Disclaimer: The wonderful wizarding world of Harry Potter does not belong to me.

Holly Hartwell was feeling very nervous.

The weather wasn't helping. Thick sheets of driving rain were all she could see out of the tiny Leaky Cauldron windows, shielding both Diagon Alley on one side and the Muggle world on the other.

(It hadn't taken her long to find out that in Britain, non-magical people were called Muggles, not smaghi as she was used to.)

Taking several deep breaths to calm herself, she continued to get dressed. Her Hogwarts robes were spread across the bed, but her sister Camellia had insisted she dress in a smart skirt-suit to look 'presentable'. It wasn't to look presentable; it was so the other students immediately saw she was well-off, and Holly hated it. The suit was stiff with newness, and she could have sworn there was a Posture-Correction Charm in there somewhere - it definitely wouldn't be beyond her sister's capabilities.

Sighing, she gathered up her curly hair and twisted it into a loose bun at the back of her head, determined to have at least some measure of comforting dishevelment until she could change into her robes on the train and never, ever, wear the suit again. Granted, it was a lovely deep green colour, which looked good against her Mediterranean skin, but that was probably the only thing she liked about it.

"Che pensi, Cosmo?" she quietly asked the grey owl that perched in a cage in the corner of the room. The bird ruffled his feathers and hooted softly at the sound of his name, keeping his eyes closed.

The door opened without a knock, and Camellia strode into the room. She gave Holly a quick up-and-down glance and her mouth immediately set into a hard line, which somehow became even thinner she realised Holly still hadn't packed everything. "What is taking you so long?" she asked in a frazzled tone.

"I've been trying to do these maledetti buttons," Holly grumbled, fiddling with the front of her jacket.

"More like you were just waiting for me to do it for you," Camellia replied. She started waving her wand and sorting various books, posters and clothes into the trunks. "And don't swear."

Holly rolled her eyes. "It's not a swearword…" She continued wrestling with the buttons, muttering under her breath in furious Italian. Finally, fully ensconced in the dreaded suit, she slid her feet into the awaiting pair of black pumps and surveyed her reflection. It didn't look like her at all.

When she turned around, Camellia was looking at her with a slight smile. Aside from their hair colours, Holly's being light blonde and her sister's dark brown, the two of them looked almost identical (and, in Holly's opinion, completely ridiculous. It was alright for Camellia to look smart, given that she was the older one and about to start a new job at the Ministry of Magic, but Holly was seventeen. British teenagers didn't dress like this).

The trunk being packed, Camellia glanced at the old clock on the wall, which read half past nine. Plenty of time, of course - she never allowed herself to be late. With a wave of her wand, the trunk and Cosmo's cage floated gently into the air and moved smoothly out of the door and down the stairs, followed by Camellia. Holly grabbed her wand off the top of the chest-of-drawers, stowed it up her sleeve and followed suit. Despite her discomfort, she was excited to see more of the Muggle world on her way to catch the Hogwarts Express.

King's Cross Station was packed. Holly couldn't help smiling as the scene washed over her; newspaper sellers shouting at the passing crowds; commuters rushing to and fro; the smell of too many wet coats mixed with cigarette smoke and a thousand different perfumes; the barely-audible tannoy announcements; the rumble of trains undercutting it all. Carefully pushing her luggage trolley through the throngs of people, she kept pausing to look at everything around her, and eventually Camellia had to grab her by the elbow and lead her along. Throughout it all, Cosmo, the laziest of owls, remained blissfully asleep.

"Smaghi," Camellia said derisively as they navigated their way across the station - it wasn't far, but given the time of day it was slow going. She visibly shuddered when a man in an ill-fitting suit pushed past her, leaving the reek of stale cigarettes and a distinct lack of deodorant in his wake. She wrinkled her nose; the journey from the Leaky Cauldron had already set her teeth on edge, and none of this was helping her mood.

Holly leaned forward. "They're called Muggles, here, Cammy," she said softly.

"It doesn't matter what we call them," Camellia hissed back. "They're all the same. Empty-headed."

"I think they're brilliant," Holly said simply. She followed her sister through the ticket barrier, smiling briefly at the bored-looking Muggle standing on duty. "Muggles have been to the moon, you know."

Camellia chose to ignore that, focusing instead on the solid column of brick between platforms 9 and 10. Holly saw her hesitate for a fraction of a second before she walked forward briskly and passed through the column like it wasn't there.

Holly grinned before looking around quickly, making sure no Muggles were watching her. She spotted instead two tall boys with black hair and identical confident smirks, chattering loudly as they walked. Behind them were a man and woman, obviously devoted parents of the boys, smiling at them indulgently as they held their own quieter conversation. Holly felt a sharp pang of sadness as she watched the happy family unit, and her hands unconsciously gripped the handle of the trolley much harder. Setting her shoulders, she abruptly turned away to walk through the wall after her sister.

Emerging on the other side was like breaking the surface after swimming underwater - a second or two of absolute silence as she passed through, and then Holly was suddenly assaulted with the voices of a hundred young wizards and witches, their various families, pets, and the beautiful scarlet Hogwarts Express. She couldn't help but stare.

