The Hogwarts Express

Harry's excitement at going to Hogwarts was contagious; Rose, Apollo, and Artemis couldn't wait for September First. Apollo and Artemis were going with Harry of course. The letter had said that students could bring an owl, cat, or toad, but they said nothing about bringing a couple of snakes. Apollo had asked the moment Harry had gotten back from Diagon Alley and Harry had told the snake yes, after watching him get smacked on the head by his sister, again. Rose had completely abandoned her own studies to be with her brother and his new books, much to Artemis's disappointment. Both children were fascinated by Harry's books, even though there were only eight, half of them were Marchbanks'. After a little encouragement from Harry, Rose also stole Ivy's books so that the two could read them as well. It wasn't hard as Ivy didn't even touch them and just left them on her desk.

Rose mainly read Ivy's The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, sometimes with Artemis on her shoulders, reading as well. Rose was completely fascinated by spell-work, most likely a product of being around Harry most of her life, but was also enchanted by many of the magical beasts that existed in the world. Harry meanwhile stuck with A Beginner's Guide to Potion Making (Hogwarts Years 1-3) and A History of Magic. This was because he knew Snape was still teaching Potions (James and Ivy had been complaining about it nonstop) and because of his interest in Potions itself. History was another thing that interested Harry, so he studied that book as well, even more so when he heard James tell Ivy that it was completely boring and that everyone feel asleep in that class.

They both read Magical Theory; Rose because she wanted to know and be ahead of her year, and Harry because he didn't plan on staying a Squib forever. He knew that there was a large library at Hogwarts so he also planned to spend some of his free time there researching spells that he could memorize and, eventually, perform. Artemis demanded to know everything in the books and asked them to be read out loud. Harry had Rose do that to improve her reading skill and so he could take notes, he didn't know when he would be able to get to those books again. Apollo simply snoozed in the sun.

The two snakes rarely went outside anymore because of Ivy's new owl, Hedwig. Surprisingly, it wasn't Ivy who named her, but Rose. All Ivy did was put her in her room and leave the window open, that was it, she didn't even think of a name until about a week before Hogwarts. James had asked his oldest daughter what the owl's new name was and she just stumbled over the question, a hint of things to come Harry thought. Rose had then suggested the name, an interesting one from one of the books she had read, and the owl had liked it immediately. Now Hedwig responded to nothing but, a disappointment for Ivy as she wanted to name her Atlas, never mind that she wasn't even a male owl.

As they got closer and closer to the day Ivy and Harry would leave for Hogwarts, Rose started to become gloomier and gloomier. Harry wasn't too concerned as he thought that the excitement might be wearing off but during dinner the night before they were to leave, she hardly touched any of her dinner. Finally Harry decided to see what was up with her. When he asked, she snapped at him, much in the same way he had when he found out he was a Squib.

"Tomorrow you're leaving for Hogwarts, leaving me here all alone! I thought it would be great when Ivy finally left for Hogwarts because then she would be gone and couldn't bother us anymore! But now you're going too and I won't have anyone because Artemis and Apollo are leaving with you!"

Harry understood. She wasn't only feeling bad about being the only one left, apart from James and Remus, but she also felt bad because deep inside, she was wishing that Harry wouldn't be able to go to Hogwarts because he was a Squib. Then she wouldn't be alone. Harry then grabbed his sister and held her as she cried into his shoulder. He comforted her and promised her that he would write her every day if she wished so that she wouldn't feel alone. At last Rose stopped crying, apologized for yelling at him and agreed with Harry's idea. She begged for every detail about Hogwarts, the houses, the teachers, the classes, everything. Never being able to resist her puppy-dog eyes, Harry promised her.

The next morning, Harry was awoken by a loud Ivy, who was running all over the manor, trying to find everything to pack before the Hogwarts Express left. Rose joined Harry in his room to escape from the noise and helped Harry pack the few things he had left out. After comforting Rose last night, Harry had packed everything he could into his three compartment trunk, leaving out only a change of clothes, his pajamas, a book, and Apollo and Artemis. Harry smiled as he carried his trunk down the stairs; he had packed all of his school supplies in one compartment, his clothes in a second, and all of his books in the third, along with a few from the Potter Library and some journals he bought for notes.

