Clara POV

I had bought a pygmy owl I called Dusk because of her blue/gray color that reminded me of the sunset in summer. Renee had picked out a white cat she called Princess.

I was so excited to board the train. I looked at my ticket, then double checked it.

"Chiron, this is all wrong. It says platform 9 ¾ , there's no such thing."

"It's there, trust me."

"Can Clarisse and Annabeth come with us again?"

"Sorry, Renee. It's just the two of you this time." At this, Renee stepped closer to me with a small gulp.

"But how are we supposed to find the platform?"

"There will be plenty of other wizards to help you."

I groaned. Chiron was great, but he could sometimes be stubborn. We got up to say one final farewell to Lee, Silena, Annabeth, Percy, Grover, Clarisse, and Jade (or Juniper, whatever), who were waiting outside the big house. Annabeth hugged me fiercely, while Clarisse pretended not to care.

"Take care of yourself, Miss Sunbeam," Lee said. Miss Sunbeam? Since when? Couldn't all Apollo children ride on sunbeams? I needed to remember to ask him about that later.

Then Renee clasped my hand and Chiron took us to the fire to use Floo powder. "Keep this batch, so if you ever need it, you'll have it." He handed the jar to me, and I put it in my trunk. Then we stepped into the fire saying, "King's Cross Station!" and disappeared into the flames. I started walking almost immediately, but Renee held me back.

"What would they think if they saw us? Wait until the coast is clear."

I nodded. We waited a few seconds and then ran to platform nine when the coast was clear. As predicted, there was no visible platform 9 ¾ .

We sat and worried as it got closer to 11:00, until we heard, "Mum, I can't believe we're late again, I'll be late to the prefect's compartment!"

I looked up to see the red-haired family and the "Potter" boy we had seen at Diagon Alley. The father, Arthur, was talking. "Now, I'll go first with Ginny, come on now," and I decided to speak up.

"Erm, hello, we were trying to…."

"How to get on the platforms as well, huh? First years too, like Ginny?"

Renee and I nodded.

"Come with Ginny and me, and hurry!" Ginny smiled and took my hand. Renee grabbed mine, and they pulled us forward. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the crash, but it never came. The next thing I knew, we had stepped onto a platform where there was a bright red steam engine. Arthur kissed Ginny and ushered us on the train.

"Come on, let's go find a compartment."

Renee and I smiled. This girl had already decided to be our friend, and we couldn't really ask for more on only our first day.


"So, do either of you know which house you want to be in? I'm hoping I'm a Gryffindor myself, but you never know. Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad either. Or Hufflepuff. But Slytherin? No!"

"Um, what?" Renee asked

"Houses, don't you know? Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. All my family has been in Gryffindor for generations, although Fred and George have connections in all of the houses. They're very popular. And I think Percy might be friends with a Ravenclaw."

We shook our heads.

"Wow, you do have a lot to learn! Okay, so Gryffindor promotes bravery and chivalry, Ravenclaw is for people who are very intelligent, and Hufflepuffs are the nice and unique ones."

"And Slytherin?" Renee asked

"Most of them turn out evil."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you don't want that."

I rolled my eyes. Ares children had a reputation for that too, but look at Clarisse. She would be on our side in a fight, no question. The Slytherins were probably just misunderstood, like her.

"So, which do you think you'll get?"

"Bet I'm a Slytherin," Renee groaned.

"Renee, that won't happen! I bet we'll get Gryffindor together," Ginny told her honestly.

"Sure, okay." Renee didn't sound convinced, though.

A woman knocked on the compartment door. "Anything off the trolley, dears?"

I looked at the candy, expecting Milky Way bars or Cadbury chocolate. Instead, I saw things called, "Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans," "Chocolate frogs," and "Peppermint imps."

We selected a large bag of the Bertie Botts Beans, a pile of chocolate frogs, and a few pumpkin pasties. The woman then turned to Ginny, who shook her head. She held up two soggy sandwiches. "I'm good."

I realized then that there was something Ginny's bubbly attitude hid. She was poor, probably didn't have a dollar-I mean a galleon-to her name. Without thinking, I handed her a handful of Bertie Botts. She smiled at me.

"No, Clara, it's fine."

"I insist," said Renee, which of course worked due to her charmspeak. Ginny popped a green one in her mouth. "Yeuch, Spinach! I thought it would be sour apple!"

Renee tried one next. "My guess is…taffy. Nope. Hairball." I made a face

"My turn. My guess is grape." I popped it in my mouth. "Eww, no, turnip and onion."

We went on like that for a while before realizing it was getting dark and deciding we should change into our robes.

The train came to a halt, and a girl and a boy met us at the place where we were supposed to wait for Hagrid. The girl looked worried, and the boy looked annoyed. "Ginny, have you seen Harry? Or Ron?"

"I would have thought they were with you."

"But they're not, just Neville. Oh, if those two got expelled…."

"Firs' years! Over here!"

Ginny gave an excited squeal and grabbed my arm. We ran toward Hagrid, ready for Hogwarts.


A/N: Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for all my wonderful readers and for the chance to write. I'm thankful for the wonderful reviews, although I don't feel like I've gotten enough of them recently. I wish you would review every chapter. But I'm grateful this site exists, and that I can meet all these other fangirls&boys who support each other's writing.

Next chapter: The sorting! Please review!