"You know, even though Hagrid told me about you, I was still worried I wouldn't recognize you..." Harry pulled a photograph from his bag. "Look, you look exactly like Mum, while I take after Dad."
This was an ordinary photograph that Harry had found in Aunt Petunia's wardrobe. Dudley had sprayed soda all over those clothes, and Harry had been the one who had to clean them up.
Allie leaned in to look. This was also the first time she had ever seen what her parents looked like.
They really looked so much alike...
"Rumble..." That was the sound of Harry's stomach growling. He hadn't eaten anything since morning, and because he had been so engrossed in listening to Ron talk about Allie, he hadn't gone to grab any snacks yet.
"I have an apple pie here, and it's still warm. Have this!" Allie pulled a small paper box out of her pocket.
Harry took it and took a huge bite. "Did you make this? It tastes pretty good." He had learned from people who had younger siblings that the golden rule was to dish out plenty of praise; that way, he would become a good older brother.
"If peeling an apple counts as making it, then she certainly did," Ron said, pushing open the compartment door and stepping inside. "Sorry, I don't really mean to interrupt you two, but Fred and George said Jordan got a big bag spider... and you know how much I hate those."
Allie smiled. "It's fine, we'll have plenty of time later." She then looked at her brother. "I really only peeled the apple; Ginny made this. She's Ron's sister."
Harry remembered the red-haired girl who had been hanging around Allie earlier. "Ah, I saw her, but apples still need to be peeled before you can make something out of them."
Hearing this, Ron burst out laughing nearby. "Hahaha, Harry, you really should let Allie cook you something sometime."
Allie figured her culinary skills must have come from Hagrid. Once, she had wanted to make some egg tarts; when they came out, they looked fine, but eating them would gum up your mouth so badly you couldn't even open it.
George and Fred had told her she was a natural-born prankster.
The compartment door slid open. "Have any of you seen a toad—Allie?"
Oh no, Allie had forgotten she was supposed to be helping Neville find his Trevor.
"Hermione..."
Hermione walked over and sat down on the bench next to Allie. "Hello, I'm Hermione Granger."
Her gaze fell on Harry, and she gave a slight nod. "You're Harry Potter! I've read about you in the papers." Then, she turned to look at Ron. "And you are?"
"Um... Ron Weasley."
Hermione pursed her lips. "Right, pleased to meet you... I think you should put on your robes; we'll be arriving soon." With that, she glanced at Allie, signaling for her to come outside with her.
"Bye, Brother, Ron, we still need to go help Neville find his pet. See you at school!" Allie said goodbye to the two boys and walked out with Hermione. She had already changed into her robes when she first boarded the train.
Faintly, she could still hear Harry's excited voice carrying from the compartment: "Hey! Ron, did you hear that? Allie called me brother..."
"I really hope we can find Neville's toad before we arrive." Hermione had also heard what Allie called Harry, but that was other people's privacy, so she wouldn't pry.
Just as Allie was about to answer, the Galleon in her pocket grew restless and jumped right out. "Ah! My Galleon..."
Allie felt as though the Galleon was trying to lead them somewhere.
"Hermione, let's follow the Galleon." Though tiny, that Galleon could run pretty fast.
Hermione chased along behind, wondering if all toads were this fond of running. Her future pet would definitely have to be a cat or an owl.
"Wait..."
Allie looked back and caught sight of the platinum-blond boy she had seen earlier.
Before Allie could even speak, Hermione grabbed her hand and pulled her along. "Come on! Otherwise we're going to lose the Galleon again." With that, Hermione and Allie hurried off into the distance.
Wizards' pets were all very intelligent, but that didn't change the fact that they were still pets.
The Galleon led them straight to compartment 359. A dark-haired boy was just about to step inside, clutching a toad in his hand...
Allie thought this boy gave off a vibe quite similar to Professor Snape.
At that moment, Hermione caught her breath. "Excuse me, that's our friend's toad..."
The boy handed the toad over to Allie. "I saw it running wild in the corridor..." With that, he stepped inside the compartment.
Allie managed a "Thank you" just before he went in.
Back in the compartment, when Neville saw that his toad was safe and sound, he jumped for joy. He couldn't thank Allie and Hermione enough, and he invited them both to share a cup of pumpkin juice.
"Toot—" Accompanied by a long, echoing whistle, a red retro train slowly ground to a halt.
The students got off at the arrivals platform for first-years. Because there were so many people shoving and jostling, Allie ended up squeezed right at the back.
She spotted the tall figure of Hagrid amidst the crowd. Hagrid winked at her and tapped the bronze plate in his hand.
"Firs'-years, follow me! Get in the boats, four to a boat. I reckon you won't want to be stickin' your hands in the water; the tooth-carp down there won't give your fingers a gentle kiss."
In the pitch-black night, the previously calm surface of the lake suddenly rippled as people drew close, followed by the appearance of a small fish. Its entire body emitted a glowing yellow light, like a tiny star. These were tooth-carp—round little fish, and though small in size, their mouths were packed with sharp teeth. As time passed, more and more tooth-carp surfaced, swimming in circles around the lake and lighting up the entire water's surface until it looked like a field of stars.
It made you want to reach out and touch them to see if they were real.
Allie looked over at her brother's boat; it was already full, carrying Hermione, Neville, and Ron.
The blond boy waved at her, but by now it was evening, and a dark-haired girl hopped into his boat instead, along with two chubby boys.
Once a boat was full, it would row itself across.
"There's still room here..." It was the dark-haired boy who had caught Trevor earlier.
Allie hopped into the boat. "Thanks. My name is Allie Evans."
"Theodore Nott."
"I'm Seamus Finnigan. Are the fish in this lake going to jump up and bite me?" asked the other boy in the boat as he struggled to squeeze into the middle seat.
Allie leaned out over the edge. "Don't worry, they just don't like people trying to touch them."
Allie could sense that these fish were merely swimming around people to show off their pretty colors, and that their teeth were just tools to protect themselves.
The little boats glided leisurely along...
Soon, the boats reached the shore, and everyone disembarked. Hagrid took the lead, guiding the group along the stone steps and into Hogwarts Castle.
Allie followed in the procession, looking around in wide-eyed wonder. This was her first time inside; previously, she had only ever been out on the grounds. The interior of the castle was breathtakingly magnificent, with its massive stone walls and towering spires. They passed through the Entrance Hall and arrived at the room where the Sorting Hat was kept. Every first-year waited nervously, and Allie was no exception.