Heirs

"I don't want to go," Brea stated for the fourth time in the last half hour, tugging on the inside of her red robes as they stood in the train station. Gertrude pulled on the princess's hood from her head, the quarter giant smiling down at her. The young girl was well aware she had to go. Disobeying her parent's orders was an obvious no.

"I know you don't," Gertrude frowned, "But you'll be back for the winter holidays, and you could look forward to something then."

"And what's that?"

"You'll get to attend your first ball."

Brea's eyes lit up as if it were Christmas. Her first ball. In her short life, she hadn't been allowed to go to the ceremonies. She was often told that balls were for adults, not for children. Although Gertrude had snuck her out a handful of times in order to let Brea have a glimpse of the festivities.

Her fascination with the gowns worn by princesses from far off lands would amaze Brea. She was jealous! Her earliest memory was from the Princess of Wales. She remembered staring at the white and gold embroidered gown with pointed peplums and a full-length chiffon skirt as the possessor glided on the dance floor with her husband.

The train whistled, signaling that it was time for the last goodbyes.

"Can I please not go?"

"I'll see you during your winter holidays," she said, a small smile on Gertrude lips as she motioned for her to board the train. The caretaker half-listened to the petulant princess as she made her way inside.

Nervously, with her heartbeat thumping against her chest, Brea walked down the aisle in hopes to find an empty compartment. The corridor was full, students attempting to find their own friends. She got pushed a couple of times, albeit by accident.

Still, her personal space was being invaded and she wasn't too fond about that. Walking by a few more, she spotted two familiar faces. Knocking was a pleasantry she had been forced to learn the past couple of weeks, and she put it into good use there. She slid the door open.

"Martin, William," she smiled politely, restraining herself from bowing.

"Kaylin," they greeted in unison.

"Brea," she corrected, "I'm going by Brea. Do you mind if I join both of you?"

Both princesses nodded, and Brea thanked them. The train began to move, and as she looked outside the window, she saw a teary eyed Gertrude waving goodbye at her. A frown marred on her face as the train moved farther and farther away from the station, she sunk into her seat.

It was an odd situation for all three royals, staying silent for about an hour. Brea had never really been by herself. Usually she was always by Gertrude's side, making sure she didn't cause any trouble.

"Are you two nervous about doing this school thing?" Brea asked, looking over at the twins.

"Nah," William lightheartedly responded with a small shrug. "It's exciting, I'm thinking about joining the Quidditch team!" Martin said nothing, his nose stuck in a book. Brea was a little jealous. At the end of the day, William and Martin had each other to confide in while at Hogwarts, and she didn't.

Right after, the compartment door slide open with a bang, startling all three.

"Has anyone seen a toad?" A girl with brown bushy hair and a slightly demanding tone said. "A boy named Neville lost it and she can't find it."

"We haven't," Martin spoke up, eyes still stuck in his book.

"Well if you see it, please tell me or the other boy," she said confidently. The girl was about to step out before Brea suddenly intervened.

"Would you like some help?"

Bushy haired girl took one good look at Brea, who didn't really like the look, and nodded. "An extra pair of eyes would be great," the girl said. "You might want to change into your robes though."

Nodding in agreement, Brea grabbed her school robes and went to change. She needed to get away from William and Martin; feeling like their silence was going to kill her.

After returning and putting her clothes away, she followed the girl.

"I'm Hermione Granger by the way," the girl introduced herself as they walked out. "What's your name?"

"Brea Gotha," the princesses responded, "What does the toad look like?"

Stopping in the middle of the aisle, Hermione took another good look at her. "You have an accent, are you from the northern parts of the UK?" She inquired, completely ignoring the question about the toad.

"Yes," Brea lied through her teeth. She should've asked where she would pretend to be from, but she hadn't thought to ask. Now she had to remember she had said Northern England.

They kept walking through compartments, and Brea just let Hermione take the lead since she didn't know what the toad even looked like.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said as she slid open another door. Taking a peek inside, she instantly recognized the bags and wraps of candies on the floor. Acid pops, canary cream, chocolate frogs, exploding bon-bons and so much more!

