DISCLAIMER: Nope, not mine. (Also, several things are taken directly from the book, but I'll try not to do it so often).
SUMMARY: Harry loses his memory after a nasty happening at the Dursley's. What will he happen if he grows up at an orphanage, with no knowledge of his real name, or fame? He doesn't look like he used to. He goes by the name Alexander Black...
WARNINGS: child abuse, DH spoilers, violence, mild swearing. I come from a very traditional family, so it will most likely contain corporal punishment in future chapters, but only occasionally, and not very graphic.
AN: This is the new version of Chapter 3. Tell me if you like it, also if you don't.
Chapter 3: Not Alone
Life at Wool's Orphanage was dull. To be truthful, I hated that place more than anything, all of it: the building, the children, the teachers, all the employees, and above everything, Rodriguez. This, to me, was hell in its most absolute and definite form. Five years and nine months. And now, finally, I was being released to where I was meant to be. I wasn't planning on ever coming back. Not this Christmas, not even next summer. Actually, the only possible explanation I can think of that would justify my returning to this godforsaken place... mmm... there isn't one. After all, I am way above the common terrorist. I would never actually plant a bomb here, honestly. "Oh, well, that's too bad... Yes, I can now picture it... Rodriguez looking at us in shock as we set off a masive explotion. And then... BOOM!! Buh bye, Rodriguez" I ignored Harry's murderous musings.
Sometimes he scared me a bit. But really, he was always there for me, and I could tolerate his dark thoughts as long as he didn't leave me.
I smiled hesitatingly at the pink envelopes in front of me. Same girls as last Christmas, I guess. Isn't it ironic that, right when things seem to improve for me in that godforsaken place, I finally get the chance to escape? Don't get me wrong, I would not regret leaving, not in the least. After all, these so-called "admirers" probably treated me like shit at some point of my life. Not nice. I hope they bitterly regret it when I'm gone. "Ha. Yeah, right. Keep dreaming, mate."
Sighing at the truth in those words, I looked back down to my magical creatures book, which I had already read twice. I had never been one to read school textbooks out of pleasure, but now... Well, it was a completely different situation, of course. All of it was so new, so fascinating. I summerged myself in those books, I even missed a few meals. I started with my coursebooks and proceeded with the extra ones. After reading every single one of them, I started rereading my favorites. Eventually, though, I had to get off my arse and face the reality: I needed money.
What I had told McGonagall was true. I am not a thief; I don't take things that don't belong to me. Instead, I fight for them. Literally. You see... I had joined an illegal, underground fighting club almost a year before. I had to say my age was 13 (now 14) so that they would let me enter - I have always been a bit tall for my age.
I normally go there at least three times a week and get paid depending on how long I can last (plus any bets I make on myself). That's how I discovered my uncanny ability to heal myself. Not consciously, of course, but I never remain injured for long. However, when things get really rough, I am forced to give myself a break, lest people start getting suspicious. During these times, I go back to my old job as a magician. Nobody really knows the secret behind my magic tricks, for the simple reason that there isn't one; they are real.
And so, with only two weeks left before I could leave, I went down to the club. I think I might have overdone it, though. Ten nights in a row... I thought I would die, but it was necessary if I wanted to have the last 4 days free - it would not do to arrive at Hogwarts looking like a bloody mess. Also, I wanted to be able to enjoy the annual trip to the zoo. When Rodriguez asked me when I'd be leaving, I lied and said term started on the 31st of August. I rarely ever lie, but this was well worth it.
Just as I suspected, she immediately planned the trip to be on September 1st. She knows I like animals a lot and would hate to miss that. She was right, but fortunately, the zoo is very close to King's Cross and I would have two hours to enjoy myself before escaping at 10:30 to take the train. It was a perfect plan and I had to be patient for it to work. I continued re-reading my books whenever I got too bored (usually during the evenings, before going to the club). Newt Scamander's book was by far my favorite of all the school-asigned books; the rest of them were a bit dull after the first read. From the extra ones, I really can't decide which one is better.
