Ethereal ✭Fred Weasley✭

1.

A rickety old house sat on the hills of Brighton, looking rather run down in its place high in the air. The green grass that covered the hillside swayed soothingly in the early morning breeze, meaning it was time for Remus Lupin to wake up his daughter. The man had brown hair that was permanently tussled on his head, with long scars that ran diagonally across his face. His grey suit was seemingly patched together and aged, matching his small run-down house perfectly. He opened the door to his daughter's bedroom, seeing the small girl spread out across her bed grey covers in a mess. Remus gazed at his daughter's position, always noticing her long brown hair that matched his so well. The brown freckles that littered over her nose and cheeks gave her the look of being barely ten years old, yet in her ripe age of fourteen, Remus sometimes wishes she hadn't grown past the age of ten.

"Come on Sophia," he called out to her, noticing her trunk was barely packed. "We're heading to King's Cross in an hour!"

Sophia raised her head from her pillow, reluctantly pulling the cover back from her figure and getting to her feet. Remus shook his head at his daughter's unresponsive state and left the room to leave her to get on with it. He had a rough night last night and had only gotten back to the house in time to wake Sophia up. Remus made sure he was always far away from the house when the full moon happened, ensuring that Sophia would be safe away from what he became. But now that he was back, he had the job of getting his child and himself to the train station to begin their trip to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The girl packed the rest of her stuff into her trunk, making sure to shove a rolled-up scroll of parchment down the side of her clothes. She wouldn't forgive herself if she had left it home. Sophia had always kept an eye on her father's cycle even when she wasn't near, wanting to be reassured when he was and wasn't transformed. Once she had pulled on her jumper, jeans and trainers, she jogged down the old stairs with her trunk to see her father packing her a light breakfast to eat on the journey.

"Is it that different to Beauxbatons?" Sophia questioned when she sat down at the dusty, round dining table in the kitchen. Remus looked over his shoulder to see his daughter looking particularly glum. The guilt settled in, as Remus remembered the reason why they were in a somewhat different routine than usual.

Remus had always promised his past wife that he would send their daughter to the school that she once went to, even though he desired for Sophia to attend Hogwarts in the first place. And up until this point, she had been attending Beauxbatons in France. Unfortunately for Remus, his scarce income didn't allow this privilege anymore. Schools like Beauxbatons and Durmstrang especially, are known to be prestige in education and in price. Remus hated to have to transfer Sophia from Beauxbatons to Hogwarts, as it was a wish of his now deceased wife. But as he had also been offered the Defence Against the Dark Arts position by Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster, Remus thought it be best for Sophia to start her third year at his past wizardry school.

"It is." he answered, noticing the worry in his daughter's bright grey eyes that reminded him so much of her mother's. "But it is just as educational and specialised in magic as any other school. It's where I was taught everything I know, and I know for a fact that you'll still do amazingly in Astronomy and Charms"

Sophia let a smile slip on to her face, understanding her father's current position. Even though she didn't want to leave the small group of friends she made at Beauxbatons, she valued her family over what school she attended. She loved her father's kind nature and modest attitude, despite his never-ending struggle for a job and everyday life because of his condition. And she loved him regardless. After all, he raised her on his own for the most part. And that's enough in itself without his 'furry little problem'.

"Now!" Remus jumped into a new topic. "You've got everything? We need to head off right away! Got your wand? Your Sky map?"

Remus and Sophia ushered out the door of their small rickety house, making their way towards London. On arrival at King's Cross Station, Remus helped Sophia with her trunk and started heading towards Platform 9 and ¾. Sophia looked around at all the non-magic folk walking around and catching various trains, curious to see other children with trolleys loaded with trunks and various animals like owls, toads and cats. Her father was never able to afford her a pet, to which she fully understood. Remus did have an owl that she would frequently use to talk to her Beauxbatons friends, and that was enough for her.

"Dad, was this Dumbledore headmaster while you were at school in Hogwarts?" Sophia asked as they ran through a peculiar wall that opened up to a completely different platform. She gazed at the bright red steam train that sat waiting for all the students to board, fascinated by it's old-fashioned beauty.

"Yes and a damn great headmaster he was and still is!" Remus exclaimed as followed Sophia down the platform, weaving through other families saying their goodbyes. "And this year, I believe you'll be in the same year as Harry Potter!"

Sophia had heard all about her father's friends at Hogwarts, one of them being James Potter. Sirius Black was also mentioned frequently, yet she knew her father was touchy on the subject as he was a convicted murder during the fall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. During this time, Remus was sure to keep Sophia protected as it was the time when his wife was killed. With Sophia only being a baby, she was his main priority after the murder of his wife.

As they walked towards an entrance to the train, Sophia noticed a large group of flaming red heads that were all clustered together. She also noticed two non-red heads that were bidding goodbye to the adults of the group, one of them having a famous scar on his forehead. She knew that it was in fact the previously talked about Harry Potter, and him and a portion of the group began heading towards the same entrance that her and her father were near.

"Am I cool enough to sit with you in the same compartment?" Remus said smugly into the ear of his daughter, knowing full well that she'd sit with him regardless. Sophia sniggered in response and turned her head over her shoulder to reply, when she bumped into a shoulder that she hadn't realised was in front of her.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed immediately, looking up to see one of the redheads she had seen standing with the famous Harry Potter. The boy was tall and wore the exact same clothes as the boy behind him. She also noticed that he even had the same face and long-ish hair as the boy behind him, making Sophia conclude that they were in fact twins.

"No worries. I wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for Ickle-Ron dropping his rat and holding up the line for the train" the boy replied as he gestured to another smaller redhead boy who was two people in front. He had just picked up a rat that he had dropped, making the small line that led into the train groan at his tardiness.

Sophia let out a small laugh at the boy's words, fully aware that her father was looming behind her silently yet judgingly. Remus looked at the two redheaded twins who were staring down at his daughter, noticing the somewhat charming smile that one of them held. The line that led into the train began to move once again, making the two boys move off away from Sophia. This relieved them both, as the awkwardness settled into the air with Sophia's silence and Remus's judging stare. The two eventually moved on to the train and picked a compartment that was empty. Remus put Sophia's trunk up on the over-heard rail as well as his own suitcase, before sitting in the corner beside the window and Sophia settling herself opposite him.

"Did you see him? Harry Potter I mean?" Sophia broke their silence. Remus nodded as he had noticed the boy who was spitting image of James. It was hard to miss the boy who lived, with the surrounding redheads that he seemed to be friends with.

"I also noticed the twin boys who seemed to have a bit of a stare off with you," Remus commented with a knowing smirk, making Sophia suddenly go red in the cheeks. "Well one of them was anyway."