A/N: Thanks so much for waiting. We're finally going to Hogwarts with them! :D
With Alice's family in town, she was spending the majority of her week catching up with her 12 year old half-siblings and Jane, her step-mother, either rediscovering famous London landmarks and shopping districts or relaxing in the backyard pool at Aunt Marla and Uncle George's home. For the last several summers when they were there on holiday, this had been the norm. Alice would travel down from Oxford and stay with them during those two or so carefree weeks. Though this time around, Alice was bit busier with an interview for a lecturing position she applied for, as well as her Friday apparating lessons at the Ministry. Also, being engaged definitely changed the dynamic. Alice always relished having more time with her father, but he had became more sentimental with her now that she would soon be married. This prompted him to bring old photo albums to go through with her, giving Draco an even more in-depth life history than Alice was comfortable with. Draco also had a chance to meet the other members of the family. She was amazed how well he handled Aunt Marla's overly gushy attitude as she asked a multitude of embarrassing questions about their relationship, while also mentioning Alice's ex-boyfriend in the conversation. Draco was able to play it cool, which Aunt Marla took to be an air of sophistication stemming from his wealthy, aristocratic background.
Draco's elite background was particularly of interest to everyone in the family since her father, his wife and the kids would be traveling to Wiltshire to visit Malfoy Manor for dinner soon. While Alice thought it might be less damning to have Draco's parents come to London and possibly meet her family somewhere in town, Narcissa insisted on playing host. Alice hoped any oddness experienced by her kin would be taken as a quirk of upper-class society versus any notion of them being of a different world. Narcissa was adamant about keeping it low key with no magic in sight. They would also make sure that all charms on the Manor would be lifted during that time, the portraits would be muffled and Loister the house elf would be busy doing chores in the upper portions of the manor, not to be seen or heard. Alice was more skeptical with social interaction, however. She especially wondered how Mr. Malfoy would deal with four muggles in his home. If anything, it would definitely test his tolerance.
The family left earlier in the morning, stopping at Salisbury Plain to explore Stonehenge along the way. Alice would be accompanying them, since she could fit in their car rental. She ended up having to sit in between her two siblings who incessantly bickered amongst each other. She always referred to them as the two terrors for good reason since they tended to find ways to create mischief wherever they went. They were already given the rules to not touch anything in the Malfoy's house, but she doubted they'd comply. Draco had noted their rambunctiousness and said it was hard to believe they were related to her. Jacob insisted on bringing along a soccer ball after he heard from Alice that the manor had a large grassy lawn in the back. She hoped him and Johanna could spend some time playing football back there while the grownups talked; anything to keep them away from the valuable antiques that littered the place.
Draco would already be at the manor awaiting their arrival with his parents. As they drove, Alice hoped she wouldn't get lost, especially considering she should technically know her way by now. She had never actually approached the manor by road or the front door since Draco had always apparated her directly into the foyer. As they made their way through the winding country roads, Alice kept the image of the map she studied in her head as she dictated the directions to her father who was driving.
As they approached the large gated estate, Jane asked, "So how much of this land do they own?"
"I think quite a lot," Alice replied, not terribly sure the extent of their property or wealth for that matter. Draco's inheritance never really was of much interest to Alice and it seemed an afterthought after everything else. She knew they were loaded, especially if she took the huge juxtaposition between them and for example, how her great uncle Aberforth lived. Now that her family was in town, however, she realized it looked like she was marrying into the upper-crust of English society. Luckily, Jane and her father were not unacquainted with wealth. Jane grew up in Beverly Hills in a well-to-do family, and while Alice's father had humble beginnings, he rose to substantial financial gain through climbing the business ladder. Alice remembers the change from first moving to Los Angeles and living in small two bedroom apartment, to when she was getting ready to leave for college, when they had moved into a decent sized house in a nice neighborhood in Santa Monica. Since then her father had gained a vice president position in the company which again maximized his monetary income. Alice thus was less worried about them being surprised by the Malfoy's ostentatious wealth and more concerned with a misunderstanding of their quirkiness in manner.
