I stood there dumbfounded for a moment just staring at the wall. It really shouldn't have surprised me, being raised in the magical world I had learned that almost anything was possible. Truthfully, I thought Dumbledore had been joking about how to get on to the platform. I had fully expected that it wouldn't work and that I would simply crash into the wall, looking like a fool. However, I was pleasantly surprise to be looking around platform 9 3/4. 'Well it is magic…I should have known it'd work.' I laughed to myself suddenly feeling foolish for ever doubting it. I smiled at the sight before me. There were hundreds of students saying farewells to their parents and clambering to get on the train. They all seemed to be in such a rush. I felt a tinge of sadness that my parents couldn't see me off, but they had work to do and I completely understood. Being the daughter of two of America's best Aurors wasn't always easy. I brushed my bangs out of my eyes, and let out a low whistle as I looked at the Hogwarts Express. Amara let out a loud hoot from her cage, as if agreeing with me. I smiled fondly at the black spotted eagle owl and slipped her a treat through the bars. "Don't worry girl, I'll let you out once we're on our way," I cooed. I looked back at the Hogwarts Express, it was a magnificent red engine that seemed to have no idea. I glanced at my watch and noted that I had about 20 minutes before the train left. 'Well at least I have time to find somewhere to sit…' I thought to myself. I let out a heavy sigh and started pushing my trolley towards the train. As I approached one of the doors I looked at my trunk wearily. 'Well…this is a bit of an obstacle…how the hell do I lift this onto the train…' Amara hooted again and it almost sounded like she was laughing at me. I rolled my eyes at the bird and examined my trunk. 'I can do this…' I told myself not very confidently.
"Need a hand?" I jumped and turned to see who had startled me. My eyes rested on a tall red head. He was at least 6 feet tall, making me feel very small at only 5'4. I smiled meekly. "Is that a yes or…" He asked amusement shining in his eyes. 'Oh thank Merlin!'
I let out a light laugh, "Uhm… sorry. Yes, please if it isn't any trouble…" I said pushing my bangs out of my eyes nervously. He smiled and handed me Amara's cage. He lifted my trunk with ease and carried it onto the train. 'Strong bugger isn't he…' I smiled as he turned and offered me a hand up. I took it and climbed aboard the train. "Thank you, really." I said smiling appreciatively.
"No problem at all. Lucky my family got here early for once or who knows how long you'd have stood there." He joked smiling. I couldn't help but smile back.
"Yeah…doesn't seem like many people slow down around here…" I stated.
"Just call me your knight in shining armor," He smiled bowing, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "I'm George by the way," He said offering me his hand. I shook it and smiled examining his face a little closer. His complexion was clear and pale, except for some freckles across his cheeks, it suited him, his eyes were a wonderful deep brown, and his smile was bright and playful, and his flaming red hair seemed to suit him perfectly. He looked as though he was examining my features as well and suddenly I felt very self conscious.
"Oi! There you are George!" I heard someone yell. 'Thank Merlin, a distraction.' I peered around George and felt my mouth drop open slightly. George let out a low chuckle at my reaction and his smile broadened.
"This is my brother, Fred. Bet you would've never guessed we were related." He mused.
I laughed and looked back at him smiling, "Nope, never. You look nothing alike." I joked back. The twins smiled and I noticed that George's smile was just a little wider and more playful, while Fred's was more mischievous.
Fred looked me over, but I didn't feel self conscious as I had when George was looking at me. "You're not a first year…are you?" I laughed shaking my head 'no'. He continued looking me over curiously. "I don't remember ever seeing you around though…do you Georgie?" He looked at his brother with slight confusion.
"No, I don't either, and I'm certain I'd remember you if I'd seen you before" he winked playfully. I felt my cheeks turn red and cursed myself for being so easily embarrassed. He grinned no doubt noticing the blush. Fred watched the exchange in amusement. "So, how is that we've never seen you before then?" George questioned raising an eyebrow.
"Well first off, I'm Evelyn. I've transferred from the Salem Witches' Institute, in America." I informed them hoping my cheeks would soon return to their natural pale complexion. The twins looked at each other sharing a look of disbelief. "I'll be going into my fourth year," I went on, "and I've been sorted into Gryffindor house." I said proudly, smiling remembering how proud my parents had been. My mother had been in Gryffindor, though my father was a Ravenclaw.
"You're in our house!" The twins said in unison smiling. I laughed at their excitement.
"At least there will a couple familiar faces then." I said feeling a bit relieved.
"Weird though, I didn't know Hogwarts allowed transfers…" Fred said thoughtfully. I just shrugged. 'Special circumstances…' The twins each took a side of my trunk and lifted it beginning to walk down the hall.
