A/N: This chapter is edited as of 5/25/15.
Found a discrepancy in time, Shea in Siobhan are in their fourth year, not their third.
Please note that when I refer to Seamus, I am not referring to Seamus Finnigan, but my own character Shea whose birth name is Seamus.
Also, I wrote Victoire as being just one year younger than Teddy, instead of two.
"So, what House d'you think you'll end up in, Reagan?" a girl asked a younger boy as she walked with him, her father, and her twin brother. Her red curls bounced as she strode along King's Cross Station, pushing a trolley with a curious assortment of items. The boy was shorter than the others, freckle-faced and pudgy; a sharp contrast to the taller, more slender twins who were a couple years older.
He shrugged. He had turned eleven in the past October, and on that day he received a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry saying he was now eligible to start his first term, on the first of September. The day now arriving, the young boy and his family had spent the previous few days in London after coming in from Belfast, before they were to board the train at eleven in the morning.
"M'not too sure, Siobhan, I don't think I'm smart enough to be in Ravenclaw with you," he said to the girl, glancing over to her for a moment before concentrating on steering his own trolley straight, a faraway look in his deep blue eyes as he looked forward and continued speaking, "but I hope I at least get into Gryffindor with Shea."
A nasty smirk showed on the lanky, shaggy haired boy's face as his name was said, and he leaned over to stare his younger cousin down. "Aw, shucks, Ray, it almost sounds like you're sayin' you'd rather be with me than Siobhan, how mean of you to say it right to her face," he put on a look of disappointment and shook his head. "I'm very disappointed in you, laddy."
Reagan's smile dropped as he looked at his feet, brightly colored with embarrassment at being scolded, even though he knew deep down that the older boy was joking. He'd never in a million years want to let down the family that took him in when no other family wanted to.
"Seamus, quit picking on your cousin," his father said sternly to him, then clapping his nephew on his shoulder and giving him a reassuring smile, sensing his unease. "Wherever you end up is where you're meant to be, and that's alright, Reagan."
Reagan looked up to his uncle and smiled back at him. "Thank you, Uncle Neil."
"Ah, here we are." Siobhan called up in front of them. She'd found their platform. Or rather, found the space between two other platforms, from the look of it. "Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. This platform still gives me the heeby-jeebies..." Siobhan said with a shudder. "Always think I'm going to smack head-first into it. I expect anyone watching would think that as well."
"Eh, nuts to what they think," Shea said, carefully avoiding swearing around his father. "I think it's brilliant."
"'Right then, both of you go through, show Reagan how it's done," Neil said, gesturing to the brick wall they were standing by. Reagan didn't know exactly why they'd have to 'show him how it was done', he'd seen them do it already. Siobhan and Shea were both in their fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, after all, and the journey onto the platform was an annual one since they both started.
Siobhan went first, trying to make it look to any passersby (if they actually watched) as casual as possible; simply leaning against the wall with her trolley, before both she and the trolley fell through the mock facade. Her twin, however, opted instead to push his own trolley at full-speed, then ride through the wall on the bottom bars.
Neil heaved a sigh. "That's going to be a mess. You can go at a run, Reagan, but don't try to ride though. It always ends in disaster," he said, smiling in spite of himself. "I'd know, it did it myself when I was just your age.
Reagan stared at the wall in front of him now, and took a deep breath and exhaled to try and keep the mounting nerves at bay. He just saw his cousins vanish through the wall, why was he so worried? Perhaps it wasn't the wall he was worried about, but everything beyond it. All the same, Reagan closed his eyes and ran through the wall.
The view of Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was amazing once he opened his eyes. The Hogwarts Express was a bright scarlet color, gleaming in the sunlight as smoke billowed from the stacks, and the engine rumbled as students prepared to board.
Young wizards and their families were scattered around the platform; all chattering excitedly or having their teary good-byes, smothering their children with hugs and kisses, or asking them whether they remembered to pack everything before they came and reminding them 'you wouldn't want an owl to come with a package containing underwear because you forgot to pack yours.'
Reagan was distracted suddenly from the scene when he heard his cousin's shrill voice. "Ugh, you just had to do it, didn't you, Shea?" she yelled as she picked up the luggage that had been knocked over by Shea. "Dad warned you about it last year but you still did it? Wipe that look off your face!"
