Author's Note: Another chapter edited for you from my pal. She told me to ask for maybe a review or two and your thoughts on Romione (because of Stuart). So yeah. Enjoy, Potterheads!

Rating: T (cause she's paranoid).

Disclaimer: Me and my friend own nothing of the Potterverse, we are just playing with JK Rowling's toys that she's offered us.

Editing: All editing is done by me for my dear friend.

The First Year

The Hogwarts Express

The morning of the first of September was almost surreal. Our entire household was awake at 8:30, bustling around, trying to get everything ready. Julian and I packed our trunks the best we could, including our new robes and all of our equipment we'd gotten from Diagon Alley. Pepper hooted softly from his cage, almost as if he knew what was going on. I could barely contain my excitement and I knew Julian was having trouble too. My twin and I had no time to even speak that morning because we were so busy.

After we showered and got ready, Dad and Mum helped Julian and I pack our trunks into our car. Dad did a quick sweep of the house while the rest of us waited and we were out of the driveway by ten.

"I made a call," said Dad in the car. "She'll meet us at the platform."

"She?" asked my mum.

Dad didn't say anything more, and I didn't have to be a mind reader to know that this was completely killing him to send us to Hogwarts. It was obvious to anyone.

The drive to King's Cross Station was short, painfully quiet, and we got there with plenty of time to spare. Locating Platform 9 ¾ was a challenge in itself, but we saw a small group of folks huddled like we were. The thing that really stood out were their owls as well, and I had a feeling these folk were just like us.

"…then you just run at the wall, mate!" said a girl with bright red hair. Not ginger, but red. She looked remarkably like an older gentleman that stood with her, who looked right bloody annoyed with her behavior. One of his hands rested on another girl's shoulder, but this one was reading a book and had more muted rust-colored hair.

I couldn't see who she was addressing because the group of people was quite large. And by quite large, I mean there were at least fifteen people standing around. All of them had similar facial features and quite a few had ginger hair. Every single one of them (except for the one reading a book and her father) had a crazy grin that I knew had to run in the family.

"Excuse me?" said my father tentatively, and I instantly wished she hadn't. In but a moment, seventeen or so odd faces (I'd counted) turned to look at us. My dad swallowed. "You're headed to Platform 9 ¾?"

"We are!" said a ginger man with fair skin, who I recognized almost immediately. He was the one who high-fived his son in Madam Malkin's, when the boy had gotten into a fist fight. He stuck out his hand, "George Weasley. This is my wife, Angelina," he gestured to a dark-skinned woman, "and our kiddos, Fred and Roxanne. And this," he said, sweeping his arm back to the large gathering of folks, "is our rather dysfunctional family. Well, some of them."

As my mum and dad shook the man's hand, the olive-skinned boy, Fred, looked at all of us. "You're Muggle-borns, aren'tcha?" he asked.

"Fred!" cried Mrs. Weasley, obviously horrified by her son's lack of tact.

"What, Mum, I was jus' asking!"

"Ah, erm, yes, we are Muggles. However we…erm, we were hoping we'd find some other wizards…you see, my husband and I can't…or, er, we don't want to––" My mum was stammering quite horrendously. She seemed to be overwhelmed by the rather eccentric family and I couldn't exactly blame her. The lot of them, with their red hair and wild grins, they looked to be right mad.

"Would you happen to be able to point me in the direction of Hermione Granger?" my dad asked, interrupting Mum.

A beautiful woman who looked to be my mum's age gasped softly. A man who looked remarkably like Mr. George Weasley had a protective arm wrapped around her, but she seemed independent herself. "Sebastian?"

My dad grinned softly, but his smile was tired. His eyes betrayed him; I could tell he hadn't gotten much sleep. "Hullo, Hermione. It's been a while."

Hermione Granger broke away from who I assumed to be her husband and hugged my dad. "It's Weasley now, but I suppose it'll always be Granger to you. Oh, it's wonderful to see you again. These must be your children…" Ms. Granger smiled at Julian and I, but her smiled slightly faltered when her gaze fell on Stuart. It was only for a fraction of a second, but I'd noticed.

