Chapter 1: Merlin's Lost Book

The Hufflepuff prefect rolls her eyes as the four kids go shooting off down the train with sassy Rafaella in the lead.

The misting outside has turned into a light but steady drizzle, and the sky is getting darker, not just because of the clouds. The four first-years begin to notice more uniform robes. The train must be getting close to school, they'd better hurry. Regrettably they have to shoot by the trolley witch who calls after them with a: "Anything from the trolley, dears?"

They pile through the door to the observation car. This is clearly one of the more popular carriages as its packed, mostly with upper years, especially a lot of Slytherins, but there seems to be a handful of first-years who have snuck in and secured seats.

There are so many dark robes and more than a few students that match the description, the four first-years begin to feel worried the book thief took his scarf off.As they press their way through the packed car searching, something catches Caroline's attention out of the corner of her eye. On the edge of a table between two pairs of facing chairs, barely legible ornate gold script on the corner of an ancient tome reads Signs & Symbols of Deck Supernal. There's an elbow resting on the tome, and she looks up into the laughing face of a young boy with dark brown skin and frizzy black hair. Sure enough, he has a black and red striped scarf around his neck with little bats decorating it. The boy has a big, goofy, toothy electric grin, and seems to be laughing uproariously at something one of his companions has said. There's a tall blonde girl with glasses sitting next to him who is smirking as well, and two shorter, gangly Asian boys with shaggy dark hair sitting across from them, one giving an exasperated look to the other. They all look young enough to be fellow first years.

The book flops underneath the boy's elbow--the spell works, but its a challenging one, Bex needs to work on his technique to really get things flying around.

This at least get's the boy's attention. He places both hands on the book and glances around, noticing the dark haired boy with his wand pointed at him, and the three girls taking in the scene. He gives the foursome a confused smile. "What's the craic?" he asks in a thick Irish accent.

The boy's eyes go wide at Rafaella's accusation. "Shook... down?! You mean this book?!" He picks up the ancient tome. "I asked if I could borrow it! You think I... stole it?!"

He holds out the book as if it were repulsive. The tall girl sitting beside him sneers at Rafaella. "Rory asked if he could borrow it," she throws back. "That boy held out the book and started crying."

The dark skinned Irish boy, Rory, looks suitably chastised by Rafaella. "I was gonna give it back. We're all going to the same place after all."

Rory genuinely seems horrified at the idea that Caroline, Bex, Rafaella and Ava think he's stolen. He didn't hesitate a moment to offer the book back to them and, while he's not crying, tears of shame are welling up in his eyes. The kids he's sitting with seem a little more callous. The twin boys stare at Bex incredulously, and the tall girl with glasses rolls her eyes.

The twin sitting close to the window leans forward, scowling at Rafaella. "Jake and I are Muggle-born, thank you very much."

He let's that hang in the air. His brother, Jake, winces, glancing at Rafaella, hurt in his eyes. It's awkward and uncomfortable for everyone. The tall girl with glasses is glaring at Rafaella. Rory retracts the book slightly, biting his lip.

Rory looks to the twins, and the one who challenged Rafaella nods his head. A tension seems defused and Rory turns back to the others, grinning sheepishly.

"Sorry 'bout that, but I honestly just asked if I could borrow it for a tick and then the prefect showed up and chased us off," Rory holds out the book to Rafaella. "That's right decent of you offering to get it back. Can you tell him I said 'sorry'?"

"Rory!" the boy states, gaining back a little of his pep. "And how often do you see a dusty old book like this?! I mean, I bet they've loads at Hogwarts, but this one just... looks magical!" His sparkling eyes fall back on the book clasped in Ava's arms.

He's not wrong. The book is hefty, very old, obvious just from the musty but not unpleasant smell. There is something about the gold gilded letters, the cover depicting a golden wheel with strange glyphs decorating it, a smiling sphinx sitting atop the wheel, a mischievous demon laying along the bottom. A glamour that catches and fascinates the eye.

The tall girl chimes up from behind Rory, breaking whatever charms, real or imagined, the book held over everyone. "We're going to be at Hogwarts soon, you should probably gather your things and get ready."

She is clearly not as forgiving as Rory, and she clearly wants everyone to move along.