I forgot to add this on the last chapter. I don't own anything once again, except this plot. J.K. Rowling owns the rest...
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Chapter Four- Of Trains and Redheads
Life with the Dursley's had reached an all time quiet. They avoided Hollis like the plague but Hollis didn't mind. In fact, she rather liked the situation her newfound heritage brought instead of the former arrangement. The Dursley's left her to her own devices now, and Hollis had more freedom in the house. As long as she didn't leave the house, she could take longer showers- not to mention hotter showers-, eat more, and lounge in her new bedroom for as long as she pleased.
Hollis kept mostly to her room though, spending most of her time trying to clean it up and arrange it to her liking. She had gotten rid of most of the broken toys that littered the room's floor without Dudley's knowledge but kept the books and some of the small knick knacks that she had taken a liking to. The time that she was left with was spent reading her new books which she found dreadfully interesting. She would often spend nights reading her books with rapt attention while her owl flew in and out of the open window, sometimes with dead mice hanging from her beak, and her kitten curled up next to her head. It was in these books that she had found the names for both of her pets. She had decided on Hedwig for her owl and Artemus for her kitten. The names seemed to fit and the animals themselves seemed pleased with their new names.
Hedwig and Artemus got along great, which came as a surprise to Hollis. She would sometimes find Artemus curled up next to Hedwig's cage, purring quietly while Hedwig slept with her head under her wing. It was quite comical.
As the day of September the first drew closer, Hollis began feeling very excited and nervous at the same time. She kept close track of the days by making a pseudo-calendar and checking off the days and tried not to venture to close to the drawer in which she kept her ticket- a very strange ticket indeed for it read Platform 9 ¾ and Hollis was almost certain that it didn't exist- that Hagrid had given to her when he had dropped her off at the train station.
When the last day of August rolled around, Hollis finally realized that she had no way of getting to King's Cross Station. She knew that Uncle Vernon would refuse to take part in her 'Freak School' and they weren't on what a normal person would call speaking terms. But Hollis knew that she had to ask.
So, Hollis found herself standing nervously on the landing, trying desperately to think of way of asking him politely to take her to King's Cross the next day. She took a deep breath and ventured into the living room.
Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley were sitting in the room together, watching a quiz game on the television. She cleared her throat to get their attention. It got their attention but it sent Dudley into hysterics. He screamed and ran from the room.
"Uh, Uncle Vernon?" she prodded quietly.
He grunted almost inaudibly. That must mean she had his attention.
"Um, the term starts tomorrow and I, um, need to get to King's Cross Station," she said, completely unsure of herself.
Another grunt. Hollis took that as a 'Keep Going'.
"Would you mind if you could, uh, give me a lift?"
Grunt. Hollis took that as a yes.
"Thank you," Hollis squeaked before turning quickly to exit the living room.
"That's a funny way of traveling… for witches and wizards I mean… trains. Magic carpets all got punctures do they? Where is this bloody school anyway?"
Hollis didn't expect Uncle Vernon to say anything let alone that. Now that he mentioned it, she didn't know where Hogwarts was.
"I'm not sure," Hollis answered honestly. "All I know is that I'm supposed to get to King's Cross Station, go to Platform Nine and three quarters and board the Hogwarts Express by eleven."
Her aunt and uncle stared at her with almost unbelieving expressions on their faces. Hollis stared back nervously, wondering what was so strange.
"Platform what?" the both asked simultaneously.
"Nine and three quarters…" Hollis said slowly as if they were young, ignorant children.
"There is no such thing," Uncle Vernon scoffed. Hollis quite agreed with him, but it was what the ticket said.
"It's on my ticket," Hollis countered, trying to convince her relatives to take her to the station.
"Absolutely barking mad… Alright. We'll take you to King's Cross tomorrow. You're lucky that we're going to London tomorrow or else we wouldn't have bothered," Uncle Vernon said grumpily.
Hollis gave Uncle Vernon a curious look. "Why are you going to London?" she asked, trying to keep the conversation civil.
"We're taking Dudley to the Hospital. He's got to have that bloody tail removed before he starts at Smelting's," Uncle Vernon growled angrily.
Hollis took that as the initiative to get lost.
