It was only a few days past Olivia's 11th birthday when she had gotten her letter. Needless to say her parents were ecstatic and immediately went out to get her everything a first year would need; including a pet. Olivia had spotted Rolf in the Magical Menagerie and brought him home with her that day. Giving him dead mice or other such things still creeps her out a little, but she soon learned that if she let him out, he would get his own food and then come back. 

The morning that she she got onto the Hogwarts express for the first time was nerve wracking as all get out, but she managed to push through and ended up meeting a boy named Ben who had a flying squirrel named Liza. They became friends almost immediately, and he was the one who was there to comfort her when her parents basically disowned her after she was sorted into Slytherin. Even after all the years since the battle of Hogwarts, Slytherin still has a pretty bad reputation. Fortunately for her, Ben's family sort of unofficially adopted her and she spent her holidays, vacations, and any free time away from Hogwarts at the Jenkins household. 

She had a brother in Ben and unfortunately for her, he really enjoyed waking her up at all hours. Today she would let it slide, because she felt something warm and fuzzy land on her head and lick her ear. 

" [color=a0410d]C'mon Liv, it's time to get out of bed. Mum's got breakfast ready and says we have to leave for King's Cross in an hour.[/color] "

" [color=0072bc]An Hour? You waited until [i]now[/i] to wake me up?[/color] "

Ben merely shrugged and grinned before giving the sleepy Rolf a treat and scratching the top of the bird's head. 

" [color=a0410d]At least It's an hour this time and not 30 minutes like last year.[/color] " 

" [color=0072bc]I still have to get you back for that.[/color] " 

Olivia grumbled sleepily and the next hour was a blur as both of them got ready and headed to the station. As they passed through the wall and onto the Hogwarts Express platform, she remembered what Ben told her about the day he got his letter. It had been a week before his birthday and he'd been watching over his younger siblings in the park when something fell on his head. Picking it up off the ground and opening it, he read the contents and had immediately scooped up his 3 year old brothers before heading back to the house shouting ' Mum! Mum! '. They had gone to Diagon Alley the next day and he had spent a lot of time just taking in the sights of the magical world. 

Sure he'd been around magic his whole life at home; but seeing it all around him and everywhere he looked made him giddy with excitement. Liza had been his birthday gift and he'd met Olivia on the train to Hogwarts. Unlike Olivia's parents, Ben's had been very indifferent about where he ended up, and were just as happy that he ended up in Slytherin as they would have been if he'd been sorted into one of the other 3 houses. 

" [color=a0410d]Pick up the pace a little Liv, we wouldn't want to miss the train would we? That would be a right bloody mess and I don't want to deal with my parent's wrath.[/color] " 

Ben's words shocked her out of her reverie and she left her trolley with the rest of the luggage before grabbing Rolf's cage and soothing the grumpy bird as they boarded the train. The two ended up passing a compartment where a flash of red caught Olivia's eye. Stopping and looking at the Red Panda, she smiled and pointed it out to Ben before they headed to their favorite compartment.