DISCLAIMER: Sadly I do not own anything that resembles characters or places in the writings of J K Rowling or any other authors whose work may slip in here; however the character of Amirina Carlton and all other characters derived from her I will lay claim to
Chapter 2: For Safety
The forest whipped past beyond the window as the Hogwarts Express picked up speed, leaving King's Cross Station far behind and bringing Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry ever closer.
"I just can't believe he got away Scott-free!" Hermione exclaimed, throwing down a copy of the daily prophet in confused anger.
"Who's Scott?" Ron immediately questioned.
"It's a muggle expression Ronald, which you would know if you paid any attention in muggle studies!" Hermione said in an exasperated voice. "I hope you two are going to study more this year, because I'm taking everything except Divination and I won't have time to help you every time you're too lazy to do the homework!"
"Not even a little bit?" Ron asked, growing paler.
"We'll be fine, anyway how hard can it be, it's not as if we're going to be spending all of our time chasing Horcruxes or defeating Voldemort this year is it?" Harry offered up to Ron as comfort. "Don't worry, this year will be our year, finally things will be, to at least some degree, normal."
Hermione smiled at the thought before looking down at her watch.
"Merlin!" She exclaimed. "I'm late for the Head's Meeting! I've got to run, see you two at the prefect's meeting. Bye"
"Bye" Harry and Ron replied in unison.
"When's the Prefect's Meeting again Harry?" Ron asked
"I have no clue..." Harry replied nonchalantly.
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Elsewhere in another compartment, an unfamiliar face peered out the window at the unfamiliar scenery, trying desperately to keep up the mask of cool composure that settled over her face.
It'll be fine she reassured herself for what must have been the hundredth (or was that thousandth) time. I'm just in a completely different country, going to a completely new school, full of completely new people with not a single clue as to who I can trust. Sarcasm slipped into her thoughts. What could possibly go wrong.
When she jumped at a small jolt the train gave due to a bump in the tracks she mentally chided herself. If Madame Maxine thought this place would be safer then I cannot disrespect her by distrusting her judgement. She does, after all, only want to keep me safe.
At the thought of her beloved Headmistress (ex-headmistress now, Amirina) a sudden pang of loss came over her. It was still settling in when she travelled by port-key to London, but now it was painfully clear in her head. She could never return to Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. She would never again see Gabrielle or Lieucindana or Mieka, or any of the other people she knew from there.
It wasn't safe.
But Hogwarts was. Madame Maxine had been in contact with the Minister for Magic and the new Headmistress of Hogwarts to arrange a safe haven for her. Her new Headmistress, Professor McGonagall, had gone to a lot of trouble to make her feel more at home, she was even given an honorary position as a prefect due to her grades. Yet it still felt dangerous to Amirina to be going so far from everything she once associated with the word comfort.
Comfort. Not home, comfort. Home, by technicality was the United Kingdom. She was born and raised there, or so Madam Maxine had told her. She personally couldn't remember. To keep her safe, her father had apparently sent her overseas at the age of seven, away from the main group of the Dark Lord's followers. She hadn't seen another member of her family since then.
Jolted out of her memories by another bump in the tracks, Amirina D'Carlton glanced down at her watch. It was five minutes until the start of the prefect's meeting down the other end of the train, she had better get moving. It wouldn't do to be late when meeting any of her classmates for the first time or they may not take her seriously.
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Hermione was somewhere between starting to get angry and starting to panic. Harry and Ron had not shown up and it was nearly time to start the meeting. Only half of the other prefects had shown up and those who had were Slytherin or Ravenclaw and were in no way inclined to listen to her. To add to all of that, the head boy, Draco Malfoy, was in no way going to help her. He never ceased to amaze. First the get out of jail free stunt, now Head Boy.
Precisely five minutes after she had initially tried to get the attention of her fellow school leaders, she had had enough. She cast a quick wand-less sonorus and gave up any pretence of being polite.
"QUIET!" her voice sounded above all of the idle chatter and loud gossiping of the assembled sixth, seventh, and eighth years.
"No need to shout Granger, we're not deaf!" hollered Blaise Zabini, one of the few returning eighth year Slytherins.
"Obviously you haven't cleaned your ears out all summer Blaise, Hermione has been trying to get the attention of the room for a good five minutes." Malfoy intoned beside her.
"Hermione now is it?" Blaise grinned cheekily.
"We have to share a dorm. If I want to survive the year, I figure its in my best interests to be civil." Draco replied.
"We can discuss the remarkable appearance of Draco's manners later, right now we need to sort out duties." Hermione politely interrupted, but before she could continue there are a dainty knock at the door.
"Come in" Draco called curiously.
At the sound of his voice, the door opened quietly and a girl with blonde hair and startlingly golden eyes peeked around the corner.
"I'm so sorry to intrude, but is this the prefect's meeting?" the girl asked quietly with a slight French accent.
"Yes, Can I help you?" Hermione asked, a little peeved at being interrupted
"I'm supposed to be here, sorry I'm late, I got a little lost." the girl replied.
"Name?" Hermione asked promptly.
"Amirina D'Carlton"
"Ah, you're the eighth year transfer from Beauxbatons" Draco politely ushered her in. "McGonagall told me to keep an eye out and to introduce you. I'm Draco Malfoy, Head Boy and Slytherin Prince. This is Hermione Granger, Head Girl and Chief Know-It-All, and these are the rest of the prefects, except two who haven't turned up yet. Please have a seat."
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The prefects carriage was warm and cosy, with reds, blues, yellows, and greens decorating the walls. Amirina sat down daintily beside the head boy on one of the plush leather seats. He seemed nice and was undeniably cute, but he was definitely a Pureblood. It was something she had learned to be wary of. After Hermione had given her and the others their duty timetables, Amirina decided she could make an interesting friend. However she was too busy to talk, so Amirina turned to Draco for answers to her questions.
"Draco, I have some quick questions, do you have time to chat?" she asked.
"Sure, fire away" he replied casually.
"What is Slytherin? And why are there four colours on the walls?" She asked quietly
"Slytherin is one of the four houses of Hogwarts, represented by the colours on the wall." he smiled. "When you join Hogwarts you are sorted into a house. If you are kind, you go into Hufflepuff, which is yellow. If you are knowledgeable you go into Ravenclaw, which is blue. If you are brave you go into Gryffindor, which is red. And last but not least if you are cunning you go into Slytherin, which is green." he explained.
"How will I know what house I belong in?" Amirina replied, worry evident in her voice.
"Oh that's the magical part my dear." the boy who had introduced himself as Blaise interrupted. "We rely on a talking hat to tell us" he continued with a grin.
"Where will I find a talking hat?" Amirina asked Draco, somewhat confused.
"It'll be at the feast tonight. Don't worry, you'll be guided through it." Draco replied with a smile. "We're nearly there, you might want to go freshen up for the feast."
"Thanks" Amirina replied and slipped out of the carriage.
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"Whoa she's a catch!" Blaise exclaimed as he plonked into the now vacant seat next to Draco.
"Quite." Draco agreed quietly. "She has enough on her plate already though, not a wise idea to add you into the mix. Let her settle in before you launch a full charm offensive"
"You're not interested in her?" Blaise persisted.
"I never said that now did I?" Draco replied with a knowing smile.
"May the best man win?" Blaise held out a hand for Draco to shake.
"She's not a prize Blaise, you better not pursue her just for sport." Draco replied tersely before getting up and leaving the carriage.