DISCLAIMER: I'm not going to do this for every chapter so pay attention. I do NOT own the Harry Potter universe. I do however own Leo, Lyra, O'Malley, and anyone or anything else in here that does not come from the Harry Potter universe.

Chapter 1 – Leo

Welcome to Hogwarts

September 1, 2009

Leo was apprehensive as he walked onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters with his mother, Hestia Jones, and his twin sister, Lyra. He had never seen anything quite like the Hogwarts Express with the scarlet engine gleaming in the light. He looked around the platform as Lyra continued the nonstop chatter that she had started the moment they woke up that morning. It was still quite empty as they were half an hour early for the train, in the hopes of getting a compartment, as his mum had said they filled up really quickly.

Finally, Lyra had stopped talking. He looked over and saw her hugging their mum, who had tears in her eyes. He went over to them and joined in the hug, telling his mum that, "We'll write you every week. Or at least I will. I can't make any promises about Lyra." That got the laugh out of her that he was hoping for, as well as a smack from Lyra that he'd been expecting but had hoped would not come.

"No hitting your brother," Hestia scolded as she hugged them both close again.

Leo squeezed tight, trying to reassure her. He knew that she had been dreading the day they would go off the school and leave her home alone for ten months out of the year. He gave one last squeeze before letting go, saying, "It'll be all right, Mum. We'll be home for the Christmas holidays in no time." He gave her a reassuring smile. He waited while Lyra said her last goodbye and then they each grabbed their owl cage and trunk and headed for the train.

"Let's go to the last compartment," he said to Lyra, thinking they'd be less likely to be disturbed.

Lyra agreed readily and they headed down the train.

Leo had been listening to Lyra chatter for ages. He did his best not to get irritated as he knew she was only doing so because she was as nervous as he about going away to school. All of a sudden, the compartment door slid open and a scrawny brown-haired boy stood in the doorway.

The boy smiled apologetically before saying, "Everywhere else is full. Do you mind if I join you?"

Lyra, who Leo could tell was glad for a distraction from her worrying, was quick to reply, "Not at all. Come in."

After staring at each other for a moment, the boy said, "So, my name's Teddy Lupin. What's yours?"

"I'm Lyra Jones and this is my twin brother Leo," said Lyra to the boy as Leo let her take charge of the conversation.

"Well, I kind of guessed that, seeing as how you two look nearly identical and all."

Leo smiled at that while Lyra let out a laugh. "I like you. I think we'll be good friends."

"I hope so. All the witch and wizard kids I know are somewhere between a bit and a whole lot younger than me so I don't know anyone else at Hogwarts."

Leo wondered at how he could know what sounded like a load of little witch and wizard kids as Lyra replied. "We don't know anyone else either. Our mum's really protective since it's just us and her so we don't get out much."

"What happened with your dad?"

Leo exchanged a look with Lyra as they silently communicated, deciding how much they wanted to tell this new boy. Finally Leo spoke, saying, "We don't know. Mum's never told us anything. Not even his last name; we use hers."

"That's a right shame. But at least you've got your mum though. I haven't even got that." Teddy got quiet all of a sudden.

Leo wondered at the sudden change in him as Lyra hesitantly asked, "What happened to them, if you don't mind telling us?"

"They died in the Battle of Hogwarts when I was a baby. I was raised by my grandmother and my godfather's around a bunch. I've got plenty of family with them and all my godfather's family and such."

Leo considered that, thinking that must be why he knows younger wizards and witches.

"Well, at least you know they loved you enough to fight for a better world for you." Lyra could be quite sensitive when she felt like it, though that wasn't often.

"I know. Thanks."

After a moment, Lyra spoke up again, "Well, let's talk about something happier. Tell us about your godfather and his family. You said he's got a big one?"

"Yeah. Huge. Though it's technically his wife's family. He's like me; only child and his parents dead. He's got three kids. They're like my brothers and sister. His wife's got six older brothers but one died in the Battle and one's single and lives abroad, so it's mostly just the other four. Between the lot of them, there's, let me think," he paused for a moment to count before continuing, "nine cousins, plus Harry's three and me, that's thirteen of us kids all together. But the next oldest is Victoire who's two years younger than me."

"Merlin's pants!" Lyra exclaimed, with Leo thinking similar thoughts but also thinking of the few names that Teddy had mentioned. Lyra kept right on talking without stopping to think, as usual. "That's a lot of people. Who is your godfather anyways?"

"Oh, didn't I say? He's Harry Potter." Teddy said it with a look that said he knew exactly what was coming next.

Lyra's jaw dropped. "You're- He's- What?" She spluttered.

"You heard him, Lyra." Leo said quietly. "His godfather is Harry Potter. Now, I don't think he wants the whole train knowing and bombarding him with questions, so how about you be quiet about it."

"Just one question," Lyra said. (Because Merlin forbid she keep her mouth shut, Leo thought) "How'd it happen?"

