Sitting on a train with only a sleeping dog for company, you think I'd be a little nervous. After what I've been through, being alone isn't enough to make me nervous. The unknown, though, is another thing altogether. Moving country for the second time in four years, starting at a new school, those made me nervous. But not too nervous. My dad would be there as well, teaching. I just wish I knew why.

Of course, it being a boarding school meant I would be around my classmates all year round. That may or may not be a good thing. I don't know. I hadn't met any of them yet. I could hear them, moving about on the platform outside, and every now and then one would look through the glass in the door and see the compartment was taken, then move on. I stopped looking up from my books the third time that happened. Well, I stopped moving my head. I still glanced up at the door.

To quote my dad, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to tear your face off. Or worse.

Eventually though, all the compartments must have filled up, because a trio of students looked through the glass and hesitated. I glanced over my book at them. There was enough space in the compartment for them, if they didn't mind squishing up a little and weren't afraid of dogs. I caught the eye of the girl of the group, a frizzy haired brunette, and gave her a small smile. She took that as the invitation it was and came inside. The two boys followed after her, though they hung back a little bit.

"Do you mind if we sit here? All the other compartments are full." She had the accent I'd sort of expected all English people to have, a sort of upper middle class sounding one.

"Knock yourselves out."

Frizzy entered first, with the two boys, one with glasses and a scar like a lightning bolt and the other very redheaded, coming in behind her. Bolt and Red froze when they saw Mouse. Frizzy just glanced at him, frowning as she put her suitcase in the storage space. She glanced at the covered pet travel cage she had with her. "Your dog doesn't chase cats, does it?"

"Don't worry. Mouse won't eat your cat." I replied, turning a page.

Frizzy just nodded and opened the cage, letting out the ugliest cat I've ever seen. It was fairly big as well, almost as big as Mister. It took one look at Mouse and hissed, arching it's back. Mouse just looked up. He didn't growl, or bare his teeth. He just looked at the thing. The cat backed down. I leaned down and scratched behind his ear as Bolt and Red stowed their suitcases behind their seats. Neither of them seemed keen to take the seat nearest Mouse. I looked at them over the top of my book. "Don't worry, he's a big softie." That didn't seem to make them feel better.

The two boys sat down, and after a little bit of silence, started talking about quid- something. Didn't Brits call money 'quid'? Frizzy took out a book of her own.

We spent the first half of the train ride like that, with Frizzy occasionally chiming into the conversation Bolt and Red were having. And then the train started slowing down.

Frizzy was the first to react. "We can't be there yet."

Bolt was sticking his head out the compartment when the train came to a halt, throwing him into his seat and closing the door.

The lights flickered and died. A chill sunk into my bones. I started to shiver, and Mouse leaned against my leg. I ran my hand through his fur, letting the big dog warm me. It didn't work. Red pressed his face against the window. "There's something out there."

The temperature dropped lower. I could see my breath in the air in front of me. My mouth was suddenly bone dry. I tried to take a drink of water, but it's frozen solid. Frost creeps over the window.

Something appeared by the door to the compartment, and I wasn't on the train anymore.

The smell of blood and an oppressive heat hit me like a slap to the face. Loud noises, gunshots, came from nearby, but the sound was hollow, cut down by the stone walls. The room was empty but for me and a bloodsoaked stone table. A chain kept me in the corner. Firelight passed through the door, making it even warmer. The gunfire slowed down and then stopped. A shape appeared in the doorway.

The Red King stared at me with a crazy smile, something red dripping from the corner of his mouth. He licks it away, shivering when he does. In his hand is a knife.

I know what should happen next. My father and his friends should come rushing in at any moment to save the day.

But this time they don't. The Red King snaps the chain as easily as he could my neck and drags me to the table. Two other vampires hold my arms and legs, and down came the knife.

Something wet touched my face. I blinked, and when they open again, Mouse is staring up at me, tongue hanging out. He licks me again and gave me a big doggy grin. I give him a big hug and think about never letting go. Mouse always made nightmares go away.

"Are you alright?"

