By Emo Tuesday
Chapter One: The Hogwarts Express
Back to
another year at Hogwarts, Branaugh did indeed miss the place. She hoped the
Hufflepuff common room was warm and toasty when they arrived. Branaugh was
standing outside of King's Cross Station when she heard a very familiar voice. "Branaugh! There you are! My mum has been looking for
you!"
"Aunt
Sheila? Where is she, Cedric?" Cedric liked to play games on his cousin
and at that moment Branaugh hoped he wasn't playing another one on her.
"She's
over by the auto, Branaugh. She really wants to see you. The two of you haven't
spoken since the school year ended. Come along now, we haven't got much
time." Her cousin grabbed her by the hand and hurried her to the auto.
"Aunt
Sheila! How are you? Have you been well?" she asked the short, portly woman
excitedly.
"Quite well indeed, Branaugh. How is your mum?" her Aunt
Sheila answered back just as happy.
"Oh,
she's grand! She really wanted to bring me here and wish everyone good luck,
but she had quite a lot of work at the shop." Branaugh's mother worked in
Honeydukes Candy Shop in Hogsmeade. She
always sent Branaugh treats during the year.
"Oh,
Branaugh, horrible news going around these days, isn't it? All
the Sirius Black reports? Some say he's coming after young Harry
Potter," Aunt Sheila said in a
quieter tone of voice.
Branaugh
looked at her aunt sympathetically. "Aunt Sheila, Dumbledore will take
good care of Harry. He wouldn't let anything happen to his students."
Cedric
slapped her on the back, "Come, Branaugh, or we'll miss the Hogwarts
Express!" So the children said their goodbyes and ran towards Platform
Nine and Three-Quarters.
To the
human eye, one would never know it was there. The entrance to Platform Nine and
Three-Quarters was between Platforms
nine and ten, in a solid brick wall.
One had to walk through the wall to enter the small station. Cedric and
Branaugh looked around cautiously for watching Muggles and stepped through the wall, pulling the carts which held their
trunks and bags. Immediately they
could hear the noisy clatter of hooting owls and frightened first years.
Branaugh
was a Hufflepuff fifth year, her cousin Cedric was also a fifth year in the same house. Cedric gave his
cousin a nudge, "Oh look! There's Fairchild! I'll see you later,
alright?" She gave him a nod and he trotted towards a girl with long,
straight brown hair.
Cedric had
earned Quidditch team Captain as well as the open Seeker position. Fairchild
was a fifth year Ravenclaw and a very good friend of Cedric's. She would be
pleased to hear of his good fortune. Branaugh was one of the Hufflepuff's
Chasers, who attempted to score by throwing the Quaffle, a red ball, into one
of the hoops. The game was highly addicting.
Branaugh
looked around Platform Nine and Three-Quarters and spotted Linus Johns and
Matthew Halliwell, fifth year Hufflepuffs
and James Sharp, a fifth year Gryffindor. She walked to the three quickly.
"'Lo boys!" she said with a grin.
"Branaugh!" Matt
exclaimed. "Where have you been?"
Linus gave
her a bit of a smile, "G'day Branaugh."
James
sniggered a bit, "Piranha! How have you been old friend?"
"Jam? What are you
laughing about?" she asked. He smiled and held out his hand. "Where
did you get those?" In James' hand lay around a dozen Dungbombs.
"I
got them at Zonko's last week. Shh... Snape needs a reason to have me clean the
first years’ cauldrons in the
dungeon." Professor Snape was the cruel Potions instructor.
Branaugh
stifled a giggle and grinned. "So what did the lot of you do over the
summer?" she asked, but before anyone could answer the
whistle of the Hogwarts Express squealed loudly.
"Branaugh,
shall we try to find an empty compartment?" Matt asked. The four students
walked to the large train and hopped on board pulling their trunks and bags with them.
Many
students were looking for friends. Linus spotted Cedric and Fairchild and
walked over to them also lugging their trunks behind them. The other three followed. "Branaugh, would you
and your friends care to share a compartment with us?"
