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Exceptions include original characters such as Melvin Aguillard, and other characters not affiliated with the original works of the Harry Potter series. We do not claim any further ownership, nor do we intend to profit from our limited ownership


Chapter 7

The Hogwarts Express

Harry and Cosette were forced to spend another month with the Dursleys, for Hagrid told them that he had important business at Hogwarts to attend to. He gave them vague instructions to show up at King's Cross station on the first of September, and that their tickets were in the envelopes. The twins both had mixed thoughts on these instructions. Harry was desperate to go to Hogwarts, while Cosette was captivated by her books. She spent no time sleeping at the Leaky Cauldron the night before their arrival back at the Dursleys. Instead, she spent the night reading her Potions and Transfiguration school books to better decipher the words in Flamel's book, a rather desperate and futile effort.

The last month the twins spent with the Dursleys was better than the previous eleven years with them. They were no longer locked up in their usual cupboard but instead were sharing Dudley's second bedroom. Dudley was now petrified of both the Twins, something Cosette seemed to get more pleasure out of than Harry, and had agreed to give up the bedroom after they had contaminated it. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had resumed to act as though neither of the twins were residing in the house at all. At meal times they would act as if only the two of them were at the table (Dudley would eat in the living room since he refused to be near the twins). This arrangement greatly suited both of the twins, Cosette enjoying it greatly because it gave her an opportunity to read her books over the month. No longer did the twins have to do mountainous amounts of chores, nor were they bothered in any way by the Dursleys. For Harry, he felt the improvement was rather tiresome, something Cosette didn't really understand.

Though the month of peace was the best the twins had, it still crept by at a snail's pace. Both of the twins were too enthused about the idea of going to Hogwarts to pass the time with any relative ease. They spent the time comparing their books and school supplies and arguing over what to name their new owl. Harry was convinced of the name "Hedwig," which he found in their copy of A History of Magic, while Cosette was rather adamant of naming the owl "Berno," a name she gathered from her own book. However, after Harry had pointed out that their snowy owl was actually female, Cosette had blushed and conceded.

They had for the first time in their lives, a bed to sleep in, and one that wasn't cramped. They both fit comfortably on the twin sized bed. Hedwig was a pleasure to have, and they watched after her as she traveled to and from their window every night. It was a rather interesting experience every time she returned, for she always had in her beak a mysterious gift for the two, which usually consisted of dead mice. The Dursleys never complained, so they enjoyed their time off in relative peace. That is, until the day before September 1st, the day the twins were to leave for school, and without any idea on how to get there.

Harry had bravely taken up the troublesome bother to approach the Dursleys to ask if they could get a ride to the train station. In retrospect, neither knew if they would want to drive them even that far. They were two hated and neglected children and while they were thoroughly ignored the past month, the tense animosity was as strong as ever.

Harry had walked sheepishly into the living room, where the Dursleys were being entertained with some sort of program on the tube, not noticing his presence. It wasn't until Harry cleared his throat did he get their attention. Dudley squealed and fled the room in dead panic and Aunt Petunia sat a little straighter in her chair, giving Harry a scrutinizing glare. Uncle Vernon didn't move his eyes from the screen.

"Erm… Uncle Vernon?" Harry called nervously.

The large man merely grunted, and Harry wasn't sure if it was in affirmation or not that he was listening, but he continued.

"I was wondering if…er… it would be at all possible to give me and my sister a lift to King's Cross Station tomorrow?"

Uncle Vernon didn't seem to be paying the slightest bit of attention to him, and rather absentmindedly asked, "Whatever for?"

Harry took a breath.

"To go to Hogwarts," he answered.

Vernon grunted, still not looking at him.

"King's Cross you say? You will be traveling there by train? What is it, you lot don't fly off on brooms?"

Harry was quiet, uncertain how to respond to such a statement. Incredulously, Uncle Vernon continued.

"Where is this ruddy school of yours, anyway?"

Harry looked suddenly nervous. In all his excitement, he failed to actually learn the whereabouts of Hogwarts.

"I…I don't know," he breathed out.

Vernon grunted.

"Not that I particularly care, but fine, we will ship you off to King's Cross. We have business in London tomorrow, anyway," he said this last bit with venom, actually turning towards Harry to glare at him.

Harry gulped, afraid to inquire.

"And… and why do you have to be in London?" Harry asked trying to keep the conversation pleasant.

Vernon's face scrunched up in a piggish manner.

"As if you don't know," he grunted, sniffing. "We must get poor Dudley's new appendage removed at the hospital."

"Oh…"

Harry awkwardly left the room as Uncle Vernon turned up the volume on the television as if to prevent any further interruptions.

Harry ran upstairs, relieved to have actually gone through that with a positive outcome. Cosette immediately asked how the encounter went. Harry gleefully retold the awkward conversation to finally report that they had a ride to King's Cross Station tomorrow. Cosette smiled and the twins shared a quiet conversation.

"What do you think Hogwarts is like?" Cosette asked somewhat dreamily.

