The Hogwarts Express wailed as steam billowed out of the smokestack and to the ceiling of Platform 9 and 3/4. Loads of young students milled about, joining up with groups of friends and leaving their family members behind. Owls screeched as they were wheeled about in cages, cats purred as they sat atop of their masters' carriages, and... chicken's clucked?
Naomi's chicken, Bobette, was losing her mind, still not used to the hordes of people at the station, even if it was going to be her third year on the Express. Unaware of how bizarre of a pet she had, Naomi continued to look around, not acknowledging the confused stares she got. Her dark haired head whipped around, her eyes scanning the crowds and looking for one person in particular. Very similarly to her chicken, Naomi was going crazy waiting for her blonde friend, Kiara, to finally make an appearance. Her muggle-raised friend was late. She's probably still trying to figure out how to get to the platform, Naomi thought. A faint smile graced her face at the thought of her friend stubbornly refusing to ask someone for help and trying to figure it out herself. They really should put how to get on the platform in the letters.
Finally, after what seemed to be hours of waiting, she heard a recognizable voice chime in behind her. "Hello!" Kiara said, waving slightly as she pushed her carriage along, her blonde hair pulled up into it's usual ponytail with loose strands flying everywhere, "Sorry I'm late, though it wasn't really my fault. Who would have thought that you needed to run through a brick wall to get onto a train? Also, my mum took ages to say goodbye. It's only one word, so I have absolutely no idea why she needed to say it a zillion times."
Naomi shrugged. "Let's get on the train. We have to get to a booth before all of them are taken." She had already said goodbye to her own mum, who had long since left, as her other three younger children were getting bored. They started walking to the train silently, Kiara nearly bursting with excitement at the thought of attending a magical boarding school. After they threw their trunks into the luggage compartments, Kiara removed her snake's cage from the suitcase and walked through the train with it. Without realizing it, she had been swinging the cage around, making the poor snake inside not the most comfortable it could have been.
When the two girls went to find a compartment, the first few they saw were completely full. It was the same thing for the others, save for the very last one they tried. Inside were two girls; one with black hair, sitting towards the door with a grey cat on her lap, and one brunette, who was leaning against the window with a white cat draped across her shoulder. The brunette squinted at Naomi and Kiara, her eyebrows furrowed.
"So, like I was saying," the blacked haired girl rambled, "this one wizarding band from Korea- uh, hello?" The girl nudged her friend in the side. "Um, Liz? Are you even listening? What is it- oh." When she turned, her eyes landed on the two of them, finally registering their presence.
Naomi cleared her throat, not meeting their gaze. "Can we sit here, please?"
The black haired girl continued to nudge the brunette, Liz, neither of them uttering a single word. After a while, Liz spoke up. "Are there no other empty booths?" she asked gruffly, her dark brown eyes narrowed in what appeared to be suspicion.
Kiara spoke this time, shifting her feet slightly, her voice quiet and timid. "No, um, this is, well, this is the only one left," she said, shaking her head and rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. In her mind, she sighed, curing her social awkwardness. She couldn't even speak to two girls without sounding like an idiot.
"Uh..." Liz pursed her lips, her eyes darting back and forth between the two. "Sure, I guess," she said begrudgingly.
"Thanks," Kiara said softly, and the two took a seat, setting their pet cages off to the side of the compartment. Everything was silent, except for the anxious sound of Kiara's foot tapping, Bobette clucking and pecking at the steel cage, and the two cats purring.
Suddenly, a strange tapping noise rang throughout the compartment. Everyone whipped their heads towards the window as Liz hastily slid up the glass panel. An small owl came tumbling in, feathers ruffled and clutching a crumpled up piece of printer paper in its beak. Liz sighed and rubbed her temples. "Wahoo," she said flatly, "ye've got the worst timin'. Ever." She proceeded to take the sheet of paper as she muttered under her breath. Kiara managed to catch the words Ethan, too lazy, can't fold letters, and memes. Liz's eyes scanned over the letter, before she whipped out a gel pen and scribbled out a response on the back of the paper. She folded it into an elegant envelope and stuffed it back into the owl's (Wahoo's?) mouth, before dumping it out the window and watching as it flew away. Elizabeth closed the window just as the Trolley Witch came along.