* * *
After a
few minutes of walking around the train, the six children had found their usual
compartment, the last one; it was always empty. In no time the students had
settled down. Cedric was studying the Hufflepuffs’ Quidditch play-book. Matt and James were playing a very loud game
of Exploding Snap. Fairchild seemed to be extremely wrapped up in what looked
to be a very old and tattered copy of "1000+ Cure All Herbs". Linus
was reading an article about Sirius Black in the Daily Prophet. Branaugh, on the other hand, was bored. Very bored. She had her feet up on the stack of books she would need for the year. Nurmerology and Gramatica, Unfogging the
Future, and The Standard Book of
Spells, Grade Five. She looked over at the small cage which held a small
Screech owl. Her mother had finally bought her an owl of her own. Branaugh
liked It; she had been calling the owl It since she
hadn't thought of a name for it yet. It was small and grey with what looked
like hints of lilac in its down feathers. Branaugh leaned back in her seat and
dozed off.
* * *
Branaugh
woke up a few hours later, around
The boy
turned around, "It's alright. Branaugh?! I was
looking for you earlier!" The Fifth Year Gryffindor was beginning to
redden around the ears, like the rest of the Weasley family did when nervous.
"Looking
for me now, were you?" She flashed him a smile which only made him blush
more furiously.
"Yes,
I was wondering if Hufflepuff was to have Herbology with Gryffindor this year."
"I do
believe so. We haven't been told otherwise."
"Yes?
Alright! Cheerio then Branaugh!" George gave a
smile and hurried off.
You see, Hogwarts
wasn't just any boarding school. Hogwarts was a school for those who planned on
becoming Witches and Wizards. Hogwarts was a school for those gifted
in the field of Magic. The Diggory bloodline carried very powerful magic.
Of course,
there were also wizards who were half or full Muggle. Fairchild's father had
married a Muggle woman and Fairchild happened to be an exceptional wizard in
the making. Her best class so far was Potions with Snape. Being half-Muggle
does not necessarily affect whether or not one has magical abilities.
Occasionally,
one would find a Muggle-born with
superior Magical powers - Hermione Granger for example. She was a Third Year
Gryffindor and a very strong wizard for her age. She had been top of her year since she began.
Branaugh
was walking through compartments looking for the Snack Cart when she saw
Hermione, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter. Also, near the other side of the
compartment was an older man sleeping on a bench.
"Who's
that?" she asked the small
group, motioning to the man.
"That's
Professor Lupin," Ron answered. "The new Defense Against
the Dark Arts teacher."
"We
do seem to go through those quickly don't we?" She added with a grin.
She began
to walk out when Ron called or her. "Oh, Branaugh.
Did George find you? He had been looking for you earlier."
"Yes,
I did find him." she said, turning around to face the group
again. "He wanted to know if Hufflepuff was taking Herbology with
Gryffindor again."
"Oh.
So are they?" he asked.
Branaugh nodded. "Alright then. See you later,
Branaugh."
Branaugh
left the compartment only to meet up with another familiar face. "I would
have thought they'd have expelled you by now, Ford."
The Fifth
Year Slytherin gave her a twisted smile, "Oh, Miss Diggory. How I did miss your nasally voice."
"Stuff
it, Ford." she said as she kept
walking.
"Miss
Diggory! I did miss your radiance!" he called, sarcasm bubbling from his
every word. Branaugh walked quickly to the front of the train. She had disliked
Ford Warrington since the day they had been sorted.
At first,
Ford believed Branaugh would be sorted into Slytherin. Little did Ford know,
every Diggory had been a Hufflepuff. When Branaugh was
placed into Hufflepuff, Ford was disgusted. From that day forward they
disagreed about anything and everything. If Branaugh had said the sky was blue,
Ford would tell her it was green.
When
Branaugh finally did arrive at the Snack Cart, she met up with Fred Weasley and
Oliver Wood, a Gryffindor seventh year. Also joining them was Seamus Finnigan,
a third year Gryffindor.
