A/N: The face-claim to Lily Moon is Ana Mulvoy Ten. The face-claim to Sally-Anne Perks is Annalise Basso.
Chapter 5: Hogwarts Express
The month wasn't all that fun. Dudley was so scared of Cassia and Harry, which meant that Dudley didn't stay in the same room as them. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't even speak to them. Sure it was fine at first, but it got boring being confined to the bedroom.
Harry had named the owl Hedwig, a name that he found in A History Magic. They had stayed up late in the night reading the books.
On the last day of August, Cassia was double checking the trunk. She made sure that she had things packed for Harvest, who was busy swatting at a shirt that was dangling from the lid of the trunk.
Cassia looked at Harry, "Hey, did you ask the Dursleys about taking us to King's Cross?"
"I thought you already did that," Harry pointed out.
"If I did, I would've told you," Cassia said.
"Well, did you?" asked Harry.
Cassia gave him a blank look, "No."
"Well, you better go ask them, then," said Harry.
"I told you to ask them," Cassia said.
"No, you said if I asked them," replied Harry.
"Oh, just go ask them," Cassia said. Sometimes it felt like she was talking to a redundant brick wall when she talked to Harry.
"Why?" asked Harry.
"You're older than me by three hours," Cassia pointed out.
Harry went to go ask the Dursleys to take them to King's Cross.
Cassia looked through the trunk and took out Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. She flicked through it before stopping on the chapter she was rereading. She was almost finished when Harry came back in. She looked at him, "So, how did it go?"
"Well, they were going to London to get Dudley's tail removed," Harry said. "So, they're going to drop us off."
"That's good," Cassia said.
"And they looked at me like I was stupid when I mentioned Platform Nine and Three-Quarters," said Harry.
"That's no surprise, they're always looking at us like we're stupid," Cassia said, looking back at her book. "Besides, a platform can't be that hard to find."
"Yeah, how hard can it be?" said Harry.
It turned out to be very difficult. They had gotten up early the next morning, due to being excited to get to Hogwarts. The Potters double-checked if they had everything and Harry checked if Hedwig was secured in her cage. After that he paced room waiting for the Dursleys to get up and Cassia had checked if Harvest had everything he needed in the cage.
"Are you nervous?" Cassia asked, sitting on her top bunk. She had her knees pulled up to her chest and had her arms wrapped around them.
"A little," Harry said. "What about you?"
"Yeah," Cassia said. "What if we end up in different houses?"
"We won't," Harry replied.
Cassia said, "But 'what if?'"
"It'll never happen," Harry said. "I'm sure that they won't separate us."
"What if I end up in the house that You-Know-Who was in?" asked Cassia.
"You're my sister," Harry said. "I won't stop talking to you over something like that."
"Thanks, Harry. I won't stop talking to you if you end up in the house that You-Know-Who was in, either," Cassia said. "I'm too loyal towards you for that."
"Yeah, you are," said Harry.
"Whatever happens, we're still going to treat each other the same, right?" asked Cassia.
"Of course," said Harry.
"Okay," said Cassia.
Two hours later, they had their trunks packed away and Aunt Petunia had to bribe Dudley with presents to get him to sit between Cassia and Harry.
Throughout the ride, Cassia would whisper pig sounds at Dudley, who retaliated with digging his elbow in her side. Harvest would hiss and spit at Dudley, which made Hedwig flutter her wings in agitation at the constant noise.
They reached King's Cross at half past ten, where Uncle Vernon had quickly dumped Harry's trunk on a trolley and then dumped Cassia's trunk as well on a different one. He grabbed the cages and set Hedwig's cage with Cassia's trunk and set Harvest with Harry's trunk. Cassia didn't want to waste time by switching their pets, so she went to her trolley, Uncle Vernon grabbed Cassia's arm and dragged her to the side.
"Get her trolley, Petunia," Uncle Vernon said, looking positively gleeful. Aunt Petunia took the trolley.
Together, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia pushed the trolleys in the station. Cassia thought it was uncharacteristically kind of her relatives, so she followed them.
Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia stopped in front of a pair of platforms.
"Well, there you are," Uncle Vernon said, with a nasty grin at the twins. "Platform nine and platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?"
That explained why Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were being uncharacteristically nice. They planned on humiliating them.
Cassia felt tears prickle at her eyes. It was humiliation tears. She really hated that aspect of herself.
"Have a nice term," Uncle Vernon said in a nasty tone. He laughed, making Dudley join in, which attracted a lot of stares, and then they left.
