Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter world, which are trademarked by J. K. Rowling
Dragons at Hogwarts: The Gift
(HP:PoA)
Chapter 3: Crazy Train
Lin woke up early with excitement.
"Today is the day! I'm finally going to Hogwarts!" she exclaimed.
She jumped out of bed, took Hector out for a walk, fed him, then showered.
"How are you going to tame that bird's nest?" asked the mirror when she stepped in front of it.
"You know, that's quite rude," grumbled Lin "But I have my tricks."
She grabbed her wand and started her complex hair routine. Having not cared much about her looks since the break up with her only boyfriend, her hair had become unruly, and today it made her feel extremely self-conscious; she was plain, but not ugly.
At least, I'll look almost average now, she thought as she worked.
"There! Locks tamed and gray hairs hidden, for the most part anyway," she muttered after a few minutes. She grabbed the first articles of clothing she could fish out of her trunk and put them on.
Lin went downstairs and saw that some people were already awake.
"Get your beauty rest?" asked Fred scaring her from behind. "Apparently, your getaway last night wasn't as clean as you thought. You spilled something on Percy's picture of his girlfriend and he's blaming Ron. My day is already made!"
"Glad I helped," she said sarcastically as he sat in front of her. "Where's George? Is he not coming down to thank me too?"
"He is organizing our, er, effects. By my count, we should become 'ill' about four times this year. Want in?" he asked.
Lin's parents came down and sat with Uncle Arthur.
"No, I think I will have to pass. Mum threatened me saying that she'll know if I do something wrong," she answered.
"Percy. That git," said Fred looking annoyed.
Soon, everyone went up to collect their trunks and pets, heaved them all down, and started to make way to the two Ministry cars.
"Lin, your mother and I got an owl this morning saying the Ministry wants us to do some work outside the country. I will be in Bulgaria and other places, and your mother in Spain," Lin's father informed her.
"I'm sorry dear, but we won't be able to accompany you to King's Cross," said Lin's mother looking quite sad.
"It's fine Mum, I'm not ten. Besides, Aunt Molly and Uncle Arthur will be there."
Lin tried to sound like she didn't care, but the news lowered her spirits. She hugged her parents, a bit tighter than she intended, and remembered something.
"I bought a collar for Finley! If you see Ed, tell him that he owes me a few Sickles…. I'm joking! Just tell him to keep up with his work and write to me. That boy needs constant reminding."
She gave her mother the collar and then made her way to the Ministry cars. Uncle Arthur, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and, to her luck, Percy were in the first car while the rest were in the second.
The ride was pretty quiet, except for a few jokes from Fred and George and a few lectures from Aunt Molly. They arrived at King's Cross, the Ministry drivers found them trolleys, and they made their way to an area between platforms nine and ten.
"Alright, we should pair off. Harry, you and I should go through first," said Uncle Arthur.
They walked in a quick pace and headed straight for a metal ticket box, but instead of crashing, they disappeared. Ginny and Percy went next, Hermione and Ron, Fred and George, and finally Lin and Aunt Molly.
She got through the barrier and a beautiful red steam locomotive appeared right in front of her.
The Hogwarts Express! It transports every student to school AND works year round, unlike in DIMA's ships. She thought. DIMA had ships that stopped at major cities of the Mediterranean, but they only worked to transport students for school functions.
She looked around at all the students and parents on the platform. Everyone around her age was already familiar with each other, so she followed Hermione, Ron, and Harry.
Maybe they will let me sit with them? She asked herself.
Suddenly, George intercepted her.
"You'll be sitting with us," George said, steering her trolley towards a center carriage. "We'll introduce you to our friend. All they'll do is gossip and talk about the greater good."
"Isn't that what you should be doing?" Lin stated, but went with him anyway. She put her belongings in the compartment he directed her to, and went back to the platform.
Aunt Molly hugged everyone and told them to write to her. She retrieved sandwiches from her handbag and distributed them.
Lin noticed that Uncle Arthur was standing by a pillar, but before she could go over to him, Fred and George guided her away by her shoulders.
They got back to the compartment, when she noticed a boy with dreadlocks waiting inside.
"Lin this is Lee Jordan, Quidditch game commentator, fellow prankster, and our dear friend," said George.
"Hi, nice too meet you," she greeted him, shaking his hand.
"Nice to meet you too! George tells me you once won a bet by kissing Fred when you were younger. Nice one!"
"Really now!" she barked at George, blushing while Fred cleared his throat and quickly took a seat. Hector barked as if mocking her.
