The Long Lost Pair

Trains Rides I

       Alex and Kathryne were squashed between the twins in the small car, that was much bigger on the inside. Fred blabbered in Kathryne's ear while she calmly pet her kitten and nodded to seem like she was listening. Truth was, she had no idea what he was even talking about. He had begun saying something about a giant squid, but now he spoke of candy. Kathryne saw no correlation.

      George simply picked at the scone his mother had given him, occasionally giving some to Alex beside him. Every so often, Ginny or Ron would stick their heads up to participate in the conversation, but spent most of their time sleeping in the back beside Percy who was nose deep in a book.

       The ride to Kings Cross Station wasn't a long one, but it felt like eternity when one was as excited as the girls were. Mr. Weasley had gotten two trolleys, one for the boys, and one for the girls. Percy ended up with his trunk stacked on the girls trunk. The girls learned last night that he was beginning his third year and made a mental note to ask him if they had questions; he seemed all too happy to answer them.

      "Alright, platform nine and three-quarters," Mrs. Weasley called. She lead all of them around the station as they headed towards the platform.

      "Um, I was here yesterday," Kathryne whispered to Fred who pushed their trolley for them. "There isn't a platform nine and three-quarters."

      "There is if you know where to look," George answered her with a wide grin.

      "Hope you're ready to run through a wall," Fred snickered.

      Alex sat on the end of the twins trolley George was pushing and swung her legs. "Is it going to hurt?" She called over her shoulder.

      "Not even a little," Percy smiled. "You don't feel a thing, I promise."

      Mrs. Weasley stopped in front of the nine and ten platforms and turned back to the family. "Percy, you first," she called to him. Percy calmly walked towards the wall, and before the girls could blink, he was gone. "Alright, George, Alex. You two."

      "Hold on tight," George told Alex. She gripped onto the trunk she sat on as George ran towards the brick wall. Squeezing her eyes closed, she didn't realize they had gone through until someone tapped her shoulder. She peeked through her fingers at George who grinned at her. "Not so bad, huh?"

      "George, come put the luggage in the train!" Percy called. Alex hopped down from the trolley and stared up at the bright red steam train before her. George grabbed her hands and placed them onto the trolley; he wasn't planning on losing her in this crowd.

      "Don't let go," he told her as he pushed the trolley towards the train.

      Alex looked around at all the people on the platform. Some were hugging their parents or talking to their friends. She froze as she watched a woman adjusting the jacket on her daughter. The scene was so simple, but it struck something in Alex. She turned to watch a woman kiss her child on the head then to see a man rubbing his son's hair and laughing together.

      George grabbed her hands and put them back on the trolley, pulling her along, but he knew what she was watching. The parents, all the parents sending off their kids to school, playing with them, caring about them.

      Loving them.

      Neither of the girls knew their parents, only the horrible things they had done. He felt pity for them.

      "Hey, Alex," he called, catching the girl's attention. As she looked at him, he pulled a the napkin wrapped scone from his pocket. "Eat this, you didn't eat much this morning, and breakfast is important. Kathryne will be here soon, okay?" He patted her cheek twice before he began putting he and his brothers luggage onto the train with the help of Percy.

      Alex looked down at the napkin and unwrapped it slowly. She took small bites of the scone and smiled. George already knew how to make her feel better: food.

      "Alright, Fred, Kathryne, go on," Mrs. Weasley called to them. Fred pulled her to grab onto the trolley with him, and wrapped an arm around her to secure her in place. "We'll meet you on the other side."

      Fred whispered into Kathryne's ear as she stared at the wall her sister had just disappeared through. "Just run as fast as you can," he told her. "Don't worry, I'm right here with you."

      Nodding, Kathryne and Fred ran towards the wall, pushing the cart out in front of them. She, too, closed her eyes upon impact, but Fred kept his eyes on her. It was adorable how her face pinched and gripped onto the trolley like it was the only thing she knew. "Hey," he called. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. "You did it. Now let's go put everything on the train, yeah?"

      Kathryne smiled and helped his push the trolley over to the bright train. She smiled when she caught sight of Alex, George, and Percy. George handed Alex the rest of her scone as they approached. Kathryne broke away from Fred and went to her sister, stealing a piece of the treat. Alex smiled at her as Ginny ran up to them along with Ron, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley not far behind.

      Mr. Weasley helped the boys put the rest of the luggage on the train while Mrs. Weasley pulled the girls to the side. She smiled at them and ran a hand over their cheeks. "Kathryne, Alex, you're going to meet people at Hogwarts who won't want to trust you because of your parents, or who won't want to be around you. They will do awful things to bring you down, and I don't want any of that to get to you, okay? If you ever need to talk to someone, I'm just an owl away. Ginny would love to hear from you too, and the boys will look out for you, I'm sure. Just, be yourselves and show them you're worth it." She pulled both of them into a big hug and kissed the tops of their heads. "Prove them all wrong, girls. Prove them wrong."

      Alex held onto the back of George's shirt as the four of them looked for an empty compartment. Kathryne was hugging onto Milo between Fred and George and often glanced back to make sure her sister hadn't gotten lost. Fred finally pushed open the doors of a compartment and took a seat by the window and table. George helped Alex put her bag in the storage above them since she couldn't reach, while Kathryne curled up on the seat next to Fred. George shut the compartment door and sprawled out on the other seat; Alex rolled her eyes and sat next to her sister.

      "What house do you think you'll be in?" Alex said as she looked past her sister to Fred who had begun taking ink, a quill, and parchment from his pockets.

      The boys laughed at her question. "Gryffindor," they said together.

      "No question about it! We're made for the house."

      "And our family has been in it for centuries."

      "What house was our parents in? Do you know?" Kathryne asked. Milo had jumped from her arms and curled up by George's feet. "Did anyone tell you?"

      Like every time the girls' parents were mention, the boys looked uncomfortable. "Yeah," Fred said softly.

      "They were in Slytherin," George finished.

      "But that doesn't mean you'll be in Slytherin," Fred quickly added. "You could be in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw."

      "Or Gryffindor."

      Even so, that made the girls nervous. Both of their parents were in Slytherin. What chance did they even have of getting out of their shadow? George slowly began to sit up straight and shift his eyes from the girls, to Fred and back again. The two of them hated to be the one telling them this, but they knew others would tell them worse through the years.

       The silence drug out in the compartment. Fred had gone back to writing on the parchment different ideas for pranks. He knew the girls were worried about where they would be placed, but he didn't know what he could tell them. They didn't seem like Slytherins to him, but he wasn't the judge.

      A knock on the compartment door caught their attention then. A little old lady had pulled open the door and in front of her was a cart full of treats. "Anything from the trolley?" She asked.

      Fred and George scraped their pockets for anything they had, even a knut would do, but came up empty. Alex watched this and pulled a handful of coins from her pockets. "Eight of everything, please."