What we do is not illusion. Our spells aren't slight of the hand tricks you see on television, nor some kind of taboo science like alchemy, rumoured to have once existed. Real magic is vivid and exhilarating. Each fluid flick of the wand brings excitement and astonishment. Real magic is what separates us from them. Witches, wizards, and magical creatures are the norm in my society. Witches, wizards, and magical creatures are nutty fantasies to the Muggles.
This is what I grew up knowing and living by. From my earliest years, my parents knew I was a witch. Books would fall off the cabinet, lights would flicker when I had a tantrum, and chocolate biscuits would conveniently fall from the top shelf of the cupboard. It was expected, as my parents were both magical. My mother was a spunky half-blood witch who was sorted into Gryffindor, along with her younger brother. My father was an only child sorted into a Ravenclaw due to his intelligence and wit, separating from the standard deviation of purebloods, which were often sorted into Slytherin. Somewhere along the way they met, fell in love, and eventually got married.
They never intended to have children. My mother wished only to forward her position in the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes and my father wanted to remain a committed auror. However, when my mother became pregnant with me, she quickly chose to raise and care for me. My father was less than ecstatic.
I was born to them on the ninth of June, 1979 with bright cerulean orbs and a thin layer of chocolate brown hair. They had already decided to name me Colleen at this When I was just shy of a year old, my mother was killed in a mishap within the Ministry. Father was distraught and really had no clue what to do with me, or how to raise a child. Half a year later, he was offered an advanced position as a global Auror, traveling the world to any area that the Ministry deems necessary. He eagerly accepted and dumped me upon my uncle without a second thought.
Uncle was a very kind man. Though he was hesitant of taking care of a child at first, he took the responsibility. As I grew, he taught me many things: kindness towards others, forgiveness, and tranquility. He also schooled me in the many different aspects of magic in my years prior to formal schooling, allowing me to be advanced for my year when I finally attended Hogwarts. He became more of a father to me than the distant man who would send me a short scribble and some money each month.
Living with my Uncle also allowed me to meet my best friend, Corinne. She was also a witch, and lived several buildings down the street. We were inseparable as children, always going on 'adventures' together. They often began with my bravery leading us into some heroic situation in order to save an injured animal or something of the like. They often ended with her cunning saving us from a potentially dangerous incident.
When my Uncle dropped me off at platform 9 ¾ with my trunk and pet cat, Ora, for the first time, I was more than ready to go to Hogwarts. The train ride was an exciting experience in itself. After meeting up with Corinne, we sat together with two other first years, one a small Asian girl named Cho Chang and the other a Quidditch-loving girl named Katie Bell. The four of us talked avidly, about which houses we might be sorted into and which classes might be the most entertaining.
When we finally arrived at the castle, no one could stop staring. I had never seen something so magnificent in all my life. Walking through those gigantic doors to the Great Hall was also thrilling, but nothing could compare to receiving houses. I'll never forget sitting on that stool with the sorting hat upon my head, and it roaring out the name 'Gryffindor'. As soon as the cap was off my head, I was rushing over to the cheering house table as fast as my scrawny legs would allow. The warm welcome from all the older students had me grinning like a fool as I took my seat at the table decked in scarlet and gold.
A great thing about Hogwarts was that instead of fighting your way into social groups, you were handed a loyal family, right off the bat. You have countless Gryffindors, who are willing talk to you, help you with homework, and show you the ropes. But it's not to say that there aren't social divisions. Along with the light divisions of nerds, jocks, class clowns, etc. in your own house, there's an even larger split between the different houses. People certainly intermix, but certain houses have rivalries that make most friendly contact between them out of the question.
When I stood to cheer for Corinne, after she was sorted into Slytherin, I was pulled down faster than I could comprehend. I was dumbfounded to say the least. Suddenly, the older girl beside me was giving me a lengthy dissertation on Gryffindor-Slytherin relations. She certainly brought me down a few pegs with her ideas of the 'enemy' house and most definitely had me on the verge of tears.
