CHAPTER 2: Three's A Charm

"No, this one's full–"

"–Sorry, we're waiting for someone else–"

"You heard about Black escaping Azkaban –"

"– Oh. Sorry compartment's full. Try further front–"

Matthias grumbled in annoyance as his repeated attempts to lodge with complete strangers ended up in failure. Repeated failure no less. It was almost ridiculous that no one was willing to give him a chance to introduce himself and make new friends. Which is saying something since Matthias considers himself to be the friendliest person he knows. Making friends has never been a problem for him before. Today however, seemed different.

He managed to find Astoria and Daphne's compartment along the way too. The younger of the two was kind enough to offer him a seat with them, but Daphne, along with a black haired friend of hers, was immediately against it and kicked him out. Astoria once again apologized for her sister's actions, which Matthias chose to brush off as understandable, even though it really isn't and was left to wander on his own again.

A larger part of him really wished Daphne would give him the benefit of a doubt, but if she's convinced that all Matthias cares about is getting her younger sister to get to her later, then there's nothing he can do. Except maybe prove her wrong, but he doubts that would work on his favor anyway.

Matthias suddenly wondered if his bad start with Daphne earlier caused the events of today to plummet from bad to worse. A clap of thunder rolled from outside the Express to remind him of the weather and Matthias groaned. "Of course," he grumbled. "It's the rain's fault. It's always the rain's fault." The young brunette continued moving along the Express, annoyance plastered on his face as he silently prayed that his next attempt to lodge with someone ends successfully this time around.

Peeking his head at one of the lesser occupied compartments in the Express, Matthias glimpsed at a familiar looking girl with bushy brown hair, a red head that has way too many freckles on his face, a raven haired boy with round glasses, and another man sleeping near the window. He immediately recognized them as the group he followed into the platform earlier and felt a little hopeful that they'll help him this time too. Although they probably won't recognize him.

He knocked faintly on the glass door and once he's gotten their attention, Matthias slid it open and put on the sweetest smile he can muster, "Hi! Sorry to disturb you gentlemen," he added a curt nod to the only girl in the compartment and continued, "and lady, but is the compartment full?"

The trio exchanged skeptical looks among themselves.

The silence among them then dragged on longer than Matthias would've wanted and bit his lip uncomfortably. There is no way he's going back out there. "Look," he started almost pleadingly, "I've been trying to find a compartment nice enough to let me sit in for ten minutes now. Everyone else has either ignored or downright refused me. My legs hurt, I'm hungry, and I really just want to go back to sleep." That last part was a lie but whatever sold his desperation works for him.

The bushy haired girl looked at him sympathetically and turned to argue silently with her friends again. The ginger made a face that Matthias translated as a big, fat, "No!" while the raven haired boy seated across them shook his head in response as well. The girl's lips thinned and she sternly cocked her head towards Matthias to argue. After a few seconds of silent discourse, the raven haired boy sighed and nodded. The ginger could only roll his eyes at his two cents.

The girl smiled and said, "Of course you can sit with us. The more the merrier, right?"

Matthias practically jumped in place at the decision. "Oh thank you very much!" he exclaimed and took the empty seat beside the raven haired boy, who looked rather uncomfortable with having a stranger join them. Matthias took note of this and studied their expressions. He may have intruded in on something important.

"You don't know how much you just saved my first trip in the Express," he started in an attempt to clear the air and make them comfortable if even just a little bit. "Everyone has their own circle of friends by now so it's harder to connect with anyone when you're the new kid."

"First?" the raven haired boy echoed. "You're a first year?"

Matthias chuckled. He would be the second person to assume that of him. "No. Not really"

"A transfer then?" the bushy haired girl concluded. Matthias snapped his fingers, gesturing to her that she guessed correctly.

"I didn't know Hogwarts has a transfer program," the red head with freckles humored them.

"It is uncommon, yes," the buck-toothed girl explained with much enthusiasm, "but it's not impossible. Hogwarts has a pre-determined list of enrolled candidate's years before a letter is sent to us by owl. But I've read that sometimes, a special case comes around and they allow transfer students in."

"So he's someone special?" the raven haired boy asked again in slight interest as he glanced at Matthias.

"I wouldn't say that I am," Matthias truthfully said. "My school's Headmaster is friends with Hogwarts Headmaster, or so I'm told, so I might have been accepted as a favor. Then again," he added dubiously, "I also have grades at par with Hogwarts average, so maybe I qualified for Hogwarts either way?" It's also possible that Dumbledore, Hogwart's Headmaster, is aware of his... history in his old school and allowed the transfer solely on that. He kept that bit to himself however. No one needs to know what he's been through in his old school, not yet at least. Not until he knows he can trust them. "I'm not really sure."

