Disclaimer: This story is not about the trios adventures. I have also changed things and characters as I see fit to better work for the story I'm trying to tell.
This story will have a bit of a jump because the themes I want to explore can't really be explored until the beginning of year 4 but I felt it was important to write a few chapters of their younger years to establish the relationships the characters have with each other.
Please consider leaving a review, constructive criticism is always appreciated!

The day that I stepped on the Hogwarts Express for the first time, was the beginning of the chain of events that would change my life forever. It was September first, I was eleven years old and, having received my acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that summer, I had just left home for the first time in my young life. Nervous and excited, I was making my way through the train, trying to find my cousin, Ronald Weasley.
I had lost my mother at the age of three and being an only child, I grew up spending a lot of time with my cousins. We acted more like siblings than cousins. Though people never believed we were related at all.
My father and his brother, Arthur came from a long line of Weasleys, all with ginger hair and freckles, and when uncle Arthur married Molly, who also happened to be a redhead, they had seven redheaded, freckled children. They were exactly how people knew the Weasleys.
Father, however, fell in love and married my mother, who was a beautiful, dark haired witch and I was born with the same deep brown hair. The only thing I inherited from the Weasley side of my family was my pale skin and the light freckles strewn across my nose and cheekbones. I often found myself wishing I looked more like Ron and his siblings, so that I would look like I belonged.
Father was running late that morning and when we finally arrived on platform nine and three quarters, I couldn't see Ron or the rest of the Weasleys anywhere. Once on the train, I ran into Fred and George, my older twin cousins, and they directed me towards the back of the train, where they had seen Ron sitting with another first year.
Sure enough, when I reached the last car, I heard a familiar voice coming from one of the compartments. Just as I had made it close enough to make out what was being said, the conversation stopped and the door slid open. A blonde boy I had never seen before stepped out, flanked by two large boys who looked more like his bodyguards than his peers. He looked right at me and I was stunned by his beautiful, icy blue eyes. In hindsight, I think I fell in love in that instant despite not knowing anything about him.
Of course, I was eleven and had no idea what love was. To me, it was an abstract concept, something adults did when they were ready to marry and have children. All I knew in that moment was that the boy coming towards me was beautiful and that his presence made my heart beat funny. As we passed each other in that narrow corridor, our hands touched briefly and I could feel my face turning furiously red.
Unable to move, I stared at his retreating back until he turned and our eyes met once more. His eyes seemed full of unspoken questions. I probably would have kept staring at him forever if it hadn't been for one of the large boys moving to stand in front of him.
With the spell broken, I quickly ducked into the compartment the boys had just come out of.
"Where have you been? We didn't see you on the platform." The sudden voice made me jump and turn around. It would seem I had found Ron.
I felt suddenly self-conscious and hoped the blush on my cheeks had disappeared. "Dad was running late this morning, we made it just in time for me to board the train."
Ron didn't really seem interested in what I had to say, instead he kept glancing at the boy sitting across from him. "Am I interrupting something?" I asked, feeling suddenly awkward.
Ron let out an exasperated sigh. "This is Harry, Harry Potter!" Ron couldn't hide the excitement in his voice.
I looked over at Harry who looked mostly uncomfortable and felt sorry for him. He must have gotten a lot of attention all morning. "Nice to meet you, Harry! I'm Clara Weasley, Ron's cousin."
Ron looked outraged. "You did hear me say Harry Potter, didn't you?" Clearly, he felt my reaction to meeting the boy who lived was underwhelming.
"Yes, Ronald, I heard you but unlike you, I'm not star struck." Ron always hated it when I called him Ronald.
His cheeks grew furiously red. "I'm not star struck," he muttered.
Having grown up with muggles and being denied any knowledge of all things magic, Harry was excited to ask us questions about the magical world. He found every little detail about our lives interesting and I could tell Ron was enjoying the attention.
The train ride seemed to go by quickly, the world outside the window growing dark as evening fell. An announcement sounded through the train telling us we would be arriving at Hogsmeade Station in exactly fifteen minutes. Percy, another one of my older cousins, poked his head through the door to let us know that we should change into our robes.
The closer we got to the station, the queasier I began to feel. What if I didn't make any friends? What if I was bad in all my classes?
The uneasy feeling continued, as the station came into view. I must have been doing something to make Ron notice how uncomfortable I was feeling, because he placed a reassuring hand on my arm and smiled.
Feeling slightly better, I followed the sea of students off the train. A large man with a bushy beard stood on the platform and called for the first years to follow him. I tried hard not to, but I couldn't help but stare. The man was so huge he looked more like a small giant than a normal man.
The man's name was Hagrid, Harry informed us, and he was the gamekeeper at the school. Hagrid had been the one who had saved Harry from his muggle family and brought him to Diagon Alley to purchase the things he needed for his first year at Hogwarts.

