A/N: I'm so sorry! I've been terrible about updating. Hopefully, this makes up for it.


Chapter Eleven: Welcome to Your New Home

September 1st that year was a day full of sunshine, warm breezes, and a clear, blue sky, all of which were quite unusual for London. When Liana pointed out the lovely weather to me, she grinned knowingly, "It's an omen, I know it, we'll have good luck today."

We received some stares from Muggle commuters as we walked past, dragging our trunks along with us, and it'd be lying if I said Belle wasn't attracting much attention. Mum advised to just pretend we were one of these passerbies, and then we'd feel like we blended in. A sigh of relief was emitted from every one of us when we reached King's Cross Station.

Passing through the general entryway, an attendant gave Liana and I trolley carts to place our belongings on top of. Strategically setting down our trunks so they were guaranteed not to slip off, Mum led us to the passageway to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

The five of us huddled together after stopping about nine feet away from the wall. "Now, girls, rule one about getting to the platform," Mum told us in a hushed voice, "is that you always have to keep a watchful eye on anyone nearby. You have to time yourself perfectly to make it through."

"I've seen Michael do it," Liana was hopping excitedly from one foot to the other. "Mrs. Longbottom, may I go first? To show Alice?"

"Yes, dear, I suppose so."

Liana rolled her trolley a few inches ahead, her eyes shifting back and forth between the passing Muggles. When there seemed to be a clearing of people on both sides of her, she charged forward without any hesitation, surging into the brick wall, which looked dangerously hard from my angle.

With Liana through, Mum turned to me with a smile, her two careworn hands clasped onto by Frankie and Eleanor. "Are you ready, Allie?"

I unsuccessfully swallowed away the knot in my throat and nodded, beginning to push my cart forward to a starting position.

"We'll come right after you!" Mum assured me. "Good luck!"

Trying to block the image in my head of me slamming head-first into the wall, I began running, my eyes shut tightly. When I felt no crash, I opened them, and my jaw dropped.

I was on a platform away from the Muggles, and I knew because adults were passing me in multi-colored robes, and I spotted several teenagers wearing the black Hogwarts robes. I was so engrossed in these outfits that I barely noticed the steam engine until it let out a lasting whistle. I then looked up to find the most beautiful locomotive I had seen in my life – ever since my family and I had picked up my father here for Christmas holidays so long ago, I had forgotten how sprawling and gorgeous the Hogwarts Express had been. The air was smoky and chatter-filled, and it was a sight I loved immediately.

"Alice!" Liana appeared at my side, and I wondered if she had been there all along. "Oh, isn't it lovely?" She motioned towards the train with a huge smile on her face, and I grasped onto her hand and squealed along with her.

Mum and my siblings then materialized out of thin air, or so it seemed, and my mother was beaming as she appeared. "Coming through is always a rush, isn't it?" she said with a laugh. She glanced over the tops of people's heads, then peered back down at my friend and me. "I see the Potters over there, girls, why don't we go and say hello?"

Just as we were all about to step forward towards our friends, a lady came to my mother's side, hugging her and talking animatedly. Mum smiled as if she knew this woman, and gestured to Liana and I to keep on moving.

When the two of us approached the Potters, Ginny was laying down the law with James. "If I get any letters about mischief you caused…"

"Mum," I could see James roll his eyes. "I promise I'll stay out of trouble…"

"Hello, James!" Liana interrupted brightly, seeing no wrong in barging into this mother-son conversation.

Both Ginny and James looked up, Ginny smiling back at us, and James scowling quietly. "Hello Alice, Liana," Mrs. Potter's kind eyes shone at us. "Exciting, isn't it?"

We nodded actively. Behind his mother, James smirked a little – not because he found us smirk-worthy, but to make us laugh. He succeeded and we bit our lips to hide our giggles from his mum.

Ginny caught the last two seconds of her son's grimace, and shot him a look, then joined her husband and two other children over by the train tracks. We three remainders exchanged awkward glances until Liana brightly struck up a conversation. "What House are you hoping to be in, James?"

James smirked a little. "Gryffindor, obviously. I've got to keep up the family reputation, don't I?"

Liana nodded as if she hadn't been the one asking him his preferred House, but the one already knowing of the desire. "You're better off than me and Alice here. My parents didn't even come to Hogwarts!"

Liana and Michael were the only connections I ever had to American wizards. Rolf and his brother, my friends' father, were half American and half English, both raised in the States and attending the brother school to the Salem Witches Institute. The brothers had moved to England together when both had graduated school, and it seemed as if their lives fell into place from there, with each meeting their future wives quickly after settling in.

James was scrutinizing my face. "What was your mum, Alice? Not a Gryffindor?"

Something pinged inside of me as I heard this, and worries filled my mind once again. "She was a Hufflepuff…maybe I'll be one too."

