-CHAPTER TWO-
Off to Hogwarts
The next week, early in the morning on September the first, the Bentons headed for Nightshade Manor. Belladona had decided to stay with her parents for a while, after Bill left for Egypt. Josh was holding Samuel by his hand, while directing a charmed floating trunk and Nemesis walked behind Elijah and Emma who were discussing if Elijah could carry Tiger or if he would eventually drop the kneazle accidentally, Emma really carrying him and Elijah trying to pet it all the way. About fifteen minutes walking North from the Benton Mansion, in a pastoral landscape, they arrived at a deserted crossroads with very narrow roads, which almost seemed like paths. Josh held still and turned to face the East, followed by a very excited Emma and what seemed to be quite a bored brother. They waited for a while, until a figure appeared from thin air right in front of them.
'Ah, there she is,' Josh whispered. Emma took his hand and squeezed it merrily.
A fairly sallow skinned female ghost was now looking at Josh.
'Hello Mortishia,' he said politely. 'Always nice to see you.'
'Josh Benton,' she seemed to look pensive, as if the sudden thoughts she was having could be as immaterial and fragile as her transparent body. 'Lady Belladona is expecting you and your family.' She floated to the right, making a gracious bow and allowing them to step forward. They walked through something like an invisible gateway and the next thing they saw was a gigantic stunning house surrounded by a lot of fertile green.
A laughing boy was running around in front of the house with a small yellow kite a few feet behind him up in the air. At the corner of the house a man suddenly appeared, laughing as loudly and heartily as the boy, running in a very funny manner and pulling a huge fluorescent pink kite. He noticed the guests, gently let the kite fall on the ground and rushed over to them.
'Danny!' Elijah was already running to the boy.
'Good morning, Joshua,' he said while he took off some big, fluffy and pink gloves. Emma was quite used to the way this man dressed himself, but this khaki Muggle army outfit with those gloves did force her to suppress a few giggles. Still, her mother heard her and looked at her a little apprehensively.
'Hello Orlando,' Josh said shaking his hand.
'Nemesis! Don't you look lovely, dear?' he gave her a jovial kiss on the cheek and then pinched Emma's as he looked down on her.
'Here's Emma Jane! How are you? Rose is inside, she's waiting for you.' He waved to the house.
'Thank you, Mr Nightshade,' she said and when her father nodded at her, she ran up to the house, leaving Tiger with her mother, who put him inside a Muggle cat cage, and passing Elijah and Daniel who where both trying to get the big pink kite up into the air, pulling the cords very hard with closed eyes and additional growling sounds.
'Come on, Eli! We have to pull harder! Mh.'
'Hmpf!'
She climbed a flight of steps to the front door and got inside.
'There you are!' She heard Rose's voice from above. 'Come on! I want to show you something!' Rose quickly came down the staircase and grabbed her arm.
'Well. Hi to you too,' Emma said a bit confused by the sudden rush. Rose didn't answer but laughed and pulled her inside a bright room, where her trunk was placed on the floor next to Mercurio's cage. She sat down and opened her trunk.
'Look what my dad gave me before he left!' She pulled out a beautiful golden pendant which seemed very familiar to Emma.
'Isn't that his lucky charm?' Emma said disbelieving.
'Yeah, it's his 'Eye of Horus'.' Rose let it fall trough her fingers and admired it. 'He said I'd need it more then he does now that I'm going away from home. And he promised it would give me the strength when I need it!'
'Then why don't you wear it?' Emma asked her rolling her eyes and taking the medallion from her, holding it up to the light to take a closer look. 'It's absolutely stunning. Too much of a waste not wearing it. Here, let me help you.' Rose smiled and Emma crawled behind her back to place the necklace and the pendant where it belonged.
'So. How are you two doing?' a pleasant and sweet voice suddenly came out of the blue.
The girls jumped up and turned around.
'Aunt Acacia!' Rose exclaimed, running to the pretty woman, dressed in a light blue classy robe, and hugging her. Acacia grinned.
'Hi, big niece of mine.' She took her by her shoulder and came to Emma. 'Hello Emma,' she hugged her too.
'Hi Acacia,' Emma smiled broadly. But when she next looked at Rose's aunt, she saw a look of concern on her face. Or was it astonishment? She had seen it before, but she couldn't make out what it really was. Last month, when Acacia took them both to Elysian Park, a huge amusement park made for magical people, Acacia had taken her hand to lead her and Rose to the Pegasus Coaster. Suddenly, she had let Emma's hand go, as if it was on fire and hurting her. The expression she wore then, was the same as she had seen just now.
Acacia didn't seem to want to show her though.
'I bet you two will be Slytherins,' she joked.
'No way, aunt!' Rose was almost offended. 'Now, why would you say that?'
'Well, because I know you two! Up to no good at all,' she shook her head. 'No, seriously girls, where would you like to end up?'
'Ravenclaw!' Emma called surprisingly loud.
'I agree!' Rose stated.
'Two Claws, hey?' Acacia put a finger to her mouth and looked at the ceiling. 'It would be nice to see one of you in Hufflepuff. You know that the best and nicest students belong there, do you?' she said mockingly, trying to defend the Hogwarts House she had been sorted into years ago.
'Yeah, I'm sure,' Rose waved it away, grinning.
'But of course, you two shouldn't be parted at all.' Acacia grabbed the two friends and playfully tickled them.
Belladona came into the room and walked up to the three of them, carrying Mercurio on her left arm.