'Constant Vigilance' included many defensive charms and safety tips, as well as some spells to identify poisons and curses in anything you eat or touch. "Perfect for someone as paranoid as us, huh?". The other books were very useful too. I could already cast many of the charms and spells in the books without even a wand, but I tired less easily if I used it. Potions looked a lot like Chemistry to me, and 'Brewing Glory' was written in a very clear (if slightly sarcastic) way. "That class will be quite enjoyable, I think".
I put the books away and prepared myself for another day at the orphanage. Another day, another fight. I smiled ruefully at that thought. It wasn't as if I didn't enjoy it. I had grown to love getting into fights. It was exhilarating. Modest little me had gotten into a few fights by then, mostly with older boys than me.
That day (the day before the trip), I received quite a beating for my saving-people thing. "Again," Harry grumbled. But this time it was different. Instead of giving me a wary glance and running away, this boy thanked me.
I was returning to the orphanage that night, after a long day of entertaining idiots at the park, when I heard the boy crying. He wasn't much younger than me, but he didn't have that hardened look about him, that I most certainly did. He was cornered by two 16-years-olds, from a gang, most likely. I distracted them and helped the boy - "Colin, wasn't it?" - escape. But they caught me and beat me up in front of Colin, whom I had hidden behind some trash cans.
I wasn't very worried about my injuries because I knew they would all but disappear in a few hours, but the kid looked really scared so I comforted him as good as I could. 'Ok, kid, you're safe now. Hush, calm down.' He called me a hero and looked at me in awe. That surprised me a lot. It felt so good to know that someone appreciated my good actions. Smiling, I told him my name was Alex and sent him to go and look for his parents, before he could see how much his words affected me. That night, I fell asleep with a smile on mi lips.
September 1st.
Albus Dumbledore sat in his chambers, brooding. He had been doing this quite often as of late, and the rest of the staff was starting to worry. He wasn't his usual cheery self. But he had a reason for it, one that actually made sense. He was afraid.
The month before, his old friend, Ollivander, informed him that Voldemort's sister wand had been sold. To Alexander Black, no less.
The boy's appearance had been a total surprise for them all. Severus looked like he would faint. That was amusing, indeed. And Albus wasn't an exception to this. When he was told about the wands, he asked Minerva to show him the memory of the Diagon Alley visit. She reluctantly agreed, and Albus was still in shock over the memories Alexander had brought up.
Albus immediately recognized the building as the same he had visited over fifty years before. And it was unnerving how many similarities there were between Alexander Black and Tom Riddle. They both had a control over magic that most people didn't achieve until they entered Hogwarts; and without even a wand. Both were muggle-raised. In the same orphanage. They even looked similar.
But he was quite sure Alexander could turn out to be a good lad. What his father did is not his fault. He was just lonely. And Albus refused to commit the same crime twice. Instead of being so cold towards Tom, he should have helped him. After all, how can you love, when nobody ever loved you? So many mistakes, so many wrong turns that, if corrected, would have led to a better future... And now he had a chance to do things right, something that thrilled him as much as it scared him. What if he failed? What if another young soul turned dark because of him? Another boy becoming a monster... No! That won't happen this time.
It was too late for Tom, but not for Alexander.
Brazil? Sounds great. Do you miss-? Oh, forget it. You were born here, weren't you?
So what if I was having a conversation with a Brazilian Constrictor? I like snakes. They always have something interesting to say - as weird as that sounds - and they seem to like me.
I only had 10 minutes left. I would need a distraction if I wanted to slip out. The snake wanted to go to Brazil. "Seems pretty obvious, doesn't it?"
Scrunching up my forehead, I concentrated on making the glass disappear. It was harder because there wasn't anybody around to make me angry. "But it is best not to leave witnesses, heh heh." With a loud 'pop', it vanished.
Thankss, amigo
Wow. First, the professor treats me like a human being; then, Collin calls me a hero; now, I am it's 'amigo'? I shook my head out of those thoughts and continued to the exit.
