Meeting New Friends

Arriving early at King's Cross Station, Alex pushed his trolley loaded with luggage to the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10. There were Aurors stationed around the area, likely to prevent any Muggles from wandering through by mistake.

After checking that no one was watching him too closely, Alex took a deep breath and pushed his trolley through the barrier.

On the other side, the Hogwarts Express sat waiting on the platform, its dark red steam engine ready to take students to school. The platform wasn't crowded yet—it was only a little after 9 AM, and the train wouldn't depart until 11.

Alex picked a random carriage, levitated his luggage inside with a flick of his wand, and settled into an empty compartment.

He placed his owl, Tailwind, on the table and watched as the sleepy bird continued to doze in its cage. Shaking his head with a smile, Alex opened his book, 'Basic Transfiguration Guide,' to review the material.

An hour passed quietly. The platform outside grew busier as more students arrived with their families. Then, a knock came at the door of his compartment.

"Is anyone sitting here?" a young girl asked, pointing to the seat opposite Alex.

She looked about his age, with long brown hair and light green eyes. There was a hint of nervousness in her expression.

"No, feel free to sit," Alex replied, offering her a kind smile.

"I'm Alex Wilson. Need help with your luggage?" he asked, noticing that she was struggling with her heavy suitcase.

The girl nodded gratefully. "I'm Vivienne Bulstrode, but just call me Vivian" she said as she stepped aside.

With a wave of his hand, Alex levitated her suitcase into the luggage rack with ease.

"Wow, that was cool! You didn't even use your wand!" Vivian exclaimed, clearly impressed. "Are you a senior? I'm a first-year, heading to Hogwarts for the first time."

Alex chuckled. "Actually, I'm a first-year too. I've just had some practice with magic before starting school."

Vivian's eyes widened. "You're really good! I thought only older students could cast spells like that. What family are you from? I don't recognize the name Wilson."

Alex shrugged. "I'm an orphan, raised in the Muggle world. No connections to any pure-blood families."

Vivian looked surprised. "Really? You don't seem like a Muggle-born at all with how well you use magic!"

"My grandfather's a Squib," she continued excitedly. "He was expelled from the Bulstrode family, but when I got my Hogwarts letter, we were welcomed back. He was so proud!"

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Your family kicked your grandfather out, and now he's happy to go back? Doesn't that bother you?"

Vivian shrugged. "He's happy because he hates being a Squib. To him, being back in the Bulstrode family is a big deal. They're one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight pure-blood families, after all."

Alex didn't fully understand her pride in returning to a family that had cast out her grandfather, but he let it go. Everyone had their own views on family, after all.

Just then, there was a commotion on the platform outside. Alex leaned toward the window. "What's going on out there?" he asked.

Vivian poked her head out of the window to take a look. "Looks like an argument. I think it's the Travers and McKinnon families. I've seen them at family gatherings."

When she pulled her head back in, her hair was windswept and a bit messy.

She grinned. "I heard that the McKinnon family thinks someone in the Travers family is a Death Eater. They've been at each other's throats ever since an Auror from the McKinnon family got hurt by one of the Travers Death Eaters."

Alex blinked in surprise. "How do you know all this?"

Vivian puffed out her chest, looking smug. "Since we rejoined the Bulstrode family, I've been to a lot of gatherings. You hear a lot of stories after dinner. Let me tell you, the pure-blood families have a lot of secrets!"

Alex couldn't help but laugh inwardly. 'She likes to gossip.'

The two continued to watch the commotion outside the train window.

"Do you think they'll fight?" Vivian asked Alex, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

"I doubt it," Alex replied, pointing to the Aurors who had already arrived. "They're here to maintain order. It'll probably get stopped before anything serious happens."

Sure enough, the Aurors quickly intervened, separating the two groups who had been arguing and looked ready to come to blows.

"Huh, I was hoping for a good fight. What a letdown," Vivian said with a disappointed sigh, leaning back from the window with a bored expression.

Alex couldn't help but laugh inwardly. Watching her, he felt like he was seeing a person who enjoyed sitting back, eating popcorn, and watching other people's drama, completely detached from the situation. 'She's like one of those people who just love to watch things unfold from the sidelines,' he thought.

Vivian turned to him, changing the subject. "Which house do you think we'll be sorted into? My family's always been in Slytherin, so I'm guessing I'll end up there too."

"I don't really care, but I'd like to be in Ravenclaw. I heard they have their own library, and it seems like a good place for quiet study," Alex replied. He'd done his homework about the Hogwarts houses and thought Ravenclaw suited him best.

Vivian laughed. "Yeah, I figured you for a Ravenclaw. The moment I saw you, you were reading. I've heard Ravenclaw's full of smart students."

Alex chuckled. "If you end up in Slytherin, just be careful. Things are pretty chaotic in the magical world right now, and I've heard a lot of those who follow the Dark Lord are from Slytherin."

Vivian waved her hand dismissively. "It's not that bad. Plenty of Slytherins are neutral. Like my family—they don't think the Dark Lord can actually win. They think his ideas are too extreme."

"Is it because of Dumbledore?" Alex asked. "I've heard he's the greatest wizard of our time."

Vivian shrugged. "That's part of it, but it's more about the Dark Lord's pure-blood obsession. He wants to get rid of wizards with Muggle blood, but a lot of pure-blood families have business dealings with Muggles, and… well," she leaned in and lowered her voice, "many pure-blood families have married into Muggle families at some point. If they didn't, the family line would die out."

Alex nodded thoughtfully. He had considered this before. It made sense—if pure-blood families only married each other, they would eventually run into problems with inbreeding, leading to health and mental issues.

"Just don't say that out loud if you end up in Slytherin. They might not like hearing it," Alex warned with a slight grin.

"Don't worry, I'm not stupid," Vivian said with a smirk.

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door of their compartment.