Soon, all the first years were off the train and hurrying to keep up with Hagrid, as he led us down a steep hill to a large lake, where a dozen small boats sat waiting at the docks. Everyone wanted to sit with their friends, until there wasn't enough room in one boat for all three of us. Ron and I ended up sitting with a bushy haired girl whom he seemed to know.

"I'm Hermione Granger," she said, extending a hand towards me.

I shook her hand, feeling strange about the whole thing. I had never met a child who shook hands without being prompted to by their parents. "Clara Weasley."

"Are you related to him?" she nodded towards Ron, who was sitting at the back of the small boat, trying not to catch her attention.

"We're cousins."

Hermione seemed to accept this with mild interest, before launching into a long monologue that consisted of random facts about Hogwarts, all the school books she had already skimmed through and how excited she was to start learning.

I could tell exactly why Ron found her annoying. She was chatty and a bit of a know-it-all. It seemed she took incredible pride in all the facts she had memorized. Ron kept making faces behind her back and I had to fight hard not to laugh.

Soon, Ron's face changed from silly to awestruck, as he stared at something behind me. When I turned to look, I couldn't help but feel the same. There, atop a tall mountain, was a large castle beyond anything I could have ever imagined. Even Hermione had gone quiet.

The boats docked at a small boathouse below the mountain. Once all the students were off the boats, Hagrid gestured for us to follow him up a ridiculously long staircase built into the side of the mountain. Ron groaned and complained that his feet hurt almost the entire way up.

I was about ready to shove him down the stairs, when we finally reached the courtyard. Hagrid walked confidently up to the giant double doors of the castle and knocked. It seemed such a silly thing to do; knocking on the door of such a large castle.

A strict looking witch opened the doors and looked out over the crowd. "Go ahead and join the others, Hagrid," her friendly tone did not match the seriousness of her face.

As Hagrid disappeared into the castle, the witch turned her attention back to the crowd of nervous first years. "Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," she spoke the words rather matter-of-factly. "I am professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor house. In a few moments, you will be joining your fellow students in the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony, but first you will follow me inside."

Once inside the castle, I couldn't help but look around in wonder. All the stories Fred and George had told us about Hogwarts couldn't possibly compare to the real thing.

"Now," the professor began once more, "I will go inside and prepare. When we are ready for you, I will come back and we will all enter the hall in an orderly fashion. You will be quiet and behave yourselves while you wait."

Professor McGonagall had barely closed the doors behind her, when Ron nudged me and pointed towards Harry standing at the front of the crowd. We made our way to him, passing Hermione on the way.

"Which house do you reckon you'll be in?" Ron asked, looking at both me and Harry.

"As long as I don't end up in Slytherin, I'm happy," I replied while Harry shrugged.

"I reckon I'll be in Gryffindor like the rest of my family."

I grinned. "With your luck, Ronald, you'll end up in Slytherin."

