After the meeting with Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, the rest of the Winter Holidays seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Coralie completed her schoolwork, Guinevere played in the trees surrounding their home, while Susannah and Burton spent their mornings and afternoons, respectively, at the Ministry of Magic. By the end of the break, none of them thought about the meeting anymore, until yet another letter arrived from the Headmaster containing the address of Hermione Granger and a request for Coralie and Guinevere to write to her.
"What exactly does he want you to write?" Susannah asked as she read the letter again. Her daughters both shrugged as they packed up Coralie's belongings into her trunk.
"Probably some general information about our culture. Holidays, important people, traditions, stuff like that," Guinevere pointed out while putting several more bundles of parchment into the trunk.
"Yep, and I'll have to write about Hogwarts life as a Slytherin," Coralie muttered as she shoved a few more articles of clothing to wear outside of class. Her mother sighed and set the letter down before walking over to help the two of them.
"Maybe this girl will be nice," Susannah pointed out. Her daughters paused for a moment before shoving the last few things into the trunk. "How about you go write a quick letter now just telling her about yourselves, we'll send them in the morning on the way to King's Cross, and then it'll at least be done?"
Coralie closed her trunk with a loud snap, while Guinevere stood and cracked her back. "I guess it can't hurt to just get it over with," The latter pointed out.
"Yeah, I guess," Her older sister agreed before walking off to their bedroom to grab a quill, some ink and sheet of parchment. Guinevere followed her, and brought her supplies back into the living room to set them on the dining room table.
"Why can't you both just use the desks in your room?" Susannah asked, her fingers coming up to pinch the bridge of her nose. Her daughters shrugged before getting on with their letter writing, praying that this girl wasn't absolutely horrid all the while.
XXX
Guinevere set her quill down after writing for a short while, both sides of her piece of parchment filled with her rough and almost illegible scrawl. She shrugged and blew on the ink to dry it before reading over it.
"Dear Hermione Granger,
My name is Guinevere Crouch, I am an incoming student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, just like you. I am eleven years old, I have one older sister named Coralie (she wrote you a letter too) and I have a pet owl named Rupert. He's a very dumb-looking boy cause he's a long eared owl and they have those flappy things on their heads, but hey he's still great. Do you have any pets? Will you get one when you come to Hogwarts? I'm going to get a cat like my sister did. Anyways, I heard you want to know more about the Wizarding World and I'm here to help out. Send me your questions, my address is on the envelope.
Bye bye,
Guinevere Crouch"
Guinevere tapped the ink a few times before folding it up and sticking it in a nearby envelope. She looked over at her sister, who was skimming her own letter with a slight frown.
"Dear Hermione Granger,
I am Coralie Christian Crouch, and I am writing to you in regards to your concerns about Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and how it functions as a whole. For some background, I am thirteen years old and in my second year at Hogwarts while my younger sister will be in first year with you this coming September. My favorite subject is Defense Against the Dark Arts, closely followed by Potions, while my least favorite is Herbology.
Now, onto the major points. Our student body is divided amongst four Houses which decide where you live in the castle, and are chosen for you based on your most prominent personality traits. Their names are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and my own house, Slytherin. The traits that each of them look for are courage and bravery, loyalty and patience, intelligence and creativity, and finally ambition and cunning, respectively. You'll be placed into your house at the Sorting Ceremony on your first night in the castle, just before the Welcoming Feast.
Our achievements as individual students reflect on our Houses, just as our misdeeds do through the points system. Teachers, prefects, and the Head Boy and Girl can award or remove points as they see fit depending on the magnitude of whatever the student has done. So, you can either be on your very very best behavior, or just don't get caught. At the end of the year, whichever House has the most points wins the House Cup which is a contest meant to inspire us to do well as we compete against our peers.
We have seven core subjects: Astronomy, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, and Transfiguration. Each Head of House also teaches a core subject, so you'll be able to talk to them after class if you also have more general questions.
In regards to extracurriculars, students can create clubs as they see fit (pending approval from teachers) but the most popular one would be Quidditch. It's the only school sport available, and it has its own competition between the Houses called the Quidditch Cup.
Well, that's all I have for now. If you want to know more about anything, please write back with any of your questions and I'll try to reply in a timely manner.
Sincerely,
Coralie Crouch"
Just like her sister, Coralie folded up her letter, placed it inside an envelope, and wrote the address for Crouch Cottage on the back before standing up to bring it out to her mother. She yawned as she walked, so glad she was going to be in bed shortly and then be back in Hogwarts by tomorrow evening.
XXXXXX
Athena Burke stood on Platform 9 and ¾ with a mild scowl on her face as her mother Belvina fretted over her appearance and her father Herbert kept an eye on her younger brother. Her eyes flicked over the students that were rapidly flooding the platform with annoyance, until they landed on the mass of redheads erupting from the brick entrance. She crouched slightly and grabbed her belongings before making her way over to the train.
