Chapter 4: Train to Hogwarts

Bilbo felt a rush of air swelling and shrinking around him. The atmosphere around him was squeezing him like one would with a stress ball before releasing him. He felt like he was trapped in a bubble before it popped and as the air cleared, Bilbo's eyes fluttered open to see a massive train whistling by the tracks of platform 9 3/4. He was speechless.

"Come along!" Belladonna beckoned him, helping him push past the crowding wizards and witches. Bilbo apologized as he ran over toes, bumped into trolleys, and nearly fell flat on his own face.

"Now, darling you must remember to change into your robes before the train arrives, okay? Someone will go and get all the first years and then you'll go through everything you need to know before the Sorting ceremony," she said as his trunk was loaded into the train. "Do you have some change with you?"

Bilbo nodded, a bit pale. He'd never slept away from home before, and this was terrifying him still. He wasn't sure about this new change, but with all of the things going on now, he could hardly say no.

Belladonna lifted Bilbo into her arms and gave him a big squeeze, nearly ripping all the air from his lungs. "Be good." she said. "I love you," and planted a kiss on his forehead.

"I love you too," Bilbo smiled. "Tell Da I'll write soon."

"Better use an owl though, he's been dying to see one try and get into his now owl-proof house," she grinned. Bungo and Belladonna had quite a few unfortunate accidents with some delivering owls which ended in carpets stained and a foul smell in the air for weeks when one owl wasn't able to find its way out of the house in time.

"I will."

Belladonna let go of her son and he landed on shaky feet. "Go on, an adventure awaits," she smiled. And so, Bilbo stepped onto the train as smoke and steam surrounded him before turning around and waving goodbye to his mom one last time.

The train started moving. Bilbo hurried to find an open compartment. Students were bustling to find seats, brushing past Bilbo, some carrying bags and cages of animals. Bilbo had refused the idea of bringing a pet, he could hardly care for himself!

When Bilbo slipped into his own compartment, it wasn't long till the same boy Bilbo saw run into wall poked his head inside.

"Mind if I sit down?" he asked quietly. "Everywhere else is full. My brother doesn't let me sit with his friends," he shrugged.

"Oh, no, not at all," Bilbo replied, surprised that his voice actually worked. The dark-haired boy sat down across Bilbo.

"I'm Kili," he introduced himself. "Kili Durin."

"Bilbo, Bilbo Baggins."

"Oh yeah, I saw you, you were watching me and Fili run into the wall!" Kili grinned cheekily. Bilbo half-shrugged, his cheeks getting a little pink.

"I didn't know how it worked-"

"So you thought it was better to let us suffer, mm?"

Bilbo couldn't think of anything to say and shifted in his spot before Kili burst out laughing.

"Don't worry, I'd have done the same," he leaned closer and continued in a hushed tone. "To be perfectly honest, I'll never understand why wizard chose the aspect of running into a brick wall to be the entrance to the platform. Why not just a secret door only we wizards can find? And with a special key that can only be opened on the day the train leaves?"

Bilbo had to admit, the idea wasn't half bad. Then again, anything other than running into a wall sounded pretty good to him.

"Are you a first year?" Bilbo asked timidly.

Kili nodded excitedly. "My brother is already in third. He says we have a lot coming our way, but I'm not scared. I mean, my uncle works at Hogwarts, so it's not like I'm gonna get in trouble too much, eh?"

"What does he teach?"

"Study of Ancient Runes, though that's for third years and up. Mind you, he's head of Gryffindor too!" Kili boasted proudly.

Bilbo nodded weakly, not entirely sure about all of this. "Gryffindor?" he repeated.

"Yeah, you know, when you get sorted into a House."

"W-what?" Bilbo said, his eyes wide with confusion.

"Anything off the trolley?" a woman asked as the compartment door slid open. Kili and Bilbo looked up in surprise.

"Hello!" Kili greeted. "You must be Hilda! My brother's told me about you. He says you always bring extra Pumpkin Pies just for him."

"Ah, you must be Kili then," she exclaimed. "Indeed, I just ran into your brother and he took all of my Pumpkin Pies, even the extra ones, that boy. Hasn't changed much, I must say. Ready for your first year, boys?" she looked towards Bilbo with a smile.

"N-not really," Bilbo muttered.

"Anything of the trolley then, dears?" she asked.

Bilbo fumbled in his pockets, pulling out a few Galleons.

"Woah," Kili said, his eyes wide, and suddenly, Bilbo couldn't help but grin.

"We'll take the lot!"

"What's that you said about Houses earlier?" Bilbo asked as he bit the end of another Licorice Wand.

"All the first years are sorted into four Houses," Kili explained as he rummaged through the pile. "There's Gryffindor, the brave. Hufflepuff, the kind. Ravenclaw, the smart. And Slytherin, the cunning. Though that's basically where all the evil people go?"

"Evil?"

"Mhm, it's where You-Know-Who went. Got sorted into Slytherin. Basically anyone there is bad."

"You-Know-Who? Who's that?"

"Don't tell me you've never heard the story?"

"What story-"

At that point the door was pushed open once more. Bilbo and Kili looked up, startled. There was a red-haired girl, her hair so long it came all the way down to her back.

"Has anyone seen a dancing quill? A boy named Ori lost his."

"A dancing quill?" Kili repeated. "How did that happen?"

"He's got a mean older brother who knows magic, what else?" the girl said.

"No, no we haven't seen a dancing quill," Bilbo said, shaking his head.

"Well if you do, catch it. And don't let it squirt ink in your face."

"Who are you, if I might ask?" Kili said, not very impressed by the newcomer. The girl tossed her hair and looked down at him.

"Tauriel," she answered, arching an eyebrow. "And you are?"

"Kili," he said, sending her a defiant look in return. Bilbo felt like he could slice the tension in the air with just his half-eaten Licorice Wand.

"I-uh, I'm Bilbo," he said. Tauriel blinked and looked at him, seemingly ignoring the brunet sitting across from him.

"You two may want to be dressed soon, the train is nearly at Hogwarts." She turned to leave, the small curl at the end of her long fiery hair swaying in her movements before she turned back and looked directly at Kili.

"You've got dirt on your nose, you do know that?" she asked him, tapping her own nose to show him where. "Just there."

And with that Tauriel disappeared, leaving a slightly amused Bilbo and a scowling Kili behind.

A/N: Apologies for the delay, I was lacking both time and inspiration -so much for this username, eh?- But here we are. I plan to watch both the Hobbit and Harry Potter again soon, so that might quicken things up a bit! Until then, I hope you enjoyed.

Any questions/concerns/comments, leave a review or send me a PM!

-II

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from either JK Rowling or JRR Tolkien.