Note: Altering a scene from the movie

1

"Ain't wizards ever heard of suitcases?", Riley complained while dragging his trunk behind him through the tight corridor of the train.

"Maybe not.", Huey replied. "From what I've read, the magical community doesn't seem to advance in what we would call technology, really. If they notice a large enough piece of it, like a locomotive, they'll build something that looks like it and try to charm it into working. Even this Hogwarts Express isn't really steam engine driven, it just looks that way to us.

"Come on. This one's empty."

The two boys thrust their trunks, and an owl in a cage, into an empty cabin. They were just in time to avoid a boy running into someone outside. "Oh, I'm a terrible sorry.", he immediately apologized. "I just can't find my toad."

An equally British accented, girl's voice sounded. "Well, you've apologized, so it's alright. I am Hermione Granger. And you?"

"uh, sorry. Neville Longbottom."

Riley stuck his head out the door. "Ay, what's going on out here. Oh, dang! Huey - you gotta see this."

Huey sighed, again. "That's what you said at the platform and wand buying and..."

The boy trailed off as he came out of the train cabin. The spitting image of Jasmine DuBios was standing there, forcing him to ignore the other two boys. But Jasmine's eyes glowed with an empathy and wonder about the world. This girl's eyes shined with intellect and command. Besides her Hogwarts uniform unset to any house and not having her wild hair banded up, there was no difference at all.

"I am Hermione Granger.", the girl announced. "And you are?" Her voice brooked no defiance.

"Huey. Huey Freeman. And this is my brother Riley.", he replied.

"American?", she asked. "It was my reading that the States had their own schools."

"Yeah, but we's too /", Riley stopped when he was shut up by Huey.

The elder brother finished. "It's complicated."

"And the fact that your brother is too young to be attending Hogwarts?", she continued.

Riley turned on Huey. "You said that white people think that black kids are up to five years older than what they are."

"That's correct - for adults guessing the ages of teenagers.", Huey dismissed. "It's why blacks are tried as adults at the higher proportion they are."

"I'm sorry?", she demanded.

Huey's frown deepened. "I heard something about a toad.", he changed the subject.

The first boy finally raised his hand as if asking permission to speak. "Yes. I, er, seem to have lost my toad Trevor."

He cringed as three independent scowls spun on him, as if challenging the audacity of him to speak. One of those softened. "Very well.", Hermione began. "We'll have to simply search until we find him."

"Why I gotta search for some toad?", Riley rhetorically complained. As Hermione was about to scold him, Huey waved her off and Riley continued. "What's the nigga's name again, Trevor?" Riley pushed past Jasmine's double and pulled open the door to the next cabin. "Yo, any of you niggas seen a toad named Trevor?"

Huey face palmed. He turned to Neville. "We'll search this way. You go back to your cabin and make sure he isn't there, or comes back that way."

Neville nodded hurriedly and scampered off.

Hermione regarded Huey. "You're no nonsense, Freeman. I appreciate that." She did not even wait for his nod in acknowledgement before walking to the next cabin. After knocking on the door and waiting for it to open, she questioned the students inside about the toad.

This continued on for a few cars. When they passed the candy trolley, Hermione commented to Huey. "I've read that magical confections are quite different than normal...er, muggle candies."

Huey picked up the clue. "So you grew up in the real world as well?"

"I grew up in Heathgate.", she admitted. "I had to do a lot of reading to catch up. Since all of our classmates are going to have grown up in the magical community."

Huey nodded. "I've ready the first and second year texts for History of Magic and Hogwarts: a History. What else do you recommend?"

The girl stopped in her constant quest for Trevor the Toad and considered the question. "Have you a subscription to the Prophet?"

"No.", Huey answered.

Hermione nodded. "It's the largest (perhaps only) newspaper for wizarding Britain. When we get to school, I can help you send off for it and see if we can request a backlog. That will show you what wizards believe are current events to which attention should be paid."

Huey nodded in thanks.

Hermione came to an open cabin door with two boys inside. "Has anyone seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one."

The cabin was littered with candy wrappers. But Hermione ignored all three boys in favor of noticing the brandished wand in the red headed occupant's hand. "Oh, are you doing magic?", she asked with the first smile Huey had seen her with. "Let's see then."

