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September meant new beginnings — or so it has ever since Rory March received her very first Hogwarts letter. It meant that for a better of a year she got to stay at school instead of at the children's home and any time away from there was welcome. The home wasn't necessarily a bad place but it was crowded and Miss Moore could make your life a living hell if she wanted to. But yet, compared to some of the families the sisters have stayed over the years, the home was like a palace and the people working there were saints. More or less so.
Being at school was almost like being on a holiday. You got to be with your friends, do the things you like — if you were like Rory who enjoyed school and learning — and just not worry about the cold and unfair world outside the school's walls.
Rory was sat in one of the compartments of the Hogwarts Express. She was about to start her third year which was exciting but not as nerve wracking as it had been the first time she sat in this place.
"I heard that Harry Potter is starting school this year," Via said, her cheek resting against the chilly train window.
"Wasn't he the kid who, well, you know..." Lara stumbled over her words.
She nor her sister grew up in the wizarding world so they weren't as aware of certain things as the other students, but even they have heard of a boy named Harry Potter. He was considered to be a great wizard but hasn't even started his magical training. Because of him, the world where magic happens and hippogriffs live, was safe from a dark wizard who shall not be named. Or so people say.
Via nodded her head as she turned to look at her sisters.
"Let's just hope his arrival doesn't cause any trouble," she said.
Rory rolled her eyes at her little sister. "Like you don't cause trouble?"
"I never said that," smirked Via.
The compartment door opened, revealing the eldest March sister. She had a sour look on her face and sat down in silence. Her sisters looked at her, wondering who or what had made their eldest sister look like a pouting toddler.
Lara cleared her throat. "What happened, Effy?"
"I just met the most obnoxious child," mumbled Effy.
"How did that happen?" Rory asked.
"His parents raised him wrong, I don't know..." Effy rolled her eyes. "Anyways, he was boasting about the most ridiculous things."
Via grinned. "Did you catch his name?"
"Well you'll never guess. He's Caleb's half-brother, Blaise," said Effy, resting her head on Lara's shoulder. "You know, I have never met the kid. Not until now. Caleb never talks about him — they aren't that close."
Rory wasn't surprised to hear this. The eldest March sister has been with Caleb Zabini for two years now and not once has he mentioned his brother by his name — only that he rarely sees his brother.
"Imagine that this little Blaise could one day be your brother-in-law," Via said to her eldest sister — a wide grin glued to her face.
"I don't think so," said Effy.
Via huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Oh please! If you won't marry Caleb for your sake, marry him for our sake! He's a Zabini. They are loaded."
"That's crass," Lara said to the youngest. "Very crass."
"I'm just saying that none of us would mind a nice thing or two," Via said. "Since the nicest thing we've ever had were those shoes which were not hand-me-downs. You can always divorce him later."
"It's Caleb's mother who has money. He doesn't, and since he hasn't spoken to his mother in years, I highly doubt she would ever give his girlfriend and her sisters anything. Ever," explained Effy. "And I am not exactly dreaming of becoming a twenty year old divorcé. I'm not aiming to become Eudora Zabini."
Rory snorted. "I mean there are worse faiths," but then she thought her words for a better moment. "Actually, I'm wrong."
The sisters laughed at the shared humour of one of them turning into Mrs Zabini — the infamous Black Widow. Future was something the sisters barely thought of. They thought the present was fine, their past was quite horrific really and the future... Well, they didn't think about it too much. Children like them had a hard time making it in the world. They didn't have a support system other than each other.
"Did you meet anyone else we should be aware of? Any other jerks?" Rory then asked.
"Blaise was surrounded by a group of little Slytherins," said Effy and though she couldn't know for sure yet if those children were going to be Slytherins or not, she was quite confident they would be in the house of snakes. "Let's just say I will be surprised if he's anything but a Slytherin."
"Maybe he will surprise you," Via grimaced.
"I doubt that."
"Speaking of surprises," Lara said and pulled her backpack from under the seat. "I ran into Marcus while waiting for you three and he gave us something for school."
Marcus Bee was perhaps the only adult in the March sisters' lives that has not screwed them over. He owns a small bookshop near the home and lets the sisters spend their days there instead of being stuck in the home with all the other children.
Lara handed out small brown packages to each of her sisters.
"It's a notebook," Via said with a small smile tucking in the corner of her lips. "He always gives us a notebook when school starts."
"Well it is much better than the list of chores Miss Moore gives us every time we leave," Rory muttered. "I get that we leave and don't have to do chores for several months but to make us do all the chores over the summer is a bit too much."
"Just be lucky you are never on the bathroom duty. I swear Miss Moore puts me there just for a laugh," said Effy — who was not Miss Moore's favourite child.
When the train finally left the station, all four sisters exhaled, leaving their worries and troubles behind. Hogwarts has always been like a safe place to them — a place where they were understood. They were surrounded by other witches and wizards who, one way or another, were their friends. The March sisters were quite famous actually.
Effy had been a hat stall just like Via and while Lara and Rory were quickly placed in their houses, the twins were well-known for they were the March sisters. People were interested in their shared life and the tragic story it bore. None of the sisters however found their story to be tragic — just a bit unfortunate.
The landscape of fields and greenery was peaceful. The prominent serenity it brought to Rory March was almost magical. She had her head on Lara's shoulder, blue eyes almost closed as the adrenalin rush of the busy morning started to take the best of her.
Rory was special that way — she could fall asleep anywhere. Perhaps it was because she's grown up surrounded by so many children of different ages that she didn't care if a toddler was screaming in the next room or two of the older boys were arguing and shouting. She could sleep through an earthquake.
But for some reason she couldn't sleep through the compartment door opening with a loud slam. Like a flash, Rory lifted her head from Lara's shoulder only to see a girl with bushy brown hair standing by the door.
"Have you seen a toad?"
Blinking her eyes, Rory tried to get used to the light around her. The sun shone outside despite the earlier rainy morning, reflecting a halo around the new girl's head.
"I'm sorry, what?" Effy was the first to speak.
"A toad? A boy lost one," said the girl with a look of determination written all over her face — she was on a quest to find the toad and failure was not an option.
Rory was sure she's never seen this girl before which could only mean that she was a new student. Even though the school was big and there were many students, Rory had a great memory when it came to people's faces and could easily tell if she's seen a person before. She was more than sure she'd never seen a girl with this unruly hair and chocolate brown eyes.
Lara shook her head. "No. We have not seen a toad."
"Oh..." the girl sighed, her gaze falling down.
"I can help you look," Rory offered.
The girl turned to look at Rory, a bright smile spreading across her face.
"Really? That would be really wonderful. This boy... he seems a bit lonely and all so I was hoping to do him a favour by looking for the toad. His name is Trevor. The toad, I mean. Not the boy," the girl talked and talked like there was no tomorrow.
Rory found it funny and so she chuckled lightly.
"The boy's name is Neville," the girl added quietly. "And I'm Hermione."
"I'm Rory March. These are my sisters," Rory introduced herself and nudged her head towards the three blondes near her. "You are new, right? I haven't seen you before."
Hermione nodded. "I'm starting my first year."
"Well then, Hermione, welcome to Hogwarts."