In the morning, I was greeted with waterballon dropped upon my head, yelling in pure terror of having been ripped from a peaceful slumber. Two red haired boys cackled from above my makeshift bed, making me stare at them in pure frustration. They both moved up their hands up in a defensive position, while smirks rose from the corners of both their mouths.
"Hey, mum asked us to wake you up. In our defense, she never told us how." Fred laughed against his words, turning to George and giving him a high five.
"You're. Both. Dead." I said through gritted teeth, lunging at them quickly. They both ran from the door, laughing, yelling up for me to get dressed and ready so we could all make our way down to Diagon Alley.
Because of my unexpected arrival, Ginny and I have been sharing everything we could for the past few weeks. Though I do enjoy a nice throw back outfit every once and a while, I have found that I've greatly missed my wardrobe, from my century, at home. The heat of summer still baked my skin, so I decided on some loose short overalls, and a white cropped top underneath. Satisfied with what little I could do to my now wet curls, I left the mane to dry freely. Taking the steps two at a time, I found my irritation from earlier completely fading away, as spending time with the twins was always an adventure.
"Oh dear, I told them to not wake you up like that!" Molly announced, as she turned to scold the boys some more. I stuck my tunge out at George, who then made a face back. I held in my giggles as Molly smacked him beside the head with a Daily Profit.
When we finally were all ready, we all held onto Molly while she appirated us into Diagon Alley. We had decided to do my wand first, as it was the only thing that truly required me, and then the twins planned on taking me through their errands while Molly shopped for the rest of the required items.
Earlier this morning, each of our letters had arrived. And even though I knew Dumbledore planned on having me come to Hogwarts, the excitement of recovering my letter was overwhelming to say the least. It's every modern day muggles dream to receive their acceptance letter at 11, and even though I never received it in my time period, I sure as hell will never take for granted the opportunity to go at 16.
Molly led us through the cobblestone walkways, each building reminding me of the time my family visited Salem. Of course, I had believed at the time the whole witchcraft thing was just an exploration of a terrible tragedy. Now, not so much.
Olivanders' shop matched the architectural design of the entire street, having two, tall, circular pillars that aligned against window sills. The inside of the shop appeared dark from the outside, as the natural sunlight and a few candles were the only source of light that lit the shop. Molly pushed the door open, and all three of us stumbled in behind her. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the thousands of stacked boxes, each aligning with a wand incredibly unique to each owner. When I decided to hang back, feeling incredibly out of place, Molly gave me a soft push from the back and led me towards Mr. Olivander himself.
"Ahhh, a new wand? Typically those of your age look to replace wands, but I can feel that you have not yet been chosen by one. Peculiar, very peculiar indeed. Well, Ms. LeBelle, try this one yes?" He pulled a wand that sat close to his stool, reaching across the counter for me to try. I decided not to question the fact that he knew I had never had a wand before, because I truly had no idea what to say because of it. Instead, I gave the wand a flush and held my breath.
Nothing happened.
Olivander tsked, took the wand from my hand, and reached above three shelves to the right of the store. He pulled down the box and handed it to me the same way as before. He eyes me curiously, as if he already knew the outcome of this scenario.
This time, my entire body immediately tingled. It felt as though the warmth of the summer heat had lit up from inside out, casting a strong yellow glow around both me and the wand in hand. Wind whipped around my hair, making the smalls curls bounce across my face. And as suddenly as this magic appeared, it left making the shop resume its previously gloomy state.
"English Oak, Phoenix, 13". Very peculiar indeed. Always the pickiest when it comes to potential owners, for the creature from which they are taken is one of the most independent and detached in the world. Hard won, these wands are. Oven only ever sold to two others." His voice trailed off, as Molly reached into her bag to pay.
Suddenly feeling extremely self conscious for the lack of money I had, I felt a lump rise in my throat. From now on, I planned to keep a list of everything the Weasley's provided to me, as I planned on giving back every cent (or whatever currency was equivalent).
After getting my wand, the twins dragged me all around the shops, showing me everything that Diagon Alley has to offer. I enjoyed watching their faces light up as they reminisced in every possible corner of Diagon Alley, and laughed along whenever they shared a story that was too good to ignore. As much as I had wished to continue paying attention, my mine began to wander.
