The rain became heavier and heavier as the train moved further north.
The ride was peaceful as they chatted amongst themselves about their summers and the unimportant nonsense Maggie and Ron came up with. Neville Longbottom, a sweet boy in their year, joined them and expressed his dismay at missing the World Cup.
"Gran didn't want to go, wouldn't by tickets. It sounded amazing, though." He said mournfully.
"It was," said Ron, pulling out his figure of Krum, "look at this!"
"Oh, wow." Said Neville as Ron passed it over to him.
"We saw him right up close. We were in the top box-"
"For the first and last time in your life, Weasley." A curt voice called as Draco opened the door of their compartment, Crabbe and Goyle standing guard at his sides.
"Don't remember asking you to join us, Malfoy." Said Harry coolly.
"Weasley," He started ignoring Harry's comment, "what is that?"
He pointed past Maggie, at Pigs cage, where a sleeve of Rons dress robes where showing. Before he could tuck them away, Malfoy's boney fingers had slithered past and wrapped around the material.
Malfoy looked as happy as they'd ever seen him as he showed the robes to his friends, "Look at this! Weasley, you weren't thinking of wearing these, we're you? I mean- I suppose they were very fashionable... in 1890."
"Eat dung, Malfoy." Said a flushing Ron as he snatched the dress robes back.
"So... going to enter, Weasley? Bring glory to the family name? There's money involved of course... maybe you'll be able to afford some proper dress robes if you won..."
"What are you talking about, Malfoy?" Maggie said.
"Are you going to enter? God it would be a laugh if you did, Creevey, a mudblood winning? Can't imagine..."
Maggie's nostrils flared at the name and as she saw Harry about to respond, with a deadly look in his eyes, she beat him to it, "Couldn't win what, Malfoy? Greasiest hair competition? Yeah, I reckon you've got that one in the bag."
It was Draco turn for his features to light up with fury, "Watch you mouth, Creevey." Hearing him talk down to Maggie made Harry's blood boil.
"How about you shut yours and leave us alone." He said as Malfoy's lip curled.
"I suppose you'll enter, Potter? Never miss a chance to show off, do you?"
"Either explain what you on about or go away." Said Hermione over her book which she had placed in her lap.
"Don't tell me you don't know? You've got a father and brother at the ministry and you don't even know?" He said pointing at Ron, "My father told me ages ago of course.... Heard it from Cornelius Fudge. But then, Fathers always been associated with the top people at the ministry... perhaps your father to junior to know about it Weasley."
Half way though his pathetic rant, Maggie had stood up and marched towards the door, "Well delightful as this has been, if that'll be all..." She said smiling sweetly down at him and promptly slamming the door in his face.
As an insult formed on his lips she lowered the blind to cover the window and his ugly face.
She sat back down with a satisfied smile.
When the trolly lady came tottering closer to their compartment sometime later, Harry stood and pushed back the sickles from Maggie's out stretched hand as she tried to pass them to him.
"Chocolate frog?" He said, remembering her favourite.
"Yes, please." Maggie said, smiling up at him.
Maggie heard the ringing of an all too familiar Scottish accent from out side the compartment place an order to the old lady and greet Harry, who returned a few moments later, empty handed with a dazed smile on his face.
Maggie frowned and nudged the sitting boy with her foot, her face saying 'where's-my-food'.
A guilty look slid on Harry's face, "Sorry.. forgot. I'll go and get it." He started to stand, but Maggie pulled him back down by his sleeve.
"Don't worry, mate. I'm going go find Gwen and Ivy anyhow." She smiled at him and bid her goodbye to Hermione and rolled her eyes at a sleeping Ron.
As she closed the door she thought she heard Hermione whispering something along the lines of, 'stupid boy' and 'not helping yourself'. But Harry defending himself was cut of as she went in search of her best friends, Ivanna Winter and Gwendolyn Fairfax.
After about 10 minutes of searching, Maggie heard the voice of one of her friends in a very heated debate about something she couldn't make out.
When she pulled open a carriage door, she found that the compartment held not only Ivy but another face that made an angry flush crawl onto Maggie's face. Malfoy.
Draco Malfoy and his gang of Slytherins had always given Ivy grief, as in the first year, when she had been sorted into Slytherin herself, she had chosen to befriend Maggie, a muggle-born.
Draco said one last, what Maggie can only assume, snide comment, before pushing past Maggie as slamming the door shut behind him.
Ivy looked very calm as if she had not just come out of an argument at all, which Maggie couldn't help but find strange as she had heard her, Ivy, shout, which was not something the quiet, non confrontational girl usually did.
"Honestly, Ivy, I don't know how you put up with him, I wish you'd let me pummel his face in on your behalf."
The look of indifference of Ivy's face melted away as she took the few steps of space between them and pulled Maggie into a short hug.
Maggie patted her back, in a way she hoped was comforting before quickly pulling away, she wasn't much of a casual hugger.
"Oh, I've missed you, Ivy. And Gwen! Where is our little Gryffindor?" Said Maggie as they sat side by side, "How was your summer? As awful as normal?" Maggie had a nack for hating families she had yet to meet.
Ivy gave a small, sad smile, " 'wasn't that bad. Went by quick for the most part." Ivy didn't talk about home life much, but from what she had told Maggie, she was able to picture how bad it was in her mind.
"There she is. The devil herself." Ivy smiles at something past Maggie shoulder, Gwendolyn Fairfax smiling down at them.
She practically throws herself at the two girls, "Oh, my girls, I've missed you both so much!"
" 'missed you too, Gwen!" Maggie said smiling at the girl after she had finally let them go, "come on, sit. Tell us all about your holiday!"
"Ooh, yes!" Ivy smiled.
"It was amazing! Mum and dad ended up booking a holiday in Finland, my first time in an aeroplane." Said a grinning Gwen as she peered at her friends, Maggie, who was smiling back and Ivy, who had a bemused look on her face.
"Aiorplan?" She questioned, tilting her head.
Gwen hid her smile as Maggie answered, "Aeroplane, it's how muggles get across water, but not like a boat, in the sky."
Ivy's eyebrows furrowed further, "They fly? Don't be absurd, I think I'd know if they could fly." Maggie just playfully rolled her eyes, Ivy was the smart one of their group, always the quickest to answer a question, however, when it came to muggle knowledge she was quite behind.
After chatting aimlessly for an hour or so, during which Ivy had seemed rather distracted but Maggie didn't mention it, they were joined by none other than Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood, both in the year below.
An unlikely group, but the five girls got on better than any others Maggie had ever seen. After a break down of their summers and expressing their excitement for the secret that was happening at Hogwarts, which Ivy knew of but wouldn't tell them, it was time for them to change into their robes, they had arrived.
The five rode up in a carriage, pulled by the skeletal creatures no one els appeared to see, except for Luna, who stroked the strange animals and clambered aboard, so for the third year in a row, Maggie tried her best to ignore their bony shadows through the window of the carriage.
Maggie could see Hogwarts nearing, the castle's light shimmering through the thick sheets of rain as the carriages pulled to a stop in front of the great oak doors.
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