Cassie woke up with a start and peered around her dark room for her alarm clock, the luminescent green numbers displayed the time 8:30 AM. Cassie sighed and lay back in bed, what was she doing waking up this early in the summer holidays? She had a niggling feeling in her stomach that meant she had forgotten something. Cassie looked at her calendar and her eyes widened with delight, it was her twelfth birthday. But that wasn't it, there was something else important, far more important happening today and then she spotted the large trunk haphazardly piled with school books. She threw the bedcovers off and almost leapt out of bed with excitement. It was the 1st of September - Hogwarts Day. Today she was getting the train from Kings Cross and entering the magical world.
She padded across her room and ripped open the small pile of presents left at the foot of her bed by her parents; her favourite gift was easily a soft blue jumper her mum had picked out for her, it was threaded with flecks of gold that shimmered in the early morning sun. She quickly tugged it over her head, put the rest of her clothes on, closed the trunk lid firmly and began to drag it out of her room.
Cassie began to bump the trunk down each stair, it made a terrible racket and made her Mum appear at the bottom of the stairs.
"CASSANDRA AURORA BLACK, YOU BETTER NOT HAVE SCRATCHED ANY OF MY STAIRS !" her Mum shouted.
"How could I scratch them? They're carpet," asked Cassie incredulously
"Still.." her Mum muttered angrily before a smile broke out over her face "Happy Birthday my love"
Her Mum took the other end of the trunk and they managed to manoeuvre the trunk through the rest of the house to the front door much more quietly. The Black family quickly had breakfast of toast and a decadent chocolate cake that her Dad had produced despite her Mum's claims of it being too early.
"I can't have my only daughter going off to school without a birthday cake" he claimed while pretending to wipe a tear from under his eye
Her Mum gave in with a roll of her eyes and Cassie and her Dad exchanged matching grins.
Forty-five minutes in the car, her Mum asked her Dad,
"Darius, what platform is on Cassie's ticket ?"
"Nine and Three Quarters." her Dad promptly replied
"What ?" said Cassie at the same time her Mum exclaimed, "Don't be silly, Darius."
"Well, it's what it says on the ticket and Professor Mcgonagall's instructions." protested her Dad.
Her Mum rustled around in her large handbag until she found the two pieces of parchment.
"Well I never," she said, peering at them "It does say Nine and Three Quarters."
"See !" her Dad said happily.
"I've never heard of it," said Cassie nervously. "What if we can't find it ?"
"Well," said her Mum, smoothing out Professor Mcgonagall's instructions, "It says on here that it's between Platforms Nine and Ten."
"Obviously," muttered Cassie.
"And," her Mum said, pretending not to hear her, "You've just got to run at the wall and you'll be able to get through."
"Run at a solid wall ?" said Cassie, a little doubtfully.
"Well, that's magic for you." said her Dad cheerfully, pulling into the car park.
Cassie noticed that they had parked next to a light blue Ford Anglia. Her dad heaved Cassie's trunk out of the car and put it on a trolley. Cassie and her parents quickly made their way to Platforms Nine and Ten, Cassie looked furtively from left to right to see if any muggles were watching.
"One, two, three." she counted under her breath and then set off at a brisk walk towards the wall.
They were coming closer and closer to the wall and Cassie braced herself for impact but there was only a moment of darkness and then they were on the platform.
A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said 'Hogwarts' Express, Eleven o'clock.' Cassie looked behind her and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words 'Platform Nine and Three-Quarters' on it, she had done it. Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every colour wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted at one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks. The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats.
"Come on," said her Mum, "Let's find you a seat."
They walked further along the platform until they came to a relatively empty carriage. Cassie hopped up on the train and helped her Dad push her trunk on next to her.
"Now remember," said her Mum, tears filling her eyes "Try to make lots of friends and study hard."
"And if you're gonna do something, don't get caught !" her Dad said grinning
"Darius, really!" her Mum scolded
"You know me, Mum," said Cassie laughing, "I'll be good as gold."
A guard blew his whistle and the train jolted and then started to move.
"Write as soon as you can, so we know you got there alright !" her Mum called
"We'll see you at Christmas !" shouted her Dad, waving "And have a good rest of your birthday!"
Cassie waved and waved until she felt like her arm would fall off and her parents were out of sight. She watched as grey houses flashed past and turned into greenery. Cassie turned around to go and find a seat when she was nearly knocked over by a pair of tall twins with flaming red hair and freckles.
"Oi !" she said, annoyed "Watch where you're going !"
"If you don't want to get bumped into," said one twin.
"Don't stand in front of carriage doors ." said the other.
