One

Thalia Grace looked around. Her father guided her to the red train. Hogwarts Express, the gleaming gold letters read. "Now, behave in school, and try to get high marks, okay?"

"Okay," Thalia replied, not looking at her father at all.

"Can I go, Papa? Please? I want to go!" whined Jason, her younger brother.

"No, Jason, I already said you'll go next year," Zeus replied sharply.

After a few goodbyes and a hug for Jason, Thalia stepped onto the red train. She dragged her trunk as she looked for an empty compartment. Spotting one, she lugged her trunk with her towards the compartment. Thalia threw open the compartment door. She took out her school robes before putting her trunk on the luggage rack. Not long after, there was a knock and the door opened. A boy with sandy blond hair and blue eyes stood in the doorway. "Can I sit here?" he asked. Thalia nodded her head, and proceeded to look out of the window. After stowing away his trunk, the boy regarded his companion. Thalia had spiky black hair that reached just above her shoulders and freckles across her nose. She was built like a long distance runner, lithe and strong, and wore Muggle clothing that was somewhere between Goth and punk—a black shirt, black tattered jeans and a leather jacket. But the thing that got his attention the most was her eyes. Her eyes were electric blue, and sometimes it looked like there were little white flashes of lightning in the irises.

After some awkward minutes, the boy broke the silence. "Since we're going to share the compartment for the rest of the journey, might as well get to know each other, right? I'm Luke Castellan."

Thalia turned to look at him. "Thalia Grace."

"Grace? You're a pureblood?"

"Something wrong?"

"Nothing," Luke said quickly. "Just that you dress like a Muggle pretty well, for a pureblood. Some purebloods have no taste in Muggle fashion."

Thalia grinned. "First year. You?"

"Half-blood, first year."

Just then, someone knocked on their door. It was the trolley lady. "Do you kids want any sweets?" Thalia jumped up and grabbed the sweets on the trolley and paid the lady. Luke followed suit.

After the trolley lady left, Thalia said suddenly, "Dare to try Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans?" She held up a dark brown jelly bean. Luke assumed it would be chocolate pudding, so he grabbed it and popped it into his mouth. Seconds later, a disgusting smell wafted through the air. Thalia quickly opened the door to let in fresh air. Luke made a face and stuck out his tongue. "Dog droppings!" Thalia laughed at his scrunched-up face. Luke hurriedly gulped down some water to wash away the smell in his mouth. Because he drank too quickly, he started hiccupping. Thalia laughed even harder. Laughing along with her, Luke thought: This is the start of one beautiful friendship.