Ally Hopewell and the Sorcerer's Stone

Chapter 1

Ally Hopewell liked trains. A lot. She liked them so much in fact that, for her fourth birthday she had asked her mum for a train. But not just any train, a big red one.

But now, years later, Ally thought she didn't like big red trains anymore, especially not ones that were going to take her far, far away from Father.

She and Father weren't that close anymore though, not since Mum had passed four years prior.

Father didn't talk much anymore. He didn't come home for dinner or take her out to the park. It was like when Mum died; Father died too.

But now, his cold demeanor and indifferent attitude seemed so much more pleasant than spending the next seven years stuck in a massive castle in the middle of nowhere. Despite being used to not having anyone, Ally dreaded being ripped away from the only comfort she still had.

She had no choice but to go, so here she was, on the infamous Platform 9 ¾ at Kings Cross Station; where her stony-faced father was abandoning her, once again.

"Ally," He began, looking very awkward for once, "I do hope you have a… swell time at Hogwarts, remember to stay out of trouble, and do not forget; I am expecting top marks, you hear?" She only nodded vacantly, and they once again settled into an uncomfortable silence.

"Well, I suppose we must get you boarded then," He picked up her trunk, leaving Ally to carry only her small rucksack with her change of clothes and her owl Monty. Her favorite book, The Secret Garden, clenched in her hand. Mum had given it to her all those years ago when she was a glum child with only her cousin and plush toys as friends.

Ally supposed she was a bit serious looking at times, but it wasn't her fault. Her parents thought it best if they hired a governess to care and educate her, as well as several tutors to make sure she became the best at all she did. Mum told her that since Father's job as an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry could put them in danger, it was best not chance the risk at a Muggle primary school.

While this gave her an undeniable academic advantage to her peers, Ally was left to her own devices when it came to entertaining herself, and knowing she wouldn't be around for most of her formative years, Ally's Mum gave her one last gift before she went behind the veil. The Secret Garden. It was a gateway to another world, a world where she had friends, friends who understood and took her on adventures, and for whom she could finally crack a smile. Then came Anne of Green Gables, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Oliver Twist, and other tales that took far from her bleak life in Scotland to exciting new places that allowed her to forget.

Despite her bookish personality and terrible lack of style, Ally was rather pretty for an eleven-year-old girl. She had fair skin, with the Prewett trademark freckles dusting her nose, soft pink lips, long and wavy ginger hair that framed her heart shaped face, complimenting her bright olive green eyes.

Said olive green eyes were observing the bustling platform with mild curiosity and fear. Ally had never been around so many people before; it was overwhelming. At the sight of the train tracks and the station bustling with people, she was reminded of one of her latest novels, Anna Karenina, and feared the bout of vertigo that was soon to come.

Nevertheless, she took in the frightened and excited first years, the returning students who were greeting their friends, the occasional snogging couple, and the blubbering mothers and warm fathers, sad to see their children go.

She felt a pang in her heart that her Mum would never be able to see her off or giggle girlishly when Father would warn her about boys, or that she wouldn't send her letters to tell her about whatever, or Howlers when she did something bad. It hurt.

But, at least she had Father, however cold or indifferent he may be, he would always be there for her, hopefully.

She distantly heard him clear his throat and noticed he had already loaded her trunk and owl, Monty, onto the train.

Suddenly Ally didn't care that her Father was emotionally awkward, he was Father, and she deserved a proper goodbye, didn't she?

So, gathering all of her wits, she hesitantly wrapped her skinny arms around his sizeable warm frame. She felt him freeze and her heart sunk, thinking he would end the hug, but he shocked her by, placing his strong arms around her thin little frame, lifting her up slightly by the tips of her toes.

The hug ended too soon as the clock struck four minutes to eleven, which was when the train would leave. Ally looked up, sad to go, but the look on Father's face gave her the confidence to walk away and wave goodbye.

Ally hurried onto the train and stormed into the first compartment she could find, barely registering throwing her trunk and Monty's cage onto the seat on the right as she pulled open the window with as much force as she could and stuck her head out. Quickly spotting him, noticing him not noticing her, but scanning other open windows; she yelled as loud as she possibly could, "Father! Father!" he found her in mere seconds, and she began to wave frantically out the window as the clock struck eleven and the last of the students boarded, and the train started to speed away.

"Goodbye! Goodbye! Goodbye!" she yelled until Father was no longer visible and Platform 9 ¾ was just a speck in the countryside distance.

She sighed wistfully, and as she moved back to where she had unceremoniously thrown her belongings, she realized there was someone else in the compartment for the first time. A skinny little boy with brilliant green eyes and a lightning bolt scar.

A/N: Hope you liked my new story and sorry about the cliffhanger, I didn't know how else to end it. Also, I'm terribly sorry about such a short chapter, but I hope it doesn't really count because it's only the introduction, and I promise to try to make the real chapters much longer, at least 1,000 words for a short one. And this chapter is like 800 words long, not counting the author's note, so feel free to hate me until next chapter, I guess. Please, please, please Read and Review!

I love all my readers whether you review or follow or favorite or not, it just means a lot already the fact that you've taken the time to read my story, and thanks so much for that! But it also helps the story get better (not to mention my self-esteem) when I hear feedback. You can write constructive criticism, you can just criticize, you can even write about how much you hate me and/or my story because this way I know something is wrong. When you flame, please be specific about what exactly you hate or greatly dislike. I don't mind. Be blunt! And honest, I like that in a person.

Well thanks again, super long authors note by the way, so sorry about that too; I just needed to get it all out m' dears. :D

Edited: 1/3/17