Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and the likes, J.K. Rowling is a genius. I do, however, own the plot, Olivia, and her family. This goes for all of the other chapters ;D
My mother, hazel eyes glistening with tears, started to choke up as she hugged me and handed me some more quills. "Be careful not to break or lose anything, Oli. I know you too well." And with that I chuckled, hugged her for the millionth time, and trotted off towards the bus now billowing with steam, crowded with similar exchanges from children and their parents.
Unfortunately only my mom was with me today, but I loved her dearly. She wasn't strong enough to handle the departure on her own, but I give her credit for nearly staying put together while the train was still in the station. My father would have been there, but he was caught up in Bulgaria negotiating a few terms with the Bulgarian Ministry of Magic. He was almost never home so it was a rarity when I was able to see his dark brown eyes looking back at me while he ruffled my long hair. When he was home, though, he really made up for his absences. He would take me out for ice cream in Diagon Alley, teach me everything he knew about Quidditch (trust me, it took me awhile), and, when no one in the ministry was paying attention, teach me a couple spells to keep me ahead of the game at Hogwarts. My mom would always watch as we were running around pretending we were dragons, smiling to herself and probably remembering her father. Those were some of the best times I've ever had. They really did the best they possibly could with me.
The truth was, unfortunately, I was a no one. I'd never be the kind of person to stand out in a crowd. My mom fervently tried to change this about me by buying me expensive clothes, bright colors (which would totally end up washing me out), and flashy jewelry, but nothing would really do the trick. I was still just average Olivia.
It was finally the time for me to go off to Hogwarts and stay completely average, and probably end up in Hufflepuff like my brother, Caden, told me I would be. I really wish he was here to help me at least figure out where to sit instead of randomly wandering around on my own. Caden used to go to Hogwarts, but he was so hard to manage that he was soon transferred to Durmstrang in the middle of his second term first year. My parents were furious that they had to resort to sending him there, but since he's doing so well, he has a fraction of a scholarship so it's not as terrible. He was somehow a Gryffindor, although I would have guessed him being a Slytherin because he was so mean to me.
I couldn't delay getting on the bus much longer, so I hopped in through an open door and found the first carriage I saw and plopped myself down on the seat. It was empty, and I liked that. I set my trunk down with me and started to take out some parchment to write with. I always liked writing, so the thought of being alone on a train to a new school sparked some ideas for a short story or a poem and I had to record them before they were far-gone. I was half a page into my poem when someone began to pound on the door. My head immediately shot up and I found myself staring into the baby blue eyes of a rather tall boy with flaming red hair and a devilish smirk. He slid open the door and slammed it shut and sat down with his hand covering the side of his face visible through the door.
"Can I help you?" I asked rather sarcastically, I've been picking up on the sarcasm I've been learning from Caden.
The redhead developed an even bigger grin. "I'll only be here for a moment, just taking a moments break from what I was doing." He winked and I felt my cheeks grow warm.
"Well, okay. I'm Olivia, by the way." Secret goal accomplished, I actually talked to a stranger. Definitely something I needed to write down, I was damn proud of myself.
"Fred. Charmed, I'm sure." His voice went up on the latter and he held out his hand for me to kiss. I laughed and shoved it away while he gave me a puppy dog face. "Shoot, I've got to go. Don't miss me too much, darling." He winked again and quickly ran out, leaving me as confused as ever. After a few minutes I started to question if this actually happened, or if this was something I was imagining while falling asleep. My eyelids started to droop down as I thought of the possibility of the dream and I drifted off to sleep.
"You awake?" a boy sat down poking me in the shoulder. My eyes opened and I saw the redhead was back, but he was wearing a different shirt. Weird.
"I am now." I muttered as I sat up and adjusted myself so I was sitting on my left foot. "Are you really back so soon?"
"Back so soon…? OH. So he WAS here." His eyes lit up with excitement and he hopped up from his seat. What was he talking about, though?
"What in the name of Merlin are you talking about?" I looked at him begging for an answer; my expression seemed to make him laugh, which frustrated me.
Between chuckles, the redhead let out, "No no no, that wasn't me, that was Fred. I'm," he motioned to himself with a big gesture, "George. We're twins." He continued to laugh some more.
After growing up with an older brother, I naturally assume that what people say isn't the truth. Obviously this boy was just trying to mess with my head because I looked vulnerable, and I wasn't going to take his crap. I've put up with too much over the summer already, being taunted by my brother about how I'm going to be sorted into Hufflepuff. No frigging way was this how I was going to be treated at Hogwarts. I had a new slate and I intended on using it.
"Oh, sure. That wasn't me before, either. That was my twin Albus Dumbledore!" I said and jeered in his face.
His laughter immediately stopped and he became as serious as could be. Yeah, like a ginger could be completely serious. "Honest to Merlin, Fred and I are completely separate people. We're identical twins." He emphasized the identical part, which irked me a little bit, but I let it slide. I could tell that in his eyes he was being completely truthful with me.
"Alright, I'll let it slide this time, but don't let me catch you trying to pull something on me, Red." I don't know where all of my newfound confidence was coming from, but I liked it. I thought I'd throw in something I learned earlier from his brother and wink, which he found slightly shocking.