My trunk, with all my belongings inside, was already shrunken in my bag. It was mostly empty (my bag), except for a few other things I kept outside the trunk, just in case. My wand, some money... and my faithful dagger.
I was almost out when I felt eyes on me. If it had been anyone from the orphanage, they would've done something already, so I stopped to look around. Diamond blue met emerald green. It was one of the animals, a red wolf. He couldn't be more than a couple weeks old. There wasn't any other wolf with him. He was alone. "Like us." Although I didn't want to admit it, I knew he was right. The little guy reminded me a bit of a younger me. Bright eyes, dark hair, so lonely...
I read the sign beside him and frowned. If I was correct - and I usually am- this cub had been pulled out of the den, away from his family. That was wrong on so many levels. Wolves lived in packs, and you couldn't just take one away to put him on exhibition! Especially one so young (sixteen days old).
The little guy gave me a pitiful gaze, besting even my most adorable puppy eyes. "That's quite an achievement." I knew the battle was lost before it even started.
Looking around, I got closer to the glass. This time, I made it vanish faster because of how anxious I felt. I needed to hurry. The cub crawled to me, into my arms, and I carefully shifted him to a more comfortable position. I was afraid to put the cub in the bag. Damn dagger. So instead, I hurried to get the hell outta there, before anyone could catch me red-handed.
It wasn't a long trip to King's cross. Many women and young kids trailed after me, cooing at the cute little dogie, but I managed to loose them after a while. I arrived at 10:45, when I realized I didn't know where the platform was.
McGonagall had mentioned it, I was certain. "But what was it?" I hadn't paid much attention to those meaning-less details. The word 'barrier' kept coming up in my mind, but what did that have to do with anything?
I was starting to get desperate, when I saw a really pretty red-head looking at me. I smiled at her and she blushed. Another red-head ("her brother, most likely") noticed this and turned around. The boy was pushing a trolley with a trunk, very much like my own. Actually, there was a whole bunch of red-heads with one of those. How could I not notice six red-heads so close together? And how could I not notice the owl that the oldest brother was carrying?
"Damn. When did you get so slow?"
Immensely relieved, I followed them.
They showed me the way through the very solid-looking barrier, and then the pair of twins, impressed by my outright disobedience of the rules regarding pets, promised to teach me how to get food from the kitchens for the little cub.
I now sat at an empty compartment, with Harry between my trunk (now back to its original size) and I, his annoying comments filling in the silence. Sighing, I ignored him and looked down at the sleeping puppy in my lap. It was cuddling with me, and I couldn't help but smile. I didn't regret taking him with me. Not at all.
With envy, I watched through the window all those happy families biding goodbye to each other. I could watch that red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying. "Talk about being a stalker..."
"Where's Percy?" said their mother.
"He's coming now."
The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes and I noticed a shiny silver badge on his chest with the letter P on it. He looked like a pompous git to me.
"Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the Prefects have got two compartments to themselves-"
"What's a prefect?"
"Oh, are you a Prefect, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea."
"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once-"
"Or twice-"
"A minute-"
"All summer-"
"Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect. I chuckled. Those guys were so cool.
"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins.
"Because he's a Prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term - send me an owl when you get there."
She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins.
"Now you two - this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've- you've blown up a toilet or-"
Inside my compartment, I smirked. That sounded like a really good idea.
"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."
"Great idea though, thanks, Mum."
"Maybe they'll let us help them."
"It's not funny. And look after Ron."
"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."
"Shut up," said the youngest boy. He was almost as tall as the twins and looked about my age.
A whistle sounded.
"Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered on to the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them goodbye and their youngest sister, that pretty girl, began to cry.
"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls."
"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat."
"George!"
"Only joking, Mum."
The train began to move. I saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed; then she fell back and waved.
I could feel my stomach give a twist.
"This is it. I'm finally going to Hogwarts."
"Brighten up!" Harry said. "We're gonna have so much fun in there; I just can't wait!"
I didn't know if things would be better for me; but they couldn't possibly be worse. "That's right!"
The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest Weasley boy, Ron, came in.
"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "Everywhere else is full."
