Regina Weasley: Year One
Chapter One
Growing up in a house with six older brothers (Ronald, as my twin, was only two minutes, thirty-six seconds older than me, a fact he loved to rub in my face), and later, one younger sister, was, in one word, chaotic. Especially with Fred and George, who were both natural troublemakers. Throw in the fact that my family, the Weasleys, were witches and wizards, and sometimes it was a recipe for disaster. Two years younger than Fred and George, I grew up hearing Mum and Dad telling me and Ron all sorts of horror stories when the twins started showing signs of magic. Thank Merlin I wasn't that bad, or so I thought.
Being the first girl in the family, I was required to help Mum with house work and, when I was old enough, to watch Ginny, my only sister who was a year younger than me. I didn't mind helping, though. From a young age, I loved to help people with thing, especially when it came to taking apart Muggle stuff with Dad.
I spent most of my time with Mum, learning to cook, which with a family as big as ours (eight, not including Mum and Dad) was a large task for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I loved every minute of learning new things from Mum. Except knitting. Those sharp knitting needles are a bastard to deal with (don't tell Mum about the cursing *winces*), especially if you're a klutz like I am. I think I ended up with more blood than fabric after I was finished. So, sharp knitting needles (or any sharp object, really) and me? We don't mix. At all. So Mum made a compromise with me that she would do all the knitting and sewing (turns out all needles are evil!) while I was in charge of all dishes (the Muggle way, of course), as well as setting the table for meals. This wasn't a bad compromise since I did these things, anyways.
Having six older brothers, the last eleven years weren't exactly easy, especially with Fred and George (who loved to play pranks; sometimes they were cruel). When I was four, the two of them slipped a garden snake into my slippers, so when I went to put them on…let's just say Mum thought I was being murdered. While the snake didn't bite me (thank Merlin!), it gave me my paralyzing fear of snakes (of any shape or size; they're awful!). All this happened as I was just getting my magic (Mum said it was almost as bad as when Fred and George were getting their magic and still shudders when it's brought up) and I accidentally sent Fred and George tumbling over the back of the sofa, knocking them out. After making sure they were alright, I could swear (my memory is a little fuzzy) I caught Mum laughing, but she won't admit it, even now.
I was pretty in control of my magic (it took a lot of patience, especially with a family like mine; rowdy) except for one other time, which was only two weeks ago (I'm still embarrassed by it) when Ron and I received our Hogwarts letters; Dad had to vanish a lot of snow from Mum's kitchen that morning.
As excited as I was about going to Hogwarts (I had wanted to go since Bill had gone), I was also worried about the expense of it, since two of us were going this year. Money had always been really tight in our family, but I had always seen it as a strength, bringing all of us closer together, instead of a hardship, like the rest of my family did. I really didn't mind the hand-me-downs like Ron did; they never fit me for long anyways.
I was really looking forward to Diagon Alley, like I did every year. I was what the Muggles called a shopper window, which didn't really make sense to me, but whatever. I liked to look at all the shiny new things, but I couldn't really imagine owning them. I nearly had almost everything I needed for school; Mum's old robes and books that had been handed down fives times already (the books, not the robes) and I had Bill's old wand, while Ron had Charlie's. Ron also got Percy's old rat Scabbers, but only after I had flat-out refused him; rats were almost as bad as snakes.
I woke up the morning of September first energized and nervous, but very excited. I think the nerves mainly came from Fred and George (the idiots) telling Ron and me how first years had to be sorted ("Each first year has a troll they have to wrestle Muggle-style!" Fred exclaimed to us, grinning as Ron and I both paled). Mum yelled at the twins for scaring us and made them de-gnome the garden as punishment.
I attempting to wake up Ron (the git just rolled over, still asleep), I went down to the kitchen and helped Mum prepare a heaping breakfast for everyone (eggs, sausages, and several loaves of bread worth of toast) as well as sandwiches for everyone for the train ride (me, Ron, Fred, George, and Percy) and for work (only Dad since Bill and Charlie were out of the country for work). I stood at the counter, eating my breakfast while I assembled corned beef sandwiches for everyone (except Ron; I made him four egg salad sandwiches, his favorite), which saved some time.
