Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

AN: Thank you once again for the reviews; chapter dedicated to xox-hattii-xox! Prompts for future chapters are welcome – they don't have to be moments actually from the books, but please be canon compliant, and would be posted in chronological order within the ones I already have planned. Enjoy! :-)

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one."

A new start, you have decided. That's what you will do; start all over again at Hogwarts, where everything will be different. You will be confident and proud; you will not, not ever stand for being made to feel like you have before again. You don't care about them now; you have a whole new future waiting for you.

You've read all of your schoolbooks already, of course, and made sure you know everything possible about Hogwarts and what you will be expected to learn. You will be the best in the class; you will work as hard as it takes to get there and you will not hide away any more.

So when the round faced boy comes in, looking devastated by the loss of his pet toad, you make it your mission to help him; here is where you will begin. You stand with an air of definite authority and lead him down the train, asking everyone you pass if they've seen it; he seems frightened at the prospect of talking to them, and you understand painfully well, but you've buried your own fear. None of them can see how terrified you are by being confronted by all of this, none of them can see how absolutely petrified you are of wasting this chance, of failing.

Most of those you talk to are indifferent and dismissive at best; many of the older students seem irritated at the interruption by a couple of mere first years, and once this would have had you red faced and desperate to hide – it would have turned your confident, bossy voice to a barely audible squeak and you would have slunk away to be alone again. But not any more. It doesn't affect you

now, though you still find comfort in the fact that some of the older students are less bothered; are kind and sympathetic if not very helpful. You focus on these to form your view of this new world.

Eventually you reach a carriage with two boys your own age in it. There is an enormous pile of sweets on the seat; you inwardly roll your eyes – boys, honestly, do they ever stop eating?

Then you notice that the red-haired one of the pair is holding a very battered looking wand – he's going to cast a spell! You've already tried some yourself, but you haven't had anyone else to practice with – it would be fantastic to see some more magic, you think.

'Oh, are you doing magic?' You ask, 'Let's see it then.'

He clears his throat awkwardly and waves the old wand, reciting a spell that doesn't sound real to you but seems to be meant to change the colour of his rat. It has no effect.

'Are you sure that's a real spell?' You say, looking closely at the wand and then the rat to see if you can spot any difference. You can't. '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 best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard – I've learnt all our set books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough – I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?'

You speak quickly out of habit, blurting out everything almost without drawing breath, desperate to find someone to speak to and share your interest with. It's suffocating not to be able to talk to anyone about this, and it would make you feel much better if someone else could just tell you they were worried too – what if all the reading isn't enough? What if everyone else already has much more practice, much more magic, than you? The boys both look surprised, and the red-haired one speaks first.

'I'm Ron Weasley,' he mutters.

'Harry Potter,' the other boy introduces himself – suddenly you are in awe and awash with excitement once more – you've heard of him! You've read all about him, and say so – it's fascinating, he's famous, part of history, and here you are, on your first real day in the wizarding world, actually having a conversation with him!

He doesn't even seem to be aware of his own fame though, looking genuinely shocked when you list the books he's in. You soon change the subject to Houses, struggling against the fear that bubbles in your chest – you've read about them in Hogwarts, A History, and you've heard that the Headmaster himself was in Gryffindor...oh you do hope you're in Gryffindor, it sounds the best – but you can't know, and it's so frustrating.

Then again, there's always Ravenclaw, that seems very good too, you're sure you'd fit in there...you must fit in somewhere, you must.

You leave now, taking Neville with you to continue the search for his toad and buzzing with barely suppressed excitement...you're sure this will be everything you hope it will be – oh please let it be...