Opov

I looked around the platform in amazement, trying to drag my trunk through the crowd. It felt as if there were about ten times the normal amount of people on the platform this year, but I had no idea why. All the students and their families were trying to push through to the train, but making little success. Hundreds of people some, strangely, in quidditch robes, were crowding the entrances to the train and peering into the windows as if hoping to get a look at someone.

"This is insane." I muttered to myself as I was jostled to the side by a woman in bright pink robes followed by a man with a massive camera. I saw in her hand she held an acid green quill.

They weren't the only ones either.

The platform, already packed to the bursting point when only the students were on it, was filled with camera crews and people that I could only assume were reporters.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" I asked, when I was pushed, yet again, aside for another running pair as they darted to the train which was already belching out steam over the platform.

I didn't have to wait long for an answer.

"OLIVER!" a familiar voice shouted and I turned only to be tackled by a tall slender girl with excited blue eyes and long blonde hair.

"Hey Alicia." I said with a laugh disentangling myself from the girl and looking down at Alicia Spinnet, my best friend.

"Hey." She said brightly, looking just as excited as the crowd around us.

"What's with all these people?" I asked in amazement looking around. "Harry hasn't done anything death defying again, has he?"

"You mean you haven't heard?" she asked her eyes going wide in astonishment as behind her people scowled at us for holding up the line to get to the train. "I would have thought you of all people would know."

"Know what?"

"Reagan Williams!" she said excitedly.

"What about her?"

"She's coming to Hogwarts!"

Reagan Williams was the quidditch world's newest super star. The American Chaser had taken on the international level at the age of fifteen after being assigned as a reserve to the United State's national team. By sixteen she was a starter and had been taking the league by storm. She played Chaser and since she'd started playing with them, the American team had been winning more games than ever. Now seventeen, she broken all sorts of records, and had become extremely famous, even in other countries.

"How do you know this?" I asked frowning.

There had been some rumors that she might try and transfer, especially after last year it was leaked in a fan magazine that she had dual citizenship with the United States and England, but it had never been confirmed. At least not until now apparently. But wouldn't be the first time things were made up to sell papers.

"It was in the 'Prophet' this morning!" she said practically vibrating with excitement. There weren't a lot of women on the professional quidditch leagues, and Alicia had been a huge fan of Williams even when she was in the American minor leagues. "They had a big press release last night! She's going to play for England in the world cup!"

"So what you're saying, is that one of the biggest names in quidditch, is possibly on that train right now?"

"Not just on the train!" she said brightly. "Oliver, she'll be in our year! We might have classes with her! And if she's in Gryffindor-" her eyes went wide as she cut her self off. "Oliver, what if she's in our house? I'll be LIVING with her oh my god, oh my god!"

"Breathe." I said calmly putting a hand on her shoulder. She looked as if she was about to hyperventilate.

"Breath?" she asked looking at me incredulously. "Breathe? Oliver! I might be living in the same dormitory as my hero, and you're telling me to BREATHE. Oh my god." She said running her fingers through her hair then started to fan her self with her hands.

"Just try to calm down yet. We don't know anything yet. Why don't we get a compartment?" I asked.

"I can't." she said regretfully. "I promised Aiden I'd meet him on the train."

"Oh." I said feeling disappointed.

Aiden was Alicia's boyfriend that she'd become completely obsessed with. I didn't mind him, not really, but if I was completely honest I could never really bring myself to like Aiden. He was an alright bloke, but no one liked the boyfriend of the girl they fancied.

"Well I guess I'll see you at the feast then?" I asked.

"Yeah." She said brightly. "Hopefully I'll run into Williams. Would it be too lame to ask for an autograph?"

"If you run into Reagan Williams, you won't be asking anything. I doubt you'll be able to speak."

She laughed and melted back into the crowd that were all fighting to get out to the train.

I sighed and redoubled my grip on my trunk, then moved with the crowd to the nearest entrance.

Navigating inside the train wasn't nearly as difficult. It was still relatively early, and nearly all the compartments were open. I continued walking down towards the end of the train, hoping to gain some privacy by finding a seat towards the back when I heard a loud 'CRASH' followed by a series of 'thwumps', coming from the compartment to my left.

The shade was down and I hesitated before opening the door.

"Are you alright?" I asked looking at a small, extremely pretty girl sitting in the middle of what looked like an explosion of clothes, text books, and quidditch gear.

She looked up and I felt my eyes go wide. Though I'd never met her in person, the long black hair, brown eyes, and pretty features were very familiar. How many times had I seen them in the paper or quidditch magazines…

Her eyes went wide to.

