“Why is it called platform nine and three quarters?” Hermione asked, looking around with a squint. There were no clouds in the sky and the sun was shining brightly in their eyes. 

Andi smiled with amusement as she looked at Hermione. “Because it’s between platforms nine and ten.”

“Is that it? Wouldn’t it be platform nine and a half, then?” Hailey asked, a puzzled expression on her face.

Andi just shrugged, as Hermione’s parents looked at each other with puzzled looks as well. 

Hermione giggled. “This is what happens when you don’t provide a proper mathematics curriculum.”

Hailey burst into peals of giggles herself. “You think that it’s named three quarters, because wizards can’t count?” 

Laughing as well, Dora clapped Hailey on the back as she bent over from the amusing thought that mages could do magic, but couldn’t count to ten. 

“Well, when you put it like that…” Andi began, laughter tugging at her lips and sparkling in her eyes. “No, actually it’s only because the entrance is closer to platform ten than it is to platform nine.”

Hermione nodded. “Ah, makes a bit more sense then.”

Looking around, Hailey tried to spot the distinctive red hair on the Weasleys. Ginny said she was coming to see her brothers off to Hogwarts and Hailey was looking forward to seeing her again before school started. 

In the last month after Hailey’s birthday party, she, Ginny and Hermione had spent as much time together as they could. Hermione liked it best when they’d spent time at Hailey’s house. Whenever they spent time at The Burrow, Ginny and Hailey would inevitably be pulled into playing a game of quidditch with Ginny’s brothers. Hermione was fascinated by how the brooms and quidditch worked, but had a hard time using a broomstick. 

Ginny had been fascinated by Hermione’s home the one time all three of them had gone. She had been delighted in the technology that muggles had developed to provide what magic did for mages. The computer was something that Ginny had been particularly interested in. 

“Hailey! Hermione!”

Hailey noticed the bright red hair of the Weasley family just as Ginny had called out as she started running when she had spotted Hailey and Hermione. It warmed her heart that Ginny and Hermione had become friends. It had felt a little awkward at first, but now that seemed to be behind them. 

Hugging Hailey and Hermione at the same time, Ginny let go, blushing when Fred and George wolf-whistled. 

“Hi, Ginny. I’m glad you came.” 

Ginny looked at her feet shyly, her cheeks still pink. “Of course I came. I wouldn’t want to miss seeing my friends off to Hogwarts for the first time.”

Hailey could hear Ron grumbling under his breath, something along the lines of ‘what about me’. 

Fred and George abandoned the trolleys of luggage they had been pushing and grabbed one of Ron’s arms each, clinging to him tightly and pulling him away from his trolley. “It’s okay, ickle Ronniekins, we wouldn’t miss your first time going to school!” the twins said in over the top sweet voices at the same time as they attempted to start skipping with him between them. 

Going bright red from embarrassment, Ron shrugged his brothers off of him. “Clear off, you lot.”

“Boys! Leave your brother alone,” Molly sighed at her sons, before turning to Hailey, the Tonks family, and the Grangers. “Good morning, ladies. Ready for your first day of school, Hailey, Hermione?”

Both Hailey and Hermione greeted Mrs. Weasley warmly, with Hermione introducing her parents as well. When they went to The Burrow, Hermione and Hailey went directly there from Hailey’s home after staying over for the night, so their parents had never actually met.  

Hermione had gotten the chance to meet Molly a second time, and get to know her a little better, when Ginny invited Hailey and Hermione over for her birthday. 

Once all the introductions had been done, Andi turned to the group. “We should go and get you situated, the train departs in twenty minutes.”

Hailey pushed her way through the magical barrier, making sure to not consume the magic, after Andi had pulled aside Hailey, Hermione and her parents to explain how they entered the magical platform. 

Quickly moving out of the way, Hailey kept her wonderment at seeing the beautiful old steam train on the platform. Red shiny paint easily visible through the steam and the various mages moving about. Hundreds of young witches and wizards were giving their goodbyes to their parents and boarding the train's many carriages. 

A loud gasp sounded out behind her as Hailey turned and saw Hermione push through the magical barrier with her parents. 

“Oh my, I certainly wasn’t expecting that for magical transport,” her father stated. 

“I told you this is what Hogwarts used, don’t you remember?” Hermione replied. 

