Philosopher's Stone: What REALLY Happened

The scarlet steam engine emitted a burst of fresh steam as a beautiful young girl with long, golden hair stepped through the Platform 9 3/4 barrier. Her crystal blue eyes sparkled in the dim platform light. She gracefully moved her trunk to the loading area before she, herself boarded the train. She was in her second year at Hogwarts now. She made her way through the train to the next to last compartment. It was still empty, just as it had been the previous year.

"BOOM!" someone yelled behind her. She jumped, hitting him in the face with her tapered hair. "Owww... What'd you do that for? That stuff stings like a billion different little needles stabbing you at the same time," he complained, rubbing his cheek.

"George, I ought to KILL you. You do that every time you see me. THEN you have the NERVE to complain about my HAIR ACCIDENTALLY hitting you in the face. You know what? YOU DESERVE IT! I hope you fall and hurt yourself George Weasley," she yelled in his face.

"He, he, he, he, he, hehehe..." Fred began laughing stupidly.

"And Fred, YOU don't have room to do that STUPID laugh of yours. You are JUST as bad as your brother. If not WORSE."

This was routine. Every time they saw each other after they'd been apart for a while, or when the twins just wanted to annoy her they would go through this whole row. She was used to it, but that didn't make it any less annoying.

"Let's just say that this is our revenge, Cami. Considering you have us beat up Ickle Ronny, but you never get in trouble for it when we get caught, I think it's only fair," Fred reasoned. George nodded in agreement.

"Oh come off it!" Cami exclaimed in frustration, throwing her pale arms in the air. "You don't HAVE to listen to me you know!"

"She has a point, mate. We DON'T have to listen to her," George said. "So, we won't. Come on, we've got pranks to pull on the Ickle First Years." Fred snickered sinisterly while rubbing his hands together. As they left, Cami noticed a girl with elbow length red hair stalked by to the back compartment. Her face was hidden by her hair, but she didn't seem to happy. She was slumped over and her normally baggy pants were sagging more that usual, due to her terrible posture.

"I wonder what HER problem is. She's tall enough to be a second year, but for some reason I get the feeling she's a first year. Maybe Fred and George got her with one of their pranks. Oh well. I guess I'll never know," Cami thought to herself.

Cami slammed her compartment door shut to make it look like it was full. She didn't want to sit with any retarded first years. ESPECIALLY not if they acted like HER. She, herself, had been quite a bit more excited than that when SHE hopped on the train in her first year. "Some people."

"May I sit here please? Everywhere else is full," a bushy-headed brunette asked the red-head. She smiled weakly at the slouching punk. She had to admit, the muscle shirt, baggy pants, and the many spikey bracelets were rather intimidating.

"Sure," she half muttered. "I don't care."

"My name's Hermione Granger. It's nice to meet you," she stuck out her hand confidently.

"Kathleen Reed," she replied shortly, taking Hermione's hand and shaking it firmly.

"Nice grip there," Hermione laughed. "Where are you from?"

"This girl isn't intimidated? Wow, she's got some guts, or something," Kathleen thought to herself. "Uhhh, thanks. I'm from London, but I spend most of my time at my grandma's in Little Whinging. That's in Surry, by the way."

"I'm from London as well. My parents are dentists, so I don't see them much either," she replied. Kathleen dared to dream that she was about to actually make a friend. A friend that was the same gender for that matter. That was a leap forward for her. Girls were normally too busy making fun of her to get to know her.

"So, you're not scared of me, at all?" Kathleen asked suspiciously. Hermione blushed.

"I have to admit, you're uhhh... look is rather intimidating, but still. You can't judge a person based on their outward appearance. I've had that burned into my head. Most girls don't like me because I spend under half an hour getting ready in the mornings," she laughed. "I'm not the prettiest of people..."

"So, who cares. Beauty is only skin deep, right?" Kathleen interrupted her with a chuckle. It had been a long time since she'd laughed.

