Jinxed
The train whistled, calling for any final passengers to board before its departure. You hugged your dad goodbye before climbing onto the train. Just before it departed, you stuck your head out through one of the various open windows and watched as he waved.
“Don’t be afraid to make friends, they’ll make your time at Hogwarts so much better.” Your dad said, waving at you from the platform. He was doting the usual but had definitely made an effort to see you off. It would be months before you’d see him again and that thought made you reluctant to attend.
You waved back frantically, the train had begun to move forward and his figure was growing smaller by the second. “I’ll write whenever I can!”
You were hoping that he heard you, the train hissed as it increased speed and the kids next to you were yelling goodbyes too. The other families on the platform were screaming and waving frantically, getting in last-second reminders before the train left.
Just beside your dad, you saw a woman with bright fiery hair, freckles painted liberally across her kind face. In each of her hands, she held the hands of two younger children who seemed to stand very close to her, clutching her robes. Your father was talking with her, smiling at something she said. She seemed friendly and you were feeling sad because you weren’t next to your dad, listening in on the conversation. They seemed quite close, seeing as your dad wasn’t the type to talk so freely with others. Strange, he never talked about a woman with her appearance, you thought.
You pulled your head back in through the window and decided to head back towards your compartment. As you walked down the hall, you heard boisterous laughter spill from a door a few feet behind you. Not even a few seconds later, three boys ran from a compartment and dashed down the hall, nearly making you fall from how fast they had gone. You spun around to catch sight of them. Two of them seemed related, red hair crowning their heads. The other was darker in complexion and his hair much longer and darker than the other two.
“Sorry!” The darker boy and one of the redheads shouted, the other turned around and smiled an apology, but nonetheless continued to run.
You were still looking down the corridor, even after they had disappeared to who knows where. Right behind you, rapid stomping approached you. A boy, a few years older than the ones who had just run by, was fuming red. His hair seemed to have been turned bright pink, but only the front seemed to have been changed. His face was covered in pink dust and so were his robes. You couldn’t help but suppress a laugh. Surely if this kid was this infuriated with being covered in pink, you didn’t need him spewing his anger on you.
Right as he passed you, you decided to continue your trek to your compartment. The door was already open, maybe someone else had decided to take advantage of your absence, but one of your bags was clearly on a seat so you were hoping they hadn’t moved it. You stepped inside, not anticipating to see the three boys who had just run past you inside. One of the redheads was mimicking how one would look like if they were opening a letter, have powder fly at them, and fume in anger. He would do amazing at charades you thought. The three of them burst into laughter, doubling over and clutching their stomachs. They must’ve been the culprits of the pink dust attack.
“That was brilliant!” You said, now standing at the entrance of the car. You walked into the compartment, your hands shaking with excitement. The boys calmed slightly at your presence, not expecting someone to walk in. You walked inside, moving your bag over to take a seat on the now empty spot. “How did you guys do that?”
“You saw that right?” One of the redheads said, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.
The other followed soon after. “How bright his hair was? Oh, he won’t know what’ll hit him in the second letter.”
The other boy sat up quickly. “There’s a second one?” His dark brown eyes were beaming.
“A second what?” You asked. The two redheads turned to look at you. You hadn’t seen it before, since the two were running at the time, but they looked identical. You were sure that they had their differences, but you couldn’t tell so far.
“We decided to plant something muggles would call a ‘glitter bomb.’ It's tame in our opinion —” The other boy nodded his head rapidly, agreeing to what his brother said. “But our Da, he works for the ministry, he’s ‘n love with everything muggle, and —”
The other stopped his rambling. “That boy used to bully our older brother until he got tall and cool, so we decided to pay him homage from the Weasley family.” He winked at the last bit. “He has this crush on a Ravenclaw girl, so we decided to write him a love letter from her.”
You gasped a bit, enjoying their mischief. “No —”
“Oh, yes.”
