|Location: Home, Hogwarts Express, then Great Hall|
Wolf had not had the best of mornings. His sister, Estel, who had a week to go before she needed to return to Durmstrang, had decided to hog the bathroom, knowing full well he’d need to leave early. His mother had no sympathy, telling him only that he would need to wait until she was done.
Because of this, he missed breakfast and had to content himself with an apple, hastily snatched from the table before his mother could object, for she had rules about any food being eaten in the kitchen or dining room and nowhere else in the house. This included ALL food. Estel sat with toast and marmalade, a sadistic smile on her face as she took a bite.
He was out the door and in the car with his father, his bag being packed the night before. Murphy, his owl, had a static cage/perch at home but no transport one, so he would meet Wolf there.
His father gave him a funny look as his son took a bite of the apple, but nothing was said, their journey a quiet one. His father didn't get out at the train station, leaving Wolf to get out his own things and head off.
Some might have been saddened by his family’s treatment, or annoyed at his father’s indifference, but Wolf had made this journey the same way since the beginning. He didn't know different, so it was normal to him.
On the platform, he normally would have found a compartment with the other boys from his house, but being a Prefect had perks, and he made his way to the compartments that were especially for him and those chosen few.
The journey was uneventful, mostly because he didn't go patrolling like most of the others, choosing to stick with his Slytherin counterpart and lounge in the compartment, which was on the opposite side of the train to the “old Hogwarts.” He had no desire to look at the old wreck.
“Hey Wolf,” one of his chums called as he disembarked the train, causing him to glance over and not see the pair of boys who had stopped a little way in front.
He walked straight into their backs, surprised then giving them a dirty look, followed quickly by a smirk.
“Oh look, it’s Twincest,” he said, not seeming to care that someone else might hear him, or rather making enough noise so that they would.
“As ugly as ever, and twice as stupid. This is a path, not a stop.”He didn't wait for their retort, or to see if they’d try and do anything. He walked around them and, giving them a look which said they were less that the dirt on his shoes, and headed into the school.
|Location: Home, Hogwarts Express, then Great Hall|
Jean’s summer had flown by, what with all the chore at home to do and trying to do homework set for summer. Her wellies had seen better days and had decided to spring a leak the second week in, whilst she was up to her ankles in mud. It had taken her mum a few days to get a new pair, meaning she either needed to wear her “good” shoes (a pair of ratty trainers) or wear the broken ones until new ones could be gotten.
She was up early the day she was due to leave, having to feed the chickens and check for eggs, before showering.
Her house was always a bit mad, no matter the time of day. Even at 2am, if you needed a glass of water, at least 1 other person would end up in the kitchen.
This morning was no different. Jean had managed to get into the bathroom once her ma had vacated it, but there was knocking on the door before the shampoo was in her hair, wanting to know how long she’d be. She shouted back that they’d need to wait, but that never kept anyone at bay for long, more knocking and shouting part of their morning greeting.
Breakfast wasn’t much better. With 8 children and 2 parents, sometimes her grandda, meals had always been hectic. Even though 3 of her brothers no longer lived at home, they popped in most days. Today they were all there to see her off from the house, though not all of them would be coming to the station. The first time she had, they’d all come, though 3 of her elder brothers were also attending the school. Now they’d all left, and for 1 year only, she would be the only Clements at the school.
She loved her family, but it had been somewhat embarrassing her first year when the whole clan, including her grandda, had decided to see her off. Too much noise and red hair, everyone staring. It was too much, but she’d missed them when she was gone.
She enjoyed her breakfast, smiling as she watched the triplets pass plates to each other, occasionally slipping food under the table to Goober and Gobber, the 2 farm dogs. Her ma leaning on the oven, a cup of coffee held in both hands and surveying her family. Her grandda shouted for things which no one passed to him, making him bellow and snatch as they plates whizzed by him. He was a big, burley man, with a red beard and a great knack for cursing (though non magically).
The trip to the station was as loud as anything, with her grandda shouting at his son–in-law about how he should drive and about the stupidity of motorists, the triplets, along with baby George, who was now 9 but still kept his nickname, and her ma. IF her father hadn’t bewitched their cars, or in the case of today’s journey, the jeep, they never would have all fitted, never mind the luggage and an owl in it’s cage.
They swarmed onto the magical platform, causing stares from those who had seen them before and those who were knew it all. Her grandda gave her a whiskery kiss and told her he’d see her at Hogmanay, then letting everyone else do the same. It was mostly uneventful, apart from the Triplets getting aboard the train and having to be chased off it again.
Then the train was moving and Jean watched her family until they were out of sight.
She spent most of the journey petting Juju, her minute owl, or giggling with the girls in her compartment.
When the old Hogwarts came into sight, she gazed at it with an awed longing.
“It’s creepy,” another girl said when they asked Jean what she was staring at.
“It’s beautiful,” Jean said, seeing how the shadows reached to the sky, the fossil of an amazing building. Jean liked ruins and manor houses, her favourites including Newstead Abby and Annesley Hall. They were near where she lived and she loved to walk around them, imagining how they must have once looked.
“You’re weird, Jee,” the girls said, causing more giggling to take place.
They were at that age, when boys were far more interesting than they’d been before and, as the journey continued, they discussed the ones they liked the best, which continued all the way off he train.
A couple of those who had been mentioned were stood not far, and she shushed a couple of girls, which made them all begin to giggle. Another couple of the boys they liked were seen heading into the castle. They were all older, because boys their own age hadn’t yet figured into their minds.
“I wonder if we’ll all have boyfriends this year,” one of the girls said, which was the typical frivolous thing that one girl amongst a group of girls will say, even if they are normally sensible.
Jee rolled her eyes and, as they entered, left them. They were form different houses to her, having met in their different classes, rather than in their houses.
Jean went to take her seat among the other Ravenclaws to await the start of the sorting and arrival of the new first years. If she'd been anyone else, Jean would have taken a seat and been able to sit doing nothing more than enjoying her first day.
Because she was Jean, she tripped, landing face down on top of someone else, between the Slytherin and Ravenclaw table.
This caused howls of laughter from the Slytherin table, and Jean, her knees sore from landing hard on the floor, took a second to realise that her face was now on someone's chest and not on the cold floor of the hall.
Her face burned as red as her hair as she pushed herself off.
"I... I.... I'm so sorry."Her voice shook as she stammered her apology, staring in horror. It was bad enough to be that girl who'd fallen on the first say of term, worse because she'd landed on someone else. The only way it could have been more mortifying was if she'd been carrying food.