Chapter 4—The Journey to Hogwarts
Since the food available was completely foreign to Ryan, she more or less relied on Ben's advice to steer her in the right direction.
"…pumpkin pasties are pretty good…do you like licorice? No? All right, then bypass the licorice wands. Here, get a chocolate frog or two. That looks right…no, wait, you haven't lived until you've tried Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans."
They trooped back into the compartment with their spoils and spread them on the seats next to them. Ben dug in as though he would never eat again, but Ryan approached it a bit more decorously, decorum brought on by caution. She nibbled a little of this and little of that, and decided she liked the pasties the best. Then they turned their attentions to the sweets. Following Ben's suit, she ripped open the package of a chocolate frog. Having a feeling that chocolate would be welcome, she bit off the head.
"What card did you get?" asked Ben around a mouthful of chocolate.
"Beg pardon?" He peeled a card, much like a baseball card, from the bottom of the package and brandished it in her face.
"Famous witch or wizard card! Which one did you get?" She shrugged, swallowed, and pulled out her own.
"Circe." She flipped it over and began to read. "'Ancient Greek witch, thought to be a minor goddess. Most famous for her enchantment of Odysseus' [Ulysses'] crew.'" On the front was the picture of a beautiful witch in a toga. She blinked. Had the picture waved at her? Of course not. She looked up at the card Ben had shoved in her face.
"Trade you Dumbledore for Circe? I've already got one of him, but I don't think I have her, yet." She inspected the picture of the old man with spectacles and long, silvery hair and beard. She looked down at Circe once again. Was it her imagination, or did the witch look at her somewhat expectantly?
"I don't know…I've heard of Circe. Who's Dumbledore?" Ben looked taken aback, as though her words had severely hurt him.
"You're joking!" Ben had a knack for making her feel stupid that she found utterly annoying. "Oy! Muggle-borns! Dumbledore's the headmaster of Hogwarts! Good man, him. Anyone my sister hates that much is okay in my book." Fascinated, she readily traded Circe. Then,
"Hey! He's gone! The picture's gone! Where did he go?" Ben giggled at her confusion, annoying her even more.
"Of course! You mean Muggle pictures don't move? Ugh, how boring…" They talked and swapped cards until their stash of frogs was depleted. Then Ryan picked up a bag of Bertie Bott's and emptied the contents into her palm.
"What's so special about some jelly beans?" she wondered aloud. Ben poked through them until he found one that he was looking for, a creamy green one.
"So young, so naïve! Try that one." Obediently, she ate it. Two seconds later, she spat it out in disgust.
"Ick! What weirdo makes avocado flavored jelly beans?!"
"That's one of the tamer ones, my friend. See that blackish one? That's pitch. Let's see what I've got: strawberry, cotton, kiwi, carrot, paper…I don't know what that one could be. What else do you have?" This proved to be even more entertaining than the frogs, though Ryan was unfortunate enough to ingest a mud-flavored one that she guessed (incorrectly) to be coffee. Ben had just spat out a jalapeno bean when someone began hammering at the door. His face went whiter than Ryan's bleach bean.
"Regina! Oh, no, she's found me! Hide me!" There was no place to hide in the compartment, unless he felt like shoving himself into Tabby's kennel. At the moment, it seemed that he was considering just that.
"Benjamin! Open up, it's me, your loving older sister!" There was a pause, then, "Alohomora!" A blaze of light came through the lock, and the door swung open. In the door way stood a girl of about fourteen, with Ben's features except for the malicious smile, and a slim black wand in her left hand. "What kind of greeting is that for your older sister, hm?" she scolded.
"Regina, please tell me you have something better to do…" Ben groaned. Ryan, who was up until then unnoticed, leaned over to seize Tabby and keep her out of harm's way. Or possibly to use her as a shield. Ryan wasn't quite sure which.
"Look!" shrieked Regina, in obvious delight, "Ben's got himself a little girlfriend!" Tabby hissed as Ryan accidentally tightened her grip in anger. When Regina spotted the angry Tabby, her expression immediately altered. Ryan stepped forward. Regina stepped back. Regina was afraid of cats! Ben spotted it too, and smiled gleefully.
"Hey, Regina, see this cat? His name is Butcher, isn't it, Ryan? And he isn't de-clawed, yet, or anything. He's got a bad temper, just look at him!" Ryan recognized her cue and squeezed Tabby even harder. This had even more favorable results, because her cat began to hiss and meow angrily. Without another word, Regina backed out of the compartment and slammed the door. Ben began laughing uproariously.
"I forgot she was afraid of cats! That was brilliant! Say, do you mind if I keep Tabby? Regina would never bother me again!" Ryan shook her head firmly.
"No, I've had Tabitha since I was eight. My daddy gave her to me right before he transferred to America." That pretty much settled the argument.
Later, though she saw no signs of a speaker, a magical voice echoed throughout the train:
"Students, we are approaching Hogwarts. Please take this time to change into your school uniform. Your trunks may remain here, and will be brought up separately." She glanced at Ben.
"How do you want to manage this?" He flushed slightly.
"It's not a problem, my trunk is with Regina, I'll change there. Could I borrow Tabitha? Would she mind if I held her?"
"I don't see why she should. Here, she's really heavy." Ryan giggled as Ben staggered under the weight of her massive cat.
