hours of walking and shopping. Meanwhile, Aunt Margaret was writing back to Hogwarts with Annis' acception. Well, Annis never did actually /i, but Aunt Margaret did anyway.
"Annis!" Aunt Margaret called from downstairs, "come down! I need to explain some things!" Just great, Annis thought as she made herself get up from the warm bed, more explaining. She climbed down the stairs and found Aunt Margaret sitting on the sofa and wringing her hands.
Frowning slightly, Annis joined her on the sofa. Aunt Margaret didn't exactly have a worried expression, but Annis sensed it anyway.
"Now, this isn't bad at all, Annis," Aunt Margaret said, "But you need to know. Now, about Hogwarts..." she trailed off. However when she started to speak again, Annis cut her off.
"What, is the school nearby? Haha, are you driving me? Or what?" she asked jokingly, but noticed that Aunt Margaret had that serious expression on her face again. How Annis hated that serious face. It always made her feel like a fool when she mistook it for amusement.
Sitting stiffly, Aunt Margaret answered, "Not exactly. I /u be driving you to King's Cross Station, in which you will take the train, the Hogwarts Express, to Hogwarts. Now, it isn't exactly close to home..." Annis raised an eyebrow. So?, she thought, big deal. Obviously not.
"Since Hogwarts is quite a ways away, you and I will be separated. Which will make you vulnurable to Grindelwald." she emphasized the name Grindelwald, meaning that Annis, and Aunt Margaret, will be in danger.
Annis realized this, and gaped.
Swallowing that fact, she mumbled, "Surely you will be able to visit? Or live temporarily close by? Or something?" What will happen if Annis loses her dear aunt? Sure, she was annoying and strict, but she was still her aunt. Aunt Margaret's lips slowly formed a slow sad smile as she sadly shook her head.
"The Ministry of Magic has promised security but everyone knows they're a bunch of dunderheads," she said, shaking her head in disgust, "so I want you alert every moment of the day. I know there will be teachers looking out for you, but still." Annis nodded silently. It was clear. By going to Hogwarts, she would be putting both Aunt Margaret and herself in danger.
Annis sighed, and slumped against the sofa. Danger was sure to rear its ugly head, no matter what.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
September 1st had come. Annis had her supplies packed and her wand pocketed. She just knew that trouble was going to lurk nearby. She /i knew. However this day was not the day to be gloomy. When Aunt Margaret and Annis arrived at King's Cross, there were tons of wizard families, watching and wishing their children going to school good luck, excitment and the parents' resentment to let go of their children filled the air.
"Remember Annis, be aware," Aunt Margaret had warned her. "You do have your ticket, right?" Annis nodded. They had bought it a few days ago, but Annis had been hesitant when paying the kind lady at the window.
After Annis hauled her trunks onto the luggage cart, Aunt Margaret had left to go to work. After all, she DID have to make money, right? Annis then glanced at her ticket. Platform 9 3/4. i9 3/4??/i There was no such platform, Annis thought as she pulled the cart aimlessly.
She followed a family with children pulling their own carts. Annis watched with awe as one child after another ran into a wall between the platforms 9 and 10. Amazingly, they did not crash, but instead, they went right through the wall! Gulping, she pushed her cart toward the wall. No questions asked. Closing her eyes, she picked up her speed and lunged for the wall. However, instead of crashing into it, she went through it as well.
Wow, Annis thought, as she opened her eyes again and saw Platform 9 3/4. And gold letters etched on the large scarlet trained read iHogwarts Express/i. Well, Hogwarts, here I come, she thought to herself as she got checked and got onto the train.
Minutes later Annis was searching for a vacant compartment. Most of them were filled with people who were already friends and were chatting amongst themselves. Annis got frustrated by the time she reached a compartment with only one person in it.
"Excuse me, do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere is um, taken," she said to the girl sitting there. She spat out the word 'taken'.
She smiled, and replied, "Sure! I could use some company! I hate how people already have so many friends and are taking up spaces for themselves. By the way, my name's Michelle. Michelle Allison. You?" Michelle gestured toward the seat in front of her, so Annis stepped in and took it.
Sighing happily as she sat down, Annis answered, "My name's Annis. Annis Johnsen." Annis then raised an eyebrow, because when she said the name 'Johnsen', Michelle gasped.
"/i You mean David and Amelia and Margaret Johnsen?" she gasped again when Annis nodded, "Wow! So you're David and Amelia's daughter! I wish I had the courage to stand up to Grindelwald, but I'd get killed," she said sheepishly, but then stopped after seeing Annis' saddened face.
"It's okay, Michelle. My parents died bravely," Annis said, but mentally added, /i.
Michelle nodded. The two then conversed about Hogwarts, and then Michelle had to explain about the houses after Annis admitted she didn't know anything about it.
"The four houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin," she recited, as if from a textbook, "They're like your family and junk like that. I wouldn't want to be a Slytherin, though. They're a bunch of snobs and they all turn evil in the end. Grindelwald was in Slytherin." Annis frowned at that last part. Slytherin? Evil? Grindelwald? Suddenly Annis regretted asking the question, but then Michelle reminded Annis to change into her robes. Annis nodded. As she went off to change, she exchanged one more smile with her new friend.