Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter of any of its characters, J. k. Rowling does. Only my ideas and OC'S.

Author's note: this is my first Harry potter fanfiction, so not everything will be right, but just go with it. I know that the first year of Harry potter takes place in 1991, but for this story, it's going to take place in 2004. So instead of being born in 1980, Harry, Ron and the rest will instead be born in 1993. I have a reason for making that chance. One more thing, like I said before this is my first time writing HP so a few characters might not be completely in character at first. The more I write this the better of a feel I'll have for them. If someone is too far out of character then let me know and I'll fix it. That's all I wanted to say so on with the story.

~1~

The sound of the train's whistle pulled Tiffany from her thoughts. Her head is currently resting against the cool glass of the window. She had gotten on the train early so it was easy finding an empty compartment. Tiffany's mother had made sure they got there a few minutes early to avoid the large crowd that would be there. The girl's father hadn't been able to make it. He had been called to work at the last second. He had to fill in for a co-worker who had called in sick.

Almost everyone was on the train now, as the whistle signaled the soon departure of the Hogwarts Express. Tiffany Caraway was an 11 year old witch about to go to her first year of Hogwarts. Her waist length dark brown was brushed from her face and had been braided. A small pink bow held her thin hair together at the end. Sitting beside her was a small girl with short blonde hair and big blue eyes. Her name was Holly Solomons and the two had been BFFs sense they first met in kindergarten. And sitting across from them looking as though she was bored to tears was Tiffany's cousin, Jessica Melendez.

Jessica wasn't an easy person to deal with, though having grown up with her Tiffany had long figured out how to handle her. Sadly Holly didn't know her as well. The two didn't get along very well which would make things hard on Tiffany when having to listen to her best friend and cousin argue. Luckily they weren't speaking to each other at the moment, so no harm done. Unlike Tiffany and Holly, who both had pale complexions, Jessica has a darker skin tone with black hair and dark eyes. Jessica was looking out the window, looking restless. Holly was reading a fantasy book that she had brought with her to read.

Holly was the only one out of the three that wore glasses. Tiffany used to wear glasses to, but she no longer needed them. The brown haired girl looked into the window reflection of her own hazel eyes. She planned on sleeping most of the way there. That's what she usually did on long rides. Then the door to their compartment sled open and a girl that looked the same age as them poked her head through. She had bushy brown hair and brown eyes. "Do you mind if I sit with you, the rest of the train is already full?"

"Sure we don't mind," Tiffany said at the same time as Holly. The bushy haired girl sat down next to Jessica who was zoned out, paying no attention. "My name is Hermione Granger, what are your names." They each introduced themselves, even Jessica who looked away from the window long enough to answer. Hermione then seemed to notice the book in Holly's hand for the next thing she said was. "I know that book; I read the whole series last year in primary school. It's a good series." Holly seemed to perk up at that. Holly never really had anyone to talk to about the books she read.

Tiffany did love to read as well, but she just wasn't as strong as a reader as Holly was. "I know right, I brought the whole series with me. I promised Tiffany that she could read them when I'm done." Hermione nodded her head as if in approval. The train had already started moving, leaving behind the sight of parents waving their kids goodbye. For a while, Holly and Hermione talked about different books that they've read and ones that they both have read. Jessica didn't like reading, so she remained silent through the whole conversation. Tiffany on the other hand would bring up a book or two once and while. But mainly just listened to the two other girls talk.

Tiffany had never been one to talk a lot. She had always preferred to Liston to other people talk then being part of the conversation herself. At one point Hermione changed the topic when she said, "You know I really hope I get sorted into Gryffindor. I read that's it's the house of bravery and courage. I would love to be in that house." Tiffany knew that if Jessica hadn't already fallen asleep on the window, she would have made a smart mouth remark. "So what house do you want to be in?"

Tiffany really didn't care, as long as she was at Hogwarts, she couldn't care less about what house she was in. "I've got family in different houses so I don't really care." The bushy haired girl nodded her head in understanding, and then looked at Holly for her answer. Unlike Tiffany, Holly had an idea of what house she might want to be in. "I'm thinking about Ravenclaw. But it doesn't really matter." The three, four if you count the still asleep Jessica, sat in silence for a while after that. Then Hermione broke the silence. "You know, neither of my parents are magical, I'm the only witch in my family." Tiffany heard the pride in the girl's voice. She then looked over at her BFF. Holly knew exactly how Hermione felt.

"Me to, we have so much in common." Holly replied at bit loudly. Even though they had just met, Tiffany could tell that her best friend already seemed to have more in common with this new girl then herself. And that thought made a small seed of jealousy to take form. Holly was her friend first. Then Hermione's attention shifted back to Tiffany. "You mentioned that you have family in different houses, I would like to know more about that." A small part in the back of Tiffany's mind told her it was none of the girl's business. But the brown haired girl bushed the away easily. It was just harmless curiosity. It wasn't like it was a secret of anything.

