Recap: And then she ran at the wall with all her speed, listening to her mother's laugh melt away behind her as she passed through the wall onto a train platform, where a beautiful red train stood in front of her.
Ivy collapsed onto her seat with a sigh. She'd been early, and was literally only carrying one bag, and yet somehow it felt like it had taken half an hour to reach her compartment.
She had been jostled around, bumped into other people, pets, the train itself, and at one particularly awkward moment, had stumbled in front of a mother who was leaning in to give her son a kiss on the cheek, unexpectedly receiving it herself.
She hadn't known what to do as both mother and son had just stared at her with wide eyes, so naturally she had run away as fast as she could manage in the mayhem. At least her mum would get a kick out of that story.
She already miss Kyria. Feeling the sting in her eyes and the lump in her throat grow at the image of her mother saying goodbye to her. Ivy shook her head determinedly. She was a Stone woman, damnit, she could keep her tears at bay for at least a train ride.
As if sensing her upsetment, Stheno gently wound her way up Ivy's arm to around her neck, rubbing her smooth little scaly head against her owners cheek. Between the calming motions of her beloved snake, and the distinct sensation of the train taking off with her still being the only person in her compartment, Ivy managed to temper her emotions, and lean her head back onto the cushioned wall with a sigh.
She stared at the ceiling for a little while, zoned out and lost in thought, reveling in the silence of the compartment and the steady sight of the fields flashing by outside as her brain spun wildly around Hogwarts. She could barely settle on one worry for long enough to properly analyze it, before her brain was carried away to the next.
The main she had kept coming back to, was what house she would be sorted into. She knew she was intelligent, a primary characteristic of Ravenclaws, and she could be quite brave, like a Gryffindor, while she was as fiercely loyal as a Hufflepuff. The house she lingered on the most however, was Slytherin. Cunning, adaptability, wit, etc. Her mother had been instilling those values in her as long as she'd been alive.
Not to mention her father had been in Slytherin, and his parents, and their parents, and so on. Kyria had assured Ivy that no matter what house she was sorted into, she and Athemar would be proud, and her father had nodded in agreement, but Ivy was too perceptive to not notice the way that his jaw clenched a little more fiercely than usual on the topic.
Not that it mattered much. She often got the feeling that she had been disappointing him for a long time, and she would for a while yet. Although is actions recently were... confusing.
Ivy was shaken from her reverie by a boy timidly knocking on the door to her compartment. Curious, she nodded her head to signal that the boy was welcome to open the door, and when he did, he opened it just a few inches. "Um, I'm sorry, I, I don't mean to bother you, I just. Well you see I've lost my toad, and my Nan would be livid and I..." The poor boy didn't seem to take a single breath in his sentence, and he seemed intensely fascinated with his shuffling feet.
"What's your name?" Ivy asked softly, worried that if she spoke too loud she might startle the boy like a deer.
"Oh! Sorry! That's stupid of me. My name is Neville Longbottom."
Ivy smiled again. Neville Longbottom was more skittish than a Porlock, but he had a vaguely endearing sense about him. "Well Neville, it's nice to meet you. My name is Ivy. I'm sorry to say that I haven't seen your toad, although I don't believe he would fancy coming into this compartment, as you can see," Ivy gestured to Stheno who's head had perked up at the mention of a lost toad. Ivy rolled her eyes and very gently swatted the top of Stheno's head as a clear way of saying, "don't you dare, you eat enough as it is". Neville looked up from the floor for the first time and his eyes widened at the snake wrapped around Ivy's neck.
"R-r-right. O-of course." He managed to stutter out, looking more afraid than ever.
"Don't worry about her, she won't hurt you or your toad, I promise," Ivy tried to smile her most comforting smile, but Neville missed it, his eyes locked on the snake with that same terrified expression. "How about this Neville, I won't go looking for your toad to save him the stress of meeting Stheno, but if I see him, I'll keep him very safe and deliver him straight to you. Does that sound alright?"
Neville managed to nod his head and stutter a quick thank you before rushing out of the compartment, and Ivy leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes with a slight smile on her face. That boy could do with a bit of confidence, for certain, but somehow her exchange with him had helped rid her mind of all of the stress she was feeling not five minutes before.
This peace didn't last long however, as only a couple minutes had passed before Ivy was startled into opening her eyes again by two smart raps on the door. Wondering whatever it could be this time, Ivy nodded again to the stranger outside the door, this time a girl with big bushy hair, who was already wearing her school robes.
The young witch opened the door and said in a clear, confident voice, "Have you seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one." It sounded a bit rehearsed, but it was direct enough to wash away the slight feelings of annoyance that Ivy was experiencing having been taken from her solitude again for this toad.
"Neville's just been by a few minutes ago actually. I haven't seen his toad, but as I told him, if the poor thing has any wit, it'll likely be steering clear of me." Ivy gestured to Stheno again, who unlike her owner, was quite enjoying the attention she was getting. She swayed her head and hissed happily. "It's kind of you to be helping him look though."
