"Why are you constantly making me late?" Elphaba complained loudly, watching Galinda try to lace the back of her corset. It was twenty to nine. Elphaba had awoken at six that morning, as per usual, dressed, and written a letter to her father, explaining what was happening, all without waking Galinda. At eight, she had finally got fed up and tried to drag, literally, Galinda out of bed. There had been much shouting, and Elphaba knew she would probably have a black eye the next day. Finally, Galinda got out of bed by her own free will, and set about fixing her hair, which took another ten minutes. At the moment, Galinda was wearing a short, semi-puffy petticoat, and was still trying to lace her corset.
"You try doing this by yourself," Galinda said derisively, tossing her curls over her shoulder. Elphaba sighed.
"Let me help you with that," she said. Galinda braced herself against one of the bedpost, and Elphaba pulled viciously on the laces. There was a sharp intake of breath from Galinda, and Elphaba tied the lace in a neat bow. Galinda was now adjusting her breathing, and fixing her curls yet again.
"Honestly," Elphaba said, "I don't know how you can wear that thing."
"You didn't have to pull so hard," Galinda said, her voice breathy, "I can barely feel my stomach." She exhaled again, and slipped on the white skirt suit she had laid. She slid her feet into coordinating white shoes, grabbed her handbag, and followed Elphaba out of the room.
Halfway down the hall, Elphaba stopped.
"Wait a second," She said quickly, turned on her heel, and dashed down the hall to the room. A few seconds later, she came dashing back out, her peaked black hat clutched to her chest. Elphaba was at a full run; down the hall, grabbing Galinda's wrist as she passed, talking quickly.
"We'll make it down their in ten minutes, if we run." Elphaba and Galinda ran down four flights of stairs, and out of the dorm. Neither of them noticed the nip of the early October air. They slipped and slid as they ran across the dewy grass of the quad, and across the campus.
It slowly started to rain. At the first drops, Elphaba broke into an all-out sprint, reaching the protection of the awning of the train station before it became too painful. By the time Galinda reached the station, she was soaking wet and was shrieking about her hair. Elphaba looked at her watch; 8:55. Thunder boomed overhead.
"Why do we always have to cut it so damn close," she exclaimed. A large red steam engine sat on the tracks, smoke rolling lazily around it. The air was warm and dry. Elphaba looked out at the rain for a few moments, and then turned to Galinda.
"Come on, let's go," she said, and strode over to one of the train doors, with Galinda following, still desperately trying to wring out her hair. The pair quickly walked through the train, looking into compartments on either side. The majority were full, but near the end they found one that was empty. Well, almost.
They stepped into the compartment and shut the door when they heard a voice from behind them.
"Ladies! How nice of you to join me," said a voice from behind them. Elphaba and Galinda whipped around; it was Fiyero, who was stretched out lazily on one of the benches. Galinda crossed her arms over her chest.
"Fiyero, you needn't have scared us like that," she said with a pout.
"Aw, but you forgive me, right?"
"Of course I do," Galinda said, smiling. Fiyero grabbed her wrist and pulled her down next to him. Galinda lost her balance and fell on top of him. Elphaba watched her laughing friends for a moment, and then walked over and decidedly sat on Galinda's stomach.
"What," she said when they looked at her, "I can't let you have all the fun, can I?" And they all collapsed into gales of laughter. Suddenly, the compartment door opened.
"Elphaba!" Elphaba jumped to her feet. Galinda and Fiyero stopped laughing and sat up.
"Well, I never…" gasped Madame Morrible from behind Nessa's chair. Once everyone had gained their composure, Madame Morrible spoke again.
"Well, I'm glad you two are on time for once," she said pointedly to Elphaba and Galinda, "I suppose I'll just leave Miss Nessarose with you for now, let you get back to your cavorting." Then she muttered something that sounded like "Blasted kids…" and left. At the slam of the compartment door, Elphaba, Galinda, and Fiyero burst out laughing again. Even Nessa giggled a little. Elphaba finally sat down on the seat across from Fiyero and Galinda, who were sitting side by side now.
"I suppose this is just another chance for you two to snog out of the reach of the watchful eye of Madame Morrible," Elphaba said, pulling a notebook and pen out of her bag. Galinda made some sounds of indignation; Fiyero just smiled.