Cassia turned to see them laughing in the car as they drove away. Cassia and Harry looked at each other.
"At least we're embarrassed together," Cassia said. "So it's not that bad." She should know what it was like being embarrassed. "What are we going to do?" She sat down on the trolley and took out the train ticket. It might have some answers on it.
"I'm going to ask a passing guard," Harry said and left to ask.
The train ticket had no information on it, besides the platform number, the date, and time on it. Cassia didn't know what to do. She could use Hedwig to send a letter to Hagrid, but she had no clue how long that was going to take and they had eleven minutes to go, before the train departed.
Harry came back and Cassia looked up at him, "Well?"
Harry shook his head, "He didn't know about Hogwarts and he said that there was no train leaving at eleven."
Cassia sat down on her trolley and groaned, "This is just great. No Muggle money, no way home, and luggage that we can barely carry. I mean, the only thing we have is Hedwig and I don't want to be late and make a scene at Hogwarts. I don't want to be known as the girl who showed up late. Hagrid forgot to tell us how to even get on the platform."
"Maybe we have to tap on the wall, like how we got to Diagon Alley," Harry said. "I can go tap the ticket box between the platforms ten and nine."
"You go do that," Cassia said. "I can start writing to Hagrid about it."
"—packed with Muggles, of course—" a voice was saying.
Cassia and Harry turned towards the voice. There was a plump woman who was talking to four boys and a little girl with bright red hair and all of the boys were pushing trolleys with trunks on them and they even had an owl.
"Come on," Harry said, grabbing his trolley and pushing it to the family of red-heads.
Cassia grabbed her trolley and pushed it after Harry.
"—platform number?" the plump woman finished asking when Cassia caught up to Harry. They were at a distance where they weren't seen by the large family of red-heads.
"Nine and three-quarters!" called the only girl. She was holding her mother's hand. "Mum, can't I go…?"
"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet," the woman admonished. She turned to the oldest looking boy, "All right, Percy, you go first."
The boy marched forward towards the platform between nine and ten. Cassia and Harry stood close together, eyes wide open, in case they missed it, but a large crowd of tourists swarmed right in front of him, blocking him from sight.
Are you kidding me? Cassia thought slightly frustrated.
"Fred, you next," the woman said to a boy.
"I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the red-headed boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"
"Sorry, George, dear," replied the woman.
"Only joking, I am Fred," said the boy named Fred. He went off and his twin, George, called after him to hurry up. Fred must've done so, because he, too, disappeared.
"How?" whispered Cassia, growing agitated at not knowing how to get on the platform. She was also growing antsy at how much time they had left. She didn't want to be left behind. George walked briskly to the ticket barrier. Cassia stared, but George disappeared like magic.
Harry must've gotten impatient because he went up to the woman, and said, "Excuse me."
"Hullo, dear," the woman said, smiling at Harry. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too." She pointed to the last boy. He was tall, thin, and gangling with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose.
"Yes," replied Harry. "The thing is—the thing is, my sister, Cassy, and I don't know how to—"
"Get on the platform?" the woman finished. Harry and Cassia nodded. "Not to worry. All you have to do is wk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared, you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron."
"Er—okay," said Harry.
Cassia nodded and they pushed their trolleys round and looked at the barrier. It looked very solid and easy to collide with. Cassia could picture herself running into it, sending Hedwig's cage on the ground.
"You go ahead of me," Cassia said and Harry nodded. He started off with a walk and then he started walking quickly. People jostled him and Cassia watched him as he started running and he, too, disappeared.
Cassia waited for a minute.
"Everything all right, dear?" asked the woman.
Cassia nodded, "I just want to make sure there's enough of a distance between us. So I don't run into him." She took off at a run, towards the brick wall between the platforms and closed her eyes. She pictured Harry disappearing and reappearing safely on the platform. She opened her eyes.
A scarlet steam engine was on the platform packed with people. A sign overhead said:
Hogwarts Express, 11 o'clock
Right behind her was an wrought-iron archway that had a sign on it that said:
Platform Nine and Three-Quarters
Smoke drifted from the engine and cats of every colour wound between people's legs. Owls hooted to each other in a disgruntled sort of way and Cassia looked around the crowd, looking for her brother. She finally spotted him at the last compartment coming out of it. Cassia hurried up to him and handed him Hedwig's cage. He put it inside the compartment and he came back, helping her with the trunk.
