—CHAPTER TWO—

Friends to Travel With

The morning sun rose high in the grey sky far earlier than Maria would have liked. The whispers of sleep still breathed in her ear as uninvited rays of sunshine crept through her window. She forced herself out of the warm comfort of her bed and numbly dressed, finishing up by slipping into her pink hoodie with the embroidered kitty on the front.

She gazed around the room at the bare surroundings. She had packed almost all her room's decor, all her plushies but one, and all the clothes that normally hung in her closet into her trunk with the rest of her school supplies. The sunlight played off the dust, giving the room a spectral feeling and making it seem all the more ghostlike.

Her footsteps were inaudible as she hesitantly walked downstairs. She focused on the rug patterns while she strolled to the mansion's entrance, not wanting to look at her mother or father and trigger a downpour of tears.

"Here's your potion," her father said, holding out a flask. Maria drank the contents, the familiar tickly feeling trickling down her back and arms and legs. She glanced at her reflection in the hall mirror. She was still pale, but not as white, with a spatter of freckles. Her black hair had turned deep brown. She looked human now. Her parents also transformed when they drank their own potions.

The car ride to the station was silent and seemed suspended in time. Living on the outskirts of London proper, the ride should have felt short. Maria hugged Batie, her old bat stuffie, the entire time. It was the only thing that wasn't packed away for the train.

When they arrived, it was only 10:15 and the Muggle part of the station was full of people walking to and from the platforms.

As Maria ran straight for the barrier between platforms 9 and 10, part of her feared she would crash. Afterall, she was a Vampire. What if certain magic only worked for human Wizards, and she was stuck on the Muggle side of the station?

But she emerged on the other side, her parents striding after. A red train sat steaming on the tracks. It wasn't the fanciest train she'd ever seen–she'd been on many vacations in foreign lands–but it was certainly the longest.

Of course it would be long, Maria thought. Having to fit nearly one thousand students… Almost one thousand students and I'll be the only non-human.

'Well, looks like we're just on time,' Maria's father said, peering around the nearly empty station. His idea of 'on time' was thirty minutes earlier than the standard person's.

'Do you want us to load your trunk on the train already?' Maria's mother asked.

'Not yet,' Maria said softly. 'It's forty-five minutes before the train leaves.'

'Alright,' her mother replied. 'Oh, my goodness! Eustatiu, aren't those the Stewards?'

'Hmm? Oh, yes!' Maria's father replied.

Maria stood still for a second as her parents wandered over to what appeared to be three families, the only few who were currently at the station. Maria followed quietly, excitement and anxiety welling up inside her.

'How are you doing, Mr Steward?' Maria's father asked one of the adults.

'Good,' a man with a thick brown beard replied. He wore a very dirty robe and a large floppy hat. 'Haven't got ta too much fishing. Need eh break sometimes, ye know?'

'Certainly.'

'Is this yer first time at th' station?'

'Yes. Our daughter Maria just reached school-age.' Maria's father put a hand on her shoulder.

Maria smiled shyly.

'It's David's first time, too,' Mr Steward said. 'C'mere, David.'

A boy with curly, dark brown hair stepped up next to the man. 'Whit is it?'

'Da ye remember, Mr Radu?'

'A bit,' David said. 'Don't ye sell fish t'him?'

'His daughter is aboot yer age. Make sure she has eh good time at Hogwarts.'

'Alright,' David said with a nod. 'Weel, hello, I guess.'

'Hello,' Maria said. She had taken the potion so recently that although her skin wasn't albino, she was still prevented from blushing. This moment was so awkward that she was very glad she couldn't. She stepped closer to David, hoping she wasn't being too awkward. He was fiddling with his wand.

'My name is Maria, by the way,' she said, trying desperately to make conversation. 'Nice wand. Where'd you get it?'

'Thanks,' David replied. 'Traded some old stuff for it at Ollivander's.'

'Oooo. I've heard about that store! Was getting your wand fun?'

'Yeah. Is yers eh family wand?'

'Uh…' Well, my uncle did make it, Maria thought. 'Yes, my uncle made it.'

David looked confused for a moment. 'Oh, nice.'

Oh dear, what did I say wrong? Is a family wand supposed to be a sort of special heirloom thing? I thought some Wizards had family wand makers.

'Well, um, anyway,' Maria brushed over quickly. 'How much do you know about Hogwarts?'

'Eh good amount. Ma sister and ma brother have both gone afore.'

'I don't have any siblings, so I haven't heard too much about it. What do they say it's like?'

'Weel, it's school an' ye da magic. Haven't yer parents told ye aboot it?'

