The Surprise
I moved slowly down the tight hallway. It was a good thing I wasn't claustrophobic. If I had been, I wouldn't have even been able to move, the space was so small.
Peering into some of the compartments, I noticed with a frown that all of them were full. The hallway was empty, save me, and laughter and noisy chatter emitted from every open and closed doorway I passed. I caught snipets of conversation as I moved down the winding corridor.
"Jolly good time over the summer, Lee, how 'bout you?"
"I say, a bit 'o help here, lifting this trunk--"
"Blimey! That's spiffing, George!"
I stopped suddenly. Did I just here someone say George?, I asked myself. Maybe that was the guy who'd flown past me on the cart earlier! Heart thumping, I knocked lightly on the their compartment door.
The door whooshed open quickly, and a tall, well-built, African American boy leaned out into the hall eagerly. "Treats already?" he asked, glancing up and down the hall.
I glanced past him into the car, half a smile playing over my lips. I noticed that all the occupants seemed slightly older than me. Inside were two girls and three boys. One of the boys was the handsome African American who'd opened the door. The other two were twins, and one was obviously George. I just couldn't tell which.
"No, no treats, sorry," I said apologetically, focusing on the boy still standing in front of me.
"Ah, well. They'll come eventually. I've been craving pumpkin tarts all summer," he said, his brow wrinkled in disappointment. I laughed slightly.
"Well, then," called one of the twins from inside the compartment. His blue eyes twinkled, and he smiled widely at me. "Come on in! The more the merrier, I say!"
The other twin cocked his head and feigned puzzlement. "Eh, George, really? I've never heard you say that in my life!"
One of the girls, a tall, thin African American, groaned and rolled her huge, deep brown eyes. "Ah, Fred. You always did think you were so very funny!"
He grinned at her, leaning down to peck her on the cheek. "You know you think I'm a riot, Angelina!" The girl fought to keep a frown on her face, but a rosy pink blush crept into her cheeks. She ducked her head to hide a small smile.
The boy that had opened the door chuckled and pulled me farther into the room, gently taking my trunk away from me and heaved it onto the storage rack above the seats. The boy introduced himself to me. "Hullo, then. I'm Lee Jordan, and the girls are Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet. And, da-dum, the two red-heads are the infamous Fred and George Weasley."
I smiled politely at all of them. The group nodded pleasantly, smiling warmly back, mumuring "hullo".
Fred threw his arm around Angelina and leaned back as Lee and I settled onto the benches. I sat down next to George and shot him a quick smile. "And, Great Scott, who pray-tell are you?" Fred asked.
I smiled and crossed my ankles, resting my hands in my lap. I was getting more and more relaxed every second. This seemed like a fun group. "I am Opal Harris, a transfer student from the United States. My mother set up the move, with the help of my aunt. Apparently, they know the Headmaster at Hogwarts?"
"Yeah, Dumbledore. He's a grand guy. Bit off his rocker, but fabulous, nonetheless," Lee said wisely, nodding. "So, do you know what house you'll be in?"
"House?" I questioned. Then I remembered Cornelius Fudge's assurance. "Oh. No, I don't, but I'm sure I'll be placed in whichever one has an opening."
George spoke for the first time. "Nothing happened to any of the students over the summer, did it?" He directed his question at me, training his eyes on mine.
I blinked first. Slowly shaking my head, I answered, "No, I don't think so. Maybe Professor Dumbledore just... let me in. Apparently, Cornelius thinks it's odd, but he also believes Professor Dumbledore knows what he's doing."
I glanced over at Angelina and Fred, sitting across from me. Their mouths were gaping open. Glancing around, I noticed that Alicia's, Lee's, and George's were all like that too. Puzzled, I asked, "What? What's wrong?"
Alicia snapped her mouth closed. Tugging at her long, dark brown hair, she narrowed her steel gray eyes. "How do you know the Minister of Magic? He's a really important figure, being who he is and all. Does your aunt live here? Is she a Ministry worker?"
I waved the questions away. "Oh, yes and no. She does live here, but she works at a Witches' Aid Society. Aunt Kella and Cornelius Fudge are friends from way back. They used to be penpals."
Everyone nodded and a chorus of "oh's" rang out. George, grinning, leaned closer to me. "So, are you interested in pranks, Opal Harris?"
I smiled back at him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lee shoot Fred a smirk. Fred nodded and grinned. My heart thumped slightly faster. "Yes, as a matter of fact I am. My friends back in the States and I were the troublemakers at our school. Jen and I were constantly setting fires to potions and stuff."
