Hi, I'm taliathecat and this is my first FanFiction. I hope you enjoy reading it! I'd love as many reviews as possible to see if this story is worth continuing (fingers crossed it is!). Constructive criticism is fine, but please, no flames! Enjoy…

Disclaimer – unfortunately, I'm not JK Rowling – if I was, I'd have waterslides instead of corridors, and a wardrobe filled with the best clothes ever! Haha :)
All characters and locations belong to JK, except for my little OCs

Chapter 1

"Come on! Come on! Mum! Dad! Wake up! I'm going today! I'm actually going!" I squealed as I bounced up and down erratically on my parents' bed. My mother groaned good naturedly, burrowing down underneath the billowing covers, whilst my father swiped at my ankles until I fell gently on top of him, giggling. He cuddled me hard, kissing the top of my head. "Oh Talie, Daddy's going to miss you" he whispered softly into my hair as I squirmed within his embrace. He softened his hold slightly, so I wriggled out of his arms and ricocheted out of the room, singing as I ran down the hallway to check through my trunk one last time. My mother smiled as a small, bright pink bird flew into the bedroom she shared with my father, and she gasped in surprise as it magically erupted into a torrent of brightly coloured confetti.
"Finally, Talie will be in a place where she and her…magic… truly belong," my mother said, a tear glinting at the corner of her eye. Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she clapped her hands sharply. "Timothy, we really do need to get up. We need to work out how to get to this dratted platform from our station!"

I stared at Platform 9, then Platform 10, my head spinning. I glanced at my parents. "Platform 9 ¾? Where is it?" I questioned. My mother's eyebrows furrowed slightly as she looked around, spotting a rather large ticket inspector. "Excuse me, sir," she enquired, "Could you please tell us where we could find Platform 9 ¾?"
"Platform 9 ¾?" He replied incredulously "There's no such platform!" My mother gaped at him as he marched away, mumbling under his breath about "the third time today". My eyes began to fill up with tears as I realised that my letter, the platform, even Diagon Alley, must have been some elaborate scheme just to –

"James Sirius Potter! If you don't hurry up we won't even make it to the platform! How would you feel if you missed the Hogwarts Express?" My head spun around and I spotted a stunning fire-haired lady, her bright brown eyes flashing dangerously at the scruffy-haired child cowering by her side. "Honestly," she continued, "Even Lily was ready before you, and that's saying something!"

I ran up to the lady, my parents following close behind. "Ex...Excuse me?" I mumbled timidly, "Could you possibly tell me how…how to get on to the platform?"
"Oh darling, of course I can!" the lady smiled "My name's Ginny. You must be a first year, right? It's Lily's first year too!" Ginny motioned to the trolley she was holding, where a little girl with flowing red hair and twinkling green eyes was perched. She turned her head, and flashed a grin at me.
"I'm finally going to Hogwarts this year!" She said excitedly, "My brothers have been there for ages while I've been stuck at home, but this year I'm there too! I do hope I'll be in Gryffindor like James and Albus! I already know the Bat Bogey Hex because Mum taught me because James was being mean to me and now he's hardly ever mean to me anymore! Do you want to be friends?" She said all this rather fast and stuck out her hand. I felt my mouth flop open. She knows magic already? What's a Gryffindor? Bat what? Without warning, I felt Lily's hand grasp mine, and she started running towards the wall between platforms 9 and 10, dragging me along behind her. "Lily what are you doing?" I shrieked, as she looked like she wasn't going to stop. I closed my eyes fearfully, preparing to crunch into the wall, but it never came. I opened my eyes carefully, and right in front of my eyes appeared a scarlet steam engine, Hogwarts Express inscribed on its front. I gaped as I noticed a sign above my head, reading Platform 9 ¾!

"Lily Luna Potter! That was incredibly rude!" Ginny shouted, appearing through a gateway with both my parents, and the rest of Lilly's family. My parents looked rather stunned, gazing around the platform much like I had, and I saw one of the boys – Albus, I assumed – stifling a giggle as he watched them.
"You know muggles won't have done that before," Albus told Lily.
"How was I supposed to know she was muggle born?" Lily complained. Albus rolled his eyes. A man, looking like an older version of James and Albus, bar a lightning bolt shaped scar on the right hand side of his forehead, walked up to me and put a hand on my shoulder.
"Don't worry," He chuckled, "I was exactly the same my first year." He smiled kindly at me. "My name's Harry Potter. Ginny Potter is my wife, and these are our three troublesome kids, James Sirius Potter, Albus Severus Potter and Lily Luna Potter. They're all a bit mad." He winked at me. I gave him a guarded smile, and he ruffled my hair. "What's your name, sweetie?" I started, realising that I had completely forgotten my manners.
"Oh my, I'm terribly sorry! My name's Talie Abrahams. These are my parents, Timothy and Lucinda." The Abrahams shook hands with the Potters.
"Well kids, the train's about to leave, so I suggest you get a wriggle on!" Harry motioned towards the platform, which was considerably emptier than it had been a few moments earlier. The Potter children headed towards the train, while I hung back for a few minutes.
"Goodbye pussycat, have a brilliant year. You're getting so grown up!" My mum said, wiping away a tear. She enveloped me in a hug, squeezing me hard. My dad joined the embrace, sniffing slightly.
"We both love you so, so much," He told me, "And we'll miss you so much it's unbelievable."
I smiled softly. "I really have to go now, Mum and Dad, or I'll miss the train." I blew them a kiss and boarded the train, my trunk in one hand and my new kitten's carry cage in the other. "Thank you ever so much Mr and Mrs Potter!" I shouted out, and they smiled back at me. I waved hard and fast at my parents from the door, blowing them kisses until the platform disappeared from sight.

Taking a deep breath, I walked through the train, gazing through windows of different compartments. I finally found Lily's compartment, but to my disappointment it was full, with a multitude of red and black haired children all chatting at a million miles an hour. Feeling dejected, I trudged down the train's corridor and found an empty compartment. I sat down quietly and gazed out the window, preparing myself for a trip of solitude and loneliness, and praying that things would change once we reached the castle.