Hello, world. This is my first ever stab at a multi-chap in the wonderful wizarding world. Also, my first multi-chap in a while to even be seen by anyone, so here goes. The lovely and beautiful Becca (Aebbe) was kind enough to beta this prologue for me. I love her to bits. Ok, so the usual info, I own nothing, except for the characters you don't recognize (i.e. Melinda, Colin, etc.) and the plot bunnies bouncing around here. That is all. Enjoy.

Prologue – 2010

It had been almost sixteen years since Oliver Wood had last set foot on Platform 9 ¾. He'd got off the train at the end of his seventh year and hadn't been back since. He'd never had a reason to come back, until now that is. Now, it was time for his daughter – his little Melinda – to board the Express for the first time, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. On one hand, he was feeling a wave of relief at the prospect of getting some peace and quiet around the house once more. The acceptance letter had come a month before and Melinda had run all through the house shouting at the top of her lungs with joy, almost giving her mother a heart attack in the process. He'd found her jumping up and down on her bed, letter in hand and painfully large smile on her face. She'd begged and begged and begged until her father had agreed that they could make a trip to Diagon Alley the next day and get her everything she needed for the upcoming school year. He and his wife had been awoken the next day around six in the morning to the sound of the girl banging on their bedroom door, insisting it was time for them to leave. After insisting to her that they would have to wait a few more hours so that the shops had a chance to open, she had sat in their living room and pouted until it was time for them to leave. Once they'd actually arrived at the shops, Oliver had had to keep a tight grip on her to keep her from running off to Merlin knows where. With her hand firmly held in his, he'd taken her everywhere she needed from the painfully dull wait at Madam Malkin's to the visit to Ollivander's, who'd greeted him with a polite smile as he recalled the wand he'd sold to him over twenty years ago. The wand was what had excited her the most; she'd chased her little brother all through the house for about a week after getting it, insisting he let her practice some spells on him. Colin had refused very vocally. At one point, her mother had taken the wand from her and put it up where she couldn't get to it, just to be safe.

"Dad, can I get on the train now? Please? Please, please, please?"

Melinda was looking up at him with that pleading look in her eyes that usually got him to agree to just about anything. Between that and what Emilie, his wife, referred to as her "puppy dog pout", the girl could usually manage to get just about anything from him she wanted, as long as her mother wasn't around to be the voice of reason. She was in every sense a "daddy's girl", had been ever since she was born. That was one of the reasons half of him didn't want the peace and quiet. It was harder than he'd expected, saying goodbye to his daughter. He hadn't even done it yet and he wanted to Apparate her home and just keep her there. He was starting to realize why his own mother had been so weepy his first time on the train. It was quite the challenge; one he hadn't thought would bother him of all people. He could understand Emilie getting upset; she always seemed to become extra maternal when it came to saying goodbye to her children even when it was just for the night. But he was Oliver Wood. He'd endured numerous broken bones and injuries throughout his career, first as keeper for the Gryffindor team and then for Puddlemere United until his retirement two years earlier. He'd been taken bludgers to the gut and not shed a tear, though most of his run-ins with bludgers had resulted in a sort of lack of consciousness. To be honest, he'd rather take on a bludger than think about the fact that he wouldn't be seeing his little girl till Christmas holidays.

"You can wait a bit longer," Oliver told her, watching and trying not to smile as she seemed to deflate a bit at the thought of having to wait longer to board the famous train. He remembered how excited he'd been his first time there. His mother had had to practically hold him in place with a vice grip. "'Sides, you've still got to say goodbye to your mum and brother."

She immediately proceeded to go over to Emilie and allow herself to be pulled into a bone crushing hug as her mum began to prattle off everything she felt her daughter should be told before being sent off to school. "Now, remember, owl us once you get settled in to let us know which house you're in. And remember, that it doesn't matter what house you end up in. We'll be just as happy whether you're in Gryffindor or not. Even if you end up in Slytherin we'll be proud." Melinda made a small noise of disbelief from where she was being held captive in her mother's arms. "Make sure that you keep up with your studies and do your schoolwork. We don't want any letters from your professors saying you're falling behind."

