Beta'd by Lady of Something
xXx
Chapter 5
The last month with the Dursleys went by rather uneventfully for Ari. That is to say that Uncle Vernon did not teach any of his lessons to Ari. In fact, the Dursleys ignored Ari. They still left a chore list for her to do every day, but they did not yell at her. They didn't even look at her. For all of this, Ari was grateful.
Ari spent her free time in her room reading her new books. She finished reading A History of Magic, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, Magical Drafts and Potions, Hogwarts a History and Wizarding Etiquette and Culture. She was well on her way through A Complete History of the Magical World: From Creation to Present. She found this book to be one of the more fascinating ones. From what she read, a goddess named Hecate created a race of magical beings to teach in her ways. As her people were being persecuted in the witch hunts, Hecate created a world for them that was separate but joined with the mortal world. Her people remained unchanged in their ways while the mortals developed technology and new methods of living.
Hecate herself was the Greek goddess of magic, sorcery, witchcraft, crossroads, trivial knowledge and necromancy. While not one of the Olympians, in her own way she was quite powerful. As such, she did not like the other gods and goddesses interfering with her people. She preferred that they leave her people alone. Ari felt like she almost knew the goddess. The goddess looked familiar; almost like a dream. She remembered her dream about giant people arguing and wondered if the two were connected.
It was the last day of summer, and Ari was going to tell her aunt and uncle that she needed a lift to the train station. She had already realised that Professor Snape had forgot to tell her how to get onto the platform. However, she was fairly certain that she could figure it out. She just needed to get a ride. She waited this long because she knew that if she had asked sooner, the Dursleys would have found some excuse to not take her.
She approached the living room to find the Dursleys watching television. Ari walked in and decided it was now or never.
"Umm...Uncle Vernon," Ari started hesitantly. She had enjoyed the lack of lessons and didn't want her uncle to start again.
Uncle Vernon grunted.
"The train for my school leaves tomorrow, and I need a ride," Ari stated taking the grunt as a sign to start talking.
He grunted again.
Ari took that to mean okay, and she began to walk back up to her bedroom.
"Funny thing magic. Are all of your brooms and carpets broken?" Uncle Vernon stated with great cruelty.
"Actually, first years aren't allowed brooms and magic carpets are illegal in Great Britain," Ari responded.
"Ha! Where is this blasted school anyways?" Uncle Vernon questioned.
"Somewhere in Scotland. That's why we have to purchase the winter cloaks," Ari responded. She then left the room before her uncle could say anymore to her.
Ari returned to her room and began to make sure that everything was packed for school. She didn't want to forget any of her books. She knew that if she left anything, and the Dursleys happened upon it, it would not be there when she got back. She put all her school clothes into the trunk and left out a pair of jeans and a top she bought in Diagon Alley.
"M'lady, you need to go to sleep. You don't want to oversleep and miss your train tomorrow."
"I know Hedwig. I am about to go to bed. Night, Hedwig," Ari stated.
"Good night, m'lady."
Ari woke up at five the next morning and decided that it was not worth it to try and go back to sleep. She got dressed in her lavender top and blue jeans before heading down stairs. She decided to let Hedwig keep sleeping.
Downstairs she began preparing breakfast for the Dursleys. She had just finished pouring the coffee when all three Dursleys came down together.
"Well, at least the girl remembers her place," Uncle Vernon muttered under his breath.
Ari took her place in the corner of the kitchen and waited to get anything that the Dursleys might need. The Dursleys ate in silence, and then, Aunt Petunia silently handed Ari a plate of the left over eggs, bacon, and toast.
"What time does that train of yours leave girl?" Uncle Vernon questioned as he walked out of the kitchen.
"Eleven, sir."
"Be ready to leave at nine. I will not have Dudley being late to his first day of school because of you and your freakishness," Uncle Vernon ordered.
"Yes, sir," Ari responded as she headed upstairs until it was time to leave.
