A/N: I'm back.
2. As Long as We're Together
King's Cross was rather crowded, filled to the brim with people, though none of them quite looked like the people Rosie had seen parading around Diagon Alley. Most were in suits or particularly fancy clothing, carrying large briefcases and looking like they had something quite important to do. They all looked at Rosie with odd looks, seeming disdainful of the out of place things she was pulling with her- specifically the cage holding Speaks. Rosie's mother was growing increasingly uncomfortable with this, used to a very normal upkeep, she didn't like appearing unsuitable to her surroundings.
"Are you certain it says platform nine and three-quarters, dear?" Ms. Sweeding inquired, glancing disbelievingly over her daughter's shoulder for the umpteenth time. Rosie sighed gently, beginning to lose her confidence as she flashed the ticket into her mother's view.
Rosie was thankful that the twins had saved some of the sugar quills she'd purchased for them from Diagon Alley, their attention focused on happily letting them dissolve on their tongues rather than complaining about how much walking they had been doing. D.J., however, was too old to be distracted by such simple things and scoffed dramatically every so often as they walked to indicate how impatient he was feeling.
"There's no platform nine and three-quarters, sis." D.J. drawled, making no attempt to hide the smirk of satisfaction on his face. "We should just give up and go home, you can go to that lovely academy for girls mom suggested-"
"Your rather quick to dismiss things you can't see, you know that?" Rosie replied, frowning in her brother's direction. "I showed you all the things from Diagon Alley, you've seen me do my accidental magic- what more proof do you need that this stuff is real?"
D.J. glared, though he made no further attempt to comment on the matter. His eyes lifted, spotting something up ahead that caused the smug smile to form back on his features, "Maybe that weird girl up there can help."
Rosie followed his line of sight, spotting the girl with incredibly bright blue hair. The girl was walking beside two others, who appeared to be her parents. Rosie felt her heart skip a beat when she realized that the girl was lugging a trunk behind her, similar to Rosie's own. Without a word, Rosie increased her pace to catch up with the girl and her family.
"It's always most crowded on this day." Rosie could hear the man saying, "With this many people we'll need to be careful crossing into platform nine and three-quarters-"
Rosie shot D.J. a triumphant look, receiving an eye roll in response. "Excuse me!" Rosie called out to the family.
The older man and woman were the first to turn around, Rosie felt her breath catch in her throat when the blue haired girl spun around to meet her gaze.
"Rosie! It's you!" The blue haired girl- now known to be Elladora, exclaimed. She rushed over, wrapping Rosie in a tight hug.
"Your hair!" Rosie wheezed out with what breath she could manage through the tight squeeze.
Elladora pulled away from the embrace, giving her blue locks a casual flip, "Well, with the first day and all, I felt the need to go all out! At first I attempted it with magic- didn't go so well." Elladora shot the older woman beside her a giant grin, "So my mom decided we'd do things the muggle way. We bought some hair dye and voila!"
"Well it looks wonderful." Rosie complemented, looking over her hair once more with admiration. "Oh!" she gasped in realization, noticing the curious looks her family were giving Elladora. "Ellie, this is my family."
"I didn't need you to tell me that. You all look so alike!" Elladora said, kneeling down to meet eyes with the twins. She murmured something to them under their breath about sugar quills, causing the two to burst into giggles. While Elladora kept them entertained, being watched by an apparently irritated D.J., Rosie's mother and grandmother took the opportunity to exchange introductions with Elladora's parents.
"You don't know platform nine and three-quarters?" Elladora's father, Demetrius Weatherwax, asked rather loudly. He lowered his voice when his speech continued, eyeing the few muggles who were frowning his way, "Well, I'd be happy to show you. It can be a bit confusing the first time around."
And so the Sweedings followed the very determined Weatherwax family through the crowd of people rushing around for work. Rosie found herself glancing around anxiously as they marched, hoping to see some sign of something seemingly misplaced as the Leaky Cauldron had been in London. Rosie discovered no such thing, however, and frowned with confusion when Demetrius stopped them in front of a brick wall.
"Now, your first time it's always good to take a running start-"
"I'm sorry, what?" D.J. interrupted, his voice flat, "And smack into the wall? That's absolutely ridiculous. Though, Rose, why don't you go first? It would give us all a laugh."