"Keep an eye out for Quidditch tryouts," Oliver interjected earning a pointed look from his wife, which he simply smiled at.

"She doesn't have to try out for Quidditch if she doesn't want to, Oliver." The statement was directed at both husband and daughter.

"I'm just saying…" He trailed off as he noticed his youngest child start to wander away. Reaching out, he easily caught the collar of Colin's shirt, pulling him to his side. "Nice try. No running off today. You aren't leaving my sight."

Colin huffed, slumping a bit next to his father. At nine, he'd seemed to have taken a liking to wandering off when his parents weren't looking and causing them grief when they had to try and find him. Oliver was hoping that it would just be a phase that he would outgrow, quickly. He gave the boy's hair a bit of a tousle, resting his hand on his shoulder to keep him in place.

Emilie resumed informing her daughter of everything she felt was important for her to know before letting her go. "Keep in mind, that just because you're going away to school and won't have your dad and I around to keep you in line doesn't mean you can go around causing trouble. Try not to get any detentions, at least for the first few months; it'll happen eventually but let's make it later rather than sooner. Oh and I don't want to be getting any owls from the headmistress, telling us you've gone and blown up the toilet or something."

"I'll behave, Mum," Melinda told her with a seemingly innocent expression that neither of the parents wished to comment on. The sound of the warning whistle echoed through the station and students started to scamper onto the train, saying their final goodbyes. Emilie pulled her daughter into a tighter hug, tears starting to wet her eyes. The embrace started to last longer than necessary and the girl started to fidget in her mother's arms. "Mum…Mum, I need to go…The train's going to leave without me if you don't let go."

"Em," Oliver called to his wife, giving her a look that said it was time to go. Reluctantly, she let go, smoothing down the girl's hair affectionately before stepping back. Oliver gave Melinda a short embrace, doing his best not to think about the fact it would be some time before he saw her again. He'd leave the weepiness to Emilie for now. Colin was a bit resistant when it came to showing his big sister any affection and proceeded to wriggle the entire time she hugged him, which only resulted in her hugging him longer. She really loved to annoy him sometimes. She finally let him go, giving him a smirk that reminded her father of a set of twins he'd gone to school with. With a quick wave and smile to the rest of her family, she dashed off to board the train, disappearing in side the bright red steam engine.

The Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station and Oliver couldn't help but think that he would be counting down the days till they next visited Platform 9 ¾.

HPNG

Melinda Wood found herself wandering nervously down the corridor of the train, trying to find a compartment that wasn't completely filled with reunited friends, chatting all about Merlin knows what. Despite all of her excitement about finally being able to attend Hogwarts, she'd been secretly dreading this part. The part where you have to go up to someone you don't know and just start talking to them simply because you have to whether it's painfully awkward or not. She knew absolutely no one at Hogwarts. That was the price she paid for being the oldest. Colin had it easy. By the time he got there, he'd have her and all her friends (at least she hoped she'd have friends) to do things with and talk to. But her – she had to brave uncharted waters and take some initiative. At least that's how her dad phrased it. It was slightly nerve wracking. Maybe if she could just find an empty compartment than she could put off the awkward small talk till after she'd been sorted. If she could just find one.

"Looking for somewhere to sit?"

She paused in her search and to take a step back at the sight of the tall boy in front of her. She couldn't help but stare wide-eyed at the shockingly blue hair that covered his head in a messy fashion. She'd never seen anyone with blue hair, let alone someone her own age. The hair distracted her for a few moments before she realized that he was still waiting for her response. She quickly looked down at the floor, a flush creeping across her face. She simply nodded, glancing through the compartment doorway he was standing in. It was empty – except for him, of course. Well, that wouldn't be as bad. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," he replied, flashing a bright smile as he moved around to grab her trunk. She didn't even have a chance to protest or offer help before he had the trunk in his lanky arms and was relocating it to the storage area of the compartment. She followed him in, dropping her shoulder bag onto the empty seat. He didn't look any older than her really; he was just ridiculously tall, in her opinion at least. Then again, she was used to having Colin around and she easily had a head of height on him. She watched as he put her trunk away and then they proceeded to do the awkward dance around each before finally settling down in their respective seats; her with a small look of embarrassment and him with a slightly amused smile. Leaning forward, he held his hand out to her and introduced himself, "I'm Teddy, Teddy Lupin."

