Two of a Kind

Chapter Six = Hogwarts

(Natalie's PoV)

Natalie was up early the next morning, looking out of her window. She sat indian style on the top of her desk and just stared. She saw a very tired looking Seamus through his window locking his trunk, and running a hand through his not yet brushed hair. Natalie didn't know why she was staring at Seamus, but she did know that she felt a little sorry for pulling a prank on him the night before.

Natalie's mum had been very upset with her at the whole feather incident. When they got home, she had been so angry she had looked ready to hit Natalie, before her dad stepped in. She had started yelling at him instead, and then, when he made it plain that he was ignoring her, gave out a punishment for Natalie.

She was now in charge of keeping the whole house clean. Natalie had thought this totally unfair, and so had her father, but after her mum had stalked off and slammed the door to her bedroom, he had promised to help her out. Natalie had grinned at him, kissed his cheek, and skipped off to her room. How she loved her father!

Her mother had also yelled from inside her bedroom that Natalie was not allowed to leave the house, except for school, and school would be starting soon. Natalie would be attending Dewey Elementary School with the Muggles, and she would be entering the third grade. She was only seven, but she had started earlier than the other kids. Natalie didn't like school much; she had a few friends, but they were very smart and actually paid attention in class, whereas Natalie did not and found school to be boring.

As she watched Seamus smooth out his bedcovers, Natalie felt jealous. She wanted to go to Hogwarts with every part of her being! She didn't like hearing her parents yelling at each other every day, or being stuck in this poor neighborhood. Hogwarts would also be a fun place to learn; instead of arithmetic and grammar, she'd be learning things like Astronomy!

But, unfortunately, she had four years to go. Sighing a bit, she slammed her window and jumped from her desk. She climbed into her twin sized bed and tried to sleep, but she couldn't. Restlessly, she kicked the covers off of her bed, and went back over to the window. Natalie pulled herself out of the window and jumped down. The window was only about three feet above the ground, so when she landed, it didn't hurt.

Natalie knew that if her parents caught her sneaking out, she would be in major trouble, but she didn't care at the moment. Making up her mind, she began to walk around her house and past Seamus'. She would go to the dinky playground for a while and then sneak back in her room before seven o clock.

She had just walked past his house when his voice stopped her dead.

"What are you doing out this early by yourself?" the sandy haired boy demanded. Natalie froze and slowly turned to face him, hands stuck in the pockets of her jeans. Her face was defiant.

She rolled her eyes angrily and then said, "You are not the boss of me!"

"I don't want to be the boss of you!" he retorted just as angrily. "But if you don't go back inside I'll tell your mum."

Natalie rolled her eyes again, and then to Seamus' surprise, grinned. "Why? She doesn't want me anyway. She hates me." It seemed to be true, especially considering her mother's display last night. But that wasn't the first time she had held something against her daughter. For some reason, her mother always was indifferent toward her; just the sight of Natalie walking into a room could cause her eyes to flash. Natalie didn't understand where it came from, because she could remember her mum being loving toward her once upon a time. But now, those moments were rare.

Seamus set down his trunk on his porch then walked down to her. Natalie remained perfectly still as he studied her. "It's because you're annoying," he said finally.

"How'd you get off the feathers off?" she asked, feigning politeness.

"Brat," he said loudly.

"Whatever," she said and she turned back around and began to kick pebbles down the street as she walked quickly away.

She didn't look to see, but she knew Seamus had opened his mouth to respond. Natalie smiled a bit to herself as she knew he wouldn't be able to say whatever he wanted to, because his mum had called to himself from inside the house. She did, however, hear him say, "Natalie's out there by herself."

"Tatteletale!" she yelled at him, and she caught a bit of his triumphant smile before he shut the door to his house.

"Where?" she heard his mum say.

Natalie let out a shriek of frustration and vowed to somehow pay him back for ruining her moment of sneaking out. She dashed to the side of her house where her window was located, and jumped up, grabbing a tight hold of the window panel. She lifted herself inside, and rolled over onto her desk. Then she closed the window and hopped in her bed, pulling the covers tightly around her. She heard the telephone ring a few seconds later, and then someone walked into her bedroom.

She closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. She heard her daddy mutter, "...never would she sneak out...Seamus making things up..."

When he had closed the door, Natalie opened her eyes and stared at the pale blue ceiling, smiling to herself. She had outsmarted Seamus, the annoying little twit.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

(Seamus' PoV)

Seamus could hardly believe his eyes. In front of him, like in a novel, was the largest train he had ever seen in his entire life, gleaming red scarlet. Dark smoke billowed from it, flowing into the brilliant sky. He turned to his mother, standing beside him, staring at the train with a curious expression. No doubt she was reliving her childhood. Cindy, Natalie's mum, was standing there as well, smiling at Seamus. Seamus' dad and Cindy's husband were on Platform 9, as they were Muggles and couldn't get through the barrier.

"What a beauty," said Seamus with a low whistle, and he peeled his eyes away from the train, looking around him. Parents and their children streamed through the barrier continuously, some looking frantic, some looking disgruntled, others looking excited. The older students were chatting happily with their friends, glad to be starting a new year. The dragging of trunks, and screeching of owls reached Seamus' ears, mixing with the steam whistle of the Hogwarts Express.

There was a group of girls giggling and pointing at a group of boys one one side of the platform. There was a mass of people with red hair on another area of the platform, walking quickly toward the train; a boy with a round face who looked very anxious about an object named "Trevor"; Muggle borns looked nervous, and one in particular, a girl with dirty blonde hair wearing a purple jumper caught Seamus' eye for more than a few seconds; an older boy, perhaps a third year, was showing off his Cleansweep Seven to a seventh year with rather trollish looking features.

Seamus felt his own excitement bubbling inside him, and he couldn't wait to get on the train. "Bye mum," he said.

"Oh, now you wait," said his mother, bending slightly so that her face was close to his. "I want you to be good, no getting into trouble, you hear? Also," she continued before he could reply, "remember to brush your teeth and study hard."

"Mum, I won't have to brush my teeth. My wand can do that," said Seamus, and his mum smiled.

"Well, I suppose you're right. Say your prayers each night, owl every week..."

"I might miss the train," Seamus broke in, looking nervously at the train as kids piled in. A raven haired boy with glasses had just stepped onto the train, looking rather nervous as well.

"I love you," she said. With that, she plopped a kiss on both of his cheeks and then, straightening up, she ruffled his hair slightly.

"Mum!" said Seamus, hoping no one saw that; unfortunately, a group of older girls sniggered as they climbed on the train, pointing at Seamus.

Waving, Seamus ran to the train and climbed aboard. He sighed in relief, and began searching for a compartment. He accidentally bumped into a redheaded boy with a bit of dirt on his nose. "Sorry," he muttered quickly. "Do you know where any empty compartments are?"

The boy shrugged. "Everywhere is full, I've checked."

"Well," said Seamus, "let's see if we can't change that."

Both boys began to check compartments. The redheaded boy opened a compartment door and said. "Excuse me? Can I sit here? Everywhere else is full." Seamus could hear a voice reply, but then he heard his own name called.

"Seamus! Come sit in here!" He turned and saw a compartment door open on the other side of the corridor, and he spotted his cousin, Amy Pidgeonfoot, a Hufflepuff fifth year sitting with a group of friends.

Seamus groaned inwardly; Amy would probably rave about how darling he was to her friends. She still hadn't gotten the fact that Seamus did not enjoy being referred to as "a cute little labrodor puppy."

Seamus stepped in the compartment to see Amy, her friends Penelope and Marcie, as well as three boys, whom he didn't know. "Everybody, this is my cousin Seamus," said Amy standing up and shutting the compartment door. "Seamus, you know Penelope and Marcie."

Yeah, he knew them all right. Penelope had long, curly hair and Seamus saw a prefect badge gleaming on her chest. She was also in Ravenclaw and really smart. Marcie, on the other hand was a giggling brunette who laughed at every single thing. She was in Ravenclaw as well, but Seamus thought her to be daft. His cousin Amy was a mixture of the two, personality wise. She was very tall with brown hair and a wide smile.

