The three new people were an average sized and heighted girl with golden brown hair and green eyes who was wearing a yellow polo shirt, white shorts, a white wristwatch with black digital numbers on her left wrist , low rolled white socks, and white tennis shoes, a tall albino girl wearing a red Arizona Cardinals tee shirt featuring the words Arizona Cardinals in white lettering in the middle with Cardinals logo above the lettering and the NFL logo below it, with black shorts, a black wristwatch with large digital black numbers on her left wrist , black socks, and black velcro tennis shoes, and a tall, lanky Spanish girl with hazel eyes and brown hair with blonde streaks in it wearing Gryffindor Quidditch robes.
"Hello," said the girl in the yellow polo shirt kindly, "I'm Ainsley Cochlain. May we three sit in here? We've come from a crowded compartment of fourteen. The albino girl is Samantha Saver and the Spanish girl is Stephanie Baylac."
"Of course, "said Lily warmly, "I'm Lily Potter, the other redhead is my cousin and BFF Hugo Weasley, the boy in the Hogwarts robes is my eldest brother James, and the other boy is Devon Dursley."
"Thanks," said Ainsley, Samantha, and Stephanie together.
"You three can take seats," Lily told Ainsley, Samantha, and Stephanie, "I'll put up your trunks for you."
Ainsley, Samantha, and Stephanie sat down opposite Devon , Hugo, and James while Lily took care of their trunks for them and then sat back down in the row with Devon, Hugo, and James.
After that they all exchanged handshakes.
"Are you all in Gryffindor?" asked Stephanie.
"Yes." Replied James, Hugo, Devon, Ainsley, Samantha, and Lily.
"Stephanie?" asked Lily, "Are you planning to try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team?"
"Yes," said Stephanie instantly. "I love Quidditch. I am hoping to be a Beater. If I can be, I'll be the first girl to ever play Beater for any Hogwarts Quidditch team."
"But," said Samantha reasonably, "There have probably been girls who could have played Beater for Hogwarts Quidditch Teams in the past. I wonder if previous captains have not allowed girls to go out for Beater."
"According to the newly added Hogwarts section in the most recent edition of Quidditch Through the Ages, "said Lily clearly, "The answer to this question is a resounding yes."
"What's so odd about it," piped up Hugo, "Is that female captains have taken this position just as much as male captains."
"In other words, "said Ainsley in a disgusted voice, "It's been a bad stereotype."
"We know it doesn't matter." said Devon firmly, "There are no boys or girls, only people. The only difference between a boy and a girl is the pronouns used to refer to them."
"Well said, Devon." said James approvingly, "Good luck Stephanie. Go make Hogwarts history. Genders don't play sports. Athletes do."
"It'll be up to me to prove that," said Stephanie fiercely.
"You will," chorused Devon, Hugo, James, Samantha, Ainsley, and Lily.
Stephanie smiled at Devon, Hugo, James, Samantha, Ainsley, and Lily. Stephanie had only known her new friends for a few hours and here they all were already being so supportive of her.
"I would guess, "interjected Ainsley with a smile, "That with a name like Saver, Samantha will go out for Keeper."
"You're so smart, Ains!" said Samantha with a smirk, "When we played Soccer at recess at my old elementary school, I always played goalie. I was a damn good one too!"
"You'll be a damn good Keeper too!" exclaimed James.
"You'll love playing Quidditch," Lily assured Samantha.
"Damn straight!" said Samantha fiercely.
"I'm the Quidditch commentator at Hogwarts," said James proudly, "So if any of you make the team, you'll be hearing me call your matches."
"I will!" exclaimed Samantha.
Hugo, Devon, and Ainsley all expressed an interest in playing Chaser without much further discussion. Then of course...
"Dad was one of the greatest Seekers in Gryffindor history and I want to follow in his footsteps." said Lily meaningfully.
"Of course, you would want to play Seeker," Devon told Lily, "I'd bet you turn out to be just as good as Harry was."
"I don't have to bet because I already know she will be, having actually seen her playing Quidditch, including the Seeker position, many times at home, "said Hugo proudly.