I shook my head and he sat down.
"Hi, I'm Ron Weasley," he said an held out his hand. I shook it with an out-going smile and said:
"Alexander Black, but just call me Alex."
Ron noticed the furry thing laying over me and opened his mouth to say something, but the door opened again and the twins came in.
"Hey, Ron."
"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train," started one twin reassuringly.
"Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there." the other one finished, grinning.
"Right," mumbled Ron, looking somewhat upset.
"Alex," said the first twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."
"Bye," said Harry and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them.
"What's that?," Ron pointed at the little puppy.
"It's a wolf cub. I know they aren't allowed, but I couldn't just leave him alone," I know how that feels.
"Wow, how did you get it?"
I started telling him about the trip to the zoo, but one thing led the other so I told him much about my life at the orphanage and what I had heard from McGonagall about my parents, as well as my amnesia.
"So you can't remember a thing? That's must really suck."
"Well, I do remember things once in a while, mostly from dreams. I know when my birthday is, as well as my name. When I first woke up, I didn't know who I was, or my age but I did know the basic things like reading and talking and counting. But it wasn't that bad. Actually... I'm kinda glad I can't remember those five years."
"Why's that?," Ron asked, looking mystified.
I looked at him, unsure. I had only just met him, after all. Deciding to give it a chance, I confessed, "From what I can remember of my past, I can say it wasn't nice. That, and the condition I was in when I woke up. Someone beat me pretty badly, tied me up, and dumped me in the middle of the street to die. Also, I have plenty of nightmares where I'm being hit. So yeah, I'm curious; but I'd prefer not to find out."
Ron seemed to ponder this for a moment, and when he looked up, I was thankful to find sympathy and not pity. "I'd would feel the same way if I was you, I guess."
"Looks like a good time to change subjects..."
"What about you? Are all your family wizards?" I asked, finding Ron just as interesting as Ron found me.
"Er - yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."
"So you must know loads of magic already. I hate living in the orphanage, it's full of muggles there, and they're horrible - well, not all of them. Most people I've met are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers."
"Five," said Ron.
For some reason, he was looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left - Bill was Head Boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a Prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand and Percy's old rat."
"Mmmh... I never thought of it that way. But you could always try and beat them at it."
"What d'ya mean?"
"Head Boy, Captain, Prefect, prankster. You could become all of those. If 'prefect' and 'headboy' are what I think, then all you need is get good grades and not get caught when you're pulling a prank. And if you're good at Quidditch then that's no problem"
Ron snorted. "You make it sound so easy."
I shrugged. "It is. Yeh've got seven years to do it, after all."
That left Ron thinking and finally, he agreed.
"But I don't wanna be a Prefect, that's too Percy-ish"
We both started laughing, when the compartment door slid open again. A boy dragging a trunk entered and looked at us sheepishly. "Hello. Do you mind if I stay here? My git of a brother and his thugs won't leave me alone."
"I'm ok with it"
"Yeah"
I moved over to make him some space to sit, practically crushing Harry against my trunk.
"Thanks," he said gratefully. "My name's Reg Malfoy, nice to meet you."
"A pleasure. I'm Ron Weasley," my first ever friend answered, though he looked wary of him for some reason.
"And I'm Alex Black. Who's this brother you were talking about?"
He made a face, and I realized he looked a bit like myself, but with hazel eyes and curly gold hair. He wasn't as pale, either.
"Draco, my twin. He's an idiot and mummy's boy, too."
Ron snorted. "No offense but... who would name their kid 'Draco'?"
He grinned back. "My parents, apparently. It really is a stupid name, isn't it? But I was named after a Death Eater, so I can't talk."
"A Death Eater?" McGonagall had told me about them, the evil servants of the even eviler Lord Voldemort (or he-who-must-not-be-named). My dead cousin defeated him when he was a baby. Ron really shouldn't complain about having someone to live up to.
"Yeah, my mum's cousin, Regulus. Worst thing is, my whole family is like that. I can't wait to get rid of them. I'll probably be the first Malfoy to not be in Slytherin." This seemed to make Ron relax a little. Maybe he knew about Reg's family, and thought he was like them.
