Author's Note: Again, I'm so sorry for the wait! I have a crazy and busy life, so I won't be able to update very frequently. And for those who have asked, YES - Ryan will be appearing in this fic; almost every Miami character will be!
CSI: Hogwarts
Chapter Three: The Chocolate Frog
The day had finally come - September 1st. It was ten o'clock in the morning and in one hour, both girls would be on their way to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Since she had been too excited to sleep, Calleigh had done all her packing the night before, leaving her with little to do that next morning.
Meanwhile, Natalia had gotten plenty of sleep and was no running around her house in a frenzy, trying to find several misplaced items that she wanted to take with her. Her father, who had taken the morning off from work at the Ministry to see her off, was helping her search for the missing belongings.
"How in the world do you misplace a book that you just purchased?" David asked his daughter, who was halfway under the living room sofa. The Standard Book of Spells, Grade One had been in the house for less than a week and already it was nowhere to be found.
"I don't know!" came Natalia's muffled reply.
David placed his hands on his hips and shook his head. This wasn't something that they could just wait for to turn up. Classes at Hogwarts began tomorrow, and Natalia would need her book for it. If it was earlier in the day, David could have used the Floo Network, a magical transportation system using fireplaces, to get to the wizarding bookstore Flourish and Blotts and pick up another copy, but it was too late now. If they wanted to catch the train that would take Natalia to Hogwarts, they needed to be out the door soon.
Approximately forty-five minutes later, the Duquesnes and the Boa Vistas were making their way through King's Cross Station toward Platform 9 3/4, the platform from which the train to Hogwarts would depart. Kenwall and David led the way through the crowd, with Calleigh and Natalia close behind. Amy, Maria, and Christine (who, it turns out, had stolen Natalia's book the day before), brought up the rear.
"Here we are," Kenwall anounced, as he stopped in front of a barrier that divided platforms nine and ten.
"We have to go through that to get to Platform 9 3/4?" Calleigh asked, slowly approaching the very solid-looking wall. Her parents had told her stories about the entrance to the platform plenty of times, but... it just looked so solid.
Calleigh reached out toward the wall to feel it. "Are you su-ahhh!"
Her hand, which had been there just seconds ago, was gone. Only her arm was visible, and it appeared to be coming out of the wall. Immediately, the blonde pulled back and looked up at her father with wide eyes. He simply laughed, as did the other adults. Natalia was almost as surprised as Calleigh, and Christine was completely oblivious to what had just happened.
Kenwall checked his watch. "It's five to eleven," he announced, looking at the girls. "You'd better hurry up."
The entire party eventually made it through the barrier to find The Hgowarts Express, a large, scarlet steam engine, on the other side. There was little time to say goodbye as the train was just minutes from departing, so the families made it a quick one before the two girls boarded the train and started their search for somewhere to sit.
They had to walk through a few cars, tugging their luggage with them, before they finally found an empty compartment. Calleigh opened the door and they immediately stepped inside, claiming it before anyone else could. By the sound of the frustrated groans coming from the hallway, they made it just in time.
Once they were settled and their luggage was tucked away, Calleigh and Natalia sat down across from one another and glanced out the window to admire the view of the beautiful English countryside.
"I'm nervous," Natalia confessed.
Calleigh was about to respond, to say the same, but a knock at the door stopped her from doing so.
Both girls looked up to see a girl about their age poke her head into their compartment. "Do you mind if we join you?" the girl asked, glancing back to three other students behin dher.
Natalia looked to Calleigh, who looked to Natalia, then sat up a little straighter.
"Sure," Calleigh said, as her lips curled up into a polite smile.
Relief broke out onto the girl's face and she turned around to signal to her friends that they could come in.
"Thanks," the girl said as she stepped into the compartment, followed closely by another girl and two boys.
After the quartet's luggage was safely put away with Calleigh and Natalia's, they all took their seats and began introductions.
