Chapter 9
Halfway through the journey, Alli had moved next to Fred so that she could rest against his side as his arm draped over her shoulders. Hermione seemed to find the situation awkward; even though Alli had told her about Fred, this was her first time meeting him. Alli had to make sure she paid enough attention to Hermione because she didn't know anyone else, but Alli would have been happy to just curl up next to Fred and sleep till they got to the castle.
While Hermione was buying some treats from the trolley, Alli whispered in Fred ear, "I need to stay awake so Hermione doesn't feel left out. You're going to have to help me." She smiled flirtatiously when he stared into her eyes.
"I think I know what will wake you up." He pulled her onto his lap so that her back was resting against the window. Alli lowered her head so their foreheads met and he brushed his lips up against hers but then pulled them away.
"You're a such a tease" Alli giggled and initiated the kiss.
"Get a room you two," the voice of George interrupted their enjoyment. He was sitting next to them, leaving him a perfect target for Alli to kick in the shin.
"Ow, Fred control your girlfriend" he laughed.
"Sorry mate, she's just as easy to control as we are" Fred laughed and kissed Alli again.
Hermione sat across from the couple and was staring out the window as if trying hard to ignore the public display of affection. Alli reached over and put her hand on Hermione's knee, she almost slid off Fred's lap but his embrace around her waist stabilized her.
"Hey, you nervous?" Alli asked when Hermione looked at her.
"A bit… what happens when we get to the castle?"
"Well, unfortunately I won't be with you when you go to the castle. Once we get onto the platform, the first years, that's you, will go to the boats that will take you to the school while the rest of us travel by carriages."
"Why don't we all go the same way?"
Katie, who was sitting next to Hermione, answered, "Because the first years going by boat gives the rest of us time to get settled at our houses' tables and get ready for the sorting ceremony."
"I think that's what scares me the most. All of you are in Gryffindor and I don't know anyone in the other houses."
"I'm afraid of the sorting part too," a voice said from under the bench Katie and Hermione sat on. The head of Neville popped out at the end closest to the door.
"Are you still missing your toad?" Alli asked.
"Yeah, he doesn't seem to be in this cart anymore. I'd better go and check the others before we get to close to the school."
Hermione stood, "I'll help, I want to change into my robes anyway." The two left the cart and Neville turned to head to the front of the train, while Hermione started towards the end. George moved next to Katie but Alli remained where she was. Katie revealed to them that over the summer her and Eddie had started dating and, as if on cue, he appeared moments later at their door.
"Hey guys, Katie I've been looking all over for you." He smiled.
"Sorry the train was so crowded I figured I'd just stay in one place till you found me."
"Good idea, we could have passed each other numerous times and not have known. So I'm sitting about four carts up with some Ravenclaws if you want to join us, or we could just meet up on the platform."
"No, I'll come with you. You don't mind right?" She looked at Alli to get confirmation that she wasn't being rude but it was George who answered.
"Of course not, get out of here you crazy kids."He laughed and also said that he was going to find the trolley to get another chocolate frog; leaving Alli and Fred alone in the cart. Alli slid off his lap and he stretched out across the bench leaving Alli sitting at his feet.
"So your friend Hermione seems nice, a bit up tight, but nice."
"Yeah, she's great. She's like my conscious, if it wasn't for her I probably would have been arrested numerous times by now."
"Well she's going to have her hands full now that you've joined up with me and George." Fred chuckled.
"Yeah, well I'm hoping she'll be busy with some friends of her own as well. She has trouble making friends because she's so smart and a stickler for the rules."
"I'm sure she'll be fine and have hundreds of friends in no time."
"I hope you're right." In truth, that's what Alli was most nervous about; that Hermione wouldn't find anyone in her class that understand her. Even though Alli loved being around her sister, she was in different classes and they would rarely get to see each other.
"We should probable change into our robes." Alli noted that they'd be arriving in about an hour.
"The bathrooms are going to be very crowded right now. We should have thought of this earlier." Fred sat up and looked out the compartment's door to verify his assumption.
"Well, um, we don't have to get dressed in the bathrooms" Alli shifted in her seat.
"Where do you suggest we change?"
"Why not right here?"
"You mean in the compartment, together?" Fred didn't seem to dislike or like the idea.
"Yeah, I mean, I'm okay with it if you are."
Fred looked around and then checked the hallway again. "Sure, yeah, that sounds good to me."
Fred closed the curtains over the windows to the hallway while Alli cover the window to the outside; she knew there was no one out there to see them but it just made her feel less uncomfortable. They took their uniforms from the overhead racks and stood with their backs to each other as they began to undress. Alli had her skirt on and was pulling on her blouse when the train lurched, knocking her and Fred off balance. They landed on the same bench, both with their shirts unbuttoned. Alli stared at Fred's naked chest though the voice in the back of her head told her to look away. Fred seemed to be experiencing the same feelings because he edged towards her and pulled her lips into his. His warm hands felt good as the slipped under her shirt and onto her bare back. Alli pushed him back so that their stomachs met; she rubbed her hands down his chest.