“Like I said, tame, in our opinion, but he’s gonna have a lot more coming to him once we arrive at Hogwarts.”
The other boy, who was bursting with excitement, finally joined in on the conversation, seeing as he had finally calmed himself from his giggling fit, but still had a big smirk across his face. “Where are our manners? I'm Lee Jordan, and these two dorks are —”
“Fred,” said the one sitting next to you.
“And I’m George,” said the one next to Lee.
“Or am I George?”
“Or am I Fred?”
You quirked an eyebrow in confusion before they chuckled.
“We’re kiddin’, I’m Fred. The one next to Lee is George.”
You gave them all a soft smile. “Well, it’s nice to meet you all.”
Before you could introduce yourself, the boy next to you stood up and dragged down a satchel of sorts from above your seat. “You want to help us craft the second part? We kind of need a girl to write the letter for us. We were gonna have George write it, but I’m sure yours will do much better,” Fred said, his hands already digging through the bag as he pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill.
George’s ears turned bright red. “Hey! My penmanship is not—”
“Oh yes it is, it’s all pretty and uniform. Anyways — how ‘bout it?”
You were quiet for a second, wondering if you should join in on the fun.
“We’ll tell you what to write, you’ll just make sure it looks pretty. Yeah?” His eyes were beaming with amusement, you could tell by the way he was looking at you. It was almost the same way your father would describe how you looked after playing a prank on him.
Fred, on the other hand, looked into your eyes and could see the mischievous glint as you thought it over. You gave in not much after.
“Oh, why not. Let’s give him hell.”
-----
It didn’t take much to reach Hogwarts. At least, it didn’t feel like it. You had spent the entire ride there concocting jokes and other sorts to play once on school grounds. The three of you managed to place the letter into the boy’s trunk, which he had left unattended — easy really. Lee had suggested staying back and keep guard in case he got closer to his compartment. After that, the four of you ran back to yours, buying some candy from the trolley lady and talking more about how excited they were for their first year.
“So what house do you think you’ll be sorted into?” Lee asked, taking a bite out of a licorice wand.
The twins shrugged, seemingly uninterested. “Gryffindor; the whole family is.” They said at the same time, just before opening their sandwiches and taking a bite.
“How about you…” His voice trailed off, realizing he didn’t know your name.
“Y/N. Y/N Lupin.” You answered. You took Lee’s question and thought about it for a while. “I — I don’t know. What are the houses again?”
Lee began naming the houses. “Well, there’s Gryffindor: house of the brave and chivalrous. There’s Ravenclaw: house of wits and intelligence. There’s Hufflepuff: house of the loyal and hard-working. Then there’s…”
“Slytherin,” spat Fred.
“House of the cunning and ambitious,” George followed.
Lee leaned back into his seat. “But if you ask me, I don’t think they’re all bad. They just have a bad rep because they rival Gryffindor and they produce the most dark wizards.”
“Like You-Know-Who.” The mention of his name brought an eerie quiet to the compartment. Fred and George piped up, clearing it by asking you again about your sorting predictions.
“Well, I’m not so sure. My dad was in Gryffindor when he attended Hogwarts, maybe I’ll be sorted into Gryffindor too?” You replied nonchalantly. House rivalries were a bit over the top, but maybe that would change once you got into the school spirit.
“Well, let's hope you don’t get sorted into Slytherin,” said Lee.
- - - - -
Every first-year was lined up in the center of the Great Hall. You recognized the woman by the sorting hat: Minerva McGonagall, or Minnie as you called her. She used to babysit you when you were much younger. The older you got, however, Remus decided that you could take care of yourself, but you didn’t mind the visits to Hogwarts and McGonagall didn’t mind having you around. In fact, you could believe that she enjoyed having you around and was proud of having been a part of your upbringing. She was the closest to a mother you ever had, not that you could compare much.
She was calling forth everyone by alphabetical order, you were a few names away from being called you supposed. She was already in the L’s. Lee had been called not too long ago, he had been sorted into Gryffindor.
