Author's note: Heyhey, you have stumbled upon chapter three of the saga of the first year of descendants of Harry, Ron, and Hermione at Hogwarts and 4 other friends of theirs.

Disclaimer: I own nobody whose younger version appears in any of the works of JK Rowling, nor any places affiliated with Hogwarts. The Raspberries are all my mind-babies! *Grin*

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Janine was in the midst of a pleasant dream, memories of the summer camp she had returned from just a week before. She had made many friends there, and considered it one of the better weeks she had experienced in the course of her lifetime. A small smile was playing on her slumbering expression. The alarm clock next to her ed was ticking noisily, the minute hand inching towards the designated time for it to go off. it was 5:27 in the morning on September the first.

The black minute hand hit the slight groove in the clock indicating that it was half past five. "Gong! Gong! Gong! Time to get up! Gong! Gong! Gong!"

The dream lost, Janine grumbled and groggily pushed herself onto her elbows, wearily glaring at that annoying mechanical device. When the tool of a bell sounded again, Janine struck the snooze button and rolled over. However, sleep stubbornly refused to return, and when the alarm sounded once more, Janine resignedly turned it off and softy climbed out of bed. She headed towards the bathroom she shared with her two younger brothers, her bare feet softly padding against the plush carpet of her bedroom.

Suddenly, the gravity of the situation hit her- she was heading off to boarding school for the first time. This realization aroused a nervous fluttering in the pit of her stomach. She would be away from home for three months straight, in an unfamiliar bed, until Christmas break. She worried about the possibility of homesickness, or that she might dislike the Wizarding School. What if she didn't fit in? The worst possibility was that the school could be overrun by elitist preps that criticized every superficial detail of a person. She had struck a turning point in her life; Janine Cooper was no longer a little kid. She had turned eleven in May, and was on the verge of adolescence.

'I certainly don't look it, though,' Janine said, critically scrutinizing her reflection as she changed into a pair of baggy jeans and a RaBuF t-shirt, pulling a hooded sweatshirt on top. Her mirror image seemed to scream, "Little kid!" She stuffed her pajamas into her bag; she would get them laundered at the school eventually. RaBuF was definitely the best brand out there; Janine viewed Aurora Meek, the owner of the line, as nothing short of a goddess. The woman seemed to make a style for everybody! Goths and preps alike shopped at the store, just in different sections. Tossing remaining knickknacks into her already over packed trunk, the Hispanic girl descended the stairs for a rather early breakfast.

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Gwen awkwardly paced the proximity of King's Cross Station, feeling rather misplaced. Ever the early birds, the Meeks had left their home in Birmingham early enough for their new car, a Ford Bruinen, to pull into the station at ten, an hour before the train was scheduled to depart. Gwen idly pushed her trolley around as her parents Marco and Aurora Meek pored over the train ticket. The platform number was confusing them.

"Gwen, Sweetie, are you certain they did not make an error on the ticket?" Mr. Meek queried for what seemed to be the umpteenth occasion, his eyebrows knitting together in a frown over the scrap of paper.

Gwen gnawed her lip slightly. She was not absolutely sure, and they had arrived so outrageously early that they would have to wait to eavesdrop on conversations of other possible wizards.

The girl idly tugged on one of her sandy curls, her turquoise eyes casually surveying the station. Her father was off asking conductors if they had heard of platform Nine and Three-quarters (and was getting a lot of dumbfounded, calculating stares) while her mother was thumbing through several maps of England. Suddenly, a tall, slim blonde girl about her age swaggered into view- she had a slightly snobbish aura about her- and she seemed to be criticizing what seemed to be a younger sister.

"This place is filthy!" the girl fumed. "Don't these Muggles ever clean anything?"

"Marigold..." her father chided, a warning sort of tone in his voice. "That is the platform over there." Oddly enough, he was pointing to a solid brick all between platforms nine and ten.

"Mom, I think she may be another student," Gwen whispered, deciding to take the risk of approaching this other girl. She confidently strode over to the blonde with a friendly smile on her face. The other girl halted, a mien of analysis on her face. Close-up, this girl Marigold was proved to be very good-looking, definitely older than herself. Gwen began second-guessing the opinion she had formed that this other girl was her age. She had a small, pert nose, and almond-shaped cerulean eyes.

