A/N: This is a brand new story, though the idea has been lurking in the back of my mind for a while now. This story I would guess is more movie based, at least on character appearance, but also has some book basis. Unfortunately there will have to be some slight inconsistencies with time and such to help tell my story, but nothing major so don't worry too much. I really hope you enjoy this! Please review if you would like, but don't be too mean, I am new at this!

"Oh Astrid I'm so excited!" Hermione exclaimed as she stopped her cart right in front of the barrier between platforms nine and ten. I stopped next to her and smiled brightly, nodding my head at her.

"Me too," I replied to her, "I'm so glad we get to do this together."

"You two girls ready?" My father asked as he walked up with Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Hermione and I nodded our heads vigorously. "Alright, you know what to do…you best go through at a bit of a run since it's your first time. You two go first and we'll follow, alright?"

Without even bothering to answer, I broke into a jog and headed straight for the barrier wall that appeared completely solid to all the muggles around us. I didn't need to look back to know that Hermione was right behind me with her own cart. I was at a pretty good speed when I shut my eyes out of reflex and a little bit of nervousness. The next thing I knew, I heard a loud train whistle blow which caused me to open my eyes and I saw that I was standing right in front of the Hogwarts Express; the glorious train was more magnificent than I could ever have imagined. A mere moment later I felt Hermione stand right next to me and heard her gasp as she first saw the train as well.

"It's magnificent, isn't it?" I asked her, smiling from ear to ear.

"I've never seen anything like it! I've seen pictures in Hogwarts, A History; but nothing can prepare you for actually seeing it."

"I completely agree with you Hermione." Just then my father and the Grangers came through the barrier where Hermione's parents had a very similar reaction. My father looked at the muggle couple and grinned at them before looking down at me and Hermione.

"Trust me girls, it'll never get old. Every time you step through here…even now all the memories come flooding back and it's just as spectacular as it was when I was your age." He walked up behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders before motioning to the train, "Come on then, let's find you a nice compartment."

We all made our way to the train and found an empty compartment in the middle of the train. My father and Mr. Granger got me and Hermione's trunks loaded into the compartment and I set down Mynx, my long haired tabby, on one of the seats where he curled up. Once Hermione and I had everything settled, we each said goodbye to our parents.

"I'm going to miss you darling." My father said as he bent down to hug me.

"I'm really going to miss you too dad…I just wish mum could be here, and Lucille too."

"They are sweetie; they're always with you, right in here." He got onto his knees and pointed at my heart before continuing. "Your mother would be so proud of you Astrid. I know that right now, she and you sister are both looking down from Heaven with smiles on their faces. They'll always be there to protect you." He kissed my forehead and stood back up. "I love you Astrid, you be safe alright?"

"I will dad." Just then the whistle blew again and my dad looked down at his watch to see it was a minute to eleven. He ushered the Grangers out and they stood by our open window where Hermione and I leaned outside. "I'll send Max to find you tonight so you can write and let me know which house you've been sorted into!" My father called as the train began moving out of the station. Hermione and I waved goodbye to our parents and platform nine and three-quarters as we made our way to our new home away from home.

XOXOXOX

The Hogwarts express had just left the station when we heard someone knock on our compartment door. We both looked over to see a boy about our age who had dark brown hair, a round face and rather large teeth.

"Do you mind if I could join you?" The boy asked nervously, "All of the other compartments are full."

"Go ahead, we don't mind." I said to the boy; with some difficulty he managed to get his trunk into the compartment before sitting down in an empty seat next to Hermione.

"My name's Neville Longbottom by the way."

"I'm Hermione Granger and that's Astrid Burby." Hermione introduced us to the both with great pride as usual.

"It's nice to meet you Neville." I smiled at the boy. "You know Hermione, I haven't seen my cousins yet…would you mind if I went to look for them?"

"Go ahead, I'll talk with Neville."

