A Little Bit of Love and Laughter

I sauntered to the wall between the two platforms, just as Severus had instructed, but I didn’t see how in a million years I would be able to get through that wall, unharmed, nonetheless. As I neared closer to where I was supposed to be, a red-haired family of about seven caught my eye.

“File in, file in,” the mother said, ushering the six children over to the wall. “Bill, you first. Then Percy. Go on now; let’s not keep everyone waiting.”

The two boys who looked the oldest went through the wall, one after the other. The youngest boy, after watching his brothers pass through, began to sulk.

“Don’t fret, Ronald. Only two more years, and you’ll be off to school, too,” said the woman. She then turned to the twin boys and continued, “Go on, Fred, George.”

By this point, my eyes had met with those of one of the twins, who smiled and said, “No; ladies first.”

I turned a light shade of pink as I slowly neared the wall, attempting to mimic what the two older boys had done. Closing my eyes, taking a deep breath, and bracing myself, I ran between the platforms.

Expecting to hit the wall violently, I was shocked to feel my body being sucked in through the brick, and when I reopened my eyes, there was a large scarlet train in front of me where the wall had once been.

I pushed my trolley down the platform, hoping to see a compartment with an empty seat. I was distracted by the unfamiliarity of it all, the strange new sights and sounds, the unfamiliar faces of students and parents.

There was a girl with short blond hair hugging a tearful mother and father.

“Violet, don’t forget to write at least once a week, please,” said the girl’s father. “You know how your mother tends to get.”

“Don’t worry about me, Mum. I’ll be okay,” Violet said, patting her mother comfortingly on the back. “I’ll write a lot, and I’ll be back soon. You’ll hardly even notice I’m gone.”

The father took his wife’s hand and made his own attempt to comfort her, “You’d better go, Vi. They look like they’re loading the train.”

She nodded, hugged them each once more, and shouted, “Love you!” before running off to the train.

Other students were running just as she was to find a seat, and I realized that it was not likely for me to find a very good seat at this point. I climbed aboard the train, baggage in tow, and searched for even a decent compartment. By now, most of them were full. As I neared the end of one of the last compartments, I saw the redheaded twins from the platform.

“Mind if I –?” I began, but the one boy grabbed my arm and pulled me inside. He then turned to the other, instructing him to close the door.

“Sorry about that,” the first twin said with a smile, allowing me my own seat across from them.

“You see,” the second continued, “Fred and I, we’re kind of amateur pranksters.”

“Planted a dungbomb outside the compartment.”

“Meant to surprise those bloody Slytherins.”

“Wouldn’t want you to get caught in that rubbish.”

At that moment, there was a slight explosion from just outside the compartment followed by a fit of shrieks and screams.

The twins grinned, priding themselves on their successful prank. The one looked to me and, sticking his hand out, said, “By the way, I’m Fred Weasley; this is my brother, George.”

“Emily Prince,” I replied, shaking his hand.

“Prince?” George repeated. “Think Dad worked with a bloke named Prince at the Ministry, but one day he –”

“Died, yeah,” I finished.

“Sorry.”

I shot him a sad smile. “S’okay.”

Fred broke the somewhat uncomfortable silence that followed. “Well, no worries, Em. You can hang with us; we’ll be best mates.”

Chuckling, I replied, “Jumping the gun a bit now, aren’t we?”

“What?”

“Best mates?”

Fred and George smirked and replied in unison, “You never know.”