The Will of the Wands
Chapter 2 – Platform Nine and Three Quarters
While Dakota was suffering a trip down memory lane, Madison Reed was finding it hard to say goodbye to her insufferable twin siblings. Her younger brother Lincoln was putting up a huge fuss about having to hold Madison's owl, Hobbes. Meanwhile, her sister Taylor was complaining about the identical outfits their mother made them wear.
"But they look great on you two! Like peas in a pod," their mother had said at their home in Coney Island.
"I don't like them," the four-year old said shrilly. She tugged at a wayward blonde pigtail as she looked down at her overall dress in distaste.
Her twin stopped rocking Madison's suitcase like a rodeo horse and looked up. "Mummy? Would we get in trouble if we said we didn't like wearing the same thing?" His blue eyes were wide under a curtain of blonde wisps.
"No, no, no," Mrs. Reed said as she checked and re-checked Madison's ticket. "Maddy, dear, do you have everything? Socks, toothbrush, underwear?"
"YES, Mum," Madison replied hastily. She looked around to make sure no one she knew heard that. 'Oh wait! I forgot, we're in freaking England! No one I know is here! Duh' She pulled an elastic from her wrist and began to put her hair up.
"Maddy, it's impolite to do your hair in public," her mother admonished. Madison groaned. 'They're annoying, but somehow, I'll miss them.' Mrs. Reed checked her watch, prying Lincoln from the bumper-stickered suitcase at the same time. "Maddy, it's time to go."
Madison looked down at her sister, who was standing innocently by their mother's side. She forced a smile, and stooped down. "Tay, it's up to you now to make Lincoln miserable. Can you do that?"
Taylor nodded wistfully.
"Come on, Tay. I'll owl at least once a week. I'll find things that you'd like to hear about, like pretty paintings that talk, or the teachers or something. Okay?" Madison hoped she'd not make a scene; if Taylor cried, then she would. She turned to Lincoln, who was happily batting the helicopter top of his hat around, making a soft whirring sound.
"Link, can you do me a favor? Can you pretty please play with the Harry Potter doll with Taylor when she wants to? She'll play Quidditch with you if you do." Lincoln's eyes lit up.
"Really? Wow!"
"I'll owl you, too. What do you want to know about Hogwarts?"
"I wanna hear about the bugs!" Lincoln shrieked. Madison shuddered.
"I dunno if there will be bugs. What if I tell you about the Quidditch matches I see? Hogwarts has four teams." Lincoln's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"Really? Really really?"
"Really really," Madison echoed. She giggled at the thought of a green ogre grinning at a donkey, saying the same thing. However, Lincoln thought she was laughing at him.
"Maddy, don't laugh at me!" Lincoln buried his head in their mother's ankles.
"Come here, you twerp. I wasn't laughing at you, I was laughing at Shrek," Madison explained. Lincoln raised his eyebrows quizzically.
"Maddy, you'd better hurry up, you'll miss the train. Um," Mrs. Reed said, flushing, "Do you know how to get onto the platform?"
"Uh, no. Is that a problem?" Madison cringed, waiting for her mother to laugh. It didn't come.
"Well, I don't either. Um, we're in trouble now," Mrs. Reed said cheerfully. She didn't seem the least bit worried that her daughter might miss the eleven o'clock train, as it was ten-fifty.
Just then, a tall black-haired boy came jogging into view. He had black glasses perched precariously on the bridge of his nose, and a green t-shirt. He was pushing a carriage piled with his belongings in front of him.
Little did the fretful Americans know that this was the Boy-Who-Lived himself, Harry Potter. If she'd have known who he was, Madison surely wouldn't have approached him as soon as she saw the Hogwarts crest.
"Um, excuse me," Madison spoke up. The boy looked around, and then down.
"Oh, hello?" He spoke with a light British accent, which sounded so strange to Madison, being American and all.
"Um, yeah. Sorry. I was wondering, could you show me how to get onto the platform?" She looked up at his handsome face. 'Whoa, how come all the guys on Coney couldn't look like this?' she thought. She mentally shook herself. 'Stupid, you're asking for directions, not admiring his face!'
