Chapter 4: The Hogwarts Express

"Hurry up! I don't want to miss the train," I yelled, frogmarching the rest of my family through a busy king's cross station. Today was the day, I was finally going to Hogwarts. "Slow down Allie there's plenty of time," dad shouted as I had left him behind when he was unloading the car, I slowed my pace ever so slightly, so I was now powerwalking as opposed to running. Dad and the rest of my family caught up and I received a stern look from Mum. "This is a busy station, I know your excited, but we need to stick together," Mum said in her scary whisper voice reserved for telling us off in public. "Sorry mum," I said quietly, and we continued towards the platform, now at a walk with mum tightly grasping my hand.

We eventually reached the barrier to platform 9 ¾, just to see a head of red hair disappearing through it. "Right," dad began, "Becca, you go first, and make sure you wait for us on the other side." Becca got a tighter grip on her trolley, which was holding her trunk and broomstick and ran straight at the barrier, disappearing through it. "I'll go next with Allie," mum said, making me feel embarrassed. "Mum I'm not a kid if Olivia and Becca can go by themselves then so can I."

"Ok, go on then Allie make sure you wait with Becca," mum answered.

I took my trolley that dad had been manoeuvring through the crowd of people. I walked back and lined my trolley up with the barrier. Now I was getting nervous, I had never been through the barrier by myself before, mum or dad had always held my hand. But it was too late to back down now. Olivia was still on this side of the barrier and she would laugh at me if I chickened out after making a fuss to go on my own. I took a deep breath and, not allowing myself another moment to think about it, I took off at a run speeding straight towards the barrier. There was a split second where I thought I was going to crash, but I continued running, ending up on platform 9 ¾.

I saw Becca standing off to the side with her trolley and moved to meet her. A few minutes later Olivia, mum and dad joined us, and we continued walking down the platform until I saw it. The dazzling Scarlett steam engine called The Hogwarts Express, which I would soon be riding for the first time.

"Mum, there's Danielle," Olivia said pointing out her friend. "Can I go say hi and put our things on the train we want to make sure we get a compartment together. I promise I'll come back to say goodbye." Mum nodded and Olivia ran off, her and Danielle doing a stupid girly scream when they saw each other.

"Mum, can I go too I saw Grace walk by when I was waiting for you." Mum nodded again so I was left with just her and dad.

I was starting to get very nervous about leaving. Olivia and Becca both had friends they wouldn't want me to sit with them, they'd be embarrassed.

"I'm sure there will be lots of first years on the train that need a friend." Dad said sensing my nerves. "What if no one wants to be friends?" I asked my voice small and scared. Mum wrapped me in one of her warm hugs. "Don't worry Allie, even if you don't make a friend on the train you will when you're sorted into your house, you're all in this together I bet every first year on this platform and on the train are scared."

"Even the ones who will be sorted into Gryffindor?"

"Especially the ones who will be sorted into Gryffindor."

I stared at her with disbelief, weren't Gryffindors known for their bravery?

Mum chuckled at my expression. "Gryffindor might be known for bravery, but you can't be brave without being scared." I smiled and hugged her back I had never thought about it like that before.

Becca and Olivia then returned to say their goodbyes. "Look after Allie won't you, make sure she's OK."

"Of course, mum, Allie will be Ok don't worry," Olivia replied hugging mum and dad before getting back on the train calling "love you," from the window. Becca also hugged our parents before getting back on the train.

"You will write to me, won't you?" I asked my nerves beginning to creep up again. "Of course." Mum said warmly while dad added "We're not about to abandon our children just because there off at school," making me laugh.

Suddenly the whistle blew signalling five minutes before the train departed. "You better get on the train," mum said. I grabbed my trunk in my hand and stepped onto the train calling "I love you," behind me.

I began walking down the train looking for a compartment. I was determined to leave my nerves at the platform and, have made at least one friend before I got to Hogwarts.

I kept looking in at the different compartments hoping to find people that looked like first years. Everyone I saw was older though. They were so tall I knew they could easily trample me if they wanted to get through. The train had started moving. It was getting more difficult to walk through the corridors. I had to find a compartment soon or I'd fall over from the movement of the train.

That's when I saw a compartment with three boys sat in it and I knew this was my only hope of finding a seat quickly with people my age. I pulled open the door to the compartment shaking with anticipation at meeting these three mystery boys.

"Hello," I said quietly yet strongly having some newfound confidence now that there was no backing out.

