I grunted slightly as I pushed the heavy trolley forwards glancing at Leo nervously.
"So... You expect me just to run through a brick wall?" I adjusted my leather jacket, my combat boots catching in the trolley wheels.
"Pretty much." Leo shrugged noncomittedly, apparently not at all disgruntled by my obvious discomfort.
"Hey, Aria!"
I turned around at the sound of my name and spotted a vaguely familiar head of ginger hair.
I smiled and fled to Ron's side. "Do we really have to go through a wall?" I asked nervously and he laughed.
"Yep."
I tensed as two bodies appeared either side of me, an arm slung over my shoulders and someone leaning on my back.
Before they got a word out, I latched onto the arm over my shoulders and heaved, pulling the person over my back and flinging them onto the ground in front of me. He wheezed and gasped as I tugged his arm upwards, my foot planted on his chest.
Ron burst out laughing and I cringed, hurriedly jumping backwards and helping the redhead up.
"Sorry, sorry! Just, uh, a reflex." I apologized profusely and turned to the other boy, who looked exactly the same. I looked between the two in confusion.
The one that I hadn't floored spoke up, grinning madly and chortling. "Damn, Freddie, smooth!"
'Freddie' scowled. "Shut up, George."
I stared at Ron, waiting for an elaboration of some sort. He didn't catch on until Hermione appeared behind him.
"Hiya, Aria! This is Fred and George Weasley, Ron's older brothers. Apart from Bill, Charlie and Percy, of course." A small ginger-haired girl came up behind Hermione, smiling shyly.
"I'm Ginny. I'm the youngest."
I blinked rapidly. "Stop confusing the poor girl, you lot." Leo chuckled from behind me and I smiled sheepishly at Fred, who was rubbing the back of his head. George was still teasing him and Ron shook his head with bemusement.
"Where'd you learn that, anyway?" Fred spoke up. I shrugged.
"I used to take self defense lessons. Um, sorry about flooring you. I didn't mean it." I smiled sheepishly and I felt Leo move away from behind me.
"Arthur! Molly!" He exclaimed, turning towards two more redheads.
Oh my god, how many are there? Was my first thought.
My second was holy crow that was so mean oops.
"So who's who?" I raised an eyebrow at the twins, who grinned at each other. I'd heard a lot about the two troublemakers from the little complaints Hermione made in some of our many letters.
"I'm Gred, and he's Forge." The one Standing to the left of my spoke up first.
"No, I'm Gred and I'm Forge." The other argued and I rolled my eyes, looking to Ron for help.
"That one's Fred and the other one is George." He explained after being elbowed by Hermione.
"I'm the hot one." Fred smirked.
"Hmm. I recall George saying that he was Gred and you were Forge, but you objected and switched it around therefore George is the hot one." I retaliated, my hands on my waist as I jutted my hips out to one side. Ron, George and Ginny sniggered at Fred's bewildered and offended expression.
"I like this one!" George declared. Leo shot him down with a deadly glare, introducing me to Molly.
"Ooh, she's very pretty. Nice to meet you, dear." The short, dumpy woman enveloped me into a hug and I felt my face warn slightly at the compliment.
Hermione chewed her lip after Mrs Weasley stopped fussing over me.
"We should hurry. We still have to snag an empty carriage." She shifted her handbag on her shoulder and I silently questioned her lack of luggage. The group started hurrying down the train station lane, the screeches of train wheels assaulting my ears.
"Are we following?"
Leo nodded and we rushed after them, Leo taking charge of my trolley. We stopped in between platforms Nine and Ten.
"Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Behind that wall is the Hogwarts Express." Leo explained, squeezing my shoulder reassuringly as my stomach twisted nervously
Digest those butterflies I told my self. Digest them!
Molly shuffled around bossily. " Alright, Fred and Ginny first, George you go behind them. Off you go!" The twins grinned and the three grabbed their trolleys, running straight at the wall. I held back a squeak as they passed straight through it.
"Ron and Hermione, you next."
" 'Mione, can you wait for me on the other side please?" I called out hesitantly. She smiled and nodded before disappearing to join the other three Weasleys.
Molly and Arthur waved encouragingly and Leo guided me towards the wall. I took a deep breath and ran, jumping onto the rung of the trolley at the last moment.
It was blurry and grey around me for a moment, almost like passing through fog, and then I burst out onto the other side.
I grinned and Hermione stopped my trolley from rolling forwards, Leo stepping up beside me.
Parents and students rushed around everywhere, all heading in the same general direction and each hauling trunks or bags of luggage. I gazed in awe at the dark red Express, smoke puffing out of it as it started up, the engine rumbling loudly.
Aries screeched from his cage and I blinked, turning my attention back to my friends.
We stood in front of the train and I turned to Leo, whose face was beaming with pride.
"You know how much I hate goodbyes so lets get this over with." I muttered and leapt into his embrace.
"Whatever you do, do not make this a chick flick moment." He mumbled into my hair and I let out a strangled, strange-sounding sob, but I refused to cry. Aria Norths don't cry.
"I'll miss you. I'll write." I promised quietly.
"You better. Now hurry up and get on the blasted train." He chuckled dryly and I did as he said.
I found Hermione and the Weasleys just as the train started to move away, and Leo and I didn't break eye contact until he was out of sight.
Thats when i realized there was an extra two people in the compartment.
"Hiya." I said awkwardly, looking to Hermione desperately.
"Aria, this is Harry Potter and Loony- Luna Lovegood. Guys, this is my friend Aria North."
Harry flattened his fringe and Luna smiled dreamily at me. I waved awkwardly.
"I'm sorry, I'm not the best at social- I mean I'm not too- ugh. Hi, nice to meet you." I trailed off into a grumble.
Harry was still glancing at me warily but greeted me all the same. I rolled my eyes.
"Chill, I'm not going to fangirl over you. You're just a guy." I shrugged. He looked relieved and relaxed.
"Boy oh boy, am I glad. Hey- is he yours?"
He was staring at Aries, who was staring straight back through the bars of his cage.
"Yep- this is Aries. Aries, Harry." I waved a hand at the dark- haired boy and Aries dipped his head.
"Remind you of anything, Harry?" Hermione smiled and Harry laughed.
"Only Malfoy's shrieks. 'It got me! I'm dying! I'm going to die!" Ron started to laugh as well and I raised an eyebrow.
"What exactly happened with a Malfoy?"
Harry was quick to explain. "In my second year, Hagrid introduced us to his Hippogriff and Malfoy was rude to it, so it ripped open his arm. He was very dramatic about it." He chuckled, shaking his head.
"Sounds painful." I murmured.
Harry raised an eyebrow. "You're not sympathizing him, are you?"
Hermione butted in before I could make a rude remark.
"He was the other pen pal of hers. They're friends." Harry stared at me with a new light- or shadow- before turning back to the window. The air grew a little colder and I suddenly heard someone calling about food.
Ron looked just as excited as I felt and wrenched open the door, revealing an older lady pushing a cart laden with sweets and cakes I'd never seen before.
Harry and Ron both leapt to get things while Hermione held a little more restraint, and Luna stayed where she was with her magazine.
"Would you like anything, Aria?" Hermione asked.
"I've, uh, never had any of it before." I answered truthfully. The three automatically began picking off things they thought I might like and refused to let me pay.
After trying a few strange things, I flipped my Dumbledore card over and read the blurb again, my eyes growing drowsy. Eventually the other's conversations died down and my head fell against the window.
I watched the scenery flash past for a while before my eyes fell shut and I slept to the sound of the train moving beneath me.