Chapter 2- Aboard the Hogwarts Express

It was three o'clock in the morning. Daisy woke up to the hoot of an owl breezing by her window. It was September the first. It was her first day at Hogwarts. She couldn't go back to sleep; a sudden burst of excitement burst into her body. She turned her view to the many bags on the floor. She couldn't carry them on her own.

"Lido!" she called to the house elf. Then came Lido, dirty, grubby, and cut.

"Lido, what have you been doing?" Daisy exclaimed, rushing for a facecloth on her night table.

"Lido bad," Lido exclaimed. "Lido disobey mistress! Lido thinks that mistress wants flowers, so Lido goes to garden, and Lido- oh, Lido very bad!" Lido began to bonk his head against a table.

"Goodness, Lido!" Daisy said. "Put yourself together! Just tell me what you did."

"Lido- Lido trips on water bucket. Lido falls over and smashes mistress' roses," Lido cried. "Lido gets dirty and cut, but Lido deserves it!" Lido let out another holler and began the hitting himself on the head again.

Daisy sighed. "Lido! Listen to me."

But Lido ignored her. "Lido!" Daisy said impatiently. "Now! Listen to me now!"

Lido stopped and looked at her, frightened.

"It's okay, Lido. I don't care if you ruined my flowers. I'm not mad. Just tell me next time you're running around outside."

"Lido is remembering that!" Lido cried. "Mistress is good person, Mistress very good forgiving person."

Daisy sighed impatiently. "Lido, can you bring my bags downstairs? I need them down there for when I leave."

Lido widened his eyes. "Young mistress is leaving? No! Young mistress will not leave me here with Sir Stumpy!"

Daisy laughed at the name Lido had for her stepfather, Robert Stumpe. "It's okay, Lido, Robert will be in Switzerland. You'll be here alone. Perhaps we can arrange for you to work at Hogwarts-"

"Oh, no!" Lido screeched. "Lido must work here and keep place safe when masters are away! Lido will protect house and keep clean and not dusty!"

"Whatever, Lido," Daisy said, laughing.

A few hours later, Daisy was standing in Kings Cross Station with Beatrice, Natalie, and Mrs. Stumpe. She looked around and saw few Muggles, but the Weasleys just arriving with Harry. Daisy could suddenly feel her heart beating quickly. That was Harry Potter she saw over next to Ron. She knew it, but couldn't believe it.

"Oh, look, Daisy," Mrs. Stumpe said, nodding toward the Weasleys. "Go say hello to Ginny."

"Well, actually, I'd rather not," Daisy said hesitantly. "I, well-"

"Daisy," Mrs. Stumpe said sternly. "You haven't seen Ginny for nearly two years. It has been only letters that keep you in touch. It would be polite to greet her. I don't see what the problem with that is."

Daisy sighed and walked over to Ginny, keeping her eyes away from Harry. "Hello, Ginny!" Daisy said.

"Oh, Daisy!" Ginny exclaimed, and gave Daisy a hug. Ginny looked over to Harry, but Daisy kept her eyes off of Harry. "Harry, this is Daisy McGinny. She's a friend of mine, just starting at Hogwarts."

Daisy realized that Harry was holding a hand out. "Oh, er-" Daisy held her hand out and shook his hand breifly.

"How do you do?" Harry asked.

"I'm doing good," Daisy said quickly. "Oh, uh, well. I'm doing well. Um, yeah. Wrong grammar." Daisy's stomach sunk and she felt like she was shrinking. She had just made a total fool of herself in front of Harry Potter.

Mrs. Weasley noticed how Daisy felt. "Well, Daisy, you'd better get going back to your family," Mrs. Weasley said to Daisy.

Thank you, Daisy mouthed to Mrs. Weasley, who smiled.

Daisy walked back to Natalie and Beatrice. Mrs. Stumpe was speaking with Alexia's parents.

"How was it?" Natalie whispered, as Beatrice leaned in to listen.

"Absolutely awful," Daisy hissed. "I couldn't remember my grammar, I'm probably just another stupid fan club member to him."

"I knew it," Beatrice said. "Harry wouldn't like you, anyways. He prefers people who treat him like a human instead of a hero."

