Chapter 1

Rodrick was startled. He found himself frozen, staring at an imminent disaster. One eye on a young raven haired girl, the other, on the trolley rocketing towards her. There was a tuft of red hair, pushing said trolley or… perhaps being pulled by it? Magic was the first explanation to enter his mind.

The girl wasn't budging. Rodrick was the first to move and took his place in front of her, facing the incoming onslaught. The trolley showed no signs of stopping. Putting one hand up, Rodrick murmured a small spell causing it to slow down until it came to a halt.

"T-thanks, I am not sure what got into it!" stammered the red-haired boy who was supposedly at the wheel. "I am Ron by the way, Ron Weasley," he quickly introduced himself. A little too cheerfully, considering he'd almost sent someone to the hospital.

"Rodrick," replied the black haired youth. "You should get going before her parents get here," he added with a small smirk.

The other boy didn't spare a second glance and started off his trolley once again towards his family. Rodrick took his eyes off the fleeing ginger and turned his attention to the young raven in front of him. "Are you okay?" his voice barely a whisper. The girl, however, looked glued in place. Rodrick moved a hand towards her head and a soft glow shined out of it.

"Ugh," was the first sound to leave her lips. The girl frantically looked around before her eyes slid up, soft yellow ones meeting her hazel ones. "Aah, thank you," she said quickly, fearing she had been impolite.

"No problem," replied the viper-eyed youth. "What's your name?" he asked with a smile that reached his eyes. Her clothes looked expensive… pureblood family perhaps?

"Astoria Greengrass," the little girl replied, her face glowing with a smile.

"Rodrick. A pleasure to meet you," Greengrass… the name sounded familiar.

Before he could contemplate it any further, he spotted three people running towards them. The woman was beautiful, with the same dark raven hair that reached her shoulders. Eyes sparkled like emeralds; She wore an expensive looking dark dress. Probably the mother. The man was dressed in a business suit. He had short brown hair with the same eyes as the young girl. Another dark haired girl followed them behind a trolley; she looked to be his age, he noted. When he looked closer, he saw the same emerald eyes as the mother. She was as tall as he is.

The woman bowed down towards her youngest daughter, pulling her into a hug. "I was so worried there for a second," there was a note of fear in her voice. She turned to the boy with a smile and thanked him.

Rodrick nodded, not knowing how else to respond and as he was about to turn to move away, a hand suddenly got a hold of his shoulder. The hand turned him gently, until he was facing the man.

"What's your name, young man? I believe I owe you my thanks for helping my daughter," there was a twinkle in his eyes as he spoke.

Rodrick opened his mouth to respond, but it was the young girl that spoke first: "His name is Rodrick!" she cheered with a toothy smile. Rodrick gave off a look of embarrassment at the sudden attention. He nodded meekly at the girl's words.

"Rodrick?" The man asked waiting for something else.

My last name, the boy realized."Just Rodrick, I am an orphan" he slowly added, not knowing what to expect next. The man's mouth went into an O shape.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Rodrick. My name is Cyrus Greengrass, and this is my wife, Roxanne,".The woman let loose another smile with the introductions. "I take it this is your first year? It will be Daphne's first year as well". The man added, pointing to his daughter, who appeared by his side.

Rodrick nodded again, unsure how to respond. The silence was starting to grow. 'What should I say? Should I leave now or am I expected to stay?' The thoughts whizzed around his head, fumbling for the correct course.

"Do you know anything about your family?" This question came from the green eyed mother, who wore a thoughtful, if empathetic, look on her face.

"No. I grew up in an orphanage," He was not sure how much to tell strangers.

Cyrus's eyes seemed to linger on Rodrick's trolley for a moment.

Ah, right. "I received all of the money for this with my letters of recommendation,"

"Really?" came the surprised answer of Cyrus, who put a hand on his chin to accommodate his thoughtful look. "Strange, perhaps you have some family somewhere who know about you?" He asked.

What did it matter to these people? He had never gotten much attention at the orphanage, and the moment he left, strangers were suddenly interested in him. "I wouldn't know of any," shrugged Rodrick, not all that bothered about it.

"You said letters?" The question came from Mrs. Greengrass this time. "There was more than one?" she added on.

"Yes, one from Hogwarts and another from Durmstrang" Rodrick replied quickly. Was that strange? He thought, most people got multiple letters didn't they? He turned his eyes over to the clock, panic swelling as he realized he was about to be late. The adults seemed to notice as well.

"I am going to go," he said with a smile "It was nice to meet all of you," he added politely. Before the Greengrass family could say anything else, he was already on his way. As he broke into a run, he heard snippets of a conversation involving wandless magic, or something like that. He put the thoughts at the back of his mind and made his way through the train platform, just like he'd seen others do before him.

To say he was awestruck at the sight that greeted him would be an understatement. Hundreds of people were on the other side. Some looked to be boarding the train, others were still hugging family members. He noticed the red haired boy from earlier talking to his family. Four or five? He wasn't sure how many children there were: there was a girl and even twins. Not much seemed to be missing. Their clothes looked rundown as his own and he paid them no more heed as he moved across.

Rodrick let go of his trolley. He started to levitate his items, believing it to be easier to carry everything inside. He did not expect the surprised looks. Everyone around him, including the red haired group was staring at him, in surprise or even in shock. Perhaps it was because he was alone, while everyone else was surrounded by family. He didn't let his thoughts linger on it too long, lest he got upset again. Soon he was walking through the compartments with his luggage floating behind and the stares of other passengers piercing him from all directions. 'What's with all these people' he thought, shifting around uncomfortably. He put away his trunk, taking a book and his wand out and made to find an empty compartment. He then proceeded to sink into one of the window seats and opened up his book. Hogwarts: A History.