Ch. 2 The Train
As Sophie Carwin (as she was before she was married), her older brothers Steven, a fifth year, Joseph, a third year, and her mother and father stepped through the gate between platforms 9 and 10, she saw hundreds of students kissing their parents goodbye and the parents crying and nearly suffocating their kids in huge bear hugs. Her brothers made their way onto the train with their different groups of friends. Her mother looked at her and smiled tearfully, and gave her a peck on the cheek and her father gave her a pat on the back which almost knocked her over. She laughed and gave them both a hug. She was starting to get homesick and she hadn't even left the station yet. They said goodbye to her, and she ran on the train as its whistle blew and the last of the children clambered onto it.
As soon as she had handed her ticket to the train master, the train jolted and started to move. She held onto her bags and walked down the narrow hallway that was the middle of the train, looking for an open compartment.
The first compartment had a few girls in it, but they looked around 16 or so and Sophie didn't want to bother them. The second one was full with a group of laughing 4th years. The third one had a couple of boys in it, and by what they looked like, first years like her. She was getting tired and she decided that she would sit there, whether they liked it or not.
She dragged her bags in plopped herself down onto the open seat. The jabbering that had filled the compartment stopped. 6 eyes turned her direction and stopped, an awkward silence overtaking the room. After a few moments, she spoke.
"Hi, I'm Sophie. Sophie Carwin." She smiled, hoping they would return theirs, but they didn't. All eyes were still on her, in utter complete silence.
She looked at all the boys. There was one with messy jet black hair and glasses, a boy with whitish-blonde hair who was remarkably skinny, and a boy with greasy looking brown hair that covered his face who was wearing brand new robes.
After another awkward silence, the boy that she was sitting next to spoke. "I'm Potter. James Potter." He messed his hair up some more, and smirked at her. The other boys took after his example and offered their names, too.
"Hello, my name is Remus Lupin." He gave her a faint, unconvincing smile. He turned away from her, and began reading a page from the Daily Prophet.
The last boy sniffed. "Sirius Black." The boy with the longish hair eyed her over. She looked at him, and their eyes locked for a brief moment. Then he said "Why are you sitting here?" He sniffed again.
Sophie kind of surprised by the question answered, "No more open compartments." Which of course, was a lie, she thought. There probably were more open compartments, but she was just too lazy to go looking. Oh well, they didn't seem to know the difference.
Sophie made a mental note to herself to learn these boys names some day. She had difficulty remembering them now. Until then, she'd just have to make up nicknames for them, in her mind. "Hm..." she thought, "That one I'll call Messy Hair, that one I'll call Skinny, and that one I'll call... Snuffles."
"What houses do you think you'll be in?" she asked the boys.
The Snuffles snorted. "I'll probably be in Slytherin. My whole family's been in it. Its kind of like a tradition. But I'm doing everything I can to break that tradition."
Sophie had heard bad things from her parents about kids who went to Slytherin. Her brothers had told her stories about Slytherins hexing kids in the corridors between classes. Her thoughts were interrupted when Messy Hair started talking.
"Well, I think I'll be in Gryffindor cause I'm just SUCH a noble soul!" he sighed and messed his hair up once more.
"I think arrogant soul is more like it!" Sophie thought.
"I'll hope I'm not in Hufflepuff! I heard that's where all of the stupid people go!" Skinny said frightfully.
By then Madame Shamble, the woman with the food cart had stopped by.
"Would you like anything off the trolley dears?" she asked.
"Sure! I'll have a bag of bertie botts every flavor beans, 3 chocolate frogs, and 5 packs of droobles best blowing gum." Sophie payed the woman and shoved all but a chocolate frog in her purse.
"I'll have 3 bags of every flavor beans, and 5 chocolate frogs." Messy Hair said.
"I'll have 87 chocolate frogs!" Skinny shouted at her and threw his money onto the trolley.
The trolley woman looked astonished, but she gave him as many chocolate frogs as she had and he gave her a handful of silver coins.
After she left, Snuffles spoke up. "Why so many packs of gum?" He asked Sophie.
"You can never have enough gum. And besides, I didn't get nearly as much gum as Skin --- I mean him over there got chocolate frogs!" Sophie pointed at Remus.
"Yah, why did you get so many of those?" Messy Hair asked him.
"I... uh..." Remus started to break into a sweat. "I'm... collecting the cards... yah that's it! I'm looking for a new one."
"Riiiiight..." Sirius said to him.
A boy with very long, greasy jet black hair was sitting in the compartment across from them. James noticed him and beckoned him to come over to their room.
"Hey boy, what's your name?" he asked smirking at him.
"My... my name is Severus Snape." He told him
"Well SNIVELUS, oh you don't mind if I call you that, do you?"
"Well I--- " the boy started
"Good, good. Now what kind of a family do you come from? I mean, your robes are almost unwearable, and your hair... when was the last time you washed it? Its horrible!"
