Chapter 1 – The Hogwarts Express

September 1989

Roger Moon had not known his wife was a witch until the day before their wedding. Even after she had told him he hadn't quite believed it and thought it was a joke. That was until she made the teapot float across the room. Though most men would have run a mile when they found out their intended was a witch, Roger loved Eliza so very much and they married the next day, lived happily and had two beautiful children, twins Phia and Phenix. However when the children were just two years old Eliza became very ill and no amount of magic could cure her and she sadly passed away. The children, like their mother were both fair skinned with blond hair, though Phia's was long and straight and Phenix's was short curly, and Roger could see the face of his late wife growing in both their faces as they got older.

Roger, knowing very little of the wizarding world did his best to bring his children up with a knowledge of magic and when they were eleven, like most young witches and wizards in Great Britain, they started attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Now the twins were sixteen and were about to start their sixth and penultimate year at Hogwarts and they had made the journey down to London and Kings Cross station to catch the Hogwarts Express from Platform Nine and Three Quarters to travel up to their school for the start of term.

"Come on or we'll miss the train," Phia called out to her father and brother who were lagging behind, as she strode into the entrance of the station and wasn't dragging large trunks like they were and instead was just carrying a cage with her owl in.

The station wasn't too crowded and everyone who was there was too busy with their own commutes to take any notice of the trio, who probably looked a bit odd with their oversized trunks and caged owl, which wasn't very common luggage for a Muggle train station.

Roger and Phenix quickly found a trolley to use and heaved the heavy trunks on to it and Roger began to push it the rest of the way to the platform.

They made it to platforms nine and ten with ten minutes to spare and Roger happily pulled the luggage trolley to a stop before retrieving a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbing his sweaty brow for it was a very warm September morning.

"Right I'll say my goodbyes here and let you go through on your own," Roger said as he put the handkerchief back in his pocket.

Truth be told Roger didn't very much like going through the barrier that was the entrance to Platform Nine and Three Quarters. It always made him feel a bit sick and he had never gotten use to the sensations so now he always dropped off and collected his children from the Muggle side of the station.

"Have a good time and I'll see you at Christmas," Roger said as he first hugged Phia and then Phenix.

The children said their goodbyes to their dad before they went through the solid barrier and emerged onto the other side and were greeted by the sight of the scarlet red Hogwarts Express.

The platform was heaving with a mass of parents and children saying goodbyes and loading their luggage onto the train. A couple of students had obviously decided not to keep their owls caged as two flew overhead and children screamed with delight as they were reunited with friends they hadn't seen since last term.

"Are you OK to load those?" Phia said looking at their trunks before turning and heading off to meet her friends before Phenix had even answered and he begrudgingly pushed the trolley towards the luggage carriage.

Phia and Phenix's experiences of Hogwarts life had been very different. Whereas Phia excelled in almost all her subjects, had made her house Quidditch team, was now a school prefect and was extremely popular with the other students, especially the boys, Phenix's school life had not been quite the fairy tale. For one thing he had never really got the hang of flying on a broom and after his lessons in his first year he had barely been on one since, let alone made the Quidditch team. He was never considered to be a prefect and he was less outgoing than his sister and his circle of friends was very limited and he only really ever hung out with his best friend Jack. In his lessons he had fared a little better, getting 'Acceptable' marks in most of his subjects in his O.W.L. exams and even a few 'Exceeds Expectations' in others but no 'Outstandings' like his sister had received in most subjects. In fact the only thing he really excelled at was Wizard's Chess but unfortunately there wasn't a class for that at Hogwarts.

Phia like their mother had been sorted into Ravenclaw, whereas Phenix had been placed in Hufflepuff in their first year and he soon learned it wasn't the most desirable house to be placed in. Even being in Slytherin, which was said to often attract witches and wizards with a fondness for the Dark Arts, was seen as a more attractive house. Hufflepuffs were often perceived as being too kind and nice, which led to them being walked all over by other students, a fact Phenix knew all too well, often being on the receiving end of abuse from some of the less caring students.