Upon entering her room, Ari found Hedwig to be awake and ready for food.
"Did you sleep well, m'lady?"
"Very well thank you and call me Ari."
"Yes, m'lady."
"You're never going to do it are you?"
"No, m'lady."
A few hours later, Ari had personally packed her heavy trunk into the trunk, and they were on their way to Kings Cross Station. Once there, Uncle Vernon unloaded the trunk, placed it and Hedwig onto a trolley and pushed it into the station. He stopped walking when they reached the wall between platforms nine and ten.
"Well, here you are. However, I don't see your platform anywhere. See you next summer," Uncle Vernon sneered as he walked away laughing.
Now, Ari knew better than to panic. She had known since she first saw her ticket that Professor Snape had forgot some information. She stood next to the wall and waited to see if she could see somebody that looked like they were on their way to Hogwarts.
When it was half to eleven, a family of red-heads came into sight, and they were approaching the wall and Ari. Ari stood to the side to watch them. She didn't want to ask them about the platform until she knew for certain that they were heading to platform 9 3/4. These facts though were very quickly satisfied.
"Okay, so what is the platform number?" the plump woman asked. She appeared to be the mum of the five children that were with her.
"Platform 9 3/4, mum. Why do you ask that every year?" one of the two twins asked.
"Yeah, mum. We have all known since Bill started going or at least by his 3rd year," the second twin responded.
The mum ignored these questions, "You go first Percy, and be quick we are running out of time."
The oldest boy ran straight at the wall and just as Ari thought he was going to crash he vanished. Ari was surprised and decided to wait to see if what she had seen was correct.
"Fred, George, you two go next. Quickly," the mom directed while looking around to make sure none of the people in the station were watching.
The two twins then marched like they had all the time in the world up to the wall. Ari had to resist the urge to laugh. She could tell that the twins were a laugh. After they vanished, Ari decided that she needed to ask for help no matter how uncomfortable it made her. She walked up to the mum just as the fourth son was getting ready to walk towards the wall.
"Excuse me," Ari stated to get their attention.
"Yes, dear?"
"Can you tell me how to-" Ari started while pointing to the wall.
"Do you need to know how to get onto the platform?" the mum questioned, seeming to know what Ari needed.
Ari nodded, glad that the woman didn't find it weird that she didn't know what to do.
"It's alright, dear. Everybody has trouble the first time. Now, just walk straight at the wall, without stopping. If you are nervous, I recommend running so that you are not tempted to stop. Go on ahead of us, before Ron."
"Thank you."
Ari lined her trolley up with the wall and began to run full speed at the wall. She closed her eyes as she got close, she didn't want to see the wall if she did wind up hitting it. However, the impact never came. The next time that she opened her eyes, she was looking at a scarlet red train and a sign that read "Platform 9 3/4." She had made it onto the platform.
Ari made her way over to a train car that was half-way down the train and lifted her trunk through the door. She proceeded to walk down the car until she found an empty compartment. Upon entering with her trunk, Ari knew that it was going to be a pain to get her trunk up onto the shelf. She attempted the first time and promptly dropped it on her foot. After letting out a few of Uncle Vernon's choicest words for such occasions, Ari decided she was just going to leave it on the floor.
"Hey, do you need some help with that?" one of the red-headed twins asked as he approached Ari.
"Yeah, it would be awesome. But if you can't, I'll just leave it here, it's fine."
"Don't worry, we can get it up there. Hey, George! Come over here a sec."
"Yeah! What do y'a need?" the twin named George questioned as he ran over at the call of his twin.
"Help me lift her trunk onto the shelf. She's already dropped it on her foot once."
Together the three of them lifted the trunk onto the shelf. As Ari was wiping her bangs out of her eyes, the scar on her forehead came into view. The twins eyes widened in realization of who they had just assisted.
"Umm-"
"Are you-"
"I think she might be-"
"But what are the chances-"
"Umm, what are you guys talking about?"
