Dear Bumble Bee-

It rains a lot here, my Aunt and cousin suck, and I am so confused. But really, it isn't all that bad. Don't rip up this letter, believe me, this still is your sardonic, pessimistic BFF Lucky speaking. It's just the sardonic, pessimistic Lucky that went to visit Diagon Alley. Sorry Bee, this place can't be explained in any of your brochures and books. I can't even be trusted with explaining it as great as it is! I got all my school stuff today, books, robes, blah- the real thing was my wand. It is a 10- inch black walnut with mulberry, and it has unicorn hair. One of a kind, the shopkeeper said, very fine. Lydia snottily told me that he said that to everyone, and I told her to...um, well anyway, I got it in trouble, but soo worth it. I was supposed to get a cat today, like "the rest of the family" (like I want to be like them anyway! Besides, look at Melody's psycho cat...do I really want that??) but I managed to talk my Dad into an owl instead. You should have seen the look on Aunt Peggy's face when I won him over. She just about died. I ended up getting spotted owl that I named Fangorn. Haha. I knew you wouldn't like that name. Just don't show it, because Fang will be delivering this letter to you. Give him a nice good rest and everything while he's there!

Anyways, I got some robes, they weren't bad, really. I got way too many books and a big fat cauldron. Dad got me some "Bernie Bott's Every Flavored Beans" and told me to watch out. I'm not sure what he meant by that, but some of these beans are pretty disgusting. I miss you more that the butter misses the fly; you have to come visit my rainy cold paradise soon. I'll write to you weekly, so you have no choice but to answer me. And Fang better come back with a fat letter from you!

LYLAS and all that jazz,
Lucky

I looked over the letter a few more times in the cozy cushions of my desk chair. Fanghorn quietly stroked his feathers in his new iron rod traveling cage beside the desk. I was glad to have an owl. Not only would this pet be useful, but he was creating amusing ruckus around the house with Aunt Peggy and Lydia. Aunt Peggy was running about with her dustbin glued to her hand, muttering feverishly about bird droppings. Lydia was practically paranoid as she carried around her two-ton ugly orange tabby, as if she were afraid Fang would eat the darned thing.

Laughing, I gave Fang another treat. I liked this guy already. I rolled my parchment up and tied it with a pretty red ribbon that I had stolen from Lydia. Let's see if she notices. I tied it masterfully (if I do say so myself) to Fang's leg, and sent him off into the quiet velvet blue night. For the first time since my arrival, the rain had ceased and a clear blue night full of twinkling stars was beaconing outside my window. I left the window open after Fang left, liking the warm breeze that wafted in. Curling up in my canopy queen bed, I for once felt at peace with the world. Then again, the world was asleep right now, all off-duty from the Lucky Bugging Patrol. That's the way I liked it.


"Lucky, if you do not get up and ready yourself within the next thirteen minutes, we will leave without you!" Aunt Peggy's shrill voice rang through my brittle door, threatening me with pleasure. I groaned in reply and heaved myself out of bed. Breakfast would have to be skipped for me, but Lydia had mentioned those snack carts on the train, so that wouldn't be a problem. I pulled on the grotesque outfit that Aunt Peggy had laid out for me. Usually I would have given up a fight worth remembering, but right now, I would have worn my underwear to the train station if it meant finally going. Finally going to Hogwarts. Finally getting away from 1342 Pemberley Court. Finally getting away from Dear Aunt Peggy. Of course, the problem of Lydia would still have to be dealt without, but hopefully I wouldn't see her much, since she was going to be a year ahead and all. Even that seemed unlikely though. I knew I would always be under Lydia's scrutinizing eye as long as we went to the same school, lived in the same country. But why care? After all, this was hopefully my last stay for a long time at 1342 Pemberley Court.

I am such a pro. In a matter of four minutes, I had dressed, tamed my muddy brown hair into a decent ponytail, and collected my already packed bags and nervous owl downstairs. I remembered what Bee had said in the letter that had arrived two days ago; "Friends next door or friends across the sea, you can always count on your little Bumble Bee!" laughing at her lame but cute poetry, I sprang into the kitchen for a bite of toast.

"Luuuccckkkyyyyyy!" My Aunt's voice rang through the house from the foyer where her challenging figure was looming menacingly.

"I'm right here, Aunty!" I said with a grin as I rushed back into the hall and grabbed my bags and owl. She hurriedly stepped aside for the passing of Fang, warily watching my bird with disgust.

"Could you please hold Fang, Aunt Peggy? I can barely carry my things." I said sweetly, smiling and looking sorry. Her eyes widened as she stared at the animal she loathed.

