Following the flowing crowds of people disembarking the train did not allow Anika any means to exude her excitement, so she took to fiddling with her braids, which she had elected to keep in.

Mary was right ahead of her, and as they climbed off of the train, Anika grabbed onto Mary's arm so that they didn't get separated, she wasn't ready to lose sight of her new friend yet. The pair wove through the crowd, nearing the place where a gigantic man was holding a lantern above the crowd of students and shouting, "Firs' Years this way!"

"Why do we have to go somewhere different than the rest of the students," Mary asked Anika as the pair pushed their way through the final row of taller students and joined the crowd of first years milling around the large man.

"It's tradition," Anika explained, recalling what she had read in Hogwarts: A History, "the first years approach the school by boat."

"I hate boats!" Mary complained, "I get seasick."

"Don't worry it's not a very long boat ride," Anika assured her.

"Everyone here?" The large man asked, "right follow me!"

The large group of first years followed the large man single filed down a narrow slippery pathway.

"Where are we going?" Mary asked.

"To the lake, I think."

"You'll get your first view of Hogwarts in just a mo'," said the man.

There was a large 'ohhh' from those ahead of Anika and Mary, as they rounded a bend and saw the castle silhouetted against the night. And finally, there it was. Anika could make out each individual window, as light poured out into the dark night. The castle was embedded into the side of a mountain, with many turrets and towers.

"It's massive!" Mary exclaimed, "I'm so going to get lost!"

The pathway opened up and the group found themselves on the shore of a great lake. There was a small jetty, to which many small wooden boats were moored.

"Four to a boat!" the big man called out, leading the group onto the jetty, "in 'yer get, quick as you can."

Anika took Mary towards a boat at the middle of the jetty. Anika climbed in first and then helped Mary clamber in, the girl was already looking green at the mere thought of getting into one of the small boats.

"You'll be fine," said Anika, "we won't be on them for long, all you've got to do is keep looking straight forwards." Mary took a large gulp and plonked herself down on the front bench, staring directly towards the castle.

"Is it alright if we join you?" The redheaded girl whom Anika had been watching at King's Cross had approached their boat. She was accompanied by a sallow-skinned boy, who looked like he would rather suck lemons than get into a boat with other people.

"Of course." Anika smiled at them, she decided not to offer her hand for them to shake, after Mary's affirmation that the gesture was too formal, "I'm Anika and this is Mary."

"Lily," said the redhead girl as she climbed into the boat, "and this is Severus. This is all so exciting isn't it!" Lily said gleefully.

"Very," Anika smiled back, feeling as though she was already far better at introducing herself to people than she had been earlier that day.

Once all of the new students had situated themselves in boats, the large man could again be heard above the chatter again.

"Everyone in?" He shouted, he was in a boat right at the end of the jetty by himself, "right then- FORWARD!"

"I can't believe we really get to go to school in a castle, Sev isn't it amazing!" Lily said as the boats began to advance on the castle.

The sallow-skinned boy, Severus, smiled, "I told you that being a wizard was cool, we're special Lily."

The rest of the journey was taken in silence, the only noise being the laughter from a boat of four boys- two of which were James and Sirius whom Anika had met on the train. James was rocking the boat violently from side to side, causing Sirius and a small pudgy boy to laugh as they tried to avoid getting splashed. The fourth boy was watching James in amusement, and Anika thought that she saw his arms twitch a few times as if he was considering pushing James into the lake- she wouldn't have blamed him if he did.

Everyone else was stunned into silence by the sheer magnitude of Hogwarts, which only seemed to grow bigger as they drew nearer. The whole group was craning their necks to look up when they were jolted back to reality by the large man- whose boat was leading the group- shouted, "Head down!" just as his boat passed through a curtain of ivy which hung from the cliffs, disguising a wide opening. All of the boats floated in, and they found themselves in an underground harbour of sorts.

The boats ground to a halt and they all climbed onto the rocks, which were slick with algae. When she climbed out of the boat, Mary almost immediately slipped on the wet surface, grabbing Anika for support.

"I hate boats," Mary mumbled as she steadied herself. The girl's pallor began to return to normal as they followed the large man up the jagged steps and finally onto smooth grass, where they could see the castle again. Finally, they climbed a final set of stone steps, which lead to huge oak doors, which stood open. A tall woman with stern features, who was wearing emerald green robes was stood in the doorway waiting for them.

"Thankyou Hagrid," the woman smiled at the large man, who grinned back, continuing past her and slipping through another set of large oak doors, from which the babble of many voices could be heard.

"Follow me, everyone," said the woman. She led them past the doors which Hagrid had gone through and into a smaller doorway into a small empty chamber off to one side of the hall. The group crowded in, filling almost every inch of the chamber. Once everyone had found themselves a spot they all looked up at the woman expectantly.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said the woman, "my name is Professor McGonagall. The start of term banquet will begin shortly, but first, you must be sorted into your houses..." Professor McGonagall continued on, describing the importance of the housing system, "there are four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin-"

There was a loud booing from the back of the chamber. Everyone turned to look at the source which happened to be James and Sirius, who were effectively asserting themselves as the troublemakers of the year group from the get-go.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly, giving the two boys a stern look, which silenced them, "While you are at Hogwarts," she continued as if she had not been interrupted, "your triumphs will earn you points, whilst any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will be awarded the house cup, a great honour. I hope each one of you will be a credit to whichever house you become a part of. The sorting ceremony will commence in a few moments, I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait, quietly," she glanced back at James and Sirius on the word quietly. McGonagall smiled at the group, before leaving the chamber.