Reagan went to help Siobhan pick up her things, if only to stop her tirade on her twin brother. He looked at one of the books that got scattered around, a copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. "Is that yours?"
Siobhan shook her head, picking the book up. "No, it's Shea's. I have my books tucked away in my bag, I wouldn't leave 'em out so they get all battered." she said as she threw Shea a pointed look.
Shea rolled his eyes and took the book from Siobhan. "You have your way of packing, I have mine. How 'bout you quit b-"
"If you know what's good for you, you won't finish that sentence." Neil said suddenly as he came through the wall. "Help your sister pick up."
Shea glared daggers at his father for a few moments-not daring to say a thing-before stooping down to help pick up his sister's things as well as his own.
Neil knelt down to his nephew with a smile, holding his arms out wide as an invitation for a hug; which Reagan gladly accepted with a smile of his own as he wrapped his arms around his uncle's neck. He was really going to miss the safety of having his father-figure with him.
"Make sure to write plenty, you hear? I want to hear all about your first day. I made sure to tell your cousins to hassle you if you don't write home," Neil said as he pulled away with a teasing grin, which Reagan mimicked.
"Alright, Uncle Neil, I promise to write as soon as I can," he replied.
The train's whistle pierced the sounds of the chattering crowd, signaling that it was time for everyone to wrap up their good-byes and hurry onto the train. Children pushed their trolleys close to the train, and started bringing all of their stuff in with the help of their families. Before too long the train was off, parents and other relations waving the train off and calling out their good-byes again while the children waved through the windows before dispersing to find seats.
Reagan waved good-bye to his uncle one last time, with Siobhan and Shea also waving over his shoulders, before they both separated to find their peers, leaving Reagan to find his own crowd.
As Shea darted off to find his Gryffindor mates and Siobhan went to find the nice Hufflepuff boy she fancied so she could run into him 'accidentally' to start a conversation, Reagan glumly slouched down the hall, trying to find a compartment that wasn't crammed tightly with students, or reserved for certain groups (He accidentally popped by the Prefects' Cabin for a moment. Whoops!).
At last, Reagan stopped at a compartment half-way down the train that only had one other student in it, shaggy blond head buried in a book called Quidditch Through The Ages. "Ehm... excuse me? Can I come in?" Reagan asked, leaning against his luggage.
The blond looked at him, putting away his bookmark and snapping the book shut, giving Reagan a warm smile. "Sure, come on in. Need a hand with your luggage? Just hand the stuff over to me, I'll get it sorted."
Reagan gave him a smile in return. "That'd be nice, thanks..." He said, then started handing over his things that he wanted up and out of the way.
"What's your name, by the way?" The blond asked as he took one of Reagan's bags.
"Oh... name's Reagan," he said, looking up at him. He was now standing on the seat to stow Reagan's things on the bar overhead. "Reagan Hammond."
The blond looked over at him, wide-eyed with eyebrows raised. "Really, so you're the Hammond twins' brother? Didn't know they had one, just thought it was the two of 'em," The boy said, clearly having heard of Reagan's two cousins already. He was afraid of this. He didn't think he'd have to walk in his family's footsteps already.
"Err... no. Their cousin, actually. I've been living with them for a while," Reagan replied uncomfortably, taking his last bag and sitting down across from the blonde who just plopped down onto his seat.
The other boy's expression changed to one of confusion, tilting his head. "Why's that, Ray?" The boy asked, then added as an after-thought, "S'okay if I call you Ray, right?"
"Yeah, it's fine," Reagan replied. "Everyone calls me that anyway. … What's your name?" He added quickly, dodging the first question and hoping he forgot.
"Oh, my name's Lukas! Lukas Gallagher! But you can call me Luke, if you want to!" The blond said, beaming and sticking his hand out for Reagan to shake, which he did with a grin.
"Nice to meet you then, Luke," Reagan said, then letting go of the boy's hand.
"So what House do you think you'll end up in, Ray?" Lukas asked, crossing his legs on the seat. "Personally, I'm hoping for Gryffindor like my brother. He's a sixth year."
