Chapter 1

A Chapter by E. Kang

September 1st: a day that Sage and Rachel Olliver have both come to love. The day that the Hogwarts Express leaves for Hogwarts. With their mother yelling at them to hurry up so that they don't miss the train, the sisters got all their belongings together and hurried over to Platform 9 3/4. It was Sage's fourth year at Hogwarts and Rachel's third year. Both girls ran through the wall and said a quick goodbye to their parents. It was 10:58am; they had arrived with two minutes to spare.

Boarding the train, Sage and Rachel separated, searching for their friends. Sage found Stacy Moore almost instantly. Stacy had saved their usual compartment just for them. No one else was allowed to enter, and no one had ever tried. Giggling, Sage pointed out good-looking sixth years, and Stacy rolled her eyes, pushing Sage into the compartment and sliding the door shut. They sat down, ready to talk. The girls had written to each other all summer, but they kept the important things out so that they could talk about in person.

Sage and Stacy were best friends, although they were in different houses. Sage had been sorted into Gryffindor and Stacy had been sorted into Ravenclaw. They had met at Ollivander's wand shop when they were mere first years, and had been inseparable ever since. Over the past three years, the girls had forged an unbreakable bond. They were the best of friends.

"Staaace, I'm so hungry," whined Sage. "When do you think the trolley will come?" Stacy shrugged and said, "When the train starts moving, the trolley will start its rounds." Sage groaned. As if on cue, the train started to move. Sage's hunger was a sharp pain in her stomach; she hadn't been able to eat because her mother had yelled at her to hurry up the entire morning.

Sighing, Sage sprawled onto the seat and closed her eyes.

"So, what's gone on this summer, Stacy?" she asked, ready to talk to Stacy about her problems and listen to Stacy vent about her summer. Sage sat up and opened her eyes as Stacy started to tell her of the past summer's events.

"Mum and Dad have gotten worse. We got into an argument again, and I swear that this time they almost used the Cruciatus Curse on me for saying no. I don't know what's gotten them so stressed. You-Know-Who has been gone, I don't get why they keep telling me to join the Death Eaters." Stacy's parents were both Death Eaters. Having grown up in such an evil atmosphere, Stacy should have been sorted into Slytherin and turn out to be just like her parents, but somehow Stacy grew up to be clever and able to see only the good in people, except for her parents and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Stacy was an exceptionally strong girl. As much as she wanted to, she never told anyone except Sage what her parents truly were.

"Stacy, you need to leave that house. Stay with me if you have to, but you can't go back home." Sage said, the familiar pang of sorrow shooting through her. Sage had family problems, but they were nothing compared to what Stacy went through. Stacy sighed.

"I can't drag you into this, Sage. If my parents ever found out I told you, they'd kill you." Stacy said, running her hands through her hair. Determined to change the subject, Stacy mentioned that this year should be made into the best year yet. She had said that over and over for the past three years, but never did anything to make it happen.

Sage didn't want to change the subject; she wanted to help her best friend, but just as she opened her to say something, their compartment door slid open and Draco Malfoy stepped in. The usual sneer on his face dropped when he saw Stacy. Something flashed across his face, but it was gone before Sage could register what it was. Clearing his throat, Draco straightened up, the sneer back on his face.

"Wrong compartment," he said, stepping back out and leaving without closing the door. Sliding the door shut, Sage turned and gave Stacy a look.

"So, what's going on with you and Malfoy?" she asked. "He had a funny look on his face when he saw you. Anything happen over summer?" Stacy and Draco had known each other since early childhood due to the fact that their parents were both involved in the Dark Arts. Stacy shook her head.

"We wrote to each other a little, but not much. His father must be bugging him about something, because Draco seemed agitated and stopped writing back. He knows I'm worried about him. And he still doesn't acknowledge me in public. My family and I even went over to their house once this summer, but we barely talked." Stacy explained. Sage knew Stacy had feelings for Draco even though Stacy had never actually said that she did.

The squeak of the food trolley interrupted the girls' talk. Sage grabbed a handful of Galleons and bolted out the door. Unfortunately, she didn't see that there were people right outside her compartment and plowed straight into two boys, Galleons scattering everywhere. Apologizing profusely, Sage scrambled around, gathering up her coins. Two pairs of hands helped her pick up the fallen money, and then took her by the arms and helped her up. She looked up at the identical faces of the boys she had run into: the Weasley twins. She had heard of their pranks and seen them occasionally around the Gryffindor common room, but other than that, she had never talked to them before or seen their pranks in action.

Sage blushed and stammered out several apologies while the twins looked at her in amusement. They handed her the Galleons they had picked up and smiled at her, kindly saying that it wasn't her fault. As they walked off, Sage thought she saw mischievous grins spreading across their faces, but shook her head and went after the trolley, ignoring Stacy's loud laughter.

Buying a massive amount of food with the Galleons that hadn't been knocked out of her hand when she ran into Fred and George, Sage walked back to her compartment and dumped the food out of her arms. Pocketing the money she didn't use, she started to eat. Stacy also started eating, picking up a Chocolate Frog.

Sage thought she felt something move in her pocket, but ignored it and reached for an Every Flavor Bean. But then she felt something crawl out of her pocket. Looking down, she saw several Galleons that had grown legs like spiders, crawling all over her arm. She stifled a scream. Stacy was frozen in place, unable to take her eyes off the moving Galleons. Sage was confused, unable to figure out how the Galleons came to be like spiders. Then it hit her: Fred and George must have done something.

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