A/N: This fic is a gift for my CS Secret Survivors shipmate, Joanie, also known as Fuckstruckswan. She requested a HP/CS AU as her gift, and I was very happy to oblige! Hope this meets your expectations, dear!

I am aiming for a Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley vibe to Killian and Emma's early relationship, so anyone familiar with the Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery should know where this is going to some extent, and that their relationship will develop slowly, in stages.

I have tried to retain many of the British terms inherent to the books, as that is not only part of their charm, but also because I feel like that's simply being accurate to the world portrayed in Rowling's books. Being American, however, there might be terms that slip by me, so if any Brits reading this fic see an American term where a British one should be, please let me know, and I will happily fix it.

Finally, I owe a great big thank you to Scheherezade06, the author of her own HP/CS AU, who kindly gave me the go-ahead to make Killian a Hufflepuff in my own fic, when I inquired about it, since that's just ultimately who I see him as, at his core. Happy reading!

First Year: King's Cross & The Hogwarts Express

Emma took a deep breath and entered King's Cross Station, peering around the noisy, smoke-filled environment with a mixture of apprehension and excitement. Her foster family had dumped her off on a street corner several blocks away, so impatient to see to their own errands that they couldn't be bothered to see her off properly. Emma hadn't been surprised in the slightest. Thankful that she had at least managed to retrieve her own meager belongings before they sped off, she marched over to an empty trolley and lifted the heavy trunk onto it with more than a little relief.

Wiping away the sweat that slicked her forehead, Emma tucked her handkerchief back into her jeans pocket and hoped that she hadn't sunburned too badly during her trek to the station. She checked her watch and saw that she had exactly ten minutes until the Hogwarts Express left King's Cross station. "What do you think, Leia?" she asked the tawny owl, hefting the cage until it was level with her face. "Better find the train platform, huh?" The little owl blinked at her without a sound, and Emma thought, upon peering at her more closely, that she looked rather wilted. "Poor thing. I feel the same way." Rummaging in her purse for a moment, Emma removed a small bottle of water no bigger than her hand and poured some of the liquid into Leia's dish.

Emma pulled out her train ticket and studied her surroundings while the little owl refreshed herself. Puzzled that she couldn't seem to find her own platform, she wondered if the ticket had been misprinted. Nine and three-quarters was an odd number for a train ticket, after all. Perhaps she would stop someone to ask them. Though what she would do if her ticket was misprinted, she didn't know. Time was ticking away as it was, and Emma didn't see how she could possibly get it replaced in time to board the train.

"Need some help?" a male voice inquired from just behind her left shoulder.

Emma blinked and looked up into the smiling face of a boy about her own age. His hair was blond, his eyes a deep blue, and another boy exactly like him, but looking considerably less enthusiastic, was standing just on her other side. "Um, well..." she hesitated. It was one thing to approach a guard or something herself, but to be approached herself by two strangers was another thing entirely.

"I'm David Nolan," the first boy introduced himself. "And this is my brother, James," he gestured at his bored-looking twin. "We're going to Hogwarts, too."

"H-how did you know?"

"Well, the owl was a big clue," David teased. "And you've been looking from platform nine to platform ten with a confused expression on your face far too many times for it to be coincidental. Mum thought we should offer to help."

"Oh."

"Come on," James said impatiently, "or we'll never make the train." He jerked his head toward the space between the two platforms.

"I'm Emma, by the way," she finally offered, as she pushed her trolley after James as David fell into step beside her, carrying Leia's cage for her. "Emma Swan. This is...this is my first year."

"Nice to meet you, Emma. This is our first year, too."

"So, um, what's the deal with the platform?" she asked, carefully steering her trolley through the crowd.

He glanced over at her, then pointed toward the blank wall space between platforms nine and ten. "Watch," he said with a mysterious smile.

Emma slowed to a stop as they neared their destination, watching intently as a tall, slim girl with wavy red hair walked up to the wall, pulling her wheeled trunk along behind, and promptly disappeared through it. Emma gaped. Even after her letter and her visit to Diagon Alley, she still found it difficult to believe that magic was real. For although it was a relief to be leaving the tense, unpleasant atmosphere of her latest foster family, she had been unable to wholly embrace her identity as a witch. If her years in foster care had taught her anything, it was that there were no fairy godmothers in life. No one to rescue you when you really needed it.

And yet, her Hogwarts letter had seemed to be just that: the answer to her prayers-were she a praying person. It was all too perfect, too good to be true. Even up to her arrival at the train station, Emma hadn't been entirely certain that this all wasn't some horribly cruel joke cooked up by her foster family, that would leave her hurting and disappointed again, if she let herself get invested in it. So, she hadn't.

Until now.

"Illusion?" she inquired.