"Can I help you?" the blonde asked haughtily, flippantly tossing her blonde hair over her narrow shoulders.

"Yeah, do you by any chance know where platform Nine and Three Quarters is?" Gwen asked hesitantly.

The blonde sneered. "In the wall, Mudblood." Without even waiting for a reply or Gwen's question about what a Mudblood was, she did an about-face and flounced away to follow her parents, heading for the barrier her father had indicated. Nonplussed, being one with a slow temper, Gwen coolly watched the blonde approach the wall, and- disappear through it. She blinked, wondering if it was a trick of the light, but the blonde had vanished. Gwen decided to attempt the same sort of thing Marigold or whatever her name was had done. Summoning all the courage of her kind heart, Gwen steered her trolley to point precisely at the brick barrier, and hesitated momentarily to scrutinize the barrier. It looked to be a solid brick wall, and bound to inflict bodily harm. Forcing herself to focus exclusively on doing what that other unpleasant girl had done, the preteen tossed her head of curly hair, her usual way of symbolically shaking off nerves, and strolled casually towards the wall. Suddenly remembering her parents, Gwen steered the trolley bearing her purple RaBuF trunk over to where tall, slender Aurora Meek stood waiting for her young daughter to return.

"Mom, I think I perhaps have found another student at my school. She did something weird, I swear she went right through that wall!" Gwen knew she sounded loopy, but she was merely reporting what her turquoise eyes had beheld.

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Christina Zzra, as a half blood and daughter of a Hogwarts graduate, knew precisely how to get to the school train. Besides, her older brothers Curt, who was entering his fourth year as a Ravenclaw student and third-year Gryffindor Craig had already told her about everything from the snack cart on the train to the Sorting Hat to the unpleasant Potions teacher, Professor Snape. That subject, for one, was a class this pre-teenager was /not/ anticipating with joy. She was clad in her favourite Turpid shirt that irked her parents so much and her black lace up pants to wear on the train until she was obliged to change. She wanted to flaunt her true identity: an emerging rebel. She couldn't help but smirk slightly at Curtis' tie and button-up shirt- he was such a notorious perfectionist.

"Dude, is that Platform Nine and Three Quarters?" Christina inquired, already knowing the answer as she pushed by a tall girl with sandy hair. Typical prep, the bespectacled girl thought with a quivering smirk as she absorbed the fact that the entirety of her attire, plus her nauseatingly purple trunk, came from what she disgustedly dubbed the "preppie section" of the Bristol RaBuF store. Aside from that, her clothes looked to be among the most expensive, hence making her a rich preppy snot. Craig nodded, basically dismissing his sister by means of shoving his wire-rimmed glasses up his nose. He observed that she wasn't totally immersed in waiting for a reply anyway, but was staring at a tall girl who looked about fifteen, who was taller than himself.

To Christina's distaste, Prep Girl actually found the audacity in herself to directly address her. "Er.. Excuse me, but what do you mean by Platform Nine and Three Quarters?"

So this girl was a Muggle too. Knowing about Code something-or-other, Christina switched herself to Lying mode, adding in the opinion formulated by her assessment, and saying, "None of your business," in an icy tone.

**************************************************************************** **** Gwen's eyebrows shot up; wizarding folk did not seem a very amiable group of people. It was as if they were all conspiring to be downright discourteous to her. She felt a faint stir of anger in her slow temper, but overcame it with a snap. This auburn-haired girl was speaking condescendingly in a similar manner, but Gwen somehow detected something different, "Excuse me, I do believe you misunderstand me. it's on my train ticket."

The hostile look softened very slightly, but the petite girl in black was still looking at her in an appraising manner, almost as if she were sizing her up. Suddenly, Gwen realized what she was possibly thinking. that she, in her relatively pricey clothes, was a rich, conceited snob. There was nothing she could do to change the dark-eyed girl's opinion, but she could still be friendly, perhaps penetrating the hard shell she seemed to be putting on. "Well, it's in the wall."

"Some other person also told me that. But what am I supposed to do?" Gwen asked. **************************************************************************** ********* Christina sighed at the unceasing idle talk, but decided to maintain her sub-zero composure and at least help the perky tall girl out. All the same, she was surprised that the girl even needed directions- did her appearance belie her age or was she utterly devoid of two brain cells to rub together? "Just. come with me, I guess," the olive-skinned eleven-year- old said, watching the retreating back of Curtis disappear through the barrier. It seemed her parents and Craig had already passed through- nice way to show report for a student beginning her first-ever day at the school.

