The next memory came with billowing smoke. Harry now found himself in a very old fashioned King's Cross station. It was still the age of the steam train, the smoke coming from more than one direction.

The light that streamed from the windows was dazzling, cutting through the smoke like a knife cutting through butter. Harry had barely ten seconds of bliss before he heard someone shriek like a banshee.

"Hurry up or we're going to be taking you to Hogwarts in a hearse!"

Harry was just looking to see where the shout had come from when the source ran past him. He followed the Bellises, who were evidently late.

"Where's platform nine and three quarters?" Lelly asked, panting as they sprinted.

"There!" her mother wheezed, pointing at the brick barrier between platforms nine and ten.

"It's a brick wall!"

"Run at it!"

"But…"

"Just do it you brat!"

Lelly looked nervously at the wall and sighed.

"Come on Gretchen."

"Hurry!" screamed Mrs Bellis.

She ran at the wall, Harry in hot pursuit. She winced as she neared it but didn't crash, she ran straight through to the platform.

Smoke streamed from the train like ribbons curling and corkscrewing through the air. The clock read 30 seconds until departure.

Hurriedly she lugged her heavy trunk onto the train. She put it on the nearest carriage before shoving Gretchen on afterwards.

However when she attempted to get on the train began to move. She held onto the door frame and bashed into many waving parents as she was dragged along by the train. It was evident that she was struggling to get a foothold as it travelled faster. Harry, who was already on the train, wanted to help her.

The end of the platform was close and it didn't look as if she was going to get on. Suddenly a big hand reached out and seized the front of her dress, her feet only just leaving the floor before the platform ended.

She was dragged on board and she lay across her trunk, panting.

"Hullo! Tha' was a dramatic entrance."

Lelly looking up to see Hagrid beaming down at her, Gretchen perched on his massive shoulder like a canary.

"Rubeus! Thank you, I thought I wasn't going to get on then."

"Yer nearly didn'," he bent down and helped her up, "Shall we find somewher' ter si'?"

Gretchen sprang from Hagrid's shoulder to Lelly's, as she went to pick up her trunk. Hagrid, however, took it. He carried it as if it was a toy, as well as his own heavy trunk.

They began to scour the carriages for somewhere to sit. They had reached the third carriage without luck when they encountered another lonely soul.

A girl had just knocked on the door of a compartment. She had greasy black hair that hung in limp curtains to her armpits, sallow skin and a hooked nose. Eileen Prince.

"Hello," she said shyly, "Can I sit with you please? My name's Eileen-"

"What is that smell?" a cruel, cold voice asked. The boy took several long, exaggerated sniffs before making a pooh noise.

"Oh, it's coming from you, can you get out please Eileen?" the boy continued, using her name patronisingly.

Eileen's face crumpled and about two seconds later Lelly shot past Harry towards her. He followed, leaving Hagrid alone. Eileen was shocked when she was joined by a fiery haired, fiery tempered girl, who was at least a head taller than her.

It was no surprise to Harry that it was Tom Riddle sitting in the compartment with a bunch of hapless admirers. Lelly roughly pushed Eileen out of the way so she had the compartment's full attention.

"How dare you?" she yelled shrilly, reminding Harry of her mother, "How bloody dare you? What has put the idea into your twisted, evil little mind that you can just be horrible to this girl? You don't even know her!"

"Neither do you, it seems by the look on old Smelly's face."

"I'd be careful if I were you."

"Why's that then?" Riddle crossed his arms, one dark brow raised challengingly.

"Nobody likes a bullying toe rag. At this rate you will end up with no friends. I'd quit while you're ahead friend!" she spat out the word friend like a swear word before slamming the the door on the compartment so hard that dust fell from the ceiling.

Lelly turned to the startled Eileen, who had tapped her on the shoulder.

"You really didn't have to do that but thank you." She smiled shyly, brushing her greasy hair behind her ears.

"Don't worry about it; I had four years' worth of anger to use up. For the record I don't think that you smell. I'm Lelayna, by the way, but I prefer to be called Lelly. This is Rubeus Hagrid." Lelly replied.

"I prefer jus' ter be called Hagrid." Hagrid added.

"I'm Eileen," she said biting her lip, "Can I sit with you?"