"Oh, yeah. Sure." The boy smiled awkwardly. "Have you got everything?" Madison nodded. "Well, let's go, then." He grasped her small hand in his, and began to run at the wall. 'OH MY GOD, HE'S CRAZY! WE'RE RUNNING AT THE WALL!' She braced herself as she came closer and closer to the wall. 'Goodbye memories!' She waited for the crash. Again, for the second time, she didn't get what she thought was coming.
"Here we are," the boy said cheerily. One look at Madison's shocked face told him that she was a first-year. "Oh, I'm sorry if I scared you, but that's the best way to get to the platform. Actually, it's the only way." He waved, and took off, blending in with the people milling around the train's many compartments.
Anxious to leave the platform before she was run over by more incoming people, namely a tall boy with pale skin and equally pale blond hair, she climbed aboard the train to the third compartment. She was shocked to see that another girl had already sat down at the window on the far end. Hoping to make as little noise as possible, Madison chose a seat by the door.
She sat with her suitcase in her arms, studying the girl in front of her. She seemed a bit preoccupied, and had the same thick hair that she herself had and despised so much. 'Maybe we'll be in the same house,' she thought feebly. Then, the girl turned around. 'Don't stare, don't stare! So what if she's a Brit?'
Millie looked away at the green hills rushing by, and an awkward silence descended on the car. She heard the American cough slightly, and the silence continued. Suddenly the roar of rock music filled the air, making Millie jump involuntarily. Chad Kroeger's 'Hero' blared through a set of headphones clutched in her companion's hands, as she hastily fiddled with the dials, trying to reduce the volume.
"And they say that a hero will save us-" The American found the volume, and immediately the car fell once again into silence. Millie, who had been staring blatantly at her fellow passenger, began to turn away again, when the girl began to talk to fill the quiet.
"Oh! Sorry about that. Y'know- I like rock and yeah.... So- what's your name?"
"Uh, Millie."
"Millie. Right. I'm Madison! You're a Brit, right?"
Millie blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Y'know, you're British. Wait - that was a really dumb question. Everyone here's British. How could I ignore the accent?" Madison grinned sheepishly at her friend, who smiled hesitantly back, then posed the unsaid question.
"So you must be-"
"-an American." Maddy finished. "From Coney Island, to be exact. I'm coming to Hogwarts kind of as a foreign exchange student, sorta. I think it was some deal Dumbledore worked out or whatever. I dunno. Anyway, yeah!" She opened up her suitcase, and pulled out several bags of candy. Millie leaned forward, curious.
"What, you've never seen Bites before?" Maddy laughed, opened a bag, and tossed a few chocolate balls to Millie. "They're the peanut butter kind. I can't believe they don't have them here. Man, it's a whole different place, England is. I mean, it doesn't seem like the US and the UK would be that different, but it really is! I mean, heck! The guys here are twice as good looking!"
She glanced out the door of their car, just as a tall blonde boy strode past. Madison turned to her friend, who was eagerly eating the chocolate. "See what I mean?"
A flock of girls rushed past the carriage door as well, squawking and giggling in pursuit of the boy. Maddy sighed. "Unfortunately, so are the girls. Good grief. How will I ever get to measure up to your English chick standards?" She winked, and tossed 3 Bites in the air, catching them in her mouth with a wink.
Millie was mesmerized by this new person- funny, brassy, and over all, American! She'd never really met any Americans her age, but this one seemed all right. She motioned to Maddy's suitcase propped open on the seat.
"You sure seem patriotic enough. You really proud to be an American?" Madison grinned, and tossed four candies into the air, juggling them.
"Of course. Aren't you proud to be British?"
"I guess. I've never thought about it much. Anyway, here's the lunch cart. Here, I have my money right here- I'll treat."
They sat together, laughing and eating their lunches, as the train moved closer and closer to their destination.
Dakota woke up somewhere in the middle of the Scottish countryside to a blazing row outside her compartment door. Her eyes fluttered open to see Tava cowering behind his wire cage.
