Thank you for all of the encouraging reviews and messages! They really keep me motivated!
"Oi, wake up," said a familiar voice. I cracked my eyes open slightly and saw Ron lightly shaking Brooke. I scoffed. He wouldn't get her up that way.
"Wake up," he said shaking her with more fervor. I opened my eyes wider enjoying the show.
"Brooke!" he said loudly. Wait for it.
"WHAT!?" she said shooting up and slamming her forehead into his. There it was.
"Bloody hell!" he said gripping his forehead.
"What happened?" she said, half asleep. She didn't even feel the impact. I let out a laugh and both of them looked at me in confusion.
"You could've warned me if you were awake!" he said.
"Yes, but this way's much funnier," I said, still laughing.
"Mum, says it's time for you to get up. She wants you down for breakfast in ten minutes," he said walking out of the door. I stretched and walked over to my trunk. I changed into some plain jeans and an LSU T-shirt. Let's just assume most of my wardrobe consists of purple and gold. I may be a witch, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy a good, no-maj football game.
Once Brooke was finished we walked downstairs and joined the rest of the family for breakfast.
"Good morning!" piped Ginny happily.
"Morning," we said in unison.
"Oh!" said Mrs. Weasley. "I've packed each of you some sandwiches for the trip."
"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," said Jeremiah finishing his plate of eggs.
"You're welcome, dear," she said standing up and gathering up the remaining plates. "Now we don't have long, so I want all of you to gather up your trunks and bring them down to the car. Arthur will load them in the car for you."
We trotted back up the stairs, gathered our luggage, and put our animals back in their cages. Megie was rather reluctant and Mr. Bobbles flapped his wings threateningly at her until she climbed in.
"Good boy," I said petting him on the head. "You'll soon have plenty of room to fly around and you'll have other owls to keep you company."
"Megie, all I ask is that you don't eat Scabbers," Brooke pleaded. Megie turned around in her kennel and faced away from her.
"I'd say that's promising," Brooke said confidently.
"Uh huh," I replied sarcastically.
I threw my bag over my shoulder and stuck my wand down inside along with my money. I picked up my trunk and Mr. Bobbles' cage and we struggled to carry our things down the stairs. We sounded like an entire herd of wildebeests. Finally, making it out the door we walked down the driveway where the Weasley's car was sitting outside of the garage. It was a blue Ford Anglia with an Undetectable Extension Charm attached to it. It could fit all of us comfortably and Mrs. Weasley was none the wiser. She simply thought all muggle's cars were like this.
"This it?" Mr. Weasley asked us.
"Yes, sir. This is everything," answered Brooke. It looked like we were the first ones to make it out.
"I think I'm going to go see if anyone else needs help," said Brooke.
"Alright. I'll go help Mrs. Weasley then," we trotted back off to the house and I went to the kitchen while Brooke went upstairs. Ginny was already in the kitchen helping her mother. She had large armful of sandwiches wrapped in plastic wrap.
"Oh, good!" Ginny said relieved. "Here take some of these, would you?" She crammed some sandwiches into my arms
"Mrs. Weasley, why don't you just put these in your purse?" I asked.
"Well, I would, but I don't want them to get crushed by my books," she said, packing the aforementioned books into her purse. There had to be at least three of them. The drive wouldn't be nearly long enough for her to read three.
"Oh, are they cookbooks?" I asked curiously.
"No. They're books by Gilderoy Lockhart," she said with a dreamy look in her eye.
"I think I've heard of him," I said, cocking my head to the side trying to think of where I'd heard that name before. "Oh! Is he the guy that goes around encountering all of those dark creatures and writing books about them?"
"Yes, he is!" she said excitedly. "He's brilliant!"
"Mum fancies him," giggled Ginny.
"Ginevra Weasley!" gasped Mrs. Weasley with a visible blush.
"Ain't no shame in your game, ay Mrs. Weasley?" I laughed. She covered her face with both hands clearly embarrassed.
"Out to the car, both of you!" she said, scooting us out of the kitchen. I just couldn't help it. She got so easily flustered.
"Honestly, he is quite handsome," said Ginny.
