Ooh, thanks everyone for reviewing and voting!!!! Just to let you know, I enabled anonymous reviews, too. I got soo many reviews this time, and I'm so glad I can now improve my writing with your advice. Oh, PLEASE VOTE ON THE POLL OR LEAVE WHAT HOUSE HOLLY SHOULD BE SORTED INTO IN YOUR REVIEW!
Now, responses!
SpencerCollins: Thanks for your advice! I'll be sure to follow it—hopefully, this chapter has more of a variation. Thanks again!
Marie (Anon Reviewer) Thanks for reviewing, Marie. Keep reading, hopefully it gets even better!
The Wandmaker: Very insightful, and thoughtful that you typed it out for me. I guess I'm just too lazy to make up new chapters, but I'll definitely make it more unique from now on.
Lady Acorna: I'm am soo used to writing "Harry", that I just can't seem to type out Holly. Thanks for reviewing, though! (I will be more careful in the future).
Grangergal101:
Chapter 6: You're welcome, I hoped I fixed everything.
Chapter 7: Thank you! It was a bit of a look into Holly's personality—she grew up with Muggles, after all. Hmm…well Holly was wearing a T-shirt, so the mark would've been pretty obvious…and Hagrid was showing her off, lol.
Thanks for voting for a house, and I agree that Snape will be hilarious to write. You'll see about Quidditch!
Gypsydancer529: Eek, I meant to change that…I decided to give her a cat at the last moment. Ah, ok, I will, because of my fabulous reviewers. =)
Angelvan105: Yes, a whole world for Holly out there! And I daresay that she'll take it differently than Harry—*Ahem*. Glad you liked it, Draco and Snape will be fun to write in the future.
I felt like it (Anon Reviewer): Haha thanks for reviewing. Yes, you do get two pygmy puffs…though I may have stolen one from Ginny, she'll get her revenge…just kidding. Thanks for voting too!
Katie Ladmoore: Thanks for the praise! Yes, I think Holly was a lot better than Harry in talking to Draco. Keep reading!
Allen Pitt: Yep, I'm going to have to address those issues…and I don't think I'm going to put an OC in the story, I don't like them unless they are really useful.
Nectarine Nightshine: Thanks for pointing out the mistakes, I've corrected them. Keep reading, and lol my reviewers pay more attention to my story than I do. LOL.
High Serpent King: Ahh…I remember seeing you from the first chapter, welcome back! And yes, you do get 2 pygmy puffs, for reviewing and voting her for Gryffindor. Ok, thanks for reviewing!
Hermione Solo: Yay thanks for reviewing. Glad you like the cat, though some people still miss Hedwig, I think, lol. I'm considering Malfoy as a possible new friend…dunno yet, though.
Luiz4200: Oh, you came just in time! Thanks for reviewing BOTH of my stories, I've actually looked at Dumbledore's Mischief, probably going to update when the school year starts *sigh*. Yes, I do need to check…and be more vigilant about it.
James018: Ah, good to see you back! I already started writing the next chapter. Hm, yes, I suppose that the descriptions were similar, but I thought that a girl couldn't be THAT different than a boy to describe things and hear things differently…but her reactions were different, are they good?
Oh wow…I've filled up more than a page without doing one of my ultra long rants. LOL. You reviewers get a fabulous prize at the end for giving me 17 wonderful reviews! (Viewers, you get one too, you'll see what it is).
Sooo….without further ado, I pronounce: PLATFORM 9 ¾!
Holly's last month with the Dursleys was slightly boring. After Hagrid's trip, Dudley had run from the room every time she came in. Though the pure terror on his face was amusing at first, Holly grew bored. Uncle Vernon now no longer made contact with her, which she didn't really mind. At least he had stopped saying "Dangerous". In fact, much to Holly's surprise, Aunt Petunia was the one who was friendly to Holly now. After the trip to Diagon Alley with Hagrid, she had beckoned Holly to go into the attic. Holly had never been up there.
