Chapter Two: Aboard the Hogwarts Express

Emma doesn't sleep much that night.

Due to it being a Saturday, the raucous drunken laugher from downstairs keeps her wide awake. For the last couple of years, Hogwarts had changed its schedule so that the Hogwarts Express would leave on the 31st of August at eleven a.m. from Platform Nine and Three Quarters, so classes could start on September 1st. It normally took around six to seven hours to arrive in Hogsmeade, followed by a short trip via boats for the first years, and a horseless carriage ride for second year and above. And it was always; cold, wet and dark.

Emma shivers under the covers at the very thought, and slowly, she feels herself drift off.

It is eight am when a soft knock comes at the door from the Leaky Cauldron's house keeper. Emma calls she is awake, before opening her trunk, beginning to double check she has everything for the year.

"Books, robes, underwear, free clothes…" She mutters under her breath, before sighing happily.

She has everything, and this year, there would be no emergency dash into Diagon Alley. A soft tapping comes from the room window, and she smiles when she sees her snowy owl, Henry, pecking at the glass. Emma opens the window, and Henry flies straight into his cage, before hooting happily. Emma locks the cage, scans the room and makes sure there is nothing left behind, before dressing and freshening up. As always, Little John comes to help her take her trunk downstairs, whilst she carries Henry, and he puts her case in a safe place behind the counter, whilst the chef cooks up a bacon sandwich for her.

"Emma?"

Emma turns and smiles when she hears the familiar accent. Her other good friend from Gryffindor House, Graham Humbert is standing there, sending her a sheepish look.

"Good to see you." Emma smiles, as they briefly hug.

"So, you having breakfast I take it?" Graham asks, as he perches himself on the stool beside hers.

"Yeah." Emma answers, as Little John places her plate in front of her.

Graham smiles as Emma takes a majestic bite into the sandwich, and turns to face him.

"So, if you don't mind me asking…" She prods. "Is there a reason why you came to Diagon Alley?"

Graham sighs and leans his head in the palm of his hand. "Dad and I had a fight again. He handed me Floo Powder and said that I needed to find my own way to King's Cross Station. Trust me, trying to manoeuvrer the trunk and Wolf's cage through the Floo network system is rather difficult. Obviously, I couldn't talk Wolf with me, so I sent him to Hogwarts to await my arrival." Graham explains.

Emma nods her head in a sympathetic manner. "Sorry to hear that, but you are more than welcome to share a Muggle taxi with me."

Two hours later, Emma and Graham unload their trunks and cages, one with Henry in from the taxi, ignoring the strange looks the driver is giving them. Emma waits with their luggage, whilst Graham goes to get a trolley. Once their trunks are secure, they head inside the station, and make their way to platforms nine and ten.

"I hate this part." Graham mutters, as they stop a few metres away from the barrier, trying their hardest to look as casual as they can.

"Okay." Emma whispers. "Go."

Together, they take off at a fast run and Emma smiles when she feels the familiar feeling of magic surrounding her, as they pass through the magical barrier which separates the Muggle station, from Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

Once on the other side of the barrier, Emma's eyes blink open again, and she can see family's everywhere, saying goodbye to one another for the next few months, until Christmas break. Graham continues pushing their bags down to the end of the train, where the Gryffindor's tend to congregate together.

And just her luck, Emma finds herself once again right beside Killian Jones for the third time in the space of twenty-four hours. Whether he has noticed her or not, he doesn't show it, as he is in the middle of shaking his father's hand, a very formal goodbye. Graham rolls his eyes.

"Bloody stuck up them Jones's." Graham mutters. "Too good to hug his own son goodbye."

Emma turns back and glances over her shoulder. Sure enough, Mr Jones hadn't made a move to hug his son, and Killian is now dragging his trunk to the train, where a conductor helps him load it on.

"They have a strained relationship?" Emma asks.

"Everyone knows that Mr Jones always preferred Liam to Killian, even though Liam was in Gryffindor before he passed away. Rumour has it, dear old Mr Jones would have rather Killian died than Liam."

Despite hating the arrogant Slytherin, Emma can't help but feel the slight pang of sympathy for him.

"That sucks." She whispers.

