Chapter 1 New Beginnings ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~ "Ron, wait up!" called a short, brown headed girl. Although the girl was fifteen she looked about twelve. "Alli, I didn't know you had arrived yet," replied the boy she had called. Ron Weasley, also fifteen, was standing with a large group of people on Platform 9 and ¾. In the circle was Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Cristina Hernandez, and Ashlyn Smith, all some of the girls best friends. "When did you get here?" he asked. "Just a few minutes ago," the girl called Alli replied with a bright smile. That smile was her famous trademark and it melted every person who saw it. "My folks are loading my trunk onto the train and I came to find y'all." Her southern heritage was leaking through. She was one of the few Americans that went to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "Well long time no see," Cristina said jokingly. Cristina was the only Hispanic student attending the school. She was originally from Columbia but she now resides in America only a few streets down from Alli. So naturally they had spent the whole summer together doing their homework and learning new spells for their fifth year at Hogwarts. "Alli?" someone called. "Oh there you are." It was her parents. Unlike most of the parents saying good bye to their kids, her parents were not wearing black robes. They both were muggles, or of non-magic. It shocked them both to learn that their oldest daughter was a witch, but they were still proud. Alli was the oldest of two; she had a younger brother. Even though he hoped it would come his letter from Hogwarts never arrived. He was very disappointed. Alli was glad to know that they would be going to different schools. She loved her brother but he got annoying very easily. "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Beck," chimed Harry. "How are you doing today?" "Hello, to you too Harry," said her mom. "We are doing just fine, thank you. I hope you are doing the same." Harry nodded at this. "Well, sweetie, we better get going," chimed in her dad. "It's almost eleven." He kissed her on the forehead then made room for her mother to give her a hug. "Don't forget to write," Mrs. Beck said fighting back tears. "Mom, quit," Alli said. "You cry every year and nothing ever happens. I'll be fine." She gave her mother an assuring smile. "Plus, I have Ron here to protect me." Ron and Alli had been dating since their fourth year at Hogwarts. They were the most envied couple at school. "Don't worry, Mrs. Beck, nothing can happen to Alli while I'm around," he said hoping to give them more assurance. It seemed to work, cause after that they said one last good bye and left through the barrier. "Well, it's almost eleven so we better get on the train," Hermione piped in. She was the smartest fifth year in the school, maybe the smartest person at Hogwarts in all seven years. "Yeah Hermione's right," Ashlyn added. Her red curls bounced up and down as she walked. She was tall for her age and extremely pretty. And with that they were off down the train searching for an empty compartment. Finally they found one near the end of the train. Along the way they saw Neville Longbottom, another fifth year, Fred and George Wealsey, Ron's older identical twin brothers, and Seamus Finnigan, also a fifth year. All of the people in the compartment and those that they met were all in Gryffindor House. Alli, Harry, Ashlyn, Cristina, Fred, George, and Ron were all on the Quidditch house team. Harry was the captain and seeker, Ron, Cristina, and Ashlyn were Chasers, Alli was the Keeper, and Fred and George were Beaters. They were the best team Gyffindor had ever had and unbeatable, but they had never won the Quidditch Cup for a few mishaps had happened during their games. "So any new game plans for this year, Harry?" Alli asked. "Yeah, I had a lot of time to think when I was locked in my room," Harry replied. "I got a few owls from Wood with tips." Oliver Wood was the Quidditch team captain two years ago, but he graduated and went pro. He always wrote to Harry and the other teammates with helpful tips about the upcoming season. Not only that but he attended every practice and game that he could. He was very devoted to the team. "I picked up a few tips from the Chudley Cannons," Ron said. The Chudley Cannons were Ron' s favorite Quidditch team, next to Gryffindor. He was a bit obsessed with them. "I hope they'll come in handy."

"Thanks, Ron," Harry said grabbing a few notes that Ron had took on plays. "Okay, sorry I brought that topic up," Alli said. "Any new guys I should know about Ashlyn?" Ashlyn made a habit of going out with a different guy every school year. "No," she replied rather annoyed. Despite her annoyance she turned exceedingly red, so red they matched the color of her curls. Her and Cristina were the only ones without boyfriends. Alli had Ron and Hermione had Harry, and they often got jealous of the two couples. But they had nothing to fear because George had a crush on Ashlyn and Fred had one on Cristina. "I bet that won't last for long," Hermione laughed. Her, Harry, Alli, and Ron were the only four that knew of the plan the two twins had come up with. They had planned to ask the girls out at the same time on their first trip to Hogsmeade this year. The way they had described it to the four friends sounded so romantic. They rode in silence for a little while. The trip was just like any other they had taken. The food cart came at exactly the same time it did five years ago, and people continually popped their heads in as always. Just as he had done since the first trip to Hogwarts Draco Malfoy popped his head in to say a few harsh words to everyone residing in the compartment.