Chapter 2

The next morning, Ivy was awakened by Timber licking her face. She smiled and rubbed his head before getting up. Standing, she kept a hand on the bed and made her way to the end. The night before, she had counted the steps to the bathroom. As she took her first step, she felt Timber slide in beside her. Putting a hand down, she found a handle, curiously she took it in her hand and he helped her find her way to the bathroom without bumping into any furniture. If she got too close to something he would either put gentle pressure on her leg nearest him to get her to move to her left, or pull slightly to get her to move to the right. 'I might get the hang of this.' She thought to herself. After washing up and attempting to tame her unruly hair, she pulled it back in a ponytail and stepped back out the bathroom.

"Good morning, Ivy. I see you are dressed and ready. We will have a small breakfast and then begin our journey to King's Cross Station. I assume you have used muggle transportation before?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes, ma'am, some." Ivy responded.

"We will be using a taxi." The professor said, making it almost a question, as she wasn't sure exactly what a taxi was. "I have some muggle money to pay for it with." Levitating Ivy's trunk, she maneuvered it down the stairs and out into the London street. Ivy followed with Timber leading the way through the maze of chairs and tables in the inn. Out in the street a taxi was waiting for them. The driver opened the trunk of the car and put her trunk in it. He didn't mention the fact that it was floating, so he either didn't notice or didn't care. Professor McGonagall opened the door and helped Ivy in to the car, then climbed in beside her. The driver slowly pulled out into the light traffic and made his way to King's Cross Train Station. Ivy felt butterflies in her stomach for the first time in her life. She was excited and nervous at the same time. She wasn't sure if she should laugh, cry, or throw up. Hopefully it wouldn't be the latter. She missed Harry, though. He had been her only friend for the past 5 years. She hoped he was okay, she never really trusted those relatives of his. It took almost an hour for the taxi to reach the station. The driver got out and grabbed a trolley to place the trunk on. Timber was all business as he kept an eye out for obstacles in the way of Ivy's walking path. The professor led them to a wall between platforms 9 and 10. "Now, you just have to walk straight, Ivy. Timber, it's not actually a wall, don't be afraid of it." She said. Timber whined slightly, but then barked that he understood.

'A wall? She's making me walk into a wall?' Ivy thought. She felt Timber pull and slowly moved her feet to walk beside him. She heard him whine again, and then felt a rush of cool air on her face. She heard the bustle of other people making their way to the train. She heard the whoosh of the steam of the train's engine and the clang of the bell. Smiling, she waited for the professor to join her. McGonagall placed a hand on her shoulder and led her to the train.

"There's 3 steps up here, dear." She told Ivy. Ivy found the steps with her white cane and took a step up into the train. Once inside, Professor McGonagall found an empty compartment and opened the door. "Here you are dear. Have a seat; I'll just put your trunk up here. Now, I have to head back to the school to greet the students when you arrive. I will see you in a few hours. Once the train arrives at Hogsmeade Station, Hagrid will find you and will take care of getting you to the castle. Enjoy the ride." With a loud crack, she disappeared. Ivy settled in to a seat and Timber sat at her feet.

"Well, Timber, here we are." Ivy said quietly. She heard the other students outside her compartment, calling to each other and saying goodbye to their parents. Smiling to herself, she rested her head on the back of the seat.

Harry had found his way to the station and on to the train. He was nervous, since he just found out that he was a wizard, he didn't really know anything about magic. Walking down the aisle of the train, he began looking for an empty compartment. Several kids stared at him and he brushed it off, thinking that he was just a new face and they were intrigued. He glanced into a compartment and saw a young girl sitting there alone. Thinking he would move on, he suddenly stopped. 'No, it couldn't be, could it?' he thought, taking a second look at the girl. 'I don't believe it, it is Ivy.'

Opening the compartment door, he stepped in noiselessly and pulled his trunk in behind him. Closing the door, he sat down opposite her and smiled. "Hello Harry." She said.

"How'd you know it was me?" he said, pouting.

"Your smell, Harry," Ivy laughed. "I've been wanting to tell you that I found out I'm a witch for some time now, but your aunt and uncle locked you up in the house for weeks and weeks, and then you disappeared."

"Yeah, I just found out on my birthday that I'm a wizard. Strange how we never knew." He replied. Seeing Timber, he spoke again. "Who's this?"

"Oh, sorry, this is Timber. The headmaster found him for me. He's a Seeing Eye dog and is supposed to keep me from falling down stairs at school." She answered.

"That's amazing. So, he will be with you all the time?" he asked.

"Yes, all the time. He's really great, helped me navigate the crowd of people in the station without bumping in to anyone." She told him.

The two talked and laughed, relishing the fact that they had at least one friend going to this strange place with them. The compartment door opened and a boy stuck his head in. "Do you mind? Everywhere else is full." He asked.

"Oh, no, we don't mind. Come on in." Harry replied, moving to sit beside Ivy.

"I'm Ron, by the way, Ron Weasley." The boy said, introducing himself.

"Oh, I'm Harry, Harry Potter, and this is…" Harry began.

