AN: I'm back everyone. Time for me to get this story back on its tracks. I hope you all aren't to irritated with me to had this story put on hold for so long. I just wanted to enjoy the fine weather as much as I could and I live in the Netherlands so we don't always have such nice weather. Its getting colder and wetter right now, so I probably won't be much outside anymore. Anyway enjoy the new chapter, I know you must have been waiting for this.


Chapter 7

The first of September came and it was time for them to get to the train that would bring them to Hogwarts. Lily and James had explained about the platform when Ikkaku had found the number nine and three quarters a little bit weird. When Harry heard that comment he stated that he had never heard of a platform like that.

Obviously the platform was hidden from the non-magical people, or muggles as Lily and James called them. When they arrived at the train station and walked up to the side of the magnificent archway between platform nine and ten they were just in time to see a family of red heads go straight through the pillar.

Ikkaku and Yumichika were staring like fish out of the water towards that spectacle. Harry though, after listening to Lily and James explanation of the platform wasn't too surprised about it.

"Close your mouths, you two. Let's go." Lily said.

With a run all of them went through the barrier. On the other side a red steam engine waited for the students to board. The sight was quite magnificent.

"Why a steam engine? What happened to modern?" Ikkaku asked.

"You'll notice that the wizarding world is quite behind in time. Most of the pure blood families are quite ignorant of what's going on in the rest of the world. They don't pay attention to the technologies the muggles bring forward." Lily explains.

"Doesn't seem very smart to me, don't you think?" Harry said.

"Yes, I agree, but tell those wizards that. They are just too stubborn." Lily replied.

They entered the train and found an empty compartment in the back. Not much, later after the train started to leave, a red headed boy, probably being one of the red headed family they had seen earlier, knocked on their compartment door.

"Can I sit with you? Everywhere else is full." The boy asked.

"Sure, there's still place for one more." Harry answered.

"Thanks. I'm Ron by the way, Ron Weasley." The boy replied.

"Nice to meet you, Ron. I'm Harry Potter." Harry said.

"The name's Isamu Kaneko and this is my sister Yumi." James said as he introduced himself and Lily.

"Ikkaku Madarame." Ikkaku said with a seemingly bored expression on his face.

"I'm Yumichika Ayasegawa." Yumichika said.

"Blimey, you're Harry Potter? Do you really have the…. You know?" Ron asked, his attention only on Harry.

"You mean the scar?" James asked with an amused expression on his face as he watched Harry's annoyed one.

"Uhm, yeah." Ron answered.

"Yes, I have a scar. See." Harry said as he showed it.

"But I really wished I hadn't. It's so annoying when people keep talking to me like I am some celebrity. I was only one. I can't remember a thing." Harry said.

"You did survive the killing curse. No one ever has survived the killing curse before and you defeated you-know-who." Ron said, enthusiasm thick in his voice.

"The way I see it he was just lucky he didn't die and that that Voldie guy wasn't as lucky as he was." Ikkaku replied.

"That's a way to explain it. Just because I didn't die doesn't mean I did anything special. Does anyone know what exactly occurred, other than that that evil bastard just disappeared?" Harry asked.

"Ehm, no, I don't think there were any witnesses." Ron said.

"Thought so, then it was nothing more than pure luck that I survived." Harry replied.

After that Ron had not much to say. It kept silent for a few minutes, until Ron finally seemed to notice the fact that Makoto, who had been lazily laying on Harry's lap, had two tails.

"I have never seen a cat with two tails before. What kind of breed is he and is he magical?" Ron asked, his interest peaked.

"He's a Bakeneko, a Japanese breed and he does have some powers, yes." Harry answered.

"Like what?" Ron asked enthusiastically.

"He can talk." Harry answered, but didn't say what else Makoto could do.

"Really? That's so cool. All I have is a boring rat. He sleeps most of the day." Ron said, pulling out a rat out of the place it had been resting.

Harry noticed James pulling himself to attention. It seemed he knows something that he himself doesn't. Or Ron for that fact. James didn´t say anything though, he was just staring at the rat as if inspecting it. Harry didn't comment on it either as it seemed Ron hadn't even noticed James reaction on the rat.

Makoto suddenly twitched his ear and looked up. He then looked down.

"I think someone lost its pet. There's a toad hopping around." Makoto said, pointing to said toad, which was indeed hopping around.

Ron stared interested and half shocked towards Makoto. He obviously hadn't thought Harry meant it when he said Makoto could talk. After he got over his shock he started to talk.