"Hmm, maybe I should pick up one of his books." We walked out of the front door and into the sun. It was cooler today than it had been yesterday.
"I could get mummy to owl you one."
"That'd be great. Then maybe I could see what all the hubbub is about. His books seem right up my alley."
Ginny and I reached the car and the others were getting their luggage situated. Percy and Devin were helping Mr. Weasley load everything thing in the trunk of the car. We handed out the wrapped sandwiches to each person and I put mine in my bag, along with my wand. Ron simply stuffed his in his pocket. So much for them not being crushed.
When Mrs. Weasley finally made it out to the car, we loaded up and started down the road. Ginny, Percy and Ron ended up in the front seat with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and the rest of us were in the back. Those of us with animals simply held them in our lap. The car fit all of us comfortably with room to spare.
"Muggles do know more than we give them credit for, don't they?" said Mrs. Weasley. "Amazing how much room this car has."
She took out one of her books and happily began reading. No one said a word. We didn't dare correct her that Mr. Weasley had put a charm on the car. He could get in big trouble with the Ministry for using it on a muggle object. I noticed he was loosening the collar around his neck nervously.
"Shouldn't take us more than an hour to get to the station," he said, changing the subject.
We eventually hit the motorway and took it into London. Mr. Weasley parked in the parking lot at St. Pancras Station across the street from Kings Cross Station and the boys helped unload the luggage.
"Why are we parking here, Mr. Weasley?" I asked, taking my owl and trunk from him.
"Kings Cross doesn't have a car park," he replied.
"You need me to carry your owl?" asked Devin.
"That'd be great," I said, handing Mr. Bobbles to him. Such a gentlemen. I noticed George looking at Devin and I and he quickly turned and looked at Brooke.
"Brooke, I'll take your cat," offered George. Well, what do we have here?
"Thanks," she said, handing Megie to him without hesitance. There was a hiss of protest heard from within the kennel.
"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Brooke said.
"All set?" asked Mr. Weasley. "Good. Let's go."
We followed Mr. Weasley across the road to a long and massive building. We were entering on the left side, but I was able to catch a glimpse of the trains in the train yard in the back. The entrance was a large dome with triangular glass panes. It looked like it had been added to the station in recent years.
Stepping inside of the station my eyes widened at the massive structure in front of me. Several steel beams crisscrossed on the floor and rose up, spreading out like a reverse waterfall to form the entire ceiling. Behind the steel structure lay many eateries where passersby could rest while waiting on a train and it also held the entranceways to different platforms. Above the entrances and restaurants was a timetable and nowhere on it did it mention Platform 9 ¾. Curious.
"Amazing what these muggles are capable of without magic," said Mr. Weasley gazing at the ceiling.
The station was bustling with a mixture of muggle and wizard folk alike. It was easy to tell them apart just from their attire. While some wizards were semi-successful in blending in, like the Weasleys, others were not. One man had on powder blue robes with a simple baseball cap placed on his head. He drew quite a lot of attention. Our owls, by themselves, were drawing many looks.
Mr. Weasley walked stiffly over to a section where a muggle man was giving out trolleys to those with quite a bit of luggage.
"Good morning," he said cheerfully. "Quite a bit of folks with owls today."
"Yes," agreed Mr. Weasley. "There's a National Owl Convention held every year. Our family regularly attends it."
Nice save! The man didn't look like he completely bought the story, but shrugged and decided not to question it further. He handed the trolleys out to us and I placed my trunk on the bottom and Mr. Bobbles on top of it.
"This way kids." Mr. Weasley waved his hand for us to follow him. We walked off to the left and to the entrance of Platforms 9 through 11. We entered our tickets into the turnstiles and proceeded through to the correct Platform. It was crowded and difficult to maneuver our trolleys without bumping into people or each other. Jeremiah threatened that if I hit him in the back of the legs one more time he'd throw me onto the train track. Heh. My bad.
"It's the same year after year. Always packed with muggles of course," complained Mrs. Weasley. I would've mentioned we WERE in a muggle train station, but I valued my life.
"Mummy, can't I go?" Ginny whined, pulling on her mother's hand.
