Part 2

The next few days were full of packing and getting ready to go. My parents had bought me a huge trunk and I was filling it with everything I would need for the year. When I wasn't packing I liked to look through my spell books and practice saying the incantations without the wand. Sometimes I would find my brother looking though my books. He loved Harry Potter more than I did. He even had a fake wand made from a branch.

The night before I left I made sure that everything was packed, and then I locked the trunk and went to bed. It was hard to sleep knowing that tomorrow I was going to go to Hogwarts.

The next morning was a flurry of movement. I ate breakfast and then we piled everything into the car and went off to the nearest subway station. Lillie, my little black and white kitten, was highly opposed to getting back into her kitty cage. She hissed and scratched at me before I could get her in.

When we got to the station, I checked the letter again. The letter said that the train came at exactly 10:00 am. I was pulling my trunk behind me with Lillie's cage balanced on top of it. The time was 9:59. My parents looked nervous and my brother looked exited. He couldn't wait to see the Hogwarts express. I was a mixture of emotions: fear, excitement, sadness, and nervousness.

"It should be here. It should be here. Where is it?" my mom said while staring at her watch. Then I saw it. It just looked like a normal subway train but on the sides it said "Hogwarts Express" in large lettering.

"It's here," I said with a feeling of excitement rising in me.

"It should be here. It should be here. Wait… What?" my mom hadn't noticed the train.

"It is here Mom."

"No, it isn't." Great. The train was another thing they couldn't see. The train whistled; I had to go.

"It is here Mom. I have to go. I promise it'll be okay. I'll write you lots of letters. Maybe you can even send letters back with the owl." I hugged them all and then hurried off to the train.

Although it looked like a subway train from the outside, it didn't look anything like a subway train from the inside. There was a long hallway down the train currently filled with many students. On each side of the hallway were compartments, each deigned to hold four people. I luckily found an empty one. I choose one of the seats near the window and put my trunk, and Lillie's cage on the shelf overhead.

My compartment wasn't empty for long. Soon another three other girls knocked on the door. "May we sit here?" one said. They all looked like sisters, maybe even triplets. They all looked exactly the same with their long blond hair, blue eyes, and the same clothes as each other.

"Sure, you can sit here," I said.

"Thanks," the same girl replied and then they bustled in and put their trunks up on the rack overhead. "Hi, I'm Matilda Vane," said the girl who had first spoken, as she sat down next to me. "And these are my sisters, Mackenzie Vane, and Melanie Vane," Melanie had just sat down in the other window seat. Matilda kept talking, "We're all starting our first year. Who are you?" I smiled politely and said,

"I'm Laura Jones and I'm also in my first year." Matilda, Mackenzie and Melanie Vane were defiantly triplets if they were all in the same year.

"Hi, Laura," they said in unison with a sickly sweet voice.

"You're lucky to have been picked for the exchange trip," said Melanie.

"What exchange trip?" I asked. They looked surprised that I could be so dumb. Then they explained how if it weren't for Dumbledore deciding to do an exchange trip we would be going to Syliums' American School of Magic. They also explained that everyone on this train were first years, and the train was much smaller than the whole Hogwarts express. There were kids that would have gone to Hogwarts that were going to Syliums.

"Daddy of course pushed the Minister of Magic to have us go on exchange," bragged Matilda.

"He says that Syliums is a horrible school," Mackenzie said.

"And that no child of his was going to go there," finished Melanie.

"What about you?" coursed the three of them. They were starting to creep me out. The way they finished each other's sentences and said things in unison was like they all had the same brain.

"I didn't know I was going to any magical school until a week ago. I had never heard of Syliums, but I had heard of Hogwarts." Their smiles became very strained.

"Did you happen to read," said Matilda.

"A book called," added Mackenzie.

"Harry Potter?" finished Melanie.

"Yes I have, I'm a fan, and I've read all six." I smiled but then stopped. Their faces were grim.

"Joann Kathleen Rowling is a traitor to our hidden society," snapped Matilda.

"She had been banned from our world," said Mackenzie.

"She has endangered all of our lives," Melanie once again finished the statement.

"So Harry Potter is not real?" I asked.

"He is fiction," said Matilda.

"But our world is real," continued Mackenzie.

"We do not speak of Rowling nor the books," finished Melanie with malice. Their eyes bore into me for a moment before they all snapped on smiles and said in unison,

"Want to play a game of exploding snap?" So for the rest of the ride they taught me how to play exploding snap. It was fun but the triplets still scared me.

"The ride is almost over. We should change into our robes now," said Matilda.

"The line for the changing rooms will be really long," said Mackenzie thoughtfully.

"I'll create some curtains! Curtain Videor." Melanie waved her wand and two curtains divided the room in fourths so that we could change in privacy. I looked out the window. It was black. We were in a tunnel like we had been for the whole ride. I opened up my trunk and took out the robes on top. I took them out and put them on. Now I really felt as if I was living at Hogwarts. No more muggle clothes till Christmas.

"Is everyone changed?" came Melanie's voice. Everyone replied yes so she made the curtains disappear.

