Chapter 5

"Here is your ticket," Snape said, handing me a golden embossed ticket with the words 'Hogwarts Express' on it. Your caretaker has already been instructed to bring you to King's Cross Station on the first of September. The train leaves at 11 o'clock sharp. Do not be late."

With that, he swept off dramatically, leaving me to wonder where Platform 9 ¾ was.

…{*}…

It turned out that I didn't have to attend school (the muggle kind) anymore. Woohoo! Who needed Home econs when you had magic? All the other girls glared at me as they marched off to school in the wee hours of the morning. I smirked back. They deserved it. Besides, I could probably learn the whole education syllabus in a month if I put my head to it.

A month had passed slowly. I had read all my textbooks, even the trashy Lockhart ones. They were all way more interesting than my Algebra textbooks. I would be going to Hogwarts tomorrow. I couldn't wait. My bag (or trunk) was packed and ready to go. Goodbye boring old muggle world and hello magic!

…{*}…

The next morning, Mrs Grace drove me to King's Cross station in her million-year- old banana yellow Ford. Thankfully, she drove faster than her normal grandmother paste in her hurry to get rid of me. We soon reached King's Cross, the car hazardously puffing grey smoke from the bonnet. The moment I stepped out of the banana-mobile with my trunk, Mrs Grace drove off with a "See you in a few months!" and a dust cloud.

I walked into the station, taking out my ticket for the Hogwarts Express. Where the heck was Platform 9 ¾? Platform 9, platform 10, absolutely nothing in between.

Just then, I saw a family of three walk by. They were totally normal, except for the fact that their hair was impossibly blonde. They were also wearing very expensive clothes, a little too posh for a train station. I recognized the oldest man as Blondie from Flourish and Blotts, the bookstore in Diagon Alley. He held his head so high I doubt he could even see where he was walking, and looked around in distaste. Suddenly, they changed direction and walked towards a barrier just before platform 10. They kept walking, not stopping even when they hit the barrier. What happened next made me think I was hallucinating. They passed right through the barrier! Was that the way to the mysterious platform?

I walked up to the barrier and stuck my hand in it. Sure enough, it went right through. I backed up a few feet then charged towards it, involuntarily flinching. Fortunately, I slipped right through smoothly like it was an illusion.

A magnificent sight greeted me. A large gold and maroon engine puffed smoke from its tracks, with witches and wizards of all ages wearing cloaks and robes, sending children off or boarding the train. Many of the children had pets like owls and toads and rats in cages, with several cats stalking around their ankles. It was a bustling magical station of wonders. I was so overwhelmed I almost got banged by the next person going through the barrier. I wished that I had gotten a pet, but I didn't think Mrs Grace would like it much and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to take care of it well anyway. I didn't want to be an owl murderer so soon!

I had no idea where I was supposed to be so I followed the old saying: When in Rome, do as Romans do, or something like that. I followed the kids that looked my age and boarded the train, minus the wet goodbye scene. Since it was still rather early, I found an empty compartment easily. There was still around twenty minutes till the train left so I took out a spare marker I had in my bag and doodled dragons and witchy hats onto the front page of Lockart's "Voyages with Vampires."

…{*}…

Soon, the sound of the train whistle signalled the departure of the train. The Hogwarts Express took off, King's Cross Station drawing further and further away. Just then, the door to the compartment opened, and a bushy brown head popped in.

"Hello, could we sit here? The rest of the compartments are full-"

"or have Slytherins in them" a skinny boy with an Irish accent behind her added with distaste.

"Er… sure," I stuttered, out of sheer social awkwardness.

"Thanks, mate," he said, entering the compartment with the bushy haired girl. Well, at least there were only two of them. Wait… One, two more entered. Now there were four. Great, me and my big mouth.

They were rather noisy. I deduced their names were Hermione, Dean, Seamus and Neville from their friendly conversation. I admit I looked on slightly wistfully. I kinda wished… No! I did not need anyone, friends or no. I had made that mistake once too many. It had cost me too much. I could still recall the flames, getting taller and taller, getting out of control…

"Hey!" My depressing thoughts were interrupted by the Irish guy, Seamus, calling me.

"Yes?" I said snapped.

"I said, what's your name?" he was slightly put off by my snippy reply.

"Megan Leddir," I replied, regretting my tone.

"I'm Hermione, that's Seamus, Neville, and Dean. We're second year Gryffindors…"

We struck up a friendly conversation, and the Hogwarts Express arrived at its destination in what seemed like no time at all.

The large majestic train pulled up at the Hogsmeade station with huge puffs of smoke. After changing into Hogwarts uniform, I got off the express, feeling rather lost as to where to go next. I squinted into the smoky darkness, about to follow my new friends, well, acquaintances, when I heard a hoarse voice shout out "Firs' years! Firs' years here!"

"Follow Hagrid. Don't worry; he's very kind at heart." Hermione told me.

I wondered what she meant by that but soon found out. Hagrid turned out to be that very large man from Flourish and Blotts that stopped the fight. If I hadn't seen that, I probably would have been pretty terrified. Way to go Dumbledore, send a terrifying giant-man to greet little first years. We're feeling right at home all ready. Or maybe I'm just sensitive.

Hagrid led us to a dark lake. I could see small row boat bobbing up and down in the light of Hagrid's lamp.

"Get in, four to a boat"

We climbed into the small boats, rocking them dangerously. Three girls climbed in with me. One was red headed wearing a faded grey cloak with several patches while the other two were decked out in jewellery and looked rather snooty with upturned noses. I wondered how the boats moved as they had no oars. Just then, they pushed off the docks themselves and cruised silently across the lake, startling me so that I almost fell overboard. The two snotty beauty queens snickered.

"Filthy Muggleborns," I heard one whisper. I scowled at them while the red head looked at me in sympathy. I was about to make a retort when Hogwarts came into view. The amazing view from the lake took my breath away. The castle rose from the distance majestically, lighting up the lake. It looked very much like the castle in Disneyland from a postcard I once saw.

The boats soon docked. "All righ'! Everyone out!" Hagrid yelled. We got off the tiny boats, almost falling in the lake again. We were led into the beautiful stone castle in front of two large intricately carved cedar doors.

With a bang, the doors opened suddenly. Behind them, stood an elderly witch in a black cloak and a pointed hat.

"Welcome to Hogwarts!"

…{*}…

Hola! (Is that how you spell it?)I'm back! I'm so sorry it took so long. I'm in Mexico now, and exams are over! I really tried for a longer chapter, *casm, and thank you to *Birds on the Sunset for your advice . I'll try to update faster from now on, cause I know you awesome readerz have probably forgotten what this story is about. Thank you amazing readers, for your patience.

PS: There's something wrong with the document manager so if there's some errors in the chapters it's probably that. I always use spellcheck :P