Main Characters

Harry Potter - a famous boy that needs no introduction.

Ron Weasley - his best friend.

Hermione Granger - his other best friend.

The Wiglaf Witches

Menen Emryndar - leader of one of the most prestigious covens at Wiglaf Women's School for White Witches. Has brilliant red hair and bright green eyes.

Quaris Bumblepin - her best friend. Talks and thinks far too much for her own good. Has short blond hair and sapphire blue eyes.

Rynn Bumblepin - Quaris' younger twin sister. Schemes and plots and meddles in everyone's lives. Quite boy crazy. Has long blond hair, blue eyes, and is as skinny as a twig.

Trinshy Pindorklunk - the eternal optimist of her coven. She is filled with useless facts and even more useless advice, but is extremely loyal. Has light brown hair and tiny brown eyes.

Gars-Neis Thimblesnark - called 'Neis' most of the time, but occasionally referred to as 'Garsie.' Possesses a dry wit and a knack for starting fights with all the wrong people. Has incredibly long black hair and violet eyes.

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Platform 9 and 3/4 was quite empty, seeing as it was between school terms. I myself would much have preferred to transfer to Hogwarts at the beginning of a new year. But such is life. Things never seem to go as planned, do they?

My friends and I waited for the train to arrive, feeling rather unfortunate, as most people do when fate has dealt them a rather unexpected blow.

We were top students at the Wiglaf Women's school for White Witches, never dreaming that our academic success would lead us to Hogwarts. From what I had heard about it, I'd just as soon stay at Wiglaf.

Danger and intrigue were all well and good in storybooks and fairy tales. But where magic was concerned, it was better to be safe than sorry.

"The train should have been here by now." Quaris mumbled, glancing at her white-gold pocket watch. She kept time better than anyone I knew, and yet she was also the most foolish person in the free world. It might have had something to do with her fair hair and sunny complexion.

"It'll be here. Stop complaining." Neis replied, hauling her bags and things. Traveling did not become her, but it didn't exactly do wonders for anyone else.

At long last, our train had arrived. We were quite tired, naturally, but we clambered aboard, as was expected of the star pupils of Wiglaf. We were held to a higher standard than most.

And that is why I wasn't looking forward to attending Hogwarts.

We were bound to be treated like cheeky little brown-nosers, and despite being well-received at Wiglaf's, Hogwarts seemed to be a new entity entirely.

I could hear the insults now, as though they were being said in my ear at that very moment.

And the rumors were less than reassuring, at best. Harry Potter, the boy wonder. The bright and talented future wizard. The miracle of the ages. It was quite enough to make me sick.

But I made myself think of other things…On the sunny side, I mused, at least my friends were with me. I don't know what I'd do without them.

"You know, train-related accidents are the second leading cause of death amongst wizards and magick folk. I read that in a book." Trinshy blurted out. She was staring out the window with a blank expression on her face.

"You've gone completely dotty, you know that?" Rynn told her. She crossed her arms over her chest and complained of boredom.

"Let's buy some confections. They have the best sweets on this train." I suggested. I had a craving for some of those chocolate frogs.

"Great idea, Menen. Let's get fat and ruin our chances with any handsome, available boys at Hogwarts." Rynn replied saucily.

And then it dawned on me that Hogwarts was a coeducational institution. Boys attended Hogwarts as well. Naturally I had known that from the beginning, but I never quite made the connection.

"Rynn will land herself a boy within a week. She's been waiting years for this." Neis said with a laugh.

"I'll take you up on that bet, Garsie. There is no possible way that my sister can get anyone to date her within seven days. She's too horrid."

Quaris shook hands with Neis while Rynn wasn't looking.

I yawned and debated hiding somewhere in the loo, but I didn't want to leave them unsupervised. After all, we had a few good hours to spare in which to engage in a whole mess of trouble.

I used an Imperturbable Charm so that I would not be bothered by their noises while I tried to sleep. Unfortunately, the girls had a little too much fun with my invisible barrier.