"You're not old enough, now be quiet," she said coming to a stop beside Mrs. Weasley.
"So….um….where exactly are we getting on?" asked Devin.
"Right here," said Mr. Weasley pointing at a clearly solid wall between Platforms 9 and 10. Well that explains everything.
"Uh huh…." Brooke was just as confused as me. And that didn't take much.
"Percy, why don't you go first?" suggested Mrs. Weasley. Better him than me.
"Maybe the wall will knock some sense into him," whispered Jeremiah out of the corner of his mouth. I simply nodded my agreement. We could only hope.
Percy stood a few feet back from the wall and took off in a run pushing his trolley. My jaw dropped. He was there one minute and gone the next. He literally just ran through a wall and disappeared. Someone call Professor X! There's a mutant on the loose!
"Next!" called Mr. Weasley. Devin and Jeremiah both walked up at the same time.
"Ladies first," Jeremiah grinned. He got a good punch in the arm for that little comment. Sigh. Boys.
Devin ran at the wall and vanished with Jeremiah close behind.
"Fred, you next," motioned Mrs. Weasley
"He's not Fred, I am," proclaimed one twin.
"Honestly woman, and you call yourself our mother," said the other. Mrs. Weasley sighed with exasperation.
"Oh, I'm sorry, George," she apologized
"Only joking. I am Fred," said the twin and they both took off before Mrs. Weasley could protest.
"Honestly, those two," she said with a slight smile. I knew she'd miss them while they were at school. Although, probably not the explosions coming from their bedroom. Mr. Weasley motioned Ron forward and he adjusted Scabbers to make sure his cage wouldn't fall off midstride.
"Excuse me!" I turned my head and saw a messy haired boy with glasses walking up to us. His clothes looked like they were four times too big for him. He had a school trunk just like ours as well as a Snowy owl in a cage. Mr. Bobbles started going bonkers when he saw the other owl.
"Would you calm down!" I said poking him through the cage. He snapped at my finger, but settled down nonetheless. He didn't break his gaze on the owl, however. The boy looked unsure and nervous and began to stutter through his words.
"C-Could you tell me how to-,"
"How to get onto the platform?" Mrs. Weasley interrupted. He looked suddenly relieved and relaxed a bit.
"Yes, not to worry, dear," she reassured him. "It's their first time at Hogwarts as well."
Brooke and I gave him warm smiles while Ron just stood there like the awkward mess he was. We need to work on his social skills.
"All you've got to do is run straight at the wall between Platforms 9 and 10. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous." He did, indeed, look nervous.
She put her hand on the boys back and led him in front of Ron. The boy took a deep breath and broke out into a run towards the wall, where he quickly vanished.
"What a nice boy. You should try and make friends with him Ron," Mrs. Weasley said absently.
"Mum…," he cringed. Brooke and I stifled our laughter and he shot us a dirty look. To avoid any possible further embarrassment from his mother, Ron wordlessly ran into the magical barrier without a second look back.
"Ahem, you first," I said holding my hand out toward that wall.
"No, no, no you first," Brooke said doing the same.
"No, I insist," I said a bit more firmly.
"I'm going to petrify both of you and throw you through if one of you doesn't go!" cried Mrs. Weasley.
And with that, Brooke hurried into the barrier with me following close behind. There was no sensation going through it. It was just like entering into a darkened hallway and as quickly as I entered it, I was on the other side of it.
Looking back I saw a solid brick wall, but looking forward I saw a long, scarlet steam engine. Its blast pipe pumped steam into the air. Billowing clouds of white smoke fogged the area. People were hanging out of the train's compartment windows saying goodbye to their families and saying hello to their friends from the previous year. You could tell who the first years were by merely glancing around. Not only were we shorter than everyone else, but most you could tell were very nervous.
Pushing our trolleys down the crowded platform, we met with the others who were parking their trolleys and adjusting their luggage. I noticed Fred and George had wandered off to one of the train's cars and were helping a boy with his luggage. It looked like the same boy from before.
Devin grabbed Mr. Bobbles for me and I held onto my trunk. Mrs. Weasley walked over to us and nearly burst into tears.
