As I took my seat at the table, Dumbledore stood up.

"Welcome, welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have only 3 words to say to you, and they are, enjoy your food!"

Suddenly, every possible type of food I could ever have hoped or dreamed of eating appeared in front of us. I grabbed some chicken legs and chips, and just as I was about to start eating, I looked up and saw Professor Snape hurrying into the hall. He whispered something to Professor McGonagall, who stood up and left the hall with him. I had a horrible feeling that this was to do with Harry and Ron, and at this point most people on the table were now starting to notice their absence. I started to hear some really ridiculous theories.

"I reckon they've been abducted by the giant squid" said one boy, despite the fact that only first years arrived via the lake.

"Perhaps they got lost in the forbidden forest" said another.

"Maybe they've been expelled, the Slytherin table have been talking about them crashing a flying car on the grounds".

My stomach turned to ice at these words, and I exchanged glances with Demelza, nervously biting my lip as I nodded to her, confirming what I knew she was thinking. That was what I'd seen outside that I couldn't get her attention on in time. I just prayed that they were physically ok for one thing, and that they hadn't been expelled for another. Hermione looked skeptical, though I couldn't blame her, she hadn't seen what I had. At this point, Dumbledore stood up and strode out of the hall. This made me even more nervous, as if Dumbledore had to get involved, Harry and Ron really might be about to get expelled. About 15 minutes later, all 3 professors returned, and shortly after that, the food vanished and Dumbledore got to his feet again to deliver the usual start of term notices. I already knew what most of these were having been told by Percy, but then Dumbledore then prompted Madam Hooch to speak, and she said something which caught mine and Demelza's attention.

"This year, inspired by the success of Harry Potter, we are pleased to announce that we will be allowing Hogwarts houses to form reserve Quidditch teams, and for the first time we are opening up an opportunity for first years to participate. They will participate in a separate tournament to the full squads, with matches and practices to be held immediately prior to those of the first string teams. However we must stress that anyone wishing to participate in first year must already be a skilled flyer, and will be required to prove this in a special flying test alongside myself and their House's first string team captain, and if they pass, they will be exempted from their standard flying lessons. These will take place on Friday afternoon.

If anyone proves to be exceptional in reserve matches, they may be considered for promotion to the first string squads, and may be chosen to replace first string players if they are injured or ill. The results of reserve matches will not be counted towards the points total for houses, with those extra 150 points for victory only remaining at stake for first string games. It must be noted that first years must have participated in at least one reserve match before being eligible for promotion to first string teams, and will not be allowed to simply immediately tryout for the first string teams. Anyone of second year and above who tries out for the full house teams but fails to make the cut will also be eligible to participate in these reserve matches. Good luck".

Demelza and I were super excited by this! We weren't going to have to wait another year to play after all, and although our games would essentially be friendlies this year with no actual meaning, it was better than nothing. We were obviously going to have to use the shitty school brooms in these games though, which was the only downside. I even reckoned there was a chance I could convince them to give me a shot in the full squad, though I knew that Spinnet, Johnson and Bell would be very difficult to dislodge. I knew I was very good though, so there was always the possibility.

"So, Gin, we've lucked out here haven't we?" Demelza said as we lined up with the other first years behind Percy, who was to lead all the first years to the dormitories.

"We have indeed, we'll smash that flying test easily, oh I can't wait for us to get started, the look on the other team's faces when they see us, especially the Slytherins, oh boy that will be a sight to behold! The question now though, is where are Harry and Ron?"

We were lead up the famous moving marble staircase, though it didn't move sadly on this occasion. We reached the fat lady, where Percy stated the password "wattlebird" and I had my first sight of the Gryffindor common room, with it's red wallpaper all around, many comfy armchairs and tables, and the fireplace. I wondered briefly if it was possible to connect it to the Floo Network or if it could be used for communication.

"Welcome to Gryffindor. This will be your home. Here you will sleep, study and socialize. You have an hour until lights out, so use this time to get used to your new surroundings. The staircases you can see lead to the dormitories, the boys on the left, the girls on the right. First years are on the first landing. Any questions?"

No one raised their hands.

"Excellent, well I'll leave you all to it" he said in his stereotypical pompus manner.

Demelza and I decided to go up to our dormitory to get set up. We found our trunks already there, as it had been announced on the train that they would be taken up for us. She removed a Harpies poster and placed it above her bedrest, and I took out my wireless, as it was portable and that way we could both still tune into the games at weekends while we were at school. I pulled out the diary from my robes pocket, and placed it inside a lockable drawer that each bedside cabinet contained. These drawers are charmed so that they only open when the bed occupant touches the handle, so I knew the diary would be safe there. At this point, we heard loud clapping coming from downstairs. We rushed down to find Harry and Ron being applauded into the room.

"Brilliant!" yelled Lee Jordan. "Inspired! What an entrance! Flying a car right into the Whomping Willow, people'll be talking about that one for years —"

"Good for you," said a fifth year Harry had never spoken to; someone was patting him on the back as though he'd just won a marathon; Fred and George pushed their way to the front of the crowd and said together, "Why couldn't we've come in the car, eh?".

Ron was scarlet in the face, grinning embarrassedly, but Harry, Demelza and I could see one person who didn't look happy at all. Percy was visible over the heads of some excited first years, and he seemed to be trying to get near enough to start telling them off. Harry nudged Ron in the ribs and nodded in Percy's direction. Ron got the point at once.

"Got to get upstairs — bit tired," he said, and the two of them started pushing their way toward the dormitory steps, where Demelza and I were stood.

" 'Night," Harry called back to Hermione, who was wearing a scowl just like Percy's. Before they could go upstairs though, we blocked their path.

"Explain!" I said harshly.

"We don't need to explain anything to anyone, now move over!" yelled back Ron.

"Excuse me, I am your sister, I have every right to know what happens when my brother disappears, and Harry is good friends with both of us" I replied. "Wouldn't you say we deserve to know the truth, Harry?"

Harry looked a bit uncomfortable, but then said "she's got a point mate. But let's not do it here, let's do it in private in our dormitory"

We went up to their dormitory, where Harry told the full story.

"But you've got Hedwig!" I said "Couldn't you have used her to-"

"I know" interrupted Harry, "McGonagall made the same point"

"Look, it's late and we're tired, can we all just go to bed now? You've heard the story" said Ron.

He was right, so Demelza and I went back to our dormitory, where before going to bed we got to know the other inhabitants we'd be room sharing with for the next seven years.

There was Mary Davison, skinny, tan skinned and fair haired, and had a father who worked for the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. Amy Bagman, niece of Ludo Bagman, ex Wimbourne Wasps beater, tall, strong and athletically built of course, got us distracted with a long chat about Quidditch. Demelza and I could tell we would definitely have a very strong Gryffindor reserve team this year with the 3 of us on it. Daniela Pattinson was our final roommate, and she was a Muggle born, nervous and shy, average height, with messy brown hair, bright blue eyes and a similar nervous lip biting habit to mine.

As I settled down to sleep, I was packed with nerves and excitement. I was finally here at Hogwarts! Tomorrow, classes would begin, and at last I would show off my talents to everyone! I couldn't wait to write home, and to Tom, and tell everyone! The start of a special journey was upon me!