Ms. Sweeding scolded D.J. quickly, though Demetrius grinned, gesturing Rosie forward. "What a great idea! You and my daughter can go first and lead the way."
"What? I-"
Rosie's protests were interrupted by Elladora pulling her forward enthusiastically as Elladora eyed the door with a certain resolution. Demetrius stuck out a hand, pointing to the wall, "Now, you're going to go straight through there and it'll land you where you need to be. Don't move too far, though, wait for us to come after you."
Rosie wanted to ask more questions, not anywhere near comfortable with what she was being asked to do. Before she could think too hard about it, though, Elladora was yanking her forward and straight into the brick wall. Rosie shut her eyes tight, preparing herself for hard contact that never came. She didn't open her eyes till she came to realize she'd been holding her breath.
What she saw amazed her just as her first look at Diagon Alley did. There were still a large crowd of people, though many of them were dressed in attire that would never have fit in with the place they'd just been in. Many were wearing the robes that Rosie and Elladora had purchased from Madam Malkin's, some of them bearing crests on their chest symbolizing those on the seal of the letter Rosie had gotten what seemed to be so long ago. Plenty of people had trunks and Rosie saw quite a few owls just like Speaks.
Rosie's observing was interrupted by others coming through the wall, and Rosie saw briefly the way the image warped when someone crossed the barrier. After a few minutes, everyone had came through, the twins looking especially excited as they chanted 'magic' over and over again.
"That over there is the Hogwarts Express." Demetrius announced, gesturing to the huge train to their side, "That will be your ride to school."
Rosie wasn't sure if she could possibly feel any more astonished, her heart practically pounding out of her chest as her mind raced miles a minute with fantasies about what was to come once she stepped foot on the train. Her daydreaming was ceased once again, however, when she could hear small, quiet sobs.
Rosie turned to see her mother's cheeks wet with tears, her dark brown eyes reddening. "Mom, what's wrong?" Rosie asked, her eyebrows furrowing with worry.
Her mother's hands settled on her cheeks, Ms. Sweeding studied her daughter's features, once again filled with the dread of the realization that her baby was leaving. "Your father would have been so proud of you." her mother whispered. Rosie wished her mother hadn't said it, the very mention of her father set Rosie easily to the brink of tears. "He always thought you were special- knew it."
"Momma, please," Rosie pleaded, though she was smiling, "Not here, I can't cry on my first day."
"Right, right. Of course." Rosie's mother said, pulling Rosie into an embrace, "I'm just going to miss you, is all. I'm getting sentimental already." Rosie could feel her younger siblings joining in, judging by the sudden tight grip she felt on her legs.
"Sissy!" Ryley called, pulling at the trim of her skirt, "You write to us!"
"Everyday." Rosie assured, no longer able to hold back her tears.
"Sends us more cand-ee and shows us pictures." Declan added, his tiny voice hard to hear through his slight hyperventilation.
Rosie's grandmother pulled Rosie down in order to kiss the top of her grandmother's head, "You be sure to have fun there, alright? And let us know if they aren't feedin' you properly!" Rosie giggled, nodding and assuring the woman she would.
After a few more minutes of repetitive goodbyes, Rosie stepped away from her family. The only member left was D.J. and she felt the familiar sense of guilt rise into her chest when she looked at him. They were silent for a few, long awkward seconds, neither certain what to do. Suddenly, D.J.'s arms were around her and Rosie gratefully returned the gesture, happy to accept.
"I thought you might hate me now." Rosie mumbled so only D.J. could here.
"I don't hate you. " he assured, patting his sister's head gently, "But if you're in that cool magic school, you better be working your arse off. Cherish it."
Rosie nodded, crying more than ever as she pulled away from her older brother. "I love you all." she told her family.
"We love you too!" They chimed together unevenly and Rosie had to take a second to study the faces of her loved one's before she could turn around, knowing she'd be leaving them behind for a while. She took comfort in hearing Demetrius tell them that he would help them back to Kings' Cross as Elladora took her arm and the two witches set off for adventure.
The train was packed with students, most already filling many of the spots on the train. Rosie could hear students shouting out the windows to their parents, some shoving each other out of the way so they could get a better view. It was a bit of a zoo within, Rosie and Elladora struggling to stay together through the crowds of kids that refused to part from each other.
