September 1943
Poppy didn't think that she'd ever looked forward to something more than she'd looked forward to getting to Kings Cross Station on September 1st. The threat of London Bombings meant that she'd only seen her parents on the day they returned from Hogwarts at the end of the previous term before being ferried straight to the home of some distant cousin who lived in the countryside. She might not have minded, but sharing the poky cottage with five other children - her cousin's own two children plus three other evacuees - had been a bit of a squeeze.
Her cousin had packed her, her belongings and her owl Piper onto a train that took them to Kings Cross that morning, so it was alone that she wandered through the station looking for Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Spotting a couple of children disappearing through the wall between Platforms Nine and Ten, Poppy squeezed her way through the crowd until she was standing before the entrance to the platform. She pushed her luggage trolley through, only to ram straight into someone on the other side of the wall and knock them flying onto the floor.
"I'm so sorry!" Poppy exclaimed, pushing her trolley away from the platform entrance before rushing over to help the other person up. Her concerned expression faltered however when the other person brushed black hair off of their face to reveal familiar square glasses.
"Hello to you too," Minerva grumbled despite her smile, wrapping her arms around Poppy once she'd got to her feet. After a couple of moments though she drew back, looking Poppy in the eye with a serious look on her face. "Have you eaten since I last saw you? I'm sure you've shrunk."
Poppy shrugged, looking down to avoid Minerva's sharp gaze. "Rationing makes food scarce, especially when you're sharing with five others. But it's fine, there'll be plenty to go around at the feast."
Minerva shook her head slightly. "I'll hold you to that, you know. Come on, we've got five minutes to find Ro before the Hogwarts Express gets here."
Pushing their luggage trolleys through the crowded platform was a struggle, but before they could find Ro, Poppy saw Irma and Septima standing by themselves next to one of the columns. Giving Minerva's sleeve a tug, Poppy steered her trolley towards them just as Millicent appeared from the other direction.
"Hi!" Millicent grinned as she saw the other first-years, or second-years now, Poppy had to remind herself. She was glad to see that the look of anxiety that had become the norm for Millicent during the petrification threat had vanished, replaced by her usual jolly smile. "Had a good summer?"
"It was good, thanks." Poppy smiled before turning to Septima and Irma. "What about you two?"
Septima nodded eagerly. "Great thanks, though I'm glad to be back." Irma said nothing, her eyes fixed downwards as if she was studying her shoes in great detail.
"Have any of you seen Ro?" Minerva asked just as the whistle of the train interrupted her. "She's usually fashionably late, but she's pushing it a bit this time."
The platform slowly cleared as students began to board the train, making it easier to pick people out, though there was still no sign of Ro. Poppy was really beginning to get worried when movement around the platform entrance caught her eye; Ro had just appeared through the barrier, with her luggage trolley being pushed by an woman of around 20. Judging by the wild brown hair that both she and Ro shared, including the identical red ribbons that kept their hair pulled back off their faces, she could only be Ro's older sister Erika. Poppy waved to catch their attention, but as they started to move towards the second-years the train's whistle blew again.
Knowing they wouldn't have much more time, Poppy started to push her trolley towards the open door of the train. The platform guards took their luggage down to the luggage carriage on the end of the train, leaving Poppy, Minerva, Irma, Septima and Millicent to climb aboard and wait for Ro. Erika tucked something cream and fluffy into a large pocket on the inside of Ro's robes, before kissing her forehead and pushing her towards the train with a shouted farewell. Just after Ro jumped onto the train the door slammed shut behind her, and relieved sighs were heard from all six girls.
"I thought they were going to leave you on the platform then!" Septima laughed as they shuffled through the tiny corridor, looking for an empty compartment. Thankfully they didn't have to go very far before they found one; Poppy, Minerva and Ro all squeezed seats on one side just as they'd done on the journey the previous year, and Millicent, Septima and Irma took up the seats on the other side.
"D'you remember what I said last year about it being a push getting the three of us into one compartment?" Ro asked once they'd all sat down, "because I was very wrong."
"Was that your sister, Ro?" Minerva asked. When Ro nodded, Minerva continued "What did she put in your robe pocket?"
Ro laughed as she reached into her robe and pulled out what looked to Poppy like a large, cream pom-pom. She yelped in surprise when it blinked open brilliant blue eyes, and let out a prrp sound.
"Wha- what is it?" Millicent asked, her eyes fixed on the strange little creature.
"A puffskein." Ro said, lifting it up so they could all see it. "Erika works for the Ministry as a Dark Creature Catcher, and lately she's been rolling in them. We've got a whole Tribe of them living in our garden now."
Septima frowned slightly, holding out her hands towards Ro who threw the puffskein at her. Poppy's heart skipped a beat, but Ro assured her "Trust me, they don't mind being thrown about. My dad's brother brought his family round during the summer for a week, and by the time they left my cousin Emery had learned to juggle with them!" The puffskein interrupted her by starting to hum loudly, to which Ro added "See, that means he's happy!"
"They don't exactly look much like dark creatures," Septima commented as she turned the puffskein over to examine it.
