Out of The Shadows (Golden Trio Era) {1}

Aboard the Hogwarts Express

The foursome were back in their usual compartment. The thick rain splattering the windows made it very difficult to see out of them. Ron undid his trunk, pulled out what looked like dress robes in the color of maroon, and flung them over Pigwidgeon's cage to muffle his hooting. "Bagman wanted to tell us what's happening at Hogwarts." He said grumpily, sitting down next to Harry. "At the World Cup, remember? But my own mother won't say. Wonder what-" "Shh!" Mikayla whispered suddenly, pressing her finger to her lips and pointing toward the compartment next to theirs. They all listened closely and heard a familiar drawling voice drifting in through the open door. "... Father actually considered sending me to Durmstrang rather than Hogwarts, you know. He knows the headmaster, you see. Well, you know his opinion of Dumbledore, the man's such a Mudblood-lover and Durmstrang doesn't admit that sort of riffraff. But Mother didn't like the idea of me going to school so far away. Father says Durmstrang takes a far more sensible line than Hogwarts about the Dark Arts. Durmstrang students actually learn them, not just the defense rubbish we do..."

Hermione got up, tiptoed to the compartment door, and slid it shut, blocking out Draco's voice. "So, he thinks Durmstrang would have suited him, does he?" She said angrily. "I wish he had gone, then we wouldn't have to put up with him." "Durmstrang's another wizarding school?" Harry asked. "Yes." Hermione sniffed. "And it's got a horrible reputation. According to An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe, it puts a lot of emphasis on the Dark Arts." "I think I've heard of it." Ron said vaguely. "Where is it? What country?" "Well, no one knows, really." Mikayla shrugged. "Er, why not?" Harry asked. "There's traditionally been a lot of rivalry between all the magic schools. Durmstrang and Beauxbatons like to conceal their whereabouts so nobody can steal their secrets." Mikayla told them in a matter-of-fact tone. "Come off it, Mikayla." Ron laughed. "Durmstrang's got to be about the same size as Hogwarts, how are you going to hide a great big castle?" "But Hogwarts is hidden." Hermione informed him. "Everyone knows that... well, everyone who's read Hogwarts, A History, anyway." "Just you two, then." Ron said. "So, go on, how do you hide a place like Hogwarts?" "It's bewitched." Mikayla told them. "If a Muggle looks at it, all they see is a moldering old ruin with a sign over the entrance saying danger, do not enter, unsafe." "So Durmstrang will just look like a ruin to an outsider too?" "Maybe." Hermione shrugged. "Or it might have Muggle-repelling charms on it, like the World Cup stadium. And to keep foreign Wizards from finding it, they'll have made it Unplottable" "Come again?" "Well, you can enchant a building so it's impossible to plot on a map, can't you?" Hermione stated in a rather questionable state "Er... if you say so." Harry hesitated. "But I think Durmstrang must be somewhere in the far north." Hermione spoke up thoughtfully. "Somewhere very cold, because they've got fur capes as part of their uniforms." "Ah, think of the possibilities." Ron sighed dreamily. "It would've been so easy to push Malfoy off a glacier and make it look like an accident... Shame his mother likes him..."

The rain became heavier and heavier as the train moved farther north. The sky was so dark and the windows so steamy that the lanterns were lit by midday. The lunch trolley came rattling along the corridor, and Harry and Mikayla put in money to buy a large stack of Cauldron Cakes, and some Pumpkin Pasties for all of them to share. Several of the foursomes friends looked in on their compartment as the afternoon progressed, including Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom. Seamus was still wearing his Ireland rosette. Some of its magic seemed to be wearing off now; it was still squeaking the names of the Irish players in a very feeble and exhausted sort of way. After half an hour or so, Hermione, growing tired of the endless Quidditch talk, buried herself once more in The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4, and started to try to learn a Summoning Charm, Mikayla leaned her head on Hermione's shoulder, reading along and trying not to fall asleep. Neville listened jealously to everyone's conversation as the boy's relived the Cup match. "Gran didn't want to go." He said miserably. "Wouldn't buy tickets. It sounded amazing though." "It was." Ron said. "Look at this, Neville..." He rummaged in his trunk up in the luggage rack and pulled out the miniature figure of Viktor Krum. "Oh wow." Neville said enviously as Ron tipped Krum onto his chubby hand. "We saw him right up close, as well." Ron told him. "We were in the Top Box."