"What's the matter, Aunt Petunia?"
But her aunt had just opened a trunk, and suddenly, Holly's heart was in her mouth. Because her aunt had taken out a picture of herself—undeniably, it was her—and a red haired girl who looked almost exactly like Holly. There were a few subtle differences—The girl's hair was shorter, past her shoulders, more flowing, and curlier. There was no mark on her arm, and her eyes were green.
Holly didn't speak, but she thought her aunt knew what she was thinking.
"You can keep this," Aunt Petunia had said, and then walked away, her head bowed. Holly could see her fighting back tears, and suddenly Holly felt like crying too. She did, for a long time, until it was almost dark. Then, she slipped the photo into her pocket, and went downstairs.
Other than that incident, her school books were very interesting. She read all of them very quickly, and reread her favorite parts. Her kitten was also growing up, from a small ball to a very cute electric flying whirlwind. Holly smiled as her kitten sauntered up to her, looked at her with adorable eyes, and licked her face. She had decided to name her kitten "Hedwig", a name she had found in A History of Magic.
On the last day of August, she went downstairs to make up with Dudley "Sorry about the pig's tail, Duds", and told her relatives she needed to go to King's Cross.
"Uncle Vernon?"
Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening.
"I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to -- to go to Hogwarts."
Uncle Vernon grunted again.
"Would it be all right if you gave me a lift?"
Grunt again. Yes, she supposed.
"Thank you."
She was about to go back upstairs when Uncle Vernon actually spoke.
"Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?"
"Actually, it was banned because—"
But Uncle Vernon cut her off. "Where is this school, anyway?"
"I don't know. I'm just supposed to take the train leaving at 11'o'clock at Platform 9 ¾.
"Don't talk rubbish," said Uncle Vernon. "There is no platform nine and three-quarters."
"It's on my ticket."
"Barking," said Uncle Vernon, "howling mad, the lot of them. You'll see. You just wait. All right, we'll take you to King's Cross. We're going to London anyway to get Dudley's ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings.
Holly woke up at 5 the next morning. She was so excited she couldn't sleep any longer. Magic, magic! She had dreamed about something like this so many times when she was younger. She put on a blouse and some comfortable shorts, because she was going to change on the train. Then she paced up and down and waited for the Dursleys to wake up.
They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon wheeled Holly's luggage in front of her, until he suddenly stopped.
"See? Platform 9 and Platform 10. It seems Platform 9 ¾ hasn't been built yet."
He was quite right, of course. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all.
"I have to go," He grunted. He got into the car, then paused. "Well, have a good term." Then they all drove away, and Holly was left having a sick feeling in her stomach.
She stopped a passing guard, but he didn't know what to do. At first, he was very friendly—"Oh, hi young miss. What can I do for you?" But when she explained that she wanted to go to somewhere called "Hogwarts", and that the train left at 11'o'clock, he shook his head, puzzled. "Sorry, young lady. Seems like someone pranked you."
"But see here, I have a ticket!"
"Ah, it's probably fake. Sorry, I have to go." And with a sympathetic glance at her, he strode away. And she was panicking. According to the large clock over the arrivals board, she had ten minutes left to get on the train to Hogwarts and she had no idea how to do it; she was stranded in the middle of a station with a trunk she couldn't lift, a pocket full of wizard money, and a hyperactive cat.
Hagrid must have forgotten to tell her something you had to do, like tapping the third brick on the left to get into Diagon Alley. She wondered wildly if she should get out her wand and start tapping the ticket inspector's stand between platforms nine and ten.
Ok, She thought. What's the logical thing to do? I have to look for other wizards and witches. At that moment a group of people passed just behind her and she caught a few words of what they were saying.
"-- packed with Muggles, of course --"
Holly's eyes widened. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair. Each of them was pushing a trunk like Holly's in front of her -- and they had an owl.
Heart hammering, Holly pushed her cart after them. They stopped and so did she, just near enough to hear what they were saying.