The boy looked close to tears. James kept laughing and talking and smirking.
"And you smell horrible! Did you sleep in a gutter last night? Does your family even feed you? Do you even HAVE a family?!?" He laughed harder. The other boys joined in with a chorus of mean things.
Sophie couldn't believe her ears. These boys hadn't even talked to this poor boy for a minute, yet they were making fun of him as if they had know him their whole lives. They were being so horrible to him, but she didn't speak up. But someone else did.
"Hey, you there! Leave him alone! He hasn't done anything to you!" A girl pushed the boy out of the way, and braced herself in the doorway between the hall, and Sophie's compartment.
"Prissy, what's your name?" Messy Hair smirked largely at her.
"Lily Evans. And I'm NOT interested in knowing yours." She scowled at him.
"Well that's just too bad now isn't it. The name is James Potter." He pretended to pollish his finger nails on his robes.
"Well Potter, you should leave innocent people alone! Pick on someone who's actually done something to you!"
The girl looked at Sophie. "Who's this? Your sister? I hope she's not as horrible as you are."
James looked at Sophie. "Nope, she's not my sister. She's my girlfriend. Her name is Sophie." Before Sophie had known it, he had put his arm around her and pulled her towards him so she was leaning on his shoulder.
She jumped off the seat and yelled "I am NOT your girlfriend you arrogant little cockroach!"
Lily looked impressed at her valiancy. James looked both mortified and confused. Sophie guessed he wasn't used to having anyone stand up for their rights, or being rejected by a girl.
Lily put her arm around Sophie's shoulder. "Come on, you don't want to stay here with these gits do you?" she asked her.
Sophie glared at James. "What a conceited little bugger." She thought to herself. "No, I don't." she picked up her bags and Lily helped her carry them to her compartment.
Lily introduced her to all of her friends. They seemed very nice. Much nicer than the boys had been to her. She felt more welcome with the girls. At least these people didn't ask her strange questions or give her strange looks like the boys had. Then Sophie realized that she had forgotten her owl in the boys compartment.
"Oh no, I forgot my owl, Chevy in the other compartment! I'll be right back."
She ran to the other compartment and opened the door to see her owl right where she had left it.
She reached up to grab it, and James poked her in the side. She looked down and he mouthed the words "she's a git." But Sophie ignored it. She started down the hall but hadn't gotten very far when she heard a sniff and "girls." She pictured Snuffles rolling his eyes at her and she laughed. "What a lot they are." She thought to herself.
As Sophie Carwin (as she was before she was married), her older brothers Steven, a fifth year, Joseph, a third year, and her mother and father stepped through the gate between platforms 9 and 10, she saw hundreds of students kissing their parents goodbye and the parents crying and nearly suffocating their kids in huge bear hugs. Her brothers made their way onto the train with their different groups of friends. Her mother looked at her and smiled tearfully, and gave her a peck on the cheek and her father gave her a pat on the back which almost knocked her over. She laughed and gave them both a hug. She was starting to get homesick and she hadn't even left the station yet. They said goodbye to her, and she ran on the train as its whistle blew and the last of the children clambered onto it.
As soon as she had handed her ticket to the train master, the train jolted and started to move. She held onto her bags and walked down the narrow hallway that was the middle of the train, looking for an open compartment.
The first compartment had a few girls in it, but they looked around 16 or so and Sophie didn't want to bother them. The second one was full with a group of laughing 4th years. The third one had a couple of boys in it, and by what they looked like, first years like her. She was getting tired and she decided that she would sit there, whether they liked it or not.
She dragged her bags in plopped herself down onto the open seat. The jabbering that had filled the compartment stopped. 6 eyes turned her direction and stopped, an awkward silence overtaking the room. After a few moments, she spoke.
"Hi, I'm Sophie. Sophie Carwin." She smiled, hoping they would return theirs, but they didn't. All eyes were still on her, in utter complete silence.
She looked at all the boys. There was one with messy jet black hair and glasses, a boy with whitish-blonde hair who was remarkably skinny, and a boy with greasy looking brown hair that covered his face who was wearing brand new robes.
After another awkward silence, the boy that she was sitting next to spoke. "I'm Potter. James Potter." He messed his hair up some more, and smirked at her. The other boys took after his example and offered their names, too.
"Hello, my name is Remus Lupin." He gave her a faint, unconvincing smile. He turned away from her, and began reading a page from the Daily Prophet.
The last boy sniffed. "Sirius Black." The boy with the longish hair eyed her over. She looked at him, and their eyes locked for a brief moment. Then he said "Why are you sitting here?" He sniffed again.
Sophie kind of surprised by the question answered, "No more open compartments." Which of course, was a lie, she thought. There probably were more open compartments, but she was just too lazy to go looking. Oh well, they didn't seem to know the difference.
