Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all of the characters belong to JK Rowling. Annie, Alice Fergie and Fiona are the only OCs I have yet created.
"Well, this is it Annie", sighed my mother, Hannah "Your first year at Hogwarts!"
I glanced at her sympathetically. It must be hard for her; she is on her own for the first time this year, as the landlady in the Leaky Cauldron. My dad Neville teaches Herbology at Hogwarts, and my sister Alice is just going into her third year. I looked around to see if there were any people I knew. I recognized a lot of the people at the station, but I hardly knew them, and I didn't even have the courage to want get to know them.
The train whistled, which I guessed was our signal to board the train. Mum looked tearful as we walked away from her. As we boarded the train, Alice immediately left us to go and sit with her friends. Dad and I walked on in silence, until he reached the teacher's compartment.
"Annie, this is where I have to leave you," he said, kissing the top of my head "Good luck with the sorting, I hope it goes well!"
I laughed, but couldn't help feeling nervous. What if he was disappointed with the house I was in?
I walked around the train for a while, taking quick glances into all the compartments, looking for a friendly face. Most of the people I saw looked okay, but I simply could not pluck up the courage to enter the any of the compartments. After a while, I just gave up, and seated myself on the floor in a small secluded alcove where various bits of luggage lay. I must have been there for around twenty minutes, when a tall slim girl with wavy auburn hair, who I recognized as one of Alice's friends approached me.
"Hey, you're Alice's sister aren't you?" she asked me, kneeling down. I tried to rack my brain for her name, when she said, "I'm Rose. How come you're sat out here?"
I replied, "I'm too nervous to join anyone in their compartment. They all look-"
"Intimidating?" said Rose. I nodded. "I felt the same too, but luckily for me, I was in the same situation as my cousin Albus, so it wasn't as bad. Then I met your Alice,"
I gave her a weak smiled, but in my mind, I scoffed. Everything seemed to be Alice this, Alice that at home, and it seemed to be turning out no different her. Don't get me wrong, I love Alice, it's just that she's outgoing, good looking, the person who turns heads as she enters the room, and the "overachiever" of us both, which naturally brings the most attention to her.
"My brother Hugo is in the compartment I just came out of, and he feels the same as you. How about you go and join him, and I'll go and sit with my friends?" suggested Rose.
"Okay," I said, feeling even more nervous than I already did. What if I disliked Hugo? I'd be stuck with him for the whole of the train ride.
Rose took me to Hugo's compartment, and opened a door. A boy who looked slightly taller than me with wavy red hair which fell into his eyes, which were dark brown and pale freckled skin sat in the corner, staring into space.
"Hugo?" said Rose. Hugo shot up, eyes wide, but then calmed down when he saw who it was. Rose continued, "You know my friend Alice? Well this is her sister Annie, she's feeling a little nervous like you,"
"O-oh erm ... H-hi Annie!" said Hugo, in a soft voice, stuttering out of what I guessed was nerves. I smiled at him, and sat across from him.
"Right, I'm going to find Albus, Scorpius and Alice now, so I'll leave you to it," said Rose, before shutting the door and walking out of sight.
I glanced around, looking for a way to break the ice. I saw a worn leather book, titled "Hogwarts: A History" which was abandoned on the floor of the compartment. Perfect.
"So erm, Hugo, what house do you want to be in?" I asked him, twiddling my thumbs. This seemed like the right way to break the ice, as as his eyebrows raised in what I guessed was interest.
"Well all my family have been in Gryffindor, and I suppose that would be good, but I don't really ... fit in, you know? Gryffindors are brave at heart, and I'm just, not brave," he said.
"Yeah, Gryffindor would be alright I suppose, but I feel the same, I'm just not brave, not like Alice," I sighed, emphasizing Alice's name.
"Do you not like Alice or something?" asked Hugo.
"It's not that, it's just ... Alice is braver and more outgoing than I am, so naturally, she gets the limelight." I explained.
"Yeah, it's the same with me, Rose and my cousins! James, Rose, Albus and Lily are always the stars," said Hugo.
"Who are James and Lily?" I asked.
"Albus' siblings," said Hugo.
Just as he said that, a girl with long straight auburn hair walked through the door, with about eight other people who looked just as confident as her behind her, two who I recognized as Fergie Finnigan and Fiona Macmillan.
"Oh hi Hugo," said Lily, smiling at him.
"Hey Lily, this is Annie, Alice Longbottom's sister" said Hugo, signaling towards me.
"Hi Annie!" said Lily happily.
I smiled at her. Lily seemed nice, but she just had this ... 'perfect' aura around her. I guess Hugo was right.
Lily made small talk with us for a few minutes, and then walked out, her posse following her eagerly.
"I see what you mean Hugo," I said.
"I definitely won't be in Gryffindor," he sighed.
"Hey, look on the bright side of things. I doubt I will either, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing does it? I mean, wouldn't it be a refreshing change to be different, and be able to prove yourself in a brand new house?" I said, trying to lighten up the atmosphere.
"I suppose you're right," he said.
That topic had definitely worked, as we ended up talking about all sorts of different things by the time the lunch trolley came with the sweets. They had my favourite, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. Hugo and I had a competition to see who could get the most unusual flavour. I got pepper flavoured, and Hugo got pie flavoured.
A while later, two blond haired boys walked into the compartment, and asked if they could join us. We agreed.
The boys introduced themselves as the Scamander twins. They were hard to figure out; they were identical yet they looked so different. The boy who introduced himself as Lysander seemed slightly taller than his twin because of his upright posture, had very pale skin, light freckles around his nose, large blue eyes an his fringe was up in a quiff. He seemed very mysterious, but also a comforting character to be around. His twin brother Lorcan was quite the opposite however, he had a big friendly grin slapped on his face, with long shoulder length messy blond hair, with a pair of glasses perched on his nose. He said a few rather odd things, and had a large book, which was about Potions clutched to his chest.
Hugo and I liked them instantly. They were talkative and polite, and they revealed that they hoped to be in the same house as each other.
All to soon, it was time to get off the train. Dad, Alice and Rose met up with the four of us, and pointed out a tall man called Hagrid with a long beard shouting,
"Firs' years over 'ere! Firs' years!"
We got into boats on the lake that Alice had told me about, which supposedly had a giant squid living in it. I ended up in a boat with Hugo, Lorcan and Lily, while Lysander looked a bit out of place in the boat behind us next to the loudmouthed Fergie and Fiona.
A/N: Please review the first chapter of 'The Forgotten Ones'!