Amanda wheeled my luggage trolley through King’s Cross station while I chased after her with my shoulder bag biting down into my shoulder. I was trying to fight back tears and swallow my worries. Amanda, to her credit, did her best to keep me in a cheerful mood.

“I swear you’re the only girl getting on the Hogwarts Express with bright green nylon luggage,� she said, wheeling past the third platform and dodging a gaggle of pedestrians.

“What kind of train is this?� I asked. “How do they stop Muggles from getting on it?�

 

“It leaves from Platform Nine and Three Quarters,� Amanda said. “They’ve hidden it. You have to run through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. It’s like a secret passage in one of your video games.�

 

I frowned. “Amanda, platforms nine and ten aren’t even in this building. And they don’t have a barrier between them; they’re divided by—�

Amanda rolled the luggage trolley to a halt, and I looked up. Sure enough, the platforms in front of us were labeled nine and ten, with a solid brick barrier between them. Reality once again refused to stay in the box that I wished to shove it into.

“I stand corrected,� I said with a sigh.

Amanda stepped aside. “You want to do it?�

 

I stared at the barrier and nodded. “By the way, you should tell the wizards in charge of this place that I dig the liminality symbolism.�

“The what?� Amanda arched an eyebrow.

“Nothing.�

I rested my hands on the trolley’s handle and took a deep breath, then rushed at the barrier. My eyes snapped shut just before the trolley made contact with the brick, but the jolt I expected did not come. I felt a strange softness and give and then kept going, like pushing aside the control room curtain and emerging in the presence of the wizard of Oz.

 

When I heard commotion around me, I looked up from my metaphor to find myself surrounded by witches and wizards—young and old alike, running about, engaging in hugs and well wishes, farewells and greetings. Thankfully Amanda was wrong; there were a couple other young witches and wizards with green nylon luggage. Like me, they were clearly Muggleborn, looking around nervously and wearing modern fashions as opposed to the wonderfully retro-chic that wizards generally wore when they weren’t in robes. There was an enormous steam train, bright red, on the tracks beyond all the commotion.

 

I walked on out, a bit closer to the train, and heard Amanda emerge from the barrier behind me.

“Wow,� I said. “How do they hide this thing?�

 

“Dumb luck and liberal application of memory charms,� Amanda said.

She handed me a ticket, then knelt down, gently pulling on my shoulder to get me to turn around. I’ll never forget the look in her eyes that day; it was as though she saw something admirable in me. I think maybe it was courage she thought she saw, though I’m not sure if courage was really what gave me the ability to get on the train that day.

 

“Now listen,� she said. “I want you to write me every chance you get. Don’t think you’re betraying your faith, and don’t worry. If worse comes to worse, you can always come stay with me.�

 

I tried to fight back the tears that were fighting to come out, more because I was thinking of my parents than because of what Amanda said.

 

She flashed a smile to mask sadness. “Your parents will come around in time, Michelle.�

 

“Maybe,� I said. It felt like a lie.

 

“Good luck,� Amanda said, pulling me into a hug. “I’ll be praying for you.�

 

0000

 

I slid into one of the cabins on the train and stuffed my bags in the compartment above my head. I was terrified. The train started moving before I could sit down, so I practically fell into the seat. There were a couple more first years in the car with me, but from what I could hear both of them were born and bred in Wizarding culture. I felt out of place even among my supposed peers. The fact that I was a year older than they were and even less educated didn’t help.

 

“The Sorting is never a sure thing,� the one on the left said. “Everyone said my cousin was a genius, but he ended up in Hufflepuff.�

 

“Wow, rotten deal that,� the other said. “I hope I get put in Ravenclaw. Mum says I’m a right lot smarter than any of my sisters.�

 

I looked away. Amanda had told me a little about the Houses and getting Sorted, but she’d made it sound like a formality. She said she and Uncle Paul both knew they’d be Ravenclaws going in, and sure enough they were. She was sure I’d be a Gryffindor, the house where the brave people went. I thought she was probably wrong, but Ravenclaw didn’t sound like me either. I hated studying.

 

Hufflepuff, Amanda had said, was where ‘everyone else’ goes. She said that going to Hufflepuff isn’t really a bad thing, it just means that you’re too normal for the other houses.

“Normal is good,� I had said.

“Maybe,� replied Amanda.