Ron had just enough time to shoot me a nasty look, before the doors leading to the Great Hall opened. Professor McGonagall appeared once more. "Follow me!"

The hall was amazing. Hundreds of candles floated above four, long tables lined with students wearing their various house colors. I almost tripped over my own feet staring at the enchanted ceiling that looked exactly like the sky outside. The best part was that there was so much to look at that I completely forgot about all the eyes staring at us. That is, until we reached the front of the hall.

In front of the teachers table was a rickety looking chair with an ugly, brown hat. I was sure it was the sorting hat Fred and George had told us about after their first year at Hogwarts.

Professor McGonagall unfurled her scroll and began calling out names. One by one, the crowd of first years dwindled, until there were only a few of us left.

"Draco Malfoy!"

My heart made a strange leap, as the blonde boy I had seen on the train made his way to the chair. Our eyes met for a moment, causing my cheeks to turn the color of Ron's hair. I held my breath as he took a seat. The hat had barely touched his head when it shouted: "Slytherin!".

Draco seemed extremely pleased and my stomach dropped. I had never heard of any decent people ending up in Slytherin.

"Hermione Granger!"

Ron nudged me and whispered: "I bet she'll end up in Ravenclaw." I nodded in agreement, she seemed exactly the type.

"Gryffindor!" The hat shouted, much to my surprise and Ron's dismay.

"Ronald Weasley!"

My stomach lurched, next would be my turn. Ron looked nervous, as the Sorting Hat sat quietly on his head for a moment. "Gryffindor!" it finally shouted to Ron's obvious relief. I could hear Fred and George cheering loudly behind me.

"Clara Weasley!"

With a deep breath, I stepped up in front of the entire school. My palms felt sweaty. I could feel everyone's eyes on me and I knew a lot of them were wondering the same thing most people wondered when they met me: how on earth was I a Weasley.

As I took a seat, my eyes wandered to the Slytherin table and to Draco. He had a strange look on his face, one I couldn't quite read. The hat slid down and covered my eyes, it was way too big for a normal sized head.

"Hm," I heard a sudden voice in my ear, almost making me jump out of my seat. "Your heritage is colorful indeed, young Weasley. Two sides pulling in opposite directions, coming together in you. Where to put you… Best put you with the rest of them; Gryffindor!"

My legs were shaking when I stood up to meet my cousins at the Gryffindor table. I wondered what the hat had meant when it said my heritage was colorful. My worries were soon forgotten, however, when Percy shook my hand and the twins excitedly welcomed me to Gryffindor.

I had barely sat down when Professor McGonagall finally called out Harry's name. The entire hall went silent and people stretched their necks to get a better look at him. Poor Harry looked like he might get sick, as he sat down on the chair and waited.

The hat was silent for much longer than it had with anyone else. Everyone held their breaths in anticipation, they all wanted to know which house would get the boy who lived.

"Gryffindor!"

The entire table around me erupted in a thunderous roar. Percy shook Harry's hand eagerly and the twins kept shouting: "we got Potter! We got Potter!".

The rest of the sorting ceremony went by fast, there were only a handful of children left to sort after Harry. The headmaster, Dumbledore, clapped his hands and the tables filled to the brim with all kinds of food you could imagine. Ron's eyes went wide with excitement, as he began loading up his plate with chicken and potatoes.

I hadn't noticed how hungry I was until the food was in front of me. Suddenly, my stomach was growling loudly and I ended up eating more than I probably should have.

Once the meal was over, Dumbledore held a short speech, welcoming all the first years and announcing new school rules. I knew I should have paid more attention, but it was hard to focus when my eyes kept wandering over to the Slytherin table. Sometimes I would catch Draco looking at me and my heart would skip a beat.

It seems unavoidable to me now, it was as if destiny had decided that we needed to meet and feel inexplicably drawn to each other no matter how hard we tried to fight it.

At the time, I had no idea what was happening to me but over the next few years I would come close to finding out.