Charles Chandler and the Staff of Fury

Chapter 3

The First of September seemed to rush up on Charles. Switching schools was always hard for him. He did it once a few years ago, and Charles did not like the awkwardness of meeting new people.

Mr. Chandler had gone out the day before and bought Charles the trunk he would keep his Hogwarts things in. Mr. Chandler also purchased a carrier for Kieran, the terrier. It would fit the dog nicely, and was relatively comfortable... as long as the dog would get into it. Kieran was a little claustrophobic, and didn't want to go into the carrier right away.

Charles decided to fight that battle later on, and began to pack his books into his new trunk. He put all of his books at the bottom, and on top placed Kieran's things toys and snacks. He then placed in his robes and carefully put his wand on the top of his robes. His father had given him a suitcase to keep his shirts, socks and other clothes. He left out Quidditch Through the Ages so he could read it on the trip if nothing too interesting happened.

Mrs. Chandler managed to get Kieran into the carrier with a combination of Renard and food. She placed the dog's meal inside the carrier, and had Renard talk to it as it ate. Renard got to learn lots of neat things that Kieran knew, and Charles managed to close the carrier before either really knew what was going on.

The Chandler family was finally ready to go, minus Willis, who had left for Eton earlier in the week. Both Mr. and Mrs. Chandler wanted to see Charles off, so Renard also came along. They were reluctant to bring Renard along, since the new and strange place would excite and upset him, but they couldn't leave him at home by himself.

Since the train left at 11 am, the Chandlers had to leave their house at about 9:30. Mr. Chandler preferred getting to appointments ahead of time. Forty-five minutes later, he parked their car outside the entrance to King's Cross Station. He then went across grabbed a trolley for Charles, and loaded the trunk, Charles's suitcase and Kieran onto the trolley. He then called to the rest of the family to wait here as he parked the car. A few minutes later, Mr. Chandler returned and led them into the station.

The Chandlers walked into King's Cross and headed towards platform 9, 10 and 11. Mr. Chandler stopped abruptly and whispered in his wife's ear. She smiled, took him by the arm, and began to walk towards the dividing barrier.

"Charles, be sure to hold on to Renard," she called over her shoulder.

After a few quick strides, she, Mr. Chandler, and the trolley disappeared from view. Charles grabbed Renard by the wrist and began pulling him towards the barrier. Renard, who wasn't fond of being touched, tried to jerk his arm away. Fortunately, Charles had expected this, and managed to pull Renard through the barrier before he got his arm loose.

As soon as Charles cleared the barrier, the sound of hooting filled his ears. He looked about, and saw that the platform was about half-full of people who had also showed up early. Charles checked his watch and saw that it was about 10:00.

Charles started to look for his parents. He saw his mother chatting amicably with a short, plump, red-haired woman. Mr. Chandler was standing just to the side, with an uncomfortable smile on his face.

Charles looked about, and saw Renard standing next to an owl's cage. He was totally absorbed in playing with the bird. Charles grabbed Renard's sleeve and dragged him to where his parents were standing.

As Charles got closer he saw a bunch of children standing behind the red-haired woman. They obviously had to be her kids, because they all had flaming red hair. There were five in all, including a set of identical twins.

The girl seemed to be really excited as she talked animatedly with the twins. Each twin had a huge grin on his face. It sounded like they were telling her about an incident with a couple of dungbombs and the caretaker. The youngest boy was standing with the oldest boy looking a little gloomy. Neither was talking to each other.

"These are my sons Charles and Renard," Mrs. Chandler said gesturing towards them. "Boys, this is Mrs. Weasley and her children. Charles here is starting his first year at Hogwarts. Renard is along for the ride right now."

Charles waved shyly. The other boys, however, were not so timid. The oldest boy walked up smartly and presented his hand. Charles reached out and shook it.

"Pleased to meet you, Charles," the boy said. "I'm Percy Weasley."

"It's nice to meet you, too."