"I'm just so happy," she said tearfully. She grabbed a hand each on Ron and I and held them tight. "It seems like just yesterday, you two were running around in your knickers in the back yard!"
"Mum!" Ron yelled, mortified.
"Oh, really now?" said Jeremiah with a sly grin. "You wouldn't happen to have any pictures would you Mrs. Weasley?"
"Oh! I've got a whole album," she said happily. Jeremiah, Brooke, and Devin all looked at each other with pursed lips. It wasn't THAT funny. I didn't really care that Mrs. Weasley or my mother owned said photos, heck, I didn't care if people knew about our childhood moments, but I certainly didn't want them share with the world in picture form.
"MUM!" Ron yelled, louder this time. His whole face had turned as red as the train.
"I've got to get going mother," interrupted Percy. I noticed that at some point he had changed into his school robes and had a shiny silver badge on his chest. "The prefects have two compartments all to themselves." His head was growing bigger with each day.
"Oh, alright," she said sighing and giving him a kiss on the cheek. He quickly hugged his father as well and walked off to his fancy shmancy compartment.
Mrs. Weasley then turned to the twins and poked a finger in George's chest.
"I expect you two to behave yourselves this year!" she began. "If I get one more owl that you've blown up a toilet or something-"
"We've never blown up a toilet," interrupted George.
"Great idea though, thanks mum!" added Fred.
"It's not funny!" she fumed.
"Don't worry Mrs. Weasley, we'll keep them in line!" I chimed in. She gave an exasperated sigh.
"Yes, that's what worries me."
"I'm offended!" Brooke said in a mocking tone.
Mrs. Weasley ignored her and turned to Brooke, Devin, and Jeremiah.
"Now, I know how difficult it will be for you three to be so far away from home, but don't hesitate to owl me if you need anything."
"Yes, our home is your home," smiled Mr. Weasley.
She then turned to Ron and I and hugged us both at the same time.
"You two have a good first year, make sure to bath often, and keep your grades up. I don't want to hear about you slacking off." She would definitely hear about us slacking off.
Ginny began to suddenly cry and I hugged her as well.
"Don't cry Ginny," said Fred reassuringly. "We'll send you loads of owls." She sniffled into my shirt and peeked over at him.
"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat," joked George. I saw Mr. Weasley smack his hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh.
"George!" squealed Mrs. Weasley. Ginny giggled and released me. I knew it would be hard for her. She's always had at least one of her siblings to keep her company and now she's was going to be all alone. I knew how she felt. I experienced the same thing when my own sister left for Ilvermorny and I wasn't able to see her. As soon as she came home, she would flit back to school in just a few weeks.
"We better get going Mrs. Weasley. The train will probably be leaving soon," Brooke said.
"Oh! Your right," she said. We gave Mr. Weasley a quick hug and she ushered us off to the train. It took a minute of heaving and hoeing for all of us to finally get onto one of the cars. The corridors were narrow as we searched in each compartment looking for a place where all of us could fit. Fred and George had already left to go join one of their friends in his compartment, leaving just the five of us.
"We may end up having to split up," said Devin from behind me.
"But that means I have to be social," complained Brooke.
"There's only one person in this one," said Ron coming to a halt. He opened the compartment and stuck his head in.
"Excuse me," he said to the resident inside. Ron was in front of me and Brooke was behind him, so I couldn't see who he was speaking with. "Do you mind? Everywhere else is full."
The person inside must've given their approval because Ron walked inside. We stepped inside and saw the boy from earlier. After placing our luggage into the overhead racks, we sat down in the red seats. I situated Mr. Bobbles between my legs on the floor. Ron, Brooke, and I sat across the seat from the boy, and Devin and Jeremiah sat next to him.
"I'm Ron, by the way," he said extending his hand to the boy, "Ron Weasley." The boy took it and shook his hand.
"I'm Kristin Hammons," I said introducing myself. "And this is Brooke Landers, Jeremiah Pritchard, and Devin Skipper."
"You realize we can introduce ourselves, right?" said Devin.
"Well, I just thought it would be easier to just go ahead and get everyone in there," replied. "But I apologize, I didn't realize you woke up with a stick up your bum today."