To my surprise, Fred gulped and went slightly pale. "Um, I'm not so sure you want to do that here."
I smirked, tilting my head. "I gather you aren't a troublemaker?"
This comment was apparently very funny, because the group roared with laughter. After they'd calmed down, George explained. "No, no, trust me, that's not it. George and I are possibly the worst troublemakers Hogwarts has ever seen. We know all the secrets and passageways in the school, probably more than the teachers. What Fred meant is the Potions teacher is not a person you want to mess with."
"Why?" I asked curiously.
"Alicia smiled, giggling a little. "He's awful! There's really no better way to describe him. Everyone hates him, and he hates all the students. He favors his house, and is always trying to get everyone in trouble."
I shook my head slightly. "Don't worry about me. I always get on every teacher's good side right off the bat. Besides being a troublemaker, I'm kind of a bookworm." Blushing lightly at the confession, I smiled. "Top grades, best assignments, stuff like that."
Everyone in the car exchanged glances. George cleared his throat. "Um, Opal, you may still want to watch yourself around the Potions teacher. He doesn't let students suck-up to him. Oh, and about the bookworm thing. You may have a little competition."
"Why?" I asked again, gulping. Maybe this school was harder than I thought. Maybe it was some achievement school were all the good little kids went and studied every night to get the highest grades. I would be sent home the first night if that's the way things worked.
George went on to explain, and I let out a breath of relief. "Well, see, one of my younger brother's best friends is sort of the Bookworm of the Year, if you know what I mean. Well, she studies constantly and is such a bugger about exam study schedules we all get kind of sick of it." He hesitated, but then continued. "Nah, you have nothing to worry about. She's only fourteen. You'll be the top of our class, then, how about that?"
Everyone smiled and cheered, and I forced a weak grin. Even though I knew I should, I couldn't manage to tell them that I was fourteen, too. If they thought I was older, what was the problem? When the group found out later, we'd all have a good laugh about it and go back to hanging out.
"So, Opal, what do you like to do?" Lee asked casually.
I shrugged. "Besides the usual teenage girl hobbies? Let's see... well, I love writing, and when it comes to poetry I'm pretty dramatic. Then again, I'm pretty dramatic when it comes to a lot of things. I love to act. One of my favorite past-times is photography. And sleeping."
We all laughed, and pretty soon, the easy conversation relaxed me. What did it matter that I was younger than these kids? We obviously had a lot in common, and I seemed to fit in well. As I listened to Alicia describing her antics with her mother when they went shopping for the new term, I studied the students solemnly.
One thing that I had left off my list of hobbies was studying people. I did it all the time. All you had to do was let the din of conversation, laughter, and activity fade into a gentle background noise. Then you were free to carefully observe the people around you. The trick was not letting them know that you were observing them. By becoming relatively invisible, you could notice a lot of things about people that others wouldn't normally catch.
Lee was very relaxed. Leaning back, long legs stretched out in front of him, he looked like he didn't have a care in the world. His hair was parted into chunky dreadlocks that fell to his shoulderblades, and he had active, light brown eyes that danced with brightness. He loved to laugh, and his sly, teasing jokes and lazy grins matched him perfectly with Fred and George as best friends. But something else lurked in his eyes. A sort of sadness, or exhaustion. Like he had a secret of some sort.
Fred, of course, looked just like his brother, with bright blue, twinkling eyes and thick, soft, orange-red hair. They wore it differently, however. Fred's was neatly trimmed and stuck up in tiny spikes at the front. George gelled his hair all over the top in crazy, unique spikes that sprang haphazardly from his scalp.
I found myself smiling softly, and quickly went back to comparing and contrasting the teenagers.
Fred's personality was also very different from George's. Though both the twins were reckless and obviously daring, fun-loving, and hilarious, Fred was slightly less mature. His humor was more obvious and lightly teasing. He seemed pretty smart, but only in a school way. And he was really obsessed with Angelina. I kept catching him glancing at her, smiling slightly.
George was street smart, as well as book smart. He was a little bit more serious, thoughtful, and mature. His smile was slightly sardonic, and his humor was sarcastic, sometimes cynical, and often critizing. Of course, he was always apologizing ("Just joking, Angelina, of course your aunt doesn't look like a horse! First thing that popped out of my mouth, sorry!"), but his eyes were deeper and more mysterious than the rest of them.
