My body tossed and turned against the bed. The room radiated silence apart from Lily's heavy breathing from the other bed. In the end, I knew sleep would evade me no matter how hard I tried to find a comfortable position. Hastily, I crept across the room desperate to find the hidden door lurking in the dark. In minutes my hand clasped tightly around the cold sting of the handle, of course the door decided it was an excellent time to creak so I had to open the door a couple of inches at a time. Lily remained asleep but after every small noise the door emitted she released an exasperated sigh which scared me half to death. I tip toed down the stairs and reached the kitchen, a lantern sat on the table and once lit guided me through the realms of the house. The corridors where unfamiliar to me in the gloom, doors that I thought where there vanished and obstacles that I knew to avoid had conveniently relocated so they could cause the most injuries. One extremely heavy umbrella stand crossed my path causing me to mutter several colourful curses under my breath. Seconds later I had convinced myself my foot was broken and stumbled into the nearest door I could find to see the damage.
The dim glow of the candle extended its reaches to the corner of the front room. The walls were bare except for a family tree on one wall. The tree looked older than the portraits of the people, I guessed someone must have added them later or maybe replaced former relations on a previous tree. From branch to branch my family tree expanded to cover the entire wall. The top began with three separate branches, Weasley, Granger and Potter. As my eyes descended they hung on the image of myself. The same curly brown hair as my mum, blue eyes like my dad and the invincible smirk all the kids seems to possess. My fingers curved with the branches leading to my spot. Remember everything changes tomorrow. I have nothing left to worry about. I can be a hero.
Time flashed by and as soon as I had shut my eyes Lily seemed to be shouting at me to get ready. Today is finally the day. We got dressed and raced downstairs to join the surge of voices, breakfast was already waiting for us and in seconds we had both devoured the contents of the plate. I had been ready for this since I was eight, Teddy joined that year in honour of his parents Remus and Tonks who died for this cause. He seemed completed, like his purpose had been given to him. That's all I wanted. In my sixteen years any form of fate or purpose had bypassed me and any dreams I chased ended in the same discouraging dead-end. Either way none of them replicated that look I saw on Teddy's face, but deep down I knew nothing could. Finally, we all assembled in the front room. Albus and I took our positions in front of Harry and Ron, we glanced at each other and laughed at the beaming smiles mirrored on one another's faces. Harry walked to the cabinet at the back of the room, tapped it with his wand and came back with arms full to the brim with objects. He laid them down on the table before us, they consisted of a scroll, two golden galleons and a phoenix feather. The sunlight touched the galleons sending spirals of light around the room. Each pair of eyes were locked tightly on Harry, anticipating the start of our ceremony into the Order of the Phoenix.
The scroll unfurled and Harry's voice rang clear as he recited words that had remained unchanged for years.
"The Order of the Phoenix , founded by Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, protects both muggles and magical people alike. At all times act with discretion, as secret keepers you are trusted to contain this knowledge between the people present. If danger ever presents itself you must do your best to secure the safety of anyone at risk, the order exists to fight for a just cause. Do you wish to join this organisation?"
"I do." We chimed.
"Will you uphold the values and stay loyal to the Order?"
"We will."
Ron lifted the red feather from the table and gently held it in the air. Then, Albus and I touched the feather with a finger tip. I always loved this bit because the truly worthy will cause the feather to flicker gold. We waited anxiously for the light to glimmer, moments passed and nothing changed. After what felt like a lifetime, the feather finally shimmered a golden glow. A relieved sigh echoed around the four walls. Ron then stepped up and took the two golden galleons from the table.
"This will always allow you to contact the Order, or let us contact you if the Order needs you."
We were presented with our galleons and I rolled mine in my palm. There is no greater sense of pride than following in your families footsteps and carrying on their legacy. Instantly, I felt more worthy of the name Weasley. The same tree that I poured over last night caught my attention, the faint picture of me seemed to belong there now. Just like Teddy, completion filled me to the brim. People surrounded us, hugging us and congratulating us. I held on to every moment of my elation.
The last days of summer rolled by, with each day getting progressively bleaker. Soon the house was only occupied with Lily's family and mine. Now the house had drastically decreased occupancy, the return to Hogwarts was becoming all too real. On the final day, Lily and I spent the day packing the supplies we got from Diagon Alley. The galleon from my ceremony sat, carefully wrapped in socks, at the bottom of my trunk. When my mind cleared it wandered off to that little piece of gold. To me, it was a constant reassurance that this was all real, giving me hope that one day I'd be great too. In the evening we all sat in the living room, the fire roared with life just like the conversation - for once. As always they drifted off into a wild story of their younger years, some crazy fragmented sentences stood out. For bedtime stories when Hugo and I were younger we used to hear their tales and love them, it had been such a long time since we heard one.
