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DISCLAIMER
Me: Hi, Harry!
Harry Potter: You again?!?
Me: Yup.
Harry: You don't, nor will you ever, own any part of me.
Holly
Chapter Three-The Platform between Two Others
I spent the next month in my bedroom with Leonardo. Mom and Dad just had to drag me out to eat. I read each of my schoolbooks at least twice and kept trying to teach Leonardo how to talk, but I soon learned that owls can't really learn to speak.
September 1st came sooner than I expected. Back to my normal self, I yelled at Dad when he tried dragging me out of bed. Honestly, did I really need two and a half hours to get ready?
Dad let me have his old trunk from when he travelled to college. I folded all of my clothes neatly and placed them next to my books and supplies. I was sad to have to put my wand in the trunk, but, I figured it'd be odd walking around London with a stick in my hand. I coaxed Leonardo into his cage. He hopped in reluctantly.
"I know you hate it, Leonardo. It's only for a little while." I stroked his feathers unhappily. I hated seeing Leonardo so sad.
Dad helped me carry my trunk downstairs. I placed Leonardo's cage atop the trunk, and went to eat a quick breakfast. Apparently, I did need two and a half hours. I devoured my Pop-Tart quickly. I wondered if they'd have Pop-Tarts at Hogwarts; probably not.
I jumped up when the doorbell rang. I was ecstatic to see Professor Flitwick there, not some stranger; I was sure this was some medically induced coma to keep my insanity down.
"Good morning, Miss Evans, are you ready to go? I'll only be apparating you to the outside of King's Cross, as I have much to do, quite soon," he said cheerily.
"That's fine, Professor. Thank you! Goodbye Mom and Dad!" I waved gleefully to my parents. I took Leonardo in one hand, while Professor took my trunk. I held onto his arm, and we apparated, the squeezing feeling shredding my insides.
King's Cross Station was a large building, presumably made of faded red brick. Professor nodded his farewell to me as I walked into the train station, holding Leonardo's cage close. I got myself a cart to place my trunk and Leonardo's cage on. I walked through throngs of people. Every person seemed to have some kind of chip on their shoulder, for whatever reason. I stopped, staring wide eyed at platform nine.
I walked between the two platforms, thinking to myself as I went.
Platform nine, I thought while passing the platform.
Platform ten! My head exclaimed when I stopped at the platform. How can this be? Think, Holly, think. Problem solving is one of your strong points.
Platform nine… platform ten.
Platform nine… platform ten.
Aha! What's ¾ of the way between the two?
Platform nine… platform nine and one-quarter (air)… platform nine and a half (air)… platform nine and three-quarters!
A barrier? Of course!
I began to tap the bricks. They sounded thoroughly hollow. I shoved against the bricks, managing to fall flat on my face with an unflattering "oomph!"
"Need a hand?" said a silky male voice. My head snapped up, and I clashed noses with the boy. He moved back, and I locked eyes with the most beautiful creature I'd ever seen. I took his outstretched hand, never breaking the gaze. His gray eyes glittered like a thousand stars. He brushed a few stray wisps of mahogany hair from his angelic face.
"Hi," he smiled. How could he be so…calm when there were girls fawning over him three feet away? And, of course, one right in front of him, but not as obvious as them.
"Hello?" I tried to sound confident, but it sounded like a question. What's wrong with me?
"You don't know if you want to greet me?" he chuckled.
"I do. Want to greet you, I mean. What's your name?" I asked, watching my feet. How embarrassing would it be if I tripped again?
"I'm Cedric Diggory. Who are-" He paused, wide eyed, as I brushed my bangs off my face.
"Holly Evans?"
"Not another stalker creep!" I hissed.
"What? No, no. Everyone knows you, Holly! You're... you're basically famous!"
"Like I didn't know that," I said sarcastically.
"No, Holly. You are. Everyone knows you and your cousin!" Cedric helped me get my trunk up the steps to the train. Through the window, I heard a girl, a bit younger than me, excitedly irritate her mother.