As they parked the car just outside the large wrought-iron gates, Jacob started getting super excited, "Wow! They live in a castle!"
"It's doesn't look like a castle silly," Johanna responded sarcastically, though she hadn't taken her eyes off her pink Nintendo DS which she played continuously on the ride there, "It's a mansion."
Alice walked up to the gates with her family behind her and as she suspected, there was no call box to phone into the manor that they arrived. However, as soon as she touched the gate, they opened automatically. "Well, I guess we can go on in," Alice tried to say casually, acting unfazed.
They had a ways to walk to the front door and their path was lined with high shrubbery on each side that was perfectly manicured. This had Jane commenting that she wished she could get her hedges to look half as good. A white peacock was grazing in front of them, prompting Jacob to start running directly at it.
"Hey!" Alice yelled at him as he ran, "Don't startle it!"
The peacock quickly scurried away, outstretching and flapping its wings slightly to get it moving. Jacob turned and waited for the group, though Alice gave him a disconcerting look.
"Why are they white?" asked Jacob as they caught up.
Her father replied, "They're albino peacocks, quite a rarity I hear, must be a special lot they have. Perhaps we should ask Alice for the scientific answer."
Alice thought, "They lack the enzyme we all have that produces the melanin that gives us color, so basically it's a genetic defect that makes them white."
"Oh, so they're defective?" Jacob asked confused.
"Well, they didn't get the gene from their parents," Alice replied, though she now wondered whether the Malfoy's peacock population was white through magical means versus through selective breeding, a question she never bothered to ask.
They approached the giant wooden doors and Alice gave it a solid knock. Jane quickly insisted for Johanna to put away her Nintendo DS. Alice's stomach already felt upset from the pending clash of two realities waiting to happen. After a few seconds of waiting, the right door opened slowly and Narcissa was there to greet them.
"Please come in. Oh Alice, so glad you came," Narcissa said cheerfully kissing Alice lightly on the cheeks as she came through the door. Alice noted she was dressed in an outfit she bought on their shopping trip in London. "And this must be your family."
As the family sifted through the door, they each marveled at the grandeur of the foyer, realizing right away the history this house held. Draco and Lucius were both standing there waiting to greet them and almost immediately, Fritz ran from their side, right up to Alice.
"Well, I guess I should introduce everyone," Alice said laughing at the dog, "Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy, this is my father and his wife, Thomas and Jane McNally, and these two are Johanna and Jacob."
Immediately Johanna and Jacob were taken by the large wolf hound.
"Oh, and this is Fritz," Alice added.
"Oh wow, it's like a small horse!" Jacob exclaimed.
"More like a pony," Johanna quipped back as they both patted Fritz on the head.
"It's lovely to meet you," her father said amused by his children while offering his hand to Lucius and Narcissa who gave him a shake. Jane did the same.
"It's wonderful to finally meet you," Narcissa replied cheerfully while shaking his hand, "Alice has told us so much about you."
"I certainly hope she was kind," he said equally cheery and both Malfoys noted his heavy British accent that was so unlike Alice's Americanized one.
"This is a lovely home," Jane said politely, "I've honestly never seen such well manicured shrubbery. You must have an incredible gardener."
"Wait until you see the garden," Narcissa said pleasantly, though no gardener was involved in keeping those plants maintained. "I would love to give you a tour."
Next to them, Thomas tried to spark a conversation with Lucius, who had said very little since they arrived, "So Lucius, I hear you are a bit of an entrepreneur."
"Something like that. I find businesses worth investing in on occasion," Lucius replied, "How about I pour you a drink and we can talk?"
Alice watched suspiciously as Lucius led her father into the drawing room, she honestly hoped he wouldn't poison him; she was relieved when Narcissa and Jane followed.
Jacob had already shown Draco his soccer ball, "I know it's a football here, but we call it soccer in the US," he said proud of his knowledge.
