Chapter Three: What Lies Within
Kasei and Hailey stood at what their father had dubbed as the entrance to platform nine and three quarters, which was ironically a wall.
"You're kidding me." Kasei said, turning to look at her father, who like them was slightly puzzled, but he let his expression diminish and looked at her seriously.
"These were the directions I was given from the ministry." He said, looking back up to the wall in front of them. "This is the way to the Hogwarts express…" he pointed to the wall very skeptical himself. "Through that invisible barrier." Hailey shook her head.
"Why couldn't they just have one like the one back home, visible to those with magical abilities, such as wizards and witches, but invisible to Muggles." Braiden gave her a devious smile.
"It's more interesting this way, I get to watch as my sisters run themselves into a wall." He teased.
"Braiden, that's enough." His father scolded him and then turned back to the twins who stood side-by side, their attention back on the wall. "You want me to go first?" he offered, but Kasei shook her head wit a smile.
"I'll go, it can't be that bad, I mean, it's just a wall." Kasei looked back to the wall a bit apprehensive and then sighed. "If it woks you're right behind me right?" she asked, turning to Hailey and looking at her expectantly.
"And if it doesn't I'll be there at the hospital beside your bed, making sure there's no more brain damage than usual." She grinned evilly, and Kasei threw an irritated look her way as Hailey's simple wit was thrown out.
"Thanks." Kasei retorted very much sarcastically. Kasei shook her head and closed her eyes, pushing the trolley quickly towards the wall, holding in her breath. Hailey watched as Kasei hit the wall, but instead of falling flat on her butt, Kasei disappeared through it like it was nothing.
"Woah." She and Braiden both muttered under their breath and her father nodded, impressed with Kasei's simple bravery.
"Hailey, go on." He prompted, remembering the unsaid promise Hailey had previously given to her sister.
On the other side of the Barrier Kasei stopped abruptly, just after she should have hit the wall head on, nothing but a big platform crowded with people and a grand train lay before her. Kasei glanced back to see the wall behind her, and seemed impressed herself as she flattened out her robes and then moved forward.
Hailey came bursting through the wall like it was thin air, her eyes closed as Kasei's had once been. She opened them and stopped looking at her sister quite amazed. Kasei grinned and then looked back towards the train, seeing many children and teenagers standing along the side of the train, most saying goodbye to their families.
"Well, you three best be getting on the train before it leaves without you." Kasie heard her father's voice and turned to find him and braiden standing near them. Kasei let go of her trolly and moved to hug her father.
"Miss you." she said, and let go, looking to Hailey as she also stepped forward to hug her father.
"See you at Christmas." He added, as Hailey pulled out of his embrace. Braiden looked up at his father, who was looking at him expectantly.
"G'bye dad." Braiden said, without even thinking of the hug. His father frowned with a slight smile.
"What? No hug?" their father asked as both Kasei and Hailey decided to ignore Braiden's ignorance, making their way towards the train where they saw other's gathering to board the train. Hailey, who had gone first, glanced back at her sister.
"There are a lot of people who attend Hogwarts." Hailey announced to her sister, just in time to feel a jolt as she ran into another still trolley, knocking things off of it and her own. Hailey jumped to the ground to pick the things up.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't watching." She said in her attempts to apologize as she picked up a cage containing the person's owl.
"Hailey!" Kasei said, making her look up, only to see her sister's face covered in hilarity.
"What?" she questioned in time to see Kasei point toward the figure who now stooped beside Hailey. Hailey looked over and gasped as she again saw the boy from the picture in the magazine and standing with Ron and another. Kasei began to help pick up Hailey's things.
"I am so sorry, I really didn't mean to knock your things-" He cut her off.
"They're Ron's things." He informed her in a monotonic voice, he looked back down to pick up one of Ron's bags and stood just as Ron did behind him, an armful of his own things.
"Oh." Hailey muttered as she set the bird's cage atop the things the two boys replaced upon the trolley. Hailey looked to Ron apologetically. "Still, I'm really sorry." Ron sort of shook his head and scratched the back of his neck with a complicated grin.
"No worries." He added almost silent enough that she couldn't hear. Braiden caught up with them at that moment and spotted Harry. His eyes widened and he looked at Harry a bit star struck, Hailey to bestowed the same look, yet slightly less in awe. Kasei grinned at the boys and turned to her sister.