David nodded. "For the sake of the Muggles. Non-magical folk," he explained when she tilted her head at him. "Come on, I'll introduce you to my Mum." He herded her toward a pleasant-looking woman with curling brown hair. "Mum, this is Emma. It's her first year, too."

"Hello, Emma," she smiled. "Are you excited about attending Hogwarts?"

Truth to be told, Emma didn't know what she was feeling, now that she knew this wasn't some elaborate hoax. She had never been particularly adept at labeling her emotions. All too many times it was just simpler not to feel anything at all. But as hard as she had tried throughout the years in foster care, Emma had never been able to wholly shut off her emotions in favor of stoicism. Bury them, certainly. But not douse them completely.

"A little," she finally answered.

David looked amused at her answer, and James rather startled, but their mother simply smiled again. "It's a lot to take in, isn't it?" she nodded. "I remember my first year at Hogwarts. I was a nervous wreck. You three seem to have much better composure." She shook at her head. "Look at me, reminiscing when we have a train to catch! Come along, now. I'll see you off. Ladies, first, Emma." She gestured at the wall.

Taking a deep breath, Emma reminded herself that it was only an illusion, that she wouldn't really crash into the wall and injure herself, and wheeled her trolley forward, picking up speed. She closed her eyes at the last moment, despite her internal monologue, and opened them again a moment later when she heard the warning whistle of a train. David and James appeared next to her momentarily, followed by Mrs. Nolan.

"That's it, then, better hurry," Mrs. Nolan said, helping them with their luggage as they approached the Hogwarts Express. "You wouldn't want to miss the train."

"They wouldn't really take off without us," James dismissed with a shake of his head. "Not when we're standing right here."

"Even so, you'd best not tarry much longer," she insisted. "Now. I expect both of you to behave yourselves." Her eyes slid over to James. "Especially you, young man. No more hexing people's pastries to be filled with mayonnaise, or jinxing toilets to shriek at people any time they sit down on them-"

"That wasn't me, that was David!" She eyed him skeptically.

Out of the corner of her eye, Emma saw a smile playing at the corners of David's mouth. He winked at her.

"Nevertheless, I expect both of you to be on your best behavior-"

"But that's not any fun," James grumbled. "And no one can manage to be good all the time-"

Mrs. Nolan sighed. "Try," she insisted with an exasperated expression. She hugged each of her boys in turn, leaving Emma to stand by awkwardly, fiddling with her trunk. "Now, off with you!" she said, stepping back. "It was nice to meet you, Emma!" She waved.

Emma returned the wave. "You, too," she offered, stepping aboard the train. David followed after, hefting her luggage up the steps while Emma carried Leia. The train pulled out of the station not long after, and Emma spent a few moments readjusting to the movement of the train as she searched for a place to sit. Most of the compartments seemed to be filled with students already, many of them quite a bit older, and Emma shied away from those, hoping to find an empty compartment of her own-more out of habit than out of any real hope of finding one.

By the time she reached the last compartment on the train, James had abandoned them in favor of sitting with some friends from their local village, and Emma was already well resigned to putting up with the occupants, regardless of their age. She was tired, her muscles protesting after the strain of her trek to King's Cross that morning, combined with a restless night with little sleep. She wanted to sit and recuperate, even if it meant sitting on the floor somewhere. "Last stop," she muttered. "No matter what."

"Agreed," David nodded.

Emma reached for the door to the compartment, but just as her fingers closed around the handle, the door jerked open, and a warm body crashed into hers, knocking her off balance. David caught her, and she shot him a wordless look of thanks as she straightened to her full height again and looked to see if the other person had been hurt. A boy with black hair and a stupefied expression lay on the floor, gazing up at her with eyes so blue Emma thought they must be a sin. "Are you okay?" she asked him, holding out her hand to help him up.

He glanced at her hand, then back at her, and offered his own in wordless acceptance. She pulled him up with a slight grunt. He was several inches shorter than her, like most the boys her age, but he didn't let his gaze get stuck on her chest like most of them did. Instead, he lifted his stunned gaze to her face and blurted, "My, you are an Amazon, aren't you?"

"Excuse me?!" Emma and David demanded in unison.

A cough issued from inside the compartment, and a much older boy with brown, curling hair and facial hair appeared behind the raven-haired one. "Making friends already, I see," he said, looking down at the rude boy with an expression that was both reproachful and amused. "Killian, apologize to the lady."

Those impossibly blue eyes lifted to hers. But before he could even open his mouth, Emma shook her head. "Forget it. Come on, David. We'll go back and find James."

Glaring at the other boy, David nodded once and set off with a grim expression. Emma followed after with a lift of her chin, feeling those blue eyes burn a hole in her back the whole way.