Amanda didn’t really say much about Slytherin. She said it was for ‘ambitious’ students, but she said it with a tone that indicated ‘ambitious’ was a code-word for something else, and she didn’t want to elaborate. I got the idea that she did not like the Slytherin house.

 

“Anyway,� the boy on the right said, looking across the cabin at me. “What about you? You’re older than us, right? What house are you in?�

 

I blinked, startled out of my reverie, realizing that I had been fumbling with the little silver cross that dangled from my neck. “Um, I’ve not been sorted yet. I missed last year because of… parents. Just parents.�

 

“Ah,� he said knowingly. “Muggleborn then?�

 

I nodded. I didn’t elaborate, I just sat back and stared at the two of them, not sure whose turn it was.

“John Edgecombe,� the boy on the right said. He extended a hand. I reached out tentatively and finally shook it.

I smiled a bit. “Michelle Coplin,� I said.

 

“Endymion Summerby,� said the boy on the left. “You can call me Endy. In fact, I’d rather you call me Endy because nobody ever calls me Endymion unless I’m in trouble.�

 

I grinned. Endymion reminded me of Rupert.

“You afraid?� John asked. “I kind of am, and I’ve had relatives going to Hogwarts all my life. Weird stuff can happen there ya know. Cuz’ I heard last year there was a Death Eater that got himself hired as a teacher, and it turned out he had You-Know-Who wrapped up in his turban.�

 

“That’s just rubbish,� Endy said. “I saw that professor Squirrel when my cousin left last year and he was ‘fraid of everything. He’d die of a heart attack if he saw a photo of You-Know-Who?�

 

I blinked. “I don’t know who.�

 

John’s eyes widened. “You don’t know who?� He glanced at Endy. “She seriously doesn’t know who! I thought Muggleborns got all read up on the Wizarding World before they got on this train.�

 

I frowned. “Well, I did read a lot about Quidditch,� I said. “But I still have no idea who you’re talking about.�

 

“You need to,� Endy said. “You-Know-Who was the biggest, baddest Dark Wizard in the past fifty years. Lead a bunch called the Death Eaters.�

I blinked. “Them, I’ve heard of.�

 

John looked worried. “You better have, for your own sake. Anyway. You-Know-Who.� His voice dropped to barely a whisper. “Voldemort. He got it in his head he could be immortal and rule the world or some such, so he made himself an army of witches and wizards who wanted some of that action.�

“But then he got his arse kicked by a baby,� Endy said. “Well, he was a baby then. This was years ago. He went after some kid called Harry Potter, and BOOM! He blew up. Guess he couldn’t be too scary if a baby beat him, but he was a big deal then. And anytime parents wanna scare kids these days they just say ‘Don’t do that or You-Know-Who’ will get you, or ‘Be nice or you’ll wind up as the next You-Know-Who.’�

 

I cringed back in my chair. “A bad wizard, then?�

“The worst,� Endy said. “His mates called him The Dark Lord. Some people still do.�

 

I was thoroughly afraid this time, and feeling a bit ill. Even if this Voldemort guy was gone, who was to say that another one couldn’t show up? I flashed an apologetic smile at John and Endy and went out of the cart to the train’s lavatory. I felt clammy and sweaty, so I wiped my face off and tried to calm down for a minute. I knew there were bad wizards, but now there were Dark Lords too? I felt as though I’d been ripped from my life and stuck in a video game. Except I wasn’t the super-powerful hero with the magic sword. I was just an ordinary girl with a five-galleon wand and a set of second-hand robes. I took a deep breath and pulled on the chain around my neck, flipping the cross over and over between my fingers. The silver went from cold to warm as I clutched it, and I whispered prayers. Safety, for myself, for Amanda, for my parents. I didn’t understand why, if Amanda was right, God wanted me to be in this world.

 

And I wondered, that maybe my terror meant Amanda was wrong and I wasn’t supposed to be.

 

I decided to write her about it as soon as I was settled in.

 

As I made my way back towards the cabin, a boy started by me, about my height. He might have been cute, except that his face was scrunched up in a ferret-like sneer that made me want to punch him. And that was before he opened his mouth.

 

“Pardon me,� he said in a way that made me think he thought I should be the one asking for pardon. “Your filthy blood better not have fouled the lavatory.�

 

I stopped dead in my tracks and looked at him, impulsively stepping to block his movement. “What?� said. I was taken aback.

