Back to Hogwarts Again

Eloise Midgeon was awoken at the crack of dawn on September first by the sounds of her parents yelling downstairs. This had become a ritual occurrence on each day of her departures. Her overprotective mother would start muttering over how she hadn't subjected herself to nine months of pregnancy and a great many subsequent sleepless nights to send her children away to boarding school. Her father would calmly reply that it was too great an opportunity to pass up and that it was their duty as parents to develop their child's talents, whatever they may be. Then the ranting would start, getting progressively louder, and this time, her mother had additional material to add to her list of problems with the wizarding world.

"ROBERT! Don't you realize that we are sending her into a society that is not only full of prejudice against her kind, but is also in the middle of a war! Would you send her to Jerusalem in the Muggle world?! NO! To Sudan?! NO! To Afghanistan?! NO! So why are you insisting on sending her to where she would be a particular target! And she didn't even tell us! We had to go pick her up from her shopping early from Diagon Alley to overhear what had been going on and pick up a newspaper! I refuse to send my child into such danger!"

Eloise sighed and rolled over in bed, trying to drown out the sound by sticking her head under a pillow. She wondered if all Muggle-borns were going through the same trials this morning. Probably not, the rest of them were probably clever enough to keep the truth from their parents, but how was she to know that her parents would come early to pick her up? They were usually late!

After a few minutes, as the screaming match had not only not subsided, but gotten progressively louder, Eloise decided that spending the morning being smothered by a pillow was not really how she would choose to spend her time. She got up, making as much noise as possible, and headed down to breakfast. Her mother and father sat silently fuming at opposite ends of the table, both purposefully buried in their newspapers. As Eloise served herself some coffee and sat down, her mother folded her newspaper and, with a significant look at her father, got up from the table and started fussing about the kitchen.

"Oh, good morning, dear. Did you have a nice sleep? Sit down. Sit down. I'll make you some toast and scrambled eggs, just how you like them. And what kind of cheese would you like this morning? Oh, never mind. There's only Harvati left in the fridge. I really should go grocery shopping more regularly…" Thus, the endless stream of dialog went on and on. As the trunk got packed, as the two little ones were woken and dressed, as they pilled into the car, as they parked at the station and walked to platform nine and three quarters.

"…And, sweetie, don't forget to write every week. You know how we like your letters. And… And… Please be careful…" And with that, her mother broke down and started sobbing.

Eloise sighed and awkwardly patted her mother on her arm. There really was nothing worse than making one's mother cry. But she steeled herself against the temptation to give in. She had to go to Hogwarts. She just had to. "It's alright, mother. You know I'm always careful. I'll keep my nose clean and out of trouble. You have my word. I'll write loads and be back for Christmas. I'm always home for Christmas."

With tearful smiles and many hugs, they parted. Eloise walked decidedly towards the barrier and, before disappearing, turned back and waved once more before leaving the Muggle world behind her.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Hogwarts Express roared and belched steam over the many parting families and chaos that reigned below. Eloise bumped and jostled her cart as she pushed through the crowd, slowly making her way to the scarlet train. She paused, however, as she overheard irritated swearing.

"Bloody Floo! Bloody train! Why can't we just bloody well take bloody Portkeys to bloody Hogwarts! It'd be so much bloody easier! But no, have to bloody well have us carry our bloody heavy trucks through the bloody crowd to take a bloody useless train ride because of a bloody tradition that was started only three hundred bloody years ago by that bloodily stupid Headmaster Cramer what's his bloody name…"

Eloise turned and smiled. "You know Mandy, you'll give the school a bad name. What will all these parents think, sending their darling children off to be badly influenced by you?"

"They'll think whatever they bloody well want and probably all agree with me! I can easily tell that they all bloody well wish that they had the liberty to swear like I do!"

"Ahhhh, but by using one word so repetitively, people will start thinking that Hermione Granger is the smartest witch of our year," Eloise teased.

"Like I bloody care what bloody stupid people think," said Mandy, scowling and turning up her nose. She held the pose for a few second before being knocked into from behind and falling painfully over her trunk. "That's it! I'm going to start blasting these bloody idiots out of my way!" Mandy snarled, taking out her wand.

Eloise smiled and helped her up. "Come, come, its just a bit further. They'll put you in Azkaban you know, if you become too murderous."

"Don't care… Got to have revenge… Bloody bastards will all pay…" Mandy muttered. She nevertheless let herself be guided to the train.

They had scarcely stored their trunks and sat down that they were joined by their friends Zacharias Smith, Rebecca Moon, Lisa Turpin and Terry Boot.