"Well perhaps I'll just take your large bag here..."

"Erm, no, that's impossible to reach right now, under all my other bags!" I shoved the handle to Fang's cage into her open palm and watched her fluster. How amusing.

We managed, somehow, to get five people, a cat the size of a person, and an unnerved bird into the car and to the station. Some of us emerged with well earned cat scratches and bird pecks, but all was good. We were at the London Train Station, headed for Hogwarts.

In my grotesque black jumper and frilly white blouse, I proudly marched in the direction of nine and three quarters. I could feel Lydia on my heels, trying to keep up with me. No chance, Lydia my cousin. I don't have to pretend to like you anymore! I picked up my pace and was practically jogging when I reached Platform 9. Turning, I saw Lydia smirking at me.

"Nine and three quarters," she said with an annoying, know-it-all tone. "Is there!" she pointed and my eyes eagerly followed the path...to a column. A tan brick column, the width of about three me's, was exactly the point she had recognized. I turned to her, my brow furrowed. I had been tricked enough by her "give a little info now, save some for later" crap. I smiled sweetly, it was quite an effort.

"So, why don't you go ahead and get there, I'll wait for the rest." I said compromisingly.

"Oh, I'll wait with you!" she said peppily, her blue eyes dancing. I bet you will, I thought, but didn't say anything. I couldn't wait to get away from her stalking thin figure and straight white teeth, her smooth blond hair and dermatologist's dream skin. It was sickening.

"Okay girls!" my dad had luckily (ha) come to save my day. He rubbed his palms together eagerly. "Here's how it goes, Lucky." He pointed to the same wretched column. Is this some kind of joke? "You are gonna go ahead and just walk right through there, don't worry now, it's all okay, you're supposed to." Naw, really Dad? I thought, becoming quickly annoyed. Anytime people wanted to stop treating me like the Village Idiot, feel free! I nodded slowly at Dad.

"I've got it. It isn't rocket science." I cut in. My Dad nodded sheepishly. In truth, I was actually becoming pretty nervous. Here I was, as conspicuous as anything with my huge, hooting nervous owl and a mountain of luggage, and I was expected to casually walk through a wall. No pressure, now was there?

Lydia was thoroughly enjoying herself. "You can go ahead first Lucky, it will probably help." Oh yeah, and you are just all about help, aren't you Lydia? I wanted to retort. But I had learned my limits. Besides, Uncle Mitchell did my job for me.

"Well, it's best to just get it over with, isn't it? Why Lydia was sobbin' and cryin' she was so nervous about it."

Lydia blushed furiously and shot her Dad an evil eye, which he didn't catch. Grinning, I begin to strut towards the column. This should feel weird, I thought as I took my first step into the column. I closed my eyes and felt what was like cool, smooth water running over me. When I opened them, I was staring at a gleaming red engine with hundreds of cars. The same wizards I saw bustling through Diagon Alley were now bidding their children farewell. Owls hooted and cats hissed. I smiled to myself with relief, when a sudden push on my back sent me almost tumbling to the floor.

"Watch it Lucky, this is like, a main thoroughfare!" Lydia rolled her eyes with annoyance at me. I was about to say something biting back when Uncle Mitchell and Aunt Peggy surfaced through the bricks, followed by a marveled Jack Keefer.

"Wonderful, isn't it?" he said to me, his eyes shining. "We are a bit late, so I can't hold you too long, but I just want to say how proud your Mom and I are of you and how much we love you." Afraid that I wouldn't be able to think up such a cheesy line, I just nodded and hugged my dad tightly. A shrill whistle that shattered my eardrums was sounded behind us, and in one fluid movement a mass of young witches and wizards moved towards the train.

"C'mon Lucky, we must find ourselves a car in the train." Lydia pulled on my shirt impatiently, obviously being put up to this by her parents. With a last smile and wave I said goodbye to Dad and heaved my assortment of bags and birdies onto the train. Lydia was already halfway through the train by the time I was properly on board.

"Here!" she called to me, annoyance dripping from her words. I purposely moved very slowly. When I reached the car she had reluctantly directed me too, I was crestfallen to find two Lydia-look-alikes watching me with interest like I was today's lab specimen.

"Lucky, this is Olivia," she gestured to a willowy pale girl with emerald green eyes and ebony hair. "And this is Hailey," she gestured to the shorter girl at the other side of the cabin, who had dirty blond hair and an exquisitely beautiful face. I nodded to both of them. Olivia had a suddenly pained look, as if a terrible odor had just reached her nose, but Hailey seemed indifferent to me and continued reading her Hogwarts, A History. "I don't know how I am going to cram this all in for the starting exam!" she murmured as she flipped through the pages.

