Lizzie's observant brown eyes scanned the bustling platform, the excitement of what had just happened still settling inside her. Though she had long ago been introduced to magic, this was something different, something that she did not remember from Mantigi. Mantigi. As she thought it, an image of the old-fashioned styled wizarding school rose in her mind, clear, familiar, reassuring. She gripped the handle of her trunk a little harder, and pushed back some loose strands of her long hair. It wasn't fair. How she had hated to leave that homely school, depart from the stables in its grounds with all the flourishing bush - hated to leave the people she knew there and - she bit her lip - and, of course, New Zealand itself. Here she was in England instead, which was wrong - very wrong, and where she certainly didn't want to be. Here she was on platform 9¾, just about to board a train heading toward the new source of her magical education. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
At least she had Teddy. And speaking of her second cousin, where was he? Looking around again, she searched for a flash of his turquoise hair. Except would it be turquoise? He would have changed it millions of times since she saw him last, which was, as a matter of fact, four months ago now, when he had come to New Zealand on a holiday with his grandparents, Ted and Andromeda Tonks.
She stood on tiptoe to look over the thick crowd of parents bidding goodbye to their children. He had to be here somewhere - Lizzie didn't like waiting here alone by herself, especially with the station-guard striding briskly down the platform shouting out that the train was leaving in five minutes and people had to get on board. It was just like Teddy to be late.
An objectionable meow came from behind her. She looked around, and smiled at the basket sitting on the concrete platform floor beside her trunk, and kneeling down, she unlatched the lid and lifted out the black cat within. "It's okay, Cornix," she said, stroking his head as he lay in her arms. His yellow eyes looked reproachful, and no wonder, it had been half-an-hour since she had held him in the car, so he had been his basket since. "I'm sorry you've been cooped up in there," Lizzie said apologetically. She grinned as a rumbling purr escaped him, for she had been scratching behind his ears, his favourite spot.
But at that moment, a call came from behind her, and she turned around, not surprised to see Teddy hurrying toward her, for she had recognised his voice, and it was about time. "Lizzie!" Teddy said, struggling with his trunk and grinning. "Sorry I'm late."
"Very late," Lizzie emphasised.
"I haven't seen you for - what is it now? - four months, and that's what you say to me?" Teddy laughed. "Thanks."
"Well, you seem to be forgetting I've never been here before, and I don't want to be late on my first day," Lizzie said, smiling. "Come on, we better get on," she gestured toward the nearest train door, and Teddy nodded. Pulling their trunks (after Lizzie had slipped a reluctant Cornix back into his basket) they climbed aboard and headed down the corridor. From outside, a whistle shrieked, and the doors along the train started slamming shut.
"Here," Teddy said, nodding toward a compartment door. He opened it, and the two entered. Teddy shoved his trunk into a corner and slumped down on one of the seats. "And now all we have to do is wait," he said, grinning. "This is the easy part."
"That's not saying much, as is there even a hard part?" Lizzie asked, following Teddy's example yet sitting down in a more dignified manner.
"Yeah!" Teddy replied, apparently shocked at her scepticism. "Studying!"
"I thought studying was supposed to be educational," Lizzie said. She didn't mean to sound haughty, but it must have been her nervousness that was making her like this.
Teddy's hair flashed red, but he merely said lightly, "You'll see when you start the classes. Transfiguration always makes my hair go grey, as if I'm growing old with boredom."
Lizzie laughed. "I hope not!" Then she added, more nervously, "Is Transfiguration hard here? Mantigi's different from Hogwarts, I think, and -"
"See, there is a hard part," Teddy said, then he laughed as Lizzie looked positively alarmed. "I'm just joking," he said. "Though it can be a little severe on my poor old brain at times."
At that moment, though, the train gave a slight lurch and it began to move. Lizzie looked out the window and watched the platform appear to move alongside. And then it was lost from view. She turned back to Teddy. "Teddy, I'm fourteen, so I'll be starting at fourth year, right? But that means I'll miss out on the first, second and third year Hogwarts edu -"
Teddy waved an airy hand. "Lizzie, it'll be fine. You've been studying at Mantigi, and only a little bit is different between the two schools."
Lizzie bit her lip. "I guess," she said. "But -"
"Anyway, you're yet to be sorted," Teddy interrupted. "Where d'you think you'll be?"
"Oh I hope I'm the same as you," Lizzie said. "Otherwise I'll be all by myself and -"
"For the last time it's fine," Teddy replied.
Lizzie sighed. "I suppose," she said. "But -"
"No buts," Teddy said firmly.
There was a pause, as Lizzie looked out the window again and Teddy did too, except to scrutinise his reflection in the glass instead. "Hmmm," he said thoughtfully. "How about a nice emerald green?" And his hair promptly turned that viridescent shade.
