Jinx Thorne crossed into Platform 9¾ shakily. She was too overwhelmed by her own luggage to even notice people around her. She was not even sure if she had everything with her. She'd packed and unpacked her things so many times, she'd probably dropped something in her room and left it behind. She sighed heavily and gave her trolley to one of the conductors who was handling baggage. It was only her second time amongst an actual community of Witches and Wizards, the first being at Diagon Alley, and that only added to her anxiety.

Her mother and father weren't very far from her, but she felt they were miles away. They were too busy being in awe at the bustle and odd clothing to notice her anyway, let alone with her small frame. They walked to her, still amazed.

"Wizards are fascinating!" Her father exclaimed, starry eyed. "Can you believe that some of those trunks are actually enchanted to fit more things?" Her mother seemed equally amused and excited.

"Now love, don't forget the most important part," she teased. She reached for Jinx's hand and squeezed her fingers. "Write to us, Virginia."

"I will, mum." She hugged her tight and buried her face in her clothes. Her father mumbled a small "aww" and hugged them. "I will miss you both."

"We will too, baby girl. Stay safe, and let us know how everything goes." He gave her a kiss on the forehead, and Jinx's eyes started watering. It would be her first time away from her parents for so long. Their moment was cut short by the sound of a bickering couple of girls. Jinx looked at the two girls curiously. One was blonde, the other had auburn hair.

The blonde girl looked livid. "That boy found it! You and that boy have been sneaking in my room!"

"No, not sneaking," the redhead retorted. "Severus saw the envelope, and he couldn't believe a Muggle could have contacted Hogwarts, that's all! He says there must be wizards working undercover in the postal service who take care of…"

"Apparently wizards poke their noses in everywhere! Freak!" The blonde girl went towards a couple, probably their parents. The redhead looked shook to the core. Jinx subconsciously gripped her mother's coat, and her parents looked upset.

Her father knelt in front of her. "You're not a freak, baby girl. Don't let people get to you." He kissed her forehead again, for a few seconds longer. "You'll be alright."

Jinx nodded and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, dad." The Hogwarts Express conductor started whistling.

"That's our queue, darling," her mother said. "Go, God bless you." She kissed her on the head and rubbed her shoulder. Jinx kissed her as well, and gave them a last hug. She ran to the train doors before the crowd started forming in front of it. She gave a final look to her parents, waved, and got inside the red wagon.

It felt like a different universe in there. People her age, people older, but almost no adults. She felt a lump form in her throat, and tried not to panic. She was truly on her own. Being sheltered by your parents almost all your life suddenly seemed like a terrible idea to her. She paced through the wagon, looking for an empty compartment. Her steps were unsteady, and she had to support herself against the windows at times. She finally found an empty compartment at the end of the wagon and settled herself there. Jinx shut the compartment door and sighed. She had to get herself together if she wanted to survive in this new world.

Jinx started reading a book shortly after getting into the compartment. Around an hour later, the door slid, and a group of boys entered. They were too busy being loud to notice the small framed 11 year old sitting in her corner, with the exception of a slim, brown haired boy. He gave her a smile, and redirected his focus towards his friends. The boys spoke loudly and laughed even louder. They were as excited about going to Hogwarts as Jinx was nervous about it.

Fifteen minutes later, the door was opened again. This time, the auburn haired girl entered the compartment, her eyes red. She'd clearly been crying. Jinx caught herself staring at her as she sat against the window, her puffy eyes fixed on the countryside. A part of her wanted to get involved and try to soothe her, in hopes of breaking her social isolation. Another part of her wanted to leave the compartment and sit elsewhere, but she'd already seen that most compartments were full when she went for a bathroom break. She followed the option she always went for: she tried to isolate herself from the noise and people, and focused on her book.

The door slid for a third time. A skinny boy with black hair and a relatively prominent nose waltzed in. He was already wearing his robes. He went to sit next to the girl, and tried to talk to her, but she outright refused. Within a few minutes, he'd managed to make her smile, although her eyes looked sad still.

"You'd better be in Slytherin," he said after a few minutes.

"Slytherin?" One of the boys asked, in disbelief. "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" His question was directed to a black haired boy. They both seemed to be coming from rather rich families, and had a well-polished look that the newer boy lacked.

"My whole family have been in Slytherin," the other boy said quietly.

"Blimey, and I thought you seemed alright!"

"Maybe I'll break the tradition." The boy caught Jinx looking at him, and grinned. "Where are you planning on going, kid?"

Six pairs of eyes were fixated on her. She tried to speak but her throat felt sore. She coughed a little before finally speaking. "I d-don't know, yet."

The boy shrugged. "What about you James?"

James brandished an invisible sword and grinned. "Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad." He still had his eyes fixated on Jinx, and that made her look away, hiding her face with some of her brown locks. The boy who had spoken to her snickered. The skinny one snorted. "Got a problem with that?" The wannabe Gryffindor asked.

"No," he replied. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy…"

"Where are you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" The group of boys howled. The girl sat up and looked at them with distaste.

"Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment." They stood up while the two boys mocked the girl's tone. The Gryffindor wannabe tried to trip Severus as they were leaving.

"See ya, Snivellus!" The boys laughed again, and went back to being loud and talkative.

Jinx fixed her fringe to hide her eyes. She knew that they could still see her, but not seeing them would help with not worrying about their presence. She sighed quietly and went back to her book. Their voices quieted down for a while, and she couldn't help but smile. Finally, a moment of respite. Or so she thought.

"Hey, shrimp!" She looked up, flushed. The wannabe Gryffindor was waving at her. "I'm James. These are Sirius, Peter, and Remus. What's yours?"

"J-jin… Virginia."

"I think she was trying to say Jinx?" Sirius said, looking at her, intrigued.

Jinx nodded and swallowed. "My name's… Virginia. But they call me Jinx."

"Interesting!" James exclaimed. "Is it because you're a witch? Because if that's the case, it's pretty funny to me."

"N-no, I was born on a Friday 13, so… my classmates started teasing me." James and Sirius said "ohhh" in unison. She blushed and fixed her fringe again.

"Well, Jinx," Sirius said as he walked up to her. "Let's all be friends, shall we?" He asked as he flashed a large smile. She stared at him for a moment before laughing, and he looked at his group, confounded. "What did I say?"

"Nothing, Sirius." She sighed and smiled at him kindly. "I don't mean to insult you, but I very much doubt someone from a Slytherin family would like to be friends with a Muggleborn."

"Well, that's the first time you speak without stuttering, so I think he'd at least be able to speak to you," James teased. Peter giggled, but Sirius' face didn't flinch. He looked a tad upset, then got closer to her.

"I did say I would break the tradition. So maybe we can be friends after all," he said with a little smirk. He held out his hand to Jinx. "So what do you say?"

Jinx was in slight shock. It was one of the very few times someone had actually approached her socially, let alone a group of people. She nodded and took his hand. "Don't end up in Slytherin, and I'll think about it," she said with a smile.