Ro shook her head. "They're not really. Over the summer Erika and her colleagues got called out loads to deal with people trying to breed Fanged Puffskeins; they're feisty little things, more dangerous than you'd expect. But because the fangs only come out when the puffs are three months old, with the baby ones it was impossible to tell who was fanged and who wasn't. So they brought the whole lot home!"
"What did you do with them all?" Millicent asked in amazement, taking the puffskein from Septima and stroking between its ears.
"The fanged ones all get sent to Marizoologists, who decide where they'll get put. But the normal puffskeins make great pets, hence why I've got one!"
"What happened to Archer?" Poppy asked, referring to the huge and grumpy owl that Ro had owned last year.
Ro groaned, brushing her hair away from her right ear to reveal a small chunk missing from the top of the ear. She shook her head and patted Poppy's hand away as Poppy reached out to touch it. "Don't it's still bloody painful." She grimaced, "Archer decided my ear would taste nicer than the new food mum brought him from Eyelops. Kurtis is going to hang onto him this year to try and tame him down, and if all goes well I'll get him back in time for third-year." She didn't seem terribly happy about that thought, and Poppy was glad that her own owl Nightingale was perfectly behaved.
"But puffskeins aren't on the recommended pets list." Irma pointed out, startling Poppy slightly as she hadn't spoken yet since they boarded the train. She sighed internally, having already become excited about having the little puffskein living in their dormitory, but her spirits lifted when Irma continued "You wouldn't be the first to smuggle an unapproved pet in though, one of the Slytherin seventh-years kept a Kneazle in their dormitory last year. It took until April for Professor Slughorn to realise, and he didn't mind even after he knew."
"That's settled then, he's coming to Gryffindor." Ro nodded in a satisfied manner. "Hey, he could be mine and Minerva's lucky charm when we get into the Gryffindor Quidditch Tam!" Poppy felt her nerves rise a little at the thought of two of her closest friends risking their necks on a regular basis. Their broom-mounted encounter with the Slytherins in their first flying lesson had been enough to put her off broomsticks for life.
"He does look a little bit like a lion's head I suppose." Minerva said, taking the puffskein from Millicent and fluffing up the fur around his face. "He'll be a good Gryffindor mascot."
An idea struck Poppy, pushing all her concerned thoughts to the back of her mind. "Then let's call him Godric!" she grinned at Ro and Minerva. "You know, Godric Gryffindor?"
"Pops you're a genius." Ro laughed, and Poppy blushed a little with embarrassment. "Godric it is then!"
"You've really got your heart set on those Quidditch places, haven't you!" Septima asked.
"We were practising all last year, I can't see how we won't get in!" Ro declared confidently.
Minerva nodded before asking "Have you thought about trying for the Ravenclaw team, Septima? You've always been a good flyer."
Septima shrugged indecisively. "I might do, I haven't decided yet. Millicent's already put her foot down though and said she's not joining me!" Millicent laughed at that, and Poppy was glad she wouldn't be the only one of the six not playing for their House team.
"You should," Ro said eagerly, "and you too, Irma."
Irma huffed quietly. "I want as little as possible to do with my House. Druella expressed quite clearly at the end of last term that she strongly disliked me, and the feeling is completely mutual."
Poppy and Minerva exchanged a concerned glance. "Well you've got us," Poppy said cheerily, "so you'll always have someone you can rely on." Irma's grateful smile and slight nod relieved Poppy's worries; although she hadn't been there when Druella was so nasty to Irma, she'd heard all the details from Minerva and Ro when the three were alone in their dormitory.
"Hey, Minerva," Ro's voice jerked Poppy from her thoughts, though she was glad for a change in subject. "D'you know who the Gryffindor Team Captain is this year? Marilyn Douglas will have left by now, a good thing as I've got my eye on that Seeker vest!"
Minerva was quiet for a moment with a thoughtful expression on her face. "My money's on either Fleamont, he was easily the best Chaser on the team last year even though Edgar and Linda were two years older than him."
Ro shook her head, and Poppy braced herself for the imminent debate. She'd grown accustomed to playing peacemaker when Ro and Minerva disagreed on something; although they never argued as such, they were both so stubborn that disputes could last for hours.
"I reckon it will be Alastor." A pause, and then "A galleon to the winner?"
Minerva smiled, a devious light in her green eyes. "You're on!" she nodded, and as they shook hands Poppy couldn't help but laugh quietly.
It turned out that Minerva won the bet; Ro scowled as she thrust a gold coin from her pocket into Minerva's waiting hand when they arrived in Hogsmeade to see Fleamont Potter with the Quidditch Captain badge pinned to his robes.
"I'm expecting to see you two at the Quidditch tryouts this year!" Fleamont said as he walked over to Minerva and Ro, not bothering with a greeting. "I often watched you practising on the training pitch while I was studying for my O.W.L.s in the library, you're both good flyers already."
"Fleamont Potter, are you really recruiting for your Quidditch team already!" sounded another voice, and Poppy looked away from Minerva and Ro's ecstatic faces to see Augusta Brown joining them. "We haven't even made it to Hogwarts yet!"
"How did your O.W.L.s go?" Poppy asked both the prefects.
