The Head and The Heart (George Weasley)

two

As September rolled around, Jane said goodbye to her muggle friends, telling them she was going off to secondary boarding school (which wasn't technically a lie). Only Meena knew the whole story. Jane and her father drove down to Kings Cross where she was to catch the train to Hogwarts. There, they met her aunt and uncle as well as her cousin, Nymphadora.

"Jane!" Nymphadora exclaimed upon seeing her in the grand lobby at Kings Cross. They hadn't seen each other all summer. "I can't believe it! A witch! That's so exciting!"

Jane smiled and hugged her cousin as muggles diverted around the family reunion. This would be Dora's last year at Hogwarts but she was glad to have someone to show her around this year.

After saying goodbye to parents, the older Tonks cousin ran off to meet some friends, telling Jane that she'd see her on the train. The rest of the Tonks family made their way through the station to platform nine and three quarters, weaving through busy muggles on their way to work. Penny, a calico cat that Andromeda had gifted to Jane sat perched atop a large trolly of trunks. 

"Alright. Right through here," Ted nodded towards the pillar between platforms nine and ten.

Andromeda went first, then Jane, her father, and finally Ted.

Jane looked in awe as children and there parents swarmed around her in brightly colored robes and pointed hats, saying their final goodbyes. The Hogwarts Express glistened with dew in the early morning. 

Jane felt a hand reach out to grab hers. She looked up to see her father, his eyes filled with tears. 

"I love you so much," he whispered, kneeling down to her eye level, "and I always will. Just please be safe, alright? I can't lose you."

"I love you too, dad. And I'll be safe, I promise." Even as the words left her mouth however, Jane doubted their truth. Since her Hogwarts letter had arrived, she couldn't seem to forget the fear in her father's eyes the day that Professor McGonagall had visited. As a child, the wizarding world seemed like a beautiful dream to Jane, yet her father went tense at the mention of it.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Mr. Tonk's question brought Jane back to the station.

It had always been Dad and Jane, Jane and Dad. As long as she could remember. Every birthday, holiday, and first day of school.

"I'm ready," Jane answered, "but I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too. So much."

Jane hugged her father goodbye, followed by Ted and Andromeda, her father one last time for good measure, and, finally, boarded the train. 

After a short while wandering the halls, as most of the cabins were full of loud older students, Jane found a cabin where two girls who looked about her age were already sitting.

"Um, can I join you?" she asked carefully.

"Sure!" one girl answered, "My name's Katie. Katie Bell."

"And I'm Cho Chang," the other said as Jane sat down and introduced herself.

The other two girls were also first years and Jane thought they seemed very nice. The three girls talked a while about the things they had heard about Hogwarts and which houses they each hoped to be in. Cho said she thought Ravenclaw suited her, while Katie hoped for Gryffindor. Jane wasn't sure which house she would be in. Nymphadora was a Hufflepuff so that seemed good to Jane, but Cho had also made Ravenclaw sound nice.

Just then, the door to their compartment swung open and a girl wearing black robes with red and gold trimming lept inside, looking back out the door as if she was being followed.