"Fred? George? Are you there?" called the same woman from the station.
They finally sat down in the seats across from each other. Harry had set Harvest's cage one seat over from the window.
Cassia looked at Harry, "This is it, Big Brother. We're leaving the Dursleys."
"I know," said Harry.
The situation was finally sinking in. Cassia said, "We're going to Hogwarts."
"Yeah," said Harry.
"We're going to learn magic," said Cassia, growing excited.
"Obviously," said Harry.
"I think this is the best day of my life," said Cassia.
"Hey, Mum, guess what?" one of the twin boys said. "Guess who we just met on the train?"
Cassia glanced out the window confused. Who did they meet? It ought to be interesting. Harry leaned back, as if trying to melt into the seat.
"You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?" the boy continued.
"Who?" prompted the woman.
"Harry Potter!" the boy exclaimed.
"Oh, Mum, can I go on the train and see him, Mum, oh please…" begged the little red-haired girl.
"You've already seen him, Ginny," scolded the woman. "The poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?"
"Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there—like lightning," replied presumably Fred.
"And he mentioned his sister, Cassy, who must be Cassia," the woman said. "Poor dears—no wonder why they were alone. I wondered. Harry was ever so polite when he asked how to get on the platform."
"Never mind that, do you think they remember what You-Know-Who looks like?" asked one of the twins.
Their mother looked stern, "I forbid you to ask them, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though they need reminding of that on their first day at school."
"All right, keep your hair on," replied Fred.
Cassia looked at Harry, "Well, this is awkward."
Harry nodded. Cassia wasn't entirely sure how to feel about being famous. She didn't like praise; it was humiliating to be praised on something. That and getting praised always led to her humiliation.
The whistle sounded and Cassia smiled, "This is it, Harry. We're finally leaving."
"I got it the first time," Harry said.
"Sorry, but it needs to be repeated," said Cassia. She was growing excited again because she was finally leaving the Dursleys and Number Four, for ten months.
The train started moving and Harvest started letting out mournful meows, like he wanted out of the cage. Cassia opened the cage and pulled out the kitten.
"I bet it's better than what we're leaving behind," Harry said.
"Definitely loads better," Cassia responded and the compartment door slid open. Cassia looked to see that it was the youngest red-haired boy.
"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the spot next to Cassia. "Everywhere is full."
"No," Cassia said, setting Harvest's cage next to her feet.
Ron sat down next to Cassia and looked at Harry, before looking away, right past Cassia and to the window.
Cassia stroked Harvest's back, making him purr as she glanced out the window.
The compartment door opened once more.
"Hey, Ron," a voice said.
Cassia looked to see that it was the red-haired twins.
"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train—Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there," said one of the twins.
"Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother." He looked at Cassia, "And that must be Cassia."
Cassia looked at him and nodded.
"See you later, then," the twin said.
"Bye," Harry and Ron said. Cassia waved instead and the twin boys left the compartment, shutting the door behind them.
"Are you really Harry Potter?" asked Ron, completely bypassing Cassia.
Harry nodded, "And that's my sister, Cassia."
"Oh—well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," replied Ron. "And have you really got—you-know…" He motioned to his forehead.
Harry pulled back his fringe to show the lightning scar. Ron stared at it and Cassia felt vaguely uncomfortable.
Ron looked at it, "So that's where You-Know-Who—?"
"Yes," interrupted Harry, "but Cassy and I can remember it."
"Nothing?" asked Ron.
"Well—I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else," Harry said.
"Me too," Cassia said, but it seemed like Ron ignored her. It was hurtful.
"Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry.
"Er—yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."
Cassia put Harvest back in his cage and closed it. She got up and looked through her trunk.
"What are you doing?" Harry asked.
"Going to change in my uniform," Cassia said.
"But we barely just left," Ron said. "We got a long time to wait."
"Well, I just want to do something," Cassia said. "You two are busy talking." She grabbed the white button up shirt, grey pleated skirt, and black knee-high socks. She'll put on the grey jumper, black cloak, and black tie later. She grabbed her bag and left the compartment. She walked down the train, nearly running into a tall looking boy with brown hair.
"Sorry," they both said, and Cassia hurried down the corridor. There was already a girl with red hair in a plait standing outside.
The girl knocked on the door, "hurry up, Hannah."
"I am," replied presumably Hannah.
The other girl looked at Cassia, "I'm Susan."
Cassia nodded at her, "Cassia."
