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Chapter Text

Red Masterson looked up from his muggle comic to see the owl rapping at the second-story window across the room. Other people would have been shocked, but Red's mother was a witch, and so this was a perfectly normal occurence.

He stood up, stretching, and made his way through the mess that he called his room. He opened the window, and the large tawny barn owl hopped in. It held out it's leg importantly, and Red untied the thick parchment envelope that was attached to it. The owl immediately flew off again.

Red glanced at the return address, thinking it was probably a notice from the Ministry or something. His eyes widened, and he scanned it over again, just to make sure. A grin slowly spread across his face as he confirmed his hopes.

'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.'

Green Worth held the thick envelopes in her hands, turning it in her hands and inspecting every inch of it. One was addressed to her, 'Ms. G. Worth', and the other was addressed to her best friend, 'Mr. S. Starr'. They were both from some place called 'Pigfarts' or something of the sort, and they were both made of some kind of yellowed old parchment.

The letters had both been given to her by the orphanage lady, Mrs. Brown, because she had been looking for Silver anyway. Nobody knew whether or not Green and Silver were really orphans, but they had no idea as to who their parents might be, and so this was where they lived. At least they had each other.

"What's that?" A familiar voice made Green pause as she started picking at the fancy wax seal. She looked up at an eleven-year-old boy with red hair and silver eyes. She grinned at him.

"I dunno," she replied, "It's from some school called Frogparts or something. We've both got a letter. This one's yours." She held it out to him, and he took it, proceeding to tug the seal off none-too-gently and sliding out the papers inside. He shook it out, and his eyebrows rose at what he read;

Dear Mr. Starr,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours Sincerly,
Professor S. Oak, Deputy Headmaster

Knock knock knock.

Xavier Blackwood frowned at the front door. It seemed to be under the process of being knocked upon, though X couldn't imagine why. His parents were both at work, so he was alone in the house. It was far from the first time and he didn't feel at all uncomfortable. However, no one was supposed to knock on the door at - X glanced at the clock in the living room - three-twenty-four in the afternoon.

Rap rap rap.

X narrowed his eyes at the door as the knocking grew a bit more insistent. Quite the persistent one, aren't we? He moved over to the window and flicked the curtains open just the tiniest bit.

Standing at the door was a slightly stout man whom X had never seen before in his life. This man was a bit on the short side, with a thick swath of wavy brown hair. He looked quite uncomfortable in the summer heat, his forehead gleaming with sweat.

X normally would never open the door to some strange, fat man, but there was something about him that just... made X want to talk to him.

He went to the door and unlocked it, opening it slowly, cautiously. He looked at the odd man. "What are you doing here?" He meant it to sound more hostile, but he just... couldn't get himself to be agressive enough.

The man sighed happily, probably eager to get whatever it was he had come for over with. "Ah! You must be the young Xavier then! May I come in, please? It is rather hot."

"No." How stupid did this man think he was?

"Ah..." the man looked slightly deflated, "Well, I should get this done anyway. Are your parents home? Actually, no, they probably aren't. Ah, anyway, I am Henry Cheadle. I have something here for you..." the man dug around in the coat that he really shouldn't have been wearing in this heat. Finally, he pulled out a thick yellowed envelope, "Ah, here we are! Now, if you'll just read through this..." He held out the letter.

X took it and scanned through it briefly. He closed his eyes and counted to ten. He looked at the man, "Is this like, a YouTube video or something?"

"Ah..." the man looked genuinely confused, "Look, young man, I don't know much about muggles. I have no clue as to what this 'yoohoo' thing you speak of even is. I haven't done this for about two years now, and I think I'm a bit rusty...

"Well, there's a lot to explain. I think I'd better come inside..."

X surveyed this Cheadle man, poker-faced, trying not to show his confusion at the word 'muggle', as well as the course of the man's words in general, "I think you'd better."

Chapter Text

Yellow Viridian stayed as close as she possibly could to Amber, her mom. They had been guided through the magic brick wall by a witch in the Leaky Cauldron, but now they had to find the stores on their own.

