Chapter 1
Lyla's POV:
I stood in front of the Hogwarts Express, excited to start this new journey of my life. A witch? I still couldn't fathom the idea of them being real, let alone finding out I was one myself. Hermes, my cat, proudly rubbed himself against my legs after depositing a dead rat at my feet.
"Ew, Hermes!" I gasped, taking a step back. He purred in response, and effortlessly jumped into my arms.
"Alright, I'm sorry but it's time for you to go back in your cage. It's nearly 11:00, and I promise I'll make it up to you. Please?" I smiled when he glared up at me. He grudgingly walked into the cage and I shut it, scratching his fur through the bars.
"All aboard!" A voice crackled through the loudspeakers. My heart thumped in excitement as the doors opened and I lugged what little luggage I had along with Hermes' cage towards the train. But there was just a little problem. All the carriages were filled with people talking, and I was mostly an introvert. I had almost no friends growing up, and I finally thought that answer was revealed when I got my letter, that maybe I'd find my place where I belonged, with magic. That didn't seem to be the case. I walked alone through the hallways, peering in through the windows, trying to find an empty compartment. I finally came to a large door at the end of the corridor, which seemed to be mostly empty. I pushed open the doors and they slid open. Hurrying into one of the seats, I sat down and breathed a sigh of relief.
Mattheo's POV:
"Well, well, 5th year finally. Only 2 more years to go." I sighed, slumping into my seat.
"We have OWLS this year, Mattheo." Theo reminded.
"Let's be real, we're not going to fail." Regulus shook his head.
"You might not, but Draco definitely will be. Sorry ferret, you'll be staying back another year."
"You guys are so mean," Draco complained. "Need I remind you-"
"Yes yes, your father arranged for us to have this compartment because you can't stand looking poor." Blaise rolled his eyes, Pansy sitting on his lap. They had been together for God knows how long. We were interrupted by the door sliding open and closed. A girl with waist length jet black hair entered with a suitcase and cage. She didn't seem to notice us at all as she slid into a seat and sighed.
"Who's that?" I whispered.
"Lyla Gaumont. She's new and starts this year as a fourth year." Tom replied, flipping through a book.
"A fourth year? Weird." Blaise commented. We had all learned to not ask about Tom's ways to know everything about everyone. He had his ways, and it was somewhat useful.
"Should we go introduce ourselves?" Theo grinned. "She's cute."
"That's all you think about, Theo." Lorenzo rolled his eyes.
"She looks... innocent." Tom remarked.
"Whatever. She's pretty. I'm going." Theo made a move to stand up.
"I'm going too." I grinned. We all went in a pack, standing around her little compartment.
"Hello there, love." I smirked.








