Smoke was billowing from the large scarlet steam engine, obscuring the overly busy platform nine and three quarters. It was that time of year once again. It was the first of September and the platform was packed with students and their families saying their goodbyes, the occasional parent pushing their reluctant and nervous first year towards the carriage doors.
Amongst those new coming first years was one tiny little girl with ice blond ringlets, pixie-like features and huge blue eyes- somewhat of an anomaly considering her Italian lineage- that were staring in awe at the sight that lay before her; the day she'd been eagerly anticipating for quite some time had finally arrived.
"Run along now Susanna, love, you don't want to miss the train now, do you?" Mrs Lewis, her mother's housekeeper ushered her towards the carriages.
The young girl turned around and beamed at the elderly lady, before throwing her arms around her in a warm embrace.
"Mi mancherà Mabel, ci vediamo a Natale!" the girl, Susi, exclaimed in a high, sing-song voice full of excitement before hurrying towards the train, her perfect curls bouncing all around her.
The elderly lady's loving gaze followed her, eyes filled with pride. She, in return, would miss the way that pretty little girl lit up the house.
Susi was brimming with excitement at she boarded the train. Clutching a small grey kitten to her chest, she lugged her trunk behind her, searching for a compartment. Noting the lack of house colours on the robes of the occupants of one particular compartment, Susi entered, smiling shyly at her fellow first years.
"Hello, I'm Susi, this is Argento" she held up the silver-grey bundle of fur in her hands, "My we sit here?" she looked around the compartment, meeting the eyes of her two companions and suddenly becoming very much aware of her Latin accent.
"Sure," a pretty redheaded girl with a pair of brilliant green eyes smiled back at her, "I'm Lily. Lily Evans."
Susi nodded and smiled at the girl before attempting to heave her luggage up and onto the luggage rack above their heads.
"Let me help you," the other occupant of the carriage- a small, pale, scruffy looking boy- took the trunk from her arms and lifted it securely into place, "I'm Remus, by the way," he blushed. He seemed very well spoken, thought Susi, Mrs Lewis would approve.
Taking a seat beside Lily, opposite Remus, Susi took the opportunity to get a last glimpse of the London cityscape before the train entered the rolling countryside.
"I'd never heard of Hogwarts before the messenger turned up on my doorstep with the letter to explain everything to me and my parents, or about magic. Was it a shock for you two?" the girl, Lily, broke the silence,
"My mother's family are pureblood, and my dad's half blood. My mum went to an academy in Italy, but my Papa went to Hogwarts, and my sister just finished her N.E. there. In Italy we start schooling when we're eight years old, only background and theory though. I just graduated Bella Strega Scuola Preparatoria, I can't wait to start Hogwarts though!" Susie babbled excitedly, blushing as she glossed over her mother's pureblood status and the fact that she already had a rather in depth theoretical knowledge of magic, she didn't want to seem like a snob or a know it all.
"Both my parents went to Hogwarts," Remus added quietly.
"You two are lucky," Lily sighed, "You both know what to expect. I have no idea,"
There was a tap at the door.
"Anything from the trolley dears?" An ancient looking witch pushing a refreshments trolley full of sweets called through the glass to them.
Both Remus and Susi rummaged through their pockets for their coins, Lily however, looked on bemused by the strange looking wrappers and unfamiliar names. Susi noted this.
"Two pumpkin pasties, two chocolate frogs and some Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans please," Susi handed over the money and collected the goods from the cart, depositing them on the seat between herself and Lily. Remus collected three chocolate frogs and returned to his seat opposite the girls.
"Try it. Trust me," Susi held out a pasty to Lily, who eyed it warily before taking a tentative bite. She chewed, contemplating the taste, before moaning and taking another, larger bite.
"Mmm, 'tis good!" Lily mumbled with her mouth still slightly full. Susi and Remus laughed.
"Told you," Susi chimed, devouring her own pasty.
"What's next?" asked Lily as she dusted off her hands and grabbed a chocolate frog box, "OH!" she exclaimed as the small chocolate amphibian leaped from the box and onto her lap.
Remus grabbed the little creature and pressed it into Lily's cupped hands.
"Go ahead," he encouraged.
Lily pulled a face, before squeezing her eyes shut and biting the head off of the frog in one huge bite. To her surprise, it had the exact same taste and consistency as the unanimated chocolate she was used to. Yet again, her surprise brought a giggle to the lips of Remus and Susi.