"Thank you," Gwen said, offering a smile. In spite of herself, Christina's lips curved upward in return- this girl seemed okay enough, she surmised, though she definitely needed more analysis before she would even consider extending the hand of friendship.

"Well, then. Let's go through together. Just don't be scared you'll break one of your precious nails crashing into the barrier, because then you will. Believe you'll pass through."

The girl lifted her hand and looked at her nails, which Christina observed to be rather short. It was nice to know there was one superficial entity she didn't care for perfectly. "What nails?" she laughed. Christina couldn't contain the smallest of smiles at the light-hearted joke.

"Well, what are we waiting for, then? Let's go. And don't draw no attention to us now, bandying on about the platform number and such." Gwen nodded in compliance to Christina's orders, and hugged her parents farewell before squeezing her eyes tightly shut and walking towards the barrier. The back of the small auburn-haired girl was already retreating.

Christina passed through fluidly with ease and no worries, and stopped her trolley before turning to wait for Gwen. What if she /had/ crashed headlong into the brick wall? That would be bound to be painful. She half-debated going back through to look for- suddenly, she realized she didn't know the girl's name- her, when she came through, eyes shut.

"Eh. I do believe you can open your eyes now," Christina said. The eyelids snapped open to reveal a pair of turquoise eyes that widened in awe at the scarlet steam engine.

"Well, what do you know, I actually did it," she stated with a smile and a toss of her thick curls. "I've just realized something- we don't even know each other's names, and we've been talking and stuff how long?"

"Well, we ought to amend that then." Christina said, suddenly realizing that she had managed to last in an actual conversation with this girl without being too nauseated. "I'm Christina Zzra, lifelong resident of Bristol, terror of her neighborhood." She cracked a wide grin.

Gwen smiled at the other girl's introduction of herself. "And I'm Gwen Meek, overly-obsessed track person, Birmingham girl, artist." She left out that she was the daughter of the renowned Aurora Meek, she did not feel like rubbing the other girl- no, Christina's, nose in the wealth of her family.

"Okay, that's great then," Christina said, trying futilely to insert her trademark sarcasm into her tone. She was almost beginning to feel affable towards Gwen. "Listen, do you want to share a compartment with me since I have nobody better to ride to Hogwarts with?"

Gwen blinked at Christina's somewhat stinging remark about having nobody better to ride with, then she decided to assume that this was Christina's idea of being sociable. The two girls began to walk along the length of the train after Christina gave her parents a small wave, looking for a compartment devoid of other students.

When they passed a compartment three doors from the back, Gwen was displeased to spot the unpleasant girl from before glaring back at her. She was sitting with an overly skinny girl with long, wavy golden hair, and donning extremely tight pants and a baby tee. She hastened her steps trying to void confrontation, much to Christina's puzzlement, but the skinny blonde and the one with the blonde layers who had snubbed Gwen jumped off, deliberately stepping right in front of them to impede their progress.

"Excuse us, but you're in our way," Christina said, black eyes glaring fit to kill at the two blondes. We may be first years but you still don't scare us."

The skinny blonde laughed harshly. "For your information, we're first years, too. You guys must be extremely stupid."

Christina clenched her jaw in mounting fury. "Us, stupid. Yeah, that's a good one. I don't imagine you guys have the ability to increase your intelligence, what with spending so much time on your hair. and nails. And putting your faces on!"

"You're just jealous because we have boobs and you don't. though your friend has at least that one good thing about her. probably the only good thing. Tell her she ought to try and use a hair straightener, so she can actually have hope."

"Not the most perspicacious of people, are you?" Christina retorted, meanly satisfied to watch them exchange befuddled glances at her pretentious dialect.

"Bloody hell, Four-eyes, your words are bigger than you are!" the girl with the layered haircut said with a condescending gibe that made Christina yearn to sock her in the mouth. "But one must warn you not to mess with Marigold Parkinson, or I'll have my relatives after you. We're very- influential, people."

"So that's your name, is it?" Christina snorted. Well, my mom has heard differing opinions."

