The Girl Who Hid | ✓

|1| (first year)

As the train had carried us out of London, I grew to get a little more comfortable with them but still felt terrified. Now we were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. We were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past.

Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"

"May I please have three chocolate frogs and three pumpkin pastries please," I ordered kindly. The Sweets Lady and I exchanged the money for the candies and she left.

"What's a chocolate frog?" Hermione's mouth hung slightly opened at the sight of the frog. She must be a muggleborn witch.

"It's not an actual chocolate frog," I laughed softly. "It's just a frog-shaped candy with a collectors card it in; my favorite candy! Have one— and a pumpkin pastry."

I offered one packet to each of them. Hermione reluctantly took it while Neville gave me a large smile and happily ate it. The three of us got Dumbledore cards and I sighed; it was my fourth one.

As Neville got up to throw it into the trash chute, his toad jumped out of his hand and out the ajar door.

"Trevor!" Neville shouted. "Help me find him please!"

Hermione sighed dramatically and dragged me out of the compartment to help look for Neville's frog. After ten minutes, there was still no sign of Trevor.

Knocking on one of the doors, Hermione slid it open to reveal a raven-haired boy and a redheaded one.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," Hermione said abrasively.

"We've already told him we haven't seen it," the redhead rolled his eyes.

Peering over Hermione's shoulder, I saw the redhead boy with his wand out and a large grey rat in his hands.

"Oh," I breathed in awe, "are you doing magic?"

"Let's see it, then," Hermione nodded.

She pulled me into the room and sat down. I took a seat next to her as the two boys watched us with surprise.

"Er— all right," he cleared his throat. "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

He waved his wand, but nothing happened. The rat stayed gray and fast asleep.

"Uh, I don't think that's a real spell," I frowned at them.

"Well, if it is, it's not very good, is it?" Hermione scoffed. "I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard—I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough— I'm Hermione Granger, by the way."

The two boys looked at each other in shock with their mouth slightly opened.

"Hermione! You're overwhelming them," I whispered harshly and turned to smile at them. "I'm Maisey Howell."

"I'm Ron Weasley," the redhead muttered.

"Harry Potter," the other boy said.

"Holy cricket, you're Harry Potter?" My eyes widened slightly.

"Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course— I got a few extra books. for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."