Chapter One
Iris POV
I beamed as I boarded the Hogwarts Express with my sister, Lyla, and best friend Melissa and followed them to an empty compartment. No sooner had we sat down when Lyla’s friends joined us, and we immediately all began chattering happily about what we had done over the summer, how much we had missed each other, and everything else we always talked about at the start of a new school year. We commented on each other’s new haircuts, hoped we’d be in the same classes together, and inquired after each other’s families.
This year, like last year, the shadow of the war hung over us, often ignored, but never completely forgotten. To say that I felt safe in my predominantly muggle town was a bit of an overstatement, especially because the few wizards that did live in our village, like Mel and her family, often interacted with the muggles on a daily basis and did very little to hide their magical powers. It was a unique town in that way. Wizards and muggles had coexisted together for centuries in our little village and so there was hardly a muggle today, including my parents, who hadn’t known about magic since they were children.
This put them, and us, at an even greater risk from Voldemort and his Death Eaters if they ever discovered our town. I knew Hogwarts was one of the safest places on Earth from dark magic, and it was a bit of a relief that Lyla and I would be safely stowed away for the coming months.
I was jolted from my musings as the train started forward, and we all leaned out the window to wave crazily to our parents. I could never help tearing up at seeing them go, but I knew we would write constantly and see them on holiday. I’d have to check into the prefect’s compartment soon, but for now I leaned my head back against the seat and let the first euphoric rush of new beginnings wash over me, finally relaxing.
Regulus POV
I was standing in the tightly packed compartment with the rest of the prefects, sizing each of them up. I supposed the majority of the students were decent, though it didn’t really matter because we had preassigned partners. One bad partner and patrol duty was going to be miserable.
The head boy, the loathsome James Potter, began reading off pairings and I inwardly groaned as he called out the name of the Hufflepuff girl in my year assigned to me. I would have preferred anyone else. Even a Gryffindor I could at least bicker and intellectually face off with. Hufflepuffs were just so… happy. It always seemed so insincere. How could a person possibly be that satisfied with life? And if they were genuine, it was even worse. Their cheerfulness must be centered in, at the very least, ignorance. And at the worst, delight in humankind. It was nauseating.
I knew technically kindness wasn’t a core trait in the badgers and that they were more focused on hard work, patience, dedication, and loyalty. That all seemed too good to be true, however.
I glanced at the girl who is already chatting with a Ravenclaw boy that she had been assigned with as well. She even looked like a Hufflepuff: slim build, golden hair, blue eyes, and a bright smile. Maybe she’d get all her chatting done with Kumar and I’d be free to bask in the silence.
Lyla POV
Amanda elbowed me in the side, successfully snapping me out of my trance. I’d been gazing at the bewitched ceiling of the Great Hall and had been carried away by my imagination. The sky had fallen down around us, and we had started dancing among the stars. Houses intermixed and we were all having fun, the brewing war a distant memory. We’d all laughed as Dumbledore hopped from Orion’s Belt to Cancer’s right claw. He raised his hands in victory and…
“Bryant’s about to lecture us,” Amanda said, drumming her fingers on the empty golden plate in front of her. She and Bryant were twins and my very best friends.
It had all started when eleven year old me was crying because I hadn’t been sorted into the same house as my sister. The twins had offered to go with me to the Hufflepuff common room to somehow sneak in and become one, and me, being a distraught eleven year kid, agreed.
Through a series of events, most of which I couldn’t quite remember the next day, the three of us had ended up curled behind a suit of armor until morning. Ever since we’d been inseparable, and I’d been pretty pleased with my choice to stay in Ravenclaw.
Bryant took a deep breath, “As you both know, this year we have our O.W.L.s. It is perhaps the most important year of our lives.”
Amanda leaned in closer to me. “I bet all the teachers are going to have nearly identical speeches to this,” she whispered in my ear. I snickered quietly.
“I had a lot of time to think over the holiday,” continued Bryant, “and I’ve decided that we are going to have the best year we can.” Amanda and I exchanged glances. “That starts with getting jobs.” My eyebrows shot up, but Amanda seemed to agree with her brother.
“Equal times work and play,” she said in a sing-songy voice. Before I could say we were fifteen and getting jobs was a bit ambitious, Bryant continued to talk.
“Of course, we’re not going to work outside of Hogwarts, so just ask around and by the end of this month have a job. Then there’s exercise. Lyla already walks Indy and occasionally rides a broom, but Amanda and I need to figure something out. Last is the studies. I’ll ask the teachers when exactly the exams will be and we’ll work from there to create a schedule.”
Amanda and I nodded, and my gaze drifted towards the Great Hall's big doors. Soon little first years would be entering, waiting to be sorted. Bryant was right. We’d make this the best year we could.