Gawking at the candies, she finally noticed the two boys sitting between it all.

"Oh, are you doing magic?" Hermione asked, taking a seat across from the boys. "Let's see then."

Brea took a seat next to Hermione, her attention focused on all the candy. Her mother would have a near heart attack if she saw all of this. She remembered the queen loosing her calms when she saw the king making apple pasties in the kitchen with Brea one night.

The boys in front of her were thin. One of them, the redhead Hermione asked if he was doing magic, had freckles aligned on his face with a dopey expression. At least Brea thought it was dopey.

The other had clothes that were four times bigger than his size, dark black hair and green emerald eyes behind his broken glasses. He offered Brea a chocoball after he caught her gaze lingering on them. She smiled and thanked him for it.

The redhead spewed some words while swishing his wand against his rat. "Sunshine, daisies butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow." It failed; Hermione then went on about practicing some spells back at her home.

"Who are you then," the redhead pointed at Brea.

"Brea Gotha," she introduced herself. Normally someone else presented her first. "And you both?"

"Ron Weasley," red said.

"Harry Potter," the other.

Brea vaguely heard Hermione gasp as she ate her candy, going o about a scar. Eventually, Harry showed the girls. Truly, she had no idea who he was. The name rang a bell, but Brea couldn't be too sure.

"Well, we must be off, we have a toad to find," Hermione said as she stood up. "You have dirt," she told Ron. He cleaned it and Hermione walked out.

"Sorry about her," Brea apologized. "I haven't known her for long but she can be a little..." She didn't know how to finish the sentence.

"Annoying?" Ron finished.

"She's not that bad," Brea said. Pointing at Harry's broken glasses, she asked if she could give them a look. Reluctantly, he did. Pulling out her wand, she tapped the glasses, mumbled the spell and his glasses were fixed.

"Thank you for the chocoball," she said, handing his glasses back to him as she stood. "They're actually my favorite. Goodbye."

For the next two hours, Hermione and Brea looked for the toad. She had finally met Neville. He seemed nice, although forgetful and klutzy. The toad was found near a bathroom, and each returned to their compartments.

William and Martin and already readied themselves into their robes and were staring out the window. She followed their actions. Back home, she was hardly able to view such scenery. The castle was surrounded by the large city, so this view was lovely to her. It was a crisp sunny day in England, as the sun began to set. Too entranced to say anything, she kept quiet.

"It's nice out there," Martin whispered.

William nodded in approval, "I think I can get used to a open range, ride a broom without Mama telling me that it'll ruin the family name."

Martin rolled his eyes. "She's never said that! She's worried you would ruin your clothes, you always get them so dirty!"

The twins began to bicker once more, this time making Brea giggle. After a while, they both stopped with a huff.

"I can't really say that we know you, after interacting with you for such a long time," Martin said, arching his eyebrow as his twin agreed. "We are going to be in in the same school for the following years, and then we will have to rule our own countries, maybe we should use this time to get to know each other."

She thought about it, realizing it was true. The kingdoms shared a special relationship, much like the Canada and the United Kingdom. Both countries depended on each other for resources, even if they didn't always see eye to eye.

"Okay," she responded. "What kind of things do you want to know about me?"

"Well for me, my favorite band is Basilisk's Venom," William said with a shrug. "What's your favorite band?"

Brea gasped in excitement. "You like them too? I love them, aren't they the best?"

With equal excitement, William's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "Yeah! We have to go to a concert one of these days!" He didn't think Brea would actually like them. "And call me Will, I like Will."

Martin frowned, looking between his twin brother and the princess.

"You two are going to get in trouble if you go to a concert like that," he said, arms crossed.

"Oh stop being such a goody-two shoes Martin," The twin whined. "Have some fun, won't you? He'd rather spend his time hearing muggle music like Mozart or Beethoven." Will rolled his eyes, pointing at Martin over hi shoulder with his thumb as he directed the last comment to Brea.

