A Swirl of Ice and Shadows

3 - Alexandra

Peace. I had FINALLY gotten away from the ruckus and the crowds outside. Inside, the Hogwarts Express was bigger than it seemed.

I recognized one of Lena's friends, Luke, who'd been made the Hufflepuff prefect, waving at us with a bright smile and beckoning her to join the other prefects.

Lena turned to me, "I need to go to the prefect's carriage... are you sure you'll be fine alone?" She raised her eyebrows at me. Part of me was tempted to ask her to stay with me, to not leave me alone. The rest of me noticed the excitement dancing in her eyes and the pride with which she held herself.

I forced a smile, "Go ahead! I don't need my sister babying me!" I said with a smirk. Truthfully, I was thankful for having her around me, for having my whole family with me, really. At least a third of all the first-years must have been muggle-born, without a clue of the magical world. My sister hugged me one last time (she was hugging me so much these past few days even in front of people, that I began to wonder whether she had hit her head somewhere) and made her way to the other fifth, sixth and seventh years wearing badges.

More people began to file in, including a few familiar faces. A tall girl with bronze skin and shoulder-length golden-brown hair smiled and began to make her way over to me.

"Tessie!" I cried, perking up at the sight of her.

She laughed at my enthusiasm, despite my seeing her less than a month ago when she and a few of my sister's other friends had met us in Diagon Alley, as they did every year.

"Alex! Excited for Hogwarts?" as I opened my mouth to answer, she continued anyway, "Oh, of course, you are! You'll probably have the best time ever, there! Oh, and, it's amazing that Lena made prefect, right? I never would have expected it when we were in the first year! She was a massive troublemaker! But... where is she? Oh, right! The prefect's carriage! Where are you heading? Well, you probably don't know many people yet. Kelly probably wouldn't mind if you sat in her carriage, but I'm guessing you don't want to be surrounded by a bunch of second-years. Hey! Maybe you can join me, Lillian and Anna in our carriage! I'm sure they'd love having you around! What do you think?"

She finally took a break from her usual rapid-fire speech to let me answer. I blinked, feeling sure my brain had short-circuited from the overload of conversation. Kelly, Theresa's younger sister wasn't exactly horrible, but I wouldn't want to sit with her for nine hours! I smiled at the thought of being around my sister's other friends, who were more like family, but I was sure that those fifth-years would rather be alone without their friend's little sister there.

"Well... Tessie, I'd love to-" I began, but she cut in, finishing my thoughts.

"But you'd rather be alone for some time?" She knew me strangely well.

I sheepishly nodded, and she smiled. I shyly waved at her and she vigorously waved back, and as the flow of people pushed her away, she called out, "I hope I see you in Gryffindor with me!"

I weakly smiled, trying not to let the house worries overtake me. I forced a bounce into my step as I remembered, 'This is it. I'm going to Hogwarts at last!'

After squeezing past a group of fourth-year Gryffindors arguing about who was the best Quidditch team (between the Tutshill Tornados and Chudley Cannons... that wasn't going to end well) and glaring as a third-year tossed his friend a pair of socks that smelled delightfully like spoilt milk, just over my head, I'd made it to the end of the train. There were, blissfully, no people in sight. I heard a small "meow" from the cat carrier and glanced in to see Artemis rolling onto her back with her paws outstretched in the air. Ever since I'd gotten her, a few weeks ago, she reminded me of a dog who lived near my house, named Cocoa. A peculiar name for a pitch-black pomeranian, but then again, she was a peculiar dog, even being scared of Artemis. The nine-week-old kitten was lazy and didn't really care much about people, but would often change completely and demand, with a flurry of 'meow's, attention, food and love.

After some heaving, I managed to get my trunk onto the shelf above my head. (One would think that the "most prestigious school of witchcraft and wizardry" would have some assistance for eleven-year-olds who couldn't do much magic and couldn't carry a trunk by themselves. At least Muggles had invented ones with wheels so I didn't have to lift and drag it the whole length of the train!)

I carefully opened the cat-carrier door, quietly, so as not to wake Artemis who had shifted in her sleep to a round, vaguely feline puffy, round ball. I scooped her out and placed her in my lap as I curled next to the window, her warmth and soft, purring snores sending satisfaction and contentment flowing through me. I smiled, slightly.

I pressed my face against the window, seeing Lisa on my dad's shoulders, even though she was way too old for that and my mum scanning the windows for me and my sister. They waved madly to a carriage that seemed in the very front - the prefect's carriage perhaps - and continued squinting through the glass for me. I waved my hand in front of my window and Lisa pointed to my compartment eagerly. They waved so hard it looked like they were baby owls, trying to fly. This earned them a "few" strange looks from people around them, but they didn't seem to care. I smiled and waved back. As the train began to chug along, they disappeared behind me.

My arms slightly tired, I reached next to me for my book, a copy of "The Mark of Athena" that I had read over and over again, loving it each time and loathing the ending every time. When my hand came up with nothing, and after a miniature panic, I groaned, looking up. Sure enough, I could see the corner of the book sticking out from the top of the shelf. I sighed, shifting up, but thin claws pulled my shirt slightly down. I glanced to see Artemis holding me in place. I was hers, now, and I absolutely could not move, even if it was for my favourite book. Slowly, I reached up with my left hand and, grateful for my long arms and fingers, I was able to grab the corner and pull it down. The book flipped over and nearly fell. Thankfully, I caught it, mere inches before it hit the ground. Artemis shifted in my lap.

I loved the familiar feel of the book in my hand, it was calming, relaxing, and as I flipped to my page, I felt a sense of familiarity and warmth, as if it was taking me home.

(Spoiler warning for the Mark of Athena and the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan)

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME, RICK?! THAT IS NOT HOW YOU END A BOOK! THEY MIGHT NOT BE HANGING OFF THAT CLIFF TO TARTARUS ANYMORE, OH NO SIREE YOU MADE SURE OF THAT! IT IS A CLIFFHANGER ALL THE SAME! IF I HADN'T READ THE NEXT BOOK YET, I WOULD PROBABLY WANT TO MURDER YOU FOR DOING THAT! ACTUALLY, I STILL KIND OF DO, FOR THE MURDERS OF BOB, DAMESEN, ZOE, CHARLES, SILENA AND THE GODS ONLY KNOW HOW MANY MORE?!"

*SPOILERS OVER*

I slammed the book shut, being careful not to ruin the pages, and closed my eyes, trying to focus the swirling thoughts in my head. Reading was definitely calming. When I opened them, I noticed a girl, who seemed about my age standing in the open compartment door. For some reason, her grey-blue eyes and blonde hair that looked gold in the sunlight streaming through the window seemed vaguely familiar. Perhaps I'd seen her on the station, or maybe she was at one of my parents' friends' parties.

Her feet seemed glued to the floor, her eyes wide and eyebrows raised when she looked at me. I frowned slightly. Maybe I'd said my thoughts aloud...? She was looking at me like I was completely insane. Rude. I was only slightly crazy.

Rather enjoying the look she was giving me, I put the book down next to me and smiled brightly, "Hello!"