Harry and Rose spent thirty minutes enjoying a light breakfast and laughed as James and Ivy scrambled all over the house trying to find every last thing. Harry particularly enjoyed the part where Ivy had to unpack her entire trunk to get to her left shoe, which she had packed, while Rose laughed her head off while their father looked for his glasses for ten minutes, only to discover that he was already wearing them. Finally they were ready to go and, with James and Remus's help, Apparated to King's Cross Station in London. James pushed Ivy's trolley through the barrier with Ivy while Remus went with Rose, leaving Harry by himself. Taking a deep breath, Harry closed his eyes and ran straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

When Harry opened his eyes, he was facing a large scarlet steam engine surrounded by a large crowd of people of various ages and dress. Here and there he could see some people his own age as well as some teens, dressed in either robes or muggle clothing. Around them were younger siblings, parents, guardians, aunts, uncles, and even one older woman who was scolding her grandson. Laughter, crying, and various animal noises made hearing difficult so Harry didn't find Rose right away. After a couple minutes of searching, it was surprising how fast someone could disappear on a crowded platform; he found her waving at him. Steering his trolley over to her, Harry saw that his family was talking with a large red-head family.

Remus was talking to the eldest boy who wore horn-rimmed glasses, his Hogwarts robes, and a large red and gold badge with a P on it. Two twins stood off to the side, speaking in hushed whispers to James, who also tried to talk to the plump witch in front of him. Ivy and a tall boy his age were off to the side, also speaking in hushed tones, sneaking glances at Harry every once and a while. The last person in the group was a little girl who looked just a little younger than Harry with fiery red hair. Harry knew that this was the Weasley family, the boy Ivy's age was Ron, Ivy's best friend.

Harry gave Rose a quick hug before sneaking away to the train. Finding an empty compartment near the middle of the train, Harry stored his trunk in it and opened it a bit so that Artemis and Apollo could get out. Once he was sure that no one would discover them, Harry left the compartment and returned to his family and the Weasleys. Rose was holding Remus's hand again, the Prefect gone. Mrs. Weasley was now scolding her twin sons while Ron and Ivy snickered behind her. The little girl tore her eyes from them, noticing Harry. She stared at him for a couple seconds before turning away. While Mrs. Weasley and James were busy, Harry dragged Rose away for a couple of seconds. He gave her a long hug good-bye and repeated his promise to her as she cried. Finally Harry said one last good-bye and returned to the Hogwarts Express.

A couple minutes later and the train was leaving the station. Harry watched as Mrs. Weasley, James, and Remus waved to someone further back on the train and then as Rose and the little girl Weasley ran with the train, crying and waving at the same time. They soon feel behind and just stood there, waving to their respective brothers. Just before the train rounded the corner, Harry thought he saw Remus give a little wave to him. Soon they had left London behind them and all that was out the window were hills and grass with the occasional house. Deciding to pass the time reading, Harry dug out his Potions book and sat down to read while Apollo and Artemis curled up under the seat.

After a couple of seconds passed in silence, there was a knock on the compartment door. Looking up, Harry saw the brown-haired girl from Madam Malkin's. Now that he was seated and neither were in a hurry, Harry was able to get a better look at her. Although Harry wouldn't consider himself short, he was a bit shorter than most boys his age and the girl in front of him was even shorter. Her hair was a light chestnut while her eyes were a hazel-green.

"Do you mind if I sit here for a while?" she asked. "I'm supposed to meet my friend on the train but I can't find her anywhere."

"Not at all." Said Harry, pointing at the bench in front of him.

The girl smiled and took the seat. "I'm Tracey by the way, Tracey Davis."

"My name's Harry, nice to meet you." Harry held out his hand and Tracey shook it. "What's your friend's name?"

"Daphne Greengrass. We were supposed to meet on the platform but it was too crowded. I decided to search for her on the train but there's too many people here as well."

"I understand. I got separated from my sister on the platform and it took me awhile to find her. Just wait a while; I'm sure your friend is looking for you."