"Well, my dad was a really close mate with Uncle Harry's dad at Hogwarts. And then he became friends with Harry after he was his Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in his third year. And both my parents were in the Order of the Phoenix so that's how my mum met Uncle Harry and my dad, too. One thing led to another, and my dad was asking Harry to be godfather. Uncle Harry always says he could have never refused my dad."

"Wow. And I thought not knowing a thing about our dad was a huge deal," Lyra said.

"Well, it is to you. That's what matters." Leo thought this Teddy bloke might be pretty all right, as he listened to him continue on. "And I know loads about my dad and my mum from Harry and all the Weasleys and other friends of the family that knew them. I can't imagine not knowing anything at all. But you know, Uncle Harry's not all legend-y in person. He's just as normal as anyone else, even if he does get stared at a whole lot when he goes out."

"I find that quite hard to believe with all the things I've heard about him."

"Well, if you want, you can come and visit sometime and meet him and everyone else."

"Wow," Lyra said again.

"Getting a bit repetitive aren't you, Lyra," Leo said with a bit of a smile at his sister's antics, while inside he was thinking that Teddy might be just a bit strange to invite home two people he barely knew.

Lyra sent him a glare before continuing, "We've only just met and you're inviting us home already? Didn't know it was possible to make friends that quickly. But are we going to stay friends if we don't all end up if the same house?"

At least she was mostly on the same page as him, though they rarely thought much differently. Lyra was always quicker to speak or act leaving any thinking to Leo, who preferred to think things through extremely thoroughly, or as Lyra always says, overthinking every little thing. This made him the one to get them out of trouble when he followed Lyra into making a mess of things. Lost in his thoughts about the differences between Lyra and himself, he almost missed Teddy's response to Lyra's question.

"Well, my dad was a Gryffindor but my mum was a Hufflepuff. And Uncle Ron says I better get into Gryffindor but Harry doesn't care where I end up. Personally I think I'll end up in one of the two. I want Gryffindor a bit more though, since all my family's going to end up there."

"Well, we're going for Gryffindor too for sure. Our mum was a Gryffindor and she says we're sure foolhardy and reckless enough to get put there." Leo couldn't help thinking that she was the foolhardy and reckless one, not him. Though come to think of it, maybe he was too, for helping her in all her hair-brained schemes.

"That's settled then, we're all going to ask the hat for Gryffindor. Do either of you know if the hat listens to requests?"

"No idea," Lyra said matter-of-factly. "Leo?"

"Nope. But I would think so since it's supposed to put us where we'd be happiest."

"Leo?" Teddy asked.

"Yeah?"

"How often to you actually talk? I've just realized that Lyra's been doing all the talking."

Leo was surprised at this comment, though he didn't show it. Teddy was probably the only person who'd ever noticed that he let Lyra do the talking when meeting new people. "I prefer to observe people and learn as much as I can about them from everything besides the words they say," Leo said. "Then me and Lyra confer and we decide if we like the person or not."

"Well, what do you think of me?" Teddy asked, a bit apprehensively.

"I think that you will make a good friend for us," Leo said, thinking of what Leo said about their dad and how willing he was to accept them in spite of it.

"I'm glad," Teddy said with a smile. "Oh look, the train's slowing down. We better get into our school robes."

They got off the train to hear an enormous man calling for the first years. Teddy walked right up to him and said, "Hullo, Hagrid."

Lyra followed though Leo was a bit more apprehensive about approaching such a large man.

"Hi there Teddy," he said with a gruff accent. "How're yeh?"

"Great!"

Leo walked up next to Teddy as they moved away into the crowd of first years heading for the boats at the edge of the lake. "Who was that?" he asked.

"Oh, that's Hagrid. He teaches Care of Magical Creatures. He's a friend of the family."

"Ah," Leo said, thinking that this Hagrid bloke didn't look much like a teacher to him.

Lyra called back to them. "Come on! Here's a boat for us all. Do you mind if we join you?" She said to the lone boy in the boat already.

"No. Not all." He replied in a thick Irish accent, continuing, "My name's O'Malley. I'm muggle-born so I've got no idea what's going on or who anyone is."

"Well," Lyra responded as she climbed into the boat, "we didn't know anyone either and we're all raised by wizards. I think most of the first years are like that. My name's Lyra, anyways. And this is my twin brother Leo. And this is Teddy who we just made friends with on the train."

"Nice to meet you. If you're raised by wizards, maybe you could help me. I heard someone mention getting sorted into houses. What's all that about?"

Leo tuned out as Lyra started to explain the houses and sorting to O'Malley with occasional interjections from Teddy when she forgot some detail or other. Looking out over the water, he wondered what the next seven years of his life were going to be like, at the school that his mother had always talked so little about, as though it was painful for her to even think about it.

