The Difference in Reality [A Harry Potter Fanfiction]

Year 1: Chapter 4

Willow was awake by six, her internal clock not changed in the slightest. No one else was awake yet, so she quietly slipped out of bed, leaving Achelous there.

Willow tiptoed down the staircase and found herself alone in the commons. The fireplace was bare, only ashes in the grate. There was a warm light streaming in through the windows, and Willow decided to stand there, as she was slightly cold from the night before.

As she gazed out the window, Willow realized just how beautiful the grounds were. The Quidditch field stood in all its glory, hoops rising high into the sky, flags billowing in the morning breeze. A few curious deer had wandered onto the vast grasslands between the school and the lake. The Forbidden Forest stood tall and dark, mysterious in every way, but not exactly scary from a distance. It stopped abruptly in a straight line, not daring to encroach any farther upon Hogwarts. Willow wondered what kinds of creatures would dwell there. She got one answer when a few dots began emerging from the treetops. When she squinted her eyes, Willow could make out horse-like creatures with wings. She marveled at how they seemed to play peekaboo, emerging from the canopy of the forest, flapping their wings a few times, snorting and whinnying at each other, then gliding back down as gracefully as a swan. It looked like fun. Willow, oddly enough, longed to join them.

"I thought I'd find you here," a voice said.

Willow whirled around to see Fred leaning against the spiral staircase, rather sleepy-looking.

"I've always been an early riser. Guess going to Hogwarts doesn't change that small detail."

"It won't change you completely, but it definitely affects the outcome of your teenage years."

Willow's lips twitched upwards. "I'm pretty hard to change."

"You're a bloody Gryffindor. Of course you are!"

"I'm super happy that I didn't get dumped in Slytherin. The hat tried to convince me that I'd do well there, but I'd say no every time."

"Really? Well, now that I think about it, the hat tried to pull that on George and I, too. It didn't take as long for the hat to recognize our opposition to that house as yours, though."

"It kept saying that I could go so far, that I had so much potential. But I don't think I would have taken a step into Slytherin before all my ambitions died."

"You don't seem their type to me. They're cunning and will trample anyone to get to their goal."

"That makes them very susceptible to surprise attacks, then, if they're so obsessed with reaching their goals."

Fred grinned. "It's a wonder it didn't place you in Ravenclaw, Willow. You're almost too smart for this house."

"Tell that to Hermione."

"She sure went all out, didn't she?"

"I think she passed that a long time ago."

There was a pause before Fred spoke again. "Do you want to do something before breakfast?"

"Like what?"

"Maybe break a few rules in the way of showing you around the castle."

Willow smiled. "That sounds like a perfect morning, don't you?"

Fred lead Willow out of the common room, then headed east and down to the third floor. He lead her north through long hallways until they passed the Great Hall.

"It's so quiet in the morning."

"That's because the Slytherins are sleeping in the dungeons."

Willow stifled her laughter as they passed the third floor bathrooms. Fred steered her left, and they arrived at a locked door.