Pretty Little Witches

Chapter 1 - 9 3/4 of Sanity Left

A/N: hello everyone, this is our first attempt at writing a fanfic, it's a bit of a jumble and there are loads of characters so just bare with us! if you do have any comments or suggestions just leave them below. we like comments. bye. -cassie, erica, saphie, eliza

Cassandra's POV

"Have you got all your textbooks, Cassie? Are you sure they all arrived? You know you can make one last trip to Flourish and Blott's if you need to," Mrs Longbottom looked at me, her big brown eyes shining.

"I'll be fine. I've got everything!" I reassured her.

"How about your coat? It's chilly outside."

"Yes, I've got my coat. Look, don't worry about me. I'll be alright. The station is practically around the bend!"

"I know, I know. Well, alright. Time for you to go, we don't want you to be late."

I looked around at the Leaky Cauldron. The floorboards had been polished so that they shone in the pale grey morning light, and the mugs were stacked on the counter, ready for the day's business. I looked at the countless plants sitting in large pots on the windowsills, most of them blooming with colourful flowers. I had watered them that morning- I could only hope that they would survive with the absence of both me and Mr Longbottom.

"Don't worry, Hannah," said Mr Longbottom, laying a hand on his wife's shoulder. "I'll take good care of her."

"You won't need to," I said, smiling. "I can take care of myself."

"Goodbye, darling," said Mrs Longbottom, pulling me into a long hug. "Good luck on your first year."

"Thank you," I replied. "I'm not leaving forever, you know. You can have my fantastic cleaning skills back for Christmas. After all, the Leaky Cauldron is at its fullest at that time of year."

She smiled gratefully. "On your way. You're just on time."

Mr Longbottom kissed her lightly on the cheek and took his briefcase. I started to lug my trunk towards the door, but he shook his head.

"I'll take care of that. You take Maurice."

I scooped up my cat, who had been rubbing softly against my leg, and ignoring his indignant hisses, followed Mr Longbottom out of the Leaky Cauldron.

King's Cross Station was a blur of families, businessmen, smoke and clamouring. Mr Longbottom and I ploughed through the masses of people. I was thankful for his company- I would never have made it through on my own. He seemed to know the place like the back of his hand. His grey eyes barely looked ahead of him as he pushed the trolley through the crowd, as though he had been here countless times. Of course, I knew that he had. He was a previous student at Hogwarts and was now returning to teach Herbology. I could tell from the look on his face that he felt perfectly at home amongst the smoke and the blur of unfamiliar faces.

Maurice, on the other hand, didn't seem to find the station very appealing. He squirmed restlessly in my arms and scratched at my jumper with his claws.

"Stop it, silly," I muttered. "It's just a bunch of people. We'll be in the train soon."

Mr Longbottom had often told me about the entrance to Platform 9 3/4, so I wasn't surprised when he stopped the trolley a few feet ahead of a brick wall. I looked around for other wizarding families, but there didn't seem to be any hint of the usual flashy clothes or odd words that seemed out of place in the muggle world.

"You've got to be very discreet," explained Mr Longbottom, "And do it when nobody is looking. You first."

He took Maurice into his arms and turned the trolley so that I could wrap my hands around the bar. I gripped it tightly and took a deep breath, casting a glance around me to see that nobody was watching. This time I saw a man in a green pinstriped suit and a woman in lilac robes with their son walking between them. He looked like a first-year, and the sight of them and the cage on their trolley with a tawny owl inside seemed to comfort me.