"Are you her?" Fred asked.
"Who?"
"Ari Potter," George answered.
"Yeah. That's me."
"Sweet!" the twins exclaimed.
"Fred! George! Where are you?" the mum from earlier called out.
"Gotta go," they said together as they ran off to meet up with the rest of their family.
With the twins gone, Ari sat down and got comfortable in her car. She was not expecting for anybody to join her, but she hoped that maybe she had just made some friends. She looked out her window and noticed that the family of red-heads were there. The one called Ron was having his nose rubbed by his mom. While that was obvious social suicide, Ari wished that she had a mum that would fuss over her like Ron's. Heck, she wished she had parents period. Pushing those thoughts away, she listened in on the conversation. The twins were just running up to the rest.
"Hey, mum! Guess who we just met," Fred exclaimed.
"Who did you meet Fred?"
"We met Ari Potter."
"The Ari Potter. She has the scar and everything."
"She was the girl we saw standing next to the barrier."
"Oh, no wonder she was all alone," The mum muttered before turning on her twin sons. "I don't want you two pranking her. She will have enough trouble getting everybody to treat her normally without them laughing at her."
The twins held their hands up in a sign of surrender.
"Don't worry, mum."
"Yeah, we know there is a time and place for a prank."
"Now all of you behave. Fred, George I don't want any letters this year about you flooding the potions lab or putting glue on the school brooms again."
"Yes, mum," the twins chorused. Ari could tell, however, that they were pranksters and trouble makers and that they would not be following through with that.
"Oh, dear. Where's Percy?"
"Relax, mum, he's right there," Ron stated with obvious disdain.
It was easy to see why. The oldest brother was strutting up to his family like an overly cocky peacock and displaying a badge on his chest like he had just been named Prime Minister.
"Good, good. Now do you all have everything?"
"Yes, mum."
"You boys will watch out for Ron, right?"
"Don't worry mum-"
"Little Ronnie is safe with us."
Ari was now certain that she was going to have to get used to the twins speaking for each other or speaking as one. Oh joy.
"Why does that not reassure me?" the mum muttered.
As though sensing her distress, the oldest son piped up, "Don't worry mom, I will watch out for Ron and make sure the twins behave. I have to go. The prefects have a meeting before we perform our duties, and I don't want to be late."
He walked off. Just then, the train's whistle blew, and all the students began making a mad dash for the doors. The parents on the platform were crying, and once again, Ari felt extremely lonely. It wasn't long before the train whistled, signaling that it was time to leave. All of the students rushed to board the train as parents clamoured to say final goodbyes and give last minute advice. Ari ducked back from the window as the Weasley children began to board the train. Then, the train began to pull away, and Ari believed that she was off to a better life than the one she was leaving behind. She had to believe that for her sanity.
After a few minutes of watching the train station fall into the background, Ari decided to make herself comfortable. She was not expecting anybody to join her, and that, of course, was when the door to her compartment opened. The twins entered with their younger brother standing behind them.
"Hey, Ari. We never got to introduce ourselves. I am Fred, this guy who looks like me but is less handsome is George and the littler brother behind us is Ron," Fred introduced.
"Hi," Ari responded, looking at Ron.
"Well, we're off. Gotta find Lee and plan the welcome back festivities," George said as they left the compartment.
Ron watched his brothers leave and looked around uncertainly. Ari finally decided to end the awkwardness for both of their sakes.
"Do you want to sit down and join me?"
"You don't mind?" Ron questioned looking awed.
"Of course not. Why would I?"
"Because you're Ari Potter. What would ya want to do with someone like me?"
Ari rolled her eyes. Seriously, she just wanted a friend. Now, to make Ron understand that.
"Ok, let's get a one thing clear. I am not an egotistical person just because of something that happened when I was one and can't even remember happening. Now sit down before I make you sit down."
