Chapter 1. The Hogwarts Express
They waited as a family full of red-heads made their way through the dividing barrier between platforms nine and ten. Maura looked around, sure some of the Muggles must notice people were vanishing into a wall. But no one was paying attention to the occurrence; as if their eyes skipped the event altogether. Some of the Muggles did seem to glance at granny with a confused look in their eyes, who was wearing her peculiar hat that bore a stuffed vulture on it, but also at Maura herself, who was scratching the chin of a small black cat sitting on her shoulder.
"Honestly, can't you put that cat in its cage? Trevor is scared," Maura's brother complained. Maura snorted.
"No, cats are not supposed to be in cages. I don't see you putting your toad in one either."
"Oh dear, is that —" granny said thoughtfully as a small boy with dark hair vanished into the wall, right before a tall boy with more of the fiery red hair did as well. Maura and her brother, their quarrel already forgotten like they always did, looked questioningly at their grandmother, but she didn't elaborate.
The last three people, a plump lady, a small girl and someone who must be the father, finally vanished through the wall.
"Come on now, it's our turn. Quickly now," granny said. "You first Maura."
Maura took Salem from her shoulder and placed him atop her trunk. "Hold tight," she said to the small cat. She took a deep breath, pushed her trolley and started walking at a brisk pace towards the barrier. She didn't close her eyes as she had seen the black- and red-haired boys do. She didn't run either. She was determined to be seen as composed as possible. She got on the other side.
She couldn't help but gasp. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock. She spotted the family they had seen disappear through the wall earlier and parked her trolley not far away from them. She waited for her granny and brother who joined her a few seconds later. Maura gave Salem a few pets on his small head and he purred contently.
"Pack your stuff and get on the train. I don't want you two to be late," granny said.
"Yes Gran," Maura replied. She lifted Salem and put him back on her shoulder.
"No, Trevor!" Her brother shouted as he jumped after the small toad who disappeared in the crowd of people trying to get on the train. "Gran, I've lost my toad again."
"Oh, Neville," granny said exasperated.
Meanwhile Maura watched the black haired boy, whom she had seen at the barrier earlier, look at them. His owl hissed at Salem, who returned the courtesy. Then she watched how he got help from two of the red-haired boys a moment later. They looked identical. They must be the Weasleys granny had told them about some times. She didn't know who the black-haired boy was though. All the Weasleys were supposed to have red hair. They were loading the boy's trunk inside the train. Maura let her eyes wander along the length of the train, trying to find a quiet spot for her and her brother to get on.
"Need some help as well?" Maura quickly shook herself out of her thoughts and looked at the person who had asked the question. It was one of the Weasley twins.
"Oh, yes please! This trunk is quite heavy though," she replied.
"That's no problem for us," the other twin joined. Together they lifted Maura's trunk from her trolley and got on the train. Maura quickly followed and watched as they put it inside an empty compartment. "Blimey, this thing really is heavy. What have you got in there?" One of the twins grunted as they both put the trunk down.
"Books, mostly," she replied. "Oh, and I put some stones in there right before you came up to me," she added. The twins looked at her approvingly. "What are your names? You're Weasleys, right?"
"Hear that, brother? We're already infamous among the first-years!" One of them joked. "My name is Fred." He held out his hand. Maura shook it.
"And I'm George. No doubt you'll hear from us more this year." Maura shook his hand as well.
"Nice to meet you Fred and George Weasley," Maura giggled. "I'm Maura Longbottom and no doubt you'll hear more from me as well," she added. "Oh, and this is Salem." She pointed at the black cat on her shoulder who had started to lick his paws during the conversation. For a few seconds Fred and George were engrossed in petting Salem, who didn't mind the attention in the slightest, before they heard someone call out.
"Fred? George? Are you there?"
Coming, Mum." With an apologetic nod to Maura, the twins hopped off the train.