I watched them curiously, "Uh…Where are you taking my trunk?" I questioned raising an eyebrow. George turned to me and smiled brightly. I felt something flutter in my stomach and fought the urge to blush. 'Bloody hell, Evelyn, pull yourself together! You've known him for all of 5 minutes' I inwardly scolded myself.
"Well my dear Evelyn, we can't let a damsel in distress sit on her own on her first trip to Hogwarts, now can we Freddie?"
"Course not! We insist you sit with us." Fred answered as is horrified by the idea of me sitting alone. George winked at me before turning back and following Fred down the hall. I looked at them in bewilderment. 'Well…at least the people so far are friendly enough…though they seem to think I'm a bit helpless…' I smiled to myself at this thought. They were certainly in for a surprise. I picked Amara's cage back up and followed Fred and George down the hall. Fred slid open a compartment door and the two lifted my trunk to one of the shelves above the seats without any difficulty. I noticed two trunks already in the compartment and assumed they were the twins. I stood in the doorway awkwardly. The twins sat on opposite sides of the compartment and looked at me amused and a little confused.
"We aren't diseased you know…" George said patting the seat next to him. I laughed and was about to step in when something pushed me and I fell forward. I closed my eyes waiting to hit the floor, but the collision never came. I opened my eyes to see George smiling at me. "See, knight in shining armor," He said almost in a whisper since our faces were only a couple inches apart. He winked and I smiled shyly feeling the blood rush to my cheeks again. He lifted me so I was standing and I looked at the door to see the cause of my fall. A blond haired boy with sharp features and grey eyes was standing there smirking at me. His friends behind him were sniggering.
"You know, generally when you shove someone and cause them to fall over, it's proper etiquette to apologize, arse." The annoyance was clear in my voice. His smirk disappeared and turned into a look of disbelief.
"How dare you speak to me like that!" he said incredulously looking at me like I was below him. I scoffed and crossed my arms over my chest glaring at him.
"As if you're anything special? My impression so far is that you're an arrogant, ill-mannered, loathsome git." I said nonchalantly glowering at him. I heard the twins sniggering behind me, but didn't look away from the boy. He was obviously a couple years younger than me. 'Ballsy git…' His eyes went dark with anger.
"Do you have any idea who I am? Who my father is?" He said in a low tone, his eyes shooting daggers.
"Do I look like I give a fuck who your father is?" I shot back coolly rolling my eyes.
"You better watch it you filthy daft trollop?!" He sneered at me, his tone was threatening. I felt the twins standing just behind me now. I looked the boy up and down before letting out a laugh. This clearly caught him off guard because his sneer faltered momentarily.
"You're going to try and threaten me? You poor, naïve, prat." I laughed a bit too loudly and wiped away a fake tear. His whole group looked angry now. I rolled my eyes pointedly, hoping it would annoy the gits more. It did. "I don't know who you are...or better yet, who you think you are. But I guarantee if you continue to try and threaten me, you will regret it." My tone had gotten more threatening as I reached the last sentence. He looked taken aback, like he wasn't used to being told off.
He scoffed, "Whatever, stupid bitch, you aren't worth it anyway." He said glaring at me again, I smiled sweetly and waved him off. He looked as though he had more to say, but thought better of it and motioned for his little posse of idiots to follow him. 'Twat' I rolled my eyes and slammed the door shut turning back to the twins. I couldn't help but laugh at the looks on their faces. I sat next to where George had been sitting.
"That was brilliant!" Fred said beaming at me. I raised an eyebrow questioningly. He took his seat again, "You're right about him, but he's powerful…well his family is. They're purists. They look down on everyone outside of their group. He's also filthy rich. And his father works for the ministry. People rarely stand up to him, for some reason they're afraid of him." He explained simply, leaning back with his hands behind his head. George took his seat next to me now. "And yet here you are, telling him off on your first day! I knew we'd get along." He winked playfully. George beamed at me, nodding in agreement.
"Well…I don't take kindly to threats or being looked down upon." I said shrugging, "Or being underestimated." I added as an afterthought. The twins shared a nervous glance that made me smile, "Don't worry, you calling me a damsel in distress didn't offend me." I said reassuringly. They relaxed. I watched all the students passing by the compartment door. 'This is so different from Salem…they all look so happy…' My mind wandered back to the past 3 years and I let out a deep sigh.
"Alright, Eve?" I heard George say. I smiled at the nickname and nodded.
"Fine, just thinking back to my old school…" I let my voice trail off.
"Miss it?" He asked curiously. I let out a laugh and shook my head.
