On Eagles Wings

 
The train sped down along the lines and Mark watched with fascination through the windows at the amazing scenery that sped past. It was like a whir of colour. He sat back and rested his head against the back of the chair when the door swung open. In to the carriage walked another obvious first year, except this one wasn’t that obvious, he was medium height and seemed to walk with a slightly hunched back. Black hair that seemed to have been ravaged by several birds, sat atop a grinning face. He would have grinned back except the smile was not a friendly smile.

“Is there room in here?” he said with a high slightly hissing voice. Nellie only responded with a grunt and indicated an empty spot across from Mark, which the figure sat down in almost instantly.
 
“Hello!” said Mark feeling he ought to introduce himself to the figure, even if they were a little odd. “I’m Mark!”
 
“Oh hello!” said the figure in a ridiculously upper class accent. “I’m Mortimer, Mortimer Dagrak!” He extended a slightly bony hand that Mark noticed was covered in scratches.
 
“Erm pleased to meet you!” said Mark whilst carefully shaking Dagrak’s hand. “Mark Simmons!”
 
“Simmons?” said the figure looking confused. “I don’t know that name! Are you a small wizarding family?”
 
“Oh no my parents aren’t wizards! I’m from a muggle family!” He looked up the figure seemed utterly perplexed.
 
“Muggle?”
 
“Erm yes!”
 
“Well then why are you here?” He pulled out the acceptance letter from his pocket and indicated the words School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. “See only wizards can come here! I’ll go tell the driver there’s been a mistake!” Dagrak stood up, apparently he was deathly serious.
 
“But I’m NOT a muggle!” said Mark annoyed at Dagrak’s response. Nellie had put down her book and was glaring at Dagrak with her glasses perched on the end of her nose.
 
“But you just said…” protested Dagrak
 
“My PARENTS are muggles I am NOT!” He brandished his wand to demonstrate.
 
“Are you sure someone wasn’t playing some sort of joke on you?” continued Dagrak.
 
“I suggest you leave before we all hex you!” said Jex glaring at Dagrak.
 
“Oh you’ve taught your familiar to talk!” said Dagrak to Nellie, again utterly serious.
 
“Why you Ba...”
 
“Boys!” said Nellie her wand raised. “Dagrak go before we all hex you!”
 
“But he’s not human!” said Dagrak pointing at Jex.
 
“From what I can deduce he’s far more human then you are!” said Mark gritting his teeth.
 
“Very well I know when I’m not wanted!” said Dagrak, but he continued to sit there.
 
“Erm why are you still here?”
 
“Why should I leave?”
 
“Because if you don’t there’ll be four hexes on you!” said another figure out in the carriage corridor. Dagrak glared at the small boy.
 
“Fine I’ll leave!” He got up glared at them all and stormed out occasionally stopping to laugh maniacally at nothing in particular.
 
“Thanks for that!” said Mark gesturing at the vacant seat. The boy sat down in it. He was short with a clump of brown hair and glaring green eyes.
 
“Sam!” he said holding out his hand! “Sam Davies!”
 
“Mark Simmons! Pleased to meet you!” said Mark shaking the boys hand.
 
“Nellie Laurentus!” said Nellie shaking the hand as well.
 
“Justin Cowl…though everyone calls me Jex, and before you ask no I’m not human I’m half sylph!”
 
“Oh right!” Sam grinned and looked at Nellie’s book. “Aha studying already are we? I thought I’d try a few simple spells before Hogwarts, they all worked I was thoroughly impressed! I’m looking forward to Transfiguration its apparently what Dumbledore taught when he was at Hogwarts! I read that in 'Hogwarts, A History'!”
 
The group marvelled at how little breath Sam took.
 
“Actually I was writing in my journal!” said Nellie grinning.
 
“Oh! But we really should be studying I mean we start classes tomorrow!”
 
“You are joking right?” said Jex looking horrified.
 
“No of course I’m not joking!” said Sam looking shocked by their lack of care. “This is a school we’re meant to be learning!”
 
“Yeah but not just yet, I mean for some of us this is our first glimpse of magic! I don’t know what I’m doing!” said Mark unable to restrain the paranoid tone of his voice.
 
“Don’t worry!” said Nellie. “Everyone starts from the very beginning in Hogwarts! No one will have an unfair advantage!”
 
“Oh I wouldn’t be too sure about that!” said yet another figure staring through the door. “I mean mudbloods are well known to have a lower intelligence!”