Normally, Yellow was bright and cheerful, not intimidated or whatever it was that she was feeling now. But surrounded by oddly dressed people, strange stores, and unfamiliar noises, any sane person would feel out of their element.

The person who had delivered Yellow's letter, a woman named Aster Dunn, had explained what needed to be explained, such as how to get to Gringotts and exchange their 'muggle' money for their 'galleons' and 'sickles' and whatnot. They were headed for Gringotts now.

It didn't take as long as she might've thought; the large, snowy white building was hard to miss. As they walked through the big double doors, Yellow caught a glimpse of something engraved into the marble above the entrance:

A shiver went down Yellow's spine, and she ran after her muggle mother, past the creepy little goblins, and into the marble bank.

Blue Oak walked swiftly down the cobblestone road, robes swishing and his eyes traight ahead. He didn't need to check the list, because he had already memorized it. His father wasn't with him, because he was a very trustworthy person and didn't need to be supervised.

First, work robes, he silently recited as he strode purposefully into Madame Malkin's Robes for all Occasions.

As they were getting his measurments, he noticed two other kids outside the window with Hogwarts letters. They were huddled close to each other, a brunette and a redhead, and they seemed sort of nervous. Blue thought they were probably muggle-borns, though he couldn't imagine why the wern't accompanied by an adult.

Blue frowned at the redhead, thinking he felt a faint flash of recognition. But then a group of people walked in front of the window, and the lady who worked at the shop asked him for his order.

He craned his neck, trying to see past the slow moving mob, but then the employee coughed impatiently. He turned back to her, "Three sets in plain black."

Gold Slora dragged his mom, Mary, into Flourish and Blott's. He was excited about finally getting to go to the place he'd been wanting to go for eleven years. His logic told him that the faster he got all the stuff he needed, the faster he would get on the train and the faster he would get to school. Of course, this logic didn't actually work, but that wasn't what mattered.

He counted the coins in the bag he had insisted on carrying, and then looked at his list. He started walking along the shelves, with his mother trailing tiredly behind him. He grabbed books off the shelves, 'A History of Magic', Arsenius Jigger's 'Magical Drafts and Potions', and crammed them into his cauldron. He glanced at his mom, and then pulled another book off the shelf. It was called 'Advanced Wand-Waving: Horrid Curses to Make Your Enemies Tremble In Their Beds' by Burdock Worme, and it actually wasn't on his list, in case you couldn't tell. Mary was leaning against the wall, her eyes closed, clearly exhausted. Gold turned back to the shelves.

"Hello," a voice made him turn his head to see an eleven-year-old boy with messy black hair, "Are you looking for school books?"

"Yeah..." Gold noticed the boy was also holding a Hogwarts letter, "You're going to Hogwarts, too?"

"Yeah. My name's Red. What's yours?"

"Gold." Gold turned back to the shelves, still trying to keep up conversation, "What house d'you think you'll be in? I hope I'm in Gryffindor."

"I dunno. I don't have any siblings, so it's not like I know much about them already. I just know the basic stuff--Gryffindor is bold and loyal, Ravenclaw's the smart people, Hufflepuff is like the fluffy, friendly house, and Slytherin is for power-freaks. At least, that's what some people say." Red pulled a book off the shelf and looked at it.

"Are you going to bring a pet? I'm gonna bring an owl if mum lets me," Gold flipped open a book about magical aquatic creatures, "How many people do you suppose are gonna wind up bringing toads? If my mum has me bring a toad, I think I'll throw it out the train window."

Red snorted, "That seems a bit harsh, don't you think?"

"To the toad?"

"No, to your mum."

Gold considered that for a moment, then shrugged, "I'd just wait till we we're out of eyesight, then. Besides, my mum would never make me bring a toad if I didn't want to." Gold pulled another book off the shelf, "Oh, look! The Standard Book of Spells! That's the last one I need. I suppose I'll see you at Hogwarts?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Bye."

"Bye!" Gold ran off to pay for his school books with his mother. She didn't let him buy the Advanced Wand-Waving book.

Ruby Tumber pulled out his list for the fifth time that day. He looked over it, wondering what else he needed to buy. He had 'x's next to everything he had, so that left...

