The Journey to Scotland

As the Hogwarts Express pulled out the station, Lovell led Buffy along the train's corridor with her two rescuers behind them. They walked past several compartments filled with rowdy first and second-years until they came to an empty one that had Lovell's trunk inside it. After the boys placed Buffy's trunk next to Lovell's, Buffy thanked them.

"Do you mind if I travel in here with you?" asked the suntanned boy Buffy had mentally named Apollo. "I'm a transfer student. I came early, found an empty compartment, and then a bunch of shrieking girls invaded it."

"Sure," Buffy quickly agreed. "I'm new here too." She looked over at Lovell for confirmation. "Is that okay? Are you expecting anyone?

Lovell looked uncomfortable; ducking his head, he began searching his pockets for his toad and muttered, "Um, no."

"Excellent!" Apollo gave them both a wide and enthusiastic smile, showing a set of sparkling white teeth. "I'll be back shortly." He slid the door shut behind him and shot off up the corridor.

That left Lovell, Buffy and the other boy who'd introduced himself as Lancelot Lockhart. Buffy chose a seat by the window whilst Lovell removed his toad and a magazine from his coat pockets. After putting them onto the seat across from Buffy, he folded the coat and threw it onto the luggage rack that ran above the seats.

With a cough to gain attention, Lockhart placed a hand over his heart and proclaimed, "Parting is such sweet sorrow. However, my travelling companions will be heartbroken should I not return to them."

With those words, he bowed low with a dramatic flourish. "Fare thee well, O' fairest maiden." Backing to the door he continued, "T'was a pleasure to be your knight errant and rescue you from the foul clutches of yonder trolley. I bid you all a fond... farewell!"

He spun around, slammed his face into the glass of the closed door and the entire panel shuddered under the impact.

"Oh! Are you okay?" Buffy asked.

Lockhart swung around, smiled insanely, opened the door, and left. Buffy and Lovell watching until he disappeared from view down the corridor.

"That boy is totally weird," said Buffy. She took the spectrespecs out of her pocket, put them on and began examining the compartment. It was something she did routinely these days, in case something demony or plain magical lingered in the area.

"Lancelot Lockhart," Lovell said, opening up Moths and Chrysalids Monthly magazine. "He thinks he is living up to the name."

"Mmm." Buffy opened her trunk and, avoiding disturbing Spikey's box, reached for Aunt Bendy's book. "In other words," she went on, "Lancelot lives in Fantasy-ville."

Lovell grinned and turned a page in his magazine. "Fantasy-ville to you, Camelot to your Sir Lancelot."

"He is not my Sir -"

There was a loud bumping in the corridor, and Buffy whipped the spectrespecs from her face as Apollo appeared hauling his trunk. Lovell went to help him, and after they'd brought in his school trunk, they sat down - all three of them looking at each other awkwardly. Lovell because he became shy around strangers, the new boy because he couldn't think of anything to say, and Buffy because she thought she could hear bumping coming from inside her trunk.

"I'm Caradoc Dearborn," Caradoc said when he realised he'd forgotten to introduce himself. "I'm transferring. I was studying at Durmstrang, but my family wanted me to transfer to Hogwarts. They both work for the International Division of Aurors and worry in case I'm a target. Grindelwald attended Durmstrang, you see, and despite the security they don't think it's safe."

Lovell looked intrigued and excited. "International Division of Aurors? Are they part of the SOS?" For Buffy's benefit, he added, "That is the Wizarding Statute of Secrecy Task Force. They work for the International Confederation of Wizards and their job is to contain outbreaks of magic that Muggles will notice. The British Ministry has its own division, but the SOS is the international one."

"The Inter-Aurors are part of SOS," admitted Caradoc. "A lot of their missions are hush-hush."

Lovell gazed at him in awe.

"Does Grindelwald have supporters in Durmstrang?" Buffy asked. She felt a little lost. For the past four weeks she'd been buried in her schoolbooks or frantically learning magic with Dumbledore. The only time she'd ventured out was on her early morning runs or visiting her Mom in St Mungos. She'd had no time to catch up on Grindelwald or the Muggle war.