Ron sat down. The compartment was silent until Ari finally got fed up. Obviously, she was going to have to get Ron used to being around her. She just hoped that not everybody was like this or she was probably going to go nuts before the end of the first week of classes. Bad thing was, she wasn't used to being around people either, but the silence was getting to her.
"So, are Percy, Fred, George and the little girl your only siblings?" Ari decided on a safe topic. Hopefully he would take over the conversation.
"No, I am number six out of seven. I have two more brothers. Charlie works in Romania taming and breeding dragons. Bill is the oldest, and he does something for Gringotts. He can't really tell us what he does. Mom hates both their jobs because they are away from home most of the time."
"I wish I had siblings, but all I have is my cousin."
"Aren't you spoiled though?"
Ari snorted, "Nope, that would be my cousin. I'm mostly left to myself. I mean, I'm given what I need, of course, but my cousin is given everything he wants."
Ari hoped that he didn't question it any further. She really didn't want to have to lie too much about her home life to someone that she thought might be a potential friend. Lucky for her, Ron didn't question it. They continued to talk about interests and hobbies. Of course, the first one that Ron brought up, Ari had no clue what it was, and it sounded like a weird disease.
"So who's your Quidditch team?"
"Quidditch?"
"Oh, right. You were muggle-raised. Ok, so Quidditch is only the best magical sport around. It is played on brooms, and-" Ron began to explain in great details the fine points of Quidditch. Ari just wished he would explain the basics and leave it at that.
The discussion of Quidditch lasted for about half an hour until someone that Ari actually recognized entered their compartment, and she was happy to see him.
"Hey Ari. Did you enjoy the rest of your summer?" Draco Malfoy questioned as he entered the compartment.
"It wasn't too bad. How about yours?"
"Could have been worse. I was excited to leave though."
"Yeah, I know what you mean."
Ron watched the conversation before him with his mouth open and confusion written across his face. He had grown up hearing about the Malfoys, and he knew that they were bad news. Therefore, he was surprised to see Malfoy and Ari talking like old friends.
"What do you want Malfoy?"
"I can talk to a friend if I want to Weasley."
"Yeah, but you'll find no friend here."
"Really, because I think that Ari is one. Aren't you, Ari?"
Ari really didn't want to be brought into the middle of an argument but the look on Draco's face said that he wanted an answer.
"Ron, Draco is my friend. Why are you acting like this?"
"You can't be his friend, Ari. He's being raised to follow in his daddy's footsteps. You know that his dad was a Death Eater. You can't trust him."
Ari flinched a bit at his tone but neither boy noticed; they were too busy glaring at each other.
"Wait - a Death what?"
"Yeah, that's right, Weasley, my dad is a big old bad Death Eater, and I am following right in his footsteps. I am not even bothering to become my own person," Draco said sardonically.
"See he even admits it!"
"You are so oblivious. Have you never heard of sarcasm? Surely with the twins as your brothers you would at least know the concept."
"Is anybody going to answer my question?" Ari asked quietly. She was, of course, ignored.
"Don't you dare bring my brothers into this, you slimy snake."
"Guess not," Ari sighed. She was used to being ignored by her family; however, she had hoped that her new friends wouldn't treat her like that.
"You know that I'm not a snake yet. We haven't been sorted."
"So, you are as good as one," Ron argued weakly.
"You know, ignoring somebody in most societies is considered inconsiderate - not to mention rude," Ari said in a vague tone. She really just wanted them to stop fighting.
"You know just because my father was a follower of You-Know-Who doesn't mean that I am going to be one," Draco pointed out.
"But apparently you two boys are too busy arguing with each other to care about the third person in the compartment."
"Yeah, right," Ron scoffed.
"Are you a muggle loving, eklectricity obsessed lunny just because your father is one?" Draco asked the read-head.
"Electricity," Ari corrected quietly. She figured the rule about not correcting adults didn't apply to kids her own age.
