"Chiharu made it sound as if it was interesting on the train." Zoë said, stifling a yawn.
"I suppose it is, when you know people." Dante said, trying to be diplomatic.
"I wish Dethol had decided to take the train with us." Zephari sighed, staring out the window.
"Why do you like him so much?" Zoë demanded before thinking, "He's really weird."
"He's one of the only adults who'll talk to me." Zephari growled and Zoë realized her mistake, "He might be weird, or crazy, but he's still my best adult friend."
"And why do you like Professor Malfoy so much?" Zoë asked, quieter, determined to get answers.
"Because, he reminds me of my Dad." Zephari snapped.
Zoë's eyes widened. She had never heard Zephari talk about her dad before, especially not in reference to Draco Malfoy of all people. She could not help but feel a little sour. "Well, at least you knew your dad."
Zephari glared at her, "Don't get all pouty, you asked me and I answered. At least you still have your mum."
Zoë turned away and took out her 1000 Magical Herbs and Fungi book, burying her nose in it with her curtain of messy black hair hiding her from Zephari. She felt hurt, but she knew that she should not feel offended or jealous of Zephari, who had neither parent still alive. Both of them still had it better than Ron and Hermione's children, she thought. Then again, they still had grandparents. Three of Zephari's four grandparents were dead, the other unknown.
After it had gotten dark and the lights had come on, Zoë sighed and closed her book. "Sorry." She mumbled, looking at Zephari through her bangs.
"S'okay." The other girl muttered, drawing designs on the window.
Dante rolled her eyes. "About time." She told them. "Now, both of you, eat some of these cauldron pasties with me, why don't you?"
Zoë moved her hair out of her eyes and took one, nibbling on it. She cheered up when Zephari took one and offered the grey-eyed girl a small smile, earning one in return. Zoë's pet cat, a tabby, named Harry, jumped up on the table and stole a pastry. "Harry!" Zoë cried, picking him up just as he gulped it down. "Bad cat." She chided, earning a smug look from the feline as he licked his lips.
Before the girls could react, Dante's cat did the same thing. He was a vibrant orange with white underside and chin, named Ronald. Zephari looked amused, in a slightly superior way, as she had an owl. As Dante scolded her pet, Zoë looked at her friend curiously.
"What?" Zephari asked calmly.
"Why don't you let Athen out of his cage? Ron and Harry wouldn't chase him, I'm sure." Zoë offered.
Zephari looked grateful. "Sure." She leaned over and opened her eagle owl's cage, letting him climb onto her arm. "Thanks."
Zoë shrugged. "Not my job to tell you what you can and can't do." She answered.
"Nope, that's Mum and Dad's job." Dante said pertly.
A knock sounded on the door as Zoë cleaned off her fingers after a second pasty. She looked up to see a relative mob of Muggle-clothed young wizards. She saw quite a few red-heads and instantly assumed they were simply a bunch of Weasleys, until she realized that the Weasleys would just bombard them during the school year not on the train.
"Go on, get in!" She heard a familiar voice, Alexis's, order.
A few Gryffindors were shoved in the door, all in their age group. Alexis shoved through while Alexandre closed the doors and barred them with his body. One boy in particular looked as if he wanted to evaporate on the spot. Alexis, for one, looked smug.
"Zephari, Dante, Zoë, meet Alistair-" the nervous boy, "Longbottom, Colin Finnigan," a boy with hair red enough to be a Weasley, "and August Wood." The other red-haired boy, "Al's in fourth but Sam and Gus are in third."
"Hi." Zoë said brightly, standing up, "I've heard about your dads, and probably your mums too. My name's Zoë Potter. My dad's Harry Potter, mum's Cho Chang."
"Neville Longbottom and Lavender Brown." Alistair mumbled.
"Dad told me about Neville." Zephari said quietly, now standing in the dark corner, where she had gone when she heard the knock. Zoë knew she did not like people that much. "Zephari Black, daughter of Athen Black and Lily Weasley."
Colin looked mildly surprised, "M'da didn't tell me Athen Black had a daughter."
"And your dad would be?" Zephari asked, somewhat coldly.
"Seamus Finnigan. Mam's Parvati Patil." He said with a bright Irish accent.
"Your dad's the Transfiguration teacher?" Dante asked quietly.
"Yup." He said proudly, "I'm juss like him, his friends say."
"You light everything on fire, just like he did when he was at school." Alexandre muttered, grinning.
"My dad's Oliver Wood, mom is Katie Bell." The last boy said quietly, with a similar accent.
"Old Gryffindor Keeper, went on to play for Puddlemere United?" Zephari asked, sounding interested. "And your mother was a Chaser."
