Hogwarts Express
The smell of burning coal and steam pervades her senses as a wave of nostalgia rushes through her. The bustling train station is bursting with sorrowful parents wishing their children well for their first year of school, friends catching each other up on what happened during their holidays, and students complaining about their impending workload. It is exactly like all years prior to the last one or two.
Standing on the edge of the train station platform is weirdly sobering for Pansy. A full year has passed since she last stood there and considered stepping just a few inches forward. Until she ‘accidentally’ fell onto the train tracks. Oops. Occasionally, during her seventh year, she regretted that specific act of cowardice. Namely, anytime Amycus Carrow leered in her direction.
In general, Pansy enjoyed male attention, but that creep was too much. She could feel his gaze on her during the day, and it made a shiver go down her spine. Gods, she was glad he’s gone. If she’s lucky, maybe he’s dead.
‘PANSY!’ A familiar voice screamed from much closer than that volume is necessary.
Theo appeared a few metres away, happy as ever.
‘Hello, Theo’
‘I would prefer a little more enthusiasm at my appearance, please,’ Theo said, shaking his head.
‘ Salazar! Ohhh.. you’ve grown even cuter since I last saw you,’ he gleefully comments, before she could respond.
‘Did you miss me?’ he asks the black fluffy mass that lay atop her trunk.
Said Fluffy Mass didn’t acknowledge him as he prodded and poked at her face.
‘What ar-.. what is on your face?’ Pansy stops and starts again. His usually clear and noticeably hairless face is unusually….hairy. Spoltchy and thin, but hairy nonetheless.
‘ Im growing a beard, I'm told it looks very distinguished’
….
It most definitely does not
‘Where are the others?’ questioned Theo
‘I don’t know. late.’
A whistling sound comes from down the tracks.
‘Come on, lets get a good compartment’ Pansy grabs her trunk, with Salazar on top and starts on towards the train. Theo follows, picking up his almost identical trunk and caged white owl.
Stepping onto the carriage, everything looks exactly as it did in first year. Reddish wooden interior, Washed-out dark blue seats that have faded into a greyish blue colour and chipped white paint on metal overhead luggage bars. It smells of dust, as though some of the compartments have not been used for years. The seats certainly haven’t been cleaned in that long.
Moving into one of the less stale-smelling compartments, Pansy lifts her trunk onto the seat next to her head, fully aware of the overhead bars to store luggage. Theo sits opposite her and starts babbling on about his trip to Champagne.
‘Really, I'm not a fan of champagne, the drink, of course, the place is simply beautiful. We should go together next time.’
Pansy nodded absentmindedly while petting between Salazar’s ears.
‘I went to Reims. Apparently, lots of French kings were crowned there. The infrastructure is so beautiful in Epernay. It’s all old and medieval’
The doors to the compartment slowly slid open, revealing Blaise, Daphne, Draco and Astoria.
‘What took you guys so long?’ asked Theo.
‘We were changing in the station's bathrooms and couldn’t find which carriage you were in.’ answered Draco as they stepped into the compartment.
‘Are you… growing a beard?’ Draco asked mockingly
‘Yes, I am’
‘Do you like it?’
‘Yes…’ Astoria hesitantly answered
‘Sure’ Daphne sarcastically responded
‘Totally’ Blaise snickered
‘Fine, i’ll shave it when I change’ Theo grudgingly proclaims, folding his arms.
Blaise shoos Salazar onto Pansy’s lap and lifts Pansy’s trunk up onto the overhead storage bars with a huff. He gestures for Pansy to scoot over to make room for him and Daphne. Daphne and Blaise have been on and off since sixth year. They argue about once a month and make-up within the following two weeks.
Opposite her, Theo shuffles over for Draco and Astoria, the other not-so-stable couple. They have been together since Draco started his fifth year and Astoria started her fourth. They broke up in sixth year for a while but eventually made up, likely due to the fact that they are expected to marry regardless of their feelings.
‘How were your holidays?’ Astoria questioned to no one in particular.
‘I went to Champagne’ said Theo for the second time that day
‘I was on house arrest’ added Draco
‘ My mother got divorced again, so we went to our house in Italy… again’’ said Blaise
‘I didn't really do anything’’ said Pansy
The conversation continued on and moved onto our NEWT classes.
‘Gods, I hate arithmancy. It’s so hard’ Blaise whined
‘I absolutely abhor potions’ Daphne added on
‘ I hope we’re in the same potions class, Daphne. If we are, we can be partners.’ offered Pansy
Last year, she was stuck with a random Gryffindor. His name might have been Dean; she couldn’t be sure. They hardly spoke about things not pertaining to potions. But she supposed he was nice enough.