"Of course you can; we were looking for a compartment ourselves."

They continued down the length of the train, looking for somewhere to sit. They had almost reached the front of the train when they found a compartment occupied by another girl.

She was plump, spotty and bespectacled with the glummest expression of anyone Harry had ever seen, except one.

"Can we sit here please?"

"Be my guest." The girl said mournfully before letting out a depressed sigh. Her eyes travelled over everyone searchingly, lingering a while on Lelly's red hair and pale face and Hagrid's tall frame.

"I'm Lelly and this is Hagrid and Eileen. What's your name?"

"Nice ter meetcha" Hagrid held out his hand but she ignored it, staring at Lelly.

"I'm Myrtle, disgusting name isn't it?" Myrtle moaned, "Everybody calls me Moaning Myrtle. I don't know why." The others looked as if they might have guessed why by the awkward looks on their faces but they were all too polite to say so.

Soon it began to grow dark in the cabin and the discussion turned to houses.

"Which house do you want to be in?" asked Lelly curiously.

"I want to be in Gryffindor but I'll probably end up in Slytherin." Moped Myrtle tragically, pulling on one of her bunches as she looked out of the window.

"I don' mind; I'm jus' glad tha' I'm comin' ter school ter be hones'" was Hagrid's answer.

"I think I'll be in Slytherin, all my family has been in Slytherin." Eileen said sadly.

"I thought that I would like to be in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw the most. They sound the best in the book…" Harry wanted to laugh; in many ways Lelly was exactly like Hermione.

"Wait! You've already read the book?" Eileen looked embarrassed, "Did you have to read it?"

"No, I just thought it would make some nice holiday reading."

"Nice holiday reading?! It's over a thousand pages long!"

They disputed this for about ten minutes before someone in another compartment disturbed the debate.

"Look it's the great lake!"

Every first year scrambled to the left hand windows and craned their necks to see a dark black glistening ahead of them, the moon reflected on the surface.

"Ooh, my mother said that there was a giant squid that lives in the lake!" Eileen pressed her face against the glass to get a better view.

"And there's the castle." Lelly pointed it out to her friends. It was silhouetted against the moon and hundreds of little yellow lights on it indicated windows.

About two minutes passed and the train stopped a small platform, Hogwarts disappearing behind the trees.

"First years come here!"

Every first year turned around to see a friendly looking, pink -cheeked wizard with sparkling grey eyes and sandy blonde hair. They battled their way through the crowds of older students to reach him. When the last older student filed off of the platform the wizard beamed at the youngest students.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, I'm Professor Kettleburn and I teach Care of Magical Creatures and I'm going to take you students separately up to the castle."

They followed him up a dirt-track through the trees, stumbling over the many rocks and craters that the soft glow of the oil lamp couldn't illuminate. Many people were accidently tripping over others or treading on their toes.

"Oops, sorry." Harry heard Lelly say. She had 'accidently' tripped over Riddle's foot when he and his friends attempted to push past her roughly.

They finally reached the end of the forest, where many little four man boats were moored.

Hagrid and his friends went to sit in one when Kettleburn stopped them.

"I think if you all tried to get in the same boat it would capsize." He pointed out quietly. The three girls got in a boat next to Hagrid's when a fourth girl asked to join their boat. Reluctantly they agreed.

When Kettleburn had established that everyone was in a boat, he got in one himself and tapped the bank with his wand. All the little boats set off at once.

When they got to the edge of the lake the relative silence was disturbed by a loud yelp of revulsion.

"Something touched me!" Tom Riddle shuddered, causing the boat the rock, slopping icy water in both sides. The look on Lelly's face was like Christmas had come early.

They moored soon after that in a miniature underground harbour and the first years followed Kettleburn up two flights of stairs to reach the first floor of the castle.

They followed him through the empty corridors of the castle to the great hall. The wonder on every new student's faces reminded Harry of his first time in the great hall. Whispers and eyes of older students followed them as they walked down the centre of the hall. The first years were in awe of the ghosts and the enchanted ceiling of the hall.

They stopped at the front of the hall, where the teachers sat. Kettleburn sat in the only empty seat remaining. In front of the teachers sat a squat wooden stool with a grubby pointed hat perched on the top. The rip at the base of the hat opened, like a mouth, and it began to sing.

