She felt as though she couldn't express how marvelous everything was to anyone without feeling as though she was being repetitive, but the sentiment held true. As the first years were corralled into place alongside the other students in their house, Annie could not help but stay in place, staring at the walls and halls around her with wide, gleaming eyes. It still didn't seem real; one did not simply go to a magical castle after being told she was a witch. It just did not happen.

Except it had to her, and she was here. She would be here for seven whole years (assuming she did not flunk out) and then she would be thrust into the adult magical world. She wondered how large it was, how hidden from the muggle world it had been.

The call of a prefect plucked her from her thoughts, and the young first year turned around to follow her house members—and smacked straight into another student's back. A very familiar student, she noticed, a smile spreading on her face as he turned around with wide eyes.

"Ha! It's you! You're the boy with the weird stick—wait, no! The wand!" she exclaimed, squeezing the tops of his arms with both hands as if she'd happened upon some life-changing revelation.

---