"He insisted on bringing it once I told him you have a rather large grass lawn in the back," Alice explained.
"Want to go give it a try outside then?" Draco asked, also thinking it'd be best if they had something to do while the grownups talked.
They led the kids through the back patio doors to the lawn where more albino peacocks were grazing. Fritz followed behind, but then he did a quick run through the field making the birds scurry away. Jacob immediately kicked out the ball and Johanna ran after it, preparing to play a game.
Alice turned to Draco, "Do you think we should rejoin the adults, just in case?" She was a bit nervous about leaving them alone.
"Don't worry, mother has it covered. And we'll be eating on the back terrace so they'll be out soon," Draco reassured her.
Sure enough, shortly after trying to play a game of football with Fritz continuously interrupting, the Malfoys and McNallys stepped out onto the back porch from the green room. Narcissa had been giving them a brief tour of the downstairs rooms, avoiding the upstairs where Loister was as well as more dubious room such as the library whose magical book collection would have been a giveaway.
"Hope those two aren't giving you any problems," Jane said to Alice and Draco as they approached, "They love to make mischief," she said to Narcissa.
"Much to our demise," Thomas added.
"They're around the age when we sent Draco off to school," Narcissa said, "Sometimes I think it was better he was away!"
"That's what makes boarding school so tempting, unfortunately we have to wait until college," Thomas chuckled.
Jacob and Johanna ran over to everyone with Fritz following closely behind, unaware of their parent's comments.
"I'm sure you two are hungry," Narcissa said cheerfully, "Let's all go eat."
The families began walking to the back terrace, which overlooked the rolling green hills behind the manor. The light was still out but less strong than earlier. Dinner was waiting for them on a glass topped table and Alice worried they'd find this strange without any servants in sight, but neither her father nor Jane said anything. Wine glasses were also already filled for them. Loister the house elf must have quickly set it up and then disapparated back upstairs.
As they all sat down, Alice's father declared a toast, "I want to thank Lucius and Narcissa for inviting us to their wonderful estate for dinner and to the two responsible for joining these families, Draco and Alice, I cannot tell you how happy I am for your happiness, and to your upcoming wedding, which will bring us together again. Cheers!"
"Thanks Dad," Alice said, knowing it was so like him to do these types of things.
"Thank you sir," Draco replied politely.
"I knew the first time I saw these two together that they would up tying the knot," Thomas said assuredly.
"I felt the same way," Narcissa said cheerfully.
Then Jane asked curiously, "So how did you two meet exactly?"
Alice and Draco looked at each other, each wondering what to say. This was something Alice certainly glossed over when she first told her father she was dating Draco.
"We met at a conference at UCL," Alice finally said.
"Well, you're both academics, makes sense," Jane replied not giving it much thought, but then she asked with extra interest, "Was it love at first sight?"
Alice and Draco were again prompted to look at each other as they both remembered the first time they actually met in the interrogation room at the Ministry. Draco had entered the room behind Blaise and was shocked that Alice knew his name from the left behind Daily Prophet she had in her possession for years. His only job was to take her hair and blood samples to test her ancestry, but when looking into her blue eyes he felt a connection; an intrigue he never thought he could have for a muggle. For Alice, Draco's presence and touch surprisingly calmed her, despite the uncomfortable situation she was in, and she saw a hidden kindness in him.
"Possibly," Alice said with a coy smile, still looking at Draco.
"I definitely think so," Draco agreed further.
"An odd place to have a connection," Lucius scoffed, obviously knowing where they actually met. Narcissa gave him a condescending look reminding him to be cautious with what he says.
"What kind of conference was it?" Jane asked.
"A history of science conference," Alice replied quickly, the topic would fit with Draco's "chemist" background and her background in science studies. "I ended up sitting near him and we had an unexpected conversation on Lavoisier and the history of phlogiston." Alice knew Draco had read one of her books on the early history chemistry, so he should know who and what she was talking about if asked.