"I am the Sorting Hat. I can see inside your soul,

To put you in your rightful house is my only goal.

Does your heart belong to Gryffindor, are you brave and true?

If you're courageous and loyal then this is the house for you.

Are you wise beyond your years and live for reading books?

If so you're the student for whom Rowena Ravenclaw looks.

Have you always been hard-working, patient and fair?

There's a place for you in Hufflepuff, they'll be pleased to have you there.

Do you have ambitions of being someone really great?

Slytherin will be the house to help you seal your fate.

So new students gather round. I hope you liked my song,

Don't worry and don't fear; the Sorting Hat is almost never wrong.

But now I have a warning for students old and new to hear,

There's danger coming to Hogwarts but for now please do not fear.

As serious as it is don't forget that,

I may be wrong, I may be right. In the end I'm just a hat!" With a final flourish the old hat fell silent. Its song was rewarded with a massive cheer and enthusiastic applause. Lelly looked at her new friends, her pale face glowing with excitement.

Very few people noticed the hat's warning. A few of the teachers exchanged worried looks but the atmosphere of the hall was generally buzzing.

A thin, tall witch with grey hair and a smooth oval-shaped face stood up.

"Now, when I call out your name you will put on the hat and sit on the stall to be sorted into your house," she said in a young voice that didn't match her frazzled grey hair, "Adeiran, Toby!"

Toby Adeiran stumbled out of the crowd of first years. He tripped over his too big robes in his haste to get the experience over and done with. This was met with several giggles that were extinguished with a formidable glare from the grey haired witch.

He flopped down on the stall and yanked the hat onto his head. It fell down and obscured his eyes. There was a wait of about thirty seconds before he was announced as the first new Hufflepuff. Adams Abigale, the girl from the boat, was announced as a Ravenclaw and Bell, Amelia was made the newest Slytherin.

"Bellis, Lelayna!"

There were quite a few sniggers at her name but Lelly walked towards the stool with her head held high, her hair rippling like water with every step. She sat on the stool and put on the hat.

"Hmm…" Harry was surprised to hear a small voice say, "There's a great deal of bravery here and a thirst to achieve. But there is a witty and incredibly intelligent mind. Hmmmm…"

"Ravenclaw!" the hat announced for everyone to hear. Lelly jumped lightly off of the stool and headed cheerfully towards the Ravenclaw table. She smiled at her friends as she passed them to sit down next to Abigale Adams. They exchanged congratulatory grins and Lelly's hand was shook by many older students.

Broomfield, Barney was the first Gryffindor. Many others passed then…

"Davison, Myrtle!"

Myrtle sulkily stalked up to the front, muttering mutinously under her breath. The hat placed her in Ravenclaw to the obvious delight of Lelly.

"Hagrid, Rubeus!"

The large boy ran forward excitedly and went to sit on the stool but the wispy witch shook her head slightly. Looking crestfallen, Hagrid remained standing and placed the hat on his head. It sat on his head like a fascinator.

"Gryffindor!" Hagrid shared a sad look with Lelly and Myrtle before sitting at the Gryffindor table.

"Prince, Eileen!"

Eileen sat on the stool, biting her lip and fidgeting.

"Slytherin!"

Eileen gave Lelly an 'I told you so' look before going to sit with the jeering Slytherins. She looked like an antelope being surrounded by a pack of starving lions.

The sorting ended with Yaxley, Freya being sorted into Gryffindor. The hat and stool were taken away.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," a man who was clearly Professor Dippet stood up, "I hope that you will all have a very good year. May I tell the new students that the forest on the grounds is out of bounds? Some of the old students could do well with remembering that too. Also exploding dung bombs and fanged Frisbees are added to the list of banned objects. If you are in doubt of what they are then check the notice board outside the caretaker's office. Now, I won't keep you anymore, you must be really hungry."

Food appeared on the tables from nowhere and the memory faded, leaving Harry in darkness, yet again.


Hi guys, it's Claire here. Thank you to everybody that have reviewed so far (an extra big thank you going towards annabetheverdeen). Hope you are still enjoying the story. Did you like the Sorting hat song that I have written? Tell me what you thought of it in the reviews or by PM. Bye for now. xxx