***
Hollis woke extremely early the next day. It was around five o' clock, from what her repaired alarm clock said, but Hollis was too wound tight with an interesting combination of excitement, nervousness and fright to go back to sleep. So she spent the two hours before the Dursley's woke packing and re-packing her huge trunk, getting a sleepy Hedwig into her cage, and coaxing an agitated Artemus into her wicker basket. She checked over her supplies list at least twice just to make sure she had everything and looked in every nook and cranny to see if she left a sock or some other important article of clothing.
She dressed- she chose a pair of dark colored jeans, a plain green tee shirt that matched her eyes and a blue and green sweater- silently after checking over everything and settled in for the two hour long wait.
The two hours passed quicker than Hollis thought and soon enough, Uncle Vernon was loading her heavy trunk into the car and Aunt Petunia was persuading Dudley to sit in the back with Hollis. Dudley was still very uneasy even with Hedwig's large cage separating them but Hollis ignored her jittery cousin.
They pulled into King's Cross Station an hour later and in an unusually kind gesture, Uncle Vernon loaded Hollis's things onto a trolley and began pushing it towards the platform. Hollis thought for a minute that he was ill or had completely gone off his rocker, until he stopped dead in the middle of the platform and gave Hollis a nasty smile.
"Well, there you are. Platforms nine and ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, shouldn't it? It seems like they haven't built it yet. Have a good term!" Uncle Vernon said slyly before leaving Hollis in the crowded station.
Hollis became very nervous and she felt her heart rate quicken. This wasn't good. She was stuck in the middle of King's Cross Station with a wand, a cauldron, a large owl, a cat, and a load of spell books with no means of transportation or any idea on how to get out of the situation she was currently in.
She wandered around aimlessly for a minute, contemplating on asking one of the conductors about Hogwarts. She decided against that. It was almost certain that they would have no idea about what she was talking about. She then settled on asking one of the ticket masters about trains that left at eleven o'clock. He said there were none.
Hollis felt herself pale as she looked at the clock. It was 10:50. She had only ten minutes to find the platform and board the train.
"It's always the same every year and packed with muggles of course! Come on!" cried a woman near Hollis.
Hollis's heart leapt within her chest. That was definitely not normal. She studied the woman closer. She was leading five boys, all of whom had bright red hair and freckles, who were pushing trolleys with trunks just like hers and one of the boys had an owl.
Hollis followed at a distance, just so she could listen to their conversation.
"And what's the platform again?" the woman asked.
"Nine and three quarters! Mom, can't I come?" piped a little girl from beside the woman.
The mother gave her daughter a reproving glance. "No, Ginny. You're too young. Come on you lot!" she said over the din.
Hollis followed the red headed clan towards Platforms nine and ten, still keeping her distance.
"Alright, you first Percy," the woman said to the eldest boy. The boy with the owl and horn-rimmed glasses pushed the cart towards the center of the two platforms, ran towards it, and ran through it.
Hollis blinked. That couldn't be right. She moved a little closer, now determined to see what the boys were doing.
"Fred you next," the mother said tiredly.
"He's not Fred, I am!" cried one boy who was identical to the one standing next to him.
"Honestly woman, do you really call yourself our mother," the other said disapprovingly.
"Oh, sorry George," she said apologetically. Hollis could tell she really meant it.
The first of the twins set himself up to run at the platforms and said to the redheaded mother, "I'm only joking. I am Fred." He ran at the platforms, his twin close behind him, and ran right through it, just like their older brother Percy.
"Excuse me!" Hollis said, her voice sounding oddly high pitched even to her own ears. The mother, the young girl, and the two remaining boys looked back at her and Hollis felt herself go red.
"Um, could you, uh, tell me how to-to," Hollis started nervously while gesturing to the center of Platforms nine and ten.
"How to get onto the platform?" the kind woman finished knowingly. Hollis nodded eagerly.
"Not to worry dear. It's Ron and Danny's first year as well. Now, you have to run straight between Platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared of crashing. It's best if you do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. You can go before Ron and Danny," the woman said kindly while patting Hollis on the back.
Hollis pushed her trolley over so she was directly between platforms nine and ten. She started jogging towards it. What if she crashed? She was only a couple of feet away now. She was running now. A couple of inches away. It was too late to stop. She closed her eyes and waited for the impact.
Nothing came.
Hollis opened her eyes and was met with the sight of a majestic looking steam engine and a sign that read 'Platform 9 ¾'. She had gotten onto the Platform!