"Pansy, what do you want me to do? Ignore my father?" A deep voice shouted hysterically. Interested, Dakota peeked out the door. What she saw next made her sick to her stomach.
Draco Malfoy.
Her cousin. The one that she'd been afraid of since she was five. The one who used to curse her because he could, turning her toy broomstick into a snake to scare her, to show her who had more authority. He stood in the hall with his arms folded across his broad chest, which was covered in a black cashmere sweater. The girl standing across from him had bleached blonde hair, of which was chopped in a fashion that reminded Dakota of her sister Riley.
"I don't know Draco, the man's delusional! He's a Death Eater, for crying out loud!" The girl, who Dakota supposed was Pansy, seemed even more hysterical than Draco.
"He's my father! It is my duty, as his son, to listen to what he says. It is my duty, as a Malfoy, to obey him. If that means I will eventually become a Death Eater, so be it. I don't have to like what I am bound for, Pansy." His steely-gray eyes glittered in the shadows of the corridor.
"Are you saying that even though you think it's wrong, you'll be initiated into the Death Eater fold in two years?" Pansy's voice cracked. Her lips were dry, and her hands were shaking. Dakota was terrified that sooner or later, both would turn around and see her listening. But she was rooted to the spot.
"Yes, Pansy. I am bound to my father. I am bound to Lord Voldemort." His voice dropped. "If that bothers you, I'm sorry. I can't go against my father. Not now." Dakota's mind was reeling. 'My uncle is a Death Eater? My cousin is going to be a Death Eater?' She could feel her knees shaking. Slowly, she slipped back onto the cushion where Tava still cowered, and buried herself in his fur.
"C'mon, Pansy. Let's sit down, there's a compartment just there, yes, that's it." He slid open the door. The girl entered first, and smoothed her dark jeans hastily, and sat down opposite Dakota.
"Hello. We're not bothering you, are we?" She smiled, revealing the perfect teeth that Dakota associated with toothpaste commercials.
She shook her head swiftly, hugging Tava closer to her chest.
Draco, who was busy sliding the door closed, had not noticed his cousin. "Pansy, who're you talking to---" he stopped. It took a minute for him to register who was sitting before him, as she had made herself scarce the past few times his family had made their annual visit to their house, with the fear that he'd turn her into a bat.
With his trademark sneer, he said, "Dakota, I see that you've retained your look of equal parts vacant and terror. Now, have we been over our nightmares of creepy-crawlies for a while?"
Dakota felt her face burn. He was, of course, referring to his last visit to her house. After their parents had insisted that they play together, Draco had immediately taken initiative to torment her by conjuring up the worst sorts of insects and spiders imaginable. For at least a month and a half, Dakota was tormented by nightmares of the various insects attacking her, as Draco had instructed them to do once he'd built up a considerable army. But now, on her way to places unknown, Dakota felt strong.
"No, I've been over them for at least a year or two. I see you've retained both your ability to make yourself feel important and the ability to look absolutely ridiculous." She folded her arms triumphantly. It seemed as though she'd struck a nerve, as Draco's normally bloodless face turned a faint pink.
"Did I just hear you attempt to insult me?" Draco hissed. He moved closer to her, almost dwarfing her in height.
"No, that was my insult hitting home," Dakota replied. She took Tava from behind his cage and set him in it, moving it behind her, out of her cousin's reach.
"Dakota, dear, you've just gone too far." Draco sneered. Next to him, Pansy stood with her arms crossed, smiling smugly.
"No, I think you've gone too far, Drakie." She smiled sweetly up at him, hoping her old nickname for him would throw him off for a second. Fortunately, it did.
"What did you call me?" He was livid. He turned to Pansy. "Did you hear what she called me?" Pansy nodded fearfully. Draco growled, then felt around in his pockets for his wand.
"Dakota, I think this will resume those lovely little night scares you finally got over." He turned to face Dakota, but she wasn't there.
By the time Draco and Pansy had realized she was gone, Dakota had gotten herself as far away as possible- to the other end of the train. Tava's cage thumped behind her as she glanced backward every few seconds, to make sure that they weren't following her. She slumped against the closest wall she could find; she had to catch her breath. Tava squeaked so forcefully from inside the cage Dakota wondered if he'd ever be normal again. She had just stood up with a small squeak of her own- Draco and Pansy were roaming the corridors, wands drawn. Then she ran into something extremely solid.