Augusta's friendly smile twisted instantly into a bitter frown. "Failed Charms," she said bluntly, "everything else was Exceeds Expectations, apart from an Outstanding in Transfiguration."
"That's still good," Minerva pointed out, "especially that O."
"Exactly what I keep telling her." Fleamont said, looking pointedly at Augusta. "Professor Dumbledore's always said that Transfiguration is one of the hardest subjects there is. I got Es in everything, by the way." He added to Minerva, before addressing Augusta again. "We need to go, we're seeing the other sixth-year prefects in one of the carriages and I don't think Walburga will want to be kept waiting." Fleamont and Augusta both winced evidently at the mention of Walburga Black, and Poppy felt Irma stiffen from where she stood beside her, before they said hurried goodbyes and ran to the steps that lead off the platform.
"We ought to get going too, or we'll never get a carriage to ourselves." Septima pointed out after Augusta and Fleamont had rushed off.
Minerva gave her a puzzled look. "Don't we take the boats across the lake like we did last year?"
"Nah, that's just the first-years." Ro reassured her, laughing at Minerva's extremely relieved expression. "Ogg's calling them over now see, and look! It's Hagrid!"
Poppy's head whipped around at Ro's exclamation, her gaze following where Ro pointed to the other end of the station. Sure enough, the unmistakeable figure of Hagrid was guiding the throng of first-years towards the lake for their boat-trip to the castle. When Ro hollered a greeting he looked over and gave them a cheerful wave, before focusing back on his task.
"I'm really glad he's found a way to stay at Hogwarts." Millicent commented as they headed towards the steps.
"I don't think I've ever seen him look so at ho-" Poppy stopped midsentence, staring at the carriages and the creatures that pulled them. They were undoubtedly the most intriguing animals that Poppy had ever seen; similar in shape to the pegasuses she had read about in storybooks as a young child, but very different in their appearance. Rather than gleaming white fur and feathers, Poppy thought she could see the skeletons of the animals through their thin black fur, and their wings resembled those of an enormous bat.
"Pops... Poppy?" Poppy looked around, startled, when she realised Ro was calling her name. "Are you alright?" she asked, laying a hand on Poppy's shoulder, "you just stopped all of a sudden like you'd seen a ghost for the first time!"
Still entranced by the winged horses, it was a couple of moments before Poppy fully registered Ro's question. "No, no I mean yes I'm fine," she said in a flustered manner, before pointing at the nearest winged horse. "Do you know what creatures those are?"
Ro turned and looked in the direction she was pointing in, but turned back around almost immediately to look at Poppy with a raised eyebrow. "Pops, there isn't anything there." She said, her voice a mixture of confusion and concern.
"But there is!" Poppy insisted, shrugging Ro's hand away and taking a few steps towards the winged horse. It snorted quietly as she held out a hand, but didn't shy away as she gently touched its muzzle.
Behind her, Poppy could sense the others all watching her. "Can anyone else see anything?" Septima asked in a low voice.
"They're Thestrals." Irma said, moving forward to stand next to Poppy. She held out a hand and moved it vaguely in the Thestral's direction; Poppy took hold of her wrist and guided her to place her hand on the Thestral's nose as she'd done. "I can't feel anything, nor can I see it." Irma explained, turning so she was facing both Poppy and the others. "Thestrals can only be seen by those who have seen death."
A stone seemed to drop in Poppy's stomach. "Back in London," she mused quietly, "with the Blitz. The house across the street was hit directly, and when we came out of the shelter I saw Mrs Allen..." Her voice wobbled dangerously, but she was saved from finishing by Minerva rushing forward and putting an arm around her shoulder and Irma taking her trembling hand in hers.
"You don't have to think about it, not for another year." Minerva said quietly in her ear. Millicent and Ro had already clambered into the carriage, and were waiting by the doorway to take Poppy's arms and help her aboard. She said quietly between Minerva and Irma while the carriage started to move through the Forest towards the castle, but after a while she lifted her head with an attempt at confidence.
"You're right." She said, turning to look at Minerva. "I don't have to think about London, or the War, or anything like that until next summer." Her bag rustled where is sat by her feet; she leaned down and pulled Godric out and sat him on her lap, where is hummed quietly. "The most we've got to worry about is Quidditch trials and Abraxas' lot - no more Chamber of Secrets or petrifications. This year is going to be good."
There were nods and smiled of agreement all around, and with her best friends surrounding and supporting her Poppy couldn't have felt happier.
Author's Note:
And second-year is rolling at last! Sorry for the longer than usual wait between chapters, as I think I mentioned I was away last weekend so it's taken a bit of catching up to get back into the usual routine.
I've actually got most of Ro's family members mapped out on a rough family tree (done quietly during a very boring biology lesson in the back of my planner!), and it's pretty much like the 1940s equivalent of the Weasleys. Ro herself has four siblings, plus three cousins from her late father's brother. More will be revealed as time goes by and more of them are properly introduced, but rest assured that they're all pretty cool characters.
Godric the Puffskein is going to feature highly this year, and it's going to be super fun! But I'm not revealing anymore, you'll simply have to wait and see what happens :D