‘Yeah, and you can help me with potions. You know how bad I am at it’
Pansy half snickered, half scoffed at that. Daphne was not bad at potions, she was just exceptionally lazy. The same goes for Theo. Which is why he chose the five easiest NEWT’S. Draco, however, is, for whatever reason, determined to do well in his NEWTS and has chosen the hardest subjects; DADA, arithmancy, potions, transfiguration, alchemy, charms, the study of ancient runes and herbology. Pansy knew herself, and while she likely would not be using her academia after graduating, she would enjoy the challenge. She chose DADA, potions, charms, transfiguration, herbology, arithmancy and care of magical beasts.
A lull appeared in the conversation as the train ride drew on and sitting around, talking grew tiring. In their group, the silence was comfortable. It was not a pressured silence in which you were consciously going through possible topics to talk about in your head. This, Pansy was greatful for as she watched patches of the lush green Scottish countryside grow more distant as the train passed.
Pansy was glad about the mandatory eigth year at Hogwarts. It gave her an extra year of freedom. Well, as much freedom you could have in a scottish boarding school. She was free from potential marriage proposals, her mothers incessant nagging and her father distasteful glances.
A small black face nudges her elbow, signalling her cat would like to be pet. Pansy has had Salazar since first year. Salazar’s name is of-course derived from Salazar slytherin. She often debates changing the name due to Salazar Slytherins general genocidal and fascist ideologies but knows that whatever she changes it to, it wouldn’t stick.
Pansy is a habitual person. When she was young, she used to bite her nails. To the point where the skin surrounding them would be constantly torn and red. This habit continued until she was nine and Amaryllis Parkinson deemed this not acceptable for a respectful pureblood daughter. She had tried everything, harsh reprimands, disgusting tasting nail polish, among others. But it never seemed to stick. Pansy only stopped when one of her mothers friends pointed out her ‘disgusting’ and ‘bloodied’ fingers. She still remembers her mothers withering look. Her stern eyebrown pinched in anger, her jaw harshly clenched and nostrills flared. Following that incident it was a slow process of quiting. Pansy now possesses long, sharp nails and follows a strict nail care routine. At present, her nails are painted a rich red, never a crimson; her mother says crimson is garish. Instead, Pansy wears a glossy burgundy. Occasionally, she opts for a simple french tip, nude or black.
Soft, distant requests for lollies and chocolates fill the silence. The Honeydukes Express must be making its rounds. Pansy sits up straighter, neatens her shirt, stands up and grabs her ropes that readily sit atop her trunk.
‘I'm going to change. Could you please grab me a licorice wand from the cart? And take care of Salazar’Pansy asks.
‘Sure’ answerd Daphne, already smothering him.
‘licorice is disgusting, but sure’ Blaise says while his face contorts into one of of distaste.
‘Thanks’
Pansy steps out of the small compartment into the narrow train aisle. Making her way towards the bathroom, she feels eyes on her. Either everyone is checking her out, or they all recognise her as the girl who offered Harry Potter over to the dark lord. Perhaps it’s a bit of both.
The bathroom is on the other side of the train resulting in her having to squeeze past countless people, shove countless people and request that countless people keep their hands to themselves. As she moves onto the next carraige she observes that there is a startling amount of seventh and eighth years. None slytherin, of-course. She passes Looney Lovegood, her past potions partner, a weasley, and more.
Abruptly, someone steps into her path, an unusually tall man. Pansy is almost 5’10, so she is by no means short. Whoever this guy is, he must be above 6’4, atleast. Upon closer inspection he is quite muscular, he has big hands and arms, a quality pansy had always admired in a man and one of the reasons her and Draco would never work. He had not yet changed into his robes and Pansy hoped he would be in slytherin. He lifted his luggage onto the overhead railings. His hand flexed and Shirt lifted ever so slightly.
Oh.
Gods.
He has a light spattering of hair on his lower torso leading into his darkly washed jeans. Pansy can only stare. She does not blush or smile. That would be creepy and pansy is not creepy. She just waits for him to face her so she can politely or not so polietly, she hasn’t quite decided yet, tell him to get out of her way or something of that nature.
He turned to face her when his companion, someone who she cannot be bother to note, points her out.
‘Hello?’ he says somewhat questioningly
Pansy continues observing him for a second when it suddenly struck her.
She knew him.
She. Knew. Him.
Neville Longbottom.
This man has tan skin and freckles, sandy blond hair, blue eyes, an endearingly crooked nose and a strong jawline. He is the complete antithesis of Neville Longbottom. Yet, the resemblance is uncanny, his features are reminiscent of the chubby shy boy she used to tease.
‘Longbottom?’