"Well, if I want to find a seat, I'll have to stand near carriage doors." Cassie retorted.
The twins both laughed and Cassie forgot to be annoyed.
"Fred. " said the first twin.
"George." said the second.
"Cassie," said Cassie, holding out both her hands so they could each shake one.
"Not to worry Cassie, Gred and Forge have you covered," said Fred
"We know the perfect place for you to sit," said George
They led Cassie all the way to the back of the train and gestured to a carriage that had two boys who looked to be her age inside. One boy was clearly Fred and George's brother, with the same fair skin, blue eyes, bright red hair and thousands of freckles. The other boy was smaller, with tanned tawny skin, messy black hair and bright green eyes covered by round glasses.
The twins pushed open the sliding door and said,
"Hello, Ron."
"Hello." the boy named Ron mumbled back.
"We've brought you two another friend, this is Cassie," said Fred
Both Ron and the other boy stared at Cassie.
"Listen you lot, we're going down the middle of the train - Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there." said George and then the twins disappeared.
Cassie dragged her trunk in and stood it in the corner next to the two other trunks and then stood awkwardly next to them.
"Would you like to sit down ?" asked the boy with the glasses, politely, patting the seat next to him.
Cassie nodded and quickly went over and sat down. She didn't know what was wrong with her, she was never shy but now faced with the two boys, Cassie found herself tongue-tied.
"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron suddenly blurted out.
The boy with glasses, who Cassie supposed was Harry, nodded.
"Oh...well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got,you know..."
He pointed at Harry's forehead.
Harry pulled back his fringe and on his forehead was the coolest scar, it was shaped like a lightning bolt. Cassie had never seen anything like it.
"So that's where You-Know-Who..?" Ron trailed off
"Yes," said Harry, "but I can't remember it."
"Nothing?" said Ron eagerly.
"Well !" said Harry "I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else."
"Woah !" said Ron, staring at Harry for a few more seconds.
"Sorry," said Cassie, "I'm really confused, how do you," she pointed at Ron "Know all about you," she pointed at Harry "And who is You-Know-Who ?"
Both Harry and Ron stared at Cassie with looks of disbelief.
"You don't know who Harry Potter is ?" said Ron
"No," said Cassie, suddenly worried "Should I ?"
"Are you a Muggleborn ?" asked Ron, a look of disbelief still etched on his face.
"No." said Cassie shortly "But would it be a problem if I was ?"
Now it was Ron's turn to look worried.
"No, no, of course not." he said "You just don't look like one that's all, actually you look kind of familiar."
"Yeah !" Harry agreed "But I just can't remember where from."
Cassie shrugged her shoulders.
"So, tell me, Harry, how'd you get that scar ?"
"I-don't-know-how-you-don't-know-if-your-not-a-Muggleborn!" burst out Ron quickly, "Harry's famous."
"Really," said Cassie, doubtfully "I've never heard of him."
"How," moaned Ron "He's a Wizarding celebrity."
"Oh a Wizarding celebrity," said Cassie. "Well, I didn't know about the Wizarding world till a few weeks ago."
"Neither did I" said Harry eagerly.
"Oh I give up !" said Ron throwing his hands in the air "This is too confusing, Harry explain to Cassie about your story."
"Well," Harry began settling back in his seat "It begins with a man called Voldermort."
Ron twitched and Cassie felt the hairs on her neck stand up and a shiver go down her spine.
"You-know-who" Ron hissed.
"Sorry You-Know-Who," amended Harry "Well he killed my parents."
Cassie gasped and Ron rubbed the back of his neck.
"And then," continued Harry "He tried to kill me and no one knows why but it backfired and I survived it."
"And that's how he got his scar." finished Ron.
"So what happened to You-Know-Who ?" asked Cassie, eyes wide.
"No one knows," said Harry. "He just disappeared."
The three of them sat in silence for a while and digested Harry's story.
"So...," said Ron after several minutes. "What about you Cassie?"
"What do you mean ?" asked Cassie
"Well how come you're not a Muggleborn but you didn't know about the Wizarding world ?" asked Ron
"Oh," said Cassie "Well technically I'm not a Muggleborn, I don't know if I have a label but my Dad's a squib and my Mum's a Muggle."
"Wow !" said Ron, "That's really rare."
"What's a squib ?" asked Harry
"A squib is someone born to magical parents but they don't have enough magic to be a witch or wizard." answered Cassie "It's like the opposite of a Muggleborn."
"What about you Ron ?" asked Harry grinning "You know all about us."
"Yeah," said Cassie, also smiling "Are your parents both magic ?"
"Yes," said Ron. "My whole family is, I think, Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."
"How many siblings do you have ?" Harry asked Ron and Cassie.