"This is Gerome, Marcie's boyfriend," Amy introduced. Seamus merely nodded at the squat boy. "That's Percy right there, he's Penelope's friend." Seamus sort of raised his eyebrows; this Percy fellow had red hair, horn rimmed glasses, and a serious expression; Seamus didn't know whether he would like Percy or not.

He had never really known any other real friends outside of Annie and Jack, and once upon a time, Natalie. For the first time since receiving his letter, Seamus was nervous. Would the other kids like him? Would they make fun of him for being a half-blood? Seamus remembered an encounter he had had with a blonde boy about a week ago, who had made a comment about his dad. Also, he hadn't really been exposed to magic during his childhood, would that make him lousy compared to other students?

"Seamus, why don't you tell everyone the story about when you were three and--"

"I don't want to," said Seamus glumly, wishing he could meet kids his own age. Just as he thought that, the door to the compartment swung open. There stood a girl with large front teeth and really bushy hair and behind her a round faced boy who looked as nervous as Seamus felt.

"I was wondering, has anyone seen a toad?" said the girl.

"Why?" said Marcie.

The girl looked at the boy behind her and he said in a small voice, "I lost mine. His name is Trevor."

Seamus stood up so fast the girl started. "Er...I'll help you find him," he said quickly, eager to leave this compartment. "Bye," he said to the others, and he practically shoved the bushy haired girl out of the compartment.

"You stood on my foot," she said, sounding annoyed.

"Sorry about that," he muttered, as she opened the compartment door across the hall and began speaking to the two boys in there, one of them the redhead Seamus had tried to find a compartment with earlier. When the girl closed the door, she shook her head.

"Well, Ron and Harry haven't seen him either," she said to the round faced boy.

"I went to them earlier," he muttered in reply.

"Oh," she said. "Anyway, who are you?" She looked at Seamus curiously.

"Seamus Finnigan. You?"

"I'm Hermione Granger," she said, sticking her chin in the air slightly. "This is Neville." There was a short pause in which the three simply inspected one another. "Well, let's keep searching then,"she said, leading the way down the hall. Seamus and Neville followed.

The three of them searched, and finally Trevor the Toad was found hiding in the loo, right behind the toilet. Then they headed to a compartment comprised of four other people. Seamus prepared himself for another slew of introductions. Indeed, the girl known as Hermione Granger started straight away.

"Everyone, this is Seamus Finnigan. Seamus, meet Eloise Midgen, Hannah Abbott, Mandy Brocklehurst, and Dean Thomas." Hermione seated herself beside Hannah, and reached into a bag on the floor for a book titled Hogwarts, a History. Neville sat down next to her, and closed his eyes; no doubt searching for Trevor had exhausted him.

Seamus sat down next to Dean, who had been chatting happily with the girls when he walked in. "So, where do you come from?" asked Dean.

"Ireland," said Seamus brightly, hoping Dean would be better company than all the girls and Neville. "You?"

"A place," said Dean truthfully. "What do you think Hogwarts' is going to be like?"

Seamus paused and really looked at Dean for a moment. He was a tiny bit shorter than Seamus, and thinner too. He wore a baseball cap on his head backwards and a pair of jeans and a shirt with the West Hams' symbol on the front. "You're Muggle born, aren't you?"

Dean shrugged. "So? You got a problem with that or something?"

"No," said Seamus. "I'm half and half myself."

"Oh," said Dean and his features softened down a bit. "Look, I don't really understand this whole magic thing. I mean, I've known I'm different from people, but it's sort of hard to grasp."

Seamus nodded. "I'll explain things to you if you like."

Hermione spoke up. "I'll pitch in if you leave out anything," she said, and she moved over to them, clutching that book under her arm and sat next to Dean. Seamus looked at her, incredulous. What did she know about the wizarding world that he didn't?

"I'm sure I won't leave out anything, but whatever," said Seamus. With that, he began telling Dean all about the wizarding world, dwelling mainly on Quidditch and how you could just Summon something instead of walking to get it. The girl Hermione kept interrupting, saying, "Yes, but--" but Seamus ignored her until she finally began to read her book, looking extremely put out.