"Durmstrang has many students from the old European Wizarding families," Caradoc replied. His mouth twisted with revulsion. "Some are Pureblood elitists and cause trouble. I am sure you know the sort."

Across from him, Lovell nodded in silent agreement.

Caradoc's eyes drifted to Buffy. "You're American. Were you at Ilvermorny? Why did you transfer? Were your family worried about your security as well? I know Grindelwald has a strong following over there."

"Uh, no. I didn't know anything about magic until a few weeks ago. I'm a late-developer. My magic sort of sprung to life and surprised everyone, including me. Before that, I was a..." Buffy frowned and turned to Lovell. "What do you call someone without magic whose parents are a Squb and a Muggle?"

Lovell bit his lip, and covering his face with his magazine, mumbled, "That would be a Squiggle."

Buffy's eyes narrowed. "A Squiggle? Are you sure about that?"

She couldn't see her cousin's face, but she spotted his shoulders shaking and heard the low snicker from behind the paper.

"Lovell!" she squeaked. "You nearly had me telling everyone that I was a Squiggle!"

The magazine dropped away from his face and her cousin dissolved into laughter. Caradoc laughed as well.

After giving Lovell a full-on glare, Buffy relented and joined in. "Uh, a Squiggle. I admit, you're totally on point with the name bestow-age. What about you Caradoc? Are all your family magical?"

He nodded. "Those who are alive. Mum's a Muggleborn and Dad's a Pureblood. They met at Hogwarts, joined the Ministry, and then transferred to the Inter-Aurors when Grindelwald began causing trouble. That's odd your magic flared so late, Buffy. According to Mum and Dad, magic happened around me from being in the cradle. What made your magic flare to life? Do you know?"

"Buffy and Aunt Joyce were caught up in an attack made by one of Grindelwald's supporters," Lovell answered for her, looking more comfortable in Caradoc's company now the joke had eased the tension. "He attacked them both and then blew up the building."

"I woke up to find myself buried alive and with no idea of who I was. I had to dig my way out of the rubble, like a vampire escaping her grave," added Buffy. "Although I don't have an allergic reaction to sunlight or a compulsion to suck blood."

Then wished she'd not mentioned vampires as Lovell became all tense again. She quickly moved on, "After that Dumbledore invited me to Hogwarts and I met Lovell and my Uncle Peregrine."

"Buffy is my cousin," explained Lovell. "They'd only been in England a couple of days when Von Kendrick attacked."

"Von Kendrick?! I've heard of him." Caradoc's face was grim. "The man is a crazy Pureblood elitist. A few months ago he broke into a Muggle institute in Austria and killed most of the students and teachers there. He abducted several and they have never been found." He lowered his voice, "The Inter-Aurors believe he's targetting the Muggleborn and their Muggle relatives to conduct experiments on. Word is, he is searching for the reason why Muggles sometimes produce a child with magic. I didn't want to leave Durmstrang, but Mum's a Muggleborn and she was worried about me staying there. Who knows who his next victim will be and what kind of experiments he is performing on them?"

"Do you think he wanted Buffy to experiment on? With her Mum being a Squib?" Lovell asked. His magazine lay forgotten about, the older boy had his full attention.

Caradoc gave a little shrug. "Perhaps... I am sorry, I don't know more," he replied. "The only reason I found out about Von Kendrick experimenting on people is because I overheard a conversation. I arrived home early and my parents were discussing it. They didn't know I was in the house."

Buffy let out a breath she hadn't realised that she'd been holding. Leaning back in her seat, aware of boys looking over at her, she maintained a calm facade even though her mind was racing. Moody had told her that Von Kendrick had spoken to her shortly before the attack. What had he said? She couldn't remember. Some nights, she dreamed of meeting him. There was confusion, swirling lights, the taste of fear, the sensation of falling, and then... nothing. She'd wake, tangled up in the bedclothes, dripping in sweat, and see Spikey hovering over her with large, worried eyes.

