What I'm Looking For...

I woke up at seven o’clock. It had been a month since I had gotten my Hogwarts things and had met Harry. I had gotten all my things ready the night before; my heavy trunk was sitting in the hallway by the door and I had put Calandra in his cage.

We all had breakfast and drove off to King’s cross, arriving at half past ten. As we were walking through the station; I spotted Harry Potter and a man, standing between platforms nine and ten; where we were heading. As we approached; I caught the last of their conversation.

“-seem to have built it yet, do they?” The man said in a nasty tone. “Have a good term” He left before giving Harry an even nastier grin. Harry stood for a second; not knowing what to do as he watched his family drive away; watching them laugh at him.

He spotted us just as he was about to walk up to a guard. He gave a sigh of relief and smiled at us.

“Hello there” I said; smiling back.

“Are you lost Harry?” My dad asked; trying to help him.

“Uhh, yes, sir. I don’t know where the platform is” A light red tinged his cheeks.
“It’s through there, son.” My dad said; pointing at ticket barrier between the two platforms. “We have to go now, sweetie, have a good term! Be safe!” My parents gave me and hug and kiss goodbye. Harry and I were now left by ourselves not knowing what to do.

Another thing about my parents is that they like me to figure things out by myself; without their help. Sometimes it was nice to have space to grow and learn for myself; but at times like these... Well you see my problem.

“Do you know how to...” Harry started; but I shook my head before he could finish. We stood around awkwardly, not knowing what to do. A group of people walked past and I could pick up a keyword in their conversation. ‘Muggle’. Me and Harry exchanged a look, before walking after them.

The lady who had spoken was quite plump and was talking to four boys with flaming red hair. Each boy was pushing a trunk, like Harry and I, in front of them, and they had an owl. When they stopped, so did we; just close enough to hear what they were saying.
“Now, what’s the platform number?” said the boys’ mother.

“Nine and three quarters!” Piped a small girl, who was also red-headed, and was holding her mother’s hand. “Mum, can’t I go...”

“You’re not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first.”
What looked like the oldest boy marched towards platforms nine and ten. We watched carefully, trying not to blink, but as the boy reached the divide between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of them. By the time they had past, the boy had vanished.

“Fred, you next” The woman said.

“I’m not Fred, I’m George” Said the boy “Honestly, woman, call yourself our mother? Can’t you tell I’m George?”

“Sorry George, dear”

“Only joking, I am Fred” Said the boy, and off he went. His twin called after him to hurry up and he must have, because a second later he was gone. I gave Harry a shocked look, which he returned. The second twin; George, walked briskly towards the ticket barrier – he was almost there- and then, suddenly, he wasn’t there. There was nothing else to it.

I started walking towards the woman; Harry following close behind.

“Excuse me” I said to her.

“Hullo, dears” she said “First time at Hogwarts? Ron’s new, too” She pointed to her last and youngest son. He was tall, thin and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet and a long nose.

“Yes,” Said Harry “The thing is – the thing is, we don’t know how to-“

“How to get on to the platform?” She said kindly, and Harry and I both nodded.

“Not to worry, all you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don’t stop and don’t be scared you’ll crash into it, that’s very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you’re nervous. Go on, go now before Ron” she said the last part to me.

I swallowed loudly; the barrier looked very solid. I started to walk but then thought; Hey screw it, and started to run, pushing down on the handles of the trolley. The barrier got closer and closer, and I closed my eyes, waiting for the moment where I’d hit the wall and look like a complete idiot.

The moment didn’t come, and I kept running. I opened my eyes and found a scarlet steam engine waiting next to the platform packed full of people. A sign over head said Hogwarts Express, 11 O’clock. I looked behind me and saw a wrought iron archway where the ticket box had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three Quarters on it.

Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every colour wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to each other in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks; Calandra joining in.

Harry ran in behind me; looking proud of himself. The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Harry and I stayed close together as we pushed out trolleys down the platform, in search of an empty seat. We passed a round-faced boy who was saying;

“Gran, I’ve lost my toad again.”

“Oh, Neville” I heard the old woman sigh.

A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd.

“Give us a look, Lee, go on”

The boy lifted the lid of the box in his arms and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hair leg. We kept moving through the crowd, until we finally found an empty compartment near the end of the train. We put Calandra and Hedwig, Harry’s owl, in first, then Harry started trying to lift his trunk up the steps, but dropping it on his foot.

