Chapter 1
"Hogwarts"
The whistle blasted dismissing the silence held within the portal, smothering the young girl's sharp intake of breath as it reverberated around the already immensely crowded platform. She squinted through the steam-clogged air. This was the moment the last four weeks of her life had been leading up to. This was the moment. The moment that would begin the rest of her life.
Swallowing the brick sized lump that had materialized in her throat she took her fist precautious steps along the platform, strangely titled "Platform one and three quarters". But she had come to expect this. Her quest for the strange list of school supplies had already claimed witness to her introduction of "magic". Alas, she had taken to it quite quickly; it almost seemed that this had always been a large part of her. A part of which, she could not have previously grasped until the arrival of that letter, the one of which proclaimed her freedom.
Whilst lost within thoughts such as these her trolley caught its higgledy bent wheels upon that of another and much more crowded trolley. The collision sent both trolleys skidding to an abrupt halt. Four wizards turned to face her, their eyebrows raised almost to the hair line.
"Oh…I…it..." she stammered feebly.
But there were no repercussions; they merely beamed at her whilst the father proclaimed, in a rather loud voice
"No trouble at all! These will come apart in a jiff" and with one swift movement he had separated the wreck chatting amiably about muggles and their amazing attempts at transportation. Two sets of sparkling green eyes grinned back at her, their faces as identical as their scarlet hair. Flushed at the thought of her ignorance, she flashed them a smile. Or as good of a smile as she could muster.
"Is this your first time dear?" The plump women asked. She had a kind face, the girl thought as she stammered a reply.
"Oh, y...Yes! First time for everything actually".
"Your muggle born then?" one of the boys piped up, sliding out from behind his mothers waist.
"I suppose. I mean...well yes" The words caught in her throat. Was this bad? She had learned whilst purchasing her robes that some wizards looked down upon muggles and those who were born to them.
"Of course not!" Chimed the father at once, "Muggles create the most interesting things. Have you used that of electricity? I've been studying it recently and have fou..."
"Arthur!" He was cut short by the kind faced woman giving him a begrudging look. "She doesn't need to hear about that now! It's almost eleven o'clock! The train will be leaving! Quick you two" She indicated to the two boys "Grab your trunks! No, now seriously boys!" The boys, attempting to pull the trunk in two different directions, were chided into the carriage by their mother.
Turning to grasp the handles of her own trunk, she was surprised to see the father breezing in to lift it for her.
"Now, let me get this for you!" He shuffled away towards the same carriage his sons had just occupied and plunked her trunk inside. She attempted to follow but was intercepted by the mother placing at least five sandwiches in her hands.
"For the trip dear, Its Fred and George's first time too! You're more then welcome to share their carriage! Right boys!" this last part was directed towards her sons and seemed more of an order governed by a fleeting death stare rather than a polite request. The boys replied with lop sided grins.
"Mother, I am appalled! Of course we're not going to throw a lady out on the cold cement station!" One of them clutched their chest in fake shock whilst the other feigned reassurance by patting him on the back.
This is going to be a long train ride she thought.
The station was long gone when her attention was diverted from the window. The boys had just wandered back into the compartment red faced and looking suspiciously excited.
"Can you believe his face!" one yelled, jumping onto the opposite seat.
"I know!" the other chorused plopping down next to him "Serves him right though". They grinned at one another nodding.
"What's your name then?" one asked turning towards her. "We never got to ask before. Had to sort out Percy, he's our brother. Bit of a bonehead really."
She grinned back despite herself.
"I'm Evelyn" she replied, holding out her hand "Evelyn Mathews". Both boys grasped her hand at once
"Fred" piped the one opposite and then pointed to his brother "And that's George. You may not be aware of this, not many people are. But we're actually twins!" They all burst out laughing which was abruptly cut short, when the compartment door was slid back by a very cross looking third year.
"Oh hullo Percy" Smiled George.
"Yes fancy seeing you here" Added Fred. Percy's face was rigged, the boys seemed quite unaware of this however, as they continued to chat asking for his opinion on the weather this time of year.
"I have never been so humiliated in my entire life!" Percy whispered fiercely, slamming to door shut behind him.
"Oh please" George replied "don't you remember the time when…" he was cut short by Percy's furious gaze. Evelyn felt herself sinking lower into the seat as Percy's eyes surveyed the tiny compartment eventually resting on her.
"Oh ah" he stammered "hi. Well I'd best be off then" he's cheeks turning a violent shade of red. "Much to do!" with that he turned and hurried off, throwing nervous glances over his shoulder.
"What was that all about?" she asked the boys who were stifling their laughter in their cloaks.
"Oh Percy's just being Percy!" Fred laughed shaking his head. "I mean just because he's precious little teddy Pudding accidentally fell out of its case on a girls head, he feels the need to come yell at us. I mean really!"
Evelyn doubted very much that Pudding, the teddy, fell out of its case by its own means and instead turned her attention towards the sloping landscape outside.
The city had been replaced with vast windy fields, occasionally spotted with herds of tired looking cows. Where exactly was Hogwarts? She found herself thinking. After she had received her letter she had spent hours searching through books and maps. But there was no mention of it anywhere.
"It'll be a while yet I'd imagine" George said, reading her expression. "Bill says it takes all day, right Fred?"
"Yeah" Fred answered a twinkle in his eye "Fancy a game of snap?"
Hours, and many games of snap, later (the twins were still shaking their heads in disbelief from when Evelyn informed them that in muggle snap the cards didn't explode) the train began to slow. There was a mad rush to pull on school robes and hats, some of which were very squashed and checking under seats to find fallen sweets and discarded shoes. Hordes of students swarmed onto the station, Evelyn and the twins following. There was a lot of confusion and prodding, Evelyn was just about to ask the nearest student for directions when a voice carried over the clamor.
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! C'mon now follow me! Mind yer step!" The largest man Evelyn had ever seen was beckoning them over. His face was hidden behind a mane of dark hair and fluffy beard. She gave a startled look towards Fred who pushed her along in reply. George ran along beside them and they soon found themselves at the edge of a huge lake, nestled beyond was a most magnificent site. A castle sat atop a hill, its many turrets and towers gleaming in the moonlight. The site took Evelyn's breath away, and seemingly everyone else's; even the Weasley twins were silent. So this, she thought, was Hogwarts.