1"Mum, please, you really need to get off. I'm serious, mum, I'm going to miss the train."
Platform Nine and Three Quarters was overcrowded in the last ten minutes before the train left. Older and more responsible students were helping the younger students get situated, while the more troublesome ones were doing whatever they possibly could to stop the latter group. Nicole Canavril was being strangled in an over-protective hug by her over-protective mother. Finally, she was let go, and was nervously looked around the platform. She was a Muggle-born and didn't know anyone from the new school that she would be attending, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Alright, dear, I put some stamps in your trunk, and I've sent you with a few pounds in case you want to take a cab home." Mrs. Canavril was a Muggle, as was Mr. Canavril, and although Nicole's knowledge of her new world was minimal, she had been told just enough to know that pounds and stamps would do her no good.
The chilly September breeze whipped the few leaves that had fallen from the trees in a whirlwind. Red, orange, yellow and brown leaves danced around and whipped people in the faces. The Hogwarts Express sounded a shrill whistle, and anyone who was left on the platform began to move towards the train.
Mrs. Canavril wailed, and more tears fell out of her intense brown eyes that were so much like Nicole's. Throwing her arms around her young daughter's neck, she was so overcome by tears that she barely managed to whisper, "Oh, come home, sweetie. I made a mistake letting you go. You're much too young to go off to school. Won't you miss your friends?"
Nicole said nothing. She didn't tell her mother, but she didn't like most of her classmates; or the fact that she was seen as the quiet one. That was something Nicole intended to change; she had a chance to start over.
Nicole let her mother squeeze her for a few moments longer before making a weird grumbling sound in her throat. Sarcastically, Nicole said, "Mum, I know you want to get rid of me, but if you suffocate me I can't come back, ever."
Finally, by the coaxing of Mr. Canvril, Nicole was released from her mother's hold. Giving her father a hug and promising to write, she boarded the train. She wandered a bit around the train with her luggage dragging along the hard wooden floor behind her. She was not quite sure where to go, but asking someone to help would have embarrassed her.
Nicole walked on, hoping to find an open compartment in the train. With a jolt, the Hogwarts Express began to move, and Nicole stumbled forward, unfortunately for her, into another person.
He wasn't knocked over, but Nicole went sprawling to the floor. Her old wooden trunk made a loud sound when as it clattered to the floor.
Looking up, Nicole saw that the person was quite a bit taller than her, but seemed to be around her age, i maybe /i a year older. He had somewhat short black hair and bright grey eyes. His face was long and his jaw bone already beginning to square. He wore a set of forest green robes, sort of like the ones that Nicole had bought for school, but different.
"I'm sorry," said Nicole, barely intelligible with nervousness. The boy just looked at her and offered his hand to help her up. Nicole took his hand and smiled and he helped pull her from the ground. She walked over to her trunk and stood it back up. "My name's Nicole Canavril; I'm a first- year."
"Hi, I'm Sirius Black, and I suppose we're classmates." He smiled widely, revealing a set of almost perfectly white teeth. "Did you need a place to sit? My compartment's empty except for me."
"Thank you very much; I've been searching for a while." Nicole grunted slightly as she began to drag her trunk behind her once again.
"It's right in here." The boy named Sirius Black pointed into a compartment to the right about a few meters ahead of where the two had collided.
Nicole heaved her trunk into a corner and left it there, not daring to try and lift it onto a rack. She collapsed onto one of the leather seats, exhausted from the workout of carrying her trunk.
"So," began Sirius. "What house do you think you're going to be in?"
"Oh, well, I'm not sure. What are the requirements?" Nicole felt a bit stupid. She'd done a bit of reading on the wizarding world, and some person from her new school, Hogwarts, told her about the four houses but not how to get into them.
"Are you Muggle-born?" Sirius continued after Nicole nodded. "Well, I actually don't know too much; only that my parents are attempting to force me into Slytherin." His made a sour face and paused for a moment. "You don't want to be there, not if my family is any example of that lot. They hate people like you; they believe you have dirty blood and shouldn't be allowed to do magic."
"Oh, okay." Nicole was silent; she wasn't quite sure how she was supposed to respond to what Sirius' had told her. She was upset and horrified that people would have prejudice like that.
"But I don't think that, I swear," Sirius quickly added, not wanting Nicole to get the wrong idea.
The sliding compartment door opened, a boy with brown hair who was even taller than Sirius walked in followed by another boy, with lighter blonde hair. The first boy could certainly be considered rather attractive. His dull but shining blue eyes complimented his pale skin. The only unattractive feature he had was the bruise-like circles under his eyes.
The boy behind him was not unattractive, but neither was he attractive. He was more plain than anything else. He was shorter than Sirius, and his round face was chubby as most of the first -years' faces were. His gray eyes were slightly more closed than they probably should have been. His nose was small, and his hair was coiffed in the way that only a mother would arrange.
The boy in the front spoke up first. "Hi, er, I'm Remus Lupin, and this is Peter Pettigrew. We were wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing your compartment."
"Of course!" said Sirius, making an overly large and unnecessary gesture of welcome. "The more the merrier!"
The two boys seated themselves, and Nicole introduced herself, followed by Sirius.
The group chatted amiably about what they thought school was going to be like, and Nicole found herself oddly comfortable with these kids. She was usually very awkward in social situations, and couldn't understand why this was any different. However, she didn't have time to dwell on the matter, as it was too trivial for her young mind to stop on.
A middle-aged witch with slightly graying black hair appeared in the doorway. "Anything off the trolley?"
"Bloody hell, look at all the treats!" Sirius cried. He jumped up and snatched a large gold coin from his luggage. He bounded across the small compartment and got a healthy number of each of the candy on the trolley.
Sirius threw a brightly wrapped candy to Nicole. "This is amazing! Mum never let me eat candy at home!"
Nicole tore open the wrapper and squealed as the chocolate inside jumped into her lap, then out of the compartment following the trolley witch.
Nicole stared after the chocolate frog for a while, even after it was out of her vision. "Er, was that supposed to happen?"
Without waiting for a reply, Nicole threw the wrapper aside and grabbed another candy. This time, she wanted to eat the candy. She had seen Sirius, and if he could eat the candy without it wriggling free, she surely could as well. She open the package carefully this time, holding the squirming frog tight and sinking her teeth into the oddly textured, yet delicious chocolate. "This is amazing! And, what's with these cards?"
Sirius sighed. "You've got so much to learn, Nicole, so much to learn."