Home - Charlie Weasley Fanfiction Series

BOOK ONE: CHAPTER SIX

Veronica's trunk trailed behind her as she made her way down the train, looking for an empty carriage. She was beginning to lose hope by the time she got to the end of the train, so she was shocked when the carriage on her left was completely empty. Out of habit, she also checked the carriage on her right, and her eyes widened. Inside were two redheaded boys; one seemed to be a few years older than the other, yet they were undeniably brothers.

Veronica looked between the empty carriage on her left and the occupied carriage on her right, trying to decide which one to choose. Despite Hagrid's advice, she was still nervous. What if they didn't like her? What if they wanted their privacy? And she also enjoyed her own privacy. But she also needed to make friends.

As she was about to enter the empty carriage, having made up her mind, she heard the door behind her slide open suddenly. Jumping, she turned and found herself face to face with the older of the two boys.

"Hello! I saw you out here and thought I'd make your decision easier. My name is Bill Weasley, and that's my brother Charlie. I'm glad you're here because I was hoping to join my friends in their carriage, but I didn't want to leave my brother alone. You two can keep each other company." Without another word, Bill was out of the carriage and out of sight. With a nod and a wave from Charlie, Veronica entered the carriage, slid her trunk under the seat, and sat down.

After a few moments of silence, Charlie spoke up. "What's your name?"

"Veronica Singer. This is going to be my first year at Hogwarts."

"Me too. Bill is going into his third year, so I've heard so much about Hogwarts for the past two years. But I mean, I've been excited to go there my whole life. I'm sure it's been the same for you."

"Well, actually, I've only just found out about Hogwarts a month ago."

"Oh, I didn't realize. You're a muggle-born, aren't you."

"Well, both my parents are actually Squibs because my grandparents were witches and wizards. My parents don't know anything about magic or the wizarding world though, so I grew up knowing nothing about it either. Is that a bad thing?"

"It depends who you ask. Me and my family, we say no way. My dad works for the Ministry of Magic in the Muggle Artifacts Department, and he has always been fascinated by muggles."

"And what would others say?"

"Doesn't matter. Their opinions are wrong. Anyway, I have a proposal for you. I'll teach you about the wizarding world if you teach me about the muggle world."

Veronica's eyes lit up at the prospect of understanding where she came from and the world her grandparents grew up in. "Deal."

"Great! Why don't you go first? Ask me anything you want."

"Okay." There were so many questions running through her mind, she found it difficult to choose which one to ask first. Finally, she remembered something Dumbledore had said to her on the day they met. "Can you tell me about the different houses at Hogwarts? Professor Dumbledore told me..."

"Wait! You met Dumbledore!?!"

"Yes, he was the one that came to my house on my 11th birthday and told me I was a witch."

"Wow! What was he like? I've heard so much about him."

"Oh, he was great. Very kind and understanding. I liked him."

"Awesome!" Charlie's eyes wandered for a few minutes before landing on Veronica again. "Sorry! That was rude of me, I completely interrupted you. Go on."

"That's okay. I was just saying that he mentioned something about my grandparents all being Ravenclaws, and then he said I would learn about the different houses later. Can you tell me?"

"Of course, that's easy. My mum told me and my siblings this story so many times. Hogwarts has four founders: Rowena Ravenclaw, Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin. Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff worked in harmony and had many of the same beliefs. The three of them believed that all students should be allowed to learn at Hogwarts, no matter their blood status. But Slytherin disagreed. He believed that they should be more selective about who should be allowed to attend Hogwarts: he believed that purebloods were superior and only they should be taught at Hogwarts. The other founders disagreed, and so Slytherin left the school. But his house remains. Although, if you ask me, they should have got rid of Slytherin house and kept the other three. Every witch or wizard that practices the dark arts has come from Slytherin house. Not all Slytherins are evil, but all evil wizards have come from Slytherin.

Each founder had different criteria that they used to choose students for their house. Ravenclaw valued wisdom, wit, and knowledge beyond all else, Gryffindor valued bravery and courage, and Slytherin sought out students that were cunning and ambitious. Hufflepuff, on the other hand, was much less picky with the students she chose. She valued loyalty and patience, but she had a tendency to choose the students that were rejected by the other founders. Back when the school was new, the founders would handpick students for their houses, but they worried what would happen after they were gone, so Gryffindor took his hat off his head and enchanted it with the power of legilimency, which is the power to read minds. So now, first years have the sorting hat placed on their head, it looks into their minds and their hearts, and sorts them into the right house. It's never been wrong.

At Hogwarts, your housemates are like your family. House points are awarded for good behavior and taken away for bad behavior. At the end of the year, the house with the most house points wins the house cup. Each house has its own colors, animal, head of house, and house ghost: Ravenclaw's colors are blue and bronze, its animal is an eagle, its head of house is Professor Flitwick, and its house ghost is the Gray Lady; Gryffindor's colors are scarlet and gold, its animal is a lion, its head of house is Professor McGonagall, and its house ghost is Nearly Headless Nick; Hufflepuff's colors are yellow and black, its animal is a badger, its head of house is Professor Sprout, and it's house ghost is the Fat Friar; and finally, Slytherin's colors are green and silver, its animal is a snake, its head of house is Professor Snape, and its house ghost is the Bloody Baron. Once we're sorted, our uniforms will change to match our houses. And that's pretty much it."

Charlie expected Veronica to be overwhelmed with all this information, but instead, her eyes were sparkling with amazement. Veronica loved to learn, and she was hooked on every word Charlie spoke. "Wow, I hope I get sorted into Ravenclaw, just like my grandparents."

"My parents were Gryffindors, and so is Bill, so I hope to be like them too."

"Can we still be friends if we're in different houses?"

"Of course! The houses weren't made to separate students, although... that is sort of what happens most of the time. But we won't let it happen to us!"

"Great! Now you get to ask me a question."

"Well, I've heard my dad talk a lot about a muggle game called 'Basketball.' Is it similar to Quidditch?"

Veronica scratched her head as her eyebrows creased in confusion. "What's Quidditch?"

The gasp that escaped Charlie's lips made her jump in her seat.

"Bloody hell! You don't know what Quidditch is!?! This is unbelievable!" Charlie shook his head. "Let me fill you in!"