The trees were passing by the window so fast they were beginning to make Emily's head spin. She turned her back on the view and lifted her feet up, bringing them to a rest on the padded seat next to her. It wasn't surprising to her that she was on her own; she had become used to being by herself when the children at the muggle school she had attended branded her a 'freak' and ever since then, she had never felt the need to make friends. She was very comfortable with being alone and if she were to admit it, she much preferred it.

She pulled a copy of 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' out of her bag and flipped it open. Despite being a fairly new copy, Emily had already managed to wear down the corners of the pages reading and re-reading it the summer before coming to Hogwarts. Magical creatures were far more interesting than humans any day. If only she had not told her mother to "Surprise me," when she went to Diagon Alley earlier that year. Almost as if he had read her mind, Hooper, her pet Pygmy Puff growled angrily, his non-existent ears burning.

"Do us both a favour and get eaten by a Manticore," she hissed back. She wouldn't have minded a purple one but Hooper's hot pink fluff was frankly insulting.

A knock on the carriage door made her look up. Through the glass, Emily could see a young boy, about the same age as her with a curly red afro peering through the glass. He had a million freckles on his nose and cheeks and a pair of chocolaty brown eyes. Seeing she had noticed him, he slid the compartment door back and leaned through.

"Are you saving those seats for anyone?"

Emily swung her feet back down to the floor again.

"Technically? No, but-"

"Oh, cool."

The boy entered before Emily had had a chance to think of something to say to make him leave and he sat down opposite her, pushing his heavy trunk and pet cage under the seat.

"My name's Hugo. Hugo Weasley. What year are you in?"

"None, as of yet. Although I expect I will be in the first year."

"Oh. Right."

Hugo shifted uncomfortably in his seat and watched the view fly past the window.

"So… do you have any brothers or sisters here?" He didn't wait for an answer. "My sister Rose is in the third year. She's in Ravenclaw because she's really smart-"

"Then why aren't you sitting with her?"

The boy blushed so his darkening cheeks matched his hair.

"She, uh, told me to go away. She's got her own friends here so she doesn't wanna hang around with me any more," he finished and stared at his feet. Emily couldn't decide whether he was cute or pathetic.

"All right, no need to pour your heart out. I believe you."

Hooper began to hum loudly and rolled back and forth around his cage, indicating that it was about time he was fed. Hugo watched with fascination as Emily pulled a packet of 'Puffie Puffs' from her pocket and poured a few treats into her hand.

"Give me your hand."

"What?"

"Just do it."

Hugo extended his hand and allowed Emily to put the small pink cubes that resembled marshmallows into his palm.

"Watch."

Hooper stopped humming and as Hugo watched, a long, thin, red tongue poked out from his fur, darted through the bars and extended all the way up to his outstretched hand. In one swift movement, it scooped the Puffie Puffs up and whipped them back into its mouth faster than Hugo's eyes could follow. He wiped his hand on his jeans as he watched the creature crunching its treats vigorously.

"Cool."

"At least someone thinks it is," replied Emily, stuffing the treats back into her trouser pocket, "Honestly, some kids get owls, others get cats and what do I get? A bloody fur ball."

Emily's tirade was interrupted by another knock on the door. Swearing under her breath, she got up and opened it to address the two girls waiting patiently outside. The first had hair that was red like Hugo's but was in a slightly darker tone and it hung halfway down the back of her black t-shirt. Her eyes were a startling shade of green and despite being considerably shorter than Emily she looked her in the eye with the confidence of a much older girl. The other had dark black hair in bunches and eyeliner thicker than Emily's little finger.

"Can we sit here?"

Emily groaned. Hugo, leaning forward to see who she was talking to, nearly fell off the seat with happiness.

"Lily! Kitty!"

He leapt of the seat and ducked under Emily's arm to tackle his red-haired cousin into a hug. She returned it just as enthusiastically and laughed.

"I was waiting for you on the platform, silly! Where did you go?"

