Chapter Two: Starting Friendships
It was exactly one week later when I found myself in an unfamiliar place. Lee had just taken me to Diagon Alley, some sort of wizarding shopping square, and everything amazed me. The night of last week, my new family had sat me down at the kitchen table and explained everything to me.
It had been a long conversation, and I don't want to confuse people with the details, so I'll try to some it all up. Basically(if you caould even say that), my parents were both magical. Magical in the sense of witches and wizards. And I'm a witch too. They tried to protect me from the start of a war in the wizarding world and started a new life as "muggles". Those are none magical people I think. And now I am to attend a special magic school Hogwarts where I will spend my remaining years of school learning there. So the past week was spent with us getting school supplies after a weird letter had been sent to us by owl.
The Jordans are wizards too. Or at least Lee and Mr. Jordan are. Mrs. Jordan is a... muggle. And that about sums it up. They told me there would be more to learn, but those answers could wait. And that brings us to one week later, where Lee and I are enjoying a couple of butterbeers and waiting for his friends to show up.
"So this is an interesting looking pub." I said to Lee. He took a large gulp of his butterbeer.
"Yeah, it's pretty good in here. I can't wait for you to meet Fred and George. I wonder where they are anyway? I thought they said they'd be here." He looked around the room from our corner table. "Wait, I think I see Ron and Harry." He turned to me again. "That's the Golden Trio over there. The bushy haired is Hermione, the red head is Ron, Fred and George's younger brother, and the black haired is Harry Potter." He whispered the final name to me like it was a huge secret.
I stared at Lee and asked, "Am I supposed to know him?"
"Oh that's right, you wouldn't know. Sorry." Lee gave a sluggish smile. "You know about the war right? He-who-must-not-be-named wanting to take over? Well Harry's the one who's supposed to stop him."
"But he can't be much older than... fourteen!" I whispered harshly. Who in their right mind would make him fight a monster?
"He's actually thirteen, but the age doesn't really mat-" Lee was suddenly cut off by a loud voice shouting out.
"Harry!" A tall red-headed boy shouted. He bowed deeply to Harry, a lot like what Lee did last week to his mother. "Simply splendid to see you, old boy-"
"Marvelous," said an identical red head, pushing his twin away and grabbing Harry's hand. "Absolutely spiffing." A different red-head with glasses on scowled at the both of them. Wow, how many red-headed people am I gonna see today? Oh wait, there's a girl.
"That's Fred and George. They're the loud ones." Lee explained. We faced the large group again just in time to see one of the twins grab an older red headed woman's hand.
"Mum! How really corking to see you." The one said. The family then went into a conversation that was too quiet for me and Lee to hear anymore, so Lee proposed that we go and see them. We both chugged the rest of our drinks, which wasn't a lot since it tasted so good, and left our seats to meet them. And I got to say, after seing that little show a moment ago, I can't wait to meet everyone.
As we got closer to the last people remaining, I heard Fred or George say to Harry, "We tried to shut him in a pyramid, but Mum spotted us." I laughed a bit at his comment, and everyone turned towards me. I immedietely turned red from the unwanted attention, but Fred and George spotted Lee and said hi.
"Splendid to see you too Lee! It certainly has been ages hasn't it-" Fred/George said while swinging an arm around his shoulders.
"-And just who is this beauty that you have been keeping from us?" The other Fred/George asked. He grasped my hand in his and raised it to his lips. But before he could taint my hand, his brother shoved him away and took my other hand.
"Now I know we would've seen you had you gone to Hogwarts-"
"But we haven't seen you before, so this could only mean that you're-"
"The girl that Lee told us about! It's such a pleasure." And at the same time, they both leaned down to kiss my hand. I had gotten dizzy from having to look back and forth between them during their introduction, but I managed to slightly tug my hands out of their grasp with a smile.
"I'm Maeve Devine." I said shyly. The two boys gave two big grins.
"Well hullo Maeve. I'm Fred-" The one on the right said.
"And I'm George. The handsome one." The one on the left said.
"You two look the same, gits!" A low voice said behind them. They turned around and I could see the "Golden Trio" as Lee had said.
"Oh yeah, this is our younger brother-" George started.
"Ickle Ronnikens-"
"And his two friends-"
"Hermione Granger and Harry Potter." Fred finished. You know, up close, I could see faint differences in their faces. It would still take some time to tell them apart though. I waved to the three friends, but before I could get a word out, Fred and George both wrapped their arms around my shoulders and pulled me away from the group. I looked back at Lee to see him following behind, snickering at my surprised look. They took me out the back door that led to the brick wall that, when tapped right, led to Diagon Alley.
"Hey guys, me and Maeve have to be back at the house by six, ok?" Lee said. Fred and George both stopped and turned around, bringing me stumbling after them.
"Well that gives us plenty of time-" Fred(I think!) started.
"To show Maeve around the streets-"
"Show her the menagerie-"
"Get her some Fortescue ice cream-"
"And we must make time to take her to Gambol and Japes!" Again with the finishing of the sentences! Lee grinned widely and nodded his head.
"Yes, if anything else, she must see Gambol and Japes. That's the only place I haven't shown her yet." Lee said. I gave him another one of my confused looks, and he gave me one of those I'll explain later looks. Ok then.
And as Fred and George pulled me back along next to them, I could surely tell that we were all going to be really good friends.