I handed Dad his breakfast when he joined me and Mum in the kitchen and kissed his cheek. He scarffed down his breakfast quickly, since he was already late for work (as usual) and turned to say goodbye to Mum. I had to turn away, blushing and wrinkling my nose as Mum giggled like a school girl as Dad whispered something to her.
"Ew," I gagged out, which made Dad flush bright red as he pulled away from Mum.
"Er—sorry, Regina," Dad grinned at me, still very flushed, and ruffled my red hair (the Weasleys all had red hair) and was out the door to work. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get the morning off to see us off at the platform. It was the same with Bill and Charlie, much to my disappointment. Bill was in Africa and Charlie, in Romania; I missed my brothers terribly and I wished they were here on Ron and my first day of school.
Only minutes after Dad left, the rest of my siblings stumbled down the stairs, smelling breakfast. Ginny was quietly crying all through breakfast after Fred told her, a bit too harshly, that she was getting left behind (she'll start Hogwarts next year but wanted to go this year and was already upset about getting left behind) and he was whacked sharply on the head by Mum with a wooden spoon. I was very upset about leaving Ginny behind for nearly an entire year; though we were eighteen months apart, she was my best friend and I was going to miss her.
As per usual, we didn't get very far from home before somebody remembered something they had forgotten (the second time was me; I had forgotten to pack my wand in my excitement last night) and then it was rushing to King's Cross Station in order to not miss the train (which left at exactly eleven). Each of us (except Mum and Ginny) was hauling a cart with our trunks of them. The cart was an interesting Muggle contraption (thank Merlin we didn't have to carry our trunks!) but mine had a defected wheel on it, making it near impossible to push. That was made only more difficult by the fact that it was like a maze, getting through all the Muggles, which Mum complained about.
"There are just too many people here and this place is mostly packed with Muggles, of course. Regina, dear, keep up!" Mum called over her shoulders when she noticed that I was lagging behind (my arms felt like they were going to fall off from struggling to push my cart). I rolled my eyes (careful not to get caught) because that woman had eyes in the back of her head. I gave a huge shove on my cart, catching up with the others and for the second time this morning, I rolled my eyes when Mum asked, "Now, what's the platform number?" I almost snorted, too, but I knew this question was for Ginny's benefit, so she didn't feel so left out.
"Nine and three quarters!" Ginny said, a sliver of hope showing on her face. I winced, once again feeling bad about leaving her behind. "Mum, can't I go?"
"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet," Mum said to her in exasperation; Ginny had asked and badgered her all summer and I was sure Mum was tired of it. "All right, Percy, you go first."
My third oldest brother, Perfect Prefect Percy pushed his cart and went through the barrier first, disappearing from view. Even though I had been through the barrier several times before (seeing off all my brothers), this time was different; it was not my turn to go through it for school and it strangely made me nervous.
"Fred, you next," Mum said, looking at the twins.
"I'm not Fred, I'm George," Fred said and I rolled my eyes. He and George were always trying to take the mickey out of people by making them think they had the twins confused, but I had always been able to tell them apart. "Honestly woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"
"Sorry, George, dear," Mum said, slightly flustered.
"Only joking, I am Fred," the git said before running through the barrier, followed by George (my opinion is that he took off so fast to avoid Mum smacking him).
I was getting ready to shove my heavy cart (as well as talk myself into running through the barrier, I was so nervous) when a young voice called from behind us, "Excuse me."
I turned around and saw a boy about the same age as Ron and me with very messy black hair and piercing green eyes that made me flush when they swept over me, for some reason.
"Hello, dear," Mum said kindly to the boy. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron and Regina are new, too." She pointed to Ron and me and my eyes immediately went to the ground when those green eyes looked towards me and Ron (I didn't know why I was shy all of sudden; I hadn't been before—you tend to not be shy when you have a bunch of brothers).
