Ginny, Neville and I had talked for the remaining hours of the journey, them catching me up on which teachers to never get on the bad side of and me telling them a little more about my life back home, until Neville suddenly perked up and pointed to some glowing lights in the distance.
"Not long now I reckon," he chirped excitedly, patting his bouncing legs.
"You'll love it," Ginny cooed reassuringly, clearly sensing my rising nerves.
I nodded, turning to peer through the darkness at the emerging castle before me. It was grand, far bigger than I'd ever imagined, with turrets everywhere you looked.
"I can't tell if it looks intimidating or inviting," I chuckled.
"Trust me we thought the same," replied Ginny as she lightly nudged Neville.
"Oh yeah, I was terrified," he chimed in, earning an exasperated eyeroll from Ginny.
"It's different in the daylight anyway," laughed Ginny getting up from her seat.
"Come on, we'll be there any minute," she said as she grabbed my things and beckoned me out of the compartment.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
After milling through hundreds of students and successfully locating our trunks, Ginny and Neville led me into the castle. The warm light from inside spilled out of the enormous oak doors that stood open as we approached.
"Okay, brace yourself," Ginny joked as we turned into what they had called the great hall.
It was an immediate sensory overload. What seemed like thousands of candles floated above four long tables, each adorned with obscene amounts of foods that created an enticing aroma, surrounded by chattering students of all ages.
Neville leaned into me and whispered;
"psst, look up."
He pointed to the ceiling that showed the night sky above it. My eyes widened as they darted from star to star.
"I- I've never seen the sky so clear," I said in disbelief. Neville smiled, clearly quite pleased with my reaction.
"Oh hey, do you know what house you are yet," asked Ginny spinning to face me.
"Yeah Dumbledore showed up with that old hat in the middle of dinner last week. I'm a Gryff-"
"YAY! You're one of us," squealed Ginny as she grabbed my hand and sped towards one of the lengthy tables. I turned my head to check where Neville was to see him following close behind wearing an adorable grin on his face.
As we approached the table Ginny sat on the bench, next to a girl with wildly curly hair, and dragged me down beside her.
"Hermione, I would like you to meet the new girl," she said turning back to me.
"Trouble, this is Hermione Granger, the smartest girl in your year if not the entire school," she giggled.
"I wouldn't say the entire school. Anyways, nice to meet you," she blushed offering her hand.
"Pleasure," I smiled shaking her hand.
"Oi! You two," Ginny called throwing a piece of carrot at the boys sitting across from us, whom Neville was now sat next to. The dark haired one darted his head up and immediately got flustered at the sight of Ginny. He quickly shoved the boy next him, forcing him to look up from his plate, from which he had been shovelling incredible amounts of food into his mouth.
"Who's this then," he asked through a mouthful of food, gesturing towards me with his fork. Ginny let out an irritated sigh, making Hermione laugh.
"I'm new, and presuming by your hair and the speed you're attacking that plate of yours, you would be one of Ginny's many brothers that I've been hearing about. It's Ron right," I said with a slight smirk. His face flushed slightly red as he gave a feeble nod.
"And you," I said turning my attention to the dark haired boy. His eyes widened, clearly very curious about what Ginny had to say about him but equally as terrified. In all honesty I wasn't sure who he was until I noticed the mark on his forehead.
"Ah, The Chosen One," I said, beginning to fill my plate with the roast in front of us.
"In the flesh," he responded with a slight laugh.
"Well, it's wonderful to meet you both," I grinned before popping a potato in my mouth.
They all began to catch up and discuss matters that had no real significance to me so I began to absentmindedly scan the faces around the table. Nobody was particularly eye catching until my eyes settled on a boy towards the opposite end of the Gryffindor table. He had the same fiery red hair as Ginny and Ron, so I assumed he was also a Weasley, and the most amazing bone structure I had ever seen. I watched him for a moment as he let out a laugh, flashing his captivating smile, before I snapped back to reality. However, just as I went to turn away, a boy almost identical to him dropped into the seat beside him. They exchanged a quick conversation before the one I was originally looking at met my gaze, forcing me to quickly whip my head back around. I placed my head in my hands and stared at my plate, feeling the colour quickly flush into my cheeks.
"Oh look it's Fred and George," exclaimed Ginny as I cocked my head up to see the both of them walking towards us.
"They're the ones I said would love you," she said but I was uninterested in her words at that moment and solely interested on finding my nearest exit.
"Well hello you lot," said the two boys in unison, as they straddled the bench on either side of Harry and Ron. I felt my embarrassment growing stronger by the second until an idea sprang to mind and before I knew it I was on my feet.
"Erm, Hermione could you show me where the nearest toilet is," I asked frantically gaining a slightly questioning look from her.
"Oh, of course, you must have been dying for the loo since you came of the train. Come on," she replied leading me out of the hall again and away from the potentially excruciating conversation with the criminally handsome twins.