Charles looked past Percy and saw that the twins had rolled their eyes at Percy's' introduction. They stepped forward and one of them introduced himself.

"All right, Charles? I'm George and this is Fred...no wait...that's not right. I'm Fred and this is George. So hard to keep us separate, isn't it? Behind our Mum there is Ginny, and the kid with the sour face is Ron. Oy, cheer up there!" he called over his shoulder.

"It's really good to meet all of you," Charles replied.

"Whatcha got there?" George asked, pointing at the book in Charles's hands.

Charles held out Quidditch Through the Ages. George took it, opened it and smiled broadly.

"Got your own copy I see. That's good, this one should have less drool on it then the copy in the library," George said. "What's your Quidditch team?"

"Well...I haven't actually seen a game yet, but from what I've read, I really like the Caerphilly Catapults" Charles answered.

"Never been to a game?" Fred piped up, amazed. "Well, that will certainly change. George and I are going to try out for our house team this year"

"Alright dears, let's start putting your things onto the train," Mrs. Weasley said.

The twins and Percy began to heave their trunks onto the train. Charles figured he might as well get started too. It wasn't easy, the trunk seemed to weigh almost as much as he did. After a couple of tries, he managed to get it onto one of the train steps.

"Here, let me help you with that," said a new voice.

Charles looked up and saw a rather thin boy with reddish brown hair lifting the other end of the trunk. Charles gave him a grateful smile and began lifting his end. After a bit, they managed to get the trunk into a compartment.

Charles wiped his brow with his forearm, and presented his hand. "My name's Charles Chandler, who are you?"

The boy shook his hand. "Mine is Stephen James, pleased to meet you."

Charles then heard his father calling for him. He waved to Stephen and dashed to the stairway, and ran into Renard. Charles grabbed Renard's sleeve again, and dragged him back to Mr. Chandler.

"What are you doing, Renny?" Charles asked.

"I want to go with you to school," Renard replied. "It won't be fun without you around. Plus I don't want Kieran to leave. He's also a lot of fun, too."

"Well, you can't go. You have to wait until you're eleven. You're only eight. You can wait that long can't you?"

"No, I don't want to..."

At this moment they reached Mr. Chandler. He was talking to Mrs. Weasley. He seemed much more at ease now.

"Well, Catherine seems to think that it's the best thing for him, so I let him go. Personally, I would have wanted to research this school as much as possible. But since Catherine has graduated from Hogwarts, it must be a good place to learn," Charles heard Mr. Chandler say.

"Oh yes, Arthur and I both graduated from Hogwarts and have had our two oldest children graduate as well. Hogwarts is probably the best school for magic in the world," Mrs. Weasley replied, proudly.

Mr. Chandler turned towards Charles, bent down and gave him a big hug. He then stood, reached into his pocket and drew out a pocket watch. He handed it to Charles.

I want you to have this. It was your grandfather's watch a long time ago. He gave it to me when I went away to college. I had intended to give it to you or Willis around that time, but now seems appropriate," Mr. Chandler said. "Come home for Christmas, son. We'll have something special planned.

"Don't forget these two things either," Mr. Chandler said, indicating Kieran and Charles's suitcase. "You might regret leaving those."

With that, he gave Charles another hug and turned away for a second. Mrs. Chandler then came up to him. She seemed a bit misty-eyed herself. She also gave him a hug.

"I'll send Janus with a note tomorrow. Let me know how your first day went," Mrs. Chandler said. "If you ever have any problems, schoolwork or otherwise, don't hesitate to let me know."

"Yes, Mum. I think you need to make sure Renny doesn't try to follow me. I think he wants to come and stay with me for awhile," Charles said with a smile.

"Go get on the train. You father and I will take Renard home now. He must be going mad by now," Mrs. Chandler said as she guided Charles towards the train.

Charles hugged his parents one more time, and then he said good-bye to Renard who was trying to pull himself away from Mr. Chandler. He grabbed Kieran's carrier and his suitcase. He then turned and waved one last time before he climbed on the train.

