Author's Notes: Chapter two, standard disclaimers apply. Please, read, review and enjoy.

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The train was finally moving, much to Ravenna's relief. The train had been on the verge of leaving when she and Marlene had managed to wrestle the last of the luggage on board. Maria-What's-Her-Name was no help at all. Her startling thinness apparently came at the cost of any sort of muscle tone, and Ravenna and Marlene had to move everything themselves. They'd also had to go to the very back of the train, because there was so much luggage that it took up all the extra room in a compartment. The gigantic chartreuse harp-case made it impossible to look out the window.

Ravenna sat as close to the window as possible. Getting all the bags aboard had been messy business, leaving her sweaty and disheveled. She had taken her thick, coarse black hair out of its plait and she was combing it out. Skeeter the cat lay in her lap, purring quietly. Marlene sat next to her, distractedly stroking her cat's short fur and staring off into space. What's-her-name was on her knees on the seat, with her face pressed to the glass, presumably watching for Harry Potter in the corridor.

Just as Ravenna finished re-braiding her hair, the girl plopped back in her seat with a long-suffering sigh. Marlene snapped out of her reverie, and looked at her cousin warily. "Mary –"

"my nam is not mary!!1!!!1" The girl shrieked at an unspeakable volume. "my name si Maria Suellen Mairi Susannah Mariel Suzette Black!!11!!!!!1" She banged her fists on the seat.

Marlene looked angrier than Ravenna had ever seen her. "Your name," she said, very slowly and deliberately. "Is Mary-Sue Brown. You don't have any special powers. You are not even a very good witch –"

"Yes I am!" She screamed. Her exaggerated accent had inexplicably disappeared. "I have a really powerful magical weapon and a prophecy says –"

"Weapon?!" Marlene laughed, a little hysterically. "It's a great bloody harp! It's a musical instrument! It doesn't even have any strings!"

Much to Ravenna's relief, the plump witch who ran the lunch trolley chose that moment to knock. Ravenna jumped up and threw the sliding door open. The trolley witch looked a bit scared, "anything from the trolley?" She asked in a timid sort of voice.

"Um…" Ravenna groped in her jeans pocket. "Yes, I'll have two Cauldron Cakes, and a bottle of pumpkin juice please." Ravenna looked back at Marlene while the trolley witch assembled the order. "Would either of you like anything?" She asked politely.

Marlene shook her head, looking mutinous. Mary ignored the question. Ravenna added a Pumpkin Pasty and another bottle of juice to the order, in case they were hungry later. A bite to eat might also help cool their tempers. She paid for the food and sat back down. Marlene had meantime buried herself in a book, one of the trashy romance novel her mum didn't let her read at home. Something horrible called Passionate Trousers.

Ravenna ate her cake and drank her juice in the tense silence, while Mary pulled at a loose thread on her tights. After a while the American girl sighed, and looked up at Ravenna.

"so lyk dos yer name mean lik ravin?" The horrible accent was back.

"Um, no." She answered carefully. "My mother was Italian. I'm named after the city her family was from."

Mary looked uncomprehending. "Yer namd aftr a citi?"

What had been only a little twinge was slowly becoming a major headache. Ravenna pressed her palm to her temple. "Yes, I'm named after a city in Italy."

The other girl looked slightly disgusted. Marlene looked up from her book, ready to make a snide remark.

Ravenna decided to change the subject to avoid another screaming match. "So what kind of weapon did you say you have?"

Mary's face lit up with excitement, Marlene groaned. Then Mary hunched over into what might have been a sinister pose if she hadn't been wearing so much sparkly blue eye shadow.

"it wuz fortold that 1 day a greet sourseres wud com and us the lost harp of doom to de feet the drk lord!1!11" She waved her hands around to illustrate her point.

"Harp of Doom?" Ravenna asked skeptically.

"yes!!111!1" the other girl shouted. She jumped up and went to the giant yellow-green box that obscured the window. She quickly undid the latches and threw open the case. In it stood a big pedal harp that had been painted over with glossy black paint. Red and orange flames were painted around the base and up the column and soundboard. 'The Lost Harp of Doom' was neatly lettered in gold across the neck. The instrument was completely unstrung.

"It's ah…very impressive. Er…why doesn't it have any strings?" Ravenna asked. Marlene made a scornful little noise.

"itz the lost har of doom!!!!111!" Mary yelled, as if that explained everything.

Marlene slammed her book down on the seat. "I can't listen to this anymore! I'm going to go see Padma." She got up, flung the door open, and was gone.

Mary closed and latched the harp case, then resumed her seat by the door. "watz her problum? hes hav f$c4 pms or somthig?" She asked, before pressing her face against the door glass, to resume Potter watching.

Ravenna rubbed her temple, and began to dig around in her satchel for a painkiller.