AN: Honestly not sure how well I'll be able to write this fanfiction considering my entire idea of it is based on one single thing I imaged for first year…I suppose we will see. I won't post this unless I am able to complete both this chapter as well at chapter two at at least a relatively acceptable number of words. Good luck to me!


No one paid any attention to the tiny black haired girl that was pushing a too heavy trunk and a cage with an owl in it on a cart towards the train. Except for one person that is. His gaze locked on her easily as she went closer to where he stood, near an entrance to the train to help first years with their luggage. They weren't sorted yet so house animosity wasn't something in play yet. Besides, he intended to be made prefect next year and this was only added experience for that.

Her hair was somewhat greasy and unkempt. It hung to her waist and around her face. Her eyes were piercing bright green. Some, those in the know, would compare the color to that of the killing curse. She was eleven, known easily by her possession of a trunk, but she only looked maybe ten if one was being generous. She was that short. She was thin as well. Her clothes were baggy but based on her arms and her face he thought she might be just a bit too thin. There was something about the sight of her that set his temper on edge. Not at her but at what he thought might be wrong with her.

He planted a slightly strained but friendly smile on his face as she approached him. She didn't seem to notice him as she tried, quite hard actually, to lift the trunk that was both bigger and heavier than her, all by herself. He strode forward, coming up slightly behind and beside her and lifted it with ease. "Come on, little one. Let's find you a compartment." His tone was gentler than usual.

Her green eyes turned to him and rested distrustfully on his face for a second before she nodded. She grabbed her owl's cage carefully to not distrupt the snowy owl inside. He smiled again and led her onto the train, her trunk in one hand while his other hand was kept free. He went down three compartments to an empty one and opened the door before heading in and setting the trunk down.

"Why don't you go ahead and change into your robes and uniform now? I'll wait outside the door to keep everyone else out while you change and then lift the trunk up to the storage rack for you."

She nodded silently again and he smiled, leaving the compartment and closing the door after pulling the privacy screens down for her.

It only took two minutes before the door slid open quietly and she was gazing up at him as he leaned against the windows that made up the wall opposite the compartments. He smiled at her and headed past her, closing her trunk and easily lifting it up. "When we arrive, you can leave your trunk on board and it will be taken up to the school for you."

The owl sat in the cage still on one bench. The girl just nodded at him again.

"Would you like to ride alone or do you want someone else with you?"

She cocked her head silently and held up two fingers.

"I'll find someone suitable then bring them to you, alright? Girl or boy?"

She nodded then shrugged which he took as indication that she didn't care which gender sat with her. He nodded and left the compartment, closing the door behind him and casting a privacy charm to keep others out. He felt oddly protective of her.

He made his way back outside to wait for another while the girl took a seat on the bench her owl was on by the window. The boy that had helped her seemed nice and she wanted to trust him. But she knew better than to trust people. Trusting got you hurt. Same with talking. Which was exactly why she hadn't spoken.


It only took three minutes before there was a short knock on her door and it opened, revealing the boy again with another trunk. A girl followed behind him. She had brown, somewhat wild hair and a tentative smile.

But what the green eyed girl zeroed in on was the bruise that could just barely be seen on her shoulder beneath the shadows her hair created. Maybe this girl was something like her and they would have something in common. She purposely shifted so the girl could see a bruise that was on her thigh but the boy couldn't. The girl's eyes narrowed in recognition and their eyes met. Here was someone who was just like her. She felt relieved.

The boy was speaking again to her. She looked up at him curiously.

"This is Hermione. She's muggle-born as far as she knows but she's not sure as she is adopted. I would tell her your name but I don't know it." He lifted this Hermione's trunk up since the girl was already in uniform with a robe laying over her arm. "I'll leave you two alone then. Your door has a charm on it keeping everyone except me and the trolley woman out. You won't be bothered. If either of you need me for any reason at all, I'll be right next door. This is technically the fourth year car but no one is going to bother you, I promise."

Hermione nodded slightly. "Thank you Adrian." She said in a rather soft tone.

The boy, Adrian apparently, just nodded again before leaving, closing the door behind him. Hermione sat down across from her and they stared at each other for a few moments before Hermione finally smiled. "Hermione Granger. For now at least." She said with a somewhat brighter smile. She didn't offer her hand and the girl was relieved. She wasn't sure about the girl yet. She inwardly felt she could trust Adrian but she wasn't quite sure about Hermione yet.

