Wizards in Time

Into the Mix

Gryffindor Danny Pink had always had mixed feelings about the train ride to Hogwarts. The upside was that his Slytherin best friend Clara always sat right next to him the whole time. The downside was that she attracted her numerous friends, who always teased him about his quiet demeanor.

"Hey, Pink! Cat got your tongue?" one joked, waving her own feline across the noisy compartment at him. That girl's name was Rose, and she was a Gryffindor. Danny looked down at her free hand, which was intertwined with his mate Mickey's, and smiled. The two had been dating for a year, so he would let the remark pass.

"Would you speak up, your voice is softer than Moffat sneaking up on me!" another girl from Ravenclaw called, laughter ringing out.

Moffat was the caretaker's cat. One thing you could always trust that cat to do is catch you doing something wrong and report it to Caretaker Davies in an instant. Danny caught the girl who had spoken, Martha, glancing at Mickey for approval. Shrugging it off, Danny turned to Clara.

"Hey, maybe you should slow down on the drink." he said to her softly, gesturing at her bottle of firewhisky. That was another reason Danny hated the train. Clara always got just tipsy enough to take turns snogging everyone there, everyone except him. He hated to admit it, but he had had a crush on her since he was thirteen. Here he was, four years later, still pining after her.

Clara shrugged at him. "This is my first one." she replied dismissively. Danny glanced down at the bottle. It was almost empty. He gently took the bottle away from her, but the damage was done, as he very well knew.

Another Gryffindor, Amy Pond, grinned across the compartment at Clara. "Oi, Oswald!" she called playfully. "Come here." Amy patted her lap, smirking. Clara got to her feet a little unsteadily, all eyes on her as she deposited herself on Amy's lap. Amy leaned forward, pressing their lips together sloppily. Danny bit his lip as the two girls kissed hungrily. Cheering and wolf-whistles filled the air, but the only thing Danny could feel was jealousy. He caught Rory Williams' eye, who had a similar expression on his face as he stared. Half-smiling, Danny looked away from the Hufflepuff, eyes on his feet.

When Clara and Amy finally broke apart, Clara pushed her hazel hair away from their faces, grinning. "You're a good kisser," she started, winking at Amy, "But what about Rory? It is so obvious that you two are completely in love."

Amy turned red, pushing Clara gently off her lap. She wished Clara didn't get so brutally honest when she was drunk. "That isn't true." she denied, fixing her ginger hair. Rory just sat there, scarlet-faced and open-mouthed.

Clara scoffed. "Alright, sure." A pair of arms wrapped around her waist. Turning, she saw Jack, who was another Slytherin.

"I think I can do better than Amy." said Jack in a flirty voice, leaning forward to press their mouths together.

Danny groaned inwardly and looked away, eyes on the scenery outside the window. "How about a game of Truth or Dare?" he suggested loudly, causing Clara and Jack to break apart.

Clara turned and smiled at Danny, causing his heart to melt. "Yeah, alright," she said, ignoring Jack's protests. The rest of the compartment agreed, so they began the game.

"Truth or Dare, Amy?" Danny asked, still slightly jealous.

"Dare." said Amy instantly.

"Alright," Danny said, rummaging around in his head. "I dare you to go to the new teachers' compartment and jinx Professor Smith's hair purple."

"Challenge accepted."

In the new teacher's compartment, Professor Smith was sat across from Professor Peters, the incoming Potions professor. The two professors were both men in their thirties, were about the same height, and even shared first names (John). However, Professor Smith felt that they couldn't be more different. Peters's eyebrows, for one thing, were absolutely furious. Smith didn't even have eyebrows. Peters's head was full of dark brown curls. Smith's hair, on the other hand, was lighter and much floppier. Professor Smith abruptly realized that he hadn't been listening to what the other professor was saying.

"...but in my opinion, I believe that reincarnation is entirely possible." finished Professor Peters, smiling expectantly at Professor Smith.

"Ah, yes." stalled Professor Smith, casting his eyes around for a distraction. "Yes, I believe so as well..." As he was looking around, he spotted a wand poking through the compartment door and jumped to his feet, more than a bit relieved to have found something. "Aha! trying to jinx us, are you?" Smith said, opening the door and striding out into the hall. What he didn't expect was a ginger-haired girl staring back at him.

Amy giggled nervously, stowing her wand away. "I'm sorry, Professor, it was just a silly prank, it won't happen again." She looked up at him with wide eyes, praying he wouldn't give her detention before they even got to school.

Professor Smith stood in front of her, trying to hide his admiration at her courage. "That was very wrong." he said in a serious voice. "You can't expect to get away with this every time, but I'll let you off this once." He hesitated, then said, "Let us walk you back to your compartment."

"That isn't necessary, sir," Amy began.

"I insist." interrupted Professor Smith.

"Amy should have been back by now." Clara said to Danny, glancing around worriedly. "Do you think she's been caught?'

Danny opened his mouth to reply, but before he had the chance, the compartment door slid open, revealing Amy, Professor Peters, and Professor Smith. "Hello." said Amy, letting out a small giggle. "This is Professor Smith, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and Professor Peters, the new Potions professor."

Professor Smith nodded. "That's right. I caught your friend outside our compartment trying to jinx my hair purple."

Danny blushed. "Actually, sir, that was my fault. I'm the one who told her to-"

"It doesn't matter." said Professor Smith. "No one's in trouble here, I'm letting her off with a warning." Amy nodded, going into the compartment and sitting down in her seat.

"I rather think it does matter." Professor Peters interjected, his thick Scottish brogue filling the air. Clara's eyes shot to him, heart speeding up a little. For a teacher, he was very attractive. The curls covering his head made Clara want to run her hands through them, and his bare arms looked nicely toned. Not to mention his accent. She laughed inwardly at her silly thoughts. She had fancied Danny since their fourth year, and she liked to think that she would tell him soon.

"I think seventh-years should be talking about their future, throwing ideas around." continued Professor Peters. "For example," he pointed at Clara, 'What are your career plans after graduation?"

Clara's mouth felt slightly dry as she cleared her thoughts. "I want to work in the Department of Mysteries." she said, feigning confidence. "Or maybe become a professor."

As his eyes focused on Clara, Professor Peters became aware that she was extremely pretty. Shaking that thought away - she was a student! - he nodded approvingly. "Solid choices."

Professor Smith checked his wristwatch. "I do believe the train is arriving soon. You'd all better get changed." And with that, the two professors were gone.