"You know, most students don't buy toads anymore. They aren't as popular as an owl. Owls are more practical too. That's probably also the reason most students buy owls as a pet." Ron said.

"Maybe we should try and find its owner?" Harry said as he scooped up the toad, making sure it couldn't escape again.

"There is a possibility the owner is already looking around for its toad. I think it is better to wait here, see if the owner comes asking around." Lily suggested.

"I think I have a better idea. Someone of us should go ask around if someone lost its toad and then bring them here. This way if someone comes asking around we won't walk past each other." Harry said.

"I think that should work out. Why don't you stay here with the toad, as you already have a firm grip on it. I'll see if I can find its owner." James suggested.

James then left their compartment and went looking for the toad´s owner. Some time went by with an awkward silent filling the compartment. Harry was just silently looking at the toad in his hands. It didn´t struggle anymore to try and get free, it was just croaking silently in contentment.

Their compartment door opened again. In the doorway stood a girl with busy brown hair and Harry could just barely spot a chubby faced, blond haired boy behind her.

"Have any of you seen…." The girl started.

"A toad?" Harry finished, before she could and holding up the toad for them to see.

"Trevor!" the blond boy let out in relief.

Harry handed the toad to the boy, making sure it could not escape again.

"Make sure he won't escape next time." Harry said, smiling at the boy.

"Ttthank yyyou, I will." The boy said.

"The name is Harry by the way. Harry Potter. It's nice to meet you." Harry said.

"Are you really?" said the girl. "I know all about you, of course — I got a few extra books, for

background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark

Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."

"Am I, really?" Harry said sarcastically.

"Goodness, you don't know. I would've read up about everything if I were you." The girl said.

"You know, I bet what's written in those books is rubbish anyway." Ikkaku commented lamely.

"You can get a lot of information from books, you know. They aren't rubbish." The girl huffed.

"He didn't say the books are rubbish, he said what's written about me is rubbish. What's your name anyway? You haven't given it to us yet." Harry said.

"The name's Hermione Granger." The girl answered.

"I'm Neville Longbottom, thank you again for finding Trevor." The boy said.

"It was no problem at all." Harry replied.

"You better get changed into your school robes, we're almost there." Hermione said, before she left, followed by Neville as he said his goodbye's.

They did as they were told and it didn't take long after that that the train came to a stop. They left their baggage's at the compartment as Lily and James said someone else would take it up to the castle for them. Makoto though traveled on Harry's shoulder, even though it was customary to leave your pet with your baggage to be taken to the castle as well.

Harry didn't mind though as he noticed that Ron had his rat still with him as well. As they left the train they heard the booming voice of Hagrid calling for the first years. According to Lily and James it was customary for the first years to take a tour over a big lake to get a first magnificent glimpse of the Hogwarts castle as they approached it.

Harry didn't mind crossing a lake, though when he saw the rigidly little boats he wished they were a little bit more stronger looking and he hoped not to fall into the water. The water must be freezing by now.

Harry took a boat with Lily and James and Ron, while Yumichika and Ikkaku joined the boat with Hermione and Neville in it.

The sight as they approached the castle was indeed magnificent. The castle was huge. It was illuminated by the stars and moonlight and the light coming from inside of the castle as many specs could be seen where the windows were.

Eventually they docked and entered the castle. An elderly woman with graying black hair done in a tight bun awaited them in front of huge oak doors. She introduced herself as Professor McGonagall and welcomed them warmly and told them about the four houses at Hogwarts, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. She then led them to a small room that was located next to the Great Hall were the welcoming dinner was to be held and were they were going to be sorted into one of the four houses.

McGonagall left for the Great Hall, telling them to wait were they were. Immediately after chattering broke lose all around them. A quite familiar voice broke loose suddenly above the rest of them.

"I heard Harry Potter joins us this year. I was wondering if this was true." Came from the pale blond haired boy Harry had met at Madam Malkins robe shop.

"And what about it?" Harry asked as he turned to face the boy.

"So it's true then?" the boy asked in return.

As soon as he had said that murmurs and whispers broke lose all around them.

"Yes, the name is Harry Potter, but there isn't much special about me. All I did was that I didn't die. I can't even remember the event. I'm just lucky to live, that's all to it." Harry said.

The murmurs and whispers intensified after that, but before more questions could be asked McGonagall had returned and she let them into the Great Hall so the sorting could start.


AN: I hope you all enjoyed it, please review.