First year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black) X
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear X
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar) X
4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings) X

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags.

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

• The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk X
• A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot X
• Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling X
• A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch X
• One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore X
• Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger X
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander X
• The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble X

1 wand X
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials X
1 telescope X
1 set brass scales X

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

Ruby smirked at that last line. He knew some of the other first-years would be quite angry that they couldn't be on the Quidditch team until next year, but he personally would rather be in the stands than actually on the field. After all, suppose the ground was muddy and he, for some reason or another, managed to fall on the ground? It was unthinkable.

Anyway... Ruby tapped the few things that didn't have 'x's beside them, that just leaves... my cauldron.

Ruby found the cauldron shop with no problem at all; he had been here before, and would undoubtedly be back again. Both his mother and his father had magic in them, and he had grown up in the wizarding world. Of course, this meant he didn't know much about muggles, but why on earth would he even want to?

Ruby wandered through the little shop, examining each cauldron. Well, each stylish cauldron. There were collapsable cauldrons, self-stirring cauldrons, silver cauldrons, iron cauldrons... he finally settled on a silver one, with automatic heating capabilities and a doubling function.

He was going towards the man who ran the store in order to pay, when a girl about his age with pigtails tapped him on the shoulder, "Excuse me," the girl said in a purposeful sort of voice, "But are you buying that cauldron for school?"

Ruby turned to glare at the girl, "Yes. Not that it's any of your business."

The girl folded her arms against her chest and made a humph noise, "Well, if I were you, I'd put that one back and get the one we're actually supposed to be getting." She shoved her list in his face in order to prove her point.

Ruby wrinkled his nose, "Yes, well, you're not me, in case you've failed to notice that minor detail. I would rather not buy one of those cheap pewter cauldrons, thank you very much."

"Fine," the girl put her hands on her hips, "But don't blame me when they take it away and make you use a school cauldron instead. One that is probably smelly and scratched and fifty years old." And with that, she spun on her heel and strode out of the shop. Ruby noticed the pewter cauldron she had swining from one hand, stuffed chock-full of school books and supplies.

Ruby glared after her. He looked at his fancy silver cauldron, then at a shelf made purposely for school supplies. It would rather be a waste of money if I bought an expensive cauldron, only to have it taken away before I can even use it. he looked out the window to check that she was really gone, then swapped the silver cauldron for a smaller, cheaper pewter one. He paid the man and left quickly, dearly hoping that he would never have a potions class with that odd girl.

At Ollivander's, a timid-looking muggle couple stood with Sun Burns, their adopted son. They were waiting in the odd shop for whoever was employed to work there. They had already bought everything else on the list, and Sun felt excited.

When the woman called Aurea Juniper had given him his letter, he had, of course, thought it to be a joke. After all, the whole idea of a school for witches and wizards was absurd. Magic wasn't real. Everyone knew that.

But then the woman had proven them wrong by pulling out her wand and conjuring up a plate of biscuits from thin air. Now they were in a place where Sun could get one of those for himself. A wand, not a plate of biscuits.

Suddenly, there was a clattering sound from the shelves, and an old man came to the desk. He had creepy, unblinking eyes and his smile was not very cheerful-looking.

"Ah, another one! I am Mr. Ollivander. I suppose you want a wand for school?" The man stated a creepily accurate assumption.

"Um... yes." Sun's mother, Alicia Grey said nervously, "One for Sun here. For school, you know."

"Alright then... let us see, which wand is the right match for you." Mr. Ollivander went back to the shelves, and a tape measure shot up from behind the desk and began taking measurements.

Sun stood there, feeling a bit foolish, and then the door opened with a small ding. He turned toward it, hoping it would be someone he could talk to. A girl with thick, long brown hair tied up in a ponytail walked inside with two people who were, presumably, her parents. She looked about Sun's age, but before he could start a conversation, she began talking animatedly.

"Oh, hello!" she smiled happily, "I'm White, what's your name?"

"Ah- Sun." Sun felt a bit off-balanced by this girl's sudden conversation. Not that he was a quiet person, because he definitely wasn't, but come on. If someone's whole vision of reality is suddenly flipped upside down and shaken out, they're bound to be a lot quieter than they normally are.

