Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters and/or places therein.

Author's note: My first real fanfic! Wow, I'm so excited! Originally, this was a collaboration between my friend, and me but she lost interest and said that I could continue it. She had it up on her penname a while ago, so if it looks familiar, don't worry, I didn't plagiarize. And now, on to Chapter one!

Chapter One: Meet the new girl.

Esmerelda Renee Amalyne Henriana Johnson stepped onto the magical platform where she would board the train to her new school. She was a witch from America, but her parents had sent her to live with her older sister in a small city just outside of London.

"I hope I like it here," she thought as she pushed her trolley full of suitcases towards the scarlet train, her long raven colored hair reflecting the artificial lights of the train station. She was so lost in her thoughts, that she didn't realize that she had just wheeled her trolley over someone's foot.

"Ouch!" exclaimed a boy with bright red hair.

"So sorry," said Esmerelda. "Are you okay?"

Ron didn't answer. The girl who ran over his foot was the prettiest thing he had ever seen. Her dark green eyes glittered like loose broccoli that had been in the freezer too long and had a layer of ice over them.

"I said, are you okay?" Esmerelda asked again.

"I'm fine," squeaked Ron, and shook himself out of his stupor. "My name is Ron. Are you new? I haven't seen you around here."

"Yup, my name is Esmerelda Renee Amalyne Henriana Johnson, but you can call me Esmerelda, or just Esme if you want," rambled Esme, sticking out her hand for Ron to shake, which he did.

"Come on, you can sit with my friends, and me" said Ron, leading her into the red train and into a compartment where four boys and three girls already sat.

"Hey guys," said Ron, "This is Esmerelda. Esmerelda, this is Harry," Ron gestured from left to right, pointing at the people he named, "Hermione, Ginny, Colin, Dennis, Neville and Luna."

"It's very nice to meet you," said Esme as she took the seat next to Harry and Ron. "I've been reading about the different houses. Which ones are you in?"

"Everyone's in Gryffindor, except for Luna. She's in Ravenclaw," answered Hermione.

"Wow, I wonder what house I'll be put in. They all sound so fascinating!" said Esme.

The trip dragged on, while Esme got to know her new friends, and they got to learn about her.

"I was born and raised in America, and went to school there, until my parents sent me to live with my older sister, Brynna, here in Britain. You see, they were from here, but they got transferred to America with their jobs. They wanted me to have a 'proper English magical upbringing', so here I am!" Esme finished. She left out the other reason why her parents didn't want her around, because she wasn't a "normal" witch.

"Well, we're glad you're here," said Ginny. "You'll have a really good time at Hogwarts."

Just then, a boy with blond hair and gray eyes, along with two large friends burst into the compartment.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Draco Malfoy asked as he stepped into the room and looked around. "Looks like Weasley here has a new girlfriend. Are you paying her Weasley? 'Cause she's much too pretty to want to hang out with you." Ron's face turned a nice shade of red, while Malfoy sauntered up to Esme and said, "Hey, why don't you come back to my compartment? You don't want to be hanging around with the likes of these."

Now it was Esme's turn to blush, her creamy, porcelain skin turned a nice shade of pink while she politely said, "No thanks, I'm fine here."

Malfoy scowled and left, with Crabbe and Goyle following.

"Who was that?" asked Esme.

"That was Draco Malfoy," answered Harry. "You don't want to get mixed up with him. He's a bad egg."

'Bad egg or not, he's awfully cute!' thought Esme. As she thought this, the train jolted to a halt, and Luna cried, "We're here!"

Esmerelda stepped off the train and wondered what she had gotten herself into. She looked up at the humungous castle and all she could say was, "Wow..."

"It's a bit intimidating, isn't it?" asked Ron, who had stood beside her and was staring at the castle with her.

"Yeah..." Esme trailed off.

"Come on you two," said Ginny, and took Ron's hand and they ran to catch up to Harry and the others.