Phenix carefully pushed his trolley through the packed platform, trying hard not to knock into anyone, which was even more difficult as children were excitedly running everywhere. He had just managed to avoid running over a cat and had been met with a scornful glance from its owner and wasn't looking where he was going and went straight into the back of someone.

"Hey watch it!" the voice called out angrily and Phenix looked up to see it was Kyle Gray, a Slytherin boy in his year, who he had just rammed his trolley into.

"Sorry Kyle," Phenix hastily said and immediately pulled his trolley away and went to go around him when suddenly a spark of light hit his trolley and it flipped over onto its side, sending the trunks rolling across the platform.

Everybody turned hearing the ruckus and either just rolled their eyes or laughed. Even Phia, who was just climbing the steps into one of the carriages, turned and having seen the commotion just grimaced and then proceeded onto the train and didn't bother to go and help.

"Well I guess it's no surprise. You can't handle a broom, you can barely handle a wand so what hope is there for you managing to handle a simple trolley," Kyle smirked, pocketing his wand as his friend Ryan Wu stood beside him and laughed before they both walked off to board the train.

Phenix quickly up righted his trolley and rushed to pick up the trunks as everyone went back to their own business. He dragged the trunks across the platform and then tried to lift them back on to the trolley with one hand whilst he was using his other hand to stop the trolley from rolling away but was having no luck.

"Here let me help," someone said and grabbed the other end of the trunk and helped lift it up.

"Thanks," Phenix said with a bashful smile as Charlie Weasley then helped him lift the second trunk up.

There was a slight awkward silence after both trunks had been loaded back on to the trolley and Phenix was about to ask Charlie how his summer was when Charlie spoke first.

"Well I'd better be getting back to my family. Try not to have any more crashes. I don't think the trolley can take much more," he joked before starting to walk off.

"Sorry I haven't got my licence yet," Phenix replied back thoughtlessly.

"Huh?" Charlie said as he turned back, looking puzzled.

"My licence to drive a trolley," Phenix said and regretted how lame he must have sounded right now in his attempt to make a joke.

"Oh right. Gotcha," Charlie said with what seemed like a fake smile and headed off to his family.

Phenix watched as Charlie joined up with his parents and siblings. Like him they all had fiery red hair and freckled complexions. He recognised Charlie's younger brother Percy, who would now be starting his third year at Hogwarts and then there were two new Weasley's, who were very excited and their mother seemed to be struggling to get them under control. Phenix noticed that they looked almost identical and would have been had they not been wearing slightly different clothes.

Phenix snapped out of his gaze and quickly headed to the luggage carriage before boarding the train. Whilst everyone else seemed to be standing at the windows, waiting for the train to depart to wave a last goodbye to their families, Phenix made his way along the train to find somewhere to sit before all the carriages filled up. As he walked he saw his friend Jack struggling with his bag and owl cage.

"Hey Phen," Jack said, spotting him too and managing to trip over and almost dropping his caged owl that was already flapping about in its cage.

"Hey. Do you want to go find a carriage or are you waiting to wave goodbye to your parents?" Phenix asked, picking up some books that had fallen out of his friend's bag.

"No they've already left. They had to get to work," Jack replied, readjusting his grip on his cage and bag.

Jack Lightfoot, like Phenix, had been sorted into Hufflepuff and they had quickly become best of friends. And like Phenix he was fairly average in his subjects though he was better on a broom but not quite good enough to make the Hufflepuff house team, which he had tried out for unsuccessfully for the past four years. Jack was of a similar height to Phenix but was bigger built and had messy brown hair and was otherwise fairly unremarkable though his parents were probably the most interesting thing about him. His dad had come from a fairly respectable wizarding family but had been disowned by them when he decided to marry a Squib. But when their only son was born they were relieved to find out he had magical abilities. Jack's mum now worked in a Muggle shop selling flowers and his dad had a low level admin job in the Ministry of Magic. Their life wasn't anything extravagant but they were happy.

"How was your summer?" Jack asked as they found an empty carriage and set down their things.