"Don't feel sorry for him. As long as Killian gets what he wants, he doesn't care about his dear old dad."

Emma goes to reply when she catches sight of David and Mary Margaret. David is in the process of lifting both of their trunks onto the train, into their selected compartment's storage holder, where Emma, Graham, Ruby Lucas and Robin Hood would join them for the ride in that compartment to Hogwarts. Mary Margaret is in deep conversation with Ruth, who is smiling at what the pixie-haired sixteen year old is saying.

"Morning Emma and Graham." David smiles, as he begins to lift their trunks from the luggage cart.

"Hey man." Graham says, patting David's shoulder.

Emma turns to Ruth and Mary Margaret, and Ruth gives Emma a sympathetic look when she sees the large black circle's under Emma's eyes.

"Oh my dear, you look tried." Ruth comments. "Try and get some sleep on the train."

"There was some form of party at the Leaky Cauldron last night." Emma chuckles. "I have a couple of hours before Robin and I have to go down to the Prefect section to get our schedules and orders for the next few months."

Mary Margaret smiles and wraps her arm around Emma's shoulder. "I'm still so proud that you got selected to be our female prefect. You are going to be perfect. Robin will be awesome as well, but I think David is slightly upset about it."

Ruth chuckles. "Of course he is, but thank god James isn't a prefect either, or that could have caused more tension between them than there already is."

"Where is James?" Emma asks quickly looking around.

"Already with his mates. Albert is at work." Ruth answers in a sad manner.

Mary Margaret quickly wraps her arm around Ruth and offers her a supportive squeeze. It was no common knowledge that Ruth is extremely worried about James. He hangs around with Killian, and Ruth does not approve of that at all. Albert on the other hand, knows that the Jones family is one of the most influential families in the Wizarding world, and their son associating with one of them is a good thing.

"God that Killian is bad news." Mary Margaret mutters. "He's so cocky."

Emma smiles, not wanting to get into another conversation about the Slytherin, so she turns to David and Graham who have finished loading their trunks into the storage holder. Emma can already see that Henry is in the compartment in his cage, and so is Ruby's screech owl, Red, and Robin's owl, Merry.

"Where's Ruby and Robin?" Emma asks, looking around.

"Where do you think?" David chuckles. "Ruby's off flirting with that Victor Whale from Ravenclaw and Robin is with his girlfriend, Marian."

"He's still with the Hufflepuff?" Emma asks in a slightly surprised manner.

"Of course. I think they are quite serious." Graham replies.

Half an hour later, both Ruby and Robin are back and Ruth has already left. The six of them sit three to a seat in their shared compartment, telling one another stories from their summer, and at exactly eleven am, the train leaves the station.

"So, Emma…" Robin says, as he turns to her. "I hope we don't get stuck with the Slytherin's if we have to do night time patrol."

Emma nods her head in agreement. "I agree. If they do it like they have done the last few years, we'll be in house teams. So you and I, and the others. I just feel superior that I have the power to deduct house points."

Mary Margaret laughs, as she lifts her head from David's shoulder. "I can already see you starting to randomly deduct points from Slytherin for no reason."

"Kind of like what they do with us." Ruby comments, plucking her eyebrow as she looks in her small hand mirror Emma had sent her for Christmas.

Graham tenses slightly and the five give him a questioning looks.

"Alright Humbert, spill it." Mary Margaret orders.

"I just want you to get pay back on those Slytherin's for what they did to me last year. Remember when I was five seconds late to dinner and that Zelena Mills deducted ten points from me…"

"Well, don't be late this year…" Emma teases. "She's head girl."

"How the hell did she get head girl?" Ruby gasps. "She's the biggest bitch around."

Emma rolls her eyes. "Her dear old mum is the Charms teacher and head of Slytherin isn't she? And it looks like Regina will be following in her footsteps also. Regina is the female Slytherin prefect and will more than likely be head girl next year."

Mary Margaret groans.

...

The train ride seems to be passing fairly quickly, and before Emma and Robin know it, the food trolley arrives at their compartment, which is their cue to head to the Prefect's section of the train, which is rarely used, as the prefects still prefer to sit with their friends.

