This Magic Moment

I sat there at the desk by my window, finishing up some English homework, when the unexpected happened. Out of nowhere came an owl, a great Barn Owl. I jumped up out of my chair, because it was flying right at me, but before it hit the window it flew up, sending a letter into my room. I cautiously lifted it from the table and opened it. On the front were the words Ms. V. Easton in a vibrant emerald green. I was amazed at what I read inside:

Hogwarts School

of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)

Dear Ms. Easton,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl no later than July 31.

Yours Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

After jumping up and down, dancing, and yelling, the phone rang. My friend Meg Ryder was on the phone, and she was excited. She told me about her acceptance letter to Hogwarts; she was pureblood, and so was I. We knew now that we weren't squibs, and we could bring honor to our family, although Meg's brother was already there.

After talking to Meg, I told my parents. They were so happy that I got accepted. I was ecstatic. I called Meg back and we planned to go shopping for school supplies in August.

* * *

I got another owl on the 29th, just like the letter had said, so then I knew it was all going to happen. The letter told us how to get into Diagon Alley, so Meg and I decided to go together with our parents on the 15th of August.

When the day came, we took a train to London. Diagon Alley was my favorite wizard place. The flowing robes and all the shops were just too much to take in. We were walking past the broom shop when I noticed a blond haired boy wearing an odd sort of uniform. It had a green emblem with a snake on it. He was pretty cute. Meg was looking at the boy quarrelling with him, a handsome boy with black hair and glasses. We kept walking, because we desperately needed supplies, although the boys didn't leave our memories for quite a while.

Soon I turned my attention to the pet store, for I needed an animal to take with me. It was either a rat, an owl, or a cat. Well, I hate rats, and I am allergic to cats, so that narrowed it down considerably. I found a beautiful brown owl, which I named Merlin. He was so graceful and magnificent. As I was buying Merlin, a great white owl swooped down from the rafters. I jumped back in surprise, but Meg took a liking to her right away. She donned her Snow and she got a little owl toy for it, which I thought was extremely absurd, but hey, it's her owl. That ended our visit to the pet store, and off we were to Ollivanders.

I found that it was a very odd shop as was old Ollivander himself. I soon found that under his gruff appearance he was a sweet old man, intent on helping Meg and me find the perfect wand. He gave me a wand to try; I believe it was a Phoenix Feather, Holly, ten inches. Let's just say that it wasn't the wand for me. With one flick of the wrist, the door went flying off the hinges and into the alley. Needless to say, there were some unhappy witches and wizards out there. Next, he gave me a Dragon Heartstring, Ash, seven inches. When I clutched it by the handle, I felt something odd. Something inside of me was starting to bubble and with one swish of the hand, I knew it was the right one for me. Now, Meagan was a different story. She tried at least ten wands before she found the right one. She almost killed a guy passing by, but in the end, she found the perfect one, Unicorn Hair, Holly, eight inches. We left Ollivanders, and then got all our other supplies. I saw that boy again, and I was curious.

By the end of the day, I was thoroughly exhausted. We had gotten all the supplies, and all I had to do now was board the train. I couldn't wait to go to Kings Cross Station, and I couldn't wait to see the Hogwarts Express. Now all I had to do was wait for September 1.

* * *

September 1 came, and along with it came butterflies in my stomach. Meg's father told us how to get to platform nine and three-quarters and at first I was very cautious. I really didn't feel like running through a brick wall, but oh well, you only live once, so I gave it a try. It went a lot better than I expected, and when we got through the platform we saw that it was crowded with tudents. I saw that boy again, and it made my heart leap into my throat. He glanced over at me and then boarded the train.

Meg and I boarded the train and went into our compartment; we got settled into the seats and prepared ourselves for the journey. Not long after, that boy from Diagon Alley with the glasses and jet-black hair came to the compartment door.

He opened it and asked us, Meg in particular, "Would it be okay if me and my friends joined you? All the other ones are full?"

"Sure," Meagan sort of squeaked out. He motioned to his friends, and along came a boy with red hair, and a girl.

"My name is Harry Potter, and these are my friends, Ron Weasley-"

"Nice to meet you," he said.

"-And Hermione Granger."

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance," she said with almost a certain sort of aristocratic air about her.

"So are you both first years?" Harry asked us.

"Yup," I said casually, "my name is Victoria Easton and this is my friend Meg Ryder. What year are you guys?"

"Fird yeers," mumbled the boy Ron, while snacking on his sandwich. I didn't want to know what kind it was because it looked revolting.

"How do you guys like Hogwarts?" Meg asked. I noticed she was acting ever so strange since Harry came in.