I stood up and smiled at the both of them before heading out the compartment and down the train. I first went to the front, glancing in each compartment and I found Fred and George in one that was fairly close to the front.

"Hi Astrid!" Fred and George called out in unison as I waved to them; I had always liked the twins, they were like my protective older brothers and always looked out for me. However, at the moment I knew they were with their friends and I was really looking for Ron, so I smiled once more before heading towards the back of the train. When I passed my compartment I saw that it was empty, I shrugged my shoulders before continuing on and managing to bump into someone.

"Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was-" I cut my sentence off when I looked up into rather cold grey eyes. The boy was rather pale, had white blond hair that was neatly slicked back and was several inches taller than myself. He had an obvious look that screamed bad boy, yet I didn't feel threatened by him at all.

"It's alright…?" He ended it as a question, obviously wanting to know my name.

"Astrid." I told him quickly.

"I'm Draco." He smiled at me before he motioned to his two buddies, that I hadn't even noticed until now, to follow him. "I'll see you around Astrid." I watched him walk towards the front a few feet before slipping into a compartment that was just past mine. What a strange boy… I turned around and made my way back to the end of the train and finally found Ron's fiery red head in one of the last compartments. I opened the door and smiled at my cousin, just as I was about to open my mouth to say hello, he interrupted me as he likes to do so often.

"Astrid, look who I've just met! It's Harry Potter!" My eyes must have grown to the size of saucers as I stared at the rather scrawny boy with messy dark hair and a pair of broken wire-rimmed glasses. I had seen pictures of his parents since ours had been such close friends, and Harry was a miniature version of his father, yet I could tell he had his mother's vivid green eyes.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you Astrid." Harry said as he nodded and smiled at me.

"It's nice to meet you as well Harry, I'm Ron's cousin by the way." I said as I sat down across from the two boys. They had clearly just had a visit from the snack trolley because the compartment was filled with all sorts of goodies, and a lot of them had already been eaten.

"Care for a chocolate frog?"

"Yes please." I took the box from Harry and opened the package, I let the frog hop around on my lap while I looked at my card, "I've got Merlin! He's my favorite." I put the card in my jeans pocket and ate the chocolate frog that was now still since the magic had worn off.

"Hey Astrid, what house do you think you'll be in?" Harry asked nervously.

"Well my father comes from a strong Ravenclaw family but my mother comes from a Gryffindor family, so either one is fine with me…although I prefer Gryffindor since I have family there now."

"Oh…" Harry looked kind of down now, I guess since I was pretty sure on which house I would be put in.

"Hey, you know our parents were great friends." I said, hoping to cheer him up. "They were in Gryffindor with my mum, so maybe you'll be in Gryffindor also." This seemed to work as Harry looked at me and smiled from ear to ear.

"Really? What else do you know about them?"

"Only what my father has told me. Our mums were best friends all through school." Harry seemed satisfied with this answer for now and sat back in his seat grinning. We sat there in silence until I heard a squeaking noise come from Ron's lap; it was his pet rat, Scabbers.

"Oh…you brought Scabbers?" I asked Ron with a hint of disapproval. I had always disliked rats for obvious reasons, but I absolutely hated Scabbers.

"Yeah…Since Percy's a Prefect, he got a new owl and I got Scabbers." Ron seemed a bit disappointed as well. "But Fred told me a spell that would turn him yellow! You wanna see?" Both me and Harry nodded, though Harry was much more excited than I; knowing Fred, it was a dud spell…but might as well let Ron have his fun. Ron cleared his throat, lifted his secondhand wand and was just about to say the spell when Hermione leaned into the open compartment door.

"Has anyone seen- oh, hi Astrid!" I waved her to come inside, "Have any of you seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost his." We all shook our heads simultaneously. "Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see then." Ron cleared his throat yet again and began his spell.