I turned my head so fast I'm pretty sure I almost got whiplash, but it was only Frizzy, looking genuinely concerned. I look around the compartment. Red is talking to Glasses. It's concern all around, it seems.

"I'm fine," I reply, my voice quiet. "What happened?"

Frizzy licked her lips, suddenly nervous. "Er, well, I'm not quite sure. Something came near the door and you sort of froze, staring into space, but your dog started glowing and scared it away."

I looked down at Mouse and gave him a small smile and a squeeze, leaning my head on top of his to share his warmth and to feel his fur. He growled, low and deep in his chest, before giving my face a small lick.

Standing up straight, I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The train was starting up again, the lights flickering back on. The nightmare faded back where it belongs. I nodded towards Bolt. "What's his problem?"

Frizzy glared at me for a second, but then glanced at Bolt, who looked like he'd just seen a ghost, concern written on her face in mile high letters. "I don't know."

There was a few seconds of silence between us before I turned to face Frizzy. "I'm Maggie Dresden."

Frizzy gave me a small smile. "Hermione Granger. Thats Ron Weasley and Harry Potter," she said, pointing to Red first then Bolt. There was the type of silence you get when two people don't know what to talk about. Ron was talking quietly to Harry, who was sitting, elbows on knees and head in hands.

"What House are you in, Maggie? I don't think I've seen you around before."

"I'm not in a House yet. I've just moved from Chicago."

Hermione twisted in her seat to face me. "Oh really? Why did you move?"

"Dad got a job at Hogwarts, and teacher's children get educated free, so we decided I should at least try it," I answered, running a hand through Mouse's fur as he rolled over onto his back. I frowned down at him, but he just gave me a doggy grin and tried to use his puppy dog eyes on me. He seems to think those work no matter how big you get.

"What will your Dad be teaching? And where did you go before? The only school for magic I know of in America is the New Salem Academy, but I'm not sure how near Chicago that is."

Mouse gave up on getting a belly rub from me, and decided to try his luck on Hermione, but she just gave him a pat on the head. Must be a cat person. "My Dad'll be teaching Alternative Magic, which I think is a new class this year?" Hermione gave me a nod, so I kept going. "This will be my first time going to a school for magic. I went to a normal school and my Dad taught me magic. As for New Salem Academy, I'm not sure where it is either, but if it's in Salem, then it's on the east coast, so maybe a thousand miles from Chicago?

"A thousand miles? Wow. Thats almost the length of Britain. I guess there must be more than one school in America."

No shit, I thought. I just nodded and said, "Most likely."

"What sort of magic did your Dad teach you? Will it be the same type he'll be teaching in his class? Do you have any notes I could borrow?" The last one sounded fairly desperate.

"What he'll be teaching this year will probably be similar to what I learned when I started, yeah. Lets see, when I started learning, I learned how to make shields, the principles of thaumaturgy and evocation using tracking spells and wind manipulation, shields, some potions, enchanting. Oh, and shields."

Hermione had her mouth open, probably to ask me some more questions, when thankfully Ron cut her off. "Hermione, give her a break, will you? You can ask her questions all year. She probably has some about Hogwarts."

I flashed Ron a small smile while Hermione blushed slightly. Ron grinned back for a second before Harry mumbled something. Ron just grunted in reply, which Harry seemed to understand. How guys can communicate in grunts, I'll never know.

Now I had the chance, I asked Hermione a few questions about Hogwarts, though Ron added his two cents- two pence? - now and then. Harry even said a few words, it was like a Christmas miracle. Harry and Ron spent about an hour and twenty minutes explaining quidditch to me, most of which was spent explaining why the rest of the players bother if the snitch is worth fifteen goals and ends the game. It turns out I was missing some info, having not watched a quidditch game yet. In professional play, goals are apparently really common, with fifty to sixty goals per game being common over a normal three or four hour game, and the pitches are fairly large, giving the snitch a lot of space to hide, what with three dimensions to work in. Still, the only sport I was ever a fan of was soccer, which doesn't seem to have a following in the wizarding world, and is the only sport that makes sense to me.