"What house are you expecting to be in?" asked Susan. "I hope I get in Hufflepuff, like my family before me."
"Oh, er—" started Cassia. "I hope it's the house that my parents were in."
"And which house did they come from?" asked Susan.
"I don't know. My parents are dead," Cassia replied.
"I'm sorry," replied Susan, sounding like she meant it.
A pink-faced, blonde girl emerged from the loo. Her hair was in pigtails. She smiled at them. She said, "Your turn, Susan." She looked at Cassia, "And who are you?"
"Cassia," replied the Potter girl. Susan went in the loo.
"I'm Hannah Abott," Hannah said, holding out her hand.
Cassia awkwardly shook it. They looked at each other.
"Well, I'll see you around," Hannah said and flounced off, right as Susan left the loo.
Susan smiled at Cassia and followed after Hannah.
Cassia went in the loo and changed her clothes. She left and went back to the original to see that Ron took her spot in front of Harry. There was a pile of sweets on the seats. She didn't think that it took that long. Harry was holding a package.
"What?" she asked, looking at the sweets.
Harry picked up a package and held it up, "This is the only thing that has strawberries in it and I know how much you love strawberries."
Cassia scoffed, "I don't love—give me that." She took the package from Harry and sat next to him. She looked at the package to see that it was Chocoballs and had five in it. It was filled with a heavy strawberry mousse and clotted cream. It looked like a ball of chocolate with strawberry icing winding around it. She opened the box and took out a Chocoball and bite into it. She sighed in appreciation. This was going to be her favourite sweet.
"I told you that she would love them," Harry said to Ron.
Ron shrugged in response. He was busy looking at cards.
Harry opened his package and Cassia looked at it. "They're not really frogs, are they?"
"Is that a twin thing?" asked Ron. "Harry asked me the exact same thing. Sometimes Fred or George ask the same thing at different times, but I think they do it to be funny."
Cassia shrugged and ate another Chocoball.
Harry picked up a card and looked at it, "So, this is Dumbledore." He turned it over.
Cassia looked at it and read:
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
CURRENT HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS
Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particular famous for his defeat of the Dark Wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner Nicholas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.
"Hmm," said Cassia. "I think I read something about Grindelwald. I think he went to America at one point. I can't recall, but I think his first name started with a G." She looked at Ron, who shrugged.
Harry turned the card over and gasped. "He's gone!"
"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," replied Ron. "He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her…do either of you want it? You can start collecting."
Cassia shook her head. She wasn't particular into cards. She focused on the Chocoballs.
"Help yourself," said Harry. "But, in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos."
"Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron asked, sounding amazed. "Weird!"
The boys dove into the Chocolate Frogs and Cassia looked at what else they got. They got was looked like liquorice wands, chocolate wands, and a container of Pink Coconut Ice. Cassia picked it up and looked at the label. Apparently it was white and pink coconut fudge with coconut flakes. She opened it and grabbed a square.
"Hand me that bag," Harry said to Cassia, pointing at a bag of what looked like was filled with jelly beans. Cassia passed it to him. Harry grabbed it and opened it.
"You want to be careful with those," Ron warned. "When they say every flavour, they mean every flavour—you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a bogey-flavoured one once."
Ron picked a green bean, examined it, and bite into a corner. He gagged, "See?" He sounded like he made a point, "Sprouts."
Harry picked one and ate it. He made a face, "grass." He held out the bag to Cassia, who picked a red one.
She popped it in her mouth and bite down. She cringed at the taste, "Chili."
Ron took one and ate it, "Cheese."
Harry ate another one, "Curry."
Cassia ate another one and groaned, "Mushroom." She passed on the next turned, settling for looking out the countryside.
A bit of time passed and there was a knock on the door. A round-faced boy, looking tearful, walked in. He asked, "Sorry, but have you see a toad at all?"
Cassia shook her head, "Sorry, but I haven't. I'll let you know if I see it."
"I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!" the boy wailed.
"He'll turn up," replied Harry.
"Yes," said the boy. "Like she said, if you see him…" He turned and left.
"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad, I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."
"Scabbers?" Cassia asked.
Ron pointed at the cage. There was a rat in there sleeping. Or maybe it was dead. Cassia wasn't sure. "Is it dead?" she asked, examining the rat.
Ron shook his head. "No, but if he might have died, you wouldn't know the difference."
"Oh," said Cassia. "Does it do anything?"
