-1"Gwen! Gwen, get up!" Her mother started shaking her. "Get up! It's 8 o'clock!" Gwen groaned and rolled over onto her back. She rubbed her eyes and opened them as the stars changed to the sun, which was slowly getting brighter. Finally, she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "C'mon, come get some breakfast," her mother said.
She dragged herself downstairs to the kitchen where pancakes were waiting for her. Her hair was messy, but she sat at the table anyway. She began to meticulously spread soft butter all over a pancake, then poured syrup on it, and smoothed it out evenly. She placed another pancake on top of that and repeated the process. Then, Gwen grabbed a slice of toast and spread butter across it, making sure it reached the crust on all four sides. Her mother laid a few slices of turkey bacon on her plate. She ate and washed it all down with a glass of orange juice.
"Hey, Mom... what's with the big breakfast?" Gwen asked.
She was about to answer when Oliver burst through the kitchen door. "Gwen, it's 8:30! Why aren't you dressed yet?" he yelled. She gave him a blank look. "It's September first! We're going to Hogwarts today! Don't you remember packing all your stuff last night?"
Gwen suddenly remembered doing just that and jumped up from the table. "How could I have forgotten!" she screamed and ran upstairs. She never was a morning person. Sleep is good. She reached her room and grabbed some clothes, then ran to the bathroom and jumped in the shower. An hour later, she came downstairs in navy blue sneakers, dark blue jeans, and a red t-shirt. She had a small braid over either temple that met and were tied together at the back of her head. Over the years, her hair had turned to reddish golden brown and the green in her eyes became more evident.
"It's about time! It's 9:30 already!" Oliver exclaimed.
"Oliver, the train doesn't leave until 11. Calm down," Gwen told him.
"Gwen, we have to get there first! King's Cross is in London!"
She realized Sean and Maura were in the room along with her own parents and her and Oliver's trunks. She and Oliver both regretted having to leave their brooms behind since first years weren't allowed to have them. For her eleventh birthday, Gwen's parents got her first real broom, a Comet. Oliver had the same and was still a better flyer.
"We're going to Apparate to platform 9 3/4," her father said, motioning to Sean Wood, "and take your trunks with us. We've got about an hour, though."
Oliver sighed. He really was excited, and so was Gwen, but she was also really nervous. She knew just what to do. "Come on, Oliver, let's go ride our brooms," she said. He eagerly followed her outside and ran next door to get his broom. Gwen grabbed hers and jumped on. Oliver returned with a Quaffle.
"I know, I know. 'Too bad first years aren't allowed to play.'" Gwen laughed as he opened his mouth to say just that. He laughed, too.
The pair started flying around Gwen's yard and his, tossing the Quaffle back and forth as they swooped and soared. One of them may have missed it every now and then, but they quickly dove and caught it before it hit the ground.
All too soon, Gwen's mom called them in, saying it was time to go. David and Sean had just left. Maura led them over to the fireplace.
"We're traveling by floo powder. Remember to speak clearly," Mary said. "I'll go first." She grabbed a handful of powder and stepped into the fireplace. "Platform nine and three-quarters," she pronounced as she threw the powder down. In a swirl of green fire, she was gone. With one last, longing look at their brooms, Gwen and Oliver followed suit, one by one. Grates flew past their eyes until the journey ended. Dusting herself off, Gwen stood next to Oliver as they both stared in wonder at a big red and black train, the Hogwarts Express.
Gwen's mother appeared behind her. "Isn't it magnificent?" she asked quietly. Gwen nodded as her dad walked up. They started telling her about Hogwarts, but with all the noise and excitement it was hard to take it all in. Fifteen minutes later, Gwen and Oliver were saying goodbye to their parents. They started loading their trunks onto the train along with the owls they were both given for school. Gwen's was a snowy owl and Oliver had a brown owl. They found an empty compartment and sat across from each other, waving out the window at their parents, who Disapparated as the Hogwarts Express left the station.
"Wow," Gwen said. "We really are on our own now."
Oliver sat next to her and put his arm around her in a brotherly manner. "We're not entirely on our own. We still have each other."
Gwen smiled and rested her head on his shoulder, watching the scenery fly by as the Hogwarts Express sped down the tracks.
About halfway through the trip, a dark-haired boy poked his head in the door. He grinned, revealing some very nasty teeth. "You first years?" Without waiting for an answer, he sat down across from Gwen and Oliver. "I've been to a lot of compartments. I can't seem to find anywhere to sit... Name's Marcus Flint. I'm a first year, too."