"Hugo speaks the truth here," said James happily, "Calling it now, Lily will not only become the Gryffindor Seeker, but she will also go undefeated in her Hogwarts career!"
"That's a lofty goal," said Lily thoughtfully, "But you know what, it's a goal I WILL set for myself!"
"Go for it, Lily," cried Devon, Hugo, James, Stephanie, Samantha, and Ainsley in unison.
Lily smiled. She then turned to Samantha.
"Samantha?" asked Lily, "You said you played Soccer at your old school. Are you muggleborn?"
"Yes," answered Samantha simply.
"So am I," said Stephanie and Devon together.
"I'm half blood," explained Ainsley. "My parents are a witch and a wizard, but my father is muggleborn."
At that nanosecond, the compartment door opened. This time it was the plump witch with the lunch trolley.
"Me first, "said Devon fiercely, jumping up instantly and zooming over to the cart.
Devon purchased twelve pumpkin pasties, eighteen cauldron cakes, fifteen licorice wands, and twenty boxes of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, as well as ten bottles of pumpkin juice to wash it down with.
"Hungry, are we?" the trolley witch asked Devon with a smirk.
"I'm a heavy eater," answered Devon matter of factly as he headed back to his seat.
Once Devon had sat back down, Hugo and James jumped up next and made their way to the trolley.
Both Hugo and James could fairly be called eager and impatient, but they didn't mind Devon going first. Once Devon had taken his turn however, Hugo and James were unwilling to wait any longer.
James had always been a huge chocolate lover, so it came as no surprise to Lily and Hugo that James bought himself two chocolate frogs and a cauldron cake. Hugo, on the other hand, had never been a huge chocolate fan. Hugo thus chose two pumpkin pasties and a licorice wand. James and Hugo finished off their orders with a bottle of pumpkin juice each and returned to their seats.
After Devon, James, and Hugo had been served, none of the others were nearly as eager.
In fact, Ainsley, Stephanie, Samantha, and Lily all gave each other looks as though to tell the other three "you can go ahead of me if you'd like."
"I'll go last," offered Lily politely.
Ainsley, Stephanie and Samantha looked at each other for a few more nanoseconds before Ainsley finally rose and headed over to the cart.
"I'm a middle grounder when it comes to turn taking situations, "explained Ainsley, "I'm patient enough to be willing to wait my turn if surrounded by eager and impatient people yet I'm also comfortable taking my turn before other people if surrounded by patient people who are willing to wait their turn."
Ainsley purchased only a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and a bottle of pumpkin juice.
"I'm making a smaller purchase than any of others because I've brought a few things from home," Ainsley explained to the trolley witch, "I'm a huge tropical girl and the trolley doesn't offer any tropical favored products."
"The Hogwarts Express doesn't run often enough to justify selling niche items," explained the trolley witch, "With so few runs per year, we can only afford to carry items that we know we can mass sell. We'd end up with too many wasted leftovers if we offered niche products."
"That's totally understandable," nodded Ainsley.
Ainsley sat back down and pulled a bag of tropical skittles and a bag of coconut M&Ms out of her right pocket to complete her fix.
Stephanie stood up next and she proved to have mixed tastes purchasing a slab of standard Honeydukes chocolate and a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans to go along with a bottle of pumpkin juice.
"You next, Samantha," said Lily when Stephanie was reseated.
Samantha shook her head in disappointment.
"I don't have any spending money on hand today. I am hungry but unfortunately it'll have to stay that way until the feast tonight," said Samantha in a very bummed out kind of voice.
"Don't worry, "said Lily gently, "Samantha, get what you want off the trolley and I'll pay for you."
"Oh, thank you Lily," said Samantha gratefully, "That's very nice of you."
Samantha turned out to prefer chocolate as she went for a cauldron cake, a chocolate frog, and a slab of standard Honeydukes chocolate to go with a bottle of pumpkin juice.