"Thanks, what are you reading?"

This lead into a discussion about how excited they were to be going to Hogwarts and what classes they were excited to take. Tracey talked on and on about the Charms her father was able to do and the magical plants her mother grew. Harry mainly talked about his interest in Potions, something he shared with Tracey's friend Daphne, but was very careful about how he talked, as he didn't want Tracey to find out he was a Squib. Tracey did most of the talking; an easy feat as Harry could barely get her to shut up, but she did managed to drag him into a discussion about what house they would get. Harry, although hearing bad, and possibly untrue things, about it, he was all for Slytherin while Tracey thought either Slytherin or Ravenclaw.

Their conversation was interrupted by another girl entering the compartment. She was taller than Tracey and Harry, about an inch or two for Harry, had long blonde hair that reached just passed her shoulders, and bright, icy-blue eyes. She was already dress in her Hogwarts robes.

"Tracey, there you are! I've been looking all over this train for you. Where have you been?"

"Daphne! Sorry, but I couldn't find you earlier on the platform or when I was looking for you in the halls. I decided to sit with Harry here for a bit and wait for you to find me."

The girl, Daphne, turned to look at Harry for the first time. She stuck her hand out in a snobbish manner and said "Daphne Greengrass.".

Harry took her hand and shook it. "Harry, why don't you join us?" He motioned towards the seat next to Tracey. Daphne looked back and forth between Harry, the seat, and an eager Tracey, before Tracey herself grabbed Daphne's sleeve and dragged her down on the seat.

Harry had no idea how two such different people like Tracey Davis and Daphne Greengrass could be such good friends. Tracey was warm, friendly, inviting, and just full of energy while Daphne was cold, calculating, and barely spoke two words. After listening for a while, and voicing his question, Harry got his answer. Tracey's mother grew many rare and/or expensive magical plants that Daphne's parents sold in their import/export business. Not having any other kids their own age, the two girls had quickly become fast friends. Harry understood how they felt; although Rose was a good friend, sometimes he longed for a friend his own age. But that was difficult as Harry was a Squib.

The two girls stayed after the snack trolley passed and Harry slowly started to learn more about the girls. Daphne, he learned, was only cold because of her upbringing and rarely showed any emotion, even around her little sister Astoria and Tracey. After a couple of minutes, Harry managed to pull Daphne enough out of her shell to play 'Guess the Bean Flavor' with a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, which ended after Daphne was unlucky enough to get a dirty sock flavored bean. After this, she refused to say another word and glared at Tracey, who continued to laugh at her misfortune even ten minutes afterwards. They were interrupted twice, once by a round boy looking for a toad, the second by a blond boy with two gorilla-like boys.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Daphne said in an annoyed voice.

Malfoy, the blond boy, spoke up. "Just checking out this year's supply. I'm trying to see how many mudbloods actually managed to get into Hogwarts this year. Oh, and I'm looking for Ivy Potter."

Of course James had talked about the Malfoys. Harry didn't know how much of it was true and right now he didn't care, Harry said, "If you're looking for my sister, she's most likely at the very end of the train, trying to get as many followers as she can."

Harry suddenly realized what he said and that he had five pairs of eyes on him. Uncomfortable, Harry shifted on his seat.

"You are the brother of the Girl-Who-Lived?"

This came from Daphne and shocked Tracey and Harry. These were the most words she had said in one sitting the entire trip. The Malfoy boy cocked his head and stared at Harry in a calculating way.

"Why haven't we heard of you before?"

Wishing he had kept his big, fat mouth shut, Harry struggled to quickly come up with a good excuse to Malfoy's question. "I… I just don't like all the attention. Anyways, who wants to hear about the plain old brother of Ivy Potter?"

Tracey, Malfoy, and his two goons nodded at Harry explanation like it made sense, but Daphne continued to stare at Harry like she didn't fully believe him.

"That makes sense I guess. I'm Draco Malfoy. These two are Crabbe and Goyle."

"I'm Harry." He stuck out his hand to Malfoy, but the blonde boy didn't take it. Lowering his hand, Harry sat back down nervously. He had probably given too much away and they were about to find out he was a Squib.