"Well whatever the cause may be," the bushy haired girl said, "you're a student of Hogwarts now. I'm Hermoine Granger, and this is Ron Weasley," she said while presenting a hand at the red head beside her tipped. Ron tipped his head in greeting. She then pointed at the spectacled boy in front of her and said, "I'm surprised you haven't noticed yet, but this is Harry Potter."

Matthias looked at the raven haired boy beside him with bewildered eyes. He's heard of a Harry Potter before. Harry Potter, from what he's read and heard from History class, is the infamous Boy-Who-Lived and vanquisher of the Dark Lord, You-Know-Who when he was just an infant. Matthias initially didn't believe a child could destroy a powerful Dark Wizard, but numerous accounts of his existence soon made him believe. Much more so now when he sits just about an arms length away from the boy himself.

Matthias squinted as he studied the boy's feature properly. Amidst that unruly hair and large round spectacles, hid that lightning bolt shaped scar. It scarred on his forehead like a grim reminder of what he survived from and lost. Missing the history behind the scar, Matthias gasped, "Oh my God, you're him!"

The sleeping person beside Matthias snorted and they all turned their attention to the former. "Shhh!" Hermoine hushed him, "He's probably a Professor that needs a lot of sleep, so try to keep your voice down."

"Right," Matthias agreed, his eyes lingering for a moment at the dozing Professor before returning his attention to famous Harry Potter.

"You're actually him?" Matthias reiterated with unrivaled interest. "Hey, what's it like to be famous? To have defeated a Dark Lord like that? Do you have like... have a special entourage when you arrive at Hogwarts or something?" His attention flickered towards Ron and Hermoine. "Are they your escorts?"

"Escorts!?" Ron fumed at being indirectly called something similar to a servant. "We're Harry's friends, best friends," he corrected himself. "And no, Harry doesn't have a special entourage! That's mental! Who in their right minds would want a posse party?"

While Ron fumed about being regarded as an escort, Harry turned to Matthias and said, "I don't need one and I don't think Hogwarts would be too happy about it if I did. It would be like flaunting around something I don't even remember doing," Harry said with much hidden spite in his voice.

"So you're not as famous as the papers make you as?" Matthias asked with a tilt of his head.

"Well…" Harry murmured. "I am. Generally speaking. But you know…? I'm just trying to be a normal student. Learn magic, play some Quidditch, hang around with friends, maybe get back to Snape or two," at that note, Ron cheered and Hermoine shook her head amusingly.

"Oh," Matthias mumbled. "I'm sorry, I thought…"

"It's alright," Harry said dismissively. "Uh… I don't think we caught your name."

"Matthias Braun," Matthias grinned. "You can just call me Matt."

"So, Matt," Hermoine started, "What school are you transferring from? I'm sure you have plenty of stories to share. I've always wondered how different other wizarding schools are from Hogwarts."

"There's not much to tell really," Matthias frowned, "since Durmstrang –" Harry frowned at the unfamiliar name while Hermoine and Ron gaped in either disbelief or amazement "– is a well-known Institution all over the world."

"You're from Durmstrang?!" Ron interrupted as he leaned forward in interest. The Professor once again stirred at the sudden noise and all of them raised a warning finger towards Ron.

"Durmstrang's like a breeding ground for Dark Wizards isn't it?" Ron said, eyeing him dangerously. "I heard Durmstrang's Headmaster used to be a Death Eater too, and that he's training students to become followers of You-Know-Who when he returns or something."

Matthias narrowed his eyes at Ron's generalization. "I've studied there for two years and I would hardly call myself a Dark Wizard nor a breeding ground for them. I'm not throwing away the possibility, of course, since the Institute is pretty open with dark magic as you say. It's not probable, but its a possibility."

"And, yes, Headmaster Karkaroff was a Death Eater," he clarified. "He's still pretty scary and prefers to keep everything in order but he's far from building an army. Harry's already defeated You-Know-Who right? What would be the point of it?"

"Right," Harry shifted in his seat, "there's no point."

"But if you studied there…" Ron mumbled. "Then you know how to cast them? Dark magic?"

