Magic? || Years 1-5

The Howler: Year 2

They pulled into the Hogwarts train station and all of a sudden Hermione remembered that Ron and Harry weren't with them.

"Oh, Amisty! What if they're not even here?" She exclaimed as they pulled their trunks out into the corridor.

"They're bound to turn up eventually, Hermione. Come on, let's get inside," She replied reassuringly, leading the way to the crowded platform.

As they inched near the edge Amisty caught sight of the carriages. They were pulled by... by strange bat-like horses.

"Woah, would you look at them!" She gasped quietly, nudging Hermione and pointing over at the creatures.

One of them turned its milky white eyes onto her and she stared in wonder.

"What are you looking at? There's nothing there," Hermione squinted into the darkness.

"You mean you can't see them?" Amisty asked, bewildered.

"You're probably just seeing things with all the shadows. Plus you look exhausted, the lights playing tricks on you," Hermione replied, climbing into one of the carriages with her friend just behind.

Amisty nodded, though she wasn't entirely convinced. They seemed so real.

-=+=-

After the sorting, Ginny getting placed in Gryffindor as expected, Hermione and Amisty were setting into their dinners.

Amisty thought back to when she had been sorted and the deafening voice that boomed in her ears with the hat on her head.

Harry and Ron still hadn't shown up. She scarfed down her food hungrily, missing the feasts Hogwarts had never failed to supply.

Until movement caught her eye. Professor Snape had just entered the Great Hall, a wicked smile on his face as he walked over to Professor McGonagall.

She watched with interest, concerned slightly as her head of house got to her feet, mouth thin.

"I think Harry and Ron have arrived," She whispered to Hermione, jerking her head over to the teachers.

"Oh dear... this can't be good," Hermione replied, her brown gaze following the two adults leaving the room.

"Professor McGonagall is fair, and they probably didn't do anything too stupid to get here," Amisty took a bite of her stew, covering her mouth with her hand.

"We'll have to find them once this is over then," She decided, lying back into her seat.

The feast ended and Amisty, warm and full followed after the prefects to the common room.

They sat in the common room for a few minutes, listening to the babble about their friends being expelled because of flying to the school in a car, before sneaking out in the quiet halls of the castle.

It took a little of aimless wandering until they gave up their searches and headed back up to the common room. Until they spotted the two they were looking for.

Amisty was the first to run to them, Hermione just behind her.

"There you are! Where have you been? The most ridiculous rumors -- someone said you'd been expelled for crashing a flying car --" Hermione exclaimed, rolling her eyes at the memory.

"Well, we haven't been expelled," Harry replied.

Amisty raised an eyebrow, thinking back to the Ford Angelina. She met his gaze and he smiled sheepishly.

"You're not telling me you did fly here?" Hermione's eyes went wide, her tone as sharp as a blade.

"Skip the lecture and tell us the new password," Ron interrupted, clearly not willing to hear her scolding.