"Oh, Bash…he looks just like Stuart," I heard her murmur.

My dad ruffled my younger brother hair. "He does. That's Stuart McCall II."

Stuart grinned. "Hiya!"

I could've sworn Ms. Granger was crying, but she turned her head to look at her family before I could tell or not. "Ron, dear, this is Sebastian McCall. Stuart's brother."

I could see Ron's–I suppose it'd be Mr. Weasley–jaw shift a bit at that. He stepped toward us and shook my dad and mum's hands. "A pleasure," he said in a gruff voice. It certainly didn't sound like he thought it was a pleasure, but it wasn't my business.

"And these are the twins," Dad said, placing his hands on Julian and I's shoulders. "Julian and Holly."

Ms. Granger smiled at us. "It's lovely to meet you two. Are you excited to start at Hogwarts?"

Julian and I nodded so hard, I thought our heads would fall off. If all witches and wizards were as nice as Ms. Hermione Granger, it was going to be an absolute dream.

Dad seemed to relax a bit now that Ms. Granger was here, whereas Stuart was bouncing on the balls of his feet. "So you lot are all real live wizards? Wow!" He looked to me and Julian. "Hear that, guys! Real wizards!"

Dad's hands braced themselves on Stuart's shoulders in an effort to hold him down. "I'm so grateful that you've decided to meet us here, Hermione. I know it must be hard, with Stuart and all, but I hope it's not too much of a problem to––"

"Help out your children? Of course not. I remember being in their shoes, you know. I think it's what Stuart would have wanted, don't you think, Ronald?" Mrs Weasley called back to where her husband was standing.

Her husband had moved away from us and was engaged in a deep conversation with a young boy, who only looked to be around six years old. Close by, a young girl who looked to be my age, or perhaps younger, looked annoyed. Mr. Weasley's head jerked up. "What? But…but Hermione, we just came to see the others off––" He broke off as Ms. Granger whipped around. "I mean, of course, dear! Isn't that right, Rosie? I-I mean, we'll wait in the car," he said hastily. He started muttering to his children before the three scampered off.

"If it's a problem––" My mum stared to say, but Ms. Granger waved her off.

"Ron's just grumpy I made him wake up early to see the rest of the family off. And he and Stuart had never exactly gotten along. Anyway, I love him, but he's daft." She fixed me and Julian with a look. "Are you two ready to go to Hogwarts?" There was a glint of amusement in her eyes that I saw a lot in my dad. The two would have been good friends if Stuart hadn't passed away, I'd think.

"Yes, ma'am," said Julian and I nodded vigorously as well.

"Well then," she clapped her hands together. "We best get going! And its Hermione to you kiddos. You might want to say goodbye to your family then. It's about time to get ready to go!" she said.

Before me or my twin could respond, there was a loud yell and I watched in stunned silence as Fred Weasley, pushing a cart with all of his things, began sprinting as fast as he could at the ticket booth. I expected a loud crash to ensue, but it never came. Instead, the air shimmered slightly before the pillar and the boy, cart and all, disappeared.

My jaw hung open as the rest of the Weasley family cheered. I looked at Julian to confirm what had just happened and he seemed as astonished as me.

"Blimey, he actually did it!" said the girl with the bright red hair, laughing. Her father still looked amazed that the girl, who was full of energy, seemed to be his daughter.

Ms. Grange–Hermione turned back to us, a smile on her face. "Are you two ready?"

Neither of us responded as Mum and Dad hugged us. I hugged Dad while Julian hugged Mum and then vice versa. Jules and I crushed Stuart in a hug from the both of us last and promised we'd write him letters as often as we could. That seemed to satisfy his excitement a little bit. Last, Dad hugged Hermione once more, and again, I swore I saw tears in her eyes.

Mum, of course, began crying as Dad held her. After our lengthy goodbyes were over, it was just me and my twin and Hermione Granger, the Minister of Magic, standing at the pillar. Dad and Mum and Stuart stood back, refusing to leave until we both were on Platform 9 ¾.

