When we arrived, a hulking man with a snarled beard greeted us cheerfully. "Over 'ere first years! Over 'ere!"
He motioned us onto small boats on a massive lake, the three of us got into one and it hauled off to the other side of the shore.
I glanced at Fred and George- "Oh, must be the groundskeeper- Charlie told us he was half giant- Hagrid I think…" George whispered in my ear.
"Charlie?" I asked.
"Oh, sorry, forgot you didn't know- he's our brother- I have…" he counted silently on his fingers, "four brothers and a sister-five counting Fred here-but who does?"
Fred punched him in the shoulder.
I must have looked shocked. George seemed a little apprehensive. "Your father is in the ministry isn't he? You've probably heard of the Weasleys…"
"Oh. He said you were….oh…" I muttered. My father had told me they were just as bad as mudbloods. Maybe even worse because they were muggle lovers.
George and Fred shared a look. "Yeah- some of the pureblood families don't like us so much- but we don't like them much either, eh George?"
George looked down sadly. "Yeah…" he muttered.
"Guys, I'm not my father you know." I said quietly.
They both looked at me.
"Really. I couldn't care less about blood- my mother taught me that much."
"Your…mother?" Fred asked.
"Yeah. She doesn't care either- how she married my father I'll never know."
"No offense, Dasi, but he sounds like a complete git." George said.
"I might not agree with him, but that doesn't mean I don't love him." I growled. "Don't insult him- he is my father."
George looked like he had been slapped. I smiled- good- he was lucky I hadn't slapped him. One thing my father and I agree on is no one is allowed to insult our own.
My eyes opened wide- I could see Hogwarts better now, and it was incredible. The huge, lit windows reflected yellow-gold on the lake. Towers reached up to the sky.
Fred and George turned around- they had been facing me, their backs turned from the school.
"Wow." They murmured.
Yeah. Wow was right.