The next morning came early, but for once, Jen didn't care. She was simply
too excited as she, Patrick, Dan, Chris and her mum stuffed themselves in
their old sedan and headed off to King's Cross. They had to stop several
times at assorted distances down the driveway, as Patrick ran off to get
his quills and a toothbrush, Jen her supply of Filibuster's Fireworks, and
finally their Mum stopped to get some asprin for the headache they were
giving her.
Unlike their father, their Mum and her whole family were muggles, something that made any visits from Mum's relatives quite awkward. However, it did mean that Mum knew quite well how to drive a muggle auto, and all the family had an easy time using muggle currency and artifacts, and could blend in at least relatively well.
However, it did not fix the fact that having five people, two of whom were excessively squirmy eight- and nine-year-old boys and two others of whom carried immense trunks, in a small car was immensely uncomfortable. Tempers were running high, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they got to the station.
"C'mon, pull!" cried Jen as she and Patrick struggled to get their trunks out. The things had gotten wedged into the boot, and were turning out to be harder to extricate than they'd been to put in.
With a resounding thwap, the trunks finally gave way, sending their owners careening backwards and landing atop them. Jen's knocked the wind out of her, leaving her gasping for a second as she struggled to push it off her stomach. Recovering quickly, she elbowed Chris, who'd been laughing at her predicament, feeling assured that Patrick was dealing with Dan similarly.
When their mum finally broke in and split up the fights, distributing chastising words where she felt necessary, they lugged the trunks up the steps, grabbed an empty trolley, and made their way to the barrier.
"Now you be good," their mother told them, "or God help me, I'll do things that would get me in trouble with my old friends at the District Attorney's office. I do not want to hear of one- you hear me, one- fight breaking out between you two or I will end it. And don't let me hear any stories of dancing knickers, either," she continued, looking pointedly at Jen. "Now have fun!" she said, taking both of them in big hugs and giving them each a kiss.
"I swear," said Patrick as they went through the barrier, "that Mum has a split personality."
"Attorney by day, mum by night," said Jen, grinning, as they rolled their trunks toward the train. Patrick headed off with a wave to go find his friends, while Jen headed down the train, looking for a compartment with people her own age. Finally she found one, where a brown-haired boy with a hint of a tan sat chatting with a boy with sandy locks.
"Can I sit here?" she asked. The two of them looked at each other and nodded.
The blond boy, who was slightly huskier, saw her struggle with the trunk and asked, "You want help with that?"
Jen nodded, and the boys grabbed the other side of the trunk and heaved. Together, the three of them made quick work of getting it into the compartment.
"Jen Hawkins," she said, thumping down into a seat next to the brown-haired boy.
"Seamus O'Hannigan," he said with an Irish accent. He was a gangly kid, tall and blue-eyed, with a look of mischief about him. Jen liked him immediately.
"Ryan Foster," replied the other. He was brawnier than the other, and his blond locks were cut short. Gray eyes sparkled with humor and intelligence, and Jen decided she'd gotten lucky when she found this car. "I still say Seeker is the most important position," he said to Seamus, continuing their earlier conversation.
"Most important, maybe, but you shouldn't forget the other positions. A team can have the best Seeker in the world and still lose," Seamus replied, gesturing widely as he spoke.
"Like that World Cup with Bulgaria and Ireland," Jen cut in. "Krum got the Snitch, but Bulgaria still lost."
Both of the boys stared at her, expressions of surprise and delight on their faces. Jen grinned- she knew it was uncommon to find a girl with her love of Quidditch. "I mean, truly you need at least decent players in all the positions. A bad Keeper forces the Chasers to score more and the Seeker to make it a quick game, and bad Chasers mean you've gotta get the Snitch. I suppose bad Beaters would be easiest to deal with, but then you have your team being battered by Bludgers."
Their argument continued through the train ride until a woman came by with her cart of sweets. Jen looked longingly at the stacks of Chocolate Frogs and Licorice Wands, but turned her head away- she was nearly broke already, and the rest of her pocket money was stored deep in her trunk for use later. Taking a bruised apple out of her lunch bag, she munched on it as Ryan and Seamus ran to the woman. Ryan came back with two Chocolate Frogs and a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, while Seamus sauntered in with some Fizzing Whizbees, a Pumpkin Pasty and a few Licorice Wands.