The bushy-haired girls eyes widened upon seeing the snake resting on Ivy, but for a very different reason than Nevilles. "They're not approved you know, snakes, the approved pets for Hogwarts are an owl, a rat and a toad. You'll likely get in trouble."
Ivy couldn't help but wonder at this curious girl. She was undeniably odd, and her words seemed a little stiff and rehearsed, but Ivy had been to enough parties when she was nervous to recognize the undertones of somebody who was fearfully anxious, and desperately in need of friendship. Why else would she be touring the compartments looking for a toad, than to meet new people, and hopefully set a good precedent by her kind actions. It was quite smart really, and Ivy couldn't help but admire the girl.
"Yes I'm working on that little kink, I assure you though, I intend to play strictly by the rulebook." This seemed to relax the girl, and her shoulders visibly eased.
"Well, I'd better be off. This toad is evidently on a mission to evade capture, and I promised Neville I'd help him find him before we landed." The two girls smiled at each other, and the bushy-haired one moved to leave. Before she made it all the way out the door, she turned and said, "by the way, I'm Hermione, Hermione Granger." She held out her hand to Ivy, who took it with a smile and gave it a quick shake.
"It's lovely to meet you Hermione, I'm Ivy Stone. Do give Neville my best. And perhaps recommend some deep breathing. I'm not sure how well the sorting hat works when its patient is unconscious." Hermione snorted with laughter as she left, and for the second time, Ivy leaned back. Dealing with this many people was exhausting, but she quite liked the last two at least.
She had finally settled into another restful position, when this time the door to her compartment slammed open with a bang. Muttering things under her breath that would've made the devil blush, Ivy tried to push the grogginess she had just been settling into out of her mind as she sat up and peered at her unwelcome guests through narrowed eyes.
There was a small, pale boy at the front of the group, who was wearing his platinum blonde hair slicked back, and behind him stood two large boys, who looked rather as if they were at least half troll.
"Was there something I could assist you with, since you knocked so politely." Ivy didn't even try to keep the venom out of her voice; she was tired and that made her grumpy, and even in her best moods she disliked bad manners.
The blonde boy just smirked, while dumb and dumber behind him frowned, still trying to work out if she was being sarcastic or not. "We heard a rumor that Harry Potter was on the train, have you seen him."
"Is Harry Potter the name of the toad everyone seems so attached to? Funny, when I heard the stories, I always pictured him as human, not an amphibian. I guess history books are misleading." Ivy leaned her head back and closed her eyes again, hoping that the boy in front of her would get the message and leave, but after a beat of silence, she reopened her eyes to find him still standing there, staring at her.
"Was there something else I could help you with?" Ivy questioned in her most aristocratic 'fuck-off' voice.
The boy just smirked. "Well you haven't answered my first question yet, have you." The two meatloafs behind him started laughing in a heavy, slow sort of way, and Ivy felt her already thin patience get thinner. She shut her eyelids quickly and subtly took a few deep breaths to make the black of her eyes recede into her pupils before anyone noticed.
"I had hoped it would be obvious by now, but evidently I must resign myself to spelling it out for you. No I have not seen Harry Potter. Now for Merlin's sake, please remove your group from what was previously a peaceful carriage." These boys were giving Ivy a headache. All she wanted was peace and quiet, but much to her dismay, when she looked up again, the boy had made no effort to leave. He was still just standing there, staring at her.
Before she could say something this time, he beat her to it. "You have very odd eyes." Ivy's heart fluttered. Surely he hadn't seen her pupils grow, right? "I can't seem to figure out what color they are, and they're all swirly. It's very peculiar."
Ivy was so relieved she felt like she could laugh. "Do you break into everyone's compartment to criticize their appearance, or am I just lucky?" Ivy sniped shortly, but her head was still light from the emotional whiplash of the fear and relief she'd felt all in the past minute.
The pale boy laughed. "You're just lucky. I'm Malfoy by the way, Draco Malfoy. This here's Crabb, and this is Goyle." Draco stabbed his thumb carelessly in the air behind him as he named his goons, then extended his hand to shake Ivy's.
"Charmed," the sarcasm rolled off of Ivy's words so thick even thing 1 and thing 2 couldn't miss it, but Malfoy only smiled wider, and continued to hold his hand out, despite Ivy's obvious decision to ignore it. "I'm Ivy Stone, but mostly I'm done with the conversation. You know where the door is." Draco kept smiling but dropped his hand.
"What house do you think you're going to be in?" Ivy could barely contain a groan as Draco persisted with his unwanted conversation.
"Merlin allowing, not yours." Ivy closed her eyes again and leaned her head back against the wall, determined to not let this boy ruin her only chance at rest.
"If that snake you've got around your neck is any indicator, you're a slytherin. In that case, we will be in the same house, for I'm sure to be a slytherin." Draco kept on talking, and his loud, obtrusive voice started to rouse Stheno, who, up until this point, had drifted into a deep sleep on Ivy's shoulder, but who now lifted her head and hissed angrily at the trio.
