The Girl Unknown *A Harry Potter Story*

The Train to Hogwarts... Well, Home

Neville and I were rushing around, making sure that everything was packed, including Trevor, Neville's toad, and Artemis, my lykoi cat (pictured above). Thankfully, Trevor and Artemis like each other, so they could be kept in the same carrier, at least until we get on the train. "Neville, are you all set?" I hollered through the wall. "Yep! Just need to get Trevor in with Artemis!" he replied. "Already done!" I hollered back at him, Trevor and Artemis in the crate on my bed. He stood in the doorway. "Brilliant. Thanks." he said, panting for breath. "No problem." I smiled. 

We grabbed our trunks and I grabbed the animals before we got into Mrs. Longbottom's car, headed to King's Cross Station to catch the train. It's now 10:50 am. We were running very behind schedule. Neville and I ran through the station, headed toward our platform. I looked out to make sure that there were no muggles watching before nodding to Neville to go onto the platform. Then, I looked around again after he'd gone through, again making sure there were no muggles looking before I went through. I went through the crowd, making sure that I got to the train and handed my trunks off to the gentleman loading up the train, thanking him before taking my trunk and the carrier and going into the train. 

I walked through the train, looking for Neville. But, for whatever reason, I couldn't find him. I found that all of the compartments were full, with the exception of an open seat with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I was quite close to Harry after last year, when Filch kept giving Harry shit for something that he hadn't done. Namely, petrifying people. I had told him about my adoptive father, he'd told me about his aunt and uncle. Such nasty people, they are. 

"Do you guys mind if I sit with you? I seem to have lost Neville and every other compartment is full." I replied. Obviously, this one was full, too, but they didn't mind as I sat next to Hermione. They were talking about Sirius Black and how Harry had been warned not to go looking for the man. "Sirius Black escaped to come after you? Oh, Harry... you'll have to be really, really careful. Don't go looking for trouble, Harry..." Hermione started. "I don't go looking for trouble." Harry said, bothered. "Trouble usually finds him." I completed his thought. He gestured toward me in agreement. "How thick would Harry have to be to go looking for a nutter who wants to kill him?" Ron asked shakily. "He'd have to be a down right idiot to look for trouble. Especially trouble by the name of Black." I stated. "No one knows how he got out of Azkaban," Ron started. 

"No one's ever done it before. And he was a top-security prisoner too. " I added. I knew about that thanks to Neville and his grandmother. "But they'll catch him, won't they? I mean, they've got all the muggles looking out for him too..." Hermione said earnestly. "What's that noise?" Ron asked suddenly. It was then that I heard a faint, tinny whistle-sounding noise coming from Harry's trunk. 

"It's coming from your trunk, Harry," Ron said, standing up and reaching for Harry's trunk in the luggage rack. Ron pulled out a pocket Sneakoscope from Harry's trunk, between his robes. It was spinning like mad in the palm of his hand and glowing blindingly bright. To me, anyway. It was just bright to the others. "Is that a Sneakoscope?" Hermione asked, interested in the object as she stood up to try to get a better look. "Yeah... Mind you, it's a very cheap one. It went haywire just as I was tying it to Errol's leg to send it to Harry." Ron stated. "Were you doing anything untrustworthy at the time?" Hermione asked shrewdly. "No! Well... I wasn't supposed to be using Errol. You know he's not really up to long journeys... But how else was I supposed to get Harry's present to him?" Ron replied. "Stick it back in the trunk, or it'll wake him up." Harry and I advised as the Sneakoscope continued to whistle, Harry nodding toward Professor Lupin. Ron then put the Sneakoscope into a pair of socks that Harry had in the trunk, deadening the sound, before shutting the trunk. 

"We could get it checked in Hogsmeade. They sell that sort of thing in Dervish and Banges, magical instruments and stuff. Fred and George told me." Ron said, sitting down. "Do you know much about Hogsmeade? I've read it's the only entirely non-muggle settlement in Britain - " Hermione asked keenly, starting to talk about it. "Yeah, I think it is, but that's not why I want to go. I just want to get inside Honeydukes!" Ron said. "What's that?" Hermione and I asked. "It's a sweet shop. They've got everything... Pepper Imps - they make you smoke at the mouth," Ron started explaining. I made a disgusted face at the idea of the pepper imps. Harry just looked at me and smirked. "And great fat chocoballs full of strawberry mousse and clotted cream, and really excellent sugar quills, which you can suck in class and just look like you're thinking what to write next -" Ron continued to describe the candy there.