'Oh, of course,' Maria tried to cover, panicking. Her parents were typical Vampires, possessing nearly no magic ability, and so hadn't gone to a wizarding school. 'But they never went there themselves. They went to a different school.'

'Ah, which one?'

Maria froze, trying to think of what to say besides, 'London Vampire Academy for the Higher Intelligence.' She was spared from having to, however, by a harsh voice.

'Hello.' A tall woman with long brown hair and sea-coloured robes stepped forward. 'Sorry to interrupt. My daughter would like to introduce herself. She's a first year too.'

A girl with long black hair and sharp blue eyes stepped forward. She had a rather annoyed expression on her face. 'Hello. My name is Orthosi, and yes, I will be a first year at Hogwarts.'

The woman nodded, whispered something to the girl, and strode over to the adults.

'Sorry about my mother,' Orthosi groaned. 'I don't know why she makes me introduce myself every time we meet.' She was looking at David. 'I wish parents weren't so awkward.'

David shrugged. 'Must be summat aboot living in th' city. Ma dad's normal for th' most part.'

Orthosi looked over to the adults. 'Do you two know where your trunks are? We can load them up early into one of the carriages and make sure my parents don't interrupt us again.'

'Da ye really think she'd talk ta us again?'

'When she's currently frustrated with me, yes,' Orthosi said. 'Come on.' Orthosi and David moved away to retrieve their trunks, and Maria was left standing in place, wondering what to do. She didn't really want to leave her parents this early, but she certainly didn't want to be alone later during the train ride.

She ambled over to her mother and father, who were deep in a conversation about ministry politics with the other six adults.

'Mum, dad, I'm going to load my stuff on the train now,' Maria said.

'Okay,' her mother said. 'I'll help you.'

Maria and her mother grabbed her trunk and headed to the train to load it.

Orthosi looked out the window at the station. Swarms of wizards and their families were shouting, saying goodbye to their children, and helping students on the train. The station had filled up surprisingly quickly once 10:30 hit.

'How has life at St. Mungo's bin?' David asked her, leaning forward in his seat.

Orthosi didn't bother to correct him that she didn't live at St. Mungo's, she simply stayed there when her parents had a long work day. 'Mostly fine. Some of the patients' visitors are really annoying though.'

David nodded. 'Thir's a lot o' pain those people have ta deal wi'.'

Orthosi bit her tongue, preventing herself from responding. She looked at the girl sitting next to David. She was rather pale with hair that curled against her round face. She was currently staring out the window, and hugging a bat stuffie. Slightly juvenile, Orthosi thought.

'What's your name?' Orthosi asked her.

'Maria,' she replied, looking back at her.

'Where are you from?'

'London. My family owns a mansion on the outskirts of the city. My father is a famous inventor of—er, I mean, not famous, just rich.'

'So, are you Pureblooded?' Orthosi was now intrigued. Her mother had always hated the Pureblood houses, which made her wonder about them all the more.

'No,' the girl said quickly. 'Just rich. Lots of family inheritance money that's been saved up for years.'

'Oh,' Orthosi said.

A loud whistle blew and whooshed down the halls of the train. There was a swaying feeling for a moment and then the train lurched forward and began to pick up speed. Soon they were passing through the countryside and small villages.

'So, where's Hogwarts again?' Maria asked.

'Eh mile from ma house,' David said, looking out of the window. 'Don't understand why I couldn't have jus' walked.'

'Some traditions are surely ridiculous,' Orthosi said, thinking of her mother's long, boring tradition of waiting till after dinner to open birthday presents. This year Orthosi's birthday would be spent at Hogwarts where she could open her presents at her own liberty.

'But some are fun,' Maria piped up. 'My family always takes a huge vacation in the summer. We spend a month travelling to different countries, and we get to ride first class trains.'

'Wizard or Muggle?' Orthosi asked.

'Muggle is cheaper, so we take that one,' Maria said. 'Also, the desserts you get on the train don't try to run away then.'

Interesting, Orthosi thought. Rich, yet her family takes Muggle trains. Must be an experience thing. 'Your traditions are a lot better than mine.'

David was peering down at a pair of dirty, old gloves he was wearing.

'What houses do you want to be in?' Orthosi asked.

'I think I'll be good anywhere as long as I'm no' in Slytherin,' David said. 'Ma older sister is in Ravenclaw, ma brother is in Gryffindor, and ma older cousin is in Hufflepuff.'

'I wouldn't want to be in Slytherin either,' Orthosi said with a shudder. 'They're a bunch of cheaters. I heard they're stingy too. The only plus is that they're rich.'