"No, and don't make fun of my father."
"Then what makes you think that I have to be a dark wizard, You-know-who following Death Eater like my father?"
"Still wondering what that is..." Ari half-sang.
"Because you are," Ron said childishly.
"And still not finding out what that means," she said, dropping her head into her hands.
"You're nuts," Draco said truthfully.
"I THINK YOU'RE BOTH NUTS," Ari bellowed finally fed up with the argument. She then realized what she had done and paled. She then realized that maybe this would stop the arguing at least for a bit.
"What do you mean?" the boys asked together
"Now you two are listening?!" Ari asked incredulously. However, she wasn't yelling anymore.
"What do you mean? You didn't say anything," Ron stated. Draco rolled his eyes.
That set her off.
"Okay, let's get a few things straight since I have both of your attentions. First, Ron, just because Draco's dad is a Death Eater does not mean that Draco is. Draco is his own person. Second, Draco, lay off the cracks at Ron's family. They did nothing to you. If your fight is with Ron, then keep it with Ron. Now finally, BOTH OF YOU SIT DOWN AND QUIT ARGUING LIKE THREE YEAR OLDS. ALSO, THE NEXT TIME YOU TWO IGNORE ME, I WILL MAKE SURE THAT YOU REGRET IT."
Both of the boys promptly sat down as they were ordered and nodded their heads mutely. They both knew better than to get on the bad side of a pissed off woman/girl. Ari knew that she would probably never follow through with her threat; however, she was happy that they were done yelling at each other.
"Now, somebody please answer my question,"
"What question?" Ron asked hesitantly.
Ari just rolled her eyes, "What is a Death Eater?"
"A Death Eater is a dark magic user. That is the name given to You-Know-Who's followers. They did the acts of terror and horror that the last war became known for. Many were placed in Azkaban; however, there are some that still roam free," Draco explained to Ari as simply as he could.
"Among those that are believed to be freed Death Eaters are Lord Malfoy, Lord Nott, Lord Crabbe, Lord Goyle, and Walden Macnair. Many however went to jail such as the Lestranges, Black, Dolohov, Rookwood, Mulciber, and Travers. Nobody knows how many others are still walking around, and nobody really likes to talk about it," Ron added on. Draco was actually impressed with how much Ron knew.
"Alright, what's Azkaban?"
"Geez- you really were muggle-raised. Azkaban is the wizarding prison. It's inescapable," Draco explained.
"Well okay, then. Now can you two agree to a truce? At least attempt to get along."
"Maybe."
"I don't know."
"Just agree to disagree."
"Well, what do you think Weasel?"
"It might work Ferret."
"Twit."
"Git."
"Prat."
"Brat."
"Alright Dr. Seuss."
"Huh?" both boys looked at her with expressions of absolute confusion.
Ari couldn't help but giggle at the expressions and shook her head, "Never mind, muggle children's book author."
With the arguing done, for now, and both boys agreeing to be at least try being civil towards one another, the train ride began to go a bit smoother. The snack cart lady came by and between Ari and Draco the three of them had enough snacks. Ron's mother had made her children sandwiches, but because of all the different preferences, she understandably got some of the orders mixed up. Ron wound up with Percy's tuna sandwiches and there was no telling where his ham ones were. So, Ari and Draco shared their snacks with him, and the sandwiches were pushed under the seat and forgotten about.
The three of them were in the middle of breaking into a candy called chocolate frogs when a girl with brown bushy hair came in with a timid, chubby boy.
"Have any of you seen a toad? Neville here lost him, and we are asking everybody if they have seen him," the girl questioned looking all of them in the eye.
Ari stood up and spoke for the group hoping to make a couple more friends, "None of us have been outside of the compartment, and there hasn't been a toad in here. My name's Ari, by the way, and this is Draco and Ron."