"Have a good term Athena," She turned back to face her father, "Make our family proud." With that, her family turned on their heels and made their way over to the various entrances to the Floo network. A moment later they vanished through the green flames, leaving Athena alone on the platform.
"Time for you to fly, Oliver," She bent down and unlatched the clasp securing his cage, "Go, I'll see you when we get to Hogwarts." Her winged companion stared up at her for a moment before flying away in a clumsy mess of feathers towards the Scottish Highlands. Athena watched him fly for a moment before climbing onto the Hogwarts Express and hunting down her best friends.
XXX
"Hey, Crouch!" Coralie and Guinevere both turned towards the shout as they made their way onto the Platform. The former winced at the sight of Cassius Warrington walking over to them and waited for him to approach her.
"What do you need, Warrington?" She asked coolly. Warrington shot her a smug grin and ran one of his hands through his light blonde hair. Guinevere held back a laugh as she watched him closely.
"I was thinking you could come sit with me and my mates on the train this time, what d'you say?" Coralie raised an eyebrow and eyed him up and down.
"Not a chance, I'll be sitting with Athena thank you," She replied before turning on her heel and guiding her sister away from the boy. Eventually they caught up to their parents who were waiting beside the trolley that held Coralie's trunk and Napoli in his crate. Susannah smiled at the two of them as they approached.
"Now, just remember-" Coralie rolled her eyes.
"Don't let the other teachers talk down to you, be nice to the other purebloods, don't let yourself be neglected due to Gryffindor favoritism, and have fun," She listed, earning a cross between a smile and a glare from her mum.
"And don't be rude," Susannah added. Burton chuckled and ruffled his eldest daughter's hair before passing her the trunk and crate.
"Have a good time kiddo," He said. Coralie smiled up at him and hugged him tightly before turning her attention back to her younger sister.
"Write to me often, okay?" She hugged Guinevere tightly, "And if Hermione writes back forward the letter to me." Her younger sister nodded and hugged her back for a moment before pulling away.
"Go, your friends are waiting for you," Guinevere said. Coralie nodded and gave each of her parents one last hug before boarding the train.
XXX
The search for her friends ended up being fruitless for the moment, and so Athena picked a random empty compartment and settled her bags on the shelf. Once they were steady she reached into her trunk and pulled out her copy of Orbits and Placements: How to Find and Study Planets and Moons by Virginette Raoul as well as a quill and a small inkwell. Her coal clack eyes scanned the pages while her left hand scribbled notes in the margins with the quill, only pausing when the door to the compartment opened to reveal Fred, George and Lee with their respective luggage.
"Took you long enough," She teased before focusing back on the pages in front of her with a slight smile. The three of them eventually got situated and pulled out their deck of Exploding Snap cards, filling the mostly silent compartment with the sound of cards slapping against the cushions, interspersed with the occasional page turn and scratch of a quill. She looked up for a moment at the three boys.
"Did any of you see Cora board the train?" They all shared a look before shaking their heads. Athena frowned and stood up, stepping over the boys' legs as she moved to look out the compartment windows into the hallway. However, she didn't end up needing to for the door opened just as the train pulled away from the station to reveal Coralie, winded and clutching her side tightly as she wheezed. Her friends all stared at her, confusion stamped on their faces in the form of raised brows and wide eyes.
"Hey guys," She gasped out with a smile.
"What happened to you then?" George asked as he stood to help her place her luggage onto the rack. Napoli meowed as Coralie pulled him from the crate before putting it on the shelf.
"I got roped into talking to some of the upper year Slytherins," The blonde explained as she attempted to catch her breath. "I ended up having to make a break for it before I got stuck sitting with them."
"Well, take a seat lovely Cora, it's time for an ancient ritual," Fred began as the trolley lady approached. George and Lee shared an evil grin as he stood up and ducked out of the compartment, only to return with a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans.
"Oh no," Athena groaned as she remembered her particular lack of luck with these. Coralie however, beamed and leaned closer to the boys as Fred pried open the box. "You know this is a horrendous idea right?"
"C'mon Tina, live a little," Lee crowed while leaning in to pat the dark-haired witch on the back. She scowled at him but eventually released a sigh and moved closer as well.
"Now, we all know the rules but some people," Fred glanced over at George, "Need a reminder every so often."
"How many times are we gonna do this Freddie, I don't cheat," His twin replied with a lazy grin, "Just have the better luck between the two of us."