“You heard me,� the boy said. “I’m not in the mood to be civil. Suffice it to say I’ll be asking my father to lobby for separate lavatories for Pure Bloods next chance I get. Now get out of my way before I hex you.�

 

A voice behind me alerted me to someone coming down the aisle from the other direction.

 

“Why don’t you pick on someone who knows magic, Malfoy?� said a girl who stepped up beside us. She had very bushy brown hair that framed an intense face.

“I’ll be happy to, Granger,� the boy—Malfoy, apparently—barked. His drawl gave the awfulest impression of a snobbish rich person I’d ever heard. His hand moved towards the insides of his robes, but in a flash the girl’s arm raised, a small wand thrust into Malfoy’s face. His eyes flickered to it, and then to me and the girl.

“Neither of you are worth the effort,� he spat, stomping off. He sounded as though he were hurt, as if his ego had been slapped so hard that it stung. He went into the lavatory I’d just come out of and slammed the door. I stared at my rescuer and muttered a thank you.

“No problem,� he girl said. She extended a hand. “Hermione Granger.�

I realized I was probably still timid looking, but tried to put on a brave face and extended my own hand. “Michelle Coplin,� I said. “Who was that?�

 

“Draco Malfoy,� the girl explained. “A foul, loathsome little cockroach.�

 

Hermione glanced back his way again to make sure he was gone, and then grabbed my arm and practically dragged me towards another cabin. She shut the curtain on the door and sat down.

 

“Hopefully he’ll just go back to whatever dark hole he crawled out of,� Hermione said. “He’s a Slytherin, and most of them are bad news. Lots of Death Eaters came from that House.�

 

I frowned and sat down beside her. “I’ll keep that in mind. Um, I was actually sitting in another cabin,� I said. “Mind if I get back to it? You could come with, it’s not full.�

 

“Thanks,� Hermione said. “But no, I was also sitting with someone. I just wanted to ask you something in private.�

“Why me?�

“I’m asking everyone who looks honest, because it’s really bothering me. I’m looking for a couple boys who were supposed to be on this train. They’re my friends—Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter?�

 

“Harry Potter?� I said, arching an eyebrow. “The Harry Potter? The one that blew up You-Know-Who as a baby?�

 

Hermione’s eyes widened. I thought she’d laugh at first, but instead she frowned. “He didn’t blow him up. It’s complicated. But that’s beside the point. Harry doesn’t like being the center of attention, so his absence is rather conspicuous.�

 

“His absence?�

“Neither he or Ron showed up on the train today, and he and Ron are nearly inseparable. Ron’s brothers and his younger sister are here, but Harry and Ron aren’t. I looked all over and I’m starting to get worried. You’ve not seen them, have you? Perhaps at the train station?�

 

“What do they look like?�

“Ron is tall and ginger. Harry is, well, average. He has dark hair, with thick rimmed glasses and a scar on his forehead. You might have missed the scar because his hair covers it up.�

 

I tried to think back to the train station, but I was so preoccupied then thinking about my own problems that I hadn’t really paid any attention to the people around me. Michelle Coplin, I chided myself. Loving her neighbor as herself is the least of her priorities.

 

“I’m sorry. I haven’t seen either of them.�

Hermione nodded, her frown firmly in place. “Well, thanks anyway. I’ll keep asking around.�

 

We waited a few moments and until we heard Malfoy’s voice go by talking to someone who didn’t say anything back, and then Hermione opened the cabin door and ran on out. I sat in the car for a bit longer, checking my watch. We still had a long way to go before we got to Hogwarts, and I figured I could easily remember names like John Edgecombe and Endymion Summerby if I discovered anything missing from my bags, so I slid back on the seat and lay down across it to take a nap.

 

Before long my mind was swimming upstream through a series of vaguely remembered dreams, dreams that clicked and clacked along with the progress of the train, until finally arriving in a dark cave where a red, horned satanic figure that I knew was Lord Voldemort stood over me laughing a deep, echoing laugh.

 

I shook awake with the rumble of the train and looked around, squinting in the dim light. The sun was no longer overhead but arcing in through gaps in the curtains as we approached mid-afternoon. I stretched and then slumped back, my chin resting on my chest where I could feel the cold chain of my necklace against it. I was hungry and needed another trip to the lavatory, so I got up on wobbily knees and—�

 

“You smell of fear,� a voice intoned, right in front of me.

 

I felt as though a frigid, clammy hand seized my heart and stopped it dead, and I fell back into my seat. I let out a scream and demanded to know who had spoken.