"Oh, sorry, my name is Hermione, and this is Neville. I am a muggle-born and have learned all of my textbooks by heart. Of course, I hope that it is enough. I didn't actually try any of the spells though because Professor McGonagall told me that magic was not allowed outside of school. She did encourage me though to take a look at my books. I don't know how we are going to be sorted. All the upper years that I have asked have told me different stories. So what about you? Neville tells me that he has been around magic his whole life."
The three of them looked at each other shocked. Never before had they met anybody that could say so much in one breath. Neville was chuckling under his breath. Based on their expressions, he was guessing that Ari, Ron, and Draco were having the same reaction that he had had. Ari was certain that Hermione was going to have difficulty making friends unless she toned it down and stopped acting like a know-it-all.
"Well, I am classified as muggle-raised, and Draco and Ron are… umm… what are you classified as?"
"Purebloods. Weasley and I are classified as purebloods."
Ari nodded remembering that Draco had mentioned that in Diagon Alley.
"Wow! So you two must know all about magic!"
"Just because we grew up around magic does not mean that we know everything. I mean we probably know or will understand a bit more, but magic-raised don't really have that big of an advantage over the muggle-raised," Draco explained.
"Oh, wow. Anyway, come on, Neville, we need to go find Trevor."
With that, both Hermione and Neville left to go find the escape artist of a toad that went by the name of Trevor. Ari, Draco, and Ron went back to their chocolate frogs. Ari jumped a foot in the air when the frog jumped out of the wrapper and out the window. While Ron and Draco laughed at her expense, Ari looked inside the wrapper and found the card that they boys had told her about. The card was Albus Dumbledore and read the following:
Albus Dumbledore
Considered by many to be the greatest wizard of modern times, he is most famous for his defeat of Grindelwald in 1945. He is also well known for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work with the alchemist Nicolas Flamel. He is currently the headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Ari, whatcha get?" Ron asked through a mouthful of chocolate.
"Umm… Dumbledore."
"Nice first pick, here - I already have seven of this one," Ron said and handed her Wendelin the Weird.
"Yeah, you can have this one too." Draco handed Ari the card that he had just pulled, Agrippa.
Ron went wide-eyed once he saw it and tried everything to get Ari to trade the card.
"Pleeeeeeease. He is one of the few that I don't have. I don't have any money but I have Scabbers," he begged holding out his pet rat. Scabbers looked like he had seen better days. "You can have Scabbers. Just please trade me the card."
Draco was laughing his head off, and Ari was feeling extremely uncomfortable. Ron had grabbed onto the hems of Ari's shirt in the middle of his begging. Ari gave him the card to get him to stop begging and to get him to back off. Ron tried to give Ari Scabbers but Ari said "Yeah- no. Let's just say you owe me."
The boys were getting ready to leave so that Ari could change when a girl and two muscular boys walked into the compartment. Ari was starting to wonder if this compartment was Grand Central Station or something with all the traffic going in and out of it.
The girl that walked in was pug faced and had her nose so high up in the air that Ari felt it was a miracle that she could see where she was going. Her hair was stringy and made Ari grateful for her's even though it never seemed to want to be cut and was now down past the bottom of her back. The girl looked around the compartment, and her eyes narrowed dangerously upon landing on Draco. Draco's eyes widened. Ari knew that something was about to go down.
"My name is Pansy Parkinson. Only daughter and child to Lord and Lady Parkinson. One of the few remaining pureblood families left in the Magical World. Rumors on the train say that Ari Potter is in this compartment. And due to the fact that the there is only one girl in this compartment with a blood traitor and someone who is on his way to becoming a blood traitor, I am going to say that you must be Ari Potter."
Ari took a deep breath. This girl seriously reminded her of Dudley. She decided to try the diplomatic approach.
"My name is Ari Potter, Miss Parkinson, and you may leave. We were just about to get ready to arrive."
