Even before the train had gathered full speed, Calysta had leaned forward to ask her twin something when the door of the compartment suddenly flew open, and the youngest of the redheaded boys entered.

"Anyone sitting here?" he asked, pointing to the space beside Calysta. "Everywhere else is full.."

Harry shook his head and the boy sat down next to her. She scooted slightly closer to the window. He glanced at Harry, then at Calysta, then looked at the window when he caught either of the twins looking at him. Calysta noticed he still had that black mark on his nose.

"Hey Ron."

The twins were back. Calysta smiled at them. She already knew which one was Fred, and which was George. "Listen, we're going down the middle of the train — Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."

Ron mumbled, "right."

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

"Bye," said Calysta and Ron. The twins headed out of the compartment, the door shutting behind them.

Calysta stood up, swinging her backpack over her shoulder. "I want to see the tarantula," Calysta declared, her hand at the compartment door. "Then I'll go see if I can find Jeff.."

"Right," nodded Harry. "See you."

"Bye," she chirped, before sliding the door and leaving. She knew that if she was there, Harry would never make friends with Ron. She was doing them both a favor.

Looking both ways, she noticed the two redheaded twins up above then briskly scooted past people who were going up and down the train, to catch up to them.

When she finally caught up to them, she tapped them both on their shoulders. "Hi Fred, hi George," she grinned. "Where can I find this erm- tarantula?"

The twins exchanged a glance before looking down at her and grinning widely. 

"Looks like one of them Potters is a mischief maker," said one twin.

"Welcome to the crew," said the other. 

They stood on either side of her, looping their arms in hers, dragging her to Lee's giant tarantula. 

The twins entered a compartment, where a boy with chocolate skin held a large box in his hand, surrounded by students who wanted to sneak a peek at the tarantula. 

"Make way, make way," said one of the twins loudly. "Calysta Potter coming through."

Gasps and murmurs filled the compartment, and everything went oddly silent.

"Oh my, I see her scar.." she heard a whisper next to her somewhere.

It felt like Diagon Alley all over again.

"Welcome back, Potter, welcome back..."

"I hope you're in Hufflepuff, I'm in Hufflepuff," said another girl loudly. 

"Where's your brother?"

"Is it true you've been living with muggles?"

So overwhelmed with a million questions, Calysta shook her head at everyone, briefly smiling before she looked around.

"Can I see the tarantula please?" she finally asked.

The throng of students in the compartment merely stared at her, thinking her rather crazy for asking to see a giant, deadly spider.

"Alright you nosy sods," called one redheaded twin. "She wants to see the tarantula, make way, make way.."

The group parted to give her way, and she peeked inside the box. "Whoa," she gasped, her hazel, doe eyes wide with amazement. The tarantula was large, black and hairy, and she'd never seen anything like it. It looked rather lethal.

Suddenly remembering something, she reached into her jeans, fishing for something inside her pocket, before pulling it out with a triumphant grin.

"Aha! I found it," she called out, holding the mouse up by its tail.

The girls took a glance at it and screamed and squealed, immediately stepping backwards. Calysta giggled, waving it in front of their noses, causing them to completely evacuate, leaving Lee, Fred and George staring at her in wonder.

"What?" she asked, placing the mouse back in her pocket, wrapping it in her handkerchief.

"Why've you got a mouse in your pocket?" asked Fred.

She shrugged like it was no big deal. "I meant to put it in my muggle cousin's meal before we came but I forgot."

"Can we borrow it?" asked George, immediately remembering something. "I need to test a thing or two."

She handed them the wrapped mouse. "Keep it. My brother's owl caught it, pretty sure I can tell my owl to bring me the mice he hunts.. I've got another."

"Thanks," said Fred.

Calysta grinned. "My pleasure."

"Yeah, we've come to the conclusion that you're definitely the better Potter," George added. 

"And cooler," added the boy with the tarantula, shutting the box with the spider. "I'm Lee Jordan."

