~Everything's Not What It Seems~

Alex and Justin are siblings sent to Hogwarts to learn about magic just like their father. There they meet new friends, fall in love, and find out that truly everything is not what it seems.

Disclaimer: J.K Rowling and Disney Channel own the right to all these character. I am only borrowing them :)


Alex followed her parents and brothers towards platform nine and three-quarters. She was exhausted, unable to sleep the night before from the excitement of her trip to Hogwarts the following morning. She ended up giving up on sleep by 5AM and started getting the last of her things together. She was ready to go by the time her dad came by her room to wake her up. Their dad had informed them that the train to Hogwarts left London at 11AM so they would need to leave home before 7AM.

By a quarter past 6, they were all ready to go and Justin transported them to King's Cross Station in London. Justin and Max loaded up their luggage onto a cart and they made their way through the railway station. As they walked towards the platform, Justin slowed down next to Alex.

"What?" She asked him.

"Where are your things?" Justin looked at the cart with all their luggage, then at Alex with disapproval.

"One second." She pulled out her wand and shook it in front of Justin's face. "Bags from home, meet me here, take them here, and bring them near." She glanced to her feet and smiled as her luggage appeared beside her. When she looked back at Justin, she found him staring at her with his eyes practically bugging out. "What?" She shrugged.

"You just… all the people… magic… exposed… did anyone… AGGHHHH!" Alex laughed as Justin started into one of his normal fits. She stopped and quickly composed herself when her dad turned back towards them with a questioning look.

"Alex, what did you do?"

"Nothing, did you find the platform?" She gave her dad an innocent smile while Justin looked at her in disbelief.

Jerry looked suspiciously between the two before shaking his head. "There is no such thing as platform nine and three quarters… I wish I asked my uncle, he would know since…" Dad suddenly stopped and looked at Alex sadly.

Before they could say anything else, Max strolled over to them with a grin on his face. "Hey guys, I think those dudes might know how to get to platform nine and three quarters!" They looked over as Max pointed to two tall, identical redhead boys who were arguing with each other. A short redheaded woman was standing beside the pair, scolding them.

Alex looked at Justin and her dad, they watched the three skeptically. Justin shook his head at Max. "How do we know they're headed to platform nine and three quarters?"

Max shrugged. Alex glanced at the two guys again before turning back to Justin. He started shaking his head when noticed the determined look on her face. "I'll go find out!" Before Justin could protest, Alex jogged away from them, heading straight towards the boys. She stopped right in front of them, clearing her throat to interrupt them. They stop their arguing and turned towards her. They stared at her strangely for a while before one of them finally spoke.

"Hello there, can we help you?" The first redhead asked her with an amused expression.

"Hi, I was just wondering if you knew where platform nine and three quarters is?" Alex gave them an innocent smile.

The two boys looked at each other for a minute, almost speaking telepathically. Alex watched them for a while before finally the other boy turned back to her to respond. "You headed to Hogwarts? I don't believe we have your name."

"The name is Alex, Alex Russo. And yes, I am headed to Hogwarts."

"Nice to meet you Alex. My name is Fred Weasley. And yes, we know how to get to the platform you need."

The other redhead frowned at his brother then looked at Alex. "And my name is George Weasley, and for a small fee my brother and I can help you get to your destination."

Alex looked at the two in amusement. Alex might have possibly met her newest friends at Hogwarts.

Before she could respond, the short redheaded woman that was with the boys earlier pushed past them and stopped in front of Alex. "I'm sorry dear, if you can excuse my rude sons. I'm their mother, Molly Weasley, and I will tell you how to get to platform nine and three quarters, free of charge!"

"Come on mum, you ruined it!" George complained. I smirked at the twins as they looked at their mother in defeat. "You always do this woman!" George turned and grabbed the cart sitting beside him. Before Alex could even realize what he was doing, George began to run straight towards the brick wall behind him. Alex watched in horror, expecting a loud collision to appear in front of her in a matter of seconds, but was both surprised and relieved when George disappeared into the wall. Alex looked to Fred and Mrs. Weasley to find them watching her in amusement.