"Holly!" Her sister's sharp no-nonsense voice cut through the cacophony, followed by an imperious wave from where she stood next to one of the train's doors. When Holly approached, she immediately grabbed Cosmo's cage and one of the smaller suitcases, thrusting them into her younger sister's arms. "This train leaves at exactly eleven o'clock. You need to be on board. Take Cosmo, I'll get someone to carry your trunk." She turned and disappeared into the crowd.

It was actually quite nice to be rid of Camellia for a little while. Holly stepped onto the train with Cosmo's cage cradled in her arms, the owl finally awake and hooting softly to himself as he took in his surroundings. Most of the compartments were starting to fill up, but she managed to find an empty one somewhere near the middle of the carriage and sat down gratefully by the window, tucking the suitcase containing her robes under the seat. She put Cosmo's cage down next to her and poked her finger through the bars, scratching his head gently. He closed his eyes and nuzzled against her hand, making her smile.

"Nice owl."

Holly looked up, surprised, and spotted a very tall boy with pale brown hair looking down at her from the doorway. He had several long, old scars across his face, but his eyes were kind and he immediately stuck out his hand for Holly to shake. She leaned forward and did so gratefully - his skin was warm, and the handshake was welcome after being manhandled around the station by Camellia. "I'm Holly," she said, "Holly Hartwell." Her accent came out thicker than usual, as it always did when she was a bit nervous.

"Remus Lupin." The boy smiled. "You're not English?"

"Half - I grew up in Milan. I'm transferring to Hogwarts, just for this year."

"Are you on your own?" The boy frowned concernedly. He stepped into the compartment and perched on the edge of the seat opposite Holly, folding up his long legs and resting his elbows on his knees.

"My sister's with me. Somewhere." As if on cue, there was a sharp tap-tap-tap on glass. Camellia was standing outside the carriage, gesturing at Holly to wind down the window. After raising an eyebrow at Remus, she proceeded to ignore him completely and addressed her sister in Italian, speaking like a business associate rather than a sibling.

"I trust you're all settled in, Holly. Your trunk and other cases are on board; I gave them to one of the porters. I expect regular owls from you, and I'll write back as often as my schedule allows. I'd like to visit occasionally too, but I'll give you plenty of notice. Study hard, don't cause trouble, and make sure you do all your homework." Given the angle, the brief hug Holly gave her after standing up and leaning outside the carriage was very awkward, and then all of a sudden it was over and Camellia was stepping back. "Have a good term. See you at Christmas." She turned and walked away into the dwindling crowd.

Silence filled the compartment for a very long thirty seconds before Remus cleared his throat. "She's very...proper."

Holly laughed half-heartedly. "That's Cammy. Emotions are vulgar and must be avoided at all costs." She slumped back against the seat with a deep sigh and unbuttoned the hideous suit jacket, then let her hair down and shook it over her shoulders. Absently she started petting Cosmo again. "Sorry about that."

"Hey, don't worry about it. No harm done." He smiled at her again reassuringly.

Seconds later, raucous voices started making their way down the corridor outside, getting closer and closer until three other students burst into the compartment, including the two black-haired brothers Holly had seen earlier. The one with the glasses waved at Remus. "Moony, there you are! We thought you'd be on the platf-" His eyes fell on Holly. "Oh! Hello."

Remus chuckled. "Holly, this is James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew." He pointed to each boy as he introduced them, and Holly was surprised to find that the two taller ones weren't actually brothers at all. Peter, the shortest of the three, waved shyly at her with a pudgy hand that was clutching a large biscuit.

"Ciao," Holly said. She stood up and picked up her things - Cosmo hooted in a complaining sort of way - and smiled at them weakly before trying to get past them and leave the compartment. The conversation with Camellia had left her feeling deflated, all the previous fizzing excitement and nerves dissipating and leaving behind nothing but frustration and disappointment. She didn't feel like being surrounded by noisy teenage boys that she didn't know, even if they seemed friendly.

Behind her, Remus discretely cleared his throat and nodded to Holly with a don't-let-her-leave-she's- upset-and-we-should-probably-help expression.

The boy named James immediately put his hand on Holly's shoulder. Turning, she saw the concern in his bright hazel eyes, and the shiny badge with HB that was pinned to his chest. He in turn quickly registered her visible discomfort, stiff clothes, and the kind of red-rimmed eyes you get from trying very hard not to cry in front of strangers. "You can stay with us, if you want," he said. "We can be a bit loud, and Peter likes to feed people, but we're alright really." Without asking, her took her suitcase from her and stowed it above their heads. She didn't really have a choice but to follow him back into the compartment after that, given that she was too small to reach it. Reluctantly, she sat down next to Peter, who immediately offered her his biscuit and started showing her some of his collection of Chocolate Frog cards, none of which she'd actually seen before. James started telling them all about something he and Sirius had done during the holidays, while Remus listened with a bemused expression, and Holly found that she was already starting to feel a little bit better.