Chapter 9

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"Boarding Platform 2" Riley read off of the sign that pointed left. "What number are we looking for again?"

"7 â…ž" Skye responded. "Oh here-platforms 6 & 7" they turned right, into a dimly lit gold-marble hallway, their footsteps echoing behind them. The walked down what was going to be a long series of stairs. As they went further down the steps, they noticed long windows, showing the newest models of passenger trains, departing and leaving from the bright boarding platforms below. From the bright lights, Nyx could see hundreds of people in colored robes, bending down, and looking at the steps.

"Am I missing something?" Nyx murmured, scratching her head.

"Umm" Skye buzzed. "YOUR HAT!"

"Crap-My hat!" she shrieked, both hands atop her head, she was just about to turn around, when Riley grabbed her arm.

"We're going to miss the train" Riley said, Nyx was about to turn forwards, slightly irritated.

As she turned forwards she slipped on her partly wet Vans and slid down the stairs, with a long "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

She slid down backwards, her front going down the cold stairs, fortunately Toby was flung out of her pocket when she slipped in mid-air, being a cat he land a couple feet away, on his tiny paws.

Nyx helplessly tried to grab a step to keep this terrible pain on her ribs from persisting. She grabbed hold of one. A sudden razor burn sensation on her stomach caused her open her eyes. She wasn't in the marble hall anymore; she was spread a brick pathway, at the bottom of a matching spiral stairwell, [Nyx rubbed her eyes at this-it was against the laws of Physics to have a spiral, brick, staircase, unsupported. She knew-her father was an architectural engineer] coming down those stairs were her whole troupe. Nyx ran to the bottom of the stairs, and attempted to put a foot down on the first step-but she couldn't, there was some sort of invisible safeguard that prevented her from putting her foot on that brick step. She hit the unseen wall, and hit-a pudding like substance, her hand was slowed down, like in outer space. She took a good look at that step, and saw something not everyone would. A tiny, no microscopic-a word here that means "So small Riley would've tripped on it and think it was a crack in the floor". Putting the puzzle pieces together, she understood that the step that slowed her down was in fact that tiny morsel of brick or marble, whatever it was made of. She stepped down on the fragment and immediately she reappeared in the dimly lit hall of marble.

"Where'd you go?" Skye asked eagerly.

"I really don't know" Nyx replied, shaking your head.

"Liar-whenever you lie your left hand shakes"

Nyx groaned and told them about the freaky staircase. They all agreed that they could take just a quick look. One by one they disappeared into nothing. Nyx was going to be last.

"Move, worm" said a voice from behind her. Nyx turned around. A tall Blonde in an odd looking uniform whisked past her, almost whacking her with the hair, and on the unnoticed step, disappearing, before Nyx could come up with something even nastier to say. Toby scratched at her jeans below, she picked him up and put him in her pocket, stepping on the barrier. She reappeared opposite the way she had been last time, and realized that she had missed a long black train with huge puffs of grey smoke bellowing out of it. In golden letters it had written,

Hogwarts Express Eastbound

"Whoa, I guess that wasn't the best Hogwarts could do" Nyx said to herself.

"Hey! Nyx-Are you coming or what?" Lelani yelled from the train.

"Coming!" she shouted back.

They boarded the train, being quickly separated from each other from the thick flow of students.

"The first empty compartment!" Riley hollered, barely audible.

"Well you know if we don't-ouch-get trampled on first" Nyx screamed back, nearly deafening the boy next to her.

"WE?! You mean you!" Skye replied loudly.

Nyx grunted.

After the flow calmed down in their booths, they managed to find an empty one in the middle of the train.

Nyx took out her MP3 and looked out the window. Riley and Skye had already taken out the Laptop, and Lelani and Audrey chit-chatted in Tagalog. As the train began to move, the Blonde girl that Nyx bumped into, whipped open the door and said "Change and get a head start on your work"

"What work? We haven't been assigned any!" Nyx said, hysterically. She always panicked if she missed some piece of work.

"Oh," she said sweetly. "first year worms" She finished, hands on her hips. "You must not know how it works around here"

"What works?" Lelani asked.

"Your brain" she teased, rather quickly. "No My name is Angelica and I am your Chief Dormitories Captain-I will check the rooms everyday, for cleanliness; ensure your work for satisfactory; and condemn you to the Querma if you misbehave, any questions?"

They looked at each other. It felt like boot-camp already.

"Yeah-" Nyx was about to start.

"Yes, never yeah"

"Yes- umm"

"Umm what?"

"What is the Querma?"

"A room"

It didn't look like she was going to go further into the subject, so she left. Unplugging themselves from what they were doing, they changed into their black robes obediently. There was a knock on the door.

"Hello?" An Old Man's voice sounded.

