Chapter Seven: Fred And George
How am I going to move this? Lina wondered to herself staring at her trunk, the cat carrier on top. Before they left Lina had tried to lift the trunk but didn't even get it off the ground, so how in the world was she going to move that and the cat carrier on a moving train?
"Do you need a hand?" Lina slightly startled looked to her right, a blonde-haired boy who didn't look much older than her but definitely stronger was smiling at her.
"Yes please, if it isn't a problem. My uncle got the trunk on the train but now he's not here I don't know what to do" Lina answered feeling slightly flushed.
"It's not any problem" the boy took the trunk while Lina took the cat carrier to an empty compartment, the boy put the trunk away.
"Thank you-"
"Cedric, Cedric Diggory" he held his hand out for Lina to shake.
"I'm Lina Black" she shook his hand, both smiling at each other.
"Well, I better go, gotta find my friends" he placed a hand on the back of his neck. "Are you going to be alright?"
"Oh yeah I'll be fine, I've got Demeter" she smiled widely.
"Demeter?"
"My cat. It was a birthday present."
"Oh great, well who knows maybe I'll see you in Hufflepuff. That's my house, I'm a second year."
"Hopefully." Cedric gave Lina another smile before leaving. It didn't take long after that for Lina to let Demeter out her cage and started reading her book where she wasn't disturbed for another hour.
The compartment door was practically crashed open and two identical red-haired boys stumbled in, Lina looked at them with wide eyes. "Hello," she said.
"Can we hide here for a bit?" The one on the left asked Lina nodded.
"Great," the other one said, they both sat down opposite her "I'm George."
"I'm Fred."
Lina eyed them suspiciously, they looked completely identical right down to the shit eating grin plastered on their faces but Lina knew if she had an identical twin there was no way she'd give her right name the first time she met someone. "Why do I feel like it's the other way round?"
The boys looked at each other, to Lina and then back to each other "Oh she's good Georgey" the left one said.
"Very good Freddy. How'd you know?"
Lina shrugged "I would have done the same thing if I had a twin."
"Brilliant" they both said.
"Do you do that a lot, swap I mean?"
"All the time," Fred said.
"Especially to our mum" George added.
"Your poor mum" they both shrugged.
"So what your name, you know ours it's only fair," Fred asked.
"Lina."
"So Lina is this your first year?" George asked.
Lina nodded "and yourselves?"
"Oh yeah, not the first in the family mind got two older brothers here as well."
"You've got two older brothers!" Lina's eyes widened since she was an only child she could never imagine having one other sibling let alone two.
"Three" Fred corrected.
"Three!"
"Yeah and two younger siblings as well," George said.
"Wow." The three soon started to make more conversation talking about nothing important but Lina soon found out that Fred and George were extremely funny and she enjoyed talking to the pair.
At around half twelve the compartment door opened again, this time it was a short plump witch, a trolly loaded with sweets in front of her. "Anything from the trolly dears?"
Both Fred and George declined saying that they had sandwiches but Lina who had planned to buy something didn't want the boys to go without. "Pick some things guys, my treat and don't argue I won't take no for an answer."
"Buying friendships with sweets, I like that method Lina" Fred gave her a cheeky smile, the twins both picked several items as did Lina. She paid the witch and now the three sat stuffing their faces with sweets.
"You know you never did tell me why you needed to hide here in the first place," Lina said after eating a pumpkin pasty.
The boys looked at each other and then to Lina smiling "well let's just say a game of exploding snap got a little dangerous" George said.
Lina laughed "who did you do that too?"
Fred shrugged "some of our brother Charlie's friends."
It was this moment Lina realised she was glad to be on the way to becoming friends with the twins, it was clear they were going to be trouble so best on on their good side. "What house do you think you'll be in Lina?" George asked.
Lina shrugged "both my parents were Gryffindors but all my fathers family were Slytherins, so I don't know. What about you two?"
"Gryffindor" they both answered.
Time passed by quickly, outside the sky started getting darker, the twins left to go change into their robes leaving Lina to change into her own and put Demeter away, the train started slowing down and the announcement was made that they'd be arriving in five minutes and to leave their luggage on the train.
Five minutes passed far too quickly for Lina and before she knew she was standing on Hogsmead station in the cold night's air. "Firs years, firs years over here. C'mon this way" Lina followed the voice just like many other first-year students to a man much taller than any other person Lina had ever seen, the man who had a ragged appearance with big black eyes stood holding a lamp. This was Rubeus Hagrid.
"Everyone here, good, c' mon follow me" The first years followed Hagrid down a steep narrow path which was incredibly dark, she wished she at least had Demeter with her right now.
"Yeh'll get yer firs sight o Hogwarts in a sec" Lina who was at the back of the group could hear Hagrid clearly, she wondered just how loud it was for people in the front "jus round this bend here" Lina gasped, she had to stand in her tiptoes to get a clearer view but she could see a giant castle perched atop a high mountain, windows lit with light, it was beautiful.
Hagrid pointed to little boats sitting in the water by the shore "no more n four to a boat."
Everybody climbed into the boats, Lina who was left till last looked around for a free space "oi Lena get over here" she looked to one of the boats, Fred and George sat with another boy, she ran over to the boat and sat down next to the unknown boy, she would of asked his name if she wasn't so nervous.
"Everybody in? Good, right then forward!" Hagrid yelled.
Lina gripped the side of the boat as the one she was in and all the others started to move. Everyone stared at the great castle in silence as it got closer and closer "heads down" they all bent their heads as they passed a curtain of ivy - Lina resisted the urge to reach up and touch it - the boats only stopped when they got to an underground harbour, they all climbed out and crowded around the castle door where Hagrid knocked three times.