"I'll just warn you, I don't have a filter," Lee told her, motioning her to take the next to him. "Your dog gave me a fright earlier, but I think he likes me now."
The train began to move and the boys relaxed, but Lin still felt very awkward.
"So, classes. What are you going to take?" asked Fred.
"We were thinking we'd help you lighten the load a bit," explained George.
"Well, I don't know. The schools will decide for me," Lin answered. Hogwarts and DIMA had differences in curriculum, so they would put her in the classes that her work showed skill.
"Well, just tell us what you took last year, and we will begin slashing," said Lee.
"Okay. I took their core classes: Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, History of Magic, Herbology, Transfiguration, and Muggle Studies. Last year for electives I had, Care of Magical Creatures, Magical Linguistics. I took private dueling and Quidditch lessons. Oh, and did some work for Divination and Astronomy, though that was more about reading books than practical experience."
They stared at her.
"No wonder you changed so much, you didn't have a life," sighed Fred.
"Hey, I would occasionally skip class to watch one of those muggle 'movers' with my half-blood friend Lesley. So I wasn't exceptional, you know," Lin said.
"Yeah but all those, Quidditch and dueling lessons? You must be really good!" said Lee.
"There is a reason I needed lessons in the first place," Lin responded.
"In any case, we'll relieve your stress," said George. "First of all, at Hogwarts, Muggle Studies is an elective while Astronomy is core. There are no Quidditch lessons, just the House teams, and we did have Dueling Club once last year-"
"But it was a complete and utter failure. Amusing though," said Fred.
"Second, Divination and Astronomy are electives here, so you have four electives in reality," continued George.
"I would recommend choosing two of the four," said Lee. "You will have more time to do your work since they bump up the load fourth year, and it seems like Quidditch is time consuming as well."
"Muggle Studies would be easy for you, since you're ahead, but choose what you like and weren't forced into," advised Fred.
She thought about it. That's easy, Magical Linguistics and Divination. She always found Magical Linguistics interesting, though she needed to work hard for it, and even if she didn't have any practical experience with Divination, the textbooks did make her curious.
"Anything from the trolley dears?" asked a plump woman from outside, pushing a cart full of treats.
"None for me, thanks. I have some sandwiches," she answered, but Fred, George, and Lee bought a few snacks.
"What? We're growing boys!" said Fred.
They began eating and after a few minutes, a burly and very handsome boy walked into the compartment.
"Hello boys, hope you've been practicing during the summer. Lee, good to see you. Er, sorry, I don't think I've seen you before?" asked the extremely attractive boy.
"We can't even eat without you barking at us about Quidditch," protested Fred.
"Lin, this is Oliver Wood, Quidditch Captain. Oliver, this is Belinda Arden, Xabi Loco's daughter," introduced George.
"Blimey! Is that true? That's bloody brilliant!" exclaimed Oliver, as he stuck out his hand to greet her.
Lin, who had sandwich in her mouth, wiped her hand on her jeans, accidentally knocked Hector off of her lap, and ended up just waving at Oliver awkwardly.
"Right. Well we were thinking she should try out for the team now that Alicia decided classes were more important," said George.
"Left a hole in the team and our hearts," added Fred.
"Yeah that sounds great! She still wants to help the team, I am sure she would help train you. Quidditch trials are in the second week of classes" said Oliver. He left the compartment muttering "Xabi Loco's daughter on the team!"
"Tut-tut," chimed Fred.
"We saw you! You fancy Oliver don't you?" asked George.
"Almost destroyed the whole compartment," added Lee.
"What? Me? No, I don't fancy anyone," babbled Lin.
"We can't have you dating the captain if you are on the team, Lin," said Fred. "It could lead to unnecessary bickering!"
At that moment, the train began to slow down. The wind and rain howled louder and louder, as the train slowed even further.
"What's happening?" George asked as Fred stuck his head out the door.
"I, dont-"
The train gave a sudden jolt and stopped, throwing Fred back into his seat. The lights flickered a bit, then went out. Everything grew cold and Lin noticed the window frost over. Hector, whose hair was on end, jumped out of Lin's lap, grew into his full size and snarled at the door.
They heard whimpers and squeals of fear getting louder, as if something grew nearer...
"Fred, lock the door," Lin commanded, scared out of her wits at what could cause Hector to act like this.
Before he could reach it, though, a bleach blond boy came bursting in, locked the door, and fell to the ground, panting. Soon after, two large boys began to pound at the compartment door.
"LET US IN, DRACO!"
"OPEN THE DOOR!"
"AHHHHH!"
They both ran, screaming at the top of their lungs. Hector jumped on the boy, which Lin recognized as Draco Malfoy, and continued snarling at the door.
