Casey's day hadn't been going too well.

First, she'd gone downstairs to eat breakfast and found that George had eaten the rest of the bacon.

Then, she'd gone back upstairs to find that Lyell had accidentally switched the toothpaste with a tube of glue. He'd forgotten that Adrianna had filled the "new" one with glue.

Finally, she'd misplaced her trunk.

"How do you lose a trunk?" Adrianna, one of her triplets, had asked that morning.

"I don't know," Casey had replied. She didn't say anything more. Casey was a quiet person at times, yet she was very daring at others. Even Peter didn't level with Casey on that.

After a long while of searching, nearly an hour, Casey finally found her trunk in the attic. It took her another half hour to get all of her spellbooks in and transfer her clothes. The trunk, which could be walked into and opened up to an enormous room that could hold everything she owned, plus everything Adrianna and Peter (her triplets) owned as well. Oh, and multiply that times three. Then you'd be getting close.

Casey finally dropped the last book in the trunk and ran, fast as she could, out to the car, her trunk dragging behind her. She picked it up and pushed it onto the front passenger seat through the opened door. Casey then closed that door, opened the back one, and swung herself into her seat. She pulled the door closed and clicked her seatbelt. Her mom, Lauren Rivers, was sitting in the front. "All set?" The triplets nodded. "Then let's get moving."

The ride to King's Cross station was a long one. Casey started a conversation about the houses of Hogwarts and predicted that Adrianna would be a Ravenclaw, herself a Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, and Peter a Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. Adrianna thought that Casey would be a Gryffindor, Peter a Hufflepuff, and herself a Ravenclaw or Slytherin. Peter thought that Casey would be a Hufflepuff, Adrianna a Gryffindor, and himself a Gryffindor. Their mom thought they'd all be Hufflepuffs or Ravenclaws. "You three are just so alike," she'd said. "It would make sense for you to be in the same house."

No one said anything more after that. The rest of the ride was quiet and no one wanted to spoil the silence. It was nice, after the chaos that had taken the earlier hours of the day.

The group arrived at King's Cross Station at 10:26. Man, they were cutting it close. They got to Platforms Nine and Ten at 10:52.

"Mum? Where's Platform Nine and Three-Quarters?" Casey asked.

Lauren sighed. "You see that barrier, just between nine and ten?" The triplets aknowledged that they knew it was there. "You have to run at it, fast as you can, and it'll bring you through an archway to the platform. Now, off you go! I'll follow behind."

Peter was the first to go. He ran at top speed towards the barrier and simply vanished on contact. Casey blinked. "Cool."

She and Adrianna both ran at it next. Casey felt like she was surrounded by blackness for a second, then she was running through a black archway onto the platform. "Ah! That makes more sense!" Casey picked up her snake Cissa's cage and pushed her trolley closer. There were so many people there! A pale blonde boy, a ginger girl, three black haired boys.....

Casey nearly shrieked. "OH MY GOD! Adrianna! It's Harry Potter!"

Adrianna then shrieked. Her eyes turned big and round. She stood there, staring. "And... Hermione Granger!" She shrieked again.

Hermione Granger was the hero, role model, and favorite celebrity of both sisters. Ever since they had read the seven book biography of Harry Potter, told like a children's story, they had wanted to meet Hermione Granger. She was famous for practically everything!

Adrianna dropped her trunk. Casey put down Cissa's cage. The two both ran over to Hermione Granger.

Adrianna was the first to speak. "Hi! I'm Adrianna Rivers, and this is my unidentical twin, slash triplet, Casey. You're Hermione Granger, right?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, I am. Are you two fans?"

"YES," they both shrieked.

Casey said, "I've wanted to meet you, like, forever! And here you are, standing here on Platform 9 and 3/4 the first year I'm ever going to Hogwarts!"

"You're, like, the best person of the Golden Trio!" Adrianna said. "You're a genius, you're super brave, and you always know what to do!"

"Casey, Adrianna, I hope you're not bothering Hermione over there!" said Ms. Rivers.

Hermione shook her head and laughed. "Oh, not at all, Lauren! Your daughters really do admire me, don't they?"

"Yes, they do. They consider you their role model."

Hermione smiled. "I'm honored!"

Casey looked at her mother, then back at Hermione. "You guys know each other?"

Lauren nodded. "Yes, Casey. We work together. Hermione's an Auror, as you two know. We became friends several years ago." She was now only a few feet away. "How are Rose and Hugo?"

"They're doing well. Growing up very fast, though. Ronald's been trying to learn to drive, haven't you?"

Ronald Weasley had appeared on the scene. "Actually, I have." He gave them a bright smile.

"I think it's time we got our kids on the train, isn't it?" Lauren said. "The train's going in five minutes."

