The new platform Megan and Ginny had entered had nothing in common with the one she had been standing on a few moments before.

“You okay, Ginny?” she asked.

“Yeah...”

She looked up. In front of her was a crowd of people. Some dressed in there robes, others in casual clothes. Some had owls, some were cradling cats... it was really different from anything Megan had ever seen. Behind them was a large red steam engine with Hogwarts Express written on it, followed by a long line of coaches.

“Wow...”

“You're a newcomer, aren't you, dear?” Ginny's mother said behind her.

“Yes... I just learned I was a witch a few days ago...” she admitted.

“Oh, it's Ron and Ginny's first time too, they'll be able to help you out. Won't you, dears.”

“Sure.”

“Oh, you better get on, the train will be leaving any moment.”

Megan lugged her trunk towards the luggage coach. But when she tried to lift it into the car, she found it too heavy. Just then, she saw two hands by her own lending her their strength the weight lessened and she was able to push it in. Then, she looked up at her providential helper.

“Thanks.” she smiled.

He was a dashing young boy, a few years older than her, but with a friendly smile.

“You're welcome,” he smiled back.

He hoped on and held out his hand to her. She smiled and took it. She climbed gracefully in and they exchanged a smile.

“Uh... Maybe I'll see you at school, then...” She said.

“Yeah.”

They parted and Megan went in search of a compartment. She finally found one that was empty and sat down. She pulled out a hair band and plaited her long hair. Then, she pulled out one of her school books and had just started looking through it when a tap on the door made her look up.

“Excuse me... d'you mind? Everywhere else is full...”

“No, please, come in.” she said, indicating the seat opposite her.

He smiled gratefully and sat down. Megan then realised she knew him. It was Ron, the youngest son of the red-haired family she had met at the station.

“I'm Ron Weasley, by the way,” he said politely.

“I'm Megan Potter.”

His eyes widened.

“No way...!”

“Sorry?”

“I mean... you...so it's true? You really have a scar?”

“Oh, that?”

She moved her fringe aside to reveal the lightning bolt on her forehead.

“Wow...”

Megan smiled, amused. No one had ever been amazed by her scar.

“Thanks again for the help, back at the station. I was lost.”

“No problem.”

Just then, the door opened again. This time, it was a girl Megan had never seen before.

“Have any of you seen a toad?” she asked a little curtly.

“No...”

“No, sorry.” Megan apologised.

Then she spotted the book on Megan's lap.

“Have you tried any spells yet?”

“... Uh...”

That was a big no.

“I've mastered the most simple spells.”

She sat down opposite Megan and pulled out her wand.

“Reparo.”

Megan's jacket zip, which had broken, instantly returned to normal.

“Thank you,” she said.

She just then realised Hermione was already in her school robes.

“I'm Hermione Granger,” she introduced herself.

“I'm Ron Weasley.”

“Megan Potter.”

“Oh, I've heard all about you, of course.”

Megan was a little taken aback by that. But before she could say anything, however, they were interrupted.

“Anything from the trolley, dears?” asked a voice.

They looked out at the elderly woman pulling a trolley full of all kinds of things Megan didn't know. But the coins in her pocket were itching to be spent so she got a little of everything.

“You sure don't look the kind to have a big appetite,” Ron said.

Truth was, she had never had much to share, or anyone to share it with.

“Have some,” she said.

Ron immediately caught hold of a licorice wand and started biting at it.

“Thankch,” he said.

She smiled at him.

“Help yourself,” she offered to the newcomer.

Hermione went for a Cauldron Pasty. Megan on the other hand, not knowing the first thing about any of these items, wasn't sure which to try first. She finally picked up a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

“Oh, I'd watch out for those. They mean every flavour.” Ron warned her.

She picked one, and popped it into her mouth. She was lucky. It was brownie flavoured. Then, she tried a few other things, and all were quite cool in there own way. Then, she turned to a chocolate frog.

“Oh, those are fun. You can collect the cards inside. Go on, see who you got. Can I have one, I'm missing some.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

She pulled the wrapper open and looked inside, catching the frog when it tried to jump away. She was amazed to see it looked exactly like a frog but didn't feel like one at all. She bit into it and it tasted delicious. Then she looked at the card she had.

“I got Dumbledore!” she said.

“I have about six of him. Oh, drat, it's Morgana, I've got three already... Here, you can start collecting.”

They soon got better acquainted. Ron was the next to youngest of a family of seven, and his twin brothers Fred and George often picked on him. He was very impressed with Mira, who was curled up quietly by Megan's feet. His sister Ginny was the only girl, he told them, so she had to fight back a lot harder than even he did. Hermione on the other hand, was, like Megan, an only child. But she never had minded because her parents had loved and raised her well. Mentioning families and how parents could love their children made Megan look away. Her parents had loved her, she knew it. Only that could have made them rush up to her room before even knowing what was up there. Only that could have made her father tell her mother to run with her. And she didn't even remember anything about what they had shared for that too brief moment.