A horn sounded, which Hermione told me meant we would be arriving soon. The boys left so Hermione and I could change, then we did the same for them. A few minutes later, the train slowed and pulled into the station. I started to sling my sports bag over my shoulder when Hermione noticed. "Just leave those here, they get taken up to your dorm for your." She glanced down at Mouse. "The same with Mouse, was it?" I nodded, and Mouse lay back down in the spot he'd been in for most of the train ride, looking for all the world like he was asleep.

As we left the train, I heard a shout of, "Firs' years!" Looking around, I saw a giant of a man, waving all the little kids towards him. He waved towards Hermione, Ron and Harry, who waved back before starting off. Not really wanting to go with the first years, I just followed along. Besides, it might have been my first year, but I wasn't a first year.

A little way away from the station was a series of carriages being pulled by skeletal horses. I glanced over them, but didn't really give them a second thought. When we were sitting in a carriage along with a few others introduced to me as Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood, whose surnames certainly didn't make me want to laugh. I was in the middle of learning what nargles were when Harry asked Hermione what the thing on the train was. She didn't know either, but according to Luna, they were Dementors, used to guard Azkaban, the one prison wizards in Britain had. Honestly, if they used Dementors as guards it'd be kinder just to kill the inmates.

Talk of Dementors put a damper on conversation until we reached the castle. Everyone else smiled when they saw it, but all I could do was sit there with my jaw on the floor. I mean, yeah, I had been told it was a castle, but there is being told that, and then there is seeing it. And with the moon just behind it, the windows glowing with light, and the reflection in the lake, it looked like something out of a faery tale. Which I guess it probably is. Luna had to shake me to get my attention when we arrived. I hadn't even noticed we had stopped.

"Wait until you see inside," the blonde said, before slipping off into a sea of black robes. I spied a spot of red hair and made my way over, hoping it was Ron. It was, and I tagged along with Hermione, Ron and Harry as they went to the Great Hall, having no idea how to get there myself.

It was hard work not being distracted by the castle. Moving paintings, ghosts, sets of armour lining the walls, all it needed was a song and it would be straight out of a Disney movie. Well, minus the ghosts still covered in blood. Hermione pointed out some interesting, as well as some 'interesting', bits of history along the way, as well as some useful things, like what stairs moved when, or where classes where.

When we reached the Great Hall, she said, "The ceiling is enchanted to look like the sky outside without the towers in the way. There are four long tables, one for each House."

"Eh, Hermione, quick question." I asked, cutting off what she was going to say next. She looked at me, confused. "Where do I sit? I'm not in a House."

She frowned a little. "Oh, I completely forgot. I really don't know. We've never had another transfer in my time here, and none of the books I've read say." She hummed, every second taking is closer to the Gryffindor table. "You might as well sit here for now. If Professor McGonagall calls your name go on up and get sorted, and if not you can ask her afterwards. And we can ask Percy, thats one of Ron's brother, if he knows. He's Head Boy, so he might have been told something."

I took a seat next to Hermione, across from a pair of redheaded twins. I got a nod before they started talking to Hermione, Harry and Ron. "Did you hear about the," one began, "Dementors on the train?" the other finished, sounding both scandalised and excited.

"Is that what those things were?" Hermione asked. "We had one right outside our compartment. If Maggie's dog hadn't scared it away, I don't know what we would have done."

They both turned to me. "You're dog," one said, "scared away a Dementor?" the other finished.

I shrugged. "He's a big dog."

"He really is," Ron said, "probably as big as either of you standing on his back legs. Hairy thing as well."

They didn't seem convinced. One turned to talk to Ron and Harry, while the one directly opposite me questioned me. "Who are you, anyway? I haven't seen you around Gryffindor before, and you aren't a first year, otherwise you'd be over there," he said, nodding towards the main door to the Great Hall, which had shut sometime since we entered.

"I'm a transfer from America. I haven't been sorted, but I didn't really want to sit anywhere else." That seemed a good enough answer for him. It even got a small smile.

"Well, thats understandable, my colonial friend. Gryffindor is the best of the four Houses."