Charles went to the compartment where he had left his things. In there he saw Stephen leaning out of the window talking to someone that must have been his mother.

"Uh-huh...yes Mum...I understand," were the parts that Charles heard. When Stephen pulled his head back in, he had an exasperated look on his face. When he saw Charles, his face brightened.

"My mother is kind of... overprotective. She seems to think that I won't be able to deal with my new surroundings."

"Really?" Charles responded, as he started putting his suitcase and pet carrier on his trunk. "My Mum thinks I'll do fine, but I'm really nervous about all of this."

"Don't worry, I'm sure every new student is just as nervous as us," Stephen said with a wry smile.

After this, Stephen began to stow his luggage so that it took up less room. Charles decided he should as well. As he started to move his trunk, he heard some loud barking.

Charles pulled out the pet carrier and looked inside. Kieran looked a little ruffled, but happy to have attention. He licked Charles's nose, and seemed to be wagging his tail happily

"Kieran, I completely forgot you were still in there. Wait until the train is moving, then I'll let you out, okay?"

Kieran gave a bark that sounded almost as if he were saying "Okay."

Charles went back to stowing his trunk. Outside the door, he heard the babble of people as they talked happily. Every now and then, someone would open the compartment and look in. They always said "Hi", or asked if the two boys had seen such and so.

"This is what we get for having a compartment near the front," Stephen sighed, "Everyone always poking in and asking questions."

At that moment, a girl with short blonde hair poked her head in the door. "Could you two help me with my trunk, please? It's too heavy for me to move."

Charles looked at Stephen, and then looked back at the girl. "Sure, we'd be glad to help," Charles said.

"We would? Sure, why not we aren't doing anything right now," Stephen said. "Where's your trunk, and where would you like us to put it?"

"Um...my trunk is outside on a trolley. I haven't really picked out where I want to put it," the girl said. "I'm Helena Howard by the way. This is my first time going to Hogwarts."

"I'm Stephen James; this guy here is Charles Chandler. We're new too. So where is this big old trunk of yours?"

Helena pointed towards a truly massive looking trunk. Charles grinned and shook his head. The trunk was about two feet wide, about five feet long and came up to his knees.

"Did you bring everything you owned?" Charles asked wryly. "I don't think I've ever seen a trunk that big."

"No, I didn't bring everything. If you haven't noticed, I don't have any suitcases. I just needed a trunk to fit all of my clothes," she replied.

"Well, I think you succeeded," Stephen said. "Could you hold the door open for us? I have a feeling we won't be able to get that part on our own."

Stephen and Charles heaved at the trunk and managed to get it up off of the ground. Walking as quickly as possible, they put it on the first step of the train. After a couple of more heaves, they got it onto the train itself.

"Where...do...you...want this...thing...to go?" Charles panted.

"Um...I think there's a free compartment at the end of the train. Would you take it down that way?"

"No!" the boys said in unison.

"This thing is bloody heavy!" Stephen replied.

"Yeah, why not share our compartment. There's plenty of space in there," Charles offered. "It's right over there, and I don't think that it'll be too much trouble for us."

So the two boys picked up the trunk again and headed towards the door of their compartment. As they got near the door, someone emerged from it. It was an ashen-faced boy, who was a bit taller than Charles, and had the appearance of a vulture. He was carrying a book under his right arm. The boy saw the three of them and headed down the corridor, and entered a compartment halfway down the train.

"What was he doing in there?" Charles asked Stephen.

"No good, I think. I know him from some function or another my mother made me attend. You'd better check your things when we get inside," Stephen responded.

Charles and Stephen put the trunk inside the compartment, and Charles took a quick glance around. He immediately noticed that Quidditch Through the Ages was missing. He mentioned this to Stephen.

"That slimy git must've taken your book! Did you see where he went?" Stephen said vehemently.

"Yeah, I saw. I'm going to go get it. Want to come along?" Charles replied.

