A/N: Thanks to Psychonerd 5, Kchan88, Wandering Teen
Chapter 11
On the Hogwarts Express
Raoul and Gilles got on the train with their carts. They took a seat, the closest they could find. Gilles had a bright smile on his face along with Raoul, but before long, Gilles adopted an amazed expression.
"Woah!" he exclaimed.
"What?" Raoul responded.
"Y-your, y-your . . ."
"Raoul de Chagny."
"It's really you? I mean, you've got the scar and everything!"
"Yes, it's really me."
"Can you remember anything?"
"No, nothing but a red light."
"Wow." Gilles seemed extraordinarily amazed. "So, you grew up with Muggles?"
"Yeah, it wasn't that much fun, I'll tell you that. I'd much rather have a family like yours. Three brothers that are wizards!" Raoul sighed, daydreaming a bit about the subject.
"Well, it's not always that much fun. I actually have five brothers, and a little sister. I'm the fifth in my family to go to Hogwarts. Bob and Chuck have already left. Frank and Greg joke around a lot and always get in trouble, yet they get wicked good grades. And then Perry is a prefect. There is a lot to live up to. But then again, at least I'm not like Ginger, who is the sixth and last to go. She'll be starting next year," Gilles told him. "I also get all the hand-me-downs. For example, Bob's old robes and Chuck's old rat."
"Still, it would be better than living with a bunch of Muggles!" Raoul pointed out as Gilles pulled a small mouse from out of his pocket. He was skinny and had white fur, and was wide awake, checking his new surroundings.
"His name is Scrabble, and he's just a dumb old rat. I'd really like an owl like yours. What's his name?"
"Bedwig," Raoul replied.
"Perry got an owl from my Mom for becoming a prefect, but we couldn't affor - I mean, I just got Scrabble and I have to wait until I'm older for one." Gilles seemed a bit embarrassed, but Raoul found nothing wrong with not being able to afford an owl. After all, if his mother and father hadn't left him that small fortune, he wouldn't have even been able to afford his books for school.
A few minutes later, an elderly woman came around with a small cart that was filled with food. "Anything, you two?"
"Yes, please," Raoul told her as he took a bit of money from his pocket. He was craving for a Butterfinger, but soon found out they didn't have any. His next idea was a Three Musketeer, but that wasn't there either. Neither were Milkyway Bars. Instead, they had Dirty Bott's Nearly Every Flavor Beans, Dribble's Worst Blowing Gum, Chocolate Geckos, Pumpkin Pastries, Cauldron Cupcakes, and many other oddly-named foods. Although they sounded weird, Raoul didn't want to miss out on something good, so he bought a bit of each kind of food. Fortunately, it didn't cost him much, but when he sat back down, Gilles looked amazed.
"Wow, you're hungry!" he exclaimed.
"I'll never eat this all on my own. Do you want some?" Raoul asked him. "Eat all you want."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"Thanks! Better than the meatloaf sandwich Mom packed for me." The two began eating, but Raoul stopped every once in a while to ask about a certain food. He asked about Chocolate Lizards, and if they really were lizards. They weren't, but they had spells cast on them so they would act like them. He also asked about Dirty Bott's Nearly Every Flavor Beans.
"Be very careful with those! One time Frank tricked me into eating a black pepper one. He told me it was black licorice!"
"Black pepper? I thought they would be like jellybeans!" Raoul told him.
"Jellybeans?"
"They're what Muggles eat. They're like these, but they don't have weird flavors like that. Just lime, apple, strawberry, fruit flavors."
"Oh."
After eating even more, they soon met another boy. "Have you seen my toad?" he asked.
"Er . . . no," Raoul and Gilles responded simultaneously, confused looks on their faces.
"I lost mine. If you find him, bring him back."
"Sure."
Just as the boy left, a girl took his place. She sat down across from Raoul. "Have you, like, seen Derek's toad, like?" she asked.
"We were just asked that question," Raoul told her as she studied his forehead. She had a similar reaction to Gilles.
"Wow! Like, you're Raoul de Chagny! It's, like, so nice to meet you. I'm, like, Christine Daae. Like, who's your friend?" she exclaimed.
"Gilles . . . er . . . what's your last name?"
"Andre." He seemed a bit disappointed he wasn't receiving as much attention.
"I've, like, read a lot about you, Raoul. You're, like, in, like, all these books that I, like, read! Well, like, I hope you're in, like, the same house as me, like. I, like, want to be in Gryffindor, like. Like, see you later!" she said, getting up and walking away.
"Boy, I hope she's not in our house!" Gilles whispered to Raoul when Christine was out of earshot. "She, like, has to stop saying 'like.'"
"What are you talking about?" Raoul asked. "You just said it yourself!"
After a bit of waiting, another group walked by. There were three boys, the one in the middle looking like the boy Raoul had met at Madame Milkshake's shop. There were two chubby boys next to him.
"Hello. I'm Joseph Buquet," the one in the middle said.
"I'm Carl," said the one on his right.
"And I'm Jerry," said the other.
"Oh, I know who you two are! You're Gilles Andre, from the family who can't even afford more than a stinking rat!" Gilles didn't seem too pleased with the comment. "At least you're pure blood, unlike the girl you were just talking to. Christine, she's a mudblood. All Muggles in her family. And you, you're Raoul de Chagny. Of course you're pure blood. Hope to see you at Hogwarts. Well, not exactly." Joseph chuckled as he walked off with Carl and Jerry.
No one else formally introduced themselves during the train ride, though, for not long afterward, they reached Hogwarts.
A/N: And of course, thanks to angel.of.music. 1006 for the idea of Joseph Buquet as Malfoy. Carlotta was a good suggestion, but she casting her as a boy sadly didn't work.