"I'd introduce myself but you already know me," shrugged Calysta. "Anyway, I'm going to go look for my cousin."

"See you," chimed the twins. Calysta waved at them before turning to the compartment door, heading in the opposite direction from where she came, to the far end of the train, peeking through each compartment to see if she could find Jeff.

She was looking through every compartment when she suddenly bumped into someone. A loud 'oomph' sounded from her lips as she tripped backwards, nearly falling over. Steadying herself, she looked up to see a golden haired boy with bright blue eyes, who looked like some sort of male doll. Judging by his black tie, he seemed to be a first year, muggle clothes slung on his arm.

"Sorry," the brunette apologized, rather taken by his pristine and precise appearance. He had a mop of golden curls placed angelically on his head, curls loosely brushing against his brows.

"It's okay," said the boy, with a nervous smile. "Uh- I'm Anthony," he introduced. "Anthony Goldstein."

"Calysta Potter," she replied, grinning at the look of shock on the other's face.

"P-Potter?" he stuttered, eyes glancing up to her forehead.

She nodded. "I'm looking for my cousin Jeff," she explained. "He's about a head taller than me, blonde hair, and green eyes.. he's a first year.."

"Well, you're in luck," Anthony spoke with a small smile. "There's a person who matches the exact description in my foster brother's compartment.."

"Perfect," Calysta sighed in relief, finally smiling. "Which way is it?"

"I've just come from there now, actually," the golden haired boy spoke. "It's right next to the bathroom.. just go straight and left."

She thanked him, then set off in that direction, opening the door of that very compartment and shutting the door behind her confidently.

"Hi," she greeted, her lips curved upwards.

"Cal!" exclaimed Jeff, standing up and tackling her into a hug. "I've been looking for you everywhere," he groaned. "All over the platform too!" he explained. "Where were you?"

"Uncle Vermin dropped as quite late," she explained, bitterly making a face. 

Jeff roared with laughter. "I'm guessing Dad told you about his nickname for our uncle?"

She nodded, giggling. 

Jeff pulled her to sit beside him, and Calysta found herself facing a boy with black, shoulder length hair and a pair of stormy gray eyes.

"Cal, this is Regulus Goldstein," introduced Jeff. "He's pretty cool. Reg, this is my cousin, Calysta Potter."

The two looked at each other cheerfully. 

"Whoa," commented Regulus, eyes widening. "Bro, why didn't you tell me your cousin was a Potter?" he looked at Jeff.

"It didn't feel important," Jeff shrugged, not really knowing his cousin was famous, being muggleborn. "Why?"

Regulus only ogled Calysta further, taking in her scar on her forehead. 

"When my parents first told me about the Potters, I thought it was a lie," he admitted. "It's true..." he said disbelievingly, in a much smaller voice.

Calysta nodded awkwardly. "You're Anthony's foster brother, right?" she asked, suddenly recalling the golden haired boy in the corridor. 

Regulus nodded glumly. "Yeah, I don't know who my real parents are," he sighed. "Whenever I ask my foster parents they just say they're both gone. But they won't tell me their real identities.."

Calysta immediately knew exactly what he felt like. To not know his parents, to be brought up in a family where you know you don't belong...

She bit her lip, a habit she'd developed over the years, looking down at her hands in her lap sadly. 

"I've never known my parents either," she said quietly. "I've heard stories about them.. and I know they were great people, but I miss them..."

Regulus looked up at her, his eyes watering slightly. "At least you know their identities.."

"Maybe your foster parents aren't telling you because the news could hurt you.. Maybe they'll tell you when you're older.."

He nodded glumly. "I know. They said they'll tell me when I'm older."

Jeff placed his arm on the black haired boy's shoulder. "At least your foster parents love you," he gave a small smile. "Cal's uncle and aunt treat her like sh — "

The compartment door chose to open at that very moment, and another boy entered, quickly shutting the door behind him and ducking down, pressing his finger to his lips, indicating for the compartment's occupants to speak nothing of his arrival.