'Are you ready to go?' she asked the girls as she put the owl into his cage and perched it on top of the trunk.
'Yes!' they both yelled.
Belladona flicked her wand and drifted the trunk along ahead of her sister and herself, while Emma and Rose were already leaving the room. As the girls went through the entrance doors and down the steps, Emma overheard a part of the conversation that was going on between the two adults.
'Bella, I mean it!'
'But you.'
'Really! I had this a few times with Nem before and she knows it. But lately I've been having it with Emma and it seems to be way more powerful.'
'They are just visions. Everyone will come across a few difficult moments or choices in their lives. You're just able to see them and you know it.'
'Yes, but Bella. It isn't like that!'
'Acacia, please. I'm sure it's nothing.' Belladona said more quietly and carefully as they stepped down.
'Come on, girls,' Belladona urged them to move on to where Emma's parents were still talking to Orlando, Josh now with a giggling Violet on his shoulders and Samuel jumping at his feet to try and tickle the little girls' bare feet. 'Danny! Eli! Come on now!'
The boys dropped the chords that were attached to the kite, which still was lying on the same spot as when Emma entered the house, and shrugged their shoulders.
A few minutes later they were loading the trunks into the back of a rather small grey car. Rose's other grandfather, Arthur Weasley, had been looking for a Muggle car at the department in the Ministry of Magic he was working for, the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts, so that they could easily travel to King's Cross Station without getting too much of attention. Josh was driving the car, Belladona was sitting next to him and the back seat had been enlarged to fit in Nemesis, Emma, Rose, Daniel and Elijah. After a few hugs and kisses, the girls got in the car and waved to a straight line of Orlando, Samuel and Acacia, who was carrying Violet, until they disappeared from view as they turned right from the drive way.
'Off we go!' Josh snickered as he accelerated the car and Belladona got thrown back in her seat. She nudged him and Nemesis softly slapped his head from behind as the youngsters all laughed and giggled.
'Don't try this at home, kids,' he pretended to look seriously in the rear view mirror and rubbed his ribs.
*
After they had all run quickly or walked casually through the barrier to get to Platform 9 and ¾, and at the same time successfully avoided Muggle eyes, the puffing Hogwarts Express gave a loud whistle.
'Five minutes to go. We're just on time,' Josh said looking at his watch. 'And that without hurrying!' He looked over his shoulder and smiled at Elijah and Daniel, who were strolling a little behind as they walked past the train to find a quite deserted carriage.
'Wow! Look at the size of that train,' Elijah exclaimed. 'I can't wait to get on it myself.'
'Yeah, well, you're lucky. I still have to wait about four years,' Daniel said a little sad.
Emma and Rose were pushing their trolleys and curiously looked at all the new faces they crossed or saw through the windows of the different compartments.
'Here's a nice spot, girls,' Josh called. Emma and Rose climbed the train and put their trunks and their cages down before descending back onto the platform.
'Well, I guess that's it,' Rose said awkwardly. She ran to her mother and hugged her.
'If there's something wrong or you need us, just send us an owl, Emma,' Nemesis said pulling her daughter close to her. 'I'll miss you, honey.' She wiped a tear away when she let go of her.
'I'm going to be okay, mum,' Emma said smiling as she gave her mother a kiss. 'Don't worry so much!' She hugged her brother and Daniel, gave Belladona a kiss and then turned to her father. He bent down and held her face in his two hands.
'How am I supposed to keep an eye on your mother and brothers now?' he said winking. 'I love you, Emma. Be good!' he kissed her cheek and hugged her.
'Remember what I said about Severus. Although he didn't say, I trust he doesn't want anyone to know you know him that well.' Emma nodded.
'Bye dad!' she said softly.
She and Rose climbed the stairs of the train again and turned around as the doors closed.
'Quick! A window,' Rose yelled. They rushed into an empty compartment and standing on the seats they opened a window. Sticking their heads outside, they could still see their family waving at them and hear them shouting.
'Bye Emma!'
'Bye Rose!'
'Hey! Send me some sweets!'
'Yeah, me too!' the little voice of Daniel was the last thing they could understand before the Hogwarts Express made a big turn.
Rose went to sit down, pulling Emma down next to her.
'There's someone else sitting here,' she said pointing at a trunk and a dark blue backpack.
'Do you think we should find ourselves our own compartment?' Emma asked.
'No, let's just get our trunks and settle down here.' They both got up and brought back their trunks and cages, which were still standing in the passageway. Both Tiger and Mercurio immediately went to sleep once they were lifted onto the luggage rack.
'Now what?' Emma asked Rose after a few minutes staring out the window, seeing only trees and grass under a bright sun and a few thin clouds.
'We should've brought a set of Exploding Snap,' Rose sighed heavily.
'Or Gobstones' Emma said looking bored.
'Hey, I know something!' Rose suddenly called. 'Want to hear a song dad learned me when he gave me his medaillon?'
'Sure!' Emma moved into a comfortable position, sitting cross-legged.
Rose cleared her voice, held the pendant and began to sing with a voice that almost sounded like an angel. Very fragile and sweet, yet strong and firmly holding Emma's attention.
'Horus, king of Egypt.
Eyes like a great falcon,
Razor-sharp, foreseeing.
Horus, king of Egypt.
A priest, a god, an icon,
Beyond the human being.
He is the unheard voice,
Of the Upper and Lo.'
