"Uh, Miss? Is everything all right?"

The sound of someone's voice pulls me out of my thoughts. I look up to see a very official-looking guy. He has a hat, badge, and everything.

I shake my head to clear it. "Yes, thank you," I say. I smile. Hopefully it looks real.

By the look on his face, he didn't buy it. But, the man just nods and walks away, leaving me by myself with my cart full of books and a caged owl.

I stare at the area in between Platform 9 and Platform 10. I say to my elf owl, "Well, Ivy, looks like another year is beginning. Hopefully this time someone other than the teachers will talk to me."

Closing my eyes, I charge to the area and fly through, feeling nothing. When I open my eyes, a sign labeled "Platform 9 ¾" greets me.

"Hello, old friend," I whisper. "Nice to see you again."

Taking a deep breath, I look at the bustling witches and wizards surrounding me. Small children are whining and clinging to their parents' sleeves, begging them to send them to school this year, not next! Older siblings are already cloaked in their Hogwarts robes, looking around for friends or possible more-than friends. Many are pushing a big cart full of books and an owl (or a rat—you never know) just like I am. But we have our differences—a lot of them.

I wish my parents were here with me instead of sitting at home, wondering why they have such a freaky daughter. First she's a witch, and she doesn't have any friends, either? Why don't we just kick her out of the house?

I mentally shake my head. Silly me, that was when I was a second year. Fifth year and no friends, now that's a completely different story.

I really need some friends. I talk to myself (even if it's in my head) way too much.

I get on the Hogwarts Express for my fifth year. Ah, the beginning of the end. I wonder if anything exciting will happen this time, before I'm too old to even hope for excitement. Fifth year and there's no turning back.

I walk to my usual compartment, ignoring the shouts of goodbye to family coming from people around me. After a narrow escape from tripping over my robes, I pull open the sliding door that has my initials—EL—scratched into the wooden side. When I step inside, I'm welcomed by a very unfamiliar (yet it's happens millions of times before) sight.

Rose Weasley's face is scrunched up with frustration. "Really, Al, get some brains. It's not that hard to—" She stops as she sees me.

I know Rose. Since we're both in Gryffindor, it's kind of hard not to know her. That doesn't mean she talks to me, though.

I've never really thought about whether Rose is nice or not, but in the next minute I think she's the kindest person I have ever met. "Hey, Emmeline!" she says brightly, her smile lighting up her face, the disgusted expression gone. She pats the seat next to her. "Come sit!"

I mutter something unintelligible, overcome with gratefulness to this girl who has never spoken to me before. I walk over, feeling really stupid, and sit down next to her. Her red hair is twisted into a braid, and her blue eyes are sparkling. She is the epitome of confidence. I feel so out of place.

She says, "I was just telling Al how stupid he can be," she informs me. "I mean, asking a girl if she wants to go to the Shrieking Shack is a little…forward, don't you think?"

Why is it that this girl is acting like I'm her best friend? We don't even really know each other!

"Rosie, just drop it, okay?" Albus Potter glares at his cousin. This is when I finally look at him.

I stifle a gasp. I've seen Albus before, even stalked him for a little while, but I guess I never really looked at him.

His dark hair is an untidy mess, glasses perched crookedly on his nose. He's skinny, but sort of defined. The thing that really catches me is his eyes. Those almond-shaped eyes, the color of the greenest green, are the most gorgeous eyes I have ever seen.

I blush when he catches me staring. He smiles a little, looking shy. I can't help but smile back.

Rose, oblivious of the interaction, says with an air of presumptuousness, "Well, if I was you, I would have done something sweet, you know? Maybe invited her to lunch at the Three Broomsticks. Not said, 'Hey, I think you're hot. Wanna go hook up? I know this cool place. It's dark and no one will know…'"

I can't help but giggle. Rose grins and nods, saying, "See, Al? Emmeline agrees with me."

Albus is bright red. He says, "I did not say that!"

Rose says in a singsong voice, "But you implied it…"

Albus says, "What do you think, Emmeline?"

That is the first time he's ever spoken to me. Albus just saying my name sends shivers down my spine, but I don't know why. I don't bother trying to figure it out. I say tentatively, "Well, it probably wasn't the best way to handle the situation…"

"Yes!" Rose cheers, pumping her fist into the air. "I win! Suck on that, Al!"

Albus says drily, "Sorry, Rose, but I'd rather stay away from that, if you don't mind."

I laugh. Albus stares at me in surprise. I ask quietly, "What?"

He says, "I've never heard you laugh before…"

More confidently, I reply, "Maybe you weren't listening."

Wow, that was good! I'm actually talking to someone, and I sound at least slightly intelligent! This is amazing!

Rose goes, "Ohh…Al, you just got burned."

I smile and say, "Not really."

"Oh, yeah?" Albus's eyes are gleaming with amusement. "Then what?"

Feeling more comfortable and confident than I ever had, I say, "You just got char grilled!"

How lame can I get, really? But I still get a good reaction. Rose goes, "Ohh," again, and I get a high-five. Albus is laughing.

Albus says, "Oh, really, then? It's on!"

We all exchange disses for a while. Every few minutes, someone would shout, "You just got smoked!" or "You just got smoldered!"

And my insults were pretty good, I have to say. I never realized how witty I was. Or confident. I even made a remark about Albus's…size…once. That got a hoot of laughter from Rose and even a snort from the guy in question himself.

"You know, Emmeline," Albus says a long time later, still chuckling, "I never realized how much fun you are."

"Yeah," Rose agrees, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. She's leaning against me, barely able to stay on the seat. She says, "You're hilarious! Why haven't you ever let us know before?"

I shrug and say with a grin, "You may not have figured this out, but I'm not the best at making friends."

I think this was funny in a twisted sort of way, but I don't get any laughs. Albus says seriously, "If I ever ignored you, or…anything, I'm sorry."

Rose nods. "Yeah. I mean, your bed has been right next to mine in the dormitory for three years, and I didn't say a word to you. I'm so sorry, Emmeline."

I smile, their apologies warming my once-cold, lonely heart. "It's okay," I say. "You're talking to me now, aren't you? The past is the past. Who cares about it?"

Albus comments, "That's a good way to think of things. You're very optimistic."

I smile brightly and start babbling, "Yeah, but it's actually sort of technical. I mean, technically, a glass cannot be half-empty. It can only be half full. When you drink from a glass, you don't fill it to the bottom, do you? No. You fill it to the top. So why would you drink it to the bottom? You drink from the top, right? And—" I stop. They're laughing at me again. "What?"

"Nothing," Albus says, grinning. "You're funny, that's all. I never really thought about the technicalities of glass-filling before."

I stick out my tongue. "Laugh all you want, but just know that in a few years, you're not going to think about the technicalities on your exams. Then, you'll fail and be a miserable janitor just like Filch. Or worse—Umbridge's assistant." We all picture the daughter of the woman who tortured Harry Potter (Albus's father), the Ministry worker who checks up on Hogwarts once a year to make sure 'the minds of our next generation aren't corrupted.' She is just as bad as her mother; at least one of them is cooped up in Azkaban. We all shudder simultaneously at the thought of fetching coffee all day long for the dreadful woman.

Rose has grown serious. "Oh, Albus!" she exclaims. "You cannot fail your exams! You simply cannot! That's it, that's the last straw. I'm going to make you a study guide and set times specifically for studying, and…" she trails off after seeing our faces. She smiles sheepishly. "You were joking, weren't you?"

We all laugh.

Albus says, "I think this is going to be a fun school year."

I nod and smile at him as Rose mumbles something about sleep and puts her head against my shoulder. "Yeah. It is."

It is.