Ari was trying her best to remember what she had read in the book on etiquette and culture. She wanted Pansy out, and she wanted her out now. However, she had to be careful about how she went about it. She knew that if she went about it the wrong way she would wind up on the bad side of all or the majority of the wizarding aristocracy. The looks that Draco was sending her told her to be extremely cautious.
"Well, Miss Potter, I am here to offer an alliance. I am one of the elite students that can get and do anything."
"Oh, and let me guess these two muscle heads are your diplomatic peacemakers?" Ari inquired letting her sarcastic side come out a bit.
"No, this is Crabbe and Goyle. They are the sons of Lord Crabbe and Lord Goyle."
"Miss Parkinson, while I would love nothing more than to enter into an alliance with you, I cannot."
"And why not?"
"Because you have already instigated a feud with me by insulting my friends when you first entered the room. Now, unless you wish for this feud to escalate past what it already is, and in that case, I will have to send an official letter to your family, I recommend you leave. Now."
"You will be sorry for this, Potter," Pansy sneered, all formality and politeness abandoned. "The only way you would have been accepted and gone far in the wizarding world was if you accepted my friendship. You have made a dangerous enemy this day."
With that, Pansy turned on her heels and strutted out of the compartment. Crabbe and Goyle followed right behind her like two lost puppies.
Once the three were out of sight, Draco turned to Ari, "How on earth did you do that?! I thought you were raised by muggles!"
"I was, but I thought that it might be helpful to buy a book on wizarding etiquette and culture. It had about five chapters on wizarding aristocracy, how to handle diplomatic and alliance situations and how to behave."
"Well, that was a great decision. You handled that situation almost flawlessly. However, you are now in a feud with the heiress of one of the most influential wizarding families."
"I know. I am just glad that she left before I had to fulfill my threat. Now, can we go back to getting changed?"
The two boys left the compartment, and Ari changed into her uniform. She had difficulty with the tie and thought that having an undershirt, sweater, robe, and cloak was a layer too many. She also didn't see the hat lasting too long because it had really no purpose and was just in the way. Once she was certain that she had it on properly, she walked outside and waited for the boys to finish changing. The three continued to talk until the train came to a halt.
"All students depart. Please leave your bags, trunks and pets. They will be taken up separately."
"Here we go," Draco said.
"Let's go see what Hogwarts is like," Ron encouraged.
'It can't be worse than the Dursley's,' Ari thought.
The three departed the train with the other students. And headed towards a voice that was calling for first years. The voice belonged to a giant man with a grisly black beard and matching black hair.
"Hello there, Ari. Been long time since I 'ave seen ya. Last time yeh was jus' a baby."
"Umm...do I know you, sir?" Ari questioned taking a giant step back. Draco and Ron were standing beside her, looking nervous for their friend.
"Ya know me. My name is Rubeus Hagrid. I was there when ya was taken from the house of yer mom and dad. I took yeh to yer relatives."
"Oh, ok."
Ari still didn't recognize the man, but she decided she would take his word for it. He seemed like a very nice man.
"Alright, firs' years, follow me."
Hagrid led the nervous first years down the path to the lake. There were about twenty boats waiting for them.
"Three to a boat."
Draco, Ron, and Ari climbed into a boat together. Hermione and Neville were in a boat with a small sandy-haired boy. Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle were in another boat, and Pansy was glaring right at Ari. Once everybody was in a boat, the wooden watercrafts took off across the lake.
Ari got a glimpse of a gorgeous castle. There were four tall towers with numerous smaller ones, and it looked like what one would see in pictures of medieval castles.
"Heads down," Hagrid called and everybody lowered their heads before the boats entered into a cave. Hermione pushed Neville's head down before he was knocked into the lake.
The boats came to a stop, and Hagrid led the trembling first years up the path to the doors of the castle. The closer that they had got, the more nervous Ari got. She knew that the others were nervous as well. Hagrid knocked on the doors, and they opened. The first years walked inside and got their first glimpses of the inside of Hogwarts.
xXx