Author's Note:
I love Harry Potter to death, but I want to have a version that also emphasizes the intricate relationships that had to have occurred in the series. I mean, it always seems like Harry only ever talked to Ron and Hermione and similar situations with the other two. Snape and Malfoy never really developed as villains in the school because they only ever did the same things, year after year. "I hate Harry Potter. I hate Harry Potter. Blah blah blah." So I'm going to do my own version that WILL INCLUDE THE MAIN STORY. Though, I won't lie, I plan to make big changes because it wouldn't be fun otherwise. And I'll make up my own dialogue. So let me know what you think! This is a big undertaking and I won't continue if people hate it. Lol
In other news, I am going to write the first bit from different point of views. I will probably keep to this style, though that may change. If it does, I'll apologize. A lot.
The First Train Ride
Harry Potter tried not to act too hopeful during the car ride to King's Cross. He knew the only thing stopping the Dursley's from throwing him out of the car was the fear that Hagrid would swoop down and finish turning Dudley into a pig. On the other hand, if he looked too excited, they might just risk Hagrid's wrath and throw him out of the car.
Hedwig, whose cage was wedged between Harry and Dudley, let out a loud screech.
"Keep that damn owl quiet while I'm driving!" Uncle Vernon was in an even worse mood than usual. What with his new, if not minute, connection with wizards and Dudley's tail removal to look forward to, his mood had been absolutely foul that day.
Harry tried to keep Hedwig from making noise. He wouldn't have been as worried as he enjoyed Uncle Vernon's newfound fear of all things magical, but his Uncle had been threatening to give Dudley another gun in order to 'play' with Hedwig. Harry wasn't about to take the chance so he gave Hedwig some treats that Hagrid had gotten for Hedwig.
Harry soon slipped back into remembering Hagrid's visit.
He'd been shocked to discover how his parents had really died, but aside from that, he was excited. He had always imagined that someone would come and save him from his horrible life with the Dursleys, but he'd had no idea that it could ever be like this.
He thought back to when he'd gotten his supplies. Hagrid had told him about Voldemort and what he'd done to Harry's family and then, only an hour or two later, he was told his wand had the same core as him. You-Know-Who, he reminded himself.
It felt strange feeling afraid of a word, but he wanted to go along after he saw how much it had scared Hagrid.
He shook his head and his thoughts turned to the boy he'd met when he'd gotten his robes. He had talked about his parents getting books and wanting to get a broom. He seemed stuck up, but he figured the boy couldn't be that bad. He'd had to deal with Dudley his whole life; what could this kid do?
After what seemed like forever, they arrived and Uncle Vernon helped take Harry's trunk up to the platform. Confused, Harry followed carrying Hedwig. Uncle Vernon was being too nice it seemed. That is until Harry looked up to see platform 9 and platform 10. There was not platform nine and three-quarters.
Uncle Vernon looked as though his dreams had come true. If he approved of dreams that is.
"Looks like your lot isn't all that organized. They haven't even gotten around to building your platform yet, eh? Have a good year at school." Uncle Vernon left quickly chuckling leaving Harry with his trunk and Hedwig to try and figure out what to do.
Harry put Hedwig on top of his trunk and left to ask for directions, or help.
Ron Weasley was trailing behind his family, nervous about starting school, but his mother kept calling back to him.
"Ron! Stop hanging back so far! It's hard enough keeping Ginny from running off! Fred! George! Get back here! I'm not going to look for you if you get lost in London!" Mrs. Weasley looked at the twins who had tried to sneak off for a quick glance at a Muggle gift shop. "For heaven's sake, you two are almost as bad as your father!"
"No we aren't mum." George looked highly insulted.
"We just wanted to see what they have," Fred added innocently.
Percy, the oldest son, drummed his fingers on his trunk. He was excited to be a prefect this year and he looked forward to making a difference in how the school was run. Especially Fred and George.
"I'm absolutely sure of that. Now hurry up. We can't be late. Packed with muggles of course. Every year."
The large group stopped near the barrier. "Percy, you go first."
Percy, excited to prove his maturity, quickly made his way to the barrier and passed through in a blink.
"Fred? George? You two are next."
The twins marched through, military style to their mother's disbelief. She knew that someday they were going to get them all in trouble with the Ministry for exposing magic before long.
