A Brand New Dawn

“Platform 9 and ¾?” Dad hummed, scanning the platforms. “I doubt that it’s going to be marked. But we should keep an eye out.”

He was on the tall side, with fair, medium almond skin. He had an angular face, and narrow brown eyes that were flecked with shards of ice blue. His hair was short, naturally a bit disheveled, and pure black. He was in a black suit, over a white button-up and a yellow tie. 

“Alyssa, can you sense anything?” Harry asked, keeping his voice a bit quiet for me.

“It’s too loud, and everything’s really fuzzy.” I shook his head, shivering slightly. My head was buzzing a bit between the two competing energies. “It’s making me a little nauseous.”

“It should be better at the school.” My father said, gently taking my shoulders. “What’s setting you off?”

“Just a lot of different things happening. I can’t think cleanly."

“Well, it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out.” He said, giving a scan before nodding. “There.” He pointed from the catwalk to one of the pillars between platforms nine and ten. “People keep running into it and vanishing. That is where we need to go.”

Quickly we headed down to the platforms I leaned against my father as we headed towards the arch. It was extremely uncomfortable, and as we got close I quickly rushed toward the wall, head down, faltering a little bit as I crashed into something not brick hard, though it was enough to send me to the ground. As the thing across from me let out a sound and I groaned softly, sitting before taking in the other person.

He was about average height, with pale peach skin, his face speckled heavily with freckles. His cheeks and the tip of his nose were fairly rosy, and a small pair of semi-round glasses sat on his nose. His hair was short, a dusty apricot color.

He was already in the school’s robes, the sleeves and bottom holding a band of ruby red, with a line of gold through them. The breast of his cloak held a red and gold crest; kind of simplistically shield like, with four squares, two gold and two red, and the simple thin rope like band around his hat was striped with the same colors.  Though there was a red pin above it with a golden ‘p’.

The insides of the cloak; I noted now lost in the details, were also a brilliant ruby red.

“Is she alright?”

“Oh… Sorry!” I faltered, accepting his outstretched hand. “It’s very busy, so when I find things to hyper focus on to drown out the noise, I don’t always realize that I’ve spaced out. I didn’t mean to be rude by staring is what I mean.” I rubbed my neck. “I’m Alyssa, Alyssa Wayne. And um… he/they today. I just like the long hair.”

“Percy Weasley. Gryffindor Prefect.” He smiled. “And I’ll try to keep that in mind. Of course you should know that some minor modifications can be added to the your uniforms. If you would like I could get into contact with Professor Flitwick to see about charming a pin to display preferred if you would like.”

“That would be nice. I am Demi-fluid. Demi-gender spectrum, but with a very fluid gender. At least to my understanding, but that’s what working with.”

“Thank you for taking the time to explain.” Percy smiled slightly.

“Ah, Percy you’re here sooner than expected.”We turned as a short, slightly plump woman headed up to them. As she noticed me she offered a warm smile, dimples appearing on her cheeks. “Hello dear, you must be off to Hogwarts as well, right?”

“Yes.”

She was dressed simply; is a flowy cream shirt, and a similar rosy, pink skirt that reached her ankles in waves.

A loud popping sound snapped me out of it, and my eyes darted to the source, taking in the gold and red confetti that rained down from the poppers of the twins.

And they had to be twins. They were Weasleys too. Heavy freckling, the peach skin, and the short, messy ginger hair; fairly deep; but bright, copper for the twins.

I had to admit, the level of perfect identical twin they were was impressive. Each freckle was in just the right place, the way their hair fell was impressively similar. They were younger than Percy for sure, but they were in the same black robes with the same red and gold detailing.

“Fred, George! Behave yourselves.” She scolded, and I smiled, eyes landing on the one shard of a difference.“Fred, George! Behave yourselves.” She scolded, and I smiled, eyes landing on the one shard of a difference.

“You have green in your eye.”

“I’m sorry?” The twins jinxed.

“You have green in your eye.” I repeated, pointing to the left twin’s right eye. To the ever so small splinter of olive green. “It’s really small, it’s hard to see but it’s definitely there.”

“I… Never noticed.” Their mother said, squinting as she looked. “I don’t see it.”

“It’s definitely there.” Dad gave a nod. “Though again it is very hard to see. I didn’t notice it at first.”“It’s definitely there.” Dad gave a nod. “Though again it is very hard to see. I didn’t notice it at first.”

“Well spotted.”

“We didn’t even notice that.” The second twin said, and I nodded.

“I’m hyper focusing on detail, but… Let’s talk on the other side, it should be a little easier there. This side is too busy with different energies, and bustle, and confused magic, and cloaking magic- which always gives me a slight headache.”

“Is it really that loud?” Another boy asked, and I gave a small nod.

He was their age, a bit on the short side. He had the same peach skin, messy ginger hair, and the most freckles out of them all.  He was in a simple outfit too, a red T-shirt and black pants.

“Yeah, it’s kind of hard to think.”

