The Ghost Marauder

Part 4

Yay, Sam has got her own Golden Trio! P.S. Vote right now if you're at HOME!

          I giggled a little. "I'm glad that I could find nice people to sit with."

          Emma narrowed her eyes as she made Mark release Bertha's hair and pushed him back into his seat. "Have people been mean to you already?"

          "Well, yeah..." I said. "Some people in the other compartments..." Bertha nodded next to me.

          "Someone in yellow pushed me over when I was boarding the train," she told Emma.

          Emma grabbed something long and thin - her wand - and gave us a pleasant smile. "Could you two be dears and tell me what these people looked like?"

          Bertha's brow furrowed in concentration. "She looked like a fourth year - no, probably a fifth year - and had a prefect badge. And she had brown hair."

          "Jenna," Emma muttered.

          "I passed a compartment full of kids in red, so probably Gryffindors. They laughed at me and wouldn't let me in," I told Emma. "They looked like second years. And when I was running through the gate, a boy crashed into my cart with his cart on purpose. He had long black hair, and is actually in - " I pointed " - that compartment across the way. I think his name is Sirius."

          "Second years always think that they're better than everyone," Emma muttered. "Okay, so brunette Hufflepuff prefect, cabin full of second-year Gryffindors, and snotty black-haired kid across the way. Did I get that right?"

          Bertha and I nodded in sync.

          Emma gave us a sweet smile, and stood up. "Excuse me cuties, I'll be right back." With that, she left the compartment.

          Mark rolled his eyes at her absence, and slouched in his seat. "You guys really shouldn't have told her that stuff..."

          "Where'd she go?" Bertha asked, curious.

          Mark frowned. "Em has a bad habit of being really protective over people she likes. If you ask me, I think that she should have been a Gryffindor."

          "I thought she was a Ravenclaw," I said, finding that talking with a boy wasn't as bad as I thought. "She knows my sister."

         "She probably only knows your sister because she got into a fight with her. Em is a Slytherin."

          Bertha and I gasped. "But she's so nice!" I protested.

          Bertha nodded vigorously. "I thought Slytherins were evil! After all, You-Know-Who was from there!" she lowered her voice to a whisper. You-Know-Who had recently appeared a few years ago, but he was already widely feared.

          Mark arched an eyebrow. "I don't know why Em is a Slytherin, but she's nice, almost too nice. She's got stupid pet names for everyone too."

          "So where'd she go?" I asked.

          "Probably to get revenge," Mark said carelessly.

          CRACK!

          A scream echoed down the corridor, and my mouth dropped open. But Emma doesn't even know me!

          I heard the compartment across the hallway slide open, and some talking.

          Suddenly, there was a loud thump. Someone yelled.

          Bertha and I jumped as our compartment door slid open and Emma slipped in, looking frazzled, but wearing a wide grin.

          Mark frowned. "That was - "

          " - Reckless, I know," Emma interrupted. "Don't worry cuties, those people won't bother you anymore."

          Halfway between awe and fear, I asked, "What did you do to them?"

          Seeing her younger brother's questioning glance, Emma scoffed. "No worries, I didn't do anything to physically maim them. Just some embarrassing stuff. I don't need more detentions."

          "You used to hurt people?" Bertha squeaked in disbelief.

          Mark lazily waved his hand. "Introducing my sister, one of the most feared students at Hogwarts."

          Emma gave a lopsided grin. "I may not be a decent flier, or any good at potions, but I have learned an awful lot of spells."

          "So what did you do to them?" I repeated myself.

          "Well, I tracked Jenna - you know, the Hufflepuff - down, and used Anteoculatia... " she paused, seeing our confused looks. "Anteoculatia makes the victim grow antlers," she explained.

          "Oh, cool!" Bertha clapped.

          "Not bad," Mark mumbled.

          "And then on those Gryffindors I used Densaugeo - that makes you grow beaver teeth," she said, using her fingers as teeth and making funny faces. "And on the last kid... oh, I used Calvario. That makes you lose your hair," she said with a wicked grin. "He did seem rather proud of it."

          Bertha stared at Emma suspiciously. "How can you be a Slytherin but still be... so nice?"

          Emma spun to face Mark. "Hah! I told you I'm nice!"

          Mark just made a face.

          "Anyways," Emma said, turning back to Bertha. "Not all Slytherins are mean, not all Ravenclaws are smart, not all Gryffindors are brave, and not all Hufflepuffs are nice." Her face darkened slightly at the last one, but she smiled a second later, patting Bertha's cheek. "Don't believe everything you hear, sweetie."

          The door to our compartment slid open, and a lady looked in, a cart in front of her. "Anything from the trolley, dears?"

          I went to get my pocket money, but Emma already had several coins in her hand. "It's my treat, guys. Don't worry, I've got it covered!"

          "She's so cool," Bertha whispered to me. I nodded in agreement.

          A minute later, we each were happily munching on our choice of food. Emma raised her Cauldron Cake, like a mock toast. "Here's to all first years - scratch that, just you three; the rest are bloody buggers. May you have an amazing year at Hogwarts!"

          We cheered and raised up our own half-eaten food.

04/12/17