Harry was looking forward to going back to school as much as he always did. He was glad to get away from the Dursleys and back to Hogwarts. He headed down to the Hogwarts Express, only to see a familiar red headed clan heading towards him.

"Ron!" he cried. "You got so tall!"

"Harry!" was the response. "You're no shrimp yourself!"

Then Harry turned to Ginny. "Hello, Ginny."

"Hi Harry," she answered quietly.

"Harry, did you hear the news?" asked Mr. Weasley energetically. "Hogwarts is going to be getting so many new students! This year, they even decided to-"

"Let in a bunch of transfers," said Fred and George along with their father. "We know, we know, you've only said it about a hundred times!"

"This is for Harry's benefit. They're also starting a school play! Can you sing and dance? You should see some of the shows these muggles put on. Amazing, really, the special effects they manage without magic..."

Harry and Ron started boarding the train. Harry gave Ron a look, that plainly said, "I don't think I was cut out for singing and dancing."

Ron just grinned and shrugged. Then he spoke aloud. "It's going to be an adventure this year, Harry."

"Yeah," Harry agreed, as they took their regular seats on the train. Hermione was soon to join them.

"Did you hear about all these transfers we're getting?" she asked excitedly. "Since I'm a prefect, I have to help them out."

Ron rolled his eyes. "We know you're a prefect, Hermione."

Just then, a girl around their age approached the compartment, apparently looking for a seat. She had long brown hair and hazel green eyes. She was very tan, and dressed in comfortable muggle clothes, like jeans and a t-shirt. Hermione jumped up excitedly.

"Are you a transfer? I can show you around if you want. I am, after all, a prefect."

"She's starting to sound like Percy," Ron whispered to Harry.

"Well, actually," the girl replied, "I was just looking for..." suddenly, she shrieked. "Alicia!"

Alicia Spinnet had just come into their section of the train. "Jen! I haven't seen you in so long!"

Harry looked up, surprised. "You two know each other?"

Alicia laughed and said, "This is Jen, my sister. She's your age, fifteen. Jen, this is Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter."

Jen looked at Harry briefly, then turned away. "Nice to meet you all," she said enthusiastically. "Well, I'm going to spend some quality time with Alicia, since I haven't seen her in years. I lived in the United States with my Dad. Come on, Alicia, I have so much to tell you!"

The two girls went into the next compartment. The Spinnet sisters had barely been away two minutes when two other girls appeared. One appeared to be about 6 inches taller than the other. The taller one had soft blonde hair and vivid green eyes. The other had auburn hair, and a really nice smile.

"Could anyone please help us?" asked the blonde.

"Of course!" cried Hermione, jumping up. "I'm a prefect, I'll be glad to help."

The shorter one smiled. "Actually, I already know Harry. Do you recognize me?"

He studied her for a few moments, then asked cautiously, "Kat Zwigi?"

"Yes!" cried Kat. Then, turning to Ron and Hermione, she explained, "I'm something like Harry's 3rd cousin twice removed, or something like that. The only way he could have recognized me is from photographs, though."

"Yeah, you were in some pictures that my god father sent me."

"What's your name?" asked Ron, turning to the taller girl.

"Ivy Welch," she replied, and smiled at Ron.

"I heard there was going to be a school play," said Kat. "Is that true?"

"Yes," said Hermione, in an all knowing way.

"Well, Ivy and I are definitely trying out. What about you guys?"

"I don't know," said Harry, but at the same time Ron said, "Oh yeah, definitely."

The two girls giggled, said, "See you later!" and left.

"Ron, what got into you?" Harry asked him. "Why would you want to be in some play?" He studied Ron for a moment, then said, "It's that Ivy, isn't it?"

"Well, she is pretty, isn't she, Harry?"

He was interrupted, though, as someone else ran into their compartment.

"What is this, Grand Central Station?" cried Hermione. Ron gave her a strange look, and she said, "Never mind."

It was a small boy, who couldn't be more than 14. He was shuddering. Hermione immediately looked concerned. "Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing," he replied, trying to sound brave, but failing miserably. "It was this girl," he whispered. "She was so mean to me. I didn't mean to do anything to her, honest I didn't. I just didn't see her and I bumped right into her. She got all mad at me, and started cursing at me."

