LilyLunaGinnyPotter & *Mad_Hatter* >> thanks guys *snuggles*

Danielos >> almost went with giant worms, but sausages seemed like a much better visual.

Cassiopia Malfoy >> don't we all love Hedwig

Team ronmione >> Just wait until Scabbers and Pigwidgeon take on more of a role except, Pigwidgeon won't be able to play for a while yet. Just have to do with old decrepit Errol

Demitri Malfoy >> be my guest Please come back and read often!
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Year 1: Hedwig and the Origin of Species
■□Chapter 2: Platform 9 ¾
“Here's your ticket. Stick to your ticket, ‘Aarry, it's very important. Stick to your ticket,” Hagrid instructed as his large sausage fingers handed Harry what looking like a tiny piece of paper. Hedwig tried to look over the lock of her cage to see what it was, but sausage fingers were blocking her way.

“But, Hagrid, there must be a mistake. This says platform 9 3/4. There's no such thing, is there?” Harry asked as he read his ticket. Hedwig and Harry both turned their heads at the same time to listen to Hagrid’s explanation to the platform’s number, but the hairy giant was already gone. How rude! If Hedwig never saw him again, it would be too soon. “Well, Hedwig, I guess we have to go and ask.”

Hedwig chirped encouragingly to Harry as he began pushing the cart holding her and all his school supplies and trunk on it. Hedwig was not a fan of the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley. Her cage had fallen off once, clearly all sausage fingers’ fault, and Harry had had to give her more than a few owl treats for her to calm down. She was rather fond of the tuna and peppermint flavored ones. Harry continued to push the cart forward until he ran into a plump train conductor. Hmm…this guy had small sausage fingers.

“Excuse me, sir, excuse me,” Harry said a little short of breath from pushing the cart all over the station. “Could you tell me how to get to Platform 9 ¾?”

Hedwig chirped the same question at the man, you know, just in case he hadn’t heard Harry. He had a train to catch and at the rate his little legs were pushing the cart, they were going to miss it.

“Platform 9 ¾,” the man replied cocking his eyebrow at Harry and then at Hedwig. “Think you’re funny do ya?”

And then, he walked away. Hedwig felt that red feeling taking over again. “You come back here little sausage fingers!” she tweeted in a high tone. Did that man know who he was talking to?!

“Now what do I do?” Harry wondered aloud as he offered Hedwig a treat to stop her chirping. Of course, he hadn’t understood what she had said to him, Harry was many things, but he was not versed in owl. She was going to have to teach him. Still, he had learned already that a trill tweet marked with a little roll at the end meant that she wanted out of her cage so she could fly around. Harry had been very good about that.

Hedwig turned her head around 180 degrees again to see if there was someone else they could ask when she saw a family of redheads practically sprinting through the station.

“It’s the same every year. Packed with muggles,” said a round woman leading the way. “Alright Percy, you first.”

“Harry! Harry! Look over there!” Hedwig instructed flapping her wings to get the boy’s attention. Hedwig then turned her attention back to the family just in time to see the oldest boy run straight for the pillar. What was this knucklehead doing?! Hedwig began to panic a bit. That boy’s poor owl was going to go crashing right into a brick wall! But then, the boy just simply vanished. “Harry! Harry! Wizards! They’re a wizarding family!”

“What is it Hedwig?” Harry asked cleaning his glasses’ frames a bit with his shirt before putting them back on. Just like the lightning bolt scar that made him famous, the realization of what Hedwig was trying to tell him struck him like a jolt of electricity. “Excellent. Brilliant Hedwig. Well done.”

Hedwig smiled in a way that only owls can smiled with her eyes closed and her beak in a relaxed position with her wings pushed up as if she were shrugging her delicate owl shoulders. Harry hurried over the crimson family and stopped next to the woman who had just finished sending her twins off through the pillar.

“Excuse me,” Harry said as he came to a stop. “Could you tell me how to…how to…”

“What? Oh, how to get onto the platform? Yes, not to worry dear. It’s Ron’s first time as well,” she said gesturing to her youngest son who then smiled at Harry and even gave a little nod towards Hedwig. Best part, he didn’t have sausage fingers. Hedwig decided that she liked this guy. Harry had finally met someone she approved of. “Now, all you have to do is walk straight through that wall. Best to take it at a run if you are a bit nervous,” she smiled nodding her head towards the pillar.

Hedwig eyed the young girl who wished Harry good luck. Why did she have the sinking feeling that this one was going to cause trouble…big trouble? Harry seemed to ignore the little girl, for now, and kept his focus entirely on the pillar in front of him.

“Are you nuts?!” Hedwig snapped chewing on her cage. Sure, those other people had gone through fine, but Hedwig hadn’t seen Harry perform any sort of magic. She was so sure she was going to be forced to make friends with a brick wall.

“Here we go,” Harry whispered with the excitement bubbling out like a stream.

Hedwig found herself unable to close her eyes as Harry took off at a slow jog that quickly picked up speed as he made their way towards the pillar. Hedwig let out a loud screech that was quickly muffled by the horn from a large crimson steam engine. Hedwig’s eyes grew twice their normal size as she tried to take in all the sights and smells. She could have done without all the running and screaming children, but she supposed she was going to have to get used to that since she would be making Hogwarts her more permanent perch from now on. There were owls of all sort of shapes, sizes, and colors and most of them seemed to be confident in their loud surroundings. Was she really the only new owl?

