The rest of the ride we managed without quarrel, but only idle chatter. I found out the Lucius was in fact Syreni's father - she was quite proud of him, much like me with mine - and her favorite candy was Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. I quite dislike them; cannot say I enjoy not knowing what I am putting in my mouth.
I also discovered she had a brother, Draco. I snorted when I first heard the name. I mean what was their parents thinking?! But then she explained that Draco was Latin for Dragon, and I respected the choice a bit more.
When the cart lady came, Syreni bought Every Flavor Beans (of course) and some pastries she graciously shared with me. When she offered me a bean and I refused she learned of my hatred of the candy and nearly lynched me, which caused a candy throwing war.
By the time our stomachs stopped hurting, our cheeks returned to our normal color, and the candy was picked out of the carpet we were almost there. I dressed in my school robes trying to ignore the jitters in my stomach.
This was the beginning of the education muggles would kill for! Imagine all the things to learn, adventures to be had... I was positively beaming at the thought!
The train lurched to a stop and a young boy with hair that reminded me of Syreni's opened our compartment door being trailed by 2 large, beefy boys.
"What do you want, Draco?" Syreni's voice was surprisingly querulous.
"Father told me to keep an eye on you, as it is just your first year." Draco had a cold drawling voice and apparently as much pride in his father as his sister.
"It's your first year too," she smirked. "I can take care of myself."
"But i'm the boy, I need to look after you."
The weirdest sound came out of her throat. "The BOY? BOY?" Draco took a reflexive step back. "Are you seriously being sexist with me right now? I will ground your face into your bigot ways little brother!"
"Just because you were born a few seconds before me doesn't make you any better." Syreni snatched her handbag from beside her a stood up. I had just now realized she had no trunk. Was the inside of her bag enchanted to hold all of her things? Brilliant!
I decided to ignore the awkwardness of sibling rivalry and pull down my trunk. They were to busy gripping at each other to notice me. Although, a fourth boy who joined during the Malfoy fight caught me eye and smiled at me. He had kind eyes, so I smiled back.
"Go on Draco, I can take care of myself. Come along Renea."
"Renea?" Draco questioned. He scanned the compartment before he finally realized me. His eyes were Gray-blue; reminded me of the lake in my backyard on a rainy day. They seemed to pick through my very thoughts as they met mine, evaluating. A lift of an eyebrow. Approval?
He stuck his hand out and shook my own. "Draco Malfoy," he said.
I almost had the audacity to laugh at his name a second time, but I swallowed my giggles and hid it behind a friendly grin. "Renea Lupin." He never smiled back, but instead introduced his friends.
"Goyle," he stated, jamming an outstretched finger over his right shoulder at a boy with a blank expression on his face and brown hair stuck to his head like muck.
"Crabbe." Over his left shoulder past Draco's thumb stood a pudding of a guy with a smirk trailing on his face.
"And Blaise," the last boy added, pointing his own thumb at himself.
"Oh, hullo Blaise," Draco drawled in his amazingly smooth monotone voice. "Didn't hear you."
"I smiled at Blaise, remembering how he had earlier. Blaise was taller than the other three. He was lean in a muscular way, something I haven't seen in boys his age before. Perhaps he was a quidditch player.
I sharp, high pitched voice yelled out from the aisle way. "Draco! Hurry, we are going to miss out on all the good boats!" I swear I saw Draco roll his eyes.
The voice turned out to belong to a small wiry girl with sharp features. Her face looked like it was pressed against a glass window. "Come on," she whined already stalking out of view.
"I go when I want," he muttered under his breath. I had a sneaking suspicion he would never say that to her face.
"Lets go guys, i'm starving," Draco motioned to the people behind him. "You put on toe out of line and you can bet father will hear about it!" He waggled his finger in her face and she just rolled her eyes at his attempt to superiority.
She flapped her hand around, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know!"
He nodded, most likely in approval of the way he handled himself. "Until next time Lupin." His eyes bore holes into mine for a moment. The next he had gone with a swift twist and the billowing of his cloak.
Syreni tutted on the roof of her mouth. "Always so dramatic."
I was tempted to point out her own tendency to overreact, thinking of our candy war, but decided it would be nicer to keep it to myself.
"Let's go, I can't wait to see!"
I mentally agreed and followed her out of the train, loving the feel of my robes dancing at my ankles. I focused on not getting lost and dreaming of my classes while we walked.
An extremely large man, twice the size of my father in height, was calling, "Firs' years! Firs' years gather 'round here!" I saw a glimpse of Blaise and Draco before Syreni grabbed a fistful of my sleeve and dragged ,e to the humongous man.
We took a seat on a boat bobbing on the lake with the rest of the students. There was only one other student in our boat, but I didn't recognize him.
"Who was that girl with the flat face on the train?" I whispered to Syreni.
"Oh, that was Parkinson. Pansy's her name. She basically thinks she is Draco's girlfriend but doesn't realize he wants nothing to do with her."
I chuckled a bit, remembering her shrieky voice. I honestly didn't blame him.
"He keeps her around because she is from a powerful family. Might as well start on getting good connections now. That's what father tells us anyways."
My good mood sunk a little. Am I just a political asset to her? But the more I thought about it, the more absurd I realized I was being. What connections could I possibly have? I may be from a pure blood family, but we are very far from being rich or powerful. Very few associate with us werewolves, let alone put us in any position to earn money or connections. This is why it is so sweet to be attending Hogwarts. I was very difficult to find opportunities when you live this curse. I probably would of ended up in a muggle school if Dumbledore wasn't headmaster.
The boats began to glide over the still black lake. I touched my finger gently to the surface and watched the ripples cascade from my fingertips. This is how I always imagined using my wand would be like. My 9 inch holly wand supplied with unicorn haired core was tucked safely in my trunk. I got goosebumps by thinking that I would be learning the reality of it in only a day.
Our flock of boats reached a vine wall and large rock cliff. The vessels slide through the vines and stuck in students hair. Gasps were heard all around as we took in our first glances of the majestic castle.
It was huge and intimidating which only sparked the flame inside of me. Towers loomed over the building. I could imagine the endless rooms, corridors, and opportunity inside. The lights emitting from the castle reflected on the lake creating a picture so magical it made my fingertips tingle.
The boats soon hit the shore and all the first years clumsily clamored out. I looked up at the star-filled sky.
Here at last.