Esther dragged her luggage behind Ernie as they squeezed their way onto the train.
They weren't early; most compartments were already filled with students.
Ernie, however, navigated with practiced precision, leading her straight toward the back carriages, and then confidently opened the door to a compartment.
Inside sat two children, a boy and a girl.
The boy was Justin Finch-Fletchley, whom she had bumped into in Diagon Alley and the girl had rosy cheeks and golden hair braided into two tidy plaits.
Esther guessed she must be Hannah Abbott.
The girl whose name was called first at the Sorting Ceremony in the original story.
"Let me introduce you," Ernie said, beaming with pride. "This is my cousin, Esther Mayne. She's a first-year this year. You've already met Justin in Diagon Alley. And this is Hannah Abbott, she's in Hufflepuff too."
So she was right...Hannah Abbott.
Esther grinned and shook each of their hands.
"Hello! Nice to meet you."
Hannah had been staring at her ever since she walked in, and finally burst out, "Ernie, your cousin is so pretty! Way prettier than you!"
Ernie puffed up like an overly proud rooster.
"Of course! I'm sure no first-year this year is prettier than my cousin!"
Esther couldn't help laughing.
The four of them sat down, chatting comfortably, until Justin asked Esther which house she wanted to be sorted into.
Ernie answered before she could:
"Hufflepuff, obviously!"
Esther nodded enthusiastically.
"My mum was a Hufflepuff, and my dad's a Ravenclaw. I'll probably be sorted into one of those two houses. But since I don't like studying very much, I'm hoping for Hufflepuff!"
In her previous world, Gryffindor and Slytherin were more popular among fans online, but she had always thought Hufflepuff was the best.
Maybe Hufflepuffs weren't as outwardly heroic as Gryffindors, or as dramatic as Slytherins, or as brainy as Ravenclaws—but in all the stories she remembered, every Hufflepuff student, no matter how big or small their role, had been honest, loyal, brave, and kind.
Hufflepuff had never produced a single Dark wizard.
"Hufflepuff is the best house!"
The three second-years chorused their agreement with absolute conviction.
Time drifted pleasantly in their cheerful little bubble, and soon the trolley witch rolled her cart to their compartment.
"Anything off the trolley, dears?" she asked kindly.
Esther shot her hand into the air.
"I'll take one of everything!"
The trolley witch blinked, taken aback.
"Are you… quite sure you want one of everything?"
Esther shook her head, dug out a fistful of gold Galleons, and declared,
"No, make it two of each.
Actually Four!"
The others: !!!!
"Whoa! Esther, you're loaded!" Hannah exclaimed, struggling to hold her armful of sweets.
Justin nodded silently in awe.
Ernie was the proudest of them all, acting as though he personally had just purchased half the trolley. He straightened his back, chest practically glowing with pride.
"Go on, everyone, help yourselves," Esther said, already biting into a Chocolate Frog.
She opened another Chocolate Frog, handed the chocolate body to Ernie, and kept the card for herself.
"It's Newt Scamander!" she squealed happily. "This is a great sign! It means I'm destined for Hufflepuff!"
Newt Scamander—the famous Magizoologist—had been a Hufflepuff too, though he was later expelled for breaking school rules.
Ernie glanced at the card while chewing.
"You like Newt Scamander? I have loads of his cards. You can have all of them."
Esther tucked the card away with a smile.
"I do like him."
As a lifelong Potterhead in her previous world, she had liked almost every character in the series (except Umbridge, naturally), even Voldemort as a fictional villain.
But now that she actually lived inside this world, she expected her feelings to change.She definitely wouldn't treat Voldemort and the Death Eaters as amusing fictional characters.
Because here, they weren't storybook villains, they were living, breathing, dangerous people.
"Excuse me," a timid voice said from the doorway. A round-faced boy stood there, nervously clutching the frame. "Have any of you seen Harry or Ron? We can't find them anywhere."
He wore Gryffindor robes and looked rather unremarkable—shy, quiet, the type who seemed easily overlooked.
But perhaps because this compartment was full of friendly Hufflepuffs, he seemed nervous but not frightened.
"Oh, we haven't seen Harry or Ron," Hannah answered. "Weren't they with you?"
The boy shook his head.
"No. Ginny said they came in right behind her through the barrier. But once everyone got on the train, they were gone. Hermione and Ginny have been looking everywhere, and I'm helping too."
"Who's Ginny?" Justin asked curiously.
"Ginny is their little sister. A Weasley. She's a first-year this year."
He explained all this, then sighed, muttering, "You didn't see them either… I'll keep looking at the back, then."
He drifted off down the corridor.
When he was gone, Esther whispered, "Who was that?"
Though she already had a very strong suspicion.
"That's Neville Longbottom," Ernie said. "He's in Gryffindor. Same year as us."
As expected—Neville.
Esther instinctively glanced over at Hannah.
Hannah noticed the look and blinked. "What is it?"
Esther quickly shook her head.
"Oh, nothing. You just had a bit of chocolate on your mouth."
Hannah flushed and wiped her lips.
In the original story, Hannah and Neville eventually got married. But right now, at this age, they probably didn't even have the faintest spark between them.
Sigh. She so wanted to spoil a tiny detail like that—but she didn't dare.
She was terrified that even one careless flap of her butterfly wings might derail the entire timeline.
Even though the original story had regrets and losses, the ending was still a good ending, and she didn't want to risk pushing it toward ruin.
That would be unforgivable.
Right now, the plot should be at the point where Dobby purposely prevents Harry from reaching Hogwarts, so Harry and the perpetually unlucky Ron are likely stuck outside Platform Nine and Three-Quarters and will end up taking the enchanted flying car.
So Esther kept staring out the window.
How could she possibly miss such an iconic moment?
Ernie eyed her curiously.
"Esther, what are you looking at?"
"I'm… looking at the scenery!" she blurted. "The scenery outside is very pretty!"
"Oh." Ernie accepted this without question and turned back to chat with the others.
Esther kept staring for a long time, but no flying car appeared.
Maybe they were on the wrong side of the train. Maybe she needed to look out the other window.
She sighed, a little disappointed.
Still, the Hogwarts Express chugged on, and Hogwarts would be arriving soon enough.
***
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