The Inquisition and the Discovery.

Chapter Two - Inquisition.

Meilin Chang knew almost immediately that this, her sixth year at Hogwarts, would be the year. Unlike most adolescents she wasn't about to believe that the hype of seventh year with all it's "coming of age" and choosing your magical career path nonsense could top it, either.
Partially it was because of the "good feeling" that bubbled within her gut upon entering the city of London's quaint King's Cross Station, but mostly her overconfidence was due to the fact that every single solitary pair of eyes within the building were focused on her and the two, equally zealous girls flanking her sides.

Little did she know, however, that all of these concentrated stares were not something to be chipper about. On the contrary, it was rather bad on her part that they had noticed her and her little posse at all. For you see, to the station's occupants it did not matter one bit that Meilin and her accomplices were well-groomed and attractive, nor that they walked with a certain swagger to their step. Because, all of this was ultimately insignificant in comparison to the fact that they, clad in unusual black robes with navy blue and silver stripped leggings, were steadily approaching a brick wall, smack dab in the middle of Platforms 9 and 10. Furthermore, it was most alarming to the onlookers that these girls seemed to possess absolutely no interest in halting before their delicate skin made painful contact with the rough material of the wall.

Suddenly, to the utter relief of the spectators, Meilin suddenly came to a halt.

"Well then, miladies. . ." She called, swiveling around in place in order to glance at her cheerful companions.

"Linny." They briefly chimed together in reply, nodding casually to their companion.

"Very nice, strutting! Excellent form! All the prats within range have probably pissed their pants from-" She complimented, grinning cheekily at the two of them.

A sudden, forceful tug to the sleeve of her robes resulted in the rest of her sentence being left unsaid.

As impossible as it was, she half expected the culprit to be her mother, alarmed at her use of profanity. And thus, she clenched her eyes shut, preparing herself for the hypocritical string of Chinese swears that were sure to follow.

However, this was not the case at all as the petite Asian teen merely found herself toppling backwards into the very wall that onlookers had been so mentally adamant about her avoiding.

"Mum?" She squeaked, landing with a well-placed "oomph!" on her rear.

"Meilin, how much of an idiot are you?" Chided a voice, that in Meilin's opinion, sounded absolutely livid but. . .definitely not like her mother at all.

Allowing her long lashed lids to flutter open, she was met with a familiar fuming face.

"Lily Evans, is that a - rhetorical question. . .?" She hesitantly asked, her joking demeanor not portraying how truly intimidated she was by the red head's wrath.

"A rhetorical, a rhetorical question? No, it absolutely is not! I legitimately want to inquire how much of an idiot one has to be to go sauntering into a Muggle trolley station with the emblem of a magical school evident upon their apparel?" Lily Evans, fellow sixth year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry inquired, her clenched fist still attached to the sleeve of Meilin's poor robes.

The carefree smile slowly faded from Meilin's face as her gaze fell to her attire. There, in all of it's blue and silver glory, resided the crest of the Ravenclaw house upon the left breast of her black school robes.

"Oh, about that. . ." Meilin began nervously, desperately trying to inch away from the angered ginger.

"Yes, please do tell me all about it! Because I would love to know what on Earth made you think that doing this was ever a good idea to begin with. . .?" Lily countered, pressing the subject further.

Thoughtfully and somewhat fearfully, Meilin gazed up at Lily.

"Well, you see. . .I oh, that's right! I just thought that since I won't have time to be changing into them on the train. . ." Meilin began to explain, trailing off as her gaze drifted around her surroundings.

"Why wouldn't you have time to on the train?" Lily questioned, her fury dwindling down considerably only to be replaced by utter curiosity.

"That's a secret, of course." Meilin replied vaguely, a cheeky grin returning to her elegant face.

At times like this, she might have felt inclined to remind herself that secrets don't make friends. . .but why would she care? After all, Lily Evans and herself were simply acquaintances at best.

Before Lily could open her trap to inquire further, two feminine bodies came charging through the barrier of the fabled and ultimately secretive Platform 9 3/4, creating a desperately needed distraction.

"Linny, dear! We've come to your apparent rescue!" Chirped the first girl, wand at the ready.

"Although it appears that it's a bit late for that. . ." Concluded the second upon confirming that since Lily was no longer stark-raving mad, their dear companion was ultimately safe.

"Tansy! Portia! Of course it would be you two that follow in her terrible footsteps. . .!" Lily remarked, a new wave of irritation igniting in her veins once she caught sight of the two girls similarly unacceptable ensembles.

Tansy Fulke couldn't help but scoff, followed by a half-hearted apology. "Sorry, Evans."

"You should be sorry, I'm a Prefect after all. . .!" Lily warned, her face going red once again.

"Then maybe. . ." Portia Dagget began softly, her eyes narrowing at the poor Gryffindor.

"You should go pester your own house? Merlin knows they're in greater need of discipline than us. . ." Portia defended with a roll of her eyes and a swish of her dark-brown hair.

"You leave matters of my house to me, Portia-" Lily began, her voice raising an octave.

Almost as quickly as her anger had reappeared, Meilin stepped in to intervene.

"Calm down, Lily. We wee little birdies mean you majestic lions no harm. So perhaps you could let us off with a merciful warning. . .? We all need to be boarding the train soon, anyway. . ." Meilin suggested slyly.

Lily pondered over it a minute before hesitantly complying.

"I-I suppose. I can give you the benefit of a doubt, Meilin. But, please don't give me a reason to approach you again. . ." Lily replied stiffly before turning on her heel and heading for the train.

"Have you seen my wand? I think I might've lost it up Evans' ass!" Tansy barked out in laughter once the aforementioned stick in the mud was out of earshot.

"She was walking rather stiffly. . ." Portia concluded, her nose in the air.

Suppressing a snicker, Meilin casually slung her arms around the pair.

"Come off it, ladies. Lily isn't that bad. . .~" She dismissed earnestly.

"No really, she acts like she's so bloody brilliant when in reality she's no smarter than us and definitely not as entertaining. . ." Tansy began to drone on, apparently harboring a certain dislike for the Gryffindor girl.

However, Meilin couldn't be bothered to pay attention to this, instead finding it more favorable to ponder over what the new school year had in store for her.

After all, catching the eye of a room full of Muggles was one thing. . .

But getting away with a simple warning from Lily freakin' Evans? Now that was a blessing in itself.

Or, Meilin mused, An extremely good omen for the future. . .

Her spirit was uplifted by the very thought as she turned to address her friends.

"Well, mates. We've got work to do . . ." She called, jerking her head towards the train as an indication.

In response, Tansy and Portia saluted her.

"Aye, Aye, Captain! Now let the The Inquisition begin. . ."