"Okay," Hermione began. "The first time is always the hardest."

"So," Julian scrunched his nose up. "We just run at the wall and hope for the best?"

"That's right," Hermione said. "It's scary, I know, the thought of running head first into a brick wall, but––"

Julian didn't give Hermione time to finish. He let out a yell, just as Fred (who Hermione told us was her nephew) had, and took off. I couldn't watch. Even though I'd seen Fred go through, and couple other Weasleys after that, I still didn't believe it. What if Julian and I weren't wizards after all? What if we couldn't get to the platform?

But lo and behold, Julian disappeared through the metal wall.

Hermione let out a breathy laugh and shook her head. "He's a Gryffindor, through and through. I know it."

"What's a…what'd you call it?" I asked, frowning as I tried to remember exactly how she'd pronounced the foreign word.

"A Gryffindor. There are four…oh, I'll let one of the kids explain it to you. Just write me, okay? Let me know if I'm correct," she said. "You seem like the most level-headed of the McCalls. A lot smarter than Stuart when I'd known him."

"So you…you knew my uncle then?"

Hermione got a faraway look in her eye and her voice was a bit choked when she spoke again. "Yes, I knew Stuart. He was great," she said wistfully. "I loved him, you know."

My jaw dropped. "You loved him?"

She nodded in affirmation. "I was the first girl your uncle took home to meet your grandparents. Send them my regards, would you?"

I nodded. "I…I will." I was still railed that Hermione and Uncle Stuart had been together. No wonder Mr. Weasley hadn't been the best of friends with Uncle Stuart.

"It's your turn, dear," Hermione said. "I'll be right behind you."

"And you're positive I won't run into the wall?" I asked, hating myself for the little bit of nervousness that seeped into my voice.

Hermione smiled at me, a kind smile that reminded me of my mother. My mother, who I looked at that was still standing with my dad. The two (and my little brother) caught my glance and waved, Stuart on my dad's back. "I'm one hundred percent sure you'll go right through that wall, Holly."

And that had been enough to convince me. Bracing one hand on the handle of my cart and the other on Pepper's cage, I squeezed my eyes shut and ran as fast as my legs could. Somehow, I knew when I was passing through. There was a strange sensation of nothingness until I broke through the other side. Suddenly I was thrust into a busy world. Voices exploded in my ears and a train whistle sounded. I opened my eyes slowly and could barely believe what I was seeing.

All around me, people (who I knew were wizards) bustled around, hurrying their kids to the huge train. It was sleek and black and one of the fanciest trains I'd ever seen. Kids my age and older were loading up onto the locomotive. Mothers, just like mine, were all crying as they sent their kids on for the first time. I barely registered my brother yelling my name in front of me. Only when he thumped me upside the head did I snap back to reality.

"Hey!" I yelped just as Hermione appeared behind us.

"Come on, Holly! We have to get a compartment with Fred!" Julian insisted. Just over Jules' shoulder was Fred Weasley, waving us on.

"Come on!" he yelled. His sister, Roxanne, and more people who looked remarkably like the both of them were standing around waiting for us.

I reluctantly followed behind Julian, Hermione hot on my heels. She joined the adults of the group as Julian and I blended (or tried to) with the rest of the Hogwarts students. Julian had taken up a spot beside Fred and another bloke. The three were already talking and I didn't know if that was a bad thing or a good thing.

"Your brother ran into Fred as soon as he came out of the wall," said a voice beside me. I turned to see Fred's sister, Roxanne, and another girl with light skin and hair so blonde it was almost white.

The blonde girl snorted. "It was bloody hilarious. Should'a seen Fred, all red faced and ready to brawl. He was almost disappointed when he saw it was Aunt Hermione's friend's kid." She grinned. "I'm Dominque, but you can call me Dom," she added as an afterthought.

"Roxy," threw in Fred's sister.

I grinned at both of them. "Holly McCall. And yeah, Jules is a bit daft."

"We'd noticed," said Roxy. "So you're Muggle-born then?"