“Sorry Hedwig, you are going to have to go in a different car. I promise I’ll let you out when we arrive,” Harry smiled stroking her feathers softly with the back of his hand. Harry then left a few of her favorite mouse snapped treats in her cage and shut it tight before handing her over to some random wizard who then set her in a compartment lined with rows and rows of owls in cages. She chirped sadly as Harry waved good bye to her and then, undoubtedly, went to find his own place aboard the Hogwarts Express. Dejectedly, Hedwig began nibbling on one of the treats. How long is this train ride going to last?

“You there,” said a great grey owl in the cage next to her. Well, to Hedwig, this owl looked more like a molting feather duster. “Are you the owl from the platform? The one who came with that young lad with glasses?”

Hedwig was a little taken aback by this owl. Not only did he look like a molting feather duster, but he was always practically stick his face through the wires of his cage to get a good look at Hedwig.

“Uh…yes…” she said back up a little in her own cage. He didn’t have to get so close…silly feather duster.

“Forgive me, my eye sight is not what it used to be,” the owl chuckled as he cleaned his right wing with his beak for a moment. “My name is Errol, but I have also been called bloody bird, ruddy bird, and menace.” He said those last names a little too proudly. Clearly, this owl had more than a few screws loose.

“I’m Hedwig,” she said back turning her entire snowy body to face him now.

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Hedwig,” the brown owl replied bowing forward a little too much and tumbling forward so that he was now on his back. Hedwig rolled her eyes and finished nibbling on her treat. What had she got herself into? Hedwig continued to nibble as Errol tried to flip himself over. It must have been hours since the train had left London, surely they would be arriving soon? Just then, Hedwig heard the sound of scurrying feet across the wooden floor of the compartment.

“Yet another year at Hogwarts and another year of being some bratty kid’s pet,” a scroungy rat making his way across the floor like he owned the place. “And that red haired kid trying to turn me yellow with some amateur trick…” The rat flopped himself down on a small pile of straw and began chewing on a piece of stale bread. “But…he is on the train…”

“Excuse me, you down there,” Hedwig called from her cage startling the rodent. “But…who is on the train.”

“Owls…” the rat shivered. Good thing they all were in cages. He most certainly did not want to be anyone’s lunch. Not when there was this much potential in the air. “Why…Harry Potter, of course,” the rat squeaked with a gleam in his eyes that Hedwig did not like very much.

“Why are you interested in Harry Potter?” Hedwig asked raising one of her owl eyebrows at the rat.

“He is famous, he is the one who brought down the Dark Lord,” the rodent replied with a hint of is abhorrence. “Who wouldn’t be interested?”

Hedwig supposed the rat had a point. Smelling something delicious, the rat scurried up the wooden pillars only to discover to his dismay that the smell was coming from Hedwig’s cage.

“Would you mind if I were to…um…have one of those treats you’ve got there?” the rat asked rubbing his paws together.

“Sure, I guess,” Hedwig responded sadly looking down at the treats Harry had given her. Where was he anyway?

“Thanks,” the rat squeaked stuffing two in his mouth.

“Scabbers! There you are,” called the same red headed boy from the platform. Hedwig’s eyes lit up when she saw Harry standing next to him. “I thought I’d told you to stop running off like that. Bloody worthless,” the boy continued holding the rat up in front of Harry. “What rat runs away and stays in a room filled with owls?”

“That one, Ron,” Harry laughed opening up Hedwig’s cage and petting her. She nibbled on his hand blissfully. “Alright Hedwig, we’re here!”

Harry unloaded Hedwig and set her on top of his trunk. She looked at Errol was taken out by Ron’s older brother and set on a different set of trunks. Ron was holding onto his rat, Scabbers, who was now chewing on one of the treats he had taken from her cage. She was going to have to keep an eye on him. Something about him just screamed good-for-nothing to her.

“Harry, I don’t like that rat of your friend’s,” she hissed looking up at Harry.

“I know, I’m sorry I didn’t come and visit. But, we couldn’t enter the luggage cabins until we arrived,” Harry said in apology as he continued to pet her feathers. “I’ll let you out as soon as we arrive at the castle.”

Castle? She thought they were going to school. Unless the school was a castle, but that seemed like a ridiculous idea…until she saw it. Surrounded by a lake lit by the moonlight it stood with its countless towers and turrets with windows glowing like giant stars in the already starry night sky.

“Wow…” Harry and Hedwig both awed in unison – Hedwig, of course, chirping more than awing.

“Right then. First years this way, please! First years, don't be shy. Come on now, hurry up,” called a familiar coarse voice. Hedwig’s head turned around so fast that her eyes spun, but when she regained her focus she was not happy with the sight she saw. Sausage fingers was back. “ Hello ‘Arry!”

“Hi Hagrid,” Harry smiled back while Ron’s jaw dropped.

“Right, then. This way to the boats. Come on now, follow me,” Hagrid repeated motioning for Harry and the others to follow him. Harry knelt down next to Hedwig’s cage and opened it up. Holding out his arm, he motioned for her to climb on. Slowly, and a little shakily since she hadn’t had the chance to really stretch her wings all day. “Hedwig, I’ve got to ride in the boats with the others but why don’t you fly on over to the castle yourself. You could stretch your wings a bit. I’ll come visit you in the Owlery after the Sorting.”

Hedwig chirped and nibbled on Harry’s ear in appreciation before taking flight and soaring into the night sky towards her and Harry’s new home.