The compartment door slid open and two boys entered. They were laughing and didn't seem to notice them, as Rose stopped singing, startled by the sudden invasion.
'Did you see her face?' the second boy that had entered, carrying his trunk, asked panting. He had dark brown short hair and was rather tall. They looked at each other and snorted with laughter as the boy threw his trunk on the luggage rack with all the strength he had.
Emma looked at the other boy. He was extremely handsome. If it weren't for him obviously being a boy, she could've sworn he was a Veela. His shining blond hair fell in front of his eyes as he and the other one flopped down, still laughing and clutching their stomachs. Emma and Rose looked at each other meaningfully and giggled as they both knew what they were thinking. The boy pushed his hair back and two piercing green eyes stared in their direction.
'Oh,' the boys both said a little embarrassed for not having noticed them sooner.
For a few seconds they were all staring at each other until Emma gulped and broke the silence.
'Er. Hi,' she said smiling broadly. 'I'm Emma and this is Rose.' She extended her hand and they both shook it.
'Hi, I'm Seth and this is Jered,' the tall boy said, pointing at his friend. 'Mind you, I've known him for years now and his stupidity still amazes me till this day,' he whispered as he now shook Rose's hand.
Jered poked him rather hard in his ribs and Emma tittered.
'OUCH!'
'Well, anyway,' Seth said. 'I suppose you two are first years?'
'Is it that obvious?' Rose asked worried.
'No, he just hoped you were,' Jered said glaring at his friend.
Without paying attention to him, Seth pulled out 'Hogwarts, a History' from Jered's backpack.
'I've been reading this,' he said pointing at the book. 'You see, my mum's a Muggle and she couldn't tell me a lot about Hogwarts. So, I've read about the different Houses in Jered's book and I do hope to get sorted into Gryffindor.' His hazel brown eyes were glittering as he said the name.
'The noble one,' Jered sighed mockingly, shaking his head.
'Shut up, you!'
'So you're Muggleborn?' Rose asked.
'No, not exactly. My dad was a wizard.'
'Oh! Sorry.' Emma and Rose both understood quickly.
'That's alright,' Seth said quickly. 'It's been a while now since he died. I don't remember him that much. I was about five years old.'
'And since then, I've been stuck with him!' Jered clenched his teeth.
'It's the other way around!' Seth hit him with the book and then turned to the girls. 'Anyway, I'm still considering if I want him in the same House with me.' He nodded in Jered's direction, who shrugged his shoulders and gave the girls a very innocent look.
Emma thought he looked gorgeous that way and she could feel Rose thought the same by the way she was nervously moving around a little.
'So Seth. Are you aware of the origin of your name?' Rose asked trying to focus again.
'Yeah! It's the Egyptian god of the death, with the head of a snake. My dad gave me that name.'
Rose smiled broadly.
'I used to live in Egypt,' Seth continued. 'My dad worked there on his own. We lived in the city he always called Heliopolis. I know there's another modern name for it now, but I can't remember what it is. Actually I don't remember anything except for that.' Jered patted him on the shoulder.
'Heliopolis?' Rose mused. 'In the Egyptian mythology, that's believed to be the most holy and earliest city to have surfaced from the great sea long before recorded history, isn't it?'
'How do you know all that?'
'My dad used to work in Egypt as a curse-breaker for Gringotts. As a matter of fact, he's in Giza right now.' Rose sounded a little bit disappointed again.
A plump witch appeared in the transparent compartment door, pushing a food trolley ahead of her and peeking inside. Rose saw all the sweets and cakes and jumped up, reaching for her little black pouch.
'Allow me, Rose,' Jered put his hand on her pouch and softly pushed it away. He opened the door and ordered a little bit of everything. Rose got back to her seat and gave Emma an amazed look.
'And he's charming too!' she whispered in her ear as Jered clumsily threw the lot on the small desk near the window, shaking the hair out of his face and flopping down again.
'Well.' Emma whispered back and grinned. 'Not that charming.'
Seth browsed through the sweets and got out a Liquorice Wand for Jered and him. He immediately bit on his and chewed fiercely.
'Oh boy! I was really yearning for one of those,' he told Jered with a full mouth. He looked at the girls like he had forget about them already and then said grinning, 'Help yourself!'
'Yes, please do so,' Jered encouraged them. 'Especially since I've paid for the lot with his money.'
'WHAT!?' Seth looked appalled and watched his friend disbelievingly, but when Jered winked at him, he carried on chewing quite audibly and pushed the sweets to Emma, while he nodded. 'Go on!'
Emma hesitantly took two Cauldron Cakes and gave one to Rose, who was making funny faces.
'Yeah! Now see, he's the real Prince Charming,' Jered suddenly said, noticing something and indicating he had overheard their whispers just a minute ago. At first Emma blushed but then the three of them snorted and Seth, who was looking outside the window, turned his head.
'What?' he asked ignorant.
'Nothing,' they said in unison and grinning.
All of a sudden the compartment door slid open. Seth looked up and stopped smacking his lips.
'Oh, no.' he moaned.
A very small girl with light brown hair up to her chin had entered and peered around the place with a sneering smile on her face. A much taller girl was standing next to her showing them all a very vindictive expression. Jered sighed.
'You think it's funny, do you?' the small girl said to Seth with a very high pitched yet darling childish voice.
'Cassandra, please shut up!' Jered said rolling his eyes.
'Sulla's really upset,' she barked.