There was a knock on the door of our compartment and the round-faced boy I had passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looked tearful.
"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"
When we shook our heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"
"He'll turn up," said Regulus.
"Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him..."
"Wait!" I said, taking out my wand and carefully placing the cub on my seat after I stood up. "Why don't you try and conjure it"
Three confused pairs of eyes looked back at me. I ignored them "Accio toad!"
A few seconds later, something flew through the door and I caught it expertly.
"Trevor!" cried the boy blissfully, holding out his hands. "Thank you! How did you do that?"
"I read it in a book. I'm Alex Black, by the way"
"Oh," he blushed. "I'm Neville Longbottom"
"Hi, Neville. I'm Regulus Malfoy."
"Ronald Weasley. Want to join us?"
Neville looked very surprised. "Are you sure?"
Reg nodded with a grin and I exclaimed "The more the merrier, innit?"
He smiled shyly and sat besides Ron.
"Isn't that a wolf?" Neville asked when I put it back on my lap. We all looked surprised at him. Reg hadn't even noticed it until then. "What's his name?"
It was my turn to blush. I had forgotten he didn't have a name. "I don't know, I just got him. What do you guys think I should name him?"
After a round of stupid names, each more outrageous than the last, we decided to name him Copper. It may not have been original, but it was still much better than Snowy.
"He's not even white, for heaven's sake!!"
"How did you know it was a wolf," I finally asked. Most people would've assumed it was a dog. If I wasn't that obsessed with animals, I probably would, too.
"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was a Muggle for ages, and I wasn't allowed to fly or anything of the sort, so I spent loads of time reading about different plants and animals instead."
"They thought you were a muggle?"
"Yes... My great-uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me - he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned - but nothing happened until I was eight. Great-uncle Algie came round for tea and was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my great-auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced - all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased. Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here - they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great-uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."
I had to stop myself from frowning; to my right, Harry looked scarily angry. Muggle or not, they could've hurt him a lot. No wonder he was so shy. Neville probably still thought of himself as an almost-muggle.
Regulus spoke up and calmed Neville by explaining how all wizards were born like that and couldn't go from being a muggle to suddenly gaining magic. If he hadn't shown any magic before that, it was because he felt pressured, not because he didn't have it. He and Ron looked as upset with Neville's family as I felt, but we didn't say anything else about it.
Before going on to some lighter topics like our hobbies and the like, we continued talking about our life-stories. Reg's dad had been executed for killing the Boy Who Lived, and his mother disliked him as much as he disliked her. Ron's brother, Bill, worked for the wizarding bank (Gringots) in Egypt as a 'curse breaker'; Charlie was a dragon tamer in Rumania; and his father worked at the Ministry of Magic. Neville didn't say much more about his family. Good, 'cause I ain't keeping quiet no more! And I told them what I had already told Ron before, but with some more details.
While we had been talking, the train had carried us out of London. Now we were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep.
We were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past. Regulus was reading some book, Neville was petting Copper, and Ron was just staring out the window.
"You don't like spiders, do you?," I asked him curiously, trying to guess the reason for his earlier reaction.
He shuddered and shook his head. "I hate them, and the twins know it. They're the reason I don't like them"
"Why? What did they do?"
"Well, it happened when I was three," he bit his lip and hesitated slightly before he continued. "Fred turned my - my teddy bear into a dirty great spider because I broke his toy broomstick. You wouldn't like them either if you'd been holding your bear and suddenly it had too many legs and ..." He broke off, shuddering.
He looked at us warily, as if expecting us to laugh. None of us did. He had just told us about his greatest fear; we weren't about to mock him.
"Don't worry, we're all afraid of something. I don't like cockroaches; and I think I'm afraid of myself, turning out like my family wants. With such a reputation... Well, I'm just glad I met you guys, at least I'm not alone," said Regulus.
