Disclaimer: None of the Harry Potter world belongs to me, only the plot and Alex are mine.


"Are you sure you want to do this, Alex?"

I looked patiently at my mom. "Don't worry, Mom, I'll be fine." She looked unconvinced. "Really."

Mom smiled at me and hugged me to her, hard. "Good luck at Hogwarts, Alex."

"Thanks, Mom. See you at Christmas." I lugged my suitcase (they call suitcases trunks here, isn't that weird?) towards the train tracks.

I only looked back once, when I heard Mom yell, "And don't come back all British on me!"

I grinned despite myself. That was just like my mom.

I surveyed the train station, taking in the scene. Dad had told me that to get to Platform 9 ¾, I had to run at the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10. I didn't like this idea much. If I chose the wrong barrier, I would be running into a metal wall. And, knowing my behavior under pressure, this was quite likely.

I strolled casually over the the barrier and set my suitcase a few inches from the barrier. No one was paying attention to me, so I rolled my suitcase forward, expecting to feel it bump the barrier. Nothing happened. I opened one eye and gasped - my suitcase was only half there. The metal barrier shimmered and flickered, winking at me.

Well. I guess it worked.

Now reassured, I walked through the barrier, involuntarily closing my eyes as I passed through.

And so I entered Platform 9 ¾ for the first time.

I ogled the platform. Several people stood scattered around the platform, but the majority of the crowd didn't seem to have appeared yet. A scarlet steam engine emblazoned with the words "The Hogwarts Express" waited on the tracks.

Now I thought about my options. I could wait here on the platform, or I could go ahead and board the train. It would be rather pointless to wait, seeing as I didn't know anyone. Plus, if I waited too long all of the compartments would be full and I would have to ask if I could sit with someone. Hmm...definitely better to find a compartment now.

I looked woefully up the steps. I didn't think I could lift my trunk and not break my back at the same time.

I put my palm to my forehead. Of course! I was, as of two weeks ago, of age! I could use magic whenever I wanted! "Wingardium leviosa," I said, grinning. My trunk floated up the stairs and led the way down the train. I glanced through the windows as I went. Most of the compartments were empty, but a few were full of chattering girls.

I finally decided to just pick a random compartment. All of them were the same, after all. I levitated my suitcase into the overhead rack and sat down, watching the station quickly fill up with excited students and anxious parents. Within a half hour, the station had gone from empty to full to almost empty. There were just a few parents still standing around when I felt the first tug of movement.

I had just gotten out a book, resigned to spending the rest of approximately six hours alone, when someone slid my compartment door open. It was a redheaded girl with pale skin, green eyes, and a suitcase bigger than mine.

"Hi...mind if I sit here? The rest of the train is full," she said with an accent. It was British, but not nearly as strong as some I'd heard.

I didn't mind, so I told her that.

"Thanks," she said gratefully.

I smiled. "No problem. I'm Alex, by the way."

"Lily Evans. Are you from here?" Lily asked me hesitantly. "It's just that I haven't seen you before, and you have an accent...it sounds almost American."

"Well, that's how it should sound," I replied. "I'm new at Hogwarts. My dad's job transferred him. We moved from the US."

Lily looked suitably intrigued. "Really? So is there a magic school in America?"

I nodded. "I went to the Salem Witches' Institute. In Oregon."

"That's cool. So what year are you going to be in?"

"Seventh. You?"

Lily beamed. "I'm in seventh year too! We'll probably have classes together. Do you know which house you'll be in?"

I crinkled my brow, trying to remember. "Dumbledore sorted me this summer...I think it was something like Griffinton?"

"Gryffindor?" Lily verified.

It struck a chord in me. "Yeah, that was it."

"I'm in Gryffindor, too. I can show you around, if you want," Lily offered.

"That would be great. Thanks."

Lily shifted in her seat. "Now, tell me more about the school you went to before."

"Well, it was called The Salem Witches' Institute. It was an all girls school. It was pretty small. There were about three hundred students, and it was pretty much like a regular school except what they taught. It was in a city, not the middle of nowhere like Hogwarts, so students had the option of boarding, but if they lived closer, we could Floo to school. I lived close enough to walk. There weren't any houses like at Hogwarts. It's a stone building, relatively squarish, and light gray."

"Do you miss it?" Lily asked quietly.

I had to think for a minute. Did I miss the Institute? "Not yet, but I probably will in a couple months."

"Do you have any siblings?"

"My brother -Will- is two years younger than I am."

I'm ordinarily a quiet person, so I was quite relieved when I found Lily was so easy to talk to. Strike that. I'm not a quiet person, but I only say things worth saying. For example, I'm not going to shout out 'I love chocolate' if I just spent a hundred dollars on a bag of deluxe dark chocolate. It would be obvious. Why would I buy it if I didn't like it? There's no need for me to tell people that. They can open their eyes and see it for themselves.

She didn't seem like a terribly shallow, gossipy person, and we were able to have some decent, meaningful conversations throughout the six hour train ride. She told me a bit about Hogwarts and herself. Then we discovered we both loved reading.

"Gone With the Wind," I challenged.

"Read it. Pride and Prejudice."

"Yep. The Ditchdigger's Daughter's"

"No. What's it about?"

I went on to explain one of my favorite books, and then we continued with our challenge.

"The Raid and Other Stories."

Lily grinned. "I love that. Which is your favorite story?"

"How much land does a man need?"

"It's awesome," Lily agreed.

We reminisced over our favorite books for a while longer, and then quoted some poetry. We ended up laughing on the floor after shouting "Christabel" at each other at the top of our lungs. Rather ridiculous situation to be in.

But I decided that I liked Lily.


A/N: Please review if you like it - or don't. They're what gives me the incentive to write more.

If you do like it, I have two other stories: The Last Year and Girlfriend Will Do Just Fine.