"Is that… how you get to platform nine and three quarters?" She pointed at the wall George had just disappeared through.

Mrs. Weasley nodded and pulled her across from the wall. "You just run at it and you'll be at the platform, it's as easy as that!" Mrs. Weasley looked over at her other son with concern. "Fred, go after your brother! Heaven knows what he'll do with your luggage in this little time! I must also be going, tell your father to meet me in the car once he's seen Ginny off!" Mrs. Weasley quickly gave him a hug before turning to face me. "It was nice meeting you Alex dear, good luck in Hogwarts!" With that, Mrs. Weasley walked away and disappeared into the crowd of people.

"Apologies for my brother and myself. We like to get in a little trouble when we can, especially with the new kids. Maybe we'll be seeing you later!" Fred gave her a wink before disappearing through the wall.

Alex turned back to her family to see them watching her with looks of pure shock. She shook her head at their ridiculous reaction. Come on guys, we are wizards for heavens sake! None of this should surprise you. She rolled her eyes as she stopped in front of them, snapping her finger to get their attention.

"You guys ready to go?" She looked at Max and Justin expectantly. They both nodded as Alex began to turn away. "Good, let's go!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Wait right there!" Alex stopped and turned back to look at her dad. He had his hands on Max and Justin's shoulders. "Aren't you guys at least going to say goodbye to us? We aren't going to see you until the school year is over!"

"Oh, yeah…" Alex smiled as she walked over to her parents, letting them engulfed the three into a group hug. They all pulled apart moments later and Justin helped Alex load her luggage onto their cart. Alex waited impatiently as Theresa fussed over Max, tapping her foot. Finally she gave Max a final hug goodbye and let him join Alex and Justin by their cart of luggage.

"Oh, before I forget. Guys, I want you to try to stay away from any drama and don't listen to any rumors you hear. Try to keep a low profile, and absolutely do not attract any attention to yourself… if possible." He looked at Alex as he said this. "I want you kids to be safe, have a good time, and learn some magic!" He smiled at them before engulfing all three of them in one last hug.

Alex was the first to pull away, waving her parents goodbye before turning towards the brick wall. Alex took a deep breath, closed her eyes and ran straight towards the wall. Here we go.

When Alex opened her eyes moments later, she was relieved to find herself standing in front of a sign that said 'Hogwarts Express.' She look around, seeing all the students scurrying onto the fancy, black train or saying farewell to their parents. She continued to look around, watching her new fellow classmates as she waited for her brothers. She laughed when minute later, Justin and Max appeared clutching onto each other and the luggage cart, their eyes closed tight.

"Hey guys?" She waved her hands in front of them, watching them with a smirk. They finally opened their eyes and smiled in relief when they took in their surroundings.

Justin Walked over to his sister, looking at her with a new sparkle in his eyes. Alex knew what he was thinking about, he was thinking about one of the stories they had heard growing up. Once that took place at this very platform.

"We should get on the train! Can you guys get my stuff?" Alex smiled at them, giving her their best 'innocent' look.