I rolled my eyes at 'colonial', but didn't a chance to respond as the doors swung open and a few dozen kids marched into the hall behind another redhead, this one a severe looking older women. I know redheads are all from this part of the world, but I had no idea they were this common. I could see another few at this table alone.

The redhead leading the children - Hermione whispered the name 'McGonagall' to me, so I guess it was Professor McGonagall - placed a ratty looking hat on a stool and pulled a scroll from somewhere. Then she took a step back, and the hat began to sing.

I was too stunned to even listen to it for the first few sentences, but I got the jist of it, which was don't be assholes, or was it arseholes, to each other. Then McGonagall took a step forward and, in a voice like a judge pronouncing sentence, began reading names from the scroll. After each name, a kid walked, or ran, or in one case hopped - he had two legs, just liked hopping I guess - forward, sat on the stool with the hat on their head for however long. Then the hat shouted out one of the Houses, and to that table they went, to thunderous applause three time out of four. The one in four that didn't get it was when the kid went to Slytherin. My name was never called.

Eventually, the last kid was sorted, and McGonagall scrolled up the scroll, and took her seat next to someone who looked like the inspiration for Gandalf, who then stood up to speak. Hermione whispered that this was Headmaster Dumbledore, which I guessed from the fact he had the biggest and fanciest chair and hat. If it had been just one, it might have been a question, but with both it was obvious.

"It is my great pleasure to welcome everyone here to Hogwarts for the year, and an even greater pleasure to introduce our newest members of staff. First, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin!" At this, a man in rather shabby robes raised a glass and nodded at the students, giving a small smile that grew at his applause. "Second, our new Care of Magical Creatures professor, our very own Rubeus Hagrid!" The giant from earlier waved down from the table, a huge grin visible under his slightly less huge beard, wiping away a tear as his applause grew to include some whistles. "And finally, but not least, the first professor for the new Alternative Magic subject, coming from the American Colonies, Harry Dresden!"

There was a scattering of applause this time, but it soon gave way to whispers. My dad just looked down from the teachers table. I caught his eye and gave him a small smile.

Dumbledore raised a hand, and all whisper stopped. I think that's probably the most impressive bit of magicI'll see all year. Getting a room full of teenagers to stop talking is no mean feat. I guess you don't get to be Headmaster of the top magic school in Europe by collecting bottle caps.

"Some more announcements, before the feast can begin. All students are to be aware the Forbidden Forest is, as the name more than implies, forbidden. There is to be no magic in the corridors, and certainly no dueling. Filch has increased the number of banned items to six hundred and twenty eight, a full list of which can be found in his office. And lastly, I am sure you are all aware by now Dementors are patrolling the school grounds. Let me assure you, they will not enter the castle, nor will they go near any part of the grounds students frequent. They are here for your protection but I warn against approaching them or attempting to sneak past them. Dementors famously have trouble differentiating between people. Now, let the Feast begin!"

There was a polite applause before people started tearing into the food that just appeared on the plates in front of us. There was a small pause as people started to eat, but conversation started right up.

"I knew I'd heard the name 'Dresden' somewhere," Ron was saying to Harry. "I can't believe you haven't heard the of the Mad Wizard Harry Dresden. They say people like You-Know-Who won't even go near the city he lives in because of how scared they are of him. He's amazing!"

Everyone up and down the table seemed to be talking about 'the Mad Wizard Dresden'. I just quietly ate my dinner. Any second now, though, he would say…

"Hey, Maggie, didn't you say he was your Dad?"

A dozen sets of eyes turned to me, as only those were close enough to hear. I swallowed what I was eating. At least it took longer than I though it might. Getting questioned about my Dad always put me off my food. "Yeah, why?"

"Well," Ron said, suddenly sheepish. "I was just wondering, how much of it is true?"

I sighed. All eyes were moving between us, no doubt eager for the answer, except Harry, who just nodded towards Ron, rolled his eyes, and went back to eating enough for three of me. "How much of what is true?"

"You know, the stories."

