Jason and Romina

Jason and Romina - Chapter two

Jason leaned across the seat and squeezed Juliana's hand. They were both in their school robes and riding the Hogwarts Express. Jason noticed the nostalgic look in Juliana's eyes as she gazed blankly out at the rushing countryside.

"You all right, Jules?" he asked quietly. Juliana looked at him and smiled weakly.

"I'm all right, Jay. Just a bit homesick, I suppose," she answered softly. She sighed, shrugged, and turned to stare out of the window again.

Jason gave her hand another squeeze and said, "Hey, don't worry. You'll get over it soon. Watch, by next week you'll love Hogwarts so much that you won't even want to come home!" He grinned, and she smiled back.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" came a boisterous bellow, followed by a, "Oh, shut up, you insufferable git." Jason and Juliana laughed as their cousins, Rodney and Rachel Weasley, tumbled noisily into their compartment.

"Oi, Rod, what do you have there?" Jason asked while interestedly eying the pile of sweets Rodney was carrying. Rod grinned impishly, much like either his Uncle Fred or Uncle George.

"Well," he began in a business-like manner, "I've got a dozen and two Pumpkin Pasties, nearly two dozen Cauldron Cakes, possibly a hundred Chocolate Frogs, a score of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans..."

"What did you do to the candy witch? Hold her at wand point? That's nearly everything she had!" Jason laughed as Rodney began to unload his booty onto the seat. Juliana stared hungrily at the lot of sweets while licking her lips. Rachel rolled her eyes exasperatedly.

"The stupid prat just about spent all his money on his bloody appetite. Now we'll have to bother Mum for some gold. She's not going to be happy with us, Rod," she lectured.

Rodney and Rachel were identical in appearance, but their personalities proved that even twins could have their own personalities. They both had the famous Weasley red hair. Rodney wore his curly mop long, letting his bangs flop constantly in his eyes. He was built exactly like his father; he was tall and lanky and, at this awkward stage in his life, didn't exactly know what to do with his long limbs. He had lovely brown eyes and a smile that made the girls of Gryffindor tower swoon. He was constantly getting into harmless mischief, but he could usually sweet-talk his way out of harsh punishments. He was the pride of his father and the loving despair of his mother, who taught his Arithmancy class.

Rachel, on the other hand, was the complete personification of perfect behavior, or so it seemed. She worked hard on her lessons and was usually at the top of her class. She was respectful toward her teachers and polite to the other adults of Hogwarts. Nobody ever expected the sweet Rachel Weasley for the vomit-flavored beans in Snape's stew or the disgruntled clan of garden gnomes in the Divination tower. All she had to do was put a concerned look on her innocently freckled face as her angelic red curls swirled around her shoulders while she asked how she could help.

Rodney smiled warmly at his twin sister, "Don't worry, Rach. Mum won't yell at us. We'll just owl Dad for some gold. Mum needn't ever know!" Rachel rolled her eyes yet again, but smiled just the same.

"All right then, Rod," she smiled all-knowingly, "You write to Dad and ask him for a few Galleons. And if you get a Howler, and I know you will, I'll laugh my bloody arse off!" Both Rodney and Jason burst out into gales of laughter while Juliana beamed admiringly at her cousin. The younger girl idolized Rachel for her intelligence, humor, and for the spectacular way she dealt with her brother.

"Okay, I want..." Juliana began, and then shouted, "Shut up laughing you guys! I'm hungry and I want some of that food!" The older kids took one look at Juliana's stern little face and erupted into hysterical laughter once more. Juliana sighed impatiently and launched herself onto Rodney's pile of goodies.

* * *

Romina slouched in her seat on the train, her forehead pressed against the cool glass of the window. Her silky blonde hair was pulled up into a bun with a few strands hanging uselessly in her face.

"Cow," she murmured as the Hogwarts Express passed by a cattle farm. Romina was enjoying the peace and quiet of her solitude. But she should have known that the little happiness this brought wouldn't last. Her compartment door slid open and there stood Candice Flint, Candy to her peers, and Rock Candy to the young males of Slytherin tower. Her white blonde curls were pulled back into a ponytail held by a stain green ribbon. Her olive green eyes lingered on Romina's slouched frame in slight disgust.

"Hello, Romy," she greeted her fellow Slytherin, "How was your summer holiday?" she inquired in what she thought was a friendly tone. Romina never knew whether she should trust Candy or not. Candy always seemed to be friendly with her, that is, when she wasn't being attacked for her acceptance of Muggle-borns. Candy was usually among the people who sneered at her as she staunchly defended her opinions. Despite this, Romina treated Candy like a friend, seeing as she was the only one she had.

"Not bad," Romina lied, "How was yours?" Candy smiled and sauntered in, her robes swishing as she walked.

She tossed her head and fluttered her eyelashes before she finally answered, "Fantastic! Daddy took me to a few Quidditch games, and then Mummy took me shopping in Knocturn Alley for my birthday. I got the cutest little swimsuit for our trip to the shore. D'you think that if I wore it in the Common Room that Aaron would notice me? Romy, you're brother is so dreamy! Maybe we could go swimming in the lake tonight. We'd probably get in so much trouble..." Romina sighed while she leaned back in her seat and pretended to listen to Candy's rambling.

Romina wished that her life could be as happy and carefree as all the other normal teenagers. She remembered reading about the Potters in Witch Weekly. Harry Potter was still one of the most famous wizards in the world, what with defeating the Dark Lord Voldemort once as a baby and then again in his seventh year at Hogwarts. On top of all that he was now an extremely popular Auror, one of the best in his field. He had a loving wife and two wonderful children. Romina had seen pictures of Jason and Juliana. They were always smiling, and not the fake smiles that models wore, but purely happy smiles. Romina envied Juliana for having such a sweet older brother like Jason. She had spotted Jason in the corridors at school and even had a few classes with him. She admitted to herself a while ago that she had a crush on the popular Gryffindor Beater, but never dared to let anyone know. She didn't even write about him in her diary, in fear that someone would see it. If her parents found out that she liked a Gryffindor it would be disastrous for her, especially if they found out that the Gryffindor happened to be Harry Potter's son. Her parents, like most Death Eaters, hated Harry Potter with a vengeance. After all, he did kill their Master, as well as put many of their kind in Azkaban for life.