" GRYFFINDOR! "
The students from the Gryffindor table screamed and cheered with so much energy. The twins and their friend motioned for the girl to come over to their spot whilst yelling. It was as if they won some kind of grand international competition that happens once every 10 years.
Anastasia stood up from the chair and walked over to the Gryffindor table. The twins tapped the space between them, urging them to sit down and congratulating them as she did so.
Anastasia felt glad. The house of Gryffindor is the house that she looks up to the most. But on the other hand, Slytherin...
She turned around and looked at her friends at the other table, finding that they have been staring at her all the time. Upon noticing her, Theodore immediately looked away with a careless look while Pansy and Draco just gave her a hesitant smile. The two also looked away once their housemates began taking to them.
Her school guardians had different reactions. Snape looked very disappointed. It wasn't obvious to most people but the little girl has lived with him long enough to notice this. Professor McGonagall looked relieved. While Dumbledore, looked obviously happy. He had a bright smile on his face as he noticed the little girl.
Anastasia felt that there was something wrong with her body. Her heart ached as she looked away. It was an uncomfortable feeling.
" Thank Merlin you ended up in Gryffindor! Now we won't have to secretly sneak out of our house just to meet up with you! ", Fred said as he leaned his arm on the younger girl's shoulders.
" We should go to Hogsmeade to celebrate. ", said George.
Lee Jordan was about to agree with them until he remembered something. " She's not in 3rd year yet, you two. "
" Oh seriously. ", Fred pulled the three closer and whispered. " We can always sneak her out. ", He said with a wink.
The three laughed together at that, already starting to come up a plan on how to do that. Anastasia can only smile at that before letting out a light laugh.
Anastasia glanced around the table and coincidentally catched eyes with Harry who was doing the same. They both gave each other a smile before going back to their business.
The foods looked nice. But for some reason, Anastasia couldn't find it in herself to eat much. The aching sensation in her heart still hasn't disappeared, and it was taking up her appetite. She can only listen to the others and make small talks as time passed by.
After dinner, Percy Weasley, the twins' and Ron's older brother, led them to their house. They also encountered Peeves on their way but almost everything pretty much became a blur for Anastasia. She was aware enough to rembe the password to their dorm.
Last thing she knew, lights were off and she was on her bed, drifting off to sleep. She didn't even get to know her dorm mates.
[<>]
Fred, George, and Lee were serious after all.
Anastasia woke up from her slumber as she felt something light tapping her cheeks and eyelids. As she slowly opened her eyes, she came to notice the strange thing floating in front of her.
A paper spell?
She carefully rubbed her eyes and took a better view of the thing in front of her. It was a paper butterfly. Once it noticed that the girl was now fully awake, it circled her twice before flying out of the room through the small space underneath the door.
Anastasia groggily climbed out of her head and followed the paper spell out of the room, still in her night gown. Thankfully, it had long sleeves so she didn't bother taking a coat with her.
She arrived at the Gryffindor Common Room where the paper spell led her. It floated a bit more towards the couch at the middle before settling down. There sitting on the couch were three people.
Fred, George, and Lee.
What are they doing here?
" You... Called? ", Anastasia asked, still sleepy.
" Yeah, let's go. ", Said Fred as he held her hand and walked out of the Gryffindor Dorms with George and Lee.
Anastasia was now fully awake with how these three seemed to be dragging her somewhere without her consent. Is she honestly getting kidnapped on her first day in Hogwarts as a student? " Hold on, where are you taking me? "
" Why, to Hogsmeade of course. "
Anastasia now understood the situation. She thought they were just joking about it earlier. " Are you sure we should be doing this? What if we get caught? "
The three just laughed together.
" Awww don't worry Miss Glasswater, you have your knights in shining armor with you. ", George joked.
It became silent after that as they passed by corridors. Anastasia doesn't know where she was being taken but she ket herself be dragged by Fred. She doesn't have the energy to protest.
Luckily, they weren't able to encounter anyone or cute little Miss Norris.
After a few minutes of walking, they somehow ended up at the quidditch field. They then entered some kind of storage room. It was filled with multiple brooms.
" Do you know how to ride a broom? ", Fred asked.
Anastasia shook her head.
George and Lee suddenly started giggling. " That's okay, you can join Fred. ", said George.
Fred glared at the two and rolled his eyes before hopping onto a broom and gesturing the younger girl to climb to it. " You'll learn how to ride brooms soon. Everyone learns it in their first year here at Hogwarts. Maybe you'll even joking the Quidditch Team. ", Fred said. " Oh here, take my coat. It's chilly out here and you don't have a coat with you. ", he added.
Anastasia thanked him before wearing it. It was warm and cuddly. She might need to force herself to stay away or else she'll end up falling asleep while they flew. She definitely doesn't want to open her eyes to see herself falling to the ground.
She adjusted herself for a bit before they set off. Soon after, they could see the entirety of Hogwarts from above. She couldn't help but shuffle closer to the boy in front of her on order to cover herself from the wind.
The ginger haired boy with rounder eyes attempted to glance at her without moving his head but couldn't do much. The other two have gone ahead of them." Are you still cold? "
" A bit. More sleepy than anything. ", Anastasia answered as she continued to gaze below them.
