A Mockery For Your Delight
Chapter Three—
Point of View: Third Person; Outside World
Location: Platform Nine and Three Quarters
Nervous. That's what she was. Nervous. Nervous because she had somehow not gone insane trying to process that there was a Wizarding World. Nervous because she was now going to a magic school. Nervous because what if the train exploded? And nervous because Draco was there, and Draco just had that sort of affect on females.
Somehow, she and her luggage managed to pile into the train. Draco had disappeared, which she didn't mind in the least. (That's what she told herself, anyway.)
So now, being generally antisocial, Rayne just wanted to find an empty seat and fall asleep. (She'd slept quite restlessly at Malfoy Manor, strangely enough.) And one of the less crowded compartments would be nice. There were a crapload of magical kids around here.
Rayne finally found a free spot in a quiet compartment, and, after carefully fixing her shoulder-length hair in the window, she curled up in the seat and dozed off.
Hours later, she was rudely awakened by the train coming to a screeching halt, throwing her against the back of the seat in front of her.
"God damn," she managed, and pulled herself out of her seat.
As she brushed herself off, the door to the compartment slid open.
"There you are," came a very familiar voice. Rayne looked up with a gasp, and saw—
Not Malfoy, but a boy that Rayne would later learn to call Cedric Diggory.
Point of View: First Person, Rayne
Location: The Hogwarts Express
"Oh," the boy murmured after a moment's silence. "I—I apologize. I thought you were someone else."
"Errr." I said. "Hi. What do we do with our luggage?"
"Oh, don't worry." He smiled reassuringly and I tried not to think dirty thoughts. "Your things are taken up to the dorms while we're in the Great Hall."
"Oh, thanks." I said politely, trying to smile back and blushing instead for some reason. "I guess we should get off the train. Yeah."
Luckily, the boy didn't seem at all disturbed by my behavior. He just smiled. Again.
"That would be a good idea." He replied wryly, and began to walk towards the end of the compartment. "I'm Cedric, by the way. Cedric Diggory."
Mmm. An appropriately hot name for an appropriately hot guy. Yum.
"I—I'm Rayne."
"As in weather?" he asked, pulling the slidey-door-thingy open and standing aside so I could go through first.
"Sort of… uh… more like that freaky movie, 'Bludd Rayne', or something." I told him cheerfully.
I stepped out of the compartment and out into the open air. "Um… this is my first year here… where do we go?"
I looked around, trying to figure out where we were. Of course, I didn't recognize this place at all. It was very… rural, I guess. There was a beautiful lake with trees and a spooky-looking forest, and… uhh… I guess you could call it a castle. Wow. It was seriously huge. And there were a bunch of little rowboats and these carriage things heading towards it.
I heard Cedric curse softly under his breath as he came up behind me.
"Looks like they've left without us," he murmured.
"I… I guess we'll have to walk," I said.
It would take a really long time, but we didn't have any other choice.
"Wait a second," Cedric gasped. "Hang on, I'll be right back."
Or did we?
Point of View: Third Person; Outside World
Location: By the Lake
Rayne shifted her weight anxiously until Cedric came back out of the train, carrying what looked like… a broom?
"They haven't taken the luggage yet," he told her with a grin. "So I got my broomstick."
He held out the household cleaning device proudly, as if expecting her to 'ooh' and 'aah' over it.
She looked from the broom, up at Cedric, and back at the broom again.
"How is that supposed to help us?" she asked finally.
"Oh… I forgot that you're a new girl. Er, see, in the Wizarding World… we can fly around on our broomsticks. We also use them to play Quidditch."
Surprisingly, Rayne did not burst out laughing, like a normal person would. She just nodded solemnly.
"So we're going to fly over to this Hogwarts place, huh?" she said.
Stating the obvious, Cedric replied, "Yes."
With that, he mounted the broom, motioning for her to get on behind him.
Never mind that this is weird, sudden, and unnecessary, she thought. It's also kind of cool and advances the plot. So, let's go!
She swung onto the broom behind Cedric, wrapping her arms firmly around his waist. He was pleasantly warm, radiating a soft heat that was lovely on such a cool evening.