What have I been doing, living these few weeks as a complete lie? I had no way home, for the port key that took me here had suddenly vanished. I had no currency, no clothing, nothing that would be useful for my success. I was entirely a huge burden to the family. And who was I, in the universe, if on my own I was nothing but an average person. Why was I chosen, who did it, and what am I supposed to do now that I'm here? I sighed into my ice cream that George bought me, while staring out the shop window. We had decided to take a break from the suns rays, and relax in the coolness of the ice cream parlor. George must have sensed my anxiety, and when Fred left for a moment to catch up with one of their friends, he grabbed my hands like he did all those weeks ago on the steps my first night.
"Penny for your thought?" He asked, smiling down at our now entwined hands.
"I just feel overwhelmed, you know, with everything. I feel like a burden. You and Molly shouldn't have to pay for everything I have, let alone even provide a home for me. I just shouldn't be here, and I have no idea why, and honestly I should just go off on my own and-" Quickly, George moved his hand and covered my mouth. On instinct, I licked it, and he immediately pulled away while scrunching his face into a disgusted feature. I laughed, then bopped his nose with my free hand, which he caught by the wrist and brought back to our original placement.
"You are anything but a burden. You've made my life 100 times better just by showing up that one night. And my family loves you, and they chose to take you in. You have nothing to worry about, I promise everything will work out. And you've got the most handsome twin as a best friend, after all." He flipped his hair back, and I giggled at his response.
Fred rounded the corner, having heard the end of the conversation and shouted an incredibly loud "hey!" from the entrance of the shop. George and I both laughed, instantly clearing my anxieties of that current moment, and kept the positive energy into the evening.
When we got back for the night, I found myself staring up at my ceiling, in able to sleep. I've been tossing for the past few hours, and could hear Ginny's quiet snores from across the room. When I finally found a comfortable enough position, the door to our bedroom slowly shifted open, causing me to lurch forward in bed.
"Relax, it's just me. I couldn't sleep, so I thought I would see if you were up. And you are, so I have an idea." George's voice whispered gently, as he grabbed my hand and pulled me off the bed.
"George, it 2 in the morning. Everyone's asleep, I don't want to wake them." I muttered, trying to rub the tiredness from my eyes. I wish I could say I looked forward to the dark circles that would inevitably form from the lack of sleep tonight, but I just couldn't.
"We'll be quiet I promise. Just us, okay? Now follow me. Avoid that step there, it creaks. Okay, and that one there! Good, good." George slowly showed me which steps to avoid, and which cracks would creak when my foot landed against the wood. When we got down the last step, he reached into the closet and pulled a broom stick out from the back, shifting it from one hand to the other.
"George I've never flown!" I exclaimed, slightly louder now that he had led us away from the house and further into the grass part of his yard.
"You don't have to fly, just hold on. Here you go in the front, and I'll steer from the back. It'll be fun, I won't let you fall." He led me towards the front, where I got on and he held my body against his. He reached forward on the broom, allowing for him to take his weight on it, and inches higher into the air. I clung into his arm, which sent him laughing as we rose. I slowly became more comfortable, and decided that squinting my eyes shut probably wouldn't be the most realistic idea if we do happen to fall. If I'm going to die, I might as well watch when it comes.
George rested his head against my shoulder, and my heart might as well have leaped from my chest. I felt goosebumps lead up from my arms as his breath left warmth against the bare side of my shoulders. I tried to imprint this image in my head forever, as in both my universes I am convinced nothing as romantic like this well ever happen again.
"Look, there's Ursa Major, it's a part of the Big Dipper. And then there's Ursa Minor. Don't the muggles have stories with the constellations? Something about Zeus I believe. Creative, muggles are. Personally, my favorite constellation is the Aries one, as I am one myself." I found myself lost in the compassion of his words. He spoke so freely about the stars, that I felt as though we might fly straight into the night sky and become a constellation ourselves. Slowly, George wrapped his arms around my middle and hugged me from behind, all the while still point out constellations that he knew.
I told him to show me Taurus, as that was my zodiac sign being born April 21st and all. He pointed to it, smiled, and claimed that it was now his new favorite constellation.
I was glad the only light came from the moon, as the blush on my cheeks would have probably lit up the sky as equally as the stars we saw.