"It was fun thanks," Phenix replied. "Dad continued his tradition of taking us on holiday to places with a magical heritage. We went to Greece and learnt all about the Seer Pythia."

"How can a holiday where you learn be fun?" Jack joked and managed to calm his owl down with a few treats before placing it up on the luggage rack. "How's your sister?" he asked, trying to be casual and nonchalant as he said it.

Like a lot of boys in their year, Jack had a crush on Phenix's sister and Phenix often wondered if that was the only reason Jack had become friends with him as an in to her. If it had been the reason it hadn't worked. Phia barely looked twice at Jack. She could have almost any guy she wanted and did. At school she had already had five different boyfriends, which she would quickly get bored of and move on to the next guy. Over the summer she had broken up with Aidan Twist, a boy in her year from Ravenclaw. But now she was single again and no doubt looking for her next boyfriend, but Jack was unlikely to stand a chance. She had never dated someone from Hufflepuff.

Outside there was the loud noise of the engine's whistle as the train slowly started to pull away from the station and their journey was underway. As much as Phenix enjoyed being home for the summer and spending time with his father (his sister not so much as she was always busy with her own friends), he was glad to be heading back to Hogwarts. For one thing at home he couldn't do any magic and secondly there was just something special about being at Hogwarts and you just never knew quite what might happen next.

Not long after the train had left Kings Cross station and the door to their compartment was slung open.

"Hey Phenix. Have you got any money on you? I think I packed my purse in my trunk and I want to get some stuff from the sweet trolley," his sister Phia asked as she strode through the door and stood in front of her brother.

"I've got a bit but not much. I wanted to stock up myself for the term ahead," Phenix replied, a bit annoyed that the only time his sister ever talked to him was when she needed something. The rest of the time she tended to ignore him.

"Come on don't be tight. I'll pay you back once we get to school," Phia pleaded trying to look all doe eyed and in need with her hand outstretched and opened palm up, waiting for Phenix to give in.

"I can lend you some money," Jack said enthusiastically before hastily emptying out his pockets but all he had were a few Knuts, some fluff and a boiled sweet and he suddenly looked a bit embarrassed.

"Thanks Jack but I'll give it to her," Phenix said, saving his friends blushes and Jack quickly put the contents of his pocket back away.

Phenix retrieved his bag from the rack and gave his sister three Sickles from his wallet.

"Thanks brother. You're the best," Phia said in an overly sentimental and obviously fake way before turning to leave.

"I really like your jumper. Is it new?" Jack asked impulsively, not wanting her to leave so soon.

"No I've had it for ages," Phia said a little taken aback as she turned back towards Jack and Phenix.

"Well it's a really nice colour… brings out your eyes," commented Jack, desperate to keep the conversation going.

Phia didn't reply, she just looked at Jack a little puzzled before turning to leave again.

"And I like your perfume. You smell like my grandma," Jack blurted out.

"Er… OK thanks," Phia said bemused before making a hasty exit.

"You smell like my grandma?" Phenix said mockingly to Jack.

"What? My grandma smells of flowers. It's a nice thing," Jack said, really not seeing what was so bad about that compliment.

"I may not know a lot about girls Jack but I know they don't like to be told they smell like someone's grandmother."

As the train journey went on and after Phenix had bought a copious amount of sweets from the trolley lady and had treated Jack to a Chocolate Frog and a Pumpkin Pasty they discussed what the school year ahead may have in store for them.

"I only got an 'Exceeds Expectations' in my Potions exam. Do you think Snape will let me continue with it? He's only meant to be letting students with 'Outstanding' marks continue," Jack said between mouthfuls of his pasty.

"I hope so, I only got an 'Exceeds Expectations' too. But the exam was dead hard. Hopefully if enough students didn't get top marks he might lower his requirements or he'll end up with a half empty class," Phenix said, having been worried about that mark the most since he received his results over the summer.

"I don't know, I think Snape would probably love having less students," Jack remarked. "I'm pretty sure he hates all of us. Well definitely the ones not in Slytherin at least."

Phenix had to agree.

