Spellbound

Chapter 2

Ea was quite impressed with how her cousins kept her attention for the two weeks that she was staying with the Potters. She shared a room with Lily, and they were up all night sometimes, talking about boys and Quidditch. And when she wasn't giggling with Lily, she was roughhousing or actually playing Quidditch with James and Albus. She did chores with them, and helped them finish up their summer homework, and they took her to Diagon Alley to go shopping or just to hang out.

But now, the warmth of the crowded alley was replaced by the steely cold of the train that rushed them towards a new year at school. Ea was not eager for this. She had been dreading coming to a new school as a second year, and was not ecstatic to be going to her uncle's old school. Now she would probably be seen as "That-New-Second-Year-Girl" or "Harry-Potter's-Niece." She didn't want to have to live up to those uncomfortable and impossible standards.

She had finally gotten away from her overbearing and obviously concerned family, and was able to sit in a cubicle that had blessedly been left empty. In the quiet, with the soft chugging of the engine as background noise, Ea was ears deep in an advanced dark arts book, when a flurry of robes landed in the seat next to her, squishing her toes under it.

Startling gray eyes landed on her when she gasped, and a small grin spread across its face. He leaned forward and gently laid his finger across Ea's lips before she could shout in irritation.

"Don't say anything." The boy's roguish face smirked again, before disappearing altogether, instantly followed by a ruckus outside of her compartment. Curious as to what was going on, she moved to get up, but an invisible hand held her leg hostage.

Just as she was about to ask what he was doing, the door flew open and a tall, lean boy in black robes with a green and silver scarf stared down the bridge of his nose at her.

"I'm looking for someone." was all he said.

"I do believe that I qualify as someone." Ea said smartly. She was tired of people barging in on her solitude. "Last I checked anyway."

The transparent hand on her leg squeezed, and she gathered up the strength and swung her legs out from underneath him. Standing straight up to her impressive six foot height, she easily looked the boy in the eye, "If you are done intruding, I do believe it would be wise of you to leave. At once." She swept her arm out towards the door, and waited.

The now sputtering boy looked totally poleaxed, "How dare you? I'll have you know, I am a prefect of Slytherin house! You will resp-" her wand against his throat silenced him.

"You're going to leave. Now." The air around her began to move, as if charged by fire and electricity. The ends of her hair moved with the air just so , alive, snapping, as the tip of her wand sparked.

Mr. Prefect took his cue and left. Ea stood in place quietly, fully aware of the invisible boy in the corner, watching her.

"You should leave too." She said over her shoulder, but squealed loudly as the stranger pinched her butt. Her elbow jerked up and into solid mass, likely the boy's chest since she heard his expulsion of breath. Anger flared, and crept up her neck to her cheeks, but as she opened her mouth to growl at him, she felt him slink past her. She clamped down on the feeling and snapped the door closed, only to have it jerked open by Albus.

"Hey! Where have you been? You know you have, like, family? We've been looking for you!" He looked around the compartment she was in, "You haven't been in here freaking out have you?" He asked softly. Out of all of her family, she felt most connected to her second cousin. She nodded a bit and sighed when Albus wrapped her in a big hug.

They stayed like that until Ea moved away and grabbed her book. Albus opened the door and put his arm over her shoulders and they walked down the small hall.