As far as Emma knows, it is right in the middle of the train. The back end of the train is normally Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, whilst the front side is Slytherin and Ravenclaw. The others could see Emma and Robin were more than relieved to not have to walk through the Slytherin domain.

Emma and Robin are the first ones to arrive and Eva is already there, and she quickly hugs Emma hello.

"Good to see you. Mary Margaret and you should come visit Leo and I sometime during the week."

"We will do." Emma smiles, though it quickly fades when the door opens and Regina and Killian walk in.

As usual, Regina looks posh and sharp. She is in her usual designer skirts, boots and blouse, and Killian is in black slacks, a black button down shirt and dark green waist coat. Emma can't understand why they always dress so smart. Robin, who is a Muggle-born is dressed like she was.

Robin is in scruffy jeans, a loose fitting top and old trainers, whilst she is in her skinnies, boots, a sweater and a red leather jacket.

"Can't you dress yourself in an appropriate manner?" Killian asks, in a disgusted tone as he glances Robin up and down.

"Do you always have to dress like your father?" Emma snaps, before Robin can respond. "Have to always stay in daddy's good books."

"Okay, Emma, Killian." Eva warns. "None of that. Ah, Marian, John, Victor and Ariel, welcome."

Ariel goes to stand beside Emma straight away, offering her a small smile, whilst Marian joins Robin. Regina and Killian roll their eyes, but Emma doesn't fail to notice Regina's gaze linger ever so slightly on Robin.

"Okay, so first of all, I want to say congratulations to you all. Being a prefect is a big deal, and this year, you are going to have to work hard."

Emma sits down on the chair behind her, and the others, even Killian and Regina seem to see the sense in this and follow her example.

"You have all been selected because we, and by we, I mean the other professor's and I, believe that you all show qualities of prefects." Eva says, ignoring Emma's eye roll. "But let me say this, you won't have an easy job. This year, we have decided to shake things up."

The group of eight watches as Eva reaches behind her for eight pieces of old looking parchment, before turning back to them.

"This year, we want to focus on integrating houses, and for everyone to start making friends with people who don't belong to the same house as you. So for example Slytherin and Gryffindor students being placed in environments that will require you to socialize with your once rivals, and we've decided you will be the first ones to take part in our integration project and that you, as prefects would set the example to everyone else."

Emma has a bad feeling about Eva's words, and when the identical older version of Mary Margaret starts handing out papers, and seeing Regina's jaw drop, she knows something is not right.

Once she has her own piece of parchment, her eyes widen. The first page is the schedule for night time patrolling. She would be in charge of walking the corridors on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights, and as though the world hated her, it would be with Killian. Emma knew her face was one of distaste and when she looks over at Killian, he is wearing a similar look, even though there is a hint of playfulness behind them.

"With Regina?" Robin sputters the first one to speak.

Regina looks over at him and narrows her eyes. "Watch it."

"Look, I don't think it's fair to suddenly throw us in with the people we hate the most." Emma says in a calm tone, not daring to look over in Killian's direction to see his response to her statement.

Eva sighs. "Sadly, this rule has been finalized and it's not going to change. You are all working with people you probably don't like or don't know, but you are just going to have to adjust. It's not going to be easy, but this is life. You are always going to work with someone you don't want to work with and consider this rule change an example of what work life is going to be like."

"What about those of us who won't need to work?" Regina smirks, making sure to send a proud smirk in the direction of the others.

Killian simply chuckles his agreement and crosses his arms over his chest. Marian rolls her eyes at the two Slytherin's.

"Look, I don't really see how this is fair…" Marian says after a few moments. "Ariel and John are friends, and I'm friends with Victor, but pairing Emma and Killian, and Robin and Regina… it's asking for a disaster."

"Well sadly Miss Maid, they are going to have to act like adults and be mature." Eva replies. "And also, to make matters more complicated, two of you sitting in this room next year will be Head Boy and Head Girl, so if you are aiming for that title, you have to settle your differences."

Emma finally risks a glance at Killian, and to her surprise, he is studying her. Emma flashes him a cheeky smirk, before looking away.

It is very clear that Killian wants to be head boy, which means he needs to be civil, but if Emma is going to have her say, he won't ever touch the head boy badge.