History and Truth

First Ride and A New Friend

"September 1, finally arrived. I had been packed for 2 days and was nervous and excited. I couldn't eat breakfast I was so nervous. My grandpaw gave me some extra money on the sly and whispered 'for the trolley' in my ear.

Finally 10 am arrived and my parents one set of grandparents and I flooed to the Leaky Cauldron. My other grandparents met us there so we could have a bit more privacy for our good-byes. I'm not sure who among us was the most nervous. I said good-by to everyone promising them all I would write. Then I climbed into my grandparent's car with my mom and dad. Once we arrived at King's Cross, I had my final good-byes to my grandparents. My grandpaw had a package in his hands. He hugged me and then handed it to me instructing me to open in on the train.

My parents and I then waved to them as they left. We passed through the barrier to platform 9 and 3/4. It was strange to walk through a seemingly solid wall. The site of the steam engine, The Hogwarts Express, left me speechless. My parents urged me forward. They helped me find a compartment near the back of the train. We loaded my trunk into the rack and then went back to the platform to say good-bye.

As my parents were giving me last minute advice, I looked around at the crown on the platform. The auror my father called Potter was several feet away talking to a boy that looked to be my age. He had black hair that stuck up everywhere and wore glasses.

"Sound familiar to anyone," Ron said with a laugh. Harry slapped at his best friend and motioned for Teddy to continue. He was looking forward to hearing how Remus met his dad for the first time.

I looked around at the crowd. Standing near the front of the train was a large group of people. Several of them looked to be school age including Sirius Black. He looked miserable. Our eyes met and he gave me a slight nod. Then a family stepped in front of me. The youngest girl had red hair and emerald green eyes, which at the moment were filled with tears.

"Are you okay," I asked.

"Nervous. I'm a first year."

"Me as well. My name is Remus."

"Lily."

Teddy looked up at his godfather, "Does he mean your mom Harry?"

Harry quietly replied, "I guess so. Your dad told me once that my mom was there for him when no one else was. So I guess it makes sense that he would have met her early on. From what I have heard once he became friends with my dad and Sirius they were always there for each other until near the end when Pettigrew caused them to doubt your dad. That still doesn't make sense to me. Hopefully, your dad will give us answers." Teddy took that as a hint to continue reading.

I looked around and saw our parents were talking. I wasn't sure what to say to a girl. For that matter, I had not really talked much to people my age at all. She looked at me a moment before she spoke again.

"Are you nervous?"

"Yes. But also excited."

"Where's your trunk Remus?"

"Already on the train. Would you like to share a compartment?"

"Thank you. I have a friend who starts this year as well but I don't see him."

"Well, let's get onboard and we can look for him on the way."

I led her to the compartment I was sitting in while her dad pulled her trunk behind us. When we arrived a few other people were there as well. I opened the door so Lily could go in. Her dad loaded her trunk and turned to leave. Lily followed him back to the platform to say good-bye. I went back out to say good-bye to my mom. When we stepped off our moms were talking to each other and seemed to be getting along well. We each said our final goodbyes and stepped back up onto the train.