A/N: Thank you for the likes, follows and the reviews. I really appreciate them! For now, do not fear as I have no intentions of abandoning this story. In this chapter, Lola starts her journey to Hogwarts and makes the acquaintance of some familiar names. Stay tuned for next chapter, which will be the sorting ceremony.

"I told you guys, didn't I?" Lance was saying, trying to catch his breath, as the Allen family stormed past countless trains. "There's no such thing as Platform 9 ¾!"

Lola ignored the fact that her older brother had actually never said such a thing. She knew that Platform 9 ¾ was supposed to be somewhere between Platform 9 and 10, but there were two columns separating them and Lola wasn't sure which one would teleport her into a secret, invisible, magical platform and which one would give her a permanent concussion.

If this whole thing was real, that is.

"I shouldn't have left that bloody book at home," Mrs. Allen moaned, sounding remorseful. "I just assumed the staff here would know..."

Lola rolled her eyes. "It's a secret place, mum. Of course they wouldn't know."

She tried really hard to not sound as concerned as she was feeling. Things were definitely not going the way that she had planned them in her head. How was she supposed to convince her entire family to run through a brick wall, and would she be able to explain her reasoning if they ended up slamming into the wall instead of finding themselves in front of a red and steaming Hogwarts Express? They would definitely get some strange looks from the entire station.

That's when she saw, with the corner of her eye, a group of ginger-haired children being chaperoned by a plump, motherly woman. "You're not old enough, Ginny," the woman was saying to the youngest of the group. "Now be quiet."

Lola could feel her face break into a huge grin. She knew exactly who they were, and her loudly thumping heart confirmed this notion. Quickly, Lola pulled on the sleeve of her mother's jacket to grab her attention.

"There!" she said excitedly, pointing at the Weasley family. "I bet they're looking for the same place as us!" With their gold-encrypted trunks and loudly hooting owl, it wasn't difficult to believe.

Lola watched, mesmerised, as a scrawny looking boy with dark hair, baggy pants and round glasses approached Mrs. Weasley. She felt all the air leave her lungs immediately. Having grown up on a remote farmland in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but sheep, Lola had never seen any celebrities or movie-stars in her short life of seventeen years. Judging by the way she felt her insides jiggle and her legs turn to Jell-O, she could guess that this is how people felt when they saw their idols casually strolling in public.

Harry Potter walked, not knowing he was being watched, straight into the solid column that separated the Muggle world from the magical world and disappeared into thin air. Lola heard her family behind her gasp in unison. She waited for the entire Weasley family to disappear before approaching the entrance to Platform 9 3/4. She turned and beamed at her family, who didn't seem too keen to run into a brick wall that morning. She would have to do it alone, but she was fine with that. After seeing Harry Potter in flesh, Lola was finally ready to bid farewell to the most important people in her life.

She hugged her father tight, who picked her up and gave her a quick spin like he used to do before she became too heavy. Lance ruffled her hair and gave her a quick peck on the cheek, hiding his sorrow behind sarcastic remarks. When she turned to embrace her mother, however, she could see the hot tears streaming down both sides of her pale face. Lola's heart dropped instantly. With things happening so fast, Lola hadn't even come to the realisation that she was, potentially, leaving everything she knew and loved behind for months.

Her brain was, for an unknown reason, seventeen-years-old, and her body was strangely eleven, but when Mrs. Allen wrapped her arms around her precious daughter one last time to give her a very tight hug, Lola felt like a baby once again.

"You be careful now, young lady," Mrs. Allen whispered, her voice quavering uncontrollably as she fought back some of her tears. "And behave yourself."

With one final wave, Lola was gone.

There was a moment of silence.

"Do you think we made the right decision, Lloyd?" Mrs. Allen asked anxiously as she stared at the entrance to Platform 9 ¾.

Mr. Allen put an arm around his wife tentatively. "Of course we did."

Evelyn Allen blew her nose into her handkerchief. "How - how can you be so sure? What if all this is a trick?"

"We did exactly as we were told," said Mr. Allen confidently. "This is what's best for her."