Not wanting the boys to think she was tongue-tied with terror, Buffy replied, "Alastor Moody never said anything about Von Kendrick experimenting on people."

"Moody might not know. The Minister for International Magical Law told us that Von Kendrick was working alone," Lovell reminded her. He noticed his toad trying to slip away and grabbed it before it could hop off the seat. "Minster Lestrange said the attack lacked Grindelwald's finesse and Moody thought it odd Lestrange came in person to interview you and your Mum. Remember, Buffy?"

She nodded. Buffy hadn't forgotten the meeting with Lestrange and the more she turned this new information over in her head, the more uneasy she became. Lovell was right, Moody might not know any of this. Joyce was a Squib and Buffy the daughter of a Squib. Did Lestrange think Von Kendrick had tried to abduct them that day because of what they were? Had the presence of two British Aurors foiled his plans? Would he come back, and try again?

"How do I warn Mom?" Buffy looked to Lovell for help. She didn't know the best way to contact her. "I need to tell her about this."

"Hogwarts have owls that you can borrow. Write a note now and we'll slip away to the owlery during the feast."

…

At around half-past twelve, there was a lot of rattling in the corridor, their compartment door slid open, and a young witch wearing a floral apron asked, "Any one want anything off the trolley?"

The Honeyduke's trolley-witch sold a variety of pasties, chocolates, and candy. Buffy followed the boy's lead and bought pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes, and chocolate frogs for the journey. She drew the line at Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans when Lovell mentioned they really did come in every flavour, like liver, tripe, and even booger flavoured. Caradoc was not deterred; he purchased several packs saying he'd eaten them before and had enjoyed them. Buffy wasn't sure if she should admire him for being brave or question his tastes.

After they'd eaten the pasties, cakes, and chocolate frogs (complete with a famous witch and wizard card in each, that she gave to Lovell because she wasn't five, and didn't feel the need to collect anything other than stylish outfits), Buffy began to grow restless. From the din outside in the corridor, others felt the same as her. Younger students ran past, shouting to friends, hexing each other and squealing. Occasionally, they'd hear a prefect's voice telling the miscreants to return to their compartments.

Buffy sat with her back to the window, watching the corridor in case Tom walked past as he carried out his prefect duties.

"I'm going to look for Tom," Buffy said impatiently, knowing she couldn't wait a moment longer. She had to find Tom and watch his face when he saw her and she shouted,"Surprise!"

"Is that wise?" Lovell asked without looking up. He turned a page in his book, The Giant Book Of Moths. "If Riddle is a prefect, he'll be busy dealing with..." he pointed at the third-year boys outside their compartment, they were fooling around casting bat bogie hexes at each other and laughing hilariously when they were hit. "...rowdy students on the train. It might be better to wait."

Caradoc's eyes darted from Lovell to Buffy. "Is this Tom Riddle a good friend of yours?"

"No!" said Lovell.

"Yes!" said Buffy.

"Buffy met him in London," explained Lovell. "Tom Riddle is a Slytherin. He is rather..."

"What?" Buffy folded her arms and glowered at him, feeling defensive. She'd already asked Lovell about Tom and, from the way he'd changed the subject, she guessed her cousin didn't like him. "Go on, Tom is rather what?" she pressed when Lovell looked rattled. "Sarcastic? Rude? Full of himself? Yeah, I agree, but he's still my friend."

To her surprise, Lovell stared at her in amazement.

Putting his book down, he replied, "Is he? I didn't know that, but I don't know him well. The only class I've shared with him is History of Magic and he's sat on the opposite side of the room to me. I know Riddle has a good work ethic and I've no doubt he'll take his prefect duties seriously. He's well liked by the tutors," he paused, and colour flooded his cheeks, " and seems to be popular with girls."