"Maybe this cart?" Rosie suggested, gesturing to one that wasn't quite as chaotic. Only one boy had settled into it, Rosie recognized the messy hair and green eyes from Diagon Alley.
"We can't sit next to him!" Elladora snapped, continuing to pull the other girl, "He's famous."
"He's just a boy-"
"Famous!"
"Do you ladies need any help over here?" a male voice cut in, causing Rosie to turn. The boy had ginger hair, freckles, and facial features very similar to the twins they had met in Diagon Alley, though he appeared much more stern and adorned a shining pin on his robes with a bold letter 'P' over a dark red background.
"We're just searching for a compartment." Rosie explained, not wanting to bother the obviously busy boy any further. Elladora, however, seemed not to notice the boy and had already started to turn so they could head off further into the train.
"Well, last I checked there were quite a few empty compartments in the very back." The boy offered helpfully, gesturing in the direction he was referring to, "You should be able to snag a spot there."
Rosie smiled and nodded, thanking the boy for his help as she moved to catch up with Elladora. Rosie informed the girl of the boy's instruction, and the two moved together to the back of the train, eventually finding an empty compartment to settle into. Together they helped each other to lug their trunks into position and setting Cocoa's tank and Speak's cage aside so they could finally slump into their seats. The two took breaths of relief as they adjusted to their surroundings, seeming to come to the realization that this was actually happening at the same time as both broke into laughter.
The moment of peace didn't last long. The compartment door was shoved open to reveal the symmetrical grinning faces of the twins. "Thought we'd drop by to give you a visit." they chimed together.
"It's nice to see you two again!" Rosie said.
Elladora nodded in agreement, propping herself on her knees to get a better look over the twins shoulder. "What's with the box?" she asked, regarding the medium-sized one Lee was carrying behind them, a wide grin on his face.
"Lee thought up the brilliant idea to bring a giant tarantula onto the express." George explained, "Show them!"
Elladora backed up slightly, while Rosie scooted forward, excitement rising. The tarantula within was quite large, Rosie wondered if magic had something to do with its slightly unreasonable size. However, she hardly hesitated as she reached out a calm hand to allow the eight-legged creature to crawl onto her.
"So, you're afraid of quidditch, but not a giant spider?" asked Fred as he settled on the seat beside Rosie, George sitting across with Elladora who was very adamant on keeping her distance from the tarantula. Lee remained close to Rosie, box held out in her direction. He seemed quite fearful she would freak any second.
"My brother D.J. always was bringing home whatever he could find in the wild when I was growing up." Rosie explained while she studied the spider, moving her face a bit closer, "Tarantulas were always one of my favourites, other than the rabbits."
"Tarantulas and rabbits." George said with a laugh, "Bit of an odd combination."
"I saw Percy the prefect talking to you two, what did our git of a brother have to say?" Fred asked.
"That ginger dork is your brother?" Elladora teased, "Never mind, I see the resemblance."
"Careful firstie. Percy may be a dork but you don't have the authority to say it." Lee warned, though he was obviously amused by the comment.
"What is a prefect?" Rosie asked curiously, remembering the pin she'd seen on their brother's robe.
"It's for the Hogwarts students who hate having any sort of fun." George said.
"They're given extra responsibilities." Fred broke down for her, earning him a thankful look from Rosie, "Regulating student behaviours and all. So, yeah, George is right. Basically they're boring."
Elladora laughed at this, but Rosie found herself thinking on the subject further. A prefect seemed to be an honoured role. Academically, she was certain the title must look good for the future, though she realized she really didn't know much about the educational system of Hogwarts or how things transferred into jobs in the magical world. She pushed the thoughts away, there was no reason to stress herself out over it now.
"Well, we better get going. The best seats are only open so long." Lee cut in, holding out the box to Rosie to return the tarantula. Rosie took a second to adjust herself, letting the spider crawl carefully back into the box.
"Be careful with him." Rosie said seriously, "Don't let someone step on him."
"Yes ma'am." Lee agreed with an amused grin, starting out of the compartment.
Fred and George stopped before they exited, looking back at the two girls. "By the way, make sure you don't try to leave the train." George warned.