“...Oh... sorry,” Hermione said, realising what their words were doing. “I guess this must be unpleasant...”

“No, it's okay. I didn't have time to know them that well, anyway.”

She tried to sound detached, but it was fairly clear she wasn't okay at all. Just then, a girl with pale skin and a jet black bowl cut and grey eyes pulled the door open and stared at Megan haughtily.

“What do you want?” Ron asked.

“You're the famous Megan Potter?”

“I guess,” Megan answered coolly her eyes guarded. “Who are you?”

“Pansy Parkinson. But you can call me Lady.”

Ron scoffed. She turned on him.

“What's your problem, Weasley?” she asked.

“You're no Lady.”

She snorted. Mira who had been snoozing by Megan's feet, let out a low growl.

“Keep your mutt down!” Pansy ordered.

“Keep your tongue civil,” Megan retorted curtly.

She and Pansy eyed each other for a moment. Then she turned and said:

“Hm. You're really not as incredible as they say you are.”

And with that she left.

“Don't listen to her,” Hermione said to Megan. “She's jealous because you're famous.”

“I'd trade fame for my parents any day...” Megan said quietly.

Ron and Hermione exchanged an uncomfortable look. Glancing up, Megan caught it and had a soft smile. They were nice to worry like that.

“So, Ron, why isn't Ginny with you?” she asked.

“Oh, she went with some other girls that had offered her a seat with them.” he said. “She'll be okay. Fred and George spend most of their time fooling around, but they care about her and they wouldn't let anything happen to her.”

Megan didn't know the twins yet so she took his word for it. It must be nice to know someone's looking out for you like that, she thought to herself. No one had ever cared enough about her to do that...

“Have either of you ever read Hogwarts a History?”

Megan's head jerked up.

“I have... why?”

“Oh, it's only the greatest book ever!” she said.

Just then, they heard a loud thud. Megan looked up and peered out the window. Another boy who seemed like he was also a first year had been shoved to the ground. A little ahead were three boys. Two were rather big thuggish boys with piggy eyes. The middle one was smaller with silvery blond hair and a very snob expression. She immediately thought of Pansy. And, speak of the devil, there she was next to him. The boy on the floor was different however. He was slightly chubby, had dark hair and eyes that were looking up in confusion.

“But my Gran gave that to me...”

“But my Gran gave that to me,” mimicked the blond one in disdain. “We don't care, Longbottom.”

“Hey!”

Megan had stepped out.

“Give him back what you took from him.” she said.

“Well we don't want to, do we?”

“Grow up.”

“Back off.”

“Give him his property back.”

It was a sort of glass ball.

“Okay, here.”

And with that he threw it towards them. The boy squeaked but Megan swiftly threw herself onto the floor and caught the ball neatly in her hand. The blond boy tried to kick her hand but she rolled over and in one swift, graceful movement, was back on her knees.

“I'll teach you to mess with things that don't concern you!” Malfoy growled.

“Hey!”

This time it was a new boy her age who wore glasses and had green eyes like her. He had caught Malfoy's wrist.

“Let go of me, Nelson!” he growled.

“What's the trouble here?”

Two elder students already wearing house insignias came out. Megan could see from the colour they were Ravenclaw.

“Nothing at all. Mr Malfoy and his friends were just leaving. Weren't you?” The green eyed boy said.

“... Yes.”

He seemed to realise that getting into trouble before having even reached school wouldn't be very wise.

“C'mon.” he ordered his minions away with him.

They left. The newcomers looked at Megan and Neville on the floor.

“What are you doing down there?”

“Uh... we were looking for Neville's glass ball,” Megan said.

“Very well. No more mischief.”

They returned to their compartment. The boy with green eyes held out his hand to Megan.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes... I just bumped my knee on the floor but that's all.”

Then, she helped the other boy still on the floor to his feet.

“What did they want with you?” she asked. “You're not hurt, are you?”

“I'm all right. Thanks for that neat save.”

“What is this, anyway?”

“It's a remembrall. It tells you when you forget something, and I do it a lot so my Gran gave it to me.”

“I see.”

“Well, I better get back to my seat,” he said.

Then, he left, leaving Megan with the other boy.

“Thanks for your help.”

“My Dad works at the ministry and so does Malfoy's. So I know how to stand up to him. I'm Harry Nelson.”

“I'm Megan Potter.”

“I know. Your scar says it all.”

She blushed slightly. She hadn't thought it was that obvious.

“Hey, have you seen a redhead with freckles? He'd be a first year too, probably with a load of other redheads.”

“Ron Weasley?”