"I don't know…" Harry answered honestly, unknowingly parroting her exact words when he asked that very question back in the shack.

Harry was a bit perplexed as to why it was only now that his sister got excited over Hogwarts when before she was sheepish, whereas he became excited almost instantly after hearing about the school.

"I can't wait to get there…" Cosette said. "Any place is better than here."

"Yeah," Harry agreed vaguely, he was too wrapped up in the thought that they were actually going to this school to actually engage in any conversation.

Instead he cast his dreamy gaze out the window, and after some time the two of them went to sleep.

The next morning the two twins awoke at precisely six a.m. and afterwards were too excited to go back to sleep. Instead, they double checked to make sure they had all their stuff together and then took turns pacing the room for the other Dursleys to wake up. Within no less than two hours, Uncle Vernon was heaving the twins' trunks into the boot of the car, a gesture that Cosette noted with suspicion though Harry didn't seem to notice in the slightest.

Aunt Petunia had some trouble convincing Dudley to sit next to the twins in the backseat of the car, which was accomplished, if barely done. Dudley didn't seem at all comfortable and made every effort to avoid eye contact and sit at the greatest possible distance from the twins. Cosette found this to be rather entertaining.

They arrived at King's Cross Station and Uncle Vernon continued with his kind gestures as he climbed out of the car and removed the twin's trunks to place them on carts, and even went as far as to wheel them into the station. At this point even Harry began to get somewhat suspicious, though he assumed Uncle Vernon was eager to get rid of him and his sister, though Cosette wasn't entirely convinced. They followed Uncle Vernon closely as they entered the station, when he turned suddenly to the twins.

"Where's your train then?" he said with a slight smirk.

Harry drew the letter from his pocket and from the torn envelope drew his train ticket and read it, blinking several times as he did, because what he read there, he was sure couldn't be remotely possible.

"Platform nine and three quarters…" he said, somewhat unsure.

This answer seemed to please Uncle Vernon very much; he gave a short laugh and continued on his way through the station towards platforms nine and ten. When he arrived at the platforms he stopped dead in his tracks. His gaze traveled between the plastic signs that identified the two platforms on either side. He turned around to face Harry and Cosette, a wicked grin on his face.

"It looks like your platform isn't here yet. Funny thing having to wait for a platform before the train that arrives on it," Uncle Vernon said an almost manic grin on his face.

Cosette immediately caught onto Uncle Vernon's implications and turned nervously towards her brother who remained unsure of what Uncle Vernon meant. The large clock on the wall struck ten a.m. and both twins shared a look. Almost on cue, Uncle Vernon's grinning form turned away from them.

"Well, good luck finding your train; I hope you have a good semester!" he was laughing cruelly at this point, and began walking away from them.

Cosette started with a panic the minute their uncle disappeared from sight. Her eyes grew wide and she clenched her brother's shirt tightly. They were gone. The Dursleys had abandoned them in a train station by themselves with nowhere to go with only their meager trunks and owl. Nervously, she looked back up at the space between platform nine and ten, hoping that platform nine and three quarters would spontaneously open up to them.

"Harry…" her voice was a nervous squeak. "What are we going to do?"

Harry took a breath and tried to calm down his sister.

"Don't worry, we'll find the platform, after all, the ticket says it's here…"

Harry had a hard time convincing himself that, let alone his sister. He nervously looked around for an answer to their problem. He briefly wondered about asking the guard, but wondered what sort of response he would get from asking about an apparently invisible platform to a magic school. Chances are he would laugh. He looked around at the passing people, desperately seeing if there was anyone wearing clothes similar like the ones in Diagon Alley that could help them. There was no one.

With ten minutes to eleven, Cosette was a nervous wreck. She looked about ready to start crying, and Harry was at his wits end in panic. What could they do? Would they miss their train? The tickets said the train would leave platform nine and three quarters at exactly eleven a.m. His heart was thudding in his chest, and he suddenly felt hopeless. Was all this for nothing?

Cosette was shivering, nervously looking about the station for any possible way out. They were only eleven and knew nothing about taking care of themselves and the Dursleys were not coming back. If they didn't find the train, they would be stranded with no food and no shelter in the middle of London. Just when Harry was about to give up all hope, he heard a buzzing conversation to his left.

"– Filled with muggles, this place is –"

Harry instantly began to follow the people who said the familiar expression, dragging his trolley and forcing Cosette to do the same. They soon found themselves behind a large family. A young girl around the twins' age was at the side of a short plump woman. Four boys of varying age were following the woman, all pushing carts similar to Harry and Cosette's. One, who looked to be the oldest, even had a caged owl on his cart, a dead giveaway that they were all probably wizards. Another looked to be around Harry and Cosette's age while the other two looked identical in almost every way. The whole family had flaming red hair making them easy to keep track of in the crowd as Harry and Cosette made to keep up. The plump woman was going on about making it to the platform before the train left.

"–Hurry up now, boys!" the woman said.