I polished off my mashed potatoes and put down my knife and fork. "What stories?" I asked, leaning forward with my elbows on the table before I remembered you weren't supposed to do that. Then I noticed no one seemed to care, and kept doing it.

One of the twins spoke before Ron could. "Did he really start a war with vampires over a girl?"

I couldn't stop myself from glaring at him. "That 'girl' was my mother. And yes."

The one I glared at leaned back, hands up defensively. His twin took his place. "I heard he ended it, but no one really knows how. D'you?"

"Nope," I lied. No way was I going near that powder keg. I still had occasional nightmares. He seemed disappointed.

Thankfully, desert replaced dinner and everyone went back to eating before I could get asked any more questions. I glanced up at the teacher's table and saw McGonagall heading my way.

"Miss Dresden," she said when she reached my seat. "After the feast please report to the Headmaster's office. Mr Potter, please guide her there. He is rather fond of Chocolate Frogs these days." We both nodded, and she went back to her seat.

I got a few questions because of that, but pretty quickly it was back to my Dad's adventures. I answered truthfully when I could, but some questions were about secrets that weren't mine to give, things my Dad didn't want people to know, things I didn't know, or things I just didn't want to talk about. Thankfully, there were only so many people who could reasonably ask me questions, so they dried up pretty quickly.

After the feast, Harry led me to the Headmasters office. We made a bit of small talk along the way, but it wasn't that long of a walk. I was a bit confused when we stopped in front of a grotesque, but when Harry said 'Chocolate Frogs', it moved aside, showing a spiralling spiral staircase. Cool. Magical schools are almost as awesome as I expected them to be. After a bit of debate about whether Harry was supposed to come up, as the staircase wasn't the office, he decided that if he wasn't, he would just be sent down again. I wasn't sure why Harry wanted to see Dumbledore, but I wasn't going to pry. If he wanted me to know he would tell me. Plus, the way he said it made it sound personal.

After what has to be the longest escalator I've ever been on, we reached Dumbledore's office. I knocked on the door, and after a few seconds, Dumbledore's voice came from the other side.

"Come in, come in." We pushed the door open, and the Headmaster looked up from his desk. "Ah, Harry, how nice to see you. And Miss Dresden, a pleasure. Here to be Sorted, aren't you?" I nodded, and he waved me forward. "We had planned to have you arrive early and do this the day before the normal sorting, but I'm afraid the start of a school year is rather hectic, especially with three new staff members, so I hope you understand how it managed to get forgotten." He pulled the singing hat from the shelf and held it out to me. "Though I dare say things seem to have worked out well for you. I'm sure you and Harry will get along famously."

Not really sure what to say to that, I just put the hat on. And nearly ripped it off when it started talking to me inside my head.

Calm down, calm down. I can do no harm to you, nor tell any what secrets lie within your mind. I have no brain with which to remember them, only what I borrow from you.

That was sort of reassuring, at least. I took a deep breath, calming myself. Okay, but if that''s a lie, you burn.

The hat sounded more annoyed that scared by that. Of course I will, sweetie. Now, to Sort you! Where should you go? Fairly smart, yes, with a will to learn like few others. Ravenclaw would take you and be proud. Slytherin, no, you have intelligence and ambition but no cunning, and while you can be underhanded, you prefer to do things above board. Nor would Hufflepuff suit you, you would not find the solitude you need there. Brave enough for Gryffindor, certainly, but lacking the usual impulsiveness usually present in those I send there. Not that that would be a bad thing. What do you say? Ravenclaw or Gryffindor?

I was a little surprised I got a choice, to be honest. I assumed it was a case of you took what you got or got out. Not knowing much about the differences between the two, it was a fairly easy choice. Gryffindor.

There was a moments pause before the hat repeated my choice. "GRYFFINDOR!" it yelled, sounding much louder than it had in the Great Hall. Dumbledore took the hat from my head.

"Congratulation on your house, Miss Dresden. Now, if you would wait outside a moment, I have something to discuss with Harry here."