Huey's scowl remained. The brown haired occupant offered a terse nod to Huey. Huey noticed the gracious social gesture and remembered the Massacre of the Shoa-Lin Temple of 1003 (or was it 6?) and nodded in return.

The red head cleared his throat.

"Sunshine, daisies, bottom, mellow:
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

All he seemed to accomplish is burning the candy the rat in his lap was eating. The two boys in the cabin shrugged to each other. For Huey, it finally hit home that he (despite his child status) was fully expected to control the energies of the universe. Even though he had been making Riley practice with him ever since he found out this fact of his heritage.

Hermione chastised. "Are you sure that's a real spell? Well. It's not very good is it."

"I thought that was why we were going to this school to learn.", Huey spoke for the first time.

Hermione glanced over her shoulder. "I've been trying simpler ones myself. But of course, they work for me."

Huey noticed the look that the red head gave his friend.

The girl drew her wand and marched into the cabin, sitting across from the brown haired child. She pointed it straight at the bridge of the nose of the boy, who froze in fear. "For example. Oculus Reparo." Huey only then noticed that the child's glasses were taped together and just as fast the glasses had reknit themselves together as if brand new. "That's better, isn't it?"

Huey came into the cabin, drawing his wand. "That's amazing. The most I had gotten was Lumos.", and the tip of his wand lit up. Huey looked around the cabin sheepishly. "It's supposed to serve as a flashlight if it were dark."

"A what now?", the red headed child asked.

Huey nodded to himself. "Of course, Britain. um...An electric torch, I think is the phrase?"

Hermione and the brown haired child nodded in understanding but the other boy still had a look of confusion. "You don't know what an electric torch is? Do you?", she nearly accused.

The boy shrugged his shoulders. She thought a moment. "Did you grow up in the magical community. In a, what were they called, pureblood house?"

The child nodded. "Weasley. Ronald Weasley." He quickly looked around and then ended up wiping his hand on his shirt to extend his hand.

The girl looked at the outstretched hand. Just before she introduced herself, she noticed something else. "Holy cricket. You're Harry Potter."

Harry smiled sheepishly.

"I'm Hermione Granger. And this is Huey Freeman. He's American."

The boys exchanged looks. Hermione continued to command unabated. "You all best change into your robes. We'll be arriving soon." She stood and then gestured for Huey to precede her. Just as she was exiting she turned to Ron. "You've got dirt on your nose. Did you know? Right there."

And with that, she went back the way she had come with Huey, Neville's toad completely forgotten.

"How did you know who Harry was?", Huey asked.

"Really?", she challenged. "Oh, of course. You haven't a copy of the Prophet.

"There was a period not so long ago called the Dark Times. Back then, an evil wizard - You Know Who, killed an amazing amount of people. Harry Potter is the Boy Who Lived. The Dark Lord came to kill his parents and him and from then on - only Harry was seen again."

Huey's scowl deepened. "But he was raised in the real...muggle world."

Hermione shrugged. "Perhaps it was for his own protection. The Prophet writes as if everyone should know him on sight."

The two eventually came back to Huey's cabin. "I'll see you later. I suppose I'll have to be the one to tell Neville that his toad is well and truly lost, given that I'm the only one who's dressed properly."

As Jasmine's lookalike scampered off, Huey knocked on his cabin door. "What'chu need?", Riley called through the door.

Huey shook his head and let himself in. Riley struggled with his tie. "Damn, this shit's tighter than Cindy done did my corn rows. I ought not fucks round wit her no more."

His elder brother sighed. "And do you know anyone at this magical school in Britain to do them?"

"Aw snap.", Riley realized. "Cindy give a brother the hook up and my shit will still be all fucked up by the time we get back for Thanksgiving."

"It's Britain, Riley. They don't have Thanksgiving.", Huey informed. Again.

"Whatever, nigga.", Riley dismissed. "Next you be telling me they don't got no Christmas and I won't get my shot at Santa Claus this year."

Huey chose to ignore his little brother. He then pulled out one of his school uniforms from his trunk proceeded to change into it.

"Ugn, nigga you gay."