"I still can't believe you almost turned into a cat!" Ron wailed.
"Oh don't remind me, that tail was a nightmare." Hermione giggled as she blushed vividly.
"We were trouble from the start. How we managed to not get expelled is a miracle!" Harry added.
"Can you tell us a story? Like, one that isn't just your inside jokes." James said.
"Okay, how about the time Umbridge took over the school and we formed a secret army to prepare ourselves to break into the Ministry of Magic?" Ginny replied.
It had always amazed me how each year my parents got into some kind of whirlwind adventure, they always told me that I was lucky not to be wrapped up in political chaos but sometimes I wish my life had been like theirs - exciting, dangerous and heroic.
Morning was almost as crazy as the story we heard last night. People flew from floor to floor loaded with owls and last minute additions to their bags. The boys decided that the house needed even more anarchy so mounted their trunks and raced down the stairs. They learned their lesson. The trunks exploded open when they hit the ground floor and Albus smashed his glasses - this little stunt delayed us half an hour. When everyone was finally ready we loaded the cars and drove to King's Cross Station.
We hustled through the crowd dragging trunks and various wildlife. Naturally, muggles shot astonished looks at us but you get used to it. Besides, muggles used to confuse me. They always look like they have somewhere to go or a place to be. Anyone who lives by such a tight schedule is strange to me, it's probably because without magic most tasks take longer. The wall between 9 and 10 looked the same as always, red bricked and unsuspecting. Harry always insisted that he went first to check it was open. He never explained why but I remember a story about him and Ron crashing into the wall when they were late, resulting in their theft of a flying car and several muggle sightings. My favourite thing about the journey to Hogwarts was this small passageway. It seemed so ordinary, however behind the surface lies a magical world of wonder, it is the very centre of two worlds colliding. At a quick pace I pushed my trolley through the wall, within seconds my feet were strolling along Platform 9 3/4. The Hogwarts Express obediently waited for the students to climb aboard.
Hundreds of students littered the platform saying goodbyes to their relatives. In the distance, a girl with light brown hair was chasing a tawny coloured cat through the groups of people. I turned to my family, Ron had just finished loading our trunks and Pluto on to the train and Hermione was fastening Hugo's coat buttons.
"Now make sure you two write this year, we want to hear everything! Try not to get into any trouble, take care of yourselves and remember we love you." Hermione said.
Her two arms wrapped tightly around me and I pressed my head against her shoulder.
"We'll be fine mum, we always are." I said.
"Oh kids I almost forgot, keep those galleons safe and don't show anyone who's not in the order." Ron remarked over the noise from the train.
We wrapped up our goodbyes and boarded the train, immediately we all stuck our heads out the window in a compartment. Steam erupted from the front as we moved off from the platform. I saw Hermione waving rapidly among the crowd with Ginny by her side wiping a stray tear. That's when my attention turned to Ron, hanging back talking to someone with familiar blonde hair, then they vanished from my view. I pulled my head out of the window and sat down.
Our compartment was always full to the point of suffocation. James, Albus, Hugo, Lily enjoyed the ability to move while we could. Then the entire entourage assembled outside the door. Eventually my shoulders were pushed together so much that I felt like I was being compressed. James, Albus and Hugo sat on one side whilst Lily, Lucy, Roxanne and I squished together. We usually stayed together for most of the journey then towards the end separate to find our house friends. As descendants of the Potter and Weasley family you would expect us all to be in Gryffindor, but that's not what the sorting hat announced. In our generation, James and I were the only ones to get into Gryffindor, everyone else had been dispersed into the other houses. Despite our separation we stayed close, it was rare if we didn't see each other on a daily basis.
The hills rolled by as we rolled along the bridge, that was the signal. I got up to leave and everyone except Lily, Lucy and Hugo followed. Slowly, our group thinned as we traveled down the train. About halfway down the train I found the compartment I had searched for, I said goodbye to the others and opened the door. Arms grabbed me into a tight hug, I hugged back happy to see them after a whole summer. When they let go, a girl with jet black hair and another with mousy brown hair beamed at me. These were my two best friends in Gryffindor. Blair, who owned the glossy black hair, smiled boisterously at me whilst Abigail (or as we called her, Abby) looked as lively as ever. Chocolate frogs jumped around clinging to the windows accompanied by rejected Bertie Bott's every flavour beans which were scattered on the floor. We spent the rest of the train journey catching up before we changed into our robes and got off the Hogwarts Express. People emptied on the platform, despite not wanting to go back, this part I actually was looking forward to.