"I have two older sisters who have already graduated from Hogwarts. Their names are Christina and Jennifer. Christina was in Gryffindor and Jennifer was in Hufflepuff. My cousin Jessica over there also has two sisters, though their still in school. Ashley's a 4th year Ravenclaw and Jamila is a 7th year Hufflepuff. All we need now is for someone to be in Slytherin and my family with have someone in every house. It's kind of funny if you think about."

Hermione nodded her head, bushy hair flying everywhere in the process. Not long after that, Tiffany opened her purple book bag and pulled out a bag of cheesepuffs. "Who wants some?" Holly eagerly put her hand into the now open bag and got herself a handful. Tiffany held the bag out to Hermione who got a few. The bushy haired girl then looked at the sleeping girl next to her. "Should we wake her up and see if she might want some?" Hermione asked, looking between Jessica and Tiffany. "No she's good. Jessica gets bored to easy. As long as she's asleep, we won't have to deal with her or her attitude. This has been a good ride so far, I don't want her ruining it." Hermione seemed taken aback by that but let the subject go.

Just then a lady pushing a snack cart past by and they each got a few things. The rest of the ride went just as smoothly. Tiffany hadn't realized that she had dosed off until she felt a hand shaking her shoulder. Blinking her eyes a few times, the brown haired girl had to rub the sleep out of her eyes. Yawning and stretching in the process. "We'll be there soon; you should change into your uniform." Hermione said, already in her school clothes. Tiffany looked at Holly and saw that she too had already changed. She had before been wearing a short sleeved pink shirt with a flower design as well as a pair of pants that was a darker shade of pink then her shirt. Holly had always wore pink, even if Primary school.

It was then that she noticed that Jessica was gone. She most have woken up. Tiffany was pulled out of her thoughts when the compartment door opened and Jessica walked back in, wearing her school robes as well. Once Jessica was seated, Tiffany grabbed her bag which had her uniform in it and headed for the train's bathroom. After relieving herself, the brown haired girl changed into her uniform. She had been wearing a white sleeveless shirt that had a purple crop-jacket attached to it as well as a matching purple ruffled skirt. Before leaving the restroom, Tiffany washed her hands and checked her reflection in the mirror one last time. She had a round face, not from fat though, she just had baby cheeks.

A small beauty mark could be seen above the right corner of her tip. And then there were her eyebrows. Her eyebrows had always been thin, to the point of being hard to notice. She had been asked by a lot of people before if she plucked her brows, but she had never done that. They were naturally that thin. Which were the opposite of Holly's thick blonde ones.

It wasn't long after Tiffany returned to the compartment that the train started to slow down. Once the train had completely stopped a large bearded man called for the first years to fallow him. The man looked like a giant, Tiffany had never seen anyone so ginormous before. Even though the man had a friendly demeanor around him, she was still uneasy around someone so big. Once off the train the four girls fallowed the rest of the first years to a set of boats that would take them across the lake to the large castle. Tiffany's mother and two sisters had told her so much about the school, but to see it in person was something she would never forget. A look of astonishment was on the other three girl's faces as well. Holly, Jessica, Tiffany, and Hermione all got in the same boat. Once everyone had gotten into in to one of the boats, they started to move towards the castle on their own.

It was going to be a good year, Tiffany could feel it. It was the first year of a new school and she was determined to reinvent herself. She refused to remain the shy wallflower she had been throughout primary school, and sense no one, except for her friend Holly, and cousin, no one knew who she was. She could be anyone or anything. The thought had Tiffany exited. She was going to show her true self and not care what people thought. Well she hoped so anyway. Once everyone was off the boats, the bearded man led the first years into an oak door. They were met at the door by a tall woman with black hair wearing green robes. After the man left the woman led them in.

The woman then led them form the entrance hall to a small chamber to the side. Tiffany wasn't bothered by this at all. She had heard plenty from her sisters and cousins to know that they would be soon guided into the great hall to be sorted. And Though Tiffany had said before that she didn't care what house she would be sorted into, she couldn't help but be anxious. With all of the first years in the smaller room, the woman faced the group of children and said. "I am Professor McGonagall and welcome to Hogwarts."

~1~

Author's note: well that's chapter 1, I hoped you like my first HP fanfic. The next chapters should be longer. I'll start working on the other chapters soon, so I hope you liked how I started it. I hope you give my story a chance and leave a review so that I'll know what to improve on in later chapters. Thank you for reading and I hope you have a good day, or night, depending on what time it is when you read this. Later.