"So, Alex – are you sure you can do this?" Jack asked, she seemed hesitant to even watch him try to cross the so called platform nine and three quarters. She would be staying at a café nearby until Uncle Ian picked her up. Even Alex had to admit that it was daunting. What if he smashed into the bricks?

"I'll try," was the only response he could give.

Uncle Ian had volunteered to go first and check if it was alright. Apparently there was this green light that told them there was nobody glancing in their direction and they were safe to go through. He just had to run into the brick wall between platforms nine and ten.

After Uncle Ian had successfully run through the wall, it was Alex's turn. Alex closed his eyes as he ran forwards and expected to crash. However, he didn't and when he opened his eyes he was surrounded by children and parents saying goodbye in front of a huge train. They were told to change into their school robes only when they were had boarded the train but many students, particularly older ones, were already wearing their school gear.

"Are you alright, Alex?" Uncle Ian asked, to which Alex nodded. Uncle Ian seemed to be melancholic for the last couple of days. There were times that he was in a lowly mood. Maybe something bad had happened at the bank again or he was just sad to be saying goodbye to Alex.

It wasn't long before his owl started screeching again. The barn owl that Jack had picked for him turned out to be a bit of a nuisance. It had a habit of screeching for no apparent reason, pecking until it drew blood and also pooped in inappropriate places when they let him out. There was a reason why the shop they bought him from only had a galleon on the bird. Jack insisted that it was 'cute but diabolically evil' and Alex could only agree. Alex couldn't think of a proper name for the owl yet but the family often referred to it as 'Screeches Too Much' or 'Discount Owl'.

Uncle Ian however had found the owl quite useful; it did the services that it was meant to and did them quite well. Uncle Ian said that the owl was an extremely useful method of letter transport, especially if he didn't want the message to be intercepted. He wanted one for himself; only he hoped that it wouldn't be as unruly as Screeches Too Much.

"Hey, sorry to disturb you but your owl is being quite loud," said an older girl already dressed in her school gear, she was in the green house – Slytherin.

Alex could only shrug, "Umm… Sorry. There isn't much I can do about her; she's just a naughty owl."

"Would you mind if I silence him for a bit?"

"No, not at all. Please do it."

She pointed her wand at Screeches Too Much, swished it and muttered 'silencio'. The owl was still screeching but there was no noise coming out.

"Thanks."

The girl smiled at him, "No problem." She then walked away to catch up with her friends.

It was only a minute or two until the owl realised that she was failing to annoy anyone and stopped trying to make noise.

Uncle Ian then turned to him, "Now, promise me you'll be safe and write to us frequently."

"Of course."

Without warning, Uncle Ian had embraced him in a hug. It was unusual for him to display such strong emotions. There was only a short time until the train would be leaving and most of the other kids had already boarded. It was already puffing steam.

"Now, knock 'em dead."

"I will, see you later."

Alex and his Uncle exchanged a knuckle punch. Alex then gave his luggage to the porters and boarded the Hogwarts Express. He then waved his Uncle goodbye as the train slowly gained momentum.

Once Alex had said goodbye to his Uncle he was confronted by another problem - where to sit. Most of the other compartments were already taken and Alex wanted to sit with other first years, just so he could have a talk with them. It took him a while before he found some people who looked about his age.

"Um, excuse me, but I was wondering if there were any seats available?"

The girl looked at him and grinned, "Come in."

There was also another girl, tall and blonde, and a boy whose face reminded Alex of a rabbit.

"I'm Tracey Davis and I'm from Liverpool. Who are you and where are you from?"

"I'm Alex Rider. I'm from Brookland, London."

"That's interesting. Are you related to the Riders who come from East Sussex? They had a son who is a fifth year Ravenclaw and a daughter who is a second year Hufflepuff."

"Um… No, not that I'm aware of."

"Ah," Tracey shrugged it off, "Never mind."

