Fred boarded the train with the casual confidence that was his father and uncle's legacy. As a Weasley, he had a lot to live up to, but he was determined to be as talented as all his uncles and aunts combined.
"Over here!" Louis Weasley called, beckoning to a train compartment. Fred smiled and started to move towards his cousin. Entering the compartment, she sat down next to Louis and across from Molly Weasley, both a year older than he.
"Excited for your first trip to Hogwarts?" asked Molly with a smile. She knew that Fred had been able to talk about nearly nothing else since school letters had arrived weeks prior.
"Remember how we acted, Mol?" laughed Louis. "Terrified about the Sorting every minute of the way."
Fred felt a little twinge somewhere in the region of his navel. He didn't know which House he wanted to be in. Not Hufflepuff, for sure. Hufflepuffs were nice people, and all, but Fred wanted to be someone more...interesting. And despite the family legacy- nearly all of his aunts and uncles had been in Gryffindor- being the same as everyone else had never been his style. Slytherins seemed like a shifty lot, and not the kind of crowd he wanted to associate with. Ravenclaw looked like the only available option, but Fred didn't know a single person in Ravenclaw that he could be friends with.
Molly and Louis talked in the background as Fred contemplated this. Suddenly, he stood up.
"I'm going to get something from the snack trolley," he announced.
"But she's sure to come by any minute!" protested Louis.
"Yeah, well...I just want to get some air."
"Oh. Okay then," Louis said with a shrug.
By then the door had already closed behind Fred's retreating form.
Fred leaned against the wall in the corridor and closed his eyes. He had come to Hogwarts with dreams of being talented, clever, and popular: the latest and best edition of the Weasley family. But now his doubts began to overwhelm his high hopes. How could he astonish everyone with his talent when he didn't even know what House he wanted to be in?
"Psst. Hey!" came a voice from somewhere to Fred's left. "What are you doing standing in the corridor like that?"
Fred opened his eyes and beheld another boy, about his height, with blond hair that he had cropped short. His eyes were alight with curiosity, or perhaps mischief, and he moved from foot to foot as if he couldn't bear to stand still.
"I mean, if you want to stand in the corridor that's your business and all, you just looked kinda..." His voice trailed off as if unable to find the word for how exactly Fred looked.
"My name's Corbin. Corbin Boot," he stated helpfully.
"I'm Fred Weasley," Fred supplied.
"Really? As in the Weasleys? Our parents must have known each other. Mine were both in Dumbledore's Army back during the war. Terry Boot and Susan Bones."
"I've heard of them both. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, right?"
"Yep. You'll be a Gryffindor, I suppose?"
Fred shrugged noncommittally. "I guess we'll find out soon enough."
"That's true," Corbin nodded. "Can we go sit in a compartment? It's chilly out here."
Fred tried to cover his surprise at being invited anywhere. "Sure, yeah, it is kinda cold."
As they walked to Corbin's compartment at the back of the train, Fred felt himself stand a little taller. Maybe Hogwarts wouldn't be so bad after all.
Not ten minutes after the two sat down, the train lurched, coming to a screeching halt in what Fred assumed to be the Hogsmeade station. He leapt out of his seat, eyes alight. "Let's go, Corbin!" The two boys practically ran to the doors, pushing whomever they needed to get onto the platform.
"Firs' years! Firs' years this way! All firs' years!" A deep voice boomed across the station, and both boys headed towards it.
"That must be Hagrid!" Fred said excitedly. "He's been the groundskeeper for ages."
Corbin didn't reply, instead grabbing Fred's arm and forging ahead to the front of the group. Two boys, obviously twins, glared at Fred and Corbin when they pushed past, and Fred shrugged a silent apology. They turned away as one, hostility pouring from their every movement.
"Who are those two?" he wondered aloud.
"Them? They're Owen and Ivor Avery. Nasty boys. I saw them in Flourish and Blott's, asking the manager for books about dangerous curses." He shook his head. "Bet they're wishing they'd been born twenty years ago, so they could be Death Eaters like their old man."
Fred and Corbin were quickly distracted by a booming shout. "Into th' boats, now! Quick, yeh don' wanna miss supper!" They jumped into the nearest boat, practically tipping it over in their enthusiasm. Behind them came a girl with strawberry blond hair, her school robes meticulously arranged and her eyes calmly watching Hagrid for further instructions.
Corbin openly stared, and only Fred had the presence of mind to introduce them.
"Hello! I'm Fred Weasley, and this here's Corbin Boot." He gave her his most winning smile. "What's your name?"
The girl looked at him rather stiffly. "I'm Lucy Abbott." She offered no further explanation, and sat with her hands in her lap and her back straight on the seat of the boat.
Fred bobbed his head affably, and all three faced forward as the boats began to move. They glided noiselessly across the lake, leaving not a ripple to show where they had been. The night had grown dark, and a light breeze skimmed across the surface, ruffling Fred's hair. Without any warning, the immense towers of Hogwarts castle appeared in front of them, and the gasps of the first years could be heard all around them. Lights flickered in all the windows, and it looked so very majestic and regal that Fred suddenly felt his eyes prickle, even though he hadn't cried since he was eight. He shook his head to clear it as the boats softly thumped against the dock closest to the huge doors to the castle.