"A few hexes and curses above the usual," Matthias replied with much indifference. "We don't really learn about the darker magic's till this year and I… Well... things happened..." He unconsciously looked away, rubbing a hand up his arms as though repressing a memory.

Hermoine seemed to realize his distress and quickly moved to change the topic. "Well, whatever it was, that's in the past now. I can assure you that Hogwarts is very different from Durmstrang. It's very fun here!" Harry and Ron agreed alongside her. "We don't learn dark magic here but we do learn about other things. Other, important things," she reiterated. "We're finally getting electives this year!"

Ron groaned, "You're the only one happy about that."

"Why shouldn't I be?" Hermoine exclaimed, "We get to learn more, Ron! More magic, aren't you the least bit excited?"

"No I'm not," he replied gruffly with his arms crossed. "We'll have double units because of the electives. They're only going to make it worse for all of us."

"Oh, you're always so disinterested in learning more," Hermoine mumbled in disappointment. "I'm sure that if you tried you'd enjoy it as well."

"I'm certain that I won't," Ron concluded. Hermoine wrinkled her nose, obviously annoyed by his stubbornness.

Matthias found their relationship almost amusing and turned to Harry who seemed to shared the same sentiment in watching his friends bicker. "What about you Harry?" he asked. "What do you think about the electives?"

"They're fine I guess," Harry replied, unsure. "A few additional magic lessons won't hurt."

Hermoine waved a hand at Harry, silently thanking him for taking her side, while Ron looked offended at the betrayal.

"Fine then," Ron huffed at traitorous Harry, "if you two suddenly come to me, complaining about work that needs to be done I'll tell you that I told you so."

Hermoine responded offensively with a pompous claim of "Never!" which Ron dismissed with a wave of a hand as he turned to ask Matthias another question essential to anyone going to Hogwarts. "What house do you reckon you'd be sorted in? I'm sure you've thought about it."

"Oh I was ready for this," Matthias clapped his hands proudly. "I've actually read Hogwarts: A History for this exact moment."

Unnoticed by him, Hermoine grinned smugly at her friends as if telling them 'See! I'm not the only one'. Ron rolled his eyes and Harry sighed.

"I was thinking Hufflepuff," Matthias thought out loud, "but I'm like the least hardworking person I know. I considered Gryffindor for a minute but…" What was once a brave portion his life back then was snuffed out almost immediately. If anything, he isn't as brave as he initially believed anymore.

"Good choice, mate! Gryffindor is only the best house in Hogwarts!" Ron cried, effectively halting Matthias thoughts of self-doubt. "We always win the house cup and the Quidditch finals thanks to Harry here."

Almost immediately, Harry perked up and tried to stop Ron from buttering him up in front of the new kid. "Ron! I don't need to come off as a arrogant to anyone –"

"– Oh it's fine, right Matt?" Ron said dismissively, and beckoned for Matthias to agree with him.

"I really don't mind," Matthias shrugged. "It's not everyday you hear about Harry Potter's crazy adventures."

Ron clapped Matthias shoulder jovially, "See here? This is a good man. So listen," he leaned in, "Harry's only the youngest Seeker Hogwarts has ever known. You should see him flying on a broom! He goes so fast Malfoy can't even catch him from behind. And did I mention he bravely defeated remains of the Dark Lord twice in Hogwarts while he's trying to pass school?"

"No, no, you did not," Matthias replied, growing a little interested in that tale. He wasn't sure whether it was a Freudian slip or not, but he wouldn't be too surprised if some part of You-Know-Who lingered to avenge his death from Harry's hands. The Dark Lord may have been dead, but his most loyal followers would surely die trying to bring him back.

Matthias didn't press any further out of respect towards Harry's wishes, but he did not let the opportunity to tease the infamous young wizard pass. "Defeating the Dark Lord twice after you originally did is your definition of normal huh?" he sneered at Harry who covered his face bashfully in a stifled groan.

"I think you'd fit well in Gryffindor, Matt," Hermoine mumbled and Matthias nodded in gratuitous manner even though he thinks that's far from the odds.

"Even if the hat says otherwise, it takes into account what you want too," Harry added in an attempt to redeem himself after Ron tried to make him look good far more than necessary. "It considered placing me in Slytherin before, but I really didn't want to be in the same house as Malfoy."

Matthias raised a curious brow at the mention of the same name again. Who is this Malfoy kid and why do Ron and Harry hate him?

Ron groaned loudly and cursed this Malfoy to eternal damnation using a word Hermoine scolded him for uttering in the presence of a Professor. "Slytherin is the worst," the ginger hissed in warning. "Pray you don't get sorted with their lot."

