Chapter 3

"Wake up, Diana. First day at Hogwarts."

    Diana blinked to see George standing over her, She sat up and saw Fred getting her trunk. She looked from Yolanda, her snowy owl; to Joseph, her serpent. They were both asleep in their cages. She looked over to Fred, who frowned.

"Maybe Yolanda, but a serpent at Hogwarts?" Fred asked defensively.
"Fine," said Diana with a sigh.

    Before she knew it, they were at King's Cross Station. She saw the boy that had been in her dreams. He had the same jet-black hair and black-rimmed glasses, and was about the same height. She felt a sting in her right arm, almost at her shoulder. She pulled up her sleeve and saw a scar in the shape of a snake that you would definitely miss unless you were looking for it; it was so faint. A bit shocked, she let her sleeve drop back down over it.

"Now, what's the platform number?" asked Mrs. Weasley.
"Nine and three quarters! Can't I go..."
"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first." And Percy disappeared through the barrier between platforms nine and ten.
"Fred, you next.'
"I'm not Fred, I'm George. Honestly, woman, call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?" he asked.
"Sorry, George, dear."
"Only joking. I am Fred," and off he went, followed by George, then Diana.

    Fred and George helped Diana get her luggage into a compartment with theirs on the Hogwarts Express. They met up with Lee Jordan, who had a pet tarantula in a box. He let Diana pet it as Fred and George, among others, watched it in utter amazement. Diana was distracted when she caught sight of the boy again. She took her hand away from the spider and looked at him. 
    Diana saw his green eyes and wondered if it could really be who she thought it was. He was having a bit of trouble getting his trunk onto the train, so George walked over to him.

"Want a hand?" George asked the boy.
"Yes, please," he panted.
"Oy Fred! C'mere and help!" George called, and Fred came over to help.
"Thanks," said the boy, pushing sweaty hair out of his eyes.
"What's that?" asked George, pointing to a lightning shaped scar that made Diana twitch.
"Blimey," said Fred. "Are you --"
"He is," George said. "Aren't you?"
"What?" asked the boy.
"Harry Potter," chorused the twins.
"Oh him," Harry said. "I mean, yes, I am."

    The twins gawped at Harry. Mrs. Weasley called to them, and they jumped off the train to see her. Diana blushed as she got on the train, not able to look away from Harry. Upon realizing she was staring, she decided to speak.

"You are," said Diana, "You have your father's appearance and your mother's eyes. Only neither of them was as beautif.... oh, sorry. Forgot to introduce myself. I'm Diana Riddle." She extended her hand, and Harry shook it.
"Hullo, Diana. Sorry if I seem nervous. I'm not used to this sort of reaction. No one has come close to telling me I was beautiful, either."
"That's what happens when your only living relatives are Muggles. Then again, I don't have any living relatives at all."
"Were your parents also killed by --"
"Voldemort?"
"So people do speak his name."
"Many people find it bothersome."
"Oh. Well, were they?"
"My, we're departing. See you later, then."
"See you."

    Diana walked to a compartment where Fred, George, and Lee were sitting. She opened the compartment door, and she closed it behind her. She sat next to Lee, across from Fred and George. She watched the three of them finish a game of Exploding Snap. Lee was the winner. The three of them looked straight at Diana.

"I was just talking," Diana told them.
"To who?" asked George, grinning.
"Harry," Diana said.
"Harry Potter?!" Lee asked.
"Yes," Diana responded.
"Wicked," said Lee.
"We talked to him, too," Fred and George chorused proudly.
"And you didn't call me?" Lee asked, taken aback.
"You were busy," said Fred, grinning. "If he's anything like Ron, he wouldn't fancy seeing your tarantula."
"I can't say I quite fancy spiders, either. If they're contained like Lee's tarantula, though, they don't bother me as much," Diana stated.
"Is Diana afraid of something?" Fred asked after a fake gasp.
"Hey, no one's fearless," Diana told him matter-of-factly.

    Lee grinned and let his tarantula loose, and a smiling, dimpled witch stood outside of the compartment door with a trolley in front of her. Lee and Diana rushed to the trolley, forgetting about the spider. The trolley was filled with assortments of sweets. Diana got three Chocolate Frogs, a Peppermint Toad, and a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. She gave Fred and George each a Chocolate Frog. Not having a fancy for chocolate, Diana let the frog hop out the open window. The card that came with it was of Agrippa, so she decided she'd give it to Ron later.
    After struggling to swallow a soap-flavored bean, Diana saw Draco Malfoy standing outside the compartment door. She looked over at Fred, George, and Lee, who were talking about Quidditch while eating the Bertie Bott's Lee was sharing with the rest of the compartment. She looked back to the door, and saw that Draco was gesturing for her to come out. She left silently.

"So, I suppose we meet before Hogwarts," Draco said.
"Yes, well, we might want to --"
"Find a compartment? Follow me."

    They walked down the train to one of the first compartments, where a girl with a pug-like face and two rather large boys were sitting. The boys got up, and Draco and Diana sat where they were sitting, across from the girl. This girl made Diana slightly uncomfortable, but she faked a smile anyway. The girl gave a half smile in return.

"Diana, this is Pansy. Pansy, Diana."
"Nice to meet you," Pansy said, not at all meaning it.
"Likewise, I'm sure," said Diana, looking back at Draco.
"This is Crabbe and Goyle," Draco said, pointing to the boys. They grunted.

    Diana nodded. The four of them talked for a while, but it wasn't long before their compartment door was opened by an uninvited guest.

"Oh, Diana, you don't want to get mixed in with this sort," said Fred, glaring venomously at Draco.
"They may be more like me than you think," Diana admitted.
"What?" was all Fred could muster.
"We'll see at the Sorting, unless she was talking about how much better a family she had before she lived with yours," said Draco with a smirk.
"Malfoy, that's enough about my family. Yours is no better," said Fred, getting angry.
"I bet a goblet at my manor is worth the cost of your house, if not more," Draco continued.
"I bet even that goblet is full of Dark Magic," Fred said shortly.
"Is it really, Weasley? I'm surprised your family can afford wands to do any magic. That brother of yours has a hand-me-down wand, poor thing," Draco seemed to be having fun.
"At least the money my father does make isn't given to You-Know-Who," Fred was furious.

    Fred took Diana's arm and dragged her back to the compartment with Lee and George. They sat down diagonally from each other, not daring to make eye contact.

"What happened?" asked Lee cautiously.
"We'll see at the Sorting," Fred snapped.
"I have to be a perfect Gryffindor," Diana said, quite plainly but spitefully.
"Perfection's the last thing he wants from you," George spoke for Fred, since Fred wasn't speaking.
"There are bad apples in every house, mate. There's got to be something good in Slytherin," Lee said thoughtfully.
"Something good can't get in Slytherin," Fred said shortly.

    This was the breaking point for Diana. She looked out the window, and Fred looked to the aisle. Neither of them spoke for the rest of the trip. Lee and George didn't dare break the silence. Everyone in the compartment already had their robe on, and Diana put her Bertie Bott's and her Peppermint Toad in the robe's pocket. Lee put his tarantula back in its box. The train arrived at Hogwarts, and Diana left quickly without a word.