Isabelle could feel her insides flipping as she pushed her trolley through Kings Cross Station in London. The overwhelming feeling that this was actually happening had finally hit her, and it had been no less of a feeling than having a bucket of ice chucked over her head. It had taken her a long while that morning to check everything, then double check, and then check again just to make sure that there was nothing she had forgotten.
Daniel had assured her that it would be more than easy to send her anything she'd left behind by owl to her at school, and what was the only thing that stopped her from making a fourth check of her trunk.
"Platform nine and three quarters is just through that wall." Daniel said, pointing the brick pillar between platforms nine and ten. Isabelle looked at him as though he had just grown a second head and another set of arms.
"You're kidding, aren't you?"
Daniel laughed, then lowered his voice, "Izzy, dear. In this past week you have found out you're a witch, travelled by fireplace and read books on potion making. You're just now wondering if I'm kidding?"
Isabelle was taken aback, "okay, sure. Fair point."
"Run straight at the wall, you'll be fine. I'll make sure no muggles are watching."
Isabelle took a deep breath, then went for it. Her eyes squeezed shut suspected impact (and a couple of broken ribs), however that never came. When she opened her eyes again she was stood before a magnificent scarlet train, with 'The Hogwarts Express' printed bold and golden on the front of the train proudly while the steam cascaded around the letters.
"This way, Iz. I'll help you get your trunk on the train."
The two found an empty compartment and quickly managed to put Isabelle's trunk above the seats after getting her school uniform out that she would later need to change into.
"Here we are then," Daniel sighed, "I'll see you at Christmas time."
It dawned on Isabelle that this would happen. Though she didn't expect it to be so difficult. It had just been her and Daniel against the world for the last five years of her life, it didn't seem right that he wouldn't be there at Hogwarts with her.
"I'll make sure to write." Isabelle offered a smile to hide the sadness inside of her, or the tears that were threatening to spill.
"You best had young lady. I didn't buy you Hilda for nothing."
Isabelle laughed, then embraced her uncle one final time before she'd be setting off on the biggest adventure of her life. "I'll see you soon Daniel."
He kissed her head, then pulled away. "See you soon, seren. I love you, kid."
"I love you too." She grinned, and watched as he departed the train, then rushed to the window to watch him leave the station. He waved at her, before vanishing before her very eyes. She sat back in her seat, and willed herself to stay strong even though her stomach was hollow inside at what felt like a terrible loss.
Isabelle found herself wallowing in her own self pity for a good while until she decided she was being stupid and needed to pull herself together. She was going to Hogwarts after all! In that moment, she decided she'd pull out another one of her potions books to read, but that was when she was interrupted by a boy sticking his head around the compartment door.
"You don't mind if I join you, do you? Everywhere else is full"
"Not at all." Isabelle smiled at the boy.
He dragged his trunk inside the compartment, then Isabelle helped him as they attempted to raise it above the seats. It took a lot of struggling, and a good load of giggling, but they finally managed to shove it into a position where it wouldn't fall when the train started moving. The two grinned in triumph at one another, then took seats opposite.
The boy looked out the window briefly, seemingly amusing himself with a family of redheads. A short, red haired woman was pointedly telling a set of much taller redheaded twins that she would be absolutely furious if they sent a Hogwarts toilet.
Isabelle took this opportunity to take in the boys appearance, however. He shared the same pale complexion, though his hair was straight, jet black and messy. He had the most piercing set of emerald eyes behind some glasses that were hardly holding themselves together and he was slight. So slight, in fact, Isabelle would classify him as skinny - he looked like he hadn't eaten a full meal in his entire life.
The boy seemed to sense Isabelle's gaze on him, and turned to smile at her.
"I'm Isabelle by the way," She introduced herself, "Isabelle Potter. You can just call me Izzy"
The boy sat rigid for a moment, shifting to look somewhat uncomfortable as though he was at a loss of words to say. It was then that Isabelle remembered how people had reacted to her in Diagon Alley, she really was, by Daniel's description, famous.
Whatever Isabelle was expecting the boy to say, didn't come close to what he actually said.
"It's nice to meet you Izzy. I'm Harry, Harry Potter."
The two stared at each other in awe. Then, a grin broke out on both of their faces. Isabelle lunged forward to hug her long-lost brother. It wasn't a long hug, but it was meaningful. She pulled away and took her seat opposite him once more, feeling awfully emotional by the whole thing, she found her heart pounding in her chest.
"Hagrid told me everything about a month ago," Harry said softly, "I didn't know I had any other family, other than the Dursley's of course."
