One of A Kind

Chapter 1: The New Girl

Harry Potter felt a cloud of anxiety settle upon him as he entered Kings Cross Station. He glanced at his best friends Ron and Hermione, standing on either side of him. As if sensing his gaze, their eyes turned toward him. He sighed and continued walking, followed by Fred, George, Ginny, and Molly Weasley. He turned to Hermione, and opened his mouth to speak, when ~OOMPH~! He felt someone collide with him. He whipped his head around to apologize, but when he saw whom he had run into, his mouth was left gaping open.

It was a girl, and a very pretty one at that. Her hair fell in glossy, dark curls to just below her shoulders. She was pale, with clear, light eyes and red lips. As he stared at her, struggling to find his voice, she simply laughed- a kind, gentle laugh. She said,

"I'm sorry. I seem to have misplaced my sense of direction. I hope I didn't hurt you." At this, Harry regained his ability to speak.

"No, it was my fault. I wasn't paying attention. I'm fine." Hermione cleared her throat and glanced meaningfully at Harry. Harry could swear he saw Ron roll his eyes.

“Are you okay?” he asked. This seemed to amuse the girl.

"Are you kidding?! Of course I'm okay. Any day I get the chance to make a fool out of myself, I'm fine." Everyone but Hermione, who seemed to disapprove of the new girl, laughed at this comment. Suddenly Mrs. Weasley remembered that they had to be somewhere, and ushered the group toward the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

When they reached the barrier, the new girl's confident air disappeared. She looked around at them, obviously confused by the significance of a brick wall.

"Um, how does this help us get to platform 9 3/4?" she asked.

"You run through it dear.", Mrs. Weasley said. Harry thought he saw a hint of fear in the girl's eyes, but it was only for a split second. She quickly regained her composure, even offering to go first. Hermione was not impressed. The new girl grabbed her trunk, which Harry had failed to notice, and ran at top speed through the barrier. Ginny followed her, then Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, and finally Harry.

When he got through, he looked around for the girl, but did not see her. Where could she have gone? Harry asked himself. Then another, frustrated voice answered him. She's on the train, you idiot. And you had better get going in that direction too if you plan on making it to school! Ron's voice snapped Harry back from his thoughts.

"You looking for that new girl?" he asked, grinning mischievously. Harry shrugged casually but Ron was not convinced. Sighing, Harry said,

"Yeah, you caught me. I was wondering who she is." Ron's grin widened.

"Me too. She's gorgeous!"

At this, Hermione snorted. They both turned to look at her. Ron was obviously annoyed. Then again, he had been since Hermione had returned from Bulgaria and refused to talk about it. Harry chose not to voice his theories on this subject.

"Did you just snort?" Ron asked. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"What did I do?!" Ron demanded.

"That girl is not what I would call gorgeous," she said. Harry would have loved to argue with that comment, but Ron did it for him.

"Are you jealous Hermione?"

"I most certainly am not!" She turned to Harry.

"I thought you liked Cho."

Harry's stomach turned as he remembered Cho's face at the feast at the end of last year. When Dumbledore had made a toast to Cedric Diggory's memory, Harry had seen Cho, tears silently streaming down her face. The vision had ripped him to pieces. Over the summer, he had given up on Cho. He knew that he would always remind her of Cedric's death. He had been the last person with him, it had been his fault. No matter how many times he was told that it wasn't, he still felt guilty. He didn't answer, and Hermione didn't press any further. Silently, the three of them boarded the scarlet train, and began the journey back to Hogwarts.