An American at Hogwarts

Chapter Four

A little ways into the train ride, a lady came along pushing a trolley (British for cart) full of various wizarding candies.

We pooled our money and loaded up on sugar. I was amazed to see the crazy kinds of candy these people ate. Jelly beans, but with vomit and earwax flavors! Chocolate frogs that actually jumped! I was freaking out!

"Try this one!" insisted George, holding out a jelly bean for me.

"No way! What if it's something disgusting?"

"Oh come on, that's part of the fun!" said Lee.

"Try it! Try it! Try it!" chanted Fred and George.

"Ahhh! Fine fine fine!" I grabbed the bean from George and popped it in my mouth before I could change my mind.

"How is it?" asked Fred.

I chewed thoughtfully. "Not too bad... it's like- oh. Oh my gosh. Ew! Ew ew ew! It's not good, it's very very bad!"

I jumped out of my seat as the three boys started laughing.

"Ugh, what is that?"

"Salmon," Fred choked out between laughs.

"Ew! That is sick! Who thinks this stuff up? Ugh, I gotta go wash out my mouth. Where's the bathroom on the train?"

Lee pointed, still unable to form a complete sentence due to laughing, and I rushed out of the compartment. I couldn't wait until I had an opportunity to prank them back, but right now, I needed to focus on getting this taste out of my mouth.

As I rushed down the aisle, I accidentally bumped into someone.

"Sorry!" I called over my shoulder, not even bothering to look at who they were. I made it to the bathroom and rinsed my mouth, then scrubbed my tongue with paper towels. Finally, the taste started to fade.

That. Was. Disgusting.

I wandered out of the bathroom, still not completely free of the salmon jellybean, and came face to face with a very pale-blond boy; I thought I recognized him as the one I ran into on my mad dash to the bathroom. He and two of his friends were blocking my way down the aisle. I tried to step around them, but they didn't move.

"What?" I asked, looking at the blond guy. He was sneering at me, but if he was trying to be intimidating, it wasn't working.

"You must be the new student my father told me about," he spat.

"What gave you that idea? The accent or the fact you've never seen me before?" I asked sarcastically.

The boy's nose scrunched up in disgust. Other people on the train were starting to take notice, poking their heads out of their train compartments.

"You better watch yourself, you filthy little mudblood."

Everyone around us who was watching the exchange gasped, so I guessed that was a bad thing. Anything accompanied by "filthy little" generally wasn't a compliment, but I didn't know the other word.

"What the hell is a mudblood?" I asked, not bothering to beat around the bush.

"The fact that you don't know just proves how much of a mudblood you are," Blondie taunted.

"Hate to break it to you buddy, but your insult doesn't work if the word has no meaning to me."

Blondie sneered, but I thought I saw some embarrassment underneath.

"Whatever. Crabbe, Goyle, let's go." They pushed past me, and I was knocked backwards into the wall.

"Hey!" I yelled, straightening back up and shaking my fist at their retreating backs. "You better be careful! You're messing with a New Yorker! When you push us, we push back harder!"