The first month after your return was quite boring actually, your parents avoided you again and the neighborhood Bullies kept out of your way. That was weird though, they would always attack you when you went outside but now it's quiet. Did they catch you with Hagrid?

All those thoughts would fade as you entered your brother's library, actually it was just an extra room in the house but your brother had decided to use the room as a library. You smile at the thought, life was so simple when you'd wake your brother, breakfast in hand and catch the mightiest grin.

It seemed desolate then, without the life of your brother. You shake those thoughts away as you enter the station, carrying most of your stuff in a large grocery bag. Other than your Owl who you named Wilbert, you watch as Wilbert sits up, as though it feels the presence of something.

You walk along the train platforms, stopping only when you reach platform Nine. Where exactly is platform Nine and Three Quarters. You think to yourself, pulling the letter Hagrid gave you from your Wizard robes pocket.

Eleven O'clock, Platform Nine and Three Quarters. The letter read at the top, you look behind the letter again, hoping the Letter would activate something which it does not. With this, you push the letter back into your pocket angrily.

"Y/N!" A voice yells from behind, you turn around and look at the boy. It's Harry, thank God, if anyone knew how to get onto this train Harry would.

"I'm afraid I don't know where the Train Platform Nine and Three Quarters is at." You say, not hiding the embarrassment. As you look at Harry you examine his clothing, he seems to be wearing a casual short sleeved shirt and jeans, why isn't he wearing his robe? He also carries a large trunk of money (which he can barely lift) and his White owl, asleep again under its wing.

"There!" Harry exclaims, pointing behind you. With a twist of the body again. You catch a woman talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair. Each of them pushes a trunk like Harry's in front of him, and they have an Owl.

"Now, what's the platform number?" The boys' Mother questions.

"Nine and three-quarters!" pipes a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand, "Mom, can't I go..."

"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first. "

What looked like the oldest boy marched toward platforms nine and ten. You watch gleefully, careful not to blink in case you'd miss it -- but just as the boy reaches the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists comes swarming in front of you and Harry, by the time the last backpack has cleared away, the boy vanished.

"Fred, you next," the plump woman says.

"I'm not Fred, I'm George," The boy replies. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"

"Sorry, George, dear."

"Only joking, I am Fred," Says the boy laughing, and he too leaves, stepping onto the invisible train. How did he do it?

Now the third brother is walking briskly toward the barrier. He was almost there and then, quite suddenly, he wasn't anywhere.

"Excuse me," Harry says to the Plump woman, with you by his side.

"Hello, boys," She responds, "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too. "

She points at the last and youngest of her sons. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose.

"Yes," You say, "The thing is -- the thing is, we don't know how to--"

"How to get onto the platform?" She interrupts kindly, You and Harry both nod.

"Not to worry," She says. "All you have to do is walk 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," Harry responds Nervously.

You watch as Harry runs straight into the barrier, but disappears like the boys before him. You stand in front of the barrier and close your eyes as you run head first into it, you're sure you'll crash into the barrier.

It doesn't come when you keep on running. When you opened your eyes, a scarlet steam engine is waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead saying Hogwarts' Express, eleven o'clock. You look behind, and see a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it, you've done it.

Smoke from the engine drifts over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hoot to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.

"Oh my.." You hear Harry murmur, you hadn't even realized he was beside you. 

The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Harry pushes his wheelie trunk off the platform in search of an empty seat. You follow close behind, passing a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again."

"Oh, Neville," you hear the old woman sigh.

A boy with dreadlocks is also surrounded by a small crowd.

"Give us a look, Lee, go on. "

The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg.

Harry and you continue to press on through the crowd until you find an empty compartment near the end of the train. Harry put Hedwig inside first and then started to shove and heave his trunk toward the train door. He tries to lift it up the steps but can hardly raise one end and twice he drops it painfully on his foot.

"You need help?" You question, embarrassed that you didn't ask earlier.

"Yes, please," Harry pants.

You try and push it up yourself to no Avail, you feel a sudden weight being lifted off as one of the Red Headed twins helps you heave Harry's stuff into the compartment. Next is yours, you place Wilbert atop Harry's cart and place your grocery bag full of supplies beside it.

"Thanks," Harry says, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes.

"No problem," He says, "I'm Fred, you're.." You open your mouth to respond but he speaks once again. "Harry Potter and Y/N L/N! I'm in luck to've met you!" He exclaims excitedly.