They would throw things at me and watch them bounce back. The jocularity of this was ever increasing, especially when they made a game of how far they could make certain objects bounce.

I woke up and sighed as the charm began losing its effect. I loved fun as much as anyone, but being the leader of my coven, I had certain rules that I was required to follow. Rules I was meant to enforce.

"You know if you cast that and a madman came on the train, you wouldn't be able to hear him and by the time it wore off, he'd have you in his clutches. Wouldn't that be a most dreadful way to die?" Trinshy babbled away.

"Can we stop talking about death? It's so horribly depressing." Quaris said, hugging herself as though an invisible cold were washing over her.

"I've read up a bit on that Potter bloke. Didn't he meet a Death Eater on a train a few years ago?" Rynn wondered. Quaris shot her a dirty look.

"Scared, eh? Not to worry, Rynn. They most likely go after pretty girls." said Neis.

"Why do you always-"

"Girls, come off it. You've been utter terrors ever since we've boarded this wretched train." I leaned back and tried to close my eyes, knowing that the nightmare was only just beginning.

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"Now what?" Quaris wondered. We were just off the Hogwarts Express and we gingerly stepped into the town of Hogsmeade. In the letters I had received from the headmaster, I was told that we'd be met at the station.

But looking around, I noted that the station was rather empty. Whoever was supposed to have met us…they certainly weren't here now.

"Oh, bloody hell." Neis muttered. The dark circles under her eyes were the exact same color as her hair. She looked positively haggard.

"Watch your language. We don't want the representative from Hogwarts to think we're heathens." Rynn told her. She was looking around as though she'd spotted someone, but she nary said a word.

"What representative? There's no one here." Trinshy said. Her irrepressible smile had drooped.

"Rather weighty, this." I groaned, dragging my trunk across the stoney grounds of the stationhouse. Perhaps I should have packed lighter.

"How long do we wait?" Rynn asked.

I noticed a rather large, hairy-looking man standing behind her. He fit the description of Hogwart's Groundkeeper perfectly.

"Not long, Rynn. I do believe that Hagrid has finally arrived." I said to her. I moved closer and held out my hand to make his acquaintance. His grip was firm and warm, reminding me of a comfy bed by the fire.

"You lot look tired out. And no small wonder, being as it's way past the witching hour. Pardon the reference." He said in a low, booming voice. It was rather comforting to hear him speak.

Hagrid, the gentle giant, helped us carry our things and we soon left the station. We walked on a bit and stopped when we came to a large carriage pulled by what looked to be Thestrals. But then again, my eyes were probably playing tricks on me.

None of my friends were able to see them. The only reason I could see them lay in the fact that I had seen death. To this day, there are certain images I cannot erase from my mind.

"Ladies first." Hagrid said after loading our cargo onto the stagecoach. We climbed into it and settled ourselves against the plush cushioning. It wasn't long before we fell asleep in each other's laps.

A sudden jolt of the carriage brought us to life again and Hagrid glanced out the curtained window.

"We've made it." He said to us with a smile. I could see he was dreadfully proud of Hogwarts, so I began to wonder if maybe I shouldn't give it a chance after all.

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"I'm pleased to meet you, Ms. Emryndar and company. Wiglaf gave you such high recommendations that we couldn't possibly have refused your coming here. I do hope you'll find the accommodations quite satisfactory.

I will show you your temporary rooms for this evening. In the morning, we shall have you meet our headmaster, and he'll decide what Houses you'll be staying in. Also, I should warn you about a few things…but I guess it can wait. You five look like you're ready to raise the dead."

I smiled politely at Professor McGonagall, following her up a marble staircase and into an enormous room with five four-poster beds lined neatly in a row. They were surrounded by tons of burgundy velvet fabric, drawn up by ropes of pure gold.

After we were left alone, we all collapsed onto our respective beds, drawing the velvet curtains lazily. It was an unspoken decree that we were not to be bothered by any means.