The clock at Platform 9 ¾ chimed for the half hour. He was late! The train was arriving in 15 minutes, and he promised that he would be here early so we could have some time before all the students got here. I looked around the platform. It was mostly empty, with only a few kids standing around with their luggage. A handful of parents, including my own, chatted in the corner. I could hear their laughing from the bench where I was sitting. Sighing, I checked my watch again…two minutes late, where could he be?
"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" A familiar voice behind me asked. I paused, and then turned around just in time to be kissed full on the lips. We lingered for a moment, and then broke free. "I'm so sorry I'm late, but the Dursleys were running a bit behind, and didn't seem to care if I got here or not." Harry said to me, his green eyes sparkling.
"Well," I replied, still flushed from the kiss, "If you continue to greet me in such a manner, I shall always forgive your tardiness." We both laughed, and Harry pulled me in for a hug. I sighed, reveling in the perfect moment. It was so long since I had seen him. Summer had been miserable, but we were together again.
There was a squeal from over in the corner, and Harry and I both turned to look. My mother had spotted the two of us together, and scurried over to say hello. "Harry darling, how are you!" she cried, her British accent slightly dulled from years of living in the states. "You're getting so tall! I should put a brick on your head."
"Hello Mrs. Michaels, how are you?" Harry replied politely. I smiled. He was being such a good boyfriend. "And yes, I did grow, but I still have a ways before I catch up with Adrian." It was true. I still towered over him by about three inches, a fact that I would have to gloat about later.
" Pfft." My mother dismissed with a wave of her hand, "You're tall enough my dear. Adrian gets his figure from his father. They're both freakish like that." Harry and my mother both laughed at this, and I rolled my eyes. Mom always was a hit with my friends. "Roger? Roger come here!" she called to my father, who was still with the other parents. "Harry is here, and you need to say hello!"
My father dismissed himself from the circle and made his was over to us. Mom was right; I did get my height from him. I also had his hazel eyes and lighter skin tone. My dark hair came from my mother, and I shared her sharp nose. Harry would probably say I got my personality from her as well. I did like to laugh, and I could be over bubbly at times.
"Hello there Harry, I hope the summer's treated you well." My father said, nodding to him.
"Well sir, it could have been worse, but I'm glad it's over." Harry responded. "There's so much more for me at Hogwarts that I couldn't wait to get back. That and I was spending too much time away from Adrian." I blushed a little at his words. He was so sweet sometimes. My parents both beamed. They couldn't be happier for Harry and me.
My mother glanced over my shoulder and squeaked again. It was met with an almost identical noise of excitement. I turned to see my aunt and uncle entering the platform. Behind them was my cousin, her luggage in tow. My mother rushed off to greet her sister, and my father, after nodding once more to Harry and me, followed suit.
My cousin made her way over to us, still tugging a large duffel bag. She was all red faced and huffy. "Well there, Hermione," Harry asked her, "What's in the bag, a dead body?"
"This bag," Hermione said, dropping it with a thump, "Just so happens to be filled with the books that I read this summer. I thought that Adrian would like to read them."
"Well, what a coincidence." I said, pointing to my luggage, "That big bag contains all the books I thought you would want to read!" Hermione and I both laughed, but Harry groaned.
"You two are TOO much alike!" he cried. "What are you going to do, spend the whole school year reading?"
"Well, I'm not sure how much time we're going to have to do that." Hermione said, suddenly serious. "We've got our O.W.L.'s to study for this year, and I'm sure that will take up most of lives." I glanced over at Harry, knowing what he was thinking. How could this girl possibly be thinking of schoolwork already? He met eyes with me, but I just shrugged. The truth be told, I too had been considering what that tests were going to involve. I almost jumped when a train whistle pierced the air. I turned to see the Hogwarts Express glide up to the platform.
"I hate to run," Hermione told us, looking at her watch, "But I have to go meet up with the other prefects. Ron said he would be meeting me there." She giggled, and I knew what that meant. Hermione had had a crush on Ron Weasley since our first year. She had confided in me a few months ago, even though I had it all figured out by then.
"We'll save you a seat on the train," Harry told her. Hermione kissed us both goodbye on the cheek, and ran off towards the front of the train.
The whistle sang out again, letting everyone know that it was time to start boarding. My parents came back over to see Harry and Me, and I could see that my mother was starting to cry. I sighed. I've been going to Hogwarts for 5 years now and she still gets all emotional.
"Don't worry Mum, er Mom" I said, correcting myself. I was never all the comfortable with the British version. "It will be Christmas before you know it, and you said you were going to try to make it to a Quidditch match or two." I got a hug from both of my parents and was happy to see that Harry did too.
"Now boys, I want you to keep an eye on each other." My father said. "Study hard, and make sure to see your professors for help if you need it. That's what they're there for." I rolled my eyes. My father was a history professor at a Midwestern college, and he treated all academics as if there were at a university level. Harry and I promised him that we would and with a final goodbye, we made our way onto the train.
Harry and I found an empty compartment on the train, and made ourselves comfortable. We left the door open, and waved to our friends as they passed. Seamus ran down the aisle, with Dean chasing him. I smiled, listening to laughter everywhere. Everyone seemed happy to be going back to school, and I couldn't blame them. Hogwarts and the rest of the magical world was where I belonged, and I couldn't wait to return.
