Author's Note: All right, now we've skipped ahead two more months to the trip to Hogwarts via King's Cross, and Leslie does get to see Cedric, but she realizes just what kind of change she's about to undertake. But she has Cedric to comfort her, and she bonds closer to Harry and Ron. Happy reading!

09-01-2001

Dear Diary,

Today was my very first day at Hogwarts! I'm in my dormitory now as I write this. The other girls are complaining and saying I need to turn the light out, but they'll just have to live with it, because I don't know any spells to light just my bed and not the entire room. I'm not turning the light out until I'm done writing, unless I decide to move to the window and use the moonlight, which I can do if I need to.

I shall never forget this day as long as I live. It was so exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time, mostly because Uncle Jerry's the only person really in my life. Actually, that's not true, Cedric is my friend, but my only friend. For as long as I can remember, it's always been my uncle and I, just the two of us, and now I'm going off to school, leaving home, leaving him. I cried when I woke up this morning as the full impact of what was happening dawned upon me. Uncle Jerry heard me crying and came into my room to comfort me.

"Everything's all right Leslie," he said, holding me gently in his arms. I had my face pressed into his shoulder, so when I tried to say something, I was surprised that he managed to understand it through the sobs, but he did. He just kissed me on the forehead and said, "I'll write to you as often as I can, and should you ever need anything, don't hesitate to write to me. I'll miss you my dear, but you'll have fun at school, and you'll make lots of nice friends. Just don't forget about me. I love you Leslie."

"I love you too Uncle Jerry," I said, hugging him as tightly as I could. We sat there for a few more minutes until I had gotten myself back under control, then he let me get ready. We had to be at the train station at eleven o'clock, which was too early for my liking, every minute at home was precious to me, but that was the time and there was no changing it.

I dried my tears and with a heavy heart, I packed my trunk and let Uncle Jerry load it into his car for me. I've never really understood the point of him having to use Muggle transportation, but he does. He can't use magic to get me there because I can't do magic yet, and someone might see us. Besides, when I was going to my private girl's school, he always drove me there himself. I just climbed in the car and let him steer through the streets to King's Cross.

Actually, there was a bit of a surprise waiting for me when we got there. As we were walking up to the entrance to the station, we saw Cedric standing there with his father. It was so good to see Cedric again. Except for the fact that he's grown quite a bit, he looked the same as he did last time I saw him. I ran up to him and hugged him tightly, so glad to have someone I knew traveling with me. He hugged me back and grinned at me, which told me that he was glad to see me as well.

As we walked inside, he asked me if I was excited about my first year at Hogwarts and I said I was, very much so. However, I said this with a kind of false enthusiasm and I think he noticed.

"Why so nervous Leslie?" he asked. I just looked away and he took the hint and dropped the subject, though I knew once we were alone, he was going to bring it up again.

Having him there with me was the only comfort I had, which I needed considering the incident this morning. But something has just occurred to me: he's going into his third year. What happens when he leaves school? I'll have two years left, what will I do not seeing him every once in a while. I still have a huge crush on him and it grows every time I see him. When I dream of what my future will be like, it always has him in it.

But I'm rambling. Anyway, Uncle Jerry and Mr. Diggory got us on the train, though it was scary having to walk through that barrier to get onto Platform 9¾. Cedric and his father seemed used to it, as did Uncle Jerry, though it scared me half to death. Cedric told me to take it at a run then he asked if I wanted him to go with me. I nodded and he nodded back, not in a teasing way, but very understanding. It makes me wonder if he was this nervous when he was starting as well.

We made it onto the platform and Cedric helped me put my trunk in the luggage rack. We had gotten there fairly early, so I took a set of robes out of my trunk and went to go change; I'd seen a restroom close to the entrance. When I came back, Cedric was talking with his father and my uncle. He complimented me on my uniform, saying I looked like a professional witch already, and I just looked away. I wanted to say something back, but I was still too distraught from this morning. Cedric noticed and apparently so did my uncle. I kissed Uncle Jerry goodbye, and got on the train. Cedric hugged his father, shook my uncle's hand and prepared to get on the train after me, but as he did, Uncle Jerry did something rather strange. He caught Cedric's arm and whispered something to him. Then he urged Cedric onto the train and shut the compartment door behind him. I asked Cedric what he'd said, but he wouldn't tell me.

I hung out the window to say goodbye to Uncle Jerry before the train left. I was leaning so far out that Cedric had to grab my shoulders to keep me from falling out. He pulled me back inside the train and we both fell back against the seat. We had a moment, a definite moment, where we were just looking into each other's eyes and seeing something there that neither of us expected to see: affection. I got up very quickly and went back to the window, blushing like a tomato.

"Goodbye Uncle Jerry, see you soon!" I yelled to him, waving to him as the train started to move.

"Goodbye my dear!" he yelled back, and I could see him smiling even as the train gained speed and moved off the platform. I brought my head back inside the compartment and I sat down across from Cedric. He was looking at me in a way that I still don't really understand. It was like he was trying to understand something himself, but was having a very difficult time of it.

