Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor am I affiliated with it in any way.
Note: I just get too excited about the next chapter and can never wait a whole week. XD Enjoy, and as always, please review.
Chapter Six – Aboard the Express
Whitney leaned back into the wall of the compartment and closed her eyes slightly, feeling the train start forward. She was just settling into the blessed silence when she heard the compartment door slide open. Her eyes flicked open almost defensively, but she smiled when she saw the familiar face.
"Hello, Neville," she said, wiggling the fingers of her left hand at him in greeting.
"Whitney," Neville said as though she was the last person he expected to see. The compartment was silent as he stood in the doorway, seeming to search for the right words.
Whitney cleared her throat and pointed to the seat across from her. "Are you… going to sit down?" she asked, looking uncertain.
"Oh!" Neville said suddenly, as though he wasn't aware that one should sit on a train. He blushed and walked into the compartment, dragging a trunk behind him with all of his strength. Whitney moved to help him shove the heavy luggage into the overhead rack and then went back to sit down in her seat. Neville sat across from her, looking awkward.
After a period of silence, Neville cleared his throat, getting Whitney's attention. "S-Sorry," he said, shifting in his seat. "About Diagon Alley. My gran. She's a bit…" He stopped and turned a little pink around the ears.
"It's all right," she interrupted him, turning back to look at him. "Everyone… everyone stares a bit. At least she wasn't trying to hide it."
Neville nodded. "Still, I'm sorry if she upset you."
Whitney smiled at that thought, then shook her head slightly. Neville looked relieved.
The compartment was silent after that, but decidedly less awkward. Whitney, who had stayed up very late with her History of Magic book, was dozing slightly when some clattering outside caught her attention. She jerked awake, nearly falling out of her seat, looking alarmed.
"I did the dishes yesterday!" she called out in her half-asleep state, but when she looked around, she realized that she wasn't in her cupboard and Aunt Petunia wasn't banging on her door. Neville was stifling a giggle across from her and Whitney grinned, embarrassed.
The compartment door slid open and a kindly-looking woman pushing a trolley full of sweets asked, "Something sweet, dears?"
Whitney almost completely dismissed the woman before she realized that she did have some money to spend. She wasn't used to that feeling. Suddenly, the wizard gold seemed a bit heavier in her pockets than it had before. After figuring out how much everything cost, Whitney grabbed a little of everything to try and a few extra of the Chocolate Frogs for good measure.
"Hungry?" Neville asked her, looking amused.
"D'you want some?" she asked, looking almost excited. "I've never been able to afford any…" Whitney trailed off and looked up, startled that she had said something so private to someone she'd just met. She flushed, trying to think of some way to salvage what she was talking about. "I mean… I just…"
"How about a frog, then?" Neville asked, interrupting her embarrassment and reaching for the candy she'd offered him.
She smiled and said, "Sure." She took one, as well and opened it, removing both the collector card and the chocolate. She chewed absently on a chocolate leg while she looked over the card in her hand, which was of a severe-looking witch holding a short, stout bat. As though on a television screen, a smallish, black ball appeared from nowhere. The witch wheeled around and smacked it away, then returned to her pose.
Whitney's mouth dropped open; she turned the card over in her hands.
"Do you collect the cards?" he asked her, seeing her interest in it.
She shook her head slowly. "No, I just… nevermind. I've never had these before," she said, unwrapping some chewing gum that promised floating bubbles.
"Really?" he asked. "None of it?"
Whitney shook her head. "Well, it's not regular candy, is it?" she asked him.
Neville looked at her sideways. "Reg… Oh, you mean Muggle candy. I heard you were sent to live with Muggles. What are they like?"
Whitney looked very uncomfortable and said, "Well… I suppose most Muggles might be okay. My aunt and uncle… well, they don't really like magic, so…"
The boy looked confused. "Don't like it? How do you not like magic?" he asked.
Whitney grinned at this and said, "I don't know. I think it's brilliant!"
She blew a bright blue bubble and it floated to the ceiling of the compartment.
After a few minutes of helping her eat through her collection of sweets, Neville began to rummage through his bag, looking for something. Focusing on the scenery from the window while sampling some curious jelly beans, Whitney paid him very little attention until his searching became slightly more frantic and he began muttering softly under his breath.
"Is… everything all right?" she asked, turning her gaze to him.
"He's gone," Neville said, looking distressed.
Mental… I'm trapped on a train with a nutter, Whitney thought to herself. "All right…" she said slowly, not sure how to approach the situation.
"My toad, Trevor. He's gone again!" the round-faced boy said, removing everything from his bag to find the creature.
"A toad?" Whitney asked, sounding confused. She glanced over at her own owl's cage for a moment and decided she had experienced stranger things so far. "Uh, what does he look—Nevermind. Stupid question. Where did you see him last?"
Neville stopped tearing through his belongings long enough to close his eyes and think about it. "I had him in the station," he said, "and… I think I had him when I got on the train. But, I don't… I don't know where he's gotten to."
Whitney looked uncertain about what to do, but said, "Well, all right. Does he… Does he make a lot of noise?"
Neville shook his head. "Sometimes when it's dark," he replied, "but not usually."
