CHAPTER NINE: IMAGINATION

Somewhere in Northern Scotland

Sunday 2:50pm

1st September 1994

(BTW, this is a flashback, in case any of you get confused.)

There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy that Harry had passed on platform nine and three quarters came in. He looked tearful.

"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad?"

When Harry and Ron shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"

"He'll turn up," said Harry.

"Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him…"

He left.

Harry and Ron turned back to their conversation. Ron was fascinated by Harry, the Boy-Who-Lived, but Harry was equally fascinated with Ron's lack of knowledge of all things muggle.

Another knock disrupted them, only this time, it was a blonde girl of about thirteen poking her head around the doorway. She was wearing jeans and a light blue jumper, her hair pulled up into a complicated looking bun, with…her wand!…the only thing holding it up.

"You guys haven't seen a toad around here have you?" she asked with an easy grin.

"Sorry," Harry replied.

"Not unless you count chocolate frogs," Ron replied, munching on the last of the frogs.

The blonde girl nodded and was about to leave when a thought suddenly struck her.

"Wait…you're Ron, aren't you?" Buffy asked the chewing boy.

Ron swallowed nervously, wondering how she knew him. He nodded, still looking worried.

"Awww, you're so cute," she teased him. "Ickle Ronniekins."

Ron flushed a bright red, and looked at the blonde girl in absolute horror. How had she known that humiliating nickname?

"Sorry, couldn't resist," she apologised. "Name's Buffy Summers. Your brothers and I are friends."

"Gryffindor then?" Ron asked.

"Yup," Buffy replied proudly. "Third year. So…who's your friend?"

"Oh, uh…Harry," the black-haired boy introduced himself. "Harry Potter."

"Nice to meet you Harry," Buffy replied, holding out her hand for him to shake.

Ron looked somewhat shocked that Buffy hadn't reacted as he and his brothers had upon hearing the famous name. He supposed that she might have just had more tact than his brothers had.

"Um…Buffy, can you maybe explain something for us?" Ron asked timidly.

"Possibly," she replied as she took a seat opposite them.

"How…how do the students get sorted?" Ron asked.

Buffy suddenly went deadly serious for a moment, her quietness making the two boys nervous.

"Well…no, I…I'm sorry boys, I wouldn't want to frighten you," she said sombrely.

The two boys paled in fear and glanced at each other.

"Is it...Fred mentioned wrestling a troll," Ron whispered.

"He told you?" Buffy asked, completely horrified. "You're not meant to know that beforehand. Maybe…maybe I should let the Headmaster know that you know. He might think of something else for you to go up against. A werewolf maybe."

Ron let out a small whimper, and Buffy couldn't hold the straight face any longer. She began giggling, much to Harry and Ron's shock. They suddenly realised that they'd been played, and their faces showed their indignation at having such a stunt pulled.

"That was terrible," Ron complained. He thought about it for a moment before suddenly grinning. "I don't suppose you could teach me how to pull something like that without giving it away?"

Buffy just smirked and shook her head. "A magician never reveals her secrets," she quipped.

Harry perked up at the mention of magic.

"Could you maybe…I dunno, show us something?" Harry asked curiously. "I've never really seen much magic."

Buffy shrugged and pulled her wand out of her hair, the blonde locks falling around her shoulders now that her wand was no longer holding her hair in place. She pointed her wand at Ron's rat Scabbers that was lying asleep in his lap.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

The rat suddenly squeaked as it floated upwards, controlled by Buffy's wand. The two boys grinned as the rat began to do an impressive tap-dancing routine in the air.

The door suddenly opened again, and Buffy's concentration was shattered. The rat began to fall, and Buffy barely managed to catch it before it dropped to the ground.

"Good reflexes," the newcomer commented.

Buffy shrugged modestly. "I was a Seeker for a year, they had to be. Any luck with finding Trevor?"

"No," the bushy-haired girl replied. "Neville's almost beside himself."

"Trevor?" Ron repeated in confusion. "Neville?"

"Oh, Neville, my brother, he's lost his toad, Trevor," Buffy explained. "Have you guys met each other?"

The three first years all shook their heads, the two boys staring at Hermione in confusion.

"Hermione Granger, meet Ron Weasley and Harry Potter," Buffy said.

"Harry Potter?" Hermione repeated. "I know all about you, of course – I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."

"Am I?" Harry asked, feeling dazed.

Buffy bit back a grin at the girls' enthusiasm. It was endearing in a strange way, and she knew that the first year girl was somewhat nervous…terrified really, of being at Hogwarts.

"Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best. I hear Dumbledore himself was one, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad…Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You'd better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."

With that, she left, leaving two stunned first year boys and a bemused third year girl staring after her.

"Well…that was definitely an experience," Buffy said, slightly dizzy from the quick way Hermione had of speaking. "Listen, if you stumble across a toad, do you think you could come and find me? I'm sitting in with your brothers, Ron."

Ron and Harry both nodded and Buffy stood up. She opened the door, but before leaving, she couldn't resist one parting shot.

"It was great meeting you guys. Bye Harry…Ronniekins."

Before Ron could even retort, the door had closed, leaving the two first years completely baffled by the two girls that had entered and exited their compartment so quickly. Ron sighed, realising he still didn't know how the students were sorted.

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Sorry for the lack of updates. Been a bit crazy at home lately, haven't had any time to do anything. sighs

Thanks for your feedback and encouragement!

Toodles.

DKG.