Chapter Two

"Thanks for all your help, Seamus," Alex said, smiling shyly. She was overdoing it. That Pansy girl obviously has dibs, why can't I just leave it alone? Alex thought, while looking into Seamus' chocolate eyes. Probably because he's so cute, she thought again, sighing. "I'll see you at Hogwarts," she mumbled, looking away when she realized Seamus was leaning in towards her slightly. "Bye." She looked at Seamus again, and saw that he was a little disappointed.

"Bye," he replied, returning a smile. Alex pulled out her 'American' wand and mumbled a spell, which would return her home. She plopped down on her bed and closed her eyes, when she arrived in her bedroom. She then heard then clamping of feet on the metal staircase, and braced herself for a lecture.

XXX

A month has passed and the Russo children are looking for platform 9¾ at Kings Cross Train Station. Unfortunately, they're not having any luck. "Face it, Justin," Alex moaned. "It's not here! We're lost! There's platform 9 and there's platform 10. And there is nothing in between!"

"Umm, I could show you how to get to the platform," mumbled a voice from behind Alex. There was a red-headed girl, about 14, standing awkwardly in front of Alex. Alex just stared at the girl, completely wiped out. It was too early to be boarding a train to some unknown land with a school that teaches magic. Alas, this was all Alex had ever known. She founded it amusing and started to laughing, frightening Justin, Max, and the red-head who stood before them.

"Thank you so much, what's your name?" Justin asked pushing Alex aside. The red-head's name was Ginny Weasley, and she had developed a crush on Justin Russo during the five minutes she had known him. She grabbed his hand.

"Come on, I'll show you," she said. She blushed slightly at the touch of Justin's hand, which was surprisingly soft for a teenage boy's hands, and pulled him towards the wall between the platforms. "You just walk straight through it, but don't hesitate, or you'll run into the wall. Alex stopped laughing.

"I'll go first," she volunteered; she grabbed her trunk and pushed it towards the wall. She didn't doubt Ginny, but she was still kind of uneasy about walking towards a very solid looking wall. She closed her eyes and broke into a run. When she opened her eyes she found herself on platform 9¾, next to a scarlet steam engine. A sign that read Hogwarts Express was right next to the shiny train, and she gawked at how magical it all looked. She dragged her trunk towards the storage car, not bothering to wait for her brothers, and then stepped onto the train. She looked for Seamus in one of the compartments but he was nowhere to be found. She, once again, decided to ask someone.

She knocked on the door of one of the compartments and waited until one of the passengers looked up. The passenger happened to be Draco Malfoy, who had wondered about the new girl ever since the annual trip to Diagon Alley, and when he saw Alex Russo knocking on the door of his compartment, he couldn't help but smirk. He knew she would find him. He got up and opened the compartment door. "Hello," he said, in the most seductive tone he could manage. "Can I help you?" Alex couldn't help but notice how hot he was in torn jeans and a black-and-white plaid button up shirt. Alex blushed.

"Yes, actually," she smiled slightly, and Draco noticed she didn't have a British accent like the rest of them. "I was wondering if you could help me find Seamus Finnigan, he told me to meet him about a month ago on this train. I just don't know where he might be. "At the mention of Seamus, Draco's smile faltered, and he felt Pansy stiffen behind him. "Of course," he said, "follow me." He winked at Pansy and she grinned. Draco led her to the Gryffindor car. He held her hand as he guided her, and asked her what house she wanted to be in and which wizard school she went to before this. "Wiz-Tech," Alex replied. Draco nodded, even though he had never heard of it. "My name's Alex Russo, by the way. What's yours?"

"Draco Malfoy," he said, and he was glad she didn't smirk. "Here you are," he said, opening a compartment that contained Seamus and a bunch of other peculiar looking people. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Alex Russo. He bent down and kissed her hand. He noticed that it smelled like apples. Alex blushed and thanked him. She watched him walk away as she shut the compartment door and sat down next to Seamus.

"Well, he was certainly polite." She noticed that Seamus looked rather angry with her, and the other boys in the compartment just looked rather stunned. The only other girl there was bushy-haired and had pretty, straight teeth. She observed everyone in the compartment and waited for Seamus to introduce them, but he still looked put out. Alex frowned. "What's wrong, Seamus?" she asked, and Seamus immediately replied.

"Oh, so Draco Malfoy is allowed to kiss you but I'm not," he huffed. Alex laughed. "It's not funny Alex!"

"Seamus, I respect the girl code, and that girl that was with you in Diagon Alley, has complete dibs on you. Pansy, I think was her name. Is that really why you're so upset?" She laughed again, and this time the other girl joined in. Seamus couldn't help it and he smiled.

"Okay, I'm sorry," he smiled and out his arm around her.

"Seamus," she warned. He frowned.

"Dang it," he mumbled, and moved his arm back.

"Nice try, Seamus," said a red-haired boy who looked exactly like the girl that had shown them how to get onto the platform. "I'm Ron, by the way, Ron Weasley." He flashed a smile at her, and she returned it. The boy next to him spoke next. He was dark-skinned and had dread locks. His name was Lee Jordan. He smiled kindly, not like the other boys. I suspected that he had a girlfriend. Good boy, Alex thought. The girl with the bushy hair spoke next. "I'm Hermione Granger. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. These three boys," she pointed to Ron, Seamus, and a dark-haired boy that had yet to introduce himself, "haven't stopped talking about you for a month. And I must, say you really do meet up to the expectations of them. You're very pretty." She smiled warmly, at Alex. She was surprised at the complement, and she thanked Hermione for it. She then looked at the dark-haired boy expectantly. He was the only one that hadn't introduced himself.

"Hi," he said nervously. "I'm Harry. Harry Potter." She had heard a lot about Harry Potter, but Alex wasn't a celebrity crazed fan. She smiled and shook his hand.

"It's very nice to meet you Harry." Alex said, and reached out to shake his hand. She was shocked by how cold it was. That was the last thing she remembered before she fell asleep on Seamus' shoulder, and there, she dreamt of a pale blond prince come to save her from a lion with sandy-blond hair and cold paws.