Chapter Six: Hogwarts
Part 1/2
September 1st arrived with surprising quickness. Absorbed in her magic books as she was, Alex didn't have the time or inclination to count down the days - she was too busy! The "potions incident" remained an open secret: if Alex had thought that Petunia or Dudley would treat her differently after it, she would have been disappointed.
Luckily, Alex had long since given up any hope of the Dursleys changing their ways, and so their old routine carried on as it always had - with one difference. Whether it was because Petunia had warned him off, or out of his own fear of her magic, Dudley hadn't "got her" all summer. And with Alex off to Hogwarts, there would be no getting ever again. She was a witch now, and the Dursleys knew it.
Ever since she'd successfully transformed her glass, she'd taken to practicing magic whenever she could. Her bedroom had changed. The exposed wooden floor now felt as soft as the fluffiest carpet, through the use of an underpowered cushioning charm. And her mirror, which used to hang from string off the back of the door, now levitated above her desk. It would drop every so often, but the cushioned floor beneath it luckily stopped it from breaking.
The desk itself had changed too: she'd finally fixed the wobbly leg, using the Mutation spell to extend the wood so it matched the others. To Alex's annoyance, every couple of days it would revert back, which meant that it wasn't a complete transformation. Transfiguration when performed correctly was permanent unless Untransfigured. But each time she cast the spell it lasted longer, so Alex took that to mean that her understanding of Transfiguration was improving. Yet not as much as she wanted: while wood and glass were fine, she was still having a lot of trouble with changing anything made of metal. And composite objects were almost impossible.
Her Defence Against the Dark Arts book had been, as Mr. Blott predicted, extremely disappointing. She was only able to find one spell in the whole book - something called the Jelly Legs Jinx - and the instructions on its use were quite vague, as if the author didn't actually know how the spell functioned. The rest of the book had mostly been a sermon on the evils of Dark magic - while managing to contain very little information about how Dark magic actually worked. As best she could tell, Dark magic was magic that resisted other magic, but Alex knew that couldn't be the whole story: the book talked about how useful the Shield Charm was for blocking harmful magic (again, without any kind of useful information on how the Shield Charm worked, or how to use it).
In the end Alex just decided to wait for Hogwarts to learn about Defence Against the Dark Arts. She couldn't practice the Jelly Legs Jinx in her room anyway. And so The Dark Arts: A Guide to Self-Protection remained the only book, aside from Latin, which Alex had read through only once.
"Finite Incantatum," Alex said, poking her wand at the mirror. It fell immediately: right into Alex's waiting hand. It had taken a while to figure out the basics of Undoing, and had been something of a last minute thing, when Alex realised that leaving her mirror levitating in a Muggle house was a bad idea. At first she'd just moved the mirror to the surface of the desk, but the Charm was still active, and when she woke the next morning the mirror was floating again.
After that she'd tried weighing the mirror down by putting a glass on top of it. She'd thought that would hold it until the Charm wore off: she was wrong. Once again, she woke to find her mirror floating - this time with a glass resting on top of it. So she'd learnt some Undoing from the Standard Book of Spells and had to cancel the spell altogether. She did the same for the floor, but she didn't know how to Untransfigure, so had to leave the desk as it was.
"Okay, time to go," she said to Dumbledore, and she put him inside his travel cage. "I know," she said when he made his displeasure known, "I'll let you out as soon as I can, I promise."
She returned her wand into her trunk - very soon, she'd be able to keep it with her all the time, once she wore robes - and took everything downstairs in two trips.
Vernon looked her over with beady eyes before ushering her to the car in silence. The drive to King's Cross continued as it began: not a word was spoken, and Alex was quite happy with it that way. Vernon turned the radio on and she sung quietly into the glass of the window, watching the world whizz by.
It was only as they were arriving in London that Alex realised: she never said goodbye to Annabel. In fact, she hadn't spoken to her all summer. She'd planned to, but somehow, something else always seemed to get in the way: some new spell to try, or a part of Transfiguration she hadn't got right yet. I should have said goodbye, at least. But perhaps it was for the best, she thought. She couldn't tell Anna about magic, and they would be going to different schools now. Still. Maybe I can see her next summer.
