Marion Nicholas wiped some mist off of the train window. Boy, she thought,
England sure is foggy. All she could see was clouds. And more clouds. She
had no clue clouds could be that thick. She sighed and looked next to her
at her friend, Carrie Copola. She was fast asleep, with her head hanging
off to one side. They were both 20 years old, and were moving to the small
town of Puddlemere, from the United States. The wizarding population was
much larger in Britain, and Marion had had a pen pal from Puddlemere, who
suggested the town as a starting point for the two of them. Eager to leave
the States, they agreed readily, and made the necessary arrangements. They
were renting a small, two-bedroom house in "downtown" Puddlemere, and
Carrie was to work in a nearby pet shop, while Marion would man a
concession stand, among other things, at the local Quidditch stadium.
Suddenly, the train slowed, and she peered out the window to see where they
were. She could make out lights shining dimly through the thick fog, and
prodded Carrie to wake her up.
"Psst- Carrie!" Her friend grumbled and turned to glare at her. "I think we're here. What time is it?" Carrie blinked her eyes several times to adjust them to the light, and studied her watch.
"Almost 4 o'clock. Wait...no. That'd be American time... uh... What's the time difference between England and the east coast?" Marion thought for a second.
"Uh.. six hours, I'm pretty sure. So it'd be ten...yeah, that seems about right." She looked out the window again. "Though it's hard to tell through all of this fog," she muttered. The train stopped completely.
"Okay, let's go!" Carrie grabbed their carry-ons, and they made their way off the train. ~
There weren't that many people on the train, so the platform wasn't crowded at all. Besides, Marion couldn't see why a whole trainload of people might be getting off at Puddlemere... As they departed the train, she noticed something standing out in the corner of her vision. Two bright red-haired men were standing near the train waving off a third, since the train was boarding passengers to take back to London, and their hair stood out vividly compared to the rest of the people, who merely blended into the dimness. Kind of like reflectors... Marion mused to herself.
She and Carrie retrieved their baggage from a porter, and asked directions to Drayton Place. It turned out to only be two streets over, and they had no trouble finding their small white house, even though they couldn't make out the green trim in the dark. They found the two beds and immediately flopped into them, and were asleep in minutes.
~
"Psst- Carrie!" Her friend grumbled and turned to glare at her. "I think we're here. What time is it?" Carrie blinked her eyes several times to adjust them to the light, and studied her watch.
"Almost 4 o'clock. Wait...no. That'd be American time... uh... What's the time difference between England and the east coast?" Marion thought for a second.
"Uh.. six hours, I'm pretty sure. So it'd be ten...yeah, that seems about right." She looked out the window again. "Though it's hard to tell through all of this fog," she muttered. The train stopped completely.
"Okay, let's go!" Carrie grabbed their carry-ons, and they made their way off the train. ~
There weren't that many people on the train, so the platform wasn't crowded at all. Besides, Marion couldn't see why a whole trainload of people might be getting off at Puddlemere... As they departed the train, she noticed something standing out in the corner of her vision. Two bright red-haired men were standing near the train waving off a third, since the train was boarding passengers to take back to London, and their hair stood out vividly compared to the rest of the people, who merely blended into the dimness. Kind of like reflectors... Marion mused to herself.
She and Carrie retrieved their baggage from a porter, and asked directions to Drayton Place. It turned out to only be two streets over, and they had no trouble finding their small white house, even though they couldn't make out the green trim in the dark. They found the two beds and immediately flopped into them, and were asleep in minutes.
~