"Anything off the cart, dears?" she asked, gesturing to the trolley.
"Two pumpkin pasties an' a dozen chocolate frogs," Liz said, taking a few galleons from the other girl's pocket and handing them to the witch.
"Hey!" she protested, attempting to push her friend off her.
"Rose, ya bailed me at the Cauldron," Liz said, "so I have no other choice but ta forcefully take yer money." She took the sweets and piled them neatly on her lap.
"I'll have two cauldron cakes and five boxes of Every Flavour Beans," Kiara said, handing the witch her money.
"Enjoy the rest of the ride, dears." The elderly witch closed the compartment door and the squeaking of the trolley wheels faded away. Liz proceeded to unwrap the chocolate frogs and fed them to her cat.
"You're feeding my money to your cat?" the black haired girl, Rose, gasped her face aghast. "Rude!"
"British chocolate, no offense, is horrible," Liz replied, taking a bite out of her pasty. She swallowed before continuing, "It's just sugar. American white chocolate is less sweet, an' that's comprised solely of cream. Ugh, I got another Harry Potter. I've got about six of him, but I really want a Regulus Black or a Newt Scamander. ooh, a Neville Longbottom. That's new."
"Isn't he one of our professors?" Rose asked.
"Yeah. What a nice guy. One of the most fun classes I've ever taken, ta be honest. If not for Potions, Herbology might've been my favourite. Except I'm crap with plants." Liz whipped out her wand and pointed to her wrappers. "Evanesco." The wrappers vanished, leaving the rest of the girls in awe. That's a fourth year spell, Naomi thought, How did she learn it? Is she somehow in Ravenclaw? I've never seen her...
Naomi shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts before turning to Kiara. "Do you want a piece of candy?" she offered.
The next few words Kiara uttered were so quiet, they were almost drowned out by the sound of Liz chewing on a pasty, which was relatively quiet on its own. "Let's challenge each other to those random flavoured beans you gave me last time."
"Sure." Naomi opened a box of Bertie Bott's and the two took turns eating the beans. Kiara decided to go first, picking a strange orangish bean. The moment she chewed, she gagged and spat it back up, choking on air. She hacked and wheezed before finally managing to regain control of herself.
"Why would someone make that?" Kiara demanded, the taste of the vomit flavoured bean still on her tongue. It took all of Naomi's self control to not burst out laughing at the sight of her friend's disgruntled face.
Naomi picked out a brownish bean next and bit into it tentatively. Her blank face morphed into one of disgust, but she managed to swallow it without gagging. "I'm not sure what it is, but I don't like it."
"Foie gras." The two girls turned and saw Liz with her head propped up on her hand and an amused expression on her face. "Y'ate liver."
"I still don't like it," Naomi declared.
"Hey," Liz said suddenly, "'pologize for the sudden intrusion, but do ya mind if I play? I'm bored outta my mind."
"Okay," Naomi shrugged, "why not?" I'm Naomi, by the way. Naomi O'Hanigan."
"And I'm Kiara Blackwell," Kiara piped up, still rather quietly.
"Collingwood," Liz replied, "Elizabeth Collingwood. Eliza or Liz, if ya can't possibly struggle all the way ta the end. Do not, on any occasion, call me Lizzie or Beth, or I will personally shank ya, gut ya, an' wear pastels to yer funeral. This is my cat, Elizabeth the Third. Ellie for short. She's a Norwegian forest cat that likes fish an' swing music." Suddenly, Elizabeth's voice turned into a falsetto. "'ElizAbeth! You, like, named your, like, cat after, like, yourself? That's, like, soo, like, narcissistic. Like.'" Her voice changed back to normal when she continued. "No, I, in fact, did not name my cat after myself. If ya don't get the reference, it ain't worth my time ta explain it. Oh, right, I almost forgot." However, instead of introducing her friend, like Naomi and Kiara had anticipated, Elizabeth gestured to the other cat. "This is Satan. He's a Siberian."