“Want a hand?” I jumped and turned to see one of the red-haired twins we’d followed through the ticket barrier.

“Yes, please” Harry panted.

“Oi, Fred! C’mere and help!” He yelled at his twin; keeping me in mind I suppose.
Fred ran over and managed to pick up my trunk for me, getting it in the corner of the compartment next to Harry’s. I turned to Fred and smiled in thanks; he nodded in return.
“Thanks” said Harry, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes.

“What’s that?” George asked, pointing at Harry’s lightning scar.

“Blimey,” Said Fred. “Are you-?”

“He is” Said George “Aren’t you?”

He added to Harry.

“What” said Harry confused.

“Harry Potter” chorused the twins.

“Oh, him” Said Harry “I mean, yes, I am”

The twins gawped at him and Harry started to go red. I didn’t want to say anything, so I sat down and tried to put up my long, blonde hair. I waited until finally a voice came through the train’s open door.

“Fred? George? Are you there?”

“Coming, Mum”

With a last look at Harry and his scar, the twins headed for the door. They stopped to say goodbye and one pair of their brown eyes landed on me for a second before turning to hop off the train with his brother.

Harry sat opposite me next to the window, where we watched the red-haired family on the platform and listened to what they were saying. Their mother had just taken out her handkerchief.

“Ron, you’ve got something on your nose.” The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose.

“Mum – geroff” he wriggled free.

“Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?” Said one of the twins.

“Shut up” said Ron.

“Where’s Percy?” said their mother

“He’s coming now.” The eldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes and I noticed a shiny silver badge on his chest with the letter P on it.

“Can’t stay long, Mother” he said “I’m up front, the prefects have two compartments to themselves-“

“Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?” Said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. “You should have said something, we had no idea.”

“Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it” Said the other twin, “Once–”

“Or twice –”

“A minute –”

“All summer –”

“Oh, shut up” Said Percy the Prefect.

“How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?” Said one of the twins.
“Because he’s a prefect” said their mother fondly “All right, dear, well, have a good term – send me an owl when you get there.” She kissed Percy on the check and he left. Then she turned to the twins.

“Now, you two – this year, you have to behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you’ve – you’ve blown up a toilet or –“

“Blown up a toilet? We’ve never blown up a toilet.”

“Great idea though, thanks, mum”

“It’s not funny. And look after Ron”

“Don’t worry; ickle Ronniekins is safe with us”

“Shut up” Said Ron again. He was nearly as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother rubbed it.

“Hey, Mum, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?” I saw Harry lean away from the window.

I looked at him; at his scar. It was the first time I’d ever really noticed it.

“Um, Harry, I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but, uhh, who dropped you off at the station?” I asked.

“My uncle Vernon” Harry replied dryly.

“Do you live with them?”

“Yes; ever since I was a baby.”

They turned back to the window and heard the mother of the boys talking in a stern voice.
“I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don’t you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school” It wasn’t hard to guess what they were talking about, and I chewed the inside of my cheek guiltily.

“All right, keep your hair on” Just then a whistle sounded.

“Hurry up!” Their mother said, and the boys climbed onto the train. They leaned out a window for her to kiss them goodbye and their younger sister began to cry.

“Don’t, Ginny, we’ll send you loads of owls”

“We’ll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat”

“George!”

“Only joking, Mum”

The train started to move, and I saw the boys’ mother waving, and their sister; half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it was too fast for her to keep up. Houses flashed by the train, and Harry and I talked excitedly about Hogwarts.

The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest red-headed boy walked in.

“Anyone sitting there?” He asked, pointing at the seat next to Harry. “Everywhere else is full”

“No, go for it” I said, and Harry nodded his head in agreement.

“Hey, Ron.” The twins were back.

“Listen, we’re going down the middle of the train – Lee Jordan has a giant tarantula down there”

“Right” Mumbled Ron.

“Harry,” Said the other twin, “did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother.” I pulled my legs up to my chest, hugging myself, and turned to look out the window; feeling totally left out of the conversation.

The compartment was filled with an awkward silence. One of the twins cleared their throats, and I got such a fright by how close it sounded; I nearly jumped. I turned and found one of them sitting next to me. I straightened up; crossing my legs under me.

“So what’s your name, Blondie?” He said, nudging me with his arm.

“Corey, Corey Samuels”

“Well, nice to meet you, Corey” He said; ruffling my hair; causing the hair tie to fall out. I blew hair out of my eyes, but smiled anyway.