The girl currently sitting at the stool was sorted into Ravenclaw. She looked pretty, her long, muted-blonde hair swayed as she skipped towards her table. The Ravenclaws merely clapped and nodded, not being too rowdy… unlike the other houses. A few shouted in delight, but not as loud as the Gryffindors or Slytherins whenever a new student was sorted. The boy after was sorted into Hufflepuff, and all too soon —
“Y/N Lupin!” She called out.
Your heartbeat quickened with every step you took towards the stool. She held the hat up, holding it a few inches away from where your head was going to be. As soon as you took a seat, the hat was placed upon your head and you could hear a voice talking to you.
“What’s this? Yes, very fascinating… I see the traits of a Ravenclaw. You value learning and using that knowledge for the expanse of betterment… Ah, but I can tell you value trust and hold it in high regard. You stand up for those who have been treated unfairly, which leads me to your bravery. Tough you are—” It seemed to think something, but quickly it sensed something else. “Oh, but dare I say how resourceful you are. Yes, among you I can see your meticulous mind — how you would use your knowledge and seek it… ”
“Not Slytherin, please not Slytherin,” you muttered under your breath.
The hat stopped halfway through a thought. “Oh, and why’s that?”
“Well, I — I made friends on the Hogwarts Express. They told me how certain they were about the house they would be sorted into, Gryffindor.” You said, bunching up the robes in your hand. “I really like them and I — well I want to be their friend.”
The hat gave a soft sigh, humming a bit before it decided on what to tell you. “True friends will stay with you regardless of house, my dear. Those who judge you for where you’re sorted are nothing but ignorant. Your values that sort you are but a foundation that you have yet to build upon.”
You smoothed down the fabric of the skirt you so desperately clutched. It seemed to ease your mind. It was true, if the boys decided to judge you solely based on your house, then they wouldn’t be true friends. You thought it over quite quickly.
“Okay, I’m ready.”
The hat stayed quiet for a second, his humming growing suspense. “Yes, yes, yes… you’ll do well here. I know it.” Then, all of a sudden, “Slytherin!”
The table adorned with black and green-robed students burst with hissing and cheer. They welcomed you without a second glance. As you walked over to your table, you couldn’t help but look over at the twins. Their faces painted with surprise as they watched you, looked at each other, then towards Lee at the Gryffindor table. You weren’t sure what was running through their heads, you would just have to wait until you met up with them later. That was if they wanted to.
As you made your way to the Slytherin table, you couldn’t help but look at the professors’ table. Something, or rather someone, had caught your eye. A man clad in all black, skin a pale complexion, and shoulder-length dark hair was facing your direction. You locked eyes for just a moment before he began to clap. You were confused but the realization hit as you realized that he was congratulating another student who had been sorted into Slytherin. The girl made her way over to the table and sat down next to you. She gave you a warm smile and you returned it.
You looked back up to the main table, but the man from before was no longer fixated on you, and you decided not to fixate on him any longer either.
- - - - -
“Lee, you jinxed the poor girl!” Exclaimed Fred from the Gryffindor table. He hushed his tone a bit, but he was still rather loud. “Now how are we supposed to plan more jokes if she’s in the other house? She’s on the Slytherin table!”
Lee smacked him lightly over the head. “Don’t be so dense, she can still sit with us. Besides, we have free time after classes and on weekends. Think for once, seriously.”
“Don’t know how you didn’t get sorted into Ravenclaw,” George muttered as he rolled his eyes playfully.
You cleared your throat. “You know, I’m right here.” It had somehow not dawned on either of them that the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables had been seated next to each other, just across the center of the hall were the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs.
Fred, who extended his arm out towards you, feigned you out of reach. “So far, yet so close. I can barely hear her.”
Lee was rubbing his temple, shaking his head disapprovingly. At the same time, George placed his hand over his heart. “Oh, what a pity. Y/N Lupin, gone but never forgotten.”