"Natalie! If you're not ready in 5 minutes, I swear I'm going to put a hex on you!" I heard my sister Neveah yell. I jumped out of bed and immediately got dressed and combed my hair. Today was my first day of being a third year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and I certainly didn't want to be late. I raced downstairs to see all of my family gathered in the kitchen having chocolate frog pancakes, my favorite food. I shoveled mine in, and jumped up from my seat.
"Can we leave now? I really want to get a move on!" I exclaimed.
"Yes, Father, can we go?" my younger sister, Nadia, asked. She was beginning her first year today, and was twice as excited as me.
"I guess. Nadia, go get the Floo Powder." Father sighed. I felt sorry for him. He never liked to see us leave for Hogwarts.
Nadia came back with a bucket of powder, and my 2-year-old sister, Novalee screamed. She was just like my father, in never wanting us to leave. My mother attempted to comfort her, but she wouldn't stop kicking and screaming.
"Father, can I go first?" my brother Nico asked. Before getting an answer, he grabbed a handful of Floo Powder, yelled "Kings Cross Station!" and having no fear, did a back flip into the fire. My father always says that he will be the next Evil Knievil.
Next, Neveah went, and then Nadia went. Finally, it was my turn. I threw some powder into the fire, and turned around and said goodbye. My mother's eyes were full of tears, and Novalee was still freaking out. My father waved to me, and I mumbled a 'bye' and 'I love you'. I couldn't speak any louder without crying. I stepped in and in the blink of an eye, I was standing in Kings Cross Station. I took my trunk and pet owl named Blizzard, and ran full speed at the brick wall that would take me to Platform 9 ¾.
In less than a second, I saw a beautiful old-fashioned train billowing smoke and I smiled, feeling like I was home. I looked around and saw two girls my age looking at me with awe. My eyes widened, and I smiled so wide my cheeks hurt. Those two girls were my best friends in the whole world, Lauren Prince and Tabitha DiAngelo. We all hugged and we all started babbling about our summers and how much we missed each other and awesome new nail polish colors and pretty much everything you would talk about with people you haven't seen in three months. Tabitha got a new owl for her birthday, a light brown one named Autumn. Lauren had bright pink face, and she explained that she had vacationed to Spain for the entire month of July, the hottest time of the year.
We all boarded the train and Nadia came into our compartment, saying she didn't know anyone and didn't want to sit with any strangers. She listened WAY too much to Mother saying to 'not talk to strangers'.
"Hey, Elizabeth is starting her first year, too! Let me call her!" Tabitha pulled out some muggle speaking device. She claims they're pretty popular, and they're called 'cell phones'. Tabitha is a half-blood, so her mother keeps her up-to-date with all of the latest muggle technology. Lauren and I looked at each other with confusion as Tabitha spoke into the 'phone'. A few minutes later, Tabitha's sister Elizabeth opened the door and invited Nadia to come into her compartment with her friends. Nadia smiled and left with Elizabeth, and I could hear them laughing in the hallway.
We all chatted, and Tabitha pulled out a full bag of Galleons. Lauren and I don't feel guilty about Tabitha spending money on us anymore because she has lots of it. We bought everything in stock from the snack cart, and ate until we felt like we were about to explode.
"If I eat another chocolate frog, I think you're going to have to hose my insides off the walls." Lauren groaned. We all sat slumped on our seats, moaning from our stomach aches.
"Nat! You'd better get in your robes RIGHT NOW! If you don't, I'm sending a letter to Mother to have you sent home!" Neveah yelled at me.
"Jeez, you're such a witch. And NOT in the magical way." I grumbled, rummaging through my trunk to get my robes. I went to go quickly change with Tabitha and Lauren, and came back to see Neveah waiting.
"Okay, good. Next time put your head on straight so you remember!" Neveah grumbled, and stole one of my chocolate frogs. I made a face at her, and slammed the compartment door behind her. An ear-splitting screeeeech wailed, and we all covered our ears. We got off the train, and we all waved to Nadia and her newfound friends. She got on a boat with Elizabeth and a chubby-looking girl, and I had a feeling I would hear all about her later.
We all strolled into the Great Hall, and I saw Dumbledore snap his fingers. The tables were filled with food, and Tabitha, Lauren, and I all ran to take our seats at the Gryffindor table to have first dibs at the pudding.