To wake up in one's bed on an important day is certainly strange. Knowing you'll never sleep in it again, stranger. An owl staring at you when you wake up, the strangest.

These thoughts ran through Aurora's mind as Strix flapped around the room.

She looked at the clock. '9:45' it read.

"Bugger." This is what karma brings when one forgets to pack the night before. Springing from her flower sheets, she began scrambling for every sock, shoe, shirt and skirt she could find. Unlike most girls, Aurora adored skirts.

Once all packed, leaving a bare room, (she could see the floor), the clock read '10:30'. Throwing on the required school uniform for first years and brushing her teeth left Aurora 10 minutes to run to the Great Hall where Severus was waiting to impatiently to take her to the train station.

"Sorry Mr. Snape, I forgot to-"

"It's Professor now, and you're late." Severus cut her off.

"But-"

"You were supposed to be here by 10:40, it is currently 10:45, therefore you are late." He sneered.

Aurora kept shut as Severus apperated them to the back of King's Cross station in London.

"Do you have everything?" He asked as they walked through the doors.

"Yes sir."

"Good, grab a cart." Aurora grabbed the nearest cart which had belonged to a larger man and his family.

Aurora apologized over her shoulder to the angry man. Severus stopped just around the corner of Platform 8.

"I expect you to behave." Severus said, "Just walk through the pillar between 9 and 10." Severus didn't wait for a response, for when Aurora turned to respond, he was gone. Left to fend for herself, she walked to the pillar and stared at it. Growing up at Hogwarts she had come to expect many strange things, but walking through a pillar landed in the top ten. She had no idea what lay on the other side.

Swallowing, Aurora took two steps back, looked to make sure no one was staring, and ran head first into the pillar, running into a plump woman's behind. Falling backwards, Aurora looked up to see a kind-faced woman and a small girl who had recently been crying.

"Oh dear, are you alright?" The woman had turned.

"Oh, yes. I do apologize." Aurora stood and fought the urge to rub her sore bottom.

"Good."

"What's wrong with your eyes", the girl asked.

"Ginny, that's very rude." Her mother scolded, slapping her on the arm. "Apologize."

"I'm sorry." Ginny said, rubbing her arm.

"You better get on the train, dear." The lady smiled.

"Alright, sorry again." Aurora grabbed her cart and pushed it to where all the other luggage was.

Taking a breath, she boarded the train for the first time.


Finding a partially empty compartment was down right difficult, Aurora concluded. Every compartment was full. Except one that held two people.

The first was a girl. She had bushy brown hair, plain brown eyes, buck teeth, and was running her mouth off.

The second was a boy. He was a chubby boy who seemed to be crying over someone, for he was mumbling the name Trevor.

They didn't notice Aurora, until she cleared her throat. They looked up. The girl was going to say something, until the boy beat her to it. "Your eyes!" Aurora rolled her violet eyes. She knew many people would look at her and question about her eyes, but this was going to get old fast.

"Can I sit hear?"

"Of course." The girl said. "I'm Hermione Granger, and this is Neville Longbottom. He's lost his toad."

"I'm Aurora Daline" She smiled. "And I'm sorry about your toad."

"It's alright. I better go look for 'im. Gran with be mad if I've lost him before I even got there." Neville stood up and opened the compartment door. The train started with a jolt, and Aurora could hear him fall.

"So is this your first year too? It's mine. I've read all about it, being 'muggleborn' and all. I've read Hogwarts a History, my favorite, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quidditch Through the Ages, and all the required spell books for this year."

"It's my first year, too" Aurora said. She didn't feel the need to tell Hermione that she's lived at Hogwarts all her life just yet.

After who knows how long of Hermione talking and Aurora listening, Neville burst in, crying.

"Know one's seen him! Can you help?"

"Of course. Want to come, Aurora?" Hermione asked. She nodded. The three of them split up. The first seven she checked had not seen a toad.

Aurora arrived at a compartment that held three boys laughing. The one that definitely caught Aurora's eye was a boy with white blonde hair and icy blue eyes. When they made eye contact, she blacked out momentarily.

Running. She was running. The sound of blasts and spells being cast bounded around her. The only thing running in her mind, besides the command to run was Gotta find him. She felt as if she were trapped in someone else's body. The body felt foreign, definitely not the one she'd grown in. She found who she had been looking for.

"I thought I told you to stay away." He said. "And I thought I told you never." She said.

"I am damaged at best, like you've already figured out." He said. "But that doesn't matter now, does it?"

"It can change. Please. It doesn't have to end like this! Fight with me, Draco." Aurora cried.

The boy stood, walked over and held her hand. "Always."

"Blimey, are you alright?" The boy with the blue eyes asked.

"I'm fine." She snapped. What just happened?

"Whatever you say. Name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. This is Crabbe and Goyle." He said in a cocky voice. This Draco is nothing like the one I just saw.

"I'm Aurora Daline. Have any of you seen a toad?"

"Trevor? No, that boy came running in, wailing like a mule about it. 'aven't seen no bloody toad." Draco laughed. His 'friends' laughed with him.

"Oh, okay then. Bye then." Aurora closed the door harshly. She did not like them by any means.

She met up with Hermione and Neville a few compartments later. "Any luck?" She asked.

"No, you?" Aurora replied.

"No." She sighed. Hermione, Neville and Aurora check a few more compartments jointly with no such luck.

"One more, and then we'll head back. Deal?" Aurora asked.

"Fine. One more!" She swiftly slid open the closest door. Inside were two boys.

One had black hair and bright green eyes surrounded by round glasses that had been repeatedly broken. He also had a scar on his forehead.

The other had orange hair, freckles, blue eyes and a long nose. He was chewing something (probably some candy, it was scattered all around them) while reciting a spell.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one", Hermione spoke, her tone bossy.

"We've already told him we haven't seen it, " the orange haired boy said.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." Hermione sat down in front of him. Neville and Aurora just stood there.

"Er - all right. "He cleared his throat. "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow. " The spell did nothing.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said Hermione. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard - I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough -I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" She said faster than Aurora thought humanly possible.

"I'm Ron Weasley, " The boy with orange hair muttered.

"Harry Potter, " said Harry. "Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course - I got a few extra books. For background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century.

"Am I?" said Harry.

"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me, " said Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad... Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon. "

Hermione and Neville headed back for our compartment, and I soon followed. Once we got back, Neville left to change into his robes, leaving her and Hermione to talk about the different houses.

If you were to ask Aurora which house she'd prefer, she would say Hufflepuff. Last year, she had seen a girl named Nymphadora and she was a Hufflepuff, but had the soul of a Gryffindor. She'd even stood up for her, indirectly, calling the 'Hogwarts Hobbit' a myth.