The Red Winter

Chapter 1

I have motion sickness, I hate big changes, and I hate goodbyes. So as you can imagine, boarding the Hogwarts Express and saying goodbye to my parents was dreadful. I rolled my shoulders and grabbed my cat carrier. It's inhabitant, Devin, was not having a great time. He hissed at me as I reached in to smooth him. 

"Ungrateful git." I murmured, adjusting the carrier to get a better grip on it. I reached down and gripped the handle of my bag hoisting into the air. I passed my item trolly to my dad, who was as stone-faced as ever. I gave him a mocking salute and paced over to where my mother was fussing over Megan, my sister. 

When she saw me she gipped my robes and pulled me next to Megan. "Don't forget to brush your teeth and eat three meals a day, girls." Our mother recited as if reeling off of a list in her head. She passed Megan her bags and made sure we didn't forget anything. "Are you sure you've got everything?" She asked frantically, pulling a list out of her pocket. "You've got your wands, books, robes, animals..." She ticked off the list as she went. 

I reached forwards and placed my hand over her shaking one. I slowly pulled the list from her grip and shoved it in my pocket. "We've got everything we need mum."I give her a reassuring smile. "We'll be okay."

My dad came up behind mum and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Our girls will be fine, love." He said, rubbing her tense muscles. He looked from Meg to me and smiled reassuringly. "They are strong young ladies." 

Mum began to blubber and turned to cry into dad's chest. I took this as our cue to board. "Got everything?" I asked, turning to Meg. She looked down at her owl and bag and nodded. "Good," I said, ushering her onto the train. I turned back to look at mum and dad. Mum was still turned towards dad, but dad was looking at me. I smiled sadly and walked through the train doors. 

I followed Meg down a hallway lined with sliding doors. Each one had hallway windows and each one was full. We walked until we got to the last carriage of the corridor. Meg slid it open and we placed our bags in the overhead luggage bay. Devin meowed loudly as we sat down, demanding to be let out. I rolled my eyes and cursed the impatient creature. 

"He has been stuck in there for a while Naomi," Meg commented, reaching in to give her owl a pat. 

I rolled my eyes and opened Devin's carrier. He launched himself out and onto the seat. "Hey, buddy," I sighed reaching over to pet him. This time he let me. 

"Are you feeling oka-" I was cut off by the sound of the sliding door being forcefully opened. 

A boy around our age stood in the doorway, a look of annoyance on his face. "Who the hell are you?" He scoffed, looking us up and down. 

I crossed my arms and scowled. "I could ask you the same thing."

He narrowed his eyes and smiled mockingly at me. "You must be new," He stated. "This is our carriage," He gestured to his two lackeys behind him.

I smiled sarcastically at him. "Oh really?" I looked around the room, checking under Devin's carrier. "I don't see your name on it." 

He looked taken aback. "I- You- My father will hear about this." He huffed in outrage.

I burst out laughing and stared at him. His face grew red.

"Come on, we'll find somewhere else." He spun around and entered another part of the train. 

I got up and closed the door after him. "What a daddies boy," I muttered, sitting back down. I looked over at Megan. "Well, you're awfully quiet." I mocked. "Oh, I see." I laughed, looking at her blush dusted cheeks. "You like him!" 

She looked outraged. "I do not!" She protested, busying herself with her owl. 

I laughed at her, before looking out of the window. Everything felt weird. Like it wasn't actually happening. A few months ago they were ordinary girls, and now... Things were different. Very different. If I had only stayed off of school that day, maybe, just maybe, we'd still be there. Maybe we'd be on the school bus right now, talking about what movie to watch after school. Devin crawled onto my lap and meowed at me. I smiled down at him and pet him on the head. He curled up on my lap in a purring mass of black fur. I looked at Megan and she too was staring out of the window. I could probably guess what she was thinking about.