A woman makes her way through the crowd at King's Cross. A little girl with red hair and brown eyes holds her hand. In front of them, a man pushes a trolley, attracting strange looks from passerby with the loud squawking of a barn owl inside a cage. A sullen brown haired girl trails after them. They're a strange crowd, attracting lots of glares and attention. And then, suddenly, they're gone.
They've stepped through the barrier, into a whole new world. The girl gasps. She has heard of this for so long, listened to amazing descriptions of Hogwarts, the magical school of witchcraft and wizardry and the world that it entailed. She had known this was going to happen at some point, but it had never seemed truly real until now, when she stepped onto the Hogwarts Express, the scarlet red engine with smoke trailing out, so very much like the other trains, but yet so different. Because she was different.
Lily Evans smiled at her family before she turned to step into the train, and into a whole new world.
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She's waited so long for this. So very, very long. She's seen countless brothers stride onto the platform, board the train, and vanish. They came back with wonderful tales about the large castle with its moving staircases and knights in armor. They talk about their numerous classes, and the strict professors, of the House they now have away from home. But now it's her turn, and she can't quite believe it.
This fantasy, once so very far away, is now so terribly close. She can practically imagine jamming the hat on her head, rushing to her new House, see her brothers clapping. She can see her dormitory, red and gold and filled with other girls she will come to call friends.
Ginny Weasley bounds onto the train, brimming with excitement, ready to start her first year at Hogwarts.
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Her father holds her hand. Her brothers run ahead of them, shouting and laughing, and her mother pulls the trolley. This is it. She's off. After years of waiting, she's finally old enough to go learn the art of magic. Her brothers have told her so much about the castle, its secret passageways and hidden doors. The adventures that they have held, the pranks they have played.
She wonders what house she will be in. She wishes she knew without a doubt, but now…with all her cousins and family scattered in the four, who knows? Perhaps she will don colors of green and silver, or blue and bronze. She hopes for the scarlet and gold, and doesn't particularly think she'll be yellow and black. Her father squeezes her hand, and she looks up at him. It will be hard for him, she thinks, to let go of her, his only daughter, his little baby girl. She also knows that he's never been happier.
Lily Luna Potter released her father's hand and boarded the train, waving farewell to her parents