Calysta observed him. He too, was a first year, as she could tell by his robes, but he was quite tall for his age. He had a thin figure, and his skin was nearly as pale as a ghost. He had blonde hair so white, it was nearly invisible, and it was long enough to cover his eyes.

Calysta's eyes darted to the door. Glancing up at the luggage rack, she pointed upwards, standing up and sitting next to Regulus.

The boy nodded, understanding what she meant, and he stepped on the seat where she had sat only moments ago, before climbing onto the luggage rack and lying down flat, behind the two trunks that were kept there.

Two seconds later, the compartment door opened and a fat, chubby girl entered, her cheeks and face red, arms at her hips, fuming. She had two long pigtails, and her first year robes were on rather haphazardly, her shirt inside out. Calysta forced herself not to laugh.

"Have you seen a boy?" she asked angrily, her chest heaving.

The compartment was oddly silent until Calysta spoke, "yes, I have," she responded. "Two of them. They are sitting in this compartment, in case you didn't notice," she replied, her voice dripping with subtle sarcasm, causing the two boys mentioned to snigger quietly.

Judging by the girl's vivid expression, she didn't seem to notice Calysta was making fun of her. Instead, she thought Calysta was rather daft.

"I know what a boy looks like!" the girl interjected. "This one was tall and had white hair."

Calysta raised her brow. "White hair, you say? Then he's not a boy, an old man, maybe.."

Regulus met her eye, and he shook with silent laughter at her words. Jeff's face had turned red with trying to hold his laughter in.

Frustrated, the fat girl stamped her foot on the ground. "White, blonde, whatever! Have you seen him?"

"Ohhhhh," Calysta nodded in understanding. "No, not really," she shook her head.

"Yeah, bye," added Jeff, waving his hand for her to leave.

"Your shirt's inside out, by the way," Regulus said nonchalantly, waving his arm up and down, gesturing at her messed up uniform. "And your shoelace is untied."

The girl looked down and her feet, realizing he'd made fun of her. She wasn't wearing any shoes. One foot was bare, and the other had a pink sock, bunched up at the ankle.

"Psych!" Jeff called out.

"Oooo," hissed Calysta in faux bitterness. "You fell for it."

At this, neither of the boys and Calysta could hold it in. As soon as the girl left, they burst into loud guffaws of laughter, high-fiving each other.

Calysta stood up, closing the door and dusting her hands, making a retching face as she sat down again, next to her cousin.

"Aight, she's gone," Jeff said loudly, looking up at the luggage rack. 

At this, the blonde boy jumped down, his cheeks slightly pink from silently laughing at the entire ordeal. His hair was messy now, and his lips had quirked into a side smile.

"Thanks," he said breathlessly. "For not telling her, I mean," he added.

"It's no problem," responded Regulus. "Why was she so mad anyway?" he asked, moving to the side to give the boy space to sit.

Embarrassment flickered across the boy's pale face for a moment, and he looked rather pained to tell them exactly why she was so angry. "I was looking for an empty compartment," he explained. "And I accidentally walked into her changing," he explained.

"Eww," commented Jeff, grimacing.

"Oh, that's sick!" remarked Regulus.

Calysta just tried to get the mental picture out of her imagination. "That's... disturbing," she finally commented.

"Tell me about it," the boy muttered.

"Thanks for covering me," he repeated again, looking up at the two boys and girl. "You can stay here if you like," Jeff shrugged. "You seem pretty cool. What's your name?"

"Felix," the boy replied. "It's nice to meet you."

"I'm Jeff," Calysta's cousin introduced himself.

"I'm Regulus."

"I'm Calysta- don't-make-a-big-fuss- Potter."

The boy grinned before nodding, whipping out a book from his robes, opening it from the center and continuing to read.

While they talked and made the introductions, the train had already carried them out of London, and now they were moving fast, past goats and sheep grazing in the flowery meadows.

At about half past twelve, the compartment door opened, and a smiling, dimpled woman looked at the occupants of the compartment. 