"Now, what's the platform number?" said the boys' mother.
"Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand,
"Mom, can't I go... " Holly felt bad for her. This obviously was a wizarding family, and so she had to withstand the torture of knowing she had to wait another year or two.
"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first."
What looked like the oldest boy marched toward platforms nine and ten. Holly watched carefully, but a large crowd of people blocked her view.
"Fred, you next," the plump woman said.
"I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"
"Sorry, George, dear."
"Only joking, I am Fred," said the boy, and off he went. His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done so, because a second later, he had gone -- but how had he done it?
Now the third brother was walking briskly toward the barrier he was almost there -- and then, quite suddenly, he wasn't anywhere.
There was nothing else for it.
"Excuse me," Holly said to the plump woman.
"Hello, dearie," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too."
She pointed at the last and youngest of her sons. He had bright red hair, was tall and skinny, with long arms and legs, and a long nose. He dwarfed her. Holly didn't know what to think of him.
"Yes," said Holly. "The thing is -- the thing is, I don't know how to --"
"How to get onto the platform?" she said kindly, and Holly nodded.
"Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron."
"Er -- okay," said Holly.
She pushed her trolley forward and started to walk.
She started to walk toward it. People jostled her on their way to platforms nine and ten. Holly walked more quickly. She was going to break her nose on the barrier—she closed her eyes, she was going to crash, she was a foot away—
It didn't come... she kept on running... she opened his eyes. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven O'clock. Holly looked behind her and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it, she had done it. She felt a huge wave of relief.
Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Hedwig looked scared, and shrunk back. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.
The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Harry pushed her cart down the platform, and saw a variety of people. There were Indian twins, who were very pretty, and had glossy black hair. She noticed a girl with bushy hair and long front teeth, next to a round faced boy with his grandma.
"Gran, Trevor's gone again."
"Oh, Neville," she heard the old woman sigh.
A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd. "Give us a look, Lee, go on."
The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg.
Holly pressed on through the crowd until she found an empty compartment near the end of the train. She put Hedwig's comfortable cage in first, and then tried to heave the trunk up the steps, before dropping it painfully on her foot.
"Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins she'd followed through the barrier.
"Yes, please," Holly said gratefully.
"Oy, Fred! Come here and help!"
With the twins' help, Holly's trunk was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment.
"Thanks," said Holly, accidentally taking off the sweater she'd been wearing to conceal the mark on her arm.
"What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Holly's arm.
"Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you—"
"She is," said the first twin. "Aren't you?" he added to Holly.
"What?" said Holly.
"Holly Potter," chorused the twins.
"Oh, er, yeah."
The two boys gawked at her, and Holly felt herself blush. Then, to her relief, a voice came floating in through the train's open door.
"Fred? George? Are you there?"
"Coming, Mom."
One of the twins leaned in toward her, and whispered, "Get into Gryffindor."
With a last look at Holly, the twins hopped off the train, but Holly heard one of them say "She's pretty cute, I thought the Girl-Who-Lived would be tougher looking."
"Nah," The other twin said. "It's better that she's innocent."
Holly sat down next to the window where, half hidden, she could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying. Their mother had just taken out her handkerchief.
"Ron, you've got something on your nose."
The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose.
"Mom -- geroff" He wriggled free.
"Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins.
"Shut up," said Ron.
"Where's Percy?" said their mother.
"He's coming now."
The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and Holly noticed a shiny silver badge on his chest with the letter P on it.
"Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves --"
"Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea."
"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once --"
"Or twice --"
"A minute --"
"All summer --"
"Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect.
Holly giggled in her compartment.
"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins.
"Because he's a prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term -- send me an owl when you get there."
She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins.
"Now, you two -- this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've -- you've blown up a toilet or --"
"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."
"Great idea though, thanks, Mom."
"It's not funny. And look after Ron."
"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."
"Shut up," said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it.
"Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?"
Holly leaned in, fascinated.
