It is a slightly overcast day in London. Not unusual for the time of year. Kings Cross station is busy as usual, but strange people seem to be around. Those who work at the station notice that they usually show up every year on September 1, with their children pulling trunks. Some have odd pets, owls for example. But they always seem to disappear before the workers can ever get a good look at them.

On Platform 9 3/4, it is crowded as ever. Students saying bye to their parents while searching for their friends whom they haven't seen all summer. New students are excited for the beginning of a new year, eager to learn magic and to go to the school they have been dreaming about their whole lives. Finally the time comes for them to say goodbye to their families and board the large scarlet train, ready to whisk them away to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"You're sure you want to do this honey?" Neil rolled his eyes before glancing over at his parents again. They had been pushing for him to go to a regular school even though it was obvious he had a talent for magic. A talent that Neil was not going to let go to waste.

"Yes mother, I'm sure," Neil said, pushing his cart, full of all his books and personal belongings, onto the train car. He turned to his parents and flashed the a smile. "Don't worry you guys, this is going to be better for me than any other school in that world." With that he disappeared onto the train to study for his future.

Once he stowed his things he looked around for an empty compartment, the only things on him now were his wand and a bird cage containing a pitch black raven. Everyone else seemed to be getting owls, but Neil, ever different, got something a bit sleeker.

"Here we are Grimoire, the start of a new life," Neil said, opening the door to an empty compartment and taking a seat near the window. He opened the door to the birdcage and the raven hopped out, fluttering to his shoulder as he stared out the window, waiting for the train to get going.

Aileen was glad to be at Kings Cross Station, finally. The summer had seemed to drag on as it approached September 1, her grandparents getting more and more annoying. Evey second they could, they reminded her that she represented their family and that by going to Hogwarts she could change how people viewed them. They could never get over the shame her father brought with his crime.

But Aileen didn't care about that, her father was and would always be just that, her father. She idolized him. After all for the longest time, it was just the two of them.

"AILEEN!" her grandmother snapped, causing her to look up towards the old lady. Apparently she had been trying to get her attention. "Now, do you have everything you need?" her grandfather asked, while her grandmother said, "What is going on with your hair?" irritation seeping into her voice. Aileen's hair was a constant mess of curls, unable to stay put into the braid her grandmother put it into.

"Yes," she said quickly to her grandfather, grabbing her trunk and small cat carrier that held her new kitten, Nox. "See you!" she called as she quickly boarded the train before they could say anything more.

Once on the train, Aileen tried to find an open compartment, but didn't have much luck. They had been running late and arrived at the platform very close to eleven. Finally, she came across one that only had one person in it, a boy with dark hair. "Can I join you here? Pretty much everywhere else is full," she asked him, standing in the doorway.

Neil looked over at the girl that had opened the door to his compartment, the bird on his shoulder jumping up to the back of the chair. It's beady eyes were focused on the animal carrier in the girls arms. "Sure, why not. I could always use some company," he said, smiling before turning back to the window.

"I'm Neil by the way," he said, taking his wand out of his pocket and twirling lightly in his fingers. He sighed a bit out the window. "Man, when is bloody thing going to get moving." Neil was anxious to start testing some of the things he had read about, but he couldn't start until they gt on there way. He turned back to face the girl with a slight smile. "I can't wait to get started, how about you?"

The platform was busy, people were pushing and stressing to get their things on the train. Students, new and returning, were saying their goodbyes to their families. And in the midst of it all stood an eleven year old girl, with the bluest of eyes- fair skin and brown hair, staring in awe at the train that was about to take them all to Hogwarts- school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

When young Olivia Faydon had gotten her letter, she could barely believe it.
Witches and magic were real! Somehow, she realized, she'd always known.
Known that she was different, and as much as her parents tried to pretend, they too had known. The day young Olive, as her parents called her, had received that letter had been the happiest day of her life, so far.

