I will disclaim: I think we all know that none of us owns ANY of the Harry Potter characters and I am no exception. Yet since we don't know much about Tonks' school years, I'm allowing myself to assume that all events and characters in this story COULD be holding with canon until I'm told otherwise.

p.s. I know there is seemingly no mention of Tonks in this chapter, but I promise she'll appear in the next one.

Stepping onto Platform 9 & ¾ for the first time was the most indescribable experience of Dylan's life. She'd convinced her father that she didn't need him to come onto the platform with her ("After all, you've gotta get the boys to football practice and then there's Robbie's show…") but after hugs all around and a forlorn wave at their retreating backs, she'd turned to the barrier with no little trepidation. She imagined trying to describe the sensation in her first letter home but knew she would ended up using the phrase "I guess I can't really explain it…" It was more than just stepping into a different platform, it was even more than stepping into a different world, it was stepping into a different life. She dragged her new trunk along the platform towards the GIANT scarlet train and pulled it, bumping, up the stairs. Panting she glanced down the long corridor and resignedly turned and dragged it, butt first along a corridor

"Hey, watch it!" Dylan turned suddenly and found herself face to face with a girl about her age with the craziest eyes she'd ever seen. They were bright purple with a blue inner ring. And as if that wasn't enough, she had bright blue stripes in her short-cropped hair.

"Sorry! So Sorry!"

"Just… watch where you're going…" The girl retreated into the compartment she'd come out of, that she guessed she'd go find where the food-cart lady stayed later.

Dylan finally found an empty compartment and sat next to the window watching the people on the platform saying goodbye to their families. A dark haired mother with curls so big and so stiff it looked like she was wearing curlers was screaming at her son who seemed to have forgotten something. Next to them a couple who looked like they belonged about 15 years earlier was saying their farewells to their little daughter. The mother tucked a daisy into one of the girl's braids and kissed her on the head. Dylan wondered absently whether or not they lived in a tree house. It would be really cool to live in a tree house. Dylan's brothers had made a tree house years ago but by the time she was old enough to climb into it, they were all too old to play kids games like that. A family of redheads caught her eye and brought her out of her memories. She tried to count the number of people but always messed up. She kept recounting one particular little boy and eventually got so frusterated that she gave up. They were all boys except for the mother and perhaps the baby and all looked really similar. Further back on the platform there was a little girl who had almost as much luggage as the red-haired family had people. She had patent leather shoes that were almost as shiny as her perfect blonde hair in perfect ringlet curls. Ew. How girly…

The compartment door slid open and a girl slipped in.

"Do you mind? It's my first year and I don't really know anyone, and well, you're alone too… so I just figured…" She trailed off looking hopeful.

"Sure!" Dylan smiled at the thought of a new friend.

"Great!" The girl turned and dragged her trunk in with her. Together the two managed to hoist it onto the luggage racks. They both collapsed on their seats, a little out of breath.

An awkward silence descended on the compartment as the two girls avoided looking at each other. Dylan took in the other girl's appearance as her gaze fell nervously on everything in the compartment except for the other's face. The girl's tanned and skinny legs stuck out from a pair of old baggy plaid shorts. She wore a pale blue button down tank top with an embroidered sunflower over the pocket. Her sun-bleached hair was pulled back with an old sun-bleached headband. Dylan's eyes rested on the other girl's shoes: clear plastic sandals tinted a light green. In her excitement and envy she forgot to be embarrassed.

"Woa! Are those jellies? Those are so rad!"

"Thanks! They were a gift from my grandma. You can't really run in them which is bad, but it's kinda like you're not wearing shoes at all, which is good! I like your… um… scrunchie"

Dylan crossed her arms across her chest pretending to look down at the denim look scrunchie around her wrist, but really checking to make sure she was hiding her hand-me-down Ninja Turtle tee-shirt. Most of her clothes used to be her brothers', right down to her faded black high-tops. Nothing she owned was girly, and she had never really cared until last year when she was kindly informed by one of her classmates that because she dressed like a boy and because Dylan was a boy's name, then logically she was a boy and so wasn't invited to the girls only sleepover party and shouldn't be allowed in the girls' bathroom.

"I'm Gwen by the way." The new girl stuck out her hand.

Dylan shook it.

"I'm Dylan."

"So… so are you a… a… um…"

"…a what?"

"A witch?" Gwen said and quickly looked down.

"Apparently." Dylan smiled. "Otherwise I guess I wouldn't be here…"

"Oh, of course! So… I mean… you didn't know before?"

"Nope, not until I got my letter."

"Wow. Glad I'm not the only one. I mean, one minute I'm pretending to be a magical fairy princess and then next minute I'm on a train with an honest – to –God magic wand to and on my way to an honest – to – God magic school with some guy telling me that I'm a witch." She paused.

" My parents didn't believe it at first. And when my mom told my dad, well, he thought she said something else and got really mad and asked what I'd done this time. But yea, we all thought it was a joke."

Dylan leaned in conspiratorially.

"I know! My family too. I mean, first of all, no one sends me letters… I mean, who would? And then everyone was real skeptical about the whole magic thing. But we had this lady come to our house to tell my dad that it was all real… she was kinda scary but really awesome."

"So… isn't it rad that we have magic wands?" Gwen's whole face had lit up. The two girls took out their wands and started swishing them around, making sound effects as well. "Have you tried any spells from any of the spellbooks?"

Dylan's face fell.

"…No… oh man! What if I really can't do anything? What if they made a mistake or something and I'm actually not magical? What if they kick me out!" It was like the excited butterflies that had been in her stomach all morning had suddenly flown into a tornado and were all being ripped apart and thrashed about.

"They couldn't have made a mistake," Gwen said easily. "I mean, they're magic! Besides, it's all pretty easy. Here try this one: Lumos." The tip of Gwen's wand glowed bright filling the compartment with light. Dylan glanced nervously out the window wondering if it would attract the attention of people on the platform only to find that they had already begun their journey. The train was racing through the outskirts of London toward the wide embrace of the lush green countryside. She turned back and grinned at her new friend.

"That was awesome! How did you do that? What was it? Lumos? Okay…." Holding her wand out in front of her like some sort of a baton or a weapon Dylan announced "Lumos!" and the light in the compartment almost in intensity. The two girls started laughing, all their nervous energy being released in the comfort of another nervous person, and with that relief came even more laughter.

For the rest of the train ride they sat together and talked and laughed. Every once in a while their compartment would light up only to be extinguished moments later by a giggled "Nox!" between gales of laughter. It was such a relief to not feel alone that neither of them noticed they were hungry until the food trolley arrived, and they didn't even notice it was getting dark.

Alright! So any advice/corrections would be greatly appreciated. As of right now, I don't have a beta reader and would be much obliged if someone were to offer... cough hint hint cough

also, assuming that the Harry Potter series begins in 1991 when the book was first published, then these events take place in 1984, and obviously I've made an attempt at dealing with that. BUT! being from California, and being much more interested in the 1960's and 1970's, I'm not sure how accurate I'm being with slang and fads and fashion and am open to any suggestions/corrections (p.s. I promise not to make any ill-concieved attempts at British slang except for an occasional "wotcher" since that's Tonk's catchphrase if there ever was one...)

Thanks!