"Mum, can't I go?" the girl whined, giving her mother a pleading look.

"Now you know you can't go until next year, Ginny dear," she smiled down at the girl. "Percy, you go in first."

The oldest looking of the boys, the one with the owl, began to push his trolley towards the barrier in-between platforms nine and ten. Both twins watched curiously as he began to run at the wall. Cosette clenched her eyes shut, expecting a loud crash, and Harry eagerly watched, only to have a group of people walked just in his line of sight. By the time they left, the boy had vanished.

"Alright Fred, you next," she gestured to one of two red-haired boys which looked to be identical twins.

"I'm not Fred, he is!" the boy angrily proclaimed, pointing at his twin. "Honestly woman, you call yourself our mother; you can't even tell us apart!"

The woman gave a frazzling look and huffed.

"I'm sorry George, go ahead."

The boy huffed and looked still mildly offended and began pushing his cart like his older brother. Just before he reached the platform, he grinned brightly.

"Only joking, I am Fred!" the boy laughed and ran at the platform and to both Harry and Cosette's surprise, walked through the wall and disappeared.

Closely to follow was his twin, who was laughing at his tails into the platform.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Harry pushed his trolley along, Cosette struggling to do the same.

The woman stopped and turned in surprise, her eyes glancing at Harry, then his sister.

"But how exactly did he —how do you –"

"Get onto the platform?" she filled in. Harry nodded.

"First time, is it for you two?" Both twins nodded their heads. "Not to worry, its Ronald's first time as well," she said giving a gentle smile.

The remaining boy seemed to blush slightly as his mother favored him with a rather fond ruffle of his bright red hair. He was a rather awkward looking boy, with freckles and a rather long nose, with big feet and hands. He also looked very tall for his age and his clothes rather worn looking.

"Now, all you have to do is run straight at the wall, in-between the platforms. Don't stop, or you'll crash. Best do it in a bit of a run if you're nervous."

Harry was a bit nervous, but began to push his cart towards the platform anyhow. Images of him smashing his trolley into the brick structure filled his mind and made him feel even worse. He dared not look away from the offending wall, as if doing so would only speed up his oncoming disaster. He was running now, as fast as he could with the cart, and was approaching the wall faster and faster. It was too late to turn back now. Just as he thought he would be picking up what remained of his trolley, he ran right through it, as if the barrier wasn't really there.

He appeared in some unknown area, a large red steam engine in front of him. The place was almost identical to the King's Cross station, but all the features seemed reversed. The ticket tellers were on the opposite sides of the barriers, the trains arrived and departed in directions opposite to the ones in the King's Cross station. The walls were all made of brick, cement and plaster, with medieval like carvings all around. The high windows were also stained glass, adding a variety of color to the enormous station as light poured in. People were bustling this way and that, and not just people. Cats were running in-between people's legs all over the station and owls were flying in the open space above them. A sign perched where the sign for platform ten clearly read: Hogwarts Express, and another announced Platform nine and three quarters. He had made it.

On the other side of the wall, Cosette was left there, staring at the wall that had just eaten her brother. Her mouth dropped slightly and she lost her breath. She must have been staring there for a while, not noticing even as the other boy ran into the platform, because the mother spoke to her.

"Nervous, dearie?"

Cosette jumped, and timidly looked over at the short woman. She was smiling at her, and Cosette deeply yearned to have her brother near.

"Don't worry, there is nothing to be afraid of," she paused for a second, looking over the girl. "Is that your brother?"

Cosette nodded her head, afraid to speak. The woman smiled.

"He's just fine, waiting for you on the other side, shall we go…?" she began walking towards the platform, and Cosette almost unconsciously began pushing her trolley forward.

"Come on, we'll go in together," she said encouragingly.

Cosette took a deep, shuddering breath, gripping her trolley until her boney fingers turned white. The woman seemed so certain that nothing would happen. She seemed honest enough, but Cosette still wasn't sure. The lady put her hand on Cosette's back in an encouraging gesture, and she froze at the contact, tensing.

"Let's go."

She nudged her forward, towards the solid wall. She was walking beside her, the other girl holding her mother's hand. As they approached the platform, she began to speed up a bit, and Cosette began a light trot. Soon, she began to run slightly, and Cosette's heart began thudding loudly. The platform was fast approaching, and Cosette once again closed her eyes, fearing that she would collide with the wall and make a ruin of things as usual. Instead, she felt a cooling sensation and heard the rumbling of an engine.

Opening her eyes, the first thing she saw was a large, red train. She felt a new touch on her shoulder, and turned to see Harry grinning at her. She let out a nervous breath, and returned the look.

"Come on, let's go," Harry said excitedly, and Cosette didn't need to be told twice.

She smiled back at the mother, who in turn returned the gesture, before they pedaled off.