“Well we better get going, see you later.” They said, and left the cabin. Ron gave me a weird look before turning to Harry.

“Are you really Harry Potter?” He blurted out. Harry nodded.

“Oh – well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George’s jokes.” He said. I turned to the window again “And have you really got – you know...”

Out of the corner of my eye; I could see him pointing at Harry’s forehead. Harry pulled back his fringe to show the lightning scar; while Ron stared at it.

“So, that’s where You-Know-Who-?”

“Yes, but I can’t remember anything”

I tuned out of their conversation, only picking up a couple of things, while I stared at the scenery we passed. I had a feeling not many people were going to like me here. I sighed and stood up; interrupting a conversation that Ron and Harry were having. There was now a fat, grey rat sleeping on Ron’s lap.

“I’m going to go get changed.” I said, walking to my trunk and grabbing my robes. I got changed in the bathroom and also fixed up my hair; which was a total mess after what one of the twins had done to it.

I trudged back to the compartment, and when I got back, found a girl with lots of bushy brown hair, sitting in my seat, in the middle of talking.

“- off by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough – I’m Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?”

“I’m Ron Weasley” Ron muttered

“Harry Potter” said Harry.

“Are you really?” said Hermione “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 Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century.”

“Am I?” Harry said, looking in a bit dazed.

“Goodness, didn’t you know, I’d have found out everything I could if it was me” Hermione said. I decided I’d move out of the doorway and put my stuff in my trunk again, making myself noticed.

“You didn’t have to be him to find out everything; you’ve done a brilliant job doing it yourself.” I said sitting next to Ron. I really don’t like new people; but I liked Ron over Hermione, she just seemed really annoying.

“Who are you?” Hermione said, her eyes going from Ron to me, before settling on me.
“Corey Samuels. And you’re Hermione Granger.” I said; her expression was a mixture of fright and shock. I laughed and added “I’ve been standing in the doorway for a while listening to your conversation.”

“Oh...” Hermione said, before changing the topic. “Do any 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 one, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn’t be too bad... Anyway, we’d better go look for Neville’s toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we’ll be there soon” She said to Harry and Ron, before leaving with the toadless boy.

“Whatever house I’m in, I hope she’s not in it” I said.

“Stupid spell – George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud” Ron said throwing his wand back into his trunk.

“What house are your brothers in?” asked Harry.

“Gryffindor” Said Ron. Gloom seemed to surround him, and I moved back to my seat. “Mum and Dad were in it too. I don’t know what they’ll say if I’m not. I don’t suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin.”

“That’s the house Vol- I mean, You-Know-Who was in?” asked Harry.

“Yeah,” Said Ron, he flopped back into his seat looking depressed.

“So what do your oldest brothers do now they’ve left, anyway?” I asked, trying to keep a conversation going. I’d picked up a bit of their conversation earlier to know that Ron had two older brothers who had already left Hogwarts.

“Charlie’s in Romania studying Dragons, and Bill’s in Africa doing something for Gringotts” Said Ron. “Did you hear about Gringotts? It’s been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don’t suppose you get that with the Muggles – someone tried to rob a high security vault”

“Really?” I asked, shocked. My dad had told me that Gringotts was one of the safest places in the magical world.

“What happened to them?” Harry asked

“Nothing, that’s why it’s such big news. They haven’t been caught. My dad says it must’ve been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don’t think they took anything, that’s what’s odd. ‘Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who’s behind it.” Ron said.

“What’s your Quidditch teams?” He asked us. Me and Harry exchanged a look, before we turned to Ron again.

“We don’t have any.” We said in unison.

“What!” Ron looked dumbfounded. “Oh, you wait, it’s the best game in the world –“ Ron then started talking about the four balls, the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he’d been to with his brothers and the broomstick he’d like to get if he had the money. He was just taking us through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slide open.

Three boys entered.

“Is it true?” Said the pale, middle one. “They’re saying all down the train that Harry Potter’s in this compartment. So it’s you, is it?”

“Yes” said Harry. I looked at the boys beside the middle one; they both looked thickset and mean. Standing beside the pale boy they looked like bodyguards.

“Oh, this is Crabbe and Goyle,” Said the pale boy carelessly, noticing that I was looking. “And my name’s Malfoy, Draco Malfoy.” Ron tried to hide a snigger with a cough, and Draco looked at him. “Think my name’s funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles and more children than they can afford.”

