Harry Potter and the Children of the Clan

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The English countryside rolled by a window of the last carriage of the Hogwarts Express as it thundered north on a pleasantly warm late summer morning. Nothing about it registered on the soon to be first year as she looked through the window but didn't really see anything. Her bright expressive eyes were half closed as she recalled the somewhat tempestuous departure from platform nine and three quarters at King's Cross Station. Victoire Weasley, eldest daughter of Bill and Fleur Weasley and senior member of the Weasley Clan Kids, or WCK, as they jokingly referred to themselves, cringed a bit inside at the memory of her mother crying and refusing to release her hold on her daughter as the conductor repeatedly called for 'all aboard'.

Victoire loved her mother as much as any child could, but she had to admit that mama did tend to the dramatic. Her grandfather, Arthur Weasley, with assistance from his wife Molly, was finally able to pry the surprisingly strong arms from around Victoire's shoulders and help her get up onto the carriage steps. Now she sat in a compartment with four other girls, all first year candidates. Based on the introductions, only one girl was from a non magical family and she had barely said a word since.

Victoire was pulled from her daydreaming by the sound of her name being repeatedly spoken. She looked away from the window and toward the sound of the voice speaking her name. The girl in question was neither tall nor short, fat or thin. What did set her apart was her very pale complexion, her long straight black hair and completely black outfit. In muggle popular culture she would have been described as 'goth'. To Victoire she looked a little too 'witchy'.

"Yes?" Victoire asked.

"Are you homesick already? You've been staring out the window for the last twenty minutes," the girl, Beverly Fernbush by name, commented.

"No, not homesick. I was just thinking, is all."

Another girl sitting next to Beverly smirked and said,

"I can't image that you could be worried about anything. With all your connections at Hogwarts the next seven years should be a lark for you."

"Ha!" was the response from a third girl sitting by the carriage door. "If you're referring to her dad and uncle then you don't know anything about Hogwarts or them. I have two brothers there, one starting sixth year, the other third. From what they tell me, Professor Weasley and Professor Potter aren't about to let anyone slide no matter who they are. I mean, Professor Potter's own godson nearly got sent home during his first semester because of all the trouble he was getting into. If anything I think she'll have to work harder to keep them happy."

The second girl, who had introduced herself as Gloria Finchbottom, made a face indicating her deep skepticism. Victoire could only smile a bit, feeling fairly confident that she was going to be treated pretty much like any other student, although the talk among the WCK was that any interaction with the male half of the student population would probably attract scrutiny. In an attempt to change the subject Victoire looked at the girl from the muggle family, Estelle Mickelthwaite, until they made eye contact.

"How are you doing, Estelle?"

The girl just shrugged.

"Nervous? Scared?"

This prompted a little bit of a nod. Victoire responded with a brief, but brilliant smile.

"Try not to worry too much. About a quarter of the kids that come to Hogwarts are from non magical families. It will seem strange at first but you'll get used to it pretty quickly. My uncle was raised by non magical relatives and he told me what it was like. Fortunately he made some good friends almost right away. The first right here on the train and that helped him a lot," she said smiling again, and getting a small brief one in exchange. Gloria snorted and said,