Fred removed his lips from hers and moved them to her neck. Alli knew she should stop this, but she didn't want to. The couple was so absorbed in their bliss that they failed to hear the cart door slide open; that is until they heard someone clear their throat. Alli turned her head and to her horror was caught in the gaze of her sister.
"Hermione!" Alli exclaimed as she pushed off of Fred into a sitting position and quickly began to button her blouse. She could see out of the corner of her eye that Fred was doing the same. Hermione acted as if nothing was unusual as she took her original seat and opened the shades on the window.
When Alli and Fred had gotten their clothes arranged properly, Alli turned to Fred, "Hey um, Fred, why don't you go see where George wandered off to." Alli's expression told Fred that she needed to talk to Hermione, so he nodded and slipped through the door and closed it behind him.
"Hermione…" Alli began but Hermione spun her head and glared at her.
"Are you insane. What were you doing in here?" She wasn't yelling, but Hermione was using what Alli called her 'mother-knows-best' voice that she only used when Alli had done something completely stupid.
"We were just changing into our uniforms" Alli decided that she would no longer let Hermione treat her like a child. Hermione was younger than her and Alli shouldn't be taking orders or allowing Hermione to make her feel bad.
"That's not what it looked like to me." Hermione folded her arms across her chest.
"Well I'm sorry Hermione, but I don't have to explain myself to you. You've never had a boyfriend and until you do you won't understand."
"Maybe I don't understand the feelings, but I think I have a pretty good idea of what teachers will think when they see that mark on your neck."
"What?" Alli grabbed a mirror from her bag and found what Hermione was referring to. There on the side of her neck was a red blemish the size of a sickle and as she stared at it, it just got more red. She tore through her sack looking for her make-up bag. Diane didn't let her wear much make-up but allowed her to have lipstick/lip-gloss and thankfully, foundation. She used a mouse foundation which did a good job hiding any little pimples she got, but didn't do so well hiding a hickey. Hermione watched her with amusement while Alli applied layer after layer trying to dim the redness. After about ten layers, Alli gave up and hoped her collar would help conceal the love bite.
"Not so happy with yourself now are you?" Hermione snickered.
"Hermione, I'm not ashamed of what Fred and I were doing. If it went any farther than yes I would have something to be ashamed of. But making out with my boyfriend is natural, we have been dating for almost a year so that was just the next step in our relationship. Please don't try and make me feel guilty because I am in love."
Hermione took a deep breath and her expression softened, "I guess the roles are reversed here in the Wizard World. I don't know what to expect and will be relaying so much on you. I'm just not use to that, I'm kind of jealous of you. You are such a different person here, you're popular and I'm use to be the only one you hang out with. Now you have all these jokes with people I've never met and a boyfriend that you are obviously very involved with. It's just so much change at one time." Hermione looked down at the floor.
"Hermione," Alli moved next to her and put her arm around her, "you are my sister. Yes, I have a different life here but now you are a part of it. It may take awhile to adjust, but it will get better. Just because I have a boyfriend and other friends doesn't mean I'll forget about you. Trust me I get into tons more trouble here than I do at home so you'll always have your job of playing my conscious." Alli laughed and rested her head against her sister's. "And soon you'll have a bunch of friends of your own, this is a new start for you, a time to reinvent yourself."
Hermione turned and hugged Alli, Fred came back in with George following close behind them. Alli stayed next to Hermione and the rest of the train ride joking and preparing Hermione for school. Of course the twins tried telling her all the wrong rules but Hermione had already memorized Alli copy of the student handbook that had all the correct rules in it.
"Should I be afraid of what might happen when you three are together?" Hermione asked jokingly.
Alli, Fred, and George looked at each other then back at Hermione and answered with a simultaneous, "Yes."
Alli noticed the smile leave Hermione's face as they rolled to a stop in Hogsmeade. Fred took Alli's bag for her and Alli held Hermione's hand as the maneuvered through the crowd of kids getting off the train. Alli heard Hagrid calling for the first years when they stepped into the fresh night air. Before Hermione could run off Alli gave her another hug and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry you'll be fine just relax and let fate take its course." Hermione nodded than headed in the direction of Hogwarts's friendly half-giant grounds keeper.
Alli watched Hermione get lost in the group and then turned towards the carriages where Fred, George, Katie, and Eddie were waiting for her. She wasn't nervous about Hermione getting sorted, Alli already knew where she would end up.
"Why do you look so happy?" Katie asked as Fred helped Alli onto the carriage.
"Just remembering being in Hermione's place last year. It seems so foolish now to have been so nervous."
"Oh I thought it had something to do with the bite on your neck." Katie giggled .
Alli blushed, Fred looked at the floor, and Eddie's and George's jaw dropped.
"Is is really that bad? I tried to cover it with make-up."
"If you stay out of direct light no one will notice."
"I'm so dead" Alli propped her elbows on her knees and buried he face in her hands.