"What are you-" Fred began, but was soon speechless upon the frightening sight.
They saw a cloaked figure appear in front of the door, and Hector began to bark like mad. It turned its head towards them, seemed to find Hector annoying, and then moved on, creating more squeals.
They passed the next minute in complete silence. Draco stood up and stared at them, fear still written on his face.
"If – if you tell anyone I was here, I'll… I'll tell someone you have an illegal giant dog!" he stammered. He left the compartment, slamming the door shut.
"What in the bloody depths of Merlin's pit-toilet was that?" Lee finally asked.
Lin, who was shaking, could not respond, for she felt a wall of fear lodged on top of her lungs.
"No idea," answered George.
Hector, who stopped barking, grabbed a couple of Fred's chocolate frogs from the seat, and handed them to Lin. The lights came back on, and Hector sat in front of the door, still full grown.
Lin distributed the chocolate and laid her head on the window. She remembered her break up with her boyfriend and the look of disappointment from her great-uncle every time he saw her. He was the current Herbology professor at DIMA, the subject she was the most terrible in.
After some time, Hector gave a single bark and Lin looked out the compartment door window. A familiar person, who was jogging towards the front of the train, stopped for a moment at the sound of the bark, then left.
No, it can't be. She thought. He's off doing who knows what.
"I'm going out to change," she said, finally gaining her wits back.
She looked at the hallway now packed with students. No sign of him. She found a restroom, changed into her uniform, and went back to her compartment.
"Lin in a skirt? My, she's looks like an actual, respectable young lady!" Fred joked. Everyone seemed to have changed as well.
"Piss off," Lin retorted, punching him then took her seat. Hector shrunk and shook his lost hair all throughout the compartment. They had to spend the next couple of minutes cleaning everything.
Finally, the train stopped at Hogsmead station. She followed Fred, George, and Lee to a coach, climbed in and they were off. After a while, the carriage finally arrived at magnificent iron gates and they headed towards the school grounds
"It's gorgeous!" Lin exclaimed as she took in the beauty of Hogwarts.
"Wait till you see the inside," said George.
She walked through the front doors and saw beautiful marble staircases moving above her.
"Professor Flitwick! This is Lin Arden. She just transferred here. Can you help her with the Sorting?" George asked.
"You're in luck! I am leading the Sorting this year," squeaked Professor Flitwick, a small man. He led her to the Great Hall. "Your mother told me you were coming! She was in my House you know? Don't you worry, I'll take good care of you!"
Everyone in the Great Hall calmed down and put their attention to the front of the room. The first years lined up behind Lin. An old battered hat on a stool began to sing a song about the Four Houses, and when it finished, people clapped and Professor Flitwick began talking.
"Greeting, students! We have a rare Sorting today! A transfer student all the way from Spain! Now, I know many of you are already acquainted with each other, but I do hope that whatever House she ends up in, you make her feel welcome. That goes for the first years as well," he said. "Arden, Belinda."
Blushing, she walked up to the stool, sat down, and the tiny professor levitated the hat to her head, which covered her eyes.
What a strange individual you are, said the hat in her mind. Determined, stubborn, fairly intelligent... Hmm… where would you sort yourself?
"I don't know... I- I want to find my own path, not do what my family tells me. I want to stand up for the defenseless, try new things, find my purpose," she declared. The hat unlocked this within her which she never told anyone.
I know where I will put you then.
"Gryffindor!" it boomed out loud.
She removed the hat, ran over to the Gryffindor table, who cheered, and sat next to Lee. She had a wide smile on her face but inside, she felt relieved that it was over.
"Told you! Did the hat make the decision quickly?" asked Fred.
"No. I think it was so stumped, it practically made me decide," she answered.
"Ah, so you decided. Was it because a certain someone is in Gryffindor?" George teased.
"No! I wouldn't do this for some boy!" she retorted.
"Course not," said Fred.
"Definitely not," said George.
"What about a couple of boys?"
"That seems more like it!"
The boys sniggered. Lin rolled her eyes and put her attention on the Sorting Ceremony.
After all the first years were sorted, Harry and Hermione walked into the Great Hall. Lin noticed people pointing at Harry and mumbling among themselves.
"Neville told us that Harry fainted. That dementor did it," whispered George.
They sat down around Ron, and Hermione congratulated her for making Gryffindor.