She pushed to trolley away from the barrier and towards one of the open doors of the train. It was quite crowded, more crowded than she expected. She somehow managed to push her trolley through the thickening crowd. She loaded Hedwig and Artemus into the compartment first. She then came back for her trunk. She lifted it by a handle and dropped it on her foot. She gasped audibly and muttered to herself. She knew that she wouldn't be able to lift the trunk without help.
"Hey! Do you need help with that?"
It was one of the red haired twins.
Hollis nodded her head.
"OY!! Fred, get over here!" he- George- yelled and with the twins' help, Hollis was able to load her trunk into her compartment.
"Thanks," Hollis said gratefully while pushing her bangs out of her eyes.
"What was that?" Fred asked, pointing to her forehead. Hollis smacked herself mentally. Of course. This was the Wizarding World, not the muggle world. Here people recognized her.
"Are you-?"
"She is," Fred said in an awed voice. "Aren't you?"
"What?" Hollis asked, feeling quite out of the loop.
"Hollis Potter!" they both said in equally excited voices.
"Oh, her! I mean, yes, I am," Hollis said while looking down at her feet, her face bright red. Much to her relief, a familiar voice floated through the train.
"Fred? George? Are you there?" called their mother.
"Oh, we have to go! Nice meeting you!" they said at the same time again. The twins left the compartment a moment later and Hollis sat down in the now empty compartment. She undid the bindings on the wicker basket and Artemus shot out like a bullet, not wanting to be cooped up in her wicker basket any longer. While Hollis caressed the grumpy kitten to soothe her, she looked out the window, half hidden in the shadows.
The mother of the twins was with the two boys and girl and she was fussing over both the boys.
"Ron, you've got something on your nose," she said. Ron was tall, gangly, and very freckly, with large hands and feet, and a long nose. The other boy, who was almost dwarfed by Ron, snickered slightly. The mother took out a handkerchief, licked it, and began rubbing Ron's nose.
"Mom, geroff!" he said angrily.
"Ah, does ickle Ronniekins have somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins as they walked up to the mother, Ron, and the other boy.
"Shut up," Ron said grumpily. The other boy sniggered even louder until his mother attacked his hair with her fingers.
"Where's Percy?" she asked while combing through the other boy's spiky ginger hair.
"He's coming now."
Percy, the oldest boy, strode into sight, already wearing his dark robes and uniform and Hollis just caught the shiny red badge embellished with a 'P' on his chest.
"I can't stay long, Mother. The Prefects have two compartments to themselves," he said.
The twins eyes widened in identical shock. "Percy, we didn't know you were a Prefect!" one of them said.
"Wait, I remember him mentioning it…"
"Once."
"Or twice."
"A minute."
"All summer!"
"Oh, shut up," Percy said sourly.
"How come Percy gets new robes?" one of the twins whined.
"Because he's a Prefect. Have a good term, dear," the mother said as Percy stalked away. Hollis saw the four boys roll their eyes at their mother's fondness towards the oldest boy.
"Okay, well, Mom, guess who we met on the train? You know that skinny black haired girl with the glasses who got on the Platform with us? You know who she is? She's Hollis Potter!" one of the twins said. Hollis was half certain that it was Fred.
Hollis heard the younger girl squeal with delight.
"Ginny, hush! Are you sure Fred? How do you know?" the mother asked.
"Asked her. Saw the scar. It's really there! Like lightning…" Fred said.
"I wonder if she remembers what You-Know-Who looks like," George said.
"I forbid you to ask her! As if she needs reminding of that on her first day of school! The poor dear… I had wondered why she was alone… now I know. She was ever so polite when she asked how to get onto the platform, though," the mother said sadly.
The train's whistle pierced through the din on the platform.
"Hurry up and get seats!" All of the boys boarded the train quickly and they looked out the window to say one last goodbye to their mother.
"Now you two behave yourselves! If I get one more owl about you blowing up a toilet or something, I swear, you'll get an earful! And look after Ron and Danny!" their mother said sternly.
"We've never blown up a toilet, Mom!"
"But thanks for the idea! And don't worry; ickle Ronniekins and Danny boy are safe with us!"
"George!"
Here Ginny began to cry.
"Oh, don't, Gin! We'll send you lots of letters!" one of the twins said.
"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat!" the other said jokingly. Ginny laughed at that despite their mother's agitated screech. Hollis stopped looking as soon as the Platform disappeared and the London Countryside appeared.
The compartment door slid open to reveal Ron and the other boy from the Platform.