Little Fay had always dreamed of magic. Of unicorns and witches. Of Adventures.
And a place where she belonged, where she felt at home. She loved her parents, and her siblings- however annoying, to death- but the muggle world was just not for her.

"Honey! You better get on before the train leaves without you!" her mother said, causing Fay's eyes too widen. They couldn't leave without her, then she'd be stuck there whilst others got to learn how to do magic! "I've already gotten your things on. Love you hummingbird."

Fay gave everyone a quick hug and rann towards the train, holding the white turkish angora her parents had bought her a week before, tightly. "Love you too Daddy, and you too mommy, Sam, Lucy and Jacob! See you at Christmas!" She'd wave goodbye but the whistle blew and she desperately needed to find herself a cart.

Unfortunately, most were already occupied- except for one in the far back where a black haired young boy were sitting and a girl with light curly hair in a messy braid.
"Mind if I join, if it wouldn't be too much trouble that is. These carts sure do fill up fast. Though I was sort of late to get on. I can't believe that I am actually here. On the way to learn magic! Oh, and this is Merlin." the white kitten gave off a sound, almost as if answering her.

Aileen smiled slightly as she moved to sit down across the compartment from him, putting Nox's carrier next to her. "Thanks, I'm Aileen," she replied once she was was settled. She checked her father's old pocket watch just as it ticked to eleven on the dot. The train started then, pulling away from the station.

"Eleven o'clock on the dot, as always," she told him, holding up the watch for him to see.

"I can't wait to get there. My father told me all about Hogwarts, his time there were the best years of his life," she grinned, the excitement getting to her. Then she noticed the girl behind her. "Come on in," she told her.

She fiddled with the carrier, letting Nox out. He looked around the room with his yellow eyes, letting them rest on the bird, then decided he didn't care and laid down on Aileen's lap. "And this is Nox."

After what seemed like hours to Neil's impatient mind, but was probably only a few minutes, the train began moving. The scenery quickly passed by as they began crossing through the countryside and Neil almost didn't notice when the other girl came in a sat down in the compartment. He snapped back to reality when the girl introduced herself and her cat.

"Hi, I'm Neil and this is Grimoire," he said, motioning to the by now nervous bird that couldn't take it's eyes off the two cats in the room.

After about an hour on the train the snack trolley rolled up to their compartment and Neil's eyes lit up at the wondrous things on it. He quickly checked his pocket and found the little bit of wizard money that he had left and bought as much of the sweets as he could afford.

"So, either of you two want something? I think I may have bought a little more than I needed," he said with a nervous laugh as he pluck a small bag from the seat next to him and opened it up. Popping one of the jellybeans into his mouth he grimaced a little at the taste.

Fay smiled widely "I'm Fay. Or well, technically Olivia- most people call me Olive, but I've never really liked being called Olive. I don't even like olives. I prefer Fay." She laughed and sat down, letting Merlin go- but, being Merlin, the kitten jumped right back into her lap and laid down.

The girl shook her head "sorry, I tend to ramble when I get nervous. Or excited." She turned to the other girl "what kind of stories did he tell you about Hogwarts? I never even knew it existed until I got my letter. Are there really ghosts?"

Fay, who was sitting next to the other girl, tried not to laugh as the dark haired boy, Neil, grimaced. "I'd love to try one-" she giggled "I think. Is it true they taste like earwax and boogers? I heard a boy swear he'd gotten one that tasted like kitty litter." The though made her want to gag. Candy should most definitely not taste like kitty poo. "If they really taste like kitty litter I'd rather not though. I'm sure you understand Neil."

"Nice to meet you, too, Neil and Fay," Aileen replied, happy to have found a good compartment to sit in.

"My dad? He used to tell me all sorts of stories of when he went there. There are ghosts, moving staircases, all sorts of things... Then are you muggle-born?" she asked her, after a beat, thinking about it.

