//------------------------------// // Night 1: Take the H Train // Story: 6 Universal Nights // by The Blue EM2 //------------------------------// Tom leaned himself against a wall and dialled Steph, all the while keeping a very close eye on Sugar Belle. The last thing he needed was her causing yet another commotion in the middle of a busy park. "Hello? Who is this?" asked the voice on the other end of the line, who sounded not like Steph but like Chrysalis. Tom instantly knew something was wrong if she sounded like a fictional character and didn't seem to be freaking out. "Steph?" Tom asked. "Don't tell me it's happened to you too!" It sounded as though she was about to reply, when a beeping sound could be heard on the other end of the line. "Hold on, Jimmy's calling me." Tom rolled his eyes. "What's the bet it's affected him too?" "What's affected whom?" Sugar Belle asked. "This ongoing series of things that happens to us," Tom replied. "Next time, don't throw a screaming fit in the middle of a public space. The last thing we need is attention being drawn to us, or else we may end up in some sort of testing lab." Sugar Belle looked confused. "Next time? You mean this has happened more than once?" There was a brief pause. "Remember that trip to Walt Disney World you had to pull out of last summer?" "Yeah, but what does that-" "This sort of thing happened to me, Katrina, and Jimmy for eight nights in a row. And there was that time in Brentwood before that with Troy as well." Sugar Belle looked shocked, as she struggled to understand what was going on. "How? What in the world caused this to happen?" "I don't know for sure," Tom replied. "My best bet is Equestrian magic, but I can't really explain it without Jimmy around. It's been happening to him for years now." "Wow, loosing your man parts can hardly be fun for years." "We don't always change gender," answered Tom. "Katrina has never ended up as a guy, for instance. But enough blabbering in the street; shall we go to King's Cross?" In the Harry Potter novels and films, the majority of wizards and witches attending Hogwarts do so by catching the Hogwarts Express, a passenger service that departs from Platform 9 3/4 at 11:00 exactly on 1st September every year, returning to London in June at the end of term. The run takes the train up the East Coast Main Line as far as Edinburgh, where it swings over via Falkirk to Glasgow Queen Street, then taking the diversion line to Helensburgh. Then, it travels up the beautiful West Highland line, making a single reverse at Fort William, using the turntable there, and finally working all the way to Mallaig, where students transfer to boat to travel to Hogwarts (which is roughly where the Isle of Sky is in the Muggle world). This probably constitutes the longest non-stop steam run in the world, but the film take led to confusion. Originally, Warner Brothers had wanted to use a Bulleid Light Pacific for the film, as 34027 Taw Valley had already been repainted into red for a promotional tie in for the release of Goblet of Fire. However, director Chris Columbus rejected this proposal as he thought Taw Valley looked too modern. Instead, they picked a relatively obscure GWR Hall, 5972 Olton Hall, which was repainted into a bizarre red livery complete with Hogarts Castle nameplates. The livery was striking, but it led to many jokes from railway enthusiasts. Onwarts (sorry, onwards) to our story. When an expansion to the Wizarding World was proposed in 2012, it soon emerged that there was not enough space to fit it into the Islands of Adventure site. The solution was to slap it on top of where Jaws used to be, and it was then suggested a ride was built to transport guests between the main park and Islands of Adventure. The answer; the Hogwarts Express! And so, Tom and Sugar Belle entered into the queue line for the Hogwarts Express, entering into a scaled down but uncannily accurate recreation of King's Cross station in London. "Now this is scarily good!" Tom said, pointing out accurate details. "The operations board shows actual destinations that are served by train operating companies here, such as Hadley Wood and York! Though given when the novels are set, it should still be British Rail, not First Capital Connect or East Coast!" "That was quite the franchising fiasco," Sugar Belle sighed, as they made their way through the queue and deeper into the station. "A pity that attraction entrance sign spoils the immersion," Tom answered, with sighs of his own, as they walked into the attraction proper. All of the posters on the walls were authentic to Britain's contemporary railways, although it soon began to feel like a busman's holiday for the pair, who usually lived in Britain. After walking through a wall (and noting the lack of security cameras, most inauthentic), the pair suddenly found themselves walking through dark corridors filled with luggage. "It must be from all the cancelled trains!" Sugar Belle joked. "Trains are so ram packed you couldn't even fit your luggage in if you wanted to," Tom answered. "Why do they not have dedicated