"Precisely." August said.
"And I'm Dante Weasley, daughter of Charlie Weasley and Nymphadora Tonks." Dante added proudly.
Zoë grinned. "A born Metamorphmagus." She added.
"Really?" Alistair asked, warming up to them.
"Zoë..." Dante muttered, "Mum told me to keep it quiet."
"They're Gryffindors, like us." Zoë said brightly.
"For all you know, you could be a Hufflepuff." Zephari pointed out darkly.
"What's got your knickers in a bunch?" Colin asked of Zephari.
"She's half Slytherin, don't mind her." Zoë told them.
"You're half Ravenclaw." Zephari moved into the shadows to show she was grinning, "But heritage has nothing to do with it. Not all mud-muggleborns end up in Hufflepuff."
"Did you nearly call muggleborns mudbloods?" Alistair demanded, his eyes wide.
"I was mostly raised by my Dad, who's pureblood Slytherin." Zephari said dismissively, "Their terms kind of grow on you."
"You should watch your mouth at Hogwarts, it's a school." Alistair muttered crossly.
"And you think the professors are all manners?"
Everyone whirled to stair at August, who had a small grin on his face. Zephari looked amused, the rest were mixed surprise and horror. Except for Alexis and Alexandre, who were smirking.
"Don't let Aleanor catch you saying that. Professors are saints, in her mind." Alexis warned.
August grinned, "I know better than to let her catch me foul-mouthing her idols." He assured her, walking into the center of the little cabin. "You can't tell me you expected the profs to be perfect. They're only human, after all."
As if to prove him wrong, two loudly gossiping first years walked past the compartment door.
"I heard two of the teachers are vampires!"
"Oh yeah? Well the Care of Magical Creatures professor tried to sneak a demon onto the train!"
"And the Groundskeeper was a giant at one point."
"And the Transfiguration professor lights things on fire constantly!"
"And the Divination teacher has been forced into hiding!"
"The Astronomy prof's nocturnal."
"The Potions teacher eats students."
A gasp, then, "No way!"
Their voices were then muffled by mad laughter from those in the cabin. August grinned superiorly. "Okay, maybe not human, but still imperfect."
Zephari shook her head, "Sev doesn't eat students, and humans are too stringy." She muttered, stifling laughter.
"Sev?" Alistair, Colin and August repeated in horror.
"Ye mean ye're friends with that overgrown bat?" Colin demanded.
"Well... yeah." Zephari said proudly, "I'm friends with Professor Snape, Professor Malfoy and Professor Dethol. I'm also related to Professors Corner and Weasley."
"Wow..." The three chorused.
"What about you two?" Colin asked of the other two.
Zoë rolled her eyes. Again, Zephari had stolen the show. She understood how her Uncle Ron must have felt with her father always having the spotlight. "Dante's related to the same two, but we try to avoid familiarity with bats and demon-raisers."
August looked sceptical, Colin grinned and Alistair sighed in relief. She looked at the latter curiously, knowing the rest were as well.
"So she's the only weird one." He said gratefully.
Alexis grinned. "Now, Al, I thought you knew us Weasleys better than that!"
Alexandre put his arm around the Longbottom boy – who did not resemble any pictures Zoë had ever seen of Neville Longbottom – and Colin. "We're all mad as a hatter; you should know that by now."
Alistair rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm going to go change. You all should too, we're fifteen minutes away."
"How do you know that?" Zoë asked.
"His watch." Colin told her, dragging Alistair after him, "Had it since first year."
August seemed reluctant to leave until Alexis grabbed him by the sleeve. "Change." She ordered and he grinned sheepishly before running off.
Alexis and Alexandre wished them good luck before leaving. Zoë pulled on her Hogwarts robes with a thrill of excitement. She popped her head out of the top of her robe to see Dante flushed with anticipation and Zephari pale with nervousness. Zoë knew she was flushed as well.
The train ground to a pristine halt at the Hogsmeade station. Zoë nodded. "Right, we leave our things – and pets - here and go out on the platform." She told the others, who nodded tersely.
Dante swallowed bravely as she followed Zoë and Zephari off the train. She knew she could not show how afraid or nervous she was. She clenched and unclenched her hands, constantly checking her pocket for her wand. Ten and three fifths inches willow with the core of a phoenix feather; she now had her own wand with which to learn and practice spells.
"First years over here!" A voice called out, one she recognized.
So, apparently, did Zephari. The girl grinned impishly and ran through the crowd. "Dethol!" She cried, hugging him.
"Hey, there, Zeph." He said happily, hugging her back. "Where are your cousins? Ah, there they are. Alright you three?"