They quickly boarded the train and nervously maneuvered their trunks inside, careful not to trip over any cats or stray legs that were poking out of the different compartments. Most of the compartments were already packed, and so they both moved passed them towards the back. Finally, they found an empty one and went about trying to fit their trunks in the overhead rack. Harry could manage to get his into position, but couldn't get it into the small space. Cosette couldn't even lift the trunk over her head.

"Need help?"

Both turned to see one of the red-headed twins from earlier grinning at them, looking at their trunks with a raised brow.

"Yes, please," Harry said, trying not to let his trunk fall over.

"Oy, Fred, come and help!" the boy yelled, and soon, an identical red-head came bouncing up.

Both of them helped lift the trunks and fit them comfortably in their alcove, and Harry and Cosette smiled in gratitude.

"Thanks, they are a bit heavy," Harry said, wiping his sweaty brow, adjusting his hair.

At that moment, the twins gave him a funny look.

"What's that on your forehead?" one of them asked.

Unconsciously, Harry reached up to his forehead, as if something was on it that shouldn't be.

"That scar… it really does look like a lightning bolt."

Cosette gave the boys an interesting look, and then shifted to Harry, who moved his hair back in the way, blocking the other twin's view.

"Does that mean you're…?"

"What?" Harry furrowed his brows, confused.

"Harry Potter!" both twins uttered in unison.

"Oh…" Harry shifted awkwardly, and he saw Cosette shift and huff next to him, then silently get into the compartment.

"Yeah, I'm him," Harry affirmed.

"Oh, wow!"

"Bloody brilliant!"

Both of the red-heads gawked at him, as if he were some sort of celebrity. Harry had forgotten during his last month, that in this world, he was somewhat of an icon. Just when he was about to shy away, they heard what sounded like their mother call loudly for them. Both immediately turned and exited the train. Harry quickly entered the compartment, noticing his sister in the far corner by the window, fidgeting with a Rubik's cube.

"Where did you get that?" he asked curiously.

"The car," she answered, in a somewhat annoyed manner. "It was Dudley's; though, I seriously doubt he'll even notice it's gone."

It was then that Harry remembered the toy, how Dudley had tried to smash his head with it those months ago. Harry remembered how frustrated his cousin got over the puzzle cube, and wasn't at all surprised that it had remained in the car after all this time, forgotten.

He took a seat opposite and peered out the window, and heard the familiar voices coming from it. He peered out and saw the collection of the red-headed boys and their mother standing just outside. He curiously listened in.

"Where is your brother Percy?" she asked them, while scrubbing off something on the youngest boy's face.

"Oh, he's coming," replied one of the twins.

Not a second later, the eldest boy came out.

"I can't stay long, mum. I have to be back in the train soon. You know, being a prefect, we have our own compartment in the front," Percy announced, looking quite pleased with himself.

It was only then did Harry notice that the boy was already in his school robes, which were slightly different from his and his sister's because of the red underlining and crest on the left side of his chest. He also had a large silver badge with a P on it pinned to his robes.

"Really, Percy? You? A prefect? Who would have thought?" Fred looked wondrously.

"Yeah, I don't think he's mentioned it before," George whistled.

"Well, maybe that one instance –"

"Or that other time –"

"Or that other other time –"

"Or pretty much all summer—"

"Oh, do shut up," Percy huffed, looking indignant.

"Mum, guess who we met on the train!" George suddenly said.

"Remember that boy we saw who was almost wetting his pants at the platform?" Fred continued.

Their mother looked at him and a stern expression.

"Come now, Fred, don't say such things –"

"He's Harry Potter!"

The mother was silent for a while, and Harry sunk further into his seat.

"Really?" he heard her voice.

"Oh, mum! Can I go on the train to see him, please, please, please?" he heard the young girl begging.

"No, Ginny, you can't. Oh that poor boy, and his sister. No wonder they looked so lost…"

"Who cares about that?" George cut in. "You think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?"

"George, don't say such things!" his mother berated. "And don't you go asking him, either! It's none of our business!"

"Fine, fine, woman," George conceded. "Though, I think it would be wicked cool if –"

"George Weasley! He doesn't need to have people saying those sort of things on his first day of school!"

Harry glanced back out the window and spotted the family giving last minute goodbyes. Their mother turned and gave each one of her children a tight, squeezing embrace and showered them in kisses. When she turned to the twins, she kissed their cheeks before giving them a stern look.

"Now, I want all of you to have a good term, a good one," she pressed, giving the two a good glare.

"What do you mean by that, mum?" Fred asked innocently.

"Yeah, we're always the epitome of respectable Hogwarts students." George stood straight up, looking slightly offended at his mother.

"I mean it," their mother scolded. "I don't want to hear about you yet again causing a ruckus. Blowing up toilets or...or…"

"Toilets?" Fred raised a brow. "We never blew up a toilet."

"But thanks for the idea, mum," George grinned.

The woman looked flustered, just as a whistle rung out.

"Off with you, go!"

Both boys smiled.

"Bye mum!" they gave her a quick peck before turning back to their train. "We'll send you an owl!"

