2
The Hogwarts Express
A few days later, Gabrielle found herself at Kings Cross station with Fleur, walking leisurely along Platform Ten until they reached the brick wall that would take them to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters; a non-descript wall between the signs for Platforms Nine and Ten. After standing around for a few minutes to make sure they weren't seen, and after being forced to wait for a large group of Muggles to board their train to Manchester, Gabrielle and Fleur pushed her trolley through the wall and onto the platform. The Hogwarts Express stood at the end of the platform, merrily puffing small clouds of steam as it readied for its next journey, its scarlet paint gleaming in the morning sun, bathing the walls of Platform Nine and Three-Quarters in a soft red glow. Gabrielle made her way across to the Slytherin carriage and began to unload her trolley, groaning under the weight of her heavy trunk, which contained her robes, cauldron, and school books and supplies. One of the porters jumped forward to help her carry it into the luggage compartment, and she returned a moment later to retrieve her two most prized possessions; her Eagle Owl, Elisé, who sat huffily in her cage with her head beneath her wing, unimpressed at not being allowed to fly free, and a long black case that contained her Nimbus Two-Thousand-Five-Hundred.
She spotted Regina approaching from a few feet away, easily picked out from the crowd because of her long black hair that swished freely from side to side as she bounded along the platform. "Finally!" She said, pulling Gabrielle into a rib-cracking hug, "I thought I'd be the only Slytherin in the carriage!"
"The train doesn't leave for another half an hour," Gabrielle mumbled into Regina's hoodie, "Not everybody shows up as early for everything as you do." The two girls exchanged talk about their summer holidays as they waited on the platform, mostly about the Quidditch World Cup, and about Harry's disappearance; neither of them could bring themselves to even consider the possibility that he could be dead. Finally, as the large clock on the wall of the platform drew nearer to eleven o'clock, Gabrielle gave Fleur a hug goodbye, and boarded the Hogwarts Express, sliding herself into a compartment with Regina.
Soon, they were joined by other members of the Slytherin Quidditch team, which she hoped to be a part of in the upcoming year, and Gabrielle found herself shaking hands with Quigley, Doran, and Virani, who introduced themselves before Marcus Hendricks, the Slytherin Keeper with whom Gabrielle would share most of her classes, joined them in the compartment. The students had just settled down into their seats, and the train had begun pulling out of the station, clouding over the windows of the carriage with plumes of white steam, when Regina let out a small yelp of surprise. "Julie!" She cried out to a skinny red-haired girl who was passing by their compartment. The girl turned and rushed forward into one of Regina's crushing hugs, "I didn't know you were coming back!"
"Only managed to convince me ma' last night," the girl replied in a thick Irish accent that Gabrielle struggled to understand, "Didn't think I was gonna be allowed back again, you know after what happened to Potter like." As the girl made her way into their compartment, which was now becoming somewhat cramped, some of the older Slytherin's shook hands, or gave the girl a hug, or patted her on the back. Regina grabbed Gabrielle by the shoulders and pulled her forward.
"This is Julie Kay," she said gesturing to the Irish girl, "providing she can still fly as well as she did two years ago, she's probably going to be one of our Chasers this year." Gabrielle held out a hand and had begun to introduce herself when the red-haired girl replied.
"I know about you! They wrote about you in the Prophet a couple times this Summer." The girl shook Gabrielle's outstretched hand enthusiastically, seemingly attempting to crush her small fingers. Gabrielle had, in fact, read one of Rita Skeeter's articles about her performance in the Quidditch World Cup, the majority of which did not even mention Quidditch, but did include whole passages about her Grandmother being a Veela, her sister losing the TriWizard Tournament, and the trouble she'd gotten in after a broom race through the Hogwarts Grounds on her first day at the school, after transferring from the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic near the end of term. From then on, Gabrielle had decided that she was going to ignore the Daily Prophet entirely. Gabrielle's attention was snapped back to reality when Julie re-started the Quidditch conversation that had been following Gabrielle around for weeks. "Is it true you have a Nimbus Two-Thousand-Five-Hundred?"
Gabrielle nodded, hoping that would suffice as an answer, but Marcus filled everyone in. "Nimbus actually gave it to her for free, because she's so good!"