'Yeah!' The vindictive looking girl now gave them an indication of her stupidity by her ignorant support.
'But I honestly don't like her,' Seth tried.
Cassandra looked at Emma and Rose disapprovingly.
'But you do like these,' she pointed at them.
'Hey!' Jered prompted. 'Leave them alone!'
'Fine! Just wait until I tell father about you double-crossing me the whole time,' she swiftly turned around and marched away.
'He isn't my father!' Seth yelled after her.
'Then wait till I tell Valmont!' Seth gulped as he heard the shrilling voice.
The other girl was still standing in their compartment and grinned through her long dark hair that almost covered her whole face.
'Cordelia! Come on!' they heard Cassandra yelling in the corridor. The girl turned around and slammed the door shut.
'What was that all about?' Rose asked softly.
'Just a real nuisance who happens to be my stepsister and practically ruins my whole life!' Seth said angry and he buried himself into his sweets.
Emma watched him apprehensively and felt bad for him.
'His mother remarried her father a few years ago,' Jered explained. 'And Cassandra is used to having it all her way.'
'But they don't have to expect I'll take his name... Ever!' a voice between the sweets came.
'Who's Valmont?' Emma asked recalling the almost anxious look on Seth's face when Cassandra threatened to tell him.
'He's her brother. A third year.'
'And a really big bully!' Seth added eating a Chocolate Frog.
*
The boys had talked about Cassandra and Valmont for a while and Emma immediately understood they were real pests for Seth and his younger sister. But his mother seemed to genuinely love their dad, so they were really forced to live with each other. The more they discussed it, the more miserable Seth looked, so Jered pulled out two sets of Gobstones and they all decided to play each other at least once.
Cassandra had been wandering in the corridor a few times, menacingly looking inside their compartment each time she and Cordelia passed by. They pretended they didn't see her the last couple of times and she finally stalked off.
'Probably bullying some other people,' Seth said now laughing. 'As long as it's not me.'
The sky had already turned dark when an older boy knocked on their door and carefully entered.
'First years?' he asked kindly.
They nodded and looked puzzled at the golden badge on his robes, saying 'Head-hunter'. Jered scratched his head and Seth looked rather curiously.
'It shouldn't take so long before we arrive at Hogsmeade Station,' he said. 'You'd better. Is there something wrong?' He saw them looking strangely at his badge.
'Do you really hunt for heads?' Seth asked pretending to be scared as the boy now looked at his robes.
'Argh! Well, that explains why everyone is giving me these weird looks! That Ulysses boy!' He shook his head and pointed his own wand at the badge while muttering something. 'There, that's better!' he said flattening his robes.
Emma could read 'Head Boy' now and giggled a little.
'Be sure to watch your back at school,' he grinned at her. ' You can't be careful enough with all those pranksters around. Anyway, you'd better change into your school robes.' He smiled and left the compartment on his way to find other unaccustomed first years.
The train slowed down twenty minutes later and they had just all changed after finishing their games of Gobstone. The Head Boy passed by their door again.
'Follow me, please. Leave your trunks and other luggage here. The house- elves will bring them up later.'
They jumped up and followed him outside the train, where a large group of black dressed youngsters were already waiting.
'First years! First years! Gather around, please!' A tall, fairly muscled man with a deep voice and a weak oil-lantern was flagging the first years towards him. Emma closely followed Rose, who was a master at going through a dense crowd in a very swift and lithe manner. They had already lost Jered and Seth when they were halfway through.
'Never mind,' Rose said excitedly, pulling Emma by the sleeves of her cloak. 'We'll see them at the Sorting.'
When they were in the middle of the large circle of first years, with the man right in the centre, Emma saw he was quite a young man with a handsome face, square manly jaw and short hair.
'I am the Keeper of the Keys and as tradition prescribes, we will bring all first years up to Hogwarts across the lake in boats,' the man said leading the way down a narrow path.
There was a sudden bustle and several utterances of awe and amazement as the group first saw the large and stunning castle. Seconds later Emma and Rose climbed into a boat and were startled as two people jumped in next to them.
'We lost you there,' Seth panted as he sat down next to Emma. 'And we almost ran into Cassandra and her nice friends.'
'Did you take a good look at that castle?' Jered asked the girls. 'It's absolutely overwhelming. I can't wait to settle in!'
'Me neither!' Emma called.
Rose nervously turned around to look at the others. 'We still have to go through the Sorting Ceremony first, you know.'
They silently stared at the castle and the surface of the lake for a while, when suddenly something hit the bottom of their boat, which made it roll to the left and right.
'What the heck was that?' Seth exclaimed looking terrified and grabbing the edges of the boat. Emma gasped and took Rose's hand to pinch it.
What seemed like a large monster appeared on the surface a few feet away from their boat. Someone nearby screamed, others laughed.
'That's only the Giant Squid,' Jered tried to explain. 'Dad told me about it. It lives in the lake and. well, it's gigantic.'
'I didn't know they had their own Nessy!' Seth said bewildered. Emma and Rose both relaxed as they entered a dark tunnel. They arrived in an underground paddock a couple of minutes later and went through a passageway, only to reappear on the ground surface again and to see the castle in its full glory, waiting to welcome them for the next seven years.
The Keeper marched up to the front oak doors and then turned around as everyone once again gathered around.
'Prepare to enter Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!'
At the sound of these words, the huge heavy doors creaked open and an inviting, comfortable lukewarm breeze brushed Emma's rosy cheeks.