She looked at the trolley when it arrived. It was stocked with all sort of treats. She grabbed a handful of chocolate frogs, her favorites, paying with some of the pocket money her grandparents gave her for the train ride. She was glad they hadn't tried to pack food for her, she could be picky.

"I'm not so much of a fan of those, a bad experience, actually several, though they do come in any sort of flavor you can think of," she replied, crinkling her nose at the thought. "Chocolate frogs are the best," she added holding one out for the other girl.

Fay's eye widened "so it's true then! I couldn't believe it when I heard the other students talk about it all. I've always dreamed about magic and adventures. What are you looking forward to the most? The classes? I can wait for transfiguration to start! Or flying!" She almost jumped out of her seat with excitement.

She had gotten pocket money, but never thought about buying something from the cart. Her mother had insisted on packing her a snack for the train ride. Peanut butter jelly sandwiches and a soda pop. Fay thought it was kind of embarrassing, but since they weren't going to see each other for the next months, she hadn't the heart to refuse.

Fay smiled and made a mental note to repay the girl for the choclate frog later before adding a "thank you!". The frog though, leaped out of it's packaging and she had a hard time trying to catch it.

"Yes. First one in the family with magic. What about you two?"

After a few more bad choices Neil finally got a bean with an interesting taste. "Hmm, bacon," he said, smiling at the girl Olivia, or maybe Fay, he still wasn't sure, and her reaction to all the wonders that were in store for them. Neil had done a lot of reading over the summer and was determined not to gawk at the school like the others did.

"Here you go Grim," he said, unwrapping a small cake and placing it up on the top of the seat for the dark bird. Looking up at the question posed by Fay, he popped another bean into his mouth before answering. "I'm actually a muggle-born too. It's a good thing we got here after Harry Potter killed the Dark Lord or it might not have been so easy to get in," he said with a smile. All the relatively current wizarding history that he had read seemed to have a lot to do with the persecution of muggle-born witches and wizards. A high rise and quick fall in which Harry Potter managed to get the better of the dark wizard Voldemort. Though he still hadn't been able to find a whole lot about the details of how Voldemort came to power so quickly. Something he hoped to rectify in the expansive library at Hogwarts.

A young girl wearing a pair of dark green jeans and a black halter top had made her way to the train earlier. She had bid her parents good bye and gotten on the train before it had departed. Now sitting in an empty compartment near the end, the light haired girl leaned against her seat. She was nervous as hell but she wouldn't show it. She'd refused to show it when she found out that she'd be transferring to this school. It wasn't going to be a pleasant year. At least not in the beginning.

Setting down her bag, she looked down at her wand. It was one passed down throughout generations, and she'd been blessed to be able to wield it. It was a small reminder of her home. Closing her eyes, she dozed off only to wake up to the trolly coming with food. Digging into her bag she took out galleons and paid for a couple of sandwiches and sweets. Nibbling on a chocolate frog, she looked out the window.

"All of it. Exploring the castle. There are so many secrets, I pretty sure no one has managed to find everything there. Though flying is a lot of fun. My dad and I are huge quidditch fans. I hope to make my house team next year," she sighed, excited for the coming term.

"I'm actually a pure blood, both of my parents are wizards," Aileen told them, shrugging slightly. Blood status hadn't mattered for a long time, or really ever in her family. They had belonged to all the houses at Hogwarts, so there wasn't even pressure for her to be in one there.

"You've really done your research, Neil! That is true. When he was in power muggle borns were banned from Hogwarts, hunted actually. But that's all in the past now. Blood status doesn't matter," she told them.

"What was it like growing up in the muggle world?" she asked them, curious what it could have been like not having or knowing magic existed. She couldn't even imagine life like that.

Fay had heard of Harry Potter, well, at least a little bit and what Neil and Aileen said was pretty much what she'd heard. Muggle borns, like herself, had been hunted by pure blood wizards and witches. Luckily, that wasn't the case anymore. She was pretty sure her parents would never have even considered letting her go to Hogwarts had they known that little tidbit.