"She's Captain of the Holyhead Harpies Youth team too!" Regina added, "They're like three games away from winning the Under-16's League Cup!" Gabrielle spent the next twenty minutes answering a hundred and one questions about Quidditch, which was only halted, mercifully, by the arrival of the food trolley. By the time the poor old witch pushing the cart had finished with the students' order, her cart was nearly halfway empty, and their compartment was even more cramped as every available nook and cranny was now filled with bags of Acid Pops, Fudge Flies, Chocolate Frogs, and Pumpkin Pasties. The group of students chatted animatedly about what they'd be doing during the school term, gossiping about the romantic scandals that would most surely ensue, and passing around theories as to whom would be their new Headmaster or Headmistress. The popular vote was for Professor Flitwick to take over the reigns from Professor McGonagall, who'd been forced to take at least one year's leave by the Ministry. Gabrielle hoped that it would indeed be Professor Flitwick sitting at the head of the High Table, as Charms was by far her best class, and Flitwick was never finished fawning over her abilities, something that didn't happen in any of her other classes, most especially potions, during which Professor Slughorn had calmly remarked that perhaps Gabrielle's talents were not best utilised within the realms of potion making. This was after her ironically named Calming Draught had burst into bright red flames that sent of showers of sparks in every direction, causing her classmates to duck under the surrounding tables for cover.
As the sun started to set outside their window, and the train thundered on through central Scotland, heading towards the highlands, talk turned to the Wizards United Liberation Front, a group of witches and wizards who seemed to have taken up the mantle previously held by the Death Eaters. After the Slytherin stand had been set on fire by the WULF at the end of the last term, various small attacks had been occurring around different Wizarding villages. There had been a skirmish in Ottery St. Catchpole, and the Ministry had had to modify the memory of two Muggles in Godrics Hollow after they'd been dangled from the spire of the church. Gabrielle recounted her story of the WULF showing up in Diagon Alley to attack shoppers preparing for the upcoming term to a chorus of gasps and groans, although she left out the part of the story that ended with her vomiting onto the beach after experiencing side-along apparation for the first time.
"But what is it that they're after?" Regina asked as she sucked on the end of an Acid Pop.
"Well, it's all in the Prophet," Julie said, drawing a round of groans from the other students at the thought of anyone ever reading another page. Nevertheless, Julie reached into her bag to pull out a slightly creased copy of the Daily Prophet, but as she tried to zip the bag closed, it slipped from her hands, sending its contents skittering across the floor of the compartment. Everyone got to work gathering up the scattered make-up, coins, and other miscellaneous stuff, but a book on the floor had caught Gabrielle's eye; The Life and Lies of Harry Potter. Gabrielle picked up the book and started hard at the cover, gripping the spine of the book so tightly it threatened to break apart, gazing with a stony expression at the cover, which contained a photo of Harry when he was younger, standing in an enormous building that Gabrielle didn't recognise, with Professor Dumbledore by his side, behind them, a cracked fountain spraying water in all directions. Clearly the photo had been taken in the aftermath of some battle; not the kind of thing Harry would have wanted to be circulating the Deciding, at least for the moment, that causing a scene with her possible team-mates before they even arrived at Hogwarts would not be one of her better ideas, Gabrielle handed over the book without a word, and the team began to read over Julie's shoulder.
Wizards United Liberation Front Demand Statute of Secrecy to be Overturned, Call for an End to Blood Purity
In a seemingly double pronged attack on some of the Wizarding Worlds core values, radical group, the Wizards United Liberation Front, released a document to the Ministry of Magic calling for the Statute of Secrecy to be overturned, branding the agreement as an outdated idea from an older time, when Witches and Wizards feared for their lives as Muggles hunted them down. The document states that because of the high level of integration that exists today between the Magical and Muggle Communities, revealing ourselves to the Muggles once more would be a much less dangerous endeavour, and even if it were, we have magic on our side.
