Deus Fax Machina

A Wee Irish Christmas

Killkerrin House 

Sophie didn't see Hermione the following day, they had sat together at the end of term feast but after that she was gone. Sophie made her way to the Hogwarts Express with rest of the students journeying home and settled in for the long passage ahead.

The train ride was uneventful. Sophie shared a compartment with Lavender, Parvati, Lee and two of his friends, Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell. Sophie passed the time napping or chatting with Lee. He taught her how to play exploding snap. While they played, they came up with new products for the twins, including screaming greeting cards and Lip Locking Lipstick.

Once at Kings Cross Sophie bid her friends goodbye and made her way out of the station to find Herbert. She was excited to tell him all about her time at Hogwarts. Sophie hardly stopped talking all the way to Heathrow airport.

'I'm glad you're more excited about Hogwarts than the last time I saw you!' Herbert said as Sophie finished up a story about Peeves attempting to egg a certain member of staff.

'It's so much better than I thought it would be.' Sophie confessed as they arrived at the airport. She shook Herbert's hand goodbye, complimented his new apple green coat, and made her way to the Air Ireland terminal.

The flight to Cork took no time at all after the nine hours spent on the Hogwarts Express. It was in the Cork airport that Sophie was met by a young man, no more than thirty. He was tall and dashing. He was wearing a wide smile, a three piece ruby suit and matching pointed hat and sweeping cloak. He waved, Sophie knew there was no one else arriving to the care of a wizard but herself.

'Sophie?' The man thick had a European accent. 'I'm Edvard.'

Sophie smiled, she knew her aunt was quite a bit older and, in her letters, Dubheasa had told Sophie that Edvard, her partner, would be escorting her from the airport. Dubheasa's partner was young and handsome. Sophie like her aunt's (or cousin's) taste.

'Hi, nice to meet you.'

'Shall we?' Edvard gestured to the exit. Sophie followed Edvard out of the terminal and into blistering cold winds that whipped around them. Both pulled their traveling cloaks tightly around themselves.

'Around here,' Edvard led Sophie to a secluded area, out of sight and sheltered from the weather. 'Have you ever Apparated before?'

'No.' Sophie said into the hood of her cloak

'Alright, hold my hand, good and tight and do not let go.'

Sophie clasped Edvard's hand. Wolf was in his cage in her other hand. Edvard picked up Sophie's trunk and stepped forward pulling Sophie into a vacuum.

Sophie was compressed in a way she had never been before. The air was squeezed from her lungs, her very bones were being crushed beneath her muscles. And as quickly as the pressure had started, it stopped. Sophie stumbled forward breathing deeply, fearing she never would again. Wolf was mewing. Sophie scooped him from his wicker cage and hugged him, confirming they were both alright.

'It gets easier.' Edvard chuckled. 'Come on, up the hill.'

Sophie looked around, remembering she had just travelled a long distance. They had arrived on the edge of a cliff. There was a sheer drop to the ocean to Sophie's left, to her right were fields of lush green grass, rippling in the cold wind and dotted with fat woolly sheep. Ahead of her the field rose and atop the hill, right next to the cliffs edge, was a beautiful stone house. It looked like an old church. All around the stone building were huge trees, their leaves were stunning shades of red and orange, looking as though they were about to fall.