Before Sun could say anything else, the girl called White continued on, "I suppose you're buying a wand for Hogwarts, aren't you? Is that why there's a tape measure flying around you? I hope I get a good wand. Silver Lime would be nice, don't you think?" Of course, White chose this moment to wait for an answer.

"Uh..." Sun, of course, didn't have anything to say, because he didn't know a thing about wands.

"Oh, I see, you must be muggle-born," White smiled, "It must be very exciting to suddenly be introduced to all this magic after living without it your entire life, huh? Are you going to bring an owl? You should bring an owl. They're quite useful, they can carry your mail for you. Plus they're very popular and everyone wants one."

"I'm not, actually." Sun interrupted her.

"Not what?" White looked a bit confused.

"Muggle-born."

"Really? What are you then?"

"I'm adopted," Sun looked at her, "And that didn't sound rude at all, the way you phrased that."

Fortunately for White, Mr. Ollivander came back at that moment, carry a very large stack of boxes in the air with his wand. He set them down on the desk, then selected one seemingly at random.

"Let's try this one first. Cedar wood, unicorn hair core, ten inches. A bit stiff." he said all this as he opened the narrow box and pulled oit a thin strip of wood. He handed it to Sun, who took it, a bit unsure of what to do.

"Just give it a wave." Mr. Ollivander explained. Sun swished the wand in the air, feeling a bit stupid. He didn't know what to expect, so he jumped in shock when a loud bang erupted from it and a yellow flash shot out the tip, ricocheting off the walls and finally shattering some glass object. White tried to hide an obvious smile, and Sun's parents grew pale.

"No, not that one!" Ollivander snatched the wand back, placing it back in the box and putting the lid back on hurriedly. He pulled out another one, running his fingers along it before handing it to Sun, "Dogwood, dragon heartstring, thirteen-and-a-quarter inches, rather springy. Try it."

Sun waved it again, and this time a green flash flew into a candle with a crack sound, turning the candle into a plastic toy arrow.

"Ah... no." That wand went back as well. Mr. Ollivander pulled out yet another one, "Spruce wood, pheonix feather, eleven-and-a-half inches, very supple."

Sun waved this wand again, bracing himself for the loud noise and the destruction of more stuff. Instead, a shower of golden sparks sprayed out like a firework, and a warm feeling went up Sun's right arm, slowly spreading over the rest of his body.

"Oh, that was a quick one! Only the third wand! Now, the issue of payment..."

As it turned out, the wand was worth thirteen Galleons. Sun's father, Tom, paid the odd old man, Mr. Ollivander packaged the wand up for them, and the three left the shop. As Sun walked out the door and onto the cobbled streets, he realized that the next month he would have to spend waiting for term to begin was going to be absolute torture.

Chapter Text

King's Cross Station was a busy place at the best of times, but it was especially busy on that special day, the first of September. For this was the day that hundreds of students would be departing to school on the Hogwarts Express.

One of these students was a young girl by the name of Crystal Airington. She was pushing a trolley through the station, her mother, Mirei, close beside her. She passed platform eight, platform nine... and then she stood at the barrier between nine and ten. She looked at it, her eyes wide with a kind of excitment that seemed irrelevant to the situation. She positioned her trolley so that it was aimed at the barrier. This was the start of a school year she had been awaiting for eleven long years. She took a deep breath, and ran straight at the barrier.

Anyone watching might think they had gone crazy, for instead of crashing in to the barrier, Crystal went right through it, trolley, cat, and all. She came out on Patform Nine and Three Quarters, where steam covered the station like fog. The source of the steam, Crystal realized with growing excitment, was a bright scarlet steam engine. The Hogwarts Express.

"Yes!" Crystal couldn't hold in a small burst of excitment as it dawned on her just how close to Hogwarts she was. She giggled hysterically under her breath, looking at the bright red train excitedly. She pushed her trolley to one of the doors and hauled her trunk up with the help of her mother, who had come through behind her.