"He's name is Lucifurr," Rose huffed, her eyebrow twitching in slight annoyance, "And I'm Rose Lynn."
"Oh, are we introducing pets?" Naomi asked. "If so, then this is Bobette." She pointed to her rainbow chicken, which started to cluck. "And next to her is Hermes, Kiara's poisonous snake."
"Venomous," Elizabeth corrected offhandedly. When Naomi shot her a look, she smiled pleasantly in a mocking demeanor.
"Good for teaching some sense to people that annoy me," Kiara quipped, unable to repress the urge to say the line.
"It can kill stuff," Elizabeth murmured, a slow Cheshire grin spreading across her face. Rose shot a concerned and uneasy glance towards her friend and moved away slightly. "If I can dilute the venom before it's injected, it'd make a great prank."
"I'll see what I can do," Kiara promised. "A good prank is cool."
"Wanna play?" Elizabeth asked Rose, gesturing to the box of Bertie's.
"Sure..." Rose eyed the box of beans warily. She had heard a few things form her brother about the beans and not a single one was good.
Elizabeth picked out a coppery coloured bean and popped it into her mouth. "Mmm." Elizabeth smiled, swallowing the bean. "Sherry."
"What's that?" Rose asked."
"A special wine made form white grapes that grow in Jerez, Spain," Elizabeth explained. "'S the best kind of wine for addin' a kick ta yer cookin'. I typically prefer it in heavy soups with cream bases."
Kiara made a face. "I was forced to have wine once and I spat it out on the owner's white carpet. Purposefully. It's disgusting."
"Gotta make sure ya get the good brands," Elizabeth shrugged. "A'ight, Rose, have at it."
Rose picked a vibrant red bean and chewed. "It's spicy, so... chili? Honestly, it's not too bad."
"Ooh!" Naomi grinned happily. "Spicy things!"
The four girls went through all of the boxes Naomi had bought during the train ride. Kiara happened to get only the most disgusting beans. Phlegm, earthworm, farm dirt, belly button lint, dog food, envelope glue, and all sorts of grotesque flavours. The opposite happened to Elizabeth, who managed to get her favourites: lemon, cinnamon, curry, mint, honey, coffee, and (not too sweet) chocolate. Rose lucked out and got blueberry pie. Naomi got all of the strange, but not necessarily bad beans; chicken, beef roast, and ham to name a few.
When there were about fifteen minutes left to the train ride, the four agreed to change into their school robes. As the four sat in the compartment, Rose rambled on about her favourite wizard band. Suddenly, Elizabeth remembered something, pulling out a book and leafing through it.
"What are you reading?" Kiara asked, looking at the inch thick leather bound book.
"100 Useful Spells for All Wizards by Hermione Granger," Elizabeth answered. "I finished perfectin' most of them last year. Aha! Muggle Cellphones In Hogwarts. 'Inside Hogwarts, there is no router or satellite disk, nor is there a hot spot or mobile service, so accessing the internet is impossible. However, due to recent renovations, you can still use muggle devices within the walls of Hogwarts. Because there are no outlets, make sure to keep your device charged using the following spells.' Neat-o." Elizabeth pulled out a flat rectangular device that Kiara and Naomi quickly identified as a cell phone. She disassembled it and took the battery out, pointing her wand at it. "Industriafy," she said before putting the phone back together and smiling when the phone turned on and read ∞%.
Kiara grinned at it slightly, not wanting to give away too much emotion yet. "Cool, can you do it on mine? I brought it just in case."
"Kiara, I told you that phones don't work in Hogwarts," Naomi protested, "why did you...? Never mind."
She just shrugged. "I would have figured out how to get them to work, but turns out Elizabeth already did. She can do it for me instead."
Elizabeth said, "Sure, but I'm gettin' money for this, yeah?"
"Uh, no." Elizabeth sighed, but nevertheless obliged, and charge the phone up for the blonde girl.