"No," replied Ron. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look…" He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It looked chipped in places and something white was poking through at the end.
"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out," Ron said, "Anyway—"
He just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The boy was back, but he had a girl with him. The girl was wearing her Hogwarts robes.
"Has anyone seen a toad?" she asked in a bossy sort of tone. "Neville's lost one." She had bushy brown hair and large front teeth.
"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron flatly.
"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then," replied the girl and sat down.
Ron looked taken aback, "Er—all right." He cleared his throat, "Sunshine, daises, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow." He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed grey and fast asleep.
"Are you sure that's a real spell?" asked the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so please, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard—I've learnt all our set books off by heart, of course, I just it will be enough—I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"
Cassia was too stunned at how fast the girl spoke to even reply.
"I'm Ron Weasley," muttered Ron
"Harry Potter," said Harry.
"Are you really?" asked Hermione at once, before Cassia can even introduce herself. "I know all about you, of course—I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."
"We are?" asked Cassia.
Hermione looked at Cassia, "'We?'"
"I'm Cassia Potter," stated Cassia, almost a little flatly.
"Oh, you're mentioned in Great Wizarding Events and Modern Magical History," replied Hermione.
"Good," Cassia said.
"She's been called modest," replied Harry.
"I hate my accomplishments being broadcasted," replied Cassia.
"Goodness, didn't you two know? I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best, I heard Dumbledore himself was one, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad…Anyway, we'd better go and looked for Neville's toad, I expect we'll be there soon." With that, she left, taking Neville with her.
"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron, throwing his wand back in his trunk. "Stupid spell—George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."
"Cassia probably would've done the same thing to me," Harry said.
"Now why would I do that?" Cassia asked innocently.
"You once convinced me to do an essay on the royal family," Harry said.
Cassia giggled, "Oh, yeah. That was a good one. I don't know how, but I did."
"Anyway, what house are your brothers in?" asked Harry.
"Gryffindor," replied Ron, in a gloomy tone. "Mum and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."
"If they love you, they wouldn't care," Cassia said, "Even if it's the house that You-Know-Who came from."
"You know, I think the ends of Scabbers's whiskers are a bit lighter," said Harry. "So what do your oldest brothers do now they've left, anyway?"
Cassia reached over and opened her trunk. She pulled out a book and opened it. Some part of her really wanted to open up The Book of Spells & Charms, but she wasn't quite ready to open it in front of Harry and Ron yet.
She managed to tune out the boys when she heard, "Is it true? They're saying all down the train that Harry and Cassia Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"
It was a different voice. She looked up to see three boys. There was a pale blond boy with two boys that were thickset and looked extremely mean. They remembered Cassia of Dudley and his gang, except it was two boys rather than four.
"Yes," said Harry.
"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."
Ron gave a cough and Malfoy looked at him. "Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."
He turned to Harry and Cassia.
"You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potters. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." He held out his hand to Harry.
"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," Harry replied in a cold tone.
Malfoy turned to Cassia. Cassia glared at him, "Don't look at me. You insulted a friend and you think that's going to make me be friends with you? Get out. Your presence isn't wanted."
Malfoy's cheeks went pink. "I'd be careful if I were you, Potters. Unless you're a bit politer, you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riff-raff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."
Harry and Ron stood up. Ron's face was as red as his hair, "Say that again."
"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" sneered Malfoy.
"Unless you get out now," replied Harry.
"Harry, sit down," hissed Cassia. "It's better to ignore him."
"I would listen to your sister," Malfoy said, "She seems a lot smarter than you."
Cassia wasn't sure how, but she had momentarily blacked out, because when she blinked, she had started pulling on Malfoy's ear and smacking his back with another book, as Crabbe and Goyle stood back, looking caught off guard. Cassia was snarling, "Take that back you insolent little b—"
Goyle let out a horrible yell and Harry was trying to pull Cassia away. Crabbe backed away and Goyle was swinging round in circles, howling. Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window. Harry managed to pull Cassia away and Malfoy backed up, his face pink and looking thoroughly mortified.
"You're all mad," said Malfoy. "Wait till my father hears about this." They turned and ran.
"Yeah, tell your father that a girl kicked your arse," Cassia shouted down the compartment.
Ron looked at Cassia, "That was—"
"Whatever," Cassia said quickly. "He shouldn't have insulted my brother."
"It's odd," said Harry. "Every time I get insulted or hurt, she lashes out."
