Two weeks later the Fenton's went back to Diagon Alley to go to Eeylops Owl Emporium. Justin did not accompany them, so they spent the entire day looking around Diagon Alley before getting Danny's owl. Jack had to wait outside as his booming voice disturbed the owls, Maddie opted to stay with him. Leaving Jazz and Danny to go in alone.

Jazz kept pointing out snowy owls and tawny owls. But each owl Danny approached either turned away from him, or tried to peck at him through the bars.

After twenty minutes an owl on the far end of the room caught his eye. It kept fluttering its grey wings and pecking at the lock. Danny cautiously approached it. He noticed it was smaller than the other owls, and as he came closer it stopped what it was doing and stared at him.

"Hey there," said Danny, the label told him it was a barn owl and that the owl was male, "How are you doing little guy?"

The owl fluttered his wings again.

"Are you eager to get out?" Danny said.

The owl tilted his head in response. Danny cautiously reached through the bars of the cage, the owl kept still and, encouraged by this, Danny began stroking his feathers.

"Would you like to come with me?" Danny asked him. The owl fluttered his wings again, and Danny took that as a yes.

They paid for the owl and left the shop.

Jack clapped Danny on the back, "What are you going to name him, son?"

"Are you going to name him Spooky?" joked Jazz.

Danny glared at her, "No," he looked at the owl in the cage and whispered to him, "What do you think of the name 'Mercury'?"

The owl tilted his head and seemed to nod.

"Very well!" said Danny, "His name is Mercury!"

The family all raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked at their looks.

Jazz rolled her eyes, "He's your owl."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"

Jazz smirked, "Nothing, little brother," she soothed.


The rest the month would have been spent exploring if Danny had had his way, but Jazz insisted he read at least a little of every book for his classes. Most of the books were actually pretty cool, so Danny didn't mind too much.

On September 1 they all arrived at Kings Cross Train Station at 10:45. "Which platform, mom?" asked Jazz.

Maddie checked the ticket. "Platform nine and three-quarters."

Jazz blinked at her, "What?"

Danny thought about it for a minute, and started walking towards platform nine, pushing the cart with his school things along with him.

"Danny! Where are you going?" cried Maddie and she grabbed his arm.

Danny stared up at her, "I'm heading towards platform nine. I figure it must be some kind of magic thing, maybe there's a hidden door around there or something."

Maddie looked unsure, but Jazz nodded, "That makes sense, considering everything."

They arrived at the barrier that divided platforms nine and ten.

Jack scratched his head. "Well, now what?"

Danny stared at the barrier, right in front of it was a girl with blond hair tied into a ponytail, and she was giving a hug to the woman next to her, before gripping her cart and staring intently at the barrier. As Danny watched she ran right toward it . . . and disappeared.

"That's it!" Danny exclaimed.

Maddie and Jazz stared at him, they hadn't seen the girl. "What's it?"

Danny pointed at the barrier, "I just saw someone run into the barrier."

"Run into it?!" said Maddie.

Danny shrugged, "It's not the craziest thing we've seen."

"True . . ."

He grinned up at them. "I guess this is it, then," he said. His smile started to slip from his face and he suddenly reached out and hugged his mom. "I'm gonna miss you guys."

Maddie smiled and rubbed his back soothingly, "We'll miss you too, Danny."

He hugged Jazz, "Don't worry, little brother," she said, "you'll do fine."

"We'll see you during break, Danny-boy!" said Jack, giving Danny a bone crushing hug.

Feeling happy, sad, and a little bruised, Danny turned towards the barrier. He pushed the cart forward and came to a stop just in front of it. He suddenly felt unsure. It looked like a pretty solid wall, what if he was wrong? Danny took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and walked into the barrier. There was a brief flash of darkness and Danny opened his eyes again. He breathed a sigh of relief and grinned.

A scarlet steam powered train was waiting on the tracks. The platform that Danny stood on was packed with people. He had made it. He turned around to see where he'd just entered from and saw an iron archway where the barrier had been, a sign confirming that he was in the right place.

Smoke from the engine floated over the crowd, cats of all kinds weaved between people's legs and owls could be heard throughout the room.

Danny quickly ducked through the crowd to board the train. The first couple of carriages were already packed, and since Danny didn't feel like fighting for a seat, he kept going until he found a carriage that was empty except for one girl. It was the blond girl he'd seen enter the platform earlier.

"Hey," Danny called, making her look up at him, "can I sit in here?"

She stared at him for a moment, as if she could not believe he was asking her such a question, and Danny rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Then she sniffed indignantly and said, "Sure, if that's what you want."

"Uh, thank you?" said Danny, a little unsure. He brought in his luggage and within a few minutes, managed to load it onto the shelf above the seats.

