Chapter One: Chocolate Frogs and New Friends

"Where is it?"

Cassidra Calverdon stood on her tiptoes, peering over the throng of bustling carts in an attempt to catch a glimpse of any incoming trains.

Her mother placed a hand on her shoulder. "It will be here, Cassie, don't worry. The Hogwarts Express has never been late yet."

Cassidra glanced nervously to the large yellow clock hanging on the far brick wall, her brow creased. "Only fifteen minutes to eleven! What if it doesn't come, what if we can't get on-"

But her concerns were cut short as a high-pitched whistle sliced through the platform din, and a brilliant scarlet steam engine churned to a stop in front of the crowd. Cassidra clutched her trunk in anticipation, her knuckles paling to white around the handle.

There was a general surge forward as the Hogwarts Express hissed to a stop, and Cassidra made to follow, but her mother tightened her grip.

"Stay here, please, Cassie. You'll get on soon enough." Cassidra struggled a bit, but complied, her eyes still darting around in animation.

"Now, remember to keep your composure, let's not go losing our heads," Aunt Esta piped up suddenly. She had been nearly silent the entire trip to King's Cross, and had spent the entire time on Platform 9 ¾ looking about with an odd look on her face, as if she smelled something very bad. Cassidra just nodded, not really listening. After all, why should she care about composure when the Hogwarts express was only a few feet away from her?

Cassidra had been waiting for this day practically since Caius had come home from his first year at Hogwarts. Even though she had been very little, Cassidra could remember the amazing stories he had told about the magical castle and all the adventures to be had there.

"It's wonderful, Cassie," Caius had told her, rumpling her hair. "The ceiling looks like the sky, and there's Quidditch, and Slytherin is the best house! I hope you end up in Slytherin, Cassie, then it will be the whole family!"

"Do you have everything?" Cassidra's mother came around to face her. "Your books, robes, wand, everything?"

"Yes, Mum, of course I do," Cassidra replied impatiently. The train's whistle sounded again, and she tried to move forward.

"Cassie," Mother planted her firmly before her, her pale green eyes locking into Cassidra's blue ones. "Before you get on the train, I want to talk to you.

"You are a Calverdon. Remember that always. No matter where you go, who you meet, remember your heritage and who has come before you. We have a reputation, a history, and you are the latest in our family to go to Hogwarts." She paused and smiled at Aunt Esta, who was nodding in agreement. "Do us proud."

However, most of this speech as lost on Cassidra, who had become enthralled with the color-changing raven flying above Mum's head about the time she said "Remember your heritage." She simply nodded, her mind already moving onto the Hogwarts Express and settling down into her compartment with a stack of Cauldron Cakes.

The crowd was thinning by now, allowing Cassidra and her mother move forward, with Aunt Esta bringing up the rear. A good many people stared at them, their eyes focused mainly on Cassidra's mother with expressions of awe and recognition.

By the time they reached the train, it was nearly eleven o' clock. Aunt Esta hugged Cassidra, planting a kiss on her forehead and smiling. "Enjoy yourself, my dear," she said, smoothing Cassidra's dress absentmindedly. It was her favorite dress, blue with white pleats and a satin bow around the middle. She had gotten dressed up very nice this morning, even though Caius said most students came in muggle jeans and jumpers.

"Well, then I'll be the prettiest one, then," Cassidra had resolved.

"I'm sure your father and brother are very upset they couldn't come see you off," Aunt Esta added offhand, her dark eyes shifting to a young couple watching her with odd expressions. Esta gave a little toss of her head before turning back to her niece.

Cassidra just nodded. Daddy had left before she was even awake that morning, leaving a short note on her pillow wishing her the best of luck and lots of love. Caius, on the other hand, hadn't seemed too interested when he left for work that morning, more engrossed than ever in the Daily Prophet and muttering something about new pureblood tax laws. He had barely looked at Cassidra, even when she hurtled downstairs carrying her wand and waving it over her head like a torch. But that was all right, she decided, because he had told her so much about it years ago there wasn't need for any more talking.

