Sally-Anne Perks

Sally-Anne Perks

Chapter Three

Travelling by Train

"Sally!" cried Draco, as he hung upside down with the end of his cloak hooked to a branch of a tall chestnut tree. Some bowtruckles, living in the tree peered out of their little hide-hole and began throwing acorns at Draco's head. "Ouch! SALLY!!!" He flung his arms around in anguish, which made him even dizzier as he swayed to and fro.

"Say you're sorry and I'll let you down," said Sally-Anne with amusement. She twiddled her wand in one hand and gazed up at the clouds heedless of Draco's feeble attempts to free himself. She was sitting on her broomstick, with one elbow leaning on one side and one leg dangling lazily from the other. She hovered about a few feet away from Draco's face, which was now looking livid.

"I'M SORRY!" spat Draco clenching his fist tightly.

"Say it like you mean it."

"Sorry," Draco looked red now. The blood was rushing to his head. "NOW LET ME DOWN - RIGHT - NOW!"

"Ok."

Draco squealed slightly as he fell to the ground into a crumpled heap. Sally-Anne landed beside him; she took Draco's wand out of her pocket and threw it at him.

"You could've killed me!" yelled Draco, getting to his feet slowly.

"You mean I didn't? How terribly wrong of me," Sally-Anne replied.

Draco rubbed his head irritably. "Ow!"

"Next time, don't bother trying to hex me while I'm on my broom," she said to him. "Otherwise I may have to do some serious injury." She turned to head back to the Manor.

"You wait till I tell father," Draco said as he pocketed his wand and picked up his broomstick up off the floor.

Sally-Anne turned back round. "I didn't break any rules. Malfoy code 12b clearly states that if someone attacks another person whilst their back is turned, then they have the right to attack back in a much more significant fashion." She smiled sweetly at him and walked back across the garden estate towards the large house.

Draco watched her leave and grumbled to himself that she was no Malfoy, even though she was right.

* * *

Dobby the house-elf was helping Sally-Anne pack her trunk. She had insisted to him that she was perfectly capable of packing by herself, but Dobby seemed eager to help. She noted that he was probably trying to spend as much time with her as he could before she left for Hogwarts. Tomorrow she was to go to London and take the Hogwarts Express from Kings Cross Station.

"Don't worry Dobby," assured Sally-Anne. "I'll be coming back here at Christmas. My father will be here as well, he'll be happy to see you again."

Dobby grinned. "Mr Perks is a very nice man. Dobby likes Mr Perks very much."

"Good." Sally-Anne folded her uniform and placed her robes neatly into her trunk, she added some plain clothes as well with plenty of underwear. "I'll be writing to my uncle every week, as he insists I must." Sally-Anne sighed as she threw some quills and parchment into her trunk and then strolled over to her bookcase. "Maybe, when you're cleaning in his study, you can read them and then you can hear about everything that's going on while I'm away." She puffed out a gasp as she carried a stack of heavy volumes and then dumped them into her trunk. "Just some light reading..."

There was a knock at her bedroom door. Widening her eyes, Sally-Anne ushered Dobby out through another doorway into her room. If her uncle ever found Dobby and herself in the same room ever again, she was afraid of what he might do.

It wasn't her uncle, however. It was Aunt Narcissa.

"Make sure you've packed some hair accessories and also that facial cleanser I recommended you last week." Her aunt told her. "Dinner will be ready soon, so go and wash your hands."

Narcissa left. Sally-Anne dumped the rest of her things in her trunk, without much care. "Bloody control freak," she grumbled.

* * *

"Hurry up, Draco!" Uncle Lucius shouted across the hall. Sally-Anne stood beside him holding a cage with both hands. The cage contained Telesis her tawny brown and grey owl. Her uncle was carrying her luggage.

Draco hurried across the hall carrying his large owl cage in front of him. Narcissa followed behind him carrying his trunk. She looked at the grandfather clock standing to the left of her against the wall. "Come on, hurry up, otherwise we'll be late."

Lucius threw some floo powder in the huge fireplace before them. And urged Sally-Anne forwards. "Platform nine and three-quarters!" she said, clearly inside the middle of the fireplace.

Green flames enveloped her and she felt her whole body spin wildly through the floo network. She'd travelled by floo many times before, so she knew what to expect. She made sure both her elbows were tucked in tightly, she didn't want to bang into a fire grating by accident.

After a few more dizzy turns, she finally fell through the platform's fireplace. Dusting herself off hastily with a bristle brush hanging beside the fireplace, she waited patiently for the Malfoys to appear.

All around her was the hustle and bustle of other wizarding families bidding their children farewell. A boy with dreadlocks hurried past her carrying a large white box. The lid of the box was twitching.

"Hey Fred, George!" called the boy, "Come and look at this!"

