Queer Hogwarts

The Moore you know

I remember meeting two of the Oddballs at King's Cross. Of course we didn't know each other then. I remember Diana, proclaiming loudly, in a thick Irish accent, about how she was destined to be in Gryffindor just like her idol, Harry Potter. I couldn't help agreeing with her, she seemed pretty obnoxious. That's what my dad had said all Gryffindor's were like.

I remember seeing her brother, Dean, shuffling behind her, obviously scared of the prospect of meeting new people. He was tall and she was short, yet aside from that, their features were almost identical. Their features may have been identical but their personalities were polar opposite.

I watched as they and their parents slid through the barrier between platforms 9 and 10 like it was as normal as walking down the isles in a supermarket.

I looked up at my Dad, he had been missing from a large amount of my life, but he still loved me and wouldn't miss me ascending into his world at any cost. He held me with one hand and my luggage with the other as we stepped through the magical barrier onto platform 9 3/4.

I don't know what I was expecting, but whatever it was, it wasn't this. There were so many people and so many animals, I could barely hear myself think. There were adults in large coloured robes and pointed hats milling about, smiling at everyone. Some, in black, looked stern and preoccupied, my Dad told me they were from the Ministry. I watched one wave his wand around himself and appear in normal clothes, proceeding to dart through the barrier onto platform 9 and 10. My Dad said there was probably a kerfuffle with some muggles. There were porters loading luggage onto the train and parents loading their children. I watched Diana and Dean get onto the train at the door closest to us, and decided that they were the least intimidating of all the students around.

"I guess I'll see you at Christmas," I said. It felt awkward, I hadn't seen him in a month. He'd had work abroad in America. International Wizarding Law was a big issue that needed sorting.

"I guess..." he looked awkward too, "Write to me? With your house?"

"Yeah."

A whistle blew. Relieved, I told him that I had to go and got on-board. He handed me Ratatouille and my carry-on, shutting the carriage door. I was alone. Trying to suppress the anxiety that was creeping in, I wandered through the corridor, looking in to the compartments. The carriage was full of excitable chatter and nearly all the compartments were full. I made my way down to the end of the corridor, the noise steadily decreasing until I got to the end compartment. There were only two people in there: Dean and Diana. She was gushing about her expectations of the school.

"Jemima said that the caretaker was a right old grouch. He doesn't even let students eat sweets in the corridors. How unfair is that? I need my Canary Creams if Mum and Dad won't let me be an animagus!"

I coughed. "Hey, can I sit here? It's only all the other compartments are full and-"

"Sure!" Diana laughed, sliding up towards the window seat. "I love meeting new people! So does Dean, even if he doesn't show it. I'm Diana Moore, and you are?"

"Maisie," I replied, "With a see and not a zee. My mother was adamant about that." I smiled sheepishly.

"That's an awesome name!" She seemed genuinely interested in me. I'd never really found that in anyone before. "Awww! You've got a rat! What's their name? My mum only let me have a toad. I hate him, he's so mardy, I bet he's sulking in his box."

"He's called Ratatouille," I smiled. "After one of my favourite films."

They looked at me with blank faces.

"What's a film? I thought Ratatouille was a meal?" Diana exclaimed.

"What's a film?" I spluttered, "You must be joking!" I looked at them but they seemed genuinely confused.

"Oh! It must be a muggle thing. I think Dad mentioned something about a Sin-E-Mar where they show Moo-V's." Diana laughed. It was a pretty laugh, one that suited her face. Her smile stretching from ear-to-ear.

We continued laughing and chatting all the way to Hogsmede. I had brought about five books for the journey, but I didn't open the page of a single one.