"Anyways! You must take a bean each round, if you get a 'bad flavor' the rest of the group gets to ask you an embarrassing question. However, if you get a 'good flavor' you get a point. Whoever gets the most points gets a cauldron cake from the person who does the worst, and you are not allowed to take two beans for a better chance at a good one," Fred explained, grinning at Coralie as she rubbed her palms together in excitement, "The game ends when we run out of beans or when the train ride is over, whichever comes first."
"Hurry up Fred, some of us are feeling quite peckish," Lee complained, throwing his head back as he groaned. The twins laughed and opened up the box just a little more.
"Alright everyone, time for round one," Coralie cheered with a grin as she plucked a bean from the top. Athena followed her motions reluctantly, her nose crinkling as she regarded the box.
"Hold 'em up," George ordered, displaying his light blue, almost white, bean. Coralie held up a bright red one, Athena's was a freckled orange, Lee's was a pale pink, and Fred's was an almost blindingly bright green.
"Three, two, one, go!" Lee cried out as they all popped their beans in their mouths. He immediately gagged, as did George, while the other three let out loud hums of delight.
"I got cranberry!" Coralie said as she swallowed her bean.
"Green apple, not too bad," Fred said.
"Marmalade," Athena finished with a grin, "Now, what shall we ask them?"
"Well, first off, what flavors were they?" Coralie asked, gesturing at the two suffering boys.
"Prawn," Lee replied as he scrubbed his tongue with the sleeve of his jumper.
"Soap," George gagged as he mimicked Lee.
"Ah hah! Justice is served!" Fred cheered, grinning as they continued making faces of disgust. Coralie and Athena cackled with laughter before getting together as a group to decide on a question.
Finally, they turned back to face the two boys with carefully schooled poker-faces.
"If you had to pick one Professor to ask on a date, which one would it be?" The three of them asked, their eyes twinkling as their friends shifted in discomfort.
"I mean…" George leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling, "Professor Sinistra is pretty good looking." Lee nodded along as he thought it over.
"Yeah, I'd either ask her or the Muggle Studies teacher, Professor Bur-something or other," He decided. Fred and the girls laughed before snaking their hands back into the box for another round.
XXX
By the time the Hogwarts Express pulled into the station, they had played five additional rounds before calling it quits as their taste buds were overwhelmed and their stomachs couldn't take much more of the abuse. Coralie ended up getting Roast Beef, Grass, Cheese, Strawberry and Peanut Butter Ice Cream, and finally Peppermint, leaving her with five out of the six possible points. Tied with her, George got Eclair, Sulphur, Mashed Potatoes, Toffee Apple, and Bacon. Athena and Lee tied for second place, with her getting Vomit, Liver, Buttered Popcorn, Sweaty Feet and Vanilla Bean; while Lee received Pizza, Mushrooms, Dirty Socks, Strawberry, and finally Banana. Finally, Fred came last after his initially good play after being dealt Lobster, Cabbage, Onion, Envelope Glue, and Black Pepper.
"C'mon, cough up those Cauldron Cakes," George cheered, his arm slung across Coralie's shoulders as they celebrated their victory. Their friends rolled their eyes and pulled out 2 sickles each before dashing off to the trolley. The remaining redhead ruffled the blonde's hair.
"Well, fellow victor, how else should we celebrate?" He asked as they started pulling luggage down from the shelves. Coralie pulled away to scoop up Napoli and set him back in his crate.
"Hmm… A trip to the kitchens for extra dessert certainly wouldn't go amiss," She pointed out. George nodded with a grin.
"I'm thinking trifle, how about you?"
"Treacle tart sounds amazing right now," She admitted. The both of them looked over as the door swung back open to reveal their friends and their cauldron cakes. Athena grumbled as she handed over the food, only to grin as Coralie split her cauldron cake in half and gave part of it to her.
"C'mon Georgie, why don't you share like Cora?" Fred moaned disappointedly as George shoved the entire pastry into his mouth. The latter grinned after he swallowed it and passed Fred his trunk.
"Cos I'm not as nice as her," He replied. Athena laughed as she ate her treat.
"No, it's cause she hopes I'll keep sharing my Astronomy notes with her," She said, raising an eyebrow at her best friend who blushed slightly. Athena grinned and pulled her into a side hug before disembarking the train with her bags in hand. Everyone else slowly followed her until they managed to get into a carriage which brought them back to the entrance of Hogwarts.
XXXXXX
Frigid days spent inside the castle at lessons or outside having snowball fights passed by relatively quickly, especially for the twins and Athena who were quickly thrown back into the routine of Quidditch practices as they prepared for their first matches of the term. Gryffindor had already faced off against Ravenclaw the first Saturday after returning, and had beaten them rather easily, so now the three of them were preparing to face each other in the upcoming Gryffindor vs Slytherin match.