"Hey, Ade," Harry said, nudging me, "I've got to go talk to Angelina Johnson about starting up Quidditch practice. I'll be back in a bit." He gave me a peck on the cheek and waved goodbye, sliding the compartment door closed behind him. Being alone gave me time to think about all the things that had happened over the years.
All of this started five years ago, when I visited Hermione over the summer. I was eleven at the time, and absolutely jazzed to be making the trip to England on my own. Hermione and I had a fantastic time and we didn't want the summer to end. A few days before I was to return home, Hermione and I got our Hogwarts letters. Obviously, having come from muggle families, we didn't believe it at first. There was really no such thing as magic, right?
The day after we received our letters, Professor McGonagall came to Hermione's house. She visited with my aunt and uncle for a time, and told me that another professor was meeting with my parents in the U.S. Then she met with me and Hermione, offering to answer any questions that we might have. I asked McGonagall why I got a letter to Hogwarts instead of an American school. She said that because the transition from the muggle to wizarding world is sometimes difficult, it was decided that Hermione and I should attend school together. She believed that we would be better adjusted if we had each other. The professor also went on the boast about British school and how it was more disciplined, but I think she was joking…
When we got to school, I was blown away by the wonder of it all. Magic was something I had always dreamed about, and I couldn't believe that I was actually going to learn it! As it turned out, both Hermione and I were pretty adept at our studies, something that made a few of the kids from magical families jealous. It was during that first year that I became close friends with Harry, and we began to realize that there was something more to our friendship.
I had known I was gay since I was about 8 years old. To me, there was nothing wrong with my attractions to other boys, and I didn't really care to hide it. Luckily, my parents were very supportive, and they never tried to change me. I spent most of my childhood out and proud, and expected to do the same at Hogwarts.
I was very pleasantly surprised when I found out about the magical world's attitude towards homosexuality. They believed that all relationships were equal, and treated each one with the same amount of respect. This was exactly the environment I had hoped for, and I thrived in it.
Harry came out to me our third year at Hogwarts. While it was nothing I was surprised about, I was shocked to find that he had feelings for me. I told him that I had felt the same way about, and it sparked a relationship. Hermione was crying with happiness when we told her and said that she had, "been worrying that we weren't going to just hook up and get it over with." Ron was equally as supportive, though he was a little worried that he was going to lose his best friend. Harry and I both assured him that things would only change for the better.
When the Daily Prophet got wind of our relationship, they went a little crazy. Dubbed 'The Boy Who Lived' and 'The One He Lives For', Harry and I had to spend a bit of time dodging photographers as they tried to snap pictures of us together. However, the media eventually died down, and with the exception of the occasional story about us in the gossip section, we have a pretty normal relationship.
I snapped back into reality when the compartment door slid open. I turned, expecting to see Harry. Instead, Draco Malfoy was leaning against the doorframe, polishing his prefect badge.
"Afternoon, Michaels", Draco said, in his usual drawl.
"Draco." I replied. I didn't use his last name when addressing him. Draco and I didn't have the longstanding feud that Harry, Ron and Hermione shared with him. To be quite honest, I wasn't sure why. He had every reason to hate me, considering I was a Gryffindor and muggle-born AND dating his biggest rival. "I trust that summer treated you well?"
"Meh," he said, waving his hand. "I don't have much time here, Michaels, and I wanted to ask you something before your lover boy showed up and ruined it all." He ran a hand through his blonde hair. I wasn't sure if he was trying to tempt me or not. (No one really knew Draco's orientation, so it was always up for debate…)
"Well then make it quick, Draco," I told him. I wasn't being rude, just stressing the point that I wasn't going to fall for his flirtations. "What is it you want to ask me?"
"You and I are taking the same Ancient Runes class this year. I was wondering if maybe you wanted to get together and study sometime. I'm pretty good at the class, but sometimes I have troubles with the translations."
I raised my eyebrows at him. We may get along, but this seemed to be pushing it. What reason could Draco Malfoy possibly have to get close to me? Was he trying to get inside information about Harry? If so, he wasn't going to get any.
"Well, I'll have to talk to Harry about it first." I told Draco, who didn't seem to like the idea at all. "I'm not going to go behind his back on this, but if he says it's ok, I see no problem with it. Now, you better get going before someone sees you."
"Ah. It's just like I figured." Draco said, seeming disappointed. "You won't do anything unless you get permission from Potter, will you? You're terribly whipped, Michaels, and that doesn't suit you at all." Then, before I could say anything to defend myself, he left, whipping his robes as he turned.
I was somewhat stunned by the conversation. Did Draco Malfoy just make a pass at me? ME? Adrian Michaels, the boy who's dating the 'Boy Who Lived'? It just didn't make sense. I hoped that there weren't any ulterior motives, but I couldn't be sure. Harry and Draco just had too much bad history.
Harry had returned a short while later, followed by Ron and Hermione. It was great how we fell back into our old routines as a group. Ron would make horrific jokes that made Hermione squirm. I would laugh at Hermione, knowing how she was SO uptight about things. Harry caught my eye, and we shared a glance. In that moment, we both knew what that other was thinking. We were home.