Secondsies

"Goddamn it. Where the hell is this thing?!" The sisters looked between platforms nine and ten. "It should be right here!" Lane sighed, putting a hand on the elder twin's shoulder.

"Why don't we just walk through the wall then?"

Dillyn raised an eyebrow. "Say what now?"

Lane smiled. "Have some faith, will ya?" She grabbed the other's hand, running toward the wall with their trolley in tow. Dillyn closed her eyes, squeezing Lane's hand, awaiting the inevitable crash that never came. When they stopped moving, she opened her eyes, suddenly surrounded by wizards and staring straight at their train. She smiled. "Is there something you need to tell me?"

Lane looked at the platform floor. "I had another dream."

"Anything I should know about?"

Lane blushed, looking away and grabbing her bag, readying to board the train. "No."

Dillyn shrugged. "Okay." She followed the other on to the train and they filed into one of the many empty rooms. "Nice and cozy. Speaking of, I'll go now. Check out some of the other passengers."

Lane sighed heavily. "Alright, but promise me you'll meet back up here before we reach Hogwarts." Her twin smiled, leaving without a word. "Great." No sooner than she had put her bag up, the door to her compartment opened. "Hello. Do you mind sharing a compartment? Most of the other ones are full." Lane peeked out into the hall and, sure enough, the other rooms had filled in the matter of minutes she had been aboard. She then chose to look at the three who would be imposing on her.

She felt her breath catch as she stared into faces she knew too well: Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, and Harry Potter. Not trusting herself to speak, she silently nodded her assent, the others smiling as they began to sit.

"Hi. My name's Harry. Don't believe I've seen you 'round before." He extended his hand, shaking hers with a firm, but friendly grip.

She finally found her voice, wedged deep down somewhere between her intestines and appendix. "Well, you'll be seeing a lot of me now, I'm sure. I'm Lane. Nice to meet you." She nodded to the other two, trying her best to act like she didn't know who they were, and awaiting introductions.

"Ron, Ron Weasley. And this is Hermione Granger." He smiled before taking a seat and looking out the window, a slightly plump older woman she knew to be Mrs. Weasley was waving her goodbyes to him, her hair the same flaming red as his.

Shortly afterwards, the train started on its sluggish pace towards Hogwarts. Lane asked all the right questions, trying her best not to mention things she couldn't possibly know, having just met them. Dillyn never did resurface, leaving Lane feeling uneasy. Partway through their journey, Harry and Hermione had been called away by some new professor whose name eluded her, leaving Lane and Ron alone in the compartment, scrounging for things to talk about. They were nearly at the Hogwarts station when Hermione returned, alone.

"Where's Harry?" Ron looked out past her, expecting to see their other friend only a few steps behind. Hermione mentioned something about Harry running off, probably trying to figure out what Malfoy's new scheme was. Just hearing Draco's name made Lane shiver involuntarily. At times she swore she could still feel his breath on her neck and whispers in her ear. She then had to remind herself that it had all been a dream and none of it had, or possibly would, happen.