Before she could send Ron ahead, she felt a tug on her sleeve. She turned, expecting Ginny, only to see a black-haired boy looking confused.
"Umm…Excuse me? Um, I'm not sure…how to-How to-"
"How to get to the Hogwarts Express?" Harry nodded. "It's simple dear. You just have to walk through the barrier between the two." She looked at her other sons who were already running through. Just follow Percy," Percy was dashing towards the barrier. "You'll be right where you need to be."
Harry broke out in a grin making Mrs. Weasley smile. She watched him dash at the barrier before Ron tugged at her sleeve.
"Mum? Why doesn't he know how to get on? Where are his parents?" Ron looked confused by the very notion of not having his parents around to take care of him.
"Don't you worry about that. Now get going or you'll be late." She watched Ron go through the barrier thinking the very same thing. But she didn't think about it long. She had to get her boys on the train or they'd miss it.
Hermione glanced at the train in front of her barely noticing the students milling around talking about spells and broomsticks and Hogwarts. Her parents hung back, uncomfortable.
She turned around to look at her parents and smile. She was worried about the school year, but she knew her parents were even more concerned. They had been planning to send her to one of the top boarding schools in Britain. They had been prepared to let her go, but not to a magic school.
"I should go ahead and get on the train. I'll send you plenty of mail and I promise to do my best!" Her parents smiled uneasily but hugged her anyway.
"Have fun sweetie." Her mom looked like she was on the verge of tears already. "Make sure you come home for Christmas break."
"And do your best! I want to hear you're at the top of your class." Hermione nodded, her throat tight.
She hugged them one last time and jumped on the train quickly trying not to prolong their farewells.
She tried to navigate the halls, avoiding the older students who were running around trying to catch up with their friends' summer news. She managed to find an empty compartment near the back and she sat down.
Before she could think about much, the door slid open to reveal a young, round-faced boy looking confused.
"I'm sorry, can I sit here?" Hermione nodded to Neville and he broke into a grin. "Thanks! Everyone else was waiting for their friends."
He sat down heavily and started to pat his pockets before groaning, putting his head in his hands.
"What's wrong?" Hermione wanted some excuse not to think about leaving her parents. "Did you lose something?"
"Yeah, my toad, Trevor! I had him with me a moment ago!" Hermione tried to imagine where he'd keep a toad. "Now I've lost him!"
Ron wandered down the hall of the train wishing his mum wasn't so busy. He hated being the youngest of the Weasley boys.
Not only did he never get anything new, but everyone was too busy paying attention to his older brothers. Percy was a prefect, so he already had other prefects to sit with and the twins had their friend Jordan. No one wanted to talk to him because they didn't know if he'd be stuffy or an idiot who played tricks on everyone.
Dragging his feet, he made his way to the back of the train, he pulled one of the compartments open and stopped seeing someone sitting there.
"Hey, you were the kid who asked my mum for help."
"Yeah, the ticket didn't tell me what to do." He looked away, slightly embarrassed.
"I only know because all five of my older brothers went to Hogwarts. Um... where…" Ron stopped. He didn't want to ask about his parents. He had a feeling there was something taboo about the topic. "My name's Ron Weasley."
"My name is Harry Potter."
Ron's eyebrows shot up. "Really? You're famous! So you have the…" His voice trailed off, but he pointed to his head.
Harry looked confused for a moment before understanding and pushing his bangs out of the way to show the lightning bolt shaped scar.
"That's so cool!"
Harry grinned.
Neville and Hermione travelled down the hall looking for Trevor. Hermione had already put on her robes, eager to become a part of the wizarding world. They had decided to separate. Neville had already been around to the other compartments around their own compartment, but Hermione decided to try again. People had sniggered when he'd asked, so she wanted to check again in case people were messing with him.
She started toward the door nearest to her when Neville tapped her shoulder. "I asked everyone, but no one's seen him!"
"Maybe now that you've asked them, they'll find him. They know to look for a toad now and all."
Neville nodded as she pulled open the door.
"Have either of you seen a toad? Neville's lost his." She looked into the room. The red-head had his wand out while his friend watched.
"No, we haven't."
"Are you trying magic? Let's see it then." She sat down, eager to see someone else do some magic.