Alice's father started laughing, "So like my daughter to either attract or deflect strangers with intellectual babble."
"If she was able to find someone who could hold that kind of conversation with her, then I guess it was love at first sight," Jane laughed along, showing why her and her father worked well together.
"Thanks," Alice said feeling slightly mocked.
"We were rather impressed with Alice when she first came here," Narcissa replied sincerely, "Honestly we've never met anyone like her."
"That's an understatement," Lucius said sarcastically.
"Well, it was refreshing to say the least," Narcissa added.
"Mother always feared I wouldn't find a genuine partner," Draco added, "It is difficult in my situation."
"I'm glad I raised her right," Thomas said proudly, thinking the situation referred to was his wealthy inheritance and how difficult it was to find a girl who wasn't solely interested in it.
"Alice has told us stories of your single fatherhood, quite heroic," Narcissa said.
"I wouldn't go that far, I had my moments but she was always able to adjust to new situations with ease," Thomas said looking at his daughter adoringly.
"I don't think I had much of a choice honestly," Alice commented, "I'm just lucky dad always tried to be there when I needed him, which is difficult when you have a pretty demanding career."
"Speaking of career," Thomas asked Draco, "I heard you'll be teaching at your former boarding school?" Considering Draco's wealth, Thomas found him taking this position rather honorable.
"Correct, the opportunity to work with younger students always appealed to me," Draco replied.
"Hopefully Alice will be able to find a position up that way," Jane added, remembering the school was in Scotland.
"I plan to, though I may be in London for a term or two. We'll work something out," Alice had not mentioned to her father about her Hogwarts position because it was too complicated to explain. Though she knew such a distance between them in muggle terms would create questions.
"We have a private jet that we'll use on our weekends apart," Draco added casually.
Alice's eyes went wide, she couldn't believe he just said that, maybe he was catching up on his muggle facts. Both Narcissa and Lucius looked at each other rather confused.
"Nice," Jane said impressed.
"Good man," Thomas added.
Jacob and Johanna had finished their meal quickly and asked to be excused to continue their football game on the grass lawn. Fritz followed closely behind, most likely interested in chasing the ball again. The conversation then drifted to discussing the twins and more reminiscing about Draco and Alice's childhood. This prompted Alice to change the topic to the wedding and they discussed the prospect of having a winter wedding and holding it at the manor. Again Lucius suggested that they wait until the spring, for better weather he said, but the rest of them liked the idea of white wedding. Luckily, the general topic allowed for less awkward conversation until they heard a scream from where the two kids were playing ball. It was Johanna.
Everyone rushed from the table to the lawn but neither of the two children were there, though they left behind their soccer ball. Then they heard Fritz barking from inside Narcissa's flower garden. When they entered the iron gates they found Johanna crying crouched by the side of an unconscious Jacob.
"I only dared him to eat it, I didn't think he would," she said with tears in her eyes.
Narcissa asked strictly, "What did he eat?" She knew very well there were poisonous varieties of plants littering her garden.
Johanna nervously pointed at a small flowering plant nearby, "He ate one of the berries," she said still distressed and feeling like it was her fault.
"Draco," Narcissa looked to her son for help.
"Baneberry," he knew what plant it was and that the berries were poisonous, "I'll be back," he left through the garden's entrance and once out of sight, quickly disapparated into the mansion to find an appropriate potion.
Jane was cradling Jacob in her arms as she checked for a pulse. It was faint, as was the color in his checks and lips. "Shouldn't we call an ambulance? We need to call an ambulance!" she cried.
Thomas who was next to her had already pulled out his mobile phone but his device was quickly confiscated by Lucius who said, "That won't be necessary."
"Of course it's necessary, my son's been poisoned!" he said irate; Alice thought he was possibly ready to fight Mr. Malfoy for his phone back.
"Calm down dad," Alice quickly intervened, "Draco will be back with a remedy." At least that is what she assumed.