Maura also jumped off and went back to Neville and her grandmother. Her brother had given up looking for his toad and was instead trying to keep his stuff from falling off his trolley. She helped him get his trunk on the train as well. It was way less heavy than Maura's trunk, so it was an easy feat.
"Are you going to miss us, Gran?" Maura asked innocently when she went to say goodbye.
"Oh, of course I am, silly girl." Granny wrapped her bony arms around her. For a second Maura was afraid she would be whacked by the stuffed vulture on her grandmother's hat, but fortunately she was spared. She returned the hug heartily. Granny gave Neville a hug as well after which Maura and her brother got on the train.
They were just on time, because as they went into their compartment, the train started moving. They waved at granny while they sat down and didn't stop waving until the train rounded the corner.
"How am I ever going to find Trevor?" Neville said with a sad look on his face. He slumped down and looked out the window with a sigh.
"Don't worry, Neville. I'm going to help you," Maura tried to reassure him. I'm sure he got on the train with everyone else. Trevor is a smart toad." She patted his knee. Neville gave her a watery smile and nodded. They both got up and started searching their own compartment first.
Salem had laid down on one of the cushions and appeared to be sleeping. He was still a young cat and the crowd outside the train must've made him tired.
When Maura and Neville couldn't find the toad in their compartment, they opened the door and went into the corridor. There Neville tried the compartment next to theirs.
At the same time Maura spotted a girl who was heaving her trunk and making exasperated noises. She had lots of bushy brown hair and her cheeks were pink from the effort of carrying her trunk.
"Need help?" Maura asked. The girl looked up and righted herself quickly. Maura noted she was already wearing her Hogwarts robes.
"I can't find an apartment. They're all full and I don't know anyone here," the girl answered.
"Don't worry. You can put your trunk in our compartment." Maura pointed at their compartment. "We're looking for my brother's toad. He lost it on the platform, but we're sure he got on the train."
"Oh, I'll help you!"
Together, Maura and the girl pushed the girl's trunk inside the compartment. It was at least as heavy as Maura's trunk was.
"I'm Maura Longbottom, and that over there is my brother Neville." Maura pointed at Neville who sulkily closed the compartment door he had just stood in to ask about Trevor.
"I'm Hermione Granger, nice to meet you!" The girl replied cheerfully. She smiled at Neville, who joined them. "Let's go find your toad, Neville," she said.
The three of them set out on their search. After trying a few other compartments in vain. Hermione suggested trying the one next to theirs again. They didn't have a better plan, so Maura and Neville followed.
Hermione slid open the compartment door again. Two boys looked up. They were the ones Maura had seen run through the barrier at platform nine and three quarters. The red-haired one looked like he was in the midst of casting a spell.
"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she asked.
"We've already told him we haven't seen it," the Weasley boy answered. Hermione was looking at the wand in his hand.
"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." Hermione slid inside the compartment and sat down. Maura was curious as well and moved closer.
"Er — all right." The boy cleared his throat.
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."
He gave a flick with his wand, but nothing happened. The rat on his lap stayed grey. Maura laughed.
"That spell's shit," she said. The boy looked at her irritably.
"Are you sure that's a real spell anyway?" Hermione asked. "I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked out for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard — I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough — I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" Hermione said this all very quickly.
Maura looked at her brother next to her in disbelief. In turn, he looked a bit confused.
"I'm Ron Weasley," the boy with his wand out answered.
"Harry Potter," the black-haired boy said. Maura and Neville gasped.
"Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course — I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in-"
"I'm sure Harry does not want to hear in which books he is mentioned, Hermione," Maura interrupted. Harry looked at her gratefully. Hermione quickly changed the subject.
"Do all of you know what House you'll be in? I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad... Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon." Hermione got up and slid out of the compartment. Neville followed her.
Maura looked at Harry and Ron apologetically.
"Whatever House I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron while throwing his wand back into his trunk.