Vernon didn't bother to park at King's Cross. He pulled up on the curb and, the moment Alex's stuff was out of the boot, he was off. He didn't even say goodbye. I suppose I deserved that, she thought, Anna still in her mind.
As she made her way inside, the presence of wizards was obvious. It was a miracle the Muggles missed it: when else in the year did the station fill with children accompanied by owls? Most appeared to have made an effort to wear Muggle clothes, but here and there Alex could spot wizards and witches in full robes, proudly striding through the station as if they owned it.
I suppose the Muggles just think it's fancy dress, she thought. Or weirdos. It would take a lot more than some strangely dressed people to make Muggles think magic existed. All right... Platform Nine and Three Quarters.
She made her way to between platforms nine and ten as McGonagall had told her and waited. She knew you had to walk through the barrier, but she wanted to see it first. She didn't have to wait long. A man and a girl her age approached, both of them red-haired, and Alex watched as they walked right into - and through - the brick wall. None of the Muggles seemed to notice.
That doesn't look so difficult. Alex pushed her trolley over to the wall and prodded it. Her hand went right through - and it was cold on the other side. She grinned and went through backwards, pulling her trolley in after her.
"Oof!" said someone as Alex bumped into them.
"Oh, sorry!" said Alex, turning around. She tried not to gape. The small barrier had given way to a large outdoor platform; a gleaming scarlet steam train was waiting to leave. HOGWARTS EXPRESS was written in gold along the side.
"Hi! I'm Susan," said the girl she'd walked into - the same red-haired girl she'd watched go through the barrier. She was a bit shorter than Alex, and not quite so thin, with a heart-shaped face and large blue eyes.
"Alex," she replied, and was about to offer her hand when Susan leaned in for a kiss. Surprised, Alex quickly brushed Susan's cheek with the corner of her mouth. She wanted to giggle, but stopped herself. How old fashioned! Yet she thought it was nice. Friendly.
"In future, I'd recommend going through the barrier forwards," said the man - Susan's Dad, Alex supposed. He was almost the opposite of Susan: tall, but in a lanky way. Though he reprimanded her, he was smiling, and it reached his eyes.
Alex blushed.
"Yes, sir," she said, politeness kicking in.
"Hah! Call me Bruce, Miss Potter. All my friends do."
Susan let out a little gasp, and Alex saw her eyes flick up to her forehead. Alex's smile froze. They knew who she was too! Just how did everyone know what she looked like? It was kinda creepy.
"Does everyone know who I am?" she asked, trying to keep her voice polite.
Bruce rested a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"I dare say so," he said. "The wizarding world is small - I expect every child in your year has grown up with stories of You-Know-Who and the Girl Who Lived."
Alex scowled, and Bruce laughed.
"Come now, Miss Potter - I'm sure you'll get used to it. Now, why don't you and Susan find a compartment on the train?"
Alex wasn't convinced she'd ever get used to it, but she supposed Bruce was right - she couldn't hold Susan's little moment of scar-sighting against her. Not if everyone was going to be doing it.
"Bye, Dad!" Susan called, and she kissed him on the cheek, before pushing her trolley towards the train. "Come on, Alex!"
"It was nice to meet you, sir," said Alex, accepting a kiss from the older man.
"And you, Miss Potter! You and Susan stick together, now!"
The Hogwarts Express was a very long train, and a lot more comfortable than Muggle ones. There were no carriages packed full of forward-facing seats like a Muggle train. No, this was like the Victorian trains they heard about in school: personal compartments for groups of six or so, separated from a long corridor by wooden paneling and glass doors.
"These are all full - let's try further up," said Susan as they dragged their rather heavy trunks down the corridor. Dumbledore hissed every time his box was jostled, which was often, as the train was extremely busy: they had to barge their way through the mass of students. Each compartment was packed full of children, most of them older than Alex. Excited chatter - and the occasional shout - filled the train as long-separated friends caught up, exchanging stories about their summers.
"Watch out, firsties!" someone shouted, and they jumped out of the way just in time; an older boy ran past them, a pretty girl chasing him.
"Zach!" she shouted as she ran, laughing. "I'll jinx your balls off!"
"Let's not be hasty!" the boy shouted back, still running, "what's a little smack between friends, Moon?"