Hugo broke away from the hug and returned to his seat, motioning that Lily and Kitty should sit next to him.

"I went looking for Rose but she went off with her friends. You'll stay with me won't you?"

"Of course we will!" She gave him a playful punch on the arm and Hugo smiled.

"Thanks Lily."

The sentiment of the scene was nearly making Emily puke. To avoid this, she knelt down to the floor and pulled out her robes from her trunk. As she was changing from her muggle clothes into her new school robes she couldn't help but listen to the three of them gossiping.

"I saw Albus earlier! He was trying to get into the same compartment as my sister."

"No way? What is it with my brother and your sister?" Lily groaned.

"Rose said to me that we should leave him alone…"

"Shut up, both of you! I'm going to tell you! Sophia said that he was following her around all summer, I reckon he's got a crush on her!"

The three of them burst into fits of giggles.

"That's so gross!"

Emily finished changing and sat back down again. This was going to be one long train journey.

"Hey, Hugo? Did your mum buy you a pet to bring with you?"

Hugo jumped up.

"Oh, yeah! Look, I'll show him to you."

He knelt down on the floor and pulled the pet cage from under his seat. With one flamboyant tug, he pulled off the cloth that was covering it and held it high for everyone to see. It appeared to be full of sawdust and nothing else.

"What is it?"

Hugo peered inside and tapped on the glass a few times.

"It's supposed to be a mouse but I've only ever seen him once," he sighed, "I think he's shy."

"Maybe he's lonely," commented Emily, "mice are quite social animals so they prefer to live in groups."

Hugo looked impressed and embarrassed at the same time.

"You think I should have got two?"

Emily took the cage from him and looked inside it.

"Maybe. I'm not really one to judge. I just got that information from a textbook but I expect that mice have different personalities just like humans. Maybe this one likes hiding and being on its own."

She handed the cage back to Hugo.

"It could also be the fact that mice are nocturnal and sleep during the day."

"Oh."

Hugo put the cloth back over the cage and put it back under the seat. Lily gave Emily a sidelong glance.

"What's your name?"

"Emily Peakes. Emily Alison Peakes, before you ask. And no, I don't have any brothers or sisters at Hogwarts already. You?"

Lily grinned.

"Lily Luna Potter. Pleased to meet you."

She extended her hand as though she expected to shake Emily's. Emily didn't meet her hand, but instead allowed her jaw to drop slightly.

"Lily Potter? As in, Harry Potter's daughter?"

It was hard to describe the expression on Lily's face. She had clearly been asked this question before and either found it tedious or amusing, or even both.

"Yeah.The Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, Vanquisher of the Dark Lord, hero of the wizarding world etcetera. He's my dad, and he's also Hugo's uncle. Hugo's my cousin."

Hugo waved at Emily as if she didn't know who he was already.

"Who's your friend then?"

"Kitty Marlowe," the black-haired girl replied, "daughter of no one you've ever heard of."

"Touché."

Emily had heard the stories from her mum and dad when she was a lot younger about the famous Harry Potter. Anyone with the tiniest drop of magical blood in their veins knew his story.

"Before you were born, there was a dark wizard whose name people didn't dare to say aloud because he was so evil. He killed and tortured people as part of his quest for immortality. Our world was crippled by fear and wizard and witch alike were too scared to stand up to him. They say that there was only one man that he was afraid of but that man was only strong enough to keep him from realizing his full potential. However, Albus Dumbledore was not strong enough to rid the world of him. That task fell to a teenage boy; Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived. When he was a baby, a prophecy was made that predicted he would be the one to end the Dark Lord's reign, or else die trying. When he was seventeen years old, he met the Dark Lord in The Battle of Hogwarts and fought to fulfil this prophecy. There, the evillest wizard this world has seen fell; killed by his own rebounding curse. The world had learnt its lesson and was safe once more. We must remember those who died to save children like you from living in such misery."

Looking back on the story now, Emily thought it was a little inappropriate for a six year old girl to hear before she went to sleep at night but it was something that had affected her parents greatly considering her father, then in his fourth year, had fought in The Battle of Hogwarts himself.