"Hi," said one of the boys, he smiled but there was a coldness to his voice.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" I asked wanting to get in a seat, especially as the train just jolted and I nearly went flying.

"Sure," replied the boy, "I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, and this is Crabbe and Goyal. What's your name?"

"Alyssa Green," I said with a small smile.

"Green…" Draco said thoughtfully, "are you one of Adam Green's children?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied sheepishly wondering where this was going.

My dad worked as a healer for St. Mungo's Hospital for magical maladies and injuries. He had gone into training to be a healer as soon as he left Hogwarts and had slowly risen through the ranks to be lead healer in treating potions and plant poisonings. It was a highly respectable job in the wizarding world but there was a catch. Dad specialised in treating muggles. Whenever muggles received a magical injury that couldn't be treated in one of their hospital's dad took care of them. This shouldn't seem like a big deal, muggles are still humans after all, in fact I've always been fascinated by it, but there are certain pure blood families that believed in wizard supremacy and label people like my dad as blood traitors. I could tell immediately by Draco's reaction that the Malfoys were indeed one of these families.

"Your family are a bunch of blood traitors," Malfoy snarled at me.

"I … I'm sorry," I stuttered.

"You really think you can come into our compartment and be friends with us? I don't want you to sit with us anymore, I don't think people like your family deserve to be given the same ranks as us, your just as bad as mudbloods."

I didn't know what to say, trying to hold back tears I picked up my things and began to make my way towards the door. Malfoy began to laugh at how easily he could push me around, "You know what, while you're at it you might as well just take the train back to London you don't belong at a place like Hogwarts." As I reached the door, I gave one fleeting glance at Crabbe and Goyal, hoping at least one of them was a decent human being and defend me. That glimmer of hope was short lived however when they both began to laugh as well.

At that moment something clicked within me, never in a million years would I want to be friends with people like them. They weren't kicking me out, I was choosing to leave. They weren't worth my energy. As I slid open the door, I held my head up high and said, "as if I would ever want to be friends with you, you are a stupid, ferret looking, ignorant boy who is not worth my time or energy." I felt a rush of adrenalin as I said it, it was thrilling and exciting.

"You better watch your back Green, as soon as my father hears about what you said he'll make sure your father gets fired." What an empty threat, unless his father was the head of St Mungo's, which I knew for a fact it was someone else, then he couldn't lay a finger on my dad.

"well you can tell your father that he is a prick," I said, and I picked up my trunk and went to wonder the corridor again.

As I got into the next train carriage the adrenalin began to wear off. Well done Alyssa I thought to myself, using my full name just like mum does when she's cross with me. You set out on a mission to make a friend and instead you make three enemies.

I began to wonder aimlessly debating whether I should spend the journey on my own in the bathroom when …

"Allie," I hear a voice call. I look up to see its Olivia, leaning out of a compartment occupied by her and her friends, a group of giggling girls.

"Hi Olivia," I say trying to act casual. I was not going to admit defeat to her, she would never let me live it down.

"Are you alright?" Olivia asks. Before I could reply she says, "here come and sit with us for a bit my friends won't mind". Before I could protest Olivia had grabbed my arm and led me into her compartment.

The giggling from the girls immediately halted and all of them stared at me in silence. I tentatively took a seat closest to the door.

"This is Alyssa, my baby sister," Olivia said semi-proudly.

"Aww, couldn't make any friends," one of Olivia's friends, who I now recognised as Danielle from the platform, said condescendingly.

"It's not that," I replied argumentatively, "I just decided that I wanted to make some more."

"Oh, who were you sat with?" asked Olivia.

"Just some boys," I said nonchalantly.

"ooo, some boys was it?" asked Danielle "Has little baby Allie got a crush?"

"No, they were arseholes." I argued back.

"That just means they liked you," Danielle continued to tease.

"If them calling my family blood traitors meant they liked me then I decided I didn't want them to like me, I decided they weren't worth my time and left to find better people than the scum that they were."

"They called us blood traitors?" Olivia asked, the whole carriage had gone from laughing at Danielle's teasing to completely serious.

"What were their names?" another one of Olivia's friends asked.

"Well the one who said it was called Draco Malfoy, but he had two friends with him called Crabbe and Goyal who laughed."

The nameless friend let out a cry of frustration. "that has got to be Lucius Malfoy's kid. He works at the ministry and bullies' people to get what he wants. He made my mum give up her office to him because he told her boss she was misusing it, I mean how can you misuse and office," the friend vented angrily.

