The Day Our Path Crossed

Chapter One - We Make Our Introductions (And I Guess I'd Like That Too)

"Excuse me?"

The woman Harry had just watched send four boys through a solid brick wall turned to him. She was plump with fiery red hair, and smiled down at him. "Hello dear," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ginny's new, too."

She pointed at a young girl holding a cart similar to Harry's. She was short, he supposed, seeing as they could look each other straight in the eye. She had long hair like her mother's, with freckles.

"Yes," said Harry. "The thing is- The thing is, I don't know how to -"

"How to get on the platform?" she said kindly, and Harry nodded.

"Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight away 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 Ginny."

"Er- okay," said Harry.

He pushed his trolley around and stared at the barrier. It looked very solid. He started to walk towards it, then stopped.

"Wait!"

Looking back, he saw that Ginny was watching him over her things. "Yes?"

She seemed flustered as she paused for a moment. "Well, if we are going to be in the same year, you ought to tell me your name."

"Oh." Funny, Hagrid had given Harry the impression every wizard would know his name. Either way, it was odd anyone was bothering to ask in the first place. "I'm Harry, Harry Potter."

He closed his eyes and ran forwards, wondering what he might find ahead of him.

Harry had barely a moment to settle into his empty train car before the door was shoved open.

"You!" Ginny leaned against the door frame panting as she glared at him. "That was rude of you, just running off like that."

"Didn't your mum tell me to go through ahead of you?" Harry asked as he fiddled with his wand in his hand. "Besides, I did tell you my name."

"But you didn't ask for mine!" she said. Her face was oddly flushed. He supposed it was all of the running she must have been doing through the train.

"You're Ginny, right?" Harry said as he slipped the wand into his pocket. "Did you want me to ask for your last name also?"

Ginny's face flushed even more. "Weasley. It's Weasley." She looked away, then shook her head clear and sat down across from him. "If you're really Harry Potter, then you have a scar on your forehead, right?"

Nodding, Harry swept his bangs aside and showed the lightning scar. Ginny stared.

"You-Know-Who did that to you?"

"Yes, but I can't remember it at all. Is everyone in your family a wizard?" Harry asked, realizing he had never talked to another wizard his age before.

She frowned, thinking. "Er- There was that one second cousin that's not, I think. He's some sort of accountant."

"So you must know loads of magic already."

"If you mean loads of cooking and cleaning magic, then yes. Since I had nothing better to do last year, Mum decided I could make myself helpful around the house instead of 'moping around.'" Ginny scowled.

Harry, not realizing he had hit a bit of a sore spot, asked, "Didn't your brothers teach you any magic?"

Ginny laughed, an infectious sound that made Harry grin. "Oh, those gits? You must have seen them going onto the station. The only ones who showed me anything were Fred and George - those are the twins, of course - but that was all their silly joke magic. They're pranksters, drives Mum crazy. One time, they turned Percy's room into a garden - even brought in the garden gnomes from outside."