AN: Welcome to third year! Can't wait to share what we have in store for the group. Don't forget to review or pm us or just tell every potterhead you know to check out the story. Here's to another year, -cowriter
Chapter 3-1 POV Cas
My face is starting to hurt I've been smiling so much. I couldn't sleep at all last night, and I was up at dawn with my bags packed, sitting by the door when my dad finally came down to take me to Kings Cross. As soon as I got on the train I found Jo, and the twins weren't too far behind. We immediately started filling each other in on our summers while everyone filed onto the train.
"Who you looking for, Cas?" Fred asks me. I keep looking into the crowd making its way through the train. Jo starts laughing before she finally answers him for me, "The food trolly!" Which makes everyone else laugh. I hit her but don't deny it.
And then Jo bolts uprightin her chair, her eyes shining with recognition. I turn as someone pulls our car door open- it's Oliver Wood. He waves and says hi to everyone before turning to Jo.
"You forget our deal, you little ferret? Come on," he gestures and she stands. Fred and I share a glance while George just looks into his lap. "You wanna come too, George? We're sitting with the team," Oliver offers. He seems genuine enough, but George shakes his head.
"My kid brother's first year- he's a few cars down, I wanna be here for him," he replies, not quite meeting Jo or Oliver's eyes. I can tell he's lying, and I'm pretty sure Jo can too, but she makes a remark about catching up at the feast and lets Wood drag her off to wherever. We don't even have time to talk before the door slides open again. I'm ready to pounce on whoever it is, not really in the mood to put up with strangers. But it isn't a stranger- it's Ruby. I scoot over so she'll have space next to me, but before she sits down she pulls me into an awkward and too long hug, in classic Ruby fashion. I push her off as soon as I can and she sits.
"Did I just see Oliver and Jo holding hands? Walking together on the train?" She asks eagerly.
George ignores her, Fred nods his head, and I snap, "They weren't holding hands!". She just laughs at us.
"They're such a cute couple, even if he's a little older. I mean, I wish I had a guy to hold hands with. She's so lucky!" George huffs and mutters something that just sounds like "wanawanawana" to me, but I don't ask him to clarify. Instead I take the opportunity to correct Ruby.
"They're not dating, Roo. He was taking her to where all the quidditch players are sitting. I swear it's a cult."
"Hey!" Fred shouts, kicking me. He sticks his tongue out but I ignore it.
"Got it, Roo? Not dating, no one's dating. I mean- we're only fourteen!"
She nods but has this rediculous grin on her face that makes me think she wasn't listening to me. The train jerks and we all brace ourselves, and next thing we know, we're off. We talk for a while...well, Ruby does most of the talking. I listen at first, about her time home with her folks. I just kind of zone out. Her constant talking is a little like white noise. I keep checking the time, and realize it's been almost a half hour since we started moving. I furrow my brow and look down the car to see if the trolley's coming yet, but it isn't.
"Where's the trolly?"
"Shut up Cassidy, no one cares," George whines. I give him a little glare and tell him that when the trolley does come, he won't get any of the stuff I buy. He just rolls his eyes at me. Then I hear a familiar bump and jump to my feet. The trolley's pulling up, and I slide the door open.
"Hello! Can I have-" I start.
"Oh, sweetie, we're all sold out," the lady says before I can finish.
"Sold out?" I ask in disbelief.
"'Fraid so, love. Little boy, probably new, bought me out," she says with a sympathetic smile before pushing the empty trolley forward. The door slips shut and I just stand there. There's silence for a minute before George starts cracking up. He's howling with laughter at something I think is the very opposite of funny. My hands are clenched and I feel my face flaring.
"No!" Is all I can manage. Fred's laughing now too, in between teasing apologies. Ruby takes my wrist and pulls me back into my seat, where I stomp my foot. I jump back up and throw the door open, marching in the direction the trolley came from. I hear everyone get up and follow me.
"Cas! Cas, come on, it's not worth it," Fred tries from a few steps behind me, but I'm not about to give this up. I spent all summer looking forward to me pre-feast feast on the train, and I will have it. A few cars down I see it- a pile of food covering a seat next to some little runt. I get to their chart and slide open the door, and I'm about to open my mouth when I see something. Sitting across from the boy and the food is a little red headed child.
"Weasley?" I ask. The red headed one looks up at me, confused.