At this point, the youngest girl of the family began to cry slightly, begging to be able to go. The twins chimed in with what they evidently felt would make her feel better.

"Don't worry Ginny, we'll send you lots of owls too!"

"Yeah, and a Hogwarts toilet seat!"

The angry responses from their mother were drowned out by the train starting off. The youngest girl waved spastically at her siblings as the train picked up speed and was soon rushing off. Harry sighed heavily before leaving the window and sitting back, enjoying the slight rumble the train made. This was it, they were finally free. A smile touched his lips.

Almost immediately, Harry spotted the youngest red-head by the compartment entrance. He looked nervously at Harry, then his forehead, then back at Harry's eyes again, a guilty expression on his face.

"Hi," he said awkwardly.

"Hi," Harry answered.

"Do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full."

"No, not at all," Harry said, and with slight hesitation, he entered the carriage, sitting next to Harry.

He only then seemed to notice the other occupant in the room. Cosette wasn't paying the new boy any mind, just staring intently at the Rubik's cube, every now and then turning one of the faces this way and that.

"Hey Ron!" Both boys looked up to see Ron's twin brothers' heads pop into the compartment.

"Check it out; Lee Jordon's brought a giant hairy tarantula here! Wanna see it?"

Ron seemed to pale measurably, even with his light complexion.

"Erm…no…"

Fred grinned at his teasing, before noticing Harry next to him.

"Hey, it's you! We didn't introduce ourselves, did we? Fred Weasley, and this is George, and that thing sitting next to you is Ron."

"Fred!" Ron sputtered.

"Well, See ya!" Both twins enthusiastically waved their hands before wandering off, talking about eight-legged arachnids and their younger brother's pillow.

Ron had paled at hearing his brothers' echoing words, before brushing it off and turning nervously to Harry.

"So, you really are Harry Potter?"

"Yeah," Harry shrugged.

"So that means you have the…scar?"

Harry sighed and pushed up his messy bangs, revealing the lightning bolt shaped scar.

"Wicked," Ron uttered and Harry grinned.

"So that's where, You-Know-Who…?"

"Yes," Harry sighed. "Though, I don't remember anything, just lots of green lights."

"Really?" Ron raised a brow.

"Yeah," Harry answered, before trying to change the subject. He really didn't want a repeat of what happened at the Leaky Cauldron, and for some reason, Cosette bristled when Ron asked about him.

"So, are your whole family wizards?" he asked curiously.

The fact of the matter was that Harry, who had no knowledge of the wizarding world aside from the limited glimpses provided by Hagrid, was just as curious to know more about Ron as Ron seemed awed by him.

"Yeah," Ron scratched at his nose, which had a large black smear of some kind on it. "As far as I know. I think there is some distant cousin or other that's an accountant or something, but we don't really talk about him."

"A whole family of wizards," Harry said in a whimsical fashion. "Must be nice to have a bunch of wizard siblings."

Cosette bristled further, but didn't say a word.

"You're more than welcome to have mine," Ron grumbled, staring briefly at his feet. "S'not all it's cracked up to be. I've got five brothers. They all have done great in school, so it's kind of expected for me to do the same. So, it doesn't really matter what I do, because they've all done it before, and probably better, anyway. You also get stuck with all the hand-me-downs! You should be glad you're an only child."

"I'm not; I have a sister," Harry said incredulously.

Did people honestly know him, but not his sister?

Ron gave him a questioning look, before turning his eyes to the other silent occupant in the carriage. Cosette still refused to say a word, her lips pulled into a tight line as she furiously jumbled the toy, not even trying to solve it, but just angrily turning it as a way to let loose frustration.

"Really?" Ron's eyes widened at Cosette. "I didn't know Harry Potter had a sister!"

At this, Cosette took her eyes off the cube and gave Ron a bitter scowl. Of course no one knew about her. She wasn't surprised in the least, if all the attention her brother got at the Leaky Cauldron was anything to go by.

"I'm Ron Weasley," he said politely.

He was already introduced, so she didn't understand why he was stating it again, as if she wasn't present when it was first brought to her attention.

"Cosette," She answered, not bothering with her last name. He was smart enough to figure that out, right? He was still staring at her with a peculiar look.

"Do you have a…erm…scar?"

A scar? Well, yes, she had several; many of which were the product of years of physical abuse at the hands of Vernon Dursley, but Cosette knew that wasn't what he was asking.

"No," she answered simply. She didn't have a cool looking lightening shaped scar on her head, or anywhere else for that matter.

"Oh…" Ron responded, sounding disappointed.

Harry could see that the conversation was making his sister uncomfortable, so he quickly changed the subject. He decided to start talking about himself. He spoke about how he found out he was a wizard, how before that he didn't even know there was such a thing as magic, how he and his sister were treated rather poorly by their uncle and aunt.

Cosette had stopped messing with the Rubik's cube and gave her brother a disbelieving look, as if she couldn't believe he was telling someone what they went through. Ron looked shocked, but didn't say anything mean about it, he only swallowed.

