Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. That privilege solely belongs to JK Rowling.

Chapter 3 Starting the Journey

She felt like she had been hit by a truck. No, she felt like she had been pulverized by a truck. What had happened to her? All she could remember was a headache and coming home from Diagon Alley. Had she fallen asleep and Remus brought her to bed? With a groan, Vesper opened her eyes and pulled herself into a sitting position. While her head had stopped pounding, the rest of her body felt unnaturally stiff, like she hadn't moved for a long time. Her room was bathed in orange light; whether it was from a sunset or sunrise she couldn't tell. The clock on her night table was no help either.

Gingerly, Vesper got out of bed. Her stomach gave a great rumble and Vesper suddenly felt very sick. She really needed to get something to eat, but first she needed to head to the loo.

When she finished, she headed downstairs intent on filling her stomach. However when Vesper was about to enter the dining room, the other figure in the room stopped her.

"Remus?"

Her godfather, who had been hunched over a heavy looking tome, whipped his head around so fast that it made Vesper dizzy just watching it. He stood, knocking the chair to the floor. Suddenly, her feet left the ground and she was swept up in a crushing hug.

"Thank gods you're alright," Remus whispered against her. He set her down gently and kissed her forehead. "I thought I might lose you. Are you hungry? You should sit down, you're still weak. Do you –"

"Remus, I'm fine," said Vesper. "I'm just a little stiff and hungry."

Immediately Remus jumped into action, saying he would make her. While he was busy chopping vegetables, she hesitantly asked, "What exactly happened?"

The sound of the knife stopped. "From what I've read, you simply overtaxed your magic," he said, and the sound of more chopping could be heard. "It's something that can happen when a witch or wizard uses too much of their magical energy. The body is then too drained of magic, and it shuts down to heal itself."

"Shuts itself down?"

"After you fainted, you were out for over two days. Sleep is the best way for a body to heal itself."

"Wait," she said, "if I was asleep for over two days…" She quickly did the math in her head. "Oh no! Remus!"

He walked into the room carrying steaming bowl of soup. "I'm sorry, Vesper, but there was nothing I could do. I tried everything I could to wake you up, but I couldn't."

"I can't believe you let me miss it!" cried Vesper. "Remus!"

"There's always next year."

"It won't be the same!"

"Vesper, calm down; you're still recovering!"

She heaved a sigh and sunk into her chair, depressed. Vesper took a sip of her soup and grumbled.

"I can't believe you let me miss my birthday."

"Well, this is it."

Vesper glanced up at the man who had spoken, the man who had raised her for the past four years. A large lump formed in her throat. She had always known that going to Hogwarts meant leaving Remus. But this knowledge was much harder to accept now that she was finally boarding the train.

It was harder still when tears formed in her godfather's eyes.

She pulled him into a tight hug, not knowing the words to express what she was feeling. Remus seemed to know exactly what she was feeling, though, as he whispered to her. "I'll miss you too."

After what seemed to be only a second to Vesper, they pulled apart with one last squeeze.

"Now, be good," said Remus, "and don't go getting into trouble."

Vesper smiled. "I'll try."

"And don't forget to write. I want to hear about your first week."

"I promise."

"And remember to finish that thank-you letter for the Edevanes for your birthday present. Send it with your letter and I'll post it for you."

"I won't forget."

"And –"

"Remus, I have to go!" shouted Vesper, as the train whistle blew. With one last hug and kiss, she dragged her trunk onto the train just before it started moving. Pulling her trunk behind her, Vesper started to look for a place to sit.

She didn't have much luck. All of the compartments appeared to be full, and by the time she reached the middle of the train, Vesper was starting to get nervous. What if she couldn't find a seat and had to stand in the corridor the whole trip? So absorbed was Vesper in her worries that she almost didn't notice the two redheaded boys she was about to bump into.

"Sorry," she muttered, pulling her trunk closer to herself to make room for them to pass.

The two boys looked at each other. Vesper noticed how similar the boys looked; they had to be twins.

"Don't have anywhere to sit?" asked the boy on the left.

Vesper shook her head.

"Well," said the boy on the right, "you could always come with us."

"If you don't mind sitting with some of our friends," the left one said.

"And you can keep a secret," added the other.

"I think I can do that," Vesper said, smiling. "Lead the way."

As it turned out Vesper didn't have to backtrack very far. The twins led her to a compartment that she had passed not long ago. Inside was a dark-skinned boy with dreadlocks. He was holding a large box in his hands.

"Fred, George, you just missed it! Angelina was just in here. You should've seen her face when I showed her – who's this?"

"This," said either Fred or George, "this is…" He looked at her. "What is your name?"

"Vesper," she said, deciding quickly to omit her last name.

"Huh," said the other twin. "Weird name. Well, anyway, Vesper here is going to be sitting with us. We already swore her to secrecy."

Vesper sat down and smirked. "Actually, you asked if I can keep a secret, not if I would keep your secret, which I'm assuming has something to do with whatever is in that box." She looked over in time to see the box rattling as if to prove her point.