"Want one?" Seamus asked, mouth full of pasty. Jen shook her head and took another bite out of her apple, trying to ignore the scent of pasty as it permeated her nose. She couldn't accept charity, particularly not candy they'd bought for themselves.
Seeing the twitch of longing on Jen's face, Ryan tossed a Chocolate Frog into her lap. "Have a bite or two, Hawk," he suggested. She was surprised and amused at her new name, and grateful as he continued, "Who knows? Maybe you'll like it. But if the card's Circe, I get it."
Jen grinned and took a bite, drawing the card out with slim fingers. "Ooh!" she cried, pleased. The card was Agrippa, and it was one of the few her brother was still missing. "I can get at least a Sickle for this one," she said, explaining when they looked at her.
They talked for a long while, until a prefect came by to tell them they had to change. Jen headed off to the bathroom for a little privacy, and came back in when they opened the door.
"What house d'ya want?" she asked, thinking of her own aspirations.
"Gryffindor for me, mate," said Seamus. "Whole family's gone there. Well, except for me cousin Mallachey, but we don't talk about him. He was a Slytherin."
Jen and Ryan both winced at the thought, and Ryan said thoughtfully, "My older sisters are Hufflepuffs, and I 'spose that'd be okay, but I'd prefer Ravenclaw, myself."
"Brother's a Ravenclaw," said Jen. "That or Gryffindor seems good to me."
"Just not Slytherin," muttered Seamus darkly.
"I dunno," said Jen, thinking, "sometimes it seems it's be worth it just to hear my parents."
That got a laugh from the others, though they were all nervous; Sorting was possibly the one thing that would most define their years at Hogwarts.
"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately," said a clear voice that echoed through the train.
Jen could feel her skin paling beneath her freckled tan, and she saw Seamus' doing the same. Ryan wiped his hands on his robes, and wet spots showed on the robes where the sweaty palms had touched. As they train began to slow, they discussed the various rumors they'd heard about Sorting.
"My sisters said it was an interview by a panel of judges, but I'll bet that's a load of bullocks," confided Ryan.
"Mum just laughed and said I'd do fine when I asked her," said Seamus, looking even more nervous with each passing moment.
"How comforting," muttered Jen. "Patrick said it was a huge contest, where you had to duel all the other first years, but then again, Patrick's the biggest liar I've ever known."
Unlike their father, their Mum and her whole family were muggles, something that made any visits from Mum's relatives quite awkward. However, it did mean that Mum knew quite well how to drive a muggle auto, and all the family had an easy time using muggle currency and artifacts, and could blend in at least relatively well.
However, it did not fix the fact that having five people, two of whom were excessively squirmy eight- and nine-year-old boys and two others of whom carried immense trunks, in a small car was immensely uncomfortable. Tempers were running high, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they got to the station.
"C'mon, pull!" cried Jen as she and Patrick struggled to get their trunks out. The things had gotten wedged into the boot, and were turning out to be harder to extricate than they'd been to put in.
With a resounding thwap, the trunks finally gave way, sending their owners careening backwards and landing atop them. Jen's knocked the wind out of her, leaving her gasping for a second as she struggled to push it off her stomach. Recovering quickly, she elbowed Chris, who'd been laughing at her predicament, feeling assured that Patrick was dealing with Dan similarly.
When their mum finally broke in and split up the fights, distributing chastising words where she felt necessary, they lugged the trunks up the steps, grabbed an empty trolley, and made their way to the barrier.
"Now you be good," their mother told them, "or God help me, I'll do things that would get me in trouble with my old friends at the District Attorney's office. I do not want to hear of one- you hear me, one- fight breaking out between you two or I will end it. And don't let me hear any stories of dancing knickers, either," she continued, looking pointedly at Jen. "Now have fun!" she said, taking both of them in big hugs and giving them each a kiss.
"I swear," said Patrick as they went through the barrier, "that Mum has a split personality."
"Attorney by day, mum by night," said Jen, grinning, as they rolled their trunks toward the train. Patrick headed off with a wave to go find his friends, while Jen headed down the train, looking for a compartment with people her own age. Finally she found one, where a brown-haired boy with a hint of a tan sat chatting with a boy with sandy locks.
"Can I sit here?" she asked. The two of them looked at each other and nodded.
