Werewolves, Vampires, and Witches

There's Something Trolley Going On

Above: Animagi forms: Ember (top) and Ella (bottom)

Ember

I led Anna down the train towards the compartment my sister, Lily, and I were staying in, still seething in fury at the way Lucy had treated Anna.

I wondered where Anna had come from. My parents were pretty influential, and Ella and I knew almost all of the first years by sight. Must be a Muggle-born, I thought.

I pushed open the door to our compartment. As I had predicted, Ella had pulled out one of her fifteen-hundred books and had started reading. Lily was left to gaze out the window, watching the countryside go by.

Ella and Lily looked up as we entered.

"Would you mind if Anna joins us?" I asked.

Both of them guestured for Anna and I to come in.

Ella gave Anna a critical once-over. She seemed to like what she saw in Anna, though, like I did, she also seemed to wonder where she was from, confirmed by her next statement.

"Where are you from?" Ella asked.

Anna hesitated for a split second before answering. "I lived near a forest. In the countryside," she seemed to improvise hastily.

I made eye contact with Ella. Her look said that she had heard the slight hesitation, and her apparant improvisation. We'll talk about it later, when they're not here, her look said, jerking her head slightly towards Lily and Anna to indicate the identity of "they."

"So, Lily, where are you from?" Ella asked, taking the spotlight off of Anna. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Anna sag slightly with relief.

"Oh, I lived near Grimmauld Place. Actually, in Grimmauld Place," Lily answered, the question taking her by surprise.

"Grimmauld Place? Isn't that where Harry Potter lives?" Ella asked.

"Yeah. He's my dad."

"No way!" I exclaimed. "I never would have thought!"

Fortunately for Lily, the lunch trolley passed by our compartment.

Lily offered to buy everyone lunch, an offer we gladly accepted. As we ate, I noticed Ella kept glancing at Anna. Normally, I would have discarded her hints, but I felt that Anna was hiding something, a feeling that Ella obviously shared.

After a while, Ella gave up her scrutiny, as there was nothing to gain, and instead started humming under her breath.

The hours flew by. We chatted easily, though Anna still skirted around talking about her past, no matter how deceptive we were about our prying. Instead we turned our efforts to Lily, asking about her family and what it was like being the daughter of a celebrity.

"It's pretty daunting," Lily admitted. "My brothers don't mind, but I'd rather be the anonymous nobody.

"James is the prankster. I'll wager he's planning some sort of prank for us. Albus is the brilliant one, like my aunt. He and my cousin Rose are the two smartest people in our family."

"Sounds like Ella," I joked. Ella was always reading, always vying to learn something new. Even though we haven't even started school, she was already the smarter twin.

"What can you guys tell us about you?" Anna asked. I started. I'd nearly forgotten she was there.

Oh, drat, I thought. We'd have to tell them. Ella didn't understand why I kept it a secret.

We can trust them, Ella's voice rang through my head.

Interesting story: When we were four, Ella and I discovered that we could communicate telepathically. Over the years we've developed control so that the other twin would only hear what we wanted them to hear. I remember one time when I accedentally let Ella hear my thoughts about the cute Muggle boy down the street. She teased me to no end for the next six months.

That's the thing about my sister. She's totally relentless. On top of that, she's incredibly determined. Those are good traits to have, in the right circumstances.

Well? she mentally prompted.

"Well..." I said weakly. I cleared my throat, then took a deep breath. "One thing you should know about us... we're..." I mumbled something unintelligible. "So, yeah."

Ella rolled her eyes. "What Ember meant to say," she started, placing emphasis on meant. "We're Animagi."

Lily's eyes widened. "No way!" she exclaimed.

"Prove it," Anna said.

Ella shrugged, then transformed. Where my sister had been seconds before now stood a beautiful snow leopard. She was undistinguishable from a normal leopard except from her startling turquoise eyes, nearly identical in color to her human eyes.

I sighed, then transformed. My form wasn't as beautiful or unique as Ella's. I was your typical African leopard. My fur was coarser, and when paired with my sister, it was obvious who was the more popular with the crowd. The only thing unique about my form was my eyes- a deep cobalt blue eyes- same as my human form. Only while Ella's went well with the form, my eyes made me stand out like a freak. Secretly, I'd always been jealous that Ella had gotten the more beautiful form.

I didn't show it. Instead I lounged, watching Lily and Anna's startled expressions with amusement.

Ella didn't stay very long in her form. I changed back within a second of her, grateful that I didn't have to stay any longer.

We continued to chat until we were informed that we would be reaching Hogsmeade Station. We changed into our Hogwarts robes and left the train without another word.

So what do you guys think so far? Hope you're enjoying it.
Hugs, Gaby