"Yes," the boy muttered in embarrassment. I glanced up and found him looking back at Mum, while Ron elbowed me sharply, sniggering quietly at the blush on my face. "The thing is—the thing is, I don't know how to—"
"How to get on the platform?" Mum asked and the boy nodded. He must not have been through the barrier before, I realized. He must be a Muggleborn. "Not to worry," Mum told him. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best to do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron and Reggie."
"Er—okay," the boy said, still looking very unsure and nervous even after Mum's little pep-talk. He lined up with the barrier and then finally broke into a run and disappeared behind it.
"Right, come on now, Ron, Reggie," Mum said, letting us go first. By the time I got through the barrier (after getting my cart to actually move) the green-eyed boy was gone (not that I was specifically looking for him!) and I wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing, yet.
Mum and Ginny appeared behind Ron and me and helped us get out trucks off the cart (good riddance, cart!) before hugging both of us tightly (thank Merlin our trunks were already on ground or I would have dropped mine and had broken toes).
"Mum!" Ron protested at the hug, but I gladly hugged her back; I was going to miss her. I then hugged Ginny tightly, making her promise to write to me.
"Fred? George? Are you there?" Mum called out above the crowd for the twins. "Come help Ron and Reggie load their trunks onto the train!"
"Coming, Mum!" Fred called back. I had caught a glimpse of the boy again and quickly turned away before he could see me (I was sure all of our bright red hair stood out, though). I picked at a hole in my sweater (it had been one of Mum's, shrunk down with a charm, so it would fit me) and turned my attention back to my dysfunctional family.
I sniggered as Mum pulled out a handkerchief and approached my twin with it, saying, "Ron, you've got something on your nose." I was trying to hide my giggles as Ron tried to dodge Mum, but she knew us too well and grabbed him, rubbing the end of his nose vigorously. I had a hand clamped over my mouth as Ron's face burned redder than our Weasley hair and he sputtered out, "Mum—geroff!"
He finally wiggled free from Mum's grasp, but this egged the twins (though I would have gladly joined in, if given the chance) to tease him.
"Aah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" George baby-talked to Ron while Fred made faces at him (I roared with laughter during this).
"Shut up," Ron growled, scowling at out brothers, Mum, and me. I grinned at my twin, but got a glare in return.
"Where's Percy?" Mum asked, looking around in the crowd.
"He's coming now," I told her, spotting his strutting red head emerging from the crowd. Perfect Prefect Percy had already changed into his Hogwarts robes, but then my third oldest brother had always been an overachiever, even when he was little.
"Can't stay long, Mother," Percy said, rather snootily, not even giving the rest of us a glance; I scowled at him. Percy had never been my favorite brother (he always ignored me), but I never said anything, in fear of breaking Mum's heart (she had a soft spot for Percy). Perfect Prefect Percy had continued talking, "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves—"
"Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" Fred asked with mock-surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea!"
"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," George commented, earning a giggle from me. "Once—"
"Or twice—" Fred interjected.
"A minute—"
"All summer—"
"Oh, shut up," Percy snapped at the twins, blushing. He then glared at me when I dared to laugh at him. I was clutching my stomach, I was laughing so hard.
"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" George asked, jealousy in his tone, which made me sober up immediately.
"Because he's a prefect," Mum said with fondness, while I fake-gagged behind her back at the twins, making them snigger. Fred, George, and I were still making gagging and puking motions (they had decided to join me in the fun) when Mum turn to us. I quickly straightened and was the good little girl she thought I was (I never got caught while helping Fred and George with some of their more mild pranks).
"Now, you two—this year, you behave yourselves," Mum continued, pointing with an 'I'm deadly serious' face at Fred and George while I snickered behind my hand. "If I get one more owl telling me you've—you've blown up a toilet or—"
"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet," Fred said with mock offence (as well as excitement).
"Great idea thought, thanks, Mum," George said, rubbing his hands together.
"It's not funny," Mum scolded. "And look after Ron and Reggie."