"Don't get upset Megan it's done now there's nothing you can do about it," Olivia tried to calm 'Megan' down.

"It's Ok," I said also trying to help, "I told his kid that his fathers a prick." This caused the whole compartment to burst out laughing again, except for Megan who gave a small appreciative smile, and Olivia who looked at me seriously.

"Be careful Allie," she warned, "The Malfoy family have a lot of power you don't want to piss them off."

"Well it seems like it's a bit late for that, I already have," I shrugged. "I think I'm going to sit somewhere else," I said now that the attention was off of me and onto cheering up Megan. Without waiting for Olivia to protest, I grabbed my trunk and ventured yet again into the corridor hoping this time I would be lucky in finding some friends.

I kept walking through carriage after carriage. I had completely given up hope of finding any new friends and had decided that I would sit with a nice-looking group of older boys and make friends at the sorting. I opened the door with ease, the nervousness of meeting people gone from how much I had done it in the last hour.

"Hi," I said cheerily as I entered. "I can't find anywhere good to sit, do you mind if I join you?" the group looked up, there were two identical red-haired boys and their friend who was holding a cardboard box that appeared to have something moving inside. "Sure," replied one of the redheads "I'm George and this is my brother…"

"Fred," the second one finished.

"And I'm Lee," added cardboard box boy.

"We're third years, I'm guessing you're a first year?" asked Fred.

"Yep," I replied sitting down.

"Our brother is in his first year too he's sat a few compartments up we could introduce you if you'd like?" said George smiling.

"That would be great thanks," I said smiling, maybe I would finally make a friend.

"But first …" Fred interrupted with a mischievous smile, "You have to hold Lee's new tarantula,"

"really, you have a tarantula?" I turned to Lee excitedly. Lee nodded amused at my reaction. "Can I see, would you really let me hold it?" I was now bouncing up and down in my seat. I loved animals.

I was desperate to get a pet to take to Hogwarts when we went shopping but mum and dad said I needed to wait a few years until I was more responsible. Just because I used to dress our owl up in pink dresses… according to dad poor old Mr. Fluffles has never been the same since (I honestly think Becca did more damage to her by naming her that).

"Sure, hold out your hands," Lee said opening the box. I did as instructed and Lee placed the large hairy spider in my hands. I began to laugh "It tickles!" is exclaimed.

"careful!" Lee said worriedly. "Stop moving you'll drop him."

"Sorry," I instantly calmed down, instead whispering quietly to the spider about how amazing it was.

"We like you," Fred and George said together. "If you have any trouble at Hogwarts just come to us, we'll sort you out," George said kindly.

"Thank you," I said beaming as I gave Lee back his tarantula muttering a quiet goodbye to the spider. I'm sure Fred and George's friendship would be a big help in dealing with Malfoy.

"come on," Fred said, standing up and putting an arm around my shoulder. "Let's go and introduce you to ickel Ronniekins and his new friend; the famous Harry Potter."

I froze. Their brother was sat with the Harry Potter.

Whilst most people would be ecstatic at the prospect of sitting with the boy who lived himself, I had mixed emotions. Yes, Harry got rid of you know who, but he was also the reason the death eaters came to our house and tortured my family. That night was something I never really talked about. After it happened dad's friend from work Will talked to us about it, having taken a muggle course on counselling. It helped Olivia in fact she still sees him on occasion, usually when she's home during the summer. Becca has never talked about it since in fact she acts like it never happened. I never talk about it either, mum and dad think I can't remember it because I was so young, but I remember, vividly. I remember being awoken in the middle of the night to screaming and being forced downstairs by a cloaked figure. I remember mum and dad cowering in the corner held by a spell while they lined me Olivia and Becca up. I remember Olivia's screams of pain as she writhed on the floor after being tortured. I remember staring down the end of a wand knowing I was next.

Deep down I know it wasn't Harry's fault, he was only a baby at the time. But something in my head had always blamed him for the nightmares.

"Yes, I know its very exciting," said Fred talking my freezing to be a happy surprise, completely unaware of the emotional struggle I was going through.

"It's just strange," I reply, "To know he's on the train with us."

"I know right," said George "He seems nice though, I'm sure he'll like you, come on lets go."

And just like that I was being whisked down the corridor off to meet the famous Harry Potter for the first time.