Cynthia Cygnet and the Misplaced Gryffindor

● Chapter 2 ●

Cynthia was at platform 9 and 3/4. Her legs dangled over the edge and she swung them back at forth, waiting for the scarlet train to turn up. She glanced behind her at the large clock on the brick wall and noticed she had turned up an hour late. Suppose I'm not going to Hogwarts after all, she thought with a sigh. Suddenly, her name was being called out although it sounded distant and muffled. She felt herself being ripped away from her dream and noticed two blurry figures standing in front of her bed.

"And so, finally, Sleeping Beauty wakes" Osias said.

 Cynthia ignored her father and further buried herself deeper into her cave of polka-dotted duvet covers. She wanted nothing more than to stay in bed forever. Her bedroom had suddenly silenced and Cynthia began to grow suspicious. 

Very light footsteps could be heard and then her room was filled with a bright light. Cynthia groaned at this and began to complain groggily.

 "Cyn, you've got to get up now " Osias said gentle as he leaned over her bet, giving her shoulder a quick shake "Your mother had breakfast ready" 

 Cynthia look at the clock which sat her on her bedside cabinet, "It's only 8. Diagon Alley can surely wait"

 "Dad, I don't think she's as excited as we are" Cynthia's little brother, Rory, said. 

Osias agreed and gave the boy a mischievous look, silently giving him permission to create havoc on his sister and force her out of bed. Rory caught on and reciprocated the look, throughing a wink to his father before pouncing on Cynthia's bed. He began to jump up and down, shaking the girl and shouting at her to wake up. Cynthia began to screech at her brother, trying to kick him off and pull the covers over her head.

 Proving to be unsuccessful at getting her brother to stop annoying her so early in the morning, she used her newfound energy to jump out of bed and push him out of the door. Osias was already halfway down the stairs, not wanting to deal with Cynthia's reaction. He was already eager to eat and leave already as it would take them almost an hour to travel to Diagon Alley without using the Floo network this time.

 Finally at peace, Cynthia sat down at her dressing table and took a hard look at her tired expression in the mirror. She forced herself to not sit back down on her bed incase she fell asleep again. She definitely didn't want to invite another rude awakening. She huffed loudly and started to get dressed.

Excited chatter in the kitchen and the clashing of plates and cutlery could already be heard from the top of the stairs. The smell of cooking in the air was appealing to Cynthia and she rushed downstairs to not let her breakfast get cold. Settling down at her usual spot on the kitchen table, she grabbed her knife and fork and pulled the plate closer to her.

 "It's all so exciting" Marcie said as she placed a few rashers of bacon onto Cynthia's plate "Our little Cynthia going all the way to Hogwarts!"

 "The best place a witch could go" Osias replied in agreement from behind his copy of the daily Prophet. On the cover of the newspaper, wizard and witches on broomsticks flew around and one had scored a goal.

 "I'll miss her though..." Marcie said deep in thought as she finally sat down at the table "Scotland is an long way away" 

 "I won't" Rory cackled. His laugh was distinctive and most of the time more funnier than any joke told. It was loud enough to echo throughout the room and ring through your ears "It'll be the best years of my life" 

 This earned a scornful glare from both Marcie and Osias. Rory soon shut up and kept his head facing down towards his half eaten breakfast.

 "Don't lie, you can't stand being without me. Who will you annoy?" Cynthia asked and lowered her voice to a whisper that only Rory could hear "You'll probably cry once I'm gone" Rory rolled his eyes and pulled his most offensive face towards his sister although his ears tinged pink. He couldn't help it when he felt embarrassed, unfortunately his ears stuck out from under his shaggy blond hair so Cynthia was fully aware that her words had struck a nerve. This made her laugh.