"You two done yet?" asked Jeremiah.
"No!" we both said in unison.
"Well, I'm not listening to you two argue the whole way so be quiet," he snapped back. "Besides, he hasn't even gotten a chance to introduce himself yet." The boy was simply watching us with a smile on his face.
"I'm Harry, Harry Potter." Every one of us froze and just gawked at him like he had sprouted a second head.
"So-so it's true," Ron said quietly. "I mean do you really have the-the…"
"The what?" asked Harry.
"Scar," Ron whispered. I gave him a swift kick in the shin.
"OW!"
"Geez, Ron, you can't just ask people questions about their scars. It's rude!" I scolded.
"Really, it's no problem," laughed Harry, "but yeah, I have it." He lifted up his bangs to reveal a lightening shaped scar on his forehead.
"Wicked," replied Ron. I had to admit, it was pretty amazing.
You-Know-Who wasn't as big of an influence in the U.S. like he was in Britain, but he did cause quite a bit of a panic. People were paranoid that Death Eaters would pop up and suddenly try to overthrow the ministry. The MACUSA thought that after taking over Europe, he was sure to go after the U.S. Kind of how like Hitler did with World War II. The MACUSA tried to stay out of it altogether in hopes that he would leave the U.S. alone, but I personally think it was pretty foolish. If they had helped Britain, they may have been able to prevent some unnecessary deaths or perhaps stopped him all together. Of course there's nothing to be done about it now, it's all in the past.
"The trains moving," said Jeremiah, looking out of the window. The people on the platforms were all waving goodbye to the train as it rode by.
"I hadn't even felt it move," mentioned Brooke.
"So do you know loads of magic already?" Harry asked.
"Not really," replied Ron. "We can fly on brooms, but that's about it. The Reasonable Restriction for Underage Wizardry prevents us from using magic before we're seventeen outside of school."
"Eighteen for us though," said Brooke.
"Yeah, but that's only in the U.S," said Jeremiah. "We'll be able to use it freely at seventeen in Britain, we just won't be able to use it back home until we're eighteen."
Harry suddenly looked worried.
"So, will I get in trouble for accidently making some glass vanish at a snake enclosure at a zoo?"
"No," I laughed. "It's normal for us to accidently use our magic when we're angry or scared."
"I don't know about you guys, but I want to hear this snake story," said Devin.
"Oh, well, I was at the zoo with my aunt, uncle and cousin and I sort of got mad when my cousin pushed me out of the way when I was looking at this snake. So when he pressed his face against the glass, it disappeared and he fell into the enclosure."
"It didn't eat him, did it?" Brooke said with a worried look. Harry simply laughed.
"No, it just slithered away. He probably would've given the snake indigestion." We all laughed and Ron posed another question.
"So it's true that you live with muggles then?"
"Yeah, but they're horrible. Not all muggles, just the Dursleys. I'm glad I'm able to get away from them for a while."
"So you never knew you were a wizard either?" asked Devin.
"No. did you grow up with muggles as well?"
"Yeah, I'm the first in our family with magic. My mom didn't believe it at first. Thought it was a prank or something, until Kristin's sister showed up and proved her wrong."
"My sister, Cheri, works with muggle born witches and wizards. She helps them and their families come to accept their magical abilities," I explained.
"That's nice. Hagrid came and told me. He's the groundskeeper at Hogwarts. The Dursleys' kept me from getting any of my letters, so he had to track me down and find me."
"I'm not trying to be mean or anything," said Jeremiah. "But you'd think if they didn't like you that would be happy you'd leave."
"Oh I'm sure their throwing a party now that I'm gone, but my Uncle Vernon doesn't like anything abnormal. I think he might've been scared, come to think of it. He started treating me a little nicer, well, ignoring me altogether that is, after Hagrid came. He even gave me Dudley's second bedroom."
"What kind of a kid needs two bedrooms?" stated Devin.
"A spoiled one," answered Harry.
"So where did you sleep before you got the bedroom?" asked Jeremiah.
"A cupboard under the stairs," he said simply. Are you flipping kidding me? These people were terrible! I don't know how Harry stuck it out this long. It'd drive me crazy!