"Yep," I confirmed. "This is all new to me."

"Well, you'll have Dom and I. Even if we aren't sorted into the same house, you'll always have a Weasley close by," she said.

"Erm, yeah," I said as the train whistle blew once more. "What's all of this sorting business with houses and such?"

"We'll explain when we board," said Dom. "Give your cart to someone and get your things. Julian gave his to Uncle George."

A hand touched the handle of my cart and I looked up to see Hermione. She smiled at me. "Go on, get a compartment."

"Thank you," I said quietly, a bit overwhelmed by the woman's kindness. As I grabbed my trunks and Pepper's cage, I said, "You didn't have to do all of this for us, so…thank you."

"I wanted to. For Stuart. He was wonderful, tell him I said hello when you get to the castle, yeah? And now you'll have some friends for the train ride. Sounds good, right?"

I grinned. "It sounds amazing."

She pushed my shoulder a little towards Roxy and Dom. "Go on, then."

So I followed Roxy and Dom and Jules and Fred and the other bloke, as well as quite a few other Weasleys to the train. The older Weasleys (Molly and Lucy and Victoire, Dom named them) set off to find their own compartment. "Vic's probably going off to snog Teddy," Dom snorted.

When I looked confused, she said, "Teddy is Victoire's boyfriend. He's in his seventh year and she's in her fifth…a little scandalous, if you ask me."

As it was, a lot of the compartments were already full. I would suggest one here and there, but Dom or Roxy would take one look inside and say something like, "'Slither in' family," with a dark look and we'd trudge past. Fortunately, the three of us eventually found a compartment with only one person inside, who was curled up at the window, reading a book. Unfortunately, the compartment was right across from Jules' and Fred's and the other bloke's and two other boys. I loved my brother, I really did, and it was odd to be separated from him, but I knew he became…well, a tosser when he got with other guys. When Julian was with his guy friends, I figured there was no use talking to him, so I was incredibly grateful to have Roxy and Dom.

Roxy slid open the compartment door slightly and poked her head in. The girl looked up from her book, which I now saw was older, worn and frayed at the edges. "Erm, excuse us. Is anyone else in here?"

The blonde girl looked at us with wide, blue eyes before shaking her head and shutting her book. "Just me. You lot can sit in here, if you like."

Roxy and Dom went in first sitting opposite the blonde girl. I decided to sit next to her, extending my hand. "Holly McCall."

The girl smiled as she shook it. "Sawyer Stratton."

"Oi, and I'm Roxy Weasley, and that tosser is Dom!" threw in Roxanne.

"It's nice to meet you all. My older sister is friends with Molly Weasley, I reckon," she said. "Layla Stratton."

Roxy's eyes lit up in recognition. "Tall girl, dusty blonde hair? Quite loud, like Molly?"

Sawyer smirked a tad. "That'd be her."

Dom frowned. "I can't place her…Roxy, was she there for Lucy's birthday?"

"Yeah, she's the one who threw her cake at Molly and accidentally hit Louis."

Dom gaped at Roxy and I snorted at her expression. "She started the birthday cake fight of 2012?"

"Sounds like my Layla," confirmed Sawyer. She turned to me, "And you…I don't recognize the last name McCall."

"I'm Muggle-born," I said, using the term that Fred had.

"Oh," said Sawyer simply. "Makes sense. I s'pose you do seem rather star struck."

I grinned sheepishly. "Is it really that noticeable?"

"I mean, for us, yeah," said Sawyer, looking to Dom and Roxy, who nodded in confirmation, "because we've been around this our whole lives. It ought to be exciting for you!"

"It really is!" I said. Then I remembered my question to Mrs Weasley. "What's a…a Gryffin-whatsit?"

My three new friends cracked a grin at that. "A Gryffindor, I think you mean," said Dom. "I'm, uh, not the best at explaining…"

"Gryffindor is one of four houses at Hogwarts," Roxy interjected. "The houses are sort of like teams within the school, I suppose. They compete for house points and the Quidditch cup. The whole thing is like one huge competition."

