I leaned closer into the pages
in my paperback, hoping nobody noticed the small girl in the corner
reading dusty old books. But, of course, as it is with my luck, a
couple of peppy fourteen-year-olds with too much makeup and short
frilly skirts saw me.

“Oh my god! Look at her
pants! How long has it been since she's washed them?” One with
blond wavy hair glared in my direction.

“Probably like, a year!”
Another with long black hair screeched. I hunched over even farther,
trying to ignore all the stares in my direction, but in a few
seconds, I couldn't handle it anymore. I stood up, grabbed my book,
and walked briskly towards my mother to get my suitcase.

She saw me and immediately
started combing her fingers through my hair and tugging at my
clothes. I pulled away and grabbed my suitcase as she made a pouty
face.

“I'll miss you, Mom,” I
said. She smiled.

“I'll miss you too, honey,
I'm proud of you for all your good O.W.L.'s.” she said. I smiled
and gave her a hug.

“I'll see you at
Christmas.” she said as I stuffed my book in my bag.

“Yep. Bye, Mom.” I said
as I began to walk towards the platform. I walked a little faster,
until I opened my eyes again.

I saw owls swooping over
people's heads, students from eleven to seventeen bustling around,
looking for a door to the train. I heard the polite chatter of
parents talking with their children and giving them their farewells.

I breathed in the pleasing
aroma of fresh school supplies, Hogwarts uniforms, and yes, I'll
admit, I smelled a bit of owl dung as well.

Yup, this was home.

“Rachel!” I heard a
familiar voice yell from behind. I turned around to see my best
friend, Alice Brashan, grinning at me with her boyfriend, Frank
Longbottom, standing beside her.

My heart sank. Over the
summer, I had forgotten that Alice and Frank were together. I was
happy for Alice and all, and Frank was a nice guy, but I didn't get
any time with Alice. The two of them would study together, eat
together, sit in class together, and if I went with them, I felt too
awkward to explain in words, watching them hold hands and smile
romantically at each other. And, all right, fine, I'll admit it. I
was a little jealous of Alice, too.

“Blimey, it's been so long!
Tell me everything!” she said, then looked at her watch. “Well,
maybe not now. You wanna get a compartment with Frank and I?” I
sighed in relief that she hadn't called Frank Frankie-Poo or
something. I glanced at Frank, who smiled politely at me.

“No, thanks,” I said
finally. “I'll let you two be.” Alice looked disappointed for a
moment until Frank grabbed her hand and led her over to the train. I
waited awhile, recounting what had just happened, then came to my
senses and followed them to the train entrance.

After about thirty minutes of
looking for a compartment, I finally sank onto the floor in the back
of the train. I was determined not to sit with Alice and Frank. I had
had enough of them already.

I pulled out my book when
the train whistled one last time and one last boy walked into the
train. I recognized him immediately as one of the Marauders, the most
popular group at Hogwarts, but couldn't remember his name. He had
light brown hair and blue eyes that shone in the light. I dug myself
into my book and tried to pretend he wasn't there.

“You okay?” I looked up
and saw that he was talking to me. I shrugged.

“Yeah, no empty
compartments.” I muttered, not meeting his eyes. He cocked his head
to the side.

“You wanna sit with me?”
I looked up at him, making sure he wasn't joking. After all, the
Marauders were known for mischief. But this Marauder looked as
sincere as ever.

“Umm... sure, I guess.
Thanks.” I said, standing up and straightening my skirt. He pointed
to the left, where the last compartment was, and opened the door.

As soon as I walked in, I had
regretted my choice already.

Three boys and one girl were
squished in. The girl looked frustrated, with her arms and legs
crossed. She had bright red hair and green eyes. I recognized the boy
sitting beside her immediately. He had messy dark hair, hazel eyes,
this was James Potter, Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. He
was staring dreamily at the redhead, and tried to put his arm around
her every once in a while, but she slapped him away every time.

The boy sitting beside him
looked familiar too, though I couldn't remember his name. Simon?
Silas? He had dark hair that draped over his face in a sort of casual
elegance, and his gray eyes glittered with excitement when he looked
at me. He had his arms crossed and was smirking at me. I looked away
quickly and turned to the boy on the other side next.

He had light blond hair, and
reminded me of a mouse, with his small features and round face. He
giggled when he saw me, and I remembered seeing him following the
Marauders around in corridors.

I was always awkward around
boys. It seemed every time one caught my eye, I did something stupid
like trip over my feet or drop my books. So I had decided never to
talk to or be near boys. Girls, too, really, since Megan started
obsessing over Frank. So, sitting in a compartment with the most
popular group at school, well, I wanted to run out of the compartment
and hide in a corner.

“Who could this be, Moony?”
The boy beside James asked. The boy who led me here shrugged.

“She didn't have a
compartment, and I thought maybe she could squeeze in with us.” he
said. He turned to me. “Let me introduce you to my friends. This is
Sirius Black.” the guy said, gesturing towards the dark-haired boy.
He gave me that famous grin that most girls drooled over. I rolled my
eyes.

“But my friends call me
Padfoot.” he drawled. “You can too, my love.” My eyes widened
for a moment as the words sank in. Then I remembered that this kid
was the biggest flirt in the school, and brushed it off.

“This is James Potter. I
think you know him.” the boy continued. The James looked at me and
grinned mischievously.

“Yeah, I do. He's the kid
with the ridiculous amount of ego.” I said quietly, hoping no one
heard me. Unfortunately, Sirius heard me and muttered, “Sassy. I
like it.” I wrinkled my nose.

“I'm Remus Lupin.” the
guy with light brown hair said. I looked at him and saw how blue his
eyes were. He noticed me staring and smiled. I looked away as he
continued.

“This is Peter Pettigrew.”
The mousy boy grinned as Remus said his name. He waved at me
awkwardly, then giggled.

“And this is Lily Evans.”
he pointed at the redhead, who smiled tiredly as if to say, Welcome
to the club.

“Everyone,
this is -” Remus
looked at me guiltily, as if it were a horrible thing that he didn't
know my name.

“I'm
Rachel Wagner.” I said, silently praising myself because I didn't
stutter as much as I normally did.

Remus slipped into
the seat beside Peter and patted the spot beside him, looking at me.
I plunked down by him.

“You a seventh
year?” James asked. I nodded.

“Yeah, we are
too.” Lily muttered. James tried to hold her hand, and finally she
stood up, exasperated. She turned to me.

“Rachel, let's go
find another compartment. These guys are killing me.” she said.
James smirked and grabbed her by the waist.

“Lils, there's no
other empty compartments. You'll have to stick with us.” she shook
out of his grasp and turned to me urgently.

“Come on,
Rachel!” she pleaded.

“Sorry, no, I
think I'll stick with these guys.” I said. Out of the corner of my
eye, I saw Sirius Black wiggle his eyebrows at me and grin. I sighed
and sat back in my seat as Lily stormed out of the compartment and
slammed the door.

This was going to be a long
ride.