Off to Hogwarts
The next week, early in the morning on September the first, the Bentons headed for Nightshade Manor. Belladona had decided to stay with her parents for a while, after Bill left for Egypt. Josh was holding Samuel by his hand, while directing a charmed floating trunk and Nemesis walked behind Elijah and Emma who were discussing if Elijah could carry Tiger or if he would eventually drop the kneazle accidentally, Emma really carrying him and Elijah trying to pet it all the way. About fifteen minutes walking North from the Benton Mansion, in a pastoral landscape, they arrived at a deserted crossroads with very narrow roads, which almost seemed like paths. Josh held still and turned to face the East, followed by a very excited Emma and what seemed to be quite a bored brother. They waited for a while, until a figure appeared from thin air right in front of them.
'Ah, there she is,' Josh whispered. Emma took his hand and squeezed it merrily.
A fairly sallow skinned female ghost was now looking at Josh.
'Hello Mortishia,' he said politely. 'Always nice to see you.'
'Josh Benton,' she seemed to look pensive, as if the sudden thoughts she was having could be as immaterial and fragile as her transparent body. 'Lady Belladona is expecting you and your family.' She floated to the right, making a gracious bow and allowing them to step forward. They walked through something like an invisible gateway and the next thing they saw was a gigantic stunning house surrounded by a lot of fertile green.
A laughing boy was running around in front of the house with a small yellow kite a few feet behind him up in the air. At the corner of the house a man suddenly appeared, laughing as loudly and heartily as the boy, running in a very funny manner and pulling a huge fluorescent pink kite. He noticed the guests, gently let the kite fall on the ground and rushed over to them.
'Danny!' Elijah was already running to the boy.
'Good morning, Joshua,' he said while he took off some big, fluffy and pink gloves. Emma was quite used to the way this man dressed himself, but this khaki Muggle army outfit with those gloves did force her to suppress a few giggles. Still, her mother heard her and looked at her a little apprehensively.
'Hello Orlando,' Josh said shaking his hand.
'Nemesis! Don't you look lovely, dear?' he gave her a jovial kiss on the cheek and then pinched Emma's as he looked down on her.
'Here's Emma Jane! How are you? Rose is inside, she's waiting for you.' He waved to the house.
'Thank you, Mr Nightshade,' she said and when her father nodded at her, she ran up to the house, leaving Tiger with her mother, who put him inside a Muggle cat cage, and passing Elijah and Daniel who where both trying to get the big pink kite up into the air, pulling the cords very hard with closed eyes and additional growling sounds.
'Come on, Eli! We have to pull harder! Mh.'
'Hmpf!'
She climbed a flight of steps to the front door and got inside.
'There you are!' She heard Rose's voice from above. 'Come on! I want to show you something!' Rose quickly came down the staircase and grabbed her arm.
'Well. Hi to you too,' Emma said a bit confused by the sudden rush. Rose didn't answer but laughed and pulled her inside a bright room, where her trunk was placed on the floor next to Mercurio's cage. She sat down and opened her trunk.
'Look what my dad gave me before he left!' She pulled out a beautiful golden pendant which seemed very familiar to Emma.
'Isn't that his lucky charm?' Emma said disbelieving.
'Yeah, it's his 'Eye of Horus'.' Rose let it fall trough her fingers and admired it. 'He said I'd need it more then he does now that I'm going away from home. And he promised it would give me the strength when I need it!'
'Then why don't you wear it?' Emma asked her rolling her eyes and taking the medallion from her, holding it up to the light to take a closer look. 'It's absolutely stunning. Too much of a waste not wearing it. Here, let me help you.' Rose smiled and Emma crawled behind her back to place the necklace and the pendant where it belonged.
'So. How are you two doing?' a pleasant and sweet voice suddenly came out of the blue.
The girls jumped up and turned around.
'Aunt Acacia!' Rose exclaimed, running to the pretty woman, dressed in a light blue classy robe, and hugging her. Acacia grinned.
'Hi, big niece of mine.' She took her by her shoulder and came to Emma. 'Hello Emma,' she hugged her too.
'Hi Acacia,' Emma smiled broadly. But when she next looked at Rose's aunt, she saw a look of concern on her face. Or was it astonishment? She had seen it before, but she couldn't make out what it really was. Last month, when Acacia took them both to Elysian Park, a huge amusement park made for magical people, Acacia had taken her hand to lead her and Rose to the Pegasus Coaster. Suddenly, she had let Emma's hand go, as if it was on fire and hurting her. The expression she wore then, was the same as she had seen just now.
Acacia didn't seem to want to show her though.
'I bet you two will be Slytherins,' she joked.
'No way, aunt!' Rose was almost offended. 'Now, why would you say that?'
'Well, because I know you two! Up to no good at all,' she shook her head. 'No, seriously girls, where would you like to end up?'
'Ravenclaw!' Emma called surprisingly loud.
'I agree!' Rose stated.
'Two Claws, hey?' Acacia put a finger to her mouth and looked at the ceiling. 'It would be nice to see one of you in Hufflepuff. You know that the best and nicest students belong there, do you?' she said mockingly, trying to defend the Hogwarts House she had been sorted into years ago.
'Yeah, I'm sure,' Rose waved it away, grinning.
'But of course, you two shouldn't be parted at all.' Acacia grabbed the two friends and playfully tickled them.
Belladona came into the room and walked up to the three of them, carrying Mercurio on her left arm.