"Yes.. that's us." You murmur, surprised that he knew who you were. 

"Fred? Are you there?"

"Coming, Mom. "

With a last look at Harry and you, the twin hopped off the train.

Harry sits down next to the window where, half hidden, he can watch the red-haired family. You sit opposite of him, also leaning against the window to watch the family.

"Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?"

Harry leans back quickly so they couldn't see him looking.

"You know the boys who were with us in the station? Know they are?"

"Who?"

"Harry Potter and Y/N L/N!"

You hear the little girl's voice shriek a little.

"Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see them, Mom, eh please..."

"You've already seen them, Ginny, and the poor boys aren't something you goggle at in a zoo. Are they really, Fred? How do you know?"

"Asked them, Saw the Potters' scar. It's really there -- like lightning. And Y/N has his eyes change color like his brother's did." There's no way, you and Harry trade glances, what? Your eyes don't change colors, nor did your brothers.

"Poor dears -- no wonder they were alone, they were ever so polite when they asked how to get onto the platform."

"Never mind that, do you think Harry remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?"

Their mother suddenly becomes very stern.

"I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school. "

"All right, keep your hair on."

A whistle echoes through the train, "Hurry up!" The mother says, and the three boys clamber onto the train. They lean out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, while their younger sister begins to cry.

"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls."

"We'll send you a Hogwarts' toilet seat."

"George!"

"Only joking, Mom."

The train begins to move. Harry and you watch the boys' mother wave and their sister, half laughing, half crying, runs to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved.

You watch as the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. You feel a great leap of excitement in your stomach, like butterflies. You don't know what you were going to -- but it had to be better than what you were leaving behind.

The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest redheaded boy came in.

"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite beside you. "Everywhere else is full."

Harry shakes his head and the boy sits down. He glances at Harry and then at you then quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked.

"Hey, Ron."

The twins are back, this shall be fun.

"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train -- Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there. "

"Right," mumbles Ron.

"Harry, Y/N," said the other twin, "Did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."

"Bye," You, Harry and Ron say. The twins slide the compartment door shut behind them.

"Are you really Harry Potter? And Y/N L/N?" Ron blurts out.

"Yes, the one and Only." You quip, grinning.

Harry nods.

"Oh -- well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," Says ron. "And do you really got -- you know.."

He points at Harry's forehead.

Harry pulls back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stares in awe.

"So that's where You-Know-Who -- ?"

"Yes," Harry answers, "but I can't remember it. "

"Nothing?" Ron questions eagerly.

"Wait. You-Know-Who? Who's that?" You inquire, both boys look at you surprised.

"You know, the man who shall not be named, I can't really explain it to you. Against the rules or something." He replies. His eyes open widely as he looks towards you again, "Do your eyes really change color? Like how everyone says your brothers did before casting a spell?" You shrug slightly and the boy leans towards you, gazing into your eyes.

"Oh man, it really does! It really does! Does that mean you're like a super powerful Wizard?" You shrug again, not sure of how to answer that. If your eyes really did change colors you'd check them out in the nearest Mirror whenever you find it.

"Wow," Ron says. He sits and stares at Harry, before twisting to look at you for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looks quickly out of the window again.

"Are all your family wizards?" You ask.

"Er -- Yes, I think so," Ron replies. "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."

"So you must know loads of magic already." Harry says.

The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about.

"Yeah.. I heard you went to live with Muggles," Says Ron to Harry. "What are they like?"

"Horrible -- well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers."

"Five," Ron says. 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 head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. 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 reaches inside his jacket and pulls out a fat gray 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. He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window.

"It's alright, me and my family don't have much Money either. My Brother, I think, left me with a lot." You add, hoping to ease some of his embarrassment. It seems to work too.

"Until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort--"

Ron gasps.

"What?" You ask.

"Harry said You-Know-Who's name!" Ron says, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people--"

"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," Harry says, "I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn...I bet," he adds, "I bet I'm the worst in the class. "

"You won't be." You say, grinning again.

"There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough." Ron adds.

While you had been talking, the train had carried you out of London. Now you were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. You 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 your door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"

Harry and you, who hadn't had any breakfast, leapt to your feet, but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Harry and you go out into the corridor.

You had never had any money for candy with your family, and now that you had pockets rattling with gold and silver you were ready to buy as many Mars Bars as you could carry -- but the woman didn't have Mars Bars. What she did have were Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs. Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things You'd never seen in your life. Not wanting to miss anything, you and Harry both got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts.