"Yeah? And who the hell are you and your friend anyway?" Marigold rejoined, shooting a nasty glance at Gwen. "Not that I care about her, I can tell a Mudblood just by looking at them."

"You watch your mouth!" Christina said. "I bet you've never fought anybody in your life, unlike me! And I don't give a bloody damn about your sodding family anyway! By the way, you'll have to find out our names for yourselves, unless your friend tell us hers first!"

"Well, then, feisty are we? Laura Downs and I consider it a waste of time talking to you two. And your names aren't important anyway."

"For your information, I'm Christina Zzra, and this is Gwen Meek, and I do believe my mom knows yours," Christina said.

"She does indeed, and I happen to know that your father's a dirty Muggle who gets himself all greasy every day, just like a commoner," Marigold pronounced. "And your name confirms you as a Mudblood, Meek. My, my, my, you certainly a meek little girl, aren't you?

Meek little girl, indeed, Gwen thought cynically in her mind, but didn't verbalize her opinion. "No, I just don't give a care what someone like you has to say."

You won't be so high and mighty after we get through with you two," Laura said ominously. "It'll be a bloody miracle if you find any friends other than each other; nobody likes Mudbloods or Muggle-lovers!"

"You want to bet?" Christina said. "I'm not nearly as dense as your little peabrain makes me out to be, and I know that loads of Muggle-borns are enrolled at Hogwarts. And that not all so-called 'purebloods' have your twisted, biased opinion." She clenched her fist in case either of the odious snobs made a move to fight them.

Gwen placed a hand on Christina's shoulder, noticing the warning side of her temper getting the better of her. "So you two think you're better than us at everything, do you? Tell me, which of you two are more athletic?"

Laura and Marigold exchanged disdainful glances, and Gwen was pleased to realize that meant they considered sports to be beneath them. They certainly did seem the type to be loath to do anything that would knock a hair out of place. "Laura," Marigold replied after a few seconds. "And exactly why does that matter?"

"So you think you're better than me at everything because I'm Muggle- born?" Gwen challenged. Cristina was startled to notice that Gwen did seem to have a confrontational streak; not the sort that was conventional in her opinion, but it worked.

"You're bloody right, I am better," Laura boasted.

"How well can you run?" Gwen inquired.

"Very fast indeed," Laura claimed, knowing very well that was not true. She was somewhat speedy, but she knew many who surpassed her. It mattered not whether this Meek girl was better than her, it was not like it made any difference anyway. She still had filthy blood.

"I bet Laura could have finished four miles while you two are still on your first!" Marigold put in.

"That's a very, er, high claim indeed," Christina said with a contemptuous smile curling her lips upwards. "Of course, you will need that you can beat Gwen out here, who I surmise can outrun almost anybody." She knew she was taking a great chance praising this girl who she hardly knew yet was beginning to feel a connection to, but she could not allow these elitists to maintain their feeling of superiority. Gwen couldn't help but smile to herself, Christina's heated words were the truth though out of the four, only she herself knew them to be accurate.

"Really, then. I bet," Marigold articulated, her tone dripping with venomous scorn.

"That's great you want to place a bet?" Christina asked. She was one who had often gambled with her spare cash in elementary school, and had won them more often than not.

"I didn't mean that for real, moron," Marigold responded with a biting riposte. "As if either one of you could afford a bet anyway." Gwen was dressed in rather nice clothes, but Marigold Parkinson would "slum it" in an outfit over actually complimenting that frizzy-haired girl any day.

"How much? Or are you a pair of chickens" Christina inquired. She knew that Marigold was likely to pose a high sum, which could prove disastrous if Laura wasn't actually all talk. Her family was merely middle class while Marigold unfortunately was upper class.

"Twenty-five Galleons," Laura answered simply.

"Thirty," Marigold snapped with a sharp look at her follower.

"Perhaps we should go a little easy on them, judging by their financial status!" Laura chuckled.

Marigold was obviously appeased by her friend's answer. "Good one! Twenty-five then, if you can afford it. Can you?"

"I certainly can!" Christina lied, feeling her stomach sink. She couldn't, she could only afford fifteen at most, but she would rather scarf down a raw, living bird than admit this to the exclusive blondes confronting them. She was oblivious to other students passing by and giving curious stares.

