"Excuse me"
Fred and George looked up from their game of exploding snap in slight alarm, having not realized someone had quietly opened their cabin door.
"Can…I sit here?"
The girl who stood in the door way stared quizzically at the twin boys, who still had not said a word. She pressed her lips together, giving them a look that suggested she thought them rude for ignoring her.
The Hogwarts Express sounded a shrill whistled, and lurched forward slightly, as if warning students to find their seats. The girl, weighted down from a large, almost dorky looking green backpack, swayed dangerously, looking like her knees would buckle under the weight.
"Er.. Yeah, sure. Go ahead"
George waved his had limply at the seat across from where he and Fred were sitting, as if trying to make up for their lack of consideration earlier.
She gave them an awkward little halve smile and collapsed in the cushioned seat somewhat dramatically. Fred looked to his twin, frowning. George cocked his head and looked at his brother. Both locked eyes and Fred gave George a meaningful look as the train made another lurch, as a last warning to students who had not found seats.
George knew his twin well enough and he could practically hear Fred complaining that this, girl was going to ruin the whole ride over to Hogwarts. Any conversation of their mischievous plans would have to be censored for another day.
George broke gaze with his brother and looked at her.
She was smiling about something as she unzipped her backpack and gazed inside. Much to George's surprise the backpack shivered slightly. She laughed and poked her finger inside the largest unzipped compartment and laughed again as if there was something immensely funny inside.
She looked like a lunatic.
George thought as he watching her with mild interest, she wasn't bad looking. She had very fair skin that was burned slightly on her shoulders from the summer sun. She had shockingly blond hair that brushed her sunburned shoulders, looked slightly as though she had cut it herself. She wore a light brown muggle sundress, George assumed, would be fashionably in the muggle states, but looked slightly out of place here. She had a sweet expression on her face, as she peered into her bag. The bag shivered again.
The compartment door opened again. The girls face twisted from laughter to a state of shock, as she jerked the back close to her, zipping it. Lee peered in, laughing slightly at the girl.
"You got something there your not supposed to?"
She gazed at him wide eyed, shook her head slowly, still clutching her bag, which was started to squeak softly. She punched it and the squeaking stopped with an indignant growl.
Lee shrugged and stepped in. He looked around the cabin seeming contemplated for a minute of where to sit. Then he squeezed on next to George and Fred on one side of the cabin. Both brothers gave an "Uff!" of disapproval as all three squeezed onto the two-person seat although George could hardly blame him. Something was strangely intimating about this girl, no matter how sweet she looked. Whether it was because she was strangely beautiful, or because still clutching her now growling backpack looking around suspiciously.
The final whistle cut through the crisp morning air and the train lurched again, but this time into a slow but steady roll. Mothers and fathers waved goodbye to their children many who leaned dangerously far out of the trains widows waving and saying final goodbyes. Many ill faced first years seemed to want to jump out and forget going to school, but were tugged back inside by stern prefects who policed the corridor of the train.
As soon as the prefects were out of sight, the girl seemed to relax. She smiled at the three boys as if she had accomplished something dangerous. The for sat in silence for a few minutes and the train left the station, and the landscape changed to rolling hills and dewdrop pine trees. Then she finally spoke.
"Are we allowed pets?"
It was a rather random question."Yeah sure" Fred replied dully, looking discontentedly at her, probably wondering why she had chosen their compartment to sit.
"Even on the train?"
"Why not?"
"Oh" She seemed to feel silly for her previous behavior, "at my old school, we went allowed"
"In the states?" Lee seemed interested in her. George guessed it was because Lee spent most of the summer in the states visiting muggle family. Lee had seemed to acquire a taste for American whatnots.
"Mmhm" she bobbled her head smiling slightly, "did my..." she pointed to her mouth.
"Your accent, yup"
"Oh!" she laughed, "accent? I have never thought of that. But I guess that would make sense. To me, you all seem to have an accent. How strange." she seemed to go off into her own little world, thinking about accents.
