It was so incredibly exciting to finally be going to my first year at Hogwarts. I couldn't wait to sit beneath the sorting hat and discover my house and learn to use the wand I had just received at ollivander's, 12 and a quarter inches long made of sycamore with unicorn hair, slightly springy. I snapped myself out of my thoughts as I realized I had yet to choose a compartment on the train. I opened the first door I came across and saw that the compartment was empty save a brown haired boy with a roundish face. "Do you mind if I sit here?" I asked with already high brows raised in questioning as I studied the boy. He was on the chubbier side with a mop of shaggy brown hair that looked in terrible need of brushing and soft greenish eyes above cherub cheeks that were currently blushing a furious red color. "O-o-of cours-se" the boy managed to stutter out and I smiled at him before pulling my trunk in, placing it away, and taking a seat across the small compartment from him. 'I can't believe a girl wants to sit with me! And such a pretty one at that' I heard the boy think and I frowned slightly as I watched his blush increase but quickly returned to a smile when I heard 'I wonder if she'll be my first friend at Hogwarts?' I had to stop myself from answering his thoughts and instead held out my hand and said "my name is caspia Atherton but you can call me cas. Just don't tell my grandmother, she doesn't think it's a suitable nickname for a young lady" the boy smiled a crocked toothed smile and shook my hand as he replied "Neville longbottom" it was then that I decided that I wouldn't mind being this awkward little boy's friend.

Eventually Neville's nerves of talking to a girl eased, it was clear that talking with girls was something he had rarely done in the past, and he finally stopped thinking about how pretty he thought I was. Really the boy needed to get out more. I wasn't bad looking by any means but I certainly wasn't the most beautiful girl on the train as Neville seemed to think. I had dark reddish brown hair and lots of it. My hair liked to get in the way when it was loose so I kept it loosely tied over my left shoulder, currently with a blue bow. I was pale. And not 'oh look at her with her skin just like porcelain' pale but 'Merlin's beard has that girl never seen the light of day' pale. And when I blushed, because my skin was so pale, I didn't get a soft rosy pink on my cheeks like most girls my entire face turned a shade of red that made it look like I was choking on something. My facial structure was fairly nice, I took after my pureblood mother in that respect. I had her high brows and long elegant nose and prominent cheek bones and full pink lips. Though my mother's hair had been a deep rich brown, I got my red tint from my muggle father. Yes my mother, the pureblood witch, fell in love with a mere muggle and eloped with him. I found it incredibly romantic, though my grandmother who raised me after my parents died never agreed with me. While my facial structure came from my mom and my hair mostly my dad my eyes were uniquely mine and the one thing about myself that I would admit was exceptionally beautiful. Where my dad's had been a warm brown and my mother's a sharp ice blue mine were a deep violet blue like the caspia flower, my mom's favorite. She used to say that was why she named me caspia, because my eyes reminded her of the blooms. Overall I was attractive, but I was by no means a model.

I snapped myself out of my thoughts and soon Neville and I were chatting nicely, it turned out we had quite a bit in common. We had both lost our parents and been raised by our strict, no nonsense, pureblood grandmothers. We were a few hours into the train ride and had just purchased some Bertie bott's every flavor beans from the trolley and I had had the misfortune of eating an earwax flavored one and was trying to get the taste out of my mouth as Neville laughed at my misery. Suddenly Neville had stopped laughing and had a slightly panicked expression on his round face. 'Oh no! Where has Trevor gone! He was just here I know it!' I heard just before Neville said "Trevor's gone missing!" I plastered on the appropriate amount of shock to the not so new news and asked Neville where he thought Trevor might have gone. "I-I don't know" he replied shakily. I patted his hand and smiled reassuringly before saying that we should go look around the other compartments.

We searched together for a while and then decided that it would be more productive if we split up which we did. I checked a few empty compartments and a couple others with students who had no more idea where Trevor was then I did. I reasoned with myself that I would look in one more before going to find Neville again for we would be departing the train soon. I opened the door to the compartment on my immediate left and saw two boys sitting there. One had red hair and an enormous amount of freckles and the other was a scrawny little thing with shaggy brown hair and a pair of rounded silver glasses that covered the greenest eyes I had ever seen. I cleared my throat and asked "excuse me but have you by any chance seen a toad around here?" the red head sighed loudly and dramatically saying in an agitated tone "for the last time we haven't seen the bloody toad!" the green eyed boy turned to me with an apologetic smile and said "sorry about him, you must know the boy that was in here earlier, Neville I think." I brightened at the mention of Neville's name and quickly proclaimed "yes! You wouldn't happen to know where he is would you?" I asked with a smile, revealing the identical dimples on both sides of my mouth. The bespectacled boy smiled in return and replied apologetically "no sorry".

