~I own nothing but the plot, Mirabai Palmer, Avery, Aunt Phoebe, Uncle Tom, and the idea of the Triniti Wizards. Everything else, of course, belongs to J.K Rowling, and Mirabai's power was inspired by Piper's from Charmed. Steal my idea and I will have to kill you. Have a nice day. =)~

The next day, however, Mirabai had no time at all to dwell on her very confused thoughts.

From the moment Mrs Granger had shaken her awake early that morning, things seemed very rushed indeed. The three girls ate a hot breakfast in the kitchen as the wind howled and the rain bucketed down outside.

They dressed quickly into their casual clothes ('We always get changed into our uniform on the Express' Avery had told her.')

Mirabai hardly had time to feel very nervous as she forced a very grumpy Europa into her cage, while Hermione chased Crookshanks around her bedroom and Avery double-checked for anything they might have left behind.

It was only when the three girls, the luggage, Aunt Phoebe and Mrs Granger were all packed into Hermiones car that Mirabai really started to feel anxious.

Mrs Granger was a very slow driver, compared to Aunt Phoebe at least, and it took almost forty-five minutes to finally arrive at Kings Cross station, and pack all of their luggage onto separate trolleys.

Europa was sitting in her cage on top of Mirabai's trunk, screeching loudly and attracting quite a lot of attention from the Muggles hurrying past.

There was no denying it - now that the were at the station, pushing trolleys toward Platform Nine and Three Quarters and about to take the Hogwarts Express, Mirabai felt unmistakably nervous. She was silently grateful to already know Hermione and Avery; she wouldn't fancy having to take the train all by herself.

'Ahh,'

sighed Avery, with a huge grin,

'Mirabai, I give you Platform Nine and Three Quarters!'

They were standing between two platforms, facing a metal barrier with Platform Nine on their left and Platform Ten to their right. A large group of Muggles pushed by as Aunt Phoebe said,

'Well girls, this is where we leave you. Now, you're all OK to get onto the platform, aren't you?'

'Of course, Mum' grinned Avery, rolling her eyes, 'We've only been doing it for five years.'

'Well have a great term then, wont you all? And do try to get better marks this year, Avery.'

She hugged her daughter goodbye, as Hermione said her goodbyes to her mother. Aunt Phoebe gave Mirabai an extra hug and added,

'Look after yourself, OK? You'll simply love Hogwarts, I promise.'

And with one last smile and a hug, both Aunt Phoebe and Mrs Granger disappeared with a small 'pop.' Amazingly, none of the Muggles around them seemed to notice.

The three girls pulled their trolleys around to face the metal barrier that was the secret entrance to Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

'Its easy enough to get onto the platform,' Avery told Mirabai,' Just run straight toward the barrier and you'll get through - here, watch me, I'll go first. Then you come straight after me, ok?'

Mirabai nodded once to show that she understood, and stood back to allow Avery to line her trolley up with the barrier. Slowly, she watched as Avery ran toward the barrier, slowly gathering speed, when suddenly - she wasn't there any more.

Mirabai shook her head slightly, and looked uncertainly at Hermione, who gave her a reassuring smile and said,

'As long as you have magic in your blood, you'll get through. Go on.'

So Mirabai lined up her own trolley, just as Avery had done, and broke into a slow jog, praying that there wasn't some horrible mistake and she wouldn't just bounce straight off the barrier again...five feet away, and she gathered speed, shut her eyes and waited for the crash.

But the crash never came, and Mirabai kept on running. Finally, she re- opened her eyes carefully, to see the biggest steam train she had ever seen in her life - the scarlet Hogwarts Express. Through the steam, she could hear owls hooting, and she could see the dark figures that were other Hogwarts students. She felt herself smile.

Seconds later, Hermione had materialised behind her, looked slightly flustered. But as her eyes fell onto the huge steam train in front of them, her smile grew broader, just as Mirabai's had done seconds before.

Mirabai didn't know where Avery had gone, but a moment later, they heard her voice calling from one of the carriages, and they both followed the sound of it through the mist.

*

Ten minutes later, Mirabai, Hermione, and Avery had all stored their luggage into a spare compartment half way along the train, and were now sitting quietly, waiting for the journey to start.

Hermione was just wondering aloud where her two friends Harry and Ron were, when the compartment door slid open and three people entered - two of which had bright red hair and freckles, the other with dazzling green eyes and untidy black hair.

Hermione sighed annoyingly, but she was smiling all the same.

'You three certainly took your time. I was beginning to wonder if you were flying to school again, but as if you'd be so stupid two times in a row. Did you have a good holiday?'

The first red-haired boy rolled his eyes as the rest of the strangers filled the empty seat opposite them.

'Our holidays were ok. Why didn't you meet us in Diagon Alley? I wrote to you asking if you wanted to come, but you never replied. Hey, who is she?'

The boy had just spotted Mirabai sitting in the corner, next to the window.

'Ron!' Hermione snapped,

'Don't be so rude! This is Mirabai Palmer, she's Avery's cousin and she's new here. Mirabai, this is Ron Weasley, his sister Ginny and Harry Potter.'

'You look a little old to be a first year?' Ginny asked, curiously.

'Oh, that's because I'm not,' Mirabai replied, smiling. 'I'm a fifth year, I came from a magical school in Australia.'

'Wow! Was it nice there? Do you miss it? Why did you move?' Ginny asked, starring at Mirabai in awe. Mirabai grinned.

'Yes, it was extremely nice there and I miss it so much already.'

She chose not to reveal just why she had moved away to a person she had just met. She's probably just end up scaring Ginny away if she attempted to explain her long, dark and complicating past.

Mirabai looked suddenly up at the dark haired boy and realised, with a jolt, that he was starring at her. She felt her ears go red behind her hair. The truth was, Mirabai was really looking forward to meeting Harry. She knew his story, everybody did. She knew how he, too, had no parents, how they both had been killed trying to protect him. It seemed almost embarrassing to admit it even to herself, but she was desperately hoping that Harry would really understand how she felt. Maybe they could even be friends.

Therefor, Mirabai wanted to make a good first impression. She imagined how annoying it would be for Harry, to have people starring at his scar whenever they saw him, and Mirabai didn't want to be one of those people.

Instead, she starred into Harry's green eyes behind his round glasses, and smiled slightly. He smiled back, before saying,

'Its really nice to meet you. Do you know what house you'll be in yet?'

'Oh, um, no, not yet...but I'm hoping for Gryffindor. You're all in Gryffindor, aren't you?'

'Yep'

Ron replied through a mouthful of chocolate frog. Hermione made a tutting noise and said, 'Ron! Don't talk with your mouth full, its bad manners, you know!'

'What?!' Ron replied angrily,

'She asked us a question! Which do you think is ruder,' he swallowed his chocolate with difficulty and continued to talk,

'talking with my mouth full, or just ignoring Mirabai completely?'

Suddenly, there was a soft hissing noise, and slowly, the train began to move.