Disclaimer: I do not own HP and it's characters, they are all the work of Mrs J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: Hi all! Thanks for looking at my story, I hope you enjoy reading it. The first couple of chapters follow the book extremely closely and only really start to move away from the books in chapter 3. If you can stick with it until then, I promise you it gets more interesting!

Cassiopeia Black was, for the first time in her life, early. And it was boring. She and her Uncle had arrived early because his monster of a boss had demanded he come in. His boss was too much of a cow to give him the morning off to say goodbye before she left for boarding school. What this meant for Cassie was that while Platform 9 ¾ gradually filled with teary eyed parents, she was alone, in a compartment, heading off to a world where she knew very few people. She suspected that she wouldn't be welcomed warmly either. A ball of nerves settled in her stomach and seemed content to remain there. There were so many 'what ifs' swirling around her head she was almost ready to bash her skull on the window just for a moment of peace.

Sighing, she looked at her reflection in the pane of glass and felt a pang of sadness. Cassie was a lot like her father in looks, the tameable black hair and crystal blue eyes were characteristic of the house Black. She knew that once any pureblood or half-blood heard her name they would give her a wide berth. Nobody would want to be associated to the daughter of the traitor and murderer Sirius Black. Her Uncle didn't like to talk about him.

The Hogwarts Express gave a long whistle, a warning to the last students to board. A knock on the compartment door made her look over startled, a feeling of dread formed in the pit of her stomach. She spotted a mop of messy black hair and a pair of emerald green eyes hidden behind battered round glasses.

"Hello? I was wondering if I could sit here?" Harry Potter asked sheepishly dragging a trunk and owl cage behind him.

Cassie felt her mouth go dry so she just nodded.

He gave her a relieved smile before handing her the beautiful snowy owl's cage while he tried to wrestle his trunk onto the train.

"Want a hand?" A red haired boy asked.

Cassie hoped he wouldn't refuse, not liking the idea of having to help heave such a heavy trunk.

"Yes, please," Harry panted.

"Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!"

With the twins' help, Harry's trunk was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment.

"Thanks," said Harry pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes.

"What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry's lightning scar.

"Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you-?"

"He is," said the first twin. "Aren't you?" He added to Harry. Cassie rolled her eyes in amusement.

"What?" said Harry.

"Harry Potter," chorused the twins.

"Oh, him," said Harry and she couldn't fight the grin that crept onto her face. "I mean, yes, I am."

The two boys gawped at him.

"You'll catch flies with your mouths open like that," Cassie remarked, noticing Harry's face flush in embarrassment.

Her comment made them snap their jaws shut, just as a voice came floating in through the trains open door.

"Fred! George? Are you there?"

"Coming, mum."

With a last look at Harry, the twins hopped off the train. Harry took the other seat next to the window, where she could tell he was watching the family of redheads intently.

"We'll send you a toilet seat!"

"George!"

"Only joking, mum."

The train began to move. Houses flashed past the window. The door of the compartment slid open and a younger red headed boy came in.

"Anyone sitting here?" he asked, pointing at the space beside her. "Everywhere else is full."

Harry shook his head after a quick questioning glance at Cassie and the boy sat down.

Cassie pointedly ignored the boy who was quite obviously a Weasley, in hope that he would just forget she was there at all. She hoped they wouldn't ask for her name, as that would probably open up a whole bag of worms she didn't want opened yet. Thankfully, the twins reappeared again and soon the two boys found plenty to talk about. Ron easily forgot about her in favour of talking to Harry.

While they were talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and country lanes flicker 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 trolley dears?"

Harry, who looked like he hadn't eaten in a week, leapt to his feet, but Ron mumbled something about sandwiches. Harry went out into the corridor.

Ron turned to Cassie, "Can you believe we're sitting with Harry Potter?" He whispered.

Cassie resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him. "Yeah it's pretty crazy," she agreed. Quickly she returned her attention to the window in the hope that he would stop talking to her. He didn't catch the hint.

"I thought he'd be really different, full of himself or something," Ron murmured as Harry handed over a small heap of coins to the trolley lady. "Hey!" he realised suddenly, "I never asked you your name? I'm Ronald Weasley, nice to meet you,"

Luckily Harry entered the compartment again, tipping what looked like the contents of the entire trolley onto an empty seat.

"Hungry, are you?" Ron asked.

"Starving," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty.

Ron took out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches in there. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef."

Cassie looked on in amusement but said nothing, she hadn't thought to pack anything to eat herself and her Uncle, who was always a little short on money meant she would have to wait until after the sorting ceremony to get her fill.