"And I - I'm afraid of heights and - I know it's stupid, but - of water, too. Swimming and all that. And not being good enough. My parents were good at everything and became aurors, and the family expects me to follow on their footsteps."
"Don't mind them," I said. "It's your life, and I'm sure your parents would be proud of you, no matter what. As for the heights and water... being pushed off a pier and dropped out the window would do that to you," I wince sympathetically at him. "I'm not sure what I'm afraid of, but I can relate with the 'not being good enough' part, that and -" I stopped.
Should I say it?
"Yeah! They'll understand."
No... They'll think I'm pathetic.
"Just go ahead and do it. They are waiting."
Realizing I had indeed blanked out, I told them about my fear. I confessed to being friend-less for as long as I could remember, and the panic I felt whenever I thought of dieing with no one there to miss me.
I was quite amazed that I had told them so much (I had never shared any of this with anyone), but I was even more surprised when Ron said: "You can forget it then, 'cause now you have three brand new friends and you won't get rid of me any time soon."
"Same here," Neville said, firmly.
"I'm sorry, Alex, but you're stuck with us," Reg smirked.
I couldn't do anything but smile from ear to ear. "I told you so!"
Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back our door and said, "Anything off the trolley, dears?"
I looked at the now awake Copper and decided to buy him some milk, and maybe a Mars Bar for myself. Regulus leaped to his feet and went out into the corridor. Ron's ears went pink and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches.
I went out and bought some milk, but the woman didn't have any Mars Bars. What she did have were Bertie Bott's Every-Flavor Beans, Droobles Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron cakes, Liquorice wands and a number of other strange things I had never seen in my life. It was a difficult decision, but I needed some chocolate, so I chose the frog.
Regulus got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts. We stared as he brought it all back into the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat.
"Hungry, are you?"
He shrugged, "I didn't want to miss anything. Mother never lets me eat any sweets, those are for Draco."
Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches in there. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef."
"Gran didn't give me anything, 'cause she doesn't want me to get fatter."
This time I did frown. "You are not fat. That's stupid."
"I agree," Regulus said. "Come on, guys, take a pasty. I can't possibly eat this all by myself."
And so, we all sat there, eating our way through Reg's pasties and cakes. He didn't seem to mind, either.
"What is this?" I asked Ron, holding up my unwrapped Chocolate Frog. "Not a real frog, I hope."
"No," said Ron. "But see what the card is, I'm missing Agrippa."
"What?"
"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know - Chocolate frogs have cards inside them, you know, to collect - Famous Witches and Wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."
I unwrapped my Chocolate frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long crooked nose and flowing silver hair, beard and moustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore. I turned over my card and read:
'Albus Dumbledore, currently Headmaster of Hogwarts. Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Professor Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.'
I turned the card back over and saw, to my astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared.
"He's gone!"
"Well you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron.
"But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos."
"Do they?"
"What, they don't move at all?"
"Weird!"
I stared as Dumbledore sidled back in the picture on my card and gave me a small smile. I finally tore my eyes from the Headmaster to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans.
"You want to be careful with those," Neville warned me. "When they say every flavour, they mean every flavour - you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and grape, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe."
"George reckons he had a bogey-flavoured one once."
Reg picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully and bit into a corner. "Bleaaargh- Sprouts."
We had a good time eating the Every-Flavor Beans. I got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny grey one Neville wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper.
The countryside now flying past the window was looking wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers and dark green hills.
"Does any of you know what house you'll be in?" I asked.
"My whole family's been in Gryffindor. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."
"That's the house Vol- I mean, You-Know-Who was in?"
"Yeah," said Reg. He flopped back into his seat looking depressed. "As well as my family."
"My parents were in Gryffindor, but I'll probably end up in Hufflepuff."
"I'm hoping for Gryffindor too," I added.
Gloom seemed to be settling on them, so I did the most logical thing.
"Bet you can't do this!"
I grabbed a handful of beans and shoved them all into my mouth. It did the trick. They couldn't stop laughing at the strange faces I was making, because of the weird combination of flavors. Soon, we were taking turns to do the same thing, and we could hardly breath through all the laughter. When we finished the beans, we were still red in the face and panting.