"Ugh!" Lizzie said, but she was grinning. "You look like a frog!"
Teddy's eyes twinkled.
"Anyway," Lizzie said, "How have you been doing since I last saw you?"
Teddy flicked a speck of dust from his finger and shrugged. "Fine," he said casually. "Every Sunday I get to go and visit the Potters, which not many people get to do every week. How have you been?"
"You know I didn't want to leave New Zealand," Lizzie said, a little resentfully. "But thanks to Mum and Dad's business issues, we had to come here to England instead."
"How're you -" Teddy began, but at that moment the compartment door opened.
A girl stood in the doorway. Her reddish-blonde hair fell in curly waves to her shoulders, and a pair of blue, sparkling eyes smiled at them both. They were primarily fixed, though, on Teddy.
"Hey Teddy," she said, a grin spreading across her face. "I've been looking for you."
"Victoire," Teddy said.
Lizzie raised her eyebrows. Teddy's grandmother, Andromeda, had told her about Teddy's relationship with a certain someone called Victoire Weasley, and she had not particularly been looking forward to meeting her, even though she was a Weasley. However, she forced a smile onto her face.
"I've got a compartment for us," Victoire said. "And I've been looking for you for ages." She turned to Lizzie. "Hi," she said. "Victoire Weasley. And you?"
"Lizzie Tonks," Lizzie replied. "I'm Teddy's second cousin."
"I think Teddy's mentioned you before - but don't you live in New Zealand?"
"Things are always changing, Victoire," Teddy said, yawning. "But we've got a compartment here -"
"But I just managed to convince Rose to join us!" Victoire protested. "And you know how hard she is to persuade!"
"Rose...?" Lizzie asked.
"Granger-Weasley," Victoire replied promptly. She turned back to Teddy. "Please come Teddy. Lily's there too!"
This seemed to persuade Teddy. "Okay, then," he said, standing up. "Lizzie, want to come?"
Lizzie nodded. She would have preferred to stay in their current compartment with just Teddy, but she didn't want to be left alone either. Standing up too, she grabbed her trunk and Cornix's basket (she felt apologetic again as she realised she had forgotten to let him out) and followed Teddy (who was also dragging his trunk) and Victoire, out of the compartment and into the corridor. Victoire led them down the train before stopping before a compartment door. Opening it, the three went inside.
Two girls and a boy were within. The first girl had straight, golden-brown shoulder length hair, rosy cheeks, and sparkling eyes. She sat by the window, beside the boy, who was laughing and talking, his hair ruffled and unkempt while his green eyes twinkled with mirth. Meanwhile, the second girl sat opposite them, her red hair tied neatly back in a pony-tail, and a book sitting in her lap.
The boy looked around.
"Teddy!" He said. "Wondering when you'd turn up!"
Teddy smiled, but Lizzie noticed it looked slightly forced. "Hey James," he said. He went inside after Victoire, and Lizzie followed awkwardly.
"And who's this?" James asked, gesturing toward Lizzie. He laughed. "Your second girlfriend, Teddy?"
Teddy looked embarrassed. "No, she's my cousin," he said. "Lizzie."
Lizzie smiled. "Hi," she said. "Can I sit here?" She nodded toward a space by the girl beside the window. For some reason, Teddy looked a bit annoyed.
"Of course," the girl said. Lizzie pushed her trunk into the corner and sat down.
"I'm Lily," the girl continued, smiling brightly. "Lily Potter."
"Nice to meet you," Lizzie said, as she lifted Cornix out of his basket. His eyes darted around the compartment once, as if judging the strangers in it, until he snuggled into her arms and lay there purring. Lily grinned at his furry form, and then said, "That's Rose over there - she has a brother called Hugo but I don't know where he is at the -"
"He's with Albus," Rose said haughtily. "Acquainting with Albus's friend - that Scorpius. Honestly, I don't think Hugo should be doing that - I told him not to, but he ignored me. For goodness's sake, that boy is Draco Malfoy's son! It's general knowledge that he was a Death Eater. And I don't think Albus is showing a very good example, either, going and -"
But Lily interrupted her here. "Well, he was sorted into Slytherin, so it's obvious that he'd want to make some Slytherin friends," she said, lifting her chin slightly.
"But why was he sorted into Slytherin?" Rose asked, biting her lip.
"Because it was the Sorting Hat's choice," Lily replied stiffly yet confidently, and turned back to Lizzie. "Anyway," she said, "Teddy told me about how you went to Mantigi, and how -"
"Mantigi?" Again Rose interrupted. "The New Zealand wizarding school? What's it like?"
