The Girl Who Lived

The morning unfolded in soft contours as Elowen Diggory entered the bustling King's Cross station. Joy and nervousness danced in her hazel-green irises as she glanced around the area.

The platform came to life, and beside Elowen, Cedric, her brother, was like a beacon of confidence, his serene smile silently promising support.

The proud eyes of her father, Amos Diggory, and the tenderness of her mother, Dianna, reverberated a complex mix of emotions; anticipated longing and anxiety dueling mercilessly within her core.

As they waited at the station to cross to Platform 9¾, Elowen couldn't contain her amusement and curiosity as she observed the Muggles around her, completely oblivious to the magic unfolding around them. Perplexed faces examined the enthusiastic movements of the children with their owls and trunks, unaware that entire families carried wands and dreams in those bags.

"Trembling like that, it looks like you've been hit by the Jelly-Legs Jinx," Cedric joked, reaching out to hug her from the side, to which the girl responded with a playful elbow to the abdomen of the boy, who just laughed. "It's going to be alright, and I'm sure you'll be selected for a great House."

"The Sorting," she thought, the upperclassmen had a tradition of not telling newcomers like her how it was done, presumably to keep the surprise. Her parents hadn't even allowed her to read Hogwarts: A History because they wanted her to be able to describe every emotion when she was chosen for her House in the first letter she sent to them — which they promised to write to her every week, just like they did for Cedric.

"All the Houses are good, Ced," she countered.

"And we'll be proud of you regardless of which one you're in," Amos commented, approaching to kiss his daughter's forehead, "except maybe Slytherin."

"Dad!" Elowen protested with a laugh, tears welling in her eyes just thinking about the homesickness she would feel.

"Um, hello? Excuse me?"

"Oh, of course! How can we help?" Amos asked, radiating sympathy.

"Well, actually, I'm looking for Platform 9¾. Can you point me in the right direction?" the redhead inquired with a smile, relieved by the warm welcome.

Elowen's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Oh, sure! Are you going to Hogwarts? This will be Elowen's first year too," Cedric seemed to brighten up at the idea of his sister making a new friend.

"Yes, it's my first year!" the other replied, excitedly. "Oh, sorry, I'm Shaia, Shaia Potter."

Elowen was flabbergasted, almost certain her ears were deceiving her. Though everyone knew Shaia Potter would be attending Hogwarts that year, there was something exceptionally striking about encountering a true living legend.

Before the young girl could articulate a word, her father stepped forward, greeting the redhead with an enthusiastic handshake.

"Oh, Shaia Potter! I'm Amos Diggory from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures!" he introduced himself, while Cedric gave her friendly pats on the shoulder.

"Dad... I think that's enough with the handshake!"

"Ah, right!" Amos chuckled embarrassedly, releasing the handshake. "This is my wife, Dianna," he gestured, then turned to his children with a smile. "And these are my kids, Elowen and Cedric."

"Pleasure to meet you!" Shaia laughed, appreciating the chaotic yet lovely aura surrounding the family. Her laughter was infectious, Elowen noticed.

"We'll accompany you to the Express," Cedric said, promptly offering support, and the siblings hugged their parents tightly, receiving sweet words wishing them success and fun.

As they parted from them, the youngest Diggory noticed Shaia had tears in her eyes. "Oh, of course, she's alone," she thought, feeling a painful pang in her chest.

"I'll be right behind you girls," Cedric informed, pushing his own trolley.

"Come on, we need to get through the barrier," Elowen gently explained, noticing Shaia's hesitation in front of the imposing wall between platforms nine and ten. "Don't worry. Just walk straight at the barrier, without stopping, without fear of crashing. That's crucial. If you're nervous, maybe it's better to do it half running. Do you want me to go first?"

"Um... Okay."

Diggory adjusted the trolley to move towards the barrier. The crowd heading towards platforms nine and ten pressed against her, so she quickened her pace, the barrier rapidly approaching. With no possibility of stopping, the trolley seemed out of control, the distance shrinking every second, but Elowen knew the impact would never come.

A red steam engine was parked at the crowded platform that appeared before her. A sign overhead read "Hogwarts Express, 11 o'clock." The girl looked back and saw an iron arch where the ticket collector had been with the words "Platform 9¾" inscribed.

The locomotive's smoke dispersed over the heads of chatting people, while cats of all colors weaved between their legs. Owls hooted discontentedly to each other, overlapping the chatter and noise of heavy suitcases being dragged.