"Phalxys!" With a buzzing sound, a tiny pinprick of red light shot forward and hit the fleeing boy's butt, making him jump. "How's that for a smack?" the girl shouted.
Alex turned to look at Susan in surprise, and they burst out laughing.
"Oi! Stebbins!" shouted another boy - a stocky red-head. "Jordan's got a Tarantula - come see!"
"I thought you were only allowed cats, owls and toads," said Alex as they continued down the corridor.
"Same," said Susan, pushing open a door.
"Don't-" said Alex, seeing what Susan had not: the privacy screen was down. Susan's eyes widened and she shut the door quickly, her face flaming.
"Not this one!" Susan squeaked, and she turned away quickly.
It didn't take long to find an emptier compartment, further up the train. It had some people in already - two girls and a boy - but they looked about the same age.
"Hi!" said Susan cheerfully. "I'm Susan Bones. Can we sit here?"
"Sure," said one of the girls. She was quite pretty, Alex noticed, with white-blonde hair and a pointy nose. Very pretty, actually. I wonder if she's a metamorphmagus too, she thought. "I'll just move my trunk. I'm Daphne Greengrass, by the way, and this is Sophie."
"Roper," added the second girl, a short brunette with a lot of freckles. They all say their surnames, Alex noticed, and she remembered Malfoy. "Sophie Roper. Hey, Neville, help Daphne, won't you?"
The somewhat pudgy boy jumped at being addressed, but nodded, and together he and Daphne managed to hoist the trunk up onto the rack.
"Thanks, Neville," Daphne said, but the boy just reddened.
Boys.
"I - I think I'll, er, look around the train," he mumbled, and he ran away before any of them could say another word. Sophie looked a bit disappointed.
"Here, let me help you with that," said Daphne, and she moved to lift Alex's trunk.
"Oh - thanks," Alex replied, moving Dumbledore's box onto the seat, and together they managed to get her trunk up. "I'm Alex," she said, hesitantly. "Alex Potter."
A moment of silence followed. Everyone was staring at her - except for Susan, who was grinning smugly.
"Seriously?" asked Sophie at last. "The Alexandra Potter? Like, 'Alexandra Potter and the Ghastly Goblin'? And 'Alexandra Potter and the Horrible Hag'?"
Alex looked around, confused. "What?"
Sophie blushed.
"It's just... I didn't think you were, you know. Real."
Did I just get accused of being a fictional character? Everyone, clap your hands and say it together: "I believe in Alexandra Potter!"
"Well... I am," she said, not exactly sure how to respond.
Daphne laughed.
"Of course she's real!" she said, sitting back down. "Honestly, Sophie. How do you think You-Know-Who died?"
"I suppose," said Sophie, who appeared to be thinking. "But did you really save the Prince of the Centaurs from an Acromantula with the sword of Gryffindor?"
Alex spent a few moments trying to decipher that sentence, before giving up.
"I'm pretty sure I didn't," she said, sitting down next to Susan. The conversation was getting pretty weird. "Hey, do you guys mind if I let Dumbledore out?" she said, gesturing at the cage.
All three girls' eyes widened and they turned to look at her cat in awe.
"What did you do to him?" said Daphne, looking between Alex and Dumbledore with something like reverence.
Alex frowned, before remembering that their Headmaster was called Dumbledore.
"Oh!" she said, and she couldn't help but begin to laugh. They actually thought she'd Transfigured the real Dumbledore into a cat! From what she'd read in A History of Magic, Dumbledore was considered to be the most powerful wizard in the world. How could they actually believe an 11 year old could do that to him?
"He's not actually Dumbledore," she managed to say, in between guffaws. "He's just a normal cat."
The girls looked stunned for a moment, before Susan burst out laughing - the others following immediately. Hearing them set Alex off again, and soon enough the four of them were stuck in a seemingly endless cycle of giggling - as soon as it looked like they'd stop, they'd share a look, and start anew.
"My. Tummy. Hurts," said Sophie, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Mine too," said Susan, still grinning from ear to ear. "I can't believe you actually called your cat Dumbledore."
"It seemed like a good idea at the time," said Alex. "So, can I let him out?"
The girls all nodded, and Alex flicked the lock on the cage door. Dumbledore shot out immediately, and was out of the door before Alex could say anything.