Now this rarely led to any fighting within their group, but that didn't mean they couldn't have a little fun and prank each other during the matches. In fact, they took great pleasure in doing so as a way to let out any left over competitiveness that didn't get used up in the actual games. During the first term, Athena and Coralie had come up with the ingenious idea of charming the Gryffindor stands to turn all of the students' clothes, banners and facepaint to Slytherin colors if they touched them even slightly. Of course, it was now the twins' turn to come up with something equally dastardly.
It took them a while to plan it out, especially when the amount of time spent brewing the potion required for it was taken into account, but they managed to be ready before their last practice before the game. And so, just before they locked up the storage rooms where all of the brooms were kept, the twins carefully pulled out seven vials from their robes and nestled them into the bundle of twigs on the end of each broomstick.
"Reckon they'll work properly Freddie?" George asked as he secured the last one inside their Captain's broomstick. His twin sent him a victorious smirk and nodded.
"We're golden, George, nothing's gonna dislodge them 'till we make 'em."
"Then we'd better clear out before Wood decides to come back and finds us here."
The twins bolted out of the storage rooms, back to Gryffindor Tower and settled into bed with eager grins and excitement at the thought of what the match would entail.
XXX
Coralie grinned at Athena as she sat down beside her at the Slytherin table for breakfast and loaded her plate with eggs and toast with some strawberry jam. The latter shoved more pancake down her throat, the taste of the fluffy food soaked in maple syrup just what she needed before the match. As both of them ate their food they watched as Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Quidditch Captain, approached them from further down the table.
"Burke, are you ready?" He demanded, staring down at the olive-skinned girl as she chugged her pumpkin juice.
Athena slammed her goblet down on the table before standing up and grinning at Flint. "Ready, cap'n. Let's do this."
Coralie laughed and watched them leave while continuing to eat her breakfast. Once her plate was clean she pulled out her Potions essay and proofread it, correcting mistakes as she went. Eventually the clock struck nine, forcing her to pack away her work before following the rest of the students out of the Great Hall and down to the Quidditch Pitch. As they approached, she could hear the roars of cheering emanating from Gryffindors and Slytherins alike as the excitement built up like electricity in the crowd.
She managed to find a seat mid-way up the stands, and noticed that the only first year Slytherin, Solstice Bitterwood, was sitting all by herself a few seats over. Coralie frowned at the sight and marched over to the young girl whose dull, straight brown hair blew about her in the wind and hid her lonely expression. She tapped the girl on her shoulder and smiled down at her when she looked up.
"Sit with me!" She said, struggling to be heard over the breeze. Solstice's eyes widened in shock and she brushed her hair from her face.
"Um- um-" The girl stammered, her watery blue eyes ever widening in shock. She didn't get a chance to say anything else as Coralie grabbed her hands and pulled her over to where she was sitting. Solstice plopped down beside her, still unable to comprehend what was happening.
"Sorry! I would've sat where you were but this is where I always sit so my friend can find me," Coralie looked back out at the pitch, "And I wasn't about to let you keep sitting alone."
"I'm sorry," Solstice leaned in so the other girl could hear her better, "But, who are you?"
"Oh," The blonde turned back to face her with a charming smile, "My name is Coralie Crouch, but most people either call me Cora or Crouch depending on the person. Remind me of your name?"
"Solstice Bitterwood," She replied, tentatively returning the smile, "When is your friend coming?"
"She's not," Coralie's smile morphed into a vicious grin, "She's playing for Slytherin." The players began ascending into the air, waiting for Madam Hooch to release the Quaffle. "See," She pointed at Athena, sporting her jersey, "Number 3, that's her."
"So you sit here," Solstice looked up at Athena's distant form, "So she can see you cheering for her?"
"Yep!" Coralie chirped. The brunette nodded in understanding and focused on Madam Hooch's form as she made her way onto the pitch. Far away, Lee was adjusting his microphone as he began the preliminary commentary for the day's match.
"Hello Hogwarts and welcome to the second match of the spring term!" He said, grinning as he spoke, "Playing today is Gryffindor against Slytherin, the long reigning champions of the Quidditch Cup, with no reserves on either team. Hopefully we see some real excitement today folks…"
Fred and George grinned at each other as Lee spoke, all too excited for the prank they had so brilliantly concocted. Neither of them noticed Athena frowning at them before shaking her head and adjusting her bat in her left hand, more than ready for the game.
"Our lovely Madam Hooch is now in the center of the pitch, unlocking the trunk. First out," Two brown balls slightly smaller than cantaloupes whizzed out of the trunk, "The bludgers! The Weasley twins of Gryffindor as well as Burke and Bole of Slytherin will be the masterful handlers of those today," A small gold ball with wings zipped out of the trunk, "Ah yes, the Golden Snitch! Charlie Weasley and Terrence Higgs will have a hard time keeping their eyes on that!"
