Oliver
I can't believe I found her. I stare at Rose through the window of the compartment as she opens a book and stretches out on the bench. Her fiery hair frames her face and her bright green eyes focus on her book as she sighs. Students rush past me in the corridor of the train, looking for their friends and for open compartments. I chuckle. There are plenty of compartments, enough for everyone to have their own if wanted, and they don't need to rush. I walked past at least 10 empty compartments while looking for Rose.
My heart pounds as I tap on the door with my knuckles, making her jump. She glances up at me, her lips parted in an "O" of surprise. I can tell I shocked her by knocking and immediately feel bad for it. She swings her legs off the bench and comes to open the door, just enough to talk to me, and I wonder why she's so cautious. When she bumped into me at the platform, it more shocked me then hurt but it seemed she still expected me to react far worse than I did.
"What do you want?" she asks abruptly. I smile, confused and run a hand through my hair, wondering if I made a mistake when I planned to ask her if I could sit by her.
"Do you mind if I join you?" I ask, and I can tell by her expression she's about to deny me entry so I lie, "everywhere else is full."
She bites her cheek, her eyes searching my face. She doesn't answer, so after a minute I prompt, "Rose?"
"Oh. Ummm… I guess?" Rose says as she stands to the side. I smile warmly and walk past her, sitting on the bench opposite of where she was sitting. She closes the compartment door after me and sits back where she was, only this time she curls herself into a ball, almost like she's expecting an attack.
I smile at her again, trying to help her feel comfortable, and when that doesn't work (she smiles back, but it's more of a grimace), I say, "You can relax. I'm not mad, really."
She scoffs, but still unravels herself, although she doesn't resume anywhere near as comfortable as she looked before. She's staring at me, her back ramrod straight and her feet planted on the floor.
"What house are you in?" I ask, trying to unravel the mystery of why she's so uncomfortable at the same time she asks what year I'm in.
I smile. "You first- both questions?" I ask.
She quirks an eyebrow, looking at me. She takes her time before answering, which I'm okay with. I smile at her and take in her features in a way I couldn't do on the platform with my parents watching. She's of slim build, but on the short side. She has fiery red hair that cascades down her shoulders towards her waist, stopping a few inches above her waist. It's got a nice wave to it, closer to curly than straight. Her emerald-colored eyes are piercing as she stares back at me. She surveys me as if she were royalty and I were a commoner asking for assistance.
After we have both surveyed the other in a slightly awkward silence, she finally answers. "I'm a Slytherin. This is my fourth year. But I'm also a Muggle-born." She spews all of that out in a matter of seconds, and suddenly her apprehension makes sense.
"Ah," I say, waiting patiently to see if there's more. It makes sense she'd be cautious. I'm sure being Muggle-born her house openly disregards her. And it doesn't help the other houses at Hogwarts openly dislike Slytherins, either. Rose nods, but doesn't say anything else.
"I'm Gryffindor. 5th year. Half-blood, although I don't put much stock into the whole blood status thing," I say, hoping to put her at ease. She quirks an eyebrow. Wrong thing to say, Oliver, I think, resisting the urge to slap myself. I've got to get it together if I'm going to help her feel comfortable enough for me to get to know her by the time we get to Hogwarts. And let's face it. I want to know her. And I want to be her friend… or more. She's the most beautiful girl I've seen.
"What're your summers like? I've always wanted to experience a non-magic summer," I say, trying to help her get comfortable. Her eyes light up and my heart skips a beat. I chose a good topic. We spend the next hour or so discussing her Muggle friends, the Muggle theater she did a couple shows at and helped with the technical side on, and TV shows she likes to watch. I watch her talk, amazed at how animated she can be, but soon she returns to a more sedated mood.
"It all ends too fast though. Too soon the new school year starts and I have to leave my friends."
My heart sinks, seeing this beautiful girl go from happy to sad so fast when talking about Hogwarts. I definitely miss my family during the school year but I also love going back to Hogwarts.
"Rose," I say, waiting until I have her attention to continue. She looks at me, her face a mask, so different from the animated expression she had on just a couple minutes ago. It's all I can do to keep myself from running over there and giving her a hug. "This year is different. Because you have at least one friend. But I'll guarantee you have plenty more by the time we arrive."
It's at this moment I stand up and walk over to sit next to her, and tentatively touch her back. She looks at me, a tear escaping from the corner of her eye. I gently wipe it away and smile. "And you don't have to worry about hiding any emotion with me."
She smiles back at me, and then laughs. The first real, genuine laugh I have heard from her in the last hour. "Thanks, Oliver."
I nod. The rest of the train ride is spent laughing, getting to know each other, sharing candy from the candy trolley, and me introducing her to the various friends that poke their head into our compartment. At one point, a bushy haired girl pokes her head in. "Have you seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost his." When Rose and I shake our heads, she looks us over and states matter-of-factly, "I suggest you change soon. We'll be arriving shortly."
She then turns around and closes the door, leaving us alone. I laugh and Rose just smiles. "Well, she was bossy," I state, and Rose frowns.
"Be nice. She's a first year. She's probably nervous," she says and I nod.
"That's fair," I say, feeling significantly scolded.
Rose nods, pulling a sweater and her house tie out of her bag. I glance at her clothes and for the first time I notice that she's wearing slacks and a white button up shirt. Smart. She doesn't have to change anything, just add the rest of the uniform. I grab my school uniform and head to the bathroom to change quickly.
By the time I'm returning to our compartment, we're pulling into the station at Hogsmeade, where we wind up in a carriage with Fred and George. They have us laughing so hard that my stomach hurts and all semblance of fear from Rose is gone, until we arrive at Hogwarts and we have to say goodbye. Rose immediately shuts down and looks at me. I'm in awe of how quickly she can put her mask on.
"Hey, it'll be okay. If you need to see a friendly face, just look for me. I'll make you laugh," I say, gently rubbing her back. She nods, walking to her table and choosing a seat facing the Gryffindor table. I immediately choose a seat so that I can see her and pull a funny face. She cracks a half smile, but Dumbledore calls our attention before we can do anything else.
I half-listen to the various start-of-term announcements, and then The Sorting Ceremony begins. The Sorting Hat sings its song and then the first years are sorted and I'm focusing more on Rose and how she's acting when a name breaks through my thoughts. "Potter, Harry," McGonagall calls, and my eyes snap to the front of the Great Hall where a young boy with messy black hair sits on the stool.