Being the only member of her family with any knowledge of muggle communication systems, Ramona Weatherspoon was happy to say that she was entitled to spend more than three hours at a time on the telephone, the priviledge of having blissfully ignorant magical parents came in handy on this particular day as Ramona attempted to explain her sudden change of heart to the desperately sobbing Harriet, who was at this current moment, blowing her nose very loudly on the other end of the phone line.
"B-but I thought you liked Rollstone Park." She sniffled, still gargantuanly miffed at her magical best friend's decision to give up correspondence witchcraft and drop out of state high school in preparation to attend real magic classes at some castle way out in the middle of nowhere. For Ramona, who was usually a sensible, practical and diligent girl, it was absolutely radical.
"I just don't belong there, Harri." Ramona replied, twirling the phone cable around her fingers.
"Besides, I have O. to pass this year, and I just don't think I can handle the workload of state school on top of that."
"Of course you can. You've managed it every other year."
"Yes but it's harder this year, and I mean, I would sort of be nice to be around…"
"Around what?" Harriet snapped. "People like you? The 'superior race'" Her voice was bitter. Ramona sighed, there were pros and cons to being best friends with a muggle, on one hand, Harriet was a welcome stroke of normality in comparison with Ramona's wacky family, she went to a normal school, with normal friends and had the normal life that Ramona thought she craved so much. But on the other, she had absolutely no patience for Ramona's otherness, it was moments such as these that got on Ramona's wick. Friends are supposed to understand each other, aren't they?
"Look Harriet, I don't know why you're so torn up anyway. It's not as if you ever talk to me at school anymore." Which was partially true, Harriet had been a lot more distant lately, partying until she dropped, drinking until she threw up, generally getting herself into trouble. Ramona, who couldn't bare the thought of a good scolding, steered clear of such activities, and Harriet judged her for her 'haugtiness'.
Harriet's breathing was ragged and it as a long time before either girl said anything. Ramona stared at the enormous trunk that sat on her bed, the trunk that contained every piece of her new life. It was puzzling everybody, this abrupt change in heart, Ramona had been so against it all, the whole magic thing, the first witch her family had ever known of to turn down her position at Hogwarts, opting for correspondence so as to gain a better understanding of her heritage and keep her powers at bay. But overall, for most of her short life, Ramona had yearned to be normal, her parents, although baffled, had accepted her twisted morals about magic being 'unnatural' and enrolled her in a public school, after listening to too many years of complaint. It wasn't really surprising then that they both toppled of their chairs when the fifteen year old expressed a sudden desire to go to Hogwarts. The desire sprang from something she couldn't quite define, a sense of fate, and purpose that she certainly wasn't going to explain to feather-brained Harriet. Ramona rolled her wand, Maple, thirteen inches, between her calloused fingers and wondered what it was that was drawing her to the castle, the symbol of a phenomenon she once swore to never accept. Was it intuition? Had all her hours of intense divination study brought her closer to her inner eye? Ramona laughed at the thought.
"What's so funny?" Harriet hissed
"Nothing. Look Harriet, I have to pack, I'll send you an owl when I get there."
"An owl? But you just said an owl was an exam."
"Bye Harri." And she hung up, the silence of the receiver was by far the best noise she'd heard all day.
"I still can't believe you've finally come to your senses."
"Me neither really, it's a bit… disorienting really."
"I thought, I swore you must've just been a Squib and trying to cover… or something, but no."
"Yeah.. well… I'm glad I'm not, I mean, it's bad enough knowing Harriet sometimes, but being her.. or like her, it's just… unfathomable."
"Oh come on Moo, they'll put you in Slytherin if you starting talking like that."
"Hmm… so who is in my year anyway? Any cute guys."
"Your year… man… I want to keep my status as caring sister and all and say keep away from The Marauders but... if you're looking for hot guys, I mean… Sirius Black, I'd sooo tap that."
"Jo that's sick! You're a seventh year!"
"So, Mum and Dad are five years apart."
"Yeah but, if this Syphilis kid is in my year, he isn't even legal, that puts you into the pedo club."
"I wouldn't even care. Seriously though, you'll see what I mean."
"I bet he's not my type at all. Five galleons."