"Well, it's no matter," Mother said briskly, planting a stiff kiss on Cassidra's cheek and patting her on the back. "I'll have him send an owl this evening up to the school so you can tell him all about your first day." The train whistle screeched yet again, causing Cassidra to jump and grab hold of the staircase.

"Goodbye, my dear," Mother said fondly as the train started up. "We'll see you at Christmas, then!"

Cassidra waved furiously until the train lurched forward, then turned back to the corridor and went to find a compartment. Most of them were already extremely full, occupied by all ages of students talking, laughing, and catching up on their summer holidays. Some were already wearing their Hogwarts robes. Caius had been right, nobody did dress up to get on the train.

Shouldering her trunk like a soldier, Cassidra made her way towards the back of the train. As she scanned the compartments, however, she realized more and more that none were empty. Not only that, there was not a single person she knew in any compartment. She got a funny feeling in her stomach then, like homesickness but bound up with nerves.

She would have to sit with a stranger.

Cassidra kept walking to the back until there was no farther to go, but by this time the crowds in the compartments had tapered off a good deal. She managed to find one in the very back only occupied by one person, a girl who looked to be about her age.

She slid open the door and marched in, dropping her trunk on the floor with a loud clunk. "May I sit here?" she asked, only slightly startling the girl across from her.

The other girl shrugged. "Of course, if you want to." Her shrewd brown eyes took in Cassidra's fancy blue dress with slight confusion.

Cassidra sat down with a sigh, looking around to take it all in. She glanced at the girl across from her, who was flipping through a small green volume at alarming speed. She had frizzy black hair running across her shoulders, and a wide flat nose sprinkled with pale freckles.

Now was as good a time as any to break the ice, Cassidra decided. Smoothing her dress out across her knees, Cassidra stuck out her hand cordially. "How do you do?"

The other girl looked a bit taken aback, and Cassidra was wondering if she was being too forward. Her mother had said to be polite, though, and had encouraged her to shake hands.

But in a moment, the girl reached out and took her hand. "Hello," she said tentatively. Her voice was low and sedate, very pleasant-sounding, she decided.

"Is this your first year at Hogwarts too?" Cassidra asked. The girl nodded, setting her book aside. Cassidra spied the title: The History of Dragon-Hunting.

"My parents didn't think I was going to turn out magical, though," the girl confessed. "My father is muggle, and my mother isn't the strongest witch, so it was a bit of a surprise when I got my letter. But Mum was so pleased she bought me a cat…" She gestured to a large carrying case, which held a snoozing striped tabby inside. She turned back to Cassidra. "My name's Wendy, by the way. Wendy Ernherdst."

"Cassidra Calverdon," Cassidra sat a little straighter as she said this, trying to convey the "family pride" her mother always stressed.

Wendy's eyes widened, but only slightly. "Calverdon? I've heard that name before…doesn't your father work for the Wizengamont?

Cassidra nodded proudly, unable to keep the smile off her face. "Yes, he does. And my brother is senior assistant to the Minister of Magic."

"Merlin, my mum just works at the mountain troll communications office. It's the easiest job in the world, really, you just need to know how to draw symbols and shoot a stunning spell every now and then." Wendy rolled her eyes.

Cassidra laughed easily, relaxing a bit. Mother had told her that people may treat her differently because of her last name, but Wendy didn't seem to mind very much, a quality Cassidra soon found rather endearing. Instead, as the train rode on into the day, she seemed rather intent to settle in about living a nearly completely Muggle life, cats, her collection of chocolate frog cards, and Hogwarts, and Cassidra was content to listen.

"Mum was in Hufflepuff, that's probably where I'll end up," Wendy said as the afternoon sun began to fade. She stretched herself across the length of the bench and yawned. "How about you?"

"Slytherin, I hope," Cassidra said automatically. "Everyone in my entire family has ever been in Slytherin. My brother Caius said it's the best house. I hope that's where I go." She smiled proudly.