"Sunshine, Daises, Butter mello. Turn this stupid fat rat yellow." Not surprisingly, nothing happened.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" Hermione said shifting in her seat she had taken next to me. "Well, it's not very good is it? I've only tried a few simple spells, but they've all worked for me." She looked over at Harry, "May I?" Hermione motioned to Harry's taped together glasses. Once Harry nodded, Hermione pulled her wand out from her new Hogwarts robes. "Oculus Reparo!" Just like that the tape on Harry's glasses vanished with a small puff of smoke; Harry took off the glasses and upon inspection discovered that the glasses were complete fixed, like brand new. Hermione sat back in her seat smiling and we all sat there in an awkward silence until I decided to break the ice.

"Harry, Ron, this is Hermione Granger. Hermione, this is Harry Potter and my cousin Ron Weasley."

"Harry Potter, really?" Hermione was very excited to hear this. "I've read all about you, you're in several wizarding history books I've read so far."

"Really?" Harry seemed very surprised at this.

"Of course, you're very famous, why wouldn't you be?"

"Erm…right." Harry sounded like he was trying to convince himself still.

"Astrid, the train is almost at Hogwarts and you still need to change, let's head back to our compartment." I nodded and we both said goodbye to Harry and Ron before heading out of their compartment and back into our own. Neville had yet to return to the compartment so I used this time to grab my new Hogwarts robes and put them on, securely fastening the buttons. Once I finished I sat down and Mynx jumped up, curling into my lap.

"Can you believe we just met Harry Potter?" Hermione was so excited that the wizarding world was slowly becoming more and more real to her by the minute.

"I know, and he was so nice also." I replied while petting Mynx who was purring contently. "You know, my parents and Harry's were great friends. Our mum's were best friends and my mum was actually his godmother." We sat there a while longer talking excitedly about our futures at Hogwarts and all the new spells we would learn.

"Attention all students, we will be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes time. Please leave all luggage and animals on the train as they will be transported to the castle separately. Thank you." Once the booming voice on the train had finished Neville walked into our compartment looking rather downtrodden.

"Did you find your toad, Neville?" I asked the poor boy.

"No…I've lost Trevor. Gran's going to kill me."

"It's okay Neville, you'll find him, I promise." We all settled into the compartment and Neville put on his robes over his jumper and pants. Just then we all felt the train slow down and then eventually stop completely. All three of us stood and walked into the very crowded hallway where all the other students were trying to exit the train. It took us a few minutes but we eventually made it off the train and we immediately heard a loud voice telling all first years to head in its direction. Upon reaching the source of the voice, I discovered it was a very tall man with wild hair and an even wilder beard. The man had to be well over eight feet high and easily towered over all the first years. Despite being such a large and overbearing man, he had a wonderful warmth about him and seemed very nice. It turns out he had Neville's toad, which he was quick to return to the very happy Neville. Next, all the first years clambered into small boats that lined the dark lake in front of Hogwarts Castle. Hermione and I reunited with Harry and Ron and decided to share a boat together. The entire boat ride was completely silent because everyone was in awe of our new school.

Once the boats reached the shore by the castle, we all climbed out and onto the rocks and pebbles that lead to a walkway we took straight up into the castle itself. Once inside we were stopped on a marble staircase by a tall witch who told us how we would be sorted into our houses in a few moments.

"I'm so excited Hermione, I can hardly believe it!" I whispered into Hermione's ear, we were standing at the top of the stairs in the very front of the group. Hermione reached down and grabbed my hand, giving it an excited squeeze.

"Me too, Astrid, I can't believe it's actually happening…" Her voice trailed off dreamily as she looked around the front entrance. A few moments later the witch, Professor McGonagall, returned and ushered us into the Great Hall. The four long tables were full of returning students who all clapped when we walked inside. In front was another long table where all the professors sat, including Albus Dumbledore who sat in the middle. Just a few feet inside, I felt Hermione yank lightly on my hand. "Look!" She was pointing at the ceiling; I couldn't help but gasp out loud. It looked like there was no ceiling at all and we were seeing the beautiful night sky that sat above hundreds of floating candles. "I read in Hogwarts, A History that the ceiling's been bewitched to always look like the actual sky!"