"If the snake around my neck is any indicator, you three have about 45 seconds to leave before you die a very painful death." Ivy said, in a manner that one might expect of somebody who was discussing the weather. It seemed that death was an effective tactic to finally get Malfoy moving, as the smirking boy finally started to leave the compartment with his friends.
"Lovely to meet you, Ivy Stone, I look forward to seeing you in slytherin." Ivy flipped the three boys off as the shut the door to her compartment, not moving from her position against the wall with her eyes closed while she did it. Stheno turned her head to give Ivy a pointed look.
"What? They don't have to know you're not venomous" said Ivy with a smirk
She heard Draco's laugh reverberate down the walkway as he walked away, and both Ivy and Stheno sunk down deeper and tried to rest. Neither of them was used to this many people.
The next half an hour was relatively peaceful for the pair as they napped in their compartment, only being disturbed once by a kindly-looking old woman pushing a trolley of sweets. Ivy bought a butterbeer to make her move along, but wasn't too perturbed by the experience overall, as she used the opportunity to change into her school robes.
After half an hour however, Ivy and Stheno found themselves awoken once again by a knock on the door to the compartment, this one soft and unsure. She opened her eyes to see two girls standing outside the compartment with their handheld bags. Ivy smiled and nodded them in, feeling much kinder after a little whiles rest.
The two girls opened the door to the compartment, and the one who had knocked asked in a sweet, gentle sort of voice, "I'm so sorry to bother you, but we were wondering I we might share this compartment with you. All the rest are full, except one that has two boys, but all the rest of that space is filled up with candies, and we've only just managed to escape our last compartment companions. I don't know if you've had the displeasure yet of meeting Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle..." the look on Ivy's face must have betrayed exactly what emotion those names invoked in her, because both girls chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes. We've been trapped in a compartment with them since the beginning of the train ride, and we've come to the conclusion that the small one can't stop talking, and the two large ones share a single brain cell like the grey sisters."
Ivy cracked up laughing at this, and immediately welcomed the two girls into her compartment. A combination of a quick bout of shut-eye and an inescapable curiosity for these two girls compelled Ivy to sit up straighter and talk to the two.
She soon found out that their names were Pansy Parkinson and Selina Moore, and she introduced herself and Stheno, who the girls immediately took a liking to, endearing them in both the snake and the owners books.
After these introductions were made, the trio of girls found themselves laughing and talking so much, that when the train stopped and they saw the dark platform, they were all taken aback at how much time had gone by.
They stepped out onto the platform together, and were heralded by an extraordinarily large man holding a lantern. "Firs' years, firs' years this way please!" When the man seemed satisfied that he had gathered the whole group, he walked them down a path towards a large lake. Ivy's heart stopped for a moment. She couldn't risk getting wet unless she wanted to grow a tail in front of all of her classmates. Discreetly pulling out her wand, she cast impervius on herself.
Looking up, she was met with Pansy and Selina's questioning eyes, but she just shrugged it off. "I've learned a few spells with my mum already, this one is because I don't fancy a dip this late at night. Would you two like me to do the same for you?" Both girls nodded their heads vigorously, and Ivy silently cast the charm on both of them, earning herself two very appreciative looks.
As it would turn out, the boat trip across the lake was far more beautiful than it was treacherous, with the golden lights of the lanterns and the castle shimmering on the lake. In the end, only Neville Longbottom fell in, and as funny as it was, Ivy couldn't help but feel a rush of sympathy and fondness for the shivering boy, so she pointed her wand at him and muttered the drying spell, laughing at the confused delight on the boys face when he found he was no longer cold and dripping wet.
When the boats landed on the shore, the massive man, whom Ivy took to calling the BFG, even after she learned his name was Hagrid, helped everyone safely out of their boats and led them up a path to the castle.
When they walked into the foyer, Ivy couldn't help but look around in awe. The place was truly beautiful. There was some sort of scuffle at the front of the group, but when Ivy saw that it was Malfoy and his goons, she rolled her eyes and tuned the exchange out, only mentally rejoining the group when she heard Neville cry out "Trevor!" and dive onto the ground at the feet of a fierce looking witch. She laughed with the people around her, but mostly she just was glad he had found the toad. Ivy knew she'd go berserk without Sthono, who was missed even now as she continued her slumber in Ivy's bag.
The intimidating witch at the top of the stairs explained to the group about the sorting ceremony, and Ivy took a steadying breath to calm her nerves. She had been avoiding thinking about it as much as she could, but now that it was here, she was a bit dizzy. She felt both of her hands being grabbed reassuringly and looked to her sides to see Pansy and Selina, each holding a hand, and smiling kindly at her.
She returned the smiles and felt stronger. She was a Stone woman, a powerful witch, and a powerful siren. And she was not alone. She could do this. The doors to the great hall opened, and hand-in-hand with her new friends, she strolled confidently through the entryway, and into the Great Hall.
Question: Are these too long? Would you guys prefer for me to make them shorter, or are you alright with the length as it is?