𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙨 (𝖽𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗈 𝗆𝖺𝗅𝖿𝗈𝗒 𝗑 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋)

chapter two

Anticipation bubbling within me, I turned to my twin, who wore a similar facial expression. Hagrid had left us at the entrance to the train station, and we had no clue where to go from there. We were now standing near platform nine.

A large family of freckled gingers ran onto the platform.

"Hogwarts is right around the corner," said a woman. "Just through the barrier, quickly, quickly!"

Harry dashed over to her. "Did I hear Hogwarts?"

"You did. I'm Molly Weasley. This is my son, Ron."

"Hi, I'm Harry. This is my sister, Y/n."

"Wait, those names sound familiar. Are you related to the Potter twins?"

"Uh, yeah," I said, walking next to Harry. "We are the twins." My voice hinted at my confusion. What was the big deal?

"You're the Potter twins?"

"Yeah?"

"Come on, Ronald! You're going to miss the train," Ms Weasley said. Ron's siblings had already fun through the barrier, and the four of us were left on the platform.

We watched as Ron pushed his cart of belongings straight into the wall, amazed as he went through it instead of being pushed back. We followed, getting through the wall almost instantaneously. I looked around at my new, colourful surroundings. Wizards and witches ran around, doing all sorts of things. Some were simply boarding the train, others hugging their friends for the first time in presumably months, and some were saying goodbye to their families.

A bright red train sat in front of us, the words "Hogwarts Express" printed in gold lettering on the side. Harry and I waited for Ron to say goodbye to his mother, and then we boarded the train. He led us into an empty compartment, smiling while he put his suitcases on the rack above us. We followed suit, and then sat down. The train started moving, and we started talking.

"I'm sorry if this comes off as rude, but do you guys have the . . . the scars?" Ron asked, whispering as if it were a huge secret. I showed him the back of my neck, where my lightning-bolt scar was. Harry lifted his hair to show Ron the matching scar on his forehead.

"That's so cool!" he said excitedly.

"Thanks? Um, do you mind if I ask why you're freaking out about us so much."

"You really don't know?"

Harry and I shook our heads no.

"I've been learning about you since I was a child. There was this evil wizard, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and he was trying to take over the Wizarding World. He was evil, and one say, he came into your house, trying to kill you and your family. He killed your parents, but, for some reason, you two survived, and killed him instead. That's how you got the scars, his spell bounced off of you from there."

I sat there for a minute, surprised. "We really did that?"

"Yeah! You're legends!"

I turned to Harry. He looked just as surprised as I felt. After that, we continued our conversation with Ron. We were deep in a game of Bean Roulette, where we choose a random bean from the box of candy, when a girl with bushy brown hair walked into the compartment.

"Have you seen a toad around here? A kid named Neville lost his," she asked.

Harry shook his head and the girl sat down next to me.

"Hermione Granger," she introduced, holding out her hand.

"Ron Weasley," our friend said, mimicking her movements.

"Pleasure," she replied.

"I'm Y/n, and this is my brother, Harry."

Hermione left the compartment and we returned to our game of Bean Roulette.

~~~

I got off the train, freshly changed into my plain black Hogwarts robes, and saw Hagrid immediately. Harry and Ron followed me as I walked up to him.

"Heya, kids!" he said, leading us down the hill to a lake. A large group of boats were waiting for us, and we entered them quickly. We rowed across the lake, all of us eager to get to the other side and see the castle. It was soon brought into view, a beautiful building that towered over us. Soon, we were there.

I stood in awe while we entered the castle. It was gorgeous. All of the first years had to wait in the front hallway before we could be Sorted, whatever that meant. Ron said something about being in Houses, so that was probably it.

A boy with light blond hair approached me and Harry. Two boys, both tall and round, stood behind him like guards. His voice was cold and sharp, like he was better than those around him. "So what they said is true? The Potter twins are at Hogwarts now?"

"Yeah, we are," I responded.

"Well, I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." He looked at us with a smirk.

I heard Ron snicker from behind us. We turned to look at him.

"Think my name's funny, do you?" Draco said, voice becoming angry. "No need to ask yours. Red hair, and hand-me-down robes? You must be a Weasley."

Ron backed away, his face turning red, while Draco turned back around to face us again, face showing his bold pride. "You don't want to become friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." He held out his hand.

"I think I can find the wrong sort for myself, thanks," Harry said.

Malfoy's nasty smirk was wiped clean off of his face, and a girl with similarly-coloured hair walked up behind him. Both Malfoy and the girl opened their mouths to speak, but a professor walked in and stood at the front of the group.

"Please follow me into the Great Hall and wait to be sorted," she said calmly.

We all walked into the Great Hall and sat down in rows. The professor started calling out names.

"Abbott, Hannah!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!!"

"Granger, Hermione!"

"Hm... GRYFFINDOR!"

"Potter, Harry!"

The hall went silent.

After a few minutes, "Better be... GRYFFINDOR!!"

The Gryffindor table cheered like crazy.

"Potter, Y/n!"

I walked up to the chair and sat down, fear bubbling inside of me.

"Hm.. smart and witty like a Ravenclaw, brave and loyal like a Gryffindor, kind and hardworking like a Hufflepuff, cunning and ambitious like a Slytherin... better be... SLYTHERIN!!" the Sorting Hat shouted.

My face was filled with confusion as the Sorting Hat was removed from my head. I walked over to the table on the far left, where the Slytherins sat, as a green patch appeared on my robes. I didn't know anybody here, except for Draco, and I wasn't sure if he was someone I wanted to be friends with. I sat down, tears welling in my eyes. I was terrified. Why did Harry and I have to be separated?

A girl turned to me and tapped me on the shoulder. I wiped away my tears as she spoke. She looked like the same girl who had come from behind Malfoy earlier.

"Hi, I'm Star! You're Y/n Potter, right?"

"I am. It's nice to meet you."

"Hey, I know you're upset because your brother is in another House, but trust me, it's not that bad here. Us Slytherins get a bad rep, but we're not all evil little snakes," she added with a laugh. "Oh, and about Draco, just ignore him. I'm his sister, and he's just mad because he wanted to have you and your brother on this thing he calls, 'his side'. Everything is a competition with him."

"Thanks," I said. "You seem nice. Do you want to be friends?"

"Of course!"