"I've never flied before, other than in an airplane. It's going to be so amazing to just get on the broom and lift off! I'd like to try out for the Quidditch team too but then I need to really practice my flying. I bet they'd never accept you if you have a tendency to end up in trees." She giggled and took a bite out of the chocolate frog, who'd quickly lost his ability to jump. It felt odd eating something that has seemed so alive just a few minutes ago, but it tasted great!

Fay didn't ask any more questions about blood-status, the thought of it all just made her feel uncomfortable. Instead she jumped on the chance to answer Aileen's questions about the muggle world.
"Boring! Well, we do have some things that make it worth it though, like Ipods and better clothing options. But other than that, the muggle world is pretty boring. But what can you expect from a world that has no magic or unicorns or centaurs or-" the girl laughed "sorry, there I go again, rambling on!"

"I gotta say I feel more or less the same as Fay here does. Though with one big peeve about this world. Getting information is much more of a chore in the wizarding world than it is for the muggles. Everything in the muggle world came be found on the Internet and wizards are still using books and scrolls for everything," he waved a dismissive hand before continuing. "Though with a little tweaked magic and my laptop I may be able to change that a bit."

Since he had discovered he was a wizard Neil had been working on a way to get all the research he had done and for that matter all the knowledge about wizards onto a sort of wizard internet, though it was still a long way from any kind of real thing. Before he found out he was a wizard he had been set to go to a premier technology school, and since finding out he had been trying his hardest to meld technology with wizardry.

"So, we've shared our stories, now tell us, what's it like growing up in the wizarding world?" he said to Aileen with a playful smile.

"Well, there aren't trees near the quidditch pitch, silly! The closet trees to it are in the forest or the Whomping Willow!" Aileen giggled. "And first years are given lessons. I've heard that most people need them anyways. I do."

When they started mentioning certain muggle devices, she was confused, not sure what they were. "Ipod? Internet? What are they? For storage? Or bug catching?" she asked, confused. She knew they had to be some sort of technology muggles made for themselves. All she knew was that muggle technology was too complicated, especially compared to the magical equivalent. "Books and scrolls work well. We have magic to find what we need in them. Technology and magic don't work together well," she shrugged.

"Growing up was great. It was just my dad and I for the longest time. We'd do all sorts of things. Quidditch matched in the summers, he made interesting potions in the winter. There was always something brewing in our house. Then he got sent to Azkaban, so I lived with my grandparents, which wasn't as much fun," she told them.

"I certainly do too" she replied. Fay smiled widely, finally a subject she knew something about "Ipods are a device for music. They store a lot of music in them so you can listen to your favorite music wherever you go! The internet is like..." she took a deep breathe, how could you explain the internet for someone who'd never used it? "It's like an endless library of information and music and movies and things. You can use it to speak to people on the other side of the Earth and...Maybe you can explain it better Neil, I'm not to tech savvy."

She petted Merlin, who looked as though he was sleeping. Silly kitty, he was sometimes more lazy then she was. Fay grabbed the small bag she kept with her and took out her Soda. All this excited rambling had made her throat dry. Or maybe that was just her nerves.

Would it be horrible if she asked Aileen why her father had been sent to Azkaban? Maybe it was one of those subjects you shouldn't butt into?

"Be a good boy while you're gone," his mother said absently, patting his head and tightening his scarf. "Just run on through." she was soon distracted by a squalling little sister, crying for a treat from the vending machine. "Not now. You'll spoil your dinner."

He ran though the brick wall, and ended up in front of the scarlet train. He boarded.

Steven looked for a car that was as uncrowded as possible. He found one that was empty, amazingly enough. Good, he could read in peace. At least, until more people arrived. If he had to he supposed he'd talk to them but he'd rather not. He just wanted some peace and quiet, for once.