"Note to self," muttered Ron. "Never provoke Cassia Potter by hurting or insulting you. Not after that stunt." He went to check on Scabbers.
"What has been going on?" Hermione asked coming into the compartment.
Cassia noticed the sweets all over the floor and realized how flustered she must've looked.
"I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry and Cassia. He looked closer, "No—I don't believe it—he's gone back to sleep." He looked at Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"
"You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!" Hermione admonished.
"Scabbers and Cassia have been fighting for us, not us," said Ron, scowling.
Hermione looked at Cassia, "I expected better of you."
"Malfoy shouldn't've provoked me," Cassia said, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on," Hermioned said, "I've just been up the front to ask the driver and he says we're nearly there."
Ron scowled, "Would you mind leaving while we change?"
"All right—I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"
Hermione left and Cassia went to her trunk, pulling on the grey jumper, robes, and tie. Cassia looked out the window to see that it was getting dark.
Cassia left the compartment and tried tying the tie, gave up, and pulled on the jumper. She'll fix the tie later and put on the robes. All of a sudden, she was hit by everything that happened. She pulled Malfoy's ear and hit him with a book. Sure she had fought with Dudley and his gang before, but Malfoy was someone she didn't know. Malfoy pushed her buttons, well, button, by insulting Harry.
Harry allowed her back in when a voice called: "We'll be reaching Hogsmeade Station in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."
Cassia was suddenly nervous as she tried fixing her tie. What if she really couldn't do magic? What house would she get? What would happen if she and Harry ended up in different houses? He did say that they would be together, but still…
The boys crammed the rest of their sweets in their pockets and Cassia tried calming Harvest down, who was beginning to meow again, before Harry dragged her to the corridor where a crowd was forming.
They pushed their way towards the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. It was cold and Cassia shivered.
A lantern came bobbing over the heads of the students and Cassia heard a familiar voice call, "Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here! All right there, Harry and Cassia?"
It was Hagrid. He was beaming over them. He called, "C'mon, follow me—any more firs'-years? Mind yer step, now! Firs-years follow me!"
Cassia slipped and stumbled as she followed Hagrid down what seemed like a steep, narrow path. It was dark on either side of them, which Cassia suspected was dark, thick trees. It was mostly quiet, except for a few whispers and Neville sniffling about once or twice. It could've been more, but Cassia wasn't sure.
"Yeh'll get yer firs sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."
The path opened on to the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side was a castle with many turrets and towers. The windows were sparkling against the starry night sky. It was beautiful.
"Ooooh!" came from the first-years.
"No more'n four to a boat!" called Hagrid.
Cassia was confused and noticed a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Cassia followed Harry and Ron, but was jostled by the crowd. She momentarily got lost but she finally found Harry and Ron, but Neville and Hermione were already in the boat. She grew a little angry and went to find a different boat. She found one with a curly, blonde-haired girl and a red-haired girl. She sat in their boat instead.
"Hello, I'm Lily Moon," said the blonde girl with an Irish accent.
"And I'm Sally-Anne Perks," replied the red-haired girl.
"Hi," replied Cassia a little flatly. She winced, "Sorry. I couldn't sit with my brother, because it was all full."
"No worries," replied Lily. "Don't worry. We'll take good care of you for him."
"More like I take care of him," Cassia muttered.
Sally-Anne asked, "What was that?"
"Nothing," replied Cassia quickly.
A brown-haired boy sat down in the boat with them.
"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid. "Right then—forward!"
The boats started moving at once, gliding across the lake, which seemed smooth like glass. Cassia looked at up at the castle. It was breathtakingly beautiful and it looked cozy.
"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as his boat reached the cliff. They bent their heads and they were carried through a curtain of ivy, which hid an opening. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed like it was underneath the castle.
They reached a kind of harbour, where they clambered out on to rocks and pebbles.
"Oy, you there!" called Hagrid, "Is this your toad?"
He was checking the boats.
"Trevor!" cried Neville. Cassia couldn't help but smile at that. It was nice that Neville actually loved his pet.
They walked through a passageway that was in the rock, following Hagrid's lantern.
They exited right into the shadow of the castle.
Harry and Ron came up to Cassia.
"Don't worry, we took good care of her," said Sally-Anne, looking at Harry.
"Right," said Harry. Cassia smiled at Lily and Sally-Anne and followed after Harry.
They went up the flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.
"Everyone here?" Hagrid called. "You there, still got yer toad?" With that said, he knocked three times on the castle door.