 

The voice spoke again, and this time I noticed movement—the flapping of lips at first, and then an entire human body—nearly invisible against the dark backdrop of the seat opposite me. The colors of the seat dipped down and form legs against the wooden detailing, and also jutted up, becoming a shadowy midnight-blue head against the red wall of the train. Then the monochromatic boy flushed with color, his robes becoming black and his skin becoming a pale, sickly white. His eyes were bizarrely pink and his hair was even lighter than that of Draco Malfoy. Like some sort of ghoul, I thought.

 

“What are you?� I sputtered.

“A pubescent male human being,� answered the boy, his accent strangely difficult to place. “Of the Pure Blood Wizard variety, for all that’s worth.�

 

“Who are you, then?� I said. “Why were you hiding in here and why are you all white? How did you do that thing with the colors?�

 

“In order,� the boy said, “my name is Grant Danesti, I was hiding in here because I prefer to be alone, I’m white because I’m albino, and I taught myself Chamelomancy to hide from my sisters because they’re both wicked bints who I can’t defend myself against because of parental favoritism.�

 

I blinked. So he was just an albino? Not some kind of monster? I felt relieved and silly, but still horribly creeped out.

 

“And since I’m usually pretty good at guessing the questions people will ask about me,� Grant Danesti said, “Yes, I was in here when you and the other Muggleborn discussed the disappearances of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, and my accent is South African because I’m from a village outside Johannesburg. Any other details of my personal life you’d like to pry about?�

 

I looked at his eyes and they seemed less sinister than they had initially.

 

“I smell of fear?� I said, finally processing what he’d said to begin with. “What does that mean?�

 

“Exactly what I said.� Grant smiled, strategically displaying a canine tooth. “Fear is not always a bad thing. It’s advantageous to know when you’re outmatched.�

“Am I outmatched now?� I said, my hand slipping down towards my wand. I didn’t actually know any spells, but if Hermione What’s-Her-Name could scare Malfoy away by just pointing it, maybe I could bluff Grant as well. If I needed to. I fought the urge to gulp.

 

“Probably. Naturally, I know more magic than you, having grown up with a witch and wizard as my parents. But you don’t need to point your wand at me. I just want to talk. You seem like far more interesting conversation than anyone I’ve met on this train so far.�

 

“Do you scare the sod out of everyone you want to gab with?� I stood up. “You were watching me sleep. That’s beyond wrong.�

 

Before Grant Danesti could protest, I stomped out of the door and headed towards the lavatory, then back to the cabin where Endymion and John were both half-heartedly having a pretend dagger-fight with their wands. They conspicuously stopped when I walked in.

“Well that was a ruddy long pit-stop,� Endy said. He handed me what appeared to be a frog-shaped piece of chocolate. “Saved you some stuff from the sweets’ cart if you’re hungry. We still don’t get to eat supper for another three hours.�

 

I took the Chocolate Frog and fiercely bit its head off. I was hungrier than I had realized, and better yet, the chocolate helped ease the anxieties caused by my Voldemort-laced dreams and train-car encounters with creepy albino boys. I thought if things like this were the norm for the wizarding world, I’d at least be consoled by the fact I would never get bored.

 

0000

 

I was bored by the time the train clattered to a stop at Hogsmede Station, the sun sinking low now beyond the horizon casting its last rays up through the sky. Most of us had already changed into our robes by this point, while several students who had put it off were now scrambling to put them on. When we disembarked I saw an enormous bearded man calling for all the ‘Firs years’ to join him, and I hesitantly strode over to where he stood, praying that he wouldn’t eat us.

 

He told us that his name was Rubeus Hagrid and that he would take us across the lake on boats, leading us down a narrow path to the massive black lake. Hogwarts Castle gleamed in the distance, its towers and walls shining orange in the setting sun. Mr. Hagrid pointed to a fleet of fifteen boats tied up at the shore. I stared at the wooden vessels and wondered if they’d hold up under the giant man’s incredible girth.

 

“No more’n four to a boat,� he warned.

By the time we got loaded up, the cloud cover had increased and darkness was rolling in, but we cast off from the dock and were shortly halfway across the lake. In the night, the castle was lit up from the inside, dozens of windows shining flickering light out from within and casting light patches and shadows outside, an image reflected in the lake around us. My mouth stayed open the whole way, and I wondered if I was under some sort of magical trance. The spectacle of the castle distracted me from the chill of the evening. I had the urge to relax and I almost leaned back on a scared looking ginger girl who was biting on the sleeve of her robes.

