The Heart Is Not Black or White

Chapter 4

"Fred, George, look! Here it is! It's the Nimbus 2000!" I was glued to the glass in front of Barnie's Brooms in Diagon Alley. Fred and Georgd ran up behind me and we all gazed at it longingly.

"Imagine, Georgie," Fred whispered whistfully. "We'd be the best beaters at Hogwarts with a broomstick like this."

"Are you sure about that?" I questioned them, cockily. "What if I beat you guys out for best beater?"

"A first-year girl as a beater. Yea, you're everyone's first choice already," George said sarcastically.

"I don't know, George," said Fred. "We trained her, so she must be amazing already."

"Well once she gets on the Gryffindor team, it will be you she replaces, not me"

"Wait a minute," I said. "What makes you think I'm going to be in Gryffindor? There are three other houses I could be in."

"Ok, well let's see..." Fred mused. "There's Hufflepuff, they're supposed to be kind and loyal."

"That automatically rules you out, because you prank everyone, no matter who they are," George said.

"And you're really sneaky. You always chose the side that wins."

I had to admit they were right about that.

"Next, there's Ravenclaw. You're clever, but you don't like to be."

"Most Ravenclaws brag about their intelligence. But if they were so clever they would stop bragging about it before we smash their faces in."

"Anyway, next is Gryffindor, the best house."

"Gryffindors are brave, and we know you'll be in Gryffindor because you're not afraid of anything on the Quidditch pitch. You'll do whatever it takes to win-"

"No matter how dangerous it is!"

"That's very ambitious of me, I guess," I said. "And isn't being ambitious a quality of Slytherin?" When Fred and George came home from Hogwarts after their first year, they told me all about the houses. I remembered each house and their qualities.

"You're ambitious, but you're no dark wizard," said George.

"But Mum said all the houses were equal," I said.

"She's just saying that in case you get Slytherin so you don't come home all disappointed," said Fred

"But we know you won't be in Slytherin!"

"Actually Georgie, remember what Mum said about the dark wizard thing-"

"Shh! We're not supposed to talk about that!"

"Talk about what?" I asked.

Fred and George exchanged a look. Fred was about to open his mouth when Mrs. Weasley called us.

"Fred, George, Marissa! We're off to Olivander's! Marissa and Ron need their wands!"

We all ran off to Mrs. Weasley, excited for the best part of the trip. George ran up ahead of us to talk to Mrs. Weasley.

"I reckon he's asking Mum if we can get that Nimbus 2000," said Fred. "There's no way we'll be able to get it though. She keeps saying that we're tight on money this year because she has four kids going to Hogwarts now. And next year she'll have to pay for Ginny too. So we have to save up."

I had known the Weasleys my whole life so I was well aware of their monetary situation. It had set them back a little, but they we always able to make-do without tons of galleons.

"Marissa?" Fred asked me, waving a hand in front of my face. "I asked if your parents are getting you a new broom."

"Oh, sorry, no," I said. My parents said they wouldn't get me a new broom before term started but if I made the Quidditch team (which wasn't very likely) they would send me one. I didn't say that to Fred because I knew how much he wanted that Nimbus 2000.

"You've been really spacey today, Issa. Even more than usual," Fred mentioned. "Did you get a concussion again from that rogue bludger you always insist on playing with? I'm surprised it hasn't gotten you into a coma yet."

"No," I said. What my mother and father had told me about the Prophecy was weighing heavily on my mind. Just because I was ready to deal with it didn't mean I wasn't worried. "Fred, what's a normal age to get married?"

"Married?" He exclaimed. "Blimey, Marissa, you don't actually think you'll be able to marry that Gilderoy Lockhart figure, do you?"

"Just answer the question," I said irritated.

"Ok, ok... Um 25... 30? How should I know? Well there are some people who get married really old, and there are some people who get married super young. Like that Lucius person my dad always complains about from work. He and his wife got married when they were just seventeen years old!"

"Seventeen!" I said, bewildered. "That's only six years older than me!"

"Don't worry," Fred laughed. "What made you so interested in being married anyway?"

I blushed, knowing I wouldn't be able to tell him the real reason. "Did you get a reading or a... a prophecy when you were born Fred?"

"A prophecy? Like those things in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic?"

"I think so," I shrugged.

"Not that I remember. C'mon, I bet Ron's already done at Olivander's. I wanna see you get your wand."

Fred and I started walking at a brisker pace toward Olivander's. I was excited to get my wand, but I could not help thinking about the mysterious prophecy my mother and father had told me about.