Olivia ignored her, instead focusing her attention on Lydia. Her voice was the same flimsy wail as her thin body. "Lydia, she's a first year, right?" she said, glancing at me as if she were worried I would see her talking about me. Um hello? I thought furiously. She looked at me again with a supposedly sympathetic look, like I was some dejected homeless girl. I gritted my teeth.

"Yes, Livvie, I told you," Lydia said. I was surprised by the impatience in her tone as she talked to the snotty raven-haired girl. "Mum and Pop told me to keep her with me." She explained in a quick, soft voice. Anger welled up inside me again. I could hardly stand it. I would not be able to deal with a whole train ride in a cabin with these people. My hopes of getting away from Lydia while at school were still afloat and I would not let them perish.

"I'm going to go find the snack cart." I said sharply, standing up so quickly that I bumped my head and nearly toppled over again from the jolts of the traveling train.

"It doesn't come by for another forty minutes at least." Lydia sneered. Being with Olivia really brought out the demon inside of her.

"Then I'll go find it!" I said, taking hold of my big bag and dragging it to the door. I heard Olivia mutter 'Taking your bags?' though she looked positively delighted that I should be leaving now. On my way out I heard a satisfying whimper from her as I crushed her toes in the path of my bag. Hah.

So, now I am out here in a narrow hall with nowhere to go. I stared bleakly down the naked aisles and frowned. What have I gotten myself into? Sighing with the discovery of my stupidity, I slowly begin to trudge down the aisle, trying to balance myself against the rumbling jerks of the train. Near the end of the car, I found an empty cabin, much to my delight. The hinges of the door were cracked so it could not be moved, but nevertheless, I had found home for the next few hours. Thankfully unloading my loathsome luggage, I plopped onto a scratchy seat near the window. By nightfall I would be at Hogwarts. I was itching for it's arrival.

"Oh, er, I'm sorry, I..." I jerked my head to the broken doorway and saw a girl my age, of medium height, with gorgeous strawberry blonde hair nearing her waist and gray eyes. She was observing me in confusion, her sentence trailing off.

"Hello." I spoke simply, watching her with curiosity. She seemed surprised for some reason and remained at her position in the door well.

"Hello. Well, I guess I have a cabin partner then!" she said lightly, though she wasn't doing a very good job of hiding her surprise. I blushed, the situation suddenly dawning on me. I hadn't taken an empty cabin. Instinctively I looked overhead and saw a singular luggage carrier. Her luggage. Embarrassed and now as awkward as she, I stuttered myself.

"Oh sorry, I didn't know this was occupied, I'll being moving along then—"

"Oh no!" she said, now inside the cabin. "All the other ones are surely full now anyway, and well, it can get boring on such long trips, company would be nice," she said shyly. She sat on the cushion across from me and held out her hand. "My name is Kylie Brennan. First year." She said proudly.

"Oh...oh, I'm Lucky Keefer." Her eyes widened at the mention of my name.

"Lucky? That is truly your name? Why, how delightful!" she said with a smile. Even though this kind of thing usually reached me with annoyance, I decided that Kylie was probably sincere and smiled back.

"Yeah. Oh yeah it's just super." I said sarcastically. To my pleasant surprise, she seemed to understand my humor and giggled.

"So, then you are a first year too. What house you reckon you'll be in?" she said abruptly. Her eyebrows were wiggling with curiosity. I frowned; I hadn't really considered it, although Lydia had told me plenty about it.

"I guess I'll be Ravenclaw. My cousin says that everyone in our family has always naturally been made for that House. Every Keefer has." I said, recalling her long-winded speech on the Ravenclaw qualities that we Keefer's possess. Kylie nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, families usually will naturally go into the same house, because they share quite a few of the same qualities. Though in my family, with all the different crazy people we have, I have absolutely no idea where I'll be going! Hufflepuff or Gryffindor would be my best guesses, Ma and Pa are Hufflepuffs but my whole Ma's family are proud Gryffindors. It's exciting to guess, no?" she said in her very quick, anxious voice. I nodded obediently, somewhat at awe of the eccentric Kylie Brennan.

"Lydia, my cousin," I explained quickly "Says that each House chooses according to qualities or something..." before I could complete my question, Kylie had jumped on it.