An unpleasant mixture of remorse and worry filled Mrs. Allen's heart. "But we should have told her… We should have told her the truth. She should have known the real reason why we made this decision… It's too dangerous otherwise…"

"It's okay, mum," Lance rested his head on his mother's shoulder. "We knew the risks. We knew them all along. It's done now. We did what we thought was best. We need to stick to it now."

"Exactly," Mr. Allen confirmed. "There's nothing else we can do. Now, let's go and pick up Leona."

Not long after, Lola found herself looking for an empty compartment like the rest of students who still didn't have a place to sit. Once again, she had difficulty grasping the "reality" that surrounded her, that she was on the Hogwarts Express (!) on her way to Hogwarts Castle (!).

This was too good to be a dream now. Lola was sure even her imagination wouldn't be able to stretch that far.

She looked at almost all of the compartments of the train, but had no luck finding the one where Harry or Ron was meant to be in. She knew that somewhere in this train, they were sat across from one another, getting to know each other as they indulged themselves in dozens of magical treats from the Trolley witch.

She felt her exhaustion grow as she pulled open the door to the compartment where Percy Weasley was sitting all by himself, his Prefect badge gleaming on his robes, gazing through a copy of the Daily Prophet.

"Sorry," Lola said apologetically. "Would you mind if I join you? Everywhere else is full…"

Percy looked up at the sweet, young girl standing by the door. Seeing as he didn't recognise her, or the fact that she was oblivious to the rules of Hogwarts Express, he was almost certain that she was a first-year.

"Sorry," he said as he proudly pointed at his badge. "This compartment is strictly for Prefects. I suggest you walk back to the beginning of the train and try your luck again."

Lola tried to reign her agitation. "Can I at least rest here for five minutes? I swear I'll be quiet. This is a very long train…" That was one thing she had never considered while reading the Potter books. To fit 1000 students into one train, you would definitely need a long one.

Seeing the plea in the girl's tired eyes was not what made Percy Weasley say yes. It was the possibility of her talking badly about Percy behind his back, which could hurt his reputation as a Prefect.

Lola sat as quietly and as still as she could, looking outside the train window in awe. The scene in front of them changed constantly, from trees to lakes to hills to cows. It was all fast, familiar and endless.

"So, you're a first-year, right?" Percy asked suddenly, interrupting Lola's reverie.

"Hopefully, I will be," Lola replied.

Percy weighed Lola up and down like a book he would like to borrow from the library. "Which house would you like to be in, then?"

Lola giggled nervously. "That's not my decision, is it?"

Percy smiled slowly. He loved opportunities where he could display a superiority of knowledge. "Don't underestimate your thoughts. The Sorting Hat takes everything into account, even your conscious desires. It all has an impact."

"I guess so…" Lola murmured quietly, hoping that the Sorting Hat would not be able to read all of her thoughts.

"So, which house?" Percy pressed.

Lola thought about it for a second. "I mean, I can definitely see myself in Ravenclaw. But then again, I'm very loyal."

They sat in silence for the next two minutes, until Lola suddenly realised something.

"Aren't there supposed to be more of you?" she piped up. "I mean, more Prefects? Surely it's not one compartment per Prefect!"

Percy blushed immediately, his ears going pink. "They're patrolling the train," he mumbled quietly and went back to reading his newspaper.

"What, all fifteen of them?"

Percy didn't answer.

A few minutes passed before the compartment door slid open to reveal a short girl dressed in new Hogwarts robes with round, brown eyes and a mane of bushy brown hair.

"Excuse me," she said formally after noticing Percy's badge, which made him straighten his back in pride. "Have you seen a toad at all? My friend Neville here has lost his."

This could only be one person, and Lola knew very well who it was.

In one tiny fraction of a second, she came up with a crazy idea. She knew how eager Hermione Granger was when it came to seeing magic. "Why look for it, when you can simply summon it?!"

Lola drew her wand courageously, and as she had predicted, Hermione's eyes drastically widened. "You know how to use a summoning charm? But that's Grade 4 stuff!"

