Chapter 16

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It's October 3rd and you shall get your chapter! Enjoy!

Things were actually going okay. Until this blonde guy came.

“Don’t remember asking you to join us, Malfoy,” said Harry coolly. But Malfoy didn’t take much notice of him.

“Weasley . . . what is that?” said Malfoy, pointing at Pigwidgeon’s cage. A sleeve of Ron’s dress robes was dangling from it, swaying with the motion of the train, the moldy lace cuff very obvious. Ron made to stuff the robes out of sight, but Malfoy quickly seized the sleeve and pulled. 

“Look at this!” said Malfoy in ecstasy, holding up Ron’s robes and showing it to the two fat boys behind him. “Weasley, you weren’t thinking of wearing these, were you? I mean — they were very fashionable in about eighteen ninety...” 

“Eat dung, Malfoy!” said Ron, the same color as the dress robes as he snatched them back out of Malfoy’s grip. Malfoy howled with derisive laughter with the other two.

“So . . . going to enter, Weasley? Going to try and bring a bit of glory to the family name? There’s money involved as well, you know . . . you’d be able to afford some decent robes if you won...” 

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Al asked before a fight could break out.

“Who are you?” Malfoy asked back, disdainfully.

“Um, considering you barged into our compartment, we get to ask the questions.” Winry said.

“Who are you to ask me questions?” Malfoy snarled. “Do you even know who I am?”

“Nooo? What do you think we’re even talking about right now?” Winry retorted. Malfoy’s face turned red while everyone started laughing in the compartment.

“You must be a mudblood if you don’t know who I am.” Malfoy sneered. “I don’t need to explain myself to filth like you.”

Ed and Al stood up, ready to punch this guy, but before they could even take a step, a wench flew through the air, nearly hitting Malfoy in the face. Everyone went silent, their eyes on Winry, who looked way too calm. Malfoy slowly looked back to see the wrench lodged in the train wall, and his face paled.

“The next one will hit you right on your head.” Winry said calmly. Malfoy looked scared, and he quickly ran away with his two cronies following him.

“Bloody hell.” Ron said while Hermione fixed the broken wall with magic. “Where do you even keep those things?”

“I’ve been asking that question for way too long.” Ed sighed, but there was a proud smile on his face.

“How did you know that word’s meaning? I thought Amestrians weren’t used to wizard jargon?” Dean asked.

“Brother bought a book for swear words.” Al said with a sigh.

“It’s not very original.” Ed said, showing them a small book with barely 3 pages.

The rest of the ride went relatively uneventful until they reached the train station. The Hogwarts students were not sure if they admired Winry or were scared of her. The look on Malfoy’s face was hilarious, especially to Ron. But they also did not want to be on the other side of Winry’s temper.

As they reached the train station, there was a rumble of thunder overhead. They quickly got off the train with their heads bent and eyes narrowed against the downpour. The rain was now coming down so thick and fast that they just wanted to get to somewhere warm.

Ed held his hand out to Winry as they moved through the students trying to get out of the rain.

"So you won't get lost in the crowd." Ed explained. "I don't want Granny bitching at me for losing you at the platform."

“What about me brother? Aren’t you worried that I’ll get lost?” Al teased, but it quickly backfired on him.

“Of course I am. Give me your hand.”

“I was joking brother.”

Even though he said that, Al and Winry took Ed’s hands, and they tried to follow the others.

“Hi, Hagrid!” Harry yelled suddenly, seeing a gigantic silhouette at the far end of the platform. 

“All right, Harry?” Hagrid bellowed back, waving. “See ya at the feast if we don’t drown!” 

“First years traditionally reach the Hogwarts Castle by sailing across the lake with Hagrid.” Hermione explained to the Amestrian trio. “Since this is your first experience you guys would be expected to go with them too.”

“What? We have to cross a lake in this weather?!” Ed yelled in horror. Al and Winry weren’t doing any better either, but they couldn’t do anything. Already the Amestrian children and the first-years were moving towards Hagrid.

“Oooh, I wouldn’t fancy being you guys right now.” Ron said with a grin, but he did look sympathetic of their situation. Ed sighed at that. It wasn’t like Ed could punch Ron or anyone else here. Neither the weather nor the stupid tradition was their fault. The Amestrians would just have to tough it out.

The crowd of first years and the Amestrians gathered around Hagrid, most of them gaping at Hagrid’s size. Even though the Amestrian trio had already met the man, it was still a shock to see the giant man, especially when compared to the small 11-year-olds near him.

When the train was finally emptied, they were led down a muddy path to the edge of the lake. The Amestrian trio saw several boats lined up around the place, but none of them had oars or any type of motor with them. Ed and Al had already read about it in Hogwarts: A History, but it was still eerie and fascinating to watch the boats move towards them without any visible aid.

Each boat was made to carry four people and the trio had to let one of the first years join them. The kid was way too small (Ed decides to not say a word about that), but he was bouncing with excitement. They were a little worried the kid might tip the boat over, especially since the waves of the lake were choppy and rather furious with the rain and wind.

Everyone huddled as close as they could to seek shelter from the wind as they sailed through a narrow path, but the kid was leaning towards the water as if looking for something. Al was just about to pull the kid towards their huddle group when they heard Hagrid’s voice.

“Y’all will get your first sight of Hogwarts in a sec.” Hagrid called over his shoulder through the wind and rain. “Y’all might want to look up.”

Everyone was too cold to do much else than look and gasp at the sight. The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. Even through the rain, it was a magical view.

They were all so in awe of the sight that they didn’t notice the kid until it was too late.

“Ahhhhh!” The trio turned away from the castle when they heard the scream. They couldn’t do anything but watch in horror as the kid fell into the water.

......... Oops 👀

I was actually going to post this three days ago but then I remembered about today. Kind of a d*ck move, now that I think about it 😅.

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