"I'd wish I'd grown up with magical siblings like you guys," Harry sighed, leaning back in the seat.
"I don't have any siblings either," said Jeremiah.
"Not me," said Devin. "My little brother's annoying enough as it is. I can't imagine him with magic."
"It's not all it's cracked up to be mate," said Ron. "I've got six siblings. Charlie was captain of the Quidditch team, Bill's a Cursebreaker for Gringotts, Percy's a prefect now, and Fred and George mess around a lot and make people laugh, but they still get good marks. No one expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it won't matter because they did it first. You never get anything new either. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat." Ron gestured to Scabbers in his lap.
My heart felt tight in my chest. I knew Ron felt like this, but this was the first time I was hearing him actually voice it.
"I've got three siblings myself," said Brooke. "I've got an older sister, she goes to Ilvermorny, and I've got two younger sisters. I think their wanting to go to Ilvermorny too."
"So why did you choose to go to Hogwarts?" asked Harry.
"I wanted to see the world," she said smiling. "This is my first step. Of course I wanted to spend my school years with my friends too." Awwww!
The door to compartment opened and an old which stood there with a trolley full of sweets. Sweet mother of Bob. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life.
"Anything off the trolley dears?" she asked.
"No thanks, I'm all set," said Ron holding up the now mushed up sandwiches from his pocket. I saw Harry glance at them and then pull out a pile of money from his pocket. My word. He was freaking loaded.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Ron.
"We'll take the lot," he said. I nearly burst into tears. Brooke launched herself across the seat and gave him a hug while rubbing cheeks with him.
"Bless you child!" she said fawning all over him. Harry had officially gained Brooke's loyalty for life. Ron grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her back to the seat, so Harry could get up and gather up all of the sugary delights.
"Explain to me why I'm friends with you guys again?" asked Jeremiah rubbing his temple.
"Because you love us," I said.
"Because we're adorable," said Brooke.
"Ha!" Devin scoffed.
"No need to deny it," I said standing up and striking a pose like the beautiful model I was. Devin reached across and pushed me back in my seat.
"While, you all discuss how attractive you are, I'll just take a simple peek through all of these," said Jeremiah. He was already opening up a Pumpkin Pasty. Simple peek my foot.
"I'll just take one of these," Devin said plucking a Cauldron Cake from the pile, which was laid out on the seat.
"Oooo! I want a Licorice Wand," I said snatching the one Brooke was about to take a bite out of.
"Hey!" she complained.
"Hey," I said back taking a bite out of it. Her mouth fell open in horror.
"You're such a broomhead!" she said getting another wand. Ron took Scabbers out of his cage and set him on his lap, He began to open his package of sandwiches, which reminded me that we did still have food from Mrs. Weasley. I couldn't very well let them go to waste now could I?
"I'll swap you for one of those," Harry said holding up a Cauldron Cake. Ron didn't even hesitate.
"She always forgets I hate corned beef," he mumbled.
"I think mines roast beef, if you want to switch with me too," I said holding up my own package of sandwiches." I took a bite of the corned beef and it was delicious. Everyone was swapping sandwiches and candy with each other. It was like having an entire feast in our compartment.
"Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans?" questioned Harry.
"They mean EVERY flavor," said Ron. "There's chocolate and peppermint, but there's also spinach, liver, and tripe. George swears he got a bogey-flavored one once."
"Try one Harry," said Jeremiah. Oh I had to see this.
Harry took a bite out of a brown bean and raised his eyebrows.
"Baked beans!" he said in shock. Darn I was hoping he got a bad one.
"Let me try one," Devin said reaching over and a grabbing a grey one out of the box. He popped the whole thing in his mouth and made a disgusting face. Success.
"Pepper," he said simply. We laughed and he took a bite out of Chocolate Frog to get the taste out of his mouth.
"These aren't real chocolate frogs, are they?" said Harry holding up a package.
"It's just a spell," answered Ron. "Besides it's the cards you want. Each packs got a famous witch or wizard. I've got about 500 meself, but I don't have Agrippa or Ptolemy."