"None," said Cassie "My parents couldn't have any more after me, I'd have liked one though."
"Five brothers, one sister," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left - Bill was the Head Boy and Charlie was the Quidditch Captain. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."
Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat grey rat, which was asleep.
"His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my Dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff- I mean, I got Scabbers instead."
Ron's ears went pink and he stared out the window. Harry then started telling Ron and Cassie about how he lived with his awful Muggle relatives called the Dursleys and how he had to wear his cousin Dudley's old clothes how he'd never had any proper birthday presents and how he'd never had any money until he went to Gringotts. As they were listening, Ron slowly got more cheerful and Cassie more embarrassed. She'd always gotten birthday presents and a cake on her birthday, this morning being evidence of that, and her clothes were always brand new. Cassie vowed not to take those things for granted again.
While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. The three were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past. Around half past twelve, there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said,
"Anything off the trolley, dears?"
Harry leapt up and went out into the corridor but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that his mum had made him sandwiches. Cassie (whose wizard money was spent on her school supplies and the rest her Dad had taken away to look at), opened her satchel and brought out cheese sandwiches, an apple and some slices of birthday cake. When Ron saw she also had sandwiches, he cheered up again.
"How come you've got so much cake, Cassie ?" Ron asked
"Oh, it's my birthday" she replied "Here, have some"
"Thanks" Ron mumbled, having already taken a bite "and happy birthday!"
Cassie was just about to bite into her first sandwich when Harry staggered back into the compartment, his arms filled with what looked like the entire contents of the trolley.
"Hungry, are you?" asked Cassie as Harry tipped his load onto the last empty seat.
"Starving," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty.
Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said,
"She always forgets I don't like corned beef.."
"Swap you for one of these," said Harry, holding up a pasty. "Go on.."
"You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us."
"Go on, have a pasty," said Harry to Cassie, handing her the sweet-smelling pasty "I hear it's your birthday"
It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron and Harry, eating their way through all Harry's pasties, cakes, and sweets (both packets of sandwiches lay forgotten).
"What are these?" Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of 'Chocolate Frogs'. "They're not really frogs, are they?"
Cassie held the box away away from her, immediately wary.
"No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa."
"What?" said both Harry and Cassie.
"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know, Chocolate Frogs have cards, inside them, you know, to collect, famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."
Cassie unwrapped her card, the picture was of a beautiful Native American lady with flowing black hair. She was wearing a fitted blue gown and a sparkling tiara. Underneath the picture was the name 'Rowena Ravenclaw'. She smiled up at Cassie and adjusted her tiara. Cassie gave a shout in shock, she rubbed her eyes but Rowena Ravenclaw was still moving.
"She's moving !" cried Cassie.
"What ?" said Harry as he peered over her shoulder, "She really is !"
He looked at his card and gave a similar shout to Cassie's.
"Dumbledore's gone !" Harry shouted
"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said 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."
Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped.
"Help yourself," said Harry.
"You know," said Cassie "In the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos."
"Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. "Weird!"
"No this is weird," Cassie replied, turning over her card. "It's like something out of a film"
On the back, it read,
ROWENA RAVENCLAW
Rowena Ravenclaw was one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was noted for her intelligence and creativity and had one daughter, Helena Ravenclaw. Ravenclaw died sometime in the eleventh century after she fell fatally ill.
Half an hour later, Cassie reached for a striped box of 'Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans'.
"You want to be careful with those," Ron warned her. "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 can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a bogey-flavoured one once."
Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner.
"Bleaaargh...see? Sprouts."
They had a good time eating the Every Flavor Beans. Cassie got butter, chocolate, cheese, milk, toothpaste, earthworm, tomato ketchup and custard. Harry was even brave enough to nibble the end of a funny grey one that neither Cassie nor Ron would touch, which turned out to be pepper.
The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills.
There was a knock on the door of their compartment and a blond, round-faced boy came in. He looked tearful.
"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"
When they all shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"
"He'll turn up," said Harry nicely.
"Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him..."
He left.
"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quickly as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."
The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap.
"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you two now"
He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end.
"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway.."
He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts uniform.
"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said.
She had a bossy sort of voice, very smooth umber skin, lots of bushy brown hair, brown eyes and rather large front teeth.
"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Cassie impatiently, she wanted to see Ron's spell.
But the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in Ron's hand.
"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."
She sat down. Ron looked taken aback.
"Er..all right."
He cleared his throat.
"Sunshine, daisies, 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?" said 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 pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard and I've learned all our books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough - I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"
She said all this very fast.
Cassie looked over at Harry and Ron, and was relieved to see by their stunned faces that they hadn't learned all the books by heart either.
