Alexandra took her shower in record time, put her new clothes on and left the Common Room with fifteen minutes left. She arrived before the access leading to the Great Hall with three minutes to spare, meeting only the mischievous Crookshanks pursuing a big rat on the third floor with an awesome determination. Only she wasn't the first to arrive at the meeting point. Professor Snape had been expected. Leo Black, given the sender of the invitation, was logical. The two other Gryffindors, Alexandra had to admit, she would not have figured they would be on the guests' list. Neville Longbottom, wonder of the Wizarding World and Boy-Who-Lived extraordinaire. The eldest of the Weasleys present at Hogwarts. Percy-something, Perceval, Percival, she honestly didn't remember the name of the boy. All she knew this Weasley was in sixth year, Gryffindor Prefect and a sticker for rules. Oh, and the nicknames every House found for him were really humiliating. A little consequence of his irritating tendency to stick for outdated rules and never relax.
The clothes being worn by every person in the Hall were interesting too. Black and Longbottom were wearing what looked to be formal robes with their Houses coat-of-arms over their hearts, and they were way more expensive than the usual robes. For one thing, they were made in a sort of elegant silk or something like that, and there were embroidery of gold and silver decorating the clothes. The Weasley next to them wore only his normal Hogwarts robes, which looked to be old and frayed around the edges.
There was only one minute left before eleven o'clock, and it was clear there was only one person who had had the bad taste not to be punctual. Unsurprisingly, it was Draco Malfoy. His French cousin Lyre had certainly not been invited, since the French branch of their House was not linked in Black activities on the other side of the Channel.
But to the astonishment of the Gryffindors and the lone Ravenclaw gathered in the Entrance Hall, Professor Snape was harbouring an expression of fury. Honestly, Alexandra couldn't see why. It was well-known in Hogwarts rumour mill that Draco Malfoy was often what could be called 'fashionably late' when he and the Gryffindors were at the same place at the same time and Professor Snape was in attendance. A manner Alexandra supposed was to boost the ego of the Slytherin Prince, all the while not risking a detention or a loss in House Points. Everybody knew Professor Snape very rarely punished Slytherins. Even caught red-handed.
"Very well," Said the Potions Master in this cold, silky voice which translated how much he was furious as the eleventh hour rang in Hogwarts Great Hall. "I will wait for the...delayed student." He added in a dark voice which promised something painful was going to happen to a certain blond Slytherin stupid enough to risk his ire.
"This is your Portkey." The black-haired man declared handing a rope shining of a weak blue light to the Weasley Prefect, before walking away with his black robes billowing like a herald of Sauron in search of Hobbits to terrify. The oldest Gryffindor unwound a bit the magical rope, before commanding in a pompous voice to the other students to approach and grab it solidly.
Alexandra obeyed, as did Neville Longbottom and Leo Black.
"3...2...1...Sorbet Lemon!"
Alexandra had not the time to reflect how stupid the situation looked. It was like something had grabbed her by the navel, the group began to swirl at an unimaginable speed, the Hall around them began to fade, and they were propelled forwards in a whirlwind of indistinct colours.
22 September 1992, Black Cobra Manor, England
The landing was brutal and came without any warning. They had swirled so much in so short period a time that Alexandra couldn't help but stagger, and fall on her knees with a groan of pain. What the hell was the problem with the wizards? If she had known how bad travel by Portkey was, she would have insisted to do the travel by another method of transportation. Now on the ground, she had to fight the urge to vomit and her legs had the consistence of marmalade.
"First Portkey experience?" Asked the voice of the eldest Weasley above her in a sympathetic tone.
"Yurgh." Answered Alexandra. "Is it always that bad?" The young Ravenclaw asked, standing up difficulty on her own legs, still trying not to vomit in public.
"The first travel is always difficult." Admitted the Gryffindor. "After that, it gets better. Some persons still have some trouble with them however. Something in their magic fluctuates with the Arithmancy grid of the Portkey."
"Great." Said weakly Alexandra. "This is as bad as my first travel in the wagons of Gringotts."
The red-haired winced, before nodding vigorously. Glad to know she wasn't the only one having problems with the infernal devices manned by the goblins.
The earth having ceased to pitch and her vision having returned to its normal clarity, Alexandra observed the panorama around their group. To be honest, the ambiance was...dark. At the very least desolated. Alexandra didn't know where in the British Isles the Portkey had sent them, but it was a rather gloomy location. The sky was grey over their heads, the grass of the land was scorched and was black at some place. The trees looked diseased, in spite of being in late September, they had no leaves anymore. On some of them big crows were nesting, crowing loudly and permeating an atmosphere of horror movie.
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T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/Makimafic
If you guys wanna check it out.