So sorry about being a little behind on this chapter! My summer has been busy… Well, busy enough for me to forget to type this chapter up. I'll try to increase the length of the chapters some, because I feel like they're kind of short, no? Anyways, I'd appreciate some feedback if you have the time, but don't worry, I won't threaten you to get it. On to the story! (Still in Harry's POV)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Harry Potter universe, because I am not insanely wealthy. If I did, I would have a heck of a lot nicer car and Oliver Wood as my boyfriend. As this is not the case, I gain no profit from this blah blah blah. Anything you don't recognize, however, is from the crazy minds of Brittany and me. Thank you for your time.
"So…" Ry tries to prevent an awkward silence from taking hold of the compartment, "What's Hogwarts like?"
"It's fairly different from most schools," I begin, "We, as we told you before, have houses, which compete in Quidditch and for house points."
"What are those?" she asks looking at me.
"At the end of the year, the House with the most points wins the House Cup. You gain points with good behaviors and lose them with bad. It tends to be fairly competitive. For example, you lose 50 points for your house and people will not be happy with you," I explain.
"Oh," is all she replies.
"What are the houses again?" Noelle asks.
"Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw," Hermione chimes in.
"Hufflepuff?" Ry stifles giggles. "What an odd name."
Noelle outright laughs at this, "I know. I don't think I'll ever be able to keep a straight face when I hear that name."
Hermione gives them both sour looks. "Hufflepuff is the name of one of the school founders. They were all very great wizards," she states.
"Oh, désolée," (Sorry.)Noelle replies with a sarcastic tone in her voice.
"So each house is named after a founder?" Ry clarifies.
"Yeah, they started Hogwarts about a million years ago." Ron replies while stuffing his face with Pumpkin Pasties.
Hermione rolls her eyes. "Ronald, show some respect." They bicker like an old married couple, I laugh to myself, imagining a graying Hermione and a balding Ron. He mumbles an apology and I see the two girls across from me roll their eyes as well.
"So, if the name of each house comes from each founder, where does the name Hogwarts come from?" Ry looks between each of us expectantly. There's an awkward silence now. Almost simultaneously, we all look at Hermione, the supposed expert on all things Hogwarts.
"I honestly have no idea." She looks sheepish at this confession and Ron gives a shout of exultation.
"Finally!" As soon as the words escape his lips, Hermione shushes him with a raised eyebrow. "Sorry," he mutters only semi-apologetically.
"Um… Okay then…" Noelle says looking between the two. The awkwardness begins to set in again.
"Lovely weather we're having today, isn't it?" Ry asks trying to hopelessly salvage the conversation before there's more uncomfortable silence. I chuckle to myself as I glance out the window, something she obviously hadn't done, as rain had begun to pitter-patter against the window. Suddenly, there is a bright flash of light and I see Ry jump out of the corner of my eye. This is soon followed by a loud crash of thunder and I see Ry sink into her seat, her feet pulled up onto the seat and her arms wrapped tightly around her knees.
"Je déteste les orages." (I hate storms.) she mumbles into her knees.
Noelle looks over at her, "Ce sera bien." (It'll be alright.) She tries to comfort her as another loud crash rings through the air. "How much longer do you think it will take for us to reach the school?"
"I'd say at least an hour or two." Hermione looks at Ry sympathetically. Ry looks up from her knees to the darkening skies outside the window. No obvious end in sight, I hear her sigh and rest her forehead against her knees. Noelle continues to comfort her and I feel myself being driven to do so as well. I barely know her, why do I keep doing this? I force myself to remain in my seat as one roll of thunder after another echoes through the air. Noelle whispers something in Ry's ear which immediately makes her look up with an excited look on her face.
"Oui! S'il te plâit?! S'il te plâit?!" Noelle only smirks at her friend's words and pulls a purple iPod out of her pocket. I recognize it as the iPod nano; Dudley had gotten one over the summer. After handing it to Ry, she looks at me amused.
"Bee in your bonnet, Potter?" Noelle looks at me, an amused look still playing over her features. I don't get the chance to respond because Ry makes a loud exclamation from her seat across from me.
