The Hogwarts Express Saves the Day
By: Inari Takahashi
Disclaimer: I don't own either Harry Potter or the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends Series. Those belong to Ms. Rowling and Reverend Wilbert Awdry and Christopher Awdry. The only thing I do own is my collection of Trains. I have no intention of profiting off this story.
Hannah, the big scarlet express engine, loved the trip from Kings Cross Station in London to the Hogsmeade Station in Scotland. As she did every September 1, she started promptly at 11:00, pulling her coaches along the tracks into the English countryside.
Her coaches were magically expanded to take any number of passengers. "I have the prefects, I have the prefects," chattered Hester, the lead coach as she rolled along. The other coaches were too happy to be carrying children again to be jealous.
After they left London on the special line, the houses and shops thinned out until they were passing farms and orchards. The tracks were clear of any sheep or cows, which Hannah was happy about. She hated having to stop until the farmer or herdsmen cleared the tracks of their livestock.
As the tracks climbed, the forest became darker and heavier. In the distance, the driver could see clouds piling up in the sky, looming ominously overhead. "The weather is turning foul," he told the fireman. "Be sure to keep the boiler hot. We need to make as much speed as we can."
Behind Hannah, the coaches reported that the children were in high spirits. "They haven't stopped running," Megan, the second coach complained happily. She liked to complain about the children, but she was always the first to look forward to carrying them to and from school.
They were only an hour from Hogsmeade Station when the storm broke. Rain and wind blew fiercely onto the tracks, and visibility dropped to almost nothing. Up ahead, the driver and fireman could see dark shapes gathering and blocking the way. The driver applied the brakes, slowly bringing Hannah to a stop.
"Why are we stopping?" the coaches asked in panic. They knew that they had not yet reached the station. The rain and the cold was starting to frost up their windows, and they could hear the children calling inside, wondering if they'd arrived at Hogsmeade.
Hannah angrily blew a cloud of steam as the dark figures approached her coaches. "This is not right," she grumbled. "I should be pulling into the Station soon. This will delay me." She did not like anything that kept her from her schedule.
"Wait, isn't there a Hogwarts' professor in one of the coaches?" the fireman asked, wiping sweat from his brow. "I'll see if one of the prefects can get him. He'll straiten this out."
Hannah blew steam again, but this time in approval. She was happy that they had taken a professor as a passenger. The fireman rushed off to talk to the Head Boy and Head Girl, remembering that they would be with the prefects.
The engineer frowned, feeling the cold getting worse. "Those are dementors out there," he finally said to Hannah. "Why are dementors on the tracks? Usually they are in Azkaban prison standing guard over the prisoners."
Hannah had no answer for that, only keeping a stern eye on the creatures approaching her train. Coming to a decision, she began issuing commands to her coaches.
Heh, the evil cliff hanger. I always thought that the Hogwarts express was pretty awesome for a train engine. Oh, I looked it up. The Island of Sodor is between England and the Island of Man. There is even a way for engines to go from Sodor to the mainland. How cool is that?