Danny sat down in the seat next to the window, on the opposite side of the room as the girl, who chose to sit next to the door. Danny studied her for a moment. Her forest green eyes were staring at the wall in front of her, and she had her arms crossed slightly. She seemed to be ignoring him.

Danny cleared his throat anyway, held out his hand and said, "Hey, I'm Danny. Are you a first year too?"

She tore her eyes away from the wall to stare at him coldly, then she reached out and took his hand. "Ginna, and yes, I am a first year."

Danny smiled and she seemed to relax if only a little.

They released hands and lapsed into a silence.

Ginna opened her mouth as if to say something when the carriage door banged open.

"Here's a carriage," sang the girl at the door, her hazel eyes flashed with triumph. She turned to the brown haired boy behind her, "Come on, we can sit in here," she led him into the carriage and he closed the door behind them.

"Sorry to intrude," he said politely sitting next to Danny while the new girl sat by the window next to Ginna, who was glaring at her.

"Don't worry about it," said Danny shrugging.

"Don't glare at me like that, where else were Edward and I supposed to sit?" said the girl to Ginna defensively.

"It's Ed." Danny heard the boy growl under his breath, making Danny grin. He held his hand out to the boy.

"I'm Danny."

The boy glanced at him and smiled. "I'm Ed," he told Danny as they shook hands.

"My name is Amilia," announced the girl proudly.

Danny looked at Ginna, who sighed, "Ginna," she said.

Amilia nodded, "I suppose we're all first years?"

Everyone murmured they're confirmations.

Amilia clapped her hands, "How wonderful! Do you have any idea what house you'll be in?"

The boys exchanged glances and Ginna just looked at the floor. "Uh, no," said Danny hesitantly.

A whistle sounded. "Oh, I guess we're taking off now," said Amilia excitedly, "My dad's told me a lot about Hogwarts, and it sounds incredible.

Ed put his head in his hands, "Can't wait."

Danny looked between the two of them. He didn't think they could be siblings, Amilia's hair was far too auburn for that. But then again, he and Jazz had different hair . . .

"Do you two know each other?" he asked.

Ed sighed, "Nope, just met on the platform. I was minding my own business before she started dragging me around," he nodded towards Amilia, who huffed.

"I could hardly let you stand around looking like a lost kitten. Edward."

"It's Ed!"

The train started to leave the station.

"Whatever," said Amilia, rolling her eyes and turning to Ginna, "So, is Ginna short for something?"

Ginna glared, "And what if it is?" she answered coldly.

"Then you should first introduce yourself with your real name before asking to be called by your preferred name."

"That's not how I understand it," said Ginna, crossing her arms.

Amilia rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever," she grinned, "I'll find out at the sorting ceremony."

If looks could kill, Danny thought as he saw Ginna's face.

"Anyway," he said, "What is the sorting ceremony?"

They all looked at him as if he'd grown two heads.

"You don't know?" asked Ginna incredulously.

Danny rubbed the back of his neck, "Ah, no. I'm Muggle-born."

Ginna seemed unsure of how to arrange her face, so she settled with a glare, sniffed, and looked out the widow of the carriage door. Ed smirked at him and Amilia nodded approvingly for some reason.

"Good to see you're proud of it," she said.

"But you might not want to go around telling everyone," warned Ed.

"What? Why not?" asked Danny, curious.

Amilia glared at Ed. "I don't see the problem. He should be proud of who he is."

"That's not the problem," started Ed, but Amilia cut him off.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with it, the Lovegood's don't care how other people view them."

"Are the Lovegood's really that great of an example here?"

Amilia opened her mouth to retort when Danny stepped in, "Hey, whoa! Time out!" They looked at him, "What's going on?"

"Well you see, Danny-" Amilia started.

"You're what some people would call a Mudblood," said Ginna softly, still staring at the door.

Ed and Amilia glared at her and, ignoring them, she turned to look at Danny. "Most pure-bloods hate Muggleborns and half-bloods. They believe that if your bloodline isn't purely magic, than you're tainted. They hate Muggles and anything to do with them," she paused to let that sink in. "However, most of the students at Hogwarts won't care about that. Except the Slytherins. They are the ones you need to watch out for."

"Oh," said Danny. Then he waved it off, "I've been an outcast since second grade, I couldn't care less what those people think of me." After saying this, Danny thought he saw a faint smile appear on Ginna's face, and she quickly looked at the door again.

Amilia sighed. "Yeah, well, I'm a half-blood."

"Me too," said Ed.

Ginna didn't say anything.

"Anyway," said Danny, turning to Amilia, "You were going to tell me about the sorting ceremony?"

"Oh, right!"