“Yes, d'you know him?”

“We met at the station. He's right here, come on in.”

She opened the door of their compartment.

“Hello there, Harry,” said Ron with a smile.

“Hi, Ron.”

“Harry, this is Hermione Granger, and Hermione, this is Harry Nelson.”

They soon got on well.

“You should change into your robes, we'll be arriving in a bit,” Hermione said after a while.

The boys left the compartment so they could change on their end.

“Wow, Megan, your robes look incredible on you!” Hermione said.

Indeed, Madame Malkin's policy was always make a robe with a little something to show the person wearing it. Hermione's had small quills carved on the buttons, while Megans had a rose on each sleeve and long wings in the back.

“Thanks.” she said. “Yours are cool too.”

Harry and Ron returned then and they both looked pretty good themselves. Ron had the symbol of something called Chudley Cannons and Harry had a lion head on the sleeves. It was a little while before they finally slowed down at a station. Megan was about to follow Harry and Hermione down when Neville tripped behind her and bumped into her. She would have fallen straight off the train if a firm grip hadn't caught her.

“Hey, careful, there!” A voice said.

“Sorry...”

She looked up, and gasped. He looked taken aback too.

“You again,” he said, an amused smile on his lips.

“Thanks,” she said, slightly embarrassed of the first impression she was giving.

“You're welcome.”

He hopped down and held out his arms to help her down. Mira jumped down after them.

“Thank you. You must think I'm stupid...”

“No, you're just clumsy.”

She nudged his elbow and they laughed.

“We didn't get a chance to introduce ourselves. I'm Cedric.”

“I'm Megan.”

She suspected he already knew but she appreciated that he didn't show it if he did.

“You a first year?” he asked.

“Yes... You're not though, are you?”

“I'm a third year.” he said, smiling. “What gave me away?”

“Your robes. They already have the emblem of a house. Mine don't.”

“Oh, good eye,” he approved with a smile.

“Firs' years! Firs' years over here, please! This way, firs'years!”

They looked up where the voice came from and saw something that made Megan's face light up.

“Hagrid?!”

As Cedric glanced at her, he saw how beautiful she was. Her smile made her entire face glow, and her eyes sparkled.

“You know him?” He asked, hoping his fluster didn't show too much.

“Yes, he told me that I was a witch.” Megan answered. “He took me to Diagon Alley and he was a great help.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Sorry, I have to go.”

She kissed his cheek swiftly, then realised what she had done, and blushed, before running off to join Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione who were waiting for her.

“Okay, now, four to a boat, please, c'mon on!”

Megan heard a snigger behind her. She glanced backwards and saw three boys chortling as they walked by. One had silvery blond hair and a very smug expression, and the other two looked more like his pet gorillas, the way they followed him around. She looked to the harbour they had reached, and saw a load of row boats floating quietly on the water. She recognized Neville looking into the water. She took a few steps towards him.

“What are you looking at?” she asked curiously, bending slightly too.

“This is full of aquatic wildlife... I hope we get to study a bit of it in Herbology...” he said.

She guessed that was like Biology, but didn't ask. Just then, she saw the three boys from earlier walk behind them. They were eyeing Neville. She quickly pushed him aside and the hand the chubby boy walking by the blond one meant to push Neville with hit her and she fell backwards into the black water.

“Hey, wha's goin' on over there?” Hagrid asked, coming towards them.

Harry and Ron jumped forwards to help Megan up while the three boys guffawed loudly.

“She just slipped! How clumsy is that!”

“S... She did not slip!” Neville protested in a nervous voice. “You... You pushed her! You meant to push me but she got in between us!”

Megan got up, and even though she was dripping wet, She was still just as graceful as ever.

“Yeh all right, Megan?” Hagrid asked.

“Yes, I'm okay.” she assured. “C'mon, Mira.”

“Good. C'mon, then, everyone, show's over!”

A few minutes later, they were all seated in boats and heading across the lake.

As they turned a corner, the castle came into view. And what a sight it was. It had several towers, all higher than the last, all the windows lit, shining like the stars in the sky above. Megan had never seen anything like it. There were drawings of the castle but she felt they weren't quite truthful. It was a thousand times more incredible. Luckily, it was still warm out, so she wasn't cold despite being wet. They finally reached another harbour at the other side and disembarked. Harry held out his hand to help both her and Hermione down while Ron hopped off. They then followed Hagrid up a set of stone steps. Megan didn't know what was in store for her at the top of these steps, but it couldn't be worse than what she had left behind in England.

**************************************

And enter Harry, Ron and his oh so loveable family, Hermione and Cedric! How do you find their first and oh so fateful (but more on that later) encounter?

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Megan has reached Hogwarts. What will she discover? Will she fit in? Let's find out by clicking to the next chapter! Happy reading!