Chapter One

Evelynn Cardinal

I pulled the letter out of my trunk once more and read it for the thousanth time.

Platform 9 and three quarters. That's what it said. So where was it? I pulled my trunk along with me around in on last trip around the station. I was lost. I breathed, taking in the smell of sweat and smoke, looking around a bit more. There were people rushing around everywhere. A train lumbered pass, shaking the earth and emmitting even more smoke. I choked a bit on the smog, still searching frantically for my platform in the chaos. Suddenly, I was bombarded by noise. I leaned against a worn brick wall, just about giving up, when-

"Lyza, your going to miss the train!"

"Mother, I am trying! I can only walk so fast!"

I turned to face the voices and saw a girl about my age dragging along a trunk, several books, and a caged speckled owl. She was trying to keep up with her quickly moving mother- trying being the key word. She kept running into muggles and causing a commotion with her ever falling stack of books. I smiled. Bringing along my neatly packed trunk, I walked towards her.

"Here! Let me help you with that," I said, picking up a few of the things she'd dropped.

"Oh, thanks", she replied, snorting a little with laughter. "I'm a bit of a mess."

"It's cool," I chuckled. "I'm Evelynn."

She shuffled her things around to free one of her hands and held it out to me. "I'm -"

"Lyza!," Her mother called.

"Sorry mom!We better get, Evelynn. Are you looking for The Express?"

I smiled, glad that I wasn't alone in my search anymore. "Yeah. Do you have any idea where we're supposed to be?"

She did that snort thing again. "No, I'm only a first year. But my mother-"

"Lyza Melo! Come here right this instant!"

I followed the girl as she rushed to her mother, getting my first good look at her. She was about average height, perhaps a bit taller. She had long curly black hair that cascaded down her back and shined silver in the florescent light. She looked at me again, motioning for me to follow. looked closer and saw that she had one green eye and one blue. I rushed towards her and her mother, amazed at how alike they looked. Her mom shared her curly locks, as well as her odd eyes, but her mom's face was aged by time. She had a friendly look t her, and her eyes were shrowded with laugh lines. The sight left me lonely. And feeling very short.

Her mom smiled at me. "Hello dear. Are you a first year as well?"

"Yes," I replied," I've been trying to find the platform for the past twenty minutes."

"Well its right through there," She said, motioning toward a wall.

I nodded. My mom was an auror, and my dad worked for the Department of mysteries (ooohhhh, mysterious), so I was used to weird stuff like that. I yanked my blond hair into a ponytail and walked through calmly.

Lyza Melo

Woah. She has alot of guts for such a tiny girl. I, personally, would have run screaming. Which is what I did about five seconds after she disapeared within the wall. I opened my eyes and was stunned. There were kids everywhere. Evelynn looked back at me and smiled. "You coming?"

I laughed."Yeah. Just give me a second," I smirked," Nice hair, by the way."

She smiled swirled a lock of hot pink and blonde in her fingers,, and looked like she was going to say something, but was interupted when she was knocked to the ground in a flurry of feathers. I laughed but looked away, turning my gaze to my "mother". She smiled at me and moved her hand in a "come hither" motion. I came hither.

"What do you want?"

She smirked." You are here for one reason only. Don't forget that." She put her hand on my arm in what would look like a motherly gesture to any bystander. I cringed away.

"Look," I said, through gritted teeth," I don't know who you think you are, but my mom's hair and some polyjuice potion does not make you the boss. I'm been a part of this long before you even knew about it."

She snarled at me,"Listen, Lyza," She bared her teeth at me in a twisted smile," I don't like working with little brats as much as I'm sure you don't like working with me. So just get over it. As long as I have Her trust, you will listen to me. Got it?"

" We'll see." I turned on one heel and walked towards Evelynn, who was off the ground and was immersed in conversation with some boy with red hair. A cute boy with red hair. I did a quick check to be sure that woman was gone, and walked towards them, a smile plastered on my face.

Meanwhile...

Simon Anderson

I searched through the crowd for Nia to be seen, but, once again, she was nowhere to be found. Typical. I trudged around a group of second years that I had seen popping in and out of our house throughout the summer, and ducked my head, trying not to be seen. I had just about past them when I slammed into a flurry of yellow and pink. I hit the ground with a thump, and felt something about the weight of a suitcase land on top of me. "Hey, watch it."

Then, looking, my eyes met a pair of blue ones. Pretty blue ones. "Oh, I mean, uh, sorry. " I lifted myself to my feet, knocking the suitcase to the side, and extending a hand to the girl. "I'm Simon."

She took my hand hesitantly and then stood as well, smiling. God. Her smile is beautiful.

She brushed off her jeans, then looked back up at him. "Evelynn. Nice to meet you.