'Are you ready to go?' she asked the girls as she put the owl into his cage and perched it on top of the trunk.
'Yes!' they both yelled.
Belladona flicked her wand and drifted the trunk along ahead of her sister and herself, while Emma and Rose were already leaving the room. As the girls went through the entrance doors and down the steps, Emma overheard a part of the conversation that was going on between the two adults.
'Bella, I mean it!'
'But you.'
'Really! I had this a few times with Nem before and she knows it. But lately I've been having it with Emma and it seems to be way more powerful.'
'They are just visions. Everyone will come across a few difficult moments or choices in their lives. You're just able to see them and you know it.'
'Yes, but Bella. It isn't like that!'
'Acacia, please. I'm sure it's nothing.' Belladona said more quietly and carefully as they stepped down.
'Come on, girls,' Belladona urged them to move on to where Emma's parents were still talking to Orlando, Josh now with a giggling Violet on his shoulders and Samuel jumping at his feet to try and tickle the little girls' bare feet. 'Danny! Eli! Come on now!'
The boys dropped the chords that were attached to the kite, which still was lying on the same spot as when Emma entered the house, and shrugged their shoulders.
A few minutes later they were loading the trunks into the back of a rather small grey car. Rose's other grandfather, Arthur Weasley, had been looking for a Muggle car at the department in the Ministry of Magic he was working for, the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts, so that they could easily travel to King's Cross Station without getting too much of attention. Josh was driving the car, Belladona was sitting next to him and the back seat had been enlarged to fit in Nemesis, Emma, Rose, Daniel and Elijah. After a few hugs and kisses, the girls got in the car and waved to a straight line of Orlando, Samuel and Acacia, who was carrying Violet, until they disappeared from view as they turned right from the drive way.
'Off we go!' Josh snickered as he accelerated the car and Belladona got thrown back in her seat. She nudged him and Nemesis softly slapped his head from behind as the youngsters all laughed and giggled.
'Don't try this at home, kids,' he pretended to look seriously in the rear view mirror and rubbed his ribs.
*
After they had all run quickly or walked casually through the barrier to get to Platform 9 and ¾, and at the same time successfully avoided Muggle eyes, the puffing Hogwarts Express gave a loud whistle.
'Five minutes to go. We're just on time,' Josh said looking at his watch. 'And that without hurrying!' He looked over his shoulder and smiled at Elijah and Daniel, who were strolling a little behind as they walked past the train to find a quite deserted carriage.
'Wow! Look at the size of that train,' Elijah exclaimed. 'I can't wait to get on it myself.'
'Yeah, well, you're lucky. I still have to wait about four years,' Daniel said a little sad.
Emma and Rose were pushing their trolleys and curiously looked at all the new faces they crossed or saw through the windows of the different compartments.
'Here's a nice spot, girls,' Josh called. Emma and Rose climbed the train and put their trunks and their cages down before descending back onto the platform.
'Well, I guess that's it,' Rose said awkwardly. She ran to her mother and hugged her.
'If there's something wrong or you need us, just send us an owl, Emma,' Nemesis said pulling her daughter close to her. 'I'll miss you, honey.' She wiped a tear away when she let go of her.
'I'm going to be okay, mum,' Emma said smiling as she gave her mother a kiss. 'Don't worry so much!' She hugged her brother and Daniel, gave Belladona a kiss and then turned to her father. He bent down and held her face in his two hands.
'How am I supposed to keep an eye on your mother and brothers now?' he said winking. 'I love you, Emma. Be good!' he kissed her cheek and hugged her.
'Remember what I said about Severus. Although he didn't say, I trust he doesn't want anyone to know you know him that well.' Emma nodded.
'Bye dad!' she said softly.
She and Rose climbed the stairs of the train again and turned around as the doors closed.
'Quick! A window,' Rose yelled. They rushed into an empty compartment and standing on the seats they opened a window. Sticking their heads outside, they could still see their family waving at them and hear them shouting.
'Bye Emma!'
'Bye Rose!'
'Hey! Send me some sweets!'
'Yeah, me too!' the little voice of Daniel was the last thing they could understand before the Hogwarts Express made a big turn.
Rose went to sit down, pulling Emma down next to her.
'There's someone else sitting here,' she said pointing at a trunk and a dark blue backpack.
'Do you think we should find ourselves our own compartment?' Emma asked.
'No, let's just get our trunks and settle down here.' They both got up and brought back their trunks and cages, which were still standing in the passageway. Both Tiger and Mercurio immediately went to sleep once they were lifted onto the luggage rack.
'Now what?' Emma asked Rose after a few minutes staring out the window, seeing only trees and grass under a bright sun and a few thin clouds.
'We should've brought a set of Exploding Snap,' Rose sighed heavily.
'Or Gobstones' Emma said looking bored.
'Hey, I know something!' Rose suddenly called. 'Want to hear a song dad learned me when he gave me his medaillon?'
'Sure!' Emma moved into a comfortable position, sitting cross-legged.
Rose cleared her voice, held the pendant and began to sing with a voice that almost sounded like an angel. Very fragile and sweet, yet strong and firmly holding Emma's attention.
'Horus, king of Egypt.
Eyes like a great falcon,
Razor-sharp, foreseeing.
Horus, king of Egypt.
A priest, a god, an icon,
Beyond the human being.
He is the unheard voice,
Of the Upper and Lo.'
