A/N: Okay. No weird scene/POV changes in this chapter. '
When the Hogwarts Express finally halted, the students were dismayed by the heavy rain outside. They gingerly stepped off the train, trying not to fall on the slippery surface, although many such accidents occurred anyway. There was a good deal of cursing from the older students and an unusual amount of squealing from the younger ones. Milly, Brody, Jack, and Chloe were huddled beneath a tree, staying out of the way.
"You mean they get to ride in carriages?" Brody was asking reproachfully. He had just been informed of the fact that first-years were to take place in a rain-soaked trip across the lake to get to the castle. Milly nodded grimly.
"Yeah. And we get the boats," she droned in reply, casting her eyes around to find Hagrid in the rainstorm. It didn't take long to find him. Even in the foggy rain he was rather hard to miss.
"There's Hagrid right now. C'mon Brody!" she called to her friend, already rushing toward the drenched half-giant. Jack winked nastily at Brody before sending him off after Milly. "Good luck, and don't drown. Oh and watch out for the giant squid!" he yelled after the eleven-year-old boy.
As she watched the poor frightened boy scamper off, Chloe glared at a grinning Jack. "Jack, it hasn't been too long since you were in first year yourself, and you were just as scared."
Jack rolled his eyes.
"Hagrid!" Milly shouted through the rain. She was following hastily behind the huge man, tugging uselessly at his old moleskin coat. She nearly tripped trying to keep up with him; her legs were hardly a third of the size of Hagrid's.
"HAGRID!" she shouted again, louder. The half-giant finally seemed to take notice of the small dark-haired girl hanging off his sleeve. His black eyes widened and he pulled her into a nearly-bone-crushing hug. Brody merely stood and stared in awe at Hagrid's size.
"You're squashing me, Hagrid," Milly squeaked from underneath his sleeve. He released her quickly and patted her on the head as gently as he could (which still made her stumble a bit).
"So nice teh see yeh 'gain, Miss Milly! Yer a sight for sore eyes, o' course," he greeted her warmly. Milly smiled up at him, blinking at the raindrops falling in her eyes.
Hagrid turned for a moment and yelled hoarsely, "FIRS' YEARS OVER HERE! GET IN THE BOATS!" A huge crowd of first-years made their way toward the sound of Hagrid's voice, one of the only things that could be heard over the howl of the storm. He turned back to Milly.
"Well, we migh' as well go ahead and get ourselves in a boat now, eh? All---" he glanced at Brody, "–three of us. Over here."
They all climbed into a boat at the head of the little fleet. As they began their voyage across the lake, Brody asked curiously, "Why's everyone lighting candles? Won't they go out because of the rain?"
Hagrid and Milly exchanged shrewd expressions. "Brody, you've got a lot to learn, my friend," Milly told him.
"So yer a Muggle-born, eh?" Hagrid asked conversationally. Brody nodded and gulped. He still seemed a little wary of the half-giant, which was perfectly understandable, and yet perfectly unnecessary. Hagrid was one of the kindest people Milly knew.
There was a rather uncomfortable lack of conversation in the little boat. Milly nudged Brody in the ribs. "Stop gaping. Hagrid's wonderful," she whispered, her voice hardly audible over the roar of the storm. Hagrid was busy staring off into the distance, squinting as though he could actually see something through the fog.
"R-right," Brody gulped in reply. "So where are we to go once we get across this bloody lake?" he asked loudly, catching Hagrid's attention again.
"Yer all goin' to the Great Hall. Tha's where yer goin' teh be sorted," Hagrid explained.
"Oh yeah... Cole told me about that. He's in Ravenclaw," Brody said meekly. Milly looked at him quizzically.
"Who's Cole?" she asked, hoping he wouldn't think she was prying.
"He's my half-brother. He's fifteen," he told her quickly.
"Oh." There was a long pause. "Does he... live with you?" Milly asked, deciding to take a risk and delve deeper. Brody didn't seem to mind.
"Not really. I visit him and my dad twice a month, though. I live full time with my mum and my little sister," he said.
"You have a sister? So do I! And a brother, but they're twins," Milly exclaimed, glad that they'd finally found something to talk about. All day she'd been having sad attempts at striking up an intelligent conversation with her new friend, but he'd seemed rather subdued. 'But', she thought, annoyed, 'that was probably because of Chloe.'
"Yeah, my sister is eight years old. I don't think she's got any... you know... magic in her. Like my mum," he added.
"So you must get your magic from your father's side, right?" Milly inquired as they neared the castle. Brody nodded.
"Yes. My dad's a wizard," Brody replied.
"OUT O' THE BOATS, FIRS' YEARS, OUT O' THE BOATS!" Hagrid yelled as the boats slid on to the bank. Milly and Brody smiled at each other nervously.
"We're here," Brody said softly. Milly nodded. At last.
A/N: I can only hope there are some of you who will still review... C'mon... you know you want to!