He didn't have a pet. They didn't have the time or money to get him one. There was the family owl, and everyone got an owl or other pet of their choice when they graduated, but for now he'd take the company of his books.

Listening to Fay's description of the internet he nodded his head slightly. "You've got it pretty pretty much there, but the thing about the internet is that you can access it from something the size of a normal book," he said, wishing he had his laptop on him so that he could show her. At Aileen's mention of technology and magic not getting along Neil smirked a bit. They just didn't have the right mastermind yet.

Neil raised his eyes when Aileen said that her father was in Azkaban. "At least the dementors are gone now," he said, attempting to lighten the mood. He had heard that the dementors vanished after Voldemort was killed. This of course was only a rumor he had heard, he wasn't sure how true it was.

"Okay, that sounds interesting, but I don't really understand muggle technology," Aileen told them, not fully understanding the internet.

At the mention of dementors, her face paled, remembering the fear she felt when she heard that her father was being sent to Azkaban. But they were gone now; spells, enchantments, and guards keeping the prisoners in Azkaban now. "That's true. Its not so bad there now," she agreed with Neil. She always knew it could be worse.

"Oh, I should tell you why my father got sent there. Everyone knows, it was a big scandal a few years ago," she spoke up, figuring they didn't know the reasoning behind it and they would find out eventually. Nothing was secret for long at Hogwarts.

"He was an Unspeakable, oh, that means he worked in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry, and was charged with trying to takes Secrets out of there. But I think it was more of him trying to get work done in his free time. His boss made a big deal about it and brought down everything he could onto him," she told them.

Fay didn't really want to talk about Azkaban. While she may know little of the wizarding world, she knew plenty about Azkaban- the prison. It had been horrible before the war. Demontors had been used to guard the prisoners and at times, to execute them.

She felt a shiver travel down her spine giving her goosebumps.
"As much as I want to get to know you both better, can we talk about this without mentioning the..." Fay took a deep breath "-the dementors." The thought of someone sucking all the joy out of anyones body terrified her.

"Which houses do you think you'll be sorted into? I'm thinking I might be in either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. I mean, I love to read and I do try my best in school and apparantly that is basic Ravenclaw-but then again, might end up in Hufflepuff. I can't really see myself in Slytherin though..."

Neil raised his eyebrow slightly at Aileen's explanation. It didn't really seem like something one gets sent to Azkaban for. Though it seemed that neither girl really wanted to extend the conversation about Azkaban so he wasn't going to press the subject. When Fay mentioned what house they thought they would be in his eyes lit up. Neil had really only one choice in mind, though it never seemed to garner positive results when he mentioned it.

"I've always thought I would be great for Slytherin. It's full of the innovators and the ambitious of the wizard world. I think people just don't like that particular house because they try to exact there ideals through any means, but sometimes that is what it takes," He said, reaching up and coaxing Grimoire onto his wrist. "That and I guess it didn't have the best past."

After a few moments Steven noticed that his car was, in fact, not empty. There was a girl in it too. She was keeping to herself though, which was good. He was relishing the silence.

Where his silence was of a cowed kind, stemming from a want to stay hidden, hers seemed to be of the sizing up kind. It was just a touch spooky. He went back to his book. Next time the cart went around he'd have to get a pumpkin pasty. He did NOT want to eat the sandwich his mother had packed for him.

Marionette glanced over to see a red haired boy also in the compartment. She had hardly noticed him. She'd been daydreaming as she'd looked out the window, having vaguely heard the door slide. Finishing her chocolate frog, the silver eyed girl studied him. He seemed her age. Slightly plain, and also a scruffy sort of look to him. Realizing this could be rude, she turned her gaze away from him.

It seemed the boy didn't want to be interrupted from reading, and the silence didn't bother her. In fact, she really didn't want to be standing out too much. Her accent was an obvious thing, and one she was still a bit shy about. But at least she could speak English.