"Sounds horrible. I've got to wear hand-me-downs as well," he said sheepishly, tugging at his faded clothes. "We don't have much money either, you see, even with my older brothers Charlie and Bill gone, with five of us…"

His ears suddenly brightened up as he turned his head away.

"I did get Scabbers though," Ron reached into his robes and pulled out, of all things, a rat.

"He was Percy's you see, but he got an owl from dad because he's a prefect this year. Wouldn't shut up about it for two seconds, really," he mumbled.

At that time, a trolley was pushed in front of the open compartment door, and a rather large woman smiled at them.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?"

The cart was covered in all sorts of confections, and when he received a negative about his inquiry of Mars Bars, Harry asked what everything else was. There was a long list which included Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Licorice Wands, Pumpkin Pasties and Cauldron Cakes and many other sweets that made his mouth water.

He briefly turned to Cosette, who was also studying the trolley curiously.

"You hungry?" He asked them.

Cosette was silent a second, before nodded her head yes, and Ron looked a bit flustered. Harry shrugged and decided to get a handful of everything. He had never had much candy in his life, so the prospect of splurging was quite tempting.

The goods were divided equally between the three occupants. Ron, after some hesitancy, accepted the goods after giving his mother's wrapped corned beef a disgusted look. Cosette studied the candies carefully, and not a few times eyes opening wide as she read something.

Harry didn't know what to start first, but eventually decided to go after the one thing he always loved –chocolate. He held a small container and surveyed the oddly shaped box. Chocolate Frogs.

"Are they real frogs?" Harry asked.

"No, only charmed to wriggle about when you eat them," Ron answered, and he saw Cosette's face drain slightly as she held one container, before quickly shoving her collection of Chocolate Frogs into Harry's.

"It's the card you really want, though," Ron said. "Each pack's got a famous witch or wizard in them."

Harry quickly opened up his container, but wasn't fast enough to catch the frog. Just like Ron had said, it wriggled, but it also jumped. Soon, it hopped up against the window and promptly fell out. Cosette looked more than a bit white. Did a piece of candy just leap out the window?

Harry looked dismayed but quickly got over it as he calculated how many other chocolates he now had since his sister's gracious donation. Looking back at his box, he saw a card stuck inside, and pulled it out.

"I've got Dumbledore!" he announced, recognizing the name instantly from the one on his school letter.

Ron didn't look surprised.

"Meh, I've got about six of him, what I really need is Agrippa; it's the only one I don't have."

Harry looked at the card, marveling at the fact that the picture of the elderly wizard with half moon spectacles and long white hair. On the back was a little description:

Considered by many to be the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous of his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of twelve uses of dragon's blood and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.

Turning the card over, he was surprised to see an empty apace.

"Hey, he's gone!"

"Well you can't expect him to wait around all day, can you?" Ron answered simply, Harry looked surprised.

"Well, in the muggle world people in pictures just stay put…" Harry said quietly.

Ron looked quite intrigued by this.

"Really?" he asked through a mouthful of cauldron cake.

"Yeah."

"Weird…" Ron said with a somewhat mystified expression.

Harry cast his gaze out the window; they were rushing past large open moors and many cows. Sparse trees dotted the landscape along with old stone walls separating the moorland into more manageable segments. A passing shepherd with his flock didn't even seem to notice the train go by. Harry put the card down, eager to try other temptations. He picked up a box that read Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

"Be careful with those," Ron said, taking a bite of his pumpkin pasty. "When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor. They got peppermint and lemon, you know standard stuff. But also liver, spinach and sardine. George swears he got a bogie flavored one, once!"

At this, once again Harry found that his pile of goods had grown, as Cosette cast off her jelly beans on to him. He gave her a questioning look, but she only shook her head, eyeing the candy as if it were poison.

Harry shrugged and opened one container and plucked out a green looking one. Plopping it in his mouth, he nearly gagged as the taste of lima beans filled his mouth. They dwindled down through the list of candies, and Cosette seemed to finally find a safe one, as she hesitantly tasted a Licorice Wand, which Ron insisted was "just plain licorice," and "boring." However, after finding that it tasted of strong, bitter black licorice, Cosette left the rest of the candy uneaten.

After a bit, there came a rather round-faced boy who popped his head in their compartment.

"Excuse me, but have you seen my toad?" he asked anxiously.

They all shook their heads, and the boy looked beyond miserable. "My auntie bought me that toad, and I lost it!" he moaned out.

"I'm sure it will turn up," Harry's cheering up seemed to do nothing, as he began to run down the aisle of carriages wailing.

Harry and Ron exchanged a look, and Cosette shook her head. She had already gone through her candy and found none of them terribly enchanting. She had given most of them back to Harry, who accepted them. She went about going through her trunk for her books, and finally found the one she wanted, the one Hagrid had graciously bought for her. She didn't understand any of it really, and going through her school books didn't help her at all, but she enjoyed looking at the diagrams and such. She hoped to one day be able to understand this alchemy book.