"Oh, Mummy, can I go on the train and see him, Mummy, oh please…?"
I sat on a cushy seat while Cedric put our trunks on the shelf above the window.
"See who?" I wondered aloud.
"Harry, probably." Noticing my expression, Cedric continued, "Oh my goodness, you don't know about Harry!" Cedric cried, and I shook my head. "Oh my… he's your cousin."
"What?" I shouted, bug-eyed. "I thought Harry was a girl! Like, Harriet?"
Cedric burst out laughing. "Honest?" he giggled, like a little girl, might I add.
"Well, everyone kept saying 'your cousin,' so I thought Harry meant a girl."
"Urm... Well, it'd be pretty cool to meet him; not that you aren't interesting, but knowing both of you would be… fantastic!"
I simply raised my brow.
"Well, I guess everyone will meet you two eventually."
"Right, then-" I began, only to be interrupted by a knock at the compartment door.
"Hi, is there room?" One of the girls standing in the door asked. She was a brunette with a crooked smile.
"Sure," Cedric said gleefully.
The brunette tramped into the compartment, and, with the help of her friend, clumsily put up their trunks. She then plopped down next to me, her friend sitting in the only place left, by Cedric.
"I'm Mandy Brocklehurst, poetry extraordinaire. Believe me, you name it, there's a poem in here about it," she said, producing a tattered blue notebook. "And I believe you're Holly Evans. I think I've written one about you." Mandy said with a slight smile on her face.
She leafed through her notebook, glancing intently at the pages. I held back some laughter. Mandy was interesting, quirky, and probably intelligent. I liked this one.
"I'm Lisa Turpin. Not as eccentrically into poetry as Mandy, but it's cool," she shrugged.
"I'm a muggle-born, it's not as bad as one thinks. My dad's amazing. I usually spend time in the kitchen with him," she chuckled. "He owns a little restaurant in London."
"That's cool. I don't think living with muggles is bad. I live with squibs, they're about the same. I like them. Mom's an interior designer, and Dad's a lawyer," I replied.
"My mum is a muggle doctor. And Dad's an Auror. He always used to hide that he was a wizard when they were dating because he thought he'd scare her off. Naturally, Mum was intrigued," Mandy interjected. "It must've been shocking to find that she was marrying a wizard."
I just shook my head, smiling.
"My father works for the Ministry in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Mother works at 'Gladrags' in Hogsmeade," Cedric shrugged.
"Oh, Cedric, we've left you out!" I shrieked.
"Nah, it's alright." After that, there was a silence. I wanted to say something, but what was there to say?
"Has anyone got a pet?" Lisa asked suddenly.
"I have Mickey," Mandy piped up, petting a chocolate-colored cat. It seemed to smile at Lisa and Cedric.
"I've got Leonardo," I added. The minute he heard his name, Leonardo hooted happily. Everyone laughed at his adorable self.
"Oh, I wish I had an owl," Lisa complained, twirling her blonde braid.
"I'm going to go ahead and assume you three are first-years, right?" Cedric interjected.
"Yeah, well, Lisa and I are," Mandy said. "You certainly don't look eleven. What are you, fifth-year?"
"No," Cedric chuckled. "I'm fourteen, third-year. Born October eighth, I had to wait a whole year."
A rattling startled Mandy, Lisa, and I outside of the compartment. Cedric seemed unfazed, and even pulled out a book.
The compartment door slid open and a delicious smell wafted in.
"Anything off the cart, dears?" a smiling woman asked us.
I glanced at the cart, and exchanged a skeptic look with Lisa. Chocolate frogs, Chocolate Cauldrons, and Pumpkin Pasties were some of the strange things we've never seen before.
Mandy, however, leapt up, carrying Lisa and I with her.
"You'll want to try everything!" she smiled at us. She gave the woman eleven Sickles, and asked for an assortment of everything. Her hands were full of treats. Once seated, Mandy opened a Cauldron Cake and stuck it in my mouth.