"Hungry, are you?" Ron questions.

"Starving," Harry says, you laugh at the comment as you take a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty.

Ron takes out a lumpy package and unwraps it. There's four sandwiches inside. He pulls one of them apart and says, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef.."

"Swap you for one of these," Harry says. holding up a pasty. "Go on--" You smile at Harry's kindness.

"You don't want this, it's all dry," Ron responds. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "You know, with five of us. "

"Go on, have a pasty," You say, you had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It's a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron and Harry, eating your way through all the pasties, cakes, and candies.

"What are these?" Harry asks Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They're not really frogs, are they?"

"No," Ron responds."But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa. "

"What?" You question.

"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."

Harry unwraps his Chocolate Frog and picks up the card. It shows a man's face. He wears half-moon glasses, has a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture is the name Albus Dumbledore.

"So this is Dumbledore!" You exclaim, straining to get another look at the Man.

"Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" Ron says. "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa -- thanks--"

Harry turns over his card and reads it out loud.

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS

Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly 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, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.

Harry turns the card back over and sees, to his and your astonishment, that Dumbledore's face has disappeared.

"He's gone!" Harry and You exclaim. 

"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," Ron says matter of factly. "He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her...do you want it? You can start collecting. "

Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped.

"Help yourself," Harry says, "But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos."

"Yeah," You add with nothing to say. 

"Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounds amazed. "Weird!"

Harry and you stare as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on the card and gives him a small smile. Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Harry and you can't keep your eyes off them. Soon you both had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin. You finally tear your eyes away from the Druidess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

"You want to be careful with those," Ron warns you. "When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor -- 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 booger-flavored one once."

Ron picks up a green bean out of your bag, looks at it carefully, and then bites into a corner.

"Bleaaargh -- see? Sprouts. "

You three all have a good time eating the Every Flavor Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, and baked bean.

While you got, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and you were even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny gray one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper.

The countryside now's flying past the window and was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills.

There's a knock on the door of your compartment and the round-faced boy You'd passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looks tearful.

"Sorry," He says, "but have you seen a toad at all?"

When you all shake your heads, he wails, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"

"He'll turn up," You say.

"For sure." Harry adds.

"Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him..." He murmurs, leaving the compartment.

"Don't know why he's so bothered," Says 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."

The rat's still snoozing on Ron's lap.

"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," Says 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, look.."

He rummages around in his trunk and pulls out a very battered-looking wand. It's chipped in places and something white is glinting at the end.

"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway--" He murmurs.

He raises his wand when the compartment door slides open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time he has a girl with him. She's already wearing her new Hogwarts robes. Like you were.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," She says, She had a bossy sort of voice, long flowing reddish brown hair, and hard rather large front teeth, but they were quite attractive. 

"We've already told him we haven't seen it," You say, but the girl isn't listening, instead she's looking at the wand in his hand.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." She says, a smile beginning to form on her lips.

She sits down next to Harry and watches him intently.

"Er -- all right." He replies, clearing his throat.

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow." You almost laugh out loud at his wording, you're unfamiliar with magic but you doubt that it'd work.

He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stays gray and fast asleep.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" You question,

"If Sowell, 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 -- I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough -- I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" She questions quickly, looking around at the three of you. 

Harry looks over at you, relieved that you're also confused by her words.

"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.

You grin, "Y/N L/N!" You quip,

"Harry Potter," Harry says.

"Are you really?" Hermione asks rhetorically, "I know all about you both, of course -- I got a few extra books, for background reading, and you're both in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century. "

"Are we?" Harry asks, dazed.

"Goodness, didn't you both know," She looks between you and Harry. "I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," Hermione says, "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 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 two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon." She finishes, looking between Ron and Harry.

Then she leaves, taking the toadless boy with her.

"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," Ron mutters angrily, He throws 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?" Harry questions.

"Gryffindor," Ron answers. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mom 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."

"That's the house You-Know-Who was in?" You ask, who is this You-Know-Who man, what exactly did he do?

"Yeah," He replies. He flops back into his seat, looking depressed.

"You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," Harry says, you smile slightly. He's trying to take Ron's mind off houses. "So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?" He questions.

 What does a Wizard do after they leave Hogwarts exactly?

