Frank smiled nervously at the two strangers in the carriage. His sister Alice, a first year, sat next to him, her small trembling fingers intertwined with his; she had always been quite shy.

The rain continued to splatter on the windows and just to add to the already grim weather, Frank could distinctly hear a gentle rumbling coming from the dark and sombre clouds drifting ominously towards the Hogwarts Express. He gave a fleeting glance in the direction of the two other people who sat in their carriage. By the look on their faces he assumed that they were first years, also he had never met them before which made it more than likely that they were, in fact, first years.

Feeling the soft trembling in his hand where his sister's fingers were protectively held, he decided on the spur of the moment to say something.

Letting go of Alice's hand, he extended his own to the boy opposite him and smiled, "Hi there, I'm Frank and this is my sister Alice Longbottom.'

The boy opposite smiled, his features looking much more human now that they weren't twisted with worry. Shaking Frank's hand he said, "Hi, I'm William."

Frank shook the other boy's hand too. He noticed the other one still seemed a little daunted and so smiled warmly at him. The boy smiled shyly back and whispered almost inaudibly, "I'm Robert."

"Isn't your dad the Herbology teacher at Hogwarts?" blurted out William suddenly, looking at Frank then Alice.

Alice nodded, "He's been teaching there for years now, it's going to be so weird calling him Professor."

William nodded enthusiastically, "I completely understand! Our mum taught at our primary school and I was in her class for 5 years in a row, can you believe? I had to call her miss every day which felt really strange. You'll get used to it after a while, trust me."

Alice smiled awkwardly; her eyes darted to Robert who still looked uncomfortable.

"Are you a second year then?" asked William his eyes on Frank.

Frank shook his head. "Third year," he said, "So if ever you get lost or need directions then you can always ask me. By the way, which House are you hoping to be in if you don't mind me asking?"

William's eyes lit up, "Ravenclaw. Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure," he quoted. "I've read about all the Houses but to me, Ravenclaw sounds the best! I've heard that there's a bookshelf in the Common Room where each student leaves a copy of their favourite book before leaving Hogwarts."

Frank laughed, "I've heard that too, I have a friend who's in Ravenclaw and she told me that. I've always liked Ravenclaw House, though I'm not too sure how I would feel about answering a riddle every time I want to go into my Common Room. How about you Robert, which house would you like to be in?"

"I don't know. I'll probably end up in Hufflepuff though…"

"Hufflepuff is a great house," piped up Alice, "I wouldn't mind being in Hufflepuff because the people from that House are always so kind. Also, the Common Room is right next to the kitchens."

Robert's whole demeanour brightened, "Really?"

Alice laughed, "Yes. And I've heard that the house elves don't mind giving you leftovers."

"More like whole meals if they can!" said Frank, "I went with Molly last year and we could hardly fit all the cakes and scones they had given us in our pockets!"

Robert laughed, now looking much more at ease. "Say, any idea what these are?" Robert pulled out a chocolate frog box from his pocket. "I bought it from a woman pushing a trolley and I was going to open it but somebody told me to wait until I got into my compartment."

"It's because there's a frog inside it. There's a spell to make it jump but it wears off after a while. You also get a card with it. Lots of people collect them because there are different ones in each packet. Alice and I made up a game to use the cards in. Want to play?"

Robert shrugged, "Sure."

Frank explained the game to Robert and William, Alice prompting him or adding to what he said if he forgot a detail. Finally, when they had finished explaining and the cards had been distributed William said, "So it's basically like Top Trumps?"

"Huh?"

"Top Trumps," repeated William. "You know when you turn over a card and chose the best characteristic in order to beat your opponent and win their cards? I have Doctor Who ones at home, my granny bought them for me. Every time I play with Robert, it takes ages for the game to finish because Robert always ends up with the Doctor and I always have a rubbish card."

"The Doctor is nearly unbeatable," said Robert.

Alice shrugged, "For us, it's Hermione Granger. She's one of the best cards in the pack along with Dumbledore. We haven't got Professor McGonagall's card yet though."

"I'll promise to pass you one if ever I get it," said William. "Anyway, shall we play in teams?"

"Why not," said Frank, "Alice and I against you two?"

Robert smiled as he took his handful of cards. "Sure. Let's go."

The game lasted for ages until finally Frank and Alice only had one card left whereas the two brothers had a hoard of them.

Frank turned over his card and smiled, it was his and Alice's turn to chose the value and he knew their card was going to win. "You'll never beat us," he said.

William looked up, "You only have one card. We have an army."

Alice giggled, "Yes, well we have a granger."

The other twins groaned, however, good-naturedly and gave up their card.

Frank gathered the cards. "I think we should call it a draw. I can see Hogwarts now, we're nearly there."

His words had the desired effect and all three first years scrambled to the window to see the castle stand majestically above the water. As they all got off the train, Frank walked over to where Hagrid stood in order to make sure the two boys and Alice knew where they were going. As he was about to leave he gave Alice a squeeze and wished her good luck before patting William on the shoulder, "Good luck, mate. And speaking as a Hufflepuff, we'd be delighted to have you in our house. Just as a secret between you and me, it's the best house!" Frank winked at the boy who was now smiling, waved at Alice and William who were already in the boat, before starting to walk back to the thestrals standing proudly by the Hogwarts carriages.