AUTHORS WARNING: I am not sure why exactly I'm posting this. Perhaps to remind me that I am learning as a writer, and that I shall never revert to this. This was my first attempt at HP Fanfiction, and as you can see, it was a bad NextGen Fanfic full of Mary-Sue ish characters, and no character development. I have this habit of deleted things I dislike from my computer, so I'm posting this to here. Perhaps someday I'll continue, but for now... Who knows.

The usual stuff, Hogwarts and all Canon characters are copyright to JK Rowling... I don't own nothin' but my original characters, and heck, they aren't anything to be proud of.

The rain pelted hard against the windows of the Hogwarts express; splatting against the side and then slowly dripping down.

A weary looking girl with dark black hair and blue eyes sat by herself in the compartment, her arms rapped around her knees and her wand at her side.

A cage sat beside her; holding a tawny colored owl with large black spots.

She looked up abruptly as a knock came on the compartment door, and it slid open to reveal a tall girl with light red hair.

"Hello there, I'm a prefect, and the head boy has told me to go and find some empty compartments because we're severely over packed. So many students!" She looked flushed.

"So naturally I heard no noise coming from here, which is unusual and I see it's pretty much empty. Would you mind if I rally up some other students who have nowhere to sit, and get them in here? This seems to be the only compartment." She looked down pleasantly at the girl, then remembering her manners, announced: "OH, my name is Cassandra Botch. You are?" she held out her hand.

"Sarah, Sarah er.. Gray. And no, I don't mind." She said, ignoring Cassandra's hand.

Cassandra smiled pleasantly, slightly confused by this girl.

"Okay then, thank you! And don't look too glum." She said as she slammed the compartment door shut.

Sarah picked up her wand from the cushion and put the owl's cage onto the floor.

Several minutes later Cassandra entered with four other students.

"Here you go then, have fun!" She said, slamming the door once again.

The four stood nervously in the middle of the compartment, none wanting to take a seat quite yet.

Sarah slit her eyes as she inspected the four newcomers.

The one farthest to the left of her had long reddish-brown hair, which was put up in a rather nice looking ribbon. She smiled feebly, as if not wanting to get on the bad side of the strange girl with the ice blue eyes and dark hair.

Sarah moved on. The next on was a tall boy with red hair, and freckles showered his face.

Then next to him was what Sarah supposed must be his sister. She had long silvery blonde hair (with a tint of red) and only had a little bit of freckles. They both had a kind of aura, a silver tinge. Sarah ignored this and moved on to the next one.

This one was odd. He was rather tall, and had an imposing manner. He had dark brown hair that looked rather messy (Sarah had been brought up very neat) and stunning green eyes.

Finally she held out a hand. "I'm Sarah Gray."

The tall blonde girl shook hands first. "Charlotte Weasley, and this is my brother Pierre." She indicated the tall red head. Pierre mumbled "H'lo."

Charlotte looked expectantly at the other two.

The other girl stepped up. "Um, I'm Ginger Moonthorp" She said quickly, sitting in the seat the farthest from Sarah.

The last boy looked as if he was about to speak when someone knocked rather hesitantly at the door.

Everyone immediately sat down, and Sarah saw that the bench she was sitting on was completely empty whereas the bench opposite her was crammed full.

"Come in." Sarah sat dully.

The door slid open yet again to reveal a scared looking face peering in with electric pink hair and a pointy face.

"Um um.." she stammered. "My cousin Cass told me to sit in here if I didn't have a seat and I don't so…" She looked hopefully at them.

Sarah sighed in her mind and patted the bench next to her.

"Don't take all day then. Sit down."

The others looked at the newcomer as she took a seat.

Charlotte introduced everybody – how she could remember all their names, Sarah would never know – And the girl nodded.

"Well then. I'm Byrd Oleander."

They all just sort of stared at each other for a while, until Sarah said: "Are you all first years, then?" Most of them nodded, except for the tall boy with the brown hair.

"What house you in, then?" Charlotte asked.

"And what's your name?" asked Sarah.

"My name is John Potter, and I'm in Griffindor." He said after a moments pause.

They all nodded. Potter was not a rare name nowadays. After all, many wanted to name their children in the famous Harry Potter's honor..

Finally Ginger spoke up. "I'm muggle born. What about you?"

There was some uncomfortable muttering, when Charlotte Announced, "Me and Pierre are pureblood, but as far as purebloods are concerned we're blood traitors." Pierre nodded, and Sarah wondered why they looked rather proud at saying this.