The blond boy, who was slightly huskier, saw her struggle with the trunk and asked, "You want help with that?"
Jen nodded, and the boys grabbed the other side of the trunk and heaved. Together, the three of them made quick work of getting it into the compartment.
"Jen Hawkins," she said, thumping down into a seat next to the brown-haired boy.
"Seamus O'Hannigan," he said with an Irish accent. He was a gangly kid, tall and blue-eyed, with a look of mischief about him. Jen liked him immediately.
"Ryan Foster," replied the other. He was brawnier than the other, and his blond locks were cut short. Gray eyes sparkled with humor and intelligence, and Jen decided she'd gotten lucky when she found this car. "I still say Seeker is the most important position," he said to Seamus, continuing their earlier conversation.
"Most important, maybe, but you shouldn't forget the other positions. A team can have the best Seeker in the world and still lose," Seamus replied, gesturing widely as he spoke.
"Like that World Cup with Bulgaria and Ireland," Jen cut in. "Krum got the Snitch, but Bulgaria still lost."
Both of the boys stared at her, expressions of surprise and delight on their faces. Jen grinned- she knew it was uncommon to find a girl with her love of Quidditch. "I mean, truly you need at least decent players in all the positions. A bad Keeper forces the Chasers to score more and the Seeker to make it a quick game, and bad Chasers mean you've gotta get the Snitch. I suppose bad Beaters would be easiest to deal with, but then you have your team being battered by Bludgers."
Their argument continued through the train ride until a woman came by with her cart of sweets. Jen looked longingly at the stacks of Chocolate Frogs and Licorice Wands, but turned her head away- she was nearly broke already, and the rest of her pocket money was stored deep in her trunk for use later. Taking a bruised apple out of her lunch bag, she munched on it as Ryan and Seamus ran to the woman. Ryan came back with two Chocolate Frogs and a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, while Seamus sauntered in with some Fizzing Whizbees, a Pumpkin Pasty and a few Licorice Wands.
"Want one?" Seamus asked, mouth full of pasty. Jen shook her head and took another bite out of her apple, trying to ignore the scent of pasty as it permeated her nose. She couldn't accept charity, particularly not candy they'd bought for themselves.
Seeing the twitch of longing on Jen's face, Ryan tossed a Chocolate Frog into her lap. "Have a bite or two, Hawk," he suggested. She was surprised and amused at her new name, and grateful as he continued, "Who knows? Maybe you'll like it. But if the card's Circe, I get it."
Jen grinned and took a bite, drawing the card out with slim fingers. "Ooh!" she cried, pleased. The card was Agrippa, and it was one of the few her brother was still missing. "I can get at least a Sickle for this one," she said, explaining when they looked at her.
They talked for a long while, until a prefect came by to tell them they had to change. Jen headed off to the bathroom for a little privacy, and came back in when they opened the door.
"What house d'ya want?" she asked, thinking of her own aspirations.
"Gryffindor for me, mate," said Seamus. "Whole family's gone there. Well, except for me cousin Mallachey, but we don't talk about him. He was a Slytherin."
Jen and Ryan both winced at the thought, and Ryan said thoughtfully, "My older sisters are Hufflepuffs, and I 'spose that'd be okay, but I'd prefer Ravenclaw, myself."
"Brother's a Ravenclaw," said Jen. "That or Gryffindor seems good to me."
"Just not Slytherin," muttered Seamus darkly.
"I dunno," said Jen, thinking, "sometimes it seems it's be worth it just to hear my parents."
That got a laugh from the others, though they were all nervous; Sorting was possibly the one thing that would most define their years at Hogwarts.
"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately," said a clear voice that echoed through the train.
Jen could feel her skin paling beneath her freckled tan, and she saw Seamus' doing the same. Ryan wiped his hands on his robes, and wet spots showed on the robes where the sweaty palms had touched. As they train began to slow, they discussed the various rumors they'd heard about Sorting.
"My sisters said it was an interview by a panel of judges, but I'll bet that's a load of bullocks," confided Ryan.
"Mum just laughed and said I'd do fine when I asked her," said Seamus, looking even more nervous with each passing moment.
"How comforting," muttered Jen. "Patrick said it was a huge contest, where you had to duel all the other first years, but then again, Patrick's the biggest liar I've ever known."