"I love it," Harry said, "I would be so unhappy if there wasn't Hogwarts. I love all the teachers, except maybe Professor Snape, but it's still wonderful. I hope you guys enjoy your first year."

"Thanks," we said in unison.

We continued to talk casually, until the blond haired boy walked in. "Well, well, if it isn't scar-faced Potter and his crummy friends."

"You better shut up Malfoy if you know what's good for you," said Harry.

"No Potter, you better shut up. I don't think you realize how powerful my father is, but someday you'll find out. You three will get what's coming for you."

"When are you going to stop hiding behind your father?"

"The question is, when are you going to stop hiding behind that scar of yours? You think you're something special, don't you, Potter? You think you're better than the rest of us, huh?"

"You know I never think that!"

"Let me just tell you one thing, when you play with fire you get burned." Then he did the unexpected, he winked at me and left. I was somewhat shocked.

Then Harry piped up, "A bit of advice, watch out for Draco Malfoy, he's somewhat of a troublemaker."

The conversation kept on, but my mind wandered. I couldn't keep my mind off of Draco. Pretty soon though, the trio decided to leave our compartment and wander around for a little while. Shortly after they had left, a dark, gloomy figure passed by the door. Needless to say, we were pretty jumpy after that.

Fortunately, we arrived, and we set off across the lake to the castle, with the biggest man I had ever seen. His name was Hagrid, and along with his large body, there was a large heart inside. Meg and I were confined to a small boat with our owls, and that's where we talked about the things that happened on the train. Draco and Harry came into the picture real quickly and we couldn't quit talking about them, until I brought up the figure we had seen. Then the conversation went sour.

Soon enough, we were at the castle being herded up the stairs. I let out a blood-curdling scream when a ghost silently flew, if you could call it that, by. I shouldn't have been so scared because Sir Nicholas was very friendly. I quickly found out who Professor McGonagall was, and we entered the Great Hall together for the sorting Ceremony. I went up first, and put the old, tattered Sorting Hat on.

'Hmmm, there is a lot of courage here and intelligence,' it said inside my head, "GRYFFINDOR," it shouted and there was applause.

I was sort of disappointed that I didn't get into Slytherin, but I guess I had to trust the Sorting Hat. A couple of students later, Meg went up there. Much to my relief the Sorting Hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR." More applause. I knew that Meg would be happy, because Harry, Ron, and Hermione were in Gryffindor.

After all the students were sorted, a feast was set before us, one like I had never seen. After eating sevenths, I decided I was full, and soon after we headed up to bed. Meg and I stayed up late talking and paid the price for it the next morning. Madame Hooch wasn't too pleased when we showed up late for flying lessons, but it didn't matter because I was too happy about just being at Hogwarts to care much about getting into trouble.

* * *

Projects and potions kept Meg and I from doing much, but we still made it out to the Quidditch games, and out to see Hagrid. We ate with Hermione, Harry, and Ron at mealtimes and we enjoyed each other's company. It was a great group even though there was an age gap.

Meg was on the Hogwarts newspaper staff with Harry, and she thoroughly enjoyed it, of course. I spent a lot of my time at Hagrid's. He seemed to help with life's little problems, and going there helped to pass the time. I found that Meg was spending a lot of time with Harry, not that I don't mind, but when she was with Harry she wasn't with me. They seemed to like each other, and my suspicions were confirmed one night.

"Victoria, are you awake?" Meg said.

"Hrrrr?? Um, ya. What's up?"

"Well, you know I've been spending a lot of time with Harry lately, and well, you know, I really like him."

"I know you do. I knew that from the very beginning."

"Well, I was wondering if I could ask a favor?"

"What?"

"Well, I was wondering if you could find out if he likes me."

"Whaat?"

"You know, just like ask him what he thinks of me."

"All right, when do you want me to do this?"

"Tomorrow."

"Okay, now please go to sleep."

The next day, I went up to Ron before classes. We had become pretty good friends and I knew that it would be easier to ask him instead of Harry.

"Hey Ron?" I asked.

"Hi Victoria, how are you?"

"Well, I guess I'm doing okay. I haven't died yet."

He laughed.

"Well, anyways. I want to know if you know who Harry likes?"

"Why?"

"Well, is it my friend Meg?"

"Why?"

"RRONN! Quit it!"

He obviously found this amusing.

"Well, what do I get out of the deal?"

"I have a chocolate frog." I waved it in front of his face.

"All right." He made a grab for it, but I was too quick for him.

"You have to tell me first."

"Okay, yes he does like Meg, and he even asked me to find out who she likes."

"You're sure."

"Ya, he told me so himself."

"We have to hook them up."

"Dat would be a dood ideea," Ron said munching on his chocolate frog. For some odd reason, he likes to talk with his mouth full.