Leo and the other first years walked into the Great Hall, following Professor Flitwick as he floated a stool and the Sorting Hat in front of him, being too small to carry them. Leo looked up in awe at the ceiling that was identical to the sky he'd just seen outside from the boats.

Finally, they reached the front of the large room and they all crowded around as Flitwick set the stool down with the hat on top.

A moment later, the brim of the hat opened and it began to sing. Leo listened attentively, as was his nature, as the Sorting Hat described its job and the traits belonging to each house. When the hat had finished its song, Leo clapped as the room burst into applause. Then the sorting began.

Leo began to worry. He knew that as it went in alphabetical order, he would be the one sorted first. What if he went into Gryffindor but then Lyra and Teddy didn't follow him? What if the hat refused to put him in Gryffindor but then put the others there? So preoccupied by his thoughts, Leo almost didn't hear his own name being called. Lyra nudged him forward. He walked up to the stool carefully, sat down, and waited for Professor Flitwick to set the hat on his head.

Hmm, the hat mused. I see many things in your head. Much different from that of your father, but there are similarities as well-

You knew my father? Leo interrupted.

Of course, of course. Very different from the rest of his family but he made a fine Gryffindor. Much more reckless than you but you have the same bravery and loyalty. Looks like-

Wait! Leo interrupted again. What was his name?

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table broke out in applause and Leo reluctantly took the hat off and handed it to the Professor before heading to an empty spot he saw at the table.

Sitting down, he saw his sister walking up to stool. The hat was only on her head for a moment before he heard it shout "GRYFFINDOR!" once more to his relief. She hurried down to sit next to him, giving him a huge bear hug when she reached him.

They had to wait a while longer before they heard Professor Flitwick calling in his high, squeaky voice, "Lupin, Ted." They both stared avidly as he put on the hat. It took what felt like forever, though it was probably only a couple minutes, before it yelled out, "GRYFFINDOR!" to the delight of all three of them.

Now that they were sorted, Leo felt much more relaxed and only listened slightly as the sorting continued. He didn't even notice that the boy, O'Malley, from the boat, had been sorted into Gryffindor until he heard Lyra and Teddy cheering him and welcoming him gladly to sit with them. Seeing how they got on with him, Leo realized he would probably have to befriend the boy, though he wasn't sure yet if he wanted to.

Later, when the sorting had finished, he saw the headmistress, Professor McGonagall, stand up. She began to speak, saying, "To our new students, welcome. And to our returning students welcome back. I have more to say but it can wait until after we eat. Tuck in." And suddenly, all the serving dishes on the long tables were filled with food. Leo was quick to grab his favorite, steak and kidney pie, before turning to talk to the rest of his group, now numbering four; himself, Lyra, Teddy, and the O'Malley boy who was staring in amazement at the food. Leo remembered belatedly that he was muggle-born and unused to seeing any form of magic, let alone something as impressive as this.

Not wanting to get left out as Lyra and Teddy made friends with O'Malley, Leo asked, "So, O'Malley. Why d'you go by your last name?"

"Because Canice sounds like a girl's name. And I figure a new school will be a good way to get rid of that wretched name and all the teasing that comes with it," he replied.

"Sounds like a great reason to me," Teddy said. "So did you go to a muggle primary school before this?"

"Yeah. Right bad one too. Though that may have been just for me. Like I said, all the kids teased me about my name and I was always getting in trouble for, what I now know, was accidental magic."

"I wish I could say I feel your pain," said Lyra, "but our mum home-schooled us rather than sending us to muggle school so we never had to worry about that."

They continued to talk as the feast went on. Leo still listening mostly, but liking O'Malley more and more the more he heard. O'Malley continued to regale them with stories of growing up muggle in between asking questions about the others' childhoods.

Finally, the feast finished. After Professor McGonagall's speech, they followed the prefects up to Gryffindor tower. Leo paid careful attention to where they went so he would remember in the morning when they had to come back down on their own for breakfast.

Upon reaching their dormitories, Lyra split off from their group to head up the girls' stairway as the boys headed up their own stairs. As they entered their room, they each sat down on the bed their trunks were in front of. Leo noticed that while on one side of his bed was the door, on the other side was Teddy's bed. Next around the circular room was O'Malley's bed. Glancing at O'Malley, he noticed the light-haired boy was staring at him.

"What?" he asked.

"I was just wondering what you thought of me, seeing as how you barely talked all night."

"Oh, sorry. I never talk much when meeting new people. I let Lyra do that and watch to see if they're the sort of person I would like."

"Well? Am I that sort of person?"

"Yes. I quite think you are."

"Oh. Good. I think the four of us are going to be right good mates," O'Malley said happily.

Author's Note: Thank you for reading. This is my first fanfic, well actually, the first story I've ever written for anything. So PLEASE review. I have the next several chapters already written, I'm just waiting to get them back from my bff editor to make final edits. The more reviews, the faster I'll work to do said edits and get the next chapter up!