"Excuse me, have you seen a toad anywhere? I've lost mine," a chubby, pale boy with dark hair asked them shyly.

"No, sorry, I haven't seen one, but we'll help you look for it if you want," Hermione volunteered brightly.

"Thanks, that would help a bunch," he smiled. "My name's Neville Longbottom."

"Hermione Granger, pleasure to meet you," she shook his hand.

"Kathleen Reed." Neville took a small step backwards after Kathleen introduced herself.

"Thanks," he said before hurrying away.

Hermione and Kathleen first stopped by the compartment next to them. Hermione knocked because Kathleen refused.

"What?" came a girly voice from inside.

"Could you open up for just a moment?" Hermione requested politely. The compartment door slid open.

"What?" the golden haired, blue eyed girl asked again.

"We were wondering if you'd seen a toad. A boy named Neville's lost one," Hermione smiled. Kathleen wasn't looking at her, but could feel this girl's eyes on her.

"You're first years aren't you?" the girl asked.

"Yeah," Kathleen answered shortly. For some reason she didn't like this girl. "Hermione, I'm gonna change really quick, okay?"

"Uhhh.... Sure. Have you seen it or not?"

"No." The girl slammed the door closed in her face.

Hermione proceeded to change into her robes as well, then they continued their hunt.

"Have either of YOU seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one," Hermione asked frustratedly. They'd quizzed at least ten people by now. "HOLY CRICKET!" Hermione jumped. "YOU'RE Harry Potter!" she exclaimed pointing at a messy, jet-black haired boy's forehead.

"Harry?!" Kathleen asked in surprise.

"Kathleen?!" he asked at the same time.

"You're a..." the exclaimed in unison.

"Do you two know each other?" a fiery red-headed boy with his mouth full of junk food asked in amazement.

"My grandmother used to baby-sit him when the Dursleys went out. I was there a few times," Kathleen answered in shock.

"YOU KNOW HARRY POTTER?!" Hermione exclaimed in surprise. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"What's the big deal about Harry?" Kathleen inquired.

"He defeated You-Know-Who!" Hermione squealed in shock that Kathleen was so clueless.

"Uhhhh... no I don't know who. Who?"

"Lord Voldemort. I think that's his name," Harry answered her question rather lazily. Hermione and the red headed boy cringed at the sound of it.

"YOU defeated this, Lord Voldemort?" Kathleen almost laughed when Hermione cringed again.

"Yes, well, who are you?" Hermione asked the other boy occupying the compartment.

"Ron Weasley," he answered her with his mouth full again. Kathleen took her turn cringing. She couldn't stand it when people did that.

"Pleasure," Hermione said in a rather disgusted tone. "YOU two had better change into your robes. I expect we'll be arriving soon." With that, Hermione briskly left the compartment.

"See ya," Kathleen waved and followed her new friend.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the Sorting Hat screamed as Susan Bones stood up and headed towards the appropriate table that night during the sorting ceremony.

"Hermione, calm down. It's no big deal. They sit a hat on your head and it yells one word. As long as that word isn't Slytherin, life is good. I say it'll put you in Ravenclaw. You're as clever as they come. But, I could be wrong. I know they wouldn't put YOU in Slytherin though," Kathleen attempted comforting her worried friend.

"What's wrong with Slytherin?" Harry asked her.

"Don't you know, mate? There's not a dark witch or wizard that didn't come out of Slytherin," Ron answered for Kathleen.

"Hermione Granger," Professor and Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall called.

"Okay, you can do this, you can do this, no big deal, whew..." Hermione walked off talking to herself.

"Mental that one," Ron commented. Kathleen slapped the back of his head.

"To be mental requires a brain, Ron. That's the only thing stopping YOU from being mental!" she whispered.

"Burn," Harry snickered.

"You're one to talk, Potter," she snapped.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Sorting Hat screamed. Hermione bounced over to the Gryffindor table in a Susan Bones fashion.