"It's a bet, then" Laura said. "Tell you what, two times around the lake, does that sound good, Gwen?" She had heard that Hogwarts had a small lake, which would be perfect. A very short run couldn't hurt her.

"It certainly does, it sounds perfect," said Gwen with a confident smile that the blonde she was facing off with did not return. "First nice free day we have, we'll meet you guys there."

"Go away, now, we'll see you by the lake," Christina snarled.

"Oh, we were just leaving, weren't we, Mari? We don't wish to waste any more of our time with you, do we?"

"We certainly don't!" Marigold said. "See you soon, Mudblods, and don't let the decent students get you! With a mocking laugh, she linked her arm with Laura's Twiggy-esque limb and sauntered away.

"Have fun putting new faces on!" Christina called after their retreating backs. Laughing, she and Gwen continued on to find the rear compartment available. Together, they heaved their luggage into the small room and took their seats.

"I haven't got twenty-five Galleons!" Christina said, sounding panicked. "Please run to win, Gwen!" Her face looked a little pale.

"Don't worry, Christina, I feel rather confident somehow," said Gwen, debating whether to speak of her numerous past triumphs and deciding against it. "I think I can beat that underweight powder puff. How much do you reckon she is anyway, fifty-five pounds?"

"That sounds a little high for Laura, I don't reckon she even knows what nourishment is. She's a starved Barbie doll, she seriously makes a Barbie look fat!" Christina laughed with a hearty guffaw.

"I bet a Barbie sitting on her could crush her to death," Gwen mused, causing Christia to giggle some more. Then she grew solemn.

"But what if we do lose?" Christina implored, still sounding worried.

"Then I've got us covered," Gwen said, snapping open the clasps on her trunk and withdrawing a small sack. She pulled it open to reveal a rather high amount of small gold and silver coins. Christina's jaw fell open slightly with surprise; Gwen was even wealthier than she'd believed at first. "My mom gave me about two hundred Euros to last me until Christmas in case I need money before Christmas.. And she said she'll send more if I need it. I changed it for wizard money."

"What exactly do your parents do, anyway?" Christina questioned, watching her newfound friend replace her change in the trunk and snapping them back shut. Her friend was without a doubt loaded, and that would come in handy.

"Dad's a doctor, and Mum has a clothing line," Gwen said simply. Christina accepted that as the obvious reason for that apparently immeasurable wealth. and she hadn't been conceited about it either, even to show up Marigold and Laura.

Their conversation was interrupted by a medium-skinned girl in a hooded sweatshirt and baggy jeans sticking her head of reddish-brown curs into the compartment. "You guys wouldn't mind too much if I joined, would you? There's no empty compartments I can use."

"No need to sit all alone, you can join us, Gwen said, patting the vacant seat on her left. The newcomer gratefully ascended with her suitcases.

"I'm Janine Cooper, this is my first year. You guys?"

"Ours too," Christina replied. "I'm Christina Zzra, and this is Gwen Meek."

"Where are you two from? I'm from Cordor, England.. Rhymes with Mordor, and sometimes it does seen like Mordor to me! Wait.. You two might not know what I'm talking about. have either of you ever read Lord of the Rings?"

"I saw the movies," Gwen answered, at the same time Christina intoned, "Are you kidding? About ten times.. They're my favorite books of all time! I'm a regular Lord of the Rings geek, and people are always like, why do you read such thick books, Christina?"

"Then I think the three of us will get along fine. just a word of advice, Gwen.. You ought to read the books, they're better than all three of the movies, they didn't do the books justice."

"Really? I found the movie awesome," Gwen answered. "But I have been intending to check out the books, I just never have time."

"I'll loan you my copy," Janine answered earnestly. "By the way, I noticed you guys seemed hacked off before passing by. what was going on with those two overly-primped blondes, anyway?" Gwen explained about the bet the same time as Christina launched into a tirade about elitists.

"Hmm. those two sound like the sort I enjoy making fun of," Janine said thoughtfully. Suddenly, the doors closed. "I do believe we're leaving.. We're going on the first great adventure of our very boring lives!"

"Journey to Mordor.. No, wait, you come from here," Christina giggled. For the duration of the ride, the girls discussed the books and movies animatedly, Janine and Christina explaining to Gwen exactly why the movie had wrecked the story.