‘Yes?’ he sounded more confused than ever.
Even his voice sounded deeper.
‘Move.’ Good. That sounded just like her. She mentally have herself a pat on the back.
‘Oh.’ He shifted sideways to move aside for her.
As Pansy walked past, her arm brushed his torso and she got impossibly closer to him. She fought the urge to smile and instead pressed her lips into a line, similar to how she would when dissatisfied with something.
She continued walking and didn’t stop until she reached the bathroom. There, Pansy began questioning her sanity. Had her mental baggage finally caught up to her. Oh gods, is this genetic? Her mother was beautiful and as much as Pansy disliked her , there was no denying that. Her father, Percival, however looks comparable to a toad transfigured into human form.
No. Her mother thought percival was ugly, too. After all, it was an arranged marriage.
While taking of her black singlet and switching it out for her robes. She makes up her mind.
That was a fluke.
She didn’t actually find him attractive. It was only because he killed that giant snake. Pansy was drawn to bravery and heroism. That is only natural.
Once changed, Pansy takes a moment to scoff in disbelief. Once she has regained her mental clarity she opens the bathroom door, clothing in hand and confidently walks back the way she came. On the way back, she walks past a cabin that, for a moment appeared empty until she peered into it and it is revealed a man is in there, Longbottom. His back to the door, he begins the motion of lifting his shirt. As more skin is unveilled, Pansy feel like a creep and decides to avert her gaze. She feigns a mildly disgusted face for passerbys and continues walking back to her cabin. Why is Longbottom taking his shirt of in a cabin for everyone to see? Weirdo. Then she remembers the long line that had formed after her half meltdown in the lavatory.
Opening her cabin, everything is just the same as when she left.
‘Did you get my licorice wand?’
Blaise silently hands it to her
Pansy seeks out Salazar to see the cat sleeping on Daphnes lap.
‘Are you going to get changed, Theo’ She asks the only unchanged person there.
‘Im just going to change here’’
‘No-one wants to see that’ Daphne plainly supplies
‘Please, you wish you could see all this’ Theo retorts, gesturing to his torso.
…
‘Didn’t you say that you would shave off whatever is on your face?’Astoria reminds him
‘Whatever’ Theo grumbles as he snatches his robes and a razor out of his trunk.
‘’Don’t leave those three hairs that you shave off in the sink, Theo’’ Pansy adds on.
Pansy begins nibling on the licorice wand as Blaise stares at her in disbelief for a solid ten seconds. Did he think she wanted it for show or something? Pansy bemusedly questions herself.
She looks over to see Draco with his eyes closed, leaning his head on Astoria’s shoulder. Pansy highly doubts he is asleep. Astoria is pretty, she has long dark hair, a straight nose, she’s petite and not overly curvy, but curvier than Pansy. Pansy begins comparing her friends disimilar features. Daphne is slightly taller than Astoria but they have similar body types, Daphne has a slightly more defined face shape and a straight and narrow nose whereas Astoria has fuller cheeks and a rounder, softer nose shape. Pansy is not insecure about her looks or her body. She loves being tall. Being taller than many men makes her feel strong. Not necessarily in a physical sense. She knows that they are likely physically stronger than her but she doesn’t feel overly imtimidated by their size.
Grabbing out her most recent read, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte she becomes absorbed in the. Rather abruptly, a now beardless Theo barges into the cabin with an unbelieving look on his face.
‘guys—you.. wouldn’t believe who had a major growth spurt since last year!’ he manages to get out in between deep breaths
Like true connoisseurs of gossip, Blaise, Daphne, Astoria and Draco’s eyes did not leave Theos face and patiently awaited an answer. Pansy, however, already knew what was coming.
‘Take a guess’ goaded Theo
‘Looney?’’
‘NO! Mandy Brocklehurst, the ravenclaw?’
‘Wayne Hopkins, I always knew he had potential’ Daphne excitedly adds
‘Weasley, The girl one?’
‘Ernie Macmillan?’
‘Susan…Bones?’
‘NO’
‘BETTER! LONGBOTTOM!!’ Theo impatiently announces.
‘No way’ Draco scoffs
‘Yea no way ’ Astoria concurrs
‘Im serious, come see if you want!’
‘Pans, come look’ he waves at her
‘No thanks’’
‘How different does he look?’ Blaise asks
‘He is barely even the same person’ Theo answers
‘He is super tall now, easily 6’3 and he is weirdly large’ Theo continues
Astoria’s curiosity is peaked, much to Draco’s dismay
‘Lets go see’ Astoria drags Theo along with her and ofcourse Draco follows.
Daphne sits up and wordlessly places Salazar on the seat next to Pansy.