"William Beckett time!" She smiles and I find myself beginning to smile. Noelle sends her a glare. "Okay, okay, Sisky Biz time." She continues to smile that contagious smile and Noelle still gives me an amused look, like she knows what I've been thinking. "Ryan Ross!" her blue-haired friend exclaims randomly, gaining odd looks from Hermione, Ron, and myself while she giggles loudly.
Noelle looks at our confused faces and laughs. "William Beckett; Sisky Biz, or Adam T. Siska; and Ryan Ross are all from Ry's favorite bands. The first two are from The Academy Is… and the last is from Panic! at the Disco," she explains, I nod, somewhat recognizing the names of the two Muggle bands.
"The Academy what and Panic at the who?" Ron asks, still confused.
"The Academy Is… and Panic! at the Disco." Noelle shakes her head. "Do you ever listen?"
"Obviously not," Ry says, now in a much better mood, despite the storm still taking place outside the window.
"Well, sorry that I don't know Muggle music!" Ron says exasperatedly.
"Chill, Ron, we're just messing with you," Noelle and Ry laugh quietly. "And don't make fun of Muggles." Noelle adds.
"Are you a Muggle-born?" Hermione asks.
"Me? No. My family is pureblood," she shrugs. "Not that it really matters to me."
"I'm half-blood." Ry states and goes back to her music.
"But if you're pureblood, why do you listen to Muggle music and have Muggle things. Aren't you supposed to hate them, or something?" Ron asks.
"Excuse me?" Noelle's voice becomes louder. "Just because I'm pureblood doesn't mean I have to be an arrogant, Muggle-hating pig, Ron! Speaking of which, isn't the Weasley family pure-blood? And here you are, dating a Muggle-born. How dare you ask me such a thing!" Noelle moves to pull out her wand, but Ry grabs her arm. Her sleeve slides up on her left arm as she struggles against Ry's grip. I see black lines on the inside of her arm faintly from across the compartment. My eyes widen involuntarily.
"S'il te plâit, Elle! Calme vous-même! Maitenant n'est le temps pour ceci!" (Please, Elle. Calm yourself! Now is not the time for this!) Ry begs her friend. She manages to pull her back down into her seat and Noelle glares at Ron, whose eyes are wide. "I'm terribly sorry, Ron. There's no need to be fearful now. She will not hurt you." At this, she sends Noelle a threatening look. "She has had a bad past and often has problems controlling her anger. Please excuse her behavior." Ron only nods.
A silence overtakes the air before I speak up, "You two know of Lord Voldemort, correct?" Ron and Hermione jump at the name, but Noelle just looks at me strangely.
"Oui, of course. Why do you ask?"
I pause, not knowing what to say. An awkward silence again fills the air (they have lots of those, huh?). "Nevermind." I say quietly. How am I supposed to ask them? 'Oh, hey just wondering, but do you happen to be a Death Eater? No big deal or anything, you're all just trying to kill me.' I sigh and look out the window, it's still raining.
"What? Does Voldemort scare you?" Noelle asks me, underlying anger in her voice.
I struggle for an answer, "Well…"
I'm cut off by Ry, "Stop. No more of this!" She says sternly looking between Noelle and I, who are having a staring contest. She glares at Noelle, who breaks eye contact with me and gets up. Sliding open the compartment door, Noelle sends me one last glare before leaving.
"I'm going for a walk." Is all she says.
Ry speaks up, "I'm really sorry about her, like I said; she's had a bad past."
"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to her?" Hermione speaks for the first time in a while.
A sad look crosses Ry's face. "I don't really know, to me honest with you. I met her at Beauxbatons. She was already like that then, and she hasn't really changed much since I met her. I'm sorry." She says looking out at the dismal scenery. "We're like sisters, but there's a while side of her that I don't really know."
"Get out of my way!" Someone yells from down the hall. Ry jumps to her feet.
"Merde," (Shit.) I see her mutter.
"What's wrong?" the words slip out of my mouth before I can stop them.
"Noelle," she whispers, then races out of the door.
So… There you go! Chapter 2. Again, review if you have time, it would be much appreciated. I'll try to update more regularly, I promise!
Love, love.