Chapter 13: My First Time Getting Lost in Hogwarts

In the morning, I pretend to sleep as the other girls in the dormitory wake up and get dressed. I listen to them all, not wanting to let them see that I'm awake and can hear them, as they whisper about me. I can't make out all of what they're saying, they're talking too quietly for that. But I catch bits and pieces of their quiet conversations.

"…her parents…"

"…she grew up in a muggle orphanage…"

"…killed by…"

I try to listen harder. Do they somehow know who killed my parents? That can't be possible though, can it?

I stay in my bed, pretending to still be asleep, the canopy around my bed pulled closed, until I'm sure all of the girls are gone, heading down to the great hall for breakfast. Then, I finally sit up and push the covers off of me so that I can climb out of bed. Instead of changing out of my night dress and into my school robes right away, though, I pull my suitcase out from under my bed. With all of my stuff put away, the only things left in my suitcase are my manga.

Sitting cross legged on the floor, I pop open the clasps and lift the lid of the suitcase. My manga are neatly filed inside, the spines facing out so that I can see their titles easily. I recognize my mom's manga easily, because they have no titles on their spines, or on their covers.

I have three of them now – the one I've had all my life that shows when my parents first met each other and Tonks, the one that the strange bird dropped in front of me just before I left the orphanage that shows me meeting the twins, and the one that George found on the seat of our train compartment. I haven't opened that last one yet. I almost go to now, but something feels wrong about opening reading it now. Somehow, I feel like I shouldn't. Not yet, at least.

So instead, I pull out the one I've had most of my life. On the cover of it is my mom when she was a teenager, looking powerful and brave and ready for any kind of adventure. She's not wearing Hogwarts school robes. I remember, from this manga, that she was never actually a student of Hogwarts. She ended up on Platform 9 ¾ that day by accident, while on the run from those strange, dark figures. My dad was never a student at Hogwarts either, having accidently ended up on the platform some other way that the manga doesn't mention.

I thumb through the manga now, going straight to the back page. Even though my mom made it herself, instead of using any publishing companies or anything, she made it just like any manga that my parents used to buy me from stores. And that means, at the back, there's a picture of the cover of volume two of the series. And that means that there are more of these that my mom made about her life.

So then, where are they? I don't know what happened to any of my parents' stuff after they died. The rest of my stuff, the house, anything. For all I know, it's all been sold off or destroyed or just left to gather dust.

I have to find them though, the rest of my mom's manga about her left. Now that I know it's not just fantasy, that it's all real, I have to find the rest and see what happened to my parents after the battle on Platform 9¾ where my parents met. And where they met Tonks.

Tonks! I bet she knows something! She and my parents might have stayed friends after that day, and if they did, then she might know what happened to my family's stuff. I'll have to write to Tonks after all. Except…I have no idea where to send the letter to…

Sighing, I put my mom's manga back into my suitcase and take out the first volume of one of my favorite series so that I have something to read if I have any free time today. Then I close the lid of my suitcase and snap the clasps closed again, before pushing the suitcase back under the bed and getting up to get ready for the day.

After I've dressed and put up my hair into two ballet buns, using my ribbons to hold them together and leaving almost half a foot of ribbon trailing out, I gather up my books and finally leave the dormitory. In the Gryffindor common room, I notice from the clock that I'll be late to my first class if I don't hurry. I'll have to skip breakfast today.

I hurry out of the common room and down the corridors, headed for my first class. After a few minutes of running and several turns, though, I stop running and realize I have absolutely no idea where I'm going. I look around, trying to catch my breath. I've never run that much before. Except maybe when I was really little, but all really little kids have endless energy and stamina. I don't.

After I've rested for a little bit, I start moving again. Only this time, I walk. I'm not going to figure out which way I'm supposed to be going any faster by running.

As I wander the corridors, I'm not too surprised to find that I'm the only one wandering around. Everyone else, both professors and students, are all in classrooms by now. Just like I should be.

I sigh. It's only the first day of school and I'm already doing badly, unable to even find my way to my first class. I shouldn't have pretended to be asleep for so long. If I'd gotten up with the other girls, I would have been able to catch Fred and George in the common room or in the great hall, and I could have gone to class with them.

I stop, hearing whispers from nearby. Hearing my last name, I slip off my shoes, carrying them in my arms with my books, and creep silently closer to the voices. They're coming from just around the corner, so I hide myself behind the tapestry hanging from the wall, just before the corridor splits three ways, and listen. I don't recognize either of the voices, but I know that I'll be able to recognize them later on, once I've met more people around Hogwarts. So I content myself with just hiding and listening to their conversation.

"How did the Oshiro girl end up here?" a man demands harshly, his voice low.

"W-W-Well i-it h-h-has no-nothing t-to do w-with m-me," another man says, stuttering badly.

"Then how did it happen?" the first man demands even more harshly.

"M-M-May-Maybe th-th-they…"

"Impossible," the first man cuts off the second before he can finish. "I obliviated the Oshiros myself. They had no memory of anything that happened."

"Bu-Bu-But th-th-th-there w-were others," the stuttering man says.

There's a brief pause before the first man asks cautiously, "How many others?"

"I-I-I d-don't nuh-nuh-know. A luh-luh-lot. Huh-huh-hundreds. A-At least."

"Then how didn't any of us know at the time?"

"Nuh-nuh-not a-all of th-th-them w-were i-i-in-involved. Ju-just th-the O-O-Oshrios."