"The other houses are Ravenclaw, Slytherin (Slytherin, I thought to myself, not 'slither in'), and Hufflepuff. There are traits for each House and us first years are sorted as soon as we get to Hogwarts."

Just then, the train let loose a mighty whistle and we started to move. Instantly, Roxy, Dom, and Sawyer threw themselves at our compartment window, waving to their families. Our compartment door flew open a moment later as Fred and three other blokes pushed to our window as well, arguing with the girls. I caught Julian's eye and he grinned wildly at me. The grin reminded me a little too much of the trademark Weasley smile. Oh, god, he's going to be just like them, I thought as I rolled my eyes.

The Hogwarts Express picked up speed and we were soon out of the station. As soon as we were gone, Roxy shoved Fred out of our compartment. She grabbed the bloke that Fred and Julian had been standing with earlier and pushed him too, saying, "You too, James!" The boy grinned at me, me specifically, as he was shoved out the door. The other two merely followed, as they seemed to not want to be manhandled by Roxy Weasley.

"Right, where were we?" she as her and Dom sat back down. I was fighting back my laughter at her frazzled expression.

"Hogwarts Houses," said Sawyer, and I could see she was trying not to laugh as well.

"Right," said Roxy. "So Gryffindors are known for their bravery and courage and such. They're a rather wild bunch; my cousin, Molly, she's a Gryffindor."

"So is Layla," added Sawyer.

"Then there are the Slytherins," Roxy continued. "They have a huge rivalry with Gryffindor. Dates all the way back to when the Houses were established. The lot of them are tossers––"

"Not true!" interrupted Dom, who looked at me. "Slytherins are known for being ambitious, which isn't always a bad thing. Dad told me the person makes the house, not the other way around. They can be cunning and a lot of them hold prejudice towards…well, towards Muggle-borns, but not all are like that. One of Vic's close friends is a Slytherin. Nice girl, her name's Clary Fox, I think."

I frowned. "Prejudice? Towards me?"

Roxy thumped Dom on the arm. "You weren't supposed to mention that part," I heard her mutter.

"Well, I had to warn her, Roxy, she can't go in blind!" Dom protested. "Just know that a lot of Slytherin families are pure-bloods, meaning they don't marry Muggles. They think you're somehow…lesser, I s'pose. Because you don't have Wizarding blood."

"It's not my fault!" I argued.

"And no one said it was!" Dom agreed quickly. "But…listen, if any of them call you a…" She looked around before she lowered her voice tremendously, "If any of them call you a Mudblood, don't you bloody dare hesitate to hex them. The detention would be worth it. 'Sides, I hear it's not even that bad."

"What, detention?" asked Roxy. "What d'you mean it's 'not that bad'?!"

Roxy and Dom suddenly engaged in a friendly argument about whether or not a detention at Hogwarts would really be worth it when I felt Sawyer tap me on the shoulder.

When I looked at her, the words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them. "What's a Mudblood?" I made sure to say the word rather quietly because I had a feeling it could cause a lot of chaos if the right person heard.

"It's a derogatory term for a Muggle-born wizard. It implies that…well, that your bloodline is mud and unworthy of magic. It's very offensive in the Wizarding world, so your cousin was right. If you ever get called one…Layla says detention isn't so bad at all." Sawyer said with a grin. I could tell she was trying to cheer me up, but she still looked a bit bothered by the whole subject.

I cleared my throat. "Right, so we were talking about the Houses?"

"Yes!" Sawyer agreed. "So, we've covered Gryffindor and Slytherin. The other ones are Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. The Ravenclaws are your naturally book-smart people. They tend to have the highest grades and OWL scores. They're bloody brilliant. Witty, too." She must've noticed my confused expression when she said something about 'owls', so she said, "OWLs are the abbreviation for Ordinary Wizarding Levels. You take them in your fifth year. Sort of like standardized testing on certain classes."

I nodded along as Sawyer continued. "And then there are the Hufflepuffs. Fiercely loyal, some of the best friends you could make. Unfortunately, some of them tend to be quite shy, from what I've heard, and their Quidditch team tends to be shoddy at best…ah, well, Layla's boyfriend is a Hufflepuff, so I shouldn't be rude. But those are the four houses."