"I managed to do loads of flying over the summer and learnt a few new moves," Jack said beamingly, changing the subject. "I think my place on the Hufflepuff team is in the bag this year."

"Well you know what they say? Fifth times the charm," Phenix said half-jokingly but also slightly concerned his friend might end up disappointed again this year.

Jack wasn't a bad flyer he just never quite had the finesse to be good enough for the team. And he had tried for various positions in the hope he would be good enough for one of them. The closest he had come to making the team was last year when he dressed up as a badger and was the team's unofficial mascot. But he hadn't brought them any luck and Hufflepuff had finished last, the same position they had finished the previous four years as well. In fact it was a common joke around the school that the Hufflepuff Quidditch team's motto was 'It's the taking part that counts'.

The topic of conversation moved on from Quidditch to what creatures Professor Kettleburn might be teaching them about in Care of Magical Creatures (and also if he might have lost any more limbs since last term) and who their new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher might be as they seemed to have a different one each year. But their conversation was cut short when there was a ruckus in the corridor and Phenix jumped out of his seat to go and have a look.

As he opened the door of his compartment two young boys rushed past laughing and he could hear shouting from further back up the train.

"What's going on?" Jack asked, still firmly sat in his seat and wanting to find out if it was anything interesting before he bothered to get up.

"No idea," Phenix replied. "Probably just someone messing about."

Phenix was about to close the door and sit back down when Charlie Weasley came hurriedly past and stopped at their compartment.

"Oh hey you didn't happen to see two red headed boys come this way did you?" Charlie asked, looking stressed.

"They literally just went past. Is everything alright?" Phenix said, wanting to see if there was anything he could do to help.

"Yeah it's just my little brothers thinking it was funny to let off a Dungbomb on the train. They won't think it's so funny when they end up with a detention before school has even started," Charlie quipped with a smile before speeding off down the corridor as Phenix looked on wistfully before eventually turning back and closing the compartment door behind him.

"What was that?" Jack asked as Phenix finally came and sat back down.

"What was what?" Phenix said, seemingly a little dazed as if his mind was elsewhere.

"The way you were staring longingly at Weasley," teased Jack.

"No I wasn't," Phenix snapped back defensively.

"You totally have a crush on Charlie Weasley don't you?"

"I don't," Phenix said but he was now going a very bright shade of red with embarrassment, which suggested otherwise.

"There's no shame in liking Charlie Weasley. He's the captain and Seeker on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and he's a prefect and he's pretty buff. Hey if I was gay I'd probably fancy him too," Jack joked, breaking the tension.

"I mean he's a nice guy but I don't think he's interested in me," Phenix said crestfallen as he looked out of the window at the world going by.

"Yeah I bet he doesn't even know your name," Jack casually noted, not meaning to have caused any offence but Phenix was slightly taken aback by the comment.

"Of course he knows my name," Phenix replied hopingly. "We have lots of classes together. I just meant I don't think he's into guys."

"Oh right well you never know. Just don't get your hopes up though. You are punching above your weight a bit there," Jack said trying to be a good friend and oblivious to how insulting it had sounded.

"Thanks," Phenix replied sarcastically. "And that's rich coming from you seeing how obsessed you are with my sister."

"Yes but at least she knows my name and talks to me," Jack replied.

"When has she ever talked to you when I wasn't with you?" asked Phenix.

Jack thought for a moment. "One time last year in Ancient Runes she asked if she could borrow my dictionary."

"Wow. Cupid was really working hard that day," Phenix joked.

"Look OK I know I'm not the usual type she goes for but maybe that's why her relationships never last. She's picking the wrong guys," Jack said, thinking he could be the right one.

"And you're the perfect guy for her?" Phenix asked sceptically.

"I could be if only she'd give me a chance," Jack said with a note of disappointment in his voice.

"Just don't hold your breath," Phenix said sympathetically.

"I know, I know. But I stand just as much chance with your sister as you do with Charlie Weasley," Jack replied and Phenix unfortunately knew he was probably right. It seemed as if neither of them were going to be lucky in love this year.