"That's not entirely true, Ron," Hermoine said in defense of a rival house. Ron scoffed at her as though she just told them a bad joke. "The great Merlin was a Slytherin and he's the greatest wizard to ever live!"

"Yeah, well. Good for him," Ron scoffed. "But the Slytherins today? They're just the worst of the worst – those pure-blood elitists. Bunch'a snot-nosed jerks that think they're better than everyone else just because they're filthy rich. The whole lot of them."

"Slytherins aside," Hermoine said dismissively, "it will be nice to have a new house mate join us this year, especially one that reads books like Hogwarts: A History in their spare time."

Matthias didn't really read the book because he wanted to. It was more along the lines of necessity. The last time he went in a wizarding school blind, he spent the last two years living miserably in it.

"I'm getting tired of these two thinking I'm reading extensively for no reason," she whispered jokingly towards Matthias, and Ron reacted negatively at her comment. The trio laughed, making Matthias feel a little left out and jealous of their friendship.

He never had the chance to form something special like this in Durmstrang because of the circumstances he found in. Couple that with the Institute's general environment, it was hard to find any real friends. Much like hoping for a new start, Matthias hopes to find his own special set of friends in Hogwarts. Some part of him wants to be part of this circle, while another told him that he'll only be intruding on something that's already special.

He's fortunate to have met them of course, but he needs to find his own place in Hogwarts. One that is hidden away from the limelight and far from trouble. Having Harry Potter around might prove too stressful for his own sanity anyway. Matthias just wants to enjoy the wizarding world like he should have back in Durmstrang.

The trolley lady appeared beside their compartment door not long after, offering them her delicious and scrumptious candy meals from her trolley.

Matthias stood side by side with Harry, asking him for recommendations while the latter bought sweets for his friends.

They continued talking among themselves after the trolley lady left. And despite Ron's enmity towards Durmstrang earlier, he seemed highly interested in learning about it. Matthias didn't like being questioned about his time in the Institute and answered the ginger's questions as vaguely as possible. He even tried to switch topics, but Ron was persistent and didn't seem to notice the former's discomfort.

Hermoine fortunately did and changed their conversation to Quidditch instead; something Ron was more than eager to continue. While Ron was boasting about Harry's prodigal skill in Quidditch again, Matthias looked over to Hermoine and sent her a soft grateful smile.

Then out of nowhere, the compartment door slid open to welcome three people; a small silver-blonde haired boy, who had his hair combed back neatly, stood in between two menacing looking pillars- er - students. There was an aura of playful arrogance around the blonde that Matthias can't quite place if it annoyed him or irked him, but the way he sneered down at the Gryffindor trio definitely screamed fishy.

Matthias had no idea who they were but the atmosphere within the compartment morphed into that of annoyance.

Draco Malfoy, flanked by his cronies Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, snickered at the sight of the three Gryffindors. "Well, look who it is," Malfoy said in his usual lazy drawl, "Potty and the Weasel."

Crabbe and Goyle chuckled heavily from behind the smaller student as Malfoy's gaze fell down to meet Matthias' own. He frowned questioningly at the new kid for a moment before ignoring him completely, something which Matthias took slight offense to.

"I heard your father finally got his hands on some gold this summer, Weasley. Did your mother die of shock?" Malfoy said, further antagonizing Ron.

Ron quickly stood up, ready to sock Malfoy's smug face, and Hermoine's cat basket fell on the floor. The sleeping Professor gave a loud snort, warning them of his presence.

"Who is that?" asked Malfoy, taking an automatic step backward as he spotted the sleeping figure at the other end of the compartment.

"New teacher," Harry said as he got up to his feet. "What were you saying, Malfoy?"

Malfoy's pale eyes narrowed; he wasn't fool enough to pick a fight right under a teacher's nose.

"Come on," he muttered resentfully to his companions, eyes snapping momentarily down at Matthias. "You should choose your friends more carefully," he advised before turning on his heels to walk away.

Ron sat down, face growing red in anger. He mumbled quick profanities under his breath while he massaged his knuckles. "I'm not taking any crap from him this year," he hissed. "If he makes one more crack about my family, I'm going to get hold of his head and–" Ron made a violent gesture in midair.

"Ron, be careful…" Hermoine warns him again.