Both Liana and James grew quiet; both appeared sorry for my spilt thoughts on my Sorting future. Luckily, the mood was quickly reversed as the train's whistle sounded, and my mother and James's parents came to our sides.

"This is it, children…" Mum's eyes were glazed, and she smiled wistfully at me. "You're really leaving…" She shared a knowing glance with Mrs. Potter, laughing a little. "I still remember Alice and James playing in the mud naked together as babies."

"Mum!" My voice cracked, and James blushed a ferocious red. Liana was clenching her jaw, but I still detected a giggle from her direction.

"Oh, we're sorry," James's mother still grinned reminiscently as she gave me a squeeze of the arm. "Good luck at school, dear."

"Thank you."

Ginny said her good-byes to Liana, and then once again tugged James away to give him another stern warning of avoiding prank-pulling at school. My mum faced my friend and me, eyes already tearing up.

"Thanks for everything, Mrs. Longbottom," Liana cheerily stepped forward and hugged her. "See you at Christmas."

"You're welcome, Liana," Mum beamed at her and stroked her cheek. "If you see Michael on the train, tell him I said hello." She peeked over her shoulder one last time. "I haven't seen Luna or Rolf…?"

"Oh, Mike came here with a friend," Liana bent down to Eleanor's eye level to tickle her one last time, then playfully slugged my brother's arm. "But I'll tell him."

My good-byes were next. To apologize for my behavior beforehand, I hugged Mum fully and tightly, kissing her cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too, Alice," Mum still kept me in her embrace, as if unwilling to let go. "Have fun and do your best, all right?"

"I will…" Our hug broke apart and biting my lip, I glanced up at her and whispered, "Mum, will you be upset if I don't make Hufflepuff?"

She paused, but brushed off my question with a confident smile. "Of course not, Allie. Whatever house you'll be will make me happy, and it should satisfy you too."

"Okay," my voice's tone still held uncertainty that Mum didn't notice. Hands shaking slightly, I hugged Frankie and Eleanor good-bye, and as Liana and I neared the edge of the train platform together, dragging our trolleys along, my family disappeared in the thick of the crowd. James, too, was also unseen.

A group of older, chatting students pushed past, fumbling up the steps onto the train. We waited for them to board, and then handed over our luggage to the porter before we faced each other hesitantly.

"Are you ready?" My heart pounded deeply in my throat.

"No." The usual dauntless Liana was suddenly wan and wide-eyed.

I couldn't help but giggle. "Neither am I." I outstretched my hand to her. "Together, perhaps?"

She nodded in agreement. We joined hands and each lifted a foot, stepping over the gap between the platform and the train and aiming for the latter's entrance…

As my foot made contact with the metal of the train's platform, I felt jerked back to the edge and a screech let out from my throat. A conductor appeared from the train compartment, snatching me towards the secure locomotive's floor. Whirling back around, I could hear a commotion and a bang sound from the other platform. My jaw dropped as I spotted Liana sprawled on the platform in a confused heap, several parents surrounding her with raised tones.

"Liana!" I made to hop back off the train and dash over to her, but the conductor grasped at my sleeve.

"No, no, little miss. You see, your friend must not have sent in her acceptance owl on time. Anyone who didn't is considered an intruder on the train."

I yanked my arm away from him, scolding. "How can you tell she's an intruder?"

Another person appeared in my side vision, someone still on the other platform. The voice that spoke was familiar. "An Intruder Charm was placed on the train after the War, Alice."

Whipping back around – I was beginning to feel dizzy – my eyes enlarged as I saw my father there, assisting Liana onto her feet. "Dad?"

"'Morning, Longbottom," the conductor tipped his hat at Dad and jumped over to the platform to shake his hand. "So what's the case with this little one?" Next to him, Liana's face burned tomato red, a trail of tears visible on her cheeks. With the conductor off the train, I also sneaked off onto the platform, running to my friend's side concernedly.

Dad shushed the man, clearing away the throb of parents around us. "I know this girl, Hank, let me handle it…"

"Dad…" I added plead to my voice, but my father still didn't answer me, turning to Liana.

"Do you remember when you sent in your acceptance owl, Liana?"

She sniffed, glancing at her feet guiltily. "I thought I did on July 30th exactly…"

Dad shook his head. "Apparently not then…" He withdrew from his robes a yellowed, boundless piece of parchment. "Your name isn't on the list of our new students."

Liana's tears welled even more. "But-!"

"Come with me, little lady," Hank the conductor began leading her away. "You'll be riding up by the driver."

"She's still coming to school?" I perked, and my father finally looked my way, eyes unreadable.

"Technically, yes," Dad placed his hand on his shoulder, almost nudging me back towards the train. "But as a student, maybe not."

"Daddy…"

"I'll see you there, Alice," Dad gave me a quick hug, and helped me climb back onto the Hogwarts Express. "Go catch up with James…"

Just as quickly as he appeared, he Disapparated with a loud puff. Almost immediately, the train began chugging down the tracks, and the thin audience that remained in the station waved at the multicolored heads poking out of windows.