Stephen nodded, and the two of them walked swiftly down the hall. Charles arrived at the door, and opened it. There he saw the ashen-faced boy. He was sitting with two other boys, both of whom were considerably older and larger than Charles.

"You have my book," Charles said, being up front.

"Really? I don't see your name on it," the boy replied with a sneer.

Charles raised an eyebrow at the boy's response. "Well, you had better look more closely, because those are my initials on the front cover and my name on the inside of the cover as well."

"Well, would you look at that? Looks like your Mummy labeled all of your things for you. How sweet of her," the boy replied, nastily. The older boys in the compartment snickered.

"I suspect she did it as a precaution if I lost anything," Charles said calmly. "Turns out it's just as useful to catching thieves such as you."

The boy colored a little. "What did you call me?"

"My, my, you're a touch deaf, too" Stephen answered. "He called you a thief, a cutpurse, a pickpocket. You know... some kind of kleptomaniac who can't keep his hands to himself. That could get you into some real trouble someday."

The ashen-faced boy stood up to his full height. He was considerably taller than Charles, though he didn't look it at first. His hunched posture made judging his height difficult.

"Why don't you say that to my face?" the boy said angrily.

"I would, but with a face like that, it's hard to keep looking at it," Stephen replied glibly.

With that the ashen-faced boy reared back and hit Stephen on the side of the head. Charles hadn't intended for something like this to happen, he just wanted to get his book back. But he certainly wasn't going to let this guy think he could bully Stephen and him.

After the blow landed, Charles rushed the boy and knocked him into the far wall. The boy landed on the floor with a rush of wind exploding from his lungs. The next thing Charles felt was a thump on his shoulder as one of the older boys entered the fray. Before anything else could happen, another boy pushed his way into the compartment.

"ENOUGH OF THIS FOOLISHNESS!" the new arrival yelled. This boy appeared to be about sixteen years old. "The Barretts...I should have known you would have been involved in this. What did you do now? I suspect you were pilfering some poor student's luggage again?"

The oldest of the Barretts spoke up. "No, Cecil. My brother and I haven't left this compartment. These two first years busted in and accused us taking one of their books. We certainly don't have any in here."

Charles looked around. He couldn't see his book anywhere in the room. He continued to look about. He was fuming. He was used to Renard taking his things, but he could always get them back. This was one book he didn't want to lose to these people.

"They have my book. I saw that hunch-backed git walking out of our compartment, and now it's missing. He took it!" Charles said, angrily.

Cecil looked around the compartment. "Give me the book," he told the boy. "What is your name?"

"Arnold DeWitt," the boy replied, with a sour look on his face. He reached down and handed Cecil the book.

"DeWitt, why would you take this? This book is available in the school library. Surely you could wait a day or two to read it, rather than get yourself into trouble like this. I'm going to have to tell your head of house about this, when we figure out who that is," Cecil lectured.

"Here you are. I'd keep a better eye on this. There are plenty of unsavory people in the world," Cecil told Charles as he handed him his book. "I don't want to hear about any problems from you three for at least the rest of the trip."

Charles and Stephen walked back to their compartment. Stephen had a bit of a lump growing on the side of his head. When they got back to the door, they look inside and saw Helena trying to straighten up a bit.

"Did you get your book back? What happened to your face?" she asked, concernedly.

"Yeah, we got it back, unfortunately it took some convincing and an older student to get it back for us," Stephen replied.

"What do you mean by 'convincing'?"

"Well...the guy who took it wasn't interested in returning it, so I turned the full power of my wit and charm on him and he hit me. Then Charles charged him, and it basically degenerated into a row until Cecil showed up and settled the matter," Stephen explained.

"Wit and charm, eh? Sounds more like you insulted him to his face and he punched you."

"That sums it up in a sentence, yeah. What time is it, anyway? I'm ready to get going."

Charles looked at his watch. The entire trunk moving and confronting of book stealers had taken up almost an hour. His watch read ten til eleven.

