~Boy Meets Girl~

Harry Potter woke at five o'clock the morning of september first and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep. He got up and pulled on his jeans because he didn't want to walk into the station in his wizard's robes - he'd change on the train. He checked his Hogwarts list yet again to make sure he had everything he needed, saw that Hedwig was shut safely in her cage, and then paced the room, waiting for the Dursleys to get up. Two hours later, Harry's huge, heavy trunk had been loaded into the Dursleys' car, Aunt Petunia had talked Dudley into sitting next to Harry, and they had set off.

They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon dumped Harry's trunk onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for him. Harry thought this was strangely kind until Uncle Vernon stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face.

"Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine - platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?"

He was quite right of course. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all.

"Have a good term," Uncle Vernon said with an even nastier smile.

He left without another word. Harry turned and saw the Dursleys drive away. All three of them were laughing. Harry's mouth went rather dry. What on earth was he going to do? He was starting to attract a lot of funny looks, because of Hedwig. He'd have to ask someone.

Before Harry could find a passing guard to stop, a small red-headed girl in a brown dress appeared in front of him rather abruptly. He was somewhat taken-aback by her sudden appearance and beaming smile.

"Hi!" she said brightly.

"Er, Hi," Harry replied, nonplussed.

"Looking for the Hogwarts Express?" the girl - who appeared to be roughly Harry's age - asked.

"Oh. Yes please. How did you know?"

Harry felt both relieved and confused by the strange girl, and then a bit excited, realizing she must be a witch, if she knew Hogwarts. The girl pointed at Harry's hand, which held his train ticket. For a crazy moment it seemed like she was going to grab it, but a second later her hands were clasped safely behind her back.

"You were holding a Hogwarts ticket and standing around with a trunk and owl looking quite lost. Those are usually pretty sure signs," she told him seriously. "Come on, I'll show you where the portal is. We can wait there for Mum and my brothers."

The girl skipped around Harry and grabbed the handle of his luggage cart. Her shoulder bumped against his as she started to push. Harry didn't know quite how to feel about this and was distracted enough that he didn't remember to start walking until the moving cart yanked him foward. The red-headed girl hadn't even told him her name, but no one had ever been so friendly to him before.

"Er, so are you going to Hogwarts too?" Harry asked awkwardly.

The girl smiled wistfully. "Not until next year. My brother Ron gets to start this year, though. I'm very jealous."

Harry's shoulder brushed against the girl's again. She seemed to be walking a bit closer to him than was made strictly necessary by the wide pushbar of the luggage cart, but Harry wasn't about to complain when she was being so helpful and nice. The girl pulled the cart to a stop in front of the barrier between the two platforms and turned to him, smiling in a soft way that made Harry feel somehow uncomfortable.

"By the way, I'm Ginny. Ginny Weasley."

"Er, Harry. Harry Potter," he replied, a split second before he remembered the whole Boy-Who-Lived thing and cringed, staring down at his trunk and waiting for the outburst that was sure to follow the revealing of his name. To Harry's surprise, it didn't come. Instead, a small, warm hand settled on his arm.

"You really aren't going to like being famous, are you," Ginny said gently.

Harry looked up, feeling suddenly warm inside. It was unsettling and he was relieved to meet someone who understood that. He smiled ruefully at this girl called Ginny and shook his head. Harry thought - or perhaps hoped - that he'd made a friend.

"There you are, Ginny!" a woman's voice called. The girl winced and went to meet the owner of the voice - a harried-looking woman with the same firey red hair as Ginny. "What in Merlin's name did you think you were doing, running off like that?"

"But Mum!" Ginny protested. "This boy needed my help! He didn't know how to find the Platform!"

The woman who was apparently Ginny's mother ground to a halt halfway into her windup for a scolding. Behind her, four red-headed boys - two of whom were identical - pulled their carts to a stop. She blinked, seeming to spot Harry for the first time. The woman looked at him for a long moment, taking in his shabby appearance, and seemed to soften. Harry was glad Ginny hadn't called him by name.

"Oh, well hello dear," Ginny's mum said.

"Er, hello ma'am."

"They didn't tell you how to get onto the Platform?" she asked.

"No, ma'am."

"Oh, well it's quite easy, don't you worry," the woman assured him, turning to her sons. "Percy, you first. Fred, George, you next."

The oldest boy and the twins maneuvered around their mother and jogged straight at the barrier. One of the twins winked at Harry as they ran straight into the wall - and vanished through it. Harry blinked and looked at the wall in shock.

"Your turn Ron, hurry up now," the red-haired mother said, turning back to Harry. "It's Ron's first time, as well."

The youngest boy gave Harry a curious look and followed his brothers through the not-actually-that-solid brick. Harry copied them, aiming his cart for a run straight at the wall. He closed his eyes at the last second, sure he was going to crash anyway, but instead he felt the cool tingling magic of the barrier flash over him.

A magnificent red steam train stood before him when he opened his eyes and Harry stared in awe. Students and parents in robes hurried about and an engraved sign proclamed Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters. He looked back at the girl and her mother as they followed him through the portal and grinned.

"Thanks, Ginny. Thanks, er, Mrs. Weasley," he said.

"You're quite welcome, dear."

Ginny opened her mouth to say something, paused, and then bounced forward and pulled Harry firmly into her arms. "Ginny!" her mother hissed.

Harry stiffened in surprise. It was probably the first time anyone had ever hugged him, but once he got over the shock he decided it was rather nice. He felt his face getting warm and patted Ginny's shoulders uncertainly.

"Good luck at school, Harry," Ginny said softly.

She released him and giggled lightly, running off to say goodbye to the twins, who were just returning from getting their luggage aboard. Somewhat flustered but feeling strangely happy, Harry climbed onto the train and set off to find an empty compartment while Ginny and her brothers laughed at something about a toilet seat.