The mood soiled by Malfoy remained and the silence that built around them lingered far longer than it should have. Matthias' turned his attention elsewhere and let his mind wander again, the heavy rainfall outside mocking his day even more. Slowly and steadily, Matthias found himself drifting off to sleep, unconsciously leaning down unto the Professor beside him.

Matthias stirred back into consciousness when the combined sounds of rattling metal, heavy rainfall, and deafening wind became too much to keep him asleep. He looked around in a daze, completely unaware of his surroundings and asked, "What's going on?"

"I don't know, but you looked really cozy sleeping on the Professor like he's some stuffed animal," Ron joked. Matthias can only tilted his head in response. After Ron explained to him what he had done, Matthias blushed furiously.

"I can't believe I did that," Matthias groaned in his hands and Ron laughingly tried to comfort him.

"You were probably just hungry," Ron guessed and chuckled to himself. "At least he didn't wake up to realize what you were doing to him."

"Please stop," Matthias begged just as the train slowly lost speed. "Are we there yet?" he asked baffled.

"We can't possibly be," Hermoine frowned and looked around.

"So why are we stopping?" Ron asked confused.

They exchanged glances as the train moved to a stop, the sound of its mechanical pistons dying away amidst the sound of wind and rain against the window. Harry, who was nearest the door, got up and surveyed the corridor. Across the carriage, numerous heads stuck out of their respective compartments, looking as confused and concerned as they are about the train stopping midway.

"This isn't a regular thing, is it?" Matthias asked as he tried to figure things out from what was happening outside.

The train then suddenly skidded to a stop, making Matthias fly to the opposite seat and land on Ron's lap, who frantically yelled at him to get off. Distant thuds and bangs echoed all over the carriage, informing them that a number of luggage have fallen off their racks. Then before anyone can recover from it, the lights all went out at once, plunging everyone in total darkness.

Frightened shrieks of terrified girls, or maybe prepubescent boys, who were caught unaware by the sudden blackout reverberated through the carriage.

"What is going on!?" Ron asked as he pushed Matthias off him.

"Ouch!" gasped Hermoine. "Ron that was my foot!"

Harry patted around in the dark to move back into his seat and inferred, "Do you think we've broken down?"

"Dunno," Ron answered uncertainly with a shrug. He moved closer to the window and wiped a patch clean on the window, peering out now that he can. "There's something out there"

Matthias pushed himself on his feet and stepped beside Ron. As he looked out the window, his breath left warm moisture unto the freezing glass. A movement of black caught his and Ron's attention which prompted both of them to look at the other for confirmation. "Are those people?"

"I think they're coming on board," Ron mumbled.

The compartment door slid open at that moment and someone fell inside. "Sorry – d'you know what's going on? – Ouch – sorry –"

"Hullo Neville," Harry chocked as he felt around in the dark to pull Neville up to his feet.

"Harry? Is that you? What's happening," Neville asked

"No idea – sit down –"

"Who is that?" Matthias asked from the window.

"Who are you?" Neville croaked.

Ron, despite not being able to see anything, introduced the plump Gryffindor to their new friend. And while neither of them could see the other, both Matthias and Neville expressed their pleasure of meeting the other.

"I'm going to go and ask the driver what's going on," Hermoine suggested. She passed over Harry just before the door slid open again and another commotion played out, followed by two equally high pitched squeals of surprise and pain.

"Who's that now?"

"Who's that?"

"Ginny?"

"Whose Ginny?"

"What are you doing, Ginny?"

"I was looking for Ron –"

"Come in and sit down –"

"Not here!" Harry said in panic "I'm here"

"Ouch!" Neville yelled again

"Quiet!" yelled a hoarse voice not belonging to any of them and they all quieted down. The teacher finally moved from his corner and Matthias inched himself away from the Professor. He didn't want to be the first punished for everyone else's panick. Everyone else seemed to share his idea and none dared speak again.

A soft, crackling noise came from the Professor's side that shivered into an obvious source of light that filled the compartment. He appeared to be holding a handful of flames in his hand as it illuminated his tired, gray face. His eyes however, said otherwise. They looked alert and cautious.

"Stay where you are," he instructed in the same rough, gravelly voice, and slowly got up to his feet. At the same time, the door slowly began to slide open before the Professor could even reach it.

Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames on the Professors hand, was a cloaked figure that towered up to the ceiling; its face completely hidden beneath its tattered black hood. The room's temperature dropped exponentially, and soon enough Matthias can see his own breath forming before him.

Matthias' mouth dropped open as soon as he recognized what it was that decided to join them in the dark – a Dementor.