Journey from Platform 9 ¾
September 1st dawned and the first streaks of sunlight streamed through the cracks in the roof of Cora's cave. The hag kissed Harry good morning. "It's time my love. But I'll not be far away. I'll move to the Forbidden Forest in the Hogwarts grounds. That's a weird place that seems to be bigger than it looks on the outside."
Near the cave, there was a magical underground river that welled up from deep beneath the earth and was uncontaminated by sewage. Harry bathed in it and Cora caught breakfast – fish again. She dived under the water and when she emerged, there was an eel wriggling in her jaws.
After they had breakfasted, the hag swathed herself in her hooded cloak and took Harry and his trunk with his snowy owl to King's Cross station. Harry had decided to call the owl Hedwig.
Cora and Harry watched as a lady with a crowd of red headed kids stood near the enchanted barrier to Platform 9 ¾.
All but one of the kids were boys. "Lucky her. Wish I had more sons," murmured Cora.
"Aren't I enough?" said Harry, sticking out his tongue.
"I admire male energy and dynamism," said Cora. "You have brought new life to my home in the sewers. I would like at least six more sons," said Cora.
The witch was speaking: "Percy. You first."
The oldest boy walked through the barrier.
"Fred. You next."
"I'm George," said the boy sniggering.
"Nice try. You've got an F on your shirt," said the witch.
Cora chuckled. When the twins had gone through and their younger brother had followed, Harry and Cora went through hand in hand. On the platform, Cora through back her hood and she and Harry hugged and kissed goodbye.
Cora was crying now, the tears rolling down her green cheeks. "I will come in a few days... I might be able to get a job at Hogwarts. I understand Dumbledore might give me a chance where no previous head would have done. If not, I will stay close by."
Harry was glad. When they had hugged and kissed some more, the train was getting ready to leave, so they hauled the trunk and cage onto the train and Cora waved as the train left the platform.
Harry looked for somewhere to sit.
"Hey, you there!" A familiar voice said, and Harry whirled around to see the blond boy with the pale, pointed face from Madam Malkin's shop staring after him. He didn't think he'd ever caught his name.
Smiling slightly awkwardly, Harry waved back at him. "Hello."
The boy bustled over to him, his own smile completely sure. "I remember you. We met in Madame Malkin's."
Harry nodded. "Oh yes! We saw Professor Quirrell creeping around as well, frightened of his own shadow." Harry remembered Quirrell's theatrics in the Leaky Cauldron, pretending to be frightened of his mother. That had not endeared Quirrell to Harry. Not at all. He had enjoyed gossiping about the stupid teacher.
The blond boy laughed. "You're alright, kid. Do you have a place to sit yet?" When Harry shook his head, the boy grabbed his arm and practically dragged him into the compartment he'd been in.
Inside were three other people - two large, stocky boys who were sharing some cakes and chocolate between them, and three girls. One, a girl with dark hair and a snubbed nose, another, a big girl with straight hair and a square jaw. The third girl was small and thin. She had long hair dyed purple, a freckled nose and cheeks, and wide blue eyes with an oblique, staring expression. They all looked at him in surprise as the boy presented him to them with a flourish.
"This is Pansy, Milly, Sadie, Crabbe and Goyle." He introduced, sounding very formal, as if he were at some kind of fancy party. As he spoke their names, each waved and gave slightly strained smiles. "And this is..." The boy blinked at him, suddenly realising he didn't know his name. "I don't believe we introduced ourselves last time we met. I'm Draco Malfoy. What's your name?"
Swallowing, Harry ducked his head. "Harry Potter." He muttered, fighting the flush that threatened to creep up his face. Silence followed his proclamation.
Finally, it was broken by Pansy, who looked puzzled. "You're lying. No way you're Harry Potter."
"Pansy…" cautioned Sadie, the girl with purple hair, touching Pansy's arm gently.
Indignation flashed through Harry, and he gave her a heated look. "Yes I am! Why would I lie?" Judging by the look on Pansy's face that was a rather stupid question, but before she could respond, Draco thrust his hand at him.
"This is brilliant! I was just about to go and try to find Harry Potter. This saves time." Draco's smile had just a hint of a smirk.
Harry tilted his head, not taking the hand. "Why were you looking for me?"
Frowning, Draco slowly lowered his limb. "To become friends with you, of course. Why did you think?"
Harry narrowed his eyes. "You wanted to become friends with me before you really got to know me? Why is that?"
A scoff was his answer. "Because being friends with Harry Potter would stand me in good stead later. Father recommended it. When he recommends something, I take him seriously. I really do." Seeing on his face that Harry was not impressed by that logic, Draco scoffed. "Oh, please. It's a smart thing to do. Besides, I knew you were alright even before I knew you were Harry Potter, remember? So, what does it matter, in the big scheme of things, eh?"
"Yes, you were meant to be friends," said Sadie grinning. "I could see that right away."
On a little reflection, Harry could see Draco's logic. Besides, Cora told him to make friends, and now he could have six. That would please her, like becoming friends with Harry Potter would please Draco's father. Harry stuck out his hand with a small smile, and Draco took it gleefully, shook it once hard, and then dragged him into the seat next to him. "So, what class are you looking forward to most?"
Harry hesitated as he finally settled into the comfortable, plush seats. "Good question. My father favoured Transfiguration. My birth mother favoured Charms."