The twins' tans were even and golden bronze. Light sprinklings of freckles dotted their skin, adding a slight boyish look. Their noses were small and thick in front, their ears tiny and rounded, and their smiles wide, honest, and warm. Straight, white teeth glinted nicely under the flourescent train lights. Both were very good-looking, and extremely kind. I was immediately positive the twins were very well-liked.
Angelina was preppy and robust. Tall and thin, her light brown skin shimmered like coffee with cream, and her long hair, braided into dozens of tiny braids falling down her back, looked thick and soft. She had petite features, except for her eyes, which were huge, round, and open. She spoke very sincerely and honestly, concentrating on everything she was saying with an almost child-like enthusiusm. She was wearing black leather pants, bright red, chunky boots, a black sleeveless shirt with thick straps, a low, square-cut front, and a picture of a red heart on it, and several red bangles on her wrists. Long, glittery red nails and a beaded red and black choker completed the outfit. What her outfit said was obvious: she was unique; crazy; a free spirit.
Alicia was harder to figure out. Her outfit was slightly more conservative. She wore a long, black stretchy skirt, low, chunky black boots, a dark red, ribbed, long-sleeved top, and a silver-link chain watch. Her fingernails weren't glittery, or even painted at all; they were long, elegant, nicely-rounded, and natural. She kept swinging her long, glossy dark hair whenever she talked to Fred, and she giggled and glanced at him a lot more than she did with anyone else. That sent a shudder through me. How could that girl flirt so obviously her friend's boyfriend? Other than that, Alicia seemed pretty nice. She was very generous and modest. On the outside. Who knew what steamed on the inside? Alicia's steely gray eyes, closed off and carefully guarded, were constantly flitting from one person to another. Her small, deep red, Cupid-bow's mouth quickly formed into conniving smiles, but then it would immediately melt into a sweet grin. Yes, Alicia was a character. But also a very interesting subject. I would have to keep my eye on her.
"...so, Opal, what's your standing on the wizarding controversy on Muggle knowledge?" George asked me seriously, his brow furrowed and his eyes intensely locked on mine.
My mouth dropped open and I stiffened slightly. Glancing around, I quickly realized everyone was staring at me, waiting for me to contribute to the obviously serious subject of the conversation. Gulping, thoughts raced through my head. Had I really been caught in the act, by everyone?
"Um... well, I'd- uh- have to say that we should keep things the way they are. If the Muggles don't know much, why let on something we don't have to?" I jabbered, words falling out of my mouth clumsily. Apparently that was the right answer, because George clapped me on the back, pitching me forward.
Grinning broadly, he exclaimed, "Eh, what did I say, Fred? Didn't I tell you she had a sharp tongue, old boy? From the practiced lips of the pro's!"
Angelina clicked her tongue, shaking her head back and forth. Her eyes widened in sympathy, and she curled up closer to Fred. "I'm sorry, Opal, George is a bit of a tease. We weren't talking about that- he was just trying to trip you up by catching you not listening."
Lee grinned easily. "Well, see, you must have passed. I couldn't have come up with that answer if I'd been tuned in." Everyone chuckled easily, and I grinned appreciatively, lucky it had been a joke.
Alicia rolled her eyes. "Say, who would talk about something like that? Your dad, Fred?" she asked, leaning over Angelina to glance at Fred. He moved his head back an inch.
"Nah," he said, shaking his head back and forth, glancing at George for refirmation.
George jumped in. "Dad talks about bewitching kettles and cars and stuff like that," he explained, shrugging his shoulders and smiling. "I don't know why he's so interested in the subject. I guess it is kind of funny, watching those Muggles scurrying around. Left to their own devices, they're pretty smart."
"What do you mean 'left to their own devices'?" I asked curiously.
Alicia explained. "Apparently, George has this theory that the Ministry of Magic is involved with an experiment with the Muggles in rural London." Everyone smiled behind their hands, and George blushed a furious shade of pink.
"You make it sound like it's the most far-fetched idea in the world!" he cried angrily. He sat up straighter and pivoted around to face me. He opened his mouth, probably to describe his theory in great detail, but the sudden sliding of the compartment door interrupted him.
A tall, gangly red-head slid in, followed quickly by a slim girl and a scrawny boy. The red-head grinned uneasily in the sudden silence, all eyes focused on him. "Hey, George, Fred, can I have a word, all right?"
George pulled himself up easily and Fred untangled himself from Angelina's arms. "Sure, bro, what is it?" they said in unison, sidling over to the trio that stood in the doorway.