Daisy scowled at Beatrice. "We'd better get to Platform 9 ¾ before the Muggles begin to arrive."

One by one the three girls and Mrs. Stumpe went through the barrier with their belongings to see a few familiar faces already there. Alexia and Hermione were leaning against the wall talking. Alexia waved and Daisy ran over.

"Oh my gosh, aren't you so excited?" Alexia screeched. "We're going to Hogwarts!"

Daisy nodded frantically and Hermione laughed. "It's not all too amazing, you know," Hermione said. "It's quite hard. Unless you study and go to the library daily, that is. But a few spells are quite difficult in your first year, at least for Ron. He could not pronounce anything! I mean, what an idiot he is, Ron. And Harry-"

Daisy dropped her bag at the sound of Harry's name. "Oh, sorry!" Daisy began to gather her things quickly and Alexia smirked. "Don't smile like that! It's not funny!"

Alexia laughed. Then Daisy laughed. Soon Hermione, Daisy and Alexia were all in hysterics.

A swift wind hovered past them and they stopped laughing, realizing the Hogwarts Express was arriving. Daisy and Alexia smiled at each other excitedly. The train suddenly came to a screeching stop and Daisy tugged Alexia. "Let's go!" Daisy and Alexia grabbed Natalie and dragged her onto the train.

Daisy noticed Ginny tapping her shoulder in the hallway. "Want to sit with us?" Ginny asked.

"Um, I'm probably better of not doing that," Daisy said. Ginny smiled, understanding.

"Well, I'll see you at the sorting!" Ginny said, walking away.

Daisy quickly found Natalie and Alexia, still searching for a compartment. Daisy opened one to find a pretty girl with curly golden hair sitting alone. "Um, may we sit here?" Daisy asked her.

"Whatever, I don't care," she replied.

Daisy looked at Alexia and Natalie nervously. Alexia shrugged, and the three sat down.

Daisy decided she should introduce herself. "My name's-"

"I know," the girl said. "It's Daisy Katherine McGinny."

Daisy decided not to ask how she knew. "This is my second-cousin-"

"Yup, Natalie Geraldine McGonagall," the girl said.

"Well, then," Daisy said timidly. "I suppose you know my friend-"

"Alexia Marie Granger," the girl said, waving her hands sarcastically.

"And, you are… who?" Daisy asked, now a bit annoyed.

"Madison Lee Smith," she said. "It's my first year at Hogwarts. I'm a Muggle-born. I intend to fall in love with Harry before you, so back off."

Daisy looked at Natalie and made a face. "How do you know these things?" Natalie asked.

"I have no idea," Madison said flatly. "But I do have some idea that you-" She turned her head to Alexia. "Are Hermione Granger's distant cousin. And you secretly crush hugely on-"

"La, la, la!" Alexia said loudly, trying to block out Madison's words from Daisy and Natalie's ears.

Madison smiled. "Well, I've decided that you people are on my good side," she said.

Daisy sighed with relief. "Great," she said.

"Get away from the door, Malfoy, and quit spying on all the first years!" Madison screamed at the door.

Daisy laughed as she heard footsteps running from the door in the hallway.

After the four girls had gotten some candies for the journey, Ron came in. "Hey, Daisy," he said to her, smiling. Daisy smiled and waved.

Madison rolled her eyes. "Oh, goodness, Ron! Stop flirting with her!" she cried.

Daisy went instantly red.

"I was not flirting with her!" Ron argued, now red, too. "I was saying hello to her!"

"So you say hello to Daisy, but not anyone else," Madison nodded sarcastically. "That sure isn't flirting, Ron. Now please get out of here before I open the window and throw you below to the alligators. We're on a bridge at the moment, going over a lake!"

She has quite the temper, Daisy thought. Was Ron really flirting with her? This was messed up. Alexia liked Ron. Well, Daisy thought so, anyways. Ron liked Daisy. Daisy liked Harry. But Harry liked either Hermione or Ginny. But Hermione didn't like Harry. It was all spinning in Daisy's head.

She looked over to Alexia, who was turning red as well and looking very disappointed.