The group also calls for an end to Blood Purity, stating that certain Wizards and Witches who insist on maintaining their exclusively magical bloodlines are doing more harm than good, and that in order for the Wizard World's continued survival, the era of Pure-Bloods must end. Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, himself from an old Pure-Blood family, rubbished the WULF's claims, releasing this statement to the press:
"Recently our community has been under siege from a group calling themselves the Wizards United Liberation Front. This group claims to want peace, but incites war, apparently desires equality, but does more to drive us apart than bring us together. Do not buy in to the ideologies of these thugs. A year ago, Tom Riddle, better known as Lord Voldemort, very nearly brought about the destruction of our world by attempting to reveal us to the Muggle world, whilst at the same time trying to rid our community of all Muggle-Born witches and Wizards. Whilst this Wizards United Liberation Front tries to disguise its attacks under the pretence of achieving peace, it is plain to all but themselves that they are simply trying to do what Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters failed to do, and as with Lord Voldemort, the Ministry is determined that the WULF will also fail in their endeavours.
"That's just ridiculous!" Regina snapped, "and they think that this is a valid reason for destroying the Slytherin stand at the Quidditch Pitch, terrifying Muggles, and attacking Harry Potter." The compartment fell silent at the mention of Harry's name, and conversation stalled until the boys left to change into their school robes, suddenly filling the compartment with ample space. Gabrielle rummaged around in her bag until she managed to locate her new set of Slytherin robes, with their emerald green collar glinting in the dimming light of the carriage. With her robes now replacing her Muggle clothes, Gabrielle truly felt like a Hogwarts student now, finally shedding the Beauxbatons image that she'd presented when she had first arrived.
Before long, the Hogwarts express trundled into Hogsmeade Station, and weary students trudged out of their compartment and began dragging their luggage off the train and onto the damp platform. Rain had started to spit gently, and the air was far chillier up north, as evidenced by the many students hurriedly pulling on their heavier cloaks to fend off the cold air. After trudging down a narrow path behind the station, Gabrielle, Regina, and Julie were met by a horseless carriage, which pulled itself up behind a row of identical cars and flung open its doors to welcome them inside. Gabrielle flung herself onto a bench beside Regina, and soon they were being pulled up towards the main gates of the castle, a large black iron latticework, flanked on either side by a winged boar which rested on a plinth bearing the Hogwarts crest. Gabrielle hopped out, and after leaving her cases down by the gates to be carried up to the castle, she, Regina, and Julie began the long trek up the winding path that led to Hogwarts.
The castle loomed ominously out of the dark as the trio finally rounded the corner and began to climb the large hill towards the Entrance Hall, its large windows giving off an eerie glow in the dark, its stone walls covered in slick spots of rain, and the high towers casting enormous shadows over the ground, filling Gabrielle with a mixed sense of trepidation and awe. As they crossed into the courtyard, Gabrielle was caught off guard by the sight of a statue that hadn't been there during either of her previous visits, but the figure carved out of bronze was unmistakable. The statue depicted a small boy, around ten or eleven years old, with wild hair, broken glasses, and clothes that appeared several sizes too large. He carried with him a large trunk, a cage with an owl, and had a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on his head. The base of the statue read;
'Hogwarts is my home' – Harry James Potter 1980 – 1999
Gabrielle respected the statue, and she fully understood the reasoning behind placing it in the grounds, and, she thought solemnly, if anyone deserved to have a statue at Hogwarts, it was Harry. But seeing the statue placed there made her feel a pang of anger and sadness in the pit of her stomach. It was as if the statue had sealed Harry's fate before it had ever been truly discovered, as if, by placing an end date on the base, the Wizarding community had accepted the finality of Harry's disappearance, and presumed death at the hands of the WULF, as though there was no possibility of any other outcome. In a somewhat less jovial mood, Gabrielle walked passed the statue, unable to give it a second glance, and pushed forward into the Entrance Hall.
Authors Notes
Hello again!
I hope you've enjoyed chapter 2 of the Tournament of Champions, and now that we're at Hogwarts, the fun can really begin!
I also feel like I should give you a little summary on one of my characters who you may not be familiar with; Regina Corsica is a 7th Year Slytherin, Prefect, Head Girl, and Captain of Slytherin's Quidditch team. She will also help run the Defence Association, which is essentially Dumbledore's Army, re-packaged into an official club at Hogwarts.
Now that you guys know who she is, I have a couple of questions for you guys to answer!
1. Have you enjoyed the opening chapters?
2. What can I do to improve in the next chapters?
3. What scene is depicted on the cover of The Life and Lies of Harry Potter by Rita Skeeter? (I have a special reward for the first person who gets this right!)
Thanks again to everyone who has been reading, and I'll see you with the next!
IronManRidingaNimbus.