Harry opened the package and was shocked to see the frog leap onto the window, climb up, and jump to freedom out of the top portion, which had been opened earlier. He looked so heartbroken. I can relate. The loss of food is always heartbreaking
"That's rotten luck. They've only got one good jump in them to begin with," Ron said.
"See, which card you've got!" I said leaning over to get a better look. He grabbed the card form inside the package and looked at it curiously.
"I've got Dumbledore!" he said excitedly.
"I've got about six of him," Ron said proudly.
"Ron, stop bragging," I said. His ears turned pink.
"Wow he's gone!" exclaimed Harry. He held up the card for us to see and there was no one in the picture.
"Yeah, the pictures move," said Jeremiah.
"You know, in the muggle world, people just stay put in photos," Harry explained.
"Do they? They don't move at all?" Ron gave Harry an amazed look and looked at Devin for conformation.
"Nope. They don't move at all," confirmed Devin.
"Weird," replied Ron.
"Sort of like your face," snickered Brooke. The compartment door swung open and a chubby, tearful boy walked in. Oh my gosh! He was so adorable. I had to restrain myself from hugging him.
"You haven't seen a toad have you?" he asked in a panicked tone. "I've lost him."
"Hold on, we'll check," I said, getting on my hands and knees to look under the seats. I saw Brooke checking Megie's mouth. I wouldn't be surprised if she'd eaten him.
"Doesn't look like there's one in here," I said standing back up. "We'll let you know if we find him."
"Thanks," he said with a defeated look. He closed the door and walked down to the next compartment. Poor kid.
"Don't know why he's so bothered," began Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I really can't talk." He turned to the rat in his lap who had a Bertie's box on his head.
"I know I'd be heartbroken if I lost Mr. Bobbles." I stuck my finger through the cage and stroked his wing. He'd been sound asleep since we'd gotten on the train.
"Well, toads aren't' exactly as popular as they used to be," said Jeremiah. "Owls are just far more useful to have around. Toads don't really do anything."
"Pathetic, isn't he?" said Ron holding up the rat.
"A little bit," agreed Harry.
"Fred gave me a spell as to turn him yellow. Want to see?"
"Yeah!"
"Hold up. This ought to be good." Devin sat up to get a better view. Ron got out his wand and cleared his throat. Before he could begin his attempt at magic, the compartment door slid open once more and we were greeted by a girl with long bushy hair.
"Has anyone seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one," she said.
"He was here earlier, but we checked and couldn't find one," replied Brooke. The girl sighed and looked at Ron, whose wand was still in the air, and her face brightened up.
"Oh! Are you doing magic? Let's see then!" she said rather bossily. She reminded me of Percy. Ron raised his wand and cleared his throat once more.
Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow
Turn this stupid, fat rat, yellow.
A burst of yellow light erupted from Ron's wand and struck the rat, causing him to squeak. He didn't turn yellow and there was a snort that came from Devin and Jeremiah's direction. The girl gave him a doubtful look.
"Are you sure that's a real spell?" she said. "Well, it's not very good is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and they've all worked for me."
She barged her way into the compartment and forced Ron, Brooke, and I to scoot over so she could sit across from Harry. She brought out her wand and pointed it directly at Harry's face and he immediately tensed up.
"For example: Oculas Reparo." Her wand sparked and the tape holding Harry's glasses together vanished and the noseband was now whole again. Our mouths fell open. Harry took off his glasses and examined them.
"Remind me to learn that spell for my glasses," I said, pushing my own up the bridge of my nose.
"Oh I can teach it to you!" she said eagerly. She took a second look at Harry's glasses, which had returned to his face, and her eyes grew wide.
"Holy cricket! You're Harry Potter! I'm Hermione Granger. And you are…?" she said looking to the rest of like we were chopped liver.
"I'm….Ron Weasley," Ron said with a mouthful.
"Kristin Hammons, Brooke Landers, Jeremiah Pritchard and…." I trailed off and looked at Devin. "I'll let you introduce yourself, knowing how sensitive you are and all." The others snickered, except for Hermione who just looked confused.
"Devin Skipper," he said glaring at me.