"While you attempt to get Braiden onto the train…" she trailed off, almost giggling as Hailey's face turned from pink to Red. "I'm going to try and find us a compartment." Hailey grabbed Kasei's arm, stopping her before she even got the chance to move. Kasei frowned.
"Ok." Hailey said after a few seconds of silence and released Kasei, who grinned, yet empathetically. Kasei turned her attention to Harry and Ron.
"Nice to run into you again…" she trailed off with a giggle. "Literally." She put in as she made her way towards the train. Harry looked to Ron quite confusedly as Ron again scratched behind his neck.
"I met them in Diagon Alley." Ron explained, yet seeming not quite detailed enough for Harry as his eyebrows lifted. Ron shrugged and that was enough for Harry, who turned to Hailey, offering his hand.
"I'm Harry-" Hailey almost cut Harry off to explain that she already knew that, but mentally stopped herself in fear of sounding stupid, everyone knew that.
"Potter." Braiden finished for Harry, relieving Hailey of her stress, yet she covered his mouth with one hand and took Harry's with the other.
"Hailey James, and this is Braiden…" she looked down and released her hand from Harry's reluctantly to help her other hand to keep the struggling little boy quiet. "That was my sister Kasei." She said, then looking after her sister, who just disappeared through the train doors. She looked back to Harry and his expression was still blank, like his emotions had been used up ages ago. He nodded and four more figures appeared behind the two boys. Hailey let go of Braiden as his struggling ceased.
"Ron, Harry, you two best be getting on the train quickly-" The woman was cut off as Fred stepped forward, or what Hailey presumed was Fred by the letter upon his breast.
"We meet again Miss James." Fred said with a grin as he took Hailey's hand in his and lifted it to his lips, kissing it softly, he raised his head from it and smiled at her. Hailey carefully slipped her hand from his grip, trying not to be rude.
"Fred!" The woman scolded him, confirming what Hailey had assumed. She smiled warmly at Hailey and her little brother.
"You must be one of the young ladies Fred and George have told us so much about." Hailey sort of blushed, looking down towards the ground a little embarrassedly. "Oh...it's noting to be worried about, they've spoke of you quite highly, and you are as beautiful as they said you were." Hailey's eyebrows shot up and she glanced towards Fred and George, who had little grins plastered on their faces.
"That's Hailey." George informed his mother, then scanning their small crowd for a sign of Hailey's look-a-like. "Where's Kasei?" he finished asking with his brow furrowed, his twin brother sporting the same look.
"On the train." Hailey said slowly in a small voice, finding it hard to speak at all as she found her eyes upon Harry once more, his own fixated upon her with a look that seemed to be questioning. "Where Braiden and I should be as well." She informed them, looking up to the woman once more, not even having noticed the small redheaded girl standing behind the group. "It was nice to meet you." Hailey said in her politest way possible, grasping a firm hold upon the handle of her trolley.
"And the two of you as well, I hope to meet your sister someday." Hailey smiled politely and made her way away, Braiden following reluctantly behind.
Hailey scanned the compartments for the one containing her sister, which happened to be second from the end. Hailey pulled the compartment door open and rolled her eyes at her sister, who seemed to be settled in comfortably. Kasei smiled.
"Must've been quite the conversation between you and the flaming redhead if you'd stayed this long, you're usually quiet." Hailey shoved a small bag hard into Kasei, who jumped, lifting her feet a few inches off of the floor.
"That was uncalled for." Kasei laughed as she stood and shoved the bag into the small space she had already placed her things, assuming it was the proper place in the first place.
"Yeah, well, the twins showed up…And their mother. They seemed quite disappointed when you weren't there." Hailey shoved her things into the same space and then roughly sat down beside her sister. Kasei grinned.
"Oh?" she questioned quite amused herself at Hailey's comment. "Must be my good looks." Kasie said, getting a quick smile out of Hailey. Kasei stood and marched to the door as Braiden finished putting his own things away.
"What a Woman." Braiden muttered to himself and Kasei looked at him confusedly.
"You mean their mum." Hailey's jaw dropped and her eyes widened.
"Ewe." Was all she could mutter; though there could be no other explanation, the only woman there had been the twin's mother. Braiden looked at the two of them very grossed out.
"NO!" he spat, defending himself against any misconceptions. "The girl with red hair, slightly taller than me." Braiden was tall for his age. Hailey and Kasei exchanged glances, frowning and Hailey turned back to her brother as he took a seat across from her.