"Blimey!" the boy holding the box laughed. "I think you two better watch out for this one!" He held his hand out to Vesper. "I'm Lee Jordon."

"Nice to meet you."

"So," said one of the red-haired brothers, "Which House are you hoping for, Vesper?"

"I'm not really sure," she answered honestly. "I haven't thought about it much. My mum was in Ravenclaw and my father in Gryffindor, but…" She paused, and her mind flickered to the wand in her trunk. "There's a lot more to it than family history, right? Besides, what house are you three in?"

"We're all in Gryffindor," said Lee. "Third year."

"Which means that we have seniority over you, little ickle firsty."

"So you have to do as we say –"

" – like not saying anything about what you hear in here –"

" – or you'll suffer the consequences."

Vesper eyed the twins suspiciously as they spoke back and forth. She briefly considered asking them how severe a consequence from two (maybe three) barely trained wizards would be. The idea was quickly discarded. Finally, she sighed.

"Whatever; I'm not even here."

With that she pulled a book out of her trunk and started to read, ignoring the slightly hushed voices of the three boys.

The text of her Transfiguration book was interesting enough, but after hours of reading, Vesper's mind began to wander.

"Are you sure we aren't looking at the wrong subject? Maybe we should look at charms instead–"

"The whole principle is based in Transfigurations. We just need to keep looking."

"It's been weeks and we still haven't found a spell–"

"What are you two going on about?" said Vesper, setting her book aside.

The twins exchanged a look. "We'll tell you if you promise to keep it a secret," the one Vesper thought was George said. When she nodded her assent he continued. "You see Vesper, Fred, Lee, and I are currently the resident troublemakers at Hogwarts, though we prefer the title of pranksters extraordinaire. We've been working on a prank idea for quite some time now. The desired effect is to have an object suddenly transfigure into another although we've hit a snag since we can't figure out which spell to use.

"So," the twin concluded, "think you can figure out a spell to help us, little firsty?"

Vesper smirked; hadn't there been a spell been mentioned in the book she was reading that sounded exactly like what they needed? Sure, she didn't really know what she was talking about, but they didn't know that…

"How about a temporary Switching Spell?" she asked. "You could modify it somehow to set it on a timer or something."

A pause, then –

"Vesper," said Fred crossing the compartment to sit next to her. He swung his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "Have you ever considered being sorted into Gryffindor house?"

"Umm…"

"Give it up, Fred," Lee said. "I bet you a Galleon we've got ourselves a bird here."

"Nonsense, she's a Gryffindor for sure," said Fred, waving off Lee's suggestion. "So what do you say, Vesper?"

She didn't understand. She voiced her confusion out loud.

"Why to join us! Unofficially, of course," he amended. "You are the perfect person to help us when we get stuck on a prank."

"You could even help us with one if we need an extra hand," added George.

"So what do you say, partner?"

"I…" Vesper paused. These three admitted to her openly that they were nothing but troublemakers at Hogwarts. She had promised Remus that she wouldn't get into any trouble. But these boys were willing to be friends with her, or at least they wanted to be allies with her; either way, it gave her a foot-hole in Hogwart's social ladder. Remus wouldn't want her to be lonely…

With that argument, she smiled. "I accept."

The rest of the train ride was a mix of going over different ideas that Fred and George had and listening to Lee's stories about some of their previous adventures. Vesper was glad to note that the more time she spent with them, the more she seemed to like them. The three boys also seemed to take a liking to her by the time the train stopped at Hogsmeade station. She hoped that maybe one day they might see her as a friend and not just a brain to mooch off.

Finally, the train slowed before coming to a stop. Vesper jostled her way through the crowd to get off of the train and onto the dark platform. Then the glow of a lamp swung above her head and a voice called out, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here, please! Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

A man too tall to possible be human was the source of the voice. Vesper hurried to catch up with the rest of the first years as they walked down a steep, narrow pathway.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," said the large man, "jus' round the bend here."

The path widened and stopped at the foot of a black lake. Mountains reflected on the undisturbed water, the quarter moon and stars illuminating the castle before them.

"No more'n four to a boat!" the man called, drawing Vesper's attention to the fleet of small, wooden boats beached on the shore. She quickly climbed into a boat with another girl and two boys that she had never seen before.

"Everyone in? Right then – FORWARD!"

The fleet of boats set off, moving of their own accord. The boats carried them through a dark tunnel, cutting through the cliff where the castle stood, until they reached an underground harbor where the boats finally stopped. From there, Vesper and the others clambered up a passageway following the light from the lamp the man was carrying. When they exited the passageway, they walked up a flight of stone steps to the entrance of the castle.

"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"

Then the man raised a giant fist and knocked three times on the castle's oak door.

AN-Well, we finally made it to Hogwarts. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and added alerts and favs. You guys are the best!

Next chapter will be posted in two weeks. Remember to review!

Love Lora