But, as though out of nowhere, two older boys were suddenly at my side, talking swiftly at the girl. I watched in awe as they made it clear that she had no place preaching about the subject matter when she had just dated a Slytherin boy last year. Apparently, she was simply sore from the nasty breakup. After this, she quickly made her way to the other end of the table.
The two boys who came to my rescue took a seat on either side of me and introduced themselves as the Fred and George Weasley, second year twins who were infamous for their practical jokes and antics. Each of them had a blazing head of bronze hair and bright hazel eyes to match their wild persona. The three of us quickly became friends thanks to their hilarious personalities and my zealous sense of humour.
From that day forth, the three of us were nearly inseparable. Though we seemed to be a funny looking group, I being about two and a half heads shorter than each of them, we fit together like pieces of a puzzle.
Thanks to my uncle's pushing for preparatory education, I was able to skip some of the normal first year courses and replace them with second year courses, allowing me to have a good number of classes with the twins. Though they often distracted me in our shared classes, being able to spend time with my best friends was worth it. They also introduced me to their mate Lee Jordan who had a very similar personality to the two of them that I became instantly fond of. In addition, I met Fred and George's er… lovely older brother one night when we were out past curfew planting a stink bomb in Filch's office, and he, Percy the Prissy Prefect, gave us detention.
We had quite a number of adventures together throughout the year, and I was quite depressed to see it come to an end. Thankfully, I was able to spend a number of summer days with them at their home. I met the entire Weasley family, all of whom I adored, besides Percy. Mrs. Weasley made me especially happy; her motherly instinct, her constant huffing about getting things done, her loving nature. She was what I hoped my mother might have been like.
By my second year, I had made the Quidditch team with the position of chaser. Quidditch was high on my list of Hogwarts favourites. Flying so freely through air and the pure adrenaline rush of scoring drew me in and has kept its grip since. And it was purely fun with Fred and George as beaters. This was also the year a celebrity came to school his. Harry Potter, the boy who lived, was sorted into Gryffindor, delighting almost the entire house. He was a brave kid, to say the least, and quite a great seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Ron, the second youngest Weasley sibling also began attending this year. Similar to my first year, it went by fast, but with a lot more school drama, mostly pertaining to little Harry.
I spent half the summer vacationing with Corinne's family in Germany and the other half with my uncle. Corinne and I were growing and changing so much it was unbelievable. Yet, through it all, we remained friends. We had fun together just like the old days, ignoring the polar opposite worlds we had been dragged into.
As a third year at Hogwarts, things began to change. The twins would often have spats over things I couldn't quite understand. I specifically remember the day I tripped on my own robes and they had an all out argument over one of them tripping me, no matter how many times I insisted that neither did. Eventually they moved out of the stage of frivolous arguments, and simply began treating me differently. Fred and George constantly looked for my reassurance that their jokes were funny or would triple-check that I liked a certain type of food. Everything had to be passed by my approval.
Meanwhile, the year was growing to be a frightening one thanks to the Chamber of Secrets. Warnings written in blood began to appear on the walls, and throughout all the houses there was gossip of where the actual chamber was located. As the crisis escalated, students began getting petrified by some unknown force, and panic spread. It became dangerous for us to travel alone in the castle, or past curfew so restrictions were put in to place. However, like always, we didn't listen to the rules. I ended up paying for it.
Whilst sneaking into the Prefect's bathroom to plant stunning fireworks [the twins really had rubbed off on me way too much] I was petrified. When turning to leave, I caught the reflection of the gigantic snake on the shiny water pipes and instantly blacked out.
When I awoke from the petrifaction, my mind was lost in a daze, very confused as to the time and my current location. The twins were quickly at my side, like always, both in slight hysterics over the entire Chamber of Secrets thing. They explained to me in a frenzy the entirety of what had taken place with the Basilisk, their younger sister Ginny, the Chamber of Secrets, and Harry Potter. Those events, in my mind, had acted as a reality check for the twins, as well as myself. For the duration of the year, they went back to being their normal, chummy selves, and we ended the year as best friends, once again.
