The day had come at last. The morning had flown by in a whirl and now Victoria was sitting on the Hogwarts Express, unable and unwilling to wipe the grin from her face. She had just said goodbye to her parents, telling them she'd send Feldon to them right after the feast, telling them how wonderful it was to finally be at Hogwarts.
She sat by the window, watching the other students come onboard when she heard a familiar voice. "Victoria! There you are!" Maddie burst into the compartment, sitting across from Victoria. "Isn't it wonderful? I can't believe we're finally here." She noticed Victoria still staring out the window and raised an eyebrow. "You're looking for him aren't you?" Victoria turned to Maddie, a look of disbelieve on her face. "Looking for who?" Maddie started to answer, but stopped when another familiar form popped in.
"Hello." It was Freddie this time. He stopped in the doorway, leaning on the frame. "Mind if I join you ladies?" He grinned at them, pleased to see them smile in return…yet it wasn't him they were smiling at… Not a second later, Freddie was lying face down on the floor. He quickly got up, turning to his attacker. "What's the big idea, Sam?" Maddie and Victoria stifled laughs as Freddie prepared to fight his older brother Sam, now a third year. Sam simply smirked and entered the compartment across from them, sitting opposite three boys who were laughing hysterically.
Freddie gathered his things and sat next to Victoria, glaring at the still laughing boys across the way. Victoria stood to close the door, pausing a moment to look at the blonde headed boy sitting across from Sam. He absently returned her gaze, a nasty smirk still on his face. She frowned slightly at him, but could not bring her eyes away from his until he looked back to Sam who was still laughing. Shutting the door, she returned to her seat. "Who are those guys?" She asked, watching Freddie rub his wrist.
"The one in the middle is Draco, you know, Lucius Malfoy's rotten son. I don't know the other two, but they're all part of that dirty Slytherin bunch obviously." He stuck his arms out, pulling his robes back in place. "So where has Edwina gotten off to?" He looked up to the two girls, an expression of curiosity on his face.
"I haven't seen her, but we should be leaving soon. It would be just like her to miss the train though, wouldn't it?" They all peered out the large window, scanning the platform below. Just then they heard her airy voice...
"Oh you're Freddie's brother aren't you? Have you seen him or Victoria or…" Before she could continue, Maddie had flung the compartment door open and grabbed Edwina, pulling her down onto the empty seat next to her. "You dolt!" She closed the door again, shutting out most of the Slytherin laughter. "You don't want to be seen talking with those filthy Slytherins, do you?"
Edwina simply grinned, though still looking a little shocked from being jerked out of the hallway. "So, Victoria, have you seen him yet? I sure haven't, but I've been looking! We'll see him soon enough I suppose, huh? I'm going to be SO jealous when everybody starts talking in class about you and him and calling you MRS. Harry Potter!" It was then that they felt the train begin to move out of the station. Edwina giggled, though she was the only one in their company who found herself funny.
"You're such a ditz!" Maddie frowned. She rolled her eyes at Freddie and Victoria before quickly changing the subject. Victoria mouthed a "thank you" before looking out the window and watching as the train slowly left the station.
Throughout the train ride, the four stayed in their compartment, talking amongst themselves. Victoria glanced out the window every now and then, watching as the countryside passed by. But mostly she kept her eyes focused outside the compartment. Older students passed by from time to time, talking and laughing with each other. Trying not to be too obvious, she watched the boy named Draco. He was sitting between two very large boys, but he seemed to speak to Freddie's brother Sam most of the time. The sounds of their laughter could be heard from where Victoria sat and she wondered if he would ever look up and catch her eye again…but he didn't. Eventually shrugging off the strange feeling inside her, Victoria joined in the conversation between her friends and before long they had arrived at their destination.
By the time she and her friends managed to make their way out of the train compartment, the boys across the way were already gone. They trudged off the train and onto the platform, immediately noticing the rather large man calling the first years over to him. Victoria looked to Freddie, a smile on her face. "That's Hagrid, isn't it?" He shrugged and returned her smile. "That's my guess. Let's hope all the adults here aren't that huge."
They followed Hagrid down to a lake where they were led aboard small boats. The trip across was truly magical and nothing could compare to the feelings that rushed through Victoria as she took her first glimpse of Hogwarts Castle from the lake. A broad smile crossed her face, a smile she thought would never disappear. She reminded herself that it was about to get even better, though that was hard to believe.