Sophie made a mental note to herself to learn these boys names some day. She had difficulty remembering them now. Until then, she'd just have to make up nicknames for them, in her mind. "Hm..." she thought, "That one I'll call Messy Hair, that one I'll call Skinny, and that one I'll call... Snuffles."
"What houses do you think you'll be in?" she asked the boys.
The Snuffles snorted. "I'll probably be in Slytherin. My whole family's been in it. Its kind of like a tradition. But I'm doing everything I can to break that tradition."
Sophie had heard bad things from her parents about kids who went to Slytherin. Her brothers had told her stories about Slytherins hexing kids in the corridors between classes. Her thoughts were interrupted when Messy Hair started talking.
"Well, I think I'll be in Gryffindor cause I'm just SUCH a noble soul!" he sighed and messed his hair up once more.
"I think arrogant soul is more like it!" Sophie thought.
"I'll hope I'm not in Hufflepuff! I heard that's where all of the stupid people go!" Skinny said frightfully.
By then Madame Shamble, the woman with the food cart had stopped by.
"Would you like anything off the trolley dears?" she asked.
"Sure! I'll have a bag of bertie botts every flavor beans, 3 chocolate frogs, and 5 packs of droobles best blowing gum." Sophie payed the woman and shoved all but a chocolate frog in her purse.
"I'll have 3 bags of every flavor beans, and 5 chocolate frogs." Messy Hair said.
"I'll have 87 chocolate frogs!" Skinny shouted at her and threw his money onto the trolley.
The trolley woman looked astonished, but she gave him as many chocolate frogs as she had and he gave her a handful of silver coins.
After she left, Snuffles spoke up. "Why so many packs of gum?" He asked Sophie.
"You can never have enough gum. And besides, I didn't get nearly as much gum as Skin --- I mean him over there got chocolate frogs!" Sophie pointed at Remus.
"Yah, why did you get so many of those?" Messy Hair asked him.
"I... uh..." Remus started to break into a sweat. "I'm... collecting the cards... yah that's it! I'm looking for a new one."
"Riiiiight..." Sirius said to him.
A boy with very long, greasy jet black hair was sitting in the compartment across from them. James noticed him and beckoned him to come over to their room.
"Hey boy, what's your name?" he asked smirking at him.
"My... my name is Severus Snape." He told him
"Well SNIVELUS, oh you don't mind if I call you that, do you?"
"Well I--- " the boy started
"Good, good. Now what kind of a family do you come from? I mean, your robes are almost unwearable, and your hair... when was the last time you washed it? Its horrible!"
The boy looked close to tears. James kept laughing and talking and smirking.
"And you smell horrible! Did you sleep in a gutter last night? Does your family even feed you? Do you even HAVE a family?!?" He laughed harder. The other boys joined in with a chorus of mean things.
Sophie couldn't believe her ears. These boys hadn't even talked to this poor boy for a minute, yet they were making fun of him as if they had know him their whole lives. They were being so horrible to him, but she didn't speak up. But someone else did.
"Hey, you there! Leave him alone! He hasn't done anything to you!" A girl pushed the boy out of the way, and braced herself in the doorway between the hall, and Sophie's compartment.
"Prissy, what's your name?" Messy Hair smirked largely at her.
"Lily Evans. And I'm NOT interested in knowing yours." She scowled at him.
"Well that's just too bad now isn't it. The name is James Potter." He pretended to pollish his finger nails on his robes.
"Well Potter, you should leave innocent people alone! Pick on someone who's actually done something to you!"
The girl looked at Sophie. "Who's this? Your sister? I hope she's not as horrible as you are."
James looked at Sophie. "Nope, she's not my sister. She's my girlfriend. Her name is Sophie." Before Sophie had known it, he had put his arm around her and pulled her towards him so she was leaning on his shoulder.
She jumped off the seat and yelled "I am NOT your girlfriend you arrogant little cockroach!"
Lily looked impressed at her valiancy. James looked both mortified and confused. Sophie guessed he wasn't used to having anyone stand up for their rights, or being rejected by a girl.
Lily put her arm around Sophie's shoulder. "Come on, you don't want to stay here with these gits do you?" she asked her.
Sophie glared at James. "What a conceited little bugger." She thought to herself. "No, I don't." she picked up her bags and Lily helped her carry them to her compartment.
Lily introduced her to all of her friends. They seemed very nice. Much nicer than the boys had been to her. She felt more welcome with the girls. At least these people didn't ask her strange questions or give her strange looks like the boys had. Then Sophie realized that she had forgotten her owl in the boys compartment.
"Oh no, I forgot my owl, Chevy in the other compartment! I'll be right back."
She ran to the other compartment and opened the door to see her owl right where she had left it.
She reached up to grab it, and James poked her in the side. She looked down and he mouthed the words "she's a git." But Sophie ignored it. She started down the hall but hadn't gotten very far when she heard a sniff and "girls." She pictured Snuffles rolling his eyes at her and she laughed. "What a lot they are." She thought to herself.