Whitney tried to think back to science class and everything she had learned about frogs, but was fairly certain that knowing how to locate its kidneys wouldn't be helpful. She'd only ever dissected one before and had no idea how to find one.
"Does he run off a lot?" she asked. "Or… hop off, I suppose."
"All the ruddy time," Neville groaned, covering his face with his hands.
Whitney stood up from her seat and Neville started. "You'll help me look for him?" he asked, sounding relieved. Whitney opened her mouth to say that she was only looking under the seats, but Neville looked so grateful that all she could do was nod.
"Let's go, then," she said, moving toward the door.
Neville followed her wordlessly, looking miserable, and left Whitney to knock on doors to ask people if they'd seen a toad anywhere. The short answer was that no one had seen a toad, but the looks of ridicule on the other students' faces told Whitney all she really needed to know about how popular it was to keep one around. Not particularly fond of starting conversations with complete strangers, Whitney began to make Neville answer the doors and ask about his toad.
"You should keep after your pets better," came a bossy tone from one of the compartments. A head of bushy hair atop a stern expression stepped out of the car and looked at the two of them. The girl couldn't have been any older than Whitney or Neville, but she held herself with a certain amount of authority that made her seem more than her age.
"So… you haven't seen him, then?" Whitney asked, not sure how to respond.
The girl seemed not to notice Whitney's question at all. Instead, she said, "I read about toads last year and they tend to hide in dark places." Walking down the hall ahead of them, she continued to talk; Whitney and Neville followed aimlessly. "You should look in all of the compartments under the seats and ask everyone if they've seen him. I'm Hermione, by the way."
Whitney had just been about to tell the girl she wasn't telling them anything new when the girl introduced herself. It's only polite to introduce myself in return, she thought to herself, not really looking forward to more silent gawking.
"Neville," Neville introduced himself rather sulkily. "Longbottom."
Whitney cleared her throat, looking reluctant, and said, "Whitney Potter."
"Are you really?" Hermione asked, though she didn't sound particularly interested as they walked down the hall, intermittently stopping to ask students if they'd seen a toad. "I know everything about you," she said. "I've read all sorts of books about you. I heard you were sent to live with Muggles."
This having not been a reaction Whitney had anticipated, she took a moment to respond. "Yes," she said at last, sounding surprised. "Wait, there are books about me?"
"All sorts. Whitney Potter, the Girl Who Lived, The Unofficial Biography of Whitney Potter, She-Who-Banished He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," Hermione listed off a few titles. "There are dozens. If it was me, I'd read them all just to see what people are saying about me."
"But… I've never done an interview or… anything. How can there be books about me if I don't even know about them? Don't you need… permission or something?" Whitney asked.
Hermione shrugged. "I doubt it. You're public news aren't you? Excuse me, have you seen a toad? A boy called Neville has lost one."
That last had been to the contents of a compartment that consisted of only one boy and one that Whitney recognized. He was the youngest of the red-headed boys she'd met earlier. She waved a little weakly to him and he waved back. "No," he said to Hermione. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Hermione was already shutting the door and returning to the conversation at hand.
"Anyway, though, it's really mad, isn't it? Magic, I mean. Mad and brilliant. My parents are Muggles, you know, so I had no idea any of this was real. I mean, I had some idea, because of the strange things that happened around me growing up, but all of this!"
Whitney smiled at this. "I didn't know, either," she said. "My aunt and uncle are Muggles and… they don't really like magic, so they never told me about any of this. I didn't even know… I mean, about my parents until a few weeks ago."
"That's dreadful!" Hermione exclaimed, though Whitney got the sense that it was more because Hermione wanted to hear what her own voice sounded like with an indignant tone, rather than because she was actually concerned for Whitney's situation.
Hermione stopped abruptly and turned back to Whitney and Neville. "I don't think we're going to find your toad, Neville," she said, shaking her head. "I'm really sorry."
She doesn't sound very sorry… Whitney thought to herself, but didn't say anything.
Neville took in a deep breath and sighed heavily.
"Don't worry, Neville," Whitney said, trying to be optimistic. "I'm sure he'll turn up."
Neville didn't look particularly cheered, but he nodded and began walking back down the hall with Whitney. Hermione followed him until she reached her own car and stopped in the doorway.
"You two should change into your robes soon," Hermione called out to Whitney and Neville as the two walked away. "I imagine we should be arriving soon!"
Additional notes: Right around this time in the story, I get asked whether Whitney will become friends with Ron and Hermione, since she doesn't seem to like them much now. If you don't want this spoiler, I suggest you stop reading now, although I'm not really giving anything to secret away here.
The answer is, yes. Ron and Hermione play essential roles in the books and I would never leave them behind. However, Neville was introduced earlier on because he will play a more important character in this fanfic than he played in the books. This is because Whitney is based on me and I would have gotten along better with Neville than Harry did.
Fear not, dear readers, I will be screwing with as little treasured canon as possible.
I also get asked if Hermione was always so annoying. XD The answer is YES! I didn't even realize it myself until I went back and reread the chapter. Hermione was insufferable until she almost died, then she started being a decent human… er, witch.