Naomi gaped at the girl across from her. "You can't be a Ravenclaw, or I would have seen you in the common room at least once. Unless you're a first year?"
"Nah," Elizabeth laughed, waving her hand slightly, "I'm a Slytherin. But thanks for the compliment. I got sorted inta Horned Serpent back when I still went ta Ilvermorny, which is like the Ravenclaw equivalent. Ethan's still there too, an' he said I'd fit just in. Ethan's my brother, by the way. He goes ta Ilvermorny an' we use Wahoo the owl ta talk ta each other."
"That's cool," Naomi said. Elizabeth's pleasant half smile grew slightly wider. "I was impressed with how you mauled Gryffindor last year at the Quidditch Cup."
"I know, right?" Elizabeth said. "Our team's amazin'. I've been thinkin' about tryin' out after our keeper left, but I also really wanna be the commentator, since I'm not the best athlete. An' ya mentioned yer a Ravenclaw? Yer team ain't bad either."
"What's that?" Kiara asked, confusion written across her face.
"What's what?" Elizabeth asked. "Oh, yer a no-maj kid? Whaddya Brits call'em? Muggleborns?" Kiara nodded. "Ya mean quidditch or the houses?"
"Both."
"Well, quidditch is the wizard version of soccer an' baseball mashed together. There are two teams, each with seven players. They play in what's called a quidditch pitch. On the opposite side of the pitch're three elevated hoops. The players fly around on stereotypical witch broomsticks. Ya can buy those at Quality Quidditch Supplies, which is in Diagon Alley. A team is comprised of the followin' players; three chasers, two beaters, a keeper, an' a seeker. The chasers pass around a red basketball thingy called a quaffle an' try ta get in the hoops. That earns ten points for the team. The keeper is the goalie for the hoops. The beaters use flat baseball bats called clubs ta hit bowlin' balls that fly around the pitch called bludgers. They can be hit to're away from players. The seeker avoids all other players an' tries ta catch a flyin' golden walnut thing called the snitch. That earns the team one-fifty points, which's why it's so hard ta catch. The game ends once a seeker gets the snitch. Team with most points win."
"Why do chasers even try to shoot the quaffle?" Kiara questioned. "If the snitch is worth that much, why not just catch it?"
"Because in the time it takes ta catch the snitch, which can last from hours ta days, chasers can score enough points ta surpass one-fifty points," Elizabeth explained. "Such was the case when Ireland beat Bulgaria one-seventy ta one-sixty, even though Bulgaria caught the snitch durin' the Quidditch World Cup of 1994."
"There's a World Cup?" Kiara asked.
"I didn't know you were so passionate about quidditch," Rose quipped.
"That's because ya never asked," Elizabeth retorted. "And yeah, there's a World Cup every four years, like the Soccer- er, Football World Cup. Since I've been alive, not a single one of my teams has won! Norway aced the first round against Cotê D'Ivoire last Cup durin' 2014, but got his butt whooped in the quarterfinals by Bulgaria. The U.S. of A. climbed his way ta the semis but lost ta Brazil by one hundred points and lost third place ta Japan. The Cup before that, Moldova beat China durin' the finals after a three day match. It's unbelievable!"
"Anyway, there's two other separate tournaments alongside the World Cup that I know of; the British and Irish Quidditch League an' the Euro Quidditch Cup. For those two, I'm a proud supporter of Puddlemore United, though the Karasjok Kites ain't bad, either." Elizabeth was about to continue and talk about the 1999's League standings and the match between the Montrose Magpies and Puddlemore United when she subconsciously glanced at the three others. Rose looked bored, Naomi wasn't listening, and Kiara had lost interest after she had mentioned the Cup of 2010. Elizabeth coughed into her fist. "I- uh, have Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp, if yer ever interested." She purposely left out the fact that she spent months trying to find one of the signed originals and that she had posters autographed by every one of the members on her favourite teams, which took years to acquire.