"And where d'you want to go?" I asked her.

"Ravenclaw," she answered automatically. "Gryffindor's too…well, the lot of them are insane, I reckon. Mum always told me I was the smart one and I love reading…I figure it'd be a proper fit, right?"

"Right," I murmured. My eyes went to the window, where the Hogwarts Express flew past…well, everything. How fast were we going, exactly? It didn't matter. I was ambitious. Dad and Mum always told me it was a good thing to be ambitious, as long as I didn't take it too far. What if I was put in Slytherin? Oh, blimey, that'd be a disaster! A Muggle-born, in Slytherin! I could already picture the chaos.

"Hey, now, don't get all out there on me," said Sawyer. She bumped my shoulder with hers. "I'm sure you'll be fine. I already know you aren't a Slytherin, so you'll definitely be fine!"

I snapped out my thoughts and offered Sawyer what I hoped was a bright grin. "You're right! I'm not worried at all. What was that one thing, you said the Houses competed in? Quidditch? There was a store in Diagon Alley with that in the name…what is it?"

Sawyer sat straight up. "Oh, Merlin, you're a Muggle-born! You don't know what Quidditch is!" she practically screeched.

Roxy and Dom stopped talking, their jaws hanging open as they looked at me. They looked at each other, then back at me as they said, "You don't know what Quidditch is!"

They must've been loud enough because a second later, our compartment door burst open, revealing Fred, and the other bloke, James. "Did someone say Quidditch?" said James.

"Who're you?" I asked.

The boy straightened. He was tall, I suppose, with messy dark hair and hazel eyes behind a pair of thick, square glasses. "Cousin of the Weasley crew, James Potter the Second. I'm almost like my namesake, only much better looking."

Roxy snorted and I just looked at him. "And?"

He faltered slightly. "You really don't know who I am?"

"You'd think the confused look and the blank stare would have answered that for you," I replied, unable to contain the quip.

"Oh, Merlin," James Potter's eyes narrowed at me and he looked inconvenienced. "You're Julian's twin! Muggle-borns…y'know, forget I said anything."

I felt a flare of annoyance at the boy's flamboyancy. "How about I forget you exist?" I suggested.

This caused Roxy to snort again and Dom coughed to cover up a laugh. Sawyer just said, "And you might be a Ravenclaw yet, with that wit!"

James Potter frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but Fred beat him to it. "Oh, shut up, James." Potter, in turn, frowned once more at his friend. Fred cut him off once more, "Anyway, what was that about Quidditch?"

"Holly doesn't know what Quidditch is!" yelled Roxy.

"WHAT?!" both boys practically screamed, and Fred immediately squeezed into the compartment, plopping down between Roxy and Dom. Potter (calling him 'James' just sounded too friendly and I didn't really like the bloke, okay?) stuck his arm into his own compartment, yelling, "OI! JULIAN!" and practically dragged Julian into ours. Jules fell beside me and Potter sat down on the other side of Roxy.

The Weasleys (and Potter and Sawyer) took turns explaining what Quidditch was. At one point, we'd gotten too loud because one of the older students, a handsome bloke with blue hair and a scruffy beard, poked his head in our compartment and told us to be quiet, but he didn't seem that concerned. He'd winked and waved at Dom. ("That was Teddy, Vic's boyfriend. He'd the Head Boy. Means he's kind of in charge of keeping the students out of trouble at Hogwarts.")

The boys were surprisingly good at explaining the game. They explained the three hoops on each side of the pitch were for scoring and there were three kinds of balls: the Quaffle, the two Bludgers, and the Golden Snitch. Sawyer was the one to tell Jules and I about the different positions. The entire time, I was fascinated with the idea of the sport. It sounded like a bloody masterpiece!

By the end, Jules and I knew one thing for certain: we were definitely going to play Quidditch.

