Disclaimer: Sniff……Harry Potter…sniff…isn't…sniff…snuffle…mine.
Ok guys, sorry I forgot the disclaimer last time. Hope you like this story.
On The Way
"Firs' Years, over here. Firs' Years, over here." Lily heard the deep voice and turned to find Nate, Hagrid and Madame Maxime's son. At nineteen, he was already twice the height of a normal man but unlike Hagrid he was slimmish. He lived in Hagrid's hut on the edge of the forest with Arag (from Aragog). He was the gamekeeper. Hagrid was still the 'Care of Magical Creatures" Professor but he was now getting old and although still much much stronger and a lot larger than ordinary people he had opted out of being gamekeeper and had left his son the job. He now lived in the castle with Madame Maxime and visited France with her in the holidays. Nate had his mother's olive skin and liquid black eyes, and his father's tangled black hair, but his was cut level with ends of his ears. Lily liked Hagrid. She had met him many times in Diagon Alley, (he and her father were often having a drink in the Leakey Cauldron) Grimauld Place, the Burrow and sometimes their own house. She had also met Madame Maxime a few times and had found her an intimidating, but kind woman. But she had never met Nate before. He looked like a nice guy. Lily made her way over to Nate along with Vera, Hugo and the other First Years. She saw Albus give her the thumbs up sign but that didn't quell the sudden butterflies she got in her stomach.
"Come on everyone, ge' in. Four to a boat," said Nate loudly. Everyone got in, but there were only three people in Lily's boat.
"Oh no! Looks like yeh've got a kid less. Tha's funny. I thought Prof. McGonagall tol' me there would be an even number o' students. Well, the boats are enchanted so that there've gotta be four of you for them to move. Don' ask me why. But there's a spell to get them to move. I think I know what it is." Nate pulled out his wand but he didn't do anything with it.
"On second though's, I ain't brilliant at magic. Could one o' yeh do it?" he asked. Some of the children tittered. Lily glared at them.
"Sure," she replied. "What's the incantation?"
"Um… I think it's Motiona Noloque." Lily tapped the side of the boat and said the words. The boat sped forward and the rest of the boats followed it when Nate said forward.
"STOP! STOP! Please. Wait for me. STOP!!" Lily turned as she heard someone shouting from the opposite bank. A girl was standing there waving her arms wildly. A bit too wildly, it seemed, because suddenly she lost her balance and fell into the water. They all waited for her to resurface but she didn't. They were getting further and further away but she was still underwater. Lily was worried. Even wizards and witches can't breathe underwater. She pointed her wand at the spot where the girl had fallen in and said,
"Accio girl-in-the-water." A figure rose out of the water and shot towards them. She landed in their boat, soaked and shivering uncontrollably.
"Th-th-thanks," the girl said, her teeth chattering. Nate leaned over from his boat and put his moleskin cloak over her shoulders. She wrapped it tightly around herself and smiled at him gratefully.
"What happened?" Vera asked her.
"My trunk fell from the rack and most of my stuff fell out. I don't know any magic so I had to put it back in by hand. By the time I was finished, the train was already moving. I had to jump off. Then I spotted some figures in the distance and I ran towards you. But you had already got into the boats and were going away really fast. I got scared so I started waving my arms and jumping up and down, trying to get your attention. I lost balance and fell and the force made me go quite deep down. I was really panicking 'cause I couldn't breathe and then suddenly, I was pulled out of the water and towards you. Thanks a lot for saving me," the girl said.
"What's your name?" Hugo asked.
"Marley. I'm a muggleborn." They each introduced themselves.
"Are yeh OK?" Nate asked.
"Yeah. A bit- no, very wet and cold, but I'll live."
"Well then, you migh' want ter look straight ahead 'cause you'll be getting yer first sight o' Hogwarts soon." The boats went round a bend and they found themselves looking at a vast castle with hundreds of towers and turrets. There were thousands of windows, all lighted invitingly. There was a loud
"Oooooooooooooh!" from the children. Lily felt incredibly excited and nervous at the same time. The vast castle inspired awe in her but it also looked homely in a certain way with all the warm lights. Finally all the boats stopped. Except Lily's. Their boat carried on moving fast, too fast. They were moving away from the rest of the crowd and they had no idea what to do. Further and further away from them.
"Incantation's Motiona Loque," shouted Nate. Their boat was still moving alongside the castle wall. They were losing sight of everyone, even Nate.
"What?" Lily shouted back.
"I said the in…" Lily couldn't hear him any more, he was too far away. She started to panic. How would they get back? She started thinking about the stories James had told her about what lived in the lake. Suddenly there was an excruciatingly loud bang and Lily found Hugo, Vera, Marley and herself floating in the water with hundreds of broken shards of wood all around them.
"Didn't he say Bomona Foque?" Hugo asked uncertainly. Lily gave a shaky laugh.
"Obviously not, unless he's evil and wanted us to drown, which I doubt very much." The others laughed and then she laughed and then suddenly the whole thing seemed like a huge joke. That is, until they felt something slimy and slippery groping at there legs.
"AAAAAH!" Marley screamed as she was lifted into the air by a long tentacle.
"THE GIANT SQUID!!" Lily and Hugo barely had time to yell before they were lifted up as well.
AN: Like it? If so, please press that beautiful button which means I'll know. Constructive criticism and suggestions would be great.