"So, uh, Hogwarts Houses! Right. Since we are goin' ta boardin' school, we have ta stay in dormitories. That's basically what the houses are. There's a competitions within the school year called the House Cup, where each of the houses battle each other for points. Ya can get points by doing good things. Ya get a load of points if yer house wins the Quidditch Cup. Ya lose points by doing bad things. There are four houses. Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, an'-" Elizabeth made a face of contempt. "-Gryffindor. Ya get sorted with his old hat that calls out what house y'are, based on yer personalities, morals, an' what ya believe in, depending on the person y'are. I reckon I was sorted inta Slytherin, since I value loyalty, resourcefulness, and ambition, but I could have been easily been sorted inta Hufflepuff for the same reasons or Ravenclaw since my Myers-Briggs type is INTP. There's a lot of factors ta it, but if I had to summarize it, I guess each one of the houses would be a Pokémon GO team. Mystic is Ravenclaw, Valor is Gryffindor, Instinct is Hufflepuff, and Slytherin would be not picking a team at all, I guess."
"If presented with a door," Naomi stated, "the Gryffindor will kick it down, the Slytherin will pick the lock, the Ravenclaw would find the key, and the Hufflepuff would knock."
Elizabeth paused. "Huh. Never thought about it that way. Pretty clever."
"I'm a third year Ravenclaw, remember?"
"Well, when ya say that..." Elizabeth muttered. "defeats the compliment."
In the meantime, Kiara had gotten bored and had grabbed the book nearest to her, opening it and started to read. She tuned out the conversation around her as she flipped through the basic spell book and soaked up the contents. All of a sudden, she shut the book and smiled coyly, her eyes glinting with the mischief that had been dormant in her for years.
"Hey, Elizabeth," Kiara asked, "which one of the houses do you think are the arrogant bunch?"
"Oh, for sure, Gryffindor," Elizabeth snarled, not even hesitating for a second. "Those lil' bitches are so damn full of themselves, it makes me wanna puke. Why'd y'ask?"
"I had a good idea for a prank," Kiara explained.
"Save it for the school," Elizabeth advised. "Ya shouldn't go up ta them yet 'cause yer new an' they eat up new meat like no tomorrow. Don't wanna ruin yer perfect rep yet, too, since it'll give ye a bad air with the teachers. Best ta do it at school, where ya can easily cover up yer tracks."
"That's a shame," Kiara muttered, "it wasn't even that good of one. Just thought about turning a few things into ducks."
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Ducks," she repeated. "Hey, now that ya say it, ya just reminded me of somethin'. There's this one spell for makin' yer opponent's wand fire only ducks when cast. I forgot what it was called, though." Elizabeth paused for a moment before she snapped her fingers and grinned. "Anaticula! That's the one. It was in the extra section, Fun Spells to Use On Your Friends by Ronald Weasley."
"I know," Kiara said, showing the cover of her book. Simple Charms, Hexes, and Jinxes for Young Wizards was written in script across in gold. "It's in here. The page I'm on says that the first spell we learn in class is Wingardium Leviosa."
"The levitation spell," Naomi said. "Simple enough if you can get the pronunciation correct. But then again, technically, that goes for every spell.
Kiara took out her wand and pointed it at Hermes' cage. "Wingardium Leviosa," she tried, but the cage didn't budge.
"Accent the 'o' sound a bit more," Naomi instructed, "and your wand has to swish and flick."
Kiara furrowed her brows and tried once more, following exactly as her friend had said. "Wingardium LeviOsa!" This time, the cafe began to float a half a meter of the seat before dropping back down. "Yes!" Kiara cheered, beaming.
"More like Wingardium Leviloser." All four pairs of eyes in the compartment turn to the girl leaning against the door. "Oh!" the girl said in surprise when locked gazes with the girl leaning against the window. "Hello, Elizabeth! Fancy seeing you here. Why don't you drop these people and come with me? I have something to show you."
"What're ya tryin' ta do, Nadia?" Elizabeth asked, eyebrow raised. "Offer me cannabis? Because I do approximately no drugs."
"No, actually," Nadia huffed, before leaning closer and whispering, "I've got an eight year bottle. Care to share?"