"I take it your sister thinks she's all great or something because she has a famous scar, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, she's really arrogant too. Really, she's too stupid to do anything. In fact, she's too stupid to be in Ravenclaw, she'll drop you if your useless so Hufflepuff is out, and don't even think of Slytherin for her, she hates the place like my father."

"And you?"

Harry fidgeted nervously. "I don't think Slytherins all that bad; I mean look at Professor Snape."

This got Malfoy's attention. "You know Professor Snape?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, he used to come around our house when I was younger and he's my sister's godfather."

"Snape's my godfather too. You know, you're not so bad, for a Potter. Maybe we can be friends after all. See you in Slytherin."

With that Malfoy and his goons left the compartment. Tracey and Daphne looked at each other for a second before they too stood.

"We should get back to my compartment Tracey, come on. It was…pleasant to meet you Harry Potter."

Daphne's cold voice looked for the proper word to say before she left. Tracey followed a second later with a quick 'see you at Hogwarts Harry'. Harry was now left alone in his compartment.

Apollo stuck his head out from under Harry's seat.

{Are they gone now?}

{Yes.}

{Thank goodness, he said, crawling out from under the seat, I thought they would never leave. They were too noisy.}

{I liked them, said Artemis, following her brother out. Especially that Tracey, she seems nice.}

{She's a complete chatter box. I hope you don't get the same house as her otherwise I'll never get some sleep.}

{The boys and girl dorms are separated Apollo. Even if I get the same house as Tracey she won't be able to disturb your many naps.}

{Good.}

With that, Apollo crawled up the seat a claimed the warm spot where Tracey had just sat. Artemis joined Harry on his seat and started to quietly converse with him about what life at Hogwarts would be like. When it started turning dark, Harry pulled on his Hogwarts robes and packed up his book. A couple minutes later, a snoring Apollo was woken by an announcement sounding throughout the entire train.

{AHH!}, he screamed as he fell from the seat, Artemis laughing.

"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately."

{Darn, annoying loudspeaker} he grumbled as both Harry and Artemis laughed. Still grumbling, both he and Artemis crawled back into Harry's trunk. Shoving that last of his sweets into his trunk as well, Harry locked it walked into the corridor, joining the dozens of other students.

The train platform was dark and cold and Harry shivered wondering where he was supposed to go. A loud voice called for the first years and Harry joined his year mates in following a gigantic man to a group of boats. A funny thing happened when Harry caught his first sight of Hogwarts. Unlike the rest of his classmates, Harry wasn't awed by the view, but felt a sense of déjà vu, like he had already seen it. Confused, Harry joined a pink-faced girl in blond pigtails and a girl with long red hair in a boat. Harry was silent as they sailed across the lake while the two girls quietly conversed. Of to his side, he could see Tracey waving at him while she shared a boat with Daphne and a tall, dark-skinned boy.

After getting out of the boats in an underground harbor, the giant lead them up a set of stone steps where they were met by a tall, older woman with a stern look; Professor McGonagall. Harry had a funny feeling that he would see her yelling at Ivy a lot during his stay at Hogwarts, assuming she survived her first year. She led them into a side room off the Great Hall and gave them a little speech about the Sorting, then left. Everyone around Harry was nervous about the Sorting and how it was done; even Daphne was showing signs of being afraid. Again Harry felt weird because he knew he was nervous, but at the same time he felt like he had nothing to worry about; it was just a hat, though he had no idea how he knew that.

Harry stayed silent, too nervous about not being Sorted because he was a Squib to speak. He, along with about a half dozen others, scoffed at Ron's idea of being sorted by taking on a troll. A good deal of other however, believed him and were talking with one another. After a minute, but it felt like hours, Professor McGonagall returned and led them into the Great Hall. Again, Harry was confused as he should've been awed by the magical ceiling in the Great Hall, but it didn't concern him one bit. He even ignored some girl in front of him talking about it.

