Peter leaped out of the car and rushed over to me. He lifted my trunk over the front step, and before I could say a word he was dragging it towards the car.
“Peter!” I laughed “I can take my own trunk!”
He just grinned at me as he tried to shove it into the back of the car, where his and Megan’s trunks were already packed. Rolling my eyes I climbed into the back seat, where my best friend Megan was waiting. She smiled “Hey”
“Hi” I locked the seatbelt into place as Peter slammed the trunk down and moved to the passenger seat.
“You sure you’ve got everything?” Mrs. Jones called back. Her voice had a kind tone to it, the kind my mother would sometimes get when she was in a good mood. Mum’s voice used to sound like that a lot more when I was little, not so much anymore.
“Yup” I responded, and the car started to back out into the street.
Megan glanced at the clock “We better hurry, Mum, if we want to beat dad.”
“Don’t worry” Peter turned to smile at her “We’ll beat him, we always do.”
Seeing the confused look I must have been giving them Megan explained “Dad always ends up having to work on the first, but he takes an early lunch to see us off.”
“Cool” the word came on automatic, but I wasn’t really thinking about that. Their father was spending his lunch break to be at the train station with them, my mum couldn’t even push her date back two hours. Dad would have been there, if he could have been. I reached up to grab the knot of the tie, only to grab my T-shirt collar.
Megan noticed “You’re not wearing it-“
“I thought it would be inappropriate to wear a house tie before we’re even sorted” I shrugged and gave her a half smile. Megan knew me well enough not to push the subject.
“Speaking of houses, which do you think you’ll get?” she asked in an attempt to change the topic. I’d thought about it all summer, and I still had no idea, but Megan’s enthusiasm is pretty contagious.
“I don’t know- Ravenclaw would be cool-“
“Or Gryffindor-“ Megan added.
“We all know where you’ll be, Meg” Peter mocked, looking back at us again “You’ll be in Slytherin for sure!”
“Will not!” She shot back.
“Stop that you two!” Mrs. Jones scolded “There is nothing wrong with any of the houses.”
The siblings glared at each other, but didn’t say anything. Quietly I spoke “I wouldn’t mind being in Slytherin-“
The silence held for a long moment as they remembered I was there. My mother was a Slytherin, and they both knew it. Both of them looked around, not sure what to do. Finally I broke it “Though come on guys, we all know Hufflepuff’s where it’s at!”
That led to Peter heading hold heartedly into a story about some Hufflepuff qudditch player named Cedric who was in his year and had pulled this ridicules stunt trying to get the snitch. The rest of the car ride was full of excitement and jokes.
After a slightly terrifying jog at a stone wall, we found ourselves on a platform crowded with parents and kids, all pushing trolleys with big trunks like mine. We did end up beating Mr. Jones, but only by like two minutes.
Peter helped Megan and me load our trunks into a compartment, and then went off with his to find his friends. Megan went to go say goodbye to her parents, and I was left alone in the compartment. I leaned against the window and watched as kids all over the platform say goodbye to their parents. I closed my eyes and imagined I was down there with them, that my mum had brought me there herself, in her bright red heels. I could feel her arms wrapping around me in the middle of the platform with everyone else, and her cool lips brushing against my forehead.
The door to the compartment slide open and I snapped back to reality. The cool feeling on my forehead was the glass of the window. I knew that even if my mother had brought me, the things I hoped for wouldn’t have happened. She wouldn’t show affection enough to hug me. Not in public.
I turned expecting to see Megan returning, but standing there was a light haired girl with a trunk trailing behind her.
“Oh, sorry-“ She said hurriedly “I didn’t see you- I’ll just g-g-go.”
“It’s okay” I smiled “You can stay- I mean if you want to-“
“Th-Thanks” she stammered.
“My names Tracey” I said as we pulled her trunk into the compartment.
“So-Sophie-“
By the time the two of us had managed to get her trunk up next to mine, Megan had returned. I did my bit and introduced them, as we took our seats. I stayed next to the window, while Megan took the seat across from me and Sophie next to me.
Looking between the two of them I marveled at how different they were. Sophie had that pale blonde hair that is almost white, while Megan’s was black. Everything about their faces seemed somehow different. It went beyond physical appearances though. Megan was confident, no matter what she always believed in herself, I already knew that. She would stand up for what she believed in no matter what. The other girl didn’t look like she had ever stood up for anything in her life. Blonde hair fell in front of her face as she stared at the ground, holding all of her limbs close to her body, as if trying to make herself as small as possible. She leaned back in the seat, like she wanted to sink into it.
I was pretty sure I was looking at a clear example of a Gryffindor and a Hufflepuff. If it could be so obvious what they were, why couldn’t I tell where I would go? As far as I could tell I didn’t belong in any of them, so what would happen when the hat sat on my head? Would it just sit silently for forever?
The train lurched forward. Megan slide open the window and gave on last wave to her parents. I turned to Sophie “I can move if you want to wave goodbye to someone-“
She just shook her head. Then the platform was gone and we were on our way to Hogwarts.
YOU ARE READING
United We Stand
FanfictionFollow the path of four Hogwarts students, each from a different house, who just want a normal school experience. Unfortunately for them they are in the same year as famous Harry Potter. Brought together by some of the most random circumstances imag...