"Oof, that's new," Elizabeth commented, pretending to examine her fingernails, "temptin' me with alcohol. Surprised no one's ever done it. But, ah, just 'cause I had a pint with ye a while back doesn't mean we're permanent drinkin' buds."
"We don't have too," Nadia suggested, "but I would think my company is better than theirs and I could help you get out of here."
Kiara pursed her lips, looking at Nadia with a withering glare. That idiot insulted me, she thought. Elizabeth caught Kiara sulking in the corner and made a subtle wand motion. She instantly caught on and nodded her head, suppressing the urge to smile.
"You, Nadia? Help me? Last time I checked, I wasn't the one failing half my classes. And really? Leviloser? Good god, your nonexistent creative spark has gone down a few notches, yeah? At least this 'loser' can actually do it. Last time I saw you attempt that in Charms, the feather flew in your eyes and you shrieked like a two year old baby."
As Elizabeth continued to trash talk Nadia, Kiara raised her wand. "Anaticula," she fired, causing a barely noticeable strand of light to hit the girl.
"What was that supposed to do?" Nadia sneered. "Can you not even cast a simple spell? Honestly, let me show you how it's really done." She took out her wand and pointed it at Kiara. "Volatilis Lutum!" A mallard flew out of her wand and smacked against the window pane. Elizabeth the Third hopped off of Elizabeth's shoulder and proceeded to squash the duck with her paws and body.
"Bat Bogey Hex?" Naomi guessed. "Your arm and wand motions could do with some work. A bit rough on the words, too. Oh, but the duck was completely Kiara's work." Nadia cast one last glare all of them, a particularly nasty one at Elizabeth's smirk, and left the compartment without another word. "I think I would've preferred if the duck was rainbow," Naomi said, poking the duck a bit. Kiara merely shrugged and returned to her hunched position.
"I was actually thinkin' 'bout takin' up the offer," Elizabeth admitted, "but eight years? Probably a red, and I like whites more."
When none of them made a comment about Elizabeth's statement, Rose cleared her throat. "So!" she said, smiling and clapping her hands together. "Have you guys ever heard of the band, Beyond the Spell? They are so good! I can tell all of the members apart from just their eyes!" Rose continued to rattle on, describing each one of the members with meticulous detail, completely ignorant to the fact that the remaining three weren't paying attention. Naomi's eyes drifted towards the window and beyond, where the familiar Scottish landscape started filling the view. I've made two new friends, she thought, a fangirl and an underage drinker. Plus Kiara, who just made her first enemy. I've got a long year ahead of me, huh?
(Author's Notes)
Dear Reader-
Second chapter! Wee! This is a bitch to edit, considering I basically rewrote the entire train scene on the spot. Also, when I finished typing the first half of the chapter, I forgot to hit save and everything was deleted. And I constantly got sidetracked since cute pictures of the Anko family was littering my dash. Alongside that, I've been sick for an entire week and the meds I'm on aren't helping. Like, at all. But hey! I did it! Sure, the ending was a bit shoddy, but it worked.
Song recommendation of the day: "XO" by The EDEN Project
-Luna
(P.S. Guys, just so you know, I don't support underage drinking. Alcohol messes with your brains and stuff. It's your choice, but I don't recommend you guys do it.)
(P.P.S. Lupus is being a lazy ass, so she isn't writing an author's note. Bitch.)
.
(Edited on some date that Lupus did not provide)
I wasn't being lazy! I was grounded. And then I was busy doing mental suicide, I mean math homework, so I was busy. Anyway, my favorite character was introduced, and if you guess it in the comment section, you get a cookie!
Just kidding, I'm not giving away precious cookies. (That was lame, I know, don't say anything Luna) Anyway, Kiara is awesome, so she's my favorite.
Anyway, since Luna is doing a song recommendation, I should recommend things too so
Book of the week: Keeper of the Lost Cities By Shannon Messenger.
Au Revoir!
Lupus
(P.S Luna's one to talk about underage drinking)
(P.P.S I have no idea what happened in my authors note, my brain is fried from math)