"Yeah, that was intense. Wish me luck. I'm sharing a compartment with her," Maura replied. "Hey, who gave you that spell by the way?" she asked Ron.
"My brother, George, did. Bet he knew it was a dud," he replied grudgingly.
"Oh I know him. Met him on the platform. He must be a born poet." Maura grinned. "Anyway, I gotta go. See you two at Hogwarts!" Maura waved and flung herself out of the compartment again.
In the small corridor she didn't see Neville and Hermione. They were probably interrogating people in another compartment. At least, Hermione probably was.
Maura let her eyes wander over the ground in search of the lost toad. She wandered off through the corridor and occasionally peeked inside a compartment. She didn't want to bother anyone to ask for Neville's toad, though. She wasn't shy, but she didn't want to make a bad first impression with anyone. She kept on walking, her eyes glued to the ground, not looking where she was going when she suddenly bumped into something and fell backwards.
"Oh my, have you hurt yourself, dear?" Maura heard someone ask. It was a small old, friendly looking lady who was standing with a shocked look on her face behind a trolley full of candy. It had Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Cauldron Cakes, Chocolate Frogs, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Jelly Slugs, Liquorice wan. Maura quickly got up and started collecting the fallen candy.
"No, not really ma'am. I'm so sorry, I was looking for my brother's toad and I wasn't paying any attention. Let me pick it up," Maura stammered.
"A toad you say? I just found one! It was hiding among the Chocolate Frogs! If only I'd known people were looking for it. I quickly shooed it away," the woman said apologetically. Maura smiled and gave the candy she had collected to the trolley lady, who gratefully took it and placed back in the correct spots.
"That's alright. At least I know now it got on the train with us," she said, then added, "I'll make sure to tell my brother."
"Well, I'm glad you were unharmed. Let me give you a bottle of Pumpkin Juice for the trouble." The old woman bent over and got a bottle with bright orange juice from the lower part of the trolley. She handed it to Maura.
"Thank you so much!" Maura said happily while looking at the bottle. The juice looked delicious. Then she eyed the trolley. "Could I also buy a box of Every Flavour Beans, please?"
"Of course dear, that would be 1 Sickle," the trolley lady replied.
Maura grabbed inside her pants' right pocket with her free hand and got out some Sickles. She selected one and put the others back. She handed it to the trolley lady who gave her a box of brightly coloured beans in return.
"Have a great trip, dear."
"Thank you so much!" Maura replied and turned around. She walked back the way she had come, towards their compartment; this time making sure she was looking where she was going.
When she got back, she saw Neville and Hermione had returned as well.
"Did you find him?" Maura asked. She sat down and placed the Pumpkin Juice and Every Flavour Beans next to her.
"No, we didn't unfortunately," Neville replied.
"And it's not like many people were willing to help us. If it were me sitting in those compartments, I would have tried to help search for Trevor; to try and make new friends," Hermione added. Maura nodded.
"I looked for him in the corridor and bumped into the trolley lady — literally. She said she had seen Trevor!" Maura said cheerfully. "That means we know he's on the train." Neville perked up a bit. Maura scooched closer to him and gave him a hug. "He'll turn up eventually. He always does."
"You two should get dressed as well, you know. We'll be there shortly," Hermione said while looking up from a book she had picked out of her trunk. Maura and Neville agreed.
Maura went to her trunk and got out her Hogwarts robes. She smirked when she looked at the amount of books she had brought; of course there were no stones in her trunk.
During her life at her granny's she had accumulated a fair collection of books; fiction books, mostly, but also non-fiction books about charms, defence spells, duelling and other books about magic. She had tried to make a selection of her favourites and the most useful books to take with her, along with the mandatory books that were in her Hogwarts letter, of course. Maura hadn't learned her course books by heart like Hermione had and she hadn't been practicing with magic much either, but she had been learning about magic for years now. She was sure she could keep up with her.
After she put on the robes, Maura held up the Every Flavour Beans.