The compartment door slid open and two boys entered. They were laughing and didn't seem to notice them, as Rose stopped singing, startled by the sudden invasion.
'Did you see her face?' the second boy that had entered, carrying his trunk, asked panting. He had dark brown short hair and was rather tall. They looked at each other and snorted with laughter as the boy threw his trunk on the luggage rack with all the strength he had.
Emma looked at the other boy. He was extremely handsome. If it weren't for him obviously being a boy, she could've sworn he was a Veela. His shining blond hair fell in front of his eyes as he and the other one flopped down, still laughing and clutching their stomachs. Emma and Rose looked at each other meaningfully and giggled as they both knew what they were thinking. The boy pushed his hair back and two piercing green eyes stared in their direction.
'Oh,' the boys both said a little embarrassed for not having noticed them sooner.
For a few seconds they were all staring at each other until Emma gulped and broke the silence.
'Er. Hi,' she said smiling broadly. 'I'm Emma and this is Rose.' She extended her hand and they both shook it.
'Hi, I'm Seth and this is Jered,' the tall boy said, pointing at his friend. 'Mind you, I've known him for years now and his stupidity still amazes me till this day,' he whispered as he now shook Rose's hand.
Jered poked him rather hard in his ribs and Emma tittered.
'OUCH!'
'Well, anyway,' Seth said. 'I suppose you two are first years?'
'Is it that obvious?' Rose asked worried.
'No, he just hoped you were,' Jered said glaring at his friend.
Without paying attention to him, Seth pulled out 'Hogwarts, a History' from Jered's backpack.
'I've been reading this,' he said pointing at the book. 'You see, my mum's a Muggle and she couldn't tell me a lot about Hogwarts. So, I've read about the different Houses in Jered's book and I do hope to get sorted into Gryffindor.' His hazel brown eyes were glittering as he said the name.
'The noble one,' Jered sighed mockingly, shaking his head.
'Shut up, you!'
'So you're Muggleborn?' Rose asked.
'No, not exactly. My dad was a wizard.'
'Oh! Sorry.' Emma and Rose both understood quickly.
'That's alright,' Seth said quickly. 'It's been a while now since he died. I don't remember him that much. I was about five years old.'
'And since then, I've been stuck with him!' Jered clenched his teeth.
'It's the other way around!' Seth hit him with the book and then turned to the girls. 'Anyway, I'm still considering if I want him in the same House with me.' He nodded in Jered's direction, who shrugged his shoulders and gave the girls a very innocent look.
Emma thought he looked gorgeous that way and she could feel Rose thought the same by the way she was nervously moving around a little.
'So Seth. Are you aware of the origin of your name?' Rose asked trying to focus again.
'Yeah! It's the Egyptian god of the death, with the head of a snake. My dad gave me that name.'
Rose smiled broadly.
'I used to live in Egypt,' Seth continued. 'My dad worked there on his own. We lived in the city he always called Heliopolis. I know there's another modern name for it now, but I can't remember what it is. Actually I don't remember anything except for that.' Jered patted him on the shoulder.
'Heliopolis?' Rose mused. 'In the Egyptian mythology, that's believed to be the most holy and earliest city to have surfaced from the great sea long before recorded history, isn't it?'
'How do you know all that?'
'My dad used to work in Egypt as a curse-breaker for Gringotts. As a matter of fact, he's in Giza right now.' Rose sounded a little bit disappointed again.
A plump witch appeared in the transparent compartment door, pushing a food trolley ahead of her and peeking inside. Rose saw all the sweets and cakes and jumped up, reaching for her little black pouch.
'Allow me, Rose,' Jered put his hand on her pouch and softly pushed it away. He opened the door and ordered a little bit of everything. Rose got back to her seat and gave Emma an amazed look.
'And he's charming too!' she whispered in her ear as Jered clumsily threw the lot on the small desk near the window, shaking the hair out of his face and flopping down again.
'Well.' Emma whispered back and grinned. 'Not that charming.'
Seth browsed through the sweets and got out a Liquorice Wand for Jered and him. He immediately bit on his and chewed fiercely.
'Oh boy! I was really yearning for one of those,' he told Jered with a full mouth. He looked at the girls like he had forget about them already and then said grinning, 'Help yourself!'
'Yes, please do so,' Jered encouraged them. 'Especially since I've paid for the lot with his money.'
'WHAT!?' Seth looked appalled and watched his friend disbelievingly, but when Jered winked at him, he carried on chewing quite audibly and pushed the sweets to Emma, while he nodded. 'Go on!'
Emma hesitantly took two Cauldron Cakes and gave one to Rose, who was making funny faces.
'Yeah! Now see, he's the real Prince Charming,' Jered suddenly said, noticing something and indicating he had overheard their whispers just a minute ago. At first Emma blushed but then the three of them snorted and Seth, who was looking outside the window, turned his head.
'What?' he asked ignorant.
'Nothing,' they said in unison and grinning.
All of a sudden the compartment door slid open. Seth looked up and stopped smacking his lips.
'Oh, no.' he moaned.
A very small girl with light brown hair up to her chin had entered and peered around the place with a sneering smile on her face. A much taller girl was standing next to her showing them all a very vindictive expression. Jered sighed.
'You think it's funny, do you?' the small girl said to Seth with a very high pitched yet darling childish voice.
'Cassandra, please shut up!' Jered said rolling his eyes.
'Sulla's really upset,' she barked.