"Uh huh…pleasure. You lot better change into your robes. I expect we'll be arriving soon." She got up and walked to the door before turning around and looking back at Ron. "By the way, you've got dirt on your nose. Did you know?"
After Hermione left and Ron reached up and rubbed his nose where the dirt was, rather embarrassed.
"Well, she's a handful isn't she?" I said, breaking the silence.
"I'll say," said Brooke, "but I wouldn't mind asked her to tutor me. She seems really smart."
"I'll bet she gets in Ravenclaw," I said.
"Whatever house she's in, I don't want to be in it," said Ron.
"What house are your brothers in?" asked Harry.
"Gryffindor," he replied. "Mum and Dad were in it too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad. As long as it's not Slytherin. There's not a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin and You-Know-Who was one of them." Harry suddenly looked more worried by the minute.
"Wasn't Merlin in Slytherin though?" asked Jeremiah. "You know the old saying. 'Don't judge a book by its cover.'"
"Yeah, there's bound to be plenty of Slytherins who are nice. They can't ALL be bad, right?" said Brooke.
"And don't forget," I added. "Hufflepuff actually has the lowest count when it comes to dark wizards, so it's not like Gryffindor hasn't had their fair share. We should at least see what they're like before we jump to conclusions."
Harry's mood hadn't really lifted any, he was just staring out of the window watching the hills roll by. I think he's just focused in on the fact that the man who killed his parents was a Slytherin. If I was in his position, I'm not sure I'd want to be in that house either.
"We'd probably better clean this mess up," said Brooke, referring to the countless boxes and wrappers on the floor and seats. After picking up the trash, Harry let us divide the treats up between us. There was a small scuffle between Brooke and Devin on who would get the last Cauldron Cake. It ended up with Brooke on the floor and Devin sitting on top of her.
"I think the trains slowing down," said Jeremiah looking out of the window. The hills had changed into flat fields with a river running through in the middle. The plant life did seem to go at a slower pace.
"We'd better change into our robes," he said.
"We'll leave out first so you can change," I said. I grabbed Brooke's arm and led her out into the corridor. A few minutes later and the door open to reveal all four boys dressed in their uniforms.
"Your turn," said Devin walking past and taking our place in the corridor. Brooke and I walked in and grabbed our uniforms out of our trunks. The uniforms for first years were different from the other years. They consisted of a white, button up shirt, a grey sweater, a grey, pleated skirt, knee high socks, and black shoes. We would also get a tie, but we wouldn't get them until after we were sorted into our houses.
"I hate wearing skirts," I complained. "They always show off my man legs." Brooke laughed loudly as she got her sweater on over her white shirt.
"Well, at least you have socks that cover them," she said positively. "There's nothing you can do about your face."
"Hey!" I said rather affronted. I gave her a light punch in the arm and laughed.
We opened up the compartment door and let the boys back in.
"So Kristin," Devin began, "how are those man legs treating you?" I blushed deeply as the boys roared with laughter. I sat down and tried to cover my expose knees with my skirt.
A booming voice interrupted their joyous moment, at my expense, and sounded throughout 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."
I got my trunk down off of the rack and placed it on the seat. I picked up Mr. Bobbles, who was now awake, and set him on top of the trunk. Now at an optimum position he was able to see Harry's owl again (her name was Hedwig) and he started flipping out once again.
"What's up with your owl?" asked Devin.
"I'm not sure," I answered. "Maybe he doesn't like Hedwig." Harry's owl turned her back on Mr. Bobbles and he calmed down.
"Or maybe he DOES like her," said Brooke. I gasped.
"You don't think..?"
"Oh yeah! Mr. Bobbles has a crush on Hedwig!" she squealed. I made eye contact with my owl and he put his head down. Oh my goodness! He does like her!
"Um…and how exactly do you know this?" questioned Harry.
"Because we're girls," I replied.
"Don't even question it," said Devin, stopping Harry from questioning us more.
Jeremiah opened the compartment door and we entered into the throng of students that had spilled into the corridor. I suddenly felt like an ant with all of these tall people towering over me. The train finally slowed to a stop and we followed the flow of the students down the steps and into the train station.