Harry ran about Platform 9 ¾ frantically, looking for his friends, Ronald Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Susan Bones. He hoped they would find him. While shopping together in Diagon Alley, they had promised to meet each other on the Big Day so none of them would look like loners. Harry was frightfully afraid that the other three had forgotten. Not seeing them anywhere, he returned to his grandparents and clung to them in the sea of unfamiliar faces. "Oh look!" exclaimed Alistair suddenly, in his deep, rich baritone. "There come the Weasleys!" And within minutes, all the families had found each other. Harry's face split into a wide grin upon seeing his friends. They were all important to him, Ron with his patched robes and flame-colored hair, cheerful brown-haired Susie, with her extensive collection of pastel headbands, and of course clumsy, awkward Neville, clutching a sweaty Remembrall in his left fist. The children and adults fell into easy conversation, born from years of familiarity. ******************* At long last, it was time to leave. Harry and his friends boarded the Hogwarts Express and waved goodbye eagerly to their respective guardians until their figures had faded away. Once they did, Harry leaned back, away from the window. Now their challenge was to look for an empty compartment. As the they set out on this adventure, they stumbled across a cabin with only a few first years in it, just like them. "Hello, my name's Harry. Harry Potter. And my friends are Ron Weasley, Susan Bones, and Neville Longbottom. Nice to meet you!" Harry smiled as he plopped down on the seat next to a young boy, not even bothering to ask if the compartment was free, simultaneously gesturing to his friends. "My name's Seamus. Finnigan. Are you really Harry Potter? As in THE Harry Potter?" Seamus asked in awe, staring at Harry's forehead. Being the show-off he was, Harry smiled gleefully at Seamus' reaction, as if taking advantage of it. "Yep. Here's my scar." Harry's grin grew wider and wider as he observed Seamus' reaction to his scar. "Wow!" breathed Seamus. At that moment, the trolley lady stopped by. "Anything from the trolley for you dears?" she asked. "Well, I'd love to...but me mam told me to save me money." Seamus said softly. Harry, of course, saw the perfect opportunity to boast. "It's on me, don't worry. What do you want?" he asked, pulling out galleon after galleon of wizarding money. Seamus, stunned yet again, requested a licorice wand and a pumpkin pasty, while Ron asked for two Bertie Botts' Every Flavor Beans, 5 cauldron cakes, 1 licorice wand, and 3 pumpkin pasties. Susan and Neville paid for their own food. Once their orders were placed, Harry made a big show of flourishing his money before giving it to the trolley lady and getting the food. Other kids soon filed into the compartment after seeing Harry's show with the money, and started chatting with him. Enjoying the attention, he casually pulled out a Golden Snitch and tossed it in his hand, letting it fly ahead of him, then quickly grabbing it. Everyone seemed to be impressed with his charisma and talent except for Ron, who knew he was showing off, and was more concentrated on trying to swallow a booger flavored bean, anyways. ************************************* Draco Malfoy, having nobody to say goodbye to, Mbizi cleverly disguised as a ring on Draco's finger and Jessamine miles away, hopped onto the Hogwarts Express. He secured himself in a compartment with two other children who seemed not to know each other. Draco quietly put his trunk above them and sat down, leaning against the window. He might have tried to get some sleep, but one of the other children had spoken. "Well this is cozy," the dark-eyed boy had said, looking around at the girl and at him. "Blaise Zabini. And you?" Draco looked up. "Draco Malfoy. Pleasure." He said smoothly. Draco cast his memory back to his culture lessons. Zabini. Zabini. Where had he heard the name before? Oh, that's right. The Abu Omar case in Italy, the 1919 World Series in America. The only two times the Mafia family had almost been caught. Almost. Draco felt a sudden respect for the boy. The pale, delicate-looking brunette then introduced herself. "Daphne Greengrass. It's a pleasure to meet the two of you." Greengrasses, hmm, thought Draco. Dangerous, dangerous like sleeping snakes or dormant volcanoes. Appearances are deceiving. The trio then made small talk until a loud group of people passed them, causing Daphne to jump. "Pansy Parkinson, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Millicent Bulstrode, and Theodore Nott," Blaise proclaimed, identifying them.. "They are destined to be Slytherins and their main objective in life is to prank Gryffindors. Quite pointless, if you ask me." Daphne and Draco cast a glance at him, and Draco asked, "Don't they have anything better to do? Rather than prank Gryffindors, I mean?" The dark-eyed mafioso smirked. "That crowd? It's obvious you haven't met them before. They wouldn't know purpose if it danced naked in front of them wearing only a balaclava." All three began to chuckle, softly and then more freely, at the mental image Blaise invoked.