Mimbulus Mimbletonia

Chapter 1 - Hogwarts Express

The Hogwarts train arrived in the station, puffing and steaming smoke out of its engine. You were nervous, because though you love Hogwarts, you never seemed to quite fit in with the others. Another thing--you are a Hufflepuff. Of course you love your house and you would easily fight anyone who said that Hufflepuffs were weak. But, the "golden" trio--they were in Gryffindor. Gryffindor was the glorified house, and they seemed to all fit in. As you anxiously boarded the train, you quickly glanced to find empty compartments. Every compartment seemed to be full with students and laughing and chattering--students who already felt at home.

As you were busy trying to look for an empty compartment, you tripped on something and landed face first into the ground--hard. You looked up and only saw a flash of a green cloak and platinum blond hair. Draco Malfoy. He laughed coldly; your face flushed a bright red as you quickly got up, hoping no one saw you fall. You mumble something to him about watching where he was going and continue walking by compartments when you hear someone call your name.

As you turn around, you see your friends Andrew Rosier and Lucie Atkinson. The thing is, when you were with your friends, you felt more alone than if you were simply by yourself. You told yourself that it was just something wrong with you--they were true friends, they had to be. In any case, they were your only friends. In your mind, it was better to deal with not fitting in with a friend group than to not fit in anywhere at all. You faked a smile and sat down next to Lucie.

"How were your guys' holidays?" You asked.

"Alright." They mumbled.

Lucie quickly cast a silencing charm over her and Andrew. Suddenly, you could no longer hear their voices but could only see their mouths move. This happened quite often. You suspected that they simply wanted privacy to talk alone. You had suspected that they had fancied each other for a while, so them simply wanting privacy didn't bother you, at least not that much. You still felt a twinge of annoyance and sadness whenever they excluded you, but as you constantly told yourself--they were your friends. You tried to believe that they mean no harm, and they're the only ones you've got--so you had better stick with them.

You pretended to ignore them and took out One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. You read quietly to yourself for a little while and tried to ignore the giggling Andrew and Lucie. Suddenly, Lucie's squeaking laugh filled the compartment again, but she didn't seem to notice.

That wasn't right--you shouldn't have been able to hear that. Had her silencing charm worn off? If so, neither of them seemed to notice.

"Look normally I don't condone bullying, but the way that Malfoy tripped y/n was absolutely hilarious. You should've seen how red her face was when she got up!" Lucie laughed shrilly.

Andrew cackled, but that cackle was cut short. You sit there, blinking back tears and concentrate on your textbook. You notice four students walking through the hallway, also looking for a cabin. Oh how you wished that you had been out there, and that you had never entered this cabin in the first place. It would be downright torture staying with Lucie and Andrew now. At least before you could hold on to the hope that they meant well--but now you knew how they really felt about you. You felt every laugh that left their mouth pierce a deeper wound into your heart.

"Hey, don't talk about y/n like that," a voice said. You hid behind your hair and didn't dare look up. If you even lifted your head, they would see the tears in your eyes, and that would be the worst defeat of all.

"Very frightening, coming from Longbottom, the "witless wonder". Andrew sneered.

Another voice piped up. "Shut it, Rosier or I'll hex you."

"Oh, really? A Mudblood like you? Humor me, Ackroyd. You're a shame to the Slytherin house." The Slytherin boy laughed cruelly.

The boy named Ackroyd was quickly silenced

A silence hushed over the compartment, until a soft voice said, "There's nothing wrong with muggle-borns, really."

"Luna's right. Some muggle-borns I know have far more talent than you two combined," a confident voice resonated. "C'mon you lot, we can go find another compartment."

"Wait, Ginny. Y/n, do you want to come with us?" The first voice, belonging to Longbottom said.

For the first time in this whole encounter, you look up to see a kind face smiling down at you. He's holding a plant that matches the picture on your textbook. This was the kindest gesture that you had received in a while--and you could not find any words to reply to this mysterious boy. You quickly pack up your things and wave at Lucie and Andrew, who looked disgusted at Longbottom's act of kindness.

The red-haired girl leads the four of you to find another compartment, Compartment Number 7. They all filed in, but as you went to enter as well, Longbottom held out his arm, blocking you from entering.

"We haven't been properly introduced yet, have we? The name's Neville."

"I'm Ginny Weasley," the red-haired girl said.

"Gareth Ackroyd," the brown-haired boy in Slytherin robes said.

"Luna Lovegood," the blonde-haired girl piped up. You noted that her voice was very soothing to listen to.

Before you could reply, the trolley lady walked past, yelling "Anyone want anything from the trolley, dears?"

"Oh, I'll have two chocolate frogs," Neville said. He handed the trolley lady two galleons, and without a word, he handed me one.

"Here," Neville said, "You deserve it after all that's happened."

"T-thank you," You said. You noted that this was the nicest thing any student at Hogwarts has ever done for you. In these few moments of knowing him, Neville and his friends were nicer to you than Lucie and Andrew ever were.

You both took your seats, him next to Gareth and you next to Luna. The train ride to Hogwarts was the most enjoyable you'd ever experienced in the three years you had been at Hogwarts.