The Other Side

Meanwhile, in another compartment…

Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy boarded the train with a last message from his parents to 'not get involved with the wrong people.' His mother was smiling when she said that, but her eyes were serious. While his father simply looked uncomfortable. So, being an obedient boy, he decided to fulfill his parents' wish. He figured he should just sit alone – not to rush in forging a close friendship with anyone until he got to know them better at school.

He was just admiring the outside view that they were passing very quickly when suddenly a little girl appeared at the doorway, carrying a book and her trunk.

"Hi," she greeted him slightly breathlessly, "umm, I was wondering if I could join you in this compartment. You see, all the other compartments are full – at least the ones I just passed."

Scorpius couldn't refuse, so he said, "Oh, sure thing, come on in. Here, let me help you with your trunk," and he took the trunk from the girl's hands and stored it on the compartment above their heads.

"Thank you," the girl said shyly as she sat down. She stared down and slipped a strand of hair behind her right ear before saying, "By the way, I'm Amarelle. Amarelle Hyacinth." She offered her hand and Scorpius took it. "I'm Scorpius. Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy."

"Nice to meet you," she smiled.

"For me likewise," he replied.

They were silent for a moment. Both were occupied with their own thoughts.

She looks like a nice girl, Scorpius thought, and quite pretty too, with those startling blue eyes and beautiful soft brown curls.

After a while, the silence became awkward, so Scorpius struggled to make small talk, "Err, your name is very interesting. I've never heard of anyone else called Amarelle."

"Do you think it's a mouthful? You know you can always call me Amy, Mary, Ella, or anything you wish for short. I had lots of nicknames back at school – the Muggle school I went to, I mean."

"No, no. I think Amarelle's a beautiful name," Scorpius quickly replied, bewildered by her response.

Amarelle blushed and smiled, "Well, it is quite unique. My mother named me after a flower. She thought it was beautiful – both the flower and the name."

"She's right, and that name suits you," Scorpius complimented.

Amarelle laughed and narrowed her eyes slightly, "Am I supposed to take that as a compliment?"

"Why, yes, of course," Scorpius replied, smiling.

"Then, thank you," Amarelle thanked him brightly, "Your name's pretty unique too, you know."

"Thanks."

They lapsed back into awkward silence until Amarelle piped up, "So, what do you think about Hogwarts? Do you know anything about it?"

"I think it's awesome. Both my parents studied there, and they've told me lots of amazing stories about Hogwarts," Scorpius said.

"Oh, would you tell me some of it?" Amarelle asked excitedly. "You see, I'm Muggle-born, so I'm very new to all this…magical stuff," she giggled at the term she just used.

"Sure, I'll tell you," Scorpius said, and he told her about Hogwarts, the whole time Amarelle's eyes going wider and glowing with wonder.

Suddenly Scorpius' story-telling was interrupted by a loud noise from another compartment. They both peeked curiously to see what was going on. Apparently, a group of people were joking and laughing loudly. They were very varied in age, but they seemed very comfortable with each other too. And most of them looked alike – probably because of their red hair.

"Who are they?" Amarelle wondered out loud to Scorpius.

"Oh, they must be the Weasleys and the Potters. The Weasleys are well-known to be a big family and have characteristic red hair. And they're related to the Potters," Scorpius replied.

"The Potters as in Harry Potter's family?" Amarelle asked again.

"Yes. Why?" Scorpius wondered.

"Oh, I met this guy just then, who confessed to be Harry Potter's son. He was so arrogant. It was obnoxious," Amarelle said, her tone obviously portraying annoyance.

"Really? Well, I don't know them too well, honestly," Scorpius confessed.

"But the rest of the family seems nice – at least from here," Amarelle said.

"Yeah, I guess…," Scorpius said.

"Well, never mind about them. Go on then, I'm still curious about Hogwars, tell me some more stories!" Amarelle pleaded, her eyes sparkling with excitement and anticipation.

"I think you'd soon figure it out for yourself," Scorpius replied, "we're here now," he pointed out the window. The sky had grown dark, but under the moonlight, Amarelle could make out the silhouette of a castle in the distance.

"It's beautiful," she whispered, clearly mesmerized by the view, "Come on Scorpius, what are you waiting for? Let's get out of here!" she said enthusiastically.

They went off the train and followed the rest of the first years, forming a line, both feeling very giddy due to their excitement. They couldn't wait to get in the boat that would cross them to Hogwarts, and their minds were swirling with various thoughts, the most anticipating of all was the thought of which House they'd be Sorted into.