Chapter 3
When I got to Aunt Mariah's house I couldn't wait to tell Kiera I was in Gryffindor.
"So, you're in Hufflepuff, right?" Kiera asked.
"Nope. I'm in Gryffindor!" I said with complete confidence.
"Oh, so you're with the know-it-all, egotistic snobs. How fitting!" she said with a smug grin.
"You're just jealous," Aunt Mariah said. "That Christina was put in the house for bravery and chivalry, and you were put in the house for 'common sense'." I had to laugh at that. I'd been lucky today, 2 people had stood up for me in one day!
After a quiet dinner, on account of Kiera not talking to me or Aunt Mariah, I went upstairs to send an owl to Mother and Dad. They would be thrilled that I was a Gryffindor. I was finally doing something "great", as they put it. My owl to Paige would be different. It explained the encounter with Hugo and why, exactly, Gryffindor was so great.
The morning we went to King's Cross was the longest one of my life. I'd spent the whole week before packing and deciding what to wear on the train. I'd spent the whole night tossing and turning, dying to go to Hogwart's. I woke up at 6 am, totally ready to go. I decided that a hot shower would be just what I needed, and ended up waking Aunt Mariah. She told me she didn't mind. She said Kiera had been just like that her first day, although she would deny it. I re-packed my trunk 5 times waiting for Kiera to get up. By the time Aunt Mariah was up and ready, I was nearly jumping out of my skin and Kiera was still in her room. When she was finally ready we were late.
As we arrived at King's Cross, I started to wonder what I was gong to do once we were on the train. Kiera was still bitter, so she wasn't going to let me sit with her. I would have to sneak my way in. When we were between Platforms 9 and 10, I started to get anxious. I watched Kiera run through the gate. When it was my turn, my stomach started twisting again. I started running and closed my eyes. The next thing I knew I was looking at the Hogwart's Express. I heard people yelling that there were only 2 minutes to get on the train. If I was going to sneak in with Kiera, I was going to have to hurry. After a hurried goodbye and promise to send an owl after the feast to Aunt Mariah, I sped after Kiera. (Well, as fast as someone dragging a trunk and an owl can.)
I watched her walk into a compartment, and just as I reached the door it slammed in my face. The train started moving, so I had to find an empty compartment, which wasn't likely, or sit with complete strangers. All the compartments, save one, were full. The door was open so I started to ask if I could sit here because everywhere else was full without seeing who was sitting there, in front of me. Hugo smiled another crooked smile when he realized who I was. I blushed and looked at my feet.
"Sure," a girl's voice "We have room."
"Thanks." I said. As I sat down, I realized that girl was Lily Potter. There were 3 other people in the compartment. One was a girl with strange brown and at the same time red hair who looked older than me. There was a boy with tousled black hair, and had the same brown eyes as Lily. He looked the same age as the girl. The last person was a boy sitting beside the girl. He had blonde hair that was almost white and had a welcoming smile on his face. He had his arm around the girl. "I'm Lily Potter, that's Hugo Weasley, he's my cousin." She pointed to the girl. "That's Rose Weasley, Hugo's sister." She pointed to the boy with black hair. "That's Albus, he's my brother, and he's Scorpius Malfoy, Rose's boyfriend."
"I'm Christina Brown." I said meekly.
"I haven't seen you around before." Rose said questioningly.
"I just moved here from Canada."
"That's cool!" Lily said with a friendly smile.
"Hey, didn't I see you in Diagon Alley?" Hugo asked.
"Ya, uh, I think you did." I said.
"Well, it's good to finally meet you!" he said with a crooked smile that made my heart beat faster.
"Are you going to be sorted with the 1st years?" Scorpius asked curiously.
"No, I was sorted before hand. I'm in Gryffindor." Lily's face lit up.
"So are we! Except for Scorpius, he's a Ravenclaw." She said.
"You're a 5th year?" Hugo asked.
"Uh-hun." I answered with a smile.
"You'll be with me and Hugo then!" Lily said enthusiastically.
"So what's it like in Canada?" Scorpius asked.
For the rest of the trip we talked about Hogwart's. I explained why I had come to Hogwart's. I decided not tell them the name of my cousin. I learned that Albus, Rose and Scorpius were on their last year. I would also be sharing a room with Lily and the other 5th year, Gryffindor girls. I had all the same classes as Lily and most with Hugo. I was overjoyed when I had found out that both of them enjoyed Care Of Magical Creatures class. I'd only just put on my robes, when we pulled into Hogsmeade Station. I was amazed that I'd already made friends and that Hugo had talked to me. When we got to Hogwart's I knew there was a permanent smile on my face. When we sat down at the Gryffindor table (Lily on my left, Hugo on my right,) I could see Kiera from where I was sitting and judging by the look on her face, she could see me too.
"Who's that you're looking at?" Lily asked me.
"The blonde girl across from us in Hufflepuff. She's-"
"That's the girl Hugo likes." Lily whispered to me.
My heart dropped. My face did too because I saw the confused look Lily gave me. Before she could ask me what was wrong, Professor McGonagall came out.
"Welcome to or back to Hogwart's, students! The sorting will commence soon, but first a word about staffing. You're new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher is Professor Chang…"
After the feast I silently followed Lily up to the Common room. Once we were in our room I fell on the bed. When the other girls came up Lily introduced us but I didn't hear any of the names. I silently got ready for bed and smashed my head into my pillow. My heart felt like it had been smashed into a million pieces and that it would never heal again.
A/N: Shocking chapter, no? Keep telling me what you would like to see in future chapters. Next chapter is almost finished, so anticipate it coming soon!