"Ron!" The twins shout in unison behind me. I turn around to see them and Ruby just standing behind me. The twins push forward and then we're all shoved in the tiny compartment with Ron, the boy, and a little girl with wild brown hair.
"How's it goin', Ron?" George asks him, and the little one's eyes get real wide.
"You'll never guess, guys- this is-"
"No way!" Ruby shouts right in my ear. I elbow her in the stomach and she groans.
"Cas, that's Harry Potter! The Harry Potter!" She squeals. The little boy, who has messy black hair that hangs low over his forehead, gives a shy little smile to Ruby, along with a nod. Ruby pushes me aside and sticks out her hand to shake his. I just kind of look around, and see that the twins look shocked. For once- well, besides when it comes to quidditch- I'm lost.
"Who?" I ask, and Ruby gasps real offended-like in response.
"Come on, Cas! Harry Potter, the boy who lived!" I shake my head and give an apologetic shrug. Harry laughs a small little laugh and tells me it's no problem. Then he asks us to sit, so I squeeze next to Ruby who plopped herself right next to him. The brown haired girl is on his other side, and all the Weasleys are lined up on the other side of the compartment. Harry offers us some food from the trolley, which I take immediately. Maybe he's an alright kid after all.
"That's Casssidy, Ron. Fred told you about her," George says, and I nearly choke on a biscuit telling him off about calling me 'Cassidy'.
"Ohhh, that's her. You the other one, then? George's friend?" Ron asks Ruby, prompting George to frown dramatically.
"No, that's Ruby, she's Hufflepuff. Jo's not here, she's with some other people," Fred explains, leaving George to fold his arms with a grumpy huff.
"What about you, then?" I ask the other girl. She looks over at me and straightens her shoulders, all proud.
"I'm Hermione Granger," she tells me, and I just give her a nod. She seems kinda pretentious. Real in your face. I don't go for that. I'm kind of sorry I asked. Fred slaps his hands on his knees and stands up.
"Well, we better get back. Nice meeting you, Harry Potter. You too, Hermione. Ron, it's never nice seeing you," Fred says, smiling. George gets up after him and tousles Ron's hair. I follow the twins, and so does Ruby. We make our way back to our own compartment, and I pull out some sweets from my robe.
"Did you steal candy from Harry?" Ruby accuses, appalled. I nod and say that he offered, so of course I took some. I was being polite.
"How do you know who he is, anyway?" I ask her. Minutes later I regret it. Ruby goes off on a lecture about who Harry is, about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and the Wizarding War. I know about the war, and a little about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but I never learned much about Harry Potter. Maybe as a bedtime story once or twice from Tonks, but otherwise the name and story don't really ring any bells.
As soon as she takes a breath I jump up and go to change my robes. I see Jo on the way, with the quidditch people. She looks like she's having fun, and I'm not sure whether I'm happy for her or if I resent her for it. In the end it's none of my buisness really, and on my way back from changing I'm about to drop in and tell her I met the little Weasley, but decide against it. I'll have plenty of time to talk to her before or after the feast. If the little Weasley ends up a Gryffindor, which I secretly guess he will, she'll meet him soon enough anyway.
I never actually asked Fred what he really thought. If maybe another Weasley would go Slytherin. Fred's proud of our house, but I still see this look on his face sometimes that reminds me I'm not George, and that I'm not enough for him. That Slytherin was never what he wanted. It hurts for those few seconds, but the moments always pass and we act like they never happened in the first place.
When I get back to the twins and Ruby they're all laughing about something the twins said. I jump right into the rhythm and start sharing about my own summer. Without Tonks there it was kinda lonely, but I entertained myself. Accidentally set a fire in the kitchen, but I got it out with that water spell I taught myself first year. My parents never did find out. I spent a lot of my summer reading and going to a pool. It paid off in a nice tan that will probably fade before September's over.
We swap stories for the rest of the train ride, and ten minutes before we stop, Jo comes back. All of her bags are still with us, and she says she'll be staying with us until we get to Hogwarts. I notice Ruby giving her a weird look, but I ignore it. The look George was giving her, on the other hand, I couldn't ignore. He looked a mixture of annoyed and hurt. I guess the summer didn't give him he courage he needs to "win" Jo. I don't approve of the idea, but if time isn't helping him, maybe I can. I have a whole new year to fix the plan I failed in last year. Yeah, I think I have my mission as a third year.