At that moment, a whoosh sound was heard outside the garden and Draco entered back through the iron gates with a flask of liquid. Both Thomas and Jane looked bewildered at his sudden appearance, they wondered how he could have made it anywhere in that short amount of time.
"This will work," he said calmly, approaching the young boy who was still being cradled by his mother. He poured the grey liquid into his mouth, closing his jaw to induce swallowing. Thomas and Jane were extremely puzzled by this and by the Malfoy family's calmness when they were on the verge of mental breakdowns. It was not until Jacob's eyes began to flutter open that they could find room to breathe again.
After joyously hugging their awoken son they asked confused, "What happened?"
Draco tripped over his words slightly, "The berries are poisonous but this po…medicine counteracts that."
"Quick thinking," Thomas replied gratuitously, though wondering why no one informed them prior when they thought their child was dying.
"Jacob, never eat what's not on the table, even if your sister dares you!" Jane scolded the boy, even though she was still upset and cradling him like a baby.
"Sorry mom," Jacob said, still in a daze.
"And Johanna," Thomas added also displeased, "Don't dare your brother like that, 'cause he's daft enough to do it." He then turned to the Malfoys, "I'm so sorry for this, such an embarrassment."
"Not at all," Narcissa said courteously, "Kids will be kids."
"Apologies," Lucius said while handing Thomas back his mobile phone.
"I guess we overreacted," Thomas replied scratching his head after placing the phone back in his coat pocket.
"It's okay dad," Alice said calmly, "It was unexpected. Maybe we should be heading back to London?" She thought perhaps they should leave for home, before anything else unusual happened.
Thomas nodded while looking at his son who was sitting upright but was still pale. "Yes, perhaps Jacob should be back home in bed."
Draco added, "He'll regain his strength by tomorrow. Luckily the plant loses its potency in the summer so the berry he ate had only a little juice in it."
"How do you know this?" Jane asked slightly doubtful.
"Well…I study the chemistry of plants," Draco replied, realizing he probably shouldn't be explaining anymore than necessary.
Jane was not so easily convinced but she accepted it, but then she asked, "What did you call this plant again?"
"Baneberry," Draco knew he said it prior to leaving; it was a magical variety of plant, however.
"I've never heard of it," she said, even though she was someone with an avid interest in gardening.
"Rare variety, perhaps not available in your climate," Narcissa hopped in, "I always liked the plant's flowers since they maintain life quite long throughout the year, even into the winter."
They began walking back to the mansion and gathered again in the grand foyer.
"We definitely had a lovely time tonight," said Jane politely.
"Thank you again for inviting us," Thomas added, offering a polite handshake to them both.
"Jacob, Johanna, say thank you," Jane prodded the children to show their gratitude, which they did, even though Johanna had already become immersed into her Nintendo DS.
"Do enjoy the rest of your time in London," Narcissa said cheerily.
"We will," Thomas replied, "And Lucius, if you ever need investment advice, I'd be delighted."
"Appreciated," Lucius replied dryly. Alice could tell Mr. Malfoy was trying his hardest to maintain pleasant composure that evening and she was rather impressed with his effort. Then she wondered what Narcissa threatened him with beforehand.
After they exited, Alice strayed behind slightly and silently mouthed a big 'thank you' to the three, placing her hands over her heart to show her deep gratitude. She knew they all put in a tremendous effort to entertain guests they'd never imagine having and she couldn't have felt more touched by their endeavor.
On the way home, Jane said, "You are going to be well taken care of Alice, I've never seen such opulence, and I grew up in a place that's known for it."
"I never gave it much thought," Alice said truthfully; the wizarding factor was the only difference she seemed to internalize.
"Honestly? I'm actually surprised they're not strict on who he marries with that kind of wealth," Jane said glibly, she wasn't known for hiding her thoughts.
"I was surprised too," Alice agreed, though not for the wealth factor.
"Lucius seemed a bit…I don't know what you would call it?" Jane continued unsure.
