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"Does the sword has a name?" Said the auburn-haired Lion while admiring the handle and the forged metal.
"I settled for Glamdring."
"Glamdring. Not Orcrist?"
"Thorin died at the end, Hermione. I hope I will have a happier fate than that."
"Alexandra, please. What you did was truly something worthy of a legend. In fact, I think you should see a Mind-Healer-"
"No, Nigel. Thanks for the offer but no. Half of what I've seen so far is enough to wake me up at night. I don't want to have my face plastered on the newspapers and the persons who organised this slaughter after me. I want to enjoy a calm year. Peace. No deadly fights. Okay?"
Hermione and Nigel both nodded, but Alexandra could see it was reluctant and that they didn't agree with her reasoning.
Choosing to turn the topic of conversation to a safer and less depressing subject, the two Gryffindor and the Ravenclaw then discussed the spells they were going to learn this day in Charms. The minutes passed fast, as they were completely absorbed in their conversation, that they only realised they had left King's Cross as Nigel threw a glance outside and remarked the cow herd nearby the place the train they were passing.
"Weird." Said Nigel.
"What is it?" Asked Hermione.
"I didn't see Neville arrive on the platform. Nor did Ron or Leo."
"You certainly have missed them while we were discussing." Said Alexandra in a bored tone. While she would not be sorry if the Boy-Who-Lived didn't come at Hogwarts this year, reality was hardly going to be so pleasant. "I hadn't even noticed we had started the journey to Hogwarts."
"Perhaps... but the journalists and photographs were here and they would have jumped at him at first sight."
"True. On the other hand, whatever they have planned, they know they will never be expulsed. Last year proved that." Hermione affirmed, apparently still bitter about the rest of the first-year of her House had forced her to go to the Forbidden Corridor. "And have you heard how they called themselves after winning the House Cup?"
"The Golden Trio?" Asked Alexandra. It was the only nickname she had ever heard to describe Neville and his followers, although she was unsure who had first thrown the name in the melee.
"No. The New Marauders."
Alexandra frowned. She had heard the name before at Hogwarts but where? Oh well, it wasn't like the self-proclaimed titles a group of pranksters enjoyed was that important. The young Ravenclaw would remember in due time.
"I hope for them they haven't decided to raise the frequency of their pranks and duels in the corridor. They weren't the most popular students of Hogwarts last year." Alexandra remarked.
"They were loved in Gryffindor." Grimaced Nigel.
"Because they won the Cup at the last minute."Noted Hermione.
"And they are downright hated in Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Hufflepuff is more divided, they have taken care to prank them and leave no clue they are behind it." Alexandra added.
"Slytherin I understand but why Ravenclaw?" Asked Nigel.
Alexandra raised one eyebrow. "Remember which House was supposed to win the House Cup before the Headmaster decided on his own to give you Lions the trophy? Which House studied every time in the library when volleys of dungbombs were thrown? Which House makes literally novels of revision notes for the end of the year exams, only to see them burn in fireworks when some Gryffindors wanted to have fun?"
"Oh."
"They must be even least popular than you in Ravenclaw Tower." Said Hermione.
"No one is less popular than me in Ravenclaw, Hermione." Said Alexandra doing a parody of Malfoy's sneer, making Nigel and Hermione burst in laughter. "But they are really making a good effort, I will grant them that."
Afterwards, the discussion moved to moved to the absolute boredom generated by Binns and the laziness of Tiroflan, and continued from there. They were only interrupted in their debates by the trolley's lady, from which they bought several sweets. The sun finally set down over the hills of Northern Scotland and soon Alexandra and Hermione changed from their regular clothes to the Hogwarts robes, temporarily leaving Nigel out of the compartment as he was already in his wizard clothes.
Finally, the voice of the Hogwarts driver announced they were five minutes away from the station of Hogwarts, then the Express stopped. Taking their time, the trio walked out in the station. It was not raining, but the climate was downright freezing compared to the temperatures they had had in London.
They heard the huge Gatekeeper named Hagrid in the distance calling "Firs'-years this way!" but this time they did not follow him, instead marching after the crowd of older students onto a rough dirt road. Not far from the path, hundreds of stagecoaches awaited the students, driven by what looked to be the weirdest horses Alexandra had ever seen. They had a skeletal body, bat-like wings and reptilian futures, giving them a rather dark appearance, impression not helped by the fact they were now fully in the darkness.
"What are these things driving the coach, Nigel?" Alexandra asked, mounting in one which hadn't been occupied.
"Err...Alexandra, there is nothing driving the coach." Answered the Gryffindor boy, clearly frowning, as he and Hermione mounted with her in the coach.
"Of course, there is!" Alexandra replied, shutting the door and seeing the strange magical horse beginning to advance, making the coach bump and sway on the irregular dirt road. "Don't tell me you haven't seen these things!"
"Nigel's right, Alexandra." Said Hermione. "There's nothing drawing the coach."
"You don't see them? Skeletal horses with wings?" The Ravenclaw witch asked, wondering if she had not begun to suffer from hallucinations.