"None of that stuff actually surprises me," Dean said.

"I feel the same way," muttered Hermione behind her book.

"What?" said Mandy Brocklehurst. "You mean, you're Muggle born as well?" SHe looked confused.

"Yes," Hermione responded, somewhat testily. "Why?"

"It's just...you know so much about the wizarding world, we thought you came from a wizarding family, is all," said Eloise Midgen.

"I just read a couple of books," Hermione replied lightly, but Seamus doubted she had read just a few. Exhanging a look with Dean only proved that he wasn't the only one who thought so.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

(Natalie's PoV)

Natalie whistled to herself as she looked at herself in her mirror, running her fingers through her thin hair. She headed over to her closet, then took off the frilly shirt her mother had made her wear for dinner with the Finnigans. She had purposefully knocked over her plate so that spaghetti sauce would get on it, and she wouldn't ever have to wear it again. Her plan had a good one, until Mrs. Finnigan had performed a Scourgify spell on the darn thing.

She threw the shirt into her closet and pulled out a jumper, placing it over her head. When she walked out of her bedroom, it was only to find that her parents were arguing yet again. "I'm going outside," she announced, but they didn't hear her. Shrugging, she opened the front door, and went out anyway.

It was only five o clock, but the sky had darkened a little bit, and Natalie could see a cluster of stars. Natalie had always liked stars; she didn't know why. When she was little and her parent's arguing got to be too much, she always went outside and gazed at the stars. Seamus had once explained to her that when You-Know-Who was in power, people used to look to the stars for hope and wished on them too.

She stared at the stars for a moment, then ran to her favorite oak tree. She climbed up the tree until she was near the top of it, and sat down on a sturdy looking branch. Her gaze traveled to the sky again and to the stars, now shining more clearly.

Smiling, she leaned her head against the trunk of the tree, humming to herself. She was about to close her eyes, when something made a large cracking sound on the tree. Eyes springing open, she looked below. A tall boy with a furious expression on his face was glaring up, throwing rocks up at her.

"Cut it out, Peter!" she demanded, as a rock whizzed past her ear. "You're gonna make me fall!"

"Maybe that'll teach ya' to stop playing pranks on people!" he rasped, hurling a huge rock at her.

Peter Smorton was one of Natalie's classmates at her primary school, and they weren't exactly the best of friends. Peter enjoyed taunting her, and Natalie always played pranks on him, which he certainly didn't like.

Just a week ago, she had tricked him into eating a rotten egg, but that was only because he had stolen her CD player and thrown it into the creek. Apparently, he had been very sick for a couple of days.

"Got better, didn't you?"

"That was mean!" he shouted, cheeks red with anger.

She rolled her eyes. "You threw my CD player into a lake!" she said, loudly.

A rock hit her arm and she squealed. "Keep doing that and I'll do something worse!" she yelled, moving higher up the tree. She had almost settled herself in the tree, but another rock soared at her, hitting her directly in the forehead.

Before the intense pain of this could register, Natalie felt herself lose grip of the branch she had been holding, and fall out of the tree. It was like slow motion; she could see and feel herself falling, and she only thought of how extremely angry at Peter she now was. She closed her eyes to prepare herself for the fall, but it didn't come.

Peter was screaming with terror, and Natalie's eyes popped open. Immediately, a wide grin broke out across her face. She was flying! Well, it was more like levitating, but it was awesome. She looked down at the ground, and at Peter's horrified expression, and then touched her forehead, where the rock had hit her. It hurt horribly, and when she looked at her hand, it was red with blood.

She must have looked a sight, hovering in midair, with blood gushing from her forehead. Peter was still screaming his head off. "What?" she said, smiling. "Is something wrong?" Giggling, she extended her arm to the tree branch and grasped it, climbing back into the tree. "Go away, Peter!" she commanded. And he ran down the street.

Natalie looked back at the stars as she wiped across the cut on her forehead with the back of her hand, trying to swipe away the blood. Grinning, she thanked God for making her a witch.

And Seamus Finnigan, who had just been sorted into Gryffindor, thanked God for making him a wizard.