A number of words ran through Alice's head, 'cold,' 'ruthless,' easily irritable,' but her father interrupted, "He's normal for men of his stature, I've dealt with the lot of them and he seems like a savvy investor."
Having her father use the word "normal" in relation to the Malfoys brought a huge sigh of relief to Alice; perhaps this wasn't a total disaster like she thought it would be.
After Jacob had fallen asleep in the back and Johanna had her headphones on while playing her video game, Jane said quietly, "I think I would have preferred not to have the incident in the garden, they probably thought we had such undisciplined children."
"I wouldn't worry Jane, luckily Draco's quick on his feet," Alice replied hoping to calm her.
"No kidding he was quick. He was barely gone a minute, how did he do that?" Jane asked.
"I don't think he went far, I believe they have some medicine in a shed in the back," Alice hoped that would clear up Draco's apparating incident.
"Oh, you know what else I'm surprised about, that you two are planning a small wedding. You think with their status they'd invite everyone in the upper crust of society," Jane said with slight sarcasm.
"Well, Draco and I feel it better otherwise," Alice started to remember why at times she didn't get along with Jane well.
"They aren't trying to hush up the marriage, are they?" Jane asked suspiciously.
"Oh no, not at all, our engagement was announced on a night when everyone in their inner circle was at the manor. It's already well-known," Alice reassured her.
"I think a small wedding fits their personalities better," Thomas stepped in, "Draco is not ostentatious, nor is Alice."
Thankfully for Alice, her father took everything easily and didn't question the situation as long as Alice was content, which she undoubtedly was. The next week she spent as much time as possible with her family before they flew back to California, happy to know it wouldn't be long before they returned that winter for their wedding. It was finally that last stretch of the summer before Hogwarts' school term would begin on September 1st. The rest of her days would be consumed by creating lesson plans and practicing spells. She started taking Narcissa and Draco's advice and using domestic spells to wash the dishes and clean her apartment. Anything to lighten her work load since she would also be teaching an introductory lecture course on science studies at UCL in the fall. The phone call for the job offer came when she was on her Friday lunch break in Diagon Alley, having endured several morning hours trying to apparate for Mr. Twycross at the Ministry. Her phone rang loudly in her bag, prompting a nearby patron at the restaurant she was eating at to unleash his wand on her.
Now with the opportunity to work in both realms at hand, her drive to apparate was even stronger. That afternoon she finally managed to apparate into her hoop without any splinching, much to her relief. It was second to last lesson and with a little more practice, she was able to pass the certification test. With this taken care of, she felt much more in control of her future schedule and also, a little more witch-like.
Alice packed the last of her books in her luggage, along with her laptop and laptop projector, a pair of decent speakers that she bought for watching videos in class, and several cords and wires, hoping Headmistress McGonagall didn't fail her with adding electricity to the Muggle Studies classroom. That morning she would be going to King's Cross Station to ride the Hogwarts Express train to Hogsmeade along with the rest of the students. It was customary for new teachers to accompany the students on the train so Draco would also be going. He planned to meet Alice on the other side of the platform, which meant she would have to pass through a wall between platforms nine and ten to get to platform nine and three-quarters. Even her ticket said "9 ¾" which alerted her that this was not a properly scheduled train from London.
As she made her way through the busy terminals, she was somewhat relieved she wasn't moving to the school at that time, noting how heavy her one piece of luggage was already. She would have a small office at Hogwarts, which was why she brought so many of her books. Draco would inhabit Professor Sulghorn's old office space, which according to him was more like a large apartment so she was welcomed to spend some of her spare time in there. Just a week prior Alice had successfully received her License to Apparate, finishing the Ministry class feeling less ashamed than when she started. Her schedule also worked out well. She would be teaching classes at Hogwarts in the mornings and afternoons on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, while she had morning lectures at UCL on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She was not allowed to apparate inside Hogwarts so one option was to make the trip from just outside the grounds. Even though she liked the idea of walking through nature and she planned to on occasion, they did equip her office fireplace with a floo connection to the Malfoy's. She could now apparate back and forth from there. Everything seemed set at Hogwarts except for the technology part. She already envisioned her evening hooking up wires and troubleshooting with technology.