"What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked, now in a good mood.
"The Tornados," Reg said.
"Er- I don't know any," Neville said.
"Me neither, McGonagall only told me the basics"
"What!" Ron looked dumfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world -" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, with Reg joining in once in a while. He described famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he'd had the money.
He was just taking us through the finer point of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again. Three boys entered and I knew who they were at once.
The boy in the middle had grey eyes and platinum blond hair. The resemblance between him and Reg was clear, but they weren't identical. The other two were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing either side of the pale boy they looked like bodyguards.
"So you were hiding here, weren't you?" he sneered and looked at Ron. "Red hair, freckles and more children than they can afford. A Weasley."
Regulus stood up. "Leave him out of this, Dracykinns!" *like Daisy, but with an 'r', plus 'kinns'*
Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks. "I'd be careful if I were you. Hang around with riff-raff like them and it'll rub off on you."
This time, all four of us stood up. Even shy little Neville.
Ron's face was as red as his hair. "Say that again," he said.
"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" sneered Draco.
"Unless you get out now," I said.
"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some."
That's it!
"You show him, Alex!"
I took a step forward and punched him on the nose. And then hell broke loose. Mere minutes later, we had all become a tangle of arms and legs. Nobody noticed when I trailed away and took a couple of those water-start Filibuster things from my open trunk. It was all very quick, I guess. Draco never realized I had put them in his robe pockets. Yeah, I'm truly sneaky.
He left our compartment with a broken nose and a bruised ego. Not to mention those whining brutes. They had seemed so big and rough at first. Ha, cry babies!
Copper had woken up and was crawling at our feet, indifferent to the fight that had just occurred. Scabbers (Ron's pet rat) was sleeping among piles of candy, as aware as Copper. Neither of them were hurt, but we were a different story.
Ron had a black eye and a split lip. Neville was bruised all over and had just lost his last milk tooth. Reg was bleeding from the side of his head and had been hit on the stomach. And I - well... you could say I got the worst of it.
I did take on all three of them by myself before my friends (it does sound nice, doesn't it?) came to help me. And I was distracted by my brilliant plan. I had a black eye as well, and had a really nasty bruise on my jaw. My nose was bleeding, but thankfully not broken. And my left hand knuckles had cracked. Damn that thick-headed gorilla.
"So..." Regulus said, straightening his robe and uniform. "What did you put in his pocket?"
I looked at him, surprised. He just lifted an eyebrow. I told them about my plan and we all shared an evil grin. Right that second, Fred and George had come back in. We must have looked pretty scary then. Specially Neville and his missing front tooth.
"What's been going on?" One of them said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and our ragged looks.
"You haven't been fighting, have you?" The other asked, as if too amazed to believe it.
"Oh Ronnie!"
"We're so proud of you!"
"But aren't you going to present us to your newest friends??"
"Forget that, George! I wanna know who beat the ickle firsties up"
Seems like I'll finally be able to tell who's who. They hadn't told me before who was Fred and who was George. I noticed Fred had more freckles on his nose and smirked.
"He is Neville Longbottom and that's Regulus Malfoy. It's his evil twin that we went against."
"A single firstie did this to you?" George asked incredulous.
"Of course not!" Regulus exclaimed. "He came with his cronies Crabbe and Goyle. And I'll let you know, they ended up much worse than us."
"Yeah, and those blokes were bigger than you are," I added.
They both seemed very impressed (and slightly amused at my bragging comment).
"Wow. Glad to see you won't follow the Percy Path of the Perfect Prefect"
We all chuckled, as Ron had told us a lot about Percy.
"Anyway, we came here to ask if you want us to take the cub -"
"- to our dorms, and feed him there. Someone will see it if we take him to the Great Hall -"
"- and you can't just carry him during the Sorting. He could -"
"- sleep with us tonight and we'll give him back tomorrow."
"If you're not in Gryffindor, that is."
"If you are, then you can take him as soon as dinner's over."
"What's his name, by the way?"