"Oliver Wood."
"Gwen Pennington."
"You two an item?" he asked suddenly. He gave Gwen an odd smile, making her uncomfortable. Oliver sensed her unease- as he always knew how she felt- and before Gwen could answer truthfully that they were not, Oliver's arm around Gwen's shoulders pulled her closer.
"Yes, actually," he lied, not looking at Gwen.
Flint stopped smiling. "Oh... So, what house do you think you'll be in?"
"Well... my mom was in Gryffindor. My dad went to school in the States; I lived there till I was 6," Gwen answered, feeling safe with Oliver's arm around her.
"Fascinating, I thought your accent was different," Flint said, that odd smile creeping over his lips again. As a result of living in America until she was six and Scotland the past five years, Gwen had a sort of soft Scottish accent.
"My parents were both in Gryffindor," Oliver chimed in with his strong Scottish tongue, getting the conversation back on track. Gwen squeezed his hand in thanks. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was definitely something she did not like about Marcus Flint.
He threw Oliver an annoyed look. "My family's all been in Slytherin; I'm pretty sure I will be, too." There it was; that was the something. Gwen's parents told her about Slytherin House. It had a reputation for turning out evil witches and wizards. Neither Gwen nor
Oliver quite knew how to react.
"Oh," they both responded lamely.
The three of them sat there in silence for a while, and Gwen ended up falling asleep on Oliver's shoulder. No big deal, it had happened before.
Gwen woke up to see that Flint was gone. Oliver was asleep too, his head resting on hers. She looked at her watch and wondered how much longer it would take to get to Hogwarts. She didn't think she had moved much, but Oliver woke up. "Where's that Flint kid?" Gwen asked.
"Wha? Oh, he left a while ago." He looked at his own watch. "We might as well go change."
"Okay..." Gwen grabbed her uniform out of her trunk and headed to the changing rooms. When she returned, Oliver was already done and in his seat. He saw her skirt and snickered; he knew she hated wearing skirts and dresses. She gave him her death glare.
"You have to wear that every day," he laughed, ignoring the evil look. Gwen angrily closed her robes, but it only felt like she was wearing a dress. She sighed and started laughing.
A short while later, the train pulled into Hogsmeade Station and students started piling out. A voice told them that their luggage would be taken care of, so they left it.
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! C'mon, follow me!" Gwen looked up to see the tall, dark shape of a man towering above the heads of the students. Oliver took her hand and led her through the crowd toward the voice. "Mind yer step, now! Fir's years follow me!"
They continued to follow the voice and his lantern down a steep, narrow path. The group walked for what seemed like forever in the dark, following the gruff voice, until they found themselves on the edge of a large lake. "There's Hogwarts."
All of the first years looked up and across the lake to see a massive castle. It had many turrets and towers. Gwen suddenly noticed there were boats in the water. "No more'n four to a boat," the huge man announced.
Gwen and Oliver climbed nervously into a boat and sat next to each other. A red-haired boy with glasses climbed in behind them. They introduced themselves.
"Percy Weasley. Pleasure to meet you." He seemed to be a little stiff-backed. Before they knew it, their boat was steering into a sort of cave, or underground harbor rather.
Everyone climbed out of the boats, and the man led them through a passageway and out onto smooth grass in the shadow of the castle. Everyone followed him up the steps to huge, oak doors and he knocked three times. The door swung open and Gwen saw a tall, black-haired witch.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," the gruff man said.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."
By the time the sorting was over, Gwen, Oliver, and Percy were all in Gryffindor. After a big, delicious dinner, all the students headed to their common rooms. Gryffindor was on the seventh floor, behind the portrait of a woman in a pink dress, The Fat Lady.
"Password?" she asked imperiously.
A prefect stepped forward. "Flibbertigibbet." The students entered through the portrait hole, and found themselves in a cozy room containing a few study tables and plenty of over-stuffed leather couches and armchairs. A roaring fire was going in the fireplace. The room was decorated in scarlet and gold, Gryffindor's house colors.
A lot of people headed up to their dorms, but it was only nine o'clock and there were no classes the next day, so Gwen and Oliver hung out by the fireplace in separate chairs.
"Thanks for... on the train, with Flint," Gwen said quietly.
Oliver looked up at her. "You mean when I said I was your boyfriend?" He grinned. "No problem. I could tell he was making you uncomfortable. What's a best guy friend for?"
Gwen flashed him a wide smile and hugged him. "Good night, Oliver."
He stood up. "Good night, Gwen." With that, they headed up to their dorms.