Another conductor came to my side. "Miss, do you need assistance finding a seat?"

Confused and worried for Liana, I shook my head. "No sir."

I trekked my way down the carpeted hall unknowingly, peeking into every compartment I passed, searching for a familiar face. Nearly every one I checked contained loud, laughing students, all of which obviously having plenty of friends to sit with.

Finally, I reached the compartment holding the exact person I needed right now. James sat in an area with his cousin Fred, also a first year, and several older students who kept to themselves and ignored the two eleven-year-old boys in their midst.

Gratefully, I slipped inside, plopping down next to the boys. Both grinned when seeing me.

"Hey there, Alice," James glanced over Fred's head. "…Where's Liana?"

My stomach lurched, and the story spilled out. By the time I was near its end, I was in such hysterics that the other kids in the compartment snickered at me and left us in a heap. Rising to fall upon the other, now vacant cushioned bench, I curled up in a ball on the bench, my eyebrows knit with fear.

Fred was amused by this display. "You would have thought the world had ended!"

James, however, was somewhat more sympathetic, but not as much as he would be without Fred there. "I'm sure she'll be fine, Alice."

"But she's not registered as a student! What'll happen to her?"

The boys only stared, trying to avoid the answer – they, like anyone else, didn't know, but yet detected that the resolution wasn't going to be pleasing.

James and Fred engaged in conversation about Sorting. Normally I'd join in, but instead, I rested my forehead against the cool window frame, soaking in the blurred scenery outside. Half of my thoughts were of the Sorting ceremony; the others were filled with Liana's being. Were school years supposed to start this way?


The train screeched to a stop nearly an hour and a half later, with the sun setting on the horizon. I was able to track down my trunk and toss my robes over my regular clothing, then rejoined James and Fred as we departed the train to be met with the booming, deep voice I had before only been told about.

"Firs' years follow me! Now don' be shy!"

An enormous sea of black robes was surrounding us, but we were still capable of seeing the school's groundskeeper several feet ahead. As we neared the legendary Rubeus Hagrid, we clearly noticed other first-years hesitating before approaching him, and even some yelping in fright.

"Yeh all here?" The literal giant counted off our heads, and satisfied with the number, beckoned us to begin following him down the beaten path. "This way now!"

"He's brilliant!" beamed James as we walked, his whisper a tad too loud. "Just like Dad described him!"

"He's not teaching still, is he?" I rattled back. "He's got to be ancient!"

"Just like every other teacher, right?" Fred smirked. "You don't know many old wizards, do you?"

I glanced over my shoulder at him to stick out my tongue – it would be considered childish if I did it to anyone else, but I knew Fred, and it wouldn't insult him in any way possible.

We were led to sandy ground, and then to a lake's shore, where several boats – each equipped with their own lit lantern – awaited us. "Four teh a boat!", we were told.

Naturally, James, Fred, and I hurried into the same boat, a mousy, petite girl joining us reluctantly. It was here that my eyes searched fervently for Liana, with no success. Then, without any warning, the boats began gliding forward on their own, and we were left to scope for the sight of our new home.

Only about ten minutes into the ride, our boat magically caught up with Hagrid's, who sat alone in his boat. When seeing that he now had companions, the giant beamed widely.

"Well! I recognize yeh four like the back o' my hand!" His beard was completely gray, unruly and wild, framing his face. "You…" He pointed a sausage-like finger at James. "Harry and Ginny's boy James, no doub'! I still rememba' the day yeh were born!"

James was used to being recognized due to his similarity to his dad, but seemed proud at being named by the admirable groundskeeper. He nodded, grinning.

"George Weasley's kid…Fred, o' course…" Hagrid glanced up at the sky for a moment, smiling wryly, and momentarily, the Fred next to me shuffled uncomfortably, knowing Hagrid was recalling his uncle for whom he was named. "And this young lady o'er here…" He smiled at the girl behind me. "Yeh name's Creevey, ain't it? Dennis's daughter?"

The girl, unaware Hagrid was speaking to her, looked up, alarmed, eyes big and fearful. Quietly, she nodded, jerking her glance away back towards her feet.

"Yer an easy one," Hagrid was now eyeing me amusingly. "The spitting image o' Hannah. No one would mistake yeh fer yer dad's girl."

I hid my displease of this – looking like Mum, despite how much I loved her, was never something I liked. Looking like any parent was never appealing to me, for odd reasons. But I smiled anyway. "Yes. I'm Alice." I proudly put emphasis on my name.

Eager shrieks sounded from behind us then, and turning away from Hagrid, we could see why. For about one hundred feet away, we could easily spot the magnificent, breathtaking Hogwarts castle, our new home for the next seven years.


A/N: Ahh, my Hagrid speech was horrible - his words are hard to write! P

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