"Hurry up!" James shouted as he disappeared into the stone barrier between platforms nine and ten at the train station.

"Hey, how'd he do that?" Buddy cried.

"It's nothing. You just go," Albus told him, tugging at the handle of his trolley, "Come on!" Buddy charged forward toward the wall with one eye closed until they both disappeared.

"You next, Dudley," Harry informed his cousin. Dudley stared at him as if he'd just suggested they rob a candy store.

"Go on," Harry encouraged, "I won't tell Aunt Petunia!" Dudley took a moment to muster up his determination and lopped heavily toward the invisible gateway. It was a tight fit, to be sure, but he made it through to the other side where he was joined by his wife, Kathy and finally, Harry. Harry watched his cousin take in the platform, the bright red steam engine, and the dozens of magical students and parents hurrying wildly about. Dudley had grown up with the effects of Harry's "abnormality" and until Harry had received the letters inviting to attend wizarding school he had assumed Harry was the only one. The idea of an entire magical society existing secretly among the normal people of the world had been too disturbing for him to handle. Now here it was, the irrefutable truth.

"It's all real," he stammered.

"Oh!" Kathy exclaimed. She seemed to be at a loss for words.

"You three take care of each other," Harry told the three boys, "Are you nervous, Buddy?"

"I'm worried about what house I'll be put in," Buddy said truthfully, "I don't want to be alone."

"Well you've got a fifty-fifty chance of being with one of us," James pointed out.

"I think my chances are better then that," Buddy told them, "There's no way they're gonna put me in with the smart kids!"

"Well, that's the spirit now," his mother said sarcastically.

"Besides," Albus told him, "I don't think it depends as much on what we're like now as much as what we want to become."

"Quite right, Al," Harry agreed.

"But I'm twelve," Buddy argued, "How do I know what I want to become? What if I change my mind? Can I change houses?"

"I'm afraid you can't change houses," Harry told him, "But you can always change yourself. Everyone makes a hundred choices every day, and it's those choices that define who you are. You can always chose to become better then you are right now." Albus thought about what his father said. He had a feeling it was meant for him and James as much as for Buddy. The whistle sounded shrilly behind them.

"It's time to go!" James informed them.

"Right. Alright then," Dudley managed to get out, still apparently overwhelmed by his surroundings.

"Thanks, Dad," Buddy whispered as his father lifted him off the floor in a bear hug. Aunt Kathy was trying to maintain her composure on the platform.

"It's okay, Mama," Buddy told her, " I'll be back before you know it."

Once on the train, the three boys sought out someplace to sit together. They found the two of the boys they'd met in Diagon Alley, Declan and Mansel, sitting on a bench in a compartment.

"Can we join you?" James asked them.

"Sure, all except the Slytherin," Mansel said pointing at Albus.

"Shut up," Declan shot Mansel and then said to the others, "Of course, lads. You can all come in."

"I think I'll go look for Rosie," Albus responded sullenly.

"Oh, come on, Al!" James said.

"I'll be back in a bit," he told them.

Declan cuffed Mansel harshly on the crown.

"Good job, lad!" he said sarcastically.

"I was only joking," Mansel whined, trying to massage the back of his head.

"I don't understand what the big deal is anyway," Buddy exclaimed, "What's so bad about Slytherin?"

The three boys glanced at each other as if to ask, 'Who wants to take this?' Declan, being the eldest, spoke first.

"It's nothing really," he began, "It's just that, some people…" He rolled his eyes at Mansel as he said this, "think that all Slytherins eventually go bad."

"Go bad?" Buddy repeated thoughtfully, "What do you mean?"

"You know," Mansel continued, "Like the old days…" Buddy shook his head no and Mansel leaned forward and spoke with great intensity.

"Voldemort was a Slytherin himself, you know. All of his followers too."

"Not all!" James cautioned him.

"Nearly all," Mansel corrected, clearly irritated by the interruption.

"He called them the Deatheaters and they did whatever he commanded. They used illegal, dark spells to torture and kill muggles and muggle-born witches and wizards and anyone else who got in their way." Buddy stared at him in horror.

"BUT," Declan interrupted, "That was the old days. It's not like that now. People are less…crazy like that."

"My mum says that you can't ever trust a Slytherin," Mansel added solemnly, "And she should know. She lost two brothers and her parents in the war."

"My mum says that everyone lost someone in the war," James said, contributing for the first time, "Even the Slytherins did. My dad says that if people could try to look at things from the other person's point of view, then we wouldn't have wars."

"That's a load!" Mansel exclaimed, "How are you supposed to sympathize with someone who wants to murder everyone just because they aren't pure-blooded?" James shrugged, clearly wishing he hadn't said anything.

"That wasn't exactly specified," he told them sheepishly.

"Well anyway," Declan said again, "That's all in the past now. You're not likely to see any Deatheaters running around these days. There's no reason for Gryffindors to hate Slytherins anymore."

"Except during a Quidditch match," James added, grinning. The other's laughed their agreement.

"What's a Quidditch match?" Buddy asked eagerly. The others stared at him, dumbfounded, and then all began to speak at once. They were in the middle of a lengthy discussion of Quidditch technique and theory when they were interrupted by the sound of shouting in the corridor.