I sat on the train, absentmindedly twirling a strand of my blond hair in my fingers. The country side flew past the large rectangular window in a blur. I itched to be on my broomstick, soaring over the scarlet steam engine and shooting through the trees.
I re-crossed my legs, throwing my left knee over my right, and then let them fall back straight. They were too short for me to sit comfortably while propping them up on the seats across from me so I let them fall straight to the floor. I then tried crossing my legs at my ankles, then at my knees again and finally pulled them into my lap criss cross style. I was antsy and anxious. Mom and dad would be expecting a letter as soon as possible but what would I tell them if I wasn't a Ravenclaw. It didn't help my weary mind that the train still had hours to go until we reached the castle.
I was thrown from my uneasy thoughts as I heard a commotion in the hallway between compartments. I could see the silhouettes of what looked like two boys. One of them ran at the other and threw their books onto the floor. Laughter from several students followed the antic.
I looked back at through the window and stared at the clouds dotting the sky. A while later I heard a knock coming from the sliding door. "Candy from the trolley?" an elderly woman asked, pushing the door open. I stood and pulled my wrinkled t-shirt down over my jeans. I pulled a few knuts out of the front pocket of my bag. I handed them to the witch and chose two chocolate frogs, a bag of Bertie Bots Every Flavor Beans and a cauldron cake.
As the woman moved to the next compartment I saw a book lying on the floor, the edges ripped and the cover stepped on. I picked it up and studied the cover as the door closed swiftly behind me.
I kicked off my black boots and leaned over to lie with my back against the wall by the door and my feet resting on the other side of the seat. I pulled the chocolate frog's wrapper off and bit into it. Smiling at the flavor, I stared at the cover of the book. Quidditch Through the Ages. My eyes widened at the title. First years weren't supposed to have brooms but that didn't keep me from pulling my dad's old one out of the shed. I had learned the rules of Quidditch easily and now all I wanted to do was try out for my house team…not that I knew my house yet.
Anxiety twisted my chest once more and I flipped through the pages inattentively. All of sudden, a boy shot through the door. I gasped and stood, throwing the book in front of me as impromptu protection. "The Hell?" I cried.
He was breathing hard, as if he had run here. "My book!" He cried pulling it from my hands.
"Excuse me?" I cried, grabbing it back. It wasn't hard; he didn't put up much of a fight. "What are you doing?"
"This is my book! That girl knocked me down and slammed them out of my hand."
I couldn't help but smirk. "That was a girl?"
"If you can believe it with that haircut," he said smiling.
"Sit down," I offered. He did and I was finally able to take his full appearance.
He was a peculiar boy. He must've been a first year; he didn't look old enough to be anything else. He was on the larger side and was already decked out in his school robes. He had thin rimmed glasses out lining his hazel eyes. Small blemishes covered his nose, mixed with freckles. He had his wand in his left hand. A satchel was slung across his shoulder and I could make out the spines of more books.
"So, what house do you think you're gonna be in?" He asked, leaning forward on his knees. I furrowed my eyebrows at his question.
"Ummm, I don't know."
"I personally think I'm gonna be in Gryffindor. My dad was in Gryffindor and so was my sister. My brother was in Slytherin and my mom was Ravenclaw. I guess I have a chance to be in any one of them. Of course my friend, Amy, she's two years ahead of us and we're neighbors, she thinks I'm gonna be in Hufflepuff. God, I don't know what I would if I was."
"Okay, please!" I cried, throwing my hand out. "Stop to breath!" He laughed slightly and I smiled.
"My name's Daniel by the way," he said. "Pure blood."
"What?" I asked.
"Pure-blood. My whole family is magic. What about you?"
"I'm not sure. I mean, my mom is a witch and so is my dad but his parents weren't."
"Oh, you're a sort of half-blood. Got any brothers or sisters?"
"A sister but…she's only four and…she can't do magic." I blushed, trying not to show my embarrassment.
"Oh, she's a squib."
"A what!" I cried, disgusted by the term.
"A squib," he clarified. "Someone who's born into a wizard family but isn't one. That sure sucks for her."
"Yeah," I said, making it obvious. I offered him an every flavor bean. We bit into them at the same time and I laughed when he got sour milk and grimaced. I got cinnamon, which wasn't that tasty either.