"Fantastic!" Hermione and I quickly made our way with the rest of our class to the front of the hall where there was a stool that held a rather old and dingy looking hat. All of the sudden the hat began to sing some sort of song about the different houses and what they're known for…it was pretty wicked but also a little creepy. Once it had finished its song, McGonagall walked up next to the hat with a long piece of parchment in her hands.

"When I call your name, you will come up and sit; I will place the Sorting Hat on your Head and it will then choose which house is best for you." McGonagall all gave us a moment to comprehend before continuing. "Now, let's begin….Abbott, Hannah." Hermione and I waited patiently as students were sorted before us. "Boot, Terry…RAVENCLAW!" A loud applause was heard from the Ravenclaw table. "Bulstrode, Millicent…SLYTHERIN!" Then finally it was my turn; "Burby, Astrid…" I quickly, yet nervously made my way up the few stairs and sat on the stool, the hat was placed on my head and I suddenly head a voice in my ear.

"Ahhh…Burby is it? You've got the brains of your father and would do excellent in Ravenclaw…yes…but, you're just as brave as your mother who was a Gryffindor…hmm, very curious, it seems you're not who you think you are. What to do with you? Either way you will have greatness as well as sorrow…well, best put you in…GRYFFINDOR!" I grinned from ear to ear and shot up from the stool as soon as the hat was taken off my head by McGonagall. I ran over to the Gryffindor table and sat next to my cousins who were whooping loudly and pumping their fists in the air. The sorting continued and eventually Hermione, Ron, and Harry all were in Gryffindor also. I was so happy that Hermione and I would be in the same house together; I had actually been rather scared that if we were put in separate houses we would drift apart. Luckily I had no reason to worry anymore.

Once the sorting was complete, Dumbledore made his start of the year speech and welcomed all the students; when he finished talking, all the empty goblets and platters were instantly filled with drink and food. I immediately grabbed the pumpkin juice and poured myself and Hermione some, I had been telling her about how delicious it was and couldn't wait for her to try some. We all filled our plates and mine had an array of foods that included roast chicken, potatoes, peas, gravy and bacon. The meal was delicious and once we finished, deserts appeared. I was rather full, but managed to help myself to some peppermint humbugs and a bit of treacle tart. When everyone was stuffed to the brink, all the food vanished and we all stood to follow Percy the Prefect to our new dormitories.

"What an amazing day!" I exclaimed as I plopped down onto my bed where Mynx was already cuddled up.

"I know, I'm so happy I'm in Gryffindor and not Slytherin!" Called out a girl with frizzy blonde hair whose name was Lavender Brown. I sighed and zoned out a little while the other girls in the room began to chatter about the day's events. I then heard a tapping noise at the window and got up to see it was Max, our family owl. I opened the window and pet Max before sitting at my desk to write my father the letter I promised to send him.

Dear daddy,

I can't believe I'm actually at Hogwarts! You were right daddy, it really is amazing. I've been sorted into Gryffindor, as well as Hermione, although the sorting hat almost placed me in Ravenclaw. I'm happy I'm in Gryffindor because this means me and Hermione get to share a room and also I'll get to see Ron, Fred, George and Percy much more. Oh, and I met Harry Potter today on the train! He was also sorted into Gryffindor and he seems really nice. I hope you can get along without me and don't get too bored.

Lots of Love,

Astrid.

I attached the note onto Max's leg and he flew out into the night. All the girls had changed into their pajamas and I decided I probably should as well. I went through my trunk and grabbed a pair of sweats and a Weird Sisters tank top before heading off the our bathroom. The bathroom had two shower stalls, three toilet stalls and two sinks. I went into a toilet stall for more privacy and changed clothes. Once I had brushed my hair and teeth, I headed back into the room, snuggled into my canopy bed, said goodnight to the other girls and quickly fell asleep.