Author's note: So sorry I haven't been updating recently! I'll be updating more often now (thank you, summer!) and I hope to finish by the end of summer.

Harry opened his eyes and gasped in wonder as he registered what he saw: a platform with a large, red train shining gloriously even in the semidarkness. Professor McGonagall sternly ushered the gaping Harry onto the train. "You may sit in any compartment you'd like." She turned away to help the next Gryffindor coming onto the platform.

He filed into the hallway, searching for a familiar face. Ron burst out of a compartment. "Harry!" He waved him over. "What's that?" Ron pointed to the bundle still clutched to Harry's chest.

"Oh! Nothing." Harry didn't feel like explaining and wasn't even sure himself.

"Your item?"

"Yeah." Harry said. He could see that the other three Weasley's were already in the compartment. "Are you sure there's room for me?"

"Oh sure, Harry, we were just about to leave," Fred smiled as he and George passed Harry.

He sat down opposite the Weasley's. Ginny stared out the window; her mind was obviously miles away.

After a couple quiet moments, McGonagall rushed into their compartment carrying a large tote, trailing the other Gryffindor tributes. She closed them all in.

"Alright, so this is my last time speaking with you and I have some important information. Each House has a common room in the castle located in different places. Dormitories are attached to the common room where you can sleep. Now, listen carefully," McGonagall leaned in closer, "Yours is located on the seventh floor, there's an oil painting of the Fat Lady who will ask you for the password. It is Fortuna Major. Don't forget it."

"Wait a minute, Professor," George started, "but what if we all decided to just stay in our common room and never end up fighting?"

"Don't worry, the Death Eaters will find a way to pry you out and stir some trouble… Besides, you're Gryffindor's! You won't resist for long. Now let's see… Oh! There are spells preventing boys from going to the girls' dormitories. So don't even try." She eyed the boys warningly. "The girls can, however, go the boys'."

She opened the bag she was carrying on her shoulder. "Here are your robes," She handed them out individually, "You'll need to put them on before we get there. Okay, I think that's about everything. Seventh floor, the Fat Lady, Fortuna Major. Good luck to you all." She looked around sadly before she opened the compartment doors again.

The others left except for the know-it-all girl and Neville. Ginny still sat by the window holding her robes on her lap, Ron was seated next to her doing the same.

The bushy haired, know-it-all girl gazed around at the rest of the tributes with her. "I guess I never really introduced myself to you," She seemed to not being including Neville, however, "My name is Hermione Granger. What are yours?"

She looked around at them all expectedly. Finally, Harry answered her, "I'm Harry, this is Ron, and that's his sister, Ginny."

She nodded as he gestured to each of them. Ginny smiled politely but Ron ignored her completely in indignation. Hermione must have been unsatisfied with this because she addressed him directly, "You've got some dirt on your nose." She pointed to her own, "Right here."

He glared at her but he half-heartedly rubbed the area she indicated.

Hermione then spoke to Neville who was still hovering beside her. "I can't wait to see Hogwarts!" she said. "It's so fascinating!"

"How?" Neville asked.

"I've read all about it in Hogwarts: A History." She nodded knowingly, "It's protected with enchantments so muggles can't see it. Plus, it's over a thousand years old. And it –"

"Are you serious?" Ron looked livid.

Hermione faced Ron, "Of course, why shouldn't I be?"

He looked at her in utter disbelief. "You're actually excited to see your grave?"

She answered in a defensive tone, "Well, I could win, you know."

Ron scoffed, "If you weren't in Gryffindor, I'd off you myself!"

Hermione didn't return Ron's anger and lash out; she instead stayed silent for a moment. "Then perhaps it's a good thing the boys can't get into the girls' dormitories. Oh and by the way, you've still got dirt on your nose." She slipped out of the compartment, Neville followed her.

"Can you believe her?!" Ron asked Harry incredulously after they left, rubbing furiously at his nose, missing the smudge of dirt.

"Well… I guess you shouldn't have said that, Ron…" Harry said.

Ron opened his mouth as if to reply but Ginny rose from her seat and crossed to the doors. "Where are you going?" he asked instead.

She gestured to her robes, "To change."

"All right, be careful," Ron warned.

Shortly after Ginny left, a lady appeared with a trolley full of sweets. Ron and Harry took several of everything and after many pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes, chocolate frogs, and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans were consumed, their stomachs began feeling rather tight.

Ron offered Harry the last Chocolate Frog. He opened it up to discover a new card addition to the small pile already on the opposite seat. Before Harry tossed it over, the twinkle in the wizard's eyes stopped him. The wizard wore half-moon spectacles and had a long, silver beard and hair. "Who's this?"

Ron sat up with great difficulty and examined the moving picture. "Oh, that's Dumbledore! That's a very rare card! They stopped making them years ago!" he said with excitement. "You see, Dad said that Dumbledore was the only person that You-Know-Who actually feared. After You-Know-Who took over… Anyway, Dumbledore's sort of an outcast now, on the run, you see. You-Know-Who has constant Death Eaters out looking for him but they can never find him." Ron lowered his voice, "They say he has some secret organization, that they're plotting against You-Know-Who…"

"An organization?" Harry asked, amazed.

