House: Hufflepuff

Class: Transfiguration

Category: Standard

Prompt(s): [Dialogue] "You've got dirt on your nose." [Dialogue] "It's not funny!"

Harry was in awe of the sight before him. When Mr. Hagrid had told him he was a wizard he wasn't sure what to fully expect. Magic had been a taboo word in the Dursley household and despite the abhorrent behavior toward him, he couldn't begin to understand why they treated him so poorly or freaked out at the mere mention of the word magic, he tried to be normal so that he would be treated better than he was at the time. All his attempts got him nothing but scorn and harsher treatment, usually because of his cousin Dudley and his pack of… friends. If he had a meaner bone and was older he was sure he would have a harsher way to put it but he was neither of those two things much to everyone's benefit, not that he would recognize it.

Shaking himself of the shock and awe, he moved into the steam engine and began to look for a relatively quiet compartment. All the attention he had received in Diagon Alley when he went shopping for all his school stuff had been far too intense for his liking.

Well, not for his liking but he was not used to it. He was used to being ignored and yelled at, not hugged and bowed to and stared at like he was some kind of superhero who saved the day from a villain trying to end the world.

"What's this Gred, a Freddy First Year looking all lost?"

"I think so Forge, he looks like he is pretty lost to me."

Harry turned his head and saw a pair of redheads nearby giving him a concentrated look though he couldn't figure out why they would be doing that. He was just another First Year student, albeit a celebrity for surviving something no one else had; the details were still vague and unexplained to him. Not that Mr. Hagrid let anyone be too close for too long, something about 'Mr. Dumbledore' wanting him to get his school supplies as quickly as possible. That puzzled him too but he wouldn't be getting answers to that for some time until he got to Hogwarts itself. "I'm just trying to find a quiet compartment. All the attention has been overwhelming. People keep asking me what happened.. that night.. How am I supposed to know? I was a baby and I just.."

Both red haired twins shared a look, their jovial appearance dropping as they assumed that the First Year with emerald green eyes and black hair could only be Harry Potter. All the papers had been speculating for weeks about how their savior, the Boy-Who-lived, was attending Hogwarts starting this year. Some of the articles had wild imaginations about how the young wizard was coming in trained by Albus Dumbledore as his protege while others asked questions about where the boy had been for the last ten years. Both of the boys had the same questions since they had heard the ramblings and not so hush conversations their parents had about their younger brother Ronald meeting Harry Potter on the train and befriending him by any means necessary. They suspected that something was up but the fact they couldn't prove it was enough for them to keep it to themselves.

"Come on, we know just the spot" Gred, or was it Forge, said as he motioned his twin to follow while taking the young wizards trunk by the handle.

Harry was about to protest that he could find his own compartment but something about the two older boys made him clamp his jaw shut in a moment. Something about the silent communication between the two boys spoke volumes he didn't understand. Something about it said that, at least for the moment, he was in good hands. "So.. are your names really Forge and Gred?" he asked when the silence from the pair became something he couldn't bear.

"No, it's Fred and George. We like to mess with members of our family since they can't tell us apart" the twin hauling Harry's trunk said with an underlying tone that suggested it annoyed him.

"Well, you two look exactly the same so can't really blame them that much can you?" Harry asked genuinely curious. He knew a few twins from his primary school and although they weren't practically identical like these two boys were, he knew the boys back at his school liked to tease them by calling them their brothers name instead of their own.

The twins share another silent look. One popped a head into a compartment and saw it was mostly empty save for their brother Ronald digging into some of the food their mother packed for them. "This one is empty save for another Freddy First Year like yourself. Say Forge, why don't you go sit with the guys and tell them I'll catch up later" Gred, since he called the other Forge, said with a sidelong glance.

"Ah, right, yeah I'll do that. Have fun Freddy, it's going to be magical. No pun intended" Forge said before ambling off with his own truck.

Harry looked back and forth between the two boys before he took his own trunk from the remaining older redhead. "Thanks for the help, I got it from here." He hefted the trunk up with some effort up onto a rack before gingerly placing Hedwig's cage on the empty seat across from the only other occupant of the compartment that was his age.

"Blimey, you must be Harry Potter!"

Harry immediately cringed as not even two seconds after sitting down, the other boy was in his face asking a million questions about his scar and the night that Voldemort attacked his family.

The older redhead scowled darkly and cleared his throat loudly forcing both younger wizards to look at him. "Ronald, you've got dirt on your nose" he said with a tense look aimed at his younger brother.

Ronald scowled while swiping at his nose thinking if he got rid of it, his brother would leave him alone to talk to his new best mate Harry. Who else was it going to be, that blonde git Malfoy? Fat chance of that!

Harry looked back at the younger redhead only to notice that what had once been a small splattering of dirt on the tip of his nose was now a streak. "I don't mean to sound rude Ronald but uh, it's still there" he said after a long moment.

The redhead swiped at his face again. "It's Ron, mate. Best mates like us-"

Uproarious erupted from the older redhead as the streak that covered Ron's nose and part of his upper lip now reached his chin. "Look in the window little brother" the older male said between guffaws.

Ron turned to look and nearly let out a borderline girly yelp. "Stop laughing!" he demanded turning to look at his older with a glare.

The attempt at being assertive only made the older redhead laugh harder.

"It's not funny! If you keep laughing, I'm telling mom you George pranked me again!" Ron threatened.

Harry watched the byplay between the brothers with a degree of fascination. Being an only child, he found the interactions between siblings to be of interest. Some of them were so warm and filled with laughter while others seemed to be less than kind. Pranks though, those were part of every sibling interaction he noticed either at school or around Privet Drive. Why was Ron so upset about his brother pulling a prank on him?

"Have a sense of humor Ron, it's your first day and-"

Ron, sufficiently annoyed by his brother given the short time he had to eat after the hectic rush to the station this morning, glared at his older brother before gathering his stuff up and marched out. He would catch up with his new mate Harry Potter later after his brothers weren't around to make a fool out of him.

Harry stared awkwardly at the door that the younger redhead had pushed through.

"So, have you ever heard of Exploding Snap?" the older wizard asked, fishing a deck of cards out from his pants.