luggage vans on passenger trains anymore? They could move the mail that way and save on all those lorries." After ascending a flight of stairs and seeing other guests vanish through a wall, they found themselves under the great arched roof of King's Cross, which was packed full of luggage and other useful items. "Platform 9 and 3/4. We're in the right place." Just then, a whistle sounded. Tom and Sugar Belle looked over in excitement as- The connecting corridor of a Mark 1, followed by said Mark 1, backed into the station, followed by several more coaches and finally a replica of Olton Hall, which wheeshed steam and billowed smoke as the train rolled to a stop. "Does it run backwards in the films?" Sugar Belle asked. "The only time we see the return trip is at the end of the 1st film," Tom told her. "And there, Olton Hall was running tender first. Clearly this version of the Hogwarts Express is auto-fitted." Moments later, the doors opened (inauthentic sliding doors), and the passengers were ushered into their compartments (because, of course, compartment stock). Tom and Sugar Belle had a compartment to themselves, and as they glanced over at the wall, they could see steam rising as the train readied to depart. Tom reached for the steam heating handle and turned it. "Nope, doesn't work. You've got to admire the attention to detail though." The compartment door closed, and doors banged up and down the train as they readied to depart. As the train pulled away, Tom frowned. "Where are the overhead wires?" he asked. "And why does King's Cross suddenly have semaphore signalling? Maybe this takes place before the 1960s refit of the station changed the signalling-" Sugar Belle interrupted. "Or maybe this is a ride and you need to stop being a pedant." There would be plenty for Tom to spot, as the train soon diverted from the ECML and onto a fictional alignment. Tom was about to speak again, when he suddenly jumped. "Damned electric shocks!" "Are you OK?" Sugar Belle asked him. Tom nodded. "I knew my turn would come eventually. I just need to relax and let this complete itself." As he said this, his formerly brown hair turned a golden shade, cut short at the back. It then combed over, and some of it stuck up in front. His ears were suddenly pierced, and his eyebrows turned the same golden shade as the hair, followed by him gaining amber eyes. His face softened into that of a teenage girl, but still had some edge to it, as if this was a tough girl. His neck changed in shape as his Adam's Apple shrank back, followed by his vocal chords shortening, but not by too much. Sugar Belle looked on in shock and morbid curiosity as Tom continued to change. His shoulders were suddenly forced inwards and his chest grew slightly, followed by his chest and arm muscles reforming to provide a surprising amount of hidden strength. Sports star, maybe? His arms and hands shrank, and his hips were forced out slightly, followed by his manhood vanishing, which never ceased to hurt no matter how many times a person went through this. Her legs got shorter, and thinner, and her feet shrank in size, leaving her clothes very baggy as her spine shortened. Then her skin turned turquoise. Tom tried her voice as she looked at herself. "I wonder who this is," she said, as she glanced down. Her trainers changed to have a white base and a turquoise body with a white lightning bolt and yellow stars on each shoe. The laces vanished, and yellow straps appeared to replace them, followed by the coverplate popping up and her socks adjusting to match their new home. Her slacks changed into a pair of skin-tight pants with a handful of utility pockets on them, and her T shirt, adjusting for her differently shaped upper body, turned a very light blue, gaining an emblem of three yellow stars being hit by a white lightning bolt. Finally, a black jacket with yellow lining appeared on her body, and with that it seemed to be over. Tom glanced herself over. "Well, looks like I'm Lightning Dust now." She noticed Sugar Belle staring at her. "What?" "How can you be so calm about this?" she responded. "We're fictional characters!" "As I said," Lightning sighed, "I'm used to it. How long have we been on the rails? We must be in Hogsmeade soon." The pair soon realised they had been paying no attention to the ride, and just then the guard opened the compartment door. "This is Hogsmeade, our final stop," he said. "Thank you for travelling with us." The pair stood in Hogsmeade, waiting for Jimmy to arrive, when suddenly- "Yona see friends!" Suddenly, Sugar Belle was tackle hugged and held incredibly tightly by Yona. "Yona so happy to see friends! Yona want to go on ride with-" Lightning Dust growled at her. "The only thing we'll be going to is a funeral if you don't let go of her." Yona promptly let go, looking very embarrased. "Oops." "Shall we go ride something?" Sugar Belle suggested. "Hagrid's Magical Creatures?" Lightning Dust suggested, and then saw the board. "Closed? You have GOT to be kidding me!" She took out her phone, and dialled Katrina, waiting for the number to pick up.