Crystal hauled her stuff into the first empty compartment she could find and sat down in the seat. She exhaled, trying to get control of her excitment. It wouldn't do to embarass herself on her very first day at Hogwarts. She sat very still, her eyes closed, waiting for the announcment that they would be leaving very soon.

She opened her eyes, however, to the sound of the compartment door sliding open. Two kids who looked about her age stood there, looking quite nervous.

"Excuse me," the brunette girl spoke to Crystal, "But is anyone sitting in here? There isn't anywhere else that's open."

"I don't mind," Crystal smiled, "No one else is sitting here and it would be nice to have someone to talk to. I'm Crystal, by the way."

"Thanks." the girl smiled gratefully, "I'm Green and this is Silver." Green gestured to the silent red-headed boy behind her. The two brought there stuff in, closed the compartment door, and sat down.

"Isn't it exciting?" Crystal immediately attempted to start up a conversation, "We're going to Hogwarts. I've been waiting for this my entire life. It's quite exciting, wouldn't you agree?"

"Ah... this is actually the first we've heard of Hogwarts. Honestly, I thought it was somebody's idea of a joke at first. Then that man... what was his name again?"

"Birch," the boy called Silver spoke up for the first time since entering the compartment, "He called himself Professor Birch. Said he was a teacher of some sort."

"Yes, that's right," Green continued, "Anyway, that Birch man showed up, apologizing for the inconvenience and everything. He told us that usually a teacher delivers a Muggleborn's letter personally. We live in an orphanage, and he said that our parents must not be dead, or they would know to deliver it personally. It was quite confusing and I couldn't really follow everything he said."

"That's very interesting," Crystal said, "I'm a half-blood, so I know about both the muggle world and the wizarding world. There are some kids who come to school not knowing anything about muggles, because they've grown up in a long family of witches and wizards."

"What are we supposed to do when we get there?" Green sounded a bit concerned, "Birch told us about the four houses, but he didn't explain much. I think he was in a bit of a rush."

"Well," Crystal was always happy to explain things to people, "Each of the Hogwarts houses has different traits that define it. Gryffindor is for the brave, bold and loyal people. I've heard they can be quite rash as well.

"Then you've got Ravenclaw. That's where you'll go if you're creative, clever, curious, and like to learn new things. Some people say that Ravenclaw is where the prettiest faces come from.

"A lot of people like to say Hufflepuff is the worst house to be put in, because that's basically for the nice, friendly, noncompetitive people. They're like the only people who aren't biased, and they don't brag a lot, so people think there aren't any particularly good witches and wizards from Hufflepuff, even though that's not true at all. So, people think they're pushovers.

"Slytherin is often associated with evil by certain people, but that's not technically correct. People in Slytherin can be crafty, sneaky, sometimes selfish or self-centered, but the main aspect of Slytherin is ambition. So many people fail to see that. However, it is true that there are more Dark wizards from Slytherin than there are from any other house."

Crystal smiled and put her hands in her lap, "I can't really explain everything about each house, but those are the basics. Also, on the first night of term, which is tonight, of course, all the new first-years get sorted into their houses. I'm not exactly sure how it works, because I don't have any siblings, and my mother hasn't bothered to tell me. But I suppose it would be nice to have a bit of a surprise."

Green blinked, "That was... a more lengthy explanation than that Birch man. He just said, 'Gryffindor is brave, Hufflepuff is kind, Ravenclaw is clever, and Slytherin is power-hungry'. I think I like your explanation better, though."

Crystal beamed.

Black Vass was not a happy camper. He was alone in his compartment, having deliberately found an empty one and then driven off anyone who wanted to come in. He knew he was being an idiot, but he didn't care. So when the announcement came that the train would be departing very soon, he sat there, stewing in his own resentment, and thinking of a way he could get around this problem.

Unfortunately for him, not everyone had apparently found a compartment, because the compartment door slid open and an eleven year old boy walked in. He had straight black hair and he didn't seem like the loud type. He didn't even bother to ask, though, he just came in with his stuff and sat down.

The train started moving, and Black glared out the window, his mind spinning, generating random ideas and then discarding them again. Finally, the other boy spoke up, "What's with you?"

"Doesn't matter," Black grumbled.