"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 you get that with the Muggles -- someone tried to rob a high security vault. "

You and Harry stare at him in awe, I thought Hagrid said it was downright stupid to rob it.

"Really? What happened to them?" Harry questions before you can.

"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 round 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. "

You turn this news over in his mind. You were starting to get a prickle of fear every time You-Know-Who was mentioned. You suppose this is all part of entering the magical world.

"What's your two's Quidditch team?" Ron asks.

"Er -- I don't know any. " Harry confesses.

"Same here, I don't know a whole lot about it." You add.

"What!" Ron exclaims, looking dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world -- " Then he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just taking you and Harry through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy, or Hermione Granger this time.

Three boys enter. You and Harry Instantly recognize the middle one at once: it was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop. He's looking between you and Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley.

"Is it true?" He says. "They're saying all down the train that Y/N L/N, and Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you two, is it?" He questions, glancing between you and Harry.

"Yes," Harry says, "That's us." You turn away to look at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and look extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they look like bodyguards.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," The pale boy says carelessly, noticing where you were looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. "

Ron coughs slightly, which might have been hiding a laugh. Draco Malfoy looks over at him. His face not hiding the anger.

"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 turns back to Harry and you. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

"I think we can tell who the wrong sort are, thanks," You say coolly.

Draco Malfoy doesn't go red, but a pink tinge appears in his pale cheeks.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Y/N." He says slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your brother. He didn't know what was good either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."

Harry, You, and Ron stand up quickly.

"Say that again," Ron says, his face as red as his hair.

"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered.

"He won't, I will." You add slowly, trying to intimidate you like your neighborhood bullies would the other kids.

"Unless you get out now," Harry says, Crabbe and Goyle are bigger then Both Harry and Ron, if it came to a fight you'd have to rely on yourself only.

"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some." He says, eyeing the candy resting on Harry and Your seats.

Goyle reaches toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron -- Ron leaps forward, but before he touches Goyle, Goyle lets out a horrible yell.

Scabbers the rat is hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle -- Crabbe and Malfoy back away as Goyle swings Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flies off and hits the window, all three of them disappeared at once. Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in.

"What has been going on?" She says, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail.

"I think he's been knocked out," Ron says to you and Harry. He looks closer at Scabbers. "No -- I don't believe it -- he's gone back to sleep. "

"You've met Malfoy before?" Ron questions,

Harry explains to Ron about your meeting with him in Diagon Alley. Hermione also listens in, Ron obviously is displeased but doesn't speak on it.

"I've heard of his family," Ron says darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side. " He turns to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"

"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"

"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," Ron responds, scowling at her. "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," Hermione answers in a sniffy voice.

Ron glares at her as she leaves, you peer out of the window. It's getting dark. You can see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down though.

Harry and Ron take off their jackets and pull on their long black robes. Ron's were a bit short for him, you could see his sneakers underneath them. While Harry's fits on firmly, he already looked like a wizard.

A voice echoes 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. "

Your stomach lurches with nerves and Ron looks pale under his freckles. You three cram your pockets with the last of the sweets and join the crowd thronging the corridor.

The train slows right down and finally stops. People began pushing their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Harry obviously shivers in the cold night air. Then a lamp comes bobbing over the heads of the students, while Harry and you hear a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, boys?"

Hagrid's big hairy face beams over the sea of heads.

"C'mon, follow me -- any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

Slipping and stumbling, the three of you follow Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that you thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody speaks much as you travel down the path, Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffs once or twice in the cold.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid calls over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here. "

There's a loud "Oooooh!" As the narrow path opens up suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perching atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many Towers.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid calls, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry, You, and Ron get onto the boat followed by Hermione.

"Everyone in?" shouts Hagrid, who has an entire boat to himself. "Right then -- FORWARD!"

And the fleet of little boats move off all at once, gliding across the lake, which is as smooth as glass. Everyone's silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towers over you as you sail nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Heads down!" yells Hagrid as the first boats reach the cliff; you watch as they all bend their heads while the little boats carry them through a curtain of ivy that hides a wide opening in the cliff face. You were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking you right underneath the castle, until you reached a kind of underground harbor, where you all clamber out onto the rocks and pebbles.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" Hagrid questions Nevil, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.

"Trevor!" cries Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. After that, You all clamber 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.

You walk up a flight of stone steps and crowd around the huge, oak front door.

"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"

Hagrid raises a gigantic fist and knocks three times on the castle door.