'Yeah!' The vindictive looking girl now gave them an indication of her stupidity by her ignorant support.
'But I honestly don't like her,' Seth tried.
Cassandra looked at Emma and Rose disapprovingly.
'But you do like these,' she pointed at them.
'Hey!' Jered prompted. 'Leave them alone!'
'Fine! Just wait until I tell father about you double-crossing me the whole time,' she swiftly turned around and marched away.
'He isn't my father!' Seth yelled after her.
'Then wait till I tell Valmont!' Seth gulped as he heard the shrilling voice.
The other girl was still standing in their compartment and grinned through her long dark hair that almost covered her whole face.
'Cordelia! Come on!' they heard Cassandra yelling in the corridor. The girl turned around and slammed the door shut.
'What was that all about?' Rose asked softly.
'Just a real nuisance who happens to be my stepsister and practically ruins my whole life!' Seth said angry and he buried himself into his sweets.
Emma watched him apprehensively and felt bad for him.
'His mother remarried her father a few years ago,' Jered explained. 'And Cassandra is used to having it all her way.'
'But they don't have to expect I'll take his name... Ever!' a voice between the sweets came.
'Who's Valmont?' Emma asked recalling the almost anxious look on Seth's face when Cassandra threatened to tell him.
'He's her brother. A third year.'
'And a really big bully!' Seth added eating a Chocolate Frog.
*
The boys had talked about Cassandra and Valmont for a while and Emma immediately understood they were real pests for Seth and his younger sister. But his mother seemed to genuinely love their dad, so they were really forced to live with each other. The more they discussed it, the more miserable Seth looked, so Jered pulled out two sets of Gobstones and they all decided to play each other at least once.
Cassandra had been wandering in the corridor a few times, menacingly looking inside their compartment each time she and Cordelia passed by. They pretended they didn't see her the last couple of times and she finally stalked off.
'Probably bullying some other people,' Seth said now laughing. 'As long as it's not me.'
The sky had already turned dark when an older boy knocked on their door and carefully entered.
'First years?' he asked kindly.
They nodded and looked puzzled at the golden badge on his robes, saying 'Head-hunter'. Jered scratched his head and Seth looked rather curiously.
'It shouldn't take so long before we arrive at Hogsmeade Station,' he said. 'You'd better. Is there something wrong?' He saw them looking strangely at his badge.
'Do you really hunt for heads?' Seth asked pretending to be scared as the boy now looked at his robes.
'Argh! Well, that explains why everyone is giving me these weird looks! That Ulysses boy!' He shook his head and pointed his own wand at the badge while muttering something. 'There, that's better!' he said flattening his robes.
Emma could read 'Head Boy' now and giggled a little.
'Be sure to watch your back at school,' he grinned at her. ' You can't be careful enough with all those pranksters around. Anyway, you'd better change into your school robes.' He smiled and left the compartment on his way to find other unaccustomed first years.
The train slowed down twenty minutes later and they had just all changed after finishing their games of Gobstone. The Head Boy passed by their door again.
'Follow me, please. Leave your trunks and other luggage here. The house- elves will bring them up later.'
They jumped up and followed him outside the train, where a large group of black dressed youngsters were already waiting.
'First years! First years! Gather around, please!' A tall, fairly muscled man with a deep voice and a weak oil-lantern was flagging the first years towards him. Emma closely followed Rose, who was a master at going through a dense crowd in a very swift and lithe manner. They had already lost Jered and Seth when they were halfway through.
'Never mind,' Rose said excitedly, pulling Emma by the sleeves of her cloak. 'We'll see them at the Sorting.'
When they were in the middle of the large circle of first years, with the man right in the centre, Emma saw he was quite a young man with a handsome face, square manly jaw and short hair.
'I am the Keeper of the Keys and as tradition prescribes, we will bring all first years up to Hogwarts across the lake in boats,' the man said leading the way down a narrow path.
There was a sudden bustle and several utterances of awe and amazement as the group first saw the large and stunning castle. Seconds later Emma and Rose climbed into a boat and were startled as two people jumped in next to them.
'We lost you there,' Seth panted as he sat down next to Emma. 'And we almost ran into Cassandra and her nice friends.'
'Did you take a good look at that castle?' Jered asked the girls. 'It's absolutely overwhelming. I can't wait to settle in!'
'Me neither!' Emma called.
Rose nervously turned around to look at the others. 'We still have to go through the Sorting Ceremony first, you know.'
They silently stared at the castle and the surface of the lake for a while, when suddenly something hit the bottom of their boat, which made it roll to the left and right.
'What the heck was that?' Seth exclaimed looking terrified and grabbing the edges of the boat. Emma gasped and took Rose's hand to pinch it.
What seemed like a large monster appeared on the surface a few feet away from their boat. Someone nearby screamed, others laughed.
'That's only the Giant Squid,' Jered tried to explain. 'Dad told me about it. It lives in the lake and. well, it's gigantic.'
'I didn't know they had their own Nessy!' Seth said bewildered. Emma and Rose both relaxed as they entered a dark tunnel. They arrived in an underground paddock a couple of minutes later and went through a passageway, only to reappear on the ground surface again and to see the castle in its full glory, waiting to welcome them for the next seven years.
The Keeper marched up to the front oak doors and then turned around as everyone once again gathered around.
'Prepare to enter Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!'
At the sound of these words, the huge heavy doors creaked open and an inviting, comfortable lukewarm breeze brushed Emma's rosy cheeks.