Year 1, Chapter 2 - Heading to Hogwarts

I shook my head. I must have imagined... no, there it was.

"Platform 9 3/4".

And there were the redhead twins, laughing and whispering with each other as a plump, middle aged woman, probably their mother, messed with their hair.

"It's fine, Mum, let me go!" said one, wriggling away.

"Shouldn't you be fussing over Ginny, anyway?" said the second, rolling his eyes. "She's the first year, after all."

"Yes, dear, but your hair...!"

"It's fine!"

I watched, stared at the Platform sign, looked at the brick wall, and stared back at the family.

"I'm off to the Prefect's car, Mum," said a third boy, older than the twins. What a large family!

"All right, Percy! I'll write you. Love you!" called the mother as her son hurried off.

The twins boarded the train, and with only the mother and young girl left, I timidly approached them.

"Excuse me, ma'am," I said, tapping her shoulder.

"Oh, hello dear! Headed to school, are you?" she asked, beaming.

"Well... um... yes..." I stammered. I was headed to St. Martha's, after all.

"First year?" she asked.

I nodded in reply.

"Splendid! It's Ginny's first year too!" she said, squeezing her daughter's shoulders. "Did you have a question, sweetheart?"

"Oh, no, just... making sure this was the right train... Isn't it?"

"Of course, dearie, it's the right train! The one and only train! Here, I'll help you with your stuff. You two had best be boarding, it's leaving in just a matter of seconds!"

Without having another moment to speak, I was bustled onto the train, my stuff was shoved in behind me, and the door closed on the woman outdoors.

"Bye, Mum!" called Ginny, tears sparkling in her eyes.

She looked sad, but at the same time, genuinely thrilled. She looked shyly at me and said, "Shall we find a compartment?"

Seeing as I had no idea what else to do, I accepted, and we made our way down the aisle.

The thing that struck me about this train was that there were only children and teenagers aboard, no adults in sight. I wasn't used to this method of travel though, so I made no further assumptions that there was something WRONG, although my gut was telling me that there was.

"Here's a place," said Ginny suddenly, stopping. She opened the compartment. There were two people, a boy and a girl around our age, sitting inside.

"Do you mind...?" Ginny asked shyly.

"No, please sit down," said the girl, with an air of spaciness about her.

Ginny and I shuffled in, and she sat next to the girl, who was eerily pretty with pale blonde hair. The boy looked quite different, chubby with buck teeth. I stared at my folded hands.

"Are you first years?" asked the girl.

"Yes," Ginny and I responded together.

"Oh, I am too. I'm Luna Lovegood. It is so nice to meet you. Who are you?"

"I'm Ginny Weasley," said Ginny.

"I'm Taylor Winthrop," I replied.

"It's a pleasure," said Luna, and she went back to the book sitting in her lap.

"I'm Neville Longbottom," said the boy a bit nervously. "I'm a second year... Gryffindor. What houses do you think you'll be in?"

"My whole family has been in Gryffindor," said Ginny. "My parents and all my brothers. Ron is a second year. Do you know him?"

Neville nodded and smiled just a bit. "He's a friend."

Luna spoke up. "I've had family members in all four houses before," she said. "My father was in Hufflepuff, and my mother was in Ravenclaw. I suppose I could be anything."

"What about you?" Ginny asked me.

I stared at her blankly. I didn't have the slightest idea what they were talking about. "I... I'm not sure," I stammered.

"Well you will be in no time," said Ginny with a smile.

"A lot of the first years want to be in Gryffindor this year," said Neville, "since that's where Harry Potter is."

Ginny's ears perked up at the name "Harry Potter".

But I remained in the dark. "Who's he?"

"Who's Harry Potter?" gasped Neville. "You've never heard of Harry Potter?"

I shook my head and felt my face flush.

"Are your parents non-magical?" asked Ginny. She turned to the others. "If her parents were non-magic, she might have never heard of it."

"Non... what?"

"Magic! Where do you think we're going?" asked Neville with a nervous laugh.

"Magic?"

"Yes, magic. Magic is wonderful," said Luna with a spacey smile.

"Where is this train going?" I asked, jumping up in my seat.

"Where is it going?" cried Ginny. "Well nowhere else but Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"