"You know that pretty redhead that you talked to in the station? You know who she is?"
"Who?"
"Holly Potter!"
Holly heard the little girl's voice.
"Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and talk to her, Mom, pplleeaassee?"
"You've already seen her, Ginny, and the poor girl isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is she really, Fred? How do you know?"
"Asked her. Saw her mark. Too bad it's not scarier."
"Poor dear - no wonder she was alone, I wondered. She was ever so polite when she asked how to get onto the platform."
"Never mind that, do you think she remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?"
Their mother suddenly became very stern.
"I forbid you to ask her Fred. No, don't you dare. As though she needs reminding of that on her first day at school. And I don't want you chasing after either, both of you, just because she's pretty and she's the Girl-Who-Lived. She's only a first year.
"All right, keep your hair on."
A whistle sounded.
"Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry.
"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls."
"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat."
"George!"
"Only joking, Mom."
The train began to move. Holly saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved.
Holly watched the girl and her mother disappear. Then, everything sunk in. She was going to Hogwarts, the greatest magical school, according to Hagrid. She gave a little yelp, but quickly stifled it as the door of the compartment slid open and the youngest redheaded boy came in.
"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Holly. "Everywhere else is full."
Holly shook her head, and the boy sat down. She saw him look at her with an expression of something close to…reverence, then quickly look back out the window.
"Hey, Ron."
The twins were back.
"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train -- Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."
"Right," mumbled Ron.
"Holly," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then.
"Bye," said Holly and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them.
"Are you really Holly Potter?" Ron blurted out.
Holly nodded.
"Oh -well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got -- you know..."
He pointed at Holly's arm. She sighed—she'd just put on her sweater. She rolled up her sleeve on her left arm.
Ron stared.
"So that's where You-Know-Who—"
"Yes," said Holly, "but I can't remember it."
"Nothing?" said Ron eagerly.
"Well – I remember green light and a high shriek…" Holly swallowed. She didn't want to say that something else had popped up. The last voice of her mom.
"Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at Holly for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realised what he was doing, he looked quickly out of the window again.
"Are all your family wizards and witches?" asked Holly, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found her.
"Er -- Yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."
"So you must know loads of magic already," she said enviously. She couldn't possibly hope to be the best now.
The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families Malfoy in Diagon Alley had talked about.
"I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?"
"Ok, I guess. All Muggles are different. But you—you got 3 wizard brothers and a witch sister, what's that like?"
"Five wizard brothers," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left -- Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."
Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat grey rat, which was asleep.
"His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff -- I mean, I got Scabbers instead."
Ron's ears went pink. He seemed to think he'd said too much to a girl, because he went back to staring out of the window.
Holly didn't think it was wrong being poor. "Well, I didn't have any money from the Dursleys, I just got presents…I bet you get presents too during your birthday and Christmas, right?"
Ron himself turned pink.
"... And until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a witch or about my parents or Voldemort."
Ron gasped.
"What?" said Holly.
"You said You-Know-Who's name!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, a girl, of all people --"
"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," said Holly slightly irritably. "And I don't think being a GIRL has anything to do with it."
Ron suddenly looked very embarrassed.
"I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn.... I bet," she added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying her a lot lately. Then she quickly stifled "I bet I'm the worst in the class". What if he didn't come from the same house? What if he got into Slytherin?
"You won't have a lot to learn," Ron said reassuringly. "There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough."
While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past.
Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"
Holly, who hadn't had any breakfast, leapt to her feet, but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Holly went out into the corridor.
She'd never gotten much candy from the Dursleys, but now, with pockets rattling with silver and gold, she was ready to buy as many Twix bars as she could carry -- but the woman didn't have Twix Bars. What she did have were Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs. Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Liquorice Wands, and a lot more candy which Holly assumed was probably wizarding candy. Not wanting to miss anything, she got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts.
Ron stared as Holly brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat.
"Hungry, are you?"
"Starving," said Holly. She took a large bite out of a Pumpkin Pastie.
Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef."
Holly felt a little guilty. "Swap you for one of these," she said, holding up a pasty. "Go on --"
"You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us.
"Go on, have a pasty," said Holly. "I'm just sharing with you."
Ron stared at her. "Well, if you say so…"
And two of them ate their way contentedly through Holly's candy, cakes, and cookies.
"What are these?" Holly asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They're not really frogs, are they?" She didn't want to eat a frog, even if it was made out of chocolate.
"No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa."
"What?"
"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know -- Chocolate Frogs have cards, inside them, you know, to collect -- famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."
Holly unwrapped the Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half- moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and moustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.
"So this is Dumbledore!" said Holly.
"Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron. "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa – thanks…
Holly turned over Dumbledore—silver lettering was on the back.
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS
Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.
Holly turned the card back over. It was empty. "He's gone!"
"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron. "He'll be back. Oh well, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her... do you want it? You can start collecting."
Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped.
"Help yourself," said Holly. "But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos."
"Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. "weird!"
Holly stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card and gave her a small smile.
Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Holly thought the photos were amazing. Soon she had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin. Finally, she took her eyes off them to open a new box--Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.
"You want to be careful with those," Ron warned Holly. "When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor -- you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a booger-flavoured one once."
Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner.
"Bleaaargh -- see? Sprouts."
They had a good time eating the Every Flavour Beans. Holly got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny grey one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper.
The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone.
Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills.
There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy Holly had passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looked tearful.
"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"
When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"
"Do you want me to help look for him?" Holly offered.
"Really? Thanks!"
"Ron, I'm just going to stretch my legs."
"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."
The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap.
"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look..."
He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end…
"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway—"
He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The bushy haired girl was standing there. She had large front teeth. "Have you seen Neville's toad?" She asked.
"Oh, I was about to search for it…" Holly said.
The girl stared at the wand in Ron's hand. "Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."
She sat down. Ron looked taken aback.
"Er -- all right."
He cleared his throat.
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."
He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed grey and fast asleep.
"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard -- I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough -- I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"
She said all this very fast.
Holly looked at Ron, and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learned all the course books by heart either.
"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.
"Holly Potter," said Holly. Suddenly, she was struck by how the girl looked. She used to have a friend that moved away who had bushy hair…she and Holly had been best friends, and how this girl talked and that friend talked were almost exactly the same.
"Are you really?" Hermione was saying. "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.
Though Holly was thrilled to hear that, she quickly butt in. "Listen, does your name happen to be Hermy?"
"Hermy?" Then the girl gasped. "Holly? I remember a friend called Holly used to call me that! But I thought her name was Holly Dursley!"
The two stared at each other. Ron stared at them. "Wow!" Holly said. "You're—you're Hermione!"
Hermione looked flabbergasted. I used to be friends with the Girl-Who-Lived? Wow! "Oh, Holly, do you want to search for Neville's toad with me?"
"Sure, I was going to…" But she got the hint.
"Ok, Ron, I have to go."
"See you," he muttered.
"Girls…" he said, after they left. "Stupid spell," he muttered. "Bet George knew it was a dud."
Hermione looked extremely happy. "I had no idea I used to be friends with you!" She said. "Do you want to be study buddies?"
"Sure," Holly said. But she frowned. "I remember you're much better than me at schoolwork. Wouldn't I just slow you down?"
"You were second best in the class!" Hermione said. "I bet that if we work together, we can ace the end-of-the-year exams."
Holly opened her mouth.
"But never mind that," Hermione said impatiently. "Did you hear about Gringotts? Apparently a vault with something really valuable in it was broken into, and it was highly guarded too!
"You mean the thing was stolen?"
"No, apparently, it was taken out earlier that day."
"What day was it?"
"Oh, August 31."
Hermione suddenly looked guilty. "Oh, we're supposed to be searching for Neville's toad!" The two girls looked up and down the corridor, and went all over the train. Trevor was nowhere to be seen. "I guess I'll be going back to my compartment," Holly said. "See you."