Finally, I got fed up with him and asked, "is everything all right?"

He paused a minute, then asked me, "what's on your mind Leslie? What's wrong?

"What makes you think something's wrong?" I asked him.

"From the way you answered me when I asked if you excited about your first year, from the expression I saw on your face when you walked into the station, from the way you're avoiding my eye now."

It was true. The last place I was looking, or for that matter wanted to look, was right at him. I said very quickly to him, "there's nothing wrong."

"I'm not convinced Leslie."

"You really know how to read people, don't you?" I asked, gazing out the window.

"Yes I do, it's something you learn fairly quickly in the wizarding world," said Cedric.

"What happens if you're right, and that there is something wrong?"

"Then you tell me what it is, then you ask me for advice, and I give it," he said. "And I know there's something wrong Leslie. Your eyes were red when you came into the station, and they still are a bit. You've been crying, and I don't like to see people cry."

Well, I didn't start crying again, but I did tell him why I was crying this morning. I told him everything that I was thinking at that moment, and he did something I didn't expect. He came over and sat down next to me, and put his arm around me.

"Everything's going to be all right," he said. "I realize that your uncle's been the only person in your life since your parents died, and I know that your past has things in it that I can't even begin to comprehend. But if you learn to accept change, you'll learn that it's not always for the bad. And you are going to make an amazing witch."

"Thank you Cedric," I said to him.

We sat there together for a little while, but then some of Cedric's friends came in and sat with us. They were all in the third year as well, so I was sort of the odd girl out. Cedric tried to involve me in the conversation, but it was hard for him, and I could see it. I could see that from the way some of them were looking at me that I had overstayed my welcome and decided to bow out gracefully. I just said I was going up front to ask the engineer a question, but really I was just trying to get away from these complete strangers and from the feelings of isolation I had. I think Cedric saw through me and as I left, he shot me a look that said, "I'm sorry." I gave him a small smile that said it was all right, but I don't think he believed me.

I just thought about how those people had all looked at me, and suddenly, I felt back as though as I was back in my girl's school, where no one would go near me, just because they thought I was strange. Now granted, none of them would have thought I was weird, because they're all witches and wizards like me. But I think they thought it a little strange and awkward having someone they didn't know in the compartment with them. They might have known who I was, I mean, my story is almost as famous as Harry Potter is because I survived that night, but just because I was lucky that my uncle showed up. I don't know if they were excited that I was there, or just didn't want to be around a lowly first year. Either way, I wanted to get out of there.

I walked up and down the cars, looking for someone I could sit with, but everywhere was full. Finally, I found one compartment that only had two people in it. I smiled as I recognized Harry as one of them. He was sitting with a boy with bright red hair.

"He must be a Weasley," I thought to myself. They all have hair like that and I could tell at once that his clothes were secondhand. The Weasley's are one of the, shall we say, less rich Pureblood families. They're very kind, all of them, but they don't have that much money. I know Mr. Weasley because he also works for the Ministry, in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. He's a nice man, but he's absolutely fascinated with Muggles, how they live, how all their inventions work, etc.

I went in and sat with them for a little while. They seemed to be having loads of fun. Ron, the redhead, was telling Harry all about the wizarding world. I helped him as much as I could. We sat and ate all the sweets they'd gotten off the trolley. I had to admit I was hungry, so Harry offered me some of his treats. Ron shared only reluctantly, but he's a boy, what do you expect? They never share their food. I mean, I've seen boys eat until any normal human being would explode. But Harry was very polite to me and shared his Chocolate Frogs with me. I quickly became much more comfortable with him and Ron than I did with Cedric and his friends.

After a little while, a boy and a girl came in looking for a toad. The boy's name was Neville Longbottom. He looks like he's going to be a handful. Don't ask me how or why I think that, I just do. He was very worried about his pet. Personally, I wouldn't get a toad if my life depended on it. I like my owl. Ibbett is a very sweet creature and he's going to be a very busy owl, once Uncle Jerry and I start corresponding.

The girl also looked like a handful, and a showoff. Her name was Hermione Granger. When Ron was trying to work a spell his brother showed him, Hermione was all, "let's see it then," and "are you sure that's a real spell? I've only tried a few simple ones myself, but they've all worked for me." She's going to be the teacher's pet and she's going to beat us in every test, you mark my words.

Later on, a boy named Draco Malfoy came in, asking for Harry. It was that nasty boy we met in the robe shop in Diagon Alley. I remembered where I'd seen him before. I'd seen him at the Ministry once, when Uncle Jerry brought me into work with him. His father, Lucius, was there and he'd brought his son along. They're one of the wealthiest Pureblood families in England. I think my family is the only one wealthier than his. The Malfoy's use their wealth to secure their social status in the wizarding world. He knows better than to mock me, because not only do I have more money than he does (or I will when I turn 21), but my uncle is higher up in society and in the Ministry than his father is. All I have to do is write to my uncle, and he'll talk to Lucius Malfoy and everything will be sorted out like that. But Draco said some things to Harry and Ron that I didn't like and they ended up leaving, after Ron's rat bit one of Malfoy's friends.

