Andy Black and the Marvelous Wizarding World of Demigods

Chapter 4 - Fall 2008

September 1st: Mom and I were at the station, finally. Platform 9 and 3/4 was before us. With a big breath, we walked through the wall, finding ourselves surrounded by kids of all ages. Before us, the train was waiting, steaming and smoking and glistening red. I was excited, I will admit. No trace of enthusiasm showed on my face, though. Enthusiasm isn't exactly my strong point.

Mom and I both hated goodbyes, so we hugged, very briefly, promised to write and Iris message every week, and then mom took off and I loaded my stuff on.

Once inside the train, I found an empty compartment near the back and seated myself comfortably by the window, feet up on the seat and a book on greek mythology in my hands. Annabeth had been doing extra research on early Greek origins and somehow all the kids at camp felt like knowing the most about our roots was a competition now.

In my drawstring bag, I had my wand, a notebook, a New York Times article on Iron Man I'd cut out for investigation, and money for food.

I was only about three or so pages into the book when the train began to move forward. A moment later, a red-headed girl covered in freckles and very reminiscent of Anne of Green Gables opened the door.

"Can I sit in here with my friends?" she asked, out of breath. She must've been quite late. "All the other compartments are pretty full."

"Of course," I replied.

She smiled, relieved. "Thanks, I'm Ginny Weasley, by the way."

A bushy haired girl - the same one from the bookstore - popped her head in. "I'm Hermione Granger," she said.

"Pleasure," I replied. "Andy Black." I'd decided a few weeks earlier that I wasn't going to go by Glory here. Separating my identities was too hard with the same name.

Ginny dumped her stuff on the bench and plopped down. "The boys should be here any moment," she told Hermione.

Hermione peered down the hall anxiously, then sat across from Ginny. "I didn't see them come in, but maybe they sat somewhere else."

They chatted amongst themselves for a while, but when I set the book down to look out of the window for a bit, Hermione looked at me.

"Are you a first year?" she asked. "I haven't seen you before. You can't be older than me."

"Yeah," I replied.

"Ginny here," she gestured at the girl, "she is too."

Ginny waved shyly. "Do you know what house you want?"

"My mum's family is all in Slytherin, but I don't know them," I explained. "They all sound like prats, though, so I have no idea where I want to be. I grew up with my dad's family, and they're all muggles. Guess it's handy, I'm sure to not be disappointed."

"That was me too," Hermione explained. "Both my parents are muggles, so when I came, I had no idea what's going on. It takes about 4 seconds and a good bit of research and you'll blend in with everyone without a problem. I'm a second year. Gryffindor."

I smiled. Blending in wasn't exactly something I loved. Plus, Hermione's muggle family was probably nothing like my own. "That's cool. Ginny, what about you?"

Ginny shrugged. "I'm a first year too. Maybe we'll be in the same house. My whole family is Gryffindor, though. Is your dad's family in America?" So she'd noted my accent.

"Yes, I grew up in New York and South Carolina."

"Oh," gasped Hermione. "Did you ever see that rich man, what's his name, Tony Stark? He lives in New York, right? He's the one that just barely made that crazy insane suit last week. Iron Man, they're calling him."