As we started to laugh, I saw the door slide open once more. The figure standing before us was odd to say the least. Her face told me she was a girl but her hair contradicted the fact. It was short, spiking up in the back and top. It was cute though, I couldn't deny that. She was dressed in her robes as well, and they hung unkemptly over her tall figure. Her face was round and her eyes were a light brown twinkling with mischief. She shifted her weight in her black high-tops and smiled.
"Oh look," she said, addressing Daniel. "The n00b found a friend." Daniel glared at her but he didn't look extremely hurt.
"My name's Kirsten," she said, holding out her hand. I shook it and she smiled. "I like your hair," she commented.
"Thank you," I said, taken aback by the compliment. I ran my hair through it, self consciously. "I like yours too."
"Thanks. What's your name?" She asked, sitting down next to me.
"Abby," I told her. She nodded and a moment of silence followed.
"My name's Daniel, thanks for asking!" He cried exasperated. Kirsten rolled her eyes and I laughed. "Hey," Daniel then said, desperately trying to return the attention to him. "Have you tried doing any magic yet?"
We shook our heads. "Have you?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Yah, but I'm not that good." He pulled out his wand anyway, however, and muttered, "Lumos." Light darted from the tip an illuminated the compartment. I squinted trying to block the sudden light from my eyes. Finally, he murmured, "Nox," and as quickly as it appeared, the light was gone. "I mean," Daniel said. "I seen it done much better than that and I've only just started out…"
"Holy crap!" Kirsten cried, annoyance and amusement crossing her face. "What are you freaking talking about? That was so good!"
"Nooo," Daniel insisted.
I rolled my eyes. "You were really good."
We continued talking for hours and hours, telling story after story of our childhoods and our memories. Before I knew it, the hours I'd been dreading flitted past and we were pulling into the station. I pulled on my robes and almost wished the train ride was longer so I could continue talking to my new best friends.
However, as I looked out the window and saw lights from the castle pass through the trees my excitement was renewed immediately. I dashed off the train with Daniel and Kirsten by my side. We stepped down onto the platform. Trees outlined the railroad track. Paths led from the platform. Most the students began walking down the farther one. However we soon heard a booming voice call out, "First years! First years this way!" We followed the voice and gasped when we found the source. Standing before was a gigantic man with bushy black hair and dark eyes. He wore a dark overcoat with too many pockets to count. He held a large lantern, sending blinding light flashing over our faces. "Alright you first years. Just follow me and we'll be on our way." With that we began to walk after him down a path into the woods.
We eventually made our way down to a small beach, the sand mixing with the dirt from the trees. Nearly twenty small boats sat on the bank. Daniel, Kirsten and I got into a boat together, joined reluctantly by another boy who didn't say much. However, no one said anything as we began our way across the lake.
The castle rose out of the mist, beautiful cascade of glowing turrets and towers. Trees outlined the grounds around the building. No, "building" was too simple of a word to describe Hogwarts. Candlelight flowed out of the beautiful windows and we could see other students making their way into through the doors. The stone walls rose up over us, and we craned our necks to keep staring at it. The night sky was clear, stars blinking through the wispy clouds. The boats finally hit the shore and we quickly climbed out of them and gathered together on the grass.
The man, who had taken up a whole boat by himself and had introduced himself as Hagrid, joined us a minute later. "Alright," he called out. "Follow me." He still held onto the lantern and led us through the main doors and into a large main hall. A huge marble staircase stood to our left and we could hear the unmistakable drone of kids talking. A woman walked up to us.
She was a tall older woman but a gleam in her eye told me she was more capable than she looked. She had grey hair, tied back in a tight bun. She wore long flowing robes and a role of paper in one hand. "Hello first years," She called out, her voice echoing through the entrance hall. "My name is Professor McGonagall. You will enter the Great Hall, where the other students have already congregated. You will file into the Hall in an orderly fashion and then you will be sorted into one of the four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin." I saw Kirsten smile out of the corner of my eye. I turned and looked over at Daniel and I couldn't miss the flash of anxiety in his eyes and I knew it was masked in my own. "Now," McGonagall continued, "you will follow me and you will be sorted."