Authors Notes: I've already written several chapters of this fiction. Rereading the first sections, I think my writing has improved as I've written and found my flow. They always say starting is the hardest part :) I've gone back over this, and changed what I've thought i could, but I still don't think it's up to standard, so any feedback is welcome. I'd ask anyone who comes to this fanfic to try getting past the first chappter.

Chapter 1 - Jump

On the first of September I woke up desperately early. I had gone to bed late the night before, but despite my tiredness I felt more awake and energised than I ever had in my life before. I simply couldn't convince myself to sleep. My father, Professor Dumbledore and I would be flooing down to London to catch the train from platform nine and three quarters to Hogwarts this very day - I was eleven and it was finally time for me to learn magic. Professor Dumbledore wasn't really my father - he had adopted me when I was younger. I've known since I was five. Sometimes - rarely, but still sometimes - it made me sad and I wondered if he dicn't love me - there were times when he could be cold to me, but other times I felt very close to him, and we got along very well. He had always been very kind to me.

I took my time washing and dressing, knowling that I had woken early enough to be relaxed. I wasn't sure what to wear because I didn't spend a lot of time around other wizards or witches, other than those in the school who wore the uniform. In the end I chose a long emerald dress that looked a bit like a robe with plain black lace sleeves. I didn't want to stand out too much either in the muggle world or on the train and I thought that the dress would look alright -if a little unusual - in both cultures. We had planned that he would not accompany me into the station so that we wouldn't attract too much attention. My father wanted me to start school as easily as possible without any special treatment, and being seen with the headmaster would put me apart from my peers straight away.

When I was properly dressed I went back to my room - maybe for the last time all year! I thought excitedly. After all my life watching students pass through hogwarts, finally I would be one! I'd already read a lot of the books, but I wanted to start actually doing magic. Once I'd finished making sure my room was tidy and packed my trunk I dragged it down to my father's office next to the fireplace. He was sitting at his desk writing a letter and when he heard me come through the door.

"Good morning Ruby," he said with a smile "You are particularly loud this morning"

"It because I'm excited!" I grinned.

"I can tell," he replied "You're never usually up this early."

I pouted because being a late riser is one of my many faults, and he always teased me about it! He rose slowly from his desk. "Would you like to breakfast in the great hall, or shall we eat here?"

I considered for a moment because I knew that all the teachers would be back. I was very close to some of them, but I didn't know if I wanted them to think about me as more than a student right before the start of the year.

"Lets go down," I said, realising that I wanted a chance to meet them again before they became my teachers.

I skipped down the turning staircase as my father followed gracefully after me.

Before we reached the great hall he placed a hand on my shoulder and said somberly "After today I cannot remain just as your father. I will be your teacher too, and that means that I will have to treat you like any other student during the school year. You will also have to behave like any other student as I cannot make exceptions for you." He smiled softly. I placed a hand on top of the one on my shoulder and smiled back.

"Don't worry father, I'm looking forward to being a student. I know I can't act like a kid anymore." As I said it I felt a lump in my throat and I realised that I was worried too. I didn't want to show it though, so I grinned brightly and skipped into the dining room.

At the staff table there was a place set for me as usual so I sat down next to professor McGonagall. She didn't smile at me but I could see her lips twitch a bit.

"Morning Auntie!" I said. Professor McGonagall is something like an aunty to me. We're very different people but I know that she cares about me and I care about her.

"Now, ruby, after today we won't have any more of that!"

"I know, but this is the morning and school hasn't even started yet!"

"Well, after today you will be a student at this school! and one had best start as one means to go on!"

I laughed and started to put some fruit on my plate. I spotted that there were some thin English pancakes further down the table so I reached over to grab some, almost letting one of my selves catch in the oatmeal. As I did so I caught professor snape's eye and he glared darkly at me. I snatched the pancake back quickly, not wanting him to have chance to scald me. Professor Snape always glares at me. I think he finds me annoying, but I never did wrong around him. I ate my pancake quickly and then asked to leave the table, telling my dad I would meet him in his study at ten o'clock.