“Well, you had the right idea dear, run and don’t stop running.” Molly nodded.

Taking a deep breath I backed up, running full speed at the wall passing through it to a large, bustling platform.

It was still loud; as all would be, but at the same time it felt more balanced. As I turned, I watched as the others followed. First the youngest Weasley and Harry, then the twins, Percy, my father, Oliver, and then Molly.

“Alright, I think introductions are in order.” Oliver suggested. “I am Oliver Queen, and this is my son, Harry Queen.”

“Alyssa Wayne; demi-fluid, demi-boy, it’s good to meet all of you.”

“Bruce Wayne, their father.”

“I am Molly Weasley, and these are my kids. Ron- “The youngest waved. “-Percy. And the twins, Fred and George.”

“Those poppers that you had, where did you get them?” I asked with a smile.

“We made them.” The twins jinxed and Alyssa gave a nod.

“I’m going to go and try to get us a place to sit! I’ll see you in a bit Harry!” I called, heading for the train. “You two mind helping?”

“Of course not.” Fred responded.

“You’d be interesting to get to know.” George added, leading the way.

“Don’t look much like your dad.”

“I’m adopted. Um… Though it is more complicated than that.” I admitted. “I was manifested by a cult in America, then my ‘mother’ tried to magically impregnate me; no sex or anything like that, I’m not clear on the technicalities past that, and when I was to ‘birth’ the god, I split my soul and my body auto combusted.” I circled my hand. “Harry Manson adopted half of my being, a young girl and raised her, but the two halves were brought together and lead to the Incubator being formed. My othered form more or less. They were defeated, and I resurrected myself in the form of a baby. He adopted me again, but he died, and Dad took me in.”

“Well… That’s quite a lot to go through.”

“Eh, I’m the only person who can tell you what it was like to auto combust.”

“That would be quite the experience.” Fred nodded.

“Did it hurt?” George asked, and I shot him a look.

“Did… Autocumbusting hurt? Did spontaneously bursting into flame… To the point my body should have died, and my bones had some scorching, hurt?”

“Right. Probably not the best question.” Fred chuckled and I smiled.

“So, your friend...”

“Technically Harry Potter, but-“ I held up a hand as they went to speak. “-Oliver is his biological father, who managed to raise him. Besides, what happened to him, happened when he was a child. A maybe one year old. It should not just be doted on as him being a hero, but as a victim. He lost two very loving parents. In all reality it was his MOTHER’S magic that protected him too. Putting him on a pedestal for that is putting unnecessary pressure on him.”

“That’s a fair point.” The twins exchanged a nod as we searched for a compartment.

“Now me on the other hand, I should get some notability for my travels through a hellscape. Not for the incubator situation, but I should get some credit for when I had a lot less control and would just slip into the other world seemingly at random.”

“Any good short cuts?” George added and I shook my head chuckling.

“Kind of, but it’s also extremely dangerous. Some paths are cut off by rubble that doesn’t exist in the ... I guess ‘real’ world, but at the same time some doors that were locked will be unlocked.” I responded, nodding to an empty compartment. “But to be clear, the reverse is also true. The best way to slip between the two would be mirrors.”

“Can anyone do it?”

“I can make people charms, or mark mirrors as permanent pathways. If people follow me they can, but... No. Not really.  It get even worse when you bring Wonderland into the entire situation.”

“Bragging?” Harry teased as he headed up to us, smiling  as the twins helped me with my bags.

“You could say that.” Fred said.

“You really have the scar?” George added and Harry sighed, shifting his bangs to reveal the thin ‘cartoon’ lightning bolt above his left eye before dropping his bangs.

“Wicked.” The twins jinxed.

“Need a hand with those?” Fred offered, taking Harry’s bag as he nodded. “We should be on our way.”

“Lee has a tarantula- “George added.

“And were dying to see it.”

“It was good meeting you!” I smiled, waving as they headed off, Harry sitting across from me.

“They’re troublemakers.”

“And I’m not?” I chuckled, pulling a smile to Harry’s lips. “But they’re definitely not to unlike Sirius and Remus. Pranksters, right?”

“Exactly.” Harry nodded, turning as the door slid open, Draco standing in the doorway. “Hello Malfoy.”

“Queen.”

“Did you get your answers?” He asked, and Draco shook his head. “So, he couldn’t give you anything?”

“He said that pure bloods were superior, and got mad at me when I asked why. But he did tell me it was our birth right.”

“And it’s not theirs? They were born with magic just like you were.”

“Our magic is stronger.”

“No, you are just privileged, able to practice longer and sooner due to being born into it. It’s a system that makes life incredibly hard for outsides who have no idea how the magical world works.” I corrected. “Of course, it’s going to seem like pure bloods are advantaged, but when it comes to the ‘muggle world’ wizards and witches here would be just as lost.  It’s a give and take.”

“And you are?”

“Alyssa Wayne.” I said, holding out their hand for him to shake. Hesitantly Draco took it, eyes going wide as I smirked allowing my memories to flood his mind. Images of the other world, the shadows that existed in every place, stopping as I let him go.

