Warnings: OC's. At first, yeah, they'll seem perfect but ever heard of character development? I'm going to shape them and make them real, but it takes a while for that to happen.

And I'm American. I'm not hip with the British lingo.

Chapter 1: The Hogwarts Express

She wasn't aware of when her summer transformation had started. Maybe it was even May, or June. But the nose ring and red streaks in her hair made it painfully obvious that Lyra wasn't going to take shit from anybody. Sitting in a half-full compartment of the Hogwarts Express, her brother Blaise was staring broodingly out of the window, listening to Draco Malfoy gab on and on about his summer conquests, and how his father was going to buy him this, about how his mother told him that, and how of course he thought Hogwarts had really gone to the dogs.

"Next year," Draco said, ferrety eyes gleaming in the light of the midday sun shining in through the window, the curtains haphazardly pulled together. "I'm transferring to a new school."

It caught her attention. She glanced up with an uncaring look and raised a stenciled eyebrow, brown eyes narrowing. "To where? Durmstrang?" She snorted. "Actually, you'd fit quite well in with the Beauxbaxtons girls."

"Blaise," Draco said, a whiny tone inching into his voice. "Silence your little sister before I do it."

Blaise turned his hazel eyes to meet hers and lazily said, "Oi, shut up." She rolled her eyes and leaned her head back into the seat. Fingering the hidden stash of Muggle cigarettes, she ached for a smoke. But if she let her "darling" brother know she smoked, well, hell would break loose and Lyra was too unfeeling to care or fight back. With a quick intake of breath, she closed her eyes, hoping to sleep most of the way to the school.

Milly grinned excitedly at her compartment mates, who stared at her like she had three heads and an amputation. Her strawberry blonde hair (that looked more auburn most of the time than blonde) was curling around her face and a large smile was gracing her face.

"Hi," she stage-whispered, leaning towards the girl beside her.

"Milly," the girl said, "We aren't friends, and honestly I'm not sure why you're sitting in our compartment. We always sit in this compartment. You don't like WonderWitch and you don't listen to the Weird Sisters. One time you asked about a monthly subscription to the Daily Prophet."

"I still don't understand why everyone laughed..." She mused.

The blonde girl faced the Hufflepuff and said, "Look, I'm sure somewhere, somehow someone wants to be your friend. But not me or Tara. Okay?"

Tara was a pudgy girl who had a squashed nose and beady eyes. "Yeah," she said nasally, "Me and Victoria don't want you here."

"Well, personally I don't like Tara-" And cue immense gasping from said girl. "-but I think you're really nice," Milly said, grabbing her leather shoulder bag. "I thought you were," the Hufflepuff mumbled, before stepping out to find another. Geez, some Ravenclaws could be really mean. But it was okay, because she could find somewhere else to sit. Scanning the different compartments, she noticed one occupied by a Ravenclaw and a Gryffindor.

Neville Longbottom was laughing his head off at something a blonde girl said, her hair piled into a side ponytail. Milly knocked hesistantly, before they opened the compartment door. "Can I sit here?" Milly asked, her long nose twitching slightly.

"I guess," Neville said, looking funny in a sweatervest. He hadn't changed into his robes. Milly grinned and sat beside the blonde girl.

"I'm Penny," she introduced herself, blue eyes laughing. "Penny Waldrop. I was just telling Neville about my summer. I was trying to learn how to ride a broomstick and broke every fence on our street."

Milly let out a smile and said, without breathing, "This summer I went to see a concert with my cousin and it was amazing. We saw Avada, the new rock band on the alternative station and I loved them, especially their single 'Love Potion #9', I was entranced, and have you seen the lead singer? He was amazing and his name is Darren Criss and I love him and I'm convinced we're going to get married."

Penny let out a giggle and then Neville said, with his eyes wide, "Um, I prefer the Banshees?"

Which led to a conversation about Wizarding alternative bands, and how Celestina Warbeck was truly getting annoying.