Back in my room I listend to music for a while and read a book of unusual muggle fairy tales my father used to read to me when I was younger. At half past nine, I packed it away and checked that I had everything in my trunk that I needed. It wasn't like I couldn't get anything I'd forgot, but my father wanted me to have an authentic a time at hogwarts as possible. I took out my wand for about the three hundreth time since I'd got it. Rose wood and phoenix feather, nine and a half inches. It already felt like a part of me, and I was dying to start using it to cast spells.

I barely noticed the time, and before I knew it was ten o'clock, and I raced down the stairs. My father was waiting for me by the fireplace. I said goodby quickly to fawkes who nudged me gently with his beak. At the fireplace my father knealt down and looked me in the eye.

"You must remember," he said quietly "That once you begin school, I am professor dumbledore. I do not want you to receive any negative attention, should your schoolmates believe you are receiving any special attenuation."

I smiled and nodded. He went first, taking my trunk with him. I followed him quickly, and stepped out in to a old dingy house neauseously. We were only ten minutes from kings cross, in a house reserved for the staff at hogwartts to use to floo in to this part of London. My dad quickly conjured a cart for my trunk and we set off on to the busy pavement toward kingscross railway station.

At the entrance to the station we paused and stood for a second. My father put his hand on my shoulder again.

"I will see you at school."

I nodded, and without saying anything turned into the crowds. When I glanced back my father had already apparated away. As I tugged my trunk through the barriers and headed towards the platform, I got this horrible feeling like some one was watching me. I shivered despite the warm air and looked around. I couldn't see anything, so I carried on. Still feeling nervures I glanced around again, and caught sight of a messy head of dark hair tugging a similar trunk and a snowy owl, looking lost. I made my way towards him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hogwarts?" I asked.

He nodded shyly, and as he did so I recognized that he was Harry Potter from the scar on his for head. I didn't want to say anything, because I knew how it could feel when people constantly gawked at you, and didn't like you for who you were. At hogwarts I'd always been just the headmaster's daughter, and I'd always felt a little alone and singled out in a crowd.

"I'm Ruby," I said "You can't find the platform, right?"

He shook his head and mumbled something.

"Come on, I'm going there too. You're a first year, right?"

"Yeah," he said.

"Me too." I replied. "Are you on your own?" I asked, because it seemed odd that someone as famous as Harry Potter would be on his own.

"Yeah," he replied "My aunt and uncle had to take my cousin to the hospital."

My eyebrows rose. "To saint mungos?"

He shook his head. "No, they're going to a muggle hospital. My cousin - never mind"

"Go on!" I said, smiling cheekily.

"It's a secret," he replied, flushing. I poked him.

"You can tell me, I promise! I swear on my name, Darkruby Dumbledore."

"You're replated to dumbledore!"

I nodded, "I wasn't going to say, but you're harry potter, right?"

He nodded and flushed. "Yeah. And Dudley - my cousin - Hagrid made him grow a pigs tale. he's getting it taken off!"

I laughed. We chatted for a while as we made our way to the barrier and then I stopped to explain it to him.

"this is the barrier here. you just have to walk through it. I'll show you!"

"Okay."

I set off towards the barrier at a sedate pace. knowing I wouldn't need to run to make it through. I slipped through the barrier easily - and suddenly panicked! instead of the busy platform which I had expected, the world was suddenly swallowed in a gaping abysm of darkness, eldritch shapes seemed to seep in from every corner of my vision. I shrieked, but I could hear no sound. Out of the darkness a distant coruscation began, flickering like a fire. Suddenly I realised I was soaring through the darkness, and as the light grew closer I realised it was a great schysm in the ground, out of witch the very fires of hell seemed to roil - and suddenly I was falling, falling... a high pitched screech rose all around me, a whistle, pitching out of the darkness.

I felt the ground beneath me and opened my eyes. I was on platform nine and three quarters and the train was just begining to pull out of the station. Panicking, I snatched up my trunk, not realising it was suddenly light as air and ran like the wind after the steadily accelerating train. I leaped towards an open door like I had wings at my back and a pale hand reached out and caught me, tugging me on to the train, I had only a glimpse of the stranger, his handsom face, dark hair and rich eyes, and the soft playing smirk on his lips before he seemed to turn into the shadows and disappear.

Shaken, I tugged my once again heavy trunk towards the corridore and began searching for somewhere to sit.