"My dad has a Famous Witches and Wizards card with your dad's name on it."

Lily smiled again, and retrieved her own school robes from her case.

"So have I. He says that they made him look far too skinny on it."

The three eleven year olds got changed because it wasn't going to be long before they reached Hogsmeade station and began their new life at Hogwarts. Conversation unavoidably turned to which houses they wanted to be in.

"I want to be in Gryffindor like my mum and dad. Daddy said it's the only house worth being in." remarked Hugo, stuffing his new wand into a pocket and puffing his chest out.

Lily was much more open minded.

"I don't care what house I'm in. My mum and dad were in Gryffindor too but they said the only difference is where your common room is and what table you sit on in the Great Hall. People should work and play together whatever house they're in."

Emily agreed with her. Well, in principle.

"I don't care what house I'm in but if I had to choose I would say Ravenclaw. It's a house for witty people and I would prefer being witty to being brave, hard-working or, ahem, cunning."

"What houses were your parents in?" asked Kitty with one eyebrow raised.

"Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. My dad was on the same Quidditch team as Har- your dad. He was a Beater. My mum was in Hufflepuff and she told me it's not as wimpy as everyone says it is."

Lily nodded in approval.

"Kitty, didn't you want to be in Slytherin?"

Hugo got his feet caught in his robes and banged his head against the window when he fell sideways.

"There's no need to be prejudiced, Hugo," sneered Kitty, "my sister is in Slytherin and they've won the house cup two years in a row now."

"By cheating," Hugo whispered under his breath, unfortunately loud enough for Kitty to hear.

"Say what you want we're still gonna beat your ass!"

The whistle sounded as the Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade station. About time, too, Emily thought.

"All right, break it up you girls we've got to get on a boat across the lake."

The train slowed down to a stop and Lily slid the door open for everyone behind her.

"I've never been in a boat before. Is it dangerous?"

"Not normally, no," explained Emily, "you just have to watch out for the Giant Squid."

Hugo stopped dead in the doorway.

"GiantSquid?"

"Yes," retorted Emily, "and if you don't move out of the doorway I'll push you in."

The tiny platform was covered in thick, white smoke that twisted and turned in the wind. Emily led the way with Hugo holding onto the back of her robes with one hand and pulling his belongings with the other. They stopped in front of a colossal man holding a lantern who grinned broadly at them all.

"Welcome ter Hogwarts, firs' years! My name's Professor Hagrid an' I'm the one who's takin' you across the lake this fine evenin'. Any questions?"

Hugo raised his hand weakly.

"Blimey! Don' tell me we've got another Weasley comin' this year?" Hagrid laughed, having seen Hugo's ruby-red afro. "Gordon Bennet this place is gonna get run over by the likes of yer if we're not careful!"

Hugo blushed profusely and spoke in a much tinier voice than Emily had previously heard.

"Is it true there's a Giant Squid?"

Hagrid roared with laughter.

"I haven' checked lately! Perhaps we should throw one o' the smaller ones in to find out? Any volunteers?"

A murmur of gullible disbelief rippled across the assembled first years.

"No?" The half giant pretended to be disappointed. Boy, he must love his job, thought Emily. "In that case, all there is left to say is no more'n four to a boat, no rockin' no dippin' yer hands, feet or heads in and absolutely no swimmin'. Understood?"

The eleven-year olds nodded weakly.

"Righ'! See you on the other side! If we all make it," he added with a chuckle.

Emily chose a front seat in a boat and was predictably followed by Lily, Kitty and Hugo. Hugo held onto his seat with both hands in terror and shut his eyes tight. Somehow, Emily couldn't see this kid getting into Gryffindor.

Okay, this is my first Potter fic so be kind. I couldn't decide what rating to use so I made it T to be safe. Any feedback, positive, negative or constructive is welcome but please no flames. To my friends that are reading this, see if you can spot characters with your names!

XXLollyXX