Sophia's POV

With my trolley in front of me, I sprint towards the barrier between the two platforms. Within a few seconds I am staring at the big crimson steam train, Hogwarts Express.

"Mind out the way," my eldest sister, Lysandra, says. "You don't want Petra to come crashing into your back, do you?"

Not wanting this to happen I quickly move out of the way, just in time as a trolley emerges out of the barrier, closely followed by my older sister. Once my parents are through the barrier, the goodbyes begin. Petra is the fastest to disappear, barely bothering to say goodbye before allowing her friends to whisk her away into the hustle and bustle of platform 9 and ¾. After saying her own farewells to Mother and Father, Lysandra kisses me on the head and wishes me luck before hurrying away due to her 'Head Girl duties calling'. Now only Fabia and I are left with my parents. We say our goodbyes and a few tears roll down my mother's cheeks as she sees her youngest child finally leaving for Hogwarts.

"Be a good girl," My father, Daedalus Yaxley, says to me with a smile that tells me he doesn't really expect that to happen. "And don't forget to write or your mother will be having kittens."

I nod and tell him I won't forget, knowing that he didn't just say it for my mother's benefit but also for his own but was never one to show such emotion. "I'll miss you, Daddy," I say and he kisses my forehead. My mother smothers me in one more hug before Fabia is eventually allowed to escort me to the train. "You don't have to stay with me," I tell Fabia, knowing she'd much rather be finding her friends after spending a whole summer without seeing several of them.

"It's fine," says Fabia kindly, walking down the carriage aisle behind me. "Do you want to join some other first years or come with me and my friends?" she asks.

"I think I'll find some other first years," I say, preferring the idea of independence.

Fabia nods and we continue down the aisle and into the next carriage. She gestures to one of the compartments, "I think they're first years."

I follow her gaze and see two first year boys sitting in one compartment. I shrug, "OK, I'll see you later then. Thanks for sticking with me."

"That's alright," Fabia smiles, "Have fun. I'll drop in later to check you're doing OK." She hugs me and drops a kiss on my forehead before disappearing in search of her friends.

I take a deep breath then walk towards the compartment door and slide it open, "Hey, mind if I join you guys?" The boys look up at me.

"Sure," smiles one of them in a friendly manner. "I'm Ritchie Coote."

"Jacob Johnson," the other boy supplies his name.

I smile as I sit down and tell them, "I'm Sophia Yaxley."

It doesn't take long before conversation starts flowing and I am pleased to find out that both of the boys are avid Quidditch fans.

Katia POV

Once the whole family is through the barrier we all say our goodbyes. My mother is a little teary and she kisses Kaelan and then me. I hug my younger brother, Aldrich, planting a kiss on his head before picking up my four year old brother, Cullen, and saying my goodbyes to him before handing him back to Mother. My father is quick to see us off, evidently eager to catch his friends before leaving the station. My only sister, Selena, rushes off to join her friends the moment my mother lets her go. After checking that Kaelan and I will be alright finding a compartment on the train, Gentry also disappears off into the crowd.

"Come on," I say to my twin, pulling Kaelan away from the clutches of my mother. I give a final wave then push my way through the crowd, eager to get on the train, one step closer to Hogwarts. We find an empty compartment and sit down in it. "I can't believe we're finally on our way!" I say excitedly, swinging my legs.

"I know," Kaelan grins at me, his blue eyes bright and alive beneath his floppy blonde fringe. I have often thought it strange how all of my brothers have light hair and blue eyes whilst my sister and I have dark hair and brown eyes. When I was younger, I used to worry that I was adopted or something and wasn't actually pure-blood but that is not the case.

A few moments later a dark haired boy enters our compartment and requests to sit with us.

"Sure," I smile, moving up to make more room.

"Name's Harper," he tells us confidently, "Kieran Harper."

"Katia Selwyn," I introduce myself.

"I'm Kaelan," adds Kaelan.

"Are you both first years?" asks Harper and we nod in reply. "Same," he grins. "So you two know each other already?"

"We're twins," Kaelan tell him.

"Oh," Harper looks from Kaelan to me and then back again. He shrugs, "Cool. Either of you play Quidditch?"

"We both do," I say and Harper nods as if he gives his approval.

Logan POV

After saying goodbye to my mother and younger brother, Dillon, I accompany my older sister (well, technically half-sister), Ethelinda, to the Hogwarts Express. She soon gets dragged away by another Slytherin girl, Selena Selwyn, and I am left on my own. I don't particularly mind as I never expected her to stick with me anyway. I find a compartment with a boy sitting alone. He looks like a first year so I poke my head around the door. "Mind if I join you?" I ask, sounding much more confident than I feel.

The boy looks up. "Sure," he gives me a friendly smile and I enter the compartment, taking a seat opposite him. "Are you a first year too?" he asks me and I nod. "Have you seen Harry Potter yet?"

I shake my head and then notice the camera in his lap, "You're into photography?"

The boy nods, "I'm going to take loads of pictures of Hogwarts to show my dad."

I frown slightly, wondering why anyone would do that. The boy looks and sounds British - wouldn't his father have gone to Hogwarts? Then I remember about Muggle-borns and smile at him.

"Oh, my name's Colin Creevey by the way," the boy introduces himself cheerily.

"I'm Logan Avery," I reply then go on to ask him if he plays Quidditch, always something I like to know about people. Only after asking the question to I realize that Muggle-borns don't play Quidditch and inwardly curse myself for my stupidity. However, Colin seems very interested in everything I have to say about Quidditch and listens intently as I tell him more about the Wizarding World.

Gail POV

I say my farewells to my parents then follow my cousin, Ernie Macmillan, onto the Hogwarts Express. We wander down the aisles of a few carriages, glancing in at a few compartments before eventually stopping at one and entering.

"Ernie!" the compartment's occupants leap up and hug him. Once Ernie and his friends have greeted each other, we sit down and Ernie introduces me.

"This is my cousin, Gail," he tells his friends then turns to me. "Gail, meet Hannah," he gestures to the blonde haired girl. She smiles at me then Ernie says, "Susan," gesturing to the red hair girls, "And Justin," he indicates to the boy.

Once the introductions are out of the way, the four reunited second years start talking about their summer holiday and discussing the curriculum of the coming year. There is some dispute over the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Gilderoy Lockhart. The girls seem to be very excited about the prospect of being taught Lockhart whilst the boys seem slightly less enthusiastic. I, myself, can't say I really care much for Lockhart but believe that he should be a good Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, considering all of his accomplishments. The four Hufflepuffs keep making sure to involve me in their conversation and I am very grateful for their friendliness as they ask me about my interests and such like.