"Okay, fine."

Black exhaled sharply, annoyed, "Alright, if you [em]must[/em] know-" Black just needed to vent, but this boy didn't need to know that, "-I'm mad at my parents and at the school."

"What for?"

"Cause I really wanted to play Quidditch this year, and I'm getting pretty good at it. I think I'd make the team, but first-years aren't allowed their own brooms, so we're not allowed to play Quidditch either, by default."

The other boy said nothing. Black sighed, "I know I'm acting like a baby, it's just--I really, really wanted to be on the Quidditch team. So leave me alone so I can think of a way to get past that rule."

The two boys were silent for a few minutes, as the train rattled on down the tracks. Then the other boy spoke up, slowly, "What- exactly- is Quidditch?"

Black looked at him, "You're muggleborn aren't you?" He didn't wait for an answer, "Quidditch is a wizard sport. You play it up in the air on broomsticks. You know, the kind that fly. There's four balls- the Quaffle, the two bludgers, and the golden snitch.

"The Quaffle is a bit like a soccer ball, I suppose, because the chasers toss it back and forth to get it through the three hoops at each end of the field. The bludgers fly around trying to knock people of their brooms, and people can get seriously injured. The beaters are supposed to use their bats, which are a bit like baseball bats, to keep them away from their players. The snitch is a quite small ball with wings. It flies around, trying to keep away from the seekers, whose only job is to try and catch it. Once the snitch is caught, the game ends, and whichever team got the snitch is awarded a hundred and fifty points.

"There's more to it than that, but there are a lot of rules. It's really popular--almost every wizard plays it or supports it in some way. I really want to play for a professional team when I'm older, but I need as much practice as I can get."

The other boy thought about that for a minute, "Does the school have any brooms?"

"Of course."

"Well, why don't you practice with one of those brooms? I'm sure if you practice every day, in between classes or something, than you'll probably be good enough to play next year. And anyway, it'll give you something to pass the time with."

Black stared at him, "That... might actually work," he grinned, any trace of sulkiness gone, "What's your name, anyway? I'm Black."

"Xavier," He replied, "But don't ever call me that. I go by X." He held his hand out for a shake. Black happily obliged.

See, this is why I wanted to play with the other kids, Sapphire Birch was now sitting in a compartment with a perfectly silent blonde. Thanks a bunch, Dad.

Sapphire looked out the window, thinking about how her father had always been busy with one thing or another, and there hadn't been many other houses near there's. She had dedicated her time to climbing trees, flying around on her broom, and other things that might not have been to her father's liking.

"U-um..." The blonde girl stammered, breaking the silence, "Do you... are you excited, much?"

Sapphire looked at her for a moment, then sighed, "Yeah, I suppose."

There was a tense moment of silence, and then the girl asked, "What's your name? I'm Yellow."

"Sapphire," she replied.

"Are you, um," Yellow seemed to be trying to think how to phrase this, "Do you know much about this? I could really use some help."

Sapphire regarded her curiously, "You're muggle-born, then?"

"Yes..."

"Well, I'm a pure-blood, so to answer your question, I know quite a lot, actually. What are you wanting to know?"

Yellow considered this, "I suppose I'd like to know about what life is like with magic. What do you do for fun, stuff like that."

Sapphire bit her lip. It wasn't Yellow's fault that she'd asked exactly what Sapphire couldn't answer about the general public. She decided to just be honest and say what she liked doing, "Well, mostly I like Quidditch. That's a wizard sport, played with magic broomsticks. I like to be outside a lot, I suppose, and I like to climb trees, and explore and things like that. I only just got my wand about a month ago, but when you're younger, you can usually make stuff happen anyway, sort of by accident, without a wand."

Yellow nodded vigorously, "I know what you mean. Once, I was sitting by the river, drawing on my sketchpad, and my mind started... wandering, I guess. So, I was thinking about actual birds, and how nice it must feel to be up that high and everything, and then the bird I was drawing just kind of... peeled of the page and flew away. I told my mum and dad, but of course they didn't believe me, so I stopped telling them all the weird things that happened."