"Yeah! 'Powerful man!' my dad always says,"

"Well, he must be, to make Voldemort fear him." Harry thought aloud.

Ron shivered, "Don't say his name!" He sighed, "But, is he powerful enough to bring You-Know-Who down?" He nodded grimly.

Suddenly, the doors to the compartment opened and a pale blond, lean boy invited himself and two troll-like cronies into the room. "Potter?" His pale, gray eyes found Harry.

Harry gaped, confused, "Yes?"

He straightened his suit jacket, "My name is Draco Malfoy." Ron openly snickered at this. Draco's thin face turned to him, "Do you think my name's funny? Well, I know who you are, Weasley." He spat out this last word as if it were profanity. "My father told me the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." The two massive lugs chortled stupidly at his side.

Ron's face went dark with embarrassment and rage. Draco just smirked. "You don't want to go making alliances with the wrong sort, now do you, Potter?" He now addressed Harry again. "With blood-traitors," he spat again in Ron's direction. Draco extended his right hand, "Are we alliances then?"

Harry looked uncertainly at Malfoy's hand and finally spoke, "I think I can find the 'right sort' for myself, thank you."

Malfoy held a cold scowl for a brief moment then turned, "Come on." He and his two ape-like cronies ambled out to the hall.

Ron snarled, "I hate that guy. His whole family is just…rotten. They're all Slytherin's, the whole lot of them, all pure-bloods. And they think just because of that they can boss everyone around! Well, my family is full of pure-bloods too!" His anger strained his voice. "And none of us are dark wizards…"

Harry nodded understandingly. He gathered already that the Weasley's were a large, very poor family, and even though they were all pure-bloods, the Ministry didn't like them; they were considered "blood-traitors".

Ron stared continually at the doors, "I wonder what's taking Ginny so long?" worry coated his face.

"We should probably change before she gets back," Harry suggested. Ron agreed.

The sky was turning slowly into lighter shades of gray when Ginny came back to the compartment. "Where have you been?!" Ron asked in an annoyed tone.

"I was just talking to the others…" she said it quietly but her expression told that she was equally annoyed. She sat down across from the boys, "I expect we'll be there soon."

Ginny shook her head at the many wrappers by her side and rummaged through the chocolate frog cards. "Oh sweet! Dumbledore!" She showed them excitedly. She looked at it again, "I could add this to my…" She trailed off, her smile sinking like a stone.

Silence hung in the air. Ginny resorted back to gazing out the foggy window until she took a leaf out of Ron's book and dozed off. Even though Harry was tired, he couldn't even manage the light, restless sleep his companions were having. He instead stayed locked inside his thoughts.

Suddenly the train came to a halt with a lurch. Ginny and Ron awoke with a start. "We're here." Harry said gravely. The siblings stayed perfectly still, mouths hanging open, waiting for something to happen. Harry peeked down the hall and saw several other heads doing the same. Finally, tributes began filing themselves out of their compartments; Harry, Ginny, and Ron followed suit.

A harsh coldness swept through Harry as he stepped onto the train platform. Hooded figures hovered nearby. McGonagall had told the Gryffindor's that these were Dementors, they were stationed along the perimeter of the Hogwarts Grounds to ensure (in collaboration with the many protective curses) no one escaped. And if they tried, they would meet a fate worse than death.

Nine red ovals were hovering on the edge of the platform beside the other House's. Fred and George already stood on theirs. Harry stepped onto his and looked ahead.

What he saw took his breath away. He now understood what Hermione meant when she expressed her wishes of seeing Hogwarts. Pink and orange streaks of the rising sun on the clouds gave a backdrop to a magnificent castle with many turrets and towers. The emerging rays of light cast a shimmer on the hundreds of windows, reminding Harry of a painted lighthouse. The vast castle stood with wise nobility; it was unlike anything Harry had ever seen before, something so proud yet so amiable. Perched atop a mountain, across a lake, it had an innocent appearance. Harry realized in this moment that this castle was built to teach magic, not be the gallows for the murder of children. He could no longer be accepting of Ron's view: a grave. Harry looked to his right to see his friend there, also taken away with the sight, and knew he also had changed his opinion.

Harry gazed again at the heavenly panorama and saw four tall poles near what he knew to be the Quidditch post. Each had the House's colors and flags. Gryffindor had the most flags and that drew the conclusion that this was how they were keeping tally. When a tribute dies, their flag is taken down.

To Ron's right was Ginny, eyes bright and mouth open in awe. Her face was calm for a brief moment then went rigid and stern again, her hands retracted into fists. To Harry's left was Hermione who seemed to be in the midst of an internal civil war and standing up so straight, Harry feared she might fall over if a breeze came.

All competitors gazed solemnly ahead at the castle, all tense with anticipation. All held fear in their hearts, some behind proud exteriors, and some wearing it on their sleeve. Harry wiped his sweaty hands on his robes. He vaguely noticed how parched he was. He swallowed.

Gold sparks rose above the castle.