"Don't worry, ickle Ronnickins and Reggiepoo are safe with us," Free cooed to Ron and me, making me wrinkle my nose in distaste. When Mum turned back around, I slugged Fred on the arm, making him wince.
"Shut up," Ron grumbled, his face almost as pink as the end of his nose where Mum had rubbed it.
"Hey, Mum, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?" George asked excitedly while Fred glared at me; I just stuck my tongue out at him.
"You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?" Fred asked.
"Who?" I asked before I could help myself. Both Fred and George's faces held promise of teasing later as I clamped a hand over my mouth, blushing.
"Harry Potter!" Fred and George said simultaneously.
"Oh, Mum, can I go on the train and see him, Mum, oh, please?!" Ginny begged, pulling on Mum's sleeve. My blush came back as Ginny's reaction was very similar to my internal one (I just kept remembering those green eyes).
"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't some thing you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?" Mum asked, pity in her tone.
"Asked him," Fred said proudly, shrugging his shoulders. "Saw his scar. It's really there—like lightening."
"Poor dear—no wonder he was alone, I wondered," Mum frowned. "He was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform."
"Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?" Fred asked and both he and George looked excited while I shuddered at the thought of remembering something like that.
"I forbid you to ask him, Fred," Mum scolded sternly. "No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day of school."
"All right, keep your hair on," Fred scowled at his plans getting ruined. I jumped as the train whistle sounded (it scared the piss out of me).
"Hurry up!" Mum said, pushing me towards the train, along with my siblings. Fred, George, Ron, and I all got on and leaned out the door window so Mum could give us one last kiss goodbye. I blew Ginny a kiss when she started crying and I promised again to write her. Fred and George, the bleeding hearts when our little sister cried, immediately tried to make her feel better.
"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls," Fred said.
"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat," George added, grinning at Ginny while I sniggered.
"George!" Mum immediately scolded him,
"Only joking, Mum," George tried to assure her, but we all knew he really would send one if Ginny wanted him to.
The train started to move and I waved madly at Ginny, whom had started running alongside the train until it left her behind. I had never been one for crying (growing up with brothers did that to you), but I teared up as I watched my best friend (aside form my twin, of course) fall behind and disappear from view entirely (along with Mum).
"C'mon, let's go get a seat," Ron mumbled at me. I noticed that Fred and George had already disappeared and we were left on our own (Mum would have grabbed Fred and George's ears for leaving us). Every compartment we went past were all full, except for one. I flushed at the sight of the black-haired boy sitting there by himself.
"Open the door," I hissed at Ron.
"Why should I? Why can't you?" he hissed back at me.
"Just do it!" I elbowed him and he slid the door open.
"Anyone sitting here?" Ron asked the boy, pointing at the empty seat. "Everywhere else is full."
The boy shook his head so Ron and I sat somewhat nervously. Ron looked at the boy (I was nearly 100% sure he was trying to catch a glimpse of the famous scar) and then quickly looked out the window when I elbowed him. The boy was looking at us so I shifted my eyes to my hands that I clutched together in my lap, blushing slightly. I nearly gave a huge sigh of relief when Fred and George appeared in the doorway.
"Hey Ron, Regina," George said, clutching our attention. "Listen, we're going down the middle of the train—Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."
"Right," Ron mumbled and I simply nodded. Mum wouldn't be happy that they were leaving us entirely on our own, but at least they had checked on us.
"Harry, did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley," Fred announced proudly. "And this is Ron and Regina, the other set of twins in our family. See you later, then."
"Are you the real Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out as soon as Fred and George had left.
"Ron!" I scolded him, smacking his arm as Harry nodded.
"Oh—well, I thought it might be one Fred and George's jokes," Ron said, rubbing his arm where I had hit him and then looked at me really quick before once again blurting, "And have you really got, you know…" And then he pointed at Harry's forehead.
"Ronald!" I practically screeched, smacking him once again for his rudeness.
"I don't mind," Harry told me quickly and as I flushed, he pulled back his bangs and showed Ron and me his scar. I quickly looked away, after seeing those green eyes.
