Scott made his way through the Hogwarts Express, searching for a compartment that wasn't already filled with people. Near the back of the train, he found one that was empty. He entered it, setting down the cage that his tawny owl, Piri, was sleeping in soundly. Before putting his trunk away, he decided to change into his Hogwarts robes, not wanting to put it off until the end of the journey. Once his robes were on comfortably, he closed his trunk and lifted it above his head and set it down on the rack above him. He then sat down as the compartment opened. A bushy-haired girl and a nervous-looking boy stood at the door.

"Excuse me," said the girl in a commanding voice. "Do you mind if we sit in here? Everywhere else seems to be full."

"Of course, come in," Scott replied, smiling at them. The girl and boy entered and sat down in the seats across from Scott. "I'm Scott Peck."

"Nice to meet you, Scott, I'm Hermione Granger," replied the girl.

"Nice to meet you, too, Hermione," said Scott, who turned to Neville with a smile. "And you are?"

"Neville Longbottom," the boy replied nervously.

"Neville Longbottom? My mother and your grandmother know each other from years back, when they were first fighting against You-Know-Who. I was hoping I'd get to meet you."

"You were?" Neville asked, sounding utterly shocked.

"Oh yes," Scott replied with a smile. "Your grandmother seems a lovely lady and I'm sure you are a nice person, too."

"Wow, thank you," said Neville, now looking happier. "It's nice to meet you, Scott."

"Pleasure," Scott said, turning back to Hermione. "So, Hermione, what do your parents do?"

"My parents are dentists," Hermione explained, hesitating.

"Ah, so they're Muggles," Scott said, nodding. "And they tend to people's teeth."

"How did you know?"

"Actually, my father was a Muggle, too. He worked for the London Police for many years."

"Oh!" exclaimed Hermione, looking as if a light had lit up in her face. "So your father was Marcus Peck, then? I thought I recognized your last name."

"Yes, that was my father," Scott said with an air of sadness.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Hermione said in a sympathetic voice. "I read about what he did to try and stop that robbery. It sounds like he died as a hero."

"Yeah, Dad was pretty brave; maybe that's why I'll be in Gryffindor."

"Oooh, yes, I've read all about Gryffindor," Hermione said, picking up on Scott's tone that suggested he wanted to change the subject. "Of course, I've read all about the other houses, too. They all seem very peculiar, don't you think? I think I'd like to be in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw."

"I think Ravenclaw would be fun," said Scott. "My mum always says I inherited my dad's brains. What about you, Neville?"

"Er, I don't know," Neville said, looking downtrodden again. "My gran says that I'd have to be more like my parents if I wanna get in Gryffindor. I bet I'm in Hufflepuff."

"Nothing wrong with that," Scott said. "My mum was in Hufflepuff while she was at Hogwarts. She was even a prefect and Head Girl in her time. Now she's at Witch Weekly."

"Yeah, gran goes on about her column all the time," said Neville, seeming happy that the subject had been changed again. "It's one of her all-time favorites."

"Oh, Shirley Peck is your mother?" added Hermione. "I love her column, myself. I even showed it to my parents and they enjoyed it as well."

Scott smiled. "She'll be glad to know she has some more fans."

Suddenly, Neville stood up, a frightened look on his face.

"Oh no," he said despairingly.

"What is it?" Scott and Hermione asked.

"It's my toad, Trevor. I've lost him."

"Don't worry," Hermione said, standing up. "I'll go and help you find him. He can't have gotten too far." She and Neville walked to the compartment door before she turned around. "Do save our seats, won't you, Scott?"

"Yeah, of course," Scott replied happily.