Sally-Anne continued watching the white box suspiciously while her aunt and uncle and cousin began brushing their clothes clean.

"Sally-Anne, this way," said Lucius briskly. He began walking proudly towards the purple train, billowing with steam and packed with Hogwarts students.

Draco and Sally-Anne climbed onto the train, as Lucius shifted their luggage in after them.

A whistle blew from the front of train, and late-arrivers were hurrying towards open doorways onto the train.

"Have a nice time then and work hard both of you!" cried Narcissa over the noise. "Remember to write."

Sally-Anne and Draco both leaned out of the train door as the Hogwarts Express began to move. "Goodbye! See you in December!"

All the students waved furiously out of doorways and windows, as the train blew another whistle as it departed down the curving track.

Sally-Anne shut the train door and followed Draco into an empty compartment.

"You don't have to follow me, you know." Draco drawled. "I don't want other people to think we're related."

"Thank Merlin for that," muttered Sally-Anne and shoved her trunk onto a seat and sat beside it with her birdcage placed safely on the floor underneath the window. She watched with mild interest at all the meadows and countryside flied by.

"Look after Hawkeye while I go and look for Crabbe and Goyle," said Draco as he fastened his cloak around his waist.

"I'll be sure to kill it," Sally-Anne muttered under her breath as he walked out. She rummaged in her trunk and took out one of her reading books. Seeing as no one else was going to accompany her, she might as well just read.

The door opened just then and a girl with bushy brown hair entered. "Is it ok if I sit in here? I just couldn't stand the noise in the next compartment and had to move. The girls in there are just awful." She dragged her trunk in after her.

"Sure, you can sit here," chirped Sally-Anne, closing the book she had begun to read.

"Thanks so much," said the girl. "Is this your first year too? I'm just so excited about going to Hogwarts! When I got the letter my parents were quite shocked at first, you know, but then when they overcame that, they were thrilled. They always said I had a special gift for something, and now that I'm a witch, well that's real special." The girl sat down opposite Sally-Anne and continued talking. "So, are you from a wizarding family? 'Cause I'd really like to learn some stuff about the wizarding world. Of course, I've been reading as much as possible about it." She looked at the book in Sally-Anne's hands. "Is that Hogwarts: A History? I've read that book, it's very interesting, isn't it?"

Gaping slightly, Sally-Anne found her voice. "Er, so... are you a Muggleborn then?"

The girl nodded. "Oh, sorry," she smiled apologetically. "I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Hermione Granger."

Sally-Anne felt quite intrigued; she'd never met a Muggleborn before. "Sally-Anne Perks."

"So which House are you hoping to be in?" asked Hermione.

"Ravenclaw."

"Me too! Although I wouldn't mind being in Gryffindor. I've read in Hogwarts: A History that Ravenclaw has supported a lot of high achievers and-"

Hermione was cut off as someone entered through the doorway of the compartment. Sally-Anne and Hermione looked to the left, where a crestfallen timid-looking boy was searching frantically around the seats.

"Sorry to bother you," said the round-faced boy. "I've lost my toad, have you seen it?"

Hermione immediately looked around her. Sally-Anne didn't bother, she'd been in the compartment for a while and hadn't seen anything green or heard anything croaky. "Sorry." Sally-Anne said to the boy. "The only animals I've seen is these two owls."

"Oh." The boy looked even more crestfallen. "I've looked in nearly all the compartments. Except, for the one near the end." The boy shivered. "Full of Slytherins."

Hermione Granger got to her feet. "Well, I'll help you. Slydereens (-"Slytherins" corrected Sally-Anne-) -whatever, they don't bother me." Suddenly looking bossy-like she strode out of the room, wand in hand and robes (she was already wearing the school uniform) swishing gracefully out of the room.

Sally-Anne was once again alone. She sighed and picked up her book, Hogwarts: A History and read about the foundations of the school building. After a few minutes, she was bothered again. This time by the trolley lady.

"Anything from the trolley, dear?" asked the plump witch. The trolley itself was jam-packed with pastries, cakes and sweets. Sally-Anne was suddenly aware how hungry she was and took out her moneybag. As she bought some pumpkin pastries and a few chocolate frogs she wondered vaguely whether Draco wanted anything.

Who gives a damn, she though acidly.

Draco actually turned up at that moment, accompanied by his goons, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.

"Sally, you better be saving some cauldron cakes." She heard Draco say in his horrible drawling voice.

"If you haven't noticed or maybe you're terminally blind, I haven't bought any cakes. See?" Sally-Anne showed him her purchases.

Ignoring her, the annoying cousin began buying a load of sweets, while Crabbe and Goyle piled themselves with cakes and pastries.

