The Forbidden Four: Year One

Chapter Twenty-Two - The Ride Back Home

Chapter Twenty-Two - The Ride Back Home

     People filled platform nine-and-three-quarters, the crowds bustling with noisy chatter that made Castor's ears hurt and his jaw ache with the strength he was clenching it with.

He was happy to be heading back to the comforting warmth of Hogwarts, abandoning the cold chill and eerie nights at the Malfoy Manor. But he did not appreciate the countless people bumping into him, left and right. It seemed as if he never got a break from the never-ending chatter that filled the chilly air, and the piercing squeals that made him flinch and rub his sore ears.

     With a roll of his silver eyes and a grumpy pout, he headed onto the train.

Castor was hoping to avoid Draco at all costs. He had spent all of Christmas break with him, and he was sure that if he never had to see him again, it would be too soon.

     If there was one thing Draco was good at, it was pissing his Cousin off; which he had managed to do at least over twenty times during their small break. Castor lost count at twenty-two.

He dodged the incoming body of an excited fifth year who ran up to his friend and practically threw himself on her, greeting her with an eager kiss and a tight hug. Castor scrunched his nose up in disgust at the sight of the couple and inched closer to the train wall and shuffled his body past them, staying as far away from them as humanly possible.

     Most of the compartments were already full of excited children, which made things harder for Castor, who was hoping to find an empty one.

He settled for taking the one with only one girl inside, her platinum hair closely resembling Draco's and her bright blue eyes focused intently on the newspaper, which she was holding. . . upside down?

     Castor squinted in confusion, making out some gibberish printed on the front and large black ink that read: 'The Quibbler.' He glanced back up at her, to find her looking back up at him with a soft face. "You can sit," she said in an airy voice, "I don't mind. Nobody really ever sits with me, anyway."

Kind of depressing, Castor thought, but didn't say his thinking out loud, instead opting to giving her an appreciative nod and pushing his trunk up onto the storage space above him, and placing Bell beside him.

     An awkward silence filled the compartment, and Castor began to wish that he had just chosen a noisier one, maybe then he wouldn't have her blatantly staring at him, and he would just be able to fade into the back of the little room, safe from prying eyes, and safe from social interaction. Minutes ticked by, and the girl's intense gaze began to make him incredibly uncomfortable, his toes wiggling in his shoes and his teeth catching against his lip in an effort to distract himself. More minutes ticked by, and at this point he wanted to throw himself off the train as he waited for it to begin it's path to Hogwarts. It felt like the train would never start, with her gaze trained on him like that.

Finally, he flickered his eyes over to her, "what?" He snapped. She blinked and then looked out of the window, and then back at him again. "Sorry," her feather-like voice chimed, "I just expected you to say something." He raised an expressionless eyebrow, "about?" He asked dryly. She shrugged and gestured down to her newspaper. "Why would I care?"
"I never said you did, I just thought it would confuse you, it confuses a lot of people."

     Before he could say anything else, she spoke up again, "you're the boy I rode with on the boat, right? Castor Domain?"

He furrowed his eyebrows for a minute, thinking back to the many months that had flew by like the wind, faintly remembering helping a petite girl off the boat, and almost shoving her into the Black Lake After she started to rant about how beautiful the castle was.

     "I guess," he said with a nonchalant shrug.

She smiled at him, "thank you for helping me out when that boy tripped me."

     He hasn't even noticed that she had been tripped. He had just seen her about to fall on him, and preferred offering her his hand, instead of having her fall on top of him. Still, he didn't really have it in him to tell her that he couldn't have cared less that she had been tripped, and that he had no good intentions when he helped her.

Instead he just mumbled a soft, "you're welcome," under his breath, and propped his chin up on his hand.

     It was silent yet again, before Bell squawked loudly as an aged woman pulled up to their compartment door. "Anything from the trolly, dears?"

Castor looked over at Luna, who just smiled at the lady, "Two Pumpkin Pasties, please," she said, standing up and taking out two sickles and handing it to the woman, who traded her the sweets. "Anything for you, dear?" Castor snapped back to reality, realising that she was talking to him. Bell Squawked again, and he sighed and stood up. "Package of Jelly Slugs," he said, pulling out a sickle and taking the candy from her hands.

     She walked away with a satisfied smile on her face, her faint voice asking the same question to another group in another compartment as he slid the door closed. Castor sat down and ripped open the package taking one of the slippery things out and pushing it through the silver bars of Bell's cage. The Red-Hawk took the candy from his hands and eagerly scarfed it down, soon demanding him for more with a soft nip of her beak on his finger.

Castor felt something settle down on his knee, and furrowed his eyebrows at the crunch of paper that followed.

     He looked down as he passed the last of the sweet slugs to Bell, and found a round, orange-colored Pumpkin Pasty sitting on his skinny leg. Castor glanced back up at Luna, who just gave him a soft smile and then looked back at the window as she munched on her own.

He chewed on his cheek as if debating taking the candy, before giving in and ripping the fancy packaging open, and taking a bite, following her gaze and staring at the tall, snowy mountain ahead.

~~~

So, so so Sorry that this chapter is a bit late! I was at a sleepover with my friend and forgot to update! Hopefully I can get back on a steady update schedule and won't forget again.

As you probably noticed, I changed Bell from a Pastel Parrot to a Red-Hawk, because I feel like that fits Castor's aesthetic a little better.

I hope you enjoyed and if you did, leave a vote and a comment and I will see you in a couple days, as always, have a wonderful day!

~FunSSSized