Something flashed behind Wendy's eyes before she responded, slightly uncomfortable. "Well, Slytherin is all right, I guess, I've just never known anyone who was in it who was-oh, are you going to buy anything?" Wendy gestured to the food trolley that had appeared outside the compartment.

Cassidra fished into her pocket for some Sickles and bought a stack of Chocolate Frogs before turning back to Wendy. "Never known anyone who wasn't what?" She pressed, tearing open the wrapper and biting off the frog's head.

Wendy didn't look up. "Nothing, nothing," she said quietly. "I…I thought people in Slytherin didn't like Half-bloods very much."

Cassidra's stomach tensed at this. She knew very well that this was true, for she knew quite a few people who treated Muggleborns and Half-bloods like second-class wizards. She had been there quite a few times, in fact, during her mother's teas and parties, when the topic of muggleborns came up. Mum's society friends, who were usually so prim and polite, got very nasty on this topic sometimes, and there was once an occurrence where Mrs. Audarius started shouting about scummy blood and Mum made Cassidra leave the room until the discussion was over.

After this had happened, Cassidra asked her mother why people mistreated half-bloods, when they were still wizards, after all. Her mother got very tight-lipped and told Cassidra that some people believed that pureblood families were the only families worthy of being called magical, but that the Calverdons had nothing to worry about because they were completely pure-blooded, and asked her not to sit in on tea anymore with the ladies. Cassidra still didn't understand what everyone got so upset about; a wizard was a wizard, after all, so long as they could get sparks to come out of their wand it didn't matter what kind of blood they had. But her mother didn't want to discuss the topic any further, so she kept her ideas to herself.

"Well, I don't care," Cassidra said very loudly, causing Wendy to jump. "Just because you're a Half-blood doesn't mean you're not a good witch. And even if you're not in Slytherin with me, we can still see each other in classes."

Wendy brightened considerably at this. "Yes, of course! I mean, we can't sit at the same tables but we could probably come up with a place to leave notes for each other, there are a lot of secret passageways and hidden nooks around the school…" And she was off again.

The sun was beginning to set by now, and Cassidra realized they had been riding for longer than she had expected. Just as she was about to suggest they change into their school robes, Wendy spoke up eagerly.

"So have you heard?" Her voice was urgent, as if there was a secret she was bursting to tell.

Cassidra looked up from the chocolate frog cards she was sorting. Just this afternoon she had gotten Babayaga, Agrippa, Ethelred the Ever-Ready, Circe, and Herpo the Foul (This one she considered throwing away because his drooping smile and unpleasant smell were making Cassidra queasy) "Heard what?"

Wendy widened her eyes and leaned in for effect before whispering the news: "Harry Potter is in our year. The Boy Who Lived, coming to Hogwarts with us!" She leaned back, obviously pleased with herself. "Didn't you know that?"

Cassidra paused. She knew who Harry Potter was, of course – he had defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and reduced his power when he was only a baby, therefore a hero of the Wizarding World – but she hadn't heard anything else about him, ever. Her parents didn't talk about it, saying that, no matter how wonderful it was that the Dark Lord was gone at last, the Potters' deaths were a tragedy and the night they died should not be talked about with happiness.

"I heard he was raised by muggles," Wendy went on, not noticing Cassidra's silence. "And that he didn't know he was a wizard until very recently, and-"

"Twenty minutes!" The conductor was pacing up and down the corridors, holding a pocket watch. "We have twenty minutes until we reach Hogwarts!"

"We'd better get dressed," Cassidra said suddenly, cutting off Wendy's speech. A knot of excitement and worry was beginning to tighten in her stomach. She and Wendy hustled out of the compartment, hugging their robes to their chests-for the moment, they simply held the Hogwarts crest, not yet adorned with the colors of their respective houses. Cassidra stared hard at hers, wishing and imagining them lined with pine green and silver, just like Caius'. It was really happening then, she really was going to Hogwarts!

A/N: Thanks to all who have reviewed/favorited this story and placed it on story alert! I was really surprised! I hope you enjoy the rest of the story...please, please review! (Oh, I own very little of this, only Cassidra, the Calverdons, Wendy, and a few scattered OCs)