Magic Behind The Pages (Fred Weasley)

chapter 2

Aubrey and Lylie bumped along the road sitting in a carriage that pulled itself. They sat quietly with two twins, a girl and a boy. All were silent, for they were extremely shy.

Aubrey decided to engage in conversation, "I'm Aubrey Raine. What are your names?" The girl sat up and answered, "Nice to meet you, I'm Aria, and this is my brother Andy."

Lylie glanced over at Andy. He had blond hair that fell above his shoulders, and it waved at the end. He had green eyes and freckles. Then Lylie looked over at Aria. Her hair was dyed black and dangled to her forearm. Her eyes matched her brothers' and she had identical freckles scattered over her nose.

Aubrey and Aria had been chatting while Lylie was checking the twins out. "Looks like we're here." Andy muttered, that was the first thing he'd said since they met him and his sister. Andy was the first one off the carriage and hurried away from the three girls.

"I guess he doesn't like feeling out-numbered." Aria giggled.

Inside Hogwarts, the first years stood at the front of the Great Hall where there was a long table, and where the professors waited behind. It looked like there was no ceiling; the night sky twinkled above the kids' heads, a fluorescent moon glowed and candles floated in the sky.

Just then, a tall, thin woman wearing long green robes, holding a dusty, crumpled old hat strode to the podium.

"This is the sorting hat. When I call your name, you will come up to the front and sit on this stool," the woman gestured to a rickety, unstable stool that was placed to her left, "and I will place this hat on your head. It will tell you which house you belong to." Professor McGonagall looked down to her list of students and called, "Andy Henries?"

Andy rose, flicked a strand of hair from his face, and walked calmly to the stool. Professor McGonagall lowered the hat onto Andy's head and the hat sighed, "Okay, right, okay ... Gryffindor!" the students sitting at a table to Andy's right jumped up and cheered. The rest of the students clapped and whistled.

Professor McGonagall held the list up to her face and read, "Ramona Blue?" A slim girl with light purple hair smirked and swaggered up to the stool, completely relaxed. McGonagall placed she sorting hat on the girl's head. In an instant it yelled, "Slytherin!" The last table on Ramona's right banged the table and screamed at the top of their lungs.

A red-headed boy whispered, "She looks menacing." A boy who looked identical to him muttered back, "Yeah, she must be a sour grape. Get it Fred? 'Cause of her purple hair?"

Lylie half-smiled and hoped she wouldn't be sorted into Slytherin. McGonagall called out, "Lee Jordan?" the dark skinned boy scurried up the stool and seated himself.

Lee was sorted into Gryffindor, and as he stepped down into the crowd again, the identical red headed boys clapped his back in unison and whispered to him with bright smiles.

McGonagall called out to the crowd, "Lylie Burton?" Lylie felt a lurch in her stomach as Aubrey nudged her forward. She traveled up to the stool and sat down quickly. McGonagall lowered the hat onto Lylie's head and the hat snarled, "Oh ... right. Okay. An intelligent little girl." Lylie blushed as she looked around at the Great Hall as all the students were watching her every move.

Lylie squinted her eyes and hoped to be in anything but Slytherin. The hat shouted, "Grrrriffyndor!" Lylie let a deep breath escape and hoped off the stool. The deafening screams, clapping and cheering almost clouded her vision as she jogged over to the Gryffindor table.

*

The identical red heads were sorted into Gryffindor as well. They sat further down the table and chatted with Lee and a few other students. Lylie noticed the two red heads had a ton of tricks up their sleeves, she liked that.

Professor Dumbledore tapped his glass with lightly with his spoon and announced, "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts, and for the new comers, welcome to your first year here at Hogwarts," Dumbledore raised his hands and motioned around the great hall, "this year, we will be..." Dumbledore rambled on about Quidditch schedules and classes, nothing Lylie really cared much about.

*

Later on as the prefects were guiding the first years to their houses, Lylie was trying to keep up with her classmates as they were jogging and excitedly bustling up to the Gryffindor tower. She looked to her left and saw the two red heads and Lee fiddling with something Lylie couldn't see very well. One of the red heads, Fred, wiggled his way in front of Lylie and bumped her accidentally.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Lylie muttered.

Fred did a double-take.

"My bad!"  he smiled kindly.

Fred turned to his look-alike and Lee. He whispered, "Three, two one... Fire!"

The other red head threw some sort of tiny beanbag in the hair and it exploded into purple smoke and confetti. The three boys shouted in unison, "To a start to the new year!" the boys held up imaginary wine glasses. Lylie coughed and fanned the dust and confetti away from her.

Just after the incident, the first years arrived at Gryffindor house. They all filed through a hole in the wall, behind a painting of a fat lady.
The Gryffindor common room was a huge, circular, cozy room with a cackling fire and tons of cushiony couches. There were arm chairs and magazines sprawled out on small desks and tables. It looked so warming and welcoming, Lylie just knew she was going to like living there for the school year.

The prefect, Henry Tonver, she remembered, called out over all the noise, "Alright, alright let's not stall here everyone, up to bed, girls dorms on the left, boys on the right!" he repeated this three times before everyone was chattering up in their dorms.

Aubrey smirked and said to Lylie, "Those twins were quite rambunctious downstairs, don't you think?"

"Yes, I suppose they were." Lylie said. She didn't want to label them as troublemakers just yet. What if they were just ambitious?

One girl, Cordelia, interrupted the conversation and blurted, "What classes do you guys have tomorrow?"

Aubrey seemed eager about her classes. She said, "I've got Potions."

"Me too!" Lylie squealed.

Another girl from the corner of the dorm spat, "Oh my god, all Gryffindor first years have the same schedules." she rolled her eyes.