Rosalynn sat in an empty compartment, gazing out at the beautiful scenery in the warm September sunlight. It reflected off of the water in such a way that it made the water sparkle. She inspected her clothes in her free time. She was the only little girl in her aunt and uncle's house which forced them to buy her new clothes. If she'd been a boy or Dudley had been a girl, she'd have been given hand-me-downs for sure.

Her clothes were nothing special, a pair of decent blue jeans, a blue tank top beneath a lovely white blouse and some ballet flats. Her aunt had always wanted a daughter and so she made a deal with Rose a while back, she would get nice clothes so long as her aunt picked them out. Usually she had no say in what clothes she got but if she was asked she had to approve. Luckily, her aunt Petunia had not picked out anything Rose disliked, so far.

Her relationship with her aunt was not nearly as black and white as it was with her uncle. She didn't like Rose very much, that was true. However, she didn't hate her. Rosalynn did as she was told, got good grades, and stayed out of trouble. She may have even grown a bit find of Rosalynn. She was all she had left of her little sister.

It wasn't love, that was for sure. But it wasn't hatred or contempt.

She twisted her favorite necklace, which was a simple chain with three rings on it, around between her little fingers. Her brown curls covered the lightning bolt scar on her heart. Her legs rested on the rest of her seat as her back lay against, rather uncomfortably, the wall next to the window.

Before long, the door slid open. The boy from the platform stood, rather warily, at the door frame. He spoke in a bit of a drawl, "Excuse me. Do you mind? Everywhere else is full."

"Not at all." She gestured to the seat across from hers, turning her torso to face him completely. He smiled and walked in, clearly more at ease than he was a few moments before. Likely, he was expecting a bout of bitchiness and was trying to be as polite as possible. Clearly she had to make sure he was comfortable around her. He took his seat and smiled, his eyes lighting up a tad. 'He has nice eyes.' She thought.

She gave a genuine smile, probably her first in a very long time. She didn't know what it was about him but she could tell he was a good friend to have. "I'm Ron, by the way. Ron Weasley." He said. His tone was obviously more chipper than it had been.

"I'm Rosalynn. Rosalynn Potter." She said in a friendly tone. She absentmindedly fumbled with her case that held her reading glasses. Suddenly, Ron's mouth opened in shock. He was thoroughly surprised. He began to fumble over his words as if he were meeting a celebrity. Then Rose remembered that she technically was one and mentally slapped herself for forgetting. She still wasn't quite used to it yet, but it had only been a day so she her inner self went easy on the slapping.

"So it's true! I mean, do you really have the…?" he gestured to his heart. But Rose still lingered in her idiocy and asked anyway.

"The what?"

"The scar?" he said. He sounded embarrassed and looked it, too. But he really wanted to know. Rose suddenly perked up and pushed her hair over her shoulder and move the light fabric just enough to show her scar.

"Wicked!" they relaxed into their seats. Both were smiling.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?" an older woman stood at the door with quite a collection of sweets that Rose had never seen before. Ron reached into his pocket and Rose expected him to ask for something but instead he pulled out a balled up sandwhich messily rolled into a saran wrap.

"No, thanks. I'm all set." he moped.

Her heart went out to Ron. She could tell he really wanted something from that trolley. Rose considered this for a moment then pulled out some money, more than enough for the candy. "We'll take the lot."

"Woah."

Ron had taken a seat next to Rosalynn, eating some odd candy that he'd fished from their large pile of candy. His pet rat had a box over its head. She didn't like the rat but Ron seemed to like it enough to have it wander all about his person, so she said nothing. Honestly, so long as it didn't touch the candy she was eating, she didn't care. Ron was actually about to turn him yellow when a girl with bushy hair came to the door. She was dressed in the school uniform already and quickly scanned the compartment.

"Has anyone seen a toad? A boy name Neville's lost one." She had a refined tone. She was likely used to socializing with business people. She seemed the bookwormish type as well. 'Definitely not a rule breaker,' Rose thought.

She saw Ron's wand raised and encouraged him to continue with his spell. Ron cleared his throat and got his wand ready.

"Sunshine, daisies.

Butter mellow,

Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

Unfortunately, all this did was gently blast the bean bow off Scabbers' head. Ron looked at Rose and shrugged and she gave him an 'oh well' smile. The girl was not impressed. "Are you sure that's a real spell? Well, it's not very good, is it?" Now Rose was getting a bit irritated by this girl. The way she acted, very snobby and condescending. Ron gave Rose a look that quite clearly said, "Is this girl serious?"

"I've only tried simple ones myself," she continued, "but they've all worked for me." She reached into her cloaks pocket and in her hand was a very simple wand. She took a seat directly in front of Rosalynn. "For example:"

Now this girl didn't speak but she gave her wand a little wave and before Rose could react, her hair was floating around her head. The girl giggled and so did Rose. It felt nice. "Holy cricket, you're Rosalynn Potter!"

"Mm, just Rose."

"I'm Hermione Granger. And you are…?" she'd turned her attention, briefly, to Ron.

"Ron Weasley.'

"Pleasure." But she could tell Hermione wasn't exactly charmed by Ron. "You two better change into your robes. I expect we'll be arriving soon." Just before she left she pointed out some dirt on Ron's nose then vanished around the corner.