Looking up at the Teacher's Table, Harry looked at everyone seated. He could see little Professor Flitwick a couple seats to Dumbledore's left. When the old headmaster saw Harry, he sent a small smile his way before resuming his examination of the other first years. Three seats away on Dumbledore's right was Severus Snape. Like everyone else in the Hall, Severus was examining the new students and when he saw Harry, he gave a little start of surprise. Harry sent his uncle a smile before turning back to McGonagall explain the Sorting and the hat's song. Harry largely ignored the Sorting, though he did notice Tracey, Daphne, and Malfoy all go into Slytherin. Finally, Professor McGonagall reached the P's.

"Potter, Ivy!"

As the Hall burst into quiet buzzing, Harry got lost in thought. H came before I so his name should've been called first, not Ivy's. Harry was too busy thinking and almost missed out the hat shouting Gryffindor almost immediately, to great applause. Deciding it was a simple mistake; Harry prepared to step forward when his name was called. It didn't come. Harry just stood there as Ron Weasley became a Gryffindor too and then Blaise Zabini, the boy in Tracey's boat, became a Slytherin. Harry was really confused and scared now; why hadn't his name been called? Had his father done something to prevent him from being accepted? Had Dumbledore changed his mind? Harry wasn't the only one confused; everyone in the Great Hall was staring at Harry, wondering why his name wasn't being called. At last, Dumbledore stood up.

"It is my great pleasure," he began, "to announce that at last, a Squib has been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Harry felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment and anger, he hadn't thought that everything would be announced so publicly. The buzzing started again, this time an angry buzzing. How could a Squib be accepted into Hogwarts?

"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore called.

Harry did his best to ignore all the stares that followed him up to the stool but it didn't work. Just as the hat was being lowered over his eyes, Harry caught sight of a glaring Daphne seated next to a shocked Tracey.

"Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. You are no doubt one of the hardest students I've every placed. And a Squib too, that's interesting."

Harry suddenly felt a lot of angry at that comment. Taking all of the hatred he received from his father, sister, and the rest of the school, combined with the unfairness of having his magic taken away, Harry thought hard, I'm not a Squib!

"Not a Squib, eh?" replied the voice. "Yes, I can see the truth in your head; the victim of a magic transfer ritual. You're not a true Squib at all, are you? But still, you are very difficult to sort so let's look deeper. You have plenty of courage I see, and a thirst for knowledge, but that's because of your Squib status. You're loyal to those who earn it, namely your sister and Professor Snape, but you don't trust easily, do you? But what's this? You have a high level of ambition; planning to take back your magic are you? That's going to be difficult, if not outright impossible."

While this was going on, everyone who knew what a Squib was was praying that Harry wouldn't end up in their house, what an embarrassment; while those who didn't, namely most of the muggle-borns, asked those around them what a Squib was. Meanwhile, the Sorting Hat was still considering where to put Harry.

"Hmm, you could go into any of the houses quite well, that's what makes this so difficult. Oh, I see, you have the gift; well that changes things a little."

Harry suddenly knew that the hat had found out about his ability to speak Parseltongue.

"And one more thing, though it's very deep. Ah, I found it! Oh my, well that settles it. I don't know how, but you've been granted a wondrous but terrible gift. I hope you use those memories well and remember what happened to their owner. SLYTHERIN!"

Harry was pondering the hat's words and almost missed his house's name. The rest of the Great Hall however, heard it just fine. The older Slytherin's mouths dropped, a Squib in their house? The rest of the houses were thinking, a Squib in Slytherin, a non-magical person in the house of blood-purity, it was laughable. As such, almost three-quarters of the school laughed. Harry made his way to his new house, a dozen thoughts passing through his head at a time. He wondered what his father would say; he probably was torn from being thankful that Harry hadn't disgraced his own noble house of Gryffindor and cursing Harry for going into the 'dark' house.

As Harry approached the Slytherin Table, those closest to him scooted further down the table, away from him, leaving at least two seats between him and the closest person. It might have been a little tight and uncomfortable, but it was better than sitting next to the filthy Squib. Harry just stared at his plate, feeling incredibly angry and a little bit lonely.

Edited: 10/16/2014

Changes: Grammatical errors.