As Amilia explained what she knew about the sorting and different houses, with Ed adding a few things here and there, Danny thought about what Ginna had been saying. Did wizards really hate Muggle-borns just because they weren't "pure"? Sam would have had a few things to say about that, Danny thought, smiling.

By the time Amilia was done, there was clattering in the corridor and their carriage door slid back to reveal a smiling, dimpled woman with a cart of sweets. "Anything off the cart, dears?" she asked.

Amilia got to her feet and, to Danny's surprise, pulled him to his feet as well and led him into the corridor.

Danny raised his eyebrow, "What is all this?"

Amilia shushed him, and then took a bit of time pointing to things and explaining what they were. Danny explained that he didn't have any money but she told him to pick out whatever he wanted and she would pay for it. Danny was reluctant at first, but her insisting led him to get a box of Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, and a few Pumpkin Pasties. Amilia got herself some Licorice Wands and a Cauldron cake. She paid the woman, and as they re-entered the carriage Danny thanked Amilia many times over.

She waved her hand, "Don't worry about it, and just try some of those beans, okay?"

Ed perked his head up, "You let him get Every Flavor Beans?"

Amilia nodded.

Ed turned to Danny as he sat down, "You do know they mean every flavor?"

Danny grinned, "Yep! Want one?" he said, opening the box and holding it out to Ed.

He looked at the box like it was filled with poison and Danny laughed.

"I'll take one," said Ginna, making Amilia stare at her.

Danny handed the box to her and she took out a green bean before handing the box back to him, he pulled out a red one. As Ginna chewed her face relaxed slightly and she smirked, "Lime."

Danny coughed and sputtered out his, "Hot sauce," he croaked. Amilia and Ed laughed at him.

A girl with bushy brown hair opened their door, "Have any of you seen a toad?"

"Sorry, no," said Amilia.

The girl sighed, said, "Well, thanks anyway," and left, closing the door behind her.

Danny turned to Amilia, "What was that all about?"

She shrugged, "No idea," she glanced out the window, "but we should get changed into our robes, I think we might arrive soon."

They took a few minutes pulling on their robes before sitting down again.

Amilia clapped her hands together, "I'm so excited."

"That's been established," muttered Ed.

Amilia ignored him, "I think I might end up in Ravenclaw, what about you?"

Danny shrugged, "I dunno, maybe Hufflepuff?"

Ginna seemed to smirk.

"I hope I make Gryffindor," said Ed.

For the rest of the train ride they talked about the different houses and all of the classes they might be taking. The sky gradually became darker outside, and the train seemed to be slowing down until a voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

The group shared looks of excitement and nervousness, then got up and joined the other students in the corridor. The train slowed further and stopped. Students pushed their way toward the door and out on to a small, dark platform. Danny shivered from the cold. A lamp bobbed over the heads of the students and a voice called out: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"

A giant man beamed over the sea of students and Danny looked next to him and saw a boy about his height, with unruly brown hair and green eyes, he was grinning at the man.

Amilia let out a small gasp and Danny turned to her, "What? What is it?" he asked.

She shook her head, "N-nothing, I'll tell you later."

"C'mon, follow me – any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

Stumbling and slipping as they went, Danny and the other first years followed the man down a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on the sides of the path that Danny figured there must have been thick trees or something. No one spoke, but someone did sniff a few times.

"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," their guide called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

There were exclamations of surprise and awe as the narrow path suddenly opened onto the edge of a great black lake. On the other side, atop a high mountain with the windows reflecting the starry sky, perched a vast castle complete with turrets and towers.

"No more'n four to a boat!" called the giant man, he pointed to a fleet of small boats sitting in the water close to the shore. As Danny, Ginna, Ed, and Amilia all got into a boat together, Danny noticed their guide had a boat all to himself. "Everyone in?" he shouted, "Right then – FORWARD!"

All the boats moved off as one, gliding silently across the smooth lake. Everyone was looking up at the towering castle before them as they drew ever nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Heads down!" yelled their guide as the first few boats reached the cliff. They all bent their heads and the little boats sailed them through a curtain of ivy that hid an opening in the face of the cliff. They were carried through a dark tunnel that seemed to be taking them underneath the castle, until they reached some sort of underground harbor, where they all climbed out of their boats to stand on rocks and pebbles.

"Well, that was exciting," whispered Ed.

Danny nodded and Amilia elbowed the both of them.

The man was checking the boats as people got out, "Oy, you there!" he said, "Is this your toad?"

"Trevor!" cried a round-faced boy blissfully, holding out his hands to receive his toad. Then they followed their guide's lamp up a passageway in the rock before finally climbing out onto smooth, damp grass in the shadow of the castle.

They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge front door.

"Everyone here?" said the giant man, "You there, still got yer toad?"

Danny held his breath as the man raised a fist and knocked three times on the castle door.