Amortentia: A Hogwarts Story

Chapter Three

I remembered the first time I met Demetrius.

He was sitting in one of the compartments of the Hogwarts Express by himself, reading Quidditch Through the Ages. Being the judgmental eleven year old that I was, I figured he would be an alright person to be friends with, especially considering that I had no acquaintances on the train that day.

"Hey," He'd said, looking up from the book and putting it aside, giving me a warm smile.

"Hello," I'd smiled in return, taking the seat across from him, next to the window and facing forward.

"Demetrius Scamander, pleasure to meet you," he'd held out his hand to shake, and I'd gladly shaken it.

"Edwina Kwong," I'd replied. "Are you related to Newt Scamander?"

"Unfortunately, no. Not that my family is aware of, at least. He could be some very distant uncle," he'd laughed. "And trust me, I like my name as much as you do."

"Demetrius. Not a bad name," I'd run a hand through my hair, sitting up straighter. "Makes you sound rather...intelligent. And slightly Greek."

"Demeter is the basis for my name, I'm told. Why my parents decided to name me after the goddess of agriculture, I'm not sure."

"It's definitely hard to come up with a nickname for you," I'd considered him, looking over his brown hair, boyish facial features, Puddlemore United Jersey, dark grey hoodie, and blue jeans.

"Do you have any nicknames?" He'd asked.

"Not really. Although I can't really say I've had many friends, either, and my entire family just calls me Edwina." I'd shrugged.

"Eddie it is, then. Unless you'd rather be called Winnie?" He'd suggested.

"I think I'd much prefer Eddie," I'd smiled at him.

"Very well, then, Eddie," he'd experimented with my new "name." "Why haven't you had many friends? No wait, before we get there, where are you from?"

"England," I'd smirked.

"Please be more specific than that."

"My family is from Leeds, and we're, what do you call them? Non-magical people-"

"Muggles?"

"Yeah, um, that. My dad's a professor and my mum's a vet. I've never had many friends because most people, including my parents, think that I'm weird."

"Maybe you're just unique. And they're all...boring?" He'd laughed. "I don't know the right word for it, but I think you're great." He'd given me a reassuring smile, and I'd blushed.

"We only just met," I'd pointed out.

"Yes, well...not many people would be willing to sit with me."

"Why, are you unique, too?" I'd teased.

"More like a convicted criminal," He'd said it in such a grave tone of voice that I considered bolting from that compartment, and I could tell that he saw the reaction on my face.

"Umm..." I hadn't been sure what to say, but knew it would be rude to leave at that moment.

"Ehrm, my father's in Azkaban. You know what that is, right?"

"Wizarding prison?"

"Yeah. So, um, he was born a half blood, which is one wizarding parent and one muggle parent, but both of his parents died when he was young, so these kindly muggles took him in. When he was eleven, he came to Hogwarts and was mediocre at his studies but bullied the other kids, and then afterwards, wanted to prove that he was a great wizard. Mum was one of the only girls in his group, and they didn't get married, but then had my brother, Apollo. He's a fourth year Hufflepuff now, in case you're curious, and no, he's not single," he'd laughed. "He's actually, surprisingly, quite popular, but I guess he's proven he's better than where he comes from. I still love my family, I can't just leave them all behind, if you know what I mean. My father, um, he ended up killing the muggles who took him in, since they didn't accept him for who he was. This was when I was maybe three months old, so I can't really remember any of it, but I was told that he found them in a restaurant in Rome, where we were, and placed a terrible curse on them, so that they slowly shriveled up and died. Mum has never stayed in a single place for long since, to avoid the gossip and trouble that our presence apparently brings, although she tells us that she needs to experience new places to fuel her creative writing juices. That might be the other reason why I don't have friends."