As she approached platform nine, Alice noticed several teens and younger students with trolleys rolling straight through a brick wall. Stranger yet was the fact that the muggles surrounding them didn't seem to notice. The trolleys had large trunks and cages on them and she wondered whether the students were allowed to have pets. On closer inspection, she saw owls, rats and even a cat on a student's trolley. "Odd," she thought, "Why would they allow students to have pets?" As she got closer she became rather apprehensive about running into a wall, being reminded of hitting her head a month ago in the drawing room thanks to Mr. Malfoy's "acquaintance." She stood there to watch a few other students go through before taking a turn.
"Hey ma, I think this muggle sees something," a kid with a trolley noticed Alice standing there watching and tugged on his mother's sleeve.
"Oh dear, happens every year, just wait a second until she leaves," the mother said cautiously.
Alice turned around sharply, "I'm not a muggle in that sense, I just haven't taken the train before."
"Why would you be taking the train? You don't seem to be a student," The mother asked suspiciously, looking at her muggle four-wheeled luggage.
"Because I'm a new teacher," she said firmly and then she introduced herself, "My name's Alice McNally."
"Oh! That's right, we read about you in the mailer," the mother remembered, "You definitely are new at this."
Alice smiled pleasantly, her newness was all too apparent.
"There's nothing to it," the mother added encouragingly, "Just go straight towards that wall and it'll take you directly to platform 9 ¾."
"Thank you," Alice replied, thinking she better just go through before anyone else notices her newness.
With her luggage rolling in front of her, she walked briskly towards the brick wall and sure enough she emerged on another platform and immediately noted the steam pouring from the locomotive as well as the change in lighting. Whenever she thought she went back in time, it was more likely she was in the wizarding world. The platform was littered with students and parents, trolleys and caged animals, and the air was filled with excitement as she'd imagine the first day off to school would be. She looked through crowd to try and spot her blond haired beau, who she found near the opposite end, his back was turned to her and he was talking with several students. She began rolling her luggage that way when she was stopped by the porter.
"Miss, you have a ticket?" the rotund gentlemen in a proper uniform asked, holding his white gloved hand towards her.
"Right," she said, pulling the small piece of paper from her pocket.
"Ah, Professor McNally, welcome to the Hogwarts Express. I'd be happy to take your luggage for you," he said politely much to Alice's surprise.
"That'd be wonderful," Alice said. "There's a lot expensive equipment in there, so uh…" She wasn't sure if their packing style was similar to muggles where one suitcase was piled on top of another only after being thrown and knocked about.
"I'll make sure it's put in a safe place. Do make sure to board the train before 11," he said courteously before going off with her piece of luggage.
Without that added burden, she made her way quickly through several students who were obviously catching up after a long summer apart. All were dressed in casual attire, looking more like muggle teenagers than wizarding ones. There were also many parents talking with their younger children, who looked to be going off to Hogwarts for their first time. Boarding school was strange to Alice, having only known public school, but then again many other things were going to be stranger.
Alice tapped on Draco's shoulder lightly, feeling a little awkward interrupting the group discussion.
"You made it," Draco said, very glad to see her even if they had only been apart for few hours; each had to finish packing earlier that morning.
"Had doubts huh?" she joked, as he chivalrously took her heavy shoulder bag and put his arm around her to move her into the group circle.
"Alice, I want you to meet some top students, this is Aston Kingston, Juniper Lighten, Alexander Moderna, Marius Higgins and Elias Zarthy," he said, pointing out the group. "And this is Professor McNally. She'll be teaching sixth years a new course, that means you three," he pointed to a few of them.
There were several polite "nice to meet you's" from the group but before the conversation could progress further, the train's whistle had blown acknowledging the final boarding call.