As she was asked this question, Lizzie found herself hesitating. Mantigi had been so wonderful that now that she was being asked her opinion of it, it was hard to describe. She swallowed, and found herself answering much more simply than she would have liked. "Oh, it was brilliant," she said. "There was a stables, and -"
Yet, to her annoyance, Rose interrupted, as it seemed to be her habit. "Hogwarts is amazing too, though," she said, as if trying to outshine Lizzie's previous school. "You should see the Great Hall, and -"
"Yes, I know," Lizzie said, before she could stop herself. Rose opened her mouth and then closed it again. Huffily, she snatched up the book in her lap and flicked to a page. Frowning at Lizzie, she opened it and began to read.
Slightly embarrassed at her retort yet relieved that Rose would no longer be interrupting them, Lizzie turned back to Lily.
"So... Your dad's the famous Harry Potter, right?" She asked, desperate for a source of conversation. James looked around.
"You better not be one of those fans," he said, a mischievous grin flashing across his face. "If you are I'll use that Bat-Bogey Hex mum taught me -" he pulled out his wand - "on you."
Lizzie raised her eyebrows. Teddy hastened to protest.
"James!" He said, in a reprimanding voice.
"Yeah?" James said, looking round. He laughed. "Come off it Teddy, you always take things so seriously - well, ever since you started going out with Victoire, anyway." He laid a great deal of emphasis on Victoire's name, something that made her flush pink and hastily thrust forward a new topic.
"How was your summer, Rose?" She asked randomly.
Rose slowly lowered her book. "Normal, I guess," she said. "Mum took me into the Ministry, I got to go into the Auror Office, and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."
"That's where my dad works," James said absently, scratching at a mark on his wand handle. "Boring, really, considering that all they do is make pointless laws."
"James!" Rose said, apparently shocked. "Law Enforcement is a very crucial factor of our modern magical world -"
"Blah, blah, yeah, I know," James said. "Anyway, I learnt how to fully-body-bind - watch -" and without warning, he pointed his wand at Teddy and shouted, "Petrificus Totalus!"
Teddy's arms and legs snapped to his side. His whole body went rigid. James laughed. Rose looked sceptical. Victoire gasped. Lily was angry. Lizzie felt angry too. Before she knew it, she had snapped at James, "Just because you're so mean to him about being in a relationship with Victoire it doesn't mean you should bully him like this!"
James hesitated a moment, as if pondering on what he should say. Finally, he laughed again. "Lay off, will you? I'm going to go and sit with Albus." With that, he stood up and left the compartment.
There was an awkward silence. It was broken by Victoire, who said, "Well, does anyone know how to un-body bind Teddy?"
Rose rolled her eyes. "Obviously, you can just use the counter-curse," she said impatiently. Pulling out her wand with a flourish, she said smoothly, pointing her wand at Teddy, "Finite Incatatem."
Teddy's body relaxed, and he sat up.
Again a silence followed, which Victoire again broke.
"Oh, Teddy," she said. "That James -"
"It was just a joke," Teddy said, with a chuckle. "He's always doing stuff like that."
"But was it really necessary?" Lily asked, folding her arms. "He picks on people and -"
"Well, either way, I can't concentrate on my book -" Rose held up the thick volume she was reading - "And I don't fancy any more interruptions." She stood up. "I'm going to go and sit somewhere else," she said haughtily. Pointing her wand at her trunk, she said loftily, "Locomoter Trunk!" It rose, hovering, into the air, and Rose left the compartment, her trunk flying after her. The compartment door slid shut, and Lizzie, Lily, Teddy, and Victoire all exchanged looks.
"Well," said Teddy presently, "Don't bother inviting Rose to a compartment again, Victoire."
Victoire laughed. "You are so funny, Teddy!" She said, still giggling.
"Not funny, but honest," Teddy said, grinning.
At that moment, the compartment door opened. Lizzie, tired of it opening and closing, barely looked up from Cornix until an accusatory voice said, "Have you seen Scorpius?"
A tall boy stood in the doorway. Dark hair and grey eyes marked his appearance, and he was flanked by several friends.
"Scorpius?" Teddy asked. "You mean Albus's friend?"
"That Potter?" The boy said. "Well, yeah, I guess."
"And you are...?" Lily asked.
"Brutus," he said coolly. And then he added, "Nott."
Victoire looked shocked. Teddy and Lily exchanged looks, and Lizzie knew why. 'Nott' was unmistakably the name of one of the Death Eaters who had served Lord Voldemort when he had been powerful, and it was obvious that this boy was related significantly to that dark wizard. However, she reminded herself, that had been twenty years ago now, and this 'Brutus' might not be the same as his father.
She forced a smile onto her face. Her mouth muscles seemed particularly reluctant to move, so her smile ended up looking more like a painful grimace. "Hi," she said. "I'm Lizzie Tonks."