Reagan pondered for a few moments, scratching his head and then shrugging, "I'm not really sure," He said. "I don't see a problem with any of them, if I'm honest."
Lukas' eyebrows shot up again, "Really?!" He said. "Even Slytherin? They're usually pretty nasty, aren't they?"
Reagan shrugged again. "Jus' because people were bad in the past doesn't mean others will continue t'be in the future. Someone breaks the mold eventually."
Lukas lowered his eyebrows and furrowed them together in thought, "I guess that's true... never really thought of it that way before. Haven't really heard of a nice Slytherin, though. Even after the second war ended."
"I'm sure they aren't all that bad if you give 'em a chance."
Lukas suddenly grinned and gave a snort. "You probably won't end up in Gryffindor, then, the two houses have a nasty rivalry. Probably have the worst rivalries as far as houses go."
Reagan's eyebrows went up. Sure, he knew the Quidditch teams of both the houses had a rivalry, but he didn't know it was a rivalry shared throughout the whole of the houses. "Really, they do? Every one of the students?"
"As far as I know, yeah. Haven't really heard of any Gryffindors genuinely getting along with a Slytherin," Lukas scratched his head, thinking. "Of course, I think Professors McGonagall and Slughorn get on well enough, but they're, well… old, y'know?"
Reagan nodded, then looked out the window at the scenery going by. It was starting to get distinctly less tidy as the train rolled by; the soft green hills they passed before were replaced with higher territory and untidy, rocky plains.
A silence fell between the two boys, and Lukas seemed to dislike it, as he started babbling breathlessly. "So! What are you most excited for at Hogwarts? I hear that the food there is supposed to be amazing! There's gonna be a feast right after the Sorting!"
"Oh, yeah, I heard about the feast... that should be pretty exciting, but I'm pretty excited to jus' get started learnin' magic."
"You mean you haven't learned anything yet?"
Reagan shook his head. "Not much, really. I live in a Muggle community, Uncle Neil says it's not a very good idea to do magic in an area like that," He gave a small smile. "Me auntie gets pretty upset if Shea and Siobhan do magic around the house, I guess I'd see why, seein' as-"
Lukas interrupted so quickly it was almost like he'd explode if he didn't start talking again. "Really, a Muggle community? What're Muggles like? I haven't met any!"
Reagan was a little caught off-guard by the sudden interruption, but answered calmly anyway, "Well... as I was about to say, me auntie's a Muggle. I say she's pretty nice, even if she is a bit strict. Most'a the people I've met are nice enough, even Shea's friends are too. I haven't really seen enough wizards to tell you that Muggles are better than wizards or the other way around, doesn't seem fair to judge a bunch of people if you don't know 'em. I'm a half-blood, myself, I think, so it'd be a little harsh of me to judge, either way."
"Wait, did you say you think? You don't know?"
Reagan flushed a little in embarrassment, he didn't mean to sound uncertain, but he never did know his father, and he had no clue if his brother knew anything about him either. Wherever he was. "Err... I … don't really know, no."
"Huh… well, it doesn't really matter anyway, so it's fine!" Lukas said, flashing a grin, then noticing the train had come to a stop. "But hey, I think we've just pulled into the station just now!"
Reagan looked out the window, to see Lukas was right. They had just pulled into Hogsmeade station. Reagan realized how close to the castle they were and was now starting to feel slightly nauseous because of nerves. Lukas may have been a bit more inquisitive than Reagan liked, but talking with him at least kept him distracted from the feeling. He wondered if Lukas was feeling the same. "Hey Luke?" He asked.
"Yeah?" Lukas replied.
Reagan thought over what he'd say to him. Hey Lukas, do you feel like you're gonna hurl, or is that just me? Oh? It is? Alright, then. See you at classes, I guess. That wasn't exactly a good way to ask, but he couldn't think of anything else. "Err... thanks. Thanks for helping me out and talking to me, I was feeling really nervous."
Lukas suddenly grinned at him, "Do you feel like you're gonna hurl, too?"
Reagan looked slightly embarrassed, but was relieved that Lukas revealed before he did. "Yeah, I do," he said.