By the time we arrived at Hogwarts, it was already dark. I tried to find Cedric to maybe walk with him up to the school, but Hagrid arrived and said for the first years to come and follow him. I went with the rest of the first years to a group of boats. As we rounded the bend, we got our first look at Hogwarts. I have never witnessed such a bewitching sight, pardon the pun. It was a castle, seven stories high, with many turrets and towers. Its windows glistened and gleamed in the evening moonlight and the light coming from the windows on the bottom floor looked warm and inviting. It just looked so safe. But then Hagrid did say that Hogwarts was one of the safest places in the world.

We all got into boats that took us across the lake and onto the castle grounds. The water looked as black as ink and if you had just the sky and the water to look at, you wouldn't be able to tell where one ended and the other began. When the boats landed, we all walked up to the castle. It was a long hike up the slippery slope to the place and I lost my footing more than once. Harry was right behind me and he caught my arm several times.

When we got to the door, Hagrid knocked on it and a woman in a long green robe and witch's hat opened it. She identified herself as Professor McGonagall, the assistant headmistress. She explained the way things worked at Hogwarts, that we would be sorted into houses and that triumphs will earn us points and rule breaking loses points. She then led us into the Great Hall, where all the meals and banquets are held. There are four long tables going up and down the hall, one for each house and there is one table for the teachers and faculty at the head of the hall. The rest of the school was already assembled there. I looked at all the different people watching us, and I could feel a sense of unease growing inside me. What did they think of us? What did they expect from us?

I saw Cedric at the Hufflepuff table. He was looking directly at me. When he caught my eye, he smiled encouragingly at me and I smiled back at him. There was an empty space next to him. I could tell he was saving it for me, should I be sorted into Hufflepuff along with him. Professor McGonagall stopped in front of the teacher's table and placed a tattered old hat in front of us. It then burst into song. I've seen some amazing things in my life, but I've never seen anything like that. As the hat was singing, I kept wondering what house I would be in. Uncle Jerry and my father were both in Hufflepuff and my mother was in Ravenclaw. Chances are I would be in one of those, but there was no way of knowing for sure.

When the hat finished, Professor McGonagall began to call us up in alphabetical order to try on the hat and it would call out what house we would go into. I was the second person to be called up. When my name was called, I could hear a few people whispering about me. My story is known to the wizarding world, so that the only people who won't know it are the Muggleborns. I'm not as famous as Harry, but I am famous. I could hear some people saying, "that's Leslie Angkatell? In ten years, she'll be the richest witch in all of England!" Well technically, in nine years and three months, I'll be the richest witch in all of England. I sat down on the stool and Professor McGonagall dropped the hat on my head. It drooped down over my eyes, so I couldn't see what was happening around me.

Suddenly, I heard a voice inside my head say, "hmm, a promising young lady. You'll make a fine witch someday, it's all here in your head. I remember your parents, one in Ravenclaw and one in Hufflepuff, but I'm not sure either house is right for you. You have the qualities that both those founders of Hogwarts looked for, truth, wisdom, resourcefulness. But there is something more here. You are strong, very strong and independent, and behind all that, is a mountain of courage and the will to do whatever it takes to protect those you love. And the best house for people like that is…" He shouted the name of the house for everyone to hear, "GRYFFINDOR!"

I could hear immense cheering from the Gryffindor table even before Professor McGonagall lifted the hat off my head. I walked over to join my new classmates, glad I was in Gryffindor, but sad that I wouldn't be in the same house as Cedric. As I sat down at the Gryffindor table, I caught Cedric's eye at the next table and I could see a sad look in them. He smiled at me affectionately, so as to offer me congratulations, but I could tell he was disappointed that I wasn't going to be in the same house with him. We won't be able to see each other as often, but I know somehow, we'll still manage to see each other.

The rest of the sorting passed on, with that awful boy Malfoy being sorted into Slytherin, which was expected, and Harry, Ron and Hermione all being sorted into Gryffindor. Hermione and I sat next to each other and she's actually a very nice girl. I know she seems like a know it all, but she's very nice. We sat and chatted and ate dinner together. When the sorting was over, the food arose out of nowhere and appeared on the glittering golden plates and dishes. Then after the banquet, the prefects led the way to the common rooms and dormitories. The Gryffindor common room is behind a portrait of a fat lady in a pink silk dress. We all went straight up to bed and here I am, writing this.

It feels amazing to be here, just to be in this castle, sitting in this room in Gryffindor tower. There are three other girls in here with me and they seem like a fairly nice bunch. But if I have this light on any longer, they'll throttle me, so I'd better get some sleep. Good night little diary. Wish me luck in my lessons tomorrow!

Love,

Leslie

All right, so Leslie's at Hogwarts, and she's about to go through her first week, and she isn't going to like it. In the next chapter, we'll have more cute scenes between Leslie and Cedric, and we'll have her finally accepting her place at school. Stay tuned!