"Anything off the trolley, dears?" she asked.

Calysta nodded, ready to buy all the Twix bars and Crunchie bars the woman had in her trolley. When she looked at the trolley, her brows furrowed in confusion. 

"Uhm..." she began, looking behind at Regulus, Felix and Jeff for advice. Jeff shrugged, and Felix bought the whole stash of lollipops. 

Regulus advised her to try a little bit of everything, and Calysta, who had a sweet tooth, bought almost half of the trolley, filling the compartment with sweet treats, much to the delight of her newfound friends. She paid two galleons for the lot, biting into a pumpkin pasty.

She'd never tried anything like this. There were things like cauldron cakes, liquorice wands, Droobles best blowing gum, Chocolate frogs and Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans as well.

Jeff hadn't tried any of the stuff either, and both him and his cousin squealed when they opened up their chocolate frogs, only for them to jump out on them. Regulus and Felix laughed at their reactions.

"The chocolate's good," Regulus was saying. "But the card is what you want. They're sort of a wizard's collectible."

"Oh, cool," she remarked, "The picture's moving!" she cried, her eyes wide in surprise. Jeff furrowed his brows, while Regulus and Felix laughed at them again. 

"Welcome to the Wizarding World," remarked Regulus with a smug grin.

She glanced at the card she'd gotten. "Who's Cadmus Peverell?" she asked, looking at the picture of a young man with a short goatee.

"Flip it over," said Felix, sucking on one of his red lollipops. "There's information at the back."

She flipped the card over.

CADMUS PEVERELL
(ONE OF THE THREE FAMOUS PEVERELL BROTHERS WHO OUTSMARTED DEATH)

Although the tale of the three brothers is considered as fictional, there are rumors as to whether or not this is true. However, the facts are true. Cadmus Peverell, one of the three brothers killed himself in order to truly join his wife. Witches and wizards have claimed that the myth is true, but as far as the truth goes, it is nothing but a children's tale.

"How can you outsmart death?" Calysta blurted.

Felix shrugged, while Regulus replied. "You can't. When death decides to kill you, he kills you."

For a moment, things went dark. " Is death Voldemort?" Calysta asked.

Felix dropped his lollipop in surprise, the book on his lap clattering to the floor, while Regulus gasped.

"What?" she asked, looking at the pair. "Did I say something wrong?"

"You said his name," Felix whispered, awestruck.

"I'm.. not supposed to?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion.

The two wizards shook their heads, and the girl gulped.

"Who's this guy?" Jeff asked. "The V-dude?"

"He killed my parents," Calysta murmured. "He tried to kill me and Harry, but failed."

"I'm sorry, Cal," Jeff murmured, tightening his grip on her shoulders.

She shrugged. "Is he death?" she asked again.

Felix shook his head. "My father had a friend who was one of his supporters," he began. "He was just a dark wizard who believed that muggles shouldn't possess magic," he glanced at Jeff with an apologetic look. "And he killed muggles, and anyone who was muggleborn, torturing them first.."

A look of horror spread across both Jeff and Calysta's faces.

"He wanted to completely take over, but when he tried to kill you and your brother, he vanished."

Things got quiet after that, and Felix had resumed to reading his book, on his second lollipop.

"Hey, I'm going to go check on my twin," said Calysta after a while. "I'll be right back."

"I'll come with you," said Jeff, standing up.

The pair entered Harry's compartment, just in time to see Ron pointing his wand at a rather fat rat, with bits of missing brown fur, exposing the rodent's pink skin.

"Hi Harry," greeted Jeff, sitting next to Ron. Calysta sat next to her twin. "Hi Ron," she greeted. Ron cleared his throat, when suddenly, a girl with brown, bushy hair entered the compartment, followed by a boy with tearstained cheeks.

"Has anyone seen a toad?" she asked, in a bossy, show-off, sort of tone. "Neville's lost one." She had rather large front teeth, and was already dressed into her new Hogwarts robes.