Lauren helped her kids load their trunks and pets into an empty compartment. "You three should move around a little, mingle with all the other students. It's best to start your time at Hogwarts with a friend or two to keep  you going."

Casey didn't like they way her mom said that, but she didn't say anything. She just sat down and waved at her mother as the train began to roll away on its long journey to Hogwarts.

- - -

Casey stared out the window for a good ten minutes before she finally decided to get up. She left the compartment and began to walk down the aisle, peeking through windows to see if there was anyone who looked lonely. Most of them were jam packed full of older students laughing about some comment someone made or catching up on what happened over the summer. Casey got little bits of information from each one, but nothing important.

Casey thought she'd never find someone who was lonely after a while, but she eventually came across a compartment with that one blonde little boy in it. He didn't look like he was lonely, but rather like he was very used to this.

Casey opened the compartment door. "Mind if I sit here with you?" The boy shook his head. Casey sat down and looked at him. "What's your name? Mine's Casey."

"Scorpius Malfoy," said the boy. He stuck out his hand, and Casey shook it. "What's your surname?"

"Rivers. Why?"

"Oh, just wondering. It's nice to know what someone's last name is." Scorpius looked at her. His eyes seemed very cold and distant.

Casey nodded. "I kind of have to agree."

"What house do you plan on getting sorted into? I'm all out for Slytherin. I wouldn't want to be the one who breaks the family tradition. My whole family's been in House Slytherin for centuries. Everyone always says that we're the 'bad guys', but we're not really. Some people made some stupid choices, is all." He shrugged. The way Scorpius said that was not so eager. It didn't sound like he wanted that.

Casey thought for a few seconds. "I really don't know. I mean... they're all great. Gryffindor is my least favorite, though--far too much bragging involved with bravery. Bravery is so overrated. Honestly, is punching a bully really that brave?" Scorpius shook his head. "I didn't think so."

Casey's new friend pressed on. "What about the other three?"

"I think I'd fit best in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff." Scorpius snorted. Casey rolled her eyes. "What the hell do you have against Hufflepuff?"

"Kindness is for sissies."

Casey gave him a look. "Hufflepuff isn't about kindness. It's about loyalty. Personally, I think Slytherin ties in well with both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. You know, something that connects those two houses. It makes sense, the color scheme. Green is blue and yellow put together. Ravenclaw is blue, Hufflepuff is red, and Slytherin is green. Gryffindor doesn't fit because it's too bright and there's no blue or yellow. That would explain the grouping, with the exception of the Hufflepuff Slytherin division."

It was now Scorpius's turn to give Casey a look. A long one. "You've really put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?"

"Yes, I have. Anyway, I'm a mix of all four houses but I think I'd do best in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw because I have a Gifted IQ, right below Genius, and I'm, like, possibly the most loyal person you'll ever meet according to Adrianna. I think I'm more on the Ravenclaw side, though. Adrianna says I'm a hell of a lot smarter than I let on because I don't try hard enough. I think she's right."

"Who's Adrianna?"

Casey dropped her head slightly to the left as a sign to say, isn't that obvious? "My unidentical triplet sister."

"Who's the other triplet?"

"Peter, unidentical brother."

Scorpius frowned. "Exactly how big is your family?"

"Quite large. So many people."

Scorpius didn't answer to that.

Casey took a deep breath. "What about your family?"

"I'm an only child."

Casey didn't say anything more. She suddenly felt very tired. It was probably a week's worth of missed sleep finally catching up to her. "I'm gonna take a nap. Is that okay?"

"Sure."

"Don't try anything."

"Why would I?"

"Dunno. Some people are creeps like that."

Casey took off her black leather jacket and bunched it up, then put it down on the seat to use as a pillow. She closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep to the rhythmic whirr of the train's engine, and a slow beating that she felt only in her mind.

- - -

Casey's dream began with a voice speaking to her. She couldn't see anything; the view was pitch black. The voice said very mysterious things. It whispered around her, toying with her mind. She couldn't make out much, but she heard a few words.

Stars fall to rivers, seasons twist and change

Strength comes in numbers, four cannot remain

Words, pictures, stories, that is how we know the past

Time twists, becomes the future, and the darkness strives to last.

Casey woke up when the train jolted forward. "Are we there yet?" she asked Scorpio, beginning to work out her dream. 

"Yeah. I can see a sign that says Hogsmead Station. My dad told me that's where we get off."

"Oh, crap, I need to change. I'll be a few minutes." Casey ran back to her original compartment, threw the trunk on the ground, and hopped in. She tossed on her robes messily and brushed her hair for a few seconds, then ran back out and grabbed her trunk after closing it. She found Scorpius outside. 

'We leave our stuff on the train," Scorpius told her. Casey nodded and threw the trunk back in the compartment.

"Well, aren't you just a darling little boy?" she said teasingly. Scorpius gave her a look, but he laughed along with her.