-Chapter One-
The great, billowing steam engine chugged faster as it picked up speed, leaving Platform Nine and Three Quarters —along with its remaining stragglers— behind. Albus Severus Potter sighed, and sat back into his seat.
James had gone off somewhere, no doubt to catch up with some of his own friends from school, while leaving his nervous younger brother to guard the trunks and owls, no surprise there. But he wasn't left alone for long.
The compartment door slid open, and two identical twin girls marched in, big grins plastered to their slightly acne-scarred faces. They were rather quite pretty, like homespun cloaks that proudly showed off their knobbly flaws. They were already wearing their new school robes, and heaving their shiny blue trunks.
"How about this one?" said the one on the left.
"Yes, no one seems to be here!" said the second one, dropping her trunk in great satisfaction.
Albus looked up at the two. "Hello?" he said.
The twins acted startled, then laughed. "Hello to yourself!" they said in unison.
"You were so quiet, wasn't he, Sami?"
"Thought you were part of the wall, didn't we?" agreed the one called Sami.
The two sat opposite of Albus. Sami grinned.
"I'm Sami Warrgrott." She said
"And I'm Teresa!" added her twin happily.
"We're twins." They finished, stating the obvious.
"Er, yes," mumbled Albus. "Albus Severus Potter."
Sami and Teresa gave identical gapes at Albus. They then whispered fiercely into each others ears, making Albus feel slightly nervous to be in the company of such strange girls.
"SO!" Sami giggled. "You're THE Albus Severus Potter?!" finished Teresa, acting as if he were a long-lost celebrity of sorts.
"Y-Yes..." muttered Albus quietly.
The twins' faces cracked into wicked grins. "I feel like breaking out into song, Sami!"
"As do I, Teresa!"
The two began what seemed to be a well-rehearsed couplet:
"Albus Severus rode a bus!
He crashed into a tree and was blasted with PUS!"
They laughed, but not in a cruel manner. They seemed to find his rhyming name to be amusing.
"We know your brother." said Teresa (or was it Sami?).
"Well, not really, since we're first years too." said the other, possibly Sami.
"We're also the first of our family to go to Hogwarts."
"Well, in this generation. We're the first-borns."
"Born at the same time!"
"Since we're TWINS!" they repeated cheerily.
Their over-bubbling confidence seemed to have seeped a little into Albus as well, for he replied, "I'm the middle child. My little sister doesn't start for another two years. But I got loads of cousins on my mother's side at Hogwarts too."
The twins nodded.
"What are their names?" Sami asked. "Any in our year?"
"Well, there's my cousin Rose Weasley. Her hair's a bit reddish brown…"
The conversation between the Warrgrott twins and Albus about their families continued a while longer, but was cut short when the food trolley stopped outside of their compartment.
"Lovely, I've been feeling a bit peckish!" Teresa grinned, extracting several silver Sickles from her robe pocket.
"Licorice Wands, Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron Cakes, Chocolate Frogs…!" smiled Sami.
"You said Frogs twice, Sam!"
"That means I want double, of course!"
Albus extracted his own money from his trunk. His grandmother had insisted on giving them all sandwiches. He rather liked her cooking; his uncle had blanched at the corned beef in one of them.
He counted out eight Sickles and handed them to the trolley lady when he received his food. Sami had ended up buying a huge hoard of Chocolate Frogs.
"You collect cards, then?" Albus asked, eyeing the small mountain on Sami's lap.
"Oh, they're just the added bonus!" Sami answered, ripping off one of the Frogs' heads with her teeth.
The train rolled on through the green fields and passed the looming mountains. During this time, Albus had pulled on his own robes. He was starting to feel increasingly nervous as evening stole over the sky outside.
"Nearly there!" giggled Rose. Three hours ago, James had returned to the compartment along with their cousin Rose. She'd stayed dutifully there after James had bounced off again.
"I feel Ravenclaw will be trilling our names, Sami!" said Teresa. "Blue does seem to be our color!"
"What about you two?" Sami asked Rose and Albus. "Couplets of Ravenclaw?"
"Hufflepuff's limericks?" added Teresa wickedly.
"Gryffindor's haikus of bravery?"
"Or maybe slimy Slytherin's sad sonnets of solitude?" the twins announced together, cackling cheerfully.
The train screeched to a halt. Sami stuffed the rest of her Chocolate Frogs into her pockets and crammed the last Licorice Wand into her mouth. Teresa followed suit of her twin, and hopped out of the compartment, humming merrily. Rose waited for her cousin as he sorted out his sweets. He watched his and James' owls reluctantly; would someone bring them in?
"They won't leave them to starve, Al!" James smirked, who'd swung through the door, as though reading his brother's mind. "Hurry up, then! I heard they leave stragglers behind! And if you aren't Sorted before the night's over, they send you home!"
Albus knew James had to be joking, but he felt anxious anyway. Rose smiled at him.
"Firs' years ove' 'ere!" boomed the voice of a large man in a moleskin coat. Albus jumped when he saw the sight of him. He would've run off in the opposite direction if he hadn't known that his father was friends with this man. His incredible height and vastness was intimidating.
James grinned, and pushed Albus over to the group of other first years, winked mischievously, and ran over to the horseless carriages. Albus gulped nervously. The twins were just in front of him, holding hands.
"Over here, Albus!" shouted Teresa, reaching behind her and grabbed a fistful of his robes. He stumbled ahead a few steps before standing next to her.
"Everyone 'ere?" the giant man, Hagrid, called. "Yes? Come on then!"
They walked over to the edge of a vast, black lake. Its surface trembled as a small group of wooden boats glided over to the first years. Albus, Rose, Sami and Teresa got a boat to themselves.
They sailed quietly up to towards the great, massive castle. They all looked up in awe. Albus's hands shook slightly, but more from excitement than from lack of nerves.
Soon after, the little boats bumped up against the land. The small group clambered out, while Hagrid waited patiently. Once they were all assembled, they made their way up to the front doors of Hogwarts. Hagrid knocked firmly three times.