Fred let out a snort at that. " Don't sleep yet. You will fall off. "
" Mhm... "
It was hard not to fall asleep. The calming sound of the wind passing through them, the sound of leaves moving from the trees, and the warm temperature of the boy in front of her urged her to sleep.
At some point while they were flying, Fred took her hand and squeezed it once in a while to keep her awake.
Soon after they were able to arrive at Hogsmeade. George and Lee were already waiting there. They seemed to be discussing something and began giggling once more when the two arrived.
" Will you two stop giggling? Honestly beginning to creep me out. ", Fred commented.
Anastasia looked around the slightly empty streets. There are quite a few people left wandering outside, and only a few shops were left open. But it's still a sight to behold.
She then felt and arm wrap around her neck and shoulders. She looked up and found Fred once more. He appeared slightly annoyed as he began to pull her away from the two. " Let's just go, Anna. These two are out of their minds. "
" What's wrong? "
" Nothing much. Just them making pointless jokes. ", said Fred. The fact that Fred is capable of getting annoyed by his friend and twin's jokes made her quite suspicious.
They entered a small shop. They were immediately greeted by the soft fragrance of different kinds of drinks and desserts. On the left shelf were a bunch of cakes and cupcakes, the right shelf held cookies, biscuits, and just small snacks. While on the counter were a bunch of drinks like coffee, tea, juice, and wine.
Fred smiled at her once he noticed the amazed expression on her face. " Let's buy what you want. My treat. ", he said as he brought out a heavy looking pouch.
Together with Fred's help, they ended up buying four butterfly cupcakes, four cups of cobble bean coffees, and a bag of chocolate cookies. They got out of the together and walked to where their feet would take them. They stopped by a bench overlooking some shops at Hogsmeade and waited for the other two to find them while they talked.
" So he's nice around you? "
" I guess you could say that. I've visited their house before and they had lots of books about pureblood supremacy. I guess that's just how he got influenced. But he was very nice before that, quite arrogant but still nice. He just changed a bit due to the people around him. "
Fred gave an understanding nod. " Then that means you don't have to worry about him distancing himself from you. If he truly sees you as a friend, he'd stay regardless of what house you ended up in. Same goes to your other Slytherin friends. "
Anastasia felt comforted at that. It's true, despite their ruthless facade, they're actually nice.
Finally, the two were able to find them. They plopped down to their bench and began complaining about looking for them for an hour.
" Seriously, where did you two even run off to? ", Lee asked as he took a cookie and dipped it in his cup of coffee.
" We just went to buy some snacks from a shop then wandered around for a bit before deciding to rest here. ", said Anastasia.
" Thanks for buying this for us though. You two picked out goods ones. ", George said, mouth full of butterfly cupkace and cookies.
The four were able to have a wonderful time that night. For Anastasia, it was a warm welcome to Hogwarts. To others, it's their warm welcome for their group's new member.
[<>]
Anastasia woke up with a headache. After her time with her friends, she immediately went to sleep as soon as she got onto her bed. Then while she was sleeping, multiple detailed memories suddenly came flashing through her mind. It was too much for her to handle and she ended up waking up earlier that usual.
Due to the headache, she couldn't find a way to fall asleep once more. So instead, she just got herself ready for school.
Besides, those memories... Are definitely something.
Something big.
They were way too detailed. And it seemed to show her what will happen this school year. It'll definitely be a big help for her.
" Feeling unwell? ", Fred asked from beside her at the Great Hall.
The twins had also started up early just like her, saying something about preparing for their pranks.
" I guess so. Just a sudden headache. ", Anastasia replied.
" You should go visit Madam Pomfrey then. She can heal you fastly and easily. ", said Fred.
" I will later. "
The two went back to eating after that. George has also come back holding a parchment. Inside was a written ' plan '. The twins excitedly chatted about it while the younger girl listened quietly.
She better start to think of what to do now. But she needs to be secretive while doing so. As much as she wants to help Harry, she would like to do it in the backgrounds. He has Hermione, it should be easy for her to understand the clues that she will give them.
And that Professor...
What a two-faced bastard. Literally.
Anastasia felt shivers up to her spine when she remembered the horrifying image of a face behind Professor Quirrel. How does that thing even manage to breathe properly? If it even does.
" You cold? ", asked Fred.
Anastasia shook her head. " No. Just remembered something horrifying. "
" Tell me about it. ", said George.
" Good morning. ", someone said. It was Lee, who has just arrived. It seemed like a few students have also started filling up the tables while they were eating.
" Good morning, Lee. ", said the three.
" I encountered Mrs. Norris on my way here. Merlin, that cat is so annoying. Kept hissing at me and attempted to scratch me while I walked past her. ", Lee explained.
The school staff began walking in and taking their seats. They conversed with each other as they waited for the Headmaster to arrive. One particular professor, was glancing around nervously.
He covered the back of his head as he felt himself getting glared by someone. He looked at Snape, but found the man to be busy glaring at Potter. The intense glare is still there. He looked at the students, but once he did, the glare immediately disappeared.
Instead, he found a bright looking child sending a strange smile at him. He suddenly felt like walking out.