"Oh!" Susan said, looking disappointed. "I wanted to stroke him."
"He'll be back," said Alex. If he didn't come back, she could always call him.
Susan was about to reply, but was interrupted by the sound of a shrill whistle.
"We're leaving!" said Sophie, standing up to look out the window.
"At last!" added Daphne, moving to join Sophie.
The train jolted, then began to move. As they crept out of the station, Susan, Daphne and Sophie stood waving by the window, saying goodbye to their families.
Alex stayed sitting. She had no one to wave to.
She wouldn't cry.
Susan was the first to return to her seat, looking slightly guilty when she noticed Alex sitting alone.
"What's your family like?" said Alex quickly, before things got all emotional.
"Well, it's not a very happy story," she said, "we normally don't talk about it."
"Oh," said Alex. She'd just assumed that they all had perfect lives. "Sorry."
"No, it's okay," said Susan. "Auntie Amelia says I should be proud of my family. But Dad doesn't like thinking about it. My Mum was killed, you see. By You-Know-Who's followers, when I was very young. I can't really remember much about her."
For just a moment, Alex felt happy: Susan understood. But then she felt horrible. What a terrible thing to think! - being glad that Susan's Mum was dead.
"Hang on," said Daphne, joining in. "Amelia Bones - I've heard of her. Isn't she really important?"
Susan seemed to sit straighter at that..
"Oh, yes," she said, almost glowing with pride, "she's the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."
"You mean the pol - I mean, the Aurors?" said Alex, curious. The Aurors were mentioned throughout A History of Magic. It sounded like an exciting job - if dangerous.
"Well, kind of," said Susan, thinking. "But that's more the Auror Office. The DMLE is more legal stuff, I think. Like, the Aurors catch them, then Auntie Amelia sends them to prison. Anyway, it's just us, really: me, Dad, and Auntie Amelia. Uncle Edgar and his family were killed by You-Know-Who himself."
Not just "killed by You-Know-Who", Alex noticed. By You-Know-Who himself. Susan almost seemed proud of the fact - like it was something to boast about. She remembered the way McGonagall spoke of him: fearful, even after 11 years. What had the man been like, if merely being killed by him was a badge of honour?
"It's terrible," said Daphne, "attacking an old family like that. Father always says that You-Know-Who never really cared about family names. So many of the old families were destroyed by the war."
A History of Magic ended after the Grindelwald trials, so Alex knew almost nothing about Voldemort's war. It was yet another gap in her knowledge which she intended to remedy when she arrived at Hogwarts.
"What about you, Alex?" said Sophie. "I mean, I know about... you know. But where have you been all this time?"
"With my Aunt and Uncle," said Alex carefully, not wanting to say too much.
Daphne looked surprised. "I didn't know James Potter had any brothers or sisters."
"Oh, no. My mother's sister, not my dad's," said Alex.
Daphne frowned. "But that would mean you lived with Muggles!"
Sophie gasped.
"You came on your own," said Susan, apparently thinking out loud. "Muggles can't get through the barrier. You came through on your own."
"What're they like?" asked Sophie. Alex shifted uncomfortably. She didn't like the way Daphne was looking at her.
"Well, okay I guess. I mean, Vernon is always angry about something, but he's harmless really, and Petunia-"
"Not them!" said Sophie, "Muggles! What're they like?"
Alex was stunned. Had Sophie never met a Muggle before?
"Er..." she began, not knowing where to even begin.
"Like wizards, I suppose," said Daphne, with a strange glint in her eye, "only without magic."
Sophie looked at Daphne in surprise, but Alex ignored it.
"Well, yeah," said Alex, thinking. Was that right? Were wizards just Muggles with magic? Or was there something more? But they never got to discuss the topic.
Daphne stopped smiling.
"A pity," she said, looking at Alex coldly. "Come on, Sophie. I remember seeing Mandy a few carriages down."
"What?" said Alex, but Daphne didn't answer. Sophie gave Alex a small smile - meant to be encouraging, perhaps - before Daphne dragged her out of the compartment, shutting the door firmly as she left.
Alex, hurt, looked at Susan in confusion. She'd liked Daphne. She thought they were going to be friends. What had made her so angry?
"What just happened?" asked Alex.