She glanced up and nearly choked. For the second time today, she ran into Harry Potter. He seemed to remember her, for he began to cringe. Dakota felt awful.
"I'm really sorry, but I was trying to get away from my cousin, he's after me." She blinked up at him through small tears that were beginning to fall. For a moment, she thought she saw Harry smile, but the trace vanished.
Instead, he asked, "Who's your cousin?" Dakota couldn't speak, but she pointed down the corridor. Pansy had just emerged from the girl's lavatory, holding a compact. Draco seemed to be yelling at her for going to freshen her makeup when they were supposed to be looking for Dakota.
"Malfoy's your cousin?" Harry asked incredulously. Surely he canned the sarcasm for his family...then again, he's Draco, he thought. Dakota nodded. As Draco came closer, she began to inch away. "Wait, what did you do that made him so angry?"
Dakota started from the beginning, and ended with, "...and now he's probably going to hex me into next week." She glanced over her shoulder, and nearly fainted. They had just disappeared into a compartment three doors down.
Harry smirked at Draco's retreating back. "Come with me," he said, picking up Tava's cage. He quickly led her to the end car, where he opened the door and pushed through as though he owned it.
The other occupants looked up from what they were doing with interest. There was a blonde boy and girl in the corner, carrying on a lively conversation about Herbology; a redheaded boy sitting in front of a chess board, which was currently under siege, thanks to the brown-haired girl. Another redhead, this one a girl, was watching with interest, twirling her hair offhandedly.
"Who's she?" asked the redheaded boy. His question made the girl across from him jump up and walk over to them, extending her hand.
"Hello there, I'm Hermione Granger." She offered Dakota her hand.
"I'm Dakota. Dakota Williams," Dakota said shyly. Part of her was incredibly intrigued by this group, but the better part was terrified that Draco and Pansy would follow them, like bloodhounds on the trail. More than once she'd wondered if Draco was part hound, but she'd never told anyone that.
"Malfoy's after her," Harry explained to the boy, who was called Ron. "She's his cousin."
The redhead started to curse loudly, and Dakota ducked her head. He stopped abruptly, and looked at her questioningly. "Oh, sorry." Dakota shook her head, but didn't say anything, too nervous to speak. After a few silent moments, she couldn't take it anymore.
"I hate him, too," she blurted. Realizing what she just said, she clapped her hand over her mouth while Harry and Ron laughed. "He was going to hex me and I called him..." -she looked over her shoulder worriedly- " I called him Drakie."
The boys burst into laughter. "You're kidding, right?" Harry choked. "I mean, you didn't really call him Drakie, did you?"
Dakota nodded. "Why?"
Harry shook his head. "You have got some nerve. I mean, no one in their right mind would call him Drakie."
"But I did," said Dakota. She thought for a minute. "Is that a bad thing?"
"No, but I think it does mean that you'll either be a Gryffindor or a Slytherin," Ron said, chewing the head of a chocolate frog.
"I don't want to be a Slytherin. My grandfather was one." She shuddered.
"Was he a Death Eater?" Ron asked, tossing the frog back and forth. Up, down, up, down, splat! "Oops!" The frog exploded all over the front of his pants. Harry and the brown-haired girl, Hermione, started to laugh. "It's not that funny," Ron mumbled.
"H-he, he was called Grindelwald," Dakota said coldly. Her tone sparked a certain undetected emotion deep within her being. It spooked the other passengers, because it seemed as though all the light in her warm brown eyes had vanished, replacing it with a cold, tunnel-like stare. "He was a dark wizard, before Voldemort's time. Dumbledore killed him in 1945."
No one dared to speak. Then, as Hermione started to clear her throat, the handle on the door began to turn.
"It's Malfoy!" hissed Harry. He ran to his trunk and got out a silvery cloak with black stitching. "Under here, get in the corner with Luna and Neville, go on!"