Sapphire's eyes widened, "Really? That's really weird. I don't draw much, so nothing like that's ever happened to me. Once, though, I fell out of a tree and I was perfectly fine. Not a single scrape, and it was high up, too."

"Huh. I climb trees a lot, too. It's quite relaxing, sometimes. But it's rather exhilarating as well."

"I know what you mean," Sapphire smiled, "That's just how I feel. I didn't have many kids to talk to when I was younger, so I just played by myself a lot."

Yellow grinned, "But now we're going to school, and there'll be loads of kids to talk to there."

Sapphire smiled, thinking how nice that would be. If it's anything like it is now, talking with Yellow, then she thinks it seems rather inviting.

I think we'll be great friends, Yellow.

 Diamond Bird sat in his compartment with a boy who had messy brown hair. So far he had managed to learn that this boy's name was Blue and that he was a half-blood who liked Quidditch. Also that he didn't much like engaging in a conversation.

"What kinds of food do you like?" Diamond asked in an attempt to get Blue to talk more.

Blue just shrugged, "I dunno. I'm not picky."

"Well that's too bad," Diamond sighed, "I heard that they have every food you could think of at Hogwarts. So even if you are picky, you'd still find something to eat."

At that moment, the compartment door slid open, and a woman pushing a snack trolley peered in at them, "Anything off the cart, dears?" She smiled kindly.

Diamond jumped up, money in hand, "Yeah!"

Bout a minite later, Diamond sat down with his new hoard of sweets--Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, cauldron cakes, jelly slugs--and the trolley lady shut the door, moving along to the next compartment.

Diamond looked at Blue in the middle of opening a bag of Every Flavor Beans, "Why didn't you get any? Haven't you got any money?"

Blue was silent for a moment. Then he muttered, "Money's not the issue."

"Oh," Diamond held out a chocolate frog, "Do you want some of mine? I've got plenty. Plus there's the card, if you collect those."

Blue refused at first, but Diamond kept nudging him to at least try one, and eventually he did take just one chocolate frog, if only to shut Diamond up.

"Which card have you got?" Diamond leaned forward to try and see, "Mine's Merlin. This is the first time I've seen his card."

Blue flipped his card over so Diamond could see. Diamond nodded, "Ravenclaw, nice. I still don't have her yet. I've got Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, but not Slytherin or Ravenclaw. Speaking of which, what house do you think you'll be in? My dad says I'm going to Hufflepuff, no doubt about it, and honestly, I quite agree. What about you?"

"Dunno," Blue looked at his card, "Dad says I could get into any of them if I really wanted to, but I suppose it just depends on what the hat decides."

Emerald Farin, already dressed in his new Hogwarts robes, looked out the window of the train, watching the countryside fly past. There were a few chocolate frogs and pumpkin pasties on the seat next to him, but otherwise he was alone in the compartment. It was one of the very back ones, and nobody really liked being at the back. So nobody really bothered him.

He picked up one of his books and flipped through it. He stopped at a charm to levitate objects. Emerald scanned over the page, observing the wand movement, memorizing the incantation, and basically trying to learn the spell in his head. Finally, he closed the book, set it on the seat, and pulled out his wand. He checked the window to make sure nobody could see him, and then he attempted the spell, "Wingardium Leviosa."

To his pleasant surprise, the book rose a few inches of the seat, and he managed to hold it there before it fell back down. He had been practicing that one at home, out of sight of the muggles, but he'd never gotten it to work before and hadn't really expected it to this time.

It must be that there're so many witches and wizards and magical things on the train. Emerald mused, Maybe it's rubbing off on me or something.

Emerald was a muggle-born who's parents had died a long time ago. He'd been bouncing around in abusive foster families for as long as he could remember, and the letter from Hogwarts was a sort of salvation. Of course, he would probably have to go back for the summer, but he could figure something out.

For the rest of the train ride, Emerald read some fictional books, practiced a few more spells, and ate the rest of his newly bought stash of candy. It had been quite a pleasant surprise to learn that his late parents had left him their wizard money.

Soon, the train was slowing down, there were shouts of excitment up and down the train, and Emerald could see street lights from outside his window. Here it is, he thought, Hogwarts. My new home.