A Supernatural Study in Hogwarts

Chapter 2 - The Honeydukes Express

"Alright guys, listen up," Michael started a couple of compartments further down the train and Gabriel rolled his eyes at what without doubt was going to be his family's usual cheering on speech. Hooray.

Don't get him wrong, he loved his brother, but Michael had the annoying habit of taking his job as the head of the family very seriously. And that included speeches.

"Listen, this is an extraordinary event for all of us," his older brother continued. "The four of us have been chosen for this special occasion and it is our duty to not screw it up." Okay, so maybe his gaze rested on Gabriel a little longer than it did on their other brothers. "Now, we're all nervous but that's perfectly normal, alright? We're heading into unfamiliar territory and it's gonna be quite the adjustment. Of course we will always have each other but it's still basically like our first day at Ilvermorny. We'll be in different years and probably different Houses too, just like at home. Maybe we'll be a little less divided, maybe even more. But whatever happens later today, whatever Houses we get into, I want the three of you to do one thing for me." He locked eyes with each one of them before saying, "I want you to make some friends in your Houses. Locals, if possible. Because we're all new to this, so if you need anything, at anytime, you've gotta have someone who can help you."

Now in a normal family that request probably wouldn't be that strange, normal people usually made friends on their own anyway. But the Shurleys... well, they weren't exactly normal. And they were absolutely terrible at making friends. Gabriel had basically scared away all of the other Thunderbirds in his year from day one by playing his tricks on them. And honestly, he didn't even care that he did. It had been quite amusing. Castiel was as antisocial as they came and only really hung out with Samandriel, who had always been a shy kid and was more than happy to stick with his fellow Pukwudgie brother.

And as for Michael himself... the guy sometimes really could be an arrogant dick if he wanted to. He was the Wampus Quidditch captain, the best Chaser Ilvermorny had seen in years, a Prefect, the Head Boy and the oldest member of the famous and prestigious Shurley family. The entire school looked up to him and he was damn well aware of it. The kids that weren't intimidated by him basically kissed his ass and although Michael quite enjoyed his reputation, he wasn't a fan of suck-ups. The only one who wasn't afraid to stand up to him was one of his Wampus classmates, a boy who took every opportunity to bring Michael down a bit. Michael claimed to be extremely annoyed by it and to hate the guy's guts, but Gabriel didn't buy it. In fact, he was pretty sure Michael secretly enjoyed someone treating him like a normal person, even though he would never admit it out loud.

So no, becoming friends with the locals wouldn't be easy. Gabriel really hoped British kids weren't as stuck-up as they were told to be. He groaned in annoyance at the thought alone. Next to him, Castiel frowned like this was the most challenging assignment he'd ever been given and Samandriel's eyes were big with terror. Yeah, their family was anything but normal.

"I'll try but you know I can't promise anything," Gabriel sighed.

Michael pulled up an eyebrow at him. "I know your way of "trying", Gabriel, so could you please for a change really put in some effort?"

"Are you saying I normally don't put in effort?" he exclaimed in feigned disbelief.

Unfortunately, Michael knew him long enough to completely ignore his drama and simply said, "Yeah."

As Gabriel pretended to be deeply insulted and sat back with his arms crossed and his lips pouting, he noticed a little smile on his younger brothers' faces at his ridiculous behavior. Mission accomplished.

Gabriel himself couldn't care less about the student exchange. He'd just seen it as an opportunity to discover another part of the world and get a little change of scene. He was a Thunderbird for a reason, after all. But he knew Michael planned for their trip to become a great educational success and his little brothers were nervous as hell about it.