I nodded, and left the room. Harry joined me a few moments later. "What did he want to talk about?" I asked. He froze, blinking owlishly. "If you don't want to say, just say so. I don't mind. Everyone has the right to a few secrets, after all." I gave him a smile and tried for a joke. "It would certainly make you more interesting."

He smiled back. "Thanks. And it's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just, it's kind of personal."

I waved it away. "Say no more. Just let me know if you ever need to talk about it." He nodded, looking grateful for the offer.

"Come on, we should get back to the common room. Ron and Hermione will be happy to see you in Gryffindor."

"And you aren't?" I asked. He started stammering and stuttering, making me burst out laughing. "I'm just kidding Harry. I just hope Mouse got there okay."

"He should be. Pets always are. How did you get permission to bring a dog, anyway? The letters always say a cat or an owl or a toad."

I shrugged. "I asked nicely? I guess it helps if your Dad is a teacher. Also, doesn't Ron have a rat?"

"It probably would yeah. And good point. I never asked about that, either."

We chatted a bit more on the way to the common room. Harry pointed out some things along the way, like the charms and transfiguration class rooms, as well as the Quidditch pitch, though it was too dark to see right now. After around half an hour of walking and talking, we stopped in front of a portrait of a fairly large women in a dress several centuries out of date.

"Ah, damn, I don't know the password," Harry said.

"Afraid I can't help you, deary," the portrait said. "You know the rules." So not only do paintings here move, they talk. Nice.

"I don't suppose my scar is proof enough?" Harry asked, lifting back his fringe to make his scar more visible.

"For you, perhaps, but what of her?" she asked, nodding towards me.

"New student, a transfer. Had to go see the Headmaster after the feast to get Sorted. Her name is Maggie."

She lost the chance to answer when her painting swung backwards, revealing a hole behind it. Standing behind it was one of the red headed twins from dinner.

"Hiya Harry. And Maggie! Nice of you to join us," he said. "Name's Fred, or maybe it's George, I'm not quite sure. Welcome to Gryffindor!" He waved us inside. "Password is Fortuna Major. Girls dorms are on the left, not sure what floor you're on. Hermione is still up, so you can ask her." As he spoke, his brother, who I'm guessing was George, or maybe Fred, joined him, and then they left with a wave goodbye.

Harry went through the portrait, and I followed behind. Ron and Hermione were sitting near the fire. Harry joined them, but I was looking for someone else. I spotted him, surrounded by what looked like first and second year girls.

"Mouse!" I said. The big dog looked up and barked once before scrambling to his feet and running at me. I knelt down and caught him in a hug. When I looked up, I had the attention of most of the common room. Which is expected, if what Harry said about dogs not normally allowed is true.

What wasn't expected was someone coming over to me a few seconds later and asking, "How do you have a Foo Dog?"

She looked more surprised than annoyed, the reaction I got most of the time when people recognised Mouse. "Mouse was my Dad's." Which, of course, led to the questions of…

"How did your Dad get a Foo Dog?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Ask him, maybe?"

The girl frowned. "How would I do that?"

I smiled, and put out my hand. "Hi, Maggie Dresden. My Dad teaches here now."

The girl smiled back and shook my hand. "Parvati Patil. I thought I saw you at dinner, but I wasn't sure. You're new, right?" I nodded. "If you're in third year, you'll be sharing a dorm with myself, Granger over there, Dunbar, and Lavender," she said, pointing to each girl. "Our dorms are up the left set of stairs, third floor."

"Thanks," I said. "I'll make sure Mouse has a place to sleep then have an early night. See you in the morning."

Parvati nodded. "Good night," she replied, before heading over to Lavender. I said goodnight to Harry, Hermione and Ron on my way to the stairs, taking them two at a time. My bed was at the far end from the door, with a bed for Mouse at the foot of it that looked just as comfy as mine.

"What do you think?" I asked him.

Mouse gave it a few sniffs, walked around it a few times, then lay down and went to sleep.

"Thought so," I said to myself. I spent the next few minutes getting ready for bed and checking I had all my stuff nearby before getting into bed, pulling the curtain tightly closed to block out the little light there was. Sleep came quickly.