"Then why would other's be a problem?" the first man snaps angrily, clearly growing frustrated.

"Th-th-there's wuh-wuh-one, a g-g-g-girl, sh-she sees eh-eh-eh-verything. Sh-sh-she's a…a…pr-prophet o-of s-so-sorts."

"Then she could know everything that happened," the first man concludes. "Could it have been her who arranged the girl to come here?"

"D-D-D-Definitely. Sh-she's v-v-v-very puh-puh-powerful. Th-th-there a-a-are s-some wh-who s-say sh-she c-c-con-controls the wuh-wuh-world."

"Well I very much doubt that. Still, having the Oshiro girl so close could be a problem. She could learn everyone's secrets. Yours included."

"A-a-and y-y-yours," the stutterer says pointedly, though the stutter takes away any authority or threat in his voice.

"I suggest you worry less about me and more about yourself," the first man says darkly, the threat clear in his voice. "Someone's coming."

And with that, their conversation is over, as I hear faint footsteps coming down the corridor I'm hiding behind the tapestry in. Suddenly there are three pairs of footsteps walking, The two men part ways, one of them going down another corridor and the other coming down the same corridor I'm on. He passes right in front of my tapestry, and I hold my breath, hoping I don't get caught.

But the man just keeps on walking right past my tapestry.

"Good morning, Professor Snape." I recognize Charlie's voice as he greets the professor pleasantly. Professor Snape, however, doesn't respond, simply continuing to walk.

I carefully track everyone footsteps, waiting until Charlie passes my tapestry before I poke my head out to watch Professor Snape's back as he walks down the corridor, until he turns the corner and disappears.

Professor Snape knows something about my family. And, from the sounds of that conversation, about even more.

"Hear anything interesting?" Charlie asks from right behind me, making me jump and bite back a scream, as I whirl around. He's leaning with his shoulder against the wall just on the other side of the corner, one hand in his pocket while the other holds his books. I gape at him, mouth open and eyes wide, trying to figure out how he caught me. He was gone by the time I came out. He'd rounded the corner, he couldn't have seen me!

"Fred and George have been trouble makers practically since they were born. You're going to have to do better than going behind a tapestry to hide from me," Charlie smirks, as if answering my question. I huff in annoyance. I thought I'd done really good, too. Then my eyes widen again. If Charlie knew where I was, does that mean Professor Snape did too?

"Don't worry, if Professor Snape didn't drag you out, he didn't know you were there. Might want to hone your skills though. You'll be sorry if Snape ever does catch you," Charlie says, making me wonder again if Weasleys can read minds. "You get lost?"

I nod.

Charlie nods, smiling, "I figured. There's always a few. Come on, I'll show you the way. Transfiguration, right?"

I nod again, and he pushes away from the wall to start walking. I quickly put my shoes back on and then run to catch up with him.

It seems like we walk through the castle for forever though, and before we actually reach the classroom, my legs hurt again and I'm starting to become out of breath again. I realize my steps are slowing and I'm falling behind Charlie, so I quickly jog to catch up with him. This happens a few times before Charlie finally stops.

"Give me your books," he holds out his hand for them.

I just stand there and stare at him for a minute, wondering if he plans on making off with my books. But…he's Fred and George's older brother, so I don't think he'll do something like that. So I hesitantly hand over my books. Once he has them, he kneels down in front of me with his back facing me. "Come on, I'll give you a ride."

I hesitate for another few seconds, but then I climb onto Charlie's back, wrapping my arms loosely around his neck as he stands up, putting his arms around my legs to hold me steady as he starts walking down the corridor.

"Fred and George will be happy to see you," he says as he walks. "I think they were worried when you didn't show up at breakfast. They tried to go back to the common room to find you, but Professor Snape caught them trying to skip class. You never want to get in trouble with Snape. He's head of Slytherin, so he hates Gryffindors. Here we are."

Charlie stops walking and sets me down, then turns to face me and hands me my books again. As I hug them to my chest, he says, "Try to stick with the twins from now on. Don't want you getting lost trying to get to all your classes." He smiles and waves as he turns and leaves. I watch him go until he rounds a corner and is out of sight.

Then I turn towards the double doors he dropped me off in front of, and I have to use all my little strength to push them open. When they do open, they open loudly, and instantly everyone inside the classroom is turned to look at me. I spot the twins and their red hair instantly, and they're both grinning at me. I don't know what comes over me in that moment, but I suddenly stick my tongue out at the two of them. They start laughing, but I know they're not necessarily laughing at me, the way the girls in the orphanage always did.

"Nice of you to join us, Miss Oshiro," the woman in the emerald robes says, standing at the front of the room. My eyes widen as I look at her, knowing for sure that I'm about to get in trouble.

"It's our fault she's late," Fred speaks up before anything more can be said or done.

"We were supposed to show her the way," George says.

"But we forgot and left without her," Fred nods, glancing between me and the professor. They're both smiling way too innocently to be convincing.

Professor McGonagall looks in between the three of us for a moment before finally saying, "Very well. Then all three of you will get detention if she is late again," she looks at the twins in a way that makes me think she's trying to will them into changing their minds and say I'm on my own, so that they won't get in trouble if I'm late again.

But the twins simply smile and say together, "Yes ma'am."

"Take your seat, Miss Oshiro," Professor McGonagall tells me, pointing to the only empty seat left in the room – in the back row, one row behind the twins and on the other side of the aisle in the center. I glance at the twins as I make my way to that seat, sitting down next to a strange boy.