Hey guys,
This is my first fan-fic so constructive criticism is always welcome. Thank you so much to anyone who reads this.
There's a lot more chapters to come, so stay tuned!
You're amazing. 3

I've been looking forward to this day for as long as I can remember. I've held back tears as I've watched my brothers Bill, Charlie, Percy and Ron all go off to Hogwarts without me. I miss them sometimes. In a strange way. As soon as they come home I wish they never did... But you never know you'd miss someone if they never left you, would you? Every holidays they'd come home with pocket's full of magical tricks and sweets. They'd tell tale's of Hogwarts and of the teachers and classes. I felt like I had to go to Hogwarts, there had to be a place I fitted in and this had to be it!

So, here I am at Kings Cross Station. All ready to go off to Hogwarts. I spent hours and hours choosing my outfit, doing my hair and making sure my robes fit. They're second hand... And so are my books. I'm a little embarrassed... Will anyone like me if I'm wearing tattered old robes? If I'm reading battered old books? I don't know but I guess I'll have to wait and see.

Mum's rushing us, she's always stressing about missing the train even though the boys have never missed it. We all went through the barrier, I went first. As Ron and Percy went to greet there friends I almost felt like crying. There were so many emotions racing through my body. Fear of not making friends or fitting in, anxious to get on to the train, happiness that I'm not being left behind, jealous that Ron and Percy already have friends and disbelief that my dream is finally coming true.

Kissing mum and dad goodbye was hard. Even though this is what I've wanted for so long this will be the longest I've ever spent away from them. But I managed to evade the tears for the moment. It will all be worth it to go to Hogwarts and learn how to do proper spells and potions.

I took a deep breath. I breathed out. Then I got onto the great, red steam train. The inside was a lot bigger than I expected though I think it was done using magic. I looked around for a place to sit though most compartments seemed like they were full of older students. One of them bumped into me.

"What are you doing here, midget?" said a boy with dark eyes and blonde hair,

"Huh?" was the only sound that managed to escape my quivering lips,

"Little kids stay up the front of the train" he continued, as if this fact should have been obvious.

I almost ran to the front of the train, nearly in tears. I felt so embarrassed, it just seemed so stupid. Of course they'd want the first years in the front of the train. I wiped my eyes and took a few seconds to calm down, the last thing I wanted now were people asking if I'd been crying.

I looked into the compartments as I passed them and finally I found a compartment that was empty but for one student. I nervously opened the door and asked,

"Is this seat taken?" my voice faltered slightly

"Of course not" said a girl with huge blue eyes and long blonde hair.

"I'm Luna Lovegood, you might have heard of my father, Xenophilius?" she asked with a friendly smile lighting up her face.

"No, I'm afraid I haven't, sorry" I replied.

"Oh no, not at all. He's the editor of the Quibbler" the girl continued.

"The Quibbler" I said, for this was a name I recognised, "my father reads that magazine, it has some... Interesting articles". The Quibbler is renowned for being quite an unusual magazine and, in all honesty Dad only reads it for a laugh and the occasional stories about muggles and their behaviour (Dad's obsessed with muggles).

The girl then said, "Yes, father tries his best to make his writing unique".

We went on to talk about our lives, parents and what houses we thought we'd end up in. The girl said she thought she'd be in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. She considered herself to be brave and a bit of a nerd, but not hard-working enough for Hufflepuff or Cunning enough for Slytherin. I told her about how my whole family had been in Gryffindor. I hope I'm in Gryffindor because I don't want to disappoint them... I'm scared I'll end up in Slytherin.

Then, sometime later, after we'd changed into our school robes the train came to a sudden stop. I was so nervous. I didn't want to leave the safety and confinement of the compartment and I didn't want to leave Ulna. I liked her, quite a lot for someone I didn't know very well. I took a deep breath, which I do whenever I'm nervous or scared or even angry. I waited a few minutes and then I stepped out of the compartment.

The night was cool, the breeze flipped my hair about. I looked around for a while, not knowing what to do. Until I heard "firs' years, firs' years over 'ere". I walked towards the voice and saw a huge man. He had a very bushy beard and his hair that was a tangled mess of mane. He wore a huge coat and very thick trousers. It was quite intimidating having him towering over me.

When he said, "Alrigh', every find a partner" I panicked for a moment and looked for a familiar face. I caught Luna's eye and immediately felt some relief. I breathed out slowly as she walked confidently toward me. "You know how we're getting to Hogwarts then?" She said curiously.
"Actually, yeah. My big brother Charlie told me we go by boat, but the big kids take carriages up to the castle"
"I guess that's why he wants pairs"
"Huh?" I replied and the girl pointed ahead to the lake which I'd failed to notice before. There were many boats in it, all with oars.

Everybody found a partner, except for one boy, he was small and had a camera slung around his neck which he held onto so tight it looked as though he was never going to let go. The boy had to squeeze into a boat with Hagrid. I'm not surprised that the boy found this difficult, Hagrid was at leat 7 ft. tall and 4 ft. wide, maybe even more than that. The boats were very tiny but Luna and I fitted quite comfortably.

We weren't rowing for long when we heard a familiar voice call out, "Ye'll get yer firs' vew o' Hogwarts in a mo". Every head looked up in anticipation and as we went round a large bend every mouth opened in awe. It was the most beautiful building I'd ever seen. So tall, with it's towers and so bright with it's windows. I looked up at it and wondered if maybe, just maybe this could be a place where I fitted in. A place where I shined.

As we reached the bank of the river and everybody scrambled to get out of their boats. We were all a little tired from rowing and Luna and I were a bit wet because there were two boys who had splashed us. I guess because... Well, you could call Luna strange. She has weird earrings like radishes and a cork necklace and I guess because of my red hair and second hand robes I probably look a bit out of place too. I hope I get sorted into the same house as Luna.

We made our ascent up to the castle and we're greeted by a very strict looking old lady. She was thin and had her hair up in a bun that was so tight it looked like it might rip her hair out of her head. She had kind eyes though, I can always judge people by there eyes. She told us to line up, in no particular order and that's what we did. Then, she introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor house.

I was shivering, I didn't know if this was from the cold, the anticipation or fear. Luna touched my shoulder and I immediately felt better knowing she was there. I decided that this girl was going to be my best friend.

As I walked up the stairs I felt a million emotions rush through my body, but as soon as I took the first step inside I knew that this was where I belonged. I let a sigh escape my lips and a smile dance it's way across my face. My dream had finally come true.