"The train's going to leave in about ten minutes. We should start moving our things so we can sit down."

Stephen, Charles, and Helena pushed and dragged Helena's trunk into the corner of the train. After that was in place, Charles let out Kieran. Kieran now looked like a Jack Russell terrier, and was bounding happily between the new people.

"Oh, what a cute puppy!" Helena exclaimed.

"Yeah, my Mum bought him as a going away present. He's really cool. When he feels like it, he can turn into any terrier out there."

They played with Kieran for a bit, who was so happy that he decided to shift forms a few times, before settling on being the Scottish terrier that Charles originally saw. Outside they heard the porters closing the doors, and the scatter of feet as people rushed on to the train. Soon the train started moving and Charles felt the butterflies in his stomach worsen. To try to calm himself down, he opened up Quidditch Through the Ages, and began reading the part on the different positions in the game.

"What do you think school will be like?" Helena asked. "I was really surprised to get a letter like that. I got my letter before breakfast. I think that's the first time I ever forgot to eat."

"It probably won't be too different for me," Stephen replied. "My mum tried to teach me a little magic before I came here. She was so afraid I'd be behind that she tried to put me ahead. It worked a little. I know a few spells out of the Standard Book of Spells.

"Mum frets over me so much. I really wish she would treat me like other parents treat their kids."

"Well...my mum was awfully worried that I wouldn't be magical, because my older brother isn't. But she was really happy when I got my letter. Personally I think that my little brother will be here in a few years, but you never know," Charles said.

And so this is how the three of them spent the next couple of hours. They talked about their letters, and what they felt about going to a new school. Charles was glad that he had met two people he could be friends with right away. It made his whole outlook on Hogwarts brighter.

A few hours into the trip, a witch opened the compartment door. She had a cart with her. Loaded on the cart was a huge selection of sweets.

"Would you like anything from the cart, dears?" the witch asked.

Stephen stood up and bought some Chocolate Frogs. Charles had no idea what the candies were, so he picked out the Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean and some Chocolate Frogs as well. Helena said she wasn't hungry, though she did try an Every Flavor Bean.

"You two should be careful, it literally means every flavor," Stephen warned them.

"Weird, this one doesn't taste like anything," Charles said.

"Nothing you've had?"

"No, nothing at all. It tastes like absolutely nothing. I guess if they have all flavors, they have to have no flavor, huh?" Charles replied with a smile.

"Stephen, do you have any brothers?" Helena asked, after they finished with their sweets.

"No, my father died when I was really young," Stephen answered. "Mum never told me what happened."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I had no idea," Helena said quickly.

"There's no reason why you should have known," Stephen said gently. "It doesn't bother me that much."

"How about you, Helena? Do you have any siblings?" Charles asked.

"Yeah, I have a younger brother. I love him, but he can be a real pain sometimes. I have no idea if he's going to be a wizard or not."

"Is your family all Muggles?" Stephen asked, looking interested."

"My Dad is, but my Mum is a witch," Charles answered. "My older brother is a Muggle too, but I don't know about Renard."

"Well, my family is all Muggle. My parents were scared of this new school. They had no idea what I was getting into," Helena said. "I'm glad they let me attend this school."

About this time, Kieran decided he had been ignored enough. He turned into the Jack Russell, and bounded about the compartment. At one point he had leapt from Stephen's lap, then onto Helena's lap, and ended up with his front paws on the back of the seat and his rear paws on Charles's shoulder. Charles grabbed the dog, and cradled Kieran in his arms.

"Silly doggie, are you tired of being ignored?"

Kieran barked happily, and shifted into the Skye terrier. He then decided to sit quietly for a bit, put his head down and closed his eyes. Charles began to stroke Kieran's head absentmindedly. After another stretch of silence, Charles leaned his head back and stared out the window. The scenery rushing past was hypnotic and in a few minutes he fell asleep.