During the summer, Mr. Weasley won a contest and inevitably took the family to visit Bill, the eldest child, in Egypt and weren't to return till the end of August. During this time I missed Fred and George more than I could understand. Sure, I'd been separated from them before; the several holidays I didn't visit with their family, vacations, and time spent with other friends. But something was different. I couldn't stop thinking about them. At all.
Every little thing that happened would bring the Twins to mind, whether it be Fred or George specifically, or just a memory of being together. It was mind-boggling to have the two redheads continuously parading through my mind. Why was this starting so suddenly? Furthermore, I couldn't believe that I was staring at pictures of them, just mesmerized by how adorable they were. I felt so unbelievably awkward doing so, but regardless, I simply couldn't help it. There was just… something about them. I spent the entire summer infatuated with the twins and it was driving me crazy.
Little did I know, the worst was yet to come.
When my uncle told me he had to leave the week prior the new term to prepare for a job, I thought he might be leaving me in the house alone. I could certainly take on responsibility of getting myself to Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Express. Being 14, it was understandable.
But, I had been wrong.
Instead, my uncle had arranged for me to stay with the Weasley's until the beginning of the semester.
Sounds wonderful, right? I get to stay with the boys I've been swooning over the entire summer. Any girl's dream, yes?
No. Nonononononono.
I now had no idea how to act around the twins. How could I put on the same silly and friendly demeanor as before, when I had begun looking at them in such a different way? Hundreds of thoughts of confusion swirled within my head. Would they notice that I like them? Do they like me? I think they like me. They seemed to last year. I can't like both of them. Do I like Fred more? Do I like George more? Wouldn't going after either of them ruin our friendship? What if they don't like me that way? Should I even hint that I like them that way?
Most importantly: Why do these Goddamn hormones even exist?
Well… I guess I'll just have to… er…. Go with it. Or that's what I planned to do as I walked down the Weasley's dirt driveway towards the impossible structure that was the Burrow. I often found myself wondering how the thing even stayed standing.
When I reached the door, I didn't need to knock to have it fly open. On the other side of the threshold stood Ron Weasley holding some kind of paper in his hand.
"Colleen! I'm glad you're here!" He announced with excitement.
"That's… great?" I spoke with a bit of bewilderment. He ushered me in and grabbed my luggage with his free hand before shoving the paper in my face. I attempted to focus my eyes on the image that was centimeters away from my face. However, he snatched it back before I could barely make it out.
"Isn't it brilliant? Just because dad won the contest we got our photograph right there in the Prophet!" Ron smiled proudly at the clipping before diverting his eyes back to me. I cracked a smile and snatched the paper from him. In my hands was a moving photograph of the entire Weasley clan in front of the Giza pyramids each looking very content. Each was decked out in Egyptian style clothing, looking as though they were all ready to trail the Sahara Desert.
"It really is!" I smirked. "I think your outfits really make the photograph." I handed the photo back to Ron, who simply snickered.
"You're just mad that you didn't get to go." He tucked the photo back into his pocket and plopped down on the sofa.
"Nah," I stuck out my tongue a bit and sat down opposite him. "Like I'd want to mope around in that sand pit anyhow." That was a lie. I would have loved to go to Egypt. The entire culture of ancient Egypt fascinated me, since from what I gathered; they were one of the first organized magical societies. How else could they have built those pyramids?
"Well you shoulda came. It was annoying enough having to hear of you constantly."
"What do yo-"
"Well Blimey!"
"Look what the cat dragged in!"
So yeah, a Canon Character/OC story! Aren't they the greatest!
Well, I enjoy writing them at least. I'm trying to not make the OC to Mary Sueish and such, and I'm on an HP kick again [it goes on-again, off-again during different intervals of the year]. I'm not sure if I'll finish/continue my Hetalia fic because I'm getting kind of sick of the fandom. It's just… yeah. So I hope you enjoyed this so far though. Constructive criticism/reviews are loved!