Before Rosie could ask why on earth they'd ever want to do that, Fred finished, "The trolley witch isn't fond of students who try. She still gives us dirty looks."
The twins left without a word more on the subject and was happy to see Elladora's entertainment at the words, obviously taking what they'd said as a joke.
For a while, a pleasant silence had settled between the two young girls. Both were content to look out the window and admire the beautiful, natural surroundings the train passed through. Rosie let out a tiny gasp every so often when something especially breathtaking could be seen and Elladora let her amazement be shown through shouts, pointing out whatever thing was so wonderful.
"So, you've got quite a big family." Elladora noted as she turned from the window to Rosie, finally boring of watching out it.
"Huh?" Rosie mumbled, still quite absorbed in the outside world before managing to pull her eyes away, "Yeah, we weren't always like that. We were just a family of four for a while. My parents, D.J., and I."
"Did your father not come to see you off?" Elladora asked, sounding concerned.
"Oh, no." Rosie said, shaking her head, "He passed away in an accident three years ago, a little later than a year after the twins were born. That's when my grandma moved in with us to help around the house."
"Oh, sorry." Elladora apologized, shuffling her feet on the ground awkwardly.
"Don't worry about it, you couldn't have known." Rosie assured, though she was quick to move from the subject of her father. She still wasn't sure she'd be able to talk about him for more than a few moments, "Your dad is a healer, you said, right? So he's always been apart of the magical world."
Elladora nodded, "He was a pureblood. He brought my mother into the magical world when he fell in love with her. Mom's still a bit confused about it all, but she does her best to understand the best she can."
"What's it like to grow up knowing about magic?"
"It's hard to explain. What was it like to grow up without it?"
Rosie nodded once, not answering. It was quite hard to try and convey something you'd known your whole life. "So, you know quite a bit about Hogwarts from your dad?" Elladora nodded. "What exactly are the 'houses' the blonde boy mentioned in Malkin's?"
"Well, there's Slytherin, which my dad was in. They have a sort of reputation for all being racist gits like the kid in the shop, but they're not like that- not all of them, anyway. They're ambitious," Elladora explained, "And cunning, they'll use any means to achieve their ends. But that's not always a bad thing, my dad used those traits to improve himself in the medical field and help others."
"Gryffindor, like the twins. They value bravery, pride, and justice. They're the heroes in the world, and most of them want to make sure everyone knows it. Typically they're quite loud about it- or just loud in general." Elladora grinned, obviously entertained by her wording, "A lot of this I'm repeating from my father, however, and Slytherin and Gryffindor have always been known to have a bias against each other.
"Then there's Ravenclaw. Scholars come from there, mostly, a lot of professors were in that house during their time, like Quirrell. They're creative, witty, individualists- my dad usually just calls them the 'smart house'."
"Last is Hufflepuff, dad says they have the best hearts and the worst reputation. They're loyal, patient, and kind- which is probably why they're always getting walked all over by the other houses. None of them seem to want to bother themselves with protesting against it. I think they're fine just being who they are."
Rosie felt a bit dizzy after the elaborations. All of the houses sounded perfectly nice, but she couldn't help but feel like she didn't harbour any of the noble traits that Elladora had described. She couldn't keep her imagination from running off a bit as she briefly imagined them telling her that she couldn't be sorted at all and that she'd have to be sent home.
"Has anyone ever… not been sorted before?" Rosie asked the other girl timidly, shifting in her seat uncomfortably as she spoke.
"No way." Elladora assured, "Everyone has a place at Hogwarts. Everyone gets sorted. They'll put you right where you belong, I'm sure of it."
Rosie once again felt warmed by the enthusiasm that Elladora displayed, thankful to have someone like Elladora in her life. She took in the other's words, repeating them over and over again in her head till she had managed to relax herself.
It was a little after noon when a sereneness that had fallen over the Express was cut through by a clamoring from the students on the train. Something had happened to cause an excitement. Rosie and Elladora shared looks before the door to their compartment was pushed back, revealing a friendly looking woman. "Would you dears like something off the cart?"
Rosie looked lost, turning back to Elladora for guidance. Elladora perked up, pulling some silver pieces from her pocket, "Can I get some Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's for my friend and I, please?"