---
Rain was hammering down in sheets on the thick glass windows of the Gryffindor Common Room. Harry and Ron were engaged in a game of chess, with Ron winning, as usual. Hermione, utterly bored for lack of homework, was curled up on a sofa in front of the fire with a large leather-bound volume open in her lap. There were other Gryffindors scattered around the common room, similarly engaged, trying to enjoy their freedom despite the terrible weather.
"Knight to E6," Harry said. When the piece crossed its arms stubbornly and refused to move, Harry prodded it with his wand. "Go on, you." He turned to Ron. "I don't see the point of playing chess if none of the pieces will listen to me."
"Do you want me to talk to them again?" Ron asked, pulling out his own wand, "I've made them listen to people before. Besides, I don't see why they'll listen to Percy and not you. He's such a git."
"Are you finished yet?" shouted Ron's queen, "Are we going to continue playing?"
"Yeah, we're finished," Ron said, "and no, we're not going to continue playing." He swiped his arm across the board, knocking all the pieces over, and swept them into their box. Loud protests could be heard as the lid of the box was replaced. They sat in silence for a few moments.
"So," Harry said, "what do you want to do now?" Ron shrugged.
"We could, uh, read…" The two boys glanced at Hermione.
"Nah."
A large booming ring was heard through the thunder. People looked up from their previous occupations and began packing things away. Hermione looked up from her book in surprise.
"Put your chess game away," she said, "We have to be down to lunch on time in order to greet our visitors." The trio had had some discussion on the topic the night before; Harry and Hermione were still slightly skeptical about meeting inhabitants of a fairy country from some old children's books, and Ron thought they were both crazy. Nobody else seemed to have any qualms about it. The common room was slowly emptying. Ron grabbed the chess box and dashed upstairs with it. He reappeared a moment later, and the trio followed the rest of their house through the portrait hole and down to the great hall.
---
"Lovely," Elphaba said sarcastically as she watched the rain beat down on the carriage window. The train trip had been unusually uneventful, with Nessa reading, Elphaba scratching away in her notebook, and Galinda and Fiyero being uncharacteristically quiet. Suddenly, there was a crackling in the air, and Madame Morrible's voice sounded throughout the train.
"We are approaching our destination," the voice said, "Please gather all of your personal belongings. Thank you." Elphaba snapped her notebook shut and slipped it in her bag. The thoughtful silence remained as the train slowed and stopped, and everyone crowded into the narrow corridor down the center of the train. When Elphaba reached the door, she hopped down quickly, sidestepped a puddle, and dashed under the overhanging awning. She was joined by Galinda; Fiyero, it seemed, had been lost in the crowd. Finally, Madame Morrible appeared with Nessa and called everyone to order.
"One last note," Madame Morrible shouted, making herself heard over the rain and her students' nervous chatter, "Again, everyone on their best behavior. And don't get into trouble. Now, everyone, follow me." Madame Morrible led the group to the far end of the station, to a waiting fleet of small horseless carriages. Elphaba and Galinda pushed through the crowd and grabbed one of the ones closest to the station, avoiding as much rain as possible. When all the carriages were full, the little fleet set off across the soaking grounds.
"I bet it's not as big or as old as Shiz," Galinda said, examining her nails, "I mean, Shiz is pretty big, and pretty darn old. Even some of the castles out in the Vinkus where Fiyero comes from probably aren't as old as Shiz."
"Whatever," Elphaba said, looking out of the carriage window. To the left of the legion of carriages was a large lake, rippling with the rain, and to the right, a large, dark forest. Elphaba glanced out the front and did a double take.
"Uh, Galinda," she said, pointing, "I think you're wrong." Galinda looked. There was no doubt about it, the castle ahead of them was definitely bigger and older than Shiz.
"Woooooow," Galinda said, impressed, "that place has it all-big AND old." The carriages stopped under a large overhang, and the occupants, not wanting to get wet, ran under it and up through the large double doors.
---
"Good afternoon," Professor Dumbledore said from the top of the hall, "I'm glad to see you all here. I'll try to make this brief, as our guests are waiting in the entrance hall as we speak. I expect you all to remember what I said yesterday; be courteous-though they come from afar, these students are your peers. Treat them with the respect you would treat your classmates. And, since the last time we had foreign guests, Ravenclaw and Slytherin kindly loaned them use of their dormitories, I do believe it is Gryffindor's turn to be hosts. And now, without further ado…" he gestured to the back of the hall, and the large doors opened. The foreign students streamed down the center aisle, up towards the top of the hall.