Maria frowned. 'Do all people with wealthy families get put in Slytherin?'

'No. Good too, because I would be doomed then,' Orthosi said. 'I don't think any of us have anything to worry about.' She had only met David a few times, but he seemed honest. And although she had just met Maria, she could tell the girl wasn't the type that would end up there.

'Oh, okay,' Maria said, smiling. 'I want to be in Hufflepuff, but I'm not sure I'm good enough to get in.'

'How come?' Orthosi asked.

'I've heard that they're the most inclusive and protective house,' Maria said. 'I just hope I can meet the requirements for it. These houses are all so selective. But I suppose I have to be put in one of them, right?'

'Everyone always does,' David said. 'Whit house ur ye hoping for Orthosi?'

'I'm not sure,' Orthosi admitted, looking to the ceiling and trying to articulate her opinions. 'Hufflepuff certainly doesn't suit me… My older brother, Leo, is a Gryffindor, and I know I'm not one… Maybe Ravenclaw, I'm pretty smart.'

David and Maria listened and nodded as the train continued to speed through the country.

David stared out the window for most of the ride. He wished he could see the Forbidden Forest or catch a glimpse of his house. Of course, they were hours away, so he never did. He settled his wishes by buying a Cauldron Cake from the snack trolley and busying himself with snacking instead.

After lunch, a boy poked his head into their compartment looking for his pet toad, but they hadn't seen him.

David didn't really see a reason to change into his school robes early, but Orthosi suggested so shortly after lunch. And so, they dispersed quickly to change, then returned to the compartment to discuss the unusual theft at Gringotts that so many adults had been talking about recently, fashion (David didn't participate much in that conversation), and stories about their siblings at Hogwarts.

When the five-minute warning was called through the train, the three students cleaned up their snack wrappers. The sky had darkened to a midnight blue and their shadows were only cast by the torches now.

The train skidded to a stop with a metal creaking noise. Orthosi and Maria began gathering the few possessions they still had out, so David exited into the corridor first. He had to push his way through the crowds; most of the people were two or more feet taller than him. He heard Orthosi starting to make her way behind him.

When he finally descended to the platform outside the train, he immediately looked around to try and spot anything familiar. He was pretty sure he could make out a few distinct trees with familiar names burned into their trunks. He climbed onto a stone platform, where a crowd of kids his size were standing.

A tall, hairy man holding a torch was towering over the crowd, calling, 'Firs-years! Firs-years over here!'

'Sorry, the crowd was large,' Orthosi said, stepping up to David on the stone platform.

'We almost couldn't get through,' Maria added from a few feet away.

''At's alright,' David said. 'We're all here jus' in time.'

The crowd started to creep forward under a long canopy of trees. The first-years were all surprisingly quiet. Even David, who had visited Hogwarts many times before, could feel his heart hammering.

When the group rounded the corner all the first-years gasped in amazement. The gleaming form of Hogwarts Castle perched on top of a mountain that jutted out of the landscape. In the moonlight of his first night as a student, it looked ten times more impressive than it had all his visits before.

The group of students trudged on. Orthosi studied their surroundings as they walked, and fear shone in Maria's eyes. David didn't dare to break the sacred silence to ask her why she was afraid.

A glassy lake appeared before the group as they rounded another corner. A fleet of small boats sat waiting in the darkness.

'No more'n four to a boat!' their guide called.

First-years scampered for the wooden vessels, trying to enter ones with their friends. David, Maria, and Othosi boarded a boat together. A blond-haired boy climbed in right before they took off.

'Thanks for letting me on,' the boy said. 'I'm excited to get sorted, aren't you? I've heard great things about each of the houses. Of course what I'm really looking forward to is the classes and being able to do magic, you know? I'm Muggle-born, so the most magic there is where I come from is video games. My name's Revem by the way, Revem Woods…'

David stared as the boy continued to talk throughout the boat ride. How could someone say so much to people he had never met before? Maria joined in the conversation, but Orthosi glared at the boy.

'Why does he have to talk so much?' Orthosi growled to David quietly as their boat edged under an archway. Revem hadn't been listening to their guide's warnings and bonked his head on the stone as they passed through the ivy.

'Some people jus' lek talking, I guess,' David said with a small shrug. Those types o' people can be scary, though.

At last, the fleet of boats docked, and David, Orthosi, Maria, and the boy named Revem climbed out of the boat. The crowd was swarming in front of a set of massive oak doors. Their guide knocked three times on the door and it swung open.

David looked to Orthosi and Maria. I hope one o' them gets in ma house.