"Hi, can I sit here? Everywhere else is full," Ron asked sheepishly. Hollis nodded her head. The other boy- Danny she assumed- smiled at her shyly and then looked at Ron and said, "I'm going up to see Lee Jordan's tarantula. I'll probably be sitting somewhere near there. Fred and George are there already."
"Okay," Ron said, sounding quite queasy. Danny closed the compartment door and left Ron and Hollis alone.
"I'm Ron, by the way. Ron Weasley," Ron introduced.
"I'm Hollis. Hollis Potter," Hollis said.
Ron's eyes widened. "So, Fred and George weren't joking! Do you really have the-the," Ron stuttered, gesticulating wildly to her forehead.
"The scar?" Hollis asked with a slight smile. Ron nodded so hard that Hollis thought his head was going to fall off. Hollis pulled back her bangs to reveal the thin scar.
"Wicked! So that's where You-Know-Who…" Ron asked, trailing off at the end.
"Yeah. But I don't remember it," Hollis said.
"Really?"
"Well, I remember a lot of green light but that's about it."
"Wow," Ron said quietly. Hollis noticed that he was staring at her but he quickly averted his gaze to out the window, his ears turning red.
"So are all your family members wizards?" Hollis asked interestedly.
"I think so. Mom has a second cousin that's an accountant, but we don't talk about him much," Ron said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"I would kill to have four wizard brothers. It must be nice," Hollis said.
At this, Ron seemed to become very glum and depressed. "I have six actually. Two have already left Hogwarts. And it really isn't that great. Danny and I are the sixth to go to Hogwarts and it's safe to say that we have a lot to live up to. Bill was Head Boy and Charlie was Quidditch Captain. Now Percy's a Prefect and Fred and George are really smart and funny at the same time. Everyone expects us to do well but it won't matter what we do because everyone's already done it. And you never get anything new either. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat," Ron explained as he pulled out an old, snoozing rat.
Artemus suddenly sprang to life and started hissing and spitting at the rat. Hollis started stroking her again and although she kept her unnerving gaze on Ron's rat, she quieted. Ron took a shaky breath, obviously unused to cats reacting in a manner such as the one Artemus displayed.
"His name's Scabbers and he's completely useless. All he does is sleep all day. Dad got Percy an owl for being made a Prefect and they couldn't aff- I mean, I got Scabbers instead," Ron said, going very red.
"It's alright not being able to afford anything. I never had any sort of money before a couple of weeks ago and I had to wear my aunt's and fat cousin's old clothes, if it makes you feel any better," Hollis said.
Ron seemed to perk up at that and began explaining the finer points of all- Wizarding families, and here Hollis learned first hand that it was not wise to say Voldemort's name around other people.
They rode in companionable silence for a while until the lunch car came around.
"Anything off the trolley, dears?" the gentle looking witch asked them. Ron shook his head no while going extremely red and mumbled something about having brought sandwiches. Hollis, however, who didn't- couldn't was a more apt word- eat breakfast and jumped at the chance.
It was all sweets but they weren't the sweets she was used to seeing. They were Wizarding sweets like Honeyduke's Best Chocolate, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and Chocolate Frogs. Not wanting to miss out on anything, Hollis bought a little of everything. Ron's brows disappeared into his hairline when he saw Hollis haul the load of candy back into the compartment.
"You're obviously hungry," he commented.
"I'm starving. You want some?" Hollis asked while biting into a Pumpkin Pasty. Ron went red again and shook his head no. He unwrapped his sandwiches and sighed.
"She always forgets that I don't like corn beef. She doesn't have a lot of time. You know, with the six of us," Ron said.
"I'll swap you one of those for these. Go on, have a pasty," Hollis goaded. Ron finally smiled and took a Pumpkin Pasty. After a while, Ron's sandwiches were forgotten.
Hollis picked up a Chocolate Frog case and looked at it for a minute, contemplating on opening it.
"These aren't real frogs, are they?" Hollis asked suspiciously. Ron shook his head no.
"Nah, besides, it's the cards you want. Every Chocolate Frog comes with a Famous Witch or Wizard Card. You collect them. I've got about five hundred at home," Ron explained.
Hollis opened the box and pulled out the card. It was Albus Dumbledore. "I've got Dumbledore!" she exclaimed.
"I've got about six of him. Do you mind if I had one, Holly? You don't care if I call you that right? 'Hollis' is sort of a mouthful," Ron asked.
"Sure! I like 'Holly' anyway and help yourself to the Chocolate Frogs," Hollis said with a bright smile.