Draco paid the trolley lady and the four of them went back into the compartment containing Telesis and Hawkeye. They settled down on the seat, their food scattered amongst them. Sally-Anne looked out of the compartment window, they were passing through a woodland area, and through the small clearing over the treetops she could make out a cluster of mountains in the distance.

Biting into one of her pastries, Sally-Anne opened her book again trying as best as she could to tune out the chomping and burping as the three boys stuffed themselves.

After a few minutes of that, she could not ignore them. "Can't you close your mouth when you chew? You're disgusting!"

She was referring to Crabbe, who sat opposite her. He didn't answer. He just looked at her blankly, his mouth hanging open.

Draco smirked at her and began to chew lazily on a jelly slug. "They can't help being pigs, Sally. It's the way they were brought up. It's in their nature to do so." Sally-Anne glared in response. "I'm so glad you agree with me... hey," Draco was looking down by his feet. "Whose trunk is this?"

Sally-Anne swallowed hard and looked at the said trunk. "That's -er- Hermione's."

Draco looked at her, slightly surprised. "Hermione? Never heard any girl called - what family she from?"

"I forgot her surname..." Sally-Anne said, thinking hard. "But you wouldn't know her anyway because she's Muggle-born." Damn. Sally-Anne bit her lip. I should not have said that.

Draco Malfoy suddenly looked even more interested in the trunk. "A mudblood, aye. Let's have a look inside shall we?"

"Draco, don't!" Sally-Anne seized the trunk. "It could be personal. You have such a sick mind."

The blond boy snickered. "Like I want to look at her stuff, I was just joking, Sally-Anne."

"Har-d-har-har," said Sally-Anne sourly. "Since when do you joke about things." Sally-Anne picked up Hermione's trunk. "I think I'll go and get changed and give this back to her, I don't trust you with it."

She went into the compartment next door, which contained Hermione and the toadless boy. Also a couple of other girls, who looked as though they were twins as well as first year students.

The two girls were sitting down with some food and luggage spread next to them. Hermione and Toadless Boy were standing up on the inside of the doorway.

"You haven't seen a toad around here have you?" asked Hermione. "Neville's lost one."

"Er--no," said one of the first year girls, who wore a pair of oval-shaped spectacles. "Sorry, I haven't. Have you, Parvati?"

The other twin shook her head.

"Oh, okay." Hermione turned and did a double take when she saw Sally-Anne in the doorway. She smiled, then saw her trunk and looked quizzically at her.

"Er-" said Sally-Anne, trying to think of a good excuse for her luggage, she really didn't want to mention Draco Malfoy to her, "I wondered where you went and some other people have taken over our compartment so - here's your trunk."

"Oh ok," replied Hermione, taking her trunk and looking a bit hurt at being dismissed like that. "I'll sit in here then, with -er- what's you names again?" She said turning back into the other compartment with the twin girls.

"Parvati." "Padma." They both said at the same time.

Sally-Anne felt a little guilty, "It was nothing personal, Hermione. It was just one of my relatives was sitting there beforehand and he went wandering and came back with his foul friends."

Hermione cheered up a little at that. "That's ok, I actually don't mind, this way I can make more friends. Oh, would you believe it," she pointed to another compartment across the train corridor. "Harry Potter is in that compartment! I've read all about him, he's the Boy Who Lived."

"Really?" said Sally-Anne. She'd never thought that Harry Potter would be attending Hogwarts this year. Of course, she'd heard a lot about this boy from her family. He was the boy who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named as a baby.

"Anyway, I'll see you later maybe at Hogwarts." Hermione said and went into the compartment with the twin girls.

Sally-Anne took this as a dismissal and went back down the corridor, past a compartment with some screaming girls inside and then edged past some giggling red-head boys with a white box that was now empty of it's occupant.

She reached her compartment, which still contained her cousin and his two brainless bodyguards. "Look," Sally-Anne said, as she closed the compartment door behind her and faced the three young wizards. "I need to get changed, so if you don't mind, will you go elsewhere."

Draco smirked and crossed his arms, bossily, "What if we don't want to go elsewhere?"

Sally-Anne considered this for a moment, "I might have to hex you in the oblivion, you pervert!" She looked at her wand, thinking about a spell, although she didn't know how to perform any hexes.

Her cousin seemed to be thinking the same thing; "I'd like to see you try." Draco chuckled and Crabbe and Goyle snickered too.

"Grr!" She clenched her fists in frustration. "You are NOT going to stay here while I get changed, okay? Get lost!" A sudden thought struck her. "Go and see Harry Potter at the other end of the train."

This made Draco Malfoy look up. Of course, he knew all about Harry Potter. Which magical kid didn't? "Harry Potter?"

Sally-Anne grinned, "That's what everyone's saying. Go and check it out for yourself, and let me have some privacy here."

And Draco did, his cronies following like obedient bloodhounds.