((His hair is supposed to be brown, but I couldn't find a picture the right size. If I can I'll see if I can find a better picture.))

Steven listened to the rumble of the train in the background. The food cart came around again. He ordered a pumpkin pastie and munched on it carefully, attempting not to get crumbs in his book. They could be impossible to remove.

The main character in his book was attempting to pluck a dragon scale from a large Hungarian Horntail. He had a Don't Notice Me Spell on himself, but it would surely be overidden by the plucking of the scale if done too roughly. His hand was on the dragon, waiting to wriggle it out of it's secure spot. He took an automatic, absentminded bite.

"I could be in Slytherin, being a pure-blood, but I don't think I will be. My personality doesn't fit it though. Any of them really, I'd be alright with. Gryffindor would be my choice, my dad was in it," Aileen told in. She wouldn't be disappointed in being put in any of them.

"Its true that Slytherin does have a bit of a nasty past, but most of that is in the past and they've moved past it," she told Neil.

"But the Sorting is final and is said to know where you'll do best overall, so I guess you can't argue with it," she added.

"Maybe we'll both end up in Gryffindor together" Fay said, smiling as she petted the sleeping cat in her lap. "So you think you'll manage to make a internet for Wizard and witches?" she asked Neil, intrigued by the idea. No one had managed to combine magic and technology so far- but perhaps he would change that.

Looking out the window, she noticed it had gotten a little bit darker, but the scenes that flew by were still greens. Fay couldn't help but laugh "I can't believe I miss my family already."

"So, Scarlett, are you finally ready to be in a place that actually challenges you?" Her father asked, smiling down at his daughter. A confident smile was on the 11 year old's lips as she looked up at him.

"Of course. Can't wait to show all those kids what I can do. I'll be the best I promise!" She said, looking up at her father, hoping he would approve what she'd said. Sometimes her parents would look at her oddly if she didn't say what they expected to hear, but normally things about succeeding seemed to get there affirmation. And this statement did, for in response Scarlett's father ruffled her hair.

After saying goodbyes to both parents and being sent off with expectations for excellence laid out by each of them, Scarlett boldly bounded onto the train. She had sat in a compartment with a few other first years for a while, but they had grown quite boring as over the course of the ride they'd fallen asleep. Not the type to enjoy sleeping on such an exciting day, Scarlett picked up Henley, a gray cat, and walked down the aisle to see what compartments had action going on.

A few moments later, she saw a compartment with two girls and a boy her own age. They were talking and the girls both had cats. "Look Henley... they like cats too. We should say hi." Smiling broadly, Scarlett opened the door and peeked her head inside, red hair falling around her shoulders.

"Hi everyone. You guys seem to be one of the only cars still awake. My name's Scarlett. What're yours?" She asked, looking at each of them in turn, Henley raising his head to look at them as well.

"That would be totally awesome!" Aileen exclaimed, excited for the prospect of being in the same house as her. She could tell already that they were going to be good friends. They really got along.

"I don't," she sighed, looking out the window for a moment. "What's your family like?" They had to better than hers at this point, it wouldn't take much for that to be true.

While she was waiting for the others to answer, the door slid open and another girl walked in. "Are we really? Well, we must be getting close to Hogwarts. I'm Aileen," she told the girl.

"Nice to meet you Aileen. I hope I didn't interrupt anything..." Scarlett said, looking at everyone and only just then realizing that they'd probably been having a conversation that she'd completely barged in on. But it only concerned her for a moment, she was too excited to be worrying about behavior. "And yeah, I think we've been on here for an hour or two. I dunno, maybe everyone's just really tired." Scarlett shrugged as Henley moved from one shoulder to the other, looking at the people. He nudged her face, asking for some attention.

"Oh, right... this is Henley. I see you have a kitty. She's adorable!" Scarlett said, smiling at Aileen's cat and then also at the other cats in the room.