The first carriages were already filled with students, some leaning out of the windows talking to their families, others arguing over seats. Elowen glanced over her shoulder to see Shaia crossing the barrier, her eyes tightly shut, and the pure-blood couldn't help but laugh.

"Was that fun?" she asked as Potter opened her eyes to catch a glimpse of the charming platform.

"Very," the redhead agreed with a laugh.

Cedric appeared a second later and quickly bid farewell to his sister, tousling her hair.

"I'd stay with you if I could," he said, kissing her forehead, "but this is your moment. You're going to be amazing!"

Hugging him tightly, Elowen thanked her brother for the words, though deep down, she was simply grateful to have him.

The girls pushed their trolleys along the platform, searching for an empty spot, and finally found a vacant compartment at the end of the Express.

Elowen grabbed her owl and placed her inside first, smiling when Shaia did the same, the birds also seemed happy in each other's company.

"What's your owl's name?" Potter asked, curious.

"Ginger," Elowen replied, affection clear in her voice. "And yours?"

"This is Archimedes," the owl hooted, and both girls laughed.

Then, they forced their trunks towards the train door. Elowen went first and could barely lift hers up the steps.

"Need a hand, ladies?" They turned around, finding two boys.

The first one, the one who had spoken, had long platinum blond hair almost white tied up in a high ponytail, reddish eyes, and pale skin speckled with sunburn spots. The second one seemed shyer, with black hair, dark brown eyes, and visibly shorter than the albino beside him.

"Please," Shaia accepted the offer.

With the boys' help, the trunks were finally placed in a corner of the compartment.

"Thank you," Elowen thanked, pushing sweaty hair away from her eyes.

"You're welcome," the albino replied with a smile.

"Damian..." the shy boy called. "I think the express will be departing soon, we better head back to our carriage."

"Oh, yes, Noah, you're right," the first boy, Damian, who had a strong accent, gave a polite nod to the girls. "See you later, ladies, safe travels!"

And with one last glance at them, the boys leaped out of the compartment, Noah offering them only a small smile.

The girls sat down and fell into silence, Elowen had many questions in mind, but didn't want to sound intrusive or scare Shaia. Fortunately, it was Potter who spoke first.

"So, which House do you want to go to?" the redhead asked, trying to sound friendly.

"My brother is in Hufflepuff, but I think any of them would be good, and you?"

"I'm not sure... I heard my parents were in Gryffindor, like Rubeus, the Hogwarts groundskeeper, so..."

"So you would feel closer to them," Diggory finished sympathetically, giving the half-blood a compassionate look.

"Yeah, exactly, Elowen!"

"Winnie. You can call me Winnie, if you want," Elowen said and was glad to see Potter smile in response.

"Well, I don't have any nicknames, so I guess you'll have to come up with one soon."

"We'll think of something for you, redhead," she teased, and both laughed.

As they talked, the train left London. Now they were running through fields full of cows and sheep. They fell silent for a while, contemplating the fields and roads passing in a flash, Shaia humming some tune that Diggory didn't recognize. She had a beautiful voice.

"Somewhere over the rainbow

Skies are blue

And the dreams that you dare to dream

Really do come true"

Elowen blinked, suddenly thinking that the "somewhere over the rainbow" Shaia referred to was Hogwarts.

"What song is that?" she asked, intrigued.

"Over the Rainbow, from The Wizard of Oz, a Muggle movie," Shaia explained.

"I've never seen a movie," the pure-blood confessed, "but I've heard songs. Do you know Queen?"

Around half past twelve, they heard a loud noise in the corridor and a woman, all smiles and dimples, opened the door and asked:

"Anything from the trolley, dears?"

Shaia, who hadn't had breakfast, jumped up and went to the corridor.

She had never had money for sweets in the Dursleys' house, and now that her pockets jingled with gold and silver coins, she was determined to buy as much as she could carry. There were Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, gumdrops, chocolate frogs, pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes, licorice wands, and several other strange things she had never imagined.

"Hmmm..." she hummed, uncertain about what to choose.

"Trust me, you won't want the beans," Elowen said from behind her, still sitting on the bench. "When they say 'every flavor,' they mean it."

Potter chuckled softly but took the warning to heart and opted for chocolate frogs and licorice wands. A mountain of them.

Elowen's eyes widened when Shaia brought everything back to the cabin and dumped it onto the empty seat.

"Hungry, huh?"