"Oh you're on Mona, Sirius Black is everyone's type."
Ramona's sister Joanna was in her seventh year at Hogwarts, she looked a lot like her sister, with dark brown curls that stuck out at odd angles, pale skin and watery blue eyes. Jo wasn't as smart as her sister, but she made up for it by being a Quidditch genius, she was captain on the Gryffindor team and made sure everybody knew it. Ramona hoped that Hogwarts wouldn't give her a big head like her sister. Jo was thrilled that her sister had finally come to her senses, Gryffindor always needed more brains, somebody to make up for all the house points that they lost due to the Marauders, if Black wasn't such a stud, Jo was pretty sure that most of Gryffindor would begrudge them that.
Having seen her sister off at the station many times before, Ramona was familiar with the entrance to Platform nine and three quarters, but it still made her heart jolt every time she walked through the seemingly solid barrier and emerged onto the platform. It was even more of a shock to the sense this year, knowing that she would soon be getting on that scarlet train and heading off across the country to a whole new world. The platform was crowded with witches and wizards, fussing over trunks and owls, kissing their children goodbye, arguing over compartment arrangements. Joanna manouvred through the crowds, her sister following nervously in her path, to where her Quidditch friends stood, obviously eager to be introduced to the family oddity that, as Ramona had feared, they already knew a great deal about.
"So, do you want to sit in our compartment or should I stop being clucky?" Jo asked, patting her sister on the shoulder. Ramona was going to say she was fine when a very scruffy haired boy with glasses, about her own age, confronted Jo with a look of pure horror stretched across his face.
"Bunnings says you're thinking of replacing me as seeker this year!" He exclaimed, glaring at Jo with malignance.
"He's pulling your leg, the slime ball only wants a place on the team so he can ask Pamela Dawkins out." Joanna laughed, receiving a strong punch in the arm from a tall, blonde haired girl with broad shoulders and enormous eyes.
"Oh, uh, Potter, you're a fifth year right?" Jo remembered, tapping the boy on the shoulder as he turned to leave.
"Yeah, why?"
"This is my sister Ramona, she's in your year but she's just started Hogwarts, could you and your.. er… friends, look after her until she finds somebody better?"
"Screw you Jo, but yeah sure. Sirius should be here soon." He laughed, watching the girls blush before turning to Ramona who was standing awkwardly next to her sister.
"Aanyway… I hope you know you're sister's seriously hot for my best friend, she's probably already commissioned you to spy on him in the showers of something." The boy shook his head in mock shame.
"I'm James Potter by the way. Don't judge me by my reputation."
"I'll try my best. I'm Ramona,"
"Cool. We should probably put our stuff on the train, once the seniors stop gossiping everything tends to get a bit congested."
"Sure." Ramona followed James through the crowds towards the train.
"So why weren't you at school before? Did you have spattergoit or something?"
"Splatter-what?"
"It's a disease, Sirius tried to pretend he had it once last year to get out of a transfiguration test, McGonagall was livid, sent owls to his parents and everything. It was hilarious."
"Oh.. no.. I didn't want to come, I did all my work via correspondence." James' jaw practically hit the pavement.
"You didn't want to go to Hogwarts."
"I didn't really like magic all that much to be honest." Ramona admitted, amused by the totally mind blown expression that was painted on the boy's face.
"I had this friend you see, and she was sort of the person that…"
"Shat all over you?" James offered.
"Yeah, I suppose. She sort of drilled into me that magic was… weird and unnatural so she talked me into going to a state school and everything. It was pretty lame really."
"I would have told the cow to shove it." James muttered.
"Mind you, can't expect much more from a muggle, they're all narrow minded as hell… well… not all of them but.."
"Jo told me you get put in Slytherin if you hate muggles." Ramona said, before she could stop herself.
"Ha! The sorting hat wouldn't put you in Slytherin, he'd be too scared that Jo would rip him to shreds."
Ramona looked puzzled as she climbed aboard the train.
"The sorting hat?"
"Well yeah. Didn't you ever read Hogwarts: A History?" James asked smugly, obvious enjoying his superior knowledge.
Ramona was going to say that she'd started reading it the night before but James cut her off.
"S'alright neither have I."
TBC