She couldn't help but think his name sounded a bit familiar as she shook his hand but then again it could easily just be one of those old wizarding names from a family that had been around for centuries. "Melinda Wood. Um, your hair, I, uh, I'm not sure if you've noticed but it's…blue."

He let out a small laugh as a hand went up to run through the blue mess on his head. "I know. Brilliant, isn't it? It's almost as good as the time I had it lime green. That was crazy. I thought my gran was gonna have a fit when she saw that." While he chuckled, she gave him a look that fell somewhere between impressed and shocked. He must've noticed because he explained, "I'm a metamorphmagus so it's not that bad."

"A metamorphma-what?" Now, she was simply confused.

"It means, I can change how I appear," he informed her and, without so much as a blink of an eye, she watched as the blue left his hair and was replaced with a bright purple and then dark red and then back to the previous blue. She just sat there, mouth gaping open in shock. She'd never met a single person in her entire life who could do anything like that; it was kind of amazing. "So, are you a first year?" Melinda simply nodded, not sure what to say. She was still staring at his hair. If he noticed, he didn't show any inclination that it bothered or offended him. In fact, it seemed to amuse him a bit. "Cool, it's my second year. I'm a Gryffindor. Any idea what house you might be in?"

She finally tore her eyes from his hair, answering, "Well, both my parents were in Gryffindor so I suppose I could end up there. I guess anywhere would be fine really. Except Slytherin that is. I heard that's the house they put you in if you're like evil or something."

"I dunno about evil but they aren't exactly a group you'd want to meet in Knockturn Alley. If both your parents were in Gryffindor, your chances are better though. I mean, that's not the only factor but it helps. My dad was in Gryffindor and my mum was in Hufflepuff. Who're your parents? Anyone I've heard of?"

"Well, my dad was the Quidditch captain for three years. Ever heard of Oliver Wood?"

This time it was Teddy's turn to look wide-eyed. "Your dad's Oliver Wood? The Oliver Wood?" She could only nod as the blush she'd been sporting earlier started creeping back. "I saw him when he was still playing for Puddlemere when I was a kid. He was incredible. Does that mean you'll be playing Quidditch?"

The door to the compartment opened, distracting both of them from the conversation at hand. A blond boy had stuck his head in, looking over at Teddy and about to say something, till he noticed Melinda, that is. He gave her a small look of curiosity before turning back to Teddy, asking, "The lads abandon you or something?"

"Just been enjoying the company of new first years. Melinda Wood meet Nathan Pearce. He's in Ravenclaw so most of what he says is intelligent but slightly obnoxious. Nate, this is Melinda; she's a first year and the daughter of Oliver Wood."

Nate looked at her with a bit more regard. "Really? Well, hope we get you then. Could use a little help beating the Gryffs this year."

"Not a chance," Teddy retorted with a small huff. "You lot'll be left in our dust. Don't stand a chance against us. We've won the Cup three years in a row. You'd be daft to think you stand a chance."

The whole exchange was a bit more than Melinda had been expecting but it turned out to be rather entertaining. She simply sat back, pulling her legs up onto the seat, as she watched the two friends bicker. From the looks of things, Nate was keeping the argument going solely for entertainment purposes but Teddy seemed to be getting frustrated with the other boy. As it continued, she couldn't help but interrupt, "Are you two always like this?"

The boys exchanged a glance before answering in unison, "Pretty much."

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, making friends at Hogwarts.

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