Lola cleared her throat, before awkwardly saying into nothingness, "Accio, Neville's toad!".

Nothing happened.

"Um," she said quickly, putting her wand away. "I don't actually know how to use the spell. But I'm sure a Professor could easily summon your friend's toad, once we get to Hogwarts. I'm Lola, by the way. Lola Allen."

She extended her hand, which Hermione politely shook. "Hermione Granger. Pleasure."

Lola smiled. "Likewise. Why don't you and your friend join us?"

As Hermione and Neville settled into the Prefects lounge, which Percy didn't really look that happy about, Lola took out Hogwarts: A History from her trunk, knowing that it was a personal favourite of Hermione's.

Hermione eyed Lola wearily. "You like to read, then?"

Lola shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. "It's what I'm best at. I'm so new to this world and have a lot to learn, after all."

Hermione's shoulders tensed slightly. She didn't say another word for the remainder of the journey, except for when she ordered a small pumpkin juice from the Trolley witch. Lola had a deep conversation with Percy and Neville about the current Quidditch season, her father's farming business in Romney Marsh and the endemic flora of the Scottish Highlands.

When Lola was on her way back from the rear bathroom where she had changed into her new school robes, she finally caught a glimpse of Harry and Ron. The two boys were deep in conversation, oblivious to the pair of blue eyes gazing at them with a twinkle of excitement. She slowly approached the compartment door, her whole body trembling.

"Excuse me?" she said, trying to sound much calmer than she felt. "Did you see a toad anywhere? My… um, friend… is looking for his toad." It was very difficult for Lola to act normal, considering that Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley were literally three feet away.

"Sorry," Harry said politely. "We already told your friend that we didn't see a toad. I hope he finds it."

"Yeah," said Lola awkwardly. She could see that the boys were waiting for her to turn around and leave, which she really didn't want to do. "My name is Lola by the way. Lola Allen."

She heard a sarcastic snicker and turned around to find three boys behind her.

"Nobody cares, mud-blood," said the middle one condemningly, a boy as pale as the moon and as blonde as the sun. "Get out of my way."

Lola went crimson red. Judging by the two meaty boys accompanying him, and the way his hair and nails seemed immaculately groomed, he could be no other than Draco Malfoy.

"What are you staring at?!" Draco snapped angrily. "Move!"

Lola couldn't find anything to say, so moved into Harry and Ron's compartment, followed by Draco, Crabbe and Goyle.

"Is it true?" Draco asked, staring at Harry with a mixture of hope and awe. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"

"Yes," Harry replied.

Lola suddenly remembered how this whole ordeal would end. This seemingly insignificant skirmish would result in the Golden Trio becoming enemies with Draco and his gang of Slytherins for the rest of their time at Hogwarts. Lola had to do something, and she had to do it quick.

"Are you really?!" she exclaimed, finally being able to channel her inner fangirl. It felt good. "Ohmygosh! I can't believe it! Can I get your autograph?"

Lola's behaviour threw everyone off track but unfortunately wasn't enough to change destiny. The boys still had an aggressive argument which had to do with lots of insults, scattered half-eaten sweets and one abnormally large rat.

Fifteen minutes later, Lola returned to the Prefect's lounge with slumped shoulders. Not only had she made a total fool out of herself, but she had also realised how limited her ability to change things was. Just when everything was finally beginning to feel real, Lola couldn't help but think again that this whole thing was just a stupid dream which felt really real but she had no control over.

Suddenly, the train came to a stop.

"Mind yer step, now!" The booming voice of Hagrid called out from outside the train. "Firs' years follow me!"

Lola took a deep breath as she stepped out onto a narrow platform, her lungs welcoming the crisp, evening air. She knew at that point that it was impossible for her to contain her excitement, so she didn't even try. As she joined the back of the long cue behind Hagrid the gamekeeper, Lola realised she strangely felt, all at the same time, afraid, lost, but most of all, alive.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Don't forget to leave a review; ideas and criticisms much appreciated. See you next chapter!