‘Aren’t you interested?’ asked Blaise as he moves to stand
‘Please, I could never find Neville Longbottom, of all people, attractive.’ Pansy faux cringes at the thought.
‘Suit yourself.’
Pansy attempts to get re-absorbed in her book.
‘Appearances’ would warrant that conclusion; and, no doubt (though, with an audacity that wants chastising out of you, you seem to question it), they will be a superlatively happy. He must love such a handsome, noble, witty, accomplished lady; and probably she loves him, or, if not his person, at least his—
Pansy marks her page.
162
She stands and momentarily debates just sitting back down but ultimately decides otherwise.
‘Stay here, Salazar’ she instructs
Pansy quickly marches down to where she knew they would be.
‘Excuse me’
‘Move’
she repeats as she rushes to find them. Not wanting to miss the very reaction she stood up for.
She spotts them shuffling down the corridor just a few Metres away, they are not being very inconspicuous, if that is what they are going for. She quietly taps Draco on the shoulder to alert him of her presence to ensure he doesn’t go toppling over her.
He notes her presence and goes back to slowly waddling behind the others, trying to spot him.
After a while they don’t see him so each of them turn and begin walking back to their cabin.
On the way back we pass the very same cabin in which pansy was an audience to Longbottom’s partial nudity and lo and behold, there he is, robe clad and conversing with Seamus Finnegan. Based on the mutterings coming from in front of her, she guesses she wasn’t the only one to spot him.
Once back to their carraige, they unleash their bewilderment
‘Wow, you were right, he really is tall’
‘He’s not that great’ Interrupts Draco
‘I don’t know, he’s not my type’’ Daphne insists
‘Yeah’ agrees Astoria
They all settle into their previous seats. Exasperated comments over Longbottoms look fill the conversation for a few minutes until all that could be said, has been.
‘He was like short and stubby before, though’
‘remember his rememberall’ they laughed
‘He did cut of Nagini’s head with the sword of gryffindor so I suppose he isnt a total weird’ Draco adds
‘I guess’ Pansy agrees
Salazar settles onto her lap, aiming for attention. Owl’s far supersede cats in popularity as magical farmiliars. Pansy also had an owl, Helga, after Helga Hufflepuff. Helga was a Eurasian eagle owl, like Draco’s. While at hogwarts pansy opts to leave Helga home as Helga is rather lazy and will bite if forced to send large quantities of letters. While at school, Pansy enlists the use of the school owls.
Pansy only knows of a few others in her year who have feline farmillairs, one of them being the ever-so-humble Hermoine Granger.
////////////////////
The hogwarts express usually takes less than six hours to reach hogwarts from the station. Menaing they should be arriving at hogwarts in the next ten minutes. Sure enough, a few minutes later, There is an announcement.
‘All students, we will be arriving at hogwarts momentarily. Please stay seated until instructed otherwise, thankyou’
Pansy lifted Salazar of her lap, stood up to stretch her legs and wake up the others in the carraige.
‘Wake up, we’re almost there’
‘ugh’
Lifting up her arms, Pnsy arches her back and stretches until she hears an audible crack.
‘ugh’ Theo cringes at the noise
Each of them sluggishly stand and do a multitude of, in pansy’s opinion, questionable stretches.
Pansy picks up Salazar and places him safely on the seat. Reaching overhead to grab her trunk, she strains for a moment and slowly lifts it down to sit on the coach floor.
‘We have now arrived at Hogwarts. please carefully make your way off the train. Ensure nothing is left behind in your carraige. Welcome, all new and returning students, to Hogwarts, magical school of witchcraft and wizardry.’
They each grab their trunks and farmilliars.
Daphne is first to leave their compartment. Followed by Blaise, Astoria, Pansy, Theo and Draco.
Stepping onto the Hogwarts train platform is always difficult, what, with the heavy trunks and cases that need lifting down.
As pansy struggled to maintain her grip of her trunk and a squirming Salazar while stepping down, a hand extends to nudge her hand away from the trunk handle. Pansy greatfully releases it in to the grip of a potential stranger. Looking down to get a more secure hold of Salazar, Pansy fully steps down onto the platform. After ensuring salazars comfortability, she looks up to see a formerly chubby, now angular and chieseled face, smiling at her, no doubt awaiting a thankyou of some sort.
Pansy simply humms, hoping that conveyed just the right amount of greatfullness.
She extends her hand, expecting to be given her trunk back in a timely fashion so she could move over for the next person but he just waits for a moment and looks to be contemplating what to do. He walks over a few steps, where Daphne, Blaise and Astoria are waiting and sets the trunk down next to them. Pansy one again offers a quiet hum of acknowledgement as he turns back to assisting people off the train.