I really hope you enjoy reading this and feel free to review it to tell me your views.

BIG HELLO to:

Charlotte – who helped to inspire this story

Ellie – who was sitting next to me when I started writing this story

And Hannah – who would get annoyed if I didn't include her in this list!!!

The sound of the rain hitting the window woke the sleeping boy, and he rolled over shoving his head deep under the pillow. The figure remained silent for a few seconds, unmoving as if he had gone back to sleep. Then, quite suddenly, the pillow flew of the bed as the boy sat bolt upright, eyes wide and excited.

Today was his first day at Hogwarts!

That morning was the busiest one the house had seen in a while. After scoffing down his breakfast so fast that he almost chocked on the bacon, his mother had shooed him away and told him to check he had packed everything.

The boy was called Luke Hopper and he was what his books called a 'muggle'. When Luke had read this he had been slightly offended by the blatant separation between magic and non-magic people. This slight irritation disappeared quickly as he read through the rest of the books his mother and he had brought on their trip to Diagon Alley.

Checking through his trunk he realised that he had forgotten to pack his wand, and spent about ten minutes hunting around the almost bare room, to find it. Just as he was beginning to get worried over the misplaced twig, he remembered that he had slipped it into the pocket of his robes for safe keeping.

He delved into the vast trunk and pulled out the shimmering black robe, throwing it over his shoulders like he had done many times previously that past summer. Positioning himself in front of the mirror he glanced at his reflection.

He was eleven years old but he was tall for his age. His hair just covered his forehead but wasn't long enough to get in his eyes. It was dark brown but had slightly lighter natural highlights, though no one ever believed him when he said he hadn't had them put in.

The robes fit him well. When he had first gone to Diagon Alley to get his uniform and school equipment he had worried that he would have to wear one of those pointed wizards' hats. This was fortunately not the case because hats had been removed from the uniform list a while ago because students kept complaining about losing them. He chuckled at the thought of a roomful of witches and wizards in funny pointed hats, like a big Halloween party where everyone had accidently come as the same thing.

'Luke! Are you ready? Your dad is already in the car and if we leave him out there much longer, you know he will get distracted and go of to fix something.' She sighed in exasperation at this very true fact; it was hard to keep his dad focused. 'Do you need help with your trunk honey?'

'No, I can manage on my own, go keep dad from wandering off or else i'll be late. I can't be late for my first year!' Luke heard his own voice become hysterical at the idea of missing the train. His mother chuckled before she walked out of the house to the car.

Luke turned his attention to the trunk which was now closed, with the robes back inside (the wand was in the back pocket of his jeans). He tugged on one of the handles, but it didn't budge. He pulled on it harder and harder until he was leaning completely back using all his weight to move the trunk. He hadn't realised that the corner had caught on the side of the bed. With the biggest tug that the small boy could muster, he dislodged the case but the force of the pull left him sprawled out on the floor. He looked about, embarrassed in case anyone had seen, but then realised he was still in his room and that no one had seen.

He burst out laughing, doubling over. When his laughter died down he crawled unsteadily to his feet still chuckling to himself. He then proceeded to carry his trunk down the two flights of stairs to the ground floor. His mother came and helped him lift it into the boot.

'Have you forgotten anything?'

'No… Oh wait!' and with that the eleven year old boy sprinted up the stairs and crashed back into his room, he was in shape and so was barely out of breath even though his stairs were quite steep. Luke's eyes scanned the room seeking what he had forgotten. He saw it under his desk- looking annoyed at its chosen resting place. His owl Sapphire sat hooting angrily at him, her blue eyes glinting almost threateningly at him.

Her eyes were the same colour as his which is why his mother had brought her for him. It was also how she had gotten her name.

'Sorry girl,' he replied guiltily as she hooted crossly again. Her head swivelled so that she was no longer facing him and he could have sworn he heard her huff. He pulled the cage out from under the desk and carried it with him back downstairs.

Once outside a gust of wind caught the cage and some of Sapphire's honey coloured feathers floated away on the breeze. Luke watched as they twirled around like ballerina dancers performing on stage.

His thoughts were interrupted as his mum called for him to hurry up and get in. The car was red and sporty; it was his dad's pride and joy. He often spent hours watching as his father worked on it. It made him sad that he wouldn't see his parents for a year (they were going away for Christmas). His dad noticed as his face fell.

'Cheer up champ, you are going into a whole new world now, you should be excited' he beamed at his son. His son the wizard, he liked the sound of that. Mike Hopper had already known about the world of witchcraft and wizardry because his eldest brother Peter had gone to Hogwarts. He had been incredibly jealous of the tales Peter had told him about the magical school. About Peeves and the other ghosts which roamed the grounds. About trips to Hogsmede, and playing Quiddich. Now his son would get the chance he had never had, but he wasn't bitter, he was overjoyed!

They reached Kings Cross Station fifteen minutes later and Luke climbed out of the car tentatively, glancing around for a sign that he was in the right place. Mike grasped his shoulder with one hand and steered Luke over to the entrance to platform 9 and ¾.

Taking a deep breath Luke ran at the wall closing his eyes as he felt it loom over him, his father had told him there would be no impact so Luke was amazed when he collided with something heavy. Falling to the ground he thrust out his hands to slow his decent, surprised when they only just touched the ground.

Then ever so slowly he was lowered to the ground, he turned his head and saw his father's eyes twinkling down at him as he loosened his grip on Luke's t-shirt. There was a seemingly ownerless trunk a small way away and Luke assumed this was what he had run into. But that wasn't what caught his eye. It was the fact that he was no longer on platform 9.

The breath caught in his throat as he heard the sound of a steam engine and upon lifting his head Luke took in the scarlet train before him aswell as the groups of children, of all ages, gathered around talking animatedly to each other.

Parents were saying goodbye to their children with varying amounts of emotion. Hugs were exchanged, waves and short farewells followed. A few tears fell, mainly from the mothers.

The steam engine let off a huge puff of steam alerting the children to the fact that it was almost time to leave. Luke and his parents carried his trunk and Sapphire's cage over to the nearest door and Luke climbed in. He turned.

'Goodbye,' he whispered, he suddenly felt very young.

'Have a wonderful time honey, and send us letters all the time, we want to hear all about it.'

They swapped a few more goodbyes before the final warning sound reverberated from the train and the doors were shut. Luke watched his parent's figures fade away from him as he waved furiously at them. Then they were gone.

Luke turned and picked up the cage and trunk and went to find somewhere to spend the journey to Hogwarts.

I hope you enjoyed the first installement to my first Harry Potter fan fiction.