Disclaimer: Not. Mine. Whee...isn't it great that Ms. Rowling left her fans so much to hypothesize about?
How many people ACTUALLY read the disclaimer? Just want a rough estimate here...
"There," Leon said as he shoved Albus's trunk into the luggage rack. Only a few compartments had been empty, so Allie chose the very last one on the train. He didn't feel as lost there, since were not jumbles of students milling about.
"Are you sure you will be all right alone?" Caley asked, her brow furrowed. "I feel guilty just leaving you here."
"It's fine," Albus replied softly. "I am not easily lonely."
"All right," the girl said slowly, but she still looked perturbed.
"Caley, he will be fine," Leon said with a small roll of his eyes. "He's not five years old." He gave Allie a little wink.
"Fine, you imbecile." Caley took hold of Leon's wrist and drew him towards the door. Then she turned back to Allie and smiled. "Good luck, Albus."
"Thank you." He watched them leave, Leon giving him a wave and another wink as he left. The compartment door slid closed.
Albus sighed, hopping up onto the seat, and proceeded to gaze out the window. He quite liked the quiet. Sometimes he just liked to be alone to think, and after the excitement of the morning he wanted to be able to relax, undisturbed. Still, he felt a tinge lonesome. This was his first time truly alone, without his family or friends, and regardless of what he had told Caley, after ten or fifteen minutes he did want company.
He had just gotten to his feet when suddenly the door banged open and in ran the dirty young girl he had seen on the platform. Tears streaked down her cheeks and for a moment she did not seem to realize he was there. Then she gasped and turned to run out again before he caught her wrist—her extremely thin wrist which he could easily wrap even his small hand around.
She stopped abruptly.
For nearly half a minute they simply stood there, frozen. The door's snap with closing awakened them both.
The girl tore her wrist from Allie's grip and turned to face him with wide eyes. "What're ye doin'?" she demanded, trying to sound brave, as she sniffed back her tears.
"Why are you crying?" he responded, more concerned about her appearance than her tone.
"No reason," she said childishly, crossing her arms and sitting herself down on the floor.
"Why don't you sit on the seat?"
She looked startled at his remark. As if disbelieving he was real, she slowly stood and eased herself warily onto the seat behind her. Once she was sitting, Albus settled himself opposite her.
"Now will you tell me the truth?"
The girl, suddenly humbled, stared into her lap. "No one wants me to sit with 'em. They all made me leave. No one wants me."
Allie wanted to cry, seeing the state these other students had put the girl in. How could people be so cruel? "I want you," he said promptly, boldly. She jerked her head up to stare at him with shining eyes and he gave her a smile. Tentatively, she smiled back.
"What is your name?"
"Eva," she replied, now as sweet as can be. "Evangeline. You?"
"Albus Dumbledore," he said. "You can call me Allie if you'd like. That's what my brother and sister call me."
"A'right."
Just as the words left her mouth, a knock on the door cause them to swiftly turn their heads. Then they looked back at one another and Albus shrugged before going to open the door. A boy about their age—but with several inches on both of them—strolled inside, hands in pockets, without a word. His dark golden hair was combed neatly, his clothes and jacket much nicer than Allie's, and he had a confident but slightly ludicrous expression on his face.
"Hello," he said then, amiably, to Allie and Eva, who were staring at him as if they had never seen anything like him (he did not seem to notice). "I noticed the little missy over there running past my friend and my compartment window and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Are you all right?" he asked Eva kindly. She nodded, taken aback by the boy's eccentricity. He was actually quite handsome.
The boy had turned to Albus and was asking him a question. Allie realized this too late and was forced to say, "What?"
"Who are you?" was the question.
"Oh. I'm Albus Dumbledore. Eva just came in here very upset, so..."
"Can my friend and I join you in here? I'm Johnny, by the way," he said quickly, cutting Albus off.
"Er—all right." Allie was not sure what to think of Johnny. He watched him leave, weighing his rudeness against his quirkiness and his magnetism. All he could come up with was that he was a very interesting person.
"Why're ye letting 'im sit 'ere?" Eva's voice demanded from behind him. He turned to her, pondering his answer for a moment, then shrugged.
"Why not?"
"I don't like 'im," she replied bluntly, huffing as she settled back into her seat. Allie sighed inwardly. This is going to be a very long train ride.