Suddenly she spoke again,
"What dose my accent sound like?"
"What?"
"What dose it sound like?"
"I really don't know what your asking"
She pressed her lips into a pout and rolled her eyes up to the ceiling, trying to reword her question.
"When I listen to you talk, your accent makes you sound very...prim… and proper. Like fancy talk."
"Really?" lee gave her a questioning look, but seemed to enjoy the analysis.
"Oh yeah sure. You could be talking about taking a shit and it would sound like poetry"
The boys seemed to be taken aback by her sudden outburst of vulgarity.
She caught on to their feelings and asked again,
"So, what do I sound like to you"
Fred and George felt out of this conversation so they let lee answer.
"Well" Lee scratched rubbed the back of his neck as she looked eagerly at him, " I suppose your accent makes you sound...well...all like American cowboys"
She frowned.
"Not in a bad way."
She continued frowning.
"You know...like...hearty."
"I am not from the south."
Lee stopped, seeing that he was getting nowhere. The girl leaned back in her seat, holding her backpack to her chest. She looked off into space with an unsatisfied look on her face, obviously deep in thought.
Suddenly her backpack make a shrill yelp.
"Oh!"
She snapped out of her trance and started apologizing to her green backpack. She tipped it over and dumped the furry contents out onto the red-carpeted floor.
The most awkward little creature any of the boys had ever seen rolled up into a seated position and shook its head to clear it.
It was impossibly cute, but in an almost creepy sense. It looked like a cross between a rabbit and a kitten. Huge lop hears hung down to the floor from its tiny head that pointed to a little black nose. It had what looked like short and soft grey fur that turned black as it hit its little feet, looking like socks. The creature stood up on its enormous haunches much like a rabbit and looked around, swishing its catlike tail.
The twins and Lee were so surprised they just stared. Not like it was the strangest thing they had ever seen, but it certainly was a strange creature to carry around in a backpack.
The little creature squeaked and jumped into the girl's arms, seeming surprising strong for such a little thing. She laughed and laughed as it licked her face with a rough tough and clawed her mercilessly as if trying to get closer to her. She fell off the seat to the floor. She quickly adjusted her dress and let her pet pounce on her. She upped herself to a seated position on the ground, catching the creature as it ran excitedly around the cabin. She picked it up by its upper body and swung the little fellow, his feet and tail dangling a few inches from the ground.
"I am so so sorry! I forgot all about you!"
The creature narrowed its eyes.
"Oh, I didn't mean I forgot forgot you, I just had to make sure it was safe"
The creature seemed satisfied
"Poor poor little Jacobo! All crammed up in a backpack"
She began swinging him back and forth again. She tossed it up in the air slightly and let it fall back into her arms and buried her face in its fur and whispered she would never again put Jacobo into a backpack again.
In her activity, she almost forgot about three very quite and very concerned boys. She looked up.
"Oh! This is Jacobo!"
She thrusted the creature towards them and it seemed to give a little wave.
"Yeah...we know...what is it?"
Jacobo was wiggling so much it was all the girl could do to keep a grip on him. He had obviously stored up a lot of energy by being stuck in a backpack for what was probably hours.
The girl snatched him from the back of the neck and let him dangle allowing him to struggle in futile.
"He is an ancient breed of Skrittish" She explained as he seemed to tire and lay limp in the air, "Its a dying breed, extremely rare"
She continued to boast slightly, looking proudly upon him, as he seemed to be taking a nap as she griped the back of his neck.
"My uncle sent him from Africa when he went on business. What a bureaucrat. He works for the International Magic Corporation. He didn't tell me much, but I know why he went. Some people are so sick. " The girl rolled her eyes. George waited for her to elaborate, but she changed the subject.