 

Mr. Hagrid docked our boats on the castle side of the lake and led us up stone staircases to a huge oak front door that looked as solid as the stone walls of the castle. He knocked three times, and the door opened.

 

A tiny man greeted us with a smile. “Ah, the first years are here, and none of them wet this year. Fantastic.�

“Quaffle’s in yer pitch now, Professor Flitwick,� Mr. Hagrid said.

 

Professor Flitwick explained the sorting ceremony, and then led us into a massive hall lined with tables. Hundreds of students were already seated, chatting excitedly amongst themselves. I noticed that it was excessively bright, and I looked up to see hundreds of candles floating in the air above us, suspended by nothing. And above that, there seemed to be no ceiling, the room open onto the night sky.

“It’s enchanted. There is actually a roof up there,� said Endymion Summerby. He was in front of me in the single file line we had formed.

 

Some of them turned to stare at us as Professor Flitwick led us first years up towards the he front of the great hall, where, at the center of a table occupied by older witches and wizards that I assumed were the professors, Albus Dumbledore stood, his robes as flamboyant as ever.

I noticed at the front of the hall was a tall pointed wizard hat on a stool, and that everyone was looking at it expectantly.

 

Then the hat sang, and I nearly fell over from shock.

 

I may seem just a humble hat

But take a closer look

I know my stuff, so don’t doubt me

I’ll read you like a book!

 

Put me down upon your head

And let me take a peek

I can see your every thought

And know just what you seek

 

Learn you well, young wizards all

Practice your Wand and Broom

For though you may be wracked with doubts,

You shall need both quite soon.

 

If you’ve got brains to spare, my friend,

Then Ravenclaw’s your place.

There spells you’ll learn and grades you’ll tend,

Your OWLs and NEWTs you’ll ace.

 

If you have courage more than sense

Call Gryffindor your home.

With friends so brave at your defence

You’ll never fight alone!

 

But should you value guile the most,

And raw ambition prize,

Then Slytherin will take you in

And lift you to the skies.

 

If still your house you do not know

And have no fear of toil

Then into Hufflepuff you’ll go,

Where they are kind and loyal

 

The Sorting Hat leaned forward and grinned.

 

But if you prove a certain type

And the world ‘round you distorts

Then we’ll throw you in Sparklypoo

A private hell of sorts.

 

So step on up and set me down

Atop your weary brow.

I’ll sort you right, make no mistake

You’re in my ball court now.

 

Before I recovered from the shock, the Hat had finished its song and the four tables of students started applauding. I felt my heart beating even faster than the handclaps. Meanwhile, Professor Flitwick handed a rolled up piece of parchment to a tall aged woman in a pointed hat much newer and in better repair than the Sorting Hat. She unrolled it and stepped forward, started calling off names to come forth.

 

“Alonso, Gehenaa,� she called. A young black girl stepped forward and sat the hat on her head; we waited a few seconds before it shouted GRYFFINDOR! A cheer erupted from the table on the left side of the room and Gehenna Alonso ran over to that table with a grin on her face.

 

“Anaximander, Allen,� had his name called next. He was sorted into Ravenclaw.

“Aulin, Sypha,� was called forward, and sorted into Slytherin.

 

Three more young wizards went, then a witch. I zoned out by the time they got to Burton, Beth. Then I heard a name that started with ‘Ca’ called and I realized I’d be soon. The Hat didn’t miss a beat, shouting out the names of the house soon after it flopped down on the head of the student.

 

Celeste Cooper was sorted into Hufflepuff, and then…

“Coplin, Michelle!� called the tall witch. I froze solid, and the professor had to call my name a couple more times before I slowly crept forward and picked the Hat up, sitting down and adjusting my seating until I was comfortable before finally sitting it down on my head.

“Ohh?� the Hat said. “Yes, interesting. You find the unexpected in the smallest packages some time.�

“What?� I whispered.

“You’ve got some courage, yes,� the Hat said. “Brain is in good working order. But there’s something else in there. It’s deep, but I can feel it. It’s a dam waiting to break. You’re an audacious one.�

My stomach turned.

“Yes, I think this is the right choice. Yes indeed.� The Hat took a breath, and then loudly intoned a single world: “SLYTHERIN!