Hailey left her friend to speak with her parents as she spotted Ginny push her way through the barrier, closely followed by Ron, the twins, Molly and finally Percy. Andi and Dora came through almost at the same time with their luggage, laughing about something between them. Hailey’s good mood dropped as a cold ball of pain bubbled up inside her chest, she would never get to experience that sort of interaction with her mother, and it wasn’t as if she had any happy interactions with her Aunt like that. With a sigh, she turned away, wiping the single tear that fell, smudging her glasses in the process. 

“Are you alright, Hailey?” Ginny asked, flapping her arms like she was going to go for a hug but changed her mind. Hailey sniffled, before leaning over and hugging Ginny. “I’m better now,” she said, before letting go, already missing the warmth of the hug. 

Ginny’s face flushed red as she stammered out her thankfulness. Hailey smiled at her bashfulness. She had literally hugged Hermione and her just earlier, but this somehow made her shy. 

A sharp whistle sounded out suddenly, making Hailey wince and hold her eyes, most of the students that had been taking their time now moving towards the train at a quicker pace. 

“Oh, no! We can’t miss the train!” Hermione said, panic seeping into her voice. Her hands flapped a little as she turned to her parents, and specifically her father, who was holding her trunk. 

He gently handed Hermione her luggage. “Here you go, sweetheart! Have a great time at school. We’ll see you in the Christmas holidays,” hesitantly, Ethan Granger put his arms up for a hug, smiling when Hermione stepped into it. 

Hailey turned away, trying to suppress the tug of desire for that interaction with her parents. Only to be engulfed by Andi hugging her. “Have a good trip, Hailey. Don’t forget to owl me whenever you can, got it? I want to know that you’re settling in well.”

With tears threatening to break free, Hailey hugged Andi tightly, nodding her head, not trusting herself to talk just yet. 

“Don’t worry, Mum. I’ll take her under my wing,” Dora said, patting Hailey’s shoulder affectionately. 

Andi squeezed Hailey tighter momentarily, before pulling back to look into her face with a warm smile, then glancing at Dora, her eyes dancing with mirth. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”

Hailey couldn’t help but giggle as she looked over and saw Dora pouting. “Hey, I’m not that bad!”

With a snort, Andi shook her head. “Not that bad? You disrupted an entire day of potions for the school with your little prank in the dungeons.”

Dora shrugged, dropping her pout. “Well… when you put it that way, anything sounds bad!”

“Just… get on the train already,” Andi sighed, still smiling at her daughter. “And please, take care of your…” Andi stopped mid sentence, glancing at her before looking at Dora again. “Of Hailey.”

If Hailey didn’t know any better, she would’ve thought that Andi was a little nervous or worried about something. With a frown, she shook her head, it wasn’t her place, she thought. If Andi had wanted to tell her something, she would when she’s ready. 

A gentle tug from Hermione on her arm separated her from Andi. “Hailey! Come on, let’s go!” 

With a smile at Andi and a quick goodbye, Hailey picked up her trunk and Olette’s cage. Thankfully, Andi had cast the feather-light charm on her trunk, making it a lot easier to transport. 

Hailey saw Ginny waving to a nervous Hermione, before she quickly hugged Hailey herself, Ginny’s face blushing as she stepped away and looked at the ground. With a quick wave and a goodbye to Andi, Ginny and Molly, Hailey climbed on board the train, helped up by Hermione holding Olette for her. Dora hugged Andi, gave them all a salute, and hopped on the train after Hailey. 

Dragging their luggage through the train carriages, Hailey, Hermione and Dora searched for any empty compartments that they could use. It was only after they had travelled half the train that Hailey realised that the Weasleys had vanished. Finally near the back, they found an almost empty carriage, except for a young boy holding a toad and looking nervously at them as they peered in. 

Gesturing at the spare seat in the cabin, Dora spoke to the boy. “Is this spot taken? Can we sit here? Almost everywhere else is full.”

The boy looked between the three girls anxiously, before he hesitantly nodded his head. 

Dora smiled happily at him, before dragging her luggage inside, gesturing for Hailey and Hermione to follow. “You don’t have to just yet, but don’t forget to change into your school uniform before you arrive.”

Hailey happily nodded at the girl she was starting to see as her older sister. She was surprised at how fast that had happened, but then again, her home life had been terrible before she arrived. 

“I’m Dora, this is Hermione and my little sister, Hailey.” Dora gestured at them as she spoke. Hailey’s eyes widened and immediately became damp as Dora called her her little sister. It was the first time she’d said it, but it was the first time she’d introduced her like that. 

The nervous boy waved at them one handed, before panicking as his toad hopped out of his distracted hands. “Trevor! No!” He shouted, lunging forward to catch his pet, narrowly missing. 