Elladora divided what she had purchased between Rosie and herself. Rosie thanked the girl before picking up one of the Chocolate Frog packages and looking over it curiously. "What is this?"
"A Chocolate Frog! Only one of the best sweets of the wizard world." Elladora gushed, "Pure chocolatey goodness, just don't let it jump away."
Rosie couldn't tell if Elladora was being serious, but her curiosity overruled her hesitance as she opened the container carefully. The packaging was beautiful: a deep purple with gold swirls to accent it, and inside it contained chocolate perfectly carved into the shape of a frog. It reminded her of what her mom used to say when her grandmother would make gorgeous cakes for one of their birthdays: 'so beautiful I'm not sure I want to eat it'.
"Go on, Rosie, try it." Elladora encouraged, already opening her second.
Slowly, Rosie took a bite. The Chocolate Frog tasted perfectly sweet, an audible noise of happiness came out of her when it melted on her tongue. "That's incredible." she enthused, before looking back into the box. A card laid on the bottom, and for a moment, she could swear that it was moving.
"Oh, your card. They provide one in every box, to collect, you know." Elladora said suddenly, "Any chance you've got Bertie Bott? I've been looking for one forever."
"Is it moving?" Rosie asked slowly, looking at the image on the card suspiciously.
"Oh yes, Mum always found that weird too." Elladora recalled, "The pictures in the Wizard World are all like that."
"Huh…" Rosie muttered, finally picking up the card. A woman in a beautiful dress, posing with her hands in her lap met eyes with Rosie. She had dark hair and a kind smile. Under the image of her was the name Helga Hufflepuff in a lovely font.
"Hufflepuff!" she exclaimed aloud, "Wasn't that one of the houses you mentioned?"
Elladora was picking through one of the Bertie Bott's boxes, making faces at each one she brought out, "Oh yes, she's one of the four founders of Hogwarts who gave her name to the house. She was incredibly kind and charming they say. Rumor is, she didn't want house division."
Rosie looked over the card, turning it and seeing a description written in small print: Loyal and charming, Helga Hufflepuff was the founder of Hufflepuff house at Hogwarts. She was particularly famous for her dexterity at food-related charms.
Rosie smiled to herself, slipping the card back into the the empty box and folding it carefully. Elladora had mentioned that they were collectibles, she could keep the ones she got in the box for safe keeping.
"Ugh!" Elladora made a sudden, disgusted noise and spit one of the beans from the Bertie Bott box on the ground, "Pepper!"
"Pepper?" Rosie repeated, sounding astonished, "Aren't those like jellybeans? Why would they make such an awful flavor?"
"That's the risk." Elladora said with a casual shrug, face still twisted in disgust from the flavor, "It's either really good or awful. Want to try one?"
"I think I'm good, thank you." Rosie said, looking a bit frightened. Elladora chuckled at the look on her face, returning to inspecting each bean one by one.
There was a sudden knock at the door, followed by it sliding open. On the other side, there was a messy haired, teary eyed boy who Rosie assumed was the same age as she and Elladora. The two girls looked onto the boy with concern.
"Sorry to bother, but- have- have you seen-" Rosie couldn't quite make out what the boy was saying, his voice was cracking and his breath was heaving.
Behind him, another girl with long, bushy hair and a young but serious face stuck her head in, "He's looking for his toad." she explained, "It's gone missing."
"Oh, that's awful." Rosie said, thinking how worried she'd be if Speaks had gone missing. Out of nerves, she quickly peeked under the blanket that covered his cage, relieved to find the owl sleeping without a care in the world.
"We'll help you find it." Elladora suggested, obviously thinking the same thing as Rosie when she glanced back at the tank beside her containing Cocoa. "I'll go with you." she said to the girl, "Rosie, you go with him. We can cover more ground if we split up."
It seemed as soon as Ellie had said it, she and the bushy haired girl were gone, leaving the crying boy and Rosie alone together. "We'll find your toad." Rosie said soothingly, standing from her spot, "What's his name?"
"Trevor." the boy croaked, "And I'm Neville. Thank you."
"It's no problem, Neville." Rosie assured, starting out of the compartment with the boy, "I'm Rosie, by the way."