"Really?" Isabelle gasped, "you didn't know until now? I've known about you my whole life! I mean, I didn't know about magic until I got my Hogwarts letter but still. I did try to find you but our aunts hadn't spoken in years even before we were born so, we didn't know where on the planet you would be."
Harry shrugged, "It's probably for the best. The Dursley's are awful, trust me. They didn't tell me anything about the wizarding world, or you, or our parents. I had to learn it all from Hagrid a few days back. I suppose learning late is better than nothing at all."
Isabelle looked at him pitifully, though the way his eyes directed to the window showed he probably didn't want to talk about his family life, so Isabelle proceeded with. "Who's Hagrid?"
"Oh," Harry smiled, looking back at her. "He's the keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts. He's brilliant - you're going to love hi-"
Harry was cut short of his sentence by a boy poking his head awkwardly around the compartment door. He was a little taller than Isabelle and Harry but was still rather thin. He had red hair like the twins and their mother on the platform with sea blue eyes and freckles scattered across his entire face.
"Sorry, er - everywhere else is full, do you mind if I join you two?"
"Not at all," Harry smiled, indicating with his arms that the boy should come in.
It was much easier with three of them putting up the trunk, especially since Ron had that little extra height. There was barely any time before the three were sat down, and the train began rolling. Isabelle was starting to feel very excited.
"I'm Ron by the way, Ron Weasley." The boy smiled kindly.
"I'm Harry Potter, and this is my sister, Izzy." Harry introduced, looking chuffed at his introduction. Isabelle knew the triumph he felt, because her heart flipped at the word 'my sister,' she hadn't been so happy in a very long time.
However, the two of them didn't seem to be the only ones on the emotional rollercoaster. Ron looked as though he'd just been slapped; his jaw hung open. He quickly closed it as his cheeks redden embarrassedly.
"Do you really h-have the scars?" He stammered
Isabelle raised her finger, revealing the lightning bolt cut on her forehead, and Harry proceeded to make the same action. The two of them grinned at one another while Ron stared in disbelief, his eyes so wide that they looked like they could pop right out of their sockets.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to this," Isabelle said.
"What do you mean?" Ron inquired,
"I was always teased at school for my scar, however everyone seems fascinated in the wizarding world."
Harry nodded in agreement.
Ron tilted his head to one side. "Harry and Isabelle Potter being laughed at for their scars - trust me, there won't be any of that at Hogwarts. Do you remember getting your scars?"
Harry shrugged, "too young to remember. Though I do seem to remember a great green flash whenever I try and think about it."
He looked at Isabelle as though to confirm she had the same experience. She nodded, "Yeah, me too, that and male laughter."
Ron shuddered at even the reference to Voldemort. Isabelle decided that it was time to change the subject, "did you grow up with muggles too, Ron?"
Ron looked gloomy at the question, "No. Full family of wizards. I'm the sixth in my family to go to Hogwarts, I have five older brothers and a younger sister, she'll be starting next year. I have a lot to live up to, I can say that already. Plus, when you have so many siblings, it just makes sense to have pass-me-downs. Even my rat used to be Percy's, he got a new owl for becoming a prefect, but my parents couldn't affo- I mean, It made sense for me to have Scabbers. He's pathetic though." His ears bloomed bright red, and quickly reached into his pockets to divert from where he had clearly messed up.
"Bloody hell, he's even still asleep now. He barely ever wakes up."
"I'm sure you'll be able to get an owl soon enough." Isabelle smiled encouragingly.
Harry then perked up, "there's nothing wrong with not having money, you know. I didn't have any until a month ago when I met Hagrid and found out I had an inheritance. I've grown up wearing my cousin's clothes, but he's the size of a killer whale. I'm actually showcasing some of his clothes right now." He said, indicating to the gigantic shirt tucking into a large pair of jeans that were only held up by a belt that could've been wrapped around him another three times.
Ron smiled, appreciative of the gesture.
"I'm going to be the worst at Hogwarts, I've got a lot to learn. Until I met Hagrid, I didn't know about anything. I didn't know about magic, Isabelle, Voldemort-"
Ron gasped loudly.
"What?" Isabelle wondered.
"Y-you said his name!"
Harry looked startled, "see, I barely know anything. I've got loads to learn - I didn't know we're not supposed to do that."
Ron shook his head, "you'll learn fast enough."
The three continued to chatter. Ron talked about his family and various bits of the wizarding world that had been omitted from Isabelle and Harry's lives until this very point in time. They discussed houses, Hogwarts, Quidditch, international Quidditch (Isabelle decided that she would be supporting the Welsh team from here on out, much to Ron's dismay), and other things at random until they were interrupted again at about half past twelve, when a clunking noise outside the compartment disturbed them.