"Oof! Um, thank you. I'll be back in a moment, then." He left, and Ryan pulled her uniform out of her trunk. In her opinion, it could use work, but she wasn't complaining. If leaving behind jeans and T-shirts was the price she had to pay for manipulating the forces of nature, she would pay it without a second thought. Once she put the robes on, though, she had to admit that she felt like a real witch, and completed the look by sticking her wand in her robe pocket. Ben knocked on the door.
"Ryan? Are you done? I know that girls like to primp sometimes…" She yanked open the door, and saw that he was dressed just as she was.
"Of course I'm ready. Do you have Tabby?" He did, and the cat was purring contentedly.
"Are you sure I can't keep her? Regina took one look at me and bolted. It was wicked! You don't like your dad that much, do you?" he joked. Ryan regained possession of her cat and set to squashing her back in the kennel.
"You most certainly may not. Come on, Tabitha, get in the cage. I said, get in!" The train jerked to a halt, rocketing Tabby into the kennel. "Wow. That works, too." She shut the cage and began hauling it out, following Ben.
Outside, Ben picked up his own cage, this one containing a small owl. Tabby pressed her face to the bars of the kennel and tried to examine Horatio. Since Ryan had never seen Tabby go after a bird, she brought the two cages closer together. Horatio and Tabby examined each other, then lost interest. She shrugged and pulled the cage along after her, out of the train and into the night. Lanterns shown on dampened cobblestones, making for slick walking. Overhead, a veritable flock of owls swooped over the trees and away, over a lake. Ben opened Horatio's cage. The owl ruffled his feathers, stretched his wings, and took off, joining the flock. As Ryan craned her neck up, she saw a solid wall of feathery tawny, brown, and grey, but she swore she saw a snowy one. Meanwhile, Tabby was heartily protesting her re-imprisonment.
"'Ere, now!" boomed a voice, somewhere above her, "Firs' years this way! This way, all firs' years!" She looked around for the source of the voice, and when she found him, she wasn't sure how she had missed him to begin with.
It was a huge man, as tall as Ben would be if he stood on her shoulders. He had wild, dark hair and a similar beard, and bright black eyes. The crowd parted easily for him, and he was soon standing in front of them. Both she and Ben had their necks craned up as far as they would go.
"Who're you?" asked Ben stupidly.
"Rubeus Hagrid, gamekeeper," he said, proudly throwing out his chest.
"Oh!" said Ben. The name obviously struck a chord with him. "You're Hagrid! I'm Ben, Benjamin Coley, good to meet you!" Ryan had a feeling that Regina Coley didn't hold this…Hagrid…in very high regard. Hagrid shook Ben's hand gently.
"'S a pleasure to meet yeh." Then he turned to Ryan. "Yeh can leave yer cat with yer trunk, missy. Better yet, I'll take the little feller." Ryan reluctantly turned over possession of her cat to this giant man. In his oversized hand, Tabitha looked like a kitten. Hagrid sneezed, then ducked into the train, then sneezed again. Ben leaned over to her, smiling.
"I think he's allergic to cats," he whispered. Before she could reply, Hagrid came out again and began bellowing.
"Firs' years! All firs' years this way!" They followed him down to the shore of a massive lake, where a fleet of small rowboats awaited them. "Yeh'll get yer first look at Hogwarts right 'round this bend!" Ryan gasped, along with everyone else, at the sight of the grand castle. A real castle, with turrets and towers and everything! It was all built on such a grand scale, it was so magnificent, Ryan could barely believe it. "Four to a boat, on'y four to a boat, now!" Ryan and Ben climbed in a boat, and were soon joined by a small, mousy-haired boy and a scared-looking girl with long black curls.
"Hi," said the boy, "I'm Colin, Colin Creevey!" Ryan grasped his outstretched hand.
"I'm Ryan." Ben didn't shake his hand, but merely nodded.
"Ben Coley." Colin offered his hand to Curly, but she recoiled, as though he was threatening her with a weapon.
"Uh, Lelina Monsbury. No! I mean, Melina Lonsbury…" she trailed off, evidently terrified. Ben smiled encouragingly, as if he was trying to coax a small child.
"Are you Muggle-born?" he asked kindly. She slowly nodded her head.
"Muggle mother. Muggle fa—" She was nearly pitched into the water as the boats set sail and began to glide across the lake, Hagrid in the lead with a boat to himself. Ryan giggled gleefully. Magic at work! Nothing was driving the boats, but they moved nonetheless. This was all terribly exciting.
"Duck yer 'eads!" called Hagrid, as they passed under an ivy-covered stone structure. Even though Ryan, Ben, and Melina flattened themselves against the bottom, Colin barely had to duck. Three heads popped up in Ryan's boat as the fleet simultaneously curved around and entered a dark tunnel. Melina was apparently frightened of the dark, and had the bad judgment to cling to Ben. He shoved her away, probably far harder than he meant to. She stumbled backward, tripped over the seat, and flipped into the water.
The boat stopped while Colin helped pull Melina out of the water. Ryan began brow-beating Ben about the evils of pushing people. Their argument began to rock the boat, until Colin started yelling at them. So they banded together and eventually managed to drag Melina back to her place. When Melina was safely in, the boat started again, and fell in the formation once more. The boats halted at an underground harbor, and they all hopped out, except for Melina, who squished morosely as she followed Hagrid up a path to the castle. They stopped at a pair of huge doors. Everything here was huge. Hagrid knocked three times, and the door opened immediately.
"Firs' years, Professor McGonagall."