An aged wizard with half-moon spectacles appeared in front of the room and everyone grew silent. Lin recognised this man, from the many chocolate frogs she has eaten, as Albus Dumbledore.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! Before we feast, I have a few important things to tell you all. Dementors from Azkaban, are stationed at every entrance to the school for some Ministry business. You may have seen them on the ride here, so you are well aware of how frightful they are. If you get in their way, they unfortunately, will not be very merciful. Please avoid giving them reason to harm you," announced Professor Dumbledore.
"On a lighter note, let me announce the new additions to our teaching staff!" he continued. "Professor R. J. Lupin has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher!"
There was a small smattering of clamps here and there.
"No, no, no, no," she said under her breath.
"What's wrong?" Lee whispered.
"-Place taken by none other but our own Rubeus Hagrid," Dumbledore said. More people clapped this time.
"That's my uncle," Lin admitted.
"Hagrid's your uncle?" Fred asked.
"No... Lupin is!" she answered.
They stared at her.
"Easier time for you then. Mind putting in a good word for us?" Lee asked.
"Well, I believe I've said everything. Let us eat!" Dumbledore exclaimed, and platters full of food appeared before them.
"Not easier. My mother was warning me about something. Guess this was it. And all this time, I thought Percy was going to watch me," she explained as she grabbed a few items of food. "He's Mum's cousin, but her parents died when she was fifteen, so she went to live with his family. They act like brother and sister."
"Well, we did become quite close in the two years she lived with us," announced Uncle Remus from behind her.
Even though she dreaded the thought of him hounding around her, she loved him, and he was her favourite uncle. Lin hugged him tightly.
"Congratulations! You decided to take my route instead of your mother's it seems. I believe I won that bet," he chuckled. "Don't tell your mum I'm boasting, though. She'd probably blast me to bits. Well, I better get back to the table. I'm quite famished."
"Don't worry, I won't tell her anything if you don't," she answered. "And congratulations on your new job. I think that you'll do great!"
He left and they ate their food heartily. Once the feast was over, Percy led the Gryffindors to a tower, and stopped in front of the portrait of a Fat Lady.
"Fortuna Major!" Percy recited and the portrait swung open, revealing a hidden scarlet and gold common room.
"If one were tired, where would they sleep?" Lin asked.
"Oi, Katie come 'ere," hollered Fred.
"Lin, this is Katie Bell. Katie, Lin," said George. "Katie's on the Quidditch team and in your year."
"Why don't you take Lin to your dormitory? Maybe help with questions?" asked Fred.
"Sure!" Katie said smiling.
She led her up the girls' stair case and into a room with four four-poster beds.
"How cute, you have a puppy!" she exclaimed.
"Thank you," Lin answered, going to the bed in which Hector laid.
"Oliver told me you want to try out for the team?" she asked.
"Oh yeah? Yeah," she blundered, blushing.
"Ah, I see someone has a bit of a crush," she giggled.
"Katie, you in here?" hollered a girl, who led herself into the room. Another girl followed behind her. "We've been looking for you!"
"Lin, this is Angelina, current chaser, and Alicia, former chaser," said Katie.
"Ah, you're the one Oliver's been telling me about. I'm your trainer then," said Alicia, giving her a handshake.
"Just warning you now, Oliver works us pretty hard," said Angelina.
"I don't believe she'll mind," said Katie. "She fancies him."
Lin turned bright red, and the girls giggled.
"Oliver is not a guy I would go for, but to each their own," said Alicia.
"Well, show me a guy more handsome, and I'll try to see it your way," Lin said and they all laughed.
"You got spunk! We're gonna need someone like that on the team now that she left," Angelina said motioning at Alicia with her head.
"Quidditch trials are next week so just tell me what you're schedule is like and I'll help you train. Get you an upper advantage on the rest... and maybe more time with Oliver," Alicia teased.
"Alright I think she's tired, let's go catch up downstairs and leave her to rest," Katie said. They left the room and Lin went to her trunk and changed.
"Everyone is happier here than in DIMA," she told Hector. "How about I write to Ed and send it to him tomorrow?"
Hector barked approvingly and she began to write.
Dear Eddie,
Hogwarts is amazing! Everyone here is friendly and easygoing. I sent a collar your way through Mum. Turns out Uncle Remus is the new D.A.D.A. prof here so I will tell him you say "hi". Hector sends Finley his regards.
Love,
Lin
P.S. Remember to do your work since I'm not there to tell you every day!
P.P.S. I met Harry Potter! He's not brawny like people in Spain believe, but he is nice.
She put the letter in an envelope, set it on her bedside table, and climbed into bed with Hector at her feet. She quickly fell asleep, having dreams of giving Oliver a love potion.
Thank you for reading! I will try to dish out a couple chapters every week.