"Oh, wait!" Hermione said. "I don't have a seat, I'll come with you."
When the two girls got back to the compartment, a blond haired boy and two ugly looking cronies were interrogating Ron.
"Holly Potter's supposed to be in this compartment? Where is she? Tell me, Weasley."
Holly stepped into the compartment. "Who are you?"
Then the boy turned around. Holly recognized him at once. "Ah…Mr. Malfoy."
"Y-You…" Malfoy said, looking disbelieving. "You're Holly Potter?"
"Yep." Holly glanced at his two cronies.
"Ah, that's Crabbe and Goyle. Holly, don't sit with this type of riff-raff. Like the Weasleys." He sneered at Ron, who's ears turned pink.
"Watch it, Malfoy." Ron said, grimacing.
"I can teach you what type of people to associate with, Holly. Like me, my Father has a very influential place in the Ministry—"
"Ah, so he believes "Purebloods are Might"? Holly said, smirking.
The boy flushed a little. "Well, Holly, inferior people like the Weasleys, or Mudbloods, who are even worse, don't deserve the title as "Wizards" or "Witches".
Behind Holly, Hermione tensed. Ron looked positively livid, and stood up, but Holly waved him down.
"So exactly why are you telling me this, Malfoy?" Holly said, one eyebrow raising.
"Call me Draco. Because you're the Girl-Who-Lived, and I should teach this to you. You defeated You-Know-Who!"
"Right, Malfoy boy. Now, I'll say this clearly: I don't pick friends on what their status is, I pick them because of their virtues. And for those people who think that blood is important, there is no way I'll pick them as a friend."
Malfoy looked shocked. He became angry. "Potter, you're stupid."
"Oh, am I? Is someone better because their parents are someone? Can you choose who your parents are? What if YOU were a Muggleborn, Malfoy? How would you feel if people called you "Mudblod? Huh?"
Malfoy blinked. "Think about it, Draco." Holly said, in a gentler tone.
"My father will—my father will…"
"Oh, also, Draco, stop being the father's boy."
"What?"
"Don't think you're better than everyone else because your father has a place at the Ministry. Do you think that it's your achievement that HE'S at that place?"
Malfoy definitely had pink in his cheeks now. Crabbe and Goyle stared stupidly at him, as if waiting for instructions.
"You don't understand!" He snarled. In his hurt and fury, he blurted out the sentence. "You're going to end up the same way as your parents if you don't listen to me."
He said it. Holly stood up slowly, and it seemed her whole presence filled the compartment with her rage. "Get. Out."
Without a backwards glance, Malfoy stepped out of the compartment. "Goodbye, Potter."
There was a shocked silence. "You've met Malfoy before?" Ron blurted.
Holly explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley.
"I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"
"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on." Even though her voice was steady, she was very upset by Malfoy's words.
Holly peered out of the window. It was getting dark. She could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down.
She and Ron took off their jackets and pulled on their long black robes. Ron's were a bit short for him, you could see his trainers underneath them.
A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."
Holly's stomach lurched with nerves. She stepped down, and shivered in the night air. People jostled her as they all went past. She wondered how Hedwig was doing. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Holly heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Holly?"
Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.
"C'mon, follow me -- any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"
Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Holly thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.
"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."
There was a loud "Oooooh!"
The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black take. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.
"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Holly and Hermione were followed into their boat by Neville and Ron. "Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then -- FORWARD!"
And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.
"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.
"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.
"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.
They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, Oak front door.
"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"
Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.
Woot another chapter done…you can see who Holly's probably going to be friends with now. So for all you reviewers, you guys get A DELUXE WIZARDING SWEETS PACK! You get Pumpkin Pasties, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Cauldron Cakes, Chocolate Frogs, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Liquorice Wands, Acid Pops, and Cockroach Clusters!!! Even anonymous reviewers can submit a review, so go, go!
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