Branaugh
smiled a bit then turned to Oliver, "So, Oliver, still Gryffindor's
Keeper?"
Oliver
puffed out his chest with pride.
"Yes,
indeed. And you, Branaugh, still a Hufflepuff Chaser?"
"Yes.
Maybe this year I'll get the Quaffle past you." Branaugh gave a
mischievous grin. "Did you know? Hufflepuff has gotten itself a new Seeker
and Captain since Lindsay Lockley left last year."
"Really?" Oliver
asked inquisitively.
"Yes,"
She answered. "My cousin Cedric, Cedric Diggory.
He played Seeker as a Second Year but stopped and well, he's back."
"Wasn't
it Cedric who won the cup for Hufflepuff that year?" Branaugh nodded.
"I'll have to inform my team," He paused. "Of course," Wood
added with a smile, "No one has yet to beat our Seeker, Harry, to the
Snitch."
Branaugh
gave Oliver a look, "You mean Harry is playing this year? Even with Sirius
Black out and about?" Oliver nodded. "That's one tough kid. If I had
Sirius Black after me, I'd say 'Sod it' to Quidditch and lock my self up in the
common room." She looked around the room a bit. "Does he know? About
Sirius and what he did to his... You know."
"I
don't think so. Unless someone was to forget that we were trying not to tell
him. Of course, Neville isn't that
forgetful. Seamus?" The Third Year nodded and began to run off in the
direction of Harry. The train began to slow. Seamus stopped at the door.
George
Weasley stepped into the compartment. "We can't be there already, can
we?" he said with a smile.
The
Hogwarts Express came to a halted stop and George stumbled a few feet forward.
Suddenly the lights went out and the large scarlet train was plunged into
darkness.
"What's
happening?" Seamus asked with a trembling in his voice.
Oliver
stepped to the window and peered out, "It looks like a few people are
boarding."
Branaugh
shivered, "But the Hogwarts Express doesn't pick up anywhere other than
King's Cross. Who could they possibly be?"
But before
anyone could answer the compartment door swung open. Draco Malfoy ran in
looking as if he were about to wet himself. "Dementors!" he cried. "They're coming on the
train!" He then ran and hid himself under a row of seats.
The door
opened again. It felt as though all the happiness in the room was being sucked
out. A tall, hooded Dementor glided into the room. Branaugh fell backwards but
was caught by Oliver Wood.
Suddenly,
ribbons of bright silvery white light wrapped themselves around the Dementor
and pulled it from the room.
Slowly the
lights came back on and a voice was heard in the compartment. "We
apologize for the Dementors. They have been sent to search for Sirius Black.
Thanks to Professor Lupin and his Patronus Charm, the Dementors have fled. We
have contacted Headmaster Dumbledore to let him know that the Hogwarts Express
will be arriving about ten minutes late this evening. We also apologize for
that. Thank you."
Branaugh
got to her feet and noticed that Oliver still had his arms around her. Oliver
must have noticed this also because he immediately let go of her. "Sorry
about that Branaugh." He gave her a quick smiled and blushed a bit.
"It's
all right." she answered back.
Fred
kicked a row of seats, "Malfoy, you can come out now. The Dementors left.
You can stop with the blubbering."
Slowly
Malfoy appeared from underneath the seats. He wiped his red puffy eyes. "I
was not blubbering you ingrate." Quickly he turned on his heels and walked
out of the room.
George
walked to Oliver and Branaugh, "Are the lot of you all right?" She
nodded. "Suck the life out of a room they do."
Slowly the
Hogwarts Express began moving again. Seamus handed Branaugh and the others bars
of chocolate.
"She,"
he said pointing to the woman at the
Snack Cart, "says to eat some. Says we'll feel better." The students opened their chocolates
and took large bites. At once they began to feel happier and warmer inside.
~ * ~
:: Contents :: Chapter Two ::