"I'm looking forward to Transfiguration, myself." Said Draco.
"Me too," said Sadie. "Although it's a tough subject."
"I'm looking forward to Potions," Pansy drawled. "My dad's a fantastic potions maker."
Harry opened his mouth to ask the other two boys, Crabbe and Goyle, what they were looking forward to, but they grinned stupidly at him.
"They're not at Hogwarts to study," said Draco, smirking.
Harry looked out the windows to watch the sheep and cows and long, vast stretches of green. He had never really spent a lot of time around kids his own age before. If Cora thought he needed to, then he guessed she was right.
"Tea trolley! Anything from the trolley?"
Harry looked over at the kind looking, older woman pushing a small trolley as she clanked her way into their cart. Crabbe and Goyle bought an assortment of items and Harry stood, interest piqued, and bought a bit of everything. He ended up handing the witch a palmful of galleons, watching as she politely, quietly counted it out and then he dropped back into his seat.
"Hungry are you?" Pansy sneered slightly, looking over her copy of the Daily Prophet and the other two girls smiled at him.
Harry grinned at her as he unwrapped a pumpkin pasty and bit into it. He offered his horde to the others, and Draco leaned forward and plucked up a chocolate frog. The frog leaped from the box and Draco plucked it off the arm rest before taking a box and examining the card with a curious expression.
"I've got Merlin again. Milly, don't you need Merlin?"
"Thanks, Draco," said Milly. Harry noticed she had a hag like jaw and warmed to her.
"Have lots of my tastiest candy," he said, shoving all the best sweets at her. She accepted the pile, blushing. She would be even more lovable if she had green skin.
Harry reached for a bag of Every Flavour Beans. He grabbed a white one, fairly certain that was a relatively safe bet, and bit into it. Thankfully it was marshmallow, and he swallowed happily. He held out the bag in offer, and Draco held out his hand for a handful. Upon getting them, Draco started picking out the bad ones with practiced expertise.
At that moment, a girl with bushy brown hair peeked her head in. "Has anyone seen a toad running around?" The various occupants shook their head, and she frowned. "Okay, but if you see one, it's probably a boy named Neville's. If you would please let him or me know, that would be lovely." She ducked back out and closed the door with a click.
As soon as she did, Draco and Pansy shared a look over Harry's head. "What do you think?" The dark haired girl asked.
"Muggleborn, most likely." He scrunched up his nose like he'd smelled something awful, and the two laughed.
Between them, Harry frowned. "What's so funny about being Muggleborn?"
"Well, they're worse, aren't they?" Draco said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Bristling slightly, Harry sat up straight and looked the other boy in the eye. "My birth mother was a Muggleborn."
"So was my grandmother," said Milly frowning.
"Yeah, Draco, there are Muggleborns and there are Muggleborns," said Sadie.
Pansy and Draco both blinked. Clearly they had forgotten about that. Backtracking quickly, Draco held his hands up in a placating gesture. "That's what my Father says, is all. But everyone knows that Purebloods are better at magic."
With a frown, Harry pressed his bag of Every Flavour Beans to his chest, wondering if he should leave. "I'm not Pureblood, but I don't think it's fair to say that I'm not good at magic. I haven't even really tried yet, have I?"
Sharing one last slightly panicked look with Pansy, Draco shrugged. "I guess it's just a general rule, maybe? I don't know, I've never met anyone who isn't a Pureblood." He frowned as he considered that.
Silence ruled the compartment for a while, broken only by the sounds of Crabbe and Goyle grunting as they mucked about, oblivious to everything else. Pansy looked out the window, seeming slightly desperate for something to do. "Oh, there's the station!" She exclaimed. "We'd better get our robes on - we'll be there in just a few minutes."
The girls left the compartment to change in the loo and the boys changed quickly. Harry tugged his robe over his head just in time to see Draco drape his robe over himself - the rest of his body was just as pale as his face and hair. Harry flopped down on the seat again and fiddled with a piece of licorice wand before he nibbled on it idly.
"You're alright, Harry."
Harry looked over at Draco and shrugged. "Thanks."
"I mean..." Draco hesitated a moment, and scratched at the back of his neck. "I mean you're all right by me."
Harry offered a small smile and nodded his head in thanks. "You're not so bad either."
Sadie came back in. "Now, Draco. Are you going to say sorry for your mistake earlier. Everyone makes mistakes," said Sadie sternly.
"Yes," said Draco blushing. "Sorry I was mistaken about Muggleborns."
Harry nodded in acknowledgement.
Pansy entered the compartment again, shoving her clothing into a small bag before she draped herself back in her seat. "That girl, the one who came in here earlier, is talking to someone. She sounds like she's eaten the textbooks."
Harry pulled a small face. He wasn't the greatest at remembering facts. History always tended to be his worst subject. "That's a bit intimidating."
"More annoying, really." Pansy stood when the train slowed before finally halting and they left the train.
They headed down to the boats, and were sectioned off, Harry, Draco, Sadie and Milly boarded the same boat. With that, the boats headed off on the perfectly still surface of the dark water.
When they finally rounded the cove and Harry looked up at Hogwarts for the first time, he couldn't help the smile that spread over his face. It was immense, and twinkling lights glowed in the many windows, like the stars in the night sky. Harry's heart hammered faster and he felt like he was starting out on a new adventure.