"Why do we have to share our dormitories?" Ron said in a sulky tone, "It could have just as easily been Hufflepuff, but Dumbledore had to chose us-" Suddenly, Ron caught sight of an elegant girl in a white skirt suit, with perfect blonde curls, among the throng. "Scratch that," he said, "They can share our dormitories any time they like…" Hermione sighed, and muttered something that sounded like, "Boys…"
Harry followed Ron's gaze, but wasn't interested in the blonde girl so much as the girl who she seemed to be talking to. She seemed about as far in appearance from the blonde girl as it was possible to be; she was dressed in what seemed to be a standard-issue dark blue pleated skirt and jacket and combat boots, her dark hair plaited austerely down her back, and wearing a pointed black hat. And, if Harry was not mistaken…
"Good heavens," Hermione exclaimed quietly, "Is that girl green?"
"What?" said Ron, his eyes still fixated on the green girl's companion, completely oblivious.
"Yes, I was wondering about that, too," Harry said, "You don't think she could be…"
"The Witch?" Hermione asked, "We'll have to see. Though I don't see why the Wicked Witch of the West would be taking sorcery classes at a university. And besides, Margaret Hamilton looked a good deal older in the movie."
"She's a lot prettier than Margaret Hamilton…" Harry heard himself say. Hermione shook her head again as Dumbledore rose to speak, accompanied by a very strange figure indeed.
"Students," Professor Dumbledore said, "I'd like you to meet an old friend of mine, as well as headmistress of Shiz University: Madame Morrible." The little woman beside him was a striking figure; she was dressed quite formally, if a bit fantastically, her graying hair arranged in a mound of curls on top of her head, and her face covered in what was probably layers of make-up. She stepped up to the podium.
"Greetings from Oz," Madame Morrible said, "I'll try to make this brief, as I must return to Shiz as soon as possible. This should be an interesting educational experience to all of you, so take advantage of it. And most importantly, have fun! Now, go mingle." She stepped down. The Shiz students gravitated toward the Gryffindor table, walking up and down, looking for empty spaces. Ron violently shoved over to make room as the blonde girl and her friend approached. His efforts were rewarded when she exclaimed, "Oh, look! Seats!" and dragged her friend over. Before Harry realized what was happening, Harry found himself next to the green girl. He stared in surprise.
"What are you looking at?" she said, looking Harry straight in the eye.
"Er-nothing…" He replied awkwardly.
"You mustn't be so cross, Elphie," the blonde girl said reproachfully, "You're out of the rain now…Oh, I'm Galinda, by the way," she said, "Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands."
"Ron Weasley," Ron said, still dazed, "Pleasure to meet you."
"Harry Potter," Harry said, mostly to the green girl, trying admirably not to stare.
"Elphaba Thropp," she said, a bit less cross. It took Harry a moment to realize that this was the first time in a long time that he had introduced himself without anyone staring at his forehead and squealing, "You're Harry Potter?" He knew how Elphaba must feel; he could hide his scar under his bangs, but there was no way she could disguise her verdant skin. Galinda was chattering on her other side.
"We must find Fiyero," she was saying, "He seems to have slipped away." Ron winced slightly at this. He opened his mouth to say something when the gilded plates and goblets filled instantaneously as they always did. "Oh good," Galinda said, "I'm famished."
But despite this, she did nothing but chatter the entire time. There was very little other conversation as Galinda ranted on in her perky little voice, mostly to Elphaba, who was staring down at her plate. Neither of them noticed as Ron stared at Galinda, completely enticed by her talking, his eyes fixed on her perfect blonde curls. Nor did either of them notice that Harry, who was also looking at his plate, snuck several glances at Elphaba, not able to get over the fact that he was sitting next to a girl with green skin and might, in fact, be who he knew as the Wicked Witch of the West.
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A/N: Sorry about the awkwardness at the end of this chapter, and that it took two months to get up here. But you've got to imagine what it's like to be meeting someone who may or may not grow up to be your society's icon of wickedness. Or even just meeting someone who's green. Yeah. No betas for this chapter, but love to the Marauders, as always, and Nandi, who just keeps bugging me about mentioning her at the end of a chapter.