Reagan was about to get down his luggage, when he looked out and saw that none of the other kids were carrying theirs. "Shouldn't they-"
"Oh! No, it's fine. Some witch said to leave the luggage on the train a few minutes ago, I think someone else is taking it up," Lukas said, trying to push his way into the crowd of first-years that were trying to get through the door and onto the platform.
Reagan was a little apprehensive, but went to go join Lukas in the crowd anyway. He evidently wasn't watching where he was going, because he accidentally crushed the foot of another first year who had been aggressively shoving through the crowd, trying to get to the front.
"Ouch! Watch where you step with those giant feet, dimwit!" The boy said as he turned his head to him, giving him a nasty scowl. The boy was pale, with green eyes that flashed with anger. He had brown hair in loose curls that bobbed as he swiveled his head to look at Reagan.
"Err... sorry, I didn't mean'ta, I was just tryin' to get into the hall to meet up with-" Reagan said, muttering to his shoes, avoiding the other boy's glare.
"Yeah, that's right, you better be sorry," The boy interrupted, then went on his way shoving through the crowd.
Reagan stood still for a few more moments to let more people pass, he felt it was best if he didn't make any more enemies. Lukas was already far ahead by now, there was no point in trying to catch up. He'd just meet him at the castle.
"Firs' years over here! Firs' years!" He heard a great, booming voice of a man calling once he finally set foot onto the platform. He looked around for the voice and he saw a large man, really large man, whose shape seemed to take up most of the sky that was deepening into a dark purple. He had a lantern in his large hands, and was looking around at all the young students; possibly to get a headcount. That must be Hagrid, Reagan thought. Hagrid was one of Shea's favorite teachers. Which was an achievement by itself, because as far as Reagan could tell, Shea wasn't all that fond of any sort of authority.
Reagan hurried his way over to the crowd of first-years, the nervous feeling in his stomach coming up again. He was glad at that moment he didn't get any candy off the trolley in the train, he would've thrown it all up by now.
"Righ' then, follow me!" Hagrid called as all the children gathered around him. He then led them all down a steep path through thick trees.
"Nervous?" Asked the boy walking beside him, wearing a smirk. Reagan wasn't sure what gave him away, the shaky way he was moving, or the fact that his eyes were just staring ahead, wide open. Reagan looked over to the boy, whose smirk faltered considerably as his green eyes met Reagan's blue that were still wide open, making him look like a deer in the headlights.
"A bit, yeah," Reagan said, furrowing his brows. What he said was an understatement, as nerves were about the only thing he felt the whole day since he woke up. His brows furrowed a little more as he swore he saw the boy's messy hair change color from dark brown to a slightly greenish color.
The other boy evidently noticed that Reagan was staring at him, because he gave Reagan a weird look, scrunching up his nose and squinting. Reagan swore his hair changed color again. "Did your hair just-" Reagan started to ask, when the other boy cut him off.
"Yes," He said, running a hand through his hair. "It just changed color. I haven't got much of a handle on my abilities, so it does that subconsciously."
"Abilities?" Reagan asked, an eyebrow raised.
"I'm a metamorphmagus, I can change appearance at will," The boy whispered, and crossed his arms. "Or should be. Can't really control it now, mostly my hair just changes color depending on my mood, I think."
Reagan raised both eyebrows, "Like a mood ring?" He asked.
"What's that?"
"It's a kind of Muggle thing you wear and it's supposed to change color depending on your mood. Sounds rubbish to me, though. Shea breathed on one while he was wearin' it, and it said he was angry."
The other boy snorted, and his smirk returned in full effect. "Think I'd be angry if I was getting breathed on."
Reagan laughed a little, feeling slightly less nervous now. "Yeah, I think I'd be pretty ticked as well. 'Specially if it was Shea, he's got serious dog breath," He said, scrunching his nose at the thought of Shea's bad breath. Thinking it a bit rude to be chatting his ear off without the boy at least knowing his name, he introduced himself. "Ehm, my name's Reagan Hammond. What's yours?"
The boy grinned at him, sticking out his hand. Evidently the two boys that he'd officially met were a lot more used to introductions. "Name's Teddy Lupin. You related to that nutter who came into Platform Nine and Three Quarters riding his trolley? Thought I saw you helping him up and helping the other redhead pick up that mess."
Reagan nodded. "Yeah, that was Shea. Thought Siobhan was gonna hex 'im on the spot, she looked so mad."