“Accio Trevor!” Dora shouted, pointing her wand and deftly catching the toad as it flew into her hands. “Here you go, one wayward toad,” she said, handing off the toad in question. 

Blushing, the boy gave his thanks. “I’m Neville, by the way, Neville Longbottom.” 

Hailey could see Dora’s face drop a little as something sad passed her thoughts, but her sister – a warmth filled her chest as she thought that – kept her smile as she greeted Neville. She wondered at Neville. His name showed her that he was a good person, dependable and loyal, but most of all, a hard worker. She decided that she would like to be his friend if he would like that. 

Suddenly the train door burst open, and Ron bustled in, dragging his trunk with him. “Blimey, remind me to not travel with those gits ever again. Is it okay if I travel with you? Fred and George are with Lee, and are acting like complete tossers, and Percy is… well, Percy.”

Getting comfortable next to Hermione, Hailey leaned into her side as she nodded to Ron. “Sure, I don’t mind. Ron, this is Neville Longbottom. Neville, this is Ron Weasley. Ron’s a friend of ours.”

Neville’s eyes lit up in recognition. “I’ve heard of the Weasleys before. Gran said that your family were big supporters of Dumbledore, fighting You-Know-Who.”

Hailey shuddered slightly at hearing Dumbledore’s name. She wasn’t sure whether it was just the name itself, or the way that Neville spoke it. Full of hero worship and admiration. 

Ron blushed slightly at the praise to his family, and settled in to chat with Neville. 

Hailey glanced at Hermione, raising an eyebrow when she looked back as the two boys chatted. Blushing, Hailey suddenly noticed that she was holding Hermione’s hand without realising it. A gentle squeeze of her hand and a smile, showed her that her friend didn’t seem to mind the contact. And so the two girls sat side by side, holding hands, pulling out Mumbo Jumbo and Other Magical Fallacies by Fredrick Franks that Hailey had bought to read together as they waited for the train to depart. 

They had barely started when, with a loud squeal that made Hailey wince, the train started moving. Hailey had to let go of Hermione’s hand and cover her ears as high pitched noises pierced her skull, instantly giving her a headache. 

Dora grabbed her shoulder gently, giving her a concerned look. “Are you okay, Hailey?”

Hailey winced as she shook her head before replying. “The train is really loud. You can’t hear it?” 

“I hear it too, although for me, it’s not that loud,” Hermione said, wincing too as she gently rubbed Hailey’s back. She was surprised that Hermione naturally touched her so easily, especially since Hermione herself said she usually didn’t like getting touched often, and wasn’t a touchy-feely person. 

“I’ve got a hex that I can use, unfortunately, it’ll cut out your hearing entirely,” Dora offered. 

Hermione smiled. “That might be a good idea. At least for a little while. Once the train hits its max speed, it should quieten down. It’ll be when it starts to slow that it’ll get loud again.”

Nodding at Dora, Hailey waited for her to cast the spell. “Please, it hurts,” she couldn’t help but whimper, not even caring that Ron and Neville were watching curiously. 

With a grim, compassionate look on her face, Dora nodded back and pointed her wand at Hailey. “Indicens.”

Suddenly, blissfully, the loud screeching of the train dropped to a quiet background hum. Hailey was surprised, she had assumed it would remove the noise entirely. 

“How’s that? Did it work?” Dora asked, tapping her shoulder. She sounded like she was speaking underwater. 

Hailey nodded. “It worked, though I can still hear a little bit.”

Dora looked surprised, before she got a cheeky grin. “You didn’t eat it, did you?”

Rolling her eyes, Hailey poked her tongue out at Dora, not bothering to answer. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Ron and Neville looking at her strangely. 

After a moment of awkward silence, Dora turned to the two boys. “So, what houses are you hoping to get into?”

Ron puffed up his chest – the image made Hailey want to giggle. “I’m hoping that I’ll get into Gryffindor myself.”

Nodding with a smile and a teasing twinkle in her eye, it was clear she wanted to laugh as well, Dora turned to Neville. “And you?”

Neville had started relaxing being around all these new people, when he suddenly went stiff, glancing around anxiously when Dora talked to him. “Umm, Gr-Gryffindor, as well…”

“What about you two?” Dora asked, looking at Hailey and Hermione with a raised eyebrow. 

“Ravenclaw,” they both said immediately. 

Dora rolled her eyes. “Of course you would, nerds,” she muttered, but her tone was warm, endearing. 