"Tonks?" Brutus looked at his friends, and one of them sniggered. "Really? So I guess you're related to that Werewolf, then." A cruel smile slipped onto his face. "Feeling wolfy?"
Lizzie's mouth fell open. Her hand slipped involuntarily to her pocket, where her wand lay, but then she pulled it away. She shouldn't - not on her first day. But Teddy had already jumped up. Rage was clearly visible on every feature of his face, and his wand was drawn. Brutus looked at him calmly, leaning against the frame of the doorway, but Lizzie saw his hand clenched around something inside his robes.
"No, Teddy!" She said. "This is stupid -"
"I'm not going to just go and let him insult my father!" Teddy said angrily. His hair had turned bright orange, and was slowly turning to black.
"Oh, so he's your father?" Brutus said, his mean smile widening. "But you mean your dead father."
This was too much for Teddy. "Impedimenta!" he shouted. But Brutus had pulled out his wand and easily deflected the jinx.
"I didn't come in here to experience a severe lack of manners, you know," Brutus said, with a mocking smile. "But if you insist..." He flicked his wand and said, "Locomoter Mortis!"
His leg-locking curse missed Teddy by inches, for Teddy had just slipped out of the way. Teddy angrily cast a hex at Brutus, which he again deflected...
"Stop!" Victoire was shouting. "Stop - Teddy -"
Lily jumped up, snatching out her own wand. Lizzie shook her head. "It'll just -" she began, but never got to finish, for at that moment Cornix had leapt out of her lap. She made a swipe for him but he had bounded out of the way, and then jumped - very unexpectedly (for such a friendly furball as himself) - right onto Brutus, clawing up his leg. Brutus yelled and kicked, but Cornix clung on.
"Ow - you stupid animal, get off!" Brutus yelled angrily. He shot another jinx at Teddy and then aimed his wand at Cornix, but he fumbled and dropped it -
"Accio wand!" Lily shouted. Brutus's wand flew through the air and she caught it. Teddy raised his own wand to aim another hex at Brutus now that he was disarmed, but Lizzie had (finally) drawn hers and said hastily, "Expelliarmus!" And Teddy's wand promptly flew into her hand.
Cornix jumped away from Brutus and returned to Lizzie's lap. He had left Brutus's robes in tatters, and had scratched his victim quite badly. He then curled up and started purring again, as if nothing had happened. Teddy turned to Lizzie. "Give it back!" He said fiercely, his hair changing colour again, this time to bright green. "Now!"
Lizzie shook her head. Lily was fingering Brutus's wand, as if considering whether to give it back or not. Brutus looked very angry.
"You little thieving -" he began.
"Take it then," said Lily coolly, throwing it back to him. "But leave us alone, and maybe consider buying a new pair of robes." She laughed derisively.
Brutus clutched his wand very tightly, but nevertheless turned. "C'mon," he said, to his friends, who were muttering darkly and looking quite ashamed of themselves for not helping with the fight. Teddy's hands were clenched into fists, and he looked more angry than Lizzie had ever seen him.
"Give -" he started furiously.
"Fine," Lizzie said, passing him his wand. "But you better not go out and start fighting again, otherwise I'll try that body-binding curse that James did."
"You wouldn't," Teddy said, but he slumped back into his seat all the same.
"Honestly," Lily muttered under her breath. "You have no common sense, do you, Teddy?"
"Well, at least I have more than that stupid Death Eater's son," Teddy said, still trembling with rage. "I'll - I'll -"
"It's okay, Teddy," Victoire said soothingly, laying a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"No, it isn't," Teddy said angrily. "When I get the chance, and when you two -" he gestured at both Lily and Lizzie, who looked innocently unaffected - "aren't around, I'll hex that -"
But at that moment he was interrupted by the compartment door opening. At first Lizzie thought it was Brutus back again, but thankfully it wasn't, but just the trolley lady with her large store of wizarding treats. "Anything from the trolley, dears?" She asked kindly.
"Yes please," Lizzie and Lily said in unison, both standing up and rummaging in their pockets for sickles and knuts. Victoire stayed seated by Teddy, still comforting him. When the trolley lady had left, Lizzie sat back down beside Cornix, who had grudgingly left her lap when she had stood up and now returned gladly to it, and tossed Teddy a pumpkin pasty. "Eat," she said. "It'll make you feel better."
Lily nodded in agreement. "That's what grandmother always says," she said. "There's no better remedy than food."
"Yeah, well, passing over food remedies," Teddy said grumpily. "I'd prefer to go and -"
"Beat that boy Brutus up, yes, we know," Lizzie said, opening a chocolate frog.

IN PROGRESS