"Oh hello" Audrey replied, opening the door.

"I've come here to collect your things"

They passed their luggage from one to another and finally got it all to the front.

"Animals are to be left in the compartment when we arrive" and with that he left.

At 3 o'clock a Tiny witch, pushing a candy-filled trolley knocked on the door.

"Anything off the trolley, love?" she said in a sugary British accent.

They all stared at the odd looking confections, everything from Cockroach Clusters to Whittling Walnuts (The Wackiest Whittle for your teeth!)

"Do you have Iced Tea?" Nyx asked.

"Why yes, sweetheart-Sweet or Tropical?"

Having no idea what "Tropical Tea" was, she bought a Sweet in a water- bottle that was labeled "Lemony Sweet Tea [home grown pleasure]".

"Interesting" She mumbled, sitting back into her seat.

Not knowing what to buy, they girls only bought things with the words "Chocolate, Gummy, Sugar, ect."

"Chocolate Frog" Skye read off of the packet she had bought. "Hmm" she ripped open the packet.

"Ribbit, Ribbit" squeaked from inside the package. Everyone leaned. Suddenly a brown frog jumped out of the plastic, 2 feet in the air. They all screamed at the top of their lungs.

"Kill it Kill it Kill it Kill it!" Riley screamed, jumping on the compartment seat.

Lelani was in a corner waving her hands in the air and adding a low scream to the loud room.

Audrey and Nyx briefly screamed before chasing it around the room with solid objects. Nyx had her tea-bottle and was gaining on it. Newspaper- clad Audrey was also gaining.

Sitting on the seat, Skye had her legs up and was covering her ears, also screaming.

The frog came up in front of Nyx and to the side of Audrey. Nyx was about to whack the crap out of it, but Audrey was faster. This was her moment of glory. Audrey swung and instead of the frog hit Nyx full in the face with the rolled up newspaper.

"Ow, Ow, Ow" Nyx said rubbing her pink face, with her robe. But she quickly recovered, and the frog jumped out of the window.

"Oh God, Nyx, are you ok?" said Audrey, apologetically.

"Oh yeah- I mean Yes-Ugh Yeah I am fine, I'm good" she replied, trying to turn away and "mend" her wounds.

"No you aren't" Skye believed, pulling her and bending down to get a better look at her red stricken face.

"I'll be fine" she insisted, rubbing her face.

"Don't rub-it might turn into a bruise" Riley added.

"That makes me feel so much better" She moaned sarcastically.

Audrey almost left out a snort of laugh, but she managed to keep it in.

"Is there a problem?" a familiar voice uttered from the door.

Nyx turned her head, it was Orion.

"Oh hey" She greeted, forgetting about her red face.

"You dropped this" he said, handing her hat over.

"My HAT!" she yelled, immediately hugging it "Where did you-"

"Oh it was outside the station"

*

Nyx sighed and touched her face. Riley lightly slapped her fingers and, returned to the book she was reading-"Which Owl". She looked out of the window, they were now on the coast. She turned to her left and looked at everybody. Lelani was napping on Audrey who was finishing up the rest of her Honey Creams, and writing in her Journal. Skye was also reading, but it was "The History of Quidditch". Nyx sighed again and looked out the window. They were in the middle of the ocean. She suddenly realized what she had just thought.

"We're sinking!" she yelled, almost waking up Lelani.

"No we're-sinking!" Skye said getting up.

Riley stood up and looked closely at the wheels, it was running on tracks.

"I guess this is how we get there" Riley suggested. Nyx had always admired this logical skill in her.

"By sinking!" she breathed. Riley took her head and pushed it against the window. "Oh"

*

It was nearly dusk when they reached land again, making everyone a bit antsy and excited at the same time. Nyx and everyone groaned at the sight of more forest. When it was close to night, Nyx's watch stopped working, and Riley's cell phone turned off.

"what the-" Nyx muttered as she hit her watch over and over again.

"Electrical-" Riley was about to start.

"Let me guess-Electrical equipment doesn't work in Hogwarts"

Riley nodded.

Nyx breathed out through her front teeth, she was completely lost without her watch, now she was going more than half of a year without it.

It was a dark, and foggy night as the black train pulled into a station in Hogsmeade. Lelani, Riley, Skye, Audrey, and Nyx were about to exit out of the compartment when Angelica whipped open the door again, almost sliding the door right off the track.

"Here" she said handing them a letter, then whipping shut the doors.

"You think we should switch compartments halfway through the trip form now on?"

They laughed.

Skye opened the letter.

Our Dear first years, You are not to board the boats, you are to walk along the station platform until you reach an unleveled piece of cement, then jump down into the rails and there you will find a door. Enter the door.

Warm Regards, Professor Sinistra