Anna followed Lily Potter into one of the back cars of the train just as it began to move forward.
She searched through her mind for any memories of ever riding a locomotive before...nothing emerged. The sensation felt strange - walking down a narrow corridor while the structure around you stayed and rattled.
She entered a private cabin right behind Lily and took the empty spot on the cushioned bench seat beside the girl.
Sitting across from them were three boys.
One was a redhead. For the other two, Anna did a double take. If it wasn't for the fact that one was more blonde than the other, she'd sworn they were clones.
"Meet my other friends. Hugo Weasley. Lorcan and Lysander Scamander." Lily replied.
The boys smiled and grunted a one- or two-word greetings.
"This is Anna Mae." Lily pointed at her with a smile.
"You two related?" Anna asked Lily as she nodded toward Hugo.
Lily smiled. "Cousins."
"Ah, I see."
"Where's your mum today?" Lily asked Hugo.
Hugo shrugged. "No idea. Some kind of an emergency meeting's all I know."
"Hmm, strange," Lily replied. "Hugo's mum is the Minister of Magic." She turned to Anna.
Anna forced herself not to ask the question for fear of looking like an idiot, but the curiosity was nearly overwhelming - but Lily must have seen her quizzical expression.
"Minister of Magic is like the Prime Minister of Great Britain - only for us magical people." Lily tried to explain.
"So, you don't answer to the Prime Minister?" Anna still trying to understand.
Lily hesitated for a moment, lost in thought. "I don't think so. I think only the muggles answer to the Prime Minister."
"Muggles?"
"Non-magical people." Lorcan piped in.
"You know? Those who can't do magic? Those people....muggles." Lysander added.
Muggles. Minister of Magic.
These words sound foregn to her. Anna let out a sigh as she leaned back. This may be a long year of learning what everyone else obviously already knew.
"Where's your mum and dad? I didn't see them." Lily asked the twins.
"They're in the Scandes 'till Christmas Eve," Lysander answered.
"For what?" Hugo asked.
The twins shared a look.
"Um, hunting for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack," Lorcan replied with a grimance.
"What? Thought your mum decided they didn't exist." Hugo said.
"Yeah, we did too," Lorcan said.
At this point, Anna decided it was best to leave them to their odd conversations about things she hadn't a clue about. She turned and stared out of the wide window and watched the passing countryside for a while.
Anna thought the ride would be long and boring but was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't. Lily kept her entertained with the many stories of her dad's younger days at Hogwarts.
"So, what's the story with the scar on his forehead?" She asked.
"Voldemort gave that to him when he was a baby," Lily replied.
"Who?"
Lily gave a thrilling account of how her father got the scar and of the dark lord who wanted to kill him. By the time she reached the part about the final battle of Hogwarts, the train whistle sounded.
"Oh, we're nearly there!" Lily said excitedly.
Anna was almost disappointed. She wanted to know more about Lily's father. For reason she couldn't explain, she felt a certain connection to him.
YOU ARE READING
The Temperamental Orphan - a Harry Potter book
FanfictionTwelve-year-old Anna Mae has no clue of who she really was or where she came from. The only life she knew was the past five years she spent at the orphanage in Dublin, Ireland - she remembered nothing prior to that. Everything changed when a stra...