"Oi, I'm gonna be the best bloody Keeper Hogwarts has ever seen!" Julian shouted triumphantly. He'd been the keeper for football at our old school and he was pretty good. I didn't have the heart to tell him that blocking three hoops on a flying broom was probably a lot more challenging than blocking a net on the ground. He'd learn that on his own, I figured.

The upsetting thing about Quidditch at Hogwarts though was that we'd have to wait until our second year to even try out. And even then, we weren't guaranteed a spot on the team. As a result, the lot of us (well, me, Jules, and Sawyer) decided to study the game as much as we could at Hogwarts. We were determined to be on the team.

After a rather loud discussion about a Quidditch team called Puddlemere United, someone again poked their head into our compartment. This time, the someone didn't seem too friendly. Fred Weasley instantly jumped to his feet, but Potter and Roxy grabbed him by the arm. Fred glared at the boy, who was backed up by two others. "Why I ought'a jump you right here," he snarled.

I recognized the dark haired, pasty boy as the same boy Fred had been fighting with in Madam Malkin's shop. He was with two others, both as nasty and ugly as he. The boy at the head laughed. "Easy, Weasley," he taunted. "I think I see a Slytherin prefect. Wouldn't want to lose House points before you're even sorted!"

"What d'you want, Flint?" sighed Dom.

The boy, Flint, fixed his dark eyes on Dom. "Can't I drop in to see my favorite family of gits? Dad told me all about you." His eyes scanned around the compartment before stopping on me and Julian. "Well, well…you two aren't Weasleys. Or Potters, for that matter." His eyes widened. "Oh, don't tell me! Weasleys! You guys are mixing with Mud––"

"I'd finish that carefully if I were you, Flint!" growled Roxy, who'd released Fred to grab draw her wand. Fred, now free, had gotten his own wand, along with Potter.

"I'll hex you to hell 'n' back," threatened Fred.

Flint, still laughing, didn't finish what he was going to say, though I knew what had been coming. Even though I barely understood the idea of 'pure-blood', my throat burned with shame. Maybe I didn't belong? Me and Julian, we barely knew what was going on! I couldn't bring myself to face Flint and his goons.

"Well, I gotta hand it to you, I thought you Weasleys would at least stick to your blood. Though that Granger was an exception, Dad says––"

"FLINT!" roared Fred. He lunged for Flint, but Julian caught his arm and yanked him back while the Slytherin boys laughed.

"Toodles, Weasleys! Potter! We'll see you around!" called Flint as he backed down the train the way he'd came, his buddies in tow.

"Marshall Flint," declared Fred as soon as he'd seemed to calm down, "is a massive prick."

"Language!" said Roxy as she slapped her brother's arm, but she certainly didn't argue, and no one did either. Marshall Flint was a massive prick.

Our compartment had quieted after that. None of knew exactly what to say, but I found myself talking after a second. "Thank you," I said quietly. Six pairs of eyes fell on me. I swallowed. "You guys didn't have to defend us," I continued, addressing Roxy and Fred, specifically, and even Potter. "But thank you."

"Oi," said Fred, rubbing his arm where his sister had latched on to him to hold him back, "no one deserves to be treated that way. You and Julian deserve to be here as much as the lot of us, and everyone on this train. Flint can shove it up his––"

"Fred is right," interrupted Roxy, tossing her brother a glare. "You guys are special, even more special than us. We were born into this. You guys…it's like the magic chose you. I'm glad you're here, Holly. You too, Jules."

Julian and I shared a smile and quietly murmured thank you. The compartment lapsed into silence again, which was odd since there were seven of us in there. It didn't last however, because a young woman with a cart rolled up. The cart was full of candies and cakes and pastries that I'd never heard of before, but Julian and I were ready to spend money on whatever they were. We both were starving; I'd even heard Jules' stomach growl.

Before either of us could do anything, however, Potter yelled something about 'chocolate frogs' and launched himself at the cart. The result had been the cart tipping and spilling on the ground, a stern look from the woman, several apologies, and the realization that being friends with the Weasleys (and Potter and Sawyer) was probably going to be one hell of a ride.