It began to grow dark outside and Ron and Harry were now talking about the rat Scabbers, and Ron was animatedly explaining that he knew a spell to change him yellow. After retrieving his wand, the red head pointed the brittle looking piece of wood at the rodent before clearing his throat.

Just before he could utter his spell, the door once again was occupied by a person, this time a girl. Her hair was frizzy and her front teeth were rather large and she had a bossy air about her, head tilted up in an arrogant sort of way.

"Have any of you seen a toad? A boy named Neville lost it," she asked sounding slightly annoyed.

"No, we haven't seen it," Ron mumbled. "He already came in here asking about it."

Upon studying the boy, she noted his poised wand and her eyes grew wide.

"Oh! Are you doing magic! Let's see then!"

Without an invitation, the girl let herself in and took a seat next to Cosette, who self-consciously crawled farther away against the seat.

Ron looked warningly at Harry, who shrugged.

"Erm…alright," he cleared his throat again.

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,

Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

His wand sparked somewhat, which reminded Harry of a loose wire, yet nothing happened. The rat just sat there, looking curiously at its master.

Harry looked at Ron, who in turned shrugged.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" the new girl chirped in. "Well, it's not a very good one, is it? I tried a few spells, but they've all worked for me. I started reading my books since I got back from Diagon Alley. My parents aren't magical you see. They were so pleased when I got my letter, you can imagine. Hogwarts really is the best placed to learn magic after all; at least, that's what I read. I've memorized all my books cover to cover since then."

Ron, Harry, and Cosette all stared blankly at the girl, who seemed to have a motor for a mouth at the rate she was talking. She then turned toward Cosette, as if noticing then that she had book in her hand.

"Oh, Cricket! I've read about that book! It's supposed to be a very, very complicated alchemy book!" Her eyes lit up and Cosette shrank further away. "Can you understand it?"

Cosette gave the girl a blinking stare before replying quickly, "Yes."

The bushy haired girl looked amazed, then skeptical.

"That book is supposed to be highly advanced, where did you learn to read such a thing without taking a single lesson in Transfigurations and –"

She stopped here, blushing brightly. Cosette wondered briefly if the girl was sane. Did she honestly think she was telling the truth?

"Pardon me," she blushed deeply. "I haven't introduced myself. I'm Hermione Granger."

"Cosette," she answered Hermione, once again leaving out her last name. The bushy headed girl looked expectantly at the boys.

"Oh erm… Ron Weasley."

"Harry Potter."

Just as expected, the girl's eyes lit up.

"I've read about you!" Hermione said. "I know all about you, or course. I picked up a few extra books, along with my school books. Your entire story is in them you see. You're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."

"I am?" Harry blinked, surprised to hear that he was put into published works. Just how many people really did know his story? It was rather uncomfortable to know that your personal life was so open to the public, and Cosette looked uncomfortable with it, too. He noticed that the minute Hermione responded to his name, she raised the book and hid her face behind it.

Harry missed the next bit Hermione said –the girl really did talk too fast – and only kicked in when he heard her ask about the school houses.

"Do you know which one you all want to be in? I want to be in Gryffindor; it seems to be the best of all of them. Professor Dumbledore was in Gryffindor you know, but I guess Ravenclaw wouldn't be that bad…"

"I –I haven't really given it much thought, to be honest," Harry muttered. It was honest; he hadn't thought which house he would be in at all. Ron answered with a simple shrug.

Hermione didn't look disturbed.

"Well, either way, you three better be getting into your robes. I expect we'll be arriving soon."

With that Hermione, bushy haired, talkative Gryffindor wannabe turned to leave. Before she exited, she turned and gave Ron a look.

"You've got dirt on your nose, did you know? Just there," she pointed to her own nose, then quickly strolled off. Without her, the compartment was oddly silent.

"Whatever house I'm in," Ron remarked, wiping furiously at his nose. "I hope she's not in it."

Harry smirked and together they laughed a bit.

"Anyway, any house would be preferable, well, except for Slytherin, of course."

There goes that name again. So many people were telling him how bad it was. He hoped he wasn't sorted into it. Opposite him, Cosette listened closely, noting that, like Hagrid, Ron seemed of the same opinion that Slytherins were rotten. How exactly can they judge eleven year olds in such a way was beyond her, but shrugged and tried to focus on her book. It didn't really help much, however; she couldn't even pronounce the chapter's title.

"Have you read The Daily Prophet yet?" Ron asked sometime later.

"The what?" Harry asked.

"Oh, sorry, forgot; you lived with muggles, you don't know the wizard paper," Ron muttered, embarrassed. "Anyway, they say someone broke into Gringotts."

Harry sat up slightly, Gringotts he did know about.

"Really? What did they take?" Harry was amazed that someone had the courage to try and steal something from that maze. The prospect of getting lost or facing dragons obviously didn't have the same affect on some wizards.

"Nothing, that's the strange thing," Ron said.

"Why?"

