Castor and Pollux sighed, and made their way down to the Great Hall for the final end of the year feast. Another year done, their final exams completed, and their trunks packed and stowed away in their dorms for their departure on the Hogwarts Express the following morning. Green and silver Slytherin flags hung from the rafters above the tables. Just before Pollux turned towards the Slytherin table, he gave Fred and George a wave, and took his seat at the end. Castor stuck her hands in her pockets nervously, taking the first available empty seat. How could a whole year have gone by and she hadn't made any friend of her own. Pollux had the Weasley twins, Harry had Ron and Hermione...but who else, other than her brother, did she have?
It was a somewhat sad realization on her part.
She leaned her chin on her fist, waiting patiently amongst the other Ravenclaws as Professor Dumbledore stood to make his speech, clinking his silverware on his large goblet.
"Another year gone." He began. "And now as I understand it, the house cup needs awarding. In fourth place, Gryffindor with 312 points. Third place, Hufflepuff with 352 points. In second place, Ravenclaw with 426 points. And in first place, with 472 points, Slytherin house." The applause was louder on the other side of the room. Castor could see the even her brother smiled a little brighter. "However, recent events must be taken into account. And I have a few last minute points to award."
Castor and Pollux looked towards each other and shared a look of confusion.
"To Miss Hermione Granger, for the cool use of intellect, when others were in grave peril, 50 points." There was a proud applause from the Gryffindors. "Second, to Mister Ronald Weasley, for the best-played game of chess that Hogwarts has seen these many years, 50 points." Another applause, and Castor smiled at the way the Weasley twins rubbed the hair on their brother's head. "And third, to Mister Harry Potter, for pure nerve, and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house 60 points."
Castor smirked, already knowing where this was going.
"And finally, it takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies. But a great deal more to stand up to your friends." Professor Dumbledore continued. "I award 10 points to Neville Longbottom." Castor clapped as she noticed how Neville smiled shyly amongst the praise from his peers. "And assuming my calculations are correct, I believe a change of decoration is in order." The headmaster clapped his hands and waved them towards the flags in the rafters, green and silver morphing into red and gold. And even though he was slightly disappointed, Pollux continued clapping politely.
~
The next morning Castor and Pollux boarded the Hogwarts Express, watching as the other students said goodbye to their friends. Sitting across from each other, much like they did at the start of the year, Castor nudged her brother's foot, still wearing his pair of old converse.
"We'll be back soon." She noticed how Pollux was staring out the window towards the old castle longingly. He nodded and leaned back in his seat.
"Fred and George said we could write to them over the summer."
"That's good!" Castor grinned. There was a knock on the door to their compartment, and the twins turned to see three smiling faces of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who promptly took their seats with their older friends. Harry took a seat next to Castor while Ron sat next to Pollux, much like their first meeting. Hermione sat herself on the other side of Harry.
"This feels familiar." Pollux joked while the others laughed.
"What have you got there, Harry?" Castor asked noticing the red leather-bound book the 11 year old held in his hands.
"Hagrid gave me a photo album with pictures of my parents." The boy answered solemnly.
"That was really nice of him."
The five of them spent the rest of the train ride sharing stories from their first year at Hogwarts, Castor and Pollux telling stories of how is compared to Ilvermorny, and the classes they were excited for next year.
"Wait, so let me get this straight, you three faced a three-headed dog, slipped through a large bed of Devil's Snare, and played a deadly game of chess, all for the Sorcerer's Stone...which is now destroyed?" Pollux listed their encounters on his fingers with an incredulous look on his face. The trio nodding along in confirmation. Pollux scoffed lightly. "Why didn't you tell either of us?" He pointed between him and his sister.
"What would you have done?" Ron asked.
"We could have helped!" Castor laughed, and Harry turned to give Ron a look of 'I told you so!'. The train blew its whistle as they pulled into King's Cross station, the five students grabbing their bags and trunks as they waited on the platform. Castor and Pollux stood waiting side-by-side as they looked around for their uncle.
"There are my parents!" Hermione quickly gave each of them a hug as she turned and ran off towards her family. "I'll write to you!" She called back at the last second.
Harry finally spotted Vernon and his Aunt Petunia looking around for him with sour expressions. His cousin Dudley was hiding behind his mother with a slightly scared look on his face. Castor noticed how reluctant he was to make his way over to them, reaching out and pulling the young boy to a stop.
"Hey," She waited until Harry met her eyes before continuing. "If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to write to us okay?" Harry nodded. Castor leaned down and pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tightly before she stepped back. Pollux shook Harry's hand, and they waited and watched as Harry's uncle led them off the platform and away from the train.
"Pollux! Castor!" The dark haired twins turned around to see Fred and George waving them over. The Weasley family all gathered around one another, five kids and two adults all looking exactly the same with their bright ginger hair. The Jones twins shared a nervous look as they made their way over.
"Mum, Dad, this is Pollux and Castor. They're the ones we told you about." Fred introduced them with an excited smile on his face. George swung and arm around Castor's shoulder grinning.
Molly Weasley, who always did her best to have an open mind, tried her best not to look offput at the Slytherin crest on Pollux's uniform. She noticed that the girl was wearing Ravenclaw colors though, too. The wariness did not go unnoticed by Pollux. Determined to make a good first impression, Pollux smiled and politely stuck out his hand for her to shake, wanting to show that not all Slytherins were pretentious and stuck-up.
"It's very nice to meet you Mrs. Weasley." Molly took the boy's hand in her own. "Your sons did a great job of making us feel welcome at Hogwarts." Molly seemed surprised that someone would say something positive about her own twins that didn't involve their mischief. Castor shook hands with Mr. Weasley, and then the twins switched.
Maybe it was because the siblings were twins, and she had a special soft spot, or maybe it was because they were so polite despite her obvious wariness of his own house of green, but Molly Weasley smiled.
"Well I'm glad my boys were so good to you." She gleamed proudly.
"There you are!" The Jones twins turned around to see their Uncle Nathan, wearing his suit, looking as if he'd come straight from his job at the ministry, which he probably did.
"Nathan! Good to see you!" Arthur rushed forward to shake the taller man's hand. "These are your lot, I presume?"
"Yes, something like that." Nathan laughed and looked to his own twins. "Ready to go?" Castor nodded and turned back to Mrs. Weasley.
"It was so nice to meet you, Mrs. Weasley." She shook hands goodbye, her twin brother doing the same.
"Should you kids ever want to visit, you're more than welcome at our home." Fred and George didn't seem to be expecting their mother to invite a Slytherin over to their Burrow of Gryffindors and pumped their fists in the air behind her. Ginny rolled her eyes at the antics of her brothers.
"That's sounds wonderful, thank you." Pollux lead his sister towards their uncle. "We'll keep in touch."
"So," Nathan began as he walked between his niece and nephew. "How was your first year?"