"So that's where You-Know-Who-?" Ron started, quickly glancing at me, but I didn't even look up at him; I (uncharacteristically for me) shyly stared down at my lap.
"Yes," Harry said, "but I can't remember it."
"Nothing?" Ron asked, a little too eagerly, in my opinion, so I elbowed him in the ribs, which he returned and I hissed in pain and glared at him.
"Well—I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else," Harry said.
"Wow," Ron said, staring at Harry before looking out the window again.
"Are you two really twins?" Harry asked, looking between Ron and me.
"Yeah, fraternal twins," I said, not meeting his eyes. "Ron's two minutes older than me."
"And thirty-six seconds," Ron added and I rolled my eyes at him, finally warming up to being around Harry.
"A fact I'm sure you'll never let me hear the end of, dear brother," I scoffed at Ron.
"Nope, never," Ron said with a goofy grin.
"Are all your family wizards?" Harry asked after Ron and I quit our sibling bickering (Harry looked amused by it).
"Er—yes, I think so," Ron said. "I think Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."
"But I don't think he's pure Muggle," I said, thinking. I was sure cousin Elmer was a Squib.
"So you two must know loads of magic already," Harry assumed.
"Er—no, not really," I told him. "Wizarding children have to learn their magic, same as Muggleborns or people that live in the Muggle world."
"I heard you went to live with Muggles. What are they like?" Ron asked. Though it was kinda rude, I, too, was curious to know what the Muggles were like, having never really been around one before.
"Horrible—well, not all of them," Harry said and I leaned forward slightly, interested in what he was saying. "My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers."
"Five," Ron and I both corrected. I was rather cheerful about it because I loved my brothers (even when they were annoying, like Percy), but Ron, on the other hand, felt like he was always trying to compare to Bill, Charlie, and Percy, whom had all accomplished so much.
"I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. Reggie here is the first girl. You could say I've go ta lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left—Bill was Head Boy and Charlie was Captain of the Quidditch team. Now Percy's a Prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."
He pulled Scabbers out of his jacket pocket and I scooted away; I did not like that rat, or any rat, really. Rodents were gross.
"His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a Prefect, but they couldn't aff—I mean, I got Scabbers instead," Ron said, turning pink.
Even though I didn't think being poor was anything to be ashamed of, I still flushed; maybe because he said it in front of Harry. I went back to staring at my lap, my ears still feeling like they were burning. I was only half listening as Harry told Ron something about his cousin and money. I only started listening when Harry said You-Know-Who's name. Ron and I both gasped loudly and I instinctively put my hands over my ears (Fred and George had taught me that when I was little, as a joke, but it had stuck).
"What?" Harry asked.
"You said You-Know-Who's name!" Ron said, sounding like he was both impressed and stunned. I guess I was a bit of both as well, but way more shocked than impressed. "I'd have thought you of all people—"
"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," Harry cut in. "I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got leads to learn…I bet—I bet I'm the worst in the class."
"You won't be," Ron assured him and I nodded my head in agreement. "There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quickly enough."
"Besides, Ron and I have to learn at the beginning, too," I assured Harry. Sure, I knew the gist of basic spells, but not how to actually use them.
I zoned out again as the boys talked about Quidditch and Houses at Hogwarts; I pulled out my Charms school book (which I had started reading over the summer) and continued where I had left off. I was in the middle of reading about the Disillusionment Charm when the compartment door opened, startling me. It was a woman (older than Mum) pushing a cart loaded with sweets and pastries. Feeling rather hungry (after seeing food), I smiled at the woman and said, "No, thank you," and pulled out my sandwiches I had made that morning.
Ron and I both stared, wide-eyed, as Harry came back to the compartment with his arms loaded down with candy and Ron, always the smart-arse, commented, "Hungry, are you?" with astonishment. Harry dumped everything out in the seat and was looking through it; I caught sight of a few Chocolate Frogs and Pumpkin Pasties.
