Vashti grinned. "So are you a first year?" She had a certain fondness for ickle firsties. They were just so cute and new that she couldn't help but want to help them at Hogwarts. Even if she was only a year or two older than them. Heh. "You'll love Hogwarts, don't worry," she added, nodding. Reassuring new people, whether firsties or not, was always a good idea.

Amazing! Incredible! Unbelievable! All other manner of adjectives pertaining to disbelief!


Janie Hartford stood before the shiny train, already deeply enthused by having to run through a wall to get to her destination. Her face covered in a goofy grin and her arms waving up in the air above her head, she turned around, addressing the grown ups. " Mum, you SURE you didn't know about this?" She asked, looking suspiciously at both her parents.

The only thing that could have possibly made this better? If Lulu Patterson and Greer McKensie were here too. Imagine the possibilities! Janie sighed audibly and continued staring around, visually exploring the surrounding area before actually getting on the train.

Jason and his mother and father hurridly pushed their way through the Platform 9 3/4's wall and quickly pushed a large trolly towards the train. Whist his father took his trunk and piled it onto the train Jason lifted up this new eagle cage which he still had not yet named (He thought he'd ought to do it soon) and took a step onto the train. His Mother hurried over and attacked him with a bombardment of hugs and kisses, she said "Ohhh goodbye Dear, have a great year. I'm SO proud of you!". His dad stood there and gave him a great big slap on the back and also said,
"Have a good year son", and they both took a step back and let Jason take his trunk and owl onto the train. As Jason took another step onto the train he let out a rather large cry, "Byyyeeee!!!!" with a rather big excited grin on his face. Taking his first steps into the magical world of Hogwarts.

Her parents were big fat liars.

The girl would not believe a word that came out of their mouths henceforth. They swore they never knew about this magic nor about this castle named Hogwarts. They swore her brother Elizabeth was truly away for education purposes and that it had nothing to do with alien abductions or magic. All the same, Lulu did not believe them. Fool me once, shame on you! That was her motto. Never mind that the actual saying went a little differently.

The world was Lulu Patterson's to mold and shape, if you asked her. It was only a matter of time before it would all be hers. Well, hers and her army of hypnotized hamsters but that was only if she didn't find a more endearing furry creature. Her newly acquired pet was well on working its way there though. The brunette girl held the ferret against her chest, ignoring its squirming protests.

"Goodbye Dad," she said flatly, shoving the ferret into his cage haphazardly. "Goodbye Mum. If Elizabeth decides to ring, tell her that I am unto her," finished the girl with a conspiratorial whisper. Before she could start pushing her cart into the wall she was supposed to run into, her parents trapped her in loving hugs.

"WORR! GROSS! I'LL BARF!" she protested loudly, weaseling out of their embrace. "Stop doing that in public!" Lulu shot them a seething glare and started pushing her cart away, to frown at a rather familiar blond head. It couldn't really be her. Could it?

Except it was! Setting her jaw, the girl ran full speed ahead and crashed her cart against Janie's. "YOU ARE A BAD FRIEND, JANIE!" yelled Lulu, red-faced. Then, she pulled her cart a few steps back and rammed her cart again.

BETRAYAL.

On top of her trunk, which was of course inside a cart, sat a short curly-haired blonde with a distant expression on her golden-brown eyes. Greer McKensie had been sitting on her trunk for almost an hour now, feet dangling below her, and watching people get inside the big red train.

There were sure a LOT of people, the girl had noticed, and most of them seemed either too busy with themselves to notice her, or they just really didn't care. Her sister, Morgan, hadn't seem to care; the second their parents had left them both to drop Ainsley at her OWN school, Greer's other sister had DISAPPAPEARED to join her other fourteen-year-old friends. Greer had been all about joining her, but Morgan insisted she didn't really hang out with little kids.

So Greer had distracted herself with watching people and making sure that whenever she DESTROYED the wrapping that covered her chocolate frogs, the chocolate frog didn't escape from her. So she kept on munching and biting their heads off when... when...

.........................

JANIE HAD SOME KIND OF CLONE. Or maybe a secret twin? Greer McKensie had been about to hop off her trunk when LULU's secret twin appeared and... was doing violent things to the cart of Janie's trunk. Oh.

Greer didn't really THINK it was fair for JANIE's secret twin to be treated that way by LULU's secret twin, so from her small throne, McKensie raised a chocolate covered fist and shouted, "OI! Don't be mean!"

Ophelia Marie Henry was in awe. No. Scratch that, she felt like her life was just suddenly starting. Large grin plastered onto her face, she tugged on her pigtails anxiously. Oooh, everything was going to be perfect! And, to top it all off, her parents were seeing her off. It was like a dream come true, and then some. She just wanted to blabber to the world about her good fortune. Hogwarts was only a train-ride away.

So cliche and so right!

Hugging her parental units so tight that even she couldn't breathe, after the traditional pat on the head from her dad and a kissy-kissy-muah!muah! from her mum, Ophelia skipped off, pushing her cart merrily, pausing only to wave goodbye once more to her parents. They would miss her, and cry, shout to the heavens in agony, but that was okay. She would write and things would be great. And she would make friends. Lots of friends.

The obnoxious grin found it's way onto her face once again and Ophelia began to watch the other students who clearly knew what they were doing. Her lower lip quivered, she was so pumped!

Eyes widened, Ophelia caught sight of some sort of crash. Her smile dropped only for a moment; she had to internalize this. But it wasn't long before her legs moved and she pushed her cart faster so she could get in on the action. Voice crisp and chipper as ever, Ophelia intruded in their conversation. "Heeellllooooo," she enthused, eyes taking in the scene. "Ohmygosh, are you guys first years too?" They looked so cooolll. And just amazing and awesome. They couldn't be new like her, could they?