"Get on with it Mr. Jordan," Professor McGonagall snapped out, incredibly audible due to her proximity to the microphone.
"Alright, alright Professor!" Everyone watched with bated breath as Madam Hooch removed the Quaffle and grinned up at all the players. Suddenly, it flew into the air, out of her arms, "The Quaffle's been released, and the game begins!"
Coralie let out a loud cheer as the players burst into action, brooms rushing through the sky with a fury as Chaser's passed the Quaffle and tried their best to avoid the roaring Bludgers as the Beater's bats hit them louder than thunderclaps. Solstice watched in awe as Athena streaked through the sky on one of Gryffindor's chaser's tails.
"She's amazing!" She breathed out. The blonde smirked at her.
"She's left handed."
Solstice gaped at the Slytherin beater as she swung with her left hand and hit the bludger into the Chaser's left leg hard enough to shatter the bone.
"And Burke lands a Bludger into Angelina Johnson's leg, she might need a Healer after that one!" Lee continued. Fred and George glared at Athena as the Quaffle fell from Angelina's arms and into those of Marcus Flint. As he took off across the pitch, Charlie Weasley inspected Angelina's leg. It seemed to be only very badly bruised since she had put on all the required pads, not broken. The both of them flew off a moment later, frantically trying to stop Slytherin from gaining momentum as Flint managed to score through Gryffindor's left hoop.
"That's ten points for Slytherin, none for Gryffindor!" Lee called out.
Athena's eyes narrowed into slits as she streaked through the air, her grip tight but not locked as she waited for the best moment to swing at the violent Bludgers. She watched as she drew ever closer to the Slytherin hoops, just as Gryffindor's other chaser, Adam Bramley, approached from the other side. A split second later, her bat collided with the Bludger and sent it rocketing through the middle hoop, past their Keeper, and right into Bramley's face.
A whistle blew. Coralie groaned in disappointment and slumped beside Solstice who frowned in confusion.
"Is that not allowed?" She asked, turning to look at the blonde.
"Technically, no," She admitted, her lips pursed.
"What do you mean 'technically?'"
"That's been done before by other teams in the past, and allowed without penalty, but those teams were not Slytherin."
"Seriously? If Gryffindor had done that, they wouldn't have said anything?"
"Indeed," Coralie sneered at Madam Hooch as she yelled at her best friend.
After that mishap, the game proceeded without much fuss until Slytherin's seeker did a sharp dive after a shining fleck of gold. The entire house jumped to their feet, shrieking and cheering him on wildly. He drew closer. His hand reached out.
And then there was an explosion, followed by a Bludger slamming right into their Seeker's ribs. Athena snarled at the twins, Fred looking rather smug as he twirled his bat, only to look past them at the cloud of pink dust that was falling onto the faculty as well as Slytherin House as their cheers died out. Her mouth dropped open, as did almost everyone else's.
"Oh my god," She whispered, her shock quickly turning to realization. Athena quickly leaned forward and slammed the nearest Bludger, watching with a bright grin as every other player moved just a second too late, too distracted by the pink cloud to protect their Keeper as the Bludger hit his hip and sent him flying off his broom.
"Nice one Burke!" Flint called out as he tossed the Quaffle through the now unprotected hoops, earning another ten points to add to their previous eighty. She gave him a thumbs up and went back to chasing the Bludgers, hitting them so that they either flew in front of the Chasers and startled them to a stop, or directly into their bodies for a more immediate solution.
Fred and George grinned as they weaved through the mess of bodies and broomsticks, their bats hitting their marks as well as they could in all the confusion. Several players hadn't been able to pull their eyes off of the pink dust quickly enough and were now struggling to play catch-up as each team hit harder and harder with each move.
Their eyes widened in horror as they watched the Slytherin Seeker go for the Snitch again, Fred immediately scrambled to find a Bludger to hit him with, George took off in hopes that he could side-check him hard enough to throw him from his broom.
And then the whistle blew. The Snitch fluttered in the grasp of a brown leather glove. Cheers erupted through the pitch.
And Charlie Weasley held up his fist with a grin brighter than the orb inside it.
XXXXXX
Needless to say, the twins earned plenty of detentions with Professor McGonagall for the fiasco at that Quidditch match, but they thought it was well worth it. In fact, as the term progressed right up to the Easter holidays, the two of them mentioned often with pride and dreamy smiles. Of course, that didn't slide with Coralie and Athena who either slugged them or jinxed them when they got a tad too cocky about it.