"Blimey, you're Harry Potter!" Ron exclaimed. "Do you really have the… you know, scar?" He asked.

Harry laughed and reached up to brush his hair off his forehead to show his lightning bolt shaped scar. Ron seemed impressed, and Ivy knew why. She had read a few pages of one of her school books and was surprised to find Harry's name in there. She read how he had escaped a curse that no one had ever escaped before. Harry was famous and didn't even know it. Smiling, she waited as they talked. "Oh, sorry, this is Ivy Mitchell. She's a friend of mine from where I live." Harry said, remembering that Ivy was there.

"Nice to meet you, Ivy." Ron said, noticing that she stared at the wall of the compartment rather than look over at him when he spoke.

Harry seeing his confused look, "She's blind, Ron."

"Oh, sorry for staring." Ron said, turning as red as his hair.

"It's okay; I'm used to it, Ron. Would it be okay with you if I 'look' at your face?" Ivy said, holding her hands up slightly. Ron looked at Harry with a look of fear on his face. Harry nodded at him, telling him that it would be fine.

"Sure." Ron said, warily, his eyes darting back and forth between Ivy and Harry.

"I won't hurt you." She said, moving her hands over to find his face. She gently felt his chin and cheeks, his lips, nose and eyes. Moving around, she felt his ears and then his hair. "You have a friendly face, Ron, and very red hair." Ivy said, removing her hands.

"How- How'd you know I have red hair?" he asked.

"Colors feel differently, especially in hair." She told him. Ron stared at her, amazed. They talked more and Ron started to demonstrate a spell that his brother had taught him. Just as he was about to begin, the compartment door opened and a bushy haired girl stuck her head in the door.

"Has anyone seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost one." She asked in a huff.

Harry and Ron shook their head, but Ivy remained motionless.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see then." She said, noticing that Ron had his wand out. Ron said the spell, but nothing happened. "Are you sure that's a real spell? Not a very good one is it?" she said, and made her way into the compartment with them. "I done a few spells and have had great success with them. For example, Occulus Reparo." She said, and pointed her wand at Harry's face. A snap was heard and his glasses were mended. "Crickey! You're Harry Potter!" she exclaimed. "I'm Hermione Granger. And you are?" she turned to Ron.

"Ron Weasley." He croaked out.

"Pleasure." She stood to leave, not really paying much attention to Ivy. "I expect we'll be arriving soon, so you may want to change. You've got dirt on your face, did you know? Just there." She said, turning to Ron. Turning to leave, she turned back and said, "Dogs aren't allowed at Hogwarts. It's in the rule book." she left, her robe swishing behind her, her nose stuck up in the air a bit.

"She sounds….. nice… ish." Ivy said with a smile. Harry and Ron laugh and they began pulling their robes out and putting them on. Harry pulled out Ivy's for her and helped her put it on.

The train slowed and voice was heard overhead. "Welcome to Hogsmeade Station, please leave your things on the train, they will be transported to the castle separately."

Timber stood and Ivy grabbed onto the handle on his harness with her left hand and pulled out her white cane with her right hand. "Follow Harry, Timber." She said.

Harry led them out to the steps and off the train. "First years, over here." They heard a voice call out. Harry saw Hagrid standing with a lantern, waiting for them to join him. "Alright there, Harry?" he said, seeing Harry. Looking around, he found Ivy. "Ah, Miss Mitchell, glad you could make it. Just follow me and we'll make sure you get to the castle safe and sound." Hagrid told her. Judging by the sound of his voice, she thought he was probably a very tall man. He seemed nice, though.

"Just follow Harry, Timber. It's alright." She said and patted the dog's side. They began to walk slowly forward.

"Right then, you'll get your first glimpse of the castle just here." Hagrid said as he led them towards the lake. "Alright, 4 to a boat, no pushing." He told them.

"Boat!?" Ivy questioned.

"It's alright, Ivy. The boat's not going to move when you get in. I've got them stable." Hagrid said.

"Harry…." She started.

"Right here. I'll get in first and then help you in." he said. Everyone was staring at them. Harry got into the boat and then took Ivy's right hand. She cautiously inched her foot forward until she felt the edge of the boat. "Take a step. It's okay, I've got you." He said as he helped her into the boat. She was relieved to find that the boat didn't move when she stepped into it, but she was still very apprehensive about the whole thing. Timber jumped in after her and then Ron joined them. Nervously tapping her foot, Ivy waited until they could get out. She felt a slight jolt when they bumped into the dock on the other side of the lake. Stifling a scream, she held her hand to mouth. Harry got out of the boat and reached down to take Ivy's hand to help her out. She stepped out, feeling grateful that she was on solid ground again. Timber joined her and she grabbed on to the handle again, shaking out her white cane for the walk to the castle.

"Please tell me that we don't have to go by boat every year." She whispered.

"No, just the first year. More impressive, I think. After this year, we go by carriage." Ron told her. They followed Hagrid up to the massive front doors of the castle. He knocked on the door and it opened.

"The first years, Professor." He said and then turned to leave. They were all ushered inside and gathered in a group in the entrance.