"Starving," Harry said, eating a Pumpkin Pasty. Ron took out his own sandwiches, but there were only two inside; I was confused as I knew I had packed four sandwiches for him that morning.
"She always forgets I don't like corned beef," Ron moaned and groaned, pulling apart a sandwich.
"Hang on, Ron," I said, an idea coming to me. I opened up one of my own sandwiches and sure enough, I had Ron's four egg salad sandwiches. "Here, Ron," I said, happily taking my corned beef from him. I took one out of the plastic wrap (an amazing Muggle invention that Mum always made sure we had on hand) and started munching on it.
"Swap you for one of those," Harry said, offering both me and Ron candies and pastries. "Go on—"
"No, thank you," I said politely, keeping my eyes down; I wasn't one for sweets, except occasionally.
"You don't want this, it's all dry," Ron mumbled. "She hasn't got much time, you know, with six of us."
"I made those, Ronald," I crossed my arms in mock-offense, but I wasn't really upset; I knew my cooking needed some work, though I wasn't quite sure how I managed to made dry egg salad sandwiches.
"Go on, have a pasty," Harry insisted to Ron and my lips twitched into a small smile at the sight of him, eager to share with us; it had always been the opposite in the Weasley house, for as long as I could remember.
I turned my attention back to my book, really getting into reading about Charms we would eventually learn that year, until the compartment door slid open, startling me. I looked up to see a slightly chubby boy looking like he would cry at any given moment.
"Sorry, but have you seen a toad at all?" the boy asked, wringing his hands fretfully.
"No, sorry," I said, shaking my head, feeling bad for the boy.
"I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!" the boy wailed out and I widened my eyes at the boy.
"He'll turn up," Harry said, trying to be helpful and sooth the boy.
"Yes, well, if you see him…" the boy said sadly and then left, shutting their compartment door behind him.
"Don't know why he's so bothered. If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk," Ron said, looking down at the rat in his lap. I wrinkled my nose at the disgusting rodent and scooted away a bit farther. "He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference. I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look."
I had to hide a smile because I knew the spell wouldn't work; I had convinced George to give Ron the dud spell as a prank (it was payback for throwing mud at me two week before when we had to degnome the garden). I was biting my lip rather hard to keep from giggling (Ron had pulled out his wand to perform the 'spell'), when the compartment door slid open once more. It was the slightly chubby boy again and this time, there was a girl with very frizzy hair with him.
"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said in a bossy-like tone. I bit my lip; I didn't really like this girl already. In my experience with my older brothers, bossy usually turned into bullying and if there was one thing I really disliked, it was bullies.
"We've already told him we haven't seen it," Ron said, sounding annoyed by this girl. The girl clearly didn't hear him (or more likely ignored him, I was sure) because she sat herself down next to me (I slid over, away from the bossy girl; she didn't seem to notice that I did it) and said, "Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."
"Er—all right," Ron said and then he cleared his throat, reciting:
"'Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow.'"
I hid a snigger as the spell did absolutely nothing, just like I knew it wouldn't; Scabbers was still asleep on Ron's lap, the slight commotion not waking him.
"Are you sure that's a real spell?" the bushy-haired girl asked, rather snootily; I bristled at her. "Well it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard—I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough—I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"
"I'm Ron Weasley," my twin answered.
"Regina Weasley," I said a little coldly; I mean, this girl had just bossed us around, unintentionally bashed a spell of mine (even if it was fake), and didn't seem to breathe as she spoke.
"Harry Potter."
"Are you really?" Hermione asked with interest, staring at Harry, making me slightly uncomfortable. "I know all about you, of course—I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."
"Am I?" Harry asked, sounding surprised. Well, I guess he would be, living with Muggles and all.
"Goodness, didn't you know? I'd have found out everything I could if it was me. Do the three of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad…Anyway, we'd better do and look for Neville's toad. You three had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."
I watched the girl leave and wondered if she ever breathed while she rambled breathe; she made me tired just listening to her.
