Giselle Durand breathed in and out, trying her best to control her breathing as the nerves inside her slowly reached fever pitch. Platform 9 and ¾ was somehow already crowded but Giselle was glad as it allowed for her to easily blend in, as well as allowing for her to calm down before getting onto the train. 

Corentin Durand couldn't help but feel the nostalgia wash over him as he observed the platform and all the students ready to start another year. A little while ago he had been the same excited student ready to board the train to Hogwarts, and even though everything else in the lives' of Giselle and Corentin was messy, he was just glad his eldest daughter was getting the same chance away from just visiting the castle throughout the Triwizard Tournament. 

"How are you feeling, Gi? Nervous?" Corentin looked down at the brunette whose eyes kept darting around the platform with apprehension.

"Oh you know I'm fine, this wasn't exactly how I thought I would be spending my last year but hey it's not like everything can get much worse, right?"

"That's my girl, you can't go wrong with a positive attitude!"

Giselle smiled tersely at her father's words although the true extent of her anxiety hadn't even been revealed. She knew very well that Fred Weasley was somewhere on this platform and despite her desperate attempts at a pep talk in her mirror that morning, she wasn't any closer to finally explaining herself fully. She had already cried in front of him once and was not quite planning on doing so any time soon. 

"The train is leaving soon, Gi." Corentin reminded Giselle, his arms wrapping around the girl. "It's all going to be alright, you know? You can owl if needed, but as for me I have a few things that need sorting out." 

"With mum?"

"Yeah, but with a few other things as well, but don't you worry about them, okay? I'll see you at Christmas."

"See you, Dad. Love you!" Giselle called, wrapping her arms around her father before finally boarding the train.  

With a final look over her shoulder at her father who gave her a reassuring smile back, Giselle took her first steps down the corridor of the Hogwarts Express, the first steps toward her fresh start. 

A little ways further down the platform, Fred Weasley stood with the rest of his family and all the extras that surrounded them. It even appeared that the Weasley family now had a dog as Sirius Black in his animagus form was trotting beside them. Most of the protection was of course due to the fact that Harry was with them but the Weasley family was very used to it all after all. 

The Weasley family had only just started their goodbyes, when Fred suddenly caught a sudden glimpse of brown hair belonging to a very familiar silhouette. It only took him a second to run away from the group towards the figure at it boarded the train, but his gaze was suddenly broken as George ran in front of him. 

"What on earth are you doing, Freddie? You just ran over here like something had spooked you."

"I thought I saw her, George. She looked just like Giselle."

"Fred, I'm always going to be supportive but it's not like you to be so hooked over a girl, if Angelina heard about this she would-"

"I don't care what Angelina thinks!" Fred shouted, running his hands through his hair frantically. 

"Fred, you said so yourself that Giselle is in France by now back attending Beauxbatons. It's time to focus on the year ahead, not the summer, alright?" George said, looking over at his twin who seemed to be back in deep thought before finally shaking himself out of it and looking over to George. 

"Yeah, you are right, Georgie. Sorry that I've been so distracted lately."

"It's completely fine, Fred. Let's get back over to the group before we give mum a heart attack."

Giselle's eyes flickered from compartment to compartment, searching for an empty or nearly empty one, hoping that she wouldn't be forced into making friends in her first hour as a Hogwarts student. Although she always seemed to make friends fairly easily in her Beauxbatons years, Giselle had no idea how that would translate into making friends at Hogwarts. 

She knew that with her younger sister many people just wanted to become friends with her because of the family's wealth and pureblood status and although Giselle had never experienced such things, her active imagination couldn't help but spin the worst possibilities. 

All these thoughts were whirling around Giselle's head as she walked further down the corridor, failing to notice the loud, laughing group of students that had just entered, however, the second she noticed the red hair, the one mainly responsible for the laughter out of the group, panic quickly took over, blocking out any rational thought. 

It didn't take long for the brunette to dive into the nearest compartment which just so happened to be the bathroom, but after quickly locking herself into a cubicle, she finally took the moment to breathe.

"What a great start, Giselle, truly." She muttered to herself, smoothing down her hair before laughing at her own stupidity.