However, Coralie had been rather distracted from the three of them as she began receiving letters from Hermione Granger, courtesy of her sister. They were usually no longer than a page long, but chock full of questions that took her two full pages, both front and back, of parchment to answer. Not that it was a bad thing, Coralie actually rather admired the young girl, but it was causing her supply to dwindle far faster than she anticipated. And so, the night before the students would be returning home for the Easter holidays, Coralie wrote down the words 'more parchment' on a list of supplies she would need to stock up on.
"Who have you been writing to?" Athena asked while she brushed her teeth. Her friend looked up from her list.
"This incoming student, Hermione Granger. She had questions about our world and so the Headmaster gave Guinevere and I the task of writing to her so she could learn more," She explained. Athena bent over her sink and rinsed her mouth out.
"Are you all going to meet her in person?" She then grabbed a bar of soap and lathered her hands with it before scrubbing at her face.
"Yes, over the Easter holidays," Athena paused mid-wash, "Don't worry, we won't miss your party for it." The brunette nodded once and rinsed her face off.
"What are you going to do when you meet her?"
"Well, we actually decided we would do a tour of Diagon Alley while we do another supply run for me since I'm running low on some things."
"Hmm, makes sense I guess," Athena walked back into their shared bedroom and clambered onto her bed. Coralie sat up from her own stack of pillows and watched her get situated.
"What about you? D'you have any other plans for the holidays?" She asked. Her friend shook her head with a sigh.
"Just the usual, homework and the party," She replied.
"Well that's no fun."
"Tell me about it."
"Hmm," Coralie looked up at the ceiling before smiling, "Wanna sneak down to the kitchens and get some snacks?" Athena perked up and smiled back before leaping out of bed and pulling on a pair of black slippers. Coralie did the same with her own baby-blue slippers and carefully crept from the dormitory and down the stairs into the common room, before escaping down to the kitchens with her friend. When they eventually returned, their stomachs were full of biscuits and milk as well as a rather large helping of chocolate cake.
XXX
The train ride away from Hogwarts was relatively uneventful and included the routine abuse of their taste buds and stomachs that Athena, Coralie, Fred, George and Lee partook in. Less questions were answered that time around as everyone had far better luck in flavors, leading to a second feast of cauldron cakes for the entire compartment, complete with ice cold Butterbeer that Lee so graciously treated them to. By the time they arrived at Platform 9 and ¾ they were so full the five of them thought they might burst.
Thankfully, they were able to disembark without many issues and found it rather easy to reunite with their families this time around as less students had returned home for this particular holiday break. Athena got the usual questions from her parents about how well she had conducted herself, what her current marks were in her classes, and who she was socializing with. Coralie got a rather enthusiastic hug from her sister who told her all about how well she and Hermione were getting along while her parents inquired about the girl named Solstice that she had written to them about. Fred and George received a rather lively greeting alongside Percy and Charlie as their family welcomed them before almost immediately heading back home for some family time. And finally, Lee had the delightful experience of side-along apparation with his parents as they departed almost immediately for a well deserved meal out despite his already full stomach.
"So, we received Athena's invitation and we said we would go," Susannah started leading them off the platform, "It's on Good Friday, which won't interfere with our meeting with the Grangers cause that is next Wednesday."
"That sounds good Mum," Coralie replied, trying to ignore Guinevere's incessant poking of her side. Eventually it got too annoying to be blind to, though. "What, Vera?"
"Tell me about the Quidditch match! You didn't write about it once!" She replied, frowning at her sister with her arms crossed over her chest.
"I'll tell you all about it when we get home alright?"
"Fine, but I want details." Susannah and Burton chuckled at their daughters' back and forth while they approached the Floo Network. With two flashes of green, the family disappeared from the platform and made their way home.
XXX
Good Friday could not come fast enough in Coralie's not so humble opinion, and when it finally did arrive, Crouch Cottage bustled with activity the whole morning leading up to the party. All of them scrambled to be washed up, dressed, and immaculately accessorized for the afternoon's events, but they succeeded with just enough time to spare before going to the Burke Manor. Susannah had donned wizarding robes of a dark violet color, with a vine pattern sewed into the robes with gold thread. Her daughters had once again picked different colors, despite her pleas for them to match for the party, as the eldest selected a tea length dress in a pastel blue with three-quarter sleeves, a white belt across the middle, and layers of tulle puffing the skirt out around her legs; and the youngest decided on a pale green dress in a similar style, but with cap sleeves, a pink belt around the middle, and fewer layers of tulle underneath the skirt. In the end, Burton ended up having the easiest time dressing and merely selected one of his nicer sets of black and white dress robes.
"Let's hurry it up, girls," He called out from the living room as he sipped the last of his cup of coffee. Susannah entered the room a moment later, followed by Coralie and Guinevere, the latter two still fastening their shoes into place.