"I didn't see any girl; the only woman I saw in that group was their mother." Braiden shook his head and crossed his arms across his chest.
"That's because those two goons were standing in front of her, sheesh." He shook his head again and then leaned over, reaching into the bag at the top of the pile in the compartment storage and pulling out a copy of the Daily Prophet.
"I'll be right back." Kasei announced and left Hailey to her silent protests, wondering where she was off to. She frowned and turned back to Braiden.
"Where did you get that?" She snapped at him, thinking maybe he'd stolen it from somewhere. He lowered the paper from his face and glared at her through a squint.
"Do you always have to stick your big nose into my business?" he retaliated, snapping to mock her tone. Hailey glared at him and abruptly stood.
"Where did you get that?" she snapped again, holding out a threatening fist before his now pale face, he had no doubt that Hailey would hit him if need be. He sunk back into his seat.
"Dad's been getting it lately, I took it off of the table this morning." He squeaked, hoping to death that she would accept his answer. She took a deep breath and stood, looking down at his shrunken form. A knock came at the door of the compartment and she looked over to see Ron standing just behind.
Kasei made her way down the row of compartments, searching for the one Draco had disappeared into, she had no idea why, but for some reason she wanted to see him again. Kasei had spent the last two weeks, wondering why he had disappeared like that on her in Diagon Alley, and then again in Flourish and Blotts.
She'd seen him enter one as she came onto the train, though followed closely by a couple of unfriendly looking, rather large boys and a girl whom Kasei wouldn't want to run into in a dark alley. Her face looked like the pug dog that lived in the next house when they lived in L.A.
Kasei had barely taken a step toward the next compartment when he happened to step out f the one two down from the last. Kasei stopped in her tracks as he spotted her. A suspicious smile spread across his face and he made his way over to her.
"Looking for something?" he asked wryly and she raised a brow, not afraid to tell him the truth.
"Actually, I was looking for you." his left brow suddenly shot up, but his smile ever ceased, his eyes remained as cold as the day she'd met him and it sent a shiver down her back. Kasei reached up and began to rub her arm, feeling goose bumps upon it as he stared beck.
"Oh?" he questioned in a drawl, quite calmly. "And why would that be?" she grasped her own wrist and stopped as her goose bumps faded into her skin.
"Because, you shot questions at me like cannon fire and then left me with but only a name, nothing else, I don't really think that's fair now is it?" he seemed surprised by her forwardness, let alone her words, and intrigued at the same time. Her own smile seemed to warm him up to the idea of answering any questions she might have, but he didn't speak right away, just sort of studied her for a minute.
"No, I guess not." He said in a bit of a husky voice as his eyes returned to hers, making her feel like she was in the hot seat. "You didn't tell me you had a sister who looked exactly like you either." As it sunk in she frowned, but her quick wits were all she needed.
"You didn't ask." She shot at him, with a smirk that one would call teasing. She glanced down at her arm, just to be sure the goose bumps were gone, yet giving her a reason to warm her eyes and stop his from penetrating into her soul as they seemed to be doing. "But you didn't really give me time either." She added in, looking back up, and spotting his badge as she did.
"I had things that needed to be done." She couldn't help but notice how he avoided an apology, though it dawned on her that his cauldrons had been knocked out of his hands. She smiled awkwardly as she remembered.
"Like buying a new cauldron for instance." She said slowly, hoping it wouldn't make him mad again, though he hadn't been mad for long the first time. He laughed roughly, like he didn't laugh often, but she couldn't help but notice a flicker of something in his eyes, she began to search them, but any trace of it was gone.
"How's your head." He asked, seeming cautious as he raised a brow, looking intently interested as he leaned to the side, trying to get a glimpse of where she'd once been bleeding. She absent-mindedly reached a hand up to the back of her head, feeling his gaze more intent upon her as she did.
Kasei remembered how, when her father caught sight of it, though not until Kasei had gotten into the car and he'd spotted the blood on her neck in his rear-view mirror, he became quite worried. Kasei had explained the accident and said that it didn't hurt, though the ringing in her ears had lasted the next couple of days. A small embarrassed smile spread across her lips, changing from the one she previously wore.