"Ronald Weasley." Ron walked up to the Sorting Hat rather nervously himself. Kathleen could have sworn she heard an "Awwww.... Ickle Ronny!" from somewhere in the crowd.

"Ah! Another Weasley! I know JUST what to do with you!" the Sorting Hat said in Ron's ear. "GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindors cheered again as Ron ran over and sat by Hermione and his brothers, Fred and George. They then proceeded to give him a noogie. She saw Hermione giggle and that nasty girl that she met on the train smirk.

"Draco Malfoy!" A scrawny little boy with slicked back, platinum blond hair and cold grey eyes approach the hat with a smirk on his face. The hat was two inches from his sleek head when it called out,

"SLYTHERIN!" Kathleen instantly began snickering. She was cut short though.

"Kathleen Reed." Her eyes grew to the size of golf balls and she walked up and sat down. She figured she would end up in Slytherin because that was her luck.

"Hey, look. It's that retarded first year," Cami elbowed Fred in the ribs down in the watching crowd. "Three knuts she'll end up in Gryffindor. That's just my luck," Cami snorted.

"Why don't you like her?" Fred asked curiously.

"She rubs me the wrong way, that's all," Cami answered darkly.

"You naughty, naughty girl, you!" George pointed at her and chuckled.

"You're perverted, you know that?" Cami snapped.

"Why, do you not like her because she's, heaven forbid, DIFFERENT?" Hermione defended her new best friend.

"YOU stay out of this buck-tooth," Cami yelled.

"Ooohhhh, we sink to the immaturities of NAME calling.... tsk tsk tsk." Hermione clicked her tongue and shook her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Sorting Hat called. Kathleen glided down at took a seat at the end of the table. Hermione was too close to that blond girl for her liking.

"Harry Potter." The Great Hall went completely silent except for Kathleen, who snorted a bit at all the silence Harry had caused. Everyone's eyes were on him as he sat down. After what seemed like forever the Sorting Hat made it's decision.

"GRYFFINDOR!" it screamed. Harry sighed with relief and practically ran to the table. Everyone but Kathleen and Cami were standing and cheering.

"WE GOT POTTER! WE GOT POTTER!" the Weasley twins screamed until Professor McGonagall gave them the you-two-had-better-put-a-stop-to-your-foolishness-before-I-kill-you look that they knew ALL too well. Harry had turned extremely red with all the attention in the mean time. Kathleen chuckled at how everyone found Harry to be so important. Cami simply rolled her eyes, and began muttering to herself.

"You're just jealous!" Ron snapped at her.

"I am NOT jealous of HIM!" she snapped back, looking disgustedly at Harry.

"You two fight all the time, but NOT tonight, please," Fred pleaded.

"Fine," Cami folded her arms and held her nose in the air.

"What's going on here?" Hermione asked.

"We've known Cami since she was in diapers. We were in diapers too," George explained.

"Mum used to baby-sit her, then she started coming over on her own. Soon we figured out that it was because her parents were never home..."

"And on the rare occasions that they were, they were drunk," Cami added.

"So she came to our house. She and Ron have always hated each other. So, she always had us pull pranks on him and beat the bloody hell out of him. We didn't mind. We always got caught, but Cami never got any punishment," Fred finished. "That's the story."

"Do you live in Ottery St. Catchpole, too?" Ron asked.

"Has it taken you THIS long to figure that out?" Cami asked.

"Yeah..." Ron answered cluelessly. Hermione giggled, but Cami, Fred, and George broke out in laughter.

Dumbledore then proceeded to deliver his short pre-feast speech. Then, the shining golden plates filled with food. Cami sat and watched all of the guys eagerly tuck-in, while she herself ate like a civilized human being. The night continued with more talk from Dumbledore, laughter, merriment, food, and finally, sleep.

"Ahhh... Home sweet home!" Cami exclaimed as they walked in the cozy Gryffindor common room. Percy led the first years to their dormitories, and very soon, the castle lights were extinguished. All that could be heard were the soft snores, and the loud ones, emitting from dormitories and staff bedrooms.