The rest of the ride was spent poking fun at Alli and Fred's relationship. Being good sports, Alli and Fred took it and even joined in.
"Hey did you hear the Harry Potter is coming to school this year?" Eddie asked as they all gathered their luggage and started up the path to the castle's entrance.
"Yeah, how wicked is that. The-Boy-Who-Lived in these halls, he's probably the most powerful wizard kid we'll meet."
"Oh George, I think you're in love" Alli laughed as she pulled on her sweater vest and robe before they dropped off their bags to be taken to their rooms.
Alli's stomach started to twist in a knot as the others continued to talk about Harry Potter. Eddie and George compared versions of the night her father died and Katie laughed when then enacted what they believed Voldemort looked like while he was being destroyed. That's when Alli couldn't take it anymore, her stomach did a back flip and Alli let go of Fred's hand and ran down a connecting hallway. Fred followed but they were behind the other three, so George, Katie, and Eddie didn't notice they disappeared. Alli turned down several other hallways before slumping to the floor, trying to steady her breathing. She could hear feet echoing in her wake but didn't make eye contact with anyone till Fred sitting in front of her.
"Hey are you alright?" He brushed his fingers against her cheek.
"I will be, I just… I just don't have a good history with that story." Alli wanted to tell Fred the truth, but now was not the time. She took a few more deep breathes and then was able to relax.
"What were your parents Death Eaters or something?" Alli knew Fred was only joking trying to get her to laugh; he was still under the impression that Diane was her biological mother.
Alli couldn't get the words out of her mouth so she let her expression say it for her.
"Bloody hell Alli, they are, aren't they." Fred slid back from her a bit but was still was within arm's length, which told Alli that he was shocked but not afraid of her.
"My parents were arrested when I was two and I was adopted by Diane. My full name is Allestra." Alli could feel tears forming in her eyes, but she didn't want to cry so she wiped them away before they could fall. Fred remained silent for a few seconds but to Alli it felt like hours; he wasn't looking into her eyes anymore instead he was looking down the deserted corridor. Finally she heard him take a deep breath and turned his gaze back to her.
"Allestra, that's a pretty name. Why don't you introduce yourself as that?" Fred smiled reassuringly.
"When I moved in with Diane, I was slightly traumatized because I had witnessed my parents getting arrested. Diane thought it would be best for me to get a new start, away from that life; so my name went from Allestra to Alli and I just never thought of being called anything else."
"Well the name suites you" he smiled and took her hand.
"Thanks, I think" Alli giggled.
"Come on, the others will be wondering where we went and Hermione might get the idea that we are doing what we were doing on the train." Fred helped Alli off floor.
"Yeah, she would come hunt us down"
"We wouldn't want that now would we, Allestra" Fred winked.
Hand in hand, they walked through the halls and into the Great Hall. Fred sat next to George and Allestra sat between him and Katie. When the first years were ushered in she instantly searched for Hermione's face. In the process she happily saw Ron, who was walking with the infamous boy, and unfortunately caught the gaze of her cousin Draco, who looked as devious and stern as ever.
His name was called first to be sorted and Allestra watched him as he took his place on the stool. Before the hat was even fully on his head, the Sorting Hat shouted, "Slytherin." With a smirk and an accusing glance at Alli, Draco strutted over to his house's table and took the seat next to, to Allestra's horror, Adrian Pucey. Both looked in Alli's direction, one with distain and the other seductively, she returned both with a look of hatred and turned back to her friends. She didn't want to start the year like this with her cousin, but he was part of a life that Alli wanted to avoid; she would learn to deal with both the Slytherins in the right way.
Hermione's name was called, and Alli could see how nervous she was; but when the hat declared "Gryffindor," Hermione's face lit up. She ran to the table and shook her fellow Gryffindors' hands before taking the empty seat across from Percy, about three people away from Alli. Hermione didn't seem to mind the separation and after a comforting nod to Allestra, both returned their attention to the rest of the first years. It wasn't long before his name was called, The-Boy-Who-Lived, Alli watched him while whispers circulated around the hall. He looked like all the other first years, normal, and even a bit scared; not anything like a great and powerful wizard that Alli expected.
The boy sat with the hat on for longer than the other students. Alli remembered the hat talking to her, nobody but the wearer could hear what the Sorting Hat was saying but it still made that person feel awkward. Finally it announced him into Gryffindor, and the students went crazy; everyone at the table, except Alli, stood and began to chant "We've got Potter". Everyone wanted to shake his hand and it took Professor Mcgonnagal several minutes to get them to return to order. Alli looked at the teachers' table and saw that all of them seemed pleased with the selection, especially Professor Dumbledore; Alli met the eyes of her uncle and he looked as serious as ever but something about him told Alli that they needed to talk. Alli agreed with that, Harry Potter was sitting next to Hermione, but Alli felt like he was right next to her; she wasn't sure how she react to being in the same house as him. Allestra felt like this year would be a lot more complicated than the last was.