"Umm…better, much better." She could feel her face turning red and his hand found her chin as he tried to examine it, though it wasn't there anymore, luckily for Kasei, her father had run into worse scrapes and cuts than that…Braiden for instance, wasn't the least of his worries still. She felt awkward, but his touch was like the absolute opposite of his eyes, it was warm and she noticed it instantly, then frowning before he pulled away and looked at her again, nodding.
"So you're going to Hogwarts?" he questioned, seeming a little quizzical, but his eyes showed different still.
"Yes, my sister, my brother and I." She answered very calmly. The corners of his mouth lifted in a half smile. "Why did you just leave like that the other day?" Kasei felt she deserved some sort of explanation. He lifted his head a bit higher.
"As I said, I had many things to do." She finally lowered her hand back to her side.
"You must be pretty important then…" she trailed off and tapped his badge. "Prefect, I take it?" she half questioned, having had the same in L.A. except the badge was different than his.
"Smart girl." he admitted a bit sarcastically, laying a blow to Kasei's ego, thinking he thought her a stupid little girl in the first place, her small grin faded and she glance back down the row of compartments the way she'd came.
"I…I should go." She hesitated; feeling compelled to stay, but not wanting Hailey to worry her pretty little face off. He looked at her inquiringly, and she thought he was going to ask why, but he nodded.
"Get back to your sister and brother." She nodded back and seemed a bit hurt with the simplicity, half wanting him to asked her to stay. Kasei couldn't believe her own thoughts, why would she want to stay, when everything about him told her he was cold and to much out of her social group in the first place.
He grasped her hand softly and leaned over, kissing the back of it softly, making her believe different about him seconds after thinking what she did. She couldn't help but smile, and her heart fluttered inwardly as he stood back up and looked to her.
"It's likely we'll meet again." He said as more of a way to assure her, but she knew that he was right in the first place.
"Yeah." She said, more to herself than him, but he'd heard her words easily. "Goodbye." She turned before she found herself in his eyes again. They were so cold, yet there was something there that Kasei had seen for but a second that she desperately hoped she could find out what it was. She found herself at her own compartment before she could even guess what it was, opening the door she looked in to find that most of the seats were now easily occupied by familiar faces.
Kasei looked to Hailey, who sat in the corner by the window, staring out at what went by like she hadn't heard Kasei come in. Kasei felt all eyes upon her, and then turned, scanning the faces as she couldn't help but grin. Hailey finally looked to her sister and Kasei's grin was more than Hailey would've expected.
"Well, well, where'd you find this bunch?" Kasei teased her sister, not having expected to come back to a full compartment. Hailey rolled her eyes, something Kasei found Hailey did often.
"Needed a place to sit, an empty compartment, and ours was…well, empty enough." Kasei closed the door and took a seat next to her sister. Kasei's eyes wandered across the group. Harry, whom Kasei knew from her magazines, was sitting on the end of the other side, right across from Hailey, he seemed very much like Hailey in many ways and Kasei wasn't surprised, knowing the stories that flooded her mags and papers across the world.
Ron sat next to him, eyeing her back awkwardly and as her eyes found his he looked away easily. Next to Ron was another girl, her brown hair had waves in it and she was very pretty, she had a book in her hand and didn't seem to notice Kasei.
Next to Kasei was the redheaded girl she figured Braiden had been talking about. She smiled again, glancing at Braiden, who was ironically sitting next to the girl, eyeing her with a silly grin, and then turned to her sister.
"You pick on Braiden already?" she whispered under her breath and Hailey turned to her with a slight grin.
"Nope, thought I'd leave that one until you got back." Kasei turned to her brother very seriously. Hailey leaned forward, looking at Braiden and then to the girl next to him.
"What did you say your name was?" she questioned Ginny, Ginny looked up surprised, clutching a copy of The Quibbler in her hands.
"Ginny Weasley." She replied and Hailey looked to her sister implying it was her turn for a go.
"Braiden, you should stop staring at the poor girl, I'm sure she does mind your drooling." Kasei persisted to hold in her laughter as his jaw dropped instantly. Ginny looked surprised at the two girls and then to Braiden.
Braiden opened his mouth to explain in any way he could, but just stuttered upon the vowel 'I' several times. He finally closed his mouth and looked from Ginny to the twins, livid. He glared at them and both tried to hold in their laughter. They exchanged glances and then Hailey turned her attention accidentally to Harry to find him looking back at her, a small grin pulling at his lips, but it couldn't seem to stretch any further than it was.
