WC: 1,105

Amber resembles Rowan Blanchard from the ages of 11- 13 (face claim will change over the years)

Tim resembles Landon Liberion (face claim may change over the years)

Elliot resembles Hugh Laurie (plus a bit of a gut)

Thanks to my beta malhearst

Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was bustling with activity, crying children, and stray owls flying around as Amberly 'Amber' Tonks was excited to start her first year at Hogwarts, and she clutched her dad, Elliot's, hand tightly.

"Ambie!" A voice yelled.

It was her cousin, Dora, who was a seventh year at Hogwarts. Dora hugged her excitedly, almost suffocating her, but Amber didn't mind.

"Are you excited to start Hogwarts?" Dora asked Amber. As they separated, Amber noticed that her Aunt Andromeda and Uncle Ted had joined them.

The younger girl nodded nervously. She was glad to have her cousin help with her adjustment to the school.

"Dora, can I trust you to watch Amberly?" her dad asked his niece.

The metamorphmagus mock saluted her uncle while Ted laughed and his wife, Andromeda, rolled her eyes good-naturedly. The train whistled, and the two girls said goodbye to their respective parents. Dora led her cousin to the train, and they found a compartment after a long search.

"Nymphadora!" A stocky red head exclaimed as he entered their compartment.

Dora's hair changed to a vibrant red as she exclaimed. "Don't call me Nymphadora!"

Amberly giggled at the exchange between her cousin and her cousin's best friend.

"At least someone thinks I'm funny," the redhead replied, making himself comfortable next to the still angry Dora.

"You remember the git, Charlie Weasley?" Dora asked teasingly, her hair fading back into her trademark bubblegum pink.

They had hardly settled into their seats when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

A boy with chestnut hair opened the door and asked, "Can I sit here?"

"Make yourself comfortable," Dora said.

The boy walked in, holding a tortoiseshell cat in a carrier, and Amber's eyes lit up; she'd always loved cats.

"So, are you a First Year?" Dora asked him.

The boy nodded in confirmation.

"My cousin is a First Year too."

Amberly looked over at the boy shyly. The two Seventh Years got lost in their own conversation and the younger students were left to their own devices.

"So, what's your name?" the boy asked.

"Amberly, but my friends call me Amber."

The boy nodded and said, "I'm Timothy, or, rather, Tim."

Amber nodded just as the cat meowed loudly. Tim got up and let his cat out of the carrier. The cat looked around the compartment, and Tim reached over and picked it up.

"Can I pet it?" Amber asked.

Tim smiled at her and said, "Go ahead; she's named Eurydice."

Amber leaned over and petted the cat. Eurydice purred loudly.

"So, what house do you want to be in?" Amber asked.

For some reason he avoided the question and instead asked her the same thing.

"I want to be a Hufflepuff, like my cousin, or a Ravenclaw."

Tim nodded and said, "I want to be a Slytherin. I feel like I'm ambitious and cunning, but I'm not evil."

"My Auntie Andromeda was a Slytherin, she's not evil," Amber told him.

Tim nodded and said, "I wish the boys I was sitting with before thought the same."

Before Amber could reply, the Sweets Trolley pulled up to their compartment. Amber didn't have any wizarding money, so Tim bought them some sweets.

"I'll pay you back somehow," she said.

The brunette simply shook his head, and the two of them continued to eat and chat

At six pm, the train stopped at Hogsmeade station. The quartet got off the train.

"Do you have to leave?" Amber asked Dora, nervously fiddling with her robes.

The metamorphmagus nodded and assured her worried cousin. "You'll be fine, Ambie."

"First Years!" a booming voice exclaimed, startling the duo slightly.

"Don't worry about him, it's just Hagrid," Dora explained.

The two First Years followed the lumbering man to the lake to find many boats, and found one with a brown-haired girl.

"Mind if we sit here?" Timothy asked.

The girl smiled and said, "Go ahead."

Timothy and Amber boarded the boat.

"I'm Katie Bell, who are you?"

Timothy nodded and said. "I'm Tim, and that's Amber."

"Oh, nice to meet you."

The boat jolted to a start, throwing Amber to the other side of the boat.

"You okay?" Tim asked.

"Just peachy."

Tim smirked and helped Amber up. She sat down next to him. They began talking.

"So, what house do you want to be in? I think I'd be good for Gryffindor."

Amber nodded and said, "Hufflepuff."

Tim shifted in his seat nervously and said, "Slytherin."

"Isn't Slytherin the bad house?" Katie asked innocently.

"No, it's not the bad house," Tim snapped.

"Do either one of you know anything about Quidditch?" Katie asked changing the subject.

"I'm a big fan of it, why?" Tim asked.

Katie breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I have no idea what it is, but this redhead just handed me his Quidditch magazine anyway."

Before one of them could reply, the boats docked at the pier. The trio got off the boat and into the castle, where they were escorted to the Great Hall by a stern looking witch. It looked beautiful. Amber glanced around and saw the enchanted ceiling. All eyes were on the new students but Amber felt like they were only on her, which she wasn't used to.

The Sorting began, and Amber and Tim were separated from Katie.

"Bell, Katherine!" McGonagall yelled.

The brunette waltzed up to the hat and was quickly sorted into Gryffindor. There was a round of cheers. Tim and Amber chatted animatedly until it was time for Tim to be sorted.

"Slytherin!"

The Slytherin table cheered as Tim ran towards the table on the far left. Amber was left alone, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dora give her a thumbs up.

"Tonks, Amberly!"

Amber walked up to the hat nervously, and just about a minute later she was sorted into Hufflepuff. She was sad that the others were sorted into different houses. Although, she had Dora, but she doubted a Seventh Year would find time to spend with her, even if it was Dora. The group of new Hufflepuffs were led to the common room by the prefect.

"I'm Melissa Manning," a cheery blonde said while they walked to the common room.

"I'm Amberly Tonks."

Melissa smiled at her. They reached the common room and were instructed on how to get into the common room and crawled in they walked to their dorms to see all their belongings were already there.

"I can't believe I'm stuck rooming with this filth," a sullen looking raven-haired girl said disgusted, looking between the brunette and the blonde and wrinkling her delicate nose.

"Are you talking about Hufflepuff or us?" Melissa asked glaring at her

"Both."

The two of them looked taken aback. This would be an interesting seven years.