This was obviously a terrible insult, Nellie had clasped her hand to her mouth, Sam had reached for his wand and Jex had taken up what could only be described as a pouncing stance.
 
“What did you call him!” said Nellie through her fingers.
 
“Mudblood!” said the figure, a tall figure with dark brown hair and a long straight nose. “Has his low IQ somehow become contagious? It appears to have affected your hearing!”
 
Jex growled. The figure turned to look at him.
 
“What the hell is that?” he said. “Dumbledore allowing freaks of nature into Hogwarts now?”
 
“Freak of nature!” said Nellie who had now reached for her own wand. “How dare you!”
 
“Quite easily actually!” Sam stared at him then noticed an emblem on the figures suitcase, which was clutched besides him.
 
“I know your family!” said Sam now looking at the figure as though he were some sort of slug. “You’re a Deus!”
 
“Well done! Aren’t you clever, perhaps the mudblood’s effect isn’t quite so contagious after all!”
 
“I think I’m going to turn you into a frog!” said Nellie twirling her wand in her hand.
 
“Hrm I doubt that!” said Deus raising his own wand.
 
“I’d stop that if I were you!” said a familiar voice from behind Deus. Krow emerged dressed in his Hogwarts robes, his well-shined prefect badge clearly visible. “Unless you’d like to meet one of the professors and explain it to them!”
 
Deus gave him a sarcastic smile and stormed off. Krow grinned at them.
 
“All ok in here then?” he said.
 
“It is now thanks!” said Nellie grinning. Krow smiled back and prowled off towards the prefect carriage.
 
“Who was that then?” said Jex to Sam.
 
“You mean the prefect or the idiot?”
 
“The latter!”
 
“Ah he’s a Deus!”
 
“Really!”
 
“Yeah, all the Deus’s must have gotten braver to show their faces at Hogwarts!”
 
“Why?” said Mark butting in.
 
“Well the Deus’s were right in you-know-who’s inner circle and proud of it, they committed many murders and were responsible for many terrible crimes and illegal uses of dark magic!”
 
“How come they’re at Hogwarts then?”
 
“Dunno, must be just the father who was sent to Azkaban!”
 
“Azkaban?”
 
“The wizard prison, horrible place guarded by dementors!” Everyone but Mark shuddered.
 
“What’s a dementor?”
 
“Believe me you never want to find out! Dementors suck all the happiness out of a place, foul creatures they are!”
 
Everyone sat in silence for the next few minutes as images of death and dementors vanished. Then an elderly witch put her head round the door.
 
“Anything from the trolley dears?” she said smiling.
 
There seemed to be all sorts of things on the trolleys, from pumpkin cakes to something called Bertie Botts Every Flavour beans. It looked amazing. They all dived deep into their pockets and bought masses of sweets, which they threw onto the space between them. Mark opened a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour beans and picked up a strange yellow coloured one.
 
“Yikes!” he said as he chewed on it. “That was custard!”
 
“Oh yeah Bertie Botts beans!” smiled Nellie. “They come in literally every Flavour!”
 
“Cool!” said Mark as he proceeded to pick up a weird orange looking one.
 
“Fantastic!” screamed Sam as he peeled open a chocolate frog.
 
“What?” said Jex peering over at him.
 
“Its Agnes the unusual!” said Sam with a grin like a wedge of orange. “Now I only need Agrippa to complete my collection!”
 
“Damn you I need loads still!” said Jex slumping back in his seat and chewing down on a pumpkin slice.
 
“You don’t really collect those cards do you?” said Nellie disdainfully.
 
“Well yeah, course we do! Why else would you eat chocolate frogs?”
 
“Erm maybe for..oh I don’t know..THE CHOCOLATE!” said Nellie sarcastically.
 
“Hey everybody needs a hobby!” said Jex grinning.
 
The banter continued on like this for a long time, the Hogwarts express thundered through valleys and past fields. It wound its way through a mountain pass before a castle began to loom.
 
“Oh god we’re nearly there!” said Sam looking out of the window. “We’d better get into our robes!”
 
“Hrm yeah you’re right!” said Nellie standing up and grabbing her case. “I’ll go find a carriage with girls in it and I’ll get changed there I’ll see you when we get to Hogwarts!”
 
“Yeah see you!” said Mark grabbing his suitcase and pulling out his robes. They all got changed quickly into their black school robes, something that managed to make Jex look like he was from a black and white film. The train slowly pulled into a station and they began to leave the train.