"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening. She was looking at the wand in his hand. 

"Oh, are you doing magic?" she asked. "Let's see it then."

She sat next to Calysta, right opposite Ron, who looked rather taken aback. 

"Er.. alright.." he cleared his throat.

"Sunshine daisies, butter mellow,
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

Nothing happened.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" she asked. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells, and they've 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 said all of this very fast. Calysta linked her to a tape recorder.

"I'm Ron Weasley."

"Jeff Evans."

"Harry Potter."

Calysta didn't bother introducing herself. Harry's introduction was more than enough for the two of them.

"Are you really?" asked Hermione. "You're Calysta then," she stated. "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."

"Are we?" asked Calysta.

"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "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 guys had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."

She left immediately, taking Neville with her.

"Thank God she's gone," Calysta muttered. 

"She's such a pain in the—" Jeff began. But before he could finish, Ron was already speaking.

"Whatever house she's in, I hope I'm not in it," groaned Ron. He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell — George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."

Calysta saluted Harry off, before leaving to go back to her compartment again, Jeff following her. "Harry made his first friend," she said proudly, wiping off an imaginary tear. "Oh, my baby's grown up," she sniffled.

Jeff roared with laughter, and the pair entered their compartment again. Most of the treats from the trolley were almost over, and Regulus and Felix were talking about quidditch. 

"What's quidditch?" Jeff asked, biting off the end of a liquorice wand.

Regulus explained all about the game of seven players and four balls, all flying dangerously high on broomsticks. To Calysta, it all sounded to fascinating. 

"So, what did we miss?" Jeff asked, taking out his wizarding robes from his trunk.

"A bushy haired girl and a boy who lost his toad," commented Felix, looking up from his book, his lips and tongue stained red from the lollipops he'd been eating, and when he spoke.

"Ah, those people," commented Jeff. "Cal and I ran into them in Harry's tent."

The train chugged away at a tremendous speed, as they passed through hills and dark green woods, leaving behind the countryside and its grassy fields.

Once again, the compartment door opened, and four boys strutted through arrogantly. Calysta instantly recognized the pale blonde from Madam Malkin's to be one of them. Beside him stood two thickset boys, who looked like bodyguards. The fourth boy had a sullen expression,  dark hair and dark eyes, and he looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

"Is it true?" the blonde boy asked. "They're all saying down the train that Calysta Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?" the boy spoke, his gaze raking Calysta up and down.

She looked up at him, not even bothering to stand up. "I don't see anyone else by that name in this compartment," she remarked. "Of course it's me."

The three boys in her compartment sniggered, as Calysta looked at the three boys who stood behind the blonde.

"Oh, this is Crabbe, and this is Goyle," he said nonchalantly. "And that's Avery," he pointed to the dark haired boy in the back. "And my name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."

"Good for you," Calysta said coolly. "I'd introduce myself but there's no need."

Jeff let out a cough, to disguise his chuckle. "Burn," he muttered, causing Felix to snigger quietly beside him.

Draco looked at him, lip curling in disgust. "Think that's funny, do you?" asked Draco. "Well, nobody asked for your opinion anyway. We all know you'll never truly belong here."

Regulus and Felix gasped, and Jeff leaned back and kept quiet, an expression of hurt flickering across his features, Calysta narrowing her eyes at him for hurting her cousin.

Draco seemed unfazed by their reactions. "You'll soon find out that some Wizarding families, are better than others, Potter," he was saying. "You don't want to go around making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

He'd held out his hand for her to shake. Obviously it was an offer of friendship. But Calysta didn't want to associate herself with the likes of his arrogant self, especially since he'd insulted her cousin, whom she cared very deeply about, despite not knowing him for long.

"The wrong sort is already standing in front of me," she said bluntly. "And that's my cousin you just insulted. I don't need your help, not do I want it. Unless, the only way you plan on helping me is by getting out of here."

Draco's lip curled in disgust, his cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment.

