When you have too much fun, you forget who you didn’t want to meet. And the trio and Albert didn’t want to meet Umbridge, with her pink outfit and frog-like face that had bulging eyes and thin lips, smacked with pink lipstick. They glumly wore Muggle clothes (hoodies and old jeans) and went inside Mr. Bluesky’s car. Mr. Bluesky dropped them off at the Kings’ Cross Station, waving goodbye to them as they hopped off the car with their trunks and pets. Bianca pecked on the cage, eager to get out of the bars she was sitting behind. Twilight purred as it struck its tail straight up and began walking towards the Hogwarts Express, as though walking on a catwalk. Charm growled as it followed Twilight. They squeezed their way in and sat on a compartment at the beginning of the Hogwarts Express, which was signalling everyone to enter with a choo-choo!

Albert and the trio walked to the compartment when someone called Albert’s name. They jerked their heads and spotted a boy with blonde hair, and blue eyes as well as a boy with black hair and a girl with brown hair.

‘Albert! Come sit with us,’ Leo said, but stopped when he saw the three girls in front of him. 

He glared at Amelia most of all, who glared back.

‘Look, Leo,’ Albert said calmly, walking towards Leo and Levi. ‘I… am… done… with you. Go on and put your bottoms at the end of the train. 

Beatrix didn’t move.

‘Al,’ she said as she began walking towards him.

‘First of all, Elora, don’t call me that. Second, I don’t want you to sting me, Bea. Go on with your boyfriend and I don’t want to see any of you ever again.’ 

‘Girls softened you, eh?’ Leo spoke quietly, but someone came by Albert’s side. 

Albert didn’t look at Olivia, his focus only on the three snakes in front of him. Isabell raised her wand, Amelia following her.

‘You shouldn’t have become friends with Levi, Leo,’ Amelia said as she glared at him.

‘Leo, Levi, Beatrix,’ began Olivia, giving Amelia a look. ‘Albert here might be around with girls but that doesn’t mean that inside there is a softened heart. And unlike you all, he doesn’t have a rotten black heart like you snakes.’ 

‘Ten points from each of you,’ Albert said.

Leo laughed as someone appeared behind him.

‘Tut. Tut. Fifty points from Ravenclaw,’ a voice said.

Platinum blonde hair, gorgeous grey eyes, thin lips, pale skin, and a wicked smile gracing his face. Draco Malfoy stood in front of Albert, with the three Slytherins going behind Draco hurriedly.

‘Trying to see who’s taller? Go on tip-toes,’ Albert said, glaring at Draco. 

Draco stepped back, snarling. 

‘Watch what you’re saying, Foxglove.’

‘Alright, Malfoy. And you don’t have the right to deduct points from another prefect. Remove ten points and I’ll let you dance around with your two gorillas.’

Crabbe and Goyle, who indeed resembled two gorillas, bumped their fists in each other, as though about to fight for their death. Draco, with his chin raised up, walked away and huffed, Crabbe and Goyle wobbling after him. The trio and Albert walked back into their compartment to see two girls inside, gossiping loudly. The girls blinked at them. One had blonde hair and green eyes, while her friend had brown hair and blue eyes.

‘Oh, is this compartment taken?’ asked the blonde haired girl.

‘Our pets are right there…’ Amelia said, pointing at a mewling Charm, a sleeping Twilight, a hooting Mocha and a chirping Bianca. 

The brown haired girl snatched her friend’s arm and they left the compartment, smiling at the trio and Albert toothily as they exited. 

‘They need glasses,’ Isabell said as she sat near Mocha, who flapped her wings at her owner’s arrival. 

‘I mean they weren’t focusing on our pets, who would?’ Albert asked as he sat down gingerly on the red leather seat. 

Charm hissed angrily and tried to scratch Albert. 

‘First thing about pets, don’t offend them,’ Isabell said. 

‘How would you know,’ Albert said sarcastically as he shoved away Charm, whose clows had almost clung to the wall as Albert made him fly away. 

Charm’s fur stuck out as though he had goosebumps. 

‘Because, while you played with your amazing hair, I concentrated on our very first Care of Magical Creatures lesson! When Hagrid talked about our pets and what we should and shouldn’t do!’ Isabell snapped, Mocha nodding as though she understood what Isabell had just said. ‘And also, I can speak to animals.’

Twilight jolted awake, hissing at Isabell for disturbing her sleep. Albert didn’t continue the conversation about pets. 

‘How come you all have talents and I’m just a useless boy,’ he muttered to himself as he blew on some hair that was drooping down to his hazel eyes.

‘You befriended a wolf! A wolf! You don’t call that a talent?’ Olivia said.

‘Yeah, you can talk to wolves,’ Amelia said, striking her finger inside Bianca’s cage to stroke her head. 

‘True, Amelia can see secrets, true, Isabell can speak to animals, true, I can see through people’s eyes to see their memories (which I never liked but came out to be useful)... but your talent is just as good as ours!’ 

‘Oh, even if someone has it, she can speak to all animals,’ Albert said, looking sadly at Isabell. 

‘But I can’t make them obey me unless I give them my most prized possession and make them do whatever I order them to.’

‘And what’s your “most prized possession”, I wonder?’ Amelia said. 

‘Chocolate cake,’ Isabell replied happily. 

Amelia smacked her head with her hand and laughed. 

‘Remember Peeves?’ Olivia said. 

‘You consider that a good or bad memory? It depends,’ Isabell replied. ‘First time he threw some chalk at me, which is technically a rock.’ 

‘And he squirted ketchup on you this year as well,’ laughed Amelia.

Isabell shuddered. 

‘He locked the Divination door once with gum that he chewed,’ Albert said, engaging in the light-hearted conversation. 

But the conversation stopped when a single spark in the midair illuminated their faces. The light of the whole train cut off, making some students scream fearfully. The light in the trio and Albert’s compartment silently drifted to the window and stopped. A cat head with a smushed face replaced the light. The silver and translucent cat purred quietly and then its mouth opened, revealing sharp canines.

‘To all students on the Hogwarts Express, welcome back!’ a girlish squeaky voice spoke, and the trio and Albert gulped. ‘I, Hogwarts’ High Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge, am delighted to have you back and see your bright faces! See you soon!’

And the cat blew into a spark, only a girlish-giggle echoing inside their heads. Isabell opened the compartment door and saw that every single compartment had just encountered what they had. The spark in their compartment went towards the light bulb above them and went through. The light bulb lit up and they blinked as they had already adjusted to the darkness around them. 

‘There could be seventh years here, who are seventeen and of age and don’t want to be treated as three year olds,’ said Olivia, frowning.

Isabell saw other compartments’ light brighten up, one after the other as though they were piano keys being pressed one after the other.