"but... what if i get into a different house?" little abigail clutched joshua's hand tightly. her voice came out like a whisper among the other loud noises that filled the train.

they worked their way down the aisle, searching for a cabin. joshua put his hand on his little sister's shoulder and pulled her closer to him as a group of students moved past them.

"it's not gonna be an issue, abby." josh gave her a reassuring grin. "we're still gonna get to see each other all the time. plus, you have a big chance of being a hufflepuff, just like me."

"really?" she asked, smiling for the first time since they've gotten into the train.

"really."

even though he knew she was probably going to ravenclaw, he didn't say anything. the brown-haired boy didn't want his little sister to be more anxious than she already was.

"hey josh! right here!" someone shouted, catching the boy's glance. he smiled as he saw brendon and pete waving at him from an empty cabin right at the back.

he walked towards his friends, still holding abby's hand. brendon pulled him in for a crushing hug while pete just smiled and bumped their fists together.

they all sat opposite to each other and started chatting loudly about their summer break. the little girl was the only first year student amongst seventh years and she was obviously feeling very uncomfortable.

the train started moving into motion and abby asked excitedly if she could switch places with josh, so she could look out the window.

a tender voice just outside in the passageway asked if they wanted anything from the trolley. josh bought two chocolate frogs for abby because they were her favorites.

josh, abby and their mother were the only wizards in a family of muggles. they had two other siblings: jordan and ashley. however, neither of them received the school's letter at the age of 11, except for josh and abby.

it wasn't a surprise for them when josh got the letter. they knew the boy was a wizard since the day he was born, as josh was given a rare ability. he was a metamorphmagus. strangely so, he couldn't transform into anything besides changing the color of his hair.

sometimes it would happen out of nowhere, which raised a lot of attention.

in the muggle world, josh would always wear a hat.

he always felt like he couldn't relate to any of his siblings until abby got the letter. he was very excited to go to school with his sister in her very first year, even though he was already in his last one.

the night started to approach and josh realized they were nearly at the castle. brendon was now the only one talking in his usual loud tone. josh snickered lazily at his friend's story.

"jish! there's a mermaid in the lake!" abby shouted excitedly, pointing at the window.

"yes, there are lots of them." he smiled, switching his attention to the tall brunette who was still talking.

"... so, as soon as i disapparated, i'm not even kidding-"

"he went back there." josh guessed.

"yes. he was right there, right in front of me."

"and what did you do?" pete questioned with a devilish grin.

"you know, the usual. i took him home, we got drunk and then we fucked-"

"brendon!" josh snapped, gesturing towards abby even though she wasn't paying attention to any of them. "she's 11, shut your mouth."

"we... cuddled, then." brendon sighed. "we cuddled all night long. in fact, we cuddled so hard that we had to use a repairing charm for my bed." he winked and they all suddenly burst out laughing.

when the train was getting close to a stop, josh got out of the cabin and showed abby where the toilets were so she could get changed into her uniforms. after a minute he grabbed his bag and went to do the same. as he paused a bit to check if he had brought the right bag, someone bumped straight into his shoulder, making him lose his balance instantly.

"i'm so sorry. are you ok?" asked a frantic voice.

josh recovered his bag that had been snatched from his hand due to the impact and turned around to face them.

oh.

"uhh yes. y-yes, i'm fine." he immediately hated himself for stuttering.

"your hair... is turning red." the boy muttered, staring at josh's head. "it was brown, like... seconds ago."

at least he doesn't know what it means when it turns red, josh thought to himself.

"yeah, that's ok. i'm a meta. no biggy." why was he talking like that?

the answer was, probably because he was really nervous over the fact that he was talking to tyler freaking joseph.

tyler was the captain and seeker of slytherin's quidditch team and also the guy for whom josh had a massive crush on. tyler's personality was something else. he was very popular, but also extremely kind to all teachers and students. joshua couldn't believe he belonged to slytherin rather than hufflepuff. but then again, only the sorting hat had the power to read minds.

"oh, you're that metamorphmagus boy! one of my friends mentioned you before, that's so cool. i never met anyone with rare abilities." he was in awe. josh felt his cheeks heating up. tyler's expression changed. "whoa. dude, it's turning into flames."

josh cursed himself silently again. he hated being like this.

"i'm sorry, that happens all the time."

"no need to be sorry, i think it's awesome." tyler flashed him a toothy grin.

in seven years of going to the same school, that was the first time they were talking.

"hey josh." abby suddenly appeared, probably coming back from the restroom. "your hair is in flames. why are you so nervous?"

josh suddenly wished he had an invisibility cloak.

"hey abby. let's get back to the cabin ok?" he tried not to sound frantic. the red-haired girl glanced at tyler for a second and then nodded at her brother.

"i better go get changed." the brunette said awkwardly. "my name's tyler, by the way." he told josh, offering a hand.

yes, i know.

"i'm josh." he felt his whole arm tingle as he shook the boy's hand. it was very soft, but his grip was steady.

"see ya, josh." he turned around, making his way to one of the compartments.

josh exhaled, leading abby back towards the cabin.

"hey, someone is on fire." pete observed. "who made you so embarrassed?"

"his name is tyler." abby mumbled quietly, returning to her seat. brendon and pete started laughing.

josh rolled his eyes.

"are you still into him? dude." brendon shook his head. "the guy has a girlfriend."

"i know. it's not like he's ever gonna look at me that way, he just thought my hair was cool." muttered josh, and something about saying that out loud hurt a little.

"listen, we're from slytherin." said pete, gesturing to brendon. "we know our boys. they kinda suck."

josh laughed at that.

"you're too soft for a slytherin. he's not your type, trust me." said brendon.

"he's not like that. he's... different." josh retrieved.

brendon rolled his eyes.

"this is too gay. even for me." he stood up and abby laughed at him. "let's just get into these uniforms. i'm fucking starving."

josh was too upset to scowl at brendon for his language. they were right. he couldn't keep lying to himself.

tyler and him would never be together.

|-/

heyoo sorry again, i suck at english. i hope you enjoy the chapter, though. i'm a sucker for harry potter and i really wanted to combine it with joshler. i'm also aware that the age gap between josh and abby is not accurate in the story, but it just had to fit. really excited about this fanfic and all!! it's gonna be a short one! :)