"Mum, how do we look?" Coralie asked, gesturing between herself and Guinevere. Susannah turned and inspected the two of them carefully, and found no faults in how they had dressed, or done their hair, a ponytail with a dark green ribbon for Coralie and a gold headband for Guinevere, and so she merely smiled and nodded in approval.
"Shall we?" Burton asked, holding out his arm to Coralie while Susannnah held hers out for Guinevere. Their daughters grinned and looped arms with them before apparating to Burke Manor with a loud crack, leaving Napoli and Rupert to their own devices for a few hours.
XXX
Upon arrival, the outside of Burke Manor immediately struck them as rather festive and delightful. Arches of daffodils, tulips, and lilies decorated the lawn as well as white chairs and tables with bubbles hovering above them as umbrellas in case the weather turned for the worse. Coralie grinned as she spotted Athena and sped up her walking pace until she was practically running across the lawn towards her. Guinevere did the same, but towards Astoria Greengrass, the younger of the Greengrass sisters.
As the children walked around the lawn, chit chatting all the while, Sussanah and Burton found themselves having a rather intense conversation with various other parents about Ministry policies. It was rather surprising to them, given how far the Crouch Family had fallen out with many other Purebloods after Burton's brother Barty took such a hard stance against Voldemort during the war, and the fact that Burton himself was a Gryffindor alumnus.
However, many of the families in attendance recognized the potential to be found in socializing with Burton and Susannah, being part of the Sacred Twenty-eight, the former being heir to his House, and having two daughters. Thus, pleasant conversation with them and inclusion in events became rather preferable as time passed.
"So, have you met the Muggleborn yet?" Athena asked as she walked through the yard and over to one of the arches with Coralie.
"We're meeting her next week, apparently she and Guinevere have become close friends," She replied while smelling one of the many pink tulips on the arch. Her friend nodded and took a seat at a nearby table as she continued to inspect the flowers. "Are you still upset at the results from last week's Quidditch game?"
Athena scowled and tapped her fingers on the arm of the chairs. "They had no right to take me out of the game and you know that." An unfortunate decision by Madam Hooch during the Hufflepuff vs Slytherin match had left the girl replaced by the reserve Beater, despite the fact that Ravenclaw had pulled the exact same move she had at a previous match.
"Of course I know that," Coralie turned to face her with a smirk, "I was just going to suggest some ways we can get back at them." Her friend froze for a moment before returning the smirk and gesturing to the chair next to her, where she immediately sat down and began explaining her plan.
On the other side of the lawn, Guinevere was climbing the willow tree beside the pond the Burkes had cultivated with Astoria. The branches and their feather-like leaves gently brushed against their skin as they climbed until they couldn't see the grass beneath them anymore. They climbed just a little farther than that before settling on some branches.
"Are you excited to go to Hogwarts?" Astoria asked, smiling up at her friend of four years. Guinevere nodded excitedly, her legs swinging back and forth as she grinned.
"Incredibly so," She replied. Her brunette friend continued to smile, but it was dimmed slightly.
"Will you write to me?" She asked.
"Of course, why wouldn't I?"
"Well, I'm two years younger than you, you'll probably be so busy with new friends."
Guinevere laughed loudly, startling her friend. "I know most of the students that will be in my year, and I don't have very much desire to be friends with them thank you very much."
Astoria shrugged, her own green dress rippling in time with the leaves of the willow as a breeze passed over them. "You might change your mind."
The blonde scoffed, "Not likely."
The both of them looked back at the house a moment later as various parents called out their children's names, claiming that tea was being served. Guinevere sighed and began descending from the tree, Astoria following her, and then ran over to their respective families before heading inside Burke Manor itself.
XXXXXX
Hermione Granger was certainly, undeniably, anxious. She and her parents had arrived at Leadenhall Market at ten till eleven, and were now keeping an eye out for any family of four that matched the descriptions that Guinevere and Coralie had given her. As the minutes passed, Hermione resorted to checking her watch almost every thirty seconds, until a loud crack caused her to yelp in surprise. Mr and Mrs Granger pivoted on the spot and gaped as Susannah, Burton, Coralie, and Guinevere stumbled out of a hidden corridor and turned to face them. Hermione turned to stare at them too, and watched as they crossed the space with kind smiles.
"You must be Mr. and Mrs. Granger," Susannah and Burton each shook their hands, "I'm Susannah Crouch, this is my husband, Burton, and these are my daughters, Coralie and Guinevere." The Grangers all smiled.
"It's very nice to meet you all, thank you for agreeing to this," Mrs. Granger replied. The adults continued to exchange pleasantries, while Hermione appraised the two girls across from her.