Cynthia Wells, the girl who had asked if her and her friends could join the couple, oozed confidence and warmth. She was eleven-years-old, with dark brown eyes to go along with her long, pin-straight dark brown hair. Her best friend was a quiet Maxine Valera, also eleven-years-old. She was slightly shorter than Cynthia, also sported brown hair and eyes, and preferred to be called 'Valera' over 'Maxine'.
The two boys, also eleven-years-old with brown hair and eyes, were Dan Cooper and Ryan Wolfe. Dan was the taller of the two and seemed somewhat goofy, in an almost annoying way. Ryan, like Valera, was pretty soft-spoken and had an incredibly tidy appearance. Ther wasn't one wrinkle in his outfit; not one hair out of place.
As the time passed, the six kids bonded and grew closer by the minute. They compared wands and talked about the Hogwarts houses. Calleigh shared her love of flying with Dan, Natalia fawned over Valera's beautiful snowy owl, and Ryan and Cynthia discussed several dangerous plants they had read about in their Herbology books.
It had been about an hour and a half since the train departed from the station in London, when the six kids found a short, stout older woman outside their compartment. "Anything from the trolley, dears?" she asked the group, signaling to the card she had been pushing that was filled with all kinds of sweets.
"Wicked," Dan said, springing up out of his seat and pulling several small, silver coins - sickles - out of his pocket. The other five followed his action, pulling out their own money and crowding around the trolley to buy whatever sweet their little hearts desired.
Less than five minutes later, the six kids were tucked back into their compartment, happily munching away on their sweets. Between them there were Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and Chocolate Frogs. They all had their go at the every flavor beans, but after Ryan got vomit, he opted for a cauldron cake instead. And after Valera's grass and Calleigh's earwax, the two girls also decided that it was time to try something else as well.
"How about a chocolate frog, Natalia?" Valera asked, holding up a box, inside of which was a magically animated chocolate frog and collectible wizard card.
Nodding, Natalia stood up to take the box from Valera. "Okay."
"So," Ryan started, "do any of you have any idea what house you'll be sorted into?"
Calleigh shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised if I made it into Gryffindor," she said, in between bites of her licorice wand. "My mum and dad were both in it." She was hoping for Gryffindor, for both her and Natalia. Unlike Calleigh's parents, Natalia's hadn't both been in Gryffindor. David had been, but Maria had spent her seven years at the school in Ravenclaw.
Of course, just because a family member was in one house didn't mean the other family members would be. It was all up to the student's personality. Usually, courageous individuals went to Gryffindor, the hard-working and loyal were Hufflepuffs, those with a brilliant mind and a knack for learning went to Ravenclaw, and those in Slytherin... well... it would be foolish to befriend someone from the house known to produce... bad wizards.
"My mum was in Gryffindor," Ryan started, "but-"
"AHH!"
A short, high-pitched scream interrupted Ryan. Startled, Ryan, Calleigh, Valera, Cynthia, and Dan spun around in their seats to face the direction from which the scream came, just in time to see Natalia jump back out of the compartment and fall into the hallway. A chocolate frog was perched on her nose.
The enchanted frog-shaped chocolate sat still for a second or so, then jumped off of Natalia's face and hopped up the hallway. Its journey was short-lived, however, when a student who emerged from her compartment to see what had happened stepped on it.
Upon realizing that it was the frog that had scared Natalia, the five friends started laughing, making the confused students in the hall even more puzzled. Some laughed at the girl's misfortune, while others just gawked. Natalia's face was turning more red by the second. She closed her eyes, wishing she could disappear.
"Here," an unfamiliar voice said.
Natalia opened her chocolate eyes to find a hand stretched out toward her. She looked up from the hand to the face of a boy about her age. He had light blue eyes, very short, light brown hair, and a smile that would easily make Natalia swoon, had she not been so embarrassed.
She accepted the boy's hand and stood up, mumbling a quick "thanks" before returning to her compartment and shutting the door behind her.
This was not how she wanted to start off her Hogwarts experience.