A lady popped inside, smiling kindly and saying, "anything off the sweet trolley dears?"
"I'm alright," Ron said grimly holding up squashed sandwiches, "I'm all set."
"We'll take three of everything." Harry stated, holding out some money towards the lady. She helped him carry all of the loads into the compartment before moving on.
Isabelle looked at him with wide eyes, "hungry, are you?"
"I didn't eat breakfast," he chuckled, "I also wanted to treat the two of you."
"Oh no, you really didn't have to do that." Ron said embarrassedly, but it didn't take much persuasion to get him to switch the sandwiches for a pumpkin pasty instead.
The three of them tucked in, and for the first few minutes there was little chatter. Once their stomachs started to fill, they began talking once more.
"Ooh, Harry. Try one of these." Isabelle said, chucking him over a chocolate frog. "I got one for my birthday, they're really nice. Just be careful, there's a charm on the frog to make it jump out once you open up the box."
"If you get Agrippa let me know, I'm missing that card." Ron intercepted with a mouth full.
Harry looked somewhat confused by all the information being thrown at him but did as he was told. He opened it up, but stupidly let the frog jump out the window. Isabelle laughed. Harry didn't seem to bothered however, and went to rip out his card.
"I got Dumbledore!" He exclaimed exitedly, getting the card out.
"I've got about six of him." Ron said, looking fairly dismissive by it, though Harry could have been holding a plate of gold.
"Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling." Harry read aloud.
Ron nodded as thought this was primary knowledge.
Isabelle reached for a box of Bertie Botts, and picked out a cherry coloured one. Ron chuckled, "Oh, you best be careful with those. When it says every flavour, it means every flavour. You get the normal ones like chocolate, toffee and so on, but you can also get spinach, liver and tripe. George swears he got a bogey flavoured one once."
Isabelle's face scrunched up, but bit the bullet, and was relieved to feel an apple taste filling her mouth.
The three then started taking it in turns trying the beans. Isabelle had a few good and bad ones, but nothing she'd every categorise as bad as bogey, fortunately!
"George told me about a spell to turn Scabbers yellow, do you want to see?" Ron asked.
"Yeah!" Both Harry and Isabelle exclaimed, both eager to see magic.
Ron pointed his wand at the rat, but the compartment door suddenly opened.
A girl stood there, hands on her hips and eyes darting from each corner of the compartment in a judgemental way. She eyes the sweet wrappers, her eyes turning from somewhat confused to a look of dismay. Isabelle recognised this girl from Diagon Alley. She was already dressed fully in her dress robes, and her hair was tied back off her face.
"Have any of you seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost one… Oh, hello Isabelle, how are you?" Hermione asked, suddenly smiling.
"I'm good thanks, Hermione how are you?" Isabelle returned the niceties, admittedly feeling a little relieved that she knew someone else going to Hogwarts, even after their slight run-in at Diagon Alley.
"Excellent, thank you." She looked around, then pointedly stared at Ron, "are you doing magic?"
Ron's ears went pink, "Well… uh."
Hermione helped herself to a seat beside Isabelle. "Let's see then!"
Ron looked sheepish. He cleared his throat and began to swish his wand. "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow!"
Nothing happened.
Hermione scoffed, "are you sure that's a real spell? Well, it's not very good, is it? I've already tried a few simple ones myself, but they've all worked for me."
She turned to Harry, and pointed her wand at his face. Before anyone could do anything she said, "oculus reparo!"
The sellotape holding Harry's glasses together disappeared in a flash, there was no need for it anymore, because the glasses were fixed. Harry, looking a little pale, thanked her nonetheless.
"I know you," Hermione gasped, "you're Harry Potter!"
She suddenly stopped herself from talking, looked like she was thinking for a moment before turning to look at Isabelle. "That must make you Isabelle Potter. Oh, how could I be so stupid! I'm incredibly sorry! I've read all about the two of you!" She stopped to take a breath before marking her eyes back on Ron, "And you are?"
"Ron Weasley." He grumbled.
"Pleasure. I'm Hermione Granger." She stood up. "Well, I best keep looking for Neville's toad, let me know if you see him."
She was about to close the compartment door, then changed her mind and poked her head back in, looking at Ron with a disapproving look. "You have dirt on your nose by the way, did you know? Just there" She pointed, then finally took her exit while Ron pinkishly rubbed his nose.
The train sounded loudly, and an announcement echoed down the halls that all students, if not already in their uniforms, should change, because they were scheduled to be arriving soon. The three began shifting and getting their clothes, Isabelle went to exit the compartment to find the girls changing rooms, but not so fast that she didn't hear Ron say,
"Whatever house I'm in, I hope it's not with that Hermione Granger."