"Let's have some fun!" She opened them and held them in front of Hermione who wearily got out a red one. Then she offered Neville and he took a blue one. She picked an orange one herself.
"On the count of three. One... Two... Three!" They popped the beans in their mouths and chewed, looking intently at each other's faces for any signs of disgust.
Maura buckled first and spit out the remains of the bean in a small bin next to the compartment door. She sat back down with a disgusted look on her face. "That tasted like puke." She gagged a bit. Neville and Hermione were laughing so hard they almost toppled over.
"Well, what did you get?" Maura asked in annoyance.
"I got blueberry!" Neville replied cheerfully.
"Mine was marmalade, I think. It was very sweet," Hermione replied.
Then suddenly the compartment door burst open.
"Please tell me those are Bertie Blott's Every Flavour Beans," one of the Weasley twins inquired, while they were both pushing themselves inside the compartment and sat down.
"George, pass me the box," Fred said with a grin on his face.
"Excuse me! I did not say you could," Maura said, acting offended at their rudeness.
The twins looked at each other for a second. "Let us join and we'll give you a flying lesson," Fred said. George nodded.
"We're already getting those," Hermione said.
"Yes, but they're usually not that great. On the other hand, we're great flyers. We're in the Gryffindor Quidditch team," George replied. This got Maura's attention. She loved Quidditch.
"Deal!" she said excitedly.
The five of them continued trying out the Every Flavour Beans, occasionally getting up and stumbling towards the bin to spit out the horrible-tasting ones. They made a game out of it; trying to guess what the taste was going to be, before eating them. Maura laughed so much she felt her stomach muscles starting to ache at one point. Even Hermione put away her book and was completely engrossed in the game.
Maura had to pull Salem out of the trash bin a few times, because he was very interested in the beans they had spit out. Some of them had tasted like fish or liver, so of course a cat would be very interested in it. When Salem finally gave up, he settled down on Fred's lap.
When they all started to get thirsty, Maura opened the bottle of Pumpkin Juice and shared it with everyone. It was empty in no time.
While they were having fun, it had gone dark and a voice echoed through the train:
"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."
Hermione squealed and sprang up. Neville was also looking out the window excitedly, but there wasn't much to see in the dark.
When the train finally stopped, Maura, Neville Hermione, Fred and George pushed their way out towards an exit and got out. It was quite chilly and Maura shivered. A lamp came bobbing above their heads.
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" A man with a big hairy face shouted. "All right there, Harry?" he added. Maura looked over at Harry and Ron who had gotten out of the train behind them. Then she waved at Fred and George as they walked away towards where all the older students were going.
"C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years? Alrigh', my name's Hagrid. C'mon. Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"
A big group of students followed Hagrid down a steep, narrow path. Hagrid thundered out above all of them.
"D'you think he's a giant?" Neville asked Maura quietly.
"He could be! He's really big," Maura replied while trying not to slip on the slippery stones they were walking on.
"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this band here."
The narrow path opened onto the edge of a great black lage. "Wooooah!" the students exclaimed. On the other side of the lake, perched atop a high mountain, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers, its windows sparkling in the starry sky.
Maura spotted a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore.
"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid said, pointing at them. Maura, Neville and Hermione got in a boat together and were followed by a stout-looking boy with blondish hair, who introduced himself as Ernie Macmillan.
"Everyone in?" Hagrid asked, who needed a whole boat to himself. "Right then — FORWARD!"
The fleet of little boats started gliding across the lake. Once they came to a halt, they were in some kind of underground harbour which must've been under the castle. Everyone clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.
"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" Maura heard Hagrid ask.
"Trevor!" Neville shouted blissfully, holding out his hands and running forward, leaving Maura alone with Hermione. They started walking up a flight of stone steps and crowded around a huge, oak front door.
"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"
Maura craned her neck to try to spot Neville, but didn't see him. Hagrid knocked three times on the castle door with his gigantic fist.