The two didn't speak between themselves much more for a while, only peeked into other compartments and looked around the floor in the hopes of seeing the toad. When the silence had become to solemn, Rosie spoke again.
"So, are you a first year?" Rosie asked.
Neville nodded, "I'm so nervous." he murmured, "I can't be in Gryffindor or Slytherin or Ravenclaw… Maybe they'll let me into Hufflepuff, it seems nice there."
"I'm just hoping I get into a house." Rosie said, nodding along with the boy's worries. It was nice to speak to someone as concerned as she was. She set her hand on another door to a compartment, "We haven't checked here, hopefully-"
"N-no!" Neville said quickly, "Malfoy is in there, and he's mean. He'll only say something nasty to us if we ask."
Rosie admitted that it made her feel nervous, but she was determined to help find the toad. "Well, you can stay back here." she assured gently, "I'll just quickly go in and ask, you don't have to face-"
Rosie was interrupted by the door of the compartment sliding open, a tuft of white blonde hair was the first thing she saw and she met eyes with a smirking boy. The same one from the dress shop. On either side of him, there were two other, mean looking boys. One was quite tall and thin, the other short and a bit more wide, they shared the boy's smirk.
"What are you looking at? You're the mudblood from the-"
"Hey!" Neville said quickly, Rosie looked back over at the boy, surprised by the confidence in his voice, "She- she's with me."
"Because that makes it better." the boy said in a bored tone.
"We're looking for Neville's toad, Trevor, have you seen him?" Rosie asked quickly, hoping to avoid a confrontation.
"No, and if I had, I wouldn't tell you." the boy spat out, shoving past the two of them. The mean looking boys following after and snickering.
"I'm sorry he said that to you." Neville said once the boys were out of sight, "You were only helping me."
"It's fine." Rosie assured the boy, she hadn't even known what the word meant, but she figured it wasn't the best time to be asking such a question. "I appreciate you defending me, though. That was very brave."
"Oh, no.." Neville said quickly, looking a bit embarrassed, "I'm not brave."
Rosie almost made a move to disagree, but Elladora popped out, "Rosie! I got to catch a glance of the Chosen One! The actual Harry Potter."
Rosie smiled when Elladora grabbed her arms in excitement, "That's fantastic, Ellie."
Elladora went onto a ramble almost immediately, recounting her run in with the Chosen One. Rosie couldn't make out much, the girl was talking so fast. Rosie and Neville met eyes for a moment, she could tell he was beginning to lose hope over the toad.
"Ellie," Rosie said once the other girl had finished talking, "Is there any chance that you found Neville's toad?"
"Oh! Yes! Well, not me. A man named Hagrid did."
Neville sighed in relief, "Thank Merlin, and thank you two for helping." he said quickly, before rushing off to go find the man.
Elladora grinned, "Well, the day is saved." she said, rubbing her hands together, "We should go get changed into our robes, Hogwarts is right down the line."
Rosie returned the girl's smile, excitement returning.
As the two rushed back to their compartment, removing their sweaters and extra layers in replacement for their robes, a voice came on over the intercom informing them that they'd arrive at Hogwarts in just a few minutes. Luggage, however, had to stay on the train so Rosie and Elladora said bye to Cocoa and Speaks before heading off.
When stuck in a large crowd of people off of the train, Rosie suddenly felt terrified again. She saw a freckled, red head boy standing next to the chosen one who looked like he was about to be sick. She noticed that it wasn't just him, many people in the group were showing signs of nervousness. Shuffling feet, messing with their hair, fidgeting hands- even Ellie seemed to be a little on edge.
A large, friendly looking man called first years over and as Rosie and Elladora made their way over at the back of the group, they both caught glance of the twins and Lee, who gave thumbs up of encouragement before heading over the opposite way. Ellie and Rosie both seemed to relax a bit, the two sharing small smiles.
"Wow, that lake is huge.." Rosie said aloud, admiring the vast, black water. She could see in the distance, a large castle on top of a mountain, illuminated by the stars in the sky.
Being the last to arrive, Rosie and Elladora got in the last boat left before the one that the large man had all to himself. The man smiled at the girls, a sweet smile that made them both feel comforted. No one said any words as the boats crossed the lake, too busy viewing the castle with anxiety and excitement swirling.