"I think I could get used to this magic thing!" exclaimed Lily, whose bright green almond shaped eyes looked very beautiful when she smiled.
It soon became apparent that the ice between the trio was well and truly broken. Together, they laughed, joked, swapped stories and talked in great detail about their nervousness and excitement about the year ahead of them. To Susi, Lily seemed like a lovely girl. She was obviously very bright, and had a natural charisma that was deeply charming, yet not too overpowering; she was very easily likable. Remus seemed as equally bright as Lily, yet much more reserved. He clearly had a very kind heart, and Susi had a sneaking suspicion that there was more to the boy then meets the eye.
"Tell me more about Hogwarts?" Lily asked when the conversation reached a lull.
"I should think Susi knows more than I do if her sister was there last year," Remus smiled at the strikingly pretty blond girl on the seat across from him.
"Um, well my sister Bella was in Ravenclaw house, she says it's for 'those of wit and learning'. She had blue on her robes, so I think their house colour is blue... Oh, and their ghost is called the grey lady, apparently she's the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw who was murdered by her fiancé who's one of the other house ghosts- Slytherin I think. Papa was in Gryffindor. He's a very brave man, my Papa, he's an Auror, Gryffindors are known for being very brave and they wear red, which I think is a brave colour. Other than that, I'm not really sure. Do you know anything about the other two houses Remus?"
Remus look thoughtful for a moment, before answering, "There's Hufflepuff, who wear yellow, I haven't hear much about them but I think they're known for being kind hearted. Then there's Slytherin. I've heard rumours about Slytherins. Nasty rumours. But then again, you can't believe everything you hear. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see..." Remus trailed off into his own quiet thoughts, filling the compartment with suspense that could be clearly read in Lily's expression.
As the sky began to darken, the train began to decelerate and there was a tangible buzz of excitement in the air; the train was obviously nearing its destination. A booming voice echoed through the carriages, informing students that they would be arriving at their destination shortly, and to leave their belongings on the train, as they would be sent up to the school separately. Susi studied the expressions of her companions, Remus appeared to be deep in thought, but he was clearly very happy. Almost like he couldn't believe he was on his way to Hogwarts. Lily, on the other hand, looked slightly pale, yet despite this, there was a glint in her eye that seemed to suggest that she was ready for any challenge.
Suddenly, the train came to a halt, and one by one, the station lights flickered on, illuminating the tiny platform. The crowds of students began to pile off of the train and onto the small platform, and the trio began to follow a crowd of first years over to a rather large and hairy looking man who looked around forty years of age beneath the giant beard.
"Firs'-years? All 'ere?" he swung a lantern over their heads, illuminating the faces of the nervous looking first years, "All righ', follow me. Jus' round this bend 'ere!"
The group began to follow the mountainous figure along a small path, which suddenly opened onto the edge of a great lake. The filed one by one onto the small jetty, that began to creak and groan under the substantial weight of their guide.
"No more'n four to a boat!" the large man called out, gesturing to a fleet of tiny boats, bobbing around in the water.
The trio stuck together and climbed into a boat, Remus hopping in first to assist the girls into the boats. A lanky boy with straggly black hair and a rather pointed nose also joined them.
"Severus! Hello! It's me, Lily!" Lily squeaked excitedly, causing the boat to lurch dangerously.
"Hullo Lily. Nice to see you," The boy smiled at her,
"This is Susi and Remus," Lily pointed to them in turn, "this is Severus, he lives near me. We used to go to the same park when we were younger," She smiled, clearly pleased to have found a familiar face.
The boy, Severus, didn't seem to want to say much, but Susi couldn't help but notice the gaze of admiration he had fixed on Lily from the moment he had spotted her from the jetty.
With little warning, the boats began to glide through the glossy black waters of the lake. Everyone was silent as they gazed in awe up at the castle, which was perched upon a high mountain across the other side of the lake. It's bright lights illuminating its many turrets against the inky black sky.
"HEADS!" the large man called, as the boats passed beneath a small archway draped heavily in ivy. They proceeded along a dark tunnel, until they reached an underground harbour where the little boats began to moor themselves.
The first years were silent as they began clambering out of the boats and following the large man up a small flight of steps to a huge oak door. He lifted a huge fist and knocked loudly three times on the door. There was an audible sharp intake of breath as the first years waiting for the knock to be answered.