The chocolate seemed to melt away while butterscotch seeped through. Aside from Mom's chocolate-chip pancakes, this had to be the best thing I'd ever put in my mouth.
We shared the large quantities of cake and candy for a majority of the train ride. Cedric was daring enough to eat a whole bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Lisa and I soon learned that they really are every flavor.
"Oh, yuck!" Cedric cried, swallowing a bean with a disgusted look on his face. "George Weasley was right, then. That was bogey-flavored!" Cedric coughed a few times, and regained composure. "That was disgusting," he bluntly said, nodding. I kind of wondered how Cedric knew what a booger actually tasted like.
"Excuse me," said a bushy-haired girl. I hadn't noticed her slide the door open. "But have you seen a toad?"
"No, sorry," Mandy said lightly.
"We can always make it appear," Cedric grinned. He took out his wand. "Anyone want to see me accio a toad?"
"Why not?" the girl exclaimed. She perched next to Mandy, who looked utterly disgusted by her.
"Alright, alright. What's the toad's name?"
"Trevor," our intruder said matter-of-factly.
"Right then. Accio Trevor the Toad," Cedric shouted while pointing his wand up in thin air. A plump toad came whizzing by not a minute later.
"Aha! Thank you." The girl took the toad and left.
"A little invasive there, hm?" Mandy teased. "And you know you're not supposed to use magic yet, right, Cedric?"
"Well, yeah, but what harm can accio do? Besides, we got the toad back," Cedric obviously thought nothing of Mandy's reprimand.
"If you don't end up in trouble, I'm okay. Rules are there to break. And it wasn't a big one, anyway," I shrugged.
"Look at that, Holly's got it!" Cedric exclaimed, flailing his arms like a chicken.
"I really don't want to be in the same house as that," Lisa shuddered.
"You won't be. It is much too pig-headed too be a Ravenclaw," Mandy said.
"How do you know I'll be a Ravenclaw?"
"Look at you, Lisa! You know practically everything about everything! And Holly will be with us, too! She's more wit and sarcasm than anything you know!" Mandy said, wide-eyed.
"Why, thank you," I laughed, although it was pretty true.
"And I'll be all alone in Hufflepuff!" Cedric cried in exasperation.
"We'll come to visit you, Cedric," Mandy assured. "Now, where is Hufflepuff common room?"
"It's by the kitchens. But, how will you get down there? You can only go after hours and that's breaking a rule."
"I'm not that bad, Cedric," Mandy threatened.
"Fine, fine. If you do come to the common room after hours tonight, I'll give you eight galleons."
"No! More, Cedric— I'm breaking rules for you."
"Nine galleons, then, but you'll render me penniless," Cedric sighed.
"You are so on, Diggory," she smirked.
"No, you are, Brocklehurst." His eye had a certain twinkle in it. He looked crazy, but handsome, too.
Three boys roughly slammed the compartment door open. Mandy leapt half into my lap, and Leonardo hooted angrily.
"We heard Holly Evans was up here. So is it you? Are you 'the girl-who-lived'?" I recognized the bleach-blond nutcase from Diagon Alley. Beside him were two stupid-looking boys who were wider than they were tall.
I suppose it was time to test out our Spanish, judging by Lisa's next brilliant action.
"No comprende!" She shouted, attempting to close the door. Tweedle- Dee stopped it with his foot.
"Uh- uh, Draco wants to talk to you," he threatened with a snarling voice.
"Stop it, Goyle your making an idiot of yourself," Barbie-Boy ranted.
"Like he hasn't already," muttered Mandy. I sent a sympathetic smile her way.
Ignoring, or not hearing, Mandy, Barbie continued.
"That's Crabbe and Goyle. And I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."
Oh, so we're mimicking Bond, now huh? Though he probably wouldn't know, he was much too stupid to know anything about the British spy.