"Classical music is great," Martin interrupted, "And I am not a goody-two shoes, I am perfectly content following the rules! And had you paid attention in our private classes, you would have learned that Beethoven was not a muggle!"

Once more, they began to bicker, and Will had shoved Martin slightly. Unimpressed, Martin only crossed his arms and away from his brother. The atmosphere felt less tense, and Brea admitted that she and Will had a lot more in common that she had originally thought.

When the train slowed down, all three scrambled to look out the window.

A castle was situated behind a large lake with its lights lit up. Brea couldn't help but grin. Was her castle twice as big? Yes. But she admitted that it was much more beautiful than hers. It looked like the stone needed to be scrubbed, but it was still beautiful.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" A giant yelled, motioning for the younger ones to follow him.

It had taken the three some time to get off since loads of students trying to get off too. Brea took in a deep breath when she finally had some personal space. Her personal space bubble was continuously being intruded into, and she could tell that the twins were off put by it too.

"C'mon, follow me – any more firs' years? Mine yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

The travel through the like was silent. Brea was in awe. The night sky was beautiful, and all three royals gazed at the stars. The preteen hadn't seen starts in over four years, and couldn't help but keep her eyes on them.

Arriving at the entrance with the other first years, a woman introduced herself as Professor McGonagall. She let them to the Great Hall. Brea heard Hermione yak about the enchantment on the ceiling. Brea wondered if she could get this down to her room.

The sorting started. Brea's hands started to sweat and she rubbed them against her robe. She hadn't known there would be a sorting process.

"Abbott, Hannah," McGonagall announced after she opened a lengthy parchment. A girl stumbled out of the small crowd of first years, cheeks flushed as she made her way towards the stool. The hat yelled Hufflepuff.

The princess wanted nothing more than to run away. Crowds that had her as the center of attention was not her thing. Her palms, much like they already were, would sweat and her stomach would feel queasy.

Three more students went before it was the twin's turn.

"Brougham, Martin."

Martin looked unfazed as he sat on the stool, making Brea a little bit jealous. It took a good minute for him to be sorted. Martin's furrowed his eyebrows, as if the had was talking to him.

It yelled Ravenclaw.

Seemingly happy with the choice, Martin made his way towards the cheering table.

"Brougham, William."

Glancing at Brea with a quick smile, Will made his way to the stool. It had barely touched his head before it yelled Hufflepuff. The list continued, eventually making it Hermione's turn.

"Good luck," Brea said with thumbs up. Hermione acknowledged the gesture with a smile as she made over. She had been sorted into Gryffindor.

"Gotha, Brea."

It felt like her stomach lurched, her hands clutched tightly on her robes as she made her way towards the stool. She had no idea where she would be placed.

If anything, she thought to herself, I'll be placed in Hufflepuff with Will. It was a nice thought if she was sorted into a house where she knew someone. Brea tried to not focus on the countless of eyes that were on her.

Then the hat began to hiss at her.

"Gotha, she said?" The hat murmured for only her to hear, mulling over its words. "It's been centuries since I've placed one of your kind."

My kind? Does that thing even mean? She thought to herself.

"I'm not a thing," it responded spitefully, offended. "I'm the Sorting Hat."

Brea looked up in attempt to glare at the hat, deeply hoping no other student or professor was able to hear the hat.

"Ah, just like your many greats-grandfather Braint," it said. "He was a Slytherin, but you must have already known that."

Brea hadn't. The Hat laughed haughtily, startling the girl. Her hands grabbed onto the sides of the stool, her fingernails digging into the wood.

"Placing you in Slytherin would be the most obvious choice, but things have changed in half-a-century," the hat hissed. "You're a different kind of Heir."

The room was unusually quiet, and McGonagall cleared her throat. Brea couldn't help but hear the whispers, even if she couldn't decipher what they were saying.

"It's only your destiny to figure out who you really, but for now – GRYFFINDOR!"