"I'm my mum an dad're both magic, but my mum was muggle born an' my dad.. I think e' was mostly pure blood.. So that makes me a mix I guess.." Byrd said shiftily.

"I think I'm rather like Byrd, then." John said hesitantly. "Most of my family was magic, but I have some aunts and uncles and other odd relations that are muggles."

Byrd nodded.

"I'm pureblood." Sarah announced. "All of my family were wizards an' witches, and they were awfully strict about that too. I'm one of the last, so my Grampa expects me to be married and have children by the time I'm twenty."

Everyone sat and contemplated this for a while, when suddenly Charlotte lit up. "I think I read something in the prophet about you.. I recognize your surname, Gray… Hmm, if only I could remember what it was."

She sat and thought for a while, everyone too shy to speak.

"Oh!" Charlotte said after a moment of silence.

"Oh no, you're not the 'Gray' whose Mother and.. Father were killed some two months ago?"

Sarah nodded slowly,, ignoring the odd looks that her companions had on their faces.

"Oh.. I'm so sorry." Byrd said hesitantly. "My mum and dad were killed ages ago, so I live with my aunt."

Everyone looked down awkwardly, avoiding everybody else's eyes.

"What house do you want to be in?" Sarah asked, hoping to break the awkward silence that seemed to follow her.

This produced immediate results, as everyone started to discuss the different houses.

"I want to be in RavenClaw," Ginger said amiably. "Almost all of my family's in RavenClaw, so I think I've got a good chance."

"I'd like to be in Griffindor…." Pierre said hesitantly.

"I'm not too sure where I want to end up, but I'd very much like to be in the same house as Pierre." Charlotte said.

Pierre nodded.

John and Byrd stood in silence.

Sarah didn't speak up, she wasn't sure what house she wanted to be in.

To break the silence she said "So what's with your hair Byrd?"

Byrd blushed. "Well, you see.. I'm a… um, a metamorphmagus or something that sounds like that anyways, I can change my appearance at will… But I'm still learning how to do it fully, I just learned how to do hair." She smiled hopefully.

The compartment broke out in questions and requests, and finally Byrd changed her hair to a violent shade of green and then back to pink. This received much applause, and Byrd blushed again.

They continued in this way for a while longer, until another knock came on the door.

Without waiting for an answer it slid open to reveal Cassandra the prefect.

"We're approaching the castle, you'd best change into your school robes." She smiled at Byrd, who smiled back.

There was much shuffling around as everyone got out their robes with the Hogwarts insignia inscribed on the front.

When everyone was fully changed the compartment door slid open of its own accord, and everyone on the train shuffled to get out.

Sarah soon lost awareness of the others and followed a gigantic shape calling "fers' years! Fers' years over here."

Sarah followed the voice, to see it belong to a humongous man with a bushy black beard and small black eyes.

He smiled at Sarah and pointed to the boats.

"On'y three to a boat!" he bellowed.

Sarah found herself in a boat with Byrd and a strange boy Sarah did not recognize. He had a rather long face with a square jaw and bold looking yellow green eyes.

Sarah ignored the stranger and looked at the lake they were sailing on (the boats had started of their own accord) and gulped loudly. She had always had some hydrophobia, drinking water was fine; And fountains and such, but a whole lake? Sarah hadn't been aware it was so big…

Suddenly, a slimy pinkish tentacle burst out of the water, retrieving a frightened looked boy's hat that had fallen in the water. Sarah gulped. She closed her eyes and pretended she was just sitting on a perfectly normal… something. A giant elephant would do. She was sitting on a giant elephant that was wading through the sky, and Sarah was riding it and there wasn't any water anywhere….

After what seemed an eternity the boats finally reached their destination and Sarah was distracted from her fear by the most awesome sight she'd ever seen.

The glittering many chimneyed castle that was Hogwarts sat a short way in front of them, it's many windows glowing a warm yellow.

She and the rest of the first years staggered into a grand hall where they were met by a rather jolly looking man with a large stomach that his shirt was straining to hold and graying hair that was pretty much bald on the top.

"Welcome future students of Hogwarts!" he exclaimed. "I am professor Slughorn, and our headmistress Professor McGonagall has told me to come and greet you and prepare you for the sorting."

There was a lot of murmuring at this..

"But never you fear, all you have to do is, when I tell you, go and stand in a line – not in front of each other but side to side – up there in front of that stool. When your name is called you are to sit upon the stool and put that hat upon your head, it shall then find which house to sort you into and you go and sit at your table." He beamed at the murmuring first years. "All set up? Then let's begin!"