September 1st, 1971.
"Okay honey, now go up to that platform and fill me with pride," Celine said, making her daughter smile. The 11-year-old was nervous but wanted to look confident to her mother.
The passage was right there and she knew it could all be a big lie, yet she ran against the brick wall, waiting for the moment of impact and the laughter of the people around her. To her surprise, there was no impact and she opened her eyes, smiling at the different location than before. Everything was new and so different. The platform was full of people and everything was so magical that Deli was tempted to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. She walked among all those people, other children saying goodbye to their parents before getting on the train, Delilah wished her mother could be there too.
Amidst some floating suitcases, Delilah saw a tall man - probably the tallest she had ever seen in her life - helping people with some luggage. The girl decided to ask for a little help before boarding.
"Excuse me, sir. This is the only train, right?" she asked and Rubeus smiled. Not everyone treated him respectfully, he was just the gamekeeper at Hogwarts. Before he could respond, she continued. Hagrid noticed that she looked nervous and as he didn't know her, he suspected it was her first year. "What goes to Hogwarts, correct?"
"Yes, just this one" he replied and she breathed a sigh of relief. Without the girl having to ask, Hagrid took care of loading her luggage, Deli smiled gratefully.
"Thank you" Deli said before boarding, carrying only a small bag.
Prior to the Hogwarts Express, Delilah had only used the train as a means of transportation a few times in the summer, to visit her uncle in Paris. Though not so welcome in the man's house. Having always been a bit eccentric, her uncle's mate didn't like her. But Deli didn't care that much.
She was looking for an empty cabin where she could sit by the window and watch the landscape. There were still 10 minutes left for the train to leave the platform. When she finally found an empty cabin, another hand came over the opening of the door before she could touch it. Delilah gave a shy smile, the boy opened the door and walked away so she could enter first.
"I hope you don't mind sharing a cabin." he said and Delilah sat by the window, where she had planned since she arrived.
"Not at all. My name is Delilah" she introduced herself and the boy closed the door, sitting in front of her.
"Remus Lupin, it's a pleasure" he responded. Deli noticed that he was holding a book and soon remembered that she also carried one inside her bag.
Remus opened the book on his lap and began flipping through the pages, stopping where he had last read. The sound of the door drew their attention to a red-haired girl, who smiled and entered.
"Hello, I'm Lily. Can I stay here?" Deli and Remus nodded, smiling friendly. The redhead closed the door and sat down beside Remus, noticing the book in his hand. "Oh, great. I've been looking for a quiet place to read, but the other cabins are full of noisy people.
As soon as the redhead opened the book, the door was flung open.
"Sirius, I found one!" shouted the boy who opened the door. He was wearing glasses and almost dropped them off his face, but then straightened up and faced Lily. "There's a girl here!"
Delilah rolled her eyes and leaned her head against the glass window to watch the families say goodbye, she was used to going unnoticed so it wouldn't make a difference to try an approach. Lily, on the other hand, looked quite annoyed by the newcomer's presence. The redhead got up and looked at the two she barely knew yet.
"I'm going to look for my friend Severus, do you want to come?" she offered and Delilah denied it, she wouldn't give up the cabin. Remus also rejected the proposal and Lily shrugged.
"Hi, beautiful, I'm James. What's your name?" Potter stopped in front of her and Lily rolled her eyes before walking past him almost knocking him over. "Did you see that? She ignored me, I'm speechless".
Deli was looking at the window but held back a laugh.
"Come, let's sit down" Sirius said and entered the cabin, noticing the presence of the other two "I thought you said it was only her in the cabin" he commented.
"Oh, I didn't see them before. Hi!" Delilah looked up from the window and stared at the two boys standing. She was trying to decide whether or not to talk to them after being ignored, and decided not to make enemies on her first day. Remus was a little annoyed, but he waved at the two of them. "I'm James."
"We heard before" Deli smiled, concluding that the boy was a little flirtatious.
"I'm Sirius" the other said.