Ron shrugged. Before he could say another word however, their compartment was once again opened. This time, it wasn't because of Neville or Hermione, but a group of three boys. Harry recognized the one in the middle as the same one from the robe shop. The two next to him were rather thick and built tough, with harsh, cruel expressions on their faces.

"Are the rumors true?" the blonde boy spoke, raising a delicate eyebrow. "Everyone on the train is saying that Harry Potter is in this compartment. Are you him?"

Harry heard his sister huff and then the slam of a book. He turned briefly to see his sister setting her book down and standing. She walked towards the entrance of the compartment, a tight frown on her face.

"I need to use to bathroom," she murmured, walking passed the three boys standing in the way. They didn't even seem to notice her, all staring expectantly at him.

"Yes," Harry huffed out. "I'm him."

The blonde boy looked please, and a smirk came onto his face. He nodded his head in his two friend's direction.

"This is Crabbe and Goyle. I'm Draco Malfoy."

Ron seemed to snort at this, trying to hide his chuckle by coughing. Malfoy turned his eyes onto Ron and narrowed them, a sneer appearing on his lips.

"You think my name's funny, do you? Do I even have to ask for yours? No, I don't think I do. My father told me all about the Weasleys," he curled his lips, as if the name made him ill. "Red hair, hand-me-downs, freckles, and more kids than they can afford."

His grey eyes turned to look at Harry, where they narrowed.

"You'll soon discover that some wizarding families are better than others," here he reached out his hand to shake Harry's. "I can help you there."

Harry looked down at the offered hand, then over to Ron, who was glaring daggers at Malfoy.

"I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks," Harry said, ignoring the offered hand.

Malfoy withdrew his hand as if struck. His face tinged red and a snarl curled his lips.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he spat out the name like it left a bad taste in his mouth. "Unless you're a bit more polite, you might end up like your parents. They didn't know what was good for them. If you don't watch out, hanging around the wrong sort, like Weasley and Hagrid, it'll rub off on you."

Maliciously, he smirked at Harry, who stood up angrily, Ron by his side.

"Oh, are you going to fight us?" He looked amused back at his two friends. In all honestly, Harry knew he would do abysmal if he were to get into a fight with the three of them, his two henchmen looked like they could tear him apart. Still, his comments angered him in a way like never before. He had no right to day such things.

"We will fight, unless you leave right now," Harry's voice was level and hard.

Malfoy sneered.

"Hear that boys? Potter doesn't want us here," he looked Harry up and down with disgust. "And what if we want to stay here? We finished our food, and it looks like you still have plenty." Looking past the two, Malfoy could plainly see the piles of candy on the seats. However, when Goyle reached a hand in the compartment to get a treat off of Ron's seat, he howled in pain.

Pulling back his hand, he noticed Scabbers, Ron's pet rat, firmly gasped to the chunky boy's finger by his teeth. The boy screamed as if in terrible pain and waved his hand around dramatically. After a few seconds, the large boy removed his finger from the rodent's mouth and all three fled from them in terror, whether it was from the rat, Harry, or the idea of talking to Hermione – since her head peaked out at them in a scolding manner – he didn't know. Harry could have blinked and missed it.

Ron was slowly picking up his rat and sitting back down, Harry joined in awkwardly.

"Is he alright?" Harry asked, motioning towards Scabbers.

"Yeah, he'll be alright. Bloody brilliant of him to do that though, huh?"

Harry couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"Thanks by the way," Ron said, somewhat sheepishly, his cheeks turning pink.

Harry looked confused.

"For what?"

"For sticking up for me when Malfoy said those things…" Ron looked beyond embarrassed. "He's really rich, you see, and hanging out with him would definitely make you popular, I wouldn't have been surprised if… if you…"

"Ron, I'm already popular enough, I don't need to hang around with boys like that," Harry pointed out.

Ron looked at him curiously.

"Oh yeah, right."

"I meant it, though," Harry continued. "I can tell the 'wrong sort' for myself, and he's definitely one of them."

Ron looked relieved at this, and smiled at Harry.

"Thanks mate. Hey, we should probably get into our robes now, that girl told us we'd be arriving soon, and since your sister's out of the compartment for the moment…"

Harry nodded his head and quickly the two changed into their uniform. As they sat back down, they heard the conductor's voice ring out that they would be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes. Harry couldn't help but grow anxious and excited.

Cosette had returned, and she was in her school robes as well. She silently took back her seat across from Harry, avoiding eye contact. Harry thought that was rather strange, but didn't have time to worry about it because just then the train stopped, announcing their arrival.

"This is it," Harry said, taking a deep breath before exhaling.

He looked nervously towards Cosette, who was now looking at him. She nodded slightly, repacked her things, but didn't remove the trunk. The conductor said that their belongings would be brought to the castle.

"Let's go," Harry said to her.

She was hesitant before taking his hand, something Harry had never seen before. However, when she grasped it, she didn't let go until they got off the train and were off to Hogwarts.