"Oh, I've got Morgana again… Do you want her Holly? You can start collecting," Ron said while handing her the card.
By the time she and Ron ate through most of the Chocolate Frogs, she had gotten Hengist the Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, Merlin, and Cliodna. Hollis found these cards very interesting, and for a time she could not take her eyes off them. Artemus seemed to enjoy the moving pictures as well for she pawed at them like she would with a ball.
She tore herself away from the cards and picked up the Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans box before Artemus could annihilate it with her sharp, baby claws. Ron threw the box a suspicious glance.
"I'd be careful with those. When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor. I mean, they have the normal flavor like chocolate and peppermint but then they have the exotic flavors like spinach, liver and tripe. George swears he got a booger flavor one once," Ron said with a grimace as he tore off the end of a Licorice Wand.
They had a lot of fun with the beans. Hollis had tasted green apple, grass, sprouts, marmalade, and had tasted the end of a funny gray one that Ron refused to touch that turned out to be pepper. Just as they were about to open up another package, a boy around their age opened the compartment door.
"Have you seen a toad anywhere?" he asked fretfully. Ron and Hollis shook their heads no.
"Oh no! I've lost him again!" the boy wailed.
"Don't worry. He'll turn up," Hollis said encouragingly.
The plump boy left and Ron gave Hollis a sidelong look.
"I don't know what he's crying about. If I had a toad, I'd lose it as soon as I could, but I have Scabbers, so I can't exactly talk," Ron said. Hollis agreed. They both stared at Ron's snoozing rat who had taken residence in the empty Bertie Bott's Beans box.
"He could have died and you wouldn't know the difference. Fred gave me a spell yesterday to turn him yellow, you know to make him more interesting. It didn't work though. Here I'll show you," Ron said while rummaging through his things to retrieve a battered looking wand. Something shiny was sticking out on the bottom of it.
"The unicorn hair's nearly poking out of it… Okay, here goes," Ron said, but before he could start the incantation, a busy haired girl opened their compartment door and walked in. She had very large teeth, brown bushy hair, and was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes and uniform.
"Have you seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one," she said.
"He's already been by. We haven't seen it," Ron said, annoyed. The girl eyed Ron's wand with a curious gleam in her eye. She sat down next to Ron, who was looking more irritated by the second with this new girl.
"Are you doing magic? I've only done a few simple spells myself, but they've all worked for me. It was so surprising when I got my letter because no one's magic in my family but I was really pleased. I've memorized all the course books as well and done a bit of background reading and it sounds like Hogwarts is an awfully good school so I'm really happy that I'm going to the best magic school in the world. I'm Hermione Granger by the way. Who are you?"
This Hermione Granger girl said this all very fast. Hollis's head was spinning and judging by Ron's glazed look, she had lost him at the word 'letter'. He had, however, caught the words 'memorized' and 'course books'. With one look, Hollis silently communicated that she hadn't memorized the course books either despite the fact that she had at least, read through them.
"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron said, snapping out of his stupor.
"I'm Hollis Potter. You can call me Holly if you want though," Hollis said quietly.
"Are you really? I've read all about you of course! You know that you're in a ton of books about the Dark Arts and what not. You have a really amazing story, Hollis," Hermione said in rapt succession.
"I am? Wow, I didn't know that," Hollis said in amazement.
"Goodness, I would have found out all that I could have if I were you, Hollis- I mean, Holly. Do either of you know what house you'll be in?" Hermione asked eagerly. They both shook their heads.
"I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad, but Gryffindor sounds like by far the best. I hear Dumbledore was in that house. Oh, you two had best change into your robes. We'll be arriving soon, I think. Oh, and you have dirt on your nose. Did you know? Just there," Hermione said while gesturing to the spot on her own nose before leaving the compartment. Ron scrubbed his nose for a minute before they looked at each other. Ron gave a disgusted look but started the spell again. He cleared his throat
"Sunshine daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow!" Ron said while pointing his wand at Scabbers. Nothing happened.
"You know, I bet Fred knew it would be a dud…" Ron muttered to himself.
Suddenly, another group of people walked into their compartment. It was the pointed face boy that Hollis had met at Madame Malkin's robe shop.
"So it's true then. What people have been saying? They say that Hollis Potter is in this compartment. Is it you?" he asked, his gray eyed gaze fixed upon Hollis.