She looked away out of the window and heard Kasei let her giggles slip. Kasei looked to Ginny apologetically.
"I didn't mean anything to make you feel uncomfortable, it's just..."she let out another small laugh, glancing in Ron's direction. "I'd guess you know what it's like to have brothers." Ginny cracked a small smile, but then hid her own face behind the paper, lowering it for a second as she glanced at Ron.
"Yes." She whispered to Kasei from behind the paper and Kasei had to try to contain her laughter and stop herself from looking at Ron and laughing At Him. Kasei stopped laughing long enough to make a simple reply.
"I'm Kasei James." She said, then looking to the only other person in the compartment she didn't know. Hermione looked back at her, trying to hide her own faint grin. "And you?" Kasei inquired, finally stopping her insides from hurting.
"Hermione Granger." She replied, then lowering her book and sitting forward in her seat, extending her hand like it was a second nature to do so. Kasei took it without a thought, seeing that Hermione was one she could easily get along with. She let go and strained to read the title of Hermione's book.
"Charms of The Past: Historical Magic." Kasei read aloud, getting her sister's attention, along with Ginny, Ron and Harry's but Braiden, beet red, continued to hide his face, his thoughts racing with ways to get her back. "Any good?" she questioned, trying to make conversation, and getting Hermione's full attention at that.
"Why yes, it is." Hermione smiled and the two boys both looked at Kasei sympathetically, she caught their looks and realized she'd just gotten herself into a big mess.
"Have you read that one?" she asked Hailey, knowing Hailey probably did and hoping to divert the attention from herself to her sister, or at least to share it with her beloved twin.
"Yeah." Hailey answered, but Ginny felt she could alleviate Hermione's book lectures.
"Do either of you two play Quiddich?" Ginny asked and Hermione looked quite put-off, but sat back in her seat anyways. Kasei grinned, finally something to her own interest.
"Yeah, I do, but Hailey…" she glanced at her sister regretfully. "Well, she used to." Kasei frowned and looked back to the others, only to see Harry eyeing Hailey again.
"What happened?" Ginny questioned and Hailey bit her lip, making to answer before Kasei placed a hand over Hailey's mouth.
"Don't!" she said, snapping at her sister, then turning back to Ginny and letting go." She quit after our fourth year, when our mother died." Kasei just didn't want Hailey going into elicit details and telling everyone she blamed herself. Ginny frowned.
"Was your mum a Muggle?" she asked reluctant, because she could tell it was a touchy subject.
"Squib." Hailey corrected her, looking back out the window and not blaming Kasei for doing what she did. The girls and their brother were pure blooded, but being a squib their mother had adopted muggle tendencies and enjoyed muggle things, she even pushed the girls to make muggle friends. Hailey pushed farther at getting the subject changed and looked to Ron, squinting.
"What?" he asked slowly, cautious as to why she looked at him like that. Hailey looked to her sister; feeling like kasei could use some sort of embarrassment.
"Reminds you of Corey, doesn't he?" she questioned, a grin brewing. Kasei's eyes widened, but she wasn't embarrassed. She looked more closely at Ron and then grimaced, making him worried as his ears again turned a bright shade of red.
"Not really…the hair…" Kasei began to pick apart the things she saw mentally and Ron sort of shrunk into his seat. "And Corey was a muggle, he definitely isn't." Hailey smiled.
"Right." Kasei couldn't help but notice Harry's grin, this time an all out grin.
"Hey Hails…" she started, nodding towards Harry. "I guess we found out how to make that one smile… just pick on Ron." The red of Ron's ears floated across his cheeks, but all the same he smiled at Harry, shrugging as Harry looked back at him for support. Harry lowered his head and his gaze, his own cheeks turning a light shade of pink.
sSs
Well, we know it's been a long time since the we've updated and hopefully it won't be that long again. P.S. this one was written by MorganS. many many moons ago.
To Our Reviewers who have waited so long:
Serb-Maco: glad you loved the last chapter hope you liked this one
DarkAngelPearl: you liked the second chapter better than the first, maybe you'd have liked this one better than the second, not likely though, there's not as much going on, just suspicious stuff.
DrunkenBuddie: now you know who was in the corner, maybe not... but you'll eventually know if you don't now
Sincerely, MorganS and ashlyns