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Flight To America

Packing up her things, Johanna looked about the empty Slytherin girls dormitory and thought about what she was to do with this bad news suddenly sprung upon her in such a way. Did her mother and Nan know already? Would they be called to watch her compete and possibly die before their eyes? The Oblitious Tournament was a horrible thing that was only kept the way it was because of tradition. Every three years a student was chosen and it was terrifying. Her first year at Ilvermorny, Johanna had written her name down and mindlessly walked up to the cauldron, putting her name inside without realizing the consequences behind doing so. Not that she'd have a choice in the matter, even if she'd known what she was potentially getting herself into. A fifth year boy from Pukwudgie had been chosen to compete and was dragged from the Entrance Hall, screaming and crying for mercy. That's when she realized just how bad the tournament really was. The look of relief on everyone's faces when they realized that they were lucky enough to not be picked. That boy never returned back to the school after the Tournament. He'd been killed in one of the tasks. Since the Brazilian Wizarding school Castelobruxo had held the tournament that year in their country, no one had been able to afford to go. Rumors over the years had spread about what had killed him and to this day, no one really knew how he had died.

Grabbing Atticus's cage, her two suitcases and purse-like bag, Johanna left the Slytherin dorms and started to walk through the school and down the halls towards her destination. Feeling scared that she had been chosen to compete against her will but also glad she was allowed to bring friends, the mixture of emotions almost made her dizzy as she made her way to the front of the castle, her two friends waiting out front with huge smiles on their faces. They were excited of course that they'd be going to the states, but did not yet know what this meant for Johanna and how dangerous it really was for her.

The two men from the states dressed in dark clothes loaded Johanna, Lily and Remus's luggage into the trunk of the carriage and the kids entered the main compartment, sitting together. The two men then hopped up front and grabbed the reins that were attached to two pegasi, something that reminded Johanna of her trip to the Greenwood Festival and how they'd rode these mythical winged horses. Jiggling the reins, the pegasi started to run and then eventually took flight, bringing the carriage into the air with them as they flew. Looking out the side windows excitedly Lily remarked,

"I've never rode in one of these when they're flying."

Johanna looked out the other window and down towards the school, which was getting farther and farther away. The smaller it got, the more she wished she were there, safe in class instead of possibly on her way to her doom. Remus looked over at Johanna and realized she looked uneasy, asking,

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. I'm fine." Johanna lied. She wasn't the type of person to vent about her feelings to just anyone, even if they were her friends. And she was so scared out of her mind that she just didn't know what to say. All she did know was that she couldn't wait to see her mother and Nan when she arrived at her old school.

"What's it like?"

"Huh?" Johanna turned to see that Lily had asked her a question but didn't quite catch it.

"What's it like?"

"What's what like?" Johanna wasn't sure what she was asking about and with a soft chuckle she asked,

"America."

Oddly enough, ever since she'd moved to Scotland and started attending Hogwarts, not one person had asked her about the States. She'd been asked about living amongst the muggles, but not about her home country.

"It's nice. I lived in a big city by the ocean. There were always cable cars going up and down the road. Before my parents knew I was a witch I went to a no-maj school when I turned six. That's the age kids start school in the States."