The castle was the grandest thing Rose had ever seen. It was composed entirely of large stones and glass. Firelight illuminated the dark bricks and gave and enchanting glow on the indigo waters. The castle was vast, covering more ground than she had ever seen and at first se thought that this couldn't be true. There was no bloody way that this incredible place was her school. School was supposed to be boring and dreadful. It was meant to be an institution more than an experience. But, alas, here was this intricate bit of proof that maybe- just maybe- Rose's life could be better.

The inside of the castle was even bigger than Rose had thought! There were so many stairs and fires burning at every corner she had so far seen. As she and her classmates made their way up the steps, she and Ron began to chatter excitedly. "I'm so excited to be here!" Ron exclaimed. He'd tucked away the remaining candy from the train, which wasn't a lot, into the pockets of his cloak. Every so often he'd put his hands inside the pockets to make sure nothing had fallen out, once he was convinced that everything was still there, he'd withdraw his hands slowly and stuff them in his trouser pockets.

"This place incredible!" Rose exclaimed in a low voice. It wasn't long before Rose caught sight of a figure in emerald.

An elderly woman stood tall and regally in emerald robes. She waited atop the stairs as the students made their way to her, tapping her long, boney fingers on the stone handrail as she did. She moved from the side to the center of the staircase, hand encircling her wrist. Rose smiled at the sight of the woman's pointy hat. Rose also took note of what looked like a broach on this woman's high collar.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." She spoke in a high tone that wasn't exactly pleasant. "In a few moments, you'll pass through these doors and join your classmates. But before you take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin." Rose picked up on the way this woman attempted to hide her distaste for Slytherin house. Rose always had a knack for picking up on how people felt about a particular topic. She supposed that if you listen more than you talk, you tend to understand more.

"While you're here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you points. Any rule-breaking and you will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will be awarded the house cup-"

"Trevor!" a boy exclaimed, cutting off the professor. He lunged forward, scooping up the toad into his hands. 'This must be Neville.' Rose thought, remembering that Hermione had been going around about a lost toad belonging to a boy named Neville. "Sorry." He apologized, cautiously making eye contact with her.

"The Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily." The professor turned away from the students and walked through the doors, leaving the students be. Not a moment after she left a voice, cocky and nonchalant, filled the empty staircase.

"It's true then, what they're saying on the train. Rosalynn Potter has come to Hogwarts." Murmurs softly erupted all around Rose, saying her name in questioning tones, people looking left and right. The speaker was a blond boy, his hair neatly slicked back. His skin pale and his eyes a soft grey. He leaned against the stone railing nest to two bigger boys.

"This is Crabbe and Goyle." He spoke in a lazy tone but clearly trying to make a good impression. He wanted to look cool. "And I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." He'd took a few large, elegant steps and came to a stop in front of her, He'd moved fast enough to cause some of her curls blow into her face.

Ron snickered at Draco's name causing him to whip his head to the left very fast; she'd thought he'd given himself whiplash. His stare went from nonchalant to cold in a millisecond. "Think my name is funny, do you? I've no need to ask yours. Red hair and a hand-me-down robe? You must be a Weasley." He practically spat Ron's last name and Rose began to like Draco less and less.

"You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort." He glanced coldly at Ron. "I can help you there." Draco extended his hand to her, a small smile playing against his lips. Before she could say anything, the professor came up behind Draco, tapping him on the shoulder with a piece of parchment.

"Think about it." He whispered, inconspicuously brushing the hair from her face. He made his way back to Crabbe and Goyle.

We're ready for you now. Follow me."

Rose looked across the hall as the sorting ceremony went underway. Instantly she was drawn to a man shrouded in black. Something about him was pulling her in. He noticed her and seemed a wee bit shocked to see her. He looked quite intimidating and before she could register what was happening, her chest began to burn. She sucked in violently through her teeth. Ron looked at her, concern lacing his voice. "Rose, what is it?"

"Nothing. Nothing, I'm fine." She lied. Lying was incredibly easy to Rose. After a few years, it was like a second language. The dark man looked away, eyes blinking gently.

"Ronald Weasley." Ron cautiously walked up the small stone stairs, his eyes trained on the hat. He turned slowly and took his place on the wooden stool next to the professor. He was clearly nervous. The professor lowered the hat on to Ron's head. The reaction was immediate.

"Ah! Another Weasley! I know just what to do with you. Gryffindor!" Ron became relaxed the moment he heard the word Gryffindor. The students erupted in applause and Ron made his way to the table.

"Rosalynn Potter." it became quiet almost instantly. Rose was as nervous as she could be. Her stomach did summersaults and her hand trembled a smidge. She carefully stepped up to the stool, still trembling as she took a seat she played with her long curls as she waited for the professor to put it on her head.

She felt the hat being sat gently atop her head. "Hmm. Difficult, very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. Very dedicated, as well. There's talent, oh yes. And a thirst to prove yourself. But where to put you?" the hat contemplated her fate and Rose closed her eyes. She already knew where she didn't want to be.

"Not Slytherin, not Slytherin!" She whispered so only the hat could hear.

"Not Slytherin, eh? Are you sure? You could be great, you know. It's all here, in your head. And Slytherin could help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that."

'No, no, no!' she thought. "Anything but Slytherin!" she whispered. She was very adamant. Rose didn't want to be in Slytherin.

"No? Well, if you're sure. Better be…"

Her stomach was in knots.

"…Gryffindor!" Rosalynn nearly giggled with glee! She bounced right off of the stool, joining her new family.