"Erm…Okay." Ron waved his wand at his rat as Neville, Hermione and Harry watched.
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."
Hermione looked at him as though he'd just tried to trick her.
"Are you sure that's a real spell? It's not very good, is it? I've tried a few on my own and they've worked out fine. It was just such a surprise for me to get the letter from Hogwarts. No one else in my family is magic but I was ever so pleased to receive it. I'm Hermione Granger by the way, who are you two?" She spoke quickly, sounding far too eager than she'd hoped.
The two boys merely thought she was a fast talker.
"I'm Ron Weasley."
"Harry Potter."
"Are you really? I've heard all about you of course."
"You have?" Harry looked bewildered.
"Well, yes." Silently she cursed herself for sounding like a stalker. "I wanted a few extra books for some light reading to learn more about the wizarding world and you're in Modern Magical History, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."
"I am?" Harry was starting to feel self conscious. "I had no idea."
"Really?" Now Hermione was confused. "If I were you, I'd have found out as much as I could. Anyway, do you know what house you'll be in? I hope I'm in Gryffindor. I've heard it's the house Dumbledore was in. Though, I don't think Ravenclaw would be all that bad." Neville tapped Hermione's shoulder. "Oh, we should go look for Neville's toad. Also, you may want to change into your robes. I imagine we'll be there soon."
The two left the compartment to continue the search for Trevor.
"Whatever house she's in, I hope she's not in it."
"She didn't seem…erm… too bad…"
Ron just raised his eyebrow at Harry.
The two continued eating their candy while Ron told Harry all about Quidditch. Ron talked about all the games he'd been to, the different teams there were and how the game was actually played. Harry was confused, but he felt excited all the same.
Suddenly, the compartment door slid open to reveal a boy Harry had met while getting his Hogwarts robes.
"Is it true? Are you really Harry Potter?" Draco looked at Harry, waiting for his answer.
Harry nodded, though he was distracted by the large boys flanking Draco.
"This is Crabbe and Goyle. My name is Draco Malfoy by the way."
Ron snorted.
"What's that for? I don't have to ask who you are. Red hair, freckles and hand-me-downs; you've got to be a Weasley." Draco sniffed in disdain. "You should try making better friends Potter." He held out his hand to shake.
Harry, glaring at him moved his hands closer to himself. Draco flushed a little, but put his hand back down.
"Fine. I understand. But before we go, I think we'll just take a small fee for having to be in Weasley's presence." Goyle, who was closest to the candy, reached out a hand to grab a fistful.
Ron and Harry jumped up to stop him, but Scabbers bit Goyle before anyone else could do anything. Goyle yelled out and shook his hand until Scabbers flew off, hitting a seat. The three boys left quickly, not wanting to find anymore rats and hearing someone coming closer to the compartment.
Hermione looked in, having heard Goyle yell and saw all the candy on the floor.
"Have you two been fighting? You'll be in trouble before we even get to Hogwarts!"
Ron and Harry ignored her to check on Scabbers.
"I can't believe it," Ron exclaimed. "He's fallen asleep!"
Draco sat down quickly in his compartment with Goyle and Crabbe sitting across from him.
"I can't believe he said no! Who does he think he is?" Draco fumed while Crabbe and Goyle looked at Goyle's cut. Draco looked out the darkening window. He knew it was close to when he'd need to change, but he was still furious. He wasn't used to people saying no to being his friend.
Ever since he was little, his father's friends would come over and bring their children and he'd play with them. But for the first time, someone didn't want to be his friend. He knew a lot of his other friends were only his friends because their parents told them to. But he also figured that they wanted to be his friends.
He looked at Crabbe and Goyle wondering if they were only his friends by force. Then he shook his head.
"Let's get changed. We should be getting there soon."
Harry and Ron, feeling the train slow down, rushed to change into their robes. They hadn't changed earlier to spite Hermione and because they'd been distracted after Draco had barged in, but now there was only a few minutes left.
Suddenly, it seemed, the train stopped and everyone exited the train.
Harry could hear Hagrid calling out over the heads of the other students.
"Firs' years over here! Firs' years this way! All right there, Harry?"
Harry smiled, excited and nervous for the beginning of a new adventure.