"Everyone better board," Draco said to the students and then he asked Alice, "They have your bags?"
"The porter took it," Alice affirmed, while walking towards the one car, "You know, I've never been on a stream engine before."
A student near her heard this and replied, "The train actually isn't running on steam, it only borrows its form. It's completely magical."
"I see," Alice replied, surprised but also impressed by this girl's complete answer.
"My name's Sara Jennings," she offered Alice her hand, "I'm a sixth year so I'm really looking forward to your course. I'm muggle-born so I know there's a need for it," she said the last part somewhat hushed.
"Nice to meet you Sara, I'm glad you'll be in my class. You'll have a lot to offer to the discussions we'll have."
As the girl went off with a few friends Draco said to Alice, "See, you already have a promising student." Alice knew he was right, she hoped in the end her class would benefit students like Sara whose background may make them feel like outsiders because it's so misunderstood.
She followed Draco down the corridor to an empty compartment at the end of the middle passenger carriage. At least four adults could fit in it with its plump cushioned benches lining the walls. She was happy to have a place to talk privately on the ride there, since they were the only adults traveling by train.
Draco looked out the window feeling slightly reminiscent of past school days. It was quite peculiar to be back on the train heading to Hogwarts again, despite for a different purpose.
Noticing his daze, Alice asked, "You okay?"
"Just thinking back," he said quietly. Alice realized this trip probably held significance to all Hogwarts students but for Draco, perhaps it was something more.
From the corridor Alice heard an old woman's voice zip by, "Anything from the trolley?" Peering out the window she saw a large cart filled with an assortment of colorful confections, candies and chocolates she probably didn't know any of the names of until some of the students in the room next to them began asking for all sorts from it, chocolate frogs, pumpkin pasties, licorice wands…
"Want anything?" Draco asked amused, seeing her interest as she continued to study the cart as it parked.
"No," she shook her head, slightly embarrassed for staring, "Just never saw wizards candy before." She sat back down in her seat and looked out the window at the rolling green hills.
"Wait here," he said, leaving her for a moment and returning with a few choice items from the cart.
Alice smiled upon his return, eyeing the treats in his hands. He handed her a blue and gold box shaped like a pentagon that said, "Chocolate Frog" on the top.
"Interesting. It's not actually a frog, is it?" she asked somewhat skeptical, not knowing what confections wizards could dream up.
"Just open it," he said all too amused to see her reaction.
Feeling brave Alice broke the seal and lifted the top to have a small brown frog jump out at her, making her leap from her seat. "What the…" The small creature began to hop around the cabin. "Are you supposed to eat that?"
"The jumping only last momentarily, it's just a spell," Draco said through his laughs. "The chocolate's actually pretty decent."
Rubbing her forehead but still intrigued she asked, "What else did you get to surprise me with?"
"Nothing quite as amusing, I'm afraid," he handed her a pumpkin pasty.
"Frightening actually, I'm not use to having my food move," Alice said before taking a bite of the delicious pie. "Is this pumpkin?"
Draco nodded, "Spells can be used on anything and for kids, that sort of thing is commonplace."
Alice began to think about it cross-culturally, "Makes sense I suppose...Oh, I brought us sandwiches from that deli you like near my flat," Alice said, getting out the brown take out bag from her tote.
Draco's eyes lit up knowing exactly what she was talking about, "Perfect."
It would be a few hours before arriving at Hogwarts and from what Alice understood, there would be a welcoming feast in the Great Hall, along with the sorting hat ceremony for first year students and a few opening words from the headmistress. She had yet to meet the other professors, except for Eleanor Chorice and Neville Longbottom, so she was bit anxious to see how well she got along with them. For the rest of the train ride, Draco gave her a rundown of their names, their title and their quirks. He also warned her that several ghosts roamed the castle grounds and to watch out for one named Peeves, who was more mischievous than the others. Alice, who never believed in the possibility of a soul, was disturbed beyond measure by this. Hogwarts was definitely going to be a learning experience.