A Web Of Magic

Soon Magnus was saying goodbye to one half of the Weasley family as he got on the Hogwarts express along with the other half. Charlie and Percy helped them with the luggage and moved on to greet their friends in other cabins. Charlie is in sixth year and Percy in third. The twins and Magnus found themselves an empty cabin and settled down for the journey.

As they got comfortable in their seats, they heard their cabin door open and a dark-skinned boy with dreadlocks popped his head in. "Hey do you mind me sitting?" the boy gestured towards the empty space beside the twins.

"That depends, are you fun?" Fred and George both spoke at the same time.

"Only one way to find out," the boy entered the cabin and plopped himself beside the twins.

"Lee Jordan," the boy offered his name.

"Fred Weasley"

"George the same"

"Magnus Webb"

The three boys introduced themselves to Jordan. "So, what are your stories?" Jordan started the conversation. Magnus has to say, Jordan has a way with people. He knew how to keep the conversation going and had a lot to say. Fred and George pulled up a pack of Exploding Snap from who knew where and started a game as they kept on making small talk.

"So, which house do you think you'll end up in?" Lee asked as a card just exploded in his face.

Probably Gryffindor. Not much of a choice there mate. All of our family ended up in Gryffindor till now. Imagine ending up in Slytherin. Mum would probably disavow us. Besides, we are too brave to be anywhere else," Fred said with a shrug.

"Well, wherever I end up I hope it's not in the same house as those blokes next door. Went there before coming here. Said I couldn't sit there because I had dreadlocks. Apparently, no pureblood family in Britain has such hair so I wasn't allowed. Jerks," Jordan said with a shrug. He didn't look like he took their words too seriously but he didn't seem fond of them.

"You have cool hair mate. We tried to get hair like that once but mum threw a fit. Apparently, green is not a color befitting of the Weasleys. Hogwash. Dad liked it just fine," George complained.

"Why don't you tell him that it was the scalp that turned green? The hair fell off after a minute. If I wasn't there nearby you would be the bald twins right now," Magnus added while sniggering.

"Small details. And we told you we'll get you a nice Christmas present for that didn't we?" Fred quipped back.

"You can turn your scalp green? Cool," Lee asked excitedly," How did you turn them back?" he asked Magnus curiously. He seemed like he would fit in right with the twins. Magnus shook his head at their antics.

"A nifty charm that stops spell effects. That and a Hair Re-Growth potion," Magnus told him the details. He picked up the Finite charm in the book recommended by Madam Malkin about charms for clothes. Apparently, there's a higher level of the spell that is taught in higher classes at Hogwarts.

"Hey Magnus what about you? You must be pretty smart if you could grow back their hair. Any idea which house will you end up in?" Jordan enquired.

"I don't know, Ravenclaw maybe? It sounds interesting. I am fine with any house regardless," Magnus said with a shrug.

"You'll be fine anywhere mate," George said offhandedly. They continued their banter through lunch and kept playing games and showing off their chocolate frog card collections. Magnus played with them even as he watched the scenery passing by occasionally. They didn't know how much time passed when the door to their cabin opened and Charlie Weasley popped his head in and said with a smile," Alright boys time to get your robes on. We'll be reaching in ten minutes. Leave your luggage here. They'll get them for you."

He went away after reminding them, presumably to the next cabin to do the same thing. "How come he looks like you lot?" Jordan asked in doubt.

The Weasleys with their ginger hair and freckles are easily recognizable. One cannot blame Jordan for making a connection.

"All great men look alike Jordan. That's Charlie, our brother. He's a prefect so he gets the boring job of being a messenger boy. He's still cool though. It's our other brother that's stuck up," George explained as they all went about putting their robes on.

"How many of you are there?" Jordan asked curiously.

"Well, one passed out last year-"

"- and two more waiting to come next."

"Amazing!" Jordan looked really impressed. Magnus didn't know what he was impressed about but he seemed to fit in right in. It was dark by the time they reached the Hogsmeade station. As they got down the train, Magnus saw a dimly lit station filled with students of all years. A floating lantern closed in on them followed by a giant of a man. The whole first years seemed to have fallen into a stupor until a loud voice woke them up.

"Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here!" the giant man gestured to follow.

"That's Hagrid the Groundskeeper. Charlie says he's a nice guy if a bit intimidating. Should ask him what he ate to become like that," Fred helpfully added with an impressed tone at the end.

'He probably has some giant blood,' Magnus speculated. He had read about such people before but this was his first time seeing. The man was a mountain.

The first years obediently followed Hagrid but the older students went a different way towards rows of waiting carriages. While the carriages looked like they weren't connected to any horses, Magnus knew from reading "Hogwarts: A History" that they were in fact driven by Thestrals, the invisible winged horses.

They soon made it to a dock where a multitude of boats lay waiting for them. "Three ter four for each boat now," Hagrid instructed.

Magnus, Jordan and the Weasley twins got on one boat together. Once everyone got on the boats, they moved smoothly over the glassy lake and saw their first view of Hogwarts. The castle looked magnificent with its many lit windows and turrets.

"Watch yer heads," Hagrid gave a timely shout as they passed under a vine-covered overpass. All the students instinctively ducked, although the only one in danger of getting struck was Hagrid.

"You know, I heard Bill say that there's a Giant Squid in the lake that catches you if you fall," Fred offered with a mischievous look on his face which was soon mirrored by George.

"Oh, hell no," Magnus objected as soon as he saw the look on their faces. He knew they were up to no good now. And in the next moment he was proven correct. The twins started rocking the boat suddenly. Before Jordan could understand what was happening, he fell into the lake. That wasn't the end of it though. The boat next to them collided with theirs throwing its inhabitants into the lake too.

Magnus quickly pulled out his wand and pointed towards his shoes and muttered," Colloshoo."

His feet were stuck to the boat immediately and prevented him from tipping over. The next moment even the twins tipped over and fell into the lake. Magnus had to struggle to keep the whole boat from flipping over as just that spell alone wasn't enough. He quickly made a gesture with his left hand and stuck it to the boat floor. It was one of the Wandless sticking charms that he learned from Mr. King. As Magnus felt annoyed and weighed over in his mind if he should rescue those idiots, two giant tentacles broke through the water and gently placed them onto the boats. It almost looked like the tentacles waved at him before they went back down. 'So that's the Giant Squid. It's almost like it was waiting for students to fall into the lake,' Magnus wondered.

"Woah-"

"-wicked!"

"Experiment success" Fred and George exclaimed together in joy.

"You stupid gits," Jordan cursed while shivering and it was echoed by the residents of the next boat. It was a trio of girls who looked like they wanted to devour the twins.

"Thank you for the participation," the twins replied cheekily. The incident was soon forgotten as they reached the landing stage underneath Hogwarts. The students disembarked and reached the stone steps that led to a giant door where a witch with strict countenance was waiting for them.

"I'll take it from here Hagrid," she sternly said.

"Aye Professor McGonagall," Hagrid nodded and went away.

"This way students. Maintain order please," Professor McGonagall led them through the door into the castle.