"It's okay, now," said Hermione. "What did she look like?"

"She was tall, with really long legs," replied the boy. "She had long copper colored hair that hung down to her waist, and cold gray eyes. And she had about three earrings, and a belly button ring."

The three exchanged confused looks. That didn't sound like anyone they knew. "Must be another transfer," whispered Hermione.

"Destined for Slytherin, most likely," replied Ron.

"Well, don't worry about it," Hermione said to the boy. "I'll talk to the headmaster about it. By the way, what's your name?"

"Isaac," he replied, "Isaac Mason." Isaac then warily headed to another section of the train, to find a friendly face to sit with.

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Meanwhile, on the other side of the train, Jasmine Moore was wandering around, looking for a place to sit. She had long copperish red hair and gray eyes. She looked just like the girl Isaac had described.

She walked through, looking for a place to sit. She stopped in her tracks when she saw a boy. He was about her age, with pale skin and white blonde hair. "He's gorgeous," she whispered to herself.

But she wasn't talking completely to herself. Someone else was listening. "He is cute, isn't he?"

Jasmine turned in surprise. "What? Excuse me, I wasn't talking to you."

"Fine, fine, it's not like I care." The other girl flipped her blonde hair back over her shoulders. Her brown eyes bored into Jasmine's. "My name's Sarah Benson. You'd better learn not to talk out loud, or someone else may hear you. Someone that's not as nice as me."

And with that, Sarah turned and left, leaving Jasmine standing there.

Anora Camor sat all alone in the next compartment. Not that she minded. She knew she was different, but she didn't care. Her long, dark brown hair hung in her eyes, and she pushed it out of the way. Her deep blue eyes carefully studied the book in front of her. She sat all alone, but she rather liked it that way. She was left alone to think and read.

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Another person sat all alone on the other side of the Hogwarts Express. He had his nose buried in a book on transfiguration, his favorite subject. His gray eyes were covered by his glasses, and with his short brown hair and innocent look, he seemed to be only around thirteen or fourteen.

He was actually sixteen. And very smart for his age, especially in the area of transfiguration. He wished he could find someone to talk to. Someone who appreciated a love of knowledge as much as he did. As much as he hated to admit it, Antonius Aconar was lonely.

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Billie Renderz was seated on the train, watching the scenery fly by the window. She had shoulder length brown hair and deep brown eyes. She looked up in surprise as someone else took a seat next to her.

The other girl had wavy brown hair with red streaks, brown eyes, and tons of freckles on her face. "Hi!" she said. "My name's Rain Violet Septon. What's yours?"

"Billie Rendrez," she replied.

"Really? Billie? That's an interesting name for a girl- not that I don't like it or anything, I mean..."

Billie smiled, showing off her shiny white teeth. "It's okay. You have an original name, too."

"What is it?" another girl had joined them. "Hi, I'm Susan Bones. I'm in the 5th year, Hufflepuff. You guys must be transfers."

Billie nodded, and said, "Yes, from Scotland."

But Rain said she wasn't. "It's a funny story, actually. You see, I was left in a muggle orphanage, and while I was there they gave me the name of Skye. Well, when I got the letters about Hogwarts, they were addressed to Rain, so I assumed they weren't for me. I didn't find out until Dumbledore summoned me to his office. I'm a fourth year, and I'll have a lot of catching up to do, and..." She trailed off.

"What is it?" asked Billie.

"Who is that?" she said, staring at a short boy who had just walked by.

Susan gave her a confused look. "Who, him?"

"Yes," breathed Rain. "The one with the camera."

"That's Colin Creevy, he's a fourth year," Susan told her. "I just don't see why..."

But Rain wasn't listening. "Colin Creevy, what a name."

"Yeah, okay," said Susan. "Look, I've got to be heading back to my other friends, okay? So I hope I see you in Hufflepuff!"

Billie waved good-bye to Susan, but Rain was still staring after Colin Creevy with stars in her eyes.

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Author's Note: I'm really sorry I couldn't include everyone in this chapter, but I will definitely add the rest of you to the next one. The first two chapters might be kind of boring, since I have to introduce all the characters. But I promise, that after that, it will be much more exciting.