"Hold on tight," he told her, even though she already was. Then he kicked off, and suddenly they were flying.
At first, the odd, I-think-I-forgot-my-stomach sensation was unpleasant, and of course the wind was absolutely freezing, but Rayne gradually became accustomed to it, and even began to enjoy it. It helped that Cedric was warm. And skilled in the flying arts. It was nice, too, how he didn't make a big deal out of how he was so great for providing the transportation and whatnot.
However, the broom was not built to carry two people (even if the second person is a girl who doesn't have boobs). Cedric was finding it difficult to keep it high enough above the water that they didn't get wet. (He had decided to just go straight across the lake to save time. Even though he should have known that the broom probably couldn't carry so much weight all that well, and that it might not last all the way across the lake…)
It would be more dramatic if the broom lost power completely, and they had to swim for it. And maybe Cedric would have to help her to shore. And they'd probably have to figure out some vaguely perverted way to dry themselves off.
But, due to time and space constraints, and the laziness of the author, that is not what happened. The broom made it to the opposite shore safely, and the only parts of Cedric and Rayne that got wet were their shoes. They raced after the receding backs of their classmates (or, in Rayne's case, future classmates) and managed to get into the Great Hall without mishap. After some explanation from Cedric, Rayne went over to stand in the Sorting crowd.
There were murmurings and mutterings when the girl-who-no-one-had-ever-seen-before-but-was-obviously-older-than-eleven joined the group of children to be Sorted. Who was this strange, slightly emo-looking girl?
"Padara, Rayne," Professor McGonagall called.
Rayne walked hesitantly to the front of the clustered youngsters.
"Sit down on that stool and put the Sorting Hat on your head," McGonagall whispered to her, peering austerely down at the new girl. "Go on, now."
Hesitantly, more than a little weirded out, Rayne went over to the stool the professor had discreetly gestured towards, and slid the hat over her head as she sat down. It fell over her eyes, obscuring the outside world.
"Well, then," a voice murmured. "What do we have here?" Rayne flinched as the hat tightened slightly around her skull. "Hmm… not very clever or free-thinking, now, are we? That means Ravenclaw is definitely out. A bit too brave for Hufflepuff… supposedly too innocent for Slytherin… you're not exactly courageous or loyal, really, but seeing as Gryffindor is the only one left…GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted, and Rayne yelped and tore it off, jolting up to her feet.
"Put the hat back on the stool and go sit at the red and gold table," McGonagall told her, and she did.
Laughing students made room for her on one of the two long benches on each side of the Gryffindor table.
McGonagall cleared her throat and began to speak in a louder voice that carried all around the Great Hall: "Students and teachers of Hogwarts! Rayne Padara is a new student here, as you can see. However, she will not be joining the first years. Rather, she shall be regarded as a third year. Please do your best to welcome her into our fine school."
Then she turned back to the waiting newbies and continued with the Sorting.
"That's some Mudblood you've got over there!" a ratty looking boy from a green and silver table shouted.
"Shut up, you!" a few Gryffindors shouted right back.
Rayne winced as she sat down. She didn't like all the attention she was receiving. And that hat thing had been just freaky and kind of offensive.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," a girl with very curly hair who was sitting on her left said. "I'm Hermione Granger. Ron, Harry—introduce yourselves."
"Ron Weasley," a freckled redhead sitting on the other side of Hermione raised his hand and waved halfheartedly.
"I'm Harry. Harry Potter." A boy with striking green eyes who sat at Rayne's right said.
There was an expectant pause, as if the three of them were waiting for something.
"My name's Rayne," Rayne said after a moment.
"You really don't know anything at all, do you?" Hermione murmured, mostly to herself. "Well, I'm sure we can catch you up. We're third years too, you see. I'm sure you'll love Hogwarts. Right, Ron? Harry?"
"Right," Harry agreed unenthusiastically, feeling to angsty to be friendly.
"Do you think we'll eat soon?" asked Ron.
Rayne was getting very nervous again.
End of Chapter Three.