"I'm Lisa Turpin and my mother has moved all over the place doing different jobs. She's currently working with quinpeds. We live close to the Isle of Drear."

The other two were quite impressed by this.

"My father and I have lived in Wimbledon all my life," the boy added, "He doesn't work anymore, he's too old and besides, we have more than enough money."

"What's your name?" Tracey asked him.

"Theodore Nott."

Her eyes widened. Maybe his name was quite impressive or rather his family.

"How old is your dad?" Alex asked.

"He turns eighty nine next October 26," he replied, not thinking that this was anything unusual. There was a minutes silence; Alex guessed that it would have been rather rude to comment further on his father's age.

"Umm…" Lisa mumbled trying to make conversation, "What houses are you all hoping to be sorted in?"

"Slytherin," Theodore was quick to answer, "My whole family has been for yonks. It would be a shame for me not to be. Besides, Slytherin is the house of brotherhood, the cunning and the ambitious."

"My mum was a Gryffindor but I think I will be a Ravenclaw. I've always been bookish."

"For me it's complicated. See, my mum was a Hufflepuff and so is my third older sister, Mary. My second older sister Xylia is a Gryffindor and she's as rowdy as anything. My oldest sister Amethyst was a Ravenclaw and she's now studying to be a healer. All my extended family are or were Slytherin or Gryffindor."

"I don't know either," Alex admitted, he did read about the houses and their traits over the couple of days, "I suppose I could be any house. I don't have any family that were magic any way. I have no idea what to expect."

"That's ok," Lisa smiled, "My mum was also muggle born. We don't have anything to do with her extended family, except for my grandparents."

Tracey didn't seem to think anything of this, but Theodore seemed to shuffle uncomfortably in the seat.

As Alex continued to talk to them it was clear that these people might not be his school friends, well maybe Lisa or Tracey, they seemed ok but Theodore was a bit strange. They all took turns going out to change into their school robes as they came close to the school.

It wasn't long before a girl with bushy brown hair and big front teeth knocked on their compartment door and asked whether they had seen a toad because a boy called Neville had lost it.

"Maybe Neville should take better care of his things," Theodore replied.

"That's besides the point!" She refuted, "Have you seen a toad or not?"

"Hey, there it is over there," Lisa exclaimed and surely enough, there was a toad hanging on the ceiling of their compartment. How it might have gotten up there, Alex had no idea; maybe it wasn't a normal toad.

Tracey shrieked, "Ew! Toads are gross. Why would anyone want them?"

Alex took no hesitation in using his magic to get the toad off the ceiling (as it was far out of the reach of eleven year olds). He regretted not spending some time to actually study spells, but he could easily get it off wandlessly. He unlatched the toad from the ceiling and levitated it into his hand.

"Here," Alex said to the bossy girl, trying to keep a firm grasp on the defiant toad, "He's a tricky one, so keep him steady."

The others seemed amazed by this.

"Thank you. Neville will be very happy for you," She mustered.

"That's quite impressive you know," stated Tracey, "Being able to control magic that well without a wand is quite unusual, especially for someone our age."

"- And especially considering that you're muggle born," Theodore added.

This upset the bushy haired girl to the point where her cheeks turned pink, "There are plenty of muggle borns who made significant contributions to the magical world. There is no evidence that being muggle born affects your magical ability. I'm muggle born by the way."

'Maybe there is something likable about her', Alex thought.

"Muggle borns everywhere," Theodore muttered to himself and shook his head.

It wasn't long before it became dark and they had arrived at their destination. An abnormally ginormous man ("He's part giant," Alex heard Theodore whisper to him and the others around him) lead them to wooden boats that were so decrepit that it was obvious that the only thing keeping them together was magic. They could easily have been as old as the castle itself.

They were then lined up outside the dining hall where they were greeted by a stern looking professor. Apparent everybody inside the hall was waiting for them.

A/N: Last chance to vote on my profile page people. Till next time, peace out.