There was a thick silence in the compartment. Lovell suddenly finding a herd of cows in a field fascinating while Buffy took out her spectrespecs and spun them in her hand absent mindedly. Out the corner of her eye, she saw Caradoc's eyes drop to the specs and then back up to her face.

"I don't like Tom in that way," she replied after a moment. "We're only friends."

Even as she spoke, she wondered if it was true. She'd thought of Tom almost every day since she'd left the orphanage. Hadn't she put in extra hours of studying so that she wouldn't look stupid when she turned up in his classes?

It didn't surprise Buffy that Tom was popular, he was good looking, self-assured and intelligent. Other girls were bound to be interested... She cringed, knowing how the other students might see her. She'd be the needy new girl, mooning hopelessly over the popular boy who'd been nice to her a couple of times out of school. Her cheeks flushed, and she put the spectrespecs on to hide the unexpected tears that had sprung to her eyes. She didn't have many friends here, and it felt as if she'd lost one.

"I'll find him later, when he's not so busy," she mumbled. Or, maybe, she'd let him make the first move as she didn't want to appear desperate.

Lovell's eyes slid from the cows to her. When she gave him a watery smile, he returned it with a tight smile of his own.

Caradoc turned the conversation to schoolwork and the core subjects they had to study and the electives. After a while, Buffy closed her eyes and dozed off. It was much darker when she woke, the landscape was wilder and more rugged, and the few farms and houses they passed had lights at the windows.

"What house are you in?" she heard Caradoc asking Lovell quietly. "I hear Hogwarts have a Sorting Hat that knows all your thoughts, and it places you into a House according to your character and qualities."

Buffy shuddered. Putting a mind-reading hat onto her head was not something she was looking forward to. She'd been in a panic at first when Lovell told her about it, worried in case it knew she was a vampire killer. Her cousin assured her that its only purpose was to place children into the correct Houses and had no interest in anything else. Buffy wasn't so sure.

"I'm a Ravenclaw," Lovell replied with a hint of pride. "That's the best House to be in."

Buffy knew that the Hogwarts students took pride in their Houses. Lovell was proud of being a Ravenclaw, Marcus Lestrange was proud of being Slytherin. Personally, she thought that sorting kids in Houses and encouraging rivalry between them was a form of control. Reward good behaviour with points for your House and lose points when you were bad – to the annoyance of your housemates. She wasn't so stupid not to see the system for what it really was.

"The Lovegoods are almost always Ravenclaws," Lovell continued, "although we have had a couple of Hufflepuffs and a Gryffindor in the past."

Dumbledore had already explained to her what each founder looked for when choosing a student. The Slytherins were almost always Purebloods and very ambitious, which Buffy wasn't. Hufflepuffs were hard-working and friendly. Buffy wasn't sure if you could class a Slayer as 'friendly', it seemed the wrong word to use for someone who killed demons and lied to keep their existence a secret. As for Ravenclaw, the students from that house tended to be academically gifted. Despite Buffy knowing that she could be classed more as 'struggling' than gifted, Ravenclaw was where she wanted to be.

"What House would you like to be in?" Lovell asked Caradoc.

"Gryffindor," Caradoc replied, "The House both my parents were in."

Internally, Buffy grimaced. Gryffindors were supposed to be brave, adventurous, and determined, and Buffy had already decided that it wasn't for her. The main problem was Dumbledore. Although she'd always be grateful for his tutoring this summer, sometimes during their lessons she'd look up to catch him watching her. It was almost as if he knew she was hiding something and it was only a matter of time before he caught her in the act.

If the hat put in Gryffindor, sneaking out would be more difficult with a suspicious and hovering Dumbledore. Not to mention, a bunch of adventure-hungry Gryffindor kids trailing after her whenever she sneaked out of Gryffindor Tower to patrol for creepies. She hadn't told Lovell yet, but she'd already made her mind up that she was going to start patrolling. And if she came across vampires killing innocents, she wasn't the type to stand by and watch.

….

A/N

thanks to those who took the time to review.

I am hoping to get to the sorting next chapter.