Zoë giggled suddenly.
"What?" He asked, looking perplexed.
"Mum said that Dad was always greeting like that from Hagrid." Zoë said.
Dante groaned. Zoë really should learn how to control her tongue. She kept saying things about those lost that got feelings hurt. She glared at her friend, who reddened and looked at her feet. Dante turned back to Dethol, who was calling the first years again.
"Dethol, how do we get to the castle?" She asked curiously.
Dethol grinned brightly, "Aha! So they had the decency not to tell you. Excellent." He murmured, "Just you wait, Dante, you'll love it. First years this way!"
A great many more children gathered around him, about forty in total. Once, Hogwarts had had more students but – due to the large drop in wizard numbers. Those who were of their age were the last of a great many number of wizards and witches, Dante knew, as their parents had died in the great war eleven years ago. All of them looked nervous, to an extent. Some sneered at others, others shook like leaves. And, Dante found, she felt as if she knew the majority of them already.
The platform had emptied except for Prefects and a few seventh years. Dethol nodded at this and motioned for them to follow him. "This way." He said briskly, with a different attitude to that which Dante was used to.
The first years followed nervously, looking around as they walked. Dethol led them to the edge of a glittering lake, across which they could see Hogwarts. Beside Dante, Zoë gasped and tugged on her sleeve. "It's beautiful!" Her friend breathed.
Dante nodded fervently and hurried into the same boat when Dethol indicated them. Zephari fixed every person who dared approach with a piercing glare. She looked murderous and Dante could tell that her nerves were getting to her. Her lips were pursed, her skin pale in the bright full moon's light and her grey eyes were flashing. She made sure they kept their boat to themselves.
Dethol looked around when they were all firmly in their little boats. "Keep your arms and legs inside the boat at all times," He told them cheerfully, making a few chuckle, "and hold on tight."
Dante gripped the sides of the boat just in time as the little wooden contraption sprung forward suddenly. Zoë toppled into her and Zephari, as she had been sitting in front. Dante grinned and pushed her back into her seat. "You should listen to your professors, Zoë." She warned her friend teasingly.
Zoë stuck her tongue out at Dante, who returned the favour. Zephari rolled her eyes and looked ahead eagerly. They reached a chamber beneath the school and followed Dethol up the stairs to a chamber behind the Great Hall. Dante felt a little distant from them all now, floating in a nervous bubble as they waited for the Deputy Headmistress to come and speak to them.
"Ah, thank you Dethol." A kindly voice said as a woman with blonde hair walked up behind Dethol.
"They're all yours, Hannah." He replied, smiling and sweeping off in his black robes.
"He's one of the vampires, don't you think?" A girl whispered to her friend.
"No, he's the crazy demon-keeper." Zephari whispered to her, smirking.
A few people laughed, though the two girls tittered nervously. "So... who're the vampires?" The second asked.
"The Defence Against the Dark Arts and Potions professors." Dante said before the kindly woman drew their attention.
"Attention please." She said in a kind, yet authoritative voice, "As you all know by now, you are about to be Sorted into your houses. When the time comes, I will lead you through these doors into the Great Hall. You will then wait until I call your name and put on the Sorting Hat. It will place you in Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw or Slytherin. While you are here, your House will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn your house points and your failures will lose them."
Zoë elbowed Dante and Zephari sharply. "Mum said that McGonagall always said the family bit." She told them, grinning.
"We will enter now. Please get into pairs and follow me." She ordered.
She got immediate results. It appeared everyone had taken a liking to the professor that Dethol had called Hannah. "Wait... Professor!" Dante whispered, pushing to the front before the doors could be opened. "Are you Professor Abbott by any chance?" She asked.
The woman nodded calmly. "Yes, I am. Back into line, please, Miss Weasley."
Dante blushed and went back beside Zephari and Zoë. They looked at her evenly and she made their sign for 'later'. They nodded and Professor Abbott went through the door. The first years obligingly followed into the Hall, lining up in front of the teacher's table. Dante gasped in spite of herself when she saw the enchanted ceiling, currently crisp and clear.
Candles floated above the tables, making the elegant goblets, cutlery and other dishes gleam brightly. These were all empty, but Dante knew they would fill upon the Headmaster's command. A gleaming banner displaying the Hogwarts emblem was hung behind the teachers. Dante waved excitedly at her Aunt Ginny and Uncle Bill, who waved back. She then waved at her cousins, who all waved from the Gryffindor table.
She bounced excitedly on her toes. The Sorting took place in alphabetical order, so she would be Sorted near to last. She was almost certain that she would faint from nervousness before then.