"Yes," Hollis said shortly, not wanting to engage in another conversation with this boy. There were two other people with them, both of them extremely big but they looked extremely stupid.
"Oh, this is Crabbe and Goyle. And I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy," he said, adding extra emphasis on his first name.
Ron coughed, but Hollis knew that he was trying to disguise his laughter. Malfoy rounded on him.
"Think my name's funny do you? No need for me to ask yours. My father says that all Weasley's have red hair, freckles and more children than they can afford," Malfoy sneered. Ron turned beet red.
Malfoy was once again interested in Hollis. "You'll learn soon that some Wizarding families are better than other's, Potter. You don't want to go hang around riff-raff like the Weasley's. I can help you there," Malfoy said. He extended his hand.
Hollis looked at his hand and then looked him in the eye. "I think I can tell who's the wrong sort for myself, thanks," she said coolly. Malfoy blushed a pale pink but he stood his ground.
"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter. Your parents were the same way. You'll meet the same sticky end as they did if you consort with the Weasley's and that Hagrid," Malfoy said slowly. Ron rose as did Hollis, but Hollis grabbed Ron's arm in a warning. She gave Ron a very pointed glance but he ignored her unnerving stare.
"Say that again, Malfoy," Ron growled.
"Leave," Hollis commanded, her eyes narrowing dangerously, her left hand clenching into a fist. Her hand felt very hot.
"I don't think I want to. We've eaten all of our food and you have some left," Malfoy said as if he owned the place. He, Crabbe and Goyle leaned towards the leftover sweets on the seat but they didn't get very far. Before they could get anything, Scabbers sunk his sharp teeth into Goyle's finger. He cried out and swung his hand around, efficiently hurtling Scabbers towards the wall. The three boys exited the compartment seconds later, and with one last sour look from Malfoy, they disappeared.
"What on Earth is going on down here?" said Hermione Granger's voice. Ron rolled his eyes but went to go pick up Scabbers. Hermione entered the compartment again and said disapprovingly, "You haven't been fighting have you? You'll be in trouble before you get to Hogwarts!"
Ron and Hollis ignored her. "I think he's been knocked out. Wait… I don't believe it! He's gone back to sleep!" Ron exclaimed in disbelief.
"You two had best change into your robes. I've just been up front to ask the driver how much longer and he says we're nearly there," Hermione huffed indignantly.
Ron and Hollis stared at her. "Um, can you leave? I don't feel comfortable changing in front of you," Ron said. Hermione harrumphed and stalked away.
"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she isn't in," Ron said to Hollis just before she left to go get changed. She came back moments later and she finally noticed how dark it was getting and how slow the train was going compared to before. She helped Ron clean up the sweets and in return, he helped her get a snoozing Artemus back into her basket. The sky was very dark and Hollis's stomach was in her feet by the time the train stopped completely.
"What house are your brothers in?" Hollis asked as they exited the train.
"Gryffindor. Mum and Dad were in there too," Ron said glumly. Hollis nodded in understanding. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice.
"First years! This way!"
It was Hagrid.
He was pushing his way through the throng of Hogwarts students, trying to get to the nervous group of first years. Hagrid managed to spot her and he called out, "Alright there, Hollis?"
Hollis nodded and gave Hagrid a shaky smile. "First years, this way! To the boats!" Hagrid yelled over the din. Hollis, Ron and the rest of the first years followed Hagrid to the docks where at least twenty boats with lanterns were moored.
"No more than four to a boat… Hey! Does this toad belong to anyone?" Hagrid yelled as everyone scrambled to get into the boats.
"Trevor!" Neville the toadless boy cried out happily. He took Trevor the Toad from Hagrid and scrambled into the boat with Hollis, Ron, and a sandy haired boy they didn't know.
"Forward!" Hagrid yelled as soon as he made himself comfortable in his boat. They floated atop the glass like surface quickly and Hogwarts soon came into view.
When they saw the school, everyone let out a very loud 'Oohh'.
It was a magnificent castle, with towers scattered everywhere and the grounds seemed to go on forever. In the distance, Hollis could make out stands, and six giant hoops. Hollis knew, somehow, that she was home.
They docked the boats, and after a lot of slipping and sliding, all the first years and Hagrid were congregated in front of the big oak doors.
"Everyone still in one piece? You still have your toad? Okay then," Hagrid asked only to receive a few scarce nods or no response at all. Hagrid raised his great fist and knocked on the oak doors.
47