" Anyways. So my uncle sent back Jacobo as a rare find. Originally my family was going to skin him and hang his hide up on the wall" George recoiled slightly at the thought as Jacobo's huge back rabbit feet twitched in mid air, tired of kicking around, "But I stole him away. They would kill me if they found out I got him."
She gentle put in Jacobo to her lap, waking him. He blinked his huge emerald eyes and yawned, exposing very small and very sharp white teeth. All sat in silence, not knowing what to say.
Both the girl and the Skrittish gazed out the window at the rolling countryside. She stroked his huge ears and he blinked lazily. She leaned down and whispered to him that they were going to a beautiful place that she was sure he would like. Where no one would want to hurt him and that he didn't have to stay hidden all the time. Where he could run around all day without having to worry. She pondered aloud to him that she hoped they had a lake where they could both go swimming.
George began to tell her about the lake with the giant squid, but Fred poked his arm roughly. George looked up, noticing only now the Fred and been looking at him. Fred frowned, displaying his rejection of the girl, but George just shrugged.
Finally George talked for what had been a long time,
"So…we know that little fellows name...but what is yours?"
Everyone in the car winced, realizing now that no one had introduced themselves. Everyone blurted out at once.
" Sorry I am George, and this is my brother-"
"That obvious George, you twit! I am Fred, and this is-"
"Lee! Sorry."
"That's ok, I'm Sari"
A huge weight seemed to clear from the air. All four teenagers sat in a more comfortable atmosphere. Fred and George felt their rambunctious ways beginning to be aroused now that the awkwardness finally passed.
"So…Sarah, no, Sari, right? " Fred smiled, leaning back in his seat with him arms crossed behind his head, "What house do you think you'll end up in?"
Sari smiled still stroking Jacobo's ears as he purred, "Oh that's a given! Slytherin!"
The short-lived comfortable air vanished.
Lee looked disbelievingly at Sari who gave him an ironically good-natured smile.
"Slytherin..."
"Yes Slytherin, the most glorious of all the houses!" Sari beamed, "For sixteen generation my extended family has been sorted into Slytherin, its a given I should be as lucky"
She seemed to be regurgitating what her family had obviously told her growing up, and not speaking from her own knowledge. George and Lee looked at each other with the same 'oh boy...' look.
"Erm...are you sure you... want to be in Slytherin?" Fred looked at her; with the expression George could read as clear as day. They knew that this girl would never, ever be in Slytherin. It's just not possible you understand. She was just not…. Slytherin material.
"And what if...you don't get into Slytherin?" Lee asked carefully
Sari looked in horror at him, this thought obviously never crossing her mind.
"Well, I suppose I will just have to throw myself in front of an oncoming train" she said simply, brushing off the question.
George having decided that he liked to watch this conversation stayed quiet as Lee and Fred trying their hardest to talk this girl out of being deadest on being sorted into Slytherin. That's the thing with George and his brother. In solitude, they are complete equals, with in public; Fred took the lead, often speaking for both the brothers. George frowned at this thought. Its harder then one thinks to share your identity with someone and to have nothing to call your own, not even your face. Not many people understood, and George often thought it was a waste of time to even ponder the thought. He loved his brother dearly, but sometimes, just sometimes...
"What house are you boys in?" Sari asked, snapping George out of his daydream.
" Gryffindor "
"My brother and I as well"
George nodded slightly.
"Oh!" Sari's smile faded slightly, "Oh, I am...sorry"
"Sorry about what?" Lee's good nature seemed to waver
"Sorry... that you're in... Gryffindor?"
Lee opened his mouth so say something, when a sharp rap on the door knocked anything he was going to say right out of his mouth. Fred and George instinctively knocked back on the door.
A harsh voice from the other side was obviously not amused and declared,
"All students! Change to your school robs!"
Sari grumbled slightly, mumbling about stupid dress codes as she unzipped another compartment of her backpack and yanking out her robes.
George looked to Fred, and Fred looked to George and both silently agreed.