Born Evil

Chapter 2 - New... Aquaintances

It wasn't long before Venus pulled out a book, and Vulcan left to stretch his legs. Fae decided to let her snake out of its cage. It had said on the letter that she could bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad, but she didn't really care. What could they do, anyway? She let the snake hang comfortably around her neck and stared out of the window.

It was around midday when the trolley lady came past. Venus put down her book and bought them both some snacks. Vulcan wasn't back yet, but it was entirely possible he'd bumped into someone and got caught up talking to them. In any case, it was his loss. Once they'd eaten enough to fill them for a month, Venus went back to her book and Fae went back to staring out of the window. It was oddly therapeutic, just watching the country go by. Fields transformed into trees and dark hills, and rivers snaked across the ever changing landscape.

There was a knock on the compartment door and it slid open. Fae half expected to see her brother, but instead it was another first-year boy.

"I'm sorry, have you seen a toad?"

"No, I can't say I have. If I do, I'll try to stop Salem from eating it." He looked at the snake draped lazily across her shoulders and gave a little squeak, hurrying out.

"You don't have to be so mean, little Flit." Venus barely looked up from her book.

"You haven't called me that since I was six. I don't suggest you start up again now."

"Whatever." They were interrupted once more by a knock on the compartment door. It was Draco Malfoy again, accompanied by two cronies he'd managed to pick up already.

"Draco." She greeted him, sounding oddly formal.

"Fae. Did you hear, apparently Harry Potter is on the train."

"Potter? 'The Boy Who Lived'?" She replied, rolling her eyes. "Ugh, of course he is."

"I was going to find him now, if you wanted to join me."

"I suppose." She got up and put her snake back in its cage. She then retrieved her stick from where it was lying on the seat beside her. Draco gave it an odd look before shaking it off. They walked almost to the end of the train together, and ended up at a compartment with a couple of people inside. They slid the door open.

Fae immediately recognised the youngest Weasley boy. She assumed the other boy must be Harry Potter. They were looking expectantly at Malfoy, Fae, and the two cronies.

"Is it true?" Draco asked. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter is in this compartment. So it's you, is it?" The boy looked nervously at the two boys standing guard by the door.

"Yes." He responded, almost reluctantly.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and Goyle." Draco gestured carelessly to them.

"I'm Fae Flint."

"And I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." The Weasley boy gave a snigger disguised rather badly as a cough. Their heads snapped to look at him. "Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles and more children than they can afford." He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some Wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." He held out his hand, but Potter didn't take it.

"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks." He replied coolly. Draco's cheeks caught a tinge of pink and Fae arched an eyebrow. She certainly hadn't expected him to talk back.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter." She said, sounding almost threatening.

"Unless you're a bit politer, you'll go the same way as your parents." Draco took back over. "They didn't know what was good for them either. You hang around with riff-raff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid and it'll rub off on you." Potter and Weasley both stood up.

"Say that again." The Weasley kid said, his face as red as his hair.

"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Draco sneered.

"Unless you get out now."

"But we don't feel like leaving, do we boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some." Fae glanced sideways at him, now concerned. He was taking this too far. Goyle reached for the chocolate frogs but before anyone could react, he let out a horrible yell. A big brown rat was hanging off the end of his finger, teeth embedded in his knuckle. He waved his hand frantically and finally detached the rat, sending it flying at the closed window. Fae was half glad she'd left Salem behind.

"Let's go." She muttered, and left the compartment, dramatically swishing her cloak behind her.

They'd walked a little way down when there was a voice from behind.

"Looks like someone got rejected." They turned and Draco was ready to make a snide comment when he recognised the speaker. Fae didn't know her name, only that she was one of the Prince children. Or rather, they were two of the Prince children. Twins.

"Well it's fine, I didn't want to be friends with him anyway!" He attempted to defend himself.

"Sure, Draco." He stuck his tongue out at her and she returned the gesture. "We need to go, I guess we'll see you at Hogwarts."

"Of course." He replied, before ducking into the compartment.

"Who were they?" Fae asked as soon as the door was shut.

"Evelyn and Estelle Prince." He replied.

"Was it Evelyn speaking?" He nodded to confirm. She took a deep breath. "Next time, maybe don't threaten to steal from them."

"But-"

"No. Just don't." He pouted, but didn't argue back.

Thy spent most of the rest of the journey just talking about school and complaining about their parents. After a while, Fae decided it would be best to head back to Venus.

When she arrived back, Vulcan was also there. She'd barely sat down before a voice echoed through the train.

"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately." Venus threw a cover over Salem's cage to hide him. The three of them then got up again and joined the crowd gathering in the corridor. The twins stood protectively on either side of Fae, shielding her from the crowd as they spilled out onto a dark platform. The sudden transition to cold air made her shiver, and she squinted, trying to make out a path. A light came bobbing over the students' heads, followed by a loud voice.

"Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here!" Venus pushed her gently in the direction of the voice.

"See you once you're sorted." And then her brother and sister were gone, melted into the crowd. Fae and the other first years stumbled after the huge man with the lantern down a steep, narrow path. Out of the mass of children, she managed to locate a few that she recognised. The boy with the lost toad, Harry Potter, Potter's Weasley friend, Draco Malfoy and the Prince Twins.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," the man called out over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here." The path opened suddenly on the edge of a huge lake. Across the lake, there was a high mountain atop which perched a majestic castle, its windows gleaming with the light of the stars and moon.

"No more'n four to a boat!" The man called, directing their attention to a small fleet of boats by the shore. Fae clambered into a bat and was soon joined by Draco and his two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle.

"Everyone in? Right then, FORWARD!" The little fleet of boats began to move as a unit across the smooth waters. No one spoke a single word. They were all transfixed by the view of the castle towering above them. The cliff it rested on grew closer and closer, until the man shouted, "heads down!" They all ducked their heads and passed through a curtain of ivy that his a wide opening in the cliff face. They continued in the dark through a tunnel until the boats reached what appeared to be a small underground harbour, where they clambered back out onto a bed of rocks.

They clambered up a passageway, following the bobbing lantern before them, until at last they came out onto damp grass in the shadow of the castle. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge door. The man raised a fist and knocked three times.