Every year there was a different way to get to the castle, we always tried to guess but so far no one had got it right. The minutes passed by without interruption, apart from James and Leo (his partner in crime) finding us. Just when we began to wonder what was happening Hagrid steps on the far end of the platform summoning everyone to follow him. After a brief walk we arrived at the edge of the lake where circular boats hung in the water. Hagrid grouped people into the boats suspended on the glossy lake. In seconds of us sitting down the boats glided forward, at first I had no idea how but then I saw the water changing shape in front of the boat. As usual no one guessed this right. Hagrid had yet again surprised all of us. A dolphin made of silver was pulling the boat. The castle glowed from the windows with candle light. My heart sank to the bottom of the lake, another uneventful year. When the slope to the lake came closer the dolphin pulling the boat changed to a silver horse dragging the boat along the lake bed. Mental note: find out what on earth they are.
Through the wooden doors, past the entrance hall and we ended up in the Great Hall, the four tables looked majestic under their house colours. The five of us took our places on the bench of the Gryffindor table. Silver plates adorned the table with empty goblets at their side. Soon they would be filled with colossal amounts of food, my stomach roared at the thought so I banished it from my mind. Instead I searched the neighbouring tables. Hugo, Lucy and Lily were frantically laughing at the Ravenclaw table from Lucy poking herself in the eye with her wand. Albus was sat with his friends in Slytherin and Roxanne was a little further down chatting ecstatically with her friends. My gaze returned to our table, a few people to my right was the blonde boy who frequented my thoughts, Scorpius with Caleb (his wing man). Feuds usually exist between houses, however it's rare to find an ongoing battle within the houses. In Gryffindor this was the case, Leo and Caleb will not go near each other which only widens the drift between us and them - anyway his best friend is a Malfoy isn't that enough for James?
Once the students settled down the doors opened and a group of trembling first years walked down the centre led by Professor Flitwick. Each individual wore the same look of amazement while simultaneously afraid, as me when I first entered the magical Great Hall. One girl pointed to the ceiling towards the bewitched floating candles. The sorting hat and stool was moved just in front of the teacher's table and the first years lined up. As a first year I hated the sorting hat, it was to decided the entire course of my life with only my thoughts to persuade it and on top of that it is a damn talking hat! The creases in the hat formed eyes and a mouth and the front half of the line fell back. Then, as always, it began it's carefully crafted song.
"I will decide to which house you belong,
But each year I choose to deliver a song.
My message is one that you must hear,
As it affects you all in the upcoming year.
New powers will try to seize control,
To regain for them what was once stole.
This time hope will be on a different side,
Trials will be enforced that all must abide.
Danger awaits those who want to fight,
and they must determine the dark from the light.
Remember the real battle is not within,
It's against the one hunting the heroes kin."
The first years walked up one by one to be sorted into a house, once they settled down at their new tables our headmistress, Professor McGonagall stood up to make her annual speech in honour of the new school year.
"Welcome to the start of another promising school year at Hogwarts. Announcements first, after four years Professor Klaw, our defense against the dark arts teacher, has decided to retire early to pursue a career in dragon taming. Please welcome our replacement teacher, Professor Dumbledore."
Everyone's head shot around the room in confusion and horror. I half expected to see the ghost of the famed headmaster stand up from the designated chair, however I saw a face I recognised from the Order. Aberforth, the younger brother of Albus Dumbledore. He gingerly stood up and all of my family applauded loudly. I couldn't think of anyone else more suited to the job. After the gasping died down, the headmistress carried on with her speech.
"This year marks the tribute to the Triwizard Tournament held 22 years ago. As a school we will be honouring the games with a celebration of our own, which has yet to be decided by the Ministry. As you all know, we lost an admirable student named Cedric Diggory. The staff and I collectively feel that to not pay homage to him would be a direct insult to his family and memory. Remember to cherish the life you have, to honour those who have lost it and to protect those you love. Enjoy your meal!" Her words drifted through the air as the plates suddenly filled with foods that I could only dream of. We shoveled huge amounts of into our mouths and only stopping to draw air in. I tried to forget the song I had heard because I knew it would haunt me for the waking hours of the days to come and luckily with the appearance of dessert it was banished from my mind.
I had so much fun writing this one, any thoughts are greatly appreciated and thank you for reading.