"I don't see anything wrong with your friends, Evans. Your cousin has blurry vision there," Malfoy sniggered.
"I'm sure Harry has fine friends and it's just your judgment that's blurry," I discreetly insulted.
"How'd you like it if we made your face blurry?" questioned Crabbe, attempting to hit me. Cedric caught his arm and pinned it to his side. You see, Cedric was taller and, slightly, more muscular than these boys.
"I think you should leave," he snarled, "now." The boys scattered off down the hall to whatever hole they came out of.
"That was brilliant Cedric," Lisa clapped, rather cheerfully.
"Bloody brilliant," Mandy chirped.
"Now," she sighed, "we should get our robes on. We'll be at Hogwarts soon. Cedric…can you get out so we can... change?" she asked, blushing.
"Of course." Cedric stepped into the hall.
The three of us slipped off our sweaters and replaced them with our robes. Before sitting down, I kicked the door to tell Cedric to come in. He had already changed into his Hufflepuff robes, apparently before he came. As if on cue for when we finished dressing, a voice echoed through the halls.
"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately."
Mandy started to jump up and down. "This is so exciting, isn't it? Hogwarts! Hogwarts! Hogwarts!"
Lisa sat in her corner, taking deep breaths. She looked pale, and a little green. I went and sat with her.
"Are you okay, Lisa?" She just shook her head and laid it on my shoulder.
"You'll be fine," I continued. "You have nothing to worry about. You have the brains, the friends, and the willpower to survive school. You've done it before. All the way up to sixth grade, like me, right? Easy!" Lisa frowned and nodded, slowly; I needed to remember this was England.
"Y-you're right. Thanks." The train slowed down. Everyone fought to get onto the small night platform. The cold air pierced our skin, so the four of us huddled together. I felt horrible for leaving Leonardo alone on the train.
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?" Hagrid's head bobbed above those of the students. But, Harry! Harry Potter! It had to have been him! I just had to elbow through the crowd to get to my only, hopefully, decent cousin. I tugged Lisa and Mandy along with me, and shoved through the heavy throng that lessened as we went on. C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" No one spoke much, but I looked around wildly. Did Harry have the Evans' red hair? Or did he look like his dad?
"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid's voice boomed above the water we could hear. "Jus' round this bend here." We came to stop at the edge of a midnight black lake. "No more'n four to a boat," Hagrid called.
"No!" I yelled. Harry probably wanted to be with his friends, not three random girls.
"You'll find him later, Holly," Mandy said. We climbed into one boat, accompanied by a small girl. She was kind of pretty, though her nose was oddly shaped.
"Pansy Parkinson," she breathed.
"Lisa Turpin, Mandy Brocklehurst, and Holly Evans," Lisa introduced.
"Pleasure," she smiled. I noticed Hagrid had a boat to himself.
"Everyone in? Right then - FORWARD!" And the small fleet moved out. Everyone stared ahead at the brilliant glass- like castle ahead of us. It glistened like it was melting — water atop ice. It' was breathtakingly beautiful.
"Isn't it stunning?" Lisa cooed.
"Yes," Pansy, Mandy, and I agreed.
"Heads down," Hagrid yelled. We ducked down, avoiding the cliff overhead and we were brought through a curtain of ivy. We looked around in a dark tunnel, though there was little to see; my vision was hazy. We then climbed onto large rocks in a kind of underground port.
"Oi, you there! Is that your toad?" Hagrid exclaimed while checking the boats.
"Trevor!" cried the plump boy who had come with the frizzy girl earlier. We were led up a passage and Mandy practically skipped up it. We finally arrived on smooth, cushiony grass. We were right in the shadow of Hogwarts. We climbed up a flight of stone steps that led up to a large dark oak door.
"Everyone here? You there, still got your toad?" Hagrid raised his large hand and knocked on the castle door.
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Message from Bryony: I am British, but the author of this fabulous story is American, hence many American words, including 'Bangs' (Fringe). Even I had to look that up... ;)