Hailey and Hermione had spent the last two months talking nearly everyday, and a considerable topic of discussion had been which house they’d prefer to be put in, and based on their desire to learn, Ravenclaw made the most sense. Besides, Hailey thought that it felt right for her. 

Ron frowned. “But, but, everyone knows Gryffindor is better!”

Hailey raised an eyebrow at Ron. “Oh? How so?” If Ron picked up on her tone of voice, he didn’t show any signs of it. 

“Because it is, it just is. Besides, all of my family have been Gryffindor. I couldn’t break that tradition.”

Smirking, Hailey crossed her arms. “So what you’re saying is that you’re too afraid to do something that your family might not approve of. I thought Gryffindors were meant to be brave?”

“Besides, wouldn’t you want to get away from your brothers? If you’re in the same house as them, it’ll be no different to living with them all year.”

The youngest Weasley son spluttered, his face turning as red as his hair. 

“Nothing wrong with being a Hufflepuff. You get to live with all of your friends for the school year,” Dora pouted. 

Hailey patted her adopted sister’s knee and laughed. “They’re just too nice to tell you otherwise, dear sister.”

Dora gasped. “Hey! I don’t have to take this, I could go hang out with all of my friends you know!”

“There aren't any empty carriages left,” Hailey quipped, trying hard to keep a straight face. 

The faux-outrage on Dora’s face made Hailey lose her self control and burst into peals of giggles with Hermione chuckling beside her. 

“Brat, you take that back!” Dora shouted, before diving in and tickling Hailey relentlessly. 

After squirming and giggling for what felt like far too long to Hailey, if her struggle to breathe, pounding heartbeat, and her hot, flushed face were any indication, she finally relented and told Dora what she wanted to hear. “Alright, alright. I take it all back! Everyone is your friend, you’re the life and light of any party!” She managed to gasp out, in between giggles. 

Dora gave them a victory pose, preening under ill begotten praise. “And, don’t you forget it, young lady!”

Picking herself up off the floor with Hermione’s help, Hailey settled herself into her seat, pulling out one of the many Witch Weekly magazines that Ginny and Ron gave to her for her birthday. 

Hailey smiled to herself as she read over the articles with her best friend. It interested them both, seeing little snippets of this vast new, and strange magical world they found themselves a part of. Even the magazine’s images moved and interacted, it was fascinating. 

“Oh, we’ve got to try out this potion recipe! I’d love to see what it’d do for my hair,” Hailey said, pointing to the article in question. 

Hermione leaned over to get a closer look. “I swear by Merlin that this potion has saved me many hours of combing my messy hair. One treatment a day and it gets smooth wavy hair, no problem!” She read out loud, looking sceptical, but hopeful, running a hand through her own bushy hair. 

“Just make sure that any recipes you try in Witch Weekly, have a genuinely verified label on it first. Some people like to send in nasty recipes to try and ruin someone’s day. You wouldn’t want to apply a potion like that, only to get your hair to fall out, would you?” Dora cautioned, glancing at the article. “Ah, see here?” She pointed at a little emblem. “That means it’s been verified by the magazine. But still, I’d send it and ask mum first – or perhaps even Snape.” 

“Who?” Hailey asked, curiously. The name gave her slight chills, but she wasn’t sure why. She noted that Dora didn’t look terribly sure of whether or not to ask Snape, so she guessed that her sister didn’t entirely trust him either. 

“Professor Snape. He’s a right old git, from what my brothers tell me,” Ron spoke up suddenly. 

Dora nodded slowly. “Severus Snape. The Professor for potions.”

Hailey couldn’t suppress the shiver as she heard his name for the first time. She didn’t get much, but what she did get from it confused and frightened her. It felt like there was a lot of love and hate in his name. 

“Are you alright, Hailey?” Hermione whispered into her ear, breaking her out of her thoughts. 

Nodding, Hailey smiled at Hermione. “Yeah, sorry, just his name…” she trailed off, shivering a little bit. “Let’s just relax and read, shall we?” She asked, pushing her glasses back up her nose. 

Hermione smiled at her. “I’d like that.”

By the time that the Hogwarts Express began slowing down, Hermione and Hailey both had gotten good at casting the silencing hex that Dora taught them, had read several more of the Witch Weekly magazines and finished the magical book they had started. She didn’t know how her first night at Hogwarts would go, but so far, the train ride had been relaxing. But being at Hogwarts, learning how to use magic, that was just the beginning, and Hailey’s excited smile couldn’t be contained as she stood up and followed the others out to her new life.