"I underestimated you, errm, Brown." The word brown was said with sort of a question, showing his lack of a nickname countering Red. I must have caught him off guard with my wink.
I laughed at his attempt at a comeback. "Call me Olivia, George."
He smiled at me and got up to leave. "Time to go find that weasel of a brother I call Fred." As quickly as he arrived, he was gone, and I heard from the bustle of people outside that it was time to get dressed and head off to Hogwarts. I changed into my robe (it happened to be wee bit big on me), grabbed my stuff, and departed from the train. I heard someone calling over the first years, so I sauntered over to where he was. I've heard about him from my brother, his name was Hagrid. He was half giant and totally frightening, but apparently "such a wimp" according to Caden.
After only a second of being on the cold, hard ground, I felt some sort of a pressure on my left shoulder. Turning my head over, I was able to tell that it was one of the twins, but I had no idea which one it was, so I pretended to remember his name. Apparently, though, my loss for words was pretty obvious and my plan was foiled.
"It's Fred, but I can't see how you could possibly forget my lovely face." He struck a pose, but it wasn't rather impressive due to the fact that his elbow was still leaning on my shoulder. While I laughed at him, I heard something counter his actions on my other side.
"I told you I wasn't lying." The other redhead was standing next to me, his arms crossed, a smirk on his face. This one must be George. I looked back and forth at both of them. There were a few differences between them. George had these lovely baby blue eyes that I adored, while Fred's eyes were a gorgeous dark blue. Their smiles were slightly different, but I just think that was due to the degree of happiness, perhaps. George had the cuter smile and better eyes. I smiled at him in agreement.
Fred interjected the exchange. "Sorry, Georgie, but we were friends first. Also, I don't mean to brag, but I'm the more attractive twin." His smirk turned into a beam as he stared down his twin brother.
"What does that matter?" I asked, feeling rather out of place. Back home, this never would have happened, I doubt I've ever talked to a boy other than my brother for more than a few sentences, let alone two of them. Yet, there they were, carbon copies of each other on either side of me.
Hagrid's booming voice broke up our conversation and we all immediately directed our attention towards him. "Firs' years, get with a part'ner and we'll paddle across th' lake." That's what they were talking about.
"Dibs." George grabbed my arm and started fast walking over towards a boat and placing me in it. Fred was caught off guard by George's quick actions and was left partnering up with a shy young girl who looked like she would be frightened by her own shadow. Pretty much me two hours ago. I still had no idea why I was so sure of my self and I was so different, but I wasn't going to question it. I was just going to go with it and see where it takes me.
The boat ride over was pleasant, George did most of the work and his eyes sparked in the light of the lantern that I was holding, which I also didn't mind. We talked for a while and shared a bit about our upbringings, nothing too deep. Apparently he had six siblings (including Fred), which was a lot compared to my measly one brother. George's eyes lit up as I talked about Caden, who he has apparently heard of. The words "idol" and "master" were mentioned, but I chose to ignore them.
Before we knew it we were across the lake and entering the doors of the Great Hall.
Time flew as I drifted off into space staring at the enchanted ceiling, and suddenly names were beginning to be called for sorting.
"Weasley, Fred."
The redhead who I didn't share a boat with strutted up to the stage with a confident air and sat down while the tattered hat was placed on his head.
"Another Weasley? Peculiar family. Determination, humor, and heart. Better be GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted and Fred beamed while walking down to the table where he sat next to someone who I presumed was his brother.
"Weasley, George."
He was standing next to me and I gave him a big grin before he took the walk over towards the stool and had the hat put on him.
"Just like your brother, I see. Determination, humor, and bravery. A little bit stubborn, might I add. I know just where to place you. GRYFFINDOR!" Although he didn't look it, I could tell he was a bit worried, but all of that faded away as he skipped towards his twin and they exchanged their secret handshake.
Oh gosh, it was nearing the end of the list and I knew my name was coming up. My palms started to get sweaty as I prayed that the sorting hat wouldn't put me in Hufflepuff like my brother said it would. Was he just saying that or did he really mean it? Ahh, I have no idea. If I go into Hufflepuff, what will become of me? Will I get to ever see my new friends? WHAT WILL HAPPEN?
My reverie was broken as my name was called. "Zerrian, Olivia." I nervously walked up to the stool and sat down, pretending that nobody was paying attention to me. Who am I kidding, they all were. I really don't like it when that many people stare at me, it almost never happens. I'm not noticeable.
"Hmm, I don't know about this one. Very loyal," that's a trait of Hufflepuff, oh no. "But it seems as if she could rise to the occasion with proper training. Brilliant, but humble about it." What was it talking about? I'm pretty much the opposite of brilliant. "Better be," moment of truth, what was going to happen? Why was there such a long pause? Were they just going to kick me out of school because I'm not good enough for any of the houses? "GRYFFINDOR!" My heart dropped and I nearly fainted with glee as I joined my new housemates at the Gryffindor table. Please tell me this wasn't a mistake.
A/N: WOOOH. Please review/comment/etc (: I'm also posting this story on hpff, so if it looks familiar, that's why ;D