* Disclaimer * I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to it!

Anita waved goodbye to her parents as she stepped off of the platform and onto the Hogwarts Express. She thought about what her mom had told her while they waited for the train to arrive. She had said, "Anita, just remember, Hogwarts is a magical place, so always keep your eyes open. You never know what you'll see!" Anita loved the things her mom said to her, even though they were sometimes cryptic.

She got on the train and followed the Ginny, the nice girl she had met on the platform. They found an empty compartment, so they sat and began to talk about Hogwarts.

"So," Ginny began, "What house do you think you'll be in?"

"Well, my dad was in Ravenclaw and my mom was in Gryffindor, so I think I'll be in either one. You?" Anita replied.

"Oh, all of my family is always in Gryffindor, so I'm pretty positive that's where I'll be."

"How-"

Before she could complete her sentence, there was a knock at their compartment door. Ginny slid it open and boy that looked very lost appeared. "Hello," he said. "I'm Colin Creevy, first year. May I sit here?"

"Sure, Colin! I'm Anita and this is Ginny, both first years. We were just talking about what house we want to be in!"

"Really? I want to be in Gryffindor! Do you know who's in Gryffindor?"

"All of my brothers?" Ginny said.

"Harry Potter!" Colin beamed as he said his name.

They kept up their conversation about Hogwarts for the whole ride. All three spoke in wonder of Hogwarts, and Colin spoke in wonder of Harry Potter. He was amazed to find that Ginny in fact knew him slightly and that her brother was his best friend. The whole time, Ginny was aware of Anita's complete interest in him, and he in her. It seemed like they had some weird connection, but she couldn't tell how. There was no way she could.

When they got to Hogsmeade Station, Hagrid herded all of the first years together and took them to the boats. Anita, Colin, and Ginny were all put in a boat together because they were standing with each other. In the boat they were all thinking something along the lines of, "Wow... I'm actually here... I can't wait!"

Before they knew it they were sitting in the Great Hall and the sorting hat was singing it's annual song. Of the three of them, Colin was called first.

"Colin Creevy!" Professor McGonagall called from the front of the room. He took one last look at Anita and Ginny, walked up to the stool and sat down. The sorting hat was placed on his head and sat there only for a moment before yelling, "GRYFFINDOR!" Colin jumped up and proudly walked over to the Gryffindor table.

After some others, Anita was up.

"Anita Jennings!" called the professor. Anita thought about Colin being in Gryffindor and silently hoped that she could be in the same house as him. Ever since the door had slid open on the train, she had liked him. She knew that they would be best friends through all seven years. All this went through her head as she sat down on the stool and had the hat put on her head. For two minutes it sat there, deciding. For Anita, it felt like ages. Finally, the hat rang out with, "RAVENCLAW!"

Even though she wasn't with Colin, she was still ecstatic about her house. She felt Ravenclaw pride run through her like she had hoped Hogwarts pride would.

Finally,

"Ginevra Weasley!" was called. Ginny walked up confidently. She was very prepared for what came next. The hat had barely touched her head when it screamed, "GRYFFINDOR!" She walked over and sat next to Colin and the other new Gryffindors.

Anita was so happy, but she felt a little isolated. She knew that she would make more friends within her own house, but she wished she could be with Colin and Ginny. Already, she had met a fellow first year and two second years; Luna Lovegood, Cho Chang, and Padma Patil. But as she talked with them, it wasn't the same as talking with her first Hogwarts friends.

Little did she know, she would be almost inseparable with them every chance they got, and to others, it seemed like that was all the time.