I sighed and suddenly felt the train begin to slow, a high pitched whistle announcing that we had arrived at Hogwarts. "You're a first year too?" the green eyed boy asked, gesturing to the robes I had changed into before Neville and I left in search of Trevor. "Yeah, my name's caspia, caspia Atherton, but you can call me cas" I responded with a soft smile as I held out my hand. The boy responded by shaking it enthusiastically and replying "harry, harry potter". I must have looked as shocked as I felt because harry said "so you've heard of me?" to which I responded with a sheepish nod as I heard 'does everyone know who I am?' the other boy popped out from behind harry as the train came to a halt and held out his hand saying "my name's Ron, Ron weasley." I smiled at him and shook his hand before harry said "we should probably go" as he nodded to the still open door of the compartment and I realized that students were piling off of the train already. We trudged off all suddenly silent and the thoughts I heard racing in everyone's heads were pretty much the same, they were nervous about Hogwarts and I couldn't say I felt any differently.

We were standing on the dark platform and I was trying to spot Neville when I heard a voice say in a very thick accent "firs' years! Firs' years over here!" and I felt harry's thoughts instantly calm as the man who had just yelled out spoke to him by name. He was enormous with thick curly dark hair, a beard to match and small almost black eyes. I realized from what my gram had told me that this must be hagrid, the grounds keeper. Once all the first years had gathered hagrid lead us down a trail which eventually stopped by some boats that were to take us to Hogwarts which we could now see in the distance. It was huge, like an ancient castle. Thankfully I found Neville along the path, he was still sniffling over the loss of Trevor but seemed to cheer a bit when he saw me. He was with a girl who had bushy brown hair and introduced herself as Hermione. I took one small peak inside her mind and staggered a bit, passing it off as having tripped on a raised root. That girl was full and I mean very full of information. Going into her head was like going to the library!

We took our ride in the boats, me, harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville all riding together. We arrived and as we were about to walk up to Hogwarts heard hagrid, who had been checking the boats, say "oy, you there! Is this your toad?" and Neville and Trevor were thankfully reunited. Hagrid walked with us until right after we entered Hogwarts and a tall, dark haired witch with a stern face dismissed him. One look in her head told me that she was not someone to cross and she introduced herself as professor McGonagall before leading us into an empty chamber off the main hall. She explained the sorting ceremony and the four houses to us, but seeing as I already knew this information I didn't pay much attention and soon she was leaving saying she would return when they were ready for us.

I chewed my bottom lip nervously and gave Neville a reassuring pat on the shoulder when I saw how pale he looked and heard his jumbled, nervous thoughts. He gave me a weak smile and then McGonagall returned and quickly ushered us into the great hall. I was in awe, it was breathtaking and from the thoughts playing in my peers' heads they all felt the same. There were four long tables where all the other students were sitting and thousands of candles floated in the air and the ceiling it looked just like the night sky. In the back of my mind I heard Hermione mention something about it being bewitched. McGonagall placed a stool with a worn out looking hat sitting atop it in front of all of us first years. Suddenly a tear much like a mouth opened up in the hat and it sang a song. When it finished everyone clapped and then quickly grew silent once more as McGonagall pulled a parchment out and began to call out names. Far too soon, curse my name for starting with an A, my name was called and I walked up to the stool and sat down as McGonagall placed the hat on my head.

My stomach was churning and I took a deep breath and suddenly I felt the hat poking around my mind. Just as suddenly I heard its voice in my head 'my, my what a gift you have and so young. Such a talent would be well suited to slytherin and yet-' the hat paused and I felt my palms grow sweaty with dread at the thought of being placed in slytherin when suddenly the hat yelled out "RAVENCLAW!" the students at the ravenclaw table cheered and I felt a huge smile grow on my face as I practically skipped towards my new table. I wasn't in slytherin! Was all I could think as I sat down around a bunch of people I didn't know. The sorting continued, Hermione going into Gryffindor which seemed to surprise everyone but I was unfazed. When I had peaked into her head I felt that she had an enormous amount of brains and intelligence but I also felt that she had even more heart. The sorting finished shortly harry, Ron, and Neville all going into Gryffindor as well which made me a bit sad to be parted from Neville so soon. But as I looked into the minds of the people at the ravenclaw table I smiled to myself and though that this was exactly where I belonged.