“Alyssa!” Harry scolded, heading over and smacking the back of my head. “I’m sorry about that. They, don’t take well to that kind of grand standing.”

“W-what was that place?”

“The other world.  Be grateful you’ve never been called to Silent Hill, or to the cursed place that exists in part due to it.” I explained. “I suggest you think about it. I’m going to get changed, I’ll be right back.”

Heading off I found a private area, changing into the black robes before returning to the compartment. As he returned Draco was gone and Harry shook his head.

“You scared him.”

“He needed to experience some kind of hardship. I just showed him some of what I went through.”

“That’s horrible Alyssa!” He crossed his arms and I sighed. “He hasn’t done anything to you; if he kept it up, if he was being a bigot and a jerk, then maybe, but not now.”

“Fine.” I sighed, laying back slightly. “Fine, but trust me, it’s going to help.”

Before Harry could respond the door slid open once again and Ron headed in.

“Sorry, can I sit here? Everywhere else was full.”

“I mean there are more cars, but yeah sure.” I shrugged and Harry let out a sigh.

“Go ahead.” He nodded, watching as Ron sat next to me.

“Hand me downs.” I passively noted. “Interesting.”

“Yeah, and my wand is a hand me down.”

“What?” I faltered, bolting upright quickly. “That’s…  you shouldn’t be using someone else’s wand.”

“Bills old robes, Charlie’s old wand, but I did get my own owl.” He shook his head and I held out a hand. “What?”

“Let me see it.” I said, accepting the device.

 It was slim, polished ash with two stripes at the base.  It was beautiful, but it was clearly a bit old, with the unicorn hair sticking out at the tip.

 “This is no good. A good want but it’s not yours.  I might be able to make one, but that’s not going to be certainly able to connect to you.”

“Wand making is an art and a science.” The three turned to the door, taking in the girl that stood in it.

I had never seen anyone like her. She had deep rosy, brown skin and long, tightly curled brown hair, and warm chocolate eyes. She was in her robes already, but my eyes primarily went to the two patches on her face. A large one that covered about a fifth of the right side, and a tiny one on the bridge of her nose of blue gems. They were flat, but definitely gemstones.

“I know, but this isn’t my first forte into magic.” I responded, returning Ron’s wand to him. “Alyssa Wayne.”

“Hermione Granger.”

“Ron Weasley.”

“Harry Queen.”

“Queen? As in Oliver Queen?” Hermione asked. “So, you’re Harry Potter?”

“I know, but really, you think it was me who took out a full-grown adult. It was my mother’s magic.”

“You were kidnapped by Slade Wilson.”

“Oh yeah, that was interesting. He took better care of me than the Dursleys did.” Harry nodded.

“Dark funnily, he was actually kidnapped from him on the island and Wilson saved him from the people-“ I fell silent as Harry’s face fell. “Right, sorry. But as I was saying he’s really strong still, but not some child hero.”

“You said you knew magic.”

“I’ve never used this kind of magic, but I’m also a manifestation so… yes.” I nodded, tilting their head as another boy headed up. 

He was a bit shorter than Hermione, with mousey brown hair, round cheeks, and warm golden skin.  He had large, round brown eyes, and a nervous hunch to his shoulders, and was in his robes as well.

“Bruce Wayne’s adoptive daughter.” Hermione gave a nod. “Anyways, were looking for Nevil’s toad, have any of you seen him?”

“No, but I can help the two of you look. Harry, Ron, you two should change at some point anyways.   We’ve been going for about… Half an hour, and I know it’s gonna be a long ride, an almost six and a half more. But it’s bast that you do it now while I’m gone.”

“Alright.” Harry nodded.

Smirking to myself I followed the two out. “So what’s your name?”

“Nevil Longbottom”

“Where have you been keeping your toad?”

“In this box.”

“No… No that won’t do. Geeze, why the odd pet rules?” I shook my head. “You need to be more confident about things though, a lot of magical beings form familiar bonds with animals, the school shoehorning that into a cat a rat or a toed? Or an Owl apparently, because you can also get an owl instead.”

“So how do you propose finding Trevor?” Hermione asked, crossing her arms. “With your odd magic?”

“No comment on the familiar thing? But, yes.” I  ripped off a piece of the shoe box, clenching his fist around it and closing their eyes.  My  hair momentarily began to stand on end a bit, a static filling the air before I opened my palm, paper spinning a few times, a bloody arrow appearing on it before settling.

Hermione’s eyes were wide as I headed forward, watching as the arrow turned and the enby followed it before I eventually pulled out their wand.

“Petrificus Totalus.”  A pale white flash hit something, and I quickly picked up the small toad, handing him back to Nevil. “Like I said, try to be a bit more careful with him alright?”

“Thank you.”

“Do the two of you want to sit with us?”

“That’s alright, thank you.”

“Of course.” I smiled softly as they headed of making my way back to the car.