"Eh, nothing much, just got a question about some stuff I mighta left behind at home-" the boy quickly stopped in mid-sentence, glancing at me. "What's wrong with your friend, guys?"
They glanced around the compartment, and George's eyes finally came to rest on me. He leaned down to look me in the eye. "Oi, Opal? What's wrong?"
I was staring, open-mouthed at George's brother's friend. It was Harry Potter.
(*)
I'd gone pale. My hands shook where they were clasped in my lap, and my heart thumped painfully at the sight of him. What with getting to know everyone... George and Fred and Lee and the girls... and talking about school and hobbies... Harry Potter had completely slipped my mind. It was like suddenly waking up from a great dream and realizing you had to face a test first hour.
Harry, on the other hand, didn't look annoyed or frightened. In fact, he didn't look disturbed in any way. Though shock was written all over his face, he seemed happy. "Opal, isn't it? Opal le Fay, if I'm not mistaken?" he asked, smiling.
I gulped and shook my head. "No. Opal Harris."
"Oh, right, you live with your aunt," Harry realized, nodding, his hands stuck in his pockets. "Oh, wow! I had no clue you were a witch! That's so awesome. Now I have someone living next door I can relate to. I won't have to stay locked up with the Dursley's for the whole summer." Harry rolled his eyes. I almost laughed, but then remembered I wasn't supposed to know about how bad Vernon and Petunia were.
I squinted. "So you know Fred and George?" I asked curiously. Though I was reluctant to find out how he knew my two new friends, I had to get it out in the open before I accidentally let something slip.
Fred interrupted. "I say, do you two know each other?" he asked Harry and me, his eyes darting back and forth between the two of us.
Harry grinned brightly. "Yeah, she's living with my next door neighbor, and I never knew it! I even met her yesterday, and I never suspected a thing." He squinted at me. "Well, I thought I knew you from somewhere. Do you remember me saying that? I still think I recognize you..."
George laughed. "C'mon on in then. We'll throw a small party. I believe the treats cart is coming around for the second time, isn't it?" He leaned past me to glance into the corridor, and, sure enough, a plump witch was pushing a tray along the narrow hallway, stopping at various compartment doorways to exchange Knuts and Sickles for candy and food and tossing the change into a tin.
Harry was still looking at me. "How do you know Fred and George?" he asked suspiciously, his eyes narrowing in thought behind the glass.
"Oh, this was the first compartment I tried to see if they had room for one more person," I explained, embarrassed because of the real reason I'd come into this room. "It was worth it, too. I've already made five new friends."
"Well, now you have three more," the red-headed boy quipped from behind Harry, smiling at me again. I smiled back. Everyone seemed so friendly.
Angelina stood up to give the younger red-headed boy a huge hug. The tips of his ears turned slightly pink. "Oh, Ron! It's so great to see you!" Then she turned to Harry and the girl that had walked in with them. "Any you, too, Harry, Hermione." She enveloped both of them in brief hugs before returning to her seat. Fred plopped down next to her, and everyone quickly settled down.
As the cart rattled past the compartment door, Lee jumped up. "I'll go buy some stuff!" he cried happily, hurrying out the now open door.
"That guy is so happy, all the time," George said cheerfully, grinning after his friend.
Alicia narrowed her eyes. "Not really..." she murmured under her breath, but no one heard her. Except me. I wanted to question her about that, but the conversation was quickly moving onto a different subject.
"So, Hermione, do any studying over the summer? Planning on becoming a prefect a year early, are you?" George asked, trying to keep a straight face as Hermione described her detailed course studies.
Hermione apparently thought he was serious. "Why, that's a great idea! I wonder if Professor Dumbledore's ever allowed that before?" she asked seriously. Noticing George's lack of attention, she turned to Ron to continue her interrogation.
George caught Opal's eye and winked. They both stifled laughs behind their hands.
"I'm back!" Lee crowed above the wild chatter. Everyone cheered and dived on the food that Lee had dumped in the extra seat. Someone tossed Opal a cream-filled candy, and she ripped open the package, biting into the soft carmel as she laughed at Fred's imitation of his older brother ("Oy, Mum! Look at me, Mum! I've got the substitute position for the Defense Against the Dark Arts job, Mum! Aren't you proud of me, Mum!...")
This isn't so bad, thought Opal. Harry's not as freaky as I thought he would be. And his friends seem pretty nice and very friendly. Yes, it had been a surprise to find out that Ron was not only Fred and George's younger brother but also Harry Potter's best friend. Still, it seemed to be a surprise that was working out for the better.