"Go on ahead Alex, find us a good place on the train." Justin shook his head with a smile before instructing Max to help them with their luggage.

~~~~~

A while later, Alex, Justin and Max were finally settled in a compartment on the train, their luggage stored away over them. Justin had already turned his attention to a textbook that was in his backpack and Max was playing a handheld video game. Alex looked out the window in boredom, regretting she didn't bring anything with her to do on the train to distract her.

In reality though, she knew nothing would distract her from the one thing that was bothering her. Her fight with Harper. Alex didn't get the chance to make amends with Harper after their fight on Saturday. Her family spent all of Sunday in Diagon Alley, getting together their necessities for the school year. By the time they got home, it was late and she still hadn't mustered up the nerve to talk to her best friend. Now she was headed to Hogwarts and would not be able to talk to her best friend again until she returned to Waverley Place in the summer.

Maybe it was better this way. Alex was sick of all the lies she had to tell to Harper. Alex was great at lying when it mattered, but she hated lying to her best friend. A little piece of her broke inside each time she had to lie to Harper, especially when she knew that deep down her best friend didn't believe her. This could be good for Harper. She could go make new friends. Human friends that would never lie to her. She could have a new best friend.

"Alex, are you okay?" Alex snapped out of her thoughts and turned her attention to Justin. He had his textbook closed in his lap as he looked at his sister with concern.

Alex shook her head. "It's nothing Justin. I was just lost in thought." She forced a smile and waited as he nodded and returned to his book.

Alex looked out the window, her thoughts heading a different directions as she watched the landscape that passed as the train moved. This was the landscape that every student who took this train would watch. She wondered what it was like for her dad and his friends when they would ride on this train. What did they talk about? What thoughts would they have? She tried to imagine the kind of adventures they had, soon she was no longer paying attention to the world outside the train. She was in her own bubble in her mind, as she always was when she thought of her father's adventures in Hogwarts

The three Russos, so transfixed in their own activities, didn't notice as the windows started to fog up and the temperature in their compartment began to drop. It wasn't until Alex felt a shiver run down her spine that she abandoned her day dreaming. She looked at her brothers to find Max zipping his jacket up and Justin looking around suspiciously. She gasped as Justin took a deep breath, and she saw the fog of air leave his mouth.

"Guys, is it just me or is it really cold in here?"

Justin and Alex looked at their little brother, who had his arms wrapped around himself, shivering slightly. Justin stood up to reach towards his luggage, only to be knocked back into his seat by the train suddenly halting to a stop. Alex and Justin looked at each other in alarm for a moment before Justin stood back up. He headed to the door, looking down the hall as the sound of chatter came through the door.

"Doesn't look like anyone knows why we stopped." Justin closed the door again and sat back down.

"Then why did we stop? We can't be there." Alex looked outside again. She could only see darkness now. But in the darkness, she swore she saw something moving. She focused on where she saw the movement, hoping it was really just her imagination when suddenly the lights went out. At that moment, Alex could not explain why, but she shrieked in fear.

"Alex, calm down! It's just the lights!" Justin quickly made his way next to his sister, taking her hand to calm her. She took deep breathes to calm herself, pulling her legs in front of her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Alex kept a hand on Alex's shoulder as they sat in silence. It felt like a long time before finally the lights came back on and the train started moving again. Alex looked at Justin in relief, he gave her an assuring smile before returning to his seat.

"It was probably just a problem with the train." Justin explained. Alex nodded, turning her attention back to the window. She was relieved to see that it has started to rain, the windows fogging up again.

"Alex, take this blanket, you look cold." Alex nodded appreciatively as Justin handed her a blanket. She wrapped the blanket around her as she watched her brothers each pull on a sweater to warm themselves up.

"Thanks Justin."

He nodded. They sat in silence for some time, listening to the putter patter of the rain hitting the window. Alex had to stop herself from jumping up as the compartment door swung open. They all looked up to see a woman standing in the doorway, smiling At them. "Anything I can get you dears from the trolley?" Alex looked at the cart behind the woman and noticed all the sweets she has with her. She relaxed slightly, before looking to her brother.

"Justin, can you buy us some candy, please, pretty please?" Alex gave Justin a pleading look.

Justin sighed, standing up as he pulled out his wallet. "Fine." He looked over at the cart before his eyes went to the woman. "We'll have three licorice wands, three pumpkin pastries, three chocolate frogs, and a package of those jellybeans over there" The woman smiled, nodding as she began to pick out the sweets from her cart. Justin counted out some coins and handed to her as she handed the sweets to Max and Alex.

"Enjoy dears!" The woman smiled as she closed the door and headed away from their compartment.

"Thanks Justin!" Max smiled at him before biting down on his pumpkin pastry.

"Yeah, thanks Justin!" Alex also smiled before putting the licorice stick in her mouth.

Alex and her brother spent the rest of the ride enjoying their sweets and reminiscing on their Wiztech adventures. The movement in the dark and the sadness of her lost friend, momentarily off her mind as Alex thought of the adventure ahead.


Updated!