I just looked at them. It would be so cool if I could do that...
"Copper," I said.
"Nice," they both said at the same time. "So are you okay with it?"
"Yes, thank you. But... wouldn't you miss dinner if you do that?"
"Nah, don't worry."
"We'll be back before you put a foot inside the castle."
"Aha, but we need to take him now."
"The train hasn't stopped," I pointed out.
"It will, in a few minutes."
And with that, they took Copper and left.
I peered out of the window. It was getting dark. I could see mountains and forests under a deep-purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down. We took off our jackets and pulled on our long black robes (except for Regulus, who already had them on). Ron's were a bit short for him, you could see his trainers underneath them.
A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."
My stomach lurched with nerves. We crammed our pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor. The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way towards the door and out onto a tiny, dark platform. I shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students and I heard a strangely familiar voice: "Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here!"
It belonged to an enormous man; twice as tall as a regular grown up, and three times as wide. His big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads. "C'mon, follow me - any more firs'-years? Mind yer step, now! Firs'-years follow me!"
Slipping and stumbling, we followed him down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark either side of us that I thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much.
"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," He called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."
There was a loud "Oooooh"
The narrow path had opened suddenly on to the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.
"No more'n four to a boat!" the man called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore.
We grinned excitedly at each other. Surely, we aren't that lucky! Our original plan had been to use the 'aguamenti' charm on Draco, right after the Sorting... but this was so much better. We would manage to pull the first prank of our Hogwarts carrier before we even got sorted into a house!
Draco, Crabbe and Goyle took a boat with some dark skinned boy that looked like a total prat to us. We got into the boat to their left.
"Everyone in?" shouted the giant man, who had a boat to himself, "Right then - FORWARD!"
And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. To an unspoken signal, the four of us clenched the side of Draco's boat and pulled up. A loud 'splash!' broke the silence. That and the four loud yelps before it. And the loud explosions after it. Yeah, I'd say it was LOUD!
Sparks were soaring through the sky and it looked quite beautiful. I would later compare it to Disney and the night's fireworks at Cinderella's castle, but this was so much better.
The big guy stopped the boats from moving (except for his own) and floated toward us. The shower of sparks had ended and a new round of yelps could be heard as four pink tentacles came out of the water and pulled the freezing boys into the boat.
The man frowned at us. It must have been obvious, with Draco glaring daggers at us and our hands wet, still posed on the boat's edge. "Perfessor McGon'gall shall deal with you lil' runts."
And with that, the boats continued their trek.
I gulped, staring up at the castle overhead. It towered over us as we sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood. Nearer and nearer to McGonagall too.
"Heads down!" yelled the man as the first boats reached the cliff; we all bent our heads and the little boats carried us through a curtain of ivy which had a wide opening in the cliff face. We were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking us right underneath the castle, until we reached a kind of underground harbor, where we clambered out on to rocks and pebbles. Mr. Huge (as I had temporally named him) kindly offered his enormous coat to the shivering prats, but they merely sneered at him in disgust. Huge pretended not to notice.
"Oi, you there! Not goin' ter hide, will you?" said Mr. Huge, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.
We had tried (unsuccessfully) to blend in with the other kids, but Huge noticed it. He brought us to the front and clamped his hands on our shoulders. His hands were so big that he could grab two of us in each. And that was how we clambered up a passageway in the rock after Huge's lamp, coming out at last on to smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. We walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.
"Everyone here? Yes?" Huge raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.
The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face, a face that I could easily recognize.
"She ain't looking pleased," Harry noted.
I watched as 'Hagrid' (that's how she called him) explained the situation to her. He told her all about our innocent prank and that we must have gotten into a fight, if our beaten faces were anything to go by.
Her lips were getting thinner and thinner, until they almost completely disappeared. She was glaring at all four of us, but she seemed to be even angrier at me, for some reason. I bit my lip.
My 'brilliant' idea didn't seem so great any more.
AN: There! Now I only have to rewrite Chapter 4 before going on to a new chapter. Reviews and flames are welcome