"Where'd you get that bruise?" She asked instead of giving her name. The first words she had spoken to someone else in three years.

"My dad. You?"

"My uncle." Now she felt she could trust her. Now that her theory was proven correct. "I'm Violet. Violet Potter."

Hermione nodded and Violet was instantly grateful for the lack of comment on her girl-who-lived status.

The two girls launched into an, at first, tentative talk about Hogwarts and magic. As time passed they both became more relaxed.


It was about halfway through their trip when the trolley lady stopped. They both refused anything. Hermione because she didn't have any money and Violet because she was unsure about it and had never been allowed to have stuff like that and hadn't fully switched her mindset yet. Their door closed again and they returned to their conversation.

Two minutes later there was a short knock and then the door opened to reveal Adrian carrying a small basket.

"Hello little ones." He said gently as he closed the door and then sat beside Violet. "Neither of you look like you've had breakfast and it's lunch time. You won't get another chance to eat until dinner. Why did neither of you get something off the Trolley?"

Violet looked slightly confused. "How'd you know?"

If Adrian was surprised at her speaking, and he was, he didn't show it. He favored her with a roguish grin. "Well little one I asked her if my charges next door had gotten anything to eat."

Violet blushed slightly and looked down.

Hermione was the one to speak. She felt she could trust Adrian as soon as she had met him and the fact that Violet said she had felt the same way only confirmed this for her. "I don't have any money and I'm not allowed to anyways and Violet isn't allowed to either."

"I see. Well I bought some things off the Trolley for you both and called one of my house elves to bring some food as well."

Hermione opened her mouth to ask and he held up a hand, stopping her. "I'll explain what they are another time, alright?"

Hermione nodded, appeased. Violet was just staring at Adrian in surprise. She had never met anyone that was nice to her before. Aside from Hermione but she didn't count because she was like her.

Adrian gave Violet a serious look. "Will you eat the things I brought you? Please?"

Violet nodded slowly.

Adrian grinned and pulled two sandwiches out of the basket and handed one to each girl before grabbing a third for himself and lounging back against the seat.

"You're staying?" Violet looked up at him before she bit into her sandwich. Hermione was already halfway through hers.

"For a while little one. Why? Do you not want me to?"

"No! That's….that's fine." She said quietly. She took a small, careful bite out of her sandwich.

Adrian grinned and started eating his sandwich while also handing Hermione another. She dove into it as fast as the first. While he was happy they were both eating, he was upset. Hermione was eating it so fast as though concerned he would take it back away from her. Violet was eating nervously, staring at him as if waiting for him to get angry.

He gently and slowly reached over and pulled her into a side hug. He felt her tense at first and then relax a moment later and smiled as he finished his own sandwich. Hermione finished her second and seemed a lot calmer as he passed her a bottle of water. Violet finally finished hers and shared a second with Adrian when she told him she wouldn't be able to eat another full sandwich. He had split it in half. He gave her a bottle of water too.


Twenty minutes later the two girls were entirely relaxed in his presence and had decided to poke him for information about Hogwarts and the sorting. Though it usually wasn't done, he knew the kind of things they would hear from the other first years from experience and, considering they were already tight little balls of nerves, he told them of the sorting hat. He explained the houses as honestly as possible including the stigma of Slytherin and the Slytherin-Gryffindor rivalry. He left nothing out. He was, therefore, slightly surprised with what they said next.

"I want to be in Slytherin." Both girls said together.

They had actually moved so there was one on each side of him. "Why?" He asked curiously.

"You're there." Came Violet's quiet tone. He fought the urge to grin as he hugged her a bit closer.

"I'd keep you both safe no matter what house you end up in." They both shrugged but cuddled a bit closer. Violet was the first of the pair to fall asleep. He smiled because she clearly felt safe enough to do so. Hermione followed her not five minutes later. He carefully used his magic to expand the bench and then laid them more carefully so he had a tiny first year's head on each thigh. Both girls looked utterly angelic in their sleep and he smiled while at the same time resigning himself to not moving for a while.


AN: I actually finished chapter one in less than an hour so there might be a bit of hope for this one.