Lily then stood up herself and, while she liked all kinds of sweets, she was not in the mood for "weird" flavors and therefore chose the same items as Samantha. Lily paid the trolley witch for both Samantha's and her own lunches and they both regained their seats and started to eat.
As they ate, Ainsley turned the talk to their wands.
"My wand," said Ainsley matter of factly, "Is maple and phoenix feather, seven inches, quite whippy."
"Dad tried that wand!" exclaimed Lily and James in unison
"It was the second wand Mr. Olivander offered dad. It didn't choose him of course." explained James.
"And years later it chooses me," smiled Ainsley, "All wands stay in the shop until they choose a witch or wizard. What about the rest of you?"
"Six inches, ash and dragon heartstring. Unbendable," answered Hugo simply.
"Chestnut and unicorn hair. Eight and a half inches. Springy," supplied Stephanie.
"Beachwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible." said Samantha.
"The very first wand dad ever tried!" said Lily excitedly. "So now two wands that dad tried have chosen witches, including the very first wand he ever tried. There's something exciting for me about knowing that two students in my year own wands that my own dad once tried."
"That IS pretty cool, big sis!" said James brightly.
"No doubt about that, baby bro!" said Lily cheerfully.
"Big sis? Baby bro?" asked Devon in surprise, "Isn't James four years older than Lily?"
"It's a running gag James and Lily have between themselves," explained Hugo.
"What about your wand James?" inquired Devon.
"I'm a bold wizard," said James brashly, "Therefore it is only fitting that I have a thirteen-and-a-half-inch mahogany and dragon heartstring wand. Bold and powerful. I'm a great wizard with a great wand."
"What about your wand Lily?" asked Samantha curiously.
"Ten and a quarter inches. Swishy and made of willow," said Lily proudly. "Yes, I have the same type of wand that my paternal grandmother had. Yes, the same paternal grandmother who died for my dad when he was only a baby, the same paternal grandmother whom my dad named me for."
"How did Harry react to that wand choosing you?" asked Devon.
"He was very emotional. He said that it wasn't an accident that I was destined for that wand. It was a very poignant moment for him to see his daughter chosen by the same type of wand his mother had had. This feeling was only intensified by the fact that dad named me after his mother. I only hope I can live up to it. What about your wand Devon?"
"M-my w-wand- began Devon.
He paused, looking very worried.
"Devon, what's wrong?" asked Lily supportively.
"My wand is terrible, and I'm terrified it's going to make me go bad, "said Devon shakily.
"Is it elder?" asked Stephanie.
"No," said Devon hysterically, "My w-wand is made of y-yew. That means I have the same type of wand that Lord Voldemort had. It's even thirteen inches with a phoenix feather core. So, other than it being a half inch shorter, I have Voldemort's wand."
"Don't worry about that, said Lily reassuringly, "All wand types have been owned by both good and bad witches and wizards."
"Lord Voldemort w-wasn't any bad wizard. He was literally the most dangerous and terrible Dark Wizard of all t-time. I d-don't w-want to go bad but now I have almost a replica of Voldemort's wand. "fretted Devon.
Ainsley dug into her pocket and pulled her Kindle Paperwhite. She tapped the collection named Harry Potter and then tapped the book Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. She used the go to feature to find page 333. She then showed Devon a passage she had highlighted on the page.
This highlighted passage read "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
"See, "said Ainsley gently, "Voldemort made all the wrong choices. You don't have to be like him at all. You can choose to be a good person."
"Maybe someday Devon's yew wand will help him save the life of a family member or friend." suggested Hugo.
"Good thought, Hugo." said James wisely, "Powerful wands can be used for good causes too you know."
"And maybe there's a reason that wand chose you," Lily told Devon. "If my wand chose me because of a family connection, maybe your wand chose you because it knows you are a good boy who can break the bad stereotype yew wands have had since Voldemort gave yew a bad name."
"Thank you for your support, everyone, said Devon," relaxing a bit but still looking uncomfortable.
"Time for a change of subject," suggested Lily, "What do you think of the new sorting process this year? Do you like coming to Hogwarts knowing what house you'll be in?"