"Why look Zacharias!" exclaimed Terry in mock astonishment. "We are preceded by the two craziest witches of our year. By Merlin! They managed to find their way to the train on their own this time, we are becoming quite superfluous!"

"To be sure, mister Boot, they must have hidden the dead bodies and cleaned up the carnage from the platform by the time we came along!"

"So Eloise, what mad plans did you come up with this summer?" Lisa smirked, sitting down. "Any more experimental medical magic?"

Until that moment, Eloise had been smiling good naturedly at her friends' antics, but Lisa's comment immediately threw her into an anxiously depressed mood. Fourth year had not been a pleasant one for her. After having her skin problem commented on by no less than 14 people and having overheard several rather vicious jokes made by her male peers, she had taken a rather long look in the mirror before trying to curse it better. The ensuing disaster had become legendary in the Hufflepuff house and had thus far remained a source of great hilarity. Any hopes that the horrible episode might have been forgotten, were dashed before the train left the station.

Terry comically puffed up his hair and with the air of a mad scientist cried out. "I've made all the calculations! Nothing can go wrong! I'll just tap my nose three times and say disparesso and all my skin problems will be gone!"

"No! Please! Oh mad one! Wait to see Madam Pomfrey! Do not pursue this madness! I entreat you!" begged Rebecca dramatically on her knees.

"No, no! I have it all figured out! DISPARESSO! AAAH MY NOSE! Where has it gone?!" And as Terry pretended to search under the seat cushions frantically, the other four roared with laughter.

Eloise scowled. "Honestly! That was two years ago! Will you let go already! The joke got old after the second time you came to visit me in the hospital wing. Besides which, I seem to remember a certain someone, just standing there and wringing his hands, saying "Oh dear! Oh dear me! Oh dear!" over and over again." And with a pointed look, she pulled out a book and moodily began flipping through its pages.

After that, the mood quieted and they began talking more calmly. Zacharias excused himself saying that he was going to find out more about what had happened to Potter last year at the MoM.

The conversation had turned to who was going to be the new professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts, when Zacharias burst in, being clawed by a swarm of bats that grew steadily more numerous as they hatched from his nose. "Elb me! Dat blooby bint curseb me!"

Mandy quickly got rid of them with a muttered counter curse before anyone else had time to bring out their wand. "So what happened THIS time?" she said with just a hint of a smile.

Zacharias plopped down onto one of the seats looking quite relieved. "I was asking that redheaded wench about the events at MoM, when she just turned on me and cursed me! Then this new teacher walks by -must be the new DADA teacher- complements her on her spellwork and invites her to lunch! He just left without a look in my direction! He didn't even take off the curse! It's like Snape all over again!"

"But with a liking for Griffindorks," Eloise put in.

"No kidding, it's going to be worse than Umbridge!" replied Zacharias, delicately touching the welts on his skin. "As if the Griffindors aren't already privileged enough!"

Eloise snorted. "Serves you right for dating a Weasley! They're a bunch of right arrogant bullies. Here, let me heal you."

"Arrogant bullies is too light a term," Mandy sniffed. "Malfoy's an arrogant bully. At least he has something to be arrogant about! They're just Potter's friends. Whoop de bloody doo! Bloody ruthless, backstabbing social climbers they are. And so bloody stupid, or at least the Ronald oaf is. Why Granger puts up with them I will never understand."

Terry shifted uncomfortably. "C'mon guys, they're not that bad."

Eloise sighed. "Bad or not, we shouldn't be badmouthing them behind their backs. It's descending to their level."

They all rather shamefacedly avoided each other's eye and quickly changed the subject. The mood soon picked up again and they reached Hogsmead in high spirits.

"… then my uncle offered to apprentice me next summer as a magical trunk maker!" exclaimed Boot. "Isn't it great."

"Awesome mate, then you can teach us!"

"And lose my most faithful customers? You're mad! I've got more business sense than that!" Terry laughed, as they piled into one of the horseless carriages.

"Perhaps… We'll just have to wait until I get some good blackmail on you," Rebecca smiled.

After an appreciative laugh, they all quieted, each absorbed by their own thoughts.

"Another bloody year," Mandy swore reflectively.

"More opportunities for mischief," Lisa added with a twinkle.

"More homework," Boot groaned.

"More occasions to shock the teachers and all other respected persons and institutions," smirked Zacharias.

"We're back," said Moon.

"Yes, back at Hogwarts again," whispered Eloise, gazing through the grimy glass at the rapidly approaching castle.

Hum… Don't know if I like this chapter. I've never really written dialog before.
Please review and tell me what you think!