"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," Ron grumbled and I nodded in agreement, taking a deep breath to hold in a giggle. Ron looked at his wand, throwing it back in his trunk as he said, "Stupid spell—George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."
"What house are you brothers in?" Harry asked as my hidden sniggers died down, leaving me with a case of the hiccups.
"Gryffindor," my twin answered. I subtly elbowed him as he sounded gloomy about it. "Mum and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if Reggie and I aren't. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put us in Slytherin."
"Merlin, Mum and Dad would kill us and bring us back just to kill us again," I said with a shudder at being placed in Slytherin.
"That's the house Vol—I mean, You-Know-Who was in?" Harry asked and I noticed he nearly slipped up.
"Yeah," Ron said, flopping back into his seat, looking depressed. This time, I none too subtly dug my elbow into his gut, silently demanding that he pull himself together.
"You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," Harry said, trying to make Ron feel better and I blushed at how nice he was. "So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?"
"Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," Ron answered as I opened my mouth to talk about my older brothers, whom I missed. "Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles—someone tried to rob a high security vault."
"Really? What happened to them?" Harry asked, his eyes bugging out of his head in surprise.
"Nothing, that's why it's such big news," Ron said and if he hadn't been talking about it nonstop for the past few days, it would be news to me, as well, since I didn't really read the Daily Prophet. "They haven't been caught. Our dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it."
Trying to settle back into my book, but failing, I should've known that Ron would bring up the one thing we actually had in common, despite being twins. I gave up on my Charms book, putting it back in my trunk in the overhead rack, settling back down in my seat.
"What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked.
"Er—I don't know any," Harry admitted and I was surprised for a moment before remembering that he was raised by Muggles; of course he didn't know any Quidditch teams.
"What!" Ron exclaimed. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world—"
Ron and I both took turns explaining the teams, our favorites (mine's the Holyhead Harpies), and about the balls and positions of the players. Ron was in the middle of explaining point system of the game when the compartment door slid open again. I was ready to face Hermione the bossy girl again, but this time, it was a pale, blonde boy, followed by two fat, very mean-looking boys. I shuddered; they just looked like horrible bullies.
"Is it true?" the blonde boy asked with an 'I'm-better-than-you' sneer. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"
"Yes," Harry answered, looking nervously at the two thick boys behind the blonde one.
"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," the boy said. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."
Ron snickered, hiding it behind a cough, while I just flat out snorted; Dad had told us all about the Malfoys, of course.
"Think my name's funny, do you?" Malfoy sneered at both Ron and me and I scowled at him. "No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."
"Oh, shut up, you git," I growled at him; I hated it when people made fun of my family.
He gave me a glare before turning back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some Wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."
I snorted again as he held out a hand for Harry to shake, but Harry didn't take it and I grinned as he said, "I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks."
I put a hand over my mouth as a giggled threatened to escape when Draco Malfoy turned slightly pink. "I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said coldly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hand around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."
Both Ron and Harry stood up, but it was me that punched Draco Malfoy in the nose; growing up with six brothers came in handy. "Don't you talk about my family," I seethed at him. "Leave, now."
"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys?" Malfoy growled and I felt a twinge of sadness that I hadn't broken his nose, just slightly bloodied it. "We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some."
Goyle shoved me and I fell into the compartment seat as he reached for the Chocolate Frogs that sat in between me and Ron.
"Hey—" I started, but was cut off by Goyle screaming as Scabbers bit him on the finger, hanging on for dear life by his teeth as Goyle shook his hand around, trying to get him off. Scabbers finally flew off and smacked the window with a loud thump and the trio of bullies disappeared. I just about groaned out loud when Hermione the bossy girl showed up once again.
"What has been going on?" she screeched out, looking around their very messy compartment. As Ron picked up Scabbers, I started gathering up all the sweets that were scattered on the floor.
"I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry and me, looking closely at Scabbers. "No—I don't believe it—he's gone back to sleep."