"Oooooh, double burn," teased Felix, looking at the boys with false sympathy. 

"I'd be careful if I were you, Potterette," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You keep hanging around with muggles like your pathetic cousin and riffraff like Hagrid, and they'll rub off on you. Mark my words."

At this, Calysta  stood up. Within seconds, she was looking right into his cold, silverish blue eyes. "Say that again," she challenged. 

Draco Malfoy smirked. "Or what, you'll fight me?" he scoffed. "I'd like to see a weak, little girl like you try."

"The only riffraff here is you," Regulus sneered, quickly getting to his feet. "Get out of my compartment."

Felix stood up too, his tall figure towering over Draco and his goons. Jeff got to his feet too, copying their actions. 

Regulus and Felix pointed their wands at Draco, and the blonde, who seemed to get rather intimidated by the three boys' presence.

But it was Calysta who reached into her pocket and took out the other of the mice she'd found in Harry's bedroom at Privet Drive, and she held it by the tail, dangled it in front of Draco's nose before shoving it down his collar.

 "Mouse! MOUSE! AHHHHHHH!" he screamed, wriggling as he felt it inside his robes, quickly leaving the compartment, the rest of the mean-looking boys following him. "GET IT OUT! DO SOMETHING, YOU FOOLS! DON'T JUST STAND THERE!"

Calysta slammed the door behind her, and they all fell into peals of laughter. 

"Did you see his face?" wheezed Felix, coughing after he choked on air.

"Priceless," agreed Jeff. Obviously, he was still rather affected my Malfoy's words.

"Scared of a dead mouse," Calysta shook her head. "Ninny."

"Why'd you carry it around?" Regulus asked. 

"I had two of them. My brother's owl had caught them, and I planned on slipping them into my muggle cousin's meal, but I forgot," she explained. "I gave one to Fred and George Weasley. Needed it for experimental purposes.."

"I'll have to start keeping one i my pocket for emergencies," remarked Felix. "They seem to be quite useful."

"Jeff?" asked Calysta, resting her hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he told her. 

"You know, you can't help being muggleborn," said Felix wisely. "He's wrong. You do belong here, just as much as all of us."

"I second that," said Regulus. "You're a great guy, Jeff."

He cheered up a bit more after that, and his newfound friends were the cause of that. Calysta just hoped the four of them would be in the same house. And even if they weren't, she didn't care, because she'd spend all her time with them.

It was getting much darker. Calysta looked out of the window. She could see mountains and forests under the deep, purple sky. Swirls of pink, fluffy clouds mingled with the dark sky, and the moon was a thin crescent, surrounded by a silvery glow of light.

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." 

Calysta looked down at her muggle attire, eyes widening. "I need to change," she said in a small voice. Swinging her backpack over her shoulder, she rushed out of the compartment into the bathroom, leaving Jeff with the boys.

The train finally came to a stop, and Calysta just emerged through the door to her compartment, extremely nervous. It was extremely busy on the platform, and because Calysta, Jeff, Felix and Regulus were all the way at the back, the decided it would be better to wait for the rush to slow down before they made their way out of the train.

When they stepped out, a gust of wind tacked Calysta's arms, and she shivered. A lamp bobbed over the heads of the students, and Calysta heard a familiar voice, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! Alright there, Calysta?"

She sent him a thumbs up, and followed the rest of the first years to where Hagrid was standing. "C'mon, firs' years, follow me. Mind yer step now, follow me!"

Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a narrow, steep path. It was so dark all around them that Calysta thought there must be trees everywhere. Nobody spoke much.

"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. The castle stood proud and tall in all its glory, its towers faintly glowing with the lights blinking out from the windows.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore.

Calysta hopped in with Jeff, Felix and Regulus.

"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 harbor, 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.

{ i hope this chapter was a bit more fast paced. and i hope you enjoyed it. please, please vote, comment, share and follow. it really means a lot.. anyway, comment your thoughts, and stay tuned for the next chapter.}