Hogwarts: Year One

Chapter 1 - The Hogwarts Express

Chapter 1 - The Hogwarts Express

Autumn seemed to arrive suddenly that year. The morning of the first of September was crisp and golden as an apple, the small family of three bobbed across the rumbling road towards the great, sooty station. The fumes of car exhausts and the breath of pedestrians sparkled like cobwebs in the cold air. A small weaved basket lay atop a trolley of luggage that the father of the family was pushing: you could hear the small purring of a young cat inside. The young, brown and bushy haired girl walked quickly to keep in time with her mother and father. Her excitement growing and growing as they made their way towards the platform.

They arrived at the platforms 9 and 10 but the number 9 3/4 was nowhere to be seen, the young child's father read the train ticket again and glanced up, waiting for it to magically appear but it hadn't. "What do we do?"

"Maybe we could ask someone?" The young girl's mother eyed the crowd curiously, trying to find a way to seek out a witch or wizard.

Just as the family were about to ask a station employee they overheard hushed voices discussing what they heard was about the Hogwarts Express. The young girl's eyes light up with excitment and she glanced over to find a small pale boy with hair so blonde that it could blind your eyes. He was accompanied along with his parents: his father also had long blond hair, he was wearing a smart, black suit and had eyes that were a sharp grey. A colour that she had not seen before. The Mother, she was also blonde but had hints of brown streaked through, she was wearing an emerald green dress and her eyes were a warm, welcoming dark brown. They looked like they had just stepped out of a catalogue. The picture of a perfect family.

They watched on in awe as the family walked through the wall between platforms 9 and 10, instead of crashing into the wall as a muggle family would, they disappeared through without injury. The young girl stood there with her mouth agape, it wouldn't be often that she would be in awe of anything, but since she found out she was a witch, she had been captivated by anything and everything that was to do with magic.

"Shall we?" Her father grinned down at her and chuckled as the young girl took a running head start and disappeared through the wall. They followed shortly after her, knowing that she would wait for them to arrive.

Once they were reunited the family walked towards the train: it was a steam engine train, or that's what it appeared to be. It was black and red, and had many carriages that carried on until it disappeared through the tunnel at the end. The platform was quite empty at the moment, with only a few families currently with their children. The train didn't depart until 11am, it was now only 10:15am but they wanted to ensure they had left plenty of time incase they had any trouble finding the platform.

"Wow" The young girl smiled, taking in the sight of the large train before her, finally allowing herself to feel the excitement of going somewhere new and learning about magic. But all too soon, the nerves began to sit in and suddenly she became afraid. Afraid if her new classmates didn't like her or if she didn't make any friends and was forced to spend the year on her own. She reached up and tugged on her Mother's jacket, waiting until her Mother looked down at her with concern etched on her face.

"What's wrong dear?"

"I'm scared Mum" She whispered

"What about? You're going to do brilliant, you've already studied the books over summer. Most of them twice! You're going to be the brightest witch of your age" Her mother grinned, running a hand through her daughter's untamed hair.

"But...But what if I don't make any friends? Or if my classmates don't like me. I don't want to be alone" She sniffled, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

Her mother bent down to her height and pulled her daughter into a tight embrace. "Sweetie, you're going to make lots of friends. Remember what your father and I told you. It's always better to be yourself and make true friends. Rather than be pretend to be someone else and have fake friends. Just be yourself and you'll find your way. And if anyone doesn't like you. Then they don't deserve to know you and they'll be missing out on a wonderful friendship with a wonderful girl"

The child smiled, her mother always knew how to cheer her up. She nodded at her Mother's words, feeling the nerves slowly disapparate as they got closer to the train. Her father went and found a place to store her luggage, shortly afterwards it was time for her to board the train. She stood with her parents, feeling the tears beginning again as she had to say goodbye to her parents. She hadn't been away from them for this long before and she didn't know what she would do without them.

"I love you Mum and Dad" She wrapped her arms around her parent's waists, taking in the familiar scent of her Mother's perfume

"We love you too dear" The hugged her back tightly, not wanting to show too much emotion so as she didn't change her mind and wanted to stay with them.

"We'll write you all the time" Her father smiled, giving her comfort knowing that she wouldn't be totally out of touch with them.

"And you have crookshanks, he'll keep you company if you ever feel lonely" Her Mother handed the small woven basket to her daughter.

"And remember, if anyone ever gives you any bother or if you feel uncomfortable, then go straight to your teachers. Don't be afraid to speak up and defend yourself"

The young girl nodded, she had to be tough and she had to learn how to stick up for herself. Her Muggle school had been awful; she had been taunted and teased, mostly due to her hair or how smart she was. But she wasn't going to let that happen this time. She was going to a new school with new people. This was her second chance and she was going to make the most of it.

A puff of steam emitted from the train, along with a loud hollering noise, she glanced at the train wearily and back at her parents, who both gave her encouraging smiles before enveloping her in a tight hug. "Go on now, go have fun and learn! You're going to make us proud sweetie" Her mother gave her a tight hug before allowing her daughter to run on the train.

The train itself was now packed with students of all different height and ages, she almost felt a bit lost as she weaved in and out of the crowd, trying to find a place to sit. A lot of people were already chatting animatedly to each other, she overheard a few of them talking subjects like Herbology or Transfiguration. She may not have known what they were but she was certainly excited to learn. Eventually she stumbled across a carriage that only had one student inside, and it was the young boy from the platform. He was staring out the window towards his parents, who were smiling and waving at him. She slid the compartment door open and cleared her throat lightly. The boy turned in surprised, thinking he was lucky to have this compartment to himself. But he didn't mind some company, in fact he craved it.

"Do you mind if I sit here with you?" She asked quietly, almost afraid to speak

"Sure" The boy smiled, drinking in the sight of the young girl with curiosity. She was petite and thin, her hair was long and untamed almost wild looking as the curls were so big. But it suited her.

She took her seat opposite him, staring at him in wonder. He had been the first person she had met who was the same as her. And she just hoped he was nice. It would be great to make a friend on the train who she could share this experience with.

"What's your name?" He asked

"Hermione. Hermione Granger" She smiled and stuck a hand out to him, her eyes twinkling with happiness. "And yours?"

The young boy grinned and took her hand in his, giving it a firm squeeze and not breaking contact with her eyes. "Draco. Draco Malfoy"