Charles was stirred from his slumber by raised voices. He raised his head and saw Stephen in a spirited discussion with another boy. They were apparently going on about which Quidditch team was going to win the Cup by the years end.

"It's going to be the Appleby Arrows all the way. No team could touch them last year, and they have the same squad," the new boy said.

"I wouldn't bet on a team that lost to the Chuddley Cannons. Nah, the Wasps are a much better bet this year. They got a new Beater who is unstoppable. They say he's almost as good as Ludo Bagman was," Stephen replied.

The new boy snorted. "A Beater? That team needs to find itself a Seeker that can see further than the end of his nose. Their last one ran into a tree during practice."

Charles sat up to get a good look at the newcomer. His sudden movement made the boy jump. He looked like a rather twitchy kind of person. He never seemed to stop moving. Helena was eyeing at him with a rather distasteful look.

"Well, hello. Who are you?" Charles asked.

"Justin Chamberlin. Sorry to disturb your beauty rest, but Stephen here needed to be put right on a few things. He thinks the Wasps have a chance at winning the Cup."

"I think they have as a good a chance as any team out there," Charles said with a half-grin on his face. "'Course I don't know a thing about Quidditch."

A sudden frown came over Justin's face. "You're not a Muggle are you?"

Charles raised an eyebrow at this remark. "Why would I be on this train if I were a Muggle? That's a rather stupid question."

Justin's frown turned into a scowl. "Don't insult me. You're not Muggle-Born are you?"

Well...that explains why Helena is looking so sour. He must have said something derogatory about Muggles or Muggle-Borns, Charles thought.

"No, my mother was a witch. I'm not Muggle-born."

"Well then how can you not know anything about Quidditch?"

Charles sighed. "If you must know, my Mum wasn't sure if I was going to be a wizard or not, so she decided to raise me as a Muggle. Because of that, I know more about football than Quidditch."

Justin's face started to develop a sneer. "Well, I suggest you pick up on Quidditch quick, then. It'll save you from a lot of problems."

With that he stalked out of the compartment, slamming the door behind him. Stephen was shaking his head in disgust, and Helena's sour look seemed to deepen. Charles's was bewildered. Apparently he made two enemies in one train ride. That had to be some kind of a record.

"Don't worry about him, Charles," Stephen said. "He never takes to anyone he just meets. He's way too abrasive. I think he was just trying to see how far he could push you."

"He's an arrogant git," Helena said. "I almost hit him after he started talking to me. If Stephen hadn't gone on to a new topic, I would have slapped him."

"How much longer is this trip?" Charles asked, changing the subject.

"Not long, you slept for quite awhile," Stephen answered. "Matter of fact, I think we're slowing down."

Charles looked around and saw Kieran lying on his side, apparently asleep. Charles touched the terrier, and it sprang awake, looking to play some more. Charles had different plans though.

"Come on, boy. You need to get back into the carrier," Charles urged, "That way it'll be easier to get you into the school."

Kieran looked at the carrier, and sat down. Charles didn't think he was going to get in there voluntarily so he quickly grabbed and put him in the carrier. Kieran didn't struggle. He seemed to have accepted the inevitable.

"I'll let you out as soon as we get inside the school."

At that they heard a voice come over the speakers, which said "We will be reaching Hogwarts in a few minutes. Please leave your entire luggage on the train; it will be brought up to the school."

Charles looked at Helena and Stephen. Helena had put on her school robes. Charles opened his trunk and pulled out his robes.

"I think Stephen and I need to get changed. Could you excuse us for a little while?" Charles asked Helena, politely.

"Okay, but hurry up. I don't want to be waiting outside for too long," she replied with a smile.

As soon as the boys had changed into their robes, they felt the train start to slow down even more. They started to hear people move down the hallway. A bit later, they felt the train jerk to a stop. They left their compartment, found Helena, and proceeded to get off of the train.

When they stepped off they heard a deep booming voice say, "Firs' Years this way! Firs' Years follow me, please!"