"Delilah Saint-Laurent" the two boys nodded, even though they never heard that surname before "and this is Remus Lupin", she pointed at the boy sitting across from her.
As soon as the two boys sat down, they started talking about Hogwarts. This matter caught the attention of Remus, who was reading The History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot. The train left the platform and Deli - despite the pleasure of seeing the landscape passing quickly by her - left the window and joined them, to learn more about that world she knew so little about.
She explained to the boys that her mother was a muggle and her father a wizard, but the latter could not teach her about magic as he had died when Deli was three. Minutes later, a boy named Peter joined them in the cabin and was soon involved in the matter as well.
After being recruited into a school of magic she had no idea existed, Deli thought that nothing else would surprise her so much. However, with every word said about Hogwarts, the girl smiled wondering if her father would be proud of her.
[...]
From the clothes to the decor, everything was a lot to take in. When they reached their final destination, Rubeus Hagrid - the tall man who had helped him earlier - arranged lines to board the boats that crossed the Black Lake. She and most of the other students gaped at the sight of the castle at night.
As soon as they reached the castle, Hagrid stood with them in front of a door and asked them to wait.
Delilah and Remus were talking about how beautiful the castle was when Sirius returned to commenting on the houses.
"I've heard some people say that we're going to go through a selection, showing what we know about magic," James added.
"Then I won't be staying in any of the houses, as I know absolutely nothing about magic other than what you've told me" Deli muttered.
"Of course you know, or you wouldn't be here!" Remus encouraged her. "Don't tell me you've never thought so much about something and it just happened", he pointed and Delilah remembered the various incidents at home. Books floating, rooms snowing…
"I hope you're right."
Soon a woman in emerald green robes approached and everyone fell silent. Hagrid introduced her as Minerva McGonagall and the woman thanked him, then dismissed the gamekeeper.
Remembering everything that was said on the train, her only fear was being in Slytherin. It was clear she was ambitious, but Sirius and James had told her before that most of the students in the house were obsessed with blood purity and Deli didn't like that fact at all.
"Welcome, everyone. Behind those doors, each of you will be selected for a house". She looked tough, had a tough pose, but Deli could see from her expression that she was a good person. The girl wondered if she had memorized the speech. "Your home will be your family during your stay at Hogwarts. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Now come with me."
The doors opened and some students were amazed, Delilah wasn't different. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop staring at everything with devotion. Somehow the ceiling wasn't there and there were countless candles floating around. The students were sitting at the tables with their house's colors, looking happy to be starting another school year.
Contrary to what James and Sirius had heard, there was no challenge as to which house they would stay in. Just an old hat that sang. That was something she hadn't expected.
After the hat's song, McGonagall started calling out to the students at random.
From where she was, Delilah looked terrified.
The first girl to be called also looked just as fearful as she was, but she smiled as she heard the hat scream her house. A few people later and Deli was getting ready for the moment when her name was called.
"Delilah Saint-Laurent," she heard McGonagall call and walked over to the bench, sitting down afterwards. She could have sworn her heart would come out of her mouth.
"Oh you." the hat said softly, in a less than animated tone, and she glanced at the others realizing they couldn't hear. Deli wondered if he was tired of the whole selection thing. "Hmm… You can't stop thinking, don't you? Not like other girls your age, I assume. Too eccentric for that." Deli almost got up and took off her hat. "Very ambitious, and full of bravery."
"Is it over, sir?" she ended up asking, in a rude tone.
"That's right, child. So it's going to be…" he began and seemed to have sighed, "GRYFFINDOR!"
The Gryffindor table cheered and she stood up after McGonagall, who took the hat off her head. Deli was relieved that they were happy with her arrival and were so friendly. She saw some familiar faces from the Hogwarts Express, all of whom were happy with their homes.
Luck was on her side, after all. The friends she had made on the way to Hogwarts were sorted into the same house. The four boys and even Lily Evans were her new housemates. Deli couldn't be happier to start the school year off so well.