Triplets (George Weasley)

Pt. 8

The night terrors got progressively worse over the rest of the week. Each time, I came to George. He would hold me, and, when I woke up, both the twins would comfort me. I don't know why the dreams are coming back. All I know is that they are, and that scares me.
When the time comes to head to school, I'm terrified. It's mostly because that will mean separation from the twins, and they've been holding me together. More than that, what if they don't want to be friends with me at all? I mean, I'm not stupid. I know I'm not their only friend. They've told me about Lee, Angelina, and Katie. I'm sure those aren't their only friends. They're funny and cool and who wouldn't want to be friends with them? I'm not usually the jealous type, but what if they forget about me when school starts? I'm going to be a first year, not exactly a catalyst for their reputation.
Boarding the train, I nearly forget my trunk at the station. It's been a long, emotional trip to King's Cross. Molly and Ginny have both barely been holding in their tears, and Ron and I are both dreadfully nervous about the school year to come. Fred and George try to reassure me, but I'm beyond the point of being reassured, especially about them and our possibly ending friendship. I don't even know what I'll do about my night terrors if they abandon me.
Once on board, Fred and George are surrounded by a large mass of students. I just sort of stand awkwardly to the side and try to find a compartment of my own, thinking that this is the beginning of the end.
I find Ron and Harry Potter, whom we met at the station, in a compartment of their own, and I take a seat beside them.
"Hey, Audrey. You going to sit with us?" Ron asks.
I shrug.
"Audrey? That's a nice name," Harry offers by way of greeting, but, sensing my mood, the two boys stop attempting to make conversation with me.
"Hey, Ron, have you seen-... Rey!" the twins exclaim, stepping into our compartment. I look up at them, surprised to see them.
"We've been looking for you. Lee and the rest of them were disappointed you ran off. We told them all about you and they're excited to meet you," George says, concerned, sitting down beside me.
"Besides that, Lee's got a giant tarantula, and-," Fred starts excitedly, jumping from one foot to the other.
"Shut it, Fred. Can't you see she's upset?" George asks his twin.
Fred immediately shuts up and sits on my other side.
"What's the matter, Rey? Ya gotta tell us so we can fix it," George pleads with me.
"Nevermind. I'm overreacting. Let's go have a look at that tarantula," I sigh, not wanting to start drama, as I go to stand and leave the compartment.
"No, we're not going anywhere until you tell us what's wrong," Fred states, grabbing my wrist and pulling me back down onto the bench.
"Promise you're not gonna be mad?" I ask.
"Of course," Fred replies, puzzled.
"I just... I was worried you'd forget about me now that you have your school friends around. It's ridiculous. I'm sorry. I was being kind of a baby, wasn't I?" I confess.
"Well, that certainly is ridiculous," George chuckles.
"And you were kinda a baby," Fred laughs, ruffling my hair, causing me to pout.
"Don't you know we'd never forget you, Rey? How could we?" George scoffs as though it's the most ridiculous thing he's ever heard.
"We'd never forget our triplet," Fred grins.
"Now, come on. There's a giant tarantula in the middle of the train that's calling our names," George laughs, grabbing my hand and helping me up.
"By the way, Harry, I'm Fred and this is George Weasley. You've already met our brother, Ron, and our best friend, Audrey, I see. See you later then," Fred introduces himself quickly before grabbing my other hand and helping George pull me out of the compartment.

The rest of the train ride is the twins introducing me to their friends. Lee is funny and will flirt with anything. Angelina is loud and reckless, and I can tell Fred fancies her. Katie is kind and quiet, and we get along well. I chat with her for a good part of the train ride. I can feel the twins making me become easily accepted, despite the fact that I'm only a first year and all the twins' friends are third years like them. I can also tell from the amount these people know about me that the twins must have talked about me a lot. That feels good, knowing that they care that much.
When the cart with sweets comes around, I buy some for the twins and all their friends. We laugh, eat, and play games, even setting off a firecracker in the compartment next to ours, scaring a group of second years.
My new friends teach me about the wizard candies, and tell me what I can expect when we arrive at Hogwarts. I'm eager to learn, and I listen avidly to what they have to tell me.
"You know my baby brother, Ron?" Fred asks the compartment.
His friends nod.
"You'll never believe it, but he's sharing a compartment with Harry Potter. It's really him. George, Rey, and I even saw the scar. We all talked to him, especially Rey. That's where she ran off to earlier," Fred boasts.
The others are impressed, and they bombard me with questions about "the famous Harry Potter".
I can't answer most of the questions, but I can tell it earns me a couple "cool points".
"You know, we're almost there," George states, looking out the train window.
"We'd better put on our robes," he elbows me.
I nod and rifle through my trunk to find my robes. Taking off my jean jacket, I pull the long black robes on over my thin white blouse and skinny jeans. The robes go all the way down to the floor, covering my mint converse.
Everyone else in the compartment does the same, but their robes have their house badges over the breast and they all loop ties around their necks in the Gryffindor colors of scarlet and gold. I'll receive my badge and tie when I'm sorted, but, for now, I feel out of place.
When the train pulls to a stop, everyone heads out into the hall to join the other students.
"Rey, you're gonna have to leave us when we get out there, but we'll see you in the Great Hall, okay?" Fred informs me. The two boys stand on either side of me, each grabbing one of my hands and giving it a firm squeeze.
"Okay," I nod.
That's when I hear a large man calling for first years, and I leave my twins, cold and scared and alone.

Clumsily, I make my way down the path to the shore of a huge lake. I tune out everyone around me. I must look sick, because a slightly plump but kind-faced girl approaches me with concern.
"You alright?" she asks, eyeing me carefully.
"Fine," I breathe.
"Care to share a boat?" she asks, noticing as the large man orders us to find a boat in groups of four.
"Sure," I say, not having any other offers at hand.
Carefully, the girl and I board a tiny wooden boat.
A scrawny blonde boy and a bony girl with dull black hair board as well.
"Draco Malfoy," the blonde boy snivels, looking the other girl and I up and down.
"Lavender Brown. A pleasure," the strange girl replies enthusiastically.
"Yes... quite," Draco replies, more reluctant than she.
"Audrey Tyler," I introduce myself quietly, out of politeness. Not up for continued conversation, I stare off into the distance.
"Well, I'm Pansy Parkinson. Dracie-Poo's girlfriend," she enunciates carefully, being sure to make it very clear that the blonde is claimed territory,
"No, you're not, Pansy. Geroff me," he sighs, shaking off the girl's unwanted grip.
I might have found this amusing if I weren't so nervous.
I notice now that everyone's boarded, and the large man directing us orders the boats forward loudly.
I look up at the huge towers of the castle, intimidated by its hugeness and complexity. The twins told me not to be scared, but I am. I really, really am.
I can't properly enjoy the boat ride, barely conscious enough to duck when we pass under a cliff.
We continue our journey a few minutes longer. I actually become quite nauseous, unused to travelling by boat.
Eventually, we reach a rocky shore, where I scramble out and allow my feet to regain dry land as quickly as is possible. I don't want to move, but soon we must. We move from rocky shore to passageway to a grassy area just before the castle.
We stand before a huge wooden door for a moment before the large man leading us knocks on it heavily, and we all anticipate nervously our first glimpse of the legendary Hogwarts castle.