At five feet, one inch, Hermione was slightly shorter than both of the girls in front of her, with Coralie coming in at five feet, three inches, and Guinevere at five feet, two inches. Of course, that didn't take Hermione's birds nest of frizzy, chestnut brown locks into account, which would give her another two inches. The young Muggleborn continued to stare at them, taking in Coralie's more angular features compared to Guinevere's soft and gentle face shape. They both had rather striking eyes, the former with light green, slightly yellow, orbs, and the younger with cold blue ones that had a ring of grey around the pupils and slight green tendrils at the outside of the irises.
"Hello Hermione." Coralie's greeting startled her, but she regained her composure after a moment.
"Hello, Coralie, Guinevere, it's nice to finally meet you," She replied with a shy smile. The two blondes smiled back, revealing only slightly crooked pearly whites bordered with pink lips.
"Well, shall we head inside, grab a spot of lunch?" Susannah asked, distracting the three girls from the beginnings of their conversation. Everyone followed her and Burton over to the Leaky Cauldron which seemed to appear out of nowhere to the Grangers.
"What's this place?" Mr. Granger asked, turning to Burton.
"The Leaky Cauldron, this is one way to access Diagon Alley," He explained to the Muggle man, who nodded and followed Susannah and Mrs. Granger inside the pub, their respective daughters trailing after them.
XXX
"So, tell me about the classes at Hogwarts," Hermione said as the barkeep, Tom, brought over their meals. Coralie took a sip of her soup and immediately switched it with Guinevere's before she could try it. The latter frowned until she saw that the soup Tom had initially given her was most definitely not chicken noodle, but rather Coralie's beef stew. She shook her head with a grin and then tucked into her meal.
"Well, you know most of it from what I've written in my letters so I don't have much left to tell you about except for how grading and tests work," Hermione took a bite of her sandwich and watched Coralie with interest, "There six possible grades you can receive, three for passing, and three for failing. The first group consists of O for Outstanding, E for Exceeds Expectations, and A for Acceptable; while the second has P for Poor, D for Dreadful, and T for Troll."
"Has anyone ever actually gotten a T, though?" Guinevere asked, looking up from her soup. Coralie nodded.
"A boy in Gryffindor received one last term in Herbology cause he kept skiving off class," Hermione's jaw dropped open, "But don't worry, you probably won't have that issue. Now, onto tests. There are two levels of testing that you need to go through before graduating, OWLs and NEWTs. The OWLs decide which core and elective classes decide which classes you can take in your sixth and seventh year, while your NEWTs are used to determine your aptitude in those subjects for your jobs after graduating."
"When do we take these tests?" Hermione asked before taking a few more bites of her sandwich.
"OWLs are in your fifth year, and NEWTs are at the end of your seventh year," Coralie explained. She and Guinevere took several more bites of their meals before speaking again.
"What else do you want to know?" They asked simultaneously. Hermione grinned at them and launched into several questions that took them through the rest of the meal.
XXX
Burton waved at Tom as he left a tip on their table before following the rest of his group out the back where they were waiting to access Diagon Alley. Susannah smiled as he approached and turned back to the brick wall before tapping her wand against it a few times in a pattern.
"I'll write the pattern down for you later," She promised Hermione's parents. They sent her a grateful look as the bricks parted to reveal the bustling Alley of shops and wizards. Hermione gasped while Coralie grinned and Guinevere bounced up and down excitedly.
"Alright, let's do this correctly," Burton decided, "Gringotts first so we can convert your money to Wizard money, and then we can look around a little and pick up anything we might need." Everyone nodded in response and followed him down the street towards the leaning, marble faced building that housed Gringotts Bank.
Upon entering, Coralie and Guinevere immediately bowed to the goblin at the front desk, Bitekey. He smiled almost evilly down at them and returned the bow before exchanging the common greeting.
"Misses Crouch, may your gold flow plentifully and vaults remain protected."
"And you, faithful Bitekey," The both of them replied. He nodded in approval and shook their hands once. Burton softly explained the functioning of the wizard bank as they approached the conversion desk. Hermione however turned to the two girls and eagerly asked them what the greeting meant and why it was used. Coralie and Guinevere explained the respect and meaning behind it, emphasizing the conflicts between Wizards and Goblins in the past. That managed to keep her attention diverted until they exited the bank and began exploring the Alley, occasionally grabbing necessities as they came across them.
XXX
That night, Hermione could hardly sleep as she devoured book after book on the Wizarding World with wide eyes and an almost constant smile. She knew, without a doubt, that this world was one she belonged in, and for the first time ever she couldn't wait for the Muggle school year to end.
Hello guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was a lot of fun to write since I'm stuck at home for the foreseeable future in light of COVID-19. Please leave a review with questions, comments or concerns, and have an amazing rest of your day! Bye bye!