Hagrid stopped at last at the shore of a large body of water that was reflecting the dark sky above, and the children behind him also stopped, gaping at the castle rising high above it.
Both Reagan and Teddy knocked into a couple kids who stopped in front of them. Both of them swiveled their heads around to glare at them. Reagan and Teddy both uttered a quiet "Sorry", and they looked back, shaking their heads.
"Alrigh', everyone in the boats!" Hagrid called back to the children, ushering to the many boats that were on the shore. "No more'n four in a boat, y'hear?" He said, watching as the as the first-years filed into boats.
Reagan got in a boat with Teddy, a short and stocky boy called Ashley Crosby, and a taller boy with a wide nose and unruly copper hair called Morgan Gladwine. The two seemed to be best friends already by the familiar way they were talking to each other.
He looked around for any sign of Lukas and saw him four boats over, waving and grinning, sharing a boat with a chubby blonde boy and girl who had just looked up from chattering with Lukas. The other was boy in the boat was scrawny, with deep tan skin and pair of glasses that were slightly too big and sliding down his nose. He seemed rather unhappy with the noise, his arms crossed over his chest while he leaned against the side of the boat.
"Everybody in?" Hagrid asked as he got into one boat, which was all for himself. "Alrigh', FORWARD!" He called, and the boat started sailing forward on command.
Everyone remained largely silent, save for a few gasps here and there from one of the girls as they looked upon the castle, or one of the boys screaming because they swore that something jumped onto them while they were going through low trees. When the boats finally stopped, there was a shared feeling of relief, Reagan thought.
They all walked from where the small boats stopped, up to the great front doors made of oak wood, which Hagrid knocked on with his large knuckles, and the doors opened. A small man greeted everyone at the door, smiling at the young students who were trying to peer into the large entrance hall. "Firs' years're here, Professor Flitwick!" Hagrid said with a smile that was hidden in his tangle of beard.
"Yes, thank you, Hagrid! Enjoy your evening." Professor Flitwick said, returning the smile. Reagan could definitely see already how Flitwick was Siobhan's favorite Professor. He had a very welcoming air about him, just like her dad.
Professor Flitwick lead the children into the castle and off to a small chamber opposite the doorway to the Great Hall. "Good evening, all! Welcome to Hogwarts." Flitwick started, then going on a spiel about the four Houses and the expected behavior at the school. "The Sorting Ceremony will begin in a few short minutes in front of the whole student body, so prepare yourselves for many eyes on you if you're the nervous type," Professor Flitwick finally concluded. "I will return in a few minutes when we're ready for you."
Professor Flitwick left the chamber, and Reagan's nerves came back in full effect. In front of the whole student body. Everyone. All eyes on him. Why on earth did Flitwick mention that? Was this the school's way of weeding out the faint of heart? Because Reagan certainly felt like it was. What if he tripped on his way up? What if they all laughed? What if the hat put him in a house that was different from his newly-met friends? What if Shea and Siobhan didn't want to associate with them anymore because he was in a different house from them? Reagan felt nauseous again despite not having eaten since before he got to King's Cross Station. He took a few stabilizing breaths to keep him from shaking so badly, but they seemed to have little effect.
As the other students were whispering to each other about the ceremony or trying to distract themselves from their own nerves by looking around, Reagan was nervously fidgeting with the tie he put on crooked when on the train, and tried in vain to smooth out the auburn mess of hair on his head. It was all he could to keep his mind off the people in the other room, and not break down crying. "You know anyone out there?" Teddy asked suddenly, startling Reagan into jumping.
"Yeah... my cousins are out there," He said, giving his tie another tweak as he tried to settle down. Teddy didn't seem to make any effort to fix his own tie, which was crooked and loose. Siobhan would've hit Reagan over the head if he went out like that. "What about you?" he asked.
Teddy shook his head. "Nah, nobody now. But my best friend Victoire is coming next year, she's a lot like family to me."
"Oh..." Reagan said, and left it at that. Reagan thought that sentiment awful queer, as he'd never been one to consider friends like family. But then again, he didn't exactly have many friends in the first place. He decided he wouldn't voice his opinion, since he didn't want to cause any trouble.
