To Be or Not To Be

Chapter 2

**Warning: Short & Third Person**

Rain tripped through the red brick wall with a sigh. Chris hadn't bothered to tell her that she'd be traveling without him and she still hadn't managed to get the name of that class he was teaching. The answer was always some stupid "You'll see" or "Patience child."

He was more kid like than she on a normal basis. Well, unless she had candy. One could only describe such a scene as the very definition of chaos when combined with the worst of all hells. To put it simply, enemies and friends alike, beware. The mind of the sugar rush has officially taken over.

Either way, Rain wasn't usually childish, though she did put up quite a fight when her brother mentioned that Heston might not be able to come with her to school. The snake was her only friend and she'd grown up with him at her side. Eventually, Chris wrote a letter to Dumbledore asking for permission to which the old man replied with a list of rules both she and Heston would have to follow if he were to be allowed to join her. Rain sent a letter with her thanks and proceeded to go about her day like nothing had happened. Her friend was going to stay by her side and that was that.

Now, standing on platform nine and three quarters, almost an hour before the train was supposed to leave, Rain didn't know what to do with herself. There were animals everywhere she looked, and people around her age all over the place. She made her way toward the train happily, looking an open compartment. After what felt like half an hour of searching, she found an empty booth near the middle of the train and took a seat by the window, basking in the peaceful atmosphere.Within a few minutes, she was out like a light, her head resting on the glass and her breathing even.  

The girl was completely detached from the world around her, even when Heston began to hiss at a group of loudly chatting slytherins entering the compartment, dragging their brand new trunks with them. After a brief staring contest with, who he assumed to be the leader of the group, Heston stopped hissing, choosing instead to bury himself in the contents of Rain's case. The group, now silently staring at the girl, slowly made their way into the compartment, careful to keep as much room as possible between them and the sleeping figure. After a moment, they began talking again, starting out quietly but getting steadily louder.

It was well over an hour before Rain started to stir. Choosing to ignore the noise around her, the girl kept her eyes closed and started thinking about what Hogwarts would be like. Chris had told her what the school had been like when he was a student, and so had Alix, but the teachers had changed and all of them were more focused on their studies than she was.

A sudden shout from one of the boys caused Rain's thoughts to return to the present.

"You woke her up, you idiot." One of the girls hissed. "What if her snake decides to bite us?"

Rain sighed, turning to the girl who'd just spoken. "Heston won't bite any of you. He's not poisonous either so you can stop making such a big deal out of it." She murmured before checking her watch. It was almost one. "Has the trolley come by yet?"

The girl shook her head, staring up at the luggage rack where Heston was sleeping. "No, it hasn't but it should come soon." Her voice gave away her hesitation easily. "Are you a first year? You don't look eleven, and I don't remember you from around the common room."

A few others signaled their agreement and Rain sighed. She wouldn't be getting out of this encounter easily. That was obvious. "I'm new but I'm coming in as a third year. The cause of this arrangement aren't important, but I'm told that I'll be sorted into a house when we arrive to the castle." Rain stopped talking when the smell of pumpkin pasties came wafting into the compartment. Smiling, she grabbed a few random coins from her pocket.

A good while later, her second stomach filled with all the sweets she'd bought, Rain rested her head on the window again, staring at the rain on the other side of the glass. She could feel the air getting steadily colder, thanking Chris for reminding her to grab her jacket.

"It's getting pretty cold out there, Draco." A boy, apparently named Blaise Zanbini, said uncertainly. "Look. The windows are starting to fog up."

Rain chuckled, drawing a face in the condensation. She paused when she felt a shiver travel down her back. Remembering what her brother had told her about the guardians of Azkaban, she pulled her trunk off the luggage rack and began digging through it until she found a bar of chocolate. When she, accidentally bumped into Heston, the snake began to wrap himself around her neck and began hissing out complaints about the monsters getting closer. "Calm down, Heston. We don't have Black so they aren't supposed to hurt us."

"Do snakes understand english? Does that one know what you're saying?" Theodore Nott asked in interest.

Before Rain could reply, the lights shut off and the train came to a stop. The sound of a sliding door filled the compartment filled the room. Rain froze, staring in the direction of the door, only able to tell where it was because of the screaming Draco, his his feet pounded against the floor as he fled from the compartment.