"You've met Malfoy before?" I asked Harry curiously, arching an eyebrow at him as I sat back down again. He then proceeded to tell Ron and me about how he had met Malfoy in Diagon Alley and I shook my head when he had finished.
"We've heard of his family," Ron said darkly, indicating both him and me. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. Our dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." He then turned to Hermione, who I even forgot was still in the compartment with us. "Can we help you with something?"
"Like how to find your way out," I muttered to myself, gritting my teeth at the bushy-haired girl.
"You'd better hurry up an put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there," Hermione told the three of us in a know-it-all tone. "You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"
"He deserved it," I said with a sniff, my knuckles actually hurting from where I had hit Malfoy in the nose.
"And Scabbers has been fighting, not us," Ron said, pointing to him and Harry, scowling at Hermione. "Would you mind leaving while we change?"
I stood up and pulled my robes out of my truck as Hermione said, "All right—I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors. And you've got dirt on our nose, by the way, did you know?"
"See? Mum was right, there is something on your nose, Ronald," I sniggered, leaving the compartment for the loo to change into my robes before Ron could take a swipe at me. Well, Hermione had been right about one thing: it was a zoo out in the corridor. I was pushed and shoved around several times on my way to and from the bathroom. I could even see Fred and George several times, tormenting some of the first years and the Slytherins. I collapsed onto the seat when I got back to the compartment, a bit tired after fighting my way through the corridors. Ron and Harry had already changed and Ron's robes too short for him, while mine were a faded gray color, with holes dotting it here and there.
"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately," a voice sounded in our compartment, startling me. My stomach let out a grumble, reminding me just how hungry I actually was. Harry and Ron shoved the rest of the sweets into their pockets while I made sure my truck was secured shut before we joined the crowds in the corridor. Since Ron was taller than me, I held onto the back of his robes so I wouldn't get lost in the pandemonium and so I wouldn't be crushed by anyone taller than me.
"Merlin, it's cold," I grumbled as we stepped off the train at the Hogsmeade station (Fred and George had told me all about the small town, even though they weren't legally allowed in it yet) and into the cold autumn air.
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"
"Whoa," I breathed out, my mouth dropped open at the sight of the huge man with a very bushy head of hair and beard.
"C'mon, follow me—any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" the giant man bellowed out.
Ron, the lesser klutz of the two of us, took my arm as we stumbled our way down the steep narrow trail that was slick with mud and had several tree roots poking out of the ground. Though my twin kept a tight grip on my arm, I slipped on both a tree root and some mud, sliding to my butt, smearing mud all over my robes. I let out a small cry and both Ron and Harry picked me up and I got slightly preoccupied brushing mud off of my robes and lost track of them in the crowd.
When I looked up, Ron and Harry were gone and the view in front of my consisted of a sea of heads, as well as a huge, dark lake with a reflection of a beautiful glittering castle shining at me.
A chorus of "Oooooh's!" we up around the crowd and I gave a gasp of astonishment at how lovely it was.
"No more'n four to a boat!" the giant man yelled out and I scrambled to the shore to see that Ron and Harry had already taken off in a boat with Hermione and Neville. By the time I got into a boat, I was very unfortunately stuck with Malfoy and his two goons, who took every opportunity they could to take bad about my family and torment me in any way they could.
I couldn't be happier to get out of that boat (after ducking my head to avoid having it taken off by some rocks that formed a tunnel over the water) and onto the rocks. I found my twin again and hugged him tightly, gritting my teeth in anger to keep from punching Malfoy again.
"Oi, you there! Is that your toad?" the giant man called out and Neville, who was standing beside me, rushed forward with a cry of, "Trevor!" and scooped up the toad.
"What's up with you?" Ron hissed in my ear.
"I spent the entire boat ride over being antagonized by Malfoy," I muttered back and he gave me an apologetic look at leaving me behind.
"It's okay," I said with a shrug, kissing his cheek, grossing him out and I giggled.
The giant man led us all up a large flight of stone stairs to a huge double set of oak doors. I stared up at them with a gaping mouth as the giant man raised a fist and knocked three times on the wood doors.