"Not at all. That's what I was thinking about. All the students seem happy to be going back to Hogwarts. It's…different." I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. The twins gave me a curious look.
"People didn't enjoy going to your school?" Fred joined in. I sighed and looked at the two.
"It was…rough." I said shrugging. They nodded and I was thankful they let the conversation drop. I looked out the window and noticed all the parents. I smiled to myself thinking about my parents. I wondered what they were doing, hoping that they were safe. I thought back to my encounter with that prat Malfoy. 'Wait…Malfoy?!' Realization dawned on me. I gasped and stood up quickly, too quickly. I swayed dizzily and George grabbed my elbow gently to steady me. I sat back down.
"Are you alright?" He asked slowly, but I noticed a tone of concern. I looked at him shaking my head.
"Draco Malfoy…Malfoy as in…Lucious Malfoy?!" I asked realizing that I was speaking too quickly and how urgent my tone sounded. I didn't care though. I needed an answer. I looked at George expectantly.
He nodded, "Yeah, that's his father…why?" as the words left his mouth I felt dizzy again, my face flushed. I groaned. "Fuck." George gently placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Eve…what's going on." Fred asked cautiously. I sighed.
"I can't tell you…or well…uhm…I'm not sure I can tell you." I said apologetically. There was a slight look of hurt in their eyes. "I'm sorry, really I am. But-"
"We don't know each other. We've just met." George finished for me. I nodded frowning. He smiled. "Don't worry about it, darling. Totally understand." He smiled reassuringly. I studied his eyes, they told me that he sincerely understood. I smiled.
"Thank you…Maybe in time…" I offered.
They nodded and smiled. "Of course, once you're comfortable, that's what friends are for right?" Fred said with a broad smile. 'Friends…' I couldn't help but smile fondly at the two. George squeezed my shoulder lightly before removing his hand. They began telling me all about Hogwarts, explaining that Dumbledore was magnificent and actually had a sense of humor. The head of our house was tough, had high expectations, but she was kind and understanding. They told me about a Professor Snape and warned me to try not to cross him. "Though we do try and rile him up once in a while." Fred added with a mischievous wink. I laughed and shook my head, these two were undoubtedly trouble makers. They greeted a boy named Lee Jordan and introduced us. He sat with us and joined with them telling me all about the school. They mentioned their brothers and a few other students. I felt at ease. I noticed George staring at me occasionally and felt myself blush every time. The Hogwarts Express began to move and I felt the excitement spark. 'It's going to be a good year.' I thought to myself smiling.
"So tell us about you?" Lee Jordan coaxed. I looked at the three boys almost confused.
"Erm…Well…My parents are Aurors. I'm a pureblood, not that that matters," I said with a shrug, "I was mostly a loner at Salem, mostly because the students there were pompous, arrogant, conceited, intolerable…well…It was pretty much a school of Malfoy's" I said with a laugh. They nodded and gave me a sympathetic look.
"Were the purists?" George asked. I rolled my eyes and nodded. The tree eyed me warily, "But you and your parents aren't?" I looked at them in awe.
"Of course not!" I stated quickly. The conviction was clear in my voice and the three relaxed. I smiled and went on, "The idea that we're better than a muggle born, or someone with one muggle parent, it's ridiculous. I'm glad to be done with that pompous school."
"Unfortunately, deary, there are still some at our school that think that way." Fred said with a frown. I sighed nodding.
"I guessed as much…" I sighed sadly. Fred turned to Lee and began talking about quidditch. I stop listening and let my mind wandered back to the Salem school. My old classmate's hateful words rang in my ears. I flinched, hoping it was only inwardly. The look on Georges face told me it wasn't. he leaned closer to me.
"You sure you're alright?" He was genuinely concerned. I nodded and waved it off.
"No worries, I'm fine." I tried to sound confident, but my voice was weak. He sighed giving me a weary look before turning back to Fred and Lee's conversation. I listen as the three spoke excitedly about the game. The twins informed me that they were beaters on the team. 'Explains the strength…' I smiled to myself. Lee was the one that did the commentary for the games, though he stated he had difficulty being unbiased. The conversation shifted to the trips to the small village, Hogsmeade, outside Hogwarts, they told me about all the shops. I notice George glance at me when the first trip to Hogsmeade was mention, but dismissed it. The hours on the train were full of playfully banter, jokes, and laughter. By time the Hogwarts Express stopped it was dark out and we had all changed into our robes. Lee and Fred walked out first and George allowed me to go before him smiling brightly. 'Well…here we go.' I thought to myself taking a deep breath as I followed Fred.