He turned back to Harry.

“You’ll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don’t want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there.” He held out his hand to shake Harry’s but Harry didn’t take it.

“I think he can tell who the wrong sorts of friends are himself, thanks” I said coldly. Draco Malfoy gave me a death glare.

“And, who are you?”

“I’m Corey Samuels, not that it matters much to you” I said.

“Samuels, aye?” Malfoy said; thinking it over, mumbling something under his breath. He walked closer to the three of us. I stood up, showing that I really didn’t want him any closer.
“Your family is very high up, Corey. I would hate to see you wasting your time with losers like these” He said, nodding his head at Ron and Harry. “Why not join a higher rank of wizards and witches?”

“Why do you care anyway, Malfoy” I hissed but ducked my head, realising how mean I must’ve sounded. I regained my confidence quickly and looked up again.

“Because, as I just said; I can get you places you need to go; higher places.” He said proudly. I have a feeling he’s one of those people that thinks he’s all that; when he really isn’t.

“I think I’ve found my way just fine.” I said, crossing my arms over my chest; a serious expression on my face.

“Why don’t you just stuff off Malfoy?” Ron said, standing up to join me at my side.
“Shut up, Weasley.” He snapped at Ron, before turning back to me “The offer stands anytime you change your mind, Samuels. I’d be careful if I were you, Potter. 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 hang around with riff-raff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid and it’ll rub off on you.”

Harry now stood up too, and stood on my other side. It was a bit squishy in the compartment but we didn’t care. Ron’s face was as red as his hair.

“Say that again” He said.

“Oh, you’re going to fight us, are you?” Malfoy asked.

“Unless you get out now” Harry said.

“Plus you wouldn’t hit a girl, would you now?” I said, pouting at him.

“But we don’t feel like leaving, do we, boys? We’ve eaten all our food and you still seem to have some.” Goyle reached for the chocolate frogs next to Ron – Ron leapt forward, but before he’d so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell.

Ron’s rat was hanging from his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle’s knuckle – Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once. Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they’d heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione was back.

“What has been going on?” she said, looking at the candy all over the floor and Ron picking his rat up by its tail.

“I think he’s been knocked out” Said Ron to Harry. He looked closer at Scabbers. “No – I don’t believe it – he’s gone back to sleep.”

“Have you met Malfoy before?” I asked Harry. He explained how he’d met him in Diagon Alley, while they were both getting their robes.

“I’ve heard of his family” Ron said darkly. “They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they’d been bewitched. My dad doesn’t believe it. He says Malfoy’s father didn’t need and excuse to go over to the Dark Side” He turned to Hermione “Can we help you with something?”

“You’d better hurry up and put your robes on, I’ve just been up the front to ask the driver and he says we’re nearly there. You haven’t been fighting, have you? You’ll be in trouble before we even get there!”

“Scabbers has been fighting, not us” Said Ron, scowling at her. “Would you mind leaving while we change?”

“All right – I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childish, racing up and down the corridors.” Said Hermione in a sniffy voice. “and you’ve got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?”

I left with Hermione to let them get changed, and I stood in the corridor, Hermione walking away. I think it’s because the glare Ron gave her when we were leaving. I sat against the wall. I don’t know what Hermione was talking about; the corridor was dead quite.

“Hey Blondie!” I turned to look down the corridor, and found the twins walking my way.

“It’s Corey” I corrected them.

“Okay, Blondie” One of them said; I couldn’t tell if he was Fred or George. I shook my head at them; smiling.

“What’re you doing out here?” Said one of them.

“All by yourself” Added the other.

“They’re getting changed” I nodded towards the door.

“Then why are you out here? You should be in there, gurl!”

“Eww! No; gross; Boys!” I poked my tongue out in fake disgust.

“What are we then?”

“It’s different; you’re older. It’d be weird” I informed them.

“That’s ageist!” They said in unison.

“Oh, hush up, you two. You’re such children” I complained; hitting them both on the arm. At that moment; 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.”

People started coming out of their compartments and pushing their way down the hallway.
“Good luck with the sorting, Blondie.” One of the twins said.

“We’ll see you around.” Said his brother.

With that, they were gone. Harry and Ron appeared. The train slowed down and finally stopped. People pushed their way towards the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. I grabbed hold of their hands so we didn’t get separated; I was too scared to face this alone.