"Oh yes, Hufflepuffs are good, honest workers. Gryffindors are brave. Ravenclaws are intelligent and cunning. Slytherin are...um..." she looked absoultley crestfallen that she could not supply the immediate answers. "Well, you won't be Slytherin anyway, I seriously doubt so, therefore we don't need to worry about that." She amended. I simply nodded again. Kylie seemed sure of her time here at Hogwarts. If only I was.

"You...you are American, correct?" she said timidly. I wondered why she was so timid, I wasn't likely to take offense.

"Yeah, I am. Completely new to all this." I said with a grin. Her eyes lit up.

"Oh! It's super fun, from what I hear! Welcome!" she said with renewed energy. She looked down at the small bag that she had been carrying the whole time and pulled out a textbook. "I can't wait for some of these classes, as nerdy as that sounds!" she held up the black leather book "This one, Defense Against the Dark Arts, sounds so--"

A sharp knock on the sliding glass stopped her praise. I wasn't sure why is was necessary to knock on a broken, hanging open door, but the young girl with fizzy brown hair and slightly large front teeth did so.

"Sorry to bother you, I am looking for something. A missing frog, actually. It is Neville Longbottom's." she said informatively, as if reading off of a card. I shook my head at the stranger. "No frog here." I said simply. She seemed to be confused by my lack of a British accent but didn't say anything. She had suddenly turned her attention on Kylie.

"That is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook, right?" she queried. Kylie looked up, surprised.

"Yes, yes it is. I think the class will be fascinating." She said with growing confidence. The frizzy-brown haired girl nodded eagerly and sat on the edge of Kylie's seat.

"Yes, I do think so too!" she spoke, a bit to eagerly for my taste. "I have read all my books over the summer, thoroughly!" she added. I wondered just who she was trying to impress. I can't wait for the first day!" Then, as if surprised with herself, she suddenly jumped and turned to face me as well.

"So sorry for not introducing myself. I am Hermoine Granger, first year." She said. She reached out her hand just as Kylie had done and we both shook it. Hermoine remarked on Fanghorn's prettiness, giggled at his name, shared her wealth of knowledge on the process of sorting, then she was off in the sharp and demanding flurry that she had come in. Already exhausted with the day, I leaned back in my seat and noticed with excitement that the snack cart had come.

"Oh my am I starving!" Kylie said, reaching into her pocket for a bag of money. I noticed her beginning to count through her assortment of Galleons and Sickles and cleared my throat.

"Err, Kylie, I'm not quite sure yet how to, um...use this money." I said, holding up my own stash of wizarding gold that Dad had given me this morning.

"No worries, I'll count it out for you! Just pick what you want!" I nodded thankfully, and, steering clear of the every flavored beans, I picked out as many chocolate frogs, pumpkin cakes, and every other god-knows-what that I could get. Settling back contently in my chair as the cart rolled away, I sighed and begin to feel drowsy. I pushed away a few of my things and stretched out on my cushion. "Just a quick nap, I'll be up soon..." I murmured to Kylie, who nodded respectfully. I drifted into dreams of Sorting Hats and Houses.
"Lucky?" I felt a timid tug on my shoulder. Groggily, I opened my eyes. It was dark all around me except for the wide gray eyes that reflected the moon as they stared at me with excitement. I looked out the window and saw a huge, looming castle with lights twinkling like diamonds from every hanging. I took a sharp breath.

"Lucky...we're at Hogwarts!" Kylie squealed and pulled on me more forcefully now. I jumped up, catching on to her excitement, and picked up my bags. Fang hooted indignantly. With some effort, we managed to get our bags down and out the chilly, clear autumn night. I immediately saw Lydia standing among her posse, ready to go onto what looked like horseless carriages. She smirked as I approached her and nodded in the other direction. "First years' go that way." She pointed towards the still black lake, looking ominous and intimidating in the night. I shrugged carelessly and walked that way instead, with Kylie at my heels. Nothing could bring me down right now.

"Furst years! Ov'r 'ere!" rang out a deep, gruff voice. My eyes widened as I took in the massive figure looming before me. A giant in a deep green trench coat with hair that looked as though it could swallow me whole was calling out for the new arrivals. Others, just as terrified as I was at first glance, gathered around slowly.

"Now, yer be takin' the lake by boat. Furst year tradition." He said. His voice was surprisingly calm and nice for such an intimdating figure. He smiled over us as if we were his little children, before hustling us off towards the old, mildewed wood boats.

"Some tradition," I grumbled towards Kylie as we stepped into our own dangerously old boat. She laughed quietly and took some oars. Sighing, I took my own. I could see the magical palace off across the lake and I sighed with anticipation.

Beware Hogwarts-here comes Lucky.