"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.
"Cassie Black," said Cassie
"Harry Potter," said Harry.
"Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course, I got a few extra books, for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."
"Am I?" said Harry, looking dazed.
"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do any 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 hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad... Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You three had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."
And she left, taking the toadless boy with her.
"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron. He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell, George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."
"What house are your brothers in ?" asked Cassie.
"Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mum and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw or even Hufflepuff would be awful, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."
"That's the house Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?" said Harry.
"Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed.
"You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," said Harry, obviously trying to take Ron's mind off houses. "So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?"
"Charlie's in Romania studying dragons and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," said Ron. "Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don't suppose either of you get that with the Muggles, someone tried to rob a high-security vault."
"Really? What happened to them? asked Cassie, thinking about the warning on the silver doors.
"Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get around Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it."
Just then, the compartment door slid open again but it wasn't Neville or Hermione this time, but a very blond, very pale boy that looked quite snooty. He strode forward and two big, mean-looking boys came in after him.
"Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"
"Yes," said Harry.
"This is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."
Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco 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 back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some Wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."
He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it.
"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly.
Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared on his pale cheeks.
"Who are you ?" he asked Cassie rudely, pointing at her
"Cassie Black." she replied, standing up, she was taller than he was and he looked slightly intimidated as she drew level with him "It's rude to point, you know."
"A Black you say, are we related ?" Draco asked shortly, taking a few steps back.
"I should hope not," said Cassie and Ron and Harry laughed "Why ?"
"You look like my Mother and her family." said Draco "Who are your parents ?"
"Darius and Margaret Black," said Cassie promptly.
"And what about your Black grandparents ?" questioned Draco
"Walburga and Orion Black," answered Cassie, remembering her Dad's stories.
"I shall write to my Mother." mused Draco, looking interested.
"You do that." said Cassie, sitting back down "Bye now."
"Bye !" Harry and Ron chorused.
Draco sent one last dirty look at them all before sweeping out of the compartment.
"We had better get our uniforms on," said Harry
"Alright," Cassie agreed "I'll go and change in the bathroom and you boys can change here."
Cassie got her uniform out of her trunk and made her way down the train to the girl's loos. Two girls were in there that were wearing unmarked uniforms which showed they were First Years like Cassie. One girl had olive skin, dark bobbed hair with a fringe and a turned up nose and the other was very pretty with plaited blond hair and a friendly smile.
"Hello," said the blond one "Are you a First Year as well ?"
"Yes." replied Cassie "I'm Cassie."
"I'm Daphne," said the blond girl "And this is Pansy." She gestured to the dark haired girl.
Pansy looked Cassie up and down and seemed pleased with what she saw because she said,
"What house do you want to be in ?"
Cassie racked her brains, trying to remember the four houses
"Gryffindor !" she said hurriedly, remembering that Ron and his brothers all wanted to be or were in that house.
"You should want to be in Slytherin, it's the best house." Pansy said contemptuously "And the house us two are going to be in."
"I wouldn't mind being in Ravenclaw." mused Daphne.
"Daphne !" scolded Pansy "You will be in Slytherin and be happy about it."
"Sorry Pans." apologised Daphne.
"Right well, come along now," said Pansy, walking towards the door "Millicent and the boys are waiting for us."
"Bye Cassie" Daphne mouthed with a grin as she was led from the bathroom.
Cassie went into a free cubicle and took off her jumper and jeans, replacing them with a white shirt, grey skirt, grey cardigan, black tie and her robes. The robes felt odd, flowing out behind her as she walked back to her carriage. She slid open the door and smiled at the boys, who were in uniform and happily discussing something called Quidditch .
A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."
The three of them crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor.
The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out onto a tiny, dark platform. Cassie shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Cassie heard a loud, booming voice,
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"
It was the biggest man Cassie had ever seen, he looked like a giant. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes which looked kind, glinting like black beetles under all the hair. Ron and Cassie both gaped.
"Who is that ?" Cassie asked in astonishment
"That's Hagrid." said Harry, seeming proud to know something neither Cassie nor Ron knew.
"How'd you know him ?" asked Ron
"He kidnapped me from my Aunt and Uncle," replied Harry
"Cool !" said Cassie and Ron in unison
"C'mon, follow me, any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" called Hagrid.
Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Cassie thought they must be in some sort of forest. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.
"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."
There was a loud "Oooooh!"
The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.
"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Cassie was followed into a boat by Harry, Ron and Hermione.
"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then, FORWARD!"
And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.
"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff.
They all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle until they reached a kind of underground harbour, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.
"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.
"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands.
Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.
"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"
Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.