Perhaps then she would explore the castle, something she was eagerly anticipating.

Though, she thought as her stomach grumbled, it was a long time before they would reach Hogwarts. Her grumbling stomach caught Harry's attention and she smiled sheepishly at him.

He grinned as both her and Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of chocolate frogs waiting to be unwrapped.

"Help yourself," said Harry. "But in, you know the muggle world, people just stay put in photos." He said in answer to whatever they were on about.

The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers and dark green hills.

There was a knock on the door of their compartment and a round faced boy came in. He looked tearful.

"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"

When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"

"He'll turn up," said Harry.

"Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him…"

He left.

"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."

The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap when they were interrupted again, just as he was lifting his wand to perform a spell. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lot's of bushy hair and rather large front teeth.

"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."

She sat down. Ron looked taken aback.

"Er-all right."

He cleared his throat.

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed grey and fast asleep. Cassie could tell that his twin brothers must have had a hand in this little prank. She almost felt bad that Ron had fallen for such an obvious trick and she had to hold in her laugh.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl and Cassie could hear a distinct 'Remus' quality that made her want to laugh some more. "Well, it's not very good is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practise 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 learnt all of our set books off by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough- I'm Hermione Granger by the way, who are you?"

She said all this very fast.

"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.

"Harry Potter," said Harry.

"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."

"Am I?" said Harry, looking dazed.

"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do any of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, I hear Dumbledore himself was one, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad… Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."

And she left taking the toadless boy with her. Cassie stood up as well, grabbing her robes to change into and taking off after Hermione and Neville.

"Hey, wait! I'll help you look for that toad." She called out hopefully, to be rewarded with two happy grins.

Hermione looked embarrassed. "I'm so sorry, I didn't even get your name in there. You know, I just get so nervous talking to new people, my brain just lets loose all of the things I've learnt and… Gosh! It's just unbelievable to think about magic when just under a year ago I was looking at normal secondary schools to go to and now, well now I carry a wand!"

Cassie grinned at Hermione's enthusiasm. "I'm Cassiopeia Black, but just call me Cassie." Hermione beamed back at her. She seemed to be thinking very hard. Neville Longbottom also looked very thoughtful.

Hopefully Hermione hadn't looked too closely at her family tree. She probably wouldn't react so well to her otherwise. Neville looked a lot more cautious, his face turning white as he shook her hand and stammered out his name.

They carried on a little way down the train until they came to Neville and Hermione's compartment.

"You can get changed in here," Hermione offered and Cassie did.

They stood around and chatted politely for a while when there was a commotion down the corridor, coming from Harry and Ron's compartment. Out of which three boys tumbled out and roughly pushed past them in their haste to leave.

Hermione tutted, "I'd best go and see if they've gotten changed yet, they seemed a bit hopeless earlier. Oh, I do hope they haven't been fighting, it would be awful for them to get a detention before they've even begun yet."

Cassie couldn't help but disagree, the first detention of the year was a great honour. She figured this may have been her Uncle's fault as he told her about the Marauder's exploits, a group of legendary boys that went to school at the same time as him.

Hermione trotted off back down the train, leaving her and Neville with an awkward silence.

"So," Neville started nervously. "You're a Black?" Cassie felt a flicker of anger at the name.

She scowled. "In blood and name only, I wish I could change it to my mum's maiden name and be done with the whole family."

Neville looked slightly relieved by this news. "So you live with your mum then?"

"No she died a long time ago, I live with my Uncle instead," she said, "And you?"

"My Gran, Augusta Longbottom." Just the name seemed to make Neville nervous.

Hermione was back again as a voice echoed through the train, "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

Cassie was glad that she wasn't the only nervous one as Neville's face paled and Hermione began to babble a stream of facts quoted from Hogwarts: A History.

The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way towards the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. The three of them looked around in confusion. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students and all three of them looked up at a man with bright beetle black eyes and a tangle of hair with a long shaggy beard.

"C'mon, follow me- any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

Slipping and stumbling, they followed the huge man down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark either side of them that there must be thick trees there.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," he called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

There was a loud "Oooooh!"

The narrow path had suddenly opened on to a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, it's windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

"No more'n four to a boat!" He called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. They saw Harry and Ron get into one to be joined by two more boys. Cassie, Neville and Hermione sat in the small empty boat to its left.

"Everyone in?" he shouted. "Right then- FORWARD!"

And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Heads down!" the shaggy haired man yelled as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy which hid a wide opening in the cliff face.

They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbour, where they clambered out on to the rocks and pebbles.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" the big man asked, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.

"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after the man, coming out at last on to smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.

They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.

"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"

He raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.