"Starving," the redhead replied. "But I'd love to share."

With that, they both grabbed some sweets, and Diggory noticed Potter stashing some in her bag.

"For Hogwarts?" she asked with a smile. "Stocking up on candy, Shaia?"

"It's for a friend. She's a Muggle-born, and we've been talking for the last month, but I haven't seen her today... anyway, I want to save some for her," the half-blood explained and shifted her attention to the chocolate frog in her hands. "What's this?"

"Oh, a collectible card, they're for collecting."

Shaia pulled out the card. It was of a man. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, flowing silver hair, a beard, and mustache. Under the portrait was the name Albus Dumbledore.

"So, this is Dumbledore," the redhead said serenely, then turned the card over and read.

"Albus Dumbledore, currently Headmaster of Hogwarts.

Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times. Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of Grindelwald, the Dark wizard, in 1945, for his discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and for his work in alchemy with Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling."

The fields passing by the window were becoming wilder now. The farmlands had disappeared. Now there were forests, winding rivers, and dark green hills.

Shaia was promising to show Elowen the Muggle series "Doctor Who," a classic unfortunately canceled, when there was a knock on the door of their compartment.

"Excuse me," a boy carefully entered, another boy behind him, both dressed very smartly for their age.

The first one had freckled alabaster skin and a slender body, deep dark curls, and gray-blue eyes. His companion had brown curls, matching his eyes, a well-defined jawline, and slightly prominent cheekbones.

Elowen tensed for just a second, knowing Amos didn't particularly like the parents of both; they were Atlas Jace Galanis-Black and Christopher Percival Thomas. However, she quickly relaxed, deciding to give the boys the benefit of the doubt without thinking about their families.

"The express will be stopping soon," Christopher informed, and Diggory peered out the window. It was getting dark, she saw mountains and forests under a purple sky, and the train seemed to be slowing down.

"We have some girls in our compartment, and we'd like to know if you would mind if they came to change here?" Atlas asked politely, to which the girls exchanged glances.

"Of course, no problem!" they agreed in unison, receiving a smile from Black and a nod of thanks from Thomas, who didn't seem to smile often.

The girls they referred to entered just moments after the boys left.

"Wendy!" Shaia smiled and hugged her friend when the blonde entered. "Oh, Wendy, this is Elowen, I mean, Winnie."

Elowen chuckled, greeting the Muggle-born.

"Pleasure, this is Arianna," she pointed to the girl beside her, who smiled.

Together, they changed, making sure they had adjusted their robes, when a voice announced.

"We'll be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school."

The train slowed down and finally stopped. People pushed to reach the door and descend onto the small dark platform. It was cold outside.

Then a swinging lamp appeared over the students' heads.

"First years! First years over here!" Hagrid roared over the hubbub. "Alright, Shaia?" he asked, and the girl nodded. "Come on, follow me. Any other first years?"

Amid slips and stumbles, they followed Hagrid along a steep, narrow-looking path, all now silent.

"You're about to have the first view of Hogwarts in a second," Hagrid yelled over his shoulder. "Just around this bend."

A very loud "ooooh" was heard.

The narrow path suddenly opened out onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high cliff on the opposite bank, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many towers and turrets.

"Only four to a boat!" Hagrid shouted, pointing to a fleet of small boats moored at the water's edge. Shaia and Elowen were accompanied to the boat by Gwendolyn and Arianna.

Diggory paused to look around, seeing students joining their peers in the boats. Not far away, she spotted a figure that stood out, the long platinum blond hair braided into an elaborate hairstyle. Lyra Malfoy.

The girl was accompanied by two other boys, whom Elowen recognized as Kai Haruki and Aaron Greengrass, as far as she knew, longtime friends. There was then an empty seat in their boat, and Malfoy stood up to wave to Christopher, who followed close to Atlas.

Thomas looked at her for a moment, then at the boat, where the other boys greeted him. With a rare smile, he thanked them for the invitation but politely declined it. Elowen thought Lyra would be offended, but she quickly understood when he mentioned wanting to accompany Black.

"That's why you're not going to Slytherin, Kit, you always prefer the unknown," Haruki said softly, before the girl sat back down. Soon, Moon Seongjae took the empty seat, and Elowen herself sat down.

"Everyone settled?" Hagrid shouted, who had a boat to himself. "Then... LET'S GO!"

And with that, they set off, the four girls sharing their expectations and the candies stored in Potter's pockets.