"Okay," I said, "I'll see you later Ron, I've got to go talk to Harry."

"Shee ya."

I knew that this wasn't going to be easy, but I couldn't let Meg down. She really liked Harry, I could tell, and they would make the perfect couple. On my way, to meet Harry I ran into Draco.

"Hi Draco!' I said casually.

"Hey Victoria!' he said, "I'll see you in Arithmancy."

"Wait! Have you seen Harry?" The wrong words had just come out of my mouth.

"Scar-faced Potter? Why are you looking for him?"

"For a friend, can just tell me if you've seen him?"

"Well, I guess so. He's back there."

"Thanks, Draco. What class do you have next?"

"My favorite one, Potions."

"Cool, have fun."

It was odd seeing Draco that nice, but lately we had seemed to become good friends, much to Harry's disliking. I don't know why, buy I guess I kind of tried to see under his rough personality to see what he was really like. I believed that one of the reasons he was so mean was because his father had such an influence on him. Lucius Malfoy can be very persuading. We always chummed around, and even though I was a Gryffindor, he didn't seem to hate me too much.

I was taking two 3^rd year classes, which is unusual for a first year. I was fascinated with Magical Creatures and, even though it was a third year class, I was taking it and passing it. I was very smart, of course, not as smart as Hermione, but I loved learning. Hagrid was an awesome teacher, because he taught us by experience. I loved that class. I had it with Ron, Harry, and Hermione. I was also taking Arithmancy with Draco. It was fun because we fooled around all the time, but I loathed numbers.

Anyway, as I was saying, I was on my way to talk to Harry. It was very hard to find him, but in the end I did. I slowly approached, and I don't know how, but Ron was right beside him and they were both smiling.

"Hi Harry, Ron," I said.

"Hey Victoria," said Harry. "So Ron told me that Meg likes me. I want to ask her out, but I need a woman's opinion."

"Okay, take her to her favorite spot."

"Which is?"

"I believe it's right next to the lake, but wait until dusk."

"Okay." It was so cute that he was writing it all down on his hand.

"When are you going to ask her?" I inquired.

"I was thinking about Saturday night after the Quidditch match, but DON"T tell her!!! I want it to be a surprise!"

"My lips are sealed. I'll see you guys later."

I walked away, thinking about how happy Meg would be when he asked her and how big of a favor she owed me. I was very happy for her and I knew I wouldn't hear the end of it on Saturday night.

* * *

I was so excited for Saturday, which was three days away. I couldn't wait. It was so very hard for me to keep a secret, when all Meg does is talk about Harry. It was driving me nuts, but soon I had something else causing curiousness in my mind. I received a note from a secret admirer. The note read:

To Victoria:

Your eyes are like the stars that shine

Your smile is like the sky

Your humor puts a smile on my face

About these things I can never lie.

From: Your Secret Admirer

I had a clue to who it was. It had to be Draco. I mean, he had been unusually nice to me lately. Maybe he was just being nice, but everyone knows that Draco isn't nice. I had no clue. I showed it to Meg and she thought it could be a fellow first year. It was very curious, but I forgot about it and focused more on my studies. I thought that it wasn't serious and someone was playing a joke, but the next day, I got another one.

Dear Victoria,

If you want to know who I am, come to the edge of the glade that's near Hagrid's hut where the forest starts, around dusk Sunday.

Your Secret Admirer

I was very perplexed. Meg encouraged me to go. I wasn't sure that I really wanted to, but in the end I decided that I would go out to the glade on Sunday night. I was really excited for Meg, because Harry and Meg would go perfectly together. Saturday night approached like a snail, but soon enough it came.

From my dormitory window, I have a great view of the lake, so Ron and Hermione came over and we watched it. It was so sweet. Harry told Meg that he had to do a newspaper article on the lake creatures and he needed Meg to take the pictures. So she walked down there and from the window we could see the look on her face when Harry had apparently asked her. Then he kissed her. It looked like a very passionate kiss, and it was a beautiful sunset too. Pretty soon, they returned, hand in hand.

Sunday quickly came. I was so nervous, but Meg encouraged me to brave it. I think that she knew who it was already, but of course she wasn't going to tell me. I walked out to the edge of the glade. After a while of waiting, I was getting ready to walk back in the castle when Ron walked out of Hagrid's hut. He started walking over, and as he came closer he said, "Hey Victoria."

"Hi Ron," I said. "What are you doing out here?"

"Well, I needed to ask you something."

"What do you.." before I could finish my sentence he kissed me. After it was over, I asked Ron, "Were you my secret admirer then?"

"Yup."

"But why? Why do you like me?"

"Because you're you."

After that night I decided that I really like Hogwarts and Ronald Weasley, and I knew that this was just the beginning to another adventure.