Slowly the train started rising and the world came into view from out the window. I couldn't see Hogwarts but I could see a long line of horseless carriages. We got off the train and into one of the carriages. Now that Matilda, Mackenzie, and Melanie were in different seats, I couldn't tell one from the other. Then as we rode Hogwarts came into view, but up ahead were many more carriages that didn't come from our train.

"Those must be the regular Hogwarts students," said one of the Vane Triplets. Then the carriage stopped and all four of them got out. A huge man was yelling

"Firs' years over her'!" It could only be Hagrid. He was twice as tall as a normal man and had long tangled hair and a shaggy beard. The Vane Triplets exchanged glances of disapproval.

Hagrid led them to a lake with many boats on the edge. The Vane Triplets seemed very hesitant but I jumped right into the front. One of the girls, I couldn't tell which, gasped. Then they cautiously climbed in after me. As the boats rowed themselves through the lake I watched Hogwarts grow with awe. I could tell the Vane Triplets were in awe too.

The building was huge. There were four towers on each corner rising at least three stories above the rest of the building. The main building was 7 stories high and made entirely from stone. As we approached the school we went into a small cavern and then got out. Then Hagrid led us up one flight of stairs to the ground floor. To our left was the main doors, to our right was the marble staircase and across the landing was the Great Hall. A teacher was standing in front of us. She was an old woman, her grey hair was up in a tight bun and her face was serious.

"I am Professor McGonagall," she said, "through that door is the Great Hall, but before you can have a start of term feast you must be sorted into your house. Your house will be like your family. The Sorting Hat will put you in the correct house. Now come." Her voice rang with authority and all the first years followed her nervously.

The great hall was a huge room with five tables, one for each house and one for the teachers. The ceiling was very far up and there were many candles floating in mid air. The ceiling was bewitched to look like the sky above it. The day was cloudy. Professor McGonagall brought in a stool and a hat, and then the hat started singing. I listened even though I already knew about the different houses. Then Professor McGonagall started calling names. Various students were put in different houses. I wasn't paying attention, until "Jones, Laura," rang out through the hall. I walked up to the stool and took the hat and put it on my head. It thought a few seconds before declaring

"RAVENCLAW!" I took the hat off smiling. I hadn't been sure what house I would be in, but if I could choose any, it would have been Ravenclaw. Ravenclaws were known for their knowledge. The other members of my house cheered as I started walking towards the table, rubbing my ears. Why did that hat have to yell so loudly?

I walked to the Ravenclaw table. It was the third table from the door. I chose a seat next to another first year girl and the sorting continued. The Vane Triplets were all sorted into Ravenclaw. It seemed rather pointless to sort them separately. They all seemed to have the same brain, so what were the chances they would be in different houses?

Finally the sorting was over. I stared at the plates knowing what was about to happen. "Before the feast starts I would like to add some start of term notices." I had forgotten about Dumbledore's speech. I was hungry and couldn't wait for the food to appear. Dumbledore was a tall, old man with a long white beard that touched his belt and white hair that was even longer. "First years should note that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds. Filch would like all students to know that the list of items not allowed in the hallway has covered his entire door and any student who wishes to read it, can. Students may have heard of the exchange program going on between Hogwarts and Syliums. There are some first year students that would have otherwise gone to Syliums but have come here. I hope that you make these students feel welcome. There are some first years that have gone to Syliums that would have come here." I was part of that program, and I really hoped I wouldn't be that different from all the other students. "Now with no more delay; let the feast BEGIN!" With his last word food appeared on the serving plates. There was turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, steak, spaghetti, meatballs, and vegetables. To drink there was water, pumpkin juice, milk, and fruit punch. I ate as much as I could; everything tasted so good.

Eventually everyone was stuffed. I looked at the bench that I was sitting on, whishing it was a chair so that I could lean back. I, and it looked like everyone else, was ready to go to bed. Dumbledore dismissed us and we all got up. I followed the pack of Ravenclaws up the marble staircase. When we got to the top, the Ravenclaws turned left and the Gryffindors turned right. We turned down a few more hallways and stopped in front of a painting of an old man. "Purplenut," said a prefect to the painting. The old man swung open and the crowd followed the prefect in.

The Ravenclaw common room was huge. There were a dozen tables four dozen chairs for working and many soft chairs, six of them were in front of a roaring fire. There were also two sofas. In the back of the room were two staircases, one to the left and one to the right. I followed the rest of the girls up the left staircase that went up one flight before depositing us into a hallway. There were doors on each side; I had to go down to the second to last door on the right. I knew it was mine because it said "First Years" on it. Seven beds were lined up in the room, and my trunk was at the foot of the bed farthest from the door. I was the last girl to arrive, the Vane Triplets, and three other girls were already there. On top of my trunk was Lillie's cage. I could see that she was eager to be let out, so I asked,

"Is anyone in here allergic to cats?" The Vane Triplets said no in unison and the three other girls mumbled a no, so I let Lillie out. She gave me a disapproving look then jumped up onto my bed. I then took my pajamas out and changed behind the curtains of my bed. Then I went to sleep, it had been a long day.