Dakota vanished under the cloak just as none other than Draco Malfoy, flanked by Pansy Parkinson. His bloodless face was etched with an utmost loathing. Behind him, Pansy screwed up her face at the sight of the Gryffindors.
"Potter." Draco said silkily. He stepped into the compartment with an air that Dakota thought inappropriate to use other than in the presence of the Queen Mum herself.
"Malfoy," Harry returned, stepping forward. He glanced downward slightly, trying to avoid stepping on Dakota if he could help it. When he deemed it safe, he looked up to meet Draco's piercing stare. "I see you've been taking voice lessons from your godfather."
"Either explain yourself, Potter, or tell me, what are we planning to do to impress old Dumbledore this year?" he sneered. A thought came to mind. "Or, are you going to stop with the Mudblood-loving fool and join the Dark side?"
"You know perfectly well that I won't join you, Daddy, and the so-called Lord of yours," spat Harry. His eyes burned holes into Draco's. Shielded slightly by Luna and Neville, Dakota shivered underneath the cloak.
"And what do you mean about the voice lessons?" Draco's eyes narrowed. He hated to be clueless, especially when dealing with Potter.
"I mean that I see you've been practicing that tone of voice with your apparent godfather, Snape," Harry said.
To Dakota's untrained eye, this seemed to strike a nerve with her already hacked off cousin. For a minute, blood rushed to his abnormally pale face, signaling his anger. Then, with the same voice he had used to announce his arrival, Draco said, "Well, that's more than we can say for your godfather, isn't it?" He watched in delight as Harry clenched and unclenched his fists.
Clearly enjoying the effect, he continued, "Isn't he the one who ran away from the Dark Lord's servants while he was on the run from the Ministry of Magic, and got himself blown up by his own cousin? Oh, it's hard, I know. Maybe you should join him."
Dakota gasped as he drew his wand.
"Stupefy!" A shrill voice rang out in the silence of the car. Everyone swiveled around to locate the source of the curse. It was Neville.
"Sorry Harry, but I couldn't help it, he was-"
"Thanks, Neville," Harry interrupted. He gave the blond boy a grim smile before turning around to face Pansy; in the commotion, she had fled, leaving Draco to defend for himself.
"Well, can't have him hanging around the rest of the bloody time," Ron said with a grin. "Harry, want to dump him in the loo?" Harry flashed an identical grin, then pretended to think on it.
"Well, it is a good idea, Ron, but it should be fitting for our resident Youth Death Eater, don't you think?" He motioned for Dakota to take off the cloak. "Any ideas?"
Her eyes lit up. "Can we lock him in the loo with a bunch of bats and snakes and all sorts of creepy-crawly things? That's what he used to do to me, anyway." She looked pleadingly at Harry.
"Sounds about right...the bats'll scare him to death, after the beautiful Bat-Bogey Hex he was hit with from our newly elected prankster, Ginny." The redheaded girl bowed.
"Thank you, thank you!"
"C'mon Ron, help me with this git, he's heavy!" The two boys, with the help of Neville and Luna, carried the unconscious Draco to the boy's lavatory. They heaved him into the low sink, and stepped back as Ginny moved forward, wand at the ready.
After saying goodbye to her rescuers, Dakota set off to find Millie. 'Wait till she hears about this! She'll never believe that Harry Potter saved me from my cousin!' She wandered down the corridors, occasionally peeking into compartments. "Sorry," she mouthed to a pair of burly-looking boys with green ties flopped around their necks.
She ran into the witch with the lunch cart some time later, and bought a few cauldron cakes to munch on. She traipsed down the corridor again listlessly, not knowing where she was going, exactly.
At a long last, Dakota found the compartment she'd been sitting in before Draco had ambushed her. She picked up her things once again, and tossed them into the car. Tava squeaked as she carried him to the window, where she sat in front of and gazed outside. The train was now surrounded by mountains, and dark clouds loomed overhead. Something told her that the trip was nearly half-over, so, after making sure the door was locked, she decided to change into her robes. As she slipped the robe over her skirt and vest, she wondered if she would please her mother and father with whatever House she was Sorted into.