"For the first and last time in your life, Weasley." Draco had appeared in the doorway, behind him stood Avery, Crabbe and Goyle, Mikayla's step sister and their enormous cronies who seemed to have grown at least a foot during the summer. Mikayla removed her head from the book, she and Hermione were reading, to pay attention to the new situation. "Don't remember asking you to join us, Malfoy." Harry spoke coolly. "Weasley... what is that?" Draco asked, ignoring Harry as he pointed at Pig's cage. A sleeve of Ron's dress robes was dangling from it, swaying with the motion of the train, the moldy lace cuff very obvious. Ron made to stuff the robes out of sight, but Draco was too quick for him; he seized the sleeve and pulled. "Look at this!" Draco laughed, holding up Ron's robes and showing them to Crabbe and Goyle. "Weasley, you weren't thinking of wearing these, were you? I mean they were very fashionable in about eighteen ninety..." "And so was your haircut, Draco, but you don't see us laughing." Mikayla retorted with a sneer. Draco glared at her, his grey eyes narrowing. "Shut up, Black, you filthy bloodtrait-" "Eat shit, Malfoy!" Ron roared, his face the color of his dress robes, as he snatched the robes out of Draco's grip. Draco and Avery howled with derisive laughter as Crabbe and Goyle guffawed stupidly. "So... going to enter, Weasley? Going to try and bring a bit of glory to the family name? There's money involved as well, you know... you'd be able to afford some decent robes if you won..." "What are you talking about?" Ron snapped. "Are you going to enter?" Draco repeated. "I supposed you will, Potter? You never miss a chance to show off, do you?" "Either explain what you're on about or go away, Malfoy." Hermione said testily over te top of her book. A gleeful smile spread across Draco's pale face. "Don't tell me you don't know?" He said delightedly. "You've got a father and brother at the Ministry and you don't even know? My God, my father told me about it ages ago... heard it from Cornelius Fudge. But then, Father's always associated with the top people at the Ministry" "along with Death Eaters" Mikayla snorted. Draco went on, sending her a quick glare. "Maybe your father's too junior to know about it, Weasley... yes... they probably don't talk about important stuff in front of him..." Laughing once more, Mikayla stood up a foot away from Draco, "Actually the Weasleys did know but they followed the rules and didn't tell their kids as it's supposed to be a surprise. Your father was never a follower of rules when it came to Hogwarts though, was he. In fact in second year, didn't he threaten the entire council to suspend Dumbledore. And wasn't he the reason the Chamber of Secrets was opened again, and-" "Shut up, you filthy blood traitor." a slap fell against Mikayla's cheek, Malfoy looking startled at what he had just done. Ron, Harry and Hermione jumped up, each pulling out their wands, Mikayla stopped them. "Get out." Mikayla looked at all of the Slytherins faces that now mirrored Draco's, they rushed out but Avery stayed. "I'm so sorry, Kay. I can't believe he'd do something like that." She stepped closer to Mikayla who stepped away, "I don't want your apologises Av, you didn't do anything wrong." Avery nodded, "See you after the feast?" Mikayla nodded before Avery left the compartment.

Ron got to his feet and slammed the sliding compartment door so hard that the glass shattered. "Ron!" Hermione scolded him before she pulled out her wand and muttered "Reparo!" The glass shards flew back into a single pane and back into the door. "Well... making it look like he knows everything and we don't..." Ron snarled. "'Father's always associated with the top people at the Ministry'... Dad could've got a promotion any time... he just likes it where he is..." "Of course he does." Hermione said quietly. "Don't let Malfoy get to you, Ron" Mikayla told him, "Him! Get to me? As if!" Ron said, picking up one of the remaining Cauldron Cakes squashing it into a pulp. "Are you ok?" Ron looked at Mikayla's cheek, she felt the heat from it burn slightly, "I'll be fine, it just caught me off guard, that's all." Harry looked at her concerned before looking at the door, "I can't believe he actually hit you." Hermione's voice came from behind her book, Mikayla nodded, "he hits like a girl." Mikayla laughed making the others laugh with her, "That's only because you fight like a man." Ron snorted making the foursome laugh harder.