"Erm, hi." I said lamely.

I couldn't believe it. I was standing in front of Reagan Williams herself.

Rpov

I looked peaked outside the curtains only to be blinded by camera flashes. Outside on the platform dozens of reporters and their camera crews lined up outside the window, all shoving their quills and cameras in the air begging for interviews and photographs.

I quickly shut the curtains and looked at Max who was sitting across from me in the train compartment.

"This is insane." I said my eyes wide as he scowled at the window.

"This shouldn't be happening." he said irritably. "I specifically told them not to release a statement about your trade until AFTER you were already at school. Now we're in the middle of this PR mess."

Max was a tall man with black hair that was graying slightly and blue eyes that were currently narrowed in annoyance. As usual his robes were immaculate and his hair neat with out a single hair out of place. I imagine he looked quite odd, this forty year old business professional, sitting with a seventeen year old girl in an old t shirt and faded jeans, but that's how it always was with us. He was my agent, in charge of making sure I got where I needed to go and knew the names of the people I needed to know, and as usual, he was far more put together than I was, in both his life and mine.

"I still can't believe it." I said glancing at the curtain, even though it was closed I knew what was behind it. "The press was never this bad at home."

"This is England." He said tersely. "Where quidditch is much more popular. And this is home now." He reminded. "You're playing with them for the world cup, now start acting like it. The last thing I need is for some tabloid filth paper hear you say that and start claiming that you don't have any national pride."

"Alright." I said moodily. "But things were never this crazy in the U.S."

"Yes well, you've decided to play here." He reminded me. "There's a reason why you're paid more here."

"I don't care about money." I said shrugging.

"That's because you've got more than you can spend." He said with a grin. "I know you came here because the players are better, but there's a reason why England is so good. They've got the money to be good, and that's because they've got a massive fan base. So if you want to play here, you've got to play nice with your fans."

"I love my fans," I said indignantly. "It's the press I can't stand."

"Yes, well the press gives the fan access to you." He said wisely. "So you have to place nice with them too."

"Fine." I said crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at the opposite side of the compartment.

"And speaking of the press," he started.

"Maaaaaax." I groaned unhappily but he ignored me.

"You have an interview with 'Witch Weekly' on Wednesday about women role models in quidditch, so make sure to brush up on the English female players. And after that on Tuesday you've got a photo shoot with 'Which Broomstick' so don't forget to tend to your firebolt so it's photo ready."

"I though you said I'd be done with interviews by now."

"I thought you would be." He admitted. "But you gained a lot more notoriety here than even I expected."

I didn't answer.

"But this is good thing." He reminded me. "The more excited people get over you, the more your coach is bound to play you. And you want playing time."

"Yeah." I said dejectedly and he seemed to take pity on me.

"It's only for a little while longer Ray." He said consolingly. "Then all you have to focus on is practice and school."

"I still don't see why I couldn't be homeschooled like I was for the last two years." I said bitterly. When my quidditch schedule had gotten too demanding over the passed two years, I'd dropped out of regular school and gotten a private tutor who worked in the spare hours I had between practices and games. "Besides I'm seventeen. That's the legal age here right? Why can't I drop out?"

School had never been fun for me back home in the U.S. Or as Max would have me say it, in my 'previous home' the U.S. I'd never been that great at magic and I'd never really fit in. The girls at the Salem Witches' Institute never really saw the benefit of a girl who was totally obsessed with sports. No one wanted to be friends with me. I didn't see why that would change here.

"You are not giving up on your education." He said with such a finality in his voice, he sounded like a father speaking to this child. "And I couldn't get you a tutor in time so you're going to Hogwarts."

"But how is this going to work?" I asked. "I've got practice and games almost everyday! How am I going to have time for school?"

"I've got it all worked out." He said pulling two identical black books out of his bag and tossing one to me knowing I would catch it. I always did. "These planners are enchanted." He continued as I rifled through the pages seeing every date was filled with writing in different colored inks. "I've got everything on your schedule written down in color coordination. Anything I write in my planner will show up in yours and vice versa."

"But what about homework?" I asked rifling through the pages. "And Exams?"

"They're all in there too." He said nodding to the book. "I've had all your professors write down their whole year's lessons plan and send them to me so I could plan your life by the hour. And I've made sure you're given special consideration for lessons and homework assignments on the days you have games, especially on the weeks you are out of the country."

"That was smart."

"That's why I'm paid so well." He said with a smirk. "I'm very good at my job Reagan, you of all people should know that."

"I know you're good," I said. "But I've honestly no idea what I pay you. You could be taking my whole salary and I'd have no idea. I let my accountants figure that out."

"Yes I believe you're exacts words were, 'pay him whatever he wants I don't care how much it is I need him.'"

"Were they?" I asked blandly, but it was true.

Without Max I'd have no idea what I was supposed to be doing in life. He'd been with me from the start, even when I couldn't pay him at all. He was the first person to really believe in me, and even when I was practically a kid at fourteen refused to take on any other clients. He was the reason I was where I was today, his kind of loyalty couldn't be bought, but I was trying to pay him well for it.

"They were along those lines." He said amused tucking the planner back into his case and standing. "Well I've got to get going."

"You're leaving?" I asked feeling my eyes go wide. "Now? You're not going with me to the school?"

"Of course not." He said. "Hogwarts is a boarding school. The students go there alone. And besides. I can't run your life from there."

"But I'm not going to know anybody." I said feeling panicked.

"You'll be fine." He said kindly. "It won't be like how it was in Salem. Besides," he added with a smile. "You're rich, and you're an internationally famous quidditch star. If you can't make friends, who can?"

He had a point.

I watched as he gathered his things and stepped out of the compartment door, making sure the shade was pulled down properly before he left.

As the door slid shut I sighed and looked around the empty compartment. Max said things would be different this time, but I couldn't quite help but feel like things were exactly the same. Here I was again, on the way to school, completely alone.

I didn't know anybody, and I knew I was going to be talked about. Maybe the reasoning was going to be different now but still… it all came down to the same point didn't it? I didn't have any friends.

I sat dwelling on this miserable subject for a while, before deciding to load my things into the luggage rack.

I had just lifted the heavy trunk above my head and onto the metal rails when there was a horrible groaning sound.

"Uh oh." I said but before I could react the metal fell from the side of the train and the rack fell with a mighty 'CRASH!' and I was knocked to the floor along with several of my possessions that came 'thumping' to the ground.

I pushed myself into a sitting position just in time to hear the compartment door slide open and a concern voice asked.

"Are you alright?"

I looked up in horror to see a tall, extremely attractive boy with broad shoulders, short brown hair and warm brown eyes looking down at me in alarm.

His eyes went wide and I felt mine go wide as well. He'd obviously recognized me and was clearly wondering what to say.

Finally, the dreaded moment came when he spoke.

"Erm, hi." He said looking just as awkward as I felt.

"Hey." I said carefully, not quite sure how I wanted to handle this situation. Unlike most people, he didn't seem to be about to freak out, but I could tell the sudden appearance of a celebrity had shocked him.

"Do you err, need some help?"

He was extremely cute, and the accent wasn't exactly helping my ability to think straight.

"Do you mind shutting the door?" I asked hearing slight plead in my voice.

"Oh yeah of course." He said looking embarrassed and starting to back out.

"No, you can stay." I said quickly. "I just don't want anyone else seeing me. Lot's of reporters are out there and I just-"

"Yeah, I understand." He said shutting the door and stepping more fully into the compartment as I started piling things back into my trunk.

"Here, I can do it." He said taking out his wand.

"Oh no it's fine-" I started but he shook his head.

"No really, I'm great at these little house hold spells for some reason." He said giving his wand a flick and the trunk instantly started to repack itself. I had to admit it was much neater than how I'd originally packed it.

"Thanks." I said appreciatively as he tapped the luggage rack and it repaired itself instantly.

"No problem." He said with a kind smile and offering me a hand to help me up. They were huge, and very warm, and rough in a familiar way.

"Do you play quidditch?" I asked him eagerly and he blinked looking surprised.

"Yes." He said. "How did you know?"

"Your hands." I said letting go of them and showing him mine. "They've got the same callouses. You're a keeper aren't you."

"Yeah." He said blankly, seeming even more amazed. "How did you-"

"You're built like one." I said gesturing towards his shoulders. "Plus you all have the same sort of sturdiness about you. You just look like a keeper to me."

"You really know your stuff." He said looking impressed.

"Well I should hope so." I said taking a seat and looking up at him